An Improved Mode of and Apparatus for Transmitting and Recording Electrically Autographic Messages, Signals, and Markings.
Year: 1888

page_text: [Communicated from abroad by ELISHA GRAY, of Highland Park, Lake County, in
the State of Illinois, United States of America, Professor of Physics.]
An Improved Mode of and Apparatus for Transmitting and
Recording Electrically Autographic Messages, Signals, and
Markings.
I, PHILIP ARTHUR NEWTON of the Office for Patents G Breams Buildings, Chancery
Lane in the County of Middlesex, Patent Agent do hereby declare the nature of this
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described
and ascertained in and by the following statement, as communicated to me from abroad
by my foreign correspondent:–
This invention relates to a writing telegraph of that class in which the act of writing
the message at the sending station operates to reproduce it at the receiving station.
In all the systems of telegraphy of this class which have been proposed prior to my
invention, the transmitting instrument proper (herein for convenience called a
transmitting pen) was moved by the operator to form the message, such movement
varying the strength of the currents, according to the position of said transmitting pen,
in two electric circuits connected with electro-magnet devices, that moved the
reveiving instrument proper (herein called a receiving pen), the extent of movement of
said devices and through them the receiving pen varying with the varying strengths of
said currents.
Some of the objections to said systems are as follows:-
Variations in the constancy of the batteries or other generators of the currents and
in the strength of the currents due to defective insulation, rain and other causes,
occurred, which caused aberrations in the movements of the receiving pen making the
recording of a message uncertain and defective.
The transmitting and receiving pens have been capable of only sufficient or slightly
more than sufficient movement to produce a single character, the successive characters
to make up the words and sentences being produced one after another in the same or
substantially the same field. In order to cause the characters thus produced to take
their proper places one after another to form the successive words, and also to assist

page_text: in forming the characters, the paper upon which the message was written by the
receiving pen, and also the paper upon which the message was written by the operator,
if a copy of the message was to be preserved, was caused to move continuously beneath
the pen by means of a feeding mechanism specially provided for that purpose and not
under the control of the operator. From this it resulted that in order to produce
characters of the proper form and to cause them to take their proper positions in
succession to form words and sentences, it was necessary for the operator to make
allowance for the movement of the paper. To illustrate: If the operator formed his
characters in too rapid succession, the second character would be reproduced before the
paper upon which the message was being written had moved sufficiently far to carry
the first character away from the receiving pen, and the result would be that the two
characters would overlap each other-or, if the operator formed his characters too
slowly they would be separated too far from each other. In addition to this it was
necessary for the operator to distort his character, in such manner and to such an
extent that the movement of the paper beneath the pen would exactly or approximately
correct such distortion and produce characters of the proper form, and the amount and
character of the distortion necessary on the part of the operator was dependent upon
and varied with the speed at which he wrote and the speed at which the paper moved.
All of these things made it difficult to produce good results, and prevented the
reproduction of the handwriting of the operator, and made it practically impossible for
the systems to be operated except by trained operators.
This continued movement of the paper by means not under the control of the
operator, together with the limited range of movement of the transmitting and receiving
peus, made it practically impossible to dot an i or cross at or make corrections or
alterations in a sentence or even in a word after it had been written, and thus made
it necessary, if a mistake was made, to rewrite the whole matter, and this again
resulted in trouble, because there was no means of erasing the erroneous matter.
These difficulties, and others not enumerated, in telegraphs of this class which have
been proposed prior to my invention were in the way of their use practically for
transmitting pictures, drawings, maps or diagrams or such characters as Hebrew or
Chinese or those employed in shorthand writing, which in order to be of value or to be
distinguished and read must be made with at least comparative accuracy.
I overcome these difficulties by my invention, which consists in the method of and
apparatus for transmitting and recording a character by the movements of a
transmitting pen and a receiving pen, by transmuting the movements of said
transmitting pen into pulsations, of substantially the same effective strength, in au
electric circuit varying in number with the linear extent of the movement of said pen
and varying in speed of succession with the rapidity of said movement and transmuting
said pulsations into movements of the receiving pen, and in other methods, all of
which are described as carried out in the system hereinafter described and which
methods and apparatus are particularly claimed.
I have shown in the drawings a system for carrying out my invention, which I term
a telautograph and which I shall now describe.
In order that the detailed description of the construction, organization and operation
of the instruments of the system for carrying out the invention which will be hereinafter
given, may be more readily understood, a brief outline of the system will be first
given.
The system consists primarily of two instruments, a transmitting instrument and a
receiving instrument, herein termed transmitter and receiver. The transmitter and
receiver are provided with transmitting and receiving pens which can be moved
over fields of considerable extent. If the system is designed for transmitting messages
in writing, the fields will be equal in one direction to the length of a line of the
writing and in the other direction to the distance above and below the line occupied by
any character. The transmitting pen is connected to operate circuit making and
break-devices termed interrupters, located in two electric circuits and arranged to
interrupt the currents passing over the respective circuits at short intervals, producing
pulsations therein as the pen is moved in two directions crosswise of each other in

page_text: forming characters, the number of pulsations in the respective circuits being determined
by the distance the pen is moved in the respective directions. These two circuits pass
through the receiver and include electro-motors also hereinafter termed receiving
magnets, the armatures of which act through suitable connections to impart a step-by-
step movement to the receiving peu in two directions crosswise of each other, the
number of steps in each direction being determined by the number of times the
respective circuits are interrupted. By this means the movements of the transmitting
pen in, the two directions operate through the interruptions in the currents passing
over the circuits, to impart corresponding movements to the receiving pen, and thus
reproduce the matter written or traced by the operator.
Co-operating with the receiver or forming a part thereof, is a means for supporting
a recording surface upon which the message is reproduced. This recording surface
which will usually be paper, and will therefore be herein termed paper, may be either
in the form of a continuous ribbon or strip, or in the form of a pad or a detached
sheet. The receiver is also provided with means which is under control of the operator
at the transmitter, for shifting the paper after the completion of each line of writing,
so as to bring it in proper position to receive the next line, and so on. In the
preferred organization of the system, the paper is stationary during the writing, and
is shifted after the completion of each line, but this may be reversed, the pen being
stationary and the necessary movements to form the characters being imparted to the
paper, or the movement in one direction may be imparted to the paper and in the
other direction to the pen. In any case, however, the paper is not fed continuously
and independently of the control of the operator during the writing, but is only moved
in conformity to the movements of the transmitting pen. From this it results that
the reproduction is in the handwriting of the operator, and that the operator can pause
at any point and for any length of time, and upon recommencing the writing the
receiving pen will continue the record from the point where it was interrupted, and
also that the operator can go back in the line and make a correction, addition or
erasure at any point. The operator is also permitted to write at irregular speeds and
is relieved from the necessity of distorting his writing.
The system is provided with connections by which whenever the transmitting pen
is raised slightly, the same as in raising a pen or pencil from the paper in ordinary
writing, the receiving pen is correspondingly raised and vice versa. By this means,
when the end of a line is reached and the transmitting pen is moved back to
commence a new line, or when it is necessary to go back in the line to make a change,
or when it is desired to disconnect letters or words, it is only necessary to raise the
transmitting pen in the ordinary way in order to prevent the receiving pen from
making a continuous mark and thus marring the record.
The system thus briefly outlined will now be described more in detail, reference
being had to the accompanying drawings, in which
Figure 1 is a plan view of the transmitter.
Figure 2 is a vertical section of the same, taken on the line 2 of Figure 1.
Figure 3 is an enlarged plau view of one of the interrupters and the parts immediately
connected therewith.
Figure 4 is a sectional elevation of the same.
Figure 5 is an enlarged plan view of one of the pole changers.
Figure 6 is an elevation of the same.
Figure 7 is an enlarged plan view of a pair of reversely arranged temporary circuit
breakers, the purpose of which will be hereinafter explained.
Figure Sis-an-elevation of the same.
Figure 9 is an enlarged plan view of a pen rack for receiving the transmitting
pen when it is not in use, showing also a switch mechanism for connecting the receiver
or transmitter at any station with the line wires.
Figure 10 is an elevation of the same.
Figure 11 is a plan view of the receiver.
Figure 12 is an enlarged plan view of one pair of the receiving magnets.
Figure 18 is an end elevation of the same.

page_text: Figure 14 is a side elevation of the same.
Figure 15 is a vertical section taken on the line 15 of Figure 11.
Figure 16 is an enlarged plan view of one of the polarized relays.
Figure 17 is an end view of the same with certain parts removed.
Figure 18 is a diagram showing the electrical connections through which the system
is operated.
Figures 19, 20 and 21 are views illustrating a modified arrangement of the
receiving magnet; Figure 19 being a side elevation, Figure 20 au end elevation and
Figure 21 a plan view.
Figures 22, 23 and 24 are views illustrating a means of imparting a movement to
the paper corresponding to the movements imparted to the receiving pen in the system
as illustrated in the other figures; Figure 22 being a plan view, Figure 23 a section
taken on the line 23 of Figure 22, and Figure 24 a section taken on the line 24 of
the same figure.
Figure 25 is a view indicating a modification of the form of the recording surface,
and Figure 26 is a modification of the receiving pen.
Referring now particularly to Figures 1 to 10 and 18, the principal features of the
transmitter will be described.
This instrument consists primarily of the transmitting pen A, which is moved by
the operator to form the characters or other matter to be transmitted. This pen may
be a simple handle of convenient form to be grasped by the operator and moved to
describe the outlines of the characters, but as it will usually be desirable to preserve a
copy of the message, it will usually be a pencil fountain pen and it is therefore
termed a pen, but this term wherever used in a general sense is to be understood as
including any writing instrument or a simple handle which can be moved to form the
outlines of the characters.
The pen A is connected at its point to two cords or other flexible connections,
55, 56, which extend horizontally crosswise to each other and are connected to and
operate the two circuit making and breaking devices B, C, termed interrupters, located
in two electric circuits b, c, termed main circuits, and so arranged that as the pen A
is moved from left to right and vice versa the circuit is interrupted or made and broken
repeatedly in quick succession, producing pulsations therein varying in number with
the linear extent of the movement of the pen A and varying in speed of succession
with the rapidity of such movement, while as the pen is moving up and down in
forming the characters the circuit is interrupted and pulsations produced therein in
the same manner.
The two interrupters B, C and their auxiliaries are exact duplicates and a description
of one will therefore apply to both.
Each of the cords 55, 56, is connected to and wound upon a small drum (see
Figs. 1, 3 and 4), upon a shaft 9, to which one wire of the circuit is connected. The
shaft 9 is provided with an arm 10, the end of which carries a brush 12, which
sweeps in contact with the face of a metallic disk 13, to which the other wire of
the circuit is connected. The face of the disk over which the brush 12 sweeps is
provided with a series of channels or cuts located in close proximity and containing
pieces of insulating material 8, so that as the brush sweeps over the face of the
disk in either direction the current passing over the circuit in which the brush
and disk are located will be interrupted or made and broken repeatedly in quick
succession: the number and rapidity of the interruptions being determined by the
extent and rapidity of the movement of the brush." Each of the shafts 9 is also
provided with a second cord or wire 14, which is wound upon the shaft in the
direction the reverse of the cords 55, 56, and is connected to a spring or other
retractile 15. the tendency of which is to unwind the cord 14 and wind the
cord 55 (or 56 as the case may be). Each of the cords 55, 56 passes between
guides 16 located between the pen and the shafts 9 and the cords are provided with
stops 17 which engage with the guides 16 and arrest. the cords and limit the
movement given to the shafts 9 and brushes 12 by the springs 15. The transmitting
instrument is provided with two local circuits & which include local batteries f

