CA1059621A - Machine for processing merchandising tickets in both roll and individual form - Google Patents

Abstract

MACHINE FOR PROCESSING MERCHANDISING
TICKETS IN BOTH ROLL AND INDIVIDUAL FORM
Abstract of the Disclosure A machine for processing merchandising tickets each having a magnetizable surface strip and a line for receiving printing. The tickets may be in individual form carried by a hopper or in roll form carried by a supply reel. The machine defines a main path having a magnetic encoding head for encoding infor-mation on the magnetic strip of a ticket, a read head for checking the information encoded on the strip and a printer for printing on the print line of a ticket. The machine further defines supply paths connecting the supply reel and hopper with the main path. The machine includes a stacker and a take-up reel and defines paths connecting the main path with both the stacker and the take-up reel.
A discard chute and a delivery path for a length of con-nected tickets are also provided by the machine, and selectively operable swingable deflectors are provided for selectively directing the tickets to this delivery path or to the discard chute. The machine also includes a burster mechanism for separating the tickets in connected form into discrete lengths.

Description

24 Background of the Invention . ..
Field of the Invention: This in~ention . . .
26 relates to machines for printing and magnetically encoding 27 merchandising tickets of the type having magnetizable 28 surface strips thereon.
29 Description of the Prior Art: It has previously been proposed to prepare merchandising tags ~0973-010 ~)5~
1 from roll stock having a magnetic surface strip thereon

2 with the tickets after printing and magnetically encoding

3 being severed into individual ticket form and then being

4 accumulated. Such a proposal is contained in Patent No.
3,651,503, issued March 21, 1972, to Harry W. Kono.
6 Summary of the Invention 7 It is an object of the present invention 8 to provide an improved, very versatile machine of this g general type for printing and magnetically encoding tickets having strips of magnetizable surface material 11 thereon. More particularly, it is an object of the 12 invention to provide a machine of this type which i5 13 arranged to utilize such tickets in roll form or individual 14 tickets of this type and to deliver such tickets in roll form or in individual form.
16 Still more particularly, it is an object 17 of the invention to provide a machine of this type which 18 includes a burster for separating the tickets in roll 19 form into discrete lengths of tickets each containing a relatively few tickets.
21 Preferably, the machine defines a main 22 ticket path which includes a magnetic write head, a printer 23 and a read head by means of which the magnetically encoded 24 information may be verified. In addition, the machine includes a ticket supply path connecting a supply reel 26 for a roll of ~ickets with the main path and a supply path `
27 connecting a hopper for individual tickets with the main 2~ path. The main path is connected with a take-up reel by 29 means of a first delivery path and is connected with a 30 stacker for individual tickets by a second delivery path. ~ -' ~ ,o~2~ , ,~1 Selectively operable deflectors are provided in the machine 2 for directing the tickets in the various paths. A ticket 3 burster is provided in the main path which operates to 4 burst a continuous strip of tickets on a perforation line in the strip of tickets so as to selectively provide a 6 relatively few tickets in connected form as an output of 7 the machine.
8 Brief Description of the Drawings 9 FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a merchandise .
ticket processing machine embodying principles of the 11 invention; ~:
12 FIGS. 2 and 3 are plan views of strips of 13 tickets used by the machine; .
14 FIGS. 4 and 5, when placed together, con- .~
stitute a schematic diagram of the principal working parts ' 16 of the machine;
17 FIG. 6 is a front elevational view of the ~ .
18 terminal end of the machine including the take-up reel; ~
19 FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken on line ;,:
7-7 of FIG. 5;(See page 2.) 21 FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken on line 22 8-8 of FIG. 5; :
23 FIG. 9 is a front elevational view of the 24 central card transporting mechanism of the machine; ~ ; :
FIG. 10 is a sectional view taken on line 26 10-10 of FIG. 9;
27 FIG. 11 is a sectional view taken on Iine ;
28 11-11 of FIG. 10;
29 FIG. 12 is a schematic illustration of a ~riving motor for the machine ~ogether with the belts '' ' ' ,, , , ~ ' ' ' ~ ' . " ' '. '

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1 ~nd pulleys under drive from the motor, as viewed from 2 the rear of the machine;
3 FIG. 13 is a front elevational view of 4 burster mechanism and input mechanism of the machine;
FIG. 14 is an end view of the burster

6 mechanism;

7 FIG. 15 is a perspective view of the

8 hopper mechanism of the machine; (See page 11)-

9 FIG. 16 is a front elevational view of a portion of the hopper mechanism;
11 FIG. 17 is a top plan view of the hopper 12 mechanism;
13 FIG. 18 is an end elevational view of the 14 hopper mechanism;
FIG, 19 is a front elevational view of 16 stacker mechanism of the machine which, as shown, has a 17 document card cartridge located in place in the stacker 18 mechanism;
19 FIG. 20 is a fragmentary top view of a portion of the stacker mechanism; .
21 FIG. 21 is a sectional view taken on line 22 21-21 of FIG. 19;
23 FIG. 22 is a top plan view of certain 24 electrical switch mechanism included in the stacker : .
mechanism;
26 FIG. 23 is a top plan view of the switch 27 mechanism with the document card cartridge beiny dis-28 associated from the stacker mechanism; .
29 FIG. 24 is a sectional view on an enlarged scale of printer mechanism included in the machine and -31 taken on line 24-24 of FIG. 4; .

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1 FIG. 25 is a perspective view of one of 2 the document card cartridges used by the machine; and (Page 11.) 3 FIG. 26 is a perspective view of a cover 4 portion of the cartridge shown in FIG. 25. ~See page 11.) Description of the Preferred Embodiment 6 Tickets of types suitable for use in the 7 ticket encoder of the present in~ention are illustrated 8 in FIGS. 2 and 3. The tickets 30 illustrated in FIG. 2 9 may, for example, be about two inches in length (or may be one inch or three inches long) and are in a continuous ~-11 strip 32, being separated from adjacent tickets in the ~t -12 strip 32 by means of perforation lines 34. A relatively 13 short slot 36 and a relatively long slot 38 are disposed 14 in each of the perforation lines 34. Each of the tickets ;
30 has a round hole 40 in one corner, and a slantwise 16 extending perforation line 42 divides this corner of the 17 ticket 30 with respect to the rest of the ticket. As 18 will be noted, the perforation line 42 does not pass 19 through the opening 40. The tickets 30 and the strip 32 ~;
have no particular coating on the under surfaces.
21 Each of the tickets 30 has a stripe 44 of 22 magnetic material extending longitudinally of the ticket 23 on the upper surface of the ticket. The stripe may be 24 applied onto the ticket 30 and onto the strip 32 by any suitable means. It will be noted that the slots 38 are 26 longer than the stripes 44 and divide the stripes 44 of 27 adjacent tickets 30 and the strip 32. The slots 36 are 28 outside of the stripes 44. Print lines 46 and 48 may 29 be applied onto the tickets 30, above and below the stripes 44. -,~ ' ' , 1 The tickets 30 may, for example, be used 2 in connection with articles for sale, such as garments, 3 for example, men's suits or women's dresses. When used 4 in this connection, a ticket 30 is detached from adjacent tickets in the strip 32, and the tlcket is fastened onto 6 the garment by means of a small plastic anchor that ex-7 tends through the opening 40 and through the garment.
8 The magnetic stripe 44 has been encoded (using the machine 9 of the present invention) with size, type, and price infor-mation, for example; and some of this information is 11 printed by the present machine in the print lines 46 and 12 48 onto the ticket so that the information is in human, 13 readable form. When the article is sold, the ticket is ~
14 broken into two parts by tearing along the perforation - -line 42, and the information carried by the stripe 44 is 16 then decoded by any suitable means such as, for example, 17 using the machine of the present invention. The corner 18 of the ticket 30 through which the opening 40 has been 19 provided remains attached to the garment by means of the anchor.
21 The tickets 50 illustrated in FIG. 3 are 22 individual tickets which have a coating of pressure 23 sensitive adhesive on their lower surfaces, and these 24 individual tickets are carried by a strip 51 of a backing sheet from which the individual tickets may be readily 26 separated. The tickets 50 are spaced from each other on 27 the strip 51 and are somewhat narrower than the strip so 28 as to be spaced from the side edges of the strip. Per-29 foration lines 52 are provided in the strip 51 mid-way `
between the spaced tickets 50. Magnetic stripes 53, , ~,~5a3~Zl .~1 similar to the stripes 44, are provided on the tickets 2 50; and the stripes 53 are encoded by the machine of 3 the present invention in the same manner as the stripes 4 ~4 are encoded. Lines of printin~ may be applied on to the tickets 50 above and below the stripes 53, similar 6 to the print lines 46 and 48. After the individual 7 tickets 50 have been encoded magnetically and have been 8 printed, they may be detached from the carrier strip 51 9 and may then be stuck on to a garment, for example, using the adhesive layer for the adhering action.
11 The machine of the invention is illustrated 12 as an entirety in FIG. 1. Referring to FIG, 1, the 13 machine may be seen to include a cabinet 56 carrying a 14 reel 58 for a supply roll of the tickets 30 or 50, coding lS and printing mechanism 60, and a takeup reel 62 for rolling 16 up tickets tha~ have been encoded and printed. The 17 mechanism 60 and the takeup reel 62 are pivotally mounted 18 in a suitable manner with respect to the cabinet 56 so 19 that they can ~e raised into vertical positions as illus-trated in FIG. 1. A cover 64 is pivotally mounted on the 21 cabinet 56, and it may be swung downwardly to cover the 22 mechanism 60 after the mechanism 60 has been moved back 23 to be in the principal plane of the reel 58.
24 Referring to FIGS. 4 and 5, the principal components of the mechanism 60 may be seen to include a 26 write head 66, a read head 68, a printer 70 and a document 27 burster 72. The burster 72 is effective on strips 32 and 28 51 of connected tickets, while the heads 66 and 68 and 29 prin~er 70 are also effective on individual ones of the `- -tickets 30 (Such as of two inch length) which the machine .

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1 is arranged to handle. Individual ones of the tickets 2 30 are contained in a hopper 74j and these individual 3 tickets are directed either into a stacker 76 or else 4 into a discard chute 78.
The individual tickets from the hopper 74 6 and also the ticket strips 32 and 51 traverse a common 7 path 80 which is defined by the mechanism 60. In parti-8 cular, this path 80 is provided by a lower frame 82 and 9 an upper frame or backbone 84 that is swingably mounted by means of a pin 86 with respect to the frame 82.
11 The backbone 84 and the frame 82 also have 12 portions that provide a path 88 leading from the hopper 74 13 to the path 80 for transporting individual tickets. The 14 frame 82 also provides a path 90 for a ticket strip 32 or 51. The frames 84 and 82 also provide paths 92 and 94 16 connecting with the path 80 for transporting individual 17 tickets to the stacker 76. Portions of the frame 82 also 18 provide a path 96 connecting the path 92 with the discard 19 pocket 78, paths 98 and 100 for transporting the ticket ~, strips 32 or 51 from the path 8û to the takeup reel 62 ;~
21 and a path 102 which is also for the ticket strips 32 `~
22 or 51 and arranged to simply direct the strips to the 23 side of the machine for grasping by the operator.
24 Swingable ticket deflectors 104, lû6 and ~;
108 are provided for directing the individual tickets 26 or ticket strips 32 and 51 into the desired paths 92, 27 94, 96, 98, lOû, and 102.
28 The path 9û is defined in part by rolls 29 110, 112, 114, and 116. The roll 114 is mounted on the end of a lever 118, and the lever is actuated by an ., ~ .

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1 slectromagnet 120. An input switch 122 actuated by a 2 strip 32 or 51 is positioned between the rolls 112 and 3 116. The burster 72 is positioned in path 90 between 4 the rolls 114 and 116 and the beginning of path 80. A
sheet material spring 123 holds a strip 32 or 51 against 6 the face of frame 82 for accurately locating the strip.
7 The path 88 is in part defined by rolls 8 124, 126, 1~8 and 130. The rolls 124 and 126 are posi-9 tioned opposite each other. The rolls 128 and 130 are likewise positioned opposite each other, and the roll 11 130 is mounted on a lever 132 which is actuated by a 12 magnet 134. A ticket pick roll 136 is positioned beneath 13 the hopper 74 and is mounted on a swing arm 138. An 14 electromagnet 140 is provided for selectively moving the roll 136 upwardly. A hopper eject switch 142 is posi-16 tioned immediately downstream of the rolls 124 and 126 17 to be actuated by individual tickets 30 from the hopper 18 74, A spring 143 similar to spring 123 is effective on 19 individual tickets in path 88.
A ticket sensor or detector cell 144 is 21 provided at the confluence of the paths 88 and 90. The 22 path 80 is partially defined by rolls 146 and 148 respec-23 tively positioned over the write and read heads 66 and 68.
24 The path 80 is also defined by rolls 150, 152, 154, 156, 158 and 160. The roll 152 is positioned opposite the 26 roll 150 and on a swing arm 162 that is actuated by a , ;
27 magnet 164. The rolls 154 and 156 are opposite each other 28 on one side of the printer 70, and the rolls 158 and 160 29 are opposite each other on the other side of the printer.

A ticket sensor or detector 166 is disposed immediately 31 upstream of the rolls 154 and 156.

