US2151453A - Means for forming, transmitting, and decoding secret messages - Google Patents

Description

March 21, 1939. J. B. WAL\KER MEANS FOR FORMING, TRANSMITTING, AND DECODING SECRET MESSAGES Filed Jan. 13, 1937 6 Sheets-Sheet l March 21, 1939. J. B. WALKER 2,151,453

MEANS FOR FORMING. TRANSMITTING, AND DECODING SECRET MESSAGES Filed Jan. 13, 1937 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 March 21, 1939. WALKER 2 ,151,453

MEANS FOR FORMING, TRANSMITTING, AND DECODING SECRET MESSAGES Filed Jan. 13, 1937 6 Sheets-Sheet 3 March 21,1939. J B,WALKER 2,151,453

MEANS FOR FORMING, TRANSMITTING, AND DECODING SECRET MESSAGES Filed Jan, 13, 1937 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 iiii I a J. B. WALKER 2,151,453

MEANS FOR FORMING, TRANSMITTING, AND DECODTNG SECRET MESSAGES March 21, 1939.

Filed Jan; 13, 1937 6 s t -sh t 5 INVENTDR ATTORNB-Yb March 21, 1939. J WALKER 1 2,151,453

MEANS FOR FORMING, TRANSMITTING, AND DECODING SECRET MESSAGES Filed Jan. 15, 1957 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 Patented Mar. 21, 1939 STATES art sts PATENT OFF MEAN S FOR. FORMING, TRANSMITTING, AND DECODING SECRET MESSAGES ty, Calif.

Application January 13, 1937, Serial No. 120,457

. 21 Claims.

This invention relates to a means for forming, transmitting and decoding code or secret messages, and it has for its object to secure these results in a highly efficient, reliable, speedy and economical fashion.

In my Patent 2,045,624, dated June 30, 1936, I have illustrated a mechanism through which the component parts of spoken or oral messages may be garbled at a sending station and then decoded or restored to intelligible form at a receiving station without the necessity for synchronization between stations.

In my co-pending application Serial No. 30,385, filed July 8, 1935, I have illustrated a mechanism for garbling messages composed of letter equivalents, such garbling involving both letter substitution and the transposing of fractional elements which complementally make up a letter character.

The present application embodies important difierences over the patent and application aforesaid to the end that:

Errors in letter formation may be limited to the letter in which such error occurs and may not run over into any other letter;

2. No periodic or rhythm will be created within the message through which the expert cryptographer will be aided in deciphering the same,

and

3. A maximum of secrecy may be preserved in that a superior oflicer may prepare a garbled message upon the machine, deliver the same to a wireless operator or telegraph operator, and the latter may send such message to a receiving station equipped with a like machine where the message may be automatically decoded without such operator ever knowing either the nature of the message sent or the values assigned to the characters sent or the key usedinthe encipherment. The latter is of especial importance in guarding against disloyal and traitorous individuals who might be tempted to deliver a code key to an enemy force. 7

The means by which the foregoing and other advantages are achieved will be more readily understood from a consideration of the following description and the appended drawings wherein:

Figure 1 is a diagrammatic plan view of one embodiment of the invention;

Fig. 2 is an end elevation looking toward the left in Fig. l with the cover of the gate compartment removed; I

Fig. 3 is a plan View with the cover of the case removed;

Fig. 4 is a horizontal sectional view showing the gate mechanism in plan;

Fig. 5 is a front elevation of a fragment of the gate mechanism;

Fig. 6 is a transverse vertical section upon line ,6-6 of Fig. 4, looking in the direction indicated by the arrows;-

Fig. 7 is a transverse sectional view upon line 1--1 of Fig. 3, looking in the direction indicated by the arrows;

Fig. 8 is a longitudinal sectional view upon line 8--8 of Fig. 3, looking in the direction indicated by the arrows and with certain of the parts omitted;

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary plan view of a key plate,

hereinafter described;

Fig. 10 is a fragmentary perspective view of a contact making member, hereinafter described;

Fig. 11 is a vertical sectional view upon line ll-Il of Fig. 3;

Fig. 12 is a sectional view upon line l2--|2 of Fig. 11;

Fig. 13 is a sectional view upon line I3--l3 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 14 is a vertical sectional view upon line 1-44 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 15 is a detail perspective view illustrating fragments of selector bars hereinafter described;

Fig. 16 is a view partly in plan and partly in section of the carrier feeding and locking mechanism,

Fig. 17 is a diagrammatic view of an explanatory form of wiring and Fig. 18 is a diagrammatic view of a system of remote control in which the apparatus of the present invention may be used.

