US3762018A

US3762018A - Apparatus for assembling particles

Info

Publication number: US3762018A
Application number: US00217693A
Authority: US
Inventors: R Romney
Original assignee: BIO LOGICS Inc
Current assignee: BIO LOGICS Inc
Priority date: 1971-12-20
Filing date: 1971-12-20
Publication date: 1973-10-02
Anticipated expiration: 1990-10-02

Abstract

Apparatus for assembling and inserting data-representing particles into a light permeable identification device, which apparatus comprises part of a system particularly adapted for hospital use, including primary and secondary identification devices, structure for the transfer of data from primary to secondary identification devices and an opto-electronic reader for communicating data from identification devices to data processing equipment.

Description

UnitedStates Patent 11 1 Romney 1 Oct. 2, 1973 APPARATUS FOR ASSEMBLING [56] References Cited PARTICLES UNITED STATES PATENTS Inventor: Russell H. y, a Lake y, 3,533,151 10 1970 Gaudry 29 201 Utah [73] Assignee: Blo-Logies, lnc., Salt Lake City, Primary Examiner-Thomas Eager U h At!0rneyLynn G. Foster [22] Filed: Dec. 20, 1 97] 57 ABSTRACT [2]] Appl. No.: 217,693

Apparatus for assembling and 1nsert1ng data- Related US. Application Data Division of Ser. No. 880,63l, Nov. 28, 1969, abandoned, and a continuation of Ser. No. 781,387, Dec. 5, 1968, abandoned.

US. Cl 29/211 M Int. Cl B231 7/10 Field of Search 29/211 M, 2ll C,

29/203 MM, 201, 203 R, 2ll R representing particles into a light permeable identification device, which apparatus comprises part of a system particularly adapted for hospital use, including primary and secondary identification devices, structure for the transfer of data from primary to secondary identification devices and an opto-electronic reader for communicating data from identification devices to data processing equipment.

3 Claims, 11 Drawing Figures PATENTEBUCI '21915 SHEET 1 nr 3 EMFDQZOU ZELQWOI oam; ZE

itamoz n {Ill MUSE APPARATUS FOR ASSEMBLING PARTICLES This application is a division of my copending application Ser. No. 880,631, filed Nov. 28, 1969, now abandoned as a continuation of my earlier filed United States Patent application Ser. No. 781,387, filed Dec. 5, 1968, now abandoned.

BACKGROUND 1. Field of Invention The present invention relates generally to highly reliable data systems and more particularly to novel methods and apparatus for encoding a master identification device to be affixed to a primary entity for identification purposes, for error-free transfer of data from the master identification device to one or more subservient identification devices at least some of which may be respectively united with a subordinate entity bearing a known relationship to the primary entity, and for reading and decoding data from identification devices.

2. Prior Art There has been urgent need for a recording identification system for use in transferring coded data from one record member to another by simple operations to avoid human errors. For example, there has been a need for accurately encoding, transcribing or transferring identification data from onerecord element to another in hospitals and other health care organizations as well as in non-medical fields. In current medical practice, patients in hospitals and clinics are commonly identified by applying to their wrists or ankles a band or strip which bears the patients name and other necessary identifying data. Transferring such data to a secondary record without possibility of error has presented serious problems. For example, when samples of blood or other body fluids are taken from the patient, the identifying data for the patient must be applied to the sample. According to prior art practice, this data has been copied manually onto the sample container and mistakes are always possible and occur fairly frequently. If the sample so taken is later subdivided, as is common practice for supplemental blood analyses, the sub-samples likewise must be identified by manually copying the data onto them or onto suitable tags attached to the containers. The same type of problems exist with respect to proper hospital correlation or reference between the patient. and his or her medication, diet, etc. The transfer of such data from patient to specimen and/or from specimens to sub-specimens etc. not only requires considerable time on the part of hospital attendants, nurses and the like but also involves the possibility of mistakes which sometimes can be very serious. Moreover, there is a critical shortage of such personnel and their time is urgently needed for other matters.

rors in other kinds of record transfer can be critically ventional blood tests frequently require centrifuging the blood samples, thereby obtaining sera which also must be properly identified and correlated with the sampled patient. The present invention is provided to satisfy the above-indicated needs.

