Improvements in Workmen's Time Registers.
Year: 1891

page_text: Date of Application (in United Kingdom), 2nd June, 1891
Complete Specification Left, 2nd June, 1901 Accepted, July,
14th Jul
1801
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Workmen's Time Registers.
I, JOHN CLIFFORD ENGLISH of No. 1501 Broadway in the City of New York,
in the State of New York, United States of America, Inventor, 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 relates to improvements in workmen's time registers in which
provision is made for obtaining a record of the number by which each workınan is
designated, and the time in hours and minutes when such workman entered upon or
left his duties, by the insertion of a key carried by the workman,
The general object to be obtained by, and certain prominent features in the
construction of my present invention, are quite similar to those mentioned and
shewn in the application for British Letters Patent filed April 23, 1891, No. 7039,
by John Clifford English and Robert Lyon Burnett, the particular purpose of my
present invention being to provide for making the record by the direct impulse or
thrust of the key, and to provide simple and effective means for feeding the strip
upon which the record is to be made.
A practical embodiment of my invention is given in the accompanying drawings,
in which,
Figure 1 represents a view of the register in side elevation, the casing being
shewn in section.
Figure 2 represents the register in front elevation, the front of the casing being
removed, and the key socket being shewn in section.
Figure 3 is a plan view of the key, and
Figure 4 is a face view of the key.
A represents the front, a the back, a' the top, and a the bottom of the casing,
which may be of any suitable shape and size, shewn in the present instance as of
oblong rectangular form, and having its front curved inwardly along its central
portion, as clearly indicated in Figure 1. The socket piece for receiving the key
is denoted by B, and is fixed in the front of the casing, preferably in the curved
portion as shewn.
The key C is provided with a laterally extended head c, the edges of which are
bevilled as shewn at c', and provided with laterally projecting wings, which
terminate back a short distance from the face of the head c, as shewn at Figure 3.
The particular structure of the key herein shewn is adopted as a simple and
convenient shape for indicating to the eye of the holder which side up it should be
held in order to enter the key hole in the socket piece B, and it is obvious that it
might be varied without materially interfering with its important features, namely,
wings which terminate a short distance back from the face of its head, and a face c
sufficiently extended to receive thereon the character, or characters, denoting the
number of, or indicating its holder. In the present instance, I have shown type
representing the number 127 on the face of the key.
The strip to receive the impression is led from a supply roll across the path of

page_text: the key as it is projected within and through the socket piece B, and thence to a
receiving roll d'.ˆ
In the present instance, I have arranged the register to print an impression by
means of an ink ribbon E, which is led from a suitable supply roll e, parallel with,
and slightly to the rear of the strip D, where the latter crosses the inner end of the
socket piece B, and thence to a receiving roll el.
To the rear of the ink ribbon E, and in line with the axis of the socket piece B,
there is located an impression roll or pad, in the present instance a roller F, against
the face of which the strip D and ink ribbon E may be pressed by an inward
thrust of the key.
From the above it will be seen that when the workman holding the key with the
character or characters indicating his number attached to its end in the form of type,
inserts the key through the socket piece B, and presses the strip D and ink ribbon E
into contact with the face of the roller F, there will be formed on the inner face of
the strip D a print of the character or characters by which the workman holding
that key is known or indicated.
As the impression will be formed upon the inner side of the strip D, and as, in
the present instance, I find it desirable to wind the printed strip upon the receiving
roll with its printed side hidden, it will follow that in order to read the records
naturally as the strip is unrolled from the receiving roll d', the type upon the face
of the key should be arranged bottom side up, and in reversed order from right to
left, as shewn in Figure 4. For the purpose of printing the hour and minute when
the record is made simultaneously with the printing of the number or character of
the workman as hereinbefore explained, I locate type wheels G and G, the former
for printing the hour, and the latter the minute, so that the type denoting the hour
and minute of time on said wheels will be at all times in alignment with the keyhole
in the socket piece B. To this end, I find it convenient to locate the hour and minute
printing wheels G and G' on an axis coincident with the axis on the impression
roller F, as shewn in Figure 2, and make them of such diameter that the face of
the type projecting from their peripheries shall correspond substantially with the
face of the impression roller F.
The time mechanism by means of which the minute wheel G¹ is continuously
rotated, and the hour printing wheel & rotated at intervals of one hour, to bring
the necessary type into alignment, is quite similar in its structure and arrangement
to that shewn and particularly described in the aforesaid British application of
John Clifford English and Robert Lyon Burnett, filed April 23rd, 1891, No. 7039.
In order that the inward thrust of the key shall press the ink ribbon and strip to
receive the record against the type on the wheels G and G', to denote the hour and
minute of time, I provide a yielding plate H, shewn in the present instance as
suspended from a bracket h, so as to swing freely back and forth, the edge of which,
toward the axis of the keyhole, overlaps the end of the wing upon one side of
the key C. The yielding piece H is sufficiently wide to cover that part of the
strip D which lies opposite the type on the wheels G and G, and when swung
inwardly by the inward thrust of the key, forces the strips D and E into contact
with the face of the hour and minute type at the same moment that the type on the
end of the key presses the strips into contact with the roller F, and thus makes
simultaneously a record of the character or number denoting the workman and the
hour and minute of time.
The opposite wing c² of the key, when the latter is thrust inward to print the
record, sets in motion the mechanism for feeding the record strip D as follows:-
A spring-actuated spur wheel I, fixed to the axis of the receiving roll d', meshes
with a pinion fixed to rotate with a spur wheel K, the latter being normally held
against rotation by a pinion carrying an arm or dog . A trip lever M is provided
with a pair of diverging branches m and m', the latter having a hooked end m². The
branches m and m of the trip lever M have their ends located in the path of the
dog on the pinion L, and are adapted to alternately engage it, as will hereinafter
more particularly appear. The opposite arm of the trip lever M has a loose

