US2456273A - Printing machine - Google Patents

Description

Dec. 14,1948.. J. H. G RUVER ETAL l v2,456,273

PRINTING MACHINE Dec. 14, 1948. J. H. GRUVER` ErAL PRINTING MACHINE 14 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 26, 1 944 Decyl4, 1948. J. H. `GRUVER ET Al. 2,455,273

PRINTING MACHINE 14 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Dec. 26, 1944 Dec. 14, 1948. J, H GRUVER ErAL 2,456,273

PRINTING MACHINE Filed Dec. 26, 1944 14 Sheets-Sheet 4 Dec. 14, 1948.

.L H. GRUVER ETAL.

PRINTING MACHINE 14 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Dec. 26, 1944 Dec., 14, 1948. J. H. GRUVER Em. 2,456,273

PRINTING MACHINE Filed Dec. 2S, 1,944

14 Sheets-Sheet 6 Dec. 14, 1948. J. H. GRUVER ETAL 2,456,273

PRINTING vMACHINE Filed Dec. 26, 1944 14 Sheets-Sheet 7 .ffor/zeys Dec. 14, 1948. J, H, GRUVER ET AL 2,456,273

PRINTING MACHINE Filed Dec. 26, 1944 14 Sheets-Sheet 8 Dec. 14, 1948. J. H. GRUVER Erm. 2,456,273

PRINTING MACHINE Fi1ed Dec. 26. 1944 14 Sheets-Sheet 9 w, l l

Dec. 14, 1948. J. H. GRuvER Er AL 2,456,273

PRINTING MACHINE Filed Dec. 26, 1944 14 vSheets-Sheet 10 #Vidar/eggs.:

Dec. 14, 1948. J. H. GUvER Erm.

PRINTING MACHINE 14 Sheets-Sheet 11 Filed Dec. 26. 1944 daz-7:6196

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v PRINTING MACHINE 14 Sheets-Sheet 12 Filed Dec. 26., 1944 Mrvzey;

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PRINTING naam.:

Filed Dec. 26. 1944 14 Sheets-Sheet 13 'GGOOGGO- IEIJJIIIK 6 7 8 M g vws/s mma/13M @GOO OQGGO' aflfrzn'lfplal Z' 4 Dec. 14, 1948. .1. H. GRuvER TAL 2,455,273

PRINT-ING MACHINE Filed Dec. 26, 1944 14 SheetshSheet 14 Patented Dee. 14, 1948 PRINTING MACHINE John l. Gruver, East Cleveland. and Homer A.

Seeley, Cleveland, Ohio, assignors to Addressograph-Multigraph Corporation,

Wilmington,

Del., a corporation of Delaware Application December as, 1944, serial Ne. 569,878

9 Claims.

vdata 4that may conveniently be classified as reoccurring data, changeable data. and special data. 5 Such reoccurring data may include the i'orm material, the date, a signature, the name of the company issuing the instruments and otherinformation that is to appear on each'of the instruments. The changeable data 4on an instrument of the aforesaid character usually consists of an identification such as a name and address, and 'othe'rzdata such as one or more numerical amounts that constitute the usual or regular amount of the check,4 the amount of the bill, or the like. The special data. may constitute special form-material-or text, or may comprise special numerical data s uch as the amount of interest to be added to the regular amount of the instrument, or the amount of a dividend that is to be deducted from the regular amount, and in many instances the special data to be incorporated may include both numerical data and special text material.

Where business instruments such as bills,

notices, checks or like business records or instruments are to be prepared at stated intervals for large groups of companies or persons, itis advantageous to employ an individual printing device of a relatively permanent character for each company 4or person to print thechangeable data or information that normallyforms part of each of the respective business instruments, so that by passing al1 of such printing devices through a pri'thting machine, such changeable data pertaining!" to each company or person may be printed' einen individual sheet or business instrument. Printingmachines of the kind that employ such indivi-dirai printing devices have heretofore been equippedfor the printing of additional information on sheets passedtherethrough, so that data such as a date, a signature or the like, may also be printed on such instruments in the course of operation of such a printing machine, and hence, by passing a group of printing devices through such'a machine, itis possible to produce complete dated instruments embodying the changeable data pertaining to each of the persons or companies represented in such group of printing devices.

