Improvements in Workmen's Time Recorders.
Year: 1893

page_text: Date of Application, 3rd July, 1893-Accepted, 28th Oct., 1893
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Workmen's Time Recorders.
JOHN CLIFFORD ENGLISH, of 32 Frankfort Street New York, in the County
and State of New York, United States of America, Manufacturer, do hereby
declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:-
My invention consists of improvements in workmen's time recorders, in which a
type carrying check passes, for the time being, beyond the control of the workman,
and serves to set in motion printing mechanism, which, in conjunction with time
indicating mechanism, makes a record.
A practical embodiment of my invention is represented in the accompanying
drawings, in which
Fig. 1 is a view of the recorder in side elevation, the front of the casing being
opened to show the operating parts therein.
Fig. 2 is a view of the check shute and operative parts in connection therewith,
showing the same in detail in side elevation, and the parts in the position which
they assume after the check has been inserted and passed by the separator or
arrester, and before it reaches the lever for operating the impression mechanism.
Fig. 2 represents a bottom plan view of the retaining arm and pin for locking
the swinging plate which prevents the introduction of a second check until the
previous check has made its record.
Fig. 3 is a view in end elevation of the several parts represented in Fig. 2,
showing the parts occupying the same position as shown in Fig. 2.
Fig. 4 is a view in detail of the lower portion of the check shute, showing the
impression mechanism and parts for operating it, the view being taken in side
elevation.
Fig. 5 is a view in side elevation, in detail, of the mechanism for releasing the
impression actuating mechanism.
Fig. 6 is an enlarged view, in detail, in side elevation, of the hour printing wheel
and the mechanism for advancing it step by step.
Fig. 7 is a view in detail of the swinging stop for locking and releasing the hour
printing wheel.
Fig. 8 is a view in detail, in side elevation, indicating a chain of gear connecting
the minute printing wheel with the clock mechanism.
Fig. 9 is a view in detail, in edge elevation, of the catch for releasing the clock
hand wheel from the clock gear.
Fig. 10 is a view in detail of the crank for setting the minute printing wheel
independently of the movement of the clock hands.
Fig. 11 represents in front and end elevation, one of the checks.
Fig. 12 is a view in side elevation of the spring-actuated drive wheel and parts
connected therewith, the casing in which the wheel is mounted being broken
away at the front; and
Fig. 13 is a top plan view of the parts represented in side elevation in Figs. 4
and 12.
The operating mechanism is enclosed within a suitable casing A, here shown as
of oblong rectangular form; a door, not shown, is conveniently arranged to open
and close one side of the casing A. The check shute is denoted by B, and opens
at its upper end at the top of the casing in funnel shape 6 for the reception of the
checks C. Each check C is provided with a number by which the holder of the
check is designated, and, in the present instance, I have shown the check as
reversible, the number being placed at each end, so that whichever end be inserted

page_text: first in the shute, the number will be properly printed. The type denoting the
number is here represented as raised from the face of the check, and it forms a
guiding tongue which fits an opening in one side of the shute, so that the check
will not slide down the shute, unless it is faced with its type toward the
opening, and hence will present its type in the proper position to receive the
impression.
The check is further provided with a central perforation c, and with notches c' at
its ends, to receive the prongs d of a separating wheel D located at one side of the
shute, in position for the ends of the prongs d to extend across the interior of the
shute in succession, as the wheel D is rotated. It is intended that the prongs d
shall be so separated as to measure the exact distance between the notches c' at the
opposite ends of the check, and hence, when one check is inserted, it, upon striking
a prong d, rotates the wheel D, and will cause the next succeeding prong d of the
wheel D to enter between the top of the check and the bottom of the succeeding
check, which may have been inserted immediately after the first.
Below the wheel D there is provided a check arrester, consisting of a vibrating
piece E pivotally secured at one edge of the shute, as at e, and so constructed that
when its upper end e' is swung off to one side of the plane of the prongs of the
separator, its opposite end e² will be swung within the shute into the path of the
falling check.
The position of the arrester E is such that a falling check will
engage its lower end e² before a succeeding check passes its upper end e', and, in so
doing, the check in advance will rock the arrester E into position, with its upper
end beneath one of the prongs d of the wheel D, and hence arrest the succeeding
check, until the arrester E has been permitted to rock back to release the
wheel D.
