US1844070A - muller - Google Patents

Description

Feb. 9, 1932. R. 1... ULLER I 1,844,070

CALCULATING MACHINE Filed Aug. 15, 1927 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 M MM, 06 M535 M ATTORNEY 5 Feb. 9, 1932. I MULLER 1,844,070

CALCUL TING MACHINE Filed 15, 1927 '5 Sheets-Sheet 2 I $4M, '6 kavw1 ATTORN EY S Feb. 9, 1932.

R. L. MULLER CALCULATING MACHINE Filed Aug. 15, 1927 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Jaw/ @8441 ATTORNEY 5 I Feb. 9, 1932. R. L. MULLER 1,844,070

CALCULATING MACHINE Filed 1927 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 ATTORNEYS R. L MULLER CALCULATING MACHINE Feb. 9, 1932.

Filed Aug. 15, 1927 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 ATTORN EY 5 3.; descentinstead of prior to their ascent.

der these conditions, when the machine 1S Patented ab. 9, 1932' ROBERT L. MULLER, or nn'rnm'r,

CHINE COMPANY, DETROIT, MICHIGAN,

FATE

MICHIGAN, ASSIGNOB TO BURROUGHS ADDING MA- A CORPORATION OF MICHIGAN CALCULATING IEAGHINE Application filed August 15, 1927. Serial No. 212,869.

This invention relates to improvements in calculating machines, particularly to improvements for eliminating the necessity for taking a spacing stroke prior to taking a total 5 in machines of the type in which a carry is effected by giving the actuator racks machine an extra step of movement.

The well-known Burroughs machine, which is a machine of this type, has a series of actuator racks which, during the forward stroke of the machine, descend to differential positions determined by stops that are set by amount keys which are depressed in entering an item in the machine. When addition is being performed, a counter is rocked into engagement with the actuator racks after they have descended and, during the return stroke of the machine, the racks are raised to their original position which rotates the counter pinions to register in the counter the amount which has been indexed on the amount keys. When one of the counter pinions rotates from its 9,to its 0 position it trips a pawl that controls the upper limit of movement of the actuator rack of next highest order. After being tripped, this pawl is held in tripped position y a latch with the result that, when the actuator ascends, the pawl is out of the path of the :10 rack which then moves an extra step of movement upwardly to move its pinion one step to efiect a carry. Whena total is to be taken in this type of machine, the counter is moved into engagement with the racks prior to titipir given a forward stroke, the racks descend to positions d termmed by the counter pinions which are rotated to zero position where they 40 are stopped by theengagement of transfer projections on the pinions'with feet on the transfer pawls above mentioned. It will be obvious that if some of the racks have been given an extra step of movement in the last operation preceding a total, and if while they of the are in this condition the counter is moved into engagement with them to take a total, the total will not be correct because the racks do not occupy a uniform position at the start of the movement. Also, if any of the carry or transfer pawls are latched in tripped position, their feet will be out of the paths of the transfer projections on their pimons and hence the pinionswill not stop their racks when the latter descend so that another source of error will he introduced.

In the standard Burroughs machine, when a carry takes place, the total key is locked against depression until the machine has been given a spacing stroke to restore the actuator racks and the tripped carry pawls to normal position. The necessity for this spacing stroke slows up the operation of the machine to some extent and the present invention has been devised to permit the taking of a total without the necessity for this stroke. Constructions for doing this have already been devised wherein depression of the total key directly returns the parts to normal butthis makes the total key hard to depress. This becomes an important item where a machine is being used all day and totals are being taken frequently. The present invention comprehends a construction which will return the parts to normal without increasing the load on the total key.

The object of the invention is to provide, in a machine of the type in which actuator racks are givenan extra step of movement in eflt'eeting a carry, an improved mechanism for automatically returning the parts to normal prior to taking a sion of the total key and without increasing the load on said'key.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear from the following specification and drawings.

An embodiment of the invention is shown in the accompanying drawings in which,

Figure 1 is a partialcross section and side total by mere depreselevation of the right hand side of the machine with the arts in normal position.

