EP2381424B1

EP2381424B1 - Thermal oblierator with encoder to the printing roll

Info

Publication number: EP2381424B1
Application number: EP20090425087
Authority: EP
Inventors: Alberto Campanini
Original assignee: Custom Engineering SpA
Current assignee: Custom Engineering SpA
Priority date: 2010-04-21
Filing date: 2010-04-21
Publication date: 2013-10-23
Anticipated expiration: 2030-04-21
Also published as: EP2381424A1

Description

In the field of the obliterators used in the parking areas or on public means or to obliterate tickets or similar are known machines in which, by inserting the ticket in the slot machine, the sensors placed inside the machine start an electric motor. This electric motor puts in rotation rubber rollers for the taking and the moving of the introduced ticket, so to lead it to the printing roller of the thermal head. Coming to the roll of the thermal head, recognized and placed under the same, the introduced ticket is obliterated. Following the ticket is brought in exit from the obliterator by the electric motor and by the same rollers which have moved it to the thermal head. The electric motor and the rollers used to take and move the ticket to the printing head and to bring it in exit have costs that weigh onto the total cost of the obliterator. Moreover, the system to move the ticket with rollers is often cause of jamming of the obliterator.
In WO 95/28689 A1 the moving steps of a document inside an obliterator are manual and a decoder reads the speed of advancement of the document.
FR 2 338 798 A1 discloses a printing roll as part of a printing head.
The invention consists of a new obliterator, able to avoid the above cited drawbacks, arranges without electric motor for ticket moving and moving rollers of the ticket inside the obliterator. The invented obliterator, instead of motor of dragging of the ticket and rollers, is equipped with an encoder applied to the printing roller. In the invented obliterator the ticket is manually inserted inside the machine until the mechanical end of stroke. At this step a sensor starts the printing device, lowering the printing head onto the ticket and causing a mechanical vibration on the ticket perceivable to the user and a sound signal. At the beginning of the manual pulling out of the ticket, the encoder, placed onto the printing roller, starts and synchronizes the printing with the dragging speed of the ticket. At the complete pulling out of the ticket, other sensors, placed at the slot entrance of the ticket, give the signal for the lifting of the head, put the machine ready for a new obliteration. The moving steps of the ticket inside the machine are consequently manual with the encoder that starts and synchronizes the printing when begins the pulling out of the ticket. So it is obtained, further to the obviously economic advantage given to arrange a machine with less number of parts and so with less production costs, a bigger speed of use. This permits to discharge the possible queue in front of the obliterator more quickly in comparison with the obliterators known in the art. Further, being not the machine equipped with rollers to bring the ticket under the printing head and to pull out the same from the obliterator, the invented machine is then unlikely subject to jamming. The introduced ticket, in fact, can not be jammed between the moving rollers to the printing head as can happen in the known obliterators. These and other advantages reach with the invented machine are better showed to the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment but not exclusive, together with the enclosed drawings of sheets 1, 2 and 3 that show, in a merely indicative way, the invented obliterator. In details in sheet 1 figure 1 is perspective view of the invention. Figure 2 is perspective view of the obliterator without the outside supporting and containment parts. In sheet 2 figure 3 is exploded view of the main parts of the machine. In sheet 3 figure 4 is longitudinal section view of the invented obliterator in step of no working. Figure 5 is longitudinal section view of the invented obliterator in step of working with the ticket inserted inside the machine. The thermal obliterator consists of an obliterator body 1 and is equipped with sensors 2 onto the slot of ticket fitting up. Placed over the printing roller 3 is present a further sensor 4 to detect the introduced ticket. The printing roller is axially connected with an encoder 5. Further, a thermal head 6 is present connected to a lifting device 7 with start by a card 8. The lifting device 7 comprises an electric motor 9 and a cam 10 acting onto an outline 11, obtained engraving central inside part of the lifting device 7, in turn connected with elastic connection means 12 that permit the moving in comparison with the machine structure. The outline 11 into which runs the cam 10 during the rotation is equipped with a tooth 13. By a fastener 14 the lifting device 7 is connected to the support parts 15 of the thermal head 6. The electric motor 9, the sensors 2 and 4, the encoder 5 and the thermal head 6 are connected to the card 8 with electric cables and with connection in use for this mechanisms. In working step the obliterator provides that the thermal head 6 was lifted. This position is driven to the cam 10. Introducing the ticket to be obliterated, the sensor 4, placed near the mechanical end of stroke of the ticket, is started. The pulse generated to the sensor 4 is received and processed to the card 8. The activation of the sensor 4, by the action of the card 8, starts the electric motor 9. The rotation of the electric motor 9 is transmitted with known connection means to the cam 10. The rotation of the cam 10 inside the outline 11 determines the lowering of the lifting device 7 onto the ticket together with the thermal head 6. Going on in its moving inside the outline 11 the cam 10 meets the tooth 13. The moving discontinuity of the cam 10 determined to the tooth 13 generates a vibration that is felt to the user of the obliterator that keeps the ticket by a hand; in this step is also activated the sound signal. Pulling out the ticket, the user starts the encoder 5. The electric pulse generated to the encoder 5 reaches the card 8 that starts the thermal head 6. The encoder transforms in electric pulses the extraction speed of the ticket and its position. These pulses are read and processed to the card 8 that synchronizes the printing speed of the thermal head 6 with the pulling out speed of the ticket. Completely pulled out the ticket the sensors 2, connected to the card 8, give the electrical signal to start again the electric motor 9. Going on in the rotation the electric motor 9 brings the cam 10 to move inside the outline 11, determining the lifting of the thermal head 6 by the fastener 14 of the lifting device 7. The obliterator so returns in the beginning position, ready for a new obliteration.

Claims

Thermal obliterator wherein the moving steps of the ticket inside the machine are manual with an encoder (5) characterized in that the encoder (5) is applied to a printing roller (3) and in that the encoder (5) starts and synchronizes the printing speed of a thermal head (6) with the pulling out speed of the ticket.
Thermal obliterator, as to the previous claim, characterized in that inside the obliterator body (1) sensors (2) are provided placed near the slot of ticket fitting up and a sensor (4) is placed over the printing roller (3) to detect the introduced ticket.
Thermal obliterator, as to the previous claims, characterized in that the thermal head (6) is connected to a lifting device (7) with start by a card (8).
Thermal obliterator, as to the previous claims, characterized in that the lifting device (7) is equipped with an electric motor (9) and a cam (10) acting onto an outline (11), obtained engraving the inside central part of the lifting device (7), in turn connected with elastic connection means (12) that permit the moving of the lifting device (7) in comparison with the structure of the machine.
Thermal obliterator, as to the previous claims, characterized in that the outline (11) into which moves the cam (10) during the rotation is equipped with a tooth (13) to generate a vibration felt to the user of the obliterator that keeps the ticket by a hand.
Thermal obliterator, as to the previous claims, characterized in that the lifting device (7) is equipped with a fastener (14) connected to the support parts (15) of the thermal head (6).