US1327936A - Card-index - Google Patents

Description

Witnesses.

S. ANTHONY.

CARD INDEX.

APPLICATION FILED on. 22. 1913. RENEWED lUNE15| m1.

1,327,936, Patented Jan. 13, 1920.

' Staniey Anthony, I ,Zg QC byMMdW W x/044A AttY s:

U ED STATES PATENT oFFIoE.

STANLEY ANTHONY, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO ACME CARD SYSTEM COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

CARD-INDEX.-

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Jan. 1920.

Application filed October 22, 1913, Serial No. 796,724. Renewed June 15, 1917. Seria1 No. 175,043.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, STANLEY ANTHONY, a citizen of the United States, and residing at Boston,-co unty of Suffolk, State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement in Card-Indexes, of which the following de scription, in connection with the accompanying drawing, is a specification, like characters on' the drawing representing like parts. 4

This invention relates to. card indexes of that type which include a frame or holder having opposed guides and a plurality of cards,- interchangeably supported in said guides to have an overlapping relation relative to each other, said cards being pivotally sustained so that by swinging upwardly the cards above any desired -card, the subject matter on said card will'be exposed to view. The objects of my invention are to provide a novel card index of this type in which the supporting means for the individual cards is practically, indestructible and will not,

therefore, be injllred by removing of the cards in the holder and replacing them thereln, and to provide a card index in lwhich 'the cards themselves are so constructed thatthey can be typewritten upon and the typewritten matter. can be placed upon any desired portion of-the card, and

further to improve card indexes of this type, all as will be more fully hereinafter described and then pointed out in the appended claims.

Referring now to the drawings, wherein I have illustrated a selected embodiment of my invention from which the principle thereof will be readily ascertained, .Figure 1 is a perspective view of a portion of a card index embodying my invention.

Fig. 2 is a section on the line :L'a2 Fig. 1; .Fig. 3. is a perspective view of a card showing the manner ,of removing it from its carrierfor'placing it thereon;

Figs. 4 and 5 are fragmentary perspective views of cards embodying my invention;

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of a card carrier;

tFig. 7 is a perspective view of an index Fig. 8 is a perspective view of an adjustable supporting member for holding the cards in proper position in this holder.

The individual cards in my invention are supported in a holder 1 which may be made of any suit-able material and which is provided with the opposed guides 2 in which card carriers 3 are removably and preferably slidably mounted. This backing 1 may be conveniently made of sheet metal and the guides" 2 can be made byfolding over the edges of the sheet metal backing to present the lips 4. The cards 5 are sustained upon the card carriers 3 above referred to, and I will preferably employ a construction which will admit of each card being removed from its. carrier. illustrated embodiment of my invention these carriers each comprise a piece of resilient wire, the ends of which are received in the guides 2 and are confined under the lips 4 1 Each carrier has associated there with means for spacing it from an adjacent carrier and in the preferred embodiment of my invention I secure this end by bending each end of the carrier to form a head 6, said heads operating to properly ,space the carriers and thereby to properly space the cards 5, as will be presently dethen withdrawing the other end from the,

other guide as will be obvious.

The-cards 5 may be made of paper of an be easily introduced into and written on by a typewriter. "As stated above each-card is preferably removably sustained on its carrier and while this may be accomplished In the desired thickness and grade and will pre J erably be of such a character that they can.

in various ways, I have herein shown each card as folded over at its upper end as at 8, and as provided with a plurality of apertures 9 the fold through which the wire carrier extends alternately in opposite direc-' tions. The apertures 9 are preferably of a.

size to permit the heads V6 to be passed therethrough and in placing a card upon its wire carrier, the head at one end of the card carrier is introduced through the end hole 9 as shown in full lines, Fig. 3, a'ndjthe wire is then pushed longitudinally until the head comes opposite the next hole 9 when the wire is turned about its axis to bringthe head into the .position as shown in dotted lines Fig. 3, the'reby permitting the head to.

be inserted through said second hole, and.

then the aboveoperations' are repeated until the wireis completely inserted through all the apertures 9.

