US1700699A - Cash register - Google Patents

Description

Jan. 29, 1929. 1,700,699

C. W. GREEN CASH REGI SEER Filed Mar h 14, 1925 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 gwwwtom Charles 12 firt'en Q M Jan. 29, 1929.

C. GREEN CASH REGISTER 3 sheets-sheet 2 Filed March 14, 1925 --Jan. 29, 1929.

C. W. GREEN CASH REGISTER Fil March 14, 1925 3 Sheets-Sheet Patented .l

so, is.

PATENT ()FFICE.

UNITED STATES CHARLES W. GREEN, OF ILION, NER YORK, ASSIGNOR TO REMINGTON ARMS COM- PANY, INC, A CORPORATION OF DELAVJ'ARE.

CASH REGISTER.

Application filed March 14, 1925. Serial No. 15,498.

This invc tion relates to printing at-achmcnts for cash registers and has for its obthe provision of a device to prevent improper operations of the printing mechanism which results in fraudulent impressions upon record bearing; material.

This particular device is shown as applied to a type of mac inc, the general principles of ii ch disc ed in the U. S. application, l lo. tiled November 19, 191.8, by Frederick L. Fuller, as well as British Patents :lgl: l: T65-*15T,S23 157.824 l5? granted tor t e same invention. although i'i'rom a consi ot the nature of these impriwemcuiv it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that this device may be applied to various other types of machines.

lVith these and incidental objects in view the invei'tion consists in certa n novel fealll so tures o c struction and combinations of parts the e ferthin tl Y c. form einl odiinent of w rich is her r specifics oescribed with re "ct-fence to the 25 Y h accompany and form part .lIlOll.

onal view of the cash of tle platen opcratn of t i rtrd by sui table frame work and are ,oscd by a cabinet which may be made any desired material. As shown in Fig. i

there is hinged. to the cabinet, lios 21 and d w 0 E which controlled by looks so as t permit ilif' eren persons to have access to the mechanisms. The flat lid 21 has attached thereto a through wlt' ch may be viewed the i trip upon which the items are printed.

' oi lid 21 will give access to the paper holding devices so that the supply of paper may be replenished at will.

The illustrative machine is provided with a number of keys divided into groups, one oi the keys being indicated by reference char actor 24. Each key lever 24 is pivoted upon a shaft 25 and resting: upon the rear ends of the keys is a key coupler journalled at 26 between the side frames and provided with a nose 2'? cooperating with notches 28 formed in the rear ends of the operating keys. lVhen the outer ends of the keys are depressed the key coupler is rocked clockwise and the nose enters the notch 28. The purpose of such key coupler mechanisms is well known in the art and need not be discussed herein in detail.

Connected to the key coupler at 29 is a vertical reciprocating rack plate 30 provided with oppositely facing rack teeth 31 which alternately mesh with a gear 32 fast to the shin shaft 33. The arrangement of this mechanism is such that a reciprocati n of the key coupler 25 by the keys will effect complete rotation of the gear and the shaft to which the gear is secured. This mechanism is also well known in the art and Sl10\ n in many patents and one form which this mechanism might take is illustrated in detail in the patent to Thomas Carney,

.461 granted September 6, 189

The differential mechanisms or devices controlled by the various groups of keys for adthe item type carriers are all similar in construction and principle and a description of one will sufiice for all. As shown in 2 the amount key 24- is provided with an upwardly extending; arm 34 carrying a suitable anti-friction roller 35 cooperating with a difi erential slot formed in a cam plate 36. Loosely mounted upon a transverse shaft 37 is a frame 39 provided with spaced slots in which secured by pins 38 a series of these cam plate, one for each key. The cam plates 36 are provided with L shaped slots 420 and a l, the slots 1 .0 being concentric with respect to the shaft 37. The slots 41 are. however, graduated so that when the roller 35 carried by the arm 34: of a depressed key operates in a cam slot 41 of its associated cam plate 36 it rill move the frame 39 differentially and to an amount commensurate with the value of the key depressed. hen, however, the frame 39 is operated by the depression of, a key 24: of a certain group the rollers 35 llltl of the undeprcsscd keys of the same group will play in the arcuate slots 40 of their respective cam plates 36 thereby permitting the frame 39 to be raised differentially without interfering with the rollers 35 of the unopcrated keys.

It is to be understood that there is a differential frame for each group of amount keys. As is shown in the drawing the differential frame 39 has attached thereto a segmental rack 42. In continuous mesh with the teeth of the segmental rack 4-2 is a pinion e21 (Fig. 1) attached to an item type wieel 43 mounted upon the shaft 44. From the above it will be evident since there may be nine keys in a particular group and a corresponding number of cam plates 36 the type carrier 1-3 may be brought to any one of the nine different positions by the depression of a key 24 associated with such group of keys. In a manner similar to this the keys associated with any of the denominational groups will adjust their associated type carriers so that when printing is effected the type wheels will print characters upon the record strip corresponding to the value of the keys depressed.

