Patent GB-832633-A (GB)
Title: Improvements in record card selecting machines
Filed: 1956-08-30
Abstract: 832,633. Statistical apparatus. INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION. Aug. 30, 1956 [Aug. 30, 1955], No. 26498/56. Class 106 (1). [Also in Group XVI] A machine for selecting record cards comprises means for feeding the cards serially in a column by column order past a photo-electric scanning unit, connections from the output of the scanning unit to sockets of a plug-board, a plurality of registers, means for connecting the registers selectively with the sockets for actuation when signals appear thereon, means for connecting selected ones of the registers together in a group so that actuation of each register within the group after the first register is dependent upon the prior actuation of the immediately preceding register, means normally operable for rejecting the cards, means operable in response to the actuation of the last register of the group for disabling the rejecting means whereby the card giving rise to the proper actuation of the group of registers is selected. Mechanical description.-The cards to be sensed are fed from a hopper 10, Fig. 1, past the sensing unit 12 and into a transit storage belt 14 moving continuously. The cards are divided into groups of, say, 25 cards and if necessary all the cards of a group may be sensed before a determination is made to select or reject the group. Twenty-five spaces after a card is fed into the storage belt 14 it comes opposite a reject card stacker 16 which takes cards not selected and stacks them in a reject hopper 18. If a card is to be selected this stacker is disabled as the card comes opposite it, in which case the card continues moving up the front of the storage belt over the top and descends until it is removed by a pusher belt 20, Fig. 2, and a card support belt 22 engaging the inner and outer ends of the cards respectively and placing it in a selected card pocket 24. The storage belt is mounted on shaft 60 and driven, with all other moving parts, by motor M1'. A pair of sprockets 100 are fixed to shaft 60 at the top and a pair of sprockets 102 on shaft 104 at the bottom. Chains 110 connect the sprockets 100, 102 and the card transporting units 120 are mounted on these chains. Each unit comprises four paddles 122 having spaces between them to receive the cards. Each paddle carries a pin at the outer end which enters between the rollers of a chain 86 running between sprockets 72, 84 and driven through gears 68. This provides accurate alignment of the paddles with the card feed unit. The selected card stacking belts 20, 22 are inclined at an angle to the storage belt and each consists of a pair of chains 158 and 176 with card pusher segments 160 on the former and card supporting segments 177 on the latter. Co-operating segments on the chains move the card from between the transporting paddles and cause it to fall into the pocket 24. Contact storage drum.-A contact storage drum is driven from shaft 60 through a worm gear, a belt 206 and pulley. 210, Fig. 1. The drum consists of two cylindrical sections 238, Fig. 9, of non-conducting material held together by screws 240. The periphery of each section is formed with thirty-six teeth 242 and between each pair of teeth is fixed a conducting spring blade 244. The left and right ends of these blades, designated 244L and 244R, are adapted to be latched down by spring latching members 246, the ends of which are looped over to form latches. A contact arm 256 is fixed on top of and in contact with each blade 244L, and is so shaped that its free end is positioned to contact the left-hand end of the adjacent blade when this is unlatched. The right-hand ends 244R are adapted, when unlatched to contact a ring 260. Contact is made to this ring by a stationary wiping contact mounted on the frame. Between sections 238 is mounted a ring 264 having thirty-six teeth 266, Fig. 10, engaged by a roller carried on a spring-loaded reset lever 276 pivoted at 274. Frame members 270 on each side carry rollers 272 adapted to bear down on the ends of the blades and re-latch them. The latches at both ends of the blades are disengaged by camming surfaces 302 on the ends of levers 294, 296 which form parts of bellcrank levers, only one of which is visible in Fig. 9. These levers are biased by a spring so that their camming ends tend to move downwardly into contact with the latches. They are each restrained by latching engagement with the armature (290) of an electromagnet (284). When these magnets are energized the levers move to unlatch the blades 244 and when the magnets are de-energized the levers are returned to the latched position by the reset lever 276 actuated by the teeth 266 of ring 264. The rollers 272 relatch each blade thirty-four places after release. A lever 308 similar to lever 276 carries a roller 309 also coacting with teeth 266 and serving to operate contacts 312. The magnet 284 controlling the latches at the left-hand ends of the