US2909971A

US2909971A - Printing machine

Info

Publication number: US2909971A
Application number: US419702A
Authority: US
Inventors: Jr Edmund A Barber
Original assignee: International Business Machines Corp
Current assignee: International Business Machines Corp
Priority date: 1954-03-29
Filing date: 1954-03-30
Publication date: 1959-10-27
Anticipated expiration: 1976-10-27

Description

Oct, 27, 1959 E. A. BARBER, JR

PRINTING MACHINE 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 50, 1954 1 m m an mm W c A 1 m 7, Y S R EU S u MR W W P A CA 5 3 7 J I s m U R AE K A T T CR AT E A D l. HP M CDI E A INVENTOR. EDMUND A BARBER,JR.

ATTORNEY E. A. BARBER, JR

PRINTING MACHINE 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 R R R A E 5 4 T R HH 2 3A| MA 2 1 3 w/ m V 7 C A D 2 RT I 7 M M A S 1 1 S D R L U E u E M A 4 o T R T 0 1 RA A C P R 4 T R P R A C 5 N A M A Y C OP OP B V C P C P A A 1 4 7 1 R 5 7 G S m m mw H F K A I U IV C R L V P E A P v v H P M 2 w 2 m C P A 4 M 4 O A r ATTORNEY C Oct. 27, 1959 Filed March 30, 1954 -L EZE S G S Oct. 27, 1959. E. A. BARBER, JR 2,909,971

PRINTING MACHINE Filed March 30, 1954 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 p n ll 85 L RHJ R2434} R1143! R12-hl RH: RZE R114: R12

r 81 8 s3 s4 R1-2 R2-2 R11-2 R12-2 \i \r 1 \y j \i L R13 RESET as R13-1 m H '-\/V\/| ELECTRIC R13 R13-2\ DRIVE APPARATUS 9 COMPARE AMPL'F'ER APPARATUS F IG 5 R INDEX TIMING INVENTOR. 6 EDMUND A.BARBER,.JR.

BY v

ffim a ATTORNEY United States Patent 2,909,971 PRINTING MACHINE Edmund A. Barber, Jr., Johnson City, N.Y., assignor to International Business Machines Corporation, New York, N.Y., a corporation of New York Application March 30, 1954, Serial No. 419,702

12 Claims. (Cl. 95-1.7)

This invention relates to electric printers in general, and to selectively controlled electrophotographic printers in particular.

As is well known to persons familiar with the electrophotographic printing art, xerography is a term applied to a printing process in which electrostatic latent images are rendered visible by an electrically charged toner powder, the resulting powder images thereafter being transferred and fixed to a print receiving material. This invention is shown and described to be embodied in a xerographic printing machine for effecting a duplicate of information appearing on select source records, such as record cards for example, onto a print receiving strip, such as a Dick Strip for example, by means of selectively controlled apparatus at a transfer, or printing, station.

An object of this invention is to provide an improved electric printer. I

Another object of this invention is to provide an unproved selectively controlled electrophotographic printer.

A record card controlled selective xerographic Dick Strip printer is shown and described in copending U.S. patent application of Ira M. Hix, Serial No. 419,392 filed on March 29, 1954, now US. Patent No. 2,859,673, issued on November 11, 1958. The image transfer apparatus thereof which is also shown and described in copending U.S. patent application of Clyde J. Fitch, Serial No. 419,314, filed on March 29, 1954, now US. Patent No. 2,807,233, issued on September 24, 1957, is under control of coded indicia in the record cards analyzed at a card reading station. The image transfer apparatus of the present embodiment, however, is governed by an image of record card coded indicia, to thereby provide a selfchecking feature for determining whether electrostatic latent images of record card information are being produced.

7 Accordingly, another object of this invention is to provide an electrophotographic printer which is controlled by image information carried by the printing member thereof.

A more specific object of this invention is to provide an electrophotographic printer which is controlled by electrostatically charged data information on the printing member thereof.

A still another object of this invention is to provide an electrostatic latent image self-checking apparatus.

