US2386425A - Adding and subtracting mechanism - Google Patents

Description

06L 9, 1945. 5, BRAND ADDING AND SUBTRACTING MECHANISM Filed June 17, 1943 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR. 5A MUEL 52A N0.

ATTORNEY.

Oct. 9, 1945; 5. BRAND 2 86, 5

ADDING AND SUBTRACTING MECHANISM Filed June 17, 1943 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 m w R, 125 J 9 7 es4szi ou i mx4xsus 6/ I: I: IE I: It I: I: I: I:

84 I Mm 11:..Ul/ffit 61 u! INVENTOR.

SAMUEL ERA/v0.

A TTOR/VZK Patented Oct. 9, 1945 ADDING AND SUBTRACTING MECHANISM Samuel Brand, Binghamton, N. Y., assignor to International Business Machines Corporation, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application June 1'1, 194;, Serial No. 491,135 9 Claims. (.01. 235-618) This invention relates to record controlled at:- counting machines and more particularly to machines controlled by records in which data are recorded in the form of combinationa'lly arranged perforations.

The principal object of the invention is to provide control devices through which combinational perforations in a record card may be sensed and caused to directly control a differentially positionable accumulating mechanism to enter therein the true value of the digits combinationally represented.

A further object of the invention is to provide control devices through which such entries may be made subtractively.

To this end a novel system of recording has been devised utilizing only five index point positions in a column of the well known Hollerith record card to combinationally record therein any of the digits.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a record card with recording positions in columns thereof arranged to combinationally receive designations representative of the digits the arrangement being such that the designations will directly control a differentially operable accumulating mechanism.

A still further object of the invention is to provide an accumulator that will respond to peri'orations on successive record cards, some of which cards are punched in accordance with the usual Hollerith decimal system of recording and others are punched in accordance with a comblnational code system of recording.

Other objects of the invention will be pointed out in the following description and claims and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, which disclose, by way of example, the principle of the invention and the best mode, which has been contemplated, of applying that principle.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a fragment of the record card showing thenovel designating position arrangement which enables direct control of a decimal accumulator.

Fig. 2 is an isometric view of the essential'elements of one denominational order of a well known accumulator.

Fig.'2a is a detail of a special switch provided in the accumulator to carry out the objects of the invention.

Fig. 3 is a diagram of the circuit connection involved in carrying out the invention.

Fig. 4 is a timing diagram of cam controlled contact devices of Fig. 3.

The card The novel card is shown in Fig. 1 and is divided into columns designated by lines l0 and rows designated by lines H in the same manner as the well known Hollerith card. In such prior Hollerith card a digit is recorded in a column by making a perforation or mark in the index point position corresponding to the value of the digit recorded.

According to the present invention only the index point positions 9, 8, l, 8 and 5 are employed, leaving the space in the uppe section of the card above dotted line I! free to receive other data. The digits 9, 8, 7, 6, and 5 are recorded in the card of Fig. 1 in exactly the same manner as formerly and perforations representing these digits are shown in the first flve columns of the card. The digits 4, 3, 2 and 1 are represented by combinational perforations selected so that the difference in value between the two index point positions perforated for each of these digits representsthe value of the digit recorded. Thus a 4 is represented by holes in the 9 and 5 positions, a 3 is represented by holes in the 8 and 5 positions, a 2 is represented by holes in the 'l and 5 positiohs and a 1 is represented by holes in the 6 and 5 positions. No perforation is made for zero. To represent a negative amount the usual special hole i3 is made in the II index point position of a predetermined card column as shown in Fig. l.

The reason for the selection of these particular combinations may briefly be stated at this time and will be more apparent following the detailed explanation of the mechanism involved. Taking the digit 4, for example, the 9 hole of the combination for this digit will cause the mechanism to initiate an operation to add 9 and the 5 hole will operate mechanism to terminate such adding operation five steps short of completion so that the net result is the addition of 4.

