JP2998771B2 - Card print position setting method and apparatus in time clock - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a time recorder and, more particularly, to a card printing position setting method for setting a printing stage to be printed on a time card at a printing position of the time recorder, and an apparatus therefor.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In order to rotate a feed roller mechanism for feeding a card, a direct current motor (hereinafter, a DC motor) is generally used. Since DC motors are inexpensive and easy to handle, DC motors are widely used especially for small and popular time clocks. In order to set the card printing position in this time clock, conventionally, an encoder consisting of a disk with a slit and an optical sensor that rotates in synchronization with the rotation axis of the DC motor is installed to generate pulses, and the number of pulses is reduced. The printer performs a printing operation at a timing position where a predetermined number of pulses are reached from the reference position of the inserted card. In this case, since the card inserted into the time clock and fed toward the printing position by the feed roller mechanism has a considerable feeding speed, the control brake is applied to the card feeding before the pulse number position reaching the printing position. This is repeated an appropriate number of times to sequentially reduce the card feeding speed, so-called slow-down control is performed, and the final brake is applied at a position corresponding to a few pulses before reaching the printing position, and the printing stage of the card to be printed is performed. Is made to coincide with the print position of the time clock to perform printing.

As described above, even in a time clock using a DC motor, the card printing position can be set, and there is an advantage in that a high-priced motor such as a pulse motor or a servomotor is not used.

[0004]

As described above, in the conventional setting of the card printing position, the timing of applying the final brake is determined by setting the fixed pulse number position before reaching the pulse number position corresponding to the printing position. The final braking operation is automatically started when the pulse number position is reached. However, in each time clock, the mechanical load applied from the card feed roller mechanism or the like to the inserted time card is not always equal, and therefore, there is a problem in that the printing position varies due to the light weight. Therefore, printing is not accurately performed in a predetermined printing stage, and printing is often performed with a deviation from the top and bottom of the printing stage. This may cause a situation in which the printing position accuracy differs for each time recorder, making adjustment work after assembly troublesome, and mass production. It was also an obstacle to conversion.

Accordingly, the present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and has as its object to position a time card at a printing position more accurately without being affected by variations in mechanical load. It is an object of the present invention to provide a card printing position setting method in a time recorder and a device therefor that can reduce troublesome adjustment work after assembly and contribute to mass production.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention feeds a time card toward a printing position via a feed roller mechanism by driving a DC motor, and synchronizes the time card with the rotation of the feed roller mechanism. A pulse is generated by a pulse generating means, a position where the card reaches a predetermined number of pulses from a reference position is made to correspond to a printing position, and a first brake is applied until the number of pulses reaches the predetermined number of pulses. Activating the means to perform a slowdown control of the card feed speed, and immediately before the pulse number reaches the predetermined pulse number, activates the final brake means to set the card printing position, assuming that the time clock is set. In the process of slowdown control before actuation of the final brake means, the number of pulses until the pulse length reaches a predetermined length is determined, and the determination is made. There is provided a pulse number position card printing position setting method comprising determining the starting the operation of the final brake means in response to the number of pulses.

Further, the present invention provides a DC motor, a feed roller mechanism which rotates by driving the motor and feeds a time card toward a printing position, and a pulse which generates a pulse in synchronization with the rotation of the feed roller mechanism. Generating means, printing means for performing printing in accordance with a printing position at a position where the card has reached a predetermined number of pulses from the reference position, and operating until the number of pulses reaches the predetermined number of pulses. A first brake means for performing a slowdown control of the card feeding speed, and a final brake means which is activated immediately before the pulse number reaches the predetermined pulse number. A pulse for determining the number of pulses until the pulse length becomes equal to or greater than a predetermined length in the process of slowdown control before actuation of the final brake means; A constant section and proposes the judgment become more configuration of the card printing position setting device as the final braking position determining means for determining the number of pulses the position for starting the operation of the final brake means in response to the pulse number.

