US2640715A

US2640715A - Collating writing board

Info

Publication number: US2640715A
Application number: US235185A
Authority: US
Inventors: Dudley M Lontz
Original assignee: MCBEE CO
Current assignee: MCBEE Co
Priority date: 1951-07-05
Filing date: 1951-07-05
Publication date: 1953-06-02
Anticipated expiration: 1970-06-02

Description

June 2, 1953 D. M. LONTZ 2,540,715

' CQLLATING WRITING BOARD Filed July 5, 1951 5 Sheets-Sheet; 1

Jaumvu INVENTOR. F15, owzirmw/vrz June 2, 1953 D. M. LONTZ. 2,640,715

' COLLATING WRITING BOARD Filed July 5, 1951 5 Sheets-Sheet 2- mmv'ron. 76.? v 04/045? M. 401w:

- Afro/Mi)? June 2, 1953 D. M. LONTZ ,5

COLLATING WRITING'BOARD Filed July 5, 1951 5 Sheets-Sheet a I N V EN TOR. 0004!) M l O/VI'Z June 2, 1953 D. M. LONTZ 2,540,715

' 'COLLATiNG WRITING BOARD Filed Jill s, 1951.

5 Sheets-Sheet 5 IN V EN T OR. 0004!) M {CA 72 Arrow/A76 Patented June 2, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE McBee Company, Athen of Ohio s, Ohio, a corporation Application July 5, 1951, Serial No. 235,185

9 Claims.

This invention relates to a collating writing board.

In prior collating writing boards, the posting of a plurality of ledger cards is readily accomplished where the order of posting of ledger cards is known and also where the posting line on each card is the same, because a board can be loaded with a stack of cards and the top card removed after each posting operation. However, where the order in which the ledger cards are to be posted is unknown, such as, for instance, with installment accounts, hospital patient accounts, and the like, a board cannot be stacked with ledger cards, and the individual ledger cards must be separately placed on the board, posted and removed as the particular transaction necessitating a posting operation arises. Also, where the posting line on each card is difierent, a stack of cards, from a practical standpoint, cannot be loaded onto the board, but the cards must be individually placed on the board, posted and removed. Such individual posting of ledger cards with the use of prior collating boards has been time-consuming, since the operator must grasp the journal and its carbon sheet and lift these sheets to enable the insertion of a ledger card, such grasping and lifting operations to be repeated for each ledger card. This operation is not easily and readily accomplished since these sheets generally lie substantially fiat against the writing board. Furthermore, errors in posting are likely unless the operator can check the registry of the first unposted line of the ledger with the first unposted line of the journal and errors of this kind are particularly likely where different lines on different ledger cards are to be posted.

It is a main object of the present invention to provide a collating board having a mechanism operable to lift the journal and its carbon sheet, preferably to an inclined position, to facilitate the insertion of a ledger card beneath the journal and its carbon sheet.

Another main object of the present invention is to provide a collating writing board having a mechanism equipped with pegs or similar devices for receiving and holding a ledger card, and which pegs or similar devices are adapted to be disposed in a position outward from the board to at least partially expose the body of a ledger card to enable a visual comparison of the first unpcsted lines of the card and journal to thereby facilitate checking of the alignment and registry of these lines, and adapted to be shifted inwardly toward the board to position the main body of a ledger card in register beneath the journal sheet for posting purposes.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a collating board having the two mechanisms set out in the preceding two paragraphs operatively connected so that when the pegs are shifted inwardly, the journal and its carbon sheet are lowered, and when the pegs are shifted outwardly, the journal and its carbon sheet are raised.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a device for lifting a journal and its carbon sheet or equivalent sheet or sheets, which device includes a shield covering a substantial portion of the lower part of the writing surface of the writing board to enable the operator to rest his writing hand on the journal at a point on the shield during the posting operations without danger of smudging or smearing the carbon sheet beneath the journal onto the lower ledger card or sheets.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide a novel foldable leg construction for a writing board or equivalent structure wherein the foldable leg is releasably locked in erect position enabling ready folding and unfolding of the leg.

Various other objects will be apparent from the following written description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. l is a plan view of a collating writing board, embodying the concepts of the present invention, having a journal and a carbon sheet in place on the board and depicts the apparatus in a condition wherein the lifting shield is in its raised or inclined position. and wherein a ledger card is partially inserted beneath the shield and the journal and the carbon sheet thereabove.