Like numerals designate corresponding parts in all of the several figures of the drawings.

The description may be more readily followed if it is understood that the apparatus comprises:

Unit A, consisting of a keyboard much like a typewriter keyboard, the keys of which overlie eleven transversely arranged bars, ten of which, when depressed, completing electric circuits leading to:

Unit B. This unit is termed a gate and it comprises means for imparting traveling movement to a control element passing step by step by said gate, said control element being divided into uniformly spaced frames, and these frames being provided with arbitrarily spaced elements, the positioning of which within the frames determines which of the electric currents sent to the gate by unit A shall be permitted to pass the gate and energize:

Unit C. This unit constitutes a selector comprising thirty-two bars, one of which is caused to close an electric circuit upon each actuation of the machine to thereby energize the corresponding key of aconventional electrically actuated typewriter constitutin'g nniaD f the assembly. V

The particular selector bar that will be permitted to move to circuit closing position is determined by the shifting of transverse bars underlying all of the circuit closing bars of the selector, and the shifting of these bars is preferably effected through solenoid magnets, hereinafter described.

Unit A is illustrated in Figs. 1, 2, 3, 7 and 8 and comprises, as before stated, a conventional type of keyboard, the keys of which are indicated at 5. By referring to Figs. '7 and 8, it will be seen that these keys 5 are carried by levers 6, pivoted at l and normally held in elevated position by springs 8. The lower edges of the bars 6 overlie a key plate 9. This plate is provided with a plurality of rows of openings l0, adapted to re ceive filling pins I l. 7

These pins function, when the keys 5 are depressed to, in turn, depress selected ones of transverse bars l2. 'There are eleven of these bars, and they constitute five sets of two bars each, with one bar, namely, bar Hot, in addition. It may here by explained that this bar IZa is common to all of the combinatons which may be effected withthe remaining bars, and that it serves to complete an electric circuitat lZb whenever any of the keysare depressed.

The ends of the bars 12 overlie the upper ones of the pairs of contact springs l3. These pairs of contact springs are duplicated at each end of the structure, but this is for the purpose of rendering these contacts more sensitive than would be the case if it were attempted to pivot the bars at one end. These contacts are electrically connected together in such fashion that they constitute practically the same units, 'in so far as the contacts at each end of the same bar are concerned. Thus, it will be seen that we have at each end of unit A a series of eleven of the contacts l3.

The leads from ten of these contacts of the series are carried to unit B and are connected to the ten circuit making and breaking contact elements there shown. These contact making and breaking elements are divided into two groups of banks, one group It being shorter than the other group E5 so that they may coact with the two rows of laterally spaced plungers l6 and. I7. These plungers pass through and are carried by a rocking frame it, of general U-shape.

The legs of this frame are pivoted at E9 to a fixed bearing carried by a plate 26. This plate is hingedly mounted at El and may be swung out wardly upon its hinge constituted by the pivot 2!, to bring the gate mechanism into accessible position and to permit of the threading through channel 2! of said plate, of a control element 22.

In the particular form of the invention that I have chosen for illustration, this carrier consists of a web of photographic film, much like moving picture film, having feed perforations 23 along its edge. It is intended that this control element, whatever its form, shall be divided into uniformly spaced frames and that within these frames there shall be'located arbitrarily grouped means cooperating with the plungers i6 and IT to determine which of said plungers are to move to close the circuits through their corresponding contact elements I l and Hi.

The way that I have chosen, in the present embodiment of the invention, for accomplishing this result is to provide perforations 22 in the web. As before stated, these perforations are arbitrarily spaced, and if, when a given frame of the carrier comes into alignment with the plungers l6 and I7, there happens to be a hole aligned with -a given plunger, then said plunger may move through said hole a sufiicient distance to permit a contact to be made at the corresponding contact element M or l5 as the case may be.