1n instances where individual printing devices (Cl. lol-2) 2 are thus employed, the system of filing or storing the printing devices is often such that in a DM'- ticular run of the printing machine business in'- struments are to be prepared from only selected ones of a particular group, and in the past it has been customary to provide identifying means on the printing devices whereby selector mechanism in the printing machine might function to pass selected of the printing devices through the machine without making impressions therefrom. Thus certain of the printing devices were skipped. while business instruments were prepared pertaining to the other printing devices of the group, andsuch operation has been known as print-skip selection or control. The business instruments produced in an instance such as the foregoing will be of a uniform or standard character in that the changeable data afforded on the same area .or portion of each printing device will be printed on the related instrument, and the reoccurring data of the same general character 4or extent will be used or printed on each instrument, and in those situations where such uniform or standard instruments may be utilized in respect to each of the persons or companies to which the printing devices pertain, the procedure heretofore described constitutes an efiicient and accurate way of preparing such instruments. In practice, however, it is found that among any large group of printing devices, many such printing devices of a group will usually per-I tain to persons to whom some special circumstance is applicable so that in respect to such persons a specialinstrument, including special data,

. must be prepared at stated intervals or on certain instruments must be prepared is `found in the preparation insurance premium notices where special notices are required to set forth dividends on other amounts that are to be deducted from the regular premium, or to set forth interest charges that are to be added to the regular premium by reason of a policy loan made to the holder of the policy to which a printingdevice pertains. In most insurance companies provision is made for different premium payment schedules so that premiums on policies are arranged to fall due annually on the anniversary date of the policy, quarterly on the anniversary date and at three month intervals following `the anniversaryA date, or monthly on the anniversary date and on.

the same date of each other month ofthe year:

The premium notices that are payable on the anniversary of a policy may well be called anniversary premium notices, while the other notices payable quarterly or monthly on dates other than the anniversary may be termed regular premium notices, and in practice, the printing devices pertaining to the diilerent policies are so prepared that each printing device embodies all oi the changeable data that is to be printed on the regular premium notices prepared from such printing device. Thus, when an anniversary premium notice is to be prepared it is necessary that the related special data be incorporated in such notice, and to enable this to be accomplished in an eilicient and simple manner is a further object of the present invention.

Where a special bill or notice is to be prepared from a particular printing device, this fact may be indicated by identifying means on the-printing device, and the identifying means that thus serve to indicate that a special bill should be prepared may in some instances constitute a special identitying means that is placed upon such a printing device, or may constitute such a special identifying means in combination with other identifying means that are normally placed upon the printing device to indicate the payment period and to indicate the anniversary of the policy to which the printing device pertains, and to enable the extent and character of the data printed on such bilis to be controlled by such identifying means on the printing devices is still another object of the present invention. Other and rel-ated objects are to enable the printing machine of the kind to which the present invention relates to print variable amounts of data on business yinstruments such as insurance premium notices under control of the identitying means carried on the printing device, and to enable the business instruments thus printed to be sorted as either regular or special notices under control of the identifying means carried by the printing devices from which the business instruments are printed.

The special notices that must be prepared in most instances require that additional numerical or text matter be added to the instruments and because of the wide v-ariation that is encountered in a group of special bills it is customary to insert such additional information or text by means of the typewriter, and for this reason it is necessary to separate special bills from the regular bills that are printed in such a printing machine. It is therefore -a further object of this invention to enable the regular bills produced by such printing machine to be collected in one group while the special bills are collected in another group so that they may then be finished by insertion of the required special data. An object related It has been pointed out hereinbefore that in the case of insurance premium notices, such notices must be prepared at stated intervals, and in practice, since there are premium notices that must be sent out each month in relation to the policies where monthly premium payments are required, it is customary for insurance companies to prepare their premium notices each month, and to simplify the setup and operation of the printing machine to accomplish such monthly runs of premium notices is a further and important object of the present4 invention. An object related to the foregoing is to enable the selector mechanism of a printing machine to be readily set up dor the preparation of bills for any month of the year, and to accomplish the setup of the machine in such a manner that the operation of the machine may be readily coordinated with the character of the printing devices that are to be passed therethrough.

