US681633A - Cash-register. - Google Patents

Description

no. esmas. Patented Aug. 27, |9ol. L. EHRLICH.

CASH REGISTER.

(Application med Sept. 29, 1898.)

3 Sheats-Sheet l.

l; W n Ema.lwildmlHIH x Wurm IMMIW l iin (Ilo Model QX) o no. sa|,s33.

(lo Indem EHRLICH.

CASH REGISTER.

(Anuncian am up@ as, was.)

'Tnt nouns nvt. co,

Patented Aug. 27, I90I.

3 Shoah-Shut 2` No. 68|,633. Patented Aug. 27, I90l.

L. EHBLICH.

CASH REGISTER.

(Appximtinn ma u a9, was.) (In lcdll.) 3 Shoots-Sheet 3.

ATTORNEY ml Nouns uns co. morumo. wAmlNGYon. DA c.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

LEO EIIRLIOH, OF SI. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

CASH-REGISTER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 681,633, dated August 27, 1901. Application tiled September 29, 1898. Serial No. 692,179. (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, LEO EHRLICH, a citizen of the United States, residing at St. Louis, in the State of Missouri, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Cash-Registers, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to the improvement of cash-registers, and has particular relation to improved means for resetting the amountregistering wheels of a cash-register back to zero or a desirable starting-point.

The objects of my invention are to provide a simple, reliable, and eifective device of this class which will be adapted for use on cashregisters which employ a set of registeringwheels journaled or mounted upon a keyshaft, to so construct the same as to reset or return the wheels to a common starting-point in a simple and reliable manner, and to produce other improvements in details of construction and arrangement of parts, which will be more fully pointed out hereinafter. These objects I accomplish in the manner illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure l is a face view of that portion of a cash-register mechanism which contains the registering-wheels. Fig. 2 is a similar view showing the registering-wheels at the conclusion of the operation of my improved resetting device. Fig. 3 is a sectional view on line as a; of Fig. 1.` Fig. 4 is a similar view on line ezof Fig. 2. Fig. 5 is a detail view of a springactuated pawl which I employ in the manner hereinafter described, and Fig. 6 is a sectional view through the casing and the operating parts.

Similar numerals refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

In the class of cash-registers to which my improvement applies one or more sets of rogistering-wheels l and 2 are rotatably mounted upon a shaft 3, means being provided which are not herein shown and which do not form a part of my present invention for rotating said wheels the desired distances. The registering-wheels I and 2 are provided with numbered peripheries, each wheel containing the desired number or set of numbers or igures, each set running from O to 9, and each of said wheels being provided on one side with projecting teeth 4, one of said teeth being arranged opposite each number or figure thereon. As indicated at 5, I provide the periphery of each of the registeringwheels at equidistant points thereon with projecting lips, the latter being, as shown, arranged between the sets or between the iirst figure of one set and the last figure of the adjoining set of numerals which are stamped or otherwise made to appear upon the wheelperiphery.

6 represents spring brake-strips which, as indicated in the drawings, are mounted to depend from a transverse frame-rod 7 which extends between the upper portions of framestandards 8. One of these spring brakestrips is, as shown, provided for each of the wheels I, and the lower ends thereof are adapted to engage with the teeth of said wheels and prevent the latter from reversed rotation.

In the class of cash-registers to which my invention applies it has been common to rotate the registering-wheels by the engagement of the finger with the teeth 4 or lip projections 5 until the naught on each wheel appears immediately below and in front of the brake spring 6, which engages therewith. The means which I employ for this purpose may be described as follows.

Upon the shaft 3 I fulcrum adjacent to each of the registering-wheels a bell-crank lever 9, the latter having its forward and longer arm lO extending, as indicated more clearly in Figs. 3 and 4l, slightly beyond the peripheries of said registering-wheels. On the outer end of each of these bell-crank arms l0 I fulcrum an elongated pawl 11, the lower edge portion of which is adapted to engage with the projecting lips 5 of the adjoining registering-wheel. This pawl is normally pressed inwardly or rearwardly, and thus retained in the path of said lips through the medium of a spring-strip 12, secured to the arm IO and having its outer hook-shaped end portion bearing against the forward face of the pawl.

Extending transversely between the framestandards 8 of the machine and opposite the lower portions of the registering-wheels is a rod or shaft 13, upon which is mounted to turn the lower sleeve-shaped portion 14. 0f a plate or lever 15. WVith the plate-sleeve I4 I form a short arm 16, and at intervals on IOO said sleeve are formed projecting arms 17, which extend at right angles with the arm 16. The arms 17 are through the medium of bars or rods 18 jointedly connected with the respective arms 10a of the bell-cranks 9. Pivoted to the outer end of the arm 16 is the lower end of an upwardly-extending and inwardly-inclined rod 19, the upper portion of which passes loosely through an opening in a fixed projection 20 of the transverse framerod 7. The rod 19 is provided with a shoulder portion 22, and between the latter and the under side of the projection 20 said rod is surrounded by a coiled spring 23. This rod lies on one side of the line drawn from the opening in the projection. 2O to the shaft 13 when the lever 15 is in one position and upon the other side when the lever is in its other position. As will be understood, the tension of the spring 23 is thus exerted to hold the lever in either of its two extreme positions.

