US531852A - Voting-machine - Google Patents

Description

5.Sheets-Sheet 1.'.

Patented Jan. 1, 1895.

`IJ Q INVENTDR INIT-jl;-

Lgt

J. MOTAMMANY.

VoTNG MACHINE.

(No Model.)

(No Model.) 5 Sheets-Sheet 2.

J. MGTAMMANY. VUTING MACHINE.

No. 531,852. Patented Jan. 1,1895.

WITNEEIEEE! NVENTRI (No Model.) a 5 Sheets-Sheet 3. J. MOTAMMANY.

VOTING MACHINE. No. 531,852. Patented Jan. l, 1895.

(No Model.) 5 Sheets-Sheet 4. J. MGTAMMANY.

VOTING MACHINE. No. 531,852. Patentedan. 1, 1895.

\X/I`TNE55EES INVENTD R I f/4u@ j l 'i l (No Model.) vsheetssneet 5, J. MGTAMMANY.

VOTING MACHINE.

No. 531,852. Patented Jan. l, 1895.

@www un MTN E55 ESI INVENTUR:

NITED STATES PATENT Gerlos.

JOHN MCTAMMANY, OF SPENCER, MASSACHUSETTS.

VOTING-MACHINE SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 531,852, dated January 1,1895.

Application iilcd March 3, 1894.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN MCTAMMANY, of

, Spencer, in the county of Worcester and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and usefullmprovements in Voting-Machines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to an improvement in voting machines, the principal objects being to simplify the construction, to compact the mechanism, to guard effectually against fraudulent manipulation, to prevent repeating, and to provide for quickly restoring the registering mechanism to its initial adjustment to adapt it for caucus uses.

To the above ends, the invention consists in a number of novel constructions, arrangements, and combinations of parts, which are enumerated in the appended claims and specifically described hereinafter.

The accompanying drawings, which form part of the specification, illustrate a machine embodying the invention.

Figure l shows a top plan view of the inachine, with the outside casing in section. Fig. 2 shows an elevation of one end with the casing in section. Fig. 3 shows an elevation of the opposite end, the casing being omitted. Fig. 4 shows a central longitudinal section. Fig. 5 shows a front elevation of the machine, with the casing in section. Fig. 5a shows a front elevation of parts appearing in Fig. 5, under a diiferent adjustment than they appear in said figure. Fig. 6 shows a section on line 6 6 of Fig. t. Fig. 7 shows a rear elevation of the machine, with the casing broken away. Fig. S shows a perspective view of the machine.

The supporting frame of the machine coniprises a horizontal platform, a, front and rear legs, a, and stay rods, a2. A number of registering wheels, b, occupy slots in the platform, and are all loosely mounted on a shaft, b', whose ends are supported in eccentrics, b2, which rest on stationary supporting beds, bs. It will be seen that by turning these eccentries the wheels will be simultaneously raised or lowered. Springs, 57, tend to hold the wheels down, said springs being fastened to the platform, a. Each wheel has a pin, b4, projecting on one side, and a plate, c, extends crosswise of the platform and is arranged to l slide thereon toward and from the registering Serial No. 502,171. (No model.)

wheels. Said plate is formed with slots, c', to embrace the wheels when the plate is in its forward position, in which position it constitutes a stop for the pins, b4, to abut for determining the initial or Zero position of the wheels. This sliding plate is connected by rods, c2, with the eccentrics, b2, so that when the latter are turned in a direction to elevate the wheels, the plate will be moved forward, and vice versa. The peri pheries ofthe wheels are toothed, and engaged by worms, c3, on shafts, c4, and when said wheels are elevated by the eccentrics they are disengaged from said worms and may be freely turned. This construction provides ready means for restoring the wheels quickly to their initial position without having to wind back the mechanism, and will be found particularly advantageous for caucus uses. A handle, c5, affixed to one of the eccentrics, affords ready means for turning the same.

Each wheel, l), carries a pinion, d, which meshes with a registering wheel, d', having twice as inanyteeth as thepinion,the arrangement being such as to make each registering mechanism capable of recording eight hundred votes by two complete revolutions of the wheel, l). Pointers, d2 and d3, extend over the wheels, b and d respectively, to indicate the number of votes, the said wheels being suitably inscribed with numbers, as shown.

In the machine here shown, provision is made for voting any one of three different straight party tickets,and also for voting on some question, as, for instance, the question of license, where Yes7 or No is required as an answer. Hence five registering mechanisms are employed.

The voter casts his ballot by turning crankhandles connected with the mechanism, and for the sake of compactness and to avoid confusion the three cranks, e, for the party tickets are located in line above the two cranks, c', by which to vote Yes or No The three cranks, e, areconnccted with the wormshafts which engage their registering wheels by gears c3, and the cranks, c' are connected directly with the worm-shafts they control. In either case, one turn of a crank moves the registering wheel, l), in gear therewith, the extent of one tooth.

