U.S. patent number 3,692,298 [Application Number 05/066,304] was granted by the patent office on 1972-09-19 for printing of cheques.
This patent grant is currently assigned to McCorquodale & Company Limited. Invention is credited to Jack Peacock.
United States Patent |
3,692,298 |
Peacock |
September 19, 1972 |
**Please see images for:
( Certificate of Correction ) ** |
PRINTING OF CHEQUES
Abstract
To permit inexpensive printing of individual check books
containing personalised checks and other documents and flexibility
in the order of such documents in the check book, the unvarying
information and background pattern are bulk-printed on a web or on
large sheets and the web or each sheet is then cut into individual
checks The personalising and bank branch information, partly in
machine-readable characters (e.g. in magnetic ink) is added by
passing the separated checks and other documents through a
high-speed printing machine capable of being rapidly reset. The
checks travel in the direction of their lengths, permitting checks
of different lengths to be accommodated, and pass through a quality
monitor which can check each of a line of machine-readable
characters added in the printing machine.
Inventors: |
Peacock; Jack (Wimborne,
Dorset, EN) |
Assignee: |
McCorquodale & Company
Limited (Basingstoke, EN)
|
Family
ID: |
22068653 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/066,304 |
Filed: |
August 24, 1970 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
Issue Date |
|
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752233 |
Aug 13, 1968 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
270/12; 283/58;
101/93.37; 101/226; 270/58.08 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B41K
3/005 (20130101); G06K 17/00 (20130101); B65H
2301/4311 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
B41K
3/00 (20060101); G06K 17/00 (20060101); B41f
013/64 (); B65h 039/02 (); B30b 001/00 () |
Field of
Search: |
;270/1-22,53,58
;101/93C,426 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Charles; Lawrence
Parent Case Text
This application is a continuation-in-part of my prior copending
application Ser. No. 752,233 filed Aug. 13, 1968, now abandoned.
Claims
I claim:
1. A method of preparing personalized checks, including bulk
printing constant information and background pattern on check
paper, cutting the bulk-printed paper into individual checks,
automatically reading an input record member bearing personalizing
data to be printed on the checks, setting adjustable printing
members at successive stations of an inline printing machine in
accordance with the sensed personalizing information, feeding the
individual checks and other documents to be inserted in a check
book in order from station to station of the printing machine with
the checks and other documents arranged so that they move in the
direction of their lengths, stacking the documents which pass
successively through the printing machine, and collating and
binding them to form a check book.
2. A method in accordance with claim 1, including reading at a
monitoring station each in turn of the characters applied to the
checks at the preceding stations and comparing the resulting
signals with the signals derived from the input record member.
3. A method in accordance with claim 1, including advancing through
the printing machine a document which is to be bound in the check
book but which does not require to be printed at each of the
printing stations, and inhibiting the operation of those stations
where printing is not required.
4. Apparatus for preparing personalized checks from check stock
bulk printed with constant information and background pattern
comprising: a printing machine including a document feeding unit
for checks and other documents to be inserted into check books, a
reading device for reading input record means giving details of the
required printing and format, a number of printing stations each
including one or more print wheels, and means for setting up the
print wheels in accordance with the variable data read from the
record member, means for individually feeding the checks and other
documents to be imprinted to each of a number of printing stations
in succession, with the longitudinal axes of the documents parallel
to the direction of feed movement, detector means for sensing the
presence of a check or other document at a printing station and
controlling the timing of the printing operation at that station,
and collating means for gathering the individual precut checks and
other documents which have passed through the machine into the
assembly required for the check book.
5. Apparatus in accordance with claim 4, in which the document
feeding unit includes a number of compartments for documents of
different kinds and means responsive to control signals for
releasing documents from different hoppers in the order defined by
the control signals.
6. Apparatus in accordance with claim 4, including at each station
a stop member, and further including means for raising the stop
members of all the stations in synchronism into the path of the
documents, whereby each document is brought to a stop at each
station.
7. Apparatus in accordance with claim 4, including at each of the
said stations a printing hammer and further including means for
operating all the hammers in synchronism.
8. Apparatus in accordance with claim 7, including at one or more
of the stations a photo-electric device for detecting marks on
documents indicating that that station is not required to operate
on that document, and means responsive to a signal from the said
photo-electric device to inhibit the operation of the hammer at
that station.
9. Apparatus in accordance with claim 4, including at each station
a photo-electric device which senses the leading edge of a document
and means responsive to the output of that photo-electric device
for stopping the release of further documents from the document
feeding unit if the said leading edge is not sensed within a
predetermined time.
10. Apparatus in accordance with claim 9, further including a
reject station for diverting any documents which are passing
through the stations when the document feeding unit is stopped.
11. Apparatus in accordance with claim 4, in which at each station
printing is effected through a ribbon of the "total transfer"
kind.
12. Apparatus in accordance with claim 4, including a further
station at which printing is effected by means of a plate bearing
the name and address of the branch of the bank at which the
customer's account is held.
13. Apparatus in accordance with claim 4, including two printing
stations for printing the name of the customer; means whereby these
two stations operate in turn on each document when a two-line name
is to be printed; and means whereby, when a one-line name is to be
printed, one of the said stations prints the name while the other
is being set in accordance with the name required for the next
order to be fulfilled.
14. Apparatus in accordance with claim 4, including a printing
station for printing a serial number on each check, each station
having means for advancing the serial number by one each time a
check is printed.
Description
It has become customary for banks to supply clients with
"personalized" checks, that is to say checks carrying data
identifying the client. This data enables automatic sorting of
checks and normally includes the bank and branch identification,
the account number of the client, a serial number and a transaction
code. These details are normally printed in a machine-reading font
(i.e. E 13B using magnetic ink, or CMC7) and some of them are
repeated in conventional wording or figures elsewhere on the
check.
The background pattern and a part of the information on checks is
the same for all checks issued by that bank and the pattern and
basic information can thus be bulk-printed in long runs on a web of
suitable material. Another part of the information relates to the
bank branch. On personalized checks, there is a third part relating
solely to the customers. The production of personalized checks
presents further difficulty because banks do not like to hold in
stock more than three check books for any customer and in many
cases they do not wish to have more than one in stock.
Consequently, it is not possible to have long runs without
resetting the printing machine which adds the personalization
details. Sometimes these details are added to the bound check books
at the bank branch with a small imprinting machine but this does
not permit the rigorous quality control which is desirable in a
fully automatic banking system relying entirely on the quality of
the data printing on the input documents. In some cases the
personalization details are added to the basic web by the check
printer, although this is very expensive when the check books are
being reordered one at a time. A method which has been widely used
is to print the checks in bulk with all the constant information
and at the same time to give them serial numbers in magnetic ink,
after which the printed sheets are cut into folios of four or five
checks. Litho plates corresponding in size to the folios are
prepared with the branch details and from these, paper litho plates
are derived. A paper litho plate bearing the branch details is fed
into an electric typewriter controlled by punched cards, each of
which contains all the information needed for personalizing the
checks for one account holder. This machine adds to the
multi-section paper plate the personalizing details in magnetic
ink, these being different for each of the four or five sections of
the plate. The paper litho plate is now put into a printing machine
and the sheets of skeleton checks carrying the background
information are overprinted in magnetic ink from the paper plate.
Additional documents, such as paying-in slips and requests for new
check books, are then introduced, and the sheets are then bound and
cut into the four or five individual personalized check books.
The equipment on which these operations are carried out has a very
small output potential and consequently the requirement in terms of
operator hours is high and the labor content in the total cost is
correspondingly high. Another factor adding to the cost is that a
printing plate has to be prepared for each run of checks and each
plate has to be run up on waste paper before the run of checks. Yet
another factor tending to increase the cost of each check book is
the limited handling capacity of the electric typewriter which adds
the personalizing information.
We have found that high speed and low cost production can be
achieved with sufficient flexibility. According to the present
invention, after the bulk printing of the constant information and
background pattern on the web or sheet, the printed web or sheet is
cut into individual checks; an input record member bearing the
information to be printed by the machine is automatically sensed
and adjustable printing members at successive stations of an
in-line printing machine are set in accordance with the sensed
personalizing information; and the checks and any additional
documents to be bound into the check books are fed individually
through the printing machine, each check being arranged so that it
moves in the direction of its length; and the checks and other
documents which pass successively through the machine are then
collated and bound to form check books.
Thus we have departed from the assumption that maximum output is
achieved by printing all or substantially all of the data on a
continuous web or large sheet of check paper. The use of pre-cut
checks on a high speed in-line printer allows the mixing of checks,
other documents requiring personalization and other documents which
do not require personalization in the correct order without
difficulty. The stations printing personalization details may be
provided with an inhibiting device which is automatically brought
into operation when a document which does not require these details
arrives at the printing station. Thus selected ones of the printing
stations may print on a document while other stations are
inhibited.
