EP0466079B1 - Franking machine with detachable print head - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to franking machines with a print head detachably mounted on a base.

In known manner, franking machines essentially comprise a rotary drum assigned to printing fixed and variable postage information and, where appropriate, advertising information, accounting means assigned essentially to the maintenance of the financial accounts of the machine as and when the postage is made, a mechanism for advancing the items to be franked comprising at least one printing counter-roller facing the drum, and control circuits triggering the driving of the drum on a lathe each postage to be made on successive articles and ordering the accounting means in correspondence.

The rotary printing drum carries engraved peripheral plates for printing fixed postage information and advertising information, as well as means for printing variable information, in particular amount and postage date. These means are most often sets of rollers, which are mounted just protruding on the periphery of the drum, through suitable openings in the plate engraved with postal stamps, and which are rotatable with the drum. As a variant, the means for printing variable information may consist of a row of ink ejection nozzles, fixedly mounted inside the drum and the nozzles of which facing the printing counter-roller are controlled during of the arrival in coincidence with them of each opening in the engraved plate of the postal stickers.

The existing franking machines are monobloc for the smallest of them called portable office machines, or are with removable print head on a base for other larger machines for processing larger volumes of mail. Access to the interior of monoblock machines is prohibited for the user, for security reasons against possible fraud. For the same reasons, in machines with a removable print head, the head constitutes a portable security assembly which contains in particular the drum and the accounting means with the control circuits of the accounting means. The base, for its part, essentially comprises the mechanism for advancing the articles, the drive motor for this mechanism and the means for controlling the drum, this control generally being provided from the same motor as that of the means for advancing, through a controlled clutch.

These machines, with a removable printing head, require the provision of mechanical and electrical coupling means between the head and the base, for driving the drum and synchronizing the commands of the circuits of the head and the base. This removable mounting of the head also requires equipping the head and the base with positioning means, for placing the head in its precise place provided on the base and then obtaining their mechanical and electrical coupling.

Mechanical coupling is ensured in a known manner by a pinion leading from the base, slightly projecting from the location provided on the base for the head, and by a head pinion, carried by a drive shaft of the drum and coming from it. even slightly protruding under the head. Electrical coupling is provided by two complementary connectors of the base and the head.

These mechanical and electrical couplings between the base and the removable head pose many practical problems. They make the mechanical and electrical interface circuits complex. In particular, for satisfactory mechanical coupling of the head to the base, they require perfect centering of the drive shaft of the head drum relative to the drive shaft of the base and to the transmission mechanism in the base, between this motor shaft and the driving pinion. This mechanical coupling involves a large number of parts in the base and mounting and positioning tolerances which are difficult to maintain.

The object of the present invention is to define a new design of a removable printhead on a corresponding basis, in order to avoid the abovementioned drawbacks and, moreover, to avoid the risks of damaging the couplings between them during the mounting of the head, in particular. It then allows a standardization of all ranges of franking machines, which can all be advantageously made with removable printing heads, including for the range of small machines whose prohibition of access to their circuits and mechanisms becomes limited to those of the head alone.

It relates to a franking machine, with a removable printing head on a base, comprising, on the one hand, a rotary printing drum and counting circuits in the head, on the other hand, a counter-roller. printing, drive means and control means in the base, and mechanical drive coupling means and electrical coupling means between the head and the base, characterized in that it further comprises , a sheath rotatably mounted in the head and transverse to the so-called front and rear walls of the head, which on the one hand carries said drum on a front end portion in the head and on the other hand has its bore accessible opposite , on the back of the head, and a spindle mounted transverse to the walls called front and rear of the base and rotatable in the base and coupled to said drive means, which has one of its end portions called front accessible from a accommodation provided for t you at the front of the base, and of substantially identical cross-section than the bore of the sheath to receive the sheath on it in together constituting said drive coupling means.

According to a characteristic of a preferred embodiment, the sheath and the pin are, one or the other but advantageously both, protruding on the back of the head and on the location for the head at the front of the base, respectively, and have complementary means for locking in rotation for a defined angular position.

• la figure 1 est une vue schématique en perspective d'une machine à affranchir selon l'invention, à tête d'impression amovible sur une base, montrée retirée de la base et esquissée en pointillés en place sur la base,
• la figure 2 est une vue schématique en coupe partielle de la machine selon la figure 1, montrée à échelle agrandie par rapport à la figure 1 et avec sa tête d'impression en place sur sa base.

