An improved mechanical means for teaching or testing knowledge

摘要

1,002,487. Educational appliances; counters. H. B. BEECH. Feb. 12, 1963 [Feb. 13, 1962], Nos. 5392/62 and 35756/62. Headings G4D and G5G. An educational appliance comprises a boxlike container 1 with an opening 19 through which can be viewed the top card 40 of a pack of cards each having thereon a question and alternative answers thereto, means operated externally of the container for indicating one of the answers, and means whereby the next card can be brought into view if the correct answer has been indicated. A slide 13 is movable lengthwise of the container and has a transparent window 14 which is situated above the opening 19 when the slide is in its rightward position. A set of cards, each having thereon a question and a number of answers, is situated in a compartment 9 of the container adjacent to the opening 19, the question and answers of the top card 40 being exposed through the openings 14, 19. A spring-urged plate 24 presses against the cards. Movable in a slot transversely of the slide 13 is a selector 15 operated by an external knob 15a and having at its inner end a pointer 16 and a selector plate 17. The opening 19 has slot extensions 20, one opposite to each answer, and each card 40 has a slot 42 opposite to the correct answer, the slot 42 being obscured by the slide 13. In operation, the selector 15 is moved by its knob until the pointer 16 is opposite a selected answer. The slide 13 is then moved rightwardly by means of the knob 15a so as to actuate a counter described below, the corresponding slot 20 receiving the selector 15. The slide 13 is now moved to the left. If the correct answer has been chosen, the plate 17 engages the slot 42 in the top card and pushes that card into an end compartment 8 so that the question &c. on the next card is visible when the slide 13 is returned to its original position. If, however, an incorrect answer has been selected, the plate 17 slides under the top card during the leftward movement and that card remains in the compartment 9. Counting apparatus.-To indicate the number of times the slide 13 has been operated, mechanism mounted in a compartment 10 comprises two ten-toothed wheels 25, 28 with retaining pawls 27, 30 and each having the numbers 0 . . . 9 inscribed on its face. One number on each wheel can be seen through openings in the container. Pins 35, 36 on a spring-controlled lever 33, 34 can engage the toothed wheels, but the pin 36 engages the wheel 28 only when the pen 35 enters a deep tooth 26 in the wheel 25. A deep tooth 29 is also provided in the wheel 28. The lever 33, 34 is operated by a pin 18 on the slide 13. With the device set manually so that the pin 35 is engaging the first tooth adjacent to the deep tooth 26 and the pin 36 thus free of the wheel 28 and above tooth 29, the number registered at the windows is 00. After nine operations of the slide 13, the pin 35 enters tooth 26 and the pin 36 engages wheel 28, so that the next actuation of slide 13 causes both wheels to be turned one step. Thus the wheel 28 is rotated one step for each ten steps of wheel 25 and this continues until the pin 36 enters the deep tooth 29 whereupon the counter is locked until released by manually rotating the wheels one step.