US2294370A - Compressed air actuating means for notching cards - Google Patents

Description

Sept. 1, 1942. T. c. ANDREWS COMPRESSED AIR ACTUATING MEANS FOR NOTCHING CARDS Original Filed Aug. 13, 1940 3 Sheets-Sheet l A rroe/vf Y Sept. 1, 1942.

T. c. ANDRE WS COMPRESSED AIR ACTUATING MEANS FOR NOTCHING CARDS Original Filed Aug. 1,3, 1940 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 //VI/ 70 w TTOR/VE Y p 1942- T. c. ANDREWS COMPRESSED AIR ACTUATING MEANS FOR NOTCHING CARDS Original Filed Aug. 13, 1940 I5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Patented Sept. 1, 1942 COMPRESSED AIR ACTUATING MEANS FOR NOTCHIN G CARDS Thomas Coleman Andrews, Richmond, Va.

Original application August 13, 1940, Serial No.

352,456, now Patent No. 2,261,710, dated November 4, 1941.

Divided and this application April 26, 1941, Serial No. 390,522

8 Claims.

My invention relates to that class of machines described in my co-pending application, Ser. No. 352,456, filed August 13, 1940, now Patent No. 2,261,710, issued November 4, 1941, of which this application is a division. Machines of the type described are designed to serially number by printing or the like each card as it passes through the machine and subsequently to notch the edge of the card with a pattern of notches to designate the card by the number printed thereon. This notching the edge of a card with a pattern of notches referring to a single numerical classification is in accordance with the well-known Keysort system manufactured by The McBee Company of Athens, Ohio, under the patents issued to Perkins, No. 1,544,172 and No. 1,739,087. Cards of this type can be quickly and expeditiously sorted into numerical or other sequence after they have been indiscriminately mixed by the users. It is however of vital importance that the notching be performed correctly so that it will correspond with the number printed on the face of the card. When this notching is performed manually by the user or even with a standard key punch the human equation is more or less liable to allow errors to creep in.

My invention has for its principal object to provide a machine which will automatically print a desired number on a card and then punch a pattern of notches in the edge of the card corresponding to the printed number; as the two operations are synchronized the danger of errors is reduced to a minimum.

A further object of my invention is to provide a fluid control means such as air, liquids, vapors, or gases under suitable pressure either below or above atmospheric pressure.

My means of accomplishing the foregoing objects may be more fully comprehended by having reference to the accompanying drawings, which are hereunto annexed and are a part of this specification in which similar reference numerals refer to similar arts throughout:

Fig. 1 is a plan view showing the belt feed and gear train mechanisms for operating my device;

Fig. 2 is an elevation of the structure shown in Figure 1.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged and somewhat diagrammatic longitudinal section taken along line 3-3 of Fig. 1 with the frame outline in broken lines;

Fig. 4 is 'a fragmentary elevation depicting another modification; and

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary plan view showing a control element for use with arrangements such as those shown in Figs. 3 and 4.

As shown in the drawings, my automatic numbering and notching machine is provided with a casing having opposed side frames 20 and 22 which are held in spaced relationship by two straps 24 and 26 attached thereto in any convenient manner. A suitable cover, not shown, may be provided for the mechanism, in which case the cover can rest on a seat suitably fashioned in the side frames and may be fastened thereto. The entire machine may beportable, and, if desired, supported upon a desk or table, or readily stored when not in use.

Operating power is furnished by an electric motor 28, shown as supported by a shelf 30 under the machine, although, if desired, it may be mounted elsewhere with respect to the operating mechanism. Conductors 3| are depicted as leading to a switch 33 which is in turn connected to a source of current for supplying the motor.

It will be understood, of course, that other driving means may be employed, if desired.

Feeding mechanism On one end of the shaft of the motor 28, I mount a pulley 32 over which a belt 34 is trained for transmitting torque to another pulley 36 secured to a feed driving shaft 38. The shaft 38 carries several driving pulleys 40, which in cooperation with a similar number of idler pulleys 42 supported on a shaft 44 drive a like number of narrow feeding belts .46. These belts 46 constitute the carrying means for feeding cards 48 or other work to be printed and notched, to the various positions which they assume in their progress through the machine and delivering them into a suitable container (not shown) when the work has been completed.

