US2039810A - Tabulating machine - Google Patents

Description

May 5, 1936. E M LA BQITEAUX 2,039,810

TABULATING MACHINE Original Filed Nov. 12, 1935 4 Sheets-Sheet l 1% l 0 Zhwentor.

EM L)? 30/ TE'FUX (Ittomeg May 5, 1936- E. M. LA BOITEAUX TABULATING MACHINE Original Filed Nov. 12, 1935 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 3nventor EM L17 BOITEHUX (Ittorneg May 5, 1936. E. M. LA BOITEAUX TABULATING MACHINE Original Filed Nov. 12, 19,55 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Zmventor E M. L I? 130/ TEHUX (Ittomeg May 5, 1936. E. M. LA BOITEAUX TABULAT ING MACHINE Original Filed Nov. 12, 1935 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 3nventor E'- M. L17 B01 TE'HUX (Ittorneg Patented May 5, 1936 UNITED, STATES PATENT OFFICE Original application November 12, 1935, Serial No. 49,408. Divided and this application March 2, 1936, Serial No. 66,585

8 Claims-V (Cl. 235-144) (Granted under the act of March 3, 1883, as amended April 30, 1928; 370 0. G. 757) The invention described herein may be manufactured and used by or for the Government of the United States for governmental purposes without the payment to me of any royalty thereon.

This invention relates to improvements in tabulating machines, and more particularly to a tens-carry and zero setting mechanism for such machines.

This is a division of my application Serial No. 49,408, filed November 12, 1935. Only so much of the illustration of that application is here presented as will enable an understanding of the mechanism that comprises the numeral disks or wheels and the mechanism by which their movements are controlled to accumulate the totals of the tabulating operations, and to zeroize the wheels after the totals have been transferred from said wheels or recorded.

The object of the invention is to adapt in a simple form such mechanism for operation by purely mechanical means as contradistinguished from the electrical contact system commonly employed in machines of this character.

Further objects of the invention are thosestated in the parent application insofar as they are appropriate hereto,and suffice it to state that generally, they seek to improve and simplify both in construction and operation, mechanism of the character about to be described.

In the drawings- Figure 1 is a top plan view of a tabulating machine substantially the same as illustrated in my former application above referred to. Figure 2 is a side elevation, the base of the machine being partly in section.

Figure 3 is a section of certain details of the machine taken on line 3-3 of Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a view taken on line 4-4 of Figure 0 I1!,iSillustrating additional details of the mecha- Figure 4a is a plan view of several numeral wheels and their associated anchors.

Figure 5 illustrates the counting mechanism of 45 Figures 3 and 4, assembled and the positions of certain cams during the reset operation.

Figure 6 is a view showing the position of the bell crank lever for manually resetting the numeral wheels to zero,at the time of such re- 50 setting, the normal position of, said lever being shown in Figure 2.

Referring to the drawings, the numeral l designates the base of the machine, 2 the front portion thereof, and 3 the rear. The numerals 4 and 5 5 5 designate, respectively, the right and left-hand side plates in which are journaled numerous shafts, some stub and others spanning the entire distance between the plates, all of which are described in detail in the application of which this is a division, and with which we have no concern 5 in the present application further than in instances where such shafts and elements play a part in the present invention. 7

The numeral 6 (Figs. 1 and 3) designates a power transmitting analyzing roll mounted on 10 shaft 1 and driven from any suitable source of power, and below it isarranged a guide roll 8 mounted on a shaft 9, the roll being driven by a gear wheel ID on the shaft I of the power roll 6.

