Improvements in Automatic Printing Time Checking Apparatus.
Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application, 30th June, 1894
Complete Specification Left, 30th Mar., 1895-Accepted, 29th June, 1895
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Automatic Printing Time Checking Apparatus.
We. JOHN THOMAS GENT, of Narborough Road, ALWYN WALTER
STAVELEY, of East View, Regent Road, and ISAAC HARDY PARSONS, of
21, Narborough Road, all in Leicester, in the County of Leicester, Electricians,
do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention relates to time checking apparatus and particularly to that class
of apparatus for checking workpeople's time by the insertion of checks or tickets,
and the object of the present invention is to provide means whereby a permanent
record of the workmen's time shall be automatically printed upon a paper band or
strip by the workmen's checks upon which band time printing mechanism operated
by a clock is also arranged to print without complicated mechanism.
In carrying out our invention we arrange a clock adapted to automatically print
the time upon a paper band at stated times, say at intervals of five minutes, and
we provide workmen's checks having numbers formed in relief thereon, the said
checks, when inserted into the machine through the slot provided for the purpose,
being adapted to fall against and strike the said band in order that the number of
the check shall be printed thereon so as to shew what checks have been inserted,
the time figures also printed upon the band enabling the time at which the various
checks were inserted to be ascertained. In order to provide for this printing we
may arrange an ink ribbon in conjunction with the band in such a manner that
when the check strikes the inking ribbon the printing will be effected in a well
known manner. In practice, however, we find it advantageous to use checks with
relief figures of india-rubber and an inking pad so that the figures are imprinted
upon the paper without a ribbon.
To prevent two checks from printing upon the same part of the band we provide
means whereby the act of inserting a check into the machine shall move the band
forward the required distance, the clock being also arranged to move the band
independently before printing the time. This movement of the band is
advantageously effected by arranging a ratchet wheel upon the axle of one of a
pair of rollers which moves the paper band, the said ratchet wheel being. moved
by a pawl connected with a lever extending to the slot through which the checks
are inserted. The checks themselves are each provided with an inclined surface
which, when the check is inserted into the slot, acts on the said lever to move the
pawl. The checks after striking the band fall into a receptacle within the
machine, the chute through which the checks pass from the slot to the band being
advantageously arranged in an inclined position and the chute open at the bottom
side.
The time printing is advantageously effected by relief figures of india-rubber
attached to the edge of a disc driven by the clock and arranged in conjunction
with an inking roller.
We propose to provide with each clock a record book ruled with lines so as to
ferm spaces into which the printed strips can be gummed..
Dated the 30th day of June 1894.
G. F. REDFERN & Co.,
4, South Street, Finsbury, London, Agents for the Applicants.

page_text: COMI DIE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Automatic Printing Time Checking Apparatus.
We, JOHN THOMAS GENT, of Narborough Road, ALWYN WALTER
STAVELEY, of East View, Regent' Road, and ISAAC HARDY PARSONS, of
21, Narborough Road, all in Leicester, in the County of Leicester, Electricians,
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 time checking apparatus and particularly to that class
of apparatus for checking workpeople's time in which checks or tickets are
dropped into a box or receptacle, and the 'object of the present invention is to
provide means whereby a permanent record of the workpeople's time shall be
automatically printed upon a paper band or strip by the workpeople's checks
upon which band a time printing mechanism operated by a clock is also arranged
to print without complicated mechanism."
"
11
In carrying out our invention we arrange in conjunction with a clock a time
printing wheel adapted to print upon a paper band, and we provide workpeople's
checks having numbers formed in relief thereon, the said checks, when inserted
into the machine through the slot provided for the purpose, being "adapted to
fall against and strike the said band in order that the number of the check shall
be 'printed thereon so as to shew'what checks have been inserted, the time figures
also printed upon the band enabling the time at which the various checks were
inserted to be ascertained. In order to provide for this printing we may arrange
an ink ribbon in conjunction with the band in such a manner that when the check
strikes the inking ribbon the printing will be effected in a well known manner.
To prevent two checks from printing upon the same part of the band we
provide 'mechanism whereby the act of inserting a check into the machine will
move the band forward the required distance, the checks themselves" being each
provided with an inclined surface which, when the check is inserted into the slot,
acts on the said mechanism.
' IN
To enable our invention to be fully understood we will describe the same by
reference to the accompanying drawings, in which :-
Figure 1 is a front elevation of the apparatus with the doors removed to shew
the mechanism:
}
1
Figure 2 is a section on the line 2-2, Figure 1; and,
Figure 3 is a section on the line 3-3, Figure 1':
Figure 4 is a plan of a portion of the top of the apparatus shewing the slot for
the checks : ..
