US2195854A - Signal transmitting means - Google Patents

Description

April 94 c. J. FITCH ET AL 2,195,354

SIGNAL TRANSMITTING MEANS Filed Nov. 19, 1937. I 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 ATTORNEY April 2, 1940.

c. J. FITCH El AL. 95,854

.SIGNAL TRANSMITTING MEANS 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Nov. 19, 1937 (4, FIG. 3.

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c. J. FITCH El AL 5,854

SIGNAL TRANSMITTING MEANS Filed NOV. 19, 1937 4 Shegts-Sheet 5 \mll ill

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' ATTORNEY April 2, 1940., c. J. FITCH ET AL SIGNAL TRANSMITTING MEANS Filed NOV. 19, 1937 Y 4 SheetsSheet 4 INVENPRS ATTORNEY Patented Apr. 2, 1940 SIGNAL TRANSMITTING MEANS Clyde J. Fitch and Kurt R. Schneider, Endicott,

N. Y., assignors to International Business Machines Corporation, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application November 19, 1937, Serial No. 175,371

7 Claims.

This invention relates to signal transmitting units andmore particularly to recording transmitting units adaptable for use in signaling systems such as printing telegraph systems.

An object of the present invention is to provide a novel permutation unit to control the conditioning of signal transmitting or control-contacts.

The present invention is an improvement over the permutation bar signal transmitter unit described in the copending application Serial No. 113,798, filed December 2, 1936. In the said application, contact switch arms are provided to be released and conditioned by the rotated permutation bars.

In the present application the pivoted contact arms are dispensed with and groups of ball contacts are substituted therefor.

Another object of the present invention is to provide conducting segments on the permutation bars to condition the associated contacts.

Still another object of this invention is to pro-'- vide means to vary the duration of the contact time between the control contacts and the contact conditioning means.

Further objects of the instant invention reside in any novel feature of construction or operation or novel combination of parts present in the embodiment of the invention describedand shown in the accompanying drawings whether within or without the scope of the appended claims and irrespective of other specific statements as to the scope of the invention contained herein.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a partial sectional view ofthe recording unit. I

Fig. 2 is an exploded view of the cam=units. Certain structural features are exaggerated to Show clearly the normal position of certain ofthe operating elements.

Fig. 3 is asectional view of bar unit and recording unit.

Figs. 4-to 4-E are detail views of the permutation members. -T

Fig. 5 is a sectional view of the control contacts. I 4

Figs. 6 and 6--A are detail views of the conducting rings.

Fig. 7 is a sectional view along the line 1-1 ofFig.5.

Fig. 8 is a circuit diagram showing one. application of the present invention. i

Fig. 9 is a detail view of the selector members.

the permutation Fig. 10 is a detail view of the fingers secured on the permutation members.

Fig. 11 is a plan view of the permutation bar unit.

For illustrative purposes, this invention is shown as embodying a well known type of recording unit, which may be similar in construction to the Electromatic typewriter, shown and described in detail in U. S. Patent No. 1,777,055, and hence requires only the following brief description.

Referring to the drawings and particularly to Fig. 1, well known means are provided for actuating the type bars l6, comprising a constantly rotating roller l0, cooperating with a series of individual power units each comprising a cam II, the engagement of the cams with the roller being controlled selectively bythe character key bars l'l.

Any suitable means may be provided to rotate the power roller, in the direction indicated by the arrow, which is adapted to cooperate with two rows of cam units arranged in the front and rear of the roller. The cam Il may be provided to be pivoted on one arm of a bell crank lever l2 which is pivoted in the frame of the recording unit, as indicated generally by reference character iii, the other arm of the said bell crank lever is operatively connected with an arm of bell crank lever H by means of link l5. Another arm of the said lever I 4 is connected to the type bars IS in a well known manner, so as to effect operation of the type bars or any other suitable means connected to the bell crank levers upon selective operation of the controlling key bars li.

