US847109A - Paper-feed-actuating mechanism for voting-machines. - Google Patents

Description

10.847.109 PATENTBD MAR. 12, 1907.

c. H. PITNBY. PAPER FEED AGTUATING MBGHANISM PoR-VOTING MACHINES.

I APPL-ATION FILED JAN. 7, 1907.

: ENIOR YH: Nnmzls PETER; ca., wAsumGroN. D. c.

UNITED srnfpns Prnnrornron CHARLES H. PITNEY, OF PITT SFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO TRI- UMPH VOTING MACHINE COMPANY, OF PITTSFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

PAPERv-FEED-AGTUTING NIECHANISNI FOR VOTING-MACHINES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented March 12, 1907.

Application iiled January 7,1907. Serial No. 351,054.

To LZZ whom t may concern:

Beit known that I, CHARLES H. PITNEY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Pittsfield, county of Berkshire, State of Massachusetts, have invented a new and useful Paper Feed-Actuating Mechanism for Voting-Machines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to that portion of 1o the mechanism of voting-machines which enables an independent voter to cast his vote for candidates of his own selection for any or all of the oflices to be voted for, wholly independently of party nominations.

I 5 A roll of paper, called an independent-voting sheet, is provided which is carried by a vertical shaft called the supply-shaft, from which it passes to a receiving-shaft, being drawn over an intermediate backing-plate,

2O which supports it while votes are written thereon. A series of voting-apertures are provided in the front plate of the machine, which are protected by sliding shutters. When the shutter is opened, a portion of the independent-voting sheet is disclosed upon which a vote maybe written. After voting, the voter operates mechanism, which I shall simply refer to as exit mechanism, which by means of intermediate connections closes the shutter or shutters which he has opened and locks them and also actuates the receiving-shaft to draw the independent-voting sheet forward and place a fresh portion of its surface in position on the backing-plate for a vote or votes to be written thereon by the neXt independent voter.

The object of the invention is to provide positive, simple, and durable means for actuating the paper-receiving shaft after one or more of the independent shutters have been opened, but at no other time.

With this end in view I have devised the novel mechanism which I will nowdescribe, referring to the accompanying drawing,

A5 forming a part of this speciiication, and using reference characters to indicate the several parts. y

Figure 1 is a horizontal section of so much of the mechanism of a voting-machine as is necessary to illustrate my present invention, certain of the parts appearing in plan 3 Fig. 2,

a rear elevation corresponding with Fig. 1; Fig. 3, a detail rear elevation, onl a reduced scale, showing a single shutter in the closed position; Fig. 4, a similar view, the shutter being partly open; and Fig. 5 is a similar view, the shutter being in the fully-open position.

The invention is shown as applied to the Triumph voting-machine.

10 denotes the independent-voting sheet, which is wound upon paper-supply shaft 11 and rests upon a disk 12, which is rigidly secured to the shaft. The sheet as it is unwound from shaft 11 passes over a backingplate 13 and is Wound upon paper-receiving shaft I4. The roll of paper on the receivingshaft rests upon a disk 15, which is rigidly secured to the shaft. f

16 denotes a front plate which is provided with a series of voting-apertures 17, correspondingl with the number of offices that may be voted for on the machine, one of said voting-apertures only appearing in the drawing. Corresponding with each votingaperture in the front plate is a shutter 18, which slides in ways 19 and 20 upon the inner side of the front plate. Each shutter is provided with a voting-aperture 21, which when the shutter is opened for independent voting registers with the corresponding aperture 17 in the front plate. At the rear end of aperture 21 is a lug or pin 22, formed integral with the shutter or rigidly secured thereto, which projects through the correspending aperture 17 in the front plate and serves as a finger-piece in opening and closing the shutter and also to limit the movement of the shutter in opening and closing.

At the rear end of each shutter is an inwardly extending closing lug or pin 23, which may either be formed integral with the shutter or rigidly secured thereto. Upon the upper edge of each shutter is an incline 24, which coacts With one of a series of pins 25, extending from a clutch-rod 26, which is shown as socketed in a channel 27 in the front plate. l

54 denotes clearance-notches in ways 19 and 20, which receive pins 25, but have no function.

28 denotes a driving-bar which has two IOO movements imparted to it `by the exit mechanism, which is not shown, as it forms no portion of the present invention.

Supposing the driving-har to he at its normal position in Fig. 1, the first movement thereof produced hy the exit mechanism is toward the lett and the second movement to- Ward the right, returning it to its normal position. These movements are imparted to the driving-har each time a voter leaves the machine, without regard to whether .he has voted regularly or independently.

