US2874633A - Printer format control system - Google Patents

Printer format control system Download PDF

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US2874633A
US2874633A US638407A US63840757A US2874633A US 2874633 A US2874633 A US 2874633A US 638407 A US638407 A US 638407A US 63840757 A US63840757 A US 63840757A US 2874633 A US2874633 A US 2874633A
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gate
output
data
symbol
item
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Goldberg Jacob
Cox Bonnar
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General Electric Co
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General Electric Co
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Priority to BE564475D priority Critical patent/BE564475A/xx
Priority to NL224647D priority patent/NL224647A/xx
Priority to US25263D priority patent/USRE25263E/en
Application filed by General Electric Co filed Critical General Electric Co
Priority to US638407A priority patent/US2874633A/en
Priority to FR1198704D priority patent/FR1198704A/fr
Priority to GB3602/58A priority patent/GB849026A/en
Priority to CH5546358A priority patent/CH370262A/de
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    • G—PHYSICS
    • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06K—GRAPHICAL DATA READING; PRESENTATION OF DATA; RECORD CARRIERS; HANDLING RECORD CARRIERS
    • G06K15/00—Arrangements for producing a permanent visual presentation of the output data, e.g. computer output printers
    • G06K15/02—Arrangements for producing a permanent visual presentation of the output data, e.g. computer output printers using printers
    • G06K15/06—Arrangements for producing a permanent visual presentation of the output data, e.g. computer output printers using printers by type-wheel printers

