US1744502A - Combined typewriting and computing machine - Google Patents

Description

Jan. 21, 1930. R sc 1,744,502

COMBINED TYPEWRITING AND COMPUTING MACHINE Filed Sept. 11. 1925 ZSheets-Shee 1 //7 vemor I Jan.-2l, 1930. v H. RESCH 1,744,502

COMBINED TYPEWRiTING AND COMPUTING MACHINE Filed Sept. 11. 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 /7 X; REAR ELEVATION //7 V/7 far W & f 1

Affarn Patented Jan. 21, 1930 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE HENRY BESCH, OF BAYONNE, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOB, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO ELLIOTT-FISHER COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE COMBINED TYPEWRITING AND COMPUTING. MACHINE Application filed September This invention relates -to key-actuated means for controlling the computing zones in combined typewriting and computing machines.

In machines of the Underwood-Hanson type, the carriage, in moving through computing zones, operates a plurality of'sets of jacks to operate a plurality of sets of rods, each rod being operatively connected to corresponding register-operating pin-bars.

One of the features of this invention relates to means whereby the machine may be easily transformed from ledger-posting to billing or vice versa, with little or no effort on the part of the operator, such as the depressin of a key conveniently placed near the key oard of the machine. According to this invention, the connecting rods at the rear-of the machine are arranged in sets, each set being guided by an individual frame, all the frames, however, being pivotally mounted upon a universal shaft operatively connected to a key effective to rock the shaft. Since each set of denominational jacks corresponds to a separate register in the computing machine, and the registers are rendered either operative or inoperative, depending on the columnar arrangement of each form, it is obvious that flexibility must be provided. To this end, means are provided whereby any number of registers may be normally effective for one class of work, say, continuous billing, and by the simple depression of a key any number of registers, either the same ones, or other registers, may be rendered effective to correspond with the columnar spacing of the ledger forms.

In order to accomplish the object of this invention, novel means are provided which may comprise a universal sha-ft operatively connected to a depressible key to rock the shaft in one direction when the key is depressed and to restore the shaft to its normal position when the key is released. Upon the universal shaft there are mounted a plurality of bail pieces, each serving as a guide for the upper end of the register-connecting rods. The bail pieces 'may be selectively securedto the shaft by means of finger-screws, thereby swinging certain rods into engagement with 11, 1925. Serial No. 55,719.

the denominational selector jacks when the shaft is rocked by depressing the key. In

order to reverse the action, of the shaft upon a normally operative bail piece, when required, some bail pieces may be provided with a compound leverage, or motion-reversing links, operative to convey motion to the bail opposite to the motion of the shaft. It will be obvious that by loosening any finger screw the bail will not be shifted when the shaft is rocked by the key.

From the foregoing description, it will be gathered that certain bails may be selectively set upon the shaft to correspond to a normal arrangement of columnar spaces and other bails selectively set upon the shaft for substitute columnar spaces that are inoperative until the depression of the key effects a regerlsal of the positions of the two selections of It will be understood that this invention is a further development of improvements described in the patents to Harry H. Vickers, No. 1,278,062 of Sept. 3, 1918, and No. 1,400,- 842 of Dec. 20, 1921, in which an effort was made to selectively control the effectiveness of the connecting rods to operate the pin bars.

Other features and advantages will hereinafter appear.

In the accompanying drawings,

Figure 1 is a cross-sectional view, in elevation, showing the invention as applied to an Underwood combined typewriting and computing machine of the continuous billing t pe.

Figure 2 is a side view, in elevation, of the invention showing the key in its depressed position. v

Figure 3 is a rear view in perspective showing the denominational jack units and co-opcrating denominational connecting rods to the computing mechanism.

Figure 4 is a detail view showin the motion-reversin g link, the bails and their mountings upon the rock-shaft.

Figure 5 is a rear view, in elevation, showin. a related series of denominational jack units.

Referring more particularly to Figure 1 in which the invention is illustrated as applied Val to a combined typewriting and computing machine of the type having a continuous billing attachment, it will be noted that there is provided a key 10 near the keyboard of the machine for the purpose of transforming the machine for ledger-posting. Such a machine being fully illustrated in the pending application of William F. Helmond, No. 609,560, filed Dec. 29, 1922, (now Patent No. 1,572,139, dated February 9, 1926) it need not be described herein.

Upon depressing the key 10 against the tension of a spring 11 a key-lever 12 is pushed rearwardly and owing to the downward pressure of the spring the key-lever is locked by; a notch 13 engaging with a front plate 14. The rearmost end of the key-lever 12 is operatively connected to an arm 15 by means of a stud 16 fast to the arm 15 which is in turn secured to a universal shaft 17 by means of a pin 18 through a hub 19 forming an integral part of the arm 15. It will be noted that the key-lever 12 is held in its normal position by a pin 20 fast thereto and engaging with the plate 14, under the pressure of the spring 11. For the purpose of illustrating the invention, there are three denominational jack units, respectively numbered 21, 22 and 23, the three being simultaneously controlled by the shaft 17. Although only the unit 22 is provided with reversing mechanism, it is obvious that all units could be so equipped as shown in Fi ure 4, thereby rendering the machine more exible and adaptable to different classes of work. According to this arrangement the units 21 and 23 are controlled by means of bail-pieces 24 which'are secured to the shaft and move therewith. The bailpieces 24 are provided with a seriesof holes 25, each hole receiving a rod 26 connected at the lower end to a register pin-bar connection 40, and each rod being held in co-operating position with a corresponding denominational jack 27 operated by a tappet 41 carried by a dog 42 on the carriage. Since the bailpleces 24 are secured to the shaft 17 by means of pins 28 when the shaft is swung by pushing the key 10 rearwardly the bail-pieces 24 will be swung with the shaft forwardly to a position as shown in the unit 22 of Fi ure 3.