A further advantage of feeding the checks in the direction of their
length is that it permits an in-line quality control based on the
sensing in turn of the printed characters. This could not easily be
achieved with a web or large sheet of checks because the checks are
normally arranged transversely to the direction of movement of such
a web or sheet to minimize travel between imprints and to permit
checks of different lengths to be accommodated without changing the
web travel between imprints.
The printing members must be capable of being reset from one
character to another at high speed and print wheels are suitable
for adding the personalizing details, the wheels being rotated
under the control of the data read from the input record member. A
"total transfer" ribbon carrying a magnetic coating is used with
the character wheels in the preferred machine, but it will be
appreciated that these characters would be printed in a form
suitable for automatic optical sensing if the reading system were
adapted for optical recognition.
Preferably, the machine also has an in-line quality control and an
in-line serial numbering device.
The printing of the branch name and address and the bank and branch
codes can be carried out by means of a printing plate; this is
because these details will remain the same for the printing of
checks for a large number of customers at the same bank branch.
Similarly, the overall program for a bank (for example the check
book format) is set, in the preferred machine, by printed circuit
boards which need only be changed in the case of a major alteration
in the requirements of that bank.
Edge-punched cards are inserted into the machine to give the
machine any other information not coded on the individual account
cards, for example, whether open or crossed checks are required,
whether counterfoils are required, and whether there are to be 30
or 60 checks in the books.
The personalization details are read by the machine from the
individual account cards which may be those at present in use by
the banks to control the existing machines. The print wheels can be
reset to change the personalization details very rapidly by
actuating mechanisms controlled by an electronic memory unit which
has already stored the information read from the punched card.
In a small proportion of cases two lines of printing have to be
added for the customer's name, instead of a single line, and to
take this into account the machine preferably includes two in-line
name printing stations to which documents requiring two lines are
fed in succession. Where two or more single-line name accounts are
printed in succession, the two name-printing stations are used
alternately, so that while one station is printing the documents
for one account the other station is being set up with the name
details of the next account. These features, with the conception of
feeding precut single checks into the machine, greatly increase the
flexibility and speed of the system.
One example of apparatus embodying the invention will now be
described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in
which:
FIG. 1 shows a typical check used by British banks;
FIG. 2 illustrates diagrammatically apparatus for printing
personalizing information on the checks;
FIG. 3 is a diagrammatic side elevation, partly in section, of
sheet conveyor apparatus;
FIG. 4 is a view in elevation of a feed drum in the apparatus of
FIG. 3, and
FIG. 5 is an end elevation of a face-sealing element for the drum
of FIG. 4;
FIGS. 6 and 7 are views in elevation (in different operational
positions) of a print wheel setting mechanism;
FIG. 8 is a sectional end elevation of part of the mechanism of
FIGS. 6 and 7;
FIG. 9 shows a waveform for a specific E13B character;
FIG. 10 is a block schematic diagram of apparatus for recognizing
E13B characters; and
FIG. 11 is a block diagram of the control circuit.
The check unit of FIG. 1 consists of two parts, a check A1 and a
counterfoil A2. All checks issued by any one bank have the same
security background pattern. The heading includes the name B of the
bank, the name and address B1 of the branch and the branch code
number B2. At B3 there is an abbreviated bank and branch code.
Lines C indicate where the customer must write the date, the person
or company to whom the check is to be paid and the amount to be
paid. A box D receives the figures representing the amount to be
paid. Further lines for the same information are provided on the
counterfoil. Perforations E permit the check to be detached from
the counterfoil. Some checks have no counterfoil and instead a
record sheet is bound in the check book. The check shown has two
lines F which "cross" the check and indicate that it can only be
cashed through a bank. Some checks do not have these lines and are
then "open" and freely negotiable. The customer decides whether his
checks will be crossed or open. British checks also have a
medallion G representing a stamp duty.
Along the bottom of the check shown is a line of numerical
information all printed in characters of the form known as E 13B
and all printed in magnetic ink. The magnetic ink permits machine
sensing of the characters and the use of the internationally known
E 13B code facilitates the recognition of the characters. The first
block S1 is a serial number, different for each check; a
corresponding serial number S2 is printed on the counterfoil. The
next block B4 is the bank and branch code. Then comes a block P2
representing the account number, a block B6 representing the type
of transaction (for example, debit or credit). Finally there is a
space B5 for the bank to insert the amount in E 13B characters when
the check has been presented. Under the box D is an alphabetical
block P1 which is the name of the account holder.
