US3456877A - Counting mechanism - Google Patents

Description

July 22, 1969 M. s. JUHAS 3,455,377

' COUNTING MECHANISM Filed June 14, 1967 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 if: O 21 j 1 96 ll 82 40% INVENTOR. MICHAEL S. JUHAS ATTORNEY July 22, 1969 M. s. JuHAs v COUNTING MECHANISM Filed June 14. 1967 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 'July 22,1969 A SJUH AS 3,456,877

COUNTING MECHANISM Filed June 14, 1967 4 Sheets-Sheet f5 y 9 M. s. JUHAS I 3,456,877 I COUNTING MECHANISM Filed June 14. 1967 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 United States Patent 3,456,877 COUNTING MECHANISM Michael S. Juhas, Torrington, Conn., assignor to Veeder Industries Inc., Hartford, Conn., a corporation of Connecticut Filed June 14, 1967, Ser. No. 646,098 Int. 'Cl. G06c 15/42 US. Cl. 235-144 35 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A counting mechanism employing eccentrics on the counter shaft for withdrawing the wheel driving and/or wheel driven gear elements from their associated gears for conditioning the counter wheels for being reset. In the embodiments of FIGS. 16, 7, 8 and the counting mechanism employs a heart cam reset device which provides for detenting the heart cams out of dead-center alignment with their respective reset fingers when the wheel driving and/or wheel driven gear elements are withdrawn. In the embodiments of FIGS. and 16 the counting mechanism employs reset gears which are adapted to be engaged for resetting the counter wheels when the gear elements are withdrawn.

The present invention generally relates to counting mechanisms of the type conventionally having a plurality of coaxial counter wheels of increasing order for storing a multiple place count and transfer gearing intermediate the counter wheels for transferring a count from a lower order wheel to the adjacent higher order counter wheel.

It is a principal aim of the present invention to provide in a counting mechanism of the type described, a new and improved arrangement for disengaging the counter wheels for resetting.

It is another aim of the present invention to provide in a counting mechanism of the type described, a new and improved arrangement for disengaging the counter wheels for resetting without completely disengaging the intermediate gearing from the counter wheels.

It is a further aim of the present invention to provide in a counting mechanism of the type described, a new and improved resetting mechanism for resetting the counter wheels.

It is a still further aim of the present invention to provide in a counting mechanism having mutilated transfer pinions for transferring a count between adjacent lower and higher order counter wheels, a new and improved arrangement for disengaging the counter wheels without withdrawing the transfer pinions.

It is a further aim of the present invention to provide in a counting mechanism having a heart cam reset device, a new and improved anti-dead-centering device for preventing dead-center engagement by the usual heart cam reset fingers with the point of the heart cam.

It is another aim of the present invention to provide a new and improved arrangement for transferring a count between adjacent lower and higher order counter wheels which provides for completing the transfer to the higher order counter wheel during the transfer interval of the adjacent lower order counter wheel notwithstanding the presence of play in the gear train between the counter wheels, as for example, due to normal manufacturing tolerances.

It is another aim of the present invention to provide a new and improved transfer mechanism which assures that the counter wheels are properly indexed to register the appropriate count.

It is another aim of the present invention to provide a new and improved arrangement for disengaging the drive to a counting mechanism, as for example, for conditioning the counting mechanism for being reset.

It is a further aim of the present invention to provide a new and improved reset mechanism which may be operated to sequentially disengage the counter wheels to condition them for being reset, reset the counter wheels and condition the counter wheels for counting.

Other aims will be in part obvious and in part pointed out more in detail hereinafter.

The invention accordingly consists in the features of construction, combination of elements and arrangement of parts which will be exemplified in the construction hereafter set forth.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is an elevation section view, partly broken away and partly in section, of a counting mechanism employing the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a top plan View, partly broken away and partly in section, of the counting mechanism;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged transverse section view, partly broken away and partly in section, taken along line 3--3 of FIG. 1, showing a reset finger operating arm of the counting mechanism in full lines in its normal position and in part in broken lines in its reset position;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged transverse section view partly in section, taken substantially along line 44 of FIG. 1, showing a reset finger of the counting mechanism in full lines in its normal or withdrawn position and in broken lines in its extended or reset position;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged transverse section view similar to FIG. 4 showing the reset finger in a position intermedi ate its normal and reset positions;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged transverse section view similar to FIG. 4 showing the reset finger in dead-center alignment with its respective heart cam and additionally showing an anti-dead-centering device of the counting mechanism;

