FR2575619A1 - APPARATUS FOR ADJUSTING THE SPEED OF AN ELECTRIC MOTOR AND ITS USE IN A MANUAL MACHINE TO BE LABELED - Google Patents

Abstract

THE APPARATUS INCLUDES A DEVICE 134 INTENDED TO TRANSMIT AN EXCITATION PULSE TO THE ELECTRIC MOTOR, A DEVICE 130 INTENDED TO INTRODUCE A PREDETERMINED DELAY AFTER INTERRUPTION OF THE EXCITATION PULSE, A DEVICE 136 CONTROLLED BY THE DELAY DEVICE AND INTENDED TO SAMPLE THE AMPLITUDE OF THE COUNTER-ELECTROMOTOR FORCE OF THE ELECTRIC MOTOR AFTER THE PREDETERMINED DELAY HAS ELAPSED AFTER THE END OF THE EXCITATION PULSE, A DEVICE 130 FOR COMPARING THE AMPLITUDE OF THE COUNTER-ELECTROMOTOR FORCE SAMPLED AT A PREDETERMINED AMPLITUDE, AND A DEVICE CONTROLLED BY THE COMPARISON DEVICE AND INTENDED TO CREATE ANOTHER PULSE OF EXCITATION AFTER A SECOND PREDETERMINED TIME INTERVAL WHEN THE AMPLITUDE OF THIS FORCE COUNTER-TERMINATION IS PREDETERMINED AT THE PREDETERMINED BREAKER. THE APPARATUS IS USED TO ADJUST THE SPEED OF THE MOTOR 48 OF THE LABEL FEEDING DEVICE OF A LABELING MACHINE.

Description

25756 19

  The present invention relates generally

  printing devices and more specifically the machines

  hand-written labels comprising a circuit intended for

  to accurately determine the position of the continuous sheet to be printed, and to control the operation of the printhead, which is preferably of the thermographic type, as a function of position signals so that the impressions are precisely arranged on

leaf.

  Manual labeling machines incorporating thermographic printing devices are already known. U.S. Patents No. 4,264,396

  and No. 4,407,692 as well as the US patent application.

  United States of America N 485 012 filed on 14 April 1983 de-

write such machines.

  Although the devices described in the

  mentioned above allow the production of impressions on a thermosensitive sheet, they do not include

  certain features of the device of the invention.

  For example, when printing with a print head,

  thermal pressure, especially at high density, for example

  in one of the devices shown in the aforementioned U.S. Patent No. 4,407,692 and

  application cited above N 485 012, the synchronization of the exci-

  the various printing elements must be

  precisely according to the position of the sheet

  the. For example, in such a device, the sheet is advancing continuously and the suitable printing elements must be excited at the precise moment when the part of the sheet on which the printing is to be made is near the print head. . The difficulty of solving this problem is further increased by the fact that each printing element has a length and

  a width which is only a few tenths of a millimeter

  metre. Consequently, the position of the sheet or the synchronization of the excitation of the printing elements must be precisely controlled so that it does not form.

  no space without printing or the density of printing

  the shape of the characters, especially when the speed of the sheet varies during its passage in the head, for example in the case of a labeling machine having a

sheet that advances manually.

  The invention relates to an improved labeling machine which comprises a precise detection system

  the position of the leaf and the control of the excita-

  tion of the printing elements according to this posi-

  so that the prints are positioned with

  great precision on the sheet.

  It also relates to such a machine which uses

  a sheet detection system that is particularly suitable for

  well with a thermographic printing device

phic.

  It also concerns a manual machine with

  Thermographic queter which minimizes the

  possibilities of deterioration of the printing device.

  It also relates to such a machine that allows the detection of the position of the sheet with high accuracy. It also relates to such a machine which detects the position of the sheet with a precision of one

  - fraction of a tenth of a millimeter.

  It also concerns such a machine that detects

  the position of the sheet and controls the device of

  pressure so that the leaf speed variations

are compensated.

  It also relates to such a machine which uses a sheet position detection system which can

  be used in the case of paper advance mechanisms.

the manuals or motor.

  More specifically, the invention relates to a machine

  to be labeled with a micro-control system

  a processor that detects the position of the sheet and controls the operation of the print head according to the position of the sheet so that the prints are accurately positioned on the sheet and on labels cut from the sheet. The system sets

  a precise synchronization disk which is

  to the label feed mechanism. The synchronization disc cooperates with a sensor, for example of the optical type, which determines the reference position on the

  synchronization disk and which transmits a signal

  presentative of the position of the sheet. The synchronization disk has at least one idle position mark and preferably several which determine the boundary between two successive labels, one or more markers of

  position determination and a warning index placed

  next to the index defining the label limit and telling the device that the label limit is close. The marks or indexes are detected by the sensor to be used for the formation of signals representative of position at the control device of the operation of the

head of printing.

  The invention thus relates to a manual machine

  to be labeled which includes a pre-detection device

  position of the continuous sheet and adjustment

  precise position of this sheet in relation to the

  Positive printing with great precision.

  It also relates to such a machine which comprises a sheet positioning device with an accuracy of a fraction of a tenth of a millimeter and which ensures easy adjustment of the positioning, with a

analogous precision.

  It also relates to a machine having a device

  tif positioning that allows easy repositioning with an accuracy of a fraction of a tenth of a millimeter so that manufacturing tolerances

can be compensated.

