US1287517A - Combined type-writing and computing machine. - Google Patents

Description

E. THOMAS.

COMBINED fPE wRmNG AND comPulNG MAcHrN-E.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. I3, 1912.

BY l 6/ Patented Dec. 10, 1918.

m@ Wg WITNESSES: WK@

E.THOMAS.

COMBINED IYPE WRITING AND COMPUTING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 13. i912.

1 ,287,5 17. Patented Dec. 10, 1918.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

BY@ M Mm ATTO EY UNITED i STATES PATENT OFFICE.

EDWARD THOMAS, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, T0

UNDERWOOD COMPUTING MACHINE COMPANY, OF N EW YORK, N. Y., A CORPO- RATION OF NEW YORK.

Specication of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 10, 1918.

Application filed December 13, 1912. 'Serial No. 736,452.

To all whom, t may concern:

Be it known that I, EDWARD THOMAS, a citizen of the United States, residing in New York, in the county of New York and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Combined Type-Writing and Computing Machines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates t0 computing machines in which numeral keys are operated to set certain computation pins, the latter being subsequently employed to determine the extent of movement of the diall wheels or devices. 7 The improvement is especially adapted to combined typewriting and computing Vmachines, and it is illustrated in connection with the Underwood-Hanson machine of this type.

In said machine each dial wheelis'provided with a rack bar whereby it is operated; and upon each rack bar are nine pins. The keys are connected to devices for setting any` of the nine pins on any of the rack bars.

As illustrated in patent to Hanson No. 905,421, dated December 1, 1908, the pins have been mechanically held down whenever depressed by the keys. Inanother form of said invention, means are provided so that when any pin on a given rackl bar is de pressed, said pin will automaticallyl release any previously depressed pin on said bar, thus making it unnecessary to have a speclal error key for making a correction. In carrying out this feature of said form, each computation pin, when depressed, is latched down by means of a universal latch, namely, a latch which is universal to all the pins of one` bar. The construction is such that the depression of any pin first releases]l said latch, and hence releases any previously set pin, while at the conclusion of thiedepression of the Pin, the latch snaps into pos1t1ou to lock the depressed vpin down.

Each of the pins in saidform of the .1nvolition is spring-pressed, normally tending to retunr' to ine'ectivepos'itlon, so .that the releaseof the latch restores every pm to 1 n'- effective position. In said forml of the 1nvention, the rack bars are operated, i as is usual, by a general operator, after the numeral keys have been depressed for writing and setting up any given number; and at the conclusion of the movement of Said general'. operator, means are provided for operatmg the -latches of all the bars, so as to release allv the pins, and the springs return all the depressed pins back to their ineffective positions.

In said Underwood-Hauson machine there is one rack bar for each denomination, and according to the present invention the universal-latch on each rack bar is provided with means for connecting it to the zero numeral key, so that the depression of said zero key will release allthepins set on any given rack bar'at any one time. Said connection maybe in theform of an idle pin on the rack bar comprising a cam, which, like the cams on the other pins, moves its universal latch to ineffective position. Said zero pin, however, is preferably not provided with any catch by which it may be held bv said latch. Thus the mere depression of the zero key, when any rack bar is in effective position, will release any set pins on said rack bar and thus provides'that the operation of any numeral key, even though it be the zero key, will correct any previously made error in any denomination.

Other features and advantages will hercinafter appear.

In the accompanying drawings,

Figure 1 is a sectional side elevation from front to rear of an Underwood-Hanson combined typewriting and computing machine..

Fig. 2 is a plan of cert-ain jacks for determining the order of operation of the computation-pin bars.

Fig. 3 is' a part sectional side elevation o va. computation pin bar, showing one of the pins as la'tched down and the others in normal positions.

' Fig. 4 isva part sectional perspective view ofaf portion of the pin bar, showing the first pin thereon as latched down and about -to be released bythe zero pin.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view to illustrate the devices connected to the general operator for automatically releasing the depressed pins atthe conclusion of the cycle of movements of the general operator.

Fig. 6 illustrates the preferred form of a computation pin.

Fig. 7 is a sectional side elevation illustrating the pin-releasing movement of the general operator.

