Patent GB-676155-A (GB)
Title: Improvements in record card controlled machines
IPC: E01C23/08
Filed: 1950-05-03
Abstract: 676,155. Typewriters &c. BRITISH TABULATING. MACHINE CO., Ltd. May 3, 1950 [May 3, 1949], No. 10917/50. Class 100 (iv). [Also in Group XIX] A record controlled printing machine in which a continuous strip divided into forms is printed with a name and address and detailed information from groups of record cards comprising a leading address record card and following detail cards has a plurality of storage devices for receiving data from the sensing means whereby the stored data may be utilised later for a further printing of the name and address at the head of related forms, when there is insufficient space on a single form for all detail items to be printed. In addition, invoice, page, and account numbers may be stored and repeated on subsequent forms. The invention is preferably applied to a punched card machine of the type described in Specification 672,339 wherein multiline printing of an address is effected by holding the card stationary and repeatedly sensing the data on the card which is divided, for example, into fields A, B, and C (Fig. 1) controlling the name, address, and town respectively, while the three line address is printed line by line during three successive machine cycles. Following the printing of the name and address the form is advanced by a feed control mechanism in which a separate control tape T is employed as described in Specification 618,267 until the first detail line is in the printing position, and the detail information from the detail cards is then printed line by line until the space is filled and overflow controls on the tape initiate the necessary feeding movement to position a further form in the printing position whereupon the name and address multiline printing operation is repeated from the stored data to print the name and address at the top of the second or subsequent form before continuing with the item printing and totals. The provision for accumulating data and reading out are described in Specification 675,219, [Group XIX]. Storage mechanism. For storing both the 1-9 and O, X or R code information necessary for alphabet printing as described in Specification 605,132 a group of units of the type shown in Fig. 19 are provided. Rotatably mounted on a rod 472 are groups of sectors 473, 474. The sectors are mounted side by side, sixteen to a group spaced apart by washers or the sector hubs. Stop pawls 476 are provided for each sector and arranged to engage ratchet teeth on the sector. Normally the pawls are held out of engagement with the sectors by means of armatures 478 of the magnets SA, SAC, SB, SBC. Normally the magnets SA, SB, will be plugged to the " name " and " street " fields of the card sensing contacts respectively, while a third set of magnets SC will be connected to the " city " field of the card sensing contacts. Rotatably mounted on the shaft 472 are two oscillatory bails 483, 484 associated with two series of sectors 473, 474 respectively. The bails project through the planes of all the sectors which are connected to the bails by springs 485 so that oscillation of the bails will cause the sectors to follow the movement provided none of the pawls 476 has been released. There are twelve ratchet teeth in each sector and also abutments 473a, 474a comprising stops to which extreme positions the sectors will oscillate if not arrested by release of the pawls. The ratchet teeth have the code values shown and the cams actuating the bails are so shaped that as the bails move in a counterclockwise direction the ratchet teeth will pass the ends of the pawls 476 in synchronism with the sensing of the corresponding indexpoint positions on the record cards. Normally movement of the bails is prevented by a mechanism controlled by restoring magnets. The commutators associated with each sector are arcuate in form with contact segments 594 representative of the twelve index points on a card over which a brush 596 attached to the sector by insulating means is wiped by movement of the sector, a second prong 597 of the brush makes continuous contact with an arcuate bus-bar. Operation. The operation of the machine as outlined above, is controlled by the tape shown in Fig. 1a, as described in Specification 618,267, which together with stored "name and address" data contained in the series of sectors and associated brush positions previously described enables the machine to print a complete invoice on several forms all of which will bear the name and address and appropriate account or serial numbers and page numbers so that related forms may be matched up if separated. In the examples shown in Fig. la various changes in groups of cards are indicated, together with the positions of the holes in the control tape which determine when change of form and repeat printing of address data shall take place. The control tape ensures that if there is sufficient room on a form to complete the total after listing the last detail item the machine will print it, if not, the roll of forms will be advanced to the next one, the name and address will be printed as on the previous form and the total then printed after the last detail item. The account serial number will be repeated for each continuation form and advanced by one for each separate group of related account cards, and the page number will advance by one for each continuation form and recommence with number 1 at the commencement of each new group of cards. A customer's account number may also be printed from the first card of a group or from storage in the case of continuation forms being required by overflow conditions on the first form. Pilot selectors. Pilot selectors are provided at the first sensing station to sense a special perforation in a card when it is read there, which close contacts switching the card reading impulses into accumulators or other receiving devices for one cycle of operation and then restore the switch to allow ordinary sensing operations to be carried on. For example, in the case of the leader card LC in Fig. 1 it is desired to read the first invoice number and page number off the leader card. When it is at the second reading station and then when the second card which is likely to be a leading card, appears at the same reading station it is desired that the sensing devices have other connections from the same columns to accumulators or printing banks other than those associated with the invoice number and page number accumulators. Pilot selection is initiated by a special perforation on the leader card LC designated 1 in the X position of the seventy ninth column, Fig. 1. The usual method of entry into an accumulator is through the printer so that there is an assurance that the number printed is the same as the number added. This type wheel entry is performed by directing the type wheel " echo " impulse into the accumulator. The " echo " impulse is derived from contacts governed by rotation of the type wheel. When the machine is conditioned for total printing and resetting the accumulated total is printed and the " echo " impulse is used for resetting the accumulator to a zero balance. In the case of page numbers, for example, the accumulators may be reset to zero on the occurrence of a group change of record cards without a printing operation taking place. Storage controls. In the case of alphabet storage the storage unit must be divided into two sections, because alphabet data requires storage of zoning information as well as storage of the numeric part of the alphabet code. Therefore in this case eight orders of control magnets and related commutators are receptive of the digital portion of the alphabet code and in the same unit the eight other orders are set up to receive settings according to the code values of zones O, X and R of the alphabet data. The two sets of eight are each interrelated so that the digital storing portion and the zone designation storing portion are operated together to receive readings from the same card column and are also connected by switching contacts so that, when control is exercised over. the printer, the impulses read out from the storage unit are directed into a single printer bank from the two related orders of the storage unit. When a storage unit is to receive impulses the related restoring magnet SRA is energised early in the series of cycles to initiate the mechanical movement of the restoring bail which clears the old setting and conditions the unit to receive a new setting from the card which is to be read. Normally the restoration of the storage unit is under control of the last programme step, i.e., major total. The alphabet information set up in the storage unit will remain there until the cycle after the next restoring impulse is received. The setting may be read out as often as desired without resetting the unit. As ordinarily used the name and address of a customer will be set up and read out to print the address as a heading repetitively for each of a succession of printed forms used for a given customer. Overflow controls. In order to avoid waste of space on the roll of invoice forms which would occur if sufficient lines were left for totals which may not coincide with the space provided, two overflow controls are provided on the control tape 9's and 11's. If a group change occurs before or simultaneously with the sensing of the first overflow control 9's the totals are printed in the remaining lines available on the form. If, however, a group change has not been detected (by the presence of the X perforation in the seventyninth column of a leader card in the pre-sensing station) by the time the first overflow control has been reached item detail printing will continue to the foot of the form at which point the second overflow control 11's will initiate the advance of the forms and the printing of the address data from storage on the top of the next form and the detail