US2846945A

US2846945A - Inking device for value printing meters

Info

Publication number: US2846945A
Application number: US585684A
Authority: US
Inventors: Frederick W Uthenwoldt; Bach John William
Original assignee: Pitney Bowes Inc
Current assignee: Pitney Bowes Inc
Priority date: 1956-05-18
Filing date: 1956-05-18
Publication date: 1958-08-12
Anticipated expiration: 1975-08-12

Description

Aug. 12, 1958 F. w. UTHENWOLDT El'AL 2,845,945

INKING DEVICE FOR VALUE PRINTING METERS Filed May is, 1956 a Sheets-Sheet 1 7311 NTORS y 11 gj AT'T ode NE-Y Aug. 12, 1958 F. w. UTHENWOLDT EI'AL 5.

INKING DEVICE FOR VALUE PRINTING METERS I I Filed May 13. 1956 I SShets-Sheei; s

' I INVENTORS J 7 fiear/cl Mufkeflw/di 1 MY/iam 544% ATTORNEY United States Patent INKING FOR PRINTING METERS Frederick. W. Uthenwoldt, Glenbrook, and John William Bach, Stamford, 'Conn., 'assignors'to Pitney-Bowes, Inc., Stamford, Conn., a corporation of Delaware Application May-18, .1956, SeriahNo. 585,684

Claims. '(Cl. 101-91) This invention relates-to postage. or other value printing; and especially. to the provisionyof an improved inking arrangement for-cooperation with :the rotary printing drum on the removable :meter section -of= .a-. value printing machine.

In postage printing and similar valu'e printing machines it is customary to provide a base element which includes the-,idriving mechanism and variousmther parts of the deviceenot related to the, valuecontrol, and ameter which is, rernova'bly mounted; on thewbaseand which includes the -printingpdrumwith a value .printingdie thereon, and means for registering thenamountof value still remaining. for use; bythe printing drum. The meter is sealed so 'that its mechanism or settings cannot be tampered with, andqis made. removable so that it can be easily carried. to: the ,proper'otficial; -:e.- g. a post office representative, for. the application of additional value to the meter settings when required.

In order to make the meter as-sma'll. andlight as possible, it is; desirable to have the inking mechanism mounted on the base with the inking roller projecting fromdts housingthrough a suitable opening in-themeter housing and into contact with the printingdrum. HOW- eyer, with this arrangement .of parts, removal of the meter leaves the inking roller exposed in a position where the operatorshands or clothing may comeinto contact with it or upon removing the meter, the inking roller might wipeagainst; the meter housing and the ink would/trans- :ferto anything contacting therewith.

it is, therefore, an dbjectrof the present invention to provide a value-printing device inwhich the inking roller iswithdrawn to-a;protected or concealed position as an incident-to-removalrof the meter from the base.

Another. object of the invention 'is the provision of means for automatically retracting the inking roller to protected position when the control handle which locks the meter to the-base, orwhich releases the meter from its lockedconnection with the base, is operated in meter releasing'direction.

Another object of the invention is the provision of an inking roller which is readily demountable for center filling.

Still'another object of; the invention is the provision, in connection with the inking drum retraction means, of an adjustable stop for setting theinking roller, when in operative position, in a location to have the desired degreeof 'engagement'with the printing die. 7

In the drawings: apreferred form of the invention is shown, wherein:

Fig. l is a partial plan of a value-printing meter according to the invention with the meter locked in place on a basesupport and with the inking roller inoperative position, the inker cover being open, and parts being broken away to show inner operatingelements;

Fig. 2'isa plan view similar to Fig. v1 butto .a reduced scale 1 and, showing. the meter control handle; in a released roller retracted;

Patented Aug. 12, 1958 Fig. 3- is a section taken substantially on line 33 of' Fig. 1.;

Fig. 4 is a section, to a reduced scale, :ta'ken substan tially on line 44 of Fig. 1, but showing the parts in Referring to the drawings in detail, a value printing. device, here shown in the form of a postage printer 11,

includes a base B and a meter M removably mounted thereon. Themeter M includes a rotary printingdrum 13 carrying a value printing die 15 driven by any suitable means from a prime mover (not shown) in the base B, and cooperating with an impression roller 16 rotatable in the base B adjacent the printing position. The meter M further includes meansyfor registering the amount of postage or other value impression used, or. still available for use, for example by register wheels 17 in windows 19; Mechanism responsive to the reading of.

these wheels causes the meterto cease printing when the, initially set amount is used up. The meter housingis, of course, sealed in a known manner so that a new setting can be made only-by an authorized person or agency, e. g. a post oifice official.

