EP0032555A1 - Counting or printing mechanism for consecutive counting or numbering - Google Patents

Abstract

A counting or printing mechanism for consecutive counting or numbering, in which a number or printing wheel is provided for each numerical place and the number or printing wheels are mounted on a common shaft. The number or printing wheels are turned by advancing elements which are connected loosely but so as to transmit force and designed to deflect one another. These advancing elements may, for example, be pawls disposed on an inner ring or coupling discs disposed on a side surface of the number or printing wheels.

Description

The invention relates to a counting or printing unit for continuous numbering, in which _D ruckrad for each paying a numeric or provided, and the numeric or print wheels are mounted on a common shaft and individually locked as well as by one or more switching devices in continuous Counting or printing positions can be rotated and coupled to one another in a specific switching rhythm.

Such a counting mechanism is suitable for pressure equipment andetikettiergeräten for example, in _H, in which the number wheels are designed as pressure wheels. A pressure device of this type is from the DE-GM 7 331 334 known, in which the printing wheels are threaded on an axis. A second axis is arranged parallel to this axis, on which a ratchet wheel interacting with a ratchet and a control wheel for advancing the respective subsequent ratchet wheel are mounted. On one side of the ratchet wheel, integrally connected to it, there is a control ring and on the other side of the ratchet wheel there is a switching ring. This ring gear has a smaller radius than the control ring of the ratchet wheel adjacent to it. A switching wheel is assigned to each printing wheel, which has a toothing whose radius is larger than the radii of the switching rings and control rings. The ratchet wheel is turned by a ratchet pawl, which engages from the outside in the gear rim connected to the ratchet wheel. The teeth of the gear rim in turn engage in gaps formed by teeth of the printing wheel provided with the digits to be printed. Such a printing unit requires a relatively large amount of space, since two axially parallel axes and a ratchet arrangement parallel to the axis and the ratchet wheel are required, and the ratchet wheels with multiple teeth and therefore subject to wear must be fitted between the pressure wheels and the ratchet arrangement. However, for a hand-held labeling device it is important to be handy and robust.

In another known embodiment of a hand-held labeling device with automatic advancement of the printing wheels, a switching ring is arranged on the side next to each printing wheel and is connected to the printing wheel without rotational play.

Immediately to the switching ring of a printing wheel, the printing wheel connects to the next higher digit, so that gaps of approximately the material thickness of a switching ring arise between the printing wheels. Pawls rigidly connected to one another engage in these gaps in a switching comb, which interact with the switching rings for rotating the pressure wheels. In this printing unit, the switching ring diameter is the same size, while the switching comb is staggered. As the number of indexing points increases, the switching comb therefore falls ever deeper into the switching rings. This results in a limited number of digits in this device. In the case of a step-down which is not stepped down, the gear ring, which is assigned to the lowest-digit pressure digit, is in constant engagement with the pawl assigned to it. The corresponding pressure wheel is thereby moved by an angular step with each pressure stroke. The pawls for the higher-digit printing wheels that have been switched off so far intervene when the nine of the lower-digit printing wheel are in the printing position.

In addition to the limited number of digits, this printing device for a hand labeling device also has other undesirable disadvantages. It is expensive due to the space requirement due to the rigidly coupled pawls arranged laterally from the pressure wheels and attacking from the periphery. Even the lowest digit gear ring is limited in its possible outer diameter by the practical requirement of manageability. Further, the arrangement of switching between the rings _D jerk due wheels in the typeface is a gap between two adjacent printing type, which in its, width of at least the material thickness of the switching ring and Jack corresponds. This not only affects the typeface, but also reduces the information density of a printed label. The obvious measure to make the switching ring and latch as thin as possible and thereby keep the gaps in the typeface small are limited by the requirements for robustness and switching reliability of a handheld device. When dimensioning the switching ring and pawl, the wear resistance of these precision parts manufactured with low tolerances is a design-determining factor.

The object of the invention is to provide a wear-resistant counter or printing unit for continuous counting or numbering, which is also particularly suitable for printing devices and which, with a minimum of space, has a large number of manually preselectable, automatically advancing number or printing wheels can be arranged side by side without gaps.

This object is achieved by a counter or printing unit of the type mentioned at the outset in that switching elements of the switching device (s) are provided for the immediate and step-by-step advancement of the number or printing wheels, which are force-transmitting but loosely connectable and designed to deflect one another.

Advantageous embodiments of such a counter or printing unit are characterized in the subclaims.

In the counter or printing unit according to the invention, the construction parts to a minimum. There are no gears that are subject to wear, but pawls or clutch discs engage from the inside or from the side or the outside diameter of each number or pressure wheel, which has a corresponding ring gear or a drive ring on its inner ring or on its side surface Step wreath is provided. In the preferred embodiments, the entire indexing mechanism is practically arranged within the number or printing wheel, so that the dimension of the entire counting or printing unit is essentially determined by the size of the wheels, with only one locking axis being provided on which these wheels are threaded , which are strung together without gaps, so that a full use of space of the pressure device is possible.

