US2936871A - Automatic tabulating system - Google Patents

Description

R. E. CUMMINS AUTOMATIC TABULATING SYSTEM May 17, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Dec. 22. 1958 PURCHASE OR DER Ace. No

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ATTORNEY May 17, 1960 Filed D90. 22, 1958 R. E. CUMMINS AUTOMATIC TABULATING SYSTEM 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 24- OSC.

FIG.5

.desired positions of the tab stops.

is to be done.

United States PatentO AUTOMATIC TABULATING SYSTEM Richard E. Cummins, Saratoga, Calif., assignor to International Business Machines Corporation, New York, N.Y., a corporation of New York v I Application December 22, 1958, Serial No. 781,993

' 6 Claims. (Cl. 197-179) matic tabulating system for typewriters and the like. The tabulation of typewriters generally in use-today is. accomplished by manually setting the tab stops prior to a typing operation. The preparation of different documents often requires difierent tabulation patterns, thus necessitating that the tab stops be reset by the typist prior. to each different typing operation. In U.S. Patout No. 2,860,759, assigned to the same assignee as the present application, there is disclosed, an automatic tabulating mechanism in which the worksheet on which the typing is tobe done is provided with sensible marks whose positions on the worksheet correspond to the These marks are sensed by a transducer located on the typewriter, and the transducer output controls the carriage'positioning "mechanism so as to position the carriage with one of the sensible marks adjacent the printing station of the typewriter. lation of a typewriter or similar instrument and eliminates the need. for the typewriter operator to reset the tab stops for each of the different tab settings on the material being typed by making use of a worksheet provided with sensible marks which may be sensed for controlling the carriage positioning. v

, Broadly, the present invention contemplates an. automatic tabulating system for typewriters and the like, in

. which thereis provided a master sheet. which is disposed on the carriage behind the worksheetxon which the typing This master sheet is provided with a suitable type of sensible mark. whichfimayj be sensed. by

.transdu'cer means disposed at or adjacent theprinting station of the typewriter. The positions of the sensible marks on the master sheet correspond to the dilferent tab'stops desired in typing that particular worksheet with which the master sheet is associated. The transducer means is. preferably capable ofsensing the sensible marks on the master sheet through the worksheet and any carbonpaper and copy paper which may be interposed between the master sheet and the transducer means.

Since the worksheet itself .does not require any sensible. marks, conventional or standard forms may be employed, there- 'by eliminating the need. of specially prepared. forms. .Also,.a given master sheet may beutilized fortypingany number of a given form of worksheet having agiven set Where suchmagnetic sensible marks are -to be utilized they may be provided on the master sheet in anysuitable manner, such as by pasting or otherwise securing strips of material to the master sheet, the strips havinga magj netic material coated thereon or imbeddedtherein. Al-

ternatively, the master sheet can be made of a -magnetiz- The above apparatus produces automatic tabuice time of typing the initial form to thus provide on the master sheet a magnetic record or outline of the desired tab positions for that particular form.

The transducer means may be of any suitable type which is operative in association with the selected sensible marks on the master sheet to provide the desired control of the typewriter carriage position in response to the position of the sensed marks. This transducer may be disposed in any suitable position on the typewriter, such as on the front of the typewriter, on or closely adjacent to the printing station. Alternatively, the transducer means may be disposed behind the worksheet and the master sheet so as to sense the sensible marks on the master sheet'from behind.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an improved automatic tabulating sysem for V typewriters and the like.

It is an additional object of the present invention to provide a tabulating mechanism which is fully automatic and which requires no presetting of the tab stops.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide an automatic tabulating system for a typewriter utilizing a tabulating mechanism adapted to sense marks recorded on a master sheet which is inserted behind the document worksheet in the carriage of the typewriter, and is arranged to arrest movement of the carriage according to sensed marks on the master sheet to position selected portions of the document worksheet adjacent the printing station of the typewriter.

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. l is a perspective view of a portion of a'typewriter equipped with the novel automatic tabulating system of the present invention;

Fig, 2m illustrates one type of document worksheet which may be utilized in the present invention;

Fig. 2b illustrates the arrangement of one type of master sheet which may be utilized with the document worksheet of Fig. 2a;

Fig. 3 is a partialrear elevation of the typewriter shown in Fig. 1 and discloses the tab setting and resetting mechanism;

Fig. 4 is a partial sectional view taken along the line 4-4 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a schematic diagram of electrical circuitry for carrying out the present invention employing magnetic transducer means.

