US2315597A - Voting machine - Google Patents

Description

April 6, 1943. CONRAD 2,315,597

VOTING MACHINE I Filed March 4, 1939 3 Shee'ts-Sheet 1:

April 6, 1943. F. CONRAD VOTING MACHINE Filed March 4, 1939 3 Sheets-Shee at 2 Z a y a Mm ma V WITNESSES:

ATTORNEY April 1943- F. CONRAD VOTING MACHINE Filed March 4, 1939 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR fi/zf (5/7/2145 BY Ma WITNESSES:

ATTORNEY Patented Apr. 6, 1943 VOTING MACHINE Frank Conrad, Wilkinsburg, Pa., assignor to Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Company,- East Pittsburgh, Pa., a. corporation of Pennsylvania Application March 4, 1939, Serial No. 259,852

3 Claims.

This invention relates to voting machines and particularly to a voting button mechanism.

,One object of my invention is to provide a voting button mechanism to permit the casting of a vote and to prevent more than one vote by the individual voter, and to prevent damage to the voting machine mechanism in case the voter tries to force the button in order to cast more than one vote by that button.

Another object of my invention is to make it impossible for a voter to vote more than once for the same candidate if such candidate is endorsed by different parties.

Another object of my invention is to adjustably limit the total number of candidates which can be voted upon.

In the design of machines for mechanical vote recording, it is necessary to incorporate certain features which will preclude the possibility of a voter casting an illegal vote; that is, voting more than once for any candidate, or voting more than the proper number of candidates for any particular ofiice. In various voting machines that have been designed, and in some of those now on the market, there are provisions incorporated which lock certain buttons after other voting buttons have been turned.

Since a voter might apply considerable force to some of the voting levers, it is necessary to so arrange the locking devices that no damage can be done accidentally or intentionally by the voter.

In order to prevent the application of excessive forces to any parts of the counting or voting mechanism, I provide a releasing ratchet device in the voting button itself. That ratchet device transmits a definite and limited torque to the voting shaft and thus permits the usual locking devices for the voting mechanism to be considerably simplified.

After each voting operation is performed, the button is returned to its initial position when the machine is reset. As a result, no indication is left by the position of the button to show how a voter has voted. At the same time, the button is marked for the convenience of the voter so that he can tell, while he is still voting, what buttons he has voted according to the marked index on the button.

The application of this voting button mechanism to a voting machine allows a very great simplification of the interlocking features usually required. Thus, in the case of machines employing old designs, for example, it is necessary to incorporate quite an elaborate interlock to prevent a party lever being thrown after an individual button has been voted, or vice versa, to

after a complete party ticket has been. voted. With the mechanism described above any number of individual candidates can be voted, the voter can then pull any one of the party levers and the effect will be to vote only for those oflices for which individual candidates have not been voted. The necessity of this interlock on the present well known machines requires a slip clutch mechanism for theparty lever to prevent breaking of any shaft of an individual candidate which the voter has voted for before pulling the party lever, and in view of the fact that this slip clutch on the party lever has to give sufiicient torque to vote the complete roll of voting stations and at the same time not damage an individual voting button which at. the time is in operated position, a comparatively delicate adjustment of the clutch is required.

For primary elections it is necessary to lock out all voting rows except that of the party for which the voter is registered. This in general has required a rather complicated mechanism. With the present device for the primary election the curtain enclosing the voter would be attached to the left side of the machine at a point inside the straight party levers; i. e., the straight party levers would not be accessible to the voter, but would be in view of persons outside the voting machine curtain. In operation the levers would all be turned to the left so that the bottom horizontal party operating bars would be thrown over to a position where they would interfere with the pin on the pawl carrying lever, thus preventing this button from being voted. To permit the voter to vote, the lever for the particular party for which he is registered, would be moved to the middle position, thereby permitting the selection of candidates in a certain row or rows.

A voting button mechanism constructed in accordance with the principles of my invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view of a unit assembly of a ratchet to be incorporated in a voting button.

Fig. 2 is an end elevational view of the assembly of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a side elevational view of the other side of the assembly of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a side elevational view of a button shaft upon which the ratchet and button are mounted.

