US3247319A

US3247319A - Printing telegraph apparatus and attachment therefor

Info

Publication number: US3247319A
Application number: US198016A
Authority: US
Inventors: Harold E Hobby; Robert C Bosserdet
Original assignee: Simplex Time Recorder Co
Current assignee: Simplex Time Recorder Co
Priority date: 1962-05-28
Filing date: 1962-05-28
Publication date: 1966-04-19
Anticipated expiration: 1983-04-19

Description

April 19, 1966 H. E. HOBBY ETAL 3,247,319

PRINTING TELEGRAPH APPARATUS AND ATTACHMENT THEREFOR Filed May 28, 1962 6 Sheets-Sheet 1 HAROLD E. HOBBY ROBERT C. BOSSERDET INVENTORS.

April 19, 1966 H. E. HOBBY ETAL 3,247,319

PRINTING TELEGRAPH APPARATUS AND ATTACHMENT THEREFOR Filed May 28, 1962 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 HAROLD E. HOBBY ROBERT C. B OSSE RDE T 2 INVENTORS. L

April 19, 1966 H. E. HOBBY ETAL PRINTING TELEGRAPH APPARATUS AND ATTACHMENT THEREFOR 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed May 28, 1962 Dm YRN Bfiw BSW 0 E 0 mm OE HR jZwww April 19, 1966 H. E. HOBBY ETAL.

PRINTING TELEGRAPH APPARATUS AND ATTACHMENT THEREFOR Filed May 28, 1962 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTORS. HAROLD E. HOBBY BY ROBERT C. BOSSERDE T FIG. 5

A ril 19, 1966 H. E. HOBBY ETAL PRINTING TELEGRAPH APPARATUS AND ATTACHMENT THEREFOR Filed May 28, 1962 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 FIG. 6

EFII IIIIQI Ta R mm Y R N BE B W ow B C mm 0E mw HR April 19, 1966 H. E. HOBBY ETAL PRINTING TELEGRAPH APPARATUS AND ATTACHMENT THEREFOR Filed May 28, 1962 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 HAROLD E. HOBBY ROBERT C. BOSSERDE T INVENTORS.

United States Patent ()flice 3,247,319 PRINTING TELEGRAPH APPARATUS AND ATTACHMENT THEREFUR Harold E. Hobby and Robert C. Bosserdet, Gardner,

Mass, assiguors to Simplex Time Recorder Company,

Gardner, Mass, a corporation of Massachusetts Filed May 28, 1962, Ser. No. 198,916 8 Claims. (Cl. 178-23) This invention relates to printing telegraph apparatus and an attachment therefor, and more particularly to apparatus arranged to print messages received over wire by electrical impulse and to form on the message sheet an indication of the date and time at which the message was received.

In printing telegraph systems, as they are noW constructed, there is no provision for indicating the date and time when a message was received. Messages are received by the apparatus at irregular time intervals and for some purposes it is immaterial when a message was received. For other purposes, however, such as the receipt of messages in the control center of an airport, the time of receipt of the message can be quite important. This is particularly true in connection with the investigation of accidents. Furthermore, attempts to modify existing equipment to stamp the date and time on the margin of the message tape have been unsuccessful because of the limited space available within the enclosure of the standard apparatus. These and other difiiculties experienced with the prior art devices have been obviated in a novel manner by the present invention.

It is, therefore, an outstanding object of the invention to provide a printing telegraph apparatus having provision f-or stamping the date and time along a margin o'f the message tape.

Another object of this invention is the provision of an attachment for a standard printing telegraph apparatus which will automatically stamp the date and time at one minute intervals on the message strip.

A further object of the present invention is the provision of an attachment for a printing telegraph apparatus for indicating the time of receipt of messages, which apparatus fits conveniently within the enclosure of a standard machine.

It is another object of the instant invent-ion to provide a time stamp apparatus for use with a printing telegraph, which stamp apparatus moves into association with the message strip only during the period of time at which it is to stamp the strip.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a time stamp apparatus for use on a printing telegraph, which apparatus operates automatically with a minimum of maintenance and which apparatus is provided with a stamping motion permitting substantial movement under the enclosure of the apparatus.

