Card Retrieval Device

Abstract

A device for selectively drawing one of a large number of cards by means of an electromagnet in which the cards are each provided with an iron piece of a predetermined height at the leading edges of the cards and at different positions from each other. In order to provide selective drawal of the cards, a pressing means is provided for holding those cards, pressing means is provided for holding those cards which are not to be drawn. The operation of the pressing means and the electromagnet is controlled by the use of a microswitch.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a retrieving device for cards or the like, and more specifically to a device for selectively drawing a desired one from a large number of microfilms, data cards, etc.

Various types of devices are known which automatically select and draw either mechanically or electrically a desired card from a large number of cards by making use of a retrieving code provided on each card. These devices include, among many, one which retrieves the cards by making use of punch holes or markings provided in or on the respective cards, but the selecting means employed therein is considerably complicated in construction. This is because most of these devices are designed such that the codes on the cards are detected while delivering the cards one by one while shifting the cards, arranged in side-by-side juxtaposed relation, in a lateral direction; therefore, the detecting means is required to have a high electrical response speed and the sorting or drawing means is required to have a relatively high operational speed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a novel card retrieval device which eliminates the above-described disadvantages of the prior art retrieval devices.

Namely, the basic object of the invention is to provide a card retrieval device which is simple in construction and easy to operate.

Another object of the invention is to provide a card retrieval device in which a desired card is automatically selected and drawn by designating a code provided on said card externally and by operating a push-button or the like.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a card selecting and drawing device which comprises card drawing means adapted to draw a desired card by attracting with the use of a magnet an iron piece provided on said card and pressing means adapted to retain the unnecessary cards.

The other objects of the invention will become apparent from the following description of the embodiment of the invention.

In order to attain the objects set forth above, the device according to the invention comprises card stoppers for selectively pressing cards, a retainer member for retaining unnecessary cards after a desired card has been drawn by the length of an iron piece provided on each card and magnets for drawing the desired card.

Since the device of the invention is constructed as described above, the desired card is drawn while holding the other cards stationary and thereby the construction of the device can be extremely simplified.

The term "card" as used herein means card-like sheets having any type of information recorded therein, such as microfiche, slide films for projectors and data cards.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

FIGS. 1 - 4 illustrate the operation of the essential portion of the device according to the present invention, of which;

FIG. 1 is a side view showing the state in which card selecting-drawing electromagnets are located closest to iron pieces provided on cards or the like;

FIG. 2A is a side view showing the state in which one of the electromagnets has drawn the corresponding card by the length of the iron piece;

FIG. 2B is a top plan view of FIG. 2A;

FIG. 3A is a side view showing the state in which the electromagnet has drawn the card by a length greater than the length of the iron piece;

FIG. 3B is a top plan view of FIG. 3A; and

FIG. 4 is a front view of the device in the position of FIGS. 2A and 2B;

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the electric circuit of the electromagnets, etc. used in the device; and

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating the timed operation of the respective elements in the device.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

As shown in FIG. 1, the device according to the present invention is designed for selectively drawing a desired card out of a plurality of cards 11, 12, 13 . . . 19 which have longitudinally (in the left to right direction as viewed in FIG. 1) elongate iron pieces 110, 120, 130 . . . 190 at the front edges and notches 111, 121, 131 . . . 191 in the rear upper edges (in FIG. 1, the right side is referred to as front and the left side as the rear) respectively. The iron pieces 110, 120 . . . 190 respectively provided on each card may be the same shape and may be provided on the cards at different positions from each other, or alternatively may be of the type having two or more projections with the positions of the projections being varied between the cards. At any rate, the position or positions of the projection or projections of one card is or are differentiated from the position or positions of the projection or projections of the other cards. Further, the iron pieces are not necessarily made of iron but may be of any material which is magnetically attractive. In this specification, nickel pieces or pieces of other materials are generally called "iron pieces."

A hook member 1 is arranged above the card and is moved upwards or downwards electrically for engagement with or disengagement from the notch 111 formed in said card. The hook member 1 is operated with the timing to be described later, to hold the card against movement. The notch 111 may obviously be formed at the rear lower portion of the card depending upon the location of the hook member operating mechanism.

Provided in front of the cards is a set of vertically juxtaposed electromagnets A1, A2 . . . A10, generally indicated by numeral 2. The set of electromagnets A1 . . . A10 may be substituted by one longitudinally elongated electromagnet, but in the description herein reference is made to an arrangement in which 10 separate electromagnets are provided. The set of card drawing electromagnets 2 is operated by a motor in such a manner that it makes a reciprocal movement towards and away from the cards, and upon completion of its onward stroke, the set of electromagnets is located in a position close enough to attract the iron pieces. It is preferable from the viewpoint of simplification of the mechanism that the set of electromagnets is moved at an equal speed on both the onward and return strokes.

A plurality of card stoppers 3 (31 . . . 310) are provided at right angles to the card drawing direction, i.e. the moving direction of the card drawing electromagnets A1 . . . A10, and may be reciprocated to prevent the drawal of the cards. The card stoppers 3 are longitudinally reciprocated by stopper operating members 4 (41 . . . . 410) in the leftward or rightward direction as viewed in FIG. 4. The stopper operating members 4 respectively have one end thereof engaging a respective card stopper 3 and the other end swingably held by a frame 5 for swinging motion in a counterclockwise direction, as viewed in FIG. 2B, under the effect of electromagnets B. Further, each of the stopper operating members 4 is biased in a direction opposite to the attracting direction of the electromagnet B, by a leaf spring 50 which is secured at its root portion. Thus, it may be understood that each stopper operating member 4 moves the corresponding card stopper 3 to the right as viewed in FIG. 4, only for the period when the associated electromagnet B is energized.

