US2017087A - Telegraphic printing control method and apparatus - Google Patents

Description

. Oct. 15, 1935. J; J ACKELL ET AL 2,017,087

TELEGRAPHIC PRINTING CONTROL METHOD APPARATUS Filed Nov. 17, 1934 5 sheets-sheet 1 a p k Q 2 I a =2 l 1H m w i, i Y L n 8 I A Q -1- a E I:

l m 8 "E- a I INVENTOFW-M J M[ff-.24

ATTORNEY Get. 15, 1935.

J. J. AC KELL ET AL TELEGRAPHIC PRINTING CONTROL METHOD AND APPARATUS Filed Nov. 17, 1934 mm" "HIM" "H 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Im. /28 I I .93

INVENTORS ATTORNEY 0 1935- J. J. ACKELL ETAL TELEGRAPHIC PRINTING CONTROL METHOD AND APPARATUS 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed NOV. 17, 1934 INYENTORS I 2? ATTORNEY Oct. 15, 1935. .1. J. ACKELL EI'AL 2,017,087

TBLEGRAPHIC PRINTING CONTROL METHOD AND APPARATUS- Filed Nov. 17, 1934 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 FIG. l0.

7 INVENTORS 7*, A1TORNEY Oct. 15, 1935. J. J. ACKELL EI AL 9 9 TELEGHAPHIC PRINTING CONTROL METHOD AND APPARATUS Filed Nov. '17, 1934 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTQRS W 7 4 flw g ATTQRNEY Patented Oct. 15, 1935 um rao STATES.

PATENT OFFICE TELEGRAPHIC PRINTING CONTROL ivm'rnon AND sPPARATUs chusetts Application November 17, 1934, Serial No. 753,454

'11 Claims. (01. 178-4) This invention relates to an improved methsuccessive characters. While a single mechanism d and apparatusby which telegraphic printing mechanisms may be simply and efiectively controlled to provide for maximum efliciency in the operation of these devices.

of broader application to the control of other devices in which it is desired to set up or select any one of a variety of characters by electrical means. However, it is particularly applicable to the control of printing mechanisms of the stepby-step type in which a printing wheel or the like is adjusted to successive positions for the printing of selected characters on a tape or sheet. More specifically, the invention contemplates the control of devices'of the character mentioned by means of perforations in a punched tape or the like. Heretofore it has been the common practice to control the step-by-step type of printer directly from the keyboard of;a central control machine. These machines have been provided with keyboards having a peculiar arrangement of keys due to the method of control involved. Considerable experience has been required to enablean operator to manipulate the keyboard of such a'machine with any high de gree of efliciency. This is due to-the fact that the type wheel is always rotated in the same direction and must be rotated varying extents in setting up a character, depending. upon the char- 0 acter previously set up. The keyboards have ordinarily been arranged in such a way as to indicate to the operator whether a relatively long or short time will be required to set up a new character, depending on the preceding character.

* Skilled operators can judge fairly accurately how much time must be allowed betweenflthe depression of different keys but in order toavoid the danger of depressing a new key before the pre-. vious key has completed its control, the tendency is to allow somewhat more time than is actually required. This necessarily slows down the operation of all of the printing machines controlled by the keyboard to a point considerably below their maximum capabilities. 0 By controlling the printers from a perforated tape in accordance with the present invention,

they may be operated at maximum speed at all times. Thus, the sending or control mechanism may automatically take into account the actual 0 time required to shift the wheel to a new setting and print therefrom so that the next character control can be initiated immediately upon the printing of the preceding character. In this way it is possible topperate the printers with a 5 minimum loss of .time between 1 P nti .9!

The improvement is will ordinarily controlthe operation of a large number of printers, this mechanism may be supplied with tape from several sources. Several operators may be engaged in perforating thetape 5 so that the matter which "may be printed by a single machine is limited onlyby the speed with which the type wheel or the like may be shifted and the printing mechanism operated. Furthermore, since the manual operation of a keyboard v10 is utilized only to perforate a. tape and since each" character requires precisely the same amount of time in punching the tape, regardless of the particular sequence, it is possible to use a key-' board with any desired arrangement of keys. 15 Ordinarily, it will be found preferable to use the standard typewriter keyboard arrangement with minor changes so that skilled typists may readily operate the punching machines.

A feature of the invention is the provision of 20 a control system of'the character mentioned which enables the step-by-step setting of a printing element simultaneously with the operation of the selecting mechanism which determines and interprets the arrangement of perforations at a 25 given point on the tape. The arrangement is such that pulses may be sent-over the line to a series of step-by-step printers while the character' determining devices are operating to interpret a particular group of perforations that has been shifted into controlling position. This avoids the delay incidentto a system in which no signal can be sent to the printers until a group of perforations has been fully interpreted.

.1 Numerous other features and advantages of 85 the-inventionwill appear from the detailed description of an illustrative embodiment of the same which will presently e given. It will be appreciated that while the vention is particularly disclosed in relation to the control of step- 4. by-step printers, many features will be found of V value in other relations. In the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification,

Figure 1 is a plan view of mechanism employed to interpret andtransmit the signals designated by a control tapei I Figure 2 is an end view of the mechanism as seen from the right of Figure 1.

I Figure 3 is a transverse section along the line 50 3--3v ofFigure 1.

Figure 4 is adetail view of certain switches and operating mechanism therefor, taken along the line 4-4 of Figure 3. I

Figure 5 is a-vertical section through a per-.

tion of a control box operating upon and controlled by the tape.

Figure 6 is a plan view of the mechanism of Figure 5, taken beneath the top of the box along the line 6-6 of Figure 5.

' Figure 7 is a detail view taken along the line 1-1 of Figure 6.

Figure 8 is an enlarged, detail, sectional view General operation of system Before entering into a detailed description of of the con- I the particular illustrative mechanism and arrangement of circuits disclosed, a brief explanation will be given as to the general working of the system. The preferred arrangement is suchthat the control tape Hi (Fig. 9) is adapted to receive perforations in two or three of eight different columns or rows. Two of these perforations may be located-in any .two of seven positions, designated ll, across the'tape while the third perforation, designated l2, whenever present, appears in the eighth column or row. This enables theselectlon of forty-two different characters or controls by the use of sometimes two and sometimes three perforations. The illustrated mechanism and circuits are particularly designed for use in conjunction with printer mechanisms of the type disclosed in the Conger Patent No. 1,178,215, granted April 4, 1916, and in the Vischer Patent No..1,9'79,510 granted Nov. 6th, 1934, t

and in conjunction with a pulsing system of the type disclosed in the Paulding Patent ,No.) 1,957,076 granted May 1,1934. Briefly, the printer comprises a rotatable typev wheel having a series of thirty-six characters distributed around its periphery and two blank spaces, having no characters but being of equal width to the character spaces.

carrier across the sheet upon which the characters are being printed. When 'a space signal is transmitted, no character is printed upon the sheet but at the same time the printing mechanismis operated in order to perform other necessary functions of the printer, such as operation of the escapement mechanism, causing the printing wheel carriage to shift one space toward the as to allow suitable devices to restore the print- One. of these blank spaces is utilized in the spacing of the type.

ing wheel to its position at the left of the machine andto feed the paper one line space preparatory to theprinting of a new line of characters. All of this is more fully explained in the above mentioned patents and further description is therefore believed to be unnecessary.

' The characters on the printing wheel include all of the letters of the alphabet,eight numbers, a .dash and the mark 8:. The number 1 is supplied by letter I while the cipher is supplied by the letter 0, Obviously, the nature of the characters appearing on the wheel may be varied to suit the particular requirements of the machine. Inasmuch as the characters are set up by the successive, partial rotations of the wheel in one direction, the characters are" ordinarily arranged in such a way as to bring/those which are most frequently used in succession into position by a minimum portion of a irevolution of the wheel. For this purpose the following arrangement of characters has been largely adopted: Q, J, B, T, W, P, C, H, L, M, E, A, U, I, O, N, G, R, F, D, Y, S, V, K, X, Z, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 8:. Between the 8; and the Q the two blank spaces above mentioned corresponding to the carriage return and spacing functions, respectively, are provided. Obviously, this particular arrangement of characters and spaces may be varied, if desired, to suit particular circumstances.

Any convenient allocation of the groups of perforations to correspond with given characters may be adopted. Preferably, however, the arrangement is such that for two adjacent characters on the type wheel, .one will involve a certain pair of perforations in selected ones of the seven columns while the next will involve the same pair of perforations plus a third perforation in the eighth column. By designating the perforations by the numbers 1 to 8, according to their position across the tape it has been found advantageous to employ the following correlation between the perforations and the variouscharacters' or signals previously mentioned; for the carriage return signal, perforations 1 and 2'; for the spacing signal, perforations 6, 'I and 8; and for the various characters the following:

While the foregoing correlation between the perforations and the various characters and signals has been found quite convenient, in view of the existing characteristics of the printing mechanism intended to be controlled, it will be understood that other relationships may very readily be adopted. In addition to the perforations II and ii, the tape is also provided with a continuous series of small perforations l3, preferably between the fourth and fifth columns of control perforations, i. e., along the center of the tape. These small perforations, as will be explained more fully hereinafter, are for the purpose of enabling the step-by-step advance of the tape in analyzing the same. It isfurther contemplated that provision should be made in the perforating machine for punching a complete series of holes across the tape. As will be more fully explained hereinafter, the analyzing and interpreting devices are so constructed and arranged Cal,

determined distance.

the tape, no pulse or signal will be transmitted.

to the printers and the only function that will be performed is the advancement of the tape one step to the next position. This affords a convenient method of entering a correction upon the tape. For example, should a mistake be made in the depression of the keys of the punching machine and should this mistakebe noted by the operator immediately, or after the depression of several additional keys, the tape may be spaced backwardly the desired number of steps and-a correction key operated to produce one "or more series of eight holes across the tape. This is a distinct advantage over the direct keyboard control of the printers since under that method a signal is sent out immediately upon the depression of a key. An error can then be corrected only by introducing an ppropriate comment into the matter actually printed, thus consuming time and space.

Punching of tape- I For the purpose of punching the tape in the manner explained, any suitable -mechanism may be employed. A variety of machines are already known which may be very readily adapted for the ed, depending upon the key depressed, and these slides may interpose a portion between an operating member and a series of punches. As a key is depressed further, it may'close a circuit through an electro-magnet operating a suitable bar, which will then depress those punches corresponding with the slides that have been shifted. Thus, if a carriage return key is depressed, the one and two slides will be shifted so that upon operation of the bar over-the punches, those in the 1 and 2 positions will be forced through the tape. Should the space key be depressed, the slides positioned over the punches in the 6, 7 and 8 positions will be shifted and thus cause these punches to be operated. A correction key/may be made to shift all eight slides to produce operation of all eight punches. It will be understood that between the operation of successive keys, suitable mechanism will be operated to cause the tape to be fed a pre- While the spacing of the gmups of perforations may be varied to suit particular circumstances, it has been foundquite convenient to place them at about 1 inch intervals. The tapefeeding holes I3 may be punched either before the tape is placed in the punching machine to assist in feeding it through this machine or they may be formed in any suitable way by the machine. To enable the effective use of the correction key the punching machineshould, of course, be provided with a back spacing key so that the tape may be quickly returned any desired number of spaces for the punching of the eight perforations in lieu of the lesser number incorrectly placed in the tape. A special key should also be provided to cause the tape to be advanced one step without punching it, thus indep indent source.

leaving a blank space except for the control feed hole.

Tape analyzer After the tape has been punched in the manner explained, it is fedto an analyzer adapted to 5 fesl the perforations and transmit the intended controls, corresponding with the perforations in a particular position .on the tape, to an interpreting or translating mechanism. The analyzer may receive the tape directly from the punching 10 machine, if desired, or, if several punching machines are employed to supply tape to a singletransmitting unit, the tape may be fed from an The analyzer illustrated in Figs. 5 to 8 may comprise a relatively small box 15 or casing having a fiat top' member. M. The tape may conveniently be fed across the top of this member and beneath a guide bar I5. The latter is preferably detachable or movably mounted on the box, as for example-by pivoting one end at one edge of the box. At its opposite end the bar I5 is then preferably retained by a simple latch so that it maybe conveniently raised whenever it is desired to introduce a new strip of tape. r The tape should be applied in such a way that one of the teeth on a toothed feed wheel l6 will extend through a perforation I3 in the tape. This will insure proper positioning of the perforations, II and I2 with respect to the analyzing devices later to be explained. Secured" to the 30 same shaft. as the feed wheel I6. is a ratchet wheel I! adapted to be operated by a pawl l8 ried by a shaft 2|. This shaft has secured, at a M convenient point, a bell crank member 22 carry-v ing an armature 23 adapted to cooperate with an electro- magnet having coils 24 and 25;. A

' forwardly extending arm of the bell crank 22 carries a pin 26 cooperating withan elongated slot 21 formed in thearm 28. A spring 28 ex- 40 tending between a stud fixed on the'fra'me and a rearwardly' extending arm 29 of the pawl l8 serves to. rock the latter to engage its tooth with the teeth of the ratchet l1 and, at the same time, serves to hold the arm 20 in elevated position. 45 Any suitable means, such as the pin shown in Fig. 5, may be provided for limiting the upward movement of the arm 20 .under the influence of the spring. It will be apparent from the foregoing that when the electro- magnet 24, 25 is energized, in the manner to be later explained, the bell .crank 22 is rocked and after a brief free movement the pin 26 will engage the lower end of the slot 21 and will rock the arm 20 down-'- wardly or in a clockwise direction, (Fig. 5). In .55

so doing the pawl [8 will operate the ratchet l1 one step. Any suitable means may be provided pins 3| is provided. These are passed through suitable openings in the top member ll of the analyzer and are spaced at the same distance as the perforations in the tape. They are also suitably located with respect to the teeth of thefeed wheel l6 and ratchet I! to insure the posi- 7 tioning of the perforations -in the tape directly over the pins when the tape. is .at rest. The pins are pivotally attached to individual arms 32- loosely carried by a rod 33; Rearwardly of the rod 33 each of the arms 32is provided with an so: 22 isv rocked, the rod 46 will be drawn downwardly ahdwill pull all of the pins 3| to a point below extension 34.v Alternate ones of these extensions are bent upwardly and the remaining ones are bent downwardly,in the manner shown, so as, to provide projections-35 at two different elevations. This is for the purpose of providing more room fora series of eight switches 36, one of which is related to) each of the pins 3|. The arrangement is such that when a pin 3| ispermitted to rise through a perforation in the tape, the projection 35 on its associated arm 32 will force the contacts 31 of the related switch 36 into engagement. This, as will be later explained, serves to complete certain circuits by which the perforations maybe properly interpreted. Each of the arms 32 is provided with a spring 38 tending to lift the arm and hence to force the pin 3| upwardly through a perforation when it is presented above the pin. At such time the upper end of the pin will preferably pass into a small opening 39 inthe guide bar l5.

After a particular group of perforations has been analyzed and interpreted, it is necessary to withdraw the pins 3| to permit the tape to be advanced to the next position, in the manner previously explained. For this purpose a rod 40 is carried by an arm 4| loosely mountedon the rod 33. A link 42 extending downwardly from the rod 40 connects the latter with the pin 26. Itwill be seen, therefore, that when the electromagnet 24, 25 is energized and the bell crank Provision is made for arresting the operationof the-analyzing and interpreting devices whenever the transmitter overtakes the operation of the punching machine. This is accomplished by passingthe tape beneath a bar 43 before it is passed beneath the guide member l5. Bar 43 is carried'by a stub shaft 44 that carries on its inner end a cam 45 formed of some insulating material. The latteris arranged to engage the arm'46 of a suitable master switch to break the circuit between contacts 41 whenever the cam is rotated a slight distance away from its position indicated in Fig. 7. Thus, whenever the tape becomes taut by virtue of the fact that the transmitting mechanism overtakes the operation of the punching machine, the bar 43 will be lifted and will rotate the cam 45 to open the master switch. This switch may also be opened manually at will by simply lifting the bar 43 or turning the shaft 44 in any other convenient way.

Means are provided for locking the bell crank 22 in the position in which it is rocked by the electro-magnet. In'" this position the pins 3| will be withdrawn from the tape and retained below the upper surface of the top member H. For this purpose a latch 48 is pivotally carried by the side member of the. casing by means of a stud 49. An arm 50 is also secured to this stud and is drawn upwardly by a spring Upward movement of the arm may be prevented, however, by a cam 52 having an operating arm 53 arranged on the outside of the casing. When the cam is in the position shown in Fig; '7, it

serves to retain the latch 48 out of operative engagement with the armature 23. However, if the arm 53 is turned through 90 degrees in a clockwise direction (Fig. 7), a flattened portion inafter.

been withdrawn- 54 of the cam will be over the arm 56 and hence when the armature 23 is attracted by the electro-magnets, the latch 46 will be permitted to rise and retain the bell crank 22 in shifted position. Whenever itis desired to release the arma- 5 ture, this may be done by returning the arm 53 to the poizition shown in Fig.. 7. The purpose of this latch construction will be explained here- Translating mechanism Associated with the analyzer is another relatively simple device-which may be designated an interpreter or translator. The function of this mechanism is to act upon the readings taken from the perforated tape by the analyzer and to send out appropriate signals to the various printers or other controlled mechanisms. This mechanism will now be described by reference to Figs. 1 to 4, inclusive.- A commutator 55 is arranged around a shaft 56 adjacent'to one end of the' latter. This commutator, in the construction illustrated, is held fixed with relation to the supporting structure of the trans- .lating mechanism and for this purpose may conveniently be secured to a bearing member 51 which supports the shaft 56 near its outer end.

