Patent GB-939640-A (GB)
Title: Perforated record card reading apparatus
Filed: 1962-04-10
Abstract: 939,640. Statistical apparatus. ING. C. OLIVETTI & C. S.p.A. April 10, 1962 [April 11, 1961], No. 13812/62. Class 106 (1). A perforated record card is advanced through a sensing station by a friction drive, its leading edge engages an escapement member and advances the latter relative to a rack having the same pitch as the columns of the card, a mechanism is conditionable to cyclically operate a set of sensing fingers and to bring the rack and escapement member into and out of engagement with each other so that the escapement member may be advanced step-bystep by the card, the mechanism being conditioned to operate in response to the advancement of the escapement member. The card 22, Fig. 2, is advanced by rollers 101 between guide members, and its presence in the sensing station is detected by roller 135 which is raised by the card and rocks lever 129 to raise latch 125 and release lug 123 on lever 118. Lever 118 is then rotated by a spring, plate 115 is moved into the path of the card, and escapement member 103 engages the top of rack 102. When the leading edge of the card 22 engages plate 115, the latter is moved downwards against the tension of spring 121, and the member 103 moves rack 102 downwards by one column spacing until pins 159 engage the top ends of slots 158 in rack 102. The movement of the rack rocks levers 110, 111 to remove a projection 111<SP>1</SP> from the path of lug 40<SP>1</SP> but rotation of shaft 39 is prevented by an arm 41. When the card 22 is arrested, rollers 101 either slip on the card, or the friction clutch in their driving shaft slips, but the rollers 101 are able to adjust the position of the card until its leading edge is squarely resting on plate 115. Lever 45 is then rooked under the control of an associated accounting machine or manually, and shaft 39 starts to rotate, lever 45 being latched at 53. A cam 38 on shaft 39 rocks lever 35 to advance the sensing fingers 20, and those fingers which pass through holes in the first column of the card move the associated slides 19, 29, 30 to the right to position their shoulders 94, Fig. 1, above a bail 93. Cam 76 then causes bail 93 to be rotated over linkages 77, 80, 87, 88 whereby the selected slides 19, 29, 30 are raised, the slides 19 corresponding to positions 0-9 on the card rocking the associated lever 15 to set the corresponding pin 12 and enter the digit read into the accounting machine. The bail 93 and the selected slides 19, 29, 30 are then returned. Cam 114, Fig. 2, next moves slide 112 to the left whereby the rack 102 is disengaged from member 103, the rack is then urged upwards by spring 156 and levers 110, 108 by the amount allowed by slots 158, slide 112 returns to the right and member 103 engages the next tooth on rack 102, the card 22 in the meantime being advanced until the next column is in the sensing position. During the upwards return of rack 102, lever 111 rocks projection 1111 into the path of lug 40<SP>1</SP> so that if the card is not advanced to lower rack 102 again, shaft 39 is arrested. Control features. (a) A hole in position 11, together with a hole in a position 0-9 signifies that the column concerned represents the last digit of an amount. In this case slide 29 is raised together with a slide 19 and its shoulder 49, Fig. 2, returns lever 45 to stop shaft 39 at the end of a cycle and also to rock lever 54 to start an accounting machine cycle; (b) a hole in both positions 11 and 12, together with one hole in a position 0-9 prevents the digit recorded in that column from being entered in the accounting machine, and also prevents the machine cycle starting. In this case, slides 29, 30 are moved to the right together and prevent bail 93 being raised; (c) a hole in position 12 together with a hole in a position 0-9 may be used in the penultimate column of an amount to instruct the machine to perform a predetermined operation such as totaltaking when the machine cycle is started by the reading of the following, last column of the amount; (d) holes in positions 2, 3, 11, 12 are punched in the last column to be read and cause the card to be ejected, the combination 11, 12 preventing the entry of data into the machine as in (b) and the combination 2, 3 starting a machine cycle. The sensing of holes in positions 2, 3 causes link 147 to be moved to the right so as to locate shoulder 153 under lever 98. Owing to the sensing of holes in positions 11, 12, lever 98 is rocked by linkage 80, bail 141 is rocked so that pin 145 releases lever 45 and arm 138 is moved to the right to engage lug 136, thereby disengaging member 103 from rack 102 and removing plate 115 from the path of the card so that the latter is ejected by rollers 101. The plate 115 and the member 103 are then returned upwards by a spring.