As will be explained, cards in which all ten digit positions are utilized may be handled by the same mechanism that is controlled by cards having the combinational arrangement and in a series of cards fed successively through the machine cards of both types may be promiscuously arranged and both will cause the adding mechanism to algebraically add the amounts represented.

The accumulator The accumulator represented in Fig. 2 is illustrated and described in detail in the Lake and Daly Patent #1,9'I6,617, granted October 9, 1934.

Its operation will be briefly explained 'and in doing so the reference characters used will be those of corresponding parts in the potent referred. to, for ease or" comparison.

Shaft 69 rotates constantly and has slldably nlounted thereon but keyed for rotation therew n, clutch element there being one for each denominational order position of the eccumula tor. Eminent ii is provided with s groove in which fits the end of on arm E2 of lever l3 which is pivoted at 1:3. The lever i3 is provided with a block '1 5 normally held in position so shown in 2 by armature of adding magnet ll. leaf spring 18 bears against the extremity of lever 33 and moves -the some counterclockwise ebout pivot l'd upon release of block '75 by armature '15. This movement will bring clutching member ii into engagement with cooperating teeth 38 integral with a gear 3!) loosely mounted on shaft 89.

Gear 813, when thus coupled to shaft 58, will rotete gear 82 which meshes therewith and will displace the accumulator index wheel 33. The

' rearward extremity of lever 13 is adapted to be engaged by a finger 34 carried on a. bar 85, toward the end of each cycle of the machine for the purpose of disengaging clutch element II from teeth is and relatchlng block E5 on arms.- ture I6.

The magnet ll may be energized at various points in the cycle of the machine, depending upon the location of a perforation in a. column of a. record card analyzed by the sensing brushes LB (Fig. 3). This energization may take place in response'to a perforation in any 01 the index point positions from 9 to 1 inclusive. A perforation in the 9 position (Fig. 1) will trip the clutch element II nine steps before finger 84 is operated to declutch it, and a perforation in the I position will trip the clutch element II one step before it is declutched by finger 84. Each step of clutching engagement corresponds to a tenth of a. revolution'of the accumulator index wheel 83 so that a. 9 hole will move it nine-tenths of a. revolution and a 1 hole will move it one-tenth of a revolution.

For the purposes of the present invention, the leaf spring I8 (Fig. 2) is utilized as a. contact blade common to pairs of contacts 18a and 181) (see Fig. 211) formed by providing a. further blade on each side of spring I8. With the parts in normal position as in Fig. 2, contacts 181: are closed and contacts 18b are open. Whenever magnet 11 is energized and lever I3 shifted as a result, contacts 18a open and 18b close and this relationship is maintained until lever I3 is re-- stored to its latched position by finger 84 or by what is known as subtracting mechanism. This mechanism Is also described in the Patent 1,976,- 61? referred to so its operation will be but briefly explained at this time.

A shalt IIB (Fig. 2) is geared to make two revolutions for each machine cycle and secured to the shaft is a. clutch element I, one for each denominational order of the accumulator. Cooperating with element In is a. clutching dog Ill pivoted at II! to a. cam I20 freely mounted on shaft 6. Also freely mounted on the shaft is a triple armed member I2I, one of whose arms engages a pin I22 in the free end of dog H to hold the latter out of engagement with the driving element III. Each of the arms 0! member I2I is adapted to cooperate in turn with a pawl I23 which is carried by clutch element I24 pivoted at I25.