The roll 8' is adjacent the roll 6, parallel there- 5 with and held yieldingly there-against, and serves with the roll 6 as means for guiding the cards, such as 9, between the rolls on their way from the feeding hopper Ill at the front of the machine to the stacking hopper II at the rear, there 20 being arranged between the hoppers various guide rollers to support and guide the record cards in their travel between the hoppers, all as described in my copending application Serial Number 49,408, above mentioned. 25

The roll 8 is provided with numerous circumferential grooves suitably spaced apart, there being a groove for the reception of each of the analyzing devices or levers IS, the heads ll of which occupy the grooves, and for clearance therein for the heads as they are forced from the cam-sided recesses or notches l5, arranged in circumferential columns and longitudinal rows on the analyzing roll, as shown in Figure 1. The heads of the analyzing levers are constantly urged upwardly by springs It" to engage the surface of a card, in the absence of a perforation, or to be forced through such perforation when one is available, preparatory to being forced therefrom by a cam-sided recess upon the rotationof the power roll. The analyzing levers, which are numerous, are pivoted on a pivot rod l6 common to all of the levers and when the levers are rocked, actuate in one direction numerous push rods I! that have their front ends pivotally connected at l8 to the upper short arm I! of numerous rocker arms 20 mounted on a common shaft 2| mounted in the side plates 22 and 23 of the front portion of the frame of the machine. These rocker arms, as will appear, are designed to control certain movements of the numeral wheel anchors when said arms are actuated by the push rods. The cross plate 24 extends between the plates 22 and 23 and is provided with a short upwardly-extending flange 25 to which the numerous springs 26 (one for each rocker arm) are attached at one end, the other end of the spring being attached to the rocker arms as at 21, the springs serving to return the rocker arms to normal position shown in Figure 3, after each actuation by a push rod, as will appear.

Journaled in suitable bearings in the plates 22 and 23 is a continuously rotating shaft 28 upon which are frictionally mounted numerous numeral wheel assemblies 29, each assembly comprising three disks in laminated arrangement, a toothed disk 30, numeral disk 3|, and carry and reset disk 32 (Figure 4), all of which cooperate with certain anchors which are operated upon to arrest movements of the numeral wheel assemblies, or release them and permit them to revolve with the shaft, as the exigencies of the tabulating and zeroizing operations require. 'The manner of frictional mounting of the numeral wheel assemblies upon the shaft and the construction of the clutch mechanism is like that shown and described in my U. S. Letters Patent No. 1,516,772 and need not be described in greater detail here than is necessary to an understanding of its operation in connection with the anchors, cams and other extraneous elements, for controlling the movements of the wheels.

Outside the plate 23 (Figure l) a shaft 28 carries a gear wheel 33 in gear with driven gear wheel 34' by intermediate gears 35' and 36', mounted on stub shafts in the plate 23, the gear 34' being driven from any suitable source of power through the sprocket and chain arrangement shown at 31'. The shaft 28, as intimated, constantly revolves and the numeral wheel assemblies revolve with it, except at such time as their movements are arrested.

Adjacent the numeral wheel assembly and mounted on a common transverse shaft 33 in a bearing block 33' is a series of anchors arranged in sets, a tooth wheel anchor 34, and a transfer anchor 35, the anchor 34 being provided with a head 36 and adapted to engage one or another of the teeth 31 on the tooth wheel 30, and also with a rearwardly extending arm 38 arranged to be operatively engaged by the lower end 39 of the rocker arm 20 for the purpose of controlling certain movements of the anchor 34. This anchor is further provided with an extension 4|! to which is attached the upper end of a spring 4| acting to constantly urge the head 36 into the path of movement of a tooth on the wheel 30, and the other end of the spring is attached to a cross rod42. Each anchor 34 is provided with a small laterally-extending lug 43, preferably a small roller, which is adapted to be engaged at timely intervals in the tabulating operations by the upper arm 44 of the transfer anchor 35. This transfer anchor 35 is also provided with a rearwardly-extending arm 45, the rear end of which is also at certain times adapted to be engaged by a transverse cam 13 mounted in the plates 22 and 23, and extending entirely across the machine so that it will operate simultaneously upon all of the anchors to hold them in a certain position during the transfer operation of the accumulators. The head of this anchor is constantly urged forward oy a spring 45' attached to the anchor and to the cross rod 42.

