US2580790A - Gear assembly for totalizators - Google Patents

Description

Jan. 1, 1952 A. F. JULIUS ETAL GEAR ASSEMBLY FOR TOTALIZATORS 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 30, 1948 Decca; ed

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mac i es- Patented Jan. 1, 1952 Sydney,

vdri F a cis it $1 l fN W oyth w T43 fineness .t'q Automa o e South les, Austra an 1 .11} race tqtalisatq installati ne of the kind to which th inY ntion is lefetebi e od s chem ng i respect e h qqmpet tor, in t ee nt for whic one a ebe' g e cted. are-p. 0: gressively' displayed, throughout the particniar transaction run, on a number of odos hard neters or other indicators. Each ,t ansaction corn em in the ue f a ticket, Pecu ia to on competitor. om an one of s v a t k t issue The 11169; e c ticke toma ically results in a count; of one being recordedin gran total add n 11 and, a so n a a di unit peculiar to the p t cnlar competitor. In dd tio o th r o her enames, the' sidin unit's contribute to me Qne eti net odds computin nit v. 59 the evcrel com. ti QrLs: The e uni are instrumentalin actuat on of the mentioned iepla be cm t rs, A typiqal'odde compu ing with; a single 0pm: petite: omp ise two movab e e m nts r slid s. h h for @Qnven m 9i sii cuw may e cal a f orizontal'slidexfanda vertical glider respectively. The norizontal slider moves horizontally away from a zero 'or datum point; in direct corresnondgme with he transaction'total in r spe o it .re at d inele competitor, so that t e d stanc on 'th eli er i e me a oin i di etlym ne ienelt tee et to "tr n action. Jt ali- I119 e tica s der moves verticallyaway iron; tne'daijinn' poi in i ec rresp ndence wit the tran ction mnd total in respect of all the 'goinpetito'gg ti e e t. hu he heigh 9 the verti al slidex tr m the dat m P n e d e tly pmn rti al t jthe ra total of "tran ec iq csi The I t o fe iand total to competitor total ro qrpi f l m m odds Io that comp t tor and the we? is tree? tte to th at d, bar me er by meeh niem with which the present invention is not concerned.

In each odds computing unit the recession of thehorizontal slider from 'the datuzgn point is'con trolled by the related competitor adding unit by way (forexample) of a'sprocket'ch'ain. having one end anchoredto the slider and a portion meshing a sprocket'wheel on the'addingunit.

This sprocket wheel is one for which the total rotation is directly proportional to (the-count of transactions accumulated in its adding unit'.

gcln (01. 74-4 48) er cal 'as 9 the "cQmnuti12s u its a al I Atom ha a i s c wnel l M l: he mountiqi li e s alt rc at n' '11 n lci pxtionel 6 cream ote 'Q trans dated vi th g and tota ed ing 1.4. 1. he epnie tesl tha wh n the o 11 odd in the a am rc renfie ee 1eteneythee 'nieeee vid n ween 9 m 1 i? ir il? are payable the grand total is halved.- The odds on a particular starterare therefore different depending on whether it is a three dividend or a two dividend event. tioned gear assembly is furnished with a dividend gear change ratio to suitthese two different conditions.

Because of this the men.-

for severalseparate gearchange manipulations (that is, for capacity and dividend ratio changes) is dispensed with by enabling both of said changes to'be accomplished by a single gear change operation, in which particularly simple and effective indicator switch arrangements are incorporated Before the transaction grand total is allo- I countries and therefore a function of th e men tioned gear assembly is to provide a -levy"- gear change ratio so that the rate of grand total line shaft rotation is such as to deduct levy percentage.

the particular The gear assemblies used heretofore are open to objection in several respects. For example; in

order to fix a given ratio of rotation between the grand total counter spindle and the line shaft,

with the single gear change devices, and which in a general manner gives a simpler and more efllcient. gear assembly in comparison with those devised heretofore.

A gear assembly according hereto mainly comprises, a main gear pinion, means for driving this pinion in correspondence with a transaction count accumulating in a grand total adding unit forming part of 'the 'totaliser installation, a driven levy gear abletomesh the main pinion, a driving K levy gear fixed co-axially to the driven levy gear tions or selections namely, that relative to the Y levy gear ratio occasions practically no inconvenience because once the levy gear unit giving the required levy ratio is'selected, it will remain constant for any given state or country and in any given location for relatively long periods. However, the remaining two manipulations or selections are likely to change from event to event, and as they take considerable time to be carried out, it is a matter of considerable difficulty to arrange when very little time is available, as be The prior indicator switch arrangeare a source of trouble unless much atten'tion'is devoted thereto by way of servicing, inspection and repair. Again, the arrangement-as a whole, is heavy and cumbersome by reason of the large number of gear wheels and the like incorporated therein and is thus not readily removable from the installation for placement in a different in-- stallation, or ready replacement by a reserve gear assembly in the event of failure or breakdown. This last mentioned defect is agg'ravatedby the hitherto usual incorporation of the grand totaladding unit at one with the gear assembly, as this makes it unavoidable for the gear assembly to be useless except in association with that particular adding unit. Therefore the gear assembly itself is incapable of being standardised to suit any adding unit irrespectively of whether the'adding unit contains only one escapementshaft-(as is common in smaller installations) or-two or 1 more escapement shafts as in larger installationsf The object of this invention is to overcome the mentioned disadvantages in a relatively simple.

therewith to constitute a levy gear unit, four driven" gears fixed together in coned arrangement, means whereby the driving levy gear may be selectively meshed with any one of the coned gears, and held in selected enmeshment relative thereto, and mechanism for drive connecting the coned gears to a grand total odds-computing line shaft.

