Apparatus for the Automatic Printing and Delivery of Cards or Tickets, with the Time of Issue Printed thereon.
Year: 1895

page_text: Date of Application, 21st May, 1895-Accepted, 1st Feb., 1896
COMPLETE SPECIFICATIO.
Apparatus for the Automatic Printing and Delivery of Cards or
Tickets, with the Time of Issue Printed thereon.
I, EDUARD PENning-Dupuis of Halle-on-Saale, in the Empire of Germany,
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 :-
The present invention relates to an apparatus for automatically printing and
issuing cards or tickets or the like with the time of delivery printed thereon which
is particularly suitable for use as an apparatus for the sale of railway passenger
and other tickets and as an apparatus for checking workmen's time.
This apparatus is illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which :-
Fig. 1 is a front elevation of the mechanism for driving the type wheels.
Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the whole apparatus looking from the left hand,
according to Fig. 1.
Fig. 3 shows the lower part of the apparatus looking from the right hand
according to Fig. 1.
Fig. 4 is a section on the line - of Fig. 1 showing a portion of the
mechanism for driving the type wheels.
Fig. 5 is a section on the line y-y of Fig. 1 showing a portion of the
inechanism for driving the type wheels.
Fig. 6 is a plan of a detail shown in Fig. 4.
Fig. 7 is a plan of the apparatus for delivering and for printing the tickets.
Fig. 8 is a vertical section on the line 2-z of Fig. 7.
Fig. 9 is a vertical section on the line 2¹ z¹ of Fig. 8.
The entire apparatus is arranged in two casings A and B which consist merely
of two side walls that are held at the proper distance apart by means of stay bolts.
The essential part of the invention consists in the combination of two sets of
driving mechanism of which one set drives a clockwork or train of wheels of any
suitable construction with uniform movement whilst the other driving mechanism
has a tendency to rotate the type wheels at a constant speed but is prevented
therefrom by means of a wheel that is rotated by the first driving mechanism in
such a manner that this uniform motion is converted into a step by step motion
each step or impulse occurring at intervals of one minute each (or other suitable
interval it desired) so that the type wheels are actuated only during an
infinitesimally small portion of each minute and are stationary during the rest of
the time the result being to exclude the possibility of the type wheels moving at
the moment of printing and thereby causing a slurring of the printing on the
card, etc., or derangement or stoppage of the entire apparatus.
On the minute shaft 1 of the clockwork 2 there is mounted a disc 3 the periphery
of which is provided with thirty notches 3ª at equal distances apart.
The second driving mechanism is arranged in the spring barrel 4 and consists of
a winding device of any suitable construction with a pawl and ratchet wheels of the
kind usually employed in clocks. The shaft of this driving mechanism serves to
drive directly a toothed wheel 5 (see Figs. 1 and 4) which rotates the toothed
wheels 6 and 7 that are rigidly mounted on a cominon shaft. The wheel 7 gears
with a toothed wheel 8 which in turn drives the toothed wheel 9 that is fixed on
the shaft 10.
In addition to the wheel 9 there are mounted upon the shaft 10 two discs 11
and 12 of the same width as the notches 3ª. The discs 11 and 12 are at a

page_text: distance apart from each other equal to half the distance of the notches 3*, are
arranged at right angles to the disc 3 and are each provided on their respective
periphery with thirty teeth in alternate order. In this manner when for instance
the teeth of the disc 11 coincide with a notch 3 the disc 3 will allow of a short
rotation of the shaft 10 which is limited by the next following tooth of the
disc 12 which latter tooth bears against the disc 3. A minute will now pass before
the following notch 3* coincides with the adjacent tooth on the disc 12 (see Fig. 1)
and a further rotation of the shaft 10 can take place which is again limited by the
next tooth of the disc 11 and so on.
The
This intermittent rotation of the shaft 10 is first transmitted to the type
wheels C and C¹ by means of a pin 13 (Fig. that revolves with the shaft 10.
A lever 14 is pivoted by means of a stud 15 on a lever 16 which latter is capable
of rotating freely on the sleeve 17 that carries the type wheels C and C¹.
lever 16 is drawn back by a spring 18 which is attached at one end by means of a
pin 19 to the casing A and at its other end to the lever 6. The lever 14 is also
compelled to share this movement. The movement of the lever 16 is limited by an
adjustable stop-bolt 21 which is screwed into a nut 20 carried by a side wall of the
casing.
