US1224633A - Calculating-machine. - Google Patents

Description

H. E. GOLDBERG.

CALCULATING MACHINE.

APPLICATION man Nov.13. |912.

1,224,633. Patented May-1,1917.

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I-IYMAN ELI GOLDBERG, 0F CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

CALCULATING-MACHIN E.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 1, 1917.

y Application led November 13, 1912. Serial No. 731,199.

To all whom t mail concern.'

Be it known that I, I-IYMAN ELI GOLD- Bnnc, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Calculating-Machines, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates, in general, to improvements in calculating machines, but refers more particularly to novel features of construction of a totalizer, which, in its preferred form, is adapted to add and subtract.

More specifically, my invention pertains to a new and improved carrying mechanism for such totalizer, which is simple in structure, effective and certain in operation, and composed of few parts unlikely to become deranged.

In order that those skilled in the art may have a full understanding of the structural and functional features of the device embodying this invention, I have illustrated embodiments of the same in the drawings forming a part of this specification.

In these drawings* Figure l is a view of one form of the totalizer, viewed at right angles to its axes;

Fig. 2 is a view of thevsame structure in the direction of its aXes; and

Figs. 3 and 4 show a modification of the totalizer device.

Referring first to the structure illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, it will be noticed that the totalizer is provided with a set of digit wheels 1 of lower and higher value, supported upon a common shaft 2. Each of these digit wheels is provided on its face with display numerals 3, preferably twenty in number7 constituting two series, each composed of the numerals 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 0. Each of such digit wheels is also equipped with a driving gear 4 rigidly fixed thereto. Y

p In the operation of the totalizer for the insertion of a number thereon, the digit or numeral wheel gears are operated by any suitable or well-known driving mechanism. As driving means for this purpose is old and as there are many forms well known in the art and since this portion of the structure constitutes no part of my invention, a description thereof will, of course, not aid in the understanding o-f the action of this totalizer, and it will be assumed that the turning of these driving gears is done by hand.

Ordinarily, all of the digit or numeral wheels of the totalizer, which are to be moved for the reception of the various digits in the several decimal places, are moved simultaneously,but, of course as will be readily understood, they may be moved successively. Each of these value or numeral wheels 3 is provided at its left side with a device 5, constituting a portion of the carrying mechanism and which coperates with the companion element 6, with which it is always in mesh. The particular construction of these two co-acting elements 5 and 6 is immaterial, a suitable structure for this purpose being described in Patent No. 712,518, issued lto me November 4, 1902.

In the present instance, the device 5 consists of two disks 500 and 501, disposed side by side and rigid with the corresponding digit wheel 3. Each of these two disks has a semi-circular outer cylindrical portion 502, which is omitted on the other semi-circular half of the disk, providing a space or notch 503. These two disks 500 and 501 are displaced angularly with reference to one another 180 degrees, so that the semi-cylindrical portion or tooth 502 of each disk is opposite the space 503 of the other disk.

Each device 6 consists of two gear members 600 and 601, rigid with one another, and each having four teeth 602, the teeth of the two parts being displaced angularly with reference to one another 45 degrees, as is illustrated in Fig. 2. The teeth of the gear member 600 coperate with the parts 502 and 503 of the disk 500, and the teeth of the gear member 601 co-act with the corresponding parts of the disk 501.

The driving gear 4 for each numeral or digit wheel has twenty teeth, corresponding to the number of numerals on the display face of the numeral wheel, and the combined gears 600 and 601 have eight teeth. Obviously, during the rotation of any digit wheel 3 corresponding to the value of one digit, the gear 4 moves one-twentieth of a complete revolution. y TWhenever the numeral or digit wheel 3 passes the position for carrying a numeral value to the next numeral or digit wheel, the parts 500 and 501 rotate the combination gears 600, 601, one-eighth of a revolution and, owing to the construction of these parts, the double gear cannot move more than one-eighth of a revolution; that is, it is locked in such position, the parts 500, 501, G00, G01, constituting, in a certain sense, the equivalent of a Geneva movement.

Each of the gears G is rotatably, but nonslidably, mounted upon a suitably supported shaft 7 and has rigid therewith one wedge element 9 of a clutch, the companion wedge clutch element 900 being slidably mounted onthe shaft 7 in coperative relation with the element 9. The part 9 is the female wedge portion of the clutch and has two diverging wedg'e surfaces 901 and 902, be-

tween which the wedge clutch member 900 is adapted to be received, the latter having corresponding Wedge surfaces 903 and 904. In Fig. 1, these wedge clutch members 9 and 900 are shown separated, or loosely associated with one another, but they are not so far withdrawn from one another, however, as to destroy their coperative relation.

