US688424A - Voting-machine. - Google Patents

Description

(No Model.)

Patented Dec. IU, I90I.

S. LOE.

VOTING MACHINE.

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l W [ma m 4 W if v 1 mh Il I No. 688,424. Patented Dec. lo, |901. s. LoE.

VOTING MACHINE.

(Application led' May 23, 1901.) (No Model.) 7 Sheets-Sheet 2.

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No. 688.424i Patented nec. m, wm.

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VOTING. MACHINE.

Application lsd May 28, 1901.1

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(No Model.)

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S. LOE.

VUTING MACHINE.

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No. 688,424. Patented Dec. I0, l90|.

S. LOE.

VOTING MACHINE.

Application led Muy 23, 1901.) (In Nudel.) 7 Sheets- Sheet 5.

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No.1688,424. Patented Dec. l0, |90I.

S. LOE.

VOTING MACHINE.

\Application filed May 23. 1901.) (no Model.) 7 sheets-Sheet 6.

No. 688,424. Patented Dec. l0, I90I. S. LOE.

VOTING MACHINE.

\Applica.tinn med May 23. 190LI (No Model.) 7 Sheets-Sheet 7.

EPU L OHBITION MAYOR EMocfrAT MAYon PRoH/lT/o/v TREASURER RsPuL/CAN TRsAsL/RER DEMOCRAT MAYOR MA YoR INDfPfNDf/vT I W m' www, CMM- UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

SYVER LOE, OF MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-IIALI1` TO OLAF HOFF, OF MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA.

VOTING-MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 688,424, dated December l, 1901.

Original application led March 25, 1901, Serial No. 52,755. Divided and this application filed May 23, 1901. Serial (No model.)

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, SYVER LOE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Minneapolis, in the county of Hennepin and State of Minnesota, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Voting-Machines; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My presentinvention relates to Voting-machines, and has for its object to improve the same with a View of securing certain important results hereinafter noted; and to such ends it consists of the novel devices and combinations of devices hereinafter described, and defined in the claims.

Thisapplication is filed as a division of my pending application, Serial No. 52,755, iiled March 25,1901, entitled Voting-Machines, and much of the mechanism shown in this application in order to make the machine complete is shown and claimed in my said prior application.

The principal object of my present invention is to provide a machine adapted for use at primary elections, which in many districts and in some States are required to be carried out on the so-called Australian system.7 of voting. More specifically stated, at these primary elections the candidates for the various ofices must be determined beforehand by certain rules, not necessary here to consider, and they must be represented on a prepared ticket and the voter must cast his vote within a booth or in private. The chief difference in the manner of voting at a primary election and at a final election is that the voter in the former instance must select his political party and must thenvote only for candidates for nomination belonging to that party, while at a final election the so-called split ticket may be Voted. I have, as will hereinafter be made clear, provided a Voting-machine 'which will meet all the requirements of the primary-election laws or rules. A machine capable of such use I believe to be broadly new, and hence it will of course be understood that it is my intention in this application to claim, broadly, the features of construction and combination of parts which make such use possible.

A machine in complete form capable of use at primary elections and embodying1 my invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like characters indicate like parts throughout the several views.

Figure l is a perspective view of my improved voting-machine with a folding-booth attachment in working position and showing a voter within the booth. Fig. 2 is a view in front elevation, with some parts broken away, looking at the keyboard or face of the cabinet and voting-machine proper. Fig. 3 is a detail View, inhorizontal section, approximately on the line x3 Q03 of Fig. 2. Fig. 3a is a detail in verticalsection illustrating a modified construction of the so-called cut-out bar. Fig. 4E is a horizontal section through one of the compartments of the machine on the line Qc* of Fig. 2. Fig. 5 is a view corresponding to Fig. 4E, but illustrating different positions of certain of the parts and some parts being broken away. Fig. 6 is a horizontal section approximately in the line x6 of Fig. 8, some parts being broken away and others removed. Fig. 7 is a detail in front elevation showing one of the cam lock-bars, portions of some of the register-actuators, and portions of the plates in which said bar is mounted, the latter being shown in sec'- tions. Fig. 8 is a skeleton View, some parts being removed and others being broken away, showing parts of the cabinet or case in transverse vertical section; and Fig. Q is aview in front elevation showing` the separate portion of one of the compartments of the machine, some parts being broken away and cabinet l is provided with hinged leaves 3, which when folded are adapted to overlap the one with the other and to cover and close the open face of the said cabinet.

A suitable booth is afforded when theleaves 3 are opened up by the cooperation therewith of a curtain 4, which is suspended from a spacing-rod 5, suitably secured at its ends to the outer and upper part of the leaves 3, as shown in Fig. l.

