US2152204A - Postage meter - Google Patents

Description

March 28, 1939. M. MOORE 2,152,204

POSTAGE METER Filed Aug. 11, 1 6 Sheets-Sheet 1 /N YEN TOR Na/v Ta 6 oz M0 025.

I Midw- ATTORNEY- March 28, MOORE I POSTAGE METER 1 Filed Aug. 11, 1937 s Sheets-Sheet 2 //vv/v TOR. fife/079 115 Mooxee.

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M. MOORE March 28, 1939.

POSTAGE METER Filed Aug. 11, 1957 6 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVEN TOR. flan/74g: Moo/2:. M

ATTORNEY.

M. MOORE POSTAGE METER March 28, 1 939.

6 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Aug. 11, 1937 March 28, 1939. 2

M. MOORE POSTAGE METER Filed Aug. 11, 1937- e Sheets-Sheet 5 {JZZBL ATTORNEY- Mon/7,7605 fifoakz.

M2 MOORE POSTAGE METER March 28, 1939.

Filed Aug. 11, 1937 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 I I LJ INVENTOR. flolvfqque MooRE.

/& as as I Fig. 6 is an Patented Mar. 28, 1939 UNITED STATES.

PATENT OFFICE Application August 11, 1937, Serial No. 158,527

16 Claims.

My invention relates to improvements in postage meters, the objects of which are to provide a postage meter which will be compact in form, of'light weight and simple construction whereby its use can be extended to relatively small business institutions as well as larger ones. To provide means whereby the stacks of envelopes or cards of varying length may be put through the machine and have the stamp impressed on each in the proper place; to provide means whereby letters or cards however thinor soft will be properly carried through the machine and the postage applied be accurately recorded, and to provide simple means for changing the amount of postage to be impressed upon the letters and recorded as impressed. 4

The invention consists of a radially movable die mounted upon a rotating shaft, which die is provided with an interchangeable indicia repre- 20 senting postage values and means are provided for changing said indicia and causing the amount of the postage value to be recorded at each radial movement of the die, as will be more fully described in the following specification and shown in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of the invention with the cover removed.

Fig.2 is a longitudinal sectional view taken on the line 2-2 of Figure 1. Fig. 3 is a detail view showing the rotating die and the gear train for changing the postage amount.

Fig. 4 is a detail sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of Figures 1 and 2.

Fig. 5 is a detail plan view showing the inking roll and its mounting.

end view taken on the line 66 of Figure 2.

Fig. 7 is a sectional view taken on the line 10 1-1 of Figure 2.

Fig. 8 is a sectional view taken on the line 8-8 of Figure 1.

Fig. 9 is a sectional view showing the operating cam taken on the line 9-9 of Figure 1.

Fig. 10 is a plan view showing the feed and dead rolls.

Fig. 11 is a plan view'showing the feed rolls and entrance gatefingers.

In the drawings like characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in each figure.

The numeral indicates a base having a bottom wall 2, side walls 3 and 4 and is partly enclosed by a bed plate 5 on which the letters are supported as they pass through the machine. Supported upon the base is a housing 6 having shoes side walls 3 and 4 corresponding to those of the base, a front wall I and a rear wall 8. Suitably mounted alongside the base is a motor 9 having a shaft l0 fitted with a worm II which meshes with a worm gear |2 upon a countershaft 3 5 extending longitudinally of the housing 6, see Figures 1 and 2. The countershaft is fitted with a pulley l4 for driving the feed rolls to be hereinafter described and also a pinion l5 which drives a main gear I 6. Mounted longitudinally of 10 the housing is a main shaft I which is journalled in bearings I8 and 9 and is fitted at its outer end with a turning knob and at its inner end with a disc 2|. Secured to the shaft I1 is a cam 22, which, with the main shaft I1, is frictionally l5 driven by the main gear l6 bearing against the side of the cam under pressure of a friction spring spider 23 which is mounted on the inner face of a thrust collar 24 abutting the inner face of the bearing H3. The object of the frictional 20 drive of the main shaft is to enable the shaft .to be turned manually to a desired position to change the date die should such be used. The side walls of the housing are cut away at their lower edge to define a gap 25 through which the 2; letters pass to be stamped.

