US2418357A - Rotary card filing device - Google Patents

Description

April l, 1947- E. E. KNIT-rel. v 2,418,357

ROTARY CARD FILING DEVICE` Filed Nov. 22, 1944 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Hull Mill April 1,A 1947. E. E. KNITTEL. 2,418,357

ROTARY CARD FILING DEVICE Filed Nov. 22, 1944 2 sheets-sheet 2 Patented Apr. l, 1947 UNITED STATES PATENT Aol-FlcE ROTARY CARD FILING DEVICE Emil E. Knittel, Malverne, N. Y.

Application November 22, 1944, Serial No. 564,563

9 claims. 1

This invention relates to devices for filing cards and the like and more particularly to rotary illing devices.

It is not uncommon practice in many types of businesses to have a Illing system wherein in- |formation, data or records are kept on individual cards. The cards may be used for various purposes and it is customary toikeep them in a systematic manner in files where they may be referred to conveniently. In some systems it is necessary to remove and replace the cards from time to time for one purpose or another.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a device for ling such cards wherein the cards are carried on a rotatable drum without the necessity of attaching individual cards to the drum. The cards may be filed in a recess annularly disposed about the periphery of the rotatable drum in a manner similar to that of ling in a laterally sliding drawer or box. Even though the drum is rotated, the cards will not fall away but will be prevented from falling out of the recess by a movable endless belt, one run of which lies adjacent the card receiving recess..

Although the novel features which are believed to be characteristic of the invention will be pointed out-in the claims appended heretoI the invention itself as to its objects and advantages, and the manner in which it may be carried out, may be better understood by reference to the following description taken in `connection with the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, in which,

Fig. 1 is aside view in elevation of a :filing device embodying the invention; partly in section and partly broken away to better illustrate the construction; Y

Fig. 2 is a top plan View of the device shown in Fig. 1, with certain parts broken away;

Fig. 3 is a view in elevation of a belt carrying roller which may be used to maintain the endless belt under suitable tension Fig. 4 is aside view of the roller shown in Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a drum;

Fig. 6 is a view to larger scale on line 6-301 Fig. 5; 1

Fig. 7 is a view to larger scale on line 'I-'I of Fig. 5 through one of the walls of the annular recess;

Fig. 8 is a View of a partition forming member for the annular recess;

Fig. 9 is a top view of the member shown in Fig. 8;

side view in elevation of the rotary Fig. 10 shows the partition member exed i'or insertion into the recess, and

Fig. 11 shows a modied from of roller which kmay be used to accommodate a pair of endless elts.

Referring now to the drawings in which like reference characters denote similar parts, the device comprises, in general, a rotary drum I0 mounted in a frame II to rotate on its axis I2; and an endless belt I3 trained over rollers I4, I5, I6 and I 'I.

The frame II and drum I0 may be constructed of sheet metal or other suitable material, for example, wood, plastic or other material adapted for the purpose. The frame comprises side walls i8 and I9, front wall 20, rear wall 2|, and a top wall 22 all forming an enclosure cabinet. The top wall 22 has an opening 23 of substantial size to permit a substantial arc of the drum to extend therethrough and above the top Wall 22 as shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

The drum IIl, as shown, comprises two side wall disks 24 and 25 of sheet metal and a cylindrical ring or band 26 of similar material which is secured to the disks 24 and 25. The drum is mounted on an axle 21 at its center. The axle may be mounted in suitable bearings in the side walls I8 and I9 of the frame and maintained in place by flanges 28 and 29. The peripheral band 26 comprises a cylindrical portion providing a peripheral surface 30 and has annular depending flanges 3| and 32 which may be welded or otherwise suitably secured to the side wall disks 24 and 25.

Extending outwardly from the peripheral surface 30 of the cylindrical band 26 of the drum are two annular side Walls 33 and 34. As shown, these annular side walls extend outwardly at substantially right angles from the cylindrical surface 30. They are made integral with the disks 24 and 25, but it will -be understood that these side walls may be separate parts and secured t0 the drum. Thus, the cylindrical surface 30, together with the outwardly extending annular side walls 33 and 34 provide an annular recess 31 about the periphery of the drum. The width and depth of the recess will be determined by the size' ofthe cards intended to be led on the drum.

If desired, the outer annular edges of the sheet metal side walls 33 and 34 may be bent outwardly in the form of a semicircle to provide convenient hand-hold rims or hand wheels 35 and 3B which may be readily lgrasped to facilitate manual rotation of the drum I0 upon its axis I2.

