US889328A - Addressing-machine. - Google Patents

Description

PATENTED JUNE 2, 1908.

C. OWENS & A. LYLE.

ADDRESSING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED JUNE 2,1905.

PATENTED JUNE 2, 1908.

0. OWE-NS & A. LYLE.

ADDRESSING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 2,1P0.

SHEETS-SHEET 2.

No. 889,328. PATENTED JUNE 2, 1908.

U. UWBNS & A. LYLE.

ADDRESSING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 2,1906. 4 SHEETS SHEHT [L a directing'drum or pul ey 4.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES OWENS ANlQ- ALEXANDER LYLE, OF GHATTANOOGA, TENNESSEE; SAID LYLE ASSIGNOR TO DWIGHT P. MONIAGUE, QF'CHATTANOOGA, TENNESSEE.

ADDRESSING-MACHINE Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 2, 1908.

Application filed June 2, 1906. Serial No. 319 974.

To all whom it m my concern:

Be it known that we, CHARLES OWENS and ALEXANDER LYLE, citizens of the United States, residing at Chattanooga, Tennessee, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Addressing Machines, of which the following is a specification.

Our invention relates to addressing machines, such for instance as that disclosed in Letters Patent of the United States dated July 17/06, #826054.

The invention consists in the features, combination and arrangement of arts hereinafter described and particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side view of so much of the improved apparatus as will make clear my present invention. Fig. 2 is a'detail view of gearing between the stencil drum and the platen. Fig. 2 is a detail view of a recess for receiving the stencils. Fig. 3 is a front elevation of the stencil drum, the platen and associated parts looking from the right of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a plan view of a portion of the stencil earrying drum with the means thereon for holding the stencils. Fig. 4* is a view on a reduced scale of a cam track for controlling the gripper mechanism for the stencils. Figs. 5 and 6 are detail sectional views of the inking pad. 7 Fig. 7 is a sectional view through the stencil drum on theline of its axis and through the driving mechanism along the axis thereof, the gears (55 and 66 whiclrwould appear at the extreme left of said figure have been omitted. Fig. 7 a is adetailed'viewrelating to the clutch mechanism. Fig. 8 is a plan View of one of the stencils. Fig. 9 is a side view of the delivery mechanism. Fig. 10 is an end view ofthe delivery chute. and its operating mechanism. Figs. -]1 and 11 show a modified form of inking mechanism.

The magazines or other articles to be addressed are sup lied to the machine by en dless belts, one of w'iich is indicated'at 1 passing by a reverser 2, over-a laten 3 and'around The platen 3 is arranged on the shaft 3 with its periphery close to a drum 5 on a shaft 5 which drum carries the stencils from the hopper around to the platen where they meet in succession the magazines or other articles to be addressed as they arrive at the'machine, and ink being supplied to the su erimposed parts as hereinafter described, tie address being thus printed upon the magazine or other a rticle. The stencil drum is driven throu h mechanism similar to that disclosed in tie patent referredto comprising the shaft 7 having a bevel gear 8 thereon meshing with a gear 9 on a hub or drum 10 turning loosely on the hub of a clutch disk 11 which is keyed to the drive shaft 12 of the stencil drum. The gear drum 10 is provided witha clutch pin 13 pressed by a spring 14 to engage a notch in the clutch disk M and thus connect the gear 9 with the shaft 12 so as to drive the same. The clutch pin has a projection 15 thereon ada ted to ride up the inclined end 16 of a clut-c lever 16 when said leverstands in a certain "position, and thus release the clutch pin from the clutch disk 11 at which time the stencil drum is at rest, and it is in this condition so long as the magazines cease feeding. In other words the normal condition of the drum is at rest and it is set in motion by a magazine being fed thereto. When a magazine reaches the reverser it is caught by the finger or sto 17. of said reverser and held positively whi e the reverser is being turned by a rod 18 operated in any suitable manner, which rod is connected with the arm 18 on the shaft 19 of the reverser. The reverser consists of a number of segments or disks on the shaft 19 and the finger or stop finger 17 is arranged centrally of the said shaft.

