Importance

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Abstract

An oval printing machine has a plurality of traveling pallets for moving about an endless path and sequentially through a plurality of screen printing stations. During set-up of the oval screen printing station, it is often desired to shift a pallet, hereinafter 'start pallet', from one printing station to a remote printing station without pausing at intervening stations. Also, it is preferable that the start pallet travel the shortest distance to the destination printing station, even if this means reversing the direction of normal travel, An icon button at a master control panel is operated to indicate a start pallet, and a GOTO button is operated followed by an icon button for the destination to identify the destination station. A master computer calculates the shortest distance and direction between the start pallet and the destination print station and causes the start pallet to travel to the destination station along the shortest path without pausing at intervening printing stations. Alternatively, an operator may operate an icon for a start print station at a master control panel and then go to a remote printing station and press a button at its local, remote control panel, thereby identifying the destination station. In this 'follow me' mode, the computer then calculates the short distance and indexes the start pallet from the start print station through the intervening, printing stations, without pausing at them, to the destination station.

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First Claim