At each complete revolution of the discs 11 and 12 that is to say at the
expiration of one hour first (by means of the said pin 13) the lever 14 is pushed
back which lever 14 at its lower end engages with a finger 22 in the pawl 23
whereby the pawl 23 is lifted out of the teeth of the wheel 24 that is fixed to the
type wheel C. This wheel 24 serves generally to prevent an unintentional
forward rotation of the hours type wheel. On continued rotation of the
discs 11 and 12 the stud 13 will next push back the lever 16 and thus place the
spring 16 under strain. Finally the pin 13 will release the levers 14 and 16
whereby first the lever 16 is drawn back quickly by the strained spring 18. This
movement is transmitted by means of the pawl 25 to the ratchet wheel 28 which
is mounted on the sleeve 17. The pawl 25 is pivoted by means of the screw 26 to
the lever 16 and is pressed by means of the spring 27 against the teeth of the
ratchet wheel 28. The stroke of the lever 16 is so regulated by means of the
stop-bolt 21 that the hours type wheel C¹ is rotated exactly 4th part when one
hour has expired.
Upon this type wheel C¹ there are provided the types from 1 to 12 at equal
intervals of distance twice one after the other (i.e. for the day and night) whilst
next to or close to this type wheel there is rigidly mounted on the sleeve 17 an
equally large type wheel C upon which the types a.m. (forenoon) and after
these the twelve types "p.m." (afternoon) are arranged (or other suitable letters or
symbols).
"
The toothed wheel 7 can also follow the movement of the discs 11 and 12 and
execute a short rearward rotation which is transmitted by the aid of an intermediate
wheel 29 to a toothed wheel 30 that is fixed on the type shaft 17" (Fig. 4) upon which
a type wheel S is fixed which contains the numbers from 1 to 60. The ratio of the
gearing from the type wheel S to the wheel 5 is made such that the type wheel S is
rotated each minute 6th of its entire revolution that is to say after the expiration of
each minute it successively presents the correct number for printing. In addition to
these types there are also types 31 for the numbers of the days, months and years
which are changed by hand. These are inserted in the casing 32 and are provided
with pins 33 which keep the types 31 in their lowest position whilst these types are
prevented by means of a dovetail shaped sliding piece 34 (see Fig. 2) from being
pushed back during the printing.
The tickets 35 (Figs. 2, 8 and 9) to be printed are contained in a magazine 36
and are pressed down by a weight 37 (see Fig. 2) which is fastened to a cord 38
pas-ing over a roller. As the number of tickets diminishes the weight 37 moves
down so that the ball 39 provided at the end of the cord 38 is raised until finally
the tao springs 40 at the upper end of the magazine 36 are pressed against each
other.

page_text: These springs 40 act as contacts of an electrical signalling device and draw the
attention of the attendant to the fact that no more tickets can be taken from the
apparatus. The lowermost ticket 35 rests on the bars 41 (Fig. 8).
The withdrawal of a ticket is effected concurrently with the printing operation
by means of a lever 43 which is pivoted at 42 to the casing A. This lever 43 is
connected by means of a rod 44 to bars 45 and 46 which are adapted to move
longitudinally at the sides of the casing B and are rigidly connected by means of a
bolt 45. The bars 45 and 46 and the lever 43 are drawn by springs 47 back into
their position of rest. Both bars are further connected by means of a cross piece 4.5
that extends through the casing B carrying two fingers 48. The latter are
pressed by springs 49 against the lowermost ticket Fig. 8.
When the bars 45 and 46 are moved forward by the pulling out of the lever 43,
the fingers 48 push the lowermost ticket from the bars 41 on to an elastic endless
band 50 which passes over the rollers 51, 52 and 53.
The forward movement of the fingers 48 continues until a ticket is situated
exactly under the types. When the ticket has been printed it is removed by the
rotation of the band 50 from out of the apparatus. This rotation is effected by
means of the roller 51, which is fixed on a shaft 54 (see Figs. 2 and 24) on which
is rigidly fixed a ratchet wheel 55. A toothed wheel 57 capable of readily
rotating on the shaft 54 has fixed to it a pawl 56 which is pressed against the teeth
of the ratchet wheel 55 by means of a spring 58 that is also fixed to the wheel 57.
