EP0702335A1 - System for controlling an ink jet head in a franking machine by printing the images in a stepped manner - Google Patents
System for controlling an ink jet head in a franking machine by printing the images in a stepped manner Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- EP0702335A1 EP0702335A1 EP95401957A EP95401957A EP0702335A1 EP 0702335 A1 EP0702335 A1 EP 0702335A1 EP 95401957 A EP95401957 A EP 95401957A EP 95401957 A EP95401957 A EP 95401957A EP 0702335 A1 EP0702335 A1 EP 0702335A1
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- EP
- European Patent Office
- Prior art keywords
- nozzles
- patterns
- movement
- rows
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
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Classifications
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- G—PHYSICS
- G07—CHECKING-DEVICES
- G07B—TICKET-ISSUING APPARATUS; FARE-REGISTERING APPARATUS; FRANKING APPARATUS
- G07B17/00—Franking apparatus
- G07B17/00459—Details relating to mailpieces in a franking system
- G07B17/00508—Printing or attaching on mailpieces
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- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
- B41J—TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
- B41J2/00—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed
- B41J2/005—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed characterised by bringing liquid or particles selectively into contact with a printing material
- B41J2/01—Ink jet
- B41J2/015—Ink jet characterised by the jet generation process
- B41J2/04—Ink jet characterised by the jet generation process generating single droplets or particles on demand
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- G—PHYSICS
- G07—CHECKING-DEVICES
- G07B—TICKET-ISSUING APPARATUS; FARE-REGISTERING APPARATUS; FRANKING APPARATUS
- G07B17/00—Franking apparatus
- G07B17/00185—Details internally of apparatus in a franking system, e.g. franking machine at customer or apparatus at post office
- G07B17/00314—Communication within apparatus, personal computer [PC] system, or server, e.g. between printhead and central unit in a franking machine
- G07B2017/00338—Error detection or handling
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- G—PHYSICS
- G07—CHECKING-DEVICES
- G07B—TICKET-ISSUING APPARATUS; FARE-REGISTERING APPARATUS; FRANKING APPARATUS
- G07B17/00—Franking apparatus
- G07B17/00459—Details relating to mailpieces in a franking system
- G07B17/00508—Printing or attaching on mailpieces
- G07B2017/00516—Details of printing apparatus
- G07B2017/00524—Printheads
- G07B2017/00532—Inkjet
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- G—PHYSICS
- G07—CHECKING-DEVICES
- G07B—TICKET-ISSUING APPARATUS; FARE-REGISTERING APPARATUS; FRANKING APPARATUS
- G07B17/00—Franking apparatus
- G07B17/00459—Details relating to mailpieces in a franking system
- G07B17/00508—Printing or attaching on mailpieces
- G07B2017/00516—Details of printing apparatus
- G07B2017/00556—Ensuring quality of print
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- G—PHYSICS
- G07—CHECKING-DEVICES
- G07B—TICKET-ISSUING APPARATUS; FARE-REGISTERING APPARATUS; FRANKING APPARATUS
- G07B17/00—Franking apparatus
- G07B17/00459—Details relating to mailpieces in a franking system
- G07B17/00508—Printing or attaching on mailpieces
- G07B2017/00637—Special printing techniques, e.g. interlacing
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- G—PHYSICS
- G07—CHECKING-DEVICES
- G07B—TICKET-ISSUING APPARATUS; FARE-REGISTERING APPARATUS; FRANKING APPARATUS
- G07B17/00—Franking apparatus
- G07B17/00459—Details relating to mailpieces in a franking system
- G07B17/00661—Sensing or measuring mailpieces
- G07B2017/00669—Sensing the position of mailpieces
Definitions
- the invention relates to a franking machine comprising an ink jet printing head for printing a postal imprint on a franking article moved relative to the head in a direction of movement, this printing head comprising a plurality of nozzles arranged in two rows extending transversely to the direction of movement, these two rows being mutually offset transversely and longitudinally to the direction of movement and control means being provided for controlling the chronological succession of ink droplet ejections of the plurality of nozzles.
- Inkjet printing gives postage machines great flexibility, particularly when it comes to printing postal items on mail items with both variable characters, such as digital symbols a postage amount, and color schemes, such as advertising flames.
- the two rows of nozzles can be part of two different housings mutually offset transversely and longitudinally to the direction of movement so that a row of nozzles has a substantially screwed end opposite one end of the other row of nozzles.
- ink jet nozzles for example boxes comprising 64 or 128 nozzles, which are now widely distributed at very low prices to equip jet printers. ink to be connected to microcomputers.
- These jet printing boxes have a resolution of about 200 nozzles per inch which is suitable for printing a postal imprint.
- a box comprising for example 128 nozzles makes it possible to print a linear mark which extends over approximately 16mm. It will therefore be understood that two boxes comprising a row of 128 nozzles each, mounted in the print head make it possible to print a linear mark over a length of approximately 30mm which corresponds to the height of a postal imprint.
- the information to be printed by such a franking machine on a mail fold or a label intended to be affixed on such a fold is recorded in digital form in a memory and partially transmitted to an interface circuit which, under the control of the control means, simultaneously operates the nozzles of the row most upstream in the direction of movement. Then after the delay R during which the fold or label is moved (e) by the distance D separating the two rows of nozzles in the direction of movement, another part of the information in the memory is transmitted to the interface circuit which puts in all the nozzles in the other row operate simultaneously so as to finish printing the linear mark.
- This type of operation can extend to a number of rows of nozzles greater than two.
- the delay R in question can be given by a clock circuit at a fixed frequency if the variations in the speed of movement V of the fold or label under the print head are not taken into account or otherwise at frequency synchronized on a representative signal the speed of movement of the fold or label detected in real time by an appropriate speed sensor, for example an optical sensor.
- the object of the invention is to provide a simple solution for selecting the nozzles whose operation must be prohibited at the time of printing a postal imprint on a mail item.
- control means is arranged to control a first chronological sequence of ejection of ink droplets from said few first nozzles so as to print a first series of first rectilinear patterns extending longitudinally to the direction of movement following a staircase arrangement on the basis of a first pattern per step, and for controlling a second chronological sequence of ejections of ink droplets from a particular nozzle of the second nozzles so as to print a second series of second rectilinear patterns extending longitudinally to the direction of movement and in such a way that the second patterns are substantially opposite respectively the first patterns with respect to a direction perpendicular to the direction of movement.
- control means is arranged to control the ejection of ink droplets from the nozzles of the plurality of nozzles so as to print symbols opposite the first or second rectilinear patterns, these symbols making it possible to establish a direct correspondence between the first patterns and the row of the first or second nozzles in the rows of nozzles.
- the invention extends to a method for adjusting such a franking machine according to which the first and second patterns are advantageously printed on a label in the case where the franking machine includes an automatic label dispenser.
- Figure 1 is a block diagram of the printhead forming part of a franking machine according to the invention on which appears an arrangement of the nozzles of the printhead in two parallel rows.
- Figure 2 shows the overlap of the two rows of nozzles.
- Figures 3 to 6 show examples of printing first and second rectilinear patterns.
- the franking machine in FIG. 1 comprises a conveyor system which moves the mail item 1 to be franked under a stationary ink jet print head 2 in the direction of movement F.
- the print head here comprises two housings such as 20 and 21, each housing comprising a row of nozzles, each row including for example 128 nozzles regularly spaced apart by a distance of 1/200 inch, that is to say approximately 0.127 millimeter.
- the boxes possibly having rows of nozzles of different sizes, for example a box with 128 nozzles and a box with 64 nozzles.
- the housings 20 and 21 are identical.
- the two housings are mounted in the print head in such a way that their rows of nozzles extend transversely to the direction F, the two housings being additionally offset with respect to each other transversely and longitudinally to the direction F.
- the nozzles are represented by crosses in FIG. 1.
- the arrangement of the two housings is such that the distance between the last nozzle B128 of the housing 20 (the one uppermost in FIG. 1) and the first nozzle B'1 of the box 21 (the lowest one in FIG. 1) is at least equal to the height H of a postal imprint 10 represented by the rectangle in broken lines on article 1. It is therefore understood that the dimension of each row of nozzles and the height of the postal imprint determine the number of boxes required for printing the postal imprint.
- the two rows of nozzles R1 and R2 are spaced from each other by a distance D in the direction F of about 1cm.
- the franking machine further comprises a control unit 3, such as a microprocessor and a program stored in a memory not shown, which is connected to control the chronological succession of ejections of ink droplets from the nozzles, in response to a signal d clock synchronized or not with the speed of movement of the fold or the label under the print head 2, so that it is possible to produce dots on the fold or the label which join one to the other with a slight overlap along straight lines parallel to the direction F.
- a control unit 3 such as a microprocessor and a program stored in a memory not shown, which is connected to control the chronological succession of ejections of ink droplets from the nozzles, in response to a signal d clock synchronized or not with the speed of movement of the fold or the label under the print head 2, so that it is possible to produce dots on the fold or the label which join one to the other with a slight overlap along straight lines parallel to the direction F.
- these two housings 20, 21 are mounted in such a way that a few end nozzles of the row of nozzles R1, for example five nozzles like B1 to B5 are arranged substantially opposite a few end nozzles. of the row of nozzles R2, for example five nozzles like B'128 to B'124, as shown in FIG. 2.
- control unit 3 is arranged as follows.
- the unit 3 in response to the input of a control signal for example, controls a first chronological sequence of droplet ejections ink from nozzles B1 to B5 of the row of nozzles R1 so as to print on a paper support (such as envelope 1 or the like) moved under the print head according to the direction F, a first series of first rectilinear patterns extending longitudinally to direction F in a staircase arrangement at the rate of a first pattern per step, each pattern being printed by the aid of only one of these nozzles .
- these nozzles are excited in sequence, one after the other, starting, for example, with the most extreme nozzle of the row of nozzles R1 such as the nozzle B1.
- the dimension of each first pattern is in practice about 5 mm and the first patterns are spaced apart by the same distance in the direction F.
- the unit 3 still controls, in response to this control signal but after a delay R corresponding substantially to the duration for moving the printing medium over the distance D, a second chronological sequence of ejections of droplets of ink from a particular nozzle of the few nozzles in row R2, preferably the most extreme nozzle of the row of nozzles R2 such as nozzle B'128, so as to print, on the continuous ribbon of labels, one second series of second rectilinear patterns extending longitudinally in the direction F and in such a way that these second patterns are substantially opposite respectively the first patterns with respect to a direction perpendicular to the direction F.
- each second pattern is printed by the same nozzle.
- the dimension of the second patterns is in practice also around 5mm and they are spaced apart by the same distance. It is understood that the dimensions of the first and second patterns can advantageously be adjusted to facilitate the visual examination which follows the printing.
- the visual examination which follows the printing of the first and second patterns consists of identifying the one of the first patterns which best coincides with one of the second patterns.
- the last of the first nozzles excited according to the principle described above must at least be positioned to the left of the nozzle B'128 in FIG. 2 to obtain a possibility of coincidence between a first and a second pattern.
