US796984A - Printing and auditing device. - Google Patents

Description

PATENTED AUG. 15, 1905.

13. J. BRANDT. PRINTING AND AUDITING DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 12,1902.

6 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

PATENTED AUG. 15, 1905.

E. J. BRANDT. PRINTING AND AUDITING DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 12,1902.

6 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

h n I a m PATENTED AUG. 15, 1905.

E. J. BRANDT.

PRINTING AND AUDITING DEVICE.

APPLIOATION FILED SEPT. 12,1902.

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7 No. 796,984. PATENTED AUG. 15, 1905.

E. J. BRANDT. PRINTING AND AUDITING DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 12,1902- 6 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

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PATENTED AUG. 15, 1905.

' E. J. BRANDT.

PRINTING AND AUDITING DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT.12,1902.

6 SHEETS- SHBET 5.

PATENTED AUG. 15, 1905.

E. J. BRANDT. PRINTING AND AUDITING DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 12,1902- 6 SHEETS-SHEET 6.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

EDWARD J. BRANDT, OF IVATERTOVV N WISCONSIN, ASSIGNOR TO BRANDT CASHIER COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLI- NOIS.

PRINTING AND AUDITING DEVICE.

Patented Aug. 15, 1905.

Application filed September 12, 1902. Serial No. 123,080.

To all whom, it may concern;

Be it known that I, EDWARD J. BRANDT, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of W atertown, in the county of Jefferson and State of IVisconsin, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Printing and Auditing Devices; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof.

My invention relates to printing and auditing devices designed especially for use in connection with the sales-slips of a mercantile establishment; and it consists in certain peculiarities of construction and combination of parts, as will be fully set forth hereinafter in connection with the accompanying drawings and subsequently claimed.

In the said drawings, Figure 1 is a longitu- I dinal vertical sectional view of a machine embodying my present invention, taken on the planes indicated by the line A A in Fig. 3. Fig. 2 is a like sectional view taken on the plane indicated by the line B B in Fig. 3. Fig. 3 is a plan view of said machine with the top covering-plate removed and certain adjacent parts shown in section. Fig. 3 is a plan view of a pair of duplicate slips; and Fig. 3 a like view of a portion of the permanent-record strip, showing them in their relative positions after having been printed upon, in, and by said machine. Figs. 4 and 5 are transverse vertical sectional views taken on the planes indicated by the lines C C and D D, respectively, in Fig. 1. Fig. 6 is a horizontal sectional VIGW' taken on the plane indicated by the line E E in Fig. 1. Fig. 7 is a detail view of part of the tripping mechanism of the printing-anvil. Fig. 8 is a perspective view of the entire machine.

Referring by numerals to the drawings, 1 represents the base of the said machine, from which rises a suitable casing 2, which in practice is made in removable sections for greater convenience in assembling the parts, 3 designating the top covering-plate, and one of the sides having a longitudinal slot protected by a flared mouthpiece A for receiving the duplicate sales-slips and the opposite side being provided with a hinged and locked door 5 for obtaining access to the interior of the device when necessary, as when the record-strip is to be removed. Journaled in said door and in the opposite wall of the casing is the shaft 6 of a roller 7, below which is a plate 8, having a space below same for the supply of the paper which forms the continuous permanentrecord strip 9, said plate 8 having a bracketarm 10 rising from the side edges to support the adjacent ends of the shaft of guide-rollers 11 12, over which said strip 9 passes, (the other ends of said shafts being journaled in the casing-walk) the said strip 9 thence extending downward between feed-rollers 13 14: to the bottom of the receptacle beneath plate 15, the said strip being preferably first folded back and forth in sections of equal length, as shown in Fig. 1. Coinciding with the upper and lower walls of the said longitudinal slot in the casing are fiat plates 16 17, forming a flat tube for the reception of the duplicate sales-slips 18 19, the said tube being formed with oblong perforations 2O 21 therein for the passage therethrough of the impactpieces or printing-anvils 22.