that means for detach-ably engaging the car rier, z. 6., the folded and apertured end oh the card, is. formed integral with the body of thecard on which 'the data is written or printed. This, of course, adds'to the econonly of construction. When the wire carrler is in place it appears alternately on the exterior and interiorof the card as seen in Fig. 1. v a I Afterthe card is thus placed on it's car-* rier, one end of the carrier is inserted into one of the uides2 and then the carrier can be bent su eiently 'to permit the other head to be inserted into the other guide. 'When the carrier isreleased the resilience of the over portionmay, however, be equalin ex-' My improved cards wire will cause it to assume the position seen in Fig. 1. These carriers are each independently, removable from the holder and the position of each card can be shifted in the holder by simply"v removing its" carrier therefrom and then making a proper place for it between any two cards by shifting the carriers thereof'lo'ngitudinally and then reinserting the said carrier intothe space thus made. a q g p My invention is of such anature that each card may be provided with a pluralitycf pages, for instance if the "folded overpor tion of any card is merely in the-form of a tab 10, as shown in .Fig. 4, then the'card will present two facesonly. 'This folded that each card can-be readily separated from j its carrier and-when the card is thus s'epa rated it may be introduced into the type-.

vVIltBT'ZtIld written on therein in] the same 1 From the foregoing, it. will be seen that the cards are so formed are of such a nature way as an ordinary piece of After the typewritten matter has been placed on the card then the latter may again be replacedon its carrier and inserted into the index.

When the cards are arran edin the holder they overlap each other y a space determined by the size of the spacing means which inthe illustrated. embodiment of my invention are the heads 6.. The exposed portion of each card at its lower edge will preferably have thereon the name of the person to whom it refers or the title of the subject matter contained on the card.

The reading. matter on any card is accessible by simply turning up the cards above it andthis operation of swinging up the cards does not wear pr'afi'ectthe connection v of the card with its carrier for the cards merely swing and hinge about the wire car-' rier.

' This construction obviates the necessity of securing the card to its carrier by 'a paper v torn-after comparatively short time. In overlappin cards, are placed'on the bottom edge thereof card indexes of this na-' ture the identifying names for the different ,or cloth hinge which is very apt to become where they are'exposed. 1 Itisj-often difiicult to typewrite on the extreme bottom edge of a sheet and in order to provide a card on typewritten on the ,bottom edgeI propose to make eachcard originally with an extension 20 capable of being detached. froni the .1-0 0 card. This end can besecured by providing the card with the extension and preferably perforating the card along the line 21.

By having the card with the extension-20 it is possible to insert the card. into the type-' writer and to have the card securely. and

- properlyh'eld in the-typewriter while said card is being typewritten upon' immediately carrier and inserted into the holder 1, this above the line 21 and thenlafte'r the card is removed and before it"is applied to its extension20 can be detached thus producing the card .with the typewritten identifying data .on the card onits extreme lower edge.

, I'have also shown -herein fan'ji'ndex tab which can be adjustably applied tothe holder 1 and by which the different divisions of matter contained on the cards in the holder can be s e arated. For instance, these 7 index tabs may ear the letters of the alphabet thus indicating the lines'of separation between-the As Bs? and-.0 fete, 0 the indexcards. These index tabs are shown generally at 22 andthey are removably and adjustably secured to the holder 1 sothat they can be ;placed in any desired position thereon." Each index tab 'is. shown ,asiforlhed from a piece of metal fbent back on itselfshown at 23,"the two sides 24:

95 which the identifying names-can be freadily thereof being slightly separated at their outer ends to provide clamping jaws 25 that are adapted to adjustably and frictionally One of- 5 the sldes 24 has'its edges bent at 26 to form engage the edge of the holder 1.

holding lips adapted to receive a slip 27 of paper bearing the index number or letter.

The number of cards which are to be used in different card indexes vary greatly, one

card index pertaining to matter where a comparatively few cards are necessary and another, card index pertaln ng to matter where a large number of cards are necessary.

