Cash register tape viewer

An upright support plate carries a fixed shaft which rotatably receives a cash register tape roll and a rotatable take-up shaft to which the outer end of the cash register tape may be removably attached with the tape extending across a tape support table which is pivotably mounted to the support plate. A tape guide and bearing plate is located parallel to the support plate and is adjustable relative thereto with the cash register tape roll and the take-up shaft located between the two plates.

SPECIFICATION 
The present invention relates in general to devices for winding a length of 
tape from one roll to another, and it relates in particular to a device 
for use in reviewing the data and other information printed on a cash 
register tape. 
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
It is common practice in retail stores, restaurants and the like to review 
cash register tapes in order to monitor the transactions recorded on such 
tapes. This has usually been done by observing the tape as it is manually 
unwound from the used roll. The unwound tape has been collected in a box 
or other suitable container or it may have been allowed to fall to the 
floor and subsequently discarded. 
There is a need for a relatively inexpensive device which will facilitate 
making a review of cash register tapes and which will retain the reviewed 
tape in a suitable condition for storage. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
Briefly, there is provided in accordance with the present invention a 
relatively simple and inexpensive scanning device which may be used to 
transport the cash register tape across a viewing table while unwinding it 
from one roll and winding it onto another. The device will accommodate 
cash register tapes of different widths and the tapes may be quickly and 
easily placed in the device and after being reviewed removed therefrom. 
In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the scanning device includes a 
base plate carrying an upright support plate to which a cash register tape 
roll is adapted to be rotatably mounted, a rotatable take-up shaft, and a 
viewing table pivotably attached to the support plate and across which the 
tape is transported as it is wound onto the take-up shaft. A tape guide 
and bearing plate is slidably mounted on the base plate and comprises an 
upright plate which provides one edge guide for the tape as it is wound 
onto the take-up shaft and further provides a bearing surface for the 
distal end of the take-up shaft..

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION 
A cash register tape scanner embodying the present invention is generally 
indicated by the reference character 10 and may be seen to include a 
rectangular base plate 12 formed of parts 12A and 12B to which is fixedly 
mounted an upright support plate 14. The support plate 14 may be integral 
with the base plate 12 as shown, or it may be a separate part which is 
fixedly attached to the base member in any suitable manner. Four foot pads 
16 are afixed to the bottom surface of the base plate 12 near the 
respective corners thereof. The pads 16 may be pieces of felt or the like 
which prevent marring of the surface on which the scanner 10 is supported. 
Extending from the rear side of the support plate 14, as viewed in FIG. 1, 
is a fixed rod or shaft 18 which is adapted rotatably to receive a roll 20 
of used cash register tape 22. A take-up shaft 24 extends through a 
cylindrical bearing hole 26 in the support plate 14, and a disc 28 is 
fixed to one end portion of the take-up shaft 24. A handle 30 is fixed to 
the disc 28 and is used to manually rotate the disc and the attached 
take-up shaft 24 in the opening 26 in the upright support plate 14 The 
take-up shaft 24 is provided with a diametrically extending longitudinal 
slot 32 for receiving the end of the tape which is to be rolled onto the 
takeup shaft 24. The take-up shaft 24 is tapered and converges toward the 
distal end so as to facilitate removal of the tape after it has been wound 
onto the take-up shaft 24. 
A viewing table 34 comprises a plate member 36 having a flat upper surface 
38 across which the tape 22 is transported as it is unwound from the roll 
20 and wound onto the take-up shaft 24. As shown, the plate member 36 is 
pivotably mcunted to the upright support plate 14 by means of a shaft 40 
extending laterally from the front end of the plate 36 through a journal 
block 42 which may be integral with the upright support plate 14 or which 
may be fixedly mounted thereto. An arcuate member 44 depends from one side 
of the plate 36 along one side the upright support plate 14 and is 
provided with an arcuate slot 46 which receives a threaded shank portion 
of a bolt 48. A thumb nut 50 is threaded onto the bolt 48 against the 
outer face of the member 44 to frictionally lock the table 34 in the 
pivotably adjusted position. 
A tape edge guide member 52 is slidably mounted in a dove-tail groove 54 in 
the base member 12 and includes a flat planar part 46 which is slidably 
movably under the support plate 14. An upright guide plate 58 is affixed 
to the rear edge of the part 56 as viewed in FIG. 1. The guide plate 58 
includes first and second cylindrical holes 60 and 62 which respectively 
receive the ends of the shafts 18 and 24. The plate 58 itself is adapted 
to be adjustably positioned in proximity to the outer edge of the cash 
register tape so as to guide it into a neat roll as it is wound onto the 
take-up shaft 24. An upright stop member 64 is provided at the opposite 
end of the base plate 56 to prevent complete disassembly of the guide 
member 52 from the remainder of the device. The member 56 is sufficiently 
long, however, so that when it is moved fully to the rear as viewed in 
FIG. 2 with the stop 64 engaging the upright plate 14, there is sufficient 
space between the guide plate 58 and the end of the fixed shaft 18 to 
permit placement of a cash register tape roll thereon. 
When using the scanner device 10, the guide member 52 is first moved to the 
left as viewed from the front, and the roll of cash register tape to be 
scanned is placed on the fixed shaft 18. The end of the tape 22 is then 
threaded under a pair of guide bars 66 and 68 spaced a short distance 
above the surface 38 near the rear and front of the viewing table 34. The 
free end of the tape is then inserted into the slot 32 in the take-up 
shaft with one edge of the tape in proximity to the upright support plate 
14. The guide member is then moved to the right and the ends of the shafts 
18 and 24 positioned in the respective openings 60 and 62. There is 
sufficient friction between the plate 56 of the guide member and the 
dove-tailed slot 54 to hold the guide member in the adjusted position. The 
thumb nut 50 is then loosened and the table pivoted to the desired angle 
for optimum viewing of the tape. The nut 50 is then tightened to hold the 
viewing table in the adjusted position. The handle may then be used to 
rotate the disc 28 thereby to rotate the take-up shaft 24 and wind the 
tape thereon. As the tape is wound onto the take-up shaft 24 and thus 
unwound from the used roll 20, it is transported across the surface 38 of 
the viewing table. The surface 38 also provides a writing surface to 
permit writing of notes or other information on the tape during the 
scanning and monitoring operation. 
After the tape 22 has been fully or partially wound onto the take-up shaft 
24, the roll of scanned tape may be readily removed from the shaft 24 
simply by pulling the disc 28 and the shaft 24 out through the opening 26 
in the plate 14. Inasmuch as the shaft 24 is tapered the wound tape does 
not bind on the take-up shaft so that the shaft is very easily removed. 
The roll of scanned tape is thus held between the guide plate 58 and the 
support plate 14 until it is manually removed. Accordingly, inadvertent 
unravelling of the roll does not occur. 
The scanner device 10 as shown in FIG. 1 is manually operated. However, if 
desired an electric motor as shown in phantom at 70 in FIG. 2 may be 
mounted to the disc 28 to provide a motor drive for the take-up shaft 24. 
While the present invention has been described in connection with 
particular embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in 
the art that many changes and modifications may be made without departing 
from the true spirit and scope of the present invention. Therefore, it is 
intended by the appended claims to cover all such changes and 
modifications which come within the true spirit and scope of this 
invention.