page_text: and the electro-magnets g of a pair of pole changers D, E (see Figs. 1, 5, 6 and 18),
which are located, respectively. in the main circuits b, and which act for a
purpose which will be hereinafter explained, to automatically change the polarity
of the currents passing over the respective circuits whenever the movement of
the transmitting pen in either direction is reversed. The pole changers D, E
are of any of the common and well known forms and are connected to the two
poles of the main batteries F and to the two wires of the respective main
circuits, b, c, in the usual manner. For the purpose of operating the pole changers,
the cords 55, 56, pass around pulleys 18 (see figs. 1, 3 and 4), mounted upon
shafts 19, which operate circuit makers and breakers included in the respective local
circuits d.
For this purpose the shafts 19 are provided with arms, 20, which are frictionally
connected to the shafts and have a limited movement between fixed stops 7.
The arms, 20, and one of the stops, 7, of each arm are included in the respective
local circuits so that the rocking of the arms between their stops operates to
make and break the local circuits and thus operate the pole changers to change
the polarity of the currents passing over the main circuits be, at each vibration of
the arms.
The operation of the transmitter as thus far described is as follows: The operator
will take the pen A in his hand and form the characters in proper sequence in the
usual manner, moving the pen up and down and from left to right in forming the
characters and writing the line. the same as in ordinary writing.
As the pen
makes the down strokes in forming the characters the cord 56 will be unwound
from the shaft, 9, of the interrupter C, thereby revolving the shaft and moving
the brush, 12, over the disk 13, and interrupting the current over the circuit e
repeatedly and in quick succession, the number and rapidity of the interruptions
being determined by the speed and extent of the movement of the pen.
As the pen
makes the up strokes the spring 15 will rewind the cord 56 and move the brush 12
in the reverse direction, interrupting the current in the same manner. So long as
the up or down movement of the pen continues the cord 56 acting upon the pulley 18,
will hold the arm, 20, against one of the stops 7 and the local circuit & will remain
closed (or broken as the case may be), so that the pole changer E will not be
operated and the polarity of the current passing over the circuit will not be changed.
As soon,
however, as the movement of the pen is reversed-i.c., changed from up to
down or down to up-the movement of the pulley 18 will be reversed and the
arm, 20, will be rocked against its other stop, thereby changing the condition of
the local circuit, d, and operating the pole changer so as to change the polarity of
the current passing over the circuit, and this change in the polarity of the
current will take place as often as the up and down movement of the pen is
reversed. As the pen is moved from right to left and left to right the cord 55 and
the spring 15 will operate the brush 12 of the interrupter B to interrupt the
current over the circuit & in the same manner, and the cord 55 acting on the
pulley 18 will act to close or break the other local circuit, d, and thus operate the pole
changer, D, to change the polarity of the current passing over the circuit 6 whenever
the movement of the pen is reversed, the same as described in connection with the
polo changer E.
It is to be remarked that the construction and arrangement of the circuit
makers and breakers formed by the arms 20 may, of course, be widely changed
without departing from the invention, and it is also to be understood that the
brushes 12 may be stationary and the disks 13, moved in contact with the brushes
if preferred.
Referring now particularly to figures 11 to 18 the principal features of the receiver
will be described. This instrument consists primarily of the receiving pen G,
which may be a writing instrument of any suitable form for recording the message.
The term pen as applied to this instrument is, therefore, to be understood as including
any form of writing instrument. In the case shown a fountain pen is employed

page_text: which is composed of a tube of very fine or capillary bore having its end formed into
a writing point. This pen is connected by a piece of flexible rubber tubing 57, with
a capillary tube 58, which enters an ink well 59, preferably located in such position
that the surface of the ink in the well will be upon a lower level than the point of
the pen. To maintain the well at the proper height, as the ink is lowered by use,
it is provided with an adjusting screw 60. By locating the ink well below the point
of the pen it is found that the ink will be properly supplied to the pen by the
capillary action of the pen and the tube 58, while if the well is located above the pen
there is danger of the ink flowing foo freely. The well may, however, be so arranged
that the ink will flow to the pen by gravity, an arrangement to this effect being
shown by dotted lines in figure 15; suitable means being provided for regulating its
flow, or the ink may be otherwise supplied to the pen. The pen is carried upon the
end of an arm 61, which is preferably tubular, to receive the tube 57, and is con-
nected by a universal joint 62, to the end of a rod 21, which is free to move
longitudinally in a bearing 63, but is retained in any position to which it is moved by
means of frictional jaws 64, which are carried by light spring arms 65, and act to grip
the rod with sufficient force to prevent its accidental movement, and also to overcome
its inertia, and arrest and hold it at the end of each step of its movement as will be
presently explained.
Located adjacent to the rod 21 are a pair of reversely arranged receiving electro
magnets HH, which are included in the circuit c, and are provided with armatures h,
which are arranged to act upon the rod 21 in such manner as to impart a step-by-step.
movement to the rod in opposite directions according as one or the other of the
magnets is energized. For this purpose the armatures are divided at their centres
so as to form two parts 5, 6, which are connected at their outer ends to pivots 22,
so as to be capable of swinging to and from the cores of the magnets. The pivots 22
are in turn supported in frames 23, which are connected to pivots 24 in such manner
as to swing laterally, and thus carry the two parts 5, 6, of the armatures to and from
each other. The frames 23 are provided with springs 60, the tendency of which is to
draw the two parts of the armatures away from each other, the movement of the parts
in this direction being limited by back stops 67. The movement of the two parts of the
armatures away from the cores of the magnets is effected by means of a spring 68
connected to one of the parts, the part not connected to the spring being provided with
a lip 2, of non-magnetic substance, which engages with the other part. The move-
ment of the armatures in this direction is limited by an adjustable back stop 69. The
rod 21 and the magnets H H and their armatures are so arranged that the rod passes
between the adjacent ends of the two parts 5, 6 of each armature in such manner that
when the two parts of either armature are moved toward each other they will act to
grip the rod between them, and being then moved towards the magnet, they will carry
the rod with them and impart a corresponding movement to the pen G.
The operation of the receiving magnets and their armatures is as follows:
Whenever the magnet H is energized by the closing of the circuit in which it is
located, the two parts of its armature will be attracted towards each other and toward
the cores of the magnet. The springs 66 are so adjusted as to be slightly weaker than
the spring 68 so that upon the magnet becoming energized and thus magnetizing the
two parts of the armature, they will move toward each other and grip the rod in
advance of being moved toward the magnet. After gripping the rod the two parts of
the armature will move toward the magnet, thereby imparting a corresponding move-
ment to the rod. As soon as the magnet is de-energized by the interrupting of the
current over the circuit the springs 66 will draw the two parts of the armature
apart, thereby releasing the rod, and the spring 68 will draw the parts back against
the back stop 69. This operation will be repeated as often as the current over the
circuit c is interrupted, so as to energize and de-energize the magnet H and thus
the rod 21 and the pen G will be moved with a step-by-step movement, the number
and rapidity of the steps beingdetermined bythe number and rapidityof the interruption
in the current over the circuit c. The movement thus given to the pen & will

page_text: constitute the upward movement of the pen in forming the characters. Whenever the
magnet H is energized and de-energized, the same operation will take place except
that the rod 21 and the pen will be moved in the reverse direction.
From this it will readily be seen that in order to cause the up and down movements
of the receiving pen G to conform to the corresponding movements of the transmitting
pen A, it is only necessary to cause the interruptions in the circuit e occasioned by the
movement of the brush 12 as the transmitting pen is moved upward, to de-energize
and energize the magnet H; and the interruptions in the same circuit occasioned by
the reverse movement of the brush as the transmitting pen is moved in the reverse
direction, to de-energize and energize the magnet H'.
To effect this the circuit, which as before stated includes both the magnets H H',
also includes the magnet 1, of a polarized relay I (see Figs. 11-16-17 and 18) the
polarized armature 25 of which is connected by a wire k with the circuit e, between
the magnets H H' while the contact points 3-4 between which the armature vibrates
are connected to wires which respectively connect with the circuit beyond the
magnet Hand between the magnet H and the relay.
The relay I is so organized that the polarity of the current passing over the circuit c
while the transmitting pen is moving downward will cause the magnet to vibrate
the polarized armature 25 into contact with the point 3. The current passing over the
circuit will then pass over the wire n, armature 25 and wire and through the
magnet H,thus short circuitingthe magnet H. and leavingthe magnet H', to be energized
and de-energized and thus move the receiving pen G in the same direction. As soon,
however, as the movement of the transmitting pen is reversed, the polarity of the
current passing over the circuit will as before explained be changed, and this will
cause the magnet. I to vibrate the armature 25 against the point 4. The current then
passing over the circuit c, will pass through the magnet H, and over the wire k,
armature 25 and wire m, thus short circuiting the magnet H, and correspondingly
reversing the movement of the pen G. By this means the receiving pen is caused to
reproduce the up and down movements of the transmitting pen.
At some suitable point, preferably near the pen G, the rod 61 is pivotally connected
to a rod 70 which is connected by a universal joint 71 to a rod 26, which extends
in a direction crosswise of the rod 21, preferably at or substantially at right
angles thereto. Located adjacent to the rod 26 are two receiving magnets KK,
which are included in the circuit b, and are provided with armatures, which are
arranged and act upon the rod 26 in exactly the same manner as the armatures of the
magnets H H act upon the rod 21, so that the energizing and de-energizing of the
magnet K operates through its armature to move the rod 26 and the pen G from left
to right; while the energizing and de-energizing of the magnet K¹ operates in a
similar manner to move the pen in the reverse direction. The circuit 6 is provided
with a polarized relay J, similar to the relay I, which is arranged and acts to short
circuit one or the other of the magnets K K¹ whenever the polarity of the current
passing over the circuit is changed, the same as described in connection with the
circuit c. The relay J is so arranged that so long as the transmitting pen is moved
from left to right, the current passing over the circuit will pass through the magnet K
and act to move the receiving pen in the corresponding direction, and that when the
movement of the transmitting pen is reversed and the polarity of the current changed,
the current will pass through the magnet K' and act to reverse the movement of the
receiving pen.
It has now been explained how the movement of the transmitting pen along or at
right angles to the line upon which the message is being written in either direction
will cause the receiving pen to move in the same direction, the movements of the latter
pen being made up of a series of short steps. From this it follows that any movement
of the transmitting pen in any direction oblique to the line, or intermediate of these two
directions. will cause the receiving pen to move in a corresponding direction, but with
a compound movement made up of a number of steps taken at right angles to or cross-
wise of each other, the relative number of steps in each direction depending upon the
obliquity of the direction in which the transmitting pen is moved. By this means the

page_text: receiving pen is caused to substantially follow any movement of the transmitting pen
and thus reproduce a substantial fue simile of whatever is written or traced by the
latter. The irregular or wavy character of the oblique lines made by the receiving
pen will not detract materially from the appearance of the writing and will not be
sufficiently marked to prevent the handwriting of the person at the transmitting
instrument from being readily recognized. The length of the steps with which the
receiving pen is moved maybe varied considerably.but the receiver will preferably be so
adjusted that the pen will take from seventy-five to one hundred steps to the inch.
If it is desired that the characters formed by the receiving pen shall correspond in size
to those formed by the transmitting pen, the receiver will be so adjusted that the
receiving pen will, at each interruption of one of the circuits, be moved a distance
equal to the movement of the transmitting pen required to effect the interruption. By
changing the relative movements of the two pens the reproduction may be enlarged
or reduced.
It has already been stated that it is important that the receiving pen should be so
under the control of the operator at the transmitter that when he desires to break the
connection between letters or words in the message or to go back along the line for
the purpose of making an addition, correction or interlineation, or when he has
completed one line and wishes to move the transmitting pen back to the point to
commence a new line, the receiving pen will make the corresponding movements
without making any mark on the paper. To effect this, the system is so organized
that the operator can when he desires cause the receiving pen to be raised from the
paper. The bore of the pen is so fine that no ink will flow from the pen except, at
such times as its point rests upon the paper, and thus when the pen is raised it will
respond to the movements of the transmitting pen without producing any mark. For
this purpose the receiver is provided with a vertically moving pen rest 27 (see Figs.
11 and 15) which extends horizontally beneath the pen and is supported upon arms
projecting from a rock shaft 28, and provided with, a spring or other retractile 29, by
which it is normally held in position to raise the point of the nen slightly from the
paper. The pen rest 27 may be arranged to act upon the rod 61. but it will preferably
be arranged to act upon a light extension 30 projecting beyond the pen. Acting upon
the rest 27 is a pivotal arm 31, which carries the armature 32 of an electro magnet
of comparatively high resistance which is included in a local circuit a, which also
includes a part of the arm31,a circuit closer 33carried by the arm and a local battery p.
The local circuit a is provided with a branch q which includes an electro-magnet
of comparatively low resistance and also a vibrating circuit closer 34 (see figs. 11 and
16) operated by an armature 72, which is acted upon by the magnet of the relay 1.
The circuit closer 34 is also acted on by a spring 35 which tends to move it to position
to complete the circuit through the branch q. The circuit a is also provided with a
branch's which includes a reversely acting circuit closer 34 which is similarly arranged
with relation to the magnet 1 of the relay J.
()
T
The transmitter is provided with a yielding table or platform 36 (see fig. 2), which is
located directly beneath the point of the transmitting pen and extends over the entire
range of movement of the pen. This table is supported upon arms 37 which are pivoted
at 38 so as to permit the table to yield slightly when the point of the pen A is brought
down upon it with a pressure equal or about equal to the pressure exerted upon a pen
or pencil in ordinary writing. One of the arms 37 is provided with a forward exten-
sion 39 which plays between stops 40, 42, which limit the movement of the table, and
is provided with a spring 41, the tendency of which is to normally hold the table in
its raised position with the arm 39 out of contact with the stop 40. The stop 40 and
the arm 39 form a circuit closer which is included in a local circuit which includes.
a local battery and an electro-magnet 16. The armature 43 of the magnet w (see
Figs. 1, 7 and 8), is secured to a pivoted lever 44 which is normally held against a
back ston 45, by a spring 46, and carries upon its opposite sides two contact points 47,
48, which are insulated from each other. Located upon opposite sides of the lever 44
are a pair of pivoted levers 49, 50, which are provided with springs 51 which act to
normally hold the lever 49 in engagement with the contact point 47, and in close

page_text: proximity to but not in engagement with a back stop 52, and the lever 50 in engage-
ment with a similar back stop 54, and in close proximity to but not in engagement
with the contact point 48. Each of the levers 49, 50, is provided with an adjustable
weight 53, by which the inertia of the levers can be increased or diminished to any.
desired extent to secure the proper operation of the levers as will be hereinafter
explained. The lever 49, contact point 47, and back stop 52, are included in the main
circuit b, while the lever 50, contact point 48, and back stop 54, are included in the
main circuit e. The levers 49, 50, form reversely acting temporary circuit breakers
for the respective circuits b, c, as will presently appear.
The operation of this part of the system is as follows: When the parts are in their
normal position, that is to say, when the transmitting pen is not, in use, the spring 41
will hold the table 36 in its raised position and the arm 39 out of engagement with the
stop 40 so as to break the local circuit t and de-energize the magnet w. So long as the
magnet is not energized the lever 44 will be held against its back stop 45 and the
lever 49 will remain in engagement with the contact point 47, so as to close the circuit
at that point, and the lever 50 will remain in engagement with the back stop 54, so
as to also close the circuit d at that point. So long as both the circuits b, c remain
closed the magnets of the relays I J will both be energized so as to attract their
armatures and rock the circuit closers 34 into position to break the connection through
both of the branches gs, and the pen rest 27 being then raised so as to raise the
arm 31,the circuit closer 33 will be operated to break the local circuit a and de-energize
the magnet o, and the spring 29 will hold the pen rest in its raised position, so as to
raise the pen G from the paper and hold it in that position. And this will continue
as long as the table 36 remains in its raised position.
When it is desired to commence the transmission of a message, the operator takes
the transmitting pen in his hand, and moving it to the proper position to commence
the writing, places the point against the table 36, and forms the characters with the
same pressure on the pen as in ordinary writing. The pressure of the pen against the
table acts to depress the table, so as to rock the arm 39 against the stop 40 and close
the local circuit t. This will energize the magnet w, so as to rock the lever 44 and
cause the contact point 48 to strike against the free end of the lever 50, and the blow
thus given to the lever will cause it to swing away from both the contact point 48 and
the back stop 54, and thus temporarily break the main circuit c. The spring 51 will,
however, act to very quickly overcome the inertia of the lever and its weight 53 and
swing it back against the contact point 48, and thus again close the circuit c. The
break thus made in the circuit e will be of exceedingly short duration, but the time
between the breaking and closing of the circuit may be regulated with great nicety by
adjusting the position of the weight 58, so as to cause the lever to swing a greater or
less distance. As the lever 44 is rocked by the movement of the armature 43, as just
described, the lever 49 will follow the movement of the lever 44 until it engages with
its back stop 52, so that the main circuit will not be broken.
The temporary breaking of the circuit c, caused by the swinging of the lever 50,
will operate to de-energize the magnet 7 of the relay I and permit its circuit. closer 34
to be rocked by its spring 35, so as to close the local circuit a through the branch q.
This will cause the current from the battery p to pass through the magnets or, but
the magneto being of high resistance and the magnet r of low resistance, the former
will alone be energized, thereby rocking the arm 31 and depressing the pen rest 27
so as to lower the point of the pen G onto the paper. As soon as the arm 31 is thus
rocked the circuit closer 33 will close the circuit a, so as to short circuit the
magnet and circuit closer 34, and the magnet o will remain energized so
as to hold the pen rest depressed until de-energized by the raising of the
transmitting pen as will be presently explained. As soon as the circuit c is closed
by the return of the lever 50 against the contact point 48 the magnet of the relay I
will be re-energized and the circuit closer 34 will be rocked so as to break the
connection through the branch q.
Whenever the operator desires to break the connections between words or characters,
or to go back along the line for any purpose, or, having completed one line, wishes

page_text: to commence a new one, he has only to raise the transmitting pen off the table 30 the
same as in ordinary writing. As soon as the pen is raised from the table 36 the
spring 41 acting upon the arm 39 will raise the table and at the same time rock
the arm 39 so as to break the local circuit t. This will de-energize the magnet 10
and release the armature 43 so as to permit the lever 44 to be rocked back against
its back stop 45, and as the lever 44 is thus rocked it will strike the end of the lever 49
and swing it, the same as has been described in connection with the lever 50, so as
to temporarily break the circuit b, the circuit e remaining closed the same as described
in connection with the circuit b. This temporary breaking of the circuit will
operate to de-energize the magnet 7 of the relay J and permit its circuit closer 34 to
close the branch s, and short circuit and thus de-energize the magnet o so as to
release the arm 31 and permit the spring 29 to elevate the pen rest 27, and raise the
pen G. from the paper and at the same time operate the circuit closer 33 to break
the local circuit a. The pen will then respond to the movement of the transmitting
pen, as already described, but without making any record upon the paper. The
transmitting and receiving pens having been moved to the position where it is
desired to recommence the writing, the operator has only to depress the point of the
transmitting pen against the table 36 and the receiving pen will be lowered onto the
paper as already described.
In order to prevent the magnets of the relays I, J from being entirely de-energized
so as to release their armatures and thus allow the circuit closers 34 to close the
branches s, each time the circuits are interrupted by the movement of the
brushes 12 over the disks 1, the springs 35 are-so adjusted that the amount of
energy required to overcome their tension is much less than the energy required to
operate the armatures of the receiving magnets H, H. K, K. and the main
circuits are provided with shunt circuits which connert with the main circuits
upon opposite sides of the interrupters and include resistance coils or other
resistances 2,
which are so adjusted as to allow a constant current to pass over the
main circuits sufficient to energize the magnets to overcome the springs 35, but not
sufficient to operate the armatures h. It is to be understood, therefore, that when
the circuits b, c are referred to as being broken or interrupted by the interrupters B, C,
it is not to be understood that the circuits are necessarily completely broken so as to
entirely stop the currents, but only that the currents are sufficiently interrupted to
release the armatures of the receiving magnets.
From the foregoing it will be seen that all of the movements required to form the
individual letters or characters, and also to bring them in proper position, one after
another, to form the words of a line, are made by the receiving pen, the paper
remaining stationary during the writing. When, however, one or more lines have
been written, it is necessary that the paper should be shifted so as to bring a new
portion into position to be written upon. If the message is to be written in the form
of a single line extending along the length of a narrow ribbon or paper, the paper
must be shifted longitudinally the length of the line which has been written, so that
when the writing is resumed it will continue from the point on the paper where it
was interrupted. If, on the other hand, the message is written in lines extending
across a sheet or wide ribbon of paper, the paper must be shifted forward a distance
equal to the space between one or more lines. In either case it is important that
the mechansim for shifting the paper in the receiver should be under the control of
the onerator at the transmitter.
As herein illustrated, the message is written in the receiver upon a wide ribbon of
paper L, which is supported at rest upon a stationary paper support while the
writing is in progress. The paper L is led from a roll, and after passing over the
support beneath the point of the pen, passes downward out of the instrument,
where it is attached to a clip 73 of sufficient weight to maintain it at the proper
tension and to draw it off the roll when the latter is permitted to turn. Suitable
guides as 74 will preferably be provided to hold the paper smoothly and evenly
beneath the pen.
The roll upon which the paper is wound is provided at one end
with an escapement wheel 75, which is controlled by an escapement lever 76, to

