An imprinter apparatus which utilizes a print roller traveling within a carraige over a base plate is provided with a rolling assembly which engages channels in the base plate to minimize play between the carriage and the base plate. The rolling assembly includes a first set of rollers which are laterally constrained within the carriage, a second set of rollers which are free to move laterally, and means for retaining the rollers in the channels. The imprinter apparatus is further provided with means for selectively lifting and lowering the print roller at the end and beginning of the print stroke. The lifting and lowering means includes inclined planar regions on a plastic molded print roller axle and cam means for laterally sliding the location of support of the axle along the inclined planar surface to selectively lift and lower the print roller.
An imprinter apparatus selectively raises and lowers a print roll (100 or 102) over a print bed (12) for receiving a station plate and conventional credit card to produce a receipt for a credit transaction. The print rolls are freely suspended from a cross member (60) of the carriage (14) for independent pendulous movement that is restricted in one direction to provide pressure for printing and less restricted in the return direction to avoid ghosting. The trolley for the carriage includes a nylon slipper (130) which has on one surface axles for wheels (50-52) that run on the lower side of the print bed (12) and a slider (144) on the upper print bed side; on the other side of slipper (130), pins (140, 142) are provided that protrude through the steel carriage wall (62 or 64) for preventing relative movement between the trolley and the carriage (12). The various parts are designed to fit together with a minimum of secondary operations to reduce manufacturing costs.
An imprinter (10) for imprinting a formset (12) with embossed data from a card (14) and a plate (16) in accordance with the invention includes a flatbed (20) having a top surface (22) on which the card and the plate are held below the formset during imprinting; a movable carriage (24) having at least one rolling platen (48 and 50) with the at least one rolling platen imprinting the embossed data during movement along the flatbed; and a single piece skirt (26) having a periphery (28) which extends peripherally outside the flatbed and which is attached to the flatbed to from a unitary structure of the flatbed and the skirt with the skirt having a plurality of projections (30 and 32) extending inward onto the top surface of the flatbed with the projections defining a card receiving surface area (34) on the top surface of the flatbed for holding the card during imprinting and a formset receiving area (36) on the top surface of the flatbed for holding the formset during imprinting.
A guide roller for a printing press is designed to prevent foreign matters, such as ink or so forth from adhering on the peripheral surface thereof and to sweep up the peripheral surface by a traveling web. The guide roller comprises a roller body having a peripheral surface to contact with a traveling web. The roller body incorporates a first peripheral surface for converting the traveling speed of the web into a first rotational speed and a second peripheral surface having a different geometry to the first peripheral surface for converting the traveling speed of the web into a second rotational speed, the second peripheral surface being cooperative with the first peripheral surface for interacting the second rotational speed with the first rotational speed for determining a rotational speed of the guide roller so that the peripheral speed of the guide roller is differentiated from the traveling speed of the web.
An imprinter in accordance with the invention includes a base (31) having a flatbed (32) for receiving a station plate (33) and a credit card (34) to be imprinted on a print receiving element and a carriage 29 movable in first and second directions to cause imprinting, respectively, by first and second rolling platens 42 and 44 each having an axle 50 rotatably supported in the carriage in opposed downwardly extending members (52) of the carriage. First and second pairs of openings (54) retain the axles (50) of the first and second rolling platens and have a length (58) and height (60) greater than the diameter of the axle which permits the axles of the rolling platens to move in the direction of motion during imprinting to provide alignment with first, second, third and fourth stops (70, 72, 74, 76) in the imprinting direction at one end (63) of the openings and further to permit orthogonal movement upward from the flatbed when an outside periphery (65) of one of the rolling platens has insufficient clearance to clear the station plate or credit card. The stops limit travel of the axle of the rolling platens orthogonally away from the base during imprinting to establish a position of the first and second rolling platens during imprinting relative to the flatbed.
