International Business Machines Corporation

Richard A Ide

Gerald R Westcott

James E Carrington

Robert D Bloom

John D Wilcox

Patrick J Traglia

A printer control system uses two microprocessors and a print control for operating a plurality of print hammers in synchronism with a revolving type carrier. One microprocessor is a mechanical control processor, the print hammers are operated by a self timed print control system and the other microprocessor is a print control processor that communicates with a host system for receiving print and control data used by the print control and the mechanical control processor for operating the printer. The mechanical control processor monitors a speed selection device such as an operator panel with speed control keys and operates controls for operating drive means for moving the type carrier at selected speeds. The print control processor supplies speed control data from a diskette to the mechanical control processor for control the type carrier speed.

Band printer control system architecture

Method and apparatus for supplying to marking means, character bit data from a two-dimensional matrix of rows and columns of storage elements wherein character selection is made by specifying the character storage cell and character width. Characters are symmetrically stored about the vertical axis of a preassigned matrix having an even number of columns and the binary width data are translated as starting and stopping addresses on opposite sides of the axis for readout of columns therebetween. The center storage of the character with clear margins enables the raw binary width data to be used as one edge address and its complement to be used as the other address in determining the width of the character to be retrieved and printed. Proportional spacing and justification are simply achieved by varying the width data as required.

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Little Meadows, PA, United States of America

Richard A Ide