Wire matrix printhead having facility for enabling wirewear correction

Claim 1

In a wire matrix printing head comprising a guide assembly for retaining a plurality of wire styli each of which styli has an input end for receiving an impact and an output end for delivery of an impact to a recording medium, said assembly having guide means adjacent one end thereof for holding and aligning the input ends of said wire styli and with electromagnetic activation means for delivering motion and velocity to selected ones of said plurality of styli, and output bearing means located adjacent the other end of said assembly to hold the output ends of said wire styli, the combination wherein: said output bearing means includes a plurality of apertures with each aperture having its axis in alignment with an axis of one of said wire styli, said output bearing means providing a planar face on one side thereof with the tips of the wire styli flush with said planar face, and means movably mounting said bearing means to said guide assembly to enable altering of the position of said output bearing means and said planar face along the longitudinal length of said styli and in relationship to the output end tips of said wire styli, said movable mounting means including means for releasing said bearing means from said guide assembly and for securing said bearing means in a desired position on said assembly.