US552675A

US552675A - Voting-machine

Info

Publication number: US552675A
Authority: US
Publication date: 1896-01-07
Anticipated expiration: 1913-01-07

Description

(No Model.) 7 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

G. J. SW EY. VOTING M INE.

No. 552,575. v Patented Jan. 7, 1896.

2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

(No Model.)

I Em EA M M .1 JT 0 V No. 552,575. Patented J55 7,1895.

UNITED STATES PAT NT OFFICE.

GEORGE JAY SW'EENEY, OF PETALUMA, CALIFORNIA.

VOTING-MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 552,675, dated January '7, 1896.

Application filed April 22, 1895.

To (All whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE J AY SWEENEY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Petaluma, county of Sonoma, State of California, have invented an Improvement in Voting- Machines; and I hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same.

My invention relates to the class of votingmachines; and it consists of a casin g, which is preferablya transparent one, as of glass, said casing having within it one or more rotatable cylinders, to the peripheries of which is secured a voting,or, as it may be called, a tally sheet, the spaces upon which are adapted to be successively brought into alignment with an overlying slot or opening in the casing; a sliding stamp mounted upon the casing beside said slot and adapted to operate through it to leave its impression upon the underlying tallysheet; means for intermittently rotating the cylinder to present fresh spaces of the tallyshcet to the action of the stamp, and other details of construction, combination and arrangement, all of which I shall hereinafter fully describe and specifically claim.

The object of my invention is to provide a machine by which the voter is enabled to register his vote for each candidate directly upon the tally-sheet, thereby saving the time used in reading out the votes after the election is over and tallying them by hand; also to provide for avoiding mistakes of carelessness, ignorance,or dishonesty; to minimize the time of voting and to economize in the cost, generally, of holding an electiomas well as to enable returns to be made in the shortest possible time and subsequent recounts to be had.

Referring to the accompanying drawings for a more complete explanation of my invention, Figure 1 is a perspective view myvotingmachine. Fig. 2 is a cross-section through the stamp and cylinder. Fig. 3 is a vertical section showing the end stamp and means for intermittently rotating the cylinder. Fig. 4: is a view of the tally-sheet.

A is a casing of any suitable shape and dimensions. It may be made of any suitable material though a transparent material, such as glass, is to be preferred, in order that the simple mechanism may be exposed to view.

\Vithin the casing is mounted upon a hori- Serial No. 546,764. (No model.)

zontal axle b a cylinder B which is adapted to be rotated intermittently, and for accuracy in limiting itsmovement it is controlled by a central spring Z2 which causes it to hold firmly against the pawl which effects its operation, and which I shall hereinafter describe.

A crank b on the end of the axle may be used to initially set the cylinder or to rotate it by hand upon occasion for such operation arising. There may be one or more of these cylinders within the casing A, and for the purpose of illustration 1 have here shown two, which, together with parts to be hereinafter described, are mere duplicates of each other, whereby more than one voter may be accommodated at the same time, and being duplicates it will only be necessary for me to describe one of these sets of devices.

Upon the top of the casing A, running transversely upon it and in plain sight of the Voter, is a strip 0, with the names of the candidates and the political parties to which they belong plainly printed thereon. Beside this list or model strip is a groove or way din which is fitted and adapted to slide a stamp D, adapted to operate down through a slot a in the easing and upon the tally or voting sheet E which is secured to and wrapped around the cylinder B.

The stamp D has a pointer (Z by which its position is regulated with regard to the names on the list 0, over which said list the pointer plays. This stamp is freely movable by hand, and slides throughout the entire length of the groove and slot, so as to operate upon the entire width of the tally-sheet E on the cylinder below.

At the end of the slot to is fixed upon the casing a stationary stamp F, with the word Voted upon it. It is intended that the offioer in charge of the machine shall press down this stamp himself to make the word Voted, indicating by its position on the tally-sheet that the elector has properly voted. This the offioer does only after being satisfied that the proceedings are formal and regular, and this same operation of the stamp F at the end of the slot is made to effect the further purpose of turning the cylinder B so as to cause the tally-sheet to present a fresh space under the slot to ready for the next voter. This operation is effected by the following means: Upon the end of the cylinder B is a ratchet b and with this engages an actuating-pawl f, carried by a pivoted leverf, which is mounted within the fixed portion of the frame of the stamp F. The lever f is controlled by a spring f and is operated by the vertically-movable portion f of the frame of the stamp and a switchtongue f therein, as follows: The upper end of the lever f has a stud or pin f which, when the portion f of the stamp moves downwardly, travels against a straight wall. thereof until it passes the end of the switch-tongue f Upon the upper movement of the portion f of the stamp this stud will be deflected by the inclined switch-tongue, and the lower end of the lever f will thereby be moved so that the pawl f engaging one of the teeth of the ratchet I) of the cylinder will move said cylinder one space, and as soon as the stud leaves the switch-tongue the spring f will return the lever f to normal. position. Thus upon each operation of the stamp l at the end of the slot the cylinder 'ill be moved one tooth to cause the tally-sheet to present a fresh space for the next voter. This necessary operation of the cylinder is announced by means of a bell or gong G, which is operated upon by a striker g actuated by an arm g by which the teeth of the ratchet of the cylinder successively play.

The tally or voting sheets E are made with transverse spaces 6 to receive the impression of the stamp, and they have margins c for attachment to the cylinder. They have also a column 6 for party names and candidates. They have also a space 6 for numeral totals, and a space 6 for written totals, a space 0 at one end for the election-officers signatures, and a space 6" at the other end for the official heading. I prefer to use two or more of these sheets on each cylinder, separated by carbon or other manifolding paper, whereby any number of tally-sheets may be made by the same operation.

