US330238A - Telegraphs - Google Patents

Description

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

G. L. HEALY. v TRANSMITTER FOR PRINTING TELEGRAPHs. N0. 330,238. Patented Nov. 10, 1885.

l vi lnwooeo gwuemboa f as aw ell-Ma M (No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2. G. L. HEALY.

TRANSMITTER FOR PRINTING TELEGRAPHS. No. 330,238. Patented Nov. 10, 188

' UMTED STAT onnnnnon L. HEALY, or nnooKLYn, Assienon o or onnnns, NEW roan.

ia'rnnrr @rrtcnt STEPHEN D. FIELD,

TRANSMWTER FOR PRiNTlNG TELEGRAPHS.

EzPECIFICATIDN forming part of'LettersPatent No. 330,238, dated November 10, 1885. I Application filed April 15, 1885. Serial 162,277. (No model.)

To ctZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CLARENCE L. HEALY,

of Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State of New York, have invented certain new and to effect the printing of the message upon such ribbon; and the improvements relate particularly, to the transmitting mechanism ordinarily used for working the circuit or circuits bywhich the type-wheels and press mechanism of the various .printing-instru-l ments are worked. This transmitting mechanism consists, usually, of one or more cylinders having insulated metal segments, upon which rest springs connected with the battery and lines, the springs and segments being so arranged that when the cylinders are rotated the proper currents will be sent out to operate and control the type-wheels in the printers. The transmitter is driven through a frictional or other suitable connection with;

a constantlyacting drivingpower, and it is controlled by a key-board having keys corre- 3 5 sponding to the characters on the type-wheels of the printers and each connected with one of the insulated segments of the fixed commutator (or socalled sun-flower of the transmitter; and this commutator is provided with 0 an arm that revolves around its periphery at the same speed as that of said cylinders, and by making rubbing contact: with, itssegments establishes through any segment whose key may be closed a current that holds the trans- 5 mitter and the type-wheels at the character corresponding with the depressed key while currents are sent out to impress such character up the paper ribbons, thesepresscurrents being sent out by. relays acted upon ,by the same current that arrests the transmitter.

The object of the invention is to insure the proper operation of the press mechanism in the various printersthat is, to cause such mechanism to always operate with such a positive or sustained action or blow as is necessary to secure a distinct and full impression on the paper, and to effectively accomplish any other work that it may have to do; and it is desired to attain-this object by means that, when put in operation, will continue to act and effect the proper operation of the press mechanism independently of the transmittirig-operator. This has become an important thing to do, because of the tendency of the operator to open the keys too quickly upon the closing of the keycircuit, which causes the press mechanisms (which usually consist of a vibrating lever carrying a press-pad over which the paper travels) to act too quickly and feebly, or with a clipping stroke that fails to produce a distinctimpression of the type on the paper, or the fullmovement of any other devices connected with the press machanism, and this tendency is caused by the natural urgent character of the business, as well as by reason of the fact that the time between the printing of two succeeding characters varies with nearly every character printed, and the operator cannot, therefore,- habituate himself to any uniform time for holding the keys closed.

The invention consists, therefore, in arranging in the key or transmitter circuit of :a printing-telegraph an electro-magnet or equivalent device so arranged that upon the circuit being closed, such magnet will act to cut out or short-circuit the then transmitting-key,

and by holding this circuit closed independently of the key will lock the transmitter and hold the press-circuit relays downthe requisite length of time to insure the proper action of the press mechanism, and will then open the key and press circuits and release the transmitter.

The drawings show two forms of apparatus for carrying out the invention, Fig. 1 being a view of the relative arrangement of the transmitting apparatus of a central station, showing a keyboard, a transmitter, the relays of the exterior lines, and a magnet arranged ac- -ments being connected with the single key shown, and its revolving arm 0 being repre sented as in contact with said segment. D is the clutch-armature of a magnet in the keycircuit, this clutch being arranged to engage with a toothed wheel on the shaft of arm 0 to stop the revolution of said arm. Eis a magnet in the key-circuit, and serves as a relay to operate the press-lines Fin this particular arrargement through the medium of an intervening circuit, G, and repeating-magnets H; and I is a quick-acting short-circuiting magnet in the key-circuit,and J is a shunting-l preferred in some respects, for the magnet magnet in the relay-circuit G.

