Patent GB-493842-A (GB)
Title: Improvements in or relating to calculating machines
Filed: 1937-04-12
Abstract: 493,842. Statistical machines. FARRER, J. O. (Remington Rand, Inc.) April 12, 1937, No. 10410. [A Specification was laid open to inspection under Sect. 91 of the Acts, Oct. 29, 1937.] [Class 106 (i)] A record-card-controlled statistical machine has an algebraic accumulator 184 into which debit and credit amounts are entered by direct addition and subtraction, a summation accumulator 174, change of designation sensing mechanism, means which transmit the sub-total from the algebraic counter to the summation counter at a designation change, a first date set-up device on which the next date is set up consecutively each time a sub-total is transmitted, a second and single date set-up device in which the dates read from consecutive cards are set up, means for comparing the dates set up in the first and second date set-up devices and means which, on disagreement, cause repeated sub-total transmission until the first and second date set-up devices agree. The present apparatus is adapted to deal with grouped cards in which each group consists of cards representing a customer's transactions with a bank for a month. A card is punched for each transaction with amount, data, customer's name &c., the amount being always in direct figures (as distinguished from nines complement figures) and a debit is indicated by a special hole. The data are preferably punched in code form. Each group of cards is headed by a balance card bearing the balance from the previous month and is followed by four special cards, viz : (1) a " last day card punched only with the number of the last day of the month ; (2) a " clearing card " punched one day later than is the " last day" card and with a perforation to clear the algebraic totalizer ; (3) a " space " card punched only with a date number one day later than the " clearing card; and (4) a " summation total " card with a hole for the total pin so as to clear the summation totalizer and punched with the same date as the " space " card. The machine includes a calendar record which consists of a drum 73 (Figs. 8-10, 12 and 14) bearing slots for each day of the month which coact with feeler fingers 66. If the date read off a data (or transaction) card agrees with the date on the drum presented to the fingers 66, Fig. 2, the transaction on the card is entered into the algebraic totalizer 184, and the balance (or subtotal) on this totalizer is transferred to the summation totalizer 174 without zeroizing the totalizer 184 and the calendar drum is advanced one step and a new card is fed to the pin box. If the dates disagree, the subtotal is repeatedly transmitted to the summation totalizer 174 and the drum advanced one step each time until the date on the card agrees with the date on the drum presented to fingers 66. In this way, interest may be calculated subsequently by multiplying the credit balance (or overdraft) by the necessary fixed multiplier for the daily rate and if a credit sub-total, say, exists for six days between transactions that sub-total is transmitted six times to the summation totalizer so that the correct interest will be arrived at by multiplying the total printed off the summation totalizer by the daily rate. The machine has a base portion 10, Fig. 2A, including the pin box 31 and the magazines 37, 40, a central section 20, Fig. 2, consisting of the connection basket (see also Fig. 8), and a head portion 30 which includes the totalizers 174, 184, the stop basket and the printing sectors 173 &c. Connection basket, Figs. 2, 2A, 4, 8, 9, and 10. The ordinary connection wires are numbered 54 and the wires for the special date field are numbered 56. These wires are mounted in plates 53, 58, 55 and coact at their lower ends with the rods 45 raised by the cardreading pins 32 and at their upper ends with the stops 170. The wires 54 may be branched as shown in Fig. 9 so that one card field may operate several totalizers. Date-comparing mechanism. The wires 56 includes intermediate slides 57 having pins 59 to coact with cross slides 61 and pins 65 to co-operate with the fingers 66 which feel the calendar drum 73. Each slide 61 coacts with a pin 62 on an auxiliary zero slide 63. The latter is raised by spring 64 but is depressed whenever a raised wire 56 moves its correspond ing slide 61 to the left. The portions of the slides 57 carrying the pins 65 are offset as shown in Fig. 10 and there is a finger 66 for each hole position, and for zero, in the designation (date) field. Each finger is slotted to slide on common rods 67 and has a lug 68 coacting with a lock bar 69. The finger-carrying rods 67 are attached to two frames 72 which slide in the fixed main frames 71. The calendar drum shaft 74 is also mounted in the frames 71 and ratchet teeth 76 on the drum coact with a stop pawl 75 mounted on the frame 71 and with a pawl 77 mounted upon a secondary frame 79 and having a pin 82 which coacts with a slot 81 in