Patent GB-191125068-A (GB)
Inventor: BOULT ALFRED JULIUS
Filed: 1911-11-10
Granted: 1912-11-11
Abstract: 25,068. Boult, A. J., [Burroughs Adding Machine Co.]. Nov. 10. Adding - apparatus with operating - means; column-spacing; printing totals etc.; interlocking; keyboard interlocks. - The invention describes a combination in a Burroughs adding and listing machine of the principal features described in Specifications 5419/08, 22,464/09, and 3516/10. The first of these Specifications describes a Burroughs machine, for listing in two columns, provided with two independent counters operated, however, by common pinions adapted to engage with toothed racks 610 in the usual manner. The machine is so arranged that the particular counter selected depends on the position. of the paper-carriage, which is moved to and fro by hand. The second Specification describes a similar machine in which the pinions of a pair of counters, one placed below the other, are adapted to engage with a single set of racks, but the selection of a particular counter is caused by a lever which can be manually moved to either of two positions; in this machine, moreover, totals can be transferred from one counter to the other, but the items &c. are listed in a single column only. In Specification 3516/10, a Burroughs machine having a single counter only is described, in which the paper-carriage is automatically moved to and fro upon the operation of the main lever or handle, so that listing takes place in two columns. According to the present invention, Burroughs and like adding-machines are provided with a pair of counters such as are described in Specification 22,464/09, and with a reciprocating carriage similar to that set forth in Specification 3516/10. In this arrangement, (1) items can be listed in two columns and accumulated on the corresponding counter, the carriage moving automatically from one position to the other as the main lever or handle of the machine is operated; (2) totals can be transferred only from the upper counter to the lower, but means are provided to ensure that in such transfers the pinions of the two counters maintain their correct relative positions by engaging the pinions of the lower counter with the racks before the pinions of the upper counter are disengaged; (3) means for moving automatically the counter-selecting devices are provided which differ somewhat from those set forth in Specification 5419/08; a further modified form thereof is described; (4) column-spacing or carriage-reciprocating mechanism is also described together with means for engaging, disabling, and locking the mechanism. These means are modifications of the arrangements described in Specification 3516/10; (5) various interlocking-arrangements are provided. (1) Listing items in two columns. The lever 10, Fig. 1, for selecting the particular counter 916, or 916<a>, to be used is not intended for manual operation in the present case, and consequently does not project through the upper pla.te of the keyboard. Its lower arm carrying, as before, the roller 10<e>, Fig. 12, mounted on a spring-pressed plate, is adapted to depress the pitmen 914, 914<a>, the upper surfaces of which are shaped somewhat differently so as to facilitate the movement of the roller from one to the other, and also to lock the particular pitman in position by means of a stud 10<d> and undercut surfaces t<1>, u<2> on the pitmen. The engagement and disengagement of the pinions of the counters and the racks is thereby controlled. The lever 10 is rocked to select either the upper or lower counter as required by a connexion with the reciprocating-bar 14, Fig. 2, which is driven by a crank and link from the main operating-lever, and to which the carriage is detachably connected. This bar. rocks a lever 15, Fig. 12, by means of a cam-slot, and by an arrangement consisting of slotted arms 16, 17, stresses one of the springs 16<a>, 17<a>, tending to lower or raise parallel vertical links 18, 19. These links do not, however, move until, towards the end of the operation of the main lever, the interlocking-block 10<b> at the rear extension of the lower end 10<a> of the controlling-lever moves below the roller 813<a> on the lever 813 which is moved by the main lever. The upper end of the lever 10 is then quickly moved forwards or rearwards by the stressed spring, through the said links 18, 19, lever 20, and link 21, thereby putting into operative position the other counter, which is adapted to accumulate the items of the second column. (2) Transferring totals from upper to lower counter. The depression of the total transfer key 265T, Fig. 3, transfers a total accumulated on the upper counter to the lower counter, in a manner similar to that described in Specification 22,464/09, but in this operation the pinions of the lower counter are engaged with the racks before those of the upper one are disengaged therefrom. The pitman 914<a> is not connected directly to the usual three-armed lever 913, but to a concentrically pivoted slotted arm 913<a>, Fig. 3. The lower arm of the lever 913 is slotted, and a sliding plate with studs c, d engages the slots in the arm 913<a>, the stud d, moreover, normally engaging the slot f in the lever 913, so that the arm 913<a> and lever 913 usually move together. When the key 265T is depressed, the foot 265<a> rocks a bell-crank lever 913<d>, thereby moving the plate 913<b> so that the stud d rests in the lower end of the slot f. Then, as the lever 813 completes the first or rearward part of its movement, a stud i thereon strikes the tail of the lever 913<d>, thereby depressing the plate 913<b> and pin d and disengaging the arm 913<a> from the lever 913, whereupon the stud i strikes the lower part of the plate 913b and rocks the pinions of the lower counter into engagement with the racks, before those of the upper counter are released on the return or forward movement of the lever 813 and wipe-pawl 821. (3) Actuation of counter - selecting devices. The lever 10 (see (1) above) can be also automatically moved by the following means:-A slot in the bar 14 rocks the lever 15<b>, 15<c>, Figs. 10 and 11, and, through a link 18 and a lever 22 bearing a spring-controlled cam-plate 23, rocks the arm 20, and reverses the lever 10 through a link 21. (4) Carriage - reciprocating mechanism. A ratchet-wheel 31, Fig. 7, is intermittently turned by means of a pawl 32, carried by the usual oscillating shaft 100, and drives the carriage to and fro through gearing and a crank 16 and link 15, Fig. 2. The ratchet-wheel 31 is locked by means of the engagement of a lug 36 on a locking-arm 37 with a notched locking-disk 35 mounted on the same sleeve as the ratchetwheel. The driving-pawl 32, before its advance movement, is retracted so that its point rests upon the inclined back of the next tooth, and, during the first portion of its advance, a stud 32<a> raises the locking-arm by its engagement with an inclined lug 39<a> thereon, and allows the ratchet-wheel to be turned. To disable the carriage - reciprocating mechanism, a key 25, Fig. 1, 26, Fig. 7, when depressed rotates a cam-plate 60<a> so that its steep edge engages with the inclined lug 39<a>, the upper surfaces of both members forming a continuous arc. When the driving - pawl is retracted, therefore, it strikes the inclined forward (left-hand) edge of the lug 39<a>, and reciprocates idly along the said arcual edge without engaging the ratchetwheel 31. (5) Interlocks. (a) The selecting-lever 10 and the main operating-lever are interlocked by the parts 10<a>, 10<b>, 813<a>, Fig. 12; (b) the selecting- lever and the total or like key 265 are interlocked by the parts 10<c>, 227<a>; (c) the selecting-lever and the total transfer key 265<T> are interlocked by the parts 40<a>, 40<b>, Fig. 3; this prevents the transfer of a total from the lower to the upper counter (see (2) above).