US2630901A

US2630901A - Apparatus for feeding webs of paper

Info

Publication number: US2630901A
Application number: US198768A
Authority: US
Inventors: Johnson William Edward; Hillen Hubert John
Original assignee: Powers Samas Accounting Machines Ltd
Current assignee: Powers Samas Accounting Machines Ltd
Priority date: 1950-06-06
Filing date: 1950-12-02
Publication date: 1953-03-10
Anticipated expiration: 1970-03-10
Also published as: GB704952A

Description

March 10, 1953 w. E. JOHNSON ETAL 2,630,901

APPARATUS FOR FEEDING WEBS OF PAPER Filed Dec. 2, 1950 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 27 2e 29 a 29 25 40 26 f A /7 E'iig V, 7, V

l h I w 2 I A Horn e y W. E. JOHNSON ET AL APPARATUS FOR FEEDING WEBS OF PAPER March 1953 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 le Dec. 2, 1950 Attorney March 10, 1953 w. E. JOHNSON ET AL APPARATUS FOR FEEDING WEBS OF PAPER 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Dec. 2, 1950 Attorney Patented Mar. 10, 1953 APPARATUS FOR FEEDING WEBS OFPAPER.

William Edward. Johnson, London, and. Hubert. J 01in. Hillen, Shirley, Croydon, Englaniassignore. to Powers-Saunas Accounting Machines Limited, London, England, a British company Application December 2, 1950, Serial No. 198,768: In Great Britain June. 6-, 195.0.

9 Claims. 1.

This invention relates to; apparatus for feed.- ingwebs of paper to statistical. machines.

In statistical machines, such for example as tabulating machines, which are controlled by perforated. records, data sensed from the records is. printed. on a web of paper which may consist of a plurality offorms separated from each other by lines of; perforations permitting the forms. to be torn from the web. when completed. In some instances the paper web. which is fed into the machine is provided with perforations disposed adjacent the longitudinal edges thereof, the perforations being engaged by pins in a. rotatable platen to facilitate the feeding of the paper to line printing position. Such a web, will hereinafter be referred to as a. perforated web. In some instances, the paper web is a: plain web having no perforations adjacent the longitudinal edgesthereof, the web then. being fed to line printing position by positivelyrotatable feeding rollers of which one. is the rotatable platen. A web having no feed perforations. adjacent. its longitudinal edges to facilitate the feeding thereof. to line printing positions will hereinafter be referred to as a. plain web! Paper feeding apparatus has previously been proposed whereby av web or webs of continuous stationery can be fed.- to lineprinting. position relative to a-rotatable platen, the apparatus being convertible alternatively to feed a plain web by friction or to feed. a. perforated web. by pin. type feeding means and ity is a main object of the present invention to provide improvements to an apparatus adapted to function in this manner.

One object of the present invention. is to provide means whereby when the paper feeding anparatus is conditioned to feed perforated paper the platen can be disconnected. from. driving mechanism for the platen and the pin type feeding means so. that it. can rotate freely about its axis during operation of? thepin type feeding means thus ensuring that. feeding of the paper web is effected only by the pin type feedin means.

A further object of the present invention is; to provide means for effecting axial adjustment of the pin wheels of the. pin type feeding means whereby the pin wheels may be brought into accurate alignment with the perforations in the webs to be fed thereby even though, as sometimes happens, the width of a web may vary from a standard.

A still further object of the invention. is to proviola a paper feeding apparatus which comprises a unit including the platen as an integer thereof and which can, be readily attached to or detached from a statistical machine. order that, if desired, some. other form. of feeding apparatus may be employed with the machine.

A. further. object of the invention is to. seconstruct a paper feeding apparatus. for feeding either plain orperforated webs. of a statistical machine. that the pin type. feeding means. op.- erates positively to. feed a web, both to and, from the. platen.

