Abstract:
Disclosed is a document view station adjacent to a document guideway that will, upon being alerted to a misread document, ready itself to intercept the misread document. Once intercepted the misread document may be cammed out of the guideway to a position where it may be easily viewed, tactilibly manipulated, and optionally cammed back to its original location in the document stream for further processing. The document view station additionally has the ability to self-adjust its camming to the width of the document.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 609,222, filed on Sept. 2, 1975 by the present inventor. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     This invention relates to document view stations in general and particularly to document view stations that are able to cam documents out of a guideway for ease of viewing. 
     2. Prior Art 
     In the past where there was a document transport system comprising a reader that interfaced with an associated document guideway, documents flowing down the guideway that were misread would be rejected and diverted off from the main stream of documents for later off-line correction. this had the obvious disadvantage of temporarily losing those misread documents as to the current batch being processed. As such, the batch being updated, minus the misread documents, would not provide an accurate reflection of its true state. 
     Where systems have provided for on-line correction of misread documents without diversion, the misread documents have generally been physically removed from the guideway for review and error assessment. The on-line correction of documents in such systems generally involved the actual tactile removal of the misread documents from the document guideway, thereby risking accidental multilation of the documents in the process of removal. 
     Another related problem is such prior art systems involved the tactile reinsertion of the removed documents in the guideway, thereby risking placement of the removed documents in the wrong place relative to the queued document stream. 
     A final problem in prior art systems derived directly from the normal quality variance as to the width of the document guideway and the thickness of the documents themselves. A device for automatically intervening to remove and to reinstate documents in the document stream may accordingly apply too weak or too strong a pressure to a misread document that is to be withdrawn from the document stream, by reason of guideway width variables and document thickness variables. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     It is thus an important object of the present invention to provide a document view station that can intercept documents in a guideway that have been previously determined to require out of guideway viewing, and that will permit convenient tactile manipulation of the removed documents and optional return of the documents to their original location in the guideway. 
     It is a further object of the invention to provide means for frictionally camming documents out of a guideway, and then camming them back to their original relative position in the guideway without direct tactile intervention during the camming process. 
     It is yet another object of the invention to provide means for self-adjusting the camming of the documents in the guideway, so as to apply at least a minimum pressure to even a relatively narrow width (thickness) document. 
     It is still another object of the invention to provide means for stopping and reversing the direction of camming in the absence of complicated clutching devices. 
     In carrying out the objects of the invention, a system is provided whereby when a reader station indicates a misread document, a misread flagging signal is delayably sent to a document view station at a time calculated to coincide with the arrival of the misread document at said document view station. Also, concurrently with the sending of the misread signal, a document flow-stop signal is sent to the feeder rollers along the guideway thereby interrupting the flow of documents. Upon arrival at the document view station, the misread document is positioned directly adjacent to a camming mechanism forming a part thereof. The camming mechanism is rendered effective for frictionally moving the misread document in a tangential arc against an opposing wall of the guideway, while at the same time self-adjusting itself to the document&#39;s thickness. As a result of this frictional camming movement, the document is lifted upward into a zone where it may be easily viewed by the operator and also tactilely manipulated if so needed. Once viewed by the operator, the camming mechanism may be reversed so as to return the document to its original position relative to the flow of documents. With the knowledge gained from observing the document at the document view station, the operator may make any derived actual corrections to the misread document at a write station located farther downstream in the guideway. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     Various other objects, advantages and meritorious features of the invention will become more fully apparent from the following specification, appended claims and accompanying drawing sheets. 
