US2643606A - Bed and platen addressing machine - Google Patents

Description

June 30, 1953 R. L. KERR 72,643,606

BED AND PLATEN ADDRESSING MACHINE Filed Aug. 15, 1950 I 6 Sheets-Sheet l Inventor Rona/er LEON/780K519)? MI s. a

Attorney June 30, 1953 R. L. KERR BED AND PLATEN ADDRESSING MACHINE s Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 15, 1950 venlor R8055 EON/9R0 KERR Allorney June 30, 1953 R. L. KERR BED AND PLATEN ADDRESSING MACHINE 6 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Aug. 15, 1950 Inventor om v& Q Q g M M m n M 5 L r R M o R Q Q Q Q By 71?. H

Attorney. (27

June 30, 1953 R. L. KERR 2,643,606

BED AND PLATEN ADDRESSING MACHINE Filed Aug. 15, 1950 l3 92 ,55 9/082 Jig l3 0 82 \I 1/ "*w f! 3 4O 1, 55 I l- 1? 5:5

lhven for RaBmrLw/wM/rm/e Attorney- 6 Sheets-sheaf 4 June 30, 1953 R.. KERR 2,643,606

BED AND PLATEN ADDRESSING MIA-CHINE Filed Aug. 15, 1950 e Sheets-Sheet5 Roam? 5504mm) KERR June 30, 1953 R. L. KERR 6 2,643,606

BED AND PLATE-N ADDRESSING MACHINE I Filed Aug. 15, 1950 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 Inventor ROBERT Levy/m0 KER/P Attorney.

Patented June 30, 1953 company British" Application Augustl r l 95dzsel ial In Great Britain April 11; 1949 Th meme; r t u g d ii sj i time? printing machines. Machines of this chairamcter are known in which the ifihtin he' alq fiad carrier is pivotelly nionntedpn g recip roctting; body and carries two printing pdd shaped to effect printing no different fiart's' of the: eiifi bossed printing plates. The movement of the reciprocting body cafs si o scil l etion of" the pEQ cgriie r between snc ce ssiy p'fi'n' mg st okes so that each palq is h roiight, infidppe tjtifi'ie 1565mm rief being partially foteted' betweenstaessivef printing strokes o that" the pics" are; n ug t SHGCQSSIVlS ififid operative osition i ii cybl i dbflif andjthfee different prints are niad from fch" a IjOtfable: pad ca'riief' which" 0371 1195 at 1e st" thfee printing ages at intervals" r und ts axis; of rotation; a; body'oii which said pad carri from a p'rinting' ositio'n, manually opefahle. con?" trol means, and means whereby, according tome" calrf'b'e' either oscillalted to and fro" a'BO'fit its a. 1s ofr'oitatiori s'aii'd' bodyreciproctptesi s6 thajt tvvf of; the piint'ing" pds a'iie alternately opeitiii when said pad cagrriii is moved successji'felytg the" rinting position; or rotated unidirecticnauy" step by step assaid body l ecipmcates s'ofthat e11 of said printing pads are" successively oprtitiv'e" cyclic order when said pa'd' carrier is" moyed'successively' totheprih'ting position.

In'order that the invehtionm'ay be'the more clearly understood" a," machine in accordance" thefevvith'wm now: be described", reference" being majde'ftothe accompanying drawings'wherein:

Figure" 1 is 7 a; perspective View" of the machine with the p rinting head in' the lowe'red'o'r' p'rint"-' ing position, I V s Figure 2 isf a side elevation of th'e'same looking fr'o'rn 'theleft of Figure 1,'

Figure 3'is a;- section" on-line"III IfI of"F ig u're2;

Figure 4' is a section'o'n 1ir 1e'IV'IV"of Figlireii' Figure" 51's 3; section on line V'V of Figure 3"; Figure 6" is aplan of a partof'the machine; 7 Figure-7 is a section'on lirieWIH-VITIpf Fig-f uref'6but'w'ith" the contro ever at a different setting ffcm-thet of Figure 6;

1016 Body I which cs '1"-' tion of selji d serve to 0 about s'aid'sh'aft'and t h carr hearings I figwh hi f r e w en; he my n -t m w i it axi 3 by i uep t .b'

ro rfnilthe' shgft" three ream body is melted] are successively brought to the printing position in cyclic order as the body is successively lowcred.

