Method and Configuration for Dynamic Control of the Liquid Supply to a Moisturizing Storage Means

• US 20080029220A1
• Filed: 08/03/2007
• Published: 02/07/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 08/03/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Francotyp-Postalia Holding AG
• Original Assignee: Francotyp-Postalia Holding AG
• Inventors: Muhl, Wolfgang, Gerhardt, Thomas
• Granted Patent: US 8,245,662 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 156/357
• CPC Class Codes: B43M 11/00 Hand or desk devices of the office or personal type for applying liquid, other than ink, by contact to surfaces, e.g. for applying adhesive combined with envelope-closing devices B43M5/02; reservoir brushes A46B11/00; devices for applying liquids or other fluent materials to surfaces in general B05C; liquid receptacles B65D
• CPC Class Codes: B43M 5/042 for envelopes with only one flap
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 137/0324 With control of flow by a condition or characteristic of a fluid

Abstract

A method and a configuration provide dynamic control of a liquid supply for a moisturizing storage device for sealing glued edges of a envelope flap of letter envelopes. Once a measured value has been measured for a sealing liquid which is stored in the tank of a moisturizing apparatus, the type of sealing liquid that is used is qualitatively analyzed on the basis of the measured value and of at least one material parameter as a comparison value. The amount of liquid stored in the moisturizing storage device is then measured by at least one further measurement to allow dynamic control of the liquid supply to the moisturizing storage device as a function of the material parameter and of at least one measured value, which is related to the liquid consumption, in the result of the at least one measurement of the amount of liquid stored in the moisturizing storage device.

Claims

1. A method for dynamic control of a liquid supply to a moisturizing storage device for a glued edge of an envelope flap of letter envelopes, by which the letter envelopes are sealed, which comprises the steps of:

taking a measurement of a sealing liquid stored in a tank of a moisturizing apparatus resulting in a measured value;

performing a subsequent qualitative analysis for determining a nature of the sealing liquid used on a basis of the measured value and of at least one material parameter functioning as a comparison value;

taking at least one further measurement of an amount of the sealing liquid stored in the moisturizing storage device resulting in a further measured value reflecting sealing liquid consumption; and

performing dynamic control of a supply of the sealing liquid to the moisturizing storage device in dependence on the material parameter and the further measured value.

2. The method according to claim 1, which further comprises performing the measurement of the sealing liquid using an indirect measurement method for determining at least one of the measured value and the further measured value.

3. The method according to claim 1, which further comprises determining one of a conductance and a specific electrical conductivity of the sealing liquid via an electrochemical resistance measurement.

4. The method according to claim 1, which further comprises:

a) measuring one of a conductance of the sealing liquid in the moisturizing storage device and a specific electrical conductivity of the sealing liquid in the moisturizing storage device, for use to control the liquid supply dynamically;

b) performing step a) at different positions in the moisturizing storage device; and

c) supplying more of the sealing liquid, via a pump, to the moisturizing storage device, in reaction to a reduction in a value corresponding to the conductance or to the specific electrical conductivity of the sealing liquid used in the moisturizing storage device, in an event of a reduction being found in one of the positions in the moisturizing storage device which is remote from the glued edge of the envelope flap, than in a case of a reduction, measured at the positions close to the glued edge of the envelope flap, of a value which corresponds to the conductance or the specific electrical conductivity of the sealing liquid used in the moisturizing storage device.

5. The method according to claim 4, which further comprises carrying out the qualitative analysis by means of classification as to whether a specific sealing liquid or some other conventional sealing liquid is located in the tank of a moisturizing apparatus.

6. The method according to claim 4, which further comprises the steps of:

measuring one of the conductance and the specific electrical conductivity of the sealing liquid in the tank;

forming a basic tank value from one of the conductance and the specific electrical conductivity of the sealing liquid in the tank;

classifying the sealing liquid in the tank on the basis of the conductance or the specific electrical conductivity and by performing a digital comparison of the basic tank value with corresponding comparison values;

checking for a permissibility of the sealing liquid used on the basis of a stored permissibility value with a routine for intelligent dynamic sealing liquid supply being started only if the sealing liquid being used is permissible;

measuring one of a conductance and a specific electrical conductivity of the sealing liquid contained at least two different positions in the moisturizing storage device, during a course of the routine for intelligent dynamic sealing liquid supply;

forming a first value corresponding to the conductance or to the specific electrical conductivity of the sealing liquid used, at a first position in the moisturizing storage device, with the first position being closest to the glued edge of an envelope flap;

forming a second value corresponding to the conductance or to the specific electrical conductivity of the sealing liquid used, at a second position in the moisturizing storage device;

comparing the second value with the basic tank value and operating a pump for supplying the sealing liquid at high power when the second value is less than the basic tank value;

carrying out a comparison of the first value with the basic tank value when the second value is not less than the basic tank value;

operating the pump for supplying the sealing liquid at low power when the first value is less than the basic tank value;

carrying out a comparison of the first value with the second value when the first value is not less than the basic tank value, and switching off the pump and a moisturizing of envelopes being enabled when the first value is in a range which is less than the 1.02* the basic tank value but is greater than 0.98* the basic tank value; and

carrying out a comparison of the first value with the second value when the first value is not in the range, and operating the pump for supplying the sealing liquid at low power and the moisturizing of envelopes being enabled, when the first value is less than the second value, and with the pump otherwise being switched off and the moisturizing of envelopes being enabled when the first value is not less than the second value.

7. The method according to claim 6, which further comprises:

carrying out a tank sensor check when the pump is switched off; and

determining the basic tank value once again.

8. The method according to claim 7, which further comprises:

comparing the basic tank value with a comparison value corresponding to one of a very low electrical conductance and a very low specific electrical conductivity;

performing a checking step to determine if the basic tank value is less than the comparison value; and

enabling the moisturization if this is not the case, otherwise producing a fault message, if this is the case.

