Punch frame for data registering device

A data registering device for use with machine-processable record punch cards includes a punch card frame supporting resilient strips for receiving punched-out chad pieces which are pushed between the strips by a hand-held stylus. The device further includes a lower card guide attached at a head end of the punch card frame and an upper card guide connected to the lower card guide. The two card guides are adapted to receive the punch card between them. A stylus-guiding template is slidably positioned over the resilient strips for receiving in registry the punch card immediately below. The device improves on prior constructions by providing a removable press-fit attachment connecting the lower card guide with the punch card frame, for permitting removal of the lower card guide from the punch card frame and replacement of the resilient strips when required.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
The invention relates to card punching data recording devices, more 
specifically punch card voting devices, which are adapted to operate upon 
tabulating cards of the kind in which the index-point area of each card 
are individually scored to provide selectively removable "chips" or 
punchouts commonly referred to as "chad." 
Devices of this kind are disclosed in Harris U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,201,038 and 
3,240,409. In such data recording devices, the instrument employed to 
remove the card material does not have a cutting or shearing action in the 
manner of an ordinary punch. Rather, it functions merely to apply to a 
selected chip sufficient force to break the frangible connections between 
that chip and the card, thereby detaching the chip from the card. The 
expressions "punch" and "punching," as employed herein, should be 
understood to have this meaning. Similarly, reference made herein to a 
"die" should not be construed as meaning a die of the kind in which a 
shearing action takes place. 
Card punching devices of the aforesaid type commonly include a punch board 
or die comprising parallel strips of thin, resilient material that are 
adapted to provide a firm support for the main body of the card and to 
yield wherever necessary to permit the passage of a chip of card material 
as the same is pushed out of the card and between adjacent strips by the 
punching tool. When such a punch board or die is utilized, precautions 
must be taken to insure that all of the chips punched from the card are 
expelled from between the resilient die strips and that none of these 
chips will remain caught in the grip of the tightly spaced resilient 
strips after the punching tool is withdrawn. If chips are permitted to 
accumulate between the resilient strips, this can interfere with the 
punching operations, and occasionally it has been observed that a 
partially punched chip has been left clinging to a card after the punch 
was withdrawn, because the card-supporting surface of the punch board had 
become so clogged with chips as to prevent a clean punching operation. 
Incompletely punched cards can cause serious errors to occur in data 
processing operations utilizing such cards. 
In punch card voting devices, a template has been used to guide the voter's 
punch or stylus onto the selected punch position. If, however, the voter 
does not hold the voting punch straight up and down when punching, it is 
possible under certain temperature and humidity conditions to pull the 
template toward the voter a few thousandths of an inch, sufficient to 
prevent complete removal of the chad when the stylus is inserted. This can 
produce what is called a "hanging chad," as the chad-piece of the card is 
still attached to the card by one or two of the frangible holding points. 
Through analysis and experience, it has been found that the construction of 
the punch boards is principally responsible for these problems. It must be 
emphasized that the presence of even one incompletely punched chip in a 
run of several thousand tabulating cards is in most cases too great a 
defect to be tolerated. Hence, the design of the punch board becomes a 
critical and important factor in the successful use of prescored 
tabulating cards. 
Punch boards which have been in use in punch card voting have employed a 
highly heat-sensitive material, ABS plastic, which causes the card, 
template, and template stops or abutments of the punch board to move away 
from their ideal registration location as the temperature rises or falls. 
Specifically, the template stops of the punch-bed, or punch frame as it is 
called in punch card voting, should be within a 0.007 inch tolerance zone 
for proper operation of the punch card voting device. With the ABS 
plastic, as has been used, having an expansion characteristic which allows 
0.0005 inch longitudinal growth or expansion over the length of the punch 
frame per degree Fahrenheit, it is easily seen that the critical 
dimensions are exceeded when 14.degree. F. variations from an average 
72.degree. F. are exceeded in a polling place, i.e., over 86.degree. F. or 
under 58.degree. F. Temperatures over 86.degree. F. or under 58.degree. F. 
may be found in garages, gymnasiums, halls, etc., which are used as 
polling places. Therefore, the material typically used for punch boards in 
punch card voting can and does contribute to potentially unreadable votes, 
because of hanging chad or mispunched cards. 
As previously constructed, punch card data recording devices were difficult 
or impossible to dismantle for removal and replacement of the resilient 
die strips, or costly assemblies were employed to enable such dismantling. 
