Web feed with incremental advance control for a printer

Claim 2

In a printer for printing lines of information onto a web of sheet stock having means for printing the information onto the web, means for advancing the web past the printing means, and means for controlling the operation of the advancing means by providing advance signals representative of mechanical increments of advance required by the format of the information being printed, each of said increments of advance being defined by an advance signal defining a predetermined number of steps, the improvement comprising: means for compensating for errors in the increments of advance defined by the advance signal caused by mechanical tolerances of the advancing means, said compensating means including; means for manually entering an indication of the error in a predetermined increment of advance resulting from advancing the web a number of steps corresponding to the predetermined increment, means responsive to both said error indication and each advance signal for compensating the advance signals to provide compensated advance signals, the amount of compensation being proportional to both the error indication and the number of steps defined by the advance signal, said advancing means being responsive to the compensated advance signals to advance the web the mechanical increments required by the format.

Claim 3

The improvement recited in claim 1 wherein said compensating means includes means for varying the amount of compensation provided in direct proportion to the magnitudes of both the error indication and the advance signals.

Claim 4

The improvement recited in claim 1 wherein said printer includes means for manually entering the error indication.

Claim 5

The improvement recited in claim 3 wherein said manual entering means includes a switch.

Claim 6

The improvement recited in claim 1 wherein said printer includes means for entering the magnitude of the error indication and an indication defining whether the error indication is to be added to or subtracted from the advance signal.

Claim 7

The improvement recited in claim 1 wherein the error indication is independent of the format of the information being printed.

Claim 8

The improvement recited in claim 1 wherein said control means includes means for providing digital advance signals, and wherein said error indication storage means includes means for storing a digital error indication.

Claim 9

In a printer for printing lines of information onto a web of sheet stock having means for printing the information onto the web, means for advancing the web past the printing means, and means for controlling the operation of advancing means by providing advance signals representative of predetermined increments of advance required by the format of the information being printed, the improvement comprising: means for compensating for errors in the predetermined increment caused by mechanical tolerances of the advancing means, said compensating means including; means for storing an indication of the error caused by said advancing means, means responsive to both said error indication and said advance signal for compensating the advance signals to provide compensated advance signals that are a function of both the error indication and the advance signal, said advancing means being responsive to the compensated advance signals to advance the web the predetermined increments required by the format, wherein said control means includes means for providing digital advance signals, and wherein said error indication storage means includes means for storing a digital error indication, and wherein said compensating means includes means for dividing said digital advance signals by a predetermined number to provide quotient signals and for multiplying the digital error indication by the quotient signals to provide digital compensation signals representative of the required compensation.

Claim 10

In a printer for printing lines of information onto a web of sheet stock having means for printing the information onto the web, means for advancing the web past the printing means, and means for controlling the operation of advancing means by providing advance signals representative of predetermined increments of advance required by the format of the information being printed, the improvement comprising: means for compensating for errors in the predetermined increment caused by mechanical tolerances of the advancing means, said compensating means including; means for storing an indication of the error caused by said advancing means, means responsive to both said error indication and said advance signal for compensating the advance signals to provide compensated advance signals that are a function of both the error indication and the advance signal, said advancing means being responsive to the compensated advance signals to advance the web the predetermined increments required by the format, wherein said control means includes means for providing digital advance signals, and wherein said error indication storage means includes means for storing a digital error indication, and wherein said compensating means includes means for dividing said digital advance signals by a predetermined number to provide quotient signals and for multiplying the digital error indication by the quotient signals to provide digital compensation signals representative of the required compensation.

Claim 11

The improvement recited in claim 8 wherein said compensating means includes means for selectively adding or subtracting the digital compensation signals from the digital advance signals to provide digital compensated advance signals.

Claim 12

The improvement recited in claim 8 wherein said predetermined number is 32.

Claim 15

The method recited in claim 11 wherein the step of compensating includes the step of varying the amount of compensation provided in direct proportion to the magnitude of both the amount of stored error representation and the number of steps defining the required advance.

