US2632644A - Statistical card feeding mechanism - Google Patents

Description

M r 1953 w. WOCKENFUSS ETAL 2,632,644

I STATISTICAL CARD F EEDING MECHANISM Filed Oct. 6,1950 3 Sheets-Sheet l IN VEN TOR. ifilbam I/bakazzflms, y Herman 151mb,

March 1953 w. WOCKENFUSS ETAL STATISTICAL CARD FEEDING MECHANISM Filed Oct. 6, 1950 3 Sheets-Sheet im I llllllH am nth/$5, By 17811237. m/ M HTIWM INVENTOR. 1/005? w. WOCKENFUSS ETAL STATISTICAL CARD FEEDING MECHANI March 24, 1953 s Sheets-Sheet :5

Filed Oct. 6, 1950 Patented Mar. 24, 1953 V 2,61%,644:- STATISTICAL CARD FEEDING MECHANISM William Wockenfuss, Union, N-. .L, and Herman A. .Speh, Roosevelt, ;N. Y., assignors, by mesna assignments, to Burroughs. Adding, Machine,

Company, a corporation of Michigan, Application October 6, 1950, Serial No. 188,708:

11 Claims.

Thisi-nvention relates to improvements in statistical card machines andhas particular reference to-a card: feeding mechanism therefor.

object of the inventionisto provide an improvedmechanismwherein the feeding of cards, seriatim; from a stack maybe interrupted during the continuous operation of said mechanism.

Another object is to providefor the shifting of a continuously operable'card picker member between-inoperative and operative positions with respect to cardsto be-fedthereby-while said member is being operated.

A further obj-ect is to control the feed of cards from a stackiby-moving a. stop into the-path of acetate-positively prevent its-feed While the picker memberis-being continuously driven in its inoperative position and-by retracting said stop from saidpatlr-when said picker-member is ren-' dered operative to feed the cards. r

A still further object is to mount the'continuonsly operated cardpicker member for rotative movement upon the first of two telescoping elements, and toreciprocally drive thefirst element relative tothe second element and mount the sameandsaid picker member for movement, under control" ofsaid second element, to and from operative position relative to cards to be fed.

-The aboivei and other objects will appear more clearly. from the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanyme drawings whichillustrate a preferred embodimentof theinventive idea; butitis to be express- 1y? understood. thatasaid drawings are employed merelyto;facilitatethe:description. of the inventioniasawholeand. notto define the limits thereof, .referencezheing'uhad to. the appended. claims for this purpose.

e In. the. drawings:

Fig; 1. is atop. planview, partly broken away, of a: ard feeding mechanism. constructed in accordance; with the invention and with the. card magazine .remoyed;

Fist-.2. is afront. elevation of said mechanism, looking; .thedirection. of the arrow in Fig 3 Eia;..3..is a. transverse: section taken substantiallynn .theline.3-3. ofxFig. 1, showing a portion of the-card, magazinewith. the card picker member of the mechanism inits operative position and a card stop enacting therewith in. its inoperative position;-.. and

Eigz. $.15: a. fragmentary. view similar to Fig. 3 showing: the card picker member and stop in the reverse, position of that. shown in Fig. 3.

Generally, the feed mechanism is disposed between; thesixde plates 5 which support the card magazines f om. h n e-car s are fed, s r at in. through throatformed.v by the block 8 to the feed rollers 9; that convey the cards to the usual card, analyzer- Extending between. and securedto the sideplates adjacent the delivery end of the; magazine is asupporting casting |0.to theupper-ed-geof which is fastened a plate [l have ingforwardlyextending. card guide fingers that endthereof under, which, the cards pass as they; approach the feed. position.

The drive fol-the feed mechanism. to bepres: entlydescribed includes an oscillatory shaft [3. journaled in the side plates 5 and operated by the-follower members M- mounted on one end of the andengagedwith the complementary cams l s driven from. any suitable source of power (not show-n) The. oscillation of, said shaft, is impartedto two setsof operating levers Iii-which extend. forwardly through openings in the caste ing to and are connected at their forward ends to the feed mechanism to continuously recipro! cate the two picker heads I! forming. apart. of said mechanism.