page_text: The
which is attached the armature 77 of the magnet, the lever 76 being so arranged
that when rocked by the action of the magnet it will permit one tooth of the
escapement wheel to pass and the weight 73 to unwind and shift the paper L.
escapement lever 76 is provided with a spring or other retractile 78, which, as soon
as the magnet is de-energized will rock the lever in the opposite direction,
and thus permit another tooth to pass and the paper to be again shifted.
The movement thus given to the paper each time the magnet is energized
and de-energized is equal to the space between two lines. It has already
been explained that whenever the circuit e is temporarily broken by the action
of the lever 50, the current from the local battery is caused to pass through the
magnet r, but without energizing it. If, however, both the circuits b, c, are simul-
taneously broken, the branches g, s, of the local circuit a will both be closed and the
current from the battery 2 will pass over the wires «, q, s, and through the magnet
without passing through the magnet o, and the result will be that the magnet
become energized so as to attract its armature and rock the escapement lever 76 to
allow the paper L to be shifted as described.
will
For the purpose of simultaneously breaking both the circuits b, d, to effect the
shifting of the paper L when desired, the transmitting instrument is provided with a
circuit breaker M (see Fig. 2) by which the operator can when he desires break both
the circuits b, 6, simultaneously. For this purpose the circuits b, c, include contact
springs or brushes 79, which rest upon a pair of metallic blocks 80 set in a head 81 of
insulating material which is carried upon a shaft 82, having a handle 83, which is in
convenient position to be moved by the operator. The shaft 82 is acted on by a
spring or other retractile 84, which normally holds the shaft and head 81 in such
position that the blocks 80 connect the brushes 79 and close the circuits b, . By
operating the handle 83 however the shaft can be given a partial turn so as to carry
the blocks 80 out from under the brushes 19 and thus break both the circuits and
effect the shifting of the paper L as described.
In the practical operation of the system it will usually be desirable to make a copy
or duplicate of the message at the sending station and for this purpose the transmitter
is provided with a wide ribbon of paper N similar to the paper used in the receiver
which is also supported at rest while the writing is in progress. The paper N is led
from a roll and passes forward over the table 36 beneath the transmitting pen, and,
after passing over a roll 85 mounted upon the shaft 38, is led from the instrument.
A guide, as 86, will preferably be provided, which will operate to hold the paper
smoothly beneath the pen. To effect the shifting of the paper N the roll 85 is pro-
vided with a small co-operating spring-pressed roll 87, which is journaled in the
arms 37 and between which and the roll 85 the paper passes. The roll 85 is provided
with a ratchet 88, which is engaged by a pawl 89 carried upon one end of a lever 90,
the other end of which is connected by a rod 91 with an arm 92 upon the shaft 82 in
such manner that whenever the handle 83 is operated to break the tircuits b, c, and
effect the shifting of the paper L, the pawl 89 will also be operated to shift the
paper N a corresponding distance.
The general operation of the system is as follows: The instruments having been
supplied with the paper L, N, the operator will take the transmitting pen and, bolding
it out of contact with the paper N, move it to the point over the paper where he
desires to commence the writing of the message. As the transmitting pen is thus
moved, one or both of the brushes 12 will be moved so as to interrupt one or both of
the circuits b, c, and thus through the magnets H, H', K. K', and their armatures,
move the receiving pen to a corresponding position over the paper L, the receiving
pen being raised out of contact with the paper by the pen lifter 27. The operator will
then place the point of the transmitting pen upon the paper, as in ordinary writing,
and as soon as the transmitting pen is pressed upon the paper, the table 36 will he
depressed, thereby closing the local circuit t, and through the connections which have
been described, depressing the pen rest 27, so as to lower the pen Gon to the paper.
The operator will then write along the line in the usual manner, and the movements
of the transmitting pen in forming the characters and in moving along the line, will

page_text: operate the brushes 12 to interrupt the circuits 6 c, and the arms 20 to change the
polarity of the currents passing over the circuits, and thus energize and de-energize
the respective magnets H, H', K, K', and cause the receiving pen to follow the move-
ments of the transmitting pen with a step-by-step movement, and thus reproduce the
message. If at any point in the line the operator wishes to break the connection
between characters or words, or to go back on the line to make an addition or
correction, he will raise the transmitting pen from the paper. This will allow the
table 36 to be raised and break the local circuit t, and through the connections which
have been described, de-energize the magnet o, and allow the pen rest 27 to raise the
receiving pen from its paper. By then moving the transmitting pen to the desired
position and lowering it on to the paper, the receiving pen will be moved to and
lowered on to the paper in a corresponding position. At the end of a line the operation
will be the same. When a line has been completed, and it is desired to commence a
new line, the operator will, either before or after moving the transmitting pen into
position to commence the new line, operate the handle 83 so as to shift the paper N,
and at the same time break both the circuits be, and this will, through the connections
which have been described, energize the magnet and operate the escapement to
correspondingly shift the paper L.
In a practical embodiment of the system it will usually be necessary to have a
transmitter and a receiver located at each station, so that messages can both be sent
and received at any station, and in such case it will, of course be desirable to utilize
the line wires of the circuits b, c, for both sending and receiving: This can readily
be done by providing a switch apparatus at each station by which the transmitter and
receiver can be switched into and cut out of the circuits at pleasure.
0
One form of switch apparatus suitable for this purpose is illustrated in the present
case. For this purpose the line wires of the circuits b, c, (see figures 9 and 10), are
connected to spring contacts or brushes 93 which rest upon the periphery of a rotary
switch 94 having two pairs of contact blocks 95, 96, which are connected respectively
to wires b, c, which lead to the receiver and to wires b, a which lead to the transmitter.
By turning the switch 94 until the brushes 93 rest upon the blocks 95, the receiver
will be switched into the circuits and the transmitter cut out, and vice versa. In the
practical operation of the system it is also important that means should be provided
which will make it certain that the receiver at any station will be switched into the
circuits at all times, except when the transmitter at that station is in use. To insure
this, the shaft 97 upon which the switch 94 is carried, is provided with a socket 98,
which is adapted to receive the one end of the transmitting pen and the instrument is
provided with a stationary fork 99 which is adapted to receive and support the other
end of the pen. The fork 99 is so positioned that when one end of the pen is inserted
into the socket 98, and the other end rests in the fork, the switch 94 will be in position
to connect the receiver to the line wires of the circuits. By this means it is only
necessary for the operator, when he has finished using the pen, to place it in the pen
rack or receiver formed by the socket and fork to insure the proper connection of the
receiver to the circuits, and a glance at the transmitter will show at any time whether
or not the proper connection exists. This feature is of particular importance when the
system is employed for ordinary business purposes and is not operated by specially
skilled operators. Whenever the transmitting pen is removed from the pen rack, it
will usually be for the purpose of transmitting a message, and in such case it is of
course necessary to shift the switch 94 so as to connect the transmitter to the line
wires. To effect this automatically, the shaft 97 is provided with an arm 100 which
is acted on by a spring or other retractile 101 in such manner that when the
shaft is released by the lifting of the pen from the rack the spring will act to shift
the switch into position to connect the transmitter with the line wires and maintain
that connection until the switch is again shifted by the replacing of the pen in
the rack.
Modifications may be made in many of the details of the system, and still it would
carry out my invention. A few of the more general modifications which may be made
will be referred to. The receiving pen may in some cases consist of a simple pencil

page_text: or tracer as indicated in figure 26, and in such cases the apparatus for supplying the
ink to the pen will be dispensed with. In some cases it may be preferred to write the
message in the form of a single line extending along the length of a narrow ribbon of
paper as indicated in figure 25, and in such cases it will only be necessary to arrange
the mechanism for shifting the paper, so that the paper will be shifted in the direction
of the length of the line, and operate the handle 8 a sufficient number of times to
shift the paper the length of a line. If, in addition to transmitting messages in writing
it should be desired to capacitate the system to transmit and reproduce diagrams, maps
or pictures, all that is necessary is to allow the transmitting and receiving pens to have
the necessary range of movement in each direction. The closing and breaking of the
local circuit to lower and raise the receiving pen may be effected by a special key
instead of by the transmitting pen, or by a circuit closer arranged and operated in
any suitable way. The paper L, instead of being shifted by a weight controlled by an
escapement, may be shifted in any other desired manner, or the means for shifting the
paper or raising the pen, or both, may be omitted. So also the means for holding the
paper at rest during the writing operation may also be modified.
The rods 21, 26, instead of being straight may form the peripheries of segments or
wheels, as shewn in figures 19 to 21. the receiving magnets being so positioned
that their armatures will act upon the wheels to revolve them in reverse directions by
gripping their peripheries. In such case as this the rotary motion of the wheel will
of course have to be converted into reciprocating motion to be transmitted to the
pen. This may be done in a variety of ways, as, for example, by means of a
cord 102 which passes around the wheel and it attached to the ends of a rod 103,
which moves in guides 104 and is connected by a universal joint to the rod or arm for
moving the pen.
It has been stated that the movements necessary to reproduce the message instead
of being imparted to the receiving pen may be wholly or in part imparted to the
paper. Figs. 22 to 24 illustrate one way in which this can be done. In this case
the pen is stationary, and the paper L in the form of a sheet or pad of sheets
is supported upon a small table 105, which is arranged to move in a dove-tail
channel formed in a carriage 106, which carriage is in turn arranged to move in
a dove-tail channel arranged crosswise of the first channel. The table 105, and
carriage 106, are connected respectively to and operated by arms 107 and 108, corre
sponding to and operated in the same manner as the arms 61, 70, connected to the
pen. This is, however, a simple reversal of the order of movement, and it is to be
considered as in a broad sense the equivalent of correspondingly moving the pen.
It is to be understood, therefore that whenever the paper is referred to as "stationary"
or "at rest," that term only means that the paper has no independent feeding move-
ment while the writing is in progress, and it is also to be understood that when the
movement of the receiving pen is referred to as forming the characters that also
includes the equivalent movement of the paper.
Instead of the electro-motors or receiving magnets herein described, any electro-
motor that can be operated by pulsations of substantially the same effective strength
in an electric circuit to move the receiving pen as described, or which will transmute
such pulsations into the described movements of said pen, may be used.
It is to be understood that the terms character," writing" and
message
herein used include any matter such as pictures, maps,drawings, diagrams and arbitrary
characters of all kinds as well as ordinary and short-handwriting; also that the term
it paper
"includes any surface suitable for receiving writing or from which writing or
printing already made is to be traced.
as
As will be seen from the above description, in transmitting and recording a
character I transmute the movement of the transmitting pen into pulsations, of sub-
stantially the same effective strength, in an electric circuit, varying in number
with the linear extent of the movement of said pen and varying in speed of succes-
sion with the rapidity of such movement, by wholly or partly interrupting the current,
and I transmute such pulsations into movements of the receiving pen.
By pulsations of substantially the same effective strength I mean that they are

page_text: the effects produced by wholly or partially interrupting a current in an electric
circuit, the strength of such current in such circuit between such interruptions being
sufficient to operate the electro-motor and the interruptions preventing such current
from operating such motor whether the strength of the current changes or not,
being thus radically different from the electrical effects employed in electrical writing
instruments proposed prior to my invention in which the effective strength of the
current in the circuit is purposely constantly varied by increments added to or taken
from said current which latter continuously operates the motor during the operation
of writing, an example of such an instrument being set forth in the specification of
Letters Patent granted to E. A. Cowper dated 15th June 1878 No. 2385.
Some of the advantages resulting from the employment of my invention hereinafter
claimed are the following:
Variations in the constancy of the batteries or other generators of the currents, and
in the strength of the currents, due to defective insulation, rain and other causes, do
not affect the movements of the receiving pen.
Both the transmitting and receiving pens are capable of sufficient movement to
produce not only a single character but successive characters to make up words and
sentences or other matter upon stationary paper wholly by the movements of the said
pens and in the handwriting of the operator as in ordinary writing.
After characters, words or other matter have been written and reproduced, erasures,
corrections, insertions, changes or additions can be made to such matter at the will of
the operator.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed as communicated to me from abroad
I declare that I am aware of the Specification of O'Brien's Patent No. 7916 A.D. 1888,
and I wish it to be understood that I do not claim anything claimed and described
therein what I claim is-
:-
1. The means above described for transmitting to the receiving pen, or equivalent
instrument, of a telautograph, the movements of the transmitting pen, or its
equivalent, for the purpose of recording signs or markings made by the trans-
mitting peu.
2. The use of electro-magnets with divided or gripping armatures, for imparting
to the receiving pen, or its equivalent, movements, (over a sheet or strip of paper)
corresponding with the movements of the transmitting pen, or its equivalent, for the
purpose of recording signs or markings made by the transmitting pen.
3. The means above described, whereby the table, yielding to the pressure of the
transmitting pen, is enabled to depress and raise the receiving pen for the purpose
above set forth.
4. The means above described for enabling the operator to shift the paper at the
receiving end of the apparatus.
5. The means above described for enabling the operator to shift the main currents
from the transmitting apparatus (after the delivery of a message) to the adjacent
receiving apparatus.
Dated this 5th day of September 1888
NEWTON & SON,
Agents for the Applicant.

