Patent ID: 12240257

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

FIG.1schematically shows an electronic marking device1for use in association with an accessory device9(FIGS.2to7). The electronic marking device1is located on a support2to be printed and can be displaced relative to it transversely to the surface normal3in the directions4and5and be rotated about the surface normal33in the direction6. The system therefore has three degrees of freedom. As can be seen inFIG.1, in the lower region, the electronic marking device1has a small projection7with a groove8on its side. This groove serves on the one hand to enable better orientation of the print and on the other hand, it is used to secure the electronic marking device1in the accessory device9and to prevent any movement between the electronic marking device1and the accessory device9. The projection7and the groove8are located on both sides of the electronic marking device1and are arranged symmetrically.

FIG.2schematically shows an arcuate accessory device9with two through passages10which each receive an adapter11. In this regard, the adapters11can be inserted into the through passages10from above and removed from above. In the received condition, the adapters11lie on the border of the respective through passage10. The arcuate inner border is divided into an upper inner border12and two lateral inner borders13. The upper inner border12has the shape and dimensions of the outer border of the electronic marking device1. The lateral inner borders13have a separation from each other which corresponds to the width of the electronic marking device1including the projections7. The lateral inner borders13may also follow the shape of the outer edge of the marking device1including the projections7. At the lateral inner borders13of the accessory device9, a flat projection14is formed which prevents the electronic marking device1from falling through the opening in the central region15of the accessory device9formed by the frame when the marking device1is inserted. Furthermore, a pin16is located at each lateral inner border13. These pins16are connected to the grooves8on the electronic marking device1upon insertion thereof. In this manner, the orientation of the marking device1is centrally fixed in the accessory device9.

The adapters11in turn have through passages10′ through which a support to be printed which has a width that is smaller than the width of the through passages10′ of the adapters11, for example a strip of paper, can be guided. In this regard, the abutments17which form the guide are formed by the insides18of the through passages10′ of the adapters11. The through passages10′ in this regard are narrower than the corresponding through passages10in which the adapters11are arranged. In this regard, the support is introduced into the through passages10′ in a manner such that in the central region15in which the electronic marking device1is located, it runs under the accessory device9and can be printed by the printing head31of an attached electronic marking device1. Such a printing head may be conventional and is well known in the art. Starting from the border of the adapters11with which they abut the accessory device9, wing portions extend on both sides into the respective through passage10. An inclined surface in the through passage10of the accessory device9remains free of the adapter11here. The adapters11have gripping surfaces which extend outwards from the through passage10′, i.e., in the direction away from the central region15, over the border of the accessory device9. In this manner, the adapters11can be removed from the through passages10with the aid of the gripping surfaces.

When the adapters11are removed from the accessory device9, the guide is formed by the abutments17′ which in turn are formed by the insides18′ of the through passages10of the accessory device9.

As can be seen inFIGS.2,3B and3C, the underside of the accessory device9in the region in which a support which is guided through the through passage10is located has an indentation19in the direction of the top20. This indentation19serves to prevent the support to be printed from becoming trapped when, for example, the accessory device9is placed on a table. This should guarantee free movement of the support in the printing direction21. It can also be seen that the indentation19extends over the entire length of the accessory device9. This means that the support to be printed can be guided through only one through passage10′ and guided out on the other side under the accessory device9, or the support needs only to be pulled along under the accessory device9without guiding it through one of the through passages10′. Correspondingly, the scope of the invention also encompasses an accessory device without through passages. In this regard, the abutments may be formed by the side borders of the indentation19. Correspondingly, the accessory device could, for example, be a plate with a strip-shaped indentation on an underside and an opening for the printing head of an electronic marking device.