Slidably mounted upon the disc 2| is a printing head which is substantially in the form of an inverted T, as seen in Figure 2, the leg 3| of the T being apertured as at 32 to pass around 30 the shaft l1 and adjacent its upper extremity it is provided with a guide 33 which extends through a radial slot 34 in the disc 2 The extremities of the head of the T forming the printing head 30 are suitably guided on the borders .35 of a gap 35 formed in the disc 2| so that the head of the T moves radially of the disc in which it is mounted.i The printing head is retracted to itsinner position as shown in Figures 2, 3 and 4, by one or more tension springs 36 which are anchored on one face of the disc 2|.

The T printing head 30. is provided with an arcuate rim 3'! which extends towards the main drive gear l6 and is adapted to be engaged by a press roll 38 to be hereinafter described, to move said plate outwardly from the axis of the main shaft l1. On the opposite side of the printing head 30, see Figure 3, is an arcuate flange or die 39 on which one or more stamps are embossed to imprint the letters passed through the machine. One of the stamps will indicate postage and the other, if used, will indicate the date of postage. These elements will be hereinafter referred to as the postage stamp, indicated by the numeral 48 and the date stamp indicated by the numeral 4|.

The date stamp 4| or a portion of it will necessarily need to be removable for changing the date and will preferably be circular in form and provided with lugs 42 which will engage bayonet socket slots 43 formed in the die 39. Convenient means will be provided for the removal of the date stamp through a suitable opening in the housing. Particular detail to this part of the structure is not deemed necessary as it forms no part of the invention.

The postage stamp 48 would be centrally apertured to permit the indicia representing value of postage applied to project, this indicia is on the periphery of an indicia wheel 44 which is mounted upon a pin 45 carried by the head 38 and is fitted with a gear 46. The gear 46 is rotated from an idler 41 which isrotatably mounted on a pin 48 mounted upon the disc 2|. Rotatably mounted upon the inner end of the shaft I1 is a. pinion 49 which is normally in mesh with the idler 41, and formed integrally with said pinion is one complementary member 58 of a dog clutch 5|. The pinion 49 and the gear 46 are each provided with a suitable spring pawl or stop 52 which holds these elements frictionally against rotation, so that after an impression has been made by the stamps 48 and 4| and the head 38 recedes to its normal position the gears 41 and 46 will return to meshing position and the relative position of the teeth of the dog clutch member 58 to the numbers on the indicia wheel 44 will remain unchanged.

Printing head operation.Mounted adjacent the rear wall 8 is a rock shaft 68 upon which is fixed an arm 6| provided at its outer end with a roller 62, which roller engages the underside of the cam 22 on the main drive shaft I'I. An arm 63 extends from the rock shaft 68 which is engaged by a spring 64, see Figures 1 and 2, having a suitable anchorage adjacent the upper part of the housing for holding the roller 62 in constant engagement with the cam 22. Secured upon the rock shaft 68 intermediate its length is a slide arm 65, shown in detail in Figure 4. This slide arm guides a vertically movable slide 66 which is here shown at its lowermost position and is returned to said position by a light spring 61. Projecting inwardly from the slide 66 is a pawl 68 which is provided with a spring 69 to normally hold it at right angles to the slide 66. Freely mounted upon the rock shaft is a bell crank I8 which is provided with a stop II to limit its upward movement and a spring I2 to raise it to its normal or inoperative position. The bell crank has legs 13 and I4, and at the free end of the leg I3 the roller 38 is mounted. The upper leg I4 of the bell crank I8 is provided at its free end with a throat I5 in which the pawl 68 isreceived when the slide 66 is raised and the slide arm 65 is rocked inwardly.

Feed roll assembly.-A series of feed rolls I6, I! and I8 are rotatably mounted within the base I on shafts I9, 88 and 8|, which rollers are projected slightly above the bed plate 5. The shaft I9 is mounted in spring supported bearings 82, see Figures 2 and 4. The shaft I9 is fitted with two pulleys 83 and 83a, the shaft 88 is fitted with pulleys 84 and 84a, and the shaft 8| is fitted with a pulley 85. A belt 86 connects the pulley I4 on the countershaft I3 with the pulley '83. A belt 81 drives the pulley 84 from the pulley 83a and a belt 88 drives the pulley 85 from the pulley 84a. Above the feed roll 11 is a dead roll 89 which is mounted to float in slotted bearings 98 so that it may lift according to the thickness of the letters entering the machine. A gate 9| which is adapted to be adjusted vertically in any convenient way, is fitted in front of the dead roll 89 and is spaced above thebed plate to permit the lowermost of a pile of letters to enter the gap 25 into the housing.

Trip mechanism.Mounted parallel to the deadroll 89 is a shaft 94 which is set above the gap 25 so that letters may pass freely thereunder. Upon this shaft a plurality of shoes 95 are fitted which are connected together for simultaneous movement by a push rod 96. Each of the trip shoes 95 are set close to the face of one of the rolls I! so as to drop when in non-operative position slightly below the periphery of the rolls, as shown in Figure 4, and to project their free ends 91 upwardly above the entering letter that they may be raised thereby. Extending upwardly from the rod 96 is a push rod 98 having at its base a telescopic sleeve provided with a finger I83 extending above a step I84. The step I84 is adapted to underly the slide 66 so that as a letter passes under the trip shoes 95 the slide 66 is raised and the pawl 68 is brought into line for engagement with the throat I5 of the bell crank leg I4, so that when the slide arm 65 is rocked the pawl will rock the bell crank I8.

Mounted below the bedplate 5 between the feed rolls I6 and TI is a rocking shaft I I I from which a plurality of spring fingers II 2 extend, which fingers are provided at their outer ends with upturned'stops I I3. These stops are adapted to bear towards the lower border of the gate 9| at all times when a letter is passing under the shoes 95 and are urged upwardly by a suitable counterweight II4. The shaft II I is provided with a horizontally disposed arm I I5 which is adapted to be depressed by a corresponding arm I I 6 mounted upon the shaft 94, when the trailing end of a letter has passed beyond the shoes 95 the shoes will drop, the arm I I6 will press down the arm I I5 and lower the stops II3 that another letter may be drawn beneath the gate 9|.

Inking device.n the front wall 1 of the housing is a vertical slide I2I in bearings I22, and at the upper end of the slide a forked member I23 is rockingly mounted upon a transverse pin I24, 9.

stop I25 on the slide prevents the forked member I23 from dropping below the horizontal position shown in Figure and alight spring I26 is provided for urging it downwardly towards the horizontal position. Rotatingly mounted on a perforated hollow spindle I21 carried in the forked member 23 is an inking roller, I28 covered with pervious material in the usual manner. The spindle I2I is fitted at one end with an upstanding funnel I29 which is disposed immediately below a small feed tube I38 extending through the top wall of the housing. A spring I3| serves to raise the slide I2I and a dash pot I 32 of any suitable type is connected to the slide to retard its return to raised position. Coupled to the bell crank I8 to operate therewith is an arm I33 which engages a lug I34 on the slide |2I to depress it and bring the inking roller I28 down into contact with the flange and the postage and date stamps immediately following the impressing of a letter.