There has been a need for a simple, inexpensive system of assembly which 
permits easy, nondesctructive separation of components, particularly in 
the connection of the lower card guide with the punch card frame body. 
Another shortcoming of prior punch card recording devices has been the 
requirement of milling or machining the template and card positioning 
stops or abutments of the punch frame. The card positioning stops were 
molded into the plastic punch frame to limit the travel of the template 
and card as the card barely slips over the pins at the top or head end of 
the punch frame. The distance between the pins and the stops is quite 
critical and must be precisely controlled. However, because of the 
tolerance build-up and difficulty in repeat molding each part and 
assembling all together within a few thousandths of an inch tolerance, it 
was found that an expedient way to correct the inaccuracies of molding and 
assembly was to machine the distance from the pins to the template stops 
in order to obtain the correct dimension. Machining was performed on the 
stops after assembly. This has been necessary because of the method of 
assembly and the materials used. Methods of assembly have typically used 
solvent bonding, which melts some of the material of parts to be joined, 
then, when the solvent evaporates, leaves the parts joined together. 
Obviously, a machining operation is costly, and there has been a need for 
a simplified means of obtaining accurate spacing from the pins to the 
stops, without post-assembly machining. 
Another defect of prior art punch frames has been that in order to retain 
the template in the device in its proper position during and between uses, 
a template retaining clip has been employed. The clips have often been 
installed improperly and have interfered with the template, causing the 
voting device to malfunction. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention provides an improved data registering device for use 
with machine-processable record punch cards, having at the head end of the 
device upper and lower card guides which are secured together and to the 
punch card frame in a unique and advantageous manner. The lower card guide 
attaches to the punch card frame by means of dovetail-shaped tabs and 
grooves, sized to provide an interference fit, so that the two components 
are pressed together snugly and firmly. A screw may be installed between 
the components for additional retention. This enables removal of the card 
guide from the frame, for replacement of the resilient die strips 
supported by the punch card frame. The resilient strips, between which the 
punched out chips or chad pieces are pushed during use, eventually wear 
and require replacement. 
The upper card guide, which includes the pins for registry with and 
retention of the punch card, is received on the lower card guide by means 
of flat surfaces and a ridge and groove arrangement, allowing slidable 
adjustment of the relative positions of the upper and lower card guides 
before the two are permanently bonded together by solvent or ultrasonic 
bonding. Bonding of the two card guides is performed after the lower card 
guide is secured to the punch card frame. This assures accurate attainment 
of the prescribed distance between the card-retaining pins and the stops 
or abutments at the opposite end of the punch card frame, and eliminates 
the need to machine the stops for attaining the precise distance. 
The perforated, transparent plastic punch card template, which is 
positioned over the resilient strips so as to receive the punch card 
between the template and the resilient strips, has at its foot end a light 
leaf-type spring, lightly urging the template and the punch card together 
toward the head end of the punch card frame. The spring, and the foot end 
of the template, are retained in the frame by an advantageous unitary 
memory which includes cover plates above the ends of the spring and also 
includes the abutments. The unitary member, which avoids the problems of 
prior template-retaining arrangements discussed above, can be fitted onto 
prior art punch card data registering devices, simplifying them and 
increasing reliability. 
By using glass-reinforced plastic or other reinforced plastic resins to 
manufacture the punch frame, the high-expansion characteristics of ABS 
plastic, typically used in the manufacture of punch frames, can be 
corrected to the extent that a more accurate part is produced which would 
not require milling of the stops for the template, even if the adjustable 
card guide system of the invention were not used. By using filled plastic 
materials, the problems of high expansion characteristics of prior devices 
can be vastly improved. Previous punch frames allow mis-registration with 
the card and template at extreme temperatures of 40.degree. to 50.degree. 
F. or 90.degree. to 110.degree. F. resulting, as described previously, in 
one of the main detractors of punch card voting: "hanging chad." Ideally, 
the card to template and stop relationship should remain the same at any 
operating temperature--perhaps about 40.degree. to 110.degree. F. Previous 
punch frames would expand or shrink 0.017 inch when raised or lowered to 
either extreme from a median 75.degree. F. operating temperature. When 
glass reinforcement or filled plastics are used, the above expansion can 
be reduced to less than 0.005 inch, or less than one-third the expansion. 