Bracket-arms 23 are bolted to the casing wall and project inward, terminating in guidesleeves 242, which receive headed guide-posts 25, having ears extending upward from their heads, to which the anvils 22 are pivotally secured by bolts 26, there being springs 27 secured to the bracket-arms 23 and whose free ends are forked and bear up against the under sides of the heads of the posts 25, so as to always tend to force the anvils 22 upward.

28 designates a plunger projecting vertically through the top plate 3 of the casing and through the plates 16 17 and formed with a transverse notch 29 adjacent to its lower end to receive a wrist-pin 30 on a crank-arm 31, fast on a rock-shaft 32, journaled in lugs 33 33, projecting inwardly from the casing-wall, and to this rock-shaft there are made fast a series of other crank-arms 34 34:, (one adjacent to each anvil,) and to the lower ends of the said crank-arms 34. are pivotally attached rods 35, whose free ends are supported by hangers 36, depending from the bracket-arms 23. Rigid with the rods 35 intermediate of their ends are blocks 37, each formed on one side with a recess 38, with a straight rear wall and an oblique front wall adjacent to the posts 25, past which the said blocks move, the said posts having pins 39 through their lower ends.

IO represents a dog in the recess 38 of each block 37, the rear end of said dog being fast to one end of a journal A1, passing through said block 37, and the other end of said journal 4:1 is made fast to a smaller dog L2 on the other side of said block, and a spring 43, also on said other side of the block, serves normally to hold up the' free end of dog 42, and consequently the like end of dog 40.

The plunger 28 is provided with a collar 44 and surrounded between said collar and the described plate 16 with a very strong spiral spring 45, of much greater force than that of the described springs 27 and 43.

Rising from the plate is an arm 46, which forms a bearing for one end of the shaft of the feed-roller 13, (the other end of the shaft being journaled in the casing-wall 2,) and beyond the arm 46 the said shaft carries a ratchet-wheel 47. The rock-shaft 32 has fast thereon a crank-arm 48, to whose free end there is pivotally secured, by swivel 49 and transverse pivot 50, a pawl 51 for engagement with the teeth of the said wheel 47, against which the said pawl is normally held by spring 52, depending from a lug 53, projecting inwardly from the casing adjacent to the edge of door 5. The other feed-roller 14 is mounted on a shaft, one end of which is journaled in the casing-wall 2 and the other end in the upper flanged end of a support 54, rising from the base 1 of the machine.

Above the line of the described fiat tube, formed of the plates 16 17, there are located the type-slides, extending longitudinally of the machine, and the ink-ribbons, disposed transversely to said slides. In the illustration given there are three of such ribbons, (marked, respectively, '55, 56, and 57,) this machine being organized to have three printing points or lines, which are always stationary, (and indicated by the dotted lines 58 59 60 in Fig. 3,) the type-slides being moved back and forth, so as to bring the characters which it is desired to print with over said lines. The machine herein represented has in all eleven of these type-slides, as follows: Starting on the side adjacent to the mouthpiece 4 are three date-slides, one, 61, bearing the names of the months in regular order once repeated, and next a slide 62, having the numerals 1, 2, 3, once repeated farther on, and next the slide 63 bears the characters 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, also once repeated. Next after a slight space is another typeslide 64, which bears the characters 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 0, twice repeated, the rear end of the slide being increased in width toward its end on an oblique line and the third set of numerals in this slide being placed adjacent to said oblique edge, so that the characters are each successively farther away from the line of the slide, as shown in Fig. 3, there being after each character a dash leading toward the opposed straight edge of the slide. Next comes slide 65, hearing the same characters in three sets, all in line with each other. Next is slide 66, which bears any desired arbitrary symbol (for example X) twlce repeated, and next a group of live slides,

