Patent GB-728287-A (GB)
Title: Improvements in or relating to a cyclically operable record card control transcribing device
IPC: B41J5/36
Filed: 1951-12-07
Abstract: 728,287. Record-controlled typewriters. INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION. Dec. 7, 1951 [Dec. 9, 1950; Dec. 9, 1950], No. 28714/51. Class 100 (4). [Also in Group XIX] General.-A typewriter is controlled by record cards which are sensed column by column by a sensing apparatus comprising electrical circuits for operating a corresponding printing actuator and including programming means comprising a number of relays representative of the various programme steps required to print a particular code for each single column sensed. If, for example, the record card contains perforations in one column representative of the underscored number 76, to transcribe this to a copy sheet in the typewriter four separate printing operations and a letter spacing are required and these are arranged by the programming means. The typewriter does not letter-space after the printing of the underscoring marks. The programming means can accommodate seven steps which are (1) point of a period ( . ) or spacing of the carriage or the printing of an underscoring mark or an under-dot mark; (2) case shifting of the typewriter; (3) printing of either the underscoring mark, a coinma prefix, or a hyphen prefix; (4) the energization of certain relays for operational purposes; (5) the printing of the underscoring mark for a units digit or printing an under-dot; (6) the printing of a units digit; and (7) the printing of a number suffix, e.g. # in column two of the record card shown in Fig. 32. The choice of the various alternatives at the various programme steps is determined by various codes which identify themselves by the manner in which five perforations of each column are distributed over three decks, viz. Upper deck U, Intermediate deck I and Lower deck L. This distribution of the perforations operates a particular code relay which in turn determines which particular programme is to be used and operates skip relays so that unnecessary programme steps are skipped. In a modification of the sensing of various codes the presence of a single hole within a column of a defined field in a detail card may be used to search for detail cards having a particular tabulated data from a master card. The master card has perforations in predetermined positions and is compared by photo-electric means with detail cards which either have or have not perforations in the corresponding predetermined positions, a matching of holes or a complete "black-out" being used to effect selection of the required detail cards. The machine may also be operated from master cards having seven perforations. Record sensing unit.-The typewriter 200, Fig. 1, is of the kind in which the typing caseshift, spacing, &c. operations are actuated by cam mechanism moved against a continuously rotating power roll by the energization of their respective solenoids. The solenoids are operated in response to electrical circuits set up by a record sensing unit 20 comprising a recordcard magazine 120 from which cards are fed by a picker 121 to a card-carriage which reciprocates across the sensing position to feed the card longitudinally column by column across sensing brushes 122. The column spaces are controlled by an escapement mechanism comprising two pawls 47, 48, Fig. 6, controlled by an escapement magnet whose armature rocks clockwise a rod 43 and an arm 46, and by a pin-and-slot connection with the pawl 47, to lift it out of one of the notches while at the same time an arm 45 on the rod 43 depresses a. locking pawl 48 into a notch on a rack 15 on the card carriage. When the card has been fully sensed, it is moved by a carriage release to the leftmost position where it is ejected by a gripper 70 which overturns it into a hopper 78. The card carriage is returned by a power drive from an electric motor through a onerevolution clutch operated by a trip magnet 32, Fig. 2, energized by contacts which close when the record is in position for sensing the last column and by a pair of "auto-start" contacts which close during column spacing. The card may be advanced by a release control 60, Fig. 2, which causes an armature 61 to depress a finger 63 and a plunger 64, and rock a crank 65 to move a slide 66 to the right so that a cam surface 67 on the other end rides up a plate 68 and a lifter 51 releases the pawl 47 from the escapement rack. The card-carriage may be manually back-spaced by pressing against a finger piece which rocks slightly and opens a pair of electrical contacts which ensures that reading brush magnets 92, Fig. 2, are deenergized and their related brushes rocked by assembly 94, 93, 90 to a position where the brushes 122 will not obstruct the backward card movement. Case-shift, shift locks.