US2965293A

US2965293A - Adjustable actuating mechanism

Info

Publication number: US2965293A
Authority: US
Publication date: 1960-12-20
Anticipated expiration: 1977-12-20

Description

Dec. 20, 1960 s. LINK 2,965,293

ADJUSTABLE ACTUATING MECHANISM Filed Aug. s, 1956 Hn aJNT United States Patent ADJUSTABLE ACTUATING MECHANISM Siegfried Link, Griesheim, near Darmstadt, Germany,

assignor to Brunsviga Maschinenwerke Aktiengesellschaft, Braunschweig, Germany Filed Aug. 8, 1956, Ser. No. 602,837

Claims. (Cl. 235-82) This invention relates to calculating machines, and more particularly to calculating machines having a mechanism cooperating with the key stems.

It is an object of the present invention to improve the transfer mechanism inserted between the key stems and the mechanism controlling the adjustment of the calculating machine.

It is another object of the present invention to render possible a fine adjustment of the key stems with respect to a rocking member forming part of the calculating machine.

It is a further object of the invention to avoid any high precision in the manufacture of the calculating machine.

It is still another object of the present invention to render dispensable the complicated after adjustment of the parts of the calculating machine.

It is a still further object of the present invention to obtain a substantial reduction of the expenses caused by the production of the mechanism of the calculating machine.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following detailed description thereof in connection with the accompanying drawings showing, by way of example, an embodiment of the pres ent invention. In the drawings Fig. 1 is a side elevation, partly in section, of a transfer mechanism according to the invention,

Fig. 2, left half, is a front elevation, partly in section, of the mechanism shown in Fig. 1 taken at right angles thereto along the line II-II of Fig. l, and

Fig. 2, right half, is a front elevation, partly in section, of the mechanism shown in Fig. 1 taken along the lines III-III of Fig. 1.

Referring now to the drawings, it will be seen that an elongated rocking member 1 is supported on the ends thereof so that it is enabled to perform swivel motions about the longitudinal axis thereof through angles depending on keyed numeral. At the right end of the rocking member 1, a side plate or lug 2 forming part of the member is bent oif vertically to the swivel axis. A trunnion 3 is arranged in the side plate 2 and in a bore of stationary wall 20, said trunnion being adjustable, if desired. At the left end of the rocking member 1 a similar lug 4 is arranged which is provided with an axial bore through which extends a shaft 5 supported for rotation in a bore of a bearing plate 6 which is adjustable up and down as more fully to be described hereinafter. The left end of the shaft 5 is supported by a bearing plate 7. Thus it will be realized that by the bearing plate 6, the shaft 5 and the lug 4 connected therewith, the left end of the rocking member 1 is supported for rotation. The lug 4 is connected with a bottom plate 8 forming part of the member 1 and being arranged parallel to the longitudinal axis thereof and at a small distance therefrom. The lug 4 and the bottom plate 8 form with each other a sheet angle of 90.

portion 9 of the shaft 5 bent at right angles thereto so as to engage the bore 21.

The upper edge of the rocking member 1 is designed to form a plurality of steps 17 each of which is arranged opposite to one of ten key stems 10 arranged for vertical up and down motions in a stationary frame 18. The keys (not shown) associated with the key stems are designed in a well-known manner so that the leftmost key stem 10 is coordinated with the numeral 1 whereas the remaining key stems 10 are coordinated step by step with the numerals 2 to 9. The geometrical shape of the key stems 10 may be seen from Fig. 2 according to which each stem is provided with an inclined lower edge such as 22 which on depression of the associated key (not shown) engages the opposite arranged step 17 of the upper edge of the rocking member 1.

The operation of this device is as follows:

The geometrical axes of the swivelling parts, including the rocking member 1 and the shaft 5, are determined by the positions of the trunnion 3 and the bearing plates 6 and 7 arranged under ideal conditions in a straight line. However, for a fine adjustment of these parts the bearing plate 6 may be shifted in upward or downward direction on a stationary vertical wall 15 to be described hereinafter more in detail. The shifting of the bearing plate 6 is equivalent to a bending of the geometrical axis of the rocking member 1 and the shaft 5 so that the stepped upper edge of the rocking member may be approached to, or withdrawn from, the inclined lower edges 22 of the key stems 10 by small amounts in order to correct any slight inaccuracies thereof, the bearing trunnion 3 and the bearing plate 7 being fixed in position during this correcting step.

' tatably connected by suitable means such as a screw 13 Through a bore 21 of the bottom plate 8 extends the end with a ring 1'2 forming the hub portion of a one-armed lever 11 forming part of the adjustment controlling mechanism (not shown). Thus it will be understood that the position of the lever 11 is practically not affected by the correcting steps described hereinabove. In any case it is not required to practice to reduce the distance between the bearing plate 7 and the hub ring 12 any further although this could be done if desired.

When the rocking member 1 has been finely adjusted by the up and down adjustment of the bearing plate 6 so that the longitudinal axis of the member 1 is parallel to the horizontal lower edges 24 of the key shaft 10 and all numerals of the adjustment control mechanim (not shown) have exactly the same position, it remains to be checked whether or not these numerals appear exactly in the reading window (not shown) provided in the calculating machine opposite the adjustment control mechanism (not shown) or whether the numerals appear more or less shifted against the reading window. If no exact zero position in which the numerals do appear exactly in the reading window, the screw 13 is loosened so that the hub 12 of the lever 11 may be rotated on the shaft 5 by a small angle whereupon the screw 13 is tightened again.