Postage setting mechanism.Projecting from the inside. of the side wall 3 of the housing is a collar I 4 I see Figures 1 and 2, which is supported on a pair of horizontal supports I42, non-rotatably mounted in this collar is a bearing sleeve I43 having a flange I44 at its inner end which is provided with indents I45 corresponding to the value of postage to be impressed, such as 1, 2 or 5 cents as the case may be. Rotatably-mounted in the bearing sleeve I43 is a hollow shaft I46 which is urged endwise by a spring I41 towards the side wall 3. At the inner end of the shaft I46 is a half clutch member I48 which is aligned with and complementary to the half clutch member 50 and forms part of the clutch 5|. n the rear side of the half clutch member I48 is a pin I49 which is adapted to engage any of the indents I45 when the hollow shaft I46 is in normal endwise position and hold it against rotation. At the outer end of the shaft I46 a head I50 is fitted, which is provided with a single transverse slot II on its face, see detail view in Figure 6, at one end of which a feather key I52 is fitted. Coacting with the head I50 is a boss I53 formed upon the side wall 3. This bossis circular in form and is recessed as at I54 from the outside of the machine to define an internal flange I55, see Figure '1. The boss is provided across its inner end with a plurality of radial slots I56 corresponding to the indents I45 on the flange I44. When the hollow shaft is in normal endwise position the key I52 of the head I50 is seated in the outer end of one of the slots I56, hence the shaftv is still held against rotation. The rotation of the shaft I46 is effected by a key I51 having a head I58 provided with a pointer I59 reading upon a graduated scale I60 on the wall 3 of the casing, which scale represents postage values to be impressed on the letters. The key I51 is provided with a stem I6I which passes through the flange I55,-the head I50 and into the hollow shaft I46, and is provided with a transverse wing I62, which when in normal positionfas shown in Figures 1 and 2, lies within a pair of opposed radial slots I56 of the flange I55 and the single transverse slot I5I of the head I50. When the key is in the position shown, the postage value setting mechanism is in fixed positon, but when said key is moved into its innermost position the wing I62 presses the hollow shaft 46 endwise to release the pin I49 from its indent I45 and passes beyond the flange I55, so that the key can be turned and through said wing turn the shaft I46. As soon as the wing I62 is clear of the flange I55 the clutch members I48 and 50 are in full engagement and any turn of the shaft I46 imparts a similar turn to the gear train 49, 41 and 46,.thus changing the stamp value to be impressed on the letters passing through the machine.

Recording mechanism-Extending radially from the half clutch member I48 is an arm I63 having at its free end a substantially V-shaped trip release I64, see Figures 1, 2 and 8, and directly coupled through a sleeve I65 secured to the inker arm I33 is an arm I66 provided at its free end with a trip set I61, which arm will swing to move its trip set each time a letter is entered for postage impression. Extending from the .disc 2| is a lug I 68 upon which a rocker I69 is mounted on an axis radial to the disc. The rocker is resiliently retained in either of its operating positions, as indicated in full and dotted line in Figure 1, by a throw over spring I10. To one side of the rocket. is a dog "I which is adapted to engage a stop I12 on the face of a half gear I13, on the outer face of the rocket I69 is a roller I14 which is adapted to strike the trip set I61 and on the inner face aligned with the roller I14 is a roller I15, see Figure 2, which is adapted to strike the trip release I64 and. move the rocker away from the half gear I13. The half gear I13 is freely rotatable upon the sleeve I43 and is resiliently held against movement in a clockwise direction, as seen in Figure 8, by a spring I16 secured at one end to the hub of the gear and anchored at the other to a pin 11 extending from the bearing support I42. Mounted on the. housing 6 is a counter I18 of any suitable type for recording the total amount of postage applied. This counter is driven by a free wheel gear I19 which operates the counter only when rotated in one direction, the 'gear is driven to operate the counter through an idler I80 which is in constant mesh with the half gear I13.