Other and further objects ci the present invention will be apparent from the following description and claims. are illustrated in the accompanying drawings which, by way of illustration, show a preferred embodiment and the principle thereof and what we now consider to be the best mode in which we have contemplated applying that principle. Other embodiments of the invention embodyingthe same or equivalent principle may be used and structural changes may be made as desired by those skilled in the art without departing from the present invention and view of the appended claims.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a front elevational view of a printing machine embodying the features of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a plan view o! the machine shownl in Fig. 1:

Fig. 3 is a fragmental detail view oi a portion of the driving and operating mechanism oi the machine;

Fig. 4 is a fragmental vertical sectional view illustrating the drive mechanism of the platen and printing device advancing means;

Fig. 5 is a fragmental rear elevational view of the sorting mechanism and the storage mechanism of the machine;

Fig. 6 is a sectional view taken along the line 6-6 of Fig. 5 and showing the sorting mechanism and a part of the storage mechanism;

Fig. 'I is a sectional view taken along the line 11 of Fig. ,5i

Fig. 8 is a sectional view taken along the line 8-8of Fig. 5;

Fig. 9 is a sectional view taken along the line 9-9 of Fig. 5 and illustrating the means that control the sorting mechanism;

Fig. 10 is a gfragmental plan sectional view illustrating the sensing mechanism;

Fig. 11 is a fragmental vertical sectional view taken substantially along the line ii-ii of Fig.

Fig. 12 is a fragmental vertical sectional view taken along the line iZ-i on F18. l0;

Fig. 13 is atransverse vertical sectional view taken substantially along the line il-la oi Fig.

Fig. 14 is a `iragmental vertical sectional view taken substantially along the line iB-it of Fig. l0;

Fig. 15 is a vertical sectional view taken through the printing drum of the rotary printing unit of the machine;

Fig. 16 is a view similar to Fig. 15 and showing the operating parts thereof in diil'erent positions;

Fig. 17 is a fragmental plan View of the printing cylinder of the rotary printing unit of the machine;

Fig. 18 is a fragmental end elevational view of one of the ends of the printing drum shown in Fig. 17;

Fig, 19 is a iragmental iront elevational view the pur- 'et the pieten meen. uns view being in eae'et an enlarged illustration oi a portion of the mechanism shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. is' a fragmental vertical sectional view' taken substantially along the line 2li-20 of Fig.

business instrument produced in the machine of this invention;

Fig` is a face view of a printing device from which the business instrument oi Fig. 24 may be produced; Y

Figs. 26 and 27, when taken together, consti .tute a schematic wiring diagram illustrating the interconnection and manner of association of the elements of the machine;

Fig. 28 is a table showing one manner in which the various tab positions of the printing devices may be illustrated for use with the present machine; and,

Figs. 28A, 28B, 28C, 28D and 28E are fragmental views showing printing devices having various arrangements of identifying tabs mounted thereon. The insurance bills or premium notices of the character for the production of which the present machine is particularly adapted are shown in detail in Figs. 22 and 24 of the drawings, and as shown inFig. 22, the insurance bill is print'd upon a sheet S having sections Si, S2, and S3 which constitute, respectively, a premium notice, a nal notice and an oilicial receipt. The section Si is joinedto the section S2 along a weakened line i0. while the section S2 is joined to the section S along weakened line il so that the various sections may be readily separated after the production of the complete business instrument has been completed. Business instruments such as that shown in Figs..22 and 24 are adapted to be produced from and under the control of individ-.K

ual printing and control devices such as the printingand control devices D shown in Figs. 23

and 25, andwhile such printing devices may takeA many different forms, they are herein illustrated as being of the construction illustrated in Gollwitzer Patent No. 2,049,437, patented August 4, 1936.