'An example of the invention is illustrated in the drawings herewith.

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a gear assembly.

Figure-2 is a plan projected from Figure l.

Figure 3 is a side elevationtaken fromthe' reverse side relative to Figure 1'; I

Figure 4 is a sectional end elevation taken substantially along line 4-4 in Figure l.

Figure 5 is a side elevation of a gauge block as it would appear in Figure 1 if unob'scured.

Figure dis a sectional plan taken substantially along line 6-6 in Figure 5.

The several shafts, gears and other parts of the assembly are mounted'upon a frame 1 adapted for simple removable mounting (by bolting through brackets 8,ffo'r"example) upon, a bed plate or the like (not'fshown) which may'also constitute a bed for a separate grand total adding unit.

The main gear pinion 9' is driven in correspondence with a transaction count, as it ac cumulates in the grand total adding unit, by mechanism which is largely of conventional design. This mechanism includes a sprocket IO which is rotated by a chain (not shown) meshed with a similar'sprocket on the grand total counter spindle.

The sprocket I0 is fixed to one crown wheel ll of an epicyclic gear unit. This unit is of thecommon type consisting of two crown wheels H and I2 mounted on a. pin l3, and a pair of planetary pinions I4 mounted on "a centre cross [5.

The crown wheel ll', crown wheel l2, and the centre cross l5 are freely mounted on pin [3. The centre cross has a striker arm l6 fixed thereto. When crownwheel II is turned "forwardly," the arm 16 is also turnedforwardly (anti-clockwise-in Figure 3) by reason of the crown wheel 12, at this stage, remaining stationary due to the loading effect of the gear train (referred to later herein) drive connected thereto. The forward movement of arm l6 causes a peg I I! thereon to engage between the limbs of a stirrup l8 fixed on the pin [9 of a spring loaded (20) toggle lever 2|. This lever has a nose 22 able to close a pair of contacts 23 (shown already closed.

manner, by the provisions of a gear 'assembly which is usable with, or separable from, Various types of adding units; in which the prior necessity in Figure '1) tO energisea magnetic clutch 24; The driving member'25 of this clutch is rotated ,1 "continuously. Energisation of the clutch rotates 51 crown wheel l 2 reversely (incomparison with the prior rotation of crown wheel 'll')" d'ueto the direction of rotationc'ontinuously applied to driving member 25 by way (for example) of a belt driven by an electric motor (not shown) This reverse rotation is effected through suitable gears'ZE, '21, 23 and-29 so that when the sprocket l halts (or slows down) the arm 'fli'will return to re-operate the stirrup l3, and thus the contacts-23 will be re-opened. The magnetic clutch is thus de-energized so that rotation of the'cr'o'wn wheel l2 ceases (due to therelatively heavy inertia loading thereon as'previously referred to) when-it has turned through the sam or substantially the same angle (but in reverse direction) as the original rotation-of the'crown wheel H. Crown wheel l2 has a gear wheel 30 fixed concentrically thereto and'c'o'n'sequently this gear wheel (although turned'reversely to the sprocket It) has the amount of its rotation directlyiproportional to the amount 'by' which the grand total counter spindle is rotated. In this regard it will be clear that eachre'verse part-rotation of wheel 12 may not be exactly'angularly equal to the opposite part-rotation of wheel H which preceded it, but as these angular discrepancies are not cumulative and are in fact compensated during the next part-rotation of wheels H and I2, the final result (following a transaction run of any appreciable duration) is that the amount by which gear 30 is rotated is (in practice) directly proportional to the amount by which the sprocket Ii] (turned by the grand total counter spindle) is rotated.

Gear 30 (through suitable gears 3|, 32 and 33) turns a shaft 34 which carries the main gear pinion 9. This pinion meshes the larger gear of two gears 35 and 36 which are fixed together. These two gears constitute a levy gear unit. This unit provides (as previously indicated) for the gear change ratio whereby the governmental tax and operating cost proportion of the grand total of transactions is deducted. For example, assuming the total levy amounts to ten percent, then the larger gear 35 may have one hundred teeth and the smaller gear 36 would, in that case, have ninety teeth. If the levy were fifteen percent the larger gear could have one hundred teeth and the smaller eighty-five teeth.

