US472237A - Bergh - Google Patents

Description

(No Model.)

H. VAN HOEV'ENBERGH. UNISON APPARATUS FOR PRINTING TELEGRAPHS.

No. 472,237. Patented Apr. 5, 1892.

wane/05am NITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HENRY VAN HOEVENBERGI-I, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

UNISON APPARATUS FOR PRlNTlNG-TELEGRAPHS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters ratent No. 472,237, dated April 5, 1892.

Application filed July 20, 1891. smnNOAOa R model) T0 (0% whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY VAN HOEVEN- BERGH, a citizen of the United States, residing at New York, in the county and State of New York, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Unison Apparatus for Printing-Telegraphs, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to that class of printing-telegraphs in which a type-wheel shaft is driven or controlled step by step by a succession of pulsations or currents derived from a transmitting apparatus; and the object of my improvement is to provide means whereby the transmitting-operator by the automatic action of his own apparatus may be informed whenever the type-wheel of the receiving-Inachine is out of correspondence or unison with the shaft of the transmitting-instrument, and, furthermore, to provide means of quickly restoring the correspondence or unison of the transmitting and receiving machines.

In the unison devices hitherto in use the type-wheel of the receiving-instrument has been held by a detent at the unison-point until the transmitting-shaft has arrived at the corresponding point, when it has been released and the two started together. In my improved unison movement I reverse this mode of operationthat is to say, I arrest the transmitting-shaft, together with its circuitwheel and attachments, at the unison-point and hold it there untilthe type-wheel of the recei ving-instrument has been brought to the corresponding point, when the release is effected by appropriate means.

I have herein shown my improvement as applied to a certain printing-telegraph apparatus for which Letters Patent were issued to me June 30, 1891, No. 455,075; but I remark that my invention may be applied with equal advantage to any step-by-step printing-telegraph in which only one receiving-instrument is designed to be operated by the transmitter at the same time.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a theoretical diagram of a transmitting apparatus embodying my invention, and Fig. 2 is a similar diagram of a receiving apparatus.

In Fig. 1 of the drawings, A represents the main shaft of a printing-telegraph instrument of this class, with its commutator O, break-wheel 1', power connection W, escapement 'i, type-wheel T, and press-magnet H.

B, Fig. 2, shows the shaft of another machine, precisely similar to the first, except that the last three elements are omitted for the sake of simplicity, as they are in all respects like those of the shaft A.

In the commutator O a, a, and a are metallic segments separated by narrow non-conducting spaces and respectively connected by independent wires to a corresponding group of keys I) b, to. As shown, all the segments lettered a are normally open at the keyboard, while the alternate segments lettered a are normally closed. When the contact device or trailer 01 rests upon an open segment, thelinewire 6 e e, which is supplied with current from the main battery mb, is open, and hence the armature f of the relay D falls upon its rear stop g. The shaft A, by the action of the 10- cal battery Zb, electro-magnet h, and escapement 2', then advances one step, carrying with 'it the trailer cl and causing the same to rest upon a closed segment. The main-line circuit e e e is now closed, the armaturef of the relay D is drawn against its front stop g, and the escapement i allows the shaft A to revolve another step, which brings the trailer (I again upon' an open segment a. The successive repetition of this operation therefore results in a continuous progressive revolution of the shaft A, as more fully described in my former patent hereinbefore referred to. In an apparatus thus organized if any one of the keys b or b be depressed the shaft Arevolves and the trailer d advances until it reaches the segment connected to the depressed key, when the revolution is arrested until the key is released. If the particular keydepressed happens to be a normally-open-circuit key, (which by the act of being depressed is converted into a closed-circuit key,) the succession of impulses sent to line by means of the series of actions just described will be interrupted, leaving thecircuit closed upon the main line 6 e. \Nhile the said key is still depressed if the main circuit should be opened at any other point and closed again the trailer at will be permitted to escape from the segment upon which it rests, and its progressive movement will continue, even though the key be still held down. I avail myself of this circumstance to effect the automatic correction or unison of my improved machine. There is upon the type-wheel a blank space, which occupies the place of one of the characters corcontact-sprin g 70.