I The pivoted bell crank lever I2 is operated by the associated cam ll whenever the latter engages the driven roller; the engagement of the cam with the roller is controlled by means of the associated control key bar I! in a manner which will now be briefly described.

Referring now to Fig. 2, the cams occupy normally thepositions as shown in this figure,'which represents oneof the. rear bank of the units. In this position the impeller-arm I8 is urged, by the associated coil spring l9, against one of the impeller-lugs 20, which at the time is in the lower position, and tends to turn the cam II in a clockwise direction. This is prevented, however, by the engagement of one of the detents 2| on 'the cam, with the upper stop lug 22 on the stop lever 23. If, however, the corresponding key bar is operated, the bifurcated lower end (Fig. 1) of'extension arm 24 associated with one of the said key bars I! engages an arm 25 at the upper end of the stop lever 23 which is provided with an offset projection at its end which extends laterally through an opening in the bell crank lever i2. The arm 25 of the stop lever 23 is then swung rearwardly or to the left as viewed in Rig. 1 about the pivot 26 and its lower end forwardly or to the right as viewed in this figure, thus releasing the cam, which then turns under the influence of the spring urged impeller-arm i8. In doing so the upper serrated lobe of the cam is brought into engagement with the power roller, which turns in a counterclockwise direction and therefore causes a continued rolling movement of the cam until the high point has been reached and passed. This causes the whole cam unit to swing around the pivot I3 so as to pull down the corresponding link and actuate one of the type bars or any other mechanism with which the cam unit may be connected.

After the high point of the cam is passed the cam loses contact with the roller, but the said impeller-arm 18 tends to continue the rotation thereof by engaging the second impeller-lug 29 of cam ll until the second detent 21 engages one of the stop lugs. Since the half rotation of the cam consumes only a small fraction of a second, it is difficult to release the key bar within this short interval, so that it is the lower lug 28 which is first engaged, but upon the release of the key bar and the return of the stop lever 23 to normal position, this lug 23 disengages the detent, whereupon the impeller-arm rotates the cam slightly, and the said detent then engages the upper stop lug 22.

It is obvious then that depression of a key bar releases the revolubly mounted cam to engage and be actuated by the power roller in turn operating the associated bell crank lever and its attached links to cause the associated mechanism such as the type bars and other operating mechanisms, to be operated. It is to be understood that an individual cam unit is provided for each type bar or other functional mechanisms associated therewith.

The action of the cam mechanism has been described with respect to one of the rear bank of cam units; in the case of those of the forward bank the operation is analogous, but the directions of movement, and the order of operation of the stop lugs, is reversed. For example, if the bifurcated arm 24-a is positioned to engage the arm 25-a at the upper end of stop lever 23-41 by virtue of operation of the associated key bar, the said arm is positioned rearwardly or to the left as viewed in Fig. 1, and the lower end of the stop lever 23-a is moved forwardly, that is, to the right as viewed in the said figure. This said operation is effective. to release the cam, by virtue of positioning the lower stop lug 23a out of the path of detent 2 i-a, thus permitting the springurged impeller arm l8-a to rotate the cam slightly in a clockwise direction to effect engagement of the lower lobe of cam I I and power roller. Upon completion of a half revolution of the cam H, the second detent 2'I-a engages first the upper stop lug 22a while the stop lever 23-a is in an operated position, but upon release of the associated key bar and the return of the said stop lever to normal position, this lug 22-a disengages the said detent and the impeller-arm rotates the cam slightly so that the said detent then engages the lower stop lug 28-11, as shown in the figure. In this manner the bell crank lever l2'a is rotated about the pivot l3-a to operate the associated type bar or any other mechanism associated therewith. For further structural details of the cam units, reference should be made to the above mentioned patent.