the sliding frame 72. A spring 78 tends to pull this pawl upwards. This secondary frame 79 slides upon the rods 67 and shaft 74 and has a control slot 83 co-operating with a pin 84 on the lock bar 69. The frame 72 is spring-pressed to the right (spring 85) and power-driven to the left by cam 92, rod 91 and linkage 89, 86, 88. The secondary frame 79 is coupled to a lever 93, 95 operated by rod 91<1> and cam 92<1>, a spring 90 pulling arm 93 to the left. The lock bar 69 is carried by arms 96 pivoted on the sliding frame 72, to the top of which is pinned a link 97 which co-operates with the change-of-designation mechanism described below (Fig. 12). When the coded holes representing the date in the card field are read, certain slides 57 are raised so that their pins 65 prevent the coacting fingers 66 from moving to the left under the action of their springs. At the same time links 88 are pulled to the left and pull frames 72 with them so that all fingers 66, except those blocked, move to the left. Arms 96 with the lock bar 69 are also moved left so that the pin 84 on bar 69 moves down slot 83 in secondary frame 79, the latter remaining to the right. Cam 92<1> then allows spring 90 to pull the frame 79 to the left so that slot 83 cams up the pin 84 and locks the bar 69 to the right of lugs 68 on free fingers 66 and behind (to the left of) fingers 66 which are held to the right by raised pins 65. The two frames 72, 79 then. move to the right together, and if the date slots presented by drum 73 to fingers 66 correspond to the fingers 66 held relatively to the right by the lock bar 69 (date read from card), pawl 77 remains down as shown in Fig. 8. This occurs during successive accumulations from cards punched with the same date. When a new date is sensed, there is disagreement between the set fingers 66 and the drum slots presented to them, and the frame 72 moves partly to the right until the set fingers 66 are arrested, whereas frame 79 moves fully to the right. Pin 82 or pawl 77 moves up slot 81 and pawl 77 engages teeth 76 and rotates the drum one step. In the meantime, the designation controlled totalling mechanism is actuated to take a total. As a modification, the special cards (other than the balance card) may be dispensed with, the calendar mechanism being provided with settable members to operate the clearing member and the summation total pin. Change-of-designation mechanism, Figs. 2, 2A, 4, 7, and 12. When sensing pins 32 rise through holes in the card in the sensing station 36, Fig. 4, they lift corresponding rods 45, of which pins 46 latch up on shoulders of locking slides 47 and pins 50 cam the designation slides 48 to the right. The slides 48 coact with members 107 which can be adjusted vertically by manual levers 110, Figs. 2 and 7 for the desired columns. When members 107 are lowered, their bottom ends are between the slides 48 and a bail 108 which is carried by swinging arms 109 on a shaft 111; the latter also carries a lever 112 coacting with a lever 114 on shaft 105, Figs. 7 and 12. The lower end of 114 co-operates with the tail of a pawl lever 127. On the control shaft 115 is a detent wheel 116 having nine notches of which three are deeper than the remainder. Shaft 115 also carries a ratchet wheel 117, Fig. 7, and three cams 118, 119, 121. A detent lever 122, pivoted at 123, presses against the wheel 116 and has a stop member 125 which coacts with a pin 126 on lever 114. Normally, lever 122 engages a deep notch of wheel 116 and its tail 125 is then clear of the pin 126. The lever 127 carries a pawl 128 for the ratchet wheel 117 and is rocked by a cam-actuated push rod 129. An extension 131 of lever 127 coacts with the lever 114 and has a pin 132 co-operating with the lower end of lever 104, Fig. 12. The arm 133, pivoted at 105 and rigid with arm 103, also co-operates with the detent wheel 116. A bell-crank 106, pivoted on arm 103, coacts with lever 104 and a pin 102 on arm 101, the latter being pivoted at 99 and rigid with arm 98 connected to link 97 of the date-comparing mechanism described above. The cam 118 controls card feeding through linkage 141, 142, 143 and a lock 145 which may obstruct a pull rod 146 operating the card feed shaft 147. Cam 119 controls the release of the locking slides 47, Figs. 7 and 4, and the card gate 161. The total cam 121 controls the total link 163 which, when pulled, causes the transmission of the total from the algebraic totalizer 184, Fig. 17A, to the summation totalizer 174, Fig. 17. For single total-taking, the pawl 128 and lever 127 make three successive strokes during three successive machine cycles ; the first cycle initiates the usual blank cycle which restores the tenstransfer mechanism and conditions the totalizers for totaltaking ; the second provides the total-taking cycle ; and the third restores the mechanism to accumulating position as the sensing pins read the next card. If the lever 127 is prevented from making the third stroke, repeated total cycles are obtained which repeated