In practice it is proposed that the backing or holders 1 shall be made in unit lengths and it will frequently occur that when a card index is first started. the number of cards which are necessary will be insufficient to fill the holder 1 but on the other hand it 30 is necessary to have a sufliciently large' holder to accommodate the cards which will be necessary as the card index grows.

When the cards are insufficient in number to fill the card index it is desirable-that they should be so placed in the holder 1 to be most convenient for. the user whether this be on the top or at the central portion of the holder.

In order to enable the cards to be placed in any desirable position in the holder and held therein when the cards are insuflicient in number to fill the holder I propose to use a card-supporting member which is adjustably held at any desired position in the holder and on which the cards may rest. This card supporting member is shown at 29 andit has fingers $0 at its ends which are adapted to engage under. the lips 4. These fingers are normally bent forwardly 40 somewhat as shown in Fig. 8 so that when the supporting member is inserted into position the resiliency of: the fingers will produce sufficient 'friction'between the supporting member and the back of the holder 1 to hold the supporting member in its adjusted position with the weight of the cards thereon. By means of this construction it is pos-. sible to place the supporting member in any desired position in the holder'and thus have the cards held at the desired point.

While I have illustrated herein a preferred embodiment of my invention I do not' rier -by bending the central' portion of the carrier away froin the holder, and a card sustained by each carrier and the carriers being provided with means for holding them spaced a substantial'distance apart for exposing a material space at the bottom of each underlying'card for the purpose of exposing identifying matter. 2. In a card index, the combination with a holder having opposed guides, of a plu- Q. 7 rality of card carriers extending from one guide to the other and slidably mounted therein, each carrier being formed of a length of resilient wire and a card detach-' ably sustained oneach carrier, each carrier being provided with means for holding it- 8 6 spaced from an adjacent carrier whereby the lower edge of each card projects below the card above. I '3. In a card index, the combination with a holder having opposed guides, of a plurality '85 of card carriers extending from oneguide to the other and slidably mounted therein, each I carrier being formed of a length of resilient H wire and a card removably hinged to each carrier, each carrier being provided with 90.'

means for holding it spaced from an adja-' v cent carrier whereby the lower edge of each card projects below the card above. 4. In a card index, the combination with a holder having opposed guides, a plurality of I card carriers extending from one guide to the other and slidable longitudinally thereof, each carrier formed of a length of resilient wire having at each end thereof a head-by whi'ch the carriers are spaced from eachoth'er to causethe exposure of a substantial 1 marginal portion of the underlying cards and a card detachably sustained by e'ach.car-.

rier.

5. In a card index, the combination with a holder having opposed guides, a plurality of: card carriers extending from one guide'to the other and slidable longitudinally there-- of, each carrier formed of a length of resilient wire having ateach end thereof a head bywhich the carriers are spaced from each other and a card detacha-bly sustained by each carrier, each card having apertures through which its carrier is'threaded 'whereby each card is hinged to its carrier and can, 115 a be swung upwardly thereabout.

6; In a card index, the combination with aholder having opposed guides, ofa plurality of card carriers extending from one guide to. the other and removably mounted therein, each carrier being formed of a length of resilient wire and provided 'with' means for spacing it from the adjacentfcarrler and a.

card sustained on each carrier. 7. A card for. a-card index comprising-a card carrier anda' card member removably sustained thereby, said card membenhaving at its lower-edge a detachable extension, said I extension providing means whereby the card can be securely held in a typewriter-fin posi- Q tion to have'matter typewritten on the lower edge of the car body immediately above the extension, said extension being-adapted to be detached when the cardis put to use.

8, In anv index, the combination with aholder having opposed guides, of'a plurality i0 1 of, a card sustained oneach card carrier in v a plane substantially parallel to thatof the of card carriers extending from one guide to the other and slidable longitudmally. thereholder, and an index ta-b adjustably'earried by one'of the guides:

9.,In an index, the combination with'a holder having opposed guides, of a plurality of information-bearing members adjustably mounted insaid guides, and an index tab :for said members adjustablycarried by one of the guides and provided wlth clamp ng jaws to embrace said "guide and containmg ,gu ides, said members being adjustable longilips tohold an index strip. a

I 10. In an index, the combination with a holder having two fixed guides, of independently-removable information-bearing members provided with means to engage said tudinally of the guides and removable therefrom, and a supporting member also engagingboth of said guides and adjustably and frictionally sustained thereby and adapted v .to adjustably support the information-bearing members in desired position.

