US2158101A - Stock quotation system - Google Patents

Description

y 1939- J. 1. BELLAMY 2,158,101

STOCK QUOTATION SYSTEM Original Filed Dec. 11, 1929 16 Sheets-Sheet 1 STOCK-LETTER KE Y5 IrTnZTr Jmhn I. BE Ian-11 STOCK QUOTATION SYSTEM Original Filed Dec. 11, 1929 16 Sheets-Sheet 2 STOCK EEG/STEPS May 16, 1939. J, BELLAMY STOCK QUOTATION SYSTEM 11, 1929 16 Sheets-Sheet 3 IDF Original Filed Dec. STOCK TEA N5LA TOPS 2, ZIZ) y 1939- O J. l. BELLAMY 2,158,101

STOCK QUOTATION SYSTEM Original Filed Dec. 11, 1929 16 Sheets-Sheet 4 srocmcooz HI 1 5H 1 1956/5752; 4 A 4 Q Mm i Inuen :Ir"

John I. Bellamy May 16, 1939.

DIG/T KEYS J 1. BELLAMY 2,158,101

STOCK QUOTATION SYSTEM Original Filed Dec. 11, 1929 16 Sheets-Sheet 5 $7'OCK- RANGE KEYS 0P LA Hl-LA LO-LA OP-Hl-LO-LA FIG] JCII'LU. I. EEHEITIH May 16, 1939.

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11, 1929 16 Sheets-Sheet 7 PRICE REGISTERS y 1939. J. l. BELLAMY 2,158,101

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May 16, v1939. J. l. BELLAMY STOCK QUOTATION SYSTEM Original Filed Dec. 11, 1929 b I l l 16 Sheets-Sheet l6 John I. Bauam Patented May 16, 1939 PATENT OFFICE STOCK QUOTATION SYSTEM John I. Bellamy,

Brookfield, Ill., assignor, by

mesne assignments, to Associated Electric Laboratories, Inc., Chicago,

Delaware 11]., a corporation of Original application December 11, 1929, Serial No. 413,205. Divided and this application April 6, 1931, Serial No. 1934 15 Claims.

The present invention relates to stock-quotation systems, but is concerned more particularly with systems of this kind wherein the transmitter comprises a register sender and wherein the receiver comprises an indicating device responsive to impulses received from the transmitter.

This application is a division of my application Serial No. 413,205, filed December 11, 1929. In the parent application, the main object, broadly stated, is the production of a new and improved transmitting and receiving system suitable for transmitting information regarding the selling price of stocks so that such prices may be received and set upon indicators at a plurality of points.

This divisional application covers the novel features of the new and improved register sender or transmitter used at the central transmittin station of the system.

The system herein disclosed is an improvement on the system disclosed in the application of Bellamy et al., Serial Number 378,298, filed July 15, 1929. As pointed out in this prior application, it is customary for a stock broker to have a socalled stock ticker in his office from which a tape slowly unwinds, giving the selling prices of the active stocks. The broker has an attendant who reads the tape and marks down the prices on a blackboard so that the waiting customers may see the trend of the market. In addition to showing the last selling price in a space provided under the name of a given stock, the blackboard shows yesterdays closing price, todays opening price, the high price of the day, and the low price of the day.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION One outstanding disadvantage of the method of procedure above outlined is that the person writing down the prices and making continuous changes is as often as not in such a position as to obscure the board from the View of the customers. In addition, the total amount of labor required, considering the brokers offices as a whole, is quite enormous, and it is to the interest of efficiency to reduce this labor to a minimum. For this purpose, it is proposed in the above-mentioned prior application, to provide a single point at which the desired information can be recorded and to provide an automatically operated indicator in each brokers ofiice controlled from a separate transmitter at the single recording point.

It is proposed further in the said prior application, to make use of the usual ticker tape at 527,905. Renewed June 9,

the central point, and to provide two operators for setting up the quotations. The stocks are listed by means of the letters of the alphabet, some stocks being represented by a single letter, some by two, and others by three. In order to make av division of stocks between the two operators, all stocks represented by the letters A to K may be assigned to one operator, as well as all stocks of two or three letters of which the first letter is A to K. The second operator takes care of the sales involving the stocks L to Z and the plural letter stocks whose designations begin with any one of the letters L to Z.