67 68 69 7O 71, each exactly alike and each bearing the ten arithmetical characters 1 to O in three sets. All of the said characters on all of the type-slides are in relief and reversed like type on the under sides of said slides, forming printing-surfaces, and each slide is formed with a pair of longitudinal slots therethrough, those in the slides 61 62 63 being nearer together than those in the remaining slides. The slots in the three date-type slides are marked 72 73 and the slots in the other slides are designated 74 7 5. Extending through slots 72 and 74 of all the slides is a stationary journal 76, carrying rollers 77 77, which revolve thereon, said rollers being kept in place, each in line with one of the slides, by proper collars 78 on said journal 76, so that the said slides move freely on said rollers within the limits of the slots. There is a similar stationary journal 79 extending through the slots of the slides 64 to 71, inclusive, carrying like rollers 80, similarly held in place by collars 81 on said journal 79, and in place of a journal for the slots 73 of the date-type slides there is a stud 82 extending through said slots, this stud having a head at its inner end and a forked connection 83 with the casing-wall at its outer end, as shown best in Fig. 3. Each type-slide carries near one end an indicator-plate 84, supported by stud 85 on the top of the slide, so as to come just below the top covering-plate 3 of the casing, and the latter is formed with sight-openings 86 87 therethrough to observe the marks on the said indicator-plates, which are duplicates of the type characters on the under sides of the said slides and so disposed that when any character shows through a sight-opening the corresponding type character of every series on said slide is just over a printing-ribbon. The top plate 3 of the casing is further provided with longitudinal slots 88 89 for the shanks 9O 91 of the typeslides, which are arranged to extend from the slides up through said slots, and the upper ends of the shanks 90 all terminate in lingerpulls 92, while the shanks 91 of the date-type slides, which are only moved to change the date, do not require such aids for quick manipulation, and a hole 99 in the top of each shank 91 to receive a pin or the like is sulficient.

The upper surfaces of the slides 64 to 71, inclusive, are formed with series of transverse rounded grooves 93, corresponding in number and relative location to the type characters in each set on said slide, these grooves on each slide being for the reception of a guide-roller 94 at the free end of a spring 95, whose 11pper end is secured to the under side of the top plate 3, there being a somewhat similar arrangement for the date-type slides 61 62 63; only with these, V-shaped corrugations 96 are sufficient, and the springs 97 have merely similarly-shaped lower free ends 98 for ening the month.

gagement with the corrugations 96, the latter similarly corresponding in number and location to the type characters on the dateslides and the springs 97 being similarly secured at their upper ends to the top plate 3.

The transverse ribbons 55 56 57, hereinbefore referred to, extend from a series of spools 100 on a shaft 101 on one side of the machine to a'corresponding series of spools 102 on a shaft 103 on the opposite side, passing under the described type slides horizontally (by means of the side guides 104.) and over the described tube-plate 16. The shaft 101, called the feed-shaft, has a ratchet-wheel 105 fast thereon and next to this wheel carries loosely the hub of an arm 106, having a forked free end for engagement with a pin 107 on the hereinbefore-named plunger 28, said arm 106 having pivoted thereto a pawl 108 for engagement with the ratchet-wheel 105. The said plunger carries another pin 109 to limit its upward movement by contact with the plate 17, said upward movement after each depression serving to turn the ratchet-wheel 105 the distance of one tooth, and thereby wind up the ribbons a corresponding distance on the spools 100, which are all fast on the feed-shaft 101. The other shaft 103, called the winding-shaft, projects through one end of the machine-casing and is there shown as provided with a convenient finger-wheel 110, whereby the ribbons can be conveniently rewound at one operation on the spools 102, all fast on said shaft 103. These shafts 101 and 103 are conveniently supported by means of bracketarms 111 112, extending inwardly from the sides of the casing of the machine.

The operation of my machine will be readily understood from the foregoing description -of its constructlon, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings. The first thing to do each morning is to set the date-slides.

The operator first adjusts the month-slide 61, so that the current month is brought to view at the left hand of the sight-opening 86, and this slide of course is not to be changed dur- This is easily done with a common pin inserted in the hole 99of the shank 91 of said slide 61 and drawing the slide the proper way, the spring 97 readily yielding, and when the proper month-date shows in the sight-opening the end 98 of spring 97 will rest securely in the proper corrugation 96 and the character or word indicating the month will be exactly over the printing- lines 58 and 59 with the longitudinal centers of the ink- ribbons 55 and 56 in line therewith. Let it be supposed that the date is January 21. The next operation is to similarly move the slide 62 to proper place, which would require that said slide be moved until the numeral 2 showed in the sight-opening, and then slide 63 is similarly moved till the numeral 1 showed at the right of the sight-opening 86, thus insuring that the complete date named was over the two described printing- lines 58 and 59, (no further change of any of these slides being made till the succeeding d ay,) and the machine is now ready to print and audit the days sales.

As previously stated, this machine is designed especially for use in connection with the sales-slips of a mercantile establishment, and when the clerk has written the items of a cash sale to a customer on the regular duplicate (original and carbon copy) sales-slips these are separated and lapped over one upon the other, as indicated in Fig. 3, but without writing the total amount of such sales. The clerk then moves slides 6 1 65 so as to bring the numerals which designate his number as clerk over the printing-line. Let it be supposed that this clerks number is 31. By moving the said slides till the figure 3 shows at the left in sight-opening 87, with the figure 1 next to it, where the words Clerks No. appears on the plate 3. Next the clerk mentally computes the total amount of the items of sale and pushes the salesslips in their described overlapped positions through the flared mouthpiece 4 into the flat tube between the plates 16 17 and proceeds to manipulate the slides at the right-hand side of the machine, these slides moving very easily when pressure is applied to their finger-pulls. Suppose the total of the sale just referred to is two dollars and twenty-five cents. Slides 70 71 are the cents slides and slides 67 68 69 are the dollars slides in the machine illustrated in the present drawings. Slides 67 and 68 being, respectively, for hundreds of dollars and tens of dollars must be moved so that blank spaces shall show in the sightopening 87, but slide 69 is moved to show 2 and slide 70 to show 2 and slide 71 to show 5 Then a single impact is given to plunger 28, which depresses the same and the free end of crank-arm 31 and drives crankarm 34, rods 35, and blocks 37 forward and operating the tripping mechanism in and adjacent to said block which had served in the position of the parts shown in Fig. 1 to keep the printing-anvils 22 down below the flat tube-plate 16, the pins 39 of the anvil-supporting posts 25 being normally held below the dogs 10; but as the blocks 37 are forced forward the recesses 38, back of the dogs 10, receive the pins 39, and instantly the springs 27 operate to lift the anvils 22 upward and their operative faces pass through the described slotted openings 20 21 in plate 17 of the flat tube and make sudden impact on the paper in the tube and force the paper against the ink-ribbons above (the upper plate 16 being similarly slotted at 20 21) and drive both paper and ribbon against the characters on the type-slides which at that moment are on the printing-lines above said slotted openings, thereby simultaneously printing said characters on the paper in the tube, two of the three impressions falling upon the sales-slips 18 19 and the third impression being upon the permanent record-strip, resulting in the printing Jan 21 31 225, as shown at Fig. 3 and Fig. 3 in the illustration given. On account of the peculiar oblique arrangement of the numerals on the farther end of slide 64: it is made much easier to check up and separate the entries of the differently-numbered clerks in auditing these accounts than if the clerks numbers were all in perfect line with each other, the auditors record-strip showing only the clerks number and total amount of each sale. The moment that these several impressions have been thus simultaneously printed the ink-ribbons are shifted in the manner already described by the return of the plunger, (which is automatically done by the force of the spring 45,) and simultaneously therewith the record-strip is moved forward by the rocking of the rockshaft 32 as it returns to its normal position, thus drawing up the pawl 51 (previously depressed by the initial turn of the rock-shaft when the plunger 28 was depressed) against the adjacent tooth of the ratchet-wheel 47, fast on the shaft of feed-roller 13, whose consequent movement turns feed-roller 14 and draws down the continuous record-strip 9 a space equal to the width of one tooth of the ratchet-wheel 47, all the ratchet-wheels being proportioned to the spacing apart of the printing characters on the type-slides, and hence the printing from the slides and the shifting of the ink-ribbons and record-strip are consequent upon each reciprocating of the plunger 28 actuated by a single depression thereof, and therefore after each printing the machine is in condition for the next, with nothing to do except to adjust the type-slides for the new clerks number and total amount of sales and to place the fresh sales-strips within the mouthpiece.

