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:
Apr. 06, 2004
Filed:
Jun. 08, 2001
Craig Jack Cornelius, Woodinville, WA (US);
John Wayne Whiting, Kent, WA (US);
Charles Gordon Whitaker, Mercer Island, WA (US);
Tally Printer Corporation, Kent, WA (US);
Abstract
A low rotational inertia shuttle system ( ) for a dot matrix line printer ( ) is disclosed. The low rotational inertia shuttle system ( ) includes an elongate support structure ( ), a carriage ( ) and a counterbalance ( ). The carriage and the counterbalance are reciprocally mounted on the support structure. The low rotational inertia shuttle system also includes a reciprocating assembly ( ) disposed on the support structure for reciprocating the carriage and the counterbalance. The reciprocating assembly has an inertia that is purposely minimized with respect to the mass of the carriage and the counterbalance, such that the printer operates at a substantially constant level of kinetic energy to produce a substantially linear velocity profile for the carriage. The low rotational inertia shuttle system further includes a rotational mechanism ( ) that is coupled to the reciprocating assembly for controlling energy applied to the reciprocating assembly in a way that maximizes the linearity of the carriage velocity profile.