Alongside the shute B, there is located a rock shaft F, extending from the
arrester to a point at or near the bottom of the shute B. At its upper end, the rock
shaft F is provided with a laterally-projecting arm f, provided with a pin f
projecting from the free end of the arm. The pin is so located with respect to
the arrester E, that when the rock shaft F is rocked in the direction to advance
the pin towards the shute, the pin f' will project past the arrester E, below its
pivotal connection e, and thereby hold the arrester in position to lock the wheel D.
The shaft F is rocked by the pressure of an arm g on a hub G, supported so as to
rock freely at the side of the shute, and provided with a second arm g', which is
normally held in position across the interior of the shute B by a counterbalance
arm g. The pressure of the falling check upon the free end of the arm g', will
rock the hub G in a direction to force its arm g against the arm f on the shaft F,
and hence insert the holding pin f¹ past the arrester E, as soon as the falling check
reaches said arm g'. This same rock shaft F is further provided, at its lower end,
with a laterally-extending arm f, which, by means of a pin f³, has a loose engage-
ment with the swinging catch H, pivotted at its upper end to the shute, or a suitable
support adjacent thereto, as at h, and adapted to swing across the path of the falling
check, and hold it in position for making the impression. The catch H has a
retracting spring h¹ connected with it, to swing it away from the shute, to permit
the check to fall, and it also has a pin h³ (see Figs. 1. 2 and 3) projecting from its
side.
The same movement of the shaft F which locks the arrester E, as hereinbefore
described, also, by means of the arm f2 and its connection with the swinging catch,
swings the catch H into position to stop the check for securing the impression, and
said catch His held in such position until positively released by the action of the
impression-making device, by means of a gravity and spring-actuated latch I,
pivotally secured to a suitable support, as at i, and adapted to swing into engage-
ment with the pin 2 on the catch H, just as soon as said pin has been carried by
the travel of the catch H past the face of the latch I. The latch I is acted upon
by a light spring 2, tending at all times to throw it past the pin h², and I also find
it desirable to provide it with a counterbalance arm. There is also connected
with the latch, an operating foot, which is acted upon by the impression-making

page_text: mechanism, to release the latch, and hence the catch H, as soon as the impression
is made, as will hereinafter more fully appear.
A spring-actuated drive wheel K, denoted in Fig. 4 in dotted lines, acts through
an intermediate gear wheel k upon a pinion on the shaft of the cam wheel L. A
second pinion on the shaft of the cam wheel, gears with an independently mounted
pinion, carrying a short bar with bevelled ends 1. A rocking dog M,
comprising two diverging depending branches m and m' and a crank arm m², all
fixed to a rocking shaft or hub m³, is so lowered that, when the parts are in normal
position, the lower end of the branch will engage one end of the bar 13, and
thereby lock the pinion 1, and hence the cam wheel L, against rotation. The lower
end of the branch m is bevelled in the, present instance, into a V shaped form, so
that as the end of the bar 13 passes the apex of the lower end of the branch m, it
will, as it slides up the bevelled face, in escaping from the branch m, throw the
latter away from it. As the bar 13 moves still further, it will strike the end of the
depending branch m', and return the dog again into position to catch the opposite
end of the bar 13 upon the lower end of the branch m. The rocking dog M has its
upper end connected by a rod N with a short arm o of an angle lever, the long
arm O of said angle lever projecting normally in an oblique direction across the
interior of the shute, in position to be acted upon by the falling check. A
retracting spring n, connected at one end to the rod N, and at the opposite end to a
suitable fixed support, serves to hold the arm of the lever normally in its
position to engage the falling check, and also assists in returning it to its position.
after it has been swung by the action of the check.
The arm or
P
The impression-making device consists of a pressure head P, supported upon the
free end of a vibrating rod p, pivotally secured to a suitable support, as at pl. and
having fixed to vibrate therewith, an arm p³, extending upon the opposite side of
its pivotal connection p¹ from that in which the part p extends. The part p² is
preferably provided, at its free end, with an antifriction roller p³.
rod P is provided, intermediate of its head and pivotal connection, with a bearing
roller p, so located, that as the cam wheel L rotates, the several cams on its side
will, one after another, engage the said roller p*, and thereby throw the rod and
the impression head P thereon, up into the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 4,
preparatory to the fall of the head P, to force the record-receiving strip and inking
ribbon toward the type. The escapement bar 13 and its pinion are so timed with
respect to the dog M, that the cam wheel I will be permitted to rotate the distance
between two successive cams 1 each time the escapement bar 13 is released. In the
present instance, I have shown the cam wheel L as provided with four cams, and
hence it will be allowed one quarter of a revolution each time the escapement is
released.
