US3223410A

US3223410A - Jogging device

Info

Publication number: US3223410A
Application number: US258505A
Authority: US
Inventors: John H Wilson; Noland E Vogt; Vahak K Sahakian
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1963-02-14
Filing date: 1963-02-14
Publication date: 1965-12-14
Anticipated expiration: 1982-12-14

Description

Dec. 14, 1955 J. H. WILSON ETAL 3,

JOGGING DEVICE Filed Feb. 14, 1963 2 SheetsSheet 1 Dec. 14, 1965 J. H. WILSON ETAL JOGGING DEVICE Filed Feb. 14, 1963 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 1' S7O7| 1/ f''": 63 i L J O L.. ..i 65- FIG. 7 FIG. 8

United States Patent 3,223,410 JGGGING DEVICE John H. Wilson, 2301 W. Meadow Drive, Phoenix, Ariz.;

Noland E. Vogt, Phoenix, Ariz. (2111 Camino de Los Robles, Menlo Park, Calif.); and Vahak K. Sahakian,

432 Cypress Ave., Phoenix, Ariz.

Filed Feb. 14, 1963, Ser. No. 258,505 Claims. (Cl. 271-89) The present invention pertains to jogging devices, and more particularly, to jogging devices suitable for jogging documents such as bank checks, encoded cardboard cards for data processing, and other documents wherein it is desired to align the edges of a plurality of such documents.

Prior art paper joggers usually comprise an electromagnetic means for attracting a ferromagnetic table and alternatively reversing the direction of flux to cause the table to vibrate. The alternate attraction and release of the table, and subsequent induced vibration, causes paper documents supported by the table to be jogged" thereby tending to align the edges or surfaces upon which the documents are supported. It has been generally considered necessary, in prior art, to increase the attraction of the electromagnet with the table, thereby increasing the amplitude of vibration, to align documents that have a tendency to adhere to each other and resist alignment. The increased amplitude of vibration through the increasing of the electromagnetic force is usually accompanied by objectionable noise and an increase in the vibration transmitted to the supporting table of the jogger.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved jogging device.

It is also an object of the present invention to provide a jogging device to align documents by vibrating a supporting tray through a novel flexing arrangement.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a paper jogger with increased jogging action to more readily facilitate the alignment of supported documents.

Further objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art as the description thereof proceeds.

Briefly stated, in accordance wih one embodiment of the present invention, a supporting tray is provided to hold documents for alignment. The supporting tray is induced to vibrate with a motion that is a composite of a linear displacement and a rotational displacement. The linear and rotational displacements of the tray are provided by a flexible member which flexes in two modes, viz. a bending mode and a torsional mode.

The flexing member is alternately attracted and released by an electromagnetic device placed in the proximity of the flexing device and excited by an alternating current.

The present invention may more easily be described in connection with the accompanying figures in which:

FIG. 1 is a side view, partially in section, of a jogging device constructed in accordance with the teachings of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view of the jogging device of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a top view of a flexible member suitable for use in the jogging device of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a tray suitable for use with the jogging device of the present invention to show how documents are held for jogging.

FIG. 5 is a diagrammatic cross-sectional view of a flexible member useful for explaining the operation of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged side view of a jogging tray to show the manner in which the documents are jogged by the linear and rotational motion of the jogger of the present invention.

FIG. 7 shows a modified flexible member suitable for use in the jogging device of the present invention.

FIG. 8 shows a composite flexible member suitable for use in the jogging device of the present invention.

FIG. 9 shows an alternate method forinducing torsional and bending stress in a flexible member in the jogger of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, an electromagnet 10 of the E core type is provided with a winding 11. The winding 11 may be connected through conductors 12 to a pair of terminals 13. The terminals 13 are connected to any suitable source of alternating current (not shown). A flexible member 15 of magnetically attractable material, is positioned in the proximity of the electromagnet 10 and slightly displaced therefrom. The flexible member 15 supports an arm 16 which, in turn, supports a jogging tray 17. The arm 16 and jogging tray 17 are positioned with respect to the center of the flexible member 15 so that the center of gravity of the weight supported by the flexible member 15 is applied eccentrically thereto. This eccentricity is shown in FIG. 1 by the distance e.

Referring to FIG. 2, the jogging device shown in FIG. 1 may further be described. The tray 17 includes a plurality of separator partitions 20 to thereby define document holding spaces or wells 21.

The flexible member 15 is supported at each end thereof by a stationary base shown diagrammatically in FIG. 2 at 25. Similarly, the electromagnetic device 10 is supported on the stationary base. 25.

It may be seen from FIGS. 1 and 2, that when the electromagnet 10 is energized by current flowing in the coil 11, magnetic flux is induced in the core which bridges the gap between the core and the flexible member 15 tending to attract the member 15 to the core. Since the flexible member 15 is supported at each end thereof to a stationary base 25, the flexible member is distorted, and the motion of the distortion is transmitted to the tray 17. The shape of a suitable flexible member for use in the jogging device of the present invention may be seen in FIG. 3 wherein the top of the flexible member may be seen. The flexible member 15 of FIG. 3 may be shaped .in any manner in accordance with the flexibility desired for the particular application of the jogging device. The particular embodiment chosen for illustration in FIG. 3 is a relatively rectangular flexible member with the ends slightly tapered. The tapered ends 30 are attached to a stationary base shown diagrammatically in FIG. 3 at 31. A jogging tray (not shown in FIG. 3) may be secured to the flexible member 15 by attaching an arm (such as 16 in FIG. 1) to the flexible member at that portion of the member indicated by dotted lines 35.

