EP0064963B1

EP0064963B1 - Cancellor

Info

Publication number: EP0064963B1
Application number: EP19820850100
Authority: EP
Inventors: Gill Söderström; Walter Derwén
Original assignee: Almex AB
Current assignee: Almex AB
Priority date: 1981-05-05
Filing date: 1982-05-05
Publication date: 1986-10-01
Also published as: ES8304335A1; DE3273518D1; ES511940A0; EP0064963A1; SE8102805L

Description

The present invention relates to a cancellor for tickets or the like, comprising a number of wheels being rotatably mounted on a common shaft and individually settable in locked positions each corresponding to a position of types disposed on the wheels for the printing of characters on a ticket or the like.
So called cancellors for the printing of characters, numerals and/or letters on a ticket or the like have previously been totally mechanical, and the setting of the mutual positions of the characters has been achieved mechanically. However, it has become desirable to let a micro processor take over the setting operation in such a device. Then, the determination of the positions of the type wheels in the cancellor must be simplified. Such a positional determination will of course primarily relate to the determination of the mutual position of the various type wheels when starting the device. Since the type wheels are relatively small, having a diameter of approximately 5 cm, there is no room for disposing a position sensing means for each wheel, but such a sensing means must permit the sensing of the mutual positions of all the wheels. Therefore, only one wheel may be displaced at a time when setting the type wheels to enable the positional determination.
US-A-3 015 265 describes a print wheel device comprising a number of wheels rotatably mounted on a common shaft and individually settable in locked positions each corresponding to a position of types disposed on the wheels for the printing of characters, each wheel has a zero position defined by a slot which is detected by a magnetic head and in the zero position light may pass from lamp to a photosensitive element through an aperture. When setting of one of the printing wheels in the desired position the wheel is rotated until it is in the zero or start position being uniquely defined. Thereafter the wheel is rotated into the desired position.
US-A-3 399 297 describes a device having the printing wheels formed from a material which permit light to pass therethrough. By dividing the disc into sectors, one sector for each printing character on the periphery of the type wheel, and by having all but one of the sectors divided into one or more ring sectors which are opaque and radially aligned with one or more of the light sources, light will fall upon the photocell to cause it to conduct as the disc and type wheel rotate until that sector having opaque ring sectors aligned with all energized light sources reaches the location of the light sources and photocell to block all light therefrom. At this point, the absence of conduction through the photocell is utilized to stop the disc and type wheel preparatory to a printing operation.
The object of the invention is to provide a cancellor of the kind stated above, wherein the mutual positions of the wheels can easily be determined automatically, e.g. by means of a micro processor.
Another object of the invention is to provide a ,cancellor of the kind stated above, having a reliable and simple structure.
These objects are achieved by the invention in that each wheel comprises at least one zero location for each locked position, corresponding to said locked position, the zero locations of each wheel being located at the same distance from the centre of the wheel and each zero location in the respective locked position permitting free passage for a sensing means, and in that on the wheel, at the same distance from the center of the wheel and between each pair of adjacent zero locations, there is a code position representing either a "1" or a "0" and being arranged such that when the wheel to be set is rotated a predetermined number of consecutive locked positions, starting from anyone of the locked positions, the predetermined number of code positions will pass the passway of the sensing means and the starting position will be identified. Preferred embodiments are defined A-i the subclaims.
The invention will be described more fully below with reference to the appended drawing. Fig. 1 is a cross-section along line I-I in Fig. 2 of a portion of cancellor according to the invention. Fig. 2 is a partly sectional view as indicated by line II-II in Fig. 1.
Referring to Figs. 1 and 2, the printing portion of a cancellor is shown. On a frame 1 a lead-screw 2 is journalled for rotation in either direction by means of a motor 3. A guide 4 is movable back and forth on the lead-screw 2 so as to displace a drive wheel 5 along a shaft 6 driving the drive wheel, said shaft 6 being also journalled in the frame 1 and being driven by a motor 6a. Another shaft 7 is journalled in the frame 1 and carries a number of individually rotatable type wheels 8. These type wheels are rotated intermittently into positions defined by a spring loaded locking pin 9 adapted to engage with recesses 10 at the inside of the type wheel. As is best shown in Fig. 1, the type wheel is provided along its circumference with projections 11, at the outer ends of which types with characters, such as numerals and/or letters, are disposed. These characters are adapted to be transferred onto a ticket or the like at the location 12 by way of pressing a die 13 by means of a punch magnet 14 against a row of such projections. As is likewise best shown in Fig. 1, the individual type wheels are driven by the drive wheel 5 in that the drive wheel is provided with teeth 15 engaging between the projections 11.
The surfaces 16 located between the projections 11 on the circumference of the type wheel are intended for visual indication.
In each locked position each type wheel has a zero position, which corresponds to the locked position and is constituted by a hole 17 extending axially through the type wheel. Thus, a light beam, generated by a transmitter 18, can reach a receiver 19 in each locked position by propagating through the whole package of type wheels, as is best shown in Fig. 2. Between said holes 17 there is in a corresponding position of each type wheel a code position 20 which passes by the light beam generated by the transmitter 18 when the type wheel is displaced between two locked positions. The code of this code position is either another hole 21 made between two zero position holes or no such hole. Hereby, one obtains from the receiver a signal "1" or a signal "0" when a code position passes by the receiver. By giving the various code positions binary codes in this way, one can easily determine the position of each type wheel, so that the particular projection with the character to be printed is brought to the die 13 at the location 12 and is printed on the ticket to be cancelled.
As will be seen from Figs. 1 and 2, a toothed gear 22 is secured on the lead-screw and meshes with a toothed gear 23 mounted on the shaft 7. By arranging corresponding holes and code positions at the gear 23, the position of the guide can also be determined by rotating the screw 2 by means of the motor 3 and sensing the position by means of the transmitter 18 and the receiver 19.
The receiver 19 is preferably connected to a micro processor which receives information on the positions of the type wheels and the guide and thereupon, by actuating the motors 3 and 6a, sets the right characters at the type wheels.
In order to determine the correct positions of the type wheels, in the embodiment shown in Figs. 1 and 2, each wheel must be rotated to four consecutive locked positions, in view of the number of projections on the type wheels, in order to determine the particular position.
At a wheel having the illustrated number of projections 11, these four rotating steps can be reduced to only one rotation to the adjacent locked position in case four transmitters and four receivers are disposed on the one hand in registry with four consecutive holes corresponding to the holes 17 in the preferred embodiment or, on the other hand, in registry with four holes located along the radius of the type wheel repeatedly around the whole type wheel at the same location as the holes 17 of the preferred embodiment, wherein, e.g. in level with the location 12 in Fig. 1, four transmitters and receivers are arranged in a row along the radius of the type wheels.
In the inventive cancellor, the type wheels can have different widths in accordance with the particular character to be printed or, advantageously, distance wheels without characters can be placed between the type wheels.
In order to simplify the hole making in the production of the type wheels, in case the code position should be a hole, a slot can be made instead of two adjacent holes, said slot extending through the hole 17 as well as the corresponding code position 20, 21.
It is also possible to make recesses at the circumference of the wheels instead of the holes at the zero and code positions.
Of course, the invention can be modified within the scope of the appended claims.

