Improvements in Step by Step Printing Telegraphs.
Year: 1895

page_text: Date of Application, 16th Aug., 1895
Complete Specification Left. 15th May. 1896-4ccepted. 15th Aug. 1896
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Step by Step Printing Telegraphs.
I, WALTER SAMUEL STELJES, of 38 Somerset Road, Tottenham, in the County
of Middlesex, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
In previous machines of this kind the printing and the feeding forward of the
paper has usually been effected by a current from the transmitting station being
sent through the line wire which necessitates a great amount of battery power and
renders all such previous instruments unsuitable for private sending and receiving
work for which my improvements are specially adapted.
In step by step printing instruments constructed according to my invention the
type wheel is driven by a weight or spring as is usual in this class of instrument
and is controlled by very light reverse currents which may be generated by a
magneto machine or obtained from an ordinary battery.
The printing and the feeding forward of the paper is made to take place each
time that the line is open that is when no current is being sent. By a mechanical
arrangement a cam is then caused to revolve the cam acts on the printing lever and
causes it to strike the type wheel in its upward movement and in its downward or
return movement by aid of a pawl and ratchet wheel it feeds the paper a distance
forwards.
This I do in the following manner :—
In the line circuit I place an electro magnet which is adjusted to be too sluggish
to release its armature in the short interval between the passing of current of one
kind and the passing of current of reverse kind but does so upon the current from
the transmitter to line being broken.
When the armature is released and is drawn away from the electro magnet an
escapement on its end releases a driven train of wheels.
The escapement I use is composed of two pins standing out from the armature
acting as stops for blades extending out from arins on the first spindle to strike
against usually I employ two arms extending from opposite sides of the spindle.
When the armature is against the magnet face the blade at the end of one arm.
is resting against one of the pins-when the armature is drawn away from the
magnet the pin is moved out of the way of the blade and the spindle makes a half
turu-the blade at the end of the other arm then comes against the other pin and
its motion is arrested. When the armature is again attracted this other pin is
moved out of the way of the blade and the blade then comes against and is arrested
by the first pin and remains resting against this pin until printing is again to take
place.
The spindle of one of the wheels is arranged to make one complete revolution
each time that the wheels are allowed to turn-ou this spindle is a cam which gives
motion to one end of the printing lever.
The lever turns on a pivot at its other end. The pivot may stand out from a
slide which can be raised or lowered to adjust the printing and the slide when in
position can be locked by a lock nut at the back of the frame.
The raising or lowering of the slide can be effected by turning a vertical screw
spindle which screws through the slide and turns in fixed bearings.
The turning of the type wheel is controlled by a vibrating armature acting on an
escape wheel on its axis in the ordinary manner. From the axis of the type wheel:.
:

page_text: motion is also transmitted through other wheels to ordinary unison mechanism
which after any desired number of turns of the type wheel brings this wheel to its
zero position.
Dadio 10th
1
1008
Improvements in Step by Step Printing Telegraphs.
I, WALTER SAMUEL STELJES, of 38 Somerset Road, Tottenham, in the County
of Middlesex, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manuer
the same is to be performed to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement:-
In previous machines of this kind the printing and the feeding forward of the
paper has usually been effected by a current from the transmitting station being
sent through the line wire which necessitates a great amount of battery power and
renders all such previous instruments unsuitable for private sending and receiving
work for which my improvements are specially adapted.
In step by step printing instruments constructed according to my invention the
type wheel is driven by a weight or spring as is usual in this class of instrument
and is controlled by very light reverse currents which may be generated by a
magneto machine or obtained from an ordinary battery.
The printing and the feeding forward of the paper is made to take place each
time that the line is open that is when no current is being sent. By a mechanical
arrangement a cam is then caused to revolve, the cam acts on the printing lever
and causes it to strike the type wheel in its upward movement and in its downward
or return movement by aid of a pawl and ratchet wheel it feeds the paper a distance
forwards.
This I do in the following manner :-
In the line circuit I place an electro magnet which is adjusted to be too sluggish
to release its armature in the short interval between the passing of current of one
kind and the passing of current of reverse kind, but does so upon the current from
the transmitter to line being broken.
When the armature is released and is drawn away from the electro magnet an
escapement on its end releases a driven train of wheels.
The spindle of one of the wheels is arranged to make one complete revolution
each time that the wheels are allowed to turn on this spindle is a cam which gives
motion to one end of the printing lever.
The lever turns on a pivot at its other end. The pivot may stand out from a
slide which can be raised or lowered to adjust the printing and the slide when in
position can be locked by a lock nut at the back of the frame.
The turning of the type wheel is controlled by a vibrating armature acting on an
• escape wheel on its axis. From wheels gearing with the axis of the type wheel
motion is also transmitted through to ordinary unison mechanism which after any
desired number of turns of the type wheel brings this wheel to its zero position.
The drawings annexed shew various views of a step by step printing instrument
constructed according to my invention.
Figure 1 is a front elevation.
Figure 2 a back elevation 'and
Figure 3 a plan.
A is the type-wheel and A' a circular brush for supplying ink to the type.
B the escapement wheel fast on its axis B. The axis B is driven in the usual
way through a coiled spring C from the pinion D which turns loosely around the
axis and is itself driven through a train of wheels E from a spring barrel F.

