Patent GB-750306-A (GB)
Title: Improvements in or relating to printing machines
IPC: B41L19/00
Filed: 1953-02-09
Abstract: 750,306. Printing-machines; ink-ribbon mechanism. EAU, GAZ, ELECTRICITE & APPLICATIONS. Feb. 9, 1953 [Feb. 8, 1952], No. 3646/53. Classes 100 (2) and 100 (4). Platen machines.-Individual rigid documents are fed in turn from a magazine to a support, on the other side of which is a second support for a reference strip which moves forward a certain distance after each printing operation, and a printing head moves towards and away from the supports, having a detachable printing unit which prints simultaneously a complete text on the rigid document and an abridged text on the strip, while two ink ribbons, for the rigid documents and strip respectively, are fed at right-angles to the in-feed direction of the documents, the documents being ejected after printing at right-angles to their in-feed direction, and the ink ribbon for the reference strip passing over idler rollers to provide between the strip and the printing unit at least two runs between which at least one strip (on which the abridged text is also printed) can be pushed towards the outside of the machine. Individual documents 5, Fig. 10, are fed in succession from a magazine 2, Fig. 3, into printing position beneath a head 8 carrying a detachable printing member carrying a complete text and wider than the documents. A second strip which is intermittently fed and remains in the machine is also positioned beneath the head 8, and the printing member prints an abridged text thereon. A handle 29 is provided, which on clockwise rotation through 90 degrees feeds a document to printing position, and on reverse rotation lowers the head 8 to print and ejects the document sideways, the movements of the handle also operating the ink-ribbon mechanism. The handle causes a cam 16 to rotate, engaging a projection 15 on a lever 9 pivoted at 10, so as to compress a spring inside a tube 12, and when the cam releases the projection the spring causes the head 8 to move downwards, a spring 14 acting as a damper. The handle 29 also causes rotation of a gear 32, Figs. 3 and 9, free on shafts 33, 34, the gear being secured to discs 35, 36 and the shafts to discs 49, 38. The discs 49, 38 are driven by pawls carried on the discs 35, 36 and operating in opposite senses, so that the shafts are each driven during only one of the strokes of the handle, each shaft always in the same direction and the two shafts in opposite directions. The shaft 34 causes reciprocation of a pusher 4 to feed the documents, while the shaft 33 causes reciprocation of a carrier 64 to eject them. For printing on wider documents, introduced by hand, a support 112 is provided, which is nearer the printing head than the support for the documents 5 by the thickness of a document, so that a document 5 in printing position forms part of the support for the wider document. When printing on wider documents, a slide 116 is manually operated, and causes a stop to move into a recess in the periphery of each disc 38, 49, at the same time disengaging the driving pawls, so as to prevent operation of the feeding and ejection devices. A pin carried by the slide engages a ring 119 to prevent movement of the slide until the lever 29 is moved to feed a document, when a gap 120 in the ring allows such movement of the slide, the pin then serving to lock the pusher 4 and carriage 64 in their advanced positions. Ink-ribbon mechanism.-Three ribbons 92, 93, 94, Fig. 6, are provided, respectively for the date, the complete text, and the abridged text, and are driven by drums 90, 89, 91 on two shafts 87. The handle 29 rotates shafts 75, which are placed in driving connection with the shafts 87 by means of gears on shafts 80 carried on swingable cheeks 79 pivoted on the shafts 75. The cheeks are connected by a link 95, and the arrangement is such that the drums on one shaft 87 are driven and act as winding drums, while those on the other shaft 87 are free and act as unwinding driving belts 98 being provided to act as brakes for the free drum, the belts passing over pulleys 101 on the shafts 75, which rotate oppositely to the drums. The ribbon 94 passes over idler rollers 107, 108, 109 so as to have three runs, to allow printing on two additional strips which are fed forwardly out of the machines. Specifications 651,263 and 750,388 are referred to.