US2079434A - Accounting machine - Google Patents

Description

y 4, 1937. J. (M. CUNNINGHAM 2,079,434

' ACCOUNTING MACHINE Original Filed Dec. 5,, 19:52

"5% [Hill INVENTOR.

Patented May 4, 1937 ACCOUNTING MACHINE James Mason Cunningham, Endioott, N. Y., as-

signor to International Business Machines Corporatlon, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Original application December 5, 1932, Serial No. 645,741. Divided and this application January 10, 1935, Serial No. 1,099

6 Claims.

This application is a division of copending ap This invention relates to accounting and sta-' tistical machines in general and, more specifically, to mechanism for resetting to zero the wheels of the totalizers or accumulators which are commonly provided in such machines. The present invention constitutes an improvement in the resetting mechanism described in detail in United States Letters Patent No. 1,600,414, granted to C. D. Lake. The resetting mechanism disclosed in the Lake patent is explained with reference to an accumulator of the type described in United States Letters Patent No. 974,272, granted to Hollerith which is now extensively used in record controlled accounting and statistical machines of the well-known Hollerith type. While the present invention is adapted for use in resetting an accumulator of the Hollerith type, it is not limited to such use but may be employed in combination with other accumulators equally as well. Indeed, the present invention may be used in many types of accounting machines wherein accumulators are required to be reset and is of general application in the art of constructing accounting machines.

Broadly stated, the object of the present invention is to provide a novel and improved resetting mechanism which is smoother and faster in its operation, causes less wear on the machine, and is more readily controlled.

A more specific object is to provide power driving mechanism for accumulator resetting mechanism which driving mechanism is so devised that the moving parts of the resetting mechanism are gradually accelerated at the commencement of a resetting cycle and then decelerated at the conclusion of the cycle, whereby to avoid the shocks which have been found to occur in prior resetting mechanisms at the beginning and termination of a resetting cycle due to the abruptness with which such prior mechanisms are often coupled to and disengaged from the source of power.

Accounting and statistical -machines of the Hollerith type, or those in which Hollerith accumulators are sometimes incorporated, are usually operated solely by power as by means of an electric motor which drives the various mechanisms under control of suitable manual switches, perforated records, and by various automatic devices. Sometimes the entire machine is driven by a single motor while in other cases a separate motor is provided for total taking and resetting operations. The present invention is adapted for use in either of the foregoing types of drive.

The patent to Lake aforesaid may be used to illustrate the ends to be attained by the present invention and its advantages. In this patent the tabulator reset shaft is given one complete revolution by the well known total taking and resetting motor during the last half of a total taking and resetting cycle. If an attempt is made to speed up the Lake resetting mechanism it will be found that, owing to the nature of the driving connections and the fact that, at the time the accumulator resetting clutches are engaged, the driving motor for the total taking and resetting mechanism is turning the tabulator resetting shaft ata fair rate of speed, the tabulator resetting shaft will 'start driving the resetting mechanism with a. shock which causes excessive vibration and destructive wear and strain in the various operating parts. The resetting mechanism likewise will come to rest with a similar shock which is equally as destructive and undesirable.

In many types of accounting machines, where a large number of resetting cycles must be carried out to perform a given accounting operation, the parts must be operated at the maximum possible speed in order to reduce as much as possible the running time of the machine and cause it to operate economically. The mechanism described in the Lake patent serves its purpose fairly well when embodied in tabulating machines where resetting operations take up a small percentage of the operating time of the machineand the resetting cycle is necessarily slow owing to the restricted speed at which the total must be printed but is less satisfactory in other types of machine where high speed is desirable.

Multiplying punches have been placed on the market and are used for computing the product of two factors perforated in a record and under control of said record, themachine, after computing the product, causing the latter to be perforated in the record from which the factors were derived. These machines contain a number of Hollerith accumulators for use in the product computing operations and they must be reset after each computing operation.

The operation of computing the product requires a variable number of cycles which have to be of very brief duration and a number of resets must be effected each of which is required to be completed in the space of time allotted to a computing cycle. It is clear that, for the machine to have any practical value, the operating time of the machine required to effect a computation must be very short (in some machines the computing cycles may be of the order of .4 second duration). It will be obvious, therefore, that such machines require resetting mechanisms capable of operating smoothly, accurately, and faster than those hitherto used in the art.