In the machine illustrated four rectangular compartment-boxes 8 are placed side by side, extending from the top approximately to the bottom thereof. Each compartment-box 8 has mounted within it a series of registers or tallies and the corresponding series of register-actuating slides, together with eoperatin g devices. The registers or tallies, which may be of any suitable construction, are indicated as entireties by the character a. As shown, these registers comprise each three numerals mounted between spacing-plates 9 of the box 8. The front wheel of each tally has a ratchet a for a purpose which will hereinafter appear, and any ordinary, well-known, or suitable device may be provided for causing the one numeral-Wheel of the tally to carry on to the other. v

The register-actuating slides b are located in horizontal planes one over the other, and

they are mounted withfreedom for operative movements transversely of the machine and for limited movements from front to rear thereof in suitable seats formed in verticallyextended partitions l0 of the box 8. Each slide?) has a finger-piece or key-head b', which Worksoutward through a suitable slot in the front of the box 8 and by means of which the slide may be manipulated by the voter. Each slide has a ratchetpawl b2, which at the proper timeengages the ratchet-teeth a of the corresponding register. Each actuating-slide b has two detents, shown in the form of notches b3 b4, which are engageable with a shoulder Il()b of one of the partitions l0. Also each slide b in the preferred construction is provided with a pivoted lock-actuating dog b5, formed at one end with a nose b6 and mounted fora limited movement at its other end within a slotted keeper bi of the slide b, to which the said dogis pivoted. A spring. 19S, applied to thedog b5 and to one side of the box 8, as shown in Figs. 4. and 5, acting through the dog b5, yieldingly holds the one or the other ofthe notches b3 b4 in an engagement with the shoulder l0b and the actu ating-slide either inv its normal or its set position, as the case maybe. It maybe here further remarked that in its preferred construction each actuatingslide b is provided with a cam-surface b9, a bearing-surface Z910, a stop bu, and a lock-lug Z912, having a shoulder Z913, all as shown in Figs. 4 and 5 and for the purposes which will hereinafter appear.

For cooperation with each series of actuating-slides i) is a so-called restoring-bar c, which extends from top to bottom of the bex 8 and is mounted for pivotal movement on vertically-projecting trunnions c', that project through horizontal bottom and top partition-plates ll of the box 8. Normally the restoring-bar c stands as indicated by full lines in Figs. 4, 5, and G, and it is adapted to move into the position indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 4, as will hereinafter more fully appear in the description of the operation. To the laterally-projecting flanges of the bar c is pivotally secured a series of cam-heads d, having pointed outer ends and normally held in quite close contact, as best shown in Fig. 9, by light springs d', secured to said bar c.

Each actuating-slide b is provided with a cam stud or projection d2, which normally stands between the beveled ends of two adjacent cam-heads d. The series of cam-heads CZ' act as an escapement to permit lthe movement of only one actuating-slide at a time. When one of the actuating-slides is moved toward its set position, its cam-stud d2 will force its way between the adjacent slides in their normal positions. Vhen, however, an actuating-slide has been moved completely to its set position, its cam-stud d2 will have passed clear of the wide portions of the cooperating camheads d, as shown by full lines in Fig. 5, and any other actuating-slide may then be moved to its set position. lVhen the restoring-bar c is moved into its resetting position, the escapement cams or heads d will be raised into inoperative positions, as indicated by dotted lines in Fig. t

The limiting lock mechanism is best indicated in Figs. 4, 5, and 9, wherein the characterfindicates a vertical shaft or spindle, which need not be rotary, but is suitably supported at its upper and lower ends in the horizontal partition-plates vl1 of the compartment-box S. Ou this spindle f is placed a scries of loose thimbles f', which, as shown, are provided with longitudinal grooves f2. Between the thimbles f are placed thin ratchetwheels f3, which are provided with reverselyprojecting pins f4, as shown, two projecting in each direction and engaging the groovesj"2 of adjacent thimbles f'. In this way a whole group of thimbles f and ratchet-wheels f3 are locked together for rotation. The thimbles f and 1atchetwheels f3 are grouped to correspond to the grouping of the registers and register-actuating slides. To illustrate, suppose the particular group to be appropriated to the ofce of the judge of the district court, there being twelve candidates and four judges to be elected. In this case a group of twelve ratchet-wheels f3 will be connected by the thimbles f for common rotation. At least one ratchet-wheel of each group is connected by a spring f5 to a suitable portion of the box S, as best shown in Figs. 4C and 5. Each ratchet-wheel of the group is provided with a circumferentiallyadj ustable lock-lug f6, which when moved to its limit will pass under the lug Z912 of the cooperating slide b and against the stop-shoulder 513 thereof, and thereby loci; the said slide in its normal position by preventing disengagement of its detent b4 from the cooperating shoulder 10b.