- the adjustment then consists in prohibiting the start-up of one of these two nozzles as well as some of the first nozzles as indicated below. It is understood that the same adjustment can be made on the basis of the excitation of several second nozzles to print the first rectilinear patterns and the excitation of only one of the first nozzles to print the second patterns.
- FIGS. 3 to 6 show examples of printing the first and second patterns, the first patterns being referenced by MB1 to MB5 and the second patterns by MB'128 while the printing medium is referenced 11.
- this first particular pattern is that printed by the third nozzle of the row of nozzles R1 starting from the nozzle B1 (it is therefore the nozzle B3 in FIG. 2), it is easy to identify the nozzles whose operation must be prohibited when printing a postal imprint.
- an optoelectronic sensor 22 is provided in the print head (or outside of it) downstream of the two rows of nozzles R1 and R2 in the direction F.
- This photo detection sensor is mounted movable perpendicularly to said direction F as shown in FIG. 1 so that as the support 11 (on which the patterns MB1-MB5 and MB'128 are printed) moves in this direction F, the sensor 22 detects in sequence the patterns MB1-MB5 and MB'128 and provides a signal 22S representative of a sequence of detections of these patterns. As visible in FIG. 1, this signal 22S presents a succession of pairs of peaks.
- the peaks of a pair correspond to the detection of a first pattern (like MB1) followed by the detection of a second pattern (like the pattern MB'128 opposite the pattern MB1.
- the time space between the two peaks of a pair of peaks is proportional to the relative distance between the two patterns corresponding to these two peaks.
- the signal 22S is supplied, after digitization, to the unit 3 which establishes a correspondence between the pairs of peaks present in the signal 22S and the nozzles used for printing the first patterns like MB1 to MB5.
- unit 3 By comparing the different time spaces (time space between two peaks of a pair of peaks) between them, unit 3 obtains the one that is the smallest and, by correspondence, identifies the nozzle of the row R1 which is the best aligned with the nozzle B'128 of the row e R2 Then, the unit 3 prohibits the operation of some of the nozzles of one or the other or both of the rows of nozzles R1 and R2 when printing a postal imprint as indicated above.
- the support 11 used for printing the patterns MB1-MB5, MB'128 is preferably a label or a plurality of labels which is or are automatically supplied by a label dispenser (not shown) fitted to the franking machine.
- the unit 3 which controls the label dispenser so that the adjustment operation is carried out without an operator having to intervene.
- the control of the label dispenser is synchronized with the control of the nozzles to print a single first pattern like MB1 and a single second pattern like MB'128 on a label. It is understood that the printing of the first and second patterns on a label provided automatically by the label dispenser is advantageous even in the case of a visual examination because it dispenses the operator from inserting an envelope or any other medium in the franking machine.
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- Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Computer Security & Cryptography (AREA)
- Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
- General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
- Ink Jet (AREA)
- Coating Apparatus (AREA)
Abstract
Description
L'invention porte sur une machine d'affranchissement comprenant une tête d'impression à jet d'encre pour imprimer une empreinte postale sur un article à affranchir déplacé par rapport à la tête selon une direction de déplacement, cette tête d'impression comprenant une pluralité de buses disposées selon deux rangées s'étendant transversalement à la direction de déplacement, ces deux rangées étant mutuellement décalées transversalement et longitudinalement à la direction de déplacement et un moyen de commande étant prévu pour commander la succession chronologique des éjections de gouttelettes d'encre de la pluralité de buses.The invention relates to a franking machine comprising an ink jet printing head for printing a postal imprint on a franking article moved relative to the head in a direction of movement, this printing head comprising a plurality of nozzles arranged in two rows extending transversely to the direction of movement, these two rows being mutually offset transversely and longitudinally to the direction of movement and control means being provided for controlling the chronological succession of ink droplet ejections of the plurality of nozzles.
Une telle machine d'affranchissement à tête d'impression à jet d'encre est connue du document US-5083153. L'impression par jet d'encre apporte aux machines d'affranchissement une très grande flexibilité, en particulier lorsqu'il s'agit d'imprimer sur les articles de courrier des empreintes postales comportant à la fois des caractères variables, comme les symboles numériques d'un montant d'affranchissement, et des dispositions de couleurs, comme les flammes publicitaires.Such an inkjet printing head franking machine is known from document US-5083153. Inkjet printing gives postage machines great flexibility, particularly when it comes to printing postal items on mail items with both variable characters, such as digital symbols a postage amount, and color schemes, such as advertising flames.
Selon un agencement simple et économique de la tête d'impression, les deux rangées de buses peuvent faire partie de deux boîtiers différents mutuellement décalés transversalement et longitudinalement à la direction de déplacement de telle façon qu'une rangée de buses a une extrémité sensiblement en vis-à-vis d'une extrémité de l'autre rangée de buses. En effet, il existe aujourd'hui des petits boîtiers renfermant une rangée de buses à jet d'encre, par exemple des boîtiers comprenant 64 ou 128 buses, qui sont maintenant largement diffusés à des prix très bas pour équiper les imprimantes à jet d'encre à relier aux micro-ordinateurs. Ces boîtiers d'impression à jet d'encre ont une résolution d'environ 200 buses par inch ce qui convient pour l'impression d'une empreinte postale. Un boîtier comprenant par exemple 128 buses permet d'imprimer une marque linéaire qui s'étend sur environ 16mm. On comprend donc que deux boîtiers comportant une rangée de 128 buses chacun, montés dans la tête d'impression permettent d'imprimer une marque linéaire sur une longueur d'environ 30mm qui correspond à la hauteur d'une empreinte postale.According to a simple and economical arrangement of the print head, the two rows of nozzles can be part of two different housings mutually offset transversely and longitudinally to the direction of movement so that a row of nozzles has a substantially screwed end opposite one end of the other row of nozzles. Indeed, today there are small boxes containing a row of ink jet nozzles, for example boxes comprising 64 or 128 nozzles, which are now widely distributed at very low prices to equip jet printers. ink to be connected to microcomputers. These jet printing boxes have a resolution of about 200 nozzles per inch which is suitable for printing a postal imprint. A box comprising for example 128 nozzles makes it possible to print a linear mark which extends over approximately 16mm. It will therefore be understood that two boxes comprising a row of 128 nozzles each, mounted in the print head make it possible to print a linear mark over a length of approximately 30mm which corresponds to the height of a postal imprint.