As illustrated in Fig. l, a typewriter 10 is provided with an automatic tabulating system whereby tabulating is under the control of information recorded in the form of sensible marks on a master sheet 11. Master sheet 11 may be inserted in the typewriter carriage 12, along with a document worksheet 13 on which the typing is to be performed. The master sheet 11 and the worksheet 13 generally will correspond to each other in size and will have corresponding portions thereof aligned when disposed in the carriage as shown in Fig. 1, so that a given position on master sheet 11 corresponds to the same position on worksheet 13. As indicated above, master sheet 11 is provided with sensible marks 16 or indicia thereon corresponding to the positions on the worksheet of the desired tab stops.

' marks 16 will, of course, depend upon the type of transable material which is selectively magnetized'at the ducer means utilized to sense these marks, and in the embodiment illustrated in Fig. 1 it is assumed thatmagnetic' transducer means isutilized. Accordingly,; as;

The nature of shown in Fig. 2b, marks 16 may be in the form of strips of a magnetic material which may be sensed by a transducer means. Marks 16 may be applied to master sheet 11 in any suitable manner, suchas by utilizing narrow strips of a suitable pressure sensitive tape which can be secured to master sheet 11 in the desired tab stop positions, the strips having a magnetized material coated thereon or imbedded therein.

material adjacent transducer 21 produces variations in g the magnetic circuit of transducer 21, and these variations represent the output signal for controlling the carriage positioning mechanism, as will be described more fully below.

On the basis of the above description, it will be seen' that the disposition of sensible marks 16 on master sheet 11 may be varied according to the nature of the document worksheet 13 to be typed. For example, in the purchase order worksheet and master sheet illustrated in the carriage of the typewriter in Fig. 1 and shown in Figs. 2a and 2b, the sensible marks 16 on master sheet H are located immediately to the left of the corresponding blanks to be filled in on document worksheet 13. Thus, the sensible mark 16a is located on master sheet 11 just to the left of the area on the document 13 which is provided with the name and address of the addressee. Similarly, other of the marks 16 are disposed adjacent other of the blanks to be filled in, such as the order number, item, quantity, etc.

Figs. 3, 4 and 5 illustrate circuitry and apparatus suitable for providing control of the positioning of the carriage 12 in response to sensing of marks 16. As shown in Fig. 5, transducer 21 may be of the static-read type disclosed in co-pending application Serial No. 589,761, James D. Allen, assigned to the same-assignee as the present application. The coil 21a of transducer 21 is connected in parallel with a capacitor 22 to form a resonant network 23 which controls the frequency of an oscillator circuit 24. Variations in the inductance of transducer 21, as produced by the presence or absence of magnetic marks 16 adjacent the air gap of core 21b, produce variations in the resonant circuit which vary the output frequency of oscillator 24. These frequency variations of oscillator 24 are detected by a discriminator 25 which produces an output pulse for controlling the carriage positioning mechanism.

The output signal from discriminator 25 may be supplied through a condenser 26 to the control grid of a thyratron 27. Power is supplied to the circuit through a switch 28 from a suitable source of alternating voltage 29* to place the potential of a conductor 31 in the neighborhood of -250 volts when the switch 28 is closed. The cathode of the thyratron 27 is connected through a suitable biasing resistor 32 to the conductor 31, and the plate of the thyratron is connected through the Winding of a solenoid 33, through the normally closed contacts 34a of a relay 34, and through a current limiting resistor 35 to ground. The bias provided by the current flow through the resistor 32 and through a resistor 36 to ground is sufficient normally to maintain the thyratron cut off, thereby permitting a condenser 37, connected between the cathode and the non-grounded side of the resistor 35 to charge through the resistor 35.

The application of a positive pulse to the control grid of the thyratron causes it to conduct as long as there is sutlicient energy stored in the condenser 37, the resistor 35 being made large enough to prohibit sufiicient current flow therethrough to maintain conduction of the thyratron after the discharge of the condenser 37. Thus,

, when the control grid goes positive, i.e., when a pulse is is energized momentarily while the condenser 37 discharges, and upon discharge of the condenser 37 the solenoid 33 is deenergized. As noted above, the coil 21a of the transducer means is connected through the oscillator 24 and discriminator 25 to the control grid of the thyratron 27, and when the inductance of coil 21a is varied by sensing one of the marks 16, the output of resonant network 23 varies to cause a positive impulse to appear momentarily on the control grid of thyratron 27. Thus, when a mark 16 on master sheet 11 is sensed by the transducer 21, the solenoid 33 is momentarily energized.

