US3073520A

US3073520A - Calculating machine

Info

Publication number: US3073520A
Application number: US857070A
Authority: US
Inventors: Bilde Tord Erik Daniel
Original assignee: Talongmaskiner AB
Current assignee: Talongmaskiner AB
Priority date: 1958-12-08
Filing date: 1959-12-03
Publication date: 1963-01-15
Anticipated expiration: 1980-01-15

Description

Jan. 15, 1963 E. D BILDE CALCULATING MACHINE you 2% 69mm 61106;

8m m m 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Dec. 3, 1959 1953 T. E. D. BILDE CALCULATING MACHINE 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 5, 1959 INVENTOR.

P XWQ PMAM T. E. D. BILDE Jan. 15, 1963 CALCULATING MACHINE 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Dec. 3, 1959 (7nd Bulk iii/222R PM W nited States PatcntO 3,073,520 CALCULATING MACHINE Tord Erik Daniel Bilde, Stockholm, Sweden, assignor to Aktiebolaget Talongmaskiner, Stockholm, Sweden, a

corporation of Sweden Filed Dec. 3, 1959, Ser. No. 857,070 priority, application Sweden Dec. 8, 1958 7 Claims. (31. 235-60) This invention relates to calculating machines, computing machines, cash registers, booking machines and the like, in which transmission means or actuator means between the abutment means, are set by means of keys in a key board preferably of the reduced key board type in accordance with the numeral value and the decimal order of a figure, these transmission means consisting essentially of sensing members displaceable for sensing said abutment means and of actuating means adapted'to transmit the motion of the sensing means to registers and, if desired, to indicator and printing means. The fact, that calculating machines were constructed before electricity had become generally used, is the principal reason for the large extension of mechanical calculating machines. Exception made of the purely electronic calculating machines of later times, the ordinary calculating and computing machines are still founded on the old purely mechanical principles and the only important change made to meet the demand on electric driving means starting the functioning of the machine by only depressing a button, is the construction of special electric motors adapted to normally effect only one or a limited number of revolutions when started, so that this motor could be coupled to the ordinary driving shaft of a computing machine. The continually increased demand on high calculating speed has been met by increasing the power of the motor and the demand on higher performance with regard to the number of different functions of the machine has been met by adding further mechanisms, demanding further increased driving power and an increased number of different parts in the machine. Thereby the number of sources of trouble has been increased.

This invention is concerned with a calculating machine, which from the beginning of its conception has been specially adapted to the special requirements of an electrically controlled and driven machine based on the old fundamental principles of mechanical calculating machines, so that all the modern requirements are met concerning easy and cheap construction, relatively small number of different pieces, small masses of the pieces to be accelerated and retarded, a high calculating speed, a

Claims silent function, small outer dimensions and extremely small friction losses.

One object of the invention is the simplification of the driving means for the transmission or actuating means transmitting a number set on the abutment means to the register or registers by driving means adapted to produce a power field, for example a magnetic field, common for all the actuator means and adapted to act resiliently on all the actuators to displace them in one direction for sensing the abutment means and in the other direction to return them to their initial position, during one or the other or both of which strokes of the actuators the register or registers are brought into engagement with the actuators to enter the amount into the registers in the additive or the subtractive sense or to report an amount accumulated in the register or registers to indicating or printing means through said actuators according to the general principles known in calculating machines.

Another object of the invention is to have the parts of the machine adapted to effect its fundamental functions such as abutting means for the actuators, registers, driving means printing means and setting means, such as a key board, to form individual units, between which the necessary connections are established mostly by electric wirings, whereby complicated mechanical transmission mechanisms and the large power necessary to surmount their inertia and friction losses are avoided and whereby also the placing of the different units in relation to each other in the machine is not determined by such transmission means. Thus these different units may be placed exclusively with regard to the only remaining mechanical connection between the abutment means, the actuators cooperating with the register or registers actuated by said actuators and, if desired, indicating and/or printing means.

In a preferred embodiment each of the actuators has the form of a rectilinear, needle-like bar for each of the digital onders of the machine which bars are supported for longitudinal displacement towards abutments set in active position by means of a key board. These needle.- like bars are formed as or connected with magnetically attractible core members simultaneously submitted to the action of a common magnetic field produced by a solenoid surrounding all the actuators or their magnetic cores. Preferably there are two such solenoids, one for each direction of displacement of the actuators. Thereby a special electric driving motor with its transmission' mechanism, control cam members, clutches, restoring springs and the like are no more necessary, thus avoiding most of the movable parts contained in ordinary driving mechanisms.

Preferably the register or registers, which according to the known principles are movable in and out of engagement with racks cut into or attached to the actuators, are also electromagnetically actioned for their movement into and out of engagement with said racks.

Printing means, whereby the figures corresponding to the position of the actuators when sensing the abutment means are printed on a sheet or strip of paper or the like, can be provided and consist of type bars attached to the actuators and of electromagnetically actuated pressure means, by which at the energisation of an electromagnet, the desired printing types of the type bars are pressed against the sheet or strip, preferably with an inking ribbon between them. Other visual indicator means of the positions of the actuators can be combined with these printing means.

A purpose of the present invention is further to provide abutment means and means for their setting according to the actuation of numeral keys on a key board. In such an abutment mechanism, abutment pieces are by electromagnetically actuated, means individually set into selected fixed guides extending transversely of the actuators direction of motion and corresponding each to one numeric value of the different figures of the applied numeric system and in these guides through a number of positions corresponding to the different digital orders (decimal orders) of the machine, said positions being situated at the crossing points between said guides and the path of motion of the sensing ends of the actuators. By this device the abutment mechanism can be connected to the setting means or key board exclusively by electric wires and thus be placed independently of any other mechanical connection with said setting means. Further,-when setting an amount, only those of the abutment pieces are moved, which are to be set into active position for stopping an actuator in its sensing movement according to a certain numeric value and decimal order.