FIGS. 7 and 8 are enlarged transverse section views similar to FIG. 6 showing modified anti-dead-centering devices in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 9 is an enlarged transverse section view, partly broken away and partly in section, showing a transfer drive gear of a counter wheel in dash lines in its position before a transfer is generated to the adjacent higher order counter wheel and in phantom lines in its position following the transfer;

FIG. 10 is an enlarged transverse section view partly in section showing a modified counter wheel in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 11 is an enlarged longitudinal view, partly broken away and partly in section, showing a modified eccentric supporting arrangement in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 12 is a transverse section view partly in section taken substantially along line 12--12 of FIG. 11;

FIG. 13 is an enlarged transverse section view partly in section showing another modified eccentric supporting arrangement and additionally showing a counter wheel gear supported thereon in full lines in its normal operating position and in phantom lines in its reset position; and

FIGS. 14, 15 and 16 are enlarged transverse section views, partly in section, showing additional embodiments of a counting mechanism in accordance with the present invention.

Referring now to the figures, wherein like numbers represent like parts, and referring in particular to FIGS. 1-6, a counting mechanism or counter incorporating an embodiment of the present invention is shown comprising a plurality of coaxial counter or number wheels 10, 12, 14, 16, 18 mounted on a counter shaft 20 which is rotatably supported on a suitable frame 22. The counter wheels are axially retained on the shaft 20 between the end supports of the frame 22 by a collar 24 fixed to the shaft 20 and a spacer sleeve 26 rotatable thereon.

The counting mechanism is shown adapted to be driven by a drive shaft 28 through a clutch 30 which includes a driven clutch element 32 rotatably mounted but suitably axially retained on the drive shaft 28. A counter drive gear 34 is secured to the driven clutch element 32 for driving the lowest order number wheel of the counter, and a driving clutch element 36 keyed to the drive shaft 28 is adapted to be axially withdrawn against the bias of a compression spring 38 to disengage the drive to the counter. A yoke 40 pivotally mounted on a collar 41 mounted on a shaft 42 is connected to withdraw the driving clutch element 36, and the collar 24 is provided with a cam edge 25 to pivot the yoke 40 and thereby selectively disengage the clutch.

A handle 44 is shown fixed to the shaft for rotating the shaft approximately 160 in a forward angular direction, clockwise as seen in FIGS. 3-6, for disengaging the clutch 30 and for thereafter'resetting or zeroizing the counter wheels. The handle 44 may then be operated to rotate the shaft 20 in the opposite angular direction, counterclockwise as viewed in FIGS. 3-6, to its normal position shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 to provide for reengaging the clutch 30 and for conditioning the counter for counting. A bi-directional ratchet mechanism 47 (FIGS. 1 and 3) is provided for ensuring that the forward angular displacement of the shaft 20 is completed before the shaft is rotated in the opposite angular direction to its normal position. This ratchet mechanism includes a ratchet tooth sector 48 fixed to the shaft 20- and a ratchet pawl 50 rotatably mounted on the shaft 42 and biased to a neutral or center position shown in FIGS. 3 by a tension spring 52.

A reset finger comb or yoke 54 fixed on the shaft 42 has a plurality of axially spaced reset fingers 58 which are adapted to be pivoted against the bias of a tension spring 55 into engagement with the heart cams 60 of the counter wheels respectively for resetting the wheels to zero in a conventional manner. Referring to FIGS. 1 and 3 a reset finger operating device 64 which includes a cam 65 fixed to the shaft 20 and a cam follower 66 fixed to the shaft 42 is employed for pivoting the reset fingers 58 for resetting the counter wheels as the handle 44 is operated to rotate the shaft 20 in the clockwise direction as viewed in FIG. 3. The reset finger operating device 64 is similar to the device shown and described in US. Patent No. 3,244,368 dated Apr. 5, 1966 and entitled Counter Reset Mechanism and therefore will not be described in detail. Briefly, however, a secondary -or floating cam 72, rotatable on the counter shaft and biased to its limit position shown in FIG. 3 by a torsion spring 74, is provided for retaining the reset fingers 58 in engagement with the reset cams 60 until the shaft 20 is returned from its reset angular position to its normal position and therefore until after the clutch 30 is reengaged.

