US3104804A

US3104804A - Perforator chad disposal attachment

Info

Publication number: US3104804A
Authority: US
Publication date: 1963-09-24
Anticipated expiration: 1980-09-24

Description

Sept. 24, 1963 s. A. KIRKOWSKI 3,104,804

PERFORATOR CHAD DISPOSAL ATTACHMENT Filed July 12. 1961 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. STAN A. K IR KOWSKI ATTORNEY Sept. 24, 1963 s. A. KIRKOWSKI 3,104,804

PERFORATOR CHAD DISPOSAL ATTACl-iMENT Filed July 12, 1961 2 Sheets-Sheet 2' INVENTOR. STAN A. KIRKOWSKI ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,104,304- PERFQRATOR CHAD DISPOSAL ATTACHMENT Stan A. Kirkowski, Jersey City, N..l., assignor to The Western Union Teiegraph Company, New York, N.Y., a corporation of New York Filed July 12, N61, Ser. N 123,563 8 Claims. (Cl. 234-131) The present invention relates to chad disposal apparatus and more particularly to a reperfo-rator chad disposal attachment for a teletypewriter or the like.

In certain fields of automatic transmission where teletypewriters or printer reperforators, as they are generally called, are employed, perforations made in a roll of paper release electric impulses by means of which corresponding perforations in another roll may be made at a distance, in as many places as are connected by an electric circuit. The paper tape is passed over an anvil or punch block and perforated by means of pins in response to the impulses or signals. The perforations in the tape so achieved contain a code which in turn .is translated into a message value. The segments of the tape punched out of the tape to form the perforations are called chads. The chads themselves are rather small in size but because of the large number of them perforated from any given tape, the disposal of them presents a problem. The chads tend to get into the crannys and crevices of the machine and after a while can accumulate in sufficient volume to block moving parts. They also present a dirt problem since they tend to fiy in the immediate area of the equipment and at times attach themselves to the clothes of the operators. The chads, furthermore, pick up small charges of static electricity in the perforation process which causes them to attach with a certain tenacity, thereby becoming a further nuisance. A maintenance problem is therefore presented whenever the chads cannot be conveniently collected in a suitable container for eventual disposal.

Heretofore, it has been attempted to meet the problem by the provision of a tape chad chute which diverted the chads from the punch block and permitted them to fall into a container which could be mounted underneath the printer-reperforator or within the machine. However, because of the compact size of most teletypewriter equipment there is not sufficient room for a chad container of any depth and generally only a shallow container may be incorporated therein. In such shallow containers the chads accumulate under the exit of the chad chute, impeding the flow of chads from the chute, and causing the chute to fill, and they finally spill over through the top f the chad chute. A deep container, while achieving better results, presents a space problem as hereinbefore mentioned. In addition to the chad disposal problem, a certain amount of fuzz accumulates on the tape as it is worked through the punch block. The fuzz is also an undesirable element which must be removed to insure smoother operation of the machine.

The within invention contemplates a printer reperforator chad disposal attachment whereby the chads are completely isolated from the components of the machine except for the punching assembly, and these are diverted from the punch block and led into a collecting container which may be of any size, and which may be disposed at any convenient position within the teletypewriter or immediately on the outside thereof. The invention further contemplates providing a continuous air stream while the machine is in operation, which passes over the punch block and carries the chads away therefrom and into the container. At the same time, any fuzz which has collected is also blown along with the chads into the disposal unit.

3,l'@4,8@4 Patented Sept. 24, 1963 ice It is therefore one of the objects of the present invention to provide chad disposal apparatus wherein the foregoing disadvantages are eliminated, and to do so in a novel and effective manner.

Another object of the invention is to provide a chad disposal attachment for a printer reperforator machine which will collect the chads in a disposal unit located outside of the machine, and which unit may be of any size and shape.

Another object of the invention is to provide apparatus of the above-indicated nature which will be simple and economical to manufacture and maintain and yet positive and reliable in operation.

A further object of the invention is to provide a continuous gentle air stream passing over the punch block assembly of the machine which will remove the chads and the fuzz which accumulate thereon.