Furthermore, the accessory device9has two handles22to make it easier for a hand to grasp and hold it.FIGS.4to7show a similar accessory device9′, but in this case with pivotably mounted adapters23. This pivotable mounting permits a rapid change between two different widths for the guide by opening or closing the adapters23. The adapters23are attached to the pivot axis on the accessory device9via pins24so that the adapters23can be engaged in the accessory device9and are then pivotably mounted. The pivotably mounted adapters23have an abutment25in the vicinity of the pivot axis which limit its movement when opening. When closing, the movement is limited by a tab26which is radially beyond the pivot axis and forms a part of the adapter23. As can be seen inFIG.7B, in the closed condition, a contact27is formed by the aforementioned tab26alone, apart from the pin24, between the adapter23and the accessory device9′. In contrast to the embodiment ofFIGS.2and3, the adapters23have an inclined surface which covers the inclined surface of the through passages10. This ensures that a support cannot be pushed under the adapter23. For the purposes of clarity, the properties of the accessory device9′ and those of the adapter23, which have already been described inFIGS.2and3, have not been described again. Identical parts are provided with identical reference numerals. Here, only the differences between the embodiment ofFIGS.2and3have been described. Reference should be made toFIGS.2and3for further details in this regard.

In order to use the accessory device, the support (for example a tape) can be pulled through the through passages and past the printing head. As an alternative, the marking device may be pulled along on the support. In addition, the marking device could also be held upside down (for example in the case of an accessory device without through passages) and the tape could be guided over the marking device.

FIG.8shows a further embodiment of the accessory device9″ in an isometric top view which is intended for use with an electronic marking device in which a movement detector is arranged transversely offset with respect to the printing direction next to the printing head. This accessory device9″ has four through passages10a-10bwhich are arranged in pairs on two sides of the accessory device9″. Two of the through passages10a,10bare opposite each other centred about the printing head; the other two through passages10c,10dare next to them, transversely offset with respect to the printing direction21and in this regard are substantially centrally arranged about the movement detector of the electronic marking device1. Furthermore, the accessory device9″ has a deflector28in the form of a pin29which is located in the printing direction21to one side of the symmetrical portion of the base section. Here, the pin protrudes substantially normally out of a plane in which the support is guided through the through passages10a-d. The cross sectional area of the pin29decreases in the direction away from the base section in the axial direction. This is so that when guided around the pin29, the support does not have to be turned through a full 90°, therefore reducing the physical strain on the support. The section of the base to which the pin29is attached and which has a larger extent than the largest cross sectional area of the pin29acts as an abutment28′ for the deflector28and prevents the support to be printed from slipping off in the direction of the base section. Next to the base section, the pin29is additionally connected to the accessory device9″ via a fillet30. The fillet30acts to stabilise the pin29during operation. Furthermore, the accessory device9″ has an opening in its central region15which exposes at least the printing head and the movement detector of the attached electronic marking device1. The accessory device9″ has flat protrusions14to prevent the attached electronic marking device1from falling through. In addition, protrusions16are present on the accessory device which engage in associated grooves8of the electronic marking device1when attached and therefore act to provide optimal orientation thereof in the accessory device9″.

FIG.9shows the underside of the accessory device9″. It can be seen that indentations19are provided on the underside between the respectively opposite through passages10a-d. Like the other embodiments, these act to enable the support to be guided along the underside of the accessory device9″ without becoming trapped between the accessory device9″ and a platform on which it is placed.

In order to print a support with an electronic marking device1using the accessory device9″, the support is guided into one of the openings10a,10cfrom above, guided along under the device and guided up through the respectively opposite opening10b,10d. Afterwards, the support to be printed is turned through almost 90°, guided around the deflector28and then turned back through the same angle (alternatively, the support can also be turned through 90° by an appropriate deflector and then turned again through 90°). After this, it is guided once again through the respective other through passage10d,10bon the same side, guided along under the device9″ and finally guided out and up through the remaining through passage10c,10a. In operation, or more precisely during the printing procedure, tension is exerted, for example, on one of the two parts of the support leaving the accessory device9″. This moves the support between a first pair of through passages10a-bin the direction of the deflector28and between the second pair of through passages10c-daway from the deflector28. In this regard, that portion of the support which is located between the first pair is printed and the other portion between the second pair is guided past the movement detector and acts to detect the speed of movement of the support and can control the printing head as a function of the movement. In this regard, the controller for the printing head takes into account the fact that the movement detected by the movement detector is in the opposite direction to that of the portion of the support to be printed.

The construction of the accessory device9″ ofFIGS.8and9may be combined with the embodiments shown inFIGS.1to7described above.