Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
---i` 2(~0;~738
ENDORSER EAMMER JOINT
Background Of The Invention
1. Field of the Invention.
This invention relates to an endorser hammer
joint, and more particularly, to an endorser hammer
joint for use in a recorder.
2. Description of Related Art.
Document endorsers are used to print
information on documents. In the financial industry,
for example, document endorsers are ~sed to print
information on the back of checks. Many document
endorsers of the past include a recorder or printer
having a print hammer and a platen. Typically, the
platen has information embossed _hereon, and when it
is desirable to print data on a document, the document
is positioned between the platen and the print hammer
whereupon a solenoid forces the striking surface of --
the print hammer against the platen to effect the ~;~
printing. A problem with these document endorsers is
that the platen may not be parallel to the striking
surface of the print hammer. In addition, the
information may be unevenly embossed on the platen.
In either case, the misaligned striking surface may
not engage the platen completely or evenly, thereby
resulting in some of the information embossed on the
platen not being printed on the document, or if the
striking surface does engage the platen completely,
the printing on the document may be uneven. Adjusting
the document endorser so that the platen is aligned -
parallel to the striking surface results in "down
time" and requires a service call which is expensive.
Some print hammers in the prior art have a --~
ball-and-socket joint arrangement, like the one shown
in Figure 1. The ball-and-socket joint provides only ;
restricted pivotability and does not permit the print
hammer striking surface to move laterally. ;
'".', '"' '
- 2(~0273~33 ~ `
- 2 - ~
' ~'~''. .
` ,: ' '' .
Summary Of The Invention.
The present invention overcomes the problems ~ -
in the prior art by providing a recorder having an
increased flexibility endorser hammer joint which
permits the striking surface of a print hammer to be
rockable and slidable, thereby allowing the striking
surface of the print hammer to properly align with the
platen.
In one form of the invention, there is
provided an increased flexibility endorser hammer -
joint comprising: a socket having a bottom surface, a ~ ;~
plunger for engagi~g the socket, the plunger having an
end contacting the bottom surface, and positioning ;~
means for resiliently positioning the plunger end in a ~i
home position on the bottom surface and also for
permitting rockable and lateral movement of the bottom
surface with respect to the plunger. ~`
In another form of the invention, there is `
provided: a recorder for printing data on a document ~ ;
when in a printing position, the recorder comprising:
a print hammer having a striking surface, a platen in
opposed relationship to the striking surface, the
document being positioned between the platen and the
striking surface when in the printing position, a ;~
solenoid having an armature for moving the striking -`
surface of the print hammer against the document and
the platen for printing data on the document, and a
floating joint operatively coupling the print hammer
to the solenoid for providing parallel alignment
between the striking surface of the print hammer and
the platen, the floating joint including: a socket
having a generally flat bottom surfa~e, a plunger
having first and second ends for engaging said socket, ~ ;~
said first end contacting said flat bottom surface and
said second end being secured to said armature, and
,'' ~ :
-~` 2~()2738
positioning means for normally biasing the plunger to
a home position substantially normal to the flat
bottom surface and also for permitting rockable and
lateral movement of the bottom surface with respect to
the plunger, whereby the floating joint enables the
striking surface of the print hammer to rock and mo~e
laterally with respect to the plunger in order to
provide parallel alignment of the print hammer
striking surface and the platen when the print hammer -
is engaged thereagainst.
In yet another form of the invention, there : ~-
is provided an endorser system for printing data on a
document, comprising: a print hammer having a striking
surface, a platen having data embossed thereon; the ~:
platen being in opposed relationship to the striking
surface, means for guiding a document to a printing
position between the platen and the striking surface, ; ~-
a solenoid having an armature for moving the striking
surface of the print hammer against the document and ;~ ~:
the platen when the document is at the printing
position for printing data thereon, and a floating .. ~ :
joint operatively coupling the print hammer to the
solenoid, the floating joint including: a socket
having a generally flat bottom surface, a plunger
having first and second ends for engaging said socket,
said first end contacting said flat bottom surface and `~
said second end being secured to said armature, and ..
positioning means for normally biasing the plunger to
a home position substantially normal to the flat ~. . .
bottom surface and also for permitting rockable and ~ ,
lateral movement of the flat bottom surface with :
respect to the plunger, whereby the floating joint
.:, . .-. - ~ . -
enables the striking surface of the pr nt hammer to
- rock and move laterally with respect to ~he plunger in .
order to provide parallel alignment of the print
hammer striking surface and the platen when the~print ,::
hammer is engaged thereagainst.
2~)Z738
- 4 -
Accordingly, it is the principal object of -~
the present inven~ion to provide an improved flexible
endorser hammer joint.
