US2282843A - Correlating device - Google Patents

Description

S. ADLR CORRELATING D EvIcE May 12, 1942.

:s sheets-'sheet 1 Filed Aug. 29, 1939 v ATTORNEYS I May Z, 1942- s'. ADLER 2,282,843

' CORRELATING DEVICE Filed Aug. 29, 1939 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 ATTORNEYS May 12, 1942. s, ADLER 2,282,843

CORRELATING DEVICE Filed Aug. 29, 1939 3 Sheets-Sheet Patented May 12, 1942 UiTED STATES T i orsi 7 Claims.

This invention relates to a device primarily designed for the correlation of information or other data so as to render the same readily available to the user.

It is an object of the invention to provide a device of this character in which associated data or information is assembled for ready reference, and which may be correlated to produce the necessaryanswer to a problem, or any other information through a simple manipulation of the parts.

Another object is that of providing a device of this character which is -relatively simple and rugged in construction, and which will function over long periods of time with freedom from mechanical diiculty.

A further object is that of providing a device of this character in which the data or information to be correlated may be readily removed and other information or data substituted therefor, with a minimum of eifort and without danger of interruption in the smooth functioning of the device.

With these and other objects in mind, reference is had to the attached sheets of drawings in which:

Fig. 1 represents a plan view of one form of f shown in the preceding views taken along the line 4 4 of Fig. 2, looking in the direction of the arrows and in which one of the sections of the device has been partially removed;

Fig. 5 is a view in perspective of the device shown in the preceding views and taken from the rear;

Fig. 6 is a plan View partially fragmented to disclose the interior construction of a further form of device embodied in my invention;

Fig. 7 isa cross sectional view of the device shown in Fig. 6, and taken along the line `I-I of that figure, looking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 8 is a schematic view of a portion of the mechanism of a device embodied in my invention and showing one form of electric circuit for use therewith;

Fig. 9 is a side elevation in cross section of a switching device for use in connection with a device embodied in my invention, and

Fig. 10 is a fragmentary plan view of data- 1 bearing .members for association, for example, with the device shown in Figs. 6 and '7.

Referring now primarily to Figs. 1 through 5, there is disclosed a device formed with a casing I I which may be made of metal, wood, plastic, or any other suitable material. Associated therewith is a cover member I2 formed with securing lugs I3 which may be conveniently located so as to frictionally engage the side wall ofthe casing I I and thus hold the cover in place.

In this connection, and referring especially to Fig. 5, it-will befno'ted that recesses I4 and I5 are provided in the side wall oi the body of the device for cooperation with the lugs I3, the recesses I4 serving to engage said lugs when the device is in normal assembledcondition, while the recesses I5 are provided to hold the body of the device in inverted position, should the user wish access to the interior of said body. If desired, the device may be so proportioned that the cover member I2 maybe substituted for the conventional door of the glove compartment, which is now standard equipment o'n the instrument panel of automobiles. l

To this end, if desired, Aa latch member I5 may be included in said cover to maintain the same in closed position when so substituted for the cover of a glove compartment.

The cover I2is also provided with three parallel openings I'I, .I8 .and I9 which extend across the width of-said cover member, one above the other, and as kwill-be seen with reference to Fig. 1, substantially occupy the area of said cover. These openings may beleft without protection or, as has been shown, may be provided with transparent windows 20. Additional openings 2l and 22 may be provided in said cover member and adjacent one end of the panels IIl and I8 for accommodating manipulating knob members 23 and 24. vA further manipulating knob 25 engaging pointer 26 may be carried by said cover and positioned adjacent one end of panel I 9.

Further, a snap type or other suitable switch 26a may be mounted on said cover for a purpose to be hereinafter brought out.

Manipulating knobs 23 and 24 are each mounted to a stub shaft shown at 27 and 28, respectively. These shafts in turn carry the gears 29 and 29a. The gear 29 engages pinion gears 30 and 3l positioned to either side of it and in turn mounted on the ends of shafts 32 and 33, whichY are journaled in bearing members 34 and 35, extending transversely of said body member II. It will be noted that said bearing members are slotted at their ends, as is shown at 36 and 31, and

said slots engage trackways 38 and 39, formed on the side walls of said casing member. If desired, latch members 40 and 4| may be provided at these points for holding the bearing members and the mechanism carried thereby in, for example, the position shown in Fig. 4.