These and other purposes of the invention are obtained by a preferred embodiment diagrammatically illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal section through a calculating machine of the so called reduced key board type.

3 FIG. 2 is a section along line II-'-II in FIG. 1 showing the means for guiding and actuating the abutment pieces.

FIG. 3 is a section along line IlI-III in FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a modified detail of the printing means shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a cross section through said means according to line V--V in FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a vertical longitudinal section through a calculating machine showing another possible arrangement of the driving means for the actuators.

FIG. 7 shows in a similar manner a more developed machine for the printing of checks, vouchers, bonds and the like and for registration and computation of the printed amounts, mainly containing the elements of the previous embodiments in a difierent arrangement and combination.

The machine according to the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1 contains four main units, i.e. a driving unit containing the actuators and their driving means, designated by the general reference A, an abutment mechanism desig nated by the general reference B, a printing unit designated by the general reference C, and a key board unit designated by the general reference D. The machine further contains necessary control means and electric circuit means controlling and connecting the different units for the performance of the desired functions.

In the driving unit A needle shaped actuator bars 11 in a number corresponding to the number of decimal orders are disposed in a horizontal plane and in parallel relation to each other longitudinally displaceably guided each in two guide holes 13 and 15. In their middle portion these bars 11 are provided with sheet-like cores 17 of ferromagnetic material, which are within limits corresponding to one digital step of the displacement of the bars 11 movable thereon between

abutments

19 and 21. The ends of the actuator bars 11 turned towards the rear of the machine extend into the abutment mechanism B hereinafter described for cooperation of the abutment pieces in said unit. The ends of the actuator bars 11 turned towards the front end of the machine support type bars for printing figures corresponding to the position of the bars in the printing unit C. All the actuator bars 11 are surrounded by two windings or

solenoids

23 and 25 each capable, when energised, to produce a magnetic field acting simultaneously on the cores for their displacement together with the actuator bars in one direction each. Thus the field of solenoid 25 acts on the actuators 11 for their displacement towards the rear of the machine and the field of solenoid 23 acts on the actuator bars 11 for their displacement towards the front of the machine, i.e. back to the initial rest position illustrated in FIG. 1.

The abutment mechanism B consists of a number of frames 27 corresponding to the number of units in the numeric system, on which the machine is based, in the example illustrated ten frames 27. These frames, of which one is illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3 are placed in planes at right angles to the longitudinal or motion direction of the actuators and are held together in a block by means of bolts 29. Each frame is formed of two plates 30 and 31 (FIG. 3) preferably of synthetic resin or like material. On the adjacent sides of the

plates

30 and 31 in each frame there are recesses 32 adapted to receive different members held in place between said plates. Each framealso has a straight slot 33, the center line of which is situated in the plane containing the center lines of the actuators or their prolongation. The slots 33 of all frames form thus together a channel, through which the actuators can be moved into and out of the abutment unit B. On the faces of the

plates

30 and 31 facing each other in each frame the slots have increased width so as to form a guide for abutment pieces 35 of cylindrical shape. The guide chanml for the abutment pieces has at one end a prolongation 37 bending upwards and inwards and forming a guide for a store of abutment pieces 35. From this store channel 37 the abutment pieces areby means of a feeding mechathe guide groove nism one by one fed into the straight guide slot 33 each time a numeral key of the key board representing the figure corresponding to the frame considered is depressed, and each time a numeral key is depressed, all the abutment pieces 35 previously fed into the guide slots 33 in any frame are displaced a step into the path of motion of the actuator of the next higher order. This function of the abutment mechanism will become clear from the later description of the function of the machine. Each of the frames 27 contains a feed rack 39 and a locking rack 41 mounted side by side beneath the guide slot 33, each rack having teeth projecting upwards into the path of the abutment pieces 35 in said slot. The feed rack 39 is by means of a solenoid 43 acting upon a magnet core 45 mounted on one end of the feed rack 39 displaceable in horizontal direction towards the left (as seen in FIG. 2) against the action of a restoring spring 47. The feed rack is further suspended on springs 49 so that it can move downwards with its teeth outside the slot 33. The locking rack 41 is not longitudinally displaceable but vertically displaceable downwards against the action of suspension springs not shown, similar to the springs 49. At the point of transition between the guide slot 33 and the store channel 37 in each frame there is a slight recess in the lower edge and a slight projection at the upper edge of the store channel 37, which prevent the lowermost of the abutment pieces 35 to be fed unintentionally into the guide slot 33 under the action of the weight of the abutment pieces contained in the store channel above said lowermost piece. A special feed pawl 51 is mounted on the right end of the feed rack 39 and is there held with its pointed end 53 swung downwards in an inactive rest position by the spring 49. Thus, when the feed rack 39 is displaced one digital step towards the left, the abutment pieces previously fed into the guide slot 33 will be displaced one order step to the left, but normally no abutment piece will be fed from the store channel into the guide slot 33. An inclined surface 55 on the under edge of pawl 51 moves, when displaced to the left together with the feed rack 39, across the path of motion of a pin 57 on the movable part 59 of an electromagnetic relay, the winding of which is designated by 61. If the electromagnet 61 is energized when the feed rack 39' moves towards the left, the pawl 51 will be lifted by cooperation of its inclined surface 55 with pin 57 and will engage behind the lowermost of the abutment pieces 35 in the store groove 37, so as to feed it into the right end of the guide slot 33 in the path of motion of the actuator of the lowest decimal order. At each feeding stroke to the left of the feed rack 39 the abutment pieces 35 previously fed into the guide channel 33 will be moved one step to the left into the position corresponding to the next higher order of the machine.