Describing now the mechanism by which the shaft I 9 is rotated as set forth, the body I is formed with two further lugs I8 and I9 whose ends carry bearings for a horizontal shaft which is parallel to the shafts I and I3. A fixed toothed sector 2| (Figure 2) is provided which is fixed to the stationary base of the machine, and a gear train is provided which couples said sector to a pinion 22 which is loosely rotatable on the shaft 29, said gear train consisting of a gear wheel 23 carried by thelug I8 and in mesh with said sector, and a double gear wheel carried by said lug I8 and having its smallergear 24 in mesh with the gear wheel 23 and its larger gear 25 in mesh with the pinion 22. Thus, as the body I is oscillated to and fro about the axis 2, the gear wheel 23 rolls along the teeth of the sector 2| and is thereby rotated in opposite directions, and this imparts a greater rotation in opposite directions to the doublegear wheel 24, 25, and this in turn imparts a still greater rotation in opposite directions to the pinion 22. Actually the angle of oscillation of the body I is small, and the angle through which the pinion 22 oscillates is rather more than 180 degrees.

The pinion 22 is fast with a pawl plate 25, which carries two pawls 21 and 23 which are biased into engagement with the periphery of a ratchet wheel 29 which is fast on' the shaft 29.

Mounted on the shaft 20 so as to be longitudinally reciprocatable is a sleeve unit comprising a pawl-actuating flange 30. The edge of this flange is bevelled or coned on the side which faces the pawls 2'! and 28 as clearly shown in Figure 6. The lever I4 has an extension 3| beyond the shaft I5, and this carries at its end a roller 32 which engages in a circumferential groove 33 on said sleeve unit, so that said sleeve unit is slid along theshaft 23' in responsato the movements of the lever I4. The pawls 21 and 28 carry respective rods 34 and 35 rigid therewith and projecting parallel to the shaft 29. The arrangement is such that, when the lever I4 is at position ,one the flange 39 is at its extreme right hand position (according to Figure 6) and its bevelled edge engages, and presses outwardly awayfrom the ratchet wheel 29, both the rods 34 and 35, as in Figure 7, and

thus the rotation of the pinion 22 and pawl,

plate 23 has no effect on the ratchet wheel'29 and shaft 29, and the latter accordingly remains without rotating during the up and down movement of the body I.

When the lever i4 is at position two the flange 33 occupies a mid position at which the rod 34 is still engaged by the edge of said flange and the pawl 2'! is accordingly still out of engagement with the ratchet wheel 29, but at which the rod 35 (which is shorter than the rod 34) is clear of said flange 30, and the pawl '28 therefore engages the periphery of the ratchet wheel 29. The position is now as in Figure 8. The pawl 28 is adapted to engage two shoulders 33 on the periphery of the ratchet wheel 29 at 180 degrees from one another, and it will be seen that, as the pinion 22 and pawl plate 23 oscillate to and fro through just more than 180 degrees, the pawl 28 will, with each oscillation in one direction, rotate the ratchet wheel 29 and therefore the shaft 20 through 180 degrees. In other words the shaft 20 will be rotated directionally through steps of 180 degrees, and, in practice, each such step of rotation takes place during the up movement of the body I away from the printing position.

When the lever I4 is at position three, the flange occupies an extreme left hand position at which both the rods 34 and are disengaged by the edge of said flange so that both pawls 2i and 28 engage the periphery of the ratchet wheel 29 as in Figure 9. The pawl 21 is adapted to engage a shoulder 31 of the ratchet wheel so as to rotate the ratchet wheel in the opposite direction to the pawl 28 when engaging a shoulder 36, and thus, when the lever I4 is at the said position three, the ratchet wheel and therefore the shaft 29' will be rotated to and fro through 180 degrees, with the pawl plate 26 and pinion 22. In other words the shaft will be rotated through 180 degrees in one direction during thedown stroke of the body, and through 180 degrees in the other direction during the up stroke of the body.

