CA1139988A - Self-aligning spring actuator hammer mechanism - Google Patents
Self-aligning spring actuator hammer mechanismInfo
- Publication number
- CA1139988A CA1139988A CA000353602A CA353602A CA1139988A CA 1139988 A CA1139988 A CA 1139988A CA 000353602 A CA000353602 A CA 000353602A CA 353602 A CA353602 A CA 353602A CA 1139988 A CA1139988 A CA 1139988A
- Authority
- CA
- Canada
- Prior art keywords
- arm
- hammer
- armature
- support member
- arm portion
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Expired
Links
Classifications
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
- B41J—TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
- B41J9/00—Hammer-impression mechanisms
- B41J9/26—Means for operating hammers to effect impression
- B41J9/38—Electromagnetic means
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
- B41J—TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
- B41J9/00—Hammer-impression mechanisms
- B41J9/02—Hammers; Arrangements thereof
- B41J9/127—Mounting of hammers
Landscapes
- Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
- Electromagnetism (AREA)
- Impact Printers (AREA)
Abstract
SELF-ALIGNING SPRING ACTUATOR HAMMER MECHANISM
Abstract of the Disclosure A printing apparatus is provided which includes a pivotably mounted relatively rigid actuating member having a flexible cantilever hammer member mounted to the actuating member, the hammer member and the actuating member moving together upon actuation of the actuating member in a printing direction. The hammer member is deflected away from the actuating mem-ber upon the stopping of the actuating member after moving a predetermined distance in a printing direc-tion. The flexing of the hammer member results in the tip of the hammer member striking the printing medium and aligning itself with the impact surface of a type member to provide a uniform print operation.
Abstract of the Disclosure A printing apparatus is provided which includes a pivotably mounted relatively rigid actuating member having a flexible cantilever hammer member mounted to the actuating member, the hammer member and the actuating member moving together upon actuation of the actuating member in a printing direction. The hammer member is deflected away from the actuating mem-ber upon the stopping of the actuating member after moving a predetermined distance in a printing direc-tion. The flexing of the hammer member results in the tip of the hammer member striking the printing medium and aligning itself with the impact surface of a type member to provide a uniform print operation.
Description
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SELF-ALIGNING SPRING ACTUATOR E~AMMER M~CH~NISM
sackground of the Invention The present invention is directed to print-ing mechanisms, and more particularly, to a low mass hammer mechanism which provides a positive printing action at relatively high operating speeds which normally occur in on-the-fly printing operations.
Prior high-speed printing mechanisms are known which comprise flexually mounted interposer-type hammers having associated armature-actuators in which a solenoid is energized to magnetically attract the armature-actuator resulting in the movement of the hammer into printing contact with a printing medium, a printing ribbon and selectively positioned type char-acters located in the printing position. Althoughthese prior printing mechanisms have been effective in the printing environment for which they were intended, their cost is high due to the complexity of their construction. Because of the arnount of mass o~ the hammers which are required to be movedl the dwell time of the hammer on the type is re:Latively long, thereby limiting the operating speed of the printing mechanism to order to avoid smudging o~ the printed characters.
In order to solve this problem, prior printing mechan-isms have been developed in which the print hammer ispivotally carried by an actuator member. An example of this type of hammer mechanism may be found in United States Patent No. 4,141,290. ~hile the hammer mechanism does provide a high inertia printiny opera-tion, the mass of the moving members is high therebylimiting its operating speed. It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a printing mechan-ism in which a low mass hammer member is actuated to provide a high energy impact on a printing medium while reducing the dwell time of the hammer member.
It is another object of this invention to provide a printing mechanism which is of simple construc-tion and therefore low in costO It is a further object of this invention to provide a high speed print hammer mechan-ism in which the face of the hammer mechanism is auto-matically aligned with the ace of the type member.
Summary of the Invention In order to fulfill these objects, there is provided a low-cost printing hammer apparatus com- -prising an ac-tuator assembly pivotably mounted inter-mediate its ends on a support member to position an armature arm end thereof adjacent an electromagnetic energizing member which when energized will rotate the actuator assembly in a printing direction. The other end of the actuator assembly comprises an actuating arm which has attached thereto one end of an elongated flexible cantilever hammer member having a low mass hammer tip positioned adjacent moving character type members. Rotation of ~he armature end of -the actuator assembly upon the energizing of the electromagnetic means rotates the actuating arm and the hammer member in a printing direction. Upon engagement of the energizing member by the armature arm end, the actua-tor assembly stops and thus allows the free end of the hammer member to flex away ~rom the actuating arm to impact the hammer tip against the printing medium.