When the magazine is held by the reverser finger and the reverser given a turning movement'in the direction of the arrow the magazine will be forcibly pressed against the trip arm 20 and thus the shaft -21 carrying. said arm will'be turned and through the arm 22 thereon and the. link 23 the clutch lever 16 will be withdrawn to allow the s ring pin 13 to engage the clutch disk 11 an thus drive the drum 5 one step, and if the magazine's arrive in pro er time the movement of the drum Wlll e continuous, whereas if the magazines feed irregularly the movement of the drum will become intermittent or step by I steip as described in the patent above noted,

. t will be seen that the magazines are not simply pressed against the tn arm by the force resulting from their forward feed byth'e tape but they are held by the'finge-r 17 and forced positively against the trip arm and then are deposited upon the tapes having been turned through... an angle of 180. When the reverser is turned the segmental portions thereof form obstructions to the forward feed of the oncoming magazine until the reverser resumes normal position again when the next magazine is received by the finger 17 as above described.

When the reverser turns through 180 from the position shown in Fig. 2 and in the direction of the arrow the magazine is thereby laid upon the ta es or feed bands which move the magazine orward to the platen and main drum carrying the stencils. This stencil carrying drum is provided as shown in Fig. 7 with ribs 24 extending around its periiphery which ribs fit closely the lbwer edge the hopper 6 and sustain the 'pile of stencils within the hopper. These" ribs are recessed at certain points around the periphery of the drum, one of these recesses being shown in Fig. 2 at 25 and also i Fig. 4. hen one of these recesses comes beneath the hopper 6 the lowermost stencil therein drgps into the recess and this recess is of just su cient depth to receive this stencil while holding the others up in place within the hop per. At each of these points 25 of the drum there is an ink pad and the stencils when in position overlie these ink pads and are carried around by the drum in this superinrposed position so as to meet the magazine and apply the address thereto as the said stencils and magazines in superim )osed relation pass between the platen and the drum The ribs 24 serve to provide the least possible friction between the pile of stencils in the ho per and the rotary carrier and being locate at a slight distance from the ends of the stencil the space between 'themand the ends of the stencil provides for any unevenness at the corners or ends of the stencil which invariably occurs in card-boarr l stencils and finally as above indicated these ribs in connection with the bottom of the hopper form means for positively feeding the stencils or plates one at a time by having the bottom of the hopper conform exactly t0 the circumference of these ribs and providing said ribs with recesses at intervals to receive the stencils one at a time. from the hopper.

The mechanism for positively gripping and transporting the stencils from the hopper l) to the platen for the purpose of superimposing them upon the magazines comprises fingers 2G, 27, those marked- 26 being arranged at or near one edge of the drum while those marked 27 are arranged at the other edge of the drum and approximately axially in line with the ones first mentioned there being two of the grippers 36 for each one of the grippers 27. The fingers or grippers 26 are fixed to the drum in anyesuitable manner while the fingers or grippers 27 have a sliding movement in a direction longitudinally of the drum or parallel with the axis thereof. Each gripper 27 cm) )eratcs with two of the fixed grippers 26 to hold one of the stencils.

The movable grip ers are'each carried upon a sliding frame, t iere being one such frame for each movable gripper and this frame consists of the bars 28 supported in the drum to slide longitudinally thereof, said rods being connected at their ends by-cross bars 29 to one of which cross bars the movable gripper is attached as shown in Figs. 4 and 7, as is also an abutment 30. The other cross bar carries a block or abutment 31, lying between the two lingers or grippers 26 and this a'but ment 3] also carries a roller 32 to engage a cam track 33 extending concentric with the axis of the drum. The sliding frame is under pressure of a spring 34 tending constantly to move the frame towards the left in Figs. 4 and 7, but this pressure is resisted by the roller 32 hearing against the cam track, and therefore when the grippers arrive at the stencil hopper 6 the movable gripper 27 of each set will benpressed to the right by. the roller running on the cam track and thus the space beneath the hopper will be unobstructed so far as the grippers are concerned and the lowermost stencil will drop freely into the recess of the ribs 24 and with its ends between the edge flanges or rims 25" of the druni. in the revolution of the drum the stencil is carried from the hopper and in the first part of its transporting movement it is retained in the recess 25 by'thc overlying segment 35. Soonafter the stencil is -transported by the drum from the hopper the roller 3-;2 runs off the end of the cam or track at the point I). This allows the spring 34 to exert its force moving the sliding frame leftward Figs. -l and T with the result that the gripper finger 27 overlies the stencil while the abutment strikes the cud of the stencil and pushes it laterally across the face of the drum.

