US1976249A

US1976249A - Card filing device

Info

Publication number: US1976249A
Application number: US583735A
Authority: US
Inventors: Jr James B Stafford
Original assignee: CYCLOFILE CORP
Current assignee: CYCLOFILE Corp
Priority date: 1931-12-29
Filing date: 1931-12-29
Publication date: 1934-10-09
Anticipated expiration: 1951-10-09

Description

Qfi 1934- .1. s. STAFFORD, JR p CARD FILING DEVICE Filed Dec. 29, 1931 Patented et. 9, 1934 rreo SATES PATENT OFFICE I CARE) IFIHNG DEVICE Application December 23, 1931, Serial No. 583,735

12 Claims. (Cl. 112h-ll6) m cessible.

Still another object is to provide in a device of this character, improved means for holding the cards in place.

A further object is to provide a rotatable card 1155 holding device with simple and easily operable braking means so that rotation of the device may be stopped at any desired point to make any desired card accessible to -the attendant.

To these and other ends the invention resides at in certain improvements and combinations of parts, all as will be hereinafter more fully described, the novel features being pointed out in the claims at the end of the specification.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a-transverse vertical section taken substantially centrally through a device constructed in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary radial or longitudinal 3W vertical section through a filing device constructed in accordance with the invention with the casing in closed position;

Fig. 3 is a view of one of the cards adapted to be held by the filing device of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4. is a fragmentary radial section through one of the filing devices illustrating details of one form of cross partition;

Fig. 5 is a similar view illustrating another form of cross partition;

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary transverse section through the cross partition, taken substantially on the line 66 of Fig. 5;

Fig. '7 is a fragmentary radial section through a card index device showing a modified form of construction, and

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the card filing device of the present invention comprises a rotatable wheel-like body mounted in any suitable position so as to be conveniently accessible to an attendant or operator. For example, as shown more especially in Figs.

1 and 2, there may be provided a horizontal shaft 10 mounted in brackets 11 depending from a table or other suitable frame 12. Rotatably mounted on'this shaft 10 is a plurality of individual filing devices placed closely adjacent each other, as shown in Fig. 2. Each device is preferably made principally of sheet metal and comprises, for example, a pair of substantially circular sheet metal disks-14 each rotatably mounted on the shaft 10,

as by means of suitable ball bearings 15. A cylindrical member 16, preferably also of sheet metal, extends around the shaft 10 between the two .70 disks l4 and concentric therewith, slightly inwardly from the peripheries of the disks. This cylindrical member 16 is securely fastened to each of the disks 14, as by means of welding the disks to intumed annular flanges 1'7 at the edges of 76 the cylindrical member 16, so that the two disks 14 and the member 16 together form an integral unitary structure.

This construction provides a substantially circular peripheral slot. or channel for receiving 80 cards or the like, the bottom of which slot or channel is formed by the member 16 and the sides of which are formed by those portions of the disks 14 which extend radially outwardly beyond the member 16. The channel thus formed is adapted to receive index cards or the like in an upstanding or substantially radial position, which cards preferably extend continuously around the periphery of the device so that it is counterbalanced in all positions, and does not tend to assume any particular position of rest. If only a. part of the channel is needed for holding the desired data. cards, the rest of the circumference may be filled with a supply of blank cards or with old waste cards, in order to counterbalance the wheel-like filing device.

The cards are preferably retained in position in the slot or channel by means of inwardly extending lateral flanges 20 which may be formed by turning inwardly the peripheral edges of the 10o disks 14, and which overlie the tops of the cards to prevent them from slipping radially out of the slot. These flanges 20 extend continuously around the entire circumference of the card-receiving channel, without a break, and when it is 1 desired to remove cards from the channel or insert cards therein, this may be done by forcibly turning the cards obliquely or bowing them sumciently so that the edges of the cards are released from the flanges.

Supplementary retaining means may also be provided, especially in card files of the larger sizes. Such means may comprise, for example, an additional pair of inwardly extending flanges 22 at the sides of the channel, as plainly shown, for example, in Fig. 4, which flanges extend continuously around the channel. When these flanges 22 are provided, the cards 23 (Fig. 3) have notches 24 in their side edges into which the flanges 22 extend and with which they engage to assist in holding the cards in proper position in the channel. The bowing or oblique turning of a card to release it from one pair of flanges 20 also releases it from the other pair of flanges 22, so that the cards may be readily inserted or removed at will, although they can not drop out of the channel accidentally.

