Patent GB-1007805-A (GB)
Title: Document feeding system
IPC: G06K13/10
Filed: 1963-10-28
Abstract: 1,007,805. Feeding and delivering sheets. FARRINGTON ELECTRONICS Inc. Oct. 28, 1963 [Oct. 29, 1962], No. 42456/63. Headings B6B and B6H. In apparatus for feeding documents of varying sizes one at a time along a feed path, the feed means is arranged to be effective for predetermined periods of time and is controlled by means pre-set by gauging the length of the documents being fed. As described, elongated punched cards are fed from a stacker 35 through a scanning station, and then delivered to either of two stackers 22, 23. Card separation and feeding; stack supports.- The punched cards are stacked on edge in a stacker 35 comprising two base-plates 46, an adjustable rear plate 46a, a fixed side plate assembly 43, an adjustable side guide 36, and a fixed front support comprising vertical bars 38, a top cross-bar 37b which is vertically adjustable along slots in the bars 38 and rabbetted to guide the front cards, and a bottom fixed bar 37a. The apparatus is supported on a common base 11 having slats to receive the various brackets on adjustable members, and all the necessary feeding and adjusting mechanism is mounted on either the top of the bottom of this base. When the cards are stacked, the side guide 36 is adjusted to suit the lengths of the cards by turning a knob 54 which operates through belt and pulley means arranged below the base 11, and this also adjusts a contact actuator to one of three positions, corresponding to large, medium, or small cards. The position of the contact actuator controls a three-way air valve, and the latter determines the length of time that suction is applied to a port 12 arranged behind a perforated cardseparator belt 10; thus, suction is applied to hold the front card in the stacker 35 against the separator belt 10 for a predetermined period which is suited to the length of card to be fed from the stacker. Before the front card is separated, it is held by suction applied continuously at a port 45, and scanned by a light beam which is reflected by a mirror 63, and the scanner circuit controls the operation of the apparatus in co-operation with a system of photo-electric cells arranged along the feed path. Card separation by the endless belt 10 is assisted by an air-blast from the nozzle 80 of a telescopic tube mounted by a ball joint 78 on the assembly 43; the assembly 43 also carries a reverselydriven roller (14, not shown) and an adjustable gate to prevent more than one card being separated at a time, and has two air-blast nozzles to smooth uneven cards. A photo-cell 55 and light source 56 detect when all the cards have been separated from the stacker 35. The base-plates 46 of the stacker 35 are connected to bars below the base 11 which are vibrated by means of a variable voltage transformer, whereby the stack of cards can be vibrated at different amplitudes to assist card alignment and separation. The separated card is forwarded by a pair of feed rollers co-operating with two idler rollers, one of the latter being displaceably mounted to act as a calliper to detect double feed. The feed rollers are driven to feed the card at about three times the speed they were fed by the suction belt 10. Faulty feed controls.-The circuitry of the card scanning apparatus co-operates with a number of photo-electric devices which stop the feeding of cards when a fault is detected. One photo-electric device 55, 56 detects when all the cards have been separated from the stacker 35; a second device 50 detects when the leading and/or trailing edge of a card has failed to pass the device after a prescribed time has elapsed after the card has been scanned; a third device 51, similar to 50, operates when the card fails to pass thereby towards the stackers 22, 23; a fourth device 19 is associated with a calliper feed roller which detects double feed: and a fifth device is associated with the delivery of cards into the stackers 22 or 23. Delivery apparatus.-The cards received from the suction belt 10 are fed by feed rollers at a higher speed to either of the stackers 22, 23, depending upon the position of a switch plate 24, and are stacked by feed belts 27a, 27b. The switch plate 24 is controlled by the scanning circuit, and if cards cannot enter the stacker 22, they are fed by idler rollers 31a and a second feed belt 85 to the stacker 23 through curved guides 91, 92. A photo-cell 52 is arranged between the rollers 31a and will stop the machine if the leading or lagging edge of a card does not pass it. As the cards are stacked in the stackers 22, 23, the side plates 25, 26 are pushed back, and these operate microswitches to stop the machine when the stackers are full. A common adjustable stacking bar 96 extends across both stackers 22, 23. Specification 815,066 is referred to.