-The face of the commutator is divided into a series of separate conducting surfaces by insulating means provided between the conductors. Thus, adjacent the center of the commutator two continuous conductor rings 58 and 59 are provided.- Surrounding the ring 59 there is provided a series of segments 60, 6|, 62, 63, 64, 65 and 66, forming a complete ring but with insulationprovided between the several sections. Similarly, surrounding the segmental ring just mentioned there is arranged another segmental ring composed of a series of sections 61 of equal dimension and two smaller sections 66 and 68, equal to substantially half of one of the sections 61. Again, surrounding this segmental ring is a further ring divided into ,a large number of segments 10 and H, all of equal dimension. In the construction illustrated there are provided 5 IQ of thesegments I0 and I9 0! the segments these being alternately arranged around the face of the commutator. It will thus be 'seen that there is a segment 10 or H for each of the positions of the printing wheel. All of the segments 10 are connected together and arranged in certain circuits to be later explained. Sufllce it to say here that these circuits are controlledby the switch 36 associated with the pin 3| in the eightposition. The segments H are similarly connected together and arranged in suitable circuits. They are not, however, associated with any of the feeler pins and may,

therefore, be considered as blank positions around the commutator. Each of the other switches .36 is connected with a number of the segments in the two other broken rings of the commutator. For example, the switch associated with the number 1 pin is connected with the segments 60 and while the switch ass'o- 5 ciated with the number 2 pin is connected with the segments 6| and 68. 'The switches of the. other pins are connected to the segments bearing the corresponding numbers in the diagrammatic illustration of the portion of the com- 7 mutator in Figure 10. I

Secured to the shaft 56 is a member 12 adapted to support a pair of brush arms 13 and 14. These arms are so mounted on' the member 12 as to be insulated from each other. The arm 13 carries a pair of brushes I and I6, the first of which is adapted to sweep over the segments 1 of the commutator."

For the purpose of rotating the shaft 56 to cause the'brushes to pass over the commutator segments mentioned, a gear 80 is loosely mounted upon the shaft between a pair of friction discs 0| and 62 lined with suitable'friction ma-.

terial and keyed to the shaft. The disc- 82 is held in fixed position while the disc8I is yieldingly forced against the gear80 and. forces the latter against the disc 82 by means of a spring 83, which at its outer end abuts a collar 84 carried by the shaft 56. The collar 84 is preferably arranged to have a screw-threaded engagement with the shaft so that the tension in the spring 83 may be adjusted as desired.

Meshing with the gear 80 is a-pinion 85 secured to a shaft 06 of a motor 81. It will be understood that as the motor is driven, it will continuously drive the gear 60 and this in turn will rotate the shaft 56 through the friction discs 8! and whenever the shaft is not held too firmly by other means.

To control the rotation of-the shaft 56 in such a way as to permit it to partake of partial revolutions of as little as 1/38 of a revolution, or any multiple thereof, a ratchet 88, having 38 teeth, is secured to the shaft. This is arranged to be engaged by a pawl 89 pivoted at its lower end to the main support and drawn by a spring 90 into engagement with the ratchet. An armature 9| carried by the pawl is adapted to be attracted by anelectro magnet 92 for the pur- I pose of withdrawing the pawl from the ratchet.

drive.

It will be understood that whenever the pawlis withdrawn the shaft 56 will be rotated by the gear 90. Suitable means are provided for energizing the magnet 92 for predetermined intervals to allow such rotation'of the shaft. As soon as the magnet is de-energized the spring 90 will, of course, draw the pawl into engagement with the ratchet to arrest the shaft. A set screw 93 may be arranged in rear of the pawl 89, if desired, to limit its outward movement under the control of the iriagnet. As will be later-morefully explained, the operation of the'magnet 92 is placedunder the control of the punched tape in such a way that the brush arms 13 and I4 will be arrested when the brushes are on those segments of the commutator which correspond with the perforations in the tape. Q Secured to the shaft 86 is a gear .94 cooperating with. a gear 95 loosely mounted on 'ashaft 96. A pair of friction discs 91 and 98, each provided/with a friction mat, is arranged one on either side of the gear 95. Thedisc 98 is fixed to the shaft 96 while the disc 91 is keyed to the shaft butis slidable axially. A spring 99 urges the disc 9'I against the gear and the gear against the 'disc 98 to provide a friction An adjustable collar I00 is provided v to retain the outer end of the spring. At its opposite end the shaft 96 carries a brush arm IOI provided with a series of three brushes, I02, I03 and I04. These uponrotation of the shaft 96, are arranged to sweep across the faces of segmental commutator rings, ,in general similar to the commutator 55. The outer ring of the commutator, cooperating with the brush l02,

comprises a small segment I05 and a series of larger segments I06, I01, I08 and I09. The ring engaged by the brush I03 is composed of two sections, IIO, III. The inner ring II2, enaged by the brush I04, is continuous but split 4 at a point in line with one of the divisions of 5 the two other rings.

Means are provided for arresting the rotation of the-shaft 96 and holding it stationary against the action of the frictional drive between the. gear 95 and the discs 97 and 98. For this puro pose a pair of arms H3 and II4 is provided on the shaft 96 at spaced points. The arm H3 is arranged to be engaged by a pawl II5 pivoted at its lower end to the base-plate of the device, while the arm I I4 is similarly arranged to be engaged by a pawl II 6, also pivoted at its lower end to the main support. A spring I I! attached to each of the pawls H5 and H6 serves to throw the latter into the paths of the arms II 9 and II4. Setscrews II8 serve to limit .this inward movemizt of the pawls. Armatures H9 carried by e 'pawls are in position to be attracted by suitable electro-magnets. The pawl II5 for this purpose has associated therewith an electro-magnet I20 while the pawl I I6 is arranged to be retracted by an electro-magnet I2I. The operation of these electro-magnets will be more fully explained hereinafter. Suifice it to say at this time that normally the machine is stopped by the engagement of the pawl I I6 with the arm I I4. However, in the operation of the machine the shaft 96 will be arrestedby engagement of the pawl II5 with the arm II3 whenever the shaft 56-is being ro tated, while when the latter is arrested in any position the shaft 96 will be rotated. The two shafts will not be operated simultaneously. When the shaft 96 is arrested by the engagement of arm I I3 with pawl I I5, the brush I02 will engage the seg-.

ment I05. Arm I I4 and pawl H6 arrest the shaft with the brushes in the position shown in Fig. 2. As previously stated, the shaft 56 will normally be given only a partial revolution upon each op-- eration. At times it may be given one complete revolution whenever certain characters are to be duplicated. At other times it may be given more than one revolution and means are then provided for automatically stopping the shaft after a predetermined number of revolutions.

This is a safety arrangement-and may also be used, in a manner to be later explained, for the v purpose of bringing all of the printers controlled by the mechanism into unison. For so automat-' ically stopping the shaft there is provided an arm I22 pivoted at I23 to the. main frame. This arm carries at itsupper end a pin I24 arranged to '55 engage a spiral groove in a member I25 secured "to the shaft 56. A spring I26 is so arranged as to draw the arm I 22 to engage pin I24 with the spiral groove and-at the same time to urge the arm I22 toward the right in Figures 1 and 4. Uponcach rotation of the shaft 56 the pin I24will tend to. travel toward'the' left (Fig. 1) along the spiral groove. However, when the shaft 56 is arrested and the shaft 96 is released for rotation, certain circuits are closed and an' electro-magnet I2! is.

energized to draw the arm in a direction to disengage the pin I24 from the spiral groove. When so disengaged the arm is drawn toward the right by the spring I26'.- Therefore, upon each partial revolution of the shaft 56;t he.pin I24 will travel along the spiral groove 9. short distance and will then be withdrawn and at once returned to its starting position. j When the shaft 56 is allowed to make more than a complete revolution, special means goes into This at least reduces the liklihood of a mis-operaplay to control the stopping of the shaft. This comprises a projection I28 carried by the arm I22 and arranged to engage a pair of switches I29 and I30. When the contacts of these switches are closed, certain circuits will be completed, as will be more fully explained hereinafter, to arrest the rotation of shaft 56, with the brush arms in a predetermined position. As a safety or precautionary measure, an arm I3I, similar to the arm I22, arranged to engage a pin with the opposite side of the spiral groove in member I25, is adapted to cooperate with a switch I32. Ordinarily both of the arms I22 and I3I will travel outwardly and back at the same time, a magnet I33 being energized each time magnet I21 is energized, and a spring I34 functioning in the same manner as spring I26. However, if for any reason the arm I22 should become disabled and fail to travel along the spiral groove as'it should, the arm I3I will open the switch I32 which may be arranged in the circuit through the motor 01 and therefore will result in stopping the machine.

tion, since it is rather unlikely that both arms I22 and I3 I will be disabled at the same time. Character selecting circuits Referring now to Fig. 10, a description will be 4 given of certain circuits which may be employed in connection with a portion of theapparatus already explained, with slight modification, by which the punched tape is enabled to control the rotation and position of the shaft 56 and brush arm 14 at all times. The arrows I35 are intended to indicate diagrammatically one side of the switches 36 associated with seven of the feeler pins of the. analyzer. Arrow I36 is similarly intended to represent one side of the switch associated with the eighth feeler pin. The opposite sides of the first sevenswitches are connected, through suitable resistances I31, with the various segments of the commutator 55, in the manner previously explained. Thus,- the switch designated I should be considered to be connected with the two segments designated I in the diagrams. Similarly, all of the other of the seven switches should be understood to be connected with the segments bearing corresponding numerals. In'

the simplified showing of the diagram the commutator is indicated as formedof only three segmental rings and only one of the brush arms is shown. This brush arm, furthermore, carries brushes equivalent to those designated 15, 18 and 19 in the mechanical drawings where they are shown as carried by two separate arms.

