US2556687A - Inking perforator - Google Patents

Description

June 12, 1951 c. E. FAULKNER INKING PERFORATOR 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Jan. 11, 194'? fIYJ/HTEF C um; 5s 5 flvuLKA/Ee June 1951 c. E. FAULKNER 2,556,687

mxmc PERFORATOR Filed Jan. 11, 947' 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 (HAEL is 5. Fun. K/vse June 12, 1951 c, E, FAULKNER 2,556,687

INKING PERFORATOR ivy 5 17751" (HARLES E. IQULKNEB June 12, 1951 c. E. FAULKNER 2,556,687

INKING PERFORATOR Filed Jan. 11, 1947 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 000000 oo oo 0 0000 0 oo 00 oooooo 000 00 0 0 o so o O O O O O O 0 O O O00 000 OO OO 0 on O O 0 OO 0 o o o O O O 0 0600000 00 b M fill/5t Patented June 12, 1951 UNITED STATES ATENT OFFICE 3 Claims.

- This invention relates to a machine for selectively perforating sheets, and particularly deals with a perforating and inking machine capable of punching holes in stacked sheets while inking the rim of each hole so that the perforated indicia can be easily read.

The invention will hereinafter be specifically described as embodied in a perforating and inking machine for forming ink-rimmed indicia defining perforations in stacked sheets of orders in a mail order house. It should be understood, however, that machines of this invention are not limited for use in mail order houses, but are generally useful for selectively perforating and inking sheets of paper or the like.

The machine of this invention produces easily readable legends in each sheet in a stack of sheets irrespective of the number of the sheets and automatically advances on each stroke to produce sequentially advanced legends in the sheets of the next stack. This automatic operating principle of the machine eliminates unwanted possible duplication of the same legends in sheets of successive stacks and yet avoids skips in the predetermined sequential arrangement of legends.

In the mail order business, customers frequently list many items on a single order and, since the diiierent items are stored in different departments of the mail order house, these orders must be itemized on individual sheets that can be routed to the particular department handling the item. After a separate sheet has been made out for each item or each department involved in the customers order, all of the sheets are stacked to constitute the entire order. It is then necessary that this order be routed through the various departments and be completed to reach a collection bin in the packing department within a designated time. For this purpose, according to this invention, all of the stacked sheets are perforated with marking indicia, and the perforations of each sheet are rimmed with ink, so that the indicia will be more readily identified. One set of indicia will indicate the date. Another set of indicia indicates the time in which the order is to be finished and in the collecting bin. Still another set of indicia designates the collecting bin, while another indicia designates the number of the packer. The date indicia, of course, remains constant for each 24-hour period. The time indicia changes in accordance with the schedule of operation. In some mail order houses the time change is indicated every minutes. The bin number, of course, must change for each order. The packers number may be the same for several groups of bin numbers, since one packer handles a group of bins.

The machine of this invention is arranged with a date plate that need be changed only once every 24 hours, a time plate that need only be changed in accordance with the timing system of the mail order house, for example, every 20 minutes, and a selector plate which changes for each order to designate the packer and the bin number for the order. The machine of this invention has an automatic feed device for, changing selector plates.

The date plate, the time plate, and the selector plate control operation of pins which pass through an inked pad and simultaneously perforate and ink the stacked sheets of the order. A non-volatile ink is used in the pad. Mimeographing ink is satisfactory since it will dry by absorption into the paper around the rims of the holes punched by the pins. The pins are arrangedto carry the ink into the holes for absorption by the rims of the holes.

The machines of this invention will punch and ink large numbers of stacked sheets and the rims oi the holes in the bottom sheets will still be outlined in ink carried thereto by the pins even after the pins have passed through a number of previous sheets.

The pin-actuating plates are perforated to allow passage of all pins therethrough except the pins that are to punch the sheets. Carriages are provided in the machine for these perforated plates, and a motor driving the machine reciprocates the carriages as well as a feeder device for feeding the selector plates to a carriage.