  More specifically, the invention also relates to a manual labeling machine having a microprocessor control system or device which detects the position of the

2575 61.9

  sheet and controls the operation of the print head.

  depending on this sheet position so that the impressions that may be formed are accurately positioned on the sheet and on the labels that can be cut from that sheet. The device

  has a very precise synchronization disc coupled to the

  label advance canism. The synchronization disc cooperates with a sensor, for example optical, which detects the position of indexes or marks carried by the synchronization disc and which gives a signal representative of the position of the sheet. The synchronization disk has at least one index or position index and preferably several indexes of type that determine the boundary between two successive labels, one or more indexes or markers determining the position, and an index

  warning sign placed near the index delimiting the

  and indicating to the device that the limit of

  that approach. These indexes or markers are detected by the sensor and used to give signals representative of the position to the controller

  the operation of the print head.

  Given the precise positional information

  given by the synchronization disk, manufacturing tolerances can be significant. Accordingly, according to an important feature of the invention, a mechanism allows the adjustment of the angled position of the

  synchronization disk with respect to the advance mechanism.

  The operation is carried out by mounting the disc on the shaft

  resulting in several angular positions

  each associated with one of the rest position markers. Such positioning can be achieved by arranging a plurality of unequally spaced keying slots in the disk or the like, and forming a single key or spline on the shaft to cooperate with one of the keying slots. When the

  angular positions of the keying slots are lightly

  different from the associated rest position mark and to the positioning marks, the adjustment can be easily made by arranging the appropriate keying slot on the key or flute to

  that the desired offset between the tree and the disk is ob-

tenuous.

  Other features and advantages of the

  will be better understood when reading the description of

  FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a manual machine to be labeled according to the invention, and the accompanying drawings in which: FIG.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the circuit

  logic control the thermographic printing apparatus

according to the invention;

  FIG. 3 is a plan view of a head of im-

  thermographic pressure that can be used in

  same impression according to the invention; there figure 4 is a synoptic diagram of a

  impingement head driving circuit embodiment

  pressure; Fig. 5 is a block diagram of an alternative print head driving circuit;

  FIG. 6 is a block diagram represented

  sensing the position and control detection circuit

  printer apparatus according to the invention; Figure 7 shows in detail the timing disk shown schematically in Figure 6; FIG. 8 is a block diagram of the motor speed adjusting portion of the control circuit according to the invention;

  Fig. 9 is a timing diagram illustrating

  both the operation of the speed control circuit of the motor according to the invention; FIG. 10 is a flowchart representing

  the operation of the control circuit according to the invention

  tion; and FIGS. 11 and 12 show a circuit for protecting the data stored in the

  label when the battery is discharged and when

that he is withdrawn.

  The drawings and Figure 1 in particular

  machine type labeling machine

  graphically controlled by a microprocessor, according to

  This machine 10 has a housing 12 which carries a roll 14 of adhesive-backed labels 16 which are carried by a carrier sheet 18. A keyboard 20 is placed on the box 12 and has several switches 22 which can be individually controlled and which allow the introduction of data into the machine. A display device 24, for example liquid crystal or light-emitting diode, is also placed on the box so that it allows the observation by the operator of the data

  introduced and instructions transmitted by the micro-

  processor. A storage battery that can be

  placed in a removable assembly 25 containing an accumula-

  26 having an internal resistance 27, provides

  the electrical energy required for the machine 10 to

  b. A trigger 28 is intended to trigger the operation

  label printing and a roller 30 of applica-

  label is used so that it exerts

  on the label 16 with an adhesive backing when

  to be applied on an article. A separating device

  The label arrangement (not shown) is housed in the housing 12 to separate the labels 16 from the carrier strip 18. Several guide rollers are intended to guide the separate labels 16 to the front part of the casing, under a roller 30 of application, and to guide the support strip towards the rear of the casing,

under the roller 14.

  As mentioned previously, the machine

  ter according to the invention has a very great flexibility of use.

  and allows the printing of alphanumeric characters as well as barcodes, such as Universal Product Code (UP-C) and European Item Number Code (EAN). The type of format, alphanumeric or bar, is easily chosen by introducing suitable font formats that determine the data.

  using the keyboard 20. The data to be printed, for example

  the price, the data designating the product and other

  information about the product such as its size

  color, etc., are also introduced using

  20. In addition, the number of labels to be printed

  sea can be introduced. A data input / output connector 32 may also be placed on the box so that it allows the introduction of data into the machine from an external source, for example a computer.

  placed at a distance, and that it allows the charge of the bat-

battery area 26.

  The keyboard 20, as shown in FIG.

  is coupled by a coupling adapter 40 to a peripheral device

  which constitutes a coupling device between various input and output devices and a microprocessor 42. A switch 44 which is controlled by the trigger 28 and a control circuit 46 of the motor 48 which causes a

  wheel 49 in advance of sheet are also coupled to the adaptation

  40. A detector 50 detects a mark or an index

  or mark on the sheet advance wheel 49 or preferably

  on a separate sync disk 51. The cir-

  control cooker 46 is responsive to data received from the microprocessor 42 and controls the operation of the sheet feed motor 48 which is preferably a DC motor. An acoustic alarm circuit 52 is also connected to the adapter 40 and is useful for

  that it indicates to the operator that a real or potential problem

  tiel arises. For example, the alarm 52 can be used

  for the indication of the discharge of the accumu-

  battery or fault, a defect in the

  printhead, because the machine no longer has labels

  the data entered into the device have been received. In the latter case, alarm 52 may

  be used for the transmission of an indication

  dible whenever any of the switches 22 of the keyboard

is depressed. -

  The display 24 is coupled to the microprocessor 42

  by a display control circuit 54. This display

  ge 24 is used for the indication of the data entered

  in the microprocessor as well as other

  such as messages of instruction or diagnosis.

