Vote-recording apparatus

Claim 2

For use in an electronic balloting system, vote-recording apparatus for simultaneously providing a permanent, machine-readable record of each ballot and electrical signals indicative of voter selections, said apparatus comprising: means for holding a ballot record for encoding thereon the voter selections; electrical sensor matrix means located adjacent the ballot record and having a plurality of elemental sensors corresponding to available ballot selections; and portable stylus means engageable with said electrical matrix means to selectively actuate same at a particular elemental sensor, thereby producing an electrical signal indicative of a voter selection, said stylus means having ballot record encoding means for simultaneously encoding on the ballot record a voter selection corresponding to said actuated elemental sensor of said electrical matrix means.

Claim 3

For use in an electronic balloting system, vote-recording apparatus for simultaneously producing punched holes in a ballot card and electrical signals indicative of voter selections, said apparatus comprising: means for holding a ballot card for punching; electrical sensor matrix means located adjacent the ballot card, and having a plurality of elemental sensors corresponding to available ballot selections; portable stylus means engageable with said electrical matrix means to actuate same at a selected elemental sensor, and having card punching means for simultaneously punching a portion of the ballot card corresponding to the ballot selection and to said acutated elemental sensor of said electrical matrix means; and electrical interface means connected with said electrical sensor matrix means, for generating therefrom encoded electrical signals indicative of the ballot selection.

Claim 4

For use in an electronic balloting system, vote-recording apparatus for simultaneously producing punched holes in a ballot card and electrical signals indicative of voter selections, said apparatus comprising: means for holding a ballot card for punching; electrical sensor matrix means located adjacent the ballot card, and having a plurality of elemental sensors corresponding to available ballot selections; portable stylus means engageable with said electrical matrix means to actuate same at a selected elemental sensor, and having card punching means for simultaneously punching a portion of the ballot card corresponding to the ballot selection and to said acutated elemental sensor of said electrical matrix means; and electrical interface means connected with said electrical sensor matrix means, for generating therefrom encoded electrical signals indicative of the ballot selection.

Claim 5

Vote-recording apparatus as set forth in claim 2, wherein said elemental sensors in said electrical sensor matrix means comprise pairs of electrically conductive contacts.

Claim 6

Vote-recording apparatus as set forth in claim 2, wherein said electrical sensor matrix comprises: an insulated board approximetely equal to the size of the ballot card; a plurality of parallel conductive column strips affixed to one face of said board; and a plurality of parallel conductive row strips affixed to the other face of said board; and wherein said board and said strips are perforated by holes at points corresponding to areas of overlap of said column strips and said row strips.

Claim 7

Vote-recording apparatus as set forth in claim 3, wherein: said elemental sensors are arranged in rows and columns; and corresponding contacts of said pairs of electrically conductive contacts are electrically connected in rows and in columns, whereby actuating one of said elemental sensors results in making electrical contact between one row of said contacts and one column of said contacts.

Claim 8

Vote-recording apparatus as set forth in claim 4, wherein said stylus means includes: first contact means for contacting a corresponding one of said column strips as said stylus means is inserted in a selected one of said holes; second contact means for contacting a corresponding one of said row strips as said card punching means is operated to perforate the ballot card, said first and second means being electrically connected, whereby an appropriate pair of said column and row strips is electrically connected as the ballot card is punched.

Claim 9

For use in an electronic balloting system, vote-recording apparatus for simultaneously producing punched holes in a ballot card and electrical signals indicative of voter selections, said apparatus comprising: means for holding a ballot card for punching; electrical contact matrix means located adjacent the ballot card and in parallel relation thereto, and including an insulated board, a plurality of parallel, electrically conductive column strips affixed to one face of said board, and a plurality of parallel, electrically conductive row strips affixed to the other face of said board, said board and said column and row strips being perforated therethrough with holes located at points corresponding to areas of overlap of said column strips and said row strips; hand-held stylus means insertable in any selected one of said holes, and including card-punching means movable through said selected hole to punch the ballot card, first contact means, for contacting the column strip at said selected hole, second contact means, for contacting the row strip at said selected hole, said first and second contact means being electrically connected, whereby an appropriate pair of said column and row strips is electrically connected as the card is punched by said card-punching means; and electrical interface means connected with said column strips and said row strips, for generating therefrom encoded electrical signals indicative of the row and column of said selected hole.

