Abstract: A vibrating thermal printer transfers thermoplastic ink from a ribbon to a record medium by selectively heating resistive elements on a substrate of electrically conductive material. While the record medium and ribbon are passing the print head, the print head, by means of piezoelectric phenomenon, induces vibration in the head to facilitate the deposition of thermoplastic ink onto the paper. There is also shown the preheating of the ribbon to improve throughput.

Abstract: A paper tray having a bottom, front and rear walls extending upwardly from the bottom, and side walls extending upwardly from the bottom to define an open boxlike structure for storage of sheets of paper in readiness for use. A paper receiver is pivotably mounted on the tray for receiving sheets of paper after printing thereof. The paper receiver has a first position in which paper can be fed automatically from the tray to a print roller and a second position in which paper can be manually fed to the print roller. In the automatic mode, the paper is fed by a drive roller to produce a buckle at its leading position to insure alignment at the print roller and subsequent straight, unskewed feed. The paper receiver carries a conveyor belt driven from the print roller at a greater linear speed to insure positive feed of the paper from the print roller to a receiving station.

Abstract: A method of stopping a feedback-controlled stepping motor having a stator and a rotor wherein the drive of the stator field is leading the rotor by more than one step and the rotor is rotating with an angular velocity within a first range of values is performed by decreasing the drive lead of the stator field from its slewing value to another value whereby the angular velocity of the rotor decreases below the first range and sensing for the decrease of the angular velocity of the rotor to within a second range of values so that when the angular velocity of the rotor is within the second range of values the rotation of the stator field is stopped to brake the rotor.

Abstract: A paper tray has a first bottom, first front and rear walls extending upwardly from the first bottom, first and second side walls extending upwardly from this bottom. The walls and bottom define an open boxlike structure for storage of sheets of paper prior to use. A cover is pivotably mounted to the top of the lower side walls in the region of the rear wall extends toward the first front wall. The cover is shorter than the first bottom to provide a feed gap between the free end of the cover and the front wall so that paper can be removed from the boxlike structure. Each of the lower side walls has an extension upwardly extending beyond the level of the cover. Paper receiving means has a second bottom upwardly displaced from and overhanging the feed gap and the front wall. First and second upper side walls are connected to the ends of the extensions remote from the rear wall and extend upwardly from the upper bottom.

Abstract: For a stepping motor having a rotatable stator magnetic field for driving the rotor, there is disclosed a method of damping the oscillations of the rotor which occurs when the rotatable stator magnetic field is stopped upon arriving at a desired rotational position by measuring quantities related to the instantaneous velocity of the rotor due to the oscillations of the rotor about the desired rotational position, rotationally displacing the stator magnetic field from the desired rotational position in a direction opposite to the direction of the oscillation, and thereafter returning the stator magnetic field to the desired stopping position.

Abstract: A universal input-output apparatus has: a controllable source of electrical energy including at least one drive source having an output terminal and a return terminal; an electrical energy measuring device including at least one energy sensor having an input terminal connected to the output terminal of the controllable source of electrical energy; a twin leaded line having the first ends thereof connected to the output and return terminals of the drive source, respectively; and an integrity tester in the form of a zener diode connected across the second ends of the first and second leads, respectively, a first terminal connected to one of the second ends, a second terminal connected via a unidirectional conductor to the one second end and a third terminal connected via a resistive device to the one second end.

Abstract: Apparatus for recording characters on a photographic record medium including spaced feed and takeup reels for carrying a roll of the medium. A support such as a cylinder is disposed between the reels supports the record medium. A carriage is controllably movable opposite the support and in a direction transverse to the direction of record medium movement. A recording head on the carriage has a radiation emitter device for emitting intensity modulated radiation toward the cylindrical support along a scan line which makes an angle with the direction of the transverse movement.

Abstract: A clock generator for establishing working clock pulses occurring for constant increments in a scan path of a laser scanner which cyclically sweeps over a record medium at a non-constant velocity includes: a generator of a fiducial pulse at least once per cycle of sweep; a frequency synthesizer responsive to the fiducial pulses for generating radio-frequency clock pulses having a frequency greater than the fiducial pulses, and in synchronization therewith; a storage for storing a plurality of count values, each of the count values being associated with a given increment along the scan path; a working clock pulse generator, including a counter which counts the radio-frequency clock pulses, for emitting a working clock pulse each time the counter counts a count value received by the working clock pulse generator. For each working clock pulse a new count value stored in the storage is transmitted to the working clock pulse generator.

Abstract: Apparatus for recording characters on a photographic record medium including spaced feed and takeup reels for carrying a roll of the medium. A cylindrical support disposed between the reels supports the record medium. A carriage is controllably movable opposite the cylindrical support and in a direction along the cylindrical axis of the latter. A recording head on the carriage has a radiation emitter device for emitting intensity modulated radiation toward the cylindrical support along a scan line which is in a plane intersecting such cylindrical axis.

Abstract: A communications network is composed of a central mode and a plurality of remote nodes with each of the nodes including receiving means for receiving signals and transmitting means for transmitting signals. At the remote nodes each including two receiving means and a signalling means for transferring to the associated transmitting means for transferring to the associated transmitting means one kind of signal when signals are received by both associated receiving means and another kind of signal when only one of the receiving means receives a signal. In general, means connect the transmitting means of each node to one of the receiving means of two different successive nodes in such a manner that a unidirectional communication loop is obtained. In one embodiment of the invention all nodes are alike and one node is assigned to be the central node and the others to be remote nodes. In another embodiment the central node is unique and the remote nodes alike.

Abstract: A watch display includes first and second concentric circular arrays of light emitting diodes which are sequentially energized to indicate the minutes and hours such that only one diode from each array is energized at any one time.