SECTION 4 - TECHNICAL INFORMATION
4-12
SmartDate 5 08/08
4.3.5 Ribbon Drive System
The ribbon drive system is responsible for control of the ribbon tension, ribbon
movement and ribbon operating speed.
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1. Ribbon Stepper Motor Drive Dogs
The ribbon drive is a direct drive system and does not require the use of a clutch.
This is achieved by the use of two stepper motors.
The stepper motors are connected to the ribbon supply and waste take up spools
via dog clutches.
This gives the printer the ability to drive the ribbon accurately in both directions.
The drive system requires no setting up and therefore alleviates the possibility of
incorrect torque being used.
The ribbon is routed around a movement roller which then supplies data to a
microprocessor in the printer via a hall effect sensor.
The SmartDate 5 firmware uses an algorithm to calculate the amount of tension
required for the ribbon and adjusts the stepper motors accordingly.
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