US1155369A - Typographical numbering-machine. - Google Patents

Description

J. H. PRICE.

TYPOGRAPHICAL NUMBEHING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE7I 1915.

1,155,369, Patented 001;. 5, 1915.

waais'ei ZZZ 622277? UNIT STATES ATE FFICE.

JOSEPH H. PRICE, OF LOMBARID, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR OF ONE1-IALF TO CHICAGO PAPER COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

TYPOGRAPHICAL NUMBERING-MACHINE.

Application filed June 7, 1915.

To all w ltom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Josnrn H. Pnioma citizen of the United States, and resident of Lombard, in the county of Dupage and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Typographical Numbering-Machines, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact specification.

This invention relates to improvements in typographical numbering machines, the number wheels of which are sleeved on a shaft, and automatically advanced upon the successive movement of a plunger held against accidental movement by ratchets and swinging pawls moved to contact by a spring plate having fingers individual to each pawl and usually provided with what is called drop-ciphers to avoid printing non-significant ciphers in front of numbers.

Typographic-a1 numbering machines when assembled, as sold to a customer commonly contain five or six wheels, on the periphery of each of which, with the exception of the unit wheels, are numbers from one to and including a drop-cipher, and by their successive operation individually produce units, tens, hundreds, thousands and tens of thousands, and to do which the ciphers of every wheel are moved to a position dropping them below the surface of the numbers, so that in the commencement of the operation of the machine, the first imprintednumber shall be one, and so on,,as a strip of paper is exposed to the successive operations of their plunger. lVhen, however, it is desir able or necessary to simultaneously imprint two or more numbers in their successive order, when there are two or more forms on the same page, as for example, bank checks, a separate numbering machine must be used for each form or check, and a skip-wheel substituted for the consecutive numbered unit wheel in every machine necessary there'- for. That is to say, when there are two checks to the page, there must be substituted for the unit wheel of the first machine to operate a skip-wheel, with the numbers 1, 3, 5, 7 and 9, and on the second machine a skipwheel having the numbers 0, 2, 4, 6 and 8, orin other words, on the wheel printing the unit 1, the numerals must be odd, whereas on the wheel printing the first unit 2, the numerals must be even. Again for printing numbers in their consecutive order on a Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 5, 1915. Serial No. 32,479.

sheet for three bank checks, three numbering machines must be employed, and each provided with a skip wheel, with the numbers on the unit wheel of the first machine, beginning with 1, consecutively followed by the numbers l, 7, 0, 3, 6, 9, 2, 5 and 8, and on the unit wheel of the second machine, beginning with 2, followed in order with 5, 8, 1, l, 7, O, 3, 6 and 9, and on the unit wheel of the third machine beginning with 3, and followed in order with 6, 9, 2, 5, 8, l, 4, 7 and 0.

ll ith the numbers arranged on the skipwheels and in the order above described, there will be simultaneously printed 1 on the first check of a sheet by the unit wheel of the first machine, 2 on the next check by the unit wheel of the second machine, and 3 on the next and third check by the unit wheel of the third machine, and on 'the second sheet in like manner,4 by the unit wheel of the first machine, 5 by the unit wheel ofthe second machine, and 6 by the unit wheel of thethird machine, and so on, until all of the sheets for a three check bank book are successively numbered, or until the capacity of the three machines is exhausted, and whereupon they are reset to commence in like manner with the numertl l, as before.

F or consecutively numbering five forms or checks to a sheet, five machines must be simultaneously used and operated with a skip-wheel for each, with their numbers varying accordingly as above indicated, and in which event with the cipher omitted from the last wheel of the series, the highest number printed will be 999,999.