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1 The path 92 is partially defined by rolls 2 168 and 170, and the path 94 is partially defined by rolls 3 172 and 174. A stacker roll 176 is disposed beneath the 4 stacker 76 on the end of a swing arm 178, and an electro-magnet 180 is provided for moving the arm 178 and roll ;~
6 176. A ticket detector switch 182 is provided in the 7 path 94. The path 98 is partially defined by rolls 184 8 and 186, and the path 102 is partially defined by rol].s 9 188 and 190.
A magnet 192 is provided for actuating 11 the deflector 104. A magnet 194 is provided for actuating 12 the deflectors 106 and 108, and these deflectors are inter-13 connected by a link 196 so that the single magnet 194 is -14 effective for both of the deflectors. :
The takeup reel 62 is rotatably disposed . ,.
16 with respect to the frame 82, and a web guide 198 (see -~
17 FIG. 6) is swingably disposed at the outlet end of the 18 path 100. The guide 198, as it swings, actuates a switch '~
19 200 located above the guide 198. The input reel 58 is rotatably disposed ^n a part of the cabinet 56 (see FIG. 1), 21 and a spring web guide 202 is provided for directing web -~
22 from the reel 58 to the mechanism 60.
23 The path 80 is also partially defined by 24 skew pressure rolls 204 and 206 which respectively have nips with rolls 146 and 148 (see FIGS. 7 - 11). The rolls 26 204 and 206 are carried on a U-shaped member 208 of spring 27 sheet material and cooperate with the rolls 146 and 148 so , 28 as to move an individual ticket 30 or 50 or a ticket strip 29 32 or 51 into contact with a rail 210 also forming a part of the path 80. A head backing roll 212 located ..

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1 over the head 66 is coaxially disposed with respect to 2 the roll 146 and is fixed on the same shaft 214 as the 3 roll 146. An electric emitter 216 is also driven by the 4 shaft 214. A head backing roll 2:L8 located over the read -~ head 68 is disposed on the same shaft as the roll 148.
6 A common drive rol:L 220 is provided for 7 the rolls 146 and 148, and a drive roll 222 is provided 8 for driving the roll 220. A motor 224 carried by the 9 frame 84 is provided for driving the rolls 146 and 148 in addition to the other rolls 150, 154 and 158 along the 11 path 80. The motor 224 has an output pulley 226, and a 12 belt 228 extends around the pulley 226 and the roll 222 -13 in addition to idler rolls 230, 232, 234, 236, 238 and 14 240. The idler rolls 230, 232, 234, 236, and 238 keep the belt 228 in driving contact with the rolls 222~ 150, 154, :
16 and 158 as shown in FIG. 9. The belt 228 is maintained 17 taut by means of the roll 240 which has a spring device .-18 242 acting on it, tending to move the roll 240 in a 19 direction away from the pulley 226 of the motor 224 as illustrated in FIG. 9.
21 A motor 244 (see FIG. 12) carried by the ~ -22 frame 82 is used for driving the rolls 126, 128, 116, 174, :.
23 168, 184 and 188. The motor 244 has an output pulley 246 . .
24 driving a belt 248 which extends around a driven pulley 250. A spring loaded idler roll 252 keeps the belt 248 26 taut. The pulley 250 is fixed on a shaft 253 and thereby 27 drives a coaxially disposed pulley 254, and the pulley 28 254 drives a belt 256. The belt 256 extends around the 29 pulleys 258, 260, 184a, 262, 168a, 174a, 264, 188a, 266, 268, 270, 272, 126a, 128a, and 116a, back to pulley 254. .
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1 The roll 258 is a spring loaded idler roll for maintaining 2 the belt 256 taut about the previously mentioned rolls.
3 The rolls 126a, 128a, 116a, 184a, 168a, 174a and 188a 4 respectively drive the rolls 126, 128, 116, 184, 168, 174 and 188 in the paths 88, 90, 80, 32, 94, 96, 98, 100 and 6 102.
7 The roll 110 is driven from the roll 126 8 by means of a belt 274 (see FIG. 13~, and the roll 110 9 has a one-way clutching device 276 built into it so that it may freely rotate in the direction 278. The takeup ~ .
11 reel 62 is driven by means of a belt 280 (See FIG. 12) 12 extending over rolls 282 and 284. The roll 284 is fixed 13 with respect to the roll 188, and the roll 282 is fixed 14 with respect to the takeup reel 62. The pick roll 136 is driven from the pulley 126a by means of a belt 286 16 (see FIG. 17) extending around pulleys 288 and 290. The 17 pulley 288 is fixed with respect to the pulley 126a, and 18 the pulley 290 is fixed with respect to the pick roll 136.
19 The roll 17~ is driven from the roll 174 by means of a belt 292 (see FIGS. 19 - 21) that extends over both rolls 21 174 and 176.
22 A throat knife assembly is positioned at 23 the exit end of the hopper and comprises a swinging arm 24 294 pivoted at 296 and carrying a knife 298 (See FIGSc 15 - 18). The arm 294 also carries a roll 300 disposed 26 in close proximity to the lower end of the knife 298 for 27 assuring that only one ticket at a time may leave the 28 hopper. A spring 302 is effective on the arm 294, 29 attempting to move the arm 294 upwardly.
, .

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1 The burster 72 comprises a burster drive 2 roll 304 (See FIG. 13) which is fixed to the shaft 253 3 and is therefore driven by the motor 244. The roll 304 4 has a tire 304a of rubber-like material on its periphery.
A roll 306 having a knurled periphery is disposed adjacent 6 to the roll 304, and the roll 306 has a flat 306a on its 7 periphery. A disk 308 is coaxially disposed and is fixed 8 with respect to ~he roll 306, and the disk 308 has a tooth 9 308a formed on its periphery. ~he roll 306 has a pin 310 eccentrically fixed thereon. An electromagnet 314 is 11 effective for actuating a swing lever 316, and the lever 12 316 carries an abutment arm 318 which is adapted to be 13 effective on the tooth 308a. A bearing block 320 is 14 disposed on the pin 310, and a burqter blade 322 is embedded in the block 320 and is reciprocably disposed - ~-16 in a housing 324. The end of the blade 322 is adjacent 17 to the path 90, as shown.
18 A lever 326 is swingably disposed in the 19 housing 324 and has an arm portion 326a that lies opposite an anvil plate 328. The plate 328 is on the upper side of 21 the path 90 while the arm portion 326a is at times on the 22 lower side of the path 90. A compression spring 330 is 23 effective on the lever 326 and attempts to swing the lever 24 326 upwardly so that the arm portion 326a applies pressure onto the anvil 328. The lever 326 extends through an ,~ , 26 opening 332 in the blade 322; and, when the burcter 72 is 27 ineffective, the blade 322 holds the lever 326 in its 28 illustrated position with the arm portion 326a ineffective 29 - to bear on the anvil 328.

