Charles L Weber

US Patent:

43532985, Oct 12, 1982

Filed:

Oct 19, 1979

Appl. No.:

6/086494

Inventors:

Gregory N. Baker - Boca Raton FL
Willard B. Greene - Boca Raton FL
Ludwig R. Siegl - Highland Beach FL
Delbert C. Thomas - Boca Raton FL
Charles J. Weber - Boca Raton FL
Lee T. Zimmerman - Boca Raton FL

Assignee:

International Business Machines Corporation - Armonk NY

International Classification:

B41J 312

US Classification:

101 9305

Abstract:

A printer is provided with facilities for increasing the printing throughput. This involves a partial line turnaround operation. The printer has means to move a form or document past a print line, a ribbon drive assembly, and a print assembly incorporating a plurality of print wires arranged in print head groups, each group comprising a predetermined number of print wires. If, as an example, the print assembly has two, four, six, or eight print heads, each can accommodate eight wires in the embodiment described. The print wires are arranged in a slanted serrated pattern and provision is made herein to insure that the print heads move at least far enough to print their assigned character locations prior to the performance of any turnaround in individual lines being printed. Routine involves the accessing of tables stored in conjunction with a microprocessor, the tables indicating the optimum turnaround situations for the different print head configurations. In addition, an emitter is provided in the printer unit which has character emitters, margin emitters and other emitters as well as turnaround emitters that are used in conjunction with the turnaround decision making process to reverse direction of the print head assembly in order to start printing of a new line.