Patent GB-454169-A (GB)
Title: Improvements in rotary card indexes
IPC: B42F17/28
Filed: 1935-03-30
Abstract: 454,169. Rotary card indexes. BRUEN, G. C., 120, South la Salle Street, Chicago, U.S.A. March 30, 1935, No. 9988. Convention date, March 30, 1934. [Class 146 (i)] A rotary cardindex comprises a drum provided with a card - mounting means arranged so that a number of cards may be placed on the drum or removed therefrom together with a portion of the mounting means, the latter including a cardmounting rail formed of a number of sections, each section being arranged to permit endwise withdrawal of cards mounted thereon As shown in Fig. 4, drums 31 are mounted side by side in a cabinet 30, each drum receiving a circumferential set of index cards. Each drum is built in two sections from stampings and mounted by means of ball bearings on a rotatable sleeve 33 supported on a shaft 32, which is preferably stationary and mounted in bearings in the walls of the cabinet. A ball clutch 62 is mounted on the sleeve 33 and secured to the two central discs 42 of the drum, the clutch only allowing one-way rotation of the drum on the sleeve 33. When the direction of rotation of the drum is reversed, the sleeve 33 is carried with the drum, to rotate on the shaft 32, this rotation being resisted by braking means comprising a spring-pressed cap 63 pressing on the sleeve. The braking means and clutch normally prevent backward rotation of the drum due to the weight of the index cards, and backward rotation can only be accomplished by pressure from the operator. The peripheral wall 37 of the drum is offset below the rims 40, and the two discs 42 are shaped so that they do not meet at the periphery 37, thereby providing recesses or slots for the reception of four or more arcuate card mounting rail sections 47. The rails 47 each comprise a circular head 48 and a flange 49 ; the head may or may not be integral with the flange. The rails 47 are retained in the slots of the drum by spring-pressed removable locking- pins 50 which are mounted in one end disc and the two central discs 42 of the drum, and pass through holes 52 in the flanges 49 of the rails. The index cards 58 are provided at the mid-point of their bottom edges with keyhole slots for engagement with the rails, the slots being of such a size and shape that the cards can swing through an angle of about 45‹ on the rails. For removing large groups of cards an entire rail 47 may be removed by withdrawing the locking-pins 50; an alternative method, where two pins are used for each rail, is to withdraw one pin and rock the rail outwardly about the other pin, as shown in Fig. 5, so that the cards may be slid off the rail. To permit the rocking of the rail the pivot hole therein is slotted. In modified forms of drums, (a) each rail 47 is integral with arcuate portions of the rims and periphery 37 of the drum; (b) each rail has integral sections which contact with and cover an arcuate section of the periphery 37 of the drum; (c) the rims and periphery 37 are all integral, and two sets of separate spaced rails 47 are locked in recesses in the periphery ; (d) two sets of integral spaced rails 47 on common flanges are mounted on the periphery 37 ; and (e) each rail 47 is integral with a spaced rim section which is spaced from the ordinary rim of the drum so that smaller sized cards may be used on the drum. In the modified form (e) the slot in each card may be offset slightly from the centre so that when a card is reversed it is offset from the rest ; this enables the operator to mark a particular card for subsequent entries. If desired, a plurality of fixed spacing members may be arranged on the drum, each member being secured to one end of each rail 47. For drums of larger capacities a reversible electric motor, operated from a foot-pedal, may be used to drive each drum. Preferably a rubber pulley on the motor shaft engages a rim of the drum. For facilitating manual operation of the drum, one side wall thereof may be increased in diameter, and provided with a broader surface. Guide cards with coloured tabs are arranged between sets of index cards, the tabs being arranged at the top and one or both sides of the cards. The cabinet 30 has front, rear, and lateral panels, the top being closed by a segment 76 mounted at each end for rotation upon the sleeve 33. When the cover segment is swung into open position it rests against stops on the inner side of each lateral wall of the cabinet. Rear brackets 79 support an extensible upper shelf 80 adapted to support cards &c. A further shelf is hinged to the upper edge of the front wall of the cabinet, locking means being provided to retain the shelf in horizontal position. A storage drawer 83 is also provided in the cabinet below the drum or drums. A plurality of cabinets each with a single drum may be connected together by means of tables or shelves. The Specification as open to inspection under Sect. 91 comprises also a receptacle for the cards which are removed from the drum, the bottom of the receptacle being shaped to the arc of a cylinder, its lateral walls vertical, and its front and rear walls angularly disposed. The front and rear walls are slotted for the reception of the head of a rail section of the drum, so that a rail section with cards thereon can be set in the receptacle and the rail section removed from the slots, leaving the cards in the receptacle. In a modification, a wedge-shaped block has a key-hole slot in one face for the reception of one end of a rail containing cards which is removed from the drum. This subjectmatter does not appear in the Specification as accepted.