US2617649A - Throat mechanism for statistical card machines - Google Patents

Description

Nov. 11, 1952 E. E. LIBMAN THROAT MECHANISM FOR STATISTICAL CARD MACHINES Filed Sept. 1. 1949 INVENTOR. Earl 1 7. Llbmwn Patented Nov. 11,1952

UNITED STATES PATENT orrica 2,617,649 l 1 THROAT MECHANISM FOR s'ra'risTioAL .CARDMAC HINESo I Earl E. Libman B rooklyn, N. Y as signonby mesne assignments, to Burroughs Adding Machine Companyya corporation of'ltlichigan g I Application Septemberl,19 l9, Seriall\lo.l13 59d ICIaim. (01.271444) This invention relates to improvements in statistical card machines and has particular reference to a, throat mechanism therefor.

An object of the invention is to prevent the accumulation of fibre particles or thelike on one of the elements which form the card throat and thus eliminate possible jamming of cards at said throat which otherwise might occur by reason of such accumulation.

Another object is to produce a wiping action upon a surface of a card as it passes through the throat by imparting a movement toa rotary element forming part of said throat in a direction along the axis of said element and transverse to the direction of feed of the card through the throat.

The above and other objects will appear more clearly from the following detailed description when taken in connection with the accompanying drawing which illustrates a preferred embodiment of the inventive idea; but it is to be expressly understood that said drawing is employed merely to facilitate the description of the invention as a whole and not to define the limits thereof, reference being had to the appended claim for this purpose.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary longitudinal section through a card feed mechanism, taken on the line |--l of Fig. 2, and showing the present invention applied thereto;

Fig. 2 is a section on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 3 is a section on the line 33 of Fig. 2.

The invention is shown in its application to a card feed mechanism in which the card magazine or chute 5 is arranged in an inclined position and the cards are fed downwardly to the feed rollers 6 by any suitable and well known type of picker mechanism including the knives 1. Recessed in the upper surface of the chute 5 is the usual adjustable throat plate 8 and cooperating therewith is a device for forming a throat through which the cards 9 are fed by the picker mechanism.

Said device is mounted upon a supporting plate It to which are suitably secured the opposed guide members ll grooved to receive the flanges I2 of an adjustable block l3. Mounted above said block in the bearing I4 also carried by the plate I is a micrometer adjusting screw l having threaded engagement with said block I3 so as to enable adjustment of the latter in its guides II to regulate the position of the roller l6 relative to the throat plate 8, said roller being iournalled for free rotation in the bearing memhers I! secured to the block l3 by means of screws l8. A locking screw [9 extending through the block and threaded into the plate 10 is utilized to secure said block in adjusted positions. A card supporting plate 20 is secured at 2| to the upper ends of the guide II and is arranged in substantial alignment with the throat formed by the plate 8 and roller I6, with the card engaging surface of said plate tangential to the periphery of said roller. Said plate forms an abutment for the advance card in the stack 9 and pressure is exerted upon said stack by a weight 22 mounted in said chute.

The knife edge of the throat plate 8 prevents more than one card from passing through the throat upon each operation of the picker mechanism and, in so passing, the surface of each card remote from said knife edge has frictional contact with the element, in this instance the roller I6, which opposes the plate 8 to form the throat. It is well known that such frictional contact, when employing a plain surfaced roller having only angular movement about its axis of rotation, causes fibre particles on said remote surfaces of the card to be loosened therefrom and to accumulate on said roller to an extent which will sooner or later form an obstruction thereon to the free passage of a. card through the throat, which obstruction reduces the size of the throat opening with the result that a card jam is inevitable.

To avoid such accumulation upon the surface of the roller I6 and thus maintain the throat opening constant at all times, said roller is made to reciprocate along its axis and transverse to the direction of feed of a card when the latter comes into friction-a1 contact with the roller. Such movement along the axis of the roller is accomplished by providing the reduced end portion 23 thereof with a cam groove 24 adapted to receive the inner end of a screw threaded pin 25 mounted in the adjacent bearing member l1. With this construction, as a card is fed into the throat its frictional contact with the surface of the roller l6 causes the latter to rotate about its axis and the pin 25 in the cam slot 24 then produces a movement of the roller along its axis which, in a complete revolution of the roller, will produce a reciprocating movement thereof. This movement effects a wiping action upon the engaged surface of the card which will prevent any accumulation on the roller surface of any fibre particles loosened from said card surf-ace by the frictional contact of the roller therewith.

What is claimed is:

In a statistical card feeding mechanism, a card magazine having an inclined bottom upon which cards are stacked, a throat plate mounted in said bottom, means for feeding cards to said throat plate, a supporting structure at the feed end of said magazine adjacent an edge of said throat plate and including opposed guide members, a block supported bx'said guide, members for adjustment relative thereto and to said thi'oalt plate, means to adjust said block, bearing men bers secured to said block for adjustment therewith; a roller freely journaled; said hearingmembers and having a cam groove therein, s aiul roller combining with the throat plate edge to form a throat for the passage qf acardand be ing rotatable in said bearings by: ictional tact of a card therewith; and a pin mounted in one of said bearing members and er'igagieableir-L said cam groove for reciprocating said roller ax,-

4 ially when it is rotated to sweep the surfaces of the cards passing through said throat.

EARL E. LIBMAN.

REFERENCES CITED The following referencesv are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 286,689 Dooley Oct. 16, 1883 1,232,459 Clark July 3, 1917 2,016,711 Ford Oct. 8, 1935 '2','176;1-.7.6\ Hale Oct. 17, 1939 253575 296 Ford May 8, 1945 2,4 4,569 Flord, Mar. 15, 1949 2,470,442 Malmros et al May 17, 1949

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