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* As viewed from the front
side of the sheet.
Figure
4. Air Information
Sheet Identification Code
flight
buttons because each
designates a particular
flight
(or a particular
type of service
on a flight, such
as
first class, tourist,
or coach). Depressing
the flight
button
causes the
character assigned
to that button to
be
entered in the proper message
position. (If no but-
ton
is pressed, an all-zeros
character goes to the ter-
minal
interchange where it
is changed to a “no-opera-
tion”
character.)
COLUMN (ORIGIN) BUTTONS
A
horizontal row of eleven origin buttons, so named
because they designate the points of departure of flight
legs (or through flights), appears at the top of the
card.
Like the flight buttons, if one of these is pressed
the others are automatically released. Some of these
origin
buttons may be temporarily blocked from use —
which
ones depend upon the formats of the air infor-
mation sheets used. In the system shown in Figure 3,
only three — the 1 button, the 6 button, and the 11
button — can be depressed. Each identifies the proper
one of the three input fields on the air information
sheet. As with the flight buttons, if the agent fails to
depress
any of the origin buttons, a no-operation char-
acter is entered into the computer.
AVAILABILITY
REPLY LIGHTS
Between the air information
sheet and
flight buttons
is a vertical column of sixteen
lights; each indicates a
flight line on the air
information sheet
and is aligned
with the corresponding
flight button.
The purpose of
these lights is to display
certain types
of messages from
the data processing
center, primarily
to indicate what
flight, with what particular
class of service, has the
requested amount
of space
available. If some
or all of
8
these
lights are on when availability
information comes
to
the terminal set from the
computer, they are all
reset
off and then immediately
relighted to display the
new
availability information. They remain lighted
until
another “lights” message comes through from the
computer,
or until the agent removes the air informa-
tion sheet or presses the reset button.
INDICATOR LIGHTS
These lights convey to the agent the status of the ter-
minal set. Four are to the left and two are to the right
of the column origin buttons at the top of the air in-
formation device. The seventh
indicator is in the lower
left portion of the aw. From left to right across the top
of the arp, the indicators are:
System Available: This light
is normally on. It would
be off only if an unusual circumstance disconnects the
terminal from the rest of the
system or prevents the
terminal interchange from accepting
information from
the agent’s set.
Keyboard Active: This light is on when the input-
output device keyboard is
unlocked. It indicates that
the keyboard or routine action pushbuttons may be
used to enter data.
Card Check: This light is
on when the air informa-
tion sheet is properly positioned.
Power On: This light is on
when power is on in the
terminal
control.
Push Repeat: This light comes
on when the terminal
senses an invalid character
in an output message from
the computer. It remains
on until the
agent pushes the
reset button. The operator then
pushes the repeat but-
ton on the routine
action pushbutton
set, causing the
computer to repeat
the entire current
message.
Re-enter: This light
comes on with
any of the follow-
ing conditions:
1. When a character
error
is detected
in an input
message.
2. When an output
control signal is
received by the
terminal while the agent
is entering a message.
3. If a typing
conflict
occurs.
Availability Check:
This light is on
while an avail-
ability message from
the computer is
being displayed
by the availability reply lights.
If no space is available
(no availability lights
are on) and
the availability
check light goes on, the agent
knows that the answer
is back and that the answer
is “No space.”
RESET BUTTON
Pressing this button
causes the agent’s
set to send a
reset character to the terminal
interchange. Sending
this character permits the agent
to re-enter a message.
Depressing this button also
unlocks the keyboard and
returns the type-head
carrier on the printer.
IBM 1003A Routine Action Pushbutton Module
This module is divided
into the five
fields of buttons.
The action field has momentary-contact
pushbuttons.
All other fields have an interlock
feature so that press-
ing any button in the field
releases the other buttons
in the field.
The top row of 12 buttons
is the month field.
Identifiers
(Not on
RAP
Module)
Figure 5. Routine Action
Pushbutton Module
The four buttons of the second row are the tens
digit of the day field.
The third row of buttons enters the units digit of the
day field. In the module shown
in Figure 5, the agent
pushes the leftmost button (TDA) to inquire for space
availability for today; the
button just to the right
(tmw) for tomorrow. These are examples of pro-
grammed functions for these buttons. The four buttons
on the left half of the fourth row are the seats field.
They can designate 1, 2, 3, or 4 seats.
The right half of the fourth row and the lowest two
rows constitute the action field.
The number of keys to be used in the action field
varies, depending on the needs of a particular applica-
tion. When an action button is pushed, the status of
the terminal is:
1. The system available light remains on.
2.
The routine action pushbuttons, although oper-
able, are ineffective until the terminal set receives a
response from the computer.
3. The input-output keyboard is locked.
Depressing any action button causes sensing and
transmitting of the codes for all depressed routine
action pushbuttons, all depressed air information de-
vice buttons, and holes punched in the ais. If no button
is depressed in any one field, a no-operation character
is inserted for that field. On the routine action push-
Agents’ Sets 9
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