In the construction of variously numbered strips, as for example bank checks, it is the practice to first print the blank form of the checks and subsequently apply the numbers thereto in their consecutive order, and which is and may be done with a single machine, When the checks are to be subsequently bound with one check to the page, without the use of a skip-wheel, that is to say when the unit wheel contains in their order the numerals 1 to a cipher inclusive, andas such numbering machines are commonly assembled, and sold. Then a sheet contains two or more checks, or other printed forms to be numbered consecutively throughout a number of such sheets, the

use of a skip-wheel whereby the two or more checks on a sheet may be simultaneously numbered consecutively and likewise of the following sheets in their passage through -more checks or other blanks to the sheet,

and vice versa for numbering consecutively but one blank to a sheet. In other words, before my invention, so far as I am aware, there has been no typographical numbering machine, wherein it is possible or practical to substitute a skip-wheel for an ordinary unit wheel without removing all of the other numbering wheels from a fixed shaft upon which they are free to revolve, and disconnecting them from their spring actuated pawls, and this after first removing the plunger and the rocking arm through which the several numbering wheels must be and are operated, and for the reason that their shaft is only removable through the ends of the machine opposite that occupied by the plunger. Indeed so far as I am aware there was prior to my invention, no successful typographical numbering machine on the market wherein it is possible to substitute a skip-wheel for the ordinary unit wheel, or vice versa, without dismembering the machine as above described, or which after being dismembered can be reassembled by th ordinary purchaser, or even by a skilled mechanic outside of the factory where they are made, in less than about an hour, and a half an hour at best, and even then only by great care, skill. and patience. From the foregoing it will now be apparent that any means by which it is possible and practical for anyone of ordinary intelligence and without the skill of a mechanic to substitute in a typographical numbering machine, a skipwheel for the unit wheel and vice versa without disassembling any of the parts of such a machine, and without any liability to do so will be a marked improvement in the art.

The prime object of my invention, broadly stated, is to provide a typographical numbering machine with a shaft for and about which the numbering wheels are free to re volve, the construction of which shaft is such that a skip-wheel may be substituted for the ordinary unit wheel, and vice versa without disassembling the machine, or moving or removing th shaft in its entirety, or disturbing any of the numbering wheels other than that of the substitution.

More specifically stated, the object of my invention is to provide a typographical numbering machine with a shaft fixed and supporting the several numbering wheels as usual formed in two lengths, or transverse sections, one of which is socketed and adapted to be interlocked with the other, and form the sole support for either a unit or skipwheel as may be, one of which sections is fixed in its operative position by the use of a single set screw, and is adapted to be detachable from the other section, and removed away from the unit wheel or skipwheel as may be, and outwardly through the end of the machine adjacent said unit or skip-wheel on retracting the impinging set screw therefrom, and whereby a skip-wheel or a unit wheel may be substituted the one for the other without disassembling or removing any of the remaining wheels'from the shaft. 7

Another object of my invention is to provide a typographical numbering machine having a sectional shaft adapted to support the several numbering wheels thereof provided with a simple and effective means for visually indicating externally of the working parts thereof the position to which the shaft must be turned before being tightened, that it must have for the ciphers of the several wheels to drop below their operative position into the groove provided therefor.

With these ends in view, my invention finds embodiment in certain features of novelty in the construction, combination and arrangement of parts by which the said objects and certain other objects are attained,

all as hereinafter fully described with reference to the accompanying drawings, and more particularly pointed out in the claims.

In said drawing, Figure 1 is a top plan view of a typographical numbering machine in which my invention finds embodiment, but containing the usual unit wheel instead of a skip-wheel, to be referred to. Fig. 2 is an elevation of one end thereof adjacent the plunger. Fig. 3 is an end elevation of the opposite end of the machine showing the removable section of the shaft. Fig. 4 is a longitudinal section taken on the line -it4t of Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is an end elevation with l the plunger removed to expose the rocker arm and the adjacent end of the shaft upon which the numbering wheels are mounted. Fig. 6 1s an end elevation of the female mem ber' of the sectional shaft. Fig. 7 is a similar view of the male member of the sectional shaft, and Fig. 8 is a detail longitudinal section through the shaft for more clearly showing the arrangement of the shaft locking lugs relative to the groove for receiving the drop-ciphers of the numbering wheels.

Similar characters of reference indicate the same parts in the several figures of the drawing.

