US874107A - Digit-repeating mechanism for adding-machines. - Google Patents

Description

No. 874,107. PATENTED DEC. 17, 1907.

G. N. MOPARLAND. DIGIT REPEATIN EGHANISM FOR ADDING MACHINES. APP TION FILED SEPT, 21, 1906.

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# Any No. 874,107. PATENTED DEO.'17, 1907.

G. N. MOFARLAND.

DIGIT REPEATING MECHANISM FOR ADDING MACHINES. APPLICATION FILED SEPT, 21, 1906.

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er Jgventor: 4 4 4,, 7% drum No. 874,107. PATENTED DEC. 17, 1907.

C. N.- MOFARLAND.

DIGIT REPEATING MECHANISM FOR ADDING MACHINES. APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 21, 1906.

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I W'iwhwlnventor:

45a Atti To all whom it may concern:

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES N. MCFARLAND, OF KINGSTON,PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO THE ADDER MACHINE COMPANY, OF KINGSTON, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION OF PENNSYL- IVANIA."

No. s74,1 o7.

'DIGIT-REPEATING MECHANISM FOR ADDING-MACHINES.

Patented Dec. 17, 1907 Applicaticn filed SeptenilJerZl, 1906. Se ria1N0-'335.571.

Be it known that 1, CHARLES N. MOFAR I LAND, a citizen of the United States, residing at Kingston, in the ,county of Luzerne an State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain nevt and useful 1 Improvements in Digit- Repeating Mechanisms for AddingeMachines, of which the iollowing is .a specification.

My invention relates to adding machines and more particularly to means for re eating the addition and accumulation of i entical digits of the same denomination in successive items wherein the other digits are varied.

Machines of this-class are commonly provided with a key-board consisting of keys arranged in denominational series, a usual nine keys each, al

arrangement being nine horizontal rows of zontal row being alike, but, of course, of difierent denominations. A good example oi a machine of this class is described n the U. S;

pat-ent of Charles Wales, No. 797,032, issued.

Aug. 1.5, 1905. 1 Some of these machines have also beenprovid'ed with a multiplying or re- Y eating'mechanism whereby an item having eenonce set up by the keys in the machine, it may be successively and repeatedly accumulated in the machine by each actuation of its mechanism, without further manipula tion of the machine, the principle governing the actuation of such mechanism providing ber has been registered.

for an interruption of the action of the mechanism by means of which the numeral wheels are commonly restored to zero after a num Such a mechanism is, for instance, described in Letters Patent of the United States No. 745,541, issuedDec. 1st, 1903, to Charles \V ales.

It frequently occurs that among a number of items to be registered many items will occur having identical digits, or combinations of digits of the same denominations.

It is the purpose of my invention to secure an economy of time and thought on the part of the operator by repeating these digits without re-sctting them on the key-board while the other digits of the items enumer- Suppose, for'instance, th at the operator had ten items readin" as follows: $468.89; $335.89; $27.89;

$521.89 and $432.89. It has long been desirable to iind a means for-permitting the dig its .89 common to all of these items to remain set up in the machine, while the other of the keys in each hori-' suppose we have thefollowing items:

It will be noticed that the-tens column of cents iscomposed entirelyof 8s and the, units column of dollars entirelyof 6s. By my invention the 6 key in the one column and the 8 key in the other column is al digits are'changed at each actuation. Again lowed to remain set and is added into each item enumerated, while the remaining digitsin these items are changed.

It will be understood that the general bodyingthe same forming the subject matter of this application. comprises a key board composed of keys arsuch series consisting of keys numbered from 1 to 9. Each key is provided with a dependent stem and key levers. These parts'will remain in either one of two positions until removed therefrom by an impulse received eitherfrom the operator .or other parts of the machine. The key levers serve to operate a series of stops to which they are connected at their lower ends and to raise such stops when the keys are depressed to inter-- pose them in the paths of racks which by connected mechanism determine the position of numeral wheels, one for-each denominational series. The particular stop which has been inter osed determines therefore I the extent of t 'e-rotation of its numeral wheel. On the periphery of each wheel is displayed a serie'sof numerals corresponding with the series. By appropriate mechanism, the operator of-the main or actuating shaft sets in motion trains of mechanism which cause the items set on the wheels to be accumulated and re istered, or recorded, as the case may be.

recorded and the numeral wheels are all The general mechanism successive members of its denominational The totals are also indicated and to the specific invention and mechanism emranged in nine denominational series, each of v described in the patent referred to and form secured a link 102 connected to and cooperbeing supported upon a p1n 11l the paths of reciprocating racks 305 which by returned to zero and the keys .totheir normal undepressed position. All of these parts are no part of my invention.

Referring to the drawings, Figure 1 is a top plan view of the key board and that portion of the mechanism immediately in front of the same. the plane of the line 22 in Fig.3 and a partial side elevation, Fig. 3 is a rear view of the parts shown in Fig. 2, Fig. 4 is a perspective detail of one of the stoplatches Fig. 51s a detail view of the train of mechanismactuated by the repeat key, Fig. 6 is a detail of the latches and adjacent parts.

' In the drawings, 100 is the actuating shaft .of the machine journaled in suitable bearings and oscillated by a handle, or other suitable means, (not shown); Rigidly secured to the shaft is a crank 101 to which is ating withother parts of the mechanism not necessary to be described. Aroll'er 103 is pivoted on the crank 101 and is adapted to engage with the lower surface 105 of an arm 104 which arm is pivoted at 106 to a crank 107, the other end of which is secured to a shaft'108 supported in suitable bearings in the frame 109 of the machine. The arm 104 is slotted at. 110 to permit freedom ofmovement at that place, andalso to permit of its projecting. from the frame of the machine.

The key board comprises a series of 81 keys arranged in nine rows, each row representing a denominationa, being cents; I), tens of cents; 0, dollars; d, tens of dollars; a, hundreds of dollars thousands of dollars; 9, tens. of thousands of dollars; it, hundreds of thousands of dollars, and i, millions of dollars, and each row having nine keys num. bered from 1 to9, respectively. It also comprises a repeat key 400, the purpose of which will presently a pear.

- Each numera key is provided with a finger piece or top. 300, a key stem 301, a key lever 302, and a retracting spring 303. The key levers are adapted to elevate and depress a series of stops 304 to which they are secured at their lower ends and by their elevation to interpose the tops of the stops into connecting mechanism determine the position of the numeral wheels (not shown), and therefore the items to be accumulated. It will be'unders'tood that the extent of move ment of the racks determine the position of the numeral wheels and that the racks move toward the front of the machine until they meet the stops in their respective paths.

Each denominational series of keys is provided with a gravity gate 310 having a Fig. 2 is a vertical section on Weight 311 and pivoted to a common shaft 312 arranged across the machine. Whenever any of the 'stopsare raised this gate in the series affected is also raised. So long as any gate is in position its correspondingrack bar is prevented from moving toward the stops. 1

- An inverted U-shaped frame 200 consisting of ahorizontal plate 260, two vertical plates 261 and 262 and two dependent ears, 263 and 264, is arranged across the machine and supported on the frame which supports the key stems and is' provided with suitable apertures to guide the sto s 304 in their vertical reciprocation and to imit theirtlat'eral movement.

The vertical ( plates 261 and 262 of this frame 1 are aperture to provide bearings for pintles 203 of latches or broad pawls 204, which latter are nine in number, one for each denomi-- national series of keys. These latches are normally pressed against the stop 304, above cam legs 313 with which "the stops are provided, by means of springs 205, theother ends of which are secured to rods 206 rigidly mounted 'on the U-shaped frame 200 and which rods also serve to hold the parts of the frame rigidly together. The cam lugs 313 are all of the same height and each latch 204 presses against all of the stops 304 of its se ries just'above these lugs when the keys are undepressed. Each latch 204 is provided with a trip-ear 207 extending outside of the u-shaped frame 200. 1