Still another object of the invention is to provide chad disposal apparatus which will be more applicable and utile for those installations containing shallow chad receptacles.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent hereinafter to those skilled in the art, by a consideration of the detailed description which follows, taken together with the accompanying drawings wherein one embodiment of the invention is illustrated and described by way of example. It is to be expressly understood, however, that the drawings are for the purpose of illustration only and are not to be construed as defining or limiting the scope of the invention, reference being had for that purpose =to the appended claims.

In the drawings wherein like reference characters indicate like parts:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a printer reperforator machine, partly cut away, showing the chad disposal attachment connected thereto;

FIG. 2 is an elevation view of the air stream providing means associated with the chad disposal attachment;

FIG. 3 is a front view of FIG. 2 showing the chad disposal attachment connected to the punching block assembly or perforating portion of the printer reperforator; and

FIG. 4 is a section view taken along the line 44 of FIG. 3.

Referring now to the drawings and more particularly to FIG. 1, there is shown a teletypewriter or printer reerforator machine generally designated by the numeral 19 which includes certain components usually associated with the machines of this character, such as a main sprocket wheel 12, driven by a timing belt 14, which in turn rotates a function shaft 16 (FIG. 2). A punching assembly 18 and a plurality of punching pins 22 perform the actual perforations of the tape thereby detaching the chads therefrom.

Attaching means for the chad disposal unit are provided in the form of an attachment hub 24 which is positioned within the sprocket 12 and attached thereto in any approved manner such as by screws 26. In this manner, the attachment hub 24 rotates continuously in unison with the sprocket 12 whenever the machine is in operation. A piston 28 is secured in an eccentric manner to the hub 24 by means of a pin or similar attaching device 30 through one end of the piston. The opposite end of the piston culminates in a circular head 32. The head 32 is positioned within an air cylinder 34 of slightly larger diameter than the piston head and is adapted to receive the reciprocatory motion of the piston therein as it is driven back and forth by the turning motion of the hub 24. To narrow the clearance gap between the piston head and the inner wall of the cylinder 34, there is attached to the piston head a gasket made of leather, or some other yielding material. However sulficient clearance is maintained to enable air to get past the piston head on the return stroke of the piston. The reciprocation of the piston within the cylinder will thus operate to pump a steady air stream out of the cylinder in the fashion of a conventional bicycle pump. An outlet tube 36 is provided at the delivery end of the cylinder as egress means for the air pumped therefrom. The cylinder 34 has protruding from the bottom thereof a spindle or shaft 38 adapted to slidingly enter a mating hole it? provided on a mounting block 42. The mounting block 42. is attached to the printer reperforator by an attachment plate 44 and mounting screws In order to secure proper vertical alignment of the air cylinder 34 with respect to the sprocket 12, and to allow for such tolerances as may exist in the printer reperforator 1G, a set screw 48 pro truding through the mounting block 42 is adapted to engage the spindle 38 so that the mounted height of t. e

air cylinder 3 may be set as desired with respect to the It will be apparent that the vertical move sprocket l2. ment of the cylinder 34 provides an adjustment for arriving at the optimum setting which will result in the greatest quantity of air being delivered by the cylinder, and that in like manner the quantity of air delivered may also be selectively diminished.

A connecting tube 56 connects the outlet tube 36 with a one-way check valve 52. The check valve 52 is of a conventionai type which permits flow of air or fluid in one direction only, and includes a spring 54 anchored against one end of the valve which continuously biases against a plate 56 to close an aperture 58 which comprises the entrance to the check valve 52. Thus, air pumped into the valve, will operate to compress the spring and free the aperture 58. However, when the air ceases flowing through the valve, the spring will resile and push the plate 56 firmly against the aperture 58 thereby negating the possibility of any back flow of air through the valve.

Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 3, there is shown a chad collecting tunnel 60. The tunnel 6! comprises substantially a rectangular block (FIG. 4) hollowed to define in part a chamber 62 which opens above the punching assembly 18. A pair of colinearly

disposed nipples

64 and 66 provide entrance and egress of air respectively to and from the chamber. A flexible conduit 68 connects the entrance nipple 64 with the check valve 52 in a hermetically sealed fashion so that air passing through the valve is led into the chad tunnel without any leakage. The chad tunnel itself is attached to a U-shaped mounting front plate '70 which, in turn, is attached to the punch block holder of the printer-reperforator machine as by screws 72. The cross-leg 74- of the U-shaped front plate 7 is attached to the chad tunnel 60 and forms the front wall of the chamber 62 to thereby complete the full enclosure of the chamber except for the bottom face which opens over the punching assembly 18, and through which the chads may enter the chamber. It will now be observable that the chamber 6?. is completely sealed off from the printer reperforator and from the surrounding atmosphere on all sides except on the bottom.

The bottom side of the chad tunnel is positioned directly above a die plate 78 and in the operation of the printer reperfonator a tape 76 is passed between the die plate 78 and a guide plate 80'. At this point, the punching pins 22 in response to electric impulses are selectively raised through the guide plate St to punch the tape against the die plate 78. In this punching operation, the chads are ejected through a series of holes 82 (FIG. 4) directly above the punching pins 22 and when said holes are filled with chads, additional perforating of the tape causes the chads to spill over into the chamber 62 of the chad tunnel. It will be noted that in this manner as the chads are forced into the tunnel, they are completely isolated from the printer reperforator and have no means of egress other than through the outlet nipple 66.

The diameter of the punching pins is on the order of I tale-typewriter.

tape, and that in their cumulative volume they present a problem which requires adequate disposal means in order to avoid jamming or blocking the moving parts of the in addition to the foregoing problem posed by the number of chads separated from the tape by the punching assembly because of the rapid passage of the tape over the guide plate 80, a certain amount of fuzz accumulates about the guide plate. While not as troublesome as the chads, it is nevertheless desirable to remove this fuzz from the machine along with the chads.

To accomplish the removal of fuzz and chads, the egress nipple 66 has attached thereto a flexible hose 84. The hose 84 is secured hermetically to the egress nipple and may be of any length desired.

Having thus described the invention, it will now be apparent to those skilled in the art, that in operation when the printer-reperforator is operating, the main sprocket 12 is revolved by the timing belt 14, which is attached to the motor for the unit (not shown here). The sprocket 12 is the main source of motive power for the various moving components of the printer-reperforator, or teletypewriter as the case may be. Because of the eccentric attachment of the piston 28 to the hub 24, the piston will reciprocate within the air cylinder 34. Hence a continuous amount of air will be pumped by the piston and cylinder, the volume of which will depend on the revolutions per minute of the sprocket. The air thus pumped is forcibly ejected from the cylinder through the tube 36 into the one Way check valve 52 from whence it is led by means of flexible conduit 68 through thechamber 62 of chad tunnel 60. The chads which have accumulated within the chad tunnel together with any fuzz which may have adhered to the guide plate or to the top of the punch pins will be blown out of the chad tunnel through the egress nipple 66 and carried in a steady stream through the flexible tube 84. It will be noted that the entrance nipple s4 and the egress nipple 66 are preferably horizontally and colinearly disposed, so that the airstream entering the chad tunnel till will be horizontally directed and may emerge therefrom without undergoing any deviation, or curving or dispersal, or change of direction. In this manner the full and unabated force of the airstream is exerted solely in driving the chads and the fuzz out of the chad tunnel. The end of the flexible tube 84 may be placed in a disposal container located at any convenient point outside of the machine, or if desired inside of the machine. If the disposal container is outside of the machine it may obviously be of any size desired. In the situation where a shallow chad disposal container of tray-like form is placed at the bottom of the machine the end of the flexible tube 84 may be placed at any point thereof parallel with the bottom of the container so that as the chads are ejected in a steady stream from the tube they will repose in a more widespread and uniform pattern in the container. Thereby a build-up of chads at any one point is prevented. It is also to be noted that in this manner the chads are effectively isolated from the machine and cannot find their way into the corners thereof nor are they left free to fly about the ambient vicinity of the machine.

Although one embodiment of the invention has been illustrated and described, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that modifications may be made, and changes in the relative arrangement of the parts without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

I claim:

1. In combination with a printer reperforator wherein perforations made in a roll of paper release impulses by which corresponding perforations in another roll of paper are made by a punching assembly to produce an accumulation of paper chads and paper fuzz about said punching assembly, the improvement comprising, an air cylinder, a piston reciprocating therein by attachment to said printer reperforator to dischmge an airstream, a chad tunnel including a chamber attached to the printer reperforator, a substantially horizontally opposed inlet and outlet nipple for said chamber, said inlet and outlet nipples being substantially aligned with the axis of the chad tunnel, said chamber communicating with the punching assembly to receive the chads and fuzz therefrom, hermetically sealed means discharging the airstream horizontally along the axis of the chad tunnel through said chamber, a one-way check valve in said means to prevent backfiow of the airstream into the air cylinder, and a conduit for leading the airstream and the accumulated chads and fuzz from the chamber.

2. In combination with a printer reperforator having a main sprocket wheel turned by a belt and a motor, associated therewith, apparatus for chad disposal comprising, an attachment plate on the sprocket wheel, a piston eccentrically mounted on said attachment to reciprocate in conjunction with the turning of the sprocket wheel, an air cylinder encasing said piston adapted to discharge an air stream upon reciprocation of the piston, mounting means for the cylinder adjustable for proper alignment with the sprocket wheel, a chad tunnel defining a chamber adapted to receive the chads from the printer reperforator, a substantially horizontally opposed inlet and outlet nipple on the chamber, substantially aligned with the horizontal axis of the chad tunnel, and means connecting the airstream to the inlet nipple to direct a linear airstream across said chamber to the outlet nipple.

3. In combination with a printer reperforator wherein perforations in a roll of paper release impulses by which corresponding perforations in another roll of paper are made by a punching assembly operable by the printer perforator to produce an accumulation of paper chads and paper fuzz, apparatus comprising, an air cylinder, a piston reciprocable therein operable in conjunction with the printer reperforator to produce an air stream, a chad tunnel and a mounting plate to attach the tunnel to the printer reperforator, a chamber within said tunnel communicating with said punching assembly, an inlet nipple and an opposed egress nipple linearly disposed therewith to direct an airstream linearly across said chamber, a flexible conduit connecting the air cylinder to the inlet nipple, a check valve in the conduit adapted to permit the air stream to flow toward the inlet nipple only, and a flexible conduit connected to the egress nipple to allow the air stream to eject the chads and the fuzz accumulated in the chamber.

4. In combination with a printer reperforator wherein perforations in a roll of paper release impulses by which corresponding perforations in another roll of paper are made by a punching assembly to produce an accumulation of paper chads and paper fuzz, apparatus comprising, an air cylinder, a piston reciprocable therein and operable in conjunction with the printer reperforator to produce an air stream, a chad tunnel defining a closed chamber opening above said punching assembly to confine the chads and the fuzz to said chamber, a substantially hori- 6 zontally opposed inlet nipple and egress nipple communicating with said chamber, a hermetically sealed conduit connecting the air cylinder to the inlet nipple to discharge the airstream linearly across the chamber from the inlet nipple to the outlet nipple, a check valve in the conduit adapted to permit the air stream to fiow to the inlet nipple only, and a flexible conduit connected to the egress nipple to permit the air stream to carry the chads and the fuzz out of the printer reperforator.

5. Automatic chad disposal means operable simultaneously with the operation of a teletypewriter or the like, having a main sprocket wheel turnable therein to operate apunching assembly associated with the teletypewriter comprising, a mounting plate secured to the hub of said sprocket wheel, a piston having one end eccentrically mounted on said plate, an air cylinder, the opposite end of said piston being reciprocable within the air cylinder, mounting means for the cylinder including a spindle vertically adjustable to align the cylinder and piston with the sprocket wheel, a tunnel defining a chamber for receiving the accumulation of chads from the teletypewriter, a horizontally opposed inlet nipple and egress nipple communicating with said chamber, a mounting plate for attaching the tunnel to the punching assembly, conduit means connecting the air cylinder to the inlet nipple to direct a substantially horizontally linear airstream across the chamber, and a conduit attached to the egress nipple to permit the air stream to drive the chads from the teletypewriter.