Other objects of the invention will be pointed out in the following description and claims and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, which disclose, by way of examples, the principle of the invention and the best modes, which have been contemplated, of applying that principle.

In the drawings:

Fig. l is a somewhat diagrammatic view of a selectively operated photoelectric image controlled electrophotographic Dick Strip printer.

Fig. 2 is a flow diagram depicting generally the operations required in order to place the image of source record information upon a print receiving web.

Patented Oct. 27, 1959 c CC General description Referring to Fig. l, the record cards 20 to be operated on are stacked in hopper 21, and are fed, one by one, by a conventional picker (not shown) of the type in Patent No. 2,448,830 issued to J. 1. Robbins et al. on September 7, 1948, each card cycle out of hopper 21 towards stacker 22. Successive pairs of

feed rolls

23 and 24 cause cards 29 to be advanced during successive card cycles past the optical projector apparatus 25.

Apparatus 25 includes a single light ray projector 26 which throws a concentrated beam of light rays in the direction of member 28 having a blackened undersurface, and in the direction of a light transmitting plastic element 27. Projector 26 includes apparatus (not shown) that provides for a conventional flash type illumination whereby light is projected momentarily when a record card 20 is in a predetermined position with respect to member 28.

As is shown in Fig. 2, each of the record cards 20 is shown to include printed information which is represented by a block 30, and coded indicia 67 such as perforated, indicia for example. Due to the fact that the surface of each card 29 has a light reflecting property, as the cards are fed past the projector apparatus 25 (see also Fig. 1), and under member 28, an image 20a (see also Fig. 2) is impressed upon the surface of xerographic drum 29. The image of card 29a includes an image 39a of the printed information 30 and an image 670 of the coded indicia field 67. So as to cause light rays to impinge upon the surface portions 32 of the zerographic drum between the card images 29a, conducting element 27 is provided. It may be seen then that apparatus 25 includes a conventional flash type light image projecting apparatus 25 for transferring the image of the aforesaid printed information and coded indicia onto the surface of the xerographic drum 29. I

The drum is mounted on the shaft 31 which is supported in suitable frame members (not shown) for rotation in a counterclockwise direction, said shaft being driven by an electric motor (not shown). Xerographic drum 29 includes an electrically conducting cylinder 35 and a printing element, or plate, 36 in the form of an electrically'insulating or non-conducting image layer. This layer is carried by a sheet of any flexible metal or other conductive material 37 that enables its being flexed around and attached to the cylinder 35, the sheet 37 being secured to the cylinder in any of the conventional ways of attaching a printing plate to a supporting cylinder, as by means of suitable clamping devices. It is necessary, however, that the backing sheet 37 of the image layer plate 36 is in good electrical contact with the electrically grounded drum shaft 31. The electrically conductive backing sheet 37 is preferably coated with a light sensitive photoconductive insulating material such as plate 36, which may have a powder image produced thereon by electrostatic charging, exposure, and powder development, afterwhichthe powder image can be made into a permanent print image by transferring and fixing the developed powder image onto the print receiving material such as a paper Dick Strip, or web, 38.

it may be pointed out at this time that construction of a similar purpose xerographic drum comprises depositing by evaporation a layer of photoconductive material, such as selenium for example, on a spun aluminum drum.

With the feeding of record cards 20 from hopper 21 issued on November 20, 1951.

, record card feeding speed. As successive incremental areas of the light sensitive photoconductive plate 36 are moved past ion-producing charging unit 34, the aforesaid plate is electrostatically charged by the said ion-producing source. Carlson Patent No. 2,588,699 which issued on March 11, 1952, may be referred to for a complete showing and description of the aforementioned electrophotographic charging apparatus.

Consequent upon the exposure of the surface of plate 36 to the image 20a of a record card 20, said image being caused by the light rays which are flashed from projector apparatus 25, those electrically charged incremental areas of plate 36 onto which light rays are directed, are discharged, and those areas not illuminated by light rays remain charged. This, of course, is for the reason that plate 36 is a photoconductive insulating material which is in electrical contact with conductive backing sheet 37, said sheet 37 being electrically connected to grounded shaft 31. Hence, after photoconductive plate 36 is exposed to the light image of a record card, an electrostatic latent image of the record card remains on plate 36, this electrostatic latent image being one wherein the dark characters within printed information image areas 30a (Fig. 2) and indicia-irnages 67a, retain an electrical charge, and the light image areas corresponding to the record card surface are no longer charged. In addi-.

tion, it will be recalled, light rays are directed to drum surface portions 32 so that these surface portions are no longer charged.

