Page:Patent for Assembly Voting-Machine US701314.pdf/9

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UnrItTeD Strates PavrentT OFFICE.

FRANK L. DYER, OF MONTCLAIR, NEW JERSEY.

ASSEMBLY VOTING<«MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 701,814, dated June 3, 1902.

Application Med April 9,1901. Serial No. 54,971.

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Be it known that I, FRANK L. Dyn, a citi- zen of the United States, residing at Mont- clair, in the county of Essex and State of New Jersey, have invented a certain new and use- ful Improvementin Apparatus for Determin- ing, Registering, and Tctalizing the Senso of Legislative Bodies and Conventions, (Case No. 48,) of which the following is a speciliea- tion. :

My invention relates to an apparatus for use in connection with legislative bodies, conventions, and aualogous assemblies, by means of which the sense of the members on questions presented for vote may be readily and rapidly determined and preferably, also, both recorded and totalized. Im a broad sense, however, tho invention relates to ap- paratus by, means of which the sense of such bodies may be determinad and a proper indi- cation thereof made either by totalizing de. vices or by recording devices, orby both. The improved apparatus is also adapted for use in effecting a rall-call, which result can be se- eured witb cortainty and expedition.

Ab the present time it is the custom in as- certaining the sense of an assembly to call the roll on questions presented, the members vot- ing negatively or affirmatively, as the case may be, and the individual votes being re- corded and subsequently totalized. Gener- ally after the roll has been once called the names of members not answering thereto are

‘again called and additional votes recorded,

and after tho socond call of the roll itis usu- ally the custom for members who may have been previously absont te demand individual recognition ip order that their votes may be noted and recorded. AIL of this talkes nnch time and labor. Iam of course aware that many suggestions liave been made for appa- ratus for doing this work; but such appara- tus has not met the practical conditions, and hence, so far as I know, has never been prae- tically used. :

The object of my invention is to provido a simple, compact, and relatively cheap appa- vatus by mcans of which the votes of mem- bers of assemblies of any kind may be indi- eated either by proper recording mechanism

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(Ho model.)

ations can be performed with great rapidity and entirely antomatieally.

My invention therefore comprises, first, a serics of stations corresponding to the indi- vidual members and from which the desired negative or aifirmative vote is transmitted, which stations may be loeated on the mombers’ desks or wt any other convenient points, and, second, suitable apparatus by means of which the votes so transmitted may be properly in- dicated, which apparatus comprises either (a) a mechanism by means of which a record, per- manent or otherwise, of the votes may be so- eurod or (6) devices by mcans of which all the negative aud affirmative votes so transmitted may be separately registered or totalized, or (¢} both of such apparatus.

The proferable form of transmitter consists of a cireuit-closer by means of which « cir- cuit may be closed atthe transmitter, so that whon the particular contact-plate or arrange- ment of contact-plates is reached to corre- spond to such transmitter a current of one polarity or the other will energize a polarized relay which coutrols the indication. I pre- fer to use 2 polarized cireuit in order to reduce the number of wires; but it will be under- stood from the following description that two separate relays may bo employed—one for con- trolling the registration of affirmative votes and the other of negative votos. In order that individual members may be prevented from yoting at the wrong stations, the cir- euit-closer in each trausmitting dovice is op- erated by means of akey which is insertod in an ordinary lock and trurned fo the right or left, according to the vote which is to be trans- mitted. Preferably cach transmitter em- ploysun indigator for indicating the vote to the member voting in order that he may be sure that the proper vote is to bo transmitted. After each transmitting devies has been thus operated the circuit-closer remains locked in its closed position, ready to transmit to the receiver a current for actuating the relay or relays at the proper time, and after that op- eration a restoriug-magneat in each trausmit- tiug device permits tho cirenit-cloger to again open, Lhe parts returning to their normal po- sition. Hach (transmitting device also pref-

or by totalizing devices, or both, whieh oper- | erably makes use of means by which, after

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