US2126347A

US2126347A - Ribbon mechanism for recording apparatus

Info

Publication number: US2126347A
Application number: US110481A
Authority: US
Inventors: Ruttiman Alfred
Original assignee: Simplex Time Recorder Co
Current assignee: Simplex Time Recorder Co
Priority date: 1936-11-12
Filing date: 1936-11-12
Publication date: 1938-08-09
Anticipated expiration: 1955-08-09

Description

Au'g. 9, 1938. l A; RUTTIMAN 2,126,347

i RIBBON MECHANISM FOR RECORDINGAPPARATUS Filed NOV. l2, 1936 4 Sheets-Sheet l ug- 9, 1938. A. RUTTIMAN 2,126,347

RIBBON MEGHANISM FOR RECORDING APPARATUS Filed Nov. l2, 1936 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Aug. 9, 1938.

A. RUTTIMAN RIBBON MECHANISM FOR RECORDING APPARATUS 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Nov. l2, 1936 Aug. 9, 1938.4 A. RUTTIMAN 2,126,347

RIBBON MECHANISM FOR RECORDING APPARATUS Filed Nov. l2, 1956 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 @auf/1' y@ WM- ciau,...

Patented Aug. 9, 1938 RIBBON MECHANISM FOR RECORDING APPARATUS` Alfred Ruttiman, Gardner, Mass., assignor to Simplex Time Recorder Co., Gardner, Mass., a corporation of Massachusetts Application November 12, 1936, Serial No. 110,481

12 Claims.

This invention relates to apparatus for making records by stamping an impression through an inked ribbon. While capable of general application, the invention is particularly designed 5 for use in connection with time stamp apparatus and is so shown in this application.

It is the general object of my invention to provide improved mechanism for feeding the ribbon at each operation of the time stamp, and particularly for automatically reversing the ribbon feed when the travel of the ribbon in a given direction is nearly completed.

More specifically, I provide feeding and reversing mechanisms which are both operated directly from the impression or hammer mechanism of the time stamp, and I so construct the reversing mechanismthat` no extra strain is the ribbon at the time of reversal.

My invention further relates to arrangements and combinations of parts which will be hereinafter described and more particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

A preferred form of the inventiony and certain modifications thereof are shown in the drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a time stamp, partly in section and having my improved ribbon mechanism supplied thereto;

Fig. 2 is a plan View of the ribbon mechanism with the casing or cover removed;

Fig. 3 is a partial end elevation, looking in the direction of the arrow 3 in Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a side elevation of certain parts, look-I ing in the direction of the arrow 4 in Fig. 2; 5 Fig. 5 is a side elevation of an operating lever; Fig. 6 is a plan View thereof, looking in the direction of the arrow E in Fig. 5;

Fig. 7 is a sectional front elevation, taken along the line 1--1 in Fig. 4;

Fig. 8 is a similar view showing a modified friction device;

Fig. 9 isa plan view of certain feed reversing devices; Fig. 10 is a side elevation thereof, looking in the :directionof the arrow I in Fig. 9;

Fig. 11 is aA view similar to Fig. 10 but showing additional parts and indicating the method of reversal; NFig 12 is a partial sectional side elevation showing`fm`odied operating connections; p "Figi 13 isa sectional side elevation of a modified 'form `of ribbon mechanismfand a Fig 14`s a, sectional side'v elevation of an addi- "tional modification.4 ,4

,,Reerringparticularly to Figs. 1 to 11, I have placed on (Cl. 19T-161) shown a preferred form of my invention embodied in a timestamp comprising a base 20 (Fig. 1) in which an impression plate or hammer 2| is secured to the upper end of a solenoid plunger 22 movable vertically by a solenoid coil 23.

The machine is manually set in operation by pressing rearward a push plate 24 pivoted at 25 near the front of the machine. The push plate 24 carries a stud 26 which engages a lever 21 having a latch 28 pivoted thereto near its upper end. A shoulder 29 on the latch engages a plate 30 secured to the upper end of a spring arm 3l but insulated therefrom.

The arm 3i is connected to one line Wire L and is provided with a contact 32 which engages a fixed contact 33 when the spring arm 3i is pushed rearward. The contact 33 is connected through a wire 34 to one end of the solenoid coil 23, the other end being connected to a second line wire L. When the push plate 24 is moved rearward, the circuit is completed through the solenoid and the impression plate4 or hammer 2i is moved forcibly upward to make the impression.

As the hammer moves upward, an offset plate 35 carried thereby engages the end 36 of the latch 28 and releases the spring arm 3l, thus breaking the circuit.

