US2820520A - Machine for converting telegraphic characters - Google Patents

Description

21, 195 8 K. JENSEN ET L MACHINE FOR CONVERTING TELEGRAPHIC CHARACTERS Filed Jan. 14, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Jan. 21, 1958 K. L. JENSEN ETAL MACHINE FOR CONVERTING TELEGRAPI' IIC CHARACTERS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jan. 14, 1955 United States Patent MACHINE FOR CONVERTING TELEGRAPHIC CHARACTERS Kaj Leo Jensen and Gunner Julius Johannes Rosendahl,

Copenhagen, Denmark, assignors to Det Store Nordiske Telegraf-Selskab (Aktieselskab), Copenhagen, Denmark, a limited liability company of Denmark Application January 14, 1955, Serial No. 481,820

Claims priority, application Denmark January 30, 1954 4 Claims. (Cl. 164-114) The invention relates to a machine for converting telegraphic characters, more especially for converting fiveunit characters into characters of different lengths, such as Morse code or cable code characters.

Such machines are known, comprising a mechanism which senses the incoming five-unit characters appearing as perforations in a stepwise advanced tape, and which through selection and combination devices controls the punching as well as the advancing of another stepwise advanced tape, on which the outgoing telegraphic characters are produced. The said mechanism consists of six fingers moved towards and away from the incoming tape, of which fingers five sense the character perforations, whereas the sixth senses a non-perforated area of the tape and serves to stop the machine, when the tape runs out. When this happens, the sixth finger which has hitherto been held back by the tape can be moved forward, and this movement disengages a coupling between the driving motor and the machine, so that the latter is instantly stopped.

This is inconvenient, if telegraphic charactersas is most frequently the caseare provided on the entire length of the incoming tape, as the outgoing tape feed will then be stopped immediately after the punching of the last character. This tape is located in a closed guiding duct, the so-called paper way, which with a view to the tape feed device extends a considerable distance beyond the place of punching. It is therefore difficult to remove from the duct the part of the outgoing tape last perforated.

The object of the present invention is to provide means designed to obviate this disadvantage.

According to the invention the machine is provided with a mechanism, to which there is imparted a stepwise advancing movement by the reciprocating movement performed by the stop finger as a'consequence of the continued operation of the machine subsequent to the running out of the incoming tape, and which after having been moved to a certain extent stops the-machine, in such a manner that the stopping is delayed until the character last punched in the outgoing tape has emerged from the tape duct. The tape may then simply be torn off at the end of the duct.

In the following the invention will be more fully described, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a machine for converting five-unit telegraphic characters into Morse code characters,

Fig. 2 is a schematic perspective view of the mechanism which stops the machine some time after the incoming tape has run out, and

Fig. 3 shows the coupling between the driving shaft of the machine and its cam sleeve, as seen in axial direction.

As the fundamental features of the machine are previously known, the following description will be restricted to the essential parts and the principle of operation, reference being had to Fig. 1.

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The machine is mounted on a base 10, encasing an electric motor, which through a belt 12 and a pulley 14 drives the main shaft 16 of the machine. A sleeve 18 surrounding the shaft can be connected to said shaft by means of a coupling 20, which is engaged when the machine is started and disengaged when it is stopped, the shaft 16 continuing to rotate. In the sleeve 18 there are cut a number of cam grooves 22, from which the various parts of the machine are driven. Each cam groove is engaged by a roller 24, mounted on a swingable frame 26, the movement of which is transmitted through a link 28 to the part of the machine which is to be moved from the said cam groove 22. In the figure one set only of such memhers is provided with reference numbers.

The five-unit characters controlling the machine are punched in a paper tape 30, and the Morse code characters into which the five-unit characters are to be converted are punched in a paper tape 32. Said tapes will be referred to as the incoming and the outgoing tape, respectively. The latter tape 32 is moved stepwise through a duct in a punching block 34, which during the operation of the machine performs a reciprocating movement in the longitudinal direction of the machine, driven from one of the cam grooves 22. The punching of the tape 32 is effected by means of a number of punches, each of which is either retained or released during the movement of the punching block, whereby different combinations of perforations are produced to represent the desired characters. The said punches are controlled by a set of combination bars 36, which in conformity with the character being received is maintained in projected position at a certain combination by a set of control members 40, which moves alternately up and down, said movement being derived from one of the cam grooves 22, and cooperates with teeth at the uppermost edges of the bars 36. The bars 36 which are not retained for a given character will be pushed to the rear by the tape at the rearward movement of the block 34, whereupon they will again be pushed forward by a swingable flap 38, so that all bars 36 will be in line, when the next incoming character appears. There are provided approximately sixty mem bers 40, corresponding to the number of different characters that the machine is capable of converting. As the length of the group of perforations in the tape 32 which indicates a character, e. g. a letter or a numeral, varies in accordance with the significance of the character, it must be possible to vary also the advance of the said tape from one character to the following. This advance is determined by a second set of combination bars 42, which like the first set are retained at a certain combination by the control members 40, one individual bar 42, however, being moved back for each incoming character by an associated spring 44 when the flap 38 is swung to the rear. The bars 42 are also advanced by means of the flap 38. The bar 42 which has been moved back determines the extent of the subsequent advancing of the tape 32. This is effected in the following manner.

The advancing is effected by means of a small block 46, which is displaced in forward and rearward direction on a rod 48 by means of a swingable spring 50, the move ment being derived from one cam groove 22. The movement of the block in the direction corresponding to the feed direction of the tape 32 is determined by a fixed stop, whereas its movement in the opposite direction is determined by a shiftable stop, i. e. the end of the combination bar 42 which as heretofore explained was moved back by its spring 44. The block 46 is moved parallel with the duct guiding the tape 32 in the punching block 34. When the block 46 is moved back on the rod 48, the punching block 34 has been moved towards the punches, so that a pair of teeth disposed on the block 46 and pointing inwardly towards the tape 32 is moved longiwate 3 tudinally of the latter, whereas the said teeth when the block 46 is moved in the opposite direction will engage feed apertures 52, provided in a consecutive line at the centre line of the tape, whereby the tape is advanced a distance which is established by the existing stroke of the block 46, determined by the selected combination bar 42.

As long as characters are fed to the machine, the control members 40 perform a continuous series of movements alternately up and down. derived from one cam groove 22, one such movement being performed for each character on the incoming tape 30. At each movement one control member 40 only will be moved entirely downwardly, whereas the rest of the members will be stopped on the way. The selection thus taking place is effected by means of a set of selection members, comprising six bars 54, of which only the outermost will be seen in Fig. 1. Five of said bars are normally held in projected position by means of springs 56 but may be pushed to the rear, controlled by the incoming tape 30, into a position in which they remain for a brief moment, while the control members 40 are lowered. The sixth bar 54, which exclusively relates to the shift key symbols appearing among the five-unit characters, will not be mentioned here, having no bearing on the invention. The com bination to which all bars are set at any time determines which control member 40 may reach the lowermost position, and this member is decisive for the selected combination of the bars 36, which determines the punching of the tape 32, and the selected bar 42, which determines the advancing of the tape. This process will be more grllyzdescribed in the following reference being had to The incoming tape is sensed by six sensing fingers, movable in vertical direction in guides not shown, of which five fingers 58 cooperate with the character perforatlons 1n the incoming tape 30, whereas the sixth finger 60, the stop finger, cooperates with a non-perforated area of the tape. For each character said fingers 58 and 60 are moved upwardly by spring power, whereas when the tape 30 is advanced they are held lowered by means of a plate 62, cooperating with rearwardly extending proectlons 64 on the fingers and being disposed on a shaft 66 swingable in fixed bearings, which shaft through an arm 58 and a link 70 is swung forward and back, the movement being derived from one cam groove 22, Fig. 1.

Each five-unit character on the tape 30 consists of a number of perforations not exceeding five in a row transversely of the tape. Longitudinally of the centre line of the tape there is provided a series of perforations 72, used for the stepwise advance of the tape. On top each finger 58, Fig. 2, is provided with a pin 74, which pins sense the character perforations in the tape, a hole in the tape permitting the respective finger to be moved upwardly. The finger 60 which is provided with a correspondmg pin 76 cannot be moved upwardly as long as paper tape is provided at the sensing place, but will be so when the tape runs out and will thereupon perform a movement alternately up and down as long as the machine continues to operate.

On top the fingers 58 are provided with laterally pro ecting tabs 78. A how 80 cooperates with each of said tabs, which bow is 'swingable on a shaft 82, one branch of the bow always abutting against the tab 78, whereas the other may cooperate with a projection 84 at the end of a selection bar 54. In Fig. 2 one how 80 and one bar 54 only are shown, but there is provided a total of five bows.

The shaft 82 is secured on top of a frame 86, mounted on a fixed shaft 88, and to which there is imparted a rocking movement from one cam groove'22, Fig. 1, through a link 911. When some combination of the fingers 58 has been moved upwardly in conformity with the character on the tape 30, some of the bows 80 will assume the position as shown, whereas others will be swung a distance away from this position in counterclockwise direction. When now the frame 86 through the rod 90 is swung in clockwise direction, some of the bows 80 will cooperate with the projections 84 on the bars 54, which are thereby moved to the rear, whereas others will not do so, the end' of their left branch sliding over the associated projection 84. Hereby the selection bars 54 are set to a certain combination, which determines which control member 40 may be moved entirely downwardly. It will now be obvious that a certain five-unit character on the tape 30 will effect recording of a certain Morse code character on the tape 32.

A more detailed explanation of the operation of the machine will be found in the specification pertaining to applicants co-pending application Serial No. 481,819.

A machine similar to the one hitherto described, whereby, however, the punching of the Morse code tape 32 is not determined by selection members as those heretofore described but by means of keys on a key board, has been described in the specification pertaining to the British Patent No. 191,093.

The mechanism characteristic for the invention will now be described.

On a shaft 92, mounted in fixed bearings, there is attached a lever 94, one arm of which is provided with a projection 96, actuated by the finger 60 at the downward movement of the latter. On the other arm of the lever there is mounted a pawl 98, cooperating with a pawl wheel on a shaft 102 which is also supported in fixed bearings. When the finger 60 is moved up and down after the incoming tape has run out, the lever 94 is swung forward and back, whereby the pawl wheel 100 is advanced stepwise. To the shaft there is attached a cam 104 with a protruding nose 106, and a circular cam 108 with a notch 110 at thecircumference. A tooth 112 on an arm 114 swingable on a shaft 115 abuts against the cam 108, said arm being normally held in raised position by means of a spring 116, and being provided at its end with a small plate 118, with which a downwardly extending part of the arm 68 may cooperate. When the parts assume the position as shown, the plate 118 abuts against the end of the part 120. Against the plate 118 also rests a bow 122, which is swingable on a fixed shaft 124, and which has an upwardly extending projection 126, supporting an arm 128 on a shaft 130 mounted in fixed bearings. At the foremost end of the machine the shaft 130 carries a latch 132, which serves to disengage the coupling 20, mentioned in connection with Fig. 1, between the driving shaft 16 and the sleeve 18. This process will be described hereinafter.

When the pawl wheel 100 is initially moved forward by one tooth in clockwise direction, the nose 106 on the cam 104 releases a latch 134 in'fixed connection with a frame 136, which in the embodiment shown in the drawings has two downwardly extending parts 138, which at the release of the latch '134 are swung into the path of the rearwardly extending projections on the fingers 58. When this has been performed, the first, the second, the fourth, and the fifth fingers 58, as seen from the left in Fig. 2, are arrested so that said fingers cannot take part in the upward movement of the other fingers, which movement is permitted when the plate 62 is swung upwardly during the next step of operation. Only the third finger 58 will therefore be moved upwardly, corresponding to the recording of an interval 'on the outgoing tape 32. Another combination could also have been used, whereby some letter would repeatedly have been recorded on the tape 32, while the latter was running out.

