US3567212A - Revolving drum document transport - Google Patents

Revolving drum document transport Download PDF

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Publication number
US3567212A
US3567212A US860529A US3567212DA US3567212A US 3567212 A US3567212 A US 3567212A US 860529 A US860529 A US 860529A US 3567212D A US3567212D A US 3567212DA US 3567212 A US3567212 A US 3567212A
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US
United States
Prior art keywords
document
drum
card
interior
diverter
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Expired - Lifetime
Application number
US860529A
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English (en)
Inventor
Albert L Hiatt
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
International Business Machines Corp
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International Business Machines Corp
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Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by International Business Machines Corp filed Critical International Business Machines Corp
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    • G—PHYSICS
    • G06—COMPUTING OR CALCULATING; COUNTING
    • G06K—GRAPHICAL DATA READING; PRESENTATION OF DATA; RECORD CARRIERS; HANDLING RECORD CARRIERS
    • G06K13/00—Conveying record carriers from one station to another, e.g. from stack to punching mechanism
    • G06K13/02—Conveying record carriers from one station to another, e.g. from stack to punching mechanism the record carrier having longitudinal dimension comparable with transverse dimension, e.g. punched card
    • G06K13/07—Transporting of cards between stations
    • G06K13/073—Transporting of cards between stations with continuous movement