Continued rotation of the xerographic drum in a counterclockwise direction causes the electrostatic latent image-exposed portions of plate 36 (Fig. 1) to be moved into a developing chamber 39 of the type utilized in the apparatus of Schaifert patent No. 2,576,047, which The electrically charged toner powder in chamber 39 will flow onto plate 36 and over the electrostatic latent image, and will move downwardly thereover due to gravity in a continuous stream, thus being evenly distributed over the image layer. The surplus toner powder which does not adhere to the electrostatic image formed on plate 36, falls into a receiving receptacle Within chamber 39 so as to cause the powder to be completely retained within the chamber housing. The powder image that is formed on the image plate 36 visibly defines the electrostatic latent image, i.e., the powder will cling only to the drum areas corresponding to the dark information areas having an electric charge thereon. The electroscopic developer powder, or toner, may be of the type described in Copley Patent No. 2,659,670, which issued on November 17, 1953.

Continued rotation of drum 29 causes the powder image on plate 36 to move out of chamber 39, past an indiciaimage sensing station to be described hereinafter, and into the transfer, or printing. station having transfer roller 40 thereat. Inasmuch as the image transfer apparatus is shown and desc ibed in copending patent application Serial No. 419,314, reference may be had to this application for more detailed information. Briefly, however. the transfer roller comprises an inner-metallic portion 41 and an outer portion 42 of very resilient or yielding material having a high electrical resistance, as for example, a layer of soft conducting rubber having a resistivity of at least ohms per cubic centimeter. The transfer roller is supported by shaft 44 thereof which, in turn, is journaled at each end in a pair of supporting arms 45 r (only one is shown) in such a manner that shaft 44 and transfer roller 40 are electrically insulated from arms 45. The latter inverted L-shaped arms are pivotally mounted upon a shaft 54, the said shaft having web feed idler roller 55 rotatably mounted thereon, and being fixed in suitable printing machine support frames (not shown). The arms 45 are spring-biased in aclockwise direction to thereby normally force transfer roller 40 into engagement with xerographic drum 29 so as to sandwich web 38 therebetween. As is shown in Fig. 1, web 38 is fed from reel 56 past drag guide rollers 57, around idler roller 55 and transfer roller 40, between heat fixing rollers 58,

feed rollers

50 and 59, and past web punch mechanism 60, to reel 61. An oil pad 52 is provided to remove the excess toner powder remaining on the upper powder fixing roller 58.

As long as charged powder images are to be transferred from plate 36 onto web 38, the arms 45 will be positioned under the urging of their respective springs so that transfer roller 40 will support web 38 in contact with plate 36. In addition, the-normally operative web drive mechanism 53 and web punch mechanism 60 will be operated. The potential applied to transfer roller 40 will cause the charged powder particles to migrate from the xerographic drum to the web. To disable printing, however; i.e., to preclude the transfer of charged powder images, cam 62 is rotated so as to engage roller 48 to thereby cause arms 45 to be moved in a counterclockwise direction and transfer roller 40 to be moved away from drum 29. Transfer roller 40 is moved a sufiicient distance to carry the web into engagement with braking member 65 whereby web 38 is stopped immediately upon the declutching of web drive roller 59.

In order to remove any toner powder which remains on the surface of plate 36 prior to the incremental areas thereof becoming charged again by ion-source charging unit 34, a rotating plush roller 66 is provided. This roller is positioned within a housing 66a for retaining the powder removed by the counterclockwise rotating action of the roller, from the xerographic drum plate 36.