The operation of the machine is as follows?- The motor when running imparts rotation to the shaft I1 and its disc 2| and also the feed rolls 16, 11 and 18. Letters are then placed into a suitable magazine |8I partly shown in Figure 10, the lowermost letter will be drawn by contact with the feed roll 18 under the gate 9|, as the letter enters the bight between the feed roll 11 and the dead roll 89 it engages the shoes 95 andraises them and imparts an upward thrust to the push rod 98, which lifts the slide 66 and disposes its pawl 68 in line with the throat 15 of the upper leg 14 of the bell crank 10. By the time that the forward end of the letter is passing over the feed roll 16 the cam 22 will be in such position as to rock the shaft 60 and since the pawl 68 is then in line with the throat 15 the leg 13 of the bell crank will be lowered so that its press roll 38 will bear downwardly upon the arcuate rim 31 and move the printing head radially so that post,- age and date stamps and 4| respectively are projected to the periphery of thedisc 2| to impress postage and date upon the letter as it passes thereunder. Simultaneously with this movement the arm I33, coupled to the bell crank 10, is moved downwardly, drawing down the vertical slide I2I to the limit of its stroke, when the inking into contact with the stamps to re-ink them.

The dash pot I32 will be adjusted so as to prevent the slide from rising beyond a predetermined point until the re-inking has been completed, when its retarding. action will be overcome and the inking roller and its slide I2I will be returned by the spring I3| to normal position as shown in Figure 4.

- Assuming the length of the letter passing through the machine to be longer than the periphery of the disc 2| it will not have passed beyond the shoes 95,- consequently the slide 66 which hasbeen thrust down to the position shown in dotted line in Figure 4 will not be able to return todts position uponthe step I04 of the push rod 96 and will not in consequence be able to effect the printing of the letter a second time. The dropping of the slide-66 will be effected by the spring 69 as soon as thestrain is relieved between the pawl 68 and the throat 15 and the lower extremity of said slide is offset from the step I04. When the end of the slide 66 is overlapping the step as shown in dotted line, the roller 62 will be held out of contact with the nonoperating part, of the cam 22. As soon as the trailing end of the letter permits the shoes to drop the arm II6 will press down the arm H5 and lower the fingers H2 and their stops H3, so that another letter may be drawn into the machine. As the shoes drop the step I04 of the push rod 98 will return to normal and the slide 66 and its slide arm 65 will return to normal vertical position as shown in full line in Figure 4.

If a letter passing through the machine is relatively thick the spring I in the telescopic sleeve 99 will be compressed.

By providing the shoes 95 with upturned free ends 91 which intersect the periphery of the feed rolls 11 tangentially and disposingsaid shoes in close proximity to the face of each roll thin card or paper will in passing lift said shoes without difficulty or without damage to the paper.

Assuming the machine to have been .'set to print 2 cents postage the arm I63 on the half clutch member I48 set in a corresponding posi- 'tion as shown in Figure 2. The arm I66 will have been moved as the rock shaft 60 is rocked to cause the printing of the letter, which will dispose the trip set I61 in the path of the roller I14 on the rocker I69, the disc on rotating will cause the roller to engage the trip set and move the rocker over to the left, see Figure 1, when its dog I1I will come into the path of the stop I12 on the half gear I13. When the dog and stop meet, the half gear will be driven around until the roller I14 strikes the trip release I64 and breaks the driving train, when the spring I16 will return the half gear I13 to its position of rest. During the driving of the half gear from the disc 2I the postage amount set will be added to the previous total of the counter I18.

When the disc 2| is rotating withoutiprinting, the trip set I61 will be retracted from the path of the roller I14, consequently no drive will be communicated from the disc 2I to the half gear and the counter will remain inoperative.

To change the postage amount, the key I51 is pressed inwardly to release the wing I 62 from its slots I56 and to engage the clutch it is then turned to the desired amount, which rotates the gears 49, 41 and 46, thus disposing the desired postage value in printing position in the postage stamp 40.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. A postage meter comprising a bed plate, means for feeding letters across the bed plate, a housing enclosing a driven shaft, a printing die mounted about the shaft for movement radial thereof, a swinging arm for moving the die into printing position, normally disconnected cooperating elements adapted to be actuated bythe shaft for operating the swinging arms to move the die radially outwards to imprint a letter, a shoe adapted to be raised by a letter entering the housing for connecting the cooperating elements to the swinging arm, and means for returning the printed die radially inward to normal position after the letter has been printed.