The sheets S upon which the insurance bill,

vshown in Figs. 22 and 24 are produced are in the present instance in the form of preprinted sheets which carry asubstantial portion of the reoc-ry curring data that constitutes the text or form which it is desired to incorporate in the bill, and auch preprinted text is indicated at F in Fig. 22 of the drawings. In addition to theform material F which is included upon the sheets S, it is often desirable to include other text which will be constant throughout a relatively long run of the machine, and s uch additional text is printed upon the bill by the present machine and is indicated at 2I8' in Fig. 20. Each such bill prepared in the present machine pertains, of course,

. to a particular person or thing, and the changea'ble data including identifying text or data N is therefore printed upon the bili and is derived bill is prepared for this particular person. and

such amount is thus ordinarily printed upon the bill, as at M, and this 'amount is derived from corresponding printing characters embossed on the printing device D as indicated at M' in Fig. 23. In respect to the preparation of insurance bills, certain of the characteristics or controlling data of the related contract of insurance must also be indicated on the bill, such as the day of the'month upon' which the premium is due, and this day is indicated on the completed bills and on each 4section thereof as indicated at i1, such material being derived from corresponding characters i1' embossed upon the printing device D. The date l1 is so printed upon the bill that the particular month and year in which the payment. is due may be inserted or printed by other means as indicated at I 8 in Fig. 22, and resort is had to this expedient because the printing devices that are passed through the machine in ai particular run may relate to a number of diner-'ent kinds of insurance contracts. In other words, many of the printing devices D may relate to insurance contracts upon which the premium is to be paid annually, and this fact is indicated'as shown in Fi'g; 22 by the printed text i9 which is derived from corresponding printing characters emlbossed upon the printing device D at ID' in Fig. 2 3.- In other instances the insurance contract to which a particular printing device D relates may call for quarterly payment of the premium, and in such an instance suitable text is printed as at 2'0 upon the bill Fig. 24, from corresponding type characters 2li' formed on the printing shown in- Fig. 25. In other instances, an insurance contract may call for monthly payment of the premiums. and in such a case a suitable legend is carried upon the printing devicein the same position as the legend is' so as to be reproduced in the same position on the bill which is printed therefrom. 1

- As hereinabove pointed out, the month and the year in which the amount set forth in a particular b'ill is to be paid are-printed fromindependent means, that is by means other than the type characters carried upon the related printing device D, for in a particular run of -the machine,

ail the bills produced will be payable-"in a particumonth', and therefore, as will' hereinafter bedescribed in detail, the anniversary month of the policy, the classification of the policy as annual, quarterly, or monthly, as weil as the other controlling characteristics and data pertaining to each insurance contract are represented on each printing device D by identifying means such as tabs i5 disposed in proper identifying positions on the printing device relating'to the respective contract. Furthermore, other special characteristics applicable to each insurance contract are indevlce aS relate to insurance contracts dlcated as required on the related printing and control device by identifying means such as tabs li, and among such special characteristics that may befthus indicated are the existence of a policy loan, or the necessity for a premium reduction. l

Whilel in the form chosen for disclosure herein the invention is embodied in a machine for producing insurance premium notices S of the aforesaid character from and under control of individual printing devices D which are fed one by one through the machine, it will be evident, of course, that the machine of this invention may be utilized for producing other kinds of business instruments .such as various forms of public utility bills, tax notices and the like.

