Variable input data recorder

Claim 1

A variable input data recorder, comprising: 1. a printing machine having a bed, a data board carried by said bed upon which printing members may be assembled to lie in a printing level plane; a roller platen movable from a home position across said bed to a terminal position and return in a printing cycle; an opening in said bed, a plurality of printing wheels, each wheel having a series of printing impression characters around the periphery thereof, said wheels rotatably mounted on a support positioned below said bed a distance to place the characters at said printing level plane; a pinion dirvingly connected to each wheel; a rack for each wheel, an extension arm connected thereto, said rack movable radially to the pinion to drive the pinion and wheel to a desired rotary position upon movement of the extension arm; said extension arms mounted to extend in a common plane with means urging each rack and its extension arm independently in a first direction, each in a path, the several paths being side by side in said plane, whereby each wheel is urged to rotate as the extension arm moves iN said plane; a row of keys of said data board for each said rack, the row aligned with the path of the related rack, each key having a stop member extension connected thereto, each said key having a first position wherein the stop member is extended into the path and blocks extension of the rack extension arm beyond the key, and a second position out of the path, whereby the extension arm will be arrested as it moves in the first direction by contact with the first stop in said row that is moved to said first position; the stop members of each row each occupying a predetermined position such that in stopping the associated arm, the connected rack will set the associated printing wheel at an angular position with a selected one of its printing impression characters lying in the printing plane; a restraining means movable adjacent said plane for intercepting said extension arms said restraining means being released by movement of said platen from said home position to be driven by the extension arms in said first direction, said restraining means being movable in response to movement of the platen to said home portion for moving all of said extension arms in a second direction away from said stop members, whereby the selection of stop members may taken place in the absence of the arms, and movement of said restraining means in said first direction allows said arms to move toward said stop members until each arm is arrested by a selected stop member.