US1178796A - Paper-feed mechanism. - Google Patents

Description

J. H. GORMAN. PAP ER FEED MECHANISM APPLICATION FILED IUNE'30. I913.

Patented Apr. 11, 1916.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

AT ORNEY J. H. GORMAN.

PAPER FEED MECHANISM. YAPPLICATION FILED JUNE 30. 1 913.

Patented Apr. 11, 1916.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

J. H. G'ORMAN. PAPER FEED MECHANISM.

Patented Apr. 11, 1916.

5 SHEETS-$HEET 3.

Q N. n 3 E N W n E II- H N 0 H A c U DI P A 6 9 7 I) 8 7 1 u q 1 Illa/3E8? I W INVENTOR ATTORNEY 1. H. GORMAN. PAPER FEED MECHANISM. APPLICATION FILED lUNE 30. 1913- A TORNEY '5 SHEETS-SHEET 4- Patented Apr.11, 1916.

jljilii/mg' 1 W J. H. GORMAN.

PAPER FEED MECHANISM. I

v APPLICATION FILED JUNE 30. l9l3- 1,178,796, Patented Apr. 11, 1916. 5 SHEETS-SHEET 5- l/V I/EN TOR A TTORIVE Y WITNESSES: f A Q UNITED STATES. PATENT. OFFICE.

JOHN H. GORMAN, or SALISBURY, NORTH CAROLINA, ASSIGNOB are THE ADDER MACHINE COMPANY, or WILKES-Beam, PENNSYLVANIA, a CORPORATION 01 PENNSYLVANIA Application filed June 30, 1918. Serial No. 7 76,686. I

To all whom it may concern:

Be it knownthat I, JOHN citizen of the United States, residing at Salisbury, Rowan county, North Carolina, have invented new and useful Improvements in' mechanism of the same general character.

It relates particularly to such mechanisms as are adapted to print or list their work in columns, and where the individual items in separate columns may have a cross relation with each other. An example of such work is a tonnage sheet in which car numbers are set down in one column, and the respective tonnage of each car is set down in a second column in l1ne with its car number. An-, P

other example is an ordinary bill for mer- .chandise, in which the. items of mdse.

are arranged in one column and their respective prices located in asecond and parallel column. The former of these examples is typical of calculating machine practice; the latter is typical of work usually performed on a typewriter, either with or without an adding attachment. In each case, a total is calculated and printed in the second column, while no such calculation is necessary in regard to the first column, consisting as it does of car numbers, numbers or quantities of mdse. etc. I

In the production of work of this character, the usual practice, both in the case of adding machines and typewriters, is to-complate the list line by line; that is to say, a number or item in the first column is printed, and the corresponding amount in the second column is then printed, the printing operation alternating between the columns.

The calculating mechanism is usually op-' erated only during the recording of the amounts in'the second column and it is disabled during the recording in the first column. It follows that with every shift of the printing operation from one column to .another, means must be provided to connect or disconnect the calculating mechanism.

This continual lat ral shifting of the pr nt- Specification of Letters Patent.

H. GORMAN, a v

PAPER-FEED NEoIIANIsM.

Patented Apr. 11,1916.

ing mechanism demand a relatively complicated arrangement of parts for the performance of these functions'and the machine is Sub ect to rapid wear as well as great liabillty to disorder.

Attempts have heretofore been made to remedy these defects by the construction of split machines, in which the machine may be divided or split into two different printlng sections, the left section having its calculating mechanism disabled, while the right section operates to accumulate and print a total in the usual manner. But this arrangement greatly reduces the capacity of the machine as it cannot handle work that is greater in width than the combined extent of any of the paired items in the two or more columns. I

One object of the present invention is to roduce a machine in which the continual lateral change of'printing'positionand the continual coupling and uncoupling of adding mechanism will be unnecessary.

Another object is to produce a'machine of the above character without imposing any limitation upon the normal capacity of the machine.

Another object is to produce a machin adapted for the columnar work described that will be simple in construction, rapid and easy in operation, durable and not liable to get out of order.