Claim 16

In a printer for printing lines of information onto a web of sheet stock having means for printing the information onto the web, means for advancing the web past the printing means, and means for controlling the operation of the advancing means by providing advance signals representative of predetermined increments of advance required by the format of the information being printed, the improvement comprising: means for compensating for errors in the predetermined increment caused by mechanical tolerances of the advancing means, said compensating means including; means for storing an indication of the error caused by said advancing means, means responsive to both said error indication and said advance signal for compensating the advance signals to provide compensated advance signals that are a function of both the error indication and the advance signal, said advancing means being responsive to the compensated advance signals to advance the web the predetermined increments required by the format, wherein said control means includes means for providing digital control signals, said error indication storage means includes means for storing a digital error indicator, and said compensating means includes means for dividing said digital advance signals by a predetermined number to provide quotient signals and for multiplying the digital error indication by the quotient signals to provide digital compensation signals representative of the required compensation.

Claim 17

In a printer for printing lines of information onto a web of sheet stock having means for printing the information onto the web, means for advancing the web past the printing means, and means for controlling the operation of the advancing means by providing advance signals representative of predetermined increments of advance required by the format of the information being printed, the improvement comprising: means for compensating for errors in the predetermined increment caused by mechanical tolerances of the advancing means, said compensating means including; means for storing an indication of the error caused by said advancing means, means responsive to both said error indication and said advance signal for compensating the advance signals to provide compensated advance signals that are a function of both the error indication and the advance signal, said advancing means being responsive to the compensated advance signals to advance the web the predetermined increments required by the format, wherein said control means includes means for providing digital control signals, said error indication storage means includes means for storing a digital error indicator, and said compensating means includes means for dividing said digital advance signals by a predetermined number to provide quotient signals and for multiplying the digital error indication by the quotient signals to provide digital compensation signals representative of the required compensation.

Claim 18

The improvement recited in claim 13 wherein said compensating means includes means for selectively adding or subtracting the digital compensation signals from the digital advance signals to provide digital compensated advance signals.

Claim 19

The improvement recited in claim 13 wherein said predetermined number is 32.

Claim 20

The improvement recited in claim 13 further including means including a switch for manually entering said error indication.

Claim 21

The improvement recited in claim 13 wherein said error indication is independent of the format of the information being printed.

Claim 22

In a system having a plurality of printers for printing lines of information onto webs of sheet stock, each of said printers having means for printing the information onto one of the webs and means for advancing the web past the printing means, said system further including means for controlling the operation of each of the advancing means by providing to each of the advancing means advance signals representative of predetermined increments of advance required by the format of the information to be printed, each of said increments of advance being defined by an advance signal defining a predetermined number, the improvement comprising: means for compensating variations in the increments of advance produced by the various printers in response to an advance signal, said compensating means comprising; means within each of said printers for storing a number representative of a compensation increment required to advance the web a predetermined increment in response to a predetermined advance signal; and means in each of said printers responsive to both said compensation increment number and said advance signals for compensating said advance signals in proportion to the magnitudes of the increments of advance defined by said advance signals and in proportion to said compensation increment number, whereby the increment of advance produced by each of said printers in response to a common advance signal is substantially similar.

Claim 23

In a system having a plurality of printers for printing lines of information onto webs of sheet stock, each of said printers having means for printing the information onto one of the webs and means for advancing the web past the printing means, said system further including means for controlling the operation of each of the advancing means by providing to each of the advancing means advance signals representative of predetermined increments of advance required by the format of the information to be printed, each of said increments of advance being defined by an advance signal defining a predetermined number, the improvement comprising: means for compensating variations in the increments of advance produced by the various printers in response to an advance signal, said compensating means comprising; means within each of said printers for storing a number representative of a compensation increment required to advance the web a predetermined increment in response to a predetermined advance signal; and means in each of said printers responsive to both said compensation increment number and said advance signals for compensating said advance signals in proportion to the magnitudes of the increments of advance defined by said advance signals and in proportion to said compensation increment number, whereby the increment of advance produced by each of said printers in response to a common advance signal is substantially similar.