With character C representing an electromagnet by which the hook member 1 is lifted to be disengaged from the notch 111, the electric circuit of the electromagnets A, B, C is as shown in FIG. 5. As seen, the electromagnets B and C are constantly connected in parallel and the electromagnets A and B are electrically connected such that A1 and B1, A2 and B2, . . . A10 and B10 can be switched over. Therefore, A1 and B1 will not be concurrently energized. A switch 6 for A and B is so arranged that the connection will be switched, for example, from B3 to A3 when a signal representative of "3" is fed. The circuit connecting the electromagnet C in parallel with the electromagnets A or B is turned on and off by a relay R. The relay R is of the type that it is closed by one ON-OFF operation of a microswitch S2 and cut off by another ON-OFF operation of the same.

This microswitch S2 is arranged such that it is turned on and off twice by a microswitch operating member 7 during one reciprocal motion of the electromagnets 2, i.e. once during the onward stroke and once during the return stroke of said electromagnets 2. The microswitch operating member 7 is secured to the electromagnets 2 as shown in FIG. 1. Another microswitch S1 is provided in side-by-side relation with the microswitch S2, on the side closer to the cards. The position of this microswitch S1 is such that said microswitch S1 will be turned on only when the electromagnets 2 are held closest to the iron pieces on the cards. The electromagnets 2 are energized with a strong magnetic attractive force upon the actuation of the microswitch S1.

According to the device of the present invention constructed as described above, the following operation can be obtained by actuating the respective electromagnets with a predetermined timing.

FIG. 6 shows a diagram illustrating the timed operational relation of the respective elements, in which the abscissa axis represents time. Namely, the chart at the upper portion of FIG. 6 shows the operation of the electromagnets 2, with the ordinate axis representing distance. In this chart, character X designates the rightward distance from the tip end of the iron piece. Hereinafter, the operation of the subject device will be described with reference to the drawings.

When a signal representative of the code, e.g. "3," of the desired card is fed to the device by means of a push-button or the like, only A3 of all the electromagnets 2 and all of the electromagnets B other than B3 are placed in a condition to be energized (see FIG. 5) and the card drawing electromagnets 2 are moved at an equal speed towards the cards by the drive of the motor. When the electromagnets 2 have been moved to a position a predetermined distance away from the cards and the microswitch S2 has been turned on and off by the microswitch operating member 7 carried by said electromagnets 2, the relay R is closed and all of the electromagnets B (B1, B2, B4, . . . B10) except for B3 are energized, whereby the card stoppers 31, 32, 34 . . . 310 are shifted to the right as viewed in FIG. 4. At the same time the hook member 1 sets the cards free. As the electromagnets 2 move further towards the cards, the microswitch operating member actuates the microswitch S1, so that the electromagnet A3 is strongly energized, attracting the iron piece 130 on the card 13. Then, the electromagnets 2 start to move towards the right and the microswitch S1 is turned off. The magnetic force of the electromagnet A3 is somewhat weakened when the microswitch S1 is turned off and continuously draws the card 13 is continuously drawn to the right. The magnetic force of the electromagnet is instantaneously intensified as stated above, for the purpose of positively drawing the card while overcoming the static friction between the card 13 and the adjacent cards (see FIG. 2B). As the electromagnets 2 move further to the right and the microswitch S2 is again turned on and off, the relay R is deenergized, so that the electromagnets B and C are deenergized and the card stoppers 3 are moved to the left as viewed in FIG. 4. Also, at the same time the hook member 1 is lowered to hook the cards. In this case, the card 13 is not hooked as it has been drawn by the length of the iron piece 131. Therefore, the card 13 only is drawn out incident to the rightward movement of the electromagnets 2 (see FIG. 3B).

As described above, according to the device of the invention a card having a specific code only can be selected and drawn out, by feeding a signal representative of said code externally to the device by means of the push-button or the like.

It will be understood from the foregoing description that this is possible by the well timed operation of the card stoppers which press the cards selectively, the hook member which engages the notches in the cards after one card has been drawn by the length of the iron piece, and the other elements. The device of such a construction as described herein is novel and of great practical value.

With the device of the invention, it is also possible to simultaneously draw more than one card, by simultaneously energizing more than one of the electromagnets.

The device of the invention can be applied to an automatic microfiche retrieval device by combining it with a microfiche reader, and also to a data card retrieval device.

Claims

We claim:

1. A card retrieval device for selectively drawing a plurality of cards, each said card including, at the front edge thereof, an iron piece having a longitudinally extending projection and, at the rear side edge thereof, a notch, said device comprising a plurality of movable members selectively projected to or retracted from the position of said iron piece to prevent the drawal of a card; electromagnets which are movable towards the cards to a position close enough to magnetically attract an iron piece and movable in the opposite direction; and a hook member which is normally held in engagement with said notches but disengages therefrom only for the period when said movable members are in operation.

2. A card retrieval device according to claim 1, wherein control means is provided which controls the operational timing of the respective members in such a manner that said hook member is disengaged from the notches when said movable members are in a position to selectively prevent the card drawal, and is brought into engagement with said notches after a desired card has been drawn to a position in which said hook member is not engageable with the notch in said desired card.

3. A card retrieval device according to claim 2, wherein said control means comprises an electric circuit including a plurality of microswitches and the operation of said electromagnets is associated with said microswitches.

4. A card retrieval device according to claim 1, wherein the number of said movable members is greater than the number of the cards to be retrieved.

5. A card retrieval device according to claim 1, wherein the number of said electromagnets is greater than the number of the cards to be retrieved.

6. A card retrieval device according to claim 1, wherein said electromagnets are replaced by one elongated electromagnet, so that the iron pieces on all of the cards are magnetically simultaneously attracted by said electromagnet.