Automatic card dialing device using photocell readout

Claim 1

In an automatic telephone dialing device of the type that includes sensing means for sensing a telephone number stored by means of rows of coded apertures in a record card, said card including at least one row of driving apertures disposed towards the edge of said card, said dialing device including means for advancing said card past said sensing means at a constant velocity, and a signal generator for generating dial signals in accordance with the information sensed by said sensing means, the improvement which comprises: 1. a plurality of photoelectric elements for said sensing means, said photoelectric elements being perpendicularly disposed with respect to the direction of record card travel, one photoelectric element being provided for each bit position in the rows of coded apertures in said card; and 2. at least one light source positioned so as to direct light through said coded apertures onto said plurality of photoelectric elements, said photoelectric elements generating signals representative of the digits stored in the rows of apertures in said card, as selected ones of said elements are energized by the light which passes through the corresponding apertures in said rows of apertures, and for telephone systems which employ dial pulse signaling, said signal generator includes: a pulse generator; a counting circuit connected to the outputs of said photoelectric elements and to the output of said pulse generator, the outputs of said photoelectric elements loading said counting circuit with a signal which corresponds to one of the digits stored in the rows of apertures in said card, said pulse generator pulsing said counter until a predetermined count is reached, whereupon said counting circuit generates an output signal; a control circuit connected, via an Or-gate, to the outputs of said photoelectric elements and to said pulse generator, for initiating the operation of said Pulse generator when at least one of said photoelectric elements is energized; a first relay circuit connected to, and actuated by, the output of said pulse generator, and having relay contacts for generating said dial pulse; a second relay circuit connected to, and actuated by, said control circuit and having a first pair of relay contacts for connecting the relay contacts of said first relay circuit into a telephone line connecting said device to a central office; and a monitoring circuit connecting the output of said counting circuit to said control circuit, to terminate operation of said pulse generator and to release the contacts of said second relay circuit when the output signal from said counting circuit is received; a rotatable shaft driven by the release force of a spring which is compressed by the insertion of a record card into the device; at least one card-advancing gear coupled to said shaft, and having teeth for engagement with said driving apertures; an anchor escapement for controlling the speed at which at least one gear rotates, to control the velocity at which said record card is ejected from said device; an electromagnetic means for controlling the position of the anchor in said anchor escapement to arrest travel of said record card; and a second control circuit connected to said electromagnetic means, to energize said electromagnetic means, said second relay circuit having an additional pair of contacts for enabling said second control circuit whereby the motion of said card is arrested during the interval in which pulses are generated by said pulse generator.