In order to insure against surreptitious rc- IOO moval of the crank-handles, and also for their removal by the proper authorities, the following construction is employed, reference being had more particularly to Figs. 1 and 4: The machine is inclosed in a casing,f, and the cranks are permanently attached to or formed with spindles, f adapted to be inserted through openings in the front of the casing and engage bearings, f2, on supports Within the casing. Confining the description to one of these cranks, all having the same construction, the inner part of its spindle is made tubular to embrace a bifurcated head, f 3, on the shaft with which said spindle connects, and a pin, f4, fastened crosswise in said tubular part of the spindle engages the bifurcation of the shaft so as to rotatively connect the latter with the crank. The crank-spindle is formed with an annular groove, f5, where it engages the bearing, f2; and a screw, f6, entered through said bearing engages said groove and locks the crank to the shaft. By this arrangement, the crank cannot be disconnected without gaining access to the interior of the casing, and only the proper authorities have such access, as will hereinafter appear.

Vhen the machine is not in use, the cranks are detached and are carried within the casing, the platform, a, being provided with holes, f7, to receive the spindles of said cranks.

Means are provided for locking all the registering mechanisms operated by the cranks, e, by a single complete turn of one of said cranks-to prevent repeating-as follows: Each of the shafts, c4,with which said cranks are in gear, carries a disk, g, having a shoul-` der, g', formed by a notch at one side, and also provided with a laterally projecting pin, g2. Ahorizontal slide, g3, supported in guides, g4, on the front of the supporting frame, has three rigid upward projecting arms, g5, one for each disk, and extending in the path of the pins, g2. Detents, g, in the form of bellcrank levers, are pivoted to the slide, g3, and

are adapted to be carried into position for engagement of their vertical arms with the shoulders, g', by movement of the slide g3, to the left. The horizontal arms of said detents constitute Weights to cause the vertical arms to take under the shoulders, g. Upon rotation of one of the cranks, the pin, g2, on the disk with which said crank is connected acts against one of the arms, g5, and thereby moves the slide to the left, carrying the detent for the turning disk against said disk so that when the latter has completed a revolution its shoulder will abut the said detent; and also carrying the other detents under the shoulders of the other disks. Thus all the registering mechanisms of the series are locked by the turning of any one of the cranks, e, and repeating is thus effectually prevented. The slide, g3, is actuated toward the right by a spring, g7, and when it is moved to the left as hereinbefore described, a latch, g8, drops behind the end of the slide and prevents said spring, g7, from retracting it. Said latch is arranged to slide vertically on screws, g, fastened in the supporting frame and engaging slots in the latch, and said latch is impelled downward by a spring, gw. The latch is notched in one side to form a shoulder, h, for engagement of a disk, h2, affixed on a shaft, h3, which extends to the back of the machine, where an arm, h, is affixed to it. A cord, h5, attached to said arm, 77,4, runs under a pulley, h6, and is under control of the supervisor, who when a Voter has voted pulls the cord, thereby turning the disk, 71,2, and lifting the latch, g8, which releases the slide, g5, and frees all the registering mechanism for the next vote. A spring, k7, raises the arm, 7L", when the supervisor relaxes the cord. (See Fig. 7.)

The devices for locking the mechanism operated by the cranks, e', are of similar construction to those for locking the mechanisms operated by the cranks, e. They are arranged at the back of the machine (see Fig. 7), and comprise notched disks, t', on the worm-shafts, c4, a spring-actuated slide, t", having arms, i2, to be acted on by pins on the disks, pivotal detents, 3, on the slide, a spring-actuated latch, 4, and a notched disk, t, on the shaft, h3. When the supervisor pulls the cord, h5, both slides, g3, and t', are released, and thus all the registering mechanisms of the machine freed.

Means are provided for striking a bell, j, when any one of the cranks is turned, the arrangement whereby this is accomplished being best shown in Fig. 6. Each of the wormshafts, c4, has afxed to it a notched disk, y", carrying a pin,j2, and a slide,j3, supported above said disks is provided with arms, j, standing in the paths of said pins, f. A rockshaft, j, carrying a bell-striker, j, has an arm, j", which bears against one of the arms, j4. A spring, js, tends to retract the striker, (i6, but a superior spring, j, holds the slide, j3, toward the left and the striker in .proximity to the bell. Vhen any one of the cranks is turned, the pin, 3'2, of the disk, j', connected with said crank, acts against one of the arms, 3'4, and moves the slide, ja, to the right, thus allowing the spring, jg, to move the striker away from the bell. When the pin passes the arm, the spring, j, pulls the slide quickly toward the left, and the striker is thrown against the bell and rebounds therefrom. Pawis, jm, prevent the disks from turning backward.