The belts 46 are made relatively narrow so that when one of the cards 48 is brought to a position of rest for effecting a numbering or notching operation, the belts Will slip beneath it, permitting the card to remain stationary without subjecting it or the belts to undue friction or wear. Under some circumstances, it may be found that the pressure caused by the printing of the numbers on the cards or notching them, tends to interfere with the continuous movement of the belts. In such cases, the belts may be trained over and under idler rollers 50 to reduce friction at the points of dwell and thereby permit continuous rotation. As clearly shown in Figs. 3 and 4 of the drawings, when such rollers are employed, a portion of the die block adjacent to the belts must be cut away. Any two of the bolts 46 will provide sufficient frictional engagement Interruption of the feed of the cards or other "work occurs at two points'in the machine; one below the elements for printing the numbers, and

the other below the punches for notching or .otherwise punching the card with a representation corresponding to the number applied by jthe printing elements. The required interruptions may be effected by an eccentric drive such as that shown in the drawings wherein a shaft 52, suitably rotated, has an eccentric 54 secured 3 thereto for cooperation with a strap 58 carried opposite end of the lever 82 is pivotally connected by a pin 18 to a reciprocating stop 12 which operates in suitable guides 14 to project periodically above the surface of the table 18 into the path of travel of the cards 48 to serve as a temporary abutment therefor, restraining them from further forward movement until the numbering operation has been completed. A similar stop 18 is arranged in a position to serve as a temporary abutment for the cards during the punching operation. This stop 18 is pivotally connected to one end of lever 84 by means of a pin 88, through which the stop is periodically reciprocated in its guides 82 to project above the table 18 into the path of the cards or other work. After a card has received its printing number by the prmting mechanism 84, continued rotation of the eccentric 54 will move the stop 12 downwardly and out of the path of travel of the card, which will then be carried forward into position below the punch or punches 88 for the notching of the card. By this time the eccentric will have revolved so as to bring the stop 18 into the path of travel of the card, against which it will be held until the notching operation has been performed, whereupon, continued rotation of the eccentric will move the stop 18 downwardly out of the path of travel of the card which will then be carried on and deposited in a pile or received by a suitable container. It will be clear that the two stops are thus synchronized to move upwardly and downwardly in unison as the eccentric 54 is revolved. The movement of the stops is effected in timed relationship with respect to the numbering printer 84 which is driven by a train of gears from the motor 28. The motor shaft carries another pulley 81, which drives through a chain or belt 88, a sprocket or pulley 98 carried by a shaft 92. At one side of the frame, the shaft 92 carries a spur 94 which through similar gears 98 and 98, drives the shaft of the printing and numbering mechanism 84. I

The punching mechanism On the other side of the frame and secured to the shaft 82, a ear I88 is provided which meshes with a gear I82iiiounted on a shaft I84 carrying a gear I88 as well. The gear I88 is arranged mesh with a gear I88 which is secured to the eccentric shaft 52.

As clearly set forth in my Patent No. 2,211,310 issued August 13, 1940, a gang of punches 88 will be provided, which in the case of Perkins cards of the type referred to using the '1-42-1 system of punching, will be operated in groups card or-other work acrossthe cutand accordingly: the rollers and i belts are so arranged that thedesired results are f achieved. f 1 r v w of one to three out of four for representing each digit. As depicted in Figs. 3 and 4 of the draw-' ings, each punch 88 is supported from a punch lever II8 by a pivot pin H2. The punches and their levers are normally maintained out of the path of the work by coil springs H4 suspended from the frame by suitable hooks I I8. The lower ends of the springs are flexibly connected to the punch levers at their left ends as viewed in the drawings, and it is necessary to overcome the bias of these springs to displace the punches into the path of the work for completing a punching operation. The punch levers are suitably pivoted, as by a rod II8 mounted in the frame. A punch lever guide I28, which may assume the form of a comb is also supported by the frame. The principal differences of the present invention over that of my copending application reside in the manner of selecting and actuating the punches to operate in the proper sequence.

The invention herein described contemplates control of the punches by a preformed pattern produced on or in a web of material. The punches themselves and their operating levers are essentially like those described in my said Patent No. 2,211,310. In this case however, the punches and their levers are actuated by compressed air acting upon a piston. The extension I22 of the lever H8 is coupled by a. suitable clip I52 and pivot I54 to a rod I58 carrying a piston I58. The piston is reciprocated in a cylinder I88, the lower end of which is connected by a fluid line I82 with a port I84 whose communication with a compressed air manifold I88 is controlled by the preperforated web I88. The web is wound upon a core I18 carried by the shaft 92 which is synchronized with the feed and numbering mechanisms. The web is unwound from a core I12 which is mounted upon a spindle I14. The piston is biased towards its lower position as shown in the drawings by a coil spring I18. A flap valve I18 is provided in the piston to close when a charge of air is directed against it from the manifold and to open when the supply is cut oif. When the piston is forced upwardly to deflect the lever and displace the punch into the the path of the work, an aperture I88 in the cylinder casing permits the system to avoid back suction and allow minimum opposition to the up movement of the piston.

