Record controlled printing mechanism

777,646. Record-controlled printing machines. INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION. May 17,1955 [May 20, 1954], No. 14202/55. Class 100(4) A record-controlled cyclically operable printing mechanism has a settable printing means for printing information on a record, a first means for sensing indicia on the record means controlled by the sensing means for causing a setting on said printing means, and means for restoring the printing means, under control of a second means for sensing control indicia on the record before it reaches the first sensing means and the printing means, so that a record carrying such control indicia can in a single cycle restore the printing means, introduce a new setting on the printing means and receive printing from the new setting of the printing means. Sensing of a record card without such indicia causes no restoration from the existing setting. Information contained only on master records in the form of indicia representing numeric, alphabetic and special characters can by this means be read are printed on both master records and a detail cards succeeding each master. When punched cards are used, a perforation and control under position of a selected column in each master card may serve as a control indicia. The repetitive printer is shown as applied to an alphabetic interpreter as disclosed in Specification 758,567, to which is added a pre-sensing station to provide repetitive' printing, but may be used with other automatic recording machines. The selecting, printing and card feeding devices are driven continuously by motor M, Fig. 2, and main shaft 27, Figs. 2, 3 which drives also through reduction gears main and auxiliary cam shafts 31, 33, respectively. A second auxiliary cam shaft 31 is driven from shaft 33 through gears 39, 40. An idler gear 34 drives shaft 37 which closes contacts C1...C6. Gears 215, 216 drive another auxiliary cam shaft 219 to operate the presensing mechanism. Cams on an auxiliary cam shaft 83, Figs. 1b, 2, 7 driven through gears 67,...70, shaft 71 and gears 72, 75, operate a digit slide when the control magnets 73 for the repetitive printing mechaism are energized. A knife member 89, Fig. 1a, secured to a sliding pusher 104 removes a card from magazine 107 and, when magnet 106 is energized, an armature 88 is withdrawn, and the lowermost card is advanced to the printing station through a throat by pairs of feed rollers 108, 109, 111, 112, 113, 114 on shafts 51, 110, 47, 43, 56 and 57 respectively.