. Said heads ii and their mountings are similar-9.

ly constructed and therefore a description of one will sufice; it: being-understood that, they are op -i erated;i-n. u1:risc n.v Each. head is. rotatively supported: on. the upper end of a sleeve member 18 whichconstitutesa drivei forthe head and the: lower end ef which pivotallyconnected at H! to-one set of operatinglevers Iii for limited move m et-t ward an aw y rom. the: cards 1 1,-. in; other words, laterally with respect to the direce of. reciprocatio f; thetead so at itmay be. shiftedbetween op crative and inoperative positions -as,v shown in liig s. 3 and l To support... he e d l on the pp end of. he slee l o m vement th ewi h he latter is; fl n ed at. 20 and. the usual picker knife-2i securedpto. the top. of said head and enga ed with said flange. Theh ad i I. seuided. ts. r ciprocation... b thwh n in ts. p rative and. inop ra iv pQSit Qns. by the u de rod. 2 which. t les pes. W hin the. sleeve. s, a d- .said' rod; scQ trQ1lQdn; a manner to pr e tly aop n. o hi t. saidhead between said. p i i e h am t s in operation a block.

which. r s; he p vot 39 iQr thesleeve l8...

and c p ocates with th latt r, a so has secured thereto at 2.4 a cardsupportingplate 25. that con.-. stantly engages the lowermost card 1 and moves with-the head I] so as to reduce friction. as said cards are stripped, from; the stack.

The mechanism for controlling the lateral movements of, the two. heads I1 between operative. and inoperative positions will now be described,

This mechanism comprises a rock shaft 26 supported in brackets 21 and 28 secured to the side plates 5, and said bracket 2? also has fastened thereto a solenoid 29 the operation of which may be controlled, by any desired circuit, to rock said shaft 26 and thereby accomplish the shifting of the picker heads ll from inoperative to operative positions, or vice versa. The core of the solenoid is joined to one end 30 of a lever secured on the shaft 26, the other end 3| of said lever being connected by a retractile spring 32 to the bracket 21 so as to rock the shaft 26 clockwise, when the solenoid 29 is de-energized, to shift the parts to the position of Fig. 4 wherein the picker heads are reciprocated in their inoperative positions. Secured to the shaft 28 directly above each picker head is an arm 33 carrying a pin 34 connected, by a spring 31, to one arm 35 of a bell crank 36 loose on said shaft. The lower extremity of the other arm 38 of said bell crank is pivotally connected to a head 39 secured to the upper end of the guide 22 so that motion transmitted to the bell crank 36 will be imparted to the head 39 to shift the guide rod 22 and, consequently, the head, I! between the inoperative and operative positions thereof. When the solenoid 29 is energized to move the heads H to their operative position of Fig. 3, the counterclockwise rotation of the shaft 26 will cause the arm 33 associated with each picker head to move in a similar direction and thus, through the tension spring 31, exert a pull upon the connected arm 35 of the bell crank 36 to turn the same on the shaft 26 so that the head 39 and guide 22 will be moved forwardly toward the cards with the result that each guide 22 will shift its associated head I! to engage the latter with the bottom card of the stack, whereupon reciprocation of the heads will strip said card and feed it to the rollers 9. After the head I! is engaged with the card, each arm 33 has a slight additional movement which spaces its pin 34 from the adjacent edge of the arm 38 of said bell crank 36, as shown in Fig. 3, and this additional movement places the spring 31 under sufficient tension so that it will have a tendency to constantly urge the picker head I? in the direction of the card and thus permit it, by reason of its rotative movement on the sleeve, to accommodate itself to any possible slight curvature in the card which it contacts so as to assure proper engagement of the picker knife 2| with the top edge of the card preparatory to feeding the same downwardly.

Upon de-energization of the solenoid 29, the spring 32 becomes effective to rock the lever 30, 3| and the shaft 26 clockwise and this movement is also imparted to the arms 33 secured on said shaft so that the pins 34 will re-engage the arms 38 and rock the bell cranks 36 in the same direction to shift the guides 22 of the two picker heads I! to the position of Fig. 4 wherein said heads will continue their reciprocation in an inoperative position so as not to feed cards from the magazine.

