US2607289A - Printing machine - Google Patents

Description

19, 1952 G. w. HOPKINS 2,607,289

PRINTING MACHINE Filed Jan. 21, 1949 4 Sheets-Sheet l FIE=E C 0/4 TED SURFACE FIE-l IN VENTOR.

Aug. 19, 1952 c. w. HOPKINS PRINTING MACHINE 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jan. 21, 1949 INVENTOR.

Aug. 19, 1952 G. W. HoPKlNs PRINTING MACHINE 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Jan. 21, 1949 INVENTOR.

Aug. 19, 1952 G. w. HOPKINS PRINTING MACHINE 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Jan. 21, 1949 INVENTOR.

F EE &

i atentecl Aug. 19, 1952 UNITED STATE oF lcE v Applicatioii'Januai-y 21, 1949} semi-N6: 71, 943

This invention relates tothe metho'dand' ap paratus for'printing'from type .on apiece or strip of coated record materialin" such a-manner as to eliminate" the" use of the conventional ink ribbon.

It is well known that a marking stylus of-br a'ss; bronze, platinum or other'suitable material may be caused to produce a mark on suitably coated paper when thestylus is rubbed against the surface of 'the'paper. The paper commonly utilized for this purpose is provided with a coating containing a metalliferous substance of such a nature that when the'marking stylus is rubbed acrossthe coatedsurfaceof'the paper; a mark or linewill" be produced on the surface of the paper'so as to indicate the path followed by the stylus.

In' the printing mechanisms commonly used at the present time in typewriters; cash registers, adding machine's, etc., an ink ribbon is interposed betweenthe type and 'the paper so as to cause an ink'impression of "the type to be made onthe' paper when the type is forced thereagainst; Such ink ribbons'are a constant source of annoy anceand trouble and, as a result," considerable effort has been spent'in attempting to eliminate the ink ribbon altogether." Thus'far, however, no satisfactory solution to this problem'has been discovered. I

It was with thisproblem'inmind thatIdevised a method of rinting fromtype without the use of an ink ribbon by utilizing the 'brassstylus'and' coated paper method of recording mentioned" above. I have found that by placing 'a pieceof' the coated paper over thety'pea'nd then rubbing" the coated surface of the paper with 'the'plain, uncoated surface of a piece of brass'orother suitable material, a very satisfactory impression may: be-obtainedh I'have also devised a machine for printing in accordance-with this method, which machine will be described in' considerable detail hereinafter.

Accordingly, it is an object" of the present ventiori to provide a method ofprihtingfr'oni' type on a piece of coated record material with out the use of an ink ribbon. v

Another object of the invention is to provide an apparatus for printing in accordance'with this method.

Another object 'of the inventicn'is toprovide'a" printing machine in which a strip of coated record material is'fed between a marking platen ,8 Claims; (01. 10-1 93)- a 2 material so as :to provide; an "imprint of the type on theie'cord'material;

Anothermbject of-ithe inventionis to' provide a printing; machine in Y which a strip; of coated' record material is fed between a r'eciprocating platenand-one or more printing:type"which-are' adapted to be pressed into'contact with the record 'material and platen togethef'witlr means for feedingL-the recOrd material: in the same di rection as the': reciprocating platen; whereby the imprint made on the record material-byxth'e type will be uhcovered-by the platen' 'at the end; of'the" printing operation.

Other objects of the inventio'n will become :ap-'- arent from the"followingadescription of onetype of mechanism for carrying out myon'ovel. method of printing, which mechanism is shownin the ac'compariyihgdrawlngsg'wherein'i Figure -1 is a plan view of the p'rintingmachinei Figure 2 is a -cro's's-sectiona1 elevation taken: through the machine" alongi'i the: line 21 4 in Figure-1.

Figure -3 is aleft side elevation ofithe:n'la'ch'ine: I

Figure 4' is a View" showing certain (seinemechanism illustrated" in Figiire' 3' in greaterdetail.

