IMPROVED METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR FORMING LETTERS OR OTHER CHARACTERS ON PAPER OR OTHER MATERIAL FROM A DISTANCE
Year: 1883

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Melville Thomson Neale of 39 Leinster Square, Bayswater
in the County of Middlesex for an Invention of IMPROVED METHOD OF AND
APPARATUS FOR FORMING LETTERS OR OTHER CHARACTERS ON PAPER OR OTHER
MATERIAL FROM A DISTANCE
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Melville Thomson Neale at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 23rd February 1883.
MELVILLE THOMSON NEALE of 39 Leinster Square, Bayswater in the County of
Middlesex, "IMPROVED METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR FORMING LETTERS OR
OTHER CHARACTERS ON PAPER OR OTHER MATERIAL FROM A DISTANCE
» .
This invention bas for object to form letters or other characters on paper or other
material from a distance through the medium of fluid such as air which is for this
purpose confined within apparatus such as I will now describe.
At each of the places or stations to be put in communication I provide two
vessels or chambers each furnished with a cover resembling a gas holder dipping in
mercury so as to permit the capacity of the vessel or chamber to be varied, and to
keep it air tight. The two vessels or chambers at one place or station are connected
by suitable pipes or passages each with one of those at the other place or station,
and all the vessels or chambers and their connecting pipes or passages are charged
with fluid such as air to such an extent that the covers of the vessels or chambers
are normally not in their highest positions-or, in other words, the vessels are not
fully extended or opened out-With this arrangement if the cover of one of the
vessels or chambers at one place or station be lowered, the resulting displacement
of fluid will have the effect of raising the cover of the communicating vessel or
chamber at the other place or station, and vice verad. The covers of the two
vessels or chambers at each place or station are connected by rods or links jointed
to them and to a pencil holder in such a way that if the pencil holder be moved by
hand or otherwise the rods or links will actuate the covers to which they are

page_text: jointed, or, if the said covers be actuated by the fluid in the vessels or chambers,
they will in turn actuate the pencil holder.
The arrangement is such that the combined motions of the two connected covers
will be resolved into one definite motion of the pencil holder, or if the latter be
stationary, neither of the covers connected to it can move.
Thus if the pencil holder at one place or station be operated so as to describe
letters words or figures the action of the fluid upon the covers at the other or
receiving place or station will cause a pencil or marking instrument carried by the
pencil holder there to transcribe like letters words or figures on paper in contact
with such pencil or marking instrument. A bell or other indicator may be used at
each place or station in connection with apparatus according to my invention.
The construction and arrangement of the apparatus may be variously modified.
In lieu of vessels with covers such as above described it may in some cases be
convenient to use collapsible vessels or chambers resembling bellows, or concertinas.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said Melville Thomson Neale in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
23rd August 1883.
MELVILLE THOMSON NEALE of 39 Leinster Square Bayswater in the county of
Middlesex. IMPROVED METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR FORMING LETTERS OR
OTHER CHARACTERS ON PAPER OR OTHER MATERIAL FROM A DISTANCE
The object of my invention is a method of recording fac-simile characters in
writing from one apparatus to other apparatus in connection therewith by causing
their marking appliance to follow the movements of the appliance acted upon for
the purpose of transcribing such characters, also to apparatus for transcribing
letters or other characters in fac-simile style to other or distant apparatus of the
same kind.
My invention is clearly illustrated in the annexed sheet of drawings and its
operation will be understood by the following description in connection therewith.
In Figure 1 A A are two casings each containing à collapsible vessel or a plunger
piston or its equivalent.
E is a tube by which each vessel is charged with air or other fluid to a fixed
pressure or a liquid through a valve at F. G, G, are nozzles for connecting other
tubes forming the communication with a second pair of vessels similarly arranged
(for purposes identical) as those shown on the drawing.
The rods C C are curved at their outer ends or they have preferably curved
extension pieces H, H, attached which serve to hold the pencil or the stylus such as I
have shown at Figure 2 the point a being kept in contact with the strip of web or
band paper I by the spring 6 or otherwise.
The socket c in which the pencil or stylus is fitted has a handle d hinged, so that
it can fall against the hand rest J and be turned up and used like a penholder
when writing or marking has to be carried on. The vessels oscillate on the gimball
pins K, L, arranged within the straps M M (Figure 3) to follow the motion due to
the varying angles the stylus is caused to assume during the writing operation.
The web or band of paper is on a reel at the back of the hand rest as in dotted
lines, and its free end after passing through a slit N is run under a plate P and its
edges under lips e, f, to guide it and to hold it in contact with a strip of prepared
paper or other substance fixed to the back plate, to enable the impression produced
by the stylus to be represented on the back of the paper I which is moved
intermittently at the completion of each line of writing by the shoulder of the
stylus being pressed against one or other of the projections g, h, which form part of
a clip Q Figures 4, 5 and 6 for moving the paper along; such movement corre-
sponding to the length of the opening within which the writing is conducted. The
clip is composed of a paul i held in contact with the paper by the spring ; and
grips the paper to move in one direction only, the clip Q with the projections g, h,
and the bar R moving back under the action of a spring arranged in a barrel at the
back of the hand rest.
I fit a gong S for the hammers T, T to act upon at each to and fro motion of the
hand but these may be dispensed with said gong being useful as a call signal.
The vessels containing the fluid such as air or water are kept in a state of
tension by being in the case of air slightly compressed and any movement of the
stylus is instantaneously communicated to other apparatus of a similar character at
a distance, the vessels of the second apparatus being connected to the first by tubing
attached to the nozzles G, G.

page_text: I have mentioned prepared (carbonized) paper but a pencil or other article can
be used for marking the paper strip, and either apparatus can be used for trans-
mitting a message in writing or in symbol or code a fac-simile appearing on the
strip of web or band paper in the other apparatus at the distant station or by
arranging a series of such apparatus with one in a central office all of them would
receive the message at about the same instant which can be read off.
Having now described the nature of my said invention and in what manner the
same is to be performed I declare that I claim.
First The apparatus shown in the annexed drawings and as hereinbefore described
for transcribing letters or other characters to other or distant apparatus of the
same kind as set forth
Secondly I claim The method of recording fac-simile characters in writing from
one apparatus to other apparatus in connection therewith by causing their
marking appliance to follow the movements of the appliance acted upon for
the purpose of transcribing such characters as set forth.
In witness whereof I the said Melville Thomson Neale have hereunto set my
hand and seal this twenty third day of August in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and eighty three
MELVILLE THOMSON NEALE