page_text: [Communicated from abroad by ELISHA GRAY, of Highland Park, Lake County, in
the State of Illinois, United States of America, Professor of Physics.]
An Improved Mode of and Apparatus for Transmitting and Recording
Electrically Autographic Messages, Signals, and Markings. .
1, PHILIP ARTHUR NEWTON of the Office for Patents 6 Breams Buildings, Chancery
Lane in the County of Middlesex, Patent Agent do hereby declare the nature of this
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described
and ascertained in and by the following statement, as communicated to me from abroad
by my foreign correspondent :-
This invention relates to a writing telegraph of that class in which the act of writing
the message at the sending station operates to reproduce it at the receiving station.
In all the systems of telegraphy of this class which have been proposed prior to my
invention, the transmitting instrument proper (herein for convenience called a
transmitting pen) was moved by the operator to form the message, such movement
varying the strength of the currents, according to the position of said transmitting pen,
in two electric circuits connected with electro-magnet devices, that moved the
receiving instrument proper (herein called a receiving pen), the extent of movement of
said devices and through them the receiving pen varying with the varying strengths of
said currents.
Some of the objections to said systems are as follows:-
Variations in the constancy of the batteries or other generators of the currents and
in the strength of the currents due to defective insulation, rain and other causes,
occurred, which caused aberrations in the movements of the receiving pen making the
recording of a message uncertain and defective.
The transmitting and receiving pens have been capable of only sufficient or slightly
more than sufficient movement to produce a single character, the successive characters
to make up the words and sentences being produced one after another in the same or
substantially the same field. In order to cause the characters thus produced to take
their proper places one after another to form the successive words, and also to assist

page_text: in forming the characters, the paper upon which the message was written by the
receiving pen, and also the paper upon which the message was written by the operator,
if a copy of the message was to be preserved, was caused to move continuously beneath
the pen by means of a feeding mechanisın specially provided for that purpose and not
under the control of the operator. From this it resulted that in order to produce
characters of the proper form and to cause them to take their proper positions in
succession to form words and sentences, it was necessary for the operator to make
allowance for the movement of the paper. To illustrate: If the operator formed his
characters in too rapid succession, the second character would be reproduced before the
paper upon which the message was being written had moved sufficiently far to carry
the first character away from the receiving pen, and the result would be that the two
characters would overlap each other-or, if the operator formed his characters too
slowly they would be separated too far from each other. In addition to this it was
necessary for the operator to distort his character, in such manner and to such an
extent that the movement of the paper beneath the pen would exactly or approximately
correct such distortion and produce characters of the proper form, and the amount and
character of the distortion necessary on the part of the operator was dépendent upon
and varied with the speed at which he wrote and the speed at which the paper moved.
All of these things made it difficult to produce good results, and prevented the
reproduction of the handwriting of the operator, and made it practically impossible for
-the-systems to be operated except by trained operators.
This continued movement of the paper by means not under the control of the
operator, together with the limited range of movement of the transmitting and receiving
pens, made it practically impossible to dot an i or cross at or make corrections or
alterations in a sentence or even in a word after it had been written, and thus made
it necessary, if a mistake was made, to rewrite the whole matter, and this again
resulted in trouble, because there was no means of erasing the erroneous matter.
These difficulties, and others not enumerated, in telegraphs of this class which have
been proposed prior to my invention were in the way of their use practically for
transmitting pictures, drawings, maps or diagrams or such characters as Hebrew or
Chinese or those employed in shorthand writing, which in order to be of value or to be
distinguished and read must be made with at least comparative accuracy.
I overcome these difficulties by my invention, which consists in the method of and
apparatus for transmitting and recording a character by the movements of a
transmitting pen and a receiving pen, by transmuting the movements of said
transmitting pen into pulsations, of substantially the same effective strength, in an
electric circuit varying in number with the linear extent of the movement of said pen
and varying in speed of succession wifh the rapidity of said movement and transmuting
said pulsations into movements of the receiving pen, and in other methods, all of
which are described as carried out in the system hereinafter described and which
methods and apparatus are particularly claimed.
I have shown in the drawings a system for carrying out my invention, which I term
a telautograph and which I shall now describe.
In order that the detailed description of the construction, organization and operation
of the instruments of the system for carrying out the invention which will be hereinafter
given, may be more readily understood, a brief outline of the system will be first
given.
The system consists primarily of two instruments, a transmitting instrument and a
receiving instrument, herein termed transmitter and receiver. The transmitter and
receiver are provided with transmitting and receiving pens which can be moved
over fields of considerable extent. If the system is designed for transmitting messages
in writing, the fields will be equal in one direction to the length of a line of the
writing and in the other direction to the distance above and below the line occupied by
any character. The transmitting pen is connected to operate circuit making and
break-devices termed interruptors, located in two electric circuits and arranged to
interrupt the currents passing over the respective circuits at short intervals, producing
pulsations therein as the pen is moved in two directions crosswise of each other in

page_text: forming characters, the number of pulsations in the respective circuits being determined
by the distance the pen is moved in the respective directions. These two circuits pass
through the receiver and include electro-motors also hereinafter termed receiving
magnets, the armatures of which act through suitable connections to impart a step-by-
step movement to the receiving pen in two directions crosswise of each other, the
number of steps in each direction being determined by the number of times the
respective circuits are interrupted. By this means the movements of the transmitting
pen in the two directions operate through the interruptions in the currents passing
over the circuits, to impart corresponding movements to the receiving pen, and thus
reproduce the matter written or traced by the operator.
Co-operating with the receiver or forming a part thereof, is a means for supporting
a recording surface upon which the message is reproduced. This recording surface
which will usually be paper, and will therefore be herein termed paper, may be either
in the form of a continuous ribbon or strip, or in the form of a pad or a detached
sheet. The receiver is also provided with means which is under control of the operator
at the transmitter, for shifting the paper after the completion of each line of writing,
so as to bring it in proper position to receive the next line, and so on. In the
preferred organization of the system, the paper is stationary during the writing, and
is shifted after the completion of each line, but this may be reversed, the pen being
stationary and the necessary movements to form the characters being imparted to the
paper, or the movement in one direction may be imparted to the paper and in the
other direction to the pen. In any case, however, the paper is not fod continuously
and independently of the control of the operator during the writing, but is only moved
in conformity to the movements of the transmitting pen. From this it results that
the reproduction is in the handwriting of the operator, and that the operator can pause
at any point and for any length of time, and upon recommencing the writing the
receiving pen will continue the record from the point where it was interrupted, and
also that the operator can go back in the line and make a correction, addition or
erasure at any point. The operator is also permitted to write at irregular speeds and
is relieved from the necessity of distorting his writing.
The system is provided with connections by which whenever the transmitting pen
is raised slightly, the same as in raising a pen or pencil from the paper in ordinary
writing, the receiving pen is correspondingly raised and vice versa. By this means,
when the end of a line is reached and the transmitting pen is moved back to
commence a new line, or when it is necessary to go back in the line to make a change,
or when it is desired to disconnect letters or words, it is only necessary to raise the
transmitting pen. in the ordinary way in order to prevent the receiving pen from
making a continuous mark and thus marring the record.
The system thus briefly outlined will now be described more in detail, reference
being had to the accompanying drawings, in which
Figure 1 is a plan view of the transmitter.
Figure 2 is a vertical section of the same, taken on the line 2 of Figure 1.
Figure 3 is an enlarged plan view of one of the interrupters and the parts immediately
connected therewith.
Figure 4 is a sectional elevation of the same.
Figure 5 is an enlarged plan view of one of the pole changers.
Figure 6 is an elevation of the same.
Figure 7 is an enlarged plan view of a pair of reversely arranged temporary circuit
breakers, the purpose of which will be hereinafter explained.
Figure 8 is an elevation of the same.
Figure 9 is an enlarged plan view of a pen rack for receiving the transmitting
pen when it is not in use, showing also a switch mechanism for connecting the receiver
or transmitter at any station with the line wires.
Figure 10 is an elevation of the same.
Figure 11 is a plan view of the receiver.
Figure 12 is an enlarged plan view of one pair of the receiving magnets.
Figure 13 is an end elevation of the same

page_text: Figure 15 is a vertical section taken on the line 15 of Figure 11.
Figure 16 is an enlarged plan view of one of the polarized relays.
Figure 17 is an end view of the same with certain parts removed.
Figure 18 is a diagram showing the electrical connections through which the system
is operated.
Figures 19, 20 and 21 are views illustrating a modified arrangement of the
receiving magnets; Figure 19 being a side elevation, Figure 20 an end elevation and
Figure 21 a plan view.
Figures 22, 23 and 24 are views illustrating a means of imparting a movement to
the paper corresponding to the movements imparted to the receiving pen in the system
as illustrated in the other figures; Figure 22 being a plan view, Figure 23 a section
taken on the line 23 of Figure 22, and Figure 24 a section taken on the line 24 of
the same figure.
Figure 25 is a view indicating a modification of the form of the recording surface,
and Figure 26 is a modification of the receiving pen.
Referring now particularly to Figures 1 to 10 and 18, the principal features of the
transmitter will be described.
This instrument consists primarily of the transmitting pen A, which is moved by
the operator to form the characters or other matter to be transmitted. This pen may
be a simple handle of convenient form to be grasped by the operator and moved to
describe the outlines-of-the-characters, but as it will usually be desirable to preserve a
copy of the message, it will usually be a pencil or fountain pen and it--is therefore
terined a pen, but this term. wherever used in a general sense is to be understood as
including any writing instrument or a simple handle which can be moved to form the
outlines of the characters.
The pen A is connected at its point to two cords or other flexible connections,
55, 56, which extend horizontally crosswise to each other and are connected to and
operate the two circuit making and breaking devices B, C, termed interrupters, located
in two electric circuits b, c, termed main circuits, and so arranged that as the pen A
is moved from left to right and vice versa the circuit bis interrupted or made and broken
repeatedly in quick succession, producing pulsations therein varying in number with
the linear extent of the movement of the pen A and varying in speed of succession
with the rapidity of such movement, while as the pen is moving up and down in
forming the characters the circuit c is interrupted and pulsations produced therein in
the same manner.
The two interrupters B, C and their auxiliaries are exact duplicates and a description
of one will therefore apply to both.
Each of the cords 55, 56 is connected to and wound upon a small drum (see
Figs. 1, 3 and 4), upon a shaft 9, to which one wire of the circuit is connected. The
shaft 9 is provided with an arm 10, the end of which carries a brush 12, which
sweeps in contact with the face of a metallic disk 13, to which the other wire of
the circuit is connected. The face of the disk over which the brush 12 sweeps is
provided with a series of channels or cuts located in close proximity and containing
pieces of insulating material 8, so that as the brush sweeps over the face of the
disk in either direction the current passing over the circuit in which the brush
and disk are located will be interrupted or made and broken repeatedly in quick
succession; the number and rapidity of the interruptions being determined by the
extent and rapidity of the movement of the brush. Each of the shafts 9 is also
provided with a second cord or wire 14, which is wound upon the shaft in the
direction the reverse of the cords 55, 56, and is connected to a spring or other
retractile 15, the tendency of which is to unwind the cord 14 and wind the
cord 55 (or 56 as the case may be). Each of the cords 55, 56 passes between
guides 16 located between the pen and the shafts 9 and the cords are provided with
stops 17 which engage with the guides 10 and arrest the cords and limit the
movement given to the shafts 9 and brushes 12 by the springs 15. The transmitting
instrument is provided with two local circuits d which include local batteries/