Figure 5 is a':rragmentaryperspective view-era coated record strip-l In theaccompanyingifdrawing' 'hereis shown a machine for enabling printih to b acom pli'shed' in accordance with the method menticned earlier herein}- That'i's; a strip orcoatedrecc material is fed through I the mach me-by means of suitable guidesprovidedtherefor. These g'iiides" hold the paper in sucha position thati the-co'at surface thereof lies adjacenttoa which ma be in the form of a bar, plate, et and which is c'onstructed of' amaterial hav-i propertyof "prodlicing a" mark on the surf paper: from the iritajrkin'g {platen is a 'gr0 printing typ'e 'vvhich re arrangeu rdr s surface of the mar mg platen so to enablf he type-to be resiliently urged inw engagement tied together by cross-bars l9 and between which are mounted the main operating mechanisms of. the machine. The machine-is adapted to' be given cycles of operation, during which a printing impression is made on the record materiahby means of a hand crank 23 which may be rotated through 360 so as to cause one complete cycle of operation of the printing mechanism and and of any of the various materials having the ability to produce a mark on the surface of the coated record material which is used in the machine. The marking platen 53 is secured in place on the carrier by means of screws or other suitable fastening means, and the lower face of the platen 55 may vbe formed with a slightly arcuate contour as shown in Figure 4, if desired, so as to effect substantially line contact between the paper and the printing type.

1 As'shown in Figures 1 and 2, the machine is provided with a plurality of individually settable type carriers 5! which are supported for substantially horizontal sliding movement by means of cross-bars 52 which pass through elongated slots 53 formed in the type carriers. The type carriers are held in a spaced apart relationship,

"asshbfwn in Figure l, by means of combplates thereby cause one printingimpression to bemade on the record material. It is to be realized, of course,.that if desired the machine could be arranged for cyclical operation by oscillating move-- ments of the hand crank rather than by the rotary movements thereof as contemplated in the present machine. H r

The hand crank 23' is secured to the righte' hand end of a main drive shaft 24 which is 'journalled between the side frames 2| and 22 and which has fastened thereto at-either end an eccentric 25 (Figures 3 and 4) by means of which the various operating mechanisms of the machine ar driven. Each eccentric 25 is arranged to reciprocate an operating arm 26, which arms are guided at their upper ends by studs 2'! mounted. in the forwardly-extending arms of hell crank levers 28. The bell crank levers are pivotally mounted onstuds 29 secured to the side frames 2i and 22 and each bell crank lever carries a'stud 33. Pivo-ted on the studs 30 are a pair of links 3! which serve to operate the marking platen. At their opposite ends the links 3! are pivoted on studs 32 which are fastened to the upturned cars 33 of a bracket 34 (Figure 1) which is secured to the upper surface of a platen carrier 35 by means of screws 36.

As shown in Figures 1 and 4, the carrier 35 is supported for substantially horizontal sliding movement by a pair of upper bearing plates Ml, each of which is held in spaced relationship with respect to a supporting bracket 5| suitably secured to the side frames 2| and 22. The bearing plates are maintained in said spaced relation ship by means of platen guide blocksdz and upn per and lower paper guides. 23 and di'respectively, which are spaced apart. by means of intervening shim strips .soas to form a paper chute. The bearing plates 43, guide blocks 42,

brackets 4|. By means of this construction, the

platen carrier 35 is guided for substantially horizontal sliding movement, the up and down move-; ment of the carrier being limited by the upper bearing plates 40 and the upper paper guides 43 while endwise mcvementthereof is prevented by the guide blocks 42. It will be observed from V the foregoing descriptionthat the carrier 35 will be -moved first rearwardly andthen returned in a forward direction to itsstarting position each time the hand crank 23 is turned through 360. S ecuredto the under side of the carrier 35 is a marking platen (Figure 4) which, as mentioned earlier herein ,maybe,plain, i. e. uncoated.

