US2834545A

US2834545A - Digital counter for compact group indicating and/or recording

Info

Publication number: US2834545A
Application number: US498125A
Authority: US
Inventors: Herbert M Henver
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1955-03-30
Filing date: 1955-03-30
Publication date: 1958-05-13
Anticipated expiration: 1975-05-13

Description

May 13, 1958 H. M. HEUVER DIGITAL COUNTER FOR COMPACT.GROUP INDICATION AND/OR RECORDING Filed March 30, 1955 & & INVENTOR.

romvss N i j T 8/ 7 9/ Q wh s/ 9/ 9 E Z I x m MA ,2 ,D/

gmg A Q a l o wt t w r f 3 MNAQN W m mw 3 mi km WN 0 0 0 Q eter of the number wheels.

nite States The invention described herein may be manufactured and used by or for the United States Government for governmental purposes Without payment to me of any royalty thereon.

This invention relates to registers and more particularly to a register suitable for combination into a bank of registers for a compact grouping of data to be recorded.

Many projects and processes require the use of large numbers of digital counters or registers to simultaneously record separate and independent data. Prior digital counters or registers comprised a plurality of interconnected axially spaced number wheels with indicia uniformly disposed on their outer surface. When a bank of identical registers was formed by positioning a plurality of these registers in spaced, parallel and abutting relationship, the readings on each register was separated from the readings on an adjacent register by at least the diam- These separations required the use of wider rolls of recording paper and in addition to the wastage of paper, the difficulties of handling the paper became important as the number of registers in the bank increased. It is, therefore, a principal object of this invention to provide a register adapted to be combined in a bank wherein the indicia of each register in the bank lies in closely spaced parallel rows for compact recordmg.

A further object of this invention is to provide a reg ister comprising a plurality of interconnected number chains.

An additional object is to provide a register wherein the height of the indicia on the register is substantially the same as a dimension on the register.

Further objects and advantages of this invention will be apparent from the following description taken in con junction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a side view of a register disclosing a plurality of interconnected chains with their number links in recording position.

Fig. 2 is a section on line 2-2 of Fig. l disclosing the driving gear in the toothed portion of the chain links.

Fig. 3 is a section on line 3-3 of Fig. l disclosing toothless portions of standard chain links and transfer links with gear teeth adapted to mesh with a transfer gear.

Fig. 4 is a section on line 4-4 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a section on line 5-5 of Fig. 4 and discloses details of the transfer mechanism of the chain register.

Fig. 6 discloses a bank of independent registers in close abutment with the data on the registers recorded both on paper and reflected in a mirror.

Referring to Figs. 5 and 6, each register 50, 5i), 5%", etc., comprises a rectangular support or casing 12. Orbit forming guideways 18 are rigidly mounted in the casing. A plurality of interconnected flexibile belts rigid in sections, or link chains 10, 10, 10", rides on the surface of these orbit forming guideways, see Figs. 1, 4 and 5. The orbit forming guideways are shaped to cause the endless fiexible belts or link chains to follow a substantially rectangular orbit. The width of these rectangular orbits is substantially equal to the width of the rectangular support or casing 12. Each chain is composed of twenty pivotally connected elongated substantially rectangular rigid sections or links including standard links 11 and

transfer links

24 and 25, see Fig. 2. The chain is formed as an elongated endless loop and comprises bight portions atent "ice 31 and opposed side portions 34. The chains are dis posed perpendicular to the plane of base 13 of each register.

Each link or

rigid section

11 or 24 and 25 comprises an outer surface 23 and an inner surface. A portion 26 of the inner surface of each rigid section or link is in sliding engagement with said orbit forming guideways 18, see Fig. 4. A belt driving signal responsive means is mounted in support 12. It includes a driven shaft 14 rotatably journaled in the side of the casing and an integral or driven gear 15. The axis of the driven shaft 14 is disposed in a plane parallel to the base 13 of the register and is perpendicular to the plane of the orbit of the chains, as seen in Fig. 5. Driven gear 15 meshes sequentially with gear teeth 16 disposed on another portion of the inner surface of each link of the first driving chain it), see Fig. 2, causing the chain or belt to move around an orbit determined by the orbit forming guideways 18. This movement is assisted by guide surfaces 19 on the walls of the rectangular support on casing 12. The guide surfaces engage the outer surfaces 23 of rigid sections or links and hold the flexible belts or chains in contact with the orbit forming guideways. Gear teeth 16 and the portion 26 on the inner surface of each standard and transferlink are in spaced parallel relationship, see Figs. 2 and 4. Spacer shafts 40 are parallel to and coplanar with driven shaft 14 and are secured to walls 19, see Fig. 5. Spacer gears 41 are rotatable on shaft 40 and mesh with the toothed portions 16 of the links 10, 10, 10", etc., and serve as an additional means for maintaining the opposed side portions of the chain in spaced parallel relationship.