Fig. 2 is a oreshortened front elevation with some of the parts omitted so as to show the remainder in a clearer manner.

Fig. 3 is a partial cross section and elevation of a portion of the line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is an enlar ed detail side elevation of the latching mec anism in normal position, the view showing the parts in normal position.

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 3 with the parts shown in the position they occupy at the time the non-spacing stroke mechanism has operated to restore the actuator racks and transfer pawls to normal.

Fig. 6 is a detail side elevation similar to Fig. 4 showing the latch mechanism in detall. The machine is tri ped position.

1g. 7 is a skeleton perspective view showing the parts in the position they occupy when the total key has been depressed and gie nonspacing stroke mechanism has operat- The invention is shown applied to a standard Burrou known that it will be described only briefly, reference being made to the many patents in the prior art which show its construction in referably motor operated, a portion of t e motor operatin mechanism being shown in Figs. 1 and 7 an reference bein made to Vincent No. 866,750 for details. While the invention is particularly ap licable to this machine it is not necessarily imited to it but may be applied to other machines operating in the same general way. I

The machine has a pluralit of actuator racks 610 carried on the ends pivoted arms 611 that move downwardly and then return gplwardly at every stroke of the machine.

e actuator racks are connected to the arms by pin and slotconnections which permit the racks to have a one-ste movement relative to the arms. The me are urged upwardly to the limit of their movement by springs 680, the normal position of the parts being illustrated in Fi 3. The arms 611 are normally held upwar l by a bail carried 2y th je arms 613 one 0 which is shown in en the machine .is given a forward stroke the bail 613 is lowered which permits the arms 611 and their racks 610 to move downwardly to extents .determined by stops Set by the amount ke on the machine. On the return stroke of t e machine the bail 613 restores the arms 611 with their racks 610 to their upward position and, when no carry has taken place, the upward movement of the racks 610 is limited by the engagement of studs 651 with pivoted pawls 413 such as shown in Fig. 1. When the studs 651 strike the machine on abouths machine which is so well-' their pawls 413 the arms 611 continue their upward movement one step against the tension of the springs 680.

The pawls 413 have downwardly extending arms provided with teeth 414 which are engaged by transfer projections 920 on the pinions 916 of the counter. When one of the pinions 916 rotates from its 9 to its 0 position while in engagement with the racks during the ascent of the latter, which controls the actuator rack for the pinion of next higher orderis moved rearwardly from the position of Fig. to that of Fig. 3 in which position the pawl 413 is no longer in the path of movement of the stud 651 of its actuator rack and, when the rack reaches the up er part of its movement, it continues upwar ast normal an extra step to the position of ig. 3. This advances its counter pinion one step and effects a carry. When g the pawl 413 is moved rearwardly to its Fig. 3 position it is latched and held in this posltion .by the latch 411 which moves over the top of it under the influence of its sprin 480.

t will thus be observed that the con ition of the parts at the end of an adding operation and in a bank in which a carry has taken place is that the actuator rack occupies the position one step above normal and the pawl 413 for that rack is latched in its rearward position. It is necessary to restore both of these parts to normal before taking a total and this is ordinarily done by giving the machine a spacing stroke which returns all the carried racks and restores the tripped carry pawls 413 in a manner which need not be explained in detail as it is well known.

The present invention concerns improvements whereby the racks 610 and the pawls 413 are automatically returned to normal by merely depressing the total key and without giving the machine a spacing stroke.

.Vonxpacing stroke mechanism The mechanism for eliminating the necessity for a spacing stroke is released by depression of the usual total key and is automatically operated by power, which, in the form illustrated, is furnished by a spring.

A sprin 10 is connected at one end to the frame of t e machine near the rear and at its other end to a link 11 that extends forward and is connected to an arm 12 rigidly fixed to a cross shaft 13 extending across the front of the machine as illustrated in Fig. 7. The link 11 is normally held against rearward movement by means of a latch mechanism hereinafter described. When this latch mechanism is tripped, the link is released and the spring 10 moves it rearwardly.