Said shafts 32 and 33 are provided with engaging means 42 for securing the end of a strip of paper, cloth or other suitable material, which bears information or other data. Adjacent the shafts 32 and 33 are idling rolls 43 and 44 which are also supported in the bearing members 34 and 35. The shafts 32 and 33 may in turn be frictionally held against free rotation by means of the strip- spring members 45 and 46, which engage the former at one end of the same.

It will be noted that the strip-spring members are in turn mounted on stub shafts 41 and 48 carried in the bearing member 34. As has been illustrated, coil springs 49 and 56 may encircle said stub shafts 41 and 48` and engage said spring members 45 and 46 to further urge the latter into baring contact with the ends of shafts 32 and 3 As is shown, particularly in Fig. 4, the strip of information or data-bearing material 5| is mounted in roll form on the shaft 32 and then brought across upwardly over the idling shaft 43 to the idling shaft 44, and b-ack down to the shaft 33 where the end of the strip may be secured to the fastening means 42. Thereafter, a turning of the manipulating knob 23 will transmit motion through the gears 29, 30, and 3|, causing a rotation of the shafts 32 and 33, with accompanying travel of the strip 5| in either direction, depending on the direction that the knob 23 is turned. It is also apparent that any information or data carried on the face of the roll 5| `will be visible through the opening |1 in the cover member |2. The frictional spring members 45 and 46 will insure immediate stopping of the movement of the gear train and strip as soon as the manipulating knob stops moving and thus prevents any over ridingY on the part of the strip in its travel back and forth from one shaft to the other.

Should it be desired to change the strip 5| and substitute for it another strip having other data or information, it is simply necessary to wind said strip about theshaft 32 into roll form, lift the mechanism to the position shown in Fig. 4, and then pull out the knob 52 at the opposite end of the shaft 32, which will allow the entire shaft to be removed from the device, and a new shaft,

having wound about it a further information or data-bearing roll, to be substituted therefor.

In like token, the manipulating knob 24 operating through a gear train 29a and 53 engages the gears 54 and 55, each associated with a shaft 58 and 51. Shaft 56 carries fastening means 58 and adjacent each of said shafts is positioned an idling roll, which are shown as 59 and 60. Bearing members 6| and 62 are provided at each end of said shaft assemblies for supporting the same, and said bearing members are slotted at 63 and 64 to engage the opposite sides of the trackway 36 and 31, as well as further trackway portion 63 and 64 carried by the other side of the casing member. Latch means 65 and 66 are also provided to support said assembly when in raised position, as has been shown in Fig. 4, in connection with said first described assembly.

Also, as has been heretofore described, a strip of material 61, bearing suitable information or data, and preferably correlated to the informaf tion or data carried by the strip 5| is assembled in roll form on the shaft 51 and threaded over the idling roll 66 across the top of the assembly to the idling roll 59, and thence outwardly to the shaft 55 where an end of the roll may again be secured to the attaching means 58. A friction spring member 68, supported by a stub shaft 69 secured to the bearing member 6|, may also be provided into engaging the outer end of the shaft 56, and as has heretofore been described, the

coil spring 10 may encircle said stub shaft 69 and engage said spring member 68 to further urge the latter into contact with said shaft end.

Also, a knob 1| may be positioned at the far end of the shaft 51 to release the latter so that a fresh shaft may be substituted therefor. A similar knob 12 may also be provided at the far end of the shaft 56 to release this shaft, should that be desired.

It will thus be apparent, and also in accordance with the description already given, that a manipulation of the knob 24 will result in a transmission of movement through the gear train 29a, 53, 54, and 55 to the shafts 56 and 51, and will thus cause a movement of the strip of material 61 back and forth, depending on the direction of the rotation of the knob 24.

