The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Oct. 11, 1988
Filed:
Nov. 13, 1987
Richard J Hendrickson, Danville, CA (US);
f.m.e. Corporation, Hayward, CA (US);
Abstract
A value wheel rod lock is used to selectively lock value rods, mounted to a rotatable shaft of a postage meter, against axial movement according to the rotary position of the shaft. The rod lock includes a knife blade pivotally mounted to the shaft for rotation with the main shaft. The knife blade is spring biased away from engagement with the value rods. The knife blade is mounted to a cam follower which engages a circumferential cam surface surrounding the shaft. The cam surface is configured so that over a range of angular positions of the shaft the knife blade is biased against the value rods. This forces the value rods against a high friction backing pad mounted to the shaft with sufficient force to keep the value rods from being moved axially. When the shaft is at its home position, during which the meter values can be changed, the knife blade is biased away from the value rods to allow the value rods to be freely movable.