Definitions

  • This invention relates to'output printer control apparatus employed in information-handling lmachines and, more particularly, to an improvement'in 'the formatl control of such outputprinters.
  • Output printers Vare employed with informationQhan'- dling machines for the purposer of ,printing output of the results produced by the machine after it has operated upon the data which was put intotit. Outputprinters are also used to obtain status reports where a machine is used for inventory control or, in some instances, for bookkeeping activities. Where large amounts of data are printed out, high-speed output printers are employed. One of the high-speed printers commonlyused is the type which'employs the rotatingcylinder, or drum, having columns of type on its periphery.v At aprintinglposition, ⁇ an'inked. ribbonV is passed adjacent' the printing cylinder and paper ispas'sed adjacent. the' inked'. ribbon.
  • the storage registers required for 'the operation of the system must have a capacity for all the data required for each .line to beA printed.
  • The-usual mode for operating the solenoid-actuated hammersl is to have a ⁇ thyratron connected to the hammers so that when, as the result of a comparison,v an identity is established, the thyratron is red.
  • an 80-character register and 80 thyratrons are required.
  • vin the normal course of business activity a
  • the data 4which is sought to .be printed .out on the high-speed printer is usually contained. within the information-handling .machine in .a .coded formf .on .some storage device.
  • This storage device .may take ⁇ the form of magnetic tape or perforated paper tape. It may also include magnetic cores and Vmagnetic drums.
  • the present practice for presenting this coded data for the purpose of being printed out is to enter it into storage registers, a line ofitemsof data at a time. Means are provided for comparing all the characters within the data items stored in the register with the information derived from the type drum as :tofthe character appearing in the column of type Aatv theprinting position.
  • printer is usually required to lprint theinformation' in some type of format employed in a business. These can be the book-keeping typeof format with debits and credits printed out side by side, or the banking type ⁇ of format where credits, dbits, anda current balance are printed within previously designated spaces. These types of output data are in formatswhich are not ⁇ characters wide. It would appear, therefore, that it-is1asimplematter to merely reduce-the size of the register andl thenumber ⁇ of outputcontrolled thyratrons to the number re ⁇ quired for handling the particular forms.
  • An object 'of the ⁇ present-invention iis' theeprovision of a.
  • each character man alpha-numeric code may consist of several binary digits, known hereafter as bits, which are adjacent paralleltracks on the tape.
  • a further object of thepresent invention is' to provide a format control circuit which enables the rearrangement of items to be properly readable.
  • These 'and-other yobjects of the invention are achieved by'providing a formatcontrol system which is .operated respon'sveto symbols'whi'ch are employed with Iitems to identify ⁇ the ⁇ die'rent kinds of items.
  • a formatcontrol system which is .operated respon'sveto symbols'whi'ch are employed with Iitems to identify ⁇ the ⁇ die'rent kinds of items.
  • Arplurality of storage registers are employed, each of'whichis assigned items which are tobe printed at rfa 'different' location'along th'e'line.
  • The-recognition ofv an itemby its symbol enables the routing ofnithat item to a particular storage register, so thatthe'item maybe printed at that portion of a line which has been assigned to items of that type within the form to be printed.
  • a plurality of means are provided for energizing the solenoids of the print hammers. These means may be the thyratron tubes. There are fewer of these, however, than therev are hammers. Each register has a group of these thyratrons associated therewith. There is also provided a means for selectively coupling each of the thyratrons to a different one of the print hammer solenoids responsive to the identifying symbol of an item entered into the register with which such group is associated. This means may be, for example, a selectively actuated crossbar switch which enables the rearrangement of the contents of a register for printing out at a predetermined portion along the line.
  • counting means which counts the number of items of each different type which are entered into the registers. In accordance with predetermined form requirements, when the count reaches a predetermined number, the printer is actuated to print out the contents of the register and no new data is entered until such time as the printer has completed its operation.
  • Figure 1 illustrates a typical layout on a memory, such as magnetic tape, of data desired to be printed out on an output printer
  • Figure 2 illustrates a typical form to be printed out from the data illustrated in Figure 1;
  • FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an embodiment of the invention.
  • Figure 4 is a block diagram of a symbol recognition circuit suitable for use in the embodiment of the invention.
  • Figure 5 is a block diagram of a typical data-routing circuit suitable for use in the embodiment of the invention.
  • Figure 6 is a block diagram of an arrangement of format control relays suitable for use in the embodiment of the invention.
  • Figure 7 is a schematic diagram of a crossbar relay showing its utilization in coupling thyratrons to hammers to achieve format control in accordance with this invention.
  • the informationhandling machine is of a type which has, for example, as the internal memory, a magnetic tape recording arrangement. On that tape is recorded the name of each depositor, the transactions for that depositors account, and other associatedinformation.
  • the.output printer is actuated, as well as the sourceY ofdata, namely, the magnetic tape, so that the output printed material will contain the name of the depositor, the transactions occurring in his account, consisting of debits and credits,v and also an .item count, which is merely a-total of all the debits and credits which have occurred.
  • vThis information c an serve as the basis for a service charge by the bank.l
  • Figure 1 shows the manner in which the information is recorded on tape. Obviously, the information is recorded in a coded form and is not written, as shown in Figure l. However, in-
  • tape sections 10A and 10B shown in Figure l illustrate the arrangement which the coded information would take.
  • the tape section 10A for any given depositor, will contain the following information.
  • a code symbol here represented by a lambda, followed by the first name of the depositor.
  • a second code symbol lambda indicative of a name item, followed by the second name. If a third name were present, then the lambda would precede that third name.
  • the name John Doe as shown in the tape section 10B, requires two lambda symbols. After the area of the tape reserved for the name, the transactions involved follow.
  • John Doe has had two debit items, indicative of the fact that two withdrawals were made, and two credit items, indicative of the fact that two de posits were made.
  • the first debit is 326, the second -874; the first credit is +523, the second is +049.
  • the characters are read in time sequence from left to right on the illustration. Dollar values are recorded with leastsignificant digit first, in order to simplify arithmetic operations. Thus, the amounts being handled are $6.23; $4.78; $3.25; and $9.40.
  • one of the advantages of the format control system which embodies this invention, is that there is no need for the carrying within the information-handling machine of the decimal point. This will be supplied by the format control.A At theend of the space allotted for transactions, there will exist a location known as the item-count location.
  • the item-count location will have a symbol 1, followed by an item number which is the total number of transactions which have occurred.
  • the rst rule is that there shall not be any more than three words or items per line; there may be less.
  • a second requirement on the form is that there shall not be more than one credit item per line.
  • a third rule is that there may be one or two debits maximum per line.
  • a fourth rule is that there shall only be one item count ou a line.
  • Another requirement is that there shall be three name words per line wherever possible and a last requirement is that no items shall appear on the same line as a name word.
  • D D C debits andY one credit.
  • the decimalpoints and the spaces, between thedebits and credits are provided by the format control apparatus, in accordance with thisinvention.
  • the arrangement shown in Figure 2 may be extended to include other information, such as balance remaining Vat the end of the activity, any special charges to be included as debits, and possibly the account number or the address for the particular depositor in addition to his name.
  • FIG 3 is. a block diagram of an ⁇ embodiment of the invention.
  • a source of data 20 provides as its output coded signals representative of the information to beiv printed out. i
  • This source of data may be the magnetic vtape of the type shown in Figure 1.
  • a requirement for the data in accordance with this invention is that there be included a means of recognizing the types ofritems of data which are to be printed out.
  • Onerecognition arrangement in accordance With this explanation and as shown in Figure l, is a symbol which precedes the particular item. In accordance with the illustration used herein the symbol consists of a lambda, the minus or plus sign, and an I.
  • the means of recognition can also be the length of the item words or Vits physical Vlocation relative to -other items on thetape or within the memory used to retain the rsource of data.
  • Vdata-routing*circuit is applied to a "plurality of And gates 30, 32, 34. Only one of these nd 'formation which is tofbeprinted at the beginning jof ia line, register 42 lis assigned information fwhich is jtoV be printed in the middle of a line, and register 44y is )assigned information which is to ⁇ be printed at -the end of a line.