Claim 24

In a printer for printing lines of information onto a web of sheet stock having means for printing the information onto the web, means for sensing positioning indices, control means for advancing the web a predetermined number of steps following the sensing of one of said positioning indices in order to advance the web an increment of advance defined by the format of the information being printed, the improvement comprising: means for compensating for errors in increments of advance caused by mechanical tolerances, said compensating means comprising: means for manually entering and storing a number proportional to the difference between the desired increment of advance and the actual increment of advance resulting from advancing the web a predetermined number of steps; and means responsive both to said difference proportional number and to the number of steps defined by the format for altering the number of steps defined by the format in proportion to the magnitude of said difference proportional number and the number of steps defined by the format in order to obtain the desired increment of advance.

Claim 25

In a printer for printing lines of information onto a web of sheet stock having means for printing the information onto the web, means for sensing positioning indices, control means for advancing the web a predetermined number of steps following the sensing of one of said positioning indices in order to advance the web an increment of advance defined by the format of the information being printed, the improvement comprising: means for compensating for errors in increments of advance caused by mechanical tolerances, said compensating means comprising: means for manually entering and storing a number proportional to the difference between the desired increment of advance and the actual increment of advance resulting from advancing the web a predetermined number of steps; and means responsive both to said difference proportional number and to the number of steps defined by the format for altering the number of steps defined by the format in proportion to the magnitude of said difference proportional number and the number of steps defined by the format in order to obtain the desired increment of advance.

Claim 26

The improvement recited in claim 19 wherein said manual entering means includes a switch.

Claim 27

The improvement recited in claim 19 wherein said printer includes means for entering the magnitude of the error indication and an indication defining whether the difference proportional number is to be added or subtracted from the number of steps defined by the format.

Claim 28

The improvement recited in claim 19 wherein the difference proportional number is independent of the format of the information being printed.

Claim 29

The improvement recited in claim 19 wherein said control means includes means for providing digital advance signals, and wherein said difference proportional number storage means includes means for storing a digital error indication.

Claim 30

In a printer for printing lines of information onto a web of sheet stock having means for printing the information onto the web, means for sensing position indices, control means for advancing the web a predetermined number of steps following the sensing of one of said positioning indices in order to advance the web an increment of advance defined by the format of the information being printed, the improvement comprising: means for compensating errors in increments of advance caused by mechanical tolerances, said compensating means comprising: means for storing a number proportional to the difference between the desired increment of advance and the actual increment of advance resulting from advancing the web a predetermined number of steps; and means responsive to both said difference proportional number and to the number of steps defined by the format for altering the number of steps defined by the format in proportion to the magnitude of said difference proportional number and the number of steps defined by the format in order to obtain the desired increment of advance, wherein said altering means includes means for altering the number of steps defined by the format in direct proportion to the magnitude of the difference proportional number and the number of steps defined by the format.

Claim 31

In a printer for printing lines of information onto a web of sheet stock having means for printing the information onto the web, means for sensing position indices, control means for advancing the web a predetermined number of steps following the sensing of one of said positioning indices in order to advance the web an increment of advance defined by the format of the information being printed, the improvement comprising: means for compensating errors in increments of advance caused by mechanical tolerances, said compensating means comprising: means for storing a number proportional to the difference between the desired increment of advance and the actual increment of advance resulting from advancing the web a predetermined number of steps; and means responsive to both said difference proportional number and to the number of steps defined by the format for altering the number of steps defined by the format in proportion to the magnitude of said difference proportional number and the number of steps defined by the format in order to obtain the desired increment of advance, wherein said altering means includes means for altering the number of steps defined by the format in direct proportion to the magnitude of the difference proportional number and the number of steps defined by the format.