[0008]

According to the present invention, printing is performed at a position of a predetermined number of pulses, for example, 70 pulses, from the reference position. When the slowdown control of the card feed speed is performed by the brake means during the printing, the pulse length gradually increases. , And calculate the number of pulses until it becomes, for example, 2 msec or more,
The timing of starting the operation of the final brake means is determined from the calculated number of pulses. This is because the number of pulses up to the predetermined pulse length varies depending on the lightness of the mechanical load. For example, when the load is large, the inertia at the time of card feeding is small, and the speed decreases quickly, so that the number of pulses up to a predetermined pulse length is reduced. On the other hand, when the load is small, the inertia at the time of card feeding is large. And the speed drop is delayed, and the number of pulses up to the predetermined pulse length increases. In accordance with the change in the pulse length, various experiments were conducted to find out at which pulse number position the final brake means should be started to operate so that the card printing position could be set more accurately so as not to shift. Has a certain proportional relationship, and based on this, the position of the number of pulses for starting the operation by the final brake means, that is, the position of the number of pulses before a predetermined pulse (for example, 70 pulses) for performing printing is determined. is there.

Thus, the timing of starting the operation of the final brake means is determined according to the lightness of the mechanical load, so that the problem of the shift of the card printing position due to the influence of the load is solved, and the printing at the correct position is always performed. Is made possible.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In the configuration diagram of the present invention shown in FIG.
A control unit of a card printing position setting device, which is provided in the time recorder, and is provided in the time recorder corresponding to the printing position, and a printing unit configured to perform a printing operation by a dot matrix,
Reference numeral 3 denotes a card feeding means constituted by a feed roller mechanism for feeding a time card 4 (FIGS. 2 and 3) inserted into the time clock toward the printing position, and 5 denotes that the time card 4 has been inserted into the time clock. A card insertion detecting means 6 comprising an optical sensor for detecting the card 4; a reference position detecting sensor 6 comprising an optical sensor for detecting that the card 4 has reached a reference position at which the feed control of the card 4 is started;
Is a pulse generating means composed of an encoder for generating a pulse in synchronization with the feed operation of the feed roller mechanism 3, 8 is a pulse counting means for counting the number of generated pulses, 9 is a DC motor for driving the feed roller mechanism 3 to rotate. (DC motor) 11
Is provided with a first brake means 11a for switching the supply voltage of the DC motor 10 to apply a brake to the steady feeding operation of the card and a slowdown control by applying a brake to the card feed, and a second brake means 11b as a final brake means. This is a motor supply voltage switching unit.

The switching of the supply voltage in the motor supply voltage switching section 11 is automatically performed by the control section 1. By controlling the switching of the supply current instead of the switching of the supply voltage, D
The drive control of the C motor and the control of the card feed of the feed roller mechanism 3 by the C motor can be performed.

Numeral 12 is a pulse judging means for judging the number of pulses until the pulse length reaches a predetermined length in the process of slowing down the card feeding, as will be described later. In the present embodiment, the number of pulses until the pulse length becomes 2 msec is determined.

Reference numeral 13 denotes a final brake position determining means, which determines a pulse number position at which the operation of the final brake means 11b is started, corresponding to the number of pulses determined by the pulse determining means 12, as will be described later. In the present embodiment, it is determined that printing is to be performed by the print head 2 at the 70th pulse from the reference position at which the control is started, and the final brake means 11b operates at the stage immediately before the 70th pulse. The operation is started at the position of the number of pulses determined by the position determining means 13, for example, the 64th pulse.

Reference numeral 14 denotes a memory unit, which has a data memory 14a for setting a card printing position according to the present invention, in which identification data and the like of each card user are retrievably stored in print data of the time clock. The data memory 14a confirms from the experimental results that there is a certain proportional relationship between the pulse number position for operating the final brake means 11b, that is, the final brake means position and the pulse number determined by the pulse determination means 12. This was confirmed and represented by a proportional equation.

In this embodiment, assuming that the number of pulses at the final brake position is y and the number of pulses by the pulse judging means 12 is x, a proportional expression of y = -0.276x + 73.69 is obtained. Therefore, for example, when x = 40 (pulse), y = 6
2.65 is rounded off to determine y = 63 (pulse). That is, the final brake is applied at a position 7 pulses before the 70th pulse of the printing position.

