GB1260570A - Improvements in or relating to recorders for recording numerous inputs of data - Google Patents

Abstract

1,260,570. Recording-apparatus. NEW ZEALAND INVENTIONS DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY. Sept. 9, 1969 Jsept. 10, 1968], No. 44408/69. Heading GlJ. [Also in Division B6] A multi-channel recorder comprises means (43, 23-30) for moving a strip 25 of electrosensitive material lengthwise over a frame I, means (15, 6, 7, 9, 4) for moving a plurality of styli 16 transversely relative to the strip 25 and means for applying pulses to the strip 25 through the styli 16, the arrangement being such that the dots produced on the strip by pulses applied through any one stylus all lie in the same longitudinal band and the two-dimensional movement of the styli 16 relative to the strip 25 allows dots to be produced in an association resulting in a coherent record across the width and along the length of the strip representing indicia or measurements. The styli 16 are mounted on a carriage 4 which is slidable on guide rods 3 and movable by means of a connecting rod 7 (reduced at 8 to allow flexing) and adjustable crank pin 6 operated by a stepping motor 15, the amplitude of oscillation being less than or equal to the styli separation and the frequency being 2 to 10 Hz. A source of pulses is provided for the motor 15 and for another stepping motor driving the strip 25, frequency divider circuits allowing the selection of a wide range of speeds e. g. 1 to 200 inches per hour, Figs. 4, 7 (not shown). A printed circuit, Figs. 2 and 9 (not shown) is provided for each stylus and includes two inputs: a control lead (60) from the source of information to be recorded and a supply lead (61) from a suitable power supply (150v.) through a supply regulator (59) Fig. 8 (not shown) (set between 60 and 150v.) controlled by an ON/OFF input from a photoelectrically actuated coder 31 driven in synchronism with the oscillation of the styli and coded to compensate for their sinusoidal motion. The control lead controls a first transistor which switches a further transistor whose output is connected to the stylus through which a pulse passes to the electrosensitive strip 25 of from a half to one millisec duration and whose frequency and amplitude can be varied to change the dot density or intensity or the magnitude of the dots. The recorder may present information as a variable intensity display, an X-Y display or an alpha-numeric display and applications include an intensity-time record of body temperature sensed by an array of a hundred infra red sensors and it could be used for scanning the intensity of radio activity e. g. in radio active paper chromatography. It may be used to display in 15 minutes a magnetic record made in 8 hours; it may display bearing or range time information from digital sonar devices and it has geophysical applications on account of the very slow speeds available.