page_text: Any suitable escapement may be used for controlling the step by step revolving
motion of the type wheel. In the drawing I have shewn it controlled by the
escapement arrangement described in a Provisional Specification lodged by me
with an application for Patent on the 12th day of May 1896 No. 10106.
The escapement wheel B has two rings of teeth side by side around it.
A tooth G¹ on a rocking lever arm G is made to engage first with the teeth of one
ring then with the teeth of the other-the axis of the lever arm carries the
armature H' of an electro magnet H. The rear ends of the two cores of this
magnet are coupled by an iron bar H³ to the centre of which is secured one pole of
a permanent magnet I the other pole of which is made to come in front of
the armature sufficient room being left between to allow of the armature being
rocked.
On reverse currents being sent through the magnet coils the armature is rocked
and the escapement wheel turns with a step by step movement.
The reverse currents pass to the magnet coils from the terminal J and from the
coils to the terminal J' which is in connection with the terminal J. From J' the
current passes through the coils of an electro magnet K and from thence through
the terminal to earth. This magnet K is the magnet for controlling the printing,
its armature K' is carried by one arm of a lever L. The opposite arm of this
lever carries two blades L' L. M' is an arm extending from an axis M which is
driven through a train of wheels from a spring barrel M³. On the end of the arm
is a projection which comes against the blade L' when the armature K' is drawn
to the magnet K and against the blade L' when the armature drops away from
this magnet.
When reverse currents are passing through the coils of the magnet Kits
armature is attracted and the arm M¹ rests against the blade L¹. When the
currents cease the armature drops, the blade L' is thereby lifted above the
projection on the arm M¹, and when the axis M has made one revolution the arm M¹
comes against and is arrested by the blade L2. When reverse currents again pass
through the magnet coils the armature is attracted-the blade L' is thereby moved
below the projection on the end of the arm and the arm again comes on to the
blade L¹ and so on.
M³ is an eccentric fast on the axis M-it is embraced by the forked end of the
printing lever P, so that this end of the lever is moved up and down each time
the eccentric makes one turn. The lever turns on a fixed pin Q-the pin can be
raised or lowered in the slot Q' in the frame and can be locked at any desired
height by the nut Q'.
The strip of paper to be printed on is passed over a serrated roller R and is held
down on to it by spring blades S. The roller is free to turn on a pin fixed to the
printing lever the roller has also fast with it a ratchet wheel T. UV are two
pawls engaging with the teeth of this wheel on opposite sides one gives a partial
turn to the serrated roller as the printing lever moves upward the other gives
another partial turn to the roller as the printing lever goes down and so the paper
is fed forwards.
Any suitable unison arrangement may be employed. In the drawing it is shown
to be formed of a stop lever W which can be turned around the axis of one of the
wheels of the train of wheels by which the type wheel is driven but is made to turn
with this axis by friction put upon it by the spring W₁. If a sufficient number of
reverse currents are sent through the magnet coils without printing, the lever is
brought into the position shewn in Figure 1 and a pin B' on the axis of the type
wheel comes against a projection upon it and its step by step revolving motion is so
arrested.
The type wheels of all instruments worked from the same transmitter having
been thus all brought to zero are simultaneously set free so soon as the passage of
current through the magnet coils ceases-the armature K' then drops, the eccentric M*
makes one revolution and the forked end of the printing lever P which embraces
the eccentric is thereby raised and lowered. As it rises a lever ✗ which is coupled

page_text: to it as shewn rises also and its end strikes up the tail end of the lever W and
thereby lowers the opposite end and sets the type wheel free to have again a step
by step turning movement given to it.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is :-
:-
1. In a step by step printing telegraph the combination of a train of wheels
driving a type wheel, an escapement actuated by an electro magnet receiving light
reverse currents-a sluggish electro magnet also receiving the reverse currents and
adapted for retaining its armature so long as the reverse currents are passing-a
spindle driven by a train of wheels-an escapement actuated by the armature and
allowing the spindle to make one turn each time the armature is released and an
eccentric on the spindle giving motion to the printing lever substantially as
.described.
2. In a step by step printing telegraph the combination of a train of wheels
driving a type wheel, an escapement actuated by an electro magnet receiving light
reverse currents-a sluggish electro magnet also receiving the reverse currents and
adapted for retaining its armature so long as the reverse currents are passing—a
rocking lever carrying the armature and also a pair of escapement blades--an arm
on a spindle driven by a train of wheels engaging alternately first with one blade
when the armature is released and then with the other when the armature is
attracted so that the spindle may make one turn each time the armature is released
and an eccentric on the spindle giving motion to the printing lever substantially as
.described.
3. The construction of step by step printing telegraph instruments substantially
.as described.
Dated this 11th day of Mon 1906