Reooral strip printing mechanism.

It is desirable each time an item is entered in the machine that this amount be printed on the record strip so that there may be a complete record of all the transactions entered in the machine. At the end of an arbitrary period the record strip may be detached from the supply roll andfiled away for future reference.

The printing mechanism for printing the items comprises a printing frame formed of two side plates 4-5 and 4l6, the lower ends of which are provided with claws 47 overlying the shaft 37. Normally the printing mechanism. rests by its own weight in the position shown with lugs as contacting with a portion of the back frame d9. The side frames 45 and 46 are connected together by a cross member 50 and shafts and other members which will be referred to hereinafter.

loin-nailed in the printer side plates 45 and 4.6 is a shaft 51, the extreme left end of which has fae l 52 carry ened to it a bell-crank ing a roller which coacts with the race of a box cam 53 (Fin: 1) fast to the shaft 33. has been mentioned llGI'GlHbGfOIE the shaft is given a complete rotation during each operation of the machine and the rotation of the box cam will rock the shaft 51 to actuate a platen and to feed the record strip.

Extending transversely of the printer side frames 45 and 46 is a platen supporting shaft 5% upon which is supported a platen 55 by means of forwardly extending arms 56 and 57. The under face of the platen is provided with a rubber impression block 58.

Extending rearwardly from and integral with the right arm 57 is an arm 59 to which is pinned at 60 a platen operating arm 61. For actuating the platen operating arm 61, there is provided a hammer 62 which is formed as part of an arm 63 pivoted to the inside right printer side frame 46 by a stud 6-l. The hammer 62 is forced upwardly by a spring 65 hearing at its lower end against lug 66 carried by the right printer frame 46. The arm 61 is furthermore provided with a spring-pressed retracting pawl 67 having a tail 68 hearing against an adjustable stop such as a set-screw 69 passing through a lug 7O integral with the hammer arm 63. The pawl 67 is furthermore provided with a lug 71 co-operating with a nose 72 formed as part of an arm '4' 3 secured to the main printer operating shaft 51.

It will be obvious that when the arm 73 is rocked. clockwise by means of the bell-crank 52 and the shaft 51 to which the bell-crank is secured. the nose 72 will bear against the lug 71 of the pawl 67 and retract the hammer against the tension of the spring Upon a further movement of the arm 73 (Fig. l) the nose 72 will clear the lug 71 and permit the hammer portion 62 to strike a projection from the operating arm 61 and rock the platen 55 downwardly about its pivot 5% to effect a printing impression from the adjusted type carriers.

It will be noted that as shown in Fig. 2 the rearward end of the operating arm 61 is normally (Fig. 9.) held against any movement by means of a lug 74L integral with the arm 7 3 and a stud 75 attached to the printer side frame 4:6. This prevents the platen 55 from dropping downwardly by virtue of its weight and holds it up to permit feeding of the inking ribbon and record strip. The upper edge 76 of the platen operating arm 61 is substantially concentric with respect to the shaft 51 but is provided with a cut-away portion or drop 77 which permits the platen arm 61 to be rocked by the hammer 62 without interference with the lug 7d of the arm 73.

The record strip 78 1) upon which the items are printed is drawn from a supply roll 79 and passes over a fixed roller 80, over a second roller 81, hence forward and over too platen 55, over aroller 82. and finally to the storage roll 83. None of the details of the strip fcedin devices will be described it tmuch as they form no part of the present invention and all that need be said about these devices is that they function in such a n'ianner so as to feed the paper strip an increment between printing operations.

The inking llblIlOl'l 34k (F 2) and the means for shifting it also form no of the present invention and any suitable form or construction well known in the art may be .ized.

As shown in Fig. 1, the lid 21 is provided with a glass 23 provided with an opentil ing 85 pern'iitting the clerk to enter wri.t;en notations adjacent each printed transaction. Inasmuch as some written notations are 01 an extent requiring more space than usually proviced a. special lever is provided for advancing the paper strip whenever desired. To this end a spacing lever 881 1) er:- tends through a slot in the lid ill to pcnii its external operation an it has pivoted at its lower end a paper feedinn pawl cooperating with a ratchet wheel 880 fast to the storage roll 83. By the manipulation this lever the paper may no fed as many spaces as desired.