  • the function of the Vdata-routing circuit is to enterthe data into the particular register to assure print-outof that data at the location in accordance with format -requirements. It Vshould be further noted, however, that the location of the printingof the data in the registers may be made subject topany desired ifurther modifications by the format matrix 23.
  • a rectangle labeled output .printer 46 represents the rotatingcylinder, or drurnwhich has thertype columns on its periphery. lAta printingnposition, printing occurs.
  • the output printer also hashammers which areV separately ⁇ actuated by solenoids when-it is desiredgto printa particular character.
  • AThe 'colurnn of type at the print location is identified by means of informations-proyided from ⁇ either markings ⁇ on thetype drum periphery or an osmose
  • a rectangle identified as the printing-wheel -data 48'V represents any of the Well-known arrangements forA ide'ntifying the type at the printing position to enable print out.
  • the registers 4t), 42, 44 are known as circulating registers, and they circulate their contents once for each type character while the output printer drum goes through a complete revolution. 'Ihe paper on which the printL ing occurs only advances the distance for a single line' after the output printer has made its first revolution. Since the registers are only loaded with information to venable the print-out of a single line, it will be seen that by circulating their contents once for each typelcharacter at the printing position, a single line of information is printed out. y
  • the circulating registers have their contentscompared with the printing wheel data by means of a comparator 5b.: When, as a result of a comparison, it is established that characters in the register are the same as ⁇ the one present atV the print-'out position, thenv one or more thyratrons 52, 54, 56 are tired. Each tired thyratron, inturn, pulls currentr through the solenoid in the corresponding position in the output printer and a'ctuates the hammer, whereby the printing of a character is 'made initsproper position.
  • the number of thyratrons and register capacity should only equal the maximum num'- ber of items to ⁇ be ,printed on 'a line within a particular' form., Thus, in an "embodiment Vof the invention which was builtfor banking practices, only 36 thyratrons were required, and the register capacity was that fo'r 36 characters.
  • the 'format-switching matrix performed the function of switching the thyratrons to c'onnec'tfthem to whichever ones' vof the Voutput printer solenoids were required 'inthe particu-lar Vformat which was to he 'emi ployed.- It is therefore evident Ahow the apparatus may be employedto provide considerable ilexibili-t'y finv the :format of the information printed out. It may also :be seen that the amount of apparatus actually required :is 'considerably reduced ⁇ from that Ausually Vemployed 1in these systems.
  • the symbol senser 22 is also called a code-'recognition circuit. Itis Well known inthe artand ⁇ is sh'own, 4for example, in Patent lNo. :2,648,829 to ⁇ Ayres 'and -Smi'th. 'To complete Vthis explanation, Figure 4 .is a block da gram of vacOde-recOgnition circuit suitable ⁇ for utilization in theeinbddirnent ofthe invention. Assuming 'arrcod'e having'ffour binary digits, orffour bits, the symbol lambda may be represented by 1100. The symbol -l-.may b'e represented by 1010. Thesymbol minus 'maybe represented by 0011, and the symbol- I by 01110.
  • the symbol lambda is characterized by the sequence 1100.
  • the symbol plus is characterized by the sequence 1010.
  • the symbol minus is characterized by the sequence 0011.
  • the symbol I is characterized by the sequence 0110.
  • And gate 80 accordingly, requires, in order to produce an output, that a one be present in the two highest-order digit positions, or that flip-flops 70 and 72 be set and that zero be present in the two lowest-order digit positions, or that flip-flops 74 and 76 be reset.
  • And gate 82 requires that a one be present in the second and third digit positions and a zero be present in the first and third positions, or that flip-flops 72 and 74 are set and 70 and 76 be reset, and then it will produce an output.
  • And gate 84 requires an input from the set states of flip-flops 70 and 74 and the reset states of 72 and 76 before it produces an output indicative of the presence of a plus symbol.
  • gate 86 requires the flip-flops 74 and 76 to be in their set conditions and flip-flops 70 and 72 to be in their reset conditions, whereupon it provides an output indicative of a minus symbol.
  • FIG. 1 is a block diagram of the data-routing circuits.
  • An Or gate 100 receives the output from all of the And gates 80 through 86 shown in Figure 4.
  • the output of the Or gate is applied to an And gate 102.
  • This And gate requires as its second input before it can advance a following ring counter 104 from its zero, lor standby state, the one or set output from a load flip-flop 106.
