JPS606726Y2 - Piece count measuring device - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] The present invention relates to a number measuring device for measuring the number of photographs, etc. by measuring their thickness.

Traditionally, during photo development, the calculation of the number of photos to be printed after additional lots, etc., was done manually.
It is very time consuming and often causes calculation errors.

Additionally, there have been fully automatic devices for measuring the number of photos or devices that measure the number of photos by their weight, but the former is expensive, and the latter has large variations in the weight of each photo, making the measured number of photos inaccurate. There was a drawback.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a number measuring device which can accurately measure a large number of photographs, etc. without any errors, and which has a relatively simple structure.

The number measuring device of the present invention calculates the number of photographs, etc. by measuring their thickness.

The actual thickness of each photo is 0.232wn to 0.2
It is within the range of +71 to 3677.

In measuring the thickness of this photograph, we not only take into consideration the effects of warping of the photograph and overlaying of multiple photographs on the thickness measurement.
Variations in the thickness of the photos also pose a problem.

Therefore, in the present invention, we have developed a load application device to stabilize the overall thickness of a large number of superimposed photographs, and a device to electrically correct the measured number of sheets, including the cumulative error caused by variations in the thickness of the photographs. is provided.

The present invention will be explained below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a top view of the mechanical part of the sheet counting device of the present invention.

This measuring device consists of a motor 10, a moire fringe sensor 20, and a main body 30.

The main body 30 has a measuring section 31 in the center of the dowel, and this measuring section 31 has a concave shape so that the photographs 14 whose number is to be measured can be inserted.

The main body 30 is also equipped with two slidably supported spindles 34 and 36, and the ends of these spindles that protrude into the measuring section 31 are each provided with a plate-like measuring element 38,4.
0 is attached.

The measuring stylus 38, 40 is used to pinch the inserted photograph 14 and measure its thickness.

The other end of the spindle 34 extends outward through the main body 30, and a stopper 42 is attached to the end.

A coil spring 44 is provided between the stopper 42 and the main body 30, and the spindle is normally pressed so that the spindle-side surface of the probe 38 comes into contact with the main body 30.

The other end of the spindle 34 is further provided with a recess extending in the longitudinal direction of the spindle, and one end of a roller shaft 48 and a coil spring 46 are accommodated in this recess.

The roller shaft 48 extends outward from the recess through the center of the stopper 42 and has a roller 50 at its tip.

This roller shaft 48 is normally pressed outward by a coil spring 46.

The motor 10 is connected to an eccentric cam 12 which is arranged to engage the roller 50 and drive the spindle 34 in its longitudinal direction.

The eccentric cam 12 moves the spindle 34 from the initial position where the probe 38 is in contact with the main body 30 while the stopper 42 is in contact with the main body 30 during less than half a turn, that is, from the minimum diameter to a diameter slightly smaller than the maximum diameter. Move a predetermined distance to the final position of contact.

After the spindle 34 reaches its final position, the drive of the spindle 34 due to the rotation of the eccentric cam 12 to its maximum diameter is absorbed by the contraction of the roller shaft 48 and the coil spring 46.

This holds the spindle 34 in its final position for a certain period of time.

The remaining half-turn of the eccentric cam 12 causes the spindle 34 and roller shaft 48 to return to their initial positions under the action of the coil springs 44 and 46.

Another spindle 36 with a probe 40 extends into a chamber 37 in the main body 30 and has a plate 41 of similar shape to the probe 40 attached to its end.

A coil spring 45 disposed within this chamber 37 normally pushes the spindle 36 to the left side, causing the plate 41 to
is in contact with the main body 30.

The plate 41 is in contact with the spindle 22 of the Moire fringe sensor 20 attached to the right end of the main body 30.

Further, the main body 30 is provided with a light emitting diode 32 and a photodiode 33 on a surface opposite to the measuring section 31 .

The mechanical operation of the sheet count measuring device of the present invention described above will be explained.

First, before starting measurement, the spindles 34, 36 are held at the leftmost position by the coil springs 44, 45, 46, and the roller 50 of the roller shaft 48 is aligned with the smallest diameter portion of the eccentric cam 12. are in contact.

At this time, there is a gap between the measuring tip 38 and the measuring tip 40 that allows insertion of about four photographs (approximately 10 mm thick).