In the course of the continued operation of the machine the free finger 58 will constantly be moved up and down, and the same applies to'the' finger '60 which is alternately moved upwardly by a spring 142, actuating the lever 94, and downwardly during the downwardly swinging movement of the plate 62. Hereby the pawl wheel 100 is turned stepwise forwardly, and the described operations are repeated, until the pawl wheel has com pleted nearly one revolution. Immediately before this takes place, the following happens.

The nose 106 on the cam 104 will again contact the latch 134, whereby the latter is forced back, so that also the downwardly extending parts 138 of the frame 136 disengage the projections 140. At the next upward movement of the plate 62, all fingers 58 will therefore be raised by their springs. Simultaneously the notch 110 in the cam 108 will be positioned immediately to the rear of the tooth 112 on the arm 114. When now the pawl 98 advances the pawl wheel 100 by the next tooth, the notch 110 will be exactly above the tooth 112. At this stage the downwardly extending part 120' of the arm 68 will be positioned above the plate 118 and obstruct an upward movement of the arm 114 by the action of the spring 116. At the beginning of the subsequent upward movement of the plate 62 the arm 68 with the part 120, fixed on the shaft 66, will be swung in counter-clockwise direction, whereby the plate 118 is released, and the spring 116 moves the arm 114 upwardly. This has the additional efiect that the plate 118 actuates the how 122, so that the projection 126 thereon disengages the arm 128. A spring 144, actuating said arm, will then swing the shaft 130 in clockwise direction, whereby the latch 132 is swung upwardly and disengages the coupling 20, so that the machine is stopped.

The stopping is effected at a slight delay, however, during which the plate 62 performs one movement up and down. During the upward movement the fingers S8 and 60 and hence the pins 74 and 76 are moved upwardly, and during the downward movement the finger 60 through the lever 94 and the pawl 98 moves the pawl wheel 100 forward by another tooth, whereupon the parts come to rest in the starting position shown in Fig. 2, and simultaneously the machine stops.

When another incoming tape 30 at a later stage is inserted in the machine, the pin 76 and the linger 68 will be in lowermost position and will remain therein as long as the machine is provided with incoming tape, so that the shaft 102 and the pawl wheel 100 will not be turned. This movement is not resumed, until the tape runs out.

The functioning of the coupling 20, which is known per se, will be described in the following, reference being had to Fig. 3, which shows the coupling engaged.

To the shaft 16 of the machine there is attached a pawl wheel 146, and at the end of the sleeve 18, Figs. 1 and 2, not shown in Fig. 3, there are provided partly an eccentric disc 148, partly a projecting almost tube-shaped collar 150, from which a section 152 has been cut away. In juxtaposition to said section there is mounted a pawl 156 on a pivot 154 attached to the sleeve, which pawl is nearly triangular, having three noses 158, 160, and 162. The first of said noses is hook-shaped and designed to cooperate with the pawl wheel 146. A curved spring 164,

atached to the collar 150, attempts to force the nose 158 into engagement with the pawl wheel 146 and hence to keep the coupling engaged. In this position the pawl 156 will partake in the rotation of the pawl wheel 146, whereby the sleeve 18 will rotate with the shaft 16. On a fixed pivot 166 there is swingably mounted an angular lever 168, which is subject to the action of a spring 170, and in the vertical arm of which there is fastened a screw 172, one end thereof abutting against the periphery of the eccentric disc 148. When the sleeve 18 and hence the disc 148 rotate, a swinging movement will be imparted to the lever 168, whereby the end of the horizontal arm thereof will periodically enter the path of the nose 160. As long as the lever 168 can freely perform the said swinging movement, however, its uppermost arm will be beyond the path of the nose 160, the latter travelling past the end of the arm.