The abutment SH opposite the abutment- 30 just mentioned being conuc'clcd to the same sliding frame with the abutment Ill) recedes as the abutment 3U advances and the edge of the stencil is therefore pushed under the pair of fixed grippers .26 and is heldin place by said fixed grippers and the movable grippers while being supcrimposral upon the magazines and while the impression is being made. The edge of thc stencil as a result of the action just referred to abuts against the inner side of the rim or flange 27 at the left band edge of the drum, Fig. -l. The stencil as just stated is held in this manner by the grippers until after it passes the impression platen when upon reaching the end of the cam way or track 32'} the roller 32 by engaging therewith will push the sliding frame to the. right against the action of the spring 3-! and thus the abutment Ill will move the stencil from under the gripper lingers ill) and the stencil then coming against the inner face of the flange 25" at therighllof Figs. and I is thereby arrested andfthefinger retracts pulley or drum 38.

' The roller 42 to the general locality of the addresses.

from over the stencil allowing the same to discharge from the stencil drum.

In order to facilitate this discharge I provide a pair of cords 36 passing around the drum and these cords are deflected at 37 away from the drum so as to These cor s or hands orce the stencils off from the drum at the roper point and they fall upon an endless belt 39 passing around the pulleys or drums 41 in a trough 40. This belt directs the stencil so that its lower or advanced edge will strike the abutment or block 42 which has tapering sides. The stencil falling into the trough adjacent the block 42 will be )ressed or struck at about its middle height by an eccentric 43 on the shaft of one of the rollers 41 and this willvcause the upper edge of the stencil to be thrown over to the left in Fig. 1 and into contact with the eriphery of the roller 42 which will cause tl ie stencil to be packed against the abutment or against the stencils already lying in the trough 45.

is of soft rubber. The abutment is a piece of iron of prismatic shape and rests loosely in the bottom of the hopper or trough.

The roll 42 it will be noticed is fluted or grooved and the u per edge of the stencil being engaged by t ese flutes or grooves is caused by the said \roller to be moved into position in the trough or hopper 45 to be acted on by the eccentric and to be packed as above described.

i As in the machine-disclosed in the atent above referred to, I em loy means w iereby the magazines may be istributed according For this purpose I provide stencils of special form and which are arranged in the hop er at certain points in the series of stenci s so that when one of these stencils reaches a certain location it will effect a change in the delivery of the magazines. Such a delivery controlling stencil is shown in Fig. 8. It is provided with notches at its ends as at 46. When a stencil having its ends notched or recessed is fed on. to the stencil carrier or drum from the hopper 6 the abutment 30 will pass into the notch or recess when the said abutment moves transversely of the stencil drum and thus the stencil engaging mechanism will be allowed to project as much further through the drum as is equivalent to the depth of the recess and thus the projecting end of the abutment 31 will strike a trip arm47 secured on the shaft 48 which through an arm 47 link 47 and trip lever 49 will effect the change in the delivery in a manner somewhat similar to that disclosed in the patent above referred to.

The lever 49 has a beveled or inclined end to engage and control a clutch pin 50 which is adapted to connect the drum 10 with the disk 51 which is loose on the drum shaft 12.

The trip or clutch lever 49 is normally in position to retract this clutch pin and allow the disk to remain at rest but when the clutch lever is withdrawn from the pin because of thepresence of the specially recessed stencil at the gripper mechanism the disk will be driven from the drum 10 by the clutch pin and the movement of the disk will be transmitted through a rod 52 and beveled gearing at 53 to a shaft 54 which is connected with a distributing chute 55. This chute is adapted to deliver the magazines either into the bag A or the bag B according as it is inclined in one direction or the other and it is automatically shifted through the connections described when a recessed stencil occurs in the series of stencils and reaches thcstencil gripper mechanism so as to control it to operate the trip arm 47.

