Patent GB-445477-A (GB)
Title: Improvements in or relating to machines for sorting statistical record-cards
Filed: 1934-10-09
Abstract: 445,477. Statistical machines. BRITISH TABULATING MACHINE CO., Ltd., Victoria House, Vernon Place, Southampton Row, London. Oct. 9, 1934, No. 28925. Convention date, Oct. 10, 1933. [Class 106 (i)] Sorting cards.-A machine for sorting statistical record-cards has card boxes, each allotted to a separate card-column, means 35 for reading the columns to determine the first column of a card, counting in a predetermined direction across the card columns, which is not blank and means for sorting that card into the correct box according to the first said column. The invention is shown as applied to a sorting machine of the kind described in Specification 242,654, [Class 106 (i)], the card being read at station A during one card-cycle and being sorted during the following cycle (when brush 64, Fig. 2, acts) between horizontal sorting blades 41 normally supported by the armature 42 of the sorting magnet SM. Only the righthand, reject, sorting box is shown in Fig. 1. For reading, say, the name field (columns 9 ... 28, Fig. 3) of the cards, twelve brushes 35 held in a carrier 36 are adjusted to read the twelve columns 17 ... 28 of the card. Each brush is associated with a sorting box (other than the reject box) so that there is a box for each of the card columns 17 ... 28. According to this arrangement the cards are sorted according to the number of columns 28, 27, 26 ... 17 which are unperforated, the normal sorting according to the positions of perforations in the perforated columns being effected by a single brush 35b, which is adjusted to read the desired column. The brushes 35 are wired individually through cable 39 to relays BR9, BR8 ... BR12. If one of the latter is energized it closes its related contacts 50 to hold itself energized over line 51 and commutator segment 54 and opens contacts 49. The latter are individually wired over cable 52 to the left windings of double wound relays HR9, HR8 ... HR12 ; either winding of relays HR9 &c. will actuate associated contacts 58 and 60. Contacts 60 are individually wired through a cable 63 to the contact segments of emitter C-6 which is in series with the sorting magnets. C-1 is a selecting commutator similar to that shown in Specification 242,654, (Figs. 13, 14, 14A) ; each segment 146 may be made conductive or nonconductive at will and in the present use all the segments 146 are rendered conductive. If a card column, say No. 28 in Fig. 3, is blank, the corresponding brush 35 does not energize its relay BR9. Contacts 49 of the latter remain closed and the left hand winding of relay HR9 is energized to close its contacts 58 and open its contacts 60. Contacts 58 energize the right hand winding of relay HR9 to hold the contacts 60 open and when, during the next card cycle, brush 64 reaches the segment 9 no circuit is formed to the sorting magnet SM. If none of brushes 35 reads a hole, all contacts 60 are open and the card goes into the reject box. If a column, say, No. 23 in Fig. 3, is perforated, relay BR4 is energized and opens its contacts 49 so that the corresponding relay HR4 cannot be energized and its contacts 60 remain closed. During the next cycle, when brush 64 reaches its segment No. 6, a holding relay HR13 and the magnet SM are energized at the moment the card is between the appropriate blades 41 and the card goes into the No. 4 box. If several of the card-columns No. 17 ... 28 are perforated, the card will be sorted according to the first perforated column on the right since the brush 64 rotates over its segments in the order 9, 8, 7 ... 0, 11, 12 and the magnet SM will be first energized for that perforated column farther to the right in Fig. 3. The cards will thus be sorted into the twelve boxes according to the number of blank columns on the right of columns No. 17 ... 28, Fig. 3, and cards which are blank in all these twelve columns will go into the reject box.