At its left hand end (according to Figure 6) the shaft 20 has a crank 38 mounted on it, and the end of said crank is pin jointed to one end of a rack bar 39 which is formed with rack teeth 40. The rack teeth 40 engage with a gear wheel 41 which rotates freely on the shaft I9. Said gear wheel 41 carries two pawls 42 and 43 which, are biased, by means of leaf springs 44 and 45, into engagement with the periphery of a ratchet wheel 46 which is fast on said shaft Ill. Said ratchet wheel 46 has three teeth 41 at degrees to each other which are adapted to be engaged by the pawl 42 for rotation of the ratchet wheel in one direction, and one teeth 43 adapted to be engaged by the pawl 43 for rotation of said ratchet wheel in the other direction. The lower end of the shaft I5 has rigidly mounted on it an arm 49 whose extremity is formed with a slot in which engages a pin 59 which projects downwardly from a horizontal bar 5| which is mounted on the body I so as to be longitudinally reciprocatable. This bar carries at its end a finger 52 which is adapted to engage a tail extension 53 on the pawl 43 in a manner which will hereinafter appear.

The arrangement is such that, each time the shaft 20 makes a step of rotation through degrees, the crank 38 moves from one extreme position to the other and the consequent longitudinal stroke of the rack bar 39 causes the gear wheel M to rotate through more than 120 degrees.

As has been heretofore described, when the lever I4 is at position one the shaft 20 does not make any rotary movement as the body I is raised and lowered, and therefore the rack bar 39 does not make any longitudinal movement, and the gear wheel 4I does not make any rotary movement, and neither do the ratchet wheel 46 and the shaft I9. Each time, therefore, the body I is lowered the same pad holder I3 is brought down to the printing position.

When the lever I4 is at position two, the shaft 29, as before described, makes a series of unidirectional movements through 180 degrees, each movement taking place when the body I makes its up stroke. Therefore the rack bar 39 makes a series of strokes in alternate directions and the gear wheel 41 rotates to and fro through more than 120 degrees, each rotation taking place when the body I makes its up strokes. At this time both pawls 42 and 43 are in'engagement with 5. the ratchet wheel -lfiyand, when the gear wheel H makes its rotary movement in one direction, the pawl- 43 engages the tooth 48 andthereby rotates the ratchet'wheel-ds-and-therefore theshaft i a in the said one direction, the-amount of such rotation being exactly 12G degrees. When said gear wheel s1 makesitsrotary movement in the other direction, the pawl 4 2-engages theadjacenttooth 47' and therebyrotatestheratchet wheel 46 and the shaft in said other direction, the amount of such rotationbeing again exactly 120' degrees. In other-words when the lever M is at position two, thegshaft 213' is rotated to andfro through 120 degrees, each rotationtakingplaceduring the up stroke of the body 1!, Thus successive descents of the body-l" bring two or the pad holders 13 down to the printing position alternately.

When the lever I4 is at position three, the shaft 20, as before described rotates to andfro through 180' degrees, the rotationbeinginone direction when the body I makes its up stroke, and in, the other direction when said body makes its down stroke. Thereforethe rack'bar-39 makes' a series of strokes in alternate directions, a complete reciprocation to and fro being made for each up-and-down movement of the body l This means that the frequency of reciprocation of the rack bar is double what it is-when thelever I4 is at position two. Thegear wheel 41 therefore rotates to and'fro at'a freduencydoubleth-at whenthe lever l'isatposition two.

When said gear wheel ii rotates in" one direction the pawl 42 engages a tooth 41 to rotatethe ratchet wheel as, through 120 degrees as'befo're, and this is arranged to takeplace during-the up: stroke, of the body l. Owing, however, to the lever [4' being at position three/the finger 52' is now in such a positionthat, when the gearwheel 41 rot-ates in the other direction the tail; exe tension 53' of the pawl 43 engages thefinger 52 the moment before said pawl 43 is due toengagethe tooth 48 so that said pawlis forced. against its spring bias andmisses said tooth. Thus only the pawl 42 is operative and-the ratchet wheel and therefore the shaft iii continue to be rotated unidirectionally through 120- degrees, each step of rotation taking-place when the body I makes, its up stroke. Thus successive descents'ofthe' body I bring all three of the pad holders-l3'down to the printing position successively in cyclicorder.