Fig. 5 is a side view of a washer.

Fig. 6 is an edge view of a ratchet disc.

Fig. 7 is a face view of the ratchet disc.

Fig. 8 is a face view of the pawl that cooperates with the ratchet disc of Fig. 7.

Fig. 9 is an edge view of the pawl of Fig. 8.

Fig. 10 is an elevational view of one side of a crank arm for supporting and operating the pawl of Fig. 8.

Fig. 11 is a side elevational view of the crank arm of Fig. 10.

Fig. 12 is a side elevational view of the other side of the crank arm of Fig. 10.

Fig.- 13 is a side elevational view of the button head.

Fig. 14 is a back face view of the button head of Fig. 13.

Figs. 15 and 16 are edge and face views of a locking bar that is used to hold the button head in operative relation on the crank arm shown in Figs. 10 to 12 inclusive.

Fig. 17 is a perspective view of a candidate locking element. a Fig. 18 is a perspective view of a shift plate.

Fig. 19 is a perspective view of an assembly of the members of Figs. 16 and 17 together with the voting or reset bar.

Fig. 20 is a front elevational view of a rack and pinion, for party voting, shown in non-operated position relative to the crank arm of one button.

Fig. 21 is a similar view of the party rack of Fig. 20 in operated position.

Fig. 22 is an end elevational view of a cover or housing for a button assembly mechanism, which cover serves also as a support and guide for the party voting rack of Fig. 20; and illustrates the manner in which the rack is supported and guided and also the manner in which the button head of Figs. 13 and 14 is located in operative position.

Fig. 23 is a rear elevational view of the vote counting bar associated with and controlled by the button.

Fig. 24 is a side sectional view taken along line XXIV-XXIV of Fig. 23 of a shift plate and an associated over-center spring, that is part of the vote-counting bar or Fig. 23.

Fig. 25 is an elevational view of a positioning device associated with the button shaft to assure the movement of the button to its proper terminal positions.

Fig. 26 is a side elevational view of the positioning device of Fig. 25.

Fig. 27 is a front elevational view of a panel with a part broken away to show a unit comprising a single party lever and a single candidate button.

Fig. 2'8 is an enlarged view of the assembly of Fig. 2 together with an operating means, the assembly being shown in'its non-operated or nonvoted position.

Fig. 29 is a view of the assembly of Fig. 28 in its operated or voted position.

Fig. 30 is a rear elevational view of the counting bar assembly shown in a non-operated or non-voted position.

Fig. 31 is a rear elevational view of the counting bar assembly in which the upper button is in a non-operated position whereas the lower button is in an operated position; and

Fig. 32 is a front schematic view, partly broken away, of a complete voting machine.

As illustrated in the drawings, a voting button mechanism l comprises a vote counting shaft 2, a ratchet disc 3, a pawl 4, an operating crank arm 5 carrying a pawl biasing spring. 8, and an actuating button head 1. A restoring biasing spring 8 is also provided to exert a restoring force upon the button mechanism.

The vote counting shaft 2 serves to transmit the torque from the actuating button head 1 to a voting or reset bar H.

The shaft 2 embodies a circular portion l2, an adjoining square section l3 for receiving the ratchet disc 3, then a circular portion I4, and two stop gear portions I5 and I8, another circular portion [1, and a square end l8. The purposes and functions of the various portions of the shaft will be referred to as the description proceeds.

In the arrangement that is shown in Figs. 1 and 3, the shaft 2 extends forwardly through a hole in the wall panel is of the voting machine. with the round portion ll of the shaft in the space of the wall panel. The square portion II of the shaft is located in front of the wall panel is and supports the ratchet disc 3 and operatively interconnects the ratchet disc 3 and the shaft 2 through the square shank portion I3 and the square opening 21 of the disc 3. The disc 3 fits the square shank portion is with a sliding but not loose fit to permit easy assembly and separation. The round front portion 12- of the shaft 2 serves as a stud bearing for the hub 45 of the crank arm 5 shown separately in Figs. 10, 11 and 12. The gear stop portion I! of the shaft cooperates with the toothed rack edge section 22 of the voting bar I I disposed at the rear of the wall panel is. The gear stop l6 cooperates with a pair of rollers 2n mounted on levers 24 which levers are pivoted on bearing plate 25 at pivots 24a as shown in Fig. 25.