BRIEF SUMMARY AND OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION Novel data systems, comprising methods and apparatus, are provided for accommodating (a) facile association of information representations with a primary identification device, (b) irreversible uniting of a primary or master identification device with a principal entity, (0) machine transfer of data from a principal to one or more subservient identification devices without transcription error, some subservient identification devices being adapted to be respectively associated with a subordinate entity, and (d) accurate correlation of related identification devices and the subjects or objects with which they are physically associated, (e) subsequent association of additional information representations with an information-bearing identification device, and (f) use of the information from indiciabearing identification devices. In health care applications, the principal entity may be a patient and subordinate entities may be specimen tubes, prescriptions containers, diet instructions, accounting statements, etc. The present invention is adapted for easy use in conjunction with a computer or other data processing equipment.

It is a primary object of this invention to provide a novel data system wherein the manual copying of information or indicia is eliminated or reduced so that original and transcribed records are equally accurate.

It is another important object to provide an improved identification system for accurate correlation or reference between related entities, including subjects and objects, or between an identification device and an entity.

Another paramount object is the provision of novel equipment for preparing master and slave identification devices with provision for adding supplemental information at any desired stage.

Another significant object is the provision of equipment which facilitates improved creation, transcription, augmentation, correlation and tabulation of information having to do with identification devices physically associated with related subjects or objects.

Another important object of this invention is the provision of a novel data system for producing accurate medical records, while at the same time freeing medical and clerical personnel for other tasks.

It is a further object of this invention to provide novel encoding structure.

These and other objects and features of the present invention will become more fully apparent from the following description and appended claims taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic view showing a sequence of steps and procedures and illustrating the diverse elements of the present invention which may be used in a typical hospital or other environment during a series of procedures, e.g. operations and tests on a particular patient;

FIG. 2 shows a data recording device for carrying out the initial or primary identification step, i.e. the encoding of a primary identification device which may be a planar blank;

FIG. 3 is similar to FIG. 2, illustrating how the operating equipment of FIG. 2 may be made mobile by removing it from its support or stand and used for manual recording operations a other locations;

FIG. 4 shows a plan view of a coding disc which carries pins for inserting small data recording pellets or balls into selected openings of a primary identification device, to incorporate the desired code representations therein;

FIG. 5 is a front edge view of the disc of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view of the ball loading area of the device of FIG. 2;

FIG. 7 is a transverse sectional view of the same device at the ball transfer station;

FIG. 8 shows a top view of the ball coding device at FIG. 3;

FIG. 9 is a fragmentary left side view of the rack indexing mechanism seen in FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is an enlarged fragmentary detail, partly in section, of a detent assembly in the device of FIGS. 2, 3, 8 and 11;

FIG. 11 is a side view, partly in section, of the ball inserting operating mechanism of FIG. 8.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF ILLUSTRATED EMBODIMENTS The Overall System Referring first to FIG. 1, the invention will be described primarily in connection with one of its presently preferred uses or purposes, namely the control of records in hospitals. It will be understood of course, that the uses of the invention are by no means limited to hospitals or even to medical treatments but this is one of many important and practical purposes. The invention is equally usable for identifying and recording various kinds of sequential and multiple records, particularly wherever controlling or primary-data on records are to be transferred in full or in part onto secondary records which, per se, may also contain other or supplemental data.

As shown in FIG. 1, the hospital will keep on hand supplies of various sorts, including for present purposes tiny pellets or spheres ll packaged in a container 12, the upper portion 13 of said container being in the form of an inverted funnel where item 14 is partially cut away for purposes to be described hereinafter. A removable cap 15 is shown as snugly fitted to the item 14.

Also included in the hospital supplies will be (I) a stock of encodable or encoded primary data tags 16, referred to hereinafter as primary plates, each of which may be equipped with an endless cord loop 17 to prevent loss and facilitate handling, (2) a supply of wristbands 18 illustrated as tubular in configuration which may either carry or be associated with a sleeve or pouch 19 adapted to hold a primary plate 16 when inactive, (3) a supply of paper or paper-like strips 20 on which may be typed a patients name, social security number, etc. in human readable form.

