GB441864A - Improvements in or relating to card-feeding and -reading mechanism for statistical machines - Google Patents

Abstract

441,864. Feeding sheets. BRITISH TABULATING MACHINE CO., Ltd., Victoria House, Vernon Place, Southampton Row, London. July 25, 1934, No. 21808. Convention date, Nov. 9, 1933. [Class 100 (i)] [See also Group XIX] A record - card - controlled statistical machine has frictional card - picker mechanism for feeding the cards from a magazine through a throat, comprising one or more feeding fingers 136, 140, Fig. 14, which are reciprocated in the plane of the end card to engage frictionally and to feed the end card through the throat 93, and a throat-closing member 170, Fig. 9, which normally closes the throat but is moved away from the throat at a predetermined moment after the fingers have started their feeding stroke. The card-feeding mechanism at the supply magazine includes (1) a reciprocating plate 104 which packs the end cards near the throat, (2) a reciprocating plate 122 which periodically closes the throat, and is interconnected with weighted arms 111 for holding the end cards down, and (3) frictional fingers 178, Fig. 14, which align the cards laterally. A vertically reciprocating plate 91, Figs. 4, 11 and 14, against which the cards 90 are pressed by a backer 94, has pivoted to it at 138 four feed fingers 136 having rubber tips 140 to engage the end card. Offsets 154 on these fingers coact with a pair of plates 153 rigid with a shaft 155 controlled by arm 156, follower 157 and cam 158. Blade springs 151 tend to keep the fingers 136 in contact with the card. During the upstroke of plate 91, cam 158 moves plate 153 to the left, Fig. 11, to rock fingers 136 counterclockwise away from the card. During the down stroke of plate 91, cam 158 permits the ends 140 of the fingers to engage the card and feed it down through the throat 93. As the card leaves the throat, cam 164 actuates parts 163, 162 to move a backing plate 160 up to the card to maintain the pressure of tips 140 on the card. (1) A plate 104 with a bevelled forward edge, is reciprocated by a block 110 on the plate coacting with a lever 106, Fig. 4, pivoted at 107 and rocked by cam 105 ; the bevelled forward edge raises and lowers the cards to pack them near the throat 93. A block 98 Fig. 14 which, with a strip 93 on plate 91, forms the throat, is adjustably mounted on the base plate 81 by means of threaded rod 99 and nut 103, Fig. 4. (2) A pair of arms 111, Figs. 13 and 14, rest upon the tops of the forward cards, and are rigid with an arm 113 which rests on top of a block 114 riveted to the fixed frame. Sliding vertically in this block is a rod 115 which rests upon a lever 117, pivoted at 118 and coacting with an arm 119 ; the latter is rigid with a pair of levers 121 the upper free ends of which engage slots in slide members 122. Springs 124 tend to move the plates 122 to the right, Fig. 13. If a disarrangement of the cards raises the arms 111 and 113, springs 124 rock lever 117 to raise the rod 115 after the arm 113 and the plates 122 move to the right to close the card throat 93. If arms 111 are raised by the operator to fill the magazine, the throat will be similarly blocked. A rise of rod 115 also opens contact 89 to prevent energization of the card feed clutch magnet CFCM. (3) To align the end card laterally in the magazine, two fingers 178, with rubber tips 185, Figs. 3 and 14, are attached to links 179 which are connected loosely to a cross link 180 and are reciprocated horizontally by a cam on shaft 62, Fig. 4, so as to move into and out of contact with the end card. Slots in links 179 take over pins 187 one of which has a spring 191 to move the links 179 and 180 laterally. The right-hand finger 178, Figs. 3 and 14 coacts with a face cam 196 on plate 91 so that as the feed plate 91 falls and rises this right-hand finger is moved left and right by spring 191 and face-cam 196 respectively. Links 179 are reciprocated so that as the finger returns to the right it engages the end card and aligns it to the right. By placing the spring 191 on the left-hand pin 187 and by placing cams 196 (reversed) on support pins 197a, the card may be aligned to the left. To control the rate of descent of the card from the supply magazine, a member 170 is pivoted at 169 to the base-plate 81 at each side of the magazine, Fig. 9, so as to close the throat 93. A cam undersurface on each member 170 coacts with a plate 171 so that as the latter is reciprocated horizontally by an arm 174 and a cam 177 on shaft 62, Fig. 4, the member 170 rises and falls to and from the full-line position shown in Fig. 9 to govern the descent of the card through the throat 93. The shafts 212, 214, Fig. 4, carry the feed disc rollers 211, 213, and the insulating bars 215, 216 carry the reading brushes 72, 76.