In each of the frames 27 a return carriage 63 guided by two pins engaging a groove 65 parallel with the guide slot 33 has an arm 67 extending upwards into the path of motion of the abutment pieces 33 in the slot and has another fork-shaped arm 69 extending downwards outside the frame. A shaft 71 is pivotally mounted in a recess in a bottom-plate 73 of the machine and has a crankformed end portion 75, the outmost end portion 77 of which extends in between the fingers of the fork shaped arms 69 of all the return carriages 63 of all the frames 27. A spring 79 actions the shaft 71 in a direction of rotation corresponding to a clock-wise rotation of the crank portion as seen in FIG. 2. Thus all the return carriages will be actuated for simultaneous motion towards the right (FIG. 2) so that all the abutment pieces 35 fed into the guide slot 33 will be restored to the store groove 37 as soon as the feed rack 39 and the locking rack 51 are simultaneously lowered so as to withdraw their teeth from 33; For their lowering for this purpose there are two bars 81 guided in vertical bores in each of the frames 27, said bars resting with their lower ends upon the upper side of the ends of the two racks 39 and 41 of the frame considered. The upper ends of these bars 81 extend outside the upper side of the frame block B and are all engaged by a plate 83 forming the movable core of an electromagnet, the solenoid 85 of which is sunk into the middle of the upper side of the block of frames 27.

Fixed to the cores 17 (FIG. 1) at the ends thereof turned towards the block of frames are bars 87 in parallel alignment with the actuator bars 11. These bars 87 extend into holes 89 (FIG. 2) in the frames, in which are inserted tubes 91 forming cylinders for pistons 93 mounted on the ends of said bars 87. These cylinders 91 and pistons 93 are provided for pneumatic braking of the motion of the cores I7 and actuators 11 and damping the impact of the actuators against the abutment pieces.

The end portions of the actuator bars 11 extending towards the front of the machine are provided with type bars 95 having numeral printing types 96 adapted for printing the figure corresponding to the positions of the actuator bars 11 in the printing unit C. The type bars 95 supported by the actuator bars 11 have the sectional shape of angle-iron bars resting with the inside of both their longitudinal flanges against the actuator bar. Transverse end fianges 97 of said type bars 95 have holes traversed by the actuator bars 11, so that the type bars 95'can be'rotated around the actuator bars. The type bars can thus be rotated so as to present one or the other of their printing type rows'provided on the outside of said longitudinal flanges for'printing by 90 rotation of the type bar by means not illustrated. The figures of the types in one row are the complements to ten of the figures in the other row. 1 The printing place is the place occupied by the type to be printed. This printing place is fixed, i.e. the desired printing type on the type bars is brought into the printing place by the displacement of the actuator bar 11. The printing unit comprises for each decimal order a support pin 99 resting with its upper ends against the underside of the actuator place.

bar 11 in the printing The lower ends of said pins are fixed to a transverse iron bar 101 which can be magnetically actuated upwards by a solenoid 103 common for all the pins 99.

In the printing place, above the actuator bar and the type bar 95 resting thereon, there are, counted from below, first an inking ribbon 105, which by means known per se is fed transversely of the actuator bars 11, and above said ribbon a hollow cylinder 107 of transparent material, such as hard synthetic resin having a longitudinal slot 109 at its underside and two longitudinal slots 111 and 113 at its upper side. Two iron side plates 115 forming part of the magnetic circuit of the solenoid 103 extend upwards on the outside of the outmost actuator bars '11 and support the ends of the transparent cylinder 107. Within said cylinder 107 and guided for vertical motion in said side plates 115 there is a bar 117 running longitudinally of the cylinder 107 and forming a movable printing platen. A paper strip 119, unwound from a paper roller 121 enters the cylinder 107 through one of the upper slots 111, runs along the inner surface'of the cylinder 107 and leaves the cylinder through the other of the upper slots 113. A feeding mechanism not shown, which may be of any known design, actions a shaft 123 coaxial with the cylinder 107 to rotate it in opposite directions through a restricted angle. On the shaft 123 is fixed an arm 125 bearing at its end a feed member 127 resting against the paper strip and arranged to feed it only when arm 125 is turned in the clock-wise direction. The working of this printing unit will be understood from the description of the working of the machine. According to a modified embodiment of the means, by which the portion of the actuator bar 11 supporting the type bar 95 is supported by the upper end of pin 99, which embodiment is shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, there is fixed to the actuator bar a toothed bar 129 having teeth 131 at its under edge and resting with its upper edge against the portion of the actuator bar situated beneath against the magnet.

and the intermediate determined by the abutment tributes the pressure exerted on the key head 135 the row of printing types 96 of the type bar 95. The bottom of each of the triangular recesses formed between the teeth is situated beneath the middle of each printing type 96 and the upper end of each pin 99 is pointed to fit said recesses, so that when energizing the solenoid 103, the points of the pins 99 will secure the correct position of the printing types during the printing operation to be described further on.