In addition thereto the bell crank levers are provided with extension arms 30 (Fig, 3) depending therefrom and on which are rotatably mounted individual cam rollers 3i which are displaced whenever the associated bell crank levers are actuated by the released cams. The cam rollers are positioned so as to be adapted to position or cooperate with selector members 32 whenever the said rollers are displaced, for a purpose now to be set forth.

Referring now to Fig. 11, the transmitting permutation bar mechanism is shown to comprise generally a plurality of positionable permutation members 33 provided with keys or fingers 34 and a plurality of selector members 32 (Fig. 9) provided with tabs or studs 35. More specificaly, a permutation member 33 comprises a circular rod 36 provided with a flat section 31 so that the tapered fingers 34, having correspondingly shaped openings at the untapered section (Fig. 10) may be fitted on the said rod thereby positioning all the fingers thereon whenever the rod is positioned. Tubular spacings 38 are provided for accurately spacing the various fingers on the rods, in accordance with a selected permutation code (Figs. 4 to 4-E) and which are arranged so that the tapered ends of certain of the fingers extend above and others below the rods, the purpose of which will be understood as the description progresses.

The permutation members 33 are rotatably mounted on the end plates 33 which also support a pair of grooved rods 40. The entire unit Just described is pivotally mounted at 4| to the recording unit frame by members 42 and is adapted to be locked in an operating position by being secured to the said frame by suitable means indicated generally by reference character 43.

It was mentioned that a plurality or selector members 32 are provided and adapted to be engaged by the cam rollers 3i to be positioned thereby. The selectors are shown slidably mounted on the grooved rods 40 and are all identical in structure. A detail of a selector member is shown in Fig. 9 and comprises similar forked or bifurcated ends 44, and at the other end thereof extensions 43 are provided and as shown in Fig. 3 are supported in a position so as to be engaged by the cam rollers and thus be displaced to the right or left depending on the particular cam unit selected and operated. Each selector is provided with a rectangular opening 43 so as to straddle the permutation members (Fig. 3) and also along one section of the selector equally spaced tabs or studs 33 are fixed thereon, three studs on each side of the member and alternately positioned thereon.

The selectors 32 are slidably mounted on the grooved rods 43 and held in alinement or position by the grooves. Some of the selectors are arranged so that the studded sections thereof are disposed above the permutation members 33 and others arranged so that the studded sections thereof are disposed below the members, that is, the selectors are assembled on the grooved rods so that the studs of some lie in a plane below the permutation members so as to be engaged by certain of the fingers depending from the said members, and so that the studs of others lie in a plane above the members so as to be engaged by certain of the fingers protruding above the selectors.

The. purpose of the described arrangement is to permit the studs to engage certain of the fingers when the selectors are displaced by the power operated cam units thereby partially rotating the engaged fingers and the rods associated with the fingers. The particular fingers and shafts rotated upon displacement of the selected selectors depends upon the permutation code selected. The reason for alternating the positions of the studs will now be understood, namely, so that proper clearance is provided for the fingers attached to the permutation members, when the fingers are displaced through their angle of rotation, so that the during said rotation studs on other selectors are not engaged by the associated fingers fixed on the rotated shafts.

It is preferred when 'the selectors described are used in conjunction with the Electromatic typewriter, that the studded sections are alternately arranged to be disposed above and below the permutation members, respectively, due to the close spacing of the cam units; therefore, in accordance with this arrangement, it will be seen that the front bank of cam units displace the selector members 32 to the right as viewed in Fig. 3, which are arranged so that the studs thereof engage the fingers depending from the permutation members 33 to rotate the said fingers and associated rods 25 in a counterclockwise direction, and that the rear bank of cam units displace the selectors to the left as viewed in the said figure, which are arranged so that the studs thereof engage the fingers extending above the permutation members to rotate the fingers and associated rods in a counterclockwise direction. Upon displacement of the permutation members and selectors provision is made to retumthem to the normal inoperative position by means of springs 41 attached to the permutation members 33 and posts 48 mounted on one of the end plates- 39, and the springs 49 interconnecting the adjacent selectors 32.

