Conveyor belt having magnetic linear encoder readable magnetic markers

Abstract

A conveyor (1) comprising a conveyor belt (2) with magnetic markers (3) and comprising at least 3, preferably 3 to 16, position sensing units (51,52,52,5N) that derive position information from the magnetic markers (3), and a control unit (6) that produces position information from sinusoidal and cosinusoidal signals produced by the position sensing units (51,52,52,5N). The conveyor belt (2) has an end-joining zone (4) in which the magnetic markers (3) are absent or not readable. Each position sensing unit preferably also comprises Hall sensors (511,512) that produce an blank zone entering signal when the maximum intensity of the magnetic field of the markers drops down to or below a threshold intensity lower than a default maximum intensity, indicative of the position sensing unit in question entering that end-joining zone and produces an blank zone leaving signal when the maximum intensity of the magnetic field rises to or above said threshold intensity, indicative of the position sensing unit in question leaving the end-joining zone. The control unit disregards the position information from any position sensing unit in question as from the time it produces said blank zone entering signal and re-considers the position information from that position sensing unit as from the time it produces said blank zone leaving signal. Disclosed are also methods for calculating and applying error corrections to the position information of the position sensing units (51,52,52,5N). Disclosed are also single pass and multipass inkjet printers comprising the inventive conveyor (1).