The anchor 35 has a lower extension 46 notched as indicated at 41 for the reception at times of the narrowed end 48 of the horizontal arm 49 pivotally secured at 50 to the vertical link 5| pivotally supported on a cross rod 52 which is mounted in the tines 53 of a cross piece 54 which anchor.

cross piece is secured to the under side of the transverse plate 24 and extends entirely across the machine, it being understood that there will be a link 5| and an arm 49 for each transfer Each link is provided with a cam 55 arranged for engagement with a cam 56 carried by a cam wheel 51 fast to a reduced transverse shaft 58 suitably journaled in the side plates 22 and 23. This wheel is preferably made up of a series of disks each having one cam 56 thereon, there being a cam for each of the arms 5|, and each anchor 35. The cams of the link 5| are kept constantly in engagement with the cam wheel 51 by a spring 59 connected to said link and to a cross piece 60 of the frame, and the horizontal arm 49 is constantly urged upward by a spring 6| spanning the angle between the two members 49 and 5| with an end suitably attached to each.

Referring particularly to Figure 3, it will be noted that the head H of the analyzing lever |3 has entered one of the recesses l5 (digit 5) in the power transmitting roll 6, through a perforation in a record. Upon rotation of the roll the head will be forcefully expelled causing the opposite or lower end of the analyzing lever to kick forward the push rod against the influence of spring 26, and rock the rocker arm 20 upon its shaft causing its lower end 39 to press downward on the rearwardly extending arm 38 of a tooth wheel anchor causing said anchor to release the wheel.

The rear ends ll of the push rods ll are held normally against the cross piece ll" of a slotted arm l8 by springs l8", which arm is rocked at timely intervals for a purpose that will appear, and carries in a slot therein a sliclable plate IQ for engagement at appropriate intervals with the analyzing levers l3 to hold their heads I4 out of engagement with the power roll 5, against the tenison of springs I9. The position of the power roll 6 is such with relation to the head l4 of the analyzing lever l3, that when the head is cammed out of the recess (which represents digit 5 in Figure 3) the push rods will be kicked forward against the action of spring 26, causing rocker arm 2|] to depress arm 38 of tooth wheel anchor 34, rocking said anchor on shaft 33 and disengaging its head 36 from the tooth on the wheel, and in the positions illustrated, allow the wheel to revolve a distance of 5 teeth, which action has been caused by the head |4 passing through perforation 5" in the card, and its instantaneous expulsion therefrom,

which perforation can be the only one in that particular column on the card.

At about a point between zero and "1 designations on the card, rockable arm ill will, by properly timed mechanism, be lowered depressing push rod i1 and taking its rear end out of the way of the analyzing lever. At this moment the spring 26 will urge the push rod l1 rearwardly allowing the rocker arm 20 to release the anchor 34 and, under the influence of spring 4|, permit it to engage the sixth or oncoming tooth to arrest the movement of the numeral wheel after five teeth have passed, counting five on said wheel. At this time the slidable plate l9 will be forced forward, resetting the analyzing lever and holding its head |4 out of and away from the rollli until the forward londitudinal edge of the next card is a short distance under the roll, when plate l9 will be withdrawn allowing the head M to rest and ride on the card until a perforation is reached, when the above cycle will be repeated. The distance between digits 9 and 1 represented by the recesses l5 in the power roll, is equivalent to the distance between digits 9 and "1 on a card. The distance of movement of the smooth portion of the roll 6 is equivalent to the distance between zero designation on the card just tabulated and the forward edge of the next card to be tabulated. The head I4 is held out and away from the roll during the passage of the smooth part of the roll past the head.

When the numeral disk assembly has counted up to its limit or "9 the lug 6| on the carry and reset disk 32 will trip the transfer anchor 35 by forcing the upper arm 44 which carries the head 62, backward only a sufficient distance to permit the narrow portion 48 of the horizontal arm 49 to drop in behind the lower end of arm 46 of the transfer anchor 35. After the narrow portion 48 has dropped in behind the arm 46 and is occupying the notch 41, both the arms 5| and 49 will be pushed forward by the action of the cam 56 of the cam wheel 51 acting on the cam 55 on the arm 5|, which action rocks the transfer anchor on its shaft 33 and causes its upper portion to engage the lug 43 on the'adjoining tooth wheel anchor 34; which will be the one to the right, and allow a wheel to revolve until the head 36 catches the next on-coming tooth 31,

which, when the first and second wheels from the left are considered, and the first has added up to its capacity or nine, one will be transferred to the second wheel to make a total of 10.