The keyboard unit D shown in vertical section in FIG. 1 and also diagrammatically shown in the same figure in a plane view to facilitate the understanding of the wiring diagram illustrated in this figure, is in its general arrangement of ordinary ten key type having ten numeral keys marked 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 and six control keys marked C, X, [I] and which are the usual signs for Correction, Total, Addition, Multiplication, Subtotal and Subtraction. Each of these keys has a key head 135 guided in a corresponding opening in an upper keyboard-cover plate 137 and resting normally with a border flange 139 against the under side of said cover plate 137. Each key head 135 is fixed on a key shaft 141 extending downwards through a central opening in a permanent magnet 143 fixed in an intermediate plate 145 of non magnetic, preferably insulating material such as synthetic resin or the like. Just below the lower face of the magnet 143 the shaft has ashort por- 'tion of less diameter 147 traversed by a pin 149 to hold a disc 151 'of ferromagnetic material loosely between said pin and the shoulder formed between the upper thicker portion and the lower thinner end of shaft 141. The key is held in its upper rest position by the attraction of the magnet 143 exerted on the plate 151. In this rest posi- 'tion a thin washer 153 of soft material for example rubber or thermoplastic material, inserted between the disc 151 and the magnet, prevents noises when the disc is attracted An under plate 155 of insulating material fixed in parallel relation to the cover plate 137 plate 145, supports fixed contacts 157 disposed in pairs so that each of the discs 151 at the depression of a key 135 is moved away from its attracted position and displaced into contact with both fixed contacts 157 in contact points diametrically opposed in relation to the key shaft end 147. The use of permanent magnets key is greatest at the beginning of said depression and rapidly diminishes towards the entirely depressed position of disc 151 against its two fixed contacts. The loose mounting of the discs 151 on the key shaft has also the effect, that the disc 151 in the depressed or contact position automatically equally dison both contacts of the cooperating pair of contacts 157.

' In" the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1 thereis only one register cooperating with the actuators by means of a number of toothed wheels 159 pertaining to each decimal order of the register, which by displacement of the register can be brought into engagement with a corresponding rack 161 formed in the edge of the core 17 on the actuator 11 of the corresponding order. The construction of the register is not described here as it is understood,that it can be of any design, known or not known, comprising means for displacing the register in and out of engagement with the racks, said displacing means being here diagrammatically illustrated by electromagnetic means 163 which can be energized through one or the other of two connections for displacing the register respectively in and out of engagement with the racks, and means 165 for stopping the register wheels in the Zero position for extracting totals or subtotals. The register will also of course enclose all the means necessary for a complete function, especially a tens transfer mechanism for entering one unit in a register wheel when the wheel of the next lower order passes the zero position and means for obtaining the shifting of the printing means from printing positive gized, whereby the movable contact results to printing negative results or vice versa when the register wheel of the lowest order passes the zero position in a subtracting function or a following additioning function.

Further electromagnetic control means will become clear from the following description of the working of the machine. The wiring diagram does not show the return leaders to which each of the contact pairs in the key board and each of the solenoids in the machine are connected to the source of electric power to which the machine is connected.

Starting from the rest position of which all actuators and their cores 17 are in the left end position and all the abutment pieces 35 are in the store grooves 37 and none in the guide slots 33, it is as example admitted, that the amount 507 is to be entered into the register in the additive sense.

The numeral key marked 5 is depressed, whereby the solenoid 61 (FIG. 2) is energized in the frame marked 5 (in FIG. 1) of the block of frames 27, whereby pin 57 is inserted into the path of the inclined surface of pawl 51. At the same time, but with a slight retardation, obtained by any known means, also the solenoids 43 in all the frames 27 are energized. Thereby, the cores 45 are attracted and draw the feed racks 39 towards the left (FIG. 2). In the frame 5 the pawl 51 is thereby lifted by the pin 57 and its point 53 engages the lowermost abutment piece 35 in the store groove 37 and inserts it into the right end of the guide slot 33 under downwards displacement of the locking rack 41. In all the other frames. the pawl 51 remains in its lower position and as there are no abutment pieces in the straight guide slot 33, no other abutment pieces will be moved. The abutment piece 35 displaced in frame 5 is now in a position corresponding to a displacement of the actuator bar 11 of the lowest (right) order five unit steps. After reenergizing the solenoids 61 in frame 5 and 43 in all the frames by releasing the numeral key 5, which is returned to its rest position by its magnet 143, the numeral key is depressed, thus energizing solenoid 61 in the frame marked 0 and solenoids 43 in all the frames. All the feed racks 39 are moved to the left, whereby the abutment piece previously inserted in the guide slot 33 of frame is moved one order step to the left but no new abutment piece is entered into the right end of the same slot in this frame. Only in the frame marked 0 a piece 35 is enteredinto the right end of the guide slot by the pawl 53. In this position there are two abutment pieces 35 in active position in their guide slots 33, viz. one in frame 0 in the path of the actuator of the lowest order and one in frame 5 in the path of the actuator of the second lowest order. The following depression of key 7 enters one abutment piece in frame 7 in the right end of the guide slot 33 and feeds the two abutment pieces preall parts and units, in

viously fed into active position one ordinal step to the left. Then there will be one abutment piece 35 in frame 5 in the thirdlowest order position, one abutment piece in frame 0 in the second lowest order position and one abutment piece in frame 7 in the lowest order position.

The abutment elements are thus set in position to be 7 sensed by the actuator bars 11.