  tics formed by the microprocessor. A passive memory 56 is intended to keep permanent data, for example the program determining the operation of the device. The passive memory 56 can be permanently installed in the machine 10 or it can be removably mounted in a socket or the like so that the font and / or the format can be modified by changing the memory 56. memory

  with direct access 58 which can be used for the preservation

  Short term data, for example data entered by the keyboard 20, is produced, for example in the form of a permanent random access memory 60 which allows the storage of data, for example formats. The input-output connector 32 allows the

  communication between the device and an external computer--

  laughing. The printing is performed by a set 64 which contains a print head 66 and a circuit 68 of

  control thereof, coupled to the adapter 40.

  Analog-Digital Flasher 70 Coupled To The Adapter Detects Accumulator Battery Voltage

  or the voltage applied to the assembly 64 and gives a

  digital dication of this voltage to the adapter 40 so that the microprocessor can adjust the excitation time of the print head and can

  compensate for voltage variations in the battery

  accumulators or the print head.

  Figure 3 shows in simplified form an example of assembly 63 to print head. In this embodiment, the assembly 64 contains the control circuit 68 and the print head 66 placed on a thin-film substrate. The print head has a

  single line of printing elements placed transversally

  the direction of movement of the sheet 18, and it is particularly advantageous in the case of a manual machine given the high density

  of printing elements which constitute the head 66,

  everything when alphanumeric characters and codes

  bars must be printed. A head-set

  particularly suitable as a set 66 comprises two twenty-four printing elements each having a length of 0.25 mm and a width of 0.11 mm and which are separated by a distance of 0.13 mm between their centers. This configuration allows printing

of a virtually continuous line.

  Each of the printing elements constitutes a heating resistive element 80 (FIG. 4) which can be excited individually by the control or control circuit 68 which contains a control transistor 82 of FIG.

  heating device for each of the elements 8o of im-

  pressure. A gate 84 controls each of the transistors 82, and an input register 86 and a data register 88 control the operation of the doors 84. Thus, when using a head with 224 elements as a head 66, 224 transistors 82 and 224 doors 84 shall be

  to be used, and the 86 input and 88 data registers

  must each have at least 224 floors.

  The input register 86 receives the serial data of a data input line 90 under the control of clock signals applied to a line 92.

  the input register 86 is full, the data is transmitted

  parallel to register 88 of data under

  the input register 86 is then emptied by a resetting pulse transmitted to the line 96 and

  new data is transmitted to the input register.

  Like the elements 80 of resistance heating

  consume a noticeable current, for example about 50 milli-

  amperes per element and given the very high density of the elements, for example 80 per centimeter or so, the current drawn from the accumulator battery 26 would be excessive if all the elements 80 operated simultaneously.

  is lying. For this reason, the transistors 82 are sampling

  by doors 84 so that only a quarter of the

  transistors 82 may be excited at any time.

  In the embodiment of FIG. 4, this sampling is carried out using three-input AND gates such as the gates 84, and by validating the opening of these gates 84 in blocks. The operation is performed using two block enable signals

  BE1 and BE2 transmitted by lines 100 and 102 and from

  ST1 and ST2 sampling channels transmitted by lines 104 and 106 respectively. Each block enable signal reaches half of the gates 84, so that half of the gates 84 are enabled when the signal BE1

  is at a high level and the other half is validated when

  that the signal BE2 is at a high level. The signal ST1 is applied to half of the doors 84 receiving the signal BE1 and to half of the doors 84 receiving the signal BE2. Of

  the signal ST2 is transmitted to the doors 84 which do not

  do not receive signal ST1. Thus, as each door must receive one of the block enable signals and one of the sample signals to be able to open, only one quarter of the doors 84 can open at a given time. Thus, the data from the register 88 is passed to the transistors 82 in four steps, so that only a quarter of the transistors 82 can be excited.

at one point.

  Fig. 5 shows a variant of a print head driving mechanism. The embodiment of FIG. 5 is similar to that of FIG. 4, but the input register 86 is separated into several smaller registers, for example seven shift registers 86 '.

  having 32 stages in the embodiment considered.

1 1

  This arrangement has the advantage of allowing

  troduction of data faster in the device,

  thus allowing a higher printing speed.

  This is due to the fact that each of the 7 registers 86 'can be fed in parallel with 7 data lines 90'. As a result, the data should only be shifted

  32 times for the loading of the registers 86 ', contrary

  the 224 offsets necessary to

  86. However, when loading the registers 86 ', the 224 bits delimiting each line can not be transmitted serially in the registers 86', but the

  bits must be grouped so that they can be

  appropriate records. The operation is performed by taking one bit out of 32 in the line data and applying it to the appropriate shift register 86 '. For example, when 224 bits are used for the definition of a line. the 32nd, 64th, 96th, 128th, e, 192nd and 224th bits are selected and applied to the seven stages of a buffer circuit 108 (FIG. 5). These bits are then transmitted in parallel to the registers 86 '. Then,

  the 31st, 63rd, 95th, 127th, 159th, 191st and 223rd bits are ap-

  plicated to the buffer circuit 108 and offset in the registers 86 '. The operation is repeated until the 1st, 33rd, e, 97th, 129th, 161st and 193rd bits are loaded into the buffer circuit 8 and then transmitted to the registers 86 '. At this moment, the seven registers 86 'contain the bits

  1-32, 33-64, 65-96, 97-128, 129-160, 161-192 and 193-224.