A still further object of this invention is the provision of a time stamp apparatus having a novel means for changing the printing characters every minute.

It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a time stamp attachment having a novel means of supporting it for movement toward and away from an operative area.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a time stamp attachment for use in a standard printing telegraph machine whose operation takes place and is controlled by the standard elements in the machine to which it is attached.

3,247,319 Patented Apr. 19, 1966 With these and other objects in view, as will be apparent to those skilled in the art, the invention resides in the combination of parts set forth in the specification and covered by the claims appended hereto.

The character of the invention, however, may be best understood by reference to one of its structural forms as illustrated by the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a printing telegraph apparatus embodying the principles of the present inventron;

FIG. 2 is a front elevation of the important operating elements of the apparatus;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a time printing mechanism incorporating the principles of the invention;

FIG. 4 is another perspective view of the time printing mechanism;

FIG. 5 is a schematic view of electrical components of the time printing mechanism;

FIG. 6 is a vertical sectional view taken on the line VIVI of FIG. 2 and FIG. 7 is a perspective view of certain linkages of the apparatus separated from other associated components for ease of understanding.

In a general Way, the present invention has to do with a printing telegraph apparatus in which is incorporated a means for stamping the date and time, including minutes, on the margin of the long, Wide message strip which is used in such machines to record the messages. This type of machine is provided with a platen, and in front of this platen is located a print box containing several horizontal rows of movable type. In order to write a character the print box must be moved to a proper position in the vertical direction so that one of the four horizontal rows is in line with the curve of the platen. Then, the box must be moved longitudinally to locate the proper character in that row. A hammer strikes the character, impressing it on the paper through a carbon ribbon similar to a typewriter ribbon but wider. The ribbon, incidentally, moves up and down with the print box and, after the typing of a letter is accomplished, moves to a low position so that the printed character can be seen. Naturally, the time stamp cannot be used during the period when the ribbon is in a low position because no impression would be made on the paper. Fundamentally, the present construction involves a horizontal rail mounted more or less in the same level as the regular print box and in front of it. Slidably mounted on this rail (in the manner of a mono-rail train) is a time printing mechanism which is free to move horizontally. A first microswitch is provided for contact by a ribbon bar in the telegraph apparatus; this is a bar which moves up and down with the ribbon and, therefore, is an indication to the time printing mechanism that the ribbon is in the upper position and that stamping may take place. The regular typing apparatus, as it moves horizontally in front of the platen, also pushes the time printing mechanism along its horizontal rail to the right. A ratchet mechanism is provided between the time printing mechanism and the rail so that the mechanism remains at the right during all cycles except those cycles in which it stamps the time. This is done so that the regular message printing apparatus will not be forced continuously to push the time printing apparatus to the right along its track which would result in wear of the parts. Just before the timing motor resets the time stamp to the next minute, the mechanism acts to release the ratchet so that the time printing mechanism of the apparatus is free to move to the left along its track, being pulled in that direction by a spring. At that time, the regular message printing box is operating at the left side of the paper so that the right hand margin of the paper is free. A second microswitch in the circuit is operated when the time stamp apparatus arrives at its left position. At that time, the movement of the ribbon bar closes the microswitch, thus indicating to the time printing mechanism that it is free to stamp the time. The solenoid is closed and mechanical linkages operate from the solenoid plunger to drive the time stamp against the platen and to impress the characters on the paper.

Referring first to FIG. 1, wherein are best shown the general features of the invention, the printing telegraph apparatus, indicated generally by the reference numeral 10, is shown as consisting of a housing 11 which contains, among other things, a sending-and-receiving unit 12 having a keyboard 13. The housing 11 is provided with a cover 14 for gaining access to the sending-andreceiving unit 12. The cover is provided with a slot 15 from which extends a paper message strip 16.