A magnet armature I21 pivoted at I28 and having'a pin I29 in a. laterally extending arm thereessence of is adapted, upon energlzatlon of magnet I30 to rock awl I23 clockwise to release member I2I thereby permitting spring I3! to rock the element in a counterclockwise direction through pin 4' i222 and at the same time permit the engagement of dog H3 with the driving clement ill. The com me will thus be driven in a counterclockwise direction until the next arm of member I2! is engaged by pawl l23, which then causes disengagement of the clutch and interruption 02 further movement of the com. The com lid is provided with three notches I32 about its periphery into which a roller i38 rises successi ely. Upon the initial movement of cam in, the higher concentric portion of com I will depress roller 133 and with it slider I34 upon which the roller is pivoted. A pin IBM. extending horizontally from roller I33 engages a. horizontal arm of element i to cause positive restoration of clutching pawl I23 and armature l2I immediately after the clutching action. The lower extremity of slider I34 is provided with a notch into which the horizontal arm of a bell crank I37 is fitted. The bell crank is pivoted at I38 and its depending arm lies 'adjacent to an edge of clutch lever I3 so that downward movement of slider I34 will cause the bell crank to engage and move lever I3 in a declutching direction at a time determined by the time of cnerglzation of magnet I30.

Briefly then the accumulator to be controlled by the record cards is the some as that of Patent I 1,976,617 with the addition of contacts 18a and 18b and the manner in which entries are-made therein will now be explained with reference to the circuit diagram Fig. 3, in which UB and LB represent the usual sensing brushes past which the cards are fed in succession.

Combination hole card Considering first the card of Fig. 1 wherein only the index point positions 0 to 5 are utilized and assuming a. column to contain a 9 perforation, then when this 0 position is at the brushes LB a. circuit is traceable from right side of line 20I, through card lever contacts 09 (closed while the card is traversing brushes LB) circuit breakers 6| (which make and break for each digit position of, the card, see Fig. 4) common contact roller 58, 9 hole in the card column, brush LB, a. plug connection 202, closed contacts 18a, clutch magnet, 11 labelled In, to left side of line 200. As a. result the adding clutch of Fig. 2 is engaged and index wheel 83 commences to rotate and will continue to do so until it has made nine tenths 01 a. revolution when the mechanical knockout finger 34 (see Fig. 4) operates to effect declutching, leaving the wheel advanced nine steps from its initial starting position. The same circuit is completed for each of the other digits 8, 7, 6, and 5 but at successively later times and the action as thus far explained is the same as in the prior machine.

Assuming now that the column sensed contains a pair of holes representing the digit 4, a. circuit is completed through the 9 hole to trip the odd- Ing clutch in exactly the same manner as explalned above. When, however, the 5 hole arrives at the brushes, after four steps of advance have been made by the index wheel, a second circuit is completed traceable from line "I, contacts '3, contacts 8|, roller 08, 5 hole In the card, brush LB, connection 202, contacts 10b (now closed) magnet I30 labelled out, to line200. As a re- 75 sult, declutching takes place after the index wheel has made four steps leaving the wheel advanced four steps from its initial starting position.

When the card contains an amount to be subtracted the i l hole I3 (Fig. 1) is sensed by the upper brushes prior to the passage of the card by the brushes LB and a circuit is completed from line 200, contacts LII, contact roller 55, hole II, brush UB, connection 203, contacts LIB v(closed at the 11 time) relay RI to line 201.

Relay RI closes its contacts Bid to establish a holding circuit from line 200, contacts L25, Ria, relay RI to line "I which keeps the relay energiaed (see Fig. 4) until the 9 position of the card has passed the brushes LB. Contacts Rib of relay RI complete a circuit from line 200, contacts Lli, relay R2, contacts Rib to line Ziii to close a set of contacts R'Za at the time Just prior to the sensing of the 9 position by brushes LB. At such time, closure of contacts L28 will send an impulse from line Ilii, contacts 59, contacts LIB, all contacts Rla in parallel, all contacts Ila and all In" magnets TI to line 200.

This initial impulse occurs one half step before the I position is sensed and it will be observed from Fig. 2 that teeth I9 are spaced so that clutching action may be effected within a range of almost a tooth space so that when the clutches are tripped a half step before.9 the index wheel II will pick up at the same time as though the impulse occurred at the 9 time.

