Toy Typewriter with Ink-Jet Print Head.
The requirement was to produce a fully functional toy typewriter using an ink-jet
print head rather than the conventional hammers. It was based on a single chip
microcomputer with the minimum of other electronic components; as low cost was
of paramount importance.
Quercus Computer Systems was responsible for developing the software. As well
as the standard black on white text, features included wide text, bold text,
inverted print (white on black) and auto-repeat. A novel feature not found in the
office typewriter was a facility for automatically producing coded messages to a
friend, who would first type your mutually agreed keywords, then retype your
coded message on their typewriter (the same make of course) and produce the
decoded message.
Hidden wire links allowed the character set for a variety of languages to be
selected.