In order that. the. invention may be, clearly understood, an embodiment. thereof will now be described, by way of. example, with. reference. to the. accompanying diagrammatic drawin s. in which:

Figure l is a front. elevation. oi apaper feeding unit according to the invention,

Figure 2 shows, to an. enlarged scale, the. driving mechanism for the platen and the. pin. wheel shaft,

Figure. 3 shows, to an enlarged scale, apart. of the coupling device for the platen,

Figure 4 is a, section on. line Ill-Ill Figure 3,

Figure 5 is a. broken side elevation of the driving mechanism,

Figure, 6. is a. section on. line VI.VI,. Figure. 1,

Figure 7 is a view of the. parts shown in Figure 6. but with. some of. the parts. occupying different positions,

Figure 8 is a scrap view showing a detail of the unit, and

Figure. 9 is a side elevation of a part, of. the unit and shows the pressure rollers which co-operate with the platen when the unit is conditioned to feed plain paper.

Referring to th drawings, the paper feeding unit for attachment to. a tabulating machine comprises a rotatable platen ;I, the platen being sup.- ported by a platen supporting shaft 2 which extends lengthwise thereof and is. supported in bearings not shown, carried in platen supporting frames 3 connected by a back plate 4. To the bottom of the unit fixed a pair of slide. bars 5. t be engaged with similar bar shown in. chain line in Fig. 5, fixed to the main frame of the tabulating machine to which the paper feeding unit is to be fitted. Surrounding one end of. the

a. pawl forming part. of the tabulating machine.

The, driving. gear wheel I is. provided on the face thereof which is adjacent to one end face of the platen I with two radially opposite dowel holes 9 the axes of which are parallel to the axis of rotation of the platen supporting shaft 2. The end face of the platen which is adjacent to the driving wheel I has extending therefrom a pair of radially opposite dowel pins H3, these pins being adapted for engagement in the dowel holes 9 in the driving gear wheel 'i. The platen l is freely rotatable on the platen supporting shaft 2 and is movable axially with respect thereto so that the dowel pins It may be moved into and out of engagement with the dowel holes 9 in the driving gear wheel. At the end of the platen opposite that from which the dowel pins project is a boss I l to which is pivoted a latch i2, Figures 3 and 4, the latch being arranged for engagement in one or other of two grooves I3, l4, extending peripherally around the platen supporting shaft 2. When the latch I2 is located in the groove i l remote from the driving gear wheel as shown in Figure 1, the platen I is retained in a position such that the dowel pins Hl are out of engage ment with the dowel holes 9 in the driving gear wheel I. When, however, the latch 12 is located in the groove l3 nearer to the driving gear wheel, the platen is secured in position with the dowels I9 located in the holes 9 in the driving gear wheel. It will, therefore, be understood that when the dowel pins I8 are engaged in the holes 9 of the driving gear wheel the platen I is positively connected with the driving gear wheel 1 and is rotatable therewith. When, however, the platen is latched so that the pins it! are disengaged from the gear wheel, the platen is freely rotatable about the platen supporting shaft 2 and the gear I is rendered ineffective to drive the platen.

A pin wheel shaft I5 is supported for rotation in auxiliary frame member IE, I! disposed at the opposite ends thereof, the frame member I6 is supported by the platen supporting shaft 2 and the frame member I! is supported by the rotatable sleeve 6. The frame members It, I! are freely mounted for angular swinging movement about the axis of rotation of the platen supporting shaft 2 and the pin wheel shaft I5 is substantially parallel with the axis of rotation of the platen supporting shaft 2, but due to its being supported by the frames I6, I! it is eccentric to the shaft 2.

