US2216636A - Calculating machine - Google Patents

Description

Oct. 1, 1940. w A, W B 2,216,636

CALCULAT ING MACHINE Original Filed Sept. 26, 1951 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 FlE .l

I N V EN TOR. Wefl fl We A TTORNE Y Oct. 1, 1940. w WEBB 2,216,636

CALCULATING MACHINE Original Filed Sept. 26, 1931 s Sheets-Sheet 2 ELLE-LE.

Oct. 1, 1940. w, A, WEBB CALCULATING MACHINE Original Filed Sept. 26, 1931 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR 14 8/15 /7 l l ATTORNEY F4 FIE LS- Patented Oct. 1, 1940 UNITED STATES CALCULATING MACHINE Wells A. Webb, Berkeley, Calif., assignor to Marchant Calculating Machine Company, a cornotation of California Application September 26, 1931, Serial No. 565,234

' Renewed March 22, 1938 11 Claims. (01. 235-66) The present invention relates to devices comprising a stationary part and a displaceable part and particularly to mechanism for selectively shifting the displaceable part in either direction to any desired position.

The invention is shown and described as applied to a calculating machine, but is equally applicable to adding machines, printing machines, typewriters, listing machines, check wriers, tabulating machines and other devices having relatively movable parts which it is desired to position in various displaced positions with respect to each other.

It is an object of the invention to provide means for automatically positioning a displaceable mechanism to a predetermined position.

Another object of the invention is to provide means for automatically shifting a displaceable mechanism to any one of a plurality of-predetermined. positions under the control of means adapted to determine the direction and the extent of movement of said mechanism.

Another object of the invention is the provision of means for locking the displaceable mechanism in any displaced position thereof, said means comprising the driving means.

Another object of theinvention is the provision of means for automatically shifting a displaceable mechanism including unitary controlling means settable to a plurality of positions to control'operation of said shifting means.

A further object of the invention is the provision of suitable spring power for shifting a displaceable carriage through one or more positions in either direction upon operation of the controlling means therefor.

Another object of the invention is to provide suitable means for positively arresting a displaceable carriage at the completion of a shift without causing undue strain on the shifting mechanism. c

Other objects will appear from the following description, reference being made to the drawv ings, in which:

Figure 1 is a general plan view of the tabulating shift comprising the present invention.

Figure 2 is a front elevation of the special shift keys and associated mechanisms.

Figures 3, 4, and are sections taken on lines 3-3, 44 and 5-5, respectively, of Figure 1 i1- lustrating the various instrumentalities employed in the present invention.

Figure 6 is a fragmentary detail in plan of the mechanism which controls the direction as well as the extent of a shifting operation.

Figure 7 is a section taken on line '!-'I of Figure 2 showing in detail the differentially movable slide for determining the order into which the carriage of a calculating machine is to be shifted and the bail for holding said slide and parts controlled thereby in its displaced position until automatically released and restored at the termination of a shifting operation.

Figure 8 is a fragmentary section through the parts constituting the unit for connecting an air shock absorber with the driving or actuating means of the carriage during the last step of a shifting operation thereof.

Figure 9 is a detail view of the cam lever which prevents operating connection between the air shock absorbing means and the carriage actuating means until the last step of a shifting operation.

Shift keys The shifting mechanism is controlled by a plurality of shift keys I which are preferably arranged in one single row directly in front and in alignment with the various key sections forming the keyboard of a calculating machine.

The shift control keys (Figures 1 and 2) are mounted in a key section frame 2 of conventional design and are held in normal or raised positions by compression springs 3. Disposed underneath the key stems 4 and mounted in brackets 5 depending from the key section frame 2 is a'slide Ii with a plurality of V-notches l which are identical to each other, there being one of these notches provided for each shift key stem 4. At the bottom of each V-notch is a downwardly extending slot 8 conforming to the thickness of the shift key stems. The distance between the I center of each of these slots is the same, but is slightly greater than the distance from key stem to key stem so that in the relative spacing between the key stems and the slots each succeeding slot 8 is spaced one increment further away from its respective key stem than "the preceding one, so that depression of a shift key will position the said slide 6 a differential amount equivalent to the value of the key depressed. A strong spring 9 tensioned between a stud 10 on the slide 6 and a depending lug ll on the shift key frame always tends to return the slide 6 and all other parts controlled thereby to normal or inactive position. The extreme left hand end of slide 6 is provided with a downwardly extending portion which terminates in a pin 12. This pin provides the connection between the slide 6 differentially positioned by any of the shift keys I and the mechanism for controlling the extent of a shifting operation.

A bail l3 (Figures 1, 2 and 7) positioned directly behind said slide 6 and underneath the shift key stems 4, is journalled at [4 in the rearwardly extending arms 5a of brackets5 on the keysection frame 2. Whenever a shift key is depressed not only the slide 6 is positioned thereby, but also the bail [3. However, the timing of operation of these two parts 6 and I3 is such that the 'bail I3 is not rocked downwardly until the key stem has fully positioned slide 6 and has come into alignment with a slot 8. The moment this happens the respective key stem will have contacted the bail l3 and further downward movement of the key stem 4 will impart rocking movement to said bail 13. At its left hand end, said bail is provided with a rearwardly extending right angular projection 25, while at its right hand end (Figures 1, 2 and '7) it has a depending arm IS, the purpose of which parts will be described as the specification progresses.

Selective shift control The mechanism which is set by depression of a shift key i, through the medium of slide 6, to determine the distance of the carriage shift comprises a two-armed lever 21 (Figures 1 and 6) fulcrumed at 22. The forward arm Zia of this lever embraces with its slot 23 the pin [2 of the slide 8, as already mentioned, while the rearward arm 28b carries a stud 24 which projects through a slot 25 of a bell crank lever 26 pivoted at 2'! underneath and to the carriage guide plate 28. The forward extremity 26a of this bellcrank is provided with an arcuate rack 29, normally positioned to the left side and in the path of projection it on bail 53 while the rearward and shorter arm 2% of said bellcrank engages with a pin 30 in the longitudinal slot 3i of a lever 32 which by means of another longitudinal slot 33 in alignment with the first one, embraces the fulcrum 21 or" bellcrank 26 for limited universal as well as longitudinal movement in opposite directions. In examining Figure 4 of the drawings it will be noted that lever 32 normally touches with its entire upper face the underside of carriage guide plate 28, but is spaced away from the short arm 26b of bellcrank 26 by means of a sufficiently strong compression spring 33a surrounding the fulcrum pin 21. The other enlarged end of lever 32 is supported for sliding movement by a spring biased two-armed lever 34 (Figures 1 and 4) pivoted at 35. Thus it is apparent that by virtue of its peculiar mounting, lever 32 is not only capable of longitudinal adjustment in opposite directions, but also capable of limited vertical and radial movement about its fulcrum point 21.

