Improvements in and relating to Time Recorders for Employees.
Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application, 21st July, 1894-Accepted, 22nd Dec., 1894
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in and relating to Time Recorders for Employees.
I, JOHN DEY, residing at 212 Wayne Street, Syracuse, in the County of
Onondaga, in the State of New York, one of the United States of America,
Merchant, 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 :-
'
This invention relates to the class of apparatus which are employed in factories
and other establishments for the purpose of compelling each employee to record his
own time of entering and leaving the place of business during the day.
My present invention resembles in some respects the time recorder shown in my
prior applications for United States Patents No. 522784 July 10th 1894 and
No. 524102 Aug. 7th 1894, and it consists more particularly in specific improve-
ments of the construction and combination of the details of the apparatus as
hereinafter fully described and set forth in the claims.
In the annexed drawings Fig. 1 is a front elevation of the time recorder, Fig. 2
is a side view of the mechanism of said recorder, Fig. 3 is a rear view of the same,
Fig. 4 is an enlarged vertical transverse section of the mechanism for controlling
the impression roller, Fig. 5 is a rear view of the mechanism for reversing the
motion of the ink ribbon, Fig. 6 is a transverse section on line 2-2 in Fig. 4,
Fig. 7 is an enlarged detached longitudinal sectional view of the coupling of the
shaft of the impression cylinder, Fig. 8 represents detached face view of the
members of the aforesaid coupling, Fig. 9 is a face view of said members united.
Fig. 10 is a detail view of the connection of the minute and hour wheels, Fig. 11
is a side view of the same, Figs. 12 and 13 are respectively front and plan views of
the mechanism for shifting the shaft of the pinions which transmit motion to the
ink-ribbon spools, Fig. 14 is a rear face view of a modification of my invention,
Fig. 15 is a transverse section on line 4-4 in Fig. 14, Fig. 16 is a diagrammatic
view of the gearing for transmitting motion to a pair of rollers carrying the ink-
ribbon and Fig. 17 is a vertical transverse section on line 5-5 in Fig. 14.
Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts:
A represents the case of the recording apparatus. In the front portion of the
interior of this case is arranged the clock-mechanism B which may be of any
suitable and well known type.
a denotes the minute-hand spindle which I utilize for actuating the type-wheel C
which prints the minutes of the hours during which the recordings are made, the
hours being printed by another wheel C¹ which receives motion from the minute-
wheel C as hereinafter described.
Said minute-wheel is fixed to a shaft a' which is in line with the spindle a and
flexibly connected therewith by a suitable spring a" as shown in Fig. 2 of the
drawings.
Said flexible connection being required to allow the type-wheel C to be held
sufficiently at rest to allow it to make its impression on the record-receiving band
hereinafter described.
To temporarily arrest the movement of said wheel for the purpose aforesaid, I
mount on the shaft al of said wheel another wheel D which has its periphery formed
with V-shaped notches, a detent D' thrown into one of the notches as hereinafter
described arrests the wheel as aforesaid.

page_text: Beneath the minute-wheel C and hour-wheel C is the impression roller R
mounted longitudinally movable on a shaft all which is parallel-with the shaft of
the said minute-wheel and journalled in vertically movable props PP by which the
roller R is lifted to cause the types of the wheels C C to make their impressions
on the band R' of paper mounted on the periphery of the roller, and secured thereto
by the ends of the band passing through a slot in the roller and fastened to a
clamp R inside of the roller.
At the end of each working day, the paper containing the recordings is removed
from the roller and a new strip placed upon the roller.
Axially in line with the shaft a is another shaft a which extends through the
front of the case A and is journalled in suitable bearings secured to the case.
The outer end of the shaft a has affixed to it two arms b b extending radially
in opposite directions.
To the free end of one of said arms is hinged the lever I which extends with its
free end beyond the other arm b which latter terminates with a loop b¹ through
which the aforesaid lever passes.
By means of said lever rotary motion can be imparted to the shaft a¹¹ and in
order to transmit said motion to the shaft all of the roller R and at the same time
permit the latter to be lifted out of axial line with the shaft all, I connect said
shafts by means of three disks 1, 2 and 3. The disk 1 is rigidly attached to the
shaft a the disk 3 is likewise fastened to the shaft a¹ and the disk 2 is interposed
between them. This interposed disk is formed with two pairs of radial slots c c
and c¹¹ extending from the periphery of the disk partway toward the center
thereof as shown in Fig. 8 of the drawings.
