2 Sheets-Sheet 1 R. S. BARR METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR SEPARATING CONTINUOUS MULTI-PART STOCK FORMS o0000000000C00000 000006000000006020000006000D00000O 000000000D0000D00 NU .lnlJ 7J, 5 n H l| 5 w l5 mld/l T. T E 2/ m a I H m s N m m m 0 0 m/ P M A \l l G C lr l w 00000066000050000700D000OOOOOUOODOTDQOOODOOOUO0000D 00000000000000 Jan. l0, 1967 Filed March 16, 1965 OOOOOOOOGOOOOOOOO BY ROBERT S. BARR ATT NEY ccccccccccoeooooo ooooooooooooooooo oooooooooomoooooo oooaooooooooocooo l ...HJ l u n R l l .|15 if.; im F. O .5 A M T (7. l l .M Hl V D x5 nu. .L :.P. N l Ill vllll l l. ll l .I l H l .4 .4 2 P n :n1 A ull lll. A P M H G P mn. \0 o/ Ef. Ll L m. all... |2 m nl/l J 7J l l f nooooooooovoocoooooooooooooooonoo ooooooooooooooooiooooooooooooooooo OOOOOOOAWJ.. OfOOQO 2@ PAPER SHEET) \2n CARBON SHEET Jan. 10, 1967 R. s. BARR 3,297,342
METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR SEPARATING CONTINUOUS MULTI-PART STOCK FORMS Filed March 16, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIGB INVENTOR ROBERT S. BARR www@ A TTORNE Y UnitedStates Patent O Fice 3 297,342 METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR SEPARATING CONTINUGUS MULTI-PART STOCK FORMS Robert S. Barr, Goidshorough Village, Apt. 112, Bayonne, NJ. 67062 Filed Mar. 16, 1965, Ser. No. 440,234 6 Claims. (Cl. 282-115) The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for separating continuous forms of the type used in cornputers and analogous data processing machines.
Electric accounting machines and computers are utilized to an ever-increasing extent in the automatic data processing ield. With the use of such machines, it is not luncommon to prepare simultantously four or five copies of a continuous report numbering in the hundreds of pages. The data processing,7 equipments generally used all utilize essentially the same type of paper for the printing of the reports. This paper is purchased in continuous lengths in a fanfold condition and is commercially i.
available in any number of copies or parts up to maximum of eight copies or parts at present. A length of commercially available continuous S-part paper, to give an example, consists of alternating layers of eight sheets of paper and seven sheets of carbon paper. The continuous multi-part paper, acquired and stored in fan-fold condition, is fed during operation of the data processing equipment continuously into the machine in which the report is printed thereon. Upon leaving the data processing equipment, the continuous multi-part printed paper is again automatically reiolded after passing through the plattens of the printing machine. Usually, the reports are stored and also read in this fan-fold condition- The reason for storing and reading the report in fan-fold condition is that once a .report has been machine printed, it would extend to a considerable length if opened out from its fan-folded condition.
A problem, however, arises with the separation of the fan-folded multi-copy reports into separate or individual copies, discarding at the same time the carbon paper in the separating operation. The diiculty underlying the separating problem resides in the fact that, as pointed out hereinabove, one desires to maintain the continuous nature of the report, and to store each report in fan-fold condition to facilitate subsequent reading thereof.
To date, two avenues of approach oler themselves, namely (a) a manual report separation and (b) an automatic separation by means of commercially available ruachines.
The manual report separation, however, though used most frequently, is unsatisfactory -as it is an extremely slow and dirty process by reason of the presence of the carbon ink. As a matter of fact, the manual report separation is also economically unsatisfactory because of the large number of man-hours necessary to perform the job. In large-size installations, the cost of manual separation may become a significant item.
To achieve automatic separation, a number of machines are presently commercially available. These machines are all relatively similar as to the principal operation thereof and entail numerous disadvantages. Foremost, these machines are all relatively expensive, involving an initial invesment of several hundred dollars. Furthermore, and more important, all of these commercially available machines require a considerable set-up time and adjust-ment which must be precise to avoid tearing the reports during the separation. While the set-up time may become less significant for reports to be processed as the length thereof increases, the set-up time required in connection with the presently available machines, however, is a suiliciently serious problem for reports of average or 3,297,342 Patented Jan. 10, 1967 shorter length so that medium and small data processing installations seldom use these machines and instead resort `to the manual separation of the reports.