page_text: and the electro-magnets.g of a pair of pole changers D, E (see Figs. 1, 5, 6 and 18),
which are located, respectively, in the main circuits b, c. and which act for a
purpose which will be hereinafter explained, to automatically change the polarity
of the currents passing over the respective circuits whenever the movement of
the transmitting pen in either direction is reversed. The pole changers D, E
are of any of the common and well known forms and are connected to the two
poles of the main batteries F and to the two wires of the respective main
circuits, b, c, in the usual manner. For the purpose of operating the pole changers,
the cords 55, 56, pass around pulleys 18 (see figs. 1, 3 and 4), mounted upon
shafts 19, which operate circuit makers and breakers included in the respective local
circuits d.
For this purpose the shafts 19 are provided with arms, 20, which are frictionally
connected to the shafts and have a limited movement between fixed stops 7.
The arms, 20, and one of the stops, 7, of oach arm are included in 'the respective
local circuits so that the rocking of the arms between their stops operates to
make and break the local circuits and thus operate the pole changers to change
the polarity of the currents passing over the main circuits c, at each vibration of
the arms.
The operation of the transmitter as thus far described is as follows: The operator
will take the pen A in his hand and form the characters in proper sequence in the
usual manner, moving the pen up and down and from left to right in forming the
characters and writing the line, the same as in ordinary writing. As the pen
makes the down strokes in forming the characters the cord 56 will be unwound
from the shaft, 9, of the interrupter C, thereby revolving the shaft and moving
the brush, 12, over the disk 13, and interrupting the current over the circuit c
repeatedly and in quick succession, the number and rapidity of the interruptions
As the pen
being determined the speed and extent of the movement of the pen.
makes the up stkes the spring 15 will rewind the cord 56 and move the brush 12
in the reverso direction, interrupting the current in the same manner. So long as
the up or down movement of the pen continues the cord 56 acting upon the pulley 18,
will hold the arm, 20, against one of the stops 7 and the local circuit d will remain
closed (or broken as the case may be), so that the pole changer E will not be
operated and the polarity of the current passing over the circuit c will not be changed.
As soon, however, as the movement of the pen is reversed-i.e., changed from up to
down or down to up-the movement of the pulley 18 will be reversed and the
arm, 20, will be rocked against its other stop, thereby changing the condition of
the local circuit, d, and operating the pole changer so as to change the polarity of
the current passing over the circuit c, and this change in the polarity of the
current will take place as often as the up and down movement of the pen is
reversed. As the pen is moved from right to left and left to right the cord 55 and
the spring 15 will operate the brush 12 of the interrupter B to interrupt the
current over the circuit 6 in the same manner, and the cord 55 acting on the
pulley 18 will act to close or break the other local circuit, d, and thus,operate the pole
changer, D, to change the polarity of the current passing over the circuit whenever
the movement of the pen is reversed, the same as described in connection with the
pole changer E.
It is to be remarked that the construction and arrangement of the circuit
makers and breakers formed by the arms 20 may, of course, be widely changed
without departing from the. invention, and it is also to be understood that the
brushes 12 may be stationary and the disks 13, moved in contact with the brushes
if preferred.
Referring now particularly to figures 11 to 18 the principal features of the receiver
will be described. This instrument consists primarily of the receiving pen G,
which may be a writing instrument of any suitable form for recording the message.
The terin pen as applied to this instrument is, therefore, to be understood as including
any form of writing instrument. In the case shown a fountain pen is employed

page_text: which is composed of a tube of very fine or capillary hore having its end formed into
a writing point. This pen is connected by a piece of flexible rubber tubing 57, with
a capillary tube 58, which enters an ink well 59, preferably located in such position
that the surface of the ink in the well will be upon a lower level than the point of
the pen. To maintain the well at the proper height, as the ink is lowered by use,
it is provided with an adjusting screw 60. By locating the ink well below the point
of the pen it is found that the ink will be properly supplied to the pen by the
capillary action of the pen and the tube 58, while if the well is located above the pen
there is danger of the ink flowing too freely. The well may, however, be so arranged
that the ink will flow to the pen by gravity, an arrangement to this effect being
shown by dotted lines in figure 15; suitable means being provided for regulating its
flow, or the ink may be otherwise supplied to the
The pen
is carried the
upon
end of an arm 61, which is preferably tubular, to receive the tube 57, and is con-
nected by a universal joint 62, to the end of a rod 21, which is free to move
longitudinally in a bearing 63, but is retained in any position to which it is moved by
means of frictional jaws 64, which are carried by light spring arms 65, and act to grip
the rod with sufficient force to prevent its accidental movement, and also to overcome
its inertia, and arrest and hold it at the end of each step of its movement as will be
presently explained.
pen.
Located adjacent to the rod 21 are a pair of reversely arranged receiving electro
magnets HH, which are included in the circuit c, and are provided with arinatures h,
which are arranged to act upon the rod 21 in such manner as to impart a step-by-step
movement to the rod in opposite directions according as one or the other of the
magnets-is-energized. For this purpose the armatures are divided at their centres
so us to form two parts 5, 6, which are connected at their outer ends to pivots 22,
so as to be capable of swinging to and from the cores of the magnets. The pivots 22
are in turn supported in frames 23, which are connected to pivots 24 in such manner
as to swing laterally, and thus carry the two parts 5, 6, of the armatures to and from
each other. The frames 23 are provided with springs GG, the tendency of which is to
draw the two parts of the armatures away from each other, the movement of the parts
in this direction being limited by back stops 67. The movement of the two parts of the
armatures away from the cores of the magnets is effected by means of a spring 68
connected to one of the parts, the part not connected to the spring being provided with
a lip 2, of non-magnetic substance, which engages with the other part. The move-
ment of the armatures in this direction is limited by an adjustable back stop 69. The
rod 21. and the magnets H H and their armatures are so arranged that the rod passes
between the adjacent ends of the two parts 5, 6 of each armature in such manner that
when the two parts of either armature are moved toward each other they will act to
grip the rod between them, and being then moved towards the magnet, they will carry
the rod with thein and impart a corresponding movement to the pen G.
The operation of the receiving magnets HH and their armatures is as follows:
Whenever the nagnet H is energized by the closing of the circuit c in which it is
located, the two parts of its armature will be attracted toward each other and toward
the cores of the magnet. The springs 66 are so adjusted as to be slightly weaker than
the spring 68 so that upon the magnet becoming energized and thus magnetizing the
two parts of the armature, they will move toward each other and grip the rod in
advance of being moved toward the magnet. After gripping the rod the two parts of
the armature will move toward the magnet, thereby imparting a corresponding move-
ment to the rod. As soon as the magnet is de-energized by the interrupting of the
current over the circuit c the springs 66 will draw the two parts of the armature
apart, thereby releasing the rod, and the spring 68 will draw the parts back against
the back stop 69. This operation will be repeated as often as the current over the
circuit is interrupted, so as to energize and de-energize the magnet H and thus
the rod 21 and the pen G will be moved with a step-by-step movement, the number
and rapidity of the steps being determined by the number and rapidity of the interruption
in the current over the circuit c. The movement thus given to the pen G will

page_text: constitute the upward movement of the pen in forming the characters. Whenever the
magnet His energized and de-energized, the same operation will take place except
that the rod 21 and the pen will be moved in the reverse direction.
From this it will readily be seen that in order to cause the up and down movements
of the receiving pen G to conform to the corresponding movements of the transmitting
pen A, it is only necessary to cause the interruptions in the circuit c occasioned by the
movement of the brush 12 as the transmitting pen is moved upward, to de-energize
and energize the magnet H; and the interruptions in the same circuit occasioned by
the reverse movement of the brush as the transmitting pen is moved in the reverse
direction, to de-energize and energize the magnet H¹.
To effect this the circuit c, which as before stated includes both the magnets HI H',
also includes the magnet 1, of a polarized relay I (see Figs. 11-16-17 and 18) the
polarized armature 25 of which is connected by a wire with the circuit c, between
the magnets HH' while the contact points 3-4 between which the armature vibrates
are connected to wires m n which respectively connect with the circuit c beyond the
magnet H' and between the magnet H and the relay.
The relay I is so organized that the polarity of the current passing over the circuit c
while the transmitting pen is moving downward will cause the magnet / to vibrate
the polarized armature 25 into contact with the point 3. The current passing over the
circuit c will then pass over the wire n, armature 25 and wire and through the
magnet H, thus short circuiting the magnet FI and leaving the magnet. H¹, to be energized
and de-energized and thus move the receiving pen G in the same direction. As soon,
however, as the movement of the transmitting pen is reversed, the polarity of the
current passing over the circuit will as before explained be changed, and this will
cause the magnet. I to vibrate the armature 25 against the point 4. The current then
passing over the circuit c, will pass through the magnet H and over the wire k,
armature 25 and wire m, thus short circuiting the magnet H¹, and correspondingly
reversing the movement of the pen G. By this means the receiving pen is cansed to
reproduce the up and down movements of the transmitting pen.
At some suitable point, preferably near the pen G, the rod 61 is pivotally connected
to a rod 70 which is connected by a universal joint 71 to a rod 26, which extends
in a direction crosswise of the rod 21, preferably at or substantially at right
angles thereto. Located adjacent to the rod 26 are two receiving magnets KK,
which are included in the circuit b, and are provided with armatures h, which are
arranged and act upon the rod 26 in exactly the same manner as the armatures of the
magnets H H act upon the rod 21, so that the energizing and de-energizing of the
magnet K operates through its armature to move the rod 26 and the pen G from left
to right; while the energizing and de-energizing of the magnet K² operates in a
similar manner to move the pen in the reverse direction. The circuit bis provided
with a polarized relay J, similar to the relay I, which is arranged and acts to short
circuit one or the other of the magnets K K whenever the polarity of the current
passing over the circuit bis changed, the same as described in connection with the
circuit c. The relay J is so arranged that so long as the transmitting pen is moved
from left to right, the current passing over the circuit & will pass through the magnet K
and act to move the receiving pen in the corresponding direction, and that when the
movement of the transmitting pen is reversed and the polarity of the current changed,
the current will pass through the magnet K' and act to reverse the movement of the
receiving pen.
It has now been explained how the movement of the transmitting pen along or at
right angles to the line upon which the message is being written in either direction
will cause the receiving pen to move in the same direction, the movements of the latter
pen being made up of a series of short steps. From this it follows that any movement
of the transmitting pen in any direction oblique to the line, or intermediate of these two
directions, will cause the receiving pen to move in a corresponding direction, but with
a compound movement made up of a number of steps taken at right angles to or cross-
wise of each other, the relative number of steps in each direction depending upon the
obliquity of the direction in which the transmitting pen is moved. By this means the

