A New or Improved Machine for Punching Numbers or Devices on Cheques, Drafts, or such like Papers, so as to Render the Perpetration of Fraud more Difficult.
Year: 1888

page_text: Date of Application, 11th Aug., 1888
Specification Accepted, 21st Sept., 1888
A New or Improved Machine for Punching Numbers or Devices on
Cheques, Drafts, or such like Papers, so as to Render the
Perpetration of Fraud more Difficult.
I WILLIAM WILLOTT POPPLEWELL of the firm of Popplewell Colton & Co. of
17 & 18 Southampton Buildings in the County of Middlesex Patent Agent, do hereby
declare the nature of this invention (a communication to me from abroad by
William Myers of 280 Broadway New York in the United States of America) and
in what manner the same is to be performed to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement:
The invention consists in the combination with a row of punches, of a lever for
depressing said punches and a moveable carrier for the cheque to be punched.
The invention also consists in the construction and combination of parts and
details as will be fully described and set forth hereinafter and pointed out in the
claims.
In the accompanying drawings
Figure 1 is a vertical transverse sectional view of my improved cheque punch.
Figure 2 is a plan view of the same.
Figure 3 is a front elevation of the same.
Figure 4 is a longitudinal vertical section on the line x, x Figure 1.
The base plate A is provided with two standards A¹ united at the top by a
horizontal rail B on which the block C is mounted to slide in the direction of the
length of said rail. From said block C an arm D projects downwards and is pro-
vided at its lower end with a horizontal cheque supporting plate E that rests upon
small rollers f in the upper edges of fixed rails F on the base plate A, said rails
extending in the direction of the length of the base plate.
Above the cheque supporting plate E, a fixed shaft G projects from the arm D,
over the plate E, and on said shaft is mounted a rubber roller H provided at its
opposite ends with the ratchet wheels H', H' a spring paw! H³ fixed on the shaft G
engages the teeth of the ratchet wheel H.
Below the roller H the cheque supporting plate E is provided with a slot E' and--
below said slot a roller J is pivoted in the end of the lever J¹ pivoted to the under
side of the plate Ẹ and having the end opposite the one in which the roller is pivoted
Price S1

page_text: extending beyond the end of the plate E. A spring J2 acting on said lever J¹ presses
the roller J towards the roller H.
The standards A¹ are each provided with an arm I extending towards the front
which arms support the plate K connected by uprights K' with a like plate L below
said plate K. Said plates K. and L have a series of apertures or slots for a series of
vertical punches M each of which is surrounded by a spiral spring M¹ for pressing it
upwards. The lower ends of the springs M¹ resting upon the upper surface of the
bottom plate L and the upper ends resting against collars M2 or transverse pins on
the punches.
Below the bottom plate L each punch is provided with a collar N to prevent the
spring from pressing it too far upwards. The suitable characters or numerals are
produced on the lower ends of the punches and below each punch a corresponding
die O is provided said dies being suitably supported upon the base plate. An
angular stripper arm P projects from the bottom bar L between each two punches.
The upper surface of the dies are on a level with the supporting plate E. To the
sliding block C the selecting and operating lever R is pivoted and pressed upward by
a spring R' secured to the arm D and is prevented from being pressed upward too
far by the curved check arm R2 projecting from the top of the block C.
Said selecting lever R is provided on its swinging end with a knob S and on its
under side with a lug T for depressing the punches.
On the front edge of the bar K a plate U is provided on which the numerals and
characters corresponding to those on the punches are produced in such a manner that
the numeral or character corresponding to each punch will be in front of the punch.
Adjacent to each numeral a guide slot or aperture U is provided in the plate U and
the lever R is provided with a guide prong U2 on its swinging end which guide
prong can pass into the apertures U¹. A rod V suspended from the selecting and
operating lever R is provided at its lower end with a pawl hook for engaging the
teeth of the ratchet wheel H¹ of the feed roller H.
The operation is as follows;
The outer end of the lever J¹ is raised for the purpose of moving the roller J from
the roller H and the cheque to be punched is placed upon the plate E face upwards
and that part of the cheque near the upper edge below the punches M. Then the
lever J¹ is released and its spring J2 presses the roller J against the cheque and the
cheque against the roller H. The lever R is shifted to the right or left until it is
over the first numeral or character to be punched and then the lever R is depressed,
the prong U2 passing into the corresponding guide aperture U¹ of the plate U.
The lug T depresses the corresponding punch and forces it through the cheque into
the die thereby cutting or punching out a numeral or character.
When the knob S is released, the spring R' forces the lever R upwards and the
spring M³ raises the punch that has been depressed and the stripper arm P strips the
cheque off the end of the punch.
As the lever R moves upwards it raises the pawl rod V which rotates the ratchet
wheel H' and roller H is the direction of the arrow a¹ whereby the cheque is moved
a short distance in the direction of the arrow x2 Figure 4. The lever R is then
shifted to be above the next desired punch and is then depressed and so on. The
spring pawl H³ engaging the teeth of the ratchet wheel H2 prevents the pawl wire V
from rotating the wheel H too far.
It is evident that slight changes may be made in the feed mechanism, or in the
device for shifting the cheque, without departing from the spirit of my invention, the
essential feature of which is the moveable cheque supporting plate in combination
with the row of punches.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed 1 declare that what
I claim is :-
First
In a cheque punch the combination with a row of punches and dies of a
moveable cheane survert substantially ng herein shown and described.

page_text: Second-In a cheque punch the combination with a row of punches and dies, of a
cheque support mounted to move in the direction of the row of punches, substantially
as herein shewn and described.
Third: In a cheque punch, the combination with a row of punches, of a single
selecting and punch operating lever and a moveable cheque support connected with
said lever substantially as herein shewn and described.
Fourth In a cheque punch the combination with a row of punches, of a move-
able cheque support, and a cheque feeding device upon said cheque support,
substantially as herein shewn and described.
Fifth In a cheque punch the combination with a row of punches and dies, of a
sliding block, a cheque support suspended from said block, a single selecting and
punch operating lever pivoted to said block and a cheque feeder operated from the
selecting and operating lever substantially as herein shewn and described.
Sixth In a cheque punch, the combination with a row of punches, a cheque
support, and a lever for operating the punches, of a stripper arm between each punch
substantially as herein shown and described.
Seventh-In a cheque punch the combination with a row of punches, of a sliding
block, an arm projecting downwards from said block, a cheque supporting plate on
the lower end of said arm, a shaft projecting from said arm over the cheque sup-
porting plate, a feed roller on said shaft, a selecting and punch operating lever
pivotted on the block, a pawl wire for operating the feed roller from said lever and a
pressure roller pivotted to a lever on the underside of the cheque supporting plate
substantially as herein shown and described.
Eighth In a cheque punch the combination with a row of punches, of a sliding
and pivoted selecting and operating lever, a guide prong on said lever, a plate in
front of the punches which plate has a guide aperture for each punch and a numeral
or character adjacent to each aperture substantially as herein shewn and described.
Dated this 24th day of Jul, 1888.
DOUN
POPPLEWELL, COLTON & Co.,
17 & 18, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C.,
Agents for the Applicant.