As stated, the cams 56 are on indiviual disks assembled on the shaft 58 extending across the machine, and indeed, the whole assembly resembles more'closely a shaft having a series of cams on its periphery arranged in progressively offset order, so that their action will take place only during the period of accumulative transferring. The shaft 58 that carries these disks is mounted in suitable bearings in side plates 22 and 23 and is braced by an open end bearing 63 in the standard 64 supported at the center of the machine on a cross piece 65, the arrangement facilitating the ready removal of the cams, for adjusting the cams thereon to positions in differing progressive offset order as the varying tabulating requirements may suggest. Also, it is preferable, although the shaft 28 is supported at its ends in the side plates, to provide an open end bearing 66 in narrow standard 61 supported by cross pieces 68. This bearing assures the true horizontal position of the shaft, regardless of the number of numeral wheel assemblies the shaft is to support, thus guarding against any of the results of sagging of the shaft.

Reverting to the action of the cam wheel 51, the link 5|, and the horizontal arm 49 upon the transfer anchor 35, and referring particularly to Figures 3 and 4, it will be seen that until the arm 46 of the transfer anchor 35 has been pushed forward, the narrow end 48 of the arm 49 will ride under the lower end of the anchor without any definite action taking place. However, when said narrow end has dropped into the notch 41, the arm assumes the position shown in dotted lines (Figure 4) and will move the anchor to its new position or the position shown in dotted lines, but continued forward motion of the arm 49 brings the inclined portion 69 against the roller 10 depressing the narrow end 48 of the arm so that it again starts to ride upon the lower end of the anchor arm; consequently discontinuing the forward movement of that anchor arm and permitting both the anchors to resume their normal positions through the action of the springs 4| and 45'. Thisis so timed with the 'action of the cam wheel 51 that the tooth wheel anchor 34 will permit only one tooth to pass under it before it returns to its normal position, and at the same time the narrow end 48 of arm 49 will be placed in proper position for the start of a new cycle or in the position shown in full lines in Figures 3 and 4.

Resetting After a card run, when the data taken from a card is recorded in horizontal order on the various numeral wheels, the next operation to take place in the arrangement of mechanisms shown is the printing, after which the resetting or zerolzing is accomplished. Certain mechanisms shown particularly in Figure 6, relating to printing and for .automatically printing and resetting, are not of my contrivance, but constitute an improvement or addition disclosed in a copending application Serial Number 49,370, filed November 12, 1935, by Robert Duncan and Lester F'. Wilkinson, and such portions I have lettered in Figure 6 generally as A and'B, and they need not be referred to here in detail.

Mounted on a shaft 1| and fixed thereto and on the outside of plate 22, is a bell crank 12 whose normal position is that shown in Figure 2, and whose position for resetting the numeral wheels to zero is that shown in Figure 6. A spring 12 fastened to the bell crank and to the plate 22 urges the crank to its normal position with its foot against a block 12" on the base of the machine. This shaft on the inside of the plate is shaped to form a cam 13 which spans the entire distance between said plates and the opposite end of the shaft is reduced and made cylindrical for proper mounting in the plate 22. Mounted on this shaft outside the plate is a gear wheel 14 meshing with the gear 15 mounted on a stub shaft 16 on plate 23. This gear 15' meshes with another gear 11 fixed to the cylindrical end of shaft 18 which shaft, like the shaft 1|, takes on the shape of and serves as cam 19. Neither shaft nor any of the gears make a complete revolution in operation, their movement being rather oscillatory, the cams being arranged to rock to engage and hold and to release the anchors at proper times after the print of the printing operation and at the time the resetting of said numerals to zero after printing. ,The shaft 18, it will be understood, like shaft 1|, extends entirely across the machine and its other end is mounted in the plate 23.

