Improvements in Punches for Perforating Cheques and other Monetary Documents.
Year: 1890

page_text: Date of Application, 8th Jan., 1890
Complete Specification Left, 13th Sept., 1890-Accepted, 1st Nov., 1890
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Punches for Perforating Cheques and other
Monetary Documents.
I, ALVIN VALENTINE LANE, of 610, Elm Street, Dallas, in the County of Dallas,
and State of Texas, United States of America, Banker, do hereby declare the nature
of this invention to be as follows:-
The object of my invention is to construct a punch for the use of banks, counting-
houses, etc., which will cut figures and characters out of the material of a cheque
or other paper and which will cut in the said paper, before and after the figures
representing the value of the cheque, a star or other character to prevent the
raising of the cheque by the addition of other figures.
My invention consists in the combination, with suitable guiding and feeding
mechanism, of a series of levers carrying, at their extremities, punches and dies for
punching holes in the cheques, keys connected with the levers for operating the
same, and a device for ensuring the operation of the pound mark or blank character
punch before and after cutting the figures, all as will be hereinafter more fully
described.
The mechanism is contained in a casing of box-like form having at its front an
opening which extends from one end of the box to the other and reaches inwardly
to a point about midway between the front and back of the box. Within the box
and below the opening, there is a table for supporting the paper in which the
characters are to be cut, and in this table, near the centre thereof there is an
opening and to the inner edge of the table a clamping plate is hinged, said clamp
being provided with an arm which extends rearwardly into the box and is pressed
upwardly by a spring, attached to the back of the box, which causes the clamping
plate to normally bear upon the paper resting on the table. The clamping plate
is provided with an aperture which coincides with the aperture of the table. The
levers, of which there are an upper and a lower set, are pivoted to standards
within the box. These levers are arranged in a circle struck from the centre of
the aperture in the table and they are so arranged that when they are operated in
a manner presently to be described their free ends will pass through the openings
of the table and the clamping plate Each upper lever carries at its free end a
punch and each lower lever carries at its free end a die, the die and punch of each
pair of levers being counterparts of each other. Each upper lever is connected by
a link with a rod which extends upwardly through a horizontal partition in the box
and through the top of said box and is provided at its upper end with a finger-
piece. To the rod underneath the cover of the box is secured a collar and between
the said collar and the horizontal partition is placed a spiral spring which serves to
return the rod after it has been depressed in the operation of making a character in
the paper.
Each lower lever is prolonged beyond its pivot and its shorter arm is connected by
a link with the push rod. By this arrangement, whenever the rod is depressed, the
upper lever is forced downward and the lower lever is raised upward. Each rod
has an ear which engages the edge of a swinging frame pivoted to the rear of the
box and supported by a spring. One of the pairs of levers, preferably the central
pair, is provided with a punch and die, for cutting a star, pound mark, or other
character, in the paper on the table and the push rod connected with this pair of
levers is pivoted to one end of a bar, the opposite end of which is pivotally supported
in ears projecting inwardly from the back of the box. One end of the table is
provided with a pair of rollers of which the upper roller is journaled in spring arms.
attached to the end of the clamping plate while the lower roller is secured to a shaft