2. A postage meter comprising a bed plate, means for feeding letters across the bed plate, a housing enclosing a driven shaft, a printing die mountedabout the shaft for movement radially thereof, normally disconnected cooperating elements adapted to be driven by the shaft for moving the printingdie radially outward to imprint a letter, a shoe adapted to be raised by a letter entering the housing for connecting the cooperating elements to move the die radially outward,

means for returning the printing die radially inward to normal position after the letter has been imprinted, and means for disrupting the connection between the cooperating elements subsequent to the return of the die radially inwards and to prevent further connection between said elements while the shoe is held in raised position.

3. In a postage meter, a bed plate, a feed roller, a disc upon a shaft parallel to the feed roll, means for imparting continuous rotation to the disc, a printing head slidably mounted upon the disc, a bell crank rockable parallel to the face of the disc for moving the printing head into printing position, a postage stamp on the printing head, means as a letter is fed between the disc and the feed roll for rocking the bell crank to dispose thepostage stamp into printing position.

4. In a postage meter, a bed plate, a feed roller, a disc upon a shaft parallel to the feed roll, means for imparting continuous rotation to the disc, a printing head slidably mounted upon the disc, an arcuate rim on the periphery of the printing head, a postage stamp upon the printing head, a cam upon the shaft rotatable with the disc, said cam being mounted upon the same axis as the disc, and means associated with the arcu ate rim and the cam for moving the printing head radially of the disc to dispose the postage stamp into printing position as a letter enters between said disc and feed roll.

5. In a postage meter, a bed plate, a feed roller, a disc upon a shaft parallel to the feed roll, means for imparting continuous rotation to the disc, a printing head slidably mounted upon the disc, an arcuate rim on the periphery of the printing head, a postage stamp upon the print: ing head, a cam upon the shaft rotatable with the disc, a'. rock shaft, an arm upon the rock shaft adapted to be moved by the rock shaft, a bell crank freely movable upon the rock shaft having one leg adapted to move the printing head radially of the disc to dispose the postage stamp into printing position, and means adapted on the entrance of a letter to the postage meter to engage the second leg of the bell crank to rock and move the printing head.

6. In a postage meter having a driven shaft, a disc and a cam upon the shaft, a printing head slidably mounted upon the disc, said printing head having a postage stamp adapted on the moving of the head in one direction to extend to the periphery of the disc, a rock shaft parallel to the driven shaft, an arm secured to the rock shaft adapted to be moved in one direction by the cam, a slide arm carried by'the rock shaft, a bell crank, a slide within the slide arm adapted to be raised as a letter enters the postage meter,

one leg of the bell crank being adapted to engage the printing head to extend the postage stamp to the periphery of the disc, and means on the slide adapted when said slide is raised to engage the second leg of the bell crank to rock it.

7. In a postage meter having a driven shaft, a disc and a cam uponthe shaft, a printing head slidably mounted upon the disc, said printing head having a postage stamp adapted on the moving of the head in one direction to extend to the periphery of the disc, a rock shaft parallel to the driven shaft, 'an arm secured to the rock shaft adapted to be moved in one direction by the cam, a slide arm carried by the rock shaft, a bell crank, a slide within the slide arm adapted to be raised as a letter enters the postage meter, one leg of the bell crank being adapted to engage the printing head to extend the postage stamp to the periphery of the disc, means on the slide adapted whensaid slide is raised to engage the second leg of the bell crank to rock it, and means for returning the bell crank to normal position.