Still other objects of invention will appear in the following description and apand 6 are similar views, showing difierent positions of the mechan sm; Fig. 7 1s a s1m1- lar view, showing the paper feeding mechadisabled from feeding in either direction; Fig.'8 is a partial rear elevation of the mechanism; and Figs. 9,10 and 11 are de-- writer adapted for columnar work, it is here shown as applied to a single type of machine, in this instance, the well known Wales adding machine,

In the drawings, the frame of this machine is indicated at 1, the main operating shaft at 2 and guide rails for a paper carriage'at 3. The carriage 4 slides laterally upon the rails and carries upon a shaft 5, a rollerplaten 6, a paper guide 7 being also provided. The printing type and ink ribbon are indicated-at 90 and 91, respectively, in Fig.- 1. Machines of this character are adapted to print a line of figures or charact'ers during a single rocking movement of the main shaft 2, and in the machine illustrated, which is of the visible type, the platen 6 is operated automatically to feed the paper immediately after a printing impression has been made, thus advancing the impression above the line of the type carriers and inking ribbon so that the line is clearly visible at the end of the operation.

The structure described may be operated to do the accounting work referred toin the following manner: A sheet is inserted into the carriage andthe first columnof num-. bers or itemsis printed, the adding mechanism being disabled, and the sheet being fed automatically line by line upward. When the end of the column is reached, the platen 6 is rotated by hand to its original starting position to return the paper to the first printing line, the carriage is shifted laterally to position the paper for printing the second column, the adding mechanism is thrown into operative connection, by means well known, and the corresponding series of amounts is then printed and totaled by the machine, the sheet being fed upward automatically as before. One objection to this method of operation is that when the paper is moved downward by manual rotation of the platen in order to begin a new column, it may be doneso quickly that the paper will not register in its original position, so that the related items of the separate columns will not be properly alined with each other. Another objection is the loss of time consumed in making this adjustment for each column.

In the present invention, the columns are printed in the same manner one at a time. but one column is printed downward and the next adjacent column is printed upward, and so on. Constructions embodving the invention will therefore provide a double feeding mechanism, in which the paper may be this single example being suflicient to illustrate fully the invention.

direction, and in machines-of the type dis closed in the drawings, the feeding action in either case will be automatic in its nature, or in other words, its operation will be inci-' dental to the general functioning of the machine. this purpose may be widely varied, it comprises in the present instance, links 10 @attached to and actuated from the main shaft 2- and connected with a swinging 'frame composed of side pieces 11 fulcrumedto theframe'l at 13, and carrying a r0d., 12 to which is attached a thrust and pull bar 14 which extends to the rear of the machine and terminates in anupright lug 15, the bar 14 resting in a guide 16 attached to the frame and having a forward and backward reciprocating motion corresponding to .the

rocking of the main shaft 2. The bar 14 communicates motion to rotate the platen 6 of the sliding carriage through a bail 17 connected by studs 18 to a shaft l9'journaled in the-side frames of the carriage, the bail being operated in one direction by spring 20 as shown. This arrangement permits the bar 14 to rock the shaft 19 on the carriage no matter what the lateral position of the carriage maybe. An arm 21 fastened to shaft 19 carries a pawl 22 adapted to engage a ratchet 23, as'shown in Figs. 2, and 3,

through which the platen 6 is rotated. A spring 24 tends to hold the pawl in engagement with the ratchet, but this contact is at times. prevented by the stationary roller stop 25 which coacts with a cam edge 26 on the pawl. The forward movement of bail 17. under impulse of spring 20 is limited by a stop 27 forming a part of the carriage frame.