Motion transfer means are connected between adjacent chains or belts in each register. These comprise independently rotatable bearing shafts 20, 20', etc., see Fig. 5, rotatably mounted on driven shaft 14. A belt or chain driven transfer gear 21, a keeper 22 and a belt or chain driving gear 15 are rigidly secured to bearing shaft 20 and, in cooperation with

transfer links

24 and 25 in chain it), constitute a transfer mechanism for actuating number chain 10.

Transfer links

24 and 25, have on their inner surface in addition to the gear teeth 16 in alignment with gear teeth on the standard links, additional transfer gear teeth 17 disposed in spaced parallel relation to gear teeth 16, see Fig. 3. As is evident from an inspection of Fig. 3,

transfer links

24 and 25 engage transfer gear 21 twice during each movement of the chain links around the orbit. Each engagement revolves gear 21, keeper 22, and chain driving gear 15' /2 revolution. Since chain driving gear 15' is identical to driven gear 15, and is in mesh with gear teeth 16 on the links of chain 10, the result of this half revolution is that each link of chain 10' moves a space of one link along its orbit.

Keeper 22 plays an important part in maintaining a proper alignment of the chains because it prevents any rotation of gear 15' until

links

24 and 25 engage gear 21. Keeper 22 is a substantially rectangular element mounted on shaft 2!). Sides 27 of the keeper are parallel to and closely adjacent the flat surfaces 26 of standard links 11 to prevent the keeper and gears 21 and 15 from rotating until the proper time. in addition as an added or double function these side surfaces help maintain the rectangular orbit of the chains. As seen in Fig. 4,

transfer links

24 and 25 have relieved or recessed portions 28 on their inner surface adjacent to and parallel to gear teeth 1'7. When the transfer links are in the position shown in Fig. 4, the relieved portions 28 permit keeper 22 to rotate with gears 21 and 15. This transfer mechanism is duplicated for adjacent chains Iii, 10, etc., see Fig. 5.

The outer surface 23 of each link carries a number in the form of type. The number on each link is substantially the same size as the rigid section or link of the chain, see Fig. 1.

The twenty links in each chain are numbered in the following order: 0, 1, 2, 9,0, l, 2, 9. Since there are twenty links per chain, the numbers at the opposed bight portions will be the same permitting the compact grouping of the recorded data to be printed at one end of the register on paper 32, and permitting direct observation of the data at the other end by use of a mirror 33, see Fig. 6. As seen in Fig. 2, the links are constrained to move in a substantially rectangular orbit wherein the bight portions 31 of the rectangular orbit are substantially equal to the height of the links, and at least equal to the greatest span between opposed side portions 4.

For recording purposes, it is necessary that the chains or belts be positioned on the orbit forming guideways so that the links at the bight portions 31 be in the position shown in Fig. 2 and their indicium record the valve of the signal to the register. To accomplish this, well known aligning means, not disclosed, are adapted to engage and lock shaft 14 whereby the links at the bight portions of each register are moved into proper position at the moment the data is to be recorded. In operation, each revolution of shaft 14 moves two links of chain 10 past the bight portion. When the tenth link is moved over the bight portion, the transfer mechanism actuates chain 10 so one link of that chain moves past the bight portion. If, initially the register is set at 0, that is, all the indicia at the bight portions read 0, ten movements of the link of chain 10 past the bight portions produces a zero reading on chain 10 and the 1 reading on chain 10'.

The invention may be embodied with other specific functions without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. The present embodiment is, therefore, to be considered as illustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claims rather than the foregoing description and all changes which come within the meaning and range of the claims are therefore considered to be embodied therein.

