Patent GB-485380-A (GB)
Title: Improvements in or relating to record card controlled statistical machines
Filed: 1936-11-18
Abstract: 485,380. Record - card - controlled statistical machines. BRITISH TABULATING MACHINE CO., Ltd., and KEEN, H. H. Nov. 18, 1936, No. 31599. [Class 106 (i)] In automatic group-control mechanism, stop means (contacts T14) normally interrupt card Feeding in each card cycle and normally inoperative control devices (IX, IXT, or 2X 2XT, &c.) are each associated with a different hole position : when a card hole renders a control device operative during one cycle this device remains operative until the stop means (T14) acts in the next card cycle and (1) prevents the stop means from acting in the first cycle, (2) prevents any other control device acting as in (1), and (3) maintains any other operative control device operative until just after the stop means is due to interrupt card feeding in the first cycle. The invention is described in a machine as set out in Specification 422,135, including major, intermediate, and minor group control circuits 20, 22, 24 respectively, associated with the usual contacts 30 controlled by the reading of groupnumbers on successive cards by upper and lower brushes. In the present instance, for control purposes, the X and Y hole positions of one column are used to denote the first and second quarters of the year, and the X and Y positions of the next column denote the third and fourth quarters. The switches SW1, SW2, SW3 are as shown, plug connection 31 is removed and sockets S9 ... S12 are connected by lines 37 and 38 as shown. The minor control circuit is thus not dependent on the inner contacts 30 but is still dependent on the. intermediate and major contacts 30 and fails whenever the major or intermediate circuit fails. Pick-up relays 1X, 2X, 1Y, 2Y have each a holding coil 1XH, 2XH, 1YH, and 2YH respectively and with their associated relays 1XT, 2XT, 1YT, and 2YT form the above-mentioned control devices. Contacts T9 and T10 close while the X card-hole positions pass the upper brushes and contacts T11 and T12 close while the Y hole positions pass the upper brushes. Sockets 39 and 41 are connected to the upper brush reading the first group-control card columns and sockets 40 and 41 are connected to the upper brush reading the second group-control card column. Thus the coils 1X ... 2Y will be selectively energized according to which quarter (or quarters) of the year is punched in the control positions. For, say, the first quarter, coil IX is energized, closing its contacts 1Xb to energize the holding coil 1XH, the latter then maintaining contact 1Xb closed. Cam contacts T2 are normally closed but open just before the X hole position passes the upper brushes in the next cycle, see the timing diagram in Fig. 2. Coil 1XH closes contact 1Xa to energize coil 1XT over contacts P11 ; the coil 1XT closing contacts 1XTb to hold itself energized over cam contacts T13 and P11. Contacts T13 (and the stop contacts T14) close early in each cycle and open after the X and Y hole positions have passed the upper brushes. Hence the coil 1XT is energized and remains energized until after the X and Y hole position reading in the next cycle. If the next card belongs to the same group, the coils 1X and 1XH will be energized by the X hole in the first column and the contacts 1Xa will be closed when contacts T13 open so that coil 1XT remains energized for another cycle. If the next card does not belong to the same group, e.g. relates to the second quarter, coils 1Y and 1YH are energized and contacts 1Ya are closed to energize coil 1YT, which closes its contacts 1YTb. When contacts T13 open, coils 1XT and 1YT are both energized, contacts 1Ya, 1YTb and 1XTb are closed, but contacts 1Xa are open. Coil 1YT is kept energized by contacts 1Ya and P11 whilst coils 1XT is kept energized over a " back " circuit through contacts 1XTb, 1YTb, 1Ya. and P11. Hence coils 1XT and 1YT are both energized to indicate that the two successive cards belong to two different groups. If, however, the second card bears no quarter-indicating hole, no coil 1X, 2X, 1Y or 2Y is energized at the second cycle and coil 1XT is de-energized when contacts T13 open. If the second card has two control holes, two coils 1X, 2X &c. are energized and two or three coils 1XT, 2XT, &c. will be energized at the end of a cycle. The coils 1XT, 2XT, &c. control contacts 1XTd, 1XTc, 2XTd, 2XTc, 2XTa, 1YTd, 1YTc, 1YTa, 2YTd, 2YTa which are normally as shown. When any coil, say 1XT, is energized it closes its contacts 1XTd to give a parallel circuit to contacts T14 through 2XTa, 1YTa &c. but will open its other related contacts 1XTc to prevent any of the other three parallel circuits from forming. The contacts T14 are connected by wires 37, 38 in the minor control circuit 24 and act as stop contacts to break this circuit and therefore to interrupt card feed and initiate total-printing cycles. With the coil 1XT. energized the above shunt around contact T14 maintains the minor control circuit 24 for another cycle. If any other coil is energized with coil 1XT, however, this shunt is opened at 2XTa, 1YTa or 2YTa and the minor circuit is broken. At a group change, say from first to second quarter, coil 1YH. is energized in the card-feeding cycle preceding the total-printing cycle and is kept energized by contacts T2 until the next card-feeding cycle. Contacts P11 open in each totalprinting cycle to de-energize coils 1XT and 1YT. Coil 1YT, but not 1XT, is re-energized when contacts P11 reclose, so that coil 1YT is energized in the cycle after total-printing and the automatic control proceeds. A " nohole " relay Z controlling contacts Za is provided so that a card without a quarter-designating hole is treated as a group by itself. The coils 1X ... 2Y have contacts 1Xd... 2Yd so that against the totals there may be printed the quarters to which they relate. The X and Y hole positions in any number of card columns may be used for the abovedescribed group control, on the X, Y and 0 holes of columns may be used. Specification 288,360, [Class 106 (i)], also is referred to.