Importance

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Abstract

A method for printing indicia on bags interconnected in a continuous web. A bagging machine has a printer and a plurality of tensioning rollers, at least one of which is driven by a roller motor. The web is moved from an initial bagging machine station through a print station and to a load station in which goods are placed in the bags. A perforation sensor featuring a spring biased hemispherical tip indicates to a bagging machine controller that a perforation is present. First roller motor control signals are received from a printer controller comprising a frequency modulated first motor speed signal and a first motor enable signal. The first roller motor control signals are transmitted to the roller motor to cause it to drive the roller to move bags through the print station. Second roller motor control signals are received from the bagging machine controller comprising a frequency modulated second motor speed signal and a second motor enable signal and these signals are transmitted to the roller motor to cause the motor to drive the roller to move bags to the final station. This cycle is repeated such that at any given time either first roller motor speed signal or the second roller motor speed signal, but not both simultaneously, are being transmitted to the roller motor. This is accomplished by providing a control signal to a multiplexer that provides a selected speed signal to the roller motor based on the control signal. The speed signals are generated by selecting resistor components that are coupled to a voltage controlled oscillator to provide a frequency modulated motor speed signal. A perforation sensor featuring a spring biased hemispherical tip indicates to the bagging machine controller that a perforation is present.

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First Claim