Pneumatically operable slug module in high speed printers

Claim 1

A SLUG MODULE AND ACTUATING MEANS THEREFOR FOR USE IN A HIGH-SPEED PRINTER OF THE KIND HAVING A MOVING PLATEN CLOSELY SPACED FROM SAID MODULE, SAID MODULE COMPRISING A PLURALITY OF SLUG HOUSINGS RESPECTIVELY OPEN AT THE FRONT AND REAR THEREOF AND ALIGNED SIDE BY SIDE, A LINEARLY SLIDEABLE SLUG DISPOSED IN EACH OF SAID HOUSINGS, EACH OF SAID SLUGS TERMINATING REARWARDLY IN AN IMPACT SURFACE OF RELATIVELY NARROW WIDTH CONTOURED TO DEFINE A PAIR OF REARWARDLY OPEN CONCAVE PORTIONS INTERMEDIATE A PAIR OF SPACED REARWARD EXTENSIONS, A NARROW TRANSVERSE RIDGE SYMMETRICALLY JOINING SAID CONCAVE PORTIONS FORWARDLY OF SAID EXTENSIONS, A NOZZLE FACING SAID RIDGE OF EACH OF SAID SLUGS AND BEING SYMMETRICALLY SPACED WITH RESPECT TO SAID EXTENSIONS, AND MEANS FOR APPLYING A BURST OF COMPRESSED AIR THROUGH SELECTED ONES OF SAID NOZZLES TO DRIVE THE CORRESPONDING SLUGS FORWARD, THE AIR APPLIED TO EACH IMPACT SURFACE BEING EXHAUSTED BY WAY OF A PAIR OF PATHS DEFINED BY THE EXTERNAL SURFACE OF THE CORRESPONDING NOZZLE AND THE INTERIOR SURFACES OF SAID EXTENSIONS.