US2737884A - Transfer posting machine - Google Patents

Description

F. J. FURMAN TRANSFER POSTING MACHINE March 13, 1956 6 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Dec. 29 1950 n. lip-fr INVENTOR FRANK J. FURMAN March 13, 1956 F. J. FURMAN TRANSFER POSTING MACHINE 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 29, 1950 R O T N E V m FRANK J. FURMAN BYE! A RNEY 6 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Dec. 29, 1950 March 13, 1956 F. J. FURMAN 2,737,384

TRANSFER POSTING MACHINE Filed Dec. 29. 195 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 s 1 2 IG 8 INVENTOR FRANK .l. FURMAN March 13, 1956 F. J. FURMAN 2,737,884

TRANSFER POSTING MACHINE {in 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Dec. 29, 1950 O PAYROLL REGISTER a) O l T F DAVIS O 0:123:51 102949 57:0 0 i J J JONES I O O11R7n 1nonAo Vanni/N QEQZEENTATTVE ANY CITY STATE 1 is 46 Ora/e 0/ T F DAV Is 203 PAY E" EMF. SERIAL DATE mourn 5 Jam/M20 5mm 2721/57 @0. 5 ANY: CITY, STATE I G 42 INVENTOR FRANK J. FURMAN v ATTORNEY March 13, 1956 F. J. FURMAN TRANSFER POSTING MACHINE 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 Filed Dec. 29, 1950 an mQ P N A m W R m w n N l WK m m m 5 -50: 9E 33 mvUwIU m0; mp5

@N $06 9 W525 m3 hmwIm mmhm in 58m United States Ofiice 2,737,884 Patented Mar. 13, 1956 national Business'Ma'chines Corporation, New York, N. Y., a corporation'of New York p Application December 29, 1956, seria No. i03,31s 3 Claims. 01. tor-134.5

This invention relatesto a transfenmachine and, more particularly to a machine for posting ledger sheets by the process of preparing a negativerecord onthe back of the original record,.rnoistening thefront .of the original with a suitable solvent, and pressing :the back of the original against the face of the ledger sheet.

This invention pertains toseveralirnprovements wh-icl are. applied to. the well-known printing transferring machine described in. United States, Patent No. .2,282,737 which. issued on .May '12,, 1942, to. Albert W; Mills.- The machine; described in said :Patent 2,282,737 is used by many industrialand. business concerns to perform opera: tions that necessitate thetransferring of datafromone record source to another record source, such as, .compiling inventory recordsor makingout payroll checks from a register sheet. Operations such as thesetend to become quite voluminous and hence the speed with which. the machine willperform the posting operations is ofvital concern... V W t The am unt of w k hich can bedqne by the pos in machinesin present use is limited. due todhe fact that it is necessary to manuallyinsert and withdraw the ledger sheets, upon which the posting is done, before and after each posting'operation, a

. Accordingly it is a particular; .qbiect .of this (invention to p d m r ed fssd nam n i he eb rslat m be transferredfrom rnaster Sheets, ,t9 dcnrnents automatically and continuously, thereby eliminating the necessity of manually inserting and,withdrawing the ledger sheets.

In the earlier transfer rnachine the posting fluidis fed to .the master sheet by means-of a movable ribbon and evaporation of posting' fluid from the ribbon into the air may sometirn'es occur to aul wndesirable extent. .f

A din ly, a. turthsrmbica tt f this inve tion is p d mea s f r t an n p st g fl dtqth m st sheet with little evaporatiomand which limits the amount of fluidreleasedto approximately the amount necessary for satisfactory postings. I H i A still further object of theinvention is, to provide a novel moistening device for applying posting fluid to the c ata n c mrate qtfl u. t

O he bie sc t e inven nlwi be. m nted-cu n the following descriptionand claims and illustrated in the ac pan in dra ngs w ich d s os a ay o p t e Pr n ple, otth invention and t e b t e which has been contemplated, of applying that principle.

1 is afrc t ectiqnal r w h ma h ne shuwin the preferred embodiment of the fluid feeding arrangement and control meanstherefore.

Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional viewtaken on line 22 of Fig. 1.

.Fig 5 is a detai l view taken. on line 5-5 of Fig. 1 showing the pump and pump cam.

asectional elevation taken on line of Fig- 6 is a detailview of the clutch and motor bar mechanism.

Fig. 7 is a view of nism, 1 Fig. -8 isa detail view of the control.=valve-.