L'information à imprimer par une telle machine d'affranchissement sur un pli de courrier ou une étiquette destinée à être apposée sur un tel pli, par exemple une marque linéaire perpendiculaire à la direction de déplacement, est enregistrée sous forme numérique dans une mémoire et transmise partiellement à un circuit interface qui, sous la commande du moyen de commande, met en fonctionnement simultanément les buses de la rangée la plus en amont selon la direction de déplacement. Puis après le délai R durant lequel le pli ou étiquette est déplacé(e) de la distance D séparant les deux rangées de buses suivant la direction de déplacement, une autre partie de l'information dans la mémoire est transmise au circuit interface qui met en fonctionnement simultanément toutes les buses de l'autre rangée de telle façon à finir l'impression de la marque linéaire. Ce type de fonctionnement peut s'étendre à un nombre de rangée de buses supérieur à deux.The information to be printed by such a franking machine on a mail fold or a label intended to be affixed on such a fold, for example a linear mark perpendicular to the direction of movement, is recorded in digital form in a memory and partially transmitted to an interface circuit which, under the control of the control means, simultaneously operates the nozzles of the row most upstream in the direction of movement. Then after the delay R during which the fold or label is moved (e) by the distance D separating the two rows of nozzles in the direction of movement, another part of the information in the memory is transmitted to the interface circuit which puts in all the nozzles in the other row operate simultaneously so as to finish printing the linear mark. This type of operation can extend to a number of rows of nozzles greater than two.
Le délai R en question peut être donné par un circuit d'horloge à fréquence fixe si on ne tient pas compte des variations de la vitesse de déplacement V du pli ou étiquette sous la tête d'impression ou sinon à fréquence synchronisée sur un signal représentatif de la vitesse de déplacement du pli ou étiquette détectée en temps réel par un capteur de vitesse approprié, par exemple un capteur optique.The delay R in question can be given by a clock circuit at a fixed frequency if the variations in the speed of movement V of the fold or label under the print head are not taken into account or otherwise at frequency synchronized on a representative signal the speed of movement of the fold or label detected in real time by an appropriate speed sensor, for example an optical sensor.
Selon ce principe, pour obtenir une telle marque linéaire ayant une qualité satisfaisante, il est nécessaire que ces deux boîtiers soient montés de telle façon que les extrémités en vis-à-vis des rangées de buses (définie chacune par une buse) soit espacées l'une de l'autre selon la direction transversale à la direction de déplacement d'une distance égale à environ 0,127mm; c'est à dire la distance entre deux buses consécutives de l'une ou l'autre des rangées de buses. De la sorte il est possible de conserver la même résolution sur toute la longueur de la marque linéaire, c'est-à-dire d'imprimer, sur toute la hauteur d'une empreinte postale, des traits longitudinaux à la direction de déplacement qui soient espacés régulièrement entre eux.According to this principle, to obtain such a linear mark having a satisfactory quality, it is necessary that these two housings be mounted in such a way that the ends opposite the rows of nozzles (each defined by a nozzle) are spaced from one another in the direction transverse to the direction of movement by a distance equal to about 0.127 mm; that is to say the distance between two consecutive nozzles of one or the other of the rows of nozzles. In this way it is possible to keep the same resolution over the entire length of the linear mark, that is to say to print, over the entire height of a postal imprint, longitudinal lines in the direction of movement which are spaced regularly between them.
En pratique, il s'avère qu'il est difficile d'obtenir une disposition aussi précise des rangées de buses et il est plus facile de monter, avec une certaine tolérance, les deux boîtiers de telle façon que des premières buses d'extrémité d'une rangée de buses soient disposées en vis-à-vis de secondes buses d'extrémité de l'autre rangée de buses et interdire ensuite le fonctionnement, au moment de l'impression d'une empreinte postale, de certaines de ces quelques premières ou secondes buses de façon à éviter de rompre la régularité de l'espacement entre les traits dont il est question plus haut.In practice, it turns out that it is difficult to obtain such a precise arrangement of the rows of nozzles and it is easier to mount, with a certain tolerance, the two housings in such a way that first end nozzles d 'a row of nozzles are arranged opposite second end nozzles of the other row of nozzles and then prohibit the operation, at the time of printing a postal imprint, of some of these first few or second nozzles so as to avoid breaking the regularity of the spacing between the lines mentioned above.
Le but de l'invention est d'apporter une solution simple pour sélectionner les buses dont il faut interdire le fonctionnement au moment de l'impression d'une empreinte postale sur un article de courrier.The object of the invention is to provide a simple solution for selecting the nozzles whose operation must be prohibited at the time of printing a postal imprint on a mail item.