The characteristics and advantages of the present invention will emerge from the description given below of a preferred embodiment given in the attached drawings. In these drawings:

• FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a franking machine according to the invention, with removable print head on a base, shown removed from the base and sketched in dotted lines in place on the base,
• Figure 2 is a schematic partial sectional view of the machine according to Figure 1, shown on an enlarged scale with respect to Figure 1 and with its print head in place on its base.

Referring to FIG. 1 and / or FIG. 2, it can be seen that the franking machine has a printing head 1 and a base 2 on which the head is removable. In FIG. 1, the dotted lines 1A illustrate the head 1 in place on the base, this reference 1A is also used to designate the housing or location of the head 1 on the base 2. In FIG. 2, the head in place on the base remains designated by the reference 1. There is shown schematically in Figure 1 by arrow 1B the operation of placing the head. In this figure 1 is further illustrated an article 3 introduced and advancing along arrow 3A in the machine.

This printhead 1 forms a module, the constituent parts of which are mounted in an almost closed and sealed case 10, access prohibited for the user. It essentially comprises a printing drum 11, a sheath 12 carrying the drum and a card 13 of the accounting circuits of the machine, called the accounting card.

The more complete description of the head is given below, considering it with its orientation when it is in place or will be placed on the base, as illustrated in the figures.

The printing drum 11 is directly mounted on the front end part of the sleeve 12. It is flush in the rest position on the bottom of the housing 10, through a transverse window 10A in the bottom, provided for its purpose. This rest position is defined by a flat 11A on the periphery of the drum. The transverse window 10A for this drum is just in front of an intermediate shoulder 10B on the bottom of the housing. The rear part of the bottom is more protruding than its front part and itself has another longitudinal window 10C opening onto the shoulder 10B and the rear wall of the housing. This other window is justified below.

The drum 11 carries, apart from its flat surface, peripheral means for printing fixed and variable postage information and advertising information.

In the example illustrated, these are an engraved plate 14, fixed on the periphery of the drum for printing postal stamps and sets of rollers such as 15 for printing the postage amount and the date. Another engraved plate, not illustrated, for advertising printing is retractably mounted on the periphery of this drum. The wheels are rotatable with the drum. They are also adjustable in position by rack and pinion means, as such already known and not shown.

The sheath 12 carrying the drum on its front end part in the housing 10, in contrast, its accessible bore on the rear of the head. Advantageously, the rear end portion of the sheath protrudes widely from the rear of the print head.

The sheath is used for mounting and holding the head 1 on the base 2, but also ensures the drive of the drum 11 directly from the base, as will be explained below.

This sleeve 12 is rotatable in the housing 10. It is supported and guided in rotation by two rolling bearings, one 16 mounted on the internal face of the front wall and receiving the axial end 12E of the sleeve, and the other 17 mounted on the opening of the rear wall through which the sheath passes.

The accounting card 13 is attached to one of the side walls of the housing, at the rear of the drum. It is electrically connected to a connector 18 mounted in a corresponding window in the rear wall of the housing, for its electrical connection to the base.

On the outside of the housing 10, in addition to the windows 10A and 10C and the intermediate shoulder 10B of its bottom and the connector 18 mounted on its rear wall, an additional thickness 19 is preferably provided, preferably not smooth, for ease of grip. with one hand of the print head, for its mounting on the base and disassembly. This extra thickness is preferably provided on the right part of the upper face and an adjoining part of the right side face of the housing 10, seen in place by the user facing the machine.

The base 2 forms another set produced separately but of which access to the interior remains authorized for the user, for any necessary or desired intervention. It is presented in the illustrated example in a substantially parallelepiped shape. For the user in front of the base, it has its truncated right corner, which is delimited by two vertical sides 2A, 2B recessed the first on the front wall and the other on the right side wall, and which strictly defines the location or housing 1A of the head, as shown by these dotted lines 1A in FIG. 1.

Of course, this base can be coupled or belong to an automatic mail processing installation in which one of the terminal processing operations is that of franking, the latter itself being able to be followed by a sorting operation.

The base 2 includes means for introducing and advancing mail under the head. These means are a horizontal insertion slot 20 and a printing counter-roller 21. In addition to these means, the base essentially comprises a pin 22, a mechanism 23 for driving the articles and the head, and at least one card. such as 24 of the base and head control circuits, called the control card.

The insertion slot 20 is open on the front of the base. A first of its ends opens onto the left side wall of the base and the second laterally below the housing 1A of the head on the base. Its lower side forms on either side of this second end a continuous horizontal platform 25 for the articles in the base and under the head in place. This slot 20 is limited in depth. Its bottom forms a rear vertical stop 20B, for jogging the articles. This stop 20B corresponds to the shoulder 10B which is provided on the bottom of the head and comes to extend it when the head is in place.