The commercially available separators of the type mentioned hereinabove are usually motor driven in which the multi-part fan-fold report is fed into the machine to separate out the individual copies into individual sets while the carbons are usually automatically disposed, for example, wound on spindles for subsequent disposal.
Accordingly, it is `a principal object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus for separating multi-copy fan-folded reports which obviate the shortcomings and inadequacies mentioned hereinabove with the prior art.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus for separating fan-folded multicopy reports into separate or individual reports while simultaneously therewith discarding the carbon in the separating operation, which is simple and inexpensive, and also lills the presently felt genuine need in data processing installations of average or smaller size.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus for separating fan-folded multi-copy reports of the type mentioned hereinabove which assures superior performance to that obtainable with present-day separating machines irrespective of the size of the installation or length of reports produced.
A further object of the present invention resides in the provision of an apparatus suitable for use with the method for separating multi-copy fan-folded reports which is extremely inexpensive in manufacture, offers great ilexibility in its use and does not require special skills on the part of the operator.
Another object of the present invention resides in the provision of an apparatus suitable for separating fanfolded multi-copy reports which is relatively light in weight, may be readily stored and is simple to be installed for use, while at the same time requiring relatively little oor space.
Still another object of the present invention resides in the provision of an apparatus for use with the method -acording to the present invention for separating fan-folded multi-copy reports, which does not require any electric power, has a minimum of moving parts, requires no maintenance nor any adjustment and is completely servicefree and of practically infinite length of life in operation.
A further object of the present invention resides in the provision of an apparatus for separating fan-folded multicopy reports which is safe to the operator and the reports, precludes any injury to the operator, and makes impossible any tearing of the reports in the separating operation.
Still another object of the present invention resides in the provision of an apparatus for separating fan-folded multi-copy reports which permits a simple separating operation that is clean, does not require rolling or wrinkling of the carbon paper thereby making possible re-use of the latter, and can be used without adjustment, for any size report and any number of copies in the report.
These and other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become more obvious from the following description when taken in connection with the accompanying drawing which shows, for purposes of illustration only, one embodiment in accordance with the present invention, and wherein:
FIGURE la is a top plan view of a portion of an individual sheet of paper of continuous multi-part stock in accordance with the present invention,
FIGURE lb is a plan view of a portion of a continuous carbon paper for use with the continuous multi-part stock forms in accordance with the present invention,
FIGURE 2 is a plan view, with parts broken away in the top sheet and one comer of several sheets bent over, of a fan-folded multi-part stock of individual continuous sheets and interleaved continuous sheets of carbon paper, ready for use,
FIGURE 3 is a perspective View of the apparatus in accordance with the present invention which may be utilized for realizing the method of separating the fan-folded multi-copy reports according to the present invention,
FIGURE 4 is a perspective view, on an enlarged scale, of the apparatus shown in FIGURE 3 illustrating the operation of the present invention, and
FIGURE 5 is a partial perspective view, similar to FIG- URE 4, and illustrating a different phase in the method of separating the report according to the present invention.
Known in the prior art is a key-sort system by means of which certain cards can be selected from a larger group. In such prior art system, this is made possible by the fact that some cards contain closed holes while the remaining cards have open holes in the same position on the cards. An elongated member is utilized in this prior art system, extending through the holes in a file of cards to lift out only those cards with closed holes while the cards with open holes are left in place Within the file. However, such prior art system is used exclusively for selectively sorting the cards which are positively lifted out of the tile in the selecting process.
In contradistinction to this prior art key-sorting system, the present invention utilizes a simple prepunching in the continuous paper and in the continuous carbon copy so that at least two needles or the like can be passed through aligned apertures in the continuous sheets and interleaved carbon paper when in the fan-folded condition, whereby the aligned apertures are so arranged and located in the continuous sheets of paper and continuous sheets of carbon that the one set of aligned apertures are open in the direction toward the edge only in the sheets of paper while the other set of aligned apertures are open toward the edge of the fan-fold report only in the continuous sheets of carbon paper.