.The mechanism just described operates to move the paper upward immediately after fed either in an upward or in' a downward While the construction to eflect a printing action of the machine. The forward movement of the main shaft 2 causes the pawl 22 to slip idly downward over the ratchet 23, and thereturn movement of the main shaft causes the pawl to engage the ratchet to rotate the platen and feed the paper upward a line space. As-shown in Fig. 1, the usual detent 28 and star wheel 29 are provided to secure proper alinement of the platen and paper relative to the printing line. 1

The construction operating to feed the paper downward may be widely varied. In the present instance, it is shown in Figs. 4, 5 and 6, as a ratchet 30 with reverse teeth actuated by a pawl 31 pivoted'to the arm 21 and having a tooth 32 (Fig. 11) projecting at right angles. The pawl is also formed with a cam edge 33 adapted to coact with stop 25, and is equipped with a spring 34 tending to move the pawl into engagement with the ratchet. The parts described; are adapted to rotate the platen 6 and feed the paper downward in the same manner that iao the previously described mechanism operatthe end of the forward movement of the main shaft, and the feeding'movement occurs during the return stroke of the shaft,

so that when the machine has completed its operation, as previously described, the feeding movement has raised the printed line above the type bars and type ribbon so that it is .visible to the operator. This operates satisfactorily when the feeding is upward, as in the listing of acolumn of car numbers in the example cited above. When the bottom of the column is reached, however, and the carriage is shifted so that the second column may be printed, the downward automatic feed is employed'and in this case the amounts are printed from the bottom of the column upward. When the operator desires to print the amount in the second column on the same line with the car number of the first column to which the amount is related, he would find ordinarily that the car num her would be hidden by the typebars and inking ribbon so that it could not be seen, making this method of accounting difiicult if at all practicable.

Accordingly, the present invention includes means whereby the feeding operation when the paper is .moved downward, takes place before theprinting operation instead of afterward. By this arrangement, the car number of the first column is visible above the typebars and ribbon, and the amount corresponding thereto may be set up by the operator. The actuation of the machine then feeds the paper downward to the printing line and the printing takes place after the feeding.

The best constructions embodying the invention will, therefore, include a feeding mechanism operative to feed the paper upward after a printing operation, and downward before printing operation. While the mechanism for this purpose maybe widely varied, it comprises, in the present instance, the two ratchet wheels 23 and 30, with their respective pawls 22 and 31 both attached to the single arm 21', one of the pawls 22 being operative to feed the paper upward upon an upstroke of .arm 21 and the other pawl 31 being operative to feed the paper downward upon a downward stroke of arm 21.

By the connections already described, the arm 21 is-dep-ressed when the main shaft 2 is rocked forward, and is elevated when the shaft 2 is rocked backward, as stated, the

printing action normally occurs just at the end of the forward movement of shaft 2. If

the pawl 22 is in action, the paper is fed upward upon the upward movement of arm 21, this upward movement taking place on the backward movement of shaft 2, or after the printing has been effected. If the pawl 31 is in action, the paper is fed downward upon the downward movement of arm 21, this downward movement taking place on the forward movement of shaft 2, or before the printing has been-effected. In the former case, the feeding takes place when the bail 17 is forced positively to the right by the thrust of bar 14. In the latter case, the feeding takes place when the bail 17 moves to the left, and to prevent this load from being thrown upon the spring 20, an angle arm or tappet 35 is suitably attached to bar 14 so that the bail 17 is positively moved to the left during this reverse feeding operation.

In the best construct1ons,'means will be provided for disabling both pawls so that .the platen may be manually operated, and

such means should also permit the alternative engagement of the pawls and the prevention of their simultaneous engagement with their respective ratchet wheels. Such means may be widely varied. In the present instance, it comprises a stud shaft .36 journaled in an extension 37 of one of the side frames of the carriage, whichcarries a cam member 38 having stepped cam edges 39 and 40 locatedin diflerent planes and adapted to contact with the pawls 23 and 31 respectively. A central disk 41 provided with notches 45 engaged by a spring 44, holds the cam member in any one of its four positions to which it may be set by thumb roll 43. As shown by the drawings, the rotation of cam member 38 through 180 degrees may throw out one pawl and permit the other to engage its ratchet, while a movement of degrees will disable both pawls. It will be noticed that it is impossible to have bothpawls in working position at the sametime.