To provide individual boxes or compartments v 3 38 in the annular recess 31 and to'provide supports for cards mounted on the drum in order to maintain the cards in desired parallel relation, partition or stop members 39 are inserted at intervals in the recess around the annular 're.

cess 31. A typicalpartition member comprises a generally rectangular shaped plate having outwardly extending tongues 40 and 4I.

cess 31, the tongues 40 and 4I register with and extend into suitable indentations 42 and 43 in the side walls 33 and 34 respectively. The partition members may also be made of sheet metal or other suitable material but should be suilciently flexible to be flexed as indicated in Fig. so as to permit their insertion into the recess 31, and tol permit, when the partition members take their normal at position, the tongues 40 and 4I properly to seat in their respective grooves 42 and 43.

The cards 44, which are of stiff paper or card- -board and normally of rectangular shape, are

of a width and height to removably t into the recess 31. It will be observed that the upper arc of the drum I0, as shown clearly in Fig. 1, extends through tlie opening 23 in the top wall 2.2 of the frame and thus the cards at the top of the drum are exposed in a manner permitting ready removal and replacement in the recess 31 with the inner edges of the cards adjacent the surface 30. t

belt. Such a modified form of roller is illustrated in Fig. 1l.

' face as shown in Fig. 3, the roller may have two flanged pulleys 6I and 62 mounted on an axle 63-which may be mounted for rotation in a -A 66 which in turn may be secured to the frame.

` When a lpartition member is in place in the annular re- When this type of roller is used apair of narrow belts 6 1 and 68 are used instead of thevsingle belt I3. This permitsa space between the belts.l Consequently, this form, using a pair of belts, permits of using cards which may have To prevent the cards 44 from falling out or away from the drum when the drum I0 is rotated, there is provided an endless belt I3. The endless belt is trained over rollers I4, I5, I6 and I1, which are in turn mounted in brackets 45, 46, 41 and 48 secured to the frame II. may be of canvas or other suitable flexible belt material and of a width extending substantially across the width of the recess 31. It will be observed that the endless belt is mounted in such fashion that its upper run 49 lies adjacent the recess 31 and in an arc about the drum a substantial part 0f which on either side is above the axis of rotation of the drum with the remainder of this run beneath the axis of the drum. Thus, when the drum is rotated about its axis the upper run 49 of the endless belt engages the outer edges of the cards 44 and travels with the drum and also prevents the cards from falling out of the recess 31. I

In order to insure that the movable belt I3 remains taut when its upper run 49 engages the Aouter edges of the cards, one of the rollers upon which the belt is mounted may be a floating roller constructed as shown in Figs. 3 and 4. It has yieldable means urging the roller in a direction to maintain the belt taut. As shown in Figs. 3 and 4, the roller designated as I5a may be mounted to rotate upon its axle 50 in bearings in spaced arms 5I and 52. Arms 5I and 52 are xed to an axle 53 which in turn is mounted for rotation in bearings in lugs 54 and 55, extending from the plate 56. The plate 56 may be secured to the frame in any suitable manner as by bolts 60. A helical spring 51 about the axle 53 has one end 58 anchored to the axle. 'I'he A other end 59 of the spring restsagainst the plate The belt identification tabsl extending from the outer edges of the cards; it being understood of course that the tabs are positioned on the cards so as'to travel between the belts when the drum is rotated.

From the foregoing, it will be seen that the invention provides a no vel card filing device which is simple in construction and which is economical to make. It may be made in large sizes or in smaller desk models and for any size of cards.

It is not necessary to attach each card individually to the periphery of the drum. Any one card,

advantage for the reason that although the cards may be frequently handled the cards need not be distorted or mutilated. Accordingly, cards filed in the device made according to the invention are kept in good condition for running and rerunning in automatic calculating or tabulating machines Where such machines are in use.

While a specic embodiment of the invention has been described to illustrate the invention, it will be understood that various changes, modifications, substitutions and omissions of parts may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the lspirit of the invention which is comprehended by the annexed claims.

What is claimed is:

l. In a device of the character described, a drum of generally cylindrical shape, a frame, means mounting said drum on said frame for rotation of said drum about its axis, radially extending members positioned circumferentially on said drum providing a recess in which to le cards with their inner edges adjacent the peripheral surface of said drum, stop members for said cards in said recess, a movable endless belt, means mounting said endless belt with one of its runs extending beneath the drum and adjacent to said recess, said belt serving to prevent cards in said recess from falling out when said drum is rotated.

