Printer comprising a printing head controlled by a sensor

Claim 1

A printer which comprises: a carriage which is displaceable in the printing direction along an associated record carrier, a printing head carried on said carriage for sliding movement in a direction transverse to the printing direction independently of any carriage movement, a sensor which is displaced in sychronism with said carriage and which is biased against the associated record carrier, said sensor serving to determine the thickness of the associated record carrier and being coupled to said printing head in order to maintain a constant, predetermined distance between said printing head and the associated record carrier, said sensor comprising a mechanical/electrical converter having an output signal which is proportional to the thickness of the associated record carrier, said sensor comprising a first follower which is biased against the associated record carrier and which is relatively displaceable with respect to said carriage, and a second follower which is biased against the associated record carrier and which is relatively displaceable with respect to said first follower, a mechanical part of said mechanical/electrical converter being coupled to said first follower and an electrical part of said converter being coupled to said second follower, and an electric motor connected to said converter to receive said output signal and a mechanical drive for said printing head cooperating with said printing head to displace said printing head relative to said carriage a distance which is equal to the sensed thickness of said record carrier.