The aforementioned relay 34 is of the latch type and is provided to disable the thyratron 27 during a carriagereturn operation. One side of each of the latch and pick windings, 34n and 34p, respectively, of the relay 34 is connected to a suitable operating voltage, and the other side of the pick winding 34p is connected through .set of normally open contacts 41 to ground. In the case of an electric typewriter having the carriage-return operation under the control of a carriage-return key, the

contacts 39 are preferably under the control of this key and are arranged to close momentarily when it is actuated, thereby energizing the relay 34 and latching-the contacts 34a thereof in their open condition to thereby open the plate circuit of the thyratron. In any case, it will be appreciated that some convenient means should be provided to operate the contacts 39 immediately prior to the carriage-return operation. One side of the contacts 41 is mounted on the frame of the typewriter, as shown in Fig. 3, and the other side of these contacts is mounted on the carriage in such a way that these contacts engage one another when the carriage is in its rightmost position. Thus, in the present embodiment, when the carriage-return key is actuated, the contacts of the relay 34 are latched open and the thyratron is disabled ,until the carriage is returned to its right-most position,

at which time the contacts of the relay 34 are unlatched,

thereby preventing marks sensed by transducer 21 during anism of the type disclosed in US. Letters Patent No.

1,935,436, issued to C. W. Crumrine, in which displaced tab stops 44 engage a tabulating lever (not shown herein) to efiieet stoppage of the carriage after it has been placed in motion by actuation of the tabulation key. It is common practice to reset tab stops as desired by actuating a tab set key on the keyboard which is arranged with suitable linkage to displace the tab stop in a counterclockl wise direction, as viewed in Fig. 4, to its set position.

When set, the tab stop is placed in position to engage the tab lever (not shown) if the tab lever has been actuated. (It should be noted that unless the tab key is actuated the tab lever is in an inoperative position and will not engage displaced or set tab stops; however, when the tab key is actuated the tab lever is moved into position to engage set tab stops. After engagement with the tab stop, the tab lever is reset to its inoperative position until the tab key is again actuated.)

The solenoid 33 (Fig. 3), as mentioned earlier, is provided to operate or set the tab stops under the control of marks sensed on the master sheet 11. A flange 46, formed integrally with the armature 47 of the solenoid 33, is journaled on a shaft 48 suitably secured to the frame of the typewriter in such a way that the armature 47 is free i to pivot about the shaft 48 within established limits, the limits being determined by the solenoid itself and by a stop 49 bolted to the typewriter frame. The armature 47 is resiliently urged by a spring-t) against the stop 49- and away from the solenoid 33, andis so arranged that when the solenoid is energized, the pointed, tab-stop-set end 51 thereof engages and displaces the tab stop 44 next adjacent thereto. a

In many instances, tab stops such as those disclosed herein are reset by a bracket similar to a bracket 52 shown in Fig. 3, it being necessary for the operator to actuate a tab clear key on the keyboard, which is operative through suitable linkage to pivot the bracket 52 about a shaft 53 to thereby swing the displaced tab stop in a clockwise direction to its normal or reset position. In the present embodiment the bracket 52 has a similar function; however, it is additionally arranged to cam displaced tab stops into their reset position when such stops laterally engage the pivoted bracket. When utilizing the automatic tabulation operation of the invention, it is preferable to reset the tab stops immediately after use, and means (not shown), such as a shift lock found on most typewriters in use today, is provided for maintaining the reset bracket in its actuated position,v during this operation. In this way the bracket 52 is operative to reset all displaced tab stops as they are engaged by this bracket during the travel of the carriage and the tab stops.

When utilizing the automatic tabulation operation, the

typist first actuates the tab clear key in such a way that 5 the bracket 52 is locked in its operative or reset position. Next, the tab key is actuated, which moves the tab lever into its operative position as well as frees the carriage to slide to the left, as viewed in Fig. 1. When transducer 21 senses a mark on the master sheet then inserted in the typewriter, the inductance of transducer 21 varies to cause discriminator 25 to produce an output signal, thereby firing the thyratron 27 and energizing the solenoid 33. When this occurs, a tab stop is displaced, and when this tab stop engages the tab lever, the carriage is halted, as described in the aforementioned Letters Patent to Crumrine, that portion of the worksheet inserted in the typewriter in which typing is to be inserted being disposed adjacent the printing station of the typewriter. Further movement of the carriage causes the displaced tab stop to be cammed or reset to its normal position. Additional automatic tabulation is accomplished in a similar manner. Thus, it is necessary only for the typist to insert a suitably programmed master sheet 11 in the carriage of the typewriter behind a worksheet and then to actuate the tab key to cause that portion of the worksheet upon which typing is to be inserted to be positioned adjacent the printing station. Thus, it will be seen that the apparatus ofthe present invention may be utilized to provide an automatic tabulating system for typewriters and the like, where the tabulating is under the control of the position of sensitive marks provided on a master sheet which is inserted in the carriage behind the document worksheet. Owing to the use of the master sheet, each of the individual document worksheets 13 need not be provided with sensible marks, and only the one master sheet 11 is required for typing any number of a given document having a given set of tab positions.