Preferably transverse partition members extend across the card receiving channel at suitable points around the circumference thereof, to assist in holding the cards, and especialy to prevent them from turning obliquely to a position in which they might drop out accidentally. Such partition members in the preferred form of the invention are pivoted to oscillate about a transverse axis substantially at the bottom of the cardreceiving slot or channel, so that the partitions may be tilted back and forth to either side of a radial position. This permits greater freedom of tilting movement of the cards, especially of those cards which are adjacent one of the partition members, though it does not detract to any material extent from the protection against oblique turning which is provided by these partitions.

In the preferred form of the invention, the partition members are formed of sheet metal and are relatively thin so that they do not take up any material amount of space in the channel. Each partition member may be, for example, of the form shown at 25 in Fig. 4, or at 26 in Fig. 5. The bottom edge of each partition member throughout the greater portion of its length rests loosely upon the cylindrical member 16., Each partition, however, has projecting

tabs

27 and 28 extending downwardly from the bottom thereof and passing through a short slot 29 in the member 16. The

tabs

27 and 28 after passing through the slot are bent or deformed in opposite directions from each other, as indicated in Fig. 6, so that these tabs are locked in the slots 29 and the partitions are thus held in position against radial displacement. The slots 29 are sufliciently wider than the thickness of the partitions, however, so that the partitions are free to oscillate back and forth to a considerable extent to each side of a strictly radial position.

Various arrangements may be provided for limiting the extent of oscillation of the partitions.

For example, when both pairs of flanges 20 and 22 Y are used, the partition member 25, as shown'in Fig. 4, may have lateral extensions 30 between the

flanges

20 and 22, the bottom edges of .these extensions 30 being in such position that they will contact with the top surfaces of the flanges flanges 20 and is there provided with lateral extensions 31 overlying the upper flanges 20, the bottom edges of the extensions 31 coming into contact with the top surfaces of the flanges 20, after the partition has oscillated to a certain extent, in order to limit the amount of oscillation.

One pair of card retaining flanges, either 20 or 22, is frequently found to be sufficient to retain the cards in place in their channel, especially when the cards are of small size. For filing devices holding cards of larger size, the two pairs of flanges, both 20 and 22, are frequently more satisfactory than a single pair, and both pairs of flanges aid in holding the cards in proper position. At times, however, it may be desired to provide other holding means for the cards whether one or two pair of flanges be used. Such other holding means may comprise, for example, a rodlike member 40 (Fig. 7) extending continuously around the card receiving channel slightly above the bottom 16 thereof and secured to the bottom at intervals by any suitable means, such as clips 41 encircling the rod 40 and welded or riveted to the bottom 16. Instead of using the spring clips 41 the rod may be secured to posts 42 (Fig. 8) riveted to the bottom 16 at intervals around the circumference thereof. When such a rod is used, the cards have notches in their bottom edges of a somewhat keyhole shape, so that when the cards are forced down over the rod 40, the rod enters the enlarged part of the notch and the cards are relatively free thereon, but they cannot be disengaged therefrom without a substantial amount of force. In this way, the cards are locked to the rod 40, which assists in holding them in place and in preventing outward radial displacement of the cards.

Where the intermediate lateral flanges 22 are used in conjunction with the rod 40, the notches at the side of the card for engagement with the flanges 22 should be of greater extent from top to bottom than is necessary when the rod 40 is not employed. A card of this kind is illustrated at 44 in Fig. 7, in which the deeper notch is shown at 45. Since the card is locked near its bottom edge to the rod 40, it follows that when the card is tilted backwards or forwards for purposes of inspection, its bottom edge cannot rise materially above the bottom of the channel. Consequently the notches must be of suflicient height so that 125 the top edges of the notches will not contact too soon with the flanges 22 and prevent the desired tilting of the card. When the rod 40 is not employed, however, the notches may be of less depth, as shown at 24 in Fig. 3, because in this case when 130 the cards are tilted over, the bottom edges are free to rise above the bottom 16 of the channel and thus tilting of the card is not interfered with.

When the additional card holding means 40 5 is employed, the

cross partition members

25 or 26 are, of course, provided with notches in their bottom edges through which the rod 40 passes. Such a notch is shown at 48 in Fig. 2.