Current may then flow or not through such made contact according to whether that particular contact was one of those to which current was being directed from the contacts l3. If the circuit in which any given contact i l or B5 is included happens to be one to which current is being delivered from contacts l3, then the current is delivered to the corresponding one of a group of five solenoid magnets 25 of unit C.

I may here explain that while there are ten possible incoming leads to the ten contacts M and i5, these contacts are wired in pairs on the takeoff side, so that there are only five leads from said contacts to the five solenoids 25. This wiring will bemore particularly described in the-description of the diagrammatic outline of the wiring illustrated in Fig. 17.

The solenoids 25 impart endwise movement to bars 26. These bars are provided with notches 21. The bars 26, of which there are five, underlie thirty-two selector bars 28. When the notches of the bars 2-6 are so positioned that the notches of all five of said bars 26 align with any given one of the bars 28, then that bar 28 may be drawn downwardly by its spring 29 to complete a circuit (through the closing of one of the contacts 38) to the corresponding one of the key actuating magnets 3! of the unit D.

A bar 32 underlies all of the bars 28 and normally holds these bars in elevated position. A finger 33, upon a rock shaft 3 2, is normally thrust'upwardly by the action of a'stout spring 35. -(SeeFig. 13.) This spring thrusts against a lever 36 that is fixed upon the rock shaft 34. This rock shaft-carries a crank arm 3? that is connected by a link 38 with the head 39 of the core 40 of a'solenoid magnet ll.

When this magnet is energized, as hereinafterdescribed, the head 39 is drawn inwardly and arm 36 is thrust downwardly against the tension of the spring 35. This permits bar 32 to drop and frees the bars 28, leaving them in such position that they may descend and complete the circuit as hereinbefore described whenever the solenoid magnets 25 act to properly align the notches 21 of the bars 26 with the bars 28. This descent of the bars 28 is rendered positive by the action of the springs 29.

When the magnet t! is de-energized, the spring 35' acts as before stated to thrust the bar 32 upwardly, and-this elevates all of the bars 28 against the, action of their springs 29, thus freeing the bars ZS'and permitting them to move to a new position of alignment upon the succeeding action of the machine.

The core 32 of a solenoid magnet 43 is provided With a lug 44, which upon movement of said core to the left in Fig. 3, closes the electrical contact member d5. In this movement of the core toward the left, a pawl 45 rides up over a pin 4'! of an electrical contact member 48. After it has passed beyond said pin, said pawl drops, so that its forward beveled end 49 lies in alignment with said pin.

Upon return movement of the core 42 toward the right, this beveled end of the pawl thrusts the pin laterally to cause the contact member 48 to complete a circuit, hereinafter described. Any suitable means may be provided for rendering the return movement of the core a delayed one. For example, a conventional form of dash pot 55 may be utilized for this purpose.

Referring again to unit B, the gate, illustrated in Figs. 2 and 4, it will be seen that the means for rocking the frame l8 by which the plungers i and I! are carried comprises a solenoid magnet 5l, the core 52 of which is connected by a link 53 with a bell crank lever 54. The toe of this bell crank lever bears upon a transverse pin 55, which extends between and ties together the sides of the frame I8.

When the core 52 is drawn into the magnet, the toe 54 of the bell crank lever thrusts against pin 55 and moves the frame toward the gate. When this is done, such of the plungers l6 and Il as may be aligned with a perforation of tape or web 22 is permitted to move toward the gate far enough to make contact at M or IE as has been hereinbefore set forth.

A spring 56 acts to thrust the frame I8 outwardly, and when it does so, it moves the plungers l6 and I1 positively outwardly and thus breaks the contact at M and I5. If desired, the plungers l5 and i! may be provided with collars with which the frame It engages in its outward movement, or the heads Hid, Ila, of insulating material, may be positioned to serve the function of these collars.

The core of magnet 5| is extended as a stem at 51. This stem carries a disk 58 of fibre or other insulating material, the function of which is to actuate the contact 59. When the disk 58 moves toward the right, it makes a contact. at 59 and completes a circuit to energize the delay action solenoid 43.

Still referring to Figs. 4 and 5, 60 designates a solenoid magnet, the core of which has pivotal engagement at (H with a swinging lever 52. This lever 62 in turn engages a bar 63 forming a part of a cross head 64. This cross head has slidable mounting in blocks 65 and 66.