Each of the counter wheels 10, 12, 14, 16, 18 comprises an indicia wheel or counting member 80, a heart reset cam 60, a combined locking ring and transfer gear sector 82, and a wheel driving gear 83. In a conventional manner, mutilated transfer pinions -85 rotatably mounted on a transfer pinion shaft 86 are provided between adjacent counter wheels to provide for transferring a count to each higher order counter wheel from the adjacent lower order counter wheel. Referring particularly to FIG. 9, the mutilated transfer pinions 85 have in a conventional manner alternate, relatively long and short teeth 87, 88 respectively, to provide for locking the pinions and thus the higher order counter wheels between transfers through the cooperation of the long teeth 87 with the locking ring 89 of the lower order counter wheel. Thus, in a conventional manner, the combined locking ring and gear sector 82 functions as a transfer drive gear, the gear 83 functions as a transfer driven gear, and the transfer pinion functions as an intermediate gear interconnecting the drive and driven gears.

In accordance with the present invention, the transfer drive gear 82 is separate from and controllable independently of the indica wheel 80. However, in the embodiment of FIGS. l-6, the remaining parts of the counter wheel (i.e., gear 83, heart cam 60 and indicia wheel 80) are integrally formed together. The transfer drive gear 82 is keyed to the indicia wheel 80 by a pin 90 mounted on the drive gear 82 and received within a radial slot 91 in the indicia wheel 80. The transfer drive gear 82 is rotatably supported on an eccentric bearing or journal 92 mounted on the shaft 20 and keyed thereto by the receipt of an integral tab or key 93 of the eccentric in an axial slot in the shaft.

With the shaft 20 in its normal angular position shown in FIG. 4, as the indicia wheel 80 is rotated on the shaft 20, the corresponding transfer drive gear 82 rotates with the indicia wheel 80 but about the axis of the eccentric 92. It can be seen, however, that the cooperative engagement of the transfer drive gear 82 with the transfer pinion 85 is maintained even though the transfer drive gear 82 and indicia wheel 80 rotate about eccentrically related axes. Also, by rotation of the shaft 20, the eccentric 92 is adapted to be rotated to shift the axis of the transfer drive gear 82 with respect to the axis of the indicia wheel 80, and the transfer drive gear is thereby adapted to be withdrawn from the transfer pinion to disengage the counter wheel so that it can be reset. Moreover, as the transfer pinion remains in engagement with the transfer driven gear 83, the transfer pinion is properly angulraly aligned for re-engagement with the transfer drive gear 82 when the shaft 20 and eccentric 92 are returned to their normal operating position after the counter wheels have been reset.

Referring particularly to FIGS. 4-6, with the transfer drive gear 82 in its normal or counting position its eccentric axis is preferably in line with the axes of the counter shaft 20 and transfer pinion shaft 86. Complete disengagement of the counter wheels requires that the shaft 20 be rotated approximately 120; however, the transfer drives are gradually disengaged (to develop play between the gear 82 and pinion 85) as the shaft 20 is rotated so as to permit the reset action with the fingers 58 to commence before the counter wheels are completely disengaged. The reset operating cam 65 is accordingly contoured to program the resetting operation with the withdrawal of the gears 82 from the transfer pinions 85 and to commence the reset operation before and to complete it after the transfer drives are completely disengaged.

After the wheels have been reset, the shaft 20 is angularly returned to its normal angular position to return the transfer drive gears 82 into operative engagement with the transfer pinions 85. The reset fingers 58 are not withdrawn from the reset cams 60 until the shaft 20 has been substantially returned to its normal position and the transfer drive gears 82 are more than adequately re-engaged with the transfer pinions 85. Referring particularly to FIG. 6, an anti-dead-centering device is provided for preventing dead-center engagement by the reset fingers 58 with the points of the heart cams 60. This antidead-centering device comprises a detent pawl 96 integrally formed with the transfer drive gear 82 and a detent yoke or comb 98 pivotally mounted on the transfer pinion shaft 86 and biased by a tension spring 112 to its normal position with its stop plate in engagement with the spacer sleeve 26. The pawl 96 is located on the gear 82 such that if the corresponding heart cam 60 is aligned for dead-center engagement with the reset finger 58, the pawl 96 is adapted to engage the corresponding detent finger 113 of the comb 98 to angularly displace the transfer drive gear 82 and thereby angularly displace the heart cam 60 out of dead-center alignment with the reset finger 58 as the transfer drive gear 82 is withdrawn from the transfer pinion. More particularly the pawl 96 will engage the detent finger 113 to move the heart cam out of such alignment during approximately the first 20 of rotation of the shaft and therefore before the reset finger 58 is pivoted into engagement with the heart cam 60 by the cam 65. Also, the detent finger comb 98 is pivotally mounted so that it is adapted to be retracted against the bias of the tension spring 112 if there is deadcenter engagement by any one of the pawls 96 With its corresponding detent finger 113.