Fig. 2 is a view similar to Fig. 1 except that the ledger card has been placed onto the pegs of the shuttle carriage; the shuttle carriage is in its outward position and the shield, journal and the carbon sheet are still in a raised or inclined position.

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the collating board disclosed in Fig. 1 with the accounting cards and sheets removed and showing the collating board partially broken away.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along line 44 of Fig. 6.,

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along line 55 of Fig. 3, and showing part of the construction of the shuttle carriage.

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary sectional view along line 6-6 of Fig. 3 and showing the operative connection between the shuttle carriage and the lifting shield, and also the mechanism for advancing the journal and its carbon sheet.

Fig. "I is a fragmentary sectional view taken along line i| of Fig. 3 showing the manner of connecting the writing board and the cover plate.

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary bottom view of the writing board showing one of the folding legs in folded position.

Fig. 9 is a sectional view along line 99 of Fig. 8.

Fig. 10 is a sectional view taken along line ill-l of Fig. 9, showing in dot-dash lines the position of the folding leg in erect position.

Fig. 11 is a fragmentary side view of the writing board showing the leg in erect position.

Briefly, the collating writing board of the present invention includes a mechanism operable for lifting a journal or like sheet and its carbon sheet to an inclined position to permit a ledger card or the like to be inserted therebeneath and placed on the writing surface of the board. The collating board includes another mechanism equipped with pegs or similar devices for receiving and holding a ledger card and which pegs or similar devices are adapted to be disposed in an outward position to partially expose the body of a ledger card to enable a visual comparison of the first unposted line of the ledger card with the first unposted line of the journal, and which pegs are adapted to be shifted, inwardly toward the board to position the main body of the ledger card in register beneath the journal for posting purposes, and then be shifted outwardly away from the board to the first named position to enable removal of the posted ledger card and the insertion of an unposted ledger card, the mechanisms for lifting the journal and for holding the pegs being operatively connected so that when the pegs are shifted inwardly the journal is lowered and when the pegs are shifted outwardly the journal is raised.

Referring to the accompanying drawings wherein similar reference characters designate similar parts throughout, the collating writing board of the present invention includes a rigid writing board I having pads 16 at each corner thereof as the parts are depicted in Fig. 3 and foldable legs generally entitled H at the upper end thereof, said pads and legs to be more fully described hereinafter.

A journal, generally entitled A, and a carbon sheet B located therebeneath as clearly shown in Fig. l are adapted to be held at their righthand margins as the parts are depicted in Fig. 1 by having perforations therein fitting over posting pegs 20 provided on a slide bar 2! slidably received within a T-shaped groove 22 as clearly shown in Fig. 6. The journal A and carbon sheet B are retained on the slide bar 2| by means of a retainer bar 25 which is suitably apertured to be received by pegs 20. There is a handle 25 on the retainer bar 24 to enable the retainer bar to be removed to enable removal of the journal A and carbon sheet B.

The slide bar 2!, and, therefore, the journal A and carbon sheet B are adapted to be advanced in step-by-step fashion toward the top of the writing board as the parts are depicted in Fig. l by a mechanism including a pinion 30 engaging a rack 3| formed in the righthand edge of writing board 15, said pinion being supported from the slide bar 2! by means of a flexible bracket 32 and driven by a knob 33 to which it is fixedly secured. Flexible bracket 32 is secured at one end to slide bar 2| and forces pinion 30 into yielding engagement with the notches of the rack 3|, thereby maintaining a driving relationship between the pinion and the rack. The knob 33 is rotatably mounted on bracket 32 by means of a shoulder screw 35 receivable through the knob, said shoulder screw having an acorn nut 36 threaded against the shoulder of the shoulder screw, there being suitable washers 3'! between the bracket, knob and acorn nut.

A step-by-step and line-by-line advancement of the slide bar, and, therefore the journal sheet A and carbon sheet B, is obtained because the distance from the axis of the pinion to the rack Si is greater when a single tooth is in full engagement with a notch as compared to the position shown in Fig. 4 where two teeth of the pinion are in engagement with two notches of the rack 3|, whereby the flexible bracket is deformed a greater extent when only a single tooth is in engagement with the rack. The flexible bracket, therefore, will urge the pinion to remain in the position in which two teeth are in engagement with the rack. Rack 3! is so designed that its notches are spaced the same distance apart as the posting lines of the journal, and, therefore, the posting lines of the journal are advanced in a step-by-step movement toward the top of the writing board as knob 33 is rotated.