An object of the invention is to provide a perforating machine, suitable for use in mail order houses and. the like, for punching selected indicia in stacks of sheets.

, Another object of the invention is to provide a machine which will simultaneously perforate and ink a stack of sheets so that the perforations are rimmed with ink and are more easily identified.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a perforating machine having perforating pins selectively actuated by selector plates which are fed to the machine as desired to change the perforated indicia as desired.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a perforating machine with a bank of perforating pins that pass through an inked pad to carry ink to the rims of the perforations produced thereby thus making the perforated indicia easily read.

'by a perforated plate H. :of the plate I2 are arranged in groups and overlie assess? A still further object of the invention is to provide a perforating machine having perforating pins selectively actuated by perforated selector plates which are automatically fed to the machine as desired.

Other and further objects of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description of the annexed sheets of drawings which, by way of a preferred example only, illustrate one embodiment of the invention.

On the drawings:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary front elevational view of the perforating machine of this invention.

Figure 2 is an enlarged fragmentary side elevational detail view, with parts in vertical cross section, illustrating the manner in which a pin of the machine carries ink through the perforations in sheets of a stack as it perforates the sheets.

' Figure 3 is a vertical cross-sectional view, with parts in end elevation, taken substantially along the line IIIIII of Figure l and showing the machine in open position.

Figure 4 is a horizontal cross-sectional View, with parts in top plan, taken along the line IVIV of Figure l and illustrated on a somewhat enlarged scale.

Figure 5 is a vertical cross-sectional View, with parts in front elevation, taken substantially along the line V--V of Figure 3, and illustrating the driving connection for the plate carriages of the machine.

Figure 6 is a top plan view of the machine shown in Figures 1 and 3.

Figure '7 is a vertical cross-sectional View, with parts in front elevation, taken along the line vlI-VII of Figure 6.

Figure 8 is a view similar to Figure 3 but illustrating the machine in a closed or punching position.

Figure 9 is a plan view of a selector plate used in the machine of this invention.

Figure 10 is a plan view of a sheet perforated by the machine of this invention as controlled by the selector plate of Figure 9.

- Figure 11 is a view similar to Figure 10 but illustrating all of the indicia produced by both sections of the machine of this invention.

Figure 12 is an enlarged view similar to Figure 10 but better illustrating the outlining of the rims of the perforations with ink to render the perforated indicia more clearly visible.

As shown on the drawings:

As shown in Figures 1, 3, 6, '7, and 8, the perforating machine it of this invention includes a table or bed plate I supported on legs or other carrying structure (not shown). The table II has a rectangular aperture Ha therein covered The perforations |2a the aperture Ha.

A pair of vertical plates I3 and M are mounted on the perforated plate l2 and extend upwardly I5 is carried in The plate I5 is perforated at idea in the same manner as the plate I2. A slot S is provided between the plates l2 and I5 for receiving a stack of sheets S. S. to be perforated. A block I1 is mounted on the front edge of the plate l5 to provide a beveled inlet mouth for the slot S. A stop bar i8 is disposed between the plates l2 and |5 at the rear end of the slot S to provide an abutment for the stack of sheets S. S.

A third vertical plate I9 is mounted between the plates I3 and E4 on the horizontal plate |5. This plate l9, as shown in Figure 6, does not extend rearwardly as far as the plates i3 and IS. A rear end plate 23 is mounted between the plates l3 and i5 and is secured thereto at the rear edge thereof.

A perforated horizontal guide plate 2| extends across the space between the plates l3 and I9 and is fixedly mounted therein in grooves as best shown in Figures 1 and '7. Each plate It and has two vertical tracks 22 above the plate 2|. These vertical tracks slidably support a carriage 23 having four posts 24 riding on the tracks and connected by means of a horizontal perforated pin-lifting plate 25 and a top rectangular frame 2% which is grooved around the internal periphery thereof and is slotted through its front face to removably receive a perforated selector plate 21. The plate is easily removed from the frame 26 as shown in Figures 3 and 8. The posts 24 extend upwardly beyond the frame 26 and front and rear aligned posts 25 are connected to the arms 28a of a yoke member 28. The yoke 28 has its bight portion 28?) adjacent the rear wall 26 and connected to a vertical driving arm 29 which, as shown in Figure 5, in turn, is connected to a horizontal arm 30, which arm 38 is on a driving arm 3|. The arm 3| slides through a guide 32 on the back plate 26 and through slots in the plates H and I2 as shown in Figure 8 to depend beneath the table of the machine and be acted thereon by a driving eccentric as will be more fully hereinafter explained. A spring 33 pulls the arm 3| upwardly.

