Giant brains; or, Machines that think

by Edmund Callis Berkeley

Fig. 5. Key punch.

Fig. 6. Keyboard of key punch.

Of course, in using a key punch, we must punch the same kind of information in the same group of columns. For example, if these cards are to contain employees’ social security numbers, we must punch that number always in the same card columns, numbered, say, 15 to 23, or 70 to 78, etc.

Verifier

The verifier is really the same machine as the key punch, but it has dull punching dies moving gently instead of sharp ones moving with force. It turns on a red light and stops when there is no punched hole in the right spot to match with a pressed key.

Sorter

The sorter is a machine for sorting cards, one column at a time ([Fig. 7]). The sorter has a card channel that forks; it has one entrance, one station, and 13 exits. Each exit corresponds to: one of the 12 punch positions 0 to 9, 11, and 12; or reject, which applies when the column is nowhere punched. It has one card station where a brush reads a single column of the card. We can turn a handle and move the brush to any column.

Fig. 7. Sorter.