The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1894-09-12

/
D3RFUL INVENTION.
Typevritins Reproduced By Elestricity-
The Instrument Which Threatens To
Abolish the Morse System.
/ Typewriting by electricity has at last
been accomplished, and the inventor
says the days of the Morse instrument
are numbered, says the Chicago Herald.
| Inventions in which the mysterious
fluid is the force power have crowded
80 fast into the patent Office that the
list would, if printed. require book Of
tremendous dimensions 10 record it.
| The many thousands Of these products
of the mechanics brain must be schec-
uled under the head Of toys, however.
Few have been found in everyday
practicability, and still fewer have rev.
olutiOnized existing conditions. Among
the latter the telephone and illuminat-
ing appliances stand out most promi-
nently.
Ever since the Use Of electricity began
to be understood the minds of thou
sands Of inventors have been turned
toward solution of the problem of re-
producing either natural or artificial
handwriting at distance and thus Sc
cure To the world system of tele-
| graphy into which no mistakes, save
those at the transmitting end Of the
wire, could enter. The Union News
and Telegraph Company, with it, home
office in New York, mas opened a West
| ern department "a the MOntauk Block,
and i preparing to submit Il general
| and public test of the wonderful ma
chine. Electrical inventors are unit
| in the opinion that the Essiek page
| printing telegraph instrument, for that
is the name of the newcomer, l. fit
companion in usefulness To the tele-
| phone, and that the invention l. the
most important enc since the people Of
| the civilized world commenced 10 trans
init their voices over wires.
|
permittedTo examine the instrument
| yesterday and To submit il to tests that
proved it, practicabitity in hundreds of
| business fields and for domestic pur-
| poses. One of the most remarkable
things about the new invention Is it,
simplicity. The transmitter i simply
the4zeyboard of Il typewriter, contain
ing all the letters Of the alphabet and
and the numerals. In that portion OF
] the machine where the cylinder carries
the paper into the typewriter there is,
in the printing telegraph instrument,
| a half-inch shaft into which are fixed
a. many tiny posts as there are letters
and numerals on the keyboard These
| little posts extend from the shaft about
an eighth of an inch, and the line Is in
spiral form.
Inside the receiver, or where the act
ual writing Is done, thread like that
| of a screw l. cut on second shaft, and
this Is an exact but greatly reduced re-
production of the form of the spiral line
of posts. Ii i here that the electric
contact i made. At the other end Of
/ the shaft, in the receiver, II circular
/ wheel containing the letters and fig
ures, which revolves and prints on eX
actly the same principle a. in the tick
erSr which may lie seen in any brokers'
/ office.
HOW THE PRINTING Il DONE.
Instead of printing on large tape,
a. i'm the ticker" the machine eauss.s
q line to lie written across page, and
the shifting and lining Is all done auto
nlaticsilly. BY pressing on the desired
letter on the keyboard an arm, similar
! though longer than the ones which
carry the type to the ribbon in the type
writer, Is raised 10 the shaft, which re-
wolves with great rapidity until con-
tact with the point of the arm and the
post corresponding with the key J.
made. Then the little wheel stops,
bumps up against the white paper, and
leaves the impression of the letter. The
principle involved in this action i pre-
ci-ely that illustrated i'm "A music box
The little posts which extend from the
cylinder all have duty to perform,
and their position on the cylinder de
termines the air they produce with
their contact with the forks The spae-
ing il done with the same action a. APP
plies i'm the typewriter. When the end
of the line is reached the pressing of
one key caJses the holder containing
the white paper to shift and at the same
time raises il the space of 4 line
The practical Use of this wonderful
may be operated at the limit of distance
10 which electrical force may be carried,
and what that distance il no man can
say. Very trifiing is the loss of force
observed at the receiving end of the
ocean cables. 10 at least three thou
sands miles i no obstacle in the way OF
the transmission of characters which
convey intelligent meaning. The
printing telegraph instrument requires
no greater current than the Morse in
strument, and will dO the work at as
great "A distance and far more accurate
ly.
M ERRORS IN TRANSMISSION.
To single wire may be attached n
great number of receivers a. To the
ordinary telegraph instrument. The
machine can not lie, a. the Morse in
strument frequently does. Climatic
conditions frequently eauses the arbi-
trary alphabet of dots and dashes to
become jumbled in transmission. For
one letter another may he checked out.
Added to these dangers to correct trans
mission are the frequent errors made
by the operators themselves These
are among the reasons why the greatest
telegraph companies refuse To admit
responsibility unless the message is
repeated
| The fields of usefulness to which the
printing telegraph instrument will be
welcomed are almost unlimited In
the transaction of railroad business
alone the instrument will, the owners
saw, force out the MorSe instrument
| u. -. q. 4 81. II