US1939278A - Cash register - Google Patents

Description

Dec. 12, 1933- w. H. ROBERTSON CASH REGISTER Filed Dec. '17, 1930 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 SW01: William H. Robertson Hi whom Dec. 12, 1933. w. H. ROBERTSON CASH REGISTER 1 Filed Dec. 17, 1930 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 3mm William H. Robertson His who m Patented Dec. 12, 1933' V PATENT OFFICE CASH REGISTER,

William H. Robertson, Dayton, Ohio, assignor to The National Cash Register Company, Dayton, Ohio, a corporation of Maryland Application December 17, 1930 Serial No. 503,037,

9 Claims.

This invention relates to shutters for indicators, and more particularly to those shutters for indicators on cash registers where a special operation known as total reading is performed.

In machines of this type it is customary to provide the totalizer with what is known as overflow wheels, which are merely denominational wheels provided for the sole purpose of receiving transferred amounts from the wheels of lower denomination.

These overflow wheels have no corresponding key banks, and since an additive item cannot be set up on them, they are not provided with indicators. They are, however, connected to printing mechanism, so that their readings may be printed on the record strip concealed in the machine casing.

When a total reading operation is performed, the amount standing, on the totalizer cannot, therefore, be correctly shown by the indicators if any amounts arepresent on these overflow wheels.

It is, therefore, an object of this invention to provide a mechanism which will prevent the showing of the total reading by the indicators, during a total reading operation.

It has been found that clerks will take money from the cash drawer when his totalizer registers an amount less than the amount of cash actually in the drawer, and it is therefore, an additional object of this invention toprovide a mechanism whichwill prevent a clerk from becoming informed of the amount standing on his totalizer.

With these and incidental objects in view, the invention includes certain novel features of construction and combinations of parts,the essential elements of which are set forth in' appended claims and a preferred form or embodiment of which is hereinafter described with reference to the drawings which accompany and form a part of this specification. i

In said drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the differential mechanism of the machine to which this invention is conveniently attached.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the shutter mechanism and the total lever.

Fig. 3 is a detail side elevation showing the different positions assumed by certainparts when the total lever is movedto various positions.

- Fig. 4 is a detail view showing the actuatin members for the differential mechanism. I

General description This invention is conveniently shown in connection with, and as an improvement on, the machine fully shown and described in an application of William H. Robertson for Letters Patent of the United States, Serial No. 172,660, filed March 4, 1927, entitled Cash registers, to which reference may be had for a complete understanding of the parts not shown herein.

Described in general terms, this invention provides a shutter for an indicator mechanism which is moved to an obscuring position whenever the total lever is moved to the read or. reset position. In both these positions the totalizer is read, so reference will hereafter be made to them merely as reading positions.

The shutter'is held in, and moved to its obscuring position by the total lever, and a further means is provided to hold the shutter in this position after the total lever is returned to its normal position, and until the indicators are moved by a subsequent operation. This prevents the reading of the total amounts from the indicators, as' primarily intended.

Another means is provided to interfere with the ticket printing mechanism, so that upon a total reading operation the total amount will'be shown on the record strip only.

Difierential mechanism The differential is of the spring-actuated type,

that is, the type in which the actuator is adjusted is prevented from doing so by a universal rod 36 (Figs. land 4), carried'by a pair of arms 37 secured to the rod 30. One arm, that shown in Fig. 4, is adjacent the left side frame, and the other adjacent the right side frame. Secured to the left-hand arm (Fig. 4) is a disk 40 having gear teeth meshing'with a segment 41 pivoted on a stud 42 carried by the left side frame. The segment 41 has mounted thereon a pair of rollers43 which cooperate with a pair of cam plates 44 secured to the main cam shaft 45.

When the cam shaft 45 rotates during the the arms 37, first in a clockwise direction, to shift the rod 36 away from the actuator 31 (Fig. 1),

operation of the machine, the segment 41 rocks thereby permitting the latter to be rocked under the influence of the spring until stopped by the end of the depressed key, unless the actuator is prevented from moving by a zero stop pawl 46. The rod 36 advances far enough to permit nine steps of movement of the actuator 31, even though the actuator is stopped before it reaches the nine key.

After the actuator 31 has been positioned under control of one of the keys 47, and the rod 36 has finished its movement toward theleft (Fig. 1)

l a totalizer pinion 50 is moved into mesh with said actuator by means not shown. After the, totalizer pinion has beenengaged with the actuator 31, the segment 41 (Fig. 4) is rocked counter-clockwise by the cam plates 44, thereby moving the rod 36 back to its normal position, which movement carries the actuator 31 back toitshome position. This backward movement of the actuator 31 adds an amount on the totalizer pinion commensuratewiththat represented by the key depressed.