The effect of this energization of the magnets 'II through contacts L28 is to open all contacts Ila and close all contacts 181) before the 9 position is sensed, so that if a 9 hole is now sensed the circuit completed therethrough will energize the Out magnet I30 to effect declutchlng before wheel 83 is advanced. An 8 hole will similarly effect declutching after the wheel has advanced one step, a '7 hole after two steps, a 6 hole after three steps and a 5 hole after four steps to enter the nines complement of the digit sensed.

In the case of the digits 4, 3, 2 and 1, the impulses derived from the 9, 8, '7 and 6 holes of the respective combinations cause the wheels to be declutched from their driving means after they have advanced 0, 1, 2 and .3 steps respectively during the sensing of the positions 9 to 6 and as is apparent, the declutching action will have reclosed contacts 18a and opened contacts 18b before the 5 hole of these digit combinations is sensed. Accordingly, when the 5 hole is sensed the circuit completed will energize the n magnet to add five moresteps to the initial advance following which the mechanical knockoff finger will declutch the wheel to effect an ultimate entry of the nines complement of the digits 4, 3, 2and l.

The usual tens carrydevices provided between successive denominational orders of the accumulator are not shown and the usual elusive one is also omitted from the disclosure for the sake of simplicity as such devices are well known.

The standard card It will be apparent from the foregoing that cards in which the digits are represented by single holes in related positions will energize maghas advanced an amount proportional to the nines complement.

An algebraic accumulating system is thus provided in which cards having two different systems of digit recording may be sensed in random order by, the sensing brushes of the machine and each will correctly enter into the same accumu lator the data represented therein as single or combinational hole perforations, so that the same machine may be utilized for handling either or both types of cards.

While there have been shown and described and pointed out the fundamental novel features of the invention as applied to a single modiflca= tion, it will be understood that various omissions and substitutions and changes in the form and details of the device illustrated and in its oper" ation may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention. It is the intention therefore to be limited only as indicated by the scope of the following claims.

. What is claimed is:

i. In a machine of the class described, means for sensing a record card, said card having a column of index point positions, one for each of the digits 9, 8, '7, 6, and 5, in which positions signiflcant digits are represented by designations made in corresponding positions or in a pair of positions whose difference equals the digit to be designated, said sensing means sensing the index point positions in the order named, an accumu lating element, driving means therefor, an adding clutch mechanism for coupling said element to the driving means at differential times, a iii'si declutching means for uncoupling said element at differential times, a second declutching means for uncoupling said element at a fixed point in the rotation of the driving means, means controlled by said sensing means upon sensin the first designation in the column for causing operation of said adding clutch mechanism, and means controlled jointly by said sensing means and said adding clutch mechanism, upon sensing a second designation, for causing operation of said first declutching means.

2. In a machine of the class described, means for sensing a record card, said card having a column of index point positions, one for each of the digits 9, 8, '7, 6, and 5, in which positions significant digits are represented by designations made in corresponding positions or in a pair of lating element, means controlled bysaid sensing means upon sensing the first designation in the card column for initiating advance of said element, means normally effective for interrupting said advance after the element has advanced an amount proportional to the value of the designation controlling said initiation, means controlled jointly by said sensing means and said initiating means upon sensing a second designation for interrupting said advance before the operation of said normally effective means, whereby the element will be advanced an amount proportional to the difference of the values of the pair of designations sensed.

3. In an adding machine, a sensing device for successively sensing a plurality of perforations in a record card column, an accumulating element, a first magnet, means controlled thereby for 'causing additive rotation of said element, a secing interruption of rotation of the element, means normally connecting said first magnet to said sensing device for control thereby upon sensing the first perforation and means effective upon energization of said first magnet for causing said connecting means .to connect the second magnet to said sensing device for control thereby so that the second magnet will be energized upon sensing a second perforation, whereby the amount of rotation of said element will be deterof the first and second perforations in the card column.