Certain outstanding features that distinguish the present system from the system disclosed in the above-mentioned prior application are as follows:

1. In the transmitter, instead of depending upon a slow-acting relay to provide the timing between successive transmissions, additional counting relays are provided auxiliary to the sender which count a predetermined number of operations of the controlling interrupter before permitting the sender to start a new quotation.

2. In order to obviate the use of repeaters between the transmitter and the plurality of receivers to be operated thereby, and in order to secure faster operation in the receiver, a novel arrangement has been devised employing vacuum tubes in the receivers which respond to the impulses from the transmitter and repeat current impulses to the receiving apparatus. The advantage of this arrangement is that the current flow over the connecting line between the transmitter and the multiply-connected receivers is practically zero, and'that relatively small potential changes of the inter-connecting conductor, cause any desired current change in the re ceivers through the medium of the receiving vacuum tubes.

3. In the receiver, a local sender is provided to set the stock registers under the control of the registering apparatus which responds to the received impulses. By this means, the registers themselves may be made simple responding devices without a testing function, as. in one modification of the said prior application, and without elaborate mechanical interconnections as in the other modification of the said prior application.

4. By means of novel circuits within the receiver, a portion of the register can be released so that a second quotation may be partly received while the local sending apparatus is setting the stock registers in accordance with a first quotation.

the said counting relays as are sent to the stock I registers being operated, so as to enablea reliable counting-relay arrangement to be used, employing two relays per impulse delivered to the counting relays, but only one relay per impulse delivered to the stock registers.

Description of drawings Referring now to the drawings comprising Figs. 1-1'7, they show by means of the usual circuit diagrams and mechanical drawings a transmitting and receiving system embodying the features of the invention. More in particular, Figs. 1-8 and 8A show a transmitter which may be designated asthe transmitter TI; Fig. 9 indicates the transmitters T2, T3, and T4 together with a few of the plurality of receivers; Figs. 10, 11, 11A, 12, and 12A showcircuit drawings of one of the receivers, RE'I; Figs. 13 and 14 indicate mechanical details of a stock register used in the receiver; Fig. 15 is a table showing the code according to which the impulses are transmitted by the transmitter and are received and recorded in the receiver; Fig. 16 shows a modified form of the receiver RE! to be used whenever differences in ground potential are suf- 'ficient to interfere with the operation of .the

receiving arrangement of Fig. 10; and Fig. 17, appearing on the lower, part of the same sheet with Fig. 5, is a layout of Figs. 1 to 12A.

The transmitter In the transmitter, Figs. 1 to 8A, the apparatus for registering the stock-designating letters,

7 set up on the stock-letter keys of Fig. 1, comprises the stock registers SRI, SR2, and SR3 of Fig, 2; and the apparatus for translating the registration of stock letters into a three-digit code to be sent to the receiving stations comprises the stock translators STI, STZ, and ST3, as wellas the intermediate distributing frame IDF, Fig. 3; The price registers for registering the price (at which a current stock transaction took place) under the control of the digit keys of Fig. 5 comprises the price registers shown in Fig. 7. The price register PH registers the pricehundreds digit; the register PT registers the price-tens digit; the register PU registers the price-units; and the register PF registers the price-fractions digit. These designations hold true in case a full price quotation is sent, but the arrangement varies somewhat in case a lesser number of price digits is sent as will be hereinafter explained.

The stock-code registers, shown in Fig. 4, are set from the translating apparatus of Fig. 3, through the intermediate distributing frame IDF, and comprise the stock-hundreds register SH, the stock-tens register ST, and the stockunits register SU. It may be further pointed out that a 'so-called range indication. (to be later explained) is registered on thestock-range register SRof Fig. 6 under control of the range keys of Fig.6, and that a price-range registration is set up automatically by the action of the transfer relays, IOI, I63, 105, and I01, associated with the price registers of Fig. 7. r

It will be noted that the lower portion of Fig. 6 includes a rectangle labeled register set #2. This register set #2 contains a duplicate of the equipment shown in Figs. 4 and 7, of the range register R of Fig, 6, and of the relays 835 and 836, Fig. 8. The two register sets are arranged to be used alternately so that a second registration may be set up immediately following the first and while the first is held stored on the first register set and is being transmitted. The relays 6M and M5 are common to the two registers and are arranged to switch from one register to another to automatically switch the next register into service.

