Patent GB-1006681-A (GB)
Title: Improvements in or relating to sheet feeding apparatus
Inventor: GRIMES RONALD WILLIAM
IPC: G06K13/077
Filed: 1962-07-31
Abstract: 1,006,681. Selective punching apparatus. INTERNATIONAL COMPUTERS AND TABULATORS. June 25, 1963 [July 31, 1961], No. 29343/62. Heading B4B. Apparatus for feeding a series of sheets along a feed path, the separation between adjacent sheets being appreciably less than the length of a sheet, comprises at least first and second spaced-apart sheet pusher members, means for reciprocating the pusher members backwards and forwards along the feed path, each of the pusher members being adapted during forward movement to engage and feed one of the sheets, means adapted to move the second pusher member into and out of the feed path on completion of the backward and forward movement, respectively, of said member, frictional feeding means positioned in that part of the feed path which is traversed by the second pusher member and adapted to urge a sheet engaged by said feeding means in a direction opposite to that of the pusher members, and means for limiting the extent to which the frictional feeding means can feed a sheet in the forward direction, whereby the frictional feeding means serves to hold a sheet in contact with the second pusher member during forward movement the second pusher member during forward movement thereof and to increase temporarily the gap between adjacent sheets during the backward movement of the pusher members to facilitate the return of the second pusher member into the feed path. The apparatus is similar to that disclosed in Specification 362,529, except that a record card which has just been punched is sensed and the sensed information punched in the next record card of the series. To this end, the completed record card is disengaged from carriage 4, Fig. 1, at the end of the punching operation, which takes place at line 6, and is held while the carriage is returned to its initial position and re-loaded. The completed record card is then re-engaged with the carriage ahead of the card fed from the stack 1 and the two cards advanced in synchronism during the first phase of the next cycle. Carriage 4 has fixed thereto a support 7 carrying a pair of meshing card-engaging members 8, 9, Fig. 2, which project into a slot 16 in bed plate 3. Member 8 acts as a card pusher and member 9 as a card retainer. Members 8, 9 are urged clockwise by coil springs that associated with member 8 being stronger than that associated with member 9. As the carriage is advanced in direction of arrow 17, member 8 engages a record card 18 and moves it through a sensing station while sensing brushes 21 are raised. Member 9, on the other hand, keeps the following card 20 constantly engaged with pusher member 5 at the rear end of the carriage. As the card 18 is fed between the first of two pairs of rollers 30, 31, driven by an electric motor 25 the card is maintained in constant engagement with the face 35 of member 8 by frictional engagement with roller 30 which is rotating in direction of arrow 34. As the cards are advanced by the carriage to move the last columnar positions out of the punching and sensing stations, a fixed pin 39 turns a pivotally-mounted latch 36 counterclockwise to release member 8 which turns through an angle of approximately 90 degrees under the influence of its spring and turns the member 9 by a similar amount against the action of its spring. This brings the faces 42 of the two members in line above bed plate 3. As the last column of card 20 is punched, i.e. when the trailing end of the card 18 is just beyond the sensing station and the leading end of card 20 has just entered the first pair of rollers 30, 31, the motor 25 is reversed and this causes the rollers 30 to rotate in the direction of arrows 43 and a card stop 44 to be raised to halt the card 20 which is held against the stop by rotation of the first roller 30. Raising of the stop initiates return movement of the carriage and at the end of this movement the motor is again reversed and as the carriage completes its return movement, a pin 47 on member 8 engages a fixed cam 46 to restore the member 8 to its original position and re-engage the latch 36. Restoration of the member 8 allows the member 9 to be restored. As the card 20 is being held against stop 44 and the further card fed from stack 1 is in contact with pusher 5, the space between adjacent edges of the two cards is appreciably greater than that which exists when the cards are being fed for sensing and punching respectively. This ensures that the edges of the cards are not damaged during restoration of the members 8, 9. After the members 8, 9 have been restored, the motor is reversed so that the trailing edge of card 20 is rapidly moved against the face 35 of member 8. The two cards are now in position for the next punching and sensing cycle. The card 18 is fed into a stacker by means of the second pair of rollers 30, 31 during the time that the rollers 30 are rotating in the direction of arrows 43. The members 8, 9 may be replaced by a single card-engaging device. The or each cardengaging device may be retractable about an axis parallel to the feed direction. The sensing may, alternatively, be by pins or by photoelectric means.