As a consequence of certain novel features of construction and arrangement of parts, the present invention provides a resetting mechanism which fulfills the requirements of smoothness of operation, accuracy of performance, and high operating speed set forth above as a requisite for use in accounting machine which must, to make their use practical and economical, operate at high speeds.

In prior electrically controlled accounting and statistical machines, the resetting clutches connecting the individual shafts of the accumuiators to the main resetting shaft were physical- 1y engaged by'electromagnets which had to remain energized as long as it was desired that the associated clutches be engaged. The foregoing type of construction is described in British patent specification No. 299,014. For several reasons, this construction, while successful and economical where only occasional resetting cycles are required to be performed at a moderate speed is less desirable where frequent resets must occur in the course of a machine computing operation as is the case of a multiplying punch.

One reason is that the former construction requires a strong magnet for each clutch resulting in relatively heavy current flowing through the various clutch magnets which current flow must be maintained continuously for an appreciable portion of a computing operation when a number of reset cycles are required. This means an undesirably large current comsumption which is avoided by the present invention where the clutch magnets are'i'pnly momentarily energized and, due to the features of construction, are much smaller in comparison with the magnetsformely used.

Another reason is that the former construction required a number of auxiliary circuits containing relays, cam contacts, and so on in order to properly control the clutch magnets as it is frequently necessary to control the engagement of some of the resetting clutches during a cycle previous to the one in which the resetting is to be effected without, however, having the clutches become effective until the reset cycle actually commences.

Accordingly, a specific object of the present invention is to provide an electrically controlled clutch mechanism for resetting accumulators wherein is used a small magnet consuming an inappreciable amount of current and performing a negligible amount of work, said mechanism being so devised that the magnet may be energized by suitable means at any time during a cycle prior to the one in which the clutch is to be effective to carry out a resetting operation and which mechanism avoids the necessity of using auxiliary control circuits to bring the clutch into action at the proper time and hold the magnet in energized condition throughout the reset cycle as was formerly the case.

Other objects, advantages, and features of the present invention will be brought out in detail in the following specification and claims, or will be apparent from a. study of said specification and claims and the appended drawing.

In the drawing:

Fig. l is a vertical elevation of the clutch mechanism.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the clutch mechanism and the associated accumulator.

Fig. 3 is an elevation of the driving connections for the resetting shaft.

The numeral I!) (Fig. 2) designates any well known type of accumulator which is reset by imparting a complete revolution to the shaft (not shown)- upon which the accumulator wheels H are mounted. The accumulator illustrated in the drawing is of the now well-known type disclosed in the patent to Hollerith No. 974,272. Since the details of construction of the accumulator are of no interest in the present case and are familiar to those skilled in the art, it need not be described herein. It will suffice to say that the shaft carrying the accumulator wheels H has mounted thereon a gear l2 which, as described in Patent No. 1,600,414, is capable of a slight movement relative to said shaft for the purpose described in said patent. So far as the present invention is concerned, the gear l2 may be considered as if fixed to the shaft carrying the wheels- II. It will be understood that one complete revolution of gear i2 causes the wheel I I having amounts standing therein to be reset to zero.

The gear I2 meshes with a gear I; which is loosely mounted on a shaft ll, hereinafter to be termed the resetting shaft, which extends in front of the accumulator i and is journaled in suitable bearings (not shown) mounted in the frame of the machine. When the present invention is incorporated in a record controlled machine like that disclosed in Patent No. 1,600,413, for example, the shaft H may be common to a plurality of accumulators.

The shaft I4 is continuously rotated in a clockwise direction (Fig. l) at a rate of speed varying between minimum and maximum limits through driving connections illustrated in Fig.

3. A shaft i5 is provided which is driven at a substantially uniform rate of speed in a clockwise direction by any suitable means as by a resetting motor or by suitable gearing to the main driving shaft of the machine in which the resetting mechanism is incorporated. A pinion i 6, mounted rigidly on shaft l5, meshes with a large gear I! fixed upon an idler shaft ll journaled in the framework. The gear I1 has mounted thereon four pins l9 spaced equal distances from each other circumferentlally of the gear I! and equal radial distances from the shaft Ill. The

pins i9 carry anti-friction rollers which are adapted to ride in grooves or slots 2| formed by four angular ribs or walls 22 projecting from the side of a large disc 23 loosely mounted on a stub shaft 24 carried by the framework of the machine. The disc 23 is provided with internal gear teeth 25 meshing with the teeth of a gear 26 fixed on the resetting shaft II.

