AN IMPROVED MACHINE OR APPARATUS FOR PUNCHING OR PERFORATING CHEQUES, DRAFTS,
Year: 1880

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Samuel Williams and Augustus Philip Filleul, both of
Newport, in the County of Monmouth, for an Invention of "AN IMPROVED
MACHINE OR APPARATUS FOR PUNCHING OR PERFORATING CHEQUES, DRAFTS,
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Samuel Williams and
Augustus Philip Filleul at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the
26th July 1880.
SAMUEL WILLIAMS and AUGUSTUS PHILIP FILLEUL, both of Newport, in
the County of Monmouth. "AN IMPROVED MACHINE OR APPARATUS FOR
PUNCHING OR PERFORATING CHEQUES, DRAFTS, BILLS OF EXCHANGE, AND OTHER
LIKE DOCUMENTS."
The object of our Invention is to effectually prevent the fraudulent alteration of
cheques, drafts, bills of exchange, bank notes, or other documents, wherein amounts
of money or other description of value, quantity, quality, or date may be expressed,
and we accomplish such object by marking the figures or letters, or combination of
both expressive of such values or otherwise as hereinbefore described, in small
circular perforations punched clean out in the body of the cheque, draft, or other
document by means of the improved apparatus hereinafter described.
In carrying out our Invention, we employ a small portable machine or apparatus
constructed of two flat circular plates bolted together, a space of about the
thickness of the paper employed for ordinary cheques being left between them.
The said plates are pierced through with the holes representing the figures,
videlicet the numerals, a dash of two parallel lines, the letters, sign for pounds or
dollars, videlicet, £ and $, and so on, and these plates so pierced constitute the
female die. In each of these dies in the upper plate works a corresponding set
of accurately fitting steel wires, which are the male dies, each set being fixed in a
stud or button, on which is painted or otherwise indicated the denomination of the
perforation which the dio will make; between the said studs or buttons and the
top of the upper circular female plate are suitable india rubber springs which

page_text: enable the dies to work efficiently. The circular female die plates bolted together
as described and forming one rigid inass are pivotted in a base board and move in
either direction in a horizontal position, being held in position for operating by
means of a spring catch, and turned to the requisite figure at the one point where
the perforating takes place by means of a milled headed centre piece. The paper,
cheque, or other document to be perforated is held between two sets of two pulleys,
one on the base board and the other beneath, coming into working contact through
a slit in the bed plate of the instrument. The machine is operated by pressing a
lever which forces down the male die, but one only at a time. This lever is
connected with a spring, which, on the lever being released after a perforation has
been made, moves a tooth in a ratchet operating the two pulleys aforesaid, and the
paper is thus moved the necessary space for the next perforation. When the lever,
in being pressed down, reaches a pin provided for the purpose, it is an indication
that the perforation has been clearly made.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said Samuel Williams and Augustus Philip Filleul in the Great Seal
Patent Office on the 26th January 1881.
SAMUEL WILLIAMS and AUGUSTUS PHILIP FILLEUL, both of Newport, in the
County of Monmouth. "AN IMPROVED MACHINE OR APPARATUS FOR PUNCHING
OR PERFORATING CHEQUES, DRAFTS, BILLS OF EXCHANGE, AND OTHER LIKE
DOCUMENTS."
The object of our Invention is to effectually prevent the fraudulent alteration of
cheques, drafts, bills of exchange, bank notes, or other documents wherein amounts
of money or other description of value, quantity, quality, or date may be expressed,
and we accomplish such object by making the figures or letters, or combination of
both, expressive of such values or otherwise as hereinbefore described, in small
circular perforations punched clear out in the body of the cheque, draft, or other
document by means of the improved apparatus hereinafter described.
In carrying out our Invention we employ a small portable machine or apparatus,
constructed of two flat circular plates bolted together, a space of about the
thickness of the paper employed for ordinary cheques being left between them.
The said plates are pierced through with the holes representing the figures, videlicet,
the numerals, a dash of two parallel lines, the letters, sign for pounds or dollars,
videlicet, and $, and so on, and these plates so pierced constitute the female die.
In each of these dies in the upper plate works a corresponding set of accurately
fitting steel wires, which are the male dies, each set being fixed in a stud or button
on which is painted or otherwise indicated the denomination of the perforation
which the die will make. Between the said studs or buttons and the top of the
upper circular female plate are suitable springs, which enable the dies to work

