Patent US3896291A successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
US3896291A
Expired / Lapsed
US
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Card reader mechanism
Assignee: Singer Co
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Filing: 1974-02-14
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Granted: 1975-07-22
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Expires: 1994-02-14
Abstract
Abstract An improved card reader for sensing and readout of Hollerith punched-hole cards. The reader senses the manual entry of a Hollerith card to turn on driving rollers which grasp and press the card inward into the mechanism. The leading edge of the punched card then comes into contact with a flange-head which is part of a strobe bar carriage. The pressure of the inwardly driven Hollerith card causes the front edge of the Hollerith card to press against the head and to initiate forward motion of the strobe bar carriage. The strobe bar carriage carries a linear bar with a series of precisionly spaced apertures in its base which are used to trigger a strobing signal as each column of the punched card passes over the read station. The read station puts out a set of signals indicative of the pattern of each column of the Hollerith card. When the last column of the Hollerith card is read, a reverse sensing photocell is triggered which drives the card backward out of the entry slot. A return spring retracts the strobe bar carriage back to its initial position adjacent the entry slot of the card reader. The strobe bar flange and carriage is made to contain a heavier mass than that of the Hollerith card and is at least of equal width to that of the width of the Hollerith card so that any ''''skewness'''' of the Hollerith card in the entry slot will be rectified when the edge of the Hollerith card is flatted against the strobe bar head. Further, the thrust of the Hollerith card will not cause bounce or jerk of the strobe bar carriage (which might lead to reading errors) but will merely accelerate the strobe bar carriage in a smooth fashion.
Inventors
- 👤 Charles W Wiedeman
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-29 18:08
CPC Classifications
G; G06; G06K; G06K13/00; G06K13/02; G06K13/07; G06K13/073; G06K7/00; G06K7/01; G06K7/016
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 17
Claim 1
Independent Claim
180 words
In a card reader for reading a punched card and having a planar transport channel and a read-out station, the combination comprising: a. card transport means for transporting a punched card into and out of said card reader, wherein said card transport means includes means for grasping the longitudinal edges of a punched card in a yieldable fashion; b. means for longitudinally aligning an inserted punched card to insure a proper vertical column alignment of each column across said read-out station, and wherein said means for longitudinally aligning a card includes a movable carriage having a flange-head for abutting the leading edge of an inwardly driven punched card, said flange-head precipitating slippage of the longitudinal edges of said incoming punched card when one portion of the leading edge of said punched card strikes said flange-head before the remainder of the leading edge does so, causing the correct alignment of said punched card in said planar transport channel; c. means for triggering a strobe signal upon the correct placement of a vertical column of the punched card in said read-out station.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
180 words
In a card reader for reading a punched card and having a planar transport channel and a read-out station, the combination comprising: a. card transport means for transporting a punched card into and out of said card reader, wherein said card transport means includes means for grasping the longitudinal edges of a punched card in a yieldable fashion; b. means for longitudinally aligning an inserted punched card to insure a proper vertical column alignment of each column across said read-out station, and wherein said means for longitudinally aligning a card includes a movable carriage having a flange-head for abutting the leading edge of an inwardly driven punched card, said flange-head precipitating slippage of the longitudinal edges of said incoming punched card when one portion of the leading edge of said punched card strikes said flange-head before the remainder of the leading edge does so, causing the correct alignment of said punched card in said planar transport channel; c. means for triggering a strobe signal upon the correct placement of a vertical column of the punched card in said read-out station.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
40 words
The card reader of claim 1 wherein said means for grasping the longitudinal edges of a punched card includes: a. two sets of upper and lower drive belts each having a parallel contacting common area along the planar transport channel.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
28 words
The card reader of claim 1 wherein said means for aligning includes: a. means for providing smooth nonvibratory accelerative movement of said punched card through said read station.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
32 words
The reader of claim 3 wherein said means for providing smooth nonvibratory movement includes a movable carriage having a mass at least 8 times greater than the mass of said punched card.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
51 words
The reader of claim 4 wherein said movable carriage includes: a. a movable linear bar having means for triggering a strobe signal at the readout station during each column alignment of the card on the readout station, and b. a flange-head for abutting the leading edge of an incoming punched card.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
137 words
In a punched card reader having a planar transport channel and a readout station, the combination comprising: a. a strobe bar carriage movable by the leading edge of an indriven punched card, said carriage including: a-1. a linear strobe bar having means to trigger a strobing signal at precision intervals corresponding to moments when a vertical card column of said punched card is in direct alignment over said readout station; a-2. a raised flange-head for contacting the leading edge of said inwardly driven card; b. card transport means for yieldably grasping and transporting a punched card via the longitudinal edges thereof; c. sense means responsive to said strobe bar trigger means; d. track means for guiding said strobe bar carriage past said sense means; e. retraction means for returning said strobe bar carriage to its initial position.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
137 words
