Patent GB-673287-A (GB)
Title: Improvements in or relating to calculating machines
Filed: 1950-06-19
Abstract: 673,287. Statistical apparatus. BRITISH TABULATING MACHINE CO., Ltd. June 19, 1950 [June 25, 1949], No. 15259/50. Class 106 (i). In a statistical collating machine for finding or selecting records which come closest to the modus operandi of unknown criminals, a finder card bearing details of the modus operandi in several fields of the card is fed into the machine and the data stored on one side of a plurality of separate comparing devices, and a network of relays is provided to integrate the number of comparing devices indicating equality so that the record cards may be distributed in accordance with the extent of similarity to the finder record. The invention is applicable to machines of the type described in Specification 523,652, having a modified form of switch mechanism described in Specification 598,019 which enables the switch contacts to be connected to individual plug sockets permitting splitting of the comparing units into sections, each associated with a separate column or group of columns of the record card. Modifying the comparing units in this fashion makes it possible to test for equality in a plurality of separate fields simultaneously. The finder card is punched with the selection data in columns 2-5, 7-10 and 12-15 so that a search will be made for an identity in these three fields of the card. The finder card is placed at the head of the pile of cards and the machine started in the usual way. Operation. When the finder card passes the first set of brushes PB1 corresponding to the plug sockets PS3 (Fig. 1A), the primary cycle delay relay R33P (Fig. 1C) is energized through a plug wire connection between the plug sockets PS3 and PS57, thereby energizing relay R16P (not shown). Relay R16 closes its contacts to close a circuit between the plug sockets PS58 and PS59 (Fig. 1C). This allows the secondary side of the selector unit and the second primary side of the sequence unit to be reset in readiness to receive the data from the finder card when it passes the second set of brushes PB2. During the second cycle the data recorded in columns 2-5, 7-10 and 12-15 of the finder card will be entered in the secondary side of the selector unit by energizing the secondary selector magnets SM1 and in the secondary primary sequence magnets PM1. If the first file card corresponds to the predetermined data already inserted in the machine an equal condition will prevail in positions 9-16 of the selector unit and positions 11-14 of the sequence unit with the result that the contacts A of the comparing units will be set in closed condition for this particular card, which will then be selected by passing to a reject pocket. If only one field is identical the primary select magnet PRM will not be energized and the card will be deposited in the pocket devoted to the merged sets, as described in Specification 523,652. If two out of three fields are identical the card will be rejected as in the case of complete identity with the connections shown in Fig. 2. The comparisons can be extended to a greater number by means of the dotted line jumpers shown in Fig. 2. Thus at the end of a run there will be collected in the primary reject pocket all cards having two to five identities according to the manner in which the plug sockets PS114 to PS117 are plugged to the primary select magnet PRM. The primary side of the selector unit and the first primary side of the sequence unit are reset every cycle so as to be in a condition to receive data from the file cards for comparison with the predetermined data on the finder card. The circuit arrangement shown in Fig. 1C has a capacity for splitting the comparing units into a maximum of ten fields and can integrate from two to five identities, if a more flexible or extended arrangement is required the number of equal selector relays and the number of contacts can be increased. The machine may also be adapted by means of selector relays to find the number of failures to attain identity in preference to the number of identities.