Patent GB-235190-A (GB)
Title: Improvements in or relating to record-card-controlled statistical machines
Filed: 1925-06-02
Abstract: 235,190. British Tabulating Machine Co., Ltd., (Assignees of Peirce, J. R.). June 3, 1924, [Convention date]. Codes.-A statistical machine of the mechanical pin-box type is provided with a converting apparatus whereby the reading of two holes in one column of a Peirce code card may be translated into the equivalent of a single hole reading in an ordinary card having ten index points to a column, for co-operation with electrically-controlled, synchronously-operated registering or recording apparatus. The invention is applied to a machine having the adding and printing mechanisms described in Specification 229,660, [Class 106 (i), Calculating &c.], in which typebars 20, Fig. 2, are differentially arrested by latches 26 released by the magnets 25 and the accumulators are thrown into gear for itemaccumulating or for total-taking according to the position of a key-operable shifting mechanism 27. The rock shaft 40 is driven at the correct times for card-feeding and card-reading from a shaft 33 clutched to the main drive shaft 34. Each card has four index points to a column and is read by four pins 83 guided in a frame 84 and plates 56, 57, Fig. 4, and spring-pressed to the right. When a restoring comb 87 is moved to the right the pins advance to read the card. The two upper pins 83 coact with stops 97, 98, and the two lower with pins 97<a>, 98a, Figs. 4 and 8. Cooperating with the stops 97, 98, is a supplementary stop 99 carrying a lug 100 so that if, as shown at the left of Fig. 8, the second pin 83 enters a hole and draws the stop 98 to the right, a pin 102 thereon draws the lug 100 and stop 99 to the right leaving the stop 97 to arrest a lug 104 on a bar 103. If the first pin 83 reads a hole the stops 97 (and its pin 101) and 99 are moved to the right and if both the first and second pins 83 read holes all three stops 97, 98 and 99 are withdrawn, as shown in Fig. 8. Thus each bar 103 has four possible positions. For each record-card column three notched bars 103, 105, Figs. 9 and 11, are provided. One bar 103 co-operates with stops 97, 98, the other bar 103 with stops 97<a>, 98<a>, and the third bar 105 is fixed. In order to convert a code-card reading into a " single-hole " reading as with Hollerith cards the notches 107 in the bars 103, 105 are so arranged that according to the differential positioning of one or both bars 103 for one column certain notches, one in each of the three bars, will be aligned, whereby when a pawl 108, Fig. 9, is moved downwards in synchronism with the type bars it will not be held until it reaches three aligned notches, thus arresting the type bar in the correct one of its ten positions. For each card column a pawl 108 is pivoted to an arm 109 pivoted at 110 to an arm 111 pivoted at 112. Once per card cycle a universal bail 114 is lowered, each pawl 108 and its arm 109 moving down until the pawl 108 is arrested, when the other end of the arm 109 and its lever 111 move down, drawing down a rod 120 to close contacts 112, 123 in the circuit for the appropriate magnet 25, Fig. 2, arresting the type-bar 20 for that column. A plug-board is inserted between the contacts 122, 123 and the magnets 25.