Claims

1. A cancellor for tickets or the like, comprising a number of wheels (8) being rotatably mounted on a common shaft (7) and individually settable in locked positions (10) each corresponding to a position of types disposed on the wheels for the printing of characters on a ticket or the like, characterized in that each wheel (8) comprises at least one zero location (17) for each locked position (10), corresponding to said locked position, the zero locations of each wheel being located at the same distance from the center of the wheel and each zero location in the respective locked position permitting free passage for a sensing means (18,19), and in that on the wheel (8), at the same distance from the center of the wheel and between each pair of adjacent zero locations, there is a code position (20, 21) representing either a "1" or a "0" and being arranged such that when the wheel to be set is rotated a predetermined number of consecutive locked positions (10), starting from anyone of the locked positions, the predetermined number of code positions (20, 21) will pass the passway of the sensing means and the starting position will be identified.

2. A cancellor according to claim 1, characterized in that each zero location is constituted by a hole (17) through the wheel.

3. A cancellor according to claim 1, characterized in that each zero location is constituted by a recess at the circumference of the wheel.

4. A cancellor according to anyone of claims 1-3, characterized in that codes readable by said sensing means are provided at said code positions (20).

5. A cancellor according to anyone of claims 1-4, characterized in that at least two zero locations and at least two code positions (20) are provided for each locked position (10) in pairs one after the other radially on the wheels.

6. A cancellor according to anyone of claims 1-5, characterized in that the sensing means (18, 19) is adapted to read the codes of said code positions optically, pneumatically or mechanically, or by means of ultra sonic sound.

7. A cancellor according to anyone of claims 1-6, characterized in that a driving device (4, 5) for driving the wheel to be set is provided so as to be axially displaceable relative to said wheel for setting the same.

8. A cancellor according to claim 7, characterized in that the driving device comprises a drive wheel (5) being displaceably mounted on a shaft (6) and being adapted to engage with teeth (11) provided on said wheels (8).

9. A cancellor according to claim 8, characterized in that one of said type wheels (23) consists of a toothed gear connected to a gearing (22) on lead-screw (2), whereby the position of the drive wheel on the shaft (6) is determinable by means of zero locations (17) and code positions (20, 21) provided on said toothed gear.