In order to ensure thatthe shaft lniis rigidl-y' lo'ckedat each of its threeangular positionsduring the descent to the printing position, said shaft has an indexing disc '54 mounted'fast on itby means of a cotter pin 541;; which indexing disc is formed with three notches 55 in its periphery equally spaced at 120 degrees from each other., Said indexing disc is adjacent thelug 8, anda, corresponding indexing lever 55? is pivotally mounted, at apoint 5.! between itsends, onysaid" lug 8 and has a bent-over end 5B, which*is adapted to engage inthenotches 551ito lo'ck said indexing disc, and therefore the shaft I0, at said'i'three angular positions; At its other endsaidleve'r'fibv is pin jointed at'iiato'one end'of'a link The otherend of said link 60 is bifurcated and'the' two branches 6i straddle a boss fizi-mounted'on the shaft 20; Thus the linkylifl is supported forlongitudinal reciprocation, and; by such longitudinal reciprocation, it rocks-thelevenSB to" bring its end-5-8- into and out of engagement with the periphery of the indexing disc 54.

Thereciprocationof said linl r SW-isefictedbn i 6 means ofa cam 63 mounted fast on the shaft 20*, say integral with theboss 62.

of" atension spring 65 having one end connected to-astud 66 mounted on said link, and the other end connected to a stud-61 mounted on the plug l9, so-tha-t said roller bears against the periphery of said cam 63-. Thus thelink- GU-is reciprocated *shaft I 0 free to rotate, and, at air other times,

the said l'ever' end 58 bears against the periphery of said disc 54 wide? the influence of the spring" It will now be understood that, when thelever I4 is at position one and the shaft 20 does not rotateat all, the-lever end- 58-wi1l remain permanently inengagement with a'notch. 55 sothat the shaft in will-remain permanently locked with one pad holder lealways-at' the position for printing.

When the lever M is at position two, the shaft 20-, as before described, makes a seriesof unidirectional rotations of 180 degrees, each such rotation being made duringtheup stroke of the body I. These 180- degree rotations of the shaft 20 effect rotation of the shaft I ll through.- 1 20 degrees in opposite directions alternately; At the commencement of each of said 180 degree-rotations of the shaft ZO-thele'Ver-end 58isin engagementwith a notch'55 andthe=shaft I0 is therefore locked.

It willbe seen fromFigure-5 that-the connection: between the gear wheel- M" and the ratchet WhBB145-by the pawls 4'2 and 43 1s a lost motion connection such that the gear wheel 4-! rotates a little distance in each direction before the rotation-offthe ratchet wheel f6 commences. This, added to the fact that the crank-3 8 is at thedead' centre position at the commencement of each 180 degree rotation-ofthe shaft 29; ensures that the shaft 20 always rotates some" considerable distance before the rotation of the shaft iii commences; During this initiallost motion of the'shaft 2'0 the Iever-eird 58 is'move'd' clear of the indexing disc and it ismaintained clear of said indexing disc until the notch 45has moved away-from'said lever-end, whereupon said-leverend is released'to' bearagainstthepe'r'ipheryof said-indexing disc, so that it prings into the next notch- 45 at theend of the 1 20 degree movement of'said shaft l0; and thuslocks the shaft m at its new position.

When the lever l4 is-at position three,'the

shaft 20, as before described, rotates to and fro through degrees, the rotation in the one direction being duringthe: upstroke; ofthe body, and-that in the other direction being during; the down stroke ofthebody'; Each of the-18i)"degree rotations during the down stroke of the body is withouteiiecton the shaft I if; but each of the 18,0"degree' rotations during the up stroke or the body effects a 120- degree-rotation of the shaft l0"; always in thesam-e direction. Atthe'-commen'cement of each 180 degree rotation of theshaftfll during the down strokeof' the body,- the lever end-58 will' be lifted fromzits -notch 55"; but, as the shaft til does-notrotate at this-time, said leverend will simply return to the same notch: locked long before the and the shaft w-il'i b'e aga printing positionis re The operationiofthelocking mechanism-aur The link 60' carriesa roller- 64-, and is longitudinally biased by means angular ing each 180 degree rotation of the shaft 20 during the up stroke of the body is the same as at position two of the lever, the lever end 58 being first withdrawn from its notch 55 in the indexing disc 54 to allow the shaft to commence its 120 degree rotation, and thereafter bearing against the periphery of said indexing disc until it springs into the next notch 55 at the end of said 120 degree rotation.

It is necessary to provide means for preventing movement of the lever M from any one of its three positions to another except when the body I is at rest at its up position. To this end, the aforesaid sleeve unit which comprises the pawlactuating. flange 30, is caused to rotate to and fro with the pawl plate 26, and a gate element 68 is provided, mounted rigidly on the body 1, which prevents axial movement of said sleeve unit except when its rotary position is that corresponding to the up position of the body I.

To caus said sleeve unit to rotate to and fro.

with the pawl plate 26 a peg 69 projects rigidly from said pawl plate parallel to the shaft 20 and engages in a notch in the edge of said flange 30. The gate element 68 consists of an outer ring carrying within it an inner ring if surrounding the shaft 25 coaxially. The aforesaid sleev unit comprises a boss 12 which carries a radially projecting stud 13. The inner ring H has its inner periphery formed with a circumferential groove 14 and the two'inwardly projecting flanges constituted on each side of said groove 58 have notches 15 formed therein both at the same angular position as that which the stud i3 occupies when the body 1 is at the up osition.

It will be seen that, when the lever i4 is at position two, the stud I3 is within the circumferential groove 74, and that the sleeve unit can move to positions one or three only by said stud i3 passing through one or other of the notches l5, and this can only be when the body is-at the up position.

Indexing means are also provided for retaining the lever 14 at each of its three positions. Thus said lever i formed at its outer end with a boss '16 through which passes axially a rod Tl. The upper end of this rod carries a hand knob 15 and said rod is biased downwardly by means of a spring (not seen) within the boss 16 to a position at which its lower end projects beyond the lower end of said boss into one or other of three holes formed in a fixed block 19 mounted on the body I, Thus to change from one position to another the knob 18 is lifted to withdraw the end of the rod 71 from one hol in the block 59, and the lever is then moved to the new position and the end of the rod '11 is permitted to spring into the new hole. I

Describing now certain of the constructional features of the machine, the hub element H is mounted on the shaft 10 by means of a better pin 83 (Figure 3). For mounting the pad holders E3 on th ends of the spokes i2 of said hub element, each of said spokes i2 is formed with a bore hole 8| which passes axially through it (i. e. radially with respect to the shaft [0) right to said shaft l0. Slidable in this bore hole 8! is a cylindrical rod 82, and, extending rigidly from the innerv end of said cylindrical rod is a rod 83 of smaller diameter which passes through a diametrical hole 84 in the shaft l8. Rigidly mounted transversely on the outer end of said rod 82 is a plate 85, and said plate 85, and therefore the rods 82 and 83 are inwardly biased by means of tension springs 86 which are connected at their outer end -to said plate and at their inner ends to The hub element II is formed with a tapped radial hole 89 which is coaxial with, and diametrically opposite to, the bore hole 8!, and screwed into this tapped hol is a screwed rod 96. The rod 83 .passes completely through the shaft l0 and its end abuts against the end of said screwed rod 90 under the influence of the springs 86, and it will be seen that, in this way the rod 82 and plate 85 are firmly mounted on the spoke l2, and that, by adjusting the screwed rod 90, the distance of said plate 85 from the shaft H3 will be accurately adjusted. The adjustment of said screwed rod 50 is effected by means of a milled knob 9| mounted fast on the end thereof, and a rod 90 at any adjusted position.

The pad holder I3 is mounted on the outer face of the plate 85. Thus the two adjacent faces of said plate and pad holder are formed with cupped recesses, and these engage with opposite sides of an intermediate ball 93. Said pad holder and plate are drawn towards each other by means of four screwed bolts 94, so that said ball is under compression between said pad holder and plate, and it will be seen that by adjusting said bolts 94 the pad holder can be adjusted to any desired angular position about the centre of the ball. Then said pad holder can be adjusted so that the pad will abut flush against the printing plate.

It will be seen that, as there are three diametrical holes 84 in the shaft H! for receiving the three rods 83, the said diametrical holes must be at different positions longitudinally of said shaft, as indicated in Figure 3. This of course means that the spokes l2 and the plates 85 will also be at slightly different positions longitudinally of the shaft. The pad holders 13- are, however, all at the same position longitudinally of the shaft, and thus the pad holders have their centres out of alignment with the centres of the plates 85 in two of the three cases.

It will be seen that, for biasin the pawls 21 and 28 into engagement with the ratchet wheel 29, said pawls have pins 95 and 96 mounted thereon on the side which is towards the pawl plate 26. These pins pass, through notches 9'! and 98 in said pawl plate, to the opposite side of said pawl plate when each pin is connected to one end of a tension spring 99 whose other end is secured to a boss I00 which is integral with said pawl plate.

The mounting of the crank 38 on the shaft 26 is such that the connection between said shaft and said crank when the rotation is in the direction for driving the shaft It! (i. e. when the body l is moving upwardly) is a yielding connection. This is' to prevent shocks, for example on the pawls 42 and 43 when the drive takes up on said shaft Ill. The connection between the shaft 20 and the crank 38 in the other direction is positive but no yielding or cushioning is required in that direction because there is no drive to the shaft l0.

'Thus the crank proper 38 has a'hole through it by which it is mounted loosely on said shaft 26. A connecting block Hll is mounted fast on said shaft 28. The crank 38 lies in a slot or groove "12 in said connecting block, the two sides or walls 103 and H14 of which slot or groove afford positive driving connection between said block and said crank for opposite directions of rotation of said shaft. Said sides I03 and 104 are spaced so as to afford a lost motion connection between said block and said crank, A spring not shown biases said crank relative to said .block so that it normally engages the side I03 of the groove I02. Thus .it will be seen that, for counterclockwise rotation (according to Figure 2) of the shaft .20 the drive to the crank is a yielding or cushioning drive, whereas .for clockwise rotation the drive is positive. The counterclockwise rotation is the direction for driving the shaft .I.0.

The groove I02 is open at the left hand side (according to Figure '6) of the connecting block IM and the crank .38 is retained in place in said groove by means of a plate I05.

As is 'best seen in .Figure 5, the ratchet wheel 46 is located in the hollow interior of the gear wheel II, and said gear wheel 4| is formed with slots I06 and 1.01 in which are mounted the pawls 42 .and 43. The rack bar 3.9 reciprocates in the usual type of housing I08 which is oscillatably mounted on the shaft .I and maintains the rack teeth in engagement with the gear wheel II. For mounting said gear wheel 4| on the shaft said gear wheel is formed integral with a boss I26 which is secured to said shaft by means of a cotter pin .I 27.

It is desirable to apply .a slight friction drag tothe rotation both of the shaft and the shaft I0. In the case of the shaft 20 such friction drag is applied by means of a friction pad or washer 1-09 which is in compression between a plate H0 which is fixed against rotation and a plate III which is fast on said shaft 20. The plate I I0 is axially .slidable on the shaft Y20 and is 'biased against the pad I09 by means of a compression spring II2 which is in compression between said plate and the fixed lug I9. Said plate H0 is prevented from rotating by means of a pin H3 which is secured fast to said plate and projects parallel to the shaft 20 into a hole bored in the lug I9.

In the case of the shaft I0 the friction drag H4 which is in compression between a plate I I5 which is fixed against rotation and a plate 5 which is fast withsaid shaft I0. Said plate H5 is axially slidable on said shaft I0 and is biased against the pad II4 by means of a number of compression springs LIB in compression between said plate and a pressure plate H! which is mounted on the fixed lug 9. As will be clear from Figure 3, the springs I I6 pass through holes A5 is applied by means of a friction washer or pad ,I I8 in the lug 9 to the :far side of the latter where they abut against the pressure plate In. Said pressure plate It! is mounted by means of a screwed shank II9- which passes through the centre thereof and screws into a boss I20 mounted on a plate I2I which is secured by screws I22 fast on said lug 9. A milled head I23 on said screwed shank II9 :restrains the pressure plate I I 1 against movement under the influence of the springs H6, and it will be seen that, by adjusting said screwed shank by means of said milled head, the compression of said springs, and therefore the amount of friction dra can be adjusted. The means for preventing the plate H5 from rotating consist of 'a number of pegs I24 mounted on said plate and extending parallel to the shaft I0 into holes 125 in the fixed lug 9.

