Method for activating and for driving printing elements

US5374943A · kind A · utility

Assignee

• Mannesmann AG · DE

Inventors

• Manfred Lehmann · Cologne, DE
• Stefan Scherdel · Hersbruck, DE

Key dates

• Filing date: Feb 4, 1992
• Grant date: Dec 20, 1994
• Expiry date: Feb 4, 2012

Classification

• Technology area (CPC G): Physics
• CPC primary: G06K2215/0074
• WIPO field: Textile and paper machines
• WIPO sector: Mechanical engineering

Abstract

A method for driving printing elements of a dot matrix printer provides that the matrix dots to be printed are to be thinned out without any thin lines, in particular steeply inclined thin lines, being lost. To this end, the columns of the matrix are considered to be arranged next to each other in pairs, and before the matrix dots in each line (Z) of the matrix are thinned out, a matrix dot is placed before or after a matrix dot used initially to create the character, so that both matrix dots belonging to a pair of columns (SP1, SP5) are covered by a line (Z). During the subsequent thinning out, the lines are printed sufficiently well and clearly. The process is intended for use in dot matrix printers.