US2535779A - Column selecting means for cardsorting machines - Google Patents

Description

K. J. BRAUN COLUMN SELECTING MEANS FOR CARD SORTING MACHINES Filed 001;. 16, 1948 IN V EN TOR. Karl J Brazuz,

Dec. 26, 1950 .trol a distributing mechanism fully explained in Patented Dec. 26, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE COLUMN SELECTING MEANS FOR CAR!)- SORTING EdACHINES Karl J. Braun, Glenbrook, Conn, assignor to Control Instrument Company, Inc., Brooklyn, N. Y., acorporation of New York Original application November 25, 1944, Serial No.

565,108, new Patent No. 2,454,628, dated November 23, 1948. Divided and this appiication October 16, 1948, Serial No. 54,986

9 Claims. (01. 235-6111) 2 This invention relates to improvements in stasaid patent. Briefly, said distributing mechatistical card sorting means and has particular nism is controlled by a detector slide It! and the reference to a column selecting mechanism for selector slides let rotatable with the wheel 33 the sensing device of the machine, this applicaand all having notches H2 in their outer edges tion being a division of my copending applica- 5 and all normally urged to the left, as viewed in tion, Serial No. 565,108, filed November 25, 1944, Fig. 2 by springs H3, but being prevented from now Patent No. 2,454,628, dated November 23, doing so, until a sensing position of a slide is 1948. reached, by means not shown in this applica- An object of the present invention is to pro tion. Should a detector pin H36 fail to engage vide an improved mechanism of simple and pracw the leading edge portion of a card at the sensing tical construction which will enable the columnar position of said pin, the latter will not enter a adjustment of a card sensing device without innotch H2 in the associated slide it'll also at said terference with other associated parts of the maposition, and said slide will then be moved by chine. its spring M3 to align the recess H6 in the slide The inventive idea involved is capable of rewith all the recesses the slides I08 of the group ceiving a variety of mechanical expressions one in which said slide is? is contained, whereupon of which, for purposes of illustration, is shown in a locking bail i i? normally resting upon the inthe accompanying drawing; but it is to be exner edge of the slide it? will enter said recesses pressly understood that said drawing is employed H5, HES to lock said slides, with the result that merely for the purpose of facilitating the descripsaid distributor mechanism will be unafiected by tion of the invention as a whole and not to deany subsequent sensing of a hole in the imfine the limits thereof, reference being had to properly fed card which caused the operation of the appended claims for this purpose. t e detector slide. With a in proper posi- In the drawing: tion for sensing, the detector pin H153 will con- Fig. 1 is a fragmentary longitudinal sectional tact the card and enter a notch in the slide it! view of a card sorting machine constructed in to lock the same and any pin #95 entering a hole accordance with the invention, and in said card will not engage in a notch H2 in Fig. 2 is a fragmentary isometric view of the the associated slide E38 and the latter will consensing device and the columnar adjusting sequently be moved by its spring H3 to control mechanism therefor, the mentioned distributor mechanism so that said The drawing illustrates only those portions of card will be deposited into its proper pocket.

a sorting machine sufiicient for an understand- The columnar adjustment of the sensing Wheel ing of the general operation thereof and of the 33 and associated operations, as shown in Fig. 2,

invention herein involved, and reference is made will now be described. It is understood that said to the above identified patent for a description adjustment is effected before starting a sorting of the complete machine. operation and is for the purpose of positioning As shown in Fig. 1, cards are stacked in the the sensing wheel along the shaft 8? (Fig. 1) so magazine 30 and fed therefrom in a well known that the sensing pins will rotate in a plane dimanner by a picker device 96 which is reciprorectly above predetermined columns of cards to cated through the medium of the linkage gener- 4i be analyzed. Said adjustment is accomplished by ally indicated at 9 9. As a card is fed from the means of a feed screw l2! rotatably mounted magazine, it passes between feed rollers 62 to a in machine side pistes (not shown; carrycontinuously rotatable sensing device 33 in the ing a follower block 22 having rollers i233 enform of a wheel which analyzes each card gageable on opposite sides of the sensing wheel. While in transit beneath the device. From the v Said block contacts the front Wall 524 (Fig. l) sensing position, the cards pass between rollers of the magazine so that as the screw I21 is 64 and are picked up by the endless conveyor rotated in either direction the block will move for deposit into the various horizontally arranged therealong and thus shift the wheel axially and pockets 34 in accordance with their analysis by with respect to the columns of a card. The the sensing device. 50 thread pitch of the shaft 52! is such that one Said device comprises groups of sensing pins complete revolution thereof by the crank will I05, with each group also including a detector shift the block 522. and consequently th wheel pin H15 utilized to sense the presence or absence 33, a distance equal to the space between two adof a card at the sensing position to thereby ,conjacent columns of a card. An apertured indicator carried by the block 522 moves over an index scale I26 to indicate the position of the sensing wheel with respect to the card columns. In order that the turning of the shaft IZI may be terminated at the conclusion of a complete revolution and the sensing wheel accurately positioned relative tothe desired card column, said shaft carries a cam roller I21 having a transverse groove I23 in its periphery in which a roller I29 engages when the sensing wheel is correctly set relative to a card column. Said roller I29 is carried by one end of a rocker arm I33 the other end of which is joined to a rocker shaft i3! by means of the link I32 and arm I33. A coil spring I34 exerts a constant downward pull upon the arms I33 and I30 so that the roller I29 will be maintained in contact with the periphery of the roller I21 and the groove I28 therein and said downward pull is just sufiicient to normally maintain the vertically movable card supporting plate I35 in its upper position where it cooperates with the sensing pins Ifl-I I33.