The carriage 23 is thus mounted for reciprocal vertical movement on the tracks 22 between the plates I3 and I9.

A fixed horizontal perforated guide plate 34 spans the space between the vertical plates M and I9 and is mounted therein in grooves. Tracks 22 identical with the tracks described between the plates |3 and i9 are also provided on the plates [4 and I9 and slidably support a carriage 35 composed of posts 36, a perforated retractor plate 31, and a grooved rectangular frame 38. The plates l4 and I9 are higher than the plate |3 and the carriage 35 is raised to a higher level than the carriage 23. The upper ends of the posts 36 of the carriage are connected to the arms 39a of a second yoke 39 having its bight portion 391; connected to an arm 40 which, in turn, is mounted on the cross arm 30, as best shown in Figure 5. It will be obvious from Figure 5 that the yokes 28 and 39 are simultaneously moved when the arm 3| is reciprocated.

As best shown in Figures 6 and '7, a horizontal plate 4| is mounted in a slot on the vertical plate I4 and extends horizontally therefrom in spaced relation above the table The outer ends of the plate 4| are supported on posts 42 or the like. The plate 4| is slotted through one end thereof at 4| a and slidably receives a block 43 carrying a plate 44 which overlies the plate 4|. The block 43 serves to guide the plate 44 along the slot. Tracks 45, 45 straddle the plate 44 and extend along the top of the plate 4| through the slot in the plate l4 to terminate adjacent the carriage 35 for alignment with the frame 38 of into the space between the tracks 45 to be acted on in succession by the plate 44 which will advance the plates 41 successively into the frame 38. It will be noted that the frame 38 is grooved around its internal periphery, but it is slotted through its Side faces so that a plate 41 can be passed completely through the frame 38 and through a slot in the plate l9 to a discharge track 48 extending over the plate |3.

A pusher bar 49 is attached to the block 43 and extends downwardly therefrom through a slot I lb in the table II. A tension spring 50 (Figure '1) is anchored on the bar 49 beneath the table II tending to pull the bar to the right.

A gear rotatably mounted under the table H carries a roller 52 for acting on an extension 49a of the bar 49 to shift the bar to the left against the pull of the spring. This action reciprocates the block 43 and the advancing stroke of the block is suificient to move one plate 41 out from under the post 46 to the position shown between these posts and the plate M. The next stroke will move this 'plate into the carriage 38. One plate 41 is always positioned between the plates in the stack and the plate in the carriage frame 38.

The gear 5! is connected through a gear 53 with-a gear 54 that is driven by an electric motor 55 as best shown in Figure 3. The electric motor is suspended under the table The yokeactuating bar 3| has a foot 3| a on the lower end thereof lying in the path of a roller 56 on the gear 54 so that, as the gear is rotated, this roller 56 will engage the foot 5| to depress the arm 3| thereby moving both carriages 23 and 35 through a vertical stroke. The gear diameters are so arranged that the stroke will be of the proper magnitude. The spring 33 pulls the carriages to the tops of their strokes.

The carriages 23 controls operation of one bank of perforating pins 51 while the carriage 35 controls operation of a second bank of perforating pins 58. Each bank of pins 51 and 58 is composed of a large number of pins 59 arranged in sets. In the illustrated machine the pins of each set are disposed in four rows of six pins eachhaving a diameter of one-sixteenth of an inch. The pins are spaced vertically on centers that are three-thirty-seconds of an inch apart and are slidably guided in the stationary plates I5, 2 I, and 24 as well as in the carriage-carried plates 25 and 31. Each pin has a collar 59a or other enlarged portion secured thereon to rest on the carriagecarried plate 25 or 31 so that the pins will be raised when the carriage is raised to move the carriage plate 25 or 31 against the collar.

