Patent GB-187312-A (GB)
Title: Improvements in or relating to cyphering machines
IPC: G09C1/08
Filed: 1921-07-14
Abstract: 187,312. Henkels, A. July 14, 1921. Ciphers and d codes.-Ciphering- apparatus wherein a continuous sequence of letters is first set and then transcribed as a whole comprises a box having journaled therein a shaft 2, Fig. 2, provided with a crank handle 7 and four spindles 3 - - 6 secured against rotation and carrying lcosely an equal number of typebearing discs 8, separated by spacing tubes 13, gear-wheels 9 rigidly secured to the discs 8 coupling the spindles together and to the shaft 2 through gear-wheels 10, 11, 12, the gearwheels 10, 12 being provided with interrupted teeth arranged in an arbitrary manner. In order to set the type discs independently the spindles 3, 5 are provided with knobs 14 and locking-bolts 15 so that these spindles can be moved laterally out of gear, the independent turning movement of the discs being accomplished by depressing spring retained keys 17 provided with pawls, the discs ratcheting over spring catches. Four rows of windows are provided for viewing the set type discs. The casing is provided with markings to indicate initial crank settings and the number of revolutions given to the driving-shaft. In operation the key-word is first set up on the spindle 3 after disengaging the gears, and the message to be transcribed is set up on the spindles 4, 5, 6, the gears being then brought into mesh and the whole message transcribed by rotating the crank handle through an arbitrary angle. In another construction, shown in Fig. 5, spur wheels 32 having an arbitrary arrangement of teeth are mounted on spindles 27 - - 31 and mesh with the gear wheels on the spindles 3 - - 6. These spur wheels have two sets of teeth one full-toothed and the other interrupted, the interrupted portion locking with the interrupted portion of the gear wheels on the spindles which in this construction each consist of a fulltoothed wheel 25 and a gapped wheel 26 arranged on opposite sides of the type discs as shown in Fig. 12. The interrupted portions of the spur and gear wheels form plain segments 34 the curved portions being coincident with the pitch circles. Instead of shifting the spindles laterally to disengage the gears they are moved in a transverse direction. This movement is effected by supporting the spindles 3, 4, 5, 6, 24 in carriages comprising pairs of laterally disposed cheeks 36 guided in grooves 35 in the walls of the casing. The spindles carrying the spur wheels 32 are also mounted in these pairs of cheeks, transverse movement being imparted to the two outer sets in opposite directions by slide rods 37 provided with rollers 38 engaging radial slots in a disc 40 supported on the wall of the casing as shown in Fig. 8. The cheeks carrying the spindles 4, 6 engage slots 43 in the slide rods, and those carrying spindles 3, 24 in holes 42. During uncoupling of the gears the discs are kept in place by springs 45 on shafts 46 operated by control levers 47 and pusher rods 48. Window rails 49 are moved with the cheeks and are provided with covering-laths 50. The lower ends of the operating-keys 17, Fig. 13, slide in slotted rods 51 and are provided intermediately with slots 52 embracing the spur wheel spindles. Two spring-pressed pawls 19, 19<a> are provided on the keys for forward and backward movement of the full gear wheels 25. The keys are kept in the vertical position by springs 53 embracing projections 56 thereon.