The outer ring ofthe commutator, as' previously explained, is formed of alternate blank sections H and alternate sections 10 associated with the No. 8 pin. These, however, are not directly connected with the switch controlled by the No. 8

'of the blank segments H in communication with a contact I39 which in turn is engaged by an armature I40 of a relay MI. The opposite end of the armature is connected through a conductor I42 with a D. C. source of current I43. In a simiiar way all of the segments 10 are connected through a conductor I44 with a contact I45. The arrangement is such that when the relay I is operated, in a manner later to be explained, the armature I40-will be swung from contact I39 to I45, thus connecting the positive side of the current source wit the No. 8 segments 10. Operation of the relay I is controlled by the No. 8 pin. Thus, when the switch indicated by arrow I36 is closed, the negative side of the source of current I43 will be connected with the relay through the conductor I46 while the positive side of the current source is always 5 connected with the relay in the manner shown. Thus it will be seen that whenever a hole is presented in the tape above the No. 8 pin, the armature I40 will be operated to connect the segments 10 with the positive side of the current source, 10 while when there is no such perforation the segments 1I will be connected with the positive sideof the current source.

All of the seven switches indicated by the arrows I35 are connected by a conductor I41 with 15 a relay I40. The opposite side of this relay is then connected with'the negative side of the source-of current I43 through the conductor I46;

It will beseen from the foregoing that, as the brush arm 14 sweeps over the commutator segg0 ments in a counter-clockwise direction, the outer brush 15 will alternately engage the segments 10 and H while the two inner brushes 10 and 19 will engage the segments connected with one or another of the. resistances I31. When the brush 25 arm, is in the position shown in the diagram, it will be seen that current from the positive side of the battery I 43 will be conveyed through the armature I40, contact I39, conductor I38 and the engaged blank segment II to the brush 15. The 30 circuit will then be carried on through the segments 3 and 6, engaged by the brushes 18 and 19, and through the resistances identified with the 3 and 6 pins. Now, if these pins happen to be in line with perforations in the tape, the circuit will 35' tions, then the circuit is complete only through 4 the No. 3 resistance. The circuit associated with i the No. 6 pin will be broken at the pin switch while the circuit associated with the No. 7 pin will be broken between the brush 19 and the commutator. will be broken both at the pin switches and at the commutator.

Now, the construction is such that when only one circuit. is complete through the resistances I31, the resistance is so high that insuflicient 50 current is passed through the relay I48 to operate the armature I49. However, when the current is permitted to pass through two of the resistances in parallel, the amperage is sufiicient con'di ion assumed, when the brush arm 14 is shif to carry the three brushes into engagement withthe 3, 1 and blank segments of the three rings, the relay will be tripped and the ,armature I49 withdrawn from a contact I50. 00

The latter is connected by a conductor I5I with one side of the magnet 92 that operates to hold the pawl 89 out of engagement with ratchet 00. The opposite side of this magnet is connected by conductor I53 to the positive side of the cur- 65 rent source I43. The circuit through the magnet 92 is completed to the negative side of the line by a conductor I54 connecting the oppositeend of the armature I49 with the segment I05 of the commutator surrounding the shaft 98. This segment is in turmconnected, through the arm I 0| and the brushes carried thereby, with the ring I I2, which in turn is connected by conductor I55 and conductor I 46 with the negative side of I All of the other of the seven circuits 5.

tooptefate the relay. -Thus, under'the second 55 be rotated. However, when two circuits are com- 1 pleted through resistances I91, in the manner explained, the circuit through the magnet 92 will be broken at I50 and-the spring 90 will draw the pawl 99 into the ratchet 86 to stop the rotation of shaft 56. If the perforations in the tape had been not only in the 3 and 7 positions but also in the 8 position, thearmature I40 would have been drawn down into engagement with contact I45 so that the circuits would not be complete until the brush 19 is brought over the upper part of segment 1 and the brush 15 is brought into contact with the 8 segment. In

' this way the mechanism clearly distinguishes between a two-hole character and a three-hole character.

When the armature I49 is withdrawn from the... contact I50, as explained, itis brought into engagement with a contact I56. The latter is connected by a conductor I5'I with the magnet I20, the opposite side of which is connected by conductors I 58 and I59 with the positive side of the battery I43. It will be understood that the circuit will be completed from the negative side of the battery, at this time, by the connections I46, I55. ring II2, brush arm I 0I, segment I05 and conductor I54 to the armature I49. Therefore, as the pawl '69 is released by its magnet, the pawl II5 will be withdrawn from the projection II3 by the energization of magnet I20. This frees the shaft 96 for operation. As soon as the brush arm I0I carries the brush I02 off of the segment I05, the circuit through the magnet I20 will be'broken and the pawl I I5 will be released to a ain engage the projection H3 upon the completion of one revolution of shaft 96.-

Furthermore, as soon as thebrush I02 engages the segment I06, a circuit will be completed through the magnet 24 by conductors I60 and I59 to thepositive side of the battery and conductors I46 and I55, ring H2 and brush arm IOI from the negative side of the battery. As

previously explained. energization of the magnet 24 -will cause retraction of the pins in the analyzer and the feeding of the tape one step to the next line of perforations Y As soon as the pins are retracted upon the operation of magnet 24, the circuitthrough the relay I40 wiil'be broken and the armature I49 will return to the position shown. However, this will not restore the circuit through the magnet 92 since this circuit will now be broken Between brush I 02 and segment I05. This circuit will not again be completed until the brush,

. arm 'returns to the position shown to engage brush I02 with segment I05.- At this time the magnet 92 will be energized and the pawl 89 the '1 feeler pin'is closed, the circuit may either analyzer .and ,translator will permit a brush arm 14 to rotate successively to positions determinedby the perforations in'a tape, or by any similar control, and to be temporarily arrested at that position. It may be mentioned that the ratio, of the gearing for driving the shafts 56 and 96 is such that the shaft 96 will make a complete revolution in about one-fifth the time required for a complete revolution of shaft .69.

Complete circuits for printer control Turning now to Fig. 11, there is here illustrated in a diagrammatic way the various connections between the analyzer and translator that may be employed for the; control 01' a tele- =.graphic printer of the type [disclosed in detail in the previously mentioned patent and applil0 cation. The devices and circuits illustrated in Fig. 11 not, only provide for t-he transmission of positive and open circuit pulses to the printer, as required in its normal operation, but also provide for various special controls such, as used, 1 0 for example, in the repeating of certain charactors. The nature of the particular printer which the illustrative system is designed to control is such that in the repetition of certain -characters a negative pulse must be sent over 20 'the line. In the repetition of other characters.

on the other hand, special circuits must come into play to insure the sending of suflicient positive and open circuit pulses to cause the printing wheel of the printer to rotate through one complete revolution. Various other special controls, which will be described in detailhereinafter, serve to further complicate the system to the end that a fully automatic arrangement for controlling printers of the type indicated is provided under all. conditions met with in the operation of such printers. 1

Pin switch connections The switches controlled by the pins of the 3 analyzer are indicated by arrows I60, I61 and I62. For reasons to be explained hereinafter, two of these switches, designated I60, have one of their terminals connected together, and the next five, designated I6I, similarly have one of 40 their terminals connected together, whilethe last,

designated I62, corresponding to the No; 8 pin of the analyzer, is independent of the rest. The ,branches or terminals of the switches I60 and I6I that are not connected, as above explained, 45 are separately connected with various segments of the commutator 55. Thus, the'No. 1 switch is connected with all of the segments designated I in the drawings", the No. 2 with all of the segments designated 2v in the drawings, and 5 be completed through the resistance I63 and one of the segments 1 of the commutator or through the resistance I64 and the special segment 11 of the commutator. v

' Let us now trace the connections from" the 65 switch I62. Assuming that this .switch is closed by the presence of an 8 hole in the position of the tape over the feeler pins, current will' flow from the. positive side I65 of a source of current through a. line I66, a resistance. I61, and

a line I69 to onesideof the switch I62. The opposite side of this switch isconnected by lines {69 and I10, arelay "I and a, line I12 with the negative side I13 of the source of power. The relay I1I serves to draw an armature I14 761.

to disengage it from a. contact I15 and'engage' Character selecting and pulsing As explained in connection with Figure 10, the selection of a character to be printed is eflfected through the rotation of the shaft 56 with its connected brusharms 18 and 14. These parts' are rotated so long as apawl 88 is held out of engagement with the ratchet 88 by means of the eiectro-magnet-82. This is efiectecl by current flowing from .the source I85 through line I66, I

branch I88, magnet 92, branch I8I, arm I82, line I83, segment I85 of the small commutator, brush arm I8I, ring II2 and lines;I84 and I85 to the negative side I18 of the source of power. Y

In the course of rotation of the brush arm 13, brush 15 is carried successively over segments 18 and H. As the brush 15 passes from one segment to another, a pulse must be transmitted to the printer for the purpose of operating the escapement to shift the printing wheel one step. These pulses are alternately positive and open circuit. The arrangement is such that as the brush sweeps'over the segments 18 and 1| a periodic series of positive and open circuit pulses will be produced and each of the changes from positive to open circuit and from open circuit to positive will operate the escapement of the printer. The current for producing the signal may,for example, include a pair of batteries I86 and I81, or other equivalent sources of current. The positive side of the battery I86 is connected by a line I88 with each of the blank segments 1I of'the commutator, while the negative side of the battery I81 is connected by a line I88 with each of the No. 8 segments 18 of the commutator. Furthermore, the negative side of battery I86 is connected with the positive side of battery I81.