A tolerance of 0.005 inch is within the nominal tolerance acceptable for 
manufacture of punch frames at 72.degree. F.; i.e., the reinforced punch 
frame, having an expansion factor one-third that of ABS, will keep the 
punch frame in specification over its operating temperature range. 
Materials are available which can be advantageously molded into this part, 
with economy and with the desirable expansion characteristics. 
The above-described system for connection of the upper card guide to the 
lower card guide assures proper precision spacing between the pins and the 
template stops by providing for adjustment of the pin-bearing upper card 
guide before the upper and lower card guides are bonded together. The 
assembly process corrects any molding deficiencies as well as material 
irregularities, adding further to the improvements provided by the use of 
reinforced plastic material, and in fact in itself avoiding the need for 
machining operations. With prior devices and assembly systems, there was 
no method of correcting for material irregularities at assembly. 
Furthermore, by using the present assembly system, accidental errors in 
assembly can still be corrected by unfastening the punch frame bed from 
the lower card guide and shimming or grinding. 
There are several embodiments of the invention, each for inclusion in a 
data registering device for use with a machine-processable record punch 
card and including a punch card frame supporting resilient strips for 
receiving punched-out chad pieces pushed between the strips by a hand-held 
stylus. In such devices there is a lower card guide attached at a head end 
of the punch card frame, an upper card guide connected to the lower card 
guide, the card guides being adapted to receive the punch card between 
them, and a stylus-grinding template slidably positioned over the 
resilient strips for receiving in registry the punch card immediately 
below. In one embodiment, the improvement comprises removable press-fit 
attachment means connecting the lower card guide with the punch card 
frame, for permitting removal of the lower card guide from the punch card 
frame and replacement of the resilient strips when required. The press-fit 
attachment means may comprise dovetail-shaped grooves oriented generally 
vertically on the head end of the punch card frame and complementarily 
shaped tabs on the lower card guide, with the tabs and grooves being sized 
to provide a tight interference fit for secure, stable connection. In 
another embodiment of the invention the improvement to a data registering 
device of the type described comprises adjustable connection means between 
the upper card guide and the lower card guide, for enabling precise 
attainment of the prescribed distance between the pins and the stops 
during assembly, before the upper and lower card guides are secured 
together. 
Accordingly, it is a broad object of the invention to improve the 
reliability of devices for punching data in prescored tabulating cards, to 
the end that all punched chips will be completely removed from the card 
and from the resilient die strips, with no possibility of a chip being 
left in a position where it can have a harmful effect. 
It is a further object to provide an improved assembly of a punch card type 
data registering device wherein the resilient strips are readily 
replaceable when required. 
Another object is to provide an assembly wherein the critical distance 
between card-retaining pins at the head end of the device and abutment 
stops at the foot end may be precisely controlled on assembly, without 
machining of the stops. 
A further object is to provide an attachment for the foot end of a punch 
card data registering device, for inclusion in a new assembly or fitting 
on a prior art device, with provision for retaining the punch card 
template in the frame and also including the abutment stops for engagement 
by the punch card and the template.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
In the drawings, FIG. 1 shows a punch card type data recording device 10 
including a punch card frame 11 supporting a series of resilient die 
strips 12, with a transparent, perforated punch card template 13 
positioned over the strips 12 and between upwardly extending flanges 14 of 
the frame 11. At the head end 16 of the device is an upper card guide 17, 
connected to a lower card guide 18 below. These components are also seen 
in FIG. 2. 
At the foot end 19 of the punch card frame 11 are a pair of abutments or 
stops 21 against which the punch card template and a data recording punch 
card (not shown) are together engaged when the card is inserted into the 
device 10 and pushed into place with top end holes slipped over upwardly 
extending pins 22. A leaf-type spring 23 is connected to the foot end of 
the template 13 and lightly urges the template (and the punch card, when 
in place) away from the stops 21. 
As thus far described, the components of the data registering device 10 
have all been included in conventional equipment, except that the form of 
the components and the manner in which they interrelate and are connected 
to one another are different according to the invention. 