The web punch mechanism 60 is used to perforate Dick Strip holes 64 (see also Fig. 2) in web 38 during the movement thereof from reel 56 to reel 61. Such a punch in-flight mechanism is shown and described in E. H. Hall Patent No. 2,136,210 which issued on Novemher 8, 1938, wherein the punch mechanism movement is an oscillating one whereby the punch mechanism is advanced with the web during the first half of a machine cycle, and returned to a home, or starting, position during the last half of the machine cycle.

Web drive feed roller 59 (Fig. 1) which engages companion roller 50 so as to advance the web, is connected to the main drive mechanism (not shown) through a conventional ratchet type clutch. The clutch magnet 124 thereof is shown in Fig. 3 to be included within control apparatus 74, andvis used to controlthe clutching operation between the drive roller 59 and punch mechanism 60, and the aforementioned main drive mechanism. 0

Referring to Fig. 2, the record cards 20 are shown to include printed information 30 and coded control indicia in a field 67, said field having only one card column therein. Assuming card 20 to be a record card that is perforated in accordance with the well-known IBM code, the card column within control field 67 will include twelve index points, any of which may be perforated.

ment, includes alight projector 69 (Fig. 1 that throws a concentrated beam of light rays upon the portion of the surface of insulating plate 36 having powder developed indicia-images 67a (see also Fig. 2) thereon of i the card control field 67. A series of twelve photoelectric tubes, one for each of the afore-mentioned index points, and photoelectric associated apparatus, are arranged in a suitable fashion to sense the indicia-images. An apparatus that may perform such analysis of colored coded data is described in Carroll et al. Patent No. 2,620,978. Briefly, the detection of a powder developed indica-image by photoelectric apparatus 70, only one of twelve being shown, causes a signal to be directed from acorresponding conventional'amplifier 71, only one of twelve being shown, to data compare apparatus 72, whereat the data represented by image 67a are compared with a standard data being directed from data emitter 73 to compare apparatus 72 every machine cycle. A data compare apparatus and a data emitter for accomplishing such an operation may be found in existing art, Phelps et a1. Patent No. 2,602,544 which issued on July 8, 1952, and'Rabenda et al. Patent No. 2,602,394 which issued on July 8, 1952, respectively, for example. Consequent upon the detection of unmatched data, for example, an impulse will be directed to control apparatus 74 which, in turn, causes cam 62 to rotate so as to move transfer roller 40' away from xerographic drum 29, to thereby prevent printing. In addition, the control apparatus will cause the operating drive means applied to the web punch mechanism 60 and the Web drive mechariism 53 via the afore-mentioned clutch controlled by magnet 124, to become disabled.

A second embodiment of the indicia-image sensing station, i.e., an electrostatic sensing station embodiment, pertains to a scheme wherein electrostatic probes 150 (Fig. 4) are capacitively arranged with respect to plate 136, and are employed to sense electrostatically charged indicia-images 67a (see also Fig. 2), one such probe being provided for each of the twelve index points. Apparatus for detecting elect-rostatically charged spots may be found in existing art such as the patent issued to E. W. Kellogg on April 16, 1940, Patent No. 2,197,050, which describes an apparatus having a reproducing bar that is capacitively coupled to an electrostatically charged cylinder surface so as to detect the electricalcharges thereon.

Consequent upon the detection of electrostatically charged indicia-images on plate 136, by one of twelve probes 150, an impulse is directed from a corresponding one of twelve amplifiers 171 to a data compare apparatus 172 whichis similar to apparatus 72 (see also Fig. l), and whereat a comparison is made with the data pulses being transmitted from a data emitter 173 similar to emitter 73. When compare apparatus 172 detects an unmatched data condition, an impulse is directed .to a control apparatus 174 which is similar to apparatus '74 to thereby suppress printing by operating cam device 162, stop web-feeding and stop web-punching. During the periods that printing .is, effected, web 138 is fed around idler roller 154 and transfer roller 140, and between powder fixingrolls 158.