54 which are supported between the side frames 2| and 22. Each type carrier is provided at its rear end; with a finger piece 55 by means of which the operator may effect any desired setting of the individual carriers, the various settings of each carrier being determined by a spring-urged detent lever 56 which is arranged to engage with a series of notches 51 provided in the lower edge of each of the carriers. At its forward end, each carrier has mounted therein a plurality of slidable .type elements 58, the upper ends of which are inscribed with suitable type characters for printing on a strip of coated record material 64. Each type element 58 is urged downwardly to its lower or inactive position either by gravity or by means of a suitable restoring spring, not shown herein, so as to normally maintain the printing type out of engagem-ent with the record material and lplaten. For the purpose of resiliently urging the selected type elements on each type carrier upwardly into contact with the underside of the record material so as to bring the upper, or coated, surface thereof into contact with the marking platen, there is provided a pressure bar 59 (Figures 2 and 4) which extends across the machine and passes through apertures 52 provided therefor in the side frames 2! and 22. Each end of the bar 59 is received within an elongated slot 63 provided in the arms 26, the bar being normally urged into engagement with the upper ends of the slots by means of a relatively strong spring Ell stretched between each end of the bar 59 and a stud 6i fastened to the upper end of each of the arms 25. The portion of the bar 59 underlying the type elements 53 is preferably provided with a sleeve of rubber or other similar resilient material so as totake care of any slight variation in the lengths of the various type elements 58. It will thus'be seen that when the crank 23 is rotated and the arms 26 thereby elevated, the bar 59 will be moved up against the lower ends of the type elements 58 thus forcing the type characters inscribed on the upper ends of the elements into contact with the paper 64 so as to force the same against the marking platen; The upper travel of the arms 25 is somewhatmore than is neces feeding the strip of record material r-earwardly by a given amount at the outset of each print ing cycle, this means comprising a paper feed accuse pawl H -which, at its rear end, is pivoted onastud 66 secured to the -bell crank-28 lying on the -.left

handside of the machine; The pawl 65-1S-I Q-I vided at its forward-end with a tooth 6-1 (Figure 3) which is urged-into contact with aflratchet wheel 68 by meansof-a spring 69. a The ratchet wheel is secured tothe left-hand end of a shaft 10' journalled between the side=frameslof=the machine; Secured to theshaft Hi betweenthe;

sideframes, is a rubber feed roll I I against which the strip vof record material is heldisb-yapair of. pressure rolls T2.

frames-2| and 22, The arms JIL- ar urged ;to-.;.

ward the feed roll H-by-meansof a sprin 1:5,,

(see Figure 2) which is tensioned between tie-i rods'IB extending between thearms. The stripof coated record material 64 is woundtcn r a spool which is rotatal'aly supportedioncagrod.

ll supportedbetween the vside framesc Referring to'Figure 3, it will benoted-thatat'zthe.

outset of the upward-movement 0f-the. .)a,Im.25',

thebell crank 28 will be rocked counter-choke, wise and e the pawl 65 movedmearwardw; so.-. as:

to advance the strip of recordzmaterial' through The coils- 12 arerotatively'. mounted on the outerends of armsjflxwhichware. pivoted on a rod; 74- supported betweentheiside a distance equal tonne-tooth space ofatheiratchet Operation Themachine hereinabove described operates as follows .to cause an, imprint of the printinggtype' to be recorded. on the strip of coated record material.

Aslthe hand, crank, direction, as viewed from the right hand side of the machine, the arms "26" aremovedupwardly I so, as to rock thebell cranks 23"c0unterclockwise, as viewed, in Figures 3 and 4., The "platen; carrier andmarkingplaten are thereby caused to move rearwardlyI-and, the paper feed pawlfii-is like-' wisernovedin arearward direction so, as to cause feeding movement of the record" strip-64f. Thetype elements I 58 are then picked up by 7 themessure bar '59, and moved upwardly so as to press the coated surface of .the record material into contact, with the rearwardly moving marking platen .585, Upon reaching I their top; dead center po'sitions,, the eccentrics 25 will have caused the arms f2fi,to, move upwardly a" suffi cient distance. to stretch the sprin g s' fi q attached to the pressure bar 59', in the manner shown'in Figure Land the marking platenilhwill have been moved-to its rearmost position fwh'erethe forward" edge of the platen, lies ove r .the* type elements, as shown in crank, the arms 26 are moved downwardly sofas to cause the marking platen to rub' against the coated surface ofthe material i'n"--a forward I direction" and thepaper-feed-- pawl; will be moved idly-:toward' the front ofthe-machine so as to 23 is rotated m a clockwise Figure 4. Upon further -movement of -=the* hand" engage the next-tooth of" the ratchet 'wheel B81 v preparatory to a paper feedingioperation during the' next -printingcycle' Asfthe arms 26-- move downwardly, the springs eu are perrnitted t'o con tract untilthe pressure. bar- 5 9:;engag'eS1 with the upper endsof the slots 63 in the arms 2dr] Upon; further downward movement of the-pressure bar,:.

the type-elementswill be retracted by their in! dividual restoringcsprings so asto move. the typeaway from the platen.

