US1540895A - Calculator - Google Patents

Description

June 9, 1925. 1,540,895

H. s. MOIR CALCULATOR Filed ma 16, 1 3 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 I W INDICATOR m bonus 0 u| v 1 v n m an n n l u \A 7 J4 4 INVENTOR.

F 1 Harry S-Moir- Q um.

A TTORNEY June 9, 1925.

H. S. MOIR CALCULATOR Filed May 16, 1923 a Shets-Sheet 2 I N V EN TOR. Harry AStMOllI" A TTORNEY June 9, 1925. 1,540,895

H. s. MOIR CALCULATOR Filed May 16, 1923 5 sheets-sheet s IN V EN TOR.

Harry $.M0ir

Q ADM ATTORNEY Patented June 9, 1925.

I UNITED STATES,

PATENT OFFICE.

HARRY S. 11013, or 011100, CALIFORNIA, Assxeivon; BY manor AND mnsnn ASSIGN- mnnrs, 'ro TEE MOIR CALCULATOR con'ronA'rIoN, or sAiv FRANCISCO, CALI- FOBNIA, A CORPORATION or CALIFORNIA. I

o LouLA'ron.

Application" filed May 16, 1923. Serial 1%. 689,235.

To all whom it may concern:.

Be it known that I, HAnnY S. Mom, a citizen of the'United States, residing at Chico, county of Butte, State of California, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Calculators; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the characters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this application.

This'invention relates to a device to be used in connection with special forms of interest and other tables, to readily find, indicate and display the desired result from the,

tables, without mental or other figuring, and in a quicker and easier manner than could be done if the tables were used alone.

The device is particularly designed and intended for use in connection with the ta bles such as are shown in my Patent No. 1,383,227, dated June28th, 1921, on a savings bank interest indicator, and the device or mechanical apparatus in itself is an improvement over the device shown in said patent, and also over that shown in my copending application on an interest indicator, Serial No. 505,296, filed October 1th, 1921.

In bothof these former devices only one tabulated page or sheet of figures could be placed therein, which therefore limited the use of the ap aratus considerably. Since then, however,% have compiled a number of sheets of tabulated figures of different natures, which I may add to in the future, and which include savin s-bank interest tables;

simple and compoun interest tables for general use; contract-payment computation tables; tax rate and pa ment tables; multiplication and similar ta le's; dollar conversion tables for use when dealing with foreign exchange; and any other similar tables which may be prepared, and the tabular figures thereon arranged in such a manner that my calculating device may be used in finding any desired results from such tables.

As above stated, onl one at a time of any such tables could be p aced in my device as best was a very inconvenient procedure, and entailed a great loss of time.

The principal object of the present invention therefore is to construct the calculating device used in obtaining the results from the tables in such a manner that all the tables may be placed therein at one time, and any desired table of the lot used without removing the remainder from the calculator, and without having to detach any part of the latter.

At the same time, the tables may be removed as a unit very quickly and easily, when it is desired to remove certain ones removed therefrom or add other tables thereto, or change the relative locations of the tables, or for any other purpose.

I have also provided means for enabling the device to rest flat on a desk or table, or to set at an angle thereto, with a simple means for insuring that thedevice will remain in the latter tionally lowered.

A further object of the invention is to produce a simple and inexpensive device and yet one which will be exceedin ly effective for the purposes for which it is designed.

These objects I accomplish by means of such structure and relative arrangement of parts as will fully appear by a perusal of the following specifications and. claims.

In the drawings similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several views.

Fig. 1 is a top plan view of the calculator with the tables in position therein.

- Fig. 2 is a perspectiveview of the device Referring now more particularly to the or base 1, on whic side rails 2 and top and bottom rails 3 and 4 are'fixed, said railsprojecting both above and below the base, but mainly above.

Pivoted on and under the base at the upper corners thereof are legs 5 having longitudinal slots 6 cut therein, said legs being of a length sufficient to support the base at a suitable angle when the legs are vertically To hold the legs and arms in the latter position, I provide a latch bar 9 pivoted for movement in a plane at right angles to the legs on the cross member 10 which connects the outer ends of the legs. the outer end of said bar 9 having an offset portion 11 adapted to frictionally pass over and engage a cross rod 12 extending between the arms 7 when said arms and legs are outstretched.

Rubber feet 13 are provided on the bottoms of the sides 2 to support the device when resting flat on a desk, the lower feet also functioning when the legs. are in use.

Mounted on the base 1 adjacent the lower rail 4 and extending between the rails 2 is a step or block 14 of a lesser height than said rails. Extending lengthwise of the side rails just above the block 14 are guide grooves 15 for the crossheads 16 of a resultfinding device comprising a transverse slideframe 17, movable from top to bottom of the device, being of course limited in such movement by the top and bottom rails 3 and 4.

Openings 18 are cut through the slide at the ends thereof, intermediate which is a continuous groove 19, terminating in a narrow slot 20 cutting through the underside of the slide.

A plurality of independent shutters 21 is slidably mounted in the groove 19, in any suitable manner, the total length of the combined shutters being less than that of the groove, so that a space of certain and predetermined width may be had between any two shutters by suitably moving the same, to expose the slot 20 thereunder, as shown in Fig. 1.

