US2553653A - Time calculator - Google Patents

Description

May 22, 1951 w. D. GRAHAM TIME CALCULATOR 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 7, 1950 INVENTOR L'zzmm D. Gra, Mm.

ATTORNEYS May 22, 1951 w. D. GRAHAM 2,553,653

TIME CALCULATOR Filed June'7, 1950 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 /7 -4 WtZZL'a 7?2.D. Graham.

2%. wi WM ATTORNEY 5 Patented May 22, 1951 ATE-: PATENT oFFicE C ULATOR William D. fi l aham, Bellrose, N. Y. ApnlieationJune'i, 1950, ser l nm ssseo .M inventiqn encern d vis term-skies computations involving time.

A purpose of my invention is to provide adevice for making certain types of such computations which is especially speedy and easy to operate. A further purpose of my inventionisto provide a device of this nature which shall tend to prevent mistakes by eliminating certain steps in which mistakes are especially likely.

A further purpose of my invention is to provide a device of this nature which shall permit coinputations of such things as the number of days be w n w given dates .w th ut e se d O an mentalcomputation in the course of the process.

'Furtherpurposes will be apparent in thecourse of thefollowing description and claims.

Figure 1 isa front view, broken awampf the structure of a computing device constituting a particular embodiment of myinvention, figures and other legend omitted for the sake of clarity, in view of the scaleof thedrawing.

Figure la is afragmentary front view showin a smaller part of the whole faceof this device to a larger scale and including'the figures and other legend thereon to show the pattern to "which they conform.

Figure 2 is a fragmentary front view of thesecondslidewhichforms part of this device.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary rearperspective of the vvhole device.

' Figure 4 is a longitudinal section of the Whole device along the lines 4+4 on Figure 3.

Figurefi isgaitransverse section of the whole device along the lines 5-5 on FigureB.

' In the embodiment shown, my device consists of two parts: a body it! and asides-ro p H.

The body I0 fconsists of face member ,1 4 and slide holder members andjiiijoffany suitable material, such as wood or plastic, suitably fastened together, as by glue," and havingflongitudinal grooves H between the faceinemberand the outer parts of the respective slidel' older members. If desired, this entire body couldbe made of one integralpiece. I i

Face member l4 has on its front face a calen spaced from one another, and with the datesrep- T resenting a given day of the week forming a column equally spaced from adjacent columns representing other days of the week. Between the successive rows'in the calendar are slotsj i9, pref- 8 Claims. (crass-589) erably of about the same width as the calendar rows. "The calendar can have the names of lthe months in full or abbreviated form "to one side of the figures. Tothe other side of thecalendar figures Will be longitudinalopening 20; The calendar will preferably give the dates in one year together with a half year before and a halfyea'r aiter'tha'thn'e year, although of course 'it'may give lessor more'tha'n this dependinguponthe 'use for which it is intended; For example; in the formshoivn in Figural; for simplicity of "illustration, thecalendarwould have the one year together witli'so'm'ewhat over four months on either side of the year.

Slide group H in the form shown consists of longitudinal'slide 22 and lateral slide24. Longitudinal slide 22 consists of face member 26'and slide-holder members'Zi and 28, fastened tothe lface member at the top andibottom thereof 'so as to iorm grooves 2e and 3B. "The construction of 'these 'imembers and the method of fastening can 'follow'the' same'system as' with theface and slide holder member of the bodyiil. The edges of the face member of thelon'gitudinal' slide'fit'into the longitudinal grooves i1 iormed'between face and slidefh'olderj of the body, thus permitting the longiitudinal slide to go "upward and downward atwill.

slide is longitudinal'opening 32 behindthe slots !9 in 'the'body and running'most'of the length'of the slide. This opening is, intended to permit the lateral'slideto bev'isibie through theindividual slots. To one side of this in the longitudinal slide,

visible through thelongitudinal opening 20 inv the j boply, areithr'eefcol-umns of figures representing respectively numbersof Weeks; numbers of days in the'case of'afive day week,"'a'nd numbers of days the case of a six day Week; The'figures ,inthese columns fare vertically spaced in the "samefway as the Week rows in the calendar;

liaterar'slided i consists 'offface member 36 grooves 29 and'i3i3 of the longitudinal slide, thus and handle'tfi. Face member this a rectangular piece whose edges are adapted to fit int'ofthe permitting the lateral slide to slide bacli'and I forthfwithinthe limitsg established byth e ends of longitudinal slide holder members and it.

jiandlefiiifirmly fixed to the-back of the lateral slide permits ready movement not only of; the lateral slide in the lateral direction but of the :-whole slide group in .the' longitudinal'direction.