His a screen which separates the voter from the election officers, and I is a screen which separates voters operating; different cylinders at the same time from each other.

The operation of the machine is as follows: The tally or voting sheets E being mounted upon the cylinder and set at the startingpoint, a voter is admitted, and taking hold of the stamp D votes successively for his candidates, as he runs the stamp down its way, regulating its position bymeans of its pointer over the model list C. lVhen he reaches the end of the voting, the officer of election, having become satisfied of the regularity of the proceedings, then operates his own stamp F, by which he is enabled to stamp the word Voted upon the tally-sheet in the same space that the voter has voted, but at the end thereof. As this stamp springs back it causes the cylinder to turn one space, as heretofore mentioned, thus turning the voting-marks just made away from position and bringing a new blank space into position under the slot ready for the next voter. The bell or gong is sounded at the same time, and indicates that the voting space under the slot has been changed.

Having thus described my invent ion, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A voting machine, consisting of a rotatable cylinder across the upper face of which extends a suitably spaced voting or tally sheet, a casing for the cylinder having in its upper face contiguous to and parallel with the voting sheet a transverse groove, a stamp slidably mounted in said groove, having a pointer adapted to operate over the names on said sheet, a spring for raising the stamp after it has been depressed to register the vote, and a second stamp fixed at the end. of the groove and having a connection with the cylinder whereby when said second stamp is operated the cylinder is operated to present a new s1 awe of the sheet to the action of the stamp.

2. A voting machine consisting of a casing having a transverse groove or way formed in its upper surface, a strip secured contiguous thereto and bearing the names of the persons to be voted for, a ratchet on the end of the cylinder, a stamp slidably mounted in said groove and havinga pointer adapted to operate over the names on said sheet, a second stamp at the end of the groove, a fulcrumed lever in the path of the movement of the second stamp, adapted to be operated by said second stamp, and means whereby when the second stamp is operated the cylinder is retated to present a new space of the sheet to the action of the stamps.

3. A voting machine consisting of a rotatable cylinder having a suitably spaced voting or tally sheet upon its upper surface, a groove or way extending transversely across the top of the cylinder, a vertically disposed stamp mounted to slide in said groove, with a spring acting upon its stem to hold it normally elevated, a pointer on the stamp to operate over the tally sheet, a second spring-actuated stamp fixed at the end of the groove and means for intermittently rotating the cylinder consisting of a ratchet on the cylinder, and a lever having one end in the path of and operated by the second stamp, and having its opposite end provided with a pawl adapted to engage the ratchet and turn the roller at each operation of the second stamp, whereby a new space is presented to the action of the stamps.

4. In a voting machine, the combination of a rotatable cylinder having upon it a suitably spaced voting or tally sheet, a slidable stamp adapted to operate upon the spaces of the veting or tally sheet, and a means for intermittently turning the cylinder to present a fresh space to the action of a stamp, consisting of a ratchet on the end of the cylinder, a springcontrolled pawl engaging the ratchet, and means for operating the pawl consisting of a slidable frame, a switch tongue in said frame,

and a pivoted lever carrying the pawl and adapted to be vibrated by means of the sliding frame and its switch tongue.

5. A voting machine consisting of a rotatable cylinder having a transverse groove or way, a stamp slidable in said groove and having a pointer, a voting or tally sheet contiguous to and parallel with the groove or way, having a series of transverse spaces to receive the impressions of the stamp, said sheet having also a column of party names and candidates, a space for numeral totals, a space for written totals, and spaces at opposite ends for signatures and heading, a second stamp and means operated thereby to cause the cylinder to be intermittently rotated to present a new surface of the sheet to the action of the stamp.

(5. A voting machine consisting of a rotatable cylinder carrying the voting or tally sheet, with suitable spaces thereon, a fixed way or guide, a sliding stamp moving on the fixed way or guide and operating upon the spaces of the voting or tally sheet, a stationary stamp adapted to operate upon the same space of the tally sheet as the slidable stamp, and the means for intermittently moving the cylinder to present a fresh space to the action of the stamps, consisting of the ratchet on the end of the cylinder, the springcontrolled lever and its actuating pawl carried by the fixed portion of the frame of the stationary stamp, the reciprocating portion of the frame of said stamp, and the switch tongue in said portion adapted to vibrate the lever of the actuating pawl.

7. A voting machine consisting of a casing having in its top a model list of candidates, &c., a groove or Way and a slot, a cylinder mounted within the casing and carrying the voting or tally sheets properly spaced, said cylinder having a ratchet at one end, a stamp mounted and adapted to slide in the groove or way of the casing and having a pointer playing over the model list, said stamp 0perating through the slot of the casing upon the spaces of the voting or tally sheet, a stationary stamp adapted to operate through the slot in the casin g upon the same spaces of tally sheet, the lever and actuating pawl carried by said stamp and engaging the ratchet of the cylinder, and the reciprocating portion of said stamp having the switch tongue by which the lever is vibrated to actuate the pawl.

S. A voting machine consisting of a casing having a slot in its top and a slidable stamp mounted on said casing and operating through the slot, a cylinder Within the casing having the voting or tally sheet secured to it, ameans comprising a fixed vertically mounted stamp, a pivoted lever and a pawl carried thereby for intermittently rotating the cylinder to present a fresh space of the voting or tally sheet to the action of the stamp, a gong or bell removed from the stamps and having a striker and the ratchet on the end of the cylinder for operating said striker when the cylinder is turned.

' In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

GEORGE JAY SlVEENEY.

\Vitnesses THOMAS C. DENNY, \VM. B. HASKELL.