Journal A and carbon sheet B are adapted to be lifted to an inclined position by a lifting shield 49 which is provided with knuckles M to pivotally receive a hinge pin 42 mounted on hinge pins mounting studs M receivable through apertures or holes in the writing board, as clearly shown in Fig. 6. There are spring washers 46 on studs 44 disposed between heads 41 of studs it and the bottom of writing board 15.

Lifting shield 40 is adapted to be lowered and raised by a shuttle carriage 59 in a manner to be described. Shuttle carriage 50 is provided at its outer and, as clearly shown in Fig. 5, with posting pegs 5| and 51a having shoulders 52, which posting pegs are adapted to receive a ledger card C which is suitably perforated along its lefthand margin as the parts are depicted in Fig. 2 to enable the ledger card to be selectively positioned on the pegs, thereby enabling any one of the various posting lines of the ledger card to be aligned with the center posting peg 5m, which is preferably suitably marked so as to be identified apart from the other two posting pegs. As is obvious from Fig. 5, the left hand margin of the ledger card C rests on the shoulders 52 of pegs 5| and 5m and, therefore, is supported in the same plane as the body of the ledger card, which is supported by the writing surface of the rigid writing board I5. There are suitable recesses at 59 on the outer end of thecarriage 59 to accommodate the fingers of the operator to enable easy removal and application of ledger cards to the pegs.

As is clearly shown in Fig. 3, the outer end of the shuttle carriage 59 and the pegs 5i and 5m are disposed above the shield 40, considered in a horizontal plane, so that there is a space between the posting line peg 5la. and the upper edge of shield 49 equal to a limited number of posting lines to allow for several more posting operations on a single ledger card with the ledger card in one position before encountering the shield.v Conveniently the space may be equal to irom'five to ten posting lines. Obviously, there can be no posting in the area oithe shield since it covers the ledger therebeneath.

Shuttle carriage 50 has a handle .51 at the outer end thereof and disposed opposite the posting .line peg 51a, as can be appreciated by a comparison of Figs. 3 and 5, to enable shuttling of carriage '50.

Shuttle carriage 5i! is slidably supported .beneath the writing board by means of a cover plate 513 secured to writing board I5 by four screws 6], cover plate 60 is preferably .a stamped sheet metal element having a depressed central portion eta to accommodate and support various parts to be described, a peripheral generally U- shaped securing flange portion 60b, and shoulders 80c and 60d, shoulder 60c being .disposed at the left-hand end of cover plate 69 as the parts are depicted in Fig. 3, and shoulder 60d being :disposed adjacent to the lower right-hand corner of cover plate Bil between central portion Mia and securing flange 68b. Shoulder the supports carriage so adjacent to the outer end thereof as shown in Fig. 5, and shoulder 80d supports the inner end of carriage 50 as shown in Fig. 6.

Screws 6! thread into nuts 62 riveted to cover plate '66. As is clearly shown in Fig. 7, the writing board I5 is counterbored at 64 to an extent substantially larger than the heads of the screws, to accommodate the heads of the screws, and bores 55 in the writing board, which receive the shanks of the screws are substantially larger than the shanks to enable a shifting of the writ-- ing board and cover relative to one another to allow for an initial adjustment of peg 51a with respect to the journal advancing mechanism so that whenever pinion it!) is at rest, a posting space on the journal is disposed opposite and in alignment with 'peg '5 I a.

Shuttle carriage 50 "is guided adjacent its outer and inner ends for transverse sliding movement relative to writing board l5. Adjacent its outer end, shuttle carriage 50 has a guide slot 61 therein (compare Figs. 3 and 5), which receives a roller tt mounted on a pin 69 preferably formed integrally with a rivet'lfi mounted on the central portion 60a of cover plate 68. Shuttle carriage 5D has an an-gularly disposed inner end 50a guided by and extending between three spacers 15 mounted on rivets it, said rivets securing a ball guide So to cover plate 68. Shield t'll is actuated by the shuttle carriage 513, through the medium of a shield actuating ball 18 engaging shield Ml (see Fig. 6) and retained within ball guide 8!), which is provided with a reduced portion at '86 for retaining the ball within the ball guide. Shuttie carriage so is provided with a tapered slot -99, which tapers toward the right hand margin of the writing board, as the parts are shown in Fig. 3, for receiving actuating ball 18. When carriage 50 is pulled outwardly, ball 18 progressively registers with the narrower portions of slot 99 and is consequently cammed upwardly and out of the slot, therefore raising shield 49. When carriage 5B is shoved inwardly, ball 18 progressively registers with the wider portions of slot 99 and consequently progressively descends into the slot thereby allowing shield M to descend under the influences of gravity.