Still other items to be included in the hospital supplies are diverse secondary data, referred to hereinafter as secondary plates, although configurations other than planar could be resorted to, two examples of such being indicated at 21 and 22 in FIG. 1.

A primary plate encoding device 23 is preferably set up in a hospital admitting office or at a receiving depot to which supplies and the like are delivered in nonmedical environments. Device 23 is loaded with balls 11 from and by a container or storage reservoir 12. As part of the patient admitting or inventory, etc., identifying procedure, a primary plate 16, preferably with its loop 17 attached to a primary entity, e.g. a patient or an inventory item in a permanent fashion so that removal requires destruction of the attachment structure, is placed in the encoding device 23, whereupon an assigned patient identification number and possibly other data distinctive of the particular patient or object are encoded into the primary plate 16. Preferably simultaneous with this encoding of the primary plate 16, a strip 20 receives the same and/or other data in human readable form by use of a typewriter 24 which is also preferably located in the hospital admitting office or inventory-receiving depot.

Attention is here called to the fact that although the encoding device 23 and the typewriter 24 are shown as separate items in FIG. I, the encoding device 23 illustrated being manually powered and the typewriter 24 being either manually or electrically powered, the present invention admits of diverse other embodiments wherein the encoding device 23 and the typewriter 24 are combined to form a single machine which is electrically or otherwise powered and which either at different times or simultaneously performs the function of the encoding device 23 and the function of the typewriter 24, both such functions being controlled by a single human operator using a single keyboard, said keyboard being either remote from or near said single machine and incorporating any of diverse code display sub-systems. Also noted is the fact that the present invention admits of diverse embodiments in which primary plates 16, secondary plates 21 and/or 22, as well as the wristband 18 and/or its strip 20 may bear any of diverse other and/or additional code symbols such as color, texture, or by letters, numerals or the like being stamped or otherwise added thereto, in any of a wide variety of possible combinations. Also falling within the scope of the present invention are diverse embodiments wherein the means for adding the abovementioned other and/or additional code symbols are associated with and/or integral with the said single machine described above.

After receiving its data, by use of the typewriter 24, the strip 20 is removed therefrom and inserted into the tubular wristband 18, before, after or while the encoded primary plate is removed from the encoding device 23. The encoded primary plate 16 with its attached loop 17 plus the wristband 18 containing its data bearing strip 20 are then interlinked such that the band 18 passes through the loop 17. The wristband 18, carrying the encoded primary plate 16 as well as its strip 20, is next attached to the patients wrist where it remains during the entire hospital confinement of said patient or until it is purposely severed by scissors, knife or the like; whereupon the primary plate 16 is either l saved by the hospital for future reference and/or possible reuse by the same patient at a later time or (2) presented to said patient for safekeeping in the event of possible re-usc by him in some future possible re-confinement or (3) discarded. In any event, the wristband 18 and its strip 20 are usually discarded upon cutting the wristband.

Referring still to FIG. 1, the encoding device 23 of the illustrated embodiment comprises a portable or mobile encoding unit 25 removably mounted in an encoder adapter 26 which in turn is supported by a desk stand 27, the adapter 26 being removable from its stand 27 and mountable by screws or the like (not shown) to a wall or to a shelf, etc., in lieu of being attached to the desk stand 27 as shown.

The removability of the portable encoding unit 25 from its adapter 26 (by methods described hereinafter) provides the present invention with one of its chief advantages, that advantage being the capability of encoding and/or adding additional code to the primary plate 16 while the primary plate is attached to the patient in the hospital ward, as illustrated in FIG. 1. However, the admitting encoder need not be the same one used for additional encoding nor is it required that they correspond in structure and operation.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, and more fully described hereinafter, the present invention includes a solid state optoelectronic reader 28 connected or con nectable to a computer 29 via an associated opto-electric subsystem or interface device 30, the reader 28 being able to read the coded data stored in a patients primary plate 16 and communicate same to the computer 29 which is programmed to receive, store and use such data as may be required in the diagnosis and/or treatment of the patients condition.

The reader 28 also enables diverse reader-controlled devices 31 to be effected or controlled in various ways by the ball-encoded data of the primary plate 16; such effecting or controlling being accomplished (1) via the opto-electronic sub-system 30 and (2), in some cases, with the aid of the computer 29. A few examples of the great variety such reader-controlled devices 31 are (I) secondary plate encoding devices, (2) card punch devices, (3) data readout printers, (4) visual data readout devices, etc.