During the reciprocation of the heads I! in their inoperative position itis desirable to positively prevent feed of the cards from the magazine which might otherwise occur by reason of the continuous reciprocation of the supporting plate 25 in contact with the bottom card of the stack. For this purpose there is provided two stop members 40 each pivotally mounted adjacent its lower end upon the casting l and movable into and out of the path of the bottom card in the. magazine. When the solenoid 29 is energized for the feed of said cards said stops are adjusted to their inoperative position of Fig. 3, and when said solenoid is de-energized said stops are adjusted to their operative position of Fig. 4. This adjustment of the stops is accomplished by a solenoid 4| mounted upon a bracket 42 secured to the casting I0 and having its core connected to one end of a lever 43 the other end of which is joined to a link 44 having a pin and slot connection 45 with the upper end of one of the pivoted stops 43 which, in the illustration, is the one shown in Fig. 3. The lever 43 is secured to one end of a rock shaft 43 supported at the rear of the casting I0 and the other end of said shaft has fixed thereon an arm 4'! to which is connected a link 43 like the link 44 and similarly connected to the other stop 43. With this construction, motion imparted to the lever 43 to operate the stop 43 shown in Fig. 3 is also transmitted through the shaft 45 to likewise control the other stop 40.

Energization of the solenoid 4| is controlled by any desired circuit and occurs simultaneously with the energization of the solenoid 29. When so energized, the solenoid 4| rocks the lever 43 and arm 4? counterclockwise and through the links 44 and 48, adjusts the stops 40 to their inoperative position. A spring 49 connecting the iever 43 with the bracket 42 is placed under tension by the energization of the solenoid 4| and upon de-energization thereof acts to rock the lever 43 and arm 41 clockwise. Tension springs 38 and 5| (Fig. 1) connecting the lever 43 and arm 47 with the upper ends of the stops 40 act, upon de-energization of solenoid 4|, to assist in the movement of the stops to their operative position beneath the lower edge of the bottom card in the stack and thus prevent any possibility of it being fed from the magazine while the picker heads are reciprocating in their inoperative positions.

What is claimed is:

1. Record card feeding mechanism comprising two telescoping members one reciprocating relative to the other and also mounted for pivotal movement, a card picker member having inoperative and operative positions relative to cards to be fed, said picker member being carried by the first named telescoping member for reciprocation therewith, means to continuously reciprocate said first named and card picker members, in both positions of the latter member, and means to actuate said other telescoping member to move said first named member about its pivot to thereby adjust said picker member from inoperative to operative position during reciprocation thereof.

2. Record card feeding mechanism comprising two telescoping members one reciprocating relative to the other and also mounted for pivotal movement, a card picker member having inoperative and operative positions relative to cards to be fed, said picker member being carried by the first named telescoping member for reciprocation therewith and also having a rotative movement with respect thereto while in its operative position, means to continuously reciprocate said first named and card picker members in both positions of. the latter member, and means to actuate said other telescoping member to move said first named member about its pivot to thereby ad- Just said picker member from inoperative to operative position during reciprocation thereof.

3. Record card feeding mechanism comprising twotelescoping members one reciprocating rela-: tive to the other and also mounted for pivotal movement, a card picker member having inoperative and operative positions relative to cardssee ers to be fed, said picker memberbeingcarried by the first named telescoping member for reciprocation therewith,meanstocontinuously reciprocate said firstwnamed and, cardpickermembers in both positions. of the latter member, means to: actuate saidyotherl telescoping member tomove said first named member about itspivot-to thereby adjustsaid picker member from inoperative to operative position during reciprocation thereof, a. card stop having an operative position when said picker member is reciprocating in its inoperative position, and means to withdraw said stop from opera-tive position when said picker member is in its operative position.

4. Record card feeding mechanism comprising a continuously reciprocable card picker member having operative and inoperative positions relative to the cards to be fed thereby, said member including a head engageable with a card to d be fed during reciprocation of said member when it is in operative position and having a rotative movement enabling said head to turn under the influence of a curvature in a card engaged there- 'by, a guide on which said head reciprocates and about which it has rotative movement, means to reciprocate said picker member, a rock shaft and means to rock the same, a member loose on said shaft and joined to said guide, and a connection between the last named member and said shaft effective when said shaft is rocked to shift said guide and head laterally relative to the direction of reciprocation of the picker member from one of its positions to the other.