Circuits Control apparatus 74 (Fig. 1) and 174 (Fig. 4) is shown in detail in Fig. 3. Anode 110 of gas tube G1 is connected to a positive 115 volt line through relay R14 and cam contacts C3, where as the screen grid 111 thereof is connected to a positive 42 volt line via a resistance network. Consequent upon the analysis by the compare apparatus of unmatched data, a positive 50 volt pulse is transmitted to the control grid 112 from the data compare apparatus, to thereby fire tube G1. As a result thereof, relay R14 is energized and its contacts R141 are transferred. A circuit to magnet 105 for causing the rotation of cam 62 (see also Fig. 1) is completed when cam contacts C4 close from 130 to 250 (see also Fig. 6). This action, as described previously, causes transfer roller 40 to be shifted away from xerographic drum 29 in order to suppress printing. Inasmuch as magnet 124 is not energized during the periods that relay contacts R14-1 are transferred, the clutch for connecting the web drive mechanism and the web punch mechanism to the main drive mechanism, is disabled. a

The detection of matched data, however, permits tub G1 to remain non-conducting so that when-cam contacts C5 close from 240 to 360, clutch magnet 124 will be energized to thereby operatively connect the web punch and web drive mechanisms to the main drive mechanism.

Referring to Fig. 5 wherein the checking apparatus circuit 75 (Fig. 1) and 175 (Fig. 4) is shown in detail, each of the index point data input hubs 81 through 84 is associated with a corresponding indicia-image detecting tube 70 (see also Fig. 1) through the corresponding amplifier 71, so that the detection of any of twelve indiciaimages will cause a pulse corresponding to the index point to be directed to a related relay R1 through R12. Consequent upon the energization of any one of the afore-mentioned relays during a machine cycle, a hold circuit will be completed thereto from power source 85 via cam contacts C1 and the relay contacts Rl-l through R12-1 associated with the picked relay. The energization of any one of the relays R1 through R12 will cause a corresponding set of contacts R1-2 through R12-2, respectively, to open so that during the period 300 to 315 (see also Fig. 6) that checking cam contacts C2 are closed, the circuit to relay R131 will be open. In other words, in the event that a relay R1 through R12 is not energized during a machine cycle, a circuit will be completed to relay R13P at 300. As a result, contacts R13-1 will close so as to maintain relay R13 picked when relay R13H is energized via reset contacts 86. The opening of contacts R13-2 will open the circuit to the electric drive control apparatus identified by reference numeral 87, this apparatus including the main drive mechanism (not shown) for the electrophotographic printing mechanism. Thus, upon the energization of relay R13, the electrophotographic printer will be stopped because the indicia-image sensing apparatus did not de tect any coded indicia-image information on xerographic drum 29. Inasmuch as every record card should have coded indicia thereon, the absence of an image thereof on the drum may indicate that printed information is not being transferred onto the web, for example. In order to start the printer once again, it is necessary to depress the reset key to open reset contacts 86, whereupon relay R13H will be de-energized and a circuit completed to the electric drive apparatus 87.

Operation and summary Referring to Fig. 1, cards 20 are fed, one by one, each card cycle out of card hopper 21 to card stacker 22 by means of successive pairs of feed rolls 23 and 24. These feed rolls cause the record cards to be advanced during successive card cycles past optical projector apparatus 25' which includes a single light ray projector 26 for flashing a beam of light rays upon a record 20 which is in a predetermined position with respect to member 28, to thereby effect a conventional image projecting operation whereby the images 30a (see also Fig. 2) and 67a of the printed information 30 and coded indicia information 67, respectively, on the record card 20, is transferred to the surface of the Xerographic drum 29.

The xerographic drum is mounted on an electrically grounded shaft 31 which is driven in a counterclockwise direction. As successive incremental areas of the light sensitive photoconductive plate 36 are moved past charging unit 34, the aforesaid plate is caused to have an electrical charge placed thereon. Consequent upon the exposure of the surface of plate 36 to the image of a record card 20, an electrostatic latent image is caused to remain thereon in the manner described hereinbefore. Continued rotation of the xerographic' drum in a counterclockwise direction causes the electrostatic latent images on plate .36 to be moved into developing chamber 39 whereat the electrically charged toner powder is permitted to flow onto plate 36 and over the electrostatic latent images. As a result thereof, a powder image which visibly defines the electrostatic latent image is formed on the surface of plate 36. Further rotation of the xerographic drum causes the powder image on plate 36 to move out of chamber 39, past an image sensing station and into the transfer, or printing, station having transfer roller 40 thereat. As described hereinbefore, printing is effected whenever transfer roller 40 is in a position to cause web 38 to engage the transfer rolier and the xerographic drum 29 concurrently, whereas printing is suppressed whenever the transfer roller is moved away from the xerographic drum so that a space gap exists between the surface of plate 36 and the surface of transfer roller 40.