Extending between the frame-standards 8 -is a transverse framerod 24, against the outer side of which the upper portion of the plate or lever 15 is adapted to bear. When said plate or lever 15 is in the elevated positionshown in Figs. 1 and 3 of the drawings, it is obvious that the same will be retained in contact with the rod 24 through the pressure of the spring-actuated rod 19 on the arm 16.

In registers of this class it is common to read the amounts registered by the wheels at points immediately in front of the lower end portions of the brake strips or pawls 6, and in order to so reset Ithe registering-wheels as to cause each of said wheels to display a cipher at the above-described reading-point the plate or lever 15 is pulled outward and downward to the horizontal position indicated in Figs. 4 and 2 of the drawings, resulting in a swinging movement being thereby imparted to the bell-cranks 9 and the consequent contact of the pawls 11 and the next lower lips 5 of the wheels. The degree of rotary movement thus imparted to the registering-wheels is thus dependent upon the degree of movement of the bell-crank arms 10, which is so limited as to insure the stopping of the wheels at such points as to display the ciphers or naughts thereon immediately in front of the brakestrips 6. It will thus be seen that where the registering-wheels are provided with numbers arranged in sets running from O7 to 9, inclusive, and the lips 5 are caused to project, as shown, between said sets the one downward movement of the plate or lever 15 will result in all the Wheels being reset to zero or naught at the end of any desired time or prior to the beginning of the new registration. In

case, however,the numbers on the peripheries of the registering-wheels,as shown on the registering-wheel 2 at the extreme left in the drawings,should number from O to 100 or to other multiples of ten the operation of throwing down the lever 15 may be repeated a sufficient number of times to bring the naught thereon to the desired point.'

While I have generally referred to the part 15 as a lever, it may, as shown in the drawings, consists of a broad plate extending over the front -portions of allthe registers. When so constructed, it forms an inner door, covering the registers, and serves as a guard to the same. When it is opened, as shown in Fig. 4, the entire series of registers, if it is a department machine, are automatically and simultaneously reset to zero. By reference to Fig. 6 it will be seen that this inner door is opposite the main door 25 of the casing 26 of the machine. Above the rod 24 there is secured a shield-plate 27, which prevents access to the registers above this door. It will thus be seen that the register can only be reached by opening the plate 15 and that with this construction it becomes impossible for any one to open the machine to change the registers Without moving all the register-wheels and so altering the previous registration that the proprietor will know that the machine has been tampered with. It thus becomes the proprietors detector, for while the registervwheels cannot be reached without opening the door any movement of the same which is sufficient to permit a manipulation of a register will move all the wheels of all the registers,and thereby show an attempt to defraud.

Although I have shown my improvement as used in connection with two sets of registering-wheels, such as are employed in what are known as department cash-registers, it is obvious that my device is adapted for use in connection with any desired number of registering-wheels, whether the same be arranged singly or in sets.

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

1. In a machine of the character described, a register, a movable guard for said register, and means for setting the register to zero when the guard is moved.

2. In a machine of the character described, a series of registers, a movable guard for the same, and means connected with said guard for simultaneously setting all the registers to zero.

3. In a machine of the character described, a series of registers, and means for causing -all the registers to detect'any attempt made to fraudulently manipulate any of the same.

4. In a cash-register, the combination with the framework, registering-Wheels journaled therein having numbers on their peripheries, and lip projections arranged at intervals on said wheels, of swinging arms, pawls carried on said swinging arms and adapted to engage with said lip projections and means for simultaneously moving said swinging arms predetermined and corresponding distances,

substantially as and for the purpose specified.

IIO

5. In a cash-register, the combination with the framework, registering-wheels journaled therein, said registering-wheels having peripheral numbers arranged in sets comprising figures from l to 10, and lip projections between said sets, of a fulorumed bellcrank lever for each of said wheels, a springactuated pawl carried on one arm of each of said levers and supported in the path of said lip projections, a fulcrnmed lever and a jointed connection between said lever and bellcrank, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

6. In a cash-register, the Combination with the framework, a shaft supported therein, and registering-Wheels journaled on said shaft, said registering wheels having numbered peripheries and lips projecting at intervals therefrom, of bell-crank levers journaled on said shaft, pawls carried on said bell-cranks and supported in the paths of said Wheel-lips, a spring-actuated fnlcrumed lever 15 and a jointed connection between the latter and the inner arm of said bell-crank, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

7. 1n a cash-register, the combination with the framework, a shaft supported therein, registering-Wheels rotatably mounted on said shaft, said registering-Wheels having numbered peripheries and lip projections at intervals thereon, of bell-cranks 9 fulcrumed on said shaft, one arm of each of said bellcranks carrying a pawl on its outer portion, the latter being supported in the path of the projecting lips of the adjacent registering- Wheel, a fulcrumed lever 15, arms 17 projecting at intervals from the latter, said arms 17 having a jointed connection respectively with the inner arms of the bell-cranks 9, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

LEO EHRLIOH.

In presence of- W. PALMER CLARKsoN, GEO. J. WENDEL.

Images