• Fig. 1 eine Längsschnittansicht durch eine erste Ausführungsform des erfindungsgemässen Druckwerks, bei der die Fortschaltung durch Klinken erfolgt;
• Fig. 2 eine Teilseitenansicht der Ausführungsform gemäss Fig. 1;
• Fig. 3 eine Draufsicht auf ein Druckrad der Ausführungsform gemäss Fig. 1;
• Fig. 4 eine Seitenansicht im Schnitt entlang der Linie A-B in Fig. 3;
• Fig. 5 eine Draufsicht auf eine Steuerscheibe der Ausführungsform gemäss Fig. 1;
• Fig. 6 eine Seitenansicht im Schnitt der Steuerscheibe entlang der Linie C-D in Fig. 5;
• Fig. 7 eine vergrösserte Seitenansicht einer Klinke der Ausführungsform gemäss Fig. 1;
• Fig. 8 eine Draufsicht auf die Klinke in Richtung "E" in Fig. 7 gesehen;
• Fig. 9 eine Fig. 8 entsprechende Draufsicht auf drei montierte Klinken der Ausführungsform gemäss Fig. 1;
• Fig. 10 eine Längsschnittansicht einer zweiten Ausführungsform des erfindungsgemässen Druckwerks, bei der die Fortschaltung durch Kupplungsscheiben erfolgt;
• Fig. 11 eine Seitenansicht dieser zweiten Ausführungsform in Richtung "F" in Fig. 10 gesehen;
• Fig. 12 eine Draufsicht auf einen Schaltkranz der Ausführungsform gemäss Fig. 10;
• Fig. 13 eine Draufsicht auf ein Druckrad der Ausführungsform gemäss Fig. 10;
• Fig. 14 eine Seitenansicht im Schnitt des Druckrades entlang der Linie G-H in Fig. 13;
• Fig. 15 eine Teilseitenansicht im Schnitt durch das Druckrad entlang I-K in Fig. 13;
• Fig. 16 eine Draufsicht auf eine Kupplungsscheibe der Ausführungsform gemäss Fig. 10;
• Fig. 17 eine Seitenansicht im Schnitt der Kupplungsscheibe entlang der Linie L-M in Fig. 16; und
• Fig. 18 eine Draufsicht auf eine Untersetzungskurve der Ausführungsform gemäss Fig. 10.

The invention is explained in more detail with reference to two exemplary embodiments shown in the drawings, printing units being described. Show it:

• Figure 1 is a longitudinal sectional view through a first embodiment of the printing unit according to the invention, in which the indexing takes place by pawls.
• FIG. 2 shows a partial side view of the embodiment according to FIG. 1;
• 3 shows a plan view of a printing wheel of the embodiment according to FIG. 1;
• Fig. 4 is a side view in section along the line AB in Fig. 3;
• 5 shows a plan view of a control disk of the embodiment according to FIG. 1;
• Fig. 6 is a side view in section of the control disc along the line CD in Fig. 5;
• FIG. 7 is an enlarged side view of a pawl of the embodiment according to FIG. 1;
• FIG. 8 is a top view of the pawl in the direction "E" in FIG. 7;
• 9 is a top view corresponding to FIG. 8 of three assembled pawls of the embodiment according to FIG. 1;
• 10 shows a longitudinal sectional view of a second embodiment of the printing unit according to the invention, in which the clutch is shifted forward;
• Fig. 11 is a side view of this second embodiment seen in the direction "F" in Fig. 10;
• FIG. 12 shows a plan view of a switching ring of the embodiment according to FIG. 10;
• FIG. 13 shows a plan view of a printing wheel of the embodiment according to FIG. 10;
• FIG. 14 is a side view in section of the printing wheel along the line GH in FIG. 13;
• 15 shows a partial side view in section through the printing wheel along IK in FIG. 13;
• 16 shows a plan view of a clutch disc of the embodiment according to FIG. 10;
• FIG. 17 is a side view in section of the clutch disc along the line LM in FIG. 16; and
• 18 shows a plan view of a reduction curve of the embodiment according to FIG. 10.

In both of the illustrated exemplary embodiments, the printing unit 1a; 1b, which is automatically advanced, according to the invention is combined with only manually adjustable printing wheels 2a; 2b. This arrangement is used in labeling devices in which a Label with a fixed brand - for example a date or price - and at the same time printed with a consecutive number. The fixed preselected printing wheels 2a; 2b, which generally remain unchanged for a longer print series, are arranged on a common axis with the automatically advanced printing wheels 3a; 3b. The pressure wheels are gear wheels which have the same outer diameter as their gear rings and are each operated by a common signal box (not shown). In the usual case of decimal numbering, the advancing pressure wheels 3a; 3b have a ten-fold symmetry and bear the digits from zero to nine on the end faces 4a; 4b of their ten teeth 5a; 5b arranged at an angular distance of 36 °. The fixed printing wheels 2a; 2b, on the other hand, can have other printing characters, alternatively or in addition to the decimal digits, and thus possibly also a different symmetry. Each pressure wheel 2a, 3a or 2b, 3b is assigned an adjusting wheel of the same symmetry (not shown), which engages with its teeth in the corresponding tooth gaps 6a or 6b of the pressure wheel. The setting wheels, like the printing wheels, are arranged on a common axis which runs parallel to the axis of the printing wheels. The adjusting wheel axis is a hollow cylinder, inside which an axially displaceable coupling shaft is guided. The clutch shaft is rotated manually with the help of an adjusting knob, whereby it engages in any desired adjusting wheel via an actuator and takes it along. By engaging the adjusting wheel in the outer ring gear of the pressure wheel 2a; 3a or 2b; 3b, the corresponding pressure wheel is simultaneously moved. The letter of the printing wheel 2a; 3a or 2b; 3b facing the printing surface can be found in an inscription on the setting wheel, which can be read through a viewing window.

The printing wheels 2a; 3a and 2b; 3b are laterally supported one after the other in direct succession, but can be moved independently of one another on a common axis. This axis is a locking axis 7a and 7b, which positions and adjusts the pressure wheels 2a; 3a and 2b; 3b in angular positions that are staggered from one another in stages.

