Patent GB-422135-A (GB)
Title: Improvements in or relating to record-card-controlled statistical machines
Filed: 1933-07-07
Abstract: 422,135. Statistical machines. BRITISH TABULATING MACHINE CO., Ltd., Victoria House, Vernon Place, Southampton Row, London, and KEEN, H. H., 25, Sollershott East, Letchworth, Hertfordshire. July 7, 1933, No. 19328. [Class 106 (i)] A record-card-controlled statistical machine has a number of counters, reading-out mechanism (134, 136, 135, Fig. 12) and entering-means (counter-magnet CT) for each counter, and means for automatically connecting various preselected reading-out mechanisms with various preselected entering-means in a predetermined sequence. The amount read out of a counter may be the true amount or the complement thereof. To zeroize a counter, its amount is read out in complementary form and into the entering-means of the same counter. For balancing, there are means for comparing the totals on two counters whereby the smaller total is read, in complementary form, into the counter bearing the larger amount. The invention is applied to a machine of the kind described in Specification 247,200, [Class 106 (i)], and involves five counters 500, Fig. 1, (counter magnets CT, Fig. 12), printing mechanism 501 (printer magnets PR, Fig. 12), cardfeed mechanism 502 and an entry control device 260. The latter is as described in Specification 359,037 and serves to control the feed of report sheets of equal length so that if the printed details of a particular group are too many for one sheet, the progressive total is printed at the foot of one sheet and the top of the following sheet. Since the counters are zeroized as stated above, there is no reset motor, reset shaft, or total-printing shaft in the present machine. The motor TM, Fig. 1, drives a pulley 504, Fig. 4, with a ratchet 506 which is engaged by pawl 507 whenever the main drive clutch magnet DC is energized, so that shaft 605 which carries pawl 507, is rotated. The shaft 505 drives : (1) shaft 513 having wheels 514 which drive the constantly running parts of the counters, (2) listing shaft 516 which carries the L-contact cams and is clutched by pawl 562 to printing cam 560 whenever the print-clutch magnet PC is energized, (3) a sleeve 551 (through gearing 550) which is clutched by pawl 554 to the P-shaft 652 when magnet PSC is energized at every total cycle. Shaft 552 operates the P-contact cams which control all totalling operations, and carries the brushes 556 of emitters E1, E2, Fig. 12. Magnet DC is energized the whole time the machine is in operation. The cardfeed mechanism is driven through gearing which includes a clutch controlled by magnet CFC, Fig. 9. Control switches. A main control switch MS, Figs. 1 and 7, and five counter-control switches CS, Figs. 1 and 8, are used for the preselection of the operations and counters to be involved in the desired use of the machine. Each switch, Figs. 5 and 6, consists of a cylinder 600 of insulating material carrying twelve axial rows of fourteen contacts 601. Mounted for rotation in end plates and rigid with knob 605 are plates 608, 609 spaced apart by a rod 607 and a rectangular-section bar 606 of insulating material which carries six pairs of spring-pressed contacts 610 ; each pair of contacts is electrically connected together by a separate metal strip 613. Each switch assembly comprises thus six twelve-way switches ganged for simultaneous operation and has one " off " position in which the contacts 610 rest upon an unconnected axial row of contacts 601 and up to eleven control positions. Starting circuits. The machine has a tabulating speed of 150 cards per minute, a printing speed of 120 cards per minute and a third speed of 75 cards per minute. By passing down momentarily from the tabulating to the third speed, and then up to the printing speed the drop from 150 to 120 cards per minute is achieved rapidly. When current is switched on by closing the switch 100, Fig. 9, a reset key R must be depressed before the start key S has any effect. The latter energizes the cardfeed clutch magnet CFC, main clutch magnet DC, and a relay HD which closes its contacts HDa, HDb to complete a circuit 102, 104, start relay ST, HDb, HDa, and motor TM. Relay ST closes contacts STa to short-circuit through line 104, the resistances 105, 106 in series with shunt-winding 107 of motor TM. The latter thereby operates at high torque and at the third speed of 75 cards per minute. As the motor speeds up, the motor current falls off until it can no longer keep relay ST energized. Contacts STa opens, resistances 105, 106 come back into circuit and the motor operates at the high tabulating speed. Distributers and printing circuits. Printclutch magnet PC is energized during total cycles by the closure of any pair of five contact pairs 1D-1a to 5D-1a, Fig. 9. Each contact pair is part of a different multi-contact relay. These relays are part of a number of distributers, which latter control the counters during totaltaking and are designated by