Patent GB-295571-A (GB)
Title: Improvements in perforated card controlled statistical machines
Filed: 1928-03-02
Abstract: 295,571. Accounting & Tabulating Machine Corporation, (Assignees of Paris, R. E.). Aug. 13, 1927, [Convention date]. Statistical machines; total - taking; cardfeed devices. - A " grouped-card " statistical machine has card-feeding means which, instead of being stopped at total-taking when the card group changes, continues to feed the cards at a slower rate during total-taking. The grouped cards, before passing through the ordinary tabulating pin-box, pass through a designation-reading pin-box which controls the action of the machine at a change of group in conjunction with a manual setting knob which decides whether the machine shall perform a " space-total" " or a " space-total-space, " operation. The cards are fed from a magazine 132, Figs. 1 and 2, through the throat 97 of the designation pin-box 96 and through rollers 34, 35 to the tabulating pin-box 20. The picker blade 134 is reciprocated by a lever 136, Figs. 2 and 9, pivoted at 137 and having a pin 138 normally engaged by a claw arm 139 pivoted to a bar 140 which is operated to feed the cards at the normal rate during tabulating by spring 144, cam roller 143, and cam 142 on a shaft 131. Pivoted to the claw arm 139 is a link 161 having a pin and slot connection 162 with a bell-crank 163, 164, pivoted at 76 and controlled by a cam 166 on a shaft 46, which latter only rotates at total-taking; a second cam 169, together with a spring 170, operates a lever 167 so that when the shaft 46 rotates counter-clockwise, Figs. 2 and 9, the bell-crank 163, 164 rotates counter-clockwise to disengage the claw 139 from the pin 138, this pin being then actuated by the lever 167 and cam 169 at a slower rate. A card-feeding hook 146, Fig. 2, is attached to the upper reciprocating plate 98 of the throat 97, this plate having pieces 150, Fig. 5, which are fast therewith and have pins 151 connecting them with links 162 notched at 163 to coact with a pin 154 on a bar 155, pivoted at 156 and operated by roller 157, cam 158, and spring 159. The card hook is thus reciprocated by cam 158 and a return spring 150<1>. At a card group change the shaft 76 is rocked from the cam 166, Fig. 9, and through linkage 177, Fig. 5, 176 rocks a bellcrank 174 about its pivot 120 so as to disengage the links 152 from the pins 154, this preventing movement of the card hook 146. The bell-crank 174 also has a shoulder 178 which maintains the designation pin-box in its lowermost position during the total-taking operations. A beak 171 on the claw 139 prevents premature engagement of the claw with the pin 138 as the latter moves to the left under the influence of arm 167. At the end of the single total-taking rotation of the shaft 46, the cam 169 lowers the claw 139 to engage the pin 138 as the latter moves to the right. In the ordinary tabulating pin-box 20 perforated plates 21, 22 form the card throat 23 and a control pin 24 has stepped shoulders 25, 26, Figs. 2 and 14-16, to coact with a hole 187 in a. perforated plate 30 which slides in the underside of the plate 21 and is set according to the kind of control desired at a group change. This pin 24 is attached to an arm 28 which determines by its position whether mechanism connected therewith shall effect a " space-total " or " spacetotal-space " operation. This mechanism is the same as that described in Specification 26896/13. The plate 20 is positioned relatively to the pin 24 by links 32, 33, shaft 36, links 37, and bars 38 which are operated by rollers 42, 43, Figs. 1 and 3, coacting with a " space-total-space " cam 44 and a " space-total " cam 45 respectively on the shaft 46 having a knob 48 for manually setting the shaft axially. Shaft 46 carries gear wheels 53, 54 adapted to be driven in a 1 : 3 and 1 : 2 ratio by wheels 57, 58 on a main shaft 59. The gears 53, 54 are rigid with a sleeve 55 freely mounted on shaft 46 and prevented from axial movement by a collar 56, Fig. 13. Clutch teeth 61 on the sleeve 55 engage teeth 67 on a sleeve 64, 65 which must rotate with shaft 46 but may move axially thereon against a spring 66. The clutch as a whole slides bodily with the shaft 46 when the latter is moved by the knob 48. The sleeve 65 has a pin 69 resting in an inclined slot 70, Figs. 1 and 13, formed in an annular ring 71 supported on the faces 62 and 68 and resting against the shoulder 63. This ring 71 has a pin 73 which coacts with a rod 74 of a frame 75 pivoted at 76 and having a nose 77, Figs. 2 and 9, engaging a bracket 78 on a plate 79, termed the designation control plate. Normally this plate 79 is held down and the bar 74 therefore holds the pin 73 and ring 71. Thus as sleeve 55 rotates with the shaft 59 the pin 69 is merely forced out of the inclined slot 70 and the clutch is broken, so that the shaft 46 does not rotate. Once, however, the bar 74 has released the pin 73, the shaft 46 will make one complete revolution before it can again be arrested, this revolution corresponding to two or three machine cycles according as to whether gears 54, 58 or 53, 57 are engaged. Thus, once the shaft 46 has commenced to rotate, the total-taking operations must be completed before the book 139 is re-engaged for normal card-feeding. The plate 79 is in the path of pins 83, and is normally pressed upwards against them by springs 84, Fig. 2. These pins 83 have shoulders 92 and cam faces 91 which coact with wires 92 passing through a longitudinally moving latch bar 93, Fig. 9. Thus when a pin is depressed the latch bar is moved to the left, the shoulder 90 latches under its wire 92 and previously locked-down pins 83 are released. These pins are depressed by upper pins 89 having off-set heads 104 which coact with lugs 106 on a locking bar 105, the locking bar of each row of pins used for designation control being separately removable by means of forked ends 108 &c. Cam shoulders 113 are on stationarv members 116 at each side, and when the pin-box moves downwards, rollers 114 on the bars 105 clear the cams 113 and springs 115. Fig. 1, move the bars 105 to the right so that the lugs 106 pass under the heads of pins 89 raised by the card and lock over the heads of pins which have passed through perforations, forcing the latter pins, on further downward movement, to depress their pins 83. When a pin 89 passes through a hole it depresses its corresponding pin 83, and the latter is locked down by the bar 93 and wire 92. The pin-box returns upwards, and the locking bars 105 are returned to the left. As long as cards of the same group are passing through, the same pins 89 are depressed, corresponding to the lockeddown pins 83. The plate 79 is thus maintained locked down so that the bar 74 maintains the clutch disengaged. When the first card of a new group is read different pins 89 and 83 are depressed, cam notches 91 release the previously locked-down pins 83, the plate 79 moves upwards, and the clutch is released for engagement by the bar 74 for a complete revolution. Immediately this happens, and before the shoulders 90 of the newly depressed pins 83 are latched under the wires 71, the downward movement of the pin-box is arrested for a short time. Means are provided to prevent operation of the locking bars 105 when no card is present in the throat 97. The plate 30, Figs. 1, 6, and 14-16, has its holes normally registering with those of the plates 21 and 22 (Figs. 14-16 show only the upper plate 21) and the pin 24 completely registers with the hole 187 in plate 30. If the machine is set for a " space-total " operation, on a group change when the shaft 46 is clutched in as above described, wheels 54, 58 mesh and cam 45 operates roller 43 so that the mechanism of Fig. 6 moves the plate 30 two successive steps-firstly so that the upward movement of pin 24 is arrested by its shoulder 25 meeting the edge of hole 187, Fig. 16, and secondly so that the pin 24 is moved upwards further until the shoulder 26 meets the hole 187. If the cam 44 is operating the roller 42 for a " space-total-space " operation, the plate 30 is given a third movement in which the pin 24 completely registers with the hole 187 and moves finally fully upwards. Specification 104,703 is referred to.