The resulting imprint made on the-record strip by the rubbing, actionof: the markingplatenwon the coated surface of the strip will be uncoveredby the platen during'itsfinal forward movement in the cycle sothat the printed resultzmay be; read-off'by theoperatorat theconclusion of the cycle. Referring toFigure 2, which shows-the parts in-their home positions, it will be noted.

that thetypeelement 58-, located immediately:-

above the-pressurebar-59, liestothe rear of the platen when the parts are in their normal posi tions and, hence, the imprint efiectedbythis type element will likewise lie-to. the rear of the platenwhere it'may be viewed by the; operator after.-

printi-ng has beeneffected.

Any selected group of symbols may bepri-nted across the record strip by first setting thetype carriers 5! to the desired positions and then operating thehand crank-23--so as to cause. an

imprint of the selected-type to be made-onthe record material.

While-the form of mechanism shown and de scribed herein is well adapted to fulfill theob-- jects of the present invention, it is to beunder- 1 stood that it isnot intendedthat the invention shall be confined -to the "particular form orem bodiment herein disclosed sinceitis' capable of embodiment in various forms, all comin-gwithi-ir the scope of the claims which follow.

I claim:

1. method of reproducing acharacter in scribedmn a piece oi type on arecord strip-i having -onone of itsiaces-aicoatihg of material inherently capable ofbeing changed in appear--- ance onareas of said face rubbed in" pressurizedcontact-withaplain=- unceated' surface comprising interposing the record-coated strip between the type and a platen having aplain uncoated su-r face withthe coated side ot thestrip adjacentsaid platen surface and the other 'side oi; said stripadjacent said type, pressing" the platen relatively-- against the record' strip and e the type;

and thenrubbingthe'platen'relatively-over the coated surface of the-record -str-ip so-as to cause a A character reproduct-ioncorresponding to the type character tabernacle-visible on the-coatedface of the-strip.

2; A-method of forming avisible character-i ona piece of record material having on one-of its faces a coating of-material --inherently capable of being changed inappearance on'areas of said I face rubbed in-pressurized contact with a plainuncoated' I surface, which comprises I disposing the record m aterial-' with the *cQated side up",- pro'--- viding type beneaththe record; ma-terial' anda=- platen having a plainuncoated bottom surfaceabove the record material over the'type, causing relative movement of the type toward the platen so as to causethecoated surface of-" the record I material to be pressed; up against said-"platen surface by the-type, and then rubbin'g the platen surface relatively over the coated surface- 0f" the record materialso as to cause a'character re production corresponding to the typeach'aracter I to be made visible on the; record material; 1

coated surface o f -"the" 3; In -a;machi'ne for reproducingtype'cha'r act'ers one -record strip-having on" oneoF-its -faces a coating ofmaterial inherently capable'bf rubbed in pressurizedcontact with a plain surface, the combination of one or more type; a platen itself having a plain uncoated surface; means for positioning selected type in cooperative V spaced relation to said platen surface; means for positioning such a coated strip between said platen surface and the selected type with the coated face of the strip directly adjacent said platen surface so as to be engageable therewith and with the other face of said strip adjacent the selected type; and mechanism for effecting relative movement of said platen and said selected type including a cyclically operable operating member, yieldablemeans operable by said member during a period beginning after the commencement of acycle and ending before the completion of a cycle for effecting relative approaching movement of saidplaten and said, selected type to cause the latter to press the coated face of the strip resiliently into contact with said platen surface, and means operable by said member during substantially a complete cycle thereof for effecting relative reciprocatory movement of said platen and said selected type transverse to said approaching movement, whereby an area of the coated face of said strip corresponding to said selected type is rubbed in directly engaging pressurized contact with said platen surface, the last phase of said reciprocatory' movement taking place after the ending of said period.

4. In a machine for reproducing type characters on a record strip having on one of its faces a' coating of material inherently capable of being changed in appearance on areas of said face rubbed in pressurized contact with a plain surface, the combination of one or more type; a platen itself having a plain uncoated surface; means for positioning selected type in cooperative spaced relation to said platen surface; meansfor positioningsuch a coated strip between said platen syrface and the selected type with the coated face of the strip directly ad jacent said platen surface so as to be engageable therewith and with the other face of said strip adjacent the selected type; mechanism for effect--' ingrelative movement of said platen and said selected type including a cyclically operable operating member, means operable by said member during a period beginning after the commencement of a cycle and ending before the completion of a cycle for effecting relative approaching movement of said platen and said selected type to cause the latter to press the coated face of the strip into contact with said platen surface, and means operable by said member during substantially a complete cycle thereof for effecting relative reciprocatory movement of said platen and said selected type transverse to said approaching movement, whereby an area of the coatedface of said strip corresponding to said selected type is rubbed in directly engaging pressurized contact with said platen surface, the last phase of said,

reciprocatory movement taking place after the ending ofsaid period; and means operable by said mechanism for feeding the record strip to present a new portion of the coated face thereof for engagement with said platen surface during each cycleof operation of said mechanism.