It will also be apparent that the information or data contained on said web or strip 61 will be brought into registry with said openings |8 and i9. Underlying said web or strip of material 61, at its point of registry with the opening I9, is an endless belt 13. This belt is supported by rolls 14 and 15, at each end thereof, the roll 14 being journaled to the bearing member 62 by means of brackets 16 and 11. The roll 15 is journaled to the casing by means of members 18 and 19, and carries helical pinion gear B0 at its one end. Said gear in turn engages a second pinion gear 8| secured adjacent the lower end of a vertically extending shaft 82, to the top of which is secured the knob 25. Shaft 82 may, for example, be supported by means of an arm 83 secured to the bearing member 6|.

From the structure just described, it will be apparent that the turn of the knob 25 from side to side will result in a movement of the belt 13 transversely of the web or strip 61. Secured to said belt 13 in its upper course is a recess 84 in which may be positioned, for example, an electric light 85. In addition, the inner surface of the recess 84 may be coated with a reflecting material to enhance the effectiveness of said light 85. Accordingly, and when said light is illuminated, a portion of the roll of material 61 immediately above said light will become illuminated and a turning of the knob 25, with the accompanying shifting of the belt and light, will cause the varying portions of the roll 61 to progressively become illuminated.

In operation and describing, for exampley the particular embodiment of the invention illustrated in Figs. l through 5, there has been shown a device for correlating road direction information. The strip of material 5|, may, for example, contain sectional road maps so proportioned that a single section of road embracing a given distance will be Visible through the opening |1 in the cover I2 at one time. Marginal indicia, such as numerals, may appear at one end of said strip map for indexing purposes so that the operator wishing to follow a road, for example, from New York to Albany, Will consult an index which may, for example, comprise the first panel of the strip 5| and learn that a portion of the road he is interested in appears on panel member 32. He will `thereupon turn the knob 23 until the proper panel appears in the opening I 'I, as shown in Fig. 1.

On the other hand, the strip of material 6'! will have appearing on it information or data relating to route numbers, towns, mileage, etc.,

and will be prepared in double panels, i. e., the openings I8 and I9 will each have a panel in registry at the same time but each panel will relate to different correlated information. For eX- ample, the panel visible through the opening I8 may be designated as the index panel and may be divided into ten vertically extending columns, positioned one alongside of the other, with a number or other index-keying symbol at the far end of the entire panel. The information or data appearing on the strip 61 and visible through the opening I8 is preferably printed on the top surface of said strip, as are the map panels which are printed on the strip However, the information or data on the strip 81, which is in registry with the opening |9 of the cover, and which is correlated to the information visible through the opening i8, is preferably printed on the reverse or inside of the strip 61 so as to-not normally be visible when the opening |9 is viewed.

The user of the device looks through the opening |8 until he finds the starting and destination towns of the trip he is contemplating taking. In the present illustration, these towns appear in column 7. He thereafter turns the knob 25 until the pointer 26 appears next to the numeral 'I, representing column No. 7, which in turn causes light 85 to move with the belt to a point beneath column 7 in opening I9. A release of the knob 25 at column 7 effects an illumination of the light 85, which causes the material printed on the bottom side of the strip 61 at this point to become visible through the opening |9. This illustrated information or data contains informa- Vtion as to the routes, mileage, etc., between the towns of Peekskill and Albany, and is a condensed, simplified solution to the problem confronting the motorist at that particular moment. The switch 26a may control an electric light (not shown) for additionally illuminating the openings II and I8 for night use of the device.

In addition, it will be noted that if the knob 25 is turned so that the pointer 26 is at zero on the scale that the plug 8S carried by the ybottom surface of the belt 'I3 will engage the jack 81 opening the electric circuit of the light 85 and preventing the latter from becoming illuminated. Thus, the device can be set at rest position without the inconvenience and waste of an illuminated section.

Turning now to Figs. 6, '7, and 8, there is shown a further modification of my invention wherein the casing member 88 is provided, and in which rolls 89 and 90 are supported transversely of said casing, by means of square ended shafts 9| and 92, which are secured at one end in square openings in said rolls. The opposite ends of said rolls are supported by spring-pressed pins 93 and 94, which carry manipulating portions 95 and 96 at their outer ends. These pins have enlarged portions, the enlarged portion of pin 93 being shown at Sl. The latter rides in a cup-like socket 98, in which is also positioned a coil spring 99. The latter acts between the base of the cup member and the portion 91 to urge the pin in the direction of the roll 89. It is only necessary to pull outwardly on the manipulating member v95 against l the roller and removethe lock.

