Alphanumeric serial printer with a flexible membrane printing element
AssigneeBurroughs Corporation
InventorNicholas Kondur, Jr.
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A serial printer is provided with a multi-position flexible membrane printing element with columns and rows of print characters disposed coplanarly in spaced apart relationship therein, the flexible printing element being differentially positionable along an X and a Y axis to bring selected print characters into printing alignment with an actuatable hammer, the differential positioning of the printing element being effectuated by a rotatable crank and quadrilateral linkage means in association with a pair of position sectors and a pair of spur gears coupled to the quadrilateral linkage, the pair of position sectors being variably positionable by a first and second plurality of actuatable sector limit stops.
Claims32
In a printing device including a supporting frame structure having keyboard input means, a rotatable drive shaft, an actuatable hammer, and means for carrying and transversely moving a web medium relative to said hammer, the improvement comprising:
- a. rotatable crank means associated with said drive shaft and rotatable therewith in response to said keyboard input means,
- b. a multi-position printing element operably associated with said hammer and with the web medium carried by said carrying and moving means and having type characters arranged in columns and rows therein, said columns corresponding to a first axis of said printing element and said rows corresponding to a second axis thereof,
- c. quadrilateral linkage means operably coupled to said crank means and to said printing element and effective in response to said keyboard input means for moving said printing element along its said first and second axes, said linkage means comprising a first and second terminal link connected to said printing element and pivotally coupled together, a first and second drive link pivotally coupled together and coupled also to said crank means, a rotatably mounted first spur gear pivotally coupled to said first terminal link and to said drive link, and a rotatably mounted second spur gear pivotally coupled to said second terminal link and to said second drive link,
- d. first positioning means coupled to said linkage means and responsive to said keyboard input means to selectively position said printing element relative to its said first axis, said first spur gear being mounted at the innermost extremity of said first positioning means, and
- e. second positioning means coupled to said linkage means and responsive to said keyboard input means to selectively position said printing element relative to its said second axis, said second spur gear being mounted at the innermost extremity of said second positioning means, said selective positioning of said printing element relative to said first and second axes occurring concurrently during each rotation of said crank means, whereby individual type characters of said printing element may be selectively positioned relative to said actuatable hammer for serially printing characters on said web medium.
In a printing device including a supporting frame structure having keyboard input means and an actuatable hammer and effective for serially printing alphabetic and numeric characters on a record medium, the improvement comprising:
- a. rotatable crank means responsive to said keyboard input means,
- b. a printing element operably associated with said hammer and said record medium and having a plurality of type characters arranged in columns and rows thereon in coplanar relationship,
- c. linkage means operably coupled to said crank means and to said printing element, said linkage means comprising a first and second terminal link connected to said printing element and pivotally coupled together, a first and second drive link pivotally coupled together and coupled also to said crank means, a rotatably mounted first spur gear pivotally coupled to said first terminal link and to said first drive link, and a rotatably mounted second spur gear pivotally coupled to said second terminal link and to said second drive link, and
- d. positioning means coupled to said linkage means and responsive to said keyboard input means for selectively positioning said printing element relative to said actuatable hammer such that a type character disposed in a selected column and row thereof is cooperably positioned relative to said hammer to be serially printed thereby.
An alphabetic and numeric serial printer including a supporting frame structure keyboard input means, a drive shaft, an actuatable hammer, and means for transversely moving said hammer relative to a paper medium, said printer additionally comprising:
- a. a crank rotatable by said drive shaft in response to said keyboard input means,
- b. a printing element operably associated with said hammer and said paper medium and having a plurality of type characters arranged in columns and rows thereon in coplanar relationship, said columns corresponding to a Y axis of said printing element and said rows corresponding to an X axis thereof, and
- c. positioning means associated with said crank means and with said printing element and responsive to said keyboard input means to selectively and concomitantly activate said printing element along its said Y and X axes to thereby position a selected type character located in a selected column and row of said printing element in impact-receiving relationship with said hammer, whereby said selected type character may be serially printed on said paper medium, said positioning means being comprised of linkage means coupled to said crank, first selective means coupled to said linkage means and responsive to said input means to selectively activate the printing element along said Y axis thereof, and second selective means coupled to said linkage means and responsive to said input means to selectively activate the printing element along said X axis thereof, said linkage means comprising a first and second terminal link connected to said printing element and pivotally coupled together, a first and second drive link pivotally coupled together and coupled also to said crank, a rotatably mounted first spur gear pivotally coupled to said first terminal link and to said first drive link, and a rotatably mounted second spur gear pivotally coupled to said second terminal link and to said second drive link.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.