page_text: which is journaled in the box and carries a feeding wheel. The latter wheel is
provided with series of bevel teeth with intermediate slots. An arm projects from
the swinging frame and is pivoted to a bar which is provided with an enlarged
slotted central portion which embraces the shaft of the lower roller. In the bar are
inserted two pins which project laterally in position to engage the teeth of a wheel,
which are so disposed that when one of the pins is in one of the slots of the wheel
a tooth on the diametrically opposite side of the said wheel will be in position to
be engaged by the other pin when it is moved towards the shaft of the lower roller.
By this means, for each complete excursion of the swinging frame and arm attached
thereto, the wheel is advanced one notch, thereby moving forward the feed rollers
bringing the cheque or other paper engaged by the rollers and extending between
the table and the clamping plate into a new position.
The series of punching levers is preferably arranged in the natural order of the
numbers to be cut by the punches and dies, with the exception of the central pair
of levers (which cuts a star or other character) the numbers running as
follows; 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. star. 6. 7. 8. 9. 0.
For raising and lowering the clamping plate there is a shaft which extends
transversely through the box and is provided at one end with a hand lever by which
it may be turned. The said shaft has two arms, the one adapted to engage the bar
connected with the push-rod of the star-cutting levers, the other engaging the arm
of the clamping plate.
To introduce a cheque or other paper between the clamping plate and the table
and between the rollers, the shaft is turned thereby raising the clamping plate and
roller. The cheque is introduced while the clamping plate is raised and the further
turning of the shaft allows the plate to press the paper, then brings one of the arms
of the shaft into engagement with the bar of the push-rod thereby depressing the
latter rod and causing the levers to approach each other and cut in the cheque a star
or pound-mark, as before described. The further turning of the shaft liberates the
rod of the star or pound mark and allows the levers to separate when the cheque will
be moved forward by the feed roller and other figures may be cut in the cheque by
the use of the other punches and dies.
Whenever one of the finger pieces is depressed it operates the feeding mechanism
as previously described so that a new space in the cheque or other paper is presented
for cutting.
When it is desired to remove the cheque from the machine the hand lever of the
shaft is turned in the opposite direction, first cutting the star or pound mark and
afterward lifting the clamping plate.
Dated this 8th day of Januo 1200
WTF
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Punches for Perforating Cheques and other
Monetary Documents.
I, ALVIN VALENTINE LANE of 610, Elm Street, Dallas, in the County of Dallas,
and State of Texas, United States of America, Banker, 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 :-
The object of my invention is to construct a punch for the use of banks, counting-
houses, etc., which will cut figures and characters out of the material of a cheque or
other paper and which will cut in the said paper, before and after the figures
representing the value of the cheque, a star or other character to prevent the raising
of the cheque by the addition of other figures.
My invention consists in the combination, with suitable guiding and feeding

page_text: mechanism, of a series of levers carrying, at their extremities, punches and dies, for
punching holes in the cheques, keys, connected with the levers, for operating the
same, and a device for ensuring the operation of the pound mark or blank character
punch before and after cutting the figures, all as will be hereinafter more fully
described.
Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this Speci-
fication, in which Figure 1 is a perspective view of my improved punch. Figure 2
is a sectional plan view, on line x-x, Figure 3. Figure 3 is a vertical transverse
section, taken on line xx, Figure 2. Figure 4 is a vertical transverse section, taken
on the same line, shewing in dotted lines, one of the keys depressed. Figure 5 is
a vertical transverse section, taken on line y-y, Figure 2; and Figures 6, 7, and 8,
shew the feeding mechanism in different positions. Similar letters of reference
indicate corresponding parts in all the views.
The box A, forming the casing of the machine, is provided in the front thereof
with an opening a which extends from one end of the box to the other and reaches
inwardly to a point about midway between the front and back of the box. Within
the box and below the opening a is arranged a table B for supporting the paper bin
which the characters are to be cut. In the table B, near the centre thereof, is formed
an opening c and to the inner edge of the table is hinged a clamping plate " which is
provided with an arm d extending rearwardly into the box A. The clamping plate C
is provided with an aperture e which coincides with the aperture c of the table B.
The arm d is pressed upwardly by a spring fattached to the back of the box, which
causes the clamping plate C to normally bear upon the paper b resting on the table B.
In standards D in the box A are pivoted the levers E, F, the standards D being
arranged in a circle struck from the centre of the aperture c, and all of the
levers E, F, are arranged so that when they are operated in a manner presently to
be described their free ends will pass through the openings ce of the table B and the
clamping plate C. Each lever E carries at its free end a punch g and each lever F carries
at its free end a die h, the die and punch of each pair of levers being counterparts of
each other. Each lever E is connected by a link i with a rod j which extends
upwardly through a horizontal partition & in the box A and through the top of said
box, the rod being provided at its upper end with a finger piece 7. To the rod j
underneath the cover of the box is secured a collar m and between the said collar and
the horizontal partition is placed a spiral spring n which serves to return the rod j
after it has been depressed in the operation of making a character in the paper b.
The lever F is prolonged beyond its pivot and its shorter arm o is connected by a link p
with the rod j. By this arrangement, whenever the rod j is depressed, the lever E
is forced downward and the lever F is raised upward. Each rod j is provided with
an ear 9 which engages the edge of a swinging frame G pivoted to the rear of the
box A. The frame G is supported by a spring r. One of the pairs of levers E, F,
preferably the central pair, is provided with a punch and die for cutting a star,
pound-mark, or other character, in the paper on the table B and the rod j connected
with this pair of levers is pivoted to one end of a bar s the opposite end of which is
pivotally supported in ears t projecting inwardly from the back of the box A. At
one end of the table B are journaled rollers H, I. The roller H is journaled in
spring arms u, v, attached to the end of the plate C and the roller I is secured to a
shaft J which is journaled in the box and carries feeding wheel K. The feeding
wheel K is provided with series of bevel teeth w between which there are slots a
An arm projects from the frame G and is pivoted to a bar L which is provided
with an enlarged slotted central portion c¹ which embraces the shaft J. In the
bar L are inserted two pins d'e¹ which project laterally in position to engage the
teeth of the wheel K. The teeth of the said wheel are so disposed that when one of
the pins is in one of the slots a¹ a tooth w on the diametrically opposite side of the
said wheel K will be in position to be engaged by the other pin when it is moved
toward the shaft J. For example, in Figure 6 the pin e¹ is within the slot a¹
between the two lower teeth of the said wheel while the pin d' is above the tooth w
which is diametrically opposite the slot a¹ in which the pin e¹ rests. In Figure 7

