FRANKING MACHINE

Abstract: A low cost compact franking machine includes a rotatable member comprising a print drum (l5) and an enclosure (l4) housing print element setting means (2l) and electronic accounting means (42), the rotatable member being rotatably mounted on a base (l0). The rotatable member may be rotated by a manually operated lever (22,23,25) coupled to the rotatable member through a one-way clutch to allow the lever to return to a rest position without rotation of the rotatable member, the return of the lever may operate a feed (33) to eject a franked mail item.

Description: This invention relates to franking machines for printing a postal franking on mail items (of. e.g. DE-A-3 126 674). Franking machines are provided with a print drum carrying printing elements which can be selectively set to print a desired value of postal franking and the date of franking. After setting the printing elements, printing is effected by rotating the drum and pressing an envelope or label against the drum, and the printing elements carried thereby, by means of a pressure roller. Prior to engaging the envelope, the printing elements pass through an inking station where ink is applied to the printing elements. Rotation of the drum together with the pressure roller causes the envelope to be fed therebetween and to be ejected after printing of the franking. The printing elements, carried by the drum, for printing the franking value are set by means of thumb wheels or similar mechanical setting devices or by means of electromechanical means controlled by electrical signals located on a body of the franking machine. Mechanical linkages are provided between the mechanical setting devices, or the electromechanical means, and the printing elements to enable the printing elements to be set to print the value desired. Due to the need for rotation of the print drum and the printing elements carried thereby relative to the body of the machine, the mechanical linkages have to be constructed to set and maintain the printing elements at the desired settings while at the same time allowing rotation of the print drum. Consequently the mechanical linkages are complex and as a result are expensive to manufacture. Furthermore the linkages occupy a large space within the machine which causes difficulty in manufacturing a compact franking machine. It is an object of the present invention to provide a construction of franking machine which is less costly to manufacture and is more compact. According to the present invention a franking machine comprising an enclosure; input means settable to a desired value of franking to be printed; accounting means housed in said enclosure and responsive to the setting of the input means to register the selected franking value, to carry out accounting functions in relation to said selected franking value and to generate a control signal if the selected franking value is permitted to be printed; a rotatable print drum carrying selectively settable printing elements; and print element setting members responsive to the setting of the input means and coupled to said printing elements for setting the print elements to the desired value set by the input means; is characterised in that the enclosure is rotatable with the print drum. Preferably the print drum and the enclosure are rigidly connected together. The franking machine may be provided with manually operable means or with an electrically powered motor for rotating the enclosure and print drum. An embodiment of the invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the drawings in which:- Figure l is an overall view of a manually operable franking machine Figure 2 is a sectional view on the line 2-2 of Figure l of one side casing illustrating the construction of a manual drive for the franking machine Figure 3 is a sectional view on the line 3-3 of Figure l of the other side casing illustrating a mail item ejection drive Figure 4 is a diagrammatic representation of the rotatable member of the franking machine. Referring first to Figure l, a manually operable franking machine comprises a base member l0 having first and second side casings ll,l2. A printing platform l3 extends out from the side casing l2. A rotatable member comprising an enclosure l4 and a print drum l5 is supported for rotation in bearings in the side casings ll,l2, The print drum l5 is secured by a hollow shaft l6 (Figure 3) extending through the end casing l2 to the enclosure l5 of the rotatable member. The print drum l5 carries within it a set of four printing elements l7 for printing franking values. These elements are in the form of printing wheels selectively settable by rotation thereof to print a selected value. The upper part of the enclosure consists of a facia plate l8 carrying four keys l9 corresponding respectively to the four printing elements. The keys are slidable to set a selected desired value of franking. Adjacent each key are indicia indicating the value to which the key is set. Additionally the facia plate l8 carries a multidigit digital display 20 to enable values registered in an accounting device and other information to be displayed. Each of the print wheels l7 has a toothed wheel rotatable therewith which is engaged by a toothed rack on one end of a bar 2l. The bars 2l extend through the hollow shaft l6 into the interior of the enclosure l4 where they are connected respectively to stems of the keys l9. Because the enclosure l4 is rigidly joined to the print drum l5 and rotates with the drum, the bars 2l can be connected directly to the key stems without the need for the provision of any intermediate connections permitting relative rotation as is the situation in known franking machines. As a result little space is taken up in the enclosure l4 by the elements needed for setting the print wheels. The key stems extend through slots in the facia plate l8 allowing limited sliding motion of the keys. As will be appreciated, sliding movement of a key causes the bar connected thereto to be moved longitudinally relative to the rotatable member and hence the toothed rack at the end of the bar produces rotation of the associated print wheel to a setting in which it will print the value selected by the position of the key l9. In order to prevent erroneous setting of the print wheels to positions intermediate correct positions, a detent rack extends within the enclosure l4 adjacent the key stems and the key stems resiliently engage the rack when released. Prior to sliding a key, it is necessary to depress the key to disengage the stem from the rack and when the key has been moved to a selected position, the stem re-engages the rack when the key is released. Means are provided to sense that the key stem is engaged with a detent in the rack and to inhibit operation of the machine until all the key stems are properly