The articulated connection shown in the drawings is particularly simple. The angle formed by the shaft 5 and the end portion 9 thereof allows to follow the slight bendings or deviations from the ideal position of the shaft 5 coinciding with the straight line forming the axis of the rocking member 1. However, if desired, the articulated connection shown in the drawings may be replaced by other articulated connections though the embodiment thereof described hereinabove and shown in the drawings is particularly inexpressive due to its simplicity and satisfies perfectly the object of the present invention.

The bearing plate 6 holding the shaft at the right end thereof and indirectly also the leftlug 4 of the rocking member 1 is secured by means of a screw 14' to a stationary plate 15 provided with a hole 16 having sufficient dimensions for allowing the shaft 5 to be adjusted as described hereinabove. Furthermore, a pin 25 is secured to the stationary plate 15 and engages an elongated hole 26 of the bearing plate 6 which thus may be adjusted relatively to the stationary plate 15.

Apart from the most important advantage, viz. the possibility of exactly adjusting the steps 17 of the rocking member 1 relatively to the key stems 10 and the inclined edges 22 thereof without exerting a disturbing influence on the transfer mechanism (not shown) connected with the lever 11 arranged at the left end of the shaft 5, the further advantage should be stressed that the articulated connection between the shaft 5 and the rocking member 1 which has been described in detail hereinabove preeludes any clamping or locking action which might easily happen in a rigid unit supported at three different places.

By the articulated connection according to the present invention the bearing is rendered adjustable as relatively to the height thereof so that the rocking member 1 may be adjusted at this bearing position toward the key stems 10 and in the reverse direction. Since the other bearing 3 is fixed in the end wall an adjustment of the height of the opposite bearing plate 6 the inclination or slope of the longitudinal axis of the rocking member 1 is adjusted. In this manner the steps 17 of the rocking member may be adjusted in an exactly horizontal position in which they are parallel to the lower edges 24 of the key stems 10.

When in this manner an absolutely uniform distance ratio has been obtained between the steps 17 of the rocking member 1 and the key stems 10 all numerals are equalized in their mutual ratio, so that it is sufiicient to control the key stems 10 for association with the lowest numeral 1 and the highest numeral 9. When these two values agree with respect to the angular position of the numerals thereof in the reading window (not shown) of the visual control mechanism (not shown), the same applies for any intermediate numeral so that the longitudinal axis of the rocking member 1 is adjusted in a position being parallel to the horizontal lower edges 24 of the key stems 10. If the numerals should exhibit a small angular rotation against the nominal position in the reading window (not shown), the

adjustable swivelling device

6, 14, 15, 16 of the rocking member 1 should be readjusted so as to secure the exact zero position of the rocking member 1.

I have described hereinabove a preferred embodiment of a transfer mechanism cooperating with the key stems of a calculating machine. However, I wish it to be understood that my invention is not limited to the details thereof, the subject matter which I believe to be new and patentable being defined by the accompanying claims.

I claim:

1. In a calculating machine, a row of key stems, an elongated rocking bail member, a first stationary bearing pivotally engaging one end of said rocking bail member, a shaft substantially axially aligned with said rocking bail member, said shaft articulated to the other end of said rocking bail member for a common rocking motion, a second stationary bearing supporting said shaft at a comparatively large distance from said rocking bail member, said first and second bearings being aligned to define a rocking axis substantially parallel to said row of key stems, and an adjustable bearing for said shaft adjustable in a direction perpendicular to said shaft and towards and away from said key stems, said adjustable bearing engaging said shaft close to said rocking bail member, whereby adjustment of said bearing slightly disaligns the rocking axes of said shaft and of said rocking bail member.

2. In a calculating machine as claimed in claim 1, an angular piece having two legs rigid with the other end of said rocking bail member, said first leg having a bore through which said shaft extends, said shaft having a bent end portion, said adjustable bearing engaging said shaft close to said rocking bail member, engaging a bore in said second leg for a common rocking motion and a slight relative shifting motion in the direction of the rocking axis.

3. In a calculating machine as claimed in claim 1, a rocking motion transmitting device, said device being mounted on said shaft close to said second stationary bearing for a common rocking motion therewith.

4. In a calculating machine, in combination, an elongated rccking bail member, a plurality of key stems arranged parallel to one another for movement towards and away from said member, said member having a plurality of steps arranged substantially opposite said key stems so as to be engageable thereby, a shaft substantially axially aligned with said rocking bail member, a bearing for said shaft, said bearing being slidably mounted to be displaceable perpendicular to said shaft towards and away from said plurality of key stems, and an angular piece integral with one end of said member and forming a linkage connecting said shaft with said end of said rocking bail member, said angular piece having a first leg arranged substantialy at right angles with respect to said shaft, said shaft penetrating a bore of said first leg of said angular piece, said angular piece having a second leg arranged at a relatively small distance from said shaft, said shaft having an end portion extending substantially at right angles with respect to said shaft and engaging an elongated bore of said second leg of said angular piece.

5. In a machine as claimed in claim 4, said bearing holding the axially arranged portion of said shaft closely in front of said first leg of said angular member.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,309,536 Mays July 8, 1919 1,843,764 Galloway et al Feb. 2, 1932 2,395,393 Brilliantine Feb. 26, 1946 2,587,851 Hyman Mar. 4, 1952 2,615,632 Machado Oct. 28, 1952