Next, select the photo 14 to be measured if the photo is the light emitting diode 3.
2 to the position where it blocks the light from the photodiode 33.

This causes a measurement start detection circuit (not shown) connected to the photodiode to generate a measurement start signal.

The motor 10 supplied with electric power by this start signal rotates the eccentric cam 12 once and drives the spindle 34.

As previously mentioned, the minimum diameter that holds the spindle 34 in its final position is set smaller than the maximum diameter of the eccentric cam 12, so that the spindle 34 is maintained in its final position for a period of time rather than instantaneously; This ensures accurate measurement of the number of photos.

Next, the spindle 2 of the moiré fringe sensor 20 for measuring the number of sheets.
Regarding the spindle 36 that is in contact with the sensor 2, the surface that contacts the photo of the measuring tip 42 before the start of measurement is the surface that presses the photo 14 of the measuring tip 38 at the final position of the spindle 34 that moves after the start of measurement. It is configured so that it is just touching.

With such a configuration, the thickness of the photograph 14 to be measured is reliably transmitted as the moving distance of the spindle 36.

Moreover, since the spindle 36 is pressed toward the spindle 34 by the coil spring 45, a nearly constant load is applied to the photo 14, absorbing the bulge and warping caused by overlapping many photos, and ensuring a stable moving distance. Obtainable.

The moire fringe sensor 20 detects the moving distance of the spindle 22 as an electrical signal.

A scale with a cut grid fixed to the spindle 22 and a scale with a cut grid fixed to the sensor body are juxtaposed, and light is directed from one side to the opposite side across the scales. The two light-receiving elements are irradiated with light.

These light receiving elements generate pulses when irradiated with light when the gratings of both scales overlap, and do not generate pulses when the gratings shift and the light is blocked.

In this way, both light-receiving elements are properly arranged and 90'
Two square wave signals having a phase difference of , are generated at a speed corresponding to the moving speed of the spindle 22, and are output to the output terminal 24 of the moire fringe sensor 20.

This Moiré stripe sensor has a high precision of 0.001 mm, which is expensive and does not have sufficient speed response, so the present invention can be obtained at a low price, and from the viewpoint of speed response and positioning when stopped, the sensor has a precision of 0.01 mm. Use one with an accuracy of .

One period of the double wave output signal of the Moiré fringe sensor with this precision corresponds to a moving distance of 0.04 m11t.

Next, referring to FIG. 2, the electric circuit of this sheet count measuring device will be explained.

The avoidance doubler circuit 60 receives at its input two square wave signals having a 90° phase difference from the Moiré fringe sensor 20 and produces as an output one reference clock pulse per 0.01 mm of travel distance.

As mentioned above, the thickness of each photograph ranges from 0.232 mm to 0.23677 EI11, and accurate measurement of the number of photographs requires a highly accurate sensor of 0.001 mm. Since a sensor with an accuracy of 0.01 TIIIR is used, an error in the number of sheets inevitably occurs.

Therefore, in order to correct and measure this error for each fixed number of sheets, 116, 117, and 118 frequency division counters 62 and 24 frequency division counters 64 are connected to receive the reference clock pulse output signal of the avoidance multiplication circuit 60. is provided.

The divide-by-24 frequency counter 64 divides the frequency of the reference clock pulse from the avoidance multiplier circuit 6o by 24, and supplies a Low level clock pulse for counting the number of sheets to one terminal of the NAND gate 70.

Then, the NAND gate 70 applies a high-level clock pulse to the sheet number counter 72 and the - terminal of the NAND gate 71, regardless of the inputs to the other terminals.

The other terminals of the NAND gate 71 are always at High level, so the output is at Low level, and this output is at NAND gate 71.
It is applied to the - terminal of AND gate 68.

The other terminal of this gate 68 is a measurement start signal (Low) from the photodiode 33 and measurement start detection circuit shown in FIG.
level).

Therefore, when either or both of the input terminals are Low, the NAND gate 68 supplies a High level pulse to the total 24 frequency division counter 64 to clear the count.

116.117.118 divider counter 62 receives the reference clock pulse from avoidance doubler 60 as well as the thickness selection signal.