When the lever 43 is drawn back the rack 45* on the side bar 45 rotates
the pinion 57 the pawl 56 on which will slide over the teeth of the ratchet
wheel 55 without rotating the drum 51. But when the lever 43 is pushed back
the pinion 57 will be revolved in the opposite direction and the pawl 56 will
now rotate the ratchet wheel 55 and therefore also the drum 51 and consequently
rotate the band 50 which then throws the printed ticket out of the apparatus.
The distance through which the band 50 travels is exactly equal in length to the
width of the printed ticket or sufficient to eject the latter.
The punting operation is effected by means of a cross bar 59 (Fig. 8) which is
carried by the bars 45 and 46 and which strikes against a tappet 60 that is freely
suspended from the hammer 62 which is pivoted at 61 to the side walls of the
casing B and rests on an abutment 63. On drawing back the lever 43 the cross
bar 59 presses the tappet 60 against the underside of the hammer whereby the
latter is raised and the elastic band together with the ticket lying thereon is
pressed against the types. On further pulling out the lever 43 the tappet 60 will
slide away from the crossbar 59 and the hammer will fall back upon its abutment 63.
On pushing back the lever 43 the tappet 60 can slide freely over the cross bar 59
without the hammer 62 being raised or moved thereby.
In order to prevent the withdrawal of a printed card from the apparatus without
pulling the lever 43 completely out which is liable to produce derangement in the
working of the apparatus, a hook 64 is provided capable of easily turning on the
bar 46 (Fig. 3). Under the said hook there is provided on the bar 46 a pawl 65
which has on its back a notch and which when the rod 46 is drawn back passes
along the toothed rack 66 which latter is carried by the side wall of the casing B.
On this side wall there are arranged two stop-pins 67 and 68.
When the lever 43 is drawn out the pawl 65 remains in gear with the teeth of
the rack 66 and prevents the lever handle 43 from being pushed back until just when
this lever is fully drawn out when the paul 65 rides up the fixed pin 67 and thereby
is raised the arrangement being such that it comes in contact with the hook 64
which engages with the notch on the back of the pawl and keeps the latter in the
raised position so as to permit of pushing back side bars 45 and 46 by the lever 43.
When the lever has been completely pushed back a projection on the hook 64
comes in contact with the fixed pin 68 whereby the hook 64 is raised and releases
the pawl 65 which falls down and assumes the position shown in Fig. 3.
The withdrawal of a ticket is to be permitted on the insertion of a coin or a
workmen's check or token, and for this purpose there is provided an inlet channel 69

page_text: (Fig. 2) from which the coin falls into an inlet or holder 70 (Figs. 7 8 and 9) which
is composed of two halves which are pivotted together at their upper ends and are
drawn together by a spring 72 so that the coin will remain in the inlet 70. The
inlet 70 is fixed to a rocking beam 73 and is raised by a balance weight 73ª whereby
a bolt 73b is depressed and moves in front of a nose 74 on the cross bar 45° so as to
prevert withdrawal of the lever 43.
On
Only when a coin lies in the inlet 70 is the action of the weight 73* counter-
balanced and the bolt 73b is drawn up out of the path of the nose 74 so as to allow
of the bars 45 and 46 (and with them the cross bar 45°) being drawn back.
the cross bar 45° there is arranged an arm or tappet 75 which when the lever 43 is
drawn back bears against a projection 70° on one half of the holder 70 so that this
half is pressed to one side and allows the coin to fall down whereby the bolt 73b
moves back again into its initial position upon the return of the nose 74 to its
normal position.
In order to allow of setting the clockwork without the type wheels being
necessarily rotated there is provided a disengaging device (shown in Figs. 4 and 6)
which consists of a lever 76 that is pivoted at 77 to the casing A and is provided
with a tooth 77* which gears with the toothed wheel 80 that is fixed on the shaft 10
when the front end of the lever 76 is pressed down. The lever 76 is constantly
drawn upwards by means of a spring 78. A pawl 81 suspended from the front
wall 82 of the casing A moves over the lever 76 and releases the latter to be acted
upon again by the spring 78 only when said pawl is pressed to one side. If the
person using the apparatus forgets to press the pawl 81 to one side the type wheel
mechanism will remain stationary because the tappet 77 holds the discs 11 and 12
fast. This is prevented in a simple manner by means of a tappet 84 which is
provided on the door 83. The latter closes the front of the casing and only when
it has been opened is it possible to wind up the clockwork. Before the person
leaves the apparatus after having wound up the clockwork he will of course shut
the door 83 whereby the lever 76 is at the same time released.
