US3444977A

US3444977A - Mode selection for the control of a plurality of work sheets in a billing machine

Info

Publication number: US3444977A
Application number: US641607A
Authority: US
Inventors: Mel E Kinney; Vito Viola
Original assignee: Friden Inc
Current assignee: Friden Inc
Priority date: 1967-05-26
Filing date: 1967-05-26
Publication date: 1969-05-20
Anticipated expiration: 1986-05-20

Description

E. KINNEY ET AL May 20, 1969 M MODE SELECTION FOR THE] CONTROL OF A PLURALITY OF WORK SHEETS IN A BII LING MACHINE Filed May 26 1967 R W. W M wmm K m FL v LO/ MVJ ATTORN EV United States Patent 3,444,977 MODE SELECTION FOR THE CONTROL OF A PLURALITY OF WORK SHEETS IN A BILL- ING MACHINE Mel E. Kinney, Castro Valley, and Vito Viola, Oakland, Calif., assignors to Friden, Inc., a corporation of Delaware Filed May 26, 1967, Ser. No. 641,607 Int. Cl. B41j 15/22, 13/074, 13/076 US. Cl. 197-129 1 Claim ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Background The present invention relates to the control of the work sheets in billing and accounting machines.

It is known to separately grip and control work sheets on two parts of the platen of a billing, or accounting, machine so that one part of the platen may carry, for example, a continuous invoice form and the other a ledger and journal, and to provide a front feed chute for the ledger sheet.

If is known to split a platen in two parts, one for the invoice and one for the ledger and journal to permit different line-spacings for the two forms. It is known to provide a feed control lever at each end of the platen carriage, each actuating a stub shaft for applying and releasing a feed roll for its adjacent part of the platen, and each arranged, as it releases said feed roll, to also open the front feed chute, and to provide a releasable connection between said stub shafts.

Summary It is an object of the present invention to permit manual selection by the operator between alternative modes of operation in a billing machine wherein the feed of forms on both parts of a platen may be controlled by the platen as heretofore, or alternatively one form may be controlled by the platen and the other left free for control by other feeding means.

Drawing These and other objects and advantages will be apparent from the following description of a specific embodiment of the invention, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing wherein the single figure is a perspective view, partially exploded, of parts of the paper carriage and paper control mechanism of an accounting, or billing machine embodying the present invention.

'ice

Description The drawing shows a part of the platen and formcontrolling structures of the paper carriage of an accounting, or billing, machine. The cylindrical platen 8 consists of two sections, a right section 10 controlled by a manual knob 12, and a left section 14 controlled by a manual knob 16. A clutch, not shown, that is manually controllable by the operator, connects the two

sections

10 and 14 for rotation in unison. A front feed chute 19 extends across the full length of the platen 8, and includes a transparent plastic shield 20 and a frame 22 which is controlled and partly supported by a lever 24, and which slides on a pin 23 carried by a stationary arm 21. A similar frame member, controlling lever, and pin (not shown) are provided at the right hand end of the carriage. Control lever 24 is fixed to a rotatable control shaft 26. Forward rotation of shaft 26, clockwise in the drawing, swings the lever 24, and with it the frame 22 and shield 20, forward to a so-called open position for permitting the easy insertion of a ledger sheet in a known manner. Front feed chute 19 is biased to its closed position by a coil spring 28 acting on lever 24.

A pair of manually operable levers 30 and 32, at the two ends of the platen carriage, control, among other things, the opening and closing of the front feed chute 19. Manual lever 30 has its hearing at 34. A slot 36, forward of the bearing 34, engages a link 38 which is connected to a lever 40 on the shaft 26, which controls the front feed chute 19. The lever 32 is similar and is similarly connected by a link 39 to a lever 41 on the shaft 26. The forward motion of either of the levers 30 or 32, through the corresponding link 38 or 39, rotates the shaft 26 forward for opening the chute 19. Slots, such as 36 or 37, permit either lever 30 or 32 to remain in its normal position as shown, when the chute 19 is opened by operation of the other lever 30 or 32.