The frame of the machine as usual consists of end. walls 9 and 10 connected by means of bars 11, at each side thereof spaced apart, the wall 9 being provided with outwardly projecting parallel flanges 12 12 projecting between which and suitably locked thereto is a plunger 13 by means of a U-shaped plate 1 1 fro-1n which is bent a bottom piece 15 supporting a coiled spring 16 yieldingly supporting the plunger above its operative positionfor actuating a rocking arm 17. r i

Rocking arm 17 as shownin the drawings, is supported free to turn on the reduced end 18 of a shaft 19, and is actuated by the plunger and connected'with a series of numbering wheels in any ordinary and usual manner.

Mounted and free to turn upon the shaft 19 is a series ofnumbering wheels which in the order of their arrangement consist of a ten thousands wheel 20, thousands wheel 21, hundreds wheel 22, a tens wheel 23 and a unit wheel24, each of which wheels as shown in the drawings, are peripherally provided with raised or typographical num bers consecutively thereon from 1 to and including a cipher, each of which wheels is provided with a circular rack25 depressed below the face of the numerals engaged by as many pawls 26, moved to contact with their respective circular racks by means of as many spring tongues27, secured to the side bar 11 of the frame, by means of setscrews 2-8.

At the opposite side of, well toward the bottom of the wheels (see Fig. &) are a series of stops 29, one for each wheel, adapted to project into opposing recesses 30, for yieldingly holding the numbering wheels from accidental movement, and to which end the stops are pivoted on a shaft or rod projecting at each end into a yoke Sl'provided with opposing upright arms 32-32, sleeved upon the shaft 19 adjacent the end walls 9 and 10 of the frame. I

As beforestated every numbering wheel save the ten thousands wheel is provided with a cipher, which isuseless on the last to be operated of the several wheels, and as indicated by the groove 33 in the shaft 19, all of these ciphers are drop-ciphers, that is to say are formed separate from the wheels, and confined in slots therein so that the structure upon which they are formed may drop into the groove and to a plane below their printing position.

With the exception of the construction and arrangei'nent of the shaft as hereinafter described, it will now be observed that otherwise the typographical numbering machine shown in the drawing, is identical in con struction and operation with one of several types of numberingmachines heretofore upon the market and now extensively in use the shafts of which, however, for ship porting the numbering wheels are without exception made of one piece, supported at their opposite ends in the frame and maintained against movement by means of a setscrew 23% passing through the top of one end of the piece and impinging against their shaft as shown in Fig. at of the drawings.

The useof a one piece shaft in the several types (if-numbering machines now upon the market wherein it is possible to make the substitution of a skip-wheel for a unit wheel, and vice versa, of necessityrequires for the substitution of a skip-wheel for a unit wheel and vice versa, the disassembling of the machine in its'entirety, and for which purpose the plunger must first be removed from the machin.e,followed by removing the rocking arm from the shaft, then withdrawing the shaft outwardly through the frame in the opposite direction until allof the numbering wheels are removed therefrom, before the substitution can be made of a skip-wheel for the unit wheel, or vice versa. Vith the removal of the numbering wheels,

the pawls 26 being loose upon their shaft,

swing inwardly by gravity and must be held in their operative position while pushing the shaft through the several numbering wheels for restoring them to their operative position, and for which purpose their opposing. springs must be detached from the frame.

The difficulty and skill required to reassemble typhographical numbering machines will, however, be better appreciated on bearing in mind that the depth and width of their frame as they are sold upon the market is less than three-quarters of an inch, with a total length of but one and seven-eighths inches, with the diameter of their wheels barely three-(piartcrs of an inch, with their springs and pawls correspondingly small, and sosmall that they can only be successfully reassembled with the use of the fingers and a pair of pincers, and as a result of which, and only fromfrequent practice can even a skilled mechanic reassemble them with an expenditure of at least thirty minutes if not more of time. Indeed the di'tliculty and expense for reassembling typographical numbering machines, has heretofore been so great that,

ing machines on the market, and repeated eHorts to devise some means by which skipwheels might be successfully used without the necessity of disassembling the entire machine, I have finally discovered that this may be done .without changes in theirmechanism other than dividing their single shaft in twointer-locking sections, one section of which supports no numbering wheel other than the unit or the skip-wheel as may be, and is removable partly or wholly away from the other section, and from the ma chine through the end wall thereof adjacent such skip or unit wheel. For example, as shown in Fig. 4:, the single piece shaft heretofore provided as a support for the numbering wheels is transversely divided on a line in a plane with the inner surface of the unit wheel 24, and the adjacent surface of the tens wheel 23, one section of which 35, forms the support for the several numbering wheels 21, 22 and 23, and'the other section-36 a support only for the unit wheel 24, the adjacent ends of which sections are provided with interlocking means whereby they may both be held against turning by means of the screw 34 heretofore employed for the same purpose.

As shown in the drawings the locking means consists in providing the end of the section 35 with a socket 3 7, and opposing radial grooves 38 respectively adapted to receive a pin 39 and lugs 40 and 41 pro- 'jecting from the opposing end of the section 36, whereby when the two sections are in their operative interlocked position, both sections may be held against turning by the single screw 34: to impinge therewith.

With this construction of the shaft, it will be, seen that for substituting for the unit wheel 24: a skip-wheel this may be quickly done by loosening the screw fol-, lowed by drawing the shaft section 36 away from the shaft section 35, until the section 36 is free and clear of the unit wheel 24, which may then be easily removed by the fingers,'and a skip-wheel therefor be substituted by firstholding it in register with the section 36, followed by moving the shaft section 36 therethrough to locked engagement with the section 35, and then tightening the set-screw 34. i

As a means for visually determining when the groove 33 of the'shaft registers with the drop ciphers, and how much the shaft must be turned to move the groove into register before tightening the shaft with v the set screw, it will now be observed that the lug 40 and the socket therefor is wider than that of and for the lug 41, and that these lugs are arranged on a line at aright angle to the groove, and that furthermore the outer end of the shaft is provided with a notch 42 in line with the lug 40, so that on turning the shaft until this notch 42 meets the right hand end of a horizontal line at a right angle to the length of the groove, the operator will then know that the groove is uppermost and in register with the drop ciphers. The form of the notch 42' is such that it provides a means for the engagement of a hook for pulling the shaft section 36 outwardly or for a screw-driver projected into the end groove 43 of the section 36 for turning the shaft as and for the purposes before described.

My invention as providing a means for the substitution of a skip wheel for a unit wheel without disturbing the other wheels of a typographical numbering machine, is not to be limited to the special form of devices for connecting, locking and indicating the point to which the shaft shall be turned for registering, the drop ciphers with the groove therein, but includes any other form adapted for the purposes thereof.

Having described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A typographical numbering machine comprising in combination a plurality of numbering wheels, a sectional shaft for supporting said wheels, one section of which supports the unit wheel to the exclusion of the other wheel and wheels.

2. A typographical numbering machine comprising in combination a series of numbering wheels, a transversely divided shaft therefor, means for removably locking the sections thereof together, and a unit wheel "supported upon one of said sections to the exclusion of the other numbering wheels.

3. A typographical numbering machine comprising in combination a series of numbering wheels, a sectional shaft transversely dlvided into two sections, a pm on one section, a socket in the other sectlon for receiving said pin, means for preventing the roi tary movement of either section, and means for maintaining said shaft againstlongitudinal movement.

4:. A typographical numbering machine comprising in combination a series of numto be moved to register With said ciphers on turning the shaft, means whereby both sections of said shaft may be simultaneously revolved, means for indicating the register of the drop groove With the ciphers therefor, and means for locking said shaft in a 10 fixed position.

In Witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and afi'ixed my seal, this 1st day of June, A. D. 1915.

JOSEPH H. PRICE. L. s]

Witnesses M. B. ELsNER, J NO. G. ELLIOTT.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G.

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