FIG. 2 shows the sending-and-receiving unit 12 as viewed from in front of the machine with the cover 14 removed. The keyboard 13 extends along the lower portion of the unit, while the message tape 16 is shown as extending arounda horizontal cylindrical platen 17. In front of the platen and the message strip 16 is located a type box 18 and in front of that is mounted a printing carriage 19 on which is mounted a printing hammer 21. Also mounted in front of the platen 17 is a time printing mechanism 22 having a supporting frame 23 on which is mounted a carriage 24 which, in turn, carries a set of type wheels 25. The printing carriage 19 is capable of movement back and forth across the front of the platen. The supporting frame 23 of the time printing mechanism 22 is mounted somewhat forwardly of the platen so that the printing carriage may move behind the supporting frame. The supporting frame extends from an extreme right hand position (substantially removed from the right hand end of the platen 17) to a position somewhat left of the center of the platen. The carriage 24 is provided with an engagement element 26 which is in line With an engageable nylon contact wheel 27 mounted at the extreme right hand end of the printing carriage 19. Extending across the front of the platen between the type box 18 and the message strip 16 is a ribbon 28 which is carried by an apparatus 29 arranged in the conventional way to move the ribbon up between the type box 18 and the message strip 16 at the time of printing but otherwise to maintain it in a lower position. Many other elements of the apparatus move in synchronization with this ribbon movement, one of them being the printing hammer 21 and the apparatus which causes its movement, since printing is to take place when the ribbon is in the upper position. standard elements which takes part in this movement is a ribbon bar 31 which moves up and down. A contact lever 32 is pivoted to the printing carriage 19 at one end and at the other end to the vertically-reciprocating ribbon bar; the contact lever is provided with an actuating washer 33. This washer is in alignment with an actuating lever 34 extending to the left of a microswitch 35 which is mounted on the carriage 24. Also shown in this view is a spring 36 extending from the extreme left hand side of the supporting frame 23 to the carriage 24 and causing the carriage to tend to move to the left. Other important elements of the apparatus shown in FIG. 2 include a solenoid 37, a clock motor 38, and a setup microswitch 39.

FIGS. 3 and.4 show some of the details of the time printing mechanism 22. In FIG. 4 it can be seen that the supporting frame 23 consists of a right hand vertical post 41 adapted to be mounted at its lower end on a flat base in the telegraph apparatus 1i) and a left hand vertical post 42 also adapted to be mounted in the ap- One of the paratus. The upper ends of the posts are joined by a horizontal rail 43 in the form of a thin metal strip mounted with the long dimension of its cross-section mounted vertically to provide a horizontal upper edge 44. The carriage 24 consists generally of a metal plate mounted in a vertical plane and supported on the upper edge 44 of the rail 43 by means of two

wheels

45 and 46. The carriage 24 is also provided with a wheel 47 which rides along the lower edge of the rail 43. Mounted on the carriage is the solenoid 37, the clock motor 38, and the type wheels 25. Mounted on the left hand vertical post 42 is the ribbon microswitch 35 in a general horizontal position, with its actuating lever 34 extending to the left. Bolted to the rail 43 in a generally vertical position and with an actuating member 48 extending generally vertically is the setup microswitch 39; it should be noted that the actuating lever 48 is provided with a bow which bulges to the right. A pin 49 extends forwardly from the left end of the rail 43 and to this is attached one end of the spring 36 (most of which has been removed from FIG. 3). The other end of the spring 36 is attached to the free end of a loop element 51 which extends forwardly from the right end of the car riage 24 under the lower edge of the rail 43 before extending upwardly again so that its free end resides in front of the rail 43. It should be noted that the lower edge of the rail 43 is provided with a rack with triangular cutouts 52, these being engageable by the tooth 53 of a detent element 54 on the carriage. Mounted on the front of the solenoid 37 is a latch bar 55 having an inclined upper edge 56 leading to a deep notch 57. The bar 55 is located so as to pass just forwardly of the forward edge of the left hand vertical post 42. A latch finger SS is hingedly mounted on the side of the post 42 by means of a pivot pin 59 and biased in the downward direction by a coil spring 61. At its rear end the latch finger 555 is provided with a horizontally-extending pin 62. Now, the engagement element 26 is pivoted at its right hand side in such a manner that, when it is engaged by the contact wheel 27 on the printing carriage 19, its left hand side moves downwardly. Hanging from this left hand side is a lever 63 having a forwardly directed finger that overlies the pin 62 of the latch finger 53 in such a manner that, when the contact element 26 is pivoted downwardly, the lever 63 strikes the pin 62. The engagement element 26 is maintained in an upwardly biased position by a coil spring so that the lever 63 is normally in raised position.