As herein shown the machine of this invention comprises an upstanding frame 30 affording a table top 3i along which the sheets S are advanced for performance of the desired printing operations thereon. The sheets from which the bills are to be produced by the present machine are preferably supplied to the machine in a preprinted form, although under some circumstances it may be desirable to utilize a web feed mechanism which cuts the required sheets from a web and passes these individual sheets one by one through the machine. Where preprinted sheets are employed, such sheets are: placed in the supf ply magazine 32 of a sheet feeder 33 which is mounted upon the right hand end of the machine as shown in Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings, and which separates the sheets and advances the same by one into a sheet guldeway 34 which extends along the table top 3| of the machine longitudinally thereof. The sheets are advanced along'the guideway 34 by means including constantly operated belts 35 and 3B, and in the course of such movement the sheets are brought to rest in successive positions beneath a platen P so that successive impressions may be made thereon from printing devices D which are advanced in succession through the machine andintoprlnting position beneath the platen P. Upon completion lof the desired number of printed impressions on a sheet S by the platen P, the sheet is further advanced along the guideway 34 and is passed through a rotary printing mechanism 40 that vis supported on a bracket 4| at the left hand end of the machine frame 30 which prints selected other datal upon the bills or sheets. After the rotary printing mechanism 40 has operated upon each sheet, the sheet is discharged into a sorting or classifying mechanism E0 where the bills are sorted in accordance with varying characteristics which may have been embodied in the bills in the course of the aforesaid printing operations, and the operator of the machine may then remove the bills from the machineV and make such additional entries in the bills as maybe indicated -by the class or group into which they have been sorted.

Theprinting machine herein illustrated embodies many of the constructional features and arrangements included in the printing machine illustrated in the Gollwitzer Patent No. 2,002,773

and illustrated in the Hartley Patent. No.

2,002,737, both patented May 28, 1935, and the sheet feeder 33 as herein illustrated may be of the form shown in the aforesaid Gollwitzer patent. This sheet feeder 33 is in such an instance driven from the main drive shaft of the printing machine lin the manner .illustrated in the aforesaid Gollwitzer patent, thereby to operate in the proper timed relation to the other mechanism I6 from a horizontal shaft 11 which extends along 8 of the machine. As shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings, the main drive shaft of the machine carries a fly wheel 62 on the rear end thereof, this fly wheel being driven from a main motor 54 of the machine through a suitable belted connection. The main shaft of the machine is connected as shown in the aforesaid Gollwitzer patent so as to drive a platen shaft 08 which extends longitudihally of the machine above the table top 3| and somewhat rearwardly of the sheet guideway 34 and during operation of the machine, the platen shaft is operated continuously.

The .main drive shaft of the machine, as shown in the aforesaid Hartley patent and the aforesaid Gollwitzer patent, operates to drive a timing shaft corresponding to the shaft 34 of the aforesaid Hartley patent, that is included in the sheet feeder 33 at a reduced speed which is dependent upon the number of impressions which are toibo printed upon each sheet S fed into the machinel thereby to feed asheet to the sheet guldeway each time the required number 'of impressions have `been made on a sheet, and this timing shaft of the sheet feeder 33 operates in turn, as shown in the Hartley patent, to drive a cam shaft '60 which extends longitudinally in the machine -above the table top and rearwardly of the sheet guideway 34. The cam shaft is, in the present case, rotated in a one-to-one relation to the timing shaft of the sheet -feeder 33, and operates to control the means for stopping the sheet at different positions along the sheet guideway so that impressions may be m'ade thereon in proper positions. As herein shown such means comprise a plurality of stop fingers 6l, 82 and 33 theralong so that they may be dropped into position ,to stop the sheet S as it is moved along the guideway. The other or rear ends of the stop fingers 3l, 62 and 33 are arrangedto engage cams that '-are conventionally mountedand arranged 'on the cam shaft 00 in such a relation that stop fingers 8|, 62 and 63 are rendered active in succession to stop the sheet in three different progressively advanced positions with relation to the platei'r P.

