Tape twine detecting device

Claim 1

A tape windup detecting device comprising: rotation detecting means generating at least a group of signals having waveforms of at least three different widths in dependence on the direction of rotation of a reel base; and rotation anormality detecting means, which discerns the rotation direction of the reel base by using the group of signals having the waveforms generated by said rotation detecting means, determines the occurrence of the windup of tape when the rotation takes place in a reverse direction opposite to that of a normal rotation, and upon determining the occurrence of windup sends a tape windup occurrence indicating signal, wherein said rotation anormality detecting means includes: a first, a second and a third counter storing successively said group of signals having the waveforms; a comparator controller device comparing the widths of the signals stored in said counters with each other; a reference pulse memory storing the signal having the width serving as a reference, which is obtained by this comparison, and a fore pulse and a hind pulse memory storing the signals arriving before and after the arrival of said signal having the width serving as the reference, respectively; and rotation direction determining means comparing the widths of the signals stored in said fore pulse and said hind pulse memories with each other in order to determine the rotation direction of said reel base.

Claim 5

An apparatus comprising: a rotatably supported reel base; signal generating means for generating a signal which includes three successive pulses of different widths, said pulses occurring in respective first and second sequences when said reel base is respectively rotating in a first direction and in a second direction opposite said first direction; and direction detecting means responsive to said signal for determining the direction of rotation of said reel base; wherein said direction detecting means includes means for producing a windup indicating signal in response to detection of rotation of said reel base in said second direction; wherein said signal generating means cyclically repeats said first sequence when said reel base is rotating in said first direction and cyclically repeats said second sequence when said reel base is rotating in said second direction; and wherein said direction detecting means includes pulse width comparison means for identifying one of said pulses of said signal having a width corresponding to a reference width, and includes comparator means for comparing the widths of two pulses of said signal respectively received immediately before and immediately after said pulse having said reference width and for producing a comparison output signal representing the result of said comparison and thus the direction of rotation of said reel base.

Claim 6

An apparatus comprising: a rotatably supported reel base; signal generating means for generating a signal which includes three successive pulses of different widths, said pulses occurring in respective first and second sequences when said reel base is respectively rotating in a first direction and in a second direction opposite said first direction; and direction detecting means responsive to said signal for determining the direction of rotation of said reel base; wherein said direction detecting means includes means for producing a windup indicating signal in response to detection of rotation of said reel base in said second direction; wherein said signal generating means cyclically repeats said first sequence when said reel base is rotating in said first direction and cyclically repeats said second sequence when said reel base is rotating in said second direction; and wherein said direction detecting means includes pulse width comparison means for identifying one of said pulses of said signal having a width corresponding to a reference width, and includes comparator means for comparing the widths of two pulses of said signal respectively received immediately before and immediately after said pulse having said reference width and for producing a comparison output signal representing the result of said comparison and thus the direction of rotation of said reel base.