Definitions

  • This invention relates to rotary conveyors for sheet feeding and more specifically to sheet feeding transports wherein the sheet is transported in the arc of a circle during a portion of its movement.
  • the prior art teaches the transporting of sheet material on the interior periphery of a hollow cylindrical rotating drum.
  • the use of the centrifugal force to hold the document on the drum surface is useful rather than detrimental.
  • the holding means necessary on the external periphery of a drum are eliminated and the device becomes simpler.
  • other problems present themselves.
  • Another example of the prior art teaches the clamping or holding of the document by a retainer on the interior surface of the drum.
  • the primary object of the invention is accomplished by inserting a card or document onto the interior surface of a hollow rotating cylindrical drum by a cornering station and feed rollers that present the document to the drum surface in synchronizaed movement with the drum and removing a document by diverting the document from its cylindrical path as it contacts a diverter blade, and guiding it in a desired path utilizing the cards momentum to propel the card.
  • the diverter blade may be selectively activated at different times during the read cycle thereby controlling the read cycle duration as required.
  • the objects of this invention are achieved by plaeing a document on the interior of a constantly rotating cylindrical drum in such a manner that the document is under a physical control or restraint during a major portion of its insertion phase and that the document is progressively placed in contact with the surface of the drum thereby removing any air cushion which may cause misalignment or skewing. Also, the objects of the invention are accomplished by the use of the centrifugal force naturally created to hold that portion of the document in contact with the drum. This allows the centrifugal force to urge the remaining portion of the document into contact with the drum.
  • FIG. 1 illustrates the revolving drum transport along with its insertion feed and diverter guide.
  • FIG. 2 is a front view of the revolving drum transport.
  • FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line 3-3 of FIG. 2, showing the hinged diverter plate with projections and the interior of the drum.
  • FIG. 4a illustrates the document diverter plate out of its operative position.
  • FIG. 4b illustrates the document diverter plate in the operative position and stripping the document from the interior of the drum.
  • FIG. 5 illustrates schematically the drum transport combined with a document feed hopper and a document receiver and stacker.
  • a revolving drum transport is provided and illustrated in FIG. 1. It is comprised of several Components including a revolving, hollow, cylindrical drum 10. To place the card into the revolving drum, an insertion feed and cornering mechanism generally illustrated at 12 is supplied. A document diverter 14, and a document guide 16 is likewise provided for removing the document at the completion of its reading cycle. Another Component assocated with the transport is a driver 17 for the drum. Any well known power source such as an electric motor, or other rotary drive means would be acceptable, so long as they meet the power requirements for rotating the drum.
  • the revolving drum is cylindrical in shape and constructed of a material which will withstand substantial centrifugal force.
  • the drum 10 is connected to the drive means 17.
  • the invention includes an insertion and cornering mechanism 12 which comprises a guide surface 20, drive rollers 22, and pinch rollers 24 (see FIG. 2).
  • the guide surface extends into the hollow region of the revolving drum 10 and the document comes to rest against the document arrester 26, the edge in contact with the card stop is properly aligned for feeding onto the interior surface of the drum 10.
  • cornering as used in the specification and claims means that a document is fed into the cornering station and brought to rest and moved in the same plane but in a direction perpendicular to the initial feed direction.
  • drive rollers 22 and pinch rollers 24 are provided.
  • drive rollers 22 are supported in contact with the interior surface of the drum 10 to create a frictional contact 32 between the drive rollers and the drum. As the drum revolves, this frictional contact at 32 then rotates the drive rollers 22.
  • the drive rollers 2 are supported slightly above the document or card having been stopped by the card stop 26.
  • the guide rollers are fixedly mounted on a rotatable axle to provide an equal rotation of both rolls 22. This equal rotation eliminates skewing of the card 25 during the portion of the insertion phase when the card is constrained to movement in one plane by contact with the pinch rollers 24 and feed rollers 22. Beneath the guide surface 20 are displaceably mounted pinch rollers 24.
  • the pinch rollers 24 are movable by any Well k nown actuating means 34 (FIG. 1) in a direction such that the document or card 25 is caught between the rotating drive rollers 22 and the pinch rollers 24. It is understood that any well known electromagnetic or mechanical means could be employed to move the pinch rollers.
  • a diverter plate With fingers and channels in the drum interior are provided.
  • the revolving drum 10 has formed into its interior cylindrical surface a plurality of channels 36. These channels allow the projecting fingers 38 of the diverter plate 14 to extend through and beyond the cylinder rotation described by the traveling card 25.
  • the diverter plate 14 is hinged by a hinge pin 42 so that the diverter plate may be pivoted away from the interior surface of the drum 10 and thereby allow a card being revolved on the inside of the drum to be carried past the diverter plate 14 as seen in FIG. 4a, and thereby make one or more complete additional revolutions before being removed from the interior of the drum.
  • a rapidly reacting mechanism such as an electromagnet 44 is provided. This serves to attract a tab 46 projecting from the diverter plate 14 and thereby pull the diverter plate 14 around its hinge pin 42. Thus its fingers 38 extend into the channels 36 of the drum.
  • This read head 48 Spaced apart from the other mechanisms but located at any other desirable location around the interior periphery of the drum 10 is the document read head 48 as seen in FIG. 1.
  • This read head may be a magnetic transducer, an optical sensing read head or other type of document read head as desired. This read head is located such that the card or document 25 being transported by the drum 10 may pass between it and the interior surface of the drum 10.
  • a document sensing means 54 may be postioned at a point adjacent to the interior surface of the drum 10 to sense the presence or absence of a document on the drum surface.
  • the document sensing means is illustrated in FIG. 2, but is omitted from FIG. 1 for clarity.
  • the read head could also be used for this sensing function.
  • the sensing output may be utilized for any of several purposes. Illustrative of such usage would be: Operation of the document diverter, deactivation of the feed mechanism, indexing the read head if the read head is of the type that requires indexing for subsequent reading passes, switching between read heads if more than one is used. Other possible uses of the card sensor will become apparent to one skilled in the art.
  • the insertion cornering mechanism may be combined with any conventional document feeder which imparts a velocity to the document and allows the document to move toward the rear portion of the drum and come to rest against the card stop 26.
  • a card feeding mechanism is illustrated in FIG. 4 of U.S. Pat. 3,062,532 issued to Matthew J. Galatha and assigned to International Business Machines Corporation.
  • the document diverter guide may be combined with any pack receiving mechanism which will accommodate and arrest the documents coming from the guide and retain them in an orderly manner.
  • any pack receiving mechanism which will accommodate and arrest the documents coming from the guide and retain them in an orderly manner.
