Improvements in Automatic Apparatus for Recording Ballot-votes and for other purposes.
Year: 1892

page_text: Date of Application, 9th Aug., 1892
Complete Specification Left, 9th May, 1893-Accepted, 22nd July, 1893
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Automatic Apparatus for Recording Ballot-votes
and for other purposes.
I, OLIVER SHEPPARD, of Bridgend, in the County of Glamorgan, Engineer,
do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows :-
My invention chiefly relates to an apparatus or machine for receiving votes in
Parliamentary and other elections, and for recording the same, but my invention is
also applicable for other purposes.
According to my invention the recording of the votes is effected by means of
mechanical counters actuated by levers or toothed wheels from a knob or handle
pressed in by the voter. By an arrangement of levers and knobs the several
candidates for election can only receive one vote from each voter. The act of
recording a vote for one candidate locks the levers and prevents any other vote
being recorded until the lever is released by the presiding officer outside the polling
station; this he does by pressing a knob or handle. Each vote given is recorded
on two dials, one of which is visible to the presiding officer and agents outside, and
the other which records the secret vote given for the candidate, placed inside. It
will thus be seen that the total number of votes recorded is only visible to the
officers in charge. The votes can only be seen when the apparatus is opened at
the end of the day; the number of votes given for all the candidates when added
together should be equal to the number indicated on the main dial. Each knob
bears the name of the candidate so as to be visible to the voter, and each knob is
coloured differently so as to correspond for example in parliamentary elections
with the party colour of the district. By this means all voters can vote by ballot
with absolute secrecy, the illiterate voter would know by the colour which knob
to push in and a bell would ring as soon as the knob was pushed home. The
presiding officer outside would also see from the main counter that a vote had been
recorded.
The machine is securely fixed in a wooden box or case open on one side and
provided with a flap desk on the outside at which the presiding officer would sit ;
having in front of him the dial of the main counter and a knob or handle which
he would press after the voter had left the polling station thus releasing the lever
and knob just pressed and making it ready for the next voter. The levers are each
fixed on a pivot radially from a centre hole in the machine and on the circum-
ference of a circle having for its centre the centre of the hole. On the end of
each lever is fixed a piece of round iron or other material bent to the radius of the
circle before described; each of these round pieces therefore passes through the
centre hole but only one can pass at a time. The round pieces described have
angular grooves turned in them so that after entering the centre hole, a catch
engages in the groove and prevents it being withdrawn. Opposite the centre on
the back of the plate a lever is fixed, one end of which is pivotted on the plate
and the other covers the centre hole so that the round pieces on the ends of the
hereinbefore described levers, on passing through the hole push the end of the lever
away. This motion actuates the main counter counting every vote recorded, but
this lever is not moved until the teeth or grooves on the hereinbefore described
round pieces engage with the catch. This catch can only be released by means
of a handle worked by the presiding officer, and no other vote can be recorded
until it is released. The number of levers depends on the number of candidates
seeking election and any number desired can be fixed radially, each having a
round piece which works into a single centre hole. The counters for recording the
votes for each candidate are worked by means of a lever or toothed wheels from

page_text: the push knob and are so fixed that the counter cannot be actuated until the round
piece on the end of the lever engages the catch. A bell is placed inside the
machine and is arranged to strike when the, knobs or handles are pushed home.
When using the apparatus the voter enters, the box when the knobs or handles
are facing him in a circle, or part of a circle, according to the number. In the
front of the machine and over each knob. the name of the candidate for which
each knob would record can be seen by him. The distinguishing colour of each
knob is given on the instructions to voters posted outside. The voter presses home
the knob for the candidate for whom he is voting until the bell sounds and he then
leaves. The presiding officer outside sees by the main dial that a vote has been
recorded, and after the voter has come out he releases the knob by means of a
handle in front of him and it is then ready for the 'next voter.
Dated this ath
1800
1.
Improvements in Automatic Apparatus for Recording Ballot-votes
and for other purposes.
I, OLIVER SHEPPARD, of Bridgend, in the County of Glamorgan, Engineer,
do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to
be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement :-
זיי.
My invention chiefly relates to an apparatus or machine for receiving votes in
Parliamentary and other elections, and for recording the same, but. my invention
is also applicable for other purposes.
According to my invention the recording of the votes is effected by means of
mechanical counters actuated by levers or toothed wheels from knobs or handles
pressed in by the voters, and a candidate for election can only receive one vote
from each person voting in his favour. The act of recording. a vote for any one
candidate locks the levers and prevents any other vote being recorded until the
levers are released by the presiding officer, this he does by pressing a knob or
handle. Each vote given is recorded by two counters, one of which recording the
total number of votes given is visible to the presiding officer and agents, the other,
which records the secret vote given for the enndidate, being placed inside the case
of the apparatus. A bell is arranged to sound every time a vote is recorded. It
will thus be seen that only the total number of votes recorded is visible to the
officers in charge and the number of votes recorded for each candidate can only be
seen when the apparatus is opened at the end of the day. The number of votes
given for all the candidates when added together should be equal to the number
indicated by the main counter. The knobs have the names of the respective
candidates placed in connection with them so as to be visible to the voters, and
the knobs are coloured differently so as to correspond, for example, in parliamentary
elections, with the different party colours of the districts. By this means all voters
I can vote by ballot with absolute secrecy, the illiterate voter would know by the
colour which knob to push in and the bell would ring as soon as the knob was
pushed home. The presiding officer would also see from the main counter that a
vote had been recorded.
.
.:
To enable my invention to be fully understood 1 will describe how it can be
carried into practice by reference to the accompanying drawings in which :---
Figure 1 is a plan of an automatic apparatus for recording ballot votes and for
other purposes constructed according to my-invention, the cover of the casing being
removed to shew the interior mechanism and the apparatus being designed to
record the votes for three candidates.