  • This load flip-flop 106 is set by the application of a master start pulse which initiates the operation of the system. This pulse may be manually or automatically produced from the information-handling machine.
  • the master-start pulse is applied t-o an 0r gate 108.
  • This Or gate also receives as its alternative input a pulse from the output printer indicative of the fact that a whole line has been printed and, therefore, a print cycle is ended.
  • the output of the Or gate 108 is applied to an And gate 110.
  • a second enabling input to the And gate 110 is a clock pulse from a clock-pulse source, not shown.
  • the clock-'pulse ⁇ source is the Ywellknown source of synchronizing pulses which are used in present-day information-handling machines to synchronize the operation of the system.
  • the output of the load flip-flop 106 is applied to enable the And gate 102, and also, as signified by the label external load command, to. signal to the apparatus in the information-handling machines, which in Figure 3 is represented as source of data 20, that the output printer is now ready to receive data.
  • And gate 102 is in condition to advance the counter 104 to itsrst count from zero count each time a symbol output is received from the symbol senser as well as word digit pulses.
  • the counter advances a count for each digit in an itemread from the tape.
  • the counter need only count four.
  • counter 104 is a digit counter and goes through a complete cycle of counts for each word that is read. Its last, or fourth, count signifies the end of a word. It should 'be appreciated that the number of counter stages may be varied, as required.
  • a preferred type of ring counter is described and shown in an application for a Gated-Delay C-ounter, by James E. Heywood, Serial No. 400,645, filed December 28, 1953, and assigned to a common assignee. In any event, the output of each stage of the counter, aside from the zero or standby stage, is applied to an Or gate 112. The output of this Or gate 112 is applied as an enabling input to an And gate 114.
  • the output of And gate 114 represents the data being supplied from the data source. Accordingly, the second input to the And gate 114 is data from the source 20. The output of And gate 114 is fed to three And gates 30, 32, 34, which will be recognized as the And gates shown in Figure 3, which are controlled by the output of the data-routing circuit 24.
  • the output of the And gate ( Figure 3), consisting of a signal whenever a lambda appears, is applied to an And gate 116.
  • This And gate has as its second required input the output of an inverter 120, which occurs when there is no input to the inverter.
  • inverter 120 whenever an input is received from an Or gate 118, inhibits And gate 116.
  • the input to the Or gate 118 consists of the output of any of the counting stages of the counter 121 when a count is entered in the counter.
  • Counter 121 consists of three flip-flops which, at standby, are all in their reset conditions. At this time, no output is applied to the Or gate 118.
  • the flip-flops following the first stage are set successively upon the lambda being applied to the counter stages-only a stage following a set stage 'being set by the lambda and the preceding stage being reset.
  • a counter of this type is shown in the above-noted application for a Gated-Delay Counter. The reason the counter has three counting stages is that in accordance with the rules previously set forth three name words maximum may occupy any one line. Thus, each time a lambda symbol pulse yis received, the counter 121 is advanced one count.
  • the set output from the first count stage of counter 121 is applied to an Or gate 122.
  • This Or gate provides the second required input to the And gate 30, so that the characters which follow the lambda signal will be entered into the first circulating register 40.
  • the set output of the second count stage of the counter 121 enables And gate 32 through an Or gate 124. Therefore, the characters of the second name word which follows the second lambda will be entered through the And gate 32 into the second register 42.
  • the third lambda transfers the counter to its third count condition, whereupon an Or gate 126 is enabled to apply an output to the And gate 34, whereby the data will be directed to enter the circulating register 44.
  • the counter 121 will remain in its third count condition until llip-op 106 is reset.
  • the reset output of flip flop 106 is applied to reset the counter through a clear Or gate 107.
  • the counter 104 will be counting.
  • the output of the counter 104 which occurs after the last digit of the last name word, is applied to an And gate 12S.
  • the second required input for this And gate 128 is received from the output of Or gate 126, which occurs when lambda counter 121 is in its'third counting condition.
  • And gate 128 applies its output to an Or gate 130.
