Patent GB-583933-A (GB)
Title: Improvements in or relating to record-card-controlled accounting machines
Filed: 1944-07-14
Abstract: 583,933. Statistical apparatus. BRITISH TABULATING MACHINE CO., Ltd. July 14, 1944, No. 13535. Convention date, July 15, 1943. [Class 106 (i)] In a card-controlled accounting machine wherein a debit or credit balance of a series of debit and credit items is obtained automatically as a true number by entering into an accumulator credit items as a nines' complement and debit items as true numbers, a unit is carried to each order of the accumulator when the next lower order passes from 0 to 1 and to the lowest order when the highest passes from 0 to 1. The balance is read out as the tens complement of each digit of a credit balance in the accumulator and as the tens complement of each digit of a debit balance after adding to the debit balance conversion digits obtained by subtracting twice the value of each digit of the debit balance from eleven and taking account only of the units digit of each subtraction. Driving mechanism. A constantly-rotating shaft 10 (Fig. 12) drives, through gear-wheels 11, 12 two gear-wheels 14, 16 fixed to a common shaft, the gear-wheel 16 driving the printer drive shaft 35 through a further gear-wheel 34. A second printer drive shaft 17 is rotated at a variable speed by a gear-wheel 33 which, by means of a cam device, is slowed down during a portion of its rotation and then accelerated so that its average speed is equal to the speed of the uniformly rotating shaft 35. A friction device eliminates any irregularity in the predetermined speed variations of the shaft 17 which are designed to give a constant speed during the analysis of the 9-1 index positions on the record card and a slower speed during the analysis of the "O," "X" and "R" positions. Printing mechanism. This is generally similar to that described in Specification 525,985, [Group XVI]. The alphabet type are selected according to perforations in the " O," " X " or " R " positions as shown in Fig. 4b. When a hole is sensed during the analysing of the 9-1 positions, a print relay 61 (Fig. 4) is energized and pulls a wire 63 to rock a bell-crank 64 which pulls down a T-shaped member 65, one arm 66R of which is engaged with, and so rocks, a bell-crank 67. This releases a pawl 76 so that a tooth 77 on the pawl engages a groove of a rotating sleeve 68 secured to the shaft 17. Thus, the gear-wheel 70, to which the pawl 76 is pivoted, starts to rotate with the shaft 17 and, through an intermediate gear-wheel 79, drives a type wheel 60 upon which alphabetical and numerical type is arranged in accordance with Fig. 4b. After the 9-1 positions have been analysed, the four characters in the row (Fig. 4b) corresponding with the number sensed by the card-reading mechanism pass the printing platen at a reduced speed (by virtue of the cam device described above) and the required letter is selected when a second hole is sensed in the "O," " X " or " R " positions respectively or, where no pilot hole is 'punched, the numeral is printed. The sensing of a hole in the "O," " X " or " R " positions again energizes the corresponding print relay 61, rocking the bell-crank 64 and pulling down the T-member 65 as before, but cam means has moved guide plates 88 so that the arm 66L of the T-member engages a bell-crank 87 which then releases a pawl 86 to engage a groove 84 of a sleeve secured to the constantlyrotating shaft 35. Thus a cam disc 85 is clittelieci,to the shaft 35 at a time corresponding with the position of the pilot hole (if any) in the card, and a raised portion 83 of the cam rocks an arm 82 of the member carrying the type wheel 60 which remains stationary during this printing movement as the rolling of the wheel 60 over. the gear 79 is counteracted by the rotation of the latter. The printing of numerals is initiated by a cam 130, formed as a flange on the gear-wheel 79, which rocks a lever 132 about its fulcrum 133 and so lifts a member 134 carrying a contact piece 138 until it is opposite contact plates 140, 141. After the " R " position has been passed, cam means rocks the arm carrying the numerical print bail 143, thus causing the contact piece 138 to bridge the contacts 140, 141 so energizing the print magnet 61 to cause the engagement of the pawl 86 with the " N groove 84 and the printing of the corresponding numeral. Printing of zeros. The circuit for printing a zero passes through the contacts for printing a numeral in a higher denomination. Thus no zeros are printed to the left of the highest numeral, but zeros are printed to the right in the absence of numerals in particular denominations. In such cases no rotation of the type wheel 60 takes place and, since the gear 79 is also stationary, the lever 132 is not rocked and so the contact plate 138 is positioned opposite the contacts 141, 162, as shown. When cam. means causes the zero print bail 142 to push the plate 138 into engagement with the contacts 141, 162, an impulse energizes the print