The flexing of the hammer member aligns the face of the hammer tip with the face of the type member.
Other eatures and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the preferred embodiment herein-after set forth and illustrated in the accompanying drawings. The invention further provides in a high-speed printing apparatus comprising a plurality of aligned printing mechanisms positioned adjacent moving character type members, each of said printing mechanisms comprising; a support member having first and second depending arm portions; a lever assembly mounted adjacent ~,.3~
-2a-to and coplanar with said support member, said lever assembly including an axially extendiny armature member having one end positioned adjacent the end of said first depending arm portion and its other end positioned adja-cent the end of said second depending arm portion, said lever assembly further including an arm member having one end secured to the other end of said armature member and axially aligned therewith, said arm member having its free end extending away from said armature member;
means positioned adjacent the end of said second depend-ing arm portion for pivotally mounting the other end of said armature member enabling said armature member for movement to an actua-ted position wherein the one end o~
said armature member engages said first depending arm portion and the free end of said arm member is rotated to a position adjacent the type members; an elongated flexible cantilever support member secured at one end to said arm member adjacent said pivotally mounted means and juxtaposed with the free end of said arm member, said cantilever support member constructed to have its free end rotate around an axis perpendicular to its longikudinal axis when engaged; a hammer member mounted on the free end of said cantilever support member and positioned adjacenk said type members; biasing means engaging said arm member for urging said arm member in a non-printing rotational direction; and electrical wind-ings mounted adjacen-t the end of said first arm portion for energizing said first arm portion thereby enabling said first arm portion to rotate said one end of the armature member to an actuated position engaging said first depending arm portion stopping the rotation of the lever assembly whereby the flexible cantilever support member flexes away from said arm member and towards said type member enabling the free end of said flexible support member and said hammer tip member to be rotated upon engagement of the hammer tip member with said type members orientating said hammer tip member in a direc-tion perpendicular to the face of the type members.
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Brief Description of the Drawings Fig. 1 is a perspective vie~ of the printing mechanism embodying the hammer actuating apparatus of the present invention;
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i`ig. 2 is a schematic drawing of the print-ing mechanism of the present invention shown in a home position with a portion of the actuator assembly cut away showing the mounting oE the hammer member to the actuating arm;
Fig. 3 is a schematic drawing of the print-ing mechanism of the present invention shown in an actuated position.
Description of the Preferred Embodiment Referring to Fig. 1 there is shown a per-spective view of the instant hammer mechanism general-ly indicated by the numeral 20 and comprising a U-shaped support member 22 preferab1y composecl of a metal such as soft iron and having a depending arm portion 24 on which is positioned a coil 26 illustra-ted in phantom lines. ~ounted adjacent the lower edge of a second arm portion 2~ oE the supE-ort member 22 is a hammer actuat:or assembly indicated generally by the numeral 30 and which comprises an armature arm 32 preferably composed of a metal such as so~t iron and rotatably supported on a pin 34 or other suit.lble pivot means. Secured to the rear portion o~ the arma-ture arm 32 adjacent the pin 34 by means of a pair oE
screw members 36 (one only shown) is an elongated actuating arm 38 of T-shape configuration having an upright portion 40 to which is attached one end of a return spring 42. The actuating arm 38 is preEerably fabricated from a plastic material manu~actured by the DuPont Corporation of Delaware and so:ld under the trademark "Delrin". The return spring 42 normally urges the actuator assembly 30 to a home position where the armature arm 32 is rotated counter-clockwise about the pin 34 (Fig. 2) until engaging a stop 44 (Figs~ 2 and 3) located adjacent the lower edge of the armature arm 32.
As shown more clearly in the cutaway portion of Fig. 2, a flexible cantilever hammer member 46 ~ ~ 3 ~
preEerably constructed oE spring steel has one end se-cured to one end oE the lower portion of the actuating arm 38 by means of the screws 36 described previously for mounting the actuating arm 3~ to the armature arm 32. Secured to the free end oE the hammer melnber 46 is a hammer tip 48. The hammer tip 48 may be soldered or cemented to the hammer member in any conventional manner.
