GB662041A - Improvements in or relating to calculating machines - Google Patents

Abstract

662,041. Punching record-cards. BRITISH TABULATING MACHINE CO., Ltd. Nov. 9, 1949 [Nov. 23, 1948], No. 28711/49. Class 31 (ii). A machine, for perforating a record-card having a plurality of multicolumnar decks of data-receiving positions arranged one deck above the other, comprises a row of punches, a row of sensing elements, a carriage supporting record card and a prepunched pattern card, means to control the stepping of the carriage to cause the record card to traverse the row of punches and the pattern card to traverse the row of sensing elements, mechanism for moving the carriage, a set of character-representing keys, devices responsive to the operation of any selected key cause punches to effect perforations, representative of the selected key, in a column of one of the decks and devices controlled jointly by the sensing elements and the carriage-stepping control means for causing the punches to perforate in the same column of the remaining decks in duplication of data in the corresponding positions in the pattern card. The punches 85, Figs. 11 and 36, are arranged in a row containing twenty-one individual punches spaced to correspond to the punching positions of the three decks A, B, C shown in Fig. 38. Each punch is slotted at its upper end to receive the end of a lever 112 pivoted at 113 and an interposer 114 is pivoted at 115 to lever 112 and normally occupies the position shown in Fig. 11. The interposer has a slot 116 into which extends a pin 117 of a lever 118 pivoted at 118a. Punchselecting magnet 120, when energized by depression of an appropriate key, attracts its armature 121 and through link 122 rocks lever 118 to the position shown in Fig. 36 so that upon descent of punch-bar 123 the latter will engage a shoulder on the interposer and operate the punch. The punch is retracted by the upward movement of a restoring bar 127 which reciprocates with the punch-bar 123. In punching a card as shown in Fig. 38, the card is traversed past a column of twenty-one punches, the " key punch " columns in deck A only being punched by operation of a keyboard. At the same time the three decks A, B and C of the pattern card are sensed simultaneously by a bank of twentyone sensing wheels so that the " Duplicate " columns in the three decks are punched during this first movement or " pass " of the card past the punches. The carriage is then returned automatically to allow of key punching the relevant columns in deck B and again returned for key-punching in deck C, after which the card is automatically ejected and a fresh card is fed from a hopper to the carriage. Punching in decks D and E is effected by inserting the card upside down and face down in the machine, the coding then being changed, by a manuallyoperated switch, so that the card may have the correct hole-combinations punched therein.