Patent GB-209387-A (GB)
Title: Improvements in machines for analyzing, comparing, and entering data upon statistical cards and like surfaces
Filed: 1923-08-07
Abstract: 209,387. Peirce, J. R. Jan. 8, 1923, [Convention date]. Selective perforating machines. - Comprises a machine for entering, or posting, upon master insurance, record cards information taken from notice-card stubs. When the premiums are due the master-cards 12 and the returned stub or audit-cards 24 are automatically fed through the machine simultaneously. They are momentarily stopped and feeling pins sense both cards. If the pins find from the master-card that a premium is due and that notice has been sent to the policy holder, and if the policy number on the master and audit cards is the same, the audit card is fed to a file-pocket and the master-card to a station where it is perforated to denote that the premium has been paid, being afterwards fed on to a mastercard file-pocket. If the pins find that no premium is due, the master card is fed to the file-pocket and the opposing audit-card is held for comparison with the next master card. Should a premium be due and not paid the master card is fed to a reject pocket and the audit card held while should a master card be missing, the opposing audit card is rejected and the master card held. An electromotor through ordinary gearing drives a shaft 36, Fig. 11, a crank 37 on which through links 39, 42, 38, 43 reciprocates a shuttle 59 mounted on blocks 48, 49, 50, 51 slidable, along guide rods 52, 53. A link 60 pivoted on a pin 59<1> to the lever 43 actuates through links 60, 61, 63 a spring-urged auditcard picker guided along a shaft 66. Audit-card clip mechanism is carried by the blocks 48, 49, 50, 51 of the shuttle 59 and is reciprocated with it. Clips 76, 77 take the card from the picker to the comparing station and clips 79, 80 transfer the card from the comparing clips 79, 80 transfer the card from the comparing station to the audit-card reject or file pocket 4, 5. The manner of working the clips is as described in Specification 199,029. When a roller 81 on the reciprocating carriage travels up an inclined lever 82, Fig. 48, the clips, which are cross-connected, will open and straddle the card. If a latch 83 controlled from a shaft 89 releases the lever 82 and a spring 84 removes the same to an inactive position the clip closes over, and moves the card. When the shaft 89 is turned a lever 90 presses a latch 91 out of engagement with a member 92 allowing a shoulder 96 to lock the clips when the roller 81 is disengaged. At the end of a stroke a bell-crank 94 strikes a fixed projection and releases the clips. The, audit-card is stripped from the clips at the comparing-station by a spring-urged stop 97, Fig. 11, arranged in front of a bell-crank 100 connected by a rod 102 actuated from a roller 106 on the lever 105. At each oscillation the stop is moved out of the way allowing the clips 79, 80 to carry the card towards the file-pocket 5. The card can be stopped at the reject-pocket 4 by a plate 109 mounted on slide 110 connected through a bell-crank 111, lever 113, bell-crank 114, 117 actuated by a cam 119 on the main driving shaft 36. Normally the fingers 109 are in a position to arrest the cards. To permit the cards to pass on to the file pocket a lever 238 on a shaft 115 carrying the bell crank 117 is provided wtih a pin 242, Fig. 43, which can be engaged and locked in its upper position by a bell crank 239 actuated by two bars 244, 245. The former bar is connected to a rod 247, Fig. 16, the bar 245 being connected to a lever provided with pins engaging levers 250 on rods 251. The rotation of the rods 247, 251 is controlled by the perforations in the cards and causes the bars 244, 245 to be raised, preventing the reject pocket fringes from stopping the card. Master card feeding is similar to that for the audit cards. A master card picker 120, Fig. 9, is oscillated from a crank 131 on the shaft 36 through rods 130, 128, 127, 125. Clips 134, 135 are carried on a carriage 136 reciprocated by a link 139 attached to the lever 128. The clips 134 feed the master-card to the comparing position where it is stripped by a pivoted spring- urged stop 141, the card being then fed to the perforating station where it is stripped by a stop 147. The stops 141, 147 are removed periodically from the path of the card by a cam 154, Fig. 14, on a shaft 153 driven from the shaft 36. The card is taken from perforating station by clips 181 on a carriage 182 reciprocated by links 183, 184, 186 from the crank 131 on the shaft 36. The corresponding inclined latching member is controlled from a rod 194, Fig. 9, actuated by a bell crank 198 from a crank 201 on the shaft 36. The file-pochet 28 for the master card has a fixed stripper, while the reject pocket 27 has stripper fingers 204 periodically projected from the side of the pocket through levers from a shaft 152 which carries a lever 211, Fig. 14, engaging a cam 213 on a shaft 153. The lever 211 is locked by latches 214, 215 on a