From the description given thus far it is understood now that by selective operation of the key bars H, the associated cams I l are released to engage the power roller l0 being rotated for a, half revolution operating the corresponding bell crank members l2 to operate the associated type bars or other mechanisms associatedtherewith. Operation of the said bell crank members also displaces momentarily the corresponding selectors 32 to either the right or left as viewed in Fig. 3 to rotate certain of the fingers 34. engaged by the studs 35 on the selectors in a counterclockwise direction, thus causing partial .ro-

tation of the permutation members associated with the rotated fingers. Upon completion. of the rotation of the cams the displaced selectors and permutation bars are restored immediately to the normal positions shown in the figures. It is also understood that various combinations of the permutation members are rotated depending upon the selection of the character key bars and the particular combinational code selected which determines the combination of fingers actuated by the individual selectors. It is evident too that the various combinations of permutation members are rotated in unison when the selectors are displaced.

It will now be described how the displaced or rotated permutation members are effective to condition the signal transmitting control contacts employed in the known combinational code printing telegraph systems. It is preferred to provide ball contact switches which are conditioned directly by the permutation members. The group of control contacts are arranged at one end of the transmitting unit as indicated by reference character 50, and suitably mounted to the end plate 39 (Fig. 11). One group of springurged ball contacts 5| (Fig. 5) are suitably disposed in a metal housing 52 which is secured to an insulating support member 53 fixed to the end plate 39. The said housing is positioned above the permutation members andarranged so that the individual ball contacts 5| constantly engage the corresponding permutation members. A common terminal (Fig. 4) is shown to be connected to the conducting housing 52, thus providing a common connection for the said group of ball contacts.

A second group of spring-urged ball contacts 54 is disposed beneath the permutation members and suitably positioned in a housing 55 of suitable insulating material supported on guide rods 56 protruding from the end plate 39. Individual conducting sleeves 51 are inserted in the insulated housing 55 holding the ball contacts 54 in position. Suitable individual terminals 58 are secured to the housing and adapted to be in contact with the corresponding conducting sleeves and springs associated with the ball contacts. It

far refers to a preferred arrangement of the ball. I

contacts. It is obvious, of course, that the' first group of ball contacts could bedisposed in the housing of insulating matter similar to. the housing described for the second group of ball contacts. Individual terminals could be similarly provided for the ball contacts and if desired to be connected in a common circuit, could be individually connected to the said circuit. Such arrangements are merely a matter of choice and 3 fitted over a collar 63 of suitable insulating mate-.

rial, fixed to the rod 36. p

Referring ,now to Fig. 5, the normal relative positions of the ball contacts and conducting rings 6| is shown. With the permutation members in a normal inoperative position, the cut-out sections 62 of the conducting rings iii are adapted to be in a position over the ball contacts 54. It is preferred to arrange the said elements so that the said ball contacts are not in contact with either the insulating collars 63 or the conducting rings 6|. With the ball contacts 5| constantly engaging the'conducting' rings 6!, it is evident that upon rotation of the permutation members the corresponding conducting rings are positioned to engage both groups of ball contacts, thus conditioning the associated circuits connected to the ball contacts.

For example, refer to Fig. 8 showing diagrammatically the group of control ball contact switches, one group of the ball contacts 5| is shown to be connected to a common grounded battery, the other group or ball contacts 54 is shown connected individually to a signal transmitter 84-01! known construction employed in present day combinational code printing telegraph systems. The circuits associated with the individual contacts 54 are conditioned in accordance with the operated permutation members.

Referring to Figs. 5 and '7, it was mentioned that the housing 55 is adapted to be selectively positioned by means of the adjusting screw 59."