Fig. 9 is a partialfrcnt view. of the machine showing the second embodiment of the fluid feeding arrangement and control means therefore.

Fig. 10 is a viewsshowing a part-of the register or master sheet and one ofthe ledger cards.

Fig. 11. is a timing chart, M f Y A preferred embodiment of the invention shown in the drawing is capable of posting multiple lines of information to tabulating card size'documents automatically; and continuously with great rapidity. The method of posting is similar tothat of the transfer machine disclosed in the previously. mentioned United States Patent. No; 2,282,737... The master sheet is printed in aconventional manner on a tabulator;-typewriter or other appropriate medium and is backed with suitable carbon paper While being printed. Thismaster sheetinthe form of a fanfold or continuous roll is inserted into the machine and automatically fed directly above the document that is to receive the posting.

The transfer is accomplished by means of moisture, pressure, and time from'the master-sheet'tothe document. Onediiferencebetween the machine about toybe described and the machine disclosed inithe above .mentioned patent is in themethod ofsupplying and controlling the fluid usedto accomplish the posting. In the old method, the vfluid is carried from a receptablebymeans of a fabric ribbon which carriesasufiicientamount of fluid to. completeone posting. in the present-invention the necessary fluid is. feddirectly into a hollow-pressure bar in .a controlled amount and passes through; a porous block at the bottom of the pressure bar. A fabric ribbon is stretched across the faceof, this porous block to diffuse the fluid and distribute it uniformly over the posting area. The fluid dissolves a portionof the-carbon from the original and deposits it on-the ledger sheet.

The machine includes a support plate/10 (Fig, l) fastened-between the side frames 11 and 12 by means of the bolts. 13. Upon this plate is mounted a motor 14 which -is'provided to drive the several mechanisms of themachine. I a

The motor 14, through a pulley and belt connection 15 and a gear box 16 supportedon the plate 10 operates a short shaft 17, supported in bracket 18 and securedto plate 10. A clutch disc-19 (see also Fig.6) fast'on'the shaft 17 isv provided with notches 20 about its periphery, with which notches a clutch pawl 21 pivotally-"carried by a clutch arm 22 fast on a cam shaft 23 cooperates. The cam shaft is supported in bracket24, secured to plate 10, and in side frame 12, the shafts 17 and 23 being in axial alignment." t a a Y The arm 22 (Fig. :6) and shaft 23 are normally held againstrotation by an arm 25 fast on a stud 26 supported by the bracket 18 (see Fig. 1). The arm 25 has a'shoulder 27 which normally lies in the path of-the arm 22 and-of a tail of the pawl 21, thus holding the pawl 21 out of. engagementwith the disc19i The a'r'r'nj25 'is fastened to .a link" 28 by a stud 29, the right-handend of said Jim]; 28 being supported bya spring 30 attached to a stud-.'31 fast on a bar 32 which is securedbetween the side frames 11 and 12. The other end of the 1ink-28 is connected to an arm-33 fast on a shaft 34 journalled in the side frames-v 11 and-12. .Also fast on the-shaft 34 is a release bar 35, .located neartheend of the shaft and. being arranged to lie conveniently on one side of themachine (seeFigl).

t v A similar bar 36 is pivotally mounted on astud37 fastened to the side of bar and is further supported the control valve operating mechaby a spring 38. As will be presently described, the bar 36 is used when it is desired to have the machine operate continuously whereas the bar 35 is used to initiate a single posting operation such as would be used for a trial and error run to ascertain if the machine was posting satisfactorily.

In order to initiate an operation of the machine, the operator depresses the bar 36, which movement rocks the shaft 34 and arm 33 counterclockwise thrusting the link 28 toward the right. At this moment, the arm 2-5 will be rocked clockwise, thereby removing the shoulder 27 from engagement with the arm 22 and the tail of the pawl 21. The pawl, thus freed, is engaged with one of the notches 20 by a spring 39 and thus revolves with the continuously running disc 19. The hook shaped bottom portion of the bar 36 will latch with a stud 43 fastened to the side frame 11 (see Fig. 1) to prevent the mechanism from restoring when the operator releases bar 36.

To disengage the pawl 21 the operator merely has to depress the release bar 35 and the spring 38 will rock the bar 36 clockwise causing the hook shaped bottom p0.- tion to unlatch from stud 40. As the operator lets go of the bar, a spring 41 will restore the bar to its normal position at the same time moving the link 28 toward the left and pivoting the arm 25 counterclockwise. The shoulder 27 reengages and rocks the pawl 21 out of engagement with the disc 19 and stops the arm 22 and shaft 23.