In lieu of the above-mentioned secondary plate encoding device which is reader 31 controlled and power driven, a manually operated data transferring device 32 may be used; the details of the device 32 forming no part of the present invention, having been described and claimed in a separate United States application, Ser. No. 772,622,.filed Nov. 1, 1968, by Russell H. Romney and Billy M. Jensen, now abandoned.

The present invention includes diverse primary or master identification devices as well as diverse referenced slave or subservient identification devices, two examples of the latter being indicated as 21 and 22 in FIG. 1. The secondary plate 21 is adapted for attachment to a receptacle such as a test tube 33 containing fluids and/or tissue specimens from a particular patient. Now, assuming that a data-bearing primary plate 16 has been produced and anchored to said patient in the manner hereinabove described, the primary plate 16 is inserted into the data transferring device 32 along with said secondary plate 21 attached to said test tube 33. Next, the data transferring device 32 is manually operated in the manner described in the above-cited copending United States Application, thereby transferring the ball coded data of the primary plate 16 to its hole coded equivalent pattern in the secondary plate 21. The primary plate 16 is next withdrawn from the data transferring device 32.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the field of the present invention that data from other primary plates 16 such as'might be carried by a nurse, etc., can be transferred in like manner to an already partially coded secondary plate 21 (and/or 22, etc.) thus entering such information as the time and by whom the specimen was taken, etc.

The secondary plate 21 and its test tube 33 are next withdrawn and sent as a unit to the hospital laboratory where the specimen is analyzed by or in connection with equipment which also reads the identifying data in the secondary plate 21 and properly correlates the patient through this data with analyses results.

The secondary plate 22 is designed for storage and rapid retrieval of a patients medical history, explained more fully hereinafter, and receives primary plate data in the same manner as described above for the tubeclamping secondary plate 21.

Whenever the patients primary plate 16 is not in active use such as receiving or communicating coded data, it may be tucked loop end first into the pouch 19 of the patients wristband 18, thus pulling virtually all of the loop 17 into the pouch 19; thereby adding to the patients comfort and convenience by storing his primary plate 16 and its loop 17 entirely out of the way, in neat wristwatch like fashion.

The general scheme represented in FIG. 1 is typical and is highly suitable for the specific purposes described above. However, some of the steps may be altered, exchanged in sequence, or omitted for some purposes. This will appear more clearly after a detailed description of the various elements, mechanisms and subassemblies which constitute the physical aspects of the invention.

A Primary Plate Encoder The method and means by which primary plates 16 are encoded will next be described, with reference to FIGS. 2 through 11. A code disk 59, FIGS. 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 11 is rotatably mounted on a stud 60 which is immovably secured in an upper handle member 61 by a shoulder screw 62. Integral with the stud 60 is a head portion 63 to which is securely affixed a pan 64 having a raised circumferential edge 65 and an elongated slot 66. The code disk 59, FIG. 11 being rotatably mounted on the stud 60, is limited in upward travel by said upper handle member 61 and is limited in downward travel by the edge 65 of pan 64, but is free to rotate therebetween, provided that certain other yet-to-be-described members are in proper position.

A cover plate 67, FIGS. 8 and 11, is affixed to the upper handle member 61. A through-hole 68, FIG. 1 l, in upper handle member 61 carries a slidable detent 69 whose bottom end 70 is tapered and rounded, the detent 69 being urged downward by a spring 71 interposed between the cover plate 67 and the detent 69.

The code disk 59 carries a plurality of regularly spaced detent engaging sockets 72 near the periphery of its top surface, each socket 72 having a sloping bottom 73 and one relatively abrupt edge 74 so that the disk 59, FIGS. 4 and 8, can be manually rotated in a clockwise direction, but is prevented from being rotated counterclockwise due to the bottom end 70 of the detent 69 coming in contact with the abrupt edge 74 of one of the sockets 72.

