Patent GB-333163-A (GB)
Title: Improvements in or relating to statistical recording machines
Filed: 1929-04-05
Abstract: 333,163. Pollak, J. E., (Associated, Telephone &Telegraph Co.). April 5, 1929. Statistical apparatus; checking receipts; with item-perforating mechanism.-In perforated-cardcontrolled apparatus for use, for example, in departmental stores, 'a card-reading device in each department transmits its readings through hunting-switch, coding, and decoding devices to adding, printing, and perforating mechanisms at a central station. The card-reading device in each department is. a self-contained unit into which are inserted (1) a perforated clerk's card having the clerk's identification number etc.; (2) a similar customer's card-the customer has his own card if he has an account or obtains one from the cashier if the transaction is a cash one-; (3) a perforated price card which is detached from the price tab on the article sold. At the end of each complete operation the devices at the central station eject a perforated card bearing the data from the three above-mentioned cards; and the cardreading unit is automatically unlocked for removal of the clerk's &c. tickets. Card-reading unit. The casing 1 has an insulating plate 5 within which are set a double row of contact strips 6, 7, 8 and a group of individual contacts 9. A cover plate 10 has four openings for these contacts, three openings having lugs 11 - - 16. The shop assistant's, customer's, and price perforated tickets or cards are placed in the three openings and under these lugs so that the strips 6 - - 8 are exposed only through holes in the cards to corresponding reading pins 44 in the lid. The cards and the openings in plate 10 are rounded off at one corner so that the cards can only be inserted in the correct manner. If a card be incorrectly inserted a correct closure of the unit t is impossible, a lamp 46 is lighted to indicate the error, and a button 51 is pressed to open the unit again. The lid is pivoted by its lugs 20, 21 on a shaft 22 journaled in lugs 17, 18 of the casing 1. A. shaft 25 carries arms 23, 24, 231, 24<1> pivoted to arms 29, 30 which are joined by a handle 31 and pivoted at 28 to the lid. In the lid two strips 32<1>, 33<1> of insulating material support ten metal strips 32 - - 41. Between these metal strips and ten duplicate strips are mounted the reading pins 44 pressed downwards by springs 45. There are ten pins for each pair of longitudinally opposite strips 6, tor 7, or 8. The ten lower metal strips 32 - - 41 have pins at their extreme left which meet contacts 9 when the lid is closed. This supplies current to the bars 32 - - 41 so that when the three cards are inserted in the unit and the lid is closed, the data are transmitted as read by the pins 44. Fig. 2 shows an underplan view of the card-reading unit. The shaft 25 carries a cam 59 attached to which is one end of a spring 60, the other end of which is attached to the fixed casing 1. This spring tends to keep the lid raised; when the lid is closed the links 29, 23, 24 rotate shaft 25 so that spring 60 is stressed and an extension 70 'snaps behind the cain 59 to maintain the lid closed. This extension is on a plate 69 of armature 65 of magnet 63; the plate 69 having an arm 66 which is depressed. Fig. 2, by a spring 68. When the data-transmitting operations are complete, magnet 63 is automatically energized to withdraw extension 70 so that the spring 60 raises the lid. If the clerk's etc. cards have been incorrectly inserted, the error button 51 on depression closes contacts 73, 74 to energize magnet 63 and release cam 59. In Fig. 3, this device is shown schematically in the lower lefthand corner, cam 130, magnet 124, lamp 123, and key 121 corresponding to parts 59, 63, 46 and 51 respectively in Fig. 2. If the cards are wrongly inserted starting magnet 132 is shortcircuited and lamp 123 is lit 'by a direct circuit. Data transmission. 110, Fig. 3, is the cardreading unit, each horizontal row of contact point positions corresponding to a row of pins 44, Fig. 1, on a metal bar 32-- 41. The lower half of the contact groups in 110 ("0" to "4") is connected to correspondingly marked contacts in the middle bank of switches 145 and 155; the upper half is similarly connected to the lower banks of switches 145 and 155. Rotating contact arms 147, 157 will progressively connect earth (+) to their contact studs and arms 148, 158 will connect the battery (-) to their contact studs. Contacts 111 are used for cross-plugging to lines 112 - - 116. The perforations in the three cards (clerk's, customer's, and price-"251," "12345" and "8765432109" perforations respectively) are shown by larger circles in 110, Fig. 3. When the lid of the card-reading unit is closed it is locked automatically and contacts 127, 128 are closed to energize the starting relay 132, the armature 139 of which closes a circuit for the rotating arm 203 through the lower winding of magnet 187. Conductors 115, 116 are directly connected through armature contacts 137, 138 to arms 201. 