Lever 32 is also equipped on the upper side of its free and enlarged end with a lug 36 which is in direct alignment with the center line bisecting fulcrum 21 and pin 36 (Figures 1 and 6). Lug 36 is adapted to cooperate with a plurality of steps 31 attached to the underside of the carriage plate 38, there being one of such steps provided for each order into which the carriage (not shown) can be shifted.

The normal position of lever 32 and lug 36 is illustrated in full lines in Figure 6, in which position said lug is out of the path of steps 31. When a shift key is depressed the lug 36 is adjusted in a counter-clockwise direction a differential amount corresponding to the value of the depressed shift key I through the medium of slide 6, pin [2, two armed lever 2|, bellcrank lever 26 and lever 32 to which it is attached. The lug 36 is illustrated in dotted lines in Figure 6 in the position to which said lug is moved upon depression of the I shift key which determines a shifting of the carriage to its extreme left hand position.

This mechanism whereby lug 36 may be selectively positioned in the path of transverse movement of any of the steps 31, constitutes a means for forming a series of mechanical representations corresponding to the respective positions of the carriage, because in each of the positions to which mg 36 may be set, the mechanism controlled thereby will cause the carriage to be arrested when it reaches a different position corresponding to that mechanically represented by the setting of the lug positioning mechanism.

Means are provided for maintaining the adjustment given to the shift controlling lever upon depression of a shift key until the carriage shifting operation has progressed to a point where the carriage is shifting into the respective order predetermined by the depressed key.

In order to maintain such adjustment of lug 36 for the period mentioned above, bellcrank 26 is equipped with an arcuate rack 29 (Figures 1, 2 and 6) at its extreme forward end, as already described, and bail I3 is provided with a rearwardly extending projection 15 which is capable of coopcrating with a plurality of notches 29a formed within arcuate rack 29, there being one of such notches 29a provided for each shift key I; i. e. each ordinal position of the carriage.

Thus whenever a key l is depressed by the operator, the arcuate rack 29, which normally lies to one side of projection I 5, as can be seen in Figures 1 and 2, is moved in counter-clockwise direction by virtue of its connections 12, 2i, 24 with slide 6, an amount determined by the movement of the latter caused by the respective depressed shift key stem 4. Such movement brings the proper notch 29a directly underneath and into alignment with rearwardly extending projection IE on bail 13. The first and longer part of the downward movement of a key stem 4 when being depressed is utilized entirely for differentially positioning slide 6, and for bringing all cooperating parts thereof to their predetermined locations, this being accomplished while the key stem 4 is sliding over the cooperating inclined surface of notch 1. The moment the key stem has moved over this inclined surface and into alignment with slot 8, the second and shorter part of the downward stroke of key stem 4 commences. The key stem 4 now contacts the top edge of bail l3 and further downward movement thereof causes bail [3 to rock about its pivot points l4 sufliciently to bring projection 15 thereon into engagement with the aligned notch 29a, thus looking securly parts 6, 2|, 26, 32 and lug 36 in their selected positions while the respective key I is maintained in such depressed position.

Ball I3 is maintained in depressed position during a shifting operation after release of the depressed key by coil spring 52 (Figures 1 and 7) which is normally restrained but which is permitted to become effective during a shifting operation by the following mechanism. As menv tioned previously, bail I3 is provided at its right hand end with a downwardly extending arm l6 (Figures 2 and 7) which abuts the extreme end of the long arm 4la of a bellcrank 41 which is fulcrumed on a suitable support at 42. The shorter arm 41b of this bellcrank lever 4| carries a stud 410 which penetrates an elongated slot 43a within the forward arm 43b of a two-armed lever 43 pivotally supported at 44. The other arm 430 of lever 43 is curved and its free end normally abuts a right angular extension 45a of an arm 45 (Figures 1 and 3) which is attached to a sliding member 46 at 41 for limited pivotal movement thereon. The member 46 in turn is slidably secured to a bracket 49 depending from the carriage guide plate 26, by means of pin and slot connections 48. On its extreme left hand end slide 46 is equipped with a lip 46a which is adapted to be engaged by a latch 53 also slidably attached to bracket 49 and normally maintained in its uppermost position by a tension spring 50.

Members 45 and 46 are constantly urged towards their extreme right hand or normal position, as shown in Figure 3, by a spring which is stronger than spring 52 and which is tensioned between right angular extension 45a and a convenient place on the machine frame (not shown). In this position members 45 and 46 hold bail l3 in its inoperative position as shown in Figures 1 and 7 through the medium of two-armed lever 43 and bellcrank 4|, despite the influence of coil spring 52, the strong tension spring 5| being easily able to neutralize the action of said coil setting of lug 36 for the entire duration of a shift independent of the release of the depressed'shift key by the operator. This is accomplished by latch 53 which is always in a condition to latch slide 46 whenever it is pushed to the left, against the tension of spring 5|, by depression of any of the shift keys and through the medium .of

bail l3, bellcrank 4| and two armed lever 43.

The moment such action has taken place and slide 46 (Figure 3) is latched, -all pressure is 'removed from lever 43 and 4| and coil spring 52 will act of its own accord to maintain bail l3 and extension |5 thereon in operative position until slide 46 is again released by automatic means to be described hereinafter.

Shift direction control The direction of a carriage shift is determined by a very simple mechanism to be described presently which functions entirely automatically, making it unnecessary for the operator to set a special shift direction key before depressing any of the shift keys This mechanism is largely controlled by two important factors. One is the carriage position at the time the operator-depresses a shift key; and the other of course is the ordinal number of the shift key depressed.

