Yuen Yee Wong

US Patent:

49301012, May 29, 1990

Filed:

May 9, 1986

Appl. No.:

6/861527

Inventors:

Yuen W. Wong - Glendale CA
Doina Mazilu - Woodland Hills CA
Paul O. Amdahl - Granada Hills CA

Assignee:

Dataproducts Corporation - Woodland Hills CA

International Classification:

G06F 900

US Classification:

364900

Abstract:

In a line printer, an integrated meter package developing a clock incorporates a microprocessor receiving a line printed signal, power on voltage, and a preset ribbon exhaust count in order to compute in reference to the clock, and selectively display on an alphanumeric display panel, the total the lines printed, total on hours, total print hours, preset ribbon exhaust count, and number of print lines remaining until exhaustion of the ribbon. The microprocessor stores accumulated values to a non-volatile electrically programmable memory upon receipt of a power going down signal warning of incipient power off. The microprogrammed control is adaptable to maintain general maintenance and fault histories and periods.

US Patent:

47962020, Jan 3, 1989

Filed:

May 2, 1986

Appl. No.:

6/859064

Inventors:

Werner Loewenthal - North Hollywood CA
Patrick N. Leung - Canoga Park CA
Yuen W. Wong - Glendale CA

Assignee:

Dataproducts Corporation - Woodland Hills CA

International Classification:

G06F 312

US Classification:

364519

Abstract:

Four microprocessors type Intel 8051 collectively map one print buffer containing 136 ASCII character codes, each of a nominal 64 different types, into the control of 136 print hammers at an associated 136 columnar print positions. The print hammers are controlled to fire upon a selected one scan time interval of 690 microseconds, one of a total of 67 such scan time intervals within a 46. 7 millisecond print time period. Print hammers are controlled to fire at a particular scan time interval in order to print a character from a then oppositely juxtaposed character font upon a circulating print band. The mapping being too time consuming to be done entirely within the print time period and within each of the scan time intervals, the microprocessors instead assign, during a 20 millisecond paper feed period prior to the print time period, a scan time value to each character code, which value corresponds to that one future scan time interval at which the print band character font corresponding to each character code will appear at that print position wherein the character corresponding to the character code is to be printed. Later, during each successive scan time interval, all stored scan time values are compared to the current scan time interval number. Print hammers at all print positions comparing equal are fired, printing after all scan time intervals a complete print line.