US2464569A - Card feeding mechanism for accounting machines - Google Patents

Description

E. A. FORD CARD FEEDING MECHANISM FOR March 15, 1949.

ACCOUNTING MACHINES 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May" 5, 1947 AGENT 'March 15, 1949. E. A. FORD 2,464,559

Y CARD FEEDING MECHANISM FOR IACCOUIVIIIG MACHINES Filed may s, 1947 2 sheets-snaai 2- 'lNvEN'rQR Ec/GENE A. FORD BY und Q" Mw A G E NT Patented Mar. 15, 1949 CARD FEEDING MECHANISM FOR ACCOUNTING MACHINES Eugene A. Ford, Endicott, N. Y., assignor to International Business Machines Corporation,` New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application May 3, 1947, Serial No. 745,834'

2 Claims.

The yimproved card feeding mechanism comprising the present invention has been designed for use in the feeding of record cards from a stack to the card line of a sorting machine of the type shown and described in my prior Patent No. 1,633,937, dated June 28, 1927, for Card feeding apparatus. The invention, however, is capable of other uses and the card feeding mechanism may, if desired, be employed, with or without modification, in connection with a wide variety of accounting machines, as for example, card punching machines, tabulating machines and the like.

The invention specifically relates to a group of instrumentalities commonly referred to as a picker mechanism in which a picker slide, having associated therewith a picker blade, is caused to reciprocate beneath the bottom of a card stack in such a manner that upon each reciprocation thereof the picker blade engages the lowermost card in the stack and impels the same forwardly through a throat mechanism so that the card may proceed by means of the usual feed rollers along the card line.

In carrying out the principles of the present invention, the same briey contemplates the provisionfof an oscillatable rock shaft upon which there are mounted apair of oscillatable picker slide impelling arms, the free ends of which are operatively connected by a lost motion connection to the picker slide in such a manner that upon oscillation of the rock shaft and, consequently, of the arms, the slide will be caused to reciprocate laterally to withdraw the cards successively from beneath the stack and feed them through the throat opening to the card line. The rock shaft also has suspended therefrom a cage-like frame through which there passes a rotatable shaft. A circular eccentric cam mounted on the shaft operates upon rotation of the shaft to alternately engage the opposite sides of the cage-like frame and oscillate the same, thus also causing the rock shaft to be oscillated.

The principal object of the present invention is to :provide a mechanism of this type in which means are provided for reducing friction between the cam oscillating means and the surrounding cage-like framework to a minimum.

Another object of the invention is to provide zin-arrangement of this character in whicha balancedrclationship exists between the cam oscillating means and the oscillatable frame, thus reducing vibrations vto an'absolute minimum.

Yet anotherobject of the invention i-s to provide a. novel type of clutch arrangement for 'initi- 2 ating rotation of the cam-operating shaft'or ca shaft and for terminating such rotation. n y

Convenience of arrangement of parts, simplicity of construction, ruggedness and durabilityv and low cost of manufacture are other desirable features that have been borne in mind in the production and development of the present invention.

Other objects of the invention will be pointed ,f

out in the following description and claims and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, which disclose, by way of example, the principle of the invention and the best mode, which has been contemplated, of applying that principle.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side elevational View, partly in section, of the improved picker mechanism per se.

Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken substantially along the line 2 2 of Fig. i in the direction indicated by the arrows,

Fig. 3 is a partial view showing the clutch.

Referring now to the drawings in detail wherein a full disclosure of the improved picker mechanism is disclosed, only those portions of the sorting machine to which the picker mechanism has been applied thatpertain directly to the picker mechanism have been illustrated. These include the front and rear plates I0 and I2 of the sorting machine, a diagrammatic representation ofV the card line (so labeled), i. e., the horizontal plane along which the cards travel after being` withdrawn from the card stack by the picker mechanism, the reciprocable picker plate I4, the

picker knife I6 carried thereby, and the adjustable throat I8 through which the cards C con'- tained in the stack 20 thereof are individually fed one at a time. The picker plate I4 is adapted to be reciprocated so as to move from a retracted' position shown in dotted lines through the intermediate position shown in full lines to an aclvanced position shown in dotted lines and in so` moving the picker knife I6 engages the rear-edge' of the lowermost card C inthe stack 20 and' impels the card forwardly through the adjustable'Y throat I8 from whence it is picked up by suitable feed rolls I9, 2|, machine.

