US2954922A - Symbol printing mechanism - Google Patents

Description

Oct. 4, 1960 H. J. CHALL SYMBOL PRINTING MECHANISM Original Filed Jan. 29, 1954 18 Sheets -Sheet 1 Oct. 4, 1960 H. J. CHALL SYMBOL PRINTING MECHANISM Original Filed Jan. 29, 1954 18 Sheets-Sheet 2 Oct. 4, 1960 H. .1. CHALL 2,954,922

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United States Patent 2,954,922 Patented Oct. 4, 1960 SYMBOL PRINTING MECHANISM Harold J. 'Chall, San Leandro, Califi, assignor to Friden, Inc., a corporation of California Original application Jan. 29, 1954, Ser. No. 407,016,

now Patent No. 2,832,530, dated Apr. 29, 1958. Divided and this application Apr. 1'2, 1954, Ser. No. 422,571

5 Claims. (Cl. 235-45018) INDEX Selection mechanism- 5 Po wer cycle mechanism 6 Actuating mechanism. 7 Printing mechanism 9 (1) Print wheels and gear mechauisnn. 9 (2) Zero foil latch mechanism 9 (3) Printing operation 11 Actuator sector aligning and latching mechanism. 13 Positive transmission gear mechanism 15 (1) Shn'tmg mechanism for positive transmission gear mechamsm 16 (2) Locking mechanism for p e gear transmissio 18 Accumulator mechanism 20 Negative transmission gear mechanism 21 Tens-carrying mechanism of the accumulator 23 Algebraic slgn sensing mechanism of the accumulator 28 Accumulator conditioning mechanism for total and subtotal printing 31 Control key mechanism (control keys) 3 Addition cycle 3 Subtraction cycle 3 Subtotal printing cycle 40 Total printing cycle 42 Print-only cycle s 44 Symbol printing mechanism 45 This invention relates to calculating machines such as ten-key adding machines as disclosed in my Patent No.

' 2,832,530, issued April 29, 1958, for Value Selecting and Transmitting Mechanism for Listing Adding Machine, of which this application is a division, and more particularly to a symbol printing mechanism for such a machine.

It is among the objects of this invention to provide in a ten-key, listing adding machine of the character indicated, a printing element having type thereon for printing symbols indicating machine operations and the condition of accumulated values in the machine and mechanism effective to automatically set and actuate the printing element during the operating cycles of the machine; which printing element is set by a power operated actuator element of the machine and actuated at the same time the number printing mechanism is actuated to print entry or accumulated values; which prints symbols indicative of a negative entry, a positive or negative subtotal, a positive or negative total, or a print-only entry, separate means being provided to print a symbol indicating a cleared condition of the machine register or accumulator; which printing element setting mechanism is operated by the control keys and accumulator of the machine to adjustably position movable stops for the symbol printing element actuator; and which accurately and automatically prints the selected symbol corresponding to the particular machine operating cycle.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent from a consideration of the following description and the appended claims in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:

Fig. l is a somewhat diagrammatic perspective view showing the several control keys, the cam shaft clutch and the motor controlling switch, and the mechanism operated by the control keys for'closing the motor switch and conditioning the clutch for a single rotation of the cam shaft whenever any" one" of the control keys is depressed;

Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the accumulator, the

positive gear transmission mechanism, the negative gear transmission mechanism, and the immediately associated parts of the machine;

Fig. 3 is a side elevational view of one of the actuator sectors fragmentarily illustrated in Fig. 4;

Fig. 4 is a right side view showing a portion of the printing mechanism and particularly the print wheels, the print wheel drive and the operating mechanism for the print wheels;

Fig. 5 is a right side view of the actuator sector trail and lead cams, a print controlling cam and tens-carrying accumulator operating cam, and the mechanisms operated by these several cams;

Fig. 6 is a left side elevational view of the zero foil releasing cam for the printing mechanism and the mechanisms operated by this cam;