On the pin wheel shaft I5 are two paper feeding elements shown as pin wheels I8, I9 each adapted for rotation with the shaft I5 and adjustable relatively one to the other axially of the shaft to accommodate paper of different widths. One pin wheel I9 is connected to the pin wheel shaft [5 for rotation therewith through the medium of a key, not shown, and is movable lengthwise of the key to abut against an adjustable stop formed as a nut 26 mounted on a threaded portion 2! of the pin wheel shaft. The pin wheel I9 is retained in endwise abutting relation with the stop by a spring 22 which is anchored at one end 23, Figure 1, to the pin wheel shaft and at its other end engages the pin wheel I9.

The pin wheel I8 has a boss 24 formed on the side thereof which is remote from the pin wheel I9 and fitted to the boss is a latch 25 which, in known manner, can be engaged in one of a plurality of notches 26 formed in the periphery of the pin wheel shaft I5. Each of the pin wheels is provided with a plurality of feeding pins 2! which extend radially from the pin wheels and are spaced at equi-spaced distances around the periphery thereof. These pins are provided ta engage in the aforesaid perforations formed in a perforated web being fed to and from line printing position. The notches 26 are provided at predetermined intervals along the length of the pin wheel shaft I5, so that by adjusting the po sition of the pin wheel I8 with respect to the pin wheel i5: different standard widths of paper can be accommodated by the feeding apparatus.

In an alternative construction, the notches 26 may be equi-spaced along the shaft I5, the spacing being relatively close, for example of the order of one-half of an inch, and the threaded portion 2! is then of a length such that the nut 23 can be adjusted axially of the shaft for a distance at least equal to the spacing between two notches 26.

As is well understood in the art, difficulty is sometimes experienced when feeding paper webs, particularly when feeding perforated webs, due to the fact that temperature and hygrometric conditions cause variations in the widths of different reels of paper. In order that these variations from standard width may be accommodated by the apparatus without the pins 27 damaging the perforations in the web, adjustment of the pin wheels to accommodate these small variations from standard width as between different webs is effected by adjustment of the stop 26 against which the pin wheel I9 abuts. By adjusting the stop 20 on the screw thread 2! it will be readily understood that the pin wheel 28 can be adjusted axially of the pin wheel shaft G5 with respect to the pin wheel I8 within relatively fine limits.

Between the pin wheels l8, is there are provided two rotatable guide members 23, these guide members being freely rotatable about the pin wheel shaft I5 and retained in spaced relation with respect to each other and to the pin wheels by springs 28 which extend therebetween and encircle the pin wheel shaft.

Rotation of the pin wheel shaft I5 is effected by the driving gear wheel I through the medium of an idler gear wheel 30 and a second gear wheel 3! secured to the pin wheel shaft. The idler gear wheel 30 is supported by the auxiliary frame iii. The paper web P, Figures 6 and '7, is guided to and from printing position by stationary guide members comprising three

plates

33, 34, spaced apart from each other so that the portion of the paper Web moving to printing position passes between the

plates

32, 33 and the portion of the paper web moving away from printing position moves between the plates 33, 3'1. At a position between the

stationary guide plates

32, 33, 34 and the platen I there is provided a further normally stationary guide plate 35 over which paper passing to printing position is moved, and this plate 35 has an aperture 36 formed therein through which the pins 21 on the pin wheels IS, IS pass. Thus, the paper web is positively moved towards printing position by the engagement of pins 2'! in the perforationsprm vided near the longitudinal edges of the paper.

As the paper moves away from printing position,

it is again engaged by the pins 27 of the pin wheels l8, I9, so that it is positively moved away from printing position and while it is so engaged it is moved under normally stationary guide elements 3'1, these elements being partly of arcuate form to conform with the configuration of the pin wheels and having slots 38 formed therein. through which the pins 21 of the pin wheels pass; The paper guide elements 3'! are pivotally mounted on slides 38 arranged for sliding movement in a slot 40 extending lengthwise of a stationary bar 4I supported by the auxiliary frames ES, IT. By this means the guide elements 31 can be moved with the pin wheels lengthwise of the direction of the axis of rotation thereof so that the pins 27 pass through the slots 38 in the guide elements 37' at all positions of the pin wheels I8, I9. The guide plate 35, Figure 5, is supported by the back plate 4 on a stud 35a which is slidable in a slot extending lengthwise of the back plate so that the guide plate 35 can be moved relatively thereto to permit its position to be adjusted according to the position of the pin wheel 18. A spring 35b between the backplate 4 and the guide plate 35 acts to retain the plate 35 in the desired position.

