International Business Machines Corporation

Charles J Weber

William W Boynton

Ludwig R Siegl

Lee T Zimmerman

Gregory N Baker

Delbert C Thomas, Jr

Abelardo D Blanco

Willard B Greene

A printer subsystem is interconnected with a host system from which it receives command and data information and to which it provides status information. The printer subsystem has two microprocessors, one of which communicates with the host system for transfer of command, data, and status signals and the other of which directly controls the printer unit in the subsystem especially with respect to the print assembly, forms feed assembly, ribbon drive assembly, and print wire actuators.

Printer subsystem with dual cooperating microprocessors

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.

Partial line turnaround for printers

A printer has print wires arranged in a plurality of print head groups, each group comprising a predetermined number of print wires, the individual print wire groups being arranged according to a slanted serrated wire pattern. A print head image generator is provided and is operable under control of a microprocessor to convert conventional character wire images from a data source such as a host system to the slanted wire images required for printing by the printer.

Print head image generator for printer subsystem

Growing community of inventors

Boca Raton, FL, United States of America

Charles J Weber