     The features of a specific embodiment of the invention are illustrated in the drawing figures in which: 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the inventive document view station; 
     FIG. 2 is a cut away side view of the self-adjusting mechanism of the document view station of FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 3 is a plan view of the self-adjusting mechanism of the document view station of FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 4 is a side view of the camming mechanism of the document view station of FIG. 1 as it begins its upward arc; and 
     FIG. 5 is a side view of the camming mechanism of the document view station of FIG. 1 when it has completed its upward arc. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Referring to FIGS. 1 through 5 by the characters of reference, there is illustrated an apparatus for carrying out the objects of the invention. In the preferred embodiment of the invention as shown in FIG. 1, a guideway 10 serves as a channel or queue for a flow or stream of documents 20. Walls 30 and 40 of the guideway 10 are substantially parallel in their lower portion 50 so as to give lateral support to the documents 20 as they flow through. The walls 30 and 40 of the upper portion 60 of the guideway 10 are formed to increasingly diverge at relatively higher levels so as not to contact and thus unnecessarily bind the documents 20 in the course of their flow. 
     Abuttably supported at 70 on the lower portion 50 of the wall 30, hereinafter referred to as the near wall 30, are a pair of spaced-apart frame members 80 which are cut back at right angles to provide clearance for the diverging upper portion 60 of the near wall 30. A bottom side 100 of the frame members 80 are cut back at a diagonal running from a deep end 110 thereof to also provide clearance relative to other operating mechanisms of the document reader. A rear side 120 of the frame members 80 are substantially planar and parallel to the lower portion 50 of the near wall 30, to accommodate the mounting of a pair of leaf springs 130 thereon, as will be described infra. A threaded bore 140, as shown in FIG. 2, is formed in the planar side 120 of each of the frame members 80 to provide the exact means for mounting the leaf spring 130 thereto as also will be seen infra. On the top sides 145 of each of the frame members 80, in a portion adjacent the near wall 30, is formed a concave raceway 150 having a longitudinal axis 155, as shown in FIG. 3, such raceways being open ended at 160 (FIG. 2) in the extremities thereof adjacent the surface 70 of the near wall 30. Formed in rear portions 165 of the top sides 145 are thereaded bores 170 which provides means for attaching a pair of cap members 175 to the frame members 80. 
     Operatively positioned within the raceways 150 and freely rotatable along the longitudinal axes 155 thereof when not otherwise restrained, are a pair of spherical bearings 180 as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 whose radii 185 are only slightly less than the radii of the raceways 150, thus facilitating close tracking along the raceways 150. the spherical bearings 180 are operative to act as buffers as between the cap members 175 and the frame members 80. The spherical bearings 180 may be composed of nylon or a similar self-lubricating material to minimize friction when the spherical bearings 180 move in the raceways 150. 
     Acting as covers for the top sides 145 of the frame members 80, and as part of the self-adjusting mechanism, are the aforementioned cap members 175, as further shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, that may be formed of a metallic material. In portions adjacent the near wall 30, each of the cap members 175 has formed therein an open-ended notch 195 that traverses the width of the cap member 175 and communicates with the underside thereof. The longitudinal axis 220 of each of the notches 195 is disposed in perpendicular relationship to the longitudinal axis 155 of its corresponding raceway 150 and has a radius only slightly larger than the radius 185 of its corresponding spherical bearing 180, as shown in FIG. 3. The notches 195 encompass the top portions of the spherical bearings 180, and thus act as restraints that guide the spherical bearings 180 in their trcking along the raceways 150. The innermost edges of the cap members 175 adjacent the near wall 30 are provided with convex surfaces, as shown at 235 in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, to provide clearance for the diverging upper portion 60 of the guideway 10. 
     In portions of the cap members 175 opposite the convex surfaces 235, eccentrical smooth-sided bores 255 are provided, as best shown in FIGS. 1 and 3. Traversing each of the eccentrical bores 255 is a metal screw 262 having a head portion 280, a smooth-surfaced intermediate portion 275, and a threaded bottom portion 285 that cooperates with the threaded bore 170 formed in the corresponding frame member 80. When the metal screws 262 are so adjusted as to permit longitudinal movement of the cap members 175 relative to the frame members 80, and movement also of the spherical bearings 180 relative to the raceways 150, the cap members 175 and notches 195 thereof are rendered susceptible to the biasing force applied by the aforementioned leaf springs 130, as hereinafter explained. When, however, the metal screws 262 are tightened in the bores 170, the cap members 175 and raceways 150 are locked in relative position along their respective longitudinal axis 155. As such, when screwably tightened, the metal screws 262 act as lock slides in relation to the cap members 175. 