The checks themselves may be bound in books of different sizes (for
example, 30, 60 or 120) according to the requirements of the bank
and the customer. The check books may also include documents other
than checks and counterfoils or a record sheet. As an example, they
normally include a detachable re-order form bound between checks so
that the re-order form will be reached when there are only a few
checks left. They may also include a number of paying-in-slips.
It will be seen that a check printing system has to have
considerable flexibility, the more so because (as explained above)
banks may order only one, two or three books of checks for each
customer.
The security background pattern, the bank name, the lines, box and
stamp duty medallion are printed in bulk in the system according to
the present invention but we prefer to insert the serial numbers
and the branch name and address with the personalizing information.
This permits the "bulk" printing to be carried out in greater bulk
and the printing of the branch information can conveniently be
incorporated within the system to be described.
Thus the apparatus to be described in connection with FIG. 2 adds
to the bulk printed stock the serial numbering, the branch name,
address and code and the account holder's name and number. This is
done mainly by print wheels but a plate is used to print the bank
branch name and address because different banks require different
type styles.
The apparatus shown in FIG. 2 includes a feed hopper having
compartments loaded with the appropriate preprinted checks, already
printed with the "constant" information (that is to say the
background pattern, the bank name and medallion, etc.), order forms
and any other documents to be printed and inserted in the check
book. These documents are arranged so that on leaving the hoppers
their longitudinal dimension is in the direction of their
advancement through the machine.
The reader 10 is supplied with a master card bearing data
representing the check book format, for example whether there are
to be 30 or 60 checks in the book and whether each check is to be
attached to a counterfoil slip; and with order cards which bear
data representing the bank and branch codes, the account number and
customer's name and any other information to be printed on the
checks. The appropriate branch address plate is placed in a plate
holder slide in the branch address printing station 12. When a
start command is signalled, the reader 10 feeds a master card
through a reading head and transmits the data derived from the
master card (relating to the check book format) into a core store
13. When the reading of the master card is complete, the core store
transmits signals to set those parts of the machine concerned with
the check book format. The first order card is then fed through a
reading head and data from this card is passed into the core store.
The information in the core store relating to the account number
and customer's name and the bank and branch code is used to set up
the printing wheels at stations 14, 16, 18, 20 and 22. In this
example, the stations 14 and 16 both include groups of wheels for
printing the account holders name. If the account holder has a name
which requires two lines, a check to be printed stops at each of
the stations 14 and 16. In most cases the account holder's name
requires only one line and in such cases the printing hammers at
the stations 14 and 16 are energized alternately; the station 14
prints the customer's name for all checks required for that
customer to complete a given order and these checks do not receive
an imprint at the station 16. Consequently, during this time the
type wheels of the station 16 can be set with the customer's name
for the next order.
The station 18 prints the bank and branch code. This information is
not included in the plate at the station 12 because it is required
to print the bank and branch code in magnetic ink; the plate at the
station 12 prints the branch name and address in ordinary ink.
Two printing stations are also provided for the printing of the
account number. When the account name stations 14 and 16 are being
used alternately, the account number stations 20 and 22 are used in
the same way, that is to say the type wheels for one of the
stations are set up with the account number for the next order
while the type wheels for the other station are printing the
account number for a given order. This arrangement permits a
considerable increase in machine speed.
At each printing station there is a movable stop, a hammer and a
photocell. The stops are operated synchronously to bring each
document to a stop at each station. The photocells (shown
diagrammatically at 15 in FIG. 11) sense the arrival of the leading
edge of the check at the station. The hammers (17, FIG. 11) operate
synchronously to cause the print, if all photocells 15
corresponding to those hammers have responded, indicating that a
check has arrived at each printing station. However, any hammer can
be inhibited by a control signal, as will be described below. Each
printing station is equipped with a ribbon feeding mechanism, the
feed being stopped temporarily while the wheels are being set. The
ribbons at stations 18, 20 and 22 have a magnetic coating and are
of the "total transfer" kind and consequently a known amount of
magnetic coating is transferred at each imprint. Those at stations
14 and 16 carry ordinary ink for the account holder's name.
The printing station 24 includes a serial number generator. This
includes print wheels for printing a serial number on the check and
a separate set of print wheels for printing the same serial number
on a counterfoil, where the counterfoil is attached to the check.
The wheels are indexed to advance by one after each print. This
indexing is controlled by signals from the hammer cocking mechanism
at this printing station. The ribbon at the station 24 also carries
magnetic ink.
