FR2465594A1 - Method of printing cheques - using preprinted stock with alphanumeric data moving along suction conveyor - Google Patents

Abstract

Data is printed in alpha-numeric form onto cheque stock is a preliminary printing operation. Thereafter each cheque is advanced in a direction perpendicular to its length towards a print position under a transverse line or print wheels (7) carrying machine-readable characters. The wheels are adjusted in accordance with the characters required for a code line to be printed on the cheque. Each cheque is stopped at the print position and the code line is printed in the machine-readable characters. Pref. they are carried in register on a suction conveyor (5).

Description

 The present invention relates to the printing of personalized checks, that is to say checks carrying data identifying the holder. This data allows automatic sorting of checks and normally includes the identification of the bank and its branch, the customer's account number, a serial number, and a transaction number. These details are normally printed in magnetic ink in characters (for example EL 3 B) capable of being read in a machine and some are repeated in non-magnetic ink, the name of the holder in classical characters or in figures being carried elsewhere on the check.

 Data to be machine read is normally printed in a single "line of code" so that it can be read in one pass through a read head. We use so-called "line" printers fed by a continuous succession of checks to print the code line and also to print the name (and if necessary address it to the account holder. Conventional mechanical "line" printers are two different types, one of which a character drum rotates continuously, the character drum having rows of individual characters across the width and "columns" of characters spanning its circumference. For each printing position , an individual hammer is activated when the required character in the aligned column of characters reaches the printing position In the second type of line printer, a character string continuously moves in a direction parallel to the required line so that each character on the string moves over all of the printing positions one after the other others. The printing hammer for each position is activated when the character required for this printing position arrives at this position. Line printers have two main drawbacks, the first of which is that very slight variations in determining the actuation time printing hammers leads to poor alignment of the printed characters in the case of the drum printer and unevenness of the spaces in the case of chain printers. The second difficulty is that, because the element forming the character moves when the hammer is actuated, there is a limit to the definition that can be obtained in the printed character. For these reasons, a line printer does not give very great satisfaction for printing lines of code on checks where a very high print quality is required and where very tight tolerances have been established with regard to the alignment of characters. Such line printers do not achieve good quality at high speed.

 Although this quality, it is true, is less important in the printing in an alphanumeric form of information relating to the account holder, a printer operating at high speed is necessary to go hand in hand with a printer of slow lines of code when, as is the case in the United States, for each line of code, six lines of alphanumeric text may be required, for example two lines corresponding to the name and four lines to the address, this resulting in print quality of a poor aesthetic degree. When checks are printed in a "serial" operation, it is common to use a slow printer for code lines mounted in tandem with a fast alphanumeric printer. Using a single printer to print the code line and the lines of alphanumeric text results in a very low production rate because the printer must operate slowly so that we can obtain a satisfactory quality of lines of code and it may be necessary to print seven lines on each check.

 Another drawback of a conventional line printer fed with semi-finished sheets aligned at their edges by tooth elements in order to produce personalized checks lies in the difficulty of obtaining personalized documents other than checks which have to be grouped with these in the same notebook.

Either it is necessary to carry out separate operations with a printer for documents which are not checks and these must be associated with checks before the complete book can be assembled or else it is necessary to use a set of complicated printing machines for obtaining a continuous series of semi-finished sheets, the checks and other documents being printed in the sequence required in the completed notebooks.

 In prior British Patent NO 1,214,639, the Applicant has described a process for preparing personalized checks, where after after printing constant information and background design on the check paper, the paper printed globally is cut into individual checks and adjustable printing wheels located at successive stations of a machine for serial printing are positioned according to the personalization data detected in the serial numbers of the checks. The individual checks are advanced from one station to a station of the printing machine to receive impressions, while they are strictly stationary, depending on the positioning of the printing wheels.

Printing checks by printing wheels achieves high quality and the machine is capable of operating at very high speed. In the present machine, the details relating to the bank branch are printed at one of the stations "in series" by means of a printing plate; this ensures great flexibility in the style and content of the details of the bank branch.