By depressing the key marked the solenoid 167 of an electromagnetically actuated contactor 169 is ener- 171 thereof is displaced to its uppermost position and connects the lead 173 to the source of electric power to energize the solenoid 25 in the driving unit A. The cores 17 and all the actuator bars 11 are thereby submitted to the magnetic field of solenoid 25 striving to displace all the actuator bars 11 towards the right as seen in FIG. 1. The actuators of the three lowest orders corresponding to the orders, in which abutment pieces have been fed into active position in the

frames

5, 0 and 7 are thus displaced until they are stopped by these abutment pieces. The remaining actuators of the decimal orders superior to the highest order, in which an abutment piece has been set, are blocked by the following mechanism. The return carriage 63 is during setting of the abutment pieces displaced towards the left (in FIG. 2) by the abutment piece of the highest order in the figure set in the abutment B. The other return carriages in the other frames are displaced the same amount because the carriages 63 are interconnected by the portion 77 of the cranked end of shaft 71. Shaft 71 is thus always rotated from its extreme right end position a shown in mixed lines in FIG. 2 an angle corresponding to the number of decimal orders occupied by the figure set on the key board. Beneath the forward end of the actuator bars 11 shaft 71 has another cranked end portion 175, FIG. 1, the end of which engages a vertical slot in a slide 177. The upper end of said slide is connected to one end link of a chain, diagrammatically shown at 179, from which the chain extends towards the left side of the machine (at the rear of the view of FIG. 1) and is there guided round and downwards. This chain extends behind abutments 181 extending downwards from the foremost ends of the actuator bars. Thus, when slide 177 takes a position corresponding to the position of the return carriages 63 in the frames 27, all the actuators to the left of the highest order of the figure set up on the key board are prevented from being displaced by the magnetic field of solenoid '25 by the cooperation of the abutments 181 with the chain 179. The slide 177 is also shown to support a pointer 183 or like marking member, which is displaceable together with the slide 177 and is visible from the front of the machine through the adjacent portion 185 of the housing, which for this purpose is made transparent or provided with an opening with or without protective glass. A scale, preferably printed on the housing at the inside of the transparent portion 185, on the protective glass or on the housing adjacent the opening therein permits an immediate reading of the position of the highest order of the figure set, as indicated by the pointer 181. In the example described, thus only the actuator bars of the three lowest orders will be displaced by the field of solenoid 25 to sense the abutment pieces representing the figure 507. During this displacement the register 159 is admitted to be in the rest position, in which its register wheels are out of engagement with the racks 161. When the movable contact 171 of the contactor 169 descends under action of a restoring spring not shown or the like, which movement is moderated to a speed appropriate for the performing of the functions described hereinafter by a pneumatic braking piston 187, it connects the leader 189 to the electromagnet 163 of the register, by which the wheels thereof are engaged with the racks 161. Simultaneously the leader 191 to the printing electromagnet 103 is connected, thereby effecting the printing of the amount 507 represented by the position of the actuator bars 11 on the paper strip in the following manner. In energizing solenoid 103 the pins 99 are pressed upwards against the actuator bars and the printing platen 117 is attracted downwards and out of cylinder 107 through the slot 109 so as to press a sling of the paper strip out through said slot and print the amount set up by the printing types in the printing position on the paper strip 119. Simultaneously with the downwards movement of the printing platen 117 the arm is turned in the counter-clockwise direction so that most of the paper sling formed through the slot 109 is taken from the portion of the strip situated at the right side of the printing platen. When the figure is printed, platen 117 is restored to its upper position by means not shown, for example springs, and the arm 125 is returned to its initial position, thereby feeding the paper strip and stretching out the sling thereof so, that the printed figure will appear through the transparent cylinder 107 immediately above the edge of the housing 193. In the next printing operation the space between the previously printed figure anda new figure printed on the strip will become less than the space between the showing station above housing 193 and the strip under the platen 117 along the inside of the cylinder 107 because the sling formed in the paper strip formed during the printing operation will be taken mostly from the portion of the strip lying in this space. Thus the printing can be effected from printing type placed directly on the actuator bars on a paper strip at the underside of a printing platen without necessitating complicated feeding devices for feeding the paper strip first back to printing position and then forward to showing position.

When the printing is thus effected and the register 159 is engaged with the rack 161, the contact 171 of the contactor reaches its third position, in which a leader 193 is connected to the source of power, whereby the solenoid 23 of the driving unit is energized. The actuator bars, previously displaced, are thereby returned to their initial position by the field of solenoid 23 and during this movement the figures corresponding to the reutrn stroke of the actuator bars are entered in the corresponding orders of the register in the additive sense, which in the example illustrated corresponds to the counter-clockwise rotation of the register wheels 159. In the continued descent of the contact member 171 of the contactor 169, a leader 195 is connected to the source of power, whereby the electromagnet 163 of the register for returning the register wheels to the rest position out of engagement with the racks 161 is energized. At the end of each operation the emptying solenoid 85 (FIG. 2) is energized through normally closed contacts 197 (FIG. 1) whereby the feed racks and locking racks 41 in all the frames 27 are lowered and all the balls are returned to the store grooves 37 by the spring actioned return carriages 63. If an error has been made during setting the amount on the numeral keys correction can be made before depressing the addition key by depressing the correction key C, whereby a relay 199 is energized, which closes normally open contacts in an otherwise direct connection between solenoid 85 and the source of power, whereby the emptying operation last described is effected without entering the amount set in the registers. The correct amount can thereafter be set anew.

If instead of depressing the addition key marked the subtraction key marked is depressed after setting the amount on the numeral keys. The solenoid 201 of the subtraction contactor 203 is energized, the movable contact member 205 of which connects the different leaders in the following sequence: (a) leader 189 to electromagnet 163 for engaging register with racks 161, (b) leader 173 to driving solenoid 25 for displacing the actuator bars 11 towards the right, whereby the figures corresponding to the abutment pieces previously set in active position are entered into the register in the negative sense, the actuator bars in the orders superior to the highest order of the amount set being blocked by chain 179, leader 191 to printing solenoid 103 to effect the printing of the amount entered on the paper strip 119, (d) leader 195 to the electromagnet 163 of the register for disengaging the register wheels 159 from the racks 161 and (e) leader 193 to solenoid 23 for the restoring of the actuator bars to their initial rest position. A contact means not shown closed automatically at the end of each operation energizes solenoid 85 for emptying the abutment mechanism in the block of frames 27. This contact means is shunted by the normally open circuit passing through the normally open relay 199. The circuit connecting this automatic contact means with solenoid 85 passes through normally closed contacts of a relay 207. When a repeat key marked x is depressed before depressing the addition key or the subtraction key, relay 207 is energized, thereby opening its contacts and disconnecting said automatic contact means from solenoid 85, so that the abutment mechanism is not emptied from any set amount, which then can be reentered a desired number of times by depression of the addition or subtraction 10 key. Of course means are provided to keep the contacts of relay 207 open as long as the same amount is to be entered into the register, but as such means are generally known and of many different kinds, there is no need for a detailed description thereof.

For extracting a result accumulated in the register and simultaneously emptying the register the total key marked and the subtraction key marked are depressed. The total key, when depressed, energizes an electromagnet 209, which attracts the zero stop of the register into active position. The depression of the subtraction key starts the subtraction process above described with the difference, that no stop pieces are set in the paths of the actuator bars 11. Further means not illustrated are provided to make the locking chain 179 at the forward end of the actuators inactive. By means of the contactor 203 the register is engaged in the racks 161. Then the actuators are displaced towards the right until each of the register wheels 159 is stopped in its zero position, thereby stopping the corresponding actuator bars in a position corresponding to the figure that was accumulated in the register. Thereafter this amount is printed by the printing unit C the register is disengaged from the racks, and the actuator bars are returned to their initial position by solenoid 23 of the driving unit A.

If a subtotal is to be taken, is. if the amount accumulated in the register is to be extracted without emptying the register, the subtotal key marked [1 and the subtraction key are depressed. By depressing the subtotal key the electromagnet 211 is energized which not only moves the zero stop 165 to active position but also opens a contact 213 inserted in the leader 195. Then the above described sum extracting process is performed with the difference, that the register wheels 159 after their rotation to the zero position are not disengaged by energizing the disengaging electromagnet 163 through the leader 195, which is interrupted, but remain in engagement with the racks also during the return strokes of the actuator bars 11, so that the amount extracted from the register is reentered into it. In practical execution the keys will be combined in such manner, that the subtraction key is automatically depressed when the total key or the subtotal key are depressed, but such means belong to old and known techniques of the art.

Though the invention in the foregoing description has been illustrated by an example of construction according to the main principles of the invention, it is clear, that the means for actioning the actuator bars by a common magnetic field can be of other construction. FIG. 6 illustrates an example of another such embodiment, in which the actuator bars 215 are actioned each by an arm 217 pivotally mounted on a transverse shaft 219 near the bottom of the machine, each of these arms being near its lower end formed into a rotor element 221 magnetically actuated by one or the other of two magnetic fields produced by one or the other of two

solenoids

223 and 225 common for all the arms and their rotor elements 221. The actuator bars are, as in the foregoing example, guided for longitudinal displacement and provided at their forward ends with printing type bars 227. Instead of placing the register for cooperation with the actuator bars in the portion thereof, in which they are actioned for their displacement, the register 229 is, according to FIG. 6 arranged to cooperate with a rack 231, which in the same manner as the toothed bar 129 of FIG. 4 is mounted under the type bar 227. Rack 231 is, however, longer than the type =bar, i.e, longer than the maximum longitudinal stroke of the actuator bar 215, so that the register can be placed besides the printing unit diagrammatically illustrated at 233 in FIG. 6. In all other respects concerning construction and working the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 6 can be similar to the embodiment previously described and illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 5. The arrangement according to FIG. 6 of the driving solenoids and registers permits a more space saving construction,

especially concerning the .ength of the machine, as there is no need to provide space for two elongated solenoids with necessary space between them between the abutment mechanism unit B and the printing unit C.

Though the previous embodiments are concerned with machines with only one register and only one printing means, it is clear, that the principles of the invention also can be applied to a machine having several registers and printing units of difierent kinds and completed for their special purposes by further units, such as memory registers and the like. FIG. 7 illustrates diagrammatically an embodiment of a machine for the printing of amounts on checks, vouchers, bonds and the like, for registering the printed amounts in one or several registers, for performing calculating operations with said amounts, for registering certain amounts or results of such operations into memory registers and for satisfying most requirements demanded from such machines for banks, post offices and the like in an extremely simple manner.

