Print hammer apparatus with angularly disposed mating hammer and pole faces to prevent contact bounce

Print hammer apparatus comprising:

• a resilient member having a fixed end and a movable end, said movable end being movable between a cocked position and a striking position;
• hammer means affixed to said movable end and carried thereby over an arcuate path between said cocked position and a striking position;
• hammer means affixed to said movable end and carried thereby over an arcuate path between said cocked position and said striking position, said hammer means including an impact head and a flag member, said flag member being of magnetic material and having a first and a second side surface and a flag face with a surface which is at all points angularly disposed at an angle other than normal to said path which is at an obtuse angle relative to said first side surface;
• a stator pole piece disposed in alignment with said path and having a pole face with a surface for matingly engaging said flag face;
• a pair of side poles disposed opposite one another on each side of said path and respectively facing said side surfaces, said side poles and said pole piece forming a magnetic flux circuit;
• magnetic flux generating means coupled to said pole piece and to said side poles for generating magnetic flux through said circuit and operative to develop a magnetic force for causing said hammer means to move against the influence of said resilient member and into said cocked position with said flag face engaging said pole face;
• and
• electromagnetic means disposed along said circuit for momentarily developing magnetic flux in opposition to the flux developed in said circuit by said generating means thereby reducing said magnetic force and allowing said hammer to move along said path into said striking position under the influence of said resilient member, said generating means being operative to thereafter cause said hammer means to be returned along said path to said cocked position, whereby said first side surface frictionally engages said first side pole as said hammer means returns and said flag face then impacts said pole face, the interaction of the angularly engaging faces and the magnetic relationships between said pole piece, said flag member and said side poles causing said hammer means to experience substantially no contact bounce.