Hook-like pusher fingers 51 are pivoted upon the cross head, pass through suitable slots formed in the walls of the gate and engage the feed notches 23 of the web or film 22. A spring 68 tends to draw the cross head toward the right in Fig. 4. Dogs 59 are pivoted at H! upon fixed brackets of the gate and carry inwardly extending pins H.

Consequently, when the solenoid acts to draw its core inwardly, and the pusher fingers 5'! engage the feed perforations of the film, the filrn may be thrust along through the gate. At the completion of this pushing movement, cam surfaces l5 upon bar l6, constituting a part of the cross head, engage pins H and move the dogs to throw the locking pins 13 inwardly. This insures against accidental movement of the film.

An important function of thus locking the film is to prevent it from coasting and to insure that its feed perforations will always stop at the proper point to be engaged by fingers 5? upon the next movement of said fingers. Upon the return of the cross head to the right, a cam 13, constituting a part of the cross head, engages pins H and throws the locking pins '53 out of engagement with the film, leaving said film free to be again moved by the pusher fingers.

It is to be understood that the diagrammatic Fig. 17 is intended merely to make clear the sequence of operation of the several units. Many other ways of wiring may be resorted to. In actual practice, the space H, within the main case E of the machine, receives a power pack constituting a source of current supply to the various magnets and delivers to these magnets the character of current best suited for the work that they have to perform. However, since that is a mere matter of engineering choice, constituting no part of the invention, this power pack has not been illustrated.

Referring now to Fig. 1'7, it will be seen that the two groups of contacts M and [5 at the gate are arranged in pairs. For convenience in explanation, the contacts in group I5 have been numbered I5 I5 I5 l5 I5 while the contacts in group it have been numbered I4 I4 I4 I4 I4 I5 is paired with M H5 is paired with I4 and so on, this pairing being accomplished by bridging one side of one of the contacts of a pair with one side of the other contact of a pair through the bridging wires Ma.

Thus, there are ten possible inputs from the source of current supply indicated at F in Fig. 17, through conductors T8 and (9, contacts I3 and conductors 85 to the two groups of contacts H, but there are only five sources of output from these groups of contacts, these sources being the conductors 8!, which lead to one side of the solenoid magnets 25, the other side of said magnets being grounded at 82.

It should be remembered that the contacts l4 and I5 are controlled by the plungers l6 and I! at the gate and that these plungers in turn are controlled by the perforations 24 of the web or film 22. While these perforations are made in this film arbitrarily and in all sorts of combinations as far as position is concerned, they are always placed in such. manner that the perforations which affect the plungers 55 are staggered with relation to the perforations which affect the plungers El. Thus, we never have both of the contacts of a pair closed at the same time,

When a key of the keyboard of unit A is depressed, current is fed to one side of such of the two groups of contacts 54 and i5 as are in electrical connection through conductors 80 with those contacts !3 which are closed by the depression of said key. The presence of the pins i (see Fig. 8) in plate 9 will determine which of the contacts is and IE will be supplied with current, and it will be readily apparent that the order of depression of the bars l2 under the influence of the keys 5 may be varied at will by changing the positioning of the pins II in the holes E5 of plate 9.

This renders it possible to introduce additional elements of safety and secrecy under control of trustworthy personnel. However, the mere supplying of current to one side of each of the contacts Hi and #5 does not result in current fiow to the solenoids 25. There must be the additional step of bringing about a closing of the contacts 15 under the action of plungers l5 and i? (Fig. 4) these plungers, in turn, being under control of the web or carrier 22, constituting the control element hereinbefore referred to.

Since there is no determined pattern for the positioning of the perforations in the frames of the carrier 22, it follows that the order of closing of the contacts I4 and i5 is being continuously changed, with the result that whereas the depression of, say key 5 of unit A, may result in the energization of two of the solenoids 25 upon one depression of said key, the next depression of said key may result in the actuation of three of said solenoids or only one, according to the positioning of the perforations in the particular frame of the film which happens at that moment to be passing the gate.

It should not be understood that merely because a solenoid 25 has not been energized that it has no value in effecting the ultimate result, because the notches 2? of the bars 26 are still present and enter into combinations with such of said bars as are actually moved, in determining which of the bars 23 may drop to energize a corresponding key actuating magnet of the conventional electric typewriter.