As the head of the impression device P falls to make the impression, a
projection thereon will strike the operating foot it, and thereby rock the latch I
in a direction to release the catch H, and thereby permit the check from which the
impression is taken, to escape from the shute, and the rock shaft F to be turned in
a direction to release the arrester and permit another check to fall.
The stroke of the impression device P is modified, and the impression device
itself caused to rebound from contact with the record-receiving strip, by means of
an angle lever Q, the bevelled end 7 of one arm of which, is adapted to engage the
antifriction roller p on the short arm of the impression vibrating arm, the
required amount of pressure being exerted upon the lever Q by a spring connected
with an arm of the lever. In addition to its own gravity, the impression device
is thrown towards its work by a spring R, connected with its upper end by means
of a plunger r. The plunger is loosely connected with the bar r, adapted to slide
The
within a suitable bearing, and the spring R is connected with the bar r.
spring R is under tension only while the impression device is lifted preparatory to
making a stroke.
Hour and minute printing wheels S and S¹ are operated by clock mechanism of
any well known or approved form, the former at intervals of one hour and the latter

page_text: continuously. The wheels S and S' are so located with respect to the check shute,
that they will present the hour and minute alongside the number on the check
which is to be printed.
The hour and minute printing wheels S and S¹ are both driven from a spindle T,
which also, through intermediate gear, operates the hands of the clock.
A. spur
wheel t, fixed to a sleeve t', loosely mounted on the spindle T, is locked to and
released from the spindle at pleasure by a spring-actuated dog t², as clearly
indicated in Fig. 9. The spur wheel t gears with an intermediate wheels, which
in turn gears with a spur wheels', fixed to rotate with the minute printing wheel S¹.
The hour printing wheel S is loosely mounted concentric with the wheel s', and has
fixed to rotate therewith a ratchet toothed wheel s. A vertically reciprocating
bar U is supported alongside the ratchet wheel s³, and is provided with a pivotted
pawl u, adapted to tilt, and permit the bar U to pass upward, without affecting
the wheels, but when the bar U moves downwardly, the pawl will engage one of
the teeth of the ratchet wheel, and move the wheel a distance corresponding to one
hour; that is, in the present instance, one-twelfth of a revolution. The ratchet
wheels, and hence the hour printing wheel, is locked in position as soon as it has
been moved a step, by means of a gravity dog V, provided with a pin v, adapted to
enter one of the perforations &³ in the ratchet wheel. The bar U is provided with
a second pivotted pawl u¹, which, as the bar U moves upwardly, will tilt, and pass
the gravity dog V, but when the bar U is allowed to fall, to shift the hour printing
wheel, the end of the pawl u' will engage a projection v¹ on the dog V, and release
the dog from the ratchet wheel s², just as the pawl u engages one of the teeth, to
advance it. The bar U forms, by its close proximity to the ratchet wheel s², a stop
to prevent the wheel from pitching forward more than the distance between two
teeth, it being permitted to rotate only when the point of the tooth comes opposite
a notch in the face of the bar U, immediately below the pawl u. The side of the
bar U is, in fact, within the circumference of the wheel.
The bar U is lifted and allowed to fall once every hour by means of a snail
cam W, fixed to the sleeve t¹, to rotate with the wheel t, the connection between
the snail cam and the bar U being made by the laterally projecting arm_u³,
which
is adapted to rest on the face of the cam W.
A pinion, not shown, fixed on the sleeve t', communicates motion to the clock
hand arbor.
A crank w is loosely mounted on a spindle wl, and is provided on its face, in
proximity to the spindle, with a ratchet notch w³, adapted to engage a pin w³ on the
spindle, and cause the spindle to move with the crank in one direction, but permit
the crank to move freely in the opposite direction, without disturbing the spindle;
a light spring wis conveniently employed to hold the crank in engagement with
the pin. The spindle w¹ carries thereon a pinion w, which intermeshes with the
gear wheel s.
When it is desired to set the clock hands and time wheels, it may
be done by detaching the gear wheel t, and hence its sleeve t', from the spindle T,
by means of the dog t, and then turning the crank w, which, by its engagement
with the gear wheels, will operate the minute printing wheel, and also through the
sleeve t, and its cam and pinion will operate the hour printing wheel and clock
hands.
