US2016684A - Printing mechanism - Google Patents

Description

Oct. 8, 1935. E. J. RABENDA I 2,016,684

PRINTING MECHANI SM Filed March 29, 1934 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 v ATTORNEY E. J. RABENDA PRINTING MECHANISM Filed March- 29, 1934 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 AMO UNT DOLLARA 6T5 mats G7 :9

PRINT MAGNE 75 N o. NEWYORK |9 BANK O F NEW YORK Pau to the order of 5 a jIINZgNTgR. Y

' ATTORNEY Patented Oct. 8, 1935 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE PRINTING MECHANISM York Application March 29, 1934, Serial No. 717,934

6 Claims. (Cl. 10193) This invention relates to accounting machines and more particularly to the mechanism for controlling the printing devices of such machines. The invention is particularly directed to improvements in the printing control mechanism of a machine such as illustrated and described in Patent No. 1,762,145, to Daly and Page, issued June 10, 1930. Such machines are frequently used to prepare checks or drafts in accordance with data perforated on record cards. The record cards are usually provided with a field or fields comprising a predetermined number of columns in which entries are made and each column is provided with a perforation. If the amount punched in any field has fewer places than the capacity of the field, the remaining columns are perforated with zeros. In ordinary tabulating practice these zeros are not printed on the record sheets. When preparing checks or drafts, however, it is desirable to effect the printing of some kind of symbol to the left of the highest significant figure printed to prevent raising or altering of the printed amount. The printing of these symbols is controlled according to the present invention through the zero perforations in the record card. These perforations are analyzed to determine the location of the highest significant order digit and a settable mechanism is conditioned thereby. During the actual printing operation, this settable mechanism will interrupt the printing type bars to present the selected symbol, preferably the dollar sign, in printing position in all orders to the left of the highest significant figure.

Various other objects and advantages of the invention will be obvious from the following particular description of one form of mechanism embodying the invention or from an inspection of the accompanying drawings; and the invention also constitutes certain new and novel features of construction and combination of parts hereinafter set forth and claimed.

In the drawings:

Fig. l is a detail view of the essential elements of the printing mechanism of a tabulating machine.

Fig. 2 is a diagrammatic view of the card feeding and analyzing devices of the machine.

Fig. 3 is a view of the type head showing the arrangement of the several type elements.

Fig. 4 is a circuit diagram showing the manner in which the present invention may be applied.

Fig. 5 is a detail of a portion of a record card.

Fig. 6 is a view of a check upon which printing is to be effected under control of the mechanism of the invention.

In the tabulating machine, record cards, such as H], (Fig. 5) are fed from a supply hopper (Fig.

2) to feed rollers II which convey the cards one at a time past a set of upper analyzing brushes U13 and exactly one machine cycle later past a 5 second set of lower analyzing brushes LB. As the cards move downwardly past the brushes, perforations representing an amount or other data are analyzed and circuits completed through these perforations, as the card passes the lower 1 brushes, will cause energization of print magnets I2 (see Fig; 1).

Energization of a magnet l2 will rock its armature l3 counterclockwise and through a rod I4 will rock a latch [5 in the same direction to trip 15 stopping pawl I6 into engagement with one of the 'teeth I! integral with type bar I8. The bar I8 is slidably mounted in vertically reciprocating crosshead l9 and constrained to move upwardly therewith by means of spring-pressed arm 20 20.

which is pivoted at 2| to the crosshead. The upward movement of crosshead I9 is controlled through cam 22 and follower arm mechanism 23 and the upward movement is timed so that the type elements 24 move upward and pass printing 25 position of the platen 25 as the correspondingly numbered index point positions of the record card move in transit past the analyzing brushes LB. Analysis of a perforation, for example in the '7 position, will cause completion of. a circuit to the 30 magnet l2 at the '7. type element 24 is at the printing position and the consequent tripping of stopping pawl l6 will prevent further upward movement of type. After the crosshead I9 has reached the upper limit of its movement and the 35 several type bars have been differentially located, the usual type hammers 26 are tripped and an impression is taken concurrently from the selected positions of the type bars.

For the purposes of the present invention, each 40 of the type bars isprovided with a type element 240. (Fig. 3) adapted to print the dollar sign and as the record card passes the lower brushes and before the 9 index point position is analyzed, magnets l2 will receive an impulse in posi- 5 tions to the left of the highest significant figure thereby causing interruption of the type bars in such positions to present the symbol to the platen.

The order in which the symbol is to be printed may best be explained in connection with the circuit diagram (Fig. 4). The upper brushes are shown diagrammatically at U13 and they receive current from the right side of line through a pair of cam controlled contacts 21. The lower brushes are indicated at LB and the common contact roller 29 therefor receives current from the left side of line through a pair of cam controlled contacts 38. Associated with each column of brushes is a differential relay having a so-called pickup winding 35 and a holding winding 32. Each pickup winding terminates in a plug connection 33 which may be associated with upper brushes UB through a plug connection 34, and each of the pickup windings has connection with a common lead 35 which extends through a pair of cam controlled contacts Contacts 35 are timed to close momentarily as the zero index point position of the record card passes the upper brushes U13, and in those positions in which a perforation is present, a circuit will be completed as follows: from left side of line, through cam contacts 35, wire 35, winding 3 i plug socket 33, connection 34, upper brush UB, zero perforation, common contact roller 28, contacts 27, to right side of line. Energization of coil 3! will cause closure of pair of contacts 37 to establish a holding circuit traceable from left side of line, common lead 38, winding 32, contacts 31, cam controlled contacts 39 to right side of line. Contacts 39 are closed at this time and remain closed until the card is partly past the lower brushes. In this manner, all differential relays associated with columns in which zero perforations are present will be energized and held in such condition until the dollar sign type have been presented to printing position, after which contacts 38 open to drop the holding circuits.

Associated with each relay are normally open contacts to and normally closed contacts M which are adapted to shift so that contacts 40 close and contacts il open whenever the related relay is energized in response to a zero perforation. The contacts ii terminate in plug sockets 42 which may be plug connected to the lower brushes LB as by plug connections 53 and the contacts 4E3 terminate in plug sockets 44 which, through connections 45, may be associated with sockets 56 connected to the printing magnets l2. In those positions in which no zero perforation is analyzed by the upper brushes, the contacts at, 4| will remain in their normal position as shown so that as the card subsequently passes the lower brushes, circuits will be completed in these positions at difierential times, depending upon the location of the hole to energize the print magnet l2 and interrupt the type bar to print from the corresponding type element. These circuits are individually traceable as follows: from left side of line, through cam contacts at which are adapted to be closed while the card is in contact with the brushes LB, common roller 29, perforation in the record card, brush LB, connection 53, socket 42, contacts M, plug socket M, connection 45, socket it, print magnet H, to right side of line.

The contacts 40 of the highest denominational order are connected to a pair of contacts 4?. These contacts are timed to close momentarily as the type element 25a bearing the symbol approaches the printing position and will send an impulse to the printing magnets 12 in all positions to the left of the first significant figure. The manner in which this is brought about may best be explained with reference to a particular example.

Assume, for instance, that the card is perforated as in Fig. 5 to represent the amount $305.75. In accordance with the usual practice, the colin the zero position.

umns to the left of this amount are perforated As the card passes the upper brushes, the dollars field is analyzed by the five brushes UB shown in Fig. i and the differential relays in the first, second and fourth 5 positions from the left will be energized, causing closure of their corresponding contacts 40 and opening of their contacts 45, As the card proceeds downwardly into contact with the lower brushes, cam contacts will close momentarily 10 and complete a circuit from left side of line, through contacts 4i, contacts to in the first order, now closed, plug socket M, connection 45, socket and the first order print magnet l2, to right side of line. Ene-rgization at this time 15 will interrupt the type bar in the first order with the symbol at the printing line. This circuit will also branch at contacts 45] and continue through the closed contacts so of the second order and thence through the second order print mag- 20 net 92. In the third order, however, contacts will be open and further circuits through contacts M will be interrupted at this point. As the card continues past the lower brushes, the type bar in the third order will be interrupted 25 at 3 and in the fifth order at 5. The positioning of the fourth order at zero will be eifected in the well known manner under control of the adjacent type bars.

In this manner, any or all of the positions in 30 which a money value is to be printed may receive the symbol. For example, if all the positions in the dollars field were zero punched, the machine would automatically print five symbols on the check or other record. 35

While there has been shown and described and pointed out the fundamental novel features of the invention as applied to a single modification, it will be understood that various omissions and substitutions and changes in the form and de- 4 tails of the device illustrated and in its operation may be made. by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention. It is the intention therefore to be limited only as indicated by the scope of the following 5 claims.

What is claimed is as follows:

1. In amachine of the class described, type bars, means for diiferentially positioning said bars to print data representative of numerical 50 values, means for determining the position of the highest significant figure to be printed, and means controlled thereby for causing the printing of a predetermined symbol in orders higher than that of the said significant figure. 55

2. In an accounting machine, an automatic printing device comprising a plurality of type carriers, record controlled means for causing difierential positioning of said carriers to print an amount, means for predetermining the location 60 of the highest order significant figure to be printed and means for causing independent positioning of carriers adjacent to said order.

3. In an accounting machine, means for analyzing a multi-columnar field of a record card for 5 perforations representing an amount and in which the columns of the field having no significant digit punching are zero punched, means for prereading the zero punched positions, a set up device controlled thereby, type carriers positioned 7 by said first named analyzing means, and means controlled by said setup device for printing symbols in positions to the left of the highest significant figure.

4. In an accounting machine, means for pre- 75 reading perforations in a record card representative of a number in which zeros may occur to the left and/or right of a significant figure, settable means controlled thereby in accordance with the occurrence of zeros, a second analyzing means for analyzing only the significant digits of the number, type carriers and means controlled by said settable means during the operation of said second analyzing means for causing said type carriers to print symbols to the left of the highest significant figure equal in number to the number of zeros to the left thereof on the card.

5. In an accounting machine, a pair of analyzing stations, means for causing one of said stations to analyze zero index point positions of a record card, and the other station to read significant figure index point positions, type carriers, and means jointly controlled by said stations for controlling said carriers to print the number sensed with arbitrary symbols substituted for zeros occurring to the left of the first significant figure.

6. In a machine of the class described, means for analyzing the columns of a record card for digit representing perforations, a plurality of type carriers equal in number to the columns analyzed,

the left of said highest significant digit position.

EDWARD J. RABENDA.

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