 In British patent NO 1 401 624, the applicant has described a variant. In this variant, a sheet of lithographic plate is advanced from a printing station to a printing station, the characters EL 3B being printed on the plates. by means of a "wheeled box" (similar to that used in British patent 1 214 639) at one of the stations, the details relating to the bank branch being added by a plate printer to another station, and the names and the signatures being added by means of an electric typewriter to a third printing station. Then the sheet is cut into plates of appropriate length for a lithographic printing machine and the machine is operated in the usual manner for printing on semi-fine checks bearing the background design, the serial number and the name of the bank. This ensures great flexibility in printing details of the bank branch and high quality by printing characters that can be read by a machine.

 However, the systems described above are both primarily designed for use when the position of the line of code and the serial number are invariable. For example, although in British Patent No. 1,214,639, the wheeled box for printing the serial number can be mounted for sliding movement so that the serial number can be printed in places different in the line of code, all other wheeled boxes should be moved to print the account number and transmission code, for example, to the new required positions.

Alternatively, a large number of wheeled box stations can be provided (for example one for each position of the serial number), but this results in inefficient use of some of the stations due to redundancy.

 Other methods of printing checks are also affected by the fact that it may be necessary to change the position of the serial number from time to time. For example, in copying press printing, a box for printing numbers should be inserted into the chassis with the case line ingots for the accounts to be printed and, to allow for a variation of the position of the serial number, the operator should be able to drag the number print boxes, which can cause errors. In addition, the serial number is not required on some documents that are not checks but must be inserted in a check book, so the serial number printing boxes should be retrieved during the process. of the printing operation.

 A method. according to the present invention to print checks consists of printing data in an alphanumeric form on semi-finished checks during a preliminary printing operation and then advancing each check in a direction perpendicular to its length towards a printing position under a transverse row of printing wheel carrying characters which can be read by a machine, adjusting the printing wheels according to the characters required for a line of code to be printed on the check by means of said wheels printing, stopping each check at the printing position, and printing said line of code in the form of characters that can be read by a machine.

 The details relating to the bank branch as well as the name of the account holder (and the address if necessary) with the details of the signatures can therefore be printed on semi-finished checks in a lithographic plate printing machine or at press to copy.

 In a variant, the name of the account holder and any other information concerning this holder and which must be printed in alphanumeric characters can also be printed by the row of character wheels if desired.

 Since each print wheel can fulfill any function, if it is necessary, for example, to print the serial number along the code line of a check to the right instead of print it on the left end of this line, the wheels that previously printed the account number (for example) can now be used to print the serial number as well, the wheels that previously printed the serial number can now print the account number, if desired, in a code that can be read by a machine.

 It is convenient to print by lithographic plates or by copying presses on sheets of a size larger than the size of the individual checks. Therefore, in an earlier method described above, sheets having the format of a sheet and each containing four or five checks were printed in a lithographic machine. It is also convenient to use sheets of this format in a process according to the present invention since it is easier to obtain and maintain an exact alignment or correspondence than it was the case for the individual checks arranged transversely. , when check sheets are printed, it is common for each check in a single sheet to represent a different account, so that when a number of sheets are overlapped, all checks in the same account are one at above the other, the stack of sheets then being bound and then cut to give notebooks for individual accounts. The presence of different account checks on the same sheet implies that, when a sheet is presented to the row of printing wheels, in a method according to the present invention, the printing wheels must be adjusted for an account. different for each successive printing operation.

However, this is not a major problem if the wheels are individually positioned using stepper feed motors under the control of a computer. In addition, the use of stepping motors under the control of a computer to position the printing wheels has an advantage as regards printing the serial number of the checks.

 In Britain, checks are given "random" serial numbers, that is, an account holder can be assigned any set of successive serial numbers, the only requirement being that the first number has the number 1 in its minor position. However, this is not the case in all countries and, in the United States, for example, a smaller number of digit places is assigned to the serial number. (usually three places of numbers), so that random serial numbering could mean that an account holder would be assigned the same set of serial numbers for two successive check books. it is necessary that the serial numbers of the second check book continue those used for the first check book relating to this account holder, this being known as "successive or sequential numbering".

 Another form of "serial numbering" which raises problems with existing check printing systems is that known as "module numbering", in which the serial numbers are not sequential, a mathematical calculation being carried out after each serial number to find the next valid serial number. Module numbering is done for security reasons.

