Patent GB-552957-A (GB)
Title: Improvements in or relating to methods of and apparatus for printing data derived from records
Filed: 1941-10-29
Abstract: 552,957. Statistical machines. BRITISH TABULATING MACHINE CO., Ltd. Oct. 29, 1941, No. 13945. Convention date, Oct. 30, 1940. [Class 106 (i)] A method of 'and apparatus for printing on ledger sheets data derived from record cards consists in sensing the said area to read any balance magnetically recorded thereon in code and entering it into an accumulator, obliterating the magnetized code spots, adding to the balance in the accumulator data derived from the record cards to produce a new balance and feeding the ledger sheet to a printing position, printing the new balance on the sheet, and feeding the magnetizable area past a magnetic recording station to record thereon the new balance. Additional control spots are recorded in the magnetizable area of the ledger sheet to determine (1) the'time in the cycle at which the feeding of the sheet is stopped to ensure that the first clear line is at the printing position, and'(2) whether the balance sensed is negative and to enter it into the accumulator accordingly. The invention is shown applied to a tabulating machine of the "Hollerith" (Registered Trade Mark) type. Card feeding and reading means.- This mechanism comprises the usual picker member for advancing the cards to feed rolls and passing them to upper and lower analysing brushes. The mechanism is under the control of a clutch mechanism and a clutch feed magnet. This clutch magnet can be de-energized to prevent card feed operation during balance entry and total taking cycles of operation. Printing mechanism.-The usual type bars 29, Fig. 3, are slidably mounted on a crosshead 28 reciprocated by arms 27 on a rock shaft 26 and a cam follower 25. The cam 21 is freely mounted on a listing shaft 19 and can be coupled thereto by a clutch lever 22 controlled by a magnet 24. Each type bar 29 is adapted to be arrested in its upward movementby a stop pawl 33 released by a latch 34 under the control of a print magnet 36. The movement of.the type bars is synchronized with the movement of an impulse emitter to energize the print magnets in accordance with the value of the digits set up on the accumulator. Accmulator and read-out mechanism.-One or more accumulators for adding and subtracting are provided. Each numeral wheel 83, Fig. 6, is driven by gearing from a drive shaft 69 under the control of clutch members 71 and co-operating magnets 77 operated at various times in the cycle depending on the card hole position. Subtraction is effected by adding the complement; for this purpose the magnets 77 are initially energized and then opened at the card hole position and the fugitive "1" is added into the units denomination. The subtract magnet 130 when energized rocks a lever 124 and a pawl 123 thereon frees a triple-armed member 121 thereby permitting engagement of a clutch lever 118 with a co-operating element 117 on a driving shaft 116 making two revolutions for one revolution of the shaft 69. The clutch lever 118 is pivoted on a cam member 120 and on rotation co-operates with a roller 133 to depress a slide 134. Downward movement of slide 134 rocks a bell crank 137 so as to move the clutch arm 73 to declutching position at a time determined by the position of the card perforation. The accumulator is provided with the usual transfer mechanism and transfer elements are associated with the units denomination to introduce the fugitive "1." The i read-out devices are in the form of electrical brush and commutator structures driven by a gear wheel 109 in mesh with the gear 80. Two pairs of brushes 110, 111 are provided; the brushes 110 co-operate with contact segments 112, 112a and an arcuate conductor 113; the brushes 111 are offset 18 degrees and co-operate with the segments 112 and special segments 115, 115a and an arcuate conductor 114. Resetting mechanism.-To reset the accumulator a magnet 162, Fig. 2, is energized to couple clutch elements 158, 163 to a shaft 156 carrying an intermittent gear wheel 155 which drives a gear 154 on the resetting shaft 153. Ledger sheet. -This sheet 166, Figs. 11 and 12, comprises a paper carrier or base 167 coated with magnetizable granular material 168 and a cover or layer of paper 169 bonded by adhesive material to 'the base. The sheet has an area for receiving printed data 170, a magnetizable area for a code spot 171 for line finding purposes, an area AS for code spots 172 representing the balance which is printed in the last line, and a code spot 172a which is recorded whenever the balance is negtive. Ledger sheet feeding mechanism.-The record cards having been 'fed into the machine and the first card presented to the lower brushes the ledger sheet is entered between guides 180, Figs. 3, 8 and 9, to free a stop member 181 so that on energization of a magnet 191 the feed roller 183 is moved into engagement with the sheet. The feeding commences when a magnet 204 is energized to restore one of the displaced pins 208 of a pin drum 209. This pin releases a lever 213 to effect engagement of clutch members 215, 219, to couple a gear wheel 218 to the drive shaft 19. The gear 218 is in train with other gears to drive shafts 193, 200 to feed the ledger sheet along the guides 180. As the sheet is fed the balance index spots 172 pass by the reading magnets 175 and are sensed thereby to control the entry of the 'old balance into the :accumulator. As the feeding of the sheet continues the line finding spot 171 is sensed by a magnet 176 to control the positioning of the sheet. The sheet then passes the magnet 177 and the balance spot and line finding stop are obliterated thereby. The sensing of the line spot by the magnet 176 causes the magnet 203 to be energized and thereby one of the pins 208 to be projected. As the pin drum 209 rotates the displaced pin 208 engages a cam surface on the lever 213 and disengages the clutch 215, 219 to arrest the feeding movement of the sheet to position the proper line at the printing position. The old balance has now been entered in the accumulator and the cards are fed through the machine to add or subtract the various transactions and a new balance is obtained. When the last card has been fed and a change of group designation is sensed by the group control device a total printing and reset cycle is initiated. The new balance is then printed on the ledger sheet and another line finding spot is recorded magnetically by the magnet 178. After this operation magnet 204 is operated to restore the displaced pin 208 whereupon ledger sheet feeding operation is resumed. The ledger sheet is halted momentarily adjacent the balance recording position under control of the magnets 203, 204 and is then fed past the recording magnets 179 whereupon the new balance is magnetically recorded at the appropriate index positions and the ledger sheet is thereafter ejected. To ensure that the ledger sheet is positioned properly at all the reference points the clutch element 219 drives an eccentric 232 that controls a cam slide 231 co-operating with spaced pins 238 on the gear 218. Means are provided to control the movement of the ledger sheet when a blank sheet is inserted. The circuit arrangements are fully decribed in the Specification.