The type wheels or other devices from which the impression is made are mounted in an upper casing portion 3l, pivoted at 38 to the base 20 and normally secured in fixed operative position by fastening devices not shown.

The parts thus far described are of the usual commercial construction and in themselves form no -part of my present invention.

My improved ribbon feed mechanism is mounted on brackets 40 and 4l (Figs. 1 and 4) secured to the top of the base portion 20. Front and rear ribbon spools S and S are pivoted in openings in the rear bracket 4I, and the front ends of the spools are inserted in sockets 42 in driving studs 43 and have a 'tongue and slot connection therewith, as clearly indicated in Fig. 7. Each stud 43 is rotatable in a bearing bushing 44 fixed in a bracket 4t, and each stud 43 has a

ratchet wheel

45 or 46 secured thereto byv its hub 4l.

Each bushing 44 is recessed to receive a spring it which causes the adjacent ends of the bushing tiland hub il to frictionaily engage, thus retarding backward movement of a ribbon spool after a feeding advance movement thereof.

In Fig. 8 I have shown a modiiied'construction in which an annular coil spring t is mounted in a V-shaped groove between adjacent conical surfaces, one of said surfaces being formed on the end jacent end of a sleeve 52 fixed to the end of the stud 53 on which the ratchet wheel 45 and its hub 41 are mounted. This spring 50 also exerts a frictional or retarding action and effects the same result as the spring 48.

A fiat spring 55 (Fig. 2) engages the rear ends of the spools S and S and forces the forward ends of the spools rmly into the slotted sockets.

I will now describe the mechanism for intermittently and alternately advancing the ribbon spools.

For this purpose I provide an operating lever 60 (Figs. 1 and 5) pivoted at 6I to the bracket 40 and limited in its downward movement by engagement of a recessed portion 62 (Fig. 5) with a reduced portion 63 (Fig. 7) of the bushing 44.

'I'he lever 60 is also provided with an offset fiange 64 (Fig. 6) which engages a recessed portion 65 (Fig. 4) of the bracket 40 and thus limits upward movement of the lever. A spring 66 assisted by gravity moves the lever 60 downward.

Feed pawls 10 and 1| (Fig. 1) are pivoted at 12 and 13 to the lever 60 and the upper ends of the feed pawls are yieldingly connected by a tension spring 14. The lower ends of the pawls 10 and 1| alternately engage the

ratchet wheels

45 and 46 previously described.

A lock lever 15 is pivoted at 16 on the lever 60 and is provided with offset or locking portions 11 and 18. The feed pawls 10 and 1| are provided with recessed portions and 8| to alternately receive the offset locking portions 11 and 18.

When the locking lever 15 is in the position shown in Fig. 1, the portion 18 is seated in the recessed portion 8| of the feed pawl 1 I thus holdy ing the pawl 1I inoperative, but the offset portion 11 is raised above the feed pawl 10, thus releasing the pawl 10 for feeding its associated ratchet wheel 45.

When the locking lever 15 is moved anti-clockwise to its alternative locking position, the pawl 10 is rendered operative and the pawl 1I is released to feed the ratchet wheel 46.

I will now describe my improved means for automatically shifting the locking lever 15 and thus reversing the ribbon feed.

I provide a crank shaft or lever 82 (Fig. 9) pivoted in the front and

rear brackets

40 and 4| and having the crank portion 83 thereof positioned for engagement by the roll of ribbon R `wound on the spool S', as clearly shown in Fig.

11. A hook arm 84 is secured to the front end of the crank lever 82. As the roll of ribbon on the spool S' increases in diameter, the hooked upper end of the arm 84 is moved to the position shown in Fig. 11, in which it overlies the offset portion 11 of the locking arm 15.

On the next upward movement of the operating lever 60, the hook arm 84 gives the locking lever 85 a relative anti-clockwise movement and causes the offset portion 11 to enter the depressed portion 80 of the lever 10. This holds the lever 10 inoperative, while at the same time releasing the lever 1I to feed the ribbon in the opposite direction.

A second crank lever 86 is similarly pivoted in the

brackets

40 and 4| and is provided with a crank portion 81 to engage the ribbon R when wound on the spool S', as indicated in Fig. 10.

The crank lever 86 has a hook arm 88 secured to its forward end and the two hook arms are yieldingly connected by a tension spring 89. When the spool S is lled as indicated in Fig. 10,

. the blade |01.

lof a fixed bushing 5| and the other on the adthe hook end of the arm 88 will overlie the offset portion 18 of the locking lever 15 and will cause the same to swing the feed pawl 1I relatively downward to the position shown in Fig, 1 as the operating lever 60 rises. The lever 15 also locks the pawl 1I in inoperative position, at the same time releasing the pawl 10.

The operating lever 60 is directly engaged and raised against gravity and against the tension of the spring 66 by an extension 90 at one side of the platen or hammer 2|, so that the power for operating the ribbon feed comes indirectly from the solenoid coil 23. It will also be noted that the shifting of the locking lever 15 and reversal of feed is directly effected by the upward blow of the hammer extension 90, transmitted through the operating lever 60.

I thus provide for automatically reversing the ribbon travel when a ribbon roll of predeterymined size has been formed on one or the other of the spools S and S', and I effect this reversal on indication of enlarged roll diameter, as given by the crank levers 82 or 86. I entirely avoid the shifting of any parts by the pull of the ribbon, communicated through a seam or enlargement therein, as has been heretofore commonly practiced.

My improved feeding apparatus is simple and effective in operation and is independent in its operation of the time or other mechanism for driving the type'wheels.

VWhile I prefer to actuate the lever 60 by a direct blow from the hammer extension 90, it is sometimes desirable to take the power direct from the plunger 22, in which case the construction shown in Fig. 12 may be employed. In said figure I have shown a stud 92 projecting into the notched end of a forked lever 93 pivoted at 94 and having an arm 95 connected by a link 96 to an offset portion 9 1 of an operating lever 60, corresponding to the lever 60 previously described. A spring 98 acts in addition to gravity to swing the lever 60a downward.

With the construction shown in Fig. 12, upward movement of the platen 2| will cause swinging upward movement of the lever 60a, thus feeding the ribbon as previously described.

Flat plates or knife blades |01 and |08 are mounted to rock in notches |09 and I I0 lin a plate III which is secured to the operating lever |04 by spacing studs II2. g

The upper edge of the upper flat plate or knife blade |01 is received in a slot I I3 in the lower side of a link I I4 which connects the upper ends of the feed pawls |00 and IOI. The lower edge of the lower blade |08 extends into a similar slot in the upper edge of a link II5, the ends of which are connected to arms I I6 and I I1 which in turn areconnected to crank levers I|8 and |I9, as in the form previously described. A spring II9a connects intermediate points I2I and |22 of the blades I 01 and |08 and is movable behind the plate III. A second spring IISb gives the return movement to the lever |04.

The parts are shown in Fig. 13 immediately after a ribbon shift and as the feed to the righthand spool S is about to begin. As the ribbon roll on the spool S increases, the link II5 will be moved to the right in Fig. 13 until the center line ofthe spring II9 is at the right of the plane of The blade 01 will then swing and if ia alternately engage ratchet wheels dit and tt previously described, and are connected at their upper ends by a tension spring ift.

A swivel plate i 2l` is also pivoted on the stud ift and is provided with lugs t28 and lfd positioned for alternate engagement by toothed shift arms itt and tdi, associated With crank levers idf and which engage the ribbon rolls. The shift arms litt and di are preferably connected by a spring itt.

The plate ilfl also has portions'engageable with the upper ends of the feed pawls ift and itl!a and dit dil

rendering themalternately inoperative. .d spring iti gives the lever its return movement.

When a spool is lilledas indicated at the right in Fig. ld, the corresponding shift arm itl will swing up into the path of the lug i it. The arms itt and iti have curved upper edges which are provided with a plurality of teeth litt] to engage the lugs ift or ift.

When the operating lever ltd swings upward with the shift arm iii in position to engage the lug ift, such upward movement will cause angular movement of the swivel plate itl relative to the lever lfd, thus rendering the pawl ifi inoperative and releasing the pawl im.' Preferably the relative movement at each actuation accomplishes a partial shift only of the swivel plate, so that complete disengagement of one feed pawl and engagement of the other requires two or three .operations of the lever EN, thus distributing the load on successive operations of the solenoid and platen.

Having thus described my invention and the advantages thereof, I do not wish to be limited to the details herein disclosed, otherwise than as set forth in the claims, but what I claim is:

1. Ribbon mechanism for recording apparatus comprising ribbon spools rotatable about spaced axes and provided with ratchet wheels. a movable operating member, a power-actuated platen eective to move said member in a non-feeding direction only, a spring to give said member a feeding movement only, feed pawls pivotally mounted on said member and alternately engaging said ratchet wheels, and automatic means to render one of said pawls operative and the other pawl inoperative alternately.

2. Ribbon mechanism for recording apparatusV comprising ribbon spools rotatable about spaced axes and provided with ratchet Wheels, a movable operating member, a power-actuated platen effective to move said member in a non-feeding direction only, a spring to'give said member a feeding movement only, feed pawls pivotally mounted on said member andalternately engaging said ratchet wheels,` and automatic means to render one of said pawls operative and the other pawl inoperative falternately, said latter meansk being actuated through movement of said member by said platen and being controlled by increase in diameter of one ribbon spool and simultaneous decrease in diameter of the other ribbon spool.

3. Ribbon mechanism for recording apparatus comprising ribbon spools rotatable about spaced axes and provided with ratchety wheels, a movable operating member, a poweractuated platen effective to movesaid member in one direction, means to move said member in the opposite direction, feed pawls pivotally mounted on said member and alternately engaging said ratchet wheels, automatic means to render one of said pawls operative and the other pawl inoperative alternately, said latter means being actuated through movement of said member by said platen, and ribbon-controlled devices to initiate reversal of ribbon feed by said automatic means'.

ei. Ribbon mechanism for recording apparatus comprising ribbon spools rotatable about spaced axes and provided with ratchet wheels, a mov;- able operating member, a power-actuated platen effective to move said member in one direction,

means to move said member inthe opposite diu imember and alternately engaging said ratchet wheels, a loclring lever mounted on sa'id movable member and shiftable to render one of said pawls operative and the other inoperative alternately, and ribbon-controlled devices mounted on fixed structure and alternately engaging with said locking member to edect shifting thereof.

6. Ribbon mechanism for recording apparatus 1 comprising ribbon spools rotatable about spaced axes and provided with ratchet wheels, a movable operating member, a power-actuated platen effective to move said member in one direction, feed pawls pivotally mounted on said member and alternately engaging said ratchet wheels, a locking lever mounted on said movable member and shiftable to render one of said pawls operative and the other inoperative alternately, and ribbon-controlled devices mounted on xed structure and alternately engaging with said locking member to eect shifting thereof, said 'latter devices being leach movable toward operative position by increase in diameter of the associated ribbon roll.

7. Ribbon mechanism for recording apparatus comprising ribbon spools mounted to rotate about spaced aires, feeding means for said spools, means to reverse said feeding means, power means to edect an impression on said recording apparatus, and connections through which said power means actuates said reversing means on its power stroke and simultaneously gives said feeding means an idle return movement.

8. In a ribbon mechanism, a pair of ribbon spools mounted to rotate about spaced axes and provided with ratchet wheels, feed pawls for said Wheels, a lock lever shiftable to render either pawl operative and the other inoperative alternately, and ribbon-controlled means to effect shifting said lock lever, said ribbon-controlled means comprising a pair of toothed levers alternately engaging the lock lever, and in which a part associated with each toothed lever engages the roll of ribbon on one of said spools to detect ribbon exhaustion and initiate ribbon reversal.

9. In a ribbon mechanism, a pair of ribbon spools mounted to rotate about spaced axes and provided with ratchet wheels, feed pawls for said wheels. a lock lever shiftable to render either pawl operative and the other inoperative alternately, and ribbon-controlled means to effect shifting of said lock lever, said ribbon-controlled means comprising a pair of toothed levers alternately engaging the lock lever, and in which a crank lever is associated with each toothed lever and directly engages the roll of ribbon on one side of said spools to detect ribbon exhaustion and initiate ribbon reversal.

10. Ribbon mechanism for recording apparatus comprising ribbon spools rotatable about spaced axes and provided with ratchet wheels, a movable operating member, a power-actuated platen effective to move said member in one direction, means to move said member in the opposite direction, feed pawls pivotally mounted on said member and alternately engaging said ratchet wheels, and automatic means to render one of said pawls operative and the other pawl inoperative alternately, 'said platen having an extension directly engaging and lifting said movable member.

11. Ribbon mechanism for recording apparatus comprising ribbon spools mounted, on spaced axes and provided with ratchet Wheels, a pivoted operating lever, feed pawls on said lever for said spools, a plate swiveled about the axis of said lever, power means to rock said plate and to thereby render said feed pawls alternately operative and inoperative, and devices controlling the movements of said swiveled plate and responsive to changes in ribbon spool diameter.

12. Ribbon mechanism for recording apparatus comprising ribbon spools mounted on spaced axes and provided with ratchet wheels, a pivoted operating lever, feed pawls on said lever for said spools, a plate swiveled about the axis of said lever, and ribbon-controlled means operating to rock said plate by a series of cumulative partial steps and to thereby render said feed pawls alternately operative and inoperative.

ALFRED RUT'I'IMAN.