Modified anti-dead-centering arrangements are shown in FIGS. 7 and 8. In FIG. 7 the detent fingers 115 are shown formed integrally with the reset finger comb 116 such that the detent fingers 115 are adapted to be engaged by the pawls 118 on the transfer drive gears 82 to displace the heart earns 60 out of dead-center alignment with the respective reset fingers. Also, if there is deadcenter engagement of the pawls 118 With the detent fingers 115 when the shaft 20 is being rotated to withdraw the transfer drive gears 82, the reset finger yoke 116 is thereby adapted to be pivoted against the bias of its tension spring 55 (FIGS. 1 and 3). Moreover, when the reset finger yoke 116 is pivoted from its normal position shown in FIG. 7 for resetting the counter wheels, the detent fingers 115 are withdrawn to avoid subsequent engagement of the detent pawls 118 therewith.

In FIG. 8 the heart cam 60 is integrally formed with the transfer drive gear 8 2 such that as a result of the eccentric motion of the heart cam which occurs when the transfer drive gear 82 is withdrawn from the transfer pinion 85, the heart cam 60 will engage the reset finger 58 to detent the heart cam out of dead-center alignment with the reset finger.

Referring to FIG. 9, as the transfer drive gear 82 and the indicia wheel 80 rotate about eccentrically related axes the gear 82 rotates unevenly with respect to the wheel 80, and in accordance with the present invention the angular displacement of the gear 82 is greater than the angular displacement of the indicia wheel 8t) during the transfer interval. Thus, although as the indicia wheel 80 is rotated one full revolution the eccentrically mounted gear 82 will rotate exactly one full revolution, when the indicia wheel 80 is, for example, rotated 36 (i.e., the angular displacement between indicia on the usual wheel 7 having the sequence of indicia 0 through 9), the eccentric gear 82 may be angularly displaced more than 36 by an amount which depends upon the angular position of the pin 90, the eccentricity of the gear 82, and the radial distance of the pin 90' from its axis of rotation. The pin 90 is shown located in FIG. 9 so that it is rotated as the indicia wheel 80 is indexed from 9 to 0 (an angular displacement of 36) through an angle which is bisected by a line connecting the axes of the shaft 20 and eccentric gear 82, and therefore so that the eccentric gear 82 will be simultaneously angularly displaced greater than 36 (in the shown embodiment 45) from its angular position shown in dash lines in FIG. 8 to its angular position shown in phantom lines. Accordingly, it can be assured that the transfer pinion 85 is sufiiciently indexed to complete the transfer to the adjacent higher order counter wheel and the transfer pinion (and therefore the higher order counter wheel) is locked by the locking ring 89 of the lower order counter wheel even though there is some play between the transfer pinion and the gear sector 120 due to normal manufacturing tolerances. The increased transfer displacement of the gear 82 provides in the shown embodiment for ensuring that the adjacent higher order counter wheel is fully indexed when the adjacent lower order wheel is indexed in both the adding direction from 9 to 0 and in the subtracting direction from 0 to 9. Alternatively the gear sector 120 could be located such that the transfer takes place at the beginning or. end of the transfer interval.

Referring to FIG. 10 a counter wheel is shown in which the transfer driven gear or Wheel drive gear 130 is formed separately from the indicia wheel 80 and is eccentrically mounted on the eccentric or journal 92. Such may be employed in addition to, but preferably in lieu of, the eccentric mounting of the transfer drive gear for disengaging the transfer drive in substantially the same manner as it is disengaged by withdrawal of the transfer drive gear 82. Additionally, the lowest order counter wheel may thereby also be disengaged from a suitable counter drive pinion (mounted, for example, on the transfer pinion shaft) for disengaging the drive to the counter when the counter shaft 20 is rotated. The gear is, of course, suitably keyed to the indicia wheel 80, and an anti-dead-centering detent pawl 96 may be mounted on the gear 130 in the manner of the embodiment of FIGS. 1-6.

Refer-ring to FIGS. 11 and 12, an alternative eccentric mounting arrangement is shown in which an eccentric or journal is rotatably mounted on the counter shaft 142 and has an axially extending pin 143 which is engageable with an upstanding stop 144 of a collar 146 fixed to the counter shaft. A torsion spring 148 interconnecting the collar 146 and pin 143 is provided for biasing the eccentric to its normal operating position in engagement with the stop 144 and yet to permit the eccentric 140 to rotate on the shaft against the bias of the torsion spring 148, as for example, when the gear supported on the eccentric does not properly re-engage its co-acting pinion when the shaft is rotated to return the eccentric supported gear to its normal operating position.