     As best shown in FIG. 2, the leaf springs 130 are operative to apply a constant pressure against the cap members 175 in the direction of the near wall 30, when the screws 262 are backed away from their fully tightened positions in the bores 170. Top portions 300 of the leaf springs 130 are curved convexly to operatively contact the outermost ends of the cap members 175, while the lower planar portions 305 thereof are restrained in place against the planar sides 120 of the frame members 80. This actual restraint is effected by means of metal screws 310 that traverse apertures formed in the planar ends 305 of the leaf springs 130, to be screwed into the threaded bores 140 in the planar sides 120 of the frame members 80. On the outer opposite sides of the cap members 175, approximately midway in their linear expanse, are a pair of outwardly directed solid cylindrical projections 320 which weldably abut against the cap members 175. Also midway of each of the cap members 175 is a notch 332 formed to open into the innermost lateral side thereof and to communicate with the underside of the cap member 175, the function of said projections 320 and notches 332 being defined infra. 
     The previously mentioned spherical bearings 180 are each provided with a central bore that is traversed by a shaft 335 formed of a metallic material, the pair of shafts 335 being coaxially disposed relative to the longitudinal axes 220 of the notches 195 formed in the cap members 175, and being also connected at their innermost ends to a DC motor 350, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3. The shafts 335 are carried as a load by the spherical bearings 180 which, unless otherwise restrained, may freely rotate about and translate along the axes 220 of the shafts 335. The motor 350 is low powered and provides the rotational energy to drive the shafts 335 in a direct-drive radial mode, where the longitudinal axis 220 of the motor 350 is coincidental to that of the shafts&#39; axes. Restraining the motor 350 from rotating on its own longitudinal axis is a metal projection or screw 355 disposed in parallel relationship to the axes 220 of the shafts 335, such screw 355 being adjustable in and out of the motor 350. The metal screw 355 is operative to be fitted into one of the aforementioned restraint notches 332 which has a radius only slightly larger than that of the metal screw for predeterminably setting the relative position of the motor 350 as to the cap members 175. 
     Abuttably secured to the outermost ends of the shafts 335, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, are a pair of camming arms generally designated 370 which are perpendicularly and radially disposed relative to the axes of the shafts. Each of the camming arms 370 is comprised of a pair of elongated projections 375 disposed on the opposite side of the shaft 335 from the near wall 30, said elongated projections being weighted and set a fixed arcuate distance 380 from each other relative to the axis of the shaft. The weighting of the projections 375 serves to counteract the moment generated by the remainder of the camming arm 370, thus defining a center of gravity that is substantially within the shaft&#39;s axis, as will be seen infra. The fixed arcuate distance 380 comprises the acute angle of 60°. The pair of elongated projections 375 of the pair of camming arms 370, in cooperation with the aforementioned cylindrical projections 320, also act as upper and lower limits for restraining the arcuate travel of the arms 370 about the axes 220 of the shafts. Insulating the remainder of each of the camming arms 370 from the shock and vibration that is generated when one of the pair of elongated projections 375 makes contact with its corresponding cylindrical projection 320, is a resilient coating 385 such as rubber disposed on the surfaces of the weighted projections 375 that contact the cylindrical projection 320. 