Mounted at the top of the carriage 24 and extending above the level of the rail 43 is a secondary frame 64. This frame is provided with spaced

vertical side walls

65 and 66 between which extends a shaft 67 on which are mounted the type wheels 25. Mounted on this same shaft is a U-shaped saddle 66 carrying pawls 69. The saddle is provided with a horizontally-extending pin 71 which is engageable with a slot '72 formed in the end of an actuating lever 73. The type wheel 25, the saddle over which the secondary frame 64 is swingably mounted,

this mounting taking place by means of

levers

75 and 76 which are suitably pivoted to the platform 74 at their lower ends and to the secondary frame 64 at their upper ends. Also associated with this part of the apparatus is a U-shaped frame 77 whose bight extends across the front of the secondary frame slightly above the rail 43. The legs of the frame 77 extend rearwardly and are provided with broad extensions which are connected tQ act. s

levers 78 and 79 which extend parallel, respectively, to the

levers

75 and 76; they are suitably connected at their top portions to the secondary frame as on the one hand, and at their lower portions to the platform 74, on the other hand. Pivotally attached at its upper end to the U- shaped frame 77 is a vertical actuating lever 31 whose lower end is attached to the plunger 32 of the solenoid 37. A strong coil spring (not shown) extends from the upper part of the sidewall 65 of the secondary frame 64 to the platform 74 to maintain the type wheels 25 normally in a forward position.

Mounted on the inside surface of the left hand vertical post 42 is a block 84 of rubber or similar resilient material which is in line for engagement by the side of the solenoid 37 as the carriage moves to the left. Mounted on the right hand post 41 is an electrical connection box 85 from which extends a three-wire flexible lead 86. Rigidly attached to the plunger 82 of the solenoid is a support finger 87 having a horizontal portion extending parallel to the rail 43, which portion terminates in a vertical portion providing an upper edge 88 on which rests a finger 89 which will be described more fully hereinafter but which is generally aligned with the bow of the actuating lever 48 associated with the microswit-ch 39.

Referring to FIG. 5, which shows a wiring diagram for the electrical apparatus in the time printing mechanism 22, it can be seen that the ribbon microswitch 35 and the setup microswitch 39 are in series with one another, one side of each being connected by a line 91. The other side of the microswitch 35 is connected by a line 92 to a binding post 93 of the electrical box 85. The other side of the switch 39 is connected by a line 94 to one side of the coil 95 of the solenoid 37 The other side of the coil 95 is connected by a line 96 to a second binding post 97 of the box 85. A third binding post 98 of the box 85 is connected by a line 99 to one side of the coil of the clock motor 38, the other side being connected by a line 101 to the binding post 93. Across the

binding posts

93 and 96 is connected a capacitor 192 to reduce sparking across contacts. The

binding posts

93 and 97 are connected to a source of 120 volt, 6O cycle electricity made up of the teletype panel strip 103. The

lines

101, 99, and 96 make up a three-wire flexible lead 86. A jumper extends from the binding post 97 to the binding post 98.

FIG. 6 shows the operation of many of the elements from the side view and, particularly, shows the manner in which the time printing mechanism 22 is operable within the housing 11 despite the closeness of the cover 14. The motor 38 is provided with an output shaft 104 which makes one revolution per minute. On this shaft is keyed a pinion gear 165 which has at least one tooth removed. Engaging this gear is a gear segment 1% which is pivoted to the end of the motor housing by means of a pivot pin 107. Bolted to the gear segment is a plate 163 which is biased in the upward direction by a coil spring 1119 which connects the plate 1% to the upper part of the motor housing. Located on the end of the housing of the motor 38 is a stop pin 125 which limits the rotation of the plate 1113 under the impetus of the spring 1%. The removal of at least one tooth from the pinion gear 1&5 is such that, combined with the slight curvature of the gear segment 1%, the gear segment is permitted to move past the pinion gear without driving engagement therewith when the section of the pinion gear 1115 from the tooth is removed faces the gear segment. The actuating lever 73 is pivoted at its lower end to the plate 198 and, of course, its upper end is provided with the slot 72 engaging the pin 71 in the saddle 68.