It is further desirable that the feeding movement in each direction may be adjustable to' feed the paper more-than one linespace at a time. The preferred constructions will, therefore, include devices adapted to feed the paper downward the same number of spaces that the mechanism may be adjusted to feed upward, so that the related items of the different columns will be in alinement. In the present construction, these devices include the stepped tappet '35 having shoulders 46 and 47, the tappet being pivoted to bar 14 at 48, and supported by a roll 51 on arm 50 attached to shaft 49 carried in frame 58. A stop arm 52 is also attached to shaft 49 and is adapted to limit the forward movement of the bail 17 under the action of its spring 20. As will be noted in the drawings, the variable line spacing of the downward feed mechanism is controlled by the position of arm 35, while the spacing of the upward feed mechanism is controlled I by the arm 52 Both spacing mechanisms lever 56 attached to shaft 4.9,; the thumb piece of which contains a spring pressed pin of common type (not shown) adapted to engage in the holes57, 57 in plate 58 to hold the parts in the adjusted.

By the mechanism thus described, a single -movement of lever 56 will adjust the feeding mechanism for a one or two-line space movement, and the same feeding motion will be applied-to the paper whether it is being fed upward or downward.

What is claimed 1. In a calculating machine provided with a printing mechanism, the combination of a linespace paper feeding device, and means operatively connected to the printing mechanism and adapted, to actuate the feeding device either before or after the printing operation.'

2. In a calculating machine provided with printing mechanism, the combination of a reversible line space paper feeding device, and means operatively connected to the printing mechanism and adapted to actuate the paper feeding device either before or after the printing operation.

' 3. In a calculating machine provided with printing mechanism, the combination of a reversible line space paper feeding device,

and means operatively connected to the printing mechanism and adapted to actuate the feeding device to advance the paper after-the printing operation or to retract the paper before the printing operation.

4. In a calculating machine provided with printing mechanism, the combination of a. device for advancing the paper by line spaces, a device for retracting the paper by line spaces, means operatively connected to the printing mechanism for actuating said devices and means for disabling either or both of said devices.

5. In a calculating machine provided with printing mechanism, the combination of a device for advancing the paper by line spaces, a device for retracting the paper by line spaces, means for disabling either of said devices, and means operatively connect. ed to the printing mechanism for actuating one of said devices prior to the printing operation and the other of the said devices subsequent to the printing operation.

6. In a calculating machine provided with printing mechanism, the combination of a device for advancing the paper by line spaces, a device for retracting the paper by e l1ne spaces, means for disabling either of said devices, and means operatively connect: ed to the printing mechanism for actuating said first mentioned device subsequent to the printing operation and the said last mentioned device prior to the printing operation.

7. In a paper feeding device, the combination of a line space mechanism to advance position to which they areerable at will to disable either or both of' said mechanisms. 8. In a paper feeding devlce, the comb1- nation of a main drive member, a forwardly feeding line space mechanism, a reverse feed line space mechanism, a drive operable from the mam drive member and common to both llne space mechamsms, and means operable at will to disable either or both of said line space mechanisms.

- 9. In a paper feeding device, the combina tion of a platen, a line space mechanism to advance the paper, a line space mechanism to retract the paper, controlling means actuated by the operator to disable either orboth of said line space mechanisms, and locking means for said controlling means.

10. In a paper feeding device, the combination of a platen, a pawl and ratchet mechanism to advance the paper step by step, a second pawl and ratchet mechanism to retract the paper step by step, drive means common to both mechanisms, and means to disable eitheror both of said mechanisms.

11. In a paper feeding device, the combination of a platen, apawl and ratchet mechanism to advance the paper step by step, a second pawl and ratchet mechanism to retract the paper step by step, the said second ratchet having its teeth reversed with respect to the teeth of the first ratchet, and means to disable either or both of said mechanisms.

12. In a paper feeding device, the c0mbination of a platen, a pawl and ratchet mechanism to advance the paper step by step, a second pawl and ratchet mechanism to feed the paper step by step in the reverse direction, and. a single means to control the length of steps in either the advance or reverse feeding.