In order to reverse the operation of the bail-pieces 24 when the shaft is swung, that is to say, to render efiective the unit 22 while the other two units are rendered ineffective, there is provided mechanism including an arm 29 settably mounted on the shaft 17 and adjacent the bail-piece 24 and a reversing sub-lever 30 rockabl mounted upon a stud 31 fast to one of the s aft supporting brackets 32. Said lever 30 is operatively connected to the arm 29 by means or a pin and slot arrangement 33, the upper end of the lever 30 being provided with a slot 34 engaging with a pin 35 fast to the bail-piece 24. Since the arm 29 is secured to the shaft 17 by means of a finger-screw 36 and the bail-piece 24 is freely mounted on said shaft when the shaft is rotated to swing the other two bail-pieces to their ineffective position, the bail-piece 24. will be thrown to its efiective position, as shown in Figure 3.

According to the method of handling the work in the machine, a series of'bill-forms having interleaved carbon sheets is led from a supply at the rear of the machine, over a frame 37 and down, under and around a platen 38 and up in front thereof, the leading edge of the assembled work-sheet being fed up by successive line-spacing, to a gage 39 to be gaged in form length.

lVhen it is desired to change the class of work, then the assembled work-sheet is withdrawn and is folded upon the frame 37 and the key 10 is depressed and locked in the position shown in Figure 2. Then the statementshcet is reinserted around the platen to be typed upon.

Variations may be resorted to within the scope of the invention, and portions of the improvements may be used Without others.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. The combination with a combined typewriting and computing machine having a traveling typewriter carriage, carriage-actuated denomination selecting means including a pluralit of sets of jacks and a plurality of sets of IOC s operable thereby, and a plurality of guiding frames for the upper ends of said rods, of means for selectively rendering either operative or inoperative, either one of a pair of sets of rods, in a manner to alternately render operative one set of rods while rendering inoperative the other set of rods, said means-including a rock-shaft upon which the guiding frames are operatively secured,

certain of the frames being fast to the shaft,

and other frames being pivotally mounted on the shaft and controlled by motion-reversing means operative to swing these frames in a direction reverse to the rotation of the rockshaft. a

2. The combination with a combined type- Writing and computing mechanism, the typewriting mechanism having a traveling carriage, and the'computing mechanism'having a plurality of groups of register'pin-bar connections and operated by carriage-controlled sets of jacks normally inoperative to the connecting rods to the register-connections, of means including a single key at the front of the machine operatively connected to selectively render any number ofsets of rods effective to the jacks, said means includin a shaft rocked b the key and having mec anism settable t ereon to predetermine the set er sets'of rods to be operative to compute.

3. The combination with a combined typewritlng and computing mechanism, the typewriting mechanism having a traveling carinto or out of co-operation with the denominational jacks, thereby rendering either operatlve or lnoperatlve the register-connections to the computing mechanism, said means including a shaft upon which there are adjustably mounted a plurality of bailpieces, each bailiece provided with a series of holes for receiving the upper ends of one set of the rods, and means for selectively securing the bail-pieces to the shaft so as to predetermine the group of register-connections to be effective to compute.

' 4. The combination with a combined typewriting and computing mechanism, the typewriter having a traveling carriage, and the computing mechanism having a plurality of groups of register pin-bar connections and a set of carriage-actuated jacks and connecting rods for each group of connections, of means controlled by'a key and operated to throw one or more sets of rods out of engagement withtheir denominational jacks, and to simultaneously throw other sets of rods into engagement with the denominational jacks to actuate their computing connections, said key-controlled means including a universal shaft operatively connected to be rocked by the key and carrying means operative to individually rock each set of rods into co-operation with their jacks.

5. The combination with a combined typewriting and computing mechanism, the typewriter having a traveling carriage, and the computing mechanism having a plurality of groups of register pin-bar connections and a set of carriage-actuated jacks and connecting rods for each group of connections, of means selectively controlled by a key and operative to throw the adjacent setof rods out of engagement with their denominational jacks or to throw adjacent sets of other rods into engagement with their denominational jacks to operate theircomputing connections, said key-controlled means including a universal shaft operatively connected to be rocked by the key and carrying means for individually rocklng and guiding the upper ends of said connecting rods, said last-mentioned means including a plurality of bailpieces, each having a series of holes therein for receiving the ends of the rods, and also means whereby the bail-pieces may be selectively secured to or released from the shaft, 6. The combination with a combined typewriting and computing mechanism, the typewriter having a traveling carriage, and the computing mechanism having a plurality of groups of register pin-bar connections and a set of'carriage-actuated jacks and connecting rods for each group of connections, of means selectively controlled by a key operative to throw certain sets of rods out of engagement with their sets of denominational ]3.CkS and to throw other sets of rods into engagementv with their denominational jacks, said keycontrolled means including a universal shaft operatively connected to said key to be rocked thereby and means carried by said shaft for supporting and guiding the upper ends of each set of connecting rods, said last-mentioned means including a plurality of bailpieces, each bail having a series of holes therein for receiving the ends of one set of rods, and means whereby the bail-pieces may be selectively coupled to the shaft, said lastmentioned means also including an arm adjustably secured to the shaft and having a pin engaging with a slot in a sub-lever pivoted on the frame, the upper end of the sublever being operatively connected to its bailpiece by means of a pin and slot arrangement.

HENRY RESCH.

Images