As-'the sheet S is released by the last stop ilnger 63, it'fis advanced along the guideway 34 and into the rotary printing unit 40. This rotary printing unit, as herein shown, is of the'character d lsclosed in the patent to Kranz No. 1,946,217 patented February 6, 1934, and this printing unit includes an upper platen drum 10, and a cooperating' lower printing drum 1| upon which the elec'totypes or other printing means are secured. As disclosed in the aforesaid Kranz patent, the two drums 'I0 and 'H are lrotated constantly during operation ofthe machine and such rotation of the drums in unison is accomplished througha lpair of meshed `gears 12 and 13, Fig. 5, which are meshed with each other and secured respectively to the drums `10 and 1|. The lower one of the drums is driven by a bevel gear connection 14 .from a vertical shaft 15 in substantially the same manner as in the aforesaid Kranz patent, and this vertical shaft J5 is driven through a bevel gear the rear portion of the machine and it is in turn driven lfrom the main platen shaft 56. ,The desired connection between the platen shaft -and the shaft 11 is afforded by 'a reduction gearing 13, Fig. 3, which is in the present case arranged so that the shaft 11 is rotated in a one-to-three 9 i v relationship with respect to the main platen shaft 90. The bevel gear connection 1I and 10 are each arranged in a one-to-one relationship so that drums l and 1| of the .rotary printing unit l0 are operated through one cycle of operation for each three operations of the platen P.

As disclosed in the aforesaid Kranz patent, the drums and 1| are arranged for separating movement in the event that a sheet is not fed into position between the two drums, and such operation is attained in the presentjmachine through the use yof' a sheet detecting means located in the sheet guideway 84 in the manner taught in the Kranz patent. As a sheet S passes 4through the printing unit 00 it is advanced'into position between a pair of discharge rollers i9 so as to be advanced onto a sorting platform 90, Figs. 1, 2, 5 and 6 which forms part of the classifying mechanism 50. After the bill or sheet S has come to rest upon the platform 90, the platform 00 is tilted in one direction or the other laterally of the path of advancing movement of the sheet S, to thereby drop the bill into one or the other of a pair of collecting magazines 9| and 92, and under the present invention such selective disposition of the completed bill is accomplished automatically under control of the identifying means such as the tabs I0 c'arried upon the printing device from and under control of which such bill was produced. Therefore, the sorting of the sheets or bills is in accordance with the characteristics that have been imparted theretol by the printing means of the machine.

The printing devices D are supplied to the machine by depositing a group of such printing devices in a magazine 05 which is disposed somewhat rearwardly of the printing position in an upstanding relation with respect to the table top of the machine. The printing devices D are arranged or stacked in the magazine 85 so as to be positioned one upon another, and the machine is provided with printing device advancing means which is operable to Withdraw the lowermost printing device D from the magazine 95 and to advance the printing device in a step by'step manner forwardly along a print device guideway 89, Figs 4, 10, 11 and 13, which includes a sensing position II and a printing position III. Each printingdevice D comes to rest first at sensing position II and then at printing position III and is thereafter vdischarged forwardly and dow`nwardly and into a collecting means such as a conventional galley or collecting drawer,

The printing devi :e advancing means employed inthe present machine is of general character disclosed in the patent to Gollwitzer No. 2,002,771

tion of the printing device advancing means. In the present instance the pawl 92 is normally urged toward an active relation by a spring 99, but is normally .held disengaged by a rocker 91 that has a cam surface 91' thereon engaging a pin 91" on the 'pawl 92. When the pawl 92 is to be enmounted in alignment with the horizontal shaft 7l, Fig. 3, and is connected directly thereto so asy to be rotated by the shaft l1 in a one-to-one relationship thereto. Thus the cam shaft 99 operates through one revolution each time the printing unit 40 operates through a printing cycle, and because of the relation of the printing unit H0 to the platen operating shaft 56, it will also be apparent that cam shaft 95 operates through one revolution for each three operative strokes of the platen P.

When a printing device D has been advanced from the magazine 85 and into sensing position as shown in Fig. 10 of the drawings, the identifying means afforded by the tabs I5 are sensed in order that the certainautomatic functions in the machine may be controlled in subsequent cycles of operating of the machine. This is accomplished by a sensing head |0| which is supported for vertical movement over the guideway 89 of the printing device advancing means. rlfhe sensing'head relation to a stationary guide plate |02, Figs. 10 to 13, that spans the guideway 99, and the senslng head |0| is in the present instance guided for vertical movement by a pair of guide studs |03 that project upwardly from the plate |02 and extend with a snug sliding fit through bores patented May-28, 1935, in that an eccentric 90,

