IMPROVEMENTS IN PRINTING TELEGRAPHIC APPARATUS
Year: 1871

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by William Robert Lake at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
31st May 1871.- A communication from abroad by Marshall
Lefferts, of the City and State of New York, United States of
America.
I, WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake, & Co.,
Patent Agents, Southampton Buildings, London, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN PRINTING TELEGRAPHIC
APPARATUS," a communication, to be as follows:-
Two type wheels are employed, and the improvements are made with
reference to rotating either of the type wheels, and allowing the other
to remain stationary, so that the letter, number, or character can be
selected from those on either wheel and impressed.
These improvements are available upon telegraph machines where
one line wire is employed, and the pulsations act in one of two magnets,
according to the polarity of the current, but two separate line wires
may be employed, one being connected to each magnet. Each type
wheel is provided with a sleeve and a ratchet wheel connected together,
and the sleeves are sustained by and revolve upon a stationary shaft.

page_text: Two levers and pawls are provided one for each of the said ratchet
wheels, and these levers swing upon the same shaft as the armature that
is vibrated by the electro-magnet, but independently of the same. A
locking bolt is provided to connect the armature with either one of these
levers, so that if the bolt is slipped in one direction one of the said levers
will be connected to and will vibrate with the armature and move the
corresponding type wheel, the other remaining stationary, and if the
bolt is moved the other way the first type wheel will remain stationary,
its lever being unlocked, and the other type wheel will be revolved.
The end wise movement is given to this bolt by either electrical
mechanical appliances or by mechanical devices alone. To utilize the
power of an electro-magnet for moving the said bolt, the connections
are arranged so that the pulsations from the main line pass through
spring circuit closers, and not through the greater resistance of a third
electro-magnet in the same circuit, hence when an arm upon the type
wheel sleeve opens in its revolution, the said spring circuit closers by
passing between them, the pulsation of electricity is obliged to pass
through this third electro-magnet, and its armature at this point moves
the bolt along, disconnecting it from one lever and connecting it by the
other lever to the type wheel ratchet. Upon the sleeve of this type
wheel is a cam arm acting once in each revolution upon a lever
to unlatch the said bolt, and allow a spring to draw back the bolt
and change the connection form one lever to the other. This third
magnet to move the said bolt may be dispensed with, by having an
armature acting against lateral arms that extend from the cores of the
printing magnet, and are charged by induced magnetism, so as to act
through levers upon the said bolt, and move the same endwise to
disconnect one lever and connect the other to the type wheel ratchets.
A stop is thrown into action by the movement of the said bolt to prevent
the impression lever moving at the same time, but these parts can
only operate when the type wheels are turned to the blank or zero
space.