By depressing the bar 35 and then quickly releasing it, it is possible to initiate a single posting operation. The pawl will engage the disc 19 as previously described and the shaft 23 will start to rotate. As soon as the bar is released by the operator, the spring 41 will restore the mechanism as before and the pawl will disengage at the completion of one revolution. Of course, it is also possible to run the machine for any desired length of time by merely holding the bar 35 depressed. The latching arrangement on bar 36 conveniently allows the operator to leave the machine during a posting run if necessary Ledger sheet feed The document cards indicated at 42 (Figs. 3 and onto which the transfer is to be made, are placed in a magazine 43 comprising two end plates 44 and two posts 45. This type of card magazine is well-known in the art of feeding cards and need not be described in detail. The bottom card of the stack is engaged at its rear edge by picker blades 46 attached to the ends of slideably guided arms 47 having a pin and slot connection with levers 48 fixed to a shaft 49 journalled in the machine frame.

Also fixed to shaft 49 is an arm 50 which is connected to a link 51 by means of a stud 52. The link 51 is attached to a stud 53 fast on a gear 54 (Figs. 1, 3 and 4) mounted on a short shaft 55 journalled in the side frame 12 (Fig. 1).

When either bar 35 or 36 is depressed by the operator, the cam shaft 23 will be continuously driven by virtue of the clutch arrangement previously described. A gear 56 fast on shaft 23 drives an idler gear 57 fast on a short shaft 58 journalled in the side frame 12 (Figs. 1 and 4). The idler gear 57 drives the gear 54 imparting a reciprocating motion to the picker blades 46 through the links 48, 50, and 51. During the forward stroke of the Picker blades, the bottom card will be advanced out of the magazine. Any convenient feeding mechanism equivalent to that described may be employed provided it feeds a card out of the magazine as a previously fed card is being released from the posting station.

The card is conveyed from the magazine to the posting station and on out to the stacker drum 58a (Fig. 3) by means of the feed rollers 59. The drive for the feed rollers 59 is taken from a gear 60 (Fig. 4) and is transmitted by means of the gears 61 fast on the short shafts 62 journalled in the frame of the machine, said gears 61 meshing with gears 63 mounted on the feed roll shafts 64 as shown in Fig. 4.

Spring blade members 65 and 66, pivotally mounted on the studs 67 and 68, respectively, are biased by the springs 69 to press the cards against the feed rollers 59 with sufficient force to insure feeding.

The previously mentioned gear 60 (Fig. 4), from which the drive for the feed rollers is taken, is mounted on a shaft 70 and is driven by the idler gear 57. Also mounted on shaft 70 is a smaller gear 71 which drives a large gear 72 and the stacker drum 58a mounted on a shaft 73. The construction and operation of the stacker drum itself is well-known in the art and is fully disclosed in United States Patent l,976,617 issued to Mr. C. D. Lake and Mr. G. F. Daly on October 9, 1934. As the cards approach the stacker drum, they are gripped by the fingers 74 (Fig. 3) on the drum and deposited in the card stacker 75.

In order to position the document card accurately in relation to the posting station, indicated at 76 in Fig. 3, so that an imprint may be made at a desired location, there is provided a disappearing stop arrangement which is adjustable to allow for posting at any desired height. on the card.

The mechanism comprises a pair of stop fingers 76a each of which is a projection of a pair of operating arms 77 mounted on bushings 78 (Figs. 1 and 9). The bushings 78 are internally threaded and each receives an adjusting rod 79 the extreme ends of which are not threaded but are rotatably mounted in the stationary brackets 80 (Fig. 3) attached to the machine.

The operating arms 77 each have a slot 32 adapted to receive the top edge 82 of the T-shaped links 83. The links 83 are connected, by means of studs 84 (Fig. 3), to a bail comprising the two arms 85 joined by a cross member 86. One of the arms 85 is pivotally mounted on an auxiliary shaft 87, journalled in the bracket 24 and the side frame 12, and has fixed to it a cam follower 88 which is urged to ride on the periphery of a cam 89 by the spring 90 (Fig. 3). The cam 89 is fast on the cam shaft 23 and has a notched portion 91.

