IMPROVEMENTS IN STENOGRAPHIC MACHINES
Year: 1884

page_text: I MILES MARSHALL BARTHOLOMEW of Belleville in the County of Saint Clair and
State of Illinois one of the United States of North America, Short-hand reporter,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for IMPROVEMENTS IN
STENOGRAPHIC MACHINES and in what manner the same is to be performed to be
particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement:-
Figure 1 is a top view of the machine.
Figure 2 is a front view with the keys and their supports removed.
Figure 3 is a rear view of the machine with a part of the clock-case broken
away.
Figure 4 is a top view of the parts of the key-bars carrying the markers.
A is the bed plate to which is secured a plate B on which the key bars and C'
have bearing at D. Each of the key bars Ċ consists of a bent piece or strip with a
finger piece E at each end and a marker F at a point intermediate between the
ends, said marker standing upright and having at top a blunt edge, which when
the marker is thrown upward impinges against the ink-ribbon and impresses a
mark on the strip of paper which travels over the ink-ribbon. The thumb-key C"
may consist of a straight bar having a finger piece E at one end and a marker F at
the other.
The finger-ends of the key bars are raised by pressure upon them of a padded
spring lever G which is hinged at the outer end of the plate B, and whose inner
end is forced down by a spiral spring whