Patent GB-582150-A (GB)
Title: Improvements in or relating to statistical machines
Filed: 1944-03-27
Abstract: 582,150. Statistical - apparatus. REMINGTON RAND, Inc. March 27, 1944, No. 5647. Convention date, March 27, 1943. [Class 106 (i)] Controlling printing of zeros. A statisticalmachine comprises a series of differentially settable elements (14) adapted to co-operate with a stop (zero stop 31), a set of selectively aotuable control elements (permutation bars 11) associated with each of the stops (31), whereby the stop is rendered ineffective upon actuation of any one of its associated set of control elements (11), and means (32 &c.) for selectively controlling the movements of the stops whereby inhibition of motion of one stop by one of the control elements (11) prevents more than partial movement of all stops in the lower orders. The card sensing mechanism sets permutation bars 11, the selective movement of which releases one of a series of stop bars 13, whereupon, on elevation of a bail 15, a printing control rack 14 moves up to engage with the stop one of the upper steps on its plate 17. The zero stop bar 31, is prevented from movement by the actuation of a permutation bar 11 but otherwise will be released to engage a step 28 in the plate 17, thus suppressing printing in that denomination. Stops 31 to the right of the highest significant figure, however, are prevented from making full movement, and so engage a step 30 thus causing the printing of a zero. The zero stop bars 31 are connected to levers 32 rockable on a shaft 33 (Fig. 2) and having ears 36 co-operating with limiting levers 37 slotted at 38, 40 to permit them to be moved vertically and rocked about the shaft 33 by means of hand-operated arms 41, each lever 37 being maintained in either of two operative positions by a detent plate 43 pressing against a bail plate 45. At the upper end of each lever 37 is a U-shaped abutment frame 46, 47 having an ear 48, the arrangement being such that when the levers 37 are in their lowered position the levers 32 are free to move a full stroke, but when the levers 37 are elevated, Fig. 3, the levers 32 can only move a half stroke before meeting lug 46. Fig. 7 shows at a, b, c, d four possible relative positions of the levers 32 and the abutments 46, 47, 48. Lugs 51 on the bars 31 co-operating with apertures 50 in the permutation bars 11 serve to lock a particular bar 31 when any of the corresponding six bars 11 is raised, in order to disable the zero print control. When a limiting lever 37 has been elevated and the next adjacent lever to the left has also been elevated and has been prevented from movement by the positioning of the code bar 11 to cause the printing of a character, the ear 48 of said adjacent lever obstructs the abutment 47 of the first lever, preventing movement thereof beyond the halfstroke, thus permitting the end of slide bar 31 to engage a shoulder 30 on the heel 17 of the rack 14, which is thus permitted to move up far enough to position the print wheel at zero. When a lever 37 is elevated and the next adjacent lever to the left has also been elevated and has moved rearward half a step, the lever 32 will be permitted an initial half-stroke movement, and thus the lever 37 will be picked up and swung rearward a half-stroke until, the abutment .47 meets the lug 48 of the next adjacent lever, resulting in a full stroke movement of the lever 32 and its slide bar 31, which prevents the rack 14 from rising and so ensures a blank in this column. The printing of a zero which is not sensed is only possible when the limiting levers are set in their elevated positions and when a character precedes the denominational order in which the zero printing is to be effected. The decoding mechanism is described in detail in Specification 523,532 and the printing interpreter in Specification 550,618.