. . 

I 

PATEUi F:~~ ID :A67670 • 

Address of Government ( '311~ 'kll 1'-tlcm 

St'3tion i'ihere Inventori;( .000 Lee llTd. 

are Located ( Arllnctm,. Yiralaia 

To The Chief Signal Officer: 

1;111 believe myself/ourselves to be •ol• inventor,i4l of aa 

(sole or joint 

and re,:iuest that you inveatigate its military value,. patentabili ty. and 

inventcirship. In support of this request the follov.'ing information is 

submitted: 

At +.he time I .. conceived the invention, my/& employment was Dlr .. tw 

el Oaa. Rel•.,oll, Sil . • I/lllJ originally conceived the idea la lllpt:e 19'1 

_a_n_d_c_o_mm ___ u._n_i_c_a_t_e_d __ i_· t_t_o_:__._Ma_j_or LM lo•• U Oe1MtHr ltdPa te) 

__,.(_na_m~e-s-).--~~-------~~~~--------~~(~d~a~t-e~)----~ 

The first ~Titten and dated records are 8 J11119 1966• fir•• .. tali.. 

... oriJ!i• ... dnslllf• 

w:i. th i_:.he result that 

(dale) 

concerning it are: 

Attached are • sheets, each initialed and de.ten by me/"" and two 

dis interested vri tnesses ~ ~i vin~ a detailed description of the invention, I ~R~f~MflJ'e:PfH'~@-M-~~M t and a clear statement of what is believed 

to be new. 

I/~agree to abide by the decision of the Patent Board or of the Ch~ 

Signal Officer and wi 11 promptly exeoute all papers required of me/us by 

these authorities includigg an assignment c•f "'.-he inve:i.tion to the Government 

if it is decided by the Fa tent Board and c<:mfirmed by the Chief Signal 

:~::::::e thot the application should b:i::::u~ -3-~ C-. 

. . .. ....... au.. 

Rank, p<>sition er employment Rank, position or Hi1mf~ .. I••• 

LcgaJ, residence Legal residence WubSJtc'oa 11. De Ce 

~-------------------

Present horn<' F. O. address Fresent home P. O. address 

Date of signature Ihte of signature 

~------~---------

12 ,.. 19" 

Witnesses: DC::.te 

~--~..,.....,~....,,..,,,..,,._,....,.. __ ..,...,,.. _____ ~----~~~:::.L~~f;lollllia::~~;A!:S:.......IC:~~:;.:.diiA..._f.rz. A.R. 850-50 outline the submittin 

inventions to the Chief Signal Officer. invention relate~ to Signtll. 

Cnrps equipment this form together with a full descr:ptio:n of the invention 

~~: n_;ld b.:: forwarded directly to the Chief Signal Officer. If the invention 

~·ol~;;.tos to cqu~pment of another arm of service, the invention should be 

sub::;,itted directly to that arm or service. 

Most descriptions of inventions received by the Signal Corps from 

ir:ver,ti ~ms are too brief, vague and indefinite for the purpose of preparing 

~iater.t applications. The Chief Signal Offioer insists on very complete and 

clear descriptions • 

!Declassified and approved for release by NSA on 09-06-2013 pursuant to E. 0. 1352§ 
~---------·~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~------------.......... .. 

• REF ID:A67670 • 

This invention is an authenticating device an~, particularly, is a device by means or which the bona tides or certain 

t7pes or messages can be readily proved. 

It is customary in certain fields or cononerce, as for 

instance banking, to transmit cable and l'&dio communications 

in code or cipher, rather than in clear text. This is economical, and serves 1n some measure to protect the interests 

or customers and of the cODDDercial institutions themselves. 

According to the following d~scription, this invention is to 

be used by banking and other financial institutions, but it 

will be obvious that it is applicable as well to other types 

of businesses, and has military applications as well. 

In the drawings: 

Figure 1 1s a diagram or one of the mixing or 

"scirambling" elements used in the invention. 

11gure 2 is a diagrammatic representation of 

the authenticating device of th1s invention. 

~he invention comprises a group of ten mixing elements 

in the nature of cryptographic ~otors. One such rotor is 

shown 1n Figure 1, where it me.1 be seen to consist of a body 

member 10, formed of Bakelite or some other insulating material, 

and a group of ten contacts 11-20; inclusive. A second group 

ot contacts 21-30, appear on the opposite race or the body 

niemb &1.' • 

The contacts 11-20 will norme.111 serve as input contacts 

and the other set will normally serve as output contacts. Connections between the several input contacts and the output contacts are made at random or according to some predetermined 

complicated rule. The result is, of course, that an input 
signal representing one condition 1s converted to an output 

signal representing something entirely different. 