Associated with the hammer tip 4~ is a type element 50 secured to a support memher 52 mounted at a precise angle to allow the hammer tip 48 to impact the type element 50 in a direction which is perpen-dicular to the Eace of the type element 50. In the present embodiment, the support member 52 is a part oE
a rotating drum member which sweeps past the hammer tip 48 in a manner that is well-known in the art and which constitutes an on-the-~ly printing operation.
Upon energizing of the coil 26, the armature arm 32 is attracted to the arm portion 24 of the support me~nber ~2, thereby moving in a clockwise clirection as viewed in Fig. 2 against the action oE the spring 42. The cloclcwise movement of the armature arm 32 results in the actuating arm 38, together with the hammer member ~6 carried by the arm 38 moving towards the type element 50 until the armature arm 32 impacts on the lower end of the arm portion 24. The impacting of the armature arm 32 on the arm portion 24 results in the sudden stopping of the actuating arm 38 at which time the free end of the hammer member 46 Elexes away from such actuating arm 38 (Fig. 3) resulting in the hammer tip 48 impacting against a printing medium 54 (such as a paper web) moving the printing medium against the type element 50 resulting in the printing of a char-acter on the printing medium. At the conclusion oE
the printing stroke, the coil 26 is de-energized, allowing the return spring 42 to rotate the actuator assembly 30 counter-clockwise to the home position C'i~
against the stop 44 (Fig. 2). Because of tt-e flexible construction of the hammer member 46, the hammer tip 48 upon impacting the type element 50 will be rotated to a degree, thereby aligning itself, to provide a uniform contact area between the printing medium 54 and the type member 50 resulting in a uniform printing of the character on the printing medium. This arrange-ment eliminates the need for adjusting the mounting of the hammer member 4~ with respect to the Eace of the type element 50 to provide a uniform printing.
An important advantage of the present con-struction resides in the impact time of the hammer tip 48 on the printing medium 54. During the initial acceleration movement of the actuator assembly 30, the hammer member 46 and the actuating arm 38 moving together function as an eEfective rigic] assembly. But upon impact of the armature arm 32 a~ainst the arm portion 24 of the support member 22, both th~ actuating arm 38 and the hammer member 46 become separate decoupled masses. Because it acts as bein3 decoupled from the actuating arm 38, the hammer tip 48 functions as a light disconnected mass thereby providing a small impact time on the printincJ medium 54 and allows for the use of a small mass for the tip member 48. By mounting the hammer member 46 adjacent the point of rotation of the actuator assembly 30, the maximum flexing of the hammer member 46 will be attained providing a hi~h impact force between the tip member 48 and the type member 50. This condition is con-trasted to the situation in which the hammer member 46and the actuator arm 32 were ri~idly coupled at the time of contact with the printing medium 54. This latter condition would present more mass on impact, and therefore, a longer duration of contact or dwell time between the hammer tip 48 and the type member 50.
By reducing the dwell time, the printing speed of the hammer apparat~s may be increased without the attend-ing c]anger oE smeclring the imac3e oE the printed char-acter.
While the spring 42 has been disclosed as the means to return the actuator assembly 30 to its home position, it has been found that under certain circumstances a permanent magnet (not shown) located adjacent the upright portion 40 of the actuating arm 38 provides an effective dampening means to return the actuator assembly to the home position upon the de-energizing of the coil 26. In this case the coil 26when energized, is capable of overcoming the strength of the permanent magnet enablinc3 a hammer operation to occur in the manner described previously. ~hen used with a permanent magnet, the actuating arm 38 is preferably constructed of a metal such as soft iron.
While the principles of the invention have now been mac3e clear in an illustrated embodiment, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that many modifications oE structure, arrangements, elements and components can be made which are paKticularly adaptecl for specific environments without departing Erom those principles. I~he appended claims are therefore inten-ded to cover and embrace any such modiEications within the limits only of the true spirit and scope of the invention.
SELF-ALIGNING SPRING ACTUATOR E~AMMER M~CH~NISM
sackground of the Invention The present invention is directed to print-ing mechanisms, and more particularly, to a low mass hammer mechanism which provides a positive printing action at relatively high operating speeds which normally occur in on-the-fly printing operations.
Prior high-speed printing mechanisms are known which comprise flexually mounted interposer-type hammers having associated armature-actuators in which a solenoid is energized to magnetically attract the armature-actuator resulting in the movement of the hammer into printing contact with a printing medium, a printing ribbon and selectively positioned type char-acters located in the printing position. Althoughthese prior printing mechanisms have been effective in the printing environment for which they were intended, their cost is high due to the complexity of their construction. Because of the arnount of mass o~ the hammers which are required to be movedl the dwell time of the hammer on the type is re:Latively long, thereby limiting the operating speed of the printing mechanism to order to avoid smudging o~ the printed characters.
