Patent GB-902671-A (GB)
Abstract: 902,671. Digital electric-calculating apparatus. BURROUGHS CORPORATION. Oct. 14, 1958 [Oct. 31, 1957], No. 32804/58. Class 106 (1). An accumulator comprises wheels on a shaft by which they are frictionally driven and arresting means for each wheel to arrest it after a selected portion of a revolution. The accumulator described is intended for use as a product accumulator to be incorporated in a mechanical accounting machine such as that described in Specification 709,181, and is adapted to receive electric signals representing the successive " left hand " and " right hand " components of the partial products. The manner in which these signals are selected in accordance with the multiplier and multiplicand digits is described in Specification 902,672. Accumulator.-Secured to the accumulator shaft 57, Fig. 23, are sleeves 61, one for each order. On each sleeve is a split ring 66 which may, for servicing purposes only, bear numerals. The ring is caused to grip the sleeve 61 by a spring 71 which lies in a groove 68 and the ends of which are hooked on to a pin 72 in a ratchetwheel 73. The pin 72 enters a slot in a projection 67 of the ring 66 so that the wheel 73 rotates with the latter. Secured to the wheel 73 are a pinion 74, a transfer cam 75 and a zero stop arm 76. In a cycle of operation, the shaft 57, Fig. 13, is first rocked slightly counterclockwise to free clappers 86 of solenoids 80 which normally rest against teeth of the ratchet wheels 73 and then cam-controlled arms 98 withdraw the clappers, pushing them against the armatures of the solenoids. In those orders in which an entry is to be effected, the solenoids are energized to hold their clappers withdrawn when the arms 98 are restored. The shaft 57 is then rotated clockwise and drives each accumulator wheel until its solenoid is de-energized whereupon the corresponding clapper 86 re-engages the ratchet wheel. A cam-controlled multiple switch assembly or " pulse generator," Figs. 8 and 24 (not shown), produces signals on nine leads corresponding to the digits 1 to 9 to de-energize the solenoids, which are selectively connected to these leads in a manner not described, at the appropriate times in the cycle. Tens transfers.-Late in the cycle, the driving shaft 57 is again slightly reversed and the arms 98 once more withdraw the clappers 86. The shaft 57 is then rotated clockwise by an amount sufficient to permit the entry of a transfer unit in each order which takes place if the associated solenoid 80 is energized at this time. The solenoids 80 are connected as shown in Fig. 32 to printed circuitry 155, 156, 157, associated with wipers 158, each settable by a corresponding hatchet arm 132, Fig. 28, which engages a pin 164 in an arm 163 rotatable with the wiper, to one of three positions according to whether there is to be no transfer from that order, the order stands at " 9," or there is to be a transfer. In the first case (see e.g. the fourth column from the left in Fig. 32), the wiper 158 merely connects isolated conductors. Where there is to be a transfer (see e.g. the second column), the wiper connects the common conductor 155 to which the transfer pulse is applied, to the conductor 157 for that order which passes the pulse to the solenoid 80 of the next higher order to effect the transfer. If the order stands at " 9," (see e.g. the third column), the wiper connects the conductor 157 of the next lower order with that of the same order so that if the transfer pulse is to be applied to that order, it will also be passed to the next higher order. Each hatchet arm 132 is raised and then allowed to drop during each cycle under the control of a bail 149 and is further controlled by a control arm 133 and a T-shaped arm 131. When an accumulator wheel reaches the " 9 " position, its transfer cam 75 rocks the arm 131 to the position shown in Fig. 28, so releasing the control arm 133 for clockwise movement. An ear 133b thus moves from an edge 132b of the hatchet arm and an ear 131d of the arm 131 moves from a shoulder 132d of a slot in the arm 132 so that the latter can drop from its initial high position to its low " 9 " position. If the wheel has passed through " 9," the arm 131 will have been restored counter-clockwise from the position shown and its ear 131d will engage the shoulder 132d to hold the hatchet arm 132 in its intermediate " transfer " position. Rounding off.-For this purpose 5 is added, in a manner not described, in the appropriate order. Moreover, the " 9 " signal is applied to that order and lower orders and the shaft 57 is cycled. At the same time, a solenoid causes rocking of a bail 210, Fig. 19, which retains or arrests the accumulator wheels of those orders in zero positions by co - operation with the zero stop arms 76. Zeroizing.-To zeroize the accumulator fully, the bail 210, Fig. 19, is again made effective during a cycle of the shaft 57 so that the zero stop arms 76 arrest the accumulator wheels in zero positions but, in this case, instead of energizing the solenoids 80, the arms 98 are latched in the position in which they hold the clappers 86 withdrawn from the ratchet wheels 73. Printing totals.-For this purpose, the accumulator shaft 57 is raised to mesh the pinions 74 of the most significant twelve orders with extensions 259, Fig. 37, of the actuators 511 of the accounting machine and the latter rotate the wheels counter-clockwise to their zero positions as determined by the abutment of the zero stop arms 76 against the bail 210, Fig. 19. The actuators are coupled in known manner to type bars 562. The pinions 74 of the lower eight orders of the accumulator are meshed with fixed dummy racks. To assist the rotation of the wheels, the shaft 57 is also rotated by means of a power-driven rack. The bail 210 is so shaped and positioned that the wheels are arrested in zero position both in this case when they are rotated counter-clockwise and, in the case of zeroizing when the accumulator shaft is in a lower position, when they are rotated clockwise.