The station 26 contains a reject flap. Documents fed from the feed
hoppers are sensed at each station by a photocell. A photocell
signal representing the arrival of the leading edge of the check
permits the late arrival or non-arrival of a check at the station
to be sensed. If the check does not arrive at the sensing point at
a specific time, it is known that it is not maintaining a required
average velocity. This means that the document has been slowed or
stopped. To prevent other documents being fed on top of this
earlier document, the feed is stopped immediately and any checks
which pass through are diverted through the "escape" station 26.
The reject flap at the station 26 which diverts these documents is
controlled by a signal from a control unit 8.
A station 28 contains a reader which senses the characters printed
in magnetic ink at the preceding stations 18, 20, 22 and 24. As the
documents travel in the direction of their length, each character
can be sensed in turn. The resulting electric signals are sent back
to a quality control unit 29. This unit also draws data from the
store so that parity checks with the information from the punched
order card can be made. Standard quality monitors are available
which assess the quality of the print on the basis, for example, of
signal strength, character dimensions, edge quality, holes within
the character, etc.
Reference has already been made to the station 12, containing the
branch plate holder. The remaining station 30 is for crossing and
perforating the checks, where these features are required.
At the output end of the machine there is a stacking and collating
unit 32 which stacks successively received checks and other
documents until an order is completed. The stacked documents
representing the completed order are then fed to a conventional
stitching and binding machine (not shown).
The order in which documents are fed from the compartments of the
feed hopper to the transport system is determined by the check book
format. For example, it may be required that the first documents in
each check book shall be paying-in slips. These may be followed by
25 checks, followed by an order form for ordering a fresh check
book, followed by five further checks. The paying-in slips, the
checks and the order form will be loaded into different
compartments of the feed hopper. Further documents which do not
require printing may be added at the stacking and collating unit;
for example, cover sheets may be added here. Documents added at
this point do not pass through the printing stations and hence do
not delay the operation of the machine.
Documents which do not require the personalizing details and which
have to be arranged between personalized documents pass through the
printing stations but they carry a small mark which is sensed by a
further photo-electric cell (19, FIG. 11) and the resulting signal
from the latter inhibits the hammer release solenoids.
The control unit 8 is responsible for the order in which the
various tasks are carried out and includes circuit boards
representing different formats and pulse generators for initiating
operations within the machine. These circuits are standard units
for generating pulses or carrying out the switching and logic
functions required. The unit 8 supplies signals to the reader 10 to
cause successive order cards to be read and signals to the store to
cause the wheels to be set when a complete set of data has been
read from an order card and has been transferred to the store. When
the wheels have been set in response to trains of pulses indicating
the required extent of rotation, the control unit transmits the
start pulse to the paper feed system at the feed hopper and
transmits a corresponding signal to the stacking and collating
unit. It also supplies the latter with format information to cause
the stacked documents to be fed out when an order has been
completed.
Synchronizing pulses for the control unit 8 are provided by a
timing disc 40 on a shaft 42.
Finally, the control unit supplies data to an output printer 44
which prints a record of the orders completed and of the print
quality assessment. The details of the orders are supplied to the
printer 44 from the store.
It is not essential for the serial number on the counterfoil to be
printed in magnetic ink but there is one advantage to be gained
from using magnetic ink for the counterfoil serial number as well
as for the check serial number. The signals from the reader 28
representing these two numbers can be compared to ensure that the
number printed on the counterfoil by its type wheels is the same as
that printed by the other type wheels of the station 24 on the
check.
In one machine which we have built the plate holder for the branch
plate is double-sided, enabling the operator to insert a new plate
into the holder while an existing order to being carried out. Thumb
wheel switches alongside the plate holder enable the operator to
set up the last three digits of the branch sorting code. The
punched order cards also carry the branch code information and the
machine is stopped if the code information read from a card does
not agree with that set up on the thumb wheel switches. The machine
continues when the holder is turned to bring the correct plate into
printing position.
If desired, checks may be passed through a "doubles" detector
station which senses the presence of two superimposed checks and
automatically diverts one of them into a reject channel. Standard
"doubles detectors" are commercially available.
It will be seen that the feeding of individual checks to a series
of printing stations greatly increases the flexibility of a check
printing system. It enables documents other than checks to be
introduced between checks without difficulty. It reduces costs
because there is no need to prepare a separate printing plate for
each run of checks and there is no need to have a preliminary run
on waste paper. Furthermore since the positioning of the print at
the various stations is controlled by reference edges of the check
(one of these being the leading edge and the other being the top
edge of the check) the details added at these stations are always
in the same position in relation to these reference edges. Because
of this and because the checks are fed in the direction of their
lengths, checks of different lengths present no problem. Moreover
the longitudinal feeding permits a quality check on every character
printed.