The left section 14 of the platen 8 is equipped with a set of feed rolls 44 which are arranged to be held firmly against the platen section 14 so that rotation of the platen section 14 will feed a form, such as a ledger sheet, in a known manner. Specifically, the feed rolls 44 are part of a structure that includes the sheet-metal, paper table 46 and also cam-following rollers 48 that ride on cams 50 on a shaft 52. Rearward rotation of the shaft 52, counter-clockwise in the drawing, in a manner to be described, rotates the cams 50 to permit the lowering of the paper table structure 46 for thereby moving the feed rolls 44 away from the platen section 14 to release the paper.

Similar feed rolls 54, earns 60, and cam-carrying shaft 62 are provided for the right portion.10 of the platen 8. A dog clutch 66 controlled by a handle 68 is arranged to connect the two

shafts

52 and 62 so that they operate together to engage and release the feed rolls 44 and 54 in unison.

Shaft 62, at its right end, carries a lever 69 connected by a link 70 to the lower front portion 71 of the manual lever 30. Forward motion of the lever 30, in addition to opening the front feed chute 19, will also rotate the shaft 62 rearward (counter-clockwise in the drawing) for releasing the feed rolls 54, for facilitating the insertion of a sheet of paper in position on the right section of the platen 8. If the clutch 66 is engaged, the forward motion of the lever 30, as just described, also releases the feed rolls 44 so thatthe motion of the single lever 30 opens the machine for insertion of paper on both

sections

10 and 14 of the platen 8. Although such operation of the shaft 26 by the lever 30 for opening the chute 19 also moves the lever 41 and the link 39, the lower end of the link 39 simply slides in the slot 37 and does not cause any motion of the manual lever 32.

A tractor feed 90 is provided for feeding continuous forms, such as invoices, that have marginal perforations. This mechanism is driven from the platen in a known manner by mechanism not shown here.

The mechanism thus far described is known. According to the known structure, the shaft 52 was connected to the lever 32 and operated thereby similarly to the connection of the shaft 62 to lever 30. With such an arrangement, whenever the clutch 66 was engaged, not only did the two

shafts

52 and 62 operate in unison, but the control levers 30 and 32 necessarily operated in unison with them. Furthermore, with such prior construction, even when clutch 66 was disengaged, the closing of the front feed chute 19 compelled the engagement of both sets of feed rolls 44 and 54 because the chute 19 could be closed only if both levers 30' and 3-2 were in their normal position, shown, and with levers 30 and 32 in their normal positions the feed rolls 44 and 54 were necessarily in firm contact with the platen 8.

In accordance with the present invention, a releasable clutch, or connection 72, is provided between the lever 32 and the control shaft 52 for the feed rolls 44 on the left section 14 of the platen 8. A rocker 74 lies alongside the lower end of the manual control lever 32 and is journalled on the same shaft 33. This rocker 74 is connected by a link 75 to a lever 76 on the shaft 52 that controls the feed rolls 44 and paper table 46. A claw 78, which is a part of a clutch knob 80, but here shown separate, has two fingers 79 that extend through holes 82 in the plate 74 and into a pair of matching holes 84 in the lever 32, to clutch the two members 74 and 32 together for operation in unison. When these two members 74 and 32 are connected in this manner, the lever 32 controls the feed rolls 44 and paper table 46 just as in the known device, so that with the lever 32 in its normal position, shown, the cams 50 hold the feed rolls 44 in firm engagement with the left platen section 14 and the platen section 14 drives the paper, and so that when the lever 32 is pulled forward, clockwise in the drawing, the shaft 52 is rotated counter-clockwise and the rolls 44 move away from the platen section 14 to leave the paper loose for manual insertion and removal.

The manual clutch knob 80, including its integral claw 78, is movable both axially and rotatably on the shaft 33. A spring 86 urges the knob 80 to the right so that, for example, the claw 78 is held firmly in the holes 82 and 84 for clutching the two members 74 and 32 together. The knob 80 may be pulled to the left to disengage the fingers 79 of the claw 78 from the holes 82, and may then be turned to let the points of the fingers 79 of the claw 78 rest in smaller holes 88 where they are held by the spring 86. In this last position the fingers 79 of the claw 78 do not extend through the plate 74 and so do not engage the lever 32 or clutch the lever 32 to the rocker 74.