Thus, if the depression of a key 5 of unit A energized five of the contacts l4 and 55, it would only result in energizing five out of a possible ten contacts, and the five contacts energized might or might not be the ones that Would be closed under the influence of the five perforations of the film. Consequently, it will be seen that the possible combinations and permutations are almost limitless, and that there can be no pattern or rhythm developed in the resultant garbled message which would aid the expert cryptographer in deciphering the same.

A message typed in straight English upon the keyboard of unit A will, as a result of the procedure described, be printed upon the typewriter D as a meaningless jumble of letters and numerals, but if this same meaningless jumble be impressed in the same order upon the keys of keyboard A and with the perforations of web 22 being run through in the same order as in the formation of the garbled message, the garbled message will be reconverted into the original straight English.

To render it possible to determine the point at which the film is to be started in order to secure the decipherment of a message, a window I) is formed in the face of the gate (Fig. 2) through which a portion of the film is visible as it travels along through the gate. A suitable pointer b at the window may be aligned with a suitable starting or sync. mark upon the film, and thus the starting point for the encipherment of any given message may be determined.

The depression of any key of unit A as above described also, through the eleventh bar of said unit, closes contact l2b (see Fig. 1'7). This energizes the solenoid magnet M to actuate the gate and, through disk 58, to close the contact 59. One side of this contact receives current through a conductor 83. The other side of said contact is connected by conductor 84 with one side of the solenoid magnet 43. The other side of said magnet is grounded at 85.

When the core of this magnet is drawn inwardly, it closes the contact as as previously described. Current then flows to one side of solenoid dl through conductor 85, contact 45 and conductor 8?, the other side of the solenoid 4| being grounded at 88. The energizing of the solenoid (ii results, as hereinbefore described, in lowering bar 32 (see Fig. 11) to close a selected one of the contacts 3!) of the key actuating magnets 35 of the electric typewriter. That operation takes place during the time that the core of magnet 43 is drawn inwardly.

Upon the release of the key 5, of unit A, which initiated the foregoing operations, the eleventh bar, viz., i211, rises, contact I2?) is broken, magnet 43 is die-energized, and its actuating spring fita draws the core 2 toward the right in Fig. 3.

This results in the opening of contact 45 and the de-energization of magnet 4|. Thereupon, spring 35 (see Fig. 13) acts as previously described to lift bar 32 and restore all of the parts to their former position.

Upon the outward movement of the core 42 of solenoid 43, (see Fig. 17), contact 58 is closed and the feed magnet 60 of the gate is energized, this magnet receiving its current through conductors 86 and 89, the other side of the magnet being connected by conductor 90, to contact 48, to ground 9|.

The closing of the contact 48 continues only during the passage of the pawl 46 thereby during the return and delayed movement of the core 42 of solenoid 43, but this interval of time is suficient to permit feed. magnet 66 (see Figs. 2, 4 and 16) to actuate the cross head and the pusher fingers 61 to first impart a forward movement to the film a distance equal to one frame and to thereafter lock the film against accidental movement, through locking pins 13.

Since any change in assignment of pins H (see Figs. 8 and 9) to a given key 5 would have to be accompanied by a corresponding change in assignment of wiring to the magnets 3| of unit D, the wires to said magnets represented by cable 3th in Fig. 1 may be led to a common plug-in block 3 I c, so that such change in assignment may be readily effected. This block H0 is connected to the various contacts 39 of the selector unit C (see Figs, 11 and 17).

While, for purposes of convenience, I have illustrated the unit D as being mounted upon the case containing the other units of the mechanism, it will of course be readily understood that the cable 3lb may be of any length and that unit A may be in a separate room from unit D or even in another city.

With this apparatus, it would be possible for the admiral of a fleet, in his quarters, to type a. message in straight English upon unit A and have it appear in garbled form upon unit D located in a radio room, to be sent out by an operator and without the possibility of the operators having any knowledge of the nature of the message being sent.

The commander of a battleship, receiving such garbled message, would receive it from a radio operator likewise'having no knowledge of the meaning of the message, and, in the privacy of his quarters could, by retyping the garbled message upon the unit A of an identical machine, using a tape perforated like the tape used in the sending machine, and starting at the same starting point upon said tape as was used in starting when typing the original message, have appear upon his typewriter the original message in straight English.