-The type-basket 205 can be shifted from lower to upper case position and also to a partial shift position to accommodate superscript and subscript printing and, to facilitate this, the normal spacing between the lower and upper case type members on the type-bars is reduced. Shift from lower to upper case is effected by manual depression of a shift key 235, Fig. 12, or by a shift-lock key 216 manually operable or operable by a shift-lock solenoid 240 which, during a programming operation, is used exclusively for lower to upper case shift, thus obviating the need to energize the solenoid in each cycle for a continuous series of upper case characters. Shift release is effected by a key 217 or solenoid 240. Shift release, which pivots a stud 185 counterclockwise about a pivot 190 to cause a bar 189 to release a catch 171 from a latch 172 associated with the shift key 216 which is allowed to release. The partial shift is effected by a key 215 or solenoid 240-Partial, which pivots a shaft 176 and arms 218 to engage a stud 177 to move an interposer into the path of a stop 196 (Fig. 11, not shown), to limit upward movement of the type-basket. If the basket is already in upper position, a shift release is effected beforehand automatically by a partial shift lock lever 180 coacting with the stud 185 and moving the bar 189. Tabulating stops.-The carriage is fitted with a tabulating stop bar slotted at letter-spacing intervals for the positioning of three kinds of control stops 256, 266, 257, Fig. 9. Each of these stops has a differently placed tab for operating a pair of electrical contacts 255a, 256a, 257a, respectively, which are located in circuits for controlling certain operations of the typewriter. The use of these contacts and circuits is described in the paragraph below. Operation.-When the first column of a detail card is in the sensing position, the brushes 122, for the example card shown in Fig. 32, sense perforations 9, 8, 7, 6, 5 representing an underscored character a and causes operation of corresponding pilot relays which are latched by machine-controlled cam contacts. These contacts also cause the escapement magnet to be energized and so raise the pawl 47 so that when the magnet is de-energized the detail card escapes to the second column. Cam contacts also energize corresponding screening relays which ascertain which programming code is represented by the arrangement of the perforated holes.in the column sensed and ensures that the particular programme is carried out. A further relay is now energized according to the code represented and, by the closing of further cam contacts, a number of skip relays are energized which cause the programming to skip the unwanted steps. In printing an underscored letter a, for example, the first two programme steps are skipped, the third step effects the printing of the underscore mark, the fourth and fifth steps are skipped, and the sixth effects the printing: the last programme step is not normally used. Similarly, other group codes arrange for a programming sequence to include case shift, partial shift, letter spacing, printing of tens and units separately and other matter. When the typewriter is to print tabular representations, the immediately preceding code is always such that its last programme step conditions the relay circuits so that a machine cam contact will operate a programme switch relay to eliminate the screening relays and the programme steps 1-7 and introduce a second programming network consisting of steps 8-20. The first column for tabulating (col. 3, Fig. 32) is indicated by perforations in the X and Y index positions that show that column perforations are to be transcribed directly according to their numerical equivalent. The material transcribed from each column of the record card is prefixed by an appropriate column number in lower case, except the first column, designated as column 0, in which the prefix is omitted. The printing is brought about by the functioning of seven column counter relays. Programme step 8 causes shift to lower case, step 9 prints the column prefix number, step 10 effects shift to upper case, and steps 11-20 print the characters 0 to 9. The end of tabulating is indicated by a "Y" perforation. When the code notation 2, 5, 6 and 7 representing a tabular operation are detected in a detail card, a solenoid 240-tab. will be operated to effect a tabulation operation of the typewriter and a tabulating interlock relay is also operated and held through the tabulator stop contacts 256a which are normally closed. When the carriage has reached its destination, contacts 256a open to de-energize the tabulation interlock relay and arrange for the continuation of programming. A carriage return coding designation, when sensed, will operate relays to effect typewriter carriage return and these relays will also be operated by the stop contacts 257a and held by contacts 255a, so that, after the carriage has been returned, contacts 255a open to release the relays and cause the programming operation to be resumed. Specifications 380,843, 721,828, [Group XIX], and 723,873, [Group VIII], are referred to.