In FIG. 7 it can be seen that the actuating lever 73 is also provided with a horizontally-extending pin 111 which lies between spaced parallel forwardly-directed

fingers

112 and 113 extending from the right hand end of a lever 114 which is pivotally attached by a pivot pin 115 to the carriage 24. Pivoted on this same pivot pin is the detent element 54 which is also provided with a for wardly-directed pin 116 under which is pressed a wire spring 117 which is looped around the pivot pin of the wheel 47. The spring acts on the detent element 54 so that it is biased in an upward direction but is released very quickly. The right hand end of the wire spring 117 underlies the finger 113 and is engageable by it in a lower position.

The left hand free end of the lever 114 is pivotally attached to the upper end of a connecting link 118, the lower end of which is attached to the outer end of an arm of a beiicrank 119. The bellcrank is pivoted to the carriage by means of a pivot pin 121 and is provided with a forwardlyand upwardly-directed finger 122 to the free upper end of which is pivoted one end of the finger 89. The finger 89 is provided with a notch defining a vertical edge 123 which is directed to the right and a horizontal edge 12.4 which is adapted to rest on the upper edge 88 of the support finger 87 (see FIG. 3). A spring 126 extends from the finger 89 to the bellcrank 119 to hold the finger in its downward position against the edge 88.

The operation of the apparatus will now be readily understood in view of the above description. Referring to FIG. 2, the printing carriage 19 moves to-and-fro across the front of the platen 17 and in tfront of the message strip 16. In the normal procedure of typing messages, the right hand margin of the strip is free of message material and so is available for the printing of date and time. In FIG. 2, the type wheels 25 are shown in position overlying the right hand margin of the message strip and they have just finished making an impression on the message. The type box 18 and the printing carriage 19 are at the left. As they move to the right, the hammer 21 strikes the various types in the type box 18 and impresses the characters on the message strip. The ribbon apparatus moves the ribbon up and down so that the ribbon lies between the type box and the message strip on the platen 17 during the printing operation but is lowered between typing operations so that the operator can see what has just been printed. As the ribbon is moved up and down in this manner, the bar 31 also moves up and down and carries with it the lever 32 and its washer 33. As the printing carriage 19 moves to the right, eventually the contact wheel 27 engages the engagement element 26 and moves along its inclined surface. This has the effect of moving the carriage 24 to the right along the supporting frame 23. First of all, however, the downward pressure on the engagement element 26 causes it to pivot in opposition to the pressure of the spring 60 (FIG. 4) so that the lever 63 moves downwardly and its finger engages and pushes downward on the pin 62 of the latch finger 58. The latch finger moves upwardly and out of the notch 57 in the latch bar 55, thus releasing the carriage, and the carriage is free to move along the rail 43. The

wheels

45 and 46 roll along the upper edge 44 of the rail and the lower wheel 47 prevents the carriage from leaving the rail. The detent element 54 is biased in the upward direction by the spring 117 and the tooth 53 moves from one cutout 52, to another. Eventually, when the printing carriage 19 is in its extreme right hand position (typing the right hand end of the message line), the carriage 24 is also in its right hand position along the rail 43 with the tooth 53 of the detent engaging one of the cutouts 52. The carriage 24 is, thus, locked in the right-hand position. The printing carriage 19 and the type box 18, however, move back to the left and continue their to-and-fro move ment over the message strip while typing the message. In the meanwhile, the clock motor 38 rotates its output shaft 104- at the rate of 1 r.p.m. Referring to FIG. 7, as the shaft rotates it rotates the pinion gear which drives the gear segment 1% so that it pivots about its pivot pin 107 and carries the plate 1% with it. This moves the actuating lever in a downward direction and the downward movement is transmitted to the pin 71 of the saddle 68. Before (about 7 seconds) the gear segment and actuating lever 73 reach the last tooth of' the mutilated pinion (shown clearly in FIG. 4), the pin 111 (FIG. 7) trips the lever 54 due to toggle action spring 117 and allows carriage 24 to move to the left. Eventually, the shaft rotates to the point where the missing tooth arrives opposite the gear segment and, since the gear segment is no longer engaged by the tooth or prevented from moving under the impetus of the spring it rotates quickly in the reverse direction (counterclockwise in FIG. 6) until it engages the pin 125. This rapid motion is transmitted through the actuating lever 73 and the pin 71 to the saddle 63. The rapid reverse motion of the saddle causes the pawls 69 to engage corresponding toothed wheels associated with the type wheels 25 to index the wheels in the well-known manner, so that the wheels show a time which is one minute greater than the previous time setting. The wheels are now in condition to type a new time on the message strip during the period from the 53rd to the 60th second.