Referring to FIG. 13 an alternative eccentric mounting arrangement is shown in which the laterally displaceable gear 150 is adapted to be shifted from a normal operating position concentric with the counter shaft 20 and a withdrawn position, shown in phantom lines in FIG. 13, eccentric of the shaft. The gear 150 is mounted on an intermediate eccentric bearing or journal 152 which in turn is mounted on the eccentric bearing or journal 92 mounted on the counter shaft 20. The eccentricity of the intermediate journal 152 is preferably equal to the eccentricity of the journal 92 so that the shaft can be rotated to position the intermediate journal 152 and thus the gear coaxially with the shaft 20. The intermediate eccentric 152 is suitably held against rotation, for example by an integral arm 156 having a radial slot at its outer end receiving a shaft 159.

Referring to FIG. 14, the present invention is shown employed in a counter having planetary transfer gearing 160 of the type shown in U.S. Patent No. 2,716,524 entitled Numeral Wheel Aligning Mechanism. More particularly, the planetary gearing 160 which is provided for interconnecting adjacent lower and higher order counter wheels comprises a compound gear with a first gear 162 in engagement with the transfer drive gear 164 of the lower order counter wheel and a second gear 166 in engagement with the transfer driven gear 168 of the higher order counte-r wheel: The interconnecting gearing 160 may have a. fixed axis to provide a continuous drive between the adjacent lower and higher order counter wheels or may be mounted for planetary movement through a limited angle, conventionally 36, to provide a load and fire transfer mechanism as described in U.S. Patent No. 2,716,524. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 14, the transfer drive gear 164 is mounted on the eccentric 92 for lateral displacement relative to the axis of the gearing 160 so that the adjacent lower and higher order counter wheels may be disengaged by rotation of the counter shaft 20 And, where the interconnecting gearing 160 is mounted for planetary movement as shown in FIG. 14, the. axis of the eccentrically mounted gear 164 in its normal operating position preferably lies on the line which bisects the angle of planetary movement of the gearing 160.

Referring to FIG. 15, another embodiment of a reset mechanism is shown in which a counter wheel gear 170 is mounted on an eccentric 92 such that it is adapted to be withdrawn out of engagement with the pinion 85 and into engagement with a reset gear 172 by rotation of the shaft 7 20, 180". The counter wheel gear 170 may then be employed for resetting the counter wheel, and for this purpose the wheel gear 170 is preferably the transfer driven gear or wheel drive gear. Alternatively, however, the gear 170 may be the transfer drive gear as in the embodiment of FIGS. 1-6 and have an additional gear fixed thereto for reset purposes.

In the embodiment of FIG. 15, the counter wheels can be reset by (l) rotating the counter shaft 20, 180 to disengage the counter wheels, (2) rotating the wheel reset gear 172 with a reset shaft 174 (which is shown connected to rotate the reset gear 172 through a suitable friction clutch 176) and (3) rotating the shaft 20, 180 to return the counter wheels to their normal operating position. This operation of the counter shaft 20 and reset shaft 174 may be properly programmed for resetting the counter by rotation of a one-turn shaft or reset control shaft 178 which is connected to the shafts 20, 174 by suitable intermittent gearing shown including gears 180, 182 and Y and 184, 186 respectively. For example, the gears 182 and 186 may have eighteen teeth each, the gear 180 may have two nine-tooth gear sectors on a forty-five tooth pitch, and the gear 184 may have a twenty-tooth sector on a forty-five-tooth pitch, and with the gear sectors being oriented to provide for rotating the counter shaft 20, 180 while the control shaft 178 is rotated from 8 through 80 and again while the control shaft is rotated from 280 through 352, and for rotating the reset shaft 174, 400 while the control shaft 178 is rotated from 100 through 260.

A detent device 190 is provided for retaining each counter wheel in its reset position, upon which occurrence the friction clutch 176 slips to permit the shaft 174 to reset the remaining number wheels. This detent device is shown comprising a slide 192 reciprocably mounted on the shafts 20, 174 and biased to an extended position shown in FIG. 15 by a compression spring 194. A follower or detent 196 is mounted on the slide 192 for engagement with a detent ring or cam 198 on the gear 170 when the gear 170 is withdrawn into engagement with the reset gear 172. The detent ring or cam 198 is provided with a recess 200 for receiving the roller 196 when the counter wheel is in its reset position and for thereby retaining the wheel in this position. As the gear 170 is returned into engagement with the pinion 85 the roller 196 is adapted to retain the counter wheel in its zero position until after the gear 170 engages the gear 85. The cam 198 is however thereafter withdrawn clear of the roller 196 to free the counter wheel.