The face memberoiuthe lateral slide hasfigures best shown in Figure 2, in which there is a center column of figures starting with zero and going up by sevens in a regular arithmetical progression, and on either side of this center column are panels containing rows of figures which, in each case, together with the figures in the center column will form a complete series of integers starting with zero and going by rows of seven up through the number 365 to represent the number of days, in a year, or 366 days in case of a leap year. Of course, in some cases it might be desired to use fewer or more such figures. For instance, it might have only 184 days to cover six months, or, on the other hand, 730 days for two year if so desired. The spacings in these sets of figures are regular, and correspond to those on the calendar on the body, so that these figures can appear in slots I9 and correspond to figures above them in the calendar. To make the set of figures easier to read from, heavy lines have been put in Figure 2 on either side of the column starting with zero, and also heavy lines around each of the tens and multiples thereof. Other forms of accentuation could also be employed in various ways. For example, colors could be used, as for examples by making cer tain figures of one color,such as a dark blue and other figures of the calendar of another color such as a light blue. Again, the figures in the center column of multiples of seven on the lateral slide could be made white on black, while all the other figures on the slide could be made black on white.

With my computing device, whenever it is desired to find the number of days between any two dates found on the device, the slides can readily be moved until the zero on the lateral slide appears beneath the earlier of the two dates and then the number of days between the two dates can be read off on the lateral slide at a point beneath the later of the two dates on the calendar. The reverse process can also very readily be effected; thus when it is desired to find what date is a given number of days from a particular earlier date the zero of the lateral slide can again be set underneath the earlier date and the later date read off as that which appears on the calendar above the appropriate number on the lateral slide. If it is desired to find a date that is a given number of days before a given date, the figure on the lateral slide which represents the number of days involved can be set underneath the later date and the earlier date can be read off from the calendar at a point above the zero on the lateral slide.

If all that is desired is the total number of weeks between two dates, or the total number of days calculated on a five or six day week basis between the weeks involved in two different dates, the column on the longitudinal slide, to one side of the calendar, can readily be employed for this purpose. Thus, if it is desired to find the number of weeks between a given week in January and a given week in a later month, the zero of the weeks column can be set opposite the first week and the number of weeks read off from the number opposite the second week involved. The operation in the case of the number of days when using a five day week or the number of days when usin a six day week follows along similar lines. In the reverse process, finding what week is a given number of weeks from a particular other week, the method will depend on whether the week to be found is before or after the known week. If it is after, the zero in the weeks column will be set opposite the known week, and the unknown week will be opposite the number in the weeks column. If the unknown week is before the known week, the number of weeks in the weeks column will be set opposite the known week, whereupon the unknown week will be opposite the zero in the weeks column. When an exact number of days on a five day week basis is desired between two particular dates, this can be done by use of the days in the five day week column, together with suitable interpolation. However, if such calculations are frequent, they can be done much more quickly and easily by using a computer in which the lateral slide face has been constructed on a five day week principle. For example, if with the device illustrated in the figures is furnished a lateral slide on whose face is a center column of figures starting with zero and going up in a regular arithmetical progression of fives, together with panels on either side having rows of four figures each so numbered as to form with the center column a consecutive set of numbers, it would be suitable for direct calculations with a five day week.

Similarly, while days between dates on a six day week basis can be calculated by using the proper longitudinal slide column together with interpolation, they can much more quickly and easily be calculated by use of a special slide whose center column is an arithmetical progression consisting of multiples of six, with the panels cooperating therewith according to the same scheme already outlined.

For special uses, of course, other special lateral slides can be constructed. For example, in the case of demurrage, in place of days, figures representing demurrage can be substituted, and so on. It will readily be seen what a wide range of use my device will have, either in the form showing a lateral slide with days on it, or in such more specialized forms in the calculations of such things as wage payments, demurrage, insurance and bank loan interest. It can also be used to compute periods in which shifts are changed or holidays will be received, and for scientific work in schools and laboratories, to mention only a few of the obviously manifold uses.

It will be seen that my device will enable such computations to be made in a very fast and accurate manner, and that such speed and accuracy can be attained regardless of whether the user has any skill or accuracy in arithmetical processes. Thus it can prove of great value wherever such work has to be done.