However, the specific numerical value of the above-mentioned proportional expression can vary depending on specific conditions such as the steady-state feed speed of the card, the pulse length used as a criterion for determination by the pulse determination means, and the like.

As shown in FIG. 2, the feed roller mechanism 3 draws the time card 4 into the time recorder as indicated by an arrow by a roller 15, and the feed shaft 1 of the roller 15
One end of 6 is connected to a motor shaft 18 of the DC motor 10 via a gear 17, and the extended end of the motor shaft 18 corresponds to a disk 19 with a slit constituting the encoder 7 and a peripheral edge of the disk 19. An arranged optical sensor 20 is provided. A pulse is transmitted from the encoder 7 to the control unit 1 in synchronization with the rotation of the motor shaft 18. Then, when the feed speed of the card 4 is controlled, the supply voltage to the DC motor 10 is switched by the control unit 1. A printing stage 4a is provided on the card 4 and is divided into upper and lower portions for each date. An arbitrary printing stage 4a is set at the printing position of the printing head 2 of the time clock to perform printing.

Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, a series of card feeding control operations for setting the time card 4 at the printing position P in the time recorder will be described below. When the time card 4 is inserted and detected by the card insertion detection sensor 5 in step 20, a detection signal is transmitted to the control unit 1, whereby the DC motor 10 is started, the feed roller mechanism 3 is operated, and the card 4 Is drawn toward the print position as indicated by the arrow in FIG. 3, and the card is constantly fed in step 21. During this time, 1
A forward drive voltage of 0 V is applied.

When the lower end of the card 4 reaches the reference position detection sensor 6 provided corresponding to the reference position S, a detection signal is transmitted from the sensor 6 to the control unit 1 and the card feed control is started. Is done. If the card 4 has not reached the reference position S in step 22, the card steady feeding is further continued.

When the card 4 reaches the reference position S, a strong brake is applied in step 23. That is, the DC motor supply voltage for 9 pulses from the reference position S is switched to the 10 V reverse rotation drive voltage by the motor supply voltage switching unit 11, where the card feeding speed is reduced, thereby making it easy to perform slowdown control thereafter. Become. The number of pulses is
It is counted from the reference position S by the pulse counting means 8,
At the ninth pulse, the first brake means 11a of the motor supply voltage switching unit 11 switches to weak braking in step 24. That is, weak braking is applied by a voltage of 10 V from the strong braking state, and the process is continued until the pulse length becomes equal to or longer than 2 msec set in step 25 as a predetermined pulse length.

When the pulse length is equal to or longer than the predetermined length in step 25, the pulse judging means 12 judges the number of pulses from the weak brake start position A to the position B. The determination information is transmitted to the final brake position determining means 13 via the control unit. Thereby, the determining means 13 determines the timing of starting the final brake operation by referring to the proportional data memory 14a of the memory unit 14 via the control unit 1. The determination of the number of pulses can be made to correspond to the number of returns from step 25 to step 24.
No complicated circuit design is required as pulse determination means.

As described above, in this embodiment, the 70th pulse from the reference position S is set so as to correspond to the print position P, and the number of pulses (y) at the final brake position C and
Since a proportional relationship of y = −0.276x + 73.69 has been found between the number of pulses (x) and the number of pulses (x) determined by the pulse determination unit 12, when the number of pulses (x) is 40,
The number of pulses (y) at the final brake position C is the 64th pulse.

When the determination of the weak brake is completed at the position B by the pulse determination means 12, the braking is continued until the final brake position C is reached.
Proceeding to step 26, the voltage switching unit 11 switches to 3V forward drive. As a result, the card slow feed is performed, and the slow down control of the card feed is continued.

When the 64th pulse is reached, the operation of the final brake is started in step 27. That is, the 10 V brake is applied by the second brake means of the voltage switching unit 11, and is continued until the print position P is reached. Thereby, the printing stage 4 to be printed on the card 4
a is accurately set to the print position where the print head 2 is located, and in step 28, card printing is performed by the print head 2.