responding to an open-eircuit segment. The key J connected to this segmen t is a normallyclosed key, and hence when depressed interrupts the otherwise orderly succession of alternatelyopen and closed circuit keys. hen the trailer d reaches the corresponding segment (t the rotation of the shaft A would be arrested and further progress stopped, precisely the same as if any other open-circuit key had been depressed if no provision existed to produce a different result. By trac ing the main-line circuit e c e to the receiving-instrument (shown in Fig. 2) it will be seen that the main-line circuit e e is carried through a metallic disk I on the shaft 13 of the instrument, which is provided with one insulated point P, against which presses a This disk and spring are so adjusted that the main circuit is interrupted for a time equivalent to that occupied by the passage of the trailer over one segment at the same instant of time that the shaft of the transmitting-instrument would otherwise be arrested by reason of the trailer (Z resting upon the closed-circuit segment a connected with the keyJ in Fig. 1. The rotation of the sending-shaft A therefore proceeds uninterruptedly, the receiving-instrument opening the circuit at P synchronously with its closure at a by the transmitting-instrument. This operation necessarily takes place only once during each complete revolution of the re spective shafts. Now if from any cause the receiving-instrument should throw out or fall out of correspondence with the transmitting-instrument the break P on the disk I, Fig, 2, would fail to pass under the spring 76 at the proper time, the main-line circuit would not be interrupted,and hence the rotation of transmitting-instrument would be instantly arrested. The transmitting-operator would thus become aware that his apparatus had stopped, although he had no key depressed. This would notify him that the receiver had fallen out of unison. Having been previously instructed, he would depress the key J, there by breaking the main-line circuit, and simultaneously therewith the circuit of the local battery lb, by means of the spring on and contact n. This prevents the transmitting-shaft from starting (as it would otherwise do) by the opening of the main-line circuit. The interruption of the main-line circuit advances the receiving-shaft B, Fig. 2, one step and its closing (when key .I is released) another step. If this is all the adjustment necessary to bring the two shafts into unison, the transmittingshaft will start as soon as the key J is released. If not, the operator must depress the key .I as many times successively as may be necessary until the two are brought together, when the regular rotation will commence and continue, as before.

As a matter of convenience it is preferred that the transmitting and receiving instruments be made exactly alike, so that either may be used for sending or receiving at will. A switch E, Fig. 1, provided with buttons marked S (send) and R, (receive,) determines which operation it shall perform. )Vhcn 111 the position shown in the drawings, S being depressed, instrument Fig. 1 will transmit and instrument Fig. 2 will receive. )Vhen it is desired to reverse the operation, the button R is depressed. This cuts out the transmitting portion of instrument Fig. 1, consisting of the segment-disk G and its attachments, at the same time cutting in the break-wheel Z and spring 7;. Thus either instrument may become a transmitter or receiver at will.

In adapting my improved unison system to a printing-telegraph operated by reversals it a is only necessary to arrangethe circuit-wheel so that one reversal is intermitted, the main line being put to earth after going through the main-line relay. The receiving-instrument will then send out an impulse of the appropriate polarity to take the place of theintermitted impulse of the transmitter. The operation in other respects would be precisely the same as that hereinbefore described.

I claim as my invention- 1. In aprinting-telegraph, the combination, with a main-line circuit, of a step-by-step transmitter organized to drop or intermit one of a series of breaks or impulses and a receiving-instrument organized to supply the break or impulse omitted by the transmitter, substantially as set forth.

2. In a printing-telegraph, the combination, with a main'line circuit, of a step-by-step transmitter organized to drop or intermit one of a series of impulses or breaks, a receiving instrument organized to supply the break or impulse omitted by the transmitter, and means, substantially such as described, for rotating the receiving-instrument independently of the the transmitter, substantially as set forth.

3. The combination, with the main circuit e c, of the key J, locking-segment (t electrically connected therewith, trailer (Z, breakwheel I, contact-spring 7t, and electromagnct 7b, substantially as set forth.

l. The l1ereinbefore-described method of effecting the unison of the transmitting and receiving parts of a printing-telegraph, which consists in first locking the transmitting-shaft at a predetermined point in its revolution, then advancing the type-wheel shaftof the receivi ng-instrument until the type-wheel has been brought to the corresponding point, and finally releasing the transmittingshaft by the action of said type-wheel shaft, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto subscribed my name this llth day of July, A. D. 1891.

HENRY VAN IIOEVENBERGI'I. lVitnesses:

FRANKLIN L. Porn, CAROLINE E. Davrnson.

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