DE2324149A1 - METHOD AND DEVICE FOR HANDLING OBJECTS, IN PARTICULAR FOR REMOVING AND TRANSPORTING DATA HOLE CARDS - Google Patents

Description

Patent attorneys

Dr. O. Loesenbeck

Dipl.-Tag · Stracke Dipl.-Ing. Loesenbeck

tt Bielefeld, Herford Sra & e W

2324149 . Stracke

Silas Bay Haibert, 481 Monaco Drive, Indialantic »Florida 32901,

Method and device for handling objects, especially for removing and transporting data

Cards

The invention relates to a device and a method for handling objects and in particular for removal and further transport of punched data cards, with a friction mechanism for applying the bottom card of a stack of such cards Cards is provided and the soil card is then moved among the other cards.

Punch cards are used extensively in conjunction with the various information systems are used. Usually these cards have punched holes that carry the information when scanned or read by readers.

Today's card readers can successively read a large stack of such punched cards in a short time. In order to load such a reader, mechanisms have been developed that quickly read the soil map from one Remove stacks of such cards and convey the removed card into the reader. Some sort of this removal and Transport means creates a vacuum on the bottom surface of the bottom map, in order to then move the map sideways from the Move stacks. However, it is often the vacuum

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formed by a punched hole in the bottom card so that the closest card is also transported. Various metering devices are provided here, Usually referred to as a dispensing knife, which can be used to reduce any sideways movement of the stack to the thickness of the Soil map can limit, however, a disadvantage of these mechanisms working with vacuum is that the closest Card is often pressed very hard against the metering knife, which damages the card and its lifespan, strong is reduced.

Another. Type of extraction and transport equipment used Friction rollers or frictional belts to either broadside the floor map or to be removed from the end of the stack. In one arrangement, the rollers or belts are at rest against the stack and are then brought into motion by a coupling device to create the required friction to eject the card. In a further arrangement, the friction rollers or friction belts move continuously and are then pivoted against the stack to provide the necessary frictional force to remove the bottom card of the stack create. In both cases, the cards are exposed to undesirably high contact forces on the friction surfaces. It In addition, the rough edges of a hole in one card very often blend in with the surface of the neighboring card hook, so that even greater frictional forces are required to loosen the hooked surfaces from each other. The result this high power requirement is a significant reduction in the average total useful life of such cards. In addition, the belts and rollers are also subjected to the same forces and often have to be worn as a result of wear be replaced.

The object of the present invention is therefore to provide a device while eliminating the above disadvantages and a method for handling objects, such as

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special punch cards, to create "where the required The force to be applied to the object is low, and hence damage and rapid wear of the cards and the rubbing device that approach the cards whose movement acts, is avoided, but it is ensured that the cards correctly and reliably individually removed and transported further from the stack.

The solution according to the invention consists essentially in terms of method in that the stack of punched cards is placed on a surface and the object that directly rests against this surface, is rotated about an axis which is substantially perpendicular to the plane of the surface.

The device according to the invention consists essentially in that a support surface is provided for the stack of objects and furthermore a firing system is provided, one device for rotating the object located directly adjacent to the support surface about an axis having perpendicular to the plane of the support surface. The special advantage is that the force required to move a To get an object or a card from the pile of objects or cards free and the isolated ones released To transport the object or the card further, for example to a card reader, is very low. The inventive way of removing the bottom card from a stack of punch cards also eliminates a lot advantageously at the same time the problem of the interlocking surfaces of the cards, in particular the Punched edges in the case of punched cards. At the same time, however, it is ensured that only the bottom object of the stack from Stack is removed, with no possibility of

ate the objects being pressed, bumped or damaged in some way while they were moving. All of these factors contribute helps that the objects, especially the punch cards,

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have a very long service life because of the risk of damage and premature wear and tear during handling and further conveyance have been eliminated.

A method and a device according to the invention are described in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.
Show it

KLg. 1 shows a device according to the invention in a perspective, partially cut-away representation,

Fig. 2 'is a perspective partial view of the device according to FIG. 1 with representation of the parts that are shown in FIG are cut away

3 is an enlarged plan view of one with the device according to FIGS. 1 and 2 object to be handled.