29 denotes a rack which is cut into or rigidly secured to the driving-; ar, and 30 a pinion which meshes with rack 29 and is mounted to oseillate freely on paper-receiving shaft 14. This pinion is provided on its upper tace with a fixed clutch mein er 31, which is l which is provided wiiii adapted to te engaged ly sliding clutchl inem`1er 32 on a sleeve 33. This sleeve is keyed to the paper-receiving shaft, so as to move longitudinally thereon, and carries said ment, the key eing indieatedi y 34. 33 is provided with a groove 35, which receives a yoke 36 on clutch-lever 37. The

Sleeve i i or non-voting position, exeep t in the manner provided, earch shutter is provided with a pivoted locking pawl 41, which engages a rack 42 on the corresponding way 20. Each pawl is shown as provided with a lifting-pin 43. 44 denotes the shutteiclosing i ai',

i Ylingers 45, one only l eing "hewn iii the drawing, which engage the lifting-pins 42:3 to raise the pawls on open shutters out ot engagement wi th. the racks at each actuation ol? said ar. shalt when the clutch mem: ers are in engagel clutch-lever has its tulerum in a stud 3S and pivoted to clutch-rod 26, as at 39. 40 deler. In use when a shutter isropened y an independent voter the movement ol the and engaging rack notes light coil-spring, which may or may l not lie interposed iY etween the huh ot disk 14 l and the sleeve 33 ot the sliding clutch meini i i l l shutter toward the lett, as seen in the diawing, will cause the incline 24 thereon to engage the corresponding pin 25, extending;

from clutch-rod 26, there` y raising the rod, which tilts the clutch-lever and pla/ies the sliding clutch nieniV er, which is keyed to sha'tt 14, in engagement with the 'lixed clutch meinr er on pinion 30, which engages the rack on the driving-l ar. Then a shutter is returned to the closed or non-voting position, pins 25 will ride along` the upper edge of opened shutters until the inclines reach the pins when by the action ol" gravity the pins will ride down the inclines, which permits clutch-rod 26 to drop downward and tilts the clutch-lever in the opposite direction, thereby raising the sliding clutch memlrer out ot engagement with the 'Iixed clutch memler and severing all connection between the driving-har and the receiving-shaft. makes no dil'lierence, so tar as the operation of the clutch vmechanism is concerned, whether one shutter is opened or a plurality ot shutters are opened. The incline upon each shutter when the shutter is moved to the open position engages a pin on the elutcli-rod, raising the latter, so that it is wholly immaterial hy which shutter or hy how many shutters the clutch-rod is operated. Spring 40 merely assists gravity in moving the sliding clutch 4G denotes racks to which the shutterclosing ar rigiely secured and which reeipro cate in ways 47.

48 denotes piiiions on vertical shalt 4S), which rthe racks. lhis shall is driven ivy means oiE a pinion 50, carried y a stud 51 on the drivii'lg-` ai' and an intermediate pinion 52 en a stud 533, which eiigages pinion 50 and also engages the lowir pinion. 4B on shaft 1l-). This arrangement olt gearing aci` to move the shutterelosing l ai' i odiiy toward the righ when the drivingis moved toward the lett.

The operation is as follows: it will olz course he understood that in regularvoting tite clutch mech Aiisiii above deserihed is inopeative and o ly comes into use when a voter votes ier indepei lent candidates lier one cr more ollices. 'lne voter opers the shutter or shutters ce' espoiidiiig with the ol'lice or ol'lices tor which he desires to vote independently and writes his vote upon the independent-vcting sheet. By his act ol opening one or more shutters he has caused one or more et the pins 25 on clutch-rod 2o to ride up an incline on a shutter, thereby raising the clutch-rod, tilting the clutch-lever, and placing the sliding clutch meniher iii eiigagenient with the Vlixed clutch member. The operation of the exit mechanism moves the driving-haij toward the left and actuates pinions 30 and 50. As the clutch members are connected, pinion 30 will drive paper-receiving shaft 14 and will wind a portion ol the independent-voting sheet thereon, the used portion heiiig carried past the hackingplate, and a fresh portion ot the surface ol said sheet being placed in position on the hacking plate for a vote or votes to he written thereon hy the next independent voter. Simultaneously with the actuation ot the paper-receiving shaft pinion 50 and the inter TOO mediate connections Will move shutter-closing bar 44 bodily toward the right. The fingers 45 on said bar Will engage the pins 43 on the pawls 41 on the opened shutters and disengage said paWls from racks 20, and an instant later the bar itself will engage closing lugs or pins 23 on the open shutters and move them to the closed position. As the opened shutters approach the fully-closed position the corresponding pins 25, extending from clutch-rod 26, Will ride down inclines 24 upon the shutters, which Will permit the clutch-rod to drop, Which in turn Will oscillate the clutch-lever and move the sliding clutch member to its disengaged position, leaving the paper-receiving shaft Wholly disconnected from the driving-bar. When the return movement of the driving-b ar toward the right takes place, pinion 30 will be rotated thereby, but Without imparting movement to the receiving-shaft, and pinion and the intermediate connections Will move the shutterclosing bar toward the left, returning it to its normal position.

