IMPROVEMENTS IN. PRINTING TELEGRAPH APPARATUS
Year: 1872

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George Haseltine, of the "International Patent.
Office," Southampton Buildings, London, Doctor of Laws, for the
Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN. PRINTING TELEGRAPH APPARATUS."―A
communication from abroad by Elisha Gray and. Enos Melancthon.
Danton 1 11
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COMPLETE SPECIFICATION filed by the said George Haseltine at the.
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his, Petition, and
Declaration, on the 28th November 1872, pursuant to the 9th Sec-.
tion of the Patent Law Amendment Act, 1852.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, GEORGE
HASELTINE, of the "International Patent Office," Southampton Build-
ings, London, Doctor of Laws, send greeting.

page_text: grant unto me, my executors, administrators, and assigns, Her Royal
Letters Patent for the same, and have made solemn Declaration that
it has been communicated to me from abroad by Elisha Gray and Enos
Melancthon Barton, both of Chicago, Illinois, United States of America.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said George Haseltine, do hereby
declare that the following Complete Specification, under my hand and
seal, fully describes and ascertains the nature of the said Invention, and
in what manner the same is to be performed, in and by the following
statement, reference being had to the accompanying Drawing forming
a part of this Specification.
The objects of this Invention are to retain the advantages resulting
from the use of to-and-fro (positive and negative) currents, and to dis-
pense with the use of a main battery and pole changer at every station
excepting at the station where the principal instrument is placed to
render the pole changer capable of being controlled by an operator at any
point on the line; to dispense with the employment of a switch, and
provide an instrument which shall be ready for use at all times, either
for transmitting or receiving messages, and which shall always be
adjusted to the strength of the batteries self-stopping and self-connecting,
and it consists in an automatic pole changer, in a novel arrangement of
the disk or "sunflower," and the keys connected therewith, in relation to
certain circuits and currents, and in an automatic electro unison stop and
shunting device, all of which will be hereafter more fully described, and
hich the objects above set forth are accomplished.

page_text: said instrument to the batteries, and to other instruments along the
line.
A represents the base or horizontal part of the case, and B the vertical
part having a brass cover, to which parts the various portions of the
instrument are either directly or indirectly attached. C, C', are keys,
the former of which are designated by the letters of the alphabet and
marks of punctuation, all are constructed with gutta percha heads having
brass pins extending freely through the case; D, D', are metallic platinum
pointed springs supporting the lower end of the pins projecting from the
keys, and E, E, are metallic strips faced with platinum foil, and united
by the cross piece E¹, against which strips the moveable ends of the
springs D, D', rest; F, F¹, are small insulated copper wires, each of
which communicates with one of the keys C, C¹, all of them excepting F¹
unite and form the cable G, and there separating, each wire of the cable
communicates with one of the metallic pieces H. All of the latter are
insulated from each other, and from the disc to which they are attached.
I is an electro-magnet wound with insulated copper wire (preferably
No. 23). J is a lever, and K is a bracket to which it is pivoted, as
shewn at 1, Figure 1. M is a soft iron armature rigidly attached to an
arm or lever projecting from the shoulder or pivot of the lever J; and N
is a coil spring by which the lever J is drawn back when the circuit
through the magnet I is open. When the circuit through the magnet I
is closed the armature M is drawn to the poles of the said magnet, and
the lever J vibrated as this circuit is opened and closed. O is a frame,
and P is the press lever pivoted thereto, to which lever the printing pad
or roller and the feeding mechanism is attached. The lever P is jointed
to the lever J in such a manner that the vibration of the latter operates
the feeding mechanism, and throws the pad against the type wheel. Qis
the type wheel rigidly attached to a shaft having bearings in the frame O.
R is a German silver spring rigidly attached to one end of the type wheel
shaft, and having its free end resting on one of the pieces H for certainty
of operation; this spring is split, and bent in the manner shown.
S, Figure 5, is a disc rigidly attached to the type wheel shaft, but
adjustable thereon; the outer face of this disk is spirally grooved. T is.
a platinum pin rigidly attached to, and projecting slightly across the
periphery of the disc S. U is an arm pivotted to the frame O, and
extending to the central part of the disc S; the free end of this arm is..