The locking axis 7a of the embodiment according to FIG. 1 is a cylindrical sleeve 8, on the outer lateral surface 9 of which a spring comb 10 is arranged. The spring comb 10 consists of a comb back 11, from which as many leaf springs 12 protrude in a prong shape as pressure wheels 2a; 3a are provided on the latching axis 7a. The comb back 11 is mounted parallel to the cylinder axis of the sleeve 8 in a feather bed 13 within the lateral surface 9 of the sleeve 8 and firmly connected to it by screws or pins. The ridge 11 is sunk in the lateral surface 9 of the sleeve 8, while the individual leaf springs 12 protrude tangentially from the lateral surface 9 of the sleeve 8 in a relaxed position or follow the lateral surface 9 with a radius of curvature that is somewhat larger than the circular radius of the Sleeve 8. The leaf springs 12 thus protrude from the circumference of the sleeve 8 over at least part of their length in the unloaded state. The feather bed 13 receiving the comb back 11 is in turn continued over the lateral surface 9 in an arc length which corresponds to the length of the leaf springs 12. The leaf springs 12 are loaded by radial pressure into the feather bed 13, i.e. an area within the lateral surface 9 of the sleeve 8 is moved back, from which they spring back radially outwards by means of their inherent elasticity.

The outer surface 9 of the sleeve 8 forms the running surface of the printing wheels 2a; 3a. The pressure wheels 2a; 3a have a central center bore 14, the inside width corresponds to the diameter of the sleeve 8 and are threaded on the sleeve 8.

3 and 4, an automatically advanced printing wheel 3a is explained in more detail, which is provided in a manner known per se with a type toothed ring 15, the teeth 5a of which bear the printing numerals from zero to nine on their end face 4a. The material thickness of the type ring gear 15 is slightly less than that of the rest of the printing wheel body 16. In the manner described, an adjusting wheel engages in the type ring gear 15 (not shown).

The inner ring 17 formed by the central bore 14 of the pressure wheel body 16 has on its drive side a toothed ring 18 with ten identical notches 19, which are arranged at a uniform spacing and are used for decimal advancement of the pressure wheel 3a. On the output side of the pressure wheel 3a, the inner ring 17 is provided with a ring gear 20 in which only a single notch 21 is left out.

The sprockets 18 and 20 on the drive or driven side of the printing wheel 3a serve equally for adjusting the printing wheels 3a in printing positions which are offset in steps from one another, as well as for decimal advancement of the printing unit 1a.

The end of a leaf spring 12, the spring comb 10, which is bent into a hook 22, runs on the drive-side ring gear 18 of each pressure wheel 3a. The leaf spring 12 is pressed radially back into the spring bed 13 by the pressure wheel 3a seated on the locking axis 7a. As soon as by turning the pressure wheel 3a the hook 22 with a notch 19 of the drive side sprocket 18 comes to coincide, it resiliently falls into it and fixes the printing wheel 3a in the corresponding printing position.

The notches 19 and 21 are preferably recesses in the solid material of the print wheel body 16 and appear in a lateral projection (FIG. 3) as approximately right-angled triangles. The surface 23 to be assigned to the shorter cathete acts as a stop surface for pawls 24 engaging in the notches 19 or 21, which act against the surface 23 and thereby transport the printing wheel 3a. The surface 25 to be assigned to the longer catheter, on the other hand, acts as a slideway by means of which the pawls 24 can be lifted out of their engaged position.

The individual locking notch 21 of the gear ring 20 on the output side is aligned with one of the locking notches 19 of the gear ring 18 on the drive side. The arrangement of the continuous locking notch 26 relative to the type toothed ring 15 is selected such that the pawls 24 engage in the continuous locking notch 26 with the number nine facing the printing surface.

A switching shaft 27 is inserted through the sleeve 8, through which the printing wheels 3a running on the lateral surface 9 of the sleeve 8 are advanced (FIG. 2). The control shaft 27 is, for example, a cylindrical solid body, which is rotatably mounted inside the sleeve 8. The rotation of the Switching shaft 27 is limited by suitable stops to an angular dimension that corresponds to an indexing stage of the pressure wheels 3a. On the circumference 28 of the selector shaft 27, the pawls 24 are arranged, which reach through a gap 29 in the wall of the sleeve 8 into the ring gears 18 and 20 on the inner ring 17 of the pressure wheels 3a and take them along when the selector shaft 27 rotates. The gap 29 with the pawls 24 is expediently arranged on the side of the latching axis 7a diametrically opposite the leaf spring 12.

Each of the pawls 24 consists of an essentially cylindrical joint body 30 pierced in the center and a projection 31 projecting radially therefrom, which is designed as a form negative of the locking notches 19 and 21, into which it engages as a tooth (FIG. 2). The pawls 24 are pushed together with the bore 32 of their joint body 30 onto a cylindrical pin 33 as a common axis.

The pin 33 is mounted parallel to and in two brackets 34 and 35 fixed on the circumference of the selector shaft 27 (FIG. 1). In a particularly advantageous embodiment, these supports 34 and 35 also serve as a stop which limits the angular dimension of the shift shaft rotation. The pawls 24 are each with their articulated body 30 adjacent to each other with play and aligned in lateral projection on the pin 33 and rotatable about this with movement. The center of the axis of the pin 33 is positioned such that the outer dimension 36 of the joint body 30 of a pawl 24 threaded onto the pin 33 is in any case within an extended outer circumferential circle 37 of the sleeve 8. The pawls 24 are thus sunk with their joint body 30 into the running surface of the printing wheels 3a. A pressure wheel 3a rotating on the locking axis 7a slides over the articulated bearing of the pawls 24. At a In a particularly advantageous embodiment, the center point of the axis of the pin 33 is positioned such that the outer dimension 36 of the joint body 30 of a pawl 24 mounted on the pin 38 just touches the extended outer circumferential circle 37 of the sleeve 8 in a lateral projection (FIG. 2). The pressure wheels are thereby guided in the area in which the wall of the sleeve 8 is interrupted by the gap 29 for the pawls 24 on the joint body 30 of the pawls 24.