The operation of the mechanism for resetting the counters after a printof the totals and the various elements are placed in proper position for a new record run will now be described.

By my arrangement of mechanisms the resetting operation may be accomplished in one revolution of the numeral wheel assemblies and by revolving them in their normal or tabulating direction whichis always forward and toward the operator as contradistinguished to the reverse direction, which is the usual procedure. This is highly advantageous as it eliminates the necessity of the elements required for a reversing mechanism, and in addition, the resetting is accomplished in a much shorter time and with greater expedition than heretofore.

By referring particularly to Figures 5 and 6, when the handle 13' is grasped and the bell crank rocked toward the operator from the position shown in Figure 2, to the position shown in Figure 6, the gear 14 on shaft 1i will be rotated, turning the intermediate gear 15 which in turn rotates the gear 11 on the shaft 18. Obviously the rocking of the shaft II, rocks the cam 13 and the rocking of shaft 18 simultaneously rocks cam 19. The forward edge of the cam 1! bearing on the rear arm 38 (Figure 5) of the tooth wheel anchor 34 releases the head 36 from the tooth 31' and when this release takes place the friction clutch previously referred to takes hold and thereby carries the disk assembly with it. As long as the head 36 of this anchor is held free of the teeth the assembly would continue to revolve were it not for the fact that on the disk 32 is the single tooth or lug 6| (Figure 4) in whose path of rotation is normally positioned the head 62 of the transfer anchor 35, and this head being held forward by the action of the cam 13 taking the position shown under the arm 45, and locking the anchor in the position occupied, and as the shaft 28 and wheel 29 continue to rotate in the normal direction (forward), the tooth 6| contacts with the head 62 and stops the assembly.

Due to the accumulating operation, different numerals will be in horizontal printing position on the wheels at the start of the reset movement, and

ordinarily, with an operation aided by the mechanism shown in Figure 6, but not claimed herein, a print would be made. At such time the lug or tooth 6| on the different wheel assemblies will be at a different point in their paths of rotation, but as tooth BI and head 62 engage, that particular wheel assembly will be stopped, until finally all the wheels have been stopped at the same relative position. The elements are arranged and timed so that when the teeth or lugs 6| are held by the heads 62, the zeros of the wheels will be in about the position indicated by a (Figure 5). When the bell crank 12 starts its reverse stroke, the cam 19 releases the arm 38 of the tooth. wheel anchor, allowing the head thereof to take its normal position behind the tooth 31, and the cam 13 allows the arm 45 to release the head 62 from holding the lug disks 32. allowing the digit a to assume the position indicated by b. The horizontal arm 49 is allowed to return to its normal position after having been depressed by cam 13, by the continued movement of the said cam 13, thus permitting the narrow portion 48 of said arm to reciprocate idly below the lower end of the arm 46 of the transfer anchor.

From the foregoing it will be seen that after a card run, it is only necessary to manually op crate the bell crank 12 to cause the necessary cam operations upon the tooth wheel and transfer anchors, to control their movements, whereby the necessary operations of the numeral wheel assemblies are brought about, both to bring the numerals in position for printing, and to thereafter instantly reset the counters to zero position.

By referring to the cams 56 on the cam wheel 51 that actuates the link 5! and thereby gives to the arm 49 its reciprocatory motions, as being progressively offset on said wheel, Imean that the cams are not in horizontal alignment, but are arranged one slightly in advance of the other with respect to the circumference of the wheel, the arrangement being such that they successively engage and actuate the links 5i and consequently the bars 49 for the purposes stated.

Where mention is made of the numeral wheel assembly it is meant that the assembly is in effect a single wheel and the term "assembly" is used because each numeral wheel is made up of three disks arranged in laminated form, one being a toothed wheel, one the numeral designation wheel or disk, and the other a lug or carry disk.

