Page:Patent for an Electrically-controlled voting-machine US1267504.pdf/4

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

BORNETT L. BOBROFF, OF MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN, ASSIGNOR TO UNIVERSAL INDICATOR CO., OF MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN.

ELECTRICALLY-CONTROLLED VOTING-MACHINE.

1,267,504. Specification of Letters Patent. Patented May 28, 1918.

Application filed October 2, 1916. Serial No. 123,271.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, BORNETT L. BOBROFF, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Milwaukee, in the county of Milwaukee and State of Wisconsin, have invented cer- tain new and useful Improvements in Elec- trically-Controlled Voting-Machines; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof..

The present invention relates to new and useful improvements in electrically operated voting apparatus of the type embodied in my co-pending application for patent filed February 16, 1915, Serial No. 8639, and in- cluding a plurality of main station mecha- nisms located at a desired central point, and a plurality of corresponding sub-station mechanisms located at the voters' desks, for procuring selective differing indications and actuations of the main station mechanisms,. a single common photographing means be- ing associated with the main station mecha- nisms for photographing their indications to permanently register the individual votes, and a non-interfering total vote indicating means being associated with each set of cor- responding indications of the main station mechanisms, and comprising a circuit having an ammeter therein and adapted to selec- tively include said corresponding portions of the main station mechanisms.

It is in general the object of the present invention to simplify and otherwise improve the structure and efficiency of the apparatus of my said previous application, and with respect to the main station indicating mech- anisms it is more particularly an object to provide an arrangement whereby said mech- anisms have selectively differing indications operable at each side thereof, to adapt the mechanisms both for visual indications to the persons within the voting chamber, and for operation of the permanent record pho- tographing means, which in the present in- stance comprises a photostat apparatus. A further important object resides in the provision of an arrangement whereby a con- stant current is maintained in the total vote indicating circuits, whereby the operation of the totaling ammeters is exact.

With the above and other objects and advantages in view, the invention resides more particularly in the novel combination, arrangement and formation of parts more particularly hereinafter described and par- ticularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings

Figure 1 is a plan view of one of the main station indicator mechanisms of my voting apparatus, embodying the present, in- vention and with portions thereof broken away to more clearly disclose structure.

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view taken longitudinally therethrough on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a detail view on line 3-3 of Fig. 1, showing the mounting for the front indicating plate.

Fig. 4 is a front elevational view of said plate.

Fig. 5 is a transverse sectional view through the plate structure on the line 5-5 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 6 is a sectional view on the line 6-6 of Fig. 1, showing the contact fingers asso- ciated with the indicating drum.

Fig. 7 is a diagrammatic view of the en- tire apparatus embodying however, in the present instance but a pair of voting units, and

Fig. 8 is a plan view of the visual indi- cating plate.

Referring now more particularly to the Figs. 1 to 6 of the accompanying drawings, the main station mechanism shown therein 85 comprises preferably an aluminum base plate 5 mounted on a wooden or fiber sup- port 6 and transversely journaled in up- standing bearing arms 7 on the plate 5 is a spindle 8 corresponding to the spindle of the main station indicating mechanism of my said previous application, this spindle being urged to rotation in one direction by a spiral spring 9 disposed thereabout and secured to the plate 5, and being normally held against actuation by the spring by a pawl 10 intermediately pivoted to one of the bearing arms 7 and engageable at one end with a ratchet wheel 11 on the spindle, and being extended at its other end to form an armature 12 which is disposed over a pair of magnets 13 mounted on the bed plate, ex- cessive movement of the spindle when re- leased by the pawl being prevented by abut- ting stops 14 carried by the spindle and base plate. For actuating the spindle against the action of the spring a lever 15 is interme- diately pivoted between upstanding arms