Adapted to be placed in the container and to rest on the base 1 and to extend with a fairly close fit between the side and top rails and the block 14 is a rigid board 22, at the upper end of which is a lug 23 adapted to slide into and fit 2. correspondingly shaped transverse groove 24 cut in the top rail 3 just above the base. The lower end of the board then lies adjacent the in ner edge of the block 1 1, the main function of which is to act as a stop to prevent longitudinal downward movement of the board on the base.

Intermediate the side edges of the board the lower end of the latter is cut away for a certain distance as at 25, for a purpose as will appear.

Mounted on the upper face of the board 22 and detachably secured at the upper end thereof as by screw binders 26 common to loose-leaf devices are sheets 27 having different tables of figures as at 28 thereon, an ranged in columns so as to coincide with tlu openings 18 in the slide 1? and with the differently located spaces obtainable between the shutters carried thereby. The sheets are hinged tl'illlSVtlr-Qh' below the binding means 26. so that they may he raised up from the lower end without disturbingsaid means, as are the leaves of a book. The sheets and board 22 thus form a pad complete in itself.

The lower ends of the sheets terminate about in the plane of the upper edge of the cutaway portion 25 of the board 22, and have tabs '29 extending thcrebelow in staggered relation, said tabs being suitably marked so as to serve as indices to the character of the sheets without first raising them up to determine this.

The board 22 being relatively thick compared to the sheets, the cutaway opening 25 leaves a space over which the tabs hang, thus making it easier for the operator to insert a finger under and grasp any tag the sheet connected to which he may desire to raise.

The width of the slide relative o that of the stop block 14 is such that when the former is moved to its lowermost position in the container, the upper edge of the slide will not extend forwardly of the corresponding edge of the stop. so that no interference with the ready raising of any sheet, or the removal of the sheet-pad as a whole, is had.

The slide must of course be moved to the above named position before any sheet can be raised or the pad removed, but this is of course but the matter of a second to accomplish.

It is evident of course that to use any sheet those above must be raised and folded back out of the way, and that as many sheets may be used in the pad as can be accommodated under the slide.

The method of computing or finding interest and the like with the aid of this device forms no part of this invention, this feature having been taken up in the aforementioned patent and copending application; but I will give a single illustration of the method of finding the interest at a certain per cent rate on a certain number of dollars and for a definite period of time.

A plain interest table is that shown in Fig. 1, and I will assume that it is desired to find the interest on $20,000.00 for 61 days The table has certain vertical columns A of days which are in alinement with the opposed slide-openings 18, into which pointers 18 project.

Between the columns A are other columns of figures B which represent the different interest amounts, at 7 and 8% rates, on the sums, or decimal multi les or parts thereof, which are at the hea s of the columns B;

The slide 17 is then moved up or down as may be necessary, until the oi'nters 18 aline with 61 in the day 00 umns.

The necessary shutters 21 are then moved to uncover that portion of the slot 20 which is in vertical alinement with-the columns headed $20,000.00. Since said slot is also in transverse alinement with the pointers 18, the line of figures of the B columns visible through said slot will give the result desired; two adjacent B columns, both for the same amount of principal, but one figured at 7% and the other at 8%, being disclosed at one time if the remainder of the shutters are abutted against each other, so that the operator can obtain both the 7% and 8% interest amounts at one reading if desired. These interest figures are not pointed off withdecimal points, this being done by the operator, using his judgment in connection with the knowledge of mathematics which any bank clerk or ofiicial must have. v

The upper face of the "slide has various indicia or guide designations thereon as at G, some of which are of use with certain of the tables, while others are used only with other tables, in this manner making the single slide usable with all the tables, and making it easier for the operator 'in effecting h1s calculations and getting the desired results.

From the foregoing description it will be readily seen that I have produced such a device as substantially fulfills the objects of the invention as set forth herein.

While this specification sets forth-in detail the present and preferred construction of the device, still in practice such deviations from such detail may be resorted to as do not form a de arture from the spirit of the invention, as efined by the appended claims. f

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and useful and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a calculating device, a container for a computation sheet having a compartment to receive and maintain the sheet in a horiz'ontally immovable but vertically removable position, a finding element disposed in a fixed horizontal plane and slidable over the sheet, and guide means for the element mounted on the container, such guide means being disposed beyond the edges of the sheet and having a length relative to that of the sheet to enable the element to be moved clear of said sheet, whereby the sheet may be moved in a vertical direction without interference with the guide means or finding element.

2. In a calculating device for use with a pad of computation sheets hinged together at one end, a container having sides to maintain the pad in a fixed but removable horizontal position without interfering with the upward swinging movement of the sheets about their hin e, a finding element movable over the sur ace of the pad, and

guide means for the element mounted on the container to the sides of the pad to maintain the element in a definite horizontal plane and extending beyond the end of the pad opposite to the hinge thereof a sufiicient distance to enable the element to be moved entirely clear of the pad without raising said element from the container.

In testimony whereof I alfix my signature.

' HARRY s. MOIR.

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