As an example, which, however, is not to be construed in a limiting sense, a main file of record cards (Fig.

1) may comprise names and addresses of magazine subscribers, and corresponding perforated indicia which are represented by reference numerals and 67, respectively, in Fig. 2. In the normal course of operation, these record cards, would ordinarily be arranged alphabetically, and in certain special operations it may be desirable to print the names and addresses of only those subscribers within a particular sub-category, such as doctors for example.

It may be assumed that every record card having the name and address of a doctor thereon in the information area identified by reference numeral 30, is to have an X, or 11, perforation in the single card column in field 67. Hence, by conventional plug wiring whereby an impulse corresponding to an X perforation is caused to be directed from data emitter 73 (Fig. 1) every machine cycle to compare apparatus 72 for comparison with the indicia-images sensed, the images of those record cards within the afore-mentioned sub-category may be detected.

As described previously, the image of each record card 20 is moved through an indicia-image sensing station and a comparison is effected between pulses resulting therefrom and the signals being directed to compare apparatus 72 from data emitter 73. So long as the data compared in apparatus 72 are matched, for example, web 38 is caused to feed from red 56 to reel 61. During these periods, transfer roller 40 is in a position whereby web 48 is sandwiched between the surface of drum 29 and the surface of conductive rubber portion 42, to thereby effect a printing operation. However, when the apparatus 72 detects unmatched data, the resulting signal which is applied to control apparatus 74 renders the web punch mechanism 60 and web drive mechanism 53 disabled, and the transfer roller shifting cam device 62 operated. The resulting camming action causes transfer roller 40 to be shifted away from xerographic drum 29, whereby the powder image transfer process is prevented.

The transfer roller will remain in the latter designated non-print position in the event another unmatched data condition is detected for the following machine cycle. During the period that transfer roller 40 is in a non-print position, web 38 is braked by the action of roller 40 against braking member 65.

When the photoelectric apparatus controlled indiciaimage .sensing apparatus shown in Fig. 1 is used, it is necessary that the image 67a of the data in field 67 be visibly defined by toner powder development, for example; However, when the electrostatic apparatus controlled indicia-image sensing apparatus shown in Fig. 2 is used, it is not necessary to develop the images of the indicia for visual observation. This, of course, is for the reason that the probes 150 thereof detect only the electrostatic charges on the surface of plate 136.

While there have been shown and described and pointed out the fundamental novel features of the invention, it will be understood that various omissions and substitutions and changes in the form and details of the device illustrated and in this 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. An electrophotographic printer comprising record card data scanning means, said record card data including printed information and coded indicia, means for feeding record cards past said scanning means, an electrostatically charged photoconductive member, an optical system for operatively connecting said scanning means and said photoconductive member so as to impress electrostatic latent images of the record card data thereon, meansfor developing the electrostatic latent images stored on said member by applying a transferable powder thereto, means for analyzing the developed powder coded indicia images, means including a rotatable conductive cylinder and potential means connected thereto for applying an electric force at a printing zone, said cylinder being shiftable to vary the strength of said electric force, means for moving said photoconductive member relative to the axis of said cylinder and to said analyzing means in a timed relation to the feeding of record cards past said scanning means so that the developed powder information images are moved past said cylinder and so that the developed powder coded indicia images are moved past said analyzing means, means for feeding a print receiving material between said member and said cylinder in a timed relation to the movement of said member, said cylinder being rotated thereby, and means controlled by said analyzing means for shifting said cylinder radially relative to said member so that the strength of the electric force at the printing zone is varied from one limit whereat the powder information images are transferred from said photoconductive member to said print receiving material, to another limit whereat said powder information images are caused to remain on said member.