In the embodiment of the invention shown in the drawing the gear ratio between the pinion l6 and gear I! is 1:i, while the gear ratio between the disc 23 and gear 26 is 4:1. The disc 23 and gear i'l together constitute a Geneva gear drive the driving ratio being unity since there are four pins i9 and four grooves 2i. It will be obvious, therefore, that the shaft M will make one revolution for each revolution of shaft I5.

Considering the position of the parts in Fig. 3 as a starting point, the disc 23 willbe driven in a clockwise direction by one of the pins IS in gear I I1 engaging its co-acting slot in the disc 23. Owing to the fact that the slots 2| are straight while the pins l9 move in a curved path, it is plain that the disc 23 will be started in motion from a position of rest and accelerated in speed as the operative pin l9 moves in the slot in a direction toward the center of shaft 24. The maximum speed of disc 23 will be attained at the point at which the pin i9 reverses its direction of movement relative to the slot 2| which point will be reached when the gear l1 and disc 23 have been turned one eighth of a revolution. Due to the gear ratios between .pinions l6, gear l1, disc 23, and gear 26, the maximum speed of disc 23 will be reached when the shafts |4, |5 have both been turned a half revolution.

During the next half revolution of shafts l4, l5 (or an eighth revolution of gear l1 and disc 23), the operative pin |9 retraces its path in the coacting groove 2| during which interval the disc 23 will be turned at a diminishing rate of speed which, of course, becomes zero when the parts again reach the position shown-in Fig. 3.

It is clear from the foregoing description that the shaft I4 will always be turned at a varible rate of speed ranging from a minimum speed at one point in its cycle (Fig. 3) to a maximum occurring one-half revolution later. This varying rate of speed permits the accumulator l8 to be reset very quickly yet without shock or danger of overthrow of the parts. In order to drive the accumulator from the shaft H for the purpose of resetting the accumulator wheels to zero a novel and improved clutch is providedwhich is so devised that the driving connection between the accumulator wheels and shaft I4 is effected only when the shaft I4 is momentarily at rest.

Rigidly mounted on shaft 4 is a member 21 having pivoted thereto a driving pawl 28. A spring 23, interposed between the free end of the pawl and the end of member 21 opposite the point at which the pawl 28 is pivoted, normally tends to rock the pawl in a clockwise direction (Fig..

1) to draw the free end of the pawl toward the center of shaft |4 so that a lug 38 formed in the pawl 28 tends .to enter a notch 3| in a collar 32 fixed to the gear I 3. The pawl 23 is prevented from rocking to effect engagement between lug 38 and notch 3| by means which is effective only at the instant when the shaft I4 is at rest.

The foregoing means comprises a three-armed member. 33 pivotally mounted at 34 in a frame 35 fixed to the framework of the machine. One arm 36 of the member 33 carries an anti-friction roller 31 which normally lies in the path of movement of the tail 38 of pawl 23. The parts are so positioned with respect to one another that, as the shaft l4 and member 2-1 rotate, the roller 31 will engage the tail 38, of pawl 28 and cam the latter in a counterclockwise direction once each revolutionof the shaft l4, this action occurring at the time the lug 38 would otherwise'enter the notch 3|.

- and notch 3| in said collar are about to come into Thus, as the shaft |4 rotates the pawl 28 is first released and permitted to rideon the periphery of collar 32 and then, when the lug 38 tall 38 thereof has passed out of contact with the ro er 31. v Since there is only one notch 3| in the sleeve 32. it is obvious that the gear l3 will not be driven by shaft l4 although the pawl is free to move during practically the entire revolution of shaft l4.