Claim 10

For use in an electronic balloting system, vote-recording apparatus for simultaneously producing punched holes in a ballot card and electrical signals indicative of voter selections, said apparatus comprising: means for holding a ballot card for punching; electrical contact matrix means located adjacent the ballot card and in parallel relation thereto, and including an insulated board, a plurality of parallel, electrically conductive column strips affixed to one face of said board, and a plurality of parallel, electrically conductive row strips affixed to the other face of said board, said board and said column and row strips being perforated therethrough with holes located at points corresponding to areas of overlap of said column strips and said row strips; hand-held stylus means insertable in any selected one of said holes, and including card-punching means movable through said selected hole to punch the ballot card, first contact means, for contacting the column strip at said selected hole, second contact means, for contacting the row strip at said selected hole, said first and second contact means being electrically connected, whereby an appropriate pair of said column and row strips is electrically connected as the card is punched by said card-punching means; and electrical interface means connected with said column strips and said row strips, for generating therefrom encoded electrical signals indicative of the row and column of said selected hole.

Claim 11

Vote-recording apparatus as set forth in claim 7, wherein said electrical interface means includes: distribution means for applying a signal to each of said strips in turn in one of said pluralities of row and column strips; scanning means for detecting said applied signal by scanning the other of said pluralities of row and column strips, and thereby detecting a cross-contact between one of said row strips and one of said column strips; means operative on the detection of a cross-contact, for terminating operation of said distribution means and said scanning means and thereby preserving row and column numbers indicative of the location of the cross-contact; means for transmitting the row and column numbers for tallying of the voter selections; and means for reactivating said distribution means and said scanning means.

Claim 12

Vote-recording apparatus as set forth in claim 8, and further including ballot card sensing means, for generating an electrical signal indicative of the presence of a ballot card, whereby voter selections may be excluded from a tally of votes if the ballot card is removed before all sections are made.

Claim 13

Vote-recording apparatus as set forth in claim 9, and further including: manual switch means manually operable to indicate that all voter selections have been completed; and means for sensing actuation of said manual switch means for utilization with said row and column numbers.

Claim 14

Vote-recording apparatus as set forth in claim 10, and further including display means operable to indicate that the voter selections have been successfully transferred through said electronic interface means.

Claim 15

Vote-recording apparatus as set forth in claim 7, wherein: said card-punching means includes a central rod with a free end insertable in a selected one of said holes and a handle end for manipulation by a voter; one of said first and second contact means includes an electrically conductive inner sleeve slidingly fitted to said rod and movable through said selected hole to contact one of said row and column strips; the other of said first and second contact means includes an electrically conductive outer sleeve mounted for sliding movement over said inner sleeve and said rod; and said stylus means further includes resilient means for urging said inner and outer sleeves toward said free end of said rod and into contact with their respective row and column strips as said rod is inserted in said selected hole, and sleeve-retaining means to retain said inner and outer sleeves on said rod as one assembly; whereby said stylus means is operated by inserting said rod and said inner sleeve in the selected hole until said outer sleeve contacts one of said row and column strips, and then depressing said rod further against said resilient means, until said inner sleeve contacts the other of said row and column strips and said rod pierces the ballot card.