9. A configuration for dynamic control of a liquid supply to a moisturizing storage device for a moisturizing apparatus for application of a sealing liquid to envelope flaps of letter envelopes and having a tank for storing the sealing liquid, the configuration comprising:

a pump for supplying the moisturizing storage device with the sealing liquid from the tank;

an evaluation and control circuit;

at least one sensor electrically connected to said evaluation and control circuit and disposed in an area of the moisturizing storage device in a movement path of the envelope flaps, said sensor producing a signal to initiate said pump when an envelope flap passes said sensor;

electrodes including device electrodes disposed in the moisturizing storage device and form at least one first and second measurement cell and tank electrodes defining a third measurement cell disposed in said tank, said electrodes connected during operation to said evaluation and control circuit;

said evaluation and control circuit programmed to;

on wetting of said tank electrodes of said third measurement cell by the sealing liquid, measure a resistance measured value of the sealing liquid stored in the tank of the moisturizing apparatus;

perform a subsequent qualitative analysis for determining a nature of the sealing liquid used on a basis of at least one of a determined electrical conductance and a determined specific electrical conductivity and at least one corresponding material parameter functioning as a comparison value;

carry out measurements of further resistance measured values corresponding to an amount of the sealing liquid stored in the moisturizing storage device; and

carry out dynamic control of the liquid supply to the moisturizing storage device in dependence on the corresponding material parameter and of at least one of the further resistance measured values or a conductance determined from the further resistance measured values or a corresponding value of a specific electrical conductivity determined during the measurements of the amount of the sealing liquid stored in the moisturizing storage device.

10. The configuration according to claim 9, wherein said evaluation and control circuit has an input/output unit with an instrument transformer electrically connected to said electrodes.

11. The configuration according to claim 9, wherein said evaluation and control circuit has an instrument transformer and an input/output unit electrically connected to said electrodes through said instrument transformer.

12. The configuration according to claim 11, wherein said evaluation and control circuit includes:

a driver circuit for at least one of switching on and controlling said instrument transformer; and

a microprocessor bus connected to said driver circuit.

13. The configuration according to claim 9, wherein the moisturizing storage device is composed of a material selected from the group consisting of open-cell foams, felts and non-wovens and has openings formed therein in which said electrodes are disposed.

14. The configuration according to claim 10, further comprising a cable having electrical lines connecting said electrodes to said instrument transformer.

15. The configuration according to claim 10, further comprising a first cable and a second cable electrically connecting said electrodes to said instrument transformer, said first and second cables each having a low cable capacitance.

16. The configuration according to claim 10, wherein three of said electrodes are disposed in a row in the moisturizing storage device.

17. The configuration according to claim 10, wherein said device electrodes are disposed in the moisturizing storage device in two rows offset with respect to one another.

18. The configuration according to claim 10, wherein a multiplicity of said electrodes are disposed offset with respect to one another in a surface of the moisturizing storage device.

19. The configuration according to claim 10,

wherein said instrument transformer has a measurement circuit and an AC voltage source;

further comprising electrical lines connecting said device electrodes disposed in the moisturizing storage device, defining said first and said second measurement cell, to said measurement circuit;

wherein said measurement circuit together with said first and second measurement cells define voltage dividers, said voltage dividers include a first voltage divider having a first series resistance connected in series with a first resistance resulting from a first specific electrical conductivity of the sealing liquid and of geometric dimensions of the first measurement cell, and a second voltage divider having a second series resistance connected in series with a second resistance resulting from a second specific electrical conductivity of the sealing liquid and geometric dimensions of the second measurement cell, as a result of wetting of the moisturizing storage device with the sealing liquid at mutually opposite points; and

wherein said AC voltage source is connected within said instrument transformer via said first and second series resistances.

20. The configuration according to claim 19, wherein said AC voltage source produces a balanced AC voltage with an undefined waveform at a frequency in a range from 50-120 Hz.

21. The configuration according to claim 19, wherein:

said instrument transformer has a changeover switch with a switching means, a main contact, an output and input contacts;

said instrument transformer has an impedance converter, a precision rectifier, a sample and hold circuit, and an analog/digital converter; and

each of said voltage dividers within said instrument transformer has a center tap electrically conductively connected to in each case to one of said input contacts of said changeover switch, and can be connected via said switching means to said main contact of said changeover switch for measuring a measurement voltage at said center tap of said first voltage divider, with said main contact at said output of said changeover switch being connected via said impedance converter, said precision rectifier and said sample and hold circuit to said analog/digital converter.

22. The configuration according to claim 21, wherein:

said evaluation and control circuit has a microprocessor; and

said changeover switch has electronically controllable switches to form an analog multiplexer and, for control purposes, is connected to said microprocessor of said evaluation and control circuit.

23. The configuration according to claim 10,

further comprising an insulated double line;

wherein said instrument transformer has connecting terminals;

wherein said third measurement cell is attached internally to a closure piece of the tank, said third measurement cell electrically connected via said insulated double line to said connecting terminals of said instrument transformer of said input/output unit of said evaluation and control circuit, said evaluation and control circuit allowing an electric alternating current to flow via said electrodes through the sealing liquid and evaluates a voltage drop;

wherein said evaluation and control circuit has a bus, a microprocessor, a program memory, a non-volatile memory and a main memory connected for digital evaluation during operation to said microprocessor; and

said microprocessor, said program memory, said non-volatile memory and said main memory are coupled via said bus to said input/output unit.

24. The configuration according to claim 16, wherein said row is disposed in a direction of a force of gravity.

25. The configuration according to claim 9, wherein said electrodes have a formed selected from the group consisting of hollow cylinders and ring electrodes.