11. In a card index, the combination with a holder havingfopposed 'guides, of a plurality of card carriers having their'ends received in said guides, cards sustained by L adjustably sustained by said 7 adapted to support the card carrler above it andto hold. said card .carrier in adjustedsaid card carriers, and a supporting member a position;

- 1 3 13. In a card system, a sheet, and a sup' portftherefor'to .whichthe sheet is hinged, com nsm a bar of; 1fesil ient metal having a I comprising a barof resilient metallraving its ends bent to form spacers. I

12, In a card system,,a sheet, and a su a i port therefor to which the sheet is detac ably hinged, comprising a pair of spacers at.

- the lateral edges of the sheet.

spacer at .eachend.

s. 141111 a card system, 'asheet, and asup port therefor to which thesheet is hinged,

15. In a card dexsystem and con ibiand a sheet associated with eaclicarrier havmg slots "f-for receiving meahamaybe' inserted; s

. In a card system, a sheetlprovided which said sheet is ides and the]. carrier and through which -thesame, with the spacing I 1,e27,9ea

with a air of horizontally extending slots near its upper edge, and a supporting bar on hinged, inserted through said, slots.

17. The combination with aframe adapted v to removably receive a plurality of overlapping cards, said frame having spaced flanges, of a holder formed of resilient material whereby its ends may be sprung under said flanges, and a card havin a flexible hinge portion through which said holder is insertible. 18. Thecom'bination with a frame adapted toremovably receive a plurality of overlapping cards, said frame having'spaeed grooved portions, of a holder formed of resilient-material whereby its-endsmay be sprung into said grooved portions and a card having a flexible hinge portion through which said holder is insertible, said holders being of greater width than the'card and having return bent 'end portions forming a relatively wide bearing surface which when' '1 inserted in the grooved portions of the frame will hold the position.

19. In acard cards in proper overlapping a 7 index, the combination with a holder having opposed guides," of a plu-- rality of card carriers extending from one guide to the other'and slidably mounted thereon, each carrier being formed of. resilient material and a card detachably sustained by each carrier, each carrier having cent carrier whereby the lower edge of each card projects below the card above.

20. The combination with a frame and a plurality of card members supported thereby, each card member having at one edge a detachable extension, said; extension providing means whereby the card may be held securely in a typewriter in position to have matter typewritten on the edge of the card adjacentjthe extension, said extension being adapted to be detached when in use. a

21. In an index, the combination with a; holder having opposed guides, of a plurality of card bearing members adjustably mountedin the guides, an index tab for said members adjustably carried by one'of the guides and provided with means for engaging the guide and means for removably holdlng an index stripa i 22. In a card-index, the combination with a holder having opposed guides, of a plu-, rality of cardcarriers extending from one guide to the other ,andremovably mounted means for holding it spaced from an adja- I therein,feach carrier being formed of a length of resilient material and pi'ovided with means for spacing it from the adjacent carrier and a card sustained on each carrier. .1,: 2 3. In a card index and in combination a frame; a series of supporting members held 'therein,='each' having a card-engaging and supporting part and a spacing part for spacing the supporting parts of the members a distance from the corresponding parts of the adjacent members. said members being individualb removable from the frame without substantial movement lengthwise of the frame, and a card removably sustained by each supporting part, said cards being of substantially uniform width in a direction transverse of the supporting part, whereby when all of the cards are in place marginal edges substantially uniform in width of all of the cards back of the uppermost card will be exposed, and when an intermediate card is missing from its supporting member occupying its place in the frame the absence of said card will be visually indicated by the exposure -of an additional portion of the marginal edge of the next lower card.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification, in the presence of

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