The gears 35 and 35 are coaxialy fixed on a boss 31, freely rotatable on a bearing sleeve 38 fixed in the outer end of a swing bracket 39. This bracket is axially slidable and rotatably movable about a bearing sleeve 43 within which shaft 34 is rotatable. The sleeve 40 is fixed to the frame 1 by way of a fiange 4| and screws 42. The smaller gear 33 may be meshed with any one of four gear wheels 43, 44, 45 and 46 concentrically fixed together in coned formation, and keyed upon a final drive shaft 47 which is drive connected, by gears 48 and 49, to a sprocket 50 or like wheel for direct operation of the grand total odds-computing line shaft, shaft 4! preferably incorporates a clutch and a crank handle 52, the clutch being disengageable in known manner (by operation of knob 53) to enable the crank handle to be operated for turning the line shaft to reset the grand total sliders of the computing units into their datum point or zero positions.

The four coned gear wheels with which the smaller gear 36 of the levy gear unit may be selectively enmeshed are of such size as to provide for the four changes which in the prior assemblies 6 eoiild only' be made by two gear change manipw lations. meshed with gear 36) gives a line shaft rotation suitable for a two-dividend event at=double speed, gear-45 a three-dividend Zeven't atdouble speed,

gear 44 a two-dividend event at normal speed,

and gear 43a three-dividend event at :normal speed.- For this quadruple gear changeit is necessary (as previouslyindicated) fortlre swing bracket 39 to be not only :anguiariy movable 'but also movable inan ax ial or lo'ngitudinal direction. The four required positions for the swing bracket, are arranged forby-the provis'ion on said swing bracket-of a locatorpin 54 which slidable in :sleeve 38 and may 'bescrewed (55) within four-1 holes or-cavities 56 respectively provided in fourstepfaces- 5 1, 58, 59and 60 on a ga-uge block 5l fix'e'd on 'th'e'gear asseinbly frame. These step faces have-different-l'evels (see Figure 6) equivalent to the axial spacing-of the four cone'd'gea'r wheels, and the holes or cavities in said'step faces are circumferentially spaced apart (see Figure 5) -by'the distances necessary to give correct meshing placementof the gear-36 with any oneo'f the coned gears, thus defining the correct positions resulting from angular and axial adjustment of the swing bracket 39.

The indicator switch arrangements which are preferably incorporated, comprise four springloaded press buttons or rods 62, 63, 64 and 65 slidable in an axial direction, within counterbores, aligned with the cavities 56 in the gauge block. The press buttons or rods protrude through holes in a support plate 66 which is fixed relative to the gauge block, and carries four pairs of self opening contacts 67 mounted on spring limbs 68. These limbs 68 act as loading springs for the press buttons, so that when the pin 54 is fully entered into any one of the cavities 56 (as shown in Figure 4) it depresses the related press button, against its spring loading, so that it projects from the rear face of the plate 66 and thus closes one pair of contacts 61, which in time close the circuit for the related indicating device in the control room, thus notifying the correct capacity and dividend ratios for the time being obtaining.

What is claimed is:

1. A gear change mechanism for use with race totalisator odds computing devices comprising, a main gear pinion, a plurality of output gears which are fixed together in coned arrangement, a levy gear unit including a driven gear meshed with said main pinion and a driving gear fixed co-axially to said driven gear for selective engagement with said output gears, a swing bracket provided with a projecting boss and a shoulder portion extending laterally with respect to said boss said swing bracket being axially and angularly movable relative to said main gear pinion and having said levy gear unit freely revolubly mounted thereon, a gauge block having a plurality of stepped face portions corresponding to the number of said output gears against which the shoulder portion of the swing bracket may abut to determine axial alignment of the levy gear unit With said output gears, said gauge block being provided with a plurality of spaced cavities corresponding to the number of output gears within which said boss may be received to determine angular alignment of the levy gear unit with said output gears.

2. A gear assembly according to claim 1 in which the cavities provided in the gauge block include an internally threaded portion and the swing bracket is provided with a locator pincon- For example, the .gear 46- w'hen err-'- centrically disposed with respect to the boss. one end of the locator pin being threaded for engagement with the threaded portion of the cavities so that the levy gear unit may be locked in axial and angular alignment with the output ears.

3. A gear change mechanism for use with race totalisator odds computing devices comprising a main gear pinion, a plurality of output gears which are fixed together in coned arrangement, a levy gear unit having a driven gear meshed with said main pinion and a driving gear fixed coaxially to said driven gear for selective engagement with said output gears, a swing bracket which is axially and angularly movable relative to said main pinion and whereon said levy gear unit is freely revolubly mounted, a gauge block having a plurality of cavities provided therein corresponding to the number of output gears, a locator pin on said swing bracket which is engageable within any one of the cavities formed in said gauge block, said gauge block being provided with counterbores aligned with said cavities, a press button for controlling an electric indicating circuit slidably positioned within each of said counterbores so as to be moved by said locating pin when in engagement with a cavity to indicate the position of the levy gear unit.

AWDRY FRANCIS JULIUS.

EVA DRONGHSIA ODIERNA JULIUS. AWDRY FRANCIS JULIUS. RUSSELL STUART HICKS. Executors of the Estate of George Alfred Julius,

Deceased.

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

UNITED STATES PATENTS

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