The picker slide actuating mechanism includes lll and I2.v lA pair `of'collars 28 are pinnedV as at 30 tothe rock shaft 22 in spaced relation-ship and each collarcarri'esan upwardly extending oscillatable picker arm 32.' The free ends ofthe" and 'conducted through thel The rock shaft 22 is capable of limited. oscillation` about its axis throughout the extent indicated by the dot and dash axial lines representing the amplitude of oscillation of the shaft't22.

In order to oscillate the rock-sh'aftt22 throughout the amplitude indicated above at'predet'ermined times to feed the card (3` from the stack 20, a driven shaft 38 has its eXtreme rear end journaled in anti-friction bearings 40 carried centrally of a cup-shaped. block member 42 securedzby, means ofaseriesof vbolts 44 tothe front plate ofthe sorting lmachine. The rear end of the shaft 38:.projects completely through the rear `plate |2l and isV supported in anti-friction bearingsM carried in laV block 48 mounted on the rear 'plate |2. Thefshaft 38 has loosely mounted thereon a circular eccentric member 50 having a region 52 of high eccentricity and a region 54 of lowfeccentricity; Aseriesl of anti-friction cage and-.bearing members 56,y of which there are four in number, are disposed around the periphery of the-circular Aeccentric member 50 and they in turn are surrounded orenclosed by an anti-friction ringg58iA A-.pair of circular retaining plates 68 and 62 are disposed on each side of the eccentric member 50-and a series ofthrough-bolts 64 pass through the nretaining plates and members 60, 62, and retain the ball bearing cage members y5t lin position between the outer periphery of the eccentric member 50-and the inner periphery ofthe-ring; Apair of collars 66 and 681are-disposed on opposite'sides of the eccentric 4ball-` bearing-v4 assembly" just described and are pinned to the shaft 38 as at 10.

A collar-'Wis pinnedl as at 14 -to the shaft 22 intermediate thetwo collars 28 and is formed With Van venlarged or block portion '16. A pair of cagefsections '|8and 80are'secured by means of studs 82 adjacent their upper ends to the opposite sides-of the block= portion 16 of the collar 12- and these cagef sections are provided with outwardly bowed portions 84 which converge inwardlyjjasat lllftoa point 60I ofi-juncture where thextwo lsections are secured together by means of .a nut :and bolt assembly 482. The cage structure afforded bythel two `sections 'I8 and 80 surround the eccentric Nball .bearing structure above described with the inner surfaces of the cage sections-18 andf80 bearing lightly against or just clearing the periphery of the-anti-friction ring Referringinowf'totFig; 1, thatzportionof the shaft 38' which isvdisposedaoutsideiof the rear platei` |2 of the sorting' machine; has mounted thereon and pinned" thereto as at 93 a pulley 94 which is adapted to'be drvenfroma belt 86 and the latter in turn is adapted to be continually drivenat a constant rate of speed from the electriczmotor, not shown, which controls the sortingt machine operations.A It'will be. noted that inasmuchas the eccentric member .50 is loosely dis/posed.` upon; the 'continuously' rotating shaft 38 motion'roff-the latter'will: not normallybe transmittedfto 4the former .nto `causeoscillation of the rockf; shaft 22 f and A consequent recprocation of the picker plate I4. Such oscillation of the rock shaft 22 is adapted to be selectively controlled by means of a suitable electromagnetically operated clutch mechanism, the details of which are best illustrated in Fig. 1.

Referring now to Fig. 1, the through-bolts 44 which passthroughv the block-member 42 also pass throughpthe inner flange of a spoolmember designated in its entirety at |00. The spool member |00 is provided with an outer ange |02 and a coil |04 forming a part of an electromagnet designatedin its entirety at E is disposed between the inner and outer flanges 98 and |02 respectively. The electromagnet E'is provided with a shiftable core |06Which is slotted as at |08 internally, this slotted 'portion |08 cooperating with a key l0 vto maintain the core member |06 slidable upon but rotatable with the shaft 38. The core |06 is provided with an annular ange ||2 (see also Fig. 2) which forms a part of the clutch assembly per se. Theangee ||2 has-riveted thereto as at |14 ablockiorftooth member. |`|6r having a recess or `cut-away portionzl I8 and ther block H8 forms oneelement of theclutch and..

, is designed for cooperation with a tooth: |20- which constitutes the-other velement ofthe-.clutch and which is secured to the circular retaining.. plate 60 of the eccentricasscmbly.