The crank W cannot be turned in the opposite direction, to injure the mechanism,
because (as before stated) it will turn freely around the spindle to without affecting
the spindle itself.
A record receiving strip is led from the supply roll X into position between the
impression device P, and the momentarily arrested check, and thence, by suitable
guide rollers, to a feed drum, the shaft of which is geared with the spring
actuated drive wheel K. The same motion of the wheel K which operated the
impression device, will therefore feed the record-receiving strip forward.
An inking ribbon Y is led from a tension roller y by means of suitable guides,
into position between the type on the time printing wheels and check and the
record-receiving strip, and thence to a feed drum y', the shaft of which is provided

page_text: with a crown gear y', which meshes with a pinion on the shaft of the feed drum,
and hence the ribbon is fed simultaneously with the feeding of the record-
receiving strip.
The operation of the several parts in detail having been quite fully indicated, the
operation of the whole may be briefly described as follows:-
The holder of the check. for example No. 177, places the check into the mouth
of the shute B, the check falls by its own weight on to the arm of the separating
wheel D, and rotates it, so as to bring the succeeding arm into the notch at the
opposite end of the inserted check, to separate it from a succeeding check, which
might be deposited immediately after the first. The check, as it moves downwardly,
swings the arrester E into position to prevent the further movement of the separating
wheel D, and then striking the arm of the operating wheel G, presses the army
against the arm f of the rock shaft F, and thereby projects the pin past the
edge of the arrester E, and thereby locks the wheel D against further movement,
while the check continues its downward course through the chute.
This same
rocking movement of the shaft F has thrown the catch H across the path of the
falling check, into position to momentarily arrest it while the impression is being
made, and the latch 1 is rocked into position to hold the catch H in its position to
arrest the check.
As the check reaches the arm of the printing and feed operating lever, it will
swing it downwardly, and thereby push the connecting rod N in a direction to
swing the dog M, so as to permit the escapement bar to swing past the branch m
of the dog. As the latter passes the apex of the bevelled end of the branch m, it
will throw the dog into the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 5, and thereby
rock the arm O of the operating lever downwardly into the position shown in
dotted lines in said figure, so as to permit the check to drop freely along down the
shute past it.
As the bar rotates under the pressure of the actuating wheel K,
it will strike the branch m² of the dog M, and throw the lever O back into its
adjustment, and will continue its rotary movement until its opposite end has been
arrested by the branch m of the dog M.
This half revolution of the escapement bar will have permitted the cam
wheel L to rotate a quarter revolution, and one of the cams thereon will have
engaged the roller p on the vibrating rod p, which carries the impression making
device 12 and will have thrown it up into position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 4.
This will have distended the spring R, and the impression device will then, under
its own weight, and also assisted by the spring R, fall, and strike the impression-
receiving strip and ribbon against the time printing wheels and number on the
momentarily arrested check. This downward movement of the impression device
will also rock the latch 1, setting free the catch H, which in turn will rock the
shaft F back into its normal position, releasing the arrester E, and permitting it to
swing into its normal position, to set free the separating wheel D, and hence
permitting the introduction of a succeeding check.
As soon as the catch H swings away from the shute, the check from which the
impression has been made, will be free to pass on, and may be received by its owner
through the check discharge spout a at the bottom of the casing.
Among the important advantages secured by the hereinabove described structure
and arrangement of parts, may be noted the provision against any confusion arising
from the rapid insertion of one check after another, the very short time required
for the passage of the check through the machine to do its work,-amounting only
to about half a second, the very slight frictional wear upon the movable parts, and
the absolute protection against withdrawing a check after it has been inserted far
enough to make a record.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. In a workmen's time recorder a check in combination with a check shute, a

page_text: lever projecting into the check shute, a rod connected to said lever, a rock shaft,
and a crank arm thereon, to which said rod is connected, substantially as set forth.
2. The combination with the impression making device, of a rotary shaft for
operating the impression making device, and means to rotate the shaft, actuated by
the insertion of a check into the check shute, substantially as set forth.
3. In a workmen's time recorder, a clock, time-printing wheels synchronous
therewith, a rock shaft, and an impression device connected thereto and actuated
thereby, in combination with a check shute, a rod connected to said rock shaft, a
lever connected to said rod, and projecting into the check shute, and a check
operatively engaging with said lever, to rotate said shaft, when inserted into said
shute, substantially as set forth.