There is an over-center spring mechanism for urging the shuttle carriage 50 to remain in either its extreme outward or extreme inward position in whichever position the shuttle carriage is moved. This over-center spring mechanism inchides a c shaped spring 98 having an eye 98a formed at one end thereof disposed on a rivet 99 secured to the shuttle carriage 50, as shown in Fig. 5, and another eye 981), formed at the other end thereof, disposed on a rivet I00 secured to the cover plate .60. Spring 98, as the parts are depicted in Fig. 3, urges the carriage into its outermost position. When the carriage is shoved inwardly over-center spring 98 will snap over center and assume the dot-dash position shown in Fig. 3, therefore urging the carriage to remain at its innermost position.

The collating writing board is operated in the following manner. Journal .A and the carbon sheet ,B, havin perforations therein, are'applied to the posting pegs 29 on the slide bar 2| and are retained in place by the retainer bar 24. The

, knob 3:3 is then rotated to advance the journal sheet to a position where the first unposted line of journal A is opposite the posting line peg .5la. Shuttle carriage 58 is moved to its outer position, therefore raising ball 18 and therefore raising the lifting shield '40 to an inclined position providing a gap between the shield and the writing surface of board 15. Into this gap. ledger card-C is insorted and placed onto the pegs 5| and 51a with the first -unposted line of the ledger card in alignment with the posting line peg 5 5a. In this position, the body of the ledger card .is next to the writing surface of the writing board I 5 and is exposed at the left hand margin thereof, as clearly shown in Fig. 2, to enable .a visual comparison of the first unposted lines of the journal and ledger card. After the visual inspection proves a correct alignment of the first unposted lines of the journal and ledger, the shuttle carriage 5.0 is shoved inwardly by means of handle 57 so that the .body of the ledger card C is fully disposed beneath the journal A and in a correct posting position with reference thereto. During inward movement of carriage .50, ball 18 drops into slot 90., allowing shield '41) and therefore journal A and carbon sheet .13 to descend onto ledger C. An :entry is, therefore, made on the journal sheet and posted to the ledger card by means of the carbon sheet B. Several more posting entries maybe made, since, as before pointed out, there are a number of posting line spaces between the upper edge of shield 40 (considered in a horizontal plane) and the posting line peg 5-1.0. During the posting operation the operator can rest his writing hand on the portion of the journal A disposed above the shield 4t with the assurance that there will be no smudging or smearing of the carbon against the ledger sheet.

After the posting operations have been com-- pleted, the shuttle carriage is pulled outwardly to its outermost position, at which time the ball i8 is eamr-ned out of the tapered slot at and onto the end 50a of the shuttle carriage 59, as shown in Fig. 6 to again raise the lifting shield 49., and, therefore, lift journal A and carbon sheet .5. Ledger C maybe easily removed and a subsequent ledger-card inserted in the gap between the journal and carbon sheet and the writing surface of the writing board.

When making several linesof entries to the.

same ledger :card, the operator may wish to make certain that she has the correct alignment or that she is posting to the next open line. At any point in the posting she can quickly pull the shuttle carriage outwardly to visually check the unposted lines of the journal and the ledger, and then shove the shuttle carriage back in for the posting operation.

-' Thepads I6 and folding legs 'I'1 have been previously generally referred to, and the folding legs are best shown in Figs. 8 through 11. Each folding leg assembly includes a rod bent into a generally U-shape to provide a leg I01 partially covered by a rubber tube I08. Leg I01 has ends I I I and I I2 bent outwardly in opposite directions but in axial alignment with one another. These bent ends provide pivots by which the foldable leg can be swung from a horizontal or folded position to an erect or vertical position.

Leg I01 is bodily shiftable for reasons to be described, and to permit such movement, ends III and H2 are supported for endwise movement in the following manner. End III has a piston H3 secured thereto, said piston bein slidably received within a. bore IM of a spring housing H5. Leg I? is urged upwardly as the parts are depicted in Fig. 9 by a compression spring II1 disposed within bore H4 and surrounding a pin H8 on piston H3. Housing H is riveted at H9 to board I 5.