When the cam follower 88 is on the high portion of the cam 89, the T-shaped links 83 will be in their downward position and the stop fingers 760 will be beneath the surface of the card bed to allow cards to feed by, as shown in Fig. 3. When the cam follower 88 enters the notched portion 91 of the cam, the bail will pivot in a clockwise direction and the links 83 will be forced upward causing the arms 77 to pivot in a clockwise direction and the stop fingers 76a to project up through the opening 92 in the card bed into the path. of the card as shown in Fig. 1. Referring to Fig. ll, the cam 89 is timed with respect to the card feed so that the stop fingers 76a will be up in a position to stop the card when the card reaches the posting station and will drop out of position as the pressure bar commences to bear on the card. As the pressure bar starts its upward travel after the posting operation, the feed rollers 59 will feed the card to the stacker drum 58a.

The position of the stop fingers 760 may be adjusted to position the card accurately in relation to the posting station or to change the printing to any desired height on the card merely by turning the knurled knob 93 (Fig. 3) thereby rotating the rod 79. The top edge 82 of the link 83 will prevent the stop finger from rotating with the rod and as a result the stop finger will move horizontally along the rod to a desired location.

Original sheet feed The original from which a transfer is to be made indicated at 94 (Figs. 3 and 10) is of the continuous perforated edge type and is placed in a magazine 95 (Fig. 3) whence it passes over a shield 96, around another shield 97, underneath a bar 98 and feed roll 99, around two pin wheels 100 and into a stacker box 101. The shield 96 has {attached therewith two brackets, 102 which are adapted to clamp on the studs f1'03secured to the frame of the machine. The shield S 7 is secured to the frame of the machine by means of ,a bolt as at 104. The, guide bar 98 extends across the machine and is secured in the side frames. I

The drive mechanism forffeeding the original sheet is substantially the same as disclosed in theprevionslymention'ed Patent 2,282,737 and willbe but briefly described.

The feed roll 99 is mounted ona 'shaft 104a journalled in the side frames of "the machine. Secured toone end of the shaft 104a is a ratchet Wheel 105 (Fig. 4) with which cooperates a spring pressed feed pawl 106. carried on an arm 107 free on the shaft 104a. A link 108 connects the arm 107 to an arm 109 pivotally supported on the frame 11. An antifriction roller 110 normally rests on the flattened end of an arm 111 secured to a shaft 112 journalled in the side frames of the machine.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 3, 'theshaft 112 rocks first clockwise and then back to a normal position under the influence of the cams 113 (also indicatedat 94in Fig 13 of said Patent 2,282,737) mounted on the cam shaft 23. An arm 114 fast 'on the shaft 112 is connectedby a link 115 to a bell crank 116 whichco'o'perates with the cams 113. When the arm 111, also secured to the shaft 112, rocks clockwise from beneath the roller 110, a spring 117 draws the arm 109 andlink 108 downwardly rocking the arm 107 clockwise to retraet thepawl1'0'6. After a transfer has been made, the cams 113 cause the arm 111 to rock counterclockwise to normal position, at which movement an inclined or cam surface 1I8fo'f the arm 111 'mo'ves'the link 108 upwardly rocking the arm 107 counterclockwise causing the pawl 105 to engage the ratchet wheel 105 to feed the original sheet one line space. A spring pressed retainer 119 (Fig.4) serves to hold the roll 99 and the original sheet in alignment.

A gear 120 integral with the feedroll '99 on the "shaft 194a meshes with a train of gears 121 'which drive the gear 122 fast on the shaft 123 causing the pin wheels 100 to. advance the original sheet. his to be understood that the above described mechanism is 'notli'rnited to spacing the original-sheet one line space "for each document card, but may space the original sheet several spaces for posting several lines "of information on each documentcard. M

It is important that the ribbon 12 1 (Figs. 1,12, and 3), the originalsheet 94 and the ledger sheetsf42 be separated immediately. after each posting and beforethe feed rollers 59 carry the ledger sheets a'way fromfthe posting station. The reason for this is that it is desired to produce a clean copy without smudges msmearswnien would occur if the original sheet 94 touched the ledger sheet 42 during movement of either. j