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1 The printer 70 comprises lower and upper 2 print units 70a and 70b (see FIG. 24). Each of the units 3 70a and 70b includes a plurality of print wixes 333, and 4 it will be observed from FIG. 24 that these wires extend at an acute angle "a" with respect to each other. The r 6 upper unit 70b prints the uppermost line of printing 46 7 (above stripe 44), while the lowermost unit 70a prints 8 the lower print line 48 (below the stripe 44). The print 9 units 70a and 70b have their wires disposed at the acute angle "a" so as to provide greater room for the units 70a 11 and 70b with respect to each other.
12 An inked print ribbon 334 extends around 13 the print unit 70 and over idler rolls 336 and 338 (see 14 FIG. 4). The ribbon is contained in a cartridge 340 and is fed into the cartridge by means of a driving roll 342 16 having a pressure nip with a pressure roll 344. The roll 17 342 is driven from the roll 268 ~see FI~. 12) over which 18 the belt 256 extends.
19 Both the hopper 74 and the stacker 76 utili~e a ticket CaLtLiUYe 346 ~see FIG. 25). The hopper 21 comprises a table portion 348 (see FIG. 15) and a back-22 board 350 on which the cartridge rests. The roll 136 23 moves through the table portion 348, and a retainer spring 24 352 extends through the backboard 350 for snapping over the cartridge and holding it in position.
26 The stacker comprises a table portion 354 27 and a backboard 356 on which a cartridge 346 rests (see 28 FIGS. 19 and 21). The roll 176 extends through the table 29 portion 354, and a retainer spring 358 holds the cartridge 346 in position. A switch 360 (see FIGS. 22 and 23) is RO973-010 -14- ;

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1 positioned on the rear surface of the backboard 356, and 2 the switch 3hO includes an actuator arm 362 that extends 3 through the backboard 356 and through the cartridge 346 4 in the stacker position for indicating when the cartridge 346 in the stacker position is full. A lever 364 extends 6 through the backboard 356 and is actuated when a cartridge 7 346 is put into the stacker position.
8 Referring to FIGS. 25 and 26, the cartridge 9 346 may be seen to comprise an outer casing 346a and a cover 346b. The cover 346b is disposed in grooves 346c 11 which allow the cover 346b to be raised within the casing 12 346 to allow tickets to be placed in the cartridge in this 13 manner if desired.
14 The cartridge is provided on its bottom with an elongate slot 366 which is defined by side flanges 16 368 and 370. The flanges 366 and 368 are cut away on 17 their ends to provide an elongate slot 372 on the bottom 18 of the cartridge at one end. The side of the cartridge, 19 at the o~her end, is provided with an elongate slot 374;
and a notch 376 is aiso provided in this side of the cart-21 ridge, above the notch 374.
22 A block 378 in the cartridge 346 moves up 23 and down in the cartridge as tickets are deposited or re-24 moved from~the cartridge. A constant tension leaf spring 380 has its lower end (as seen in FIG. 25) fixed at the 26 bottom of the cartridge, and a roll 380a of the spring 27 380 fits within a slot 382 provided in the block 378~ ;-28 In operation, it will initially be assumed ;
29 that the tickets 30 in the strip 32 are being processed by the machine. The strip 30 is on the input reel 58 and . .

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1 is drawn from the reel 58, passing around the spring 202.
2 The reel 58 is not driven, and the strip 32 in being 3 pulled from the reel 58 rotates the reel 58, with the 4 spring 202 functioning to yield to prevent breakage of the strip 32 or undue acceleration of the reel 58. The 6 strip 32 is moved manually between the rolls 110 and 112 `
7 which are in nipped relation and are initially stationary.
8 The one-way device 276 allows the strip 32 to be moved 9 between the rolls 110 and 112, with corresponding rotation of these rolls. The one-way engaging device 276 engages 11 if there is a tendency of the strip 32 to fall back out 12 of the nip between these rolls.
13 At this time, the motors 224 and 244 are 14 supplied with electrical energy, and these motors drive the rolls connected with them by means of belts. In 16 particular, the motor 244 drives the pulleys connected 17 with it by means of the belts 248, 256 and 280 and thus 18 drives the corresponding rolls 116, 128, 126, etc. (see `-19 FIG. 12). The motor 224 drives rolls 150, 154, 222, etc., through the belt 228 ;~ee FIG. 9).
21 At this time, the electromagnet 120 is 22 energized, and this may be accomplished by means of a 23 micro~controller (not shown) with a controlling micro- `24 program (which may be also used for controlling the other controllable mechanisms and elements of the machine).
26 The roll 114 is initially out of nipped relationship with 27 respect to the roll 116, and the magnet 120 is then 28 effective to move the roll 114 into nipped relationship 29 with the roll 116. The roll 116 is driven from the ~;~
pulley 116a which in turn is driven by the belt 256, and ., ~59~

1 the roll 114 then rotates along with the roll 116. The 2 roll 110 is drivingly connected with the roll 114 by 3 means of the belt 274, and the roll 110 is thus driven 4 so as to move the strip 32 inwardly of ~he machine (to the left as seen in FIG. 5).
6 With this motion oE the strip 32, it moves 7 under switch 122; and this actuation of switch 122 may 8 cause de-energization of the magnet 120 due to the action 9 of the controlling system (such as the micro-controller) for the machine. The roll 114 is thus at this time moved 11 out of nipped relationship with respect to the roll 116;
12 and the strip 32 is stationary, with the machine being 13 in a pre-start condition. ~-14 Thereupon, when it is desired that a string of tickets 30 shall be processed, the electromagnet 120 16 is again energized, such as by means of the machine con-17 trolling system as an intermediary; and the roll 114 is 18 again moved into nipped relationship with respect to the 19 roll 116. The ticket strip 32 then advances between rolls 110 and 112 and rolls 114 and 116 until the leading end o~ , -21 the strip 32 passes through the sensor 144 and arrives 22 beneath roll 146. The stripe 44 is in alignment with the 23 sensor 144, and the sensor recognizes the edge of a slot 24 38 due to light being transmitted from one part of the sensor to the other. The sensor 144 detects the ends of 26 subsequent tickets 30 by light shining through the slots 27 38. The burster 72 at this time is inactive, and the 28 burster blade 322 is in its retracted position as is shown 29 in FIG. 13. The write head 66 then bPcomes active to magnetically encode on the magnetic stripe 44 of the leading 31 ticket 30 of the strip 32 passing through the machine.

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1 The roll 146 (and also the roll 148) are 2 driven from the roll 222 which is driven from the motor 3 224 by means of the belt 228. The roll 222 drives the 4 rolls 146 and 148 through the intermediate roll 220.
The rolls 204 and 206 have a nip with the rolls 146 and 6 148 due to the U-shaped spring member 208 on which the 7 rolls 204 and 206 are mounted, and the rolls 204 and 206 8 function to hold the strip 32 in contact with the rail 9 210 due to the canting of the rolls 204 and 206.
The write head 66 begins magnetically en- .
11 coding on the stripe 44 of the leading ticket 30 a pre- .12 determined number of counts after the leading end of the ~.
13 strip 32 passes through the sensor 144. The counting is ~.
14 done of emitter pulses derived from the emitter 216 by the controlling system of the machine, the counting action 16 being initiated by the sensor 144. The emitter 216 is .
17 driven in timed relationship with respect to the roll 146 18 which has the same speed on its periphery as the speed of 19 the strip 32. The roll 212 holds the stripe 44 of the `
leading ticket 30 in tight running contact with the write .`
21 head 66 during the magnetic encoding by the head 66.
22 The machine controlling system is also .
23 preferably effective to de-energize the magnet 120 as soon 24 as the leading end of the ticket strip 32 is in the nip :
between the rolls 146 and 204. The latter two rolls are 26 then effective to continue the forward movement of the Z7 strip 32 through the machine. .
28 This writing action by the head 66 is pre-29 ferably under the control of the machine controlling system so that the magnetic encoding begins just a very short .