The apparatus shown in Figs. 8 and 8A is the sending apparatus and it sends digit impulses under the control of the two register sets shown in Figs. 4, 6, and 7. The impulses transmitted by the sender of Fig. 8 go out over the conductor 85! to the several receiving stations, as will be hereinafter explained.

The receiver In the receiver, Figs. 10, 11, 11A, 12, and 12A, the vacuum tubes IEMI and I042 have their grid elements connected to the incoming line conductors 9H], and they have the responding relays IilOI, I882, and I093 connected in their plate circuits. These responding relays, with the cooperation of relays 364-4009 send impulses to set the stock registers of Fig. 10 and to set the price registers of Fig. 11. The stock registers of Fig. 10 are labeled SH, ST, SU, and SR. They are the hundreds, tens, units, and range registers, respectively. The price registers of Fig, 11 are labeled PR, PH, PT, PU, and PF. They are the range, hundreds, tens, units, and fraction registers, respectively. 1

Fig. 12 shows the stock-relay hundreds selector comprising relays I 20I-I2I 0, of which the relays I20I, I202, and I2) only are shown; together with the associated terminals provided below the relays for the interconnection between the relay contacts and the stock-relay pairs, such as the stock-relay pair comprising I24I and I242. The stock-relay pairs are divided into ten groups of not more. than one hundred relay-pairsper group, and the relays of Fig. 12 are operated in accordance with the stock-hundreds digit to select the hundreds group in which is to be operated.

Each stock on the receiving board is represented by twenty registers, such as the register R.-I, Figs. 13 and 14, Fig. 14 being a front view. These registers are arranged in five horizontal rows, .four registers to a row. The top row (YC) indicates yesterdays closing price; the next row (OP) indicates todays opening price; the nextrow (HI) indicates todays high price; the next row (LO) indicates .todays low price; and the bottom row (LA) shows the last price received for the stock in question. The stock-range relays I255 and I259, operated under the control of row only of the registers, the-other relays controlling the other rows, respectively. 7 Fig. 11A shows the local sender which operates under the control of the price registers of Fig. 11' to send impulses to the stock registers through the medium of the receiving relays I25I-I254,

Fig. 12A.

a stock relay DETAILED DESCRIPTION The system having been described generally, a detailed description of the operation of the apparatus shown will now be given. For this purpose, a description will be given of the operations involved when the operator at the transmitter Tl, shown in Figs. 1 to 8 and 8A sets up a quotation on her key set of which the stock-letter keys are shown in Fig. 1, and the digit keys and range keys in Fig. 5.

It will be assumed that the register set #1, comprising the registering apparatus of Figs. 4 and 7, the upper portion of Fig. 6, and relays 835 and 831, Fig. 8, is in service at this time, this being true because the relay 614 is energized, as shown, and because the relay 615 is deenergized, as shown. It will be assumed further that the letters representing the stock whose quotation is to be transmitted are the letters B, B, and A and that the price to be transmitted is 104 and dollars (1041). The numerator only of the fractions of dollars is transmitted; the denominator 8, being the same in all cases, is not transmitted.

It will be assumed further that this is neither the high price nor the low price of the day and that it is accordingly set up as merely the last price, abbreviated, LA. The full indication to be set up may be represented by BBA--1041-LA. The first portion is set up by operating the stockletter keys of Fig. 1. The second portion is set up by operating the digit keys of Fig. 5; and the final portion (the range indication) is' set up by operating a range key of Fig. 5.

Stock registration To set up this number the operator first operates the letter key B of Fig. 1. These keys, it Will be understood, are non-locking keys of the push-button type, being arranged so that, when the operator depresses a key to close the contacts thereof, and then releases the key, the plunger returns to normal, and the contacts of the key open.

When the key B is pushed, a circuit is closed from ground through the contacts of the key and through contacts of the normally-energized connecting relay 202 for the register relay B of the stock register SR1. Relay B energizes and at its e inner upper armature closes a locking circuit for itself through the transfer relay 20! from the grounded conductor 250, which is grounded through contacts of relays 201 and 208 from the grounded conductor 662, which latter conductor is grounded in Fig. 6 through contacts of the error relays, 613' of the register set # 2, and 613 of the register set #1. The locking circuit for relay B does not become effective immediately, and relay 2e: remains short circuited and deenergized as long as the key B of Fig. 1 is held depressed, but, when the key B is released, the short circuit is removed from around relay 201 and it energizes in series with relay B and opens the circuit of relay 202 and closes a circuit for connecting relay 204 through the inner armature of relay 203. Relay 204 pulls up, and relay 202 falls back and disconnects the conductors of the keys A to R from the storage relays A to R of the stock register SR1. It will be noted, of course, that only the relays A, B, and R of this set are shown and that only the corresponding contacts of relay 202 are shown. It will be understood that the intervening relays are connected up in the same manner as those shown. A similar curtailment occurs in the case of the registers SR2 and SR3, and in each case, it has been for the purpose of simplifying the drawings.