page_text: Figure 2 is an elevation of the side of the apparatus intended to face the
presiding officer.
+
Figure 3 is a similar view of the side of the apparatus intended to face the
voters.
Figure 4' is a longitudinal elevation of the apparatus with the side of the casing.
removed.
Figure 5 is a detached plan view of the mechanism for locking the levers drawn.
to an enlarged scale.
Figures 6 and 7 are elevations of the same.
Similar letters in all the figures indicate similar parts.
a is the casing in which the whole of the mechanism is placed and which is fitted.
with a lid or cover provided with a lock.
bbb are the three counters for recording the votes of the respective candidates.
and ccc are the knobs or handles intended to be pressed in by the voters such
knobs being carried by spindles d d d working through the side of the casing a and?
through brackets eee and provided with springs fff for returning the knobs to
their initial position when released as hereinafter described. The inner ends of
the spindles d are formed into racks ggg which slide through a guide plate h and
have jointed thereto rods. iii connected to the levers jjj which actuate the
counters bbb for the respective candidates. The racks ggg are provided with.
catches or bolts kk k those of the outside racks being inclined in opposite directions.
while that of the middle rack is straight. When the knobs are pushed in the
catches engage in holes 17 in a plate:m sliding in guides a¹ on the guide plate h
in such a manner that when one of the outside racks is pushed in its inclined catch
shifts the plate m so as to lock the other two racks and prevent them being pushed
in. When the middle rack is pushed in the plate m is held and prevents the other.
racks being operated. nnn are pawls fixed on a shaft o which oscillates.in
bearings pp on the guide plate /, the said pawls being adapted to engage in the
teeth of the racks g and thereby temporarily prevent their respective knobs from
moving back after having them pushed in. On the shaft is also fixed a lever g
connected by an oscillating lever to the spindles carrying the knob t so that
when the presiding officer pushes in the said knob the pawls will be lifted clear of
the racks, thereby releasing the levers ij of the counters b..
u is the counter for recording the total number of votes given and which is
visible to the presiding officer through a glazed opening in the casing a.
The
counter u is actuated each time a vote is given by means of levers w w w fixed to a
shaft opposite the respective racks g g g and connected by a rod y to the lever z
which actuates the counter u; the levers ware returned to their normal position.
when any one of the knobs c moves outward by means of a spring b'.
ce are springs for keeping the locking plate in position; and d¹ is a spring for
keeping the pawls n engaged with the racks g. el is the bell which is connected
with one of the levers w so that it sounds each time a vote is recorded.
is a disc fixed to the oscillating spindle g¹ of the total recording counter u
opposite a glazed opening in the casing a and marked on its periphery with the
words "Open" and "Stop" so as to indicate to the presiding officer whether the
knobs c are pushed in or not.
The names of the candidates are marked above the respective knobs c which are
coloured differently so that in using the apparatus a voter has only to push the
knob having the name or the colour of the candidate for whom he intends to vote.
in connection with it and when the knob is pushed in the bell sounds.
The knob pushed in remains fixed by means of its pawl n and the other
knobs cc are fixed by the bolts or catches k entering the hole and the locking
plate m as hereinbefore described and the latter can only be shifted by the
presiding officer operating the knob t and no other vote can be recorded until it is
released.
The presiding officer sees by the counter u that a vote has been recorded, and

page_text: after the voter has left he releases the knob c by pressing in the knob & in front of
him and it is then ready for the next voter.
It will be understood that the counter 14 records all the votes given and is a
check on the correctness of the other counters as the total numbers recorded by
the latter when added together should equal the total number recorded by the
counter u.
A screen should be fixed on the apparatus so as to separate the presiding officer
from the voters.
The apparatus can also be used for classifying and counting persons or things
generally such for example as the number of people entering an enclosure or
building.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what 1
claim is :-
1. An automatic apparatus for recording ballot-votes having knobs or handles
designed to be operated by the voters and connected with mechanism, so arranged
that when one knob has been operated all the knobs are automatically locked and
can only be released by the officer in charge of the apparatus, substantially as
herein before described.
2. In an automatic apparatus for recording ballot-votes the combination with
knobs or handles and focking and releasing mechanism such as is referred to
in the preceding claiming clause of a number of counters operated from the
respective knobs, for recording the votes of the various candidates and a counter
for recording the total number of votes given substantially as hereinbefore
described.
3. In an apparatus for recording votes having a series of counters adapted to
be operated by the voters of a counter designed to record the total number of
votes recorded by the other counters, substantially as hereinbefore described.
4. In an automatic apparatus for recording ballot votes the use of releasing
mechanism such as q, r, s, t in combination with mechanism for operating an
indicator such as f1 and the locking plate m and bolts k substantially as and for
the purposes set forth.
5. The improved automatic apparatus for recording ballot votes and for other
purposes herein before described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
Dated the 9th day of May 1893.
G. F. REDFERN & Co.,
4, South Street, Finsbury, London, Agents for the Applicant.