Method and apparatus for determing the number of sheets in a stack
OwnerBradley Robert Emerson, Mahlon Taylor Hewittinventors
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Abstract
A method and apparatus are disclosed for determining the quantity of sheets of material in a stack containing an unknown quantity. The method can be practiced with existing machines which perform various operations on the sheets of material while they are stacked in the machine. An apparatus is disclosed which includes a position sensor in electrical communication with a counter. The position sensor includes a pulse generator to accurately estimate the thickness of a single sheet of material and the height of the stack of material containing an unknown quantity of sheets. The counter includes a processor to perform mathematical calculations using the values measured by the pulse generator and a display for displaying the results.
Claims20
An apparatus for determining a number of sheets stacked in a machine, the machine having a bed for placement of the stack thereon and a clamp, moveable from a first position resting directly on the bed to a second position resting on top of the stack when the stack is on the bed, the apparatus comprising:
- a position sensor coupled to the clamp, the position sensor having means for producing a position output signal wherein the means for producing the position output signal is responsive to actual movement of the clamp and the position output signal represents a distance travelled by the clamp when the clamp is moved from the first position to the second position;
- and
- a counter operatively connected to the position sensor to receive the position output signal, the counter having means for determining a number of sheets from the position output signal.
A method of determining a number of sheets in a machine, the machine having a bed for receiving a stack of sheets, and a clamp moveable from a first position resting directly on the bed to a second position resting on the stack when the stack is on the bed, the method comprising the steps of:
- measuring a first clamp displacement substantially equal to a first distance between the bed and the clamp when a known quantity of the sheets are placed on the bed and the clamp is in the second position on the known quantity of sheets;
- calculating a scaling factor to convert the first clamp displacement into a numerical value representing the known quantity of sheets;
- measuring a second clamp displacement substantially equal to a second distance between the bed and the clamp when the number of sheets is placed on the bed and the clamp is in the second position on the number of sheets;
- and
- applying the scaling factor to the second clamp displacement to determine how many sheets are in the stack.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.