Patent GB-491381-A (GB)
Title: Improvements in or relating to means for controlling the printing mechanism of calculating or statistical machines
IPC: G06K15/04
Filed: 1937-02-27
Abstract: 491,381. Printing mechanism for calculating' and statistical machines; typewriters. WHEATLEY.. S. Feb. 27, 1937, No. 5997. [Class 106 (i)] [Also in Group XVI] A control device for the printing mechanism of calculating - machines comprises an independent printing - control element (locking slide 1) for each of a number of columns, actuating devices 31 -34 for each control element, each actuating device being correlated to a particular machine operation and only acting when that operation occurs, and manual control means 19- 22 settable to permit or prevent operation of each printing control element 1 by any one or more of its associated actuating devices 31-34. The invention is applied to a record card controlled tabulating machine. Coacting with the type G on each sector 64 is a hammer A which is released by its latch B in known manner at the printing moment. A locking slide 1, normally pulled right by spring 2, is settable to the left to arrest the shoulder C on the hammer A even if it be released by the latch B. Four pins 11-14 on the slide 11 for each card column coact with cam edges 7-10 on operating slides 3-6 which are pressed down by springs 15 but are normally held up by their pins 24 resting on the upper edges of retaining slides 19-22. If a slide 19-22 is pulled to the right its pin 24 rides down the face 23 of the slide as the spring 15 depresses the corresponding operating slide 3-6 which in turn moves the locking slide 1 to the left into hammer latching position. Operating slides 4-6 are normally, however, held up also by resting at the lower ends, on machine controlled retaining bars 32-34. Each slide 1 is thus under the joint control of the retaining slides 20-22 and of the retaining bars 32-34, which latter are automatically held up or lowered according to the machine operation taking place. Another machine-actuated bar 31 under the slide 3 is normally lowered. The retaining slides 19-22 are held in their " in " or " out " position by notches 35b engaged by pins 35a on a spring-pressed plunger 35. To determine whether sub-group totals and grand totals alone or together, shall be printed the first retaining bar 31 is raised during both sub-group and grand-total taking operations, the second bar 32 is allowed to drop during sub-group total taking, and the third bar 33 is allowed to drop during grand-total taking. A total print control shaft 36, Figs. 1 and 4, has a lever of which one arm 37, raises and lowers a frame 38 supporting the second and third bars 32, 33, and a second arm 39 raises and lowers a frame 41 supporting the first retaining bar 31. A spring 45 tends to rock the lever 37 counterclockwise to lift bar 31 and lower bars 32, 33 but this movement is prevented by a latch 46, 48 operated from the front total shaft 51 (equal to the shaft 72 described in Specification 461,612). At each total taking operation the shaft 51 is rocked to unlatch the shaft 36 when this rocks counterclockwise. The bar 31 is raised and bars 32, 33 tend to drop. It is desired, however, that only bar 32 drops on a sub-group total and bar 33 on a grand-total stroke ; a selector slide 54 is therefore provided and is positioned according to the operation of the machine, with its lug 55 under one or other of the bars 32, 33. If a grand-total card is read, the selector lug 55 is positioned under the second bar 32. The action of the locking slide 1 in each denomination is thus determined by the machine operation and the setting of the retaining slides 19-22. The tabulator may also be conditioned to print or not, under the control of a card having a hole in a particular position. A card controlled print shaft 49 has a lever of which one arm 73 raises the frame 41 supporting the first retaining bar 31 and a second arm 75 raises a frame 77 supporting the fourth bar 34, which is normally up. An arm 78, Fig. 5, on shaft 49 is normally latched by an extension 79 of a member 80a, pivoted at 36, and pivoted to a link 80. When the control hole in the card is read link 80 is moved to unlatch the shaft 49, which is then rocked counterclockwise, Fig. 4, by a spring 81 so that arm 73 raises bar 31 and arm 75 allows bar 34 to fall. For various machine actuations of bars 31-34 and for various settings of manual slides 19-22, sixteen different actions of the printing mechanism are set out. For example, with slide 19 out to the right and slides 20-22 remaining in to the left, the machine prints on every card cycle except when a print control card functions, but not on sub-group or grand-total cycles. The machine may be so constructed that the slides 19-22 function in the reverse way to that described and the spring 2 causes the locking slide 1 to tend to obstruct the hammer A. Specification 26896/13, [Class 106 (i)], is referred to in the Provisional Specification.