US701243A - Stamp moistener and affixer. - Google Patents

Description

No. 701,243. Patented May 27, I902.

J. F. AMANN.

STAMP MOISTENER AND AFFIXER.

h (Application filed July 17, 1901.) (No Model.) 2 $heets-$heet I.

anaemic-c WM; new as THE imimls PETERS co, PNDTO-LITHO. vmsmucmm n c.

No. 70l.243. Patented May 27, 11902.

.1. F. AMAN N. STAMP MOISTENER AND AFFIXER.

(Application filed July 17, 1 901. (No Model.) 2-Sheets-8haet 2.

Samar lion THE orms PETERS cu, PHoTo-umu. WASHINGTON. a. c.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN F. AMANN, OF MADISONVILLE, OHIO.

ST'AMP MOISTENER AND AFFIXER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 701,243, dated May 27, 1902.

Application filed July 1'], 1901. Serial No. 68,599. (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that 1, JOHN F. AMANN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Madisonville, in the county of Hamilton and State of Ohio, have invented new and useful Improvements in Stamp Moisteners and Aftixers, of which thefollowing is a specification.

This invention'relates to stamp moisteners and affixers; andthe object inview is to provide a simple, cheap, and reliable machine adapted to be fastened to. a desk, table, or similar support, the machine being so constructed as to moisten stamps successively, feed the same forward, shear or detach the same from the sheet of stamps, and forcibly apply or affix the stamps successively to envelops or other articles or packages placed in position to receive stamps.

The constructionof the machine is such and the parts thereof are so timed with respect to each other that the stamps are successively fed to aposition beneath a reciprocatory and spring-actuated plunger,by means of which they are separated from the sheet and individually applied to envelops 0r similar articles placedbeneath and in the path of the plunger. The plunger is elevated by hand-operated mechanism, and simultane ously therewith the stamps are fed to a moistening device which m'oistens the mucilage on the stamps, the latter being subsequently advanced by the feeding device into the path of the plunger, which operates in the manner stated. The only attention required on the part of the operator is to manipulate the hand-crank with theaid of one hand while inserting the envelops or other articles to be stamped beneath the plunger with the remaining hand, the rest of the operation being automatically performed by the machine.

With the above and other objects in view, the nature of which will appear more fully as the description proceeds, the invention consists in the novel construction, combination, and arrangement of parts hereinafter fully described, illustrated, and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings,Figure 1 is a perspective view of a stamp moistener and affixer constructed in accordance with the present invention and shown applied to a table or similar support. Fig. 2 is an elevation of the same, showing the gear-case in section. Fig. 3 is a vertical section through the machine, taken at right angles to Fig. 2, showing the plunger spring. Fig. 4 is a detail perspective view of the moistener-cup. Fig. 5 is a detail perspective view of the plunger and plunger-head. Fig. 6 is a detail sec tion, showing a portion of the table and the anvil-bed.

Similar numerals of reference designate corresponding parts in all the figures of the drawings.

The stamp moistening and affixing machine contemplated in this invention comprises, essentially, a table 1, adapted to contain a sheet or a portion of a sheet of stamps in the usual form sold by the Post-0ff1ce Department, and in order to render the machine more compact for storage and transportation the table 1 is divided into sections, the main section being designated by the numeral 1 and having hinged, as at 2, to the opposite ends thereof extensions or leaves 3, adapted to be folded flatwise upon the main or stationary section 1 for the sake of compactness or folded outward therefrom, so as to lie in the same horizontal plane therewith, as illustrated in Fig. 1,.for. the purpose of accommodating a sheet or a portion of a sheet of stamps and enabling the same to be moved lengthwise of the table under the operationof the feeding device hereinafter described. The said table is provided at" one side with a gagerib 4 for enabling the operator to properly position the adjacent edge of the sheet of stamps preparatory to operating the machine.- The main or stationary section 1 of the table is adapted to be secured to an ordinary desk or other support of a like character by means of a clamp comprising an arm 5, extending downward from the under side of the table and having an angular extension 6, through which passes a thumb-screw 7, adapted to engage beneath the projecting ledge or top of the table, as shown in Fig. 2. The table is also provided on its under side with a horizontally-disposed anvil or bed 8, adapted to receive the impact of the plunger, hereinafter described, said anvil or bed being designed'to receive the envelops or other packages to which the stamps are to be applied.

The anvil or bed 8 is provided at its inner end with an upturned flange or web 9, which connects with and is preferably formed inte-' Arranged above the anvil or bed 8 is a casing or housing 10, substantially rectangular in horizontal section and terminating in line with the upper surface of the table 1. The outer edge of the housing 10 is on a line with the corresponding edge of the table 1 where the latter is widest. Atone side of the housing 10 the table is cut away or a portion thereof removed, as shown at 11, as no support is needed at that point for the stamps for the reason that they have been previously severed or removed from the sheet by the operation of the plunger.

The housing 10 is open at the bottom, and working therein is a reciprocatory plunger comprising a stem 12 and a plunger-head 13, which corresponds in shape to the interior of the housing 10. The stem 12 is provided along one edge with teeth 14 in the form of a rack-bar, which teeth are adapted to be en- 'gaged by the teeth of a mutilated pinion 15,

which is mounted fast on a horizontal shaft 16, journaled in upwardly-extending cheekplates 10, formed integral on the upper portion of the housing, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, said shaft having. connected therewith an operating hand-crank 17, by which motion is imparted to the mutilated pinion and thence to the plunger-stem for elevating the plunger. The plunger is thrown downward with requisite force by means of a plunger-spring 18, contained within the housing and interposed between the plunger-head l3 and the top 19 of the housing, as clearly shown in Fig. 3, the stem 12 passing upward and outward through an opening 20 in the top 19, as shown in the same figure.