It has already been mentioned under the heading of Selective shift control how lever 32 and lug 36 are capable of a limited angular adjustment about fulcrum point 21 to bring the lug 36 into the shifting path of any of the nine steps or-ridges 31 on the underside of the carriage support plate 38 (Figures 1, 4 and 6). Such adjustment of lever 32 and the extent thereof is of course controlled by the respective shift key depressed, as has been explained under the above heading.

Each ridge 31 represents one of the nine orders of the machine to which the carriage may be shifted, the length of each ridge corresponding to the distance between each order and consequently to a single shift. The furthest right hand step or ridge 31 represents the first order, or extreme left hand position of the carriage, while all steps to the left thereof represent the higher orders up to nine. 4

In Figures 1 and 6 the carriage plate 38 is shown in the #6 order, while lug 36 is shown in its initial or zero position. The upper end of lug 36 is chamfered and extends through an appropriate aperture 28a in the carriage guide plate 28 (Figure 1) into the plane of ridges 31 and is held-in such position by spring biased twoea-rmed lever 34 (Figure 4) pivoted at 35 to a bracket 48. attached to '48, as has already been explained and which one is idling.

under the heading of Selective shift control. The right hand end of lever 34 underlies a nose 45b riveted or welded to member 45 and disposed opposite thereto is a similar nose 6|a carried by a two-armed rocking lever 6| also pivoted at 35, the tip of nose 6| 0. being positioned slightly above the tip of nose 45b. The other and somewhat shorter arm of lever 6| is slotted at its end and is engaged by the forward and pin shaped end 62a ofa shifting fork 62 (Figures 1 and 4) which is pivoted at its approximate center to. a rearwardly extending lug 63a formed on a bracket 63 depending from the carriage guide plate 28. The other fork shaped end 62?) (Figure 5) of shift fork 62 engages a slidable clutch member 64. on a vertical shaft 65, the lower end of which is supported by a suitable thrust bearing 66, while the upper end of said shaft extends through the plate 28 for perfect vertical alignment and car ries on its square end 65a which extends above the plate 28 a small drive pinion 61 constantly in mesh with the teeth of the rack 38a formed on the rear edge of said carriage plate 38 for shifting the same in either direction.

The clutch member 64 is keyed to shaft 65 for limited sliding movement by means of a pin 68 .which extends through the slot 69 in shaft 65. The two ends of clutch member 64 are each equipped with two ratchet teeth 10 and 1| which normally mesh with complementary ratchet teeth 12 and 13 on the sleeves 14 and 15 respectively. The upper sleeve 14 is keyed to the splined hub of a bevel pinion 16, while the lower sleeve 15 is keyed to the splined hub of a bevel pinion 11. Both of these bevel pinions are freely rotatable on the shaft 65. Retaining rings 18 and 19 prevent said sleeves from sliding off of the hubs of said bevel gears 16 and 11 inasmuch as they are always spring pressed towards clutch member 64 by the compression springs 80 and Bi surrounding said hubs. Bevel pinions 16 and 11 in turn are in constant mesh with a larger bevel gear 82 which is directly connected to the shift actuating mechanism, to be described in a succeeding part of this specification, and therefore constitutes the driver of this bevel gear assembly 16, 11 and 82. The ratio of the gear assembly is such that gears 16, 11, shaft 65 and gear 61 rotates through ninety degrees for each ordinal displacement of the carriage.

As heretofore explained, when a shift key is depressed by the operator the locking assembly comprising the parts and 46 is pressed towards the left by the members l3, 4| and 43 and this movement of slide 46 and arm 45 pivoted thereto is utilized to shift the clutch member 64 out of engagement with one or the other of the two sleeves 14 and 15 in order to establish a driving connection between either one of the two bevel pinions 16, 11 and the larger bevel gear 82 for driving through the shaft 65 the drive pinion 61 and consequently the carriage support plate 38 in either direction, depending on which one of the two bevel pinions 16, 11 is being driven However, as long as the clutch members 64, 14 and 15 are in their neutral or ineffective positions, as illustrated in Figure 5, the entire gear assembly remains locked against any rotation whatsoever. It should be noted that the drive assembly can not lock itself against rotation except when the carriage is properly positioned, as, after the drive is initiated, gears 16 and 11 must rotate for ninety degrees each before the complementary ratchet teeth become effective to stop the drive. The two-armed lever 6! is always urged to the position in which this clutch member 64 is in such ineffective or neutral location by a strong spring biased centralizer 83 (Figure 4) which engages with its V- notch a pin 84 on lever 6i. This centralizer 83 is pivoted to the bracket 49 depending from plate 28 at 85 and is pulled in clockwise direction by the spring 85a tensioned between a convenient pin (not shown) on the base plate of the machine and a pin 86 on the lower extremity of 83.

It is thus apparent that in order to shift clutch member 64, either upwardly or downwardly, it is necessary to rock two-armed lever 6i either in clockwise or in counter-clockwise direction. When rocked in a clockwise direction, lever 61 and shift fork 62 move clutch member 64 downwardly to remain in driving engagement with bevel pinion ii and out of engagement with the bevel pinion i6, and conversely when lever Si is rocked in a counter-clockwise direction, shift fork 62 shifts clutch member 64 upwardly to remain in driving relationship with pinion l8 and entirely out of engagement with pinion ll. From the foregoing it is apparent that when lever Si is moved from the position shown in Figure 4 one of said pinions is being driven by gear 82 to rotate clutch member 64 and consequently the shaft 55, gear 81, and through rack 38a shift the carriage (not shown) while the other pinion rotates idly.