The slots of each pair being in line with each other and at right angles to those
of the other pair. Each of the other disks 1 and 3 is provided with two lugs d d
on its side adjacent to the disk 2. The lugs of one of said disks enter the slots c c
and the lugs of the other disk project into the slots c' c¹. The engagement of said
lugs with the side edges of the slots compels the shaft a to turn with the shaft a¹ill
while the elongation of the slots permit the lugs to slide lengthwise therein and
thus permit the shaft all with the roller R to be lifted out of line with the shaft all
as represented in Fig. 9 of the drawings.
For lifting said shaft a", I employ the horizontal rock-shaft e from which project
the downwardly extending finger e and the horizontal arm ell which latter is
connected by a rod f to a crank f' affixed to one end of a horizontal crank-shaft f"
beneath the roller R.
The opposite end of said crank-shaft has projecting from it another similar
crank, and to the said two cranks are connected the props P P which support the
shaft a¹¹.
The shaft al is hollow and in the interior thereof is the longitudinally movable
plunger g which abuts with its outer end against the lever I.
On the exterior of the shaft all is a longitudinally movable collar F which is
connected to the plunger 9 by a pin g passing through a longitudinal slot in the
shaft a. The free end of the finger e' bears on the rear end of the collar F.
The result is that by pressing the free end of the lever I toward the case A, the
plunger is pushed inward and carries with it the collar F. This movement of the
collar causes the finger e¹ to turn the rock-shafte which, by means of the rod f
imparts a corresponding motion to the lower crank-shaft fi and this action of the
latter shaft causes the cranks f¹ thereof to lift the roller R by means of the
props P P.
To produce the impressions of the minute-wheel C and hour-wheel C¹ upon the
paper band R' mounted on the roller R, the ink ribbon i is interposed between said
wheels and paper.
This ribbon is wound at opposite ends upon spools N N pivoted to suitable
supports in the interior of the case A.
By means of guides the ribbon is held normally out of contact with the
roller R and wheels C C as shown in Fig. 5 of the drawings.

page_text: The spools are turned automatically to shift the tape longitudinally at each time
of recording. This movement is effected by means of the following mechanism :
To the end of each spool is fastened a pinion N' (see Fig. 13 of the drawings).
Between the two pinions is a horizontal shaft which is supported longitudinally
movable in suitable bearings on the frame A, and has secured to its ends pinions
which are placed a proper distance apart so that by shifting the shaft longi-
tudinally one of said pinions is thrown out of engagement with the adjacent
pinion N¹ while the other pinion is thrown into engagement with the pinion N¹
adjacent thereto. This shaft receives intermittent rotary motion by means of a
ratchet-wheel N secured to said shaft, with which wheel engages a pawl o' on the
end of the lever o which is pivoted intermediate its length to the frame and has its
opposite end bifurcated and straddling a pin projecting from a vertical rod o" which
is connected at its lower end to an arm el projecting from the rock-shaft e, said
shaft being actuated by the plunger g as hereinbefore described.
The motion thus transmitted to the shaft causes one of the pinions (11 to turn
one of the spools a distance equal to the space between two of the teeth of the
ratchet-wheel N". A spring-bar r¹ assists in lifting the pawl o.
The pinions are arranged to engage the pinions N¹ at diametrically opposite
points and consequently each of said pinions imparts to the adjacent spool N motion
in opposite direction from that imparted to the other spool by the adjacent pinion
when engaged, hence by shifting the shaft longitudinally, the motion of the ink-
ribbon is reversed.
The rod o¹ I also utilize for temporarily stopping the motion of the time-printing
wheels C C¹ during the operation of recording the time. This stoppage is effected
by the connection of the rod o" to an arm DIY attached to the same shaft to which
the detent D¹ is attached.
The upward movement of said rod causes the detent to engage one of the notches
of the wheel D.
To effect the aforesaid longitudinal movement of the shaft and thereby
reverse the motions of the spools N N, at the time when the ribbon has
been run its limit from one of the spools, I pivot to a post n, a three-armed
lever v.
