US2090919A - Tax stamp printing device - Google Patents

Description

Aug. 24, 1937.

J. A. STROTHER ET AL TAX STAMP PRINTI'N'G DEVICE Filed June 4, 1936 4 Sheets Sheet 1 INVENTORj John A,strother.

Wallmm FzBernartJ'r.

HH IJIII IIEI.

mlrl

m fl ATTORNEY- Aug. 24, 1937. J, STRQTHER ET AL 2,090,919

TAX STAMP PRINTING DEVICE Filed June 4, 1936 I 4 Sheets-sheaf 2 INVENTORS. John A. Strot/ml; W/H/a m F. Berna/16,3!

A TTORNEY.

Aug. 24, 1937. J. A. STROTHER ET AL ,9

TAX STAMP PRINTING DEVICE Filed June 4, 1936 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTORS John A. Strother. W/II/ an; F? Berna/'6, Tn

ATTORNEY.

Aug; 24, 193 7.

J. A. STROTHER ET AL TAX STAMP PRINTING DEVICE Filed June 4, 1936 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 TER lo. 73 5 A STAEE TAX g I Pm o 1 a INVENTORS J'ohn Afntrother. Wilham FTBe/wart, Tr.

ZQWAQ.

ATTORNEY.

Patented Aug. 24, 1937 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE TAX STAMP PRINTING DEVICE Application June 4, 1936, Serial No. 83,432

10 Claims.

This invention relates to a device for printing tax stamp impressions upon articles and more particularly to the printing of tax stamps on each of a plurality of packages such as packages containing cigarettes, while the same are contained in their original packing cartons or containers.

Tax stamps of the adhesive lithographed or decalcomania types are now applied directly to packages of cigarettes one at a time. This method of applying individual stamps is slow and adds further cost to the commodity. Further, the distributor who purchases said tax stamps is faced with the hazard of loss by various causes such as by fire, theft, mutilation, etc., and the State or municipality issuing same is faced with possible loss by repeated use in such instances where the adhesive or sticker type of stamps are used, due to the ease with which the same may be removed.

In the device of the present invention, it is an object to provide means whereby a tax stamp is adapted to be imprinted upon one surface of each of a plurality of packages or the like during one cycle of machine operation, such as for example on the Cellophane wrappers of each of a plurality of packages of cigarettes while they remain in their original cartons.

A further object of this invention is to provide a portable registering device which is adapted to register the value of or number of impressions taken during each cycle of machine operation, which register is adapted to be set by an authorized ofiicial for a prepaid amount of stamp impressions.

A further object is to provide a lookout mechanism which is adapted to cooperate with the printing and registering members to prevent further operation of the machine after a predetermined number of impressions have been made.

Coincident with these objects the device of this invention will save the State or municipality which issues the tax stamps, the cost of printing the stamps and other costs involved in storage and distribution. Also the printing of the impression on the package provides a tax stamp which cannot be fraudulently removed for the purpose of repeated use.

A further object is to provide means whereby each impression on the several packages of the group is different in some respect to thereby make the stamps diflicult to counterfeit.

Another object is to provide means whereby a continuous pattern or design willresult from the completed impressions over the entire surface of the several packages of a group which would be difiicult to reproduce by the printing of impressions upon single packages, tothereby provide further means for the detection of counterfeit stamp impressions.

A still further object is to provide means whereby the packages may be identified for their own particular individual design characteristics by means of .a numeral or other code design designating a numeral or the like; also means whereby the packages may be identified with regard to the distributor and the date of making the particular stamp impressions.

With the foregoing and other objects in view which will appear as the description proceeds the invention resides in the combination and arrangement of parts and in the details of construction hereinafter described and claimed, it being understood that various changes in the precise embodiment of the invention herein disclosed may be made within the scope of what isclaimed without departing from the spirit of the invention.

A preferred embodiment of the invention'is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein;

Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing a container of cigarette packages with the upper surface opened to exposed the ends of each of the packages contained therein and further showing a tax stamp imprinted upon each of said packages;

Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the machine Which is utilized to imprint the tax stamps upon the cigarette packages; 7

Fig. 3 is an end sectional view taken on the line 3-4 of Fig. 2; v 1

' Fig. 4 is a plan view of the machine withparts broken away as shown in Fig. 2; I I

Fig. 5 is a diagrammatic view showing the printing member in the act of printing stamped impressionsupon the ends of the cigarette packages;

Fig. 6 is a. vertical sectional view showing the printing drum and conveyor also the lockout mechanism which is associated with the register; 9 Fig. 7 is a plan view showing the several packages of a group in the particular formation they would assume in a carton or container, each of said packages having a modified arrangement of printed impressions thereon with each oi;- the individual stamp impressions possessing some differing characteristic from the others and the whole presenting a. continuous pattern .orv de; Sig v I Fig. 8 is a front view on an enlarged scale of the rotary printing die which is provided to produce the printed impression shown in Fig. 7;

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary detail view of a part of the printing drum die surface looking in the direction of the arrow 9 of Fig. 8; and

Fig. 10 is a fragmentary plan view showing a portion of the package arrangement of Fig. 7 but including a modified arrangement of the stamp impressions.