The magazines are conveyed to the distributing chute or plate by the bands or tapes 55, 56". The band 56 extends from the pulley 4. The chute or plate is inclined and ban 56 and it is provided with a stop against which one end of the magazine strikes while its other end continues onward until it is about parallel with the conveyer hands when it drops u on the chute or inclined delivery plate an rolls down into the bag intended to receive it. When the distributer is reversed its inclination is changed so as to deliver the article into the other bag.

The ink necessary to make the impression through the opening in the stencils is-supplied from the ink pad which comprises besides the contact pad pro or a boX or casing 57 adapted to have radia movement on the carrier or drum, said radial movement outward taking place when the ink pad in moving with thecarrier is passing the, platen 3 at its ripper edgeis slightly below the conveyor 1 which time the impression must be made and for which purpose a roller 59 is arranged on the sh aft '1 2 within the carrier or drum and in vfixed relation thereto so that as the pad boX is passin the roller it will be forced outwardly therebyto make the impression. It is forced inwardly by the springs 59.

The ink box contains a fountain or ink reservoir 60 perforated at 61 and surrounded by the felt or other pad material. The bottom of the fountain is curved and is so con,- structed for the purpose of keeping the pad material in proper position, abloc'k 62 having a rounded bearing surface pressing the felt into the grooveor hollow in the ink fountain.

Screws 63 hold the block 62 to the ink fountain i and screws 64 adjust the position of the ink fountain with the felt oi pad material carried thereby. I

I provide yielding pins 64 on the platen for t e purpose of re isterin the articles to be addressed so that t ey wil be pro erly as sociated with the stencil. Thev p aten is driven from the rotary carrier by a gear 65 on tl eshaft ofthe carrier or drum 5 meshing with gear 66 on the platen shaft 3 These gears are shown in Fig. 2 and they are mutilated in the sense that they are not toothed throughout their extent but have locking surfaces'at intervals as shown at 66, so that the plat'enwill rotate intermittently and be locked between its rotary movements, the locking means between them being such as to keep the platen in proper registration with the drum.

At 80 I show a screw plug which, when removed will permit the filling of the inking fountain or reservoir. It will be noticed that there is a space below the fountain 60 in the box 57.

The ink )ad is adapted to be inked either by iilling tlie fountain 60 and allowing the ink to ass. out and saturate the pad through the ho cs 61 or by li'lling the spacein the box above referred to with wickin and satu rating said wicking with ink anil thus moistening the pad material in this manner.

The iilling of the box or fountain with ink can be accomplished without removal of the box or fountain from the machine.

in order to control the machine by'sto ping it when a stencil fails to feed onto t 1e carrier or the supply of stencils in the hopper fails, I provide an electrical switch shown diagrammalically at 81 having one end ar ranged in the path of the abutment- 31 when said abutmcnt is projected laterally as a result of the absence of the stencil from the drum. The switch is thus operated and cuts oil the current to the motor which drives the machinc.

ln place oi tllclink pads wc prcl'cr to usc sol't rubbcr inking rolls Fig. ll,carricd b v arms St) pivoted to the drum at 78 and prcsscd normally inwardly b v springs 7t).

'lhc rollers rcccivc ink l'rom -l'ountain and distributing rollers 71, 72 and 73 from lounlain Tl). 'lhn roller 73 is rotated through the gcar 74 which is drivcn by thc intcrnal gear oi thc drum and said roller 73 imparts rotary movcmcnt to-lhc inking rollcr when distributing ink lhcrcon. 'lhcrc is one ol the soft inking rolls l'orcach slcncil gripping mechanism. \Yhcn lhc stencil is passing the ilatcn thc sol't inking roll is l'orccd outwardly b v contact with tho roll'To journalcd in lixcd bcarings, so that said sol t rubbcr roll having bccn inkcd will sprcad itscll' ovcr ihc surl'acc ol' thc slcncil to apply lhc ink lhcrcto. .\l'tcl passing ilnrollcr To ihc ink rollcr movcs in- \vardly undcr tlic action ol lhc spring Til,

ln ordcr lo sccurc lhc pro )cr aclionol' thc clutch l'or collll'olllng' lhc (lll\'(l we cmdo two clutch pins 5U, 5i). nivc alrcady dcscribcd.