The pawls 24 threaded onto the pin 33 can be countersunk by rotation about the pin 33 into a recess 38 of the selector shaft 27 such that the shoulder 31 lies within the extended circumferential circle 37 of the sleeve 8. In this position, the shoulder 31 is set back under the running surface of the pressure wheels 3a and is not in engagement with the toothed rings 18 and 20. In this position, however, the pawls 24 are each independently loaded by the force of a compression spring 39, which the shoulder 31 of the pawls 24 act upon. The compression springs 39 act on the surfaces 40 of the lugs 31 facing away from the switching rings 18 and 20 and thus exert a force which rotates the pawls 24 around the pin 33 and the lugs 31 radially outward into the locking notches 19 and 21 of the switching rings 18 and 20 snaps into place. The engagement is thus effected by a movement of the pawl 24 which is epicyclic relative to the rotation of the switching shaft 27. The compression springs 39 are mounted in bores 41 which extend from the resting surface 42 of the pawls 24 in the recess 38 of the switching shaft 27 approximately perpendicularly into the material of the Switch shaft 27 are driven. With a view to maximum leverage, the bores 41 open at the greatest possible distance from the pivot joint of the pawls 24 onto the surfaces 40 of the projections 31 to be loaded.

• Die Druckräder 3a sind auf der Rastachse 7a gegen die Klinken 24 derart versetzt angeordnet, dass eine Klinke 24 die Stossstelle zweier Druckräder 3a übergreift. Die Klinke 24 greift jeweils mit der einen Hälfte ihrer Breite in den abtriebsseitigen Zahnkranz 20 eines niedrigstelligen Druckrades 3a und mit der anderen Hälfte ihrer Breite in den antriebsseitigen Zahnkranz 18 des nächsthöherstelligen Druckrades 3a ein. Eine Ausnahme macht dabei die das niedrigststelligeDruckrad 43 antreibende Klinke 44, die nur gegen den antriebsseitigen Zahnkranz 18 dieses Druckrades 43 arbeitet und mit der Hälfte ihrer Breite freiläuft. Bei jedem Druckhub des Druckwerks 1a wird über einen Antriebshebel 45 die Schaltwelle 27 zwischen ihren Anschlagspositionen hin-und hergedreht, wobei jeweils die das niedrigststellige Druckrad 43 antreibende Klinke 44 zum Eingriff kommt und das Druckrad 43 mitnimmt. Die zu höheren Zahlenstellen hin nachgeordnete Klinke 46 läuft mit der Hälfte ihrer Breite auf dem abtriebsseitigen Zahnkranz 20 des niedrigststelligen Druckrades 43 und ist dadurch bei neun von zehn Schaltvorgängen am Eingriff gehindert. Nur wenn die das niedrigststellige Druckrad 43 antreibende Klinke 44 in die durchgehende Rastkerbe 26 eingreift, kann auch die nachgeordnete Klinke 46 darin einkämmen und das nächsthöherstellige Druckrad 47 mitnehmen.

The method of decimal advancement of the printing wheel propulsion in this embodiment of the printing group 1a is as follows:

• The pressure wheels 3a are arranged offset on the latching axis 7a against the pawls 24 in such a way that a pawl 24 engages over the joint of two pressure wheels 3a. The pawl 24 engages with one half of its width in the output-side ring gear 20 of a low-pressure wheel 3a and with the other half of its width in the drive-side ring gear 18 of the next higher pressure wheel 3a. An exception to this is the pawl 44 that drives the lowest-digit pressure wheel 43, which only works against the drive-side ring gear 18 of this pressure wheel 43 and freewheels with half its width. With each pressure stroke of the printing unit 1a, the selector shaft 27 is rotated back and forth between its stop positions by means of a drive lever 45, the pawl 44 driving the lowest-digit printing wheel 43 coming into engagement and taking the printing wheel 43 with it. The pawl 46, which is arranged at higher digits, runs with half its width on the output-side ring gear 20 of the lowest-digit pressure wheel 43 and is thereby prevented from engaging in nine out of ten switching operations. Only when the pawl 44 driving the lowest-digit pressure wheel 43 engages in the continuous notch 26 can the downstream pawl 46 mesh with it and take the next-higher pressure wheel 47 with it.

In principle, higher decimal places are advanced accordingly by the engagement of further pawls 24 between adjacent printing wheels 3a. A pairing of adjacent printing wheels 3a is not sufficient for this. Rather, the pawls 24 must be coupled in a manner which, on the one hand, ensures the operation of a low-pawl 24 independently and uninfluenced by all pawls arranged at a higher position and, on the other hand, the combing-in of one Jack prevents as long as not all lower-ranking pawls also mesh.