page_text: efficiently: The circular female die plates bolted together as described and forming
one rigid mass are pivotted in a base board, and move in either direction in a
horizontal position, and may be held in position for operating by means of a spring
catch, and turned to the required figure at the one point where the perforating
takes place by means of a milled headed centre piece. The paper, cheque, or other
document to be perforated is held between two rollers, one on the base board and
the other beneath, coming into working contact through a slot in the bed plate of
the instrument. The machine is operated by pressing a lever which forces down
the male die, but one only at a time. This lever is connected with a spring, which,
on the lever being released after a perforation has been made, moves a tooth in a
rachet operating one of the aforesaid rollers, and the paper is thus moved the
necessary space for the next perforation.
When the lever, in being pressed down, reaches a pin provided for the purpose, it
is an indication that the perforation has been clearly made.
But to make our Invention better understood, we will proceed to describe the
same by reference to the accompanying Drawing, in which Figure 1 is a plan;
Figure 2, a front elevation; Figure 3, a side or end elevation; and Figure 4 a back
elevation of our improved machine or apparatus; Figure 5 is a horizontal section
of the same on the line A, B, of Figure 1; Figure 6 is a horizontal section through
the line C, D, of Figure 1; and Figure 7, a back elevation shewing the position of
the parts of the machine or apparatus when the lever is depressed to perforate a
cheque or other like document. Similar letters in all the Figures represent similar
parts.
a is the upper and b is the lower flat circular plate bolted together by the screw c
and nut d, and maintained in position one with the other by the pins or studs e;
fis the space of about the thickness of the paper employed for ordinary cheques left
between the plates a and b; g is a washer for keeping them apart; h are the holes
pierced through the plates a and b, such holes representing (as shewn in Figure 1)
the figures, letters, and signs which are to be employed for perforating the
cheques or other like documents, the said plates a and b constituting the female
die; are the steel wires constituting the male dies corresponding with and fitting
accurately in the holes h in the plates a and b; each set of male dies i is fixed in a
stud or buttonj, on the top of which is painted or otherwise indicated the denomina-
tion of the perforation which the die will make; is the spring between the under
side of the stud or button j, and the top of the upper plate a for keeping the male dies
in their normal or raised position, and to enable the dies to work efficiently; i¹ are
guide pins the heads of which work in the recesses in the upper plate a; is the
base plate countersunk, as shewn in Figure 5, to receive the lower circular plate b;
m is the milled headed centre piece or knob for turning the required die on the
plates a and b to the point where the perforating takes place, which plates being
bolted together as hereinbefore described, form one rigid plate pivotting in a
horizontal direction in the base plate l; n, n¹, are the rollers, between which the
cheque or other document to be perforated is held; one of these rollers n is placed
above the base plate 1, and the other roller n' is placed beneath, as shewn in
Figure 6, such rollers working on the shafts o, o¹, fixed in the brackets p, p, and
coming into working contact through the slot q in the bed plate of the instrument;
r is the lever for operating the machine, which lever pivots at 8 in the brackett,
and is provided with the projection u, which allows of forcing down the male dies
one only at a time; v is a short arm or lever, one end pivotting in the slot w in
the lever r, and the other end being jointed to the projection on the collar y
working loosely on the shaft o; the projection x carries a spring or click x¹, which
upon the lever being raised by its spring after a perforation has been made,
moves the ratchet z fixed on the end of the roller one tooth forward, and thus
operates the two rollers n and n¹, and the paper clipped between the rollers is thus
moved forward the necessary space for the next perforation.
To hold the upper
roller n down to the lower roller n¹, and for freeing them when the cheque is to be
removed, the pivot of the upper roller n works in a slot h¹, Figure 2 (shewn in

page_text: dotted lines) in the bracket p, and we provide an eccentric or cam shaped hook or
catch, which when passed over the projecting pivot o, draws down the roller n
into contact with the lower roller n', or into contact with the paper placed between
the rollers; and to free the rollers so as to allow of the removal of the cheque it
is merely necessary to remove the hook or catch f¹ from the roller n; a', a¹, are
guides for guiding the cheque or other document to be perforated, and may be
adjusted by the set screws b¹, b, c, c'; d¹ is an index or finger to indicate by
by means of the projections e, e¹, when any die is in a proper position for effecting
the perforation.
By this construction of machine or apparatus it will be understood that to
perforate a cheque or other like document it is simply necessary (the cam shaped
hook f being removed from the shaft o into the position shewn in dotted lines) to
place the cheque between the rollers n and n¹ and between the plates a and b
in the proper position to effect the perforation, the edge of the cheque resting
against the ends of the guides a; the milled knob m is then turned until the
required die is brought into position, which may be ascertained by the
corresponding indicating projection e' on the opposite side of the plate being
brought opposite the index or finger d¹; the cam shaped hook flis passed on to
the pivot o of the roller n; the lever is depressed into the position shewn in
Figure 6, and will thereby press the wires i into the holes h in the plate b and through
the cheque. Upon the lever being released or raised, the die i will be withdrawn
by the spring, and the lever in being raised by its spring will, by means of
the lever and the spring or click ¹, move the ratchet z forward one tooth and
with it the roller n, and the cheque will be moved forward a sufficient distance to
receive the next perforation, and so on; the cheque is guided in its course by the
guides a, a, which are previously set to the required gauge. When the required
perforations have been made in the cheque it may be removed from the instrument
by releasing the roller n from the hook f¹, as hereinbefore described.
Although in the Drawing we have only shewn dies for perforating numerals and
a dividing sign, it will be understood that other dies for perforating the signs for
pounds and dollars, or otherwise, may be added to the machine.
Having thus described the nature of our said Invention and the best means with
which we are acquainted for carrying the same into effect, we wish it to be under-
stood that we do not confine ourselves to the precise details of construction herein
laid down and shewn in the Drawings, as they may be varied without departing
from the peculiar character of our Invention, but what we do claim is,―
The improved machine or apparatus for punching or perforating cheques, drafts,
bills of exchange, and other like documents, arranged and operating substantially as
herein before described and represented in the accompanying Drawing.
In witness whereof, I, the said Samuel Williams, for and on behalf of myself
and the said Augustus Philip Filleul, have hereunto set my hand and seal,
this Twenty-fourth day of January, in the year of our Lord One thousand
eight hundred and eighty-one.
S. WILLIAMS. (L.S.)