Patent GB-104703-A (GB)
Title: Improvements in Automatic Total Taking Means for Recording Tabulating Machines.
Inventor: POWERS JAMES
Filed: 1916-02-15
Abstract: 104,703. Powers, J. Feb. 15, 1916. Statistical machines. -In power-driven machines for compiling and printing statistics from perforated record cards, of the kind described in Specification 26896/13, the cards are arranged in the hopper in groups, without intermediate stop-cards or total-taking cards, and are fed into a section of the machine adapted to detect a change of group and to set mechanism to interrupt the feeding of the cards to the tabulating-section of the machine when a change occurs, the last card of the previous group being delivered from the tabulating- section so as to allow a special pin in the pin-box to rise and set the total-taking mechanism, the feeding of the new group of cards then being resumed. The cards are arranged in groups in the hopper 11, Fig. 2, and are fed, one at a time, by means of a reciprocating plate 12 driven from a cam on a countershaft 21, between perforated plates 6, 8, Fig. 4, arranged above the pin-box 5. On the plate 8 is adjustably mounted the group-detecting device comprising a series of pivoted members 65, Figs. 4 and 6, adapted to be engaged by pins corresponding with the characteristic perforations of the particular group of cards about to be fed into the tabulating-section of the machine, the ends of the members 65 engaging corrugations 63 on hinged rocking-plates 60, 61, 62, and thereby moving a bar 69, 74 so as temporarily to declutch the driving-mechanism of the feeding-device from the main driving-mechanism of the machine. The bar 69 is provided with stops 72, 73, Fig. 4, on either side of each of the rocking-plates 60, 61, 62, and is moved by the rocking-plates against the resistance of a spring 71, which restores the rocking-plates to the normal position. The end of the bar 69, 74 engages an arm 75, Fig. 8, of a bellcrank 77, and moves the other arm into the path of a cam 38 on a clutch member 34 keyed on a shaft 31 driving the feeding-mechanism through bevel-gearing 29, Fig. 2, and a train of wheels beginning with the wheel 27, including the wheel 51. and ending in the wheel 56. The feeding-rollers and other parts of the tabulating and printing sections of the machine are driven continuously from the main shaft 2 through gearing 51, 50, 49 and a bevel-wheel 36, Fig. 8, which is loose on the shaft 31 and provided with a clutch member 37. The finger 78 on the bell-crank 77 engaging the clutch cam 38 is engaged by a spring pawl 80, and is released from the cam 38 by a cam 112 after the tabulating-section of the machine has completed two cycles. The detecting-device as a whole may be adjusted on the plate 8 for any particular column on the record card, and is held in its adjusted position by a clamping-plate 81, Fig. 6. The pin-box is provided with a stop-plate 23, Fig. 5, between the detecting and tabulating sections of the machine, and is raised and lowered by a cam on the main driving-shaft 2. Upon the same shaft is a cam-disk 3 having a cam-track 91, in which travels one end of a lever 90 pivotally connected to a reciprocating member 89. This member has, at one end, a pin 88 passing through a slot in the end of a special pin 84, and at the other end an eyelet 93 taking over a stepped arm 94 on a shaft 96. When the feeding of the cards to the tabulating-section is interrupted, the shaft 2 continues to rotate and delivers the last card from this section, and the pin 84, in the absence of a card, rises and rocks the member 89, the eyelet 93 being moved over the enlarged part 103 of the arm 94. The movement of the lever 90 thereby rocks the arm 94. and the movement is transmitted to a shaft 100 to actuate the total-taking mechanism. When this operation is completed, the clutch on the shaft 31 is closed, and the feeding of the cards to the machine is resumed.