Another object of this invention is to ~ `
provide a recorder having an increased flexibility
endorser hammer joint for providing rockable and
lateral movement to a print hammer in order to provide
parallel alignment of the striking surface of the
print hammer and a platen.
~ nother object of this invention is to
provide an endorser system for printing data on a
document.
Some advantages of this invention are that it
is easy and inexpensive to manufacture.
Another advantage of this invention is the ~
improved print quality resulting from using the ~ -
invention.
These advantages, and others, may be more
readily understood in connection with the following -~
specification, claimsr and drawing.
Brief Description Of The Drawing.
Fig. 1 is a partially sectioned top view of a
prior art recorder;
Fig. 2 is a partially sectioned top view of a ;
preferred embodiment of the invention, showing a ~-
plunger in a home position in the socket;
Fig. 3 is a top view of a preferred ~ -
embodiment of the invention, showing a print hammer
engaging a misaligned platen;
Fig. 4 is a top view of a preferred
embodiment of the invention, showing the relative
increased flexibility of a preferred embodiment of
this invention over the prior art print hammer; and
Fig. S shows a check endorser system in which
the apparatus of the invention might be used.
- s
Description of The Preferred Embodiment.
Fig. 1 is a top view of a prior art recorder
10 having a ball-and-socket joint 19. The prior art
recorder 10 includes a print hammer 11, a plunger 12
having a ball or circular end 14 which fits into a
complementary socket 16, and a platen 9. The prior
art recorder 10 also includes a tubular rubber insert
13 positioned between retaining rings 15a and l'b to :
secure plunger 12 in socket 16. Washer 17 is used to
provide further support ~or the tubular rubber insert
13. The ball-and-socket arrangement of the prior art ;;;~
recorder 10 permits socket 16 to rock or pivot with
respect to plunger 12, as indicated by angle A in Fig.
1. As discussed later herein, the ball-and-socket :~
joint of recorder 10 has limited pivotability and does ~ 3
not permit socket 16 to move laterally with respect to ~ ~
plunger 12. : ::
Fig. 2 is a top view of a preferred
embodiment of this invention, designated generally as
recorder 18. The recorder 18 is generally comprised ~-
of a print hammer 20 having a striking surface 22. In .
a preferred embodiment, the striking surface 22 has . ~:~
dimensions of 1.75 x 2.00 inches. A platen 24 having .
a size comparable to print hammer 20 lies in opposed
relationship to striking surface 22. The information - - t'
25 to be printed on a document 26 is embossed directly :;
on platen 24. Alternatively, information 25 can be -:~
embossed on striking surface 22, or the information 25
can be carried on a plate (not shown) which is
separately mounted on either platen 24 or striking ~`~
surface 22. The recorder 18 includes a solenoid 28 :~
having an armature 29 which is secured to one end of a "~
plunger 36 by any suitable means, such as a threaded . ~
sleeve 30. When it is desirable to print information `; .
25 on document 26, document 26 is positioned at a
., .. ~. , .~,
~r~
r~
~ Z0(~2738
-- 6
printing position, designated by arrow B in Fig. 2,
between striking surface 22 and platen 24. The
solenoid then moves striking surface 22 of print
hammer 20 against document 26 and platen 24, thereby
effecting the printing of information 25 on document
26. It may be desirable to secure a rubber face 22a
to striking surface 22, as shown in Fig. 4, in order -
to make striking surface 22 more resilient. Recorder
18 may include an ink ribbon 21 which lies between
platen 24 and document 26.
The recorder 18 also includes a floating
joint, designated as 32 in Fig. 2, operative:y
coupling print hammer 20 to armature 29 of solenoid
28. The function of floating joint 32 is to provide
parallel alignment between striking surface 22 of
print hammer 20 and platen 24 when said platen 24 is
struck by print hammer 20. The floating joint 32 ;~
includes a socket 34 having a generally flat bottom
surface 35. The socket 34 is secured to print hammer
20 by, for example, welding it thereto. Notice that - -
socket 34 could be manufactured by welding a hollow
tubular member (not shown) directly to print hammer 20
on the opposite side of striking surface 22, with the
side of print hammer 20 opposite striking surface 22
providing the flat bottom surface 35. In a preferred
embodiment, floating joint 32 includes a plunger 36
which has an end 37 contacting flat bottom surface 35.
The other end of plunger 36 is coupled by sleeve 30 to
armature 29 as previously mentioned. Although not
shown in Figs. 1-4, plunger 36 could be an extension
of armature 29. In a preferred embodiment, print
hammer 20 and plunger 36 are made of metal; however, -
they could be made of any suitable material, such as -~
hard plastic. In addition, plunger 36 and socket 34
could vary in size to achieve the amount of
flexibility desired. A typical socket 34 has an ;~
2(~02 738
. ~
inside diameter of .SOO inch, and a typical plunger 36
has an outside diameter of .250 inch. The end 37
could be any shape, such as flat, convex, or ~ -
spherical.