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-1 distance from the leading end of the stripe 44, and the 2 writing action continues under the control of the system 3 and the emitter 216 for nearly the complete length of the 4 magnetic stripe 4~. It is contemplated that the tickets 30 may be in various lengths, such as lengths of one inch, 6 two inches or three inches, and the controlling system 7 is effective to reco~nize the difference in the lengths 8 of the stripes 44. -9 The leading ticket 30 continues with the strip 32 through the machine; and, as the stripe 44 of the 11 leading ticket passes over the read head 68, the infor-12 mation that has been magnetically encoded on the stripe 13 4~ is read by the head 68 and is transmitted to the machine 14 controlling system. The machine controlling system is pre- -ferably such as to then check the information that is read 16 by the head 68 against the information that should have 17 been recorded by means of the head 66 upon the same stripe 18 44. The xoll 218 holds the stripe 44 of the leading ticket - -... .
19 30 against the read head 68 so that a reliable reading '-~
action is obtained.
21 - The tickets 30 and strip 32 continue to 22 move through the machine, and each of the succeeding tickets 23 is magnetically encoded by the head 66 and has the encoded 24 information read from it by the head 68 in the same manner as has occurred for the first ticket 30. The machine con-26 trolling system is preferably such that, if only one isolated 27 ticket 30 does not have the information read by head 68 28 verified with the information that should have been encoded, 29 the machine continues in operation (but this particular ticket 30 is not printed). However, if the information ~,....
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~ 3tiZl 1 read by head 68 from two or more successive tickets 2 does not verify with respect to the information that 3 should have been encoded on the tickets, the machine 4 is preferably shu$ down by the sy~;tem.
The heads 66 and 68 may be located so 6 closely together that the magnetic stripe 44 on a two 7 inch ticket 30 or a three inch ticket 30 is being simul-8 taneously encoded and read, and verification by means of 9 head 68 begins prior to the slot 38 at the trailing edge of the ticket coming in the sensor 144. In the case of 11 one inch tickets 30, verifying by means of head 68 on a 12 first ticket 30 is taking place at the time that a second 13 ticket is being magnetically encodéd. The machine con-14 trollins system is set so as to accommodate for these differences.
16 Initially, prior to the strip 32 reaching 17 the roll 150, the magnet 164 is energized so as to provide 18 a nip between rolls 150 and 152. Therefore, as the leading 19 edge of~the strip 32 reaches these rolls, the strip passes `
between these rolls and is thereby propelled forwardly 21 , along the path 80. The leading end of the strip 32 sub-22 sequently enters the nip between the rolls 154 and 156;
.~.
23 and at this time the machine controlling system is prefer-24 ably effective to de-energize the magnet 164 so that the ,~
roll 152 moves out of nipped relationship with the roll 150, 26 leaving the strip 32 in a rather loose, slack condition 27 between the rolls 148 and 154 (for better printing action).
28 The machine controlling system, incidentally, is again .
29 effective to energize the magnet 164 so as to cause the roll 152 to move into nipped relationship with the~ roll ;

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1 150 when the trailing e~d of a strip 32 reaches the 2 vicinity of the roll 150.
3 The leading end of the strip 32 passes 4 through the sensor 166 (which, like the sensor 144, ls aligned with the stripe 44) just prior to reaching the 6 rolls 154 and 156. The machine controlling system pre-7 ferably utilizes the signal from the sensor 166 raised 8 when the leading end of the strip 32 passes through the 9 sensor 166 to measure the time required for the leading end of the strip 32 to pass from the sensor 144 to the 11 sensor 166. If this time is unduly great, a jam of the 12 strip 32 has probably occurred in the path 80. The 13 signal from the sensor 166 is also effective to control 14 the printing by the printer 70 so that this printing begins at the proper locations on the ticket 30. The !
16 emitter 216 cooperates in this c3se also so as to assure 17 that printing begins a certain number of counts after 18 the leading end of a ticket 30 has passed through-the 19 sensor 166. The machine controlling system is effective to print the characters desired on each ticket as it 21 passes beneath the printer 70, and some of these printed 22 characters are preferably some of those which have been 23 magnetically encoded on the stripe 44 of the particular 24 ticket 30 being printed. The print wires 333 are actu-ated by the print units 70a and 70b to print on the 26 print lines 46 and 48 in accordance with the usual 27 operation of a conventional wire printer.
28 The magnet 164 is preferably de-energized 29 to supply slack in the strip 32 between the rolls 148 and 158 while simultaneous verification and printing of the ,:

1 tickets 30 on the strip occurs, so that any agitation 2 applied by the wires 333 of the printer 70 to the strip 3 32 is not transmitted back by the strip 32 to the head 4 68, possibly upsetting the verifying action. The rolls 152 and 150 when in nipped relationship assure that 6 short lengths of strips 32 continue to travel in the -7 path 80 from the roll 148 to the roll 154 as well as 8 assuring the proper travel of the leading and trailing 9 ends of strips 32 of all lengths.
~henever the strip 32 from the supply reel ~;
11 58 is used by the machine, the machine controlling system 12 is e~fective to maintain the electromagnet 192 energized.
13 The deflector 104 is thus swung into a position so that 14 the ticket strip 32 travels in the path g8. If the ~ -15 machine controlling system calls for a length of unrolled - t 16 strip 32 as output (under the direction of the machine `-17 operator), the machine controlling system causes the 18 electromagnet 194 to be energized, and the deflector 108 19 is swung upwardly. The strip 32 then travels in the path 102 and appears at the left end of the machine at which 21 it can be grasped by the machine operator. The rolls 186, 22 184, 188 and 190 propel the strip 32 through the paths 98 23 and 102, as is apparent.
24 In the event that the machine operator wishes the strip 32 after encoding and printing to be 26 wrapped into roll form, the machine controlling system ~
27 (as directed by the machine operator) causes the electro- ~ -28 magnet 194 to be in de-energized condition. The deflector ;
29 108 is then swung downwardly so that the strip 32, instead `
of entering the path 102, instead enters the path 100.

