Patent GB-216218-A (GB)
Title: Apparatus for verifying mechanical records of statistical or other data
IPC: G06K5/00
Filed: 1923-02-24
Abstract: 216,218. Last, J., and Accounting & Tabulating Corporation of Great Britain, Ltd. Feb. 24, 1923. Statistical machines; sorting cards. - Apparatus for verifying the accuracy of perforations, embossments or the like made in or on cards to record various data comprises means for dealing with one or more holes &c. in any number of columns at once and means for indicating errors. The apparatus may be reset automatically after each card has been dealt with and the cards may be sorted into different compartments according to whether they are correctly or incorrectly punched or embossed. In one form, Figs. 1, 2, and 3, adapted to deal with cards having not more than one hole in each column the cards are fed from a box A, rollers B, C and pin-plates 1 past a sensing device E, and to a receiver D, the plates 1 being raised and lowered by a cam 2. Sensing pins 3 which enter holes in the card when the latter is raised bv the cam 2, are spring-controlled and have recesses 3<1>, Fig. 2. For each column there is a settable selector unit F comprising a bar 6 slidably mounted by slots 6<1> and pins 7' on a carrier 7 mounted in slots in the frame G so that it moves diagonally relatively to the direction of travel of the card, the bar 6 moving at right-angles to this direction of travel by reason of its lug 10<1> moving in a slot in a ratchet slide 10. Each bar 6 is adjusted longitudinally along its carrier by the ratchet slide 10 held by a pawl 11 against a spring 12 and differentially set by a lever 14 and key 13. To disengage each pawl 11 individually in the case of a wrong setting a button 16 is depressed to rock a lever 15 acting on a toe on the pawl. To clear the whole keyboard a key K is depressed and rocks a lever 17<1> and a bar 17 integral therewith, thus rocking all the levers 15. There is a pin 3 for each possible perforation, Fig. 1 showing the pins for one column on the card. When the plates 1 are raised all pins 3 except those passing through perforations are raised by the card so that their heads above the notches 3<1> are level with the slots 6<1> in the bar 6 and the notches 3<1> are level with the bottom part of the bar 6 below the slots 6<1>. Assuming that the hole is punched correctly in a column, to set the machine correctly the ratchet 10 is moved by the key 13 to such a position that a notch or crank 18 in the bar 6 will coincide with the head of the pin in the hole when the bar is moved tranversely later. A bar 19 is then moved to the left, Fig. 1, and the carrier 7 moves, by means of its spring 8, to the left and towards the observer, the bar 6 thus moving transversely and towards the observer. The head of the pin 3 in the hole enters the notch 18 and the heads of the other pins enter the slots 6'. The motion of the bar 19 is continued whereupon a heel 20 on the carrier 7 trips the pawl 11 and releases the ratchet 10. If a hole has been incorrectly punched, its pin will remain lowered and the head of this pin will meet the bar 6 below the slot 6<1> thus arresting the bar 6 and carrier 7 and preventing release of the pawl 11. The error is thus indicated by the failure to release the key 13. In order to sort the correctly from the incorrectly punched cards a deflector 21 in the receiver D is pivoted on a spindle 22 coupled by an elastic connection 23 to a rocker 24 actuated by a cam 25. The action of this deflector is controlled by a bar 26 which lies across the carriers 7 and is slotted to receive upper guide-pieces 27' on the carriers. For an incorrect card the parts 27<1> are housed in the slots of the bar 26 so that the latter cannot move transversely under the action of a cam 28 and rocker 29. Thus the projection 31 on the bar 26 obstructs the projection 32 on the member 23, so that the deflector is not operated and the card goes to one part of the receiver D. If the card is correctly punched the carriers 7 and their parts 27<1> are moved completely to the left so that the bar 26 can be moved to withdraw the part 31 from the path of the part 32. Thus the deflector is rotated by the cam 25 to deposit the card in the other compartment of the receiver D. A modification, Figs. 5 and 6, for dealing with cards having more than one hole in a column comprises a pin 3 for each possible hole in a column and a rocker 34 and selector 41 for each pin, each selector being acted upon directly by a depressible key. The rockers 34 are pivoted at 35 and have offsets 33 coacting with the pins 3 and lugs 39 coacting with slots 44 in the selectors 41. In this case the recesses 3' in the pin 3 are in the direction of travel of the card, not transversely to it as in Fig. 1. Each column of rockers 34 is carried on a sliding bar 36, normally restrained against its spring 37 by a universal bar 38 corresponding to bar 19, Fig. 1. Fig. 5 shows three pins 3 remaining lowered through holes in a card while the remaining pins are raised by the blank parts of the card. The two left-hand lowered pins correspond to depressed keys and selectors so that their lugs 39 have moved up the slot 44 and lodged on shoulders 42 on the lowered sectors 41. The third and righthand lowered pin 3 corresponds to an incorrect perforation so that its lug 39 still remains in the slot 44 of its selector. If now the bar 38 is moved to the left the bar 36 also tends to move to the left and the rockers corresponding to the two lefthand lowered pins would permit this since the parts 33 of these rockers contact with the heads of their pins 3 and their lugs 39 would move off the shoulders 42 and release their selectors 41. In the case of the third and right-hand lowered pin 3, however, its rocker 34 has its projection 33 contacting with its pin 3 and its lug 39 still in its appropriate slot 44 so that movement of this rocker and therefore of the bar 36 is prevented. Subsequently catches 45 pivoted to indicator stems 46 are moved vertically and then lowered so that each catch 45 associated with a bar 36 restricted from movement to the left on account of incorrect perforating of a card is maintained raised thus retaining raised a visual signal on the stem 46. When the bars 36 are finally moved to the right by the bar 38 the lugs 39 corresponding to lowered pins 3 return to their initial positions in their slots 44 so that the appropriate keys and selectors 41 are restored. If a perforation has been omitted the head of the appropriate pin 3 is not lowered to rock the rocker 34 so that the lug 39 remains on the shoulder 42 and the key and selector 41 remain lowered indicating that a perforation has been omitted. For sorting the cards projections 48 on each column of selectors 41 co-operate with notches in a sliding bar 47. An additional notch coacts with a lug 49 on the stem 46. If the keyboard setting and the perforations on the card agree, the selectors 41 are finally raised permitting the bar 47 to move to the left out of a notch in the bar 26 which controls the deflector of the receiver D as in Fig. 1. Also the projection 49 will have been lowered again. If the card is incorrectly perforated one or more of the selectors 41 will remain down to prevent movement of the bar 47 and deflector 21 and also the lug 49 will remain up in its notch in the bar 47.