1.
Figures 5 and 6 are respectively a sectional elevation and a plan of the escape-
ment for operating the time printing wheel:
Figures 7 and 8 are respectively an elevation and a plan of one of the work-
people's checks; and,
Figure 9 is a detached view of the ratchet mechanism for operating the paper
band feed-roller:
Figure 10 is a view of a portion of the paper band shewing imprinted thereon
the numbers of several workpeople's checks and the time at which they were
inserted in the apparatus.
a is the casing of the apparatus, is the clock, and c is the time printing wheel
which is controlled by the clock, but which, in order to relieve the clock
mechanism, is arranged to be driven by an independent spring and train of wheels,
the said clock and the train of mechanism for driving the time printing wheel
being supported on a plated common to both. The said wheel c which is arranged
to make, say, one revolution every 24 hours is adapted to print to shew intervals of,

page_text: say, 5 minutes, the figures being suitably arranged around its periphery, for
instance, upon a band e which is secured around the periphery of the said wheel c,
as shewn in Figure 3, the figures being arranged upon the band in the manner
shewn in Figure 34, which is a development of a portion of the said band drawn to
a larger scale than Figure 3.
In order to allow the time printing wheel c to move under the influence of its
driving mechanism at the predetermined intervals, we provide an escapement so
arranged that at each oscillation it shall let off the independent mechanism driving
the said time printing wheel sufficiently to move the said wheel a distance corre-
sponding to the distance between two sets of figures thereon. In the drawings we
have represented the arrangement of a kind of anchor escapement f which works
in conjunction with an escape wheel or dise g having a single pin g¹ thereon. The
pallets of the escapement fare arranged in a manner which will be clearly
understood by reference to Figures 5 and 6 so that each time the escapement is
oscillated the escape wheel g will be allowed to turn half a revolution, the train of
gearing in connection with the wheel being so proportioned that half a revolution
of the said escape wheel shall correspond with the distance, between two sets of
figures on the wheel c. This escapement f is operated from the clock through the
medium of a lever h fixed at one end to the escapement and at the other or free
end being slotted at to receive the crank-pin i on a disc which is suitably
geared to the clock mechanism so that it shall make half a revolution during every
5 minutes and thereby operate the escapement to release the pin of the escape
wheel at corresponding intervals. In Figure the letters j,,, indicate the
wheels through which the motion of the clock is communicated to the said disc i¹,
the wheel being fixed to the arbor of the minute hand.
k is the paper record band which is arranged to be unwound from a roller k¹ by
means of two feed-rollers k², k³, and which is passed beneath the time printing
wheel c and is of sufficient width to receive not only the impression from the said
wheel but also the number of the check. is the slot in the case of the apparatus
through which the checks are inserted, and is a chute which directs the checks
from the said slot to the band k, one side of the said chute being cut away at the
front of the lower part so that when the check has struck the band it will fall out
of the chute into the case of the apparatus. m, Figures 7 and 8, indicates one of
the checks which has a number in relief fixed to its lower end as at n, aud which
is V-shaped or otherwise suitably formed on one edge so that it cannot be inserted
through the slot in the wrong direction, the said slot being correspondingly shaped
to receive the check as shewn in Figure 4.
In order to move the band k forward each time that a check is introduced to
present a clear space for the impression of the check number, we provide for
operating the feed-rollers k³, k³ upon the introduction of the check in the following
manner, that is to say, in conjunction with the slot we arrange a sliding bar o
which normally projects beneath the slot, as shewn in Figures 3 and 4, and we
form each check at the end which is first introduced into the slot with an incline
whereby as the said check is introduced it pushes back the rod o. On the rod o is
a pin or projection o¹ which acts against one arm of a spring bell-crank lever p
formed on a shaft pl, the other arm of the said lever engaging between projections
on a vertically moving bar g whereby, as the said bell-crank lever is moved by the
rod o, a vertical movement will be imparted to the said bar. At its lower end the
bar carries a spring-pawl which engages with a ratchet (as shewn in
Figure 9) on the spindle of the feed-roller 2, in such a manner that when the said
bar g is depressed the said feed wheel will be rotated so as to move forward the
band k. In front of the ratchet wheel is fixed another ratchet wheels the teeth
of which are arranged in an opposite direction to those of the wheel ¹, and upon
the bar is a frame sl carrying a push-piece s which, when the bar g is depressed
and after the wheel ¹ has been moved a certain distance, impinges against one of
the teeth of the wheels to form a stop for preventing further movement of the
feed-roller until the bar q is again raised and depressed.
