Patent GB-360044-A (GB)
Title: Improvements in or relating to record-controlled statistical machines
IPC: G06K9/00
Filed: 1930-08-01
Abstract: 360,044. Selective punching-machines. BRITISH TABULATING MACHINE CO., Ltd., Victoria House, Vernon Place, London.-(Assignees of Bryce, J. W. ; Bloomfield, New Jersey, U.S.A.) Aug. 1, 1930, No. 23282. Convention date, Aug. 2, 1929. Addition to 288,327, [Class 106 (i), Calculating &c.]. [Class 31 (ii).] In a record-controlled statistical machine as in the parent Specification (wherein radiant energy reflected from the printed record or control sheet actuates photo-electric cells which in turn operate counters, printing racks or sorting flaps) the reading means actuate punching mechanism which reproduces the data in perforated-record form. The perforated records so obtained may be Hollerith or Peirce cards. The printed control sheet S, Fig. 1, is read as in the parent Specification, the reflected image of each printed numeral (or letter) actuating one or more of the four photo-electric cells A .. D, Fig. 8, lifting one or more of armatures 97 .. 100 to prepare the ladder-circuit de-coding arrangement as in the prior case. In the present apparatus, this arrangement is used to energize directly that one of magnets MO .. M9 which corresponds to the numeral read. The control sheet S is mounts d on a carriage 15, Fig. 2, which has rails 19 coacting with rollers 20 on a fixed frame 10, holes 22 sliding on rod 21, and bar 17 coacting with rollers 16, 18 on the frame 10. A platen 26 for sheet S has a knob 31 for advancing the sheet row by row and wheels 27 notched at 28 to co-operate with justifying pawls 29. Pressing the sheet against the platen are rollers 37, 38 carried on arms 39, 43 and rotated towards the platen by springs 41, 44. A rectangular sectioned rod 45, contacting with arms 39, 43, may be turned 90 by a knob 46 at one end to separate arms 39, 43 and release the sheet S. The carriage 15 is traversed, so that the printed numerals in the row under operation are read successively by the beam 75, by an escapement device driven by a spring drum 50. Rack 52 on the carriage bar 17 coacts with pawls 53, 54; a notch 55 in pawl 53 engages a pin 56 on a lever 57, the other end of which has a pin 58 loose in a hole 59 of pawl 54. Lever 57 is fixed to a rod 60 on which 54 is loosely pivoted by a slot 61. Pawl 54 is controlled by spring 62. When the magnet 66 is energized its armature 65 rocks lever 57 clockwise and pin 56 raises pawl 53 to engage the rack 52 whilst pin 58 lowers pawl 54. As soon as pawl 54 is free, its spring 62 pulls it to the right, Fig. 1, on its slot 61. When the magnet 66 is de-energized 53 is lowered and 54 is raised to engage the next tooth to the right, the rack then moving to the left, under the spring 50, and carrying pawl 54 with it until the right hand end of slot 61 meets the pin 60. The next number is thus brought to the reading beam 75. The ten magnets MO .. M9, Fig. 8, punch Hollerith cards by the means shown in Fig. 3. The card 127 is acted upon by a single row of ten punches 125 ; each punch has an interposed bar 129 with a notch 130 which normally receives the hammer 131. When a magnet M is energized, the corresponding interposer 129 is moved to the left to the position shown in Fig. 3, by armature 134, lever 132, plunger 135 and bell crank 136 so that the hammer 131 actuates the corresponding punch 125. The punches may also be manually actuated by keys 133 on levers 132. When an interposer is moved to the left it rocks a universal bar 140 to close contacts 145, 146, Figs. 3 and 8 ; this energizes magnet 66 for the control sheet traversing, Fig. 1, and also a magnet 147 which, through links 149, 150, Fig. 3, depresses the hammer 131 to effect punching. As the hammer moves down (1) its tail 152 releases a hook 153 and a bar 143 from the bar 140 and allows contacts 145, 146 to open ; (2) it depresses a member 185, which thereby lowers a pawl 187 into engagement with a rack 181 and raises a pawl 184 from the rack. This latter is connected to a card feeding member 180 engaging the edge of the card. Pawl 184 is pivoted by a slot 188 and when it is raised from rack 181 it is moved to the right by a spring 187a. Contacts 145, 146 being open, the magnet 147 is de-energized and member 185 rises with the hammer 131. Pawl 187 is raised and releases the rack 181, and pawl 184 engages the next tooth to the right ; rack 181 is moved to the left by a spring drum, thus feeding the next card column to punches 125, and carrying pawl 184 with it until the right hand end of slot 188 meets the pivot. Hence, after each reading and punching, the control sheet S and the card 127 are fed one step. Contacts 111, 164, Figs. 3 and 8, are opened and closed alternately, to control the punching magnet circuits and the return of armatures 97 .. 100, by the energizing and de-energizing of magnet 147. The circuit to the amplifiers 88, 91, 92, 93 (preferably of the vacuum tube type) for the photo-electric cells is interrupted at 89 during the control sheet (S) feed by coaction of contacts 89 with the pawl 54. Fig. 10 shows the arrangement when four punches, instead of ten, are used to punch Peirce code cards. The laddercircuit de-coding arrangement of Fig. 8 is dispensed with, and the amplifiers 88, 91, 92, 93 control four punch magnets MA, MB, MC, MD. The remainder of the operations-reading, control sheet feed, card feed, &c.-are the same as in the previous construction of Figs. 1, 2, 3, and 8.