Improvements in Telautograph Apparatus.
Year: 1899

page_text: Date of Application, 2nd Dec., 1899-Accepted, 30th June, 1900
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Telautograph Apparatus.
I, FOSTER RITCHIE, of No. 99, Constantine Road, Hampstead, in the County
of Middlesex, Electrical Engineer, 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:-
Writings or drawings made at a sending station are reproduced at a receiving
station by means of electrically connected apparatus known as the telautograph.
In these apparatus the pen or tracer which writes or draws at the sending
station is in the joint which connects two rods extending from pivotted lever
arms, these rods being at angles to each other, and the pen at the receiving station
is likewise in the joint connecting a pair of similar rods jointed to lever arms.
By means of electrical currents transmitted by the movements of the sending
arms, the receiving arms are caused to make similar movements, and thus the
pen of the receiving rods makes a copy of the writing or drawing made by the
tracer of the sending rods. The movement of each receiving arm in conformity
with that of the sending arm has been determined in several ways.
One way
proposed several years ago was by making the sending arm or a brush connected
with it travel over a series of contacts by which a less or greater resistance was
introduced into the circuit connecting the stations, the receiving arm being thus
caused to move over a greater or less course. The present invention relates to
telautographic apparatus operating on this principle, and arranged in a very
simple and effective manner, as will be described with reference to the accom-
panying drawings.
Fig. 1 is an elevation of the receiving instrument and Fig. 2 is a plan of the
sending instrument, both these being at each station.
Fig. 3 is a front view, Fig. 4 is a side view, and Fig. 5 is a plan of the instru-
ment which works one of the receiving arms.
Fig. 6 is a plan, and Fig. 7 is an end view of one of the sending arms and the
rheostat over
which its brush works. Fig. 8 is a side view of a triple brush
employed for one of the sending arms. Fig. 9 is a section of the rheostat. Fig. 10
is an end view, Fig. 11 is a plan, and Fig. 12 is a front view of the apparatus
at the receiving station for shifting the paper; Fig. 13 is a part section on the
line 13-13 of Fig. 12.
Fig. 14 is a front view and Fig. 15 is a plan of the switch.
Fig. 16 is a part plan of the same shewing the contact in position for sending.
Fig. 17 is a front view, Fig. 18 is a side view and Fig. 19 is a plan of the
receiving pen and the appliance for inking it.
Fig. 20 is a diagrammatic elevation of the receiving part of the apparatus
and Fig. 21 is a plan of me sending part.
Figs. 1 and 2 are of a diagrammatic character chiefly intended to shew the
electrical connections of the apparatus at one of two stations which are electri-
cally connected by two line wires. It is to be understood that at each station
there are apparatus of duplicate character, that shewn in Fig. 1 for receiving
communications from the distant station, and that shewn in Fig. 2 for sending

page_text: communications to the distant station. In each of the two apparatus a paper
strip several inches wide is fed by mechanism hereafter described, step by step
over a platten, sufficient length of it being fed at each step to receive a sentence
written on the sending strip by a pencil or tracer and written on the distant
receiving strip by a pen which is caused to move in exact conformity with the
sending tracer and, therefore, copies the writing not only in sense but also in
form. In like manner a design drawn on the sending paper is reproduced on
the distant receiving paper.
It is to be understood that the receiving part of the apparatus shewn in Fig. 1
is in elevation as being in fact perpendicular to the sending part shewn in Fig. 2
in plan, the platten a against which the receiving paper lies being approximately
vertical, while the platten 6 on which the sending paper lies is horizontal, the
object of placing a in a nearly upright position is to make the pressure due to
gravity of the receiving rods cc and pen d as slight as possible upon the
paper. The sending rods e e and the tracer f which they carry, rest
upon the paper on . Each of the rods ee is jointed to one arm g of a lever,
the other arm h of which has a brush that travels over a circular arc i presenting
a number of thin metal contact plates j fixed side by side insulated from one
another in a frame of non-conducting material, as shewn in Fig. 9. Each of
these plates has a projection to which is attached one end of a length of wire
of high resisting character, the other end being attached to a projection of the
next plate in order. The projections are arranged stepwise to give convenience
in attaching the wires. One end of each rheostat is connected by a line 1 to
the one pole of a battery m, the other pole of which is. connected to earth 11.