.It is obvious that when the key stems are undepressed that any one of the stops 304 may be elevated to pass the latch 204 of the .denominationalseries ofwhich that particular stop forms a part, because the latch yields against the tension of its spring for that pur pose, but that after such stop has acquired its new position with its cam lug 313 above the latch 304 that such stop cannot be dropped and restored to its-original position unless its latch 204 is moved from beneath its cam lug by some positive means. Such. means is found in the shaft 108 which is provided at suitable intervals correspondingto the positions of the several latches and directly under their respective e'a'rs 207 with pins 120 which are adaptedto engage such trip ears to move the latches 204 when the shaft 108 is rocked or oscillated.

The repeat key 400 is a key having a long dependent stem 401 pivoted at its lower extremity to one arm 402 of a bell crank lever adapted to oscillate on a pivot 403 and the other arm of which 404 is provided with a pin 405 adapted to move against the surface 105 of the arm 104 to raise the-latter but of contact with the roller 103 of the crank 101 of the actuating shaft. The repeatkey stem 401 is also provided with a shoulder 406'adapted to engage with a pin 407 secured to the frame of the machine" to hold the latter in a depressed position, the key stern being so arranged that the key must not only be depressed but tilted slightly forward, to engage its shoulder 406 with this pin; When the repeat key is manuthe numeral keyswill not be disturbed, but

willbe repeated at each actuation of the machine and continually and successively accumulate on the numeral wheels. This is because the stops 304, which have been lifted and interposed in the path of the res ective rack bars, are held in place by their atches 204 whichhave not been moved.

It is readily seen that if after a. number of repetitions of the items set up on the keys and through the keys on the sto s and numeral wheels, the repeat key is re eased and allowed to return to its initial undepressed position, that such release secures the rockmg of the shaft 108at the next stroke of the .moves its latch 204 common to allthe keys actuating lever and thus moves all of the latches 204 of the different denominational series to permit their respective stops 304 to return to their initial positions, and thereafter the machine can be actuated as thou h it had no repeat key. It will also readily e understood that if any key be depressed, depressing'another key in the same denominational series will at once and automatically restore-the first named key to its original 'independent position, because depressing any key of a series lifts its corresponding stop 304, which acting through its cam lug 313,

of its denominational series; and, as soon as this latch has been moved awa from its stops, any stop which has been hfted is at once' retracted downward under the influ- Thus the key board may be said to be flexible or self c orrecting because depressing any key ina denominational series at once and automaticall T restores any other key in the same series which has previously been. de ressed. If now an item has been set upon t e keys and the repeat key is depressed, this item will be successively and automatically repeated at each actuation of the machine as we have seen. But any digit of such item may be changed simply by depressing the key corresponding to the new digit when the new stop is interposed in the path of its rack, instead of the o (1 stop. If the repeat key,

however, has not been touched, the shaft 108remains inrt and inoperative, and the latches of the other denominational series are unaffected and the digits set up in such series continue to be repeated at each actuation of the machine. Any digit may similarly be changedand when so changed be indefinitely repeated simply by letting the repeat key alone and stri to set up the new item.v This eifects a great economy of time and thought.

What I claim as new is 1. In a machine of the character described, numeral keys arranged in denominational series, each key under tension and each key having it"stop carrying a cam lug, a latch adapted to engage with all of the lugs of the same series and which latch is under tension tohold the same against the stops, at restoring rock shaft adapted to actuate all of the latches of all of the series thereby restorin those which have been moved to their initia positions and means for interrupting the o' eration ofsaid shaft comprising a key on t e key board provided with a depending stem which when held depressed keeps the rock shaft inactive.

2. In a machine of the character described, numeral keys arranged in denominational se ries, each key under tension and each key having a stop carrying a cam lug, a late adapted to engage with all of the lugs of the same series and which latch is under tension to hold the same against the stops, the depression of any key in a series thereby restoring to its initial position any other key in the,

HUBBARD B. PAYNE, WILLIAM R. BAIRD.

ing the new digit

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