Apparatus for reading marks on or perforations in record cards

Claim 2

In an apparatus for reading perforations and/or dark marks in a plurality of record columns in/on a record card which is moved through a card passage parallel to said columns, said apparatus comprising a support adapted to maintain on the same side of the path of the card a light source for directing a light beam obliquely to a reading location, and a photoelectric reading member capable of receiving the diffuse light reflected perpendicularly by said reading location, the combination comprising: a fixed crosspiece adapted to support an equal plurality of elongate cylindrical lenses, in such manner that these lenses, which are spaced apart in the same way as said card columns, are positioned in proximity to said reading locations on the same side of the card path and have their axes parallel to said columns; a support carriage adapted to maintain in position said light source and said photoelectric reading member; and a driving mechanism adapted and arranged to cooperate with said carriage in such manner as to bring the latter successively into a number of stop positions, such that in each stop position said light source and said photoelectric member are in the same plane as one of said cylindrical lenses.

Claim 3

The combination according to claim 1, wherein said driving mechanism comprises a screw situated on the other side of said carriage, with its axis of rotation perpendicular to the direction of the card columns, and the thread pitch of which is equal to the spacing of said columns, and wherein said carriage comprises a cheek-shaped in the form of a portion of a nut thread, which is engaged between two thread turns of said screw.

Claim 4

The combination according to claim 1, wherein said crosspiece is provided with an arm situated between said lenses and said light source and comprises a plurality of slots which are aligned with said cylindrical lenses, the width of each of these slots being substantially one-third of the width of a card perforation.

Claim 5

In an apparatus for reading perforations and/or dark marks in a plurality of record columns in/on a record card which is moved through a card passage in a direction parallel to said columns, said apparatus comprising a support adapted to maintain on the same side of the card passage a light source for directing a light beam obliquely to a reading location and a photoelectric reading member capable of receiving the diffuse light reflected perpendicularly by said reading location, the combination comprising: a fixed crosspiece adapted to support a common plurality of elongate cylindrical lenses, in such manner that these lenses, which are spaced apart to the same extent as said card columns, are disposed in proximity to said reading locations on the same side of the card path and have their axes parallel to said columns; a support carriage adapted to maintain in position said light source and said photoelectric reading member, the carriage being provided with a thin member shaped in the form of a portion of a nut thread; and a driving mechanism including a screw whose thread pitch is equal to the spacing of the card columns, and which is disposed parallel to said card path and perpendicularly to the direction of the card columns, in order that said thin member of the carriage may be engaged between two thread turns of said screw, the latter being actuated to take up successively a plurality of stop positions such that, in each of them, said light source and said photoelectric member are aligned with a different one of said cylindrical lenses.

Claim 6

In an apparatus for reading perforations and/or dark marks in a plurality of record columns in/on a record card which is moved through a card passage in a direction parallel to said columns, said apparatus comprising a support adapted to maintain on the same side of the card passage a light source for directing a light beam obliquely to a reading location and a photoelectric reading member capable of receiving the diffuse light reflected perpendicularly by said reading location, the combination comprising: a fixed crosspiece adapted to support a common plurality of elongate cylindrical lenses, in such manner that these lenses, which are spaced apart to the same extent as said card columns, are disposed in proximity to said reading locations on the same side of the card path and have their axes parallel to said columns; a support carriage adapted to maintain in position said light source and said photoelectric reading member, the carriage being provided with a thin member shaped in the form of a portion of a nut thread; and a driving mechanism including a screw whose thread pitch is equal to the spacing of the card columns, and which is disposed parallel to said card path and perpendicularly to the direction of the card columns, in order that said thin member of the carriage may be engaged between two thread turns of said screw, the latter being actuated to take up successively a plurality of stop positions such that, in each of them, said light source and said photoelectric member are aligned with a different one of said cylindrical lenses.

Claim 7

The combination according to claim 4, wherein said crosspiece is provided with an arm situated between said lenses and said light sources, and comprises a plurality of slots which are aligned with said cylindrical lenses, the width of each of these slots being substantially one-third of the width of a card perforation.