Numerous modifications'and alterations of the embodiment illustrated will be apparent to those skilled in the art. For example, in the embodiment illustrated in Fig. 1, the transducer means 21 is shown disposed on the front of the typewriter closely adjacent the printing station, and operates to sense the magnetic marks 16 through the document worksheet 13 and whatever number of carbon copies of the worksheet may be utilized. If a large number of carbon copies of a given document are to be made, thus increasing the effective air gap between the transducer means 21' and the sensible marks 16, it may be desirable to either place the master sheet 11 immediately behind the original document worksheet13 or to position the transducer means behind the master sheet 11, so that the transducer can sense the sensible lines without interference from the thickness of the carbon copies. Similarly, al-

though transducer means 21was illustrated as a static-type read head in which the output signal from resonant network 23 did not depend on the rate of change of the position of sensible marks 16, it will be apparent that a derivative type read head may be utilized to sense the magnetic marks, particularly where the speed of the carriage is high enough so that generation of a signal of sufiicient amplithat various omissions and substitutions and changes'in the form and details of the device illustrated and in its operation 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:

1. Apparatus for controlling a typewriter carriage to position diiferent portions of a worksheet supported by said carriage at a printing station comprising a master sheet disposed on said carriage on the opposite side of said worksheet from said printing station, said master sheet having sensible marks thereon whose positions correspond to' desired positions of said worksheet relative to said printing station, transducer means for sensing said sensible marks, and carriage positioning means responsive to said transducer means for positioning said carriage in accordance with said sensed marks.

2. Apparatus for controlling a typewriter carriage to position diflierent portions of a worksheet supported by said carriage at a printing station comprising a master sheet disposed on said carriage on the opposite side of said Worksheet from said printing station, said master sheet having sensible marks thereon whose positions correspond to desired positions of said worksheet relative to said printing station, transducer means adjacent said printing station for sensing said sensible marks, and carriage positioning means responsive to said transducer means for positioning said carriage in accordance with said sensed marks.

3. Apparatus for controlling a typewriter carriage to position dilferent portions of a worksheet supported by said carriage at a printing station comprising'a master sheet disposed on said carriage on the opposite side of said worksheet from said printing station, said master sheet having at least one sensible mark thereon whose position corresponds to a desired position of said worksheet relative to said printing station, transducer means adjacent said printing station for sensing said sensible mark, and carriage positioning means responsive to said transducer means forpositioning said master sheet with said mark adjacent said printing station.

4. Apparatus for controlling a typewriter carriage to position different portions of a worksheet supported by said carriage at a printing station comprising a master sheet disposed on said carriage on the opposite side of said worksheet from said printing station, said master sheet having magnetic marks thereon whose positions correspond to desired positions of said worksheet relative to said printing station, magnetic transducer means for sensing said magnetic marks, and carriage positioning means responsive to said transducer means for positioning said carriage in accordance with said sensed marks.

5. Apparatus for controlling a typewriter carriage to position different portions of a worksheetsupported by said carriage ata printing station comprising a master sheet disposed on said carriage on the opposite side of ;-said Worksheet from said printing station, saidmaster sheet having magnetic lines thereon whose positionscorrespond to desired positions of said worksheet relative to said printing station, magnetic transducer means disposed adjacent said printing station f or' sensing said magnetic lines, and carriage positioning means responsive to said transducer means for positiomng said carriage with the sensed one of said lines adjacent ,said

printing station.-

6. Apparatus for controlling a typewriter carriage 'to position difierent portions of a worksheet supported by said carriage at a printing station comprising a master arms with said sensed marks.

fsheet'disposed on said carriage on the opposite side of said worksheet from. said printing station, said master sheet having sensible marks thereon whose positions correspond to desired positions of, saidfworksheet relative No references cited.

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