Year: 1897

page_text: I, SHOHÉ TANAKA, of 10, Tauenzienstrasse, Berlin, Germany, Doctor of Science,
Student, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
The object of the present invention is a stop mechanism for adding machines,
preventing the toothed-wheel, called number wheel in these adding machines
being worked by the spring or tappet which makes it move, from surpassing, by
its acquired speed the exact point it should reach to mark a number required.
The apparatus is characterized by a moveable rod and a stoppage-click which
is allowed to assume a rotation movement of a certain amplitude on this moveable
rod; this stoppage-click functioning in such a manner that the pressure exercised
upon a key of the adding apparatus, places the click into contact with the toothed-
wheel or number wheel causing it to turn until the moveable rod runs against a
vertically moving peg fastened to the extremity of the lever of the key operated
upon, so that any subsequent rotation which might be occasioned by the speed
obtained by the toothed wheel during its movement is absolutely avoided; a
spring having during this time sent up the key on which a pressure was exercised.
The stoppage-click being thus loosened from the teeth of the number wheel
returns along with the moveable rod to its former position.
I, SHOHE TANAKA, of 10, Tauenzienstrasse, Berlin, Germany, Doctor of Science
do hereby declare the nature of my invention, and in what manner the same is
to be performed to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement :-
My invention has reference to adding-machines, and it consists of certain im-

page_text: provements which are fully set forth in the following specification and shown in
the accompanying drawings, which form a part thereof.
In adding-machines heretofore generally known a toothed wheel, called number
wheel is made to rotate through a certain particular number of angular divisions
by depressing the corresponding button or key, which are provided for the num- 5
bers from up to 9. In such a machine this rotation of the number-wheel takes
place generally at once by depressing a key, and therefore when the keys are
played very rapidly or with great force the number wheel, on account of the force
acquired will move far beyond the expected amount.
My improvements embody certain features in the construction of an adding 1
machine, through which the over-shifting above mentioned is totally done away
with.
In the drawings Fig. 1 is a plan view of the new adding machine, of which the
cover is partially removed to show the mechanism inside. Fig. 2 is a lateral
elevation while the remaining figures show details of construction.
In Fig. 1 and 2, R is a ratchet wheel possessing in this case 100 equally dis-
tributed teeth on its circumference and rotating on the axle A in bearing B.
1
The keys are marked with figures from 1 to 9 and should be so arranged that
on one of these keys being pressed down the rotation of the number-wheel for
the corresponding number of teeth will be brought about. In order to recognize 2
each time the position of the wheel, and consequently the required sum, a figure
disc Z is screwed upon the wheel by means of screws t and so arranged that the
amount is visible through the opening K of the cover of the case. In the drawing
the number 62 stands right under this opening. Further, the stop spring F is
also screwed on the fixed pillar V, causing the wheel R to turn only in the direc-
tion of the hands of a watch and not backwards.
The pawl (Figs. 1 & 2) serves for causing the wheel to rotate and is carried
in the way carefully described hereafter by two arms P and Q. In passing, it
may be mentioned that the arm Q can revolve, independently, around the axis A
of the number wheel, and leads with it the arm P, the pawl k and the wheel it.
The said rotary motion can be imparted to this arm by means of the pin y fastened
on it and protruding beyond the opposite side of the axle A.
The key levers h¹ h² h³-h³ formed into double levers revolve round the axis u
which is carried by three bearings S. U is a front-plate, with guiding slits for
the separate keys which are thus confined to a limited range, that is to say, to the
necessary extent of play up and down. The spring / screwed on each key lifts
them up. When the keys are pressed down, the screws g¹ g² g³-g³ press on a
plate M marked in Fig. 1 by a dotted line (also in Fig. 2) which can swing round
the axle line ab (Fig. 1) carried by two bearings T fixed under the ground-
plate. By the spiral spring D fixed on a projection of the guide-plate U this
swinging-plate M is always drawn upwards. From the edge of this plate M near
the rotary axis A an arm G firmly fixed to M projects upwards, whose upper end
terminates in a fork. Fig. 7 shows this fork seen along line a-b in Fig. 1. In
this fork as shown in Figs. 1 and 7 is located the above named pin g of the arm Q.
This arrangement for transmitting the movement is easily understood, it consists
merely of two angles engaging each other (that is to say, the plate M with forked
arm G, and slide arm provided with pin q and pawl k) provided between the
keys and the wheel. By virtue of the different play given to the levers through
the relative position of the screws g¹ g² g³-g it is arranged that the proportionate
rotation of the wheel is produced by the nearly equal play of the keys.
The prolonged arms of the key levers h¹ h² h³- converge to an arc of stop
pins 29. The segment N supported by two pillars L L (Fig. 1 and in
cross section Fig. 2) has nine vertical holes in which the stop pins 21 22 23 are
set moving up and down. The holes lie on a circumference described around the
axis A and are placed at the distance from one another of one hundredth part of
the circumference. Immediately over the said segment N moves back and for

