The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
May. 06, 1986
Filed:
Aug. 27, 1984
Shepard D Johnson, Charlotte, NC (US);
Andrew French, Melbourne, FL (US);
Allan E Ellis, Spartanburg, SC (US);
Dennis R Hedrick, High Point, NC (US);
Charles D Helfenberger, Concord, NC (US);
International Business Machines Corp., Armonk, NY (US);
Abstract
A printer includes a print mechanism defining a print region and a removable ink ribbon cartridge. The cartridge includes a body and two arms which are spaced apart and pivotally attached to the body with an ink ribbon across the gap between the ends of the arms in the print region. The printer includes an arm moving mechanism for moving the arms about their pivots on the body of the cartridge so that the portion of the ribbon in the print region can be moved laterally. One of the arms is formed with a first indicator which cooperates with a sensing system on the printer to indicate the lateral position of the ribbon in the print region. The sensing system can also determine whether the cartridge is installed correctly in the printer. A second indicator is located on the arm and the sensing system can detect the position of this second indicator to indicate the type of ribbon in the cartridge.