The shaft 2 serves thus as an actuating device or torque transmitter for the voting button mechanism, and serves also as a support for the button head and for the ratchet mechanism mechanically connected between the button head and th shaft.

The ratchet mechanism includes the ratchet disc 30f Figs. 6 and 7, the pawl l of Figs. 8 and 9, and the crank arm 5 of Figs. 10, 11 and 12, the biasing spring 6 on the crank arm 5 to maintain the pawl I in engagement with the ratchet disc 3, and a return biasing spring 8 to bias the crank arm 5 to its initial position.

The ratchet disc 3, as shown in Figs, 6 and 7, consists of a washer disc provided with a square central opening 2!, and four equally peripherally spaced, similarly shaped, channel notches 3a, 3b, 3c, and 3d. Each channel in the ratchet disc consists of a relatively flat lease, and one side wall 26 substantially radial and the other side 26a somewhat curved but sloped from the base at an angle greater than a right angle. All of the channel notches are equally spaced and similarly disposed around the periphery of thedisc, i. e., with the radial wall in the forward or actuating direction.

The pawl 4', shown separately in Figs. 8 and 9, consists of an operating arm 3| with a finger 32 on one side of a pivotal bearing opening 33, and consists also of an operating arm or handle 34 on the other side of the pivotal bearing opening 33. The operating arm 34 supports a stop pin 35 which serves as a stop for the biasing spring 8 on the crank arm 5, in order to initially bias that spring.

The crank arm 5, as shown separately in Figs. 10, 11 and 12 consists of a central'hub 45, from which two arms 38 and 39 extend radially in op posite directions. Two crank pins ll and C3 are respectively mounted on the arms and extend laterally therefrom near th ends of the arms 3l and 39, parallel to the main axis.

The hub of crank arm comprises an externally cylindrical boss 44 at one side and a polygonal boss at the other side. The hub is provided with a cylindrical opening transverse of the crank arm 5 for receiving the stud bearing ll of shaft 2 to thus provid a pivotal support for the crank arm 5.

When all parts are assembled the boss 44 presses. against ratchet disc 3 to hold it in axial position on the square P rtion i3 of shaft 2. The polygonal boss of the hub is adapted to re ceive the similarly shaped opening in the actuating button head I.

We may now assemble the voting button mechanism of Figs. 1 to 16, inclusive. When the shaft 2 is extended through the wall panel is, a thin metallic washer 9, preferably of copper or bronze, fits on the cylindrical portion i4 of the shaft and rests against the front surface of the panel Hi. This washer 9 serves as a spacer between the panel i9 and the ratchet disc 3 to prevent scarring of the wall surface of the panel I! by the sharp edges of the disc 3 during its operation. The ratchet disc 3 with its radial walls in a clockwise direction with respect to its curved walls as viewed from the front of the panel is then placed in position on the square portion i3 of the shaft 2. The pawl 4 is then assembled on crank pin 4i of crank arm 5 with its finger 32 clockwise as viewed from the front and with the stop pin 35 on the outside of the long narrow leaf spring 6, so that the leaf spring 6, by its pressure against the stop pin 35, will tend to rotate pawl 4 clockwise as viewed from the front and to press the latching pawl finger 32 radially inward, around the pivot opening 33 and the pin 4i as pivotal centers as will appear in Fig. 2. Finger 32 will thus be biased to mov into one of the notches of the ratchet disc 3. The crank arm 5, as a unit, with the pawl 4 so mounted, is then slipped onto the circular portion i2 of the shaft 2. and the operating arm or handle 34 of the pawl is momentarily manually pressed downward or inward against the normal direction of the force of the biasing spring 6, to permit the pawl finger 32 to clear the edge of the disc 3 and to move into one of the notches. Be-

fore the crank arm 5 with its supported pawl 4, as a unit, is placed in position on the bearing portion i2 of the shaft 2, the biasing spring 8 is placed in position to encircle the boss 44 on the crank arm 5, within the space under the leaf spring 6 and between'the pawl 4 and the crank arm 5 as will appear in Fig. 2, one free end Ba of the spring 8 is positioned to engage the side surface of the crank pin 4|, and the other end of the spring 8 is provided with an eye 81) to fit over a stationary pin 80 mounted on the panel wall i9 adjacent the button assembly. The ratchet unit is now assembled in operative position and is ready to receive the actuating button head I of Figs. 13 and 14. As shown in those figures, the button head i is provided with a metallic insert having a squared central opening 46 of proper size to provide a sliding fit over the squared hub 45 of the crank arm. The metallic insert also mbodies a flange 41 that rests against the back surface of the button head. The flange 41, in turn, supports an integral spaced flange 48, that is spaced from the base flange 41 to provide a peripheral right angle channel space 49 between flange 48 and the back surface of the button head. The purpose of this space is to receive a locking strip 50 that will hold the button head axially in place on the hub 45 while permitting the button head and thus the crank arm 5 to be rotated through an angle of 9Q to actuate the ratchet mechanism. The hooked end of locking strip 50 forms a spring clip which fastens to the edge of panel i9 asshown in Figs. and 22.

Before mounting the button head on the ratchet assembly for each voting button, however, a cover 5i is placed over the ratchet assembly, with an opening 52 in the cover 00- axially alined with the button shaft 2, so that the button head may be inserted into the opening 52 to fit over the square hub 45 of the crank arm as appears in Figs. 20, 21 and 22. After the button has been so located, the positioning and holding strip or bar is moved longitudinally into place along the rear wall of the cover 5| on a shoulder 54 until the bar 50 moves into and through the peripheral channel 49 on the back of the voting button where the button extends through the cover 5i. Referring to Figs.

25 and 26 a pair of levers 24 are pivoted at 24c on bearing plate 25. A spring 23 connecting the upper parts of the levers tends to keep rollers 20 in the depressions of gear I5 so as to normally position gear i5 in the manner shown in Fig. 25 in order that it will not interfere with reset bar ii during reset operation.

Operation of voting button The operation of the voting button and its associated mechanism may be best understood by referring to Figs. 2, 28 and 29. Fig. 28 shows the position of the ratchet mechanism when the voting button is in its initial or non-voted position. Assume now that it is desired to vote the particular button. This voting is effected by turning the button clockwise, which is tantamount to turning the crank arm 5 clockwise inasmuch as the button has a square opening 46 which fits over the substantially square portion of the hub 45. This clockwise movement of crank arm 5 will transmit a force through pin 4i and effect a clockwise movement of pawl 4 and since pawl 4 has its finger 32 biased into engagement with a notch in ratchet disc 3 by virtue of the force of spring 6 which tends to rock pawl 4 about pin 4i as a pivot, it will effect rotation of ratchet 3. The rotation of ratchet 3 will effect rotation of the vote counting shaft 2, thus registering a vote in a vote counting mechanism (not shown). Fig. 29 shows the button mechanism in its operated or voted position, that is, after the button has been turned nearly through its limit of angular movement of 90. The button cannot be moved more than 90 because of stop member 53 which is located on panel i9 and which abuts crank arm 5 in the event that a clockwise movement of more than 90 is attempted. Besides its function as a stop member, element 53 acts as a support for cover plate 5i since it is screw threaded internally, thus accommodating a screw which is driven therein from the exterior of the cover plate. Similarly a counterclockwise stop is effected by a pin '10 which will abut pawl 4 inasmuch as the pin 4i, which is the point of support of pawl 4, is more remotely situated from shaft 2 than is pin "i0. This pin 1 0 extends through a slot 'il in the panel and is rigidly fastened to a vertically slidable cam member 55 which will be described more fully later, suflice it to say for the present that pin Ill moves upwardly with the voting or reset bar ii when the button is turned clockwise and is caused to move downwardly with bar I I when the latter is moved downwardly to efiect reset of the machine. Assume now that it is desired to reset the button mechanism which is now in the voted or operated position shown in Fig. 29. Pin 10 is moved downwardly with reset bar I l and during its downward movement it will press against the cam surface of pawl 4 and cause the pawl to move counterclockwise about pin 4| as a pivot overcoming the resisting force afforded by spring 8. Thus finger 32 will become unseated from its coacting notch in ratchet disc 3 and at the moment of such unseating. spring 8 will 'be free to rotate the crank arm and pawl 4 counterclockwise (see Fig. 2) into its initial position, that is, into the position shown in Fig. 28. The ratchet disc I, however, does not move counterclockwise inasmuch as finger 32 of the pawl merely rides over the outer surface of ratchet 3 and does not drive the ratchet. Thus the vote counting shaft 2 retains its actuated or voted position and retains its vote registering effect in the vote counting mechanism (not shown) even though the crank arm and pawl are reset to their initial position. It will thus be seen that each time the button is voted and the machine is reset the vote counting shaft will be moved another 90 clockwise and the total number of votes recorded by the vote counting machine will be the number of revolutions of vote counting shaft times four.

