Belt printing mechanism having improved catch mechanism for detenting

Abstract

This invention relates to a belt printing mechanism with parallel mounted endless type belts which carry on their exterior surface print types. These type belts extend around an adjustment wheel and a plurality of star wheels where the star wheels are rotatable about a shaft where each star wheel has four corners. A catch mechanism is held under tension against the star wheels and holds these in predetermined detent positions to prevent free rotation of the star wheels. When printing multi-character symbols, the selected print types of adjacent type belts must be brought into predetermined printing positions. In order to assure a clean print copy, care must be taken that the print types rest in the exact same line height. In order to accomplish this, the catch mechanism for each star wheel is provided with a spring tongue which touches at least two separated points of the perimeter of its associated star wheel between two adjacent corners thereof. The plane of each spring tongue with respect to the plane in which its associated star wheel rotates is an acute angle. When the type belts are adjusted, the catch mechanism generates pressures which are clearly recognizable by the operator and which simplify the procedure of bringing the print types into their predetermined printing positions.