US2028521A - Electric sign controller - Google Patents

Description

F. C. REILLY ELECTRIC SIGN CONTRQLLER Filed July 29, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet l A RNEY Jaln.21,1936. F, C. REILLY n 2,028,521

ELECTRIC SIGN CONTROLLER l Filed July 29, 1932 2 Shets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR RNEY Y k Ekki/ly @111m Patented Jan. 21, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ELECTRIC SIGN CONTROLLER Frank C. Reilly, New York, N. Y.

Application July 29, 1932, Serial No. 626,192

1 Claim.

This invention relates to control mechanism of the type covered by Patent 1,451,112, April 10,A

1923, wherein a talking sign effect is attained by a perforated strip controlling a bank of contacts connected with the lamps or light units of the sign.

Special objects of the invention are to improve the mechanism for handling the travelling tape or record strip, so as to insure the same running straight and true and under proper tension; to simplify and facilitate the threading of the record strip through the machine and to better the machine generally in various practical respects.

These objects and others are attained by certain novel features of construction, combinations and relations of parts as hereinafter illustrated and broadly claimed.

The drawings accompanying and forming part of this specication illustrate certain embodiments of the invention, but it will be realized that the actual physical structure may be modied as regards this particular illustration, all within the true and broad intent of the claim.

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of one practical embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 1a is a detail of the equalizer or bridle construction.

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the machine.

Figs. 3 and 4 are enlarged cross-sectional detail views as on lines 3-3 and 4--4 of Fig. l.

Fig. 5 is a broken fragmentary detail illustrating construction and operation of the circuit controlling contacts.

In Fig. 1, the control tape or strip is shown at 1, laced back and forth between the upper fixed rolls 8 and the lower movable set of rolls 9 and extending from the lower edge guiding and positioning roller I0, up through the contact bank at Il to the driving roll l2, which as indicated in Fig. 2, operates from motor I3 through suitable reduction gearing I4.

The movable set of rolls are shown as carried by a frame I5, hinged at one end at I6 and connected at its opposite end at I1, with an endless belt or sprocket chain I8, arranged vertically on upper and lower sprockets I9, 23, the upper being adapted to be turned from a hand wheel 2|, through worm gearing or other suitable gearing 22.

By means of this hand wheel control, the lower roller frame may be either raised or lowered and be held supported by the sprocket chain or by the runs of tape, or partly by both. In Fig. 1, the roller frame is shown hung from the loops of record tape -and hence tensioning the tape by its (Cl. 'Z4-242.15)

entire Weight, This condition may be varied at will. Thus by turning the hand wheel in one direction, the chain may be utilized to lift the frame so as to wholly or partially relieve the tape of the'weight of the frame and by turning the handle in the opposite direction, the chain may be used to pull down on the frame and hence add a positive force to the tensioning of the tape. The worm gearing is desirable both for the accuracy of adjustment and for the self-locking feature.

For convenience in threading the records, the lower rolls are shown pivoted at one side of the frame as indicated at 23, Fig. 4, as-in the patent above referred to, but in the present form of machine, the free ends of the shafts 24 carrying the rollers are held in the open sockets 25 in the side of the frame by an overstanding guard in the form of a bar 26, sliding over the top of the frame and movably and adjustably held by thumb screws 21 received through open slots 28 in the inner side of the bar. At the ends, this bar is shown as slidably held to the frame by the pins or studs 29 received in the closed slots 30, the latter limiting the outward opening movement ci the sliding guard, preventing its separation from the frame and assuring proper support of the same while the 'rollers are being adjusted.

It is important both that the tensioning rolls be at the proper height and be accurately leveled, so as to keep the strip` from tracking to one side or the other. Accordingly, vertical adjustment of the pivoted end of the tensioning frame is provided by mounting the pivot shaft or stud l5 in a bracket member 3l, designed to seat inside the corner angles 32 of the supporting frame and cooperating with a bracket member 33, engaging outside the corner angles to constitute a clamp adjustably held in the selected position on the supporting frame by the clamp bolts 34. Relative angular adjustment of these two clamp members is made possible by providing enlarged bolt openings 35 in the outer clamp part and means for effecting such adjustment is present in the disclosure in the form of a hand screw 35, threaded in a lug 31 on one end of the clamp part 3| and engaging an outstanding lug 33 on the corresponding end of the other clamp part 33. It will be apparent, that by somewhat loosening one or more of the bolts 34 which secure the clamp parts on the supporting frame, the two clamp parts may be relatively shifted or twisted by adjustment of hand screw 3B to rock the tensioning frame transversely to cause the strip to track properly.