A jogging tray suitable for use in the present invention may be seen in FIG. 4. Referring to FIG. 4, the jogging tray 17 is formed of two

surfaces

37 and 38 arranged perpendicular to each other. The tray is divided into wells 21 by partitions 20. Documents to be aligned, shown schematically in FIG. 4 at 40, may be placed within one of the wells 21 with the surfaces which are to be aligned in contact with the

tray surfaces

37 and 38. The documents shown in FIG. 4 are supported on one long and one short edge; however, the documents may be supported in a plane parallel to the surface 37 (e.g.. lying flat) with only one edge in registration with the surface 38 (in this manner, the documents would only be aligned on one edge thereof). Similarly, the jogging tray 17 may be tilted so that documents lying on their side within one of the wells 21 would be forced to register one edge with the surface 38 and the other edge with One of the partitions 20. v

The operation of the device of the present invention may now be described. The electromagnet is ener- Zgized by applying an alternating current to the terminals 13. The magnetic flux thus induced by the current flowing in the winding 11 attracts the flexible member 15 (which may be made of a ferromagnetic material), thus causing the flexible member to travel toward the core. When the alternating current passes through zero and begins to reverse, the magnetic field collapses, and the attraction between the core 10 and the flexible member 15 ceases. Accordingly, the flexible member 15 attempts to resume its original position.

The repeated attraction and release of the flexible member causes the latter to vibrate. This vibratory motion is transmitted through the arm 16 to the document supporting tray 17. The motion of the tray 17 is affected by the positioning of the tray in an eccentric relationship with respect to the flexible member 15. The motion of the flexible member 15 may best be seen by reference to FIG. 5.

Referring to FIG. 5, a cross section of the flexible member 15 is shown. The cross section is similar to that shown in FIG. 1. When the flexible member is in position illustrated at 45, the flexible member is then at the position it would normally be when it is not deflected or not vibrating. Positions illustrated by numerals 46 and 47, respectively, illustrate the lower and upper extremes of travel of the flexible member when vibrating. If we examine FIG. 5 by choosing a reference point in the flexible member, we may examine the type of motion and stress experience by the flexible member. The reference point may conveniently be chosen at the axis of rotation of the particular cross section under investigation. It may be noted that the motion experienced by the flexible member may be described in terms of the displacement d from the unflexed position and a rotation relative to the unflexed position. Thus, the total motion of the flexible member between the upper and lower extremes of its travel during vibration includes a linear displacement of 2d and a rotational displacement of 2. The particular motion involved is caused by the unequal forces applied to the flexible member. Since the flexible member 15 supports the jogging table 17 in a position displaced from the center of the flexible member, a torsional stress is induced in the flexible member 15 in addition to the bending stress. The combination of torsional and bending flexure results in the motion described in connection with FIG. 5. The jogging actions imparted to the documents supported by the jogging tray 17 may best be described with reference to FIG. 6.

Referring to FIG. 6, the jogging tray is shown comprised of the

perpendicular surfaces

37 and 38. A representative document 55 is shown supported on

surfaces

37 and 38. The torsional flexure resulting in the rotational displacement of the flexing member imparts to the surfaces 37 and 38 a rocking motion indicated generally by the arrows 56. The bending flex resulting in the linear displacement of the

surfaces

37 and 38 is illustrated generally by the arrows 57. It may be seen from FIG. 6 that the document 55 is first forced against one surface (surface 37) and then a second surface (surface 38). The alternate forcing of the document 55 against the two alignment surfaces facilitates the rapid alignment of the document without excessive linear travel of the jogging surface. The linear displacement illustrated by the arrows 57 momentarily pulls the aligning

surfaces

37 and 38 out of contact with the document, thus adding to the jogging effect of the rotational displacement.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the torsional and bending flexures were developed by offsetting the weight of the jogging tray. The combined torsional and bending flexure may be induced in the flexible member in other ways. For example, referring to FIG. 7, a flexible member 60 is shown having a center tapered portion defined by the edges 61 and 62, ending in a protrusion 63 which may be utilized to support a jogging tray by attachment to the area indicated in FIG. 7 within dotted lines 65. The attachment of the jogging tray to the area 65 indicated on the flexible member 60, automatically distributes the weight unevenly over the flexible member and will cause a combined torsional and bending flex when the flexible member is attracted by the electromagnet.

Referring to FIG. 8, still another modification may be shown of a flexible member suitable for use in the jogging device of the present invention. The flexible member comprises a composite of two members 69 and 70. The two members 69 and 70 are secured as shown in FIG. 8 by any suitable means such as, for example, spot welding. A jogging tray may be secured to the flexible member at the area indicated at 71. A jogging tray connected to this area of the flexible member automatically provides for an unequal weight distribution to thereby induce bending and torsional flexure.