Referring to Figure 2, the invention may be seen to 

include a shaft 35, supported at its two ends in members 

38 and 39. The members 38, 39 may be of any form de~ired. 

Their only functions are to support the shaft 35, and to 

carry stationary electrical contacts, 41-50, on the one 

hand, and 51-60, on the other. 

Mounted on the sh.aft 35 are ten cryptographic rotors 

71-80, such as that illustrated in Figure 1, and earlier describe~. The rotors are all essentially similar, but their 

internal wiring normally will be different. The rotors bear 

on their peripheries 1ndicia of one type or another, the 

type depending, to some extent at least, on tbe material to 

be handled by the authenticator. In Figure 2, rotors 71 and 

72 and 74-80 bear ordinal'y Arabic numerals arMnged in normal 

order f~om O to 9. Rotor 73 carries symbols representing the 

money o~ various countries. The rotors are, in addition, 

identified by number, as 81, or otherwise, so that they can 

be readily arranged in any desired order. 

At the left end of the device or Figure 2, is a rotary 

aviteh 90 adapted for manual operation, and this switch is in 

circuit with a battery 91 or other source of current. There 

are six make contacts 92-97 on switch 90, and, if desired, a 

neutral or non-make position 98. The six make contacts are 

adapted for variable connections to the ten contacts 41-50, 

inclusive, by means of plugs and jacks., as 99', 99 11 • 

-2-
!!

------------ - -

' At the other end of the rotor system, ten o~tput leads 

may be seen, and, associated with each, an electric lamp, as 

101-110, inclusive, these lamps being likew1se in the circuit 

or batter7 91. Adjacent the.lamps is a strip 111, bearing 

ten numerals randoml7 arranged. This strip is slidably 

mounted in a holder 112, so that it may be removed therefrom 

and replaced by another strip. 

In the pref erred embodiment of the invention, means are 

provided for stepping one or more or the rotors 71-80 each 

time a signal is fed through the system. In Figure 2, such 

means are represented by block 120. After positioning rotary 

switch 90, switch 121, which i:nay be in the nature of a simple 

pushbutton, is closed. When it is reopened, rotor 71 i$ advanced one step. The other rotors are stepped under the control of rotor 71 in any ot several well-known manners. 

Assuming switch 121 to be closed, it will be apparent 

that an electrical current from battery 91 will traverse a 

path through the rotor system depending, in the first instance, on the input contact utilized, and, secondly, upon 

the internal wiring of the several rotors, the order in which 

the r~tors are arranged on shaft 35, and the relative rotator7 

positions of the rotors. Under one set of conditions, for 

example, a signal intrQduced at the contact 2 on the leftmost 

rotor ot Figure ~ may find its way through the ~otor maze to 

energize lamp 110. A change in.any one of the conditions 

mentioned just above, may cause the signal to illuminate 

lamp 101. The number on the strip 111, adjacent the energized 

lamp, will depend upon the arrangement of the numerals on the 

strip. 

-3-

1 I I 

I ' 
One method of Using the invention, by bank or other 

financial organization, will now be described. A United 

States bank, wishing to make a deposit in $ London bank, 

would compose the basic text of its cablegram according to 

the standard private code in use. It would then take the 

device of this invention and, in conformity with a prearranged plan, insert a particular strip 111 in the holder 

112 and arrange the rotors in proper order. The contacts 

92-97 inclusive, would next be plugged into predetermined 

input connections in member 38. The rotors would then be 

individually adjusted so that, for example, (reading the 

second row ot indicia on the rotors), the first two indicate 

the serial number of the message (35, 1n Figure 2), rotor 73 

indicates United States dollars, and rotors 74-80, the amount 

of the deposit ($9,756,125, in the illustration). 

The operator would then move switch arm 90 to contact 

92, for example, and under these circumstances it may be 

assumed that the lamp 102, adjacent numeral 7 on strip 111, 

will be lighted. Arm 90 would then be moved to contact 93, 

and lamp 101 adjaeent numeral 5 would be energized. Upon 

movement or arm 90 to contact 94, lamp 107, adjacent numeral 

9, would be energized. The operator would take these three 

numerals in the order ln which they occurred~ namely, 7-5-9, 

and encode them by m~ans of his standard code, thereby obtain1~g group such as ROXIP. This group, located in a 

prearranged position in the message, would then be transmitted as art authenticator. 