page_text: receiving pen is caused to substantially follow any movement of the transmitting pen
and thus reproduce a substantial fac simile of whatever is written or traced by the
latter. The irregular or wavy character of the oblique lines made by the receiving
pen will not detract materially from the appearance of the writing and will not be
sufficiently marked to prevent the handwriting of the person at the transmitting
instrument from being readily recognized. The length of the steps with which the
receiving pen is moved may be varied considerably, but the receiver will preferably be so
adjusted that the pen will take from seventy-five to one hundred steps to the inch.
If it is desired that the characters formed by the receiving pen shall correspond in size
to those formed by the transmitting pen, the receiver will be so adjusted that the
receiving pen-will, at each interruption of one of the circuits, bo moved a distance
equal to the movement of the transmitting pen required to effect the interruption. By
changing the relative movements of the two pens the reproduction may be enlarged
or reduced.
It has already been stated that it is important that the receiving pen should be so
under the control of the operator at the transmitter that when he desires to break the
connection between letters or words in the message or to go back along the line for
the purpose of making an addition, correction or interlineation; or when he has
completed one line and wishes to move the transmitting pen back to the point to
commence a new line, the receiving pen will make the corresponding movements
without making any mark on the paper. To effect this, the system is so organized
that the operator can-when-he-desires.cause the receiving pen to be raised from the
paper. The bore, of the pen is so fine that no ink will flow-from-the pen except at
such times as-its point rests upon the paper, and thus when the pen is raised it will
respond to the movements of the transmitting pen without producing any mark. For
this purpose the receiver is provided with a vertically moving pen rest 27 (see Figs.
11 and 15) which extends horizontally beneath the pen and is supported upon arms
projecting from a rock shaft 28, and provided with a spring or other retractile 29, by
which it is normally held in position to raise the point of the pen slightly from the
paper. The pen rest 27 may be arranged to act upon the rod 61, but it will preferably
be arranged to act upon a light extension 30 projecting beyond the pen. Acting upon
the rest 27 is a pivotal arm 31, which carries the armature 32. of an electro magnet o
of comparatively high resistance which is included in a local circuit which also
includes a part of the arm 31, a circuit closer 33 carried by the arm and a local battery p.
The local circuit a is provided with a branch 7 which includes an electro-magnetr
of comparatively low resistance and also a vibrating circuit closer.34 (see figs. Il and
16) operated by an armature 72, which is acted upon by the magnet 7 of the relay 1.
The circuit closer 34 is also acted on by a spring 35 which tends to move it to position
to complete the circuit through the branch 7. The circuit a is also provided with a
branch's which includes a reversely acting circuit closer 34 which is similarly arranged
with relation to the magnet 7 of the relay J.
The transmitter is provided with a yielding table or platform 36 (see fig. 2), which is
located directly beneath the point of the transmitting pen and extends over the entire
range of movement of the pen. This table is supported upon arms 37 which are pivoted
at 38 so as to permit the table to yield slightly when the point of the pen A is brought
down upon it with a pressure equal or about equal to the pressure exerted upon a pen
or pencil in ordinary writing. One of the arms 37 is provided with a forward exten-
sion 39 which plays between stops 4", 42, which limit the movement of the table, and
is provided with a spring 41, the tendency of which is to normally hold the table in
its raised position with the arm 39 out of contact with the stop 40. The stop 40 and
the arm 39 form a circuit closer which is included in.a local circuit t which includes
a local battery v and an electro-magnet w. The armature 43 of the magnet w (see
Figs. 1, 7 and 8), is secured to a pivoted lever 44 which is normally held against a
back stop 45,by a spring 46, and carries upon its opposite sides two contact points 47,
48, which are insulated from each other. Located upon opposite sides of the lever 44
are a pair of pivoted levers 49, 50, which are provided with springs 51 which act to
normally hold the lever 49 in engagement with the contact point 47, and in close

page_text: proximity to but not in engagement with a back stop 52, and the lever 50 in engage-
ment with a similar back stop 54, and in close proximity to but not in engagement
with the contact point 48. Each of the levers 49, 50, is provided with an adjustable
weight 53, by which the inertia of the levers can be increased or diminished to any
dosired extent to secure the proper operation of the levers as will be hereinafter
explained. The lever 49, contact point 47, and back-stop 52, are included in the main
circuit &, while the lever 50, contact point 48, and back stop 54, are included in the
main circuit c. The levers 49, 50, form reversely acting temporary circuit breakers
for the respective circuits b, c, as will presently appear.
The operation of this part of the system is as follows: When the parts are in thoir
normal position, that is to say, when the transmitting pen is, not in use, the spring 41
will hold the table 36 in its raised position and the arm 39 out of engagement with the
stop 40 so as to break the local circuit t and de-energize the magnet w. So long as the
magnet w is not energized the lever 44 will be held against its back stop 45 and the
lever 49 will remain in engagement with the contact point 47, so as to close the circuit b
at that point, and the lever 50 will remain in engagement with the back stop 54, so
as to also close the circuit c at that point. So long as both the circuits b, c remain
closed the magnets of the relays I J will both be energized so as to attract their
armatures and rock the circuit closers 34 into position to break the connection through
both of the branches gs, and "the pen rest 27 being then raised so as to raise the
arm 31, the circuit closer 33 will be operated to break the local circuit a and de-energize
the magnet o, and the spring 29 will hold the pen rest in its raised position, so as to
raise the pen G from the paper and hold it'in that position. And this will continue
as long as the table 36 remains in its raised position.
When it is desired to commence the transmission of a message, the operator takes
the transmitting pen in his hand, and moving it to the proper position to commence
the writing, places the point against the table 36, and forms the characters with the
same pressure on the pen as in ordinary writing. The pressure of the pen against the
table acts to depress the table, so as to rock the arm 39 against the stop 40 and close
the local circuit t. This will.energize the magnet w, so as to rock the lever 44 and
cause the contact point 48 to strike against the free end of the lever 50, and the blow
thus given to the fever will cause it to swing away from both the contact point 48 and
the back stop 54, and thus temporarily break the main circuit The spring 51 will,
however, act to very quickly overcome the inertia of the lever and its weight 53 and
swing it back against the contact point 48, and thus again close the circuit c. The
break thus made in the circuit e will be of exceedingly short duration, but the time
between the breaking and closing of the circuit may be regulated with great nicety by
adjusting the position of the weight 53, so as to cause the lever to swing a greater or
less distance. As the lever 44 is rocked by the movement of the arinature 43, as just
described, the lever 49 will follow the movement of the lever 44 until it engages with
its back stop 52, so that the main circuit b will not be broken.
7.
The temporary breaking of the circuit c, caused by the swinging of the lever 50,
will operate to de-energize the magnet of the relay I and permit its circuit closer 34
to be rocked by its spring 35, so as to close the local circuit a through the branch
This will cause the current from the battery p to pass through the inagnets or, but
the magneto being of high resistance and the magnet r of low resistance, the former
will alone be energized, thereby rocking the arm 31 and depressing the pen rest 27
so as to lower the point of the pen G onto the paper. As soon as the arm 31 is thus
rocked the circuit closer 33 will close the circuit a, so as to short circuit the
magnet and circuit closer 34, and the magnet o will remain energized so
as to hold the pen rest depressed until de energized by the raising of the
transmitting pen as will be presently explained. As soon as the circuit c is closed
by the return of the lever 50 against the contact point 48 the magnet of the relay I
will be re-energized and the circuit closer 34 will be rocked so as to break the
connection through the branch q.
.
Whenever the operator desires to break the connections between words or characters,
or to go back along the line for any purpose, or, having completed one line, wishes

page_text: to commence a new one, he has only to raise the transmitting pen off the table 36 the
same as in ordinary writing. As soon as the pen is raised from the table 36 the
spring 41 acting upon the arm 39 will raise the table and at the same time rock
the arm 39 so as to break the local circuit t. This will de-energize the magnet to
and release the armature 43 so as to permit the lever 44 to be rocked back against
its back stop 45, and as-the-lever 44 is thus rocked it will strike the end of the lever 49
and swing it, the same as has been described in connection with the lever 50, so as
to temporarily break the circuit b, the circuit c remaining closed the same as described
in connection with the circuit b. This temporary breaking of the circuit / wil!
operate to de-energize the magnet of the relay J and permit its circuit closer 34 to
close the branch s, and short circuit and thus de-energize the magnet o so as to
release the arm 31 and permit the spring 20 to elevate the pen rest 27, and raise the
pen G from the paper and at the same time operate the circuit closer 33 to break
the local circuit a. The pen G will then respond to the movement of the transmitting
pen, as already described, but without making any record upon the paper. The
transmitting and receiving pens having been moved to the position where it is
desired to recommence the writing, the operator has only to depress the point of the
transmitting pen against the table 36 and the receiving pen will be lowered onto the
paper as already described.
In order to prevent the magnets of the relays I, J from being entirely de-energized
so as to release their armatures and thus allow the circuit closers 84 to close the
branches qs, each time the circuits c are interrupted by the movement of the
brushes 12 over the disks 18, the springs 35 are so adjusted that the amount of
energy required to overcome their tension is much less than the energy required to
operate the armatures of the receiving magnets H, H¹, K, K₁, and the main
circuits be are provided with shunt circuits y which connect with the main circuits
upon opposite sides of the interrupters and include resistance coils or other
resistances, which are so adjusted as to allow a constant current to pass over the
main circuits sufficient to energize the magnets to overcome the springs 35, but not
sufficient to operate the armatures h. It is to be understood, therefore, that when
the circuits b, c are referred to as being broken or interrupted by the interrupters B, C,
it is not to be understood that the circuits are necessarily completely broken so as to
entirely stop the currents, but only that the currents are sufficiently interrupted to
release the armatures of the receiving magnets.
From the foregoing it will be seen that all of the movements required to form the
individual letters or characters, and also to bring them in proper position, one after
another, to form the words of a line, are made by the receiving pen, the paper
remaining stationary during the writing. When, however, one or more lines have
been written, it is necessary that the paper should be shifted so as to bring a new
portion into position to be written upon. If the message is to be written in the form
of a single line extending along the length of a narrow ribbon or paper, the paper
must be shifted longitudinally the length of the line which has been written, so that
when the writing is resumed it will continue from the point on the paper where it
was interrupted. If, on the other hand, the message is written in lines extending
across a sheet or wide ribbon of paper, the paper must be shifted forward a distance
equal to the space between one or more lines. In either case it is important that
the mechanism for shifting the paper in the receiver should be under the control of
the operator at the transmitter.
As herein illustrated, the message is written in the receiver upon a wide ribbon of
paper L, which is supported at rest upon a stationary paper support 0 while the
writing is in progress. The paper L is led from a roll, and after passing over the
support O beneath the point of the pen, passes downward out of the instrument,
where it is attached to a clip 73 of sufficient weight to maintain it at the proper
tension and to draw it off the roll when the latter is permitted to turn. Suitable
guides as 74 will preferably be provided to hold the paper smoothly and evenly
beneath the pen. The roll upon which the paper is wound is provided at one end
with an escapement wheel 75, which is controlled by an escapement lever 76, to

