Improved Punch for Perforating Cheques and other Papers.
Year: 1898

page_text: 5
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION
An Improved Punch for Perforating Cheques and other Papers.
I, HENRY BIRKBECK, of the Firm of Tongue and Birkbeck, 31, Southampton
Buildings, Chancery Lane, London, Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Patent
Agents, do hereby declare the nature of this invention (communicated to me from
abroad by the "Rouss Manufacturing Company," of No. 621, Broadway, in the
Borough of Manhattan, in the City of New York, in the County of New York,
in the State of New York, in the United States of America, a corporation incor-
porated under the laws of the State of New York, Manufacturers of and Dealers
in Patented Novelties) and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be
particularly described and ascertained by the following statement:
The object of this invention is to provide a new and improved check punch
which is simple in construction, perforates the numbers and other characters
through the checks and other papers and supplies the perforations with ink or
color so as to prevent filling in the perforations and destroying the color without
showing that such an attempt has been made, permits of adjustment, so as to
perforate the check at any desired place, feeds the check forward automatically
and positively after each perforation and holds the perforator in place after adjust-
ment to desired character, until the perforation has been made and does not wear
out the pad containing the ink and for receiving the pins, when a perforation is
made.
In the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification and in which
like letters of reference indicate like parts in all the figures.
Figure 1 is a plan view of the improved check punch.
Figure 2 is a vertical transverse sectional view of the same on the line 22 of
Figure 1.
Figure 3 is a plan view of the base and bracket piece thereon.
Figure 4 is an elevation of the check punch, parts being broken away.
The check punch is constructed with a hollow base A on which a bracket piece B
is fastened to extend over the base and leave an open space C between the top of
the base and underside of the bracket piece for inserting the check or other paper
to be perforated or punched.
A rigid pin D extends upward centrally from the bracket piece B and on the same
the circular punch plate E is mounted to turn and to slide vertically, said punch
plate being pressed upward by the helical spring E, the upper end of the pin D
preventing the spring from pressing the punch plate up too far.
The numbers and characters to be punched are produced equidistant from each
other on the upper surface of the punch plate along the rim and correspond in
position to groups of perforating pins F on the underside of the plate E, the upper
onds of said pins being secured in a,metal ring F¹ on the underside of the plate E.

page_text: At the characters on the upper surface of the plate and equi-distant from each
other notches G are formed in the rim of the plate E and serve to receive the
upwardly extending spring H secured in a recess in the inner face of the upwardly
extending wall of the bracket piece B.
Said spring thus serves as a brake spring to prevent the punch plate E from
rotating too freely and serves to hold said punch plate in place after it has been
turned a greater or less distance and released, at the same time offering but slight
opposition to turning the punch plate axially for adjusting it in the proper position
for punching the desired character in the check.
To prevent forcing down the punch plate when not in proper position for punch-
ing, that is when the spring H is not in one of the notches G a stop projection or
pin J is secured on the inner surface of the raised side wall of the bracket piece B
below the punch plate when in raised position and located from the spring Ha
distance equal to the distance between the notches G so that when the spring H is
on one of the notches G the stop pin J will register with the next notch G per-
mitting the punch plate to be depressed, but when the spring H is, for example,
midway between two notches G the punch plate can not be depressed at its bottom
edge would strike against the top of the stop pin J.
A shaft K extending across the upper surface of the bracket piece B is mounted
to turn axially on the same and is provided with arms K' embracing the pin D
and on said arms a plate L rests upon which in turn the helical spring E' rests so
that said spring tends to keep the arms K' flat on the bracket piece B.
The shaft K is provided at one end with a handle M and at the opposite end it is
provided with two arms N carrying small rollers O.
When the handle M is depressed the arms N and rollers O are raised and the
spring E is brought in greater tension and as soon as the handle M is released
the spring E presses down the arms K¹ and N and the rollers O are also pressed
down.
A shaft P is suitably journaled transversely in the base A and at one end carries
a roller Q of felt or other similar absorbent and soft material, said roller having
end disks Q¹ which have their edges bent over the rim of the felt roller Q to form
annular flanges which extend slightly beyond the rim of the felt roller and on
which flanges the two rollers O rest.
A ratchet wheel R is fixed on the shaft P and is embraced by a pawl S which is
mounted to reciprocate up and down, the upper hook end S¹ of said pawl embracing
the edge of the punch plate E as shown so that said pawl must participate in the
up and down movements of the punch plate.
The pawl has a curved slot T so shaped that when the pawl descends the curved
edge a of said slot moves the pawl tooth d down from the ratchet wheel R and thus
does not act on the same when the pawl descends, but another edge of said slot
sliding on the shaft P moves the pawl tooth d into engagement with the ratchet
wheel R when the punch plate E rises under the action of the spring E' and thereby
the ratchet wheel R is turned by the pawl tooth d and thus turns the wheel Q.
The check rests upon the flanges of the end pieces Q of the roller Q upon which it
is pressed by the rollers O under the action of the spring E and thus by the turning
of the roller Q the check is shifted a certain predetermined distance.
AU shaped metal piece W passes through slots in the top of the base A and its
ends W extend up at the sides of the bracket piece B as shown in Figure 1 and
serve as stops for the check to be punched.
This piece W can be shifted toward and from the roller Q and locked in place
by means of a screw V passing through a washer V resting loosely on the underside
of the base and through a slot in said bottom and screwed into the piece W.
After loosening said screw V the piece W can be shifted and after having been
shifted into the desired position can be locked in place by drawing up or tightening
said screw V.
X is a button on the punch plate for depressing the latter.

