Patent GB-484486-A (GB)
Title: Improvements in or relating to paper-feeding mechanism for statistical machines
Filed: 1936-11-05
Abstract: 484,486. Statistical machines. BRITISH TABULATING MACHINE CO., Ltd. Nov. 5, 1936, No. 30155. Convention date, Nov. 6, 1935. [Class 106 (i)] [Also in Group XVI] A record-controlled statistical machine having total - printing mechanism, means 271 for line-spacing the summary record strip R, means for initiating totalprinting, auxiliary paperfeeding means (21, 43, 431) operable to feed the summary strip indefinitely after each total - printing, and paper-feed control means (24, 25) to detect marks (e.g. holes) in the summary strip and thereby stop the auxiliary paper-feed, is also provided with additional paper-feed control means 26 which detects additional marks (e.g. holes) in the summary strip to bring the auxiliary paper-feed into action. The invention is shown as applied to a recordcard controlled machine having major and minor group control. A friction clutch, for rotating the summary strip platen 2, Fig. 6, at relatively high speed, has a member constantly driven by the tabulating motor or the reset motor during tabulating or total-printing cycles respectively. A second clutch member, geared to a toothed wheel on the platen shaft 21, is engaged with the constantly running clutch part by a magnet 21, Fig. 10, and disengaged by a magnet 24. This clutch drive constitutes the auxiliary paper-feed means and magnet 24 with brush 25 constitutes the main line-spacing mechanism. The summary strip R in fanfold form passes from magazine 1 over a metal reading plate 27, under brushes 25, 26, 28, around platen 2 and into magazine 3. The summary strip is divisible into separate sheets where indicated in broken lines, Fig. 3. Brush 25 reads an a hole, indicating the top line of each sheet, to interrupt the indefinite strip-feed which follow total-printing ; brush 26 reads a b hole, indicating the bottom line, or bottom line but one, of each sheet, to cause resumption of the strip-feed. Brush 28 is to stop the machine when the end of the strip is about to pass platen 2. For the auxiliary strip-feed to be operative, the switch 31, Fig. 10, is closed. When the end of the strip is reached, brush 28 energizes magnet 30 to open contacts 30a to break all the strip-feed control circuits, and also opens other contacts to de-energize the tabulating motor. In Fig. 3, the number of items listed for a card group is greater than can be printed on one sheet, so that card-reading is interrupted and a progressive total is printed at the foot of one sheet and the top of the next ; listing is then resumed until a group change causes totalprinting. Switches 31 and 35 are closed and sockets 55 and 56 are plugged together, as are also sockets 76 and 77. When brush 26 reads a b hole a circuit 36, 35, 33, 27, b, 26, 75, 76, 77, 72b, 44, 43, 42, 41, 39, 30a, 31 energizes coils 42 and 43. The coil 43 closes contacts 43a to hold itself and coil 42 energized through circuit 45, P6a and 46, and shifts other contacts to interrupt the tabulating circuit and complete the total-printing -circuit. Since there is no card-group change the minor group control circuit is still alive so that total-printing is effected without the counter-resetting means being energized. Coil 43 also closes contacts 43c so that, when contacts P11 close after the printing of the progressive total, a circuit P11, 43c, 71, 21 energizes the clutch-engaging magnet 21 so that the auxiliary strip-feed means drives the strip R at relatively high speed until the next " a " hole a<1> is read by brush 25. Magnet 24 is then energized, to interrupt the auxiliary strip-feed means, over a circuit 36, 35, 33, 271, 27, 25, 37, 24, 38, 30a, 31. For this type of operation a switch 79 (not shown) has been closed to short-circuit, in conjunction with contacts 42a (not shown), contacts P3 (not shown) which interrupt the total-taking circuit towards the end of a total-printing cycle. Coil 42 has closed contacts 42a (not shown) so that the total-taking circuit is maintained. Contacts P6a are closed before contacts P11 so that coil 43 is maintained energized and the total-printing circuit is also maintained for a second cycle during which the progressive totals are printed for the second time and on the first line of the next sheet. Coils 42, 43 are deenergized during this second cycle : contacts 43c open to prevent energization of magnet 21 and card-feeding is automatically resumed. When a card-group (major or minor) changes, the minor control circuit fails and totalprinting is accompanied by the resetting of the appropriate counters. During the total-printing cycle, contacts P11 close and a circuit 36, 35, 64, 69, P11, 68, 67a, 56, 55, 21 energizes the magnet 21 which causes the auxiliary strip-feed means to feed the summary strip R until the next a hole is read by brush 25. During this feed the " b " hole marked b<1> on Fig. 3 passes under brush 26 and this would normally energize coils 42 and 43 to initiate two progressive totalprinting cycles which are not now required. To preyent this, a relay coil 72 is energized in parallel with magnet 21. This relay 72 has a second coil and closes contacts 72a to give a holding circuit 24a, 73, 72a, second coil 72, 74, 39, 30a, 31. Thereby contacts 72a are maintained closed and contacts 72h opened until contacts 24a are opened by the magnet 24 which has been energized to disengage the strip-feed clutch, by brush 25 reading an a hole. The opened contacts 72b disconnect brush 26, which has read the hole b<1>, from coils 42 and 43 so that the latter do not cause unwanted progressive total-printing. To print totals at the bottom line of each sheet irrespective of the number of lines on the sheet, each sheet has a hole c, Fig. 4, corresponding to the line onwhich total-printing is desired. The holes c are read by brush 25. The spacing A between holes c and a is made equal to the spacing B between the total-printing line on one sheet and the top line of the next sheet. Switches 31 and 35 are closed, switch 65 is opened and the sockets 55 are plugged to sockets 56 and 58. If the summary strip of Fig. 4 also has b holes, sockets 76 and 77 are connected together so that a strip-feed and progressive total printing occur as in the case of Fig. 3 whenever the number of lines printed for a card group exceeds the capacity of the sheet. By variously closing the switches 31, 35, 65 and plug connecting socket 76 with sockets 77 and 771 and socket 55 with sockets 56 and 58, the summary records shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 5 may also be printed. The asterisks denote totals.