In order to meet this condition, a knob 48 on the output side and a groove 49 on the drive side are excluded from the projection 31 of each pawl 24, in which the knob 50 of the pawl 24 arranged upstream on the drive side can engage (FIGS. 7-9). The knob 48 is formed axially projecting approximately centrally on the neck 31 of the pawl 24. The rotary movement of the pawl 24 around the pin 33 takes place in a circular arc around the pin 33. The radial side surfaces 51 and 52 of the knob 48 and the corresponding side walls 53 and 54 of the groove 49 are designed in the form of the cylinder jacket surfaces described here. The width of knobs 48 and groove 49 corresponds, for example, to approximately half a pawl width. The groove 49 is delimited to the side facing the switching shaft 27 when the pawls are assembled by a stop surface 55, which defines a maximum immersion depth of the knob 50 of the pawl 24 arranged on the drive side. The groove depth is selected so that the pawls are aligned in the axial direction in this position of maximum immersion depth. On the other hand, the movement of the knob 50 in the groove 49 is not limited to the opposite side, which faces the switching rings 18 and 20 of the pressure wheels 3a when the pawls are mounted. The pawls 24 are thus coupled to one another only in one direction of movement about the pin 33.

If, for example, a pawl 24 is released from the engagement position into its associated drive-side ring gear 18 by the drive-side ring gear 20 assigned to it, the associated knob 48 is simultaneously turned against the stop surface 55 of the groove 49 of the next-higher-level pawl 24 leads and excavated with. The process continues to all pawls 24 arranged higher. Neither of these pawls 24 therefore comes into engagement. On the other hand, the free play of all pawls 24 which have a lower-digit order is not influenced. The described coupling of the pawls 24 in connection with the assignment of a pawl 24 to a pair of adjacent pressure wheels 3a with gear rims 18 and 20 reduced by a ratio of 1:10 thus interacts with the desired decimal indexing.

The described printing unit 1a, which decimally advances with each printing stroke, can be further developed in a simple and flexible manner to a printing unit with multiple or repetitive switching, in which the set of numbers for a sequential numbering is only incremented by one digit after each nth printing stroke. For this purpose, the lowest-digit pressure wheel 43, which is advanced with each pressure stroke, is replaced by a suitable control curve. 5 and 6 show an embodiment of a control cam 56 for a 2-step reduction printing unit. The structure of the control cam 56 corresponds to that of a printing wheel 3a without a type gear rim 15, in which the reduction ratio of the gear rim on the drive side to the output side has been modified in accordance with the requirements.

In the illustrated control cam 56, the drive-side ring gear 57 is provided with ten drive notches 58 arranged at an angular distance of 36 °, while the drive-side ring gear 59 is provided with five drive notches 60 arranged at an angular distance of 72 °. The output notches 60 are aligned with every second of the drive notches 58, so that the control cam 56 has a total of five at an angular distance of 72 ° ordered, continuous notches. A pawl 24 (44) engages in the drive-side ring gear 57 of the control cam 56, which moves the control cam 56 by one switching position with each pressure stroke. The pawl 44 driving the lowest-digit pressure wheel 47 directly next to the control cam 56 is now acted upon by half of its width with the gear rim 59 on the output side of the control cam 56 and therefore only comes into engagement with every second pressure stroke. The printing unit 1a is thus only advanced on every second printing stroke.

Control curves for a repetition circuit of the printing unit 1a that is more than twice reduced are formed in an analogous manner. In a particularly advantageous embodiment, the drive-side toothed ring of the control cam has twelve drive notches arranged at an angular distance of 30 ° (not shown). The implementation of every second, third, fourth or sixth of these notches on the driven side of the control cam then causes a correspondingly reduced multiple switching of the printing unit 1a. A control cam with twelve degrees can be used with minor modifications to the locking axis or pawls together with decimally advancing pressure wheels, since the difference in the switching angle is comparatively small.

In pressure devices with multiple or repetitive switching, a control curve replaces the lowest-digit pressure wheel compared to the printing units described at the beginning. For reasons of uniformity in the number of pressure points, a control curve can also be arranged upstream of the decimally advancing printing unit for pressure devices without multiple switching (not shown). Such a control curve has ten-digit or at will twelve-fold symmetry on a ring gear with only continuous notches.

As already mentioned, the first pawl 44 on the drive side only works with half its width against the drive-side ring gear 18 of the lowest-digit pressure wheel 43 or the control cam 56. The other half of the pawl width runs freely and can be used in conjunction with an adjusting slide to automatically shut down the printing unit 1a. The adjusting slide (not shown) is, for example, a flat part sliding in a guide and lockable in two latching positions. In one latching position, the adjusting slide has no function, in the other it acts on the otherwise free-running half of the pawl 44 on the drive side. The corresponding end of the flat part is cut in the form of a circular arc, the radius of curvature of which corresponds to that of the outer lateral surface of the sleeve 8. The length of the circular arc is selected so that it covers the gap 29 which is recessed for the pawls 24 in the wall of the sleeve 8. To take the automatic advancement of the printing unit out of operation, the circular-arc-shaped end of the adjusting slide on the drive side of the lowest-digit printing wheel or the control cam is guided directly over the extended outer circumferential circle 37 of the sleeve 8. The adjusting slide engages in this position and, with its circular arc-shaped end, loads the first pawl 44 on the drive side. This pawl is returned under the running surface of the pressure wheels 3a and thus lifted out of the drive position. Due to the described jack coupling, all other pawls 24 are lifted at the same time as the first pawl 44 on the drive side, as a result of which the printing unit 1 a is advanced is interrupted. During the following pressure strokes, the first pawl 44 on the drive side slides on the arcuate end of the setting slide. As a result, it remains lifted out of its drive position over the full switching angle of the switching shaft 27. If required, the slide switch can be manually operated at any time and returned to the other locking position in which the automatic advance is enabled.