FIGS. 3,4,5, and 6 indicate the manner of assembly of the punch card frame 
11, the lower card guide 18 and the upper card guide 17. As illustrated, 
the punch card frame 11 includes at its head end 16 a pair of 
dovetail-shaped grooves 24, formed in the plastic frame 11 in the molding 
process and aligned generally vertically. On the lower card guide 18 are 
complementarily shaped tabs 26, sized for a tight interference fit with 
the grooves 24. The bottom of the lower card guide is shown in FIG. 4, 
revealing the tabs 26. When the two components are assembled, as can be 
envisioned from FIG. 3, the tabs 26 are forced downwardly into the grooves 
24, and a tight, rigid connection results. For additional security, a 
screw fastener 27 may be used, passing through a hole 28 in the lower card 
guide 18 to be screwed into a bore 29 in the frame 11. As discussed above, 
this method and system of assembly permits easy, nondestructive 
dismantling, so that the resilient die strips 12 may be replaced when 
required. 
The manner in which the upper card guide 17 is assembled to the lower card 
guide 18 is also unique and advantageous. FIG. 6 shows the bottom of the 
upper card guide, to reveal a pair of projecting bumps or ridges 31 on a 
downwardly facing surface 32 which upon assembly engages against an 
upwardly-facing surface 33 of the lower card guide 18. The bumps or ridges 
31 register with parallel longitudinal grooves 34 in the lower card guide 
surface 33. Thus, upon assembly the upper card guide is held in alignment 
and permitted to slide longitudinally along a track for adjustment prior 
to bonding of the components together. As discussed previously, the 
distance between the card-retaining pins 22 and the stops 21 (see FIG. 1) 
at the foot end of the punch card frame 11 is critical and must be 
precisely controlled. To this end, a jig (not shown) having the desired 
spacing is placed against the stops 21 and adjacent to the pins 22. The 
upper card guide position is then adjusted, with respect to the lower card 
guide below, until the pins 22 engage the jig properly. That position of 
the upper card guide is held and the two card guides are bonded together, 
either by ultrasonic bonding or solvent bonding. 
FIGS. 7-11 show details at the foot end 19 of the punch card frame 11. The 
punch card template 13, retained by the side flanges 14 for limited 
longitudinal movement in the punch frame, has the leaf spring 23 secured 
to a flange 41 at the foot end of the template. The flange 41 extends 
downwardly for supporting the spring and to act as a stop for the punch 
card to engage against when it is inserted. As indicated, ends 42 of the 
spring 23 extend laterally and engage against a wall 43 secured at the 
foot end of the frame 11. According to the invention, the template 13 is 
retained in place against lifting out of the frame 11 by a pair of spaced 
apart, plate-like covers 44 at either side. Of course, at the head end of 
the frame, that end of the template is prevented from being lifted out of 
the frame by the overhanging upper card guide 17. 
Another advantageous feature of the invention is that the stops 21 and the 
covers 44 at the foot end of the device are provided by a unitary member 
46, shown installed in the punch card frame 11 in FIGS. 7 and 8 and shown 
prior to installation in FIGS. 9-11. As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the 
unitary member 46 has the plate-like covers 44 at the sides, just above 
the spring ends 42, but with a large central area between the covers 44 
left open. Thus, the template can be removed from the frame if desired, by 
forcing the ends of the spring toward the template using a tool or even a 
finger. 
The unitary member 46 is installed in the punch card frame 11 via cut-out 
areas 47 and 48 in the rear wall 49 and bottom of the frame 11. The 
cut-outs can be molded in the frame when it is manufactured, or they can 
be cut into an existing punch frame for fitting the member 46 in to 
improve the operation and reliability of the existing device. The member 
46 perfectly is secured into the punch card frame body 11 by ultrasonic or 
solvent bonding. 
The member 46 is shown in plan, rear elevation, and side views in FIGS. 9, 
10 and 11. It comprises an integrally molded component having a back wall 
plate 51 supporting the upper plate-like members or flanges 44, a bottom, 
forward-extending flange 52 and side flanges 53 which extend forward a 
short distance to form the stops 21. As shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, the 
plates 44, as well as the top surfaces of the side flanges 53, may angle 
upwardly in the forward direction to some extent. 
As discussed above, it is preferable that at least the punch card frame 11 
be made of a filled plastic material, such as glass reinforced plastic, to 
reduce the coefficient of thermal expansion. This helps assure proper 
punchout of the chad pieces in a data card over a wide range of 
temperature conditions. 
The above described preferred embodiment is illustrative and is not 
intended to be in any sense limiting. Various other embodiments and 
variations to this preferred embodiment will be apparent to those skilled 
in the art and may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of 
the following claims.