Complex sentence: Soule suggested a circular orientation of typebars that would converge and strike a central position, a feature that had been implemented more than 30 years earlier in a machine designed by Xavier Progin in 1833.
Split into simpler sentences: Soule suggested a circular orientation of typebars that would converge and strike a central position. A circular arrangement had been used more than 30 years earlier in a machine designed by Xavier Progin in 1833.