'lhc clutch pins arc adaptcd to bc always out ol nclioll wlicn thc v rcacli lll( positi n so and thus ihc disk 5! will make but one half revolution at each operation ol ihc lcvcr 49, and in this way the delivery chute will move to one position for one action and to the opposite position for the next actioni 1 The pins are released from the disklfil at 50 by a cam 49 which rigidly held to ziiny suitable frame part.

We claim: v

1. In combination in a machine of the class described, a stencil carrier or drum, a platen, means for feeding the magazines or other articles to the stencil carrier arid platen, driving mechanism, means controlling the same and operated by contact with the magazine, and means for positivply forcin the magazine into contact witli the said means, substantially as described.

2. In combination in a machine of the class described,-a stencil carrier, a platen, means for feeding the magazines or. other articles thereto, driving mechanism and means for controlling the same by contact with the magazine and means for gripping the magazine an forcing the same positively against the said controllingmeans, substantially as described.

3. In combination in a machine of the class described, a stencil carrier, a platen, driving means therefor, controlling means, means for feeding the ma azines to the stencil carrier and platen, and a reverser for engaging the magazine and ositively forcing the same into'contact witi the controlling means, substantially as described.

4. In combination in a machine of the class described, means for feedin the megazines or other articles to be addressed, addressing means, driving means therefor, controlling means for the driving mechanism, and a rcvcrser for engagingthe magazines as fed by the feeding means and t-Lrning the same to )ositively engage the controlling means, substantially as described.

ln cmnbination in a machine of the class described, addressing means, driving mechanism, controlling means, a feed band, means for positively cngagim a magazine and forcing the same against the controlling means, said engaging means having a portion to arrest further progress oi" the magezines being led until its return to norinaiposition, substantially as described.

(3. In combination in a machine of the class described, mcans for printing the address, driving moans, controlling means for the driving means. a l'ccd band or hands for thc magazincs, and a rcverscr to engage the magazine and positively move the same into cngagcmcni with the controlling means, said rcvcrscr having ascgmcutal portion to arrest the onward movement of the other magazines, substantially as dcscribcd.

T. ln combinnllou, the addressing means, driving mcchanisin tlicrcl'or, controlling means, a rcvcrscr having a linger l7 and a scgnn-ntal portion, said rcvcrscr engaging e. [magazine and forcing the same into positive 130 contact with the controlling means, substantially as described.

8. In combination with the hop er for the stencils, a drum having the edge anges and circumferential ribs with recesses therein into which the stencils drop from the hopper, and means for engaging the said stencils to hold them While the address is being printed, substantially as described.

9. In combination with the hopper, the carrier or drum for the stencils, the fixed finger or fingers at one side of the drum, movable finger or fingers atthe opposite side of the drum, and an abutment to on age the stencil and move it transversely of t e drum to be engaged by the fixed lingers, and means for operating the movable finger and the abutment, substantially as described.

10. In combination in a machine of the class described, a hopper, a stencil carrier or drum, a fixed finger or fingers on the drum, a

. movable finger opposite the fixed finger or fingers, a sliding supportfor the said movable finger, an abutment carried by the said sliding support adapted to engage the stencil at or near the movable finger, a second abutment on the said sliding support to engage the opposite edge of the stencil, and means for operating the said sliding support, sub stantially as described.

11. In combination, the hopper, the stencil carrier having the edge flanges and the circulnferential ribs with depressions in the said ribs to receive the stencils, said ribs being located at a slight distance from the edge flanges, and means for holding the stencils to the drum, the ends of the said stencils overlying the s acc between the ribs and the edge flanges, su stantiallyas described.

12. In combination in a. machine of the class described, a hopper, a drum or carrier for the stencils having the edgellanges between which the stencils are received, gripper lingers, one of which is fixed and one movable, an abutment for each end of the stencil and means for movably supporting the said abutment and the movable finger, substantially as described.