The lower guide roll ID is shown supported by a similar adjustable clamp construction, the corresponding parts being similarly numbered in Figs. 1 and 4. This guide roll is .shown as having flanges 39 serving as edge gages for the strip and it will be evident that by adjusting the mounting of the roll vertically and transversely after the manner described in connection with the tensioning frame, this roll may be made to direct the strip straight and true up through the contact bank.

The lower guide roll is shown as seated in open bearings ll in its supporting bracket 4l and as removably held therein by the pivoted latches or dogs 42, which when thrown back permit this roll to be lifted out of its bearings.

To cause the strip to run straight and free through the control box, the back plate 43 which is opposed to and cooperates with the spring contacts 44 is shown as pivotally hung at 45, on the supporting bars 0.15, Fig. 3, so that it may rock on these vertical pivots and hence adjust itself to the strip passing over the face of the same and to the contacts bearing against said strips.

The board may be locked in the position of such adjustment as by means of the positioning studs4 47, engaged with opposite edge portions of the same and secured in adjusted relation on the base of the contact bank by lock nuts IBS.

To facilitate the placing of the strip in the control boX, the back plate $3 is mounted so that it may be swung to an open position as by the construction shown in Figs. 1 and 3, where the bars 56 are illustrated as hinged at 49 each at one end andas caught at the opposite end by thumb screw 5l) on a swinging toggle link 5i. It will be evident that upon loosening thumb screws 50, thus releasing the toggle links 5i, the back board or panel 43 may be swung open to uncover the bank of contacts and open up this portion of the apparatus to freely receive the strip.

The contacts are of special design as shown in Fig. 5, comprising spring brushes 411i set in the ends of tubular mounts 52, held in an insulating panel 53 and separated in rows at their terminal ends by strips of insulation 5d. These strips aid in holding apart the wires which are entered in the openings 55 and held by the screws 56 in the ends of the brush tubes.

The perforated strip is held to the feed roll l2 by a spring tensioned pressure roll 57, Figs. 1 and 2, mounted in a bracket 58 carried by the studs 59, sliding in a stationary supporting bracket 68. Springs Si engaged on these studs and bearing against the supporting frame thrust the pressure roll against the strip extending about the feed roll. Retraction of this pressure roll is effected in the illustration by a handle 62, pivoted on the central one of the studs 5S, against a stop shoulder 63, Fig. 2, and having a lug il, riding over a stationary cam E5. In the position illustrated, with the lug engaged. with the llow part of the cam, the roller is thrust forward by the springs tol hold the strip engaged in driven relation with the feed roll. By rotating this lever so as to carry the lug over the incline of the cam, it will be evident that the pressure roll will be drawn back away from the feed roll to permit placing the strip about this roll.

The feed roll may be rubber-faced to frictionally engage the tape. At times it is desirable to remove and replace this feed roll. To make this operation easy, the outer bearing 55 for the feed roll is shown as removably secured at 6l to the end of the supporting bracket 53.

For detecting breakage of the record strip, a roll 69 is shown in Figs. l and 2 pivoted on the frame at 'l in position to bear against the upwardly running stretch of the tape and having an outwardly projecting arm ll, carrying a contact 'l2 for engagement with a relatively stationary contact 13. These contacts'may be connected with a relay or be otherwise connected to effect the stopping of the machine in case of breakage of the strip. This detector roll is placed between the feed roll and the contact bank at a position where the drag is heaviest and breakage most likely to occur in case of weakness of the strip.

The drive roller is located directly above the switch bank, making the machine compact as to design. The adjustment of the guide roll at the foot of the contact bank or switch box, together with the adjustability of the roll carrying frame, makes it possible to accurately line up the tape and keep it running straight and true without any side weave.

To equalize the pull on the roll carrying frame, the chain I8 may be connected to the ring 'l5 attached by links '16 to the end of the frame as indicated in Figs. 1 and 1a.

What is claimed is:

In a machine of the character disclosed, a roll carrying frame pivotally supported at one end, an equalizing bridle attached to the opposite end of said pivoted roll carrying frame and a flexible connection engaged with said bridle for raising and lowering said end of the frame.

FRANK C. REILLY.

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