What I claim is:

1. A register comprising a support, orbit forming guideways rigidly mounted in said support, an endless flexible belt riding on said orbit forming guideways, said endless flexible belt rigid in sections, each of said rigid sections having an outer surface and an inner surface, indicium on the outer surface of each rigid section, a portion of said inner surface in sliding engagement with said orbit forming guideways, belt driving signal responsive means mounted in said support, another portion of said rigid sections having means adapted to be sequentially engaged by said belt driving signal responsive means so that the flexible belt is moved along said orbit forming guideways to an extent determined by a signal to the belt driving signal responsive means.

2. A register for compact group indication comprising a support, orbit forming guideways rigidly mounted in said support, an endless flexible belt rigid in sections riding on the surface of said orbit forming guideways, said orbit forming guideways shaped to cause said endless flexible belt to follow a substantially rectangular orbit, said rectangular orbit having a width substantially equal to the length of a single rigid section, each of said rigid sections having an outer surface and an inner surface, indicium on the outer surface of each rigid section substantially equal to the size of the rigid section, a portion of said inner surface of said rigid section in sliding engagement with said orbit forming guideways, belt driving signal responsive means mounted in said support, another portion of the inner surface of said rigid sections having means adapted to be sequentially engaged by said belt driving signal responsive means so that the flexible belt is moved along its rectangular orbit to an extent determined by the signal to the belt driving signal responsive means, said endless flexible belt positioned on said orbit forming guideways so that the indicium on the rigid sections at the end of the rectangular orbit records the value of the signal to the register.

3. The apparatus set forth in claim 2 wherein said portion of the inner surface of said rigid section Which is in sliding engagement with the surface of said orbit forming guideways is in spaced parallel relationship to the portion of the inner surface of said rigid sections having means adapted to be sequentially engaged by said belt driving signal responsive means.

4. The apparatus set forth in claim 2 wherein said register includes a plurality of identical orbit forming guideways rigidly secured to said support, a plurality of endless flexible belts rigid in sections riding on the surfaces of said orbit forming guideways, said endless flexible belts disposed in spaced parallel relationship, motion transfer means mounted in said support, said motion transfer means connecting adjacent endless flexible belts so that they move in a predetermined relationship with respect to each other.

5. The apparatus set forth in claim 4 wherein said endless flexible belts include a predetermined number of rigid transfer sections, said rigid transfer sections having means on their inner surface adapted to periodically engage said motion transfer means.

6. The apparatus set forth in claim 5 wherein said portions of the inner surface of said rigid transfer section in sliding contact with the surface of said orbit forming guideways and said portion of the inner surface having means adapted to be sequentially engaged by said belt driving signal responsive means is in spaced parallel relationship to the portion of the inner surface of said rigid transfer section having means adapted to periodically engage said motion transfer means.

7. The apparatus set forth in claim 6 wherein said belt driving signal responsive means is a driven shaft and an integral gear, said means on the portion of the inner surface of said rigid sections adapted to be sequentially engaged by said belt driving signal responsive means comprising gear teeth, said gear teeth adapted to mesh with said integral gear, said motion transfer means comprising at least one coaxial freely rotatable shaft rotating on said driven shaft, a belt driven transfer gear, a belt driving gear and a keeper integrally mounted on said coaxial shaft, said belt driving gear adapted to sequentially engage gear teeth on the inner surface of the rigid sections of the next adjacent endless flexible belt, said keeper having guide surfaces engaging portions of the inner surfaces of said rigid sections and maintaining the rectangular orbit of said endless flexible belt, said rigid transfer sections including transfer gear teeth on a portion of their inner surface, said transfer gear teeth in spaced parallel relationship to the gear teeth sequentially engaged by said integral gear and positioned to periodically engage said belt driven transfer gear to rotate said coaxial shaft and cause said next adjacent endless flexible belt to move along its orbit, said rigid transfer sections further including recessed portions on their inner surface, said recessed portions positioned to permit said keeper to rotate with said coaxial shaft when said motion transfer means is actuated.

8. The apparatus set forth in claim 2 wherein said support is a rectangular casing and has inner guide surfaces, said inner guide surfaces in sliding contact with the outer surfaces of said rigid sections for holding said endless flexible belts in contact with said orbit forming guideways, said rectangular casing having width substantially equal to the width of the rectangular orbit of the endless flexible belt.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 103,221 Nary May 17, 1870 158,853 Martin Jan. 19, 1875 375,804 Davids Jan. 3, 1888 1,483,806 Hendrix Feb. 12, 1924