One important result of disengaging the rocker 74 from the lever 32 is that the feed rolls 44 are not required to be engaged with the platen section 14 when the front feed chute 19 is closed, that is, in operating position. It will be recalled that, in the prior construction described above, the closing of the front feed chute 19 required that both levers 30' and 32 be in their normal positions, shown in the drawing, and that these normal po itions of the control levers 30 a d 2. eq ired 4 that both sets of feed rolls 44 and 54 be engaged with the

platen sections

10 and 14.

The present invention adds to the conveniences and ease of using invoice forms that have perforated edges and that are driven by a separate mechanism engaging those perforations, such as a so-called tractor feed 90. It is difficult to synchronize the drive of the paper by the tractor feed 90 with the line spacing mechanism of the platen 8, and according to the present invention, we rely on the tractor feed alone.

For example, a continuous, multicopy invoice form may be tractor fed to the left section 14 of the platen 8. For operation of the invention in this manner, the clutch 66 is disengaged so that the two

shafts

62 and 52 may operate independently. The claw 78 is positioned to connect rocker 74 to the lever 32 which is then pulled forward to disengage the drive rolls 44 from the platen section 14. With the rolls 44 in this disengaged position, the claw 78 is withdrawn to the left to disengage rocker 74 from lever 32 and turned to rest the fingers 79 of the claw 78 in the small holes 88. With the machine in this condition the invoice form on the left section 14 of the platen 8 is not affected by the rotation of the platen 8 but rather is fed solely by the tractor feed 90 applied to the perforated margins of the form. The right-hand section 10 of the platen 8 may carry a wraparound journal sheet and also a ledger sheet that is inserted from the front for the posting of accounts receivable. The lever 30 may be pulled forward to disengage the feed rolls 54 and open the front feed chute 19 to permit the insertion or removal of the ledger sheet. Alternatively, the lever 32 at the left end of the carriage may be pulled forward to open the front feed chute 19 without affecting either the feed rolls 44 or the feed rolls 54.

When a different kind of work is to be performed that requires the feed rolls 44 to be opened and closed with the lever 32, as in prior devices, the knob 80 is simply rotated to place the fingers 79 of the claw 78 in the large holes 82 of the rocker 74. A forward motion of the lever 32 then brings the holes 84 into alignment with those fingers 79 and permits the spring 86 to force the claw 78 into engagement with the lever 32 so that the lever 32 is again connected to the feed rolls 44 for controlling them.

With this setting the machine may, for example, be used for preparing a payroll. A wrap-around journal sheet may extend the full width of the platen 8, and the employees earnings-record, or ledger, and also the check, may be inserted from the front.

The present invention provides a new construction having an improved mode of operation, and provides a new and novel mechanism for enabling the operator 9 of a billing, or accounting, machine to quickly and conveniently change the mode of operation for different kinds of work. It is to be noted that, although a machine with a split platen is shown, the present invention may be used with or without a split platen, and for many tasks, such as the invoicing operation, described above, eliminates the need for a split platen.

We claim: 1. In a billing machine having a rotatable platen and having:

(a) a feed release lever at each end of the platen, (b) a front-feed-chute carrier biased to closed position and rockable to open position by movement of either lever, (c) form-holding pressure rollers at a first end of said platen, (d) first means for releasing said first rollers by the chute-opening movement of a first of said levers, (e) second form-holding pressure rollers at a second end of said platen,

(f) second means for releasing said second rollers by a chute-opening movement of the second of said levers,

(g) means for releasably holding said second pressure rollers in released position,

(h) a releasable connection between said first and second means, connectible for causing the release and 5 to -be controlled by said platen and a form on said second part to be controlled independently of said platen.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1/1917 Hart 197138 10/1933 Hart 197-129 9/1957 Christian et a1. l97-128 10 ERNEST T. WRIGHT, JR., Primary Examiner.

US. Cl. X.R.