Assuming now that the brush 15 at a given instant is on one of the blank segments 1I,- current will flow from the positive side of battery I88 through line I88, brush arm 13, ring 58, a line I88, a reversible relay I8I, a line I82, a second reversible relay I98, a'line I84, and a resistance I85, back to the negative side of battery I88.

,When the brush 15 shifts to one of the No. 8 segments 18, the .,circuit just mentioned will be broken but a new circuit will be completed from the positive side-of battery I81 through the resistance I85, line l 84, relays I83 and I8I, line 188 to the-ring 58, and through the arm '13 and the 1ine'I88 back to the negative side of battery I81. It thus be seen that the direction of flow of current through the reversible relays I8I and I 88 will be reversed upon each shifting of the brush 15 from a blanksegment to a No. 8. segment and vice versa.

The positive side of battery-I86 is also connected through a line I86 and a line I81 with a brush 15 with a blank segment 1|. the circuit gize The latter is normally engaged by will be completed through a line 284 to the negative side of battery" -I81.. Thus the combined power 'of the two batteries-I86 and I81 will be effective; in transmitting a signal over the transmission lines 288 and -28I. This is the positive signal before mentioned and'is created each time one of the blank segments H is engaged by the crush 15. v However-,when one of the No. 8 segments is engaged by the brush and the arm 282 r is swung to the contact 285, the circuit previously 1 mentioned will be incomplete and, in fact, there will be no complete circuit from the batteries to and through the' transmission lines 288, 28I. Tracing through the circuits at this time it will be found that both of the lines 288 and 28I are. 1 connected with the positive side of battery I86.

We now trace the circuits which bring about the de-energization of the magnet 82 and the operation of the pawl 88 to arrest .the rotation of the shaft 56 with its brush arms. As explained 2 in connection with Fig..10, this system is so de- 'vised that if a circuit is completed through only one of the resistances I63, insufficient current will be passed to cause the magnet 82 to be de-ener- However, if two such circuits are com- 2 plete in parallel, the current flow will be sumcient/to operate a relay for this purpose. Current from thepositive side I of the power source will flow through the line I66, armature I11,

contact I18, line I18, armature I14, contact I15, 3 a line 288, a relay 281, aline 288, a contact 288, to an armature 2| 8 of the reversible relay I83, it being assumed that at this time this armature has been swung into engagement with contact 288 by virtue of the fact that a blank segment 3 1I is engaged by the brush 15. From this point the current flows through a-line 2 to the ring 58 of thecommutator, thence through brush 11, arm 14 and lirushes 18 and 18 through appro-' priate' segments of the commutator connected 4 with those switches I68 and I6I which have been operated by the passage of the corresponding feeler'pins through the tape. It will' be understood that this occurs only when the brushes are rotated into the proper position to engagethe selected segments. All of the switches I68 and -I6I are connected with a common point or terminal 2I2. The connection from the switches I68 is through a line 2I3, a relay 2 and a line 2I5,

while. the connection from the switches I6I is 5 directly through a line 2I6. From the common point 2 I 2 the circuit continues through a line 2".

'a branch line 2I8, a relay 2I8 associated with the arm m, and finally through a line 22a to the return line I85 connected with the negative side of 'the current source. It will be seen, therefore, that when the brushes 18 and 18 find simulcircuit previously mentioned through the arma-" ture 82 so that spring 88 may draw the pawl 88 into engagement with ratchet 88.

a c ontact 224 to them 2I8 or the relay plete when the brushes l8 and," engage the 3 and 7 segments, respectively, so long as the brush I8 is on a blank segment "II; This is due to the fact that the circuit is at this time broken between arm- 2I0 and contact 228. Furthermore, the first described circuit through the contact 208 and arm 2I0 which would normally be completed if no 8 hole were present, would at this time be broken between the contact I15 and arm I'll.

Accordingly, under the conditions mentioned, the only way to complete the circuit through the relay 2I8 and through two or the resistances I63 is to have the brush I8 engage a 3 segment, the brush l8xsimultaneously engage a '7 segment, and the brush I6 engage an 8 segment. when this condition arises and the relay 2I8 is oper-" ated, the circuit through the magnet 82 will be broken and the shaft 56 arrested.

At the same time that magnet 82 is de-energized, or immediately thereafter, the magnet I28 will be energized. To accomplish this the armature I82, in breaking the circuitithrough the magnet 82, will engage an inner contact 225 which is connected through a line 226 and a line 221 with'an armature 228 associated with the relay 2. This armature in turn is connected by a line 228 with one side'oi the magnet I20. The opposite side of this magnet is connected by lines 230, 23I and 232 and by an armature 2,33 and a further line 238 with the line Q66 extending from the positive side of the power source. The circuit is normally also completed from magnet I20 to the positive side of the line through a switch 238 and the lines shown, although, as will be explained later, the switch 238 may be opened when it-is desired to operate a bell in the various printers. The circuit is completed from the armature I82 to the negative side of the power source by the line I83, segment I05, brush f arm IOI, ring H2 and lines I88 and I85. When I the magnet I20 is energized in this'way,and the pawl H8 is retracted from the projection 3,

the shaft 86 will begin to rotate. At-the con mencement of this rotation the brush I82 will be carried away from the segment I05 so that the circuit through the magnet I 20 will be broken and the pawl H6 will'be released to stop the shaft 86 after one complete revolution.v At the same time the circuit through the ma net 82 will be broken at the segment I05 so that even though the armature I82 may be released, the

magnet 82 will'normally remain de-energized until the completion of one rotation of shaft 86.-

In passing from the segment 'l05 the brush I02 engages the segment I06, which is connected by means ofa line 236.with the magnet 24. The opposite side oi this magnet is connected by lines 236and 231 with the line I66 extending from the positive side of the power source. To complete the circuit the negative side of the line is. 0!

course, connected with thebrush I02 through i the lines I88 and I88, ring 2 andarm IOI Ac- 'cordingly, the magnet 28 will operate the bell crank'member 22 or the an lyzer to retract the feeler pins and feed th'e tape one space.

amigos;

the next position.

the next character-determining impulses.

When the shaft m arrested and the shaft as is released for rotation, in the manner explained, a long, drawn-out signal or pulse, either positive 5 or open circuit and equal in-length to about 7 or 8 of the periodic selecting pulses, is produced, and this, as explained in.Patent No. 1,957,076, causes the printing magnet of the distant printer to be operated and the wheel carriage of this 10 printer to be shiited one step to the next printing position; that is, to say. whenever the finalpulse ot a series of periodic pulses is drawn out, in the manner explained, the printing and carriage shitting mechanism will automatically be operated. The speedof rotation of the shaft 86 and brush arm IOI should be so adsiusted as to allow the necessary time for the operation of the printing magnet and the shifting of the carriage to 2b Repetition of characters Ordinarily there will be simply a succession of operations of the same type explained above 1. e., the shafts 86 and 86 will be alternately rotated, shaft 86 being turned only a fraction of a revolution, su-iiicient-to carry the brushes I5, I8 and 18 ton new setting wherein the proper segments are engaged to complete a circuit through two of the resistances I63 and the relay 2I8. Certain special conditions arise. however, as when a given series 01' perforations in the'tape is repeated. Furthermore, this condition gives rise to two possibilities. As has already been suggested, the construction of the printer is such that when certain characters are duplicated it is necessary to rotate the type wheel a complete revolution before effecting a printing operation while other characters may be duplicated by a simple repeated operation of the printing platen after the type wheel carriage has been stepped to thenext position. The reason for this will be apparentwhen it is considered that in the special repeat operation, which will be later explained, a negative signal is employed, and from the iur- 4 ther fact that when a particular character is selected by a final positive pulse, it is impossible toproduce a negative pulse for repeat purposes without first passing through neutral oropen circuit condition. According yI for those 19 characters or si nals which terminate with a positive. pulse, it is necessary to'produce a co'mplete revolution of the type wheel to repeat the signal. Those 19 signalsv terminating with an open circuit pulse can be repeated, however, by a negative signal. without rotation of the wheel.

Let us now consider the repetition of a. character or signal uiring a full revolution of the type wheel. e selection of sucga character or signal, as stated, terminated on a positive pulse and,

' therefore, in the construction. disclosed it must terminate with the brush I5 on one of the blank segments II. Assuming .that the brush arms ,'I3-I8;'have been stopped, with the brush 15 on a blank segment and with the brushes I8 and I9 6 on the l and 4 segments, the armature 2I0 of. the reversible relay I88 will be attracted toward the contact 288 and a circuit will be completed through two of the resistances I68 associated with the -.1 and pins and-through the relay us so that- 'the circuit through magnet 82 will be broken in 7 will prepare the mechanism'ior-the sehdingioi the brush I02 leaves segment I09, the pins will be again released and since the same pins, 1. e., the 1 and 4 pins, again pass through openings in the tape, due to a repetition of the same signal,

the circuits through the engaged segments of the commutator and through the two resistances I69 will again be completed so that the magnet 2I9 will be energized and the armature I82 attracted to the contact 225. This means that the circuit through the magnet 92 will remain open and the shaft 56 will be held against rotation even upon the completion of the rotation of the shaft 96. Furthermore, the magnet I20 would, under two printing impressions on the sheet of the printer.