Fig. 7 is an elevational view from the left-hand side of the machine showing the crank for operating the return mechanism of the shiftable selector unit, the positive and negative transmission gear locking cam, the crank pin for releasing the control keys at the left-hand side of the keyboard and the print controlling cam, together with the mechanisms operated by the several cams;

Fig. 8 is an elevational view from the right-hand side of the machine showing the mechanism for aligning the actuator sectors of the machine in proper rotational position for the printing operation and means for releasably locking the actuator sectors in properly aligned condition during the printing operation;

Fig. 9 is a side elevational view looking from the right side of the machine of the means operated by the addition and subtraction keys for controlling the shifting of the positive and negative transmission gear mechanisms;

Fig. 10 is a fragmentary top plan view of the mechanism shown in Fig. 9 looking from a plane indicated by the section line 10-10 of Fig. 9;

Fig. 11 is a fragmentary longitudinal cross-sectional view of the machine showing in elevation the mechanism which controls the positioning of the symbol printing wheel of the printing mechanism of the machine;

Fig. 12 is a side elevational view of the accumulator unit;

Fig. 13 is a left side elevational view of the cam and associated mechanism for operating the accumulator tenstransfer restoring bail and the print wheel detenting mechanism;

Fig. 14 is a side elevational view from the right-hand side of the machine showing the total and subtotal printing cams and the accumulator operated mechanism for sensing the algebraic sign of the total carried in the accumulator and placing the machine in condition to read out either a positive or a negative total or subtotal;

Fig. 15 is an elevational view from the right-hand side of the machine showing the control keys at the right-hand side of the machine keyboard, the machine cycle initiating mechanism controlled by these control keys and the blocking means precluding the depression of more than a single selected control key at one time;

Fig. 16 is a side elevational view from the left-hand side of the machine showing the control keys at the lefthand side of the machine, the mechanism actuated by these control keys for initiating operating cycles of the machine and the mechanism for precluding simultaneous depression of more than one control key;

Fig. 17 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the machine showing in elevation the total and subtotal control keys mounted at the front end of the machine keyboard together with the mechanism operated by these keys for initiating operating cycles of the machine and mechanism for blocking the simultaneous depression of two or more control keys;

Fig. 18 is a fragmentary elevational view of a portion of the mechanism shown in Fig. 17, taken from the front, or left side, of that figure;

Fig. 19 is a fragmentary top plan view of the total and subtotal control mechanism illustrated in Fig. 14 taken from a plane indicated by the line 19 -19 of Fig. 14;

Fig. 20 is a fragmentary side elevational view from the right-hand side of the machine showing the print-only control key stem at the right-hand side of the machine keyboard and the mechanism operated by the print-only control key; and

Fig. 21 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view on the line 21-21 of Fig. 11.

As is fully shown in Patent No. 2,832,530, referred to above, the adding machine of the present invention comprises, in addition to a suitable base, a suitable mechanism supporting framework and a mechanism cover, selection mechanism including a ten-key keyboard and a selection device having selector racks which are sequentially set to selected values from the highest to the lowest order corresponding to values entered therein by manual depression of selected keys of the keyboard. It also comprises a printing mechanism, an accumulator, apower-driven actuator controlled by the selection device, power cycling mechanism, a positive transmission gear train which drivingly connects the actuator with the printing mechanism at all times and alternatively connects the actuator with the selector mechanism or the accumulator, a negative transmission gear train which, at times connects the actuator to the accumulator, and a set of control keys including an addition key, a subtraction key, a subtotal key, a total key, a print-only key, a keyboard clearing key and a repeat addition key.

The power cycling device includes a motor driven cam shaft carrying a plurality of mechanism actuating cams and transmission means between the motor and the cam shaft effective to turn the cam shaft through one complete rotation and bring it to a stop each time a control key of the machine is operated.

The positive and negative gear trains each have a neutral position, and one gear train always occupies its neutral position while the other is in its operative position and both are bidirectionally operative to either transmit values from the selection mechanism to the printing mechanism and accumulator or to transmit values from the accumulator to the printing mechanism.