 When sequential numbering is used, there are obvious difficulties with copying press printing since the operator must note the serial numbers around the correct starting number for printing the set of checks relating to each account holder. In offset printing, serial numbering is not possible because the information on the printing plate cannot be changed. As a result, we have tried offset presses including copy press numbering devices. These offset presses have proven difficult to control with regard to printing the serial number and resetting the numbering device between orders has proven to be a very inconvenient operation. In the system described in British patent application No. 1 401 624, the printing of the serial number is carried out on the semi-finished checks before the printing of the semi-finished checks by the lithographic plates, so that a "sequential numbering" with a designated start for each account holder sequence cannot be applied.

 In the preferred system according to the present invention, the printing wheels are positioned individually by stepping feed motors under the control of a computer. This means that the serial numbers printed successively may be completely different. The data supplied to 1 check printer and representing details relating to the account holder includes the designated starting number, and the computer controls the application of pulses to the stepping motor to ensure that the sequence of a check begins with the designated number. Likewise, for module numbering, the computer can perform the required calculation after each serial number printing to ensure the next valid serial number and to position the wheels accordingly.

 In the preferred method of the present invention, the check sheets are advanced toward the print wheels on a suction track following the positioning of each sheet for exact alignment or matching of the side margin and the front margin. If more than one row of printing wheels is used, for example if the name and address of the account holder are also printed in lines, the same suction track or another suction track can move the sheets, kept at state aligned with the track, so that they pass through the next printing position.

 Such a method makes it possible to obtain a very good quality with regard to the data printed by the character wheels with an excellent alignment of all the "domains" of the line of code.

This process also allows you to change the print format for different documents needed to fill a single order so that it is a simple operation, for example, to advance order sheets from check books.

In order for the present invention to be better understood, an example of the process according to the latter will be described with reference to the appended drawings, in which
- Figure 1 shows an apparatus for printing check sheets;
- Figure 2 shows an arrangement of printing wheels and the drive means for these wheels;
- Figures 3 and 4 show the operation of an alignment bar used with printing wheels; and
- Figure 5 shows an arrangement of checks on a sheet to pass through the device of Figure 1.

 Figure 1 schematically shows an apparatus for printing check sheets; for example, each sheet may be the width of a single check and may contain five checks lengthwise (Figure 5). We will assume that the check sheets have already been printed with all the information except the code line and all alphanumeric data that must also be printed by the row of printing wheels.

 In FIG. 1, the check sheets are advanced from a feed section 1 to a first conveyor track 2. These sheets then advance to "alignment" stops or squaring 4 on a track 3 of the suction conveyor. After a lateral margin alignment and a front margin alignment at the stops 4, each sheet in turn passes over a section 5 of the suction conveyor track and is advanced to a printing station 6. The sheets move in steps which are equal to one printing pitch up to the row of printing wheels 7 and hammers 8. The printed sheets are then advanced to an output track 9.

 Suction conveyor track sections are used to ensure a high degree of precision in positioning the printing line on checks. It will be understood that if the characters which can be read by a machine were not printed exactly in the correct place with respect to the edges of the check, the subsequent reading of the check by the machine would give erroneous results or else the check would be rejected.

The structure of the alignment and advancement device is described in more detail in the patent application filed on the same day by the applicant for: "Device for advancing sheets or a strip for the purpose of printing thereon
It is believed that, in the present patent application, it suffices to know that the sheets are taken from a stack by a suction feed device acting on the rear of each sheet so that the front edge of the sheet is moved forward to the first conveyor below the end of the previous sheet.

You can get the side margin alignment while advancing the sheet to the front margin alignment station, or you can get it at the same time as the front margin alignment. Once the sheet is aligned, suction is applied to the track section 3 and the alignment stops 4 are retracted to allow further advancement of the sheet. The sheets whose front edge has reached the conveyor section 5 are advanced by one step while the sheet being aligned at the stops 4, as well as all the following sheets, are stationary. In this way, the overlap is eliminated when the sheet exceeds the alignment stops, an interval of 3 mm for example can be formed between the successive sheets.

 The row of printing wheels and the means used to position these wheels are shown in FIG. 2.

 In FIG. 2, the printing wheels 10, 20 and 30 are driven in rotation about a common axis of rotation by positioning wheels 11, 21 and 31 respectively. Toothed wheels 12, 22 and 32 are mounted on the shaft and rotate with the positioning wheels 11, 21 and 31. Toothed belts 13, 23 and 33 couple the wheels 12, 22 and 32 respectively to other toothed wheels 14, 24 and 34 mounted on the output shafts of stepper motors 15, 25 and 35.