In order to solve this problem, prior printing mechan-isms have been developed in which the print hammer ispivotally carried by an actuator member. An example of this type of hammer mechanism may be found in United States Patent No. 4,141,290. ~hile the hammer mechanism does provide a high inertia printiny opera-tion, the mass of the moving members is high therebylimiting its operating speed. It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a printing mechan-ism in which a low mass hammer member is actuated to provide a high energy impact on a printing medium while reducing the dwell time of the hammer member.
It is another object of this invention to provide a printing mechanism which is of simple construc-tion and therefore low in costO It is a further object of this invention to provide a high speed print hammer mechan-ism in which the face of the hammer mechanism is auto-matically aligned with the ace of the type member.
Summary of the Invention In order to fulfill these objects, there is provided a low-cost printing hammer apparatus com- -prising an ac-tuator assembly pivotably mounted inter-mediate its ends on a support member to position an armature arm end thereof adjacent an electromagnetic energizing member which when energized will rotate the actuator assembly in a printing direction. The other end of the actuator assembly comprises an actuating arm which has attached thereto one end of an elongated flexible cantilever hammer member having a low mass hammer tip positioned adjacent moving character type members. Rotation of ~he armature end of -the actuator assembly upon the energizing of the electromagnetic means rotates the actuating arm and the hammer member in a printing direction. Upon engagement of the energizing member by the armature arm end, the actua-tor assembly stops and thus allows the free end of the hammer member to flex away ~rom the actuating arm to impact the hammer tip against the printing medium.
The flexing of the hammer member aligns the face of the hammer tip with the face of the type member.
Other eatures and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the preferred embodiment herein-after set forth and illustrated in the accompanying drawings. The invention further provides in a high-speed printing apparatus comprising a plurality of aligned printing mechanisms positioned adjacent moving character type members, each of said printing mechanisms comprising; a support member having first and second depending arm portions; a lever assembly mounted adjacent ~,.3~
-2a-to and coplanar with said support member, said lever assembly including an axially extendiny armature member having one end positioned adjacent the end of said first depending arm portion and its other end positioned adja-cent the end of said second depending arm portion, said lever assembly further including an arm member having one end secured to the other end of said armature member and axially aligned therewith, said arm member having its free end extending away from said armature member;
means positioned adjacent the end of said second depend-ing arm portion for pivotally mounting the other end of said armature member enabling said armature member for movement to an actua-ted position wherein the one end o~
said armature member engages said first depending arm portion and the free end of said arm member is rotated to a position adjacent the type members; an elongated flexible cantilever support member secured at one end to said arm member adjacent said pivotally mounted means and juxtaposed with the free end of said arm member, said cantilever support member constructed to have its free end rotate around an axis perpendicular to its longikudinal axis when engaged; a hammer member mounted on the free end of said cantilever support member and positioned adjacenk said type members; biasing means engaging said arm member for urging said arm member in a non-printing rotational direction; and electrical wind-ings mounted adjacen-t the end of said first arm portion for energizing said first arm portion thereby enabling said first arm portion to rotate said one end of the armature member to an actuated position engaging said first depending arm portion stopping the rotation of the lever assembly whereby the flexible cantilever support member flexes away from said arm member and towards said type member enabling the free end of said flexible support member and said hammer tip member to be rotated upon engagement of the hammer tip member with said type members orientating said hammer tip member in a direc-tion perpendicular to the face of the type members.
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Brief Description of the Drawings Fig. 1 is a perspective vie~ of the printing mechanism embodying the hammer actuating apparatus of the present invention;
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i`ig. 2 is a schematic drawing of the print-ing mechanism of the present invention shown in a home position with a portion of the actuator assembly cut away showing the mounting oE the hammer member to the actuating arm;
Fig. 3 is a schematic drawing of the print-ing mechanism of the present invention shown in an actuated position.