' -4-
• REF ID:A67670 

f*~e·c1pr;" r~~; ~· ' 'l ~ j 1, " I ' ' ' \li;.Jlo Ji1 I k P\.., The bank receiving the cablegram ~ould, after decoding, 

set up its ma.chine just as the machine ~as set up by the transmitting bank, arranging the rotors in acco~dance with the amount 

of the deposit, the serial number of the message, etc. The 

operator would next move the switch arm' go of his device to 

the three contacts 92-93-94 in order. Unless he derived the 

nmnber rep~esented in his codebook by the group ROXIP, he 

would know tb.a.t either the message was not authentic or that 

soID.e error had been ma.de .. 

- Of course the device will not furnish a different code 

g~oup far each possible condition of the rotors and other 

variable elements. Considering the seven rotors 104-110 

alone~ it vill be apparent that ten million different 

combinations can be set up, whereas using the ten lamps, I 

101-110, inclus.ive,"in combinatiomof three, only 7~0 dif- I 

ferent test groups can be obtained. A greater numbe~ of 

groups can, of course, be achieved if it is desired to use 

longer test group~, but in ordinary business usage the threenumer&l group ha.s been found to be satisfactory. 

Further, it will be obvious that either more or fewer 

rotors may be used, without altering the principles of the 

invention. The number decided upon will depend upon many 

factors. 

The above description is in specific terms. It should be 

understood, however, that the invention is not limited to the 

exact structlll'e shown and described, and, therefore, for the 

true scope or tne invention~ reference should be had to the 

appended claims. 

I claim: 

'\. ~- I "' I , f_ '* ~s-' · 
1. In a device of the character described, a solll'ce of 

current, a series of multiple-cbntact switcnes adapted to 

provide a plurality of variable paths for electrical signals, 

the said series having a piurality of contacts at each end 

thereof, another switch for selecting a contact at one end 

of sa~d series, and a signaling device associated with each 

of the contacts at the otner end of said series. 

2. In a deEice of the character described, a source of 

current~ a series or multiple-contact switches adapted to 

provide a plurality of va~iable paths for electrical signals, 

the said series having a plural:Dtr of contacts at eaob end 

thereof, anotber switch for selecting a contact at one end 

of said series, ~ signaling device associated with each of 

contacts at the other end of said series, and means ~or varying 

the signifieance of the energization of a signaling device. 

3. In a device of the character described, a source of 

' current, a seri~s of'multiple-contact switches adapted to 

provide a plurality of variable paths for electrical signals, 

the said series having a plurality of contacts at each end 

thereof, another awitch adapted to make succe~sive circuits 

between said sourcesaf' current and a predetermined number of 

selected contacts at one end of s~id series, and a signaling 

' ~ 

dev~ce associated with each of the contacts at the other end 

of said series. 
• REF ID:A67670 • 

~. rH\~ff~~, w,.~ ~~1 ~ ftLh.- .,t:n'~"" '•J ~' ~ I J 

4. In a device ot the character described, a source or 

current, a se?"ies Qf multiple-contact switches adapted to 

provide a pluralitf of variable paths for electrical signals, 

the said series having a plurality at contacts at each end 

thereof, another switch adapted to make successive circuits 

between said sotll'ces of current and a predetermined number of 

selected contacts at one end of said series, and means for 

varying the paths through said multiple-contact switches. 

5. In a deYice of the cbara.cter described, a source of 

current, a series of cryptographic rotors or the like adapted 

to provide a p1Ul98lity of variable paths for electrical signals, 

the said series having & plurality of contaots at each end 

tbereof, another switch for selecting a contact at one end of 

said series, a signaling devtce associated with each of the 

contacts at the other end of said series, and an additional 

switch adapted, when closed, to pPovide a signal to said series 

or rotOl's, and, when opened, to ,actuate said rotor stepping 

device. 

' -

< 

, ' I ;• ~---.J"""--1==>= 

I ' '1 I. I 
121 

./ 

- CfJNFIBENTIAt 

9~ 

1lt-----L--~~--L---...--L.---l----L-~........---JL------I 

.---------------------------£./111. c' 7 0 4 I 6 9 2. sJ"' 

FIGU/2.E 2. 

