US3151863A

US3151863A - Control for card feed

Info

Publication number: US3151863A
Application number: US183616A
Authority: US
Inventors: Joseph B Lohr
Original assignee: Monroe Int
Current assignee: MONROE INTERNATIONAL CORP
Priority date: 1962-03-29
Filing date: 1962-03-29
Publication date: 1964-10-06
Anticipated expiration: 1981-10-06

Description

J. B. LOHR CONTROL F Oct. 6, 1964 OR CARD FEED Filed March 29 FIG.

r0 Q m FIG.2

INVENTOR. JOSEPH B LOH R AGENT United States Patent 3,151,863 CONTROL FOR CARD FEED Joseph B. Lohr, Wayne, N.J., assignor to Monroe International Corporation, a corporation of Delaware Filed Mar. 29, 1962, Ser. No. 183,616 4 Claims. (Cl. 271-18) The present invention has relation to an improvement for record card feed devices of the type employed in connection with tabulating machines or the like, and more particularly to a means for assuring that record cards fed seriatim from a stacked hopper will be brought to the usual data analyzing station in a successive single order manner.

Apparatus of the above type usually comprise a magazine within which record cards are stacked and either a picker device or a feed belt card conveyor acts to feed the cards singly from the bottom of the stack along a plane normal to the stacked cards. The cards are fed from the magazine through a suitable throat opening which usually includes a cam plate adapted for guiding the card into a suitable card passage where the card is conveyed to known data analyzing devices. While the throat opening of the magazine is constructed to normally restrict passage to one card at a time it has been found that frequently due to irregularities of card thickness and to changes in the coeflicient of friction thereof caused by climatic conditions, ink dyes etc., more than one card at a time is apt to be forced along the cam plate and out through the throat opening. This, because of card overlap will cause a misinterpretation of the information thereon to occur at the data analyzing station.

An object of the present invention is to obviate such a condition by providing special card stop means to assure that only one card at any given time is moved to the analyzing station.

The manner in which the above and other objects are accomplished together with the advantages and features of the invention, will appear more fully from the following detailed description and drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a left side elevation of a card hopper with the casing broken away, showing the stacked cards and card feeding devices.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged detail left side elevation showing the means for preventing more than one card at any one time from advancing to the sensing station.

FIG. 3 is a front view of the parts of FIG. 2.

The invention is shown in relation to the devices disclosed in US. Patent 2,938,667 issued May 31, 1960, to Fritz A. Deutsch and assigned to the Monroe Calculating Machine Company.

With reference to the drawings, the card magazine is formed with a base plate 11 and side guide plates 12 and 13, the near plate 12 in the drawings being cut away so as to expose the record cards 14 stacked within the magazine.

Vertical end guides

15 and 16 complete the card enclosure and it will be observed that the lower terminal portion of the vertically disposed guide wall 16 terminates in a finger 17 which is angularly disposed in the direction of movement of the record cards, indicated by the arrow.

Extending beneath the cards 14, stacked within magazine 10, is a pair of horizontally disposed parallel spaced conveyor belts 1819 driven continuously by suitable means well known to the art. Finger 17 is disposed very close to the conveyor belts 18-19 but is raised slightly thereabove just suflicient to provide a throat opening through which one card at a time is designed normally to be fed out of the magazine and to the analyzing station, indicated by the sensing wheel 20.

Secured by means of studs 21 to the plate 16 and spaced forwardly therefiom by suitable spacing collars 22 is a 3,151,863 Patented Oct. 6, 1964 frame plate 23 having provided at the right and left ends thereof forwardly

bent projections

24, 25 respectively. Pivotally mounted at 26, 27 upon each of the

respective projections

24, 25 are similar bell crank levers 28', 29 having each an inwardly extending projection 30 overlying the card passage. Each of said bell crank levers is biased in a counterclockwise direction by

respective springs

31, 32. Thus projections 39 are held normally in engagement with the top surface of base plate 11 and in manner angularly disposed thereto whereby to receive an advancing card.

Plate 23 extends downwardly to present a wall in a plane perpendicular to the movement of any card and ends just short of the base plate 11 sufficient to permit a single card at a time to pass beneath said plate. It will be observed that as any single card is advanced past the first throat opening, formed by the angular member 17, the forward edge of the card engages the angularly disposed projections 34) and will be held firmly against the surface of base plate 11 by the

yieldable bell cranks

28, 29. Thus the card will be guided to pass beneath the vertical wall plate 23 and so to the analyzing station 20.

As earlier described finger 17 is angularly disposed to form a cam surface in the direction of card travel and at times due to variations in the card thickness and to various inks used on the card surfaces a succeeding card is caused to be carried forward by the friction of a lead card and the succeeding card is forced downwardly along the cam finger 17 to pass through the magazine throat at the same time as does the lead card. In such an advent the upper card will now ride under the projection 30 and will be stopped by the vertical wall of plate 23 as

bell cranks

28, 29 yield in clockwise direction. Thereafter as the lower card continues in movement to pass beyond plate 23 said bell cranks will depress the lead edge of the upper card downwardly and free of wall 23, so that said card will now immediately follow the lead card in proper order through the throat opening formed by said plate 23 with base plate 11.

In practice it has been found that the above described devices have greatly improved the speed in which successive cards may be fed from a magazine and also materially improves operations of the tabulating device by eliminating jamming and misoperations that otherwise have occurred heretofore as more than a single card would frequently be caused to feed at the same time from the card hopper.

Now having described the invention and the preferred embodiment thereof, it is to be understood that the invention is to be limited, not to the specific details herein set forth, but only by the scope of the claims which follow.