In the concrete illustration just assumed it will require four steps of movement to IOO IIO

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throw the lock-lugsj6 into their locking positions. As is evident, whenever an actuatingslide l) of the group is moved the nose b of the dog b5 of the said slide will engage with a tooth of the cooperating ratchet-wheel f3 and will impart a step movement thereto. It is also evident that the actuating-slides of the group may be operated in any order and that when the fourth has beenmoved to its set position all of the rest of the slides of the group will be locked in their normal positions, as just indicated.

The groups of limiting-stops or ratchetwheels f3 are separated by spacing-brackets f7, which, asshown, have hubs fS surrounding the spindlej' and are provided with dovetailed projections fg, which work adjustably in the dovetailed groove of a vertically-disposed retaining-bar flo, secured on a hinged side 8 of the box 8. The side Sa is normally held by a spring-latch 8b, and when it is swung outward it aifords easy access to the internal mechanism and particularly to the ratchetwheels f3. Each bracket]7 is provided with a stop-pin f, (see Figs. 4, 5, and 9,) which is adapted to engage with the lock-lugf6 of the adjacent ratchet-wheelf3of one of the groups, and to thereby determine thenormal positions of the entire group of said wheels f3. By moving the stop-pin]L11 into different holes f12 in the bracket f7, the ratchet-wheels of a particular group may be so set that theirlocklugs f6 will be moved into locking positions by one movement or by a greater number of movements, according to the number of votes which may be properly recorded for the particular office to which the group is appropriated.

Thelower trunnion c of each restoring-bar c is provided with an arm c2, which arms are connected by long link c3, as best shown in Fig. 6. To one of the said arms c2 (left member, as shown in Fig. 6) is connected a double-ended hand-leverpp'. The cndp of said lever projects into the booth and the end p projects outside of the same and is pro vided with a latch p2, which is engageable with one or the other of a pair of notches p31# of a latch-segment p5, suitably secured on the bottom of the lower-compartment border 1l.

For cooperation with each series of actuating-slides b is a notch lock-bar g, which is provided with lock-lugs g', having beveled edges g2, which extend in the common direction. As shown, the reduced ends g3 of the said bar g work through the horizontal partition-boards 1l, and a light coil-spring g4, placed on thelower end g3, yieldingly holds the bar g upward with freedom for a slight downward movement when force is applied thereto. The upper ends g3 of the said lockbars g are provided with cam portions g5. Extending horizontally just above the cam ends g5 of the lock-bars gis a so-called selectingbars, which, as shown, has perforations s", through which the said ends g4 and are g are in normal positions, the beveled portions g2 of the lugs g' on the bars g stand in line, one with each of the shoulders b of the actuating-slides b, as best illustrated in Figs. 7 and 9. As best illustrated in Fig. 2, the cam ends g5all stand normally out of line with the perforations s/ of the cut-outbar s. The Selecting-bar s is further provided with depending camlug s2, which operates, as hereinafter described. Springs s 4 yieldingly hold the bar s central.

In the illustration given in Fig. 2 only the Republican and Democratic parties are shown as represented at the primary election, and hence two series of 'registers and register-actuators are assigned to each party. By reference to Fig. 2 it will be noted that the cam ends g5 of the lock-bars which are assigned to the Republican party are beveled in one direction, while those assigned to the Deniccratic party are beveled in the other direction.

Vith the above-described arrangement it is evident that when one of the actuatingslides b is moved into a set position its shoulder 1114 engages one of the beveled lugs g g2 of the cooperating lock-bar and will force upward that particular lock-bar. Under its upward movement the said raised lock-bar by a camming action on the selecting-bar s will move the same endwise and enter the coperating perforation therein, thus locking down such of the lock-bars as are appropriated to the other political party. This makes it impossible for the voter to vote a split ticket. However, the said movement of the selectingbar causes certain of the cam-lugs s2 to engage the cam ends g5 of such of the lock-bars as belong to the party not selected by the voter in his manipulation of the first actuating-slide, and thereby forces downward such lock-bars and moves the lugs g thereof directly in front of the shoulders b14 of the corresponding actuating-slides, and thus prevent even slight movements of the said slides.

In Fig. 3 the so-called selecting-bar is formed in sections s6, mounted to slide on a fixed supporting-rod 37, and the said sections are yieldingly held in their normal intermediatc positions by a pair of coiled springs ss. In this arrangement the upper ends g5 of the lock-bars g are beveled in both directions,and the adjoining edges of said bar-sections s are beveled in reverse directions, as at s, for cooperation with said reversely-beveled ends g5. Vith this arrangement when any one of the bars g is raised all of the other lock-bars g will be locked down by the said sections SG. This construction therefore adapts the machine for use where three, four, or more political parties are represented at the primary election.

The several printed tickets indicated by the character .s may be held in proper position on the faces of the several compartment-boxes S by means of projecting clips Sf. The tickets will of course be so adjusted that the names adapted to be passed. Vhen the lock-bars l of the candidates thereon will stand opposite IIO escasa' to or in line with the key-heads b of the slides b which are appropriated to the said candidates.