By referring to Fig. 2, it will be seen that the gate mechanism occupies only half of the height of the case F and by referring to Fig. 7, it will be seen that the unit A is supported upon a horizontal partition F and it is this partition which supports unit 0 and the rest of the mechanism illustrated in Fig. 3. This leaves a compartment G under the partition F and rearwardly of the gate, and this compartment G (see Fig. 4) constitutes a magazine for housing the film 22.

To prevent the possibility of the films becoming entangled in the hinge represented by pivot 2!, a guard plate Zia is mounted upon the gate. This film may be in the form of an endless band with its convolutions received in the compartment G, or it may be in the form of an elongated strip, and suitable spools, not shown, may be provided for holding it. The exact method of mounting this film is immaterial.

It will bear repetition that by dividing the tape or film 22 into frames of uniform length and locating within the individual frames all of the perforations having effect upon a single char acter, chances of error in transmission are greatly reduced, because any error that is made will be confined within the letter in which it is made and will not lap over into any other part of the garbled message.

It will be apparent that the invention idea inthe present case goes far beyond the mere provision of a specific machine for carrying out the idea. Consequently, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to any particular construction of machine, but that it includes Within its purview whatever arrangements or embodiments of mechanisms as fairly come within either the terms or the spirit of the appended claims.

In Fig. 18, I have illustrated the apparatus of the present invention being utilized in a system of remote control. Here the output from the contacts 33 of the selector C through plug-in jack 3 lo instead of being delivered to the solenoid magnets 3! of the electric typewriter, are delivered by conductors 35' to a radio broadcasting apparatus 36a.

These electrical impulses are delivered in the form of radio Waves from antenna 31a and picked up by the antenna 38a of a radio receiving set 39a, carried by a remotely controlled object 40a, such for example, as an airplane or a lighter than air dirigible.

The electrical impulses are delivered from the radio receiving apparatus in waves of audio-frequency in a common way through conductors 42a to solenoid magnets Ma, arranged in conjunction with and actuating keys 5a of another machine substantially identical with the one used at the sending station for garbling.

The first unit is here designated as A and corresponds to the unit A at the sending station. The elements designated B and C are identical with the elements B and C at the sending station.

Thus, the garbled impulses are retransposed and delivered from C at contacts 39a, which correspond to the contacts 30 of unit C at the sending station. These impulses, instead of being then delivered to the solenoids of a printing machine or electrically actuated typewriter as at the sending station may be delivered to solenoid magnets 55a, 46a and 41a for controlling the remotely controlled apparatus, or elements carried thereby.

For example, magnet 45a may be utilized to actuate the throttle lever a of airplane or dirigible lfla. Magnet 45a may, when actuated, move a bridge piece 46b to bridge contacts 48a and close a circuit through a motor 49a. This motor may be utilized to actuate any of the control mechanism of the remotely controlled unit, such as the rudders, ailerons, ballast tanks, etc.

Magnet 41a may, when actuated, bridge contacts 5m to close a circuit to solenoid magnets 52a, the latter, when actuated, withdrawing latch 53a of a pivot bomb release lever 54a, the bomb being indicated at 55a.

The idea of scrambling electrical units at a sending station, transmitting said units by radio in garbled form to a remotely controlled apparatus equipped with means for retransposing them into their original order and then utilizingthem in their reassembled order to actuate the remotely controlled apparatus or elements carried therecompletion of the circuit by a given one of said elements, said control unit being divided into frames and the portions of the control unit necessary to the completion of the circuits for any complete character of the message being completely contained within one of said frames.

2. Mechanism of the character described comprising a group of circuit making and breaking elements and a selector operating in conjunction therewith and controlling said elements, said selector comprising a traveling member having a group of regularly spaced frames, each frame carrying a group of arbitrarily spaced perforations, the positioning of which in the frame determines which of the circuit making and breaking elements may complete a circuit by movement through said perforations.

