Forms feed tractor
AssigneeInternational Business Machines Corporation
InventorsSilvio U. Blaskovic, Robert W. Cornell
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
There is disclosed herein a forms feed tractor mechanism having a belt with pins and driving elements extending therethrough. The pins are adapted to engage perforated holes along the edge of a recorded medium. Driver means are provided for rotating the belt and pins and thereby rotate the engaged record medium. Also, there is provided a spring tensioner for maintaining tension on the belt. The tractor includes a door which is rotatably snapped fitted into the housing of the tractor and maintained above the plane of the record medium by an extension on the lower surface thereof.
Claims6
A forms feed tractor mechanism for moving an inserted planer record medium in a given direction, said record medium having a record side and a back side opposite to said record side, said record medium further having perforations along the edge thereof, said forms feed tractor mechanism comprising:
- a plurality of pins arranged in an endless belt and adapted to engage said perforations;
- means adapted to be rotated for moving said endless belt;
- housing means for containing said endless belt and moving means, said housing means having a top generally coplanar with the back side of said record medium, when inserted, a bottom generally parallel to said top, an inner side and an outer side connecting said top bottom and positioned such that said inner side is beneath said record medium, when inserted, and said outer side is beyond the edge of said record medium, when inserted, a front positioned upstream from said given direction and a back positioned downstream from said given direction, said housing means including door receiving means positioned between the edge of said record medium, when inserted, and said outer side, and spring attachment means positioned on at least one of said front or back in vertical alignment with said door receiving means;
- door means including means for pivotably engaging said door receiving means to allow said door to rotate between open and closed positions, spring attachment means positioned between said engaging means and a position on said door, when closed, above the edge of said record medium, when inserted, and means extending from the bottom of said door means at a position to engage the top of said housing means when said door means is closed at a position between said outer side and the edge of said record medium, when inserted, said extending means maintaining a gap of a desired distance between that portion of the bottom of said door means above said record medium and said record medium when said door means is closed;
- and
- spring means connected between said spring attachment means of said housing means and said door means.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.