4. In an adding machine, a sensing device for successively sensing a plurality of perforations in a record card column, an accumulator element. a first magnet, means controlled thereby for controlling additive rotation of said element, a second magnet, means controlled thereby for causing interruption of rotation of the element, means for energizing said first magnet prior to the sensing of said plurality of perforations,

means effective upon energization of said first magnet for connecting said second magnet to said sensing device for control thereby so that said through said switching device upon sensing the first perforation for causing operation of said connecting control device, and means controlled by said connecting control device for operating mined by the time interval between the sensing A second magnet will be energized upon sensing the first perforation in the card column, said connecting means being controlled by said second magnet for causing the first magnet to be connected to the sensing device for control thereby so that said first magnet will be energized upon sensing a second perforation in the card column, and means for interrupting rotation of the e1e=- ment at predetermined period after both perforations have been sensed.

5. In a machine responsive to a record having a column of index point positions, a sensing element for successively sensing a plurality of digit representing perforations in a column, an accumulating element, normally disconnected driving means therefor, connecting means between the accumulating element and the driving means, a connecting control device and a disconnecting control device for said connecting means, a

, switching device intermediate said sensing element and said connecting and disconnecting con-. trol devices, normally connecting the sensing element with the connecting control'device, means controlled by the sensing element through said switching device upon sensing the first perforation for causing operation of said connecting control device. and means controlled by said connecting control device for operating said switching device to disconnect the connecting control means from the sensing element and connect the disconnecting control device to the sensing element for control thereby upon the sensing of a second perforation, whereby said accumulating element is advanced an amount determined by the period between the sensing of the first and second perforations.

6. In a machine responsive to a record having a column of index point positions, a sensing element for successively sensing a plurality of digit representing perforations in a column, a numeral wheel, normally disconnected driving means said switching device to disconnect the connecting control means from the sensing element and connect the disconnecting control device to the sensing element for control thereby upon the sensing of a second perforation, whereby said numeral wheel is advanced an amount determined by the period between the sensing of the first and second perforations.

7. In an adding machine having an adding wheel, an adding clutch mechanism, a differentially operable clutch knockout mechanism, and driving means, in combination with means for successively sensing a plurality of digit representing perforations in a record card column, a switch operated by said mechanisms to connect the sensing means to either mechanism, operation of either mechanism by said sensing means causing the device to disconnect said mechanism from the sensing means and connect the other mechanism to the sensing means for operation, whereby said mechanisms will be alternately operated by the sensing means in response to the sensing of successive perforations.

8. In a machine of the class described, means for sensing a record card, said card having a column of index point positions, one for each of the digits, in which positions significant digits are represented by a single designation made in the corresponding index point position, in accordance with one system of recording or in which column the digits 9, 8, 7, 6 and 5 are represented by asingle designation made in the corresponding index point position and the digits 4, 3, 2 and l are made in a pair of positions whose difference equals the digit recorded, said sensing means sensing the positions in the order named, an accumulating element, driving means therefor, an adding clutch mechanism for coupling said element to the driving means at differential times, a first declutching means for uncoupling said element at differential times, a second declutching means for uncoupling said element atafixed point in the rotation of the driving means, means controlled by said sensing means upon sensing the first designation in the column for causing operation of said adding clutch mechanism, and means controlled by said sensing means and said adding clutch mechanism, upon sensing a second designation for causing operation of said first declutchingmeans.

9. In an adding machine having an adding wheel, an adding clutch mechanism, a clutch knockout mechanism and driving means, in combination with a differentially operable knockout mechanism. means for sensing a special designation in a card, means for successively sensing a plurality of digit representing perforations in a column of the card, both said sensing means being positioned to sense the card in turn, means controlled by the first named sensing means for causing operation of said adding clutch mechanism, means controlled by the second named sensing means and said adding clutch mechanism upon sensing a first perforation, for operating said differentially operable clutch knockout mechanism, and further means controlled by the second named sensing means and said adding clutch mechanism upon sensing a second perforation, for operating said adding clutch mechanism.

SAMUEL BRAND.

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