The code disk 59, FIG. 4, has a plurality of ballreceiving holes 75 therethrough, the top edge 76 of each hole 75 being chamfered. A round-bottom trench 77 extends for a short distance in a clockwise direction from each hole 75, along an imaginary arc (not shown) whose center is at the center of the stud hole 78. The diameter of the holes 75 and the radius of the trenches 77 are somewhat larger than the diameter and radius, respectively, of the balls 11.

Each of the ball-receiving holes 75, FIGS. 4, 6 and 7, loosely carries a ball-inserting pin 79 made of magnetizable steel, each pin 79 having an enlarged bottom head 80 which (1) prevents the pin 79 from being lost upwardly through its loosely fitting hole 75, and (2) prevents the pin 79 from falling into or snagging on the elongated slot 66 of the pan 64.

The upper handle member 61 has a ball-storage cavity 81 therethrough, which is covered by a transparent plastic window 82; the window 82 being captured beneath the cover plate 67 which in turn-has a viewing hole 83 overlying the window 82. A thin cover disk 84, FIGS. 6, 7, 8 and 11, is attached by screws (not shown) to the bottom of upper handle member 61. The code disk 59 is provided with a circular recessed area 85 which loosely fits the cover disk 84. The cover disk 84 has therethrough a relatively large hole 86 and a relatively small hole 87, the shape and location of each of these two holes being indicated by dotted outline in FIG. 4.

The cover plate 67 is provided with a hole 88, FIG. 8, which overlies a somewhat larger hole 89 which in turn loosely retains a cylindrical trap door 90 which is spring loaded and which, therefore, normally occludes the hole 88. By placing a pencil or similar probe device in the hole 88, the trap door 90 can be depressed and held against the action of its spring, thus permitting a supply of balls 11 to enter the ball-storage cavity 81 via the hole 88 and an intervening channel 91. The cover plate 67 has a depression 92 which acts somewhat like a funnel and thereby facilitates the loading of balls into the ball storage cavity 81.

As an alternate to the above-described method for loading a supply of balls 11 into the portable encoding unit 25, the cap 15, FIG. 1, is removed from the ball container 12. The encoding unit 25 is then inverted above the container 12 and is then pressed downward thereon so that the containers item 14 depresses the trap door 90. Now, while holding the encoding unit 25 and the container 12 in forceable contact, both are inverted, permitting balls 11 to flow into the ball storage cavity 81 via the channel 91.

A ball-inserting blade 93, FIGS. 7 and 1 1, is pivotally mounted to the upper handle member 61 at 94. A lower handle member 95 is pivotally attached to the blade 93 at 96. A toggle link member 97 is pivotally mounted to the upper handle member 61 at 98 and to the lower handle member 95 at 99, the toggle link 97 having an arcuate extension 100 which carries an arcuate slot 101 which engages a fixed pin 102, the pin 102 being firmly mounted in the upper handle member 61.

Cavities

103 and 104 in upper handle member 61 accommodate the extension 100 and a surrounding spring 105, respectively, the spring bearing against an annular plastic wear shoe 106 and thence against the lower handle member 95.

When the handle member 61 and are manually or otherwise squeezed together, a relatively high toggle force is applied to the blade 93 at the pivot 94, causing the front end 107 of blade 93 to move upward through the slot 66 in the pan 64 with considerable forcegenerating' capability.

The portable encoding unit 25 is designed so that its code disk 59, when engaging its detent 70, places one of its fifteen groups of radially aligned holes 75 beneath the slot 87 of the thin disk 84, FIGS. 4 and 7.

Now, assuming that the ball storage cavity 81 has been sufficiently filled with balls 11, each of the holes 75 in the code disk 59 can be made to receive a ball 11 from the ball storage cavity 81 by the act of manually rotating the disk 59 a time or two. This loading of the holes 75 is best understood with reference to FIG. 18, wherein it is apparent that as the disk 59 is made to rotate past the ball storage cavity 81 in the direction indicated, the balls 11 are strongly urged to fall into the holes 75 by a combination of (l) the reaction of the exit wall 108 against them, (2) the channeling effect of the trenches 77 on the balls 11 and (3) the ballagitating effect of the chamfers 76.