engaged with the rack. Referring to the diagram of Figure 4, located within the enclosure l4 is an electronic assembly consisting of one or more printed circuit boards carrying electronic components for carrying out accounting operations and for controlling operation of the machine. Sensors 4l are provided for each key l9 to provide electrical signals representing the digital values to which each key has been set and these signals are input as the selected franking value to the accounting logic circuitry 42. Registers 43 are provided for storing the selected franking value, the accumulated sum of franking values previously printed and where appropriate, a register for storing the current value of credit available for use in franking. The electronic circuitry is powered by an electric battery 44 housed within the enclosure l4. The enclosure may conveniently be of generally cylindrical form. For security, the enclosure is sealed to prevent unauthorised access to its interior. However the battery may be housed in an accessible compartment 45 in the enclosure to permit replacement of the batteries. Those parts of the electronic circuitry such as the registers 43 for storing values for accounting purposes may be implemented by non volatile semiconductor storage elements or those parts of the circuitry may be powered by a separate long life battery 46 within the sealed part of the enclosure. The processor circuitry is arranged to check that the battery voltage lies within preset limits prior to permitting a franking operation to be effected. In order to carry out a postal franking operation an envelope is placed on the platform l3 and the rotatable member is rotated so as to move the print wheels past an inking device (not shown) and to feed the envelope between the drum and a pressure roll. Hence the drum l5 with the print wheels l7 rolls along the face of the envelope and prints the franking thereon. Normally rotation of the rotatable member is prevented by means of a catch 47 engaging between the base l0 and the enclosure l4 of the rotatable member. When it is desired to effect a franking operation, the keys are set to the required franking value and the processing circuitry carries out a check to establish that the keys are correctly set relative to the detent rack, that the required value is a permitted value, that the accumulated franking value does not exceed a predetermined limit and that there is sufficient credit for this currently required franking. If the results of these checks are satisfactory an output signal is generated to release the catch 47 and thereby permit the rotatable member to be rotated. After rotation to effect a franking, the catch re-engages to prevent further franking until the checks have been repeated. Rotation of the rotatable member may be effected by an electric motor housed in the base l0, however for low cost compact machines it is preferred to provide for manual operation. This is provided by a bar 22 which extends across the front of the machine between the side casings ll, l2. As shown in Figures 2 and 3, the bar 22 is supported in casing ll by a lever 23 pivoted at 24 and in casing l2 by a lever 25 pivoted at 26. The lever 23 is formed with an arc of teeth 27 which mesh with a first pinion 28 freely rotatable on an axis concentric with the axis of rotation of the rotatable member. The first pinion 28 meshes with a second pinion 29. A third pinion 30 concentric with and coupled to the second pinion 29 meshes with a fourth pinion 3l concentric with the axis of rotation of the first pinion 28 and coupled to the rotatable member. By applying manual pressure to depress the bar 22, the bar may be moved down to the position indicated at 32. This movement causes the arc of teeth 27 to rotate the first pinion 28 counterclockwise and hence the second and third pinions 29, 30 rotate clockwise and the latter drives the fourth pinion 3l in a counterclockwise direction. As a result, the rotatable member is rotated in a direction to effect printing of a franking. A spring, not shown, returns the bar to its initial position when it is released. In order to prevent the rotatable member being rotated in the reverse direction during this movement of the bar 22, a one way clutch is provided in the coupling between the second and third pinions 29, 30 or between the fourth pinion 3l and the rotatable member. The ratios between the teeth of the pinions are so chosen that a single depression of the bar to the position 32 will result in rotation of the rotatable member through an angle of 360 degrees. Generally the circumference of the printing drum l5 will be less than the length of an envelope on which the franking is to be printed. As a result, after a single rotation of the print drum, the trailing end of the envelope lies beneath the print drum. In order to eject the envelope from the machine a pressure roll 33 located under the platform l3 is driven, in a counterclockwise direction as seen in Figure 3, during the return movement of the bar 22. This is accomplished by a belt and pulley drive in the casing l2. A pulley 34 is secured to the shaft of the pressure roll 33 and is driven by belt 35 passing round pulley 36 freely rotatable on the casing l2. A further belt 37 passes around a further groove in the pulley 36 and a further pulley 38 also freely rotatable on the casing l2. The further belt 37 is secured to the lever 25 at a point 39. During downward movement of the bar 22 the attachment of the belt 37 to the lever 25 causes clockwise rotation of the pulleys and this would produce undesired clockwise rotation of the pressure roll 33. To prevent this undesired rotation of the pressure roll 33, the pressure roll 33 is coupled to the pulley 34 through a one way clutch. During movement of the bar 22 to its initial position, the belt 37 is driven by its connection with the lever 22 and causes counterclockwise rotation of the pulleys. This direction of rotation of the pulley 34 causes the one way clutch to transmit drive to the pressure roll 33. The pressure roll is resiliently biassed against the print drum so as to press the envelope against the print elements. The pressure roll also bears against further small rollers immediately adjacent the print drum so that when the print drum ceases rotation, when the bar 22 reaches position 32, the gripping of the envelope between the pressure roll 33 and the further small rollers permits the envelope to be fed out of the machine by the rotation of the pressure roll during return movement of the bar 22. A drum cover 40 (Figure l0) provides a safe-guard to security of access to the print wheels l7. The cover is locked in a closed position during rotation of the print drum and in addition there is a further inner cover (not shown) to protect the print wheels when the drum l5 is in its normal rest position.

Claims: A franking machine comprising an enclosure (l4); input means (l9) settable to a desired value of franking to be printed; accounting means (42) housed in said enclosure (l4) and responsive to the setting of the input means (l9) to register the selected franking value, to carry out accounting functions in relation to said selected franking value and to generate a control signal if the selected franking value is permitted to be printed; a rotatable print drum (l5) carrying selectively settable printing elements (l7); and print element setting members (2l) responsive to the setting of the input means (l9) and coupled to said printing elements (l7) for setting the print elements (l7) to the desired value set by the input means (l9); characterised in that the enclosure (l4) is rotatable with the print drum (l5). A franking machine as claimed in claim l further characterised in that the print drum (l5) and the enclosure (l4) are rigidly connected together. A franking machine as claimed in claim l or 2 further characterised in that the input means (l9) comprises a plurality of manually movable keys (l9) and in that the print element setting members (2l) comprise elongate bars connected to the keys (l9) and extending from the interior of the enclosure (l4) into the print drum (l5). A franking machine as claimed in claim l, 2 or 3 further characterised in that the accounting means (42) comprises electronic logic circuits operative to register the selected franking value and the accumulated sum of franking values printed by the machine. A franking machine as claimed in any preceding claim further characterised in that the accounting means (42) includes a register (43) to record a value of credit available for use in franking. A franking machine as claimed in any preceding claim including display means for displaying data and further characterised in that the display means (20) is carried on the rotatable enclosure (l4). A franking machine as claimed in claim 6 in which the display means (20) is operable to display data relating to the functioning of the machine. A franking machine as claimed in any preceding claim further characterised by the provision of manually operable drive means (22,23,27,28,29,30,3l) to rotate the rotatable enclosure (l4) and print drum (l5) to effect a franking operation. A franking machine as claimed in any one of claims l to 7 further characterised by the provision of an electrically powered motor operable to rotate the rotatable member to effect a franking operation. A franking machine as claimed in claim 8 further characterised in that the manually operable drive includes a lever (22,23,25) rotatable about a pivot (24,26) on said base member (l0); drive means (28,29,30) mechanically coupling said lever to the rotatable enclosure and print drum (l4,l5), said drive means being operative upon movement of said lever from a rest position to an operated position to rotate said enclosure (l4) and print drum (l5) to effect printing of the selected franking value and said drive means including a one way clutch operative to permit return of said lever from said operated position to said rest position without rotation of said rotatable member. A franking machine as claimed in claim l0 further characterised in that said lever (22,23,25) carries a row of teeth (27) extending in an arc concentric with said pivot (24,26); said drive means includes a train of gear wheels (28,29,30,3l), one of said gear wheels (28) meshing with said row of teeth (27). A franking machine as claimed in claim l0 or ll further characterised by the provision of feed means (33) coupled to said lever; said feed means (33) being operated by return of said lever from the operated position to the rest position to eject from the machine a mail item upon which the selected franking value has been printed. A franking machine as claimed in claim l2 further characterised in that said feed means (33) comprises a pressure roll (33) engaging the print drum (l5) at a printing position and coupled to the lever by coupling means (34,35,36,37,38,39) operated by return of the lever from the operated position to the rest position to rotate the pressure roll (33). A franking machine as claimed in claim l3 further characterised in the coupling means operated by return of the lever includes two pulleys (36,38) mounted at spaced locations on said base member (l0); a belt (37) extending around said pulleys (36,38); a connection (39) between said lever (22,23,25) and said belt (37) operative to move the belt to rotate said pulleys; and further means (33,34,35) including a one way clutch coupling one of said pulleys (36) to said pressure roll (33). A franking machine as claimed in any preceding claim further characterised in that the accounting and control means is powered by an electric battery housed within the enclosure (l4).

Inventors: GILHAM, DENNIS THOMAS, WILLIAMS, THOMAS DOUGLAS
Applicants: ALCATEL BUSINESS SYSTEMS LIMITED
Application year: 1987
Main classification: G07B17
IPC codes: G07B17