Two arms of this lever extend upward from the pivot and are between two
collars tt fastened to the shaft l¹.
The third arm of the lever extends downward and has a pin projecting from its
face. Above said shaft is pivoted a yoke t¹ which has three arms, one of which
extends downward and is slotted longitudinally at its free end and straddles the
aforesaid pin on the lever v.
The other two arms extend toward the two spools N N and are provided with
guides through which the ink-ribbon i passes. To this ribbon near each end
thereof is fastened a barrier which is incapable of passing the guide t". Hence
in the passage of the end-portion of the ribbon from the spool, the contact
of the barrier with the guide t" tilts the yoke and causes the same to
swing the lever v to one side by means of the downwardly extending arm of
the yoke.
In said movement of the lever, it strikes one of the collars t on the shaft l' and
thereby shifts the same longitudinally and causes one pinion to be thrown out
of gear with one of the spools N while throwing the other pinion in gear with
the adjacent spool and thus the motion of the ribbon i is reversed.
To carry the lever v past the center and partially lock the yoke and lever in
their position, the lower end of said lever is connected by a spring o¹ll to the yoke
near the pivot thereof.
The front plate of the case A is provided with an annular row of sockets r r
arranged concentric to the shaft all and from the free end of the lever I projects
a pin adapted to enter said sockets. These sockets are numbered consecutively
and each person who is required to use the recorder must adopt one of said numbers
to identify said person from all others using the same recorder.

page_text: In recording the time of entering and leaving the place of business, each employee
must turn the lever I so as to bring the pin 1¹ opposite the number by which said
employee is identified. Then by pushing the lever toward the case A the plunger g
is actuated to arrest the movement of the minute-wheel C and lift the impression
roller R to print the time upon the paper mounted on said roller.
Said paper is so arranged on the roller as to bring directly under the printing
wheel C that number marked on the paper which corresponds to the number
of the socket which is entered by the pin 1' in the operation of the lever 1.
In order to allow the recordings during different periods of the day to be made
distinctly on the band of paper R', I make the latter and its carrying roller R of
sufficient width to allow the different times of recording to be printed in rows opposite
the respective numbers marked on the paper, and to allow the roller to be shifted
laterally and thus permit the printing to be done at different points in the width of
the paper, I mount said roller loosely on its shaft a and connect it thereto by a spline
or rods passing through an eye in the hub of the wheel and secured to collars &¹
fastened to the shaft.
A horizontal shaft J pivoted to the interior of the case and protruding at
the front thereof has affixed to its outer end a handle J' by which to turn it,
and a dial U on the front of the case and concentric to the shaft J is marked to
indicate the position of the handle required for adjusting the roller R laterally
as aforesaid.
To the shaft J is fastened a worm ; which engages one end of a lever j¹
pivoted to a stationary post. The opposite end of said lever is connected to
one end of a horizontal longitudinally movable bar the opposite end of which
has attached to it a tongue k engaging a circumferential groove in the hub of the
roller R.
The hour-wheel C¹ has the numbers from 1 to 12 projecting from its periphery
and receives one-twelfth of a revolution at the end of each complete revolution of
the minute-wheel C. This is effected by a pin p projecting from the minute-
wheel and during the rotation of the latter engaging a ratchet-wheel pl fastened to
the side of the hour-wheel which is journalled on a stud-pin k¹ secured to a stationary
bracket Y.
A flexible dog X attached to said bracket and engaging the ratchet-wheel prevents
accidental movement of the latter.
I do not limit myself to the use of the single impression roller R, inasmuch as two
rollers R R may be employed as shown in Figs. 14, 15 and 16 of the drawings. In
which case the paper band R¹ passes from one roller onto the other, and a vertically
movable platen u is arranged under the said ribbon between the rollers and actuated
by the plunger g as shown in Fig. 17 of the drawings.
Said rollers are mounted movable longitudinally on their shafts to permit printing
on different portions of the width of the paper. The rollers are shifted to their
requisite positions by the revoluble worm-shaft ; working in a correspondingly
threaded sleeve S from which extend arms S¹ engaging circumferential grooves in
the hubs of the rollers RR.