Description of the Preferred Embodiment Referring to Fig. 1 there is shown a per-spective view of the instant hammer mechanism general-ly indicated by the numeral 20 and comprising a U-shaped support member 22 preferab1y composecl of a metal such as soft iron and having a depending arm portion 24 on which is positioned a coil 26 illustra-ted in phantom lines. ~ounted adjacent the lower edge of a second arm portion 2~ oE the supE-ort member 22 is a hammer actuat:or assembly indicated generally by the numeral 30 and which comprises an armature arm 32 preferably composed of a metal such as so~t iron and rotatably supported on a pin 34 or other suit.lble pivot means. Secured to the rear portion o~ the arma-ture arm 32 adjacent the pin 34 by means of a pair oE
screw members 36 (one only shown) is an elongated actuating arm 38 of T-shape configuration having an upright portion 40 to which is attached one end of a return spring 42. The actuating arm 38 is preEerably fabricated from a plastic material manu~actured by the DuPont Corporation of Delaware and so:ld under the trademark "Delrin". The return spring 42 normally urges the actuator assembly 30 to a home position where the armature arm 32 is rotated counter-clockwise about the pin 34 (Fig. 2) until engaging a stop 44 (Figs~ 2 and 3) located adjacent the lower edge of the armature arm 32.
As shown more clearly in the cutaway portion of Fig. 2, a flexible cantilever hammer member 46 ~ ~ 3 ~
preEerably constructed oE spring steel has one end se-cured to one end oE the lower portion of the actuating arm 38 by means of the screws 36 described previously for mounting the actuating arm 3~ to the armature arm 32. Secured to the free end oE the hammer melnber 46 is a hammer tip 48. The hammer tip 48 may be soldered or cemented to the hammer member in any conventional manner.
Associated with the hammer tip 4~ is a type element 50 secured to a support memher 52 mounted at a precise angle to allow the hammer tip 48 to impact the type element 50 in a direction which is perpen-dicular to the Eace of the type element 50. In the present embodiment, the support member 52 is a part oE
a rotating drum member which sweeps past the hammer tip 48 in a manner that is well-known in the art and which constitutes an on-the-~ly printing operation.
Upon energizing of the coil 26, the armature arm 32 is attracted to the arm portion 24 of the support me~nber ~2, thereby moving in a clockwise clirection as viewed in Fig. 2 against the action oE the spring 42. The cloclcwise movement of the armature arm 32 results in the actuating arm 38, together with the hammer member ~6 carried by the arm 38 moving towards the type element 50 until the armature arm 32 impacts on the lower end of the arm portion 24. The impacting of the armature arm 32 on the arm portion 24 results in the sudden stopping of the actuating arm 38 at which time the free end of the hammer member 46 Elexes away from such actuating arm 38 (Fig. 3) resulting in the hammer tip 48 impacting against a printing medium 54 (such as a paper web) moving the printing medium against the type element 50 resulting in the printing of a char-acter on the printing medium. At the conclusion oE
the printing stroke, the coil 26 is de-energized, allowing the return spring 42 to rotate the actuator assembly 30 counter-clockwise to the home position C'i~
against the stop 44 (Fig. 2). Because of tt-e flexible construction of the hammer member 46, the hammer tip 48 upon impacting the type element 50 will be rotated to a degree, thereby aligning itself, to provide a uniform contact area between the printing medium 54 and the type member 50 resulting in a uniform printing of the character on the printing medium. This arrange-ment eliminates the need for adjusting the mounting of the hammer member 4~ with respect to the Eace of the type element 50 to provide a uniform printing.
An important advantage of the present con-struction resides in the impact time of the hammer tip 48 on the printing medium 54. During the initial acceleration movement of the actuator assembly 30, the hammer member 46 and the actuating arm 38 moving together function as an eEfective rigic] assembly. But upon impact of the armature arm 32 a~ainst the arm portion 24 of the support member 22, both th~ actuating arm 38 and the hammer member 46 become separate decoupled masses. Because it acts as bein3 decoupled from the actuating arm 38, the hammer tip 48 functions as a light disconnected mass thereby providing a small impact time on the printincJ medium 54 and allows for the use of a small mass for the tip member 48. By mounting the hammer member 46 adjacent the point of rotation of the actuator assembly 30, the maximum flexing of the hammer member 46 will be attained providing a hi~h impact force between the tip member 48 and the type member 50. This condition is con-trasted to the situation in which the hammer member 46and the actuator arm 32 were ri~idly coupled at the time of contact with the printing medium 54. This latter condition would present more mass on impact, and therefore, a longer duration of contact or dwell time between the hammer tip 48 and the type member 50.