' ~ ., ' ~e5~
The strip 32 is propelled in this case by the rolls 184 and 186, and the strip passes through the web guide 198 to the -takeup reel 62. The takeup reel 62 automatically engages the leading end o~ the strip 32 and winds the strip 32 into the form of a roll. The takeup reel 62 may be of any suitable self-threading type and may be, for example, of the type dis-closed in the co-pending Canadian application of Richard Lagergren, Application No. 198,067, filed April 19, 1974 "Self-Threading Take-Up Spool Device". The strip 32 as it rolls up on the reel 62 makes contact with the guide 198 and swings the guide 198 about its pivot. After a predetermined dia-meter of rolled up strip 32 is on the takeup reel 62, the guide 198 is swung through such an angle that it actuates the switch 200, and the switch 200 may be used for stopping the machine at this time.
The burster 72 is effective for strip output (the output of a batch of encoded and printed tickets through the path 102) for determining the end of the strip that passes out of -the machine through the path 102. The machine controlling system tunder the direction of the machine operator) determines the particular number of tickets to be encoded and printed prior to the line along the strip 32 at which the burster 72 is effective. When the desired number of tickets 30 have been encoded and printed, the machine controlling system stops the motor 224 with the trailing edge of the desired batch of tickets 30 opposite the burst blade 322, and the ticket strip 32 is thus stationary and is located with the perfora-tion line 34 at the trailing end of the desired batch of tickets .

~OS~6~
, 1 directly above the burst blade 322. In this connection, 2 the output of the sensor 14~ is utilized by ~he machine 3 controlling system for counting the number of tickets 4 that are in the batch, prior to stoppage o~ the motor 224.
After the trailing end of the desired batch 6 of tickets 30 is stopped in alignment with the burster 7 blade 32, the machine controlling system is effective to 8 energize the electromagnet 314. The lever 316 is thus 9 swung in the counterclockwise direction as seen in FIG. 13 and moves the abutment arm 318 out of engagement with the 11 tooth 308a formed on the disk 308. The spring 330 is 12 effective through the lever 326 on the blade 322, and the `~
13 blade 322 thus applies a rotative force on the disk 308 14 and roll 306 through the block 320, tending to rotate the ~`
disk 308 and roll 306 in the counterclockwise direction 16 as seen in FIG. 13. The flat 30~a is thus moved out of 17 registry with the periphery of the roll 304, and the 18 knurled periphery of the roll 306 is moved into engagement 19 with the tire 304a on the roll 304. The roll 304 is con- ~
20 tinuously driven from the motor 244 via belt 248, pulley : -21 250 and shaft 253, and the roll 306 and disk 308 are 22 thereby driven in the counterclockwise direction as seen 23 in FIG. 13. The blade 322 is thereby moved upwardly, 24 along with the block 320 on pin 310, and the lever 326 ~;
25 swings outwardly with the blade 322. The lever 326 clamps ;
26 the strip 32 between it and the anvil plate 328 and thus 27 fixes the strip 32 at its upstream side with respect to 28 the blade 322. The blade 322 continues its outward move~
29 ment and breaks the strip 32 at the perforation 34 in alignment with the blade 322. The strip 32 is held on '' ,:

RO973-010 -24- ~

5'l3~2~L
.
1 its downstream side at this time, so that the blade 322 2 can be thus effective, by means of the rolls 146, 148, 3 etc., driven from the motor 224 which at this time is 4 inoperative. The roll 184 continu~s to be driven from the motor 2~4; however, since this roll has a smooth 6 periphery, it has no adverse effect on the strip 32 for 7 the brief time that the burster 72 is effective.
8 After the bursting has thus been effective 9 to sever the desired batch of tickets from the roll of tickets on the supply reel 58, the machine control system 11 may be then effective to start the motor 224 to move the 12 desired batch of tickets in strip form out of the machine 13 through the paths 80, 98 and 102.
14 In the event that the ticket strip 32 is being rolled up on the reel 62 in lieu of traveling 16 through the path 102, the machine control system may be 17 likewise effective for severing the strip 32 at the 18 trailing end of the tickets to be wound on to the reel 19 62. The switch 122 may be used for detecting the end of the strip 32 as it comes off of the supply reel 58.
21 The machine controlling system preferably 22 is such that it renders the printer 70 effective for 23 every ticket that is properly verified using the read 24 head 68. If there is a lack of verification using the head 68, in this case the machine controlling system does 26 not print on that particular ticket; and the ticket is 27 subsequently not used. In the event that there is no 28 verifica~ion of two or more consecutive tickets 30, the 29 ~achine controlling system preferably shuts down the machine~

RO973-01~ -25-;

, -, . ~

s~
1 The ticket strip 51, which does not include 2 the slots 38 through which the sensors 144 and 166 can 3 operate, functions in substantially the same manner as 4 the strip 32, since the strip 51 is translucent to such an extent that sufficient light passes between the parts 6 of the sensors to detect the spaces between adjacent 7 tickets 50. The machine controlling system is properly 8 adjusted so that, for any differences in length of the 9 tickets 50, the machine controlling system operates as has just above been described.
11 The machine is also useful with individual 12 tickets. The individual tickets are the tickets 30 which 13 have been previously disassociated from each other b~
14 splitting them apart on the perforation lines 34. Tickets 30 of a two inch length in particular are contemplated for 16 this usage. The individual tickets are first loaded into 17 a cartridge 346 (see FIGS. 25 and 26), and the tickets may 18 be so loaded (with stripes 44 down) by moving the tickets 19 individually, with longitudinal bending thereof, between the side flanges 368 and 370. As the tickets move into 21 the cartridge, they move against the block 378 and against 22 the action of the spring 380, the coil of which rotates 23 within the slot 382. Eventually a stack of the tickets 30 24 is thus collected in the cartridge 346, with the spring 380 holding the block 378 against the stack and with the ;
26 lower end of the stack being held in the cartridge 346 27 by the flanges 368 and 370. Alternately, the tickets 30 28 may be loaded as a stack into the cartridge 346 by re-29 moving the cover 346b, elevating the block 378 against the action of the spring 380 and then moving the stack ~',` `.' :

-` ~OS~3~2~
1 of tickets into the cartridge. The loaded cartridge is 2 placed upon the table portion 348 and beneath the spring 3 352 which functions to retain the cartridge 346 in place 4 so as to form the hopper 74.
~n empty cartridge 346 may be moved into 6 place on to the table portion 354 and beneath the retainer 7 spring 358 so as to form the stacker 76. The cartridge 8 346 when thus being moved into position contacts and moves 9 the lever 364 so as to actuate the switch 360, which thus may be used in connection with the machine controlling 11 system to indicate that the stacker 76 is in ready condi-12 tion for machine operation. The lever 364 and switch 13 parts have thus moved ~rom their FIG. 23 positions to 14 their FIG. 22 positions. When the cartridge 346 is in .'!.
place on the table portlon 354, the actuator arm 362 ex-16 tends through a corresponding ope,ning in the rear of the 17 cartridge 346 as shown in FIG. 22. When the tickets 18 received by the stacker 76 eventually stack to a level 19 at which the block 378 contacts and moves the actuator ~
20 arm 362, the switch 360 is again thereby changed back to "
21 its original condition so as to stop the machine through 22 the intermediary of the machine controlling system. The `
23 stack of tickets that are thus loaded into a cartridge 24 346 acting as the stacker 76 may also be used for subse-quent processing by the machine, with th~ cartridge 346 26 containing these tickets being moved from the stacker 27 position to the hopper position whereby this loaded cart-28 ridge 346 then constitutes the hopper 74.
29 The machine may be operated for simply reading tickets 30 that have been detached from merchandise, .

. .

1 and in this case the tickets are normally manually loaded 2 individually into a cartridge 346 from the bottom. In 3 this case, the machine controlling system preferably 4 directs to the stacker 76 only those of the tickets which do not verify according to the machine controlling system.
6 These tickets then are re-read, either visually or by the 7 machine. Those of the tickets that are being read and 8 that verify properly are directed to the discard chute 78 9 and have no further use. In the event that a stack of the tickets 30 are to be encoded and printed; in this case, a 11 stack of the tickets is loaded into the cartridge a~ter 12 removing the cover 346a. These individual tickets ~0 after ~ ;
13 being magnetically encoded, verified and printed by the ;~
14 machine are collected in the hopper 76 for subsequent usage on pieces of merchandise. In the event there is a lack of , 16 verification of a ticket that is being encoded, this par- ~
17 ticular ticket goes into the discard chute 78. ~ -18 It will now be assumed that the hopper 74 19 has blank tickets 30 in it which are to be magnetically ~;
encoded and printed by the machine. The lowermost ticket r, 21 30 of the stack of tickets in the hopper 74 is fed from ~;
22 the hopper due to the energization of the magnet 14n by 23 the action of the machine controlling system. The roll 24 136 is thus raised to have contact with the lowermost ticket 30, and this ticket is thus moved out of the hopper 26 74, through the slot 374 and between the knife 298 and 27 roll 300. The knife 298 fits in the half of the slot 36 28 at the leading eclge of the ticket 30 being fed from the 29 hopper and cooperates with the roll 300 so as to assure that only one ticket 30 at a time is thus fed from the ~;

; ' . . : "` ` I . . ' . ' ' . :`. :

3~

1 hopper 74. The tlc~et enters the nip between the rolls 2 124 and 126 and is thus propelled ~orwardly in the path 3 88. When the ticket 30 coming out of the hopper 74 is 4 detected by the switch 142, the machine controlling system then is effective to de-energize the magnet 146, lowering 6 the rbll 136. The machine controlling system also pre-7 ferably is arranged so that the roll 136 will be dropped 8 in the same manner, if after a predetermined time subse-9 quent to raising of the roll 136, a ticket does not actu-ate the switch 142. The machine controlling system also , 11 preferably is arranged so that in the latter case, the 12 roll 136 will be raised a second time to re-attempt to 13 feed a ticket 30 from the bottom of the hopper 74.
14 When a ticket has successfully been ~ed . .
from the hopper 74 to actuate the switch 142, the switch 16 142 is effective by means of the machine controlling system 17 to energize the magnet 134. The roll 130 is then moved to 18 have a nip with the roll 128, and the ticket 30 is pro-19 pelled down the path 88 by means of the rolls 128 and 130.
Both of the rolls 12~ and 12B are driven from the motor 21 244 as previously described. The magnet 134 is de-energized 22 by the machine controlling system a predetermined time 23 after the trailing edge of the ticket 30 in the path 88 24 de-actuates the switch 142. The roll 130 is thus at this - .
time moved out of nipped relationship with respect to the -26 roll 128. The ticket thus is stopped just after leaving `
27 the switch 142, and side spring 143 moves the ticket against :
28 the face of backbone 84 to properly align the ticket in the 29 machine, with the rolls 130 and 128 being out of driving relationship with respect to the ticket.

.

t~
1 At this time, the machine controlling 2 system again energizes the magnet 134, moving the roll 3 130 back into nipped relationship with respect to the 4 roll 128; and the ticket 30 is then driven by the rolls 128 and 130 toward the sensor 144. The leading edge of 6 the ticket 30 acting on the sensor 144 causes reading .~:
7 and verifying actions to take place similarly as with a ~:
8 ticket 30 on a strip 32; and the sensor 144, in the case ~
9 of the individual ticket and by means of the machine con- . -trolling system, again de-energizes the magnet 134 to 11 raise the roll 130 from the roll 128 a predetermined time 12 after the leading edge of the ticket is detected by the .
13 sensor 144. ~he rolls 146 and 148 are then effective to 14 drive the ticket, after the ticket has left the control ~ ~
of the rolls 128 and 130. `. ~.
16 After an individual ticket has been mag- `
17 netically encoded and has been verified by the heads 66 18 and 68, being driven by the rolls 146 and 148, the ticket 19 enters the nip between the rolls 150 and 152. While indi~
20 vidual tickets are bainy processOd, the magnet 164 is `~
21 kept energized, so that the rolls 152 and 150 remain in 22 nipped relationship to propel the individual tickets 30 ~ .
23 through the path 80. The latter rolls propel a ticket ~ .
24 30 forwardly until the ticket reaches the rolls 154 and - :
156, passing through the detector 166. Printing is ac-26 complished by the printer 70 on the individual ticket in 27 the same manner as a ticket has previously been printed 28 while on a strip 32. The detector 166 also has a timing 29 action with respect to the detector 144, using th~ machine controlling system, to determine that there is no jamming 31 o~ individual tickets in the path 80.

.. . . .
, ,: " - - ~: . .

.. . . . ..

. ` ~VS.9~Zl 1 While a first individual ticket 30 is 2 being magneticall~ encoded and veri~ied by the heads 66 3 and 68 as just described, a second individual ticket 30 4 is picked from the hopper 74 and moves into the path 88 in the same manner as the first ticket 30. The second 6 ticket 30 is magnetically encoded, ve~ified and printed 7 in the same manner as the first ticket. Normally there 8 is a spacing between successive individual tickets in the 9 paths 88 and 80 of about one and one-half inches.
The magnet 192 is maintained in de-energized 11 condition when individual tickets 30 are being used, and 12 the rolls 158 and 160 propel the individual tickets into 13 the path 92. If a particular individual ticket has been 14 magnetically encoded and has had the coding verified, the magnet 194 is de-energized; and the deflector 106 is in a 16 position so as to cause the indiyidual ticket 30 to move 17 from the path 92 to the path 94. The rolls 170 and 168 18 in this case propel the ticket into the path 9~. The 19 leading edge of the ticket 30 makes the switch 182, and a check is thus made to determine the presence of a ticket 21 at this point. The magnet 180 is energized by means of 22 the machine controlling system, so as to raise the roll 176, 23 a predetermined time after the individual ticket 30 has 24 passed through sensor 166. The roll 174, acting through the belt 292 and in conjunction with the roll 172, moves 26 the individual ticket into the stacker 76 through the 27 elongate slot 372 in the bottom of the stacker cartridge 28 346; and the roll 176, which is driven through the belt 29 292, completes the movement o~ the individual ticket 30 into the stacker 76. The magnet 180 is de-energized a .