Means are provided for positioning a controlling member to determine the direction of shift in accordance with the shift key depressed. For convenience the ordinal positions of the carriage are numbered from 1 to 9 starting with the extreme left hand position so that movement of the carriage to the left is to a lower order position and vice versa. As illustrated in the drawings, the carriage or carriage plate 38 is in the #6 position; if it is desired to shift to the #1 position the operator depresses the #1 shift key and the lug 36 is thereby moved from its zero location to the #1 location indicated by the dotted lines in Figure 6. During such movement lug 36 moves over the #6 ridge with the result that arm 32 is momentarily depressed at its left hand end, which carries the lug 36 and such movement causes asimilar movement of lever 34 (Figure 4) in counter-clockwise direction about pivot point 35 against the tension of spring 39 with the result that the right hand end of lever 34 underlying nose 45b on arm 45 raises the latter sufficiently to bring the point of its nose above the point of the nose Bla on 61 so that subsequent movement of arm 45 towards the left brings the lower edge of nose 45a on top of nose 61a, therewith forcing the entire lever 6| to rock in clockwise direction to shift clutch member 64 out of engagement with the upper bevel pinion 16 to establish a drive of shaft 65 through bevel gear 11, causing carriage plate 38 to shift five orders in the left hand direction.

If on the other hand it is desired to shift from the #6 order in which the carriage is, into the #9 or #8 order, then lug 36 does not move over would bring the upper edge of nose 45b below nose Bia, forcing the latter upwardly to rotate the entire lever B! in counter-clockwise direction and by means of the shift fork 62 shift clutch 64 out of engagement with bevel pinion ll so that the shaft 65 would be driven in the opposite direction by bevel pinion 16, causing the carriage to be shifted towards the right. Arm 45 can only yield in a counter-clockwise direction about pivot 41 on account of a slotted stud 81 (Figure 3) on bracket 49 and is normally always held in contacting position with said stud by tension spring 52.

Since the timing must be such that the selective shift control takes place before the lock therefor is set, as is apparent when viewing Figure 2, and as has already been thoroughly explained, means are provided for latching arm 45 with its nose 45a in raised position long enough to permit its point to locate on top of the point of nose 61a upon the subsequent movement to the left of arm 45 caused by the rocking of bail l3, bellcrank 4i and two-armed lever 43. This is of course only necessary when during the course of a shift selection the lug 36 has been moved over one of ridges 31.

The mechanism provided for this purpose comprises a latch hook 88 (Figures 1 and 3) pivotally mounted to a bracket 89 on the underside of plate 28. A spring 90 tensioned between a central point on latch hook 88 and the bracket 49 tends to hold the hook 88a normally in contact with the forwardly extending right angular projection 45a of arm 45. The moment arm 45 is raised by lever 34, hook 88a will immediately latch the arm in such raised position, holding it there until the entire arm 45 is pushed towards the left by lever 43. Latch hook 88 follows the movement of arm 45 sufncient distance to permit the point of nose 45b to locate on top of nose 6la. Further movement of arm 45 causes latch hook 88 to disengage from projection 450 due to the contacting of stop 882) (Figure 3) with the plate 28 just after nose 45b is positioned on nose 6| a. A pin 9| on bracket 49 is provided to limit the upward movement of arm 45 in order to prevent clutch 64 from shifting out of its proper position during the shifting operation and until again released by slide 46. This happens at the end of the shifting operation when slide 46 and arm 45 are automatically released to return to their normal or-initial position and all the parts controlled thereby are free to again assume the positions shown in Figures 3 and 4 f the drawings.

Shift actuating mechanism The actuating or motive power for driving the large bevel gear 62 (Figures 1 and which transmits its motion to the clutch member 64 through either one of the two bevel gears 16 or H, as already described in the preceding chapter, comprises an ordinary clock spring 96 enclosed in a suitable housing 91. The inner end of this spring is fastened to the shaft 99 upon which both the gear 82 and the spring housing 91 are rotatably mounted, while the outer end of said spring 96 is attached to the housing 91. The housing in turn is rigidly secured to the hub of bevel gear 82 so that these parts always rotate in unison whenever clutch member 64 is shifted out of its neutral position. The spring 96 has sufficient force to shift the accumulator carriage of a calculating machine through the maximum number of orders, when properly wound up and eration. This means comprises an ordinary friction clutch 99 made up of two discs I and IOI. Disc I00'is formed integral with the shaft 98, while the disc IOI is keyed to a second shaft I02 carrying the drive gear I03 which is driven by the actuator through a convenient train of intermediate gears (not shown). In order to maintain discs I00 and IOI in constant frictional engagement with each other, acornpression spring I04 is interposed between the disc IOI slidably keyed to the shaft I02, and two lock nuts I05, I06 by means of which the amount of compression of said spring I04 may be varied. The two lock nuts I05 and I06 fit on a threaded portion I0'I on shaft I02 and are in juxtaposition to the drive gear I63 which is keyed to the shaft for perfect alignment with thetrain of intermediate gears to the actuator (not shown) by a pin I08. The entire assembly is properly supported in bearings I09 and H0, attached in any suitable manner to an upright support plate III on the base plate of the machine.

It is thus apparent that with the proper ratio between the intermediate gears (not shown) and the gear I03, the. first cycle of movement of the actuator after any shift is sufficient to wind up clock spring 96 through the medium of friction clutch 99, inasmuch as said spring is anchored toshaft 98 with one end and to the stationary housing 9'! with the other end. During all subsequent actuation cycles disc IOI will merely slip over disc I00 without rotating the latter, the spring 96 having already been wound up during the first cycle'of movement of said actuator. The spring is thus maintained in a constant state of tension in readiness to actuate the shifting mechanism whenever a shift is determined.

Means are provided for locking the carriage plate in any displaced position thereof. Said means are controlled by the slide 46' (Figure 3) and comprise two dogs H2 and H3 which are slidably mounted on the front face of bracket 49 (Figures 1 and 3), and which are normally spring pressed into engagement with appropriate rectangular shaped and equally spaced apertures 38?) in the carriage plate 38 by the compression springs H4 and H5 which are anchored between the lower extremities of dogs H2, H3 and lugs 49a and 492) formed in the bracket 49. The dogs are disengaged from the plate 38 upon depreseion of a shift key I by slide 46 inv order to permit the shift actuating mechanism to function.