 As can be seen in the drawing, another group of printing wheels, positioning wheels, toothed belts and stepper feed motors is mounted behind the group described above.

 As can be seen in FIG. 2, each positioning wheel is provided with holes 16 which lie on a circle concentric with the axis of the positioning wheel, the locations of the holes on the circle (or on an arc of a circle ) giving a coded indication of the angular position of the positioning wheel, and therefore of the associated printing wheel. An encoder 17 associated with each positioning wheel is arranged so as to detect the presence or absence of perforations 16 in a certain number of positions on said arc of a circle. In the example described, the encoder scans five adjacent positions of holes on the positioning wheel.

The encoder includes a light source and a detector which receives light by reflection on the positioning wheel (in the absence of a hole) or receives no reflected light (in the presence of a hole).

 FIG. 2 also illustrates the printing hammer 40 and the ribbon 41.

 When the printing wheels have been positioned by the stepping feed motors, their alignment in the printing position is checked by introducing an alignment bar into the slots formed in the printing wheels.

 The operation of the alignment bar mentioned above is illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4. The alignment bar 70 is mounted so as to pivot on an axis 72 and therefore actuate a micro-switch 73 part of the alignment bar status detector.

 Figure 3 shows a state in which the drawbar has fully penetrated the slots 75 of all the print wheels and the microswitch is closed.

 In practice, the alignment bar 70 comprises an element 74 similar to a comb, this element being seen from the side in the drawing, each tooth of the comb carrying at its free end a projection 76. Each projection 76 is located opposite 'a different print wheel. Behind the comb-like element 74 and, separated from the latter by an insulator 78, is a conductive strip 80.

FIG. 4 shows the state in which all the teeth except one have entered the corresponding notch of the print wheel and the alignment bar has pivoted so as to close the microswitch.

The only tooth that has not entered a print wheel notch rests on the periphery of its print wheel and makes electrical contact with the band 80. This tooth and the band 80 constitute a switch which indicates that perfect alignment was not achieved despite the indication of the microswitch. As a result, the microswitch indicates that the bar has pivoted to its "in" position during a state detection operation and the conductive strip switch detects the impossibility in which a wheel is located. printing (or for a small number of printing wheels) to reach an aligned position.

 A control circuit suitable for use with the printing apparatus illustrated in FIGS. 2, 3 and 4 is described in the patent application filed that same day in the name of the applicant for "Device for advancing sheets or a tape for printing. "

 It is understood that the foregoing description has been given purely by way of non-limiting illustration and that variants or modifications may be made thereto within the framework of the present invention.

Claims (7)

 1. Method for printing checks, characterized in that it consists in printing data in an alphanumeric form on semi-finished checks during a preliminary printing operation and, then, in advancing each check in a direction perpendicular to its length towards a printing position under a transverse row of printing wheels bearing characters capable of being read by a machine, positioning the wheels according to the characters necessary to print a line of code on the check by means of said printing wheels, stopping each check at the printing position, and printing said line of code in the form of characters capable of being read by a machine.  2. Method according to claim], characterized in that the row of printing wheels comprises, in addition to the wheels bearing characters capable of being read by a machine, other printing wheels bearing alphanumeric characters for print the name of the account holder.  3. Method according to claims 1 or 2, characterized in that each check advanced towards the printing wheels is part of a sheet of checks, the checks being arranged from top to bottom on the sheet, each sheet advancing being aligned along its front edge and then being advanced step by step towards the printing wheels.  4. Method according to any one of claims 1, 2 or 3, characterized in that some of said print wheels prints a number. on each check, the serial numbers for successive checks not being sequential and each serial number being calculated by a computer from the serial number of the last check for the same account holder, according to a predetermined formula .  5. Method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that each check or each sheet of checks, after alignment of its front margin and its lateral margin, is firmly retained by a suction conveyor until what it reaches the printing position.  6. Method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that each of said printing wheels is positioned by an individual advance motor step by step.  7. Method according to claim 6, characterized in that the printing wheels, after having been positioned, are aligned by introduction of an alignment bar in the notches that these wheels have.