Printer Components; Sensors - DataCard CP80 Plus Service Manual

Printer Components

Sensors

All of the optical sensors in the CP80 and CP80 Plus printers are of the open
collector type, and are configured to be active-low with a pull-up resistor on the
output. When the sensor is not active (or not connected at all) the control board
sees a high voltage (5V) at the Signal input. When the sensor is active, it shorts
Signal to Ground. The diagram below is a simplified representation of an
interruption sensor.
Name
Card Input
The card input sensor is an interruption sensor that detects the presence of
a card at the entrance of the printer and registers the trailing edge of the
card for printing.
Printhead Cam As the printhead cam rotates, a flag on the cam interrupts the beam of the
cam sensor. This allows the printer to know the position of the printhead
lifters.
Swingarm The swingarm open sensor detects when the swingarm is open. The sensor
Open itself detects when the swingarm is closed, but the signal is inverted
elsewhere in the system.
Ribbon Index The ribbon index sensor is used to determine the position of the print ribbon
panels. The sensor bounces a beam off the reflective sticker on the
printhead. When the index mark or K-panel on the ribbon passes between
the sensor and the reflector, the beam is broken (not reflected). The Y, M,
C, and T panels do not interrupt the beam.
Ribbon Motion The ribbon motion sensor is a two-channel optical interruption sensor that
detects slots on the ribbon encoder wheel. The encoder wheel is located
on the ribbon cartridge. Internally the sensor body contains a pair of
standard interruption sensors.
Magnetic This is a reflective sensor that locates the leading edge of the card for
Stripe magnetic stripe encoding. When no card is present, the sensor beam
Registration reflects off a plate on the magnetic stripe rocker. When a card passes
between the sensor and the reflector, the beam is broken (not reflected).
The sensor itself is active when no card is present, but the signal is inverted
elsewhere in the system.
CP80 and CP80 Plus Service Manual
Function
2-5