2. In a cyclically operable machine of the class described having a transfer apparatus, the combination of record card data scanning means, said record card data including printed information and coded indicia, record card feeding means for advancing a record card past said scanning means every machine cycle, means for emitting standard coded control data every machine cycle, electrostatically charged photoconductive means for storing images of record card data, opticalmeans for op eratively connecting said scanning means and said image storage means so that an image of record card data is entered for storage in said storage means every machine cycle, means for developing said images stored in said storage means by applying a transferable material thereto, means for analyzing the developed coded indicia images, means for moving one of the developed coded indicia images of record card data past said analyzing means and one of the developed information images of record card data past said transfer apparatus every machine cycle at a speed correlated with the speed of feeding record cards past said scanning means, means controlled by said analyzing means and said coded control data emitting means for comparing the developed coded indicia images of record card data with standard coded control data, and means operated in response to said comparing means for governing the operation of said transfer apparatus so that only the transferable material corresponding to certain select ones of said developed information images of record card data is transferred to a copy sheet.

3. An electrophotographic printer comprising an electrostatic storage means adapted to support charged powder information and coded indicia images thereon, a charged powder information image transfer apparatus adapted to support a movable copy sheet adjacent to said electrostatic storage means, means for analyzing said charged powder coded indicia images, means for moving said electrostatic storage means relative to said transfer apparatus and said analyzing means so that said charged powder information images are moved past said transfer apparatus and so that said charged powder coded indicia images are moved past said analyzing means, means for moving the copy sheet past said transfer apparatus, and means governed by said analyzing means for controlling said transfer apparatus so that only certain select ones of said charged powder information images are transferred from said electrostatic storage means onto the copy sheet.

4. An electrographic printer comprising a member adapted to support charged powder information and coded indicia images thereon, charged powder information transfer means for applying an electric force at a printing zone, means for analyzing said charged powder coded indicia images, means for moving said member relative to said transfer means and said analyzing means so that said charged powder information images are moved past said transfer means and so that said charged powder coded indicia images are moved past said analyzing means, means for feeding a print receiving material through said printing zone between said member and said transfer means in a timed relation to the movement of said member, and means controlled by said analyzing means for governing said transfer means so as to vary the strength of the electric force applied at said printing zone from one limit whereat said charged powder information images are transferred from said member to said print receiving material to another limit whereat said charged powder information images are not transferred to said print receiving material, to thereby effect the transfer onto said print receiving material of only certain select ones of said charged powder information images.

5. An electrographic printer comprising a member adapted to support related charged powder information and coded indicia images thereon, charged powder transfer means including an electrified conductive cylinder for applying an electric force at a printing zone, said cylinder being shiftable for varying said electric force applied at said printing zone, means for analyzing said charged powder coded indicia images, means for moving said member relative to said transfer means and said analyzing means so that said charged powder information images are moved past said cylinder and said charged powder coded indicia images are moved past said analyzing means, means for feeding a print receiving material through said printing zone between said member and said cylinder in a timed relation to the movement of said member, and means controlled by said analyzing means for controlling the shifting of said cylinder (at) toward said member to a printing position so that the electric force at the printing zone is of a magnitude to effect the transfer of charged powder images onto the print receiving material, and (12) away from said member to a print suppress position so that the electric force at the printing zone is of insufficient magnitude to effect the aforesaid charged powder image transfer.

6. A printer of the class described comprising a rotatable printing drum having an insulating layer thereon adapted to support a plurality of electrostatically charged information and coded indicia images thereon, means for developing said charged images by applying a charged pigmented powder thereto, means for rotating said printing drum, means for feeding a print receiving material through a printing zone in a timed relation to the move ment of saidprinting drum, electrified transfer means for producing an electrostatic field of force at said printing zone for transferring said developed powder information images from said printing drum to said print receiving material, said transfer means being operable to vary the strength of said electrostatic field of force at said printing zone, photoelectric means for analyzing the data represented by said pigmented powder coded indicia images, and means controlled by said photoelectric means for controlling the operation of said transfer means so as to 10 produce an electrostatic field of force whenever select ones of said charged powder information images to be transferred onto said print receiving material are moved by said printing drum into said printing zone.