page_text: the pin dis shewn in its lowest position after having moved forward one of the
upper teeth in the wheel. In Figure 8 the bar I is shewn as making its return
movement, the pin e¹ being in engagement with the inclined bevel surface of one
of the lower teeth w. It will thus be seen that, for each complete excursion of the
frame G and arm attached thereto, the wheel K is advanced one notch thereby
moving forward the feed rollers I, H, bringing the cheque or other paper engaged
by the rollers and extending between the table B and the clamping plate C, into a
new position.
The series of punching levers E F is preferably arranged in the natural order of
the numbers to be cut by the punches and dies with the exception of the central pair
of levers (which cuts a star or other character) the numbers running as
follows 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. star. 6. 7. 8. 9. 0.
In the box A is journaled a shaft M which is provided at one end with a hand
lever by which it may be turned. The said shaft M is provided with two
arms gh. The arm g¹ is adapted to engage the bar s connected with the rod j of
the star-cutting levers and the arm is arranged to engage the arm & projecting
inwardly from the clamping plate C.
To introduce a cheque or other paper between the clamping plate C and the table B
and between the rollers H, I, the shaft M is turned, thereby raising the clamping
plate and roller H by depressing the arm d through the action of the arm . The
cheque is introduced while the clamping plate is raised and the further turning of the
shaft M liberates the arm d and allows the plate C to press the paper b, then brings
the arm gl into engagement with the bars thereby depressing the rod ; and causing
the levers E, F, to approach each other and cut in the cheque a star or pound mark,
as before described. The further turning of the shaft M liberates the rod j of the star or
pound mark and allows the levers E, F, to separate when the cheque will be moved forward
by the feed roller and other figures may be cut in the cheque by the use of the other
punches and dies.
Whenever one of the finger pieces 7 is depressed it operates the
feeding mechanism as previously described so that a new space in the cheque or other
paper is presented for cutting. When it is desired to remove the cheque from the
machine, the hand lever fl is turned in the opposite direction, first cutting the star or
pound mark and afterwards lifting the clamping plate C.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is;
1. In a punch for perforating monetary documents the combination of a series of
pairs of levers, each pair provided with a punch and die, a table for holding the paper
to be punched, and means, substantially as described, for operating the punching
levers.
2. In a punch for perforating monetary documents the combination of a series of
pairs of levers provided with punches, a series of spring-pressed rods connected with
the pairs of levers and adapted to operate the same, feeding mechanism consisting of
a toothed feed wheel, a bar provided with pins adapted to engage the teeth of the feed
wheel, a frame connected with the said bar and arranged to be moved by either of the
lever-operating rods, and feed rolls connected with the toothed wheel, substantially as
specified.
3. In a punch for perforating monetary documents the combination, with the
punching devices, of a spring-pressed clamping plate for holding the paper to be
punched and a shaft provided with two arms one for moving the clamping plate and
the other for operating the star punch, substantially as specified.
4. In a punch for perforating monetary documents the combination of the lever E
provided with the punch g, the lever F having the die h, the spring-pressed rod j, the
bar s pivoted to the said rodj and to a fixed support, the shaft M having arms g' h¹,
the table B provided with the aperture c, the clamping plate C provided with the
arın &, and the spring farranged to press the arin d, substantially as specified.
5. In a punch for perforating monetary documents the combination of the punching

page_text: levers E, F, provided with punches 9 and dies h, the rods ; having the ears q, the
frame G, the bar L, the toothed wheel K, and the rollers H, I, substantially as
specified.
Dated this 13th day of September 1890.
A. V. LANE.
By A. M. & Wm. Clark,
53, Chancery Lane, London, Patent Agents.