The machine which is utilized to perform the printing operation and described herein is now commonly used in imprinting postagev stamp impressions upon mail matter and is substantially the same as a machine disclosedin U. S. Letters Patent 1,874,073. In said patent, certain of the details of machine structure will be foun'djtherefore only such parts which affect the operation of the particular device of this invention with regard to the machine structure will be described in this specification.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2, the machine generally comprises two units, a-base unit indicated at B, and a detachable unitindicated at D.

Associated with the base unit is a housingwithin which is contained apower drive and clutch mechanism for use when the machine is to be electrically driven, which parts are not. illustrated in connection with the particular machine disclosed herein but which may be found in U S. Letters Patent No. 1,995,577. The machine disclosed is the hand operated type.

Secured to said base B is a platform H which is supported by suitable brackets 52 and l2a, the said bracket 12 being secured directly to the base unit while the bracket |2a is secured to a bracket I! which is supported by means of a channel member l3 extending outwardly from the base unit.

A conveyor is provided as best shown in Fig. 2, which comprises a link chain structure l4 po sitioned at each side of the platform, as shown in Figs. 3 and 6, and is supported on pairs of sprocket wheels 55 and H3. The sprocket wheels I5 are supported by the brackets I! while the sprocket wheels l6 are supported on suitable brackets l8 secured to the base B, there being a shaft [9 for the sprockets I4 and a shaft for the sprockets l6. Three cross-pins are provided in equally spaced apart positions between said chains and are adaptedfor use in moving containers, which contain the articles to be printed, along the platform through a print ing position, as will be hereinafter described.

A suitable casing 22 is provided as shown in Fig. 3 to enclose the conveyor and is preferably formed with an inclined portion 23, the right hand end of which terminates over the pin 2| which is in position to contact with and move the container when in the position shown in Fig. 2. Two side guides 24-24 project vertically upward from the casing 22 which are adapted to prevent lateral displacement of the 1, container 30 as it is being conveyed along theplatform. A channel shaped structure is also provided at 25 and is supported on a bracket 26 fixed to the base B, which structure provides a receptacle or guide at the discharge end of. the machine to receive the container after a printing operation is completed. I

, In the detachable unit D there iscontained a printing drum 21, which is mounted upon a drum shaft 28, and has supported on the periphery thereof aplurality of stamp printing dies 29. Said shaft 28 is mounted in suitable bearings 3 l-3l and has a spiral gear 32 secured thereon which is adapted to mesh with another spiral gear 33, said latter gear being mounted upon a shaft 34, suitably supported in bearings carried by the casing of said detachable unit.

A crank handle 35 is secured to the outer end of said shaft 34, which is adapted to be rotated by an operator to rotate the drum shaft through one revolution? "A thumb'controlled stop actuating lever 36 is'also provided which is adapted to be released to start the movement of the handle and upon reaching the end of a full revolution,-said stop member will again be in the path of the handle to stop same in a manner which rwill be hereinafter more fully described.

Aspur'gear'fl mounted on the inner end of. said shaft 28, adjacent the printing drum 21, is adapted to'be rotated with the drum shaft, and

throughthegeantrain drive indicated by the gears 38, 39 and 40, the conveyor C is also driven simultaneously with the drum shaft. Said gears 38 and 39 are mounted on shafts 38a and 390. respectively, which shafts are suitably supported in bearings carried by the casing of the detach able unit. .Gear 40 is secured to the shaft 20 to which the sprocket wheels iii are secured.

It will be seen that, upon rotation of the shaft 34, by means of the handle 35. the spiral gear drive 32 and. 33-will be rotated to drive the drum shaft-28 and printing drum 27. Also by means of this drive, the sprocket wheels 16 will be rotated in a clockwise direction to move the conveyor to the right-as indicated in Fig. 2, a distance sufficient to bring the conveyor cross-pin 2|, which is shown in positionon the upper chain,

around to the position of the second pin shown on the outside .of the sprocket I6. By means of this movement the container 30, when placed in the positionshown-in Fig. 2, is moved along the platform ll past and beyond the printing drum, to the position indicated in dot and dash lines within the channel member 25 of. Fig. 2.