The floating joint 32 further includes a
positioning means 38 disposed between plunger 36 and
socket 34 for normally biasing plunger 36 to a home ~ ~
position substantially normal to flat bottom surface ~ ~-
35, as best shown in Fig. 2. The function of
positioning means 38 is to permit flat bottom surface
35 and print hammer 20 to pivot or rock and to move
laterally with respect to plunger 36. In a preferred
embodiment, positioning means 38 is made of rubber;
however, it could be made of any suitable resilient
material. The positioning means 38 includes a ;
retaining means for retaining plunger 36 in socket 34.
The retaining means include a first retaining ring 40a ~ -
secured to groove 42 in socket 34 and a second
retaining ring 40b secured to plunger 36. The first
and second retaining rings, 40a and 40b, respectively,
could be any suitable fasteners, such as conventional
C-clips. The retaining rings 40a and 40b cooperate
with positioning means 38 described above to retain `~:
plunger 36 in socket 34 and to resiliently bias
plunger 36 to home position shown in Fig. 2. An -
alternative to using retaining rings 40a and 40b,
would be to permanently position the positioning means ~`~
38 between plunger 36 and socket 34 by using an
adhesive, for example.
As best illustrated in Fig. 3, floating joint ~ `
32 enables striking surface 22 of print hammer 20 to
pivot and move laterally with respect to plunger 36
when striking surface 22 engages a platen 24 that is
not properly aligned therewith. Angle C in Fig. 3
indicates the flexibility that floating joint 32 gives
print hammer 20. As solenoid 28 forces plunger end 37
~,`'~,'.,'~',',
' '`.'`''`"
.
2()027;~8
- 8 - ~
, .
further against flat bottom surface 35, flat bottom
surface 35 rocks and moves laterally with respect to
plunger end 37 to accommodate the misalignment between -
print hammer 20 and platen 24. This movement of print
hammer 20 provides parallel alignment of striking
surface 22 and platen 24 when solenoid 28 is energized
to engage striking surface 22 against document 26 and -
platen 24. Thus, floating joint 32 permits increased
flexibility in print hammer 20 in comparison with the
prior art, and it also properly aligns striking ~-
surface 22 with platen 24. Notice also that the force ~-
from solenoid 28 is distributed more evenly across
striking surface 22, resulting in improved printing
quality of recorder 18.
As shown in the Fig. 1, the prior art ball-
and-socket joint only permits angular pivotability, as
indicated by angle A. In contrast, the invention
disclosed herein permits the flexibility as indicated
by ancle C in Fig. 3. Fig. 4 best illustrates the
relative increased flexibility of a preferred
embodiment of the invention over the prior art print
hammer.
Referring now to Fig. 5, there is shown a
typical check endorser system 41 in which the
apparatus of this invention might be used. The -~
endorser system 41 includes recorder 18 described
above and also comprises means including a document
,track 42 for guiding a check 50 to the printing
position between print hammer 20 and platen 24, as
indicated by arrow D in Fig. 5. The print hammer 20 ~
and platen 24 are operatively located in opposed ;~;
relationship on either side of track 42. The endorser
system 41 also includes conveyor means for controlling
the movement of check 50 in document track 42. The
conveyor means has a motor 46 which drives the drive
rollers 44a and 44b. The drive rollers 44a and 44b ~ ~
' ~''
:: ,~, :.
:-"` 2002738
g : :
,:::
coact with pinch rollers 44c and 44d, respectively, to ;~
position check 50 at the printing position.
controller 48 is included in endorser system 41 to
control endorser system 41, motor 46, and solenoid 28.
After check S0 has been positioned at the printing
position, information 25 can be p-inted thereon by
recorder 18 as described above. If, for example,
platen 24 is mounted in a misaligned relationship
relative to print hammer 20, floating joint 32 will ~ ~ -
permit print hammer 20 to properly align therewith.
In addition, if information 25 is of different
heights, floating joint 32 will again pivot and move
laterally to accommodate for the misaligned
information 25.
Various changes or modifications in the
embodiments described may occur to those skilled in
the art without departing from the spirit or scope of ~ `~
the invention. The above description of the invention
is intended to be illustrative and not limiting, and
it is not intended that the invention be restricted ~`~
thereto but that it be limited only by the true spirit
and scope of the appended claims.
, "~
:,''.`~ :'~ '
''"','`.'~'`'`' "~.
"~
~,',~,"`.''
''`' `''''~`'~''''
~ ~ ',", ''~
.' ','''J:"~, '.''
. .' ' ': ` '' .
