Importance

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Abstract

An electronic stencil cutter having a rotatable drum with an original subject sheet and a stencil sheet mounted side by side thereon. Scanning and stencil cutting heads are mounted on a common carriage for simultaneous movement along the original and stencil sheets. The original subject sheet is retained in a holder consisting of a flexible, transparent sheet wrapped about the drum, one end of the retainer sheet being held releasably against the drum by a pressure-sensitive adhesive strip. The ends of the stencil sheet are held by an elongated clamp bar in a slot in the drum, the clamp bar being urged outwardly by springs and manually releasable by latch members at the ends of the bar. The stencil cutting head has a plastic stylus which is deflectible by a solenoid to press a wire electrode against the stencil sheet while cutting the stencil. The solenoid has a soft, felt-like nose which engages the stylus to dampen vibration of the electrode. The carriage is moved along the drum during the stencil cutting operation by one of a plurality of different speed drive motors as selected for the scanning speed required. Overrunning clutches associated with the non-selected motors free wheel so they do not back drag. A manually operable handle enables the carriage to be moved by hand, automatically overriding the motor drive connections. Movement of the cutting head along the drum is adjustable relative to movement of the scanning head to reproportion the image on the stencil sheet relative to that on the original subject sheet.

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First Claim