shaft 216 to hold the strippers out of the path of the card. The end of the shaft 216 has a lever 218, Fig. 16, actuated by a continuously rotating member 219 with frictionally held cam rollers 222 which are moved into the path of the lever 218 by guides 224 connected by levers 227, 228 to a lever 230 actuated from card pins 231. After actuation the rollers are restored by a guide 232. The latch 215 is normally disengaged from the lever 211 and is connected by a link 233 to a lever 234, Fig. 14, fixed on a shaft 235 having a bail 236 and loose perforating hammers 237. Perforating is effected by clockwise movement of the hammers and the bail 236, the lever 234 moving to cause the latch 215 to lock the lever 211. If one of the pins 231 moves forward showing payment of premium is due this will be accompanied by release of the lever 211 by latch 214. If a premium has been paid the perforating of card takes place and the lever 211 is locked by latch 215. The master card passes between plates 258, 259 and the audit cards between plates 271, 272, Fig. 16. The pins for the master card 10 are arranged in groups 262, 263, 264, Fig. 6, the first group sensing the policy number, field 12, and an additional metallic month strip 267; the second look after the year, while the pins 264 determine whether the premium is due. The audit card pins 270 sense the policy number, month and special data, such as whether the policy has lapsed. The reading by the pins determines which of several conditions exists and govern the machine accordingly. The pins 264 slide in plates 258, and are normally held retracted by a bail on a shaft actuated by a cam on the shaft 153. Against the back of the plate 288 is a notched slide 305, the notches corresponding to different months and permitting certain pins to move. When a card is at the comparing station the bail moves forward and pins finding holes move to actuate the lever 230, link 227 causing reject pocket to receive the card. Pins 266 do not co-operate with holes in the card but with holes in a metallic hand set strip. The pin 270 for the audit card has a restoring bail 333 on shaft 327, the actuation of the latter restores pins 262, 266, 270. The pins 262, 266, 270 are yieldingly connected in vertical pairs to pin bars 335, an additional unconnected bar 340 to each pair supports a combination comb 345 with notches 365 while a bar for the lower pair supports a combination comb 347. Each of the combs is urged downward by a spring 349 and moves one, two or three steps, being restored by a bar on a shaft 355 actuated by a cam on the upper drive shaft 161. If the bar for the top pins 262 finds a hole the comb drops two steps, if two pins find holes the comb drops three steps, while if the lower pin of the pair only moves, the comb moves one step. The audit-card combs 366, 367 with notches 380 are actuated and restored in a similar manner. Adjacent the two sets of combs are a plurality of axially movable comb feeler bars 381 urged to the left by springs and provided with projections 383, 384 engaging the combs, the feeler-bars being restored by bars 387 actuated from a cam. The ends of feeler-bars co-operate with a band of notched comparing combs 400 urged upwards by springs 402 and restored by a bail 404 on a shaft 405 actuated by a cam on shaft 161. The combs rise one, two or three steps according to the movement of the bars 381 and determine the movement of transverse bails 415 on spring-urged shafts 247, 251 connected to the bars 244, 245, causing the audit card to be sent to the reject-pocket. Some of the feelerbars are set back one step from the comparing combs and the propections on these bars cooperating with the audit card combs are one step farther removed from the combs than the. other feeler-bars. With this arrangement if the setback bars are permitted to advance by the master card and are held by the audit card, the advance is only one step and the comparing comb will not be affected. The notches in the master and audit card combs are such that when the combs are positioned by cards that compare, all comparing combs rise one step, the punching bail operates, and the cards are sent to the file pockets. With seven digits, each is taken care of by one comb, the combs being cut so that if two numbers being compared differ in one digit, the corresponding bail moves none or two steps. If the numbers differ in several digits the bails will be governed accordingly, the one farthest on the left dominating and effecting the moving on of that card bearing the higher number. If the pins for reading the month on the audit card disagree with the month on the strip one or both of the corresponding combs fail to rise, punching being suppressed. The top rod 247 controls the pocket action, and, through levers 417, 418, Fig. 18, on a shaft 419 controls the punching. Eight rows of punches 428, six in a row, are spring or cam retracted. At the back end of the punches is a frame 444, carrying two spring- urged selector pins for each row, manually shifted by a screw