US745279A - Type-printing telegraph. - Google Patents

Description

No. 745,279. PATENTED NOV. 24, 1903. F. H. w. HIGGINS.

TYPE PRINTING TELEGRAPH.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 11, 1902.

N0 MODEL,

Ewezdbi.

@m amm i UNITED STATES Patented November 24, 1903.

PATENT OFFICE.

FREDERICK HERBERT WILLIAM HIGGINS, OF LONDON, ENGLAND, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO RANDALL DAVIES, OF LONDON, ENGLAND.

TYPE-P RINTING TELEG RAPH;

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 745,279, dated November 24, 1903.

Application filed August 11, 1902. Serial No. 119,267. (No model.)

T0 at whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FREDERICK HERBERT WILLIAM HIGGINS, a subject of the King of Great Britain and Ireland, residing at 17 and 18 Oornhill, in the city of London, England, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Type Printing Telegraphs, (for which I have made application for Letters Patentin Great Britain, No. 14,430, dated June 25, 1902,) of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates more especially to telegraphic instruments in which a type-printing receiving instrument has its type-wheel driven by means of an escapement-wheel propelled by an electrically-reciprocated lever having propelment-pallets. In such instruments as hitherto constructedthe limit of speed possible does not exceed about sixty revolutions of the type-wheel per minute.

My invention has for its object to obtain much higher rates of revolution of the typewheel, so that a greater number of words may be transmitted in a given time.

My invention consists in arranging the pallets with respect to the escapement-wheel in such a manner that the pallets move through a considerable arc, and thereby attain considerable Velocity before striking the teeth of the escapement-wheel, the propelment-lever abutting against suitable stops directly after contact, with the result that the impact between the pallet and escapement-wheel is of the nature of a sudden blow the energy of which issufficient to cause the escapementwheel and other parts carried on the same axis to complete their are of movement, as hereinafter explained, by their acquired momentum, rebound being prevented byspringpressed pawl engaging with a ratchet-wheel having double as many teeth as the escapement-wheel and on the same axis.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, Figures 1 and 2 are end and side elevations, respectively,of the escapement-wheel,propelment-lever, and ratchet-wheel. Fig. 2 also shows the electromagnets under the action of which the propelment-lever reciprocates.

According to one modification of my invention I construct the escapement-wheel a, on the type-wheel axis b with teeth 0 of coarse pitch, the leading faces 0 c of each tooth being practically radial,while the back or driven faces d d of each tooth are slightly curved. The propelment-lever e'is pivoted about an axis f at one end and at the other end branches into two arms 6 6 partially em bracing the escapement-wheel. These arms are provided with pallet-faces f and f respectively, which alternately come into contact with a tooth of the escapement-wheel as the propelment-lever reciprocates, and also with faces h h which limit the successive arcs described by the escapement-wheel at high speeds. I also provide on the type-wheel axis 1) a ratchet-wheel 1), having, preferably, twice as many teeth as the escapement-wheel, and a pawl 2'', controlled by a spring '6 which is so arranged as to lock with one of the ratchet-teeth and prevent a reversal of the direction of rotation of the type-wheel shaft just when the escapement-wheel has completed its'free arc of movement under its own momentum in a manner to be explained hereinafter.

I provide two stops lo 10 one on each side of the propelment-lever, to limit its travel in each direction, and preferably provide these stops with bufiers Z Z held out by springs, such. as m m The propelment-lever is caused to reciprocate by electromagnets in accordance with impulses received from the transmitting instru ment or by an electromagnet and'aspring. The resulting direction of rotation is indicated 8 5 by an arrow in Fig. 2.

According to the arrangement illustrated in Fig. 2 an arm n is fixed to the shaft f, on which the lever e is mounted, and carries the armatures 0 0 of the electromagnets 7" r respectively. By suitably energizing the electromagnets the arm n, and consequently the lever e, is caused to reciprocate.