The back of the bar tI is of arcuate form, as shown in Figures 6 and 7, and provides a guide surface to direct the portion of the web which is moving away from printing position towards the middle and outer

stationary plates

33, 34. To ensure that the portion of the perforated web being moved from the printing position leaves the surface of the rotatable paper feeding elements, stripper plates 42 are provided beneath the adjustable guide elements 3?, the strippers 32 being mounted for movement with the elements 31, engaging the peripheral surfaces of the pin wheels I8, I9 and serving positively to guide the paper towards the arcuate surface of stationary bar 4|.

The auxiliary frames I6, I? in which the pin wheel shaft I is rotatable have locating pins 43, 44' projecting laterally therefrom, these pins being adapted for location in slots 45 formed in

latches

46, 41 pivoted to the frames 3. A spring 48, Figure 8, urges the latches against fixed stops 49 and the pin wheel's IE, IS are in feeding position when the pins 43, 4 4 are located in the slots 45 in the

latches

46, 41. When, however, it is desired to thread a fresh web of paper through the apparatus or otherwise to service the apparatus, the latches 46, 4? can be moved about their pivots 56 so that the pins 43, i i are moved out of the slots 45 and the auxiliary frames I6, I! are then swung about the platen supporting shaft 2 to a position at which the pin wheels are clear of their feeding position, as shown in Figure 7', and, in this position, they can be retained by the location of the pin M in a notch 5I formed in an extension of the latch 47.

As is usual in paper web feeding mechanism one or more pressure rollers 52, Figures 1 and 9, extending lengthwise of the platen i is or are provided on a pivot spindle 53, this roller or rollers in known manner serving, together with further pressure rollers 54, to press the paper against the platen at a position in advance of the line printing position and being employed to co-operate with the platen I when a plain web is to be frictionally fed to line printing position The pressure roller or rollers 54 are carried on a pivot spindle 55' which is controlled by a lever 58 secured to the spindle. In Figure 9 the

rollers

52, 54 are shown in their inactive positions to permit feeding to be effected by the pin wheels 58, I9 and they are moved to and from active position by a plate 5''! having

slots

53, 59 disposed about fixed guide pins 60, 61-. The slot 58' is of inverted L-shape and when the

rollers

52, 54 are to be rendered active the plate 5'! is rocked about the pin BI until the pin 69 is located in the vertical portion of the slot 53'' and the plate is: then raised until the pins 69, 6! are located at the bottoms of their

respective slots

58, 59. During the upward movement of the plate 5-1 a stud 62 6 carried thereby is moved upwards permitting the rollers 52 to move into engagement with the platen I and the nose portion 63. of: the. plate moves relative to the lever 56. so that the rollers 54 are also moved into engagement with the platen.

In operation, if it is: desired to employ the paper feeding mechanism for the. purpose of feeding a perforated web, the platen I- is moved axially, to the right as viewed in Figure 1, so that it is disengaged from the driving gear wheel 7 and the latch I2 associated with the platen is then located in the peripheral groove I4 formed in the platen supporting shaft 2 and the plate 57 is moved to the position shown in Figure 9 so that the

pressure rollers

52, 54 are rendered inactive. Accordingly, the platen I is freely rotatable and the feeding of the web is effected solely by the pins 21 on the pin wheels I8, I9. The pin wheels are adjusted axially of the pin wheel shaft. I5 to accommodate the width of paper to be fed by the apparatus and, if necessary, adjustment of the stop 20 is effected to compensate for minor variations in the width of the web from the standard width thereof. When the apparatus is in operation, the pins 2'! on the pin wheels operate as described above positively to feed the paper web both towards and away from the platen.