The brush carried by one of the arms h, say that on the right hand, is triple,
that is to say, it consists of three springs insulated from one another bearing
respectively on separate parts of the rheostat at short distances apart. When
the sending tracer is marking on the paper on the two extreme brushes are
alternately connected, as will be hereafter described, through wire 2 and switch n,
to line leading to a corresponding point 3 in the distant apparatus. The arm h
on the left hand side is connected through wire 4 and switch to line 5 leading
to a corresponding point 5 in the distant apparatus. From the points 3 and 5
in the distant apparatus, wires 6 and 7 respectively connect to two receiving
apparatus oo each of which, as shewn in Figs. 3, 4 and 5, is constructed and
operates in the following manner. An electro-magnet excited by the battery at:
the receiving station, or it might be a permanent magnet, has two polar ex-
tensions enclosing between them and a stationary iron core 7, an annular mag-
netic field in which a coil q is free to oscillate, this coil having an arm
is jointed the rod e carrying the pen d.
to which
A volute spring surges the arm to its extreme position in one direction.
The currents from the sending station, after passing through the coils q, traverse
wires 8 and 9 and a wire 10 which joins them to a relay and thence to earth 11.
According to the strength of the currents transmitted by the lines 6 and 7 from
the sending station as determined by the movement of the brushes on the arms h
over the rheostats, so are the coils and the arms r moved more or less round,
moving the rods and the pen over the paper on a distances corresponding
to those moved over by the sending tracer f on the paper on b. Dash pots 56
damp the movements of the coils and arms 7.
In the switch, as shewn in Figs. 14, 15 and 16, a pivotted piece of non-
conducting material has fixed on it two metal plates flexibly connected to the
points 3 and 5. This piece u has a projecting arm e, which when pressed down
by the tracer f to the position shewn in Fig. 16, causes contact of the plates on u
with a pair of springs to which the wires 2 and 4 are connected, these wires being
thus connected respectively to the lines 3 and 5, so that the apparatus is in con-
dition for sending. On pressing down a little farther, the contacts of the
plates on with the springs of 2 and 4 are broken and a contact is made at w,
thus connecting the pole of battery m through wire 12 and wire 13 to the

page_text: apparatus for shifting the paper at the sending station, and thence by wire 14
and 48 to earth 11. At the same time the contacts for wires 2 and 4 being
broken there is no current traversing the lines from and to 3 and 5 consequently
the relay is inert and as will be presently described, the apparatus for shifting
the receiving paper at the distant station is operated.
The apparatus for shifting the paper as shewn in Figs. 10, 11, 12 and 13 com-
prises an electro-magnet which has curved pole pieces y y to one of which is
pivotted an armature lever 25 which extends under part of the other pole pieces.
At each, end of the base of the electro-magnet is pivotted an arm these arms
being connected below by a halt 15, and above by a bar 16, the whole forming
a frame which can oscillate between stops 17 and 18. In the arms z are pivotted
the ends of a rocking spindle 19 carrying an armature 20. At each end of the
spindle 19 an arm projects under a stud 21 projecting from the arm z. and the
paper 22 has its edges passed between the studs 21 and the arms under them.
:
The spindle 19 has another arm 23 to which is attached one end of a spring 24
having its other end attached to any fixed point of the apparatus. When the
electromagnet is excited by a current passing through a contact at 26, the arma-
ture 20 is drawn towards the pole pieces y pinching the edges of the paper between
the studs 21 and the arms under them, and then the armature moves along the
pole pieces which are somewhat eccentric, so that it becomes nearer to them as
it moves, drawing the paper onwards until the arm z meets the stop 18 at which
time a stud projecting from the bar 16 passes over and is caught by a stud pro-
jecting from the armature 25; as the arm is attaining this position, it leaves
the contact at 26, and the current has then to pass through a resistance marked 27
in Fig. 1, the current thus reduced, having still sufficient effect on the electro-
magnet to hold the arms in the position to which they had been moved. When
the electro-magnet is cut entirely out of circuit, the spring 24 acting on the
arm 23 releases the edges of the paper and pulls the arms back to the position
shewn in Fig. 10 leaving the paper stationary. Such being the construction and
operation of the apparatus for shifting the paper at the receiving station, that
of the apparatus at the sending station is similar, but the armature 25, the con-
tacts at 26 and the resistance 27 are dispensed with. For putting in action the
paper shifting apparatus at the receiving station, the relay being rendered inert
as above described by breaking the contacts for the lines 3 and 5 at the switch,
the electro magnet of the paper shifting apparatus at the receiving station is no
longer energised, consequently the paper there is released and the armature is
drawn back by the spring 24. On raising the tracer from the arm of the piece
of the switch, a spring 28 moves the piece back to the position shewn in Fig. 16,
in which position the wires 2 and 4 are again connected to the lines 3 and 5.