In order to connect the shaft l4 to the gear |3 to drive the latter at a varying rate of speed, it

is merely necessary to move the arm 36 and antifriction roller 31 downwardly or in a clockwise direction (Fig. 1) out of the path of the pawl 28. The arm 36 is held in the position shown in Fig. 1 by a latch arm 39 forming part of a bail 48 pivoted at 4| to an upwardly extending part of the frame 35, the latch arm having a hook portion 4|a engaging the upper end of the arm 42 of member 33. The latch arm 39 is slightly undercut or notched as at 43 in order to prevent dirt from filling the shallow ledge forming the hook portion and preventing the latch arm from securely holding the end of arm 42. The bail 48 carries an armature co-acting with an electromagnet 44 by means of which the latch arm may be disengaged from the arm 42. The ball 48 also has an arm 45 projecting downwardly and to the right (Fig. 1) which arm hasa bent over lug 46 facing but not contacting with the end of an adjusting screw 41 carried by a similar lug 48 in the arm 42.

A spring 49, interposed between the end of arm 45 and an arm 58 formed in the member 33, normally holds the latch arm 39 in latching engagement with the upper end of arm 42 as shown in Fig. 1 and also serves to operate the member 33 when the latch arm is released.

The arm 42 is provided with a projection 5| in the path of movement of a lug 52 in a block 53 secured to the side of gear I3. The arm 42 and the lug 5| are offset to'prevent possible interference between the lug 52 and the anti-friction roller 31 or between the arm 42 and a block 54, which is secured to gear l3 and has the function described in,Patent No. 1,600,414. A pin 55 in the frame 35 serves to limit clockwise movement of member 33 to an extent sufficient to move roller contact with roller 31 and the lug 38 in the pawl will be brought by spring 29 into contact with the surface of the sleeve 32. The lug 38 will then ride over the surface of collar 32 during substantially the remainder of the movement of shaft |4 back to the position shown in Fig. 1 without effecting drive of the sleeve 32 and gear l3. The

magnet 44 may receive a momentary impulse of current at any time during a cycle of rotation of member 21.

Assuming such an impulse of current is received by the magnet 44, the bail 48 will be rocked a slight amount counterclockwise thereby unv latching the arm 42 and permitting the member 33 to rock in a clockwise direction under the influence of spring 49. As a consequence, the roller 31 will be moved downwardly out of the path of the tall 38 of the pawl 28. When the member 21 and shaft |4 again reach the position shown in Fig. 1 the pawl 28 will be free to rock clockwise a. further distance under the influence of its spring 29 to carry the lug 38 into thenotch 3| in collar 32, this action occurring at the instant when the shaft l4 and member 21 are momentarily at rest as in Fig. 1.

During the next revolution of shaft H the latter and gear l3 will be locked together by the pawl 28 and member 21 and the shaft M will drive the gears |2, l3 and the shaft carrying the counterwheels at acontinually increasing speed,

reaching a maximum when the shaft'has completed one half a revolution.

The lug 52 will, during the first quarter revolution of shaft l4, engage the arm 42 and rock the latter counterclockwise a distance sufficient to permit relatching of the upper end of said arm by the latcharm 39. After this preliminary movement of arm 42 the ing 52 will strike the projection 5| in arm 42 and impart to the latter a slight additional amount of movement in a counterclockwise direction just sufficient to cause the end of the adjusting screw 41 to strike the lug 46 and rock the arm 45 a slight extent. This causes the bail 40 to rock in a clockwise direction to carry the arm 39 into position to hold the arm 42 when released by the lug 52 and also serves to knock the armature of the magnet 44 free of the poles of the latter thereby preventing the armature from sticking due to residual magnetism and positively insuring that the latch 39 will catch and hold the arm 42.

Thus, during the first quarter revolution of the second revolution of shaft I4 the parts will be relatched and the roller 31 will, of course, be moved back into the path of the tall 38 of pawl 28. Near the end of the second revolution of shaft i l, the tail of the pawl 28 will be cammed in a counterclockwise direction to disengage the lug 30 from the notch 3| in collar 32 and per- Init the shaft I4 to continue to turn without driving the gear iii. The shaft I4, during the last half of the second revolution, during which dition of rest, reaching-a maximum speed at the end of the first half cycle, and then, during the second half of the cycle, moved at a decelerated rate of speed back to a condition of rest at the end of the cycle. The accumulator may thus be reset at a high rate of speed without danger of pounding or excessive vibration which would cause excessive wear and uncertainty of operation if permitted to exist. Since the latch arm 39 requires little force to release, the magnet 44 need not be very powerful and will consume a negligible amount of current both on account of its small size and the fact that only a momentary impulse of current is required for operation of the latch arms It is clear that the magnet 44 may be tripped at any time in practically an entire cycle prior to the cycle in which the accumulator is to be reset and does not require the use of auxiliary circuits to hold the clutch engaged a sufficient length of time as was formerly the case.