Associated with the shafts 9| and 92 are .bevel gears |00 and |0l, which cooperate in turn a1- ternately with bevel gears |02 and |03 carried by the shaft |04, positioned at right angles with the shafts 9| and 92.

It will be noted that the shaft |04 is mounted in the casing of the device forsliding movement in the direction of its length and that a spring |05 encircles said shaft between the gear |03 and the side wall of the casing member, thus normally urging the gear |03 into meshing contact with the gear |0I. A vpawl |0211!r and a ratchet |0211 are associated with the shaft |04 to Vpermit it to turn only in one direction. Likewise, a manipulating knob |06 is carried by the shaft |04 adjacent the end of said shaft which carries the spring |05. In the position shown in Fig. 6, rotation of the shaft |04, by manipulation of the knob |06, will cause the roll to rotate through motion transmitted by the gears |00 and |0|.

It willV be noted that at the same time gears |02 and |00 are in non-meshing relationship so that no motion is transmitted to the Aroll 89.

However, should the shaft |04 be moved downwardly by pulling the knob |06 against the pressure of the spring |05, it will likewise be observed that gears |00 and |0| will become separated, and that gears |00 and |02 will be brought into meshing relationship. Thereafter, a rotation of the knob |00 will transmit motion to the roll 89 while the roll 90 will remain idle.

It will also be observed from the relative placing of the gears |00 and |02 with respect to the gears |0| and |00 that a rotation of the-shaft |04 in a constant direction will cause rolls 90 and r89 to alternately turn in opposite directions. A bearing member 01 is provided within the body of the device and extending from top to bottom thereof, adjacent to shaft |04, and provides support for the shafts 9| and 92. The bearing member likewise supports the idling rolls |00 and |09, which are located above and adjacent to the rolls 89 and 90. A roll of paper or 'other suitable material carrying indicia, as shown at 0, is fastened at its end to the rolls 89 and 90, rst passingover the idling rolls |08 and |09, as illus'- trated. The roll of material can, accordingly, be wound or unwound on either the roll 89 or 90, at the will of the operator, vby simply turning the knob '|06 with the gears |00 and |0| in mesh, or with the gears |00 and |02 in mesh.

The casing of the device is provided with a 4cover plate having three openings 2, I3,

and 4, positioned one adjacent the other, and Y extending across the top of theY device, as shown in F1g. 6. These openings may be unprotected or may, as 1s shown 1n Fig. 7, have a transparent covering IE5. v

Positioned within the device and beneath the roll ||0 at a point where it is in registry with the opening I3, is a transversely extending endless belt ||6. This belt may be of any suitable material and is carried by rolls I'I and I8, which in turn are supported by brackets from the casing of the device. A bevel gear H9 is secured to the end of the roll and meshes in turn the further bevel gear |20 secured to the vertically extending shaft |2I, which extends upwardly through cover plate III. A manipulating knob |22 and a pointer |23 are also associated with said shaft at a point above the said cover member. Carried on said belt ris alight source |24 the pressure of the spring to free the pin from I the latter.

positioned withina reflector |25. Also, an elec# tric plug |25 is located adjacent said light source and cooperates Vwith a jack |2`| securedto the body of the device adjacent the roll Movement of the knob |22 'is transmitted through gears I9 and |20 to the belt I I6, causing the latter to move said body member and back again at the will of the operator, carrying with it the light source and reflecting members |24 and It will also be apparent that when the belt is moved to the left in the view shown in Fig. 6 to a sufficient distance, the plug |26 will engage the jack |21, thus breaking the electrical circuit at that point and extinguishing the light.

The knob |22 may, as has been shown in detail in Fig. 9, be provided with a contact member |28 in the form of an annular ring, embodied in said knob. Contact member |29 may be provided to frictionally engage said ring by contact therewith at the underside of said knob. The knob in turn may be slidably mounted on the shaft |2| against pressure of a spring |30, which .in turn rests against a shoulder |3| carried by the shaft.

A further contact member |32 may engage said shoulder portion 'and form electrical connection therewith.

