Patent GB-571253-A (GB)
Title: Electrical calculating apparatus
IPC: G06F7/46
Filed: 1943-07-27
Abstract: 571,253. Electrical calculating - apparatus. STANDARD TELEPHONES & CABLES, Ltd. July 27, 1943, No. 12233. Convention date, July 27, 1942. [Class 106 (i)] An electrically-operated calculating-apparatus comprises a card exploring means for sensing data perforated in a card, means for producing relative movement of said exploring means and said record card for a card reading operation, a contact field and co-operating exploring ineans therefor, means for producing relative movement between said last-mentioned exploring means and said contact field in synchronism with the card exploring operation, calculating means for performing calculating operations upon said data, circuit means operated from said contact field and said exploring means therefor, for controlling the operation of said calculating means, and manually adjustable means for altering the connections over said contact field to cause said calculating means to operate in different manners. Figs. 10, 20, 30 form one functional circuit and Figs. 1M, 2M, 3M from another functional circuit. The apparatus is conveniently divided into a number of functional circuits connected together in various ways according to the position of the feeler head in its movement across a perforated card, and according to which of a number of control keys CK1-20, Fig. 10, is operated. These functional circuits, some of which are not shown, are the explorer circuit E for sensing the perforations in the card, the input circuit I, the transfer circuit T, the multiplication circuit M, the solution circuit S, the distributer circuit D, the carry-over circuit C, the quotient circuit Q, the perforator circuit P, the " government pension " circuit'G, the coin and note circuit N, and the operator's control circuit O. A nomenclature is adopted, whereby the initial letter of a symbol indicates the circuit in which the particular part is to be found, e.g. Ir14 is the fourteenth relay in the I circuit. The circuits are connected by multiples of wires indicated by the first two letters arranged alphabetically corresponding to the circuits so connected, e.g. MT2 is the second multiple of wires connecting the M and T circuits. The operator's control circuit O comprises relays Or1-78 arranged to energize in groups at the depression of a control key CK1-20, and to prepare circuits in the calculator unit according to the calculation required. The control key depressed is indicated by a corresponding lamp CL1-20. The circuit also includes 6 dial-type digit switches D1-6 for setting up a factor used in a series of calculations, e.g. multiplication by a constant factor. The apparatus includes a card sensing and perforating machine E, P of known type. The cards have 45 columns divided into upper and lower portions perforated with the Remington- Rand code and sensed by twelve feelers. In known manner, the feeler head advances stepby-step over the columns and five brushes Ea-Ee (not shown) move with the feeler head over rows of contact pins Ea1-46, Eb1-46, &c., Fig. 30. In a similar manner, a set of five brushes moving with the perforator head traverses rows of contacts Pa1-46 &c., Fig. 3o. In Fig. Io, Ca1-46, Cb1-46 are terminals to which various Or relays are permanently wired, the tongues of the relays being connected to predetermined contacts Ea1-Ee46, or Pa1- Pe46 in their respective contact fields, whereby operation of a CK key operates one or more Or relays to interconnect the terminals indicated alongside these relays, to establish circuits as the feeler or perforator head arrives at the appropriate columns in the card. The references above the Ca, Cb contacts relate to the multiples connecting the contacts to the contacts to the functional circuits. Connections may be altered to suit requirements by using a card and check arrangement. To change the type of operation in progress release keys RK1, RK2 must be depressed simultaneously and another CK key operated. Operation.-The operator closes the general start key OK100, cycle control key OK101 and motor start key OK102. A card is .then fed from hopper in known manner and reading commences. According to the Ck key depressed, and therefore according to the Or relays energized and the Ca, Cb contacts in circuit, the feeler head steps over the cards until an operating field is reached. If the corresponding Ca contact is in circuit the upper field is operative, if the Cb contact, the lower. The number represented by the field is read digit by digit and stored on storage relays in the I circuit, each set of five storage relays being controlled by a stopping relay and by a routing relay. The use made of the number stored then depends on the signals sent from the control unit. Addition, e.g. with key CK12 depressed.