- segment I09.

In order to insure the proper repetition of the character or signal, means must be provided to complete the circuit through the magnet 92 before the shaft 96 completes its rotation. For this purpose the special segment M9 is provided on the outer ring of the small commutator,' this being in the path of brush I02 during the last quarter of its revolution. When the brush reaches this segment the latter will be placed in circuit with the negative side of the source of. current through brush arm IOI, ring H2 and lines I84 and I85. The completion of the circuit to the positive side of the line will be through a line 239, a line 240, a contact 2, an armature 242 of the relay 201 (which will at this time be energized), a line 243 and then through the line I8I, magnet 92 and line I to the .line I66 connected with the positive side of the power source.

It will be recalled from the previous explanation of circuits in the ordinary selection of one character that the relay 201 will be energized whenever a blank segment is engaged by the brush 15 at the time of completing other portions of the circuit through two of the resistances I63; on the other hand, the circuit will be completed through relay 222 instead of relay 201 whenever an 8 segment is engaged by the brush 15'under these conditions. Accordingly, it will be seen that under the circumstances mentioned the magnet 92 will be energized when' the brush I02 reaches This will cause the shaft 56 to commence rotation and will carry the brushes 15, 18 and 19 away from the particular segments which previously caused the completion of circuits to arrest the shaft 56. At the same time the release of armature I82 will cause the circuit through the magnet I20 to be broken even when segment I05 is reached. so that the shaft 96 will stop upon the completion of its revolution. Obviously, the result will then be a complete revolution of the shaft 56 until the same segments are again engaged by the brushes 15, 18 and 19 to complete thenecessary circuits through the relay 2I9, causing the attraction of the armature I82 with its breaking of the circuit through the magnet 92 and making of the circuit through magnet I20. If the same setting is again repeated, the same cycle of operations will result.

Special repeat signal This, however,

norms? A will now be completed to the positive side of the power source through line 239, a branch 244, a 5

relay 245, a line 246, a contact 241, an armature 248 attracted by the relay 222, 'and a line 249 having a resistance 250 connecting into the line I66. Since the relay 245 is now energized, its armature willbe attracted to engage a contact 252 10 connected with the line I66 through a line 253. The opposite side of armature 25I is connected through line 254, a resistance 255, a relay 256,

a line 251, another relay 258, a line 259, a heating coil 260, a line 26I, segment 0 of the commu- 15 tator,'brush arm MI, and lines I84 and I85 to the negative side of the line. Completion of this circuit will, in turn, complete another circuit through the relay 256 so as to hold this relay energized even after relay 245 is de-energized. This is ac- 20 complished by the attraction of the armature 233 of relay 256 into engagement with a contact 262 which, through a line 263, is connected-with the resistance 255 and thence through the relay 256, line 251, etc. is connected with the segmentggs H0 and the negative side of the line. The opposite end of armature 233 is directly connected with ,the positive side of the power source through the line 234. It will be seen, therefore, that while the circuit through relay 245 will be broken as 30' the brush I02 leaves the segment I09, the circuit through relays 256 and 258 will be maintained so long as the brush I03 engages the segment IIO. This circuit, therefore, is maintained through about 135 of rotation of the shaft on the sec- :5 0nd or repeat operation. Incidentally it should be noted at this point that as the brush I02 reaches segment I05 'a circuit will be completed through magnet I20 to permit the shaft 96 to rotate again. This circuit 40 will be formed from the negative side of the line in the same manner as previously explained i. e., through lines I85, I84, arm IOI, line I83, armature- I82, lines 226, 221, armature 2.28 and line 229. It is completed to the positive side through 45 line 230, switch 238, which is normally closed, and the connections shown to line I66. The parallel circuit through line 23 I etc. will be broken at this time by the attraction of armature 233.

When the relay 258 is energized, in the manner 50 explained, an armature 264 is thrown to engage a contact 265 connected through a line, 266 with a relay 261, the latter being connected through a ,line 268 and a resistance 269 with the positive side gized, the armature is brought against a contact 55,

21I. At this time the armatures 202 and 2I0 of the reversible relays I9I and I93 will engage the 7 contacts 205 and 224, as shown in the drawings, since an 8 segment 10 will be engaged by the brush 15. Therefore, the pulsing circuit is com- 70 pleted in the following way: .The negative side of battery I81 is connected through the line 204,

a line 212, the contact 21I, and the armature I99, with the line 200; the return line 20I from the printers isconnec'ted through armature 202, con- 75 The negative pulse produced in this way will be transmitted until the brush I03 leaves the end of segment IIO. It will be seen, therefore, that about half of the time normally allowed for the transmission of a printing signal and the carrying out of the printing operation at the distant printers is consumed in the transmission'of the negative repeat signal. For this reason it is necessary to provide special means to prolong or delay the completion of the rotation of the brush arm IOI. This is accomplished by interposing the pawl H6 in the path of projection II4 carried by the shaft 96. Projection H4 is so arranged that it will engage the pawl I I6 just after the brush I03 leaves the segment IIO. Ordinarily the pawl I I6 is held inactive by magnet I2I which is energized by a connection 213, con act 214, armature 264, and connection210 with the negative side of the power source and a connection 215, switch 46 (which is normally closed), line 216, line 231, and line I66 extending from the positive side of the power source. This circuit, it will be seen, is broken, when the armature 264 is attracted upon the energization of relay 258. Therefore, at this time the pawl II6 will be attracted by spring II1 into the pathof projection I I4 and will arrest the shaft 96 momentarily. As stated before, however, the brush I03 will at this time have left the segment IIO so that relay 258 will have become tie-energized and armature 264 will have been released to engage contact 214. The inductance of magnet I2I is such that a brief interval is required to energize it sufliciently, upon the return of the armature 264, to. cause the magnet to attract'thepawl II6 against the action of spring II1. This time interval is preferably so adjusted as to equal the time normally required for the arm IOI to travel, from its normal position shown, down to the position in which it is arrested by the pawl II6.' Therefore,

the usual printing time is allowed for the operation of the printing platen and the stepping over of the printing wheel carriages ofthe various printers.

Manual control of transmitter is removed from the tape as it is fed to the analyzer.

Accordingly, the operation-of the transmitter will be discontinued until the switch 46 is again closed.

Carriage return .After a complete line, or any desired portion of a line, has been printed across the-papers of the various printers controlled by the transmitter nary printingoperation. Therefore, means must be provided for retarding the operation of the transmitter for a suilicient interval to allow for g the completion of the carriage return and paper I feed operations. It will be understood that the actual control of these operations at the printers is effected by bringing the printing wheels to a I special carriage return position followed by the 1 operation of the printing magnet of the printers. According to the. particular arrangement disclosed, the printing wheels will be brought to the carriage return position when the brushes 18- and 19 of the translator engage the 1 and 2 segments 65 and 68 of the commutator. When these segments are engaged by the, brushes at a time when the No.1 and No. 2 pin switches I60 are operated, due to the presence of holes in the tape at these positions, the circuit will be completed from the positive side of the power source, in the manner previously explained, up to and through the brushes 18 and 19, through the 1 and 2 segments, through the connected resistances I63, through the switches I60, thence through 20 the line 2I3 and relay 2I4, line 2I5, line 2",

'line 2I8, relay 2I9, and line. 220 to the negative side of the line. Energization of relay 2 I9 breaks' the circuit through the magnet 92 and thus stops the shaft 56. A special circuit, however, goes into play at this time to control the magnet I20 which re-.

leases the shaft 96 for operation. This circuit is such that ample time is provided before the release of this shaft and during its one revolution to allow tfor the return of the carriages and the advance of the printed sheets .at the various printers. The special circuit for this purpose involves a c ntact 211 against which the armature 228 of the relay 2" is thrown. Incidentally the attraction of armature 228 breaks the normalcircuit through the magnet I20 which is effective on other character-selecting operations.- Fur- .thermore, it should be observed that while a cir-' cuit may be completed through the relay 2 I4 when only one of the switches I60 is closed, there will'not be suflicient current flowing through the relay to operate the'ar nature 228. It is necessary to have the combined current flowing through two switches I60 to operate this armature. Now, 5

armature 228 is connected with the negative side of the line at this time through the line 221, line 226, contact 225, armature I82, line I83, segment I05, brush arm IOI, ring H2, and lines I84 and I85. The connection with the positive side of the line is through contact 211, a line 218, a choke coil 219, a relay 280, a line '28I, and a resistance. 282 to the line I 66. The action of the choke coil 219 is such tha't'it retards the building up of a sufiicient current in the relay 280 to operate the 65 armature 288. However, after a desired lapse of time the armature 283 will be thrown against a contact 284 which is connected through a line 285,

seen that the shaft 86 is finally released after a predetermined interval and the balance of the operation is then similar to an operation involving any other signal.