  Since these data completely determine a line, the data from the registers 86 'can be transferred to a data register such as the register 88 (FIG. 4) or several individual registers 88' (FIG. 5)

  The output signals of the registers 88 'can be applied

  multi-door ET 84 with three inputs or other suitable device to limit the number of

  individual elements that can be excited simultaneously

  is lying. In FIG. 5, the sampling function which limits the number of elements which can be excited simultaneously is provided by several circuits 83. Each of the circuits 83 has thirty two AND gates with two inputs and

  a suitable circuit for controlling the print head 66

  if we. Such a device is relatively simpler than that shown in FIG.

  that AND gates with two inputs and not with three inputs.

  When using three sampling signals

  S1, S2 and S3, the number of printing elements that can

  to be simultaneously excited is limited to about a third

  the total number of printing elements.

  In the embodiment of FIG. 5, the sampling signal S1 is applied to the first two

  and at the last circuit 83. The signal S2 of sample

  is applied to the third and fourth circuits 83 and the signal S3 is applied to the fifth and sixth circuits

  83. As a result, not more than two of the seven

  may be excited simultaneously when

  that one of the sampling signals S2 and S3 is present.

  In theory, up to three out of seven elements can be excited when the signal S1 is present but, in practice, the print line has a width which is rarely equal to that of the print head 66 and, consequently, is unlikely to be more than half of the total

  the first and the last circuit 83 is excited. -

  The control circuit 46 (FIG. 6) comprises a processor 130 which comprises a passive memory 132 which can

  be arranged on the same integrated circuit as the process

  130, or in a separate component. The various components

  3 sants necessary for the implementation of the print control function are not shown in the figure

  6 for the sake of clarity, but it should be noted that the micro-

  processor 42 of FIG. 6 must be coupled with components

  which are identical or similar to those of Figure 2 for performing the printing function. The processor controls a motor drive and brake circuit 134 which selectively applies excitation or dynamic braking currents to the motor 48. A converter

  analog-digital 136 measures the counter force

  electromotive motor 48 when it slows down, and applies a digital representation of the counter-electromotive force to the control processor 130

  to give an indication of the speed of the

  48 to the processor 130. The detector 50 comprises a light source, such as a light emitting diode

  138, and a photosensitive device, such as a photo-

  detector 140, placed on either side of the synchronization disk 51. The detector 50 detects indexes or markers formed from a series of marks having a luminous contrast, for example opaque and transparent portions of the disk 51. Preferably, the indexes are

* realized in the form of a series of openings at the

  disk 51, for the indication to the device of

  the position of the disc 51 and consequently of the position

  sheet 18 when it advances under the control of

  49. Although an optical system is used to detect the position of the disk 51, other

systems are also suitable.

  The synchronization disk 51 is shown in more detail in FIG. 7. The disk of FIG.

  7 is formed of an opaque material. Given the size

  relatively low proportion of the disk 51, for example its diameter of the order of 32 mm and given the tolerances

  necessary, the use of electro-nickel

  deposited is a convenient method for making the disc. The thickness of the disk 51 is, for example,

  75 microns, but it can vary between 50 and 100 microns.

  As shown in Figure 6, the disc 51 is mounted on the same shaft (141) as the wheel 49 of advance of the sheet and rotates with it so that it constitutes

  a tree encoder. In the embodiment

  felt, wheel 49 rotates a third of a turn each time

  that a complete label advances. Three markers of posi-

  resting, in the form of three openings 142, 144

257561.9

  and 146 are formed in the disk 51. In the illustrated embodiment, three idle position markers are used when the disk 51 rotates one-third of a turn each time a tag advances; however, it should be noted that if the feed mechanism were changed so that the disk 51 rotates at a different speed, the number of idle position markers could be changed accordingly. For example, if the disc 51 rotated a quarter of a turn each time a label moved, a disc with four marks of

rest position would be used.

  Several position determining marks are placed after each opening 142, 14 + 4 and 146 in the form of several slots or openings 148, 150 and 152 respectively (FIG. 7), determining with precision

  the position of the label with respect to the head of

  pressure. Although these marks 148, 150 and 152 may be considered as slots or openings or

  may be designated by any other term, they are called

  the "slots" in the description that follows, by reason of

  clarity, to better distinguish them from openings 142,

  144 and 146 of the rest positions. A warning way

  is positioned in front of each rest position mark as three enlarged areas 154, 156 and 158.

  When no label is being printed

  one of the apertures 142, 144 or 146 of the home position is aligned with the sensor 50. Each of the apertures 142, 144 and 146 is sufficiently wide to give a certain clearance in the sheet and the gear. drive without an opaque area of the disk 51 is detected by the sensor 50. This prevents oscillations of the motor 48 which could attempt to maintain one of the rest position openings in the alignment of the sensor 50. The size of the openings 142, 144 and 146 is also chosen so that they allow the deletion

  game in sheet 18 before one of the benchmarks de-

  ending the position be placed in the alignment of the

50.