Selon l'invention, le moyen de commande est agencé pour commander une première séquence chronologique d'éjections de gouttelettes d'encre desdites quelques premières buses de telle façon à imprimer une première série de premiers motifs rectilignes s'étendant longitudinalement à la direction de déplacement suivant une disposition en marches d'escalier à raison d'un premier motif par marche, et pour commander une seconde séquence chronologique d'éjections de gouttelettes d'encre d'une buse particulière des secondes buses de telle façon à imprimer une seconde série de seconds motifs rectilignes s'étendant longitudinalement à la direction de déplacement et de telle façon que les seconds motifs soient sensiblement en vis-à-vis respectivement des premiers motifs par rapport à une direction perpendiculaire à la direction de déplacement. Par un examen visuel des premiers et seconds motifs rectilignes, on identifie visuellement ou automatiquement quelle est la buse parmi les premières buses qui est en alignement avec ladite buse particulière suivant la direction de défilement. Ensuite, il est facile d'identifier les buses parmi les premières ou secondes buses dont il faut interdire le fonctionnement lors de l'impression d'une empreinte postale. Cette interdiction peut être basée sur une modification appropriée des paramètres du programme régissant le moyen de commande.According to the invention, the control means is arranged to control a first chronological sequence of ejection of ink droplets from said few first nozzles so as to print a first series of first rectilinear patterns extending longitudinally to the direction of movement following a staircase arrangement on the basis of a first pattern per step, and for controlling a second chronological sequence of ejections of ink droplets from a particular nozzle of the second nozzles so as to print a second series of second rectilinear patterns extending longitudinally to the direction of movement and in such a way that the second patterns are substantially opposite respectively the first patterns with respect to a direction perpendicular to the direction of movement. By a visual examination of the first and second rectilinear patterns, it is identified visually or automatically which is the nozzle among the first nozzles which is in alignment with said particular nozzle in the direction of travel. Then, it is easy to identify the nozzles among the first or second nozzles whose operation must be prohibited when printing a postal imprint. This prohibition may be based on an appropriate modification of the parameters of the program governing the control means.
Cette identification est facilitée si le moyen de commande est agencé pour commander l'éjection de gouttelettes d'encre des buses de la pluralité de buses de telle manière à imprimer des symboles en regard des premiers ou des seconds motifs rectilignes, ces symboles permettant d'établir directement une correspondance entre les premiers motifs et le rang des premières ou secondes buses dans les rangées de buses.This identification is facilitated if the control means is arranged to control the ejection of ink droplets from the nozzles of the plurality of nozzles so as to print symbols opposite the first or second rectilinear patterns, these symbols making it possible to establish a direct correspondence between the first patterns and the row of the first or second nozzles in the rows of nozzles.
L'invention s'étend à une méthode pour régler une telle machine d'affranchissement selon laquelle les premiers et seconds motifs sont avantageusement imprimés sur une étiquette dans le cas où la machine d'affranchissement inclut un distributeur automatique d'étiquettes.The invention extends to a method for adjusting such a franking machine according to which the first and second patterns are advantageously printed on a label in the case where the franking machine includes an automatic label dispenser.
Un exemple de réalisation de la machine d'affranchissement selon l'invention est maintenant décrit plus en détail ci-dessous en référence aux dessins.An embodiment of the franking machine according to the invention is now described in more detail below with reference to the drawings.
La figure 1 est un synoptique de la tête d'impression faisant partie d'une machine d'affranchissement selon l'invention sur lequel apparaît une disposition des buses de la tête d'impression selon deux rangées parallèles.Figure 1 is a block diagram of the printhead forming part of a franking machine according to the invention on which appears an arrangement of the nozzles of the printhead in two parallel rows.
La figure 2 montre le chevauchement des deux rangées de buses.Figure 2 shows the overlap of the two rows of nozzles.
Les figures 3 à 6 montrent des exemples d'impression de premiers et seconds motifs rectilignes.Figures 3 to 6 show examples of printing first and second rectilinear patterns.
La machine d'affranchissement sur la figure 1 comprend un système de convoyage qui déplace l'article de courrier 1 à affranchir sous une tête d'impression à jet d'encre 2 stationnaire selon la direction de déplacement F.The franking machine in FIG. 1 comprises a conveyor system which moves the
La tête d'impression comprend ici deux boîtiers tels que 20 et 21, chaque boîtier comprenant une rangée de buses, chaque rangée incluant par exemple 128 buses espacées régulièrement entre elles d'une distance de 1/200 inch, soit environ 0,127 millimètre. A noter que plus de deux boîtiers peuvent être montés dans la tête d'impression, les boîtiers pouvant le cas échéant avoir des rangées de buses de tailles différentes, par exemple un boîtier avec 128 buses et un boîtier avec 64 buses. Dans le cas d'exemple, les boîtiers 20 et 21 sont identiques.The print head here comprises two housings such as 20 and 21, each housing comprising a row of nozzles, each row including for example 128 nozzles regularly spaced apart by a distance of 1/200 inch, that is to say approximately 0.127 millimeter. Note that more than two boxes can be mounted in the print head, the boxes possibly having rows of nozzles of different sizes, for example a box with 128 nozzles and a box with 64 nozzles. In the example, the
Les deux boîtiers sont montés dans la tête d'impression de telle façon que leurs rangées de buses s'étendent transversalement à la direction F, les deux boîtiers étant en plus décalés l'un par rapport à l'autre transversalement et longitudinalement à la direction F.The two housings are mounted in the print head in such a way that their rows of nozzles extend transversely to the direction F, the two housings being additionally offset with respect to each other transversely and longitudinally to the direction F.