Referring now to the drawing, wherein like reference numerals are used throughout the various views to designate like parts, and more particularly to FIGURE la, this figure illustrates four pages of a continuous stock of sheetlike paper normally used in automatic data processing equipments. As is conventional, the continuous sheet is provided with spaced apertures along both sides thereof, operable to engage with sprocket-type wheels in the processing data equipment to feed the paper. Additionally, though the stock is in continuous form, the individual papers are prepunched or perforated, as is also conventional, to facilitate tearing each page from the remainder of the stock.
The portion of the carbon paper illustrated in FIGURE 1b is made in an analogous manner as the paper of FIG- URE la insofar as the feed apertures along both sides is concerned. Additionally, the individual pages are also prepunched or perforated to facilitate tearing off of individual pages of a multi-part report.
In FIGURE la, reference numeral designates the separating lines produced in any conventional manner, e.g. by perforations, between individual pages. In FIG- URE lb, the separating line, as in FIGURE la prepunched or perforated, and marking the plane of separation between individual pages of carbon paper is designated byreference numeral 11.
In addition to the conventional features of commercially available continuous sheet stock of paper and carbon as described above, the sheets of printing paper and of carbon paper differ from the prior art by the provision of additional apertures punched out therein during manufacture thereof.
In FIGURE 1a, two relativelysmall apertures 12, 12' and 13, 13 are provided on each side and spaced a predetermined distancefrom theeventual separating line 10.
Additionally, each page is also provided with twoelongated apertures 14 and 15, disposed outwardly ofrespective apertures 12, 12 and 13, 13 and of such contour that it extends up to theseparating line 10.
As may be readily seen in FIGURE la, oppositely disposedapertures 12 and 12 and oppositely disposedapertures 13 and 13 are of similar size and equidistant from the line 1i) disposed therebetween. Similarly,apertures 14 and 15 which are constituted by adjoiningaperture portions 14 and 14" andaperture portions 15 and 15" are so dimensioned and arranged that they form, together, the continuouselongated apertures 14 and 15. Theapertures 12, 12', 13, 13', 14, and 15 are provided only at every other separatingline 10 for reasons that will appear more fully hereinafter when considering the report in fan-fold condition.
Apertures 112, 112', 113, 113', 114, and 115 in FIG- URE lb correspond toapertures 12, 12', 13, 13', 14, and 15 of FIGURE la, it being noted, however, that the continuouselongated apertures 114 and 115 are disposed inwardly of theapertures 112, 112 and 113, 113.
More particularly, t-he various apertures are so located and arranged, as may be readily seen from FIGURE 2, that wit-h the multi-copy report in the fan-folded condition, as illustrated in this figure,apertures 12 and 12 align withapertures 114 and apertures 13.and 13' align withapertures 115 Whileapertures 14 and 15 align withapertures 112, 112' andapertures 113, 113', respectively. Of course, the various sheets of papers as well as the various sheets of carbon must ybe punched over the entire llength thereof of the continuous multi-part fan-fold paper in the manner illustrated in FIGURES la and lb.
Referring now to FIGURE 3, the apparatus according to the present invention -in its simplest form comprises a frame generally Adesignated byreference numeral 20 including twoelongated members 21 and 22 and twotransverse members 23 and 24, all securely interconnected with one another to provide a substantially rectangular frame. Themembers 21 and 22 are provided withextensions 21 and 22', respectively by means of which they may be secured to a table in any suitable manner, for example, by clamps or the like.
In the illustrated embodiment, each of thetransverse members 23 and 24 is provided with fourapertures 23a, 23b, 23e` and 23d andapertures 24a, 24h, 24C and 24d, respective-ly. The apertures are so located that apertures 23a and 24a are aligned,apertures 23b and 24h are aligned, apertures 23e and 24C are aligned andapertures 23d and 24d are also aligned to receive therein a substantially straight elongated member such asneedles 26, 27, 28, and 29. As shown in yFIGURE 3, the needles or rods are inserted into the four holes 23a through d and 24a through d in which they are able to -move freely. Theserods 26 through 29 may also `be individually withdrawn or inserted, whioh is important as will appear more fully hereinafter from the description of the operation according to the present invention.