Each of the clutch elements 900 is slidably and rotatably mounted on the stationary shaft 7 and has fixed thereto an eighttoothed gear 8 adapted, during the sliding movement of the clutch member 900, to be shifted into and out of mesh with the teeth of the corresponding driving gear 4. To effect the simultaneous reciprocation of all of the sliding clutch elements and their associated gears, the device is equipped with a sliding shaft 10, which has a number of arms 11 secured thereto, each arm being operatively associated with one of the gears 8, permitting rotation of the gears and clutch elements but capable of effecting their reciprocation.

For each gear S, the shaft 7 is provided with a lock finger 12 pinned thereto and adapted, when the gears are out of mesh with their corresponding driving wheels, to engage between the teeth of the gears 8 and lock them against rotation.

The gear S, at the right hand portion of Fig. 1, has no associated clutch element and the frame of the machine is supplied with a lock-pin 14 adapted to hold such gear e' from rotation while it is in mesh with its corresponding digit wheel driving gear 4.

In order to lock a plurality of driving gears 4 against rotation or displacement during certain portions of the actuation of the device, the mechanism is supplied with a rod or shaft 15, equipped with a corresponding number of lock fingers 13 adapted to engage between the teeth of the driving gears, as will be readily understood.

The operation of the mechanism takes place substantially asfollows Assuming that the sliding shaft 10 is in its left-hand position, as illustrated in Fig. 1, so that all `of the wedge clutches are loosened and all of the transfer gears 8 are locked against rotation by their fixed fingers 12, and assuming further that the shaft 15 has been shifted away from the driving gears 4 so that the lingers or lugs 13 no longer lock them, thenvthe individual numeral or digit wheels 3 are rotated more or less by means of their gears 4, corresponding to the respective digital values. lf, during this manipulation or rotation of these num eral or digit wheels, one or more passes the point where a digit should be carried over to the digit wheel of next higher value, then the clutch members (300 of such carrying digit wheels will be rotated one-eighth of a revolution, which is permitted because of the separation or loose association of the various wedge clutch elements. In this way, the carrying is temporarily stored in such angularly displaced clutch members. If any one or more of these digit wheels 3 is rotated insufficiently to require a carrying over to the next digit wheel, then such clutch members 600 will remain in their original positions.

rlhen the operator shifts the shaft or rod 15 so that all of the fingers 13 lock the driving gears 4 against rotation and, while they are thus locked, he shifts the shaft 10 to the right, which, as will be readily understood, moves the gears 8 and the clutch elements 900 in the same direction. rlhe various gears 8, during such sliding action, come into mesh with the teeth of the gears 4 before they leave their locking fingers 12. Then the rod or shaft 15 and its locking lugs 13 are moved away from the gears 4 and, while such gears are thus unlocked, the shifting of the shaft 10 to the right is continued. During this latter shifting movement of the rod 10 for those wedge-clutches which are not to transfer any carrying, the clutch elements merely slide together, tightening the clutch without rotation of either part. For those clutches, however, which are to transfer the carrying, that is to say, for those clutches whose members 9 have been partially rotated during the setting up of the number on the digit wheels, during such shifting of the shaft 10 and the corresponding movement of the clutch members 900, the latter will not only slide but, owing to the coperating wedge surfaces of the clutch members, they will be also rotated the same amount as their companion members 9 had been previously rotated, each of such members 900 causing a rotation of its corresponding gear 4 an amount representing the value of one digit. It should be noticed, however, that since there is never any carrying on to the right-hand numeral or digit wheel, its gear 8, as well as itself, during this carrying operation, are locked against rotation by the lock-pin 14, so that the carrying from the various digit wheels to those of the next higher order will always be in the same direction as the original rotation of the carrying wheel of the next lower value. Stated differently, the carrying can be of addition or subtraction, due to the fact that the clutch elements have double wedge coperating faces.

By the time the shaft 10 has reached the limit of its movement to the right, the looseness in all of the clutches will have been taken up so that all of the clutches are then tight.

The rod or shaft 15 and its lugs 13 are then brought into coperative relation with the gears 4 and the shaft 10 is shifted to the left, separating or loosening` all of the clutches and locking all of their sliding elements temporarily against rotation, the other elements 9 of such clutches being locked against rotationexcept when the numeral or digit wheels 3 are rotated. When the lugs 13 are again removed from the gears 4f, the device is ready for the application of another number thereto.

Attention is directed to the fact that the carrying or transfer of the tens from a lower-value digit wheel to a higher-value digit wheel occurs in two steps. The lirst is the preliminary rotation of the clutch ele- -ment 9, which, so to speak, temporarily stores up the carrying. The second step is the rotation of the next higher-value digit wheel during the taking up of the looseness or backlash in the clutch. This may be considered as the transfer of the stored tens to the higher-value wheel.