The core |86 ofthe electromagnet Eis movable `from a retracted positionv ,'whereinethe tooth' |20 isA out of the circularfpath of `movemen-tof .the block.- or tooth member |16. to .an advanced position., wherein these two teeth memberscooperaterby direct contact with each other to cause revolution of..

the eccentric assembly about the axis ofV .theshaft.

38. The core |06=is normallyfurged to its ad,-

vanced position by means-of .a compression spring |22 which is disposed within a sleeve.|23.pinned. as at |21 to the shaft38`. The core is thus normallymaintained in Iits-advanced position .and is. adapted to become retracted when the coil |04 of` the electromagnet E.` becomes energized.

In order to prevent reboundon impact'ofthe tooth H6 against the tooth |20, an arcuate spring |25 is riveted as at, |26 tothe outer face ofthe flange ||2 and is provided withan outwardlyin'- clined portion |28 which terminates just short of 1 the upstanding'face of the'frecess4 ||8'.provided". in the block or tooth member ||6 leavingjust suiicient clearance for positioning off the toothI |20 between this face andthe end ofthe'spring |25, |28. Thus it'will beseenv that upon-initial deenergization of the electromagnet'Evthe core |06 thereof will be moved to its advanced' position and the inclined'portion'l |28 of the spring |25 will ride over the tooth |20, thus pressing" or flattening the spring |25 'until such time as-the 'l tooth |20 has passedy over the end of the'spring; at which time the outwardly inclined lportion |281" of the spring |25 willspring voutwardly and conne thek tooth |20 between the block ||6"and`tlfre-A end of thev spring sol that thereafter'thef two# parts of the clutch assembly will 'rotatefinunisonf without lost motion.

It will be noted from an inspection of Fig. 2 that as the moment of inertia of the mass of the eccentric member 59 shifts upwardly and in a clockwise direction, as indicated by the arrow, a

force is exerted on the shaft 38 which tends to push the sorting machine which is associated with the picker mechanism to the right. Sorting machines of this character are ordinarily mounted on casters and consequently in such an instance the sorting machine would be responsive to this thrust by the shaft 38. However, during the same interval, the picker knife I6 and its slide lf3 are moved in the opposite direction to that of the eccentric member, thereby applying a force on the shaft 22 tending to push the machine to the left. These forces, in a large measure, counter-balance each other and the resultant vibration is reduced to a minimum.

While there have been shown and described and pointed out the fundamental novel features of the invention as applied to a preferred embodiment, it will be understood that various omissions and substitutions and changes in the form and details of the apparatus illustrated and in its operation may be made by those skilled in the art, without departing from the spirit of the invention. It is the intention, therefore, to be limited only as indicated by the scope of the following claims.

What is claimed is:

1. Card feeding mechanism for record cards including a reciprocable card picker slide member, a rock shaft mounted for oscillation about an axis beneath said slide member, a cage member suspended from said rock shaft and having opposed inner side surfaces, a circular cam member disposed Within said cage member and of a diameter substantially equal to the distance between said inner surfaces whereby said surfaces are in substantial contact with diametrically opposed points on the periphery of said cam member, a continuously rotatable shaft loosely extending through said circular cam member, the axes of said shaft and cam member being spaced apart whereby the cam member is eccentrically disposed on said shaft, and means for continuously rotating said shaft,

2. Card feeding mechanism for record cards including a reciprocable card picker slide member, a rock shaft mounted for oscillation about an axis beneath said slide member, a cage member suspended from said rock shaft and having opposed inner side surfaces, a continuously rotatable shaft projecting through said cage member, a circular disc-like member loosely mounted upon said continuously rotatable shaft and eccentrically disposed thereon, an anti-friction ring surrounding said disc-like member, a series of anti-friction members disposed between said ring and disc-like member, the outer periphery of said ring being of a diameter substantially equal to the distance between the inner side surfaces of said cage member whereby said surfaces are in substantial Contact with the outer periphery of said ring, and means for continuously rotating said shaft.

EUGENE A. FORD.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 495,414 Hughes et al Apr. 11, 1893 583,989 Fowler June 8, 1897 2,181,211 Sieg Nov. 28, 1939 2,200,343 Reardon May 14, 1940 2,244,250 Johnson June 3, 1941 2,426,049 Rabenda et al Aug. 9, 1947

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