If it should be desired to feed a plain web through the apparatus, the pin wheels are spaced lengthwise along the pin wheel shaft I5 so that they serve as guides for the paper web which then engages those peripheral surfaces of the pin wheels which arev between the pins extending radially therefrom. To facilitate the positioning of the pin wheels for this purpose, with the con struction shown in the drawings, the notches 2% in the pin wheel shaft I5 are disposed in pairs axially of the shaft and the latch 25 on the pin wheel I8 is located in the second notch of a pair.

The platen I is moved axially so that the dowel pins it extending from the end thereof are engaged in the dowel. holes 9 in the driving gear wheel I and the paper is threaded between the platen I and the pressure roller or rollers 52, 54., After which the

rollers

52, 56 are moved to their active positions by adjustment of the plate 51' as described above. As the platen is. now coupled with the driving gear wheel I for positive rotation thereby the platen I and the pressure rollers 52 act frictionally to feed the plain web to and from line printing position in, the usual manner. while the frame. members. It, ll occupy the positions which they occupy when the pin wheels I8, t9 are conditioned for a feeding operation thereby. It is to be,v understood that the apparatus. is so constructed, that the. frame mom" hers, It, I! are. always in their active positions during a paper feeding operation both when the apparatus is conditioned for pin wheel feeding or for friction feeding because otherwise the type bars of the. tabulating machine wouldv foul the apparatus and the. paper moving away from. the platen. In the event that the frame members should inadvertently be left in their inactive position prior to. the. start of a friction feeding operation the construction is such that the latches will not retain the frame members in the inactive position when the paper is tensioned over the guide rollers 28 and the frame members will accordingly be restored to active position by the tensioning of the paperover the. guide rollers.

If it is desired that the frame members be not active position during a friction feeding operation the frames [5, l1 supporting the shaft I5 on which the pin wheels are mounted may be so constructed as to be detachable from association with the platen supporting shaft 2, thereby permitting the frames 16, I! and the pin wheel shaft 15 together with the pin wheels l8, 9 to be removed bodily from the paper feeding apparatus when the apparatus is to be employed for feeding a plain web.

We claim:

1. In apparatus for feeding continuous stationery, the combination with frictional paper feeding means including a rotatable platen, and pin type paper feeding means, the paper feeding means being arranged for selective operation independently one of the other to feed continuous stationery to an impression receiving position with relation to the platen, of driving mechanisrn common to the platen and the pin type feeding means and including a gear wheel to rotate said platen, a platen shaft supporting the platen for movement axially thereof and for angular movement relative to said gear wheel, and a coupling device selectively operable to connect the platen to said gear wheel for rotation thereby when the frictional feeding means is selected for operation and to permit the platen to be movable angularly relative to said gear wheel when the pin type feeding means is selected for operation.

2. In apparatus for feeding continuous stationery, the combination with frictional paper feeding means including a rotatable platen, and pin type paper feeding means, the paper feeding means being arranged for selective operation independently one of the other to feed continuous stationery to an impression receiving position with relation to the platen, of a first gear wheel freely rotatable about the axis of rotation of the platen, a platen shaft supporting the platen for movement axially thereof and for angular movement relative to said first gear wheel, a second gear wheel mounted for rotation with the pin type feeding means, an idler gear wheel connecting said first and second gear wheels, a dowel and dowel hole connection between said first gear wheel and platen whereby rotation of the platen is effected by said first gear wheel, and latching means selectively operable to locate the platen in a position such that the dowel and dowel hole connection is effective to transmit rotation of said first gear wheel to the platen or to locate the platen in a position such that the dowels are disengaged from the dowel holes to permit angular movement of the platen relative to said firstgear wheel when the pin type feeding means is selected for operation.