0f course, the looseness or backlash between the clutch elements must be capable of permitting one of such clutch elements to rotate an amount corresponding to the value of at least one digit, otherwise there would be an interference between the temporarily locked clutch element 900 and the companion rotatable element 9. As a matter of fact, however, this looseness between the clutch elements may correspond to a plurality of digits, in which case a plurality of numbers may be set up on the digit wheels and the carrying performed for all of the numbers in the one subsequent operation of tightening all the clutches.

It is important to note that the carrying will always be effected in the same direction of movement as the preceding movement of the digit wheel from which the carrying proceeds; that is to say, in the transfer of the tens, the two surfaces 901 and 903 may co-act, or the two clutch surfaces 909l and 904 may coperate. It should be apparent that the mechanism will function properly whether the transferring of the tens iS from only one digit wheel to the next, or whether the transferring extends through several decimal places. As has been explained, since no transfer ever takes place into the units wheel, this wheel is held nonrotatable during the transfenwthat is to say, during the sliding of the shaft 10.

In this mechanism, as illustrated and described, all of the clutches are tightened simultaneously, but it will be readily understood that this is not necessary, since the closing of the clutches may be effected successively with the same results.

The mechanism set forth in Figs. l and 2 has the looseness or backlash of the clutches taken up by reason of a movement of the clutch elements parallel to the axes of the numeral or value wheels, which, of course, requires considerable space lateral of the device. In some machines,-for instance, typewriter attachments such as the one illustrated in Patent No. 741,961, issued to me October 20, 1903,-there is but little room for each decimal section, and it, therefore, becomes desirable to change this movement for the taking up of the looseness or backlash of the clutches from an axial to a radial movement.

That this may be accomplished readily is shown by the modified structure illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4 and, in order that it may be evident that the mechanism of such latter figures is not only quite similar but substantially equivalent to the one of Figs. 1 and 2, the parts of the two mechanisms have been denominated by the same numerals, one set of the same being provided with index characters.

The structure shown in Figs. 3 and l embodies numeral or value wheels 1, supported on a common shaft 2a, and equipped with a driving gear 4a. Each of such numeral or value wheels has mechanism 5a (not shown), corresponding to the parts 5, and which cooperates with a duplex gear 6a. All of such gears are mounted upon a common shaft 7a. There is, in addition, a set of connectors or engagers 8Z1 and between these and the gears 6a are a set of clutch mechanisms 9a. The engagers, connectors or pinions 8a may all be moved into and out of mesh with their respective driving gears 4l by means of a movable shaft lOa. This device also has a locating member, or lock, 12, with which the connectors or pinions mesh while away from the driving gears. There is also another locator or lock 13a for the driving gears. In Fig. 4, the value or numeral wheels and the parts of the carrying mechanism are all in close contact withsubstantially no looseness or backlash between them. Fig. 3, however, shows the clutches 9EL moved to a position introducing looseness or backlash between themselves and the parts 6a and 8a. It also shows the indicators or pinions S in mesh with their locking member 12a.

In the mechanisms illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, the clutch can easily be given a looseness or backlash, amounting to one step. This is much more diiiicult, however, in the mechanism shown inFigs. 3 and 4. If all of the gears be made with the teeth pointed,

it is evident that the separation of their centers may be carried to a distance where the looseness or backlash between one gear and its meshing gear is almost, but not quite, equal to one-haltl of a step. In Fig. 3, it will be noticed that the looseness orbacklash has been introduced between the value wheels and the gears or star wheels 6, between the latter and the clutches, and

between the clutches and the pinions or indicators 8a. Looseness or backlash may also be introduced between the locator or lock 12a and the indicator. By taking advantage of all these loose connections, suilicient backlash for one step is introduced.

The operation of this modified structure is, of course, identical with the actuation of the mechanism illustrated in Figs. l and Q.

Attention is directed to the fact that, in the structure shown in Figs. 3 and 4, the various cooperating elements between the carrying wheels may be mounted upon independent frame-works and thus be brought into mesh for each decimal place at a diiferent time, thereby adapting the totalizer.

for use in connection with one master wheel and intermediate carrying.

As the looseness and backlash in the axial mechanism of Figs. l and 2 is introduced between the two clutch elements, and as the looseness in the mechanism of Figs. 3 and 4 is introduced at several places, attention is summoned to the fact that all that is necessary is that there be looseness and backlash l between the lower-value digit wheel and the higher-value digit wheel, and that this looseness be taken up at the proper time.

It will, of course, be readily understood, that any suitable form of means for holding the units wheel non-rotatable during` the transfer of the tens should be employed.