When the operator depresses the stock-letter key B to register the second stock letter B, a circuit is closed through contacts of relay 204 of the stock register SR2 for the B relay in this stock register. It will be noted that this relay is designated -B. This indicates that the registration of this relay is the second letter of a stock, and that the first letter may be any one of several. When the relay -B operates, it closes at its inner upper armature a locking circuit for itself to the said grounded conductor 250 by way of the transfer relay 203. Relay 203 is accordingly operated when the key B of Fig. l'is allowed to restore, and it transfers the operating ground from relay 204 to relay 206 by way of contacts of the trans fer relay 205. Accordingly relay 204 falls back and disconnects the stock-letter keys A to Z from the second-letter storage relays A to Z, and relay 205 energizes through contacts of relays 201, 203, and 205, and connects the stock-letter keys A to Z to the third-letter relays A to Z of the stock register SR3. The relays of the register SR3 are designated in this manner to indicate that they are the third-letter relays and that the first two letters are variable letters; that is, either one of the first two letters may be any one of a plurality.

When the operator depresses the key A of Fig. 1 a circuit is closed through contacts of relay 206 for the relay A, which operates and at its inner upper armature closes a locking circuit for itself through relay 205 to the grounded conductor 250. Accordingly, transfer relay 205 operates in series with relay -A when the A key is released, and at its inner armature it disconnects relay 206 and allows it to fall back and disconnect the stock-letter keys from the associated relays A to -Z.

The stock concerning which the quotation is about to be transmitted has now been identified on the registering apparatus by the above-described energization of relay B of the stock register SR1, of relay B of the stock register SR2, and of the relay --A of the stock register SR3. This three-letter registration is to be subsequently translated by the translating apparatus of Fig. 3 into a pre-assigned three-digit code in a manner to be hereinafter pointed out.

Price registration Referring now to Figs. 5, 6, and 7, when the operator depresses the digit key 1, Fig. 5, to register the price-hundreds digit 1, a circuit is closed from ground through the right and left contacts of the digit key 1 over conductors 501 and 502 for the storage relays A and B of the price-hundreds register PH, Fig. 7, through contacts of connecting relay 102, which latter relay is energized through contacts of transfer relay 101 from the grounded conductor 60?, conductor 60'! being supplied with ground potential through the lower armature of the energized relay 1514 of Fig. 6. When relays A and B of PH operate, they close locking circuits for themselves at their inner armatures through transfer relay 101 to the grounded conductor 606, conductor 600 being grounded at this time through the upper contacts of relay 613 and the normally closed contacts controlled by the upper armature of relay 615. As a result, when the digit key 1 of Fig. 5 is allowed to restore, the locking circuit for relays A and B becomes effective, and relay 1'01 energizes therein and transfers the grounded con-ductor 601 fromv relay 702 to the connecting relay 104, through contacts of the transfer relay 103. Accordingly, relay I02 falls back and disconnects the key conductors 50I-504 from the relays A to D of the price-hundreds register PH, and relay 706 operates and connects these conductors to the corresponding relays of the price-tens register PT.

When the operator depresses the digit key to set up the price-tens digit, a circuit is closed from ground over conductor 504 and through contacts of connecting relay 104 for relay D of the price-tens register PT. Relay D operates and locks itself at its inner armature to the grounded conductor 606 by way of the transfer relay 763. Relay 103, accordingly, energizes when the digit key 0 is restored, and it transfers the operating conductor 50'! from connecting relay- "d to the connecting relay 706 by way of contacts of the transfer relay 70E. Relay 704 accordingly falls back and relay operates, and conductors I-504 are disconnected from the relays of the register PT and are connected to the relays A to D of the register PU.