End H2 is pivotally mounted in a downwardly bent portion I22 of a locking plate I 2I and is axially slidable relative to the locking plate to allow bodily shifting of leg I01. Locking plate I2I is clamped against the underside of writing board I5 by a nut I23 threaded onto an enlarged portion I24 of a threaded shoulder stud I25, which has a reduced threaded portion threadedly received by board I5 and riveted over at I21 to secure the stud in place. Locking plate I2I has a finger I receivable in an aperture I29 in board I5 to prevent turning movement of said plate.

At the bottom edge of downwardly bent portion I22 of locking plate l2l, said plate is bent to form a portion I3I disposed generally parallel to the board I5. Portion I3I provides a cam I32 disposed so as to progressively cam leg I01 downwardly, as the parts are depicted in Fig. 8, to compress spring II1 when the leg is swung to its erect position. Portion I3I is notched at I33 to receive leg I01 and has an abutment at I34 to stop the leg in registry with the notch, whereupon spring H1 is effective to force leg I01 into the notch. The leg will, therefore, be releasably locked in a vertical, erect position. To release leg I01, the leg is shifted downwardly (as parts are shown in Fig. 8) out of engagement with notch I33, and when pivoted onto cam I32, will automatically return to its folded position because of the co-action of the cam I32 and spring H1.

Each leg assembly includes a rubber pad I6 resting against a flange I38 which is preferably integral with a nut I23 and maintained against flange I33 by means of a gripper I39 which is forced on a pin I40 formed on threaded stud I25, as shown in Figs. 8 and 9, said rubber pad having a recess at IlI to countersink gripper I39.

The pads I6 at the lower end of the board I5 are held directly against the writing board by suitable grippers receivable on plain studs I44 (see Fig. 3).

By reason of the folding legs I01, the writing board can be disposed with the writing surface thereof inclined to the surface on which the board is supported to thereby dispose the writing surface of the board at an angle convenient for posting operations. When it is desired to store the writing board, the folding legs I01 can be released from their locked position and folded.

By the present invention, a collating writing board has been provided with a mechanism enabling the lifting of a journal sheet or equivalent sheet and a carbon sheet clear of the writing surface of the writing'board to enable a ledger card or other sheet to be inserted beneath the journal and carbon sheet. The ledger card is held on a shuttle carriage which can be moved to an outward position to partially expose the body of the ledger card to enable a visual comparison of the first unposted lines of the ledger card and journal. The carriage on which the ledger card is held may then be shoved inwardly to position the main body of the ledger card beneath the journal and the carbon sheet in posting position. The shuttle carriage which carries the ledger card is operatively connected to the mechanism for raising the journal sheet and carbon sheet so that when the carriage is in an outward position the journal and carbon sheet are raised to permit the insertion of the ledger card and when the carriage is shoved inwardly the operative connection of the carriage to the mechanism for raising the journal and carbon sheet allows the sheets to descend to a posting position so that a posting operation may proceed. The shield on the present invention allows the operator to rest his writing hand on the writing board during a posting operation without danger of smearing the ledger card covered by the shield.

Although the specific embodiments of the invention have been described in connection with only a journal and a ledger card, it is obvious that many other transactions can be carried out using other types of sheets and cards. Furthermore, the collating board of the present invention is adapted to receive more than two sheets since a statement sheet, for instance, could be placed on the pegs 5i and 5Ia with the first unposted line in alignment with the posting line peg 5Ia and a receipt could be placed on top of the statement with its unposted line in alignment with the posting line peg. Suitable carbon sheets could be interspaced between the receipt and the statement, or these forms could be provided with a carbon deposit on the backs thereof.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

l. A collating device comprising a writing board adapted to receive a journal or like sheet on the upper surface thereof, and mechanism for raising the sheet to an inclined position to allow the insertion of a ledger card or a like sheet beneath the journal sheet and next to the writing board, said mechanism including a shield mounted by one edge thereof on the writing board for pivotal movement and covering a substantial part of the lower portion of the board, and a carriage mounted for sliding movement under the board and in a direction transverse of the board and being operatively connected to the shield for raising and lowering the shield.

2. A collating devicecomprising a writing board adapted to receive a journal or like sheet on the upper surface thereof, and mechanism for raising the sheet to an inclined position to allow the insertion of a ledger card or a like sheet beneath the journal sheet and next to the writing board, said mechanism including a shield mounted by one edge thereof on the writing board for pivotal movement and covering a substantial part of the lower portion of the board, and carriage mounted for sliding movement under the board and in a direction transverse of the, board and being operatively connected to the shield for raising and lowering the shield, said carriage having posting pegs on the end thereof remote from the pivotal end of the shield and disposed adjacent one side of the board and in the central region of the board.