blades 244L is termed the " group magnet " while the other magnet (not visible in Fig. 9) which controls the blade ends 244R is termed the " select magnet." There may be in the run of cards for example a group of four cards Al, A2, A3, A4 followed by another group of four cards B1-B4, followed by a group consisting of one card only C1 and that followed by another single card group D1. If cards A3 and Dl for example contain data which will cause their card groups to be selected, the select magnet circuit is conditioned for operation whenever a card is sensed that contains matching data, thus preparing the machine to select that card and the other cards of the group and the select magnet is energized at the end of the group containing the matching card. The group magnet 284 is energized for each card. sensed except for the last card, except where there is only one card in a group, and closes the contact 244L of the adjacent contact strip 244. Fig. 11 shows a diagrammatic representation of the contacts of the storage drum, contact ring 260 being on one side and the connections 256 to adjacent blades being on the other side. The drum rotates in synchronism with the movement of the card transport belt so that the contact blades 244 correspond to particular cards. Those corresponding to the cards A1-A4, B1-B4, C1 and D1 are marked accordingly. As these ten cards are sensed the control circuits of the select 'and group electromagnets cause the contacts to close as follows:- Whenever a circuit is completed between brushes 262 and the select brush 314 running. over blades 244, the card opposite the reject stacker is permitted to pass on to the pocket 24 because the card select solenoid 316 is energized through triode 318 to disable the appropriate reject stacker fingers. Twenty-five cards after the card A1 is sensed the corresponding contact strip 244 comes under the stationary select brush 314, by which time the card A1 is opposite the stacker 16. Since the group A1-A4 is to be selected a circuit is completed from brush 262 through ring 260, closed contact blade 244R-A4 to the blade 244, and through offset contact arms 258 to blades 244-A3, 244-A2 and 244-A1 and thence through select brush 314 to the select solenoid 316. The reject gripper fingers are disabled by this. solenoid as the card A1 comes opposite the reject stacker so that this card remains in the belt 14. One card space later the blade 244-A2 comes under the brush 314 and a circuit is completed as before between brush 262 and brush 314 to energize the solenoid 316 and retain this card in the belt, and similarly cards A3 and A4 are retained. When the leading card B1 of the next group comes under the brush 314, since none of the contacts 244R of this group are made neither is contact 244L-A4 closed to contact 258-B1, no connection can be made through the brush 314 to energize the select solenoid 316. These cards are therefore taken out by the reject card stacker. Twenty-five spaces after the sensing of card C1 the strip 244-C1 comes under brush 314 but contact 244R-C1 is not closed and this card is accordingly rejected. One card space later the blade 244-D1 comes under brush 314 and a circuit is made from brush 262 through ring 260, closed contact 244R-D1, blade 244D1 and brush 314 to solenoid 316, thereby disabling the stacker fingers and leaving the card in the band 14. Sensing.-The cards are fed in turn from the stack by an oscillating suction gripper (see Group XVI) and passed over a bed-plate 578, Fig. 1, formed with a line of holes 584, Fig. 25, one for each perforation position of a card column. On each side of the line of holes are holes 586, 588, one covered by the card before and one after the holes 584. A photo-transistor PT12, PT11, PT0, PT1-PT9 is provided for each perforation 584 and photo-diodes are provided for the perforations 586, 588. One of these is designated BPD for the beginning of the card and the other EPD for the end. A lamp 589, Fig. 1, is provided running across the width of the card. The detail card, Fig. 95, has a sequence field, a classification field, a start search symbol field, a stop search symbol field and a group end symbol field. A plug connection may be made so that a group end signal acts as a stop search signal also so that both signals need not appear in the same card. Circuit description.-Before making a search the matter to be searched' for is punched in a question card in a two-out-of-twelve code and the card is inserted in a comparator unit. The panel board sockets are interconnected with plug wiring in accordance with the combination of data that satisfies the question to be searched. When detail card is fed from the feed hopper past the sensing unit the leading edge blocks light to the end-of-card diode EPD, then to the row of photo-transistors PT and then to the beginning-of-card diode BPD. Each time one of the photo-transistors PT is exposed through a hole in the card, a positive pulse is derived from the photo unit 602, Fig. 27. Negative pulses are produ