Storable rack assembly
AssigneeBell & Howell Company
InventorHarold E. Boyer
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A storable rack assembly to be used to drive a paper stop of a buckle-type sheet folding pan includes a perforate reversed crown extension spring attached at its outer end to the paper stop while the opposite end thereof is coiled within a housing. A rotatable sprocket located outside of the housing meshes with perforations in the reversed-crown extension spring to drive the spring and thereby move the paper stop. An indicator mechanism for indicating the amount of movement of the paper stop includes an indicator sprocket, which rotates with the rotatable sprocket and meshes with apertures in an indicator steel band. The storable rack assembly is mounted on a bias bar which, in turn, is pivotally mounted on the fold pan.
Claims4
A rack-and-pinion type linkage system for converting rotary motion into linear motion and thereby moving an object along a linear path said rack-and-pinion type linkage system comprising:
- a rack housing, said rack housing defining a chamber, said rack housing further defining a guiding surface located outside, but adjacent to, said chamber and being tangentially disposed to said chamber;
- a crown extension spring being unattached to supporting structure along its length, said crown extension spring having a linear extended portion projecting outside said chamber across said guiding surface and being attached to said object at an outer end portion thereof only, and a stored, coiled, portion located in said chamber, said crown extension spring having a series of apertures longitudinally disposed therealong;
- a pinion assembly comprising a gear means rotatably mounted on said housing adjacent said guiding surface, but on the opposite side of said spring extended portion from said guiding surface, for driving said crown extension spring, said gear means having teeth which mesh with said apertures;
- and
- a drive means linked to said gear means for rotating said gear means in either of opposite selected directions in response to application of an external force to said drive means, thereby linearly moving said crown-extension-spring extended portion, along with said attached object and selectively coiling and uncoiling said crown-extension-spring coiled portion.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.