Claim 32

In a printer for printing lines of information onto a web of sheet stock having means for printing the information onto the web, means for sensing position indices, control means for advancing the web a predetermined number of steps following the sensing of one of said positioning indices in order to advance the web an increment of advance defined by the format of the information being printed, the improvement comprising: means for compensating for errors in increments of advance caused by mechanical tolerances, said compensating means comprising: means for manually entering and storing a number proportional to the difference between the desired increment of advance and the actual increment of advance resulting from advancing the web a predetermined number of steps; and means responsive to both said difference proportional number and to the number of steps defined by the format for altering the number of steps defined by the format in proportion to the magnitude of said difference proportional number and the number of steps defined by the format in order to obtain the desired increment of advance, wherein said altering means includes means for altering the number of steps defined by the format in direct proportion to the magnitude of the product of the difference proportional number and the number of steps defined by the format.

Claim 33

In a printer for printing lines of information onto a web of sheet stock having means for printing the information onto the web, means for sensing position indices, control means for advancing the web a predetermined number of steps following the sensing of one of said positioning indices in order to advance the web an increment of advance defined by the format of the information being printed, the improvement comprising: means for compensating for errors in increments of advance caused by mechanical tolerances, said compensating means comprising: means for manually entering and storing a number proportional to the difference between the desired increment of advance and the actual increment of advance resulting from advancing the web a predetermined number of steps; and means responsive to both said difference proportional number and to the number of steps defined by the format for altering the number of steps defined by the format in proportion to the magnitude of said difference proportional number and the number of steps defined by the format in order to obtain the desired increment of advance, wherein said altering means includes means for altering the number of steps defined by the format in direct proportion to the magnitude of the product of the difference proportional number and the number of steps defined by the format.

Claim 34

In a printer for printing lines of information onto a web of sheet stock having means for printing the information onto the web, means for sensing position indices, control means for advancing the web a predetermined number of steps following the sensing of one of said positioning indices in order to advance the web an increment of advance defined by the format of the information being printed, the improvement comprising: means for compensating errors in increments of advance caused by mechanical tolerances, said compensating means comprising: means for storing a number proportional to the difference between the desired increment of advance and the actual increment of advance resulting from advancing the web a predetermined number of steps; and means responsive to both said difference proportional number and to the number of steps defined by the format in proportion to the magnitude of said difference proportional number and the number of steps defined by the format in order to obtain the desired increment of advance, wherein said control means includes means for providing digital advance signals, and wherein said difference proportional number storage means includes means for storing a digital error indication, wherein said compensating means includes means for dividing said digital advance signals by a predetermined number to provide quotient signals and for multiplying the digital error indication by the quotient signals to provide digital compensation signals representative of required compensation.

Claim 35

In a printer for printing lines of information onto a web of sheet stock having means for printing the information onto the web, means for sensing position indices, control means for advancing the web a predetermined number of steps following the sensing of one of said positioning indices in order to advance the web an increment of advance defined by the format of the information being printed, the improvement comprising: means for compensating errors in increments of advance caused by mechanical tolerances, said compensating means comprising: means for storing a number proportional to the difference between the desired increment of advance and the actual increment of advance resulting from advancing the web a predetermined number of steps; and means responsive to both said difference proportional number and to the number of steps defined by the format in proportion to the magnitude of said difference proportional number and the number of steps defined by the format in order to obtain the desired increment of advance, wherein said control means includes means for providing digital advance signals, and wherein said difference proportional number storage means includes means for storing a digital error indication, wherein said compensating means includes means for dividing said digital advance signals by a predetermined number to provide quotient signals and for multiplying the digital error indication by the quotient signals to provide digital compensation signals representative of required compensation.

Claim 36

The improvement recited in claim 26 wherein said compensating means includes means for selectively adding or subtracting the digital compensation signals from the digital advance signals to provide digital compensated advance signals.

Claim 37

The improvement recited in claim 26 wherein said predetermined number is 32.