13. In combination, the hopper, the stencil drum or carrier having the edge flanges and the circumferential ribs between them and separated therefrom, said ribs having depressions to receive the stencils, a fixed finger at one edge of the stencil carrier or drum, a movable linger or lingers at or near the other edge, movable abutmcnts for engaging the ends of the stencils and for moving them transversely of the drum lirst in one direction to be engaged by the fixed lingers and then in the other dircctirm, and movable supporting means for the said abutments and the movable linger, substantially as described.

14. In combination, the hopper, the drum or carrier, means for gripping the stencils and for releasing them, the said means having movement of the stencilwhen being released,

substantially as described.

15. In combination, the rotary carrier for the stencils, means for gripping the stencils thereto and releasing them therefrom, a band for receiving the stencils, a grooved rdbber wheel adjacent the said band. to engage the leading edge of the stencil and direct it downwardly, and means for receiving the stencils from the said band, substantially as described.

16. In combination with the stencil car rier, a band to receive the stencils discharged therefrom, and a grooved roller adjacent the band for directing the stencils downwardly, substantially as described.

17. In combination, a drum or carrier-for the stencils, a band for receiving the stencils therefrom, a trough having a block therein freely movable, means for engaging the stencils falling into the trough to move them forward, said means contacting with the stencils at or near the middle height thereof, and means for engaging the upper ends of the stencils for nioving them against the said block, substantially as described.

18. In combination with the carrier or drum for the stencils, a band to receive the stencils therefrom, a roller at the discharge end of the said band to direct the stencils downwardly, a trough below the said roller, a follower therein, and means for engaging the said stencils at their middle or lower portions for pressing them forward, the said roller engaging the upper art of the stencils as pressed forward, su istantially as described 19. In combination with a stencil carrier, means for controlling the delivery of the addressed article to distribute the same, means on the carrier for engaging the stencils, and stencils arranged to permit a variable amount of movement to the said engaging means to operate the controlling means, substantially as described.

20. Incombination with the stencil carrier, moans controlling the distribution of the addressed articles, stencils, some of which have intact edges and others having notched edges, and means on the stencil carrier to engage the edges thereof and to have a variable amount of movement according as the said edges are intact or notched whereby to opcrate,the controlling mechanism or miss the same, substantially as described.

11. In combination with a stencil carrier, the gri )pcr lingers thereon, one of which is movab e, movable abutmcnts to engage the stencils, one of said stencils having a notched edge whereby the abutmcnts are permitted a greater amount of movement, and controlling means to be operated by one of the said abutmcnts, substantially as described.

22. In combination with an addressing machine, a delivery band or bands, a stop in the path of one end of the magazine or other article adapted to arrest the same while the other end is carried forward by the band or bands, and a delivery chute to receive the article when turned by the said stop, substantially as described.

23. In combination the hopper, a carrier for receiving the stencils therefrom means on the carrier for gripping the stencil and means on the carrier for moving the stencil into and out of engagement with said gripping means, substantially as described.

'24. In combination, the hopper, a drum for receiving the stencils therefrom, the gripper fingers fixed at one end of the drum and the movable gripper lingers arranged at the other end of the drum and movable towards and from the fixed gripper fingers, substantially as described.

25. In combination in a machine of the class described, a delivery band or bands, a shifting chute to receive the magazines therefrom, means for automatically shifting said chute and a sto on said chute for the maga zine, substantia ly as described. l r

26. In combination, with the stencil drum, gripper means thereon having an excess movement when the stencil is absent from the said drum and a switch 0 erated by the 0' said grippermeans when the atter is moved to its extreme position, substantially as described:

27. .In combination, the delivery mechane ism comprising a chute, a crank disk for con- 35- trolling the same, means for driving the crank disk one halt revolution for each change in the delivery and connectionsbetween the crank disk and the chute, substantially as described. f o

28. In combination the delivery mechanismcomprising a chute, a clutch, connections between the clutch and the delivery chute, the two clutch pins, means for holding them out of action when they reach a certain posi- 45 tion and means for controlling the clutch pins to throw them into and out of action, substantially as described. I

1n testimony whereof we afiix o'ur signaiures in presence of two witnesses.

CHARLES OWENS. ALEXANDER LYLE. Witnesses for Owens:

M. Connrean, ()nAs. W. Funss. Vitnesses for Lyle: Cnas. W. FUEss,

E. S. KnvoAm.

Images