To explain the action of the mechanism, it is necessary to point out that, supposing the escapement- Wheel to have fourteen teeth, then, although fourteen complete reciprocations of the propelment-lever are necessary to rotate the escapement-wheel on its axis once at all speeds, nevertheless the action of no the mechanism is somewhat difierent at high I and low speeds, for, supposing first the propelment-lever to be operated very slowly, one of the propelment-pallets-f, for i11stance will abut against a face d of a tooth of the esoapement-wheel and push the wheel round through a certain arc until the propelmentlevers motion is stopped by the buffer Z provided. The motion of the lever will then be reversed and the other pallet-faceJ' will similarly act on a corresponding face of another tooth of the escapement-wheel, which will be driven round through a further arc. It will be seen from this description that at low speeds a pallet face after abutting against a tooth of the escapement-wheel remains in contact with it until the further motion of the propelment-lever is stopped by the buffers. The escapement-wheel, therefore, at low speeds does not describe any free arc of movement out of contact with the propelment-pallets. If, however, the propelnlent-lever is rapidly reciprocated, the action is different, for, supposing the lever e at some stage of its motion to be in contact with the stop 76' and about to move across to the other stop W, the first part of its motion that is to say, until the pallet-facef has come into contact with a face d of a tooth of the escapement-wheel-takes place at a continuously-increasing velocity, since the electromagnets driving the lever e have at this stage only its inertia to overcome. By the time, therefore, that the pallet-face f abuts against an escapement-wheel tooth the lever e has attained a considerable velocity. The pallet-face f will remain in contact with the face cl of the escapement-wheel until the lever e completes the remaining small arc of its motion and is stopped by the buffer Z At high rates of reciprocation this small arc is so quickly passed over by the lever e that its action with the escapement-wheel is of the nature of a blow, the escapement-wheel flyingv forward in the direction of the arrow after the motion of the lever c has ceased until the radial face 0 comes into contact with the face h on the lever e and further motion is prevented. Just at this moment the pawl t" looks with a tooth of the ratchet-wheel and prevents rebound. The mechanism is then in the position shown in Fig. 2. The return movement of the lever e operates in asimilar manner on the face d until the radial face 0 of an escapement-tooth is stopped by the face 72 on the lever e. It will be seen, then, that at high speeds the escapement-wheel describes a free arc of movement out of contact With the propelment-lever.

I find that with the disposition of propelment-pallets and escapement-teeth described and illustrated I am able to attain very high working speeds farin excess of any previously obtained and without the assistance of auxiliary motors, this increased speed being due to the free arc of movement described by the escapement-wheel, this free arc in the first place allowing the lever c more space in which to increase its velocity during its next reciprocation and in the second place insuring that the next tooth of the escapement-wheel is acted upon by the propelment-pallet-s at each reciprocation. With similar mechanisms constructed hitherto it is found that when very high speeds are attempted a propelmentpallet may enter the gap between two teeth of the escapment-wheel at consecutive reciprocations without causing the Wheel to advance thus throwing the transmitting and receiving instruments out of synchronism.

It is obvious that such a mechanism may be used for other purposes than printing telegraphy.

Having now described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

l. In type-printing-telegraph receiving instruments, means for obtaining increased speed of rotation of the type-wheel shaft, comprising an escapement-wheel mounted on the type-wheel shaft, teeth thereon, a lever pivoted at one end operating said shaft, propelment-pallets at the other end of said lever, electrical means for causing said lever to re ciprocate and said propelment-pallets being so disposed with regard to the escapementwheel that they move through a considerable are and thereby attain a considerable velocity before striking the teeth of the escapementwheel with which they remain in contact for only a small part of the arc of movement of the esoapement-wheel, the major portion of this are being covered by the momentum acquired during contact with the propelmentpallets, all substantially as set forth.

2. In type-printing-telegraph receiving instruments, means for obtaining increased speed of rotation of the type-wheel shaft comprising an escapement-Wheel mounted on the shaft to be driven, teeth on said wheel, a lever pivoted at one end operating said wheel, propelment-pallets at the other end of said lever,spring-buffer stops, and electrical means for causing said lever to reciprocate between said stops, and said propelment-pallets being so disposedwith regard to the escapementwheel that they move through a considerable arc and thereby attain a considerable velocity before striking the teeth of the escapementwheel with which they remain in contact for only a small part of the arc of movement of the escapement-wheel, the major portion of this are being covered by the momentum acquired during contact with the propelmentpallets, all substantially as set forth.

3. In type-printing-telegraph receiving instruments, means for obtaining increased speed of rotation of the type-wheel shaft, comprising an escapementwheel mounted on the shaft to be driven, teeth on said wheel, a lever pivoted at one end operating said wheel, propelment-pallets at the other end of said 1ever, spring-buffer stops, and electrical means for cansin g said lever to reciprocate between said stops, and said propelment-pallets being so disposed with regard to the escapement- IIO in the reverse direction, and a spring-pressed pawl for looking with said ratchet-wheel at the end of each arc of movement, substantially as described. v

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of two witnesses.

FREDERICK HERBERT WILLIAM HIGGINS.

Witnesses:

E. G. TILLYER, F. J. BIGNELL.

Images