The container shown in Fig. 1 represents the common form of. cigarette carton, within which is. contained ten individual packages of cigarettes P,-wit h the upper-end of said container open to expose the ends of each of the said ten packages. Thesaid packagesP also are preferably of the Cellophane covered type and a stamp imprint is made directly upon the Cellophane. i I

To perform a tax printing operation upon each i of these packages while in the container, the operator first opens the normally sealed flaps of the upper end of the container to present said container as shown in Fig. 1, then places the container into position for a conveying and print- 1 ing operation by sliding said container along the inclined surface 23 and moving same between the side guide members 2424 to finally seat it upon the platform ll with the left hand end thereof resting against the cross-pin 2| which is in the driving position shown in Fig. 2.

' The handle 35 is then. rotated through one revolutionrwhereupon the container 30 is moved forward by the conveyor C and, upon the approach of the first packages of cigarettes in the container to' a printing position, the leading printing dies on the printing drum will have reached theprinting position shown in Fig. 5 to perform a printing. operation, which operation is repeated for each of the succeeding packages of cigarettes as the conveyor moves the container alongfthe platform.

On each rotation of the printing drum the printing dies 29 are inkedby an ink roller 43 which is positioned adjacent the printing drum at one side thereof.

- The dies are also fully protected by means of a drum housing 44 and a die guard 45, positioned at the lower open end of said housing to prevent persons from tampering with the printing dies and to prevent the taking of fraudulent impressions from a die. The dies are almost entirely enclosed within the .interior of the drum housing and die guard, there being one restricted opening 46 in said die guard through which the dies project as they move to a printing position during each machine cycle of operation.

Also associated with this machine is a counting device or registering mechanism indicated in Figs. 4 and 6 which comprises a descending counter 41 and an ascending or total counter 43 each of which counters are of the straight geneva operated type, provided with a units wheel drive.

Each of the units wheels are driven by means of gears 49-49, one of which is driven by means of a counterdrive gear 5i. Said gear 5! is mounted upon a shaft 52 which shaft is adapted to be driven by means of a worm gear 53 also fixed to said shaft 52. Suitable bearings are provided for the support of the shaft 52 in the casing of the detachable unit. Said worm gear 53 is adapted to be driven by means of a worm 55 which is mounted upon the drum shaft 28 and upon each revolution of said drum shaft, the worm 55 is adapted to drive the worm gear 53 the distance of one tooth space to thereby add one unit in the ascending or total counter 2-8 and substract one unit in the subtracting counter Al. Upon each operation of the machine therefore, one unit will be recorded in the registering mecha nism for each of the ten imprints which are made upon the ten packages of cigarettes. If it is desired to obtain an accumulated value reading of each of the dies, the worm and worm wheel 55 and 53 may be substituted with two spiral gears similar to gears 32-33 for example or may be altered in any other manner to provide the required rotation of the worm gear 53.

a.) Before a machine is placed in operation, the detachable unit may be taken to an authorized official, in the State tax department, or an inspector may call to set the subtracting register to a certain predetermined value indicating the 50 number of operations or cycles the machine will be permitted to perform, which setting is either paid for at the time the said register is set or -a bond may be posted for the value of the amount set. The said subtracting register may to be set for example to 1000 which would permit the machine to be operated one thousand times to print a total number of ten thousand stamps upon the packages,

After the ten thousand imprints or stamps 60 have been taken, the descending counter will then have reached the zero position on all of its dials or counter wheels and the machine will automatically lock out to prevent further operation thereof until the subtracting register is again reset by the authorized official. Entrance to the register for resetting is had through a normally sealed door I! hin ed at 12 andsealed by a lead seal as indicated at 13, Fig. 2.

To look out the said machine after the exhaus- 7 tion thereof, means is provided which comprises a-locking comb 56, pivotally mounted at5l on a" suitable stud, which comb is adapted to be moved, bymeans of a spring member 53, into openings provided in the register'wheels upon 7 reaching the zero position. A forked'arm 59,. ex-

tending outward from said locking comb'in the direction opposite said comb, is engaged with a pin Blprojecting from one arm of a rocker member 62. Another arm 63 of said rocker memthe rocker-member62 to be rocked ina manner which will bringthe end of the arm 63 into the path of a collar 64. The said collar 54 is. fixed 'upon a shaft 65, which shaftis slidably mounted within suitable bearings -66 and also has secured thereto the previously mentioned stop actuating lever 36 which is associated with the handle35.