To accomplish this, there is provided a bail 125 (Fig. 3) positioned beneath the original"sheet 94 and secured to a bracket 126 fast on a shaft 127 'jofuin'alled in the side frames of the machine (Fig. 4). A link i128 connects an arm 129, secured to one end of said shaft 127,

with a bell crank 130 loosely manne on the shaft. 87

(Figs. 1 and 4). The bell 'cra'nk 130 has attached a roller 131which cooperates'with ac'a'm 132 mounted on the cam shaft 23; When the high portion or the 03111 132 strikes the roller 131, the bell crank 130 will pivot clockwise and the link128 will move upwardly to cause the shaft to rotate counterclockwise; Thus, 'theibail 125 will separate the original sheet 94 *frornth'e document that mount sea-same. provide s satisfactory transfer. In addition, it is a distinct advantage to have a continuous uniform flow of fluid to the moisture applicator so that. the applicator will always contain the necessary 7 1 and 2.) adjustably mounted to a pressure bar 135 by sheet 42 just before the documentsheet is fed away from the posting station. When roller 131 leaves the highportion of the earn, the bail 125 will be restored to its normal position.

Moistening device It is extremely desirable, whenposting from @11 original sheet to -a ledger sheet, that'the ameu'nt of fluid applied to the original sheet be neither smaller nor in excess of means of a groove 134 in-the pressure bar and a pair of set screwsextending through said block and into said groove. The bottom face of block 133 has a hollow chamber 137 which is sealed over by a porous metal block-138 attached to said block 133. The posting fluid is introduced into the chamber 137 through tubing 139 and adapter 140 (Fig. 2), said adapter 140 having a passageway 141 connecting the tubing 139 with the chamher 137. i

-' The porous block 138' is formed of powdered metal and this powdered metal allows the fluid in the chamber 137 to spread and diifuseeve'nly through the porous block and over its bottom surface 142. To prevent the posting fluid from collecting in small drops on the bottom surface 142, there is provided the fabric ribbon 124 which fastens over and adjacent to said-surface 142 and allows the fluid to spread more evenly over the posting area on the original sheet.

The manner-in which the fluid inside the chamber 137 is controlled to maintaina uniform flow through the porous block will be later described in connection with the fluid feeding arrangement.

=It is to be noted that by virtue of the construction of the above described moistening device, the amount of fluid that is exposed to the air is limited to only that fluid applied to the posting area on the original sheet and hence the evaporation of this fluid is greatlyreduced. As a result .very -little, 'if any, posting fluid is wasted and the escape of any undesirable fumes into the air is reduced to an unnoticeable state.

Byloosening the setscrews 136, the applicator may be moved horizontally along the pressure bar 135 to a different location if desired.

Pressure bar T he pressure bar 135 is .sli'deable vertically in grooves 143 in the side frames 11 and 12 (Figs. 1 and 3) and is operated by a pair of links 144, one being pivotally connected to the bar 135 near each end. The links 144 are connected at their lower ends to arms -145 -fast on .a shaft 146 (Fig. l), oneof said arms'being disposed near each end of said shaft. An arm 147 (Fig. 3) is connected by a link 148 to one arm of a bell crank 149 pivoted on the shaft '87. A pair, of cams 150 on the shaft 23 cooperates with antifriction rollers on the bell crank 149 to rock it first clockwise and then counterclockwise to normal. The clockwise movement of the follower through the link 1148, arms 145 and links 144lowers the pressure bar 135 against -a platen 151 and support member 152 to cause the transfer and the counterclockwise movement or" said bell crank 149, through the same linkage, raises the pressure bar to normal position.

Referring to Fig. 1, there are provided two pressure adjusting knobs 153 above the pressure *bar 135 which serve to adjustand equalize the pressure applied. These knobs are threaded to shouldered pins .154 whose-lower ends are pivoted to the actuating-arms 144. Thus the pins 154 make an excursion with arms 144 of invariable extent. By turning theknobs 153, pins 154 and the pressure bar 135 are relatively shifted, springs 155 serving to urge them apart. Thus, when thick ledger sheets are to be used, the 'bar is adjusted upwardly and when thinner ledger sheets are used the bar is adjusted downwardly. The knobs are tensioned by spring blade members 156 which have a projection 157 that mesh-es with the knurled teeth 158 on the knobs.

F luid feeding system There are two proposed systems for controlling the flow of fluid to the porous block 138 both of which employ the same pump and pump actuating means as shown in Fig. 5.

A reservoir 159 for the posting fluid is located on the base and toward the front of the machine. Inside the reservoir is a cam loaded, spring actuated plunger type pump 168 comprising a cylinder 161 attached to a bracket 162 which is an integral part of a pump flange 163. The cylinder contains a piston 164 and a piston rod or plunger 165 having a notched portion 166 adapted to receive one end of an arm 167 fast on a shaft 168 journalled in two bosses 169 of the reservoir. The plunger 165 is spring loaded by means of a spring 170 compressed between the top portion of the bracket 162 and a ring 171 setscrewed to the plunger rod 165, said plunger rod being mounted in a bushing 172 in the bottom portion of bracket 162.

One end of the shaft 168 extends through the side wall of the pump housing 173 and has rigidly mounted thereon an arm 174 which is connected to a reciprocating link 175 by a stud 176. The reciprocating link 175 is connected to a cam follower arm 177 pivotally mounted on the shaft 87. The spring 170 exerts a continuous force on the ring 1'71 tending to push the plunger rod 165 downward thereby exerting a force on arm 167 and consequently the shaft 168 in a clockwise direction. As a result the arm 174 is urged clockwise and the link 175 is urged to the left to forcibly maintain the cam follower arm 177 to ride on the periphery of a cam 1'78 mounted on the main cam shaft 23 of the machine.

By virtue of this arrangement when the cam follower 177 is on the high point of the earn 178 the piston 164 will be at the top of its upstroke as shown in Fig. and the posting fluid will enter the cylinder 161 through a filter 179. When the came follower clears the high point of the earn, the resulting downstroke of the piston 164 will force fluid out of the cylinder 161 through a check valve 181 tubing 181, a by-pass valve 182 and out through the tubing 139 to be distributed to the machine.

The first arrangement provided to properly distribute the posting fluid from the pump to the porous block 138 is shown in Fig. l and comprises the previously mentioned tubing 139 which serves as a fluid carrying connection between the pump and the chamber 137. A second tube 183 provides a connection between the chamber 137 and a cut-off valve 184 (Figs. 1, 7, and 8) attached to a bracket 185 fixed to the machine. A third tube 186 connects said valve 184 with a constant level priming reservoir 187 which has an overflow tube 183 leading back to the pump reservoir.

Referring to Fig. 8, the cut-ofl valve 184 is composed of a metallic cylinder 189 having a hollow chamber 190. A port opening at 191 is adapted to receive one end of the tube 183 to direct fluid from the porous block into said hollow chamber 190 and another port opening 192 at the bottom of the chamber is adapted to receive one end of the tube 186 to direct fluid from the valve to the priming reservoir 187. A rubber diaphragm 193 is fixed in the valve 184 and extends through the middle of the chamber The rubber diaphragm 193 is operated by the blunt end of an arm 194- (Fig. 7) fixed to a sleeve 195 rotatably mounted on a stud 196 fixed to the side frame 12. Also fixed to the sleeve 195 is an arm 196a having a roller 197 attached which is urged to ride on the periphery of a cam 198 by spring 199. The cam 198 is fixed on the short shaft 58 journalled in the side frame 12 and is driven by the gear 57 fast on the shaft 58 which meshes with the gear 56 fast on the main cam shaft 23.

In the position shown in Fig. 7, the roller 197 is on the low portion of the cam and the diaphragm 193 is in its normal position (Fig. 8) leaving the valve open to allow fluid to pass from the chamber 137 through the tube 183, through the valve and tube 186 into the priming reservoir 187. When the roller rides onto the high portion of the cam, the rubber diaphragm 193 will close the port opening at 191 to prevent fluid from flowing out of the chamber 137 back through said valve. As a result there will be a build up of pressure within the chamher 137 which will force the posting fluid to feed down through the porous block 138 and through its lower surface 142.

Referring to the timing chart shown in Fig. 11, the pump will force fluid through the tubing 139 to the chamber 137 from 2 to 18 of every machine cycle. During the first 11 of the pumping cycle the cut-off valve 184 will be open in order to allow fluid to flow from the chamber 137 into the priming reservoir 187. The valve 184 starts to close at 13 and will be fully closed at 29 to allow the preessure in chamber 137 to increase sufficiently to force the fluid through the porous block 138 for posting. At 54 in the cycle the valve will start to open to allow the priming reservoir to be filled to the proper level for the purpose of supplying fluid to the porous block during those portions of each cycle when the pump 160 is idle and no fluid is being pumped to the chamber 137. Thus, the priming reservoir aids in keeping the porous block moist at all times and this is important when posting continuously and automatically. The valve 184 will be fully opened at 67 in the cycle and will remain open until 13 of the next cycle.

