Patent US3882985A successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
US3882985A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Tiltable matrix print head to permit viewing of the characters
Assignee: NCR Voyix Corp
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Filing: 1973-07-23
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Granted: 1975-05-13
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Expires: 1993-07-23
Abstract
Abstract A low inertia wire matrix print head which tilts below the line of printing on a printer to permit viewing of the characters which are printed. The printer includes a carriage which is traversed along the line of printing, and the print head is mounted thereon. The print head includes a housing in which the associated wire plungers are slidably mounted, and the rear end of the housing is pivotally mounted on the carriage and the front end thereof is adjacent to the line of printing. The actuators for the wire plungers do not pivot with the housing but are fixed to the carriage to provide a low inertia, tilting, print head. Linkage attached to the front end of the housing lowers the print head to permit viewing of the characters which are printed.
Inventors
- 👤 George N Liles
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-25 23:20
CPC Classifications
B; B41; B41J; B41J2/00; B41J2/22; B41J2/23; B41J2/27; B41J2/28; B41J29/00; B41J29/18
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 9
Claim 1
Independent Claim
241 words
In a wire matrix printer having a platen, a carriage means, and traversing means for traversing said carriage means along a line of printing on said platen, the improvement comprising: a wire guide housing having a front end located adjacent to said platen, and a rear end; mounting means for pivotally mounting said housing at said rear end to said carriage means to enable the housing to be pivoted between a first position in which said front end is aligned with said line of printing and a second position in which said front end dips below said line of printing to enable said line of printing to be viewed; wire plungers slidably mounted in said housing; plunger actuator means connected to said wire plungers and said carriage means to actuate said plungers to print in response to a control means; said wire plungers each having one end extending from said rear end, in a straight line and lying in a plane which is parallel to said line of printing, and being secured to said plunger actuator means; pivoting means to pivot said front end of said housing between said first and second positions to pivot only said housing and the plungers therein to provide a low inertia print head in which the housing and the wire plungers therein pivot relative to said carriage means between said first and second positions, but said actuator means remain fixed relative to said carriage means.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
241 words
In a wire matrix printer having a platen, a carriage means, and traversing means for traversing said carriage means along a line of printing on said platen, the improvement comprising: a wire guide housing having a front end located adjacent to said platen, and a rear end; mounting means for pivotally mounting said housing at said rear end to said carriage means to enable the housing to be pivoted between a first position in which said front end is aligned with said line of printing and a second position in which said front end dips below said line of printing to enable said line of printing to be viewed; wire plungers slidably mounted in said housing; plunger actuator means connected to said wire plungers and said carriage means to actuate said plungers to print in response to a control means; said wire plungers each having one end extending from said rear end, in a straight line and lying in a plane which is parallel to said line of printing, and being secured to said plunger actuator means; pivoting means to pivot said front end of said housing between said first and second positions to pivot only said housing and the plungers therein to provide a low inertia print head in which the housing and the wire plungers therein pivot relative to said carriage means between said first and second positions, but said actuator means remain fixed relative to said carriage means.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
43 words
The printer as claimed in claim 1 in which said mounting means includes a U-shaped means having first and second portions joined by bendable third portions, said first portion being secured to carriage means and said second portion being secured to said housing.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
43 words
The printer as claimed in claim 2 in which said pivoting means includes resilient means to resiliently urge said housing to said first position and lever means secured to the front end of said housing to pivot said housing to said second position.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
51 words
The printer as claimed in claim 3 in which said U-shaped means is made of a plastic material like polyterephthate and said third portions each have a reduced thickness portion therein forming a hinge line which is parallel to said line of printing to facilitate the bending of said third portions.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
45 words
The printer as claimed in claim 4 in which said reduced thickness portion of each of said third portions is located near said plane including said wire plungers to minimize the bending of said wire plungers when said housing is pivoted to said second position.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
55 words
The printer as claimed in claim 5 in which said U-shaped means is formed of a single piece of said plastic material and also includes a ribbon carrier means integrally formed on said front end of said housing to be pivoted therewith to said second position to enable said line of printing to be viewed.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
112 words
The printer as claimed in claim 1 in which said plunger actuator means includes: a leaf spring for each said wire plunger having one end fixed to said carriage means and the other end having one end of an associated wire plunger secured thereto near said rear end of said housing; each said leaf spring being biased to urge the associated wire plunger out of the front end of said housing; and an actuator for each said leaf spring for holding the leaf spring in a tensioned position until released by said control means permitting the bias of the leaf spring to urge the associated wire plunger to impact against said platen.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
72 words
The printer as claimed in claim 7 in which said mounting means includes a U-shaped means having first and second portions joined by a third means, said first portion being secured to said carriage means and said second portion being secured to said housing; said third means being bendable to provide a hinge to enable said pivoting means to pivot said front end of said housing between said first and second positions.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1978-05-12 | 1978-11-11 | 1979-05-13 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1982-05-12 | 1982-11-11 | 1983-05-13 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1986-05-12 | 1986-11-11 | 1987-05-13 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |