Print Head Carrying Mechanism - Star Micronics LC-4511 Technical Manual

4-2. Print Head Carrying Mechanism

The print head carrying mechanism consists of a carriage, timing belt, carriage motor, and home position detector.
Carriage
The carriage is supported horizontally by the carriage stay and rear angle. The carriage moves from side to side with
the print head mounted above it. A timing belt is clamped to the base of the carriage and a shield plate is mounted
at the base for home position detection.
Timing Belt
The timing belt is suspended between the timing pulley of the carriage motor and the timing pulley of the tension
lever. The timing belt maintains a constant tension.
The timing belt is also clamped to the base of the carriage so that it can move the carriage accurately with driving
force from the carriage motor.
Carriage Motor
The carriage motor is a PM (permanent magnet) 4-phase, 48-pole pulse motor driven by pulse signals from the
control circuit. The rotational rate depends on the number of pulses per unit time. By varying this rotational rate
(carriage carrying rate), the size of the horizontal letters can be changed in each print mode.
Fig. 2-5 Print Head Carrying Mechanism
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THEORY OF OPERATION