A suitable sheet feeder is shown in FIG. 3 of the accompanying
drawings, which will now be briefly described. The sheet feeder
system is more fully disclosed and is claimed in U.S. Pat. No.
3,572,686 in the name of A.G. Day. In FIG. 3, a conveyor track 51
for feeding the sheets of paper in the direction indicated by the
arrow A is sub-divided into modular lengths, one such length being
indicated between the point B, each length having a different feed
hopper. Each length is equipped with continuously driven rollers 52
which project through the upper surface of the track 51 opposite
freely rotatable spring loaded pressure rollers 53. Each modular
length of the track 1 has an inclined throat 54 forming a passage
through the track above a suction feed drum 55, a part of the
circumference of which is formed with suction ports at the ends of
the channels 56. As shown in FIG. 4, the channels 56 join with
suction feed bores 58 parallel with the axis of rotation of the
drum, the feed bores 58 forming ports in the sealing face 59 of the
drum. Against the face 59 is pressed the surface 61 of a stationary
sealing plate 60. This surface contains an elongated aperture 62
with which is connected to a vacuum feed bore 63 extending to a
port in the periphery of the plate 60. The radial positions of the
bores 58 and the aperture 62 are so arranged that as the drum 55
rotates suction is applied successively to the bores 58 and
therefore to the suction ports 56.
Below the drum 55 is a hopper including a magazine 65 from which
the drum draws sheets to be passed through the throat 54 to the
upper surface of the track 1. At the side of the drum 55 there is a
belt 66 passing over pulleys 67 which assists in driving the
successive sheets into the throat 54.
The hopper unit includes a movable base plate 68 and a jack-plate
71 connected to a lifting mechanism 72. The operation of the
lifting mechanism is controlled by a feeder device 74 responsive to
contact with the top sheet. A blast nozzle 76 keeps the uppermost
sheet in a more or less floating state to counteract any tendency
for the second sheet to participate in the feed movement of the top
sheet. A suction operated holding foot 75 retains the uppermost
sheet of the stack in position until the suction at the foot 75 is
released at a predetermined instant. The uppermost sheet is pulled
towards the drum 55 by the suction at the ports in the periphery of
the drum but slides over the drum surface until the suction is
released at the holding foot 75.
The valves which control the application of suction to the drum 55
and the foot 75 are controlled by a program in control unit 8 which
ensures that sheets from different hoppers are fed on to the track
51 in the correct succession.
FIGS. 6, 7 and 8 illustrate the wheel setting mechanism for the
print wheels. This wheel setting mechanism forms no part of the
present invention and is more fully described and claimed in U.S.
Pat. No. 3,545,291 in the name of Alan Sydney Holdsworth.
In FIG. 6, a print wheel 81 journalled on a spindle 82 has disposed
around its periphery elements of uniform pitch (not shown) carrying
print type. The print wheel is formed with teeth 83a, one tooth for
each print type element, which mesh with teeth 83b on a setting
wheel 84. The setting wheel 84 is mounted for rotation on a hub 85
secured to a driving shaft 86. On one side of the hub a pawl 87 is
pivoted on a pin 88. A tooth 89 at the end of the pawl 87 is urged
by a wire spring 90, acting on the other end of the pawl, against a
bearing surface on the inside of the setting wheel 84 so that when
the setting wheel assumes a particular angular position the tooth
will enter a notch 91 (as shown in FIG. 6) formed in the bearing
surface. This is the zero or datum position of the setting wheel,
further anti-clockwise rotation being prevented by a stop 95 on the
wheel which engages a finger 96. To set the print wheel the shaft
86 drives the hub 85 in a clockwise direction and the hub takes
with it the annular setting wheel 84 by virtue of the engagement of
the tooth 89 in the notch 91. When a required type character
reaches the printing position, a setting latch 96 is allowed to
fall so as to engage the appropriate tooth gap of the setting wheel
to prevent the setting wheel from rotating further. The hub 85
continues to rotate, the tooth 89 riding out of the notch 91. When
printing has been effected and the print wheel is to be reset the
drive direction of the shaft 86 is reversed and the setting latch
96 is withdrawn. The hub 85 then rotates in an anti-clockwise
direction, initially independently of the setting wheel 84. When
the tooth 89 comes into register with the notch 91 it engages the
notch and the hub 85 then carries with it the setting wheel 84
until the wheel 84 (and therefore the print wheel) reaches the
datum position.