A stop is providedtoprevent overthrow. of the arms 37and theuniversal rod 36.. The arm 37, whichis adjacent the left side frame, is provided with a surface 51 which. contacts a stud 52 on the left side frame, when the arm 37 is in its '.normal position. A surface 53 contacts the'stud Indicator mechanism The machine is provided with a series of indicators 64, one for each amount key bank, one ,of which isshown in Figs. 1 and 2. These indicators show the data as it is printed on the'record strip and the issued ticket, and also the amount as it is entered into the'totalizer. These indicators are first restored to zero position, and then set up according to the amount of differential move ment given to the totalizer actuators, in a manner now to be described.

Each: indicator is adjusted byia segment 55 (Fig. 1), loosely mounted on the rod 30, and meshing with a gear 56. One of. the gears 56 is secured to the end of a shaft 57, and one is secured to the end of each sleeve 60. Each gear 56 meshes with a gear 61' loosely mounted on a rod 62 carried by the side frames. of the machine.

for the indicators'when they reach their 'zero positions.

A coupling pinion 67 is provided for each differential mechanism for coupling the actuator 31 with the segment 55. The pinionsareloosely' mounted on. ashaft 70 carried by two arms 71, secured to a shaft 72, one of which arms is shown in Fig. 1; The pinions are moved into and outof mesh with the actuators 31' and the'segments 55 by a cam groove and other mechanism,

not shown. I f

The coupling pinion 67 is normally in mesh with the; actuator 31, and with the segment 55,

but at the beginning of. the operation of the machine the pinion is moved out of mesh until the rod 36 moves to its forward, or left-hand,

instead of the actuators 31 being stopped by deposition as seen from Fig. 1, which moves the segment 55 to zero position and permits the actuator 31 to be adjusted under control of the depressed key, by the spring 35.

If one of the keys 47 is depressed, the actuator 31 assumes a position a distance in proportion to the value of the key depressed, in the clockwise direction of the position shown in Fig. l, and'its abutting face 73 will advance a distance ahead of an abutting face 74 of the segment .55, which is shown in its foremost or zero position. When the actuator 31 and the segment 55 are in these positions, the pinion 67 moves into mesh with them, and the rod 36 begins its return movement.

This rod 36, on its return movement, comes into engagement with the surface 73 on the actuator 31, and carries the actuator and the seg-. ment 55, which is now coupled with. it, rearwardly until the rod 36 reaches its rearmost position, which is that shown in Fig. 1. This movement returns the actuator 31 to its normal position, and rotates the segment 55 counter-olockwisea distance equal to that traveled by the actuator 31, which movement rotates the indicator,

through its intermediate gears, the amount necessary to show the numeral or character represented on the key depressed.

In total reading operations, the indicators are set in a like manner by their segments 55, but

pressed keys 47, they arestopped by the totalizer pinions 56, which, in these operations, are engaged with the actuators 31 at the beginning of the operation.

Referring more particularly to Fig. 2, 75 is the customary total lever used on this type of machine, by which the totalizing mechanism is set for the four different operations as indicated by the dotted line positions.

A type carrier 76 cooperates with a issued-by the machine. These parts are indicated only in outline form, since it is necessary only to show their relation to other parts in the figure. V 7 l The upper part of the machine casing 81 has a window 82 through which. the numbers on the indicator are viewed.

The" foregoing constructionjis shown by the application for patent to Robertson, referred to, and constitutes a part of the present invention hammer 77, pivoted on a rod'80, to print on the ticket its iio

only insofar as it cooperates with the newparts to form new combinations.

Shutter mechanism An operating bell crank 83 (Fig. 2) has a 84 loosely mounted on the outside one of the sleeves 60. The bell crank 83 is connected by a link 85 to the total lever 75. v A stud 86 is mounted in the upper arm 87 of the bell crank 83, and is movable therewith to rock a 1ever'90, by engagement with a cam surface 91 The movement of the shutter is liinited -s in both directions by a stud 161 secured to the side frame of the machine.

An arm 102 extends rearwardly from the lever 90, and has a pin-and-slot connection 103 with a slide 104. Two studs 165, mounted on the frame rod 93 of the machine,-project into the slots 106 in the slide 104. These pin-and-shot connections 103,

105, 106 insure a linear motion to the slide 104 when the latter is moved by the lever 90 into engagement with the printing hammer 77.

, Shutter Zatching and releasing mechanism I Alatching lever107 is loosely mounted on the hub 84, and has an upper arm 110 and a lower 'arm 111. The upper arm has two steps 112 and 113'cut in'its rear face. A stud 114 is fixed to the forward arm 92 of the leverQO, and rests on the step 112 when the shutter 100 is in normal position. A sprin 115, fastened at one end to the upper arm 04 of the lever 90, and at its other end to the machine frame, holds the shutter in normal position; as shown in Fig. 2. Another spring 116, fastened at one end to the upper arm of the latching lever 107, and at its other end to the machine frame, urges the latching lever in the clockwise direction.

The lower arm 111 of the latching lever 107 has a stud 117 which is struck by the nose 120 of a rocker 121 rigidly securedto the shaft 30 and rod 36, when the rocker is moved during the operation of the machine.

Operation of the shutter mechanism When the operator desires to take a reading of the total, the total lever is moved to the read or the reset position. This movement swings the stud 86 to its read or reset positions, as shown in Fig. 3, in which positions it rocks the lever 90, by engagement with its cam face 91, to the position indicated, by dotted lines in Fig. 3, and the shutter 100 is thereby lowered to obscuring position.

' As soon as the lever 90 is so moved, thestud 11% is elevated, allowing the spring 116 to pull the latching lever 107 in a clockwise direction, so that the stud 114 will lie over the step 113. At the same time, the slide 104 is moved to its lower position, so that the printing hammer is-held in inoperative position.

The machine is now operated, the rod 36 (Fig. 1) beginning its forward excursion. When it reaches its forward position, the indicators are all in zero positions, and the nose 120 (Fig. 3) of the rocker 121 has rocked the lever 107 in a counterclockwise direction sufliciently to allow the stud 114, on the lever 90, to return to its normal position on step 112, but due to the fact that the stud 86 is still under the cam face 91 of the lever 90, the stud 114 remains elevated, and the shutter 100 remains in obscuring position.

When the rod 30 returns to normal position, the spring 116 rotates the latch 107 clockwise to its former position, with the stud 114 over step 113. During the return movement, the total reading is run on the indicators 6 in the manner referred to above, and is printed on the record strip.

Although the total reading is set up on the ticket printing type carriers 76, it is not printed on the ticket, due to the printing hammer 77 being held in inoperative position by the slide 104.- Thus, the total reading is made available only by inspection of the record strip inside the machine.

When the machine finishes its operation, the operator returns the total lever to its add or non-add position for the next operation. This withdraws the stud 86 from under the cam surface 91, and allows the stud 1?.4 to bear on the step 113, through the tension of spring 115.

Upon a succeeding operation of the machine, with the total lever in add or non-add position, the indicators 64 again return to zero positions during the initial movement of the rod 36,

destroying the total indication, and the lever 107 receives its counter-clockwise movement-by the rocker 121. This time, however, the stud 114 is not held in its upper position by the stud 86, and

the machine, and the hammer 77 prints this amount on the issued ticket. 1

While the form of mechanism herein shown and described is admirably adapted to fulfill the objects primarily stated, it is to be understood that it is not intended to confine the invention to the one form or embodiment, herein disclosed, for it is susceptible of embodiment in various forms all coming within the scope of the claims which fol low.

What is claimed as new, is:

1. In a machine of the class described, in combination, a shutter operating means including a three-armed lever having means on one arm for engaging the shutter frame, a cam on another arm, adapted to engage with an operating means, and a connection on a third arm with aslide for preventing the printing of a ticket when said shutteris moved to operating position.

2. In a machine of the class described, the combination of an indicator, a shutter, a total lever, means controlled by movement of the total lever for moving the shutter in front of the indicator, means for temporarily latching the shutter in that position, and means, operated during an operation of the machine subsequent to totalizing, to cause a restoration of the shutter to its former position.

3. In a machine of the class described, in combination, a shutter operating means including a.

three-armed lever having means on one arm for preventing the printing of a ticket when said shutter is moved to operating position, said operating means also including a latching lever, a tappet and a cam lever, the tappet swinging the latching lever and the latching lever releasing the cam lever upon operation of the machine.

4. In a machine of the class described, in combination, an indicator, a shutter for the indicator, a total reading mechanism, means controlled by the total reading mechanism for moving the shutter to obscuring position as an incident to the operation, and means for retaining the shutter in its obscuring position until the machine is given a subsequent operation.

5. In a machine of the class described, in combination, a cam lever operating a shutter and a slide, a bell crank operating against said cam lever to move the shutter and theslide, and a latching lever adapted. to latch said cam lever, shutter and slide in moved position.

6. In a machine of the class described, an indicator, an accumulator, totalizing means therefor including a total lever, a shutter for the indicator, means to move the same to obscuring position when the total lever is adjusted to totalize, and means for retaining said shutter in its obscuring position until the lever is returned to normal'position and a subsequent operation is begun.

'7. In'a machine of the class described, in combination, an accumulator, an indicator, setting means therefor, item entering mechanism, totalizing mechanism, means for obscuring the indicator, means for compelling the obscuring means to be moved to obscuring position preparatory to a totalizing operation, and means for retaining said obscuring means in its obscuring position until the totalizing operation is completed and the indicator setting means is actuated for a subsequent item entering operation.

8. In a machine of the class described, in combination, an accumulator, totalizing mechanism therefor, an indicator, means for obscuring the indicator when the machine is conditioned for a totalizing operation, and means for retaining said obscuring means in obscuring position until the machine is returned to its former condition and a subsequent operation is begun.

9. In a machine of the class described, a total lever, an indicator, a shutter therefor, means, connected to the total lever, to control move ment of the shutter to obscuring position when the lever is moved, and to hold the shutter in that position after it is moved, an additional member to hold the shutter in obscuring position after the lever is returned to initial position, a machine operated restoring member, and means causing this member to control the additional member so, as to effect a return of the shutter to initial position.

WILLIAM H. ROBERTSON.

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