US824920A - Clearing-house machine. - Google Patents

Description

No. 824,920. PATENTED JULY 3, 1906. J. H. ERIGKSON.- CLEARING HOUSE MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED DEU.19, 1905.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

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No. 824,920. PATBNTED JULY 3 1966.

J. H. ERIGKSON. CLEARING HOUSE MACHINE.

' APPLICATION FILED 11110.19, 1905.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2.

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NITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 3, 1906.

Application filed December 19, 1905. Serial No. 292,603.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JOSEPH H. EmoKsoN', a citizen of the United States, residin in the city and county of San Francisco an State of California, have invented new and useful Improvements in Clearing-House Machines, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to an apparatus which is designed for the rapid-disposal of checks and the like in the transactions of clearing-houses.

It consists in the combination of mechanism and in details of construction which will be more fully explained by reference to the accompanying drawin s, in which Figure 1 is aside e evation. Fig. 2 is a plan view. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal vertical section. Fi 4 is a plan view of the suctionshoe, partial y broken away. Fig. 5 is a bottom view ofsame. Fig. 6 is a section on line B B of Fig. 4.

It is the object of m apparatus to provide a mechanism by w ich the large numbers of checks which are handled throu h clearin -houses may be rapidly and correctly marke and disposed of. I

In the mechanical construction as here shown A is a hollow base having a pi e connection 2 with any suitably-dispose vacuum-producing apparatus. Such an apparatus may be in the form of a pump, as shown at 3, and the piston reciprocating within the pump may be connected by rods 4 with an eccentric or crank 5 on the main shaft, whereby the constant movement of the pump when the apparatus is in use will create a vacuum within the chamber A. Motion may be communicated to the moving parts by any suitable motor, as at 6.

In the upper part of the apparatus is a receptacle 7 of sufiicient length and width to contain checks of all the sizes which it may be needed to handle. These checks are laid in as smoothly as possible upon a rigid movable bottom 8. This bottom is normally lifted by the action of weights, as at 9, cords 10 passing over pulleys, as at 11, atthe opposite sides of the chambers 7 and connecting with the bottom 8. Pressureisapplied upon the checks to keep them smoot and'by -means of rollers or other pressure attachments, as at 13, which limit the upward movement of the checks, holding them in one position, and they ressure of the late8 keeps them sufficient y smooth for rther operation. This operation consists in drawin one check at a time from the top of the pifie and delivering it between rollers 14 and 15, the roller 15 carrying a stamp 16, which impresses the clearing-house mark and date upon each check as it is passed between the rollers. In the present case I have shown' the upper roller 14 as having the central portion shghtly less in diameter than the end portions, and the end portions contact with corresponding end portions of the roller 15, thus bringing sufiicient pressure upon the edges of each check or paper to insure its being passed between the rollers and the stamp 16. Its curved face having such a radius from the center it will impress each check against the central portion of the roller 14 as itpasses, thus making the re uired im rint. After passing between the r0 one the c ecks may be delivered in their order into a chute, as at 17, and passed down into a receiver beneath, as at 18, or they may be 0 disposed of. It will be understood t at the stamp 16 will be ke t in constant condition for use by means 0 inking-rollers, as at 19, disposed in any suitable or well-known manner.

In order to lift and deliver the checks from the chamber 7 to pass between the rollers 14 15, the rollers 13 are so located as to allow the ends of the checks to be exposed.

20 is a suction shoe or foot connected by a flexible pipe 21 and other suitable conductors, as at 22, with the vacuum-chamber A, previously described. The flexible tube 21 allows for a suflicient reciprocating movement of the shoe or foot, as will be herein erwise after described. This part 20 has openings made in the bottom, as at 23 .These may preferably be made, as shown in Fig. 5, wit a sufficient number of intervening bars or surfaces to prevent the ,thin paper of the.

check being sucked u into the shoe, and the o enings may be ma e of such size that when t e device is placed upon the check the suction will be Sll'iIlClGIlt to cause the check to adhere while the device is being advanced to ull the check from beneath the rollers 13..

be a forward movement of the device 20. The device has arms or guides, as at 25, which enter curved slots 26 in plates upon either side of its line of travel.

26 re resents arms on the part 20, which arms ri ing on'the raised edges 26 act to lift the front end of 20, with its adherent check, at the beginningof its forward move ment.

The ends of. the arms 25 projectthrough the slots 26 to be connected With fulcrumed arms 27. The fulcrum of these arms is below the crank or eccentric-rod 4, and the upper end connecting with the arms 25 it will be is seen that the reciprocation of the connectingrods 4 will cause the arms 27 to move and carry with them the device 20. The curvature of the guide-slots 26 is upon the same radius as that of the arm 27. The first forward movement of the part will raise it and the front end of the check which is adherent to it, and it will-be advanced with the endof the check projecting, as. shown, suflici ently so that when the device has reached the end of the slot 26 the end of the check will have entered between the rollers 14 15. At this instant the valve 24 is shifted so as to close the suction-port and to bring another port 28 to coincide with an open port in the top of the device 20, thus allowing the pressure to be equalized within-the part 20 and the check to be released just at the instant when the rollers take hold of it, and it will then be free to pass between the rollers and receive its stamp. The return reciprocation of the connecting-rod 4 acts through the arm 27 to return the device to its position and depress it again upon the surface of the pile of checks. The operation will then be continued, the checks being constantly lifted and held with a light pressure against the rollers 13 and being at the same time sufficiently yielding to be drawn out one by one by this apparatus.