A pair of annular

permanent magnets

109 and 110, FIGS. 2 and 11, are secured to the blade 93 by means of a non-magnetizable rivet 111, the blade 93 being magnetizable. By arranging these magnets so that like poles face each other some of the magnetic flux therefrom is deflected upward through the front end 107 of the blade 93 and thence through any overlying pins 79 and through any balls 11 on top of said pins 79; said flux thereby (l) urging the pins 79 resting on the blade 93 to retract with the front end 107 of the blade when it retracts and (2) tending to prevent inadvertent loss of balls 11 from the hole 87 during times when the encoder unit 25 does not contain a primary plate 16.

FIG. 7 illustrates the manner in which the front end 107 of the blade 93 pushes upward one of its fifteen groups of radially aligned pins 79, thereby forcing their balls 1 1 into the overlying sockets 34 of a primary plate 16.

The method and means by which the portable encoding unit 25 receives and handles the primary plate 16 will now be described, reference being made to FIGS. 8 through 11. The upper handle member 61 has a T- slot 112 transversely therethrough which loosely retains a primary plate holder 113, the underside of said holder having therein a left and a righthand primary plate cavity, denoted by 114 and 115, respectively; the right cavity 115 being contoured to match the beveled corner 50 (FIG. 1) of the primary plate 16 only when said primary plate is therein retained with its rear surface facing downward. Similarly, the left cavity 114 matches the beveled corner 50 of primary plate 16 only when said primary plate is therein retained with its front surface facing downward.

To enable the encoding unit to accept in error-proof fashion, primary plates with holes therethrough instead of sockets, each of cavities 114 and 115 also carries a protuberance such as the screw head shown at 116 (FIGv 9) which also properly engages the hole 51 in the primary plate 16 of FIG. 1.

Attached to or made part of the top of primary plate holder 113 is a pair of racks 117 and a zig-zag groove 118, the groove 118 being somewhat deeper at each point where it changes direction. A pair of spacedapart holes 119, FIGS. 8 and 10, each carries its own detent plunger 120 which in turn forces a ball 121 into detenting engagement with the zig-zag groove 118 by means of a spring 122 which bears upward against the cover plate 67 and downward against the plunger 120. The height of the plunger 120 is such that it jams upward against the cover plate 67 when the holder 113 reaches either extremity of its lateral travel, thus preventing inadvertent disengagement of the holder 113.

The racks 117 engage a rotatably mounted pinion 123 to which is secured a knob 124 adapted for manual rotation.

In light of the foregoing paragraphs, it will now be understood that manual rotation of the knob 124 causes the holder 113 to translate in zig-zag fashion from left to right and vice versa, as viewed in FIG. 9.

A window 125 in the front of upper handle member 61 individually frames the alphabetic letters 126 as the holder 113 is caused to translate, the A designated row of four ball-receiving sockets 34 of primary plate 16 overlying the particular hole 75 (or holes 75) which are capable of encoding into the primary plate 16 the particular numerical value displayed on the edge of the code disk 59 immediately below the window 125, and so forth. For example, to encode the value of 3 into the H row" of a primary plate 16, the knob 124 would first be rotated clockwise to its limit, thus uncovering the lefthand cavity 114 and enabling the primary plate to be manually placed and held therein; whereupon, the knob 124 would be rotated counterclockwise until the letter B appeared in the window 125. Next, the disk 59 would be manually rotated through a revolution or two (to insure that the value of3 has gone through the ball storage cavity 81 and is therefore loaded with balls 16) and stopped with its edge-carried numeral 3" showing immediately below the window 125. Now by manually or otherwise squeezing together the handles 61 and 95 of the encoding unit 25, the ball code equivalent of 3 is forced into the H row of the primary plate 16.

Referring now to FIGS. 2 and 3, the encoder adapter 26 and its desk stand 27 will be described. The adapter is essentially an enclosure for adapting the otherwise portable encoder unit 25 as required for desk, wall or shelf mounting.

A lever 127 is pivotally mounted at 128, said lever having any of diverse types of spring (not shown) associated therewith by means of which the lever 127 is normally urged to its upper or full-line position, FIG. 2. The adapter 26 carries a simple spring loaded latch 129, pivotally mounted at 130. A block 131 of resilient material is secured to the rearmost inner wall of the adapter 26. A hardened pin 132 is press-fitted into the lower handle 95, FIG. 11; said pin bridging a downwardly-diverging trench or fork 133. The adapter 26, FIG. 2, is provided with a pair of mutually spaced grooves 134 for slidably engaging extended lateral edges 135 of the cover plate 67.