face, the combination pf one orgmore typey a 1 platen itself having a plain uncoated surface; means for positioning selected type in cooperative spaced relation to said platen surface; meansfor positioning such a coated strip between said platen surface and the selected type with the coated face of the strip directly adjacent said platen surface so as to be engageable therewith and with the other face of said strip adjacent the selected type; mechanism for effecting relative movement of said platen and said selected type, including a cyclically operable operating member, means operable by said member during a period beginning after the commencement of a cycle and ending before the completion of a cycle for effecting relative approaching movement of said platen and said selected type to cause the latter to press the coated face of the strip resiliently into contact with said platen surface, and means operable by said member during substantially a complete cycle thereof for effecting relative reciprocatory movement of said platen and said selected type in a predetermined path transverse to said approaching movement, whereby an area of the coated face of said strip corresponding to said selected type is rubbed in directly engaging pressurized contact with said platen surface, the last phase of said reciprocatory movement taking place after the ending of said period; and means operable by said mechanism for feeding the record strip along said predetermined path to present a new portion of the coated face of said strip for engagement Withsaid platen surface during each cycle of operation of said mechanism.

6. In a machine for reproducing type characters on a record strip having on one of its faces a coating of material inherently capable of being changed in' appearance on areas of said face rubbed in pressurized contact with a plain surface, the combination of one or more type; a platen itself having a plain uncoated surface;

means for positioning selected type in cooperative i spaced relation to said platen surface; means for positioning such a coated strip between said platen surface and the selected type with the coated. face of the strip directly adjacent said platen surface so as to be engageable therewith and with the other face of said strip adjacent the selected type; and mechanism for effecting relative movement of said platen and said selected type including a cyclically operable operating member, means operable by said member during a period beginning after the'commencement of a cycle and ending beforethe completion of a cycle for effecting relative approaching move ment of said platen and said selected type to cause the latter to press the coated face of the strip into contact with said platen surface, and means operable by said member during substan tially acomplete cycle thereof for effecting relative reciprocatory movement of said platen and said selected type transverse to said approaching movement, whereby an area of the coated face of said strip corresponding to said selected type is rubbed in directly engaging pressurized contact with said platen surface, the lastphase of said reciprocatory movement taking place after the ending of said period.

7. A construction as set forth in claim 5'in eluding means mounting said type for approach:

ing movement toward said platen and means mounting to said approaching movement.

said platen for movement transverse a coating of material inherently capable of being changed in appearance on areas of said face rubbed in pressurized contact with a plain surface, the combination of one or more type; a platen itself having a plain uncoated surface; means for positioning selected type in cooperative spaced relation to said platen surface; means for positioning such a coated strip between said platen surface and the selected type with the coated face of the strip directly adjacent said platen surface so as to be engageable therewith and with the other face of said strip adjacent the selected type; and mechanism for effecting relative movement of said platen and said selected type including a cyclically operable operating member, means operable by said member during a period beginning after the commencement of a cycle and ending prior to the completion of a cycle for pressing the selected type against the record strip and thereby press- 1 ing the coated face of said strip against said platen, and means operable by said member before the beginning of said period, throughout said period, and after the end thereof for imparting a reciprocatory movement to the platen to cause it to rub against the part of the coated face of the record strip which is pressed by the type; and means operable by said member for effecting a feeding movement of the record strip in the direction of reciprocation of said platen and during a part of the cycle other than said period, whereby a reproduction of the selected type formed on the coated face of said strip by the rubbing of the platen will be uncovered at the end of a cycle.

GEORGE! W. HOPKINS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,031,630 Dick July 2, 1912 1,278,041 Sherwood Sept. 3, 1918 1,277,119 Quigley Aug. 27, 1918 1,801,592 Dugdale Apr. 21, 1931 1,838,584 Smith Dec. 29, 1931 2,209,520 Hamrick July 30, 1940

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