In response to this thickness selection signal, the frequency division counter 62
6. It is set in either the 117 or 118 branch counter, and divides the reference clock pulse from the avoidance doubler circuit 60 using the set frequency division ratio, and outputs a LOW level correction clock pulse. - of NAND gate 70
and the - input terminal of the NAND gate 66.

Then, the NAND gate 7o outputs the 24
Clear the frequency division counter 64.

The NAND gate 66, which is connected to receive the correction clock pulse at one input terminal and the measurement start signal at the other input terminal, receives the correction clock pulse at a low level in the same manner as the NAND gate 68. Alternatively, the frequency division counter 62 is cleared by one or both of the low level measurement start signals.

High level clock from NAND gate 70
The sheet number counter 72 receiving the pulse is a frequency division counter 62
and 64, the low-level clock pulses for counting and correcting the number of photos are counted as the number of photos,
The result is given to the digital display device 74 to display the number of sheets.

Counter 72 is also cleared by the measurement start signal.

The operation of the electric circuit configured as above will be explained.

First, when the photograph 14 is inserted into the measurement section 31 and a measurement start signal is generated, the frequency division counters 62 and 64 and the number-of-pictures counter 72 are cleared.

Thereafter, the output signal from the moire fringe sensor 20 in response to the movement of the spindle 36 is converted to 0.01 by the circulation multiplier circuit 60.
The reference clock pulse is multiplied by one pulse per morning.

The actual thickness of the photograph ranges from <0.232 to 0.23 mm as described above.
2361rr! n, but in this invention it is 0.001Tr
The order of rIn cannot be detected.

Therefore, the 24 frequency division counter 64 calculates the thickness of each photo by 0, which is rounded up to the nearest 0.001rIrIn order.
24 (0,01r/rfIK corresponds to one output reference clock pulse of the circulation multiplier circuit), and a clock pulse for counting the number of sheets is generated every 20,000 semi-clock pulses. The sheet number counter 72 is made to count as shown by the solid line.

Naturally, when counting the number of photos in this way, errors accumulate and the number of photos becomes inaccurate.

Therefore, the 116/117/118 frequency division counter 62 is
A clock pulse for correcting the number of sheets is generated every five sheets.

The thickness of each photo is 0.232mm if it is almost thin.
Medium is 0.234 diagonal and thick is 0.2
36mm, so the thickness per 5 sheets is 1.160mm for the thin one (corresponding to 11 reference clock pulses), 1.170Tran for the medium one (corresponding to 117 pieces), and the thickness for the thick one. 1.180mm (equivalent to 118 pieces).

Therefore, the branch counter 62 selects 116, 117 or 1 according to the thickness selection signal from the appropriate thickness selection switch.
Set to 18 frequency division counter.

For example, if the photo you want to measure is thin, the frequency division counter 62
is set to 11 cap frequency, and 11 Elyi reference clock.
When the pulse is received, a correction clock pulse is generated to count the fifth sheet as shown by the dotted line in FIG.

The important point is that at the same time the correction clock pulse is
The purpose is to forcibly reset the 4-frequency divider counter to clear the accumulated error in the number of sheets counted before it reaches a value large enough to actually cause an error in the number of sheets measured.

This makes it possible to reliably eliminate the cumulative error caused by the low precision of the Moiré fringe sensor, and to accurately measure the number of photographs.

Next, FIG. 4 shows a specific circuit example of the circulation multiplier circuit.

The circuit consists primarily of an exclusive OR gate receiving the output of the Moiré fringe sensor and four NAND gates.

The values of the resistors and capacitors connected to the input terminals of one of the two NAND gates 80 and 82 are the same as those of the spindle 36.
In order to set the time constant considering the maximum movement speed of
It is set to an appropriate value.

For example, the resistor is 6.8Ω and the capacitor is 0
．． 001μF.

Further, FIG. 5 shows a specific circuit example of the frequency division counter 62 and the thickness selection switch.

This circuit consists of a switch 84.3 exclusive O
It consists of an R gate, a NAND gate, and a counter.