- The number in the 19th to 24th columns is sensed and stored on the Ir relays. When the feeler head reaches the 25th column, a relay Tr1 (not shown), which controls addition, operates and the feeler head stops. Also the first set of Dr relays operate to connect the storage relays Ir through the first eight stepby-step accumulator switches SM1-8 ('Figs. 1s, 2s, not shown) to the B brush of a further step-by-step master transfer switch TM1, Fig. 3T. The stopping relays, corresponding to the sets of storage relays in which no digit is stored, actuate immediately so that the corresponding accumulator switches do not move, but the brushes of the other accumulator switches advance step-by-step in unison with the master transfer switch TM1 until the appropriate stopping relay operates, due to the completion of circuit through the appropriate contacts of the accumulator switches. TM1 continues to advance further until its brushes have returned to normal position. The feeler head then advances until it reaches the field of the number to be added, when the above process is repeated, the accumulator switches which already store the first number being advanced to an extent corresponding to the second number. Each switch has eleven contacts and those brushes which have made more than ten steps are caused to make a compensatory step and to cause a carry over to the switch of next higher denomination by operating the appropriate relay Cr in the carry over circuit (not shown), the carry over taking place when TM1 is making its eleventh step. The accumulating brushes now indicate the sum of the two numbers and the solution may be perforated in the card or stored for use in a subsequent calculation depending on the CK key depressed. Digit distribution.-According to which set of three in the thirty distribution relays are actuated under the control of the control unit, so the several digits of a number are transferred to eight or nine of the accumulating switches SM1-17. Normally for addition and subtraction, calculation takes place either on SM1-8 or SM9-17. For multiplication, and also for addition and subtraction, if desired, the switches are united in a single group. Subtraction.-Subtraction is effected by complementary addition on the operation of the appropriate CK key and the energization of a different set of Or relays. The first number is set up on the SM switches as already described, with the addition relay Tr1 in the transfer circuit energized. The second number is then entered on the storage relays and transferred to the accumulator switches over the contact C of the master switch TM2. The contacts C are wired in a complementary manner to the contacts B so that as the brush is stepped over these contacts, a complementary addition ensues. The transfer ensures the addition of one to the switch of lowest order and the ignoring of the carry over from the switch of highest order. Card perforation ; zero suppression.-The card punching mechanism is of known type and comprises twelve plungers which move over 45 sets of punches under the control of step-bystep magnet P100 (not shown), each plunger being controlled by a magnet PO-9, 11, 12 (not shown). When punching is to take place in a predetermined field, the feeler head stops advancing and magnet P100 advances the perforator head step-by-step until it reaches the first column to be punched, and according to whether the upper or lower field is to be operated, Pr6 or Pr8 (not shown) energizes. Under the control of the control circuit the accumulating switches are scrutinised in turn and the plunger magnets prepare the punches in the several columns according to the usual code. Relay Pr19 (not shown) operates and locks up at the setting up of the first significant figure, but zeros to the left are ignored. As the plunger head passes to the column beyond the punching field, the appropriate Or relay causes the return magnet P101 (not shown) to operate. This causes the card to be transferred from the explorer mechanism to the perforator mechanism to be perforated by the punches already set up and then ejected. It also causes another card to be seized and positioned in the explorer mechanism and the feeler and plunger heads to be returned to their respective starting positions. The punches are also reset and a homing circuit is set up for the accumulating switches. The entire circuit then returns to its original condition and begins automatically to operate on any cards remaining in the hopper. Multiplication.-In multiplying two numbers, e.g. 87 X 76, the calculation is divided up in the usual manner as the sum of the product of the multiplicand by the various digits of the multiplier, i.e. 97 x 70 + 87 x 6. The first part of the calculation is usually written 87 X 7 56 49 609 but in the present invention, several carry over steps are saved by taking together the units of all the partial products, i.e. 69, and taking together the tens, i.e. 54. The multiplicand is stored in the storage relays. If the first digit of the product is to be entered on switch SM1, the distributer circuit first assigns SM2-3 in the example given to receive the units of the first partial product. Th