  The width of the slots 148, 150 and = 152 determining the positions and the width of the areas between the slots defining the positions are chosen so that the distance between the detections of the successive edges of the slots 148, 150 and 152 corresponds to a leaf displacement equal to an integer multiple of the

  length of printing elements 81. For example, when

  that a print head such as the head 66 described above

  Previously, the distance between the detection of the adjacent edges of slots 148, 150 and 152 corresponds. a sheet displacement equal to an integer multiple of 0.25 mm (the length of the printing elements 80). In the synchronization disk 51 shown in FIG. 7, the integer multiple has been chosen to be equal to 2, thus giving a sheet displacement of 0.5 mm between the detections of the successive edges of the slots 148, 150 and 152. consequence, the position of the leaf

  14 is determined at elementary intervals of 0.5 mm.

  The width of each warning track formed

  extended areas 154, 156 and 158 must be sufficiently

  large enough to allow the distinction of these

  widened areas of the areas between the slots

  putting the positions. In the embodiment of FIG. 7, the width of the zones 154, 156 and 158 is chosen so that it is approximately equal to twice the widths of the zones separating the slots 148, 150 and 152. A warning track whose width corresponds to about four times the length of the printing elements 80, ie about 1 mm, is thus formed. The width of the zones 154, 156 and 158 is chosen so that these zones can

  be easily distinguished from the narrower

  slots 148, 150 and 152 and, although in the embodiment of FIG. 7, the enlarged areas 154, 156 and 158 have been selected at twice the width of the zones separating the slots 148,

25754 19

  and 152, other widths can be used.

  During operation, when the labeling machine

  queter does not provide a label printing, one of the home position determination markers, for example the aperture 142, is aligned with the detector 50. When the trigger switch 44 (or another switch manual) is depressed, the microprocessor 42 (FIG. 6) transmits a command to start the engine to the processor 130 which then operates the control / braking circuit 134 of the motor so that the motor 48 is powered. A photoemissive diode 138 may also light. When the motor 48 is energized, the synchronization disk 51 rotates in the direction of the arrows of FIGS. 6 and 7.

  engine turns, the game of the 18 sheet and any game of the

  leaf advance canism are removed while a

  part of the opening 142 is still aligned with the detection

  The motor 48 continues to rotate until the rear edge of the opening 142 is detected by the detector 50. At this time, the clearance of the device has been reduced.

  deleted and the motor 48 has reached the operating speed

  is lying. When the posterior edge of the opening 142 is detected by the detector 50, the amplitude of the signal applied by the photodetector 140 to the processor 130 changes. This processor 130 is responsive to this change by transmitting a print start command transmitted to the microprocessor 42. This command or signal indicates to the microprocessor 42 that the motor has reached its speed and that the sheet has a position in which it can accept printing in

  the print positions determined by the chosen format.

  When the motor 48 continues to turn, the

  transitions between the slots 148 and the opaque zones

  between them are detected by the photodetector 140, and signals representative of the transitions are applied to the control processor 130. The latter is sensitive

  transitions and creates a pulsed position signal and the application

  than the microprocessor 42 whenever a transition

  seems. Position signals are counted by the micro-

Z575619

  processor 42 so that it determines the position of

  the label relative to the print head 66. Lors-

  that the latter is placed above an area of impres-

  on the label, as indicated for example by the print format, the entered data is printed on the labels 16. The operation continues when the microprocessor 42 receives the pulsed position signals from the control processor 130, the data entered is printed on one or more areas

printing labels 16.

  When the printing operation continues, the synchronization disk 51 continues to rotate until the warning track delimited by the enlarged zone

  154 is detected. This zone 154 is detected by the

  when the time elapsing before an opaque zone is detected by the photodetector 140 exceeds the time between the transition pulses created by the slots 148 by a predetermined amount. After determining the detection of a warning track

  such as zone 154, the microprocessor is ready to respond to

  to the next transition by setting the circuit 134 to the braking position of the motor 148. Thus, when the front edge of the opening 144 is detected, a braking signal is applied to the circuit 134 so that it shunts the winding motor armature 48 and thus dynamically brakes the latter. Engine 48 continues to run while slowing for a short distance until

  the opening 144 is aligned with the detector 50, and the operation

  print ration is complete. When another label-

  you must be printed, the trigger switch 44 is pressed again and another label-is printed when the disk 51 is moving forward until the opening 146

is aligned with the detector 50.

  In addition, although the timing disc 51 is shown with a motor feed mechanism, it

  can also be used with a manual advance mechanism.

  In this case, although the signals transmitted by the synchronization disk 51 are not used for the control of an engine, the position signals are still used for indicating to the microprocessor that a zone

  which can be printed is under the print head.

  sion, and for triggering printing when a

such area is present.

  As indicated previously, the disk 51 of syn-

  Chronization gives very precise information on the position of the leaf. However, the use of the precise position signals given by the synchronization disk 51 requires the compensation of the manufacturing tolerances of the sheet feed mechanism and the positioning of the print head 66. Accordingly,

  according to another characteristic of the invention, the posi-

  The angular position of the timing disk 51 can be varied with respect to the angular position of the sheet feed wheel 49. Various keying devices can be used for fixing the disc 51 on the shaft. For example, a slot may be formed on the shaft, and members for cooperating with the slot may be placed on the disk. In a variant,

  the tree can have several keys or slots and the disc

  that 51 may have a single slot or key. other

  variants can be used. In the embodiment of

  tion shown, the operation is carried out by mounting the synchronization disk 51 on a keyed shaft and by performing several keying slots which are offset on the disk 51. Each of these slots

  is associated with one of the position marks 142, 144 and 146 of

  rest and is offset by the distance required.

  to the setting. Thus, any desired adjustment can be obtained by arranging the appropriate slot on the

key of the tree.