As shown in FIG. 8, the width of the setting wheel and hub assembly
is much the same as the width of the print wheel 81. Thus a number
of print wheels, each with its associated clutch mechanism, can be
assembled side by side, the hubs 85 for all the printing wheels
being mounted on a common driving shaft. For setting purposes, this
shaft is rotated in a clockwise direction from the datum position
and each setting wheel is stopped at its required position,
independently of the other setting wheels, when its setting latch
96 enters a tooth gap in the setting wheel.
The finger 96 is repeated for each setting wheel, the fingers
forming a comb. FIG. 10 shows a quality control circuit which can
be used for the unit 29 of FIG. 2. The details of this circuit form
no part of the present invention and have been more fully described
in U.S. Pat. No. 3,571,793 to R.H. Britt. For the purposes of the
present explanation it will be assumed that the print to be read is
in the form known as E13B. This character form is in common use for
printing data on bank checks. When a character printed in magnetic
ink passes an electromagnetic reading head, the reading head
develops a signal representative of the changes of magnetic flux
which occur during the passage of the character. E13B characters
are arranged to fall within an imaginary matrix 9 units high and 7
units wide, so that as the seven strips pass across the reading
head the maximum change of area for any character is 9 units. For
example with the E13B character 6 shown in FIG. 9 there is an
initial change (reading the line 3 from right to left to obtain
differences shown in the line 2) from zero of 4 units of area, then
a negative change of 2 units of area and so on, these changes being
reflected in the waveform 1 of FIG. 10. By squaring the elements of
this waveform in the seven periods shown in line 4 and neglecting
the pulse amplitude variations, positive and negative pulse trains
can be built up, as shown at 5 and 6 and these are sufficient to
distinguish the scanned character from any other characters in the
E13B series. Scanning of the character takes place from right to
left and the first element is ignored for identification purposes
since it is always positive, whatever the character.
The ideal character is shown in the top line of table 7, in which N
and P represent negative and positive respectively and O represents
zero, that is to say no change. It is found that it is possible to
give concessions for certain signal elements while retaining
sufficient information to recognize any character. For example,
element 3 in waveform 7 is negative but reference to line 2 will
show that the value of the negative change is less than 2. As a
first concession (shown in the second line of table 7) this element
may be considered to conform with the acceptance level if it is
"not positive," that is to say either zero or negative, as shown in
the second line of table 7. The third line of table 7 shows a
second concession in which the first element is accepted if it is
not positive, the second if it is not negative, and the third will
be accepted whatever its state (or in other words is ignored for
identification purposes), this being represented by the square
symbol.
Referring to FIG. 10, a document 109 bearing the E13B characters
passes under a D.C. magnetizing head 108 and a reading head 110.
The signal from the reading head is passed to an amplifier and
clipper 111 which converts the positive and negative peaks of the
A.C. waveform to positive and negative pulses (see FIG. 9) which
are separated to form two pulse trains and these are applied to a
shift register 114. The first positive pulse (which is ignored for
recognition purposes) is applied to a bistable circuit 112 which
triggers an oscillator 113 to commence feeding stepping pulses to
the shift register 114. The shift register 115 receives the
positive pulses and the shift register 116 the negative pulses. The
pulses delivered by the oscillator 113 are counted by counter 117
which, on achieving a count of 7, delivers an output to switch over
the bistable circuit 112 and thereby to inhibit the production of
further pulses by the oscillator 113.
The stored contents of the shift register 114 are sampled by
recognition gates 119 which deliver an output to one of a number of
recognition wires 120, there being one such recognition wire for
each of the E13B characters. Thus a signal on a particular line 120
means that the corresponding character has been recognized. When
the bistable circuit 112 switches over in response to an output
from the counter 117, a character read signal is applied to a
bistable circuit 124 to start an oscillator 125. Pulses from the
oscillator 125 are applied to a recognition gate selector 123 which
sets the recognition gate 119 sequentially to three states
respectively representative of "second concession" acceptance,
"first concession" acceptance and "ideal character" acceptance, a
recognition signal being delivered on line 20 whenever a character
passes the selected acceptance level. When the selector 123 has
completed its recognition gate setting sequence it applies an
output pulse to the reset gate 126 which resets the bistable
circuit 124 and so stops the oscillator 125.