It is impossible to vote more than once during one setting of the machine because while it is possible, after having turned the button clockwise to its voted position to thereafter turn the button counterclockwise, this latter movement has the eifect of cancelling the vote previously made because the pawl 4 is biased by spring 6 to effect seating of finger 32 in the notch in ratchet disc 3 hence counterclockise movement of crank arm 5 will drive and effect counterclockwise movement of ratchet disc 3 and incidentally will also effect a downward movement of the voting or reset bar II as will be explained more fully hereinafter.

Operation of party lever The operation of the party lever and its associated mechanism can be best understood by referring to Figs. 20, 21 and 27 wherein reference character 63 denotes a party lever, the rotation of which is effective to operate all the candidate buttons in a horizontal row to eifect a straight party vote. Although only one button is shown in Figs. 20 and 21, it must be remembered that in a complete machine, as shown in Fig. 32, there are a number of buttons in a horizontal row for each particular party, each button representing a different candidate belonging to a particular party. In Figs, 20 and 21 party lever 53 (shown dotted), is removed for the sake of clarity of its driving mechanism. Fig. 27 shows the parts which may be located in front of the panel. In Figs. 20 and 21 the square shaft 12 has integrally connected therewith a gear 62. The hub of party lever 63 has a square opening which snugly fits over square shaft 12 and is rigidly secured thereto by a screw 13. Gear 62 engages a party rack 6| hence when party lever 63 is rotated clockwise it causes rack 6| to move to the left. By virtue of the edge 64a of a cut away portion 64 of rack 6|, such movement to the left will cause edge 84a to engage pin 42 of crank arm 5 and effect clockwise rotationof crank arm 5. For each of the buttons located along rack 6| there is a similar cut away portion as shown in Fig. 32, hence when the party lever 63 is turned clockwise into the position shown in Fig. '21, the effect will be to turn all of the buttons located in the same horizontal row, in other words, referring to Fig. 32 if the Democratic party lever is turned clockwise from the position shown its effect will be to register a vote for each of the candidates Mr. A, Mr. B, Mr. C and Mr. D, thus voting a so-called straight party ticket." After a "straight party ticket has been voted, as shown in Fig. 21, it is impossible to unvote any of the actuated buttons in the "Democratic horizontal row because now the crank arm 5 is locked by stop member 53 from clockwise movement and is locked against counterclockwise movement by the upper edge of rack I which abuts pin 41 of the crank arm.

For primary elections it is necessary to lock out all voting (horizontal) rows except that of the party for which the voter is registered. This has in the past required a rather complicated mechanism. In accordance with my invention, for primary election voting the curtain enclosing the voter (not shown) would be attached on the left side of the machine at a point immediately to the right of the party levers; i. e., the party levers would not be accessible to the voter, but would be in view and under control of an oiflcial outside the voting machine curtain. In operation all the party levers except the one registered for would be turned to their extreme left position. While such party levers are being turned to their left positions, each of the party racks '4 will move to the right and edge 84b thereon will strike the lower tip of pawl 4 (see Fig. 20)