Alphabet keys 1 and numeral keys 2, promounted upon a carriage 7, Which is propelled by a spring barrel 8 and controlled in the usual mannerby'an'eseapement' wheel 9 and dogs 10, the latter operated by-a universal5bar-'11, which isidriven by wheels erated by pinions 14, which mesh with racks 15 formed upon bars 16, one .bar for each `dial-wheel; Veach'bar carrying a set of com putation-pins 17, which are depressible by linkages 18, the latter including rock shafts 19 which have the usual arms 2O engageable by stems 21 pendent from the numeral keys Depression of any numeral key 2, eX- cept the zero key, to operate itstype bar causes thexdepression of the corresponding linkagel, whereby one ofthe pins 1 7-is depressed in the pathof a' bar 22 on a general operaton 23, which rmay be. operated by a ci-'ank ,24- after all of the desired. pins 17 havebeenfset.. r1 ".he crankisiixed upon a rock, sliaft 25; and thefsliaftcarries a seg- 'neiita'l-gear 26,- which'meslies wit-,h an idle pinion-27; the lattermeshing with' the rack 23 and forming part of the general operator forturningsthe computing wheels..

.-In ,order .to ybe'able to depress or'v set one of the. pins':' 17,however,fits bar. 16 must be lifted above the other bars; andthis is done by a' denomination selecting mechanism, which-'is controlledby the .typewriter carriage .7,in conjunction ,with the numeral keys 2. .Q v1Upon theearriageis. a dogv28, which, during the letter-feeding movementsof thecarriage. raises denoinination-selecting Jacks 29 onef'afte'r another, and 'these jacks v depress links 30 .Whoseflower ends 'are pivoted to lciers 31 which operate linkages .32.t1o elevate the :pin-carryingbars 1 6.; the linkages 3 2. forming a, transposition device whereby the order of operation ofthe bars 16 1s reversed, the extreme. right hand- )ack .29, .which is the. first to be operated, causing the lifting of the extreme left hand pin barl 16, as usual.

Each-0f the bars 16 isprovided with a seiiiesjof. vertical perforations .33 to form bearingsyfor the .body portionsv34 4ofthe computation nins 17 and said perfoi'ations maybe of square-foi'in as .illustratedal- .though the invention is not lnnitedgto'r such forni,. y

The pins are held .up inA normal positions by coinpressionsprings fwhichbear up under heads 36 secured uponthe; tops l ofthe pins and are engageable bytheliiikages 18. At i their lower ends the springs 35- bear upon aplatef 'which supported upon' the bar in raised position, being fixed to lu'gsor ele- \f' ations 38, 9 40 t'ornied or provided. on the piu bar 16. TheI upward or return movement ofcach piu is limited h i' a 4 houlder 4l .formed thereon. v

lVhenever an;v computation pin 17 is depressed, its shoulder 41 catches under a latch 42, so that the pin is held down. This latch 42 is'adapted'to latch down any of the pins, -and hence is in the nature of a universal latch. lt may be formed of a strip of a. sheet nietal mounted to slide endwise along the bar 16 and having a series of perforations 43, one for each of' the computation pins A draw spring 44 is connected at one end to the universal latch and at the otheiiend to thepart 40 of the bar 1li, and tendsconstantly to move said latch to pinlocking'po'sition. The sentunis 45 between the perforations 43 are the members which lock the-pins down; and they are preferably beveledA asfa't 46, and each shoulder 41 has a beveled iinder side,.asl at 4 7, so as to cani the universal latch forwardky during the depression of any7 pin. At .the completion of the down stroke of the pin` the universal latch 42 snaps'reaiwardly and catches over the shoulder V41, as seen at Figs. 3 and 4. The computationpin is thereby held down until' itcan' be engaged by the cross bar 22 ofthe generaloperator, when 4it serves as a lug whereby7 said cross bar advances said bar 16 and rotates .the dial wheel 1?). The peilforations 43 in the` universal latch 42 are'I elongatedv to permit the necessary 'shifting of the latch. The latter may be coniii'edfat' oiie"end in a slot 48 in the lug 3 8,"aiidc ati-the other end may work .in a bearing49 'in'tlie'bottoni' of lug 39; or the latter may be secured to thebar 16 by means 'of' a' piiil), passing throufrl'i a slot 51 in the end 'of"sa.id'l atch vbar or member 42. v.1f an errorfhas been made, the operatorl need' inot press the errorkey, but may, after resetting the; ltypewriter carriage, iinn'iediately strike the" right numeral key; and the depression 'thereof will force down another one of the nins'l', and the cam 4You the latter will force forwardly the latch bar 42, causing the latter to release the previously depressed 'ping' so Af hat'fthe latter is automatically returned vto 'normal 'position'by its spring and thesp'ring 44`will' snap the latch 42 under 4thenefwlydepressed pin. locking the saine doW'nin working position. If reset- -t -ii ig' tl'i e typewriter carriage back does not elevatefthe proper rack bar 16, the operative may set the 'carriage back 'several spaces and then use 'the'space key usually found in typewriting machines tobringthe carriage to elevate the correct bar. The pins are shown as fitting loosely in' the bearings in the bar, but"it will Ybe understood that the fit willbe close enough -to insure proper operationfoffthe' parts." Each piu may, if desired, be'forined with a slight projection 52, Fig.`6', to give the latch 42 a little additional release motion, to insure that the previously depressed -pin shall be released; the edge of the pin sloping both upwardly and downwardly from the top of the projection to form cams for this purpose.