3. For a statistical machine, a unit for feeding continuous stationery comprising in combination, a platen support for connection to the frame of a statistical machine, a platen shaft rotatably mounted in said support, a platen mounted for movement lengthwise of the platen shaft, pressure rollers mounted for movement into and out of contact with the platen whereby stationery can be fed by friction between the platen and said rollers, an auxiliary frame supported about said platen shaft, a pin wheel shaft rotatably mounted in said auxiliary frame, a pair of pin wheels mounted on said pin wheel shaft for adjustment axially therefor and rotation therewith, the pin wheels being supported by said pin wheel shaft to be eccentric to said platen, stationary engaging pins extending radially from the pin wheels, a first gear wheel freely rotatable about the platen shaft, a second gear wheel mounted on the pin wheel shaft for rotation therewith, an idler gear wheel mounted on said auxiliary frame and connecting said first and second gear wheels, a dowel and dowel hole connection between said first gear wheel and platen whereby rotation of the platen is effected by said first gear wheel, latching grooves formed in the platen shaft and spaced apart axially thereof to determine the axial position of the platen relative to said first gear wheel, and a latch carried by said platen to engage in a selected one of said latching grooves and thereby retain the platen in selected axial relation with respect to the first gear wheel so that the dowel and dowel hole connection is effective to permit rotation of the platen by the first gear wheel or is rendered ineffective to permit angular move ment of the platen relative to said first gear wheel.

4. For a statistical machine, a unit for feeding continuous stationery comprising in combination, a platen support for connection to the frame of a statistical machine, a platen shaft rotatably mounted in said support, a platen mounted for movement lengthwise of the platen shaft, pressure rollers mounted for movement into and out of contact with the platen whereby stationery can be fed by friction between the platen and said rollers, an auxiliary frame supported by said platen shaft, a pin wheel shaft rotatably mounted in said auxiliary frame, a pair of pin wheels mounted on said pin wheel shaft for adjustment axially thereof and rotation therewith, the pin wheels being supported by said pin wheel shaft to be eccentric to said platen and one of said pin wheels being splined to the pin wheel shaft to be slidable axially thereof, stationary engaging pins extending radially from the pin wheels, an adjustable stop screwed on to the pin wheel shaft, a spring encircling the pin wheel shaft and acting to urge the splined pin wheel into endwise abutting engagement with the stop to permit adjustment of the pin wheel axially of the shaft by rotation of the stop relative to the shaft, a first gear wheel freely rotatable about the platen shaft, a secondgear Wheel mounted on the pin wheel shaft for rotation therewith, an idler gear wheel mounted on said auxiliary frame and connecting said first and second gear Wheels, a dowel and dowel hole connection between said first gear wheel and platen whereby rotation of the platen is effected by said first gear wheel, latching grooves formed in the platen shaft and spaced apart axially thereof to determine the axial position of the platen relative to said first gear wheel, and a latch carried by said platen to engage in a selected one of said latching grooves and thereby retain-the platen in selected axial relation with respect to the first gear wheel so that the dowel and dowel hole connection is effective to permit rotation of the platen by the first gear wheel or is rendered ineffective so that the platen is movable angularly relative to said first gear wheel when the pin wheels are selected for a feeding operation.

