Card feeder for instructional devices

Claim 1

In an instructional machine having a housing with a window provided therein for viewing therethrough the forward, intelligence-bearing face of a card, signal means, circuit means connected to said signal means, and a circuit determining pattern provided on the rear face of said card, the improvement comprising: means defining a reservoir for cards to be sequentially presented to the window; a driving conveyor belt provided in said housing; drive means mounted in said housing for effecting vertical travel of said driving conveyor belt; a plurality of spaced-apart ribs formed on one face of said driving conveyor belt; a driven conveyor belt provided in said housing in confronting relationship to the ribs of said driving conveyor belt for limiting the contactual engagement between said driving and driven conveyor belts; means for delivering a card from said reservoir to said driving conveyor belt for travel between the confronting portions of said driving and driven conveyor belts toward said window; the distance between said ribs being slightly greater than the dimension of the cards to be received therebetween; the height of said ribs being substantially the same as the corresponding dimension of the accommodated card; the coefficient of friction between the confronting faces of adjacent cards being less than the coefficient of friction between the face of the card and the related belt whereby in the event that two cards are fed between the confronting faces of the driving and driven belts, the belts will operate to separate the cards.