US2714991A - hopkins - Google Patents

Description

g- 1955 G. w. HOPKINS 2,714,991

SIGN CONTROL MECHANISM FOR DUPLEX REGISTERS Filed April 7, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FII3 1.H.

IN VEN TOR.

\ GEORGE W. HOP INS BY Aug. 9, 1955 G. w. HOPKINS SIGN CONTROL MECHANISM FOR DUPLEX REGISTERS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 7, 1951 INVENT GEORGE VV-jl? S BY ATTOR/VEV United States Patent SIGN (IONTROL MECHANISM FOR DUPLEX REGISTERS George W. Hopkins, San Leandro, Califi, assignor to Friden Calculating Machine Co., Inc., a corporation of (Ialilornia Application April 7, 1951, Serial No. 219,856

4 Claims. (Cl. 235-79) This invention relates to the control mechanism for a duplex, or multi-register, calculator such as the type shown in the patent to Brown No. 1,929,053.

An important object of the present invention is to provide digitation control mechanism for the grand totalizer of a duplex calculating machine whereby the two registers will normally digitate in a like manner (values set in the keyboard will be added in both or subtracted in both) but which can be set for unlike registration (for example, addition in the accumulator and subtraction in the grand totalizer) for a single cycle of operation.

Another important object of the present invention is to provide a mechanism for limiting to a single cycle of operation the unlike digitation of the two accumulators of a duplex calculating machine, i. e. a machine having two or more accumulators whereby totals may be accumulated in one accumulator, or totalizer, and grand totals accumulated in a second accumulator, or grand totalizer. One such machine was the Monroe Model MA 213 X in which a value set in the keyboard was transferred to both accumulators simultaneously, the two accumulators being separately cleared as described in the said patent to Brown above referred to.

In this machine, which I use for purposes of illustration of my invention, a control lever was settable to one position to cause digitation in both accumulators in the same direction (that is, addition in both or subtraction in both); in a second position to disconnect the second accumulator, or grand totalizer, from the actuator so that totals were accumulated in the first accumulator only; and in a third position in which the second accumulator, or grand totalizer, was actuated in a reverse or unlike direction from that of the accumulator so that the keyboard value was subtracted from the grand totalizer while being added in the first accumulator, or vice versa. A primary object of my invention is to provide a mechanism by means of which the control lever is automatically returned to the normal, or like, digitation position at the end of every cycle of unlike digitation.

Normally in machines of this character it is desirable that both accumulators operate in the same manner, that is to add or subtract simultaneously in both. There are occasional problems in which an amount is added to the first accumulator and subtracted from the grand totalizer, as when taking discounts in which it is desirable to know the amount of the discount and the total remaining after deducting it from the previous total. In the past it was necessary to set the control means for unlike digitation at the beginning of such an operation, and to return the control means to its normal, or like digitation, position after the operation was completed. My invention provides a means whereby the operator, when unlike digitation is necessary, sets the control mechanism for unlike registration and the control mechanism is returned to the normal, or like registration, position at the end of the operation.

In the preferred form of my invention this return of the control mechanism to its normal position is further 2,7143% @atented Aug. 9, 1955 dependent upon whether the machine is set for repeat cycles of operation, or whether it is set for automatic single cycle operation in which the keyboard values are erased automatically toward the end of each cycle of operation. I show my invention in the preferred form in which the duplex digitation control mechanism is returned to its normal, or like registration, position at the end of a cycle of operation if the single cycle is operative, but is not so returned if the repeat mechanism is operative. This mechanism is shown in the drawings in which:

Fig. 1A is a right-hand view of the forward part of the control plate of the machine showing control mechanisms located theeron.

Fig. 1B is a right-hand view of the rearward portion of the control plate of the machine.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged detail of the mechanism of my invention, being the extreme forward part of the right side frame of the machine shown in Figs. 1A and 1B.

The mechanism of my invention is shown for purposes of illustration on a conventional Monroe calculating machine of the duplex register type. As my invention relates only to the register control mechanisms, and the machine to which they are applied has a conventional selection mechanism, actuator and registers, those parts are not shown or described herein.

In such a machine various control mechanisms are mounted on the right side frame, as shown in Figs. 1A and 1B. The right side frame 10 is mounted on a suitable base plate, not shown, by conventional means. The right frame plate 10 carries auxiliary supporting plates 11 and 12 which support various control shafts and operating mechanism not pertinent to this invention.

One of the control mechanisms mounted on the frame plate is a counter-control operated by a settable lever 15 pivoted to the frame plate 10. A link 16 is pivotally connected to the control lever 15 and is supported at an intermediate point by a pin and slot connection 17. The extreme rear end of the link 16 is provided with a slot 18 which embraces an ear 1.9 of the counter-control mechanism. The coutner-control lever 15 may be set in either its forward or rearward position to provide for either like or unlike registration in the operations counter, not shown, with respect to the first accumulator or subtotalizer, not shown.