     Each of the camming arms 370 is also comprised of a pair of parallel extension members 390 disposed on the opposite side of the shaft 335 from the weighted projections 375, said extension members 390 extending in the direction of the near wall 30 and in parallel relationship to an imaginary radial 395 drawn from the axis 220 of the shaft 335. Disposed on the outermost ends of the extension members 390 of each of the camming arms 370 and in spatial proximity to the near wall 30 is a shoe member generally desigated 400 having a slightly arcuate externally fingered surface generally designated 403 exposed in the direction of the near wall 30. Each of the shoe members 400 is comprised of a web portion 404 and a toothed portion 407 formed of a resilient material such as rubber, the web portion 404 being secured to a rigid supporting member 406 integralling connecting the pair of extension members 390. The rigid supporting member 406 is provided with a plurality of serrations 408 on the outboard extremity thereof, such serrations being offset to provide underlying support for the corresponding resilient teeth of the toothed portion 407, as best illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5. The shoe members 400, and in particular the resilient teeth 407 thereof, are provided with a high coefficient of friction such that documents 20 may be engaged thereby and cammed both upwardly and downwardly within the guideway 10 as the shafts 335 and camming arms 370 are bi-directionally rotated by the motor 350, as will be explained in greater detail infra. It is to be noted that during the upward camming action of documents within the guideway 10, the resilient teeth 407 are supported against flexing by their associated serrations 408, to thereby provide the documents with a positive upward movement to a viewing position within the guideway. It is also to be noted that during the downward camming action of documents to a flow position within the guideway 10, the teeth 407 are permitted to flex, as will be explained hereinafter. 
     A weighted collar 410 is fixed to the outermost extremities of each of the shafts 335 outboard of the camming arms 370, such collars 410 serving to generate a center of gravity for the camming arms 370 that is substantially coincidental with the axes 220 of the shafts 335. The weighted elongated projections 375 and the collars 410 collectively counteract the moment generated by the relatively remote shoe members 400 and documents 20 being cammed thereby. As such, the opposing moments are effectively cancelled and the center of gravity is located substantially in the axes 220 of the shafts thereby minimizing the rotational inertia that is to be overcome by the DC motor 350. This allows a relatively low powered and thus economical motor 350 to be used to drive the shafts 335 and to rotate the shoe members 400. 
     The shoe members 400 are enabled to interact with documents 20 in the guideway 10 by means of a pair of parallel and elongated apertures 415 formed in the near wall 30, such apertures being parallel and coincidental also to the arcs 420 shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 that are defined by the shoe members 400 during the upward and downward camming movement of documents 20. In the general area corresponding to and encompassing the elongated apertures 415 formed in the near wall 30, the opposite wall 40 of the guideway 10 is provided with an enlarged web portion 430 that extends approximately three inches in a longitudinal direction and approximately eight inches in a transverse direction, said enlarged portion 430 being slightly less diverging in its upper portion than the remainder of the far wall 40 to form a platen against which a document may be slidably cammed upwardly to a document viewing position and downwardly to a document flow position. The surface of the platen formed by the enlarged web portion 430 is composed of a metallic material having a relatively low coefficient of friction relative to the documents 20. 
     Operation 
     In the operation of the preferred embodiment of the invention, the metal screws 262 may be tightened to presettably fix the distance between the shoe members 400 and the platen 430 of the far wall 40 according to the known and unvariable thickness of the documents to be processed. Alternatively, the metal screws 262 may be backed away slightly from their fully tightened positions when documents of varying thickness are to be processed. When the metal screws 262 are backed away from their fully tightened positions, the leaf springs 130 will operate to apply a constant bias to the cap members 175. This enables the shoe members 400 to always return to a predetermined locus of points comprising the camming arc 420 in the guideway 10 as between the far wall 40 and near wall 30, whenever a document of abnormal thickness is cammably raised to the viewing position, the abnormal thickness of the document serving to bias the shoe member 400 in the direction of the near wall 30. It can thus be seen that when the screws 262 are adjusted in this manner, the leaf springs 130 will normally serve to bias the shoe members 400 in the direction of the far wall 40 of the guideway 10, such that a predetermined minimum pressure will be applied against a document of minimum thickness, and such that the shoe members 400 will yield in the direction of the near wall 30 to thereby lessen the pressure applied by the shoe members against a document of maximum thickness. It can also be seen that by adjusting the screws 262 in the manner above described, the shoe members 400 may be provided with a self-adjusting capability relative to varying document thicknesses, and relative also to differing guideway channel widths. 