The pins of the bank 51 pass through an inking pad 60 mounted on the plate I5. The pins of the bank 58 pass through a second inking pad Bl also on this plate l5. The two inking pads are composed of felt or other matted fibrous material having rubbing contact with the pins. Ink I, such as mimeograph ink, is fed to the pads 60 and BI from a container 62 through tubes 63 projecting between adjacent sets of pins in overlying relation to the pads and having drain holes therethrough over the pads to drip ink on the pads.

As best shown in Figure 2, each pin 59 has circumferential grooves 59b therearound at spaced intervals along its length. Ink I from the inking pads 6|) or 3| fills these grooves 5912 as the pin moves through the pad. The ink also coats the circumference of the pin. The coating and the ink deposit in the grooves is transferred to the sheets of the stack S. S. during the perforating operation so that each hole created by a pin is rimmed with ink I as shown in Figure 1 2. This makes the indicia of the holes more readily readable. Since the ink is of a type that dries by absorption into the paper, it will spread around the holes as illustrated. This condition obtains on each sheet of the stack irrespective of whether or not the sheet be in the top, middle, or bottom of the stack S. S.

A selector plate 41 is illustrated in Figure 9 as having holes punched therethrough to receive all of the pins in the bank 58 with the exception of those pins that will form the legend illustrated in the sheet of paper P in Figure 10. When this selector plate is placed in the frame 38, and the carriage 35 is moved on its downward stroke, the pins aligned with the holes in the plate 41 will pass through these holes and will not move downwardly through the inking pad 6|. However, those pins which are aligned with the solid or imperforate portions of the plate 41 will be acted on by the plate as the carriage moves downward and forced to move with the carriage through the inking pad and the perforations in the plate |,5 across the slot S, through a stack of sheets S. S. in this slot, and into the perforations of the plate I? as shown in Figure 8. On the upstroke of the carriage, the plate 31 will thrust against the collars on the pins to raise the pins out of the sheets and slots thereby retracting them to their original positions. The friction of the inking pad on the pins will hold all pins not acted on by the plate 41 from movement. The plate 41, as shown in Figure 10, forms the indicia Bl5 indicating the bin number for collection of the order. Beneath this indicia the numeral 128 designates the packers number.

A. similar operation on the pins in the bank 51 will perforate the paper P with legends controlled by a plate in the frame 26 of the carriage 23. This plate is perforated to show the date and the time. Since the date remains constant for 24- hour periods, and since, in a mail order'house, the time changes only at intervals of twenty minutes to one-half hour, the plate 21 in the frame 26 can be manually changed when desired.

Therefore, the automatic feed used for the selector plate A1 is not used for the bank 51 of pins. If desired, a plate in the frame 26 can be split into two sections and the date section can remain for a 24-hour period while the time section can be changed at the desired interval.

Operation A stack of sheets S. S. to be perforated and inked by the machine of this invention is placed in the slot S of the machine, and the motor is energized to drive the gears 54, 53, and 5|. The roller 56 on the gear 54 will act on the foot 3| a of the bar 3| to simultaneously pull both carriages 23 and 35 downwardly in their respective tracks against the tension of the spring 33. The selector plate 21 in the frame 26 of the carriage 23 will act on the bank 51 of pins to force selected pins downwardly through the inking pad and through the stack of sheets S. S. for perforating a date and time indicia in each of the sheets with the holes defining the indicia being rimmed with ink as shown in Figure 12. At the same time, the selector plate 41 in the frame 38 of the carriage 35 will act on selected pins of the bank 58 to move these pins through the inkingpad El and through the stack of sheets S. S. to perforate them With other desired indicia, such as the bin number of the order, and the packers number. Perforations are formed on the downstroke of the machine and, as illustrated in Figure 2, the pins pick up ink I from the inking pad to fill the grooves 59b thereof for carrying ink to all of the sheets in the stack. This ink is of a nondrying nature and spreads around the rims of the perforated holes to render these holes more readily visible.