  • the output of Or gate 130 is applied to an And gate 132, which, upon receiving a clock pulse from the synchronizing pulse source, resets the load flip-flop 106, thereby terminating the further entry of data at that time into the data-routing circ-uit.
  • Or gate 130 The output of Or gate 130 is applied to another And gate 134; This And gate, upon receiving a clock pulse',
  • the 'output of the Or gate 16S sets the load flip-hop, whereupon the next output from the data source may be loaded into the registers( What has just been described is the way in which name words are handled. Assume that two debits now occur.
  • the output of the And gate $6 in Figure 4, which is a debit signal, ⁇ is applied both to the counter 10,4 and to Van And' gate 140.
  • the output of the And gate 14d* receives as its second enabling input the output of an inverter n142.
  • a two-stage counter 144 which ,isV identical with the counter 121 described previously, supplies output'from each count stage when set to an Or gate 146.' The output of this Or' gate 146 is applied tothe inverter ⁇ 142.
  • This inverter will therefore inhibit And gate 140 so long as the counter is in an other-than-z'erof count condition.
  • the counter advances each time an advancing pulse is Aapplied to the various stages. This advancing pulse is provided by recognition of the minus symbol.
  • the counter is reset or cleared by an output from the load flip-flop 106 when it is reset. ⁇
  • And gate 39 Upon the iirst count of the debit counter, And gate 39 is enabled through Or gate 122, whereby the delbit data is entered through And gate 30 into theregister 40; Upon the second debit entry being identified by its symbol, the counter M4 is advanced to its second count, whereby Or gate 124 can enable And gate 32 and the second debit item is entered into the register 42.
  • the counter 144 Upon attaining its second count, the counter 144 also appliesits output to an And gate 148.
  • This And gate is enabled only if a third debit item symbol occurs. yIn accordance Vwith the rules previously mentioned, only two Ydebititems may be written on a line, and therefore upon the occurrence of a third debit item symbol And gate 14S is enabled. lts output is applied to the Or gateA 139, ,which thereupon 4proceeds to reset the load ip-flop 4and set the print flip-nop.
  • And gate 110 is again enabled and theV data can again be. entered from the source into lthe registers. If two debits are followed by a credit, ⁇ there will be no minus signdseen after the second Vstate 4of counter 144, so 4that a print ,cycle will notbe initiated until afterthe credit Vitem is read.
  • the creditritem symbol, or signal, from And gate 84' is applied'to an And gate 150.
  • Next cloclopulsethe ip-op 152 is set4 by the output of the And gate.
  • Theoutput of .Or gate 126 is also applied to And gate 128.
  • Counter 104 which counts the digits, providesAlnrd gate 128 the second required enabling pulse atthe end of the input credit item'. Note that one or twodebit items may precede the credit item on thersame line- Therefore, at the end of the credit item, the print-out cycle is; authorized by llip-op 136.
  • the second required input to And gate 162 is the output of hip-flop 106, the load flip-flop, when it is set.
  • the output of And gate 162 is applied to an Or gate 126, which, as previously described, Aenables And gate 34v so that "the incoming item data may be entered into the third register 44'.V
  • the outputofitle Or gate 126 is also applied to And gate 128, which,A as previously explaind, is enabled lupon receiving the signal'fron'the"'c ⁇ ouhte 1G13, indicative of the end ol the input item word.
  • the item is printed on a line by itself at the portion of the line which is controlled or allotted to the register 4d.
  • Or gate 113 which receives an output from the counter 121 when in any one of its counting stages other than zero, is applied to an And gate 169.
  • the second required input to this And gate is the output of an Or gate 166.
  • the input to this Or gate is either a minus or plus symbol pulse.
  • the output of Or gate 166 serve to enable And gate 164 Vto order a print-out, whereby only name Words on any line are obtained, ibut also the output of this Or gate is applied to the clear Or gate 167, which resets or clears the counter 121 to its standby condition.
  • Another And gate 168 serves the function of insuring that when an item count number' is received following the entry of ⁇ one or two debits that those debits are printed out on a line by themselves. Thereafter, the item which follows can be entered on a line by itself and not on the same line with the de bit. This is assured by applying to the And gate 16S as one required input the item symbol pulse and as the second required input output from either stage of the debit counter 144.
  • the cornparison operation of the system with the columns of type appearing under the print-out position, are achieved in well-known manner. It should be noted that when the load Hip-liep 106 is reset, the reset, or zero, output thereof is used to clear the counters 121 and 144 and through And gate 172 to reset the ip-tlops 152 uponthe occurrence of the next clock pulse. Flip-flop 160 is reset by the end input word output of counter 104 through And gate 170. Thus, the apparatus is put in condition for the next cycle of operation.