FIGURE 4 illustrates the location of therods 26 through 29 in relation to the four apertures provided in each page of a multi-part fan-fold report w'hen inserted .into the respective apertures 23a and 24a through 23d and 24d.
In FIGURE 4, only the top sheet of a multi-part report has been fan-folded and inserted 4into the apparatus. As may -be readily seen, the twoinnermost rods 27 and 28 support the sheet of paper by extending throughapertures 12, 12', 13, and 13' whereas theoutermost rods 26 and 29 engage inapertures 14 and 15 which are open toward the top edges of the fan-folded report, and therefore do not contribute to the support of the paper.
In FIGURE 5, only one sheet of carbon paper, in the fan-folded condition, is inserted in the apparatus. Again, it should 'be noted that in this case the twooutermost rods 26 and 29 support the carbon paper by extending throughapertures 112, 112', 113, and 113 while theinnermost rods 27 and 28, engaging inelongated apertures 114 and 115, open toward t-he top edges of the fan-folded carbon paper, fail to contribute to the support.
FIGURES 4 and 5 are included |herein for illustrative purposes only to help illustrate the principle of operation of the present invention, it 4being understood that the various .parts can be modified and refined :in numerous ways.
It is obvious that withdrawal of the twooutermost rods 26 and 29 in FIGURE 4 would not aliect the paper. On the other hand, withdrawal of the twoinnermost rods 27 and 28 in FIGURE 4 would eliminate the support for the fan-folded paper which, by gravity, would then fall to tihe Hoor when the twoinnermost rods 27 and 28 are withdrawn -irrespective of the position of the twooutermost rods 26 and 29.
It is also obvious from FIGURE 5 that the presence or absence of the twoinnermost needles 27 and 28 does not affect the support of the single continuous sheet of carbon paper supported by the twooutermost needle rods 26 and 29. On the other hand, upon withdrawal of the twooutermost rods 26 and 29, the single continuous sheet of carbon paper would drop by lgravity to the oor.
Referring now again to FIGURE 3, six sheets of paper and five sheets of carbon paper interleaved between tlhe six sheets of paper and all fan-folded have been inserted into the illustrated apparatus.
In operation, the twoinnermost needles 27 and 28 are initially withdrawn whereupon the bottom or sixth sheet of paper l(not visible) would become unsupported and would fall, by gravity, to the floor. The sheet of carbon paper immediately above and in Contact with the last sheet of paper, however, cannot fa'll because the twooutermost rods 26 and 29 continue to support the same. Since the iifth sheet of carbon paper is lbelow all remaining s-heets, it prevents the rest of the report Vfrom 4fallin-g by gravity. It should also ybe noted that the lowest carbon sheet, however, only requires to be of such strength as to hold the sheet of paper -directly thereabove since each sheet of paper is supported `by the carbon paper located directly therebelow which are individually held in place by the .presence of the twooutermost rods 26 and 29.
The twoinnermost rods 27 and 28 are now reinserted and the twooutermost rods 26 and 29 are withdrawn whereby the iifth carbon sheet that has become the bottom sheet is now unsupported and will fall out from the rest of the report. The remainder of the report, however, is supported `'by theinnermost rods 27 and 28 including the lift-h sheet of paper. The twooutermost rods 26 and 29 are now replaced and the twoinnermost rods 27 and 28 are again withdrawn. As a result thereof, the fifth sheet of paper .is permitted to drop. -By alternately replacing one set of rods and withdrawing the other set, one sheet of the report at a time consisting alternately of a sheet of printing paper and carbon paper is released while the remaining sheets of the report continue to be supported by the rods. In this manner, the report lis separated, one sheet or one carbon at a time.
In actual practice, the released bottom sheet does not fail-l by gravity Ibut Imust be teased from the remainder of the reports by simple manual manipulation.