The casing of the machine receivesa removable cover, m, which is divided into three panels grooved to receive plates ot' glass, m', suitable space being provided below the glasses to receive cards, m2, upon which the names composing the tickets are printed. A rod, m3, run through the cover across the ends of the glass plates permits the insertion and removal of the cards without disturbing the glasses. The cover is fasten ed in the casingby aslidinglatch, n, tittingaguide on the under side of thecover and engaging under the front bar, n', of the casing and a springpressed bolt, n2, connected With said latch by a bar, ns, and engaging a hole in the rear side of the casing. (See Fig. 2.) rlhe latch, n, cannot be released except by a pull on the bolt, n2, and this bolt is only accessible at the rear of the casing, to which the voter has no access. This bolt may have any suitable provisions by which to exert a pull on it, as, for example, a hole to receive a hook. When the bolt is pulled out sufficiently to release the latch, the front end of the cover can be lifted up, and the cover then easily removed.

The casing is provided with hinged ends, o, which shut down over the cover.

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

1. A voting machine, comprising in its construction a plurality of registering mechanisms, a crank-handle for operating each registering mechanism,a rotary stop-piece in gear With each registering mechanism, a detent to co-act with each stop, a common support for all the detents, and means operated by a single rotation of any one of the crank-handles for moving the support and thereby all the detents to operative position.

2. A voting machine comprising in its construction a registering mechanism, a crankhandle for operating the same, a notched disk in gear with the registering mechanism, a detent, a movable supportl therefor Whose movement takes the detent into and out of position for engagement With the disk, and means for moving said support by a single rotation of the crank so as to move the detent into position for engagement With the disk.

3. A voting machine comprising in its construction a plurality of registering mechanisms, a crank-handle for operating each registering mechanism, a notched disk in gear with each registering mechanism, a detent for each disk, and a carrier supporting all the detents and operated by a single rotation of any one of the cranks to bring said detents to position for engagement with the disks.

4:. A voting machine comprising in its construction a registering mechanism, a crankhandle for operating the same, a rotary stoppiece in gear with the registering mechanism,

a detent to co-act with said stopand springheld in an inoperative position, means operated by asingle rotation of the crank-handle for moving the detent into operative position, a latch to lock the detent, and means for releasing the latch.

5. A voting machine comprising in its construction a plurality of registering mechanisms, a crank-handle for operating each registering mechanism, a rotary stop-piece in gear with each registering mechanism, a slide hav-` ing projections in the paths of the several rotary stops, detents supported by said slide and adapted to co-act with the rotary stops, a

latch to lock the slide, and means for releasing the latch.

6. A voting machine comprising in its construction a plurality of registering mechanisms, a crank-handle for operating each registering mechanism, a notched disk in gear with each registering mechanism and having a lateral projection, a slide having abutments in the paths of the lateral projections, detents pivoted to said slide and adapted to co-act with the notched disks, a retracting agent connected with the slide, a latch to lock the latter, and means for releasing said latch.

7. A voting machine comprising in its construction a plurality of registering mechanisms, a crank-handle for operating each registering mechanism, a rotary stop piece in gear with each registering mechanism, a slide having projections in the paths of the several rotary stops, detents supported by said slide and adapted to oo-act with the rotary stops, a spring-actuated latch to lock the slide, a turn-piece to release said latch, and means tor operating said turn-piece.

8. A voting machine comprising in its construction a plurality of registering mechanisms, a crank-handle for operating each mechanism, a bell, a striker, a spring-actuated slide co-acting With the said striker and having a plurality of abutment-projections, and rotary tripping devices in gear With the registering mechanisms, respectively, and adapted to act against said projections, substantially in the manner and for the purpose described.

9. A voting machine comprising in its construction a plurality of registering mechanisms, a crank-handle foroperating each mechanism, a bell, a striker, a spring-actuated slide co-acting with the said striker and having a plurality of abutment-projections, rotary notched disks in gear with the registering mechanisms, respectively, and provided with pins to act against the projections of the slide, and paWls engaging the said disks.

10. A voting machine comprising in its construction a registering wheel in a support movable to disconnect said Wheel from its actuating means, said Wheel having a proj ection to determine its initial position, a stop movable into the path of said projection, and means operatively connected with said stop for disconnecting the Wheel from its actuating means.

1l. Avoting machine comprising in its construction a registering Wheel in a support movable to disconnect said Wheel from its actuating means, said wheel having a projection to determine its initial position, a stop movable into the path of said projection, an eccentric on the movable Wheel-support and resting on a fixed surface, and suitable connections between said eccentric and the movable stop whereby they operate together, substantially as and for the purpose described.

l2. A voting machine comprising in its construction a plurality of registering Wheels ICO having projections to determine their initial In testimony whereof I have signed my position, a common support therefor movable name to this specification, in the presence of 1o to disconnect the said Wheels from their actutwo subscribing Witnesses, this 26th day of ating means, a stop-plate movable into the February, A. D. 1894:.

5 paths of the projections on the registering JOHN MCTAMMANY.

wheels, and means operatively connected Witnesses: with said stop-plate for disconnecting` the GEORGE H. MELLEN,

wheels from their actuating means. VILLIAM B. HARDING.

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