q

page_text: In our Provisional Specification we stated that the time was printed auto-
matically upen the paper band kat stated intervals; this arrangement, how-
ever, would necessitate the constant movement of the said paper band upon which
the record is printed and also the provision of means for periodically obtaining the
impression from the wheel. As it is unnecessary that the time should be printed
upon the band when no checks are being introduced, we provide that it shall remain
stationary, except at such times as the checks are introduced and that the printing
of a check number upon the band shall at the same time cause the printing of
the time.
We accomplish this as follows:-Beneath the chute we arrange a tablet upon
which one part of the band k will be supported when the printing of the check
number takes place, and beneath the printing wheel c is arranged another table u
which supports the part of the said band upon which the time indications are
printed. These two tables t, u are supported upon sliding rods t', u' respectively
which are connected by levers and so arranged that when a check introduced into
the apparatus strikes the band k the tablet will be depressed and the table a
at the same time raised to push the said band into contact with the printing
wheel c.
,, Figure 3, are two levers through the medium of which the down-
ward movement of the rod t' of the tablet serves to impart an upward movement
to the rod ' of the table u. It will thus be understood that normally the paper is
out of contact with the time printing wheel c which is therefore free to move from
time to time and that an impression is only taken from the wheel at such time as a
check is introduced.
The manner in which the check numbers and time indications are shewn upon
the band will be understood by referring to Figure 10 in which the left hand
numbers are check numbers and the right hand numbers time indications.
w is an inking ribbon which is arranged to be unwound from a roller w' onto
another roller w2 and in its path to pass above the paper strip k but below the
bottom of the chute and the time printing wheel e in a well known manner.
The inking ribbon is represented as being fed along by positively rotating the
roller w2, this being effected by connecting a gear-wheel on the roller w² with
another gear-wheel on the spindle of the feed-roller 2 through the inter-
vention of the intermediate wheel 2, whereby, each time that the feed-rollers are
operated, the inking ribbon will be moved forward with the paper band k.
are guide-rods over which the inking ribbon passes.
To permit of readily introducing the paper band k between the feed-rollers k², k³
and of drawing the said band through the feed-rollers quickly if desired, the upper
feed-roller 3 is mounted on one end of a lever y on the other end of which a
spring y acts so as to normally hold the roller k³ towards the roller with a spring..
pressure, and a cord or rod y2 is attached to the end of the lever y adjacent to the
spring so that by pulling the said cord or rod the lever will be moved to raise
the roller away from the roller ².
* is a screen of canvas or other material attached at one edge to the bottom of
the case and at the other edge to a pillar projecting from the back of the case,
the said screen serving to break the fall of the checks dropping from the chute /¹
as they fall into the bottom of the apparatus.
If desired, an aperture may be formed in the casing through which the checks,
after they have made a record in the machine, will pass so that they can be again
returned to the workmen.
The record strips obtained by means of our machine, as hereinbefore described,
are advantageously pasted into a book specially ruled to receive them.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we
claim is
1. Time checking apparatus wherein a record band or strip is arranged in con-
nection with time printing mechanism controlled by a clock, and in conjunction

page_text: with which workpeople's checks adapted to print upon the band are employed in
such a manner that the time at which a check is dropped into the apparatus is
recorded, substantially as described.
2. In time checking apparatus in which the number of the workman's check and
the time at which such check is dropped are printed upon a record band, the
employment of a time printing wheel operated by clock mechanism arranged to
be let off by a clock, substantially as described.-
3. In time checking apparatus wherein the work people's check numbers and the
time are adapted to be printed on a record band or strip, the arrangement of
mechanism substantially as herein before described, whereby when a workman's
check is making an impression, an impression is being made from the type on the
time wheel, as set forth.
4. In time checking apparatus wherein the workman's check number and the time
are printed upon a record band or strip, the arrangement of feed mechanism in
conjunction with the slot through which the checks are introduced into the
apparatus in such a manner that each time a check is introduced the record band
or strip is moved substantially as, and for the purpose, described.
5. The manufacture and use of the improved time checking apparatus consisting
of the parts constructed and combined substantially in the manner hereinbefore
described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings and operating as, and for
the purposes, set forth.
Dated this 20th day of Murch 1895
G. F. REDFERN & Co.,
4, South Street, Finsbury, London, Agents for the Applicants.