Beyond this slot 20, the platform 25 delimits with the flanks 2A and 2B above the housing 1A of the head on the base and contributes to its proper positioning. The printing counter roller 21 is projecting on this platform 25 facing the printing drum, through a window 25C.

The pin 22 receives the sheath 11 and directly ensures training. It is mounted horizontal and rotatable in the base. Its front end part is accessible to receive the sheath. It projects widely into the housing 1A provided for the head on the base. It is supported and guided in the base in two rolling bearings, one 26 mounted on the internal face of the rear wall of the base, the other 27 on a support spacer 28. It projects into the housing 1A for the head, through a wide opening 29, of diameter slightly greater than that of the sheath 12, provided in the vertical flank 2A.

In the base, the printing counter roller 21 is carried by a drive shaft 31, on its front end portion. This shaft 31 is supported and guided in three rolling bearings, one 32 on the rear wall of the base, the intermediate one 33 on the support spacer 28 and the third 34 on the front wall of the base.

In the base, this shaft 31 and the spindle 22 are parallel and vertical to one another. They are mounted one like the other on the same walls and / or supports of the base and thus made easy to position relatively with respect to each other, with great precision, at the defined value of center distance between the base print counter roller and the head print drum in place. They are coupled without any particular problem to the common drive mechanism 23.

The drive mechanism 23 for the head and the base is entirely in the base. It is a system with pulleys and belts and / or pinions, with a return shaft 35 for reversing the direction of rotation of the counter-roller relative to the printing drum from a common motor. This return shaft is carried by the rear wall and the support spacer 28 and mounted in rolling bearings 36 and 37. The drive system is shown with a pulley 41 mounted on the shaft 31 of the counter roller 21 and coupled by a driving belt 42 to the common motor not shown. It comprises a transmission pulley 43 on the shaft 31, coupled by a belt 44 to a pulley 45 on the idler shaft 35. It further comprises two gears in engagement 46 and 47, one on the shaft 35 and the other on pin 22. This drive mechanism 23 is shown, in addition, with a clutch 38, interposed on the return shaft 35 between its part made driving for the pulley 45 and its driven part carrying the pinion 46. This clutch 38 is controlled by one of the control circuit boards, as illustrated by the link 39 in dashed lines with the control card 24.

The overall control card illustrated at 24 is fixed to the upper wall of the base. In practice, it is divided into a microprocessor control card and a power circuit card, coupled to each other with a suitable interface between them. The control card 24, or more precisely that with a microprocessor, is connected, with a suitable protection interface as such known, to a connector 48 mounted in a window of the vertical flank 2A. This connector 48 is complementary to the connector 18 of the head and corresponds to it in level, so that these two connectors are directly connected when the head is in place. Advantageously, one of these connectors is with push contacts resiliently biased towards the outside, for good electrical contact with those of the other connector when the head is in place.

The base 2 also carries a set of data entry for the operator and of display, 50, mounted on its upper face, behind the print head. This assembly 50 has a keypad 51 and a display screen 52. It allows the operator to enter parameters or control data and obtain the corresponding displays, as is well known. It is coupled to the control circuit board 24.

In this franking machine, the pin 22 of the base 2 and the sheath 12 drum holder of the head 1, are locked in rotation, for a defined angular position corresponding to the rest position of the drum, by complementary locking means. These means are shown formed by a vertical slot 12A at the end of the sheath on its rear part to which a pin 22A corresponds on the spindle. The spindle and the bore of the sleeve are then of circular section. These means can alternatively be obtained by a triangular or other section given to the spindle and to the bore of the sheath, with advantageously an associated keying or locating element allowing the operator to correctly position the head for its positioning and locking in rotation on the spindle. These means can be, as a variant or in addition, a screwdriver slot such as 22B at the end of the spindle and a corresponding flat 12B at the bottom of the bore of the sleeve 12.

In addition, the head 1 once in place is locked on the base 2 by manual control locking means shown diagrammatically at 55. These means are an articulated finger 56 actuated by a lever 57 which is coupled to it, mounted on the base, at the front of the input and display assembly 50, and a catch 58 for blocking or retaining the finger, on the back of the head. Of course these blocking means can be of different type, for example with lever and ramp and mounted on the sides of the base and of the head.

The mounting of the head on the base, illustrated by arrow 1B is made very simple and quick. It is easy and without risk of damaging the coupling means. It consists of a simple engagement of the sheath 12 on the spindle and a sliding at the bottom of the sheath on this spindle. During this sliding, the window 10C on the bottom of the head allows the printing counter-roller projecting on the platform 25 to escape from the head, while the lateral parts of the bottom, on both sides other from this window, slide on this platform 25 and help guide the head for its positioning.