The fluid pump stroke is adjusted so that sufficient fluid arrives at the priming reservoir to keep the fluid level built up to the level of the return outlet 188 to the main reservoir 159 during actual posting operations. The excess fluid in the priming reservoir, if any, will be returned to the main reservoir through said outlet tube 188.

The height at which the fluid level in the priming reservoir is set, which is a slight distance higher than the lower surface of the porous block, is dependent upon the porosity of the powdered metal. If too much difference in height exists, the posting fluid will flow excessively through the block. Consequently, the height of the outlet tube 188 in the priming reservoir is adjusted so that the porous block 138 is kept moist enough to give good posting results without an excess or splashing of fluid in the chamber.

The second arrangement for distributing the fluid to the porous block is shown in Fig. 9. The main reservoir and pump are the same as in the system just described, but the tubing is arranged differently. In this arrangement, the outlet tube 139 from the main reservoir is connected to the priming reservoir 187 attached to the bracket 185. A second tube 200 connected to the bottom of said priming reservoir extends through a needle valve 201 and into the chamber 137. A return tube 202 connects the priming reservoir 187 with the main reservoir 159.

In this arrangement it is necessary to manually prime the porous block before the start of a posting run. This is done by closing the return tube 202 to the main reservoir by a valve or other suitable means and then operating the pump manually a suflicient number of times to bring the required amount of fluid into the porous block.

After this is done, the machine can be operated automatically as in the other arrangement. On a pumping cycle the fluid will be forced through the tube 139 into the priming reservoir to maintain a head of fluid there in equal to the height that the return tubee ends up into said priming reservoirs It was then found that due to a combination of capillary action at the-postingsurface 142 and siphoning in the tubing 200,. a suction condition exists so that the fluid is fed from thepriming reservoir through the tube 200 and the needle valve 201into the porous block 138 even when thelevel OfyIhC fluid in the priming reservoir falls a considerable distance belowthe level of themoistening block posting surface. The needle valve 201 is adjusted in the usual manner to control the fluid flow as desired. A y

There is shownin Fig. a sample originalormaster sheet form 94 and document card 42 as they would .appear in a simple payroll application. where thermaster sheet contains the employees name,.serial number, date, and net earnings for a pluralityof employees. The ledger or copy sheet in this case is a tabulating. card in the .form of a check provided with blank spaces 203 adapted to receive said serial number, date, and net earnings. A space is also provided directly above the serial number for the employees name, there being one document card for each employee listed on said original sheet.

To briefly sum up the operation of the machine with respect to the above described forms, the register or original sheet 94 usually of the continuous perforated type is placed in the magazine 95 and is inserted into the machine as previously described with the perforated holes 204 (Fig. 10) placed on the pins of the two pin Wheels 100 (Fig. 3), and the document cards 42 are placed in the magazine 43 (Fig. 3).

Assuming that this is to be a continuous posting operation, since there would be a plurality of checks to be made out, the operator presses the bar 36 (Fig. 6) clutching in the main cam shaft 23 allowing said shaft to be continuously driven from the motor 14.

Referring to the timing chart (Fig. 11), at 2 of the first machine cycle the pump 160 will start a downstroke to force posting fluid into the chamber 137 and also to put a supply of fluid into the priming reservoir 187 through the control valve 184 which is open at this time in the cycle. The valve 184 starts to close at 13 just prior to the completion of the pump downstroke which is at 18 and will be fully closed at 29 to cause a buildup of pressure to take place within the chamber 137 which will force the posting fluid down through the pores of the porous block 138 and out through the bottom surface 142. The valve 184 will be fully open at 67 and will remain open for the remainder of the cycle.

Thus, the first portion of the cycle is devoted to conditioning the porous block and the priming reservoir for posting operations that follow later in the cycle. It will be noted that the pressure bar 135 and the disappearing stops 76a also operate during the first portion of the cycle and their operation in the first machine cycle is only incidental since the original sheet and document sheet have not as yet been advanced.

At 239 the master sheet lifting bail 125 (Figs. 1 and 3) starts moving upward to lift the master or original sheet 94 up and away from the posting surface and reaches its upward limit of travel at 279. Meanwhile at 243 the picker knives 46 start forward to start feeding a document card 42 and at 264 the feed pawl 106 starts forward to engage the ratchet wheel 105 (Fig. 4) and the original sheet 94 will start to feed at 282 at which time the lifting bail 125 is moving downward. The original sheet 94 is in posting positing at 354 and the original sheet feed stops. The document card 42 will feed until it engages the disappearing stop fingers 76a (Figs. 1 and 3) at approximately 110 of the second machine cycle at which time said card 42 will be positioned underneath the line or lines on the original sheet 94 that are to be transferred.