While the gear segment 1% is rotating in a clockwise direction (due to the driving action of the pinion 105) and the actuating lever '73 is being drawn downward in a generally vertical direction, the pin 111 on the actuating lever is pressing against the upper surface of the finger 113 of the lever 114. This causes the lever to rotate in a clockwise direction (according to FIG. 7) about its pivot pin 115. Eventually, the bottom edge of the finger 113 strikes the spring 117 (whose other end is held by engagement with the pin 115) and causes the intermediate portion of the spring to press against the detent element 54 to bias -it in a clockwise direction about the pivot pin 115. This motion causes the slow buildup of pressure on the tooth 53 which tends to bias it for movement from the cutout 52 and, a short time before the gear segment 106 rotates rapidly in a counter-clockwise direction, the tooth is entirely removed quickly from the cutout so that the carriage is released from its latch and the spring 36 carries it to the left. The carriage moves rapidly to the left along the rail 43 and, eventually, the left hand side of the solenoid 37 engages the rubber bumper 84 so that the carriage occupies the position shown in FIGS. 2, 3, and 4. While the detent element 54 has been moved downwardly to release the latching tooth 53, the link 118 has been drawn upwardly, thus moving the bellcrank 119 in a counter-clockwise direction about its pivot pin 121. This has caused the finger 89 to move to the left (see FIG. 3) until it extends to the left beyond the surface 88 of the support finger 87 a sufiicient distance so that when the carriage moves to the left after the release of the latch this finger engages the bow of the actuating lever 48 of the setup microswitch 39 and closes it. In the meantime, the printing carriage 19 has been moving to the right (in the vicinity of the left margin) and several characters have been impressed by the type box 18 on the message strip 16. In this position, after a few of the characters have been typed, the lever 32 has moved to the right with the carriage to such a position that the washer 33 engages the actuating lever 34 of the ribbon microswitch 35. The

apparatus then is in such a condition that the finger 89 is pressed against the actuating lever 48 of the microswitch 39 while the finger 33 moves downwardly and closes the microswitch 35. In this position, current is free to pass from the binding post 93 through the line 92, through the microswitch 35, through the line 91, through the micro switch 39, through the line 94, through the coil 95 of the solenoid 37, and through the line 96 to the binding post 97 which is connected to the binding post 98; is in this condition of the elements current flows through the solenoid coil 95 and actuates the solenoid. The solenoid plunger 82 moves upwardly carrying with it the actuating lever 81. The upward'movement of the lever causes the U-shaped frame 77 to pivot about its pivotal connection to the platform 74. This carries its

lever portions

78 and 79 about that same pivot and moves the secondary frame 64 in a swinging-action. This swinging is controlled by the levers and 76, which connect the platform 74 to the secondary frame 64. The upward movement of the solenoid plunger takes place very rapidly so that the secondary frame 64 swings forwardly toward the platen 17 at a high rate of speed and with substantial force. The type wheels 25 are brought into contact with the elements overlying the platen 17. These elements are not only the message strip 16 but also the ribbon which, it will be recalled, is in its upper position (in which position the bar 31 is in its lower position carrying the washer 33 of the lever 32 into that low position with it). An impression of date and time, therefore, is made on the message strip.