By reducing the dwell time, the printing speed of the hammer apparat~s may be increased without the attend-ing c]anger oE smeclring the imac3e oE the printed char-acter.
While the spring 42 has been disclosed as the means to return the actuator assembly 30 to its home position, it has been found that under certain circumstances a permanent magnet (not shown) located adjacent the upright portion 40 of the actuating arm 38 provides an effective dampening means to return the actuator assembly to the home position upon the de-energizing of the coil 26. In this case the coil 26when energized, is capable of overcoming the strength of the permanent magnet enablinc3 a hammer operation to occur in the manner described previously. ~hen used with a permanent magnet, the actuating arm 38 is preferably constructed of a metal such as soft iron.
While the principles of the invention have now been mac3e clear in an illustrated embodiment, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that many modifications oE structure, arrangements, elements and components can be made which are paKticularly adaptecl for specific environments without departing Erom those principles. I~he appended claims are therefore inten-ded to cover and embrace any such modiEications within the limits only of the true spirit and scope of the invention.
Claims (6)
PROPERTY OR PRIVILEGE IS CLAIMED ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS:
1. In a high-speed printing apparatus com-prising a plurality of aligned printing mechanisms positioned adjacent moving character type members, each of said printing mechanisms comprising; a support member having first and second depending arm portions;
a lever assembly mounted adjacent to and coplanar with said support member, said lever assembly including an axially extending armature member having one end positioned adjacent the end of said first de-pending arm portion and its other end positioned adja-cent the end of said second depending arm portion, said lever assembly further including an arm member having one end secured to the other end of said armature member and axially aligned therewith, said arm member having its free end extending away from said armature member;
means positioned adjacent the end of said second depending arm portion for pivotally mounting the other end of said armature member enabling said armature member for movement to an actuated position wherein the one end of said armature member engages said first depending arm portion and the free end of said arm member is rotated to a position adjacent the type mem-bers;
an elongated flexible cantilever support member secured at one end to said arm member adjacent said pivotally mounted means and juxtaposed with the free end of said arm member, said cantilever support member constructed to have its free end rotate around an axis perpendicular to its longitudinal axis when engaged;
a hammer member mounted on the free end of said cantilever support member and positioned adja-cent said type members;
biasing means engaging said arm member for urging said arm member in a non-printing rotational direction;
1. (concluded) and electrical windings mounted adjacent the end of said first arm portion for energizing said first arm portion thereby enabling said first arm portion to rotate said one end of the armature member to an actuated position engaging said first depending arm portion stopping the rotation of the lever assembly whereby the flexible cantilever support member flexes away from said arm member and towards said type member enabling the free end of said flexible support member and said hammer tip member to be rotated upon engagement of the hammer tip member with said type members orien-tating said hammer tip member in a direction perpendicu-lar to the face of the type members.
2. The hammer apparatus of claim 1 in which said arm member and said flexible cantilever support member are secured to said armature member at the same location adjacent the pivotally mounted end of said armature member.
3. The hammer apparatus of claim 2 in which said first support member comprises a U-shaped magnetic core having said first and second depending arm portions in which the electrical windings comprise a coil wrapped around said first arm portion of the U-shaped magnetic core, said lever assembly being coplanar with said magnetic core enabling the armature member of the lever assembly to be rotated into engagement with said first arm portion of the magnetic core upon energizing of the coil.
4. The hammer apparatus of claim 3 in which said cantilever support member is comprised of spring steel.
5. The hammer apparatus of claim 4 in which the arm member and the cantilever support member extend
5. The hammer apparatus of claim 4 in which the arm member and the cantilever support member extend
5. (concluded) in a parallel direction, said cantilever support member positioned between the arm member and the type members whereby upon rotation of the lever assembly the arm member and the cantilever support member move as a rigid assembly until the armature member engages said first depending arm portion at which time the free end of the cantilever support member flexes away from the arm member and moves the hammer tip member thereof into engagement with the type member.