When the operator depresses the digit key 4 to set up the price-units digit 4, a circuit is closed from ground through the contacts of the digit key 4 over conductors 502 and 503 for the relays B and C of the price-units register PU. These relays operate and close locking circuits for themselves at their inner armatures through the transfer relay 105 to the grounded conductor 500. As a result, when the key 4 of Fig. 5 is released, relay 105 operates and transfers the operating ground from relay 706 of the price-units register to the relay 708 of the price-fractions register PF. Conductors Eel-504 are accordingly disconnected from the relays of the price-units register by the deenergization of relay 706 and are connected to the relays A to D of the register PG by the energization of relay 108.

When the fractions digit 1 (indicating is recorded by depressing the digit key I, relays A and B of the price-fractions register PF operate over conductors 50! and 502 and close locking circuits for themselves to conductor 606 by way of transfer relay 101. As a result, relay 10? operates when the digit key is released, and it opens the circuit of relay I00, whereupon relay 108 falls back and disconnects the conductors 5H505 from the relays A to D of the pricefractions register PF.

Stoclc-range registration Having recorded the stock and the price quotation, the operator indicates the stock range by depressing the stock-range key LA to cause the price quotation to be recorded as the last price. When this key is depressed, a circuit is closed from ground through the contacts of the key and over conductor 508 and through contacts of relay 6H for relay D of the range register, relay 0H being energized from the grounded conductor through contacts of relay 0I0. Upon operating, relay D of the range register R closes a self-locking circuit at its inner contacts through relay 6H? to the grounded conductor 600. As a result, relay BIB energizes when the range key LA is released, with results to be explained hereinafter.

The registration is now complete and the result of the registration will be taken up in detail.

Stock transfer and translation Since a stock may be identified by one letter, by two letters, or by three letters, arrangements are provided for delaying the transfer of a registration to the translating apparatus of Fig. 3 until a price digit is recorded, in order to avoid the premature transfer of a two-letter indication as a single-letter indication or the transfer of a three-letter indication as a two-letter indication. The way the transfer takes place will now be pointed out.

When the transfer relay 10L associated with the price-hundreds register PI-I, energizes, as hereinbefore pointed out, upon the release of 'a digit key following its depression for the first price digit 1, it closes a circuit at its lower armature which starts at ground through the inner lower armature, normal, of transfer relay 6l0 of the stock-range register R, Fig. 6, and continues by way of conductor 608, lower contacts of relay 753, lower contacts of relay 10'! (now energized),

stock-transfer conductor 60!, to the upper armatures of relays -A to Z of the register SR3, Fig. 2. This conductor is extended to the corresponding armatures of the relays A to Z of the stock register SR2 in case only a two-letter designation is recorded on account of the fact that relay 205 is not energized in such case, and it is extended through contacts of relay 203 to the corresponding armatures of relays A to R- of the stock register SRI in case only a oneletter designation is recorded, as in this case the transfer relay 203 the present case, a full three-letter designation is recorded and the further extension of the conductor Bill is prevented due to the operated condition of the upper armature of relay 205. With relay A energized as before explained, the

circuit continues from conductor 60 through the upper contacts of the relay -A, contacts of the energized relay B, to the relay BA of the stock translator 8T3. Relay BA energizes.

The relay BA, it will be noted, has a plurality of sets of contacts, three contact pairs a set. Each of these contact sets is associated with a different one of the groups of conductors, three conductors a group, grounded under the control of the relays A to R of the stock register SRI. Relay --BA closes all of these conductors through to the left-hand side of the intermediate distributing frame IDF, but only the set labeled BBA at the frame IDF is, grounded on account of the fact that only the relay B of the stock register SRi is energized.

On the right-hand side of the intermediate distributing frame IDF there are three sets of terminals, one terminal set is connected with a group of conductors labeled CDI, indicating that this group of conductors corresponds to the first code digit; the next set of contacts onthe righthand side of the IDF terminates the conductors labeled CD2, having to do with the second code digit; while the third set of contacts terminates the group of conductors CD3, having to do with the third code digit. The contacts of each of these sets are labeled 1 to 0, and they correspond respectively to the digits 1 to 0. The conductor groups CDl, CD2, and CD3 extend at this time through the contacts of the energized relays 403, 404, and 1105 to the relays l to 0 of the stock code registers. SH, ST, and SU, corresponding to the hundreds, tens, and units code digits, by means of which the stocks are identified at the receiving station.

There is a separate code assigned to each stock and the three contacts corresponding to a stock in each case are cross-connected in accordance with the code. For example, the code assigned is not operated. However, in

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