As is evident from the drawings and the description, the time is changed by the rapid upward movement of the actuating lever 73 when the gear segment 106 snaps back to its original position, This is arranged to take place just after the solenoid is actuated. In order to prevent the lever 32 in its up-and-down motion from closing the microswitch $5 (and actuating the time stamping function) several times before the microswitch 39 can be opened, the upward movement of the plunger of the solenoid carries the supporting finger 87 upwardly, thus causing the finger ii? to be driven upwardly over the top of the bow of the actuating lever of the microswitch 39. The finger 89 no longer presses against the most right hand part of the actuating element, so that the microswitch is opened and the finger is held out of position. However, the quick return action of the gear segment 106 operates through the lever 73, the lever 114, the link 1118, and the bellcrank 119 to move the finger 89 quickly to the right. The lowering of the solenoid plunger lowers the edge 58 of the support finger 87 so that the finger is free to drop under the impetus of the spring 126. The finger is by that time in a position which is located substantially to the right of the actuating element 48 of the microswitch 39. Therefore, if the microswitch 35 is closed several times, this does not cause a printing stroke of the type wheels 25. The carriage Z4 rests in this position until the printing carriage 19 arrives moving to the right and the contact wheel 27 again strikes the engagement element 26 to initiate a new cycle.

It will be understood that, if the message being printed consists of very short lines, the printing mechanism will not move far enough to the right to push the time print mechanism to the right-hand, inoperative position. In that case, the time print mechanism remains in the lefthand, operative position and the mechanism goes through repeated cycles, one every minute. This means that the time will be printed on the right-hand margin of the message tape in the same manner as has been described above. The cycled movement of the finger 89 assures that both switches will be in closed condition simultaneously only once in any one-minute cycle.

It is obvious that minor changes may be made in the form and construction of the invention without departing from the material spirit thereof. It is not, however, desired to confine the invention to the exact form herein shown and described, but it is desired to include all such as properly come within the scope claimed.

The invention having been thus described, what is claimed as new and desired to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. A printing telegraph apparatus, comprising (a) a horizontal cylindrical platen,

(b) a message printing mechanism associated with the platen and movable from one end to the other therealong,

(c) a ribbon movable from an inoperative position to an operative position interposed between the message printing mechanism and the platen,

(d) a time printing mechanism associtaed with the platen and movable from a first position adjacent one end of the platen to a second position removed from the platen, the time printing mechanism in- 9 eluding an actuator for causing it to strike the platen, and

(e) means permitting the actuator to operate only when the time printing mechanism is in the first posi tion and the ribbon is in the operative position,

2. A printing telegraph apparatus, comprising (a) a horizontal cylindrical platen,

(d) a time printing mechanism including clock-driven type wheels associated with the platen and movable from a first position adjacent one end of the platen to a second position removed from the platen, the time printing mechanism including an electrical actuator for causing it to strike the platen, and

(e) means including a first switch permitting the actuator to operate only when the time printing mechanism is in the first position and a second switch permitting the actuator to operate only when the ribbon is in the operative position.

3. A time printing mechanism for use with a printing telegraph apparatus having a horizontal platen, comprising (a) a base,

(b) a horizontal supporting rail at least part of which is non-coextensive with the platen and which is rigidly mounted a substantial distance above the base, the rail having an upwardly-directed guiding surface,

(c) a carriage on which are mounted type wheels, a

printing stroke actuator, and a clock motor,

((1) wheels mounted on the carriage and rolling on the said guiding surface to carry the type wheels from an operative position adjacent one end of the platen at one end of the rail to an inoperative position substantially removed from the platen at the other end of the rail, the actuator and the clock motor being mounted on the carriage below the wheels.

4. A time printing mechanism, comprising (a) a supporting frame,

(b) type wheels mounted on a carriage, the carriage being mounted on the supporting frame for rectilinear movement from an operative position at which printing may take place to an inoperative position,

(c) means biasing the carriage for rapid movement from the inoperative position to the operative position ((1) a resilient bumper which is interposed between the carriage and the supporting frame when the carriage reaches the operative position at the end of the rapid movement, and

(e) a latching means adapted to lock the carriage and the supporting frame together when the carriage arrives at the operative position to suppress any tendency to bounce because of the bumper.