The arm 12 carries a passby pawl 14 adapted to engage a stud 15 on one end of a pivoted arm 16 whose other or lower end is positioned to engage a stud 17 on one side of a pivoted member 18 connected to the counter frame the pawl 413' ample,

in the well known manner illustrated, for exin Rinsche Patent No. 1,17 9,564. Ac-

when the link 11 is pulled to the rear from the position of Fi 1,-the passb pawl 14 rocks the arm 16 g ckwise whic moves the counter frame member 18 counter clockwise and moves the counter out of en-- gagement with the actuator racks.

The cross shaft 13 carries a series of arms 20 one of which is illustrated in Fig. 7 and others of which are illustrated in Fig. 2. There is one of these arms for each bank and each arm is fixed to the cross shaft and car ries a stud 21 operating'in a slot 22 in a forwardly extending arm 23 ofa pivoted member 24 which has a rearwardly extending arm 25 positioned to engage the stud 651 on its actuator rack 610. When the cross shaft 13 is rocked counter clockwise by the rearward movement of the link 11 the members 24 are rocked clockwise and, if any ofthe racks 610 have moved an extra step of movement in effecting the carry, the clockwise movement cordingly,

' of the members 24 will force the carried racks down one step to their normal position.

The cross shaft 13 also has fixed to it near its left hand end an arm having a stud 31 which. when the arm is moved, engages the end of a link 32 that is pivotally connected to one of the. side arms 33 carrying the cross bail 34 which is positioned to engage the rearwardlyvprojecting portions of the latches 411. hen the shaft 13 is rocked counter clockwise at the beginning of the forward stroke, the link 32 is forced rearwardly which rocks the bail 34 forward and restores the latches 411 so that the carry pawls 413 may move to normal under tension of their springs 480. In this manner the tripped carry pawls and latches are automatically restored as soon as the total key is depressed and the spring 10 draws the link 11 rearward.

It will thus be observed that three things "are accomplished by the rearward movement of the link 11, namely: (1) the counter is moved out of engagement with the actuator racks, (2) the racks that have moved an extra step in effecting a carry are forced downwardly one step to normal position; and (3) the latches 411 are restored to permitthe carr ing pawls 413 to be returned to normal. other words, the counter is rocked out of engagement with the racks and the carried and tripped transfer pawls are restored to normal while the counter is disengaged the entire movement being automatic under the action of the spring 10.

As previously mentioned, the link 11 is normally held against rearward movement by means of a latch mechanism. This mechanism is illustrated most clearly in Figs. 4 and (3. Referring to. Fig. 4 the link 11 is pivoted at to a forward extension of an arm 41 pivoted at 42 to a stationary frame stud. The extension on the arm 41 has an offset lug 43 adapted to engage behind a shoulder 44 formed by the nose of'one arm of the bell crank lever 45 pivoted at 46 to: a plate 47 secured to the machine side frame. The upper arm of this bell crank lever has an offset lug 48 positioned to be engaged by a shoulder 49 on a link 50 which is operated by the total key through connections hereinafter described. The bell crank lever 45 is'urged in a counter clockwise direction by a spring 51 and the link 50 is urged toward its uppermost position by a spring 52.

The link 50 is connected to an arm 53 (Fig. 7) fixed to a cross shaft 54 carrying an arm 55 connected by a link 56 with a bell crank lever 227 operated by the total and subtotal keys in a Burroughs machine, (the subtotal key not being shown). When the total key is depressed the shaft 54' is rocked clockwise which thrusts the link 50 rearward thereb causing the shoulder 49' to engage the 0 set lug 48 to rock the bell crank lever 45-clockw-ise to remove the shoulder 44 from the path of the lug 43 and thus release the link 11. When this occurs the spring 10 acts immediately to pull the link 11 rearwardly to actuate the mechanism hereinbefore described.