The inking of the types is effected by means of a pad 86 which is charged with
printing ink.
Over this pad moves a roller 87 which is fixed by means of springs 88
to levers 89 which are suspended freely at 90 from the side walls of the casing A.
To the lever 89 there is connected a connecting rod 91 from each of the arms 92
fixed to the bars 45 and 46; these connecting rods are moved to and fro during
the printing operation so that when a card is withdrawn the roller 87 is drawn from
the pad 86 and moved over the types.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what [
claim is :-
1. An apparatus for automatically printing and issuing cards or tickets with the
time of issue of each card or ticket printed thereon in which the type wheels are
actuated independently of the clockwork mechanism: the arrangement being such
that the clockwork such as 2 and the type-wheels such as S C C' have separate
driving mechanisms respectively and a step by step intermittent rotation of the
type wheels SCC is produced by means of an escapement or arresting device such
as 3. 3 actuated by the mechanism for driving the clock 2 substantially as and for
the purposes herein before set forth.
2. An apparatus for automatically printing and issuing tickets or cards with the
time of issue of each card or ticket printed thereon having a disc such as 3 provided
with notches such as 3* and continuously rotated by the clockwork 2 in combination
and acting in conjunction with two discs such as 11 and 12 (provided with teeth in
alternate order) and operated by the driving mechanism 4 of the type wheels and
adapted to be held fast by said disc 3. 3ª until a tooth on either the disc 11 or on
the disc 12 is able to slip through a notch 3" for the purpose of producing a step by
step rotation of the type wheels substantially in the manner and for the purpo-es
hereiulefore set forth.

page_text: 3. Apparatus for automatically printing and issuing tickets or cards with the
time of issue of each card or ticket printed thereon provided with mechanism for
rapidly and simultaneously rotating the type wheels C and C₁ for indicating the
hour and whether forenoon and afternoon said mechanism consisting of a lever 16
which is drawn forward by a spring 18 in the direction of the rotation of the type
wheels and which is pressed back by a pin 13 (that is rotated with the discs 11 and 12
referred to in Claim 2) and is shot forward by said spring after the pin 13 has
passed clear of said lever the arrangement being such that a pawl 25 fixed to the
lever 16 rotates a ratchet wheel 28 (connected to the type wheels) forwards through
a distance equal or corresponding to the stroke of the lever substantially in the
manner and for the purposes herein before set forth.
4. In apparatus for automatically printing and issuing tickets or cards with the
time of issue of each card or ticket printed thereon-the arrangement and com-
bination therein of a device for disengaging the type wheels consisting of a lever 76
that is drawn upwards by a spring 78 with a tooth 77* which engages in the teeth
of a wheel 80 of the type wheel mechanism and holds said toothed wheel fast when
the front end of said lever is depressed the lever 76 being held in this position by a
pawl 81 until the pawl 81 is pressed back by a tappet 84 that is arranged on the
door 83 that serves to close the casing of the appaiatus substantially as and for the
purposes herein before set forth.
5. In apparatus for automatically printing and issuing tickets or cards with the
time of issue of each card or ticket printed thereon-the combination therein of a
locking bolt 73 which is depressed by a weight 73" so that it moves in front of the
device (such as the nose 74 on the crossbar 45 carried on the bars 45 and lever 43)
for moving and printing the ticket and releases said device only after a coin or
token has been inserted so as to allow of printing the ticket and withdrawing said
ticket from the apparatus substantially as and for the purposes herein before set
forth.
6. Apparatus for automatically printing and issuing cards or tickets with the
time of issue of each ticket or card printed thereon arranged combined and acting
substantially in the manner and for the purposes hereinbefore described and.
illustrated in the drawings hereunto aunexed.
Dated this 20th dow of May 1805
TONGUE & BIRKBECK,
Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane, London, W.C.,
Agents for the Applicant.