By the upward thrust of the platen u the wheels C C are caused to make their
impressions on the paper R¹.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :
1. A time recorder comprising time-printing wheels, a band of paper supported
movable longitudinally under said printing-wheels, and mechanism pressing said
paper in contact with the printing-wheels to imprint the time on the paper.
2. A time recorder comprising a time-printing wheel, a revoluble impression-roller
supported movably toward and from said printing-wheel, and a manually operated
lever imparting the aforesaid motion to the impression-roller.
3. A time recorder comprising a time-printing wheel, a revoluble impression-roller

page_text: supported movably toward and from said printing-wheel, a manually operated lever
turning said roller, and mechanisms operated by said lever and moving the roller
toward the printing-wheel as set forth.
4. In combination with the time-printing wheel and a revoluble impression-roller,
a lever turning said roller, a rock-shaft moving said roller toward the printing-
wheel, and a plunger operated by the lever and actuating said rock-shaft as set
forth.
5. In combination with the time-printing wheel, a horizontal crank-shaft, props
mounted on the cranks of said shaft, a shaft mounted on said props, the impression-
roller mounted on the latter shaft, a rock-shaft transmitting motion to the
aforesaid crank-shaft, a lever turning the shaft of the aforesaid roller, and a
plunger actuated by said lever and imparting motion to the rock-shaft as set
forth.
6. In combination with the time-printing wheel, a horizontal shaft mounted
on vertically movable supports, an impression-roller mounted on said shaft, a
second horizontal shaft disposed end to end with the first shaft, disks on the
adjacent ends of said shaft, lugs on the adjacent faces of the disks and disposed
on one disk iu a line at right angles to that of the lugs on the other disk,
and a disk interposed between the aforesaid disks and provided with slots
at right angles to each other and receiving the aforesaid lugs in the manner set
forth.
7. In combination with the printing-wheel, the shaft a mounted on vertically
movable supports, the impression-roller R mounted on said shaft, the hollow
shaft a, disks 1 and 3 on the said shafts provided with lugs d d, the intervening
disk 2 provided with slots c e c' c', the plunger g in the hollow shaft, arms 66 on the
outer end of the shaft all, the lever 1 pivoted to one of said arms and bearing on
the end of the plunger, the collar F connected to the plunger, and the rock-shaft e
actuated by said collar and imparting motion to the supports of the shaft all as
set forth.
.111
8. In combination with the impression-roller R mounted movable longitudinally
on its shaft, and provided with a circumferential groove in its hub, the
shaft J provided with the handle J', the worm-shaft ; secured to said shaft,
the lever jactuated by said worm, the rod j" attached to said lever, and the
tongue attached to the rod and engaging the groove of the aforesaid hub as set
forth.
9. In combination with the printing-wheel and notched-wheel D mounted on one
and the same shaft, the detent D adapted to engage said notched-wheel, the
shaft a beneath the printing-wheel and mounted on vertically movable supports,
and the impression-roller R mounted on said shaft, the hollow shaft alii
connected to the shaft a¹¹ by a laterally yielding coupling, the plunger g in the
hollow shaft, the lever I actuating the plunger, the collar F attached to the
plunger, the rock-shaft e actuated by the movement of said collar, an arm on the
rock-shaft, and a rod transmitting motion from said arm to the aforesaid detent as
set forth.
10. In a time-recording machine provided with a manually operating recording
lever, the combination with the spools N N and ink-ribbon carried thereon, of
pinions N¹ N' attached to, the spools, the longitudinally movable shaft having
fixed to it the collars tt and pinions "meshing with pinions N'N', the
rocking yoke t¹ provided with its ribbon-guides t", the barriers i attached to
the ribbon, the rocking lever having one end between the aforesaid collars and
actuated by the yoke, and mechanism transmitting intermittent rotary motion from
the aforesaid manually operated lever to the shaft as set forth.
11. In combination with the time-printing wheels and band of paper supported
movable longitudinally in proximity to the printing-wheels and having a row of
consecutive numbers extending lengthwise of the band.
12. In combination with the time-printing wheels, an impression-receiving

page_text: band supported movable laterally under said wheels to receive on different
portions of the width of the paper, the recordings made during different periods
of the day.
Dated this 28th day of June 1894.
JOHN DEY.
Haseltine, Lake & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, Agents for the Applicant.