In the second exemplary embodiment according to the invention (FIGS. 10 to 18), the detent axis 7b is provided with a ball detent. The pressure wheels 2b and 3b are bevelled on their outer circumference 61 (FIG. 13) essentially in the form of a uniform decagon. The pressure type 62 are arranged approximately in the center of the tangential surfaces 63 formed in this way. At the abutting edge of two respectively adjacent tangential surfaces 63 and 64, a rectangular groove 65 is excluded, into which suitable switching elements of a manually operated adjusting device engage (not shown). This setting device can be used to preselect the setting of the pressure wheels 2b and 3b in the manner already described.

The pressure wheels 2b and 3b have a central axis bore 66 through which a locking axis 7b is inserted. The annular surface delimiting this axis bore 66 is designed as a stepped rim 67 with ten notches 68 arranged at the same angular distance. The division of tens of step ring 67 corresponds to that of the outer letter ring gear. One or more spring-loaded balls or shafts (not shown) of the latching axis 7b engage in the notches 68 of the step collar 67 and position the pressure wheels 2b with 3b in their respective pressure position.

In contrast to the first embodiment according to the invention, in the present case the notches 68 on the inner ring surface of an automatically advancing pressure wheel 3b are not acted on by advancing elements. The decimal step-down indexing elements act rather against the side surfaces 69 and 70 of the printing wheels 3b.

Both side surfaces 69 and 70 of an automatically advancing printing wheel 3b are each provided with a concentrically rotating step shoulder 71 and 72, which is excluded from the solid material of the printing wheel 3b with a corresponding clear width. The step shoulder 71 on the output side serves to receive a resilient clutch disc 73 which can be flush-lowered into the step shoulder 71. The end face 74 of the stepped shoulder 72 on the drive side, on the other hand, is provided with a plane toothing 75 (FIGS. 13, 14) into which the clutch disk 73 of the pressure wheel 3b, which is arranged with lower digits, engages.

The face gear 75 has a ten-fold symmetry, which corresponds to that of the outer type gear ring. It immediately adjoins the outer circumferential step 76 of the step shoulder 72 on the drive side. The individual teeth 77 of the face toothing 75 are sliding planes which rise from the end face 74 of the step shoulder 72 to the height of the side face 70 of the pressure wheel 3b. The increase is based on the axis of the pressure wheel 3b over an angle of 18 ° and breaks off in a step 78. At this step 78, the toothing 75 falls on the end face 74 of the step shoulder 72 and remains at this height over an angular range of likewise 18 °, as a result of which a gap 79 is formed in the toothing 75. The following tooth 77 adjoins this gap 79. The teeth 77 are sections of circular sectors and delimited radially inwards by arc sections 80 of a concentric inner ring edge 81.

The clutch disc 73 is essentially a flat ring 82 (FIGS. 16, 17) made of spring steel with a central circular opening 83 and two brackets 84 and 85 protruding radially outward. The circular opening 83 has an inner diameter which is at least the maximum clear width of the stepped ring 67 corresponds to a pressure wheel 2b; 3b. The clutch disks 73, like the pressure wheels 2b; 3b, can thus be threaded onto the locking axis 7b. The outer diameter of the flat ring 82 is somewhat smaller than the diameter of the inner ring edge 81 of the face toothing 75. The flat ring 82 of the clutch disk 73 of a low-position pressure wheel 3b thus always runs radially within the face toothing 75 of the next-higher pressure wheel 3b.

The tabs 84 and 85 (FIGS. 16, 17) are formed on diametrically opposite sides of the flat ring 82. The outside diameter of the tabs 84 and 85 corresponds to the inside width of the step shoulders 71 and 72 of the pressure wheel 3b. The tabs 84 and 85 act as a latching tab 84 and holding tab 85. The clutch disk 73 lies flush in the output step shoulder 71 of the printing wheel 3b and is fixedly connected to the printing wheel 3b on the holding tab 85. For this purpose, retaining tabs 85 such as pressure wheel 3b have countersunk, mutually aligned mounting bores 86 and 87, through which they can be riveted or pinned to one another.

The opposite _R astlasche 84 engages as a further switching element in the gaps 79 of the face gear 75 of the downstream printing höherstellig each wheel 3b, and is lifted therefrom over the sliding planes of the teeth 77 by its own suspension again. The locking tab 84 is designed as a form negative of a gap 79 of the face toothing 75. It is provided with a pin 88 projecting axially from the plane of the flat ring 82 with a rounded tip. When the clutch disc 73 is fitted, the pin 88 runs with play in a through hole 89 (FIG. 13). This through-hole 89, which is slightly oval in the illustrated embodiment, is recessed in a well-defined gap 90 of the face toothing 75 and connects the step shoulder 71 on the output side to the step shoulder 72 on the drive side of the pressure wheel 3b. When assembled clutch plate so the pin engages through 88 from the output side to the input side of the _D ruck wheel 3b. In the unloaded position, the clutch disc 73 is sunk in the pressure wheel 3b. The length of the pin 88 is selected such that in this position it protrudes through the through hole 89 beyond the end face 74 of the step shoulder 72 on the drive side.

In contrast to the first embodiment according to the invention, in the present case the drive for the automatic advancement of the printing unit 1b only acts on the lowest-digit printing wheel 91. This printing wheel 91 is therefore modified compared to the other printing wheels 3b. It carries on its drive side a switching ring 92 (FIG. 12) which is rigidly connected to the pressure wheel 91. The switching ring 92 can, for example, be riveted or pinned to the pressure wheel 91 by means of flush mounting bores 93, 94, 95, 96. A lever-operated pawl 97 engages in the switching ring 92 in a manner known per se, which moves the switching ring 92 and thus the pressure wheel 91 by one switching position with each pressure stroke. The switching ring 92 has a through hole 98 which is aligned with the through hole 89 of the pressure wheel 91 in the mounted position. The pin 99 of the clutch disk 100 of the lowest-digit pressure wheel 91 is extended such that it projects through the aligned through-bores 89 and 98 over the end face 101 of the switching ring 92.