The relay is thus energised attracting its armature and making a contact at
29. Thus the current passing by, the wire 1 from battery m traverses wire 30
to the electro-magnet of the apparatus for shifting the receiving paper, thence
by wire 31 to contact at 29 and earth at 11. By the contact made at 29 the
coils of the electro-magnets of o are energised from the battery m at the receiving
station by currents passing along wires 1, 30, 32, 33 and contact 29 to earth 11.
The arms cc of the receiving apparatus, when they are not in action. rest
against a rod 34 urged forward by a spring and the pen is thus kept off the
paper. The rod 34 is attached to the armature of an electro-magnet 35, so that
when this magnet is energised. the rod is drawn back and the pen is thus allowed
to bear against the paper. This is effected by the pressure of the sending
iracer on the paper on in the following manner.
The platten being pivotted at 36 is sustained by a spring causing a contact to
be made at 37 whereby the middle spring of the triple brush shewn in Fig. 8
is put in connection by wire 38, contact 37 and wires 39 and 2 to the switch which
is then in the position shewn in Fig. 16, so that currents pass by line 3 but these
can produce no writing or drawing on the receiving paper as the pen is held
off it by the rod 34. Now on pressing down the platten 6 by the tracer f bearing

page_text: .
upon it, the contact at 37 is broken and contact is made at 40, so that currents
from battery m pass by wires 1 and 41 and contact at 40 to wire 42 through a
vibrator 43 of ordinary construction to earth at 11. The vibrating blade of the
vibrator makes alternating contacts at 44, connected respectively by wires 39
and 45 with the two extreme springs of the triple brush on h, and thus fluctuating
currents are sent by the wire 2, line 3 and wire at the distant station to the
receiving apparatus o there also by wire 46 to relay 47 and thence through a
condenser 54 and wires 48 to earth 11.
The fluctuation of the currents causes no sensible vibration of the arm but
they cause vibrations of the armature of the relay 47, making intermittent contacts
at 48, and so sending intermittent currents by wire 49 through the coil of mag-
net 35 and wires 50, 39, and 1 to battery m. These intermittent currents so far
energise the electro-magnet 35 that it attracts its armature, drawing back the
rod 34 and so allowing the pen d to bear against the paper on a.
For supplying the receiving pen with ink, the arrangement shewn in Figs. 17,
18 and 19 is adopted. 51 is a reservoir of ink communicating in the manner of
a fountain glass with an open basin 52 in which there is a supply of ink main-
tained at a constant level. The pen itself consists of a trough part 53 with a
fine bore tube extending from its bottom, the end of this tube bearing against the
paper when the pen is in action. When the pen is not in action, it is brought
to the position shewn in Fig. 17 to bear against a roller 57 by its following the
motion of the sending tracer f when it pushes down the arm of the switch .
In this position the pen receives ink which it carries with it as it passes over
in contact with the paper, a small quantity always flowing out through its tube
and writing on the paper.
Sometimes an operator who has been sending communications, leaves the instru
ment without having put the switch in the condition for reception of communi-
cation from the distant station. In order to provide against this, the rest for
the operator's arm may be supported on a spring and may in its raised position,
when the arm is off it, make a contact which closes one part of a circuit for a
bell or other alarm. Also the switch piece when it is not in the position shewn
in Fig. 14, may make another contact in the same circuit, the effect of this being
that if the switch be in wrong condition for receiving and the operator's arm is
off the rest, the alarm is actuated until either of the contacts is broken, by putting
the arm on the rest. This arrangement being already employed in other
telautographic apparatus is not claimed as part of the present invention.