In a punched card reader having a planar transport channel and a readout station, the combination comprising: a. a strobe bar carriage movable by the leading edge of an indriven punched card, said carriage including: a-1. a linear strobe bar having means to trigger a strobing signal at precision intervals corresponding to moments when a vertical card column of said punched card is in direct alignment over said readout station; a-2. a raised flange-head for contacting the leading edge of said inwardly driven card; b. card transport means for yieldably grasping and transporting a punched card via the longitudinal edges thereof; c. sense means responsive to said strobe bar trigger means; d. track means for guiding said strobe bar carriage past said sense means; e. retraction means for returning said strobe bar carriage to its initial position.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
26 words
The reader of claim 6 wherein said means to trigger A strobing signal includes a series of precisionally spaced apertures linearly placed in said strobe bar.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
39 words
The reader of claim 6 wherein said strobe bar carriage is sufficiently greater in mass than said indriven punched card as to cause proper realignment of said card when the leading edge of said card abuts against said flange-head.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
145 words
In a punched card reading apparatus for driving a punched card past a readout station to read out sequentially the information bearing columns of said punched card, the improvement comprising: a. a movable strobe bar carriage having at least eight times the mass of the punched card and including: a-1. a strobe bar having linear apertures precisionally spaced thereon for triggering a strobe signal when a card column is in direct alignment across said readout station; a-2. a flange-head for abutting the leading edge of an incoming punched card such that the driven punched card will smoothly accelerate said strobe bar carriage into motion past said readout station; b. double upper and lower belt drive means for driving each longitudinal edge of said punched card with a sufficiently gentle grasp that realignment of said card may occur upon its leading edge striking the said flange-head.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
145 words
In a punched card reading apparatus for driving a punched card past a readout station to read out sequentially the information bearing columns of said punched card, the improvement comprising: a. a movable strobe bar carriage having at least eight times the mass of the punched card and including: a-1. a strobe bar having linear apertures precisionally spaced thereon for triggering a strobe signal when a card column is in direct alignment across said readout station; a-2. a flange-head for abutting the leading edge of an incoming punched card such that the driven punched card will smoothly accelerate said strobe bar carriage into motion past said readout station; b. double upper and lower belt drive means for driving each longitudinal edge of said punched card with a sufficiently gentle grasp that realignment of said card may occur upon its leading edge striking the said flange-head.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
25 words
The reading apparatus of claim 9 including retraction means for returning said strobe bar carriage to its initial position after a card is read out.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
143 words
In a punched card reader having an entry slot, a planar card transport channel, a readout station, and transport means for transporting said punched card through said readout station, the combination comprising: a. card entry sensing means to start said transport means to drive a punch card inwardly into said reader: b. a strobe bar carriage having a flange-head for abutting the leading edge of an inwardly transported punch card and capable of forward movement due to impact of the card''s leading edge against said flange-head of said carriage; c. said transport means including means for grasping the longitudinal edges of said punched card in a yieldable fashion so that edge slippage can occur when one portion of the leading edge of said punched card strikes the flange-head of a strobe bar carriage before the rest of the leading edge has done so.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
143 words
In a punched card reader having an entry slot, a planar card transport channel, a readout station, and transport means for transporting said punched card through said readout station, the combination comprising: a. card entry sensing means to start said transport means to drive a punch card inwardly into said reader: b. a strobe bar carriage having a flange-head for abutting the leading edge of an inwardly transported punch card and capable of forward movement due to impact of the card''s leading edge against said flange-head of said carriage; c. said transport means including means for grasping the longitudinal edges of said punched card in a yieldable fashion so that edge slippage can occur when one portion of the leading edge of said punched card strikes the flange-head of a strobe bar carriage before the rest of the leading edge has done so.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
112 words
In a punched card reader having a planar card transport channel and transport means for moving a punched card into and out of a readout station, the improvement comprising: a. a movable strobe bar carriage for receiving an incoming punched card, said carriage having a flange-bar for aubtting the leading edge of the punched card such that the driving motion of the punched card will accelerate the strobe bar carriage in a smooth uniform manner; a-1. said strobe carriage including a linear strip of apertures whereby each of said apertures, on passing a sensor, will trigger an output strobe signal each time a vertical column of the punched card is properly positioned.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
112 words
In a punched card reader having a planar card transport channel and transport means for moving a punched card into and out of a readout station, the improvement comprising: a. a movable strobe bar carriage for receiving an incoming punched card, said carriage having a flange-bar for aubtting the leading edge of the punched card such that the driving motion of the punched card will accelerate the strobe bar carriage in a smooth uniform manner; a-1. said strobe carriage including a linear strip of apertures whereby each of said apertures, on passing a sensor, will trigger an output strobe signal each time a vertical column of the punched card is properly positioned.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1978-07-21 | 1979-01-20 | 1979-07-22 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1982-07-21 | 1983-01-20 | 1983-07-22 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1986-07-21 | 1987-01-20 | 1987-07-22 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |