Patent GB-190720001-A (GB)
Title: Improvements in Workmen's and like Time Recorders.
Inventor: BRYCE JAMES WARES
Filed: 1907-09-07
Granted: 1908-03-19
Abstract: 20,001. Bryce, J. W. Sept. 7. Time -checking apparatus for workmen is fitted with means for printing on a card the " In " and "Out" times, or the times of starting and finishing an operation, and the difference or elapsed interval. Two slots are provided to receive the card, coupling mechanism being automatically operated to bring the mechanism into operation for that slot into which a card is inserted. The machine is operated by two turns of a handle, and a card in the " In slot is printed with the time and a hole is punched in each margin right and left by punches in position determined by clock-driven cylinders having spiral rows of pins for tripping the punch-carrying slides ; and in the " Out " slot the card is printed with the time and the interval elapsed since the card was printed in the " In " slot, the elapsed-time wheels which are normally driven with the time wheels being rotated back through an interval equal to the time of starting by gearing operated by a slide, which is moved until tripped by pins projecting through the punched holes in the card. The controlling-clock drives the minute-gearing through the shaft 143, Fig. 4, and gearing 150, 151, the hour-gearing being driven by a separate motor through a shaft 144, and being controlled from the minute-gearing by means of a wheel 159, Figs. 4 and 25, which is allowed to move one twenty-fourth of a revolution each turn by a pawl 158 fast on the shaft 157, which carries a pawl 156 engaging a notch in a cam-disk 155 on the minute shaft 147. A pin 161 on the wheel 159 engages a slot in the wheel 153, allowing the hour motor to drive the latter one twenty-fourth of a revolution each hour. The hour and minute cylinders are driven by ordinary spur-wheels gearing at right-angles in preference to small bevel-gearing. The "In" and "Out" time-printing wheels on the shaft 225, Fig. 32, are driven by similar gearing, the hour gearing as shown in Fig. 4 being 216; 218, 221, and 223. The hour-elapsed time-printing wheels 209 are normally driven by the pinion 222 gearing with the pinion 221, but on operation they are moved by a fork 236 operated by a cam 237, Fig. 4, into gear with a loose wheel 227, Fig. 2, which is fast with a pinion 228 gearing with a toothed arc 229 on a sleeve, an arm 213, Fig. 26, of which is linked to the hourselector slide 193, so that when this is tripped and stopped at a position corresponding to the hour hole punched at the " In " operation, the arc and gear 229, 227 have turned back the elapsed-hour wheel 209 so as to print the difference in hours. The minute - gearing is similarly arranged and linked up to the minute selector slide. The punch and selector slides are moved by carriages 25, 26, Fig. 4, slid along guides 28, 29, and connected by a bar 27 so as to be moved together a complete travel at each operation of the machine by a link from an arm on the sleeve 35. The hour-punch slide 54, Fig. 2, has a pivoted catch-lever, the lower end 62 of which engages a notch in a plate secured to the carriage so as to be moved along with it until the finger 73 meets a pin on the cylinder and depresses by a pin 72 the lower end of the catch lever 63 against the action of the restoring-spring 75 and engages the upper end with the fixed rack 68, the lever being then locked in position by the pivoted dog 76 which is thrown up by a pin on the carriage plate as it leaves the punch slide. On the return of the carriage plate a projection on it engages the pin 79 to return the punch slide, the locking dog 76 being released by the pin on the carriage plate. The minute-punch mechanism is exactly similar. The selector slides for engaging the spring pins 174, Fig. 26, which project through the punched holes in the cards are similarly fitted with a lever 194, Fig. 26, for locking them to the carriage and to the frame, the lever having an upward projection 196 to engage the stud of the trigger 198 which engages the pin. The spring pins 174 for hours and minutes are carried in two frames 170, Fig. 29, guided by a pin and slot on the frame 172, and raised and lowered by levers 185, 186 on coupled shafts operated by link 181 and cam 177. Punching and printing are effected by the cam 121 which raises and lowers the pointed pin 89, to which one or other link 83, 91, Fig. 15, is coupled by springs 97, 98 on the stops 92 being removed by the rocking of the spindle 93 by the link 103, Fig. 4, from the cam 99. The coupling is selected by the inserted card which stops a finger 105, Fig. 14, and prevents a pivoted stop 117 