Les buses sont représentées par des croix sur la figure 1. L'agencement des deux boîtiers est tel que la distance entre la dernière buse B128 du boîtier 20 (celle la plus en haut sur la figure 1) et la première buse B'1 du boîtier 21 (celle la plus en bas sur la figure 1) est au moins égale à la hauteur H d'une empreinte postale 10 représentée par le rectangle en traits interrompus sur l'article 1. On comprend donc que la dimension de chaque rangée de buses et la hauteur de l'empreinte postale déterminent le nombre de boîtiers nécessaires pour l'impression de l'empreinte postale.The nozzles are represented by crosses in FIG. 1. The arrangement of the two housings is such that the distance between the last nozzle B128 of the housing 20 (the one uppermost in FIG. 1) and the first nozzle B'1 of the box 21 (the lowest one in FIG. 1) is at least equal to the height H of a
Du fait de l'encombrement apporté par les boîtiers, les deux rangées de buses R1 et R2 sont espacées l'une de l'autre d'une distance D selon la direction F d'environ 1cm.Due to the space provided by the boxes, the two rows of nozzles R1 and R2 are spaced from each other by a distance D in the direction F of about 1cm.
La machine d'affranchissement comprend encore une unité de commande 3, comme un microprocesseur et un programme enregistré dans une mémoire non représentée, qui est connectée pour commander la succession chronologique des éjections de gouttelettes d'encre des buses, en réponse à un signal d'horloge synchronisé ou non avec la vitesse de déplacement du pli ou de l'étiquette sous la tête d'impression 2, de telle façon qu'il est possible de produire des points sur le pli ou l'étiquette qui se joignent l'un à l'autre avec un faible chevauchement le long de lignes droites parallèles à la direction F.The franking machine further comprises a
Par ailleurs, ces deux boîtiers 20,21 sont montés de telle façon que quelques buses d'extrémité de la rangée de buses R1, par exemple cinq buses comme B1 à B5 soient disposées sensiblement en vis-à-vis de quelques buses d'extrémité de la rangée de buses R2, par exemple cinq buses comme B'128 à B'124, comme montré sur la figure 2.Furthermore, these two
Cette disposition des deux rangées de buses se chevauchant mutuellement facilite considérablement le montage des boîtiers 20 et 21 dans la tête d'impression. Toutefois, il est nécessaire d'interdire le fonctionnement de certaines de ces buses d'extrémité pour éviter des défauts d'impression.This arrangement of the two rows of mutually overlapping nozzles considerably facilitates the mounting of the
Pour sélectionner les buses dont il faut interdire le fonctionnement, l'unité de commande 3 est agencée de la façon suivante.To select the nozzles whose operation must be prohibited, the
A partir d'un instant t défini comme le point de départ d'une étape de réglage, l'unité 3, en réponse à l'entrée d'un signal de commande par exemple, commande une première séquence chronologique d'éjections de gouttelettes d'encre des buses B1 à B5 de la rangée de buses R1 de façon à imprimer sur un support papier (comme l'enveloppe 1 ou analogue) déplacé sous la tête d'impression selon la direction F, une première série de premiers motifs rectilignes s'étendant longitudinalement à la direction F suivant une disposition en marches d'escalier à raison d'un premier motif par marche, chaque motif étant imprimé par le concours d'une seule de ces buses. Comme on le comprend, ces buses sont excitées en séquence, l'une après l'autre en commençant, par exemple, par la buse la plus extrême de la rangée de buses R1 comme la buse B1. La dimension de chaque premier motif est en pratique d'environ 5mm et les premiers motifs sont espacés entre eux de la même distance suivant la direction F.From an instant t defined as the starting point of an adjustment step, the
Par ailleurs, l'unité 3 commande encore, en réponse à ce signal de commande mais après un délai R correspondant sensiblement à la durée pour déplacer le support d'impression sur la distance D, une seconde séquence chronologique d'éjections de gouttelettes d'encre d'une buse particulière des quelques buses de la rangée R2, de préférence la buse la plus extrême de la rangée de buses R2 comme la buse B'128, de telle façon à imprimer, sur le ruban continu d'étiquettes, une seconde série de seconds motifs rectilignes s'étendant longitudinalement à la direction F et de telle façon encore que ces seconds motifs soient sensiblement en vis-à-vis respectivement des premiers motifs par rapport à une direction perpendiculaire à la direction F. On comprend encore que chaque second motif est imprimé par la même buse. La dimension des seconds motifs est en pratique aussi d'environ 5mm et ceux-ci sont espacés entre eux de la même distance. Il est entendu que les dimensions des premiers et seconds motifs peuvent avantageusement être réglées pour faciliter l'examen visuel qui suit l'impression.Furthermore, the
L'examen visuel qui suit l'impression des premiers et seconds motifs consiste à identifier celui des premiers motifs qui coïncide le mieux avec un des seconds motifs.The visual examination which follows the printing of the first and second patterns consists of identifying the one of the first patterns which best coincides with one of the second patterns.
On comprend donc que la dernière des premières buses excitées suivant le principe décrit ci-dessus doit au moins être positionnée à gauche de la buse B'128 sur la figure 2 pour obtenir une possibilité de coïncidence entre un premier et un second motif.It is therefore understood that the last of the first nozzles excited according to the principle described above must at least be positioned to the left of the nozzle B'128 in FIG. 2 to obtain a possibility of coincidence between a first and a second pattern.