Y signal v As-previously explained, provision is made for the eradication of characters or signals punched in the tape by back spac x the n P 15.

ing machine and pressing a special eradicating key. This will cause'the operation of all ofthe punches across the tape so that in lieu of the two or,,three holes previously present there will then be eight holes. Whenthese eradicating holes reach the feeler fingers of the analyzer, special circuits are energized to cause the printing control shaft 96 and arm IM to rotate th ough one revolution while the shaft 58 and its connected brush arms are held stationary. when the seven pins associated with the switches I60 and IBI are all permitted to rise, due to the eradicating perforations, a circuit will be closed from the positive side of the line through the connection I66, thence through a short branch to and through a relay 285, then through a line 281, to and through a group of resistances 288, arranged in parallel. One of these resistances is connected with each of the switches. The value of each of these resistances is considerably greater than that of the resistances I83. For example,'in a typical set-up the resistances 288 may each be 50,000 ohms while the'resistanoes I83 maybe 6,000, ohms. Therefore, while two of these resistances 288, corresponding with the pin switches operated, will be connectedin parallel with the circuit through the commutator segments, previously explained, upon a normal selecting opera.-

' plained. Current flowing through resistances in the manner previously explained, so as to various devices.

tion, the resistance will be so great that the curi rent flowing through this part of the circuit will not interfere with the intended operation of the However, when the seven resistances 288 are in parallel, the combined resistance will be only 7,000 ohms and this is sufficiently low to have the effect to be presently ex- 288 and switches I60 and IiI will combine atthe point2 I2 and pass through the line 2", 2I8, relay" 2I9 and line 220 to the negative side of "the line. This in itself will not be sufficient to energize the relay 2I9'since, as previously explained, this requires as much current as will flow through two of the resistances I83 in parallel. However, relay 286 is more-sensitive and will be energized by the flow of current through the seven resistances 288. Therefore, armature I'I'I will be attracted against contact 289 so that a circuit is completed from the positive side through armature Ill, contact 289, a resistance 290, line 29l, and thence through line 2I8, relay 2I9, etc. to the negative side. Resistance 290 in the illustrative set-up may be around 5,000 ohms so that the combined cause the shaft 96 to partake of another revolution.

In order to prevent the operation of the circuits which come into play when a previous setup is repeated, provision is made for disabling the circuits through the relays'20l and 222. It will be apparent that when all eight holes are punched the two or three that were previously punched will necessarily be repeated and the repeating printed will be meaningless.

' only through the resistances 288 and 293 but also through the resistances I63 connected with the segments of the commutator that happened to be engaged. Unison signal Provision is made for bringing all of the printers connected with a given transmitter into unison. Occasionally a printer may be thrown out of unison and, obviously, then the characters In order. to prevent any prolonged lack of unison between the transmitter and any of the printers, a special unison signal is sent over the line atrather frequent intervals. This is accomplished in the present construction by omitting all holes in the tape, with the exception of the feed holes, at a given position. -Thus a special unison key may be provided in the punching machine to cause the tape to be advanced one step without punching any control holes. A unison signal will also be sent out if a single hole appears in the tape at any position. The effect of having no holes, or but a single hole, is to prevent completion of circuits through two' of the resistances I63 so that insufficient current will flow to operate the relay 2| 9. Therefore, the magnet 92 will remain energized and. the shaft 56 will continue to rotate through a number of revolutions. A unison signal will also be sent out if the finger-piece 53 of the analyzer is operated. This is due to the fact that upon energizing the magnet 24 to retract the pins 3|, the armature 23 will then become IOCKCd to hold the pins retracted. Therefore, when the shaft 96 reaches the position indicated in Fig. 11, the pawl 89 will M retracted to release shaft 56 and will permit it to continue to rotate until stopped by the special unison mechanism, now to be explained.

When the shaft 56 is permitted to rotatemore than one revolution under any of the conditions mentioned above, the pin I 24 will travel along the spiral groove I25 until the projection I28 engages the switches I29 and I30 and closes the contacts thereof. ,The arrangement is preferably such that shaft 56 is required to make five or six revolutions in order'to close the two switches. In the meantime pulses are being sent continuously to the various printers and the printing wheels will be given three or so revolutions. At the end of these three revolutions all of the wheels will be brought to e.,stop in a definite position, i. e., in the space position. While the pulses will continue for some time, the wheels being positively arrested, will not turn" further and there will simply be slippage between the driving mechanism and the printing wheel. This is all fully explained in the prior patents and application previously mentioned and will result in bringing all of the printers to the same space or position, regardless of what position they may have been in prior to the commencement of the unison signal.

Now, when the switch I29 is closed, a circuit will be completed toward the negative side of the power line through a connection 292, line 2 I 1, line 2I8, relay 2I9, and lines 220 and I85. Connections to the positive side of the power line will be made through a line 293, a resistance 294 (which may in the illustrative machinebe about 3,000 ohms), through-a line 295 to the special segment 08 designated 11 in Fig. 11. ,When the brush II is brought to this segment, the circuit will continue through brush arm ll, line 2, armature 2I0, contact 224, line 223, relay 222, and line 22I to 5 contact I16. At this point the circuit would appear to be broken, but .the switch I30, having also been operated, will cause the relay III to be energized so that armature I74 is in contact with I16. Switch I30, therefore, functions in the same way as an-8 hole in the tape. The circuit is formed from one side of the switch I30 through line 296, line I'll, relay III and line "2 to the negative side of the power-source and is completed through line 29'I,'resistance I61 and the line I66 to the positive side of the power source. Returning to v the armature I", the circuit which energizes relay ,2I9 is completed from this armature through line I19, armature I11, and line I06 to the positive side of the power source. As a result. of the completion of this circuit, through '-the switch I29 and special segment I1 cf the commutator, the relay 2I9 will be energized in the .same manner as if circuits had been completed through'two of the resistances I53.

;In this connection it is to be noted that the r istance 204 should be of about'thesame value as wo of the resistances I63 in parallel. Operation of relay 2I9 in this way breaks the circuit through magnet 92 and hence causes shaft 56 to 30;. be stopped. It also closes the circuit through the j, magnet I20 in theusual way to release the shaft .06 for one rotation. At the end of this operation the parts will be ready for another operation in the usual way, the brush arm II and the wheels of all of the.'printers being arrested in their space positions. It should be mentioned at this point that during each revolution of the shaft 96 a circuit is completed through the magnet I21 which attracts the arm I22 and withdraws the pin I24 40 from spiral groove I25. This permits spring I28 to retum'the arm to its initial position. Magnet I21 is energized by a connection 298 from the positive side of the line and a connection 290 extending to the segment I00 of the small commu-' tator. When brush I02 reaches segment I08the circuit is completed to the negative side of the line. This occurs upon each operation of the shaft 00 v yvhether it is 'rotating at the end of a unison signal or at the end-of any of the other signals.

Bell ringing fianal The present transmitting system is also adapted to'send a bell-ringing signal to the various outlying printers. As explained in the previously 55,. mentioned Patent No. 1,957,076, the printers are I preferably provided'with'special switches which,

upon the receipt of a negative pulse of sufllcient duration, will become heated to the point that a thermostatic element in the switch will cause a circuit through a bell or similar. signal to be completed. In this way it is possibleto attract atten-. tion to the printer whenever some item of par-' ticular-importance is being printed. In accordwance with the present system,it is possible to con- 0 .trol the bell-ringing switches of'the printers by opening, manually or otherwise, a bell-ringing switch in the transmitting system and then sending a repeat signal. The switch for thispurpose is i-lzat'designated 238, which may be operated in I any convenient 'way. As has been previouslyexplained, the switch 233 i's'in the circuit through the magnet I20, whichis efiectlve during repeat signal operations. Accordingly, when the switch 238 is open during a repeat signal operation, the r rality of switches, means for selectively operat-.75

circuit through the magnet I2l must follow 8.

different course. It has already been explained that in the sending of a repeat signal current flowing through the relays 255 and 258 also passes through a heating coil 260. This supplies heat to a thermostatic element 300 with a contact 30I. 5 At this time the circuit through the electro-magnet I20 is completed to the positive side of the line through connections 230, 23I, contact 30I, armature 300, line 302 andline 234. The connections tothe negative side of the line are the same 10 as explained in the repeat signal operation. Therefore, when the thermostatic element 300 becomes sufflciently heated, the magnet I 20 is enersized to release the shaft 96 for rotation. The prolonged negative pulse which is sent out to the printers as a result of this delayed action is suflicient to operate the bell-ringing switches.

While certain illustrative devices and circuits have been disclosed in considerable detail it is to be understood that numerous changes and var-i4 20 ations may be made without departing from the general principles and scope of the invention. Furthermore, various phases of the invention are of broad application and not limited to the particular use to which theyhave been put in the 25 illustrative arrangement. The terms and expressions employed herein are to be regarded as terms of description rather than of limitation.

What we claim is: a

1. In apparatus of the .class described means 30 for producing successive, periodic pulses of the samepolarity in an electri circuit, feeler means arranged to cooperate with a punched tape, circuit closing means controlled by said feeler means, and means cooperating with said circuit closing 35 means for controlling the number of pulses produced in accordance with the control of said I feeler means.