18. In a paper feeding device, the combination of a platen, a pawl and ratchet mechanismto advance the paper, a sechnd pawl and ratchet mechanism to retract the paper,

means to disable either of said mechanisms and means to lock said cam in adjusted position;

16. In a paper feeding device, the combination ofa pawl and ratchet mechanism to advance the paper step by step, a separate pawl and ratchet mechanism to retract the paper, and a rotatablecam having flattened faces at different angular positions on its periphery adapted to be brought into register with the respective pawls to enable one or the other thereof to become effective.

17. In a paper feeding device, the combination of a line space mechanism to advance the paper, a separate line space mechanism to retract paper, and means common to both mechanisms to regulate the line space intervals.

18. In a paper feeding device, an intermittently actuated mechanism to advance the paper, an intermittently actuated mechanism to retract the paper, common means to actuate said mechanisms including a drive member and a driven member, and a shiftable connection between said drive and driven members to regulate the distance the paper is retracted at each actuation of the paper retracting mechanism.

.19. In a paper feeding device, the combination of an intermittently actuated mechanism to advance the paper, an intermittently actuated mechanism to retract the paper, common means to actuate said mechanisms including a drive member and a driven' member, means coacting with the driven member to control the distance the paper is advanced at each actuation of the paper advance mechanism, and a shiftable connection between said drive and driven members to regulate the distance the paper isretracted at each actuation of the paper retracting mechanism.

20. In a paper feeding device, the combination of a line s ace mechanism to advance the paper, a ine space mechanism to feed the paper in a reverse direction, drive and driven members common to both mechanisms, and means to regulate the line space intervals of both the'advance and reverse feeds including a stop shiftable into and out of the path of the driven member to control the line space interval on the advance feed, and a shouldered tappet on the drive .member adjustable relativelyto the drive member to control the line space interval on the reverse feed.

21. In a paper feeding device, the combination of a line space mechanism to advance the paper, a line space mechanism to feed the paper in the reverse direction, drive and driven members common to both mechanisms, and means to control the line space intervals on both advance and reverse line space feeding including a shaft having a stop adjustable relatively to the driven member to regulate the line space intervals on the advance feed, a tappet on one of said members, and an arm on said shaft, to adnation of a line space mechanism, actuating means therefore including drive and driven members, a .tappet on one of said members to transmit motion from one to the other thereof, and means to adjust the tappet to regulate the extent of travel imparted by the drive to the driven member to vary the line space intervals. 7 v

23. In a paper feeding device, the combination of a line space mechanism to advance the paper step by step, a line space mechanism to. feed the paper step by step in the reverse direction, actuating means for said mechanisms including drive and driven members, and regulating mechanism common to both line space mechanisms to vary theline space intervals including an adjustable support having a stop to arrest the driven member, a tappet shiftably secured to the drive member, and an arm on said adjustable support to shiftsaid tappet relatively to the driven member to regulate the line space intervals on thereverse feed, and means to lock the adjustable support in ad- 'justed position.

24. In a paper feeding device, the combination of a platen, pressure rolls to hold the paper against the platen, separate line space mechanisms to feed the paper step by step in opposite directions at the will of the operator, and actuating means common to both line space mechanisms and including drive and driven members, one of which members is adjustable to regulate the length of the step imparted to the sheet. 25.'In a key-set, lever-operated calculatng machine, the combination with a printng mechanism; of a reversible paper feedmg mechanism ,said lever adapted to eflect the operation of the paper feeding mecha-. nism on either its forward or its return stroke.

Q6. The combination in a calculating machine, with a drive mechanism: and a printing mechanism operable by the drive mechanism on its forward stroke; of a reversible line space feed mechanism actuated bythe dr ve mechanism on its forward stroke, prlor to the printing mechanism, or on its return stroke subsequently to the operation of the'printing mechanism, depending upon the direction of feed of the aper.

I In testimony whereof I a x my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

JOHN H. GORMAN. Witnesses:

J. A. KELLY, JOHN MoCANLnss.

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