A partir de l'identification d'une telle coïncidence, il est aisée d'identifier parmi les premières buses, celle qui est en alignement avec la buse particulière des secondes buses suivant la direction F. Le réglage consiste alors à interdire la mise en fonctionnement de l'une de ces deux buses ainsi que certaines des premières buses comme indiqué ci-après. Il est entendu que le même réglage peut être réalisé sur la base de l'excitation de plusieurs secondes buses pour imprimer les premiers motifs rectilignes et de l'excitation d'une seule des premières buses pour imprimer les seconds motifs.From the identification of such a coincidence, it is easy to identify among the first nozzles, that which is in alignment with the particular nozzle of the second nozzles in the direction F. The adjustment then consists in prohibiting the start-up of one of these two nozzles as well as some of the first nozzles as indicated below. It is understood that the same adjustment can be made on the basis of the excitation of several second nozzles to print the first rectilinear patterns and the excitation of only one of the first nozzles to print the second patterns.
Les figures 3 à 6 montrent des exemples d'impression des premiers et seconds motifs, les premiers motifs étant référencés par MB1 à MB5 et les seconds motifs par MB'128 tandis que le support d'impression est référencé 11.FIGS. 3 to 6 show examples of printing the first and second patterns, the first patterns being referenced by MB1 to MB5 and the second patterns by MB'128 while the printing medium is referenced 11.
Des symboles numériques comme 1 à 5 généralement disponibles pour l'impression d'un montant d'affranchissement sont aussi imprimés en regard des premiers motifs (ou des seconds motifs).Numerical symbols such as 1 to 5 generally available for printing a postage amount are also printed next to the first patterns (or second patterns).
A titre d'exemple, sur la figure 3, c'est le premier motif en regard du symbole 3 (motif MB3) qui est droit-l'oeil avec un second motif MB'128. Si par convention, ce premier motif particulier est celui imprimé par la troisième buse de la rangée de buses R1 en partant de la buse B1 (il s'agit donc de la buse B3 sur la figure 2), il est facile d'identifier les buses dont il faut interdire la mise en fonctionnement lors de l'impression d'une empreinte postale. Dans le cas d'exemple, il faut interdire la mise en fonctionnement des buses B3,B2 et B1 ce qui peut être facilement réalisé par adaptation de l'unité 3, en particulier les paramètres du programme qui la régit. De façon équivalente, il est aussi possible d'interdire seulement la mise en fonctionnement des buses B1,B2 et B'128.By way of example, in FIG. 3, it is the first pattern opposite the symbol 3 (pattern MB3) which is right-eye with a second pattern MB'128. If by convention, this first particular pattern is that printed by the third nozzle of the row of nozzles R1 starting from the nozzle B1 (it is therefore the nozzle B3 in FIG. 2), it is easy to identify the nozzles whose operation must be prohibited when printing a postal imprint. In the case of example, it is necessary to prohibit the putting into operation of the nozzles B3, B2 and B1 which can be easily achieved by adapting the
Selon une autre réalisation, un capteur optoélectronique 22 est prévu dans la tête d'impression (ou hors de celle-ci) en aval des deux rangées de buses R1 et R2 suivant la direction F. Ce capteur de photo détection est monté mobile perpendiculairement à ladite direction F comme montré sur la figure 1 de façon qu'au fur et à mesure que le support 11 (sur lequel sont imprimés les motifs MB1-MB5 et MB'128) se déplace suivant cette direction F, le capteur 22 détecte en séquence les motifs MB1-MB5 et MB'128 et fournit un signal 22S représentatif d'une séquence de détections de ces motifs. Comme visible sur la figure 1, ce signal 22S présente une succession de paires de pics. Les pics d'une paire correspondent à la détection d'un premier motif (comme MB1) suivie de la détection d'un second motif (comme le motif MB'128 en vis à vis du motif MB1. L'espace temporel entre les deux pics d'une paire de pics est proportionnel à la distance relative entre les deux-motifs correspondant à ces deux pics. Il en résulte que plus cet espace temporel entre deux pics d'une paire de pics dans le signal 22S est petit, plus les motifs qui leur correspondent sont droits-à-l'oeil. Le signal 22S est fourni, après numérisation, à l'unité 3 qui établit une correspondance entre les paires de pics présents dans le signal 22S et les buses servant à l'impression des premiers motifs comme MB1 à MB5. En comparant les différents espaces temporels (espace temporel entre deux pics d'une paire de pics) entre eux, l'unité 3 obtient celui qui est le plus petit et, par correspondance, identifie la buse de la rangée R1 qui est la mieux alignée avec la buse B'128 de la rangée R2. Ensuite, l'unité 3 interdit la mise en fonctionnement de certaines des buses de l'une ou l'autre ou les deux des rangées de buses R1 et R2 lors de l'impression d'une empreinte postale comme indiqué précédemment. Le support 11 utilisé pour l'impression des motifs MB1-MB5, MB'128 est de préférence une étiquette ou une pluralité d'étiquettes qui est ou sont fournies automatiquement par un distributeur d'étiquettes (non représenté) équipant la machine d'affranchissement. C'est l'unité 3 qui commande le distributeur d'étiquettes de manière que l'opération de réglage se fait sans qu'un opérateur ait à intervenir. En pratique, la commande du distributeur d'étiquettes est synchronisée avec la commande des buses pour imprimer un seul premier motif comme MB1 et un seul second motif comme MB'128 sur une étiquette. Il est entendu que l'impression des premiers et seconds motifs sur une étiquette fournie automatiquement par le distributeur d'étiquettes est avantageuse même dans le cas d'un examen visuel car elle dispense l'opérateur d'insérer une enveloppe ou tout autre support dans la machine d'affranchissement.According to another embodiment, an