The present invention has been disclosed in a specific form of embodiment and as applied to a particular type of accumulator solely for convenience in description. However, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the specific embodiment and type of accumulator disclosed as variations may be made in the structure as occasion requires or different types of accumulator may be co-ordinated with the invention, all such variations and co-ordinations falling within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim: l; An electrically controlled resetting mechanism for accounting machines comprising a resetting shaft, a constantly rotating driving shaft, means connecting said shafts whereby the driving shaft drives the resetting shaft at speeds varying between a maximum and a minimum, a device to be reset, a clutch connecting the resetting shaftand device, means adapted to enage the clutch at the point of minimum speed of the resetting shaft, and an electromagnet for controlling the last named means.

2. An electrically controlled accumulator resetting mechanism comprising a reset shaft, 9. driving shaft therefor, means connecting said shafts whereby the driving shaft drives the resetting shaft with a motion gradually accelerating from rest followed by a gradually decelerating motion to rest during a single revolution of the driving shaft; a one revolution clutch having a driving element connected to the reset shaft and a driven element adapted when rotated to reset an accumulator, and electromagnet means for engaging the clutch only at the point of rest of the reset shaft.

3. An electrically controlled resetting mechanism for accounting machines comprising a device to be reset, a resetting shaft therefor, means for constantly rotating the resetting shaft at speeds varying from a minimum to a maximum and vice versa; a clutch connecting the device and shaft including a driven element connected to the device, a driving element connected to said shaft, and a clutch interponent carried by the driving element and engageable with the driven element only at the point of minimum speed of the shaft, and an electro-magnet for controlling the engagement of the interponent with the driven element.

4. In combination with a device to be reset, electrically controlled resetting mechanism comprising aresetting shaft, means for driving said shaft with a motion periodically varying from a maximum speed to a minimum and vice versa; a clutch for connecting said shaft and device for the purposeof resetting said device by power derived from the shaft, said clutch including "driving and driven elements and a clutch interponent adapted to couple the driving and driven elements together only at the point of minimum speed; an element for controlling the operation of the interponent, and an electromagnet for operating said element.

5. An electrically controlled resetting mecha nism for accounting machines comprising a resetting shaft, a driving shaft therefor with means for driving it at constant speed, a one revolution clutch having a driven element connected to a device to be reset to drive it, and a driving element connected to the resetting shaft, connections from the resetting shaft to the driving shaft including 9. Geneva mechanism for driving the resetting shaft and driving element from rest with a gradually accelerating motion followed by a gradually decelerating motion to rest during a rotation of said driving shaft, electromagnetic means for controlling the engagement of said clutch elements; meanscontrolled by the electromagnetic means for electing driving connection between said clutch driven and driving elements only when said driving element is at rest and operative to automatically disengage said clutch elements after a complete revolution when said driving element comes to rest.

6. Electrically controlled accumulator resetting mechanism for accounting machines comprising a, constantly rotating power shaft, a resetting shaft, Geneva drive connections between the power shaft and resetting shaft for driving the resetting shaft in cycles in which the speed varies periodically, a device to be reset, a one revolution clutch connecting said resetting shaft and device, said clutch normally moving toward engaging position once during each cycle of the resetting shaft at the point of minimum speed, a disengaging member normally operative to prevent engagement of the clutch at the engaging position, a latch for holding said member in operative position; and when released permitting the member to move to an inactive position whereby to permit engagement of the clutch during its next cycle of the resetting shaft, an electromagnet for releasing the member during one cycle of the resetting shaft to condition the clutch for engagement during the neit cycle, and means automatically operative after the clutch has engaged for restoring said member to latching position.

' JAMES MASON CUNNINGHAM.

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