Cutting mechanism control for dot matrix printer
AssigneeNCR Corporation
InventorTakemi Kobayashi
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A control mechanism for a record media cutting blade has a carriage for moving the cutting blade from a home position to a record media cutting position. The carriage has a photosensor secured thereto and is operably associated with a first reflecting member at the home position of the carriage and with a second reflecting member at the record media cutting position of the carriage. The second reflecting member is operably associated with the photosensor for partial cut or for full cut of the record media by the cutting blade. The movement of the carriage is controlled by the output of the photosensor to a comparator, to a converter and to a central processing unit.
Claims13
A control mechanism in a printer having a carriage and a rotatable cutting blade secured thereto for cutting record media, said control mechanism comprising
- drive means for moving said carriage and said rotatable cutting blade across said printer, a
- photosensor secured to said carriage and having a light emitting element and a light receiving element, a
- first reflecting member at one location facing said photosensor and spaced therefrom at a predetermined first distance, a
- second reflecting member at another location facing said photosensor and spaced therefrom at a predetermined second distance,
- means for sensing a difference in the strength of light received by said light receiving element at one location after emitting of light and reflecting thereof by said first reflecting member at said one location from the strength of light received by said light receiving element ar another location after emitting of light and reflecting thereof by said second reflecting member at said another location, and
- means responsive to voltage signals generated by the difference in strengths of light for controlling the operation of the drive means and of the rotatable cutting blade for cutting said record media.
In a printer having a fixed blade, a carriage carrying a rotatable cutting blade cooperating with said fixed blade for cutting record media, and means for moving the carriage across the printer, the improvement comprising
- photosensing means carried on said carriage and having a light emitting element and a light receiving element, a
- first reflecting member at a first location facing said photosensing means and spaced therefrom at a predetermined first distance, a
- second reflecting member at a second location facing said photosensing means and spaced therefrom at a predetermined second distance,
- means for sensing a difference in the strength of light received by said light receiving element of said photosensing means at said first location after emitting of light and reflecting thereof by said first reflecting member at said first location from the strength of light received by said light receiving element at said second location after emitting of light and reflecting thereof by said second reflecting member at said second location, and
- control means responsive to voltage signals generated by the difference in the strengths of light as sensed by said photosensing means for controlling the operation of the means for moving the carriage and the rotatable cutting blade across the printer in record media cutting operation.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.