In the present embodiment, the second brake means 11b, which constitutes the final brake means, is set to the same weak brake as the first brake means 11a applied before the control. 11b may have different strengths. Positions A and B for determining the number of pulses
In this embodiment, the weak brake (first brake means 11a) is provided only once after the strong brake, but the brake is applied a plurality of times to perform the slowdown control. The determination means 12 may determine the number of pulses. It is also possible to replace the high brake with a plurality of low brakes. However, since the control stroke becomes long, it is desirable to quickly shift to a card feeding state that can be controlled by the high brake.

In FIG. 3, the distance from the feed roller mechanism 3 to the print position P where the print head 2 is located is represented by the time indicating the pulse length, and does not correspond to the actual size.

The present invention has been described with reference to the embodiment.
The present invention is not limited to this. For example, in the embodiment, the supply voltage of the DC motor is switched to perform the slowdown control, but the supply current may be switched. Further, a configuration in which a mechanical brake is directly applied to the feed roller mechanism is also possible.

[0028]

As described above, according to the present invention, in the process of slowing down the card feed, the number of pulses until the number of pulses reaches a predetermined length is determined to operate the final brake. Since the starting pulse position is determined, it is possible to eliminate the displacement of the card printing position due to the lightness of the mechanical load applied to the card, which was a problem in the conventional time clock where the final brake is performed at the fixed number of pulses. The time card can be positioned more accurately at the printing position without being affected by the mechanical load, even if there is a variation in the mechanical load, reducing troublesome adjustment work after assembly and contributing to mass production. Thus, it is possible to provide a card printing position setting method and an apparatus therefor in a time clock that exhibits various effects.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a main part of a feed roller mechanism, an encoder, and the like of a time clock provided with the card print position setting device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a mode in which card feed control is performed along a time card feed direction.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a series of operations in setting a card printing position.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Control part 3 Feed roller mechanism (card feed means) 7 Encoder (pulse generating means) 10 DC motor 11 Motor supply voltage switching part 11a First brake means 11b Second brake means (final brake means) 12 Pulse determination means 13 Final brake Positioning means

Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Hiroshi Sato 6-6, Hakozakicho, Nihonbashi, Chuo-ku, Tokyo Inside Max Corporation (56) References JP-A-5-35947 (JP, A) JP-A-62-18654 ( JP, A) JP-A 6-51953 (JP, U) JP-A 3-50277 (JP, U) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G07C 1/00-15/00 H02P 3/00-3/26 B41J 11/42

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A time card is fed toward a printing position via a feed roller mechanism by driving a DC motor, and a pulse is generated by a pulse generating means in synchronization with the rotation of the feed roller mechanism. The position at which a predetermined number of pulses is reached is made to correspond to the printing position, and until the number of pulses reaches the predetermined number of pulses, the first brake means is operated to perform slowdown control of the card feed speed. In a time recorder in which the last brake means is activated and the card printing position is set immediately before the pulse number reaches the predetermined pulse number, in the process of slowdown control before actuating the final brake means,
A card characterized in that the number of pulses until the pulse length reaches a predetermined length is determined, and the position of the number of pulses for starting the operation of the final brake means is determined in accordance with the determined number of pulses. Print position setting method. 2. A DC motor, a feed roller mechanism which is rotated by driving the motor and feeds a time card toward a printing position, and a pulse generating means for generating a pulse in synchronization with the rotation of the feed roller mechanism. Printing means for performing printing in accordance with a printing position at a position where the card has reached a predetermined number of pulses from a reference position, and a card feeding speed which operates until the number of pulses reaches the predetermined number of pulses; A first brake means for performing a slowdown control of the following, and a final brake means which is activated immediately before the pulse number reaches the predetermined pulse number, wherein the time recording means for setting a card printing position comprises: Pulse determining means for determining the number of pulses until the pulse length becomes equal to or greater than a predetermined length in the process of slowdown control before the operation; Card printing position setting device, wherein a more becomes possible final braking position determining means for determining the number of pulses the position for starting the operation of the final brake means in response to the pulse number.