Referring to FIG. 16 the resetting device of FIG. 15 is shown modified to comprise an arm 210 pivotally mounted on the reset shaft 174, a reset drive gear 212 keyed to the reset shaft and an idler gear 214 mounted on the arm 210 in mesh with the reset drive gear 212. A control arm 218 pivotally mounted on the reset shaft 174 is connected to the arm 210 by an interlock 220 which provides limited angular movement between the arms 218, 210 and by a torsion spring 222 which biases the arm 210 to its forward limit position relative to the arm 218 shown in FIG. 16. A tension spring 224 is connected to the control arm 218 to withdraw the idler ear 214 from the gear 170 during the normal operation of the counter. The gear 170 may be used for resetting the counter wheel as in the embodiment of FIG. 15. However a separate gear 225 integral with the indicia wheel and not laterally withdrawn from the transfer pinion is preferably used for reset purposes. When the gear 170 is laterally withdrawn from the pinion 85 by rotation of the shaft 20, 180, the arm 218 is actuated by a cam or ring 226 fixed to the gear 170 to pivot the idler gear 214 into engagement with the gear 225 for resetting the corresponding counter wheel. If the gears 225, 214 do not engage properly when the shaft 20 is rotated, the idler gear 214 will remain retracted against the bias of the torsion spring 222 and will be subsequently returned by the spring 222 into proper engagement with the gear 225 when the idler gear 214 is rotated to reset the counter wheel.

The cam 226 is provided with a suitable recess 228 which is adapted to receive the outer end 230 of the control arm 218 when the counter wheel reaches its reset position, upon which occurrence the control arm 218 is pivoted by the tension spring 224 to Withdraw the idler gear 214 from the gear 225 and to retain the corresponding counter wheel in its reset position. Also, as in the embodiment of FIG. 15, when the gear 170 is returned into engagement with the pinion the control arm 218 is adatped to retain the counter wheel in its reset position until the gears 170, 85 are re-engaged, and the cam 226 is thereafter Withdrawn clear of the control arm 218 to free the corresponding counter wheel.

As will be apparent to persons skilled in the art, various modifications and adaptations of the structure abovedescribed will become readily apparent without departure from the spirit of the invention.

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:

1. In a counting mechanism having a counter shaft, coaxial counter wheels of ascending order mounted on the shaft, the adjacent wheels of lower and higher order having driving and driven gear members respectively, and intermediate gearing engageable with the driving and driven gear members providing an interconnection therebetween, the improvement wherein the counting mechanism comprises mounting means for mounting at least one of said gear members for displacement laterally of the axis of the shaft between a first operative position in engagement with the intermediate gearing and a second withdrawn position out of operative engagement with the intermediate gearing permitting independent rotation of said adjacent wheels of higher and lower order.

2. The counting mechanism of claim 1 wherein the counter wheel of said one gear member comprises an indicia wheel and means for keying said one gear mem ber to the indicia wheel to permit lateral displacement of said one gear member relative to the indicia wheel.

3. The counting mechanism of claim 1 wherein the mounting means comprises eccentric bearing means operable for laterally displacing said one gear member between its operative and withdrawn positions.

4. The counting mechanism of claim 3 wherein the mounting means comprises a first eccentric bearing on the shaft rotatable by the shaft to laterally displace said one gear member between its operative and withdrawn positions.

5. The counting mechanism of claim 4 wherein the eccentric bearing is rotatable on the shaft and wherein the mounting means further comprises torsion spring means interconnecting the shaft and eccentric bearing for rotating the eccentric bearing with the shaft and for perrrliliting rotation of the eccentric bearing relative to the s a t.

6. The counting mechanism of claim 1 wherein the mounting menas comprises a first eccentric bearing on the shaft, a second eccentric bearing mounted on the first eccentric bearing, and means for rotating one of the eccentric bearings for laterally displacing said one gear member between its operative and withdrawn positions.

7. The counting mechanism of claim 6 wherein the first eccentric bearing is rotatable by the shaft to laterally displace said one gear member and wherein the mounting means comprises means for keying the second eccentric bearing against rotation.

'8. The counting mechanism of claim 7 wherein the keying means comprises an arm fixed to the second eccentric bearing having a slot therein and means received in the slot to key the second eccentric bearing against rotation.