The device shown in FIG. 1 has a housing 12 on, with a floor 14, perpendicular to the floor side walls 16 and 18 and an upper platform 20, which is perpendicular to the side walls 16 and 18 and is supported on this. The platform 20 has an upwardly facing support surface 22, on which a stack of punched cards, as indicated by the two punched cards 90 and 92 in FIG. 2, is placed can be. Part of the side wall 18 extends beyond the platform 20 and serves as a guide wall 24-,

A pinch roller magnet 26 and a take-out wheel magnet 28 are attached to the bottom of the housing 12 by means of brackets 30 and 32. Each of the magnets 26 and 28 each includes an anchor rod 34 and 36, which, as in FIG. 1 with the double arrows indicated, are moved up and down, depending on whether the associated Magnetan 26 and 28 are in the powered or switched off State.

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A swivel arm 38 is connected to the upper end of the armature rod 34 of the KL emmwal ζ enmagnet 26, the other end of which is rotatably arranged on a shaft 40 which is arranged in the side wall 18 and protrudes therefrom. A pinch roller 42 is rotatably arranged on the shaft 40 and lies between the pivot arm 38 and the side wall 18. The upper edge of the pinch roller 42 is preferably flat and in the same level position as the support surface 22 when the pinch roller magnet 26 is switched off, that is, when the anchor rod JA of the magnet is in the lowered position. A drive roller 44 is rotatably arranged in the guide wall 24 directly above the pinch roller 42. A drive (not shown) is provided for the continuous rotation of the drive roller 44 in a clockwise direction, as indicated by the arrow in FIG. 1. The two rollers 42 and 44 are at a distance from one another which is sufficient to allow a punch card to pass between the two rollers 42 and 44 when the pinch roller magnet 26 is switched off.

A phototransistor 41 is arranged above the support surface 22 by means of a bracket 43 on the guide wall 24. A light emitting one Diode 45 is level with the support surface 22 below of the phototransistor 41 arranged. A control circuit, not shown, connects the phototransistor 41, the light emitting diode 45 and magnets 26 and 28 such that the removal wheel magnet 28 is fed when the smile emitted by the diode 45 falls on the phototransistor 41 and is switched off when this light is interrupted by a punch card (see Fig. 2). In contrast, the The pinch roller magnet 26 is switched off when light from the diode 45 falls on the phototransistor 41, and this magnet is fed when the emitted light is interrupted by a punch card.

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A so-called metering meter device 46 can also be set arranged on the guide wall 24. The dosing knife device 46 is set so that it is spaced from the support surface 22 (see FIG. 2) by the thickness of a card lies. This metering device 46 includes in the Practice the drive roller 44 and the phototransistor 41. In FIGS. 1 and 2, however, the drive roller 44 and the phototransistor 41 are parts of the metering knife device in order to make the drive roller 44 and the phototransistor visible 46 cut away.

rl

As can be seen from FIG. 1, one end of a removal wheel lifting arm 48 is arranged at the upper end of the anchor rod 36 of the removal wheel magnet 28 by means of a pivot pin 50. The lifting arm 48 can be pivoted back and forth up and down, as indicated by the arrows, in a sighting perpendicular to the longitudinal extension of the lifting arm, depending on whether the magnet 28 is fed or not. That is, the end of the lifting arm 48 connected to the armature rod 36 is moved upwards when the magnet 28 is fed and downwards when the magnet 28 is switched off. One end of a pivot plate 52 is arranged on the other end of the lifting arm 48 by means of a pivot pin 54. A removal wheel 56 and a belt pulley 59 are also arranged on the shaft y \ and lie between the lifting arm 48 and the swivel plate 52. The removal wheel 56 lies below an opening 57 provided for this removal wheel in the platform 20 (see also FIG. 2 ). The jacket 61 of the removal wheel 56 is coated with a material with a high coefficient of friction. The drive wheel 58 of a belt drive is mounted on a drive shaft 60 which extends through the other end of the pivot plate 52 and which also extends through the lift arm 58 at a point between its two ends. An endless belt 62 runs around the belt pulley 59 and the drive pulley 58 and is

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pinion pulley 58 in. the one in the Pig. 1 driven with the arrows shown direction. The anchor rod 36, the lifting arm 48, the removal wheel 56, the drive pulley 58, the belt pulley 59 and the belt 62 are dimensioned so that the jacket 61 of the removal wheel 56 extends through the opening 57 ¹ ^ d. extends slightly over the support surface 22 when the lifting arm 48 is raised to its highest possible position as a result of the feeding of the removal wheel magnet 26, as indicated in FIG.