The link 11 is returned and the latch mechanism is reset by operation of the machine during the stroke following the depression of the total or sub-total keys. The lower end of the arm 41 carries a stud 60 operating in a slot 61 in the upper end of a pivoted lever 62 whose lower end is in the path of a stud (33 carried by the arm 64 that is oscillated with each operation of the machine. After the latch mechanism has been tripped and the spring 10 has moved the parts to the position of Fig. 7, the forward stroke of the machine moves the arm (54 from the full line to the dot and dash position of Fig. 4 which movement rocks the lever 62 counter clockwise from the Fig. 7 to the Fig. 4 position. The counter clockwise movement of the lever 62 rocks the arm 41 clockwise which thrusts the link 11 forward to normal position and re-tensions the spring 10. The arm 41 has another forwardly extending portion 65 carrying a stud 66 operating in a rectangular slot 67 in the end of the link 50. When the latch mechanism is tripped and the arm 41 is pulled rearwardly the stud 66 forces the link 50 downwardly to the position of Fig. 6 where the shoulder 49 is out of the path of the offset lugs 48. 'When the arm 41 is rocked clock wise in the restoration of the parts the offset lug 43 moves over the nose on the lower end of the bell crank lever 45 and the spring 51 snaps the bell crank lever to the latched position of Fig. 4. During this clockwise movement of the arm 41 the stud {l6 releases the link 50 so that it can be moved upward by the spring 52, and, at the same time, the link on the end Alla is pulled forward by the restoring of the total key mechanism which takes place at the end of the return stroke of the machine as soon as the pressure is released from the key. The parts are thus restored to the Fig. 4 position where they are in. condition for another operation.

Aufonmtz'o operation of machine by depression of total key In addition to saving the time of the operator that would ordinarily be required to take a spacing stroke, the machine is constructed so that depression of the total key not only conditions the machine for the taking of a total but also causes it to be given a stroke of operation by the motor.

The link 11 carries a stud 70 positioned to engage the upper end 71 of a bell crank lever 72whose other arm 73 is connected by means of a spring link 74 to the motor starting arm 7 5. Whenever the link 11 is drawn rearwardly the stud 70 engages the upper arm 71 and rocks the bell crank lever 72 clockwise which pulls upwardly on the link 74 and rocks the arm 75 to cause the motor to operate the ma chine. The stud 7 0 is located so that the machine is operated in proper timed relation to the automatic restoring means. It is necessary to give the automatic means a chance to operate before starting the machine because operation of the machine rocks the counter back into engagement with the racks. This timing is insured by having the operation of the machine dependent on operation of the link 70 and by delaying the operation of the machine by locating the stud a short distanoe from the bell crank lever arm 71 as shown in Fig. 1.

Totaling operation If an operator desires to take a total after a number of items have been entered and a carry has taken place it is merely necessary for him to depress the total key.

Depression of the total key releases the latch mechanism and permits the spring 10 to automatically snap the link 11 rearwardly. This moves the counter out of engagement with the racks, forces the carried racks back to normal, restores the 411 latches to permit the 413- carry pawls to be moved to normal and causes the motor tooperate the machine. As the machine starts to operate the counter is rocked into engagement with the racks before they descend by means of the usual Burroughs mechanism comprising a 'pitman and associated parts which are positioned by the total key and operated by operation of the machine.

This enables a total to be taken almost simultaneously and Without the necessity for .4 spacing stroke or the depression of the ordinary starting bar. This result is also zlifllt li s ilhhfid without putting a heavyload on the total key such as would be necessary if the parts were'operated by depression of the total key. The only direct movement of parts by depression of the total key, in addition to the parts normally indexed by depression of said key, are the connections which trip the latch and these are light, easily operated parts that do not add noticeably to the force required to depress the key.

It is to be understood that the construction shown is for purposes of illustration and that variations may be made therein without departing from the s irit and scope of the invention as defined y the claims.

I-claim:

1. In combination, in a calculating machine having actuator racks that are given an extra step of movement in efiecting a carry, carry pawls and latches, a counter, means for moving said counter into and out of engagement with the racks, and a total key having connections for conditioning the machine to cause the counter to engage the racks at the beginning of operation of the machine in taking a total; means acting automatically and instantaneously to move the counter out of engagement with the racks, to return carried racks to normal, and to restore tripped carry latches, restraining means'for normally restraining said automatic means against operation, connections operable'by the total key for releasing said restraining means to permit said automatic means to operate instantaneousl and mechanism actuated by operation 0 the machine for restoring said automatic means to normal restrained condition.

2. In combination, in a calculating machine having actuator racks that are given an extra step of movement in effecting a carry, carry'pawls and latches, a counter, means for moving the counter into and out of engagement with the racks, and a total key having connections for indexing the machine to cause the counter to be engaged with the racks at the beginning of operation of the machinein taking a total; a link, a shaft operatively connected to the link, means operated by the shaft for rocking the counter out of engagement with the racks, means operated by the shaft for moving carried racks downwardly to normal position, means operated by the shaft for restoring tripped carry latches to normal, a spring connected to said link for urging it in the direction to move the shaft to effect said operations, a latch normally restraining the link against movement, and connections operatedby the total key for tripping the latch to release the link for immediate and instantaneous movement.

3. In combination, in a calculating machine having actuator racks that are given an (-X' tra step of movement in eii'ecting a carry, carry pawls and latches, a counter, meals for moving the counter into and out of engagement with the racks, a total hey having connections for indexing the machine to cause the counter to engage the racks at the beginning of operation of the machine in talc ing a total, and a motor for operating the machine; automatic means for moving the counter out of engagement with the racks, for re'tur :tor restoring tripped carry iatches, means for normally restrainingsaid automatic means against movement, connections operable by depression'ot the total key for tripping said restraining means to release the automatic means for immediate and instantaneous movement, and mechanism released by depression of the total key for automatically causing the motor to operate the machine subsequent to and in timed relation to the operation of said automatic means.

4. In combination, in a calculating machine having actuator racks that are given an extra step of movement in effecting a carry, carry pawls and latches, a counter, means for moving the counter into and out 'of engagement with the racks, a total key having connections for indexing the machine to cause the counter to engage the racks at the beginning oi operation of the machine in taking a total, and a motor for starting the machine; automatic means for moving the counter out of engagement with the racks, for returning carried racks to normal, and for restoring tripped carry latches, restraining means tor normally preventing opera tion of the automatic means, connections operated by depression of the total key for tripping the restraining means to release the automatic means for immediate and instantaneous movement, and mechanism operated by movement of the automatic means for causing the motorto automatically operate the machine.

5. In combination inacaicula'ting machine having actuatortrachs that are given an extra step of inc tement in effecting a carry, carry pawis and latches, a counter, means for movmg the counter into and out of engage ment with the racks, atotalkey having connections for indexing themachine to cause the counter to engage the racks at the be ginning of operation of the machine in taking a total, and a motor for starting the machine; a linleoperatively connected to a cross shaft, means operated by the cross shaft for rocking the counter oiit of engagement with the racks, means operated by the cross shaft for moving carried racks downwardly to normal, and means operated by the shaft for restoring tripped carry latches to normal, a spring normally urging said link in a direction to move the shaft to effect-said operations, a latch mechanism normally restraining the link against movement, connections operated by the total key for releasing the latch, and means actuated by the link for lg carried racks to normal, and

causing the motor to operate the machine after the link has moved to actuate the shaft.

6. The combination in a calculating machine having a counter, transfer mechanlsm adapted to move to sheet transfers during operation at the machine in entering items and to he restote-d to normal during a sub sequent operation of the machine, and a total baiting means for conditioning the machine to take a total; o? means set by operation of the machine and released by said total taking means when it is operated to condition the machine to tak a total acting automatically and instantaneously to restore said transfer mechanism to normal prior to said totaling operation Without requiring an operation at the machine.

In testimony whereof, it have subscribed my name.

- RGBERT L. ii /KELLER.

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