The disappearing stop fingers 76a start moving down at 141 and at 148 are out of the path of the document card and the pressure bar which started moving downward 1,51 s th bp orn of its a "it Presses the original sheet and ribbon 124 against the document card to effect a transfer. The employees name, serial number, date, and net earnings on the original sheet will be posted on the document card as shown in Fig. 10. s

H At 236 the pressure bar will start moving upwardly to its normal position and the document card will be free to be fed to the stacker drum 58a (Fig. 3) by the feed rollers 59. Simultaneouslyat 239 the lifting bail 125 will start tomove upwardly lifting the original sheet away from the idocument card to avoid smearing.

At 243 the picker knives will feed in a new document card. and at 282 the original sheet will be advanced for the next posting operation.

The above described procedure will be repeated every cycle until all of the postings are made and the cam shaft 23 is de-clutched from the motor shaft by the operator. It is to be understood that in the second embodiment a procedure similar to the one just described will apply after the operator has manually operated the pump to prime the moistening block.

While there have been shown and described and pointed out the fundamental novel features of the invention as applied to a single modification, it will be understood that various omissions and substitutions and changes in the form and details of the device illustrated and in its operation may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention. It is the intention therefore to be limited only as indicated by the scope of the following claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a machine of the class described for transferring from a continuous web to individual copy sheets, means to support a copy sheet, means to support said continuous web in a position directly above said copy sheet and in alignment with same, a pressure bar slideably supported above said continuous web, means to feed said Web stepwise past said pressure bar, means to feed said copy sheets past said pressure bar in sequence in time with the stepwise feeding of said web, a moistening device having a member attached to and extending beneath said pressure bar to form the presser surface, a hollow chamber formed in the bottom surface of said member, a porous block attached to the bottom surface of said member to seal said hollow chamber, a fabric ribbon fixed across the bottom surface of said porous block, a source of posting fluid, cyclically operable means for transferring a supply of posting fluid from said source to said hollow chamber, control means connected to said hollow chamber and operable during operation of said transferring means for allowing pressure to form within said hollow chamber to force fluid therein through said porous block to said ribbon, and cyclically operable means to operate said pressure bar to press said ribbon and web against each copy sheet.

2. A machine as in claim 1 having an auxiliary chamber for storing fluid, said cyclically operable transferring means being effective to transfer a supply of posting fluid from said source to said auxiliary chamber, connections between said hollow chamber, said control means and said auxiliary chamber, said control means operating during a portion of the operation of said cyclically operable transferring means to close the connection between said hollow chamber and said auxiliary chamber to cause said pressure to form within said hollow chamber, and said control means operating during non-operation of said cyclically operable transferring means to open the connection between said hollow chamber and said auxiliary chamber to allow fluid to pass from said auxiliary chamber into said hollow chamber for the purpose of keeping said porous block continuously moist.

3. A machine as in claim 1 having an auxiliary chamher for storing fluid, said cyclically operable transferring means being effective to transfer a supply of posting fluid from said source to said auxiliary chamber, connections travel at -1 5 0 at which between said hollow chamber, said control means and said auxiliary chamber, said control means operating during a portion of the operation of said cyclically operable transferring means to close the connection between said hollow chamber and said auxiliary chamber to cause said pressure to form within said hollow chamber, and said control means operating during non-operation of said cyclically operable transferring means to open the connection between said hollow chamber and said auxiliary chamber to allow fluid to pass from said auxiliary chamher into said hollow chamber for the purpose of keeping said porous block continuously moist, and adjustable overflow means associated with said auxiliary chamber for controlling the height of posting fluid that may be retained in said auxiliary chamber for the purpose of controlling the amount of fluid that is presented to the porous block.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Barnes et al Sept. 15, Runyan et a1 Apr. 4, Beyer Mar. 14, Duncan Dec. 8, Sauerman Dec. 26, Hawkins Feb. 4, Marchev Feb. 11, Metzner Apr. 21, Mills May 12, Furman July 7, Ryan Aug. 20, Wright -2 Apr. 4, Weber Feb. 20, Ford Mar. 18, Ostwaldt Nov. 4,

FOREIGN PATENTS Great Britain Apr. 9,

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