8. In a postage meter having a driven shaft,v a disc and a cam upon the shaft, a printinghead slidably mounted upon the disc, said printing head having a postage stamp adapted on the,

moving of the head in one direction to extend to the periphery of the disc, a rock shaft parallel to the driven shaft, an arm secured to the rock shaft adapted to be moved in one direction by the cam, a slide arm carried by the rock shaft, a bell crank, a slide within the slide arm adapted to be raised as a letter enters the postage meter,

one leg of thebell crank being adapted to engage the printing head to extend the postage stamp to the periphery of the disc, means on the slide adapted when said slide is raised to engage the second leg of the bell crank to rock it, and means for lowering the slide after the rock shaft has been rocked to operate the bell crank.

9. In a postage meter, a rotary printing head comprising a disc, a T-shaped printing head slidably mounted upon the disc, the head of the T being provided with a postage stamp and an arcuate rim disposed towards the periphery of the disc, means for resiliently maintaining the postage stamp below the periphery of the disc,

and means actuated from a moving part of the meter for intersecting the path of the arcuate rim to move the postage stamp towards the periphery of the disc, said means being actuated in response to the movement of a letter towards the disc.

10. In a postage meter, a driven shaft, a rotatable printing head upon the shaft mounted for radial movement toward and away from the shaft, a postage stamp upon the printing head, said postage stamp including a wheel bearing numbers indicative of postage values, and means aligned with the shaft and accessible exteriorly of the meter for changing the postal value in the postage stamp.

11. In a postage meter, a driven shaft, a rotatable printing head upon the shaft mounted for radial movement toward and away from the shaft, a postage stamp upon the printing head, said postage stamp including a wheel bearing numbers indicative of postage values, and means aligned with the shaft and accessible exteriorly of. the meter for changing the postage value in the postage stamp, said means being operable with the driven shaft at any position of rotation of said shaft.

12. In a postage meter, a driven shaft, a disc upon the shaft, a radially movable printing head bearing a postage stamp adjacent the periphery of the disc, means for moving the printing head radially outward into printing position, a rotary operating with the postage stamp, means ro-.-

tatable about the axis of the disc for turning the rotary member to change the postal value of the postage stamp.

13. In a postage meter having a driven shaft, a printing head mounted for rotation with the shaft and for movement radially thereof, a rock shaft parallel to the driven shaft, said rock shaft having means for engaging the printing head to move it radially outward, a postage stamp on the printing head adapted to impress a letter, a feed roll, a means operable in response to the passing of a letter over said feed roll for rocking the rack shaft to urge the printing head and its postage stamp radially outward from the shaft, said means including a shoe having an upturned forward extremity, said shoe being disposed to project its lowermost portion below the periphery of the feed roll whereby a letter passing between said shoe and the feed roll will raise the shoe above the periphery of the feed roll.

14. In a postage meter having a disc, a printing head radially movable upon the disc and normally retracted within its periphery, an inking roll normally out of contact with the disc and the printing head and means operable in response to the entrance of each letter to the meter for moving the inking roller into contact with the printing head.

15. In a postage meter having a rotating disc, aprinting head movable radially of the disc, an inking roll normally at rest and out of contact with the printing head, and means operable in response to the entrance of each letter to the meter for moving the inkingroll into contact with the periphery of the disc whereby it is rotated up to the peripheral speed of the printing head and for subsequently moving said inking roll into contact with said printing head.

16. In a postage meter, a bed plate, a feed roller, a disc upon a shaft parallel to the feed roll, means for imparting continuous rotation to the disc, a printing head slidably mounted upon the disc, an arcuate rim on the periphery of the printing head, a postage stamp upon the printing head, a bell crank adapted to engage the arcuate rim, a cam upon the shaft rotatable with the disc, said cam being mounted upon the same axis as the disc, and a rock shaft parallel to the disc shaft having an arm for engaging the cam, and means for engaging the bell crank to move the printing head radially of the disc to dispose the postage stamp into printing position as a letter enters between said disc and feed roll.

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