From the foregoing, it becomes at once obvious that the present invention entails numerous advantages. The apparatus shown and described in FIGURE 3 is simple and relatively inexpensive. Its initial cost represents only a small fraction of the cost of autom-atie machines cornmercially available today on the market for automatically separating the various copies of a fan-fold multi-part report.
Additionally, the present invention assures a relatively speedy separation of the report that compares favorably even with the fuly automatic machines when considering the time necessary for preliminary set-up and adjusting operations. For example, a complete separation of a four-part fan-fold report, four inches in height-that is of average size-can be realized in about five minutes or less with all ca'rbons disposed of This lalso includes all set-up time that may be required. To do the same job with existing form separating machines takes about eight minutes While the same job takes about 35 minutes when performed manually.
The present invention also offers -a great flexibility and versatility in its use since reports of any length can be completely separated without any adjustment in the apparatus according to the present invention. No skilled operators are necessary to handle the apparatus of the present invention as in practice any person can learn to use the apparatus eciently in a matter of a few minutes. Furthermore, there is no possibility of injury or harm to the operator nor is the-re any danger of tearing of the reports by the use of the apparatus according to the present invention. Aside from lacking any need for readjustments for different paper sizes, as required by the power-driven machines of the prior art, no electric power is required for the apparatus and operation in accordance with the present invention, thereby eliminating any danger to unskilled operators or tearing of the reports.
Obviously, the weight of the apparatus according to the present invention may be kept to a minimum and its size is such that it can be readily stored with small space requirements. Additionally, it can be readily mounted onto the wall over other equipment or secured to existing tables or the like whereas present machines of the aforementioned prior art each occupy about sixteen square feet of floor space and must be located near 4a power outlet.
Since the apparatus according to the present invention is not power driven and only has two moving parts, it requires no lubrication, no adjustment whatsoever, and is substantially foolproof ragainst any breakdown. Obviously, maintenance such as lubrication, cleaning, adjustments, etc., are totally eliminated with the apparatus according to the present invention.
Since the cost of manufacture involved in the apparatus according to the present invention is extremely low, even relatively smaller data processing installations and departments can afford to own several of the apparatuses in accordance with the present invention, thereby being able to perform simultaneous separations of several different reports.
Aside from safety to the oeprator, the apparatus according to the present invention also offers the ladvantage to the operator that the operators hands never come in contact with the surface of the carbon paper. This feature is not only of importance to the operator but also important to the re-usability of the carbon paper which with the apparatus of the present invention is neither touched by the operators hands nor rolled or wrinkled in the removal thereof. Consequently, the thus-separated carbon paper could be economically trimmed down to size and re-used in typewriters.
While I have shown and described one embodiment in accordance with the present invention, it is understood that the same is not limited thereto but is susceptible of numerous changes and modications. For example, the pair of innermost rods and outermost rods may be rigidly interconnected with one another so that the operator only has to manipulate a single member which may be in the form 0f a handle secured or forming part of the interconnection. Furthermore, suitable interlock means may be provided which lassure that one set of rods cannot be withdrawn until the other set of rods is again properly in place. For example, such interlock may be of mechanical nature whereby a suitably mounted clamping member for each r-od is so constructed and arranged that it securely clamps, for example, by friction the needles of one set as long as the needles of the other set are Withdrawn and releases the same only upon re-insertion in proper place of the previously withdrawn set of needlesj The engagement of the clamp and release thereof may thereby be obtained by spring-loaded abutments located in the path of the axial movement of a respective rod and disposed so as to be actuated during the linal movenient thereof in the inserted condition.
In the alternative, electrical means may be used as interlocks, such as electromagnetic means or electromag netic clutch means which are energized as long as the rods of one set are withdrawn to hold the rods of the other set in place. Of course, pneumatic or hydraulic interlock means of conventional construction may also be utilized instead of the mechanical or electrical construction,
Furthermore, the apertures or holes prepunched in the paper may be so spaced as to tit report binders whereby hole punching to bind the reports may be completely eliminated.
Additionally, it is also possible that only one set of rods is actually required. This one set may be successively switched from the two innermost to the two outermost holes in thetransverse members 23 and 24. During each such switching operation, only the bottom-most sheet of paper or carbon will be released.