Claim 16

For use in an electronic balloting system, vote-recording apparatus for simultaneously producing punched holes in a ballot card and electrical signals indicative of voter selections, said apparatus including: means for holding a ballot card for punching; electrical contact matrix means located adjacent the ballot card and in parallel relation thereto, and including an insulated board having a first face, furtherst from the ballot card, and a second face adjacent the ballot card, a plurality of parallel, electrically conductive column strips affixed to said first face of said board; and a plurality of parallel, electrically conductive row strips affixed to said second face of said board, said board and said strips having holes therethrough located at areas of overlap of said column and row strips, said holes having a reduced diameter at said row strips to form an annular ledge in each hole; portable stylus means insertable in any selected one of said holes and including a generally cylindrical outer body, with an open end, a punch-rod centrally and rigidly mounted in said outer body and extending from said open end, an inner contact sleeve slidingly fitted to said punch-rod and sized to fit said holes and to contact one of said annular ledges formed by said row strips, an outer contact sleeve slidingly fitted over said inner sleeve and in said outer body, said outer sleeve protruding from said outer body, said inner sleeve, protruding from said outer sleeve, said punch-rod protruding from said inner sleeve, and said inner and outer sleeves being electrically connected, and resilient means to prevent removal of said outer sleeve from said outer body, and said inner sleeve from said outer sleeve, first resilient means mounted between said outer body and said inner sleeve to urge said inner sleeve and said outer sleeve outwardly from said open end, second resilient means mounted between said inner sleeve and said outer sleeve to urge said inner sleeve inwardly with respect to said outer sleeve, thereby resisting said first resilient means, whereby said stylus means is operated by inserting said punch-rod and said inner sleeve in said selected hole until said outer sleeve contacts said column strip, then depressing said outer body against said first and second resilient means until said punch-rod pierces the ballot card and said first resilient means overcomes said second resilient means and urges said inner sleeve into contact with said row strip; and electrical interface means connected with said column and row strips, for generating therefrom encoded electrical signals indicative of the row and column of said selected hole, said electrical interface means including distribution means for applying a signal to each of said strips in turn of one of said pluralities of row and column strips, scanning means for detecting said applied signal by scanning the other of said pluralities of row and column strips, and thereby detecting an electrical contact between one of said row strips and one of said column strips, means operative on the detection of a contact by said scanning means, for terminating operation of said distribution means and said scanning means and thereby preserving row and column numbers indicative of the location of the contact, means for transmitting the row and column numbers for tallying of the voter selections, and means for reactivating said distribution means and said scanning means.

Claim 17

For use in an electronic balloting system, vote-recording apparatus for simultaneously producing punched holes in a ballot card and electrical signals indicative of voter selections, said apparatus including: means for holding a ballot card for punching; electrical contact matrix means located adjacent the ballot card and in parallel relation thereto, and including an insulated board having a first face, furtherst from the ballot card, and a second face adjacent the ballot card, a plurality of parallel, electrically conductive column strips affixed to said first face of said board; and a plurality of parallel, electrically conductive row strips affixed to said second face of said board, said board and said strips having holes therethrough located at areas of overlap of said column and row strips, said holes having a reduced diameter at said row strips to form an annular ledge in each hole; portable stylus means insertable in any selected one of said holes and including a generally cylindrical outer body, with an open end, a punch-rod centrally and rigidly mounted in said outer body and extending from said open end, an inner contact sleeve slidingly fitted to said punch-rod and sized to fit said holes and to contact one of said annular ledges formed by said row strips, an outer contact sleeve slidingly fitted over said inner sleeve and in said outer body, said outer sleeve protruding from said outer body, said inner sleeve, protruding from said outer sleeve, said punch-rod protruding from said inner sleeve, and said inner and outer sleeves being electrically connected, and resilient means to prevent removal of said outer sleeve from said outer body, and said inner sleeve from said outer sleeve, first resilient means mounted between said outer body and said inner sleeve to urge said inner sleeve and said outer sleeve outwardly from said open end, second resilient means mounted between said inner sleeve and said outer sleeve to urge said inner sleeve inwardly with respect to said outer sleeve, thereby resisting said first resilient means, whereby said stylus means is operated by inserting said punch-rod and said inner sleeve in said selected hole until said outer sleeve contacts said column strip, then depressing said outer body against said first and second resilient means until said punch-rod pierces the ballot card and said first resilient means overcomes said second resilient means and urges said inner sleeve into contact with said row strip; and electrical interface means connected with said column and row strips, for generating therefrom encoded electrical signals indicative of the row and column of said selected hole, said electrical interface means including distribution means for applying a signal to each of said strips in turn of one of said pluralities of row and column strips, scanning means for detecting said applied signal by scanning the other of said pluralities of row and column strips, and thereby detecting an electrical contact between one of said row strips and one of said column strips, means operative on the detection of a contact by said scanning means, for terminating operation of said distribution means and said scanning means and thereby preserving row and column numbers indicative of the location of the contact, means for transmitting the row and column numbers for tallying of the voter selections, and means for reactivating said distribution means and said scanning means.