The lid 21 is controlleiil by a lock, the key of which is usually retained by the clerk or other authorized person to permit access to the paper supply devices, etc. This has laid the machine open to improper manipulation by permittin the operator after opening the lid to s; ice the platen a sharp blow and print either a line of zeroes from the normally adjusted type carriers or other Values from the partially adjusted typo elements.

It will be noted that the platen is normally hcl d from movement by the lug 74-. and pin T5 but these locl'iing men'ibers are located some distance from the shaft 54 on which the platen is pivoted. In some registers it is therefore possible to give the platen such a sudden blow that he arm 61 will bend or give snhiciently to allow the platen to strike the type wheels which are in close prosimity. Where dimensions are not strictly adhered to during; manufacturing processes suliicient play may exist between the co-opemting locking members to permit the platen to be improperly operated without even flexing the arm (ll or other connected parts.

In order to make it clearer how the registcr an be operated in'iproperly it will be as sumed for the sake of e:;...- .ple, that a $9.00 transact-ion is to he re .ered. The appropriate key will. then be (repressed 2113 1 the time that the dollars type wheel adjusted to bring it to the nine the platen may be struck a blow c 1 $6.00. for exanuile. upon the lQifOl't By holdir the $9.00 key in its pa tial? i ated po ion and then operatin he spacinn lever r61 22 fresh portion of the record strip can be brought over the rriers. The operation of the key may then be completed and this will allow the printing: of the proper amount upon the record strip in the usual in: mcr. The inun'oper operation oi the platen and subsequent adrai'icement of the paper strip produces a double record for a single transaction. thus of course, producing: a false entry in the machine. To prevent such manipulation means have been provided to positively lock the platen and ur-. lock it just prior to the time is intended to be operated, the time during which it is unlocked being so brief that no time will be given to operate the machine in the fraudulent manner just described.

ltwill be noted in Fi 5 that there is attached to one end of the platen 55 a plate 86 normally cooperating with a locking arm 87 loosely mounted upon the shaft 44: and hav ing' a pin and slot connection at its lower end to a member 88, the forward end of the member passing through a slot 881 in a guide plate 882 (Fig. 3) attached to the fran'ie of the machine. The rear end of themcmber S8 is urged upwardly by a compression spring}; 89 so that its lug 90 contacts with a lugfll which is formed as part of a plate 92 screwed to the lug 70 which, it will be remembored, is integral with the arm 63. The member 88 is provided with an L shaped slot 93 cooperating with a stud 94 attached to part of the machine frame. A spring draws the member 88 rearwardly so that the locking arn'i 8i normally in the position shown in Fig. 2 wherein it will be seen that in View of its locking relationship with the plate 86 it iiositively locks the platen so as to prevent its downward movement by the application of a sudden blow.

lVhen it desired to operate the machine and print the amount of the transaction upon the record strip, it is necessary to disable the locking" means so as to permit the platen to be operated. The manner in which this is performed will now be described in detail, reference being had particularly to Figs. 3 and i.

When the machine is operated the shaft 33 will be rotated and through the box cam 53 and bell-crank 52 the shaft 5]. will be rocked clockwise as viewed in F lg. 3 and by means of the nose 72 on the arm '73 and reacting pawl 62'' will force the arm 63 downwardly as has been premised liereinbefore. Since the lug 91. carried downwardly with the arm 63, 00- operates with the lug 90 on member 88, it will force the rear end of the member 88 downwardly. Upon a further downward 3'll(1-. Ql21'311l of the hammer 62 the lug 91 will clear the lug 90 and due to the compression stored in the spring 89 the rear end of the member 88 will again be raised bringing the parts to the position shown in Fig. 8, wherein it will be noted that the lug; 91 occupies a position just to the rear of the lug 90, the platen still bein locked.

its the arm continues its clockwise moremcnt the nose T2 will clear the retractilm' l iwl ($7 and du to the compression stored in the hannner operating; spring the arm (33 will be raised quickly and since the lug: 91, carried up with the arm 63, is ust behind the lug 90 it will force the member 88 slightly forwardly rocking the lockingarm 8'? counter-clockwise to the position shown in Fig. 4;. In this position of the parts it will be noted that the platen is now unlocked for operation, but the hammer 62 has not yet contacted with lDG the platen operating arm (31. Upon the con tinued upward movement of the hammer 62 the platen operating arm 61 will be struck thereby rocking the platen to take an impression from the adjusted type carriers. At this time the lug 91. will have been lifted above the lug 90 so that the spring 95 may draw the member 88 rearwardly again to once more bring the locking arm 87 into eo-operative relation with the plate 86 on the platen.