As previously stated, a number of card filing devices or cabinets of this kind may be mounted upon the same shaft, two being shown by way of example in Fig. 2. It will be noted that the construction is exceedingly compact, it being possible to place two of theflles extremely close to each other on the shaft, separated only by the slight spacing such as provided by the spacing washers 50. The close spacing of the flles is possible largely because of the fact that cards are inserted and removed entirely through the periphery of the file, and it is not necessary to obtain access to the sides of the file at any time for manipulating the file or for looking or unlocking the cards.

The various filing devices mounted upon the same shaft may be of the same kind or may have some variations. For example, of the two devices shown in Fig. 2, the right hand one is of the form first described, having only the

flanges

20 and 22 to retain the cards, whereas the left hand file in addition to the

flanges

20 and 22 is provided also with the rod forretaining cards. Such an arrangement might be especially desirable, for example, in a case where it was desired to have one group of cards which could be placed in either file, as desired, and a second group of cards containing perhaps information of a difierent character which would fit only in one of the files. Under such circumstances there could be-provided a supply of cards having bottom notches for fitting over the rod 40, such cards being of the character shown at 44 in Fig. 7, and these could be placed at will in either of the files. Another group of cards having no notches in their bottom edges, such as the cards shown at 23 in Fig. 3, could be provided for carrying information of a different character, and these would fit only in the right hand one of the two files shown in Fig. 2. If through accident an attempt were made to place such a card in the left hand file, its entrance into the file would be stopped by the rod 46, and thus accidental placement of the card in the wrong file would immediately become apparent and could be corrected.

lit is intended that an attendant or operator sit or stand in front of a group of such files mounted upon one of several shafts, and grasp the files to rotate them'to bring any desired card to a convenient accessible position. Rotation of the files is relatively easy, since they are preferably mounted on ball bearings on their shaft and only a slight amount of force is necessary to rotate them, which force may be transmitted to the files by grasping the

partitions

25 or 26, or by contact with suitable guide cards spaced at intervals around the file and having tabs which stick up into an accessible position.

In order to save the attendant as much physical exertion as possible, braking means is preferably provided to arrest rotation of the file at the proper point after the attendant has started it turning. Such braking means, as shown in Fig.

1, may comprise a brake shoe pivoted to a lever 56 fulcrumed at 57 to an ear on a casing enveloping the lower part of the files. Such brake shoe may be operated in any suitable manher, such as by a link 58 connected at its lower end to the lever 56 and at its upper end to an operating lever 59 mounted on the table 12 in a position conveniently accessible to the attendant. Withthis arrangement, the attendant starts the file to rotating in the proper direction, and as the desired card draws near an accessible position pressure is applied by the brake shoe 55 to slow down the rotation of the file and finally to bring it to a stop when the desired card is just at the desired point.

lid

it envelops the upper part of the files.

or never be rotated at the same instant, and consequently one brake can be satisfactorily used for each two adjacent files, resulting in a considerable reduction in the number of brake shoes and operating mechanism necessary.

The casing 60 enveloping the lower part of the files has been mentioned. Preferably also a movable casing is provided for enveloping the upper part of the files when they are not in use to keep dustcofi of them at night, and also to prevent damage to the cards by water leakage or other causes. This upper movable part may comprise a hood-like member 61 pivoted on the shaft 10, provided with a handle 62 which may be conveniently gripped to open and close it. The casing 61 is shown in its open position in Fig. 1 but by pulling the handle 62 rightwardly from the position shown in Fig. 1, this portion of the casing will be oscillated around the shaft 10 until It is shown in its closed position in Fig. 2.

In use, the files are rotated to the proper position to render any desired card accessible, the position being indicated by the tabs on the guide cards which are placed at suitable intervals in the file. The brake 55 may be used to bring the file to a stop at the desired position, and the operator tilts the cards backwards or forward, as may be necessary, in order to bring the desired data on the desired card into view. Such tilting of the cards is comparatively easy, notwithstanding the fact that the cards are packed continuously around the file, because the cards are in the file relatively loosely and the

cross partitions

25 and 26 may be tilted about an axis substantially at the bottom of the card receiving channeL'as previously explained. In Fig. 1 the partition 25 is shown tilted to a considerable extent so that the cards resting on it are in a relatively flat posi tion so that data may be written on the backs of these cards if desired.

While one embodiment of the invention has been disclosed, it is to be understood that the in ventive idea may be carried out in a number of ways. This application is therefore not to be limited to the precise details described, but is intended to cover all variations and modifications thereof falling within the spirit of the invention or the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A card index device comprising a cylinder having a peripheral slot, index cards arranged in said slot substantially continuously around the circumference of said cylinder, said cards having notches in opposite side edges thereof, and two pairs of substantially circular flanges mounted on said cylinder and cooperating with said cards, the flanges of one pair engaging said notches and the flanges of the other pair overlying the top edges of said cards.