At its free end the latch 132, mentioned in the foregoing, is provided with a hook 174, which as long as the latch 132 is in lowered position will be located below the lowermost end of the vertical arm of the lever 168.

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When the arm 128, Fig. 2, is released as heretofore de' scribed, the hook 174 is raised, which happens at a time when this end of the lever during the swinging of the lever is positioned to the right of the book. When the lever 168 is swung back as a consequence of a lower part of the periphery of the eccentric disc 148 passing under the screw 172, it will be arrested by the hook 174, and the next time the pawl 156 assumes its uppermost position the uppermost end of the lever 168 will be hit by the nose 160, so that the nose 158 is released from the pawl wheel 146. Simultaneously, the nose 162 is moved into the path of the collar 150, so that the rotation of the sleeve 18 is instantly stopped. It will be seen from this that there is a short interval of time from the moment when the latch 132 is raised and until the machine is stopped, which is in conformity with the foregoing description of the functioning of the pawl wheel 100, Fig. 2, and the parts operating in connection therewith.

The invention is not restricted to the embodiment heretofore described of the mechanism, which efiects a delay in the stopping of the machine after the running out of the incoming tape with a view to continued advancing of the outgoing tape. The embodiment herein described relates to a certain constructional form of a code converter of a nature known per se, but the said mechanism can be adapted without difficulty by persons skilled in the art to other code converters without departing from the principles indicated by the invention.

What We claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a machine controlled by an incoming punched tape and punching an outgoing tape with characters of a different type, means for intermittently feeding said incoming punched tape, means for sensing said incoming tape including a plurality of character-sensing fingers and an end-sensing finger positioned to engage an unpunched portion of the incoming tape, actuating means for moving said fingers in a direction away from the tape, said fingers being biased for movement toward the tape so that they reciprocate when not blocked by the tape, mechanism controlled by said character-sensing fingers to punch in said outgoing tape characters corresponding to those sensed on the incoming tape but of a different type, said punching mechanism having a passageway for said outgoing tape, means for intermittently feeding said outgoing tape through said passageway, power means driving the machine to operate said incoming tape feed means, sensing means, punching mechanism and outgoing tape feed means cyclically in synchronism with one another, and means for stopping the machine comprising a rocking arm positioned to be rocked by the reciprocation of said end-sensing finger, such reciprocation being effected by said actuating means when no longer blocked by said incoming tape, a pawl carried by said rocking arm, a rotatable shaft, a ratchet wheel fixed on said shaft and positioned, to be racked by said pawl and means actuated by said shaft for stopping said machine when said ratchet wheel has been turned through a predetermined angle, said angle being selected to continue the operation of the machine until the last character punched on said outgoing tape has emerged from said passageway.

2. Tape punching machine according to claim 1, in which said shaft carries a cam and in which there is provided means actuated by said cam to block the reciprocation of at least some of said character-sensing fingers, said cam being contoured to actuate said blocking means shortly after the racking of said ratchet wheel starts and to release said fingers shortly before said racking stops.

3. Tape punching machine according to claim 1, in which said means for stopping the machine comprises a latch releasable to stop the machine, means for holding said latch in inactive position while the machine is operating and trip means including a cam on said shaft to release said latch when said cam has been rotated through a predetermined angle by the racking of said ratchet wheel.

4, Tape pupehing maphine accprding to claim 1, in References Cited in the fileqg patent which said rafbhet' 'vyheefand s ha'ft.a1fief rotated, oii reYQh -fv UNITED STATES PATENTS.

tidn an in which meafiscon trolled by rotationi of said shaft is proYided fo'r' re settiilg said sensing means to re 1579999 i' m et 1926' v an m a 5 2,074189 RIC? et I- 16, 7

" 2,192,352 Klemschmldt Mar. 5, 1940 2,252,852 HOOV eI Aug. 19, 1941 2,360,637 Anspach et a1 Oct. 17, 1944

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