  • format control is further secured by the format matrix 28,- which is operated by the format-matrixcontro-l relays 26.
  • the format-matrirocontrol relays are shown in Figure 6.
  • the lambda pulse signal which is received from the And gate in Figure 4, is applied to an, And gate 180.
  • this And gate output will set a flip-op 182.
  • this flip-flop When this flip-flop is in its set condition, it energizes a relay 184, the coil of which is shown in Figure 6.
  • This relay serves to close contacts, not shown, which are disposed within the format matrix 28 tosecure the name format on a line. These contacts are identied'in Figure 7 by a triangular symbol A. Each such Vsymbol on Figure 7.
  • the item count symbol pulse output from And gate 82 in Figure 4 is applied to And gate 192, the output from which, upon the occurrence of the next clock pulse, sets flip-flop 194.
  • flip-op 194 energizes a relay 196. This secures the closure of contacts (not shown) in the format matrix to insure that the item count format is achieved.
  • These contacts are identified in Figure 7 by a rectangle El
  • Adjacent each one of the relay coils 184, 190, 196 are the symbols which are employed in Figure 7 to identify the contacts which are controlled by that particular relay.
  • FIG 7 there is essentially shown a matrix consisting of column busses and row busses with a pair of normally open contacts existing at each row and column bus intersection.
  • the name-format relay 184 must close the contacts at the intersections which are designated by the small triangles. There is a correspondence between the row busses and a position for each character forming the contents of each of the three registers. It will thus be seen that by pre. selecting the contacts to be closed in the matrix which connect thyratrons driven from each register and selected ones of the hammer solenoids, the printed out locations of the characters forming words or items may be rearranged. Thus, an inversion of the register contents may be obtained, as well as any required spaces between the items in accordance with the format set forth in Figure 2. A decimal point may always be called for with number items after the cents amount.
  • a format-control system for printing data from a source said data consisting of different kinds of items, each kind being identiiied by a different symbol
  • said printer having columns of type on a rotating drum peripehry, a plurality of solenoid-actuated print hammers, a printing position at which a line may be printed, and means to indicate the type on said drum at said printing position
  • said format-control system comprising a plurality of storage registers each of which is assigned items for printing at a dilerent portion of a line, means for identifying different item symbols, means for entering items of data into different ones of said registers in accordance with prearranged line position assignments responsive to the symbol identification by said means, a plurality of means for energizing the solenoids of said print hammers, and means for establishing the arrangement of an item on a printed line including means for associating different groups of said means for energizing with different ones of said registers, and means for selectively coupling each of said means for energizing to a
  • a format-control system for printing data from a source as recited in claim 2, wherein said means for entering items of data into ones of said registers in accordance with prearranged line position assignments includes a separate means for counting each different item symbol identied by said means for identifying, means responsive to the count in each said separate counting means to enable a predetermined one of said registers to receive the item the preceding symbol for which has just been counted, and means responsive to a predetermined count in said separate counting means to prevent further items from being entered into said registers until after the items already present are printed out.
  • a format-control system for printing data as recited in claim 2 wherein said means for selectively coupling each of said means for energizing to a different one of said print-hammer solenoids responsive to the identifying symbol of an item entered into a register includes a plurality of pairs of normally open relay contactsZ means for coupling one contact of a different pair of said relay contacts to a different one of said means for energizing and the other contact to a different one of said printhammer solenoids, and relay means for selectively closing predetermined ones of said pairs of relay contacts.
  • apparatus for controlling the format for printing data from a source, said data consisting of different kinds of items, each kind being identified by a different synibol, said apparatus comprising a plurality of storage registers, each of which is assigned items for printing at a different portion of a line, means for identifying different item symbols,