, causing the finger of pawl 4 to be unseated from its corresponding notch in ratchet disc I and as long as the upper edge 64d engages pawl 4 the pawl will be out of driving engagement with ratchet 3. In the extreme left position of the party lever, surface 04c will be immediately adjacent pawl 4, hence if the button is turned it will be ineffective to register a vote, first because of the unseating action of surface 64d, then, after further rotation of the button, because of the retained unseating action of surface 64 with respect to the pawl and ratchet. The party lever which corresponds to the party for which the party is registered is placed in the operative position, that is, in the position shown in Fig. 20. In this position there is no part of rack 8| which 'will resist clockwise movement of the button assembly.

Operation of reset bar The operation of the voting or reset bar II will be more readily understood by referring to Figs. 17 to 19 and 21 to 27, inclusive. As shown in Fig, 24, a bolt I5 is screw threaded to the back of panel I! just below slot H. A spring 61 surrounds the bolt and has one end abutting the end of the bolt and the other end pressing against a washer which contacts a vertically slidable cam member (through which extends bolt 55 as shown in Fig. 24), the shape of which cam is more clearly shown in Fig. 18. Cam member 65 has a pin III which extends through a slot in reset bar II and through slot H and has a pair of lugs 14 which are slidable along the outer edges of reset bar ll. Spring 61 will press against cam 86 of cam member 45. A lock member 15 is mounted on cam member 65 and is slidable thereon through lugs ll of the cam member as shown in Fig. 19. The lock member 15 has a pin I8 which projects through groove 19 of the cam member 65 and terminates Just on the rear surface or the panel (see Fig. 23) Lock member I5 also has an internally threaded stud II. the purpose of which will-be described further on. Lock member 15 has an outstanding lug I8 which may or may not cover a notch 69 in the cam member depending on the operation of the device. As shown in Fig. 2'? reset bar II is movable vertically in increments which correspond to the space between the notches on bar II. The reset bar is held in position-by a spring biased member 68 (Fig. 27) which is mounted on the panel and which comprises a. pair of members pivoted at their lower ends and having rollers 59 at their upper ends which are held seated in the notches by spring 58. In order to avoid overtravel of reset bar II as the result of the jerk applied to it by the voting button, a dashpot 51 is also mounted on the panel and is connected to the reset bar through an arm 56,

e The operation of the reset bar and its associated mechanism is as follows.

Assume that the machine is in its reset or initial position. In this position the reset bar and its associated mechanism will appear as in Fig. 30, that is, the outstanding lug I8 on lock member 15 is situated below notch 69 of cam member 65, hence when the button is turned (1. e. voted) gear I5 will turn and one of its teeth will project into notch 69 of the cam member and since notch 69 is in registry with one of the notches in reset bar I I gear I5 will drive both the cam member 65 and reset bar I I upwardly. Lock member 15 will also move upwardly since the lower part of groove I9 will push up against pin I6 and carry the lock member 15. The cam member and lock member will be held in this upper position by spring- 61 since it now engages the lower part of cam 66 as shown in Figs. 23 and 24. Reset bar II can be moved upwardly by other buttons on a vertical row without disturbing the cam member and lock member inasmuch as bar I I has extended grooves which clear all the pins 18. In other words after a button has been voted which eflects a. predetermined upward movement of reset bar I I, other buttons on a vertical row can, by operation, move reset bar II upwardly still further, by the same increment per button, bar II being held in operated position by rollers 59. Thus if three buttons are voted in the same vertical row, reset bar II will be moved upwardly by three increments hence the total upward movement of reset bar II is a. measure of the number of votes which have been cast in a vertical row.