6. Chad removal apparatus for a teletypewriter comprising a reciprocating pump with a discharge attached to the teletypewriter and continuously powered thereby whenever the teletypewriter is in operation, a chad tunnel adapted to collect the chads from the teletypewriter, an inlet nipple on the chad tunnel, a conduit connecting said air pump to the inlet nipple to direct a linear airstream across the chad tunnel substantially co-axial with said nipple, a check valve in said conduit to prevent backflow into the reciprocating pump, and a flexible conduit attached to the chad tunnel to provide removal of the chads from the tunnel.

7. Chad removal apparatus for a printer reperforator machine comprising an air cylinder mounted in the machine, a piston adapted to reciprocate therein actuated by said printer reperforator, a chad tunnel including a chamber adapted to collect the chads punched by said printer reperforator, a substantially horizontally opposed inlet nipple and outlet nipple on the chad tunnel communicating with said chamber, a conduit connecting the air cylinder to the inlet nipple to direct a substantially linear airstream across the chad tunnel, and a conduit attached to the outlet nipple to remove the chads from the chamber.

8. The chad removal apparatus claimed in claim 7 wherein said piston reciprocates continuously in the air cylinder whenever the teletypewriter is in operation.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,140,854

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No. 3,104,804 September 24, 1963 Stan A. Kirkowski It is hereby certified that error appears in the above numbered patent requiring correction and that the said Letters Patent should read as corrected below.

Column 1, line 10, strike out "'reperforator"; line 11, strike out "teletypewriter" and insert instead perforator lines 12 and 13, strike out teletypewriter" and insert instead perforators line 45, strike out "teletypewriter" and insert instead such line 65, strike out "teletypewriter" and insert instead machine column 2, line 46, strike out "teletypewriter" and insert instead perforator column 4, line 12, strike out "teletypewriter" and insert instead machine line 30, strike out "teletypewriter" and insert instead perforator column 6, lines ll, 13, 21, and lines 28 and 29, for "teletypewriter", each occurrence, read

perforator lines

30, 33, 34 and 35, strike out teletypewriter", each occurrence, and insert instead printer reperforator line 56, for "te1etypewriter read perforator Signed and sealed this 12th day of May 1964.

(SEAL) Attest:

ERNEST W. SWIDER EDWARD J. BRENNER Attesting Officer Commissioner of Patents

Claims

1. IN COMBINATION WITH A PRINTER REPERFORATOR WHEREIN PERFORATIONS MADE IN A ROLL OF PAPER RELEASE IMPULSES BY WHICH CORRESPONDING PERFORATIONS IN ANOTHER ROLL OF PAPER ARE MADE BY A PUNCHING ASSEMBLY TO PRODUCE AN ACCUMULATION OF PAPER CHADS AND PAPER FUZZ ABOUT SAID PUNCHING ASSEMBLY, THE IMPROVEMENT COMPRISING, AN AIR CYLINDER, A PISTON RECIPROCATING THEREIN BY ATTACHMENT TO SAID PRINTER REPERFORATOR TO DISCHARGE AN AIRSTREAM, A CHAD TUNNEL INCLUDING A CHAMBER ATTACHED TO THE PRINTER REPERFORATOR, A SUBSTANTIALLY HORIZONTALLY OPPOSED INLET AND OUTLET NIPPLE FOR SAID CHAMBER, SAID INLET AND OUTLET NIPPLES BEING SUBSTANTIALLY ALIGNED WITH THE AXIS OF THE CHAD TUNNEL, SAID CHAMBER COMMUNICATING WITH THE PUNCHING ASSEMBLY TO RECEIVE THE CHADS AND FUZZ THEREFROM, HERMETICALLY SEALED MEANS DISCHARGING THE AIRSTREAM HORIZONTALLY ALONG THE AXIS OF THE CHAD TUNNEL THROUGH SAID CHAMBER, A ONE-WAY CHECK VALVE IN SAID MEANS TO PREVENT BACKFLOW OF THE AIRSTREAM INTO THE AIR CYLINDER, AND A CONDUIT FOR LEADING THE AIRSTREAM AND THE ACCUMULATED CHADS AND FUZZ FROM THE CHAMBER.