As the motor continues to rotate the gears, the roller 56 on the gear 54 is moved away from the foot Bio of the actuating bar 31 and the spring 33 returns the carriages to their top positions in the tracks. In these positions, the carriage 35 has its frame 38 aligned with the slots in the plates 14 and 19. The roller 52 on the gear 51 then acts on the extension 49a of the bar 49 to slide the plate 44 under the stack of plates 4? in the rack provided by the tracks 46 thereupon moving the bottom plate out of this stack and forcing the preceding plate into the frame 38. This movement of the preceding plate 4-? into the frame automatically ejects the plate that was used for the above-described perforating operation. The ejected plate is received in the tracks 53. The machine is thereupon ready for the next perforating operation and is equipped with a new selector plate 6-? so that the next stack of sheets inserted in the machine will show a different bin number and a different packers number. When it is desired to change the selector plate 2? in the frame 20 of the carriage 23, the plate is easily withdrawn manually by pulling it forwardly out of the frame as illustrated in Figure 3,

The machine of this invention provides for the automatic feeding of selector plates on each stroke of the machine, as well as for the manual replacement of selector plates. It is only necessary to place the selector plates in a stack in the upstanding feed tracks 49 for automatically supplying the machine.

It will, of course, be understood that various details of construction may be varied through a wide range without departing from the principles of this invention and is is, therefore, not the purpose to limit the patent granted hereon otherwise than necessitated by the scope of the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. A perforating and inking machine comprising a reciprocal carriage, a plate-receiving frame on carriage, a plurality of perforated selector plates movable onto said frame, a feed device for automatically supplying selector plates individually to said frame, a bank of perforating pins arranged in sets for selective actuation to coact against certain of the pins in said bank for forcing the pins through the inking pad and material in said slot to form indicia composed of inkrimmed holes in the material, and means on said carriage for retracting the pins out of the material.

2. A perforating machine comprising a support structure, a bank of perforating pins arranged in groups to be selectively actuated for forming marking indicia, guides for said pins, a carriage slidably receiving said pins and disposed for movement in said structure, collars on said pins, a perforated plate on said carriage slidably receiving the pins therethrough but adapted to thrust against the collars thereon for retracting the pins, a frame on said carriage, said frame having an open-ended plate-receiving support, means on said machine supporting a stack of perforated selector plates adjacent said frame, and means for feeding selector plates in succession from the bottom of said stack into said frame for movement with said carriage against predetermined pins in said bank for forcing the pins to move with the carriage and produce perforations of a selected pattern.

3. A perforating machine comprising two adjacent banks of slidably supported perforating pins, each bank being composed of sets of pins in sufficient number to be selectively operated and outline difierent digits, a reciprocally mounted frame for each bank of pins, said frames having plate-receiving recesses to carry selector plates for acting on the pins, means for automatically feeding perforated selector plates to one of said frames, the other of said frames being arranged for readily receiving a selector plate, means for reciprocating both of said frames to carry the plates against the pins in the respective banks thereby accommodating certain of the pins in the banks while allowing other pins to pass freely through the perforations in the plates, and means for retracting the pins actuated by said plates.

CHARLES E. FAULKNER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 486,906 Stenwall Nov. 29, 1892 847,578 Hudson Mar. 19, 1907 1,476,272 Swanson Dec. 4, 1923 1,727,471 Lasker Sept. 10, 1929 1,754,034 Metzner Apr. 8, 1930 1,780,715 Olson Nov. 4, 1930 1,909,548 Peirce May 16, 1933 1,919,219 Hoffmann July 25, 1933 2,227,254 Glassberg Dec. 31, 1940 2,347,333 Phillips Apr. 25, 1944 2,356,995 Gollwitzer Aug. 29, 1944 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 701,240 France Mar. 13, 1931

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