A method of estimating a volume of a remaining fluidum in a non-translucent recipient having an opening which area is wider than or equal to the area of a bottom of the recipient. The method includes taking a picture of the opening at the top side of the recipient by with camera, deriving from the picture characteristics of a first and second number of pixels representing a visible part of the recipient and a visible part of the fluidum in the recipient, respectively, requesting from a user an identification of the recipient, matching the identification with a stored identification in order to retrieve reference data about an empty recipient, and estimating a volume of the remaining fluidum in the recipient by means of the retrieved reference data and a ratio of the characteristics of the first number of pixels and the characteristics of the second number of pixels.

According to an embodiment, a printer includes a drop portion that catches, in a case where a diameter of a roll of paper stored in a holder becomes small, the roll of paper that falls from the holder. The printer further includes a plurality of support rollers that are arranged so as to sandwich an inlet of the drop portion and rotatably support the roll of paper PR stored in the holder. At least one of the plurality of support rollers is a short-width roller whose width in an axial direction of a shaft is shorter than a paper width of the roll of paper PR, and a void is provided at a non-shaft arrangement part provided at an extension portion of the short-width roller in the axial direction.

The disclosure discloses a printer including a memory storing computer-executable instructions. In an index value detecting process, pulse count index values are detected. In a remaining amount determining process, first process, second process, third process, and fourth process are executed. In the first process, an Nth determination object value is calculated from an Nth and an N+1th pulse count index values. In the second process, an average value is calculated from a plurality of successive pulse count index values in a range including a latest value that is an Nth pulse count index value when N is an even number or is an (N−1)th pulse count index value when N is an odd number of three or more. In the third process, a remaining amount rank corresponding to the Nth determination object value is determined. In the fourth process, a rank display corresponding to the remaining amount rank is performed.

Time required for initial operation and operation immediately after wound body replacement is shortened. A packaging device packages an object to be packaged using a wound body. An elongated sheet-shaped packaging material is wound into the wound body. The wound body includes a recording medium that stores information. The information recorded in the recording medium includes remaining amount information indicating a remaining amount of the packaging material in the wound body. The packaging device includes a drive unit that generates driving force in order to rotate the wound body, an information reader that reads the remaining amount information stored in the recording medium, and a controller that controls the packaging device. The controller sets a rotation speed of the wound body based on the remaining amount information read by the information reader.

A bag-making and packaging machine includes a film supply unit that supplies film to a bag-making and packaging unit. The film supply unit has a film roll holding unit that rotatably holds a first film roll, a film temporary placement member on which a vicinity of a leading end portion of a first film wound into the first film roll is manually temporarily placed when attaching the first film roll to the film roll holding unit, a leading end portion detection sensor configured to detect that the leading end portion of the first film is positioned in a prescribed position, and a controller configured to control a rotating mechanism to convey the first film along a predetermined conveyance path until the leading end portion detection sensor detects that the leading end portion of the first film is positioned in the prescribed position.

A bag-making and packaging machine includes a film supply unit that supplies film to a bag-making and packaging unit. The film supply unit has a film roll holding unit that rotatably holds a first film roll, a film temporary placement member on which a vicinity of a leading end portion of a first film wound into the first film roll is manually temporarily placed when attaching the first film roll to the film roll holding unit, a leading end portion detection sensor configured to detect that the leading end portion of the first film is positioned in a prescribed position, and a controller configured to control a rotating mechanism to convey the first film along a predetermined conveyance path until the leading end portion detection sensor detects that the leading end portion of the first film is positioned in the prescribed position.

A conveyance device holds a sheet medium in a roll and includes a drive roller that feeds the sheet medium from the roll to a conveyance path; and a roll rotating unit that rotates the roll forward to convey the sheet medium toward the drive roller and in reverse to rewind the sheet medium and that has multiple drive modes with different speeds of rotation. A control unit controls driving the drive roller and the roll rotating unit, such that, when starting a reverse conveyance operation that rewinds the sheet medium, the control unit selects the drive mode to be used in the reverse conveyance operation based on a first conveyance distance, which is the distance the sheet medium is to be conveyed in the reverse conveyance operation, and the diameter of the roll stored as roll diameter information and as calculated after an immediately previous reverse conveyance operation.

A converting line for coreless roll products includes a rewinding machine and a controller. A log of convolutely wound web material is wound in the rewinding machine during a wind cycle. A diameter of the log, a caliper of the web material, and an amount of tension of the web is determined at a plurality of time points during a time period of the winding cycle. The controller is enabled to generate a signal to change an operating condition of the converting line based upon at least one of a diameter determination at a time point during the wind cycle, a caliper determination at a time point during the wind cycle, a wound web amount determination at a time point during the wind cycle, and a tension determination at a time point during the wind cycle.

A bag-making and packaging machine has a film supply unit that supplies film to a bag-making and packaging unit. The film supply unit has holding mechanisms each having a shaft that holds a film roll, a holding mechanism support frame supporting the holding mechanisms, a moving mechanism that rotates the holding mechanism support frame to move each holding mechanism between a film roll setting position and a film supply position, a splicing mechanism splicing a trailing end portion of the film of the roll of one of the holding mechanisms and a leading end portion of the film of the roll of another one of the holding mechanisms, and a film drawing mechanism that rotates the shafts of the holding mechanisms to draw the film independently from the film rolls attached to the shafts of the holding mechanisms and changes the drawing speed of the film during bag-making and packaging.

A dispenser assembly including a remaining length indicator, comprising a sheet material including an inner end, an outer end, an initial edge, a terminal edge, and an indicator line arranged on the sheet material, and a plurality of markings operatively arranged to engage the indicator line to indicate a length of the sheet material remaining.