In order to reset any of the buttons in a particular vertical row, it is necessary to mov reset bar I I downwardly which may be done manually. Gears I5 and I6 are normally held in position as shown in Fig. 25, by virtue of levers 24 pivoted at 240, to plate 25, which levers have mounted thereon rollers 20 which are seated in the depressions of gear I6 by the force of spring 23 hence the downward movement of reset bar I I has no effect on gear I5, thus it will permit voting counting shaft 2 to retain its voted position, however, the downward movement of reset bar I I causes its cross piece (shown in cross section in Fig. 24) to strike against pin 16 causing lock member 15 to move downwardly, and pin I6 strikes against the lower edge of groove I9 of cam member 65, causing downward movement of the cam member and pin 10 thereon. If a number of buttons in the same vertical row are to be reset simultaneously, other pins such as 16 are moved downwardly by corresponding cross pieces. The downward movement of pin III releases pawl 4 to permit it to slip back a notch on ratchet disc 8, as explained before, and effects resetting of all the buttons in the vertical row, that is, movement to their original positions without disturbing the voted positions of the vote counting shafts 2.

Referring to Fig. 32 it will .be seen that in order to reset the entire machine, a spring biased stoD element 89 is turned counterclockwise so as to make it possible to manually move horizontal bar 90 downwardly against the tension of its supporting springs SI and 92 by rotating crank 95. As bar 98 is pushed downwardly it strikes against the top of each of the reset bars II, thus effecting reset of all the buttons of the machine, at the same time, a vertical rack 93 is moved downwardly and since its teeth engage the outer gear segments 94 of the party operating levers, it will restore party operating levers to their initial position as shown in Fig. 32.

Operation of vote limiting device The operation of the vote limiting device may be best understood by referring to Fig. 32. As explained hereinabove, each time a button is voted, reset bar I I is moved upwardly a definite increment and the total upward movement of reset bar II is a measure of the total votes registered in a particular vertical row. Hence if it were desired to limit the number of votes which can be votedin a particular vertical row, all that would be necessary would be to have a stop means to limit the upward movement of rack bar II so that gear I5 cannot drive rack bar II. Such stop means is denoted by a pair of stepped wedge elements III and 82. Wedge element 8| is rigidly fastened to reset bar II while wedge element 82 is loosely mounted on bolts 84 which bolts are rigidly secured to a support 83 which may be mounted on the panel. Wedge element 82 has two horizontal grooves 85 thereby permitting lateral movement of wedge element 82 with respect to bolts 84 which lateral movement is effected by the upward movement of wedge element 8|. Wedge 82 will not only limit the upward movement of wedge 8I but will limit also the upward movement of wedge 86, as will be obvious. Furthermore, wedge 82 will limit the movement of both wedges M and 86 only when the sum of the votes of row W and row X corresponds to the particular vertical position of wedge 82. This will be understood more clearly from the followin analysis. Assume that wedge 82 is adjusted vertically by placing bolts 84 in suitable holes on support 83 so that it is to limit the sum of votes of rows W and X to four. If row W and row X are each moved upwardly by two increments resulting from two votes in each row then wedges 8| and 86 at their limiting position will move wedge 82 so that bolts 84 will be centrally located with respect to grooves 85. Suppose, however, that three votes have been voted on row W. In this instance wedge 8| at its uppermost position will force wedge 82 to move more towards the right with respect to bolts 84. It will be noted, however, that the effect of this movement to the right will be to restrict the upward movement of wedge 86, that is, wedge 86 will be able to move only one increment (corresponding to one vote), further upward movement being restricted by the steps of wedge 82. In carryin this analysis still further, it will be seen that by vertical adjustment of all of the upper wedges, that is, wedges 82, 81 and. 88 the total votes registrable on the machine can be restricted to any desired amount. For example, if the maximum number of votes permissible is one complete horizontal row, that is, a straight party ticket then each of the wedges 82, 81 and 88 are at the same height so as to allow only one straight party vote for each of the rows W, X, Y and Z.

After a voter has exhausted the number of votes to which he is entitled thus effecting a looking of the reset bars by the wedges, if he thereafter tries to cast an illegal vote, that is, if he thereafter turns any of the voting buttons, the reaction caused by the locked reset bars will overcome the force of springs 6 and cause the pawls l to slip over the ratchet disc 3 to the next notch, thus although the button can be turned the voting shaft is not turned, hence no vote is regis tered. This slipping of the clutch is aided by the unseating efiect, by pins 10, of the pawl from the ratchet teeth.