It will :be seen thatthe springs -I I6 bias the shaft I0 as a whole to the right according to Figure .3. This is resisted by means of a second friction pad I26 between the cam 54 and the lug 8.

The reference I29 designates a guard, This is mounted on a rotatable shaft I30 supported by lugs I3 I on the bottom of the body I.

I claim: 1

1. In an addressing or like printing machine a body mounted for reciprocating movement to and from a printing position, a pad carrier rotatably supported on said body, at least three printing pads mounted on said body at intervals around its axis of rotation, adjustable driving means for eflecting partial rotations of said pad carrier upon reciprocating movement of said body, said "driving means being effective in one condition of adjustment to cause partial rotations of said pad carrier in opposite directions alternately :and in another condition of adjustment to cause unidirectional partial rotations of said pad carrier, and manually operable control means for adjusting said driving means to either of said conditions.

v2. A machine as claimed in claim 1, wherein "said driving means comprise an oscillating element rotatablymounted on said body, means effective in said first condition of adjustment to oscillate said oscillating element at half the frequency of reciprocation of said body and in said second condition of adjustment 'to oscillate said oscillating element at the frequency of oscillation of said body, coupling means between said oscillating element and saidpad carrier effective both in said first and said second condition 'of adjustment to cause partial rotation of said pad carried upon movement of said oscillating element in one direction and additional coupling means between said oscillating member and said pad carrier effective only in said first condition of adjustment to cause reverse partial rotation of said pad carrier upon movement of said oscillating member in the reverse direction.

3. ,A machineas claimed in claim 2, wherein said means for effecting oscillation of said oscillating element comprise a shaft rotatably mounted on said body, means effective both in said first .and in said second condition of adjustment to cause a half revolution of said shaft in one direction in response to movement of said body .in one direction, means effective only in said second condition of adjustment to cause a half revolution of said shaft in the reverse direction in response to reverse movement of said body, and coupling means between said shaft and saidoscillating element effective to move said oscillating element in opposite directions alternately in response to successive half revolutions of said shaft.

4. -A machine as claimed in claim 3,, wherein said means for effecting rotation of said shaft comprise a second oscillating element rotatably mounted on said body, means for rotating said second oscillating element in opposite directions in response to movements of said body to and from said printing position respectively, coupling means between said second oscillating element and said shaft effective in said first condition of adjustment to transmit rotary movement in one .directiononly and in said second condition of adjustment to 'transr'nit rotary movement in bothdirections.

5. A machine as claimed in claim 4 wherein said coupling means between said shaft and said first oscillating element comprises a crank fast to'saidshaft, a pinion fast to said oscillating element, and a rack'pivotally connected to said crank and meshing with said pinion.

6. A machine according to claim 5, wherein the said coupling means between said second oscillating element and said shaft comprises a pawland ratchet-wheel connection including two pawls for engaging a ratchet wheel for transmission in opposite directions respectively, and means are provided rendering one of said pawls inoperative when said manually operable control means are set for oscillation of said pad carrier and rendering both of said pawls operative when said control means are set for unidirectional step-by-step rotation of said pad carmen '7. A machine according to claim 6, wherein one of said pawls has a peg projecting from it .parallel to the axis of rotation of said ratchet wheel, and an actuating member is provided mounted axially slidable along said axis of rotation, said actuating member being positioned to engage said peg and thereby to hold said one pawl out of engagement with the ratchel wheel when said manually. operable control means are set for oscillation of said pad carrier.

8. A machine according to claim 7, wherein said manually operable control means also have a setting at which said pad carrier remains stationary in respect of rotation about its axis of rotation as the body reciprocates, so that the same pad is operative each time said pad carrier is moved tothe printing position.

9. A machine according to claim 8, wherein said actuating member is positioned to engage both said pawls so that the same are held out of engagement with said ratchet wheel when said manually operable control means are set for said pad carrier to remain stationary.

10. A machine according to claim 9, wherein means are provided to prevent changing said manually operable control means from one setting to another except when said body is at its position remote from the printing position.

11. A machine according to claim 10, wherein said manually operable control means comprise a control lever having different positions for the different settings.

12. A machine according to claim 11, wherein said control lever is coupled both to said actuating member and to said cam element for positioning them according to the positioning of said control lever.