In this embodiment illustrated in FIG. 7 there are straight, horizontal, longitudinally displaceable actuator bars 235 actioned for longitudinal displacement by a common magnetic field produced by a solenoid or solenoid system 237, an abutment mechanism unit 239 at the rear end of the actuator bars, and a printing unit 241 at the portion of the bars situated forwardly of the solenoid 237, this printing unit being provided for printing the amounts registered on a paper strip 243 unwound from a store roller 245. This paper strip is fed to the outside of the machine through a special printing device 247 known per se for the printing of data and designations on the strip. At the forward end of the actuator bar 235 there is a second type bar 24% for a printing unit actioned by an electromagnet 251 for printing amounts on a paper (check, bond, voucher or the like) inserted in a paper guide 253. in the space between the solenoid 237 and the abutment mechanism 239 the actuator bars are provided with racks 255 at their underside and with type bars 257 at their upper sides. in cooperation with said type oars there is a further printing unit 25% for printing amounts and results on a paper strip wound from a store roller 261 on a take up roller 263 through the printing unit 259 and through a printing device 265 for printing data or the like. This third printing unit and the paper strip rollers for the same can be locked up within the machine casing, so that they are not accessible to the oeprator but only to persons specially detached to the examination and verification of the operations performed on the machine. At the underside of the actuator bars 235 in cooperation with their racks 2535 there is place for a number of registers, each for the registration of all or selected amounts entered into the machine or results obtained from calculating operations performed, for example registers 267 representing ditierent accounts. As the printing units, the cooperation of the registers each individually or in groups with the actuator bars, the setting of amounts in the abutment mechanism unit 239 and the performance of the operation are all controlled electrically, there are no other limitations for the disposition of the different units according to the present invention than the necessity of saving space and of permitting access to certain parts of the machine.

As an example of further units, which can be combined with the machine according to the'invention and which also can be constructed according to the main principles of the invention, FIG. 7; shows below the actuator bars 235a further series of similar bars 26h longitudinally displaceable by a common solenoid 271. At their rear ends the bars 269 by means of vertical arms 273 support sensing pins 275 placed in the axial prolongation of the actuator bars behind the abutment mechanism 23h and adapted to sense the abutment pieces therein or the rear ends if the actuator bar's within the abutment mechanism from the rear thereof. The forward ends of the bars 269 cooperate with memory registers 277, which form a block vertically displaceable to bring the desired one of these memories in alignment with the bars 269. In each of these registers there are abutment pieces, one for each bar 259, i.e. one for each decimal order of the machine, which abutments are adapted to be displaced into positions corresponding to the numeric value corresponding to the axial displacement of the corresponding bar 269. When an amount set on the abutment pieces in the abutment mechanism 239 is to be entered in one of the memory registers 277, the block of these registers is displaced to bring the desired register 277 in the alignment of the bars 269, thereafiter the solenoid 271 is energized to displace the bars 26% towards the left whereby the bars by means of the sensing pins 275 sense the abutment pieces in the mechanism 239 and displace the abutments in the memory registers 277 into corresponding positions. The amount thus registered in 277 can at any time be transferred to the actuator bars 235 by displacing the bars 269 by means of the solenoid 271 into contact with the abutments in the memory register and by sensing the ends of the sensing pins 275 by the actuator bars, of course with the necessary correction due to the absence of abutment pieces between the pins 275 and the actuators 2-35. In a similar manner, an amount represented by the positions of the actuator bars 235, for example when taking a total from any of the registers 267, can be entered by the bars 269 into any of the memory registers 277, the pins sensing directly the ends of the actuator bars within the abutment mechanism 239. In this case, of course, correction must also be made for the absence of abutment pieces between the pins 275 and the actuator bars 235.

What I claim is:

l. in a calculating machine of the reduced keyboard type, comprising a keyboard for setting abutments in an abutment mechanism into positions corresponding to the numeral values of the depressed keys in the desired digital orders of the machine, sensing means displaceable for sensing the positions of said abutments in each of said digital orders, actuator means on said sensing means, one or more registers displaceable into and out of engagement with said actuator means, means for producing one or more power fields, a number of said sensing and actuator. means placed under the simultaneous influence of each of said fields for their simultaneous and individual displacement varying strokes into engagement with said abutments and back into initial position, control means for energizing said power field or fields and for engaging and disengaging said register or registers with said actuator means in the sequence prescribed for the performance of the calculating and registering operations to be performed.

2. in a calculating machine, of the reduced keyboard type, comprising a keyboard for setting abutments in an abutment mechanism in positions corresponding to the numeral values of the depressed keys in the desired digital orders of the machine, sensing means displaceable for sensing the positions of said abutments in each of said digital orders, actuator means on said sensing means, one or more registers displaceable into and out of engagement with said actuator means, solenoids for producing one or more magnetic fields, all the sensing and actuator means being placed under the simultaneous influence of one or more of said fields for their simultaneous, individual and resilient displacement varying strokes into engagement with said abutment means and back into 'initial position, electrical control means operated by said keyboard for energizing said solenoids and controlling other functions of the machine in the sequence prescribed for the performance of the calculating and registering operations to be performed.

3. In a calculating machine of the reduced keyboard type, comprising a keyboard for setting abutments in an abutment mechanism in positions corresponding to the numeral values of the depressed keys in the desired digital orders of the machine, actuator bars displaceable for sensing the positions of said abutments in each of said digital orders, racks on said actuator bars, one or more registers displaceable into and out of engagement With said racks, electromagnet armatures formed by or in connection with each of said actuator bars, one or more solenoids for producing one or more magnetic fields acting each on several of the armatures for resiliently and independently displacing said actuator bars varying strokes into engagement with said abutments and back into initial position, electrical control means operated by said keyboard for energizing said solenoid or solenoids and for controlling other functions of the machine in the sequence prescribed for the performance of the calculating and registering operations to be performed.

4. In a calculating machine of the reduced keyboard type, comprising an abutment mechanism, having a number of fixed guides in parallel arrangement besides each other and in each of said guides a number of abutment pieces equal to the number of digital orders of the machine, each of said fixed guide corresponding to a numeric value, a keyboard comprising ten contact operating numeral keys, feed means for each of said fixed guides operated by electromagnetic operating means when energized by depression of a numeral key to feed an abutment piece only in the guide corresponding to the numeral key depressed from a storing portion of said guide into a sensing portion of said guide and to displace the abutment pieces previously fed into the sensing portion of any other fixed guide to a position corresponding to the next higher digital order of the machine, sensing means displaceable cross the sensing portions of the fixed guides for sensing the positions of the abutment pieces fed into sensing positions in said guide portions, actuator means on said sensing means, one or more registers displaceable into and out of engagement With said actuator means, solenoids for producing one or more magnetic fields acting alternately on all the sensing and actuator means together for resiliently displacing said sensing means varying strokes into engagement with said abutment pieces and back into initial position, electrical control means operated by contact operating control keys in said keyboard for energizing said solenoids and register operating means in sequence prescribed for performing the calculating and registering operations to be performed.

5. In a calculating machine of the reduced keyboard type comprising a keyboard for setting abutments in an abutment mechanism in positions corresponding to the numeral values of the depressed keys in the desired digital orders of the machine, actuator bars displaceable for sensing the positions of said abutments in each of said digital orders, racks on said actuator bars, one or more registers displaceable into and out of engagement With said racks, solenoids producing one or more magnetic fields acting each separately on all the actuator bars together for resiliently displacing said bars varying strokes into engagement with said abutments and back into initial positions, rows of printing types upon each of said actuator bars longitudinally thereof, printing means for printing the printing types situated in a row transverse of the actuator bars on a registering strip, electromagnetic operating means for operating said printing mechanism, electrical control means operated by control keys in said keyboard for energizing said solenoids and said electromagnetic register and printing operation means in the sequence prescribed for the performance of the calculating and registering operations to be performed.

6. In a calculating machine of the reduced keyboard type comprising a keyboard for setting abutments in an abutment mechanism in positions corresponding to the numeral values of the depressed keys in the desired digital orders of the machine, actuator bars displaceable for sensing the positions of said abutments in each of said digital orders, racks on said actuator bars, one or more registers displaceable into and out of engagement with said racks, solenoids for producing one or more magnetic fields acting each separately on all the actuator bars together for resiliently displacing said bars varying strokes into engagement with said abutments and back into initial position, rows of printing types upon each of said actuator bars longitudinally thereof, printing means for printing types situated in a row transverse of the actuator bars on a registering strip, said printing means comprising a hollow cylindrical, transparent guide for the paper strip, a reciprocable feed member for feeding said strip into said cylinder peripherally along a portion of the inside of said cylinder and out of said cylinder and a printing platen movable parallel with the row of types to be printned towards said types through a longitudinal slot in said cylinder, electromagnetic operating means for operating said printing mechanism comprising an electromagnet solenoid attracting, when energized, a number of individual supports each against the actuator bars beneath the row of types to be printed and said printing platen towards each other, electrical control means operated by control keys in said keyboard for energizing said solenoids and operating means in the sequence prescribed for the performance of the calculating and registering operations to be performed.

7. In a calculating machine of the reduced keyboard type comprising an abutment mechanism having a number of fixed guides in parallel arrangement besides each other and in each of said guides a number of abutment pieces equal to the number of digital orders of the machine, electromagnetic operating means in each guide controlled each by one of the contact operating numeral keys in a keyboard for feeding an abutment piece in the guide corresponding to the value of the numeral key depressed from a store portion into a sensing portion of said guide into the path of motion of a sensing member of the lowest order, common feeding means in all guides operated upon depression of any numeral key for feeding abutment pieces previously fed into the sensing portion of their guide into the path of motion of the sensing member of the next higher order, actuator means on said sensing means, one or more registers displaceable into and out of engagement with said actuator means, electromagnetic operating means for displacing said register or registers, solenoids for producing one or more magnetic fields acting each on all the sensing and actuator means together for resiliently displacing said sensing means varying strokes into engagement with said abutment pieces and back into initial position, electrical control means operated by contact operating control keys in said keyboard for energizing said solenoids and electromagnetic operating means in the sequence prescribed for the performance of the calculating and registering operations to be performed.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 988,327 Foster Apr. 4, 1911 2,293,127 Fishack et al. Aug. 18, 1942 2,738,128 Bilde Mar. 13, 1956 2,812,906 Reppert Nov. 12, 1957 2,847,528 Combs Aug. 12, 1958

Claims

1. IN A CALCULATING MACHINE OF THE REDUCED KEYBOARD TYPE, COMPRISING A KEYBOARD FOR SETTING ABUTMENTS IN AN ABUTMENT MECHANISM INTO POSITIONS CORRESPONDING TO THE NUMERAL VALUES OF THE DEPRESSED KEYS IN THE DESIRED DIGITAL ORDERS OF THE MACHINE, SENSING MEANS DISPLACEABLE FOR SENSING THE POSITIONS OF SAID ABUTMENTS IN EACH OF SAID DIGITAL ORDERS, ACTUATOR MEANS ON SAID SENSING MEANS, ONE OR MORE REGISTERS DISPLACEABLE INTO AND OUT OF ENGAGEMENT WITH SAID ACTUATOR MEANS, MEANS FOR PRODUCING ONE OR MORE POWER FIELDS, A NUMBER OF SAID SENSING AND ACTUATOR MEANS PLACED UNDER THE SIMUTANEOUS INFLUENCE OF EACH OF SAID FIELDS FOR THEIR SIMULTANEOUS AND INDIVIDUAL DISPLACEMENT VARY-