from being brought by a link 115 into the way of one or other link 88, 91 ; the fingers being operated by the pin-box operating- shaft 113. These links rock the shafts 85, 96 carrying the printing-cams and the punch-actuating cam shafts 81, 82 by the link 127 and geared segments 128, 129, as shown. As an alternative, the "In" or "Out" coupling-mechanism may be manually set, a cam to hold either link out of engagement with the pin 89 being fitted on the shaft 93, in which case guard-plates are fitted to prevent the coupling-link from coming off the pin 89 during operation, A recess 325, Fig. 44, is provided on the card to ensure correct insertion, the card if placed upside down falling short of the aperture 114 and so allowing the finger 105 and stop 117 to hold the coupling-link out of engagement with the pin 89. If an unpunched card is inserted in the " Out" slot, the selector slides not being tripped by pins at the end of their travel engage projections on the ends of the sliding plate which carries the platens so as to draw them away from the cams, so that no printing takes place, the platen sliding plate having projections in front to engage the front of the selector slides so as to be restored to position on completing the operation. A separate ink ribbon is employed for each slot, the supply and winding-on rollers being coaxially arranged, as shown in Fig. 41, so as to be driven by ratchet-wheels 317, 318 ; the pawls are pivoted to a plate 307, Fig. 42, reciprocated by the shaft 113 of the pin - box operating - mechanism, the pawl plate being thrown over by an arm engaging the full roller, and being held in either position by the spring 309. The tension of the ribbons is maintained by springs 319, 320. The necessary transfer mechanism for the elapsed-time wheels consists of a spring transfer pawl 265, Figs. 33 and 34, always reciprocated by a cam 283, Fig. 4, through a link 279, but held off by a pivoted piece 263 unless this is rocked out of holding-off position by a shaft 257, which is actuated by a spring-controlled bent arm 256 which normally rests against the tripping-pawl 258, Fig. 38, with which the tripping pin 253 of the elapsed-time minute-wheel is adapted to engage when in gear with the selector slide-operated gear-wheel. In order to ensure proper action of the selector slide-tripping mechanism, a short initial travel is allowed, to compensate for which the elapsed-time wheels are preferably set ahead one unit of time. This necessitates a means for preventing a wrong transfer occasionally due to this setting, which consists of an extra holding-off pawl 289, Fig. 40, on the tripping-pawl pivot held in engagement with the arm 256 by a spring 291 ; this action is allowed while the overhanging lever 285, Fig. 36, is engaged by a pin 284 on the selector link, the lever 285 being spring-connected to the tripping-pawl 254. The transfer at subtraction is allowed by a spring between the arm 272 which is fast with the disk 275 and the ratchet-wheel 270, which is connected by a pin and slot to the disk, the forked arm 270 being positively engaged by a pin on the hour driving-wheel 222. The tripping-pawls are re-set by the arms on the shaft 257 being rocked by the arm 292 engaging the pin-box operating- arm 293, Fig. 29. On turning the handle to operate the machine, the hour gear is locked by a pin engaging the disk 220, fast and loose gears 221, 227 are alined by the lever 231 and cam 233, the minute-gear being similarly held, the elapsed-time driving-gears 222, 244 are slid into gear with the selector-slide actuated wheels, the alining pawls are removed, the card-feeling fingers and coupling- mechanism are operated, and the carriages with their slides are advanced. To allow this preliminary movement, the sleeve 35, Fig. 7, for operating the carriages has fixed to it a segment 34, pivoted to which are two three-armed pawls connected as shown by a spring 38, which throws the ends 42, 39 into engagement with notches in the fixed arc 43 at the ends of the travel. The arm 30 on the actuating-shaft 24 must first move from the positions shown, in which it locks the pawl 42 in engagement, till the overhanging end 31 is clear of the end 41 of the pawl, whereupon this is freed by the spring ; the arm 30 then engages the second pawl 44, advancing the segment and the carriages till the end 32, engaging the pin 45, throws the locking arm 39 into engagement with the fixed arc. The subsequent motion of the actuating-shaft 24 holds the pawl 39 locked and operates the printing. Backward motion of the operating-handle is prevented by a ratchetwheel 13, and more than one operation by a double pawl engaging suitable stops on the wheel 11.