Fig. 4, mounted on the main platen shaft 56 is arranged to'operate a plunger 9| which may be clutched, by means of a hook 92, to a rocker 93 which imparts advancing movement to the other elements of the printing device advancing means. The plunger 9| is slidably embraced by a sleeve 92' pivoted at 93' on the rocker 99, and it vis upon the sleeve 92' that the hook or pawl 92 is pivoted. In order that the printing device advancing means may be renderedv inoperative or inactive, the hook or pawl 92 must be disconnected from the plunger 9|, and this is accomplished in .the present machine in the manner disclosed in the patent to Hartley No, 2,002,737 patented May 28, 1935. Thus, as shown in the aforesaid Hartley patent, a cam shaft 95 is provided which controls engagement of the connecting pawl 92 `with the plunger 9|, thereby to control opera- |04 in the sensing head |0|.` Relatively large washers |05 on the upper ends of the studs |03 are held in place by screwsv |09 threaded into the studs, and thus upward on retracting movement of the sensing head |02, that is induced by' springs |01,

is limited. Downward movement of the sensing head |0| is in the present case eiected by a pair of'arms |08 which are fixed adjacent opposite ends of a rock shaft v|09, so that the ends of the arms |08 bear on the respec tive heads of a pair of adjustable pressure studs |09 mounted in upstandingrelation in the top of the sensing head |0|. Thus, when a printing device D is in a position beneath the sensing head |0|, the arms |09 may be actuated to move the sensing head |0| in a downward direction through an operative senslng stroke `against the force of the springs |01. This is accomplished in the present instance through the use of the cam shaft 95, Fig. 12, which has an operating cam ||0 fixed thereon. This cam I0 has but a single lobe since it is necessary that the sensing head |0| be operated but once with respect to each printing device, but it will be observed that in the present machine each printing device remains in l a sensing station throughout three operative cycles of the platen P. I'he cam I0 is arranged to act upon a rollerill'mounted on the end of an arm ||2 which is fixed to Thus. roller the rock shaft |09.

|||, the sensing head 0| is shifted down- |0| is disposed above and in spaced' when the lobe of the cam 0 engages the,

wardly through an operative sensing stroke with a relatively gradual movement, and when the sensing function of the sensing head has been accomplished, the roller rides o6 of the lobe of the cam ||0 and may move rapidly toward the axis of the cam along an abrupt surface ||0 of the cam lobe.

In the present machine the platen P is operated and controlled in substantially the same manner as in the aforesaid Hartley Patent No. 2,002,737, and the Gollwitzer Patent No. 2,002,773. Thus, as shown in Figs. i, 2, 4 and 20, the platen P is supported upon a rigid arm ||5 which is mounted for rocking movement about a pivotal axis H3, and the arm ||5 has means thereon including a roller which cooperates with a cam ||3 on the shaft 56 so 'that when the cam is rotated through a complete revolution, the Platen P is operated through a printing stroke. The cam ||l is loosely mounted up on the main platen shaft 56 and is arranged to be clutched to the shaft 56 by onerevolution clutch means which includes a disc H9. The disc H9 isl fixed upon the main platen shaft 56 so as to rotate therewith and a clutch pawl |20, pivotally mounted thereon, is spring urged by a spring |2| toward an active position wherein the inner end thereof will engage a lug |22 formed integrally with the cam H8. Thus when the clutch pawl |20 is engaged with the lug |22, the platen P will make one impression for each revolution of lthe main platen shaft 56. In the event that a particular printing device D is to be skipped, the clutch pawl |20 is disengaged, and this is accomplished by mechanism which is generally similar to that shown in the aforesaid Hartley Patent No. 2,002,737 and the Gollwitzer Patent No. 2,002,771. Such mechanism includes a release pawl |25 which is afforded on a rocker |25' and may be rocked to such position as to engage the outer end of the clutch pawl |20 to disengage the same, and the release `pawl |25 is operated in each cycle of operation of the printing device advancing means by means including an operating rod |25. Thus a spring |25A acts on the rocker |25' to urge the same to the position of Fig. 4, and the rod |26 projects slidably through a bearing |25A on the sleeve 92' and has a nut |25B thereon in position to be engaged by the bearing |26B when the sleeve 32' moves upwardly in the course of a printing device operation. Hence the rocker |25 is positively actuated in a clockwise direction in Fig. 4, and is urged in a return or counterclockwise direction by ithe spring |25A. And such operation takes place only in those cycles of operation wherein the printing device advancing movement is t take place. A rocker arm |21, havinga tooth '|20 thereon, is so associated with the rocker |25' that whenever the release pawl |25 is shifted into its operative position, the tooth |28 is shifted into such position that it may be engaged by a tooth |30 on a latching member |3|. The latching member |3| is mounted for rocking movement on an axis |32 and may be shifted between active and inactive position by a selector rocker |33 which has a yielding connection with the latching member i3 I.

