US857800A - Voting-machine. - Google Patents

Description

7. 0 9 1 5 2 E N U J D E mi N E mL A P am 1I P SH EG LA GG lm Aww V 0. nu oo 7 5 oo 0l N P I AT 0 A PL O I N FILED AUG 17 1898 a SHEETS SHBBT L wat mlm SSR@ .E Attol rmyS PATENTED JUNE 25, 19074 A.. J. GILLESPIE VOTING MACHINE APPLIOATION FILED AUG. 17. 1898.

3 SHBETS-SHBET 2.

Invntor.

s. G S S e n +L w /Q/ Attorney THE Nomus PE1-:Rs co., iusnmm'an, n. c.

PATENTED JUNE 25, 1907.

A. J. GILLESPIE. VOTING MACHINE.

ArPLIoATIoN FILED mm1?. 189B.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

Witnesses Inventor.

f5 M M761@ vaAttorney co., wAsHlNsroN. n4 c.

vUNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ALFRED J. GILLESPIE, OF ROCHESTER, N *YW Yoan, .issie-Non, er Masiva ASSIGNMENTS, TO U. S. STANDARD VOTING MACHINE OO., OF ROCHES- TER, NEW YORK, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

VOTINC-lv-IVIACI-JHNEu Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 25, 1907.

Application filed August 17,1898. Serial N0- 688,802.

To a/ZZ whom, t may concern:

Be it known that I, ALFRED J. GILLES- PIE, of Rochester, in the county of Monroe and State of New York, 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 same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, 'forming a part of this specification, and to the reference-numerals marked thereon.

My present invention relates to voting machines and has for its object to improve the construction and operation of the mechanism for voting for candidates which have been indorsed by several political parties and particularly of the multicandid ate voting devices, whereby, when the same person or candidate is indorsed by two or more parties for an' oilice to which only one or a plurality of candidates are to be elected, the voter is prevented ;trom casting more than one ballot for said candidate and at the same time is permitted to exercise his choice in casting ballots for the whole number permitted, and to this end, the invention consists in certain improvements hereinafter described, the novel features being pointed out in the claims at the end of this specification.

In the drawings: Figure l is a front view of a portion of the ticket support or plate constituting the front of the voting machine, with a part of the casing broken away to show the interlocking devices between the ballot indicators. Fig. 2, a' perspective view, looking from the rear of the machine, of the registering devices at the rear of the support for the indicators, showing also an embodiment oi' my present invention applied thereto. Fig. 3, a vertical-sectional view oi a portion of a voting machine, showing the register-operating devices. Eig. 4, a sectional view partly in elevation, taken on the line -fc of Fig. 3.

Similar reference numerals in the several figures indicate similar parts.

I have shown my invention applied to a voting machine of the general type contained in my prior patent No. 576,570, and my pending application Serial No. 658,938, '[iled November 18th, 1897, and will first describe,

generally, the operation of this type of machine, although l make no claim herein to the registering mechanism, or the means 'for operating it, or to the interlocking mechanism, generally, or the construction of the indicators or registers, excepting as connected with the particular improvements hereinafter described.

l indicates the main casing oi the machine having at the front the plate or ballot-support 2 on the iront oi' which the tickets containing the candidates naines are placed. The ballot indicators embody studs 3 journaled in the iront plate 2 having at their front a pointer d, adapted normally to extend between the columns of the tickets, as shown in Eig. l, but capable ol` being placed over the name o the candidate to which the indicator is devoted, and to the rear sides of the studs are secured plates or arms 5, each having a shoulder 6' and a tongue or projection 7, as shown in Fig. 2, said tongues projecting in slots S formed in register actuators 9. The arms 5 oiA the indicators are connected to suitable interlocking devices, and in the present embodiment to straps or rods 10 extending to near one end ol' the casing and having upon their outer ends enlargements or thickened portions Il adapted to move between guides 12, and in some instances between separating or sliding blocks I3 located between said guides.

14 indicates stationary blocks or stops between which all ol' the sliding blocks 13 and. the straps or rods l0 pass the space between said blocks i4, being sufficient to permit between them only a predetermined number of the thickened ends Il of the straps or rods, so that only a'certain number ol: the ballot indicators may be operated.

In Eig. l, I have shown what is known as a multicandidate group, wherein the tickets for the various parties represented at the election are arranged in vertical columns and the office lines are arranged horizontally, the machine, as shown, being set so that the voter is entitled to cast a ballot for any two candidates out of the eight whose names are presented. The space between the blocks 14 is so arranged that any two o' the indicator pointers may be moved over the candi- IOC dates name to indicate a vote, but not more. Of course, this number could be increased by spacing the blocks 14 dil'l`erently, and providing a greater number of horizontal lines, it desired.

is in my prior application, the registers with which the indicators cooperate are arranged in suitable casings 15 rigidly attached to a movable frame 16 said casings in the present instance each embodying several series ol) registering wheels constituting registers devoted to candidates in the same vertical column, the iigures on the registers being visible through apertures 17 formed in said casings, as shown in Fig. 2. Each of the registers preferably embodies a units wheel 18 to which is connected a pallet wheel 19 adapted to be operated by lugs or teeth 20 arranged upon the actuating slide 9, one slide being provided for each register, and suitable connecting mechanism being emplo yed between the units, tens and hundreds wheels, as will be understood. The parts of the indicating and registering devices are so connectezfl and arranged that when one of the indicating lingers or pointers l is moved over the candidates name, the shoulder 6 of the indicator is brought in line with the end of the register actuator 9, as shown at the right in Fig. 1, and when the frame 16 and iront plate are moved relatively toward each other, the registers of the actuators, which have been moved, will be operated to indicate one vote for the candidate, and when the trame and plate are separated again the actuators will be returned to normal position. is a means for causing the torward and backward movement ot the frame 16 l provide cams 21 arranged upon a shaft 22 journaled in the main frame or casing and having an operating lever 23 and handle 24, as sl'iown in Figs. 3 and 4, said cams cooperating with suitable projections on the lrame 16, but as these torni no part of my present invention l do not deem it necessary to illustrate them more fully herein.

lt ifrecpiently happens that the same candidate is indorsed by two or more political parties, and when such indorsed candidate is running for an oflice Vlor which each party has nominated a plurality of candidates, unless some means were provided tor preventing it, a voter might be able, by the operation el ballot indicators in two ditlerent party columns, to cast two votes for a candidate indorsed by two dillerent parties, and to prevent this l provide a means for connecting all ol tl e voting devices of the candidates so indorsed, whereby it is immaterial in which ol the party columns the vote is indicated, or whether or not two or more indicators devoted to him are operated, only one vote will be registered for that candidate.

Y est/,soo

In applying the invention to a machine o'll the type shown .l provide, upon the rear portion or' the frame 16 carrying the registering devices, a rock-shaft S0 journaled at the ends in suitable brackets 31 secured by clamping screws 32 to the sides ol' said trame, and provide detachable connecting arms upon said rock-shaft adapted to be connected to the actuators 9 of the registers devoted tc the candidate whose name appears in. two party columns. ln the present construction, these arms are composed o'll a single piece ol' material, as wire, bent to l'orm the two parallel legs 38 and 34- connected by the portion 35 and passing through apertures lormcd in the, shaft. The leg 34 is extended and provided at the end with a laterally extending portion 36 adapted,when desired, to project into a small aperture Al'ormed in the ends ot the register-actuators 9, as shown particularly in Fig. 2, the construction being such that when one ol the indicators `1 has been operated to bring the shoulder 6 in line with the actuator 9 and the frame 16 and plate 2 are moved relatively toward each other, both or all ol' the actuators which have been connected by the rock-shalt 30, will be operated to register a vote or ballot upon each el' the counters d evoted to the same candidate. Then the frame 16 is moved back to its normal position, shown in full lines in Fig. 2, as the actuator ci the register is engaged by the linger T on the indicator, the operated actuators will all be returned to normal position.

1n Fig. 1 of the drawings, have shown the name o'l Il B. Roe as appearing in both the republican and labor party columns, and the indicator in the republican column as having been operated. In the n'iulticandidate group shown, the interlocking mechanism lormed by the blocks will permit the indication ol another vote in either ot the two lines shown, so that while the two register for the same candidate will be operated, only one indicator is operated and the interlocking devices have only been operated one unit. The relative movements ol the `lraine 16 and plate 2, when the voter leaves the booth, is shown in dotted lines in F 2.

As far as the broad feature ol' my invention is concerned it is imn'iaterial what lorm el registers, actuators or operating n'ieans are employed, and the machine shown simply regarded as one and the best exenipli'lication oll my invention, but l do not desire to be coniined to precisely this arrangement. Nor is it necessary that the cimnecting means between the register-actuators be a rockshaft, although I pre'l'er this construction lor obvious reasons. The arrangement ol' the oscillating sha'l't and the arms dctachably connecting it with the registers, as shown, is advantageous for the reason that the ma- ICO chine can be quickly adapted for any election, and, if a multicandidate gro up is i'ormed embodying more than two candidates nominated by each party, several connecting means could be employed, the only necessary leature of the present construction being that the candidates name should appear in the same row in the type of machine shown but I do not desire to be confined to such an arrangement, or to this type of machine, as the invention is applicable to other kinds.

ln lieu of the interlocking devices shown, any other l'orm could be employed which would permit only a predetermined number of indicators to be operated, or registers to be operated, if thc invention is applied to the well-known type of machine in which the registers are actuated directly by the voter.

It desired, the connecting device, embodying the rock-shaft, etc., could be used outside of multicandidate groups whenever the same person is nominated or indorsed by two or more parties, in which event the actuation of one indicator in either party line will cause the registration of a vote on all of the counters devoted to him, and this is advisable both in ordinary and multicandidate groups, as it does not require that the totals on two or more registers be added'in order to indicate the total number of votes cast 'for a candidate,` as all ci' the registers will indicate the same amount, and the total from any of them will indicate the total number of ballots cast for the candidate,

lt will be understood that my invention, broadly considered, is applicable to any form of voting machine whether the connection is made between indicators, which. do not, when operated by the voter, register the ballot; or between indicators, which directly operate the registering devices.

The term registen when used in the claims is intended to mean (unless otherwise limited) any form of mechanism which will make a record of successive operations, whether by perlforating paper, moving tapes or wheels, dropping balls, or otherwise, these devices having been employed in this art.

l claim. as my invention:

l. In a voting machine, the combination with a support or plate, and a plurality of movable ballot indicators thereon, of a plurality of registering devices corresponding to the indicators, a support for the registering devices movable relatively to the indicator support to actuate the registering devices whose indicators have been operated, and connections mounted upon the register support and extending between two or more of the registering devices for causing their simultaneous operation when the indicators otl either have been actuated.

2. ln a voting machine, the combinationol' a series oi' ballot indicators, a series ol' registers controlled thereby, interlocking devices between the indicators for preventing the operation of more than a predetermined number, means for causing the simultaneous relative movements o'l' all of the registers and their indicators to actuate the registers oit the operated indicators, and connections be'- tween two or more of the registers to cause their simultaneous actua-tion by the relative movement of the indicators and registers aforesaid, when the indicator of either is operated.

3. ln a voting machine, the combination with the support, a series ot ballot indicators thereon independently adjustable to voting position, and interlocking devices for preventing the operation of more than a predetermined number, of the movable frame, a series of registers thereon corresponding to the indicators, each having an actuating member arranged to cooperate with an indicator when the latter is operated, and positive connections between two or more of the register actuating members lor causing their positive operation.

Ll. In a voting machine, the combination with a series of registers, each having an actuating member of an independently journaled rock-'shaft having the arms thereon adapted to connect positively with the actuatii'ig members of the registers to cause the simultaneous operation of two or more when any one of the actuators is operated.

5. In a voting machine, the combination with a series of registers, each having an actuating member, of a rock-shaft having independently adjustable arms thereon adapted to be connected with the register actuating members to couple two or more for simultaneous operation.

G. ln a voting machine, the combination with a register frame, and a series of registers thereon` each having movable actuating members, of the brackets removably secured to the frame, the rock-shaft journaled on the brackets, and the adjustable arms adapted to be connected to the register actuators to couple two or more for simultaneous operation. v

7. In a voting machine, the combination with a series of registers, each having an actuating member, of a rock-shaft, a series of arms thereon corresponding to the register actuators adjustable radially oi' the shaft and adapted to be connected to the register actuators.

8. In a voting machine, the combination with a series of registers, each having an actuating member, of the rock-shaft having the apertures, and the arms having the parallel portions passing through the shaft and adapted to be connected to the register actuators.

lOO

IIO

9. As an attachment for Voting machines, I rality of staple shaped arms movable 1'aa shalt having journals at the ends and a plu- (lially Ot the shaft each 0l said arms having a ra'lity of radially extensible arms mounted on hook on its end.

said shaft having engaging hooks on their ALFRED J. GILLESPIE. 5 ends. Witnesses:

l0. As an attachment for Voting` machines J. E. GILLEsPlE,

a shaft havingjournals at the ends and a plu- H. V. MCGREGOR.

Images