Abstract: A printing apparatus having a first printing unit provided with a plurality of type elements and adapted to print characters and symbols and a second printing unit capable of plotting optionally, graphs and figures, and capable of attaining both high quality printing of characters and symbols and high-quality plotting of graphs and figures, and with good speed.

Abstract: In the calligraphic printing apparatus disclosed herein, a writing stylus is carried by a flexing suspension including a pair of generally orthogonal arms, each arm being driven by a respective servo system which responds to stored data representing characters to be written. The naturally arcuate path defined by each arm is substantially linearized by mixing into the drive signal for each servo system a compensating signal which is a function of the absolute value of the position signal controlling the servo system for the other arm.

Abstract: A system and method for controlling printing to allow to obtain a long vertical line which is continuous even if a reduction in height of font is produced due to the occurrence of font change between the two consecutive print lines is provided.

Abstract: In an abbreviated typing system, in which a data processor (20) transfers abbreviations typed on the keyboard (10) into longer, full words, display of words in exceptional forms is efficiently achieved. Such special forms include initial capitalized, all capitalized, initial italics, all italics and combinations of these. The sequence for capitalization is typical. When the first letter only of the abbreviation is capitalized, decision (260) (FIG. 9) of the processor (20) results in action (264), by which only the first character of the full word is capitalized. When more than one letter is capitalized, decision (260) results in action (262) by which all characters of the full word are capitalized. Underlining is effected by underlining all characters when the first letter of the abbreviation is underlined and all of the characters plus the space following the word when more than one letter of the abbreviation is underlined.

Abstract: Overstruck text is justified by distributing the white space residue at the end of the unjustified line among the interword spaces for justification. The amount of the residue distributed is used to determine a number of overstrike characters which will overstrike the text including these expanded interword spaces. This is accomplished by placing controls in the text stream during editing to delineate the text to be overstruck. Before printing, these controls in the edited data stream are detected to cause the print line to be first justified by expansion of interword spaces and then followed by overstriking with the appropriate number of overstrike characters determined during the justification process.

Abstract: The electronic controls for a typewriter disclosed herein allow the operator to erase a character using automatic erase capability such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,780,846 and at the same time to remove any underscores associated with that character. When an underscore command is entered the memory which stores the code representing the characters typed is caused to be altered in its content to indicate upon the reading of that code segment that the character has been underscored and that the character must be erased along with the underscore. The apparatus accomplishes multiple erase cycles to remove the underscore and then the character. In proportional space mode of operation it is possible that multiple underscore erase cycles will be necessary to remove an underscore which is wider than the underscore type font on the type element.

Abstract: My invention comprises a ballistic impact printer which includes a gun for successively propelling balls along predetermined paths to trace a desired character on a medium supported on a platen spaced from the gun. Means are provided for orienting the gun after each ball leaves the muzzle of the gun so that the desired pattern is formed. Gas under pressure propels a ball along the bore of the gun, which is slightly larger than the diameter of the ball. This enables me to make the gun out of resilient material, since a gas bearing is formed which prevents a ball from touching the sides of the bore while it is traveling down the bore. The breech of the gun is slightly smaller than the diameter of a ball, so that a ball acts as a seal for a chamber in which gas pressure is being built up. When a ball in the breech is dislodged by a succeeding ball, gas from the chamber performs its propelling action between the time the ball is dislodged from the breech and the succeeding ball is seated in the breech.

Abstract: The printer is provided with a single tracing element for tracing characters under the control of stored digital instructions corresponding to a set of segments of the character. The tracing element is moved on the printing surface according to a pair of coordinates, within the limits of each character. To this end it is carried by a frame including a pair of hinged elements directed according to the two coordinates and moved by a pair of electromagnets. These latter are controlled by feed back circuits including a pair of position sensors. The frame is mounted on a carriage transversely movable according to other instruction for letter spacing. A movement of the printing element according to a third coordinate causes the tracing element to press the paper with a pressure corresponding to the thickness of the sign.

Abstract: A method of reproducing characters or symbols in place of orthodox typing or printing comprises applying ink to successive points on the paper or other surface by means of a transducer forming a typehead, and building up each character by steering the transducer under the control of digitally stored information which may be selected from the store by a keyboard. The characters can be built up as a series of overlapping dots and each character may have a number of key points, the transducer moving along one of a limited number of pre-set paths from each key point to the next.