Claims (6)
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
FR9411077A FR2724592B1 (en) | 1994-09-16 | 1994-09-16 | SYSTEM FOR ADJUSTING AN INK JET PRINTHEAD IN A PRINTING MACHINE BY PRINTING STAIRS |
FR9411077 | 1994-09-16 |
Publications (2)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
---|---|
EP0702335A1 true EP0702335A1 (en) | 1996-03-20 |
EP0702335B1 EP0702335B1 (en) | 1999-11-03 |
Family
ID=9467006
Family Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
EP19950401957 Expired - Lifetime EP0702335B1 (en) | 1994-09-16 | 1995-08-25 | System for controlling an ink jet print head in a franking machine by printing a stepped sequence of images |
Country Status (3)
Country | Link |
---|---|
EP (1) | EP0702335B1 (en) |
DE (1) | DE69513117T2 (en) |
FR (1) | FR2724592B1 (en) |
Cited By (6)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
EP0997852A1 (en) * | 1998-10-28 | 2000-05-03 | Neopost Industrie | Device for printing postal indicia that are more readable |
US6276770B1 (en) | 1998-11-17 | 2001-08-21 | Pitney Bowes Inc. | Mailing machine including ink jet printing having print head malfunction detection |
US6350006B1 (en) | 1998-11-17 | 2002-02-26 | Pitney Bowes Inc. | Optical ink drop detection apparatus and method for monitoring operation of an ink jet printhead |
US6435642B1 (en) | 1998-11-17 | 2002-08-20 | Pitney Bowes Inc. | Apparatus and method for real-time measurement of digital print quality |
EP1244063A1 (en) * | 2001-03-21 | 2002-09-25 | Francotyp-Postalia AG & Co. KG | Method and apparatus for making an image in several steps |
US6561612B2 (en) | 1998-11-17 | 2003-05-13 | Pitney Bowes Inc. | Apparatus and method for real-time measurement of digital print quality |
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US4238804A (en) * | 1979-02-28 | 1980-12-09 | Xerox Corporation | Stitching method and apparatus for multiple nozzle ink jet printers |
JPS5672964A (en) * | 1979-11-16 | 1981-06-17 | Fujitsu Ltd | Multinozzle device |
EP0034060A1 (en) * | 1980-02-08 | 1981-08-19 | The Mead Corporation | Ink jet printer |
US4907013A (en) * | 1989-01-19 | 1990-03-06 | Pitney Bowes Inc | Circuitry for detecting malfunction of ink jet printhead |
US5038153A (en) * | 1988-07-14 | 1991-08-06 | Ascom Hasler Ag. | Franking machine |
-
1994
- 1994-09-16 FR FR9411077A patent/FR2724592B1/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
-
1995
- 1995-08-25 DE DE1995613117 patent/DE69513117T2/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
- 1995-08-25 EP EP19950401957 patent/EP0702335B1/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
Patent Citations (5)
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US4238804A (en) * | 1979-02-28 | 1980-12-09 | Xerox Corporation | Stitching method and apparatus for multiple nozzle ink jet printers |
JPS5672964A (en) * | 1979-11-16 | 1981-06-17 | Fujitsu Ltd | Multinozzle device |
EP0034060A1 (en) * | 1980-02-08 | 1981-08-19 | The Mead Corporation | Ink jet printer |
US5038153A (en) * | 1988-07-14 | 1991-08-06 | Ascom Hasler Ag. | Franking machine |
US4907013A (en) * | 1989-01-19 | 1990-03-06 | Pitney Bowes Inc | Circuitry for detecting malfunction of ink jet printhead |
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Cited By (10)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
EP0997852A1 (en) * | 1998-10-28 | 2000-05-03 | Neopost Industrie | Device for printing postal indicia that are more readable |
FR2785427A1 (en) * | 1998-10-28 | 2000-05-05 | Neopost Ind | EASY READING POSTAL PRINTING DEVICE |
US6895395B1 (en) | 1998-10-28 | 2005-05-17 | Neopost Industrie | Postal printing device with facilitated reading |
US6276770B1 (en) | 1998-11-17 | 2001-08-21 | Pitney Bowes Inc. | Mailing machine including ink jet printing having print head malfunction detection |
US6350006B1 (en) | 1998-11-17 | 2002-02-26 | Pitney Bowes Inc. | Optical ink drop detection apparatus and method for monitoring operation of an ink jet printhead |
US6435642B1 (en) | 1998-11-17 | 2002-08-20 | Pitney Bowes Inc. | Apparatus and method for real-time measurement of digital print quality |
US6561612B2 (en) | 1998-11-17 | 2003-05-13 | Pitney Bowes Inc. | Apparatus and method for real-time measurement of digital print quality |
US6612676B1 (en) | 1998-11-17 | 2003-09-02 | Pitney Bowes Inc. | Apparatus and method for real-time measurement of digital print quality |
EP1244063A1 (en) * | 2001-03-21 | 2002-09-25 | Francotyp-Postalia AG & Co. KG | Method and apparatus for making an image in several steps |
US7178894B2 (en) | 2001-03-21 | 2007-02-20 | Francotyp-Postalia Ag & Co. Kg | Franking device with tamper protection |
Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
---|---|
DE69513117T2 (en) | 2000-02-24 |
DE69513117D1 (en) | 1999-12-09 |
FR2724592A1 (en) | 1996-03-22 |
FR2724592B1 (en) | 1997-01-31 |
EP0702335B1 (en) | 1999-11-03 |
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