The selection mechanism, or selector, includes, a unit laterally shiftable relative to the actuator and accumulator under control of an escapemont mechanism as values are entered therein, so that the digits of a value of any number of digits within the capacity of the selector are simultaneously transmitted through the actuator to the printing mechanism and the accumulator upon the oper ation of any one of the addition, repeat addition or subtraction control keys.

Before operation of a value transmitting control key, a value can be cleared from the selector by operation of the keyboard clearing key without printing and without changing the total in the accumulator or feeding the printing tape.

The printing mechanism includes a paper tape on which the values are printed and an ink carrying ribbon which is preferably divided longitudinally into two .portions of different colors. There is a tape feeding mechanism provided with a spacing adjustment which is effective to feed the tape in single space steps while entry values are being entered into the machine and printed and when a value is printed without entry into the machine accumulator, and to double space the tapefeed whenever a total or subtotal value is printed to thereby clearly offset the total and subtotal figures from the following column of entry value figures on the tape, and to interrupt tape feeding when the keyboard clearing key is depressed. There is also a ribbon shift means which is effective to position the ribbon in one color position 4 when a positive, or additive, quantity is printed and in a different color position when a negative, or subtractive, quantity is printed, and means are provided for winding the ribbon back and forth between spaced-apart ribbon spools.

The actuator includes a plurality of sectors which are power oscillated to accomplish an advance stroke and a return stroke each time a control key is operated. On the advance stroke the actuators are moved toan extent determined by the positioning of the associated selector elements by the keyboard keys and, on the return stroke, are moved to their home, or full-cycle, position. On their advance stroke the actuator segments transmit the selector values through the positive transmission to the printing mechanism, the printing ribbon being shifted in ac cordance with whether the addition or subtraction control key is operated, and on their return stroke transmit the value through either the positive or negative transmission to the accumulator in accordance with the operation of the addition or subtraction control key. The accumulator is operated in one direction by the positive gear train and in the opposite direction by the negative gear train and includes tens-transfer mechanism effective to transfer tens from any order to the next higher order in either direction of operation. The accumulator will thus accumulate both positive and negative values to a positive or negative total, as the case may be.

The accumulator will also carry the true total whether the sign be positive or negative.

The accumulator also includes mechanism which senses the sign of the total value in the accumulator and conditions the associated total-taking mechanism to take either a positive or a negative total.

When the total or subtotal control key is depressed, the actuator is drivingly connected with the accumulator through either the positive or negative transmission, depending on the condition of the sign sensing mechanism of the accumulator, and, upon cycling of the machine by the power cycling mechanism, reads out the total in the accumulator and transfers the total to the printing mechanism which prints it on the associated tape near the middle of the machine cycle.

When the total key is depressed, the actuator is connected to the accumulator during the advance stroke of the actuator to read out the total in the accumulator and transfer this value to the printing mechanism, and is disconnected from the accumulator at the end of the advance stroke of the actuator so that the accumulator is not operated during the return stroke of the actuator but is left in its zero setting, or cleared, condition. However, when the subtotal key is operated, the actuator is maintained in driving relationship with the accumulator during both the advance stroke and the return stroke of the actuator, so that the total value read out of the accumulator on the advance stroke of the actuator is returned to the accumulator on the return stroke of the actuator and further entries are added to, or subtracted from, this restored total.

The printing mechanism includes symbol printing apparatus which is driven by a special unit of the actuator and power cycling mechanism but controlled by the control keys and accumulator so that it will print the proper symbol for the operation performed and give the proper sign to the symbol. Thus, the following symbols may be used to indicate the different operations and the sign of the quantity printed:

Addition No symbol. Subtraction (Minus sign in negative ribbon color.)

Subtotalpositive S.

Subtotalnegative Q1.

Totalpositive T.

Totalnegative i.

Print only N-

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