2. In apparatus of the class described means for producing'successive, periodic pulses of the 40 same polarity in an electric circuit,feel er means arranged to cooperate with a punched tape, circuit closing meanscontrolled by said feeler means, a commutator having a plurality of segments selectively connected with said circuit 01057 45 lng means, brush means, means for producing relative movement between said commutator and brush means, and means including circuits connected with said commutator and brush means for controllingsaid first mentioned means.

3. In apparatus of the class described means for producing successive electrical pulses of the same polarity, aiotatable member for determining the, number of said pulses, and means controlled by a perforated tape for controlling said rotatable member.

- member after a predetermined number of pulses have; been produced.

5. In apparatus of the class described means for producing successive electrical pulses, a rotatable member for determining the number of said pulses, meanscontrolled by a perforated tape for intermittently arresting said member after predetermined numbers of pulses have beenpro- 7 duced, and rotatable means 'operated' upon the stopping of said member for controlling the starting: of the same after a predetermined interval.

6. In apparatus of the-class described a pluing said switches-,- a plurality of conducting segments arranged in rows, a plurality oi brushes.

} means for moving said brushes over the faces of said segments, means for connecting each of said switches with at least one of said segments, a plurality of circuits any of which is arranged to be closed upon engagement of a brush with a segment connected with an operated switch, and means for arresting said brushes when they simultaneously engage segments connected with a plurality of switches that have been operated. 1 7. In apparatus of the class described a plurality of switches, means for selectively operating a predetermined number .of said switches, a plurality oi conducting segments, means for connecting each 01' said switches with at least one oi. said segments, brush means, means for operating said brush means to contact a number of said segments successively in a series oi predetermined relations, and means including a plurality of circuits in parallel for stopping said operating means when segments connected with all of the selectively operated switches are simultaneously engaged by the brush means.

'8. In apparatus of the class described a plurality of switches, means for selectively operating a predetermined number of said switches, a

. plurality of conducting segments, means for conmeeting each of said switches with at least one of said segments, brush means, means for operating said brush meansto contact a number of said segments successively in a series of predetermined relations, said brush means engaging segments in the same relation in a plurality of positions, an extra switch, means for selectively controlling the operation of said extra switch, means for ar resting the brush means when segments connected with all of the first mentioned selectivelyoperated switches are simultaneously engaged, and

means controlled by said extra switch for determining in which or the plurality of positions in which the segments are engaged in the same relation the brush means will be arrested.

9. In apparatus of the class described a plurality of switches, means arranged to be con-"' trolled by a perforated tape for selectively operating a predetermined number of said switches,

' rality of switches, means for selectively operating a predetermined number of said switches, a plurality of conducting segments, means-for connecting each of said switches with at least one of said segments, brush means, means for operating said brush means to contact a number of said segments successively in 'a series of predetermined relations, said brush means engaging segments in the same relation in a plurality of positions, an extra switch, means for selectively controlling the operation of said extra switch, means for arresting the brush means when segments connected with all of the first mentioned selectively operated switches are simultaneously engaged, and means controlled by said extra switch for determining in which of the plurality of positions in which the segments are engaged are repeated.

in the same relation the brush means wi l be arrested, all of said switch operating 'means being arranged to be controlled by a perforated tape.

11. In apparatus of the class described a plurality of switches, means for selectively operating 5 a predetermined number of said switches, a plurality of conducting segments, connections from each of said switches to at least one of a plurality of said conducting segments, brush means arranged to complete circuits in parallel simultanel0 ously through a plurality of said segments and the connected switches, means for shifting said I brush means to engage segments connected with difierent pluralities of said switches, and means for arresting said brush shifting means when a 16 predetermined number of said circuits is completed. 4

12. In apparatus of the class described a plurality of switches, means for selectively operating a. predetermined number of said switches, a plu- 20 rality of conducting segments-connections from I each of said switches to at least one of a plurality of said conducting segments, brush means arranged to complete circuits simultaneously through a plurality of said segments and the con- 85 nected switches, means for shifting said brush 1 means to engage segments connected with differ'ent pluralities of said switches, means for arresting said brush shifting means, and means operated upon the simultaneous completion of a predetermined number of said circuits in parallel for controlling the operation of said arresting means.

- 13. In apparatus of the class described a plurality of switches, means for selectively operating va predetermined number of said switches, 'a plurality of conducting segments, connections from "each oi said switches to at least one of a plurality of said conducting segments, brush means arranged -to complete circuits simultaneously through a, plurality of said segments and the connected switches, means for shifting said brush means to engage segments connected with diflerent pluralities of said switches, means for arresting sai'd brush shifting means, and means'con- 45 nected into all of said circuits and operated upon the simultaneous completion 'of a predetermined number of said circuits in parallel for controlling the operation of said arresting means. I

14. In'apparatus of the class describedasignal transmission line, means arranged to be selectively operatedunder control of a perforated tape to designate any one of a number of items, means for sending periodic, positive current pulses over said transmission line in accordance with asequence of items to be selectively designated under control of the tape, and means for sending a negative pulse over said line when certain items are repeated.

15. In apparatus of the class described a sig- .0 v

over said transmission line in accordance with a sequence of items to be selectively designated under controliof the tape, and means for sending a negative pulse over said line when certain items are repeated, 'said last mentioned means being ineifective when other. than said certain items l6. In apparatus of the class described means for producing a series of periodic pulses, means arrangedto be controlled by a punched tape for contaolling said first mentioned means, and rotatable means for prolonging the final pulse of a periodic series.

17. In apparatus of the class described means for producing a series of periodic pulses, means arranged to be controlled by a punched tape for controlling said first mentioned means, means for prolonging the final pulse of a periodic series to a predetermined extent and means for proto said commutator to engage different segments,

means for arresting said relative movement for a predeterminedtime interval when circuits are completed through the selected circuit closing means and connected segments, and. means for prolonging said predetermined time interval for a definite additional period.

19. In apparatus of the class described a commutator having a plurality of segments, a plurality of circuit closing means variously connected with said segments, means for selectively operating said means, brush means movable relative to said commutator to engage different segments. means for arresting said relative movement for a predetermined time interval when circuits are completed through the selected circuit closing means and connected segments, and means effective when certain of said closing means are operated for prolonging said predeterminedtime interval.

20. In apparatus of the class described a commutator having aplurality of segments, a plurality of circuit closing means variously connected with said segments, means for selectively operating said means, brush means movable relative to said commutator to engage different segments, means for arresting said relative movement for a predetermined time interval when a plurality of circuits are completed in parallel through the selected circuit closing means and connected segments, and manually controlled means for prolonging said predetermined time interval.

21. In apparatus of the class described a commutator having a plurality of segments, aplurality of circuit closing means variously connected witlr said segments, tape controlled means for selectively operating said means, brush means movable relative to said commutator to engage different segments, means for arresting said relative movement for a predetermined time interval when circuits are completed through the elected circuit closing means and connected segments,

and mea-ns controlled-both manually and by said tape for prolonging said predetermined time ining means.

23. In apparatus of the class described selectively adjustable means, meansfor shitting said first mentioned means to selected positions of adjustment, punched tape controlled means for determining the positions of adjustment of said means for controlling the operation of said arresting means, and means for varying the operation or said timing means.

24. In apparatus of the class described selec-r tively adjustable means, means for shifting said first mentioned means to selected positions of adjustment, means for arresting said adjustable means in selected positions, means controlling said arresting means to hold said adjustable means for a predetermined interval after adjustment, and means for prolonging the interval determined by said controlling means.

25. In apparatus of the class described selectively adjustable means, means for shifting said first mentioned means to selected positions of adjustment, means for arresting said adjustable means in selected positions, means set into operation upon the stopping of said adjustable means for releasing said'arresting means after a predetermined interval, and means for varying the duration of said interval. a

' 26. In apparatus of the class described selectively adjustable means, means for shifting said first mentioned means, to selected positions of adjustment, means for arresting said adjustable means in selected positions, means set into op- .eration upon the stopping of said adjustable means for releasing said arresting means after -a predetermined interval, and means for delaying the commencement of operation said releasing means.

27. In apparatus of the class described selectively adjustable means, means for successively selecting positions oi adjustment for said means, means for moving said adjustable means through a predetermined cycle until theselected position of adjustment is reached, and means for retaining said first mentioned means in adjusted position for a predetermined interval and then releasing the same for further adjustment, said retaining means being constructed and arranged to retain said adjustable means for a, further predetermined interval when the selection of j predetermined interval when the selection ot-certain positions is repeated and to permit said adjustable means to move through a complete cy- .cle when the selection of other positions is repeated.

- 29. In apparatus of the class described selectively adjugtable means, means for successively selecting positionsoi adjustment for said means, 'means for movingesaid adjustable means until the selected position of adjustment is reached, means for retaining said first mentioned means in adjusted position, and rotatable means set into operation when a selected position is reached for controlling the release of said retaining means after a predetermined interval. '30. In apparatus oi.v the class described selectively adjustable means, means for successively lecting positions of adjustment for said means, means for moving said adjustable means until the selected position of adjustment is reached,

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