In order that the meter M may be removed from the.

base B for ready transport to the settingagency, there.

is provided in the base B a locking control lever 21 pivoted at 23 and drivingly associated with gear. sector.- 25 which meshes with a sector 27. The sector 27 in.

turn rotates a post 29 which is rotatable in the base. B.

and projects upwardly into the lower portion ofthe.

meter M. The upper end'of the post 29 carries .a tongue 31 which meshes with asuitable mating part (notshown); on the meter M. The mating partand the meter carried mechanism driven thereby are of conventional nature;

and serve in a known manner to perform thefunctions of locking the meter on the base or. unlocking it. for removal therefrom, and simultaneously performing various other necessary operations such as unlocking. the. printing drum for printing rotation or locking it against rotation preparatory to meter removal.

Adjacent the printing drum13 the housing ofthe meter M is provided with an opening 33 just large enough to.- receive an inking roller .35 which projects therethrough into position to come into contact with the die 15 as, the printing drum 13' rotates. an upwardly standing, housing portion B on the base B,

through an opening 37 provided for the purposev and positioned to be opposite the opening 33 when themeter M is-in place. The end of the housing portion B which encloses the inking mechanism is provided with a hinged cover 39 which may be opened to provideaccess to the;

inking mechanism, and isheld in open or closed. position. as desired by detent spring 41.

Pivoted at one endon a pin 43 afiixed toaportion, of. the base B is an inker carrying lever 45 which extends across-the base B and carries the inking roller 35 on its other end; The mounting for the inking roller includes. complementary elongate relatively slidable guide elements, one of which is an upright pin 47 which extends generally in-a transaxial direction with respect to the printing drum. 13. The pin 47 is also canted slightly away from. the opening 37, preferably by bending the portion of the 5).. Theotherguide elementis a support sleeve 51 which The roller 35 projects from.

has a free sliding fit on the pin 47 and is held in place thereon by a detent element 53 engaging in a suitably located groove 55 in the pin 47. Depending from the sleeve is a yoke 57 between the arms of which the inking roller 35 is rotatably carried. The arms of yoke 57 are provided with guiding surfaces 59 so positioned that they approach but do not quite fit the edge of the lever 45 snugly as seen at 61, Figs. 3 and 5. Hence a slight rocking movement of the sleeve 51 on pin 47 is permitted to allow the inking roller 35 to adjust itself for equalizing its pressure across the face of the printing die.

The end of the inker carrying lever 45 adjacent the inking roller 35 is provided with a slot 63 which receives the shouldered and headed screw 65 for holding the lever against the base and guiding the lever in its rocking motion. An upstanding ear 67 on the same end of the lever 45 carries a nut 69 into which is threaded an adjustable stop screw 71 having an operating knob 73 and a tip 74 for engagement with a wall of the housing B. A lock nut 75 on screw 71 serves to preserve its adjustment when completed. A spring 77 acting between the wall of the housing B and the knob 73 of the screw 71 urges the lever 45 towards the right in'Figs. l, 2 and 3, that is in a direction to move the inking roller 35 towards the surface of the printing die 15. By adjusting the screw 71 via knob 73 the degree of contact between the inking roller and the printing die can be accurately adjusted to the desired value for proper inking.

An intermediate portion of the edge of the lever 45 provides a striking surface 79, against which impinges a pin 81 upstanding on an arm 83 integral with locking control lever 21 and gear sector 25 for movement of the lever 45 in concert with the movement of lever 21.

Assuming the parts to be in the position of Fig. l, and that it is desired to remove the meter M, the lever 21 is moved clockwise until it reaches the Figs. 2 position. This rotates post 29 via

gear sectors

25, 27 and serves to rotate tongue 31 through 90 degrees which, among other things, unlocks the meter M from the base B so that it can be removed. At the same time, pin 81 on arm 83 moves into contact with striking surface 79 on inker carrying lever 45, and swings the latter to the left against the force of spring 77 as seen in Figs. 1 and 2. This motion of the lever 45 Withdraws the inking roller 35 carried thereby from its position of projection through

openings

33 and 37, back into fully retracted position within the upper base housing B as seen in Fig. 2. Thus, when the meter M is removed, the inking roller 35 is in a protected position where the hands or clothing of the operator cannot become soiled by inadvertent contact therewith. When the meter M is replaced, the lever 21 is returned to its Fig. 1 position, thus simultaneously locking it in place by means of tongue 31 and withdrawing pin 81 so that the lever 45 swings back to the right under the influence of spring 77, carrying the inking roller 35 back through

openings

37 and 33 and into operative relation with the printing die 15 of meter M once more.