5. A time printing mechanism for use in a printing telegraph apparatus having a platen and a print box movable back and forth therealong, comprising (a) a supporting frame,

(b) type wheels mounted on a carriage, the carriage being mounted on the supporting frame for rectilinear movement from an operative position adjacent one end of the platen at which printing may take place to an inoperative position substantially removed from the platen, the carriage being moved from the operative position to the inoperative position by the print box, an element of the print box engaging a finger on the carriage,

(c) a spring extending between the frame and the carriage biasing the carriage for rapid movement from the inoperative position to the operative position,

((1) a resilient bumper mounted on the supporting frame to be struck by the carriage when the carriage 5 reaches the operative position at the end of the rapid movement,

(e) a latching means adapted to lock the carriage and the supporting frame together when the carriage arrives at the operative position to suppress any tendency to bounce because of the bumper, and

(f) means associated with the finger on the carriage to release the latching means when the print box pushes the carriage.

6. A time printing mechanism, comprising (a) a supporting frame,

(b) a carriage mounted on the frame for rectilinear movement from a first position to a second position,

(c) type wheels mounted on the carriage,

(d) a clock motor mounted on the carriage and connected to the type wheels for indexing thereof,

(e) a solenoid having a coil mounted on the carriage and connected to the type wheels to move them on a printing stroke,

(f) a first normally-open switch in series with the coil of the solenoid, the first switch being closed when a printing condition exists, and

(g) a second normally-open switch in series with the coil and with the first switch and closed when the carriage is in the first position, the simultaneous closing of the two switches causing energization of the solenoid coil and the occurrence of a printing stroke.

7. A time printing mechanism for use with a printing telegraph apparatus having a platen and an element which moves up and down relative to the platen, in synchronization with the ribbon, comprising (a) a supporting frame,

(c) type wheels mounting on the carriage,

(d) a clock motor mounted on the carriage and connected to the type wheels for indexing thereof, a finger mounted on the carriage and connected to the clock motor to be extended thereby a short time before the type wheels are indexed,

(f) a first normally-open switch in series with the coil of the solenoid, the first switch being closed by the said element which is synchronized with the ribbon,

(g) a second normally-open switch in series with the coil and with the first switch and closed by engagement with the finger on the carriage in its extended position when the carriage is in the first position, the simultaneous closure of the two switches causing energization of the solenoid coil and the occurrence of a printing stroke.

8. A time printing mechanism for use with a printing 60 telegraph apparatus having a platen, comprising (a) a supporting frame located in front of the platen,

(b) a carriage mounted on the frame for rectilinear movement from a first position at one end of the platen to a second position substantially removed therefrom,

(c) type wheels mounted on the carriage,

(e) a finger mounted on the carriage and connected to the clock motor to be extended thereby,

(f) a latch mounted on the carriage and engageable with the supporting frame to retain the carriage in the second position, the clock being connected to the latch for the release thereof, for completing the extension of the finger, and for indexing the type Wheels at predetermined time intervals.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS Armbruster et a1. 34689 Doty 34659 Doty 346-59 Rast 346-89 NEIL C. READ, Primary Examiner.

M. MORRISON, Examiner.

A. LERNER, T. A. ROBINSON, Assistant Examiners.

Claims

1. A PRINTING TELEGRAPH APPARATUS, COMPRISING (A) A HORIZONTAL CYLINDRICAL PLATEN, (B) A MESSAGE PRINTING MECHANISM ASSOCIATED WITH THE PLATEN AND MOVABLE FROM ONE END TO THE OTHER THEREALONG, (C) A RIBBON MOVABLE FROM AN INOPERATIVE POSITION TO AN OPERATIVE POSITION INTERPOSED BETWEEN THE MESSAGE PRINTING MECHANISM AND THE PLATEN, (D) A TIME PRINTING MECHANISM ASSOCIATED WITH THE PLATEN AND MOVABLE FROM A FIRST POSITION ADJACENT ONE END OF THE PLATEN TO A SECOND POSITION REMOVED FROM THE PLATEN, THE TIME PRINTING MECHANISM INCLUDING AN ACTUATOR FOR CAUSING IT TO STRIKE THE PLATEN, AND (E) MEANS PERMITTING THE ACTUATOR TO OPERATE ONLY WHEN THE TIME PRINTING MECHANISM IS IN THE FIRST POSITION AND THE RIBBON IS IN THE OPERATIVE POSITION.