Patent GB-772853-A (GB)
IPC: G07C1/18
Abstract: 772,853. Workmen's time-recorder. INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION. Dec. 14, 1954 [Dec. 17, 1953], No. 36138/54. Class 106 (4). [Also in Groups XVI and XVIII] In a time-computing machine the workman inserts his card 33, Fig. 34, to start a motor M for driving the card down to initiate a cross-feed cycle, which is interrupted by mechanism sensing positioning holes 35 or 38 in the card for a computing cycle to take place before the card is ejected and the motor stopped. Whether the card is inserted in an " In " or " Out " slot the time and date is printed and the setting of elapsed-time cams 441, Fig. 25, is punched during the computing cycle and in addition for an " Out " insertion the difference of the time then standing upon the elapsed-time cams and the elapsed-time represented in code by the corresponding " In " punched holes 34 is computed and printed. Means for advancing the elapsed-time cams are interrupted during lunch hours and other non-working periods through programme means. Drive motor. A mercury switch 46, Fig. 7, in the circuit of the motor M is tripped when a card is inserted and also at minute intervals through a synchronous motor S. The motor drives through pulleys and belts, gears 104, 105, reamer shaft 109, Fig. 8, downfeed roller 111 and eject roller 112, Fig. 13, and, as required, minute shaft 78, computing shaft 106 and crossfeed shaft 56 are clutched into gears 104, 105, 109 and the rollers 111, 112 are cammed against the card to feed it. The card trips the switch 46 through a lever 40 and both are reinstated at the end of a cross-feed cycle by a cam 55 on the cross-feed shaft 56 lifting the shaft 60. The synchronous motor drives a cam 69 through differential mechanism and a spring 64 depresses the shaft 60 when a follower 72 falls off the high of the cam 69, normally at minute intervals. The switch 46 is tripped and a lever 80 rocked to free mechanism for clutching in the minute shaft 7 8 after a single revolution of which it cams itself out of clutch while a cam 77 thereon rocks the lever 80 to lift the shaft 60, reset the switch 46 and relatch the clutch-operating mechanism. While the follower 72 is raised by the lifting of the shaft 60 a worm gear in the differential drive reverses the cam 69 to bring the high back under the follower. This periodic drive to the minute shaft 78 is self-regulating within an hour since in the event of a power failure to the motor M, the synchronous motor S would continue to drive the cam 69 with the follower 72 on its low portion for up to half a revolution and when the power was resumed the motor M would operate in rapid succession for the number of operations lost, thus reversing the cam 69 until its high came under the follower 72 again. Card receiver. Parallel " In " and " Out " slots formed by dividing a funnel-shaped opening with a central shield 16, Fig. 7, are covered by an arcuate shield 19 with a window 26 which may be selectively adjusted to open or shut either or both slots and can be registered in any of these positions by a ball spring-pressed into notches and locked through a rotatable key barrel. Card feeding, positioning and ejecting. When a card is inserted it is gripped between an idler roller 121 and the down-feed roller 111, Fig. 13, and fed down to a shelf 123 which it depresses to act through levers and latches to cause the reamer shaft 109 to drive the cross-feed shaft 56 which releases the down-feed roller 121 and allows a rock-shaft 136, Fig. 8, to bring crossfeed rollers into action. When the card reaches a required position, the lack of or position of a positioning hole 35 or 38 punched at a previous insertion, is sensed by feeler mechanism, the shaft 56 is arrested, the rock-shaft 136 releases the grip of the feed rollers and the computing shaft 106 is clutched into the gear 105. At the end of a computing cycle the cross-feed cycle is resumed, the rock-shaft 136 causes the card to be gripped and its cross-feed continued until a cam 213 on the shaft 56 causes the eject roller 112 to pivot towards an idler roller and feed the card down to be flicked over and to fall into a box. Shelves 123, 220 at different levels below the " In " and " Out " slots cause cross-feeding at different levels to ensure printing and punching in appropriate columns, while three sets of feelers sensing positioning holes ensure correct line spacing even though two successive entries occur in the same column instead of alternating. The cards have their lower right hand comers removed and if incorrectly inserted a square corner will trip shelves on a subsidiary link which will operate to allow cross-feeding and ejection without clutching in the cross-feed shaft so that the card passes through the machine without any normal recording operations taking place. Time and date keeping. The time and date are kept on seven gear-wheels each driving a associated type wheel. A units of minutes wheel with ten teeth is Geneva driven from the minute shaft 78 and through Geneva transfer mechanism drives a twelve-toothed tens of minutes wheel half a revolution an hour. In each revolution of the minute shaft 78 a cam 267, Fig. 16, thereon rocks a minute rock shaft 270 and reciprocates two links 272, 274 pivoted respectively to dog-carrier plates 277, 278 which ratchet-feed an hour wheel with twelve teeth, an A.M.