~a~s~
1 predetermined time after it has been energized, 50 that 2 the roll 176 is lowered at this time.
3 In the event that the magnetic encoding on 4 an individual ticket 30 is defective, the ticket will not be verified by the read head 68. In this case, the 6 machine controlling system is effective so as to energize 7 the magnet 194, and the deflector 106 is thus swung 8 counterclockwise as seen in FIG. 4 so that the defective 9 individual ticket is propelled by the rolls 168 and 170 into the discard chute 78.
11 If the hopper 74 has had previously encoded 12 tickets 30 entered into it, the machine functions in a read 13 mode; and the write head 66 is not effective in this case.
14 If verified reading takes place, using the head 68; in this case the machine controlling system causes the magnet 16 194 to be energized so that the deflector 106 is swung 17 into its position causing the individual tickets to enter 18 the discard chute 78. In case of an individual ticket that 19 is not properly verified, the machine controlling system de-energizes the magnet 194 so that this ticket 30 enters 21 the stacker 76 for subsequent attention. The tickets 30 22 in stacker 76 that have not been properly read may be 23 either manually reprocessed or may be re-read by the 24 machine. For this machine operation, it will be noted that it is simply necessary to disengage the cartridge 26 346 from the stacker position and move it into the posi- -27 tion of the hopper 74, since the same cartridge is useful 28 in either the hopper or stacker position.

, . - .: . .

Claims (10)

The embodiments of the invention on which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:
1. A machine for processing merchandise tickets in both connected or roll form and separate or individual ticket form, said tickets each having a mag-netizable surface strip and a line for receiving a line of printing, means defining a main ticket path, a magnetic encoding write head in said path for magnetically encoding the magnetizable surface strip of a ticket moving in said path, a printer in said path for printing a line of printing on a ticket moving in said path, a hopper for individual tickets, a supply reel for a roll of tickets, means defining a first supply path connecting said reel with said main path for supplying connected tickets to said main path, means defining a second supply path con-necting said hopper with said main path for supplying individual tickets to said main path, a stacker for indi-vidual tickets, a take-up reel for tickets in connected form, means defining a first delivery path connecting said main path with said take-up reel for delivering tickets in connected form from said main path to said reel, means defining a second delivery path connecting said main path with said stacker for delivering individual tickets from said main path to said stacker, and a selec-tively operable ticket deflector for routing tickets from said main path to either said first delivery path or to said second delivery path.
1. Claim 1
2. 2. A machine for processing merchandise tickets as set forth in Claim 1 and including a magnetic read head in said main path and located downstream with respect to said write head as said tickets travel in said main path.
3. 3. A machine for processing merchandise tickets as set forth in Claim 1 and including means de-fining a third delivery path connected to said first delivery path as a branch thereof for directing lengths of connected tickets to the exterior of the machine, and a selectively operable ticket deflector for selectively directing tickets in said first delivery path into said third delivery path.
4. 4. A machine for processing merchandise tickets as set forth in Claim 1, said tickets in connected or roll form having perforate lines dividing the tickets from each other, the machine including means defining a third delivery path connected to said first delivery path as a branch thereof for directing lengths of connected tickets to the exterior of the machine, a selectively operable ticket deflector for routing tickets from said first delivery path to said third delivery path, and a burster in said main ticket path for breaking a length of connected tickets along one of said perforate lines from the remainder of the roll of tickets so that said length of tickets so provided may be discharged from the machine in said third delivery path.
   
   Claims 2, 3 and 4 5. A machine for processing merchandise tickets as set forth in Claim 1, said printer being dis-posed downstream in the direction of ticket movement with respect to said write head and the machine including a read head disposed in said main path between said write head and printer for reading information encoded on the tickets by said write head, a plurality of drive rolls for propelling the tickets through said main path and motor means for driving said rolls, one of said drive rolls being located between said read head and said printer, a pressure roll effective to provide a nip with respect to said last named drive roll, and selectively operable means for moving said pressure roll into and out of nipped rela-tionship with respect to said last named drive roll so that the leading end of a length of connected tickets may be propelled forwardly by said last named drive roll with said pressure roll being in nipped relationship with the drive roll and so that the pressure roll may be drawn out of engagement with said last named drive roll after the leading end of a length or connected tickets has passed on to said printer.
5. Claim 5
6. 6. A machine for processing merchandise tickets as set forth in Claim 1 and including a plurality of drive rolls for propelling the tickets through said paths and motor means for driving said rolls, one of said drive rolls being located in said second supply path for tickets from said hopper, a pressure roll adapted to have a pressure nip with said last named drive roll, means for longitudinally aligning tickets in the vicinity of said last named drive roll and including spring means effective on one edge of a ticket and abutment plate means at the other edge of the ticket, and selectively operable means for moving said pressure roll into and out of nipped relationship with respect to said last named drive roll so that individual tickets from said hopper may be stopped in the vicinity of said last named drive roll whereby said spring means may be effective to align said tickets with said abutment plate means.
7. 7. A machine for processing merchandise tickets as set forth in Claim 1 and including a plurality of drive rolls for propelling said tickets through said paths and said rolls including a roll disposed beneath said hopper for moving a ticket out of the bottom of said hopper, motor means for driving said rolls, and selectively operable means for moving said roll beneath said hopper into engagement with the lowermost ticket in said hopper for causing the ticket to move out of the hopper.
   Claims 6 and 7
8. 8. A machine for processing merchandise tickets as set forth in Claim 1 and including a plurality of drive rolls for moving said tickets through said paths and including a roll disposed beneath said stacker for propelling a ticket in said second delivery path into said stacker from the bottom, and means for selectively raising and lowering said last named drive roll so as to move a ticket from said second delivery path into said stacker and to then disengage with respect to the ticket so moved into the stacker.
9. 9. A machine for processing merchandise tickets as set forth in Claim 1 and including a ticket discard chute and means defining a third delivery path connecting said second delivery path as a branch thereof with said discard chute, and a selectively operable ticket deflector for routing tickets from said second delivery path to said third delivery path and thereby to said dis-card chute.
   Claims 8 and 9
10. 10. A machine for processing merchandise tickets as set forth in Claim 1 and including means defining a third delivery path connected as a branch to said second delivery path and a fourth delivery path connected as a branch to said first delivery path for directing lengths of connected tickets to the exterior of the machine, a ticket discard chute connected to said third delivery path, a swingable ticket deflector for selectively routing tickets from said first delivery path to said fourth delivery path and a swingable ticket deflector for routing tickets from said second delivery path to said third delivery path and thereby to said chute, and an electro-magnet connected by means of mechanical linkage with said two last named deflectors for swinging the deflectors between their ticket deflecting positions.