This assembly allows direct obtaining of the mechanical drive coupling of the head produced by the spindle and the sheath, with all the drive mechanism mounted as described above in the base and remaining accessible for any intervention. It also allows direct and simultaneous electrical coupling head / base without risk of damaging the contacts.

The present invention has been described with reference to the preferred embodiment illustrated in the drawings. It is obvious that one can make detailed modifications or replace some of the means by other equivalents without departing from the scope of the present invention which is defined by the following claims.

Claims (15)

1. A postage meter having a removable print head (1) on a base (2), said meter including, firstly, a rotating print drum (11) and accounting circuits in the head (1), and secondly, a platen roller (21), drive means and control means in the base, and mechanical drive coupling means and electrical coupling means between the head and the base, said meter being characterized in that it further includes a sheath (12) rotatably mounted in the head (1) transversely to the "near" and "far" walls of the head, which sheath carries said drum (11) at its near end portion inside the head, and has its bore accessible at its opposite end, at the far side of the head, and in that it further includes a spindle (22) mounted transversely to the "near" and "far" walls of the base and rotatable in the base (2) and coupled to said drive means (23), which spindle has its "near" end portion accessible from a recess (1A) provided at the near side of the base for receiving the head, and is of substantially identical cross-section to the bore of the sheath so as to receive the sheath onto itself, thereby together constituting said drive coupling means.
2. A postage meter according to claim 1, characterized in that said sheath (12) has its far end portion projecting from the far wall of the head (1).
3. A postage meter according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that said near end portion of the spindle is centered relative to an opening (29) in a flank (2A) delimiting the far side of the recess for receiving the head on the base, with the sheath (12) engaging in said opening when the sheath is fully mounted on the spindle (22).
4. A postage meter according to claim 3, characterized in that said spindle (22) has its near end portion projecting into the head-receiving recess (1A) on the base.
5. A postage meter according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that it further includes means (12A, 22A; 12B, 22B) on said sheath and said spindle for locking said sheath (12) and said spindle (22) in rotation at a defined "rest" position of the drum (11).
6. A postage meter according to claim 5, characterized in that it further includes means (12A) on the far end portion of the sheath (12) for finding the rest position of the drum.
7. A postage meter according to claim 5 or 6, characterized in that the means for locking said sheath and said spindle in rotation include a slot (12A, 22B) in the end of one of them and complementary means (22A, 12B) on the other one of them.
8. A postage meter according to any one of claims 1 to 7, and including, in the base, a substantially horizontal insertion slot (20) for inserting articles, which slot opens onto the gap for advancing the articles between the drum and the platen, said meter being characterized in that said head (1) further includes a shoulder (10B) on its bottom so as to extend the far side (20B) of the insertion slot (20) when the head is installed on the base.
9. A postage meter according to claim 8, characterized in that the portion of the head bottom that is on the far side of said shoulder (10B) has a window (10C) to allow the head to pass over the platen (21) when the head is being installed on the base.
10. A postage meter according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that it further includes locking means (55) for locking the head (1) in position on the base (2), which means are actuated by the operator using a manual control (57).
11. A postage meter according to any one of claims 1 to 10 and having electrical coupling means constituted by two connectors, one on the base and one on the head, said meter being characterized in that the connectors (18, 48) are mounted to correspond to each other respectively on the far wall of the head (1) and on the far side of the head-receiving recess (1A) on the base (2), and in that one of the connectors has contacts that are resiliently urged outwards.
12. A postage meter according to any one of claims 1 to 11, characterized in that said head (1) has an extra-thick portion (19) for it to be grasped by hand, said portion extending over substantially adjoining portions of the top wall and on the side wall which is located on the outside of the base.
13. A postage meter according to any one of claims 1 to 12, characterized in that it includes an operator data input and visual display assembly (50) mounted on a top wall of the base (2), on the far side of the head-receiving recess (1A) and coupled to said control means (24) mounted in the base.
14. A postage meter according to any one of claims 1 to 13, characterized in that said drive means (23) are coupled to a single common motor and in that said drive means include a clutch (38) coupled to said control means (24) to control the drive to the spindle (22) and disposed on a jackshaft (35) between the platen shaft and the spindle.
15. A postage meter according to any one of claims 1 to 14, characterized in that said spindle (22), a drive shaft (31) for the platen, and a jackshaft (35) for interconnecting the drive means are all rotatably mounted and carried on the same supporting walls of the base (2).

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