Method and apparatus for pinless feeding of web to a utilization device

In a printing device adapted to feed either of a pin feed continuous web having tractor pin feed holes and a pinless continuous web devoid of pin holes and having marks disposed in an upstream-to-downstream direction therealong at predetermined length intervals, the printing device having a lower tractor feed unit, wherein the lower tractor feed unit includes opposing moving tractor pin feed strips each having sets of pins that engage respective opposing side edges of the pinless continuous web so that the pinless continuous web is guided as it moves in a downstream direction;

• a high volume image transfer drum, located downstream of the lower tractor feed unit that rotates at a drum speed and that thereby transfers an image onto either of the pin feed continuous web and the pinless continuous web;
• a fuser located downstream of the image transfer drum, a pinless continuous web drive system comprising:
• a drive roller that engages the pinless continuous web at a location upstream of the image transfer drum and that drives the pinless continuous web toward the image transfer drum;
• a central drive motor that drives the lower tractor pin feed unit at a speed that matches the drum speed of the image transfer drum;
• a differential having a drive motor input and a differential input, the differential being operatively interconnected with the drive roller and the differential being constructed and arranged so that the drive roller rotates in conjunction with the central drive motor at a roller rotational speed, wherein the roller rotational speed is varied based upon input movement at the differential input;
• a mark sensor located at a predetermined distance from the image transfer drum that reads occurrences of the marks on the pinless continuous web as the pinless continuous web passes therethrough and that generates a mark sensor signal in response to a sensed occurrence of each of the marks;
• a signal generator responsive to movement of the pinless continuous web constructed and arranged to provide a movement signal that indicates an amount of movement of the pinless continuous web;
• a registration controller that receives the mark signal and the movement signal, the registration controller being constructed and arranged to compare the mark sensor signal to the movement signal and thereby generate a control signal;
• and
• a registration controller motor interconnected with and controlled by the registration controller, the registration controller motor being operatively interconnected to the differential input to drive the differential to thereby vary the roller rotational speed of the drive roller in response to the control signal.