In both embodiments of the invention, the clutch or backlash mechanism consists of a male, wedge-shaped portion, engaging a emale wedge-shaped portion, the approach of which parts to one another takes up the looseness or backlash, while the withdrawal of one of such parts from the other produces the looseness or backlash. In the structures of Figs. 3 and 4 there is not only one such wedge-shaped portion, but many. As the end of each gear tooth is pointed and enters within a space which is narrower at the bottom than at the top, the teeth may be consi dered as the male wedge-shaped portion, and the space the female wedge-shaped portion.

IVhile I have herein described two embodiments of this invention, it is to be under stood that many minor, mechanical changes may be made in these structures, without departing from the essence of this invention and without the sacrifice of any of its substantial advantages. Stated somewhat diflerently, the invention is susceptible of a large variety of embodiments, all working upon the same general principle.

I claim:

l. In a mechanism of the character described, the combination of a movable lowervalue digit-member, a movable higher-value digit-member, a clutch connection between said members, and means to loosen and tighten said clutch, a carrying movement of said lower-value member being transmitted to said clutch while the latter is loose, the tightening of said clutch transferring such carrying-movement to said higher-value member, substantially as described.

2. In a machine of the character described, the combination of a movable lowervalue digit-member, a movable higher-value digit-member, a clutch, means connecting said lower-value digit member to an element of said clutch, means adapted to connect said higher-value digit-member to and disconnect it from the companion element of said clutch, and means to tighten and loosen said clutch, a carrying-movement of said lower-value digit-member being transferred to its clutch-element while the clutch is loose and the higher-value digit-member is disconnected from its clutch-element and transmitted to said higher-value digit-member while the latter is connected to its clutchelement and during the tightening of the clutch, substantially as described.

8. In a mechanism of the character described, the combination of a movable lowervalue digit-member, a movable higher-value digit-member, a clutch, means connecting said lower-value member to an element of said clutch, means adapted to connect said higher-value member to and disconnect it from the companion element of said clutch, and means to slide said clutch elements from and toward one another to loosen and tighten the clutch, a carrying-movement of the lower-value digit-member being transferred to its clutch-element while the clutch is loose and the higher-value member is disconnected from its clutch-element and transmitted to said higher-value member while the latter is connected to its clutchelement and during the tightening of the clutch, substantially as described.

4. In a mechanism of the character described, the combination of movable digitmembers of different values, a wedge-clutch connection between said members, and means to loosen and tighten said clutch, a carrying movement of one of said digitmembers being transmitted to said clutch while the latter is loose, the tightening of the clutch transferring such carryingmovement to a digit member of different value, substantially as described.

5. In a mechanism of the character described, the combination of a revoluble lower-value digit-wheel, a revoluble highervalue digit-wheel, a wedge-clutch, revoluble means connecting said lower-value wheel to an element of said clutch, revoluble means adapted t0 connect said higher-value digit-wheel to and disconnect it from a companion element of said clutch, and means to tighten and loosen said clutch, a carrying movement of the lower-value wheel being transferred to its clutch-element while the clutch is loose and the higher-value wheel is disconnected from its clutch element and transmittedto said higher-value wheel while the latter is connected to its clutch-element and during the coperation of the clutch wedge surfaces during the tightening of the clutch, substantially as described.

6. In a mechanism of the character described, the combination of movable digitmembers of diierent values, a double-wedge clutch connection between said members, and means to loosen and tighten said clutch, a carrying movement of one of said digitniembers being transmitted to said clutch while the latter is loose, the tightening of such clutch transferring such carrying movement to a digit-member of different value, substantially as described.

7. In a mechanism of the character described, the combination of a movable lowervalue digit-member, a movable higher-value digit-member, a clutch connection between said digit-members, said clutch comprising clutch-elements adapted to rotate and slide relatively to one another, and means to tighten and loosen said clutch, a carryingmovement of said lower-value digit-member being transmitted to said clutch while the latter is loose and transferred to the highervalue digit-member during the tightening of the clutch, substantially as described.

8. In a mechanism of the character described, the combination of a movable lowerscribed, the combination of a revoluble lower-value digit-wheel, a revoluble highervalue digit-wheel, a clutch, means connecting said lower-value wheel to an element of said clutch, means adapted to connect said higher-value digit-wheel to and disconnect it from a companion element of said clutch, means to lock said higher-value connecting-means against carrying-movement except when connected to its digit-wheel and the clutch, and means to tighten and loosen said clutch, a carrying movement of the lower-value wheel being transmitted to its clutch-element while the clutch is loose and the higher-value wheel is disconnected from its clutch-element and locked and transferred to said higher-value wheel while the latter is connected to its clutchelement and during the tightening of the clutch, substantially as described.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto signed my name, this 6th day of November 1912.

HYMAN ELI GOLDBERG.

Witnesses:

ARTHUR F. PUoLI, JULIA M. BRISTOL.

copies of .this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C.

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