page_text: which is attached the armature 77 of the magnet r, the lever 76 being so arranged
that when rocked by the action of the magnet it will permit one tooth of the
escapement wheel to pass and the weight 73 to unwind and shift the paper L. The
escapement lever 76 is provided with a spring or other retractile 78, which, as soon
as the magnet is de-energized will rock the lever in the opposite direction,
and thus permit another tooth to pass and the paper to be again shifted.
The movement thus given to the paper each time the magnet ŕ is energized
and de-energized is equal to the space between two lines. It has already
been explained that whenever the circuit c is temporarily broken by the action
of the lever 50, the current from the local battery p is caused to pass through the
magnet, but without energizing it. If, however, both the circuits b, c, are simul-
taneously broken, the branches 7, s, of the local circuit a will both be closed and the
current from the battery p will pass over the wires a, q, s, and through the magnet r
without passing through the magnet o, and the result will be that the magnet will
become energized so as to attract its armature and rock the escapement lever 76 to
allow the paper L to be shifted as described.
For the purpose of simultaneously breaking both the circuits b, c, to effect the
shifting of the paper L when desired, the transmitting instrument is provided with a
circuit breaker M (see Fig. 2) by which the operator can when he desires break both
the circuits b, c, simultaneously. For this purpose the circuits b, c, include contact
springs or brushes 79, which rest upon a pair of metallic blocks 80 set in a head 81 of
insulating material which is carried upon a shaft 82, having a handle 83, which is in
convenient position to be moved by the operator. The shaft 82 is acted on by a
spring or other retractile 84, which normally holds the shaft and head 81 in such
position that the blocks 80 connect the brushes 79 and close the circuits b, c. By
operating the handle 83 however the shaft can be given a partial turn so as to carry
the blocks 80 out from under the brushes 79 and thus break both the circuits and
effect the shifting of the paper. L as described.
In the practical operation of the system it will usually be desirable to make a copy
or duplicate of the message at the sending station and for this purpose the transmitter
is provided with a wide ribbon of paper N similar to the paper used in the receiver
which is also supported at rest while the writing is in progress The paper N is led
from a roll and passes forward over the table 36 beneath the transmitting pen, and,
after passing over a roll 85 mounted upon the shaft 38, is led from the instrument.
A guide, as 86, will preferably be provided, which will operate to hold the paper
smoothly beneath the pen. To effect the shifting of the paper N the roll 85 is pro-
vided with a small co-operating spring-pressed roll 87, which is journalled in the
arms 37 and between which and the roll 85 the paper passes. The roll 85 is provided
with a ratchet 88, which is engaged by a pawl 89 carried upon one end of a lever 90,
the other end of which is connected by a rod 91 with an arm 92 upon the shaft S2 in
such manner that whenever the handle 83 is operated to break the circuits b, c, and
effect the shifting of the paper L, the pawl 89 will also be operated to shift the
paper N a corresponding distance.
The general operation of the system is as follows: The instruments having been
supplied with the paper L, N, the operator will take the transmitting pen and, holding
it out of contact with the paper N, move it to the point over the paper where he
desires to commence the writing of the message. As the transmitting pen is thus
inoved, one or both of the brushes 12 will be moved so as to interrupt one or both of
the circuits bc, and thus through the magnets H, H', K, K', and their armatures,
move the receiving pen to a corresponding position. over the paper L, the receiving
pen being raised out of contact with the paper by the pen lifter 27. The operator will
then place the point of the transmitting pon upon the paper, as in ordinary writing,
and as soon as the transmitting pen is pressed upon the paper, the table 36 will be
depressed, thereby closing the local circuit t, and through the connections which have
been described, depressing the pen rest 27, so as to lower the pen G on to the paper.
The operator will then write along the line in the usual manner, and the movements
of the transmitting pen in forming the characters and in moving along the line, will

page_text: operate the brushes 12 to interrupt the circuits bc, and the arms 20 to change the
polarity of the currents passing over the circuits, and thus energize and de-energize
the respective magnets H, H'. K, K, and cause the receiving pen to follow the move-
ments of the transmitting pen with a step-by-step movement, and thus reproduce the
message. If at any point in the line the operator wishes to break the connection
between characters or words, or to go back on the line to make an addition or
correction, he will raise the transmitting pen from the paper. This will allow the
table 36 to be raised and break the local circuit t, and through the connections which
have been described, de-energize the magnet o, and allow the pen rest 27 to raise the
receiving pen from its paper. By then moving the transmitting pen to the desired
position and lowering it on to the paper, the receiving pen will be moved to and
lowered on to the paper in a corresponding position. At the end of a line the operation
will be the same.
When a line has been completed, and it is desired to commence a
new line, the operator will, either before or after moving the transmitting pen into
position to commence the new line, operate the handlo 83 so as to shift the paper N,
and at the same time break both the circuits be, and this will, through the connections
which have been described, energize the magnet r and operate the escapement to
correspondingly shift the paper L.
In a practical embodiment of the system it will usually be necessary to have a
transmitter and a receiver located at each station, so that messages can be both sent
and received at any station, and in such case it will, of course bo desirable to utilize
the line wires of the circuits. b, c, for-both-sending and receiving. This can readily
be done by providing a switch apparatus at each station by-which the transmitter and
receiver can be switched into and cut out of the circuits at pleasure.
To insure
One form of switch apparatus suitable for this purpose is illustrated in the present
case. For this purpose the line wires of the circuits b, c, (see figures 9 and 10), are
connected to spring contacts or brushes 93 which rest upon the periphery of a rotary
switch 94 having two pairs of contact blocks 95, 96, which are connected respectively
to wires b, c, which lead to the receiver and to wires b, c which lead to the transmitter.
By turning the switch 94 until the brushes 93 rest upon the blocks 95, the receiver
will be switched into the circuits and the transmitter cut out, and vice versa.
In the
practical operation of the system it is also important that means should be provided
which will make it certain that the receiver at any station will be switched into the
circuits at all times, except when the transmitter at that station is in use.
this, the shaft 97 upon which the switch 94 is carried, is provided with a socket 98,
which is adapted to receive the one end of the transmitting pen and the instrument is
provided with a stationary fork 99 which is adapted to receive and support the other
end of the pen. The fork 99 is so positioned that when one end of the pen is inserted
into the socket 98, and the other end rests in the fork, the switch 94 will be in position
to connect the receiver to the line wires of the circuits. By this means it is only
necessary for the operator, when he has finished using the pen, to place it in the pen
rack or receiver formed by the socket and fork to insure the proper connection of the
receiver to the circuits, and a glance at the transmitter will show at any time whether
or not the proper connection exists. This feature is of particular importance when the
system is employed, for ordinary business purposes and is not operated by specially
skilled operators. Whenever the transmitting pen is removed from the pen rack, it
will usually be for the purpose of transmitting a message, and in such case it is of
course necessary to shift the switch 94 so as to connect the transmitter to the line
wires. To effect this automatically, the shaft 97 is provided with an arm 100 which
is acted on by a spring or other retractile 101 in such manner that when the
shaft is released by the lifting of the pen from the rack the spring will act to shift
the switch into position to connect the transmitter with the line wires and maintain
that connection until the switch is again shifted by the replacing of the pen in
the rack.
Modifications may be made in many of the details of the system, and still it would
carry out my invention. A few of the more general modifications which may be made
will be referred to. The receiving pen may in some cases consist of a simple pencil

page_text: or tracer as indicated in figure 26, and in such cases the apparatus for supplying the
ink to the pen will be dispensed with. In some cases it may be preferred to write the
message in the form of a single line extending along the length of a narrow ribbon of
paper as indicated in figure 25, and in such cases it will only be necessary to arrange
the mechanism for shifting the paper, so that the paper will be shifted in the direction
of the length of the line, and operate the handle 83 a sufficient number of times to
shift the paper the length of a line. If, in addition to transmitting messages in writing
it should be desired to capacitate the system to transmit and reproduce diagrams, maps
or pictures, all that is necessary is to allow the transmitting and receiving pens to have
the necessary range of movement in each direction. The closing and breaking of the
local circuit t to lower and raise the receiving pen may be effected by a special key
instead of by the transmitting pen, or by a circuit closer arranged and operated in
any suitable way. The paper L, instead of being shifted by a weight controlled by an
escapement, may be shifted in any other desired manner, or the means for shifting the
paper or raising the pen, or both, may be omitted. So also the means for holding the
paper at rest during the writing operation may also be modified.
The rods 21, 26, instead of being straight may form the peripheries of segments or
wheels, as shown in figures 19 to 21, the receiving magnets being so positioned
that their armatures will act upon the wheels to revolve them in reverse directions by
gripping their peripheries. In such case as this the rotary motion of the wheel will
of course have to be converted into reciprocating motion to be transmitted to the
pen. This may be done in a variety of ways, as, for example, by means of a
cord 102 which passes around the wheel and is attached to the ends of a rod 103,
which moves in guides 104 and is connected by a universal joint to the rod or arm for
moving the pen.
It has been stated that the movements necessary to reproduce the message instead
of being imparted to the receiving pen may be wliolly or in part imparted to the
paper. Figs. 22 to 24 illustrate one way in which this can be done.
In this case
the pen G is stationary, and the paper in the form of a sheet or pad of sheets
is supported upon a small table 105, which is arranged to move in a dove-tail
channel formed in a carriage 106, which carriage is in turn arranged to move in
a dove-tail channel arranged crosswise of the first channel. The table 105, and
carriage 106, are connected respectively to and operated by arms 107 and 108, corre-
sponding to and operated in the same manner as the arins 61, 70, connected to the
pen. This is, however, a simple reversal of the order of movement, and it is to be
considered as in a broad sense the equivalent of correspondingly moving the pen.
It is to be understood, therefore, that whenever the paper is referred to as ".stationary
at rest," that term only means that the paper has no independent feeding move-
ment while the writing is in progress, and it is also to be understood that when the
movement of the receiving pen is referred to as forming the characters that also
includes the equivalent movement of the paper.
or
46
Instead of the electro-motors or receiving magnets herein described, any electro-
motor that can be operated by pulsations of substantially the same effective strength
in an electric circuit to move the receiving pen as described, or which will transmute
such pulsations into the described movements of said pen, may be used.
22 G
It is to be understood that the terms "character,' writing” and “message" as
herein used include any matter such as pictures, maps, drawings, diagrams and arbitrary
characters of all kinds as well as ordinary and short-handwriting; also that the term
'paper" includes any surface suitable for receiving writing or from which writing or
printing already made is to be traced.
As will be seen from the above description, in transmitting and recording a
character I transmute the movement of the transmitting pen into pulsations, of sub-
stantially the same effective strength, in an electric circuit, varying in number
with the linear extent of the movement of said pen and varying in speed of succes
sion with the rapidity of such movement, by wholly or partly interrupting the current,
and I transmute such pulsations into movements of the receiving pen.
By pulsations of substantially the same effective strength I mean that they are

page_text: the effects produced by wholly or partially interrupting a current in an electric
circuit, the strength of such current in such circuit between such interruptions being
sufficient to operate the electro-motor and the interruptions preventing such current
from operating such motor whether the strength of the current changes or not,
being thus radically different from the electrical effects employed in electrical writing
instruments proposed prior to my invention in which the effective strength of the
current in the circuit is purposely constantly varied by increments added to or taken
from said current which latter continuously operates the motor during the operation
of writing, an example of such an instrument being set forth in the specification of
Letters Patent granted to E. A. Cowper dated 15th June 1878 No. 2385.
Some of the advantages resulting from the employment of my invention hereinafter
claimed are the following:
Variations in the constancy of the batteries or other generators of the currents, and
in the strength of the currents, due to defective insulation, rain and other causes, do
not affect the movements of the receiving pen.
Both the transmitting, and receiving pens are capable of sufficient movement to
produce not only a single character but successive characters to make up words and
sentences or other matter upon stationary paper wholly by the movements of the said
pens and in the handwriting of the operator as in ordinary writing.
After characters, words or other matter have been written and reproduced, erasures,
corrections, insertions, changes or additions can be made to such matter at the will of
the operator..
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said-invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed as communicated, to me from abroad
I declare that what I claim is-
1. The means above described for transmitting to the receiving pen, or equivalent
instrument, of a telautograph, the movements of the transmitting pen, or its
equivalent, for the purpose of recording signs or markings made by the trans-
mitting pen.
2. The use, in telautographic apparatus; of interrupted, or partially interrupted,
currents, for producing the motive force requisite for imparting a step-by-step
travelling motion to the receiving pen, or its equivalent.
3. The use of electro-magnets with divided or gripping armatures, for imparting
to the receiving pen, or its equivalent, movements, (over a sheet or strip of paper)
corresponding with the movements of the transmitting pen, or its equivalent, for the
purpose of recording signs or markings made by the transmitting pen.
4. The means above described, whereby the table, yielding to the pressure of the
transmitting pen, is enabled to depress and raise the receiving pen for the purpose
above set forth.
5. The means above described for enabling the operator to shift the paper at the
receiving end of the apparatus.
6. The means above described for enabling the operator to shift the main currents
from the transmitting apparatus (after the delivery of a message) to the adjacent
receiving apparatus.
Dated this 5th dow of Santambar 1000