Operation of endorsed candidate limiter It frequently happens, for example, in the case I of voting for judges that the same candidate is party row. In order to make it impossible for a voter to vote twice for the same candidate, that is, in different party rows lock member I5 is employed in the following manner. Referring to Fig. 31 it will be seen that Mr. E is endorsed by both the Republican-and Labor party. In order to make it impossible to vote more than once for Mr. E, the lock member 15 associated with Mr. E of the Labor party button and the lock member 15 of Mr. E of the Republican party are both secured through their screw threaded studs 11 to a strip 96 by means of screws 97 (see Figs. 24, and 31). Assume now that Mr. E has been voted on in the Republican party row, as shown in Fig. 31, thus the upper lock member 15 has been moved upwardly and since it is connected to strip 96 and since the lower lock member 15 is also connected to strip 96, both lock members will move upwardly at the same time. The upward movement of the lower lock member 15 has the effect of covering notch 69 of the cam bar (compare Figs. 31 and 30) Hence it is impossible now to vote for Mr. E in the Labor party, since it is impossible to turn gear i5.

I am, of course, aware that others, particularly after having had the benefit of the teachings of my invention may devise other forms of voting machines embodying my invention and I, therefore, do not wish to be limited to the specific showings made in the drawings and the descriptive disclosure hereinbefore made, but wish to be limited only by the scope of the appended claims and such prior art that may be pertinent.

I claim as my invention:

1. A voting mechanism comprising a counter actuating shaft to operate a counter, a ratchet disc secured on the shaft and provided with several peripheral ratchet recesses of channel section transverse to the plane of the disc, an operating crank-arm rotatably pivoted on the shaft adjacent the disc, a pawl pivotally mounted on a turn the pawl arm about the crank-pin, a leaf spring anchored on the crank-arm and engaging the pawl handle to bias the pawl finger into or towards the channel recesses of the ratchet disc,

and a button-head mechanically connected to the crank-arm to rotate the arm.

2. In combination with a stationary panel voting mechanism comprising a counter actuating shaft to operate a counter, a ratchet disc secured to the shaft and provided with several peripheral ratchet recesses of channel section transverse to the plane of the disc, an operating crank-arm rotatably pivoted on the shaft adjacent the disc, a pawl pivotally mounted on the crank-arm, said pawl embodying a finger on one side of the pivot to extend into the channel recesses of the ratchet disc and a handle on the other side of the pivot to turn the pawl arm about the pivot, and a leaf spring anchored on the crank-arm and engaging the pawl handle to bias the pawl finger into or towards the channel recesses of the ratchet disc, a coil spring having one end anchored on said panel and the other connected to said arm so as to be wound as the result of rotation of said counter actuating shaft during voting, resetting means for engaging said pawl to allow unseating .of said pawl from its corresponding ratchet recess thereby allowing it to move in a direction opposite that in which it was rotated, under the influence of the energy stored in said wound coil spring and assume engaging relationship with a different ratchet recess in a position clear of said resetting means without affecting the position of said rotated shaft and stop means on said panel for restricting angular movement of said pawl.

3. A voting mechanism comprising a counter actuating shaft to operate a counter, a ratchet disc secured to the shaft and provided with several peripheral ratchet recesses of channel section transverse to the plane of the disc, an operating crank -arm rotatably pivoted on the shaft adjacent the disc, a pawl pivotally mounted on a crank-pin on the crank-arm, said pawl embodying a finger on one side of the crank-pin to extend into the channel recesses of the ratchet disc and a handle on the other side of the crankpin to turn the pawl arm about the crank-pin, a leaf spring anchored on the crank-arm and engaging the pawl handle to bias the pawl finger into or towards the channel recesses of the ratchet disc, and a button-head mechanically connected to the crank-arm to rotate the arm, a coil spring in cooperative relationship with said pawl so as to be wound as the result of rotation of said button during voting, resetting means for engaging said pawl to allow unseating of said pawl from its corresponding ratchet recess, thereby allowing it to move in a direction opposite that in which it was rotated, under the influence of the energy'stored in said wound coil spring and assume engaging relationship with a different ratchet recess in a position clear of said resetting means without affecting the position of said rotated shaft.

FRANK CONRAD.

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