     The motor 350 may be activated to rotate the shafts 335 whenever a DC bias is applied through a pair of wires 450 to the motor 350. The shafts 335 in turn will rotate the pair of camming arms 370 and associated shoe members 400 until the upper weighted projection 375 of each camming arm 370 comes into limiting contact with its associated cylindrical projection 320, as shown in FIG. 5. It will be noted that whereas potential bias may be applied to the motor 350 constantly, the shafts 335 may not be rotated beyond the points defined by the limiting contact of the upper and lower weighted projections 375 against the cylindrical projections 320. Once a limiting contact is made with the projections 320, continued rotation may only be had in the opposite direction and only after the polarity of the bias applied to the motor 350 is switched. The need for expensive clutching and declutching apparatus is accordingly eliminated in the preferred embodiment of the invention. 
     Once the shoe members 400 are activated upwardly to raise a document into viewing position against the platen 430, they are arcuately activated into the guideway 10 through the elongated apertures 415 and into tangential contact with the selected misread document 20. The selected document 20 is thus cammed upwardly against the palten 430 by the flexible teeth 407 of the shoe members 400, the high friction surfaces of the flexible teeth 407 serving to press the selected document 20 against the enlarged web portion 430 shown in FIG. 1, and to thereby slide the document into viewing position above the guideway 10. It is to be noted that during this upward camming movement of the flexible teeth 407 and document 20, the flexible teeth 407 are supported against excessive downward flexing by the underlying offset serrations 408 of the rigid supporting members 406 of the shoes. It can be seen from the arc 420 and diverging angles of the rear wall 40 and platen 430, as illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5, that the pressure applied by the supported flexible teeth 407 against the document 20 is maximized at the outset of the upward arcuate movement of the shoe members 400, as shown in FIG. 4, and that the pressure applied by the teeth against the document is diminished slightly as the shoe members 400 reach their points of maximum upward arcuate movement, as shown in FIG. 5. This condition exists even when the screws 262 are backed way from their fully tightened positions, since the bias applied by the leaf springs 130 will only advance the shoe members 400 towards the far wall 40 a limited distance not extending beyond the locus of points defining the arcs 420, as mentioned supra. The shoe members 400 will accordingly not follow the diverging platen 430 beyond that locus. The purpose in providing a diminishing pressure of the shoe members 400 against the platen 430 at the uppermost points of the arcs 420, is to facilitate the tactile removal of the misread document should such action be found necessary following its viewing in the view station. On the other hand, the document may be cammably activated downwardly to its original relative position in the guideway 10 by reversing the polarity of the bias applied to the motor 350, whereupon the document is cammably activated downwardly along the arcs 420 described by the shoe members 400, the flexible teeth 407 of the shoe members in this instance not being supported against excessive upward flexing by the offset serrations 408, but being permitted to flex upwardly as limited only by the natural resiliency of the teeth. The purpose in permitting upward flexing of the teeth 407 during the return activation of the shoe members 400 is to prevent an overload on the motor 350 caused by the frictional drag of the shoe members 400 against the far wall 40 when the viewed check has been tactilely removed from the view station and the camming arms 370 and shoe members 400 are required to be arcuately activated downwardly to their home positions with no document 20 being present in the guideway 10 between the flexible teeth 407 and the far wall 40 of the platen 430. 
     While the above-referenced embodiment of the invention has been described in considerable detail with respect to the apparatus thereof, it will be appreciated that other modifications and variations therein may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the true spirit and scope of the invention.