202. At armature 136, the magnet 132 closes a circuit for the magnet 149 which rotates the contact arms of switch 145 step-by-step. At armature 135 a circuit is completed from earth (+) to armature 135, line 210, relay 140, and battery (-). Relay 140 attracts its armatures 141 - - 144. At 141 earth is disconnected from the conductor 117 leading to the error button 121 so that the lid cannot now be raised. At 142 and 143 lines 112, 113 are connected to relays 175, 170 and at 144 line 114 is connected to contact arm 200. Conductors A, B, C, 205, 206 constitute one trunk line. There are a plurality of trunk lines (leading to equipment such as shown in Fig. 4) but less in number than the number of control equipments as shown in Fig. 3. The device now hunts till it finds an idle trunk line leading to the central adding, printing, and perforating devices in the following way. The arms 201 - - 204 form a switch which is rotated by magnet 197, and when a trunk line is found the readings from the unit 110 are coded on the lines A, B, C and later decoded before operating the printing &c. magnets. Fig. 5 shows the code used, earth (+) connected to both A and B lines representing " 3," battery (-) on both A and B lines signifying " 8 " and so on. Magnet 197 co-acts with relays 194 and 187 as follows :-Relay 132 has attracted its armature 135 to energize relay 140 and relay 194 through line 210 and contacts 190 and 198. Relay 194 closes its armature contacts 195, 196; at 196 relay 197 is energized if the contact arms 200 &c. are engaged with a busy trunk line, i.e. one already in use. In this case a direct earth (+) on line 205 is connected to arm 203, contacts 139 and lower winding of relay 187 to earth again. Hence no current flows, relay 187 does not operate and its armature contacts 190 remain closed. Magnet 197 is therefore energized and advances arms 200 - - 204 to their next contact studs to try the next trunk line. This continues until a free trunk line is reached; the intermittent action of magnet 197 being effected by the relay 194, the circuit of which is opened when magnet 197 breaks contacts 198. Relay 194 thereby de-energizes each time 197 operates, and breaks contacts 195, 196, this de-energizing magnet 197 so that contacts 198 close to repeat the process. When arms 200 - - 204 reach a free trunk line (say the conductors A, B, C, 205, 206 shown in Fig. 3) no earth (+) is found on line 205 but battery (-) is connected through resistance 207, Fig. 4. A circuit is therefore closed for lower winding of relay 187 which closes contacts 191 to provide a holding circuit for itself. At 192 earth is connected through 139 to the trunk line; and at 193 relay 187 connects relay 180 to line 206. At 190 the circuit for magnet 194 is broken, this in turn breaking the circuit for magnet 197 so that arms 200 etc., no longer hunt. Arms 147, 148, Fig. 3, which are progressively connected to various control conductors and to the contacts in unit 110, are normally on their first contact studs. For 147 this stud is connected by line 104 to line 112 and magnet 175. 147 is connected to earth (+) and 175 to the midpoint (N) of the battery (-). Armatures 176 and 177 then close to join conductors C and A and connect them to 147 (+). This represents " 4," see Fig. 5. The second stud is connected by 103 to line 113 and relay 170. Armatures 171 and 172 thereby connect earth (+) to lines A and B (numeral " 3 "). Hence before the data from 110 are transmitted the number 43 will be transmitted, this number being the number of the department in which the assistant works. This number is merely determined by the desired cross-plugging 103, 104 to any of the conductors 112 - - 116. Earth being on lines C and A (" 4 ") the positive sides of the armatures of polarized relays 211, 212 close circuits to magnets 220, 228. The armatures 236 - - 239 and 229 of these magnets operate in the ladder circuits shown in Fig. 4, so as to decode and energize only the one printing and adding magnet " 4 " in the tabulator AM and the corresponding perforating magnet " 4 " (part TA). Battery has been connected to line 206 and this energizes relay 250 through contacts 258 so that 251 close to energize a slowacting relay 252. This closes contacts 253 and, 256 being normally closed, a relay 263 is energized by a circuit positive, 266, 253, 256, 263, negative. Armature 264 is attracted and the circuits for the printing and perforating magnets " 4 " are closed through relay 261. Armature 262 is attracted to energize a slow-acting relay 259 causing the energization of relay 255 which thereupon, at 256, disconnects the relay 263 and, at 258, disconnects relay 250. The two slow-acting relays open their various circuits slowly so that as the next reading from the unit 110 arrives premature energization of relay 263 is prevented. As the transmission goes on, the arms 147, 148 are rotated, Fig. 3, to read the data over successive columns in the unit 110. In certai