The tip of the pin 99 (FIG. 10) interacts with a switching curve 102 on which the switching ring 92 runs. When the lowest-digit pressure wheel 91 rotates about the locking axis 7b, the pin 99 describes a circle on the switching curve 102. The switching curve 102 has a single cam 103 on the circumference of this circle. This is aligned with the pin 99 in the axial direction exactly at the pressure surface facing digit nine of the lowest-digit pressure wheel 91. The tip of the pin 99 then slides on the cam 103 (see FIG. 10), whereby the clutch disc 100 against its internal spring tension from the output stage step 71 of the lowest-digit pressure wheel 91 is deflected. The required pivoting movement of the pin 99 in the through holes 89 and 98 is made possible by their oval shape. The deflected clutch plate 100 engages with its latching tab 84 in the toothing 75 of the next higher pressure wheel 104 and acts as a driver, which forces the simultaneous advancement of both pressure wheels 91, 104 during the next pressure stroke. After the end of a shifting operation, the clutch disc 100 has returned to the rest position due to the right-angled drop in the shifting curve and its self-suspension. The disengagement takes place in the catch area of the ball detent axis, i.e. while the pressure wheels are still moving. The material thickness of the clutch discs 73 is to be selected in accordance with the desired spring force, a minimum thickness having to be guaranteed for a secure engagement in the face toothing 75.

A decimal indexing of a higher-digit pressure wheel 3b takes place when the pins 88 of all of the lower-digit clutch disks 73 with the cam 103 of the;

Shift curve 102 are aligned. The clutch plates 73 then meet with their latching tabs 84 on those gaps 90 in the face teeth 75 of the next higher pressure wheel 3b which are provided with a through hole 89. The protruding pins 88 convey the deflecting force of the cam 103 through all lower-digit pressure wheels 3b. With this form of coupling, a higher-digit pressure wheel 3b is apparently only switched at the same time as all lower-order pressure wheels 3b, that is, correct decimal indexing is achieved.

The second embodiment of the printing unit 3b according to the invention can also be easily equipped with a multiple or repeat circuit. For this purpose, a feeler lever 106 is arranged on a common axis 105 with the pawl 97, which engages with a reduction curve 107 (FIG. 18). Pawl 97 and feeler lever 106 are rigidly coupled to one another via axis 105. The reduction curve 107 can, as shown (FIGS. 10 and 11), be mounted on the output side of the printing unit 1b in addition to the printing wheels 2b, which can only be adjusted manually. Any other arrangement is also possible. The feeler lever 106 acts on a notch rim 108, the reduction curve 107, in which every second notch 109 is recessed radially inward, and moves the reduction curve 107 by one switching step with each pressure stroke. The pawl 97 is staggered behind the feeler lever 106 and only engages in the switching ring 92 when the feeler lever 106 meshes with one of the recessed notches 109. The printing unit 1b is therefore only every second printing stroke. switched on. Reduction curves for any other desired reduction of the counting process are used analogously.

In both described embodiments of the printing unit according to the invention, the automatic indexing only acts on the printing wheels 3a in a well-defined direction of advance; 3b. This results casually from the asymmetry of the locking teeth, in which the respective indexing elements engage. The partial task according to the invention of creating a low-wear printing unit is served in particular in that the manually operated signal box moves the printing wheels 3a, 3b exclusively in the same direction of advance (not shown). The coupling shaft of the interlocking is provided with a freewheel that slips in the opposite direction when the control knob is turned. The freewheel can consist of a wrap spring placed around the coupling shaft or can be realized in another known manner.

Claims (19)

