Patent GB-824570-A (GB)
Abstract: 824,570. Ticket printing and issuing machines. GERHAN, A. B. Jan. 28, 1957, No. 2952/57. Class 106 (3). (Also in Group XVI] A ticket printing and issuing machine has a plurality of downwardly directed printing type arranged with their printing faces coplanar and floatingly supported for upward movement, means for selectively holding some of the type against such movement, and a platen for pressing a ticket upwardly against the type. This arrangement ensures that printing pressure is exerted only by the type that is held against upward movement, the remaining type engaging the ticket with insufficient force to cause printing thereon. The invention is applied to a machine for issuing a ticket to correspond to a so-called " daily double " bet. Printing type. As shown in Figs. 10 and 11, the coplanar printing type 130 is arranged in two rows on either side of a number of coaxial printing wheels 102-105. Each printing type 130 can be displaced vertically by a common platen 210 supporting a ticket strip, unless an associated wedge 138 is actuated by a solenoid 154 to block such movement, there being one solenoid for each wedge operable from a keyboard on the face of the machine. The type 130 are numbered from 1 to 10 to represent horses and the ticket illustrated in Fig. 14 represents a bet on horses 3 and 6 in a particular race. The code number 5GDT is printed by the wheels 102-105, the first character being preferably a number representing a race for which the ticket is issued and the letters being simply characters arranged with respect to each other each day before the racing starts to make forgery of a ticket more difficult. The serial number of the ticket is 444 and the data below the serial number is printed by a type block 165, Fig. 6. The printing wheel 102, Fig. 6, is keyed to a shaft 100. Each of the printing wheels 102-105 is provided with an annular row of bores 108 parallel to the shaft 100 and equal in number to the number of printing characters 109 on the periphery of each wheel. The wheels are connected together by a pin 110 passing through the bores 108 and since the wheel 102 is keyed to the shaft 100 the wheels 103-105 will also be keyed thereto by virtue of the pin 110. The pin 110 is temporarily removed when the wheels 102-105 are to be rearranged to a fresh combination of four character indicia. A selector wheel 112, Fig. 9, is secured to the shaft 100 and has axially extending pins 113 parallel to the shaft 100, there being one pin for each row of characters formed by the four wheels. These pins 113 are adapted to be successively engaged by a detent 114, actuated by a solenoid 117, such that the printing elements 102-105 will all be rotated one character at a time into printing relationship with the ticket each time the solenoid 117 is actuated. Thus by operating the solenoid 117 a sufficient number of times any race number and its associated letter code can be brought into a printing position. Driving mechanism. A continuously rotating electric motor drives the machine through a single revolution clutch. The driven member of the clutch, secured to a shaft 7, Fig. 4, carries an axially slidable clutch pin that can be engaged by teeth on the driving part of the clutch. A spring-biased lever normally presses down on a cam surface formed on the clutch pin to cause its withdrawal from said teeth but when a solenoid is operated, the lever is raised and the resulting camming action causes the pin to engage with the teeth of the driving member so that it rotates therewith in a manner causing the shaft 7 to rotate. Before the pin completes a single revolution a relay is opened by partial revolution of the shaft 7 to cut off the solenoid and so allow the spring-biased lever to descend and meet the clutch pin as it completes its revolution, the resulting camming action withdrawing the clutch pin to stop further revolution of the shaft 7. Ticket strip feeding means. The tickets are initially in a roll with an associated brake to prevent overrunning. The ticket strip 33, Fig. 6, eventually passes between feed rollers 44, 45, the upper roller 45 having spaced flanges 50 to prevent transverse movement of the ticket strip. The rollers have coacting pinions and the lower roller 44 is driven through gear means coupled to the shaft 7 so that for one revolution of the shaft 7 one length of ticket strip will be issued. The roller 44 is fluted except for a flat portion 85 from which projects a pin 86 adapted to successively enter longitudinally spaced holes 87, Fig. 14, in the ticket strip. When the gripping action of the rollers 44, 45 ceases, because of the flat portion 85, the pin 86 will have entered a hole 87 in the ticket strip so that continued rotation of the roller 44 will cause the strip to move towards the outlet under the action of the pin 86 until the strip is again gripped between the fluted portion of the roller 44 and the roller 45. The ticket strip then stops its forward motion at which time a ticket is severed from the ticket strip by the movement of a knife 243. The use of the pin 86 for engaging the ticket strip 33 at the same point with reference to the circumference of the roller 44 ensures uniformity of the issued tickets. Printing platen. This comprises a pressure pad 214, Fig. 6, of moderately hard rubber on a removable head 215, the whole being pivoted on a shaft 219 in a plane coinciding with the plane of the horizontal run of the ticket strip 33. To ensure uniform printing pressure the removable head 215 may be split lengthwise to form two side sections 209, Figs. 11 and 20. These sections 209 comprise upper and lower parts shaped to form a housing for flat springs 207 that urge the upper part upwardly at all times. The pressure pad 214 is thus, in effect, divided into three integral but relatively movable portions. Two of these portions engage the two rows of type elements 130 while the centre portion engages the printing elements 102-105. The three sections are linked together by pins extending into enlarged slots to prevent excessive relative movement. The springs 207 may be varied as desired to adjust the printing pressures. The platen is reciprocated by an arm 224 slidably received in a hub 225, there being spring means connecting the arm 224 and the hub 225 to limit the upward thrust exerted by the platen. Inking ribbon. The inking ribbon 280, Fig. 6, passes between spools 281 and 282 and above the ticket strip 33. An oscillation of the platen 214 causes a gear-wheel to rotate and turn the spool 281 or 282, the gear wheel being on a pivoted, hand operable, arm such that it can be caused to drive either of the spools to reverse the direction of movement of the inking ribbon. Keyboard and counters. The operating keys 300, Fig. 4, extend through a keyboard 340. Each key represents a combination of two entries and when it is depressed it actuates a switch 301 to cause solenoids to insert wedges 138, Fig. 11, behind the appropriate type numbers 130 so that said entries may be printed on the ticket. Depression of a key also actuates an associated counter 348 to register the number of times that key is depressed during a given period of time since the amount to be paid for a winning ticket bears a direct relation to the number of winning tickets. Openings are provided in the board 340 so that the counters 348 can be inspected. A solenoid 330, operable by remote control, can lock the keys 300 against movement by causing locking bars passing through the stems of the keys to be deflected to an appropriate setting.