page_text: perforated. V is a headed steel pin passing freely through the said
perforation, and projecting into the groove on the disc S. W is a spring
resting on the head of the pin V. A' is a platinum pin supported by,
but insulated from, the arm U; a small insulated copper wire (not
shown) connects the pin A' with the inside wire of the magnet B¹ here-
after mentioned. C is a forked arm attached to the lever P, and
extending upward, its forked portion embracing the arm U so that the
upward movement of the lever P will cause the pin A' to be lifted above
the pin T, the pin V yielding for that purpose; and in order to facilitate
this yielding movement the point of the pin V is slightly rounded, and
the groove in which it rides is made slightly wedge-shaped. D¹¹ is a soft
iron armature, and E" is a pivoted lever to which it is attached. F", F",
are converging arms extending from the lever E", and terminating in a
verge or wedge-shaped projections which alternately rest in V shaped
notches sunk in the periphery of a disc (not shewn) rigidly attached to
the type wheel shaft, so that the type wheel will be intermittently
revolved by the vibrations of the lever E", and one letter at a time will
be presented to the paper on which the messages are printed. B¹, B",
are ordinary electro-magnets, the poles of which are arranged opposite
the sides of the armature D¹¹. G¹ is an insulated block attached to the
.lower end of the lever E". H', I'; J', are metallic blocks attached to the
block G', so as to be insulated from each other; K' is also an insulated
block, and L', M³, are German silver springs attached thereto, so as to
be insulated from each other. The free end of the spring L' rests
alternately on the blocks H' and I', and the spring M¹ rests alternately
on the block I and J as the lever E" vibrates. N¹ is a common wire
communicating with the blocks H², J', and with one pole of the main
battery. O¹ is a wire attached to the block I', and communicating with
the other pole of the main battery. The spring M³ communicates with
the key board, polarized relay, and the ground, and the spring L' with
the main line.

page_text: the ends of the pieces Q', Q". S¹, S", are platinum pointed screws.
T" is a post projecting from the armature R', and provided with platinum
points so arranged as to alternately come in contact with the points of
the screws S¹, S", as the armature R' is vibrated.
Having thus described the mechanical construction and operation of
these improved devices and the parts operating in connection therewith,
I will now trace the electric currents through the instrument, and
describe its operation thereon, and the operation of two or more instru-
ments acting together; and first the direction of the main current when
the machines are at rest. In Figure 6 the main circuits are represented
by full lines, the type wheel locals by dotted lines, and the printing
locals by broken lines. Beginning at instrument or station No. 1, the
plus (+) pole of the main battery enters the instrument at the binding
post, No. 7; thence it proceeds through a wire directly to the piece I'
of the automatic pole changer; thence through the spring, M', and
its wire to the type wheel shaft; thence through the spring R to that
one of the pieces H in contact therewith, and through its wire to a key
corresponding to such piece H, thence to the strips E, E, and through
key C¹ and the polarized relay, and thence out at binding post No. 8 to
the ground.
At instrument or station, No. 2, the plus (+) current passes up the
ground wire to binding post No. 11, thence to key C¹; thence through
strips E; thence through one of the keys C, and its wire to a corres-
ponding piece H; thence through the spring R, type wheel shaft, and
its wire to the polarized relay; thence to binding post No. 10, and over
the line to station No. 1, entering the instrument there at binding post
No. 9;
thence it passes through a wire to spring L' of the pole changer;
thence through the block J' which is connected by a wire to the
block H', and through a wire to a Morse relay which may be attached to
the case A; through the said "Morse" relay, and a wire to binding post
No. 6, and thence to the negative or pole of the main battery.
The circuit of the type wheel local battery of instrument No. 1 is as
follows:-Entering at binding screw No. 12 it runs to the local
magnets B', B", where it branches, and connects with the inner end of
the coil of each of said magnets; the outer ends of the said coils connect
respectively with the platinum pointed screws S₁, S"; from one or the

page_text: other of these screws the current passes to the armature R', according to
the screw in contact therewith; thence it passes to binding screw
No. 13; and thence to the type wheel local battery.
وو
The printing circuit enters binding post No. 15, and passes on a wire
directly to the armature of the "Morse "relay; when this armature is
resting on its back point it connects with one end of the wire on the
local printing magnet I, so that when the "Morse relay circuit is open
the printing local circuit is through the said magnet I; thence it passes
to binding screw No. 14, and to the printing local battery. The local
magnet B, B", is shunted when the pins T and A' are in contact, as
may be observed by tracing the broken lines in Figure 6, relating to
instrument No. 1.
Instrument No. 2 is in all respects like instrument No. 1, except that
the former has no pole changer or "Morse" relay, and the printing local
is brought into action in a different manner from that described. The
disc, corresponding to the disc S, is also differently grooved, and the pins"
corresponding to the pins T and A¹ have no electrical contact. U¹, in
instrument No. 2, Figure 6, is a toothed wheel on the front end of the
type wheel shaft; V₁ is a rectangular lever pivoted at its angle, and its
upper end is provided with a wedge-shaped point, corresponding to the
teeth or notches on the wheel U¹ with which it engages. W¹ is a point
in communication with the printing local battery, and the lower end of
the lever V₁ rests on the point W' when the upper end rests in the said
notches. The revolution of the wheel U' vibrates the lever V¹, and
breaks its contact with the point W¹, and breaks the local printing
circuit, and the vibration is so rapid that the point W₁ is not in contact
with the lever long enough to close the printing local circuit until the
type wheel stops for a moment, when the said circuit closes and a letter
is printed.
When the line is not in operation, the circuits run in the manner
described, with the exception of the local type wheel circuit at instru-
ment No. 1. The purpose of the contact of the pins T and A' is to allow
the circuit to pass around the magnet B. As the resistance of the
circuit through the shunt is infinitely less than through the magnet it
follows that there is little or no magnetism developed in magnet B¹,
and as the main circuit is running through the polarized relay magnet

