Patent GB-241274-A (GB)
Title: Improvements in or relating to record-card-controlled statistical machines
Filed: 1924-07-15
Abstract: 241,274. British Tabulating Machine Co., Ltd., (Tabulating Machine Co.). July 15, 1924. Strip and like record-controlled typewheel actions.-In perforated recordcard-controlled machines, particularly those read electrically by contact brushes, a single actuator moving through a definite constant distance per card cycle is engaged positively with its various registering or recording elements at points depending upon the position of the perforations in the columns, and remains in engagement therewith until the end of its travel; this actuator moving synchronously with the feeding of the card past the reading brushes. The adding-mechanism is arranged on the side plate 1 and includes a stationary plate 2 and thereon a movable slide 3 carrying the adding-wheels 8 and their actuating- wheels 9, 10. This slide 3 may be raised (1) by a lug 14 on it coacting with a dog 16 on a lever 13 raised by a cam 61, the dog 14 being set by a rod 15 and the straight adding-key 29a, Fig. 2; (2) by a lever 18, Fig. 4, having a dog 18<1> coacting with a cam 19, the dog 18' being set to raise a lug 17 on the slide 3 by a rod 20 and totalkey 29<c>; or (3) by the sub-total key 29<b>, Fig. 1, through a bar 24, a pin 31 thereon, and levers 32, 33, 34. A spring-pressed bar parallel to bars 15, 20, 24 has a roller 26 which, when it drops into a notch in a cam 27, Fig. 1, allows this bar 23 to move to the right and withdraw a locking-hook 28 from the keys 29<a>, 29<b>, 29<c>, the key levers being, however, maintained depressed oy locking-members 30<a>, 30<b>, 30<c> until depression of a new key releases all the other keys. The slide 3 thus raised by any of the keys, each wheel 10 engages a rack 35 having a pin 36 for setting a type-segment 52. The type are aligned by a roller on a lever 37 actuated by levers 29, 40 and a cam 62, this lever having a special arm for placing a coloured ribbon in front of the type. An actuator 41 common to all the racks 35 is reciprocated synchronously with the card-feed by a bell-crank 43 and cam 42 and is coupled with its various racks 35 at the correct moments by toothed locking-hooks 44, one hook for each rack 35, this taking place in each case when a perforation under a brush energizes a magnet 47 to operate levers 46, 45 and to raise the appropriate hook 44. In alignment with each rack 35 is a spring- actuated rod 48 retained bv a lever 50 until a key is depressed, the movement of this lever 50 operating a special type-segment to indicate subtotal or total printing. The rods 48 are returned to normal position by a bell-crank 55 pivoted on the actuator 41 and coacting with a fixed pin 56 so as to move these rods an additional amount. When the adding-key 29a, Fig. 2, is depressed the rod 15 moves to the right and sets the dog 16 under the lug 14, and on operation of the machine the cams 42 and 61 rotate in the ratio one to one. The actuator 41 is thus moved to the right, and when a perforation in a particular column comes under a brush a magnet 47 is energized to raise the appropriate hook 44 and to couple together the actuator 41 and the appropriate rack 35, these then remaining coupled until the end of the former's movement. At the end of this movement the types thus set by the racks 35 are aligned and printing is effected. In the meantime the cam 61 has raised the lever 13 and therefore the slide 3 so that the wheels 10 engage the racks 35 while the latter are stationary during printing, and also the lever 13 in rising actuates levers 57 - - 60 to disengage the hooks 44 and to knock off the armatures of the magnets 47. The actuator 41 now moves back until the shoulder of the hook 44 engages with the rack 35 and moves it back to zero position. the number being thus added to the adding wheel 8. Tens-transfer, if necessary, thereafter takes place and the machine returns to rest. Upon depression of the sub-total key 29<b>, Fig. 1, the rod 24 moves to the right, raises the slide 3, and couples the adding mechanism to the racks 35, and also by means of a nose on the upper end of lever 32 locks the levers 45 so that the hooks 44 cannot rise. At the same time the levers 50 are raised to release the bars 48. The racks 35 then move to the right, rotate the adding wheels till they are arrested at zero, and set up the subtotal on the type-segments. Printing is effected and the various parts are restored to the left and. the racks 35 and wheels 10 being still in engagement, the sub-total is set up again on the adding mechanism. Total-printing is effected from the total bey 29<c> similarly to sub-total printing, but the racks 35 and wheels 10 are disengaged before restoration of the various parts to the left so that the adding mechanism remains zeroized. In order that, on this disengagement, the racks 35 may not move further to the right under the influence of the springe 49 and so accumulate the complementary numbers of the total, hooks 65, Fig. 4, are dropped down to lock the bars 48 just before the racks 35 and wheels 10 are disengaged. These hooks 65 are allowed to drop thus, by the bar 23, Fig. 1, moving to the right when its roller 26 enters the notch in the cam 27. Specifications 27067/07, [Class 106, Registering &c.]; 208,533; and 215,842. [Class 106 (i), Calculating &c.], are referred to.