I claim:

1. In an accumulator mechanism for machines of the character described, in combination, a plurality oi numeral wheels, a continuously-rotating shaft upon which said wheels are frictionally mounted for rotation in one direction, means for resetting said wheels including two anchors for each wheel and capable of independent movement, one of which is a transfer anchor, the other of which is arranged to cooperate with a wheel to normally prevent its rotation with the shaft, means to move said last named anchor to release a wheel and simultaneously lock the transfer anchor in normal position in the path of movement of the wheel, to arrest the movement of said wheel at a particular point in the reset cycle.

2. In an accumulator mechanism for machines of the character described, in combination, a continuously-rotating shaft, a numeral wheel frictionally mounted thereon, means for resetting said Wheel including two independently movable anchors for each wheel, one of which is arranged to normally prevent its rotation with the shaft, cam means arranged to move said anchor away from the wheel and to lock the other anchor in normal position in the path of movement of the wheel to arrest the movement of said wheel at a particular point in the reset cycle, and means for returning one of said anchors to its normal position.

3. In an accumulator mechanism for tabulating machines, in combination, a continuously-rotating shaft, a numeral wheel frictionally mounted thereon, resetting means for said numeral wheel including two independently movable anchors, one of which is normally in engagement with the wheel to hold it against rotation with the shaft, a cam arranged to lock the other anchor in normal position in the path of movement of the wheel, and another cam arranged to move the first-named anchor out of engagement with said wheel to permit the wheel to rotate with the shaft.

4. In an accumulator mechanism for machines of the character described, in combination, a plu rality of numeral wheels, a pair of independently movable anchors, oneanchor in each pair being a'transfer anchor and arranged to engage the other anchor of the pair to momentarily move it out of engagement with the wheel to make a partial revolution to transfer one", and means for releasing said other anchor to engage a succeeding tooth of the numeral wheel,.to arrest its movement with the shaft.

5. In an accumulator mechanism for machines of the character described, in combination, a plurality of numeral wheels each being provided with a carry lug, one being a higher order wheel and the other being a lower order wheel, a pair of independently movable anchors one of which is normally in engagement with the higher order wheel and the other being normally in the path of movement of the lug of the wheel of the lower order, means carried by the anchor of the higher order wheel and arranged to be engaged by the lower order wheel anchor to momentarily disengage the higher order wheel anchor to permit said wheel to make a partial revolution.

6. In an accumulator mechanism for tabulating machines, in combination, a pair of anchors one of whichis a transfer anchor, a plurality of numeral wheels one being of higher order and the other of lower order, a continuously-rotating shaft upon which the wheels are frictionally mounted, a camoperated reciprocatory arm arranged to engage the transfer anchor to move it to cause it to actuate the other or higher order wheel anchor to momentarily release said anchor from the wheel to permit the wheel to make a partial revolution with the shaft to transfer one to the wheel of higher order as an incident to the completion of one revolution of the wheel of lower order.

'7. In an accumulator mechanism for tabulating machines, in combination, a plurality of numeral wheels, a pair of anchors for each wheel one of which is a transfer anchor, the other of which is arranged to cooperate with a wheel to normally prevent its rotation with the shaft, a cam-actuated reciprocatory arm arranged to rock the transfer anchor and cause it to engage the other anchor to release the numeral wheel, and means for" moving said arm to inoperative position with relation to the transfer anchor to release said transfer anchor to the urge of its returning means, to thus restore it to normal position in the path of movement of the numeral wheel.

8. In an accumulator mechanism for machines of the character described, in combination, a plurality of numeral wheels, a pair of anchors for each wheel, one of which is a transfer anchor, the other of which is arranged to cooperate with a wheel to normally prevent its rotation with the shaft, a pivoted link cooperating with a transfer anchor, a cam wheel having a cam thereon arranged to engage and rock said link, an arm secured to said link and reciprocated thereby, said arm being arranged to rock the transfer anchor and cause it to engage the other anchor to cause said other anchor to release the numeral wheel, and means for moving said arm into inoperative position with relation to the transfer anchor to release said transfer anchor to the urge of its return means, to restore it to normal position in the path of movement of the numeral wheel.

EUGENE M. LA BOITEAUX.

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