Patent GB-541781-A (GB)
Title: Improvements in coin-operated postal franking machines
IPC: G07F17/26
Filed: 1940-05-08
Abstract: 541,781. Postmarking machines. PITNEYBOWES POSTAGE METER CO. May 8, 1940, No. 8302. Convention date, May 5, 1939. [Class 100 (ii)] [Also in Group XVIII] A coin-freed stamp or frank printing machine comprises a coin-receiving device credit mechanism adapted to register a credit value corresponding to the total value of all the coins received up to a predetermined limit, and means for printing successive selected stamp values on articles inserted in the machine until the total credit is exhausted. The operator first deposits in coin slots 74, Fig 1, coins required to pay for the total number of postage stamp impressions it is desired to make upon the letters which are to be posted. Next, he selects, by means of a selector knob 76, the desired stamp value which is to be printed, and then he inserts the letters one at a time in a slot 82. The feeding of the letter into the machine, the setting of registering and printing apparatus, and the actual printing are performed by an electric motor energised when the first coin is inserted. In the construction shown there are four coin slots 74 for coins of 1, 5, 10 and 25 cents respectively. Each slot leads to a testing unit 101, Fig. 7, in which an unsuitable coin either is deflected by an anvil 102 into a rejection shoot 104 or lodges in the unit and is discharged by means of a press button 84 which rocks a plate 105 to discharge the coin into the shoot 104. Coins which pass the test are deflected by the anvil into channels 116, are turned through 90 degrees by devices 117, and pass down shoots 122, Fig. 10, past coin stops 132 to drums 134 each provided with a coin pocket 142. The first coin to pass down any shoot 122 closes a mercury switch 127, Fig. 9, and starts a motor 85, Fig. 2, which drives the shaft 137 of the coin-pocket drums. As each pocket approaches the coin shoot 122 a corresponding cam 144 on the drum engages a roller 146 and rocks the coin stop 132 to release a coin and allow it to fall into the pocket. The four pockets, one for each coin shoot, are staggered, as shown in Fig. 16, so that only one coin at a time is delivered by the drum as each pocket reaches the discharge position at the lower side of the drum. The coins are kept in the pockets by a fixed guard 147 and a rail 711, and pass over rollers 148, 148a, 148b, 148c, on their way to a deposit shoot 150. Registering total value of coins inserted. The rollers 148 &c. are carried by a lever 152 mounted on a shaft 153, Fig. 22, and as each coin passes over its roller the lever is depressed to an extent depending on the size of the coin. The lever 152 rocks an arm 156 which moves a pinion 163 along its splined shaft 165 to align with one or other of four sets of teeth on a mutilated gear 164 according to the size and value of the inserted coins, the mutilated gear being constantly driven by the motor 85. Thus, if a 25 cent coin has passed over the corresponding roller the pinion 163 is aligned with a gear row 164a having 25 teeth, and the pinion is rotated through an angle corresponding to 25 teeth thereon. Similarly the gear row 164b has 10 teeth, 164c has 5 teeth, and 164d, 1 tooth. Thus, the constantly-rotating gear 164 rotates the pinion shaft 165 through an angle corresponding to the total value of all the coins which pass over the rollers. The lever 152 is locked, whenever the pinion 163 is being rotated, by a pawl 173 engaging a notched sector 172 on the lever, the pawl being held in locking position whenever the end 175 thereof bears against one of four cams 176 on the coin drum, these cams being of different lengths corresponding to the length of time during which the mutilated gear drives the shaft 165. Credit mechanism. The total value of all the coins inserted, as measured by the angle through which the shaft 165 is rotated, is indicated by a pointer 257, Fig. 1, driven from the shaft. This shaft also drives the annulus 193, Figs. 27 and 39, of an epicyclic gear, the sun pinion 197 of which is normally looked so that the planet carrier 194 is rotated by the shaft 165 and this rotation is transferred to a disc 214, loose on a selector shaft 206, by gearing 211, 213. Thus, the angle through which the planet carrier 194 and the disc 214 are rotated is also a measure of the total value of the inserted coins. Selecting value of stamp to be printed on a letter or letters. The operator rotates a selector knob 76,on the selector shaft 206 which carries a dial 78, Figs. 1 and 2, and thereby indicates through a window 77 what value has been selected. The rotation of shaft 206 sets the printing type to the value selected and also subtracts this value from the credit already established in the machine. Subtraction control. The selector knob 76 rotates its shaft 206 and a gear 204, Fig. 39, on the shaft drives a gear 201 fixed to the sun pinion 197 of the epicyclic gear so that, the annulus 193 being held by a free-wheel device (not shown), the planet carrier 194 and the disc 214 are rotated in the reversed direction to the credit direction. However, as the annulus is not rotated this operation does not affect the credit shown by the pointer 257. The actual subtraction is effected only when a letter has been inserted and a printing operation performed. For this purpose a cam disc 276 on the selector shaft has two cam grooves 277, 278, engaged by rollers on levers 302, 298, Fig. 41, which thereby slide two pinions 289, 288 on their splined shaft 287 into alignment respectively with mutilated gears 282, 281, Fig. 22, fixed on a shaft 283 which is driven through one revolution when a clutch 286 is tripped. The pinion 289 is moved by its cam into alignment with either a ten-toothed sector or a twenty-toothed sector of the gear 282, corresponding to selections of 10 or 20 cents, and the pinion 288 is moved successively by its cam into alignment with rows of from 0 to 10 teeth on gear 28, for unit values, these rows being arranged in alternate numerical order. Thus; if a value of 23 cents is selected for franking, the pinion 289 is moved into alignment with a row of 20 teeth on gear 282 and the pinion 288 into alignment with a row of 3 teeth on the gear 281, and when, following the insertion of a letter, the clutch 286 is tripped to rotate the gears 281, 282 through one revolution the pinion shaft 287 is rotated through an amount corresponding to 23 cents. This rotation is subtracted from the credit in the epicyclic gear, since the shaft 287 drives the annulus 193 thereof in the reverse direction to that given by the insertion of coins in the machine. Setting the type for printing the selected stamp values on letters. When the selector knob is rotated to move the subtracting pinions 288, 289, Fig. 41, it also rocks two shafts connected by keys 325, 333 to a printing and registering unit 334, Figs. 19, 47, and sets two type wheels 336, 336a to print the selected value. The keys drive two rock shafts 348, 356 concerned with units and tens respectively, and those shafts slide mutilated gears 338, 339 connected by pins 363, 364 to rack bars, 361, 362 geared through intermediate pinions to the type wheels so as to set the latter to the selected value. Insertion of letter for printing the selected stamp value. The letter slot 82, Fig. 47, is normally blocked by a spring-loaded shutter 382 locked by a stop 383 removed by rotation of the selector knob. When a letter is inserted it rocks an arm 448 and abuts against stop arms 404 on a shaft 407. The arm 448, when rocked, trips a clutch 412, Fig. 10, and causes the shaft 407 to be driven through one revolution. As the shaft rotates the stop arms are removed from the path of the letter L, as shown in Fig. 48, and an arm 464 on the shaft allows a spring-loaded constantly-driven feed roller 457 to descend and feed the letter onwards. As the leading end of the letter approaches the rotating printing drum 335 the die portion of the letter reaches the printing position opposite the impression roller 473 which is driven through a flexible shaft 482, Fig. 22. At the same time as the shaft 407 is driven through one revolution to cause the printing operation to be performed, the clutch 286, Fig. 22, is also engaged to subtract the selected value from the credit. Thus, as each letter is stamped the credit is reduced by a corresponding amount. When the credit remaining is less than the value selected for stamping, a compensating mechanism automatically moves the selector dial back to select the amount equal to the credit remaining. This is effected by a block 546, Fig. 27, on a gear 211 fixed to the planet carrier 194, this block, when rotating backwards past the "no-credit" position shown, rocking a lever 545 and causing a clutch 228 to engage which drives a disc 218 through one revolution. This disc carries a pawl 221 adapted to engage a ratchet wheel 217 fixed to the selector shaft 206 and having (say) 24 teeth thereon, and a single notch 215 in the disc 214 which acts as a masking device and is driven from the planet carrier 194 of the crediting device. Thus the pawl 221 can only engage that tooth of the wheel 217 which is opposite the notch 215, and the arrangement is such that the pawl by the time it reaches the end of its 360 degree movement drives the ratchet wheel and selector shaft back the exact amount to set the selector mechanism to agree with the credit remaining in the machine. When the credit is exhausted, a pin 573, Fig. 39, trips a restoring clutch 236 which is then driven through one revolution and (1) rotates a disc 275 to return the selector shaft to zero, and (2) breaks the circuit of the motor. Timing control. When the motor has been started by the insertion of a coin, a compound pawl and ratchet device mechanism is driven and controls devices for automatically breaking the motor circuit at two different time intervals. One of these devices breaks the motor circuit if a letter is not inserted within four minutes (say) from the insertion of a