5. For a statistical machine, a unit for feeding continuous stationery comprising in combination, a platen support for connection to the frame of a, statistical machine, a platen shaft rotatably mounted in said support, a platen mounted for movement lengthwise of the platen shaft. pressure rollers mounted for movement into and out of contact with the platen whereby stationery can be fed by friction between the platen and said rollers, an auxiliary frame supported about said platen shaft, a pin wheel shaft rotatabh mounted in said auxiliary frame, a pair of pin wheels mounted on said pin wheel shaft for adjustment axially thereof and rotation therewith, the pin wheels being supported by said pin wheel shaft to be eccentric to said platen and one of said pin wheels being splined to the pin wheel shaft to be slidable axially thereof, stationary engaging pins extending radially from the pin wheels, an adjustable stop screwed on to the pin wheel shaft, a spring encircling the pin wheel shaft and acting to urge the splined pin wheel into endwise abutting engagement with the stop to permit adjustment of the pin wheel axially of the shaft by rotation of the stop relative to the shaft, a first stationary slotted paper guide with which the pins of a pin wheel co-operate to feed paper to the platen, a second stationary paper guide with which the pins of a pin wheel co-operate to feed paper away from the platen, a first gear wheel freely rotatable about the platen shaft, a second gear wheel mountedon the pin wheel shaft for rotation therewith, an idler gear wheel mounted on said auxiliary frame and connecting said first and second gear wheels, a dowel and dowel hole connection between said first gear wheel and platen whereby rotation of the platen is effected by said first gear wheel, latching grooves formed in the platen shaft and spaced apart axially thereof to determine the axialposition of the platen relative tosaid first gear wheel, and a latch carried by said platen to engage in a selected one of said latching grooves and thereby retain the platen in selected axial relation with respect to the first gear wheel so that the dowel and dowel hole connection is effective to permit rotation of the platen by the first gear wheel or to permit angular movement between the platen and said first gear wheel.

6. For a statistical machine, a unit for feeding continuous stationery comprising in combitlon, a platen support for connection to the frame of a statistical machine, a platen shaft rotatably mounted in said support, a platen freely rotatable about the platen shaft and mounted for movement lengthwise thereof, pressure rollers mounted for movement into and out of contact with the platen whereby stationery can be fed by friction between the platen and said rollers, an auxiliary frame supported by said platen shaft, a pin wheel shaft rotatably mounted in said auxiliary frame, a pair of pin wheels mounted on said pin wheel shaft for adjustment axially thereof and rotation therewith, the pin wheels being supported by said pin wheel shaft to be eccentric to said platen and one of said pin wheels being splined to the pin wheel shaft to be slidable axially thereof, stationary engaging pins extending radially from the pin wheels, an adjustable stop screwed on to the pin wheel shaft, a spring encircling the pin wheel shaft and acting to urge the splined pin wheel into endwise abutting engagement with the stop to permit adjustment of the pin wheel axially of the shaft by rotation of the stop relative to the shaft, a locating pin extending laterally from said auxiliary frame, a spring-controlled latch pivoted to the platen support and provided with two notches respectively to receive said locating pin and locate the pin wheel shaft in feeding position with relation to the platen or to retain the pin wheel shaft in a position only to permit threading of stationery through the apparatus or servicing thereof, a first gear wheel fr el rotata e abo t the late Sha a s o d gear wheel mounted on the pin wheel shaft'for rotation therewith, an idler gear wheel mounted on said auxiliary frame and connecting said first and second gear wheel's, a dowel and dowel hole connection between said first gear wheel and platen whereby rotation of the platen is effected by said first gear wheel, latching grooves formed in the platen shaft and spaced apart axially thereof to determine the axial position of the platen relative to said first gear wheel, and a latch carried by said platen to'engage in a selected one of said latching grooves and thereby retain the platen in selected axial relation with respect to the firstgear wheel so that the dowel and dowel hole connection is effective to permit rotation of the platen by the first gear wheel or is rendered ineffective so that the platen is freely rotatable about th'eplaten shaft.

