IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS. FOR RECORDING ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH SIGNALS
Year: 1870

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Warren Thompson, of No. 8, Cloak Lane, in the.
City of London, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS.
FOR RECORDING ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH SIGNALS."
Scaled the 21st October 1870, and dated the 6th May 1870.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Warren Thompson at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
6th May 1870.
I, WARREN THOMPSON, of No. 8, Cloak Lane, in the City of London,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for " IMPROVEMENTS IN
Apparatus for RECORDING ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH SIGNALS," to be as follows:-
This Invention has for its object to enable a person in charge of a.
receiving instrument of an electric telegraph to print a message as he
receives it, letter by letter, without withdrawing his eyes from the
receiving instrument. For this purpose I employ a horizontal keyboard.
placed in front of the operator and below the receiving instrument. The.
several finger keys or stops of the keyboard are by preference ranged in.
a circle or concentric circles, and the finger keys are carried on vertical-

page_text: stems which pass down through holes in the keyboard or plate. The top
of each finger key is marked with the letter or figure it is to represent.
Below the plate is a horizontal arm or pointer capable of turning on an
axis concentric with the centre of the circle in which the finger keys are
ranged; this pointer is driven continuously by a train of wheels actuated
by a spring or otherwise, as herein-after explained. Around the axis
of the pointer and below the plane in which the pointer revolves are four
or other number of horizontal levers; these levers turn on horizontal
axes ranged round the axis of the pointer, and the levers are connected
to one another by pins in such manner that when the outer end of one
lever is depressed the other levers are also all similarly depressed. The
outer end of each lever forms the arc of a circle, and the outer ends of
the several levers together make up a complete ring, this ring comes
below the stems of the circle of finger keys. One of the arcs has a pin .
projecting up from it, against which the pointer strikes and is prevented
from turning; when however one of the finger keys is depressed the
lower end of its stem comes against the lever below it and depresses all
the levers, and by so doing moves away the stop from in front of the
pointer, the pointer then turns quickly round until it comes against the
stem of the finger key which is pressed down. When the key is relieved
from the pressure of the finger it is again drawn up to its original
position by a spring, and the pointer turns round until its motion is again
arrested either by the stem of another key being pressed down into its
path, or else by its coming against the stop which is carried by one of
the levers, as before mentioned. The axis of the pointer is connected by
bevil wheels with one end of a horizontal shaft, which at its other end
is similarly put into gear with a train of wheels driven by a strong
spring or otherwise, the train of wheels is arranged to drive a type wheel
which has around its circumference as many type as there are finger
keys on the keyboard, and the train of wheels is arranged to cause this
type wheel to turn once for every complete revolution of the pointer. A
continuous strip of paper to be printed on is led step by step past the
circumference of the type wheel in a manner similar to that described in
the Specification of a Patent granted to me on the 15th day of September
1863 (No. 2262), and printing apparatus such as is therein described is
also used in combination with the train of wheels and type wheel. Such
printing apparatus is so arranged that each time the type wheel makes a
partial turn a roller or hammer shall, so soon as the motion of the type
wheel is arrested, be caused to press the paper to be printed on on to the

page_text: type which is then opposite to it. The type wheel may either be inked
or black transfer paper may be interposed between the wheel and the
paper which is to be printed on. If two printed copies of the message
are required two similar type wheels and printing apparatus may be
employed, the two type wheels being fixed on the same axis, or one
type wheel with a double set of letters and figures may be used, and two
strips of paper be led past opposite points of its circumference, and bo
similarly printed on. To avoid rebound when the revolving pointer
herein-before mentioned strikes against its stop, or against one of the.
finger keys it carries a weight attached to it by a spring.
SPECIFICATION. in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Warren Thompson in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 5th November 1870.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WARREN
THOMPSON, of No. 8, Cloak Lane, in the City of London, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Sixth day of May, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy, in the thirty-third year
of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant
unto ime, the said Warren Thompson, Her special licence that I, the said
Warren Thompson, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such
others as I, the said Warren Thompson, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to
time and at all times thereafter during the term therein expressed,
should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within the
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands,
and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR
RECORDING ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH SIGNALS," upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said Warren Thompson, my executors or adminis-
trators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of their
hands and seals, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of
the said Invention, and in what manner the same was to be performed,
and cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within
six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said
Letters Patent.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Warren Thompson, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
the following statement thereof, that is to say :-
This Invention has for its object to enable a person in charge of a
receiving instrument of an electric telegraph to print a message as he
receives it letter by letter without withdrawing his eyes from the
receiving instrument. For this purpose I employ a horizontal key-
board placed in front of the operator and below the receiving instrument.
'The several finger keys or stops of the keyboard are by preference ranged
in a circle or concentric circles, and the finger keys are carried on vertical
stems. which pass down through holes in the keyboard or plate. The top
of each finger key is marked with the letter or figure it is to represent.
Below the plate is a horizontal arm or pointer capable of turning on an
axis concentric with the centre of the circle in which the finger keys are
ranged; this pointer is driven continuously by a train of wheels actuated
by a spring or otherwise as herein-after explained. Around the axis of
the pointer and below the plane in which the pointer revolves are four or
other number of horizontal levers; these levers turn on horizontal axes
ranged round the axis of the pointer, and the levers are connected to one
another. The outer end of each lever forms the arc of a circle and the
outer ends of the several levers together make up a complete ring;
this ring comes below the stems of the circle of finger keys. One of the
arcs has a pin projecting up from it, against which the pointer strikes
and is prevented from turning. When, however, one of the finger keys
is depressed the lower end of its stem comes against the lover below it
and so depresses the lever with the pin upon it, and by so doing moves.
away the stop from in front of the pointer; the pointer then turns
quickly round until it comes against the stem of the finger key which is
pressed down. When the key is relieved from the pressure of the finger
it is again drawn up to its original position by a spring, and the pointer
turns round until its motion is again arrested either by the stem of
another key being pressed down into its path, or else by its coming
against the stop which is carried by one of the levers as before mentioned.
The axis of the pointer is connected by bevil wheels with one end of a
horizontal shaft, which at its other end is similarly put into gear with a
train of wheels driven by a strong spring or otherwise. The train of
wheels is arranged to drive a type wheel which has around its circumi-