When the conductors connecting the two stations are subject to inductive in-
fluences the action of the pen lifting apparatus is liable to be interfered with. In
such cases for the pen lifting apparatus described with reference to Figs. 1 and 2,
is substituted apparatus arranged as diagrammatically shewn in Figs. 20 and 21.
In the conductors connecting the points 3 and 5 of the apparatus at the one
of two stations to the corresponding points 3 and 5 at the other station, are intro-
duced secondary windings 55 and 56 of induction coils of which 57 and 58 are
the primaries. The winding 57 has its one end connected to the contact 37 and
its other end to carth 11: the winding 58 has its one end connected to the con-
fact 40 and its other end to earth 11. In the receiving apparatus are provided
two electromagnets 59 and 60, the coil of the one having its one end connected
by wire 61 to the main conductor 3, the coil of the other similarly connected by
wire 63 to the main conductor 5, the other ends of both coils being respectively
connected to condensers 62 and 64 which are connected to earth 11. One end
of the coil of the electro-magnet 35 which operates the rod 34 which supports
the receiving pen is connected by wire 65 to a contact 66 which can be made
by the armature lever 67 connected to earth 11, the other end of the coil of 35 is
connected by wire 6S to one pole of the battery m at its own station.
The apparatus operates as follows:-When the platten b is not pressed down
it is, as shewn, making a contact at 37 allowing a current to pass from battery m
by wire 69 contact 37 primary coil 57 to earth 11, but this current while con-

page_text: tinuous has no effect on the secondary 55. When the platten is pressed down
the contact at 37 is broken and then contact is made at 40, thus an impulse is
caused first in coil 55 and then in coil 56. The impulse in 55 has no effect on
the armature lever 67 because its one end is already attracted by the magnet 59,
but the succeeding impulse in 56 energises the magnet 60, which attracts the
other end of the armature lever 67 making a contact at 66 whereby the electro-
magnet 35 is energised attracting its armature which draws back the rod 34
allowing the receiving pen to bear against the paper. When the pressure of
the sending tracer is no longer on the platten the platten rises breaking the
contact at 40 and making contact. at 37. The break at 40 causes an impulse in 56
which although acting on 60 has no effect on the armature lever 67 as its one
end is already attracted, but the succeeding impulse in 55 caused by the contact
being made at 37, energises the magnet 59 causing it to attract the armature
lever to the posiiton shewn in Fig. 20 thereby opening the circuit of the
magnet 35 allowing its armature to raise the rod 34 and so move the receiving
pen away from the paper.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is-
1. Telautographic apparatus comprising, at each of two stations connected by
two line wires, a sending tracer jointed to rods connected to arms carrying
brushes travelling over rheostat arcs, a receiving pen jointed to rods connected
to arms carrying coils moving in annular magnetic fields, so that according
as the arms moved by the sending tracer include more or less resistance in the
circuit of the receiving coils, these coils move over less or greater arcs, so moving
the pen in accordance with the tracer, substantially as described.
2. The construction of the rheostat arcs substantially as described with refer-
ence to Figs. 6, 7 and 9.
3. The construction and arrangement of the magnets and coils for operating
the arms that work the receiving pen, substantially as described with reference
to Figs. 3, 4 and 5.
4. The paper shifting apparatus substantially as described with reference to
Figs. 10, 11 and 12.
5. The switch substantially as described with reference to Figs. 14, 15 and 16.
6. The pen and its ink supply substantially as described with reference to
Figs. 17, 18 and 19.
7. The pen lifting apparatus including the rod 34, electromagnet 35, the triple
brush, vibrator 43, platten contacts 37 and 40, relay 47 and condenser 54, sub-
stantially as described.
8. The modified pen lifting apparatus comprising the rod 34, electro-magnet 35,
the magnets 59 and 60 with their armature lever, and the induction coils 55-57
and 56 58, substantially as described.
Dated this 2nd day of December 1899.
ABEL & IMRAY,
Agents for the Applicant.