2. A filing device of sheet metal comprising a shaft, a pair of substantially circular sheet metal disks rotatably mounted on said shaft in spaced relation to each other, a substantially cylindrical sheet metal member between said disks inwardly of the peripheries thereof and secured to both of said disks to form the bottom of a card receiving channel the sides of which are formed by said disks, and two pairs of substantially continuous flanges, two on each disk and each extending in a direction toward the other disk for contacting with cards in said channel to hold them in place, both of said flanges on each disk being spaced radially outwardly from said cylindrical member,

one of the flanges on each disk being adapted to,

overlie the top edges of cards received in said channel, and the other flange on each disk being adapted to engage notches in the side edges of said cards.

3. A filing device comprising a substantially circular open channel for receiving cards, means for holding cards in said channel, and a plurality of transverse partition members in said channel each pivotally mounted for substantial oscillation so that cards adjacent said partition members may be readily tilted over for inspection and each locked against movement radially outwardly from said channel.

4. A filing device-comprising a rotatable body having a substantially circular open'channel for receiving cards, means for holding cards in said channel, and a plurality of relatively thin transverse partition members in said channel each mounted for oscillation about an axis substan tially at the bottom of said channel and each retained against movement radially outwardly from said channel.

5. A filing device comprising a rotatable wheellike body having a peripheral channel for holding cards normally in upstanding substantially radial position, and a plurality of relatively thin transverse partition members at intervals around said channel to prevent said cards from accidentally turning obliquely in said channel, each of said partition members being mounted for oscillation about an axis substantially at the bottom of said channel so that cards adjacent each partition member may be readily tilted over for inspection by tilting the partition member, and means for retaining said partition members against substantially radial outward movement.

6. A filing device comprising a rotatable body having a peripheral channel for holding cards, said channel including a bottom having a slot therein, and a transverse partition member in said channel, said partition member having an edge resting on said bottom and a portion extending loosely through said slot and deformed so as to be retained therein in all normal positions of said partition member, so that said partition member may oscillate through a substantial arc.

'7. A filing device comprising a rotatable body having a substantially circular channel for receiving cards, a pair of flanges extending inwardly from the sides of said channel to retain cards therein, a transverse partition member in said channel pivotally mounted for substantial oscillation, and a portion on said partition member for contacting with one of said flanges to limit the oscillating movement of said partition member.

8. A filing device comprising a rotatable body having a substantially circular channel for receiving cards, a pair of flanges extending inwardly from the sides of said channel to retain cards therein, a transverse partition member in said channel pivotally mounted about an axis substantially at the bottom of said channel for oscillation back and forth to either side of a radial position, and a projecting portion on said partition member for contacting with one of said flanges to limit the extent of oscillation of said partition member.

9. A filing device comprising a rotatable body having a substantially circular channel for receiving cards having notches in their bottom edges, means extending substantially continuously around said channel adjacent the bottom thereof for interlocking with said notches to retain the cards in said channel, and a transverse partition member in said channel pivotally mounted for oscillation about an axis adjacent the bottom of said channel.

10. A filing device comprising a rotatable body having a substantially circular channel for receiving cards having notches in their bottom edges, means extending substantially continuously around said channel adjacent the bottom thereof for interlocking with said notches to retain the cards in said channel, inwardly extending lateral flanges on the sides of said channel for cooperation with said cards additionally to retain them in said channel, and a transverse partition member in said channel pivotally mounted for oscillation so that cards adjacent thereto may be tilted readily for easy inspection.

11. A filing device comprising a rotatable body having a substantially circular channel for receiving cards, inwardly extending lateral flanges on the sides of said channel for cooperation with said cards to retain them in said channel, and a transverse partition member in said channel pivotally mounted for oscillation so that cards adjacent said partition member may be readily tilted for easy inspection.

12. A filing device comprising a rotatable body having a substantially circular channel for receiving cards, means extending substantially continuously around said channel for cooperation with said cards to retain them in said channel, a transverse partition member in said channel pivotally mounted for oscillation so that cards adjacent said partition member may be readily tilted for easy inspection, means for retaining said partition member against radial displacement from said channel, and braking means operable at will to arrest rotation of said body so that it may be stopped in such position that any desired card is accessible.

JAMES B. STAFFORD, JR.