13. An addressing or like printing machine, comprising a rotatable pad carrier, at least three printing pads supported on said carrier and disposed at intervals around the axis of rotation of the carrier, a body rotatably supporting said pad carrier, reciprocating drive means coacting with said body and reciprocating the same for moving said pad carrier to and from a printing position, manually operable control means, and means controlled by the setting of said control means and imparting to said pad carrier either an oscillation to and fro about its axis of rotation as said body reciprocates, so that two of the printing pads are alternately operative when said pad carrier is moved successively to the printing position, or a unidirectional step-by-step rotation as said body reciprocates, so that all of said printing pads are successively operative in cyclic order when said pad carrier is moved successively to the printing position.

14. A machine according to claim 13, wherein the means for either oscillating or unidirectionally rotating said pad carrier comprise an oscillating element mounted on said body, and wherein means rotatably oscillate said oscillating element at half the frequency of reciprocation of said body, and wherein means rotatably oscillate said oscillating element at half the frequency of reciprocation of said body and couple the same to said pad carrier when said control means are set for oscillation of said pad carrier so that rotation of the oscillation element in both directions eifects rotation of said pad carrier in both directions, and wherein said means rotatably oscillate said oscillating element at the fre quency of reciprocation of said body and couple the same to said pad carrier when said control means are set for unidirectional step-by-step rotation of said pad carrier so that rotation of the oscillating element in one direction efiects rotation of said pad carrier in one direction and its rotation in the other direction does not effect rotation of said pad carrier.

15. A machine according to claim 14, wherein said oscillating element is coupled to said pad carrier through the medium of a pawl and ratchet wheel device comprising two pawls for engaging a ratchet wheel for transmission in opposite directions respectively, and means are provided rendering both of said pawls operative when said manually operable control means are set for oscillation of said pad carrier, and rendering one of said pawls inoperative when said control means are set for unidirectional step-by-step rotation of said pad carrier.

16. A machine according to claim 15, wherein said pawls rotate with said oscillating element and said ratchet wheel is fast with said pad carrier, and wherein a cam element cooperates with the pawl which is inoperative when said manually operable control means are set for unidirectional step-by-step rotation of said pad carrier, so that the said pawl is moved thereby out of engagement with the ratchet wheel, at the time when the said pawl would otherwise engage a tooth of said ratchet wheel.

17. A machine according to claim 13, wherein said pad carrier comprises a hub element, a rotatable shaft supporting said hub element for rotation, a plurality of pad holders mounted on said hub element for respectively holding the pads, a plurality of radial rods one for each pad holder and each slidable in a respective radial hole in said hub element, each rod having an extension passing through a respective hole in said shaft and each pad holder being mounted on the outer end of the respective rod, spring means biasing said pad holders inwardly toward said shaft, and a plurality of screw adjusting elements each being screwed into said hub element diametrically opposite to the respective radial rod, each of said adjusting elements abutting against the extremity of the respective rod extension for adjusting the latter together with the respective radial rod and the respective pad holder and in opposition to the bias of the spring means.

18. A machine according to claim 17,'wherein the rods and their extensions for the several pad holders are at different positions longitudinally of said shaft, the pad holders themselves being mounted so as to be all at the same position longitudinally of said shaft.

19. A machine according to claim 13, wherein the rotary movements of the pad carrier, whether during oscillation or unidirectional step-by-step rotation, take place during the movement of the body away from the printing position, and said are operative, a locking pawl biased to engagement with said cam'so as to enter said notches and lock said pad carrier against rotation at the said angular positions; and means moving, at the commencement of each movement of said body away from the printing position, said locking pawl holding the said pawl away from said cam sufficiently long to enable said pad carrier to com- 20 mence rotating, the said locking pawl thereafter engaging said cam and entering the next notch to lock said pad carrier at the next position.

22. A machine according to claim 13, wherein the said pads are 'displaceably mounted on the pad carrier for adjusting the radial distance of said pads from the axis of rotation of said pad carrier.

ROBERT LEONARD IERR.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,708,018 Krell Apr. 9, 1929 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 414,279 Great Britain Aug. 2, 1934 596,258 Germany Apr. 12, 1934

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