Patent GB-945193-A (GB)
Title: Printing recorders
IPC: B41L19/00
Filed: 1961-08-15
Abstract: 945,193. Printing apparatus. SPERRY RAND CORPORATION. Aug. 15, 1961 [Sept. 15, 1960], No. 29433/61. Headings B6C and B6F.  Information is printed on a document by placing the document on a plate or board having a printing plate mounted thereon and inserting the plate with the document into an apparatus which, when the plate reaches a certain position therein, automatically causes the document to be pressed against the board so as to make an imprint on the document. The document to be printed, interleaved with carbons, is placed between flanges 66, 68, Fig. 2, and against stops 58, 60 on a metal plate or board 48 which has recesses 54, 56 to receive a dealer's embossed identification printing-plate and a customer's credit printing-plate respectively, and has apertures 72, 74 through which dating wheels and amount printing segments respectively, project when the plate 48 is inserted and properly positioned in the apparatus. A flared opening 112, Fig. 7, near the left side of the front of the apparatus is provided for inserting the plate which is supported in the apparatus by a base-plate 90, and guided as it is inserted by its side flanges 84, 86 riding in grooves 110, Fig. 16, or members 100, 102 attached to the base. The plate is held above the printing wheels during insertion by lugs 80, Fig. 7, on the underside of its leading edge and raised flats 338, Fig. 9, near the front ends of the grooves 110, but when it is fully inserted the lugs 80 drop into an aperture 172 in the base and the flanges clear the flats 388 so that the plate 48 can drop on to the base plate 90. At this instant, a lug 82, Fig. 7, on the underside of the plate 48 passes through an aperture 180 in the base-plate 90 so as to depress one end 188 of a lever 182 and raise the other end 190 as referred to below. As the plate 48 is moved inwardly its leading edge engages a pusher-bar 139 pivoted at 130 to a carriage 114 having a narrow guide roller 136 on a spindle 130 and a pair of frictionallyengaging rollers 118, 116 carried by a yoke 128 attached to the spindle 130. The carriage is moved rearwardly by the plate 48, the spindles 122, 130 of the rollers 118, 136 running in guide grooves 108 in the members 100, 102 and the roller 118 bearing against the undersurface 162 of a fixed pressure-plate 104. Mounted on the spindle 122 are two spools 150 with flat springs coiled thereon and the free ends 158 of the springs are attached to the front of the pressure plate 104 so that during the inward movement of the carriage 114 the springs are uncoiled. When the plate 48 is fully inserted, and the lever 182 rotated as described above, the lever end 190 lifts the push-bar 139 above the front edge of the plate 50 so that the carriage 114 is free to be moved back by the springs to its initial position. During such movement, the roller 116 is rolled over and pressed against the document by the engagement of the roller 118 with the pressure plate 104 so that the matter on the printing-plates, the date, and the amount set up on the printing segments are printed thereon. An annular groove 126, Fig. 16, ensures that one type face only of each segment is printed from. The undersurface 162 of the plate 104 is stepped at 196 so as to exert a wedging action on the roller 118, and the guide grooves 108 turn upwardly near the front of the apparatus to raise the rollers 116, 118 when printing is completed. The plate 48 is now lifted manually by means of its handle 52 so as to free the lugs 80, 82 from the base 90, and is then withdrawn from the apparatus. Instead of the spring spools for moving the roller carriage, a pneumatic cylinder, an electric solenoid or an electric motor may be used. In the latter case, the carriage has attached to it a cable also attached to a spool driven in both directions by the motor, the direction of rotation of the motor being controlled by switches operated by the lever 182. In this case, the rollers move rearwardly for printing. Indexing-setting arrangements; restoring typemembers to zero position.-Date-stamping wheels 210, Fig. 17 (not shown), are mounted on pivoted arms adjustable by screws to vary the amount the wheels project through the aperture 72, Fig. 2. The amount-printing type are fixed to segments 200 . . . 208, Figs. 9, 16, connected by rods 239 to racks 240 . . . 248 geared to setting wheels 34 . . . 42, Fig. 1 (not shown), projecting through slots in the machine casing. Each setting wheel is provided with a spring detent 294 (Figs. 22, 23, not shown) and has an indicator disc, a marking on which is exposed at an opening in the casing to indicate the setting of the associated segment. A stop 322, Fig. 19, is engaged by ends 302, 306 of the wheels to limit their movements. For restoring all the setting wheels with their type segments to their zero positions, the wheels have slots 300 in which can move two bars 308, 310 carried respectively by arms 312, 320 pivoted to the shaft 309 of the wheels. Normally the bar 310 is in the position drawn in Fig. 19, and the bar 308 engages the end wall 326 of the slot 310. The bar 308 is moved clockwise as the wheels are set, the extent of the movement being determined by the wheel which is moved the largest amount. After printing is completed the bar 310 is moved anticlockwise, engages the bar 308 and moves the bar with the setting wheels back to their original zero position. To achieve this, the arm 320 carrying the bar 310 has a spur gear 336 engaging a rack 334 on a plate 330, Figs. 9, 19, slidable on the base plate 90 and normally held towards the rear of the machine by a spring 338. Pivoted on the plate is an arm 342, Fig. 9, urged by a spring 354 to project through a slot 348 in the wall of the guide member 102. When the board 48 is lifted for withdrawal after printing, the arm 342 is aligned with a notch 350 in the plate, so that during withdrawal the engagement of the notch and arm causes the plate 330 to be moved towards the front of the machine and the bar 310 to be moved to restore the setting members &c. The arm 342 is cammed out of the notch 350 by its engagement with the front edge of the slot 348 whereupon the spring 338 returns the parts 330, 320, 310 to their initial position. A latch 394, Fig. 21 (not shown), engages a recess in the boss of one of the arms 312 carrying the bar 308 to prevent rebound of the bar when it reaches zero position, the latch being released by the arm 320 of the bar 310 as the latter returns to its initial position. Type-aligning.-Movement of the lever 182, Fig. 7, when the board 48 slips into printing position actuates a lever 273 causing an aligning tooth 264, Fig. 16, to be engaged with teeth 230 on the under siders of all the type segments 200 &c. The tooth 264 is pivoted to a housing 234 carrying the type segments, and projects through a slot 266 in the carriage into engagement with the teeth 230. Prevention of machine operation if type wheels are not set.-The insertion of the board 48 into printing position in the machine is prevented if the amount wheels have not been set by a pin 368, Fig. 7, projecting through an aperture 370 in the guide member 102 and into the guide groove 108 thus constituting a stop for the axle 130,of the roller carriage 114. - The pin is carried by a member 360, Fig. 9, pivoted on the guide member 102 and urged by a spring to withdraw the pin to inoperative position. In the zero position of the setting members, a detent 376, Fig. 9, on one of the arms carrying the resetting bar 308 engages a groove in the member 360 so as to hold the pin 368 in operative position, the detent releasing the member 360 to allow withdrawal of the pin as soon as one or more of the setting wheels has been moved from the zero position.