Battery operated electronic alphanumeric permanent recording instrument,

Abstract

A strip of recording paper on which a metallization is formed on a paper substrate, which metallization is burned off under the influence of an electrical discharge is passed beneath a recording head. In one embodiment, the recording head is moved transversely across the recording paper, while in engagement with a group of contact tracks which are, selectively, energized in accordance with the desired alphanumeric output. The recording head is formed with point contact electrodes and line-contact electrodes. The alphanumeric output is displayed on the instrument in segmental form and when a segment is to be printed in the direction transverse to the relative direction of movement of the head and the paper, the line-contact electrode is momentarily energized to cause printing of a line; if a segment is to be printed which extends in the direction of relative movement of the head and the paper, a point contact segment is energized for a distance corresponding to the distance of the segment to be formed. The recording head may be moved with respect to the paper, the paper being held stationary during recording, for example transversely across the recording paper, and then returned to a starting position; or, the recording head may be formed as a group of two point contact electrodes and one line-contact electrode between the point contact electrodes, one such group for each digit to be recorded, with the paper fed for example over a platen and moved with respect to the stationary recording elements, feed of the paper beneath energized point contact electrodes causing segmental lines in the direction of feed, and momentary energization of the line-contact electrode causing a transverse line connecting the two lateral lines formed by the point contact electrode to thereby generate alphanumeric characters in a 7-segment code.