Upon the completion of the return stroke of the general operator 23, a cam 53 thereon engages a wrist 54 provided on an arm 55 and lifts said arm together with a plate or bar 56 which is carried partly by said arm and partly by a companion arm 57 Fig. 5; said arms xed upon a rock shaft 58 suitably mounted in the framework. The bar 56 is elevated to the Fig. 7 position during the conclusion of the return stroke of the general operator 23, and lifts up all of the set of pins 59 provided one upon each of the bars 16 in front of the computation pins 17. Each of these pins 59 has a cam portion 60 which passes up through a` perforation 61 in the associated universal latch bar 42, and said cam portion 60 engages the forward edge of the slot 61 and forces the latch 42 forwardly to a position to release any pin that it may be latching down; whereby it is insured that all the pins shall be in normal positions at the conclusion of the return stroke of the general operator. During the final portion of said return stroke, the wrist 5d runs olf from the cam 58, and the releasing bar 56 drops, and individual springs 62 return the released pins 59 to normal positions. Buring the next forward stroke of the general operator 23, the cam rotates about its pivot 64E without lifting the releasing bar 56; and a spring 65 then returns cam 53 to normal position.

In addition to the computation pins 17. each rack bar also comprises a zero computation pin 66 which is operated like the other keys from a linkage 18, said linkage being operated b y a pendent 21 depending from the Zero numeral printing key. Then said pin 66 is depressed, a cam face 67 thereon moves the latch 42, as do the cam faces of the pins 17, so that depression of said pin 66 will release any pin 17 previously set in said bar. Said pin 66 above its cam surface 67 has a flat surface 68 parallel to its length. which fiat surf-a ce holds said latch 42 in the ineffective position of the latch. Said flat surface 68 is advantageously of such length that the pin 66 cannot be depressed far enough to be caught by the latch 42. From this it results that the depression of the pin 66 by the zero key will permit any previously set pin of a given rack bar to be resetby its spring, while on the return stroke of said Zero numeral key. the spring 35, encircling the Zero pin 66, will return said Zero pin to its nornal ineffective position thus leaving no pin set on the rack bar.

In order to accommodate the flat surface 68, the plate 37 in which the upper ends of pins 17 and 66 are guided, may be slightly offset. as seen in Figs. 3 and 4: and the head 69 of the pin 66 may be thinned as best seen in Fig. 3, so as to allow room for the free compression of the spring 35 around they pin 66.

Variations may be resorted to within the scope of the invention, and portions of the improvements may be used without others.

Having thus described my invention. I claim: l

1. In a combined typewriting and computing machine, the combination Awith numeral wheels, nine numeral printing keys and a Zero printing key, of a letter-feeding carriage under the control of all of said keys, a set of denominational rows of indexing devices settable by said nine numeral keys` means controlled by said carriage for deter-y mining in which denominational row an indexing device shall be set by any of said numeral keys, means to enable the set indexing devices to determine the extent of rotation of the wheels, means operated by the depression of any of said numeral keys to print, to set its Own indexing device and restore any previously set indexing device, and means operable by the depression of said zero key to print, to restore any previouslv set indexing device in any denominational row selected by said carriage.

2. In a combined typewriting and computing machine, the combination with numeral wheels, nine numeral printing keys and a zero printing key, of a letter-feeding carriage under the control of all of said kevs, a set of denominational rows of indexing devices settable by said nine numeral keys. means controlled by said carriage for determining in which denominational row an indexing device shall be set by any of said numeral keys, means to enable the set indexing devices to determine the extent of rotation of the wheels. means operated by the depression of any of said numeral keys to print, to set its own indexing' device and restore any previously set indexing device, and means under the joint control of said carriage and said zero key when operated to print to restore any previously set indexing` device in any denomination. I

