Patent GB-843029-A (GB)
Abstract: 843,029. Ticket printing and issuing machines. BRITISH TRANSPORT COMMISSION, and PEARSON, A. J. March 6, 1959 [Dec. 9, 1957], No. 38225/57. Class 106 (3). The invention refers to portable strip ticket printing and issuing machines with record taking devices and totalizers. Printing the ticket.-The ticket printing unit 30 has a printing drum and means for feeding a paper strip over the printing surface when the drum is rotated and delivering the printed ticket through a slot in the casing. Knobs 32, 33, 34, 35 control the setting of type wheels for pence and halfpence, shillings, fare stage and class of ticket respectively. The drum is then rotated manually by means of handle 36. Punching the record strip.-A record strip 117 is punched with code punchings corresponding to the settings of the knobs 32, 33, 34 on operation of the handle 36. The punching mechanism comprises a stirrup member 107 mounted between the side plates 83, 84 of a rotatable cage 41. Punches 110 are guided in apertures in cross-bars 108, 109 and an anvil 111 has holes aligned with the punches. Drums 98, 101, 102 carrying rows of pins are set respectively by knobs 32, 33, 34 and drum 103 is rotated one step by each rotation of the drum 102. The cage 41 is then rotated through sleeve 129, disc 47a and rod 60a by the rotation of handle 36; cam surfaces 112 (see Fig. 10) on the outer surface of the member 107 co-operate with rollers 113 at one point of the rotation to raise the member 107, against springs 100, towards the drums 98, 101, 102, 103 so that the punches 110 coming into contact with the pins in the selected rows on the drums punch the paper strip 117, the punches being returned to their inoperative positions by pins 116 coacting with bar 114 fixed in the cage 41. The paper strip 117 is moved forward one step during each rotation of the cage 41 by a friction roller 125 (Fig. 10) rotated by a star wheel (not shown) which engages a fixed projection once every rotation. Actuation of the totalizers.-A visual totalizer 38 and a totalizer 39 whose drums carry code projections which can punch a paper strip if required, are identically operated. Each is divided into a shillings section and a halfpence section. The halfpence knob 32 first positions a setting member 44 which comprises a disc having gear teeth 51 (see Figs. 5, 6, 12 and 15) forming an interrupted gear, and having provided alongside the teeth 51 a smooth peripheral surface 52 cut away at 53. A similar member 47 with gear teeth 55 and surface 56 cut away at 57 remains fixed during the setting process. Similar setting members 44a, 47a are provided for the shillings knob 33. When the members 44, 44a have been positioned, rotation of handle 36 rotates member 47a via sleeve 129; member 47 is connected to member 47a by rods 60, 60a and sleeve 61, and members 44, 44a are locked to cage 41 by means of gear segments (not shown) which are arranged to engage gears 96, 96a as soon as rotation commences. Rotation of the members 44, 47 tends to rotate driving gear 75 which drives the halfpence sections of the two totalizers. Connected through gearing to the driving gear 75 is a fourarmed star wheel 81 (Figs. 5 and 6) which is positioned at the periphery of the members 44, 47 and extends across both the surfaces 52 and 56. As shown in Figs. 5 and 6, only if both cutaway portions 53, 57 are opposite the star wheel can it rotate. The relative positions of the members 44, 47 therefore determine the proportion of one complete rotation of handle 36 for which the star wheel 81, and hence driving gear 75, can rotate. The cut-away portions and gear teeth on each member 44, 47 are relatively placed so that the star wheel 81 is opposite the cut-away portion if and only if the gear teeth are engaging pinions 68 and 65, respectively. If both pinions are engaged, the driving gear 75 of the totalizer 39 is driven through sun-gear 69, planet carrier 66 and planet pinions 71; if only one is engaged, the other is free to rotate idly, driving gear 75 being held stationary by the star wheel 81. The shillings sections of the totalizers are similarly actuated.