3. A collating device comprising a writing board adapted to receive at least one sheet on the upper surface thereof, means on the board adjacent one side margin thereof for holding one side margin of said sheet and for advancing the sheet step-by-step toward the top end of the board, a sheet lifting member mounted adjacent the last named means on the side thereof remote from the adjacent side margin of the board for swinging movement from a horizontal position to an inclined position to thereby raise the first sheet to allow the insertion of a second sheet between the first named sheet and the writing board, a carriage movably supported by the board for reciprocating movement, means operatively connecting the carriage and lifting member for enabling actuation of the lifting member by the carriage, and means on the carriage for holding the second named sheet.

4. A collating device comprising a writing board adapted to receive at least one sheet on the upper surface thereof, a sheet lifting member mounted on the board adjacent one side margin thereof for swinging movement from a horizontal to an inclined position to lift the first sheet and enable a second sheet to be inserted between the first sheet and the writing board, a carriage movably supported by the board for reciprocating movement and means operatively connecting the carriage and lifting member to enable actuation of the lifting member by the carriage.

5. A collating device comprising a writing board adapted to receive at least one sheet on the upper surface thereof, a sheet lifting member mounted on the board adjacent one side margin thereof for swinging movement from a horizontal to an inclined position to lift the first sheet and enable a second sheet to be inserted between the first sheet and the writing board, a carriage movably supported by the board for reciprocating movement and means operatively connecting the carriage and lifting member to enable actuation of the lifting member by the carriage, and means on the carriage for holdin the second named sheet.

6. A collating device comprising a writing board adapted to receive at least one sheet on the upper surface thereof, a sheet lifting member mounted on the board adjacent one side margin thereof for swinging movement from a horizontal to an inclined position to lift the first sheet and enable a second sheet to be inserted between the first sheet and the writing board, a carriage slidably supported beneath the writing board and movable from an inward to an outward position, and means actuated by the carriage operable to raise the lifting member when the carriage is moved to its outward position and to allow the lifting member to assume a horizontal position when said carriage is moved to its inward position.

7. A collating device comprising a writing board adapted to receive at least one sheet on the upper surface thereof, a sheet lifting member 4 mounted on the board adjacent one side margin thereof for swinging movement from a horizontal to an inclined position to lift the first sheet and enable a second sheet to be inserted between the first sheet and the writing board, a carriage slidably supported beneath the writing board and movable from an inward to an outward position, and means actuated by the carriage operable to raise the lifting member when the carriage is moved to its outward position and to allow the lifting member to assume a horizontal position when said carriage is moved to its inward position and postin pegs on the outer end of the carriage for receiving a second sheet.

8. A collating device comprising a writing board adapted to receive at least one sheet on the upper surface thereof, a sheet lifting member mounted on the board adjacent one side margin thereof for swinging movement from a horizontal to an inclined position to lift the first sheet and enable a second sheet to be inserted between the first sheet and the writing board, a carriage slidably supported beneath the writing board and movable from an inward position to an outward position, said carriage having a tapered slot, a ball supported by the board for vertical movement and engaging the lifting member and the edges of the tapered slot in the carriage and operable to lift the lifting member when the carriage is moved in a direction to bring the narrow portions of the slot into registry with the ball and to cause descending movement of the lifting member when the carriage is moved to bring the wider portions of the slot into registry with the ball.

9. A collating device comprising a writing board adapted to receive at least one sheet on the upper surface thereof, a sheet liftin member mounted on the board adjacent one side margin thereof for swinging movement from a horizontal to an inclined position to lift the first sheet and enable a second sheet to be inserted between the first sheet and the writing board, a carriage slidably supported beneath the writing board and movable from an inward to an outward position, said carriage having a slot tapering toward the inner end of the carriage, a ball supported by the board for vertical movement and engageable with the lifting member and the edges of the tapered slot in the carriage and operable when the carriage is moved toward its outward position to bring the narrow portions of the slot into registry with the ball to lift the lifting member and to cause descending movement of the lifting member when the carriage is moved inwardly to bring gile Igvifiler portions of the slot into registry'with DUDLEY M. LONTZ.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Oct. 23, 1944