As the arm 73 is now restored to its normal position to again bring the parts to the position shown in Fig. 2, the hammer and the member 88 will not be disturbed since' the rear face of projection 72 will merely rock the *etracting pawl 67 idly about its pivot. It will be noted tl at tron'i the time that the lugs 90 and 91 clear each other to the time that the printing operation is performed and the member 88 is again restored the movement of the parts is performed so quickly as to allow no time for the operator to improperly operate the various parts of the mechanism to produce a false entry in the manner hereinbetore described.

lVhile the form of the mechanism herein shown and described is admirably adapted to fulfill the objects primarily stated, it to be understood that it is the desire not to confine the invention to the one form of embodiment shown and described as it is susceptible of embodiment in various terms all coming within the scope of the claims which tollow.

What is claimed is 1- 1. In a cash register, the combination of a platen, means for operating the latter, de vices tor normally looking it against operation and connections from said operating means for disabling said locking means.

2. In a cash register, the combination oi? a pivoted platen, a plurality of locking devices for normally looking it against operation and an operating mechanism having con-- nections for disablingall the locking devices.

3. In cash register, the combination of a pivoted platen, a plurality of locking devices located on opposite sides of the pivotal point of the platen tor normally locking it against operation, and an operating mechanism having connection for disabling all the locking devices.

4. In a cash register, the combination oi a pivoted platen, means for rocking it downwardly to eliect printing impressions, means -tor normally locking it against movement and connections whereby the first said means causes unlocking of the platen preliminarily to rocking the latter to printing position.

5. In a cash register, the combination of a platen, a locking member co-operating with said platen. and normally locking the same against movement, an operating mechanism, and means under control of the operating mechanism for operating the locking member to unlock the platen as a preliminary to actuation of the latter.

6. In a cash register, the combination of a platen, a locking arm normally co-operat-ing with the platen, a member having a connection to said locking arm, an operating mech anism, and means under control of the operating mechanism to shift said member to operate the locking arm to unlock said platen.

7. In a cash register, the combination of a platen, a series of keys, type carriers, means under control of the keys for adjusting the type carriers and operating the platen, and a locking device for the platen controlled by the keys.

8. In a cash register, the combination of a platen, a series 01 keys, type carriers, means under control of the keys for adjusting the type carriers and operating the platen, and a locking device for the platen controlled by L the keys and operated prior to the time the platen is operated.

9. In acash register, the combination of a series of keys, type carriers, a dilierential mechanism under control of the keys for setting the type carriers, a pivoted platen cooperating With the type carriers, a hammer to drive the platen, and a locking device for the platen controlled by the hammer.

10. In a cash register, the combination of a platen, a hammer for operating the platen, and a locking device for the platen controlled by said hammer.

11.. In a cash register, the combination of a platen, a locking device for the platen, a member movable with the platen, and a hammer having means to operate the locking device and said member. I

12. In a cash register, the combination of a platen, a locking device for the platen, a member movable with the platen, and a hammer having means to operate the locking device iirst and then said member.

13. In a cash register, the combination of a pivoted platen, a locking device for the platen, a shittable member having connections to the locking device, a hammer for the platen, and means operated by the hammer for shifting the said member.

lt. In cash register, the combination of a platen, a she lit, a. set of type carriers mounted on said shalt and co-operating with the platen, and a locking device for the platen nmunted .pon said shaft.

15. In a cash register, the combination of a platen, a hamm r, a member for retracting t e hammer to permit it to operate the platen, and a pair of locking devices operated. re-

ctively by said hammer and said member. In a cash register, the combination of a platen, a hammer for the platen, a locking deice for the platen, a vshittable member for operating said locking device, and a member carried by the hammer adapted to engage one end of the shiftable member to operate said locking device.

17. in a cash register, the combination of a platen, hammer for the platen, a locking clevice for the platen, a shiftable member for operating said loci-Zing device, and a hammer adapted to first engage one end of the shiftable member to o erate said locking devic and to then operate the platen.

18. In a cash register, the combination of a platen, a locking device for the platen, a shiftable me nber for operating, said locking device, a hammer adapted to first engage one end of the shiftable member to operate said locking device and then operate the platen, and sprii n to return the locking device to normal locking position.

19 In a cash register, the combination oi? a platen, a locking device for the platen, spring means for normally hei Ling the locking device in its 1 skins; position, and a hammer for first operating the locking device and then the platen.

the action of a spring and then releasit for driving action by the spring, a lock normally preventing movement of said platen, is 1 disabling said lock, and connectieiis een said lastmentioned means and said hammer whereby said means is operated to release the platen during the spring driven movement of the hammer.

21. In a machine of the class described, an impression platen, a hammer for imparting a driving impulse to said platen, locking ns normally preventing movement of CHARLES WV. GREEN.

d. pla en, a member controlling said loek- I

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