3. In a combined typewriting and computing machine. the combination with numeral wheels, nine numeral printing kevs and a zero printing key. of a letter-feeding carriage under the control of all of said keys, a set of denominational rows of indexing devices settable by said nine numeral keys. means controlled by said carriage for determining' in which denominational row an indexing device shall be set by any of said numeral keys, means to enable the set indexing devices to determine the extent of rotation of the wheels. means operated by the depression of any of said numeral keys to print, to set its own indexing device and restore any previously set indexing device. a

zero device forA each denominational row of indexing devices, and a universal bar operated by the zero key when operated to print and acting on all the zero devices to restore any previously set indexing device inany denominational Vrow selected by said carriage. Y a Y i I l. In a combined typewriting and computing machine, the combination with numeral wheels, nine numeral printing keysand a vzero printing key, of a letter-feeding carriage under the control of all of said keys, a set of denominational rows of indexing devices settable ,by said. nine numeralrkeys, means controlled by said carriage for determining in which denominational row an indexing device shall be set by anyof'said numeral' keys, means to enable the set indexing devices to determine the extent of rotation of the wheels, means operatedby the depression of any of said numeral keys to print, to set its own indexing device'and restore any previously set'indexingdevice, Va zero device for eachrdenominational indexing device movable to restore any previously set indexing device, said Zero key common to all of said zero devices, said zero devices being normally out of relation with said key, and means brought into action Vby the carriage movementI for rendering said VZero key eective on all of said zero devices. i

5. In a combined typewriting and computing machine, the combination with numeral wheels, nine numeral printing keys 'and a zero printing key, of' a letter-feeding carriage under the control of all of. said keys,1a set of denominational rows of indexing devices settable by said nine numeral keys, means controlled by said carriage for determining in which denominational 'row an indexing device shall be set by any of said numeral keys, means to enable the set indexing devices to determine the extent ofV rotation of the wheels, means operated by the depression of any of said numeral keys to print, to set its own indexingdevice and restore any previously set indexing device, a zero device for each denomination movable to restore any previously set indexing device, a movable bar common to all of said zero devices, said zero devices being normally out of relation with said bar, and means brought into action by the carriage movement for rendering said bar effective on said zero devices.

keys, a set of denominational rows of indexing devices settable by said nine numeral keys, means controlled by said carriage for determining in which denominational row an indexing device slislll'be set-'by 'any of resumir said numeral keys, means to enable the set indexing devices to determine the extent of rotation oi' the wheels, means operated by the depression of any of said numeral keys to print, to set its own indexing device and restore any previously set indexing device, a zero device for each denomination movable to restore any previously set indexing device, a. movable bar common to all of said zero devices, a connection from said zero key to said bar, said devices being normally out. of relation with said bar, and means brought into action bythe carriage movement to enable said bar, when swung-by said zero key, to act on all of said zero devices.

7 In a combined typewriting and computing machine, the combination with computing devices, nine numeral printing keys and a zero printing key, of a letter-feeding Vcarriage under the control 0f all of said keys, a set of denominational rows of indexing devices settable by said nine numeral keys, means enabling any of said numeral keys, on setting its own indexing device, to restore any previously set indexing device,

.means controlled by said carriage-:tor determining in which denominational row an indexing device shall be set by any of said numeral keys, a general operator for engaging and moving the set indexing devices to determine the extent of movement of the computing devices, a zero device, one for each denominational rowoi indexing devices, said device movably mounted out of the range of movement of said general operator, and acting to restore any previously set indexing device, and means operated by the movement of said Zero key to print, to

:move said zero device to restore any indexing device in any denominational row as determined by said carriage.

8. In a combined typewriting and computing machine, the combination with .computing devices, nine numeral printing keys and a zero printing key, of a letter-feeding carriage under the control of all of said keys, a set of denominational rows of indexing` devices settable by said nine numeral keys, means controlled by said carriage for determining in which denominational row an indexing device shall be set by any of said numeral keys, a general operator for running into the computing devices the numbers indexed, and mechanism individual to each denominational row of indexing devices for temporarily latchinoand then releasing any indexing device o? the row, said mechanism including means whereby either the general operator, or Vthe Zero key when operated to print, may eiect the releasing.`

9. A computing machine having computing devices, means for actuating the computing devices, a series of lexibly mounted ldigit pins for each denomination, and a Vgeneral operator for running into the computing devices numbers as represented by said pins; and comprising, in combination, a. Zero pin and a release pin for each denomination, a zero printing,` key, means brought into operation by said zero printing key for acting` on said zero pin to release said digit pins, and means brought into 0peration ifi-oni the general operator and acting through said release pin to release said digit pins.

EDARD THOMAS. Witnesses:

TITUS H. RONs, F. E. ALEXANDER.

Copies of this patent lmay be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents Washington, D. G.

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