4. In a workmen's time recorder, a check, a check shute, and a reciprocating
stop for holding the check in position to print, in combination with an impression
device thrown away from the shute by the insertion of the check into the shute,
and a projection upon the impression device engaging said stop, to release said
check at the same moment that the impression below is given by the impression
device, substantially as set forth.
5. In combination, a check shute, a device for separating the passage of successive
checks along the shute, a check retaining device for momentarily holding the check
while the impression is being made, and operating mechanism subject to the impulse
of the check passing through the shute, to simultaneously lock the separating
device and retaining device in operative adjustment, substantially as set forth.
6. In combination, a check shute, a check, a rock shaft extending along the
shute, a lever extending across the path of a falling check, to operate the rock
shaft, a check separator, a check retainer, and devices on the rock shaft for locking
and releasing the separator, and for operating the check retainer, substantially as
set forth.
7. In combination, a check shute, an impression-making device, a check separator,
and a check retainer, the check separator, check retainer, and impression device
being under the control of a falling check, to operate them successively, and the
check retainer being under the control of the impression device, to release it,
substantially as set forth.
8. In combination, a check shute, a check, a rock shaft supported alongside the
shute, a tilting piece under the control of the falling check, to prevent a succeeding
check from immediately following it, an arm on the rock shaft, to lock the tilting
piece, and a counterbalance lever under the control of the falling check, to operate
the rock shaft, substantially as set forth.
9. In combination, a check shute, a check, a rock shaft supported alongside the
shute, a tilting piece under the control of the falling check, to prevent a succeeding
check from immediately following it, an arm on the rock shaft, to lock the tilting
piece, a counterbalance lever under the control of the falling check, to operate the
rock shaft, a catch to retain the check while the impression is being made, and
an arm on the rock shaft for operating the catch, substantially as set forth.
10. In combination, a check shute, a check retaining catch, a rocking arm under
the control of the check, to operate the catch, a gravity latch for locking the catch
in position, and means for automatically releasing the latch, substantially as
set forth.
11. In combination, a check shute, a check, a swinging impression device, a cam
wheel for operating the impression device, a spring-actuated drive wheel in gear
with the cam wheel, the movement of the cain wheel being under the control of the
falling check, substantially as set forth.
12. In combination, a check shute, a swinging impression device, a rotary cam
for operating the impression device in one direction, means for actuating the rotary
cam under the control of a check travelling along the shute, a spring-actuated lever
for cushioning the impression device, and a spring for actuating the impression device
in the opposite direction substantially as set forth.
13. The combination with the impression-making device, and means for imparting

page_text: motion thereto, of mechanism for operating the impression device at intervals, com-
prising a rotary bar in gear with the motion-imparting means, a rocking dog having
a bevelled end, adapted to arrest and release the rotary bar, and a rod and lever
for placing the rocking dog under the control of a moving check, the bevelled end
of the dog serving, in conjunction with the rotary bar, to throw the lever momentarily
back beyond its normal position, substantially as set forth..
14. The combination with the impression-making device and means for operating
it, of a clock nechanism and a time printing wheel adapted to be operated thereby,
the connection between the time printing wheel and clock mechanism, comprising a
wheel provided with steps corresponding to the intervals of time at which the wheel
is to be operated, a reciprocating bar at the side of the wheel, means for moving
the bar gradually in one direction, and quickly in the opposite direction, and a
tilting pawl carried by the reciprocating bar in position to pass the steps on the
wheel, when the bar moves in one direction, and to engage thein and turn the wheel
when the bar moves in the opposite direction, substantially as set forth.
15. The combination with an impression-making mechanism, of a time printing
wheel and a clock mechanism for actuating it, the connection between the time
printing wheel and the clock mechanism for actuating it comprising a wheel
provided with steps corresponding to the intervals of time at which the time
printing wheel is to move, a reciprocating bar located with one side within the
circumference of the stepped wheel, and provided with a notch to prevent the
movement of the wheel only when the notch reaches a predetermined position, a
stop for locking the wheel, and tilting pawls carried by the bar, one for operating
the wheel, and the other for operating the stop, substantially as set forth.
16. The combination with an impression-making mechanism, of time printing
wheels, a clock mechanism for operating them, a hand device in gear with the
wheels for operating the clock hand spindle and time printing wheels, and a dog for
releasing the said clock hand spindle and time printing wheel gear from the clock-
actuating mechanism, substantially as set forth.
Dated this 3rd day of July 1802
NEWTON & SON,
Agents for the Applicant.