Now, in light of the foregoing paragraphs and by reference to FIG. 2, the manner and means by which the portable encoder unit 25 is secured in its adapter 26 is readily understood, i.e. it is secured against excessive lateral or vertical dislocation by the grooves 134 and is secured against excessive axial dislocation by the latch I29 and by the resilient block 131. When so secured, the lever 127 loosely engages the fork 133 and bears against the pin 132 in the lower handle member 95. The lever 127 carries a handle 136 which, when manually depressed to its dotted outline position against the action of its spring (not shown) and the encoders spring 105, forces the lower handle 95 upward, thereby operating the encoder unit 25 in the manner already described. Removal or insertion of the encoder 25 is accomplished by merely lifting the latch 129, FIG. 3, and sliding saidrencoder out of orinto, respectively, the

adapter 26.

Four tapped holes (not shown) in the bottom of the adapter 26 normally engage screws (not shown) indicated at 137, by means of which the adapter 26 is normally attached to its desk stand 27. A duplicate set of tapped holes 138 is carried by the rear wall of the adapter 26. Thus, means are provided for removing the adapter from its desk stand 27 and attaching it to either a horizontal or vertical surface, such as to a shelf or to the wall of a room, respectively.

It will be understood that various substitutions may be made for the several major components of the equipment described, without departing from the spirit and purpose of this invention. For example, particles other than small balls or spheres can be used to form the code on the primary plate. The data so recorded can be transferred to secondary record element by electronic or photographic means, if desired. For the primary purposes of the present invention, however, it is desirable to keep the equipment simple and suitable for manual operation; hence the structure shown for making the initial record on the primary plate is preferred. So, likewise, where manual data transfer is desirable, the mechanical punch equipment is preferred. It has been pointed out above that although optical reading is preferred, this is not always necessary and mechanical, magnetic, electrical or electronic reading devices may be substituted, at least for some applications. In any case, care should be taken at each recording, transfer or reading operation, to make certain that the record bearing member and/or the record receiving member is not and cannot be inserted wrongly, thereby to prevent any possible errors. The reading device should be so designed that (1) erroneous insertion of the record is impossible and (2) no incomplete or partial reading can take place. For this reason it is preferable that the reading device be so designed that no reading can take place until the tab is fully inserted. However, by designing the reader so that once a record element starts into it, it cannot be withdrawn until fully inserted and fully read, the same purpose can be accomplished. The reason that the procedure described in detail above is preferred is that it is simpler and less likely to be misused.

All the above modifications, and any others which would suggest themselves to those skilled in the art are considered to be within the spirit and purpose of the invention and it is intended by the claims that follow to cover all obvious variations and modifications as broadly as the state-of-the-art properly permits.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for inserting data-representing particles into selected ones of an array of particle-receiving pockets in a light-permeable identification device which comprises, in combination, means for positioning said device in a data-receiving path, means for indexing said device along said path, selective means for sequentially presenting said particles for insertion in 2. Apparatus according to claim 1 which includes manually operable lever and toggle means for multiplying force and firmly inserting said particles in said pockets.

3. Apparatus according to claim 1 which is adapted to insert magnetically permeable particles in the device, and including magnet means associated with the insertion mechanism for holding said particles against misplacement prior to insertion.

Claims

1. Apparatus for inserting data-representing particles into selected ones of an array of particle-receiving pockets in a light-permeable identification device which comprises, in combination, means for positioning said device in a datareceiving path, means for indexing said device along said path, selective means for sequentially presenting said particles for insertion in said device at an insertion position; said presenting means comprising particle carrying recesses arranged to gather particles in predetermined number and arrangement for representing the selected data, particle-inserting punch elements in said presenting means for each particle so gathered, and means at said insertion position and aligned with said data receiving path for forcibly operating all punch elements in said insertion position to insert all the particles at said position into all the selected particle receiving pockets of the device which are in said position.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1 which includes manually operable lever and toggle means for multiplying force and firmly inserting said partiCles in said pockets.