3. In combination a control unit for the purposes set forth consisting of a traveling member divided into a plurality of regularly spaced frames, each of said frames having within itself a group of arbitrarily spaced elements, the position of which determines the formation of a complete letter of the alphabet in the use of said unit, whereby any errors are confined to the letter in which they occur and a group of circuit closing members, past which the traveling member moves, and means for moving the circuit closing members under control of the arbitrarily spaced elements of the traveling member.

4.111 a device of the character described, a control unit comprising a traveling tape divided into a plurality of equally spaced frames, said tape being perforated within said frames to form at least twogroups of perforations, none of which lie in transverse alignment with each other, a group of circuit making and breaking members which complementally complete a single message character under control of the perforations of an entire frame, the positioning of the perforations within a frame determining which of the circuit making and breaking members will move to circuit making position to complete the said single message character.

5. Apparatus of the character described comprising a control unit consisting of an elongated web having feed perforations along its edges and divided into uniformly spaced frames and being perforated Within each of said frames by a series of arbitrarily spaced perforations arranged in at least two groups, none of the perforations of one group transversely aligning with a perforation of another group.

6. Apparatus of the character described comprising in combination units A, B and C, wherein the unit A comprises a group of manually operable members, a group of electrical contacts associated with the manually operable members, exceeding materially in number the number of said contacts which may be closed by any one of the manually operable members, the unit B comprising a group of electrical contact members which equal in number the number of electrical contact members controlled by said manually operable members and a control element operating in conjunction with said contact members of unit 13, comprising arbitrarily spaced means, functioning to permit or prevent the actuation of the contact members of said unit B, and unit C comprising an electrically actuated selector including a group of movable members, contact members in the path of movement of the movable members, electrical conductors connected to said contact elements for delivering electrical impulses in accordance with the movement of said movable members, electrically actuated units and means actuated by said units for determining which of the movable members of the selector may move to circuit closing position, there being as many of the electrically actuated units of unit C as there are pairs of contacts in unit B, and there being electrical conductors between said electrically actuated units of unit C equalling said electrically actuated units in number and being connected to the contact members; of unit B in such manner as to be common to a pair of said contact members, and the spacing of the arbitrarily spaced means of the control element being such that both of the members of the pair are never closed at the same time.

'7. Apparatus of the character described comprising a traveling control element divided into a plurality of equally spaced frames, each frame carrying a group of arbitrarily spaced units, a group of circuit making and breaking contacts comprising two sets, each equal in number, and independent actuating means for each of said contacts, the movement of said contact members by said actuating means being determined by the action of the arbitrarily spaced units of the control element.

8. Apparatus of the character described comprising a traveling control element divided into a plurality of equally spaced frames, each frame carrying a plurality of arbitrarily spaced perforations, a group of plungers divided into two sets past which the control element is moved, a a

member normally holding said plungers away from the control unit and for periodically moving all of said plungers bodily toward the control element, and two sets of contact elements coacting with said plungers in such manner that those plungers which do not align with perforations of the control element when the latter is moved prevent the closing of their corresponding contact elements, while those plungers which do align with said perforations permit the closing of their corresponding contact elements, this action resulting from the ability of the plungers to have movement through the perforations when plungers and perforations align and from the inability of the plungers to have such movement when no perforations align therewith. v I

9. Apparatus as recited in claim 8 wherein the number of plungers in each set is equal to the number of perforations in each frame of the control element. a

10. A structure as recited in claim 8 wherein the total number of contact elements is double the number of perforations in each frame of the control element.

11. A structure as recited in claim 8 wherein the total numebr of contact elements is double the number of perforations in each frame of the control element, a group of manually operable keys, a group of electric circuits, controlled by said keys, and connected to the contact elements, said circuits and contact elements being double in number to the perforations of the frame, but

the connections between said keys and said circuits being such that only as many of said circuits may be closed by the operation of any one key as will correspond in number with the perforations of the control element.

12. Apparatus of the character described comprising a group of manually operable keys representing letters of the alphabet, at least ten circuit controlling elements associated with said keys in such manner that the actuating of any one key moves at least five of said elements, so that the actuation of any given key completes five out of a possible ten electric circuits, a group of ten contacts included in the aforesaid circuits, one for each of said circuits, said contacts being arranged in two sets of five each, a traveling control unit divided into a plurality of frames each having five artitrarily spaced units therein, and ten plungers controlled by and in accordance with the spacing of said units, said plungers in turn controlling the two sets of contact elements.