While the placing of the meter M on the base B has been described in general terms, it is found especially convenient to have the same make connection by vertically directed sockets with suitable vertically disposed posts (not shown) on the base B, in which case a vertical upward detaching movement and a vertical downward replacing movement would be used in handling the meter M. The automatic withdrawal of the inking roller 35 would, in this case, facilitate the action to a marked degree by avoiding conflict between the inking roller 35 and the meter casing adjacent opening 33 during such relative vertical displacements required.

When it is desired to replenish the ink supply on the inking roller 35, this may be accomplished by opening cover 39, grasping the sleeve 51 and pulling it upwardly off the pin 47 by snapping the detent 53 out of groove 55. The sleeve 51, yoke 57 and roller 35 come free as a unit which may be conveniently handled by sleeve 51. The inking roller 35 is preferably a porous, absorbent cylinder 84 of felt or the like, mounted on a hollow spindle 85 having a plurality of perforations 87 (Fig. 5). One end of the spindle is closed and the other is open as at 89 in Fig. 6. The roller 35 is turned so that the open end 89 of spindle 85 projects upwardly and the spout 91 of an ink supply container is introduced into the open end 89. When suflicient ink has been applied, the same may be uniformly distributed by rolling the roller on a relatively flat surface. The inking roller 35 may then be returned to operative position by slipping the sleeve 51 back over pin 47 and snapping it into its initial position As can be seen, especially in Fig. 3, the inking roller 35 may be readily removed even though the

levers

21 and 45 have not been moved to retract the same. The canted position of pin 47 provides sufiicient leftward horizontal translation in response to the upward movement of the roller to prevent conflict with the housing B adjacent the edges of opening 37, or with the housing of meter M adjacent the edges of opening 33.

Variations and modifications may be made within the scope of the claims and portions of the improvements may be used without others.

What is claimed is:

1. In a value printing device, a base including a hous-' ing; a meter removably mounted on the base and including a housing situated adjacent the base housing when in place, and a rotary printing drum therein; an inking roller normally situated partially within the base housing and projecting through adjacent openings in the base ing a housing situated adjacent the base housing when in place, and a rotary printing drum therein; an inking roller normally situated partially within the base housing and projecting through adjacent openings in the base housing and meter housing in operative position to make inking contact with the printing surface of the printing drum; means including a manually swingable lever for locking the meter to the base and for unlocking it for removal therefrom; and means responsive to unlocking movement of said lever for retracting said inking roller into said base housing, and responsive to locking movement of said lever for returning said inking roller to operative position.

3. In a value printing device, a base including a housin said meter housing; a lever swingable on said base and having one end movable towards and away from said opposed openings; an inking roller carried on said one end of said lever and normally situated partially within the base housing and projecting through said opposed openings in operative position to make inking contact with the printing surface of the printing drum; means including a manually swingable lever for locking the meter to the base and for unlocking it for removal therefrom; and means responsive to unlocking movement of said manually swingable lever for swinging said roller carrying lever in a direction to retract said inking roller into said base housing, and responsive to locking movement of said manually swingable lever for swinging said roller carrying lever in a direction to return said inking roller to operative position.

4. In a value printing device, a base including a housing having an opening; a meter removably mounted on the base and including a housing situated adjacent the base housing when in place and having an opening opposite the base housing opening; a rotary printing drum in said meter housing; a lever swingable on said base and having one end movable towards and away from said opposed openings; an inking roller carried on said one end of said lever and normally situated partially within the base housing and projecting through said opposed openings in operative position to make inking contact with the printing surface of the printing drum; means for locking the meter to the base and for unlocking it for removal therefrom; means responsive to unlocking movement of said first named means for swinging said lever to move said one end away from said openings and thereby retract said inking roller into said base housing, and responsive to locking movement of said first named means for returning said lever to its initial position, and thereby returning said inking roller to operative position, said last named means including a spring urging said lever in the direction to move said roller towards operative position; and an adjustable stop adjacent said one end of said lever for accurately'setting the degree of engagement between said inking roller and said printing drum under the influence of said spring.

