The Detroit times. [volume] (Detroit, Mich.) 1903-1920, 1915-04-12
Chinese typewriter.


In learning that there II a new sort
OF typewriter which has Just been
invented by a young student IN the
engineering department OF New
York university. The machine Ii
different from the typevriters tamil
Jar TO the average New Yorker In
several respects. For instance. the
standard" keyboard has IS letters.
and In most cases about q dozen
keys devoted 10 figures and punctu-
alton marks. while the new machine
has 400 characters In all and only
three keys
One OF the three keys n 4 back
spacer, another the space key. and
the third is the key with which the
400 characters are struck. II 10
possible, according 10 the inventor.
to make more than 400 characters
by combinations Of radicals or
base characters
That stenographers ambitious 20
operate the new typewriter viii find
their task a little difficult At first
at least. was Indicated by the fact
thar Il required two hours TO write
the first letter typed by the ma.
chine. This letter was written re-
Gently and contained approximately
tnn ..-,rd. 49,, tha onarnt0r MA nm
familiar with the 400 keys. Stem
ographers OF this city who do not
work in export or import houses
dealing with China, however. are
not apt TO be called on to memorire
the new keyboard for some time.
The machine r. said TO be the
first Chinese typewriter ever invent
ed. Heuen Chi. the student inven-
tor. conceived the idea that a type
writer could be made TO write Chi
nese while he was al bis home In
southern China three years ago. he
said He began a study OF the CHI
nese dictionary az once TO isolate
the radical or base characters OF
the words. n most cases one char
acter represented whole word In
Chinese. though, according TO Heu-
en- Chi, thousands OF these charac-
tiers are made up Of simpler charac-
tiers which alone represent words
themselves. He completed the mod
Ell a short time ago. and has patent.
ed II in this country, China and ia
pan. for II also writes japanese,
which. ne said, IL quite similar TO
Chinese.
The model Of the Chinese type
writer. which the inventor made OF
the first materials that came 10
hand, consists % two cylinders five
inches in diameter. and about 10
inches long. one OF which slides on
a base similar 70 that Of the ordi.
nary typewriter. II r. built into a
wooden structure OF the soap-box
variety. On one OF the cylinders IL
a copper plate containing the 900
minute characters. which the ma
chine prints. The other contains a
paper copy OF the same characters.
and - used as guide 20 the loca-
ton Of each character On the rim
Of this cylinder IL list OF Ito key
words, which indicate the location
~ words or characters which start
With the same sounds "a the key
words For instance Tin English. a
word beginning With the sounds
"th' or "sh- would be found In the
column designated by the keyboard
beginning with the same sounds.
The stamping process II much
the same "a that employed in the
little tin typewriters made for chill
dren's toys The operator turns the
copper cylinder until the desired
character II IN front OF a key. then
he hits the key and the character
II printed. after which the turning
process IL gone through again. AZ
present this Is done by hand, though
the inventor said that he expected
10 be able 20 attach mechanism
which would DO II more quickly
New York Times.