page_text: in such a direction as to hold its tongue against the platinum point S¹,
there is no magnetism in either B¹ or B".
Suppose the operator at instrument No. 1 wishes to communicate
with a distant station, he depresses key C', and thereby breaks the main
circuit. By breaking this circuit the "Morse" relay magnet at instrument
No. 1 is allowed to open, and it will in turn, on its back stroke, close the
printing local and throw the printing roller or pad and the paper thereon
against the tye wheel, so as to make an impression of the letter then
presented. At the same time the arm U will be thrown up, and the
pin V will rest on the periphery of the disc S. This operation will take
the shunt from the magnet B₁, and the type wheel local current acts on
the said magnet, so that the armature D" is drawn to it. This changes
the relative position of the pole changer blocks and the springs resting
thereon, and as soon as the key c¹ is released the current of the main
battery through the polarized relays and over the whole line is reversed.
The armature of the polarized relays are now thrown against the opposite
point Su, and the local circuits through the magnets B" in all the
instruments are thus closed, and the armatures D" are immediately
drawn to them. This again reverses the main circuit, and the reverse
action takes place. If the arm U should remain up, the instruments
would continue to operate so long as the batteries developed sufficient
force. But the pin V follows the spiral groove in the disc S until the
type wheel of instrument No. 1 has made three revolutions, when the
pins T and A' are brought in contact. The last stroke of the arma-
ture D", which brought the pins T and A' in contact, lifts the springs L'
and M resting on the blocks I and J, and the armature R' is thrown
against the point S', which creates the usual action on all the type.
wheel locals except that of instrument No. 1. Magnet B' being shunted
by the contact of the points T and A', the contact of the armature R'
with the point S¹ produces no effect on the said magnet, consequently
the armatures both local and main cease to act. As all the machines in
the circuit are controlled by instrument No. 1, they all stop at the same
time and on the same letter. The points T and A' on all the instruments
except No. 1 engage with each other at two revolutions of the type
wheel instead of three, and make no electrical contact, but simply lock
the type wheel when the proper letter is presented and until the type
wheel of instrument No. 1 makes another revolution and stops at the

page_text: same letter. By this means all the type wheels, if they should be
disarranged, are brought into unison so as to act together. If the
operator at either instrument now depresses key C', the printing local of
instrument No. 1 will be closed, and the shunt taken from maguet B'.
In order to print a word or sentence the operator, before releasing key C',
depresses the key designated by the first letter of the word or sentence,
and at the same time releases key C¹. The armatures will now vibrate
rapidly, and carry forward the type wheels until they reach the letter
corresponding to the key which is still depressed. When the point of
the spring R, which moves with the type wheel, reaches the piece H
corresponding to the depressed key, it finds the main circuit open at
that key, consequently the vibration of the armatures R' ceases and the
type wheel stops, its movement depending upon the vibration of said
armature. A letter on the type wheel is now over the printing pad. All
the printing locals are also now brought into action, that of instrument
No. 1 because the armature of the "Morse" relay (A", Figure 6, instrument
No. 1) falls on its back point on account of the main circuit being
open; that of instrument No. 2 because the type wheel has stopped and
allowed the lever V₁ to rest on the point W'. The operator now finds
the key corresponding to the next letter to be printed, depresses this
key and releases the key corresponding to the first letter, and so con-
tinues until the message is printed. After he has released the last
key operated upon, the type wheel of instrument No. 1 makes threc
revolutions, and the line is then at rest.
It may be here stated that as it requires three uninterrupted revo-
lutions of the type wheel to bring the shunting points T and A' in
contact, and as a letter is printed at least as often as once in each
revolution, the said points cannot come in contact during the operation
of printing.
Having thus fully described the said Invention, as communicated to a
me by my foreign correspondents, and the manner of performing the
same, I wish it understood I make no claim to many parts of the instru-
ments here shown and described in order to specify the nature, object,
construction, and operation of the said Invention; and I wish it
especially understood that I do not claim the mechanical construction a
of the disc H or its combination with operating keys; neither do I
claim the mechanical means employed for the purpose of carrying the

page_text: of which closes the main circuit and sets the type wheel locals in action,
substantially as specified.
Seventh. A line of telegraph instruments operated by one main
battery placed at any point in the line by means of a combination of
circuits and electro-mechanical devices, substantially as herein described.
In witness whereof, I, the said George Haseltine, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Twenty-eighth day of November, in
the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
two.
Witness,
W. ROBT. LAKE,
8, Southampton Buildings,
London.
GEORGE HASELTINE. (L.S.)
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