Said plate I35 is mounted at the sensing position in cooperation with the sensing wheel 33 and, during sorting, is in its upper position so as to maintain the cards passing thereover in operative association with the sensing pins, the upward movement of the plate being limited by engagement of the roller I29 in the groove I28. For the purpose of permitting any pin which encounters a hole in a card to pass completely therethrough and thus not be forced inwardly toward its locking engagement with one of the slides I31, I08 by contact with said plate I35, the upper surface of the latter is provided with a plurality of channels I36 extending in the direc tion of movement of the cards for receiving the outer ends of said pins in any columnar position of the sensing wheel. Therefore, in order to prevent possible mutilation of the pins when axially adjusting the wheel 33, means are provided for lowering said plate I35 sufiiciently to permit said pins to freely pass laterally thereover without contacting the side walls of any channel I36. To this end, the plate I35 is supported by a bracket I31 linked to the rocker arms I 38 fixed upon the rocker shaft I3I. With this arrangement, as the crank 32 is initially turned to efiect an adjustment of the wheel 33, the cam roller I2'I will depress the roller I29 as the latter is disengaged from the groove I28, and the arm I30 is thus moved about its pivot to rock the shaft I3I in the proper direction to depress the plate I35. With the roller I29 engaging the high surface of the cam roller IZ'I, the plate I35 will be held in its lowered position free of the sensing pins on the wheel 33 until a complete revolution of the shaft IZI and consequent shifting of said wheel the distance between two adjacent columns is efiected, whereupon said roller I29 again enters the groove I23 under the influence of the spring I34, and the rocker arm I33 then reverses its movement to raise the plate I35 to its operative position in which the pins I95, I06 will enter one of the channels I35 when they do notengage a card during rotation of the sensing wheel.

The provision of the vertically movable plate I35, with its operating connections including the spring I34, provides a yieldable support for the cards at the sensing position so that in the event of a card jam thereat the pressure of the jammed card or cards upon the plate will be sufiicient to force the latter downwardly against the tension of the spring I34, and this downward movement of said plate, however slight it may be, will tend .to minimize the possibility of damage to the sensing pins I05, I06 by the jammed cards and also reduce the magnitude of the jam by providing additional space between the sensing wheel and the plate through which some of the cards may pass before the machine is stopped.

What is claimed is:

1. In a sorter, a sensing means, a movable card supporting plate in cooperative relation with said means during a sensing operation, means to yieldably maintain said supporting plate in cooperation with said sensing means, means to efiect columnar adjustments of said sensing means, and means to move said plate out of cooperative relation with said sensing means during adjust ments of the latter.

2. In a sorter, a sensing means including pins, a movable card supporting plate in cooperative relation with said means during a sensing operation and provided with channels for receiving said pins when they are in sensing position, means to yieldably maintain said supporting plate in cooperation with said sensing means, means to eiiect columnar adjustments of said sensing means, and means controlled by said adjusting means for moving said plate out of cooperative relation with said sensing pins.

3. In a sorter, a rotatable sensing means for sensing cards during transitory movement, a movable card supporting plate mounted below said sensing means, in cooperative relation therewith during a sensing operation, means to yieldably maintain said supporting plate in cooperation with said sensing means, means to effect columnar adjustments of said sensing means, and means controlled by said adjusting means for moving said plate out of cooperative relation with said sensing means.

4. In a sorter, a rotatable sensing device hav ing movements only around and longitudinally of its axis of rotation, a card supporting member movable into and out Of cooperative relation with said sensing device, means to yieldably maintain said supporting member in cooperation with said sensing device, means to move said sensing device longitudinally, and means controlled by the operation of said moving means and acting in opposition to the first named means for moving said supporting member out of cooperative relation with said sensing device during said longitudinal movement.

5. In a sorter, a rotatable sensing wheel including sensing pins normally extending in sensmg position beyond the periphery of said wheel, a card supporting member having movements lnto and out of cooperative relation with said pins and provided with channels for receiving the pins when the same are extended and the Wheel is rotated, means to yieldably maintain said supporting plate in cooperation with said sensing means, means to adjust said wheel column- W186 of a card, and means controlled by the last named means to move said supporting member out of cooperative relation with said pins so that the latter will not extend into said channels.

6. In a sorter, a rotatable sensing wheel includmg sensing pins normally extending in sensing position beyond the periphery of said wheel, a card supporting member having movements into and out of cooperative relation with said pins and provided with channels for receiving the pins when the same are extended and the wheel is rotated, an operating element for said wheel having means engageable on opposite sides thereof to move said wheel axially when said elementis operated, a feed screw for operating said-element, and connections between said feed screw and card supporting member for moving the latter out Of cooperative relation with said pins when said screw is turned.

'7. In a sorter, a sensing means, a movable card supporting member normally in association with said sensing means for the passage of cards therebetween while being sensed, and means to yieldably maintain said supporting member in its normal position.

8. In a sorter, a sensing means, a movable card supporting member normally in cooperative position relative to said sensing means and movable out of said position under excessive pressure by cards thereon, and means to maintain said supporting member in its normal position except when excessive pressure is applied to the same by said cards.

9. In a sorter, a sensing means, a card supporting member movable into and out of cooperative relation with said sensing means, a rock- REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,432,345 Lasker Oct. 17, 1922 1,741,992 Kleckler Dec. 31, 1929

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