9. The counting mechanism of claim 6 wherein the eccentricities of the first and second eccentric bearings are substantially equal whereby said one eccentric bearing can be rotated to laterally displace said one gear member between a first operative position concentric with the shaft and in engagement with the intermediate gearing and a second withdrawn position eccentric of the shaft and out of operative engagement with the intermediate gearing.

10. The counting mechanism of claim 1 wherein the driving gear member comprises a combined transfer tooth sector and locking ring, wherein the intermediate gearing comprises a mutilated transfer pinion having alternate relative short and long teeth engageable with the transfer tootli' sector for transferring a count to the adjacent higher order counter wheel and with the relative long teeth being engageable with the locking ring for locking the pinion between transfers.

11. The counting mechanism of claim 10 wherein said one gear member is the driving gear member and the driven gear member remains in engagement with the transfer pinion.

12. The counting mechanism of claim 10 wherein said one gear member is the driven gear member and the driving gear member remains in engagement with the transfer pinion.

13. The counting mechanism of claim 1 further comprising resetting means for resetting the counter wheels with said one gear member out of operative engagement with the intermediate gearing and wheel detent means inoperative with the one gear member in its first position in engagement with the intermediate gearing and operative with said one gear member in its withdrawn position to retain the corresponding counter wheel in its reset position.

14. The counting mechanism of claim 13 wherein the wheel detent means comprises a detent ring on said one gear member and a detent pawl engageable with the detent ring with said one gear member in its withdrawn position for retaining the corresponding counter wheel in its reset position and clear of the detent ring with said one gear member in its operative position.

The counting mechanism of claim 13 wherein the wheel detent means comprises a detent ring on said one gear member, a generally radially reciprocable follower engageable with the detent ring with the one gear member in its withdrawn position, and spring means biasing the follower in one reciprocable direction into engagement with the detent ring to retain the detent ring and the corresponding counter wheel against rotation when the counter wheel is in its reset position.

16. The counting mechanism of claim 1 further comprising resetting means for resetting the counter wheels comprising reset gear means operative for resetting the counter wheels with said one gear member laterally displaced to its withdrawn position.

17. The counting mechanism of claim 16 wherein the mounting means is connected to the counter shaft for laterally displacing said one gear member with the counter shaft, and wherein the resetting means further comprises means interconnecting the counter shaft and the reset gear means "for rotating the counter shaft for withdrawing said one gear member from and returning it to its operative position and for resetting the counter wheels with the reset gear means with said one gear member in its withdrawn position.

18. The counting mechanism of claim 17 wherein the resetting means comprises a reset shaft for rotating the reset gear means, and wherein the interconnecting means comprises a reset control shaft and intermittent gearing connecting the reset control shaft with the counter shaft and reset shaft.

19. The counting mechanism of claim 16 wherein the resetting means comprises a reset shaft, a first gear mounted on the reset shaft to be driven thereby, an idler gear, a first reciprocable arm supporting the idler gear and reciprocable between a first operative position providing for interconnecting the first gear and a corresponding counter wheel for resetting the counter Wheel and a sec- 0nd inoperative position for disconnecting the first gear and corresponding counter wheel, and arm control means operated for reciprocating by said one gear member the arm to its first operative position when said one gear member is laterally displaced to its wtihdrawn position.

20. The counting mechanism of claim 19 wherein the arm control means comprises a second arm connected to the first arm an adapted to be actuated by said one gear member when it is laterally displaced to its withdrawn position to pivot the first arm to its operative position.

21: The counting mechanism of claim 20 wherein the first and second arms are coaxial pivotally mounted arms and the arm control means further comprises a limited movement connection between the first and second arms and spring means between the arms biasing the first arm to a pivotal limit position relative to the second arm.

22. In a counting mechanism comprising a counter shaft,,a counter wheel mounted on the counter shaft having a rotatable indicia wheel and first gear means mounted on the counter shaft and connected to the indicia wheel -for rotation therewith, rotary means, and Second gear means mounted for intermeshing engagement with the first gear means for providing a driving connection between the indicia wheel and said rotary means, the improvement wherein the counting mechanism comprises mounting means for mounting the first gear means for displacement laterally of the axis of the counter shaft between"a first operative position in operative engagement with the second gear means and a second withdrawn position out of operative engagement with the second gear means.

23. The counting mechanism of claim 22 further comprising reset means engageable with the first gear means in its withdrawn position for resetting the counter wheel.