To accomplish this, slide 46 is equipped with a cam face 461) (Figure 3) which cooperates with a pin I I6 on a sliding member III, also mounted in a groove cut into the bracket 49 midway between the dogs H2 and H3, as can be clearly seen in Figure 1 of the drawings. strip of metal riveted to the front of bracket 49 retains these three slidable members I I2, I I3 and I I! in their respective grooves.

A pin II8 on slide II'I projects through a slot I I9 in bracket 49, just as pin I I6 projects through a similar slot I20 for limiting its vertical movement. The pin I I8 also projects through slots in a pair of bars IEI and I22 of equal dimensions which are pivoted at opposite points I23 and I24 to the bracket 49. The whole unit forms a con- A suitable venient toggle joint arrangement for exerting an equal and simultaneous'pressure upon the two pins I25 and I26 on dogs H2 and H3 respectively when the slide III is pulled downwardly by the cam 462) on slide 46. 'The moment this happens carriage plate 38 is free to move in either direction, depending on which oneof the bevel pinions I6 and "I"! (Figure 5) is driving, and this condition obtains as long as slide 46 is latched by latch 53; the moment the latter isv released,

however, dogs H2 and H3 will immediately be pressed into engagement again by springs H4 and H5 with two of the apertures 38b in plate 38 to arrest the latter in its movement.

Shift stopping mechanism The stopping mechanism about to be described is actuated by the arm 32 (Figures 4 and 6) during its movement to the left or right caused by the lug 36 contacting with one of the steps or ridges 3'Ijust before the completion of a shift. If the carriage happens tobe shifting towards the left from a higher into a'lower order, arm 32 is pushed by the respective step 31 to the left as the carriage enters the selected position, and conversely if the carriage is shifting towards the right from a lower order into a higher order,

arm 32 is pushed an equal distance towards the right. Its elongated slots 3I and 33 surrounding the pins and 21 respectively permit such movement in opposite directions to the extent of a distance equalling the space between two orders, as has already been explained in a preceding part of this specification.

This lateral movement of arm 32 in either direction is utilized to rock an upright lever I3I which is pivoted at I32 toa small bracket I33 fastened to the base plate I34 of the machine. On its extreme upper end is a pin I35 (Figures 1, 4 and 6) which projects through a radial slot I36 in member 32. By means of this pin I35 arm 32 is normally held in its centralized position in which lug 36 can pass over only one of the ridges 31 during its adjustment by any of the shift keys I. Of course, rocking lever I3I must also be maintained in such centralized position at all times except when it is rocked by arm 32 to operate the shift stopping mechanism.

, For this reason a centralizer I3I (Figure 4) is provided which is keyed to a shaft I38 journalled at its forward end in bracket 49 and at its rearward end in bracket 63. Centralizer lever I31 carries at its free end a pin I39 which normally engages the bottom of a V-shaped aperture in rocking lever I3I tending to hold the latter always in absolutely vertical position by virtue of a strong spring tensioned between a suitable pointon centralizer I31 and the pivot point I32 of lever I3I. Keyed to the other end of shaft I38 is a lever I40 (Figures 3 and 4) which rests with its free end on a lip on latch 53, so that whenever the lever' I3I and consequently the centralizer I31 is rocked by sliding movement of arm 32 as the carriageenters the selected position, lever I40 is also rocked through the medium of shaft I38 to which both levers I31 and I40 are keyed, with the result that latch 53 is pulled down and out of engagement with projection 46a onslide 46 to permit the latter to be pulled back to initial position by its strong tension spring 5I. Such movement of slide 46 immediately removes the pressure of cam 46?) from the pin I I6 on slide III so that the compression springs H4 and H5 are free to expand again pushing dogs H2 and I I3 into locking engagement with the proper apertures 38b in plate 38, thus stopping the latter in its shifting movement.

In order that the dogs 5 I 2 and I I3 may engage the carriage plate 38 to arrest the latter without undue strain in the position determined by the depressed shift key l, a double acting air compressor l4! (Figures 1 and'5) is provided by means of which the speed of the carriage plate 38 can be slowed down during the last step of the shift. This compressor is supported by upright member iii (Figure 1) and is of conventional design, comprising a cylindrical housing I42 (Figure 5) closed at both ends within which a piston or plunger l 3 is reciprocated. Piston I43 is operated by shaft i 'll through connecting rod I44 journaled on crank pin I 46 supported between crank arms E45 and I45. Crank arm I45 is pinned to shaft i l? and M6 while crank arm I45 is similarly pinned to a stub shaft I4? axially alined with shaft i i'i. Shaft I4? is to the right of and parallel to the shaft 65 and is at its lower end supported by a thrust bearing I49 of identical design as bearing 65 and within the same bearing block E56 as the latter.

The upper end of shaft I4? extends into an aperture within the carriage guide plate 28 for proper support and alignment with the center of thrust bearing 345. The greater part of the shaft i4? between the crank arm I45 and the guide plate 28 is of a somewhat increased diameter in contrast to the upper and lower ends thereof. an assembly (Figures 5 and 8) by means of which it is possible to connect the double acting air compressor Mi with the shift actuating mechanism on the shaft 65 during the last step of a shift. This assembly I52 comprises a clutch collar E53 slidably mounted on the enlarged portion of said shaft 547 by means of a pin and slot connection l54 and I55 respectively. The slidable clutch collar 553 is equipped with a pair of upper teeth l56 (Figure 5), diametrically opposite each other and a similar pair of teeth I5! disposed on the lower end thereof. Normally the two teeth l5? engage the two complementary notches i553 in a stationary member I58 fixed to the frame, The central bore i6I of member I55 surrounding the enlarged portion of shaft i4! is of sufficient diameter to accommodate a compression spring which tends to push collar [553 in upward direction to bring its pair of upper teeth I56 into engagement with two diametrically opposed notches in the collar I64 of spur gear M55, supported and freely rotatable on the shoulder H56 formed by the upper end of the enlarged portion of shaft Such upward movement by collar I 53, however, is normally prevented by a cam lever I61 (Figures 4, 5 and 9) pivoted at $68- to a bracket I68a which is attached to the underside of plate 28 and which is provided to prevent operation of the air compressor i4l before the last step of a carriage shift. gures 5 and 9) is interposed between the two pins 66 and M6 on the collars I64 and I53, respec- This is done to facilitate mounting of The free end of cam lever I61 (Figtively, in such a manner that the lower teeth I5! on collar I53 are normally kept in looking engagement with their cooperating notches I58 in stationary member I59 and against the upward pressure exerted on said collar I53 by compression spring I62, thus making it impossible for the collar I 53 to move in any direction, as well as making it impossible for the air compressor I4I to function as both of these units are keyed to the shaft I41 and work in unison. This construction excludes any danger of piston I43 making a half stroke, due to the compressed air behind the piston after a carriage stopping operation. Furthermore, it assures perfect alignment and timing of said teeth I56 and I51 with their cooperating notches I63 and I58.

