US 6,821,035 B2Granted

Line printer with staggered magnetics

AssigneePrintronix, Inc.

InventorJohn W. Gemmell

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Abstract

An impact printer with a hammerbank having print hammers retained by a permanent magnet for impacting a print ribbon, and a mechanical driver for moving the hammerbank across print media. First and second coils for each hammer are wrapped around first and second pole pieces, one of which is asymmetrical to the other pole piece. One of the pole pieces can have a generally elongated longitudinal form with the coil wound around the longitudinal form and the other can have a generally arcuate form, with the coil wrapped on a portion between the ends thereof. The coil wrapped around the arcuately formed pole piece is thicker than the coil wrapped around the longitudinal pole piece. The result is to provide pole pieces and coils for an impact printer having differing spatial relationships that can be staggered, or formed asymmetrically for more compact coil and pole piece placement to improve printer efficiency.

Claims10

Dependent claims

A line printer comprising:

a hammerbank with print hammers arrayed in adjacent relationship along said hammerbank having tips for impacting a print ribbon to print on an adjacent media;
a permanent magnet for retaining said print hammers;
a first pair of pole pieces in a magnetic circuit wherein said pole pieces of the first pair each have an end in associated relationship with one of said hammers with one pole piece of the first pair having a different configuration than the other pole piece of the first pair;
a second pair of pole pieces in a magnetic circuit wherein said pole pieces of the second pair each have an end in associated relationship with a second one of said hammers with one pole piece of the second pair having a different configuration than the other pole piece of the second pair, and wherein the second one of the pole pieces of the second pair located directly adjacent and between the first pair of pole pieces;
and
coils wrapped around each of said pole pieces.

3 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.