1. Counter or printing unit for continuous counting or numbering, in which a number or pressure wheel is provided for each digit and the number or pressure wheels are mounted on a common axis and can be locked individually and by one or more switching devices in continuous counting or pressure positions are rotatable and can be coupled to one another in a certain switching rhythm,
characterized in that switching elements of the switching device (s) are provided for the immediate and step-by-step advancement of the printing wheels (3a; 3b), which are designed to be force-transmitting but loosely connectable and designed to deflect one another. 2. Printing unit according to claim 1, characterized in that the switching elements act on the drive side on an inner ring (17) or on a side surface (70) of the individual printing wheels (3a or 3b). 3. Printing unit according to claim 1 and 2, characterized in that on the inner ring of each indexable printing wheel (3a; 3b) at least one ring gear or step ring (20; 67) is excluded, in the positioning elements of a latching axis (7a; 7b) and optionally Intervene switching elements of the switching device (s). 4. Printing unit according to claim 1, 2 or 3, characterized in that the switching elements consist of pawls (24; 97) or clutch discs (73). 5. Printing unit according to claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the Rastache (7a) is a cylindrical sleeve (8), the outer jacket surface (9) serves as a running surface for the printing wheels (3a) through the sleeve (8) Selector shaft (27) is inserted, the circumference (28) of which carries one or more pawl (24) (24), which causes the indexing of the printing wheels (3a) and sinks into a gap (29) of the sleeve (8), the printing wheels (3a) being supported laterally against one another but independently individually movable from each other on the latching axis (7a) and can be advanced by the pawls (24), which overlap the joint of two adjacent pressure wheels (3a) and each with half their width on one of the output-side sprocket (20) of the low-position pressure wheel (3a ) or the drive-side ring gear (18) of the next higher pressure wheel (3a) engage radially from the inside. 6. Printing unit according to claim 5, characterized in that the latching axis (7a) has leaf springs (12), spring-loaded balls or shafts which engage in teeth in at least one of the sprockets (18, 20) in the individual pressure points of the printing wheels (3a) . 7. Printing unit according to claims 5 and 6, characterized in that the drive-side ring gear (18) ten locking notches (19) arranged at the same angular distance and the output-side ring gear (20) has a single locking notch (21), which serve as locking points for one Shaped approach (31) of the pawls (24) serve. 8. Printing unit according to claims 5 to 7, characterized in that the switching shaft (27) in the sleeve (8) between two stop-limited angular positions is rotatable, between which the approach (31) of a pawl (24) in each flush locking notches (19th ) and (21) of the drive-side and output-side sprockets (18) and (20) of two adjacent pressure wheels (3a) assigned to the pawl 24 can be snapped into place and upon rotation the shift shaft (27) takes the print wheels (3a) from print position to print position. 9. Printing unit according to claims 5 to 8, characterized in that the pawls (24) have a cylindrically pierced joint body (30) through the aligned bores of this joint body (30) on the circumference (28) of the control shaft (27) parallel to the axis this arranged pin (33) is inserted in such a way that when the pawls (24) rotate around the pin (33) the shoulder (31) of the individual pawls (24) with the locking notches (19) and (21) of the toothed rings ( 18) and (20) engages and takes the pressure wheels (3a) with them when the selector shaft (27) rotates. 10. Printing unit according to claims 7 to 9, characterized in that the lugs (31) of the pawls (24) independently of each other spring-loaded in an epicyclic rotary movement around the pin (33) radially outwards against the ring gears (18) and (20) of the printing wheels (3a) are guided and each run with a part of their width on the single-notched, gear-side sprocket (20) of a low-position pressure wheel (3a) and the ten-notch, drive-side sprocket (18) of the next-higher-quality pressure wheel (3a), from which they are thus excavated during at least nine out of ten indexing operations. 11. Printing unit according to one or more of claims 5 to 10, characterized in that the front-most pawl (44) of the printing unit engages with part of its width in the drive-side ring gear (18) of the lowest-digit printing wheel (43) and with another part of it Width freewheels or can be acted upon by a slide valve, the the pawl (44) lifts out of its engaged position. 12. Printing unit according to claims 7 to 10, characterized in that on the neck (31) of each pawl (24) a knob (48) is formed, which cooperates with a suitably shaped groove (49) in the respective higher-ranking pawl and engages in such a way that, when the pawl (24) is lifted, the knobs (48) press against a stop surface (55) of the groove (49) and lifts the pawl, which has a higher order, out of the engaged position. 13. Printing unit according to one or more of claims 5 to 12, characterized in that the lowest-digit printing wheel (43) on the drive side on the locking axis (7a) a control cam (56) is arranged, on the inner ring of a drive-side ring gear (57) with ten or Twelve drive notches (58) arranged at the same angular distance and one drive-side ring gear (59) with two to six drive notches (60) are excluded, into which the pawls (24) are stepped down according to the division ratio of the ring gear (57) and (59) the pressure wheels (3a) engage. 14. Printing unit according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that laterally supported against each other but independently movable and independently on the locking axis (7b) threaded printing wheels (3b) have side surfaces (69 and 70), each with a rotating step heel (71) and (72) are provided, a clutch disc (73) being inserted in the output step (71), which serves to advance the printing unit (1b) and with a spline (75) on the end face (74) of the drive step (72) of the next higher pressure wheel (3b) cooperates and falls into it. 15. Printing unit according to claim 14, characterized in that the clutch disc (73) in the output step shoulder (71) is mounted resiliently but flush and has a vertically projecting pin (88) which is inserted through a through hole (89) and over the drive side of the pressure wheel (3b) protrudes and can be moved out of the rest position in the step shoulder (71) by pressure on this pin (88), a latching tab (84) molded onto the clutch disc (73) into a gap (79) in the face gear (75) of the next higher pressure wheel (3b) engages. 16. Printing unit according to claims 14 and 15, characterized in that a lowest-digit printing wheel (91) with a switching ring (92) is provided, in which a pawl (97) engages, which advances the printing wheel between pressure positions in which leaf springs, spring-loaded Snap the balls or shafts into a step collar (67) on the inner ring of the pressure wheel (3b). 17. Printing unit according to claims 14 to 16, characterized in that a pin (99) of the clutch disc (100) sunk into the lowest-digit printing wheel (91), which projects beyond the drive side of this printing wheel (91), on a switching curve (102) runs and with every tenth pressure stroke it encounters a cam (103) which deflects the clutch disc (100) with its latching tab (84) into a gap (79) in the face toothing (75) of the next higher pressure wheel (104) and thereby this pressure wheel (104 ) together with the lowest digit pressure wheel (91) takes along and moves on. 18. Printing unit according to claim 16, characterized in that a reduction gear (107) is arranged in front of the switching ring (92) of the low-digit printing wheel for multiple or repetitive switching, in which a feeler lever (1 ₀ 6) engages with which the drive of the lowest digit The pawl (97) which causes the pressure wheel (91) is rigidly mounted on a common axis (105) and lifts it out of the switching curve (102) with a predetermined reduction. 19. Printing unit according to one or more of claims 1 to 18, characterized in that the automatically advanced printing wheels (3a; 3b) are threaded together with only manually adjustable printing wheels - (2a; 2b) on a common ratchet (7a; 7b) a common, manually operated signal box can be acted upon, by means of which the pressure wheels (2a, 3a; 2b, 3b) can be advanced in only one direction of rotation.

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