Also mounted on the frame plate 10 is a plus bar and a minus bar 26. Pivotally mounted on the keystems of the plus bar 25 and minus bar 26 are links 27 and 28 respectively. These links are pivotally connected to an arm 29 rigidly secured to the transverse shaft 30. Thus, depression of the plus bar 25 rocks the shaft 30 in a clockwise direction while depression of the minus bar 26 rocks the shaft 30 in a counter-clockwise direction. This rocking of the shaft 30 is used to control additive or subtractive operation of the accumlulator by conventional apparatus which need not be described.

A clear key is also slidably mounted on the right frame plate iii. The key stem 36 is provided with means, not shown, for engaging all of the ordinal clearing mechanisms so that depression of the clear key 35 operates to clear all the orders of the keyboard. This mechanism is conventional and is therefore not shown or described herein.

Immediately behind the clear key 35 is a pair of operation control keys commonly called the repeat key and the add, or single cycle, key 41. These keys are mounted on key stems 42 and 43, respectively, which are slidably mounted in upper and lower brackets 44 and 45. Associated with the two key stems is a common spring actuated detent 46 (Fig. 1A) operable to hold the keys in adjusted position. The lower ends of the key stems 42 and 43 are notched to provide shoulders, not shown,

which engage a two armed lever 47. This lever is pivotally mounted on the right frame plate 18 by any suitable means, such as screw 4-8. The lever serves the double purpose of raising the other key when either is depressed and also to set the mechanism controlling the single or plural cycle operation of the machine. For the latter purpose the right end of the lever 47 is provided with a cam edge 4-9. It will be understood by those familiar with the art that when the repeat key at is depressed the keyboard will not be cleared automatically, thus permitting plural cycle operation of the machine. On the other hand, when the add, or single cycle, key 41 is depressed, the keyboard is automatically cleared toward the end of the first cycle of operation, whereby continued depression of a control key, such as the plus bar or the minus bar 26, will still give only a single operation of the actuator and therefore only a single addition or subtraction in the accumulators.

Associated with the two armed lever 17 is a single cycle control lever 55. The lever is provided with an I arcuate slot 56 which embraces a suitable pivot member, such as screw 57, mounted in the side plate it). A spring 58 connects the lower end of the lever 55 to a suitable stud, not shown, on the frame plate, thereby urging the lower end of the lever clockwise so that the right end of the slot 56 will engage the pivot screw 57. The lever 55 is provided with a cam projection 59 adapted to be engaged by the cam end 49 of the lever 47. When the add key 41 is depressed, the clockwise rocking of the lever 47 to the position shown in Figs. 1A and 2, earns the lower end of the lever 55 counter-clockwise. On the other hand the depression of the repeat key it) rocks the lever 47 counter-clockwise, whereupon the cam end 49 lies above the cam edge 59 of the lever 55. Such a position permits the spring 58 to pull the lower end of v the lever 55 to the clockwise position.

Intermediate the upper end of the lever 55 and the pivot slot 56 is a projection 69 adapted to be engaged by a pin 61 mounted on a gear 62 of a train of gears extending forwardly on the right side frame of the machine. The upper end of the lever 55 is provided with a nose 63 which engages an ear 64 on the keyboard clearing mechanism. When the repeat key is depressed and the lever 55 lies in the clockwise position (i. e. in which the right end of the slot 56 engages the screw 57) the projection 69 lies radially outwardly from the pin 61, whereby the lever 55 is not affected by the rotation of the gear 62. In that position the lower end of the lever 55 has been rocked clockwise until stopped by the pivot screw 57, and projection 6!) lies outside of the orbit of the pin 61. On the other hand, when the add key is depressed the lower end of the lever 55 is cammed rearwardly so that the projection 68 thereon will be engaged once in each cycle of operation by the pin 61. The engagement of the pin 61 with projection 68 causes the lever 55 to rock counterclockwise around the screw 57 as a pivot, since the lever 47 holds the lower end of the single cycle lever 55 firmly in the cammed position thereof. When the lever 55 is rocked counter-clockwise as described, the nose 63 thereof pushes the ear 64 on the clearing mechanism to automatically clear the keyboard. This happens towards the end of a cycle of operation, after digitation has been completed.

The duplex digitation control lever 78 is pivotally mounted on the right side plate l8 near the front of the machine by any suitable means, such as pin 71. Intermediate its ends the lever 79 is pivotally connected to a long link 73 by any suitable means, such as pin 72.. The long link 73 extends rearwardly to the auxiliary plate 12 (Fig. 1B), and is supported by a suitable slot 74 embracing a screw 75. Thus, the rocking of the control lever '78 moves the link '73 rearwardly or forwardly, as the case may be. At the extreme ear end of the link 73 is a camming slot 76 which embraces an car 77 of the duplex digitation control mechanism. When the 4 lever 70 is in its forward position and the car 77 lies in the rear end of the slot 76, values set in the actuator are transferred to the two registers, not shown, in the same manner (that is, additive in both or subtractive in both).

It will be understood that digitation in the first accumulator is controlled by the depression of the plus or minus bars 25, 26. The digitation in the grand totalizer or second accumulator is controlled by the position of the lever 70 and in the position just mentioned the grand totalizer register rotates in the same direction as the accumulator. However, when the lever 7t) is rocked to its rearward, or clockwise, position the ear 77 lies in the forward part of the slot, and in this condition the second accumulator or grand totalizer operates in the opposite direction to that of the accumulator, so that when a value is added into the accumulator it is subtracted from the grand totalizer, and vice versa.