In view of my invention and disclosure variations and modifications to meet individual whim or' particular need will doubtless become evident to others skilled in the art, to obtain all or part of the benefits of my invention without copying the structure shown, and I, therefore, claim all such insofar as they fall within the reasonable spirit and scope of my claims.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A device for making certain types of computations involving days, comprising a first member displaying an orderly array of consecutive days dates arranged in parallel equispaced lines one line for each week, and a second member which displays an array of figures representing numbers of days oriented and arranged to cooperate withthe first array and which is interto the equispaoed lines while retaining the orientation the same.

2. A device for making certain kinds of computations involving days, comprising a body member displaying a series of consecutive days dates in an orderly array of parallel equispaced lines with one line for each week, and a slide group having a first slide member slidably engaging the body member to move along a sliding axis and a second slide member which slidably engages the first slide member to move along a sliding axis differently oriented from the first, and which displays a series of figures representing number of days in an orderly array of parallel equispaced lines cooperating with the first array.

3. A device for making certain types of computations involving days, comprising a body member displaying an orderly array of days consecutively arranged in parallel equispaced lines, and a slide group having a first slide member slidingly mounted upon the body member and a second slide member slidingly mounted upon the first slide member, the two axes of sliding involved being oriented at right angles to one another, and the second slide member displaying an orderly array of figures representing days from any given date consecutively arranged in parallel equispaced lines oriented and scaled to cooperate with the dates.

4. A device for making certain types of computations involving days, comprising a body displaying consecutive days dates in an orderly array of successive week-long rows and a member which is mounted to move both perpendicularly and parallel to the rows without changing relative orientation and to display figures representing numbers of days in a second array cooperating with the first array, the second array including a central column of successive integral multiples of seven starting with zero and two panels positioned one on either side of the central column and each including successive sixnumber rows of figures which cooperate with those in the central column to form a consecutive series of integers, starting with zero.

5. A device for making certain types of computations involving days, comprising a body member displaying consecutive days dates in an orderly array of successive week-long equispaced parallel rows, a slide member mounted to slide on the body member, a second slide member mounted to slide on the first in a direction at right angles to that in which the first slides on the body member and displaying figures repre senting numbers of days in a second array cooperating with the first array, said second array including a central column of successive integral multiples of seven starting with zero and two panels positioned one on either side of the central column and each including successive sixnumber rows of figures which cooperate with those in the central column to form a consecutive series of integers, starting with zero.

6. A device for making computations involving dates, comprising a body member having a face and visible upon that'face a series of consecutive dates arranged in parallel equispaced lines by Weeks, a first slide member mounted on the body member to slide perpendicularly to the lines of dates, a second slide member mounted on the first body member to slide perpendicularly to the direction in which the first slide member slides and having figures representing numbers of days arranged similarly to the dates and visible in reasonable juxtaposition thereto.

'7. A device for making computations related to dates, comprising a flat body having on a face thereof a visible calendar having the dates of the days arranged in orderly array, one line for each week, a first fiat slide member mounted on the body to slide in a direction perpendicular to the week lines of the calendar and having on a face thereof a line of figures visible in conjunction with the calendar, the figures representing the number of Weeks and being placed at intervals corresponding to those between the week lines in a line perpendicular to the week lines, and a second fiat slide member mounted on the first slide member to slide in a direction perpendicular to that in which the first member slides and having on a face a series of figures representing the number of days arranged in orderly array line by line to cooperate with the dates of the days on the calendar and visible in reasonable juxtaposition to said dates.

8. A device for making certain types of computations involving time, comprising a flat body having on the front face thereof a calendar with each week in a different successive lateral row with lateral slots in the body between the rows and a longitudinal slot besides the calendar, and projecting from the rear face of the body a pair of longitudinal ribs, one on either side of the slotted area, the ribs being grooved on the sides toward each other to form oppositely disposed longitudinal slideways, a fiat longitudinal member having longitudinal edges slidin in the longitudinal slideways and having a vertical series of numbers for the weeks located on its front face at intervals corresponding to the rows of the calendar and in a position to be visible through the longitudinal slot in the body, having an opening corresponding in position to the calendar, and having on its rear face a pair of projecting ribs, one on either side of the opening, the ribs being grooved on the sides toward each other to form oppositely disposed lateral slideways, and a flat lateral slide member having lateral edges sliding in the lateral. slideways and having on the front face thereof a series of numbers arranged in rows to show forth through the lateral slots on the body to facilitate certain computations involving the calendar.

WILLIAM B. GRAHAM.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,162,828 Ammerstol Dec. '7, 1915 1,480,156 Dennis Jan. 8, 1924

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