Patent GB-777646-A (GB)
Title: Record controlled printing mechanism
Filed: 1955-05-17
Abstract: 777,646. Record-controlled printing machines. INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION. May 17,1955 [May 20, 1954], No. 14202/55. Class 100(4) A record-controlled cyclically operable printing mechanism has a settable printing means for printing information on a record, a first means for sensing indicia on the record means controlled by the sensing means for causing a setting on said printing means, and means for restoring the printing means, under control of a second means for sensing control indicia on the record before it reaches the first sensing means and the printing means, so that a record carrying such control indicia can in a single cycle restore the printing means, introduce a new setting on the printing means and receive printing from the new setting of the printing means. Sensing of a record card without such indicia causes no restoration from the existing setting. Information contained only on master records in the form of indicia representing numeric, alphabetic and special characters can by this means be read are printed on both master records and a detail cards succeeding each master. When punched cards are used, a perforation and control under position of a selected column in each master card may serve as a control indicia. The repetitive printer is shown as applied to an alphabetic interpreter as disclosed in Specification 758,567, to which is added a pre-sensing station to provide repetitive' printing, but may be used with other automatic recording machines. The selecting, printing and card feeding devices are driven continuously by motor M, Fig. 2, and main shaft 27, Figs. 2, 3 which drives also through reduction gears main and auxiliary cam shafts 31, 33, respectively. A second auxiliary cam shaft 31 is driven from shaft 33 through gears 39, 40. An idler gear 34 drives shaft 37 which closes contacts C1...C6. Gears 215, 216 drive another auxiliary cam shaft 219 to operate the presensing mechanism. Cams on an auxiliary cam shaft 83, Figs. 1b, 2, 7 driven through gears 67,...70, shaft 71 and gears 72, 75, operate a digit slide when the control magnets 73 for the repetitive printing mechaism are energized. A knife member 89, Fig. 1a, secured to a sliding pusher 104 removes a card from magazine 107 and, when magnet 106 is energized, an armature 88 is withdrawn, and the lowermost card is advanced to the printing station through a throat by pairs of feed rollers 108, 109, 111, 112, 113, 114 on shafts 51, 110, 47, 43, 56 and 57 respectively. Cams-121, 122, 123, Figs. 1a, 3 on shaft 33 control the card feeding and type aligner mechanism. A timing shutter plate 124, Fig. 3, at card aligner station intercepts the card and at a definite time releases it so that it may be brought into correct time relationship with the machine if slip has occurred during feeding. Eight pre-sensing pins 220, Fig. 14b, to coincide with eighty columns of card being sensed, and a pair which engages edge of card, are located at card aligning station just before the printing station and are frictionally held in slots in a comb plate 232, Fig. 14b, of conductive material by a bar 234 of insulating material. The pins 220 are lowered on to the card, as it is stopped against shutter 124 and span the columns of the index position. They sense the presence of an X punch in the selected control column of a card as it is being aligned and cause an impulse to be sent through a related segment 320, Fig. 14b, on a plate 239 (not shown) to the repetitive printing clutch magnets 73 to cause the print characters to be restored. Stop plate 124, Fig. 3, is then withdrawn to allow a card which has been pre-sensed to advance to reading station at which a line of analysing brushes RB (Fig. 14a) reads the coded perforations in conjunction with a common contact roller 129, those in the zone index positions being analysed in advance of the digit perforations. Card lever contacts CL1, Fig. 14a, are closed by passage of card over card lever 131 between feed rollers 113 on shaft 56 and contact roller 129. A second card leyer 132 may also be rocked to close usual card lever contacts CL2 (Fig. 13, not shown). Cards are then sent to printing station by rollers and held by a stop 133 in any one of the twenty-five positions to present any one of the twenty-five lines of the card to receive printing from a row of type wheels, and is raised out of path of printed card when a solenoid 146, Fig. 1a, is energized. Cards are passed by rollers 143, 144 to card stacker after printing. Alphabetic print selecting mechanisms, Figs. 1b, 3, position a reciprocable rack 165, operated by gears 189 on shaft 190 which drives type wheel 192, to position it in one of forty seven positions to present a character to correspond to the selected rack position at the printing line. Rack positions are obtained from combination hole perforations of a code, Fig. 11 (not shown), in which numeric characters are designated by a digit perforation, alphabetic characters by zone and digit perforations and special characters by a zone perforation and two digit perforations. A further three special characters may be designated by a zone perforation alone. The printing platen 200, Fig. 1a, carries a print pad 210 and is supported on toggle links 201, 202, the former of which carries cam follower 206 held in engagement with print cam 268, Fig. 3 on shaft 37, to drive pad 210 against a card positioned between type wheel 192 and platen. An ink ribbon 270, Fig. 8 (not shown), extends across type wheel at printing line at which card is supported by a plate 150. As stated above the information punched on master cards can be read and printed on master cards and also on detail cards succeeding each master card under control of a perforation in a control index position of a selected column in each master card. The machine can be organized to print information in the same manner under control of a perforation in a selected column of each detail card. The clutch control magnets 73, Figs. 2, 14b have a common armature 282 held by a high step 285a of a latch member 285 pivoted on a stud 286 which also carries an arm 287 with a camming surface 287a. When the magnets 73 are energized armature 282 is withdrawn from latch 285 against pressure of spring 284 to move about its stud 286 until stop 285c engages armature. Pawl 292 is thus released to engage tooth of ratchet 295 to drive shaft 71 and the auxiliary cam shaft 83, which carries digit cam slide 250, Figs. 1b, 7. Armature 282 is returned to inactive position by spring 284, pawl 292 is withdrawn and drive between shaft 71 and cam shaft 83 is broken, until pawl lug 292a of pawl 292 is again released by energization of magnets 73. For repetitive printing zone arms bail 175 (Fig. 7,) is engaged by a slide 299, connected to a slide 300 by a spring 301, and this slide is held by follower arm 160, against bail 175 to prevent restoration of zone mechanism. Later, when arm 160 begins a downward movement, bail 175 is released by slide 299 and zoning mechanism is permitted to restore to condition the machine for the near setting. Each time a perforation is sensed by the pins 220 in an X index position, the action is repeated. When the machine is set up and placed in operation cards are fed from magazine 107, Fig. la, to reading station and circuits are controlled from the sensing of perforations as the index point positions of the record card traverse the analysing brushes RB. When the master card contains a control perforation the machine is set for repetitive printing by moving switch 330, Fig. 14b, to "on" and setting switch 331 at "X master" position.