When the frequency division ratio is set to 117, the switch 84 is set to be neutral and a high level signal is applied to one input of each of the exclusive OR gates 86 and 88. When the frequency division ratio is set to 118, the switch 84 is turned upward and the signal is set at terminal a. □, a2 are respectively connected to terminals b1. b2 and give a low level signal to one input of each of the gates 86 and 88, and when setting it to 116, flip the switch downward and connect the terminals a1... A2 is shorted to the terminals C1 and C2, and a low level signal is applied to the input terminal of the gate 86, and a high level signal is applied to the input terminal of the gate 88, whereby 117
- Detect when the output of the counter becomes a binary value corresponding to 118/116.

The following modifications can be made to the above-described embodiment of the sheet count measuring device of the present invention.

First, as the length measurement sensor, for example, Magnescale (registered trademark of Sony) can be used in addition to the Moire fringe sensor.

Second, the generation of the correction clock pulse is not limited to every five sheets.

The total error between the count of the frequency dividing counter 64 that counts each photo and the actual thickness of the many photos to be measured is 1.
It is also possible to generate a correction clock pulse every time the number of photographs does not exceed the thickness of one photograph.

Therefore, it is not limited to counting one photograph every 0.24 mm as in this embodiment, but it may be set to a value greater than that.

In that case, the number of frames on which correction clock pulses are generated should naturally be small.

Thirdly, this sheet count measuring device can be used to measure the number of sheets of other objects such as paper, vinyl, iron plates, films, etc. whose thickness is controlled within a certain tolerance, such as photographs, although photographs have been described as the object to be measured. It can also be used for

As described above, the number measuring device of the present invention is a device that presses an object to be measured, such as a photograph, in the thickness direction against the measuring tip 40 and moves this measuring tip by a distance corresponding to the thickness of the measuring object. A device that counts a set value (0.24 mm in this example) that is larger than the thickness of one piece of the object to be measured as one piece, and counts the number of pieces accordingly, and the thickness of one piece and the setting. and a device that corrects the count of the counting device before the error exceeds the thickness of one sheet in order to clear the error caused by the difference between the two sheets.

By using this device, an inexpensive length measuring sensor with low accuracy can be used, and the number of sheets can be easily and accurately measured without any calculation processing.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a top view of the mechanical part of the sheet counting device of the present invention. Figure 2 is an electrical circuit diagram of this sheet count measuring device. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the state of counting the number of sheets by the present sheet number measuring device. FIG. 4 shows a specific example of the circulation multiplier circuit in the electrical circuit of FIG. FIG. 5 shows a specific circuit example of the branch counter in the electrical circuit of FIG. [Explanation of symbols], 10...Motor, 20...
. . . Moire stripe sensor, 30 . . . Main body, 34.
36... Spindle, 38. 40...
・Measuring head.

Claims (2)

[Scope of utility model registration request] (1) A device for measuring the number of objects to be measured whose thickness per sheet falls within a certain tolerance, and (a) pressing the object to be measured 14 against the probe member 40 in its thickness direction; , devices 10, 12, 48 for moving the probe member by a distance corresponding to the thickness of the object to be measured;
, 34, 38, (b) a detection device 20, 60 that detects the moving distance of the probe member during movement with a first accuracy and generates a series of pulses corresponding to the detected distance; (c) the above-mentioned a counting device 64 that is connected to receive a series of pulses, and that counts the series of pulses and generates a sheet number pulse representing one sheet of the object to be measured each time a first set number of pulses are counted; The first set number of counts corresponds to a predetermined thickness for one of the objects to be measured, and this set thickness approximates the actual thickness of one of the objects to be measured. (b) is connected to receive the series of pulses;
a correction device 6 that counts the series of pulses and generates a correction pulse every time a second set number of pulses are counted;
2,71.68, the correction pulse is applied to the counting device and acts to reset its counting operation, and the second set number of counts is set to a predetermined number of sheets to be measured. The second set number corresponds to the thickness when the thickness of the object is measured with a second accuracy higher than the first accuracy, and the second set number corresponds to the actual thickness of one of the objects to be measured. The error due to the difference between the thickness and the set thickness is 1
(e) is connected to receive the sheet number pulse and the correction pulse, and is connected to receive the sheet number pulse and the correction pulse; A device 72 for counting the number of objects to be measured to obtain the number of objects to be measured. (2) The sheet number measuring device according to claim 1, wherein the second predetermined number is changeable.