reference D with a prefix identifying the particular one of the five counters e.g. distributer 2D-1 controls counter No. 2. The suffix to D identifies the operation. All distributers with suffix 1 control printing and close contacts 1a, e.g. to print the total of counter 2 contacts 2D-1a close a circuit 102, P-1, 4a, L-19, 2D-1a, 4b, AB1, 3b, PC, 103. Coil AB1 is part of a double-wound relay, the other coil being AB2. This relay is thus energized to close contacts ABa and shortcircuit the resistances 105, 106 through contacts RSb. The tabulating speed of the motor will then, as described above, drop to the third speed of 75 cards. As the type-bars rise, the contacts RSb are opened (e.g. by the type-bar cross-head) and break the short-circuit about resistances 105, 106. Magnet PC has, however, closed its contacts PCa to short-circuit the resistance 106 so that the speed rises from third only up to the print speed of 120 cards per minute. Group control circuits. The group numbers of successive cards are read simultaneously at upper and lower brushes and if the numbers agree, control relays (one for each column) are energized to close the contacts CMa, Fig. 9. These contacts are in series with one another and are connected by wires 122, 123, 124 so as to give : (1) a major group control circuit L20, 16, 15, 14, MA, (2) an intermediate group control circuit L21, 19, 18, I, and (3) a minor group control circuit L22, 26 .... 21, MI. When cam contacts L20, L21, L22 open towards the end of each cycle, the contacts CMa will be closed, if there are no group charges, to maintain the circuits MA, I, and MI through contacts UCLRf and wire 122. Switches 125, 126, 127 may be selectively closed to short the contacts L20 ... L22 and keep the control circuits MA, I, MI permanently energized. Total cycles. The machine can perform five sequential cycles No. 4, 3, 2, 1 and R, commencing with cycle No. 4. For example, at minor group change, a total print involves cycles Nos. 1 and R and a balance print needs cycles 3, 2, 1 and R ; whereas a major group change involves cycle No. 4 also. Total-cycle initiation. Four cycle-initiating relays C1, C2, C3, C4, Fig. 10, initiate the correspondingly numbered total-taking cycle and they are energized in the order C4, C3, C2, C1 : e.g. if relay C2 is energized, C4 and C3 are unaffected and cycles 2, 1, and R occur. Four double-wound relays 29 ... 32, when energized, select the cycles 1, 2, 3, 4 respectively as the starting point of a series. Their operative windings are in series with one another and with relay 27 and master control relay MC. 29H ... 32H are the holding windings, contacts 29a ... 32a being closed when the windings 29 ... 32 are energized. Relay MC at total-taking opens contacts MCc, Fig. 9, to break the circuit of the card-feed clutch magnet CFC, and closes contacts MCb and MCa to energize, and hold energized, relays 3, 4, 5. Coils 14, 18, 21, Fig. 9, are normally energized, and when energized they close contacts 14a, 18a, 21a, Fig. 10, and open contacts 14b, 18b, 21b. If, for example, the minor group changes, the relay 21 is deenergized, and a circuit 102, Fig. 9, 34a, 128, 14a, Fig. 10, 18a, 21b, C is formed. For (1) minor totals (switch C on contact MT) the circuit continues through 29, MC, 27 while for (2) minor balance (contact MB) the circuit continues through 31, 30, 29, MC, 27. For (1) cycles 1 and R occur and for (2) cycles 3, 2, 1 and R take place. Relays 29 ... 32 include normally closed contacts 29b ... 32b and normally open contacts 29c .... 32c ; and coact with contacts 34b, 34d of relay 34, with contacts 36a, 36b, 38a, 38b, 40a, 40b of cycle set-up relays 36, 38, 40, and with contacts 37a, 37b, 39a, 39b, 41a, 41b of cycle pre-set-up relays 37, 39, 41 to govern the energization of the cycle-initiating relays C1, C2, C3, C4. Relay 34 initiates the R cycle. Switches A, B, C, Fig. 10, and D, 125, 126, 127, Fig. 9, which have been shown separate for clarity are actually constituted by the main control switch, Figs. 5 ... 7. Counter circuits. Fig. 12 shows the circuits for five denominations of one counter. Each counter is associated with six distributers D0, D1, .... D5, contacts of which are shown in Fig. 12. The upper set of count (CT) and print (PR) circuits relate to the pence denomination and the remaining four to the shillings and pounds. Sockets BR are connected direct to the lower brushes, except the pence socket BR which is connected to its lower brush through an impulse-changing device as described in Specification 288,360, [Class 106 (i)]. The normal counter-magnet circuit is from socket BR to magnet CT through lower contacts D2. Each denomination has a reading-out commutator 134, 136, 135 as set out in Specification 356,304. Emitters E1 and E2 are also connected as shown. Brushes 136 stand on segments 135 to represent the total and as brushes 556 rotate impulses are transmitted to common bars 134 at differential times. If distributers D4, D5 are unenergized the contacts D-4, D-5 are as shown and a true