In my invention the control lever 70 is urged to its normal, or like registration, position (which is the counterclockwise position shown in Fig. 1A). It is resiliently held in the normal position by a suitable spring 80 seated in an aperture 81 in the lever and on a stud 82 mounted on the frame plate 10. The lever 70 is held in its unlike registration or clockwise position of Fig. 2 by a suitable latch 85, the shoulder 86 of which engages a square stud 83 mounted on the control lever. The latch 85 is pivotally mounted on a suitable pin 87 and could be spring-urged in a clockwise direction if desired. However, I have found that its weight is sufficient to cause it to latch the lever 70 whenever the latter is rocked to its rearward, or clockwise, position (Fig. 2). The latch 85 is disengaged from the square stud 83 by a pin 65 mounted on the single cycle lever 55, which pin engages a camming car 88 on the end of the latch 85. Thus, as the lever 55 is rocked forwardly, toward the end of the first cycle of operation, it simultaneously releases the keyboard and lifts the latch 85 to disengage the control lever 70. Thus, whenever the add key is depressed, and the machine is thereby conditioned for single cycle operation, the control lever 70 is returned to its normal forward position simultaneously with the release of the keyboard, toward the end of the first cycle of operation. While the two registers may be set for unlike registration by pushing the lever 70 to its rearward, or clockwise position (Fig. 2) it will be automatically returned to its normal, or like digitation, position shown in Fig. 1A at the end of a cycle of operation if the machine is set for single cycle operation.

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that the latch 85 could be directly released by a suitable means mounted on the gear 62. However, I have found that normally when the machine is set for repeat operation the operator will desire to maintain an unlike setting through several cycles of operation. Therefore, I prefer to release the latch 85 automatically when the machine is set for single cycle operation and not to release it when set for repeat operation. However, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that, if desired, the machine could be readily modified to release the lever 70 in each cycle of operation.

The lever 70, when latched in its unlike digitation position shown in Fig. 2, can be manually released by depression of the clear key 35. For this purpose I provide a bellcrank pivotally mounted on the pivot screw 48. Bellcrank 95 is pulled in a clockwise direction by a suitable spring 96 to engage the lower end of the clear keystem 36. When the clear key is depressed the bellcrank 95 is rocked counterclockwise. Thereupon the upper arm 97 of the bellcrank engages the ear 88 and cams the latch 85 off of the square stud 83.

In the preferred form of my invention I prefer to have only two positions for the control lever 70-for like or unlike registration. Many machines of this type, however, have a third position in which the second register, or grand totalizer, is disconnected from the actuator to permit digitation to take place in the first accumulator only. Such a form is shown in Fig. 1B in which the slot 76 has three planar positions; those at the two ends (which affect the control mechanism as heretofore mentioned) and an intermediate neutral position in which the grand totalizer is disconnected from its actuator. If the third position is desired, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that suitable means could be provided for holding the lever 70 in the neutral position, and means could be provided for releasing the latch similar to that heretofore mentioned; and such a construction could be provided without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. However, as stated. in my preferred form I desire to use only the two extreme positions-for like registration or unlike registration :1; explained.

I claim:

1. In a plural register calculating machine having a plurality of accumulator registers, digitation control mechanism for controlling registrations in said registers, a manually set control means for determining like or unlike digitation of said registers, means urging said control means to one extreme position, a latch for holding said control means in the other extreme position, cyclically operated means for releasing said latch, and selestively settable means for rendering operable said cyclically operated means.

2. A control means for a plural-register calculating machine comprising a manually set means for determining like or unlike digitation of said registers, a single cycle mechanism settable to an operative position wherein the keyboard is cleared with each cycle of operation of the machine, resilient means urging said control means to a position for like registration of said registers, a latch for holding said control means in the position for unlike registration of said registers, and means operable by said single cycle mechanism for releasing said latch.

3. In combination with a plural-register calculating machine having a manually set control means for determining like or unlike digitation of said registers, and a single cycle mechanism settable to an operative position wherein the keyboard is cleared with each cycle of operation of the machine; resilient means urging said control means to a position for like registration of said registers, a latch for holding said control means in the position for unlike registration of said registers, means operable by said single cycle mechanism for releasing said latch, and a manually operated means for also releasing said latch.

4. In combination with a manually set control means for a plural register calculating machine for determining like or unlike digitation of said registers; spring means urging said control means to a position for like registration of said registers, a latch for holding said control means in the position for unlike registration of said registers, means selectively operable during the first operative cycle of said machine for releasing said latch, a positionable means efiective in one position to enable operation of said operable means, and a manually operated means operable in the other position of said positionable means for releasing said latch.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,069,481 Schuster Aug. 5, 1913 1,793,155 Britten, Jr. Feb. 17, 1931 1,833,467 Mixer Nov. 24, 1931 2,393,019 Avery Jan. 15, 1946 2,521,799 J. Lydfors et al Sept. 12, 1950 2,547,063 Turck Apr. 3, 1951

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