Patent GB-404066-A (GB)
Abstract: 404,066. Ticket punching, dating, and marking devices. BLACK, H. D., 39, St. James's Street, Pall Mall, London, and WEBB, C. F., 24, Deane Way, Eastcote, Middlesex. Aug. 15, 1932, No. 22897. [Class 106 (iii).] A ticket punching, dating, printing, embossing or perforating machine has power actuating mechanism operated on the insertion of a ticket and has a unit detachable by an operator to render the actuating mechanism and punch or printing element, &c., moved thereby inoperable by a ticket. The ticket is inserted in the slot 14 of a unit A and if it is of the requisite thickness the pin 33 is raised to move the nose of the lever 35 clear of the projection 37 on the lever 21 mounted on the spindle 20 and when the ticket has been inserted fully into the slot 14 the pins 29 are moved thereby and so rock the lever 25 and disengage the shoulders 24 thereon from the lateral extensions 23 and thus permit the lever 21 to be moved under the influence of the spring 28 in a clockwise direction, thus causing the upper limb of the fork 22 to bear upon the lever 18 to press the punch 16 downwardly for the lower end to grip the ticket and prevent withdrawal without tearing before the full punching operation has been completed. The lower end 30 of the lever 21 extends into a slot formed in one end 31 of a plunger 32 so that clockwise rotation of the lever 21 results in the plunger 32 being moved to the left to move the spring controlled bar 79 for a contact 78 thereon to make contact with the contact 75 to establish the circuit of the solenoid 56. The core 57, 59 of the solenoid is drawn upwardly and moves the pivoted pin-and-slot connected lever 62 therewith which in turn moves the pin-and-slot connected lever 67 keyed to a spindle 68 provided with a dog 41 extending into a slot 40 on the spindle 20 which is thus further rotated to punch the ticket. A bell 91 is struck on each actuation of the device by a hammer 90 through the lost motion connection 87, 88. If the current supply for the solenoid 56 fails, the punch may be actuated by manual manipulation of the finger piece 70. In a modification for embossing tickets the element 16 is formed in two portions screwed together, the lower portion being provided with an extension sliding in a guide slot. A counter 47 is operatively connected to an arm 48 mounted upon the spindle 20. The ticket punchings are collected in a receptacle 43 carried by a slide 44 locked to a casing 6 by a spring catch 45 engaging behind an abutment 45a and disengaged only by first piercing a paper mask behind a slot 46. The punching and registering unit A is detachably mounted by a lockable spring catch 11 and button 12 on a plate 1 hinged at 2 to a plate 3 secured to a board or panel B which may be the dash board or other portion of the structure of a motor vehicle. When, during actuation of the punch, the plunger 32 is moved to the left it extends through the plate 1 and fits a hole therein and prevents removal of the unit A until the plunger is withdrawn. The spring catch 11 can be so arranged that when the unit A is removed from the plate 1, the movement of the catch renders the actuating mechanism inoperable, for example, by separating a pair of contacts arranged in the circuit of the solenoid. A yieldingly controlled locking lever 49 is pivotally mounted interiorly of the casing 6 and is provided with a pin 50 extending through an aperture 51 in the back of the casing 6 so that the lever 49 may be moved to the left in Fig. 7 by manipulation of the pin 50 to cause a nose 52 thereon to extend into a notch 53 formed in the plunger 32, Fig. 10, to prevent movement of the plunger to the left and lock the punch against further actuation. The lever 49 is maintained in the locking position by the inturned edge 54 of a spring catch 55. When the unit A has been detached from the plate 1 and the lever 49 moved to lock the plunger 32 against movement, it is only possible to disengage the locking lever 49 from the plunger by piercing the paper mask behind the slot 46 and removing the slide 44 from the unit A. This arrangement enables the operator to lock the particular unit A allocated to him if it has been detached from the operating mechanism and safeguards him against tampering with the registering counter until it has been received by officials. To render the mechanism readily accessible the plate 1 is connected by elbow links 94 to the board B so that the plate 1 may be swung outwardly, after unfastening the screws 4, into the position shown in Fig. 4, inadvertent actuation of the solenoid 56 being prevented by a stop in the form of a pivoted stirrup 95 being moved into the path of movement of the weight 58. In a modified construction pneumatic actuation of the punch mechanism is effected by suction, e.g. from the induction manifold of an internalcombustion engine, or from a source of fluid pressure in excess of atmospheric pressure. The device can be operated by a spring motor instead of by electrical or pneumatic means.