Claim 18

Vote-recording apparatus as set forth in claim 13, and further including ballot card sensing means, for generating an electrical signal indicative of the presence of a ballot card whereby voter selections may be excluded from a tally of votes if the ballot card is removed before all selections are made.

Claim 19

Vote-recording apparatus as set forth in claim 14, and further including: manual switch means operable to indicate that all voter selections have been completed; and means for sensing actuation of said manual switch means, for utilization with said row and column numbers.

Claim 20

Vote-recording apparatus as set forth in claim 15, and further including indicator means operable to indicate that the voter selections have been successfully transferred through said electronic interface means.

Claim 21

For use with an electronic balloting system, apparatus for simultaneously punching a card and generating a corresponding electrical signal, said apparatus comprising: electrical contact matrix means, including an insulated board perforated with a plurality of holes corresponding to available voter selections, a like plurality of first contact elements affixed to one face of said board adjacent said holes, a like plurality of second contact elements affixed to the other face of said board and protruding slightly into said holes; and portable voting stylus means, including a punch-rod insertable through any selected one of said holes to punch a ballot card locatable beyond said electrical contact matrix means, a first contact sleeve slidingly mounted with respect to said punch-rod, for contacting one of said first contact elements, a second contact sleeve slidingly mounted with respect to said punch-rod and said first contact sleeve, for contacting one of said second contact elements on insertion in the selected hole and depression of said punch-rod, said first and second contact sleeves being electrically connected, resilient means urging said first and second contact sleeves into contact with said first and second contact elements, respectively, as said punch-rod is moved to punch the ballot card.

Claim 22

For use with an electronic balloting system, apparatus for simultaneously punching a card and generating a corresponding electrical signal, said apparatus comprising: electrical contact matrix means, including an insulated board perforated with a plurality of holes corresponding to available voter selections, a like plurality of first contact elements affixed to one face of said board adjacent said holes, a like plurality of second contact elements affixed to the other face of said board and protruding slightly into said holes; and portable voting stylus means, including a punch-rod insertable through any selected one of said holes to punch a ballot card locatable beyond said electrical contact matrix means, a first contact sleeve slidingly mounted with respect to said punch-rod, for contacting one of said first contact elements, a second contact sleeve slidingly mounted with respect to said punch-rod and said first contact sleeve, for contacting one of said second contact elements on insertion in the selected hole and depression of said punch-rod, said first and second contact sleeves being electrically connected, resilient means urging said first and second contact sleeves into contact with said first and second contact elements, respectively, as said punch-rod is moved to punch the ballot card.

Claim 23

Apparatus as set forth in claim 17, wherein said resilient means includes: first resilient means for urging said first contact sleeve into contact with said selected first contact element; and second resilient means located between said first and second contact sleeves, for opposing the force of said first resilient means on said second contact sleeve until said punch-rod has moved a predetermined distance, whereby said second contact sleeve does not make contact with said selected second contact element until said punch-rod pierces the ballot card.