International Business Machines Corporation

Raymond A Schultz

Kevin Michael Reinberg

Barry R Cavill

Charles David Malkemes

A control system for a printer having a print head bidirectionally movable at speeds selected from either a first group of speeds or a second group of speeds which employs a microcomputer to generate a digital signal representing the percentage of time a preselected voltage level should be applied to drive the motor which controls the print head speed. The motor includes an integral dual channel incremental optical encoder which generates a pulse each time an emitter is detected, the pulse being directed back to the microcomputer as measured speed information. The microcomputer compares the measured speed information with the desired speed information during predetermined time intervals and if they differ changes the value of the digital signal by an equal amount for each time interval until the desired speed is obtained or until a different print head speed is desired. A different method is used to determine both the measured speed information and the desired speed information depending on whether the desired speed falls within the first or second group of speeds.

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Manassas, VA, United States of America

Raymond A Schultz