Program control devices

Claim 1

A PROGRAM CONTROL DEVICE ADAPTED TO HANDLE A PROGRAM CONTROL CARD HAVING CONTROL HOLES IN SOME OF A PLURALITY OF CONTROL HOLE POSITIONS ARRANGED IN A SQUARE NET OF ROWS AND CHANNELS, COMPRISING A FRAME, GUIDING MEANS ON SAID FRAME DEFINING A GUIDE PATH FOR A CONTROL CARD PARALLEL WITH THE CHANNELS OF CONTROL HOLE POSITIONS ON THE CARD, RETURN SPRING MEANS ADJACENT SAID GUIDING MEANS ADAPTED TO BIAS A CARD TOWARDS AN INITIAL POSITION ALONG SAID GUIDING MEANS, MOTOR MEANS, A FEED MECHANISM, A ONE-CYCLE CLUTCH, CONNECTED WITH SAID MOTOR MEANS AND SAID FEED MECHANISM FOR INTERMITTENTLY DRIVING SAID FEED MECHANISM, WHEN ENGAGED, THROUGH AN OPERATION CYCLE BY MEANS OF SAID MOTOR MEANS, STEP FEED MEANS FORMING PART OF SAID FEED MECHANISM AND ADAPTED TO STEP A CARD IN A FEED DIRECTION ALONG SAID GUIDING MEANS AGAINST THE BIAS OF SAID SPRING MEANS WHEN SAID CLUTCH IS ENGAGED AND ALSO HOLD A CARD IN STEPPED POSITION AGAINST THE BIAS OF SAID SPRING MEANS, A SERIES OF MOVABLE CONTROL HOLE FEELER MEANS ACROSS THE GUIDE PATH DEFINED BY SAID GUIDING MEANS AND NORMALLY IN A CARD ENGAGING POSITION WHEN SAID CLUTCH IS DISENGAGED, MEANS BIASING SAID FEELER MEANS AGAINST MOVEMENT FROM SAID CARD ENGAGING POSITON, ACTUATING MEANS FORMING PART OF SAID FEED MECHANISM AND MOVING SAID FEELER MEANS ONLY DURING THE OPERATION CYCLE OF SAID FEED MECHANISM TO AN INOPERATIVE POSITION SPACED FROM SAID CARD ENGAGING POSITION, RESTORING MEANS COUPLED TO SAID STEP FEED MEANS FOR DISABLING SAID STEP FEED MEANS, MOMENTARY DISENGAGEMENT MEANS COUPLED TO SAID CLUTCH FOR TEMPORARILY DISENGAGING SAID CLUTCH DURING ITS OPERATION CYCLE WHEN SAID ACTUATING MEANS OF SAID FEED MECHANISM HAS MOVED SAID FEELER MEANS TO THEIR INOPERATIVE POSITION, AND OPERATING MEANS COUPLED TO SAID RESTORING MEANS AND SAID MOMENTARY DISENGAGEMENT MEANS, WHEREBY A CARD IS RETURNED TO ITS INITIAL POSITION BY MEANS OF SAID RETURN SPRING MEANS WITHOUT INTERFERENCE FROM SAID FEELER MEANS AND SAID STEP FEED MEANS.