The spur gear I65 is in constant mesh with another larger spur gear I'II twice its size which is rigidly secured to bevel gear I6 on shaft 65 by two pins N2, the ratio being such that each carriage shift step will cause approximately onefourth rotation of gear HI and consequently only one-half rotation of gear I65. Since the gear I'II. is rotated during each step of a shifting operation, it of course in turn rotates gear I65 a corre sponding amount, so that the pair ofdiametrically opposed pins I69 on collar I64 are also displaced. The moment that the pin I69 which happens to be riding on top of the high point I610 of cam lever I6! is displaced, the latter is free to rock upwardly a sufficient distance to permit engagement by two teeth I56 with their cooperating notches I63 in collar I64 under pressure of spring I62. However, such upward movement of lever I6'I is prevented by means hereinafter described until the rotation of gear I65 incident to the last step of movement of the carriage.

It will be noted that notches I63 are somewhat wider than the dogs I56, when viewing Figure 5. This is necessary since gear I65 must first be rotated a small amount to allow pin I69 to move from the high point I6'Ic of cam lever I67 before the latter can move upwardly far enough to permit engagement of said notches I63 by teeth I56. Further rotation of gear I65 causes collar I53 to participate in such movement inasmuch as the lower teeth I58 will be riding over the top edge of stationary member I59, thus locking the slidable clutch collar 553 into engagement with the upper collar I64 of spur gear I65. Collar I53 being keyed to the shaft I41 forces the latter to rotate also, and with it crank arm I45, which in turn operates the piston I43 in double acting compressor I4I through a single stroke.

The resistance offered by the compressor I4I to the rotational movement of shaft I4! is commensurate to the force needed for slowing up the movement of carriage plate 38 during the last step in the shifting operation and is transmitted from the compressor unit I4I to the plate 38 through the following parts: I44, I45, I41, I53, I65, III, I6, 64 and through shaft 65 to gear 61 and finally to carriage plate 38, or if the bevel pinion I6 is idling, through the large bevel gear 82 over to bevel gear 71, through clutch member 64 to shaft 65 and from there to spur gear 61 and again through the latter to rack 38a of plate 38.

Just before spur gear I65 has completed its half rotation the two pins I69 and III: on the opposite side of collar I64 and I53 are brought into contact with cam lever I61 and the latter is rocked downwardly again by this pin I69 during its movement over the cam surface I6Ia to the high point I6'Ic. Such downward rocking movement of lever I6! causes slidable clutch member whatsoever on said cam lever I61.

I53 to follow suit to again engage with its lower teeth I51 the complementary notches I58 in stationary member I59, thus locking piston I43 against further operation. This cycle of operation can nly be initiated when cam lever I61 is released during the last step of a shift by a component operated only at such time, irrespective of the position of pins I69 which rotate continuously with gear I65.

The release of lever I61 is controlled by the movement of rocking lever I3I (Figure 4), since this lever is only oscillated by arm 32 at the conclusion of a shifting operation when the lug 36 comes into contact with one of the steps 31 on plate 38, as has been fully explained in the preceding part of this specification.

Rocking lever I3I is provided at its upper end with an appropriate cut out portion I3Ia. (Figure 4) equipped with a double acting cam I3Ib which normally is disposed with its high point on top of a pin I13 carried by said cam lever I61. is apparent therefore that as long as rocking lever I3I is in its centralized or ineffective position, as shown in Figure 4, the cam lever I61 is held in its downward position (see Figure 5) in which it keeps slidable clutch collar I53 in looking engagement with stationary member I59 against the pressure exerted by compression spring I62 to the contrary. With lever I61 held in such position, rotation of spur gear I65 and its two pins I69 arranged diametrically opposite each other on the collar I64 will have no effect But the moment lever I3I is rocked in either direction by arm 32, pin I13 on lever I61 will move to one side of cam I3Ib and lever I61 will be free to rock upwardly as soon as the restraining influence of the two pins I69 is removed therefrom, thereby permitting clutch collar I53 to shift into driving engagement with the collar I64 of spur gear I65, forcing the latter to rotate against the action of compressor I4I, thus effectively slowing up the movement of carriage plate 38 during the last step of a shifting operation in order to relieve the strain placed on dogs H2 and H3 when they are stopping the carriage.

Operation The various mechanisms constituting the tabulating shift having been fully explained in the preceding specification, a brief description will presently be given of the sequence of operation of the various parts forming the subject matter of the present invention.

Let it be assumed that the operator wishes the accumulator carriage to be shifted from the sixth order, in which it happens to be, to the second order. The operator will then have to depress the shift key representing the number two order of the actuator. This would be the second key from the right hand side when viewing Figures 1 and 2. As the key stem 4 of this key is being pressed downwardly by the operator against the tension of its compression spring 3, the slide 6 is shifted toward the left the number of increments necessary to position the lug 36 on arm 32 in the shifting path of the #2 step or ridge 31 on the bottom face of carriage plate 38. Movement of slide 6 is transmitted to arm 32 by the parts I2, 2|, 24, 26 and 30. A mechanical representation of the instant or starting position of the carriage is formed by the position of the ridge 31 in the path of movement of lug 36, and during adjustment of arm 32, in this case, lug 36 will be moved over the #6 ridge 31 with the result that arm 32 is rocked downwardly for an instant, im-

parting a similar movement to two-armed rocking lever 34 (Figure 4) pivoted at 35 which with its right hand end underlying nose 45b of lever 45, causes the latter to be raised sufficiently above nose 6I so as to be latched in such raised position by spring biased latch 88.

Thus the preparatory steps in the shifting operation have been initiated during the first part of the downward stroke of the shift key representing the #2 order. These steps consist of forming a mechanical representation of the desired posit-ion of the carriage by positioning lug 36 in the path of the #2 ridge 31 for controlling the extent of the shifting operation and the latching of nose 45b in raised position for predetermining the direction of the ensuing shift.

During the second part of the downward stroke of the #2 shift key, the bail I3 is rocked in clockwise dircction about its two pivot points I4 (Figure 7) bringing the rearward projection I5 (Fig,- ures 1 and 2) thereof into the proper notch 29a of arcuate rack 29 on the forward end of bellcrank lever 26. At the same time, through downwardly extending arm I6 on bail I3, bellcrank 4I (Figure 1) is rotated in counter-clockwise direction, causing two-armed lever 43 to be rotated in clockwise direction, therewith pushing arm 45 and slide 46, to which the former is pivotally attached, a sufficient distance to the left, against the tension of spring 5I, so as to be latched by latch 53. This movement removes the restraining influence of the strong tension spring 5| from the coil spring 52 on bail I3, thus permitting the latter to hold projection I5 on bail I3 firmly in engagement with arcuate rack 29 until slide 46 is released again at the completion of the shift. The arm 32 and its lug 36 are therefore maintained in their adjusted positions after the operator releases the #2 shift key.

Two other important operations are instituted during the movement of parts 45 and 46 towards latching position. Nose 45b, which has already been latched in raised position by hook 88a, is

moved on top of nose GIa of rocking lever 6|,

causing the latter to rock against the tension of the centrallzer 83 a. limited distance in clockwise direction about its fulcrum point 35, and by vir- ,tue of its pin and slot connection 62a (Figures 1 and 4) with shift fork 62, this fork is also rotated about its pivot point 63a, but in counter-clockwise direction, with the result that the clutch collar 64 (Figure 5) on shaft 65 is shifted out of its looking or neutral position and intodriving relationship with the lower bevel gear 11.

Coil spring 96 now unwinds and transmits rotational movement to the shaft 65 and the spur gear 61 through the medium of housing 91, bevel gears 82 and 11 and the clutch collar 64 which is keyed to said shaft 65 by means of a pin 68, while bevel gear 16 is idling. However, shaft 65 cannot commence to rotate until the dogs H2 and H3 (Figure 3) are disengaged from their respective apertures 38b (Figure 6) in carriage support plate 38. This happens almost simultaneously with the operation just described and is effected by the cam 46b through the medium of parts H6, H1, H8, I2I, I22, I25 and I26. The timing of these two operations is such that the clutch collar is fully positioned before the dogs H2 and II 3 are pulled out of engagement with plate 38.

All the parts necessary for predetermining the extent or distance of the shift as, well as the direction thereof are now held firmly locked in their effective positions by the slide 46 and the latch 53 and the carriage plate 38 is now free to be shifted by the coil spring 96 from the #6 order to the #2 order, this being in a direction towards the left.

As soon as the carriage plate 38 is shifted through three of the four orders required, step #2 comes into contact with lug 36, placed in its path of operation, and the remaining movement into the #2 order by plate 38 is utilized to stop the latter as well as to restore all the various parts to their initial or normal locations.

Arm 32 is now pushed towards the left by the #2 step on plate 38 and in doing so oscillates lever I3I (Figure 4) which is pivoted at I32 to the bracket I33, in clockwise direction by virtue of its connection I35 and I36 with said lever I3I. This oscillation in clockwise direction of lever I3I, when viewing Figure 4, releases cam lever I67 so that it can swing upwardly to establish a driving relationship between compressor MI and shaft 65 to retard the shifting movement of plate 38 during the last step, and also causes centralizer I3! to rock in counter-clockwise direction, which in turn transmits its movement to lever I40 through the shaft I 38, to which both of the last mentioned levers are keyed.

The free end of lever I40 resting on top of a lateral extension of latch 53 forces the latter against the tension of its spring 50 to release the slide 48 and consequently all the other parts controlled thereby which are immediately restored to their neutral positions by the spring These parts comprise the dogs H2 and H3, two-armed lever 6i, shift fork 62, and clutch collar 64, dogs H2 and H3, clutch collar 53d, and gears 76 and ii serving to stop and lock the carriage in position at the completion of the last step of the shifting operation. Tension spring 8 becomes effective to restore (Figure 2) the slide 6, lever 2i, bellcrank 26, and arm 32, which is centralized again to the position shown in Figures 1, 5 and 6 by centralizer Hi and through the medium of rocking lever 435 while the bail I3 is rotated in counter-clockwise direction to again assume its neutral location, such as shown in Figures 2 and '7, by the parts 45, 43 and it through the action of the tension spring 5 I In arresting leftward movement of the carriage, lever 32 is moved toward the left as it is viewed in Figures 1 and 6, which is toward the right as it is viewed in Figure 4. Ihis movement carries it out of engagement with the upper end of lever 3 so that the latter will not be relatched in its left shift determining position as the lever 32 passes under ridge 3? during restoration to normal position. A shift of the carriage to the right does not involve movement of the lug 36 past ridge 3? during either setting or restoration, so it is unnecessary to disengage levers 32 and 34 during the stopping operation incident to a. shift in this direction.

During the first digitation following this shifting operation, the coil spring 96 (Figure 5) will again be wound up by the parts comprising the friction clutch 99 and by the gear I03 which is geared to the actuator by a train of intermediate gears (not shown).

While the preferred construction has been described in the foregoing specification, it is understood that the invention is capable of niodification within the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. a machine of the class described, a stationary mechanism, a displaceable mechanism having a plurality of operative positions, means movable by said displaceable mechanism, means for shifting said displaceable mechanism in either direction, selectively settable means including a member movable to a plurality of positions corresponding to the respective positions of said displaceable mechanism, and means responsive to said member in movement thereof jointly and concurrently controlled by said movable member and said movable means, and with respect to said movable means to determine the initial direction of operation of said shifting means.