When the transmitting-key is depressed and the key-circuit is closed by the revolving 1 arm of the transmitter, the clutch-magnet D is energized, and its armature at once acts to arrest the revolving arm and hold it on the segment, through which it completes the keycircuit. The armature K of the magnet I is also caused to act by the key-circuit current and closes the short circuit L M,thereby shortcircuiting or cutting the key out of the active parts of this circuit. The action of the magnet E is to close the circuit G, and thereby operate magnet J and the relays H in the press-lines F. When the armature O of the magnet J is drawn down, it first makes electrical contact with the insulated piece I? on armature K, and by so doing closes the shuntline Q R and shunts the magnet I, so that its armature at once returns to its normal position and breaks the short circuit M L, and as the key is supposed to have been released as soon as the current was'established, opens the keycircuit, and the further movement of this armature 0 serves to force the armature K up to break the circuit in case of its sticking at its contact point or remaining down for other cause.

With such an apparatus the adjustment of the armatures O and K may be altered, so

- that they will be more or less quick in operating, and so as to agree with the time that the press-relays should hold the press-lines closed to effect the proper printing and other work at the various repeating instruments. This puts the operation of the press mechanism beyond the power of the transmitting-opera or to modify, and so increases the-speed of the work, as well as its distinctness, by relieving him of the necessity for continually watching the action of the apparatus, and leaving him free to pay entire attention to the message to be transmitted and the closing of the requisite keys. So long as he closes the keys and establishes a current at all in the key or transmitter-circuit, the *cross-circuiting magnet is called into use and the further action of the parts is entirely regular and rightly timed, because wholly automatic.

In Fig. 2 I show aform of similar apparatus, in which the armature D,that stops the transmitter and holds it locked during the opera tion of the press-circuits, is arranged to effect the short-circuiting of the transmitting-key. When this armature is brought down by establishing a current through the transmittingkey, it closes the short circuit S T, and thus cuts out the key. In the relay-circuit G is the shunt-magnet U, constructed'to act slowly, or having its armature adjusted to close less promptly than the armature D, and arranged so that its armature closes the shunt-circuit, and thereby shunts out the magnet D,that arrests the transmitter and opens the key or transmitter circuit again, the magnets D and U acting here in the same capacity as the magnets I and J of Fig. 1. This arrangement is that short circuits the transmitting-key should be one that will act with great promptness, and upon the passing of very little current, (such as an imperfect contact at the key might cause at first,) and, as the magnet that arrests the transmitter should also be quick and certain in its action, these two functions are advantageously assigned to a single magnet.

Still other arrangements of this apparatus are quite possible; but these two methods of arrangement will suffice to illustrate the principle of the invention.

I do not here claim the means alone that cut out the transmitting -key and hold the press-circuits ,closed until the press mechanism has been properly operated, as such means form the subject of United States Letters Patent granted to me September 8, 1885, and numbered 326, 048. The present application is designed to show the use of such cuttingout or cross-circuiting mechanism, in combination with the transmitting apparatus for simultaneously operating and controlling various lines radiating from a single transmitting-station.

What is claimed as new is 1. In combination, in a' printing-telegraph, a transmitter for operating the lines containing the repeating instruments, a key-board for controlling the transmitter and establishing press'currents, an electro-magnet connected with the press-circuits and brought into action by establishing the press-currents, and mechanism operated by said magnet, which independently of said key-board holds the transmitter and maintains the press-currents.

2. In combination, in a printing-telegraph, a transmitter for operating the lines, a keyboard for arresting the transmitter and closing the press-circuits, an electro-magnet connected with the press-circuits and brought into action by establishing the press currents, mechanism operated by said magnet, which independently of said key-board holds the IIO transmitter and maintains the press-currents, and an electro magnet connected with the presscircuits and operating to release the transmitter and break the press-circuits when 5 the printing has been effected.

3. In combination, in a printing-telegraph, a transmitter for operating the lines, a keyboard for arresting the transmitter and closing the press-circuits, and an electro-magnet 10 arranged in circuit with the keys of the keyboard and with the transmitter, and mechanism operated by said magnet, which cuts out or disconnects said key-board and maintains the press-currents and holds the transmitter inde- 15 pendently of the key-board.

4C. In combination, in a printing-telegraph,

CLARENCE L. HEALY.

Witnesses:

ROBERT H. DUNCAN, R. F. GAYLORD.

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