CONFIDENTIAL . ., 
REF ID:A67670 

, 

ROTOR 

STATOR 

BENCH MARK 

7 0 4 8 6 7 I 8 

A .. B 8 I 5 9 7 8 2 9 5 

' I 9 2 6 0 8 9 3 0 6 

\ 0 3 7 I 9 0 4 I 7 \ 

~ I 4 8 2 0 I 5 2 8 S.A 

2 5 9 3 2 6 3 9 

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 

-

LAMPS 
JI: 

,.._ -

-

.. 

-

'P 

L 

u 

---... ~ '" I~. ~ ........... ,-----.... "R 

l> ••• 1 I ' 'FRo.-.f. I F ,.....,.. _____ _. "l) 

I £ -----s ' . ll ' 

t--.....---,---,--r---1 ~ I ~ 

,-~ ... " ..,_._--t"~ ..... c,. t---....t---..., ! t-----i;a;J--f 

A a---~...-.-1 

~ ~ -----....~­ l .....--~....--· 

1) I:' ·-----..i ...... - l '-----.~ 

~ 1----r:1~­ ~ ~ ,__...___.. __ ,,__~---11 ,..._..J...__. __ ,...__._---t~ 

=> 
·.·' -

.~:·:. '. '. ' " ' 

. ·.- ~: ; .. '"1. '·, 

-'\- - -- (__). > 

5 

r'J:J 4 

5 

- - --~-------- > 

( _.f. 

~ 

.. ., .. _...,~· 

I 

' l . ' 

.o 

. ,-·.-11111--~--·. ··---· ·--·---·--··~~·--·} --· /2 

,l l. 

j 

. .. I . 

I 

l 

.. · t 

,. 

' 

·. '· .: 

.· J ( 

.. ··. I 

0 ' -----'"--•· > • • 

=-___ ..:-.::__::.,:....-~_=-=---.::~-=-~=-- -:--_------,::__-~_::---~~----_ ---__ -.,,.....--::--------- -- --------:::::--------:::_---=--------=-------:::------------ -----

'· 

, .. 1 ·. 

·;I .· 

I 

J 

I 

! 

_J 

\ 

. \ 

----- ------- ----- --- ---

__ -_ .-. _____ -:-::---- --..,,..------::~--- _-.;--_-~-- _--~-.....,....-----::::--::--~-::_-----_-'::-~~- -,_--~-:---~------- - -: --:--;-:o --_-_- ---------- ---:-
0 

r-

"° r-

"° 

-~ 

." 3 _- m ---

4 l s 1 G:, 

2. --

3 

-~-

.5-

- ---= ~ <o --

7 

8 

6~$ G 4 

;z: r--r 5 

~$ i (o 

~-t~l - - -

Will - -- ~ ~9 ___ _J - &. 0 <() 

5-" :i 9 

j "L 0 

'r:. Jr., r- t" 'I'" , , __ L · •r ·r·~r: 

.\...;., ..... L. .. &... •• aq;;a . /0 

7..J / 3 ~ 9 '2.... 

3 4- ~ cf "3 

4- 5 () i 4 

11; -~ ~ - l:; - '(!( -i- -~-- : 71 ~- - - - - - - - - ,,..._.,, 

b 1 z 3 b 

I 'b 3, 4- 1 

i :7 .4 _. 

~ ~ 

-

~t~~~.-...-~~.~-~--~-~---~~~-~~--~-~----~~--~--~~ ''/2-

a _ri= ~ . 7 o- = 4- - 1 · ~ 9- ~-- 3 a J-13 

! I -L ~-::--~--~~-.. --_A_:__ __ -· --- -~~__:_:.;::~~--=-:- .--.: -================~~ . 

1+ 

Declassified by NSA/C5S 

. , I ~!:H'IU ty Associate Director for Policy and Re_cords. 

0 .>-?!._)t 4- 3~ by ~e:': """1 
' ~ 

~ 

-

.. t 

~ vi "' v, ·, 

3 0 0 

-

0 

"1 -

( -'\ 

'j 

.,., .,.J 

'1 "" .vJ 

.,,, .... "' .,, 

• ,, fi' 

v 

-.J ....J "" ~ 

. ~ 

... -=:. :-· ...