-P.M. wheel and ten-toothed units and tens of days wheels 249, 250, Fig. 20, under the control of cams attached to the preceding wheel or wheels. The hour wheel is advanced by a dog 285 when slots in the units and tens of minutes cams coincide hourly. The A.M.- P.M. wheel is advanced every twelve hours when a slot in the hour cam comes under a follower and a lip of the follower is freed by the next movement of the dog 285, thus making the advance simultaneous with that of the hour wheel. A month-indicating bail 275 controlled by a follower 295 and cam 296 allows the link 274 to make full strokes in thirty-day months, but shortens the return stroke in thirtyone-day months. The unit wheel 249 is fixed to a ratchet wheel 309, having ten teeth, one tooth 308 being deeper than the rest. The tens wheel 250 is fixed to a ratchet wheel 307 having two sets of five teeth each set comprising three uniform teeth 1, 2, 3, a larger tooth 3, 310, and a larger still blank tooth B, 306. A double pawl assembly 301, pivoted. at 302 on the plate 278 itself pivoted to the link 274, for engaging the ratchet wheels 307, 309, is governed as follows : (a) the A.M.-P.M. cam A.M. highs cause its follower to block the pawl assembly 301 so that neither ratchet is engaged, while the P.M. lows remove this inhibition; (b) the pawl 301b can only engage a normal tens teeth 1, 2 or 3 when pawl 301a enters the single deep units tooth 308 in short strokes due to the shortness of the stroke, in long strokes due to a surface 277a of the plate 277 acting on the pawl assembly 301;  (c) a cam CL co-operates with a high blank tens tooth 307 to inhibit normal advance of the units wheel at the end of the month. The date is advanced to thirty each month by the pawl 301a advancing the units ratchet wheel 309 and at the end-of each revolution its deep tooth 308 allowing the pawl 301b to advance the tens ratchet wheel 307. With the short strokes of a thirtyone-day month, the next stroke advances the unit ratchet 309 and also the tens ratchet 307 since its larger tooth 310 is now lying in the path of the pawl 301b. In the following stroke the large blank tooth 306 causes the cam lever CL to pivot the pawl assembly 301 and the pawl 301a to clear the units ratchet 309 while only the tens ratchet 307 is advanced. In a thirty-day month the long stroke at the end of the thirtieth day causes. the pawl 301b to engage the blank tooth 306 and advance the tens ratchet two positions while the tooth 306 and cam CL again prevent the pawl 301a from engaging the units ratchet 309. However, an over-running pawl 312 on the tens ratchet 307 co-operates with a toothed disc 313 fixed to the units ratchet 309 to advance it one position. The tens ratchet 307 has two studs 316 for driving a Geneva gear 317 for advancing the month wheel. Clock dial mechanism is advanced once a minute by the minute shaft 78 through a gear 319, Fig. 16, driving a train to the units of minutes dial 332, Fig. 2, with Geneva transfer mechanism to the tens of minutes dial 336 and from the latter to the hour dial 340. Elapsed-time programming. In order to prevent elapsed-time from being accumulated during non-working hours and to give signals, the drive to elapsed-time wheels is switched on and off and signalling devices are operated through twelve sensing fingers 346, Fig. 2, one for each of twelve channels of a brass tape T driven one revolution every twelve hours. There are four groups of channels, each group comprising a start, a stop and a signal channel, there being a morning and afternoon group each for regular days and special days, with holes provided in each channel spaced to be sensed at required times. The groups are selected cyclically by cams 396, 397, Fig. 24, driven from the hour wheel 340 of the time dial mechanism one revolution a week and having respectively A.M.-P.M. cam surfaces and insertable slugs 399 for defining special days, the cams cooperating with follower arms 383, 385 pivoted at 328, Fig. 2, which are rocked every minute through a cam 402 on the minute shaft 78 engaging a bell-crank arm 400. A shield 281 slidable behind the tape T is positioned to the left or right according as the follower 383 strikes an A.M. or P.M. cam surface and up or down according as the follower 385 strikes a slug or not to position one of two sets of three holes in the shield 281 in line with the feelers 346, thus selecting the groups of channels in a predetermined sequence. When a hole in a start channel 1, 2, 5 or 6 or in a stop channel 3, 4, 7 or 8 is sensed by a finger 346, the finger blocks the normal path of a sta