GB626456A - Improvements in or relating to typewriting and record-card punching machines - Google Patents

Abstract

626,456. Punching-machines. BRITISH TABULATING MACHINE CO., Ltd. Feb. 6, 1946, No. 3727. Convention date, Feb. 15, 1945. [Class 31 (ii)] [Also in Group XVI] In apparatus as described in Specification 562,278, adapted to type by power-driven means on a sheet moved by a carriage and to punch by power-driven means a card moved by a carriage and including a set of digit keys having variable connections to the typing and punching apparatus, whereby depression of a key may cause a digit to be either typed or punched or both typed and punched, means are provided by which more than one sequence of operations or programme can be set up and the particular programme can be selected at will. The arrangement can be employed when more data has to be punched than can be accommodated on a single standard card and two or more cards are necessary in which the fields upon which the matter is to be punched vary. In the present example, three cards 1, 2 and 3 are successively punched, some or all the matter recorded on card 1 being printed on two lines of the sheet, and the matter recorded on cards 2, 3 being printed on the two succeeding lines of the sheet. For this purpose, relays RA, RB, RC are included in the key circuits of the relays operating the punches corresponding to digits 1, 2, 3 respectively. To commence operations, card 1 is punched on column one by depressing digit key 1 to designate the type of card, the machine being set so that no printing on the sheet takes place. At the same time, relay RA is energized to close contacts RA1 so that through margin contacts R5A the pick-up winding of a relay RD is energized. Contacts RD1 now close to complete the holding circuit of the relay RD. Similarly, when cards 2 and 3 follow on, the punch keys corresponding to digits 2, 3 are operated to punch their first columns, and relays RE and RF respectively are energized. The relays RD, RE, RF control the closing of contacts in series with relays R10-1 to R10-13 which cause through suitable plug connections operations such as zero elimination, tabulation, &c. to take place at certain column positions, as described in the Specification referred to. Thus, the punching of card 1 in column one with the digit 1 causes relay RD to be energized and contacts RD2, RD3 in series with R10-1 and R10-2 to be closed and thus determines the scheme of the punching carried out on the card and the manner in which the corresponding printing on the sheet is effected. Similarly, for card 2, relay RE closes contacts RE2-RE6 and for card 3, relay RF closes contacts RF2-RF5. If certain columns in one card, e.g. card 1 are to be punched and the same columns of cards 2, 3 are not punched, no contacts need be placed in the circuits of the relays plugged to such columns, as is shown for relays R10-3 .... R10-6. Each relay RD, RE, RF remains energized throughout the period the corresponding card is passing through the punching apparatus.