13. A structure as recited in claim 12, in combination with a feed mechanism for the control unit and means for advancing said unit one frame upon the depression of each key.

14;. A device of the character described comprising a traveling web having feed perforations and divided into a plurality of uniformly spaced frames, each of said frames being provided with a plurality of arbitrarily spaced perforations, a pair of sets of plungers, the plungers in one set being equal in number to the plungers of the other set, means for imparting step by step movement to the web past said plungers to bring the several frames successively in alignment therewith, means for bodily advancing the two sets of plungers toward the web, means tending to movelsaid plungers toward the web, the extent of movement of said plungers being determined by whether a given plunger is aligned with a perforation of the web or not, a group of contact elements equal in number to said plungers, the closing of any of which is determined by whether its corresponding plunger is aligned with a perforation of the web or not, a group of manually operable circuit closing members equal in number to the aforesaid contact elements and adapted to be respectively connected thereto, and a group of manually operable keys for moving said circuit closing members and means inter-' posed between said keys and said members through which each key actuates one-half only of said circuit closing members.

15. A structure as recited in claim 14, in combination with means variably determining which of the circuit closing members any individual key will actuate.

16. In a device of the character described, the combination with a group of'manually operable keys devoted to letters of the alphabet, of a group of, circuit closing members disposed in the path of movement of said keys, and a group of shiftable filling elements between said members and said keys, the individual positioning of which filling elements determines which of the elements circuit closing members will be operated when a given key is depressed.

17. A device of the character described comprising a group of depressible keys, each devoted to a letter of the alphabet or a numeral, a group of bars transversely disposed beneath said keys, said keys comprising parts overlapping all of said bars, a plate disposed between said bars and the overlapping portions of said keys and having perforations therein, and filling elements adapted to be inserted in said perforations and by their individual positioning determine which of the bars will be depressed when a given one of said keys is depressed.

18. In a device of the character described, a gate, a traveling web passing therethrough, a group of plungers disposed in two sets, a rocking frame by which said plungers are carried, means tending to move the rocking frame away from the gate and to move said plungers away from said web, electrically actuated means for rocking the frame toward the web, and a group of contacts disposed in two sets and engageable by said plungers to be held open until said frame moves toward the gate.

19. A selector comprising a group of bars and a group of electrical contacts associated therewith to be closed by said bars when they move, a second group of bars underlying the first group of bars and lying substantially at right angles thereto, and an individual electrically actuated motive device connected to each of the last named bars, the last named bars being provided with notches in their upper edges, the transverse alignment of the notches of the several bars determining which of the first named bars may move to close an electric circuit.

20. A structure as recited in claim 19, in combination with a common elevating member for the first named bars, a, magnet for moving said member to release the first named bars, and a spring placed under tension by the movement of said magnet, said spring acting to elevate all of the first named bars when the magnet is deenergized.

21. Apparatus of the character described comprising in combination a first, second and third unit, wherein the first unit comprises a group of manually operable members, a group of electrical contacts associated with the manually operable members, exceeding materially in number the number of said contacts which may be closed by the actuation of anyone of the said manually operable members, the second unit comprising a group of electrical contact members which equal in number the number of electrical contact members controlled by said manually operable members, and a control member operating in conjunction with said contact members of the second unit, comprising a traveling carrier divided into a group of spaced frames, each of which frames carries a group of arbitrarily spaced means adapted by their form and space relationship to each other to permit or prevent the actuation of the contact members of said second unit, and the third unit comprising an electrically actuated selector, including a group of movable members contact members in the path of movement of the movable members of the third unit, electrical conductors connected to the last named contact members for delivering electrical impulses in accordance with the movement of said movable members of the third unit, a group of electromagnets and means actuated by said magnets for determining which of the movable members of the selector may move to circuit closing position, there being as many of the electrically actuated magnets of the third units as there are pairs of contacts in the second unit, and there being electrical conductors between the magnets of the third unit equalling said magnets in number and being connected to the contact members of the second unit in such manner as to be common to a pair of said contact members, and the spacing of the arbitrarily spaced means of the control element being such that both of the members of a pair are never closed at the same time.

JOSEPH B. WALKER.

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