7'. A printer of the class described comprising a rotatable printing dmm having an insulating layer thereon adapted to support a plurality of electrostatically charged information and coded indicia images thereon, means for developing said charged information images by applying an electroscopic toner thereto, capacitive means for analyzing the data represented by said charged coded indicia images, means for rotating said printing drum, means for feeding a print receiving material through a printing Zone in a timed relation to the movement of said printing drum, electrified transfer means for producing an electrostatic field of force at said printing zone for transferring said developed toner information images from said printing drum to said print receiving material, said transfer means being operable to vary the strength of said electrostatic field of force at said printing zone, and means controlled by said capacitive means for controlling the operation of said transfer means so as to produce an electrostatic field of force whenever select ones of said developed toner information images to be transferred onto said print receiving material are moved by said printing drum into said printing zone.

8. A xerographic printing machine of the class described having record card data scanning means and record card feeding means for advancing record cards in seriatim past said scanning means, said record card data including related printed information and coded indicia, in combination with electrostatically charged photoconductive record card data storage means, optical means for operatively connecting said scanning means and said storage means so as to store latent electrostatic images of record card data in said storage means, means for analyzing the coded indicia images stored in said storage means, means for developing the latent electrostatic information images stored in said storage means, normally operative means for transferring the developed information images onto a print receiving strip, means for moving said storage means relative to said analyzing means and said transfer means so that the coded indicia images are moved past said analyzing means and the developed information images are moved past said transfer means at a speed correlated withthe speed of feeding record cards past said scanning means, and means governed by said analyzing means consequent upon the analysis of certain coded indicia images for rendering said transfer means inoperative whereby the transfer of the developed information images related to said certain coded indicia images is suppressed.

9. An electrophotographic printer comprising an electrophotoconductive print member adapted to have information and coded indicia images produced thereon, an image transfer apparatus adapted to support a movable copy sheet adjacent to said print member, means for analyzing said coded indicia images on said print member, means for moving said print member relative to said transfer apparatus and said analyzing means so that said information image is moved past said transfer apparatus and so that said coded indicia image is moved past said analyzing means, and means governed by said analyzing means for controlling said transfer apparatus so that only certain select ones of said information images are transferred from said print member onto a copy sheet.

10. An electrophotographic printing machine comprising record data scanning means, said record data including printed information and coded indicia, means for feeding records past said scanning means, an electro photoconductive print member, an electrooptical means vfor operatively connecting said scanning means and said 7 11., v a means formoving said print member relative to said analyzing means and said transfer means so that said coded indicia images are moved past said analyzing means and said information images are moved past said transfer means, and means controlled by said analyzing means upon the analysis of certain coded indicia images for governing the operation of said transfer means so that only certain select one of said information images are transferred onto a print receiving medium.

11. An electrophotographic printing machine comprising an electrophotoconductive print member adapted to have transferable information and coded indicia images produced thereon, normally operative means for transferring said information images from said print member onto a print receiving strip, means for analyzing said coded indicia images on said print member, means for moving said print member relative to said transfer means and said analyzing means so that said information images are moved past said transfer means and said coded indicia images are moved past said analyzing means, and means governed by said analyzing means for rendering said a 3 12 1 transfer means inoperative uponjthe analysis of certain coded indicia images whereby the printing of certain in- Y formation images related to said certain coded images is suppressed. V

V 12. A machineaccording to claimll additionallycomprising means for feeding a print receiving strip between said print member and said transfer means, and other means governed by said analyzing means for rendering inoperative said print receiving strip feeding means at the same time that said transfer means is rendered inoperative.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 615,107 Schwarzschild Nov. 29, 1898 2,172,330 Bryce Sept. 5, 1939 2,357,809 Carlson Sept. 12, 1944 2,633,796 Pethick Apr. 7, 1953 2,641,997 Butterfield et al June 16, 1953