Gates 130, 131 and 132 are each interconnected with the recognition
gate selector 123 by terminals A, B, C and D. The gate 130 may have
its connections A, B, C and D so connected to the recognition gate
selector that when the latter is in its "second concession"
recognition state and a recognition signal has been applied from
line 120 through AND gate 136 to gate 130, a signal is applied over
line 133 to a printer. The AND gate 136 also requires a pulse from
oscillator 125 (the pulse which has set the selector 123 into its
second concession recognition state) and this is delayed by delay
element 135 to allow time for the selector to operate and for a
character recognition signal to appear on line 120.
Gates 131 and 132 operate in a similar manner to indicate "first
concession" acceptance and "ideal character" acceptance.
The control system and records section are shown more fully in FIG.
11. The reader 10 reads data from the master card and individual
order card and corresponding information is applied to a store 13.
The store supplies sequence data, paper feed logic data, master
data for the print-out, account data, and data relating to crossing
and perforation of the check.
The sequence data is supplied by way of line 152 to a sequence
control unit 153 within the control unit 8. The sequence control
unit also receives synchronizing data from the timing disc 40 and
data over line 154 from photocells 15 at the printing stations
relating to the position of the documents on the track and from the
photocell 19 if the operation of the printing hammers is to be
inhibited. Finally, the sequence control 153 receives signals from
the operator control function unit 155, this data relating to the
starting and stopping of the check feeder, the resetting of warning
indicators, and so on. In addition, the operator control function
unit is connected with a fault indication and power interlock unit
156 containing these warning indicators.
The sequence control unit applies sequence control data over line
157 to the logic unit 158, which controls the paper feed and
includes counters for counting the documents which are sent as they
pass the various stations, to determine when the correct number of
documents for a book has passed; this data is conditioned by the
master data supplied by the store to the sequence control unit.
The logic unit 158 also receives directly information from program
boards 159. These program boards carry certain data which is rarely
changed, for example data relating to the general format required
by a particular bank. These program boards have output signals
controlled by easily changed wire links. If alternative programs
are required, alternative program boards are wired into the
apparatus. Other data relevant to a particular order (for example
number of books and book style) is derived from the reader 10 and
store 13 and is applied over line 160 to the logic unit 158. In
addition, the logic unit receives from line 154 the signals derived
from the track photo-cells and relating to the position of the
documents on the track. With this input data, the logic unit 158
controls the hopper feed by way of line 161.
The sequence control unit supplies output signals over line 162 to
the card reader 10, output signals over line 163 to the store, to
call up the data to set the print wheels, and print/inhibit output
signals over line 164 to the print stations. A further output
signal over line 165 supplies print-out data to the record unit, to
be described. The print stations are mechanically synchronized, so
that it is necessary to present only one synchronizing output to
the control system to identify the position of the mechanism at
which the paper can be fed. The output signals from the sequence
control are electrically interlocked to ensure that one stage of
the machine sequence is complete before the next can begin. The
sequence of output signals is such that the machine functions take
place in the following order: input from operator control, feed
card, set wheels, switch-on print heads, and feed paper. The
paperfeed logic unit controls the number of and the order in which
the documents are fed, to conform with the master data from the
store and the information derived from the program boards.
Turning now to the records unit, the print-out data on line 165 on
the sequence control unit is applied through a shift register 170
to a scanner 171. The scanner also receives over line 172 the
master data derived from the card reader and has two further
inputs. One of these is from a store and indicator unit 173, the
store of which is electro-magnetic. The unit 173 controls the
operation of the quality control 174 and the quality control
provides the last input for the scanner 171.
The reason for the electro-magnetic store is as follows. In the
installation which is being described a low speed printer was used
and this required serial input data and a print command. The master
data and the quality control information have outputs which are
maintained until the printer can respond. The accounts data applied
to the electro-magnetic store over line 175, however, is read out
from the store at the time of wheel setting and does not persist
for long enough for the output printer to operate. Consequently,
this information must be stored and in the apparatus shown the
storage medium is in the form of electro-magnetic counters with
read-out contacts.
The scanner scans the master date, quality control information and
account data and, under the control of the print-out signal from
the shift register, presents the data in turn to the output printer
terminal 176. The printer terminal automatically steps on and
tabulates the data according to a program inherent in the print-out
machine. The scanner, and hence the rate at which data is entered
by the printer, is controlled by a "ready" signal applied to the
shift register 170 from the printer itself, and by the print-out
signal over line 165 from the sequence control unit.
Print-out of account information begins during the print operation
but continues until after the end of the print operation in order
to have the quality control information available.
* * * * *