The manner in which the control web or relay web may be perforated is illustrated in Fig. 5 of the drawings. The lowermost perforation shown controls the connection between the manifold.

and the fluid lineto the piston for actuating the 1 punch. The next perforation controls the 2 punch mechanism. ,The following two perforations control the l and 2 punch mechanisms, and so on. The reels for the pattern web are shown more or less diagrammatically, since it must be remembered that some compensation is necessary for the increasing diameter of the web as it winds about the core I18. suitable provision may be made by interposing feed rollers to render uniform the speed of the web passing the manifold; or the speed of the shaft 92 may he graduated to suit the increasing diameter; or the spacing of the perforations in the web itself may be varied to the same effect.

The modification shown in Fig. 4 of the drawings is identical with that of Fig. 3 except for the fact that the manifold I88 is connected to a suction line, and accordingly the line I82 is conneeted to the top of the cylinder I88 instead of to the base thereof. Its mode of operation will be evident to those skilled in the art.

With the modifications of Figs. 3 and 4, the pattern webs and fluid ports may be considered relays for controlling the pistons I58, or alternatively, relays may be interposed ii and where desired to give increased power to the punches.

In operation, it will be understood that the printing mechanism will be one number ahead of the punching mechanism where a card is to receive corresponding representations from both mechanisms. This is true because the work is printed and punched in separate, sequential steps.

Having described my invention, what I regard as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a machine of the class described which notches a notch-receiving means, means to feed said notch-receiving means, means to stop said notch-receiving means periodically, a plurality of notching punches, means to hold said punches normally out of the path of the notch-receiving means, punch control means which actuate said punches, means to actuate said punches selectively, a pneumatic control in each of said punch control means, means operated by a pneumatic means to actuate said punches, and sliding means to open and close ports leading to said pneumatically actuated means.

2. In a machine of the class described which edge notches a card, having means to feed said cards, a pair 01' stops operated simultaneously to stop the cards periodically, each stop controlling a separate card, a plurality of punches, punch control means for producing displacement of certain' punches from their normal position to a position to a position intersecting the path of the work, means to actuate each punch, a compressed air control for each of said punch control means.

- punch control, said means comprising a resilient floating direct acting punch carrying lever, an extension on each lever, a cylinder, a piston therein,

a piston rod, one end of which is connected to said piston, the other end being pivotally connected to said extension, and means to open and close a port to admit compressed air to said cylinder.

5. In a machine of the class described which edge notches a card, having means to feed said cards, a pair of stops operated simultaneously to stop the cards periodically, each stop controlling a separate card, a plurality of edge notching punches, means normally maintaining them out oi. the path of the work, punch control means for producing displacement of said punches from their normal position to a position intersecting the path of said work, means for operating said punch control, means comprising a resilient floating direct acting punch carrying lever, an extension on each lever, means operated by compressed air to actuate said lever, and means arranged to periodically open and close ports leading to said compressed air means.

6. In a machine of the class described which edge notches a card, having means to feed said cards, a pair of stops operated simultaneously to stop the cards periodically, each stop controlling a separate card, a plurality of punches, means,

one for each punch, to hold said punches normally out oi. position, compressed air to reciprocate said punches, and means arranged to periodically open and close ports leading to said means operated by compressed air to actuate said punches, and sliding means to open and close ports leading to said fluid actuating means in timed relation with the work feeding means.

3. In a machine of the class described which edge notches a card, having means to feed said cards, a pair of stops operated simultaneously to stop the cards periodically, each stop controlling a separate card, a plurality of punches, a compressed air control for each punch adapted to influence each oi said punch control means. means operated by compressed air to actuate said punches, and sliding means to selectively open and close certain ports leading to said punch actuating means, the work feeding means arranged to alctuate said opening and closing means periodca y.

4. In a machine of the class described which edge notches a card, having means to feed said cards, a pair of stops operated simultaneously to stop the cards periodically, each stop controlling a separate card, a plurality of edge notching punches, means normally maintaining them out of the path of the work, punch control means for producing displacement of said punches from their normal position to a position intersecting as compressed air means in timed relation to said stops.

7. In a machine of the class described which edge notches a card, having means to feed said cards, a pair of stops operated simultaneously to stop the cards periodically, each stop controlling a separate card, a plurality of punches, means, one for each punch, to hold said punches normally out of position, a lever for each punch to reciprocate it and thereby edge notch a card, a cylinder for each lever, a reciprocating piston therein, means to connect each piston to each lever, compressed air to reciprocate said punches, and means arranged to periodically open-and close ports leading to said cylinders in timed relation to said stops.

8. In a machine of the class described which edge notches a card, having means to feed said cards, a pair 01 stops operated simultaneously to stop the cards periodically, each stop controlling a separate card, a plurality of punches, means, one for each punch, to hold said punches normally out of position, a compressed air control for each punch adapted to influence each or said punch control means, means operated by compressed air to actuate said punches, and sliding means to open and close ports leading to said punch actuating means in timed relation with said stops.

THOMAS COLEMAN ANDREWS.

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