7. For a statistical machine, a unit for feeding continuous stationery comprising in combination, a platen support for connection to the frame of a statistical machine, a platen shaft rotatably mounted in said support, a platen freely rotatable about the platen shaft and mounted for movement lengthwise thereof, pressure rollers mounted for movement into and out of contact with the platen whereby stationery can be fed by friction between the platen and said rollers, an auxiliary frame supported by said platen shaft, a pin wheel shaft rota-tably mounted in said auxiliary frame, a pair of pin wheels mounted on said pin wheel shaftfor adjustment axially thereof "and rotation therewith, the pin wheels being supported by said pin wheel shaft to be eccentric to said platen and one of said pin wheels being splined to the pin wheel shaft to be slidable axially thereof, stationary engaging pins extending radially from the pin wheels, an adjustable stop screwed on to the pin wheel shaft, a spring encircling the pin wheel shaft and acting to urge the splined pin wheel into endwise abutting engagement with the stop to permit adjustment of the pin wheel axially of the shaft by rotation of the stop relative to the shaft, paper guides freely rotatable on the pin wheel shaft and disposed between the pin wheels, springs encircling the platen shaft and disposed between the paper guides and the pin wheels to maintain the paper guides in axially spaced relation with respect to each other and to the pin wheels, a first stationary slotted paper guide with which the pins of a pin wheel 00- operate to feed paper to the platen, a second stationary paper guide with which the pins of a pin wheel co-operate to feed paper from the platen, a stationary stripper engaging the surface of a pin wheel beneath said second stationary paper guide to ensure stripping of a paper web from the pins of the pin wheel, a first gear wheel freely rotatable about the platen shaft, a second gear wheel mounted on the pin wheel shaft for rotation therewith, an idler gear wheel mounted on said auxiliary frame and connecting said first and second gear wheels, a dowel and dowel hole connection between said first gear wheel and platen whereby rotation of the platen is effected by said first gear wheel, latching grooves formed in the platen shaft and spaced apart axially thereof to determine the axial position of the platen relative to said first gear wheel, a latch carried by said platen to engage in a selected one of said latching grooves and thereby retain the platen in selected axial relation with respect to the first gear wheel so that the dowel and dowel hole connection is effective to permit rotation of the platen by the first gear wheel or is rendered inefieotive so that the platen is freely rotatable about the platen shaft, a pin extending laterally from said auxiliary frame and a spring-controlled latch pivoted to the platen support and provided with two notches respectively to receive said locating pin and locate the pin wheel shaft in feeding position with relation to the platen or to retain the pin wheel shaft in a position only to permit threading of stationery through the apparatus or servicing thereof.

8. Apparatus for feeding continuous stationery and including a rotatable platen, pressure rollers cooperating with the platen to permit stationery to be frictionally fed thereby, rotatable pin type feeding means for feeding stationery independently of the platen and pressure rollers, and a gear train connecting the platen and pin type feeding means to effect rotation thereof in like feeding directions, characterised by the platen being supported on a platen shaft for rotation by one gear wheel of said train and for movement lengthwise thereof, means to effect mating engagement between an end of the platen and a side of said one gear wheel whereby the platen is rotatable by the gear wheel, latch means carried by the platen for engagement with one or other of two grooves in said shaft and spaced apart along the axis thereof so that when the latch means is located in one said groove the platen is mated with said one gear for rotation thereby and when located in the other groove the platen is disengaged from the gear for angular movement relative thereto by frictional engagement between the platen and stationery fed by said pin type feeding means, and means for disengaging said pressure rollers from the platen when the pin type feeding means is operative.

9. Apparatus according to claim 8 further characterised in that the platen shaft is supported for rotation in a platen support for connection to the frame of a statistical machine, the pin type feeding means is supported for rotation in an auxiliary frame supported about said shaft, and latch means is pivoted on the platen support to locate the auxiliary frame in relation thereto.

WILLIAM EDWARD JOHNSON. HUBERT JOHN HILLEN.

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

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,110,855 Fyfe et a1 Mar. 15, 1938 2,268,891 Mueller Jan. 6, 1942 2,285,197 Euth June 2, 1942 2,293,769 Sherman Aug. 25, 1942 2,311,051 Hope Feb. 16, 1943 2,355,668 Morse Aug. 15, 1944 2,393,471 Johnson Jan. 22, 1946 2,400,226 Euth May 14, 1946