magnet 61 and thus operates the cam 83 and the printing mechanism in the manner described. Accumulator mechanism. The accumulator elements 172 (Fig. 4a) are driven by a constantly-rotating, fluted shaft 165 when an idler gear 175, pivoted on an arm 174, is moved into engagement therewith. A pawl 191, pivoted to the arm 174, locks the idler gear when in the inoperative position. This pawl 191 is pulled by a spring 192 against a stationary member 194, but when a bail 176 moves to the right during the card sensing period, the spring 192 pulls the arm 174 over to engage the idler wheel 175 with the fluted drive shaft 165 and at the same time the pawl 191 is rocked out of engagement with the idler wheel. Entry of credit amounts negatively. The entry of the nines complement of each digit of a credit item is accomplished by engaging the accumulator at the beginning of the card- - sensing -period and disengaging it when the numeral is sensed in the card. The absence of a " debit " hole in the control column of a card gives rise to an impulse during the first reading by the upper brushes which energizes the appropriate relay 195 (Fig. 4a), thus pulling a link 196 to rock a lever 197 which releases a three-armed lever 198 to engage the hook of its arm 20 over the point 201 of a member'202. This serves to hold the member 202 against a spring 215 when a bail 203 is. subsequently lifted (see next paragraph). As the bail 176 (by cam means, not shown) ismoved to the right at the beginning of the second card sensing, the arm 174 follows and the accumulator is engaged and starts to rotate as described above. When the numeral perforation is sensed by the brushes and a relay 61 (Fig. 4) is energized to control the printing mechanism, the lever 132 is rocked by the cam 130 and a pin 209 on the lever lifts a link 207, the lower end 212 of which engages a pin 211 on the accumulator arm 174. Thus, the arm 174 is rocked to disengage the idler gear 175 after the nines complement of the digit has been entered into the accumulator. Entry of debit amounts additively. The sensing of a hole in the control column of a card by the upper brushes causes an impulse to be sent to the relays 195 slightly later than in the case of a credit amount. By this time the bail 203 has moved upwards and the member 202 rocked anticlockwise under the influence of the spring 215, so that the hooked arm 200 engages a second point 216 on the member 202. This movement of the member 202, together with the lowering of a bail 217, causes a projection 220 on the link 204 to engage a lug 221 on the upper end of the accumulator arm 174 and thus prevent the movement of the latter when the bail 176 moves to the right. The movement of the link 204 also pushes the link 207 aside so that the hook 212 on the lower end disengages the pin 211. Thus the accumulator is not engaged until the print relay 61 is energized and the lever 133 rocked to lift the link 207 which now lifts the link 204, disengaging the projection 220 from the lug 221 and allowing the arm 174 to swing to the right and couple the accumulator to the fluted drive shaft 165 as already ,described. The rotation of the accumulator elements is terminated when the bail 176 is moved back to-the left by its cam control. Similar cam-controlled bails restore the other members to their original positions. Units carry mechanism. Transfer takes place when an accumulator element passes from 0 to 1 and is initiated by a high part 261 (Fig. 4a) on the cam. 260 attached to each accumulator element which rocks a lever 262 whose lower end then allows the transfer of a contact blade 265 from a contact 266 to a contact 267, the lever 262 being latched in this position by a spring-urged member 263. At a predetermined time in the machine cycle an electrical impulse passes through all the circuits completed by the engagement of blades 265 with contacts 267 and energizes the control magnet 195 of the next higher denomination (except in the case of transfer from the highest denomination which energizes the control magnet of the lowest denomination). The bails 176, 203, &c. are moved by their cam controls a second time in the machine cycle for effecting the transfers, each of the arms 174 bearing an accumulator element which is to receive a carry swinging to the right and the idler wheel 175 being engaged with the fluted drive shaft 165 a sufficient time to add " one " into the accumulator. Where no carry is to take place, the magnet 195 is not energized to latch the member 202 which therefore rocks anticlockwise when the bail 203 is lifted and so retains the arm 174 in the manner described above. Accumulator readout. A series of pinions 270 (Fig. 4a) are rotated by the accumulator 172 about a stationary shaft 271 having longitudinal contact strips 272, insulated from each other over which slides a brush 273 attached to a flange 274 integral with each pinion 270. A brush 275 maintains contact with the flange 274. The contact strips are arranged so that the brush 273 engages the strip