US1080006A

US1080006A - Voting-machine.

Info

Publication number: US1080006A
Application number: US62131211A
Authority: US
Inventors: Frank W Godfrey
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1911-04-15
Filing date: 1911-04-15
Publication date: 1913-12-02
Anticipated expiration: 1930-12-02

Description

F. W, rGlF-F VOTING MACHINE.

Ammonium' FILED MR.

Patented Dec. 2, 1913.

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I'. W. GODPRBY.

VOTING MACHINE.

APPLICATION r1Ln11APR.15,1911.

Patented Dec. 2, 1913.

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F. W. GGFREY.

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a winxp-SHEET a f 311 ucno/r www lil) FRANK W. GODFREY, 0F BEAVERTON, OREGON.

VOTING-MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 2. 19H3.

Application led April 15, 1911. Serial No. 621.312.

To ail whom t may concern Be. it known that I, FRANK lV. GoDFnEY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Beaverton, in the county of Washington and State of Oregon, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Voting-Machines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates lto a voting machine.

The object of the invention is to facilitate the casting of votes, the automatic recording of the same and also to provide by means of suitable registering devices the number of votes cast for each candidate and also the total number of voters voting.

A further object of the invention is to display publicly the total number of voters voting, thereby affording a check against successive voting by the same voter.

The invention consists in the novel fea tures of construction hereinafter fully described, pointed out in the claims and shown v in t accompanying drawings, in which,

Figure l is a front elevation of one of the FigA 2 1s a vertical transverse machines. section. Fig. 3 is a section on the l1ne-'3-3 of Fig. f. Fig. 4 is an enlarged detail secf,

tional view, certain key levers and connecting mechanism being shown4 partly in elevation and partly in section.= Fig. 5 1s an 'enlarged sectional view showing in eleva.

tion end portions of certain friction rollers.

In constructing -the machine7 which may be in varioussizes,4 I employ a casingl 1, which casing is longitudinally slotted along its lower frontportion as at l? in advance of the casing and projecting through said slot int-o said easing is a depressible platform the inner end of which is normally held. in an elevated position by means of springs. i t will be understood that the platform 2 in practice will be of such width that any one operating the machine will be compelled to step upon said platform and it will also be understood that the machine may be arranged in a booth with the platform immediately within the drop curtain. To the upper central part ot the casing I attach any suitable registering device 4, which would of course be visible above any curtain which might screen the key board of the machine, and I at present contemplate employing registers of the Veeder type, already upon the market. The operating arm 5 of the register 4 is connected to a transverse rod t3, which rod is pivotally connected to the upper end of vertical bars 7, one of said bars being arranged adjacent an end of the casing. At the lower ends the bars are pivot-ally connected to the platform 2 and it will be obvious that every time the platform is stepped upon and depresseda record of such depression will be registered upon the register, and such registration will be visible to those in thel room in wbichthe machine is placed.

Arranged at Ithe rear of the machine a Aroll of paper 8 and this paper travels benealth and then over a roller 9 passing between the roller 9 and a roller 10, the said paper being drawn between the two rollers by frictional contact, and being fed upon a suitable shelf 11, which shelf forms the bottom of a. compartment 1.1-, said compartment being formed in the upper rear portion of a casing for the purpose ot holding the paper upon which the votes have been recorded. .I

The ends of the casing arc suitably cut l.out as shown at. 13, and in said cut out por- "tions l mount rollers Ll covered by any I suitable form of shield or closure device, rand the rollers` 1l carry a. printing ribbim l5, operating upon the sume .principle asthe -inking ribbon found upon tylwwriling machines, and said ribbon travels longitudi- Inally along and mimedmte-ly beneath the roller 9, which roller also serves as u platen,

the paper traveling between said roller und the ribbon. The object of cutting out the ends of the casing' instead of placing` the ribbon holders entirelyv within the casingr is to facilitate renewal of the riblmns, and if desired arr;Y well known 'form of reversing mechanism may be employed in connection with the rollers lei.

Key levers 16 carrying at their' inner ends any suitable printing or stamping devices 1T and having keys 18 at their outer ends are journuled upon a transverse shaft 19 and project through a longitudinal slot l formed in the front of the casing. lVherc a large. number of keys are employed I prefer to offset. them as shown in the drawings, nlthough the arrangement ofthe keys is of course u matter of convenience and is not have shown as working through the spring 20, although these springs may be connected and arranged in any manner desired so long as they will hold the keys in their normal positions, and return a key to normal position after it has been depressed and released.