  For example, in the synchronization disk shown in Fig. 7, three grooves 1, 2 and 3 are shown. The angular offset of the grooves 1 and 3 is 122, nominally, while that of the grooves 1 and 2 and grooves 2 and 3 is nominally 1190. This is to be compared with an angular offset of 120, between the front edges of the openings 142, 144 and 146, so that a setting of + 1 of the disk 51 is possible with respect to the wheel 49 of sheet advance

and at the detector 50.

  For example, if the groove bearing the reference 1 is keyed on the shaft 141 by a key 160, the posterior edge of the opening 142 is advanced by

  relative to the central axis of the key 160 of about 2.

  This offset of 2 * must correspond to the position -1.

  If the groove N 3 is keyed on the key 160, as

  grooves 1 and 3 are separated by 1220, the posterior edge

  opening 144 is ahead of the

  center of the key 160 of 40, thus causing a

  Positive setting of 2 of the position of the position slots

  compared to position -1. The addition of 2 to -1 gives + 1, so this position can be considered the +10 position. If the groove N 2 is keyed on the disk 160, the disk 51 rotated a total of 122 + 1190, 241 relative to its position

  on the groove N 1, the offset being a positive offset

  tif of 1 with respect to position -1. So, this

  position corresponds to the zero degree position and

  positive and negative views of 1 from disk 51 versus

  at the zero degree position can easily be realized

  his. Other settings can be made by modifying

  For example, an adjustment of + 2 can be obtained by arranging the groove N 3 to to grooves 1 and 3. In general, any offset can be obtained by appropriately spacing grooves 1 and 3 of the desired total positive and negative offset added to 120. When equal positive and negative offsets are desired, these equal offsets can be obtained by distributing the remainder of 360 between the grooves.

N 2 and the grooves N 1 and 3.

  Although various types of motors, particularly step-by-step, may be used as the feed motor 48, it is found that a DC motor is particularly useful, in part because of its good torque characteristics. low speed. However, when using a DC motor, a

  circuit must ensure that the speed of the

  motor. In the embodiment considered,

  motor speed adjustment is ensured by the process

  130. As mentioned above. this processor 130

  receives signals representative of the counter force

  electromotive created by the motor 48 when it slows down, and it adjusts the control signal applied to the engine

  48 so that its speed remains substantially constant.

  As indicated in FIG. 8, the motor 48 is controlled by the control and braking circuit 134 which comprises a transistor control circuit 170 which applies an excitation potential to the motor 48 when a running signal is received by the processor 130. A connection circuit prevents the application of the operating and braking signals to both the circuit

  134 in the event of a malfunction of the micro-

  processor or other. The circuit 134 also includes

  a dynamic braking circuit 172 shunting the in-

  motor 48 and provides dynamic braking when receiving a braking signal from the processor 130. A comparator 174 is connected to the motor 48 and is intended to compare the counter electromotive force created by the motor 48, when slows down to a reference voltage. A sampling gate 176 connects the output of the comparator 174 to the processor 130

control.

  The operating signal applied to the circuit 170

  The steering system consists of a series of impulses

  the excitation of the motor 48 at regular intervals

  170. The counter-electromotive force created by the motor 48, between the driving pulses, is sampled by the comparator 174 and the gate 176, which functions in the manner of an analog-to-digital converter, so that the processor 130 knows whether the counter-electromotive force created by the motor 48 is greater or less than the reference voltage

  applied to the comparator 174. When the counter force

  electromotive is lower than the reference voltage the next run pulse is created by the processor so that the motor 48 is excited. When the counter-electromotive force created by the motor 48 exceeds the reference voltage, indicating an excessive speed,

  the next pulse is eliminated and the motor can slow down

  shoot. In the downturn, the counter force

  electromotive force is measured at periodic intervals

  that it falls below the reference voltage

  and another step pulse is created. The

  motor speed can be adjusted by adjusting the

reference.

  The creation of the walking impulses and the exchange of

  counter-electromotive forces are

  Figure 9 shows the counter-motor force during a first sampling period that occurs during a portion of the time interval between zero and T. When the counter-electromotive force is measured is less than the reference value, a start pulse, as represented by the pulse 180, is

  created during the time interval between T and 2T.

  The duration of the pulse 180 is set by the clock (not shown) of the processor 130, and is preferably in the order of 500 microseconds to 1 millisecond. No sample is taken during the time interval between T and 2T because such a sample would be meaningless since everything that would be measured would be

the amplitude of the pulse 180.

  When the running pulse 180 has ended at 2T, the excitation of the motor 48 is also complete; however, the interruption of the excitation of the motor 48 causes the appearance of a parasite across the armature of the motor 48. Consequently, the voltage across the motor 48 is not sampled immediately because it is not representative of the counter-electromotive force created by the engine. On the contrary, the sampling is delayed until a period 182 which follows the time 2T of a time interval sufficient for the parasitic variation to disappear. It has been determined that a delay of the sampling period of about 300 microseconds after the end of a gating pulse permits a sufficient suppression of the stray impulse so that the reading of the back EMF of the motor 48 can be precise; however, this delay depends on the size and inductance of the motor as well as other parameters, and

  other values may be used according to the

  particular employees. The sampling is carried out under the control of the sampling gate 176 whose opening is validated during the period 182 and during

  the other sampling periods by the microproces-

130.

