Patent GB-913605-A (GB)
Title: Improvements in or relating to electronic calculating apparatus
Inventor: WENSLEY JOHN HENRY
IPC: G06F7/50
Filed: 1959-03-24
Abstract: 913,605. Electronic calculating apparatus. COMPUTER DEVELOPMENTS Ltd. March 11, 1960 [March 24, 1959], No. 10142/59. Class 106 (1). An adder-subtracter operating in the seriesparallel mode and adapted to receive input numbers in non-uniform radices comprises a first adder 5 (Fig. 1) receiving in succession (least significant character first) binary coded inputs from registers 18, 19 (that from 19 may be complemented in unit 4 under control of unit 20, for subtraction) and providing uncorrected sum output signals over lines E1-8 and an uncorrected carry signal over line E16 (the radix of the adder 5 being 16), a carry recognition circuit 6 which determines whether a carry signal requires to be added into the next denomination; and whether the addition of a filler digit is necessary, a filler digit generator 10, and a second adder for effecting adding in of filler digits and providing a corrected output at 3-1 to 3-8. The apparatus is adapted to deal with sterling values, the first digit representing pence in radix 12, the second shillings (radix 10), the third tens of shillings (radix 2), and subsequent digits (pounds) are in radix 10. At radix 12 times (pence) a signal from unit 20 appears on line 7, and at radix 2 times a signal appears on line 8. Fig. 2 shows units 6 and 10 in detail; gates 21-27 and 29-32 are operative during addition (in which a signal appears on line 15), and gates 42-47 during subtraction (a signal on line 16). If the adder 5 during addition produces a signal on line E16, or E8 and E4, indicating that the sum is at least 12, a signal is passed via gate 21 or 22 to line FA; this is delayed by unit 9 to produce a signal on line FAD at the next digit time to represent a carry. Other conditions in which a carry is produced are if the sum is 10 (gate 24) and pence-are not being added (a signal on line 7 during pence addition when inverted disables gates 24 and 25), if the sum is 9 (gate 25) and a carry occurred at the previous addition, if the sum is at least 2 (gate 26) when the radix 2 control line 8 is energized, and if the sum is 1 when the radix is 2 and a carry occurred at the previous addition. The carry is passed to line 91 at the next digit period for addition to the uncorrected sum in adder 11 (Fig. 1). Filler digits must also be added in where a carry has been produced, and since the uncorrected sum is the sum modulo 16 these are 4 for pence, 4+2 for decimal digits, and 8+4+2  for radix 2 digits (tens of shillings). Hence gate 31 passes an output to G4 at each carry, and gates 30 and 32 are enabled by " not-pence " and radix 2 signals respectively. For subtraction (by addition of 15-complement) gates 42 and 43 produce a " no-borrow " signal on line FS which provides a signal at G1 for the digit period following a " no borrow " signal (for the first digit period a signal on line 13 provides a G1 output). Under borrow conditions this addition of 1 is not necessary since the subtrahend is 15-complemented. Filler digits corresponding to the current radix are produced by gates 45- 47 when a borrow has been effected. Specification 767,694 is referred to.