page_text: connection m³ with the arm a of an operating lever N, the opposite arm n¹ of
said operating lever projecting across the side of the keyhole in the socket piece B,
in position to engage the end of the wing c² on the key. The arm n¹ of the
operating lever N is held normally toward the front of the keyhole by means of a
spring, and when so held, will rock the trip lever M into the position shewn in
Fig. 1, so that the end of the branch m of the trip lever, will lie in the path of, and will
intercept the dog l, and prevent the wheels K and 1 from rotating under the impulse
of the spring in connection with the wheel I, and so prevent the feeding of the
strip D. When, however, the arm n' of the operating lever is swung inwardly by
the inward thrust of the key, it will rock the trip lever M into position to free the
dog from the branch m, and the pinion will be thereby allowed to rotate until the
dog is intercepted by the hooked end m² of the branch m. Such movement
of the pinion L will be slight, and will not feed the strip D sufficiently to interfere
with the proper printing; but when the key is withdrawn, after the printing has
been accomplished, the lever N will be returned, under the impulse of the spring,
to its normal position, and will thereby rock the trip lever N into its normal
position, which will set free the dog from the branch m', and the pinion I will
be free to rotate under the impulse of the spring i, until it is again stopped by the
branch m of the trip lever. Such movement of the pinion, and hence of the
receiving roller, will feed the strip D along into position to receive the next
succeeding record.
For the purpose of moving the ink ribbon E from time to time, to present a new
surface in front of the type, I provide a wheel or disc O, fixed to rotate with the
spur-wheel I, with lugs or spurs o at suitable intervals on its periphery, in position
to engage the teeth on the periphery of a wheel P, fixed on the axis of the ink
ribbon receiving roll el.
It is obvious that the ink ribbon may be dispensed with, and the type employed
so constructed as to impress the several characters directly upon the strip D.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. The combination with the time indicating type, and a key provided with type
upon its face to indicate its holder, of an impression device to resist the thrust of
the key, a strip of material to receive the impression, means for feeding the said
strip, the feeding mechanism being under the control of the key, and a movable
plate supported in proximity to the strip and subject to the thrust of the key, to
swing the strip of material into engagement with the time printing type, substantially
as set forth.
2. The combination with the time printing mechanism, and the key provided
with characters upon its face for indicating the holder, of a key socket provided
with an opening for the reception of the key, an impression device for receiving
the thrust of the key, a strip of material to receive the impression, located between
the opening in the socket and the impression device, a movable plate located at one
side of the opening for the key, and a feed operating lever located at the opposite
side of the opening for the key, the said movable plate and feed operating lever
being located in position to engage the key as the latter is thrust inwardly to print,
substantially as set forth.
3. The combination with the strip of material for receiving the impression and
its receiving roller under constant tension to draw the strip from the supply roll, of
a dog locking and releasing the said receiving mechanism, a trip lever having an
engagement with said dog, and provided with projections for alternately stopping
and releasing the dog as the lever is vibrated, and an operating lever in engagement
with the trip lever, for controlling the feed of the strip to receive the impression,
substantially as set forth.
4. The combination with the strip to receive the impression and the key for
making the record, of mechanism for feeding the strip to receive the impression,

page_text: said mechanism comprising a winding mechanism under constant tension to feed the
strip, a pinion provided with a dog for locking and releasing the feed mechanism, a
trip lever adapted to engage the dog, and a spring actuated operating lever under
the control of the key, and connected with the trip lever, the said trip lever being
adapted to engage the dog at two different points, whereby the swinging of the
operating lever by the inward thrust of the key, partially releases the trip lever
from the dog, and the removal of the key admits of the complete release of said
dog, substantially as set forth.
5. The combination with the strip for receiving the impression, the ink ribbon
and the key for making the record, of mechanism for feeding the strip to receive
the record under the control of the key for making the record, a disc or wheel
carried by said feeding mechanism, and provided at intervals on its periphery with
lugs or spurs, and a toothed wheel fixed to rotate with the ink ribbon receiving roll,
the said toothed wheel being in position to engage the spurs or lugs on the said
wheel or disc to feed the ink ribbon at intervals, substantially as set forth.
Dated this 2nd day of June 1891.
NEWTON & SON,
Agents for the Applicant.