  When the counter-electromotive force measured during the sampling period is too low,

  another operating pulse 184 is created during the in-

  a time interval between 3T and 4T, and the counterelectromotive force is again sampled in a period 186 which precedes the time 5T. When this counter-electromotive force, in period 186, is again too weak, another step pulse is

  created at 5T time; however, if the counterelectronic force

  motor is greater than the reference voltage, no gait pulse is created at time 5T as shown in Figure 9. On the contrary, the counter-electromotive force is sampled in a following interval 188, before time 6T, and if it has fallen below the reference voltage, another run pulse 190 is created

  at the time 6T. The operation is repeated at regular intervals

  the driving pulses being eliminated when necessary so that the speed of the motor 48 remains substantially constant.

  Reference is now made to Figure 10 which shows

  that when the labeling machine is initially energized at 250, the parameters of the microprocessor 42 and the control processor 46 are initialized at 252 and the processor 46 is prepared at 254 to initiate the advance of the sheet after receipt of the microprocessor start pulse 42. After receiving a start pulse, a clock of the control processor 46 is reset at 256. Next, a separate timer is updated to 260 so that it indicates how often the clock of the command processor has

  been reset. This gives an indication of the

  where the motor 48 has operated, in 262. When this

  time exceeds a predetermined limit in 264, the minute

  When the engine stops running, the engine is stopped and braked at 268 and the processor 46 is prepared to wait for the next pulse to start. A signal can also be transmitted to the acoustic alarm 52 so that it indicates a jam. If no timer counting exists, the detector 50 is sampled so that a print start edge (first opaque edge after opening of the home position in FIG. 7) has been encountered, is determined 268. When the edge has been detected at 270, a start of print pulse is transmitted to the microprocessor 42 at 272 and the state of the

  engine is checked at 274, as described below.

  When the edge has passed previously at 276, the timing disk is checked so that a position mark is determined at 278. When such a mark is detected

  in 280, a position pulse is transmitted to the micro-

  processor 42 in 282. When no mark is detected at 284, the synchronization disc is checked so that the presence of a warning track is determined at 286 (it is an opaque zone widened on the

  Figure 7). The enlarged area can easily be

  undermined by the alignment time on the sensor 50.

  When the end of the warning track is detected at 288, the engine is stopped, the brake is set for a predetermined time, and the control processor is prepared to wait for the next command to turn on.

en route of the engine.

  The role of the aforementioned operations is to

  undermine the position of the synchronization disk and

  sequence, the position of the label during the cycle

  printing. In addition to determining the posi-

  the speed of the engine must be determined

  undermined. In the flow chart of Figure 10, the verification

  motor speed is performed after each position check, as indicated in 274. Thus,

  when the walking timer is not counted and when

  that the end of the warning track has not yet been detected at 290, an engine speed check is performed at 274. The operation is performed first by checking the engine to determine its operating condition or stop. When the engine is stopped as shown in 292, the device waits until

  a sampling period is reached in 294.

  When the sampling period is reached, the counterelectromotive force is checked so that the motor speed is determined at 296. The result of the check, indicating whether the speed of the motor is too high or too low, is memorized. If the engine is running, as indicated in 298, no speed check can be made and the

engine is stopped in 300.

  When the counter-electromotive force has been

  checked or after the engine has been stopped, the

  tif waits for the processor clock to reach the AT time at 302, i.e., the next moment that a run pulse can be created. When this time LT is reached, the memorized result is checked so that the fact that the speed of the engine was too low is determined, in 304. If this speed was too low, the engine is started in 306, the clock of control processor is reset, the run time is updated so that it contains the accumulated time by the processor clock in the previous cycle, and the cycle is repeated. If the motor speed was not too low, the motor is started before the processor clock is reset and the

  walk timer is updated to 256, 260.

  In the case where the engine was operating previously and o no counter-electromotive force check has been made and stored, it is assumed that the speed

  the engine was not too weak, and the clock of the

  the receiver is reset without starting the engine.

  As this one is then stopped, a speed check can be easily made during the next cycle. As mentioned before, the labeling machine

  according to the invention is of the manual type, that is to say

  by a storage battery. As with all battery-powered devices, the voltage applied to the various circuits decreases when the batteries are discharged and can even become zero when the batteries are fully discharged or removed. These voltage variations can pose

  important problems. For example, when the voltage

  When a microprocessor falls below a predetermined value, the operation of the microprocessor may have errors. In this case, the microprocessor error signals can modify the data stored in the various memories or erase them. The processor may also cause deterioration of the print head, for example by continuous excitation of one or more printing elements. In addition, when

  the use of a direct access memory of t -'-

  such as memory 60, a fall or disappearance

  battery voltage can cause

  the loss of the data stored in this memory.

  Thus, according to another characteristic of the invention, a circuit (FIG. 11) controls the voltage produced by the main battery of accumulators

  that is, the battery 26 and protects the various memories

  and the printhead when the battery is

  charge or when removed. The operation is carried out using a comparator 200 which compares the voltage of the battery 26 with a reference voltage

  corresponding to a low voltage for the battery. Lors-

  that the voltage supplied by the battery 26 falls below the low reference voltage, the comparator 200 transmits a signal to the microprocessor 42 and the processor 46 so that they are reset and can not be reset.

  not work in a wrong way. In addition, the

  200 transmits an inhibition signal to the memory 58 and the memory 60 so that the data can not be

  not be described in these memories or erased from those

  this. An inhibition signal is also transmitted to the printing head 64 so that the excitation circuit 68 of the head is locked and can not excite the head 66. Thus, the memories and the print head are

  protected against the erratic operation of micro-

  processors. A backup battery, for example lithium 210 (Figure 12) is used so that it avoids the loss of data from the permanent memory such as the memory 60. The use of such a storage battery

  lithium in such an application is particular-

  advantageously because these storage batteries have a very long shelf life, of the order of 10 years. However, if such a lithium battery was used to power the permanent memory for long periods of time, it would discharge quickly enough. Consequently, a device must prevent the

257561-9

  premature discharge of this booster battery 210.

