Patent GB-362529-A (GB)
Title: Improvements in or relating to punching machines for perforating statistical record cards
IPC: G06K13/077
Filed: 1930-09-10
Abstract: 362,529. Selective punching-machines. BRITISH TABULATING MACHINE CO., Ltd., Victoria House, Vernon Place, Southampton Row, London.-(Assignees of Lee, F. ; 84, Leroy Street, Binghampton, and Daly, G. F. ; Johnson City, both in New York, U.S.A.) Sept. 10, 1930, No. 27089. Convention date, Sept. 11, 1929. [Class 31 (ii).] In a punching-machine wherein a card is moved on a carriage step by step past punches, automatic means is brought into play at the end of the travel of the carriage to operate a clutch for coupling a power-driven restoring mechanism to the carriage. Cards are removed from a hopper by a picker knife on which is pivoted a bracket carrying the actuating handle and extending through a tube 12 to join a rack 13, a card carriage being simultaneously moved to the right to receive a card by a gear 16 meshing with the rack and clutched to a shaft 23 by a tooth and pawl 20, 21, the shaft also carrying a gear meshing with a rack on the carriage. The pawl 21 is disengaged at the left-hand end of the carriage travel by a block 30 and cam 26 to permit free movement of the carriage. Punches 5, Fig. 1, are operated from keys 9 either manually or from a master card. Interposers 39 rest on the tops of the punches and are moved forward to a position in which depression of a member 44 on a plate 42 actuates the punches when a key 9 is actuated to rock bell-crank levers 45. A bail 98 is simultaneously rocked to close contacts 95 by a shoulder 93<1> on an arm 91 and energize a magnet 49 to actuate the plate 42 through links 53, the arm being released by a stop 92 when the key is released. For control by a master card 10, Fig. 6, brushes 68 bear, through perforations in the card, on a cylinder 69 to energize magnets 60 actuating levers 61, 62. The brushes are held by a spring 82 away from the cylinder, but energization of a magnet 83 when all the contacts 87, 102, 135, 136 are closed rocks the brushes into contact with the cylinder. Contacts 87 are opened when a catch 85 is released for the insertion of a master card ; contacts 102 are opened as the carriage moves from left to right, but closed on return by a shaft 17, Fig. 1, rocking a lever 101 frictionally mounted thereon; contacts 135 are disengaged when it is desired to back space or effect manual operation either by a handle or automatically by an interrupter bar moving with the card carriage ; contacts 136 are opened when the automatic return mechanism comes into operation. A shaft 110 carrying the plate 42 rocks at each operation to actuate an escapement device to permit the stepping of the carriage under the action of a coil spring on shaft 17, and also controls contacts 128 to prevent arcing at the brushes. After the last column is punched the escapement device rides out of its rack teeth while the carriage is held by a stop to permit further manual punching in that column if desired. The removal of the card and automatic return of the carriage are effected by energization of a magnet 197 by depressing any key to close contacts 195 providing a switch 196 is closed, or otherwise by depressing a key 197<1> to close contacts 194, the contacts 191 being closed by a bracket, movable with the carriage, at the end of the travel. The magnet 197 closes contacts 198 to energize magnets 199 to move a link 219, Fig. 16, to the right and release a latch 216 engaging a shoulder 217 of the lower jaw of grippers 205, 207 to permit them to rotate under the action of a spring 215 through a rack 213 and gearing 210, 211, 212 first to grip the card and then deposit it in a receiver 223. Movement of the rack 213 closes contacts 201 to energize a magnet 175, Fig. 2, to clutch a gear 163 in mesh with rack 18 to a shaft 161 driven from a motor 157, a switch 190 for the motor being closed at the same time, and the return of the card carriage is effected. The grippers &c. again assume the position of Fig. 16 at the end of the return movement by contact of the rack 18 with a plunger 214, and the gear 163 is declutched by an engaging member 180.