While the parts are in position shown in Fig. 9, current introduced through the contact member |32 will be transferred to the shaft |2| and thence to the ring |28 and out through the contact member |29. Should `the knob |22 be pressed downwardly, however, the contact member |29 will be cammed inwardly as a result of its contact with the under surface of the knob |22, and thus brought out of electrical connection with the ring |23. This will, of course, result in a breaking of the electric circuit. It will thus be possible, through the utilization of a strip of this type, to effect a lateral shifting of the light j source |24 through a manipulation of the knob |22 by bearing downwardly, as well as rotating The light source can thus be manipulated without being illuminated, but will be reilluminated automatically upon release of the knob |22 by the operator. In operation, the strip or web ID is so prepared that it has three correlated columns of information or data which appear simultaneously in the openings |2, |3, and

. |4, the material appearing in the latter opening,

for example, being devoted to questions arranged in vertical columns, side by side, to correspond to the numerals appearing in the space between the openings ||3 and ||4. The answers to the questions mayithen appear on that portion of the strip or web underlying the opening ||3, and, as has been heretofore described, may be printed on the under surface of the strip or web so as to be rendered visible only when the light source is placed directly underneath.

The portion of the strip or web which appears in registry with the opening ||2 may be printed with illustrations or other correlated information of general bearing to the questions and answers occurring in the preceding columns. Accordingly, in order to determine the answer to any specific question, it will simply be necessary to turn the manipulating knob |22 to the proper position so that the light source |24 is beneath the answer, as appearing in opening ||3. A release of the knob |22 will thereupon cause the light source to become illuminated and reveal the answer to the question.

Should it be desired to present new subject matter on a strip or web to the windows |2, v| |3,

and ||4, the knob |36 is turned either in its position, as shown in Fig. 6, or after pulling it downwardly to cause a reversal in the direction of travel of the web.

In addition to the foregoing, it will be. noted that Vthe device shown in Figs.v 6 and '7 includes a transparent endless belt |33, which is mounted within the casing so that the top portion of the belt overlies the web H0, where the latter is in registry with the cover opening ||4. Thisl belt is supported by rolls |34 and |35, located near the top of the casing, and idling rolls |36 and |31 near the bottom thereof. Roll |34 is carried on a shaft |38 extending through the casing and having a manipulating knob |39 at its outer end. The roll |35 is carried by a U-shaped bracket member |40, which has a screw threaded shank |'4I extending outwardly therefrom. Engaging said shank is an internally threaded bushing |42, which carries a manipulating knob |43. Said bushing is mounted in the wall of said casing member by means of a flange |44.

From this assembly, it will be apparent that a turning of the knob |43 will cause the shank |4| to move inwardly and outwardly, with respect to the bushing |42. This will cause travel of the roll |35 longitudinally of the belt |33, tightening and loosening the latter with respect to the rolls over which it passes, Normally, the knob |43 is turned so that the shank |4| is moved outwardly with respect to said bushing, thus slackening the belt |33 on the rolls. In such condition, a turning of the knob |39 merely results in a slippage of the roll |34. Further, should the knob |43 be turned in the other direction, bringing the shank |4| into the bushing |42, the belt |33 will be tightened on its rolls and in such position movement of the knob |39 will cause a rotation of the belt.

As has been heretofore described, said belt is transparent and throughout the major portion of its length has no indicia of any kind appearing on it. In the normal functioning of the device shown in Figs. 6 and '7, the belt 33 is so positioned' that nothing but a clear, transparent J surface presents itself in the opening ||4 and overlying theweb H0. However, the web may be provided at any suitable place with, for example, the A scale of a slide rule, as shown, for example, in Fig. l0 at |45. In addition, the belt |33 may be provided, for a portion of its length, with the B scale of a slide rule, as shown in Fig. 10 at |46. In such a contingency, and should the operator wish to consult a slide rule, the Web ||0 is manipulated until the scale A is in registry with the opening |4 and then the belt |33 is rotated until scale B appearing thereon is projected within scale A on web |0 and is available for use. In this connection a friction slide |'|4a having a hair line ||4b extending across a central aperture therein may be used to frictionally engage the opposite side walls of the opening ||4, and can be slid back and forth across the A and B scales in accordance with the usual practice. This member may also be removed from the device with the slide rule if not being utilized.