When an actuating-slide I) is moved from its normal into its set position, its cam-surface b9, acting on the edge of the restoring-bar c, throws the pawl Wout of engagement with or in the line of movement of the ratchet-teeth a' of the corresponding register, and should the said actuating-slide be returned individually to its normal position said pawl will by the said cam be again carried out of the path of movement ofthe said ratchet-teeth. After the voter has 'set such of the actuating slides as represent all of the votes to which he is entitled he takes hold of the end p of the double-ended hand-leverp p and moves the same until its latch p2 locks with the notch p4 of the segment p5. This movement of the said hand-lever simultaneously rocks the several restoring-bars c, so that the swinging edges ofthe same engage the bearing-surfaces bw of the set-slides l) and force the said slides back to their normal positions, under which movement the pawls b2 are rendered operative on the respective registers.

l/Vhen the limiting-ratchets f7 are released from the dogs b5, they Hy back to their normal positions under the action of their springs f5. Attention is here called to the fact that while the beveled detents b3 b do not positively lock the said actuating-slides to the lock-shoulder IO they do, nevertheless, under the springs bsprevent the said slides from being thrown back to their normal positions under the action of the springs f5.

From what has above been said itwill be understood that I consider the so-called partyselecting device a broadly-new feature and desire to claim the same as such. In what I consider the best form of machine keys which perform other functions are used as parts of the party-selectin g device; but it will of course be understood that it would be Within the scope of my invention to operate the partyselecting device by keys provided solely for that purpose, It will also be understood that various other alterations may be made within the scope of my invention.

Vhat I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is as follows:

1. Avotiug-machineadaptedforuseatelections where it is necessary to select one of the political parties, which mechanism is provided With means whereby the selection of the desired party secures or renders inoperative the voting mechanisms appropriated to the other political party, substantially as described.

2. The combination Awith several series of registers and register-actuators appropriated to different political parties, of means Whereby, when any one of the actuators of the one series is operated, all of the actuators of the other series will be locked, substantially as described.

3. The combination with several series of registers and register-actuators, appropriated to different political parties, such as the Republican and Democratic, and subgroupcd for the different olliccs, and a party-selecting device comprising a lock for each series of actuators, and means whereby, when one of said locks has been selected as an inoperative member, all of the other locks will be secured in operative or locking positions, substantially as described.

4:. The combination with several series of keys and key-actuators, appropriated to different political parties, such as Republican and Democratic,and subgrouped forthe different ofcespfa normally operativelock-bar `for each series of actuators, and a cut-out bar operated by the movement of one of the said locking devices, to lock the other said locking devices in their operative positions.

5. The combination with several series of registers and register-actuators, appropriated to different political parties, such as Republican and Democratic, and subgrouped for different ofces, of a locking device for each series of actuators normally standing in position to render the same inoperative, and means whereby, when one of the said locking devices is moved from its operative position, the other is locked in its operative position.

6. The combination with several series of registers and register-actuators appropriated to different political parties, such as Republican and Democratic, and subgrouped for different offices, of a locking device for each series of actuators, normally standing in position to render the same inoperative, but movable into operative positions by any one of the several actuators of the corresponding series, and means whereby, when one of the said locking devices is moved from its operative position, the other is locked into its operative position.

7. The combination with a series of registers and register-actuators, subgrouped for the different offices, of a locking device normally standing in position to render said actuators inoperative, and a key or finger-piece by means of which said locking device may be moved into an unlocking position.

8. The combination with several series of registers and register-actuators appropriated to different political parties, such as Republican and Democratic, and subgrouped for dierent o'lices, of a notched locking-bar for each series of actuators, normally locking the same, means for moviugsaid locking-bars into inoperative positions, and means whereby the movement of the one lock-bar, locks the other lock bar or bars in their operative positions.

9. The combination with several series of registers and register-actuators appropriated to different political parties, such as Republican and Democratic, and subgrouped for the different offices, of anotched lock-bar for each series of actuators movable into inoperative positions by the movement of any one of the several actuators of the corresponding se- IOO IOS

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ries, and a cut-out device operated by the movement of one of the lock-bars into its operative position, to lock the other lockingbars in their operative position.

10. The combination with several series oi' registers and register-actuators appropriated to different political parties, such as the Republican and Democratic, of a lock-bar for each series of actuators having stop-lugs normally out of the paths and cam-surfaces normally in the paths of said actuators, and intermediate connections between the several lock-bars whereby, when one of the said lockbars is moved, under the action of an-actuating-slide of the cooperating series, certain other of the said lock-bars will be so moved that their lock-lugs will stand directly in the paths of the corresponding actuators, substantially as described.

SYVER LOE.

lVitnesses:

ELIZABETH KELIHER, F. D. MERCHANT.

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