Patent GB-520798-A (GB)
Title: Improvements in or relating to record-card controlled statistical machines and methods of obtaining balances in such machines
Filed: 1938-11-02
Abstract: 520,798. Record - card - controlled statistical machines. WALTON, L. A., GOAD, G. G., and BRITISH TABULATING MACHINE CO., Ltd. Nov. 2, 1938, No. 31786. Drawings to Specification. [Class 106 (i)] In a method of, and machine for, obtaining in two counters a minor balance for each group of cards and a final balance for all the groups, the following steps are performed automatically for each group, the two counters holding initially a common progressive balance (B1), viz., (1) adding all negative amounts from the cards in the group into counter No. 1, (2) transferring subtractively the amount (B1) in counter No. 2 to counter 1, (3) transferring subtractively the amount now in counter 1 to counter 2, (4) transferring additively the amount now in counter 2 to counter 1, (5) adding all positive amounts from the cards in the group into counter 2, (6) transferring subtractively the amount now in counter 1 to counter 2, (7) recording the minor balance now in counter 2, (8) obtaining the sum of said minor balance and the original progressive balance (B1) by transferring the amount in one counter additively or subtractively once or more to the other counter, (9) resetting the counter from which the transfer was made in step 8, and (10) transferring additively to the counter reset in step 9 the amount in the other counter. In the above steps counters 2 and 1 may be substituted for counters 1 and 2, respectively. In each group the negative cards are all together and precede the positive cards. Various steps may be omitted and the direction of amount-transfer changed according to the negative and/or positive nature of the cards in the groups. The following table shows a typical example of operation, N signifying negative amounts, and P positive. The first group consists. of negative and positive cards, the second group negative cards only, and the third group positive cards only. The way in which step 8 is omitted if there are only negative cards in the group is set out below, In the above example, the progressive total B1 is initially in each counter. The negative amounts, from the sub-group of negative cards, are then entered into counter No. 1. The amounts are then tranferred from counter to counter until at the end of step 4 counter 1 again holds the initial total B1 and counter 2 holds the difference between this initial total and the sum N of the negative amounts. Positive amounts are then entered and transfer occurs so that counter 2 shows the difference between the positive and negative amounts P and N in the group. This is recorded. Counter 2 is reset after its amount has been transferred to counter 1 to give the near balance B2. The latter is then entered into counter 2. The second group contains only negative cards and steps 2-5 are omitted since no group change is detected as from a negative to a positive card. Step 8 is also omitted as set out below. In the third group, since there are no negative cards and no group change from negative to positive steps 1-4 are omitted automatically. In a selected column of the cards a " 1 " hole denotes a positive amount and a " 5 hole a negative amount. The present invention is carried out in a machine similar to that described in Specification 422,135, but with changed plug connections, and also arranged to perform a maximum of ten total-taking cycles (no special reset cycle) instead of the four total-taking and one reset cycles of the prior machine. The plug and socket connections for two counters, their distributers, and distributing relays, to carry out the above table of operations are illustrated in Figs. 1-3 (not shown). The circuits include a single-column selector 17 (not shown) which makes contact only for " 1 " hole positions (positive cards) so that a positive card causes energisation of relays DR-3 and DR-4 (not shown). If there is no positive card these relays are not energised, associated counters DR3-b (not shown) remain open, a correlated distributer 1D-2 (not shown) is not energised and counter 1 is not conditioned to accept a transmission from counter 2. That is, step (8) in the above table is thus omitted if there are only negative cards in the groupsee group 2 above. A special print magnet PRa (not shown) controls the printing of a symbol to indicate if the balance is positive or negative. Specification 523,652 also is referred to.