The effect of the positioning of said housing is to adjust the relative positions of the ball contacts 54 and conducting ring 6|. The positioning of the said ball contacts determines the duration of the contact time between the ball contacts 54 and the operated associated conducting rings 8|. The variations in the duration of contact time effected is due to the nonparallel sides of the said trapezoidal shaped cut-out. As the contacts are positioned to approach the shorter parallel sides of the cut-out, the duration of the contact time is increased and vice versa. When the correct setting of the housing 55 has been determined, suitable spacers 65 of the proper length may be placed over the guide rods 56 as shown in Fig. 5 so that the ball housing may be rlgidy held in position by tightening the adjusting screw.

While there has been shown and described and pointed out the fundamental novel features of the invention as applied to a single modification, it will be understood that various omissions and substitutions and changes in the form and details of the device illustrated and in its operation may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention. It is the intention therefore to be limited only as indicated by the scope of the following claims.

What is claimed is as follows: I

1. In a device of the character described, a plurality of operable key bars, permutation members, means whereby said permutation members are controlled by said key bars, transmitting contact means controlled by said permutation members, and electrical conducting means disposed on the members to condition the said contacts upon operation of the members including insulating means for insulating electrically the said conducting means from the permutation members.

2. In a device of the character described, a plurality of operable key bars, permutation members, means whereby said permutation members are controlled by said key bars, signaling circuits, and electrical conducting means included in said permutation members to condition the signal circults upon operation of the members including insulating means for insulating electrically the said conducting means from the permutation members.

3. In a device of the character described, a plurality of operable key bars, permutation members, means whereby said permutation members are controlled by said key bars, each of said members having conducting segments disposed thereon including means to insulate electrically the said conducting segments from said permutation members, and individual contact units associated with each of said members and engaged by the said conducting segments upon operation of the I permutation members.

4. A device of the character described comprising a plurality of operable key bars, permutation members, means whereby said permutation members are controlled by said key bars, each of said members having conducting segments included therein including for insulating, electrically the said conducting segments from the said permutation members, and individual contact units comprising spring-urged contact balls associated with each of said members and engaged by the conducting segments upon operation of the permutation members.

5. A device of the character described comprising a plurality of operable key bars, permutation members, means whereby said permutation members are controlled by said key bars, each of said members having conducting segments disposed thereon, a section cut out of each of the said conducting segments, and individual contact units comprising a pair of contact members associated with each of said members, one of said contact members normally disposed to be positioned in the said cut-out sections of the conducting segment and means whereby the last mentioned contact members are engaged by the conducting segments upon operation of the permutation members.

6. A device of the character described comprising a. plurality of operable key bars, permutation members, means whereby said permutation members are controlled by said key bars, each of said permutation members having a cut-out section disposed thereon, and signal control means including means whereby the signal control means are conditioned by said cut-out sections upon operation of the said permutation members.

'7. A device of the character described comprising a plurality of operable key bars, permutation members, means whereby said permutation members are controlled by said key bars, conducting segments having cut-out sections having converging sides disposed on said members, signal control contact units operated by said conducting segments upon operation of the said members, and means to alter the relative positions of the contact units with respect to the cut-out sections in the conducting segments to vary the duration of operation of the contact units upon operation of the said members.

CLYDE J. FITCH. KURT R. SCHNEIDER.

v v v cEnTIFIpATE-oFpoRRE'cTIon. P-AteritNo. 2,19 51 Y i v. .c 1.Y1 E J; FITCH, ET AL.

It iehereby certified that error appears in the printed specifieation April 2, 191 0.

.. er the 'abeve nuinberedpetent requiring. cor rection ae follows Pagel -eec- :ond column, lirie l5 claim before the wcgi-d-"To'r" insert "means-' and that the same mayeo nforni to the record 0 that the said Letters ratenps'h uld be I e .Sig e d and sealedihis lhth day of ma A. :3.- 1 m.

Henry Van 'Arsdale' (Seal) Aqfbing Commissione; of Patents ed 'with this correction therein I f the case in the Patent-Office.

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