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  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Theoretical Computer Science (AREA)
  • Record Information Processing For Printing (AREA)
  • Accessory Devices And Overall Control Thereof (AREA)
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US638407A 1957-02-05 1957-02-05 Printer format control system Expired - Lifetime US2874633A (en)

Priority Applications (7)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
BE564475D BE564475A (US06623731-20030923-C00012.png) 1957-02-05
NL224647D NL224647A (US06623731-20030923-C00012.png) 1957-02-05
US25263D USRE25263E (en) 1957-02-05 Printer format control system
US638407A US2874633A (en) 1957-02-05 1957-02-05 Printer format control system
FR1198704D FR1198704A (fr) 1957-02-05 1958-02-03 Perfectionnements apportés aux dispositifs d'impression établis à la sortie de machines manipulant des informations
GB3602/58A GB849026A (en) 1957-02-05 1958-02-04 Improvements in printer format control system
CH5546358A CH370262A (de) 1957-02-05 1958-02-04 Gerät zum zeilenweisen Bedrucken von Formularen

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US638407A US2874633A (en) 1957-02-05 1957-02-05 Printer format control system

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US2874633A true US2874633A (en) 1959-02-24

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US25263D Expired USRE25263E (en) 1957-02-05 Printer format control system
US638407A Expired - Lifetime US2874633A (en) 1957-02-05 1957-02-05 Printer format control system

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Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
US25263D Expired USRE25263E (en) 1957-02-05 Printer format control system

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US (2) US2874633A (US06623731-20030923-C00012.png)
BE (1) BE564475A (US06623731-20030923-C00012.png)
CH (1) CH370262A (US06623731-20030923-C00012.png)
FR (1) FR1198704A (US06623731-20030923-C00012.png)
GB (1) GB849026A (US06623731-20030923-C00012.png)
NL (1) NL224647A (US06623731-20030923-C00012.png)

Cited By (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3072046A (en) * 1959-05-27 1963-01-08 Shull Stanley Arthur High-speed printer for computers
US3157867A (en) * 1958-07-18 1964-11-17 Ncr Co Tape handling apparatus
DE1234429B (de) * 1960-02-12 1967-02-16 Gen Electric Schnelldrucker
US3322063A (en) * 1964-05-14 1967-05-30 Fujitsu Ltd Line printer control circuit
US4036034A (en) * 1969-07-07 1977-07-19 Agency Of Industrial Science & Technology Electronic method and apparatus for pattern formation in circular knitting machine

Citations (6)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US2638542A (en) * 1952-01-31 1953-05-12 Monroe Calculating Machine Shift register
US2692551A (en) * 1950-05-26 1954-10-26 John T Potter High-speed rotary printer
US2762297A (en) * 1952-07-30 1956-09-11 Rca Corp High speed recorder
US2776618A (en) * 1953-06-11 1957-01-08 Hughes Aircraft Co Printing cylinders for high-speed printing systems
US2800073A (en) * 1954-12-17 1957-07-23 Hughes Aircraft Co High speed paper advance system
US2811102A (en) * 1951-06-07 1957-10-29 Sperry Rand Corp Random printing means

Patent Citations (6)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US2692551A (en) * 1950-05-26 1954-10-26 John T Potter High-speed rotary printer
US2811102A (en) * 1951-06-07 1957-10-29 Sperry Rand Corp Random printing means
US2638542A (en) * 1952-01-31 1953-05-12 Monroe Calculating Machine Shift register
US2762297A (en) * 1952-07-30 1956-09-11 Rca Corp High speed recorder
US2776618A (en) * 1953-06-11 1957-01-08 Hughes Aircraft Co Printing cylinders for high-speed printing systems
US2800073A (en) * 1954-12-17 1957-07-23 Hughes Aircraft Co High speed paper advance system

Cited By (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3157867A (en) * 1958-07-18 1964-11-17 Ncr Co Tape handling apparatus
US3072046A (en) * 1959-05-27 1963-01-08 Shull Stanley Arthur High-speed printer for computers
DE1234429B (de) * 1960-02-12 1967-02-16 Gen Electric Schnelldrucker
US3322063A (en) * 1964-05-14 1967-05-30 Fujitsu Ltd Line printer control circuit
US4036034A (en) * 1969-07-07 1977-07-19 Agency Of Industrial Science & Technology Electronic method and apparatus for pattern formation in circular knitting machine

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
USRE25263E (en) 1962-10-16
CH370262A (de) 1963-06-30
FR1198704A (fr) 1959-12-09
GB849026A (en) 1960-09-21
BE564475A (US06623731-20030923-C00012.png)
NL224647A (US06623731-20030923-C00012.png)

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