It remains to describe the function and object of the slide 66, which bears the arbitrary symbol (as X) twice repeated. In case the clerk has made an error in the computation of the total amount of the item of any sale then immediately upon discovering this he adjusts the slide to print his clerks number and brings the character on the slide 66 into line and then adjusts the slides for the original amounttwo dollars and twentyfive centss0 that when he depresses the plunger 28 the entry will be made on the record-strip thus 31 X 225, and next he moves the slide 66 so that same will not print and adjusts the slides at the right-hand side for the correct amount-say ten cents moreand again depresses the plunger 28, and the succeeding entry on the record-strip will read 31 235, thus showing the auditor the correct amount, as this means that the entry with the X after the clerks number and the preceding same entry are both to be canceled and their places to be taken by the entry immediately following the entry with the X.

While I have shown and described one form of tripping mechanism for operating the printing-anvils, the details may be changed within the scope of the claims without departing from my invention; but the form shown constitutes an eifective means, and in the construction illustrated as soon as the printing has been efiected and the plunger 28 automatically raised by the force of its spring 15 the blocks 37 are drawn backward, which causes the dogs 10 to pass under the pins 39 in the recesses 38, and when the beveled front ends of said recesses come against said pins 39 this will cause the dogs 4:0 to yield and permit the escape of the said pins 39, and the springs 43 will at once bring the dogs 10 to their original position, so that as the blocks 37 are drawn farther backward they and the dogs 40 will be over the said pins 39, thus drawing down the posts 25, and with them the printing-anvils, to their former position (illustrated in Fig. 4) below the plane of the lower plate 17, ready for the next printing operation when the plunger is again depressed.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a printing and auditing device the combination with a suitable casing containing supports for paper to be imprinted, comprising a slotted tube for separate pieces of paper, and a holder for a continuous web of paper; of a series of longitudinally-adjustable typeslides, each containing printingcharacters arranged in series, and repeated at intervals, longitudinally of the slide, a series of impactpieces, a series of ink-ribbons arranged below the operative faces of the type-slides, and means for bringing the impactpieces, typeslides and ink-ribbon together against the interposed paper.

2. In a printing and auditing device the combination with a suitable casing containing slotted tubular and web-holding supports for paper to be imprinted, of a series of longitudinally-adjustable slides containingprinting characters arranged in series, and repeated at intervals, means for applying ink to said printing-surfaces and means for impacting the paper against the printing-surfaces of said for bringing the impact-pieces, type-slides and ink-ribbon together against the interposed paper, and for feeding the ink-ribbons and continuous web of paper forward, all by a single reciprocation of said plunger.

4. In a printing and auditing device the combination with a suitable casing containing supports for paper to be imprinted, comprising a slotted tube for separate pieces of paper, and a holder for a continuous web of paper; of aseries of longitudinally-adjustable slides containing printing characters arranged in series, and repeated at intervals; ribbons for applying ink to said printing-surfaces and means for simultaneously impacting the separate pieces and the continuous web of paper against the printing-surfaces of said slides.

5. In a printing and auditing device, the combination with a slotted tube for holding separate pieces of paper in the desired relation to each other; a series of printing-anvils having impact-faces supported in line with and below the slots in said tube; a series of longitudinally movable type slides containing printing characters on their under surfaces, arranged in series, and repeated at intervals, said slides being supported above the said slotted tube; ink-ribbons arranged below the said type-slides and above said tube in line with the slots therein; and means for forcing said printing-anvils upward and driving their impact-faces through the slots in the tube and carrying the paper against the ink-ribbons, and the latter against the type-slides.

6. In a printing and auditing device, the combination with a paper-support, of a pair of longitudinally-movable type-slides, containing printing characters on their under surfaces, arranged in series, or sets, repeated at intervals, those in one of the slides being all in line with each other, and this slide being of uniform width throughout, while the rear end of the other slide is increased in width, toward said end, on an oblique line, and the rear set of printing characters, at this end of said slide, being placed adjacent to said oblique edge, so that said characters are each successively placed farther away from the longitudinal line of the said slide.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand, atlvlilwaulree, in the county of Milwaukee and State of WVisconsin in the presence of two witnesses.

EDWARD J. BRANDT.

W itnesses:

H. G. UNDERwooD, BERNARD G. ROLOFF.

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