  • Such a receiver is illustrated in U.S. Pat. 3,386,731 issued to Paul R. Brinson and assigned to International Business Machines Corporation.
  • FIG. 5 shows the arrangements of the feeder 56 and receiver 58 schematically.
  • the shape of the document diverter guide 16 can be characterized as a helical convolution wherein a ribbon of material is bent such that a line midpoint between the two lateral edges passes from a plane into a helical coil. The coil is then terminated prior to the completion of one-half of one helical coil, and the document diverter plate is either formed into the end of the coil or is pivotally supported thereon by a hinge connection.
  • the card 25 is thereby positioned on the interior surface of the drum 10.
  • the card is constrained by the feed rollers 22 and pinch rollers 24 as the card4 begins to conform to the interior of the drum 10, the leading portion of the card 25 comes under the infiuence of centrifugal force.
  • the rollers release the card.
  • the air cushion between the card 25 and the drum surface 28 is expelled and by the time the pinch rollers 24 and feed rollers 22 release the card 25, suflicient air film has been expelled by centrifugal forces on the card 25 to prevent unwanted slipping or skewing. Due to the speed imparted to the card 25 being equal to the speed of the drum surface 28, there is no relative movement between the two during insertion. This eliminates fiutter.
  • the drum 10 is rotated by its drive means 17 at such a speed that the centrifugal force of the card 25 being Iotated with the drum will hold it against the drum surface 28.
  • Card feed rates in excess of 1,000 cards per minute can be achieved in a transport of this type if rcquirements dictate.
  • the card revolves with the surface of the drum, it is carried by the revolving drum past the read head 48 where the data on the card is sensed and transmitted to the machine or system using that information.
  • data may only be read one line at a time or one tier at a time as in a multi-tier card, repeated passage past the document read head 48 is required to retrieve all the data recorded on the card without the use of sophisticated storage and buffering devices. Therefore, it is often desirable to retain the card on the interior surface of the drum for a number of revolutions thereby passing the card 25 past the head 48 as many times as needed.
  • the card 25 may merely be rotated past the head 48 for a second reading.
  • the electromagnet 44 is energized, thereby attracting the diverter plate 14 toward the electromagnet.
  • the diverter plate 14 is attracted by the electromagnet and the diverter fingers 38 are then pivoted into the channels 36 carried by the interior surface of the revolving drum 10.
  • the card 25 rides up onto the diverter plate as illustrated in FIG. 4b.
  • the momentum of the card 25 carries the card onto the diverter plate 14, buckles the card 25 to conform roughly to the helical convolution of the diverter plate 14, and is thus guided onto the planar portion of the diverter guide 16.
  • Any conventional sheet receiving mechanism as pointed out above, can then be incorporated and combined with the planar portion of the diverter guide to receive those documents which have been read and removed from the drum 10.
  • the diverter plate 14 may be continually engaged with the interior surface of the drum 10 and the channels 36 carried thereby, to effect a continuous serial reading.
  • the diverter plate 14 may be de-activated and allowed to clear the surface of the drum permitting the document to indefinitely revolve with the drum as illustrated in FIG. 411.
  • the card 25 may be inserted at any point on the internal periphery of the drum 10 and there is no need to register either the leading or following edge of the document with any particular point on the interior surface of the drum.
  • An additional sensing means 54 may be mounted adjacent the interior periphery of the drum 10' such that the card 25 passes the sensing means 54 and thereby acts to retard the feeding of another document until such time as the preceding document has been removed from the interior of the drum. This prevents documents overlapping on the drum and causing reading errors.
  • the momentum of the card is sufficient to cause the card to be removed from the surface of the drum and guided by the diverter guide surface away from the drum transport.
  • the invention is illustrated as a drum, a cornering feed mechanism, and a helical convolution acting as a document diverter and guide. It is recognized by one skilled in the art that any other conventional feed mechanism may be substituted which presents the card edgewise to the interior surface of the rotating drum such that it may be carried with the drum and then past reading stations. It is also recognized by those skilled in the art that an alternative removal means could be substituted for the helical convolution such as a Stripper and a cornering station thereby removing the document. Other variations may also be made in the Structure of the invention without departing from the spirit and Scope of the invention.
  • the invention is further described with a hinge connecting the document diverter plate and the diverter document guide. It is obvous that the document plate and guide could be of one piece and of such material and dimension as to permit it to be flexed into its two operative and inoperative positions thereby obviating the need for a hinge.
  • This document transport could also be incorporated into a sorter where a plurality of document diverters and document diverter guides were positioned at spaced locations around the periphery of part of the drum. By activating the selected diverter, the document would then be diverted into its proper stacker.
  • drum need not be closed on one end as is illustrated. If the drum is an open cylinder then the insertion and diverting apparatuses may work out of opposite ends of the cylinder. In such a configuration, the drum would then be peripherally driven and a support arrangement would then be necessary.
  • the drive mechanism is not a part of this invention, it is not shown in detail in the drawings.
  • a document transport system comprising:
  • document insertion means positioned partally interiorly of said drum
  • document removal means positioned partially interiorly of said drum
  • said removal means comprises a document diverter, said document diverter having a plurality of projections extending into said parallel channels, said document diverter projections selectively movable into and out of said channels whereby said removal means interrupts said document's circular movement and causes said document to move away from said interior cylindrical surface of said drum.
  • a document transport system as in claim 4 wherein said removal means comprises a document guiding means in the form of a partial helical convolution, said document diverter movably attached thereto, whereby said document is guided after removal from said drum.

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  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Theoretical Computer Science (AREA)
  • Conveying Record Carriers (AREA)
  • Delivering By Means Of Belts And Rollers (AREA)
  • Sheets, Magazines, And Separation Thereof (AREA)
  • Feeding Of Articles By Means Other Than Belts Or Rollers (AREA)
US860529A 1969-09-24 1969-09-24 Revolving drum document transport Expired - Lifetime US3567212A (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US86052969A 1969-09-24 1969-09-24

Publications (1)

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US3567212A true US3567212A (en) 1971-03-02

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Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
US860529A Expired - Lifetime US3567212A (en) 1969-09-24 1969-09-24 Revolving drum document transport

Country Status (7)

Country Link
US (1) US3567212A (de)
JP (1) JPS4930668B1 (de)
CA (1) CA924745A (de)
CH (1) CH514890A (de)
DE (1) DE2047101A1 (de)
FR (1) FR2060933A5 (de)
GB (1) GB1254997A (de)

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
CH514890A (de) 1971-10-31
CA924745A (en) 1973-04-17
JPS4930668B1 (de) 1974-08-15
DE2047101A1 (de) 1971-04-01
FR2060933A5 (de) 1971-06-18
GB1254997A (en) 1971-11-24

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