A preloaded return spring 64 is at its "one end." attached to a rod 66, which in turn is attached to the pivot plate 52. The other end is on a neck 68 arranged, which is attached to the floor 14. By the return spring 64, the removal wheel 56 can downward from the Opening 57 are moved out when the removal wheel magnet 28 is switched off. The demolition wheel arrangement described above is stored in the housing 12 in a manner not shown in detail. The drive shaft 60 is in a bearing piece 70 stored and- is by a belt drive 74 (Fig. 1) driven. The belt drive 74 in turn receives the drive movement from a shaft 76, which can be, for example, the output shaft of an electric motor.

As can be seen from FIG. 2, a pivot bearing 78 is attached to the underside of the platform 20. A stop 80 with a stop cam 84 firmly connected therewith is arranged between your pivot bearing 78 and the lifting arm 48 and thereby rotatably arranged on a pivot axis 79 which extends into the pivot bearing 78. Furthermore, there is an end of the abutment piece 80 pivotable with the pivot pin 50 connected, which extends through the lift arm 48. In the rxattform 20 a slot 82 is provided through which the Conn. -cams 84 can pass. The slot 82, the swing loader 78 and the stop piece 80 are designed in this way

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and dimensioned that when the removal wheel magnet 28 is switched off is, the anchor rod 36 by the force of the return spring 64 is moved downwards and thereby the Ans chi ag piece 80 is rotated about the pivot axis 79 so that the stop cam 84- is moved into a position in which it is through the Slot 82 protrudes upwards and over the support surface 22. In contrast to this, if the removal wheel magnet 28 is fed, the armature rod 36 is moved upwards and thereby such a rotation of the attachment piece 80 about the Pivot 79 caused stop cam 84 downward is moved into a position which is below the level of the support surface 22.

On one end of the support surface 22, the stack of punched cards is to receive, a wedge piece 86 is arranged.

The manner in which the apparatus described above will sequentially process a stack of punch cards and can transport further, is described below in connection.

As indicated in FIG. 2, a stack of punched cards 88 with a bottom map 90 which lies directly on the support surface 22 and to which the closest map 92 adjoins The beginning is placed on the support surface 22. Each punch card 90 and 92 includes a leading edge 94 that extends in the direction of conveyance 93 is towards the front of the card reader, as well as an edge 95 which is at the rear in the sense of this conveying direction and which is opposite to the front edge 94, as well as finally, a guide edge 96 which lies adjacent to the guide wall 24. The stack 88 is thus placed on the support surface 22 placed that the front end region of the leading edge 96 near the leading edge 94 on the metering knife assembly 46 is applied, while the rear end region of the guide edge 96 adjacent to the rear edge 95 rests on the guide wall 24. Furthermore, the stack 88 is arranged in such a way that the front

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Edge 94 · of the cards in the stack 88 on the stop cams 84 rests, a section of the bottom map 90 in the area of the front edge 94 above the opening 57 for the removal wheel lies. The wedge 86 lifts the rear end 95 of the Maps upwards from the support surface 22 and thereby ensures that the area of the bottom map is at the front the leading edge 94 in firm contact with the support surface 22, especially at the opening 57 for the removal wheel, lies.

At the start of the operation of the device, there is no card between the light emitting diode 45 and the phototransistor 41, which consequently causes the removal wheel magnet 28 to be fed. The anchor rod 36 of the magnet 28 is then after moved out of the magnet at the top, as a result of which the lifting arm 48 moves the removal wheel 56 upwards through the opening 57. Furthermore, the stop cam 84 is pivoted downward out of the slot 82. The one provided on the jacket of the removal wheel 56 The friction surface then comes to rest on the bottom card 90 and causes this card to be about an axis 98 (Fig. 2) is rotated, which is perpendicular to the plane of the support surface 22 substantially. In this context, the The expression "rotation about an axis" means rotation along a radius of finite length. It the leading edge 94 is thus rotated about this axis 98, and although around an arc section which is defined by an angle along the support surface 22, and it runs under the metering knives 46 and between the pinch and drive rollers 42 and 44 until the leading edge 96 is parallel to the Leading edge 24 lies and is completely supported against it. As can be seen from FIG. 2, the axis 98 can be perpendicular to the area of the support surface 22 which is occupied by the stack 88. During this phase of the Rotation of the soil map limits the metering knife device

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46 the rotation of the deck of cards 88 to the thickness of the bottom card 90, that is, only the floor map can rotate, while the rest of the stack is prevented from rotating by the system on the metering knife device 46 «

After the floor card 90 has been rotated to a position in which it rests against the guide wall 24 and also lies between the diode 45 and the phototransistor 41, is accordingly the removal wheel magnet 28 is switched off so that the return spring 64 can move the lifting arm 48 downwards. As a result, that will Removal wheel 56 is lowered down into opening 57 into a position below the support surface 22. At the same time, the stop cam 84 is moved upwards through the slot 82 moves and thereby arrives in a position along the side of the stack 88, 'as a result of a rotary movement of the stop piece 80 around the pivot axis 79