Having thus described my invention, I claiml. In a mechanism of the character described, the combination with a paper-receiving shaft' having a sliding clutch member keyed thereto, a pinion loose on said shaft and a xed clutch member carried by said pinion, of a sliding shutter and intermediate connections actuated by the shutter for conrecting and disconnecting the clutch memers.

2. In a mechanism of the character described, the combination Witha pa er-receiving shaft having a sliding clutcli member keyed thereto, a pinion loose on said shaft and a fixed clutch member carried by said pinion, of a clutch-lever engaging the sliding clutch member, a clutch-rod pivoted to the clutch-lever, and a sliding shutter Which lifts the clutch-rod and tilts the clutch-lever.

3. In amechanism of the character described, the combination With a paper-receiv ing shaft having a sliding clutch member keyed thereto, a pinion loose on said shaft and a fixed clutch member carried by said pinion, of a clutch-lever engaging the sliding clutch member, a clutch-rod pivoted to the clutch-lever and having a pin extending therefrom and a sliding shutter having an incline Which engages the pin, raises the clutch-rod and tilts the clutch-lever when the shutter is moved to the open position, said pin riding doWn the incline, permitting the clutch-rod to drop, and tilting the clutchlever in the opposite direction when the shutter is moved to the closed position.

4. In a mechanism of the character described, tlie combination With a pap er-receiving shaft having a sliding clutch member keyed thereto, a fixed clutch member carried by said pinion, a spring acting on said clutch member, a pinion loose on said shaft and a fixed clutch member carried by said pinion, of a sliding shutter and intermediate connectionsactuated by the shutter for connecting and disconnecting` the clutch members.

5. In a mech anisni of the character described, the combination with a paper-receiving shaft having a sliding clutch member keyed thereto, a pinion loose on said shaft and a fixed clutch member carried by said pinion, of a clutch-lever engaging the sliding clutch member, a clutch-rod pivoted to the clutch-lever, a sliding shutter Which lifts the clutch-rod and tilts the clutch-lever, means for locking a partly or Wholly opened shutter against return movement and means for unlocking opened shutters and returning them to the closed position and simultaneously disengaging the clutch members.

6. In a mechanism of the character described, the combination with a pap er-supply shaft, a paper-receiving shaft on which the paper is Wound therefrom and a backingplate intermediate said shafts over Which the paper is drawn, for the purpose set forth, of a sliding clutch member keyed to the paper-receiving shaft, a pinion loose on said shaft, a fixed clutch member carried by said pinion, a sliding shutter and intermediate connections actuated by the shutter for connecting and disconnecting the clutch members.

7. In a mechanism of the character described, the combination With a pap er-supply shaft, a paper-receiving shaft on Which the paper is Wound therefrom and a backingplate intermediate said shafts over Which the paper is drawn, for the purpose set forth, of a sliding clutch member keyed to the paper-receiving shaft, a pinion loose on said shaft, a xed clutch member carried by said pinion, a clutch-lever engaging the sliding clutch member, a clutch-rod pivoted to the clutchlever and a sliding shutter which engages and lifts the clutch-rod and tilts the clutch-lever to place the clutch members in engagement.

8. In a mechanism of the character described, the combination With a paper-receiving shaft, a sliding clutch member keyed thereto, a pinion loose on said shaft and a fixed clutch member carried by said pinion, of a clutch-lever engaging the sliding clutch member, a clutch-rod pivoted to the clutchlever and having pins extending therefrom, a plurality of sliding shutters which engage said pins to lift the clutch-rod, tilt the clutchlever and engage the clutch members and` means for moving opened shutters to the closed position and permit the pins to ride doWn the inclines and the clutch-rod to drop and tilt the clutch-lever to disengage the clutch members.

9. In a mechanism of the character described, the combination With a paper-re- IOO IIO

eeiving shaft having a sliding clutch member keyed thereto, a pinion loose on said shaft and a fixed clutch member Carried by said pinion, of a elutehelever engaging the sliding clutch member, a clutch-rod pivoted to the clutch-lever and having a pin extending therefrom and a sliding shutter having an ineline which engages the pin and raises the clutch-rod to move the Sliding Clutch member downward into engagement with theA

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