In the present machine the selector rocker |33 is operated in a manner-which is different than in the aforesaid`I Hartley and Gollwitzer patents, in that an operating rod |34 is extended downwardly from an arm |35 of the selecting rocker |33, and the rod |34 is connected to the armature of an operating solenoid |36 which is disposed somewhat beneath the table top 3| 0f the i112- l2 chine and on the main frame thereof. The latch member l|3| has a leaf spring |31 connected thereto so that a tooth |33 carried on one end of the spring ridesagainst a head |30 on the end of the selector rocker |33. The selector rocker |33 is normally urged toward the position shown in Fig. 4 of the drawings by a spring |33A so that the tooth |38 is seated in a notch in the head |39, and under such conditions 4the latching member |3| is normally ineffective, and hence the clutch pawl |20 is normally engaged and the platen P is normally operative in each cycle of operation of the main platen shaft 56. When, however, a printing device D is to be skipped, the

solenoid |38` is energized as will hereinafter bey explained so as to shift the selector rocker |33 in a counter-clockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 4, and when this is done the tooth |35 is forced out of the notch in the head |39, thereby to render the latching member |3| active to set or hold the release pawl |25 in such position that as the next cycle of operation of the platen is nearing completion, the clutch pawl v|2II will be disengaged and the platen P will be maintained in its inactive or elevated position. The latch |3| is thus rendered active only whena printing device D is to be skipped, and in this connection it will be observed that the latch |3| is, in such an event, rendered active in the cycle of rotation of the platen shaft 56 in which the printing device advancing means is to be operated. thereby to cause the clutch pawl |20 to be disengaged while the skip printing device is located at printing position. The rocking movements of the rocker |33 are limited by a pin |35A that may engage with one side or the other of an opening |358 in the adjacent frame. In the presentmachine wherein three impressions are normally made on each sheet from a printing device D at a printing position, the inactive condition of the platen P is maintained for three cycles of operation of the platen operating shaft 56, thus enabling other operations which are to be performed upon the preceding sheet or bills to be completed in the normal manner. This controlling action results from the fact that the latch |3| is hooklike in character so as toremain effective until such time as the rocker |25 is again actuated, and this takes place only when the 4printing device advancing means are operated.- -Thus the rocker |25 is maintained in its counter-clockwise position throughout three cycles of the platen 4shaft 56 whenever a printing device is to be skipped, and this characteristic is utilized in the manner described in the aforesaid Hartley patent to suspend the operation cf the sheet supply means 33 and the stop finger mechanism. Thus the rocker |25' extends to the right as shown in Fig. 2 and has a control roller |25B thereon that acts. when the rocker is heldin its counter-clockwise position as viewed in Fig. 4, to disengage a clutch corresponding to the clutch M of the aforesaid Hartley patent. This suspends the operation of the sheet supply means 33 and the stopfinger cam shaft 50, in the manner disclosed-in said Hartley patent.

In addition to the print-skip control of the platen P in the manner just described, additional controls are afforded for a portion of the platen P in order that the data M may be omitted from selected of the bills when this is required. In accomplishing this result, the platen P is made in two sections, one section PI of which is stationarily mounted with respect to the supporting '15 arm ||5 of the platen, such mounting being be-

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