The pinch roller magnet 26 is also fed at the same time, so that its armature rod 54 moves upward and the pivot lever 38 is raised, which results in a sufficiently large upward movement of the pinch roller 42 to press the bottom card 90 against the continuously rotating drive roller 44. The driving force of the drive roller 44 then drives ^{the bottom card 90 i * 1} the card reader in the conveying direction 93.During the operation of the pinch roller device, the stop cam 84 holds back the remaining cards in the stack 88, including the card 92, which is adjacent to the card 90. If the card 90 has passed the position in which it lies between the diode 45 and the phototransistor 41, the pinch roller magnet 26 is switched off and the removal wheel magnet 28 is switched on and the operating cycle is repeated.

The foregoing has been the operation of the device as a sequence individual steps are described. It goes without saying

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that in practical operation the device very quickly removes the individual successive bottom cards of the stack and the cards are then transported into the card reader.

An important aspect in the operation of the device is how the problem of interlocking surfaces between two cards is overcome. This is described below under Referring to a punched hole 100 in the card 92 of FIG. 2 adjacent the bottom card, shown in FIG enlarged partial view is shown, described in more detail.

The punched holes in punch cards are almost uniformly rectangular in shape, with the edges of the holes parallel to the respective edges of the card. The entanglement The card happens primarily through the rough and roughened edges of the holes. It turned out that the amount of force that is required to produce these entangling forces to overcome, tends to be greatest in the direction perpendicular to the edge of a punched hole to be. Since each card usually contains a large number of holes, the total forces needed to loosen them are the cards hooked together quite considerably.

As can be seen from FIG. 2 and on an enlarged scale in FIG. 3, the device according to the invention can solve this problem overcome very well, because the removal wheel 56 the entangling forces on a punched hole 100 along a line 102 that is not perpendicular to any edge of the hole. As can be seen from FIG. 3, the line of action 102 cuts under two of the edges of the hole 100 an acute angle. "As a result, only a minimal Γ physical force is required between the removal wheel 5> 6 and the card, in order to counteract these entangling forces and

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ten points to separate from each other. Thanks to this minimum of frictional forces can be simple, cheap removal wheels for one can be used for a long period of time without replacement, while 'also the usual useful life of each of the Cards is increased quite considerably.

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Claims (1)

Claims (Λ · ι device for handling objects, with a friction mechanism for applying the lowest object of a stack of objects to move this lowest object under the stack, characterized in that the device has a support surface (22) for placing a stack (88) of the objects (90,92) and that the friction mechanism includes a device (56) for rotating the objects (90) lying directly on the support surface (22) about an axis (98) perpendicular to the plane of the support surface (22). 2. Apparatus according to claim 1, characterized by a device (56) for rotating each of the articles (90) about an axis (98) perpendicular to the support surface (22) in the Area of the support surface (22) in which the stack (88) lies. 3. Device according to claims 1 or 2, characterized by an embodiment of the rotating device (56) such that only one end of the object lying directly on the support surface (22) is rotated. 4. Device according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized by means (42,44) for transporting each of the rotated articles from the stack (88) away. 5. Device according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that the means for rotating (56) is designed so that each of the directly adjacent objects is rotated through a predetermined angle, and that further means (46) is provided, which prevents the other items of the stack (88) from rotating. 309848/0923 2324U9 .6 · Device for handling punched cards, with a friction device for sensing the soil map of a stack of cards to advance the soil map from the stack by a support surface (22) for placing the stack of punched cards (90,92), a device for rotating a End (94-) of each directly on the support surface (22) overlying cards (90) around a sheet section on this support surface (22), furthermore a device (42, 44) for conveying the successively rotated cards away from the stack (88) and also a stop mechanism (82, 84) for holding them back of the remaining cards in the deck. 7. Apparatus according to claim 6, characterized in that the The rotating device (56) is out of operation while the conveying device (42, 44) is working, and the conveying device (42,44) is in turn put out of operation while the rotating device (56) is working. 8. Device according to one of claims 6 or 7 »characterized in that that the rotating device includes a rotatable removal wheel (56) which is located in an opening (57) of the support surface (22) is arranged. - 9. Device according to one of claims 6 to 8, characterized in that that the non-rotated end (95) of the card lying directly on the support surface (22) is removed from the support surface (22) is held lifted. 10. The device according to claim 8, characterized in that the removal wheel (56) is arranged such that it can be raised through the opening (57) is. 11. The device according to claim 10, characterized in that the device (28,36,48,52) for lifting the removal wheel (56) a device (50, 78 to 80) for moving the stop device (82, 84) into an inoperative position when 'the removal wheel (56) is raised through the opening (57). 309848/0923 12. Apparatus according to claim 10 or 11, characterized in that the device for lifting the removal wheel (56) has a Lifting arm (4-8), a pivot axis (54-) which extends through one end of the lifting arm (48) and on which the removal wheel (56) is mounted, and a device (28,36) for reciprocating the other end of the lifting arm (48) in one direction having perpendicular to the lift arm. 13. Device according to claim 12, characterized in that the device for moving to and fro has a magnet (28), which has an anchor rod (36) extending through it and the free end of the anchor rod (36) by means of a pivot pin (50) is connected to the lift arm (48), the arrangement being such that the supply of the magnet drives the anchor rod (36) out of the magnet (28). 14. The apparatus according to claim 13, characterized in that the stop device has a stop piece (82) which is pivotally connected to the pivot pin (50) and which has a stop cam (84) which is in a position next to one edge (94) of the cards remaining in the stack (88) can be swiveled out, and that the stop cam (84) under Release of the stack (88) can be pivoted back when the removal wheel (56) is raised through the opening (57). 15 · Device according to claim 13 or 14, characterized in that a drive shaft (60) through the lifting arm (48) between is passed through the two ends of the lifting arm and carries a drive pulley (58) and a belt pulley (59) the pivot axis (54) is provided adjacent to the removal wheel (56), as well as an endless belt (62) around the drive pulley (58) is guided un the belt pulley (59) and furthermore a device (74,76) for rotating the drive shaft (60) is provided is. 309848/0923 _ ₁₆ _ 2324U9 16. Device according to one of claims 6 Ms 15, characterized in that that the support surface (22) is the top of a platform (20) which is part of a housing (12,14,16,18,20) and a guide wall (24) is provided which abuts and extends beyond the platform (20) and is substantially transverse to the angle of rotation, the arrangement being such that each of the rotated cards (90) in is rotated to a position in which it rests against the guide wall (24). 17 device according to claim 16, characterized in that the Conveyor adjacent pinch and drive rollers (42 and 44) which are rotatably arranged in the guide wall (24) on both sides of the support surface (22), and Furthermore, a device for rotating the drive roller (44) is provided, such that each on the support surface (22) lying card (90) is rotated into a position between the rollers (42,44). 18. Apparatus according to claim 17, characterized in that the rotation of the card into a position between the rollers (42,44) limited to the card lying directly on the support surface (22) by a metering device (46) which is arranged on the guide wall (24) above one (44) of the rollers. 19 · Device according to claim 17 or 18, characterized in that that the rollers (42, 44) are designed to be compressible, to convey the card rotated between them away from the stack (88) along the guide wall (24). 20. Device for removing and transporting punch cards, characterized by a frame (12,14,16,18,20) with a Support surface (22) for placing a stack (88) of punched cards (90, 92) in which there are holes (100), as well as means (56 ...) for advancing each bottom card (90) from the stack (88) in a direction which is different from perpendicular to one edge of the holes (IOO) 309843 / 0S23 - 17 - 2324U9 21. A method of handling a stack of items with the bottom item removed from the Stack, characterized in that the stack (88) is arranged on a support surface (22) and the usual one Object (90), which rests directly on the support surface (22), is rotated about an axis (98) which is perpendicular to the Level of the support surface (22) is. 22. The method according to claim 21, characterized in that each rotated object (90) is conveyed away from the stack (88) will. 23 · The method according to claim 22, characterized in that the other objects in the stack in motion during the advancement of the rotated object from the stack (88) be prevented. 24. The method according to claim 21, 22 or 23, characterized in that that every object lying directly on it is rotated by a predetermined angle and the other objects at one Rotation through this specified angle can be prevented. 25 · The method according to any one of claims 21 to 24, characterized in that that the turning of the object is the pressing of a rotating wheel against one end of the directly resting Item includes. 26. A method for removing and transporting a stack of punched cards with holes therein, with removing the bottom card of a stack and removal of the floor map, characterized in that the stack of cards on a support surface (22) is arranged and each of the cards (90) lying directly on the support surface (22) is moved in one direction that deviates from the perpendicular to an edge of its holes. 309848/0923