6. A high-speed hammer apparatus associated with a type member for printing a character on a print-ing medium comprising:
a first support member having first and second depending arm portions;
a lever assembly extending along the ends of and perpendicular to said depending arm portions, said lever assembly comprising an axially extending armature member having one end pivotally mounted adjacent said second arm portion and its other end positioned adjacent said first arm portion and arm member axially aligned with said armature member and having one of its ends secured to the pivoted end of said armature member and its free end extending to a position adjacent -to and coplanar with the face of a type member;
means for pivotally mounting said armature member;
a single elongated flexible cantilever support member having one end secured to the pivoted end of said armature member and extending in a direction parallel to and in juxtaposed with said arm member, said cantilever support member further being in contact with said arm member to position its free end between the free end of the arm member and the face of the type member, said support member being constructed of spring steel having a thickness enabling its free end to rotate
6. A high-speed hammer apparatus associated with a type member for printing a character on a print-ing medium comprising:
a first support member having first and second depending arm portions;
a lever assembly extending along the ends of and perpendicular to said depending arm portions, said lever assembly comprising an axially extending armature member having one end pivotally mounted adjacent said second arm portion and its other end positioned adjacent said first arm portion and arm member axially aligned with said armature member and having one of its ends secured to the pivoted end of said armature member and its free end extending to a position adjacent -to and coplanar with the face of a type member;
means for pivotally mounting said armature member;
a single elongated flexible cantilever support member having one end secured to the pivoted end of said armature member and extending in a direction parallel to and in juxtaposed with said arm member, said cantilever support member further being in contact with said arm member to position its free end between the free end of the arm member and the face of the type member, said support member being constructed of spring steel having a thickness enabling its free end to rotate
6. (concluded) substantially around an axis perpendicular to its longi-tudinal axis upon engagement with the type member;
a hammer member secured to the tip of the free end of said flexible support member and positioned adjacent the face of the type member;
biasing means engaging said arm member for urging said arm member in a non-printing rotational direction;
and electrical windings mounted on said first depending arm portion for energizing said first arm portion thereby enabling said first arm portion to rotate said armature member to an actuated position engaging said first arm portion whereby the arm member and the flexible cantilever support member move in a printing direction towards said type member, said flex-ible support member flexing away from said arm member and toward said type member as a result of the engage-ment of the armature member with said first arm portion enabling the free end of said flexible support member and said hammer member to be rotated upon engagement of the hammer member with said type member to orientate said hammer member in a direction perpendicular to the face of said type member.
a hammer member secured to the tip of the free end of said flexible support member and positioned adjacent the face of the type member;
biasing means engaging said arm member for urging said arm member in a non-printing rotational direction;
and electrical windings mounted on said first depending arm portion for energizing said first arm portion thereby enabling said first arm portion to rotate said armature member to an actuated position engaging said first arm portion whereby the arm member and the flexible cantilever support member move in a printing direction towards said type member, said flex-ible support member flexing away from said arm member and toward said type member as a result of the engage-ment of the armature member with said first arm portion enabling the free end of said flexible support member and said hammer member to be rotated upon engagement of the hammer member with said type member to orientate said hammer member in a direction perpendicular to the face of said type member.
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| US5987279A | 1979-07-23 | 1979-07-23 | |
| US059,872 | 1979-07-23 |
Publications (1)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA1139988A true CA1139988A (en) | 1983-01-25 |
Family
ID=22025843
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA000353602A Expired CA1139988A (en) | 1979-07-23 | 1980-06-09 | Self-aligning spring actuator hammer mechanism |
Country Status (3)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| EP (1) | EP0023153A1 (en) |
| JP (1) | JPS5617279A (en) |
| CA (1) | CA1139988A (en) |
Families Citing this family (1)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US4522122A (en) * | 1983-05-03 | 1985-06-11 | Ncr Canada Ltd - Ncr Canada Ltee | Fast impact hammer for high speed printer |
Family Cites Families (3)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US3504623A (en) * | 1968-04-03 | 1970-04-07 | Itt | Hammer arrangement for high-speed printers |
| US3749008A (en) * | 1971-02-04 | 1973-07-31 | Ibm | Print hammer assembly |
| DE2629592C2 (en) * | 1976-07-01 | 1986-04-17 | Ibm Deutschland Gmbh, 7000 Stuttgart | Print hammer for type printers |
-
1980
- 1980-06-09 CA CA000353602A patent/CA1139988A/en not_active Expired
- 1980-06-25 JP JP8528480A patent/JPS5617279A/en active Pending
- 1980-07-21 EP EP80302468A patent/EP0023153A1/en not_active Ceased
Also Published As
| Publication number | Publication date |
|---|---|
| EP0023153A1 (en) | 1981-01-28 |
| JPS5617279A (en) | 1981-02-19 |
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Legal Events
| Date | Code | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| MKEX | Expiry |