page_text: k
tooth wheel, which through an intermediate wheel on the axis e drives
the axis f, and this by bevilled gear drives the vertical axis g¹ of the
pointer arm g. This arm g, when none of the finger keys h are depressed,
rests against the stud i* on the lever ¹, but when any of the finger keys
are depressed this lever also is moved downwards until the pointer
escapes over the top of the stud **. Some of the finger keys as will be
seen come, when depressed, directly in contact with the lever 1, and
cause it to rock on its centres I', whilst other of the keys come in contact
with the levers, or ", and through these levers act on the lever ', but
the result in either case is the same, the pointer arm g escapes past the
stud ¿*, and the train of wheels which drives it runs until the pointer
itself comes against the depressed finger key which then stands in its
course. The type wheel moves in unison with the pointer, and as soon
as its rotation is arrested the strip of paper k is struck upwards by the
hammer and is so printed; m is an ink roller which rests by its own
weight on the type wheel and inks the characters. The paper passes
through a guiden and also over a roller o, against which it is held by a
roller p pressed downwards by a spring. The roller o gives the forward
motion to the paper step by step as the printing proceeds. The roller o
and the printing hammer are actuated by a train of gear wheels
propelled by the spring barrel g, which by a train of wheels on axes 1º, 8,
and t, propels a pinion on the axis u; u³ is an arm on this axis, which
when the machine is at rest is stopped by the lever against the right-
hand end of which it bears. As soon however as by the depression of a
finger key the type wheel is set free and commences to revolve the
ratchet wheel 10 on its axis lifts the pawl a fixed upon the axis of the
lever, and this lever is then moved so as to cause the arm u¹ to escape
it, and the arm moves round until it is caught by the end of the lever Y,
which by a tooth, as is shown, is connected with the lever v.
So long
as the type wheel continues to revolve the teeth of the ratchet wheel 10
sustain it, but as soon as the type wheel is checked the pawl x drops in
between the teeth of the ratchet and so the lever y is lifted, and it
allows the arm u¹ to fly round until it is again stopped by coming against
the end of the lever o. The teeth of the ratchet wheel are equal in
number to the type on the type wheel, and so arranged in relation to the
finger keys that when the type wheel is stopped by a finger key there is
always a notch or space opposite the pawl x. The pawl is connected
with an arm z acting as a weight to move it into the teeth of the ratchet,
and this arm is fixed upon a disc A, which in descending it has to turn:

page_text: This disc serves to moderate the action of the weight, and the heavier
the disc the longer will be the pause requisite to enable the pawl x to
drop in.
Thus the machine is adjusted to a speed which is found con-
venient in practice. The axis u has a single-toothed pinion upon it
which drives the star wheel B on the axis of the paper wheel o, and so
the paper wheel receives its movement. The hammer is caused to
strike by the small cam C, with four projections upon it, which rotates.
a quarter of a circle each time the type wheel ceases to revolve; this
cam is upon the axis t. The finger key h* corresponding with the stop
or space is somewhat differently formed from the other finger keys, as
it is required not to come in contact with the pointer arm g, but to act
on the lever *, leaving the arm free to move.
Having thus described the nature of my said Invention, and the
manner of performing the same, I would have it understood that what
I claim is, the construction of apparatus suitable for recording electric
telegraph signals, substantially as described, with a train of wheels
driving a type wheel, and capable of being liberated and arrested by
finger keys, and also with another train of wheels set in motion when
the type wheel pauses and actuating the printing parts.
In witness whereof, I, the said Warren Thompson, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Fifth day of November, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy.