US2371525A - Accounting machine - Google Patents

Description

"Mar h 13, 1945- A. G. KIBLER ACCOUNTING MACHINE 2- Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July ,51, 1945 INVENTOR ALFRED G K/BLER HIS ATTORNEY March 13, 19 A. G. KIBLER AC'COUNTING MACHINE- Filed July 51, 1945 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG.5

FIG. 6

INVENTOR- ALFRED a K/BLER HIS ATTORNLY Patented Mar. 13, 1945 2,311,525 ACCOUNTING moms Alfred G. Kibler, Dayton, Ohio, assignor to The National Cash Register Company, Dayton, Ohio, a corporation of Maryland Application July 31, 1943, Serial No. 496,899

Claims,

This invention relates to cash registers and accounting machines. and particularly to slip, bill,

statement, or card ejecting and inverting mechanisms adapted to be used in machines of the type illustrated and described in United States Letters Patent No. 1,916;535, issued July 4, 1932, to Bernis M. Shipley, and No. 2,141,332, issued December 2'7, 1938, to Charles H. Arnold, and'is an improvement-over the ejecting mechanism shown in the patent to John Earl Gates, Re.

21,442, dated May '7, 1940. The present invention is also an improvement over an ejecting and inverting mechanism shown and described in the co-pending a plication for United States Letters Patent of Walter J. Kreider, Serial No. 496,122, filed July 26, 1943.

It is common practice among public utility companies such as gas and electric companies, telephone companies, and water companies to furnish their customers periodically with statements of their accounts. Such statements, before being mailed out to the customers, are usually composed of a plurality of detachable portions; namely, an oflice copy, a customer's statement, and a cashiers stub. Each of the different portions of the. statement bears the same information identifying that particular account and the amount due for the service ren-' dered the customer.-

Such statements or bills are'of varying widths and also of varying thicknesses. In some cases, the material used is of a paper substantially the same thickness as a standard governmental postal card, and again, in other instances, the statements may be on very thin or flimsy paper, which are inserted'in envelopes and mailed to the customers. In the heavier type of paper, the statement itself is mailed as apostal card.

In making up the bills or statements, the operator inserts the form into the machine against a stop, after which the machine, by means of a feeding mechanism, draws the form into the machine into position to be printed upon, either once or a plurality of times, depending upon the type of bill or statement which is to be issued to the customer. Of course, if a plurality of prints are to be made, then the feeding mechanism functions between each print, so that there will be no overprint, as is fully illustrated and described in the above-mentioned Arnold and Gates patents.

After the last printing has taken place, which is usually the total of the bill or statement, the statement is fed forwardly into a position to be ejected from the machine and inverted.

It is with this ejecting and inverting mechanism that the presentinvention is particularly involved. In some of the machines on the market, bills or statements are fed a considerable distance, and a, gripping device grips the statement and ejects it from the machine and at the same time inverts the statements so that they will be in their proper sequential or alphabetical order, depending upon how the operator has them arranged. Sometimes, due to the very thinness of the paper used, and also even due to the fact that the paper is of a very heavy texture, the ejecting mechanism occasionally will cru'mple or bend the statements, and sometimes they may even catch in-the machine and not be completely ejected.

To avoid such things happening, the present invention is arranged to grip the bill or statement sheet at or near the leading edge thereof, after it hasbeen printed upon and fed to the ejecting position, and eject it from the machine, and at the same time invert it so as not to destroy the sequential or alphabetical order of the stack.

By gripping the statement or bill near the leading edge thereof, such statement or bill is not pushed but is drawn out of the machine and at the ame time automatically inverted without in any way placing any strain on the paper. The present manner of ejecting and inverting thestatement sheet from the machine eliminates the use entirely of a paper chute, such as has been used in many instances in the past, thus elimi-.

nating the possibility of the statement sheet sticking in the chute during th process of ejecting the same.

It is, therefore, an object of this invention to provide a novel combination of elements to eject and invert a statement sheet or bill from the machine after 'it has been printed upon, regardless of the thickness or the thinness of the material used for the bill.

Another object of this invention is to provide a novel ejecting and inverting mechanism for inserted statements or bills to grip the statement by the leading edge thereof after it has been fed to a designated position, and then eject said bill or statement by drawing it completely out of the machine, thus eliminating all friction which attends ejecting mechanism where the paper or statement is pushed out through a chute, thus definitely eliminating all strains and stresses on the paper and preventing crumpling or buckling thereof. I

Another object of this invention is to provide a novel rotatable ejecting and inverting mechanism for statement sheets, including a floating member carrying a pivoted gripping finger and a single member to drive the floating member and control the gripping finger.

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.

f said drawings:

Fig. 1 is a view showing a portion ofthe ejecting and inverting mechanism in its normal position and also shows the operating means for said mechanism.

Fig. 2 is a detail view of a portion of the ejecting mechanism, showing the actuating means or driver for the ejecting device and the gripping finger. 1 I

Fig. 3 is a front view, partially broken away, showing the ejecting and inverting mechanism in the normal position.

Fig. 4' is a detail view of the statement sheet deflector and the operating mechanism therefor.

Fig. 5 is a detail view of a portion of the ejecting mechanism in the moved position, after the gripping finger has been opened and the statement sheet, shown in dotted lines, fed into a'position to be gripped by the gripping finger.

Fig. 6. is an enlarged detail view of a portion of the gripping finger, showing the serrations on the outside thereof, which cooperate with the statement sheet or bill.

Fig. 7 is a detail view of a portion of the electing mechanism, showing the gripping finger gripping the statement sheet, the parts being in the positions they assume just prior to the beginning of the ejecting movement of the parts.

Fig. 8 is a detail view showing a portion of the ejecting mechanism in the position it assumes after the statement sheet has been ejected and inverted, and just after the statement sheet is released by the gripping finger.

Grammar. Dnscarp'rron The ejecting device includes curved plates or flanges carried by substantially circular plates,

which plates have pivoted thereto gripping levers with fingers adapted to cooperate specifically with the flanges, under the influence of springs.

To drive the substantially circular. plates and the gripping devices, there is provided a pair of arms secured to a shaft which is driven through a rack and pinion under the power of a camming device. 4

This pair of driving arms also operates the gripping levers to release the gripping fingers from the gripping position so that the statement sheets or bills can be properly stacked after they have been ejected and inverted by applicant's novel mechanism.

The invention herein is shown as having been applied to a machine of the type shown in the above-mentioned Arnold Patent No. 2,141,332.

Therefore only a small portion of the mechanism of that patent is shown herein in Fig. 1. This mechanism includes a part of the statement sheet feeding mechanism, a type wheel, one of the hammers, and a driving or operating mechanism for the ejecting and inverting mechanism.

- DETAILED DESCRIPTION As has been previously stated, a small portion of the printingand feeding mechanism of the type shown and described in the above-mentioned Arnold Patent No. 2,141,332 has been shown herein, in order to show the relationship between such printing and feeding mechanisms and the novel ejecting and inverting mechanism of the present application.

The greater part of the printing mechanism is supported between side frames BI and 62 (Figs. 1 and 3), which are secured to a base (not shown) and which are connected by several tie bars 63 (only one being shown).

Statement sheet or slip feed rollers 64 (only one being shown) are secured to a shaft which is supported by the frames BI and 62. The feed rollers 64 are driyen through the rotation of a shaft 65 by means fully illustrated and described in the above-mentioned Arnold and Gates patents. The feeding rollers 64 are notched to provide stopping shoulders 66 to form locating positions for a statement sheet or slip 10 when it is I0 is placed prior to its initial insertion into the which are secured tothe shaft.

machine against the shoulder 65, which position is shown in Fig. 7.

A pivoted deflector 15 is used to guide the statement sheet l0 when it is being inserted into the machine. This deflector 15 is shown in its normal position in Fig. 1. In Figs. 4 and 5, it is shown in the position it assumes prior to the printing, which position it retains until after the statement sheet 10 has been fed outwardly by the rollers 64.

With the deflector 15 in the normal position, shown in Fig. 1, the operator inserts a statement sheet 10 underneath the deflector l5 and up against the shoulders into the position shown in full lines in Fig. 7. After this insertion, the feed rollers 64 are rotated clockwise to feed the statement sheet I0 into the machine, into position to be printed upon-by the type I2. This position is shown by the dot-and-dash lines in Fig. 7. Other s'tep-by-step feeds may or may not take place, depending upon whether or not there is to be one or a multiplicity of prints made upon the statement sheet Ill. After the printing h taken place, the rollers 64 feed the statemen sheet. forwardly or toward the. front of the machine (Figs; 5 and '7).

19 toward the left, asjust described, the deflector I5 is moved from the position shown in Fig. 1 to that shown in Figs. 4 and 5,in order to deflect the statement sheet HI downwardly so that it will not come out on top of the table 14 but will be moved into a position as shown in Fig. 5, where it is then ready to be ejected from the first inserted into the machine by the operator.

Prior to the printingand this latter feeding of the statement sheet 3 machine by the ejecting mechanism and at the same time automatically inverted so as to maintain the proper sequential numerical or alphabetical order of the sheets as they are stacked.

The deflector 15 is secured toa Shaft 16, which has fastened thereto an arm 11 carrying a pin 18 engaged by a forked arm 19 pivoted on a shaft 88. The shaft 88 is carried by the side frames 6| and 62 and is supported intermediate its ends by brackets 8|, which are fastened to the tie bar 63. The arm 19 has a finger 82 (Figs. 1 and 4), which is held in contact with a stud 83 by a spring 84 stretched between a stud on the arm 19 and the stud 83, which iscarried by a lever 85.

- This lever 85 is also pivotally mounted upon the shaft 88 and has a finger 88 normally held in contact with a stud 81 on the frame 82 by a spring 88 (Fig. 1). Secured to the shaft 88 is an operating arm 98, shown in the normal position in Fig. 1.

The shaft 88 is adapted, by means to be hereinafter described, to be given first a clockwise movement and then a counter-clockwise movement back to its normal position. Upon the clockwise movement of the shaft 88, the arm- 90 engages a stud 9I' carried by the lever 85 and rocks' the lever 85 clockwise from the position shown in Fig. 1 to the position shown in Fig. 4. During this clockwise movement of the lever 85, the spring 84 causes the finger 82 to remain in contact with the pin 83 on the lever 85 and consequently rocks the arm 19 in a clockwise direction, which, through the pin 18, rocks the arm 11, the shaft 18, and the deflector-15 counterclockwise from the position shown in Fig. 1 to that shown in Figs. 4 and 5.

The deflector is maintained in this position shown in Figs. 4 and for approximately 180 degrees of time, or until after the statement sheet 18 has been moved into the position shown in Fig. '7 by the feeding rollers 84, after which the shaft 88 and the operating arm 98 are returned in a counter-clockwise direction from the position shown in Fig. 4 to the normal position, shown in Fig. 1. During this counter-clockwise movement of the arm 98, the spring 88 causes the pin 9| to follow the arm 98 until the finger 86 of the lever 85 contacts the stop stud 81. which is the normal position of the lever 85. During this counter-clockwisemovement of the lever 85, the pin 83', under the influence of the spring 88, rocks the finger 82 and the arm 19 counter-clockwise from the position shown in Fig. 4 to the position shown in Fig. 1, thus moving the deflector back to its normal position in Fig. 1.

The means for operating the shaft 88 first clockwise andthen counter-clockwise, as above described, includes a pinion 92 securedto the end of the shaft 88, as shown in'Figs. 1 and 3. Meshing with this pinion is a rack 93.

rack 93 has a smaller rack 94secured to the side thereof, which meshes with a gear 95 having fastened thereto a pinion 98, which in turn meshes with a gear segment 91. .The gear segment -91 carries a roller 98 cooperating with a cam 99 fast on a cam shaft ion. This cam shaft 100, as is fully illustrated and described in theabove-mentioned Arnold and Gates patents, receives one clockwise rotation for each operation of the machine. During this operation, the cam 99,

3 clockwise direction, thus turning the shaft 88 likewise.

The cam 99 is so timed that the shaft is held in its clockwise moved position for subrapidly rotating the pinion 92 and the shaft 38 counter-clockwise, so that the electing and inverting mechanism to be hereinafter described will be operated to quickly eject and invert the statement sheet.

Eiecting and inverting mechanism In the preferred form of embodiment shown, the novel ejecting and inverting mechanism includes a pair of substantially circular plates H8 freely mounted on the shaft 88. Each plate H8 has a right-angled lip I I I, to which is secured an arcuate-shaped finger H2, with which cooperates a. gripping finger H3 of a lever H4 pivoted on a pin H5 carried by the plate H8, -In' the-normal positions of the parts as shown in Fig. 2, a spring I I6, connected to a stud I I1 onthe lever I I I and a stud H8 on the plate H8, holds the gripping finger H3 in contact with the inner side of the finger H2. The finger H3 has serrations H9, shown only in the enlarged drawing (Fig. 6), to insure a good grip on the sheet 18. The lever H4 also carries a pin I28 for cooperating with a driving arm I2I in a manner to be'hereinafter described. This arm I2I also cooperates with a pin I22 carried by the plate I I8. I

The lever H4 carries a roller I25 projecting through an opening I26 in the plate H8 to cooperate with a cam I21, which is angularly adjustable around'the shaft 88. For this purpose of adjustment, the cam I21 is provided with a pair of studs- I28 (Figs. 3 and 5), which project through concentric slots L29 in the stationary bracket 8I. By means of the slots I29 and the studs I28, the cam I21 can be angularly adjusted around the shaft 88 to bring its control surface I38 in the desired position to cooperate with the roller I25 of the lever H4. After the control surface I38' has been'adjusted to the proper position, the cam I21 is locked in its adjusted position by means of nuts I3I.

OPERATION The operation of the novel ejecting and inverting mechanism above described is as follows:

In Fig. l, the parts are all shown in their normal positions, and the statement sheet 18 is shown as having been inserted in the machine against the shoulder 66 of the feeding-roller 64,

ready to be drawn into the machine by the feed before they are mailed out. However, after the final printing, which, as above stated, is usually the total, the statement sheet is fed into the pothrough the roller 98, rocks the segment 91 clock- I sition shown in Fig. 7.

Prior to the printing and this feeding of the statement sheet into the position shown in Fig. 7, the rack 93 (Fig. 1) is moved to the left, as

viewed in Fig. 1, thus rotating the shaft 80 in a clockwise direction. During this clockwise movement of the shaft 80, the operating arms. I2I are of course moved clockwise and the floating or loosely mounted plates I III move clockwise, keeping the pins I22 against the arms I2I, due to the fact that most of the weight of the plates I I is, in the normal position, on the right-hand side of the shaft 80, as viewed in Fig. 2. However, as the arms I2I continue their clockwise movement, the gap between said arms and the pins I20 on the gripping levers I will be closed, and the arms I2I' continue to carry the plates H0 in a clockwise direction until the parts reach the positions shown in Fig. 5. e

When the plates I III have reached the position shown in Fig. 5, a stud I34 on each plate I In contacts a square stud I35 on each stationary bracket BI, thus stopping the clockwise movement of the plates III). After this, the shaft 80 and the arms I2l have still a slight clockwise movement to go to reach themaximum position of their clockwise rotation, during which time the arms I'2I, through their engagement with the pins I20, rock the levers Ill counter-clockwise around their pivot studs H5, thus openingthe gripping fingers H3, or, in other words, moving these fingers, H3 away from the inside of the fingers II2, so that the statement sheet I0 may be fed between the fingers H2 and the fingers I I3, as is shown in Fig. 5. 'In this figure, the statement sheet I0 is shown as just entering the space between the fingers H2 and H3, and in Fig. 7 the statement sheet is shown 'as having been-fully fed by the feeding rollers 84 just prior to the time the ejecting and inverting take place.

After all of the printing has taken place on the statement sheet and the sheet is in the position shown in Fig. 7, the cam 99 releases the segment 81 to the action of the spring IOI, whereupon the rack 93 is rapidly moved to the right into thefposition shown in Fig. 1, thus rotatingthe shaft 80 and the arms I2 I in a counter-clockwise direction to their normal position. During the very first part of this counter-clockwise movement of the arms I2I, they move away from the pins I20 and contact the pins I22 on the plates IIO. As the arms In leave the pins I20 on the levers Ill, the springs H6 rock the levers II I from the position shown in Figto the position shown in Fig. 7, 'thus causing the fingers M3 to position shown in Fig. 7 into the position shown in Fig. 8. When the statement sheet reaches the position shown in Fig. 8, it has been ejected and inverted from the printing mechanism, and its 1 leading edge comes into contact'w-ith edges I36 of Just prior to the contact of the leading edge of the statement sheet II! the stationary brackets 8 I.

with'the edges I36 of the brackets 8|, the rollers I25 of the levers I M have contacted the high surfaces I30 of the cams I2'I, thus rocking the levers I I4 counter-clockwise against the action of the springs IIS, thereby opening up the fingers H3 and H2, or, in other'words, removing the fingers II3 away from the statement sheet 10,

thus leaving the statement sheet free, as shown in Fig. 8f.

' Now. upon the further counter-clockwise movement of the plates III! to their normal position (that is, from the position shown in Fig. 8 back to the position shown in Fig. 2), since the leading edge of the statement sheet 10 is contacting the edges I36 of the brackets 8|, the statement sheet In cannot move any farther, and consequently the open fingers H3 and H2 will be moved past the edges of the statement sheet I0, whereupon it will fall into a receptacl I31 (Fig. 1) with its printed side down, or, in other words, inverted from the position in which it was inserted into the machine.

It might be stated here that, at the time the plates III] are being rocked in a clockwise direction from the position shown in Fig.2 to the position shown in Fig. 5, the rollers I25 of the levers I I4 contact the high surfaces I30 of the stationary cams I27 and open the fingers H2 and H3, but during this time, since there is no paper or statement sheet in between the fingers, this movement is merelyan idle one, and, as soon as the rollers I25 pass-off the upper side of the high surfaces I30, the springs IIB rock the levers II into a "position whereby the fingers II3 again contact the inside of the fingers II2.

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 form or embodiment herein disclosed, for it is susceptible of embodiment in various forms all coming within the scope of the claims which follow.

What is claimed is:

1. In a device for ejecting and inverting record material, the combination of oscillating means; floating means; pivoted means carried by said floating means; means on said pivoted means and cooperating with the oscillating means whereby the floating means is moved in one'direction along with the oscillating means; and means carried by the floating means and cooperating with the oscillating means to cause the floating means to be moved in the reverse direction by the reverse movement of the oscillating means.

2. In a device for ejecting and inverting record material, the combination of oscillating means. floating means; pivoted means carried by said floating means; means on said pivoted means to cooperate with said floating means to grip the record material; means on the pivoted means and on the floating means cooperating with the oscillating means whereby the oscillating means oscillates the floating means; camming means; and means carried by said pivoted means to cooperate with said camming means to rock said pivoted cooperating with the oscillating means when the oscillating means is moved in one direction to cause the oscillating means to drive the floating means and move said pivoted means into a position so that the record material may be in serted between the means on the pivoted means andth'e floating means; means on the floating means and cooperating with the oscillating means to cause the oscillating means to rock the floating means in the reverse direction to its home position; means to rock the pivoted means in the material, the combination of oscillating means;

floating means; pivoted means carried by said floating means and adapted to cooperate with said floating means to grip the record material therebetween, eject and invert it from themachine; means on the pivoted means and cooperating with the oscillating means te cause the oscillating means to rotate the floating means into a position to bring the pivoted meansinto position to have the record strip pass between itself and the floating means; and means on the floating means and cooperating with said oscillating means to cause the oscillating means to reversely rotate the floating means to cause the pivoted means and the floating means to eject and invert the record material.

5. In a device for ejecting and inverting record material, the combination of oscillating means; floating means; pivoted mean carried by said floating means and adapted to cooperate with said floatng means to grip the record material therebetween, eject and invert it from the machine; means on the pivoted means and cooperating with the oscillating means to cause the oscillating means to rotate the floating means into a position to bring the pivoted means into position to have the record strip pass between itself and the floating means; means on the floating means and cooperating with said oscillating means to cause the oscillating means to reversely rotate the floating means to cause the pivoted means and the floating means to eject and invert the record material; and a camming device cooperating with said pivoted means to move the same to release the record material after it has been ejected andinverted.

6. In a device for ejecting and inverting record materials, the combination of oscillating means; floating means; pivoted means carried by said floating means-and adapted to cooperate with said floating means to grip the record material therebetween, eject and invert it from the machine; means on the pivoted means and cooperat- 7. In a device for ejecting and inverting record material, the combination of oscillating means; floating means; pivoted means carried by the floating means'and adapted to cooperate with the floating means to grip, eject and invert the record material from the machine; and a pinrality of projections, one on said floating means and one on said pivoted means, both projections cooperating with said oscillating means to cause the oscillating means to oscillate the floating means 'to bring the pivoted means into position to rip, eiect and invert the record material from the machine.

8. In a device for ejecting and inverting record material, the combination of oscillating means; floating means; pivoted means carried by said floating means for cooperating with the floating means to grip the record material, eject it from the machine and at the same time invert it;

projecting means on said floating means; .pro-

jecting mean on said pivoted means; and means carried by said oscillating means and extending between said projecting means to move the floating means and thepivoted means into position to grip the record material, and to move the floating means and the pivoted means to eject the record material from the machine and invert it.

9. In a device for ejecting and inverting record materiaL'the-combination of an oscillating shaft; floating means; pivoted means carried by said floating mean for cooperating with the floating means to rip the record material, eject it from th machine, and at the same time invert it;

projecting means on said floating means; projecting means on said pivoted means; means carried by said oscillating shaft and extending between said projecting means to move the floating means and the pivoted means into position .40 to grip the record material, and to move the ing with the oscillating means to cause the oscilself and the floating means; means on the floatfloating means and the pivoted means to eject the record material from the machine and invert it;

and means'cooperating with said pivoted means to rock the same to release the record material from the pivoted means and the floating means after said record material has been ejected and inverted.

10. In a device for ejecting and inverting record material, the combination of an oscillating shaft; floating means; pivoted means carried by said floating means for cooperating with the floating means to grip the record material, eject it from the machine, and at the same time invert it; projecting means on said floating means; projecting means on said pivoted means; means carried by said oscillating shaft and extending between said projecting means to move the floating means and the pivoted means into position ing means and cooperating with said oscillating ing the return movement oi the floating means to its normal position to move the pivoted means to-rclease the record material after the same has been ejected and inverted from the machine.

to grip the'record material, and to move the floating means and the pivoted means to eject the record material from the machine and invert it; and means for moving said pivoted means after said record material has been ejected and inverted to release said record material item the electing and inverting floating means and pivoted member.

ALIRED G.

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