24. The counting mechanism of claim 22 wherein the mounting means comprises eccentric bearing means on the counter shaft operative upon rotation of the counter shaft to laterally displace the first gear means between its operative and withdrawn positions.

25. The counting mechanism of claim 24 wherein the eccentric bearing means comprises a first eccentric hearing mounted on the counter shaft for rotation thereby and a second eccentric bearing mounted on the first eccentric bearing, the first and second eccentric bearings having substantially the same eccentricity first and being mounted so that the first gear means is substantially coaxial with the counter shaft in one of its said positions.

26. The counting mechanism of claim 23 wherein the reset means comprises a reset shaft, a reset gear mounted on the reset shaft for rotation thereby, an idler gear in engagement with the reset gear, and an arm supporting the idler gear pivotally mounted on the reset shaft for pivoting the idler gear into operative agreement with the counter wheel when the first gear means is laterally displaced to its withdrawn position.

27. In a resettable counting mechanism comprising a counter shaft, coaxial counter wheels of ascending order mounted on the shaft having reset cams for resetting the counter wheels, the adjacent counter wheels of lower and higher order having driving and driven transfer gear members respectively, intermediate transfer gearing engageable with the driving and driven transfer gear members for transferring a count from a lower order counter wheel to an adjacent higher order counter wheel, reset conditioning means for disengaging the counter wheels for resetting, and reset means comprising resetting fingers operable to engage the reset cams respectively for resetting the counter wheels; the improvement wherein the reset conditioning means comprises mounting means for mounting at least one of the transfer gear members for displacement laterally of the axis of the shaft between a first operative position in engagement with the intermediate transfer gearing and a second withdrawn position out of operative engagement with the intermediate transfer gearing permitting independent rotation of said adjacent wheels of higher and lower order for resetting.

28. In the counting mechanism of claim 27 wherein the reset cams are pointed, and wherein the reset conditioning means comprises anti-dead center detenting means for preventing dead center engagement of the resetting fingers with the point of the reset cams respectively.

29. In the counting mechanism of claim 28 wherein the detenting means comprises abutment means and a detent pawl on said one transfer gear member engageable with the abutment means to detent the corresponding reset cam out of dead-center alignment with the respective reset finger when said one transfer gear member is laterally displaced to its withdrawn position.

30. In the counting mechanism of claim 28 wherein the abutment means comprises detent fingers on the reset fingers respectively adapted to be withdrawn from corresponding the detent pawl when the reset fingers are operated to engage the reset cams for resetting the counter wheels.

31. In a counting mechanism comprising a plurality of rotary counter wheels of ascending order having rotary counting members of ascending order and rotary driving and driven gear members connected to adjacent lower and higher order counting members respectively, and intermediate gearing engageable with the driving and driven gear members, the driving gear member comprising an intermittent driving gear for transferring a count from a lower order counting member to the adjacent higher order counting member during a transfer interval of angular displacement of the lower order counting member, the improvement wherein the counting mechanism comprises means connecting the driving gear member with the respective counting member providing for uneven rotational movement of the driving gear member with respect thereto and for rotation of the driving gear member through an angle greater than the corresponding counting member during the transfer interval.

32. In the counting mechanism of claim 31 wherein the driving gear member is mounted for rotation about an axis eccentrically of the axis of the corresponding counting member, and wherein the connecting means comprises means for keying the driving gear member to the counting member for rotation therewith.

33. In the counting mechanism of claim 31 further comprising a counter shaft, wherein the counting members are rotatably mounted on the shaft, and wherein the counting mechanism comprises bearing means 011 the counter shaft supporting the driving gear member for rotation about an axis eccentrically of the axis of the respective counting member.

34. In the counting mechanism of claim 32 wherein the intermediate gearing comprises a transfer pinion engageable with the driving and driven gear members, wherein the driving gear member comprises a transfer gear sector engageable with the transfer pinion for transferring a count to the adjacent higher order counter wheel, and wherein the keying means comprises a pin and slot connection.

35. In the counting mechanism of claim 32 wherein the intermediate gearing comprises a rotary transfer pinion engageable with the driving and driven gear members, and wherein the axis of rotation of the driving gear member lies generally between the axes of rotation of the respective counting member and the transfer pinion.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,680,562 6/ 1954 Dalzell 235-444 2,716,524 8/1955 Bliss 235-439 3,221,989 12/1965 Braatz 235-----144 3,244,368 4/1966 Juhas 235-144 RICHARD B. WILKINSON, Primary Examiner S. A. WAL, Assistant Examiner US. Cl. X.R.

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