  Thus, when the labeling machine is turned on, the permanent memory 60 is powered by the main battery such as the battery 26. However, provision must be made for the memory 60 to be powered when the labeling machine is stored.

  during a long period of time.

  In the manual labeling machine according to the invention, the circuits are powered by the accumulator battery 26 which is connected to a voltage regulator 212 by a switch 214 (which are not shown in FIG. 2). The regulator 212 transmits

  a regulated voltage, for example 5.6 volts, to the circuits

  fired from the machine each time switch 214 is closed. Under these conditions, the output voltage of the regulator 212 is applied to the permanent memory 60 by a stop diode 216, and the memory 60 is powered by the battery 26 via the switch 214, the regulator 212 and of the diode 216 each time the machine is in operation. A diode 211

  isolates the battery 210 from the rest of the circuit-in these conditions.

  because the voltage applied to the memory 60 is greater than

  than the voltage of the battery 210, and the diode 211

is polarized in reverse.

  When the labeling machine is stopped, the output voltage of the regulator 212 becomes zero, so that if the machine is kept for a period of time

  relatively long, the booster battery 210 is

  finally charges if the regulator 212 is used for the supply of the memory 60. Accordingly, according to another important characteristic of the invention, an auxiliary circuit supplies the permanent memory 60

  even when the labeling machine is stopped. This cir-

  auxiliary firing comprises a Zener diode 218 which is coupled to the side of the switch 214 connected to the battery by a resistor 220. The connection of the resistor 220 and the diode 218 is connected to the permanent memory by another diode. 222. Thus, when the switch 214 is open, the perzantent memory is powered by the auxiliary circuit. As in the case where the switch 214 is closed, the diode 211 isolates the battery 210 from the rest of the circuit as the battery 26 is present and active. When the voltage of the Zener diode 218 is lower than the output voltage of the regulator 212, for example 4.2 volts, the interaction between the two circuits is eliminated. By

  For example, when the switch 214 is closed, the voltage

  cathode voltage of the diode 222 exceeds the voltage at its anode. The diode 222 is therefore reverse biased and prevents the circulation of the current of the regulator 212.

  to the diode 218, and the discharge of the battery 26.

  When the switch 214 is open, the stop diode 216 is reverse biased and prevents the discharge

  batteries 26 and 210 in the circuit of the machine.

  When the battery 26 is withdrawn or discharged, the diode 211 becomes forward biased and the permanent memory 60 is powered by the battery 211. Under these conditions, the diodes 216 and 222 isolate the battery 211 from the rest of the circuit of the machine

other than memory 60.

  Of course, various modifications may be made by those skilled in the art to the devices and methods which have just been described solely for the purposes of the present invention.

  non-limiting examples without departing from the scope of the

vention.

Claims (5)

  1. Apparatus for adjusting the speed of an electric motor   trolley (48), characterized in that it comprises a device (134) for transmitting an excitation pulse to the electric motor,   a device (130) for introducing a predetermined delay   terminated after the interruption of the excitation pulse, a device (136) controlled by the delay device for sampling the magnitude of the back EMF force of the electric motor after the predetermined delay has elapsed after the end of the excitation pulse, a device (130) for comparing the amplitude of the   Counter-electric force sampled at a predetermined amplitude   a device controlled by the comparison device and intended to create another excitation pulse after a second predetermined time interval when the amplitude of this force   Countermotor is less than the predetermined amplitude.   2. Apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that it further comprises a device controlled by the device of   comparison (130) and intended to prevent the creation of another impulse   excitation voltage after said second predetermined time interval when the magnitude of the counter-electromotive force is greater than at the predetermined amplitude.   Apparatus according to claim 2, characterized in that   that the comparison device (130) comprises an analog comparator logic (174).   4. Apparatus according to claim 3, characterized in that the device controlled by the comparison device comprises   a digital sampling device controlled by that delay time (136).   5. Use of the apparatus according to any one of   1 to 4, in a manual labeling machine, which   takes a housing (12) having a handle to be grasped by hand, the housing having a support device for a label feeding roll (14) formed of a composite sheet on which labels are temporarily affixed to a backing strip, a label printing device (64) occupying a printing position, a peeling device of the printed label of the backing strip, a label application device (30) placed near the peeling device, a device (49) for advancing the sheet so that a printed label is peeled from the support strip at the peeling device, that the printed label advances in   position of application with respect to the device for applying   cords and another label is moved to the printing position, a   device (20) for inputting selected data to be printed, the   positive printing device comprising a thermographic printing head (66) having a plurality of individually selectable printing elements for printing on a thermographic label, in the printing position, a coupled device (46) to the data input device (20) for electrically processing the selected data and for exciting the individual printing elements in a predetermined sequence by the selected data to be printed on the label, the feed device comprising an engine   electric circuit (48), characterized in that said feed device   takes said apparatus for adjusting the speed of the electric motor.