page_text: ward the pin p, terminating the arm P. s is a pin driven into the upper surface
of the segment, and against which when undisturbed by the keys, the arm P is
pressed with its pin p by the action of the spring D. This pin s determines the
zero position.
We shall now give a detailed explanation of the character and use of the new
catching mechanism. As already mentioned, the pawl k is carried by the super-
posed arms P and Q. The pawl k (it is to be remarked) which is angular in form,
is pivotted on the arm P by screw c (Fig. 2) and an arm of it is bent upwards to
catch in the teeth of the wheel R. The arm P again is pivotted on the fixed sup-
port B (Figs. 1 and 2); this arm P can also, with the arm Q, be made rotary
round the main axis A of the wheel. From the arm P the pin x projects down-
wards. This is fixed in a guide-slit made in pawl k, so that the pawl can turn
so fai back and forward round its axis as to allow the upturned arm to catch and
let go the teeth. There is another small hole on pawl k in which the pin y of
the arm Q is set.
In the undisturbed state of the addition machine as shown in Fig. 1, the spiral
spring D is seen first to act, so that. the arm Q with the pin y tends to move the
pawl in the direction of the hands of a watch. The pawl takes that position on
which the pin of the arm P (the latter bearing against the stop-pin s) is thrown
on the right side of the notch. If a key is now pressed down, stretching the
spring D, the pin y (Fig. 3), moving in the direction of the arrow point, forces
the pawl to turn so that it comes to lie on the pin a with the left side of the notch.
Then the pawl catches into the teeth of the wheel as shown in Fig. 3.
Let us assume that the key 9 is touched. This supposes in former addition
machines an unfavorable condition. The arm Q now swings round the axis A
bringing with it the pawl, the arm P and finally the wheel R. In the meantime,
however, the rear end of the key-lever h° rises and pushes up the stop pin 29 over
the upper surface of the segment N so that the end of the arm l' is stopped by
this stop-pin 2, and naturally the wheel has turned as far as nine teeth. Fig. 4
shows the position of the catching mechanism in this state. As the pawl in this
event has taken the position shown in Figs. 3 and 4, the key can go down no fur-
ther. So long as the finger exercises a pressure on the key, the pawl remains
between the teeth. It can thus be seen that the wheel, even if it may have
received a great impetus in the direction indicated by the arrow in Fig. 4, must
yet be brought completely to a stand-still by the pawl acting on the teeth.
On taking the finger from the key another condition occurs, shown in Fig. 5.
Here the returning of the spring 1) only comes into consideration so that then
the pawl is drawn by the pin y in the opposite direction so far that the pin
returns to rest on the right side of the notch. By this the wheel becomes again
free and the whole catching mechanism, under the force of the spring D, must
resume its original or rest position. The action of the pawl is manifestly the
same if instead of key 9 any other key is used whereby naturally the catching
mechanism is stopped at the proper position by the corresponding stop-pin z.
In order to bring the figure disc again to zero after adding up a number of
figures on this machine, the projecting handle J (Figs. 2 and 6) is to be turned,
pressing lightly at the same time against the metal ring plate until the handle
pin d snaps in the hole e in the circular groove.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said in-
vention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is:.
A catching mechanism for addition machines characterised by a movable arm P
and the pawl k pivotted in such a way that the pressure on a key brings the pawl
against the wheel and the latter in consequence turns until the arm P strikes the
pin % of the corresponding key by which the impetus of the wheel is prevented
from causing a movement exceeding the desired extent, while on releasing the

page_text: key, the pawl k leaves the teeth and swings back with the arm into the origina!
position, substantially as described and shown.
Dated this 29th day of December 1897.
L. DUVINAGE,
Patent Agent, 8, Rue des Princes, Brussels, Belgium.