I claim:

1. In a record feeding device having:

means for advancing a record form,

a magazine for stacking record forms for operation by said advancing means and including a base support for the record forms,

a guide wall having an end portion terminating spaced from said base support whereby to effect a throat opening therewith for emitting record forms seriatim the magazine;

the combination therewith of a positive stop control means comprising a nonyieldable stop member perpendicular to the direction of record feed, spaced forwardly of said throat opening in the direction of record feed and being spaced sufficiently from the base support to permit a single form at any given time to pass beneath said member while intercepting and positively stopping forward movement of any record form superimposed over the first said record form, and

a yieldable means interposed between said throat opening and said positive stop control means, in proximity to said nonyieldable member and biased toward said base support whereby to engage and depress the leading portion of any said record forms.

2. In a record feeding device having:

means for advancing a record form,

a magazine for stacking record forms for operation by said advancing means and including a base sup- 7 port for the record forms,

a guide wall having an end portion angularly disposed in a direction of record form feed movement and terminating spaced from said base support whereby to effect a throat opening therewith for emitting record forms seriatim from the magazine;

the combination therewith of a positive stop control means comprising a member having a surface perpendicular to the direction of record form feed and being spaced sufiiciently from the base support means to permit a single record form at any given time to pass beneath said member while intercepting for instantly stopping forward movement of any record form superimposed over the first said record form, and

a yieldable means interposed between said throat opening and said positive stop control means, in proximity to said perpendicular surface. and biased toward said base support whereby to engage and depress the leading edge of any said superimposed record forms free of said perpendicular surface following a feeding operation of the preceding record form.

3. In a record feeding device the combination comprising:

a record support means,

means for advancing a record form along said support means,

a hopper for storing the record forms for operation by said advancing means,

an exit throat opening for passing the record forms seriatim from said hopper;

a secondary throat passage spaced forward in the direction of the record movement,

said secondary throat passage including a fixed stop wall perpendicular to the record movement and spaced from the record support means for permitting single forms to pass through in successive manner while intercepting and effecting immediate stopping of the feed movement of any form superimposed upon another form,

yieldable means within said secondary throat passage,

overlying the path of movement of the record forms and angled thereto so that an advancing form is guided to pass under said means whereby to force the forms against their support in proximity to said secondary throat passage,

and wherein said yieldable means following feeding of a leading record form past said secondary throat passage will act to release any record form superimposed upon said leading form from said fixed stop wall and thereby permit a feeding operation of said superimposed record form immediately subsequent to a leading record form being fed past the said secondary throat opening.

4. In a record feeding device comprising:

a record form support means,

means for advancing a record form along said support means,

a hopper for stacking the record forms for operation by said advancing means,

said hopper including a cam surface upon which the trailing end of the record forms are elevated,

a first throat opening for passing the record forms seriatim from said hopper and including a guide wall angularly disposed in a direction of record feed, in combination therewith a secondary throat opening spaced forward in the direction of record feed to said first throat open mg,

said secondary throat opening including a stop wall perpendicular to the record feed movement and spaced from the record support means for permitting single forms to pass through said secondary throat opening in successive manner while in positive manner intercepting and immediately stopping at said secondary throat opening any forms superimposed one upon another, and

spring tensioned means between the first said throat opening and the second said throat opening and having a cam surface for deflecting a first record form along said perpendicular wall into said secondary throat opening, said means adapted for thereafter releasing from said wall any said superimposed record form.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 771,384 Munson Oct. 4, 1904 1,643,646 Swift Sept. 27, 1927 1,707,080 Dyer Mar. 26, 1929 1,948,362 Staude Feb. 20, 1934 2,116,475 Daneke May 3, 1938 2,737,388 Gottscho Mar. 6, 1956 2,922,643 Lopez Jan. 26, 1960 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No. 3,151,863 October 6 1964 Joseph B Lohr It is hereby certified that error appears in the above numbered patent requiring correction and that the said Letters Patent should read as corrected below.

Column 2 line 60, after "seriatim" insert from Signed and sealed this 26th day of January 1965.,

(SEAL) Attest:

EDWARD J. BRENNER Commissioner of Patents ERNEST W. SWIDER Attesting Officer

Claims

1. IN A RECORD FEEDING DEVICE HAVING: MEANS FOR ADVANCING A RECORD FORM, A MAGAZINE FOR STACKING RECORD FORMS FOR OPERATION BY SAID ADVANCING MEANS AND INCLUDING A BASE SUPPORT FOR THE RECORD FORMS, A GUIDE WALL HAVING AN END PORTION TERMINATING SPACED FROM SAID BASE SUPPORT WHEREBY TO EFFECT A THROAT OPENING THEREWITH FOR EMITTING RECORD FORMS SERIATIM THE MAGAZINE; THE COMBINATION THEREWITH OF A POSITIVE STOP CONTROL MEANS COMPRISING A NONYIELDABLE STOP MEMBER PERPENDICULAR TO THE DIRECTION OF RECORD FEED, SPACED FORWARDLY OF SAID THROAT OPENING IN THE DIRECTION OF RECORD FEED AND BEING SPACED SUFFICIENTLY FROM THE BASE SUPPORT TO PERMIT A SINGLE FORM AT ANY GIVEN TIME TO PASS BENEATH SAID MEMBER WHILE INTERCEPTING AND POSITIVELY STOPPING FORWARD MOVEMENT OF ANY RECORD FORM SUPERIMPOSED OVER THE FIRST SAID RECORD FORM, AND A YIELDABLE MEANS INTERPOSED BETWEEN SAID THROAT OPENING AND SAID POSITIVE STOP CONTROL MEANS, IN PROXIMITY TO SAID NONYIELDABLE MEMBER AND BIASED TOWARD SAID BASE SUPPORT WHEREBY TO ENGAGE AND DEPRESS THE LEADING PORTION OF ANY SAID RECORD FORMS.