The sheet of stamps placed upon the table is fed forward by means of a series of feeders 21,consisting of toothed wheels 21, mounted fast upon a feeder-shaft 22, ,iournaled in suitable bearings 23, connected with the housing 10 and operated by means of an intermittent pinion 24, which is fast on the feedershaft and in constant mesh with an intermittent gear 25, rotatable on a stud-shaft 26, projecting outward from the housing 10, the said wheel being equipped with a milled thumbpiece or setting-knob 27, by means of which the wheels 25 and 24 may be primarily rotated for setting the machine and feeding the initial stamp forward into position to be operated upon by the descending plunger-head. The teeth of the feeder-wheels 21 are adapted to enter and pass through the perforations in the sheet of stamps and to be received in shallow grooves 28, formed in the upper surface of the table 1, the feeders 21 being arbetween the rows of perforations between the stamps. In this way the whole sheet of stamps is fed along the table uniformly'and positively and prevented from canting or getting out of line.

In order to properly time the feeding mechanism with the plunger, the shaft 16 has fast thereon a mutilated gear 29, which meshes intermittently with the intermittent gear 25, as will be readily understood by an examination of Fig. 1. The teeth of the gear 29 are so arranged that they operate the intermittent gear 25 simultaneously with the engagement between the teeth of the mutilated gear 15 and theplunger-stem. Thereforeastheshaft 16 is turned and the gear-pinion 15 operated to elevate the plunger the mutilated gear 29 operates through the medium of the wheels 25 and 24 to revolve the feeder-wheels 21, so as to advance the sheet of stamps and carry another stamp under the plunger. At the instant the plunger is released and thrown downward by the actuating-spring the mutilated gear 29 diseng ages itself from the intermittent gear 25, thus stopping the feed of the stamps. The plunger descending forcibly detaches the underlying stamp from the sheet and applies the same to the envelop, the stamp having been previously moistened by means which will now be described.

The moistening device comprises a moistening-cup 30, provided in its upper side with an opening 31, surrounded by an upstanding rim 32, which projects upward through an opening 33 in the table, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3. The cup is provided with oppositelyextending flanges 34,by means of which it is secured to the table. The size of the cup 30 is within the discretion of the manufacturer and will be varied according to the capacity of the machine. Ordinarily, however, the cup will be considerably larger than the size indicated by the opening in the top thereof, so as to contain asufiiciently large sponge to carry moisture enough to last throughout the operation of stamping the required number of pieces of mail. A sponge or piece of other material (indicated at 35) is placed in the cup and arranged so that the upper surface thereof will lie approximately flush with the upper surface of the table 1. The open top of the cup is also arranged in the path of the outermost row of stamps, so that as the stamps are fed beneath the plunger they are dragged across the wet surface of the sponge and the mucilage thereon moistened preparatory to the severing of the stamps from the sheet and their application successively to the pieces of mail. It is also intended to inclose the gearing, together with the reciprocatory plungerstem, by means of a suitable sheet-metal gearcase 36 (illustrated in section in Figs. 2 and 3) and offset or extended, as shown at 37, to conform to the projection caused by the several gear-wheels hereinabove referred to. The gear-case may be made in sections, and the ranged a distance apart equal to the distance 1 sections thereof may be connected together and attached to the machine-frame in any convenient manner. The upper portion 38 of the housing is also by preference made removable, as indicated in Figs. 2 and 3, so that access can be had to the plunger and its spring for the purpose of cleaning and repair.

The machine hereinabove described is simple and economical in construction and reliable in operation and will be found of great convenience in stamping mail-matter, in that a very large amount of mail-matter may be handled as compared with the old hand stamping process. The operator has only to revolve the hand-crank and to successively feed the envelops or other articles upon the anvil and beneath the plunger. The feeding of the stamps and the descent of the plunger at the proper time are attended to automatically by the machine.

It will be understood that the invention is susceptible of various changes in the form, proportion, and the minor details of construction, which may accordingly be resorted to without departing from the principle or sacrificing any of the advantages of this invention.

Having thus described the invention, What is claimed, and desired to be secured by Letters Patent, is

1. In a stamp-afiixing machine, the combination with an anvil and a stamp-supporting table; and a housing secured to the table above the anvil and having upwardly extends ing cheek-plates on the upper portion thereof, of a plunger within the housing operating in connection with the anvil, a toothed stem connected with the plunger and projecting upwardly between the said cheek-plates, a spring for driving the plunger downward, a transverse driving-shaft journaled in the said cheek-plates, a mutilated gear on said shaft and meshing with the plunger-stem teeth, a stamp-feeding mechanism, and operative connections between the mutilated gear and feeding mechanism whereby the feeding mechanism is checked simultaneously with the tripping of the plunger.

2. In a stamp-affixing machine, the combination with a stamp-supporting table having a plunger-housing secured thereon, of a reciprocatory plunger positioned in said housing, means for operating the said plunger; of a feeder-shaft geared to the operating mechanism and extending transversely of the table, and a series of toothed feeder-Wheels mounted on said shaft and spaced apart so that the teeth on the wheels will enter the perforations in the sheet of stamps.

In testimony whereof I aifix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JOHN F. AMANN.

Witnesses:

F. S. HASTINGS, B. H. STrrEs.

Images