Sensing switch having resilient finger sensor for detecting a document

Claim 2

Apparatus for electrically sensing the presence of an object in a path of travel therefor comprising, in combination: pivot means (32) defining an axis of rotation spaced from and orthogonal to the direction of said path; link means (31, 26, 35) mounting said pivot means for resiliently opposed movement, out of an initial position, having a principal component aligned with said direction; a gravity responsive finger (30) mounted on said link means for free pivotal movement about said pivot means in response to the force of gravity; abutment means (36) limiting the moveMent of said finger in response to gravity, said finger and said abutment means being so configured that when said link means brings said pivot means into said initial position, said finger is positioned to protrude into said path for engagement by the leading end of an object traveling therealong to cause gravitationally opposed movement of said finger out of engagement with said abutment means accompanied by resiliently opposed movement of said pivot means out of said initial position; release means (25) in the path of said finger at an extreme of the movement thereof for withdrawal of said finger from engagement by said leading edge, so that said pivot means may be resiliently returned to a rest position near to but displaced from said initial position; and control means (37, 40, 41) mounted for actuation by said link means to perform a switching function when said pivot means is not in one of said initial and rest positions.

Claim 3

Apparatus according to claim 1 in which the link means comprises a link pivoted about a second axis.

Claim 4

Apparatus according to claim 2 in which the second axis is parallel to the axis defined by said pivot means.

Claim 5

Apparatus according to claim 1 in which the objects are card-like, and in which upon said withdrawal said finger returns to engagement with a surface of the object which is parallel to said direction, thereby preventing said first means from fully reaching said initial position.

Claim 6

Apparatus according to claim 2 in which the control means includes an actuator contacted by said link when said pivot means is in the initial and rest positions.

Claim 7

Apparatus according to claim 1 together with means defining a substantially closed channel for directing the travel of said objects, said finger in the initial position of said pivot means extending across said channel to contact the inside of the opposite wall thereof.

Claim 8

Apparatus according to claim 6 in which said objects are card-like, together with feed means for advancing the cards through the channel in generally one-by-one spaced relation.

Claim 9

Apparatus according to claim 6 wherein upon said return of said pivot means said finger is spaced from said opposite wall by the dimension of said object transverse to said channel, to prevent said pivot means from reaching said initial position.

Claim 10

Apparatus according to claim 8 wherein completion of the travel of said object enables said pivot means to reach said normal position.

Claim 11

Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the presence of an object in said path initially prevents said finger from causing said link means to reach said initial position.

Claim 12

Apparatus according to claim 7 wherein said apparatus lies beneath said path of travel.

Claim 13

Apparatus for electrically responding to the movement of cards driven through a path of travel having a known direction comprising, in combination: means including horizontal upper and lower plates defining the path of travel laterally; a housing mounted beneath an aperture in the lower plate; a jointed arm comprising a generally vertical link, a generally horizontal finger, and means mounting one end of the finger for pivotal movement at one end of the link, said finger including a camming undersurface and a card engaging tip remote from the link; means for pivotal movement, about an axis remote from and orthogonal to the path of travel, out of an initial position in the housing; resilient means for urging the link toward its initial position; an abutment in the housing positioned beneath the finger to engage the comming surface thereof, when the link is in its initial position, to displace the finger upwardly through the aperture in the lower plate until the tip of the finger engages the upper plate; the arrangement being such that when a card enters the path of travel it engages the tip of the finger and displaces it in the direction of travel, thereby causing pivotal movement of the finger and the link; means carried by the housing for engaging the finger after a predetermined movement thereof with a moving card, to withdraw it below the bottom of the card, whereupon the finger drops gravitationally into engagement with the abutment and the link is resiliently drawn toward its initial position until the camming surface pivots the finger upward into contact with the bottom of the card, to define a second, rest position of the links; a pair of contacts normally completing an electric circuit; and a push rod engaging one of said contact and mounted for engagement by said link to break the circuit when the link is in its initial and rest positions.

Claim 14

Apparatus for electrically responding to the movement of cards driven through a path of travel having a known direction comprising, in combination: means including horizontal upper and lower plates defining the path of travel laterally; a housing mounted beneath an aperture in the lower plate; a jointed arm comprising a generally vertical link, a generally horizontal finger, and means mounting one end of the finger for pivotal movement at one end of the link, said finger including a camming undersurface and a card engaging tip remote from the link; means for pivotal movement, about an axis remote from and orthogonal to the path of travel, out of an initial position in the housing; resilient means for urging the link toward its initial position; an abutment in the housing positioned beneath the finger to engage the comming surface thereof, when the link is in its initial position, to displace the finger upwardly through the aperture in the lower plate until the tip of the finger engages the upper plate; the arrangement being such that when a card enters the path of travel it engages the tip of the finger and displaces it in the direction of travel, thereby causing pivotal movement of the finger and the link; means carried by the housing for engaging the finger after a predetermined movement thereof with a moving card, to withdraw it below the bottom of the card, whereupon the finger drops gravitationally into engagement with the abutment and the link is resiliently drawn toward its initial position until the camming surface pivots the finger upward into contact with the bottom of the card, to define a second, rest position of the links; a pair of contacts normally completing an electric circuit; and a push rod engaging one of said contact and mounted for engagement by said link to break the circuit when the link is in its initial and rest positions.