30 Nov
2007
30 Nov
'07
1:33 p.m.
Date: Fri, 30 Nov 2007 09:52:16 +0100
From: "Arno Kletzander" <Arno_1983 at gmx.de>
Hmm, like, say, an old cash register? This design is
called
"Volltastaturmaschine" in German (would translate to "complete
keyboard machine"). They have a latching mechanism that holds in one
button per column of keys (0-9, representing one digit of a number).
When a calculation is initiated, the protruding shaft of the latched
key acts as a stop for a toothed rack or similar device which is used
to advance the wheels of the accumulator register by as many teeth as
the corresponding digit says. There are also designs which involve an
arrangement of levers positioning an intermediate gear along the axis
of a stepped drum, for example the Badenia VA-17/VARE-17.
When you mention the big array of keys, I think of a comptometer.
There's a nice discussion on the web:
http://www2.cruzio.com/~vagabond/ComptHome.html
But the item I'm thinking of was alphanumeric, more like a Teletype.
Cheers,
Chuck