To feed the paper step by step, I employ two pivot/

ed bell cranks

23 and 24, connected togetherby a link 25, said bell cranks being arranged at one end of the easing and the. bell cranks 23 are loosely connected to the bar 7, and the bell cranks 24 carry at their free short ends a spring pressed pawl 2G which engages a ratchet 26u carried by' one end of the roller 9. This drives the roller 9 step by step, as the platform 2 is depressed and tlg. rol .

Jrs

9 and 10 are provided with intermeshing' gears 27 as shown in Figs. 1, 3 and 5. The bell crank 24 also 'carries a s ring pressed pawl 28 'working at right angles to the pawl 26 and which engages a ratchet 29 upon one of the rollers 14, thus givingr the roller a step by step rotation and winding the ribbon 15 thereupon, thus continually presenting a clean surface to the printing end 1'( of the key levers.

In order to prevent a voter depressing a key more than once without leaving ,the platform I provide a rock shaft 30 extending longitudinally'through the casing and beneath the keys, which shaft carries 'a plate 31 normally incining downwardly and forwardly, and said shaft is rocked by means of arms 32 secured to the shaft and looselyA pivotedA to the bar 7. Each key is provided with a depending catch 33 normally held in engagement with the pawl 31 b' a spring 34. As the platform is stoppe upon the arms 32 will be drawn downwardly thus rocking the shaft 30 and throwing the plate 31 into the positionshown in Fig. 4. Upon the depression'of any key the catch 33, under pressure of its .spring 34 will engage the lower edge of the plate, and will be locked in its depressed position until the voter has stepped from the platform thereby permitting the plate 31 to ret-urn to its normal position, thereby releasing all keys depressed and permitting the springs 20 to return them to normal position.

It will be understood that the paper may be ruled in any desired manner and that. any kind of printing characters may be employed, as for example an X, and the keys 18 are preferably numbered from one up, each number standing for. some particular candidate whose name or a similar number will appear at the head of the column which would be imprinted upon by the depression of thatI particular key. As the first voter steps upon the latform thenumber 1 will appear upon t e register l, and each vote cast by him. would be registered dial is visible to all in the room.

What I claim is 1. A device of the kind described comprisiig a casing, the ends of said casing being cut out, a platen arranged in and parallel with the front of said casing, ribbon carrying rollers arranged in said cut out portions of the casing ends, means for covering said rollers and said cut-out portions, said means being arranged upon '.the exterior .of the casing, a depressible platform, keys pivotally mounted within the casing and projecting through its front, the inner ends of said keys resting beneath said platen, means operated by depression of the platform for causing rotation of said platen and of said ribbon holders, thereby causing a. sheet of paper to travel upon said platen and also cause a ribbon to travel from one of said rollers to the other, and.means operated by depression of the platformA for locking a' depressed key until return of platform t normal position.

2. y In a device of the kind described, a depressible platform, means for normally holding and returning said platform to an ele vated position, ay register, a vertical bar adapted to be moved downwardlyby de-- pression of the platform and operatively connected with said register, a depressible key, a rock shaft, a plate carried by said rock shaft, spring pressed catches carried by said keys, thesaidplate normally presenting an inclined face to said catches, means connecting said rock shaft to Said vertical bar, thereby lifting said rock shaft and throwing the platevinto a lvertical position upon downward movement-of the bar, depression of the key causing its catchv to engage the lower edge of said plate. v

3. In a voting machine, a vertically movable platform, said platform being normally v 4plate extending transversely beneath said key levers, a spring pressed hook member'- coperating with said plate, the Siiid plate and hook member being normally in inoperupon the individual registering devices `2l, l ative position, thel plate being thrown into 130 operative position by downward movementI of the platform. and the hook member into engagement with said plate h v depresflion of its key lever.

4. In a voting machine, a easing. rollers in frictional engagement with eaeh other. a sheet of paper loeingr adapted to travel iin-iler and over one of said rollers and between the two rollers nml being fefl hy rotation of the rollers, a compartment receiving said paper l:

from the rollers, means for ealising an inklng ribbon to travel heneath said paper, in-

termeshing gears Carried hy said rollers. a

ratchet carried by one of Said rollers a 15 spring supported depressihle platform, vertieni bars pivotally eonnertell lo said platform. :i pair of hell cranks one of Whieh is loosely eonneelerl to one of said liars. a linl\r eonneeting the two hell cranks. a pawl earrie(l hy one of said hell .ranlis and engaging the ratrheli, sairl hell'eranhs` hein; roelml hy depression of the platform. :xml means also earriell hy the 1ML rnenlionml hell rranl( for f {iving :i ,step by step movement to the rilA hon in Unison with the rotation of the rollers'` as and for the purpose set forth.

FRAN K YV. (lUDFlllTY.

Wit nesses:

L. A. Es'rm.. M. C. NOMAN.