, 5. Record card feeding mechanism in accordance with claim 14, characterized by said head making contact with a card when said picker member is shifted to its operative position, and said last named member loose on said shaft having further movement relative to said shaft under control of said connection to further shift said guide and head in the direction of said card and to permit of rotative movement of said head about said guide when said head engages a curved card.

6. In a machine of the class described having a magazine adapted to receive cards in stacked relation, the combination of a continuously reciprocable card picker movable relative to the stacked cards between'an active position to feed cards and an inactive position for continued reciprocation without card feeding, a guide upon which and relative to which said picker reciprocates, said guide being movable relative to the stacked cards to effect said relative movement of said card picker with respect to the stacked cards, means operable to move said guide to locate said picker in said active position, and means operable to move said guide to locate said picker in said inactive position.

7. Record card feeding mechanism of the type having a magazine adapted to receive cards in stacked relation, comprising a card picker, a guide member upon which said picker is mounted for reciprocation, means for continuously reciprocating said picker, and means for moving said guide member and said picker together selectively toward and from the cards to be fed to locate said picker in an active card-engaging position to feed the cards seriatim or an inactive position away from and out of engagement with the cards while said picker is continuously freciprocated.

8. Record card feeding mechanism of the type having a magazine adapted to receive cards in stacked relation, comprising a card picker, a

guide member u pon which saidpick'er" is'xnounted; for reciprocation, means: for: continuously reciprocating said picker, means for moving said guide member and said picker together selec tively toward and from the'ncards to be fed to locate said picker in an active card-engaging position tofeedthe cards seriatim or an inactive position away, from, and, out, of engagement with the cards while said picker is continuously reciprocated, andstopmeansnonnally positioned out of the card-feeding path of the" cards being.

fed and while said picker is reciprocating in its active position and movable into the card-feeding path of the cards upon movement of said picker to its inactive position and while said picker is reciprocating in its inactive position.

9. Record card feeding mechanism of the type having a magazine adapted to receive cards in stacked relation, comprising a head member, card picker element carried by said head member, a guidevmember, means for mounting said head member on said guide member for both reciprocation and oscillation about the axis of reciprocation, means for continuously reciprocating said head member and its said picker element, and means for moving said guide member together with said head member and picker element relative to the cards to be fed to locate said picker element in either an active cardengaging position to feed the cards seriatim on each reciprocation of said head member or an inactive position away from and out of engagement with the cards while said head member and picker element are continuously reciprocated.

10. Record card feeding mechanism of the type having a magazine adapted to receive cards in stacked relation, comprising a head member, card picker element carried by said head member, a guide member, means for mounting said head member on said guide member for both reciprocation and oscillation about the axis of reciprocation, means for continously reciprocating said head member and its said picker element, means for moving said guide member together with said head member and picker element relative to the cards to be fed to locate said picker element in either an active card-engaging position to feed the cards seriatim on each reciprocation of said head member or an inactive position away from and out of engagement with the cards while said head member and picker element are continuously reciprocated, and stop means mov-, able into the card-feeding path as said picker element is moved to its inactive position and movable out of the card-feeding path as said picker element is moved to its active, card-feeding posi tion.

11. Record card-feeding mechanism of the type having a magazine adapted to receive cards in stacked relation, comprising a pair of spaced card picker members disposed on either side of center of said cards, a guide member for each of said picker members upon which the associated picker member is mounted for both reciprocation and oscillation about the axis of reciprocation, means for continuously reciprocating said picker members together, means for moving said guide members and associated picker members as a unit selectively toward and from the cards to be fed to locate said picker members in an active card-engaging position to feed cards seriatim or in an inactive position away from and out of engagement with the cards while said pickers are continuously reciprocated, and resilient means operative in the active position of said picker membersfor resiliently urging said picker members against said cards to cause the picker members to rotate on said guide membersso as to align themselves with the face of the card in feeding position. 5

WILLIAM WOCKENFUSS. HERMAN A. SPEH.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the :10 file of this patent:

8 UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date Blair Mar. 16, 1915 Powers Apr. 10, 1928 Cameron May 22, 1934 Ford Oct. 8, 1935 Simpson Dec. 31, 1940

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