page_text: To punch a check the arm M is depressed to raise the rollers so as w
nserting the check between the rollers O and Q and then said arm M is released.
The punch plate E is turned until the character to be punched, is at the pro-
ection or marker r on the top of the bracket piece.
There by the corresponding group of perforating pins F is brought into position
bove the roller and if now the punch plate is forced down, the pins F are forced
hrough the corresponding opening m in the bracket piece and through the check
and between the rollers O and into the felt roller Q which is saturated with ink or
color and as the pins rise they carry along some color and which is scraped off the
pins by the edges of the holes just punched, thereby inking said edges and making
the mark made by punching indelible.
Then the punch plate is again turned more or less depressed and so on.
As the shaft P is turned axially a short distance every time the punch plate is
depressed it follows that a different part of the roller Q receives the pins each time
and thus said roller is not apt to wear out.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion I declare that what I claim is:--
1. In a check punch, the combination with a base of a bracket piece secured on
the same, an upwardly projecting pin on said bracket piece, a punch plate provided
with groups of punching pins and mounted to reciprocate vertically and to turn on
said pin, a spring for pressing the punch plate upward, a feed roller mounted in
the base, which feed roller contains absorbent material for holding ink, pressure
rolls resting on the feed roll and means for rotating the feed roll from the punch
plate, substantially as herein shown and described.
2. In a check punch, the combination with a support, of a vertically movable
and rotative punch plate, a spring for pressing said punch plate upward, a feed
roller operated from the punch plate, pressure rollers resting on the feed roller
which feed rollers are under the pressure of the spring that, serves for pressing
upward the punch plate, substantially as herein shown and described.
3. In a check punch a feed and inking roller provided with absorbent material,
substantially as herein shown and described.
of
4. In a check punch, the combination with a punch plate having groups
perforating pins, of a roller provided with soft material into which said pins can be
forced and means for rotating said roller from the punch plate, substantially as
herein shown and described.
5. In a check punch, a feed and inking roller comprising a body of soft and
absorbent material and two metal end disks, substantially as herein shown and
described.
6. In a check punch, the combination with a base, of a rotative and vertically
O movable punching plate, a feed roller mounted in said base and composed of an
absorbent body provided with end disks having flanges resting on the rim of the
absorbent body, a presser roller resting on said flanges and means for raising said
presser rollers, substantially as herein shown and described.
7. In a check punch, the combination with a base and a bracket piece on the
5 same, of a pin on the bracket piece, a punch plate mounted to turn on said pin
and to move vertically on the same, a rockshaft on said bracket and provided with a
handle arm at one end and arms carrying presser rolls at the opposite end and also
provided with arms at the said pin, a spring for pressing said punch plate upward
and bearing down on the arms of the rock shaft, and a feed and inking roller in the
50 base, substantially as herein shown and described.
8. In a check punch, the combination with a support, of a rotative and vertically
movable punch plate, provided in its rim with equidistant notches, a spring resting
against the rim of the punching plate and adapted to pass into said notches and
stop below the rim of the punching plate and adapted to pass into the said notches
55 substantially as herein shown and described.
9. In a check punch the combination with a support, of a rotative and vertically

page_text: movable punch plate, a feed roller and a U shaped stop piece movable toward and
from the feed roller and means for locking said stop piece in place, substantially
as herein shown and described.
TONGUE & BIRKBECK,
Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane, London, W.C.,
Agents for the Applicant.