5. In a printing device, a rotary printing drum; a first elongate guide element mounted to one side of said drum and extending in a direction transaxially of the drum; a complementary guide element slidably related to said first guide element and readily removable therefrom; an inking roller; and means on said complementary guide element rotatably carrying said inking roller with its axis transverse to the direction of extension of said first guide element for inking contact with said printing drum.

6. In a printing device, a printing drum rotatable on a substantially horizontal axis; a movable member urged horizontally towards and movable away from said drum; a first elongate upright guide element on said movable member at one side of said drum; a complementary guide element slidably related to said first guide element and readily removable therefrom in an upward direction; an

inking roller; and means on said complementary guide element rotatably carrying said inking roller with its axis extending substantially horizontally for inking contact with said printing drum.

7. In a printing device, a printing drum rotatable on a substantially horizontal axis; a movable member urged horizontally towards and movable away from said drum; a first elongate upright cylindrical guide element on said movable member at one side of said drum; a complementary cylindrical guide element slidably and rockably related to said first guide element and readily removable therefrom in an upward direction; a yoke with depending spaced arms carried by said complementary guide element; and an inking roller rotatable between said arms with its axis extending substantially horizontally for inking contact with said printing drum, said arms having guiding surfaces designed to fit approximately against a surface of said movable member but fitting loosely enough to permit a slight rocking of said complementary guide element with respect to said first guide element whereby the inking roller may align itself accurately with said printing drum.

8. In a printing device, a rotary printing drum; a first elongate guide element mounted to one side of said drum and extending in a direction transaxially of the drum; a complementary guide element slidably related to said first guide element and readily removable therefrom; an inking roller; and means on said complementary guide element rotatably carrying said inking roller with its axis transverse to the direction of extension of said first guide element for inking contact with said printing drum, said roller comprising a hollow perforate spindle closed at one end and open at the other, and an absorbent cylindrical pad surrounding said spindle, whereby the roller may be reinkecl by Withdrawing the complementary guiding element from said first guiding element, turning the complementary guiding element so as to dispose the open end of the roller spindle upwardly, and introducing fluid ink into said open spindle end.

9. In a value printing device, a base including a housing having an opening; a meter removably mounted on the base and including a housing situated adjacent the base housing when in place and having an opening opposite the base housing opening; a rotary printing drum in said meter housing; a lever swingable on said base and having one end movable towards and away from said opposed openings; a first elongate guide element on said one end of said lever; a complementary guide element slidably related to said first guide element and readily removable therefrom; an inking roller carried on said complementary guide element and normally situated partially within the base housing and projecting through said opposed openings in operative position to make inking contact with the printing surface of the printing drum; means for locking the meter to the base and for unlocking it for removal therefrom; and means responsive to unlocking operation of said first named means for swinging said roller carrying lever in a direction to retract said inking roller into said base housing, and responsive to locking operation of said first named means for swinging said roller carrying lever in a direction to return said inking roller to operative position, said first guide element being canted away from said base housing opening to permit withdrawal of said complementary guide element and the attached inking roller even though the meter is locked in position by said first named means.

10. In a value printing device, a base including a hous ing having an opening; a meter removably mounted on the base and including a housing situated to one side of the base housing when in place and having an opening opposite the base housing opening; a printing drum in said meter housing rotatable on a substantially horizontal axis; a first elongate upwardly projecting guide element in said base housing; a complementary guide element slidably related to said first guide element and readily removable therefrom; and means on said complementary guide element rotatably carrying an inking roller with its axis extending transversely of the direction of extension of said first guide element, and normally situated partially within the base housing and projecting through said opposed openings in the base housing and meter housing in operative position to make inking contact with the printing surface of the printing drum, said first guide element being canted away from said housing openings to permit upward withdrawal of said complementary guide element and the attached inking roller without interference by the margins of the housing walls adjacent the openings.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,461,934 Pitney July 17, 1923 1,515,359 Pitney Nov. 11, 1924 1,582,039 Harrold Apr. 27, 1926 1,596,728 Halliwell Aug. 17, 1926 2,068,307 Wheeler Jan. 19, 1937 2,104,624 Royce Jan. 4, 1938 2,152,204 Moore Mar. 28, 1939 2,168,457 Strother Aug. 8, 1939 2,237,446 Nilsson Apr. 8, 1941 2,655,315 Persson Oct. 13, 1953