Patent GB-467030-A (GB)
Title: Improvements in or relating to record card sorting machines
Filed: 1935-12-09
Abstract: 467,030. Statistical machines. THOMAS, A. Dec. 9, 1935, No. 34110. [Class 106 (i)] A machine for selectively sorting master and follower cards comprises a pin box 1 in which the pins are settable manually to represent the holes of a " selected " master card and control a mechanism for sorting " selected " master cards into the " selected " box 4 and unselected masters into the reject box 5, means for feeding a substitute card from an auxiliary magazine into the reject box 5 for each master sorted into the box 4, and means controlled by a master card to retain operative the sorting mechanism and the auxiliary card-feed until the next master card is read, so that for each " selected " master the related followers also go into the box 4 and corresponding substitute cards go into the reject box 5. The pin box 1 is similar to that described in Specification 328,293, [Class 106 (i)], having manually settable sensing pins of the form marked with the reference letters A and B in the prior Specification. These A and B pins (not shown in the present case) are set to represent the desired number or designation of the cards which are to be selected and the pin box has a shutter or lock plate (marked 20 in the prior Specification) which can only move fully when the arrangement of holes read in a card agrees completely with the manual setting of the pins. The master and follower cards are fed from magazine 2, past the selecting pin box 1 to " selected " and reject boxes 4, 5 and the substitute cards are fed from the right, from an auxiliary, rear, magazine (not shown), to the box 5. Substitute-card feed. Pivoted at 6 to pin box 1 is a depending arm 7 connected by pin and slot 8 to the shutter or lock plate abovementioned. Secured to shaft 10 is a plate 11 and when the pin box is at the top of its stroke the lower end of arm 7 is above and to the left of the left end of plate 11 so that as arm 7 descends it misses the plate. Only if the lock plate moves fully to the right, when the holes read agree fully with the manual pin setting, is the lower end of arm 7 moved over plate 11 so that for " selected " cards the shaft 10 is rocked counterclockwise and raises an arm 12 on it to connect the main shaft of the machine with the deflector 31 of box 4 and the picker blade of the auxiliary magazine as follows :- An eccentric on the main shaft operates a rod 16 carrying a pin 17 engaging a slot 18 in link 19 which, when reciprocated, actuates the picker for the auxiliary, rear, magazine. Pivoted on pin 17 is a coupling piece 21 of which the horizontal arm has a lug 22 resting on the edge of link 19 and the vertical arm has a lug 23 co-operating with shoulder 24 on lever 25; the latter being connected by link 27 to arm 12. As link 16 reciprocates, the piece 21 moves longitudinally of link 19 and normally lug 23 meets shoulder 24 to hold lug 22 when it reaches the recess 26 in link 19. For a " selected master card, however, arm 12 is raised as described above and lever 25 is raised, lug 22 drops into recess 26 and as the parts 16, 21, 19 return to the left a substitute card is fed from the right to fixed deflector 32 and reject box 5, at the same time as pin 29 on link 19 rocks arm 30 to raise the deflector 31 which diverts the " selected " master card into box 4. At the end of a run, therefore, the " selected " cards will be in box 4 and their places in the rejected cards in box 5 will have been taken by substitute cards. To replace the selected cards in the pack, the selected cards from box 4 are placed in the rear magazine and the pack of reject and substitute cards from box 5 are placed in magazine 2. Each substitute card has a single hole in a particular common position. The pin box 1 is therefore manually set to select the substitute cards which there - upon go to box 4 whilst the previously selected cards from the rear magazine take their original positions among the other cards in box 5. Sorting follower cards. Each master card may have a number of follower cards, e.g. ten, related to it. A latch 33 pivoted at 34 is rigid with arm 35 having a pin and slot connection with an arm 36 on a shaft 37. A second latch 38 is freely pivoted at 34 and the latches are pulled to the right by springs 39 and 40. A pin 41 on lever 25 coacts with shoulders 33a, 38a on the latches, the shoulder 33a being lower than the shoulder 38a. A sensing pin 42 is disposed in pin box 1 so as to pass through a hole in a particular position in the cards, this hole being punched in master cards only. Pin 42, unlike the pins A and B (not shown), is not manually settable ; it is spring-pressed downwards and has a collar 43 to engage an arm 44 rigid with shaft 37. When a master card is read, pin 42 descends, shaft 37 is rocked counterclockwise and latch 33 is moved left, away from pin 41. As pin 42 rises again, spring 39 pulls latch 33 to the right so that if lever 25 has been raised, pin 41 is held up by shoulder 33a. Thus, the latch 33 is moved for each master card but not for a follower card. When a " selected " master card is read, arm 12 raises lever 25 so that the coupling of parts 22 and 26 is effected and the pin 41 is held up on shoulder 38a. At the same time latch 33 is rocked to the left. As the pin box 1 rises again, latch 33 returns to the right and its shoulder 33a receives and holds up the pin 41 which is now released from shoulder 38a by the pin 17 (now moving left) striking an extrusion 45 of latch 38. Deflector 31 is raised and the " selected " master card goes into box 4. Shoulder 33a holds the lever 25 up so that its shoulder 24 is above the path of lug 23 ; each time a follower card now comes along it fails to rock the latch 33 since pin 42 does not read a hole, so that for each card the coupling 22, 26 is effected and the follower card goes into box 4 and a substitute card into box 5. When the next master card comes along, the latch 33 is rocked to release the lever 25. The latter is now controlled again by arm 12 according to whether the master card now read is a " selected " one or not. To enable ordinary cards not having follower cards to be selectively sorted into box 4 and replaced by substitute cards in box 5, the lever 4 may be permanently depressed, and therefore latch 33 held to the left out of action, by rocking a handle 49. This handle is on a plate 47 pivoted at 48 and connected by spring 46 to lever 44, the plate being rocked until this spring is on the other side of the pivot 48.