US1620077A - Bridge-score recorder - Google Patents

Description

March 8, 1927'. 1,620,077

c. A. COOKE BRIDGE SCORE RECORDER Filed June 18, l926 gvvuanioz Patented Mar. 8, 1927.

UNITED STATES- CHARLES A. COOKE, 0F SIOUX CITY, IOWA.

BRIDGE-SCORE RECORDER.

Application filed June 18,

My invention relates to a device for recording bridge scores, and it is my object to provide such a device embodying a casing having sight openings and means operable from the outside of the casing for presenting to view, beneath said sight openings, a movable tape, having inscribed thereon characters representing consecutively increasing scores.

A further object of the invention is to provide such a device in which the movable tapes are mounted upon removable spools and are replaceable.

Another object is to provide such a device which is of simple, durable and inexpensive construction.

A still further object is to provide means for maintaining the portions of the tapes to be exposed in proper position before the sight openings,

lVith these and other objects in view, my invention consists in the construction, arrangement and combination of the various parts of my device. whereby the objects contemplated are attained, as hereinafter more fully set forth, pointed out in my claims and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of the device, portions being broken away to illustrate the in terior construction thereof.

Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional view, talren on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1, the tapes being omitted.

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view, taken on the line 33 of Fig. 1, and a Fig. 4c is a detail longitudinal sectional view, taken as indicated by the line H of Fig. 1.

I have used the reference character 10 to indicate the bottom of the casing, which comprises two compartments, A and B (see Fig. 2), formed between the sides, 11, the ends, 12, the partition, 13, and the bottom, 10.

A cover, 1 1, is hinged at 15 to the casing and retained by a suitable catch such as the catch shown at 16.

In the cover are two rows of sight openings, 17, closed by transparent windows, 18, and aligned over the respective compartments, A and B. Under each window is positioned a pair of spools, 19 and 20, connected by a tape, 21. which is wound around the respective spools, and the ends of which are received in slots, 22, in the spools.

1926. Serial No. 116,838.

The spools are provided with flanges, 23, which rest aga nst the bottom, 10, of the casing.

Each spool has a shaft, 2%, which extends through a slot, 25, in the side, 11, at one end, and at its other end is received in a notch, 26. formed in a member secured to the partition, such as the bar, 27. The notches, 26, are shown in dotted lines in Fig. 3.

The ends of the shafts, 24, which extend through the slots, 25, are held downwardly by a latch bar, 28, pivoted at 29 to the side, 11, and locked in its retaining position by a spring keeper, 30 (see Fig. 1). The latch bar, 28, has notches, 31, similar to the notches, 26, and each of the notches, 26 and .31, are of. such width as to allow slight movement of the shafts, 24, toward and away from each other.

The pairs of notches are so positioned as to allow the flanges, 23, of the respective pairs of spools to engage each other, as shown.

The connecting portions of the tapes are extended upwardly over guide rods, 32, whichare received in slots, 33 and 34, in the sides. 11, and partition, 13. respectively, and which may be removed by simply lifting the cover, 1-1, and sliding them longitudinallv.

Each of the tapes contains indicia, 35, corresponding to consecutively increasing bridge scores, and'the shafts, 21, are provided With handles or projecting portions, 36, by means of which the spools may be rotated manually in either direction so as to bring any desired character, 35, before the sight opening.

It is desirable that the portion of the tape between the guides, 32, be kept taut in order that the numbers may be clearly visible through the window, 18. To this end, the notches, 31 and 26, have been formed to allow slight play between the shafts which they receive, whereby the tension produced in the tape by rotating one of the spools will tend to draw the other spool toward it and to cause the peripheries of the flanges, 23, to frictionally engage each other. Since the rotation of the spools must be in the same direction in order to allow the tape to move from one to the other, this frictional engagement will oppose the movement of the spool which is being unwound, and will thereby maintain the intermediate portion of the tape in a taut position.

I have shown as a preferred form of the invention a recorder having two rows of indicators, each row comprising four indicating devices. One row of indicators will tally the score of one side of a bridge game, and the other will tally the score for the other side. The first indicator in each row will be used to tally the honor scores, the second indicator to tally the game scores, the third indicator to tally the totals of the two in individual rubbers, and the fourth to tally the totals of the rubbers.

I claim 1. In a device of the class described, a casing having a compartment formed between two walls, a pair of spools mounted between said Walls and movable a limited distance toward and from the top of the casing, said spools having fiangesin frictional engagement with each other and being connected by a Web, one of the spools being provided with means for imparting rotation thereto and the other spool being driven by the connecting web in such a direction that the frictional engagement of said flanges will retard the rotation of said other spool to maintain the web taut.

2. In a device of the class described, a cas ing having sides, a pair of spools within the casing, a tape wound on said spools and having a portion extending from one spool to the other, a member supporting said extended portion at a distance above the spools,

said spools having flanges engaging each- CHARLES A. COOKJC.

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