2. The combination with a motor driven shiftable carriage, of a plurality of relatively movable members one of which moves synchronously with said carriage and another of which is settable with respect to said first member, means controlled by the relative positions of said members for determining the extent of carriage movement, means controlled by said members jointly for controlling the direction of carriage movement, and means comprising a manipulable member for actuating said direction controlling means and initiating movement of said carriage.

3. In a machine of the class described, the combination with a machine frame, a carriage transversely shiftable thereon to a series of operating positions, and motor driven mechanism selectively operable to shift said carriage in either direction to said operating positions; of means movable by said carriage, selectively settable means including a series of keys operable to form a series of mechanical representations corresponding to the respective positions of said carriage, means controlled by said movable means and responsive to said selectively settable means in setting movement thereof to determine the direction of operation of said carriage shifting mechanism, means operable by said selectively settable means for initiating operation of said carriage shifting mechanism, means automatically effective upon initiation of the operation of said shifting mechanism in response to operation of said selectively settable means for latching said shifting mechanism in operating condition,

and means controlled by the carriage upon movement to the position represented by the setting of said selectively settable means for disabling said latching means.

4. In a machine of the class described, the combination with a machine frame, a carriage transversely shiftable thereon to a series of operating positions, and motor driven mechanism selectively operable to shift said carriage in either direction to said operating positions; of means movable by said. carriage selectively settable means including a series of'keys operable to form a series of mechanical representations corre sponding to the respective positions of said carriage, means jointly and concurrently controlled by said movable means and responsive to said selectively settable means in setting movement of the latter to determine the initial direction of operation of said carriage shifting mechanism, means operable by said selectively settable means for initiating operation of said carriage shifting mechanism, and means controlled by the carriage upon movement to the position represented by the setting of said selectively settable means for terminating operation of said carriage shifting mechanism.

5. In a machine of the class described, the combination with a machine frame, a carriage transversely shiftable thereon to a series of operating positions, motor driven mechanism selectively operable to shift said carriage in either direction to said operating positions, and a control device for said mechanism selectively settable to determine the direction of movement of said carriage thereby; of means movable by said carriage means selectively settable to form a series of mechanical representations corresponding to the respective positions of said carriage, and means jointly and concurrently controlled by said movable means and settable in response to, said selectively settable means in setting of the latter for controlling adjustment of said control device to predetermine the initial direction of carriage movement.

6. In a machine of the class described, the combination with a machine frame, a carriage transversely shiftable thereon to a series of operating positions, motor driven mechanism selectively operable to shift said carriage in either direction to said operating positions, and a control device for said mechanism selectively settable to determine the direction of movement of said carriage thereby; of means movable by said'carriage means selectively settable to form a series of mechanical representations corresponding to the respective positions of said carriage, means jointly and concurrently controlled by said movable means and settable in response to said selectively settable means in setting of the latter for controlling adjustment of said control device to predetermine the initial direction of carriage movement, means for initiating operation of said car riage shifting mechanism, and means controlled by the carriage upon movement to the position represented by the setting of said selectively settable means for terminating operation of said carriage shifting mechanism.

'7. In a machine of the class described, the combination with a machine frame, a carriage transversely shiftable thereon to a series of operating positions, and motor driven mechanism selectively operable to shift said carriage in either direction to said operating positions; of means movable by said carriage means selectively settable to form a series of mechanical representations corresponding to the respective positions of said carriage, and means jointly and concurrently controlled by said movable means and settable in response to said selectively settablemeans in setting movement of the latter to determine the initial direction of operation of said carriage shifting mechanism.

8. In a machine of the class described, the combination with a machine frame, a carriage transversely shiftable thereon to a series of operating positions, and motor driven mechanism selectively operable to shift saiEFcarriage in either direction to said operating positions; of means movable by said carriage means selectively settable to form a series of mechanical representations corresponding to the respective positions of said carriage, means jointly and concurrently controlled by said movable means and settable in response to said selectively settable means in setting movement of the latter to determine the initial direction of operation of said carriage shifting mechanism, means for initiating operation of said carriage shifting mechanism and .means controlled by the carriage upon movement to the position represented by the setting of said selectively settable means for terminating operation of said carriage shifting mechanism.

9. In a machine of the class described, the combination with-a machine frame, a carriage transversely shiftable thereon to a series of operating positions, andmotor driven mechanism operable to shift said carriage; of selectively settable means including a series of keys operable to form a series of mechanical representations corresponding to the respective positions of said carriage, means movable by said carriage, means under the joint and concurrent control of said two means for selectively determining the initial direction and extent of carriage movement, and means comprising said series of keys for initiating movement of the carriage.

10. In a machine of the class described having a frame, and a carriage transversely shiftable thereon to a series of operating positions; the combination with power operated carriage shifting mechanism cyclically operable to shift the carriage from one operating position to an adjacent operating position during each cycle of operation thereof, including a control device and means for preventing operation of said control device to interrupt operation of said mechanism except at the conclusion of each full cycle of operation thereof; of tabulation control means settable to form a mechanical representation of a desired position of said carriage, means for actuating said control device to initiate operation of said carriage shifting means, and means controlled by said tabulation control means and rendered effective upon movement of said carriage to a position Within the distance between operating positions in advance of the desired position represented by the setting of said settable control-means, for rendering said control device effective to interrupt operation of said carriage shifting mechanism at the conclusion of the current cycle of operation thereof.

11. In a machine of the class described having a frame, and a carriage transverselyshiftable thereon to series of operating positions; the combination with power operated carriage shifting mechanism cyclically operable to shift the carriage from one operating position to an adjacent operating position during each cycle of operation thereof, including a control device and means for preventing operation of said control device to interrupt operation of said mechanism except at the conclusion of each full cycle of operation thereof; of tabulation control means settable to form a mechanical representation of a desired position of the carriage, means for actuating said control device to initiate operation of said carriage shifting means, and control means for said carriage shifting mechanism operable to cause the same to shift said carriage from any of said operating positions to a position within the distance between operating positions in advance of the desired position represented by the setting of said settable control the current cycle of operation thereof.

WELLS A. WEBB.

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