It is, of course, apparent that numerous changes might be resorted to in connection with the above-described device, both as to the proportioning and arranging of the parts and the use to which the device might be put without in the slightest departing from the scope of my invention.

It is also apparent that, for example, motordriven controls for the rolls might be substituted for the manipulating means here shown and described, and if desired, a magnifying lens may be positioned in the body apertures for the purpose of enlarging the indicia carried by the rolls without in the least departing from the spirit of my invention. Motor controls of the type suitable for use herewith would Aoperate similar to those now in common usage in connection with motor-tuned radio receiving sets, and the like.

I claim:

1. An article of the character described comprising a casing formed with a plurality of apertures, rollers mounted within said casing, means associated therewith for rotating said rollers, a web mounted on said rollers and bearing indicia whereby a rotation of said rollers will progressively render a portion of said indicia visible through one or more of said apertures, a portion of the indicia on said web being on its upper surface and a correlated portion thereof on its under surface, the indicia on said upper surface visible through one aperture and the correlated indicia on said under surface visible through another aperture' when said latter aperture is illuminated, a movable belt mounted within said casing for transverse movement with respect to the movement of said web, and illuminating means carried by said belt for illuminating a selected portion of said latter aperture, o

thereby rendering the indicia on the under surface oisaid web visible.

2. An article of the character described comprising a casing formed with a plurality of apertures, rollers mounted within said casing, manipulating means associated with said rollers and projecting through said casing for rotating said rollers, a web mounted on said rollers and bearing indicia, whereby a rotation of said rollers will progressively render said indicia visible through one of said apertures, further indicia on said web correlated to said first indicia and normally invisible through one of said apertures when said rst indicia is visible through the other of said apertures, and a transverse, movable illuminating means for rendering portions of said normally invisible indicia visible.

3. An article of the character described comprising a casing formed with a plurality of apertures, rollers mounted within said casing, manipulating means associated with said rollers and projecting through said casing for rotating said rollers, a web mounted on said rollers and bearing indicia, whereby a rotation of said rollers will progressively render said indicia Visible through one of said apertures, further inmeans for rotating said belt and illuminating a portion of said web, thereby rendering a portion of said normally invisible indicia visible.

4. An article of the character described coml.

prising a casing formed with a pluralityof apertures, rollers mounted within said casing, manipulating means associated with said rollers and projecting through said casing for rotating said rollers, a web mounted on said rollers and bear- `ing indicia, whereby a rotation of said rollers will progressively render said indicia visible through one of said apertures, further indicia on said web correlated to said first indicia and normally invisible through one of said apertures when said first indicia is visible through the other of said apertures, a belt mounted within said casingfor transverse movement with respect to the movement of said web, illuminating means carried by said belt for illuminating a selected portion of said aperture thereby rendering indicia on the under surface of said web visible, and means associated with said belt for rendering said illuminating means operable or inoperable.

5. An article of the character described, com-v prising a casing portion formed with apertures,

rollers mounted within said casing, manipulating means carried by said rollers and projecting through said casing, indicia-bearing web mounted on said rollers so as to be progressively visible through one of said apertures as said'rollers are rotated, a belt mounted within said casing for web of material mounted on said rollers,l and bearing indicia whereby a rotation of said rollers will progressively render said indicia visible through a plurality of said apertures, and means for selectively emphasizing certain indicia on said web as the same is presented to View in one of said apertures whereby said emphasized in` dicia is related to indicia visible through another of said apertures.

7. An article of the character described, coml prising a casing formed with a plurality of apertures, rollers mounted within said casing, means dicia on said web correlated to said rst indicia and normally invisible through one of said apertures when said first indicia is visible through the other of said apertures, a belt mounted within said casing for transverse movement with respect to the movement of said web, and manipulating associated therewith for rotating said rollers, a web mounted on said rollers and bearing indicia whereby a rotation of said rollers will progressively rende-r said indicia visible through a plurality of said apertures, a beltmounted within said casing for transverse movement with respect to the movement of said web, and means carried by said belt for selectively emphasizing indicia on said web as the latter appears in one of said apertures. v

SOLOMON ADLER.

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