A symmetrical flexible member may be utilized with an equal weight distribution while still obtaining bending and torsional flexure by offsetting the flexible member with respect to the electromagnet as shown in FIG. 9. Referring to FIG. 9, a jogging tray is supported on a flexible member 76 so as to distribute the weight equally over the flexible member. An electromagnet 77 is positioned with respect to the flexible member 76 to exert an attracting force unequally on the flexible member. As the result of the unequal attractive force, the flexible member will undergo a bending and a torsional flex. The bending and torsional flexure of the flexible member illustrated by the various illustrated embodiments provide a linear and a rotational displacement to the jogging tray thus facilitating the alignment of the documents contained on the tray with the aligning surfaces of the tray.

While the present invention has been described in connection with specific embodiments, it will become apparent to those skilled in the art that further modifications may be made in the jogging device of the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed as new and desired to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A jogger for aligning documents comprising:

a stationary base;

a flat elongated ferromagnetic flexible member directly and rigidly secured at each end to said stationary base, said flat flexible member located in a substantially horizontal plane and having a center line in said plane;

a jogging tray directly connected to said flexible member having a pair of penpendicular sides for containing and supporting said documents; and,

an electromagnetic means for flexing said flexible member with a bending and torsional flex that repeatedly moves said documents against said perpendicular sides and away from said sides, said jogging tray eccentrically located relative to said center line to cooperate with said electromagnetic means and facilitate the torsional displacement of said jogging tray,

whereby alternate energization of said electromagnetic means results in the alignment of the documents contained in the jogging tray by rotational and linear displacement of the tray.

2. The structure recited in claim 1 wherein said perpendicular sides each make an included angle of less than degrees with said flat flexible member.

3. A jogger for aligning documents comprising.

a stationary base;

a flat elongated ferromagnetic flexible member coupled at each end to said stationary base;

a jogging tray coupled to said flexible member having a pair of substantially perpendicularly disposed sides for containing and supporting said documents; and,

an electromagnetic means for flexing the flexible member with a bending and torsional flex that repeatedly moves said documents against said perpendicular a jogging tray connected to said flexible member having a pair of susbtantially perpendicularly disposed sides for containing and supporting said documents; and,

an electromagnetic means for flexing said flexible member with a bending and torsional flex that repeatedly moves said documents against said perpendicular sides and away from said sides, said electromagnetic means offset with respect to said center line of said flexible member to apply a force to said flexible member which moves it in a rotational and linear manner,

whereby the alternate energization of said electromagnetic means results in the alignment of the documents contained in the jogging tray and rotational and linear displacement of the tray.

5. A jogger for aligning documents comprising:

a stationary base;

a unitary flat elongated flexible plate member directly and rigidly secured at each end to said stationary base;

an electromagnetic means for repeatedly flexing said flexible member with a bending and torsional flex that successfully moves said documents against said perpendicular sides and away from sides, said electromagnetic means located below and adjacent said flexible member, said electromagnetic means and said jogging tray relatively located to apply unequal forces to a portion of said flexible member to place said flexible member in bending and torsional flexure,

whereby the alternate energization of said electromagnetic means results in the alignment of the documents contained in the jogging tray by a rotational and linear displacement of the tray.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,236,892 8/1917 Wilson 271-89 2,624,577 1/1953 Peugnet 27189 2,629,592 2/1953 Line 271-89 2,794,636 6/ 1957 Eddison et al. 271-89 X 3,029,728 4/1962 Polk 27189 X 3,092,382 6/1963 Busch et al 271-89 FOREIGN PATENTS 461,019 11/1949 Canada. 877,003 5/ 1953 Germany.

M. HENSON WOOD, JR., Primary Examiner. RAPHAEL M. LUPO, Examiner.

Claims

3. A JOGGER FOR ALIGNING DOCUMENTS COMPRISING. A STATIONARY BASE; A FLAT ELONGATED FERROMAGNETIC FLEXIBLE MEMBER COUPLED AT EACH END TO SAID STATIONARY BASE; A JOGGING TRAY COUPLED TO SAID FLEXIBLE MEMBER HAVING A PAIR F SUBSTANTIALLY PERPENDICULARLY DISPOSED SIDES FOR CONTAINING AND SUPPORTING SAID DOCUMENTS; AND, AN ELECTROMAGNETIC MEANS FOR FLEXING THE FLEXIBLE MEMBER WITH A BENDING AND TORSIONAL FLEX THAT REPEATEDLY MOVES SAID DOCUMENTS AGAINST SAID PERPENDICULAR SIDES AND AWAY FROM SAID SIDES, SAID FLAT FLEXIBLE MEMBER LOCATED SUBSTANTIALLY IN A FIRST PLANE AND HAVING A CENTER LINE IN SAID PLANE WITH SAID JOGGING TRAY ECCENTRICALLY LOCATED RELATIVE TO SAID CENTER LINE TO COOPERATE WITH SAID ELECTRO/MAGNETIC MEANS AND FACILITATE THE ROTATIONAL DISPLACEMENT OF SAID JOGGING TRAY.