Patent GB-190906428-A (GB)
Title: Improvements in Cash Registers or Accounting Machines.
Inventor: KETTERING CHARLES FRANKLIN
Filed: 1909-03-17
Granted: 1910-03-17
Abstract: 6428. Kettering, C. F., and Chryst, W. A. Sept. 2, 1908, [Convention date]. Cash registers with operating - means; interlocking.-Relates to key-set drawer - operated machines, a special object being to enable the capacity of the machine to be readily increased by the introduction of keybank units and differential and totalizer e'ements controlled thereby. The improvements comprise also, key-board, main actuating- spring and drawer-operated means for tensioning the same, printing, totalizing, and indicating means and interlocking- mechanism between the initial, special transaction, drawer-release keys and the key for totalizing and resetting the counter. Operation of the mac h i n e. The last key depressed is the drawerrelease key 24, Fig. 9, which rocks an arm 74 to free a transverse bar 55 carried by arms 56, 79, one of which is linked to the drawer catch 61. This then allows the lever 101 pivoted at 102 to be thrown forward by the main spring 94, Fig. 8, which, through an arm 95, a roller 97, and a cam 98, rocks the main shaft 99, carrying a cam 90, to rock the yoke 89 down from t h e differential setting segments 34, and an arm 133, Fig. 3, to operate the cam 134 fast with V-cams 127. T h e s e bring to fixed position studs 126 on beams 108 pivoted to the segments 34, thus setting, after these have been locked in their set position, the indicators by means of links 109 and segments 110, Fig. 5. The totalizer 88, Fig. 6, is actuated by arcs 87 on the segments 34, and is normally in gear therewith, but is initially lifted out of gear and so held until lowered for actuation during the return stroke of the segments and arcs. A resetting-key 25 zeroizes the totalizer and sets the total on the indicators and type segments. Keyboard interlocks; keys for special transactions. -Each bank of keys and its differential segment 34 are mounted in a casing 31, so that further elements may be added by assembling them on the tie-bars 32. Each bank has a detent plate 37 with pins 36 swinging on links with ends 47, 54, and a locking-plate 63 with pins 64 on links 67, 68. On depression of an amount key, its detent plate is lowered to cause a stud 40 to rock a lever 35 out of the path of the projection 51 of the differential segment 34, this lever normally preventing any movement of the segment for an untouched bank. The link 47 drops in front of the bar 48 yoked with the resetting-key 25 so as to lock this. A special transaction key must also be depressed so that its detent plate may lower its extended link 226 out of the way of the transverse bar 55, and the initial bank detent plate operates a similar lock. The release key rocks a lever 71 to throw a transverse bar 70 upwards, which engages the forked links 68 of all the locking-plates so as to lock all the keys, the release key being held thus locked while the drawer is open by the bar 55 engaging the projection 78 of the lever 74. The upper link of the detent plates of the special keys has an incline 227 to engage the bar 48 so that the resetting-key can release the bar 55 ; a stop lever 220, Fig. 12, being also arranged to be operated thereby for holding the corresponding differential segment. The locking-plates 63 have the upper links 84 projecting to lock the resetting-key against operation when the drawer is open ; notches 85 permit the upward movement of the plates on operation of the release key when resetting the totalizer. Drawer - mechanism; indicators; flashes. - The keys are reset by a slight overthrow of the drawer on closing which brings the bar 55 against the bevelled arms 54, 226 of the detent and locking plates. The cam 98 on the main shaft is so shaped as to require sufficient effort on closing the drawer to ensure the overthrow necessary to release the keys by striking the bar 55 against the inclines 54. The locking- pawls 105 for the differential segments 34 are operated by the cam 136 on the main shaft, and the alining-pawls 111 for the indicator-operacing segments 110, Fig. 5, are held engaged by springs 125 until ungeared by means of the cam 114, on the main lever 101, engaging a pawl 116 on an arm 118, pin-and-slot connected to an arm 120 on the shaft of the pawls 111. During disengagement of the pawls 111 and the setting of the indicators, the screens 407 are lowered by the pawl-operating arm 120 through a link 402 and a lever 403, 405. Totalizer engaging-mechanism. The main lever 101 has a pawl 414 to engage a full-stroke rack 413 and a one-way pawl 186 which engages the pins 185, 184 on the linkage 183, 182, 180 to operate a forked arm 177, which has pins to engage recesses in cams 173, 174, fast on the spindle 172 that carries the totalizer frame. The pin 185 is normally initially engaged to throw the cam 173 upwards, and the pin 184 is engaged, when the drawer is fully drawn out, so as to cause the same pin 178 to lower its cam 173 and thereby lower the totalizer into gear with its operating-segments for the down-stroke. For certain special transactions, the totalizer is held out of gear during both strokes, and for such keys the special differential segment 34 has pins 199 to engage a lever 200 pivoted to an arm 190 on the shaft 140 of the differential segment locking-pawls so that, when the shaft is rocked, a link 194 pivoted to the pawl 200 operates arms 195, 197 and the link 198 to pull the forked arm 177 over to middle position free of both cams 173, 174 thus leaving the totalizer out of gear until the operation is completed. As the totalizer is reset during the downstroke of the segments 34, it must be lowered into gear on starting the operation, and for this purpose the pin 179 is brought into gear with the cam 174 by the resetting-key 25, which has a cam-end 202, Fig. 5, to engage a pin 203 on a lever 204 linked to the forked lever 177. Zeroizing-mechanism.-The totalizer-wheels are arrested at zero by the transfer tripping-pins 145, Fig. 6, engaging the rear face of the tripping-pawls 148, and, as these are only reset to normal by the yoke 156 and the cam 167, Fig. 8<a>, at the start of each operation of the machine, it is necessary to operate the machine idly to replace the transfer pawls in normal position. This idle operation brings the indicators to zero, and is ensured by the provision of a bar 427 carried by the levers 430, 431, Fig. 5, which must drop into alined recesses 428 in the indicator-setting segments 110 so as to force the pin 203 from the locking-notch 434 into the path of the cam-part 202 of the resetting-key. In all cases, the totalizer is returned into mesh with its operating-segments, at the end of the operation of the machine, by the pin 426 on the main lever 101 raising a projecting end of the cam 174. The totalizer is mounted on the spindle 170 carried in the frame 171, Fig. 8<B>, on the shaft 172, and is held in or out of gear by notches engaging a stud 211 on a spring-controlled pawl 212, which is held positively in either position by the engagement with its rear face by a roll 216 on the cam-plate 167. Detent and overthrow-preventing mechanism.-The totalizer pinions are locked during movement of the frame by pawls 219 operated by a link 217 from the pawl 212. The cam-plate is forked over the pin 169 joining the arm 101 and the link 103, so as to be operated thereby, and works about the pivot 102 of the main lever. Transfer mechanism.-Transfer is effected by the actuating-segments 87, which move an extra unit when the arm 149 of the transfer pawl of the lower wheel is tripped to lie below a pin 150 on the segment. The transfer pawl is held in tripped position by its pin 152 engaging the step 153 in the catch lever 157 which is spring-connected to the transfer pawl. The transfer pawls are positively reset by the tails 425 of the catch levers engaging pins 426 on the pawls. A face-plate 217 carried by the frame 171 is notched to show the reading of the totalizer correctly.