The movement of the valve 24 may be effected in any desired manner. I have here shown a method in which projections 30 extend from the top of the valve through slots or channels in the top of the shoe 20, and these pro'ections contact with suitable stops 31 at eac end of the travel of the shoe, and thus act to shift the valve. As the valve I slides air-tight against the to of the case, it will be understood that the s ots will not be ex osed so as to cause leakage through them. 55 y the use of the chute 17 or an equivalent device the checks or other papers are placed in the receiver 18 in the same relative position as when in the receiver 7, and their consecutivemembers are maintained in the pro er order.

aving thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Pat.- ent, is 1. In an-apparatus forthe transfer of checks, 65 a containing-chamber,means for maintaining the upper surface of the checks at a substan tially constant level, a shoe, connections between the shoe and means for producing a. vacuum, a valve slidable longitudinally-having two ports one of which is adapted to alternately connect its interior with the vacuum device, and to close the vacuum'device, and the other is adapted to open a port leading to the atmosphere when said vacuum device is closed, means by which the shoe' is first 7 5 placed upon the top of a check and the vacuum produced and subsequently moved to withdraw the check from its position, said valve having a projecting member, and a stop fixed in the path of travel of the shoe and adapted to be engaged by said projecting member at substantially the end of the travel of the shoe whereby the valve is shifted to cut off the vacuum and release the check.

2. In an apparatus for transferrin checks, 8 5 a containing-chamber, an upward -acting pressure-plate upon which the checks are laid Within the chamber, uide-rollers in the upper' part against which t e upper check contacts and by which a constant level is maintained with the ends of the check. projecting beyond one of the guide-rollers, a hollow shoe having a flexible connection with a vacuum-producing device, means by which the shoe is pressed upon the surface of the upper check and subsequently raised and moved forward, connection between the shoe and the vacuumproducing device, a valve within the shoe havmg ports, means by which one of said ports is brought to coincide with the vacuum-tube too when the shoe rests upon the surface of the check, and means by which the valve is shifted to close the vacuum connection and open the shoe to the atmos here at the endof the forward travel of the s cc whereby the check I0 5 is released. 7

3. In an apparatus for transferring and stamping checks, a chamber adapted to receive and contain checks, means by which the upper surface of the checks is maintained I Ic at a constant level, a shoe having a flexible connection between itself and the vacuumproducing device, means whereby the shoe-is pressed upon the uppermost check, and a vacuum roduced to cause the check to adhere to t e. shoe, means by which the shoe is moved forward-to withdraw the check from its position, said last means includinga fulcrumed reciprocating lever, connections between said lever and the shoe, and connections between the lever and the vacuum-producing device, rollers between which the end of the check is presented and an impression-stamp carried by one of the rollers.

4. An apparatus for stamping checks, 8, chamber within which the checks are placed,

a vertically-movable bottom to said chamber and means by which it is raised, rollers forming a guide to maintain the surface of the papers at a constant level, a shoe and flexible 1 0 connections between it and a vacuum-producin device, a valve and operating means where y the interior of the shoe is alternatel connected with the vacuum device and Wit the open air, means for raising and reciprocating the shoe, said means consisting of a fulcrumed reciprocating lever, connections between said lever and the shoe and guides between 'which the shoe is movable.

5. In an apparatus for transferring papers, a containing-chamber for the papers, a vertically-movable platform upon WhlOh the pile of papers rests, pressure devices against which the upper paper of the pile is pressed whereby the upward movement of the papers is limited, a vacuum-shoe, means for alternately ap plying it to the topmost pa er and removing said paper, and means by w ich the front end of the shoe is lifted at the instant of its first forward movement said last means including substantially a cam-track and a member on the shoe traversable thereon.

6. In an apparatus for transferring checks, a containing-compartment, means for maintainin the upper surface of the checks at a norma level, a vacuum-shoe, means by which it is depressed upon the exposed end of a check, a valve in said shoe, means by which the valve is moved and an internal vacuum produced when the shoe rests upon the check,

means including substantially a cam track and a member on the shoe traversable thereon by which the forward end of the shoe is tilted upward, and moved forward wlth the adherin check, impression-rollers between which the end of the check is placed, and a chute and receiver by which the relative position of the checks is maintained.

7. In an apparatus for transferring and stamping checks a unitary casing having two chambers one serving as an initial container for checks, and the other a receiver for stamped checks, a'vacuum-producing mechanism and a transferring-shoe connected therewith, impression-rollers and means by which the shoe is reciprocated to deliver the checks successively from the container to the rollers, and a conducting-chute into which the checks are delivered from the rollers back into the casing and into the receiving-chamber thereof and by which they are successively placed in their ori inal order.

In testimony w ereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JOSEPH H. ERICKSON Witnesses:

S. H. NOURSE, J. MEININGER.

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