Said lever 36 is arranged in such manner that upon rocking same backward, the shaft will be moved to the left, from the position as shown in Fig. 4, to remove the end of said shaft 65 from the path of the arm or handle 35, said movement beingprovided by means of a cam structure in dicated at 61 in cooperation with a pin 68 in the shaft 65 which is adapted to engage with said cam structure 61 as the shaft is rotated or rocked by the stop actuating lever 36. The shaft 65 is thus moved sideward'against the pressure of a compression spring 69 which is arranged between the collar 64 and the end of a bearing ,66. This endwise or sliding motion of the shaft 65 may be continued by actuation of the stop actuating lever 38 as long as the end 63 of the rocker member 62 remains in the normal operating position shown in Fig. 6. When the locking comb 6'5 moves to a locking position however, the end of they arm 63 will move to a position behind the. col

lar 64 to block any further movement thereof, which will thus cause the outer end of the shaft 65 to remain in the path of the handle .35 to block any operation thereof.

It will thus be seen that after a predetermined number of stamps have been imprinted or upon said counters reaching their zero position, the

machine will lock out and thereby prevent further printing operations until the detachable unit is returned to the proper official forresetting;

While the machine disclosed is of the hand operated crank handle type it will be understood that the electrically actuated type of machine disclosed in the aforesaid Letters Patent No. 1,995,577 may be, utilized.

It is also desirable with a. device of this charactertoprovidem'eans whereby the counterfeiting of tax stamps ismade most difficult. To accomplish this the printing drum will be provided with a die surface which will produce an impression or result substantially as shown in Fig. 7 wherein. each stamp impression will'have: some distinctivedifference with respect to every other tax stamp on each of the packages in the carton or container. This difference may be had for example, by placing each tax stamp in a different position as indicated in Fig. 7-. Further the printing die will be engraved'to contain a series'of line printingsurfaces to produce continuous cross hatching between the stamp dies and to produce a complete continuous pattern over the entire surface of all of theends of said packages.

Each tax stamp'die oneach package will also be. provided with somedesignating symbol such.

as as'eries of consecutivenumerals to thereby definitely iden-tify.- the particular package with regard to the order in which it should be placed jinz-the-complete group of packages to have the -entire;;=design complete or ,toldentify the particiii) ular pack with regard to the position of its stamp.

By means of this arrangement it will be obvious that attempts to counterfeit the stamp impressions, such as by making individual rubber stamps for example, to imprint tax stamps on individual packages will be extremely difhcult if not impossible. For example, if individual stamp impressions were made for each of a group of packages, it would be practically impossible to get a continuity of design of the cross hatched lines.

The proper result could only be accomplished by duplicating the type of printing structure used in the device of this invention. But to forestall any success of a counterfeiter who may have the proper printing equipment, further steps are carried out in the. system of this invention which comprises the printing of a date on at least one of each group of packages also a meter or permit number such as indicated on the packages numbered 2 and 1 respectively. The said date and meter number may be repeated upon other packages if desired.

By means of the inclusion of a date designating the day'on which the tax stamps were printed upon the packages, also the meter number, an inspector from the tax division would be provided with ample means to check for possible counterfeit tax stamps. For instance, the inspector may walk into the store of any retailer or dealer and look at the. tax stamps in an open carton of cigarettes, then compare the date and the meter number with a record which is provided by the distributor who printed the tax stamps. If the date on the record and the date on the group of packages are not in agreement, this would be sufiicient evidence to assume. that the tax stamps were counterfeit.

It will be obvious that with the above described system attempts at counterfeiting could be quickly discovered and for this reason should discourage the counterfeiting of tax stamps.

The changes required in the structure of the device previously described would comprise a modified form of printing drum such as indicated at 21a in Fig. 8 which would include two rows of printing dies arranged in a staggered relation as indicated at 2900 also a series of line printing type surfaces indicated at 21b. The type for printing the date would preferably comprise an adjustable date wheel structure which consists of a series of individually adjustable date wheels rotatably mounted on a suitable shaft 16 and supported in suitable bearings TI. The meter number may be engraved as a pai't of the printing die structure or may be included as a removable type slug as indicated at 19.

In the illustration shown in Fig. 7, the individual tax stamps are each placed in a different position on the packs with cross hatched lines between the stamps and a designating number for each. stamp, which is the impression as made with the printing die structure illustrated in Fig. 8.

In the illustration shown in Fig. 10, a modified arrangement is shown, wherein the stamps are placed in a symmetrical relation at the center of each package with the cross-hatched lines between the stamp impressions. To provide a different design for each stamp when the stamps are in a symmetrical position, a varying number of stars as indicated at 18 will be included in the design, with the number of stars agreeing with the particular stamp number.

While the designs shown illustrate preferred arrangements to illustrate the principle of providing for protection against counterfeiting stamp impressions, it will be understood that the said arrangements are for the purpose of illustration only and that other arrangements of design may also be made to come within the principle of having a different design on each one of a group of packages the whole of which is adapted to be printed from a single die surface during one printing cycle of operation. 1

It will be understood also that the invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential attributes thereof and it is therefore desired that the present embodiment be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, reference being had to the appended claims rather than to the foregoing description to indicate the scope of the invention.

Having described this invention, we claim:

1. In a device. for printing a tax stamp upon each one of a plurality of packages of cigarettes, a container having one side open to expose one surface of each of the packages contained therein, a one revolution printing member having a plurality of tax stamp printing dies thereon agreeing in number with the packages of cigarettes, means to support said container in a printing position, and means whereby each of the printing dies may be moved into printing engagement with the packages of cigarettes in each container during one revolution of the printing member to print a stamp on each package.

2. In a device for printing a tax stamp upon each one of a container full of ten packages of cigarettes, said container having one side open to expose one surface of each of the packages contained therein, a one revolution rotary printing member having a plurality of tax stamp printing dies thereon agreeing in number with the number of packages in the container, a support for said container, means to move the container through a printing position, and means whereby, upon one complete revolution of the printing member each of the printing dies will move into printing engagement with the packages of cigarettes.

3. In a device for printing a tax stamp upon each one of a predetermined number of a group of articles and registering the value of each stamp during 'one cycle of machine operation, a one revolution rotary printing member having a plurality of value and indicia printing dies agreeing in number with the number of articles in the group, means to move the group of articles to an impression receiving position during the one revolution printing cycle of operation, and register ing means operable to register the accumulated value of the printed impressions.

4. In a device for printing stamps upon packages while arranged in a grouped position such as when arranged in their original containers, and a printing member having a plurality of stamp printing dies thereon including means for printing stamp impressions upon each of the packages in the group in a single printing cycle of operation with each individual stamp impression different.

5. In a device for printing tax stamps upon packages while arranged in a grouped position such as when arranged in their original containers, and a printing member having a plurality of stamp printing dies thereon including a printing surface for producing a completely matched pattern over the whole group of packages.

6. In a device for printing tax stamps upon packages while contained in their normal position within a container, and a printing member having a plurality of stamp printing dies thereon with each stamp die including means for printing a different identifying characteristic for each stamp impression.

'7. In a device for printing tax stamp impressions upon a group of packages of cigarettes while retained in their original packing cartons, the combination with a meter unit having registering means associated therewith and means to limit the number of printing operations; of a one revolution rotary drum associated with said meter unit having value printing dies thereon equal in number to the number of packages of cigarettes, means to provide for a single rota tion of said drum as each carton is moved therepast, and a conveyor to move the carton through a printing position while the drum is rotated, whereby groups of stamp impressions are adapted to be printed and registered during each rotation of the rotary drum.

8. The combination with a printing machine having means for registering and limiting the number of printed impressions which may be made; of a one revolution rotary printing memher having ten printing dies thereon, a container having ten articles therein with each article arranged to receive a printed impression during the one revolution of the printing member, and means to convey the container past the printing member when the printing drum is rotated,

whereby each group of ten articles will have impressions printed thereon and registered during each revolution of the printing drum.

9. The combination with a printing machine having a settable registering device and means controlled by said registering device to limit the number of printing operations; of a multiple die rotary printing member with said dies possessing some characteristic wherein they differ one from another, a container having a plurality of articles therein with one surface of each article exposed to the printing member, and a conveyor to move said container past and in timed relation to the printing member, whereby a predetermined number of groups of impressions may be imprinted upon said articles with the individual impressions of each group differing in some degree but with the impressions of each successive group being arranged in the same order.

10. The combination with a machine for printing stamp impressions upon packages of cigarettes, including means to register the number of impressions printed, and machine lockout mechanism associated with said register means; of a one revolution rotary printing drum having two rows of printing dies with five printing dies in each row, a container having ten packages of cigarettes arranged in two rows of five each and in their original packing positions, a supporting platform for said container having means to guide the packages into an aligned printing position with respect to the printing dies, and a conveyor to move said container through a printing position.

JOHN A. STRO'I'HER. WILLIAM F. BERNART, JR.

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