Consequently, while I have shown and described one embodiment in accordance with the present invention, it is understood that the same is not limited thereto but is susceptible of numerous changes and modifications within the spirit and scope thereof and I therefore do not wish to be limited to the details shown and described herein but intend to cover all such changes rand modifications as are encompassed by the scope of the appended claims.
I claim:
1. A multi-stock form composed of a sheet of carbon paper between each two adjacent sheets of printing paper, wherein each individual sheet has regularly-spaced, transversely-extending, perforated lines forming the folding and eventual tearing edges of a fan-folded report, each sheet being provided with a first set of apertures spaced from and on opposite sides of every other of said perforated lines `and a second set of apertures extendingl from opposite sides of said every other perforated line up to the respective perforated line so that two such apertures form one larger aperture, each sheet of printing paper within said form having said sets of apertures arranged identically and each sheet of carbon paper within said form having the relative positions of the two said apertures of each set reversed from the arrangement of the said sheets of printing paper.
2. An arrangement for the separation of continuous multi-part stock forms, comprising, in combination, frame means provided with aligned apertures, forms composed of continuous sheets of printing paper, said sheets being provided with regularly-spaced transversely extending means to enable assembly thereof in the fan-fold condition, and said sheets being each provided with two types of aperture means within the area of each alternate transversely extending means, one type .of aperture means extending in sets of two up to said transversely extending means from opposite sides thereof and the other type of aperture means being spaced therefrom, all aperture means being aligned and the relative position of the two types of aperture means being reversed in said sheets of carbon paper with respect to the sheets of printing paper, and alternate rod-like support means operable to engage in said sheets and supported in the apertures of said frame means to support all but the lowest of said sheets and enable separating out of the respectively lowest sheet.
3. An arrangement for the separation of continuous multi-part stock forms, comprising, in combination, frame means provided with aligned apertures, forms composed of continuous sheets of printing paper, said sheets being provided with regularly-spaced transversely extending means to enable assembly thereof in the fan-fold condition, and said sheets being each provided with two types of aperture means within the area of each alternate. transversely extending means, one type of aperture means extending in sets of two up to said transversely extending means from opposite sides thereof and the other type of aperture means being spaced therefrom, all aperture means being aligned and the relative position of the two types of aperture means being reversed in said sheets of carbon paper with respect to the sheets of printing paper, and alternate rod-like support means operable to engage in the aperture means in said sheets land supported in the apertures of said frame means including first insertable and retractable means operable to engage one type of said aperture means and second insertable land retractable means operable to engage the .other type of said aperture means to support all but the lowest of said sheets and enable separating out of the respectively lowest sheet.
4. A method of separating continuous multi-stock forms composed of a sheet of carbon paper between each two adjacent sheets of printing paper, comprising the steps of orienting the same forms, in a fan-folded condition, so that the fold line of the said forms are disposed in a horizontal plane, and supporting all but the lowest sheet of said forms by alternately supporting only, at least, the lowest of said sheets of carbon paper, whereby the lowermost sheet of said multi-stock form is permitted to be separated out.
5. A method of separating continuous multi-stock forms composed of a sheet of carbon paper between each two adjacent sheets of printing paper, comprising the steps of orienting the said forms, in a fan-folded condition, so that the fold lines of the said forms are disposed in a horizontal plane, and supporting fall but the lowest of said forms by alternately supporting only the lowest of said sheets of printing paper and the lowest of said sheets of carbon paper, whereby the lowermost sheet of said multistock form is permitted to be separated out.
6. A method of separating continuous multi-stock forms composed of a sheet of carbon paper between each two adjacent sheets of printing paper, comprising the steps of .orienting the said forms, in a fan-folded condition. so that the fold lines of the said forms are disposed in a horizontal plane, and supporting all but the lowest sheet of said forms by alternately supporting only said sheets of printing paper and said sheets of carbon paper, whereby the lowermost sheet of said form is permitted to be separated out.
References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,098,158 11/1937 ONeill 281-1 2,221,917 11/1940 Hageman 282-115 2,313,285 3/1943 Zalkind 282-20 2,650,109 8/1953 Johnson 282-1 LAWRENCE CHARLES, Pri/nary Examiner.