2. A device for ling cards or the like which comprises a frame, a cylindrical drum, means the drum about its axis, walls extending radially from the axis of said drum in planes substantially perpendicular to said axis, said walls providing an annular recess for receiving cards in a substantially radial position about the perphery of said drum, partition members. for said cards in said recess, a movable endless belt, rollers mounted on said frame, said endless belt being trained over said rollers and having a run adjacent to and extending around a substantial portion of the circumference of said drum and beneath its axis and serving to prevent cards in said recess from falling out when said drum is rotated upon its axis.

-3. A device for filing cards or the like which comprises a frame, a cylindrical drum, means Instead of a single cylindrical surphery of said drum, members spaced about the periphery of said drum in said annular recess serving as guides to maintain cards' led in said recess in spaced substantially radial relationship, an endless belt, rollers mounted on said frame, said endless belt being trained over said rollers and having an upper run adjacent to and extending around a substantial portion of the circumference of said drum and beneath its axis and serving to prevent cards in said recess from falling out when said drum is rotated upon its axis.

e. A device for ling cards or the like which comprises a frame, a cylindrical drum, means mounting said drum on said frame for rotation of the drum about its axis, walls extending from the peripheral surface of said drum radially from the axis of said drumv in planes substantially perpendicular to said axis, said walls providing an annular recess for receiving cards in a radial position about the periphery pf said drum, stop members spaced around said drum in said annular recess, a movable endless belt, and rollers mounted on said frame abo've and below the axis of said drum, said endless belt being trained over said rollers with its upper run adjacent to and extending around a substantial portion of the cir,- cumference of said drum and beneath its axis and serving to prevent cards in said recess from falling out ,when said drum is rotated upon its axis, said stop members serving as guides to main- A tain cards iiled in said recess in substantially radial position with respect to the axis of said .drum with their outer edges extending sub- ,bers in said annular recess spaced at intervals around the circumference of said drum, a movable endless belt, a pair of oppositely disposed rollers mounted on said frame above the axis of means urging said last mentioned vroller in a direction to maintain said belt taut.

6. A device for filing cards or the like which comprises a frame, a cylindrical drum, .means mounting said drum on said frame for rotation -of the drum about its axis, annular walls extending radially from the peripheral surface of said drum. in planes lsubstantially perpendicular to said axis, said walls providing an annular recess for receiving cardsl in a radial position about the periphery of said drum, partition members ind said recess spaced apart around the circumference of said drum, a pair of movable endless belts maintained in parallel spaced relation, rollers mounted on said frame, said pair of endless belts being trained over said rollers and having upper -runs adjacent to and-extending around a substantial portion of the circumference of said drum and beneath its axis and serving to prevent cards in said recess from falling out when said drum is rotated upon its axis. l

' 7. A device for ling cards or the like which comprises a lframe, a cylindrical drum, means mounting said drum on -said frame for rotation of the drum about its axis, annular walls extending radially from the peripheral surface of said drum in planes substantially perpendicular t0 saidy axis, said walls providing an annular recess for receiving cards in a radial position about the periphery of said drum, partition members in said recess spaced apart around .the circumference of said drum, a pair of movable endless belts maintained in parallel spaced relation and each of said belts having an upper run, rollers mounted on said frame, said pair of endless belts being .trained over said rollers with their upper runs adjacent to and extending around a substantial,

portion of the circumference of said drum and beneath its axis and serving to prevent cards in said recess from falling out when said drum is rotated upon its axis, and yieldable means normally urging said belts in a direction tokeep them taut.

8. In a device of the character described, a drum of generally cylindrical shape, a frame, l

means mounting said drum on said frame for rotation'cf said drum about its axis, radially' extending members mounted circumferentially onsaid ldrum providing a recess in which to le cards with their inner edges adjacent the peripheral surface of said drum, a plurality of partition members spaced about said drum in said recess tending members positioned circumferentially on esl Y Number said drum providing a recess, a plurality of partition members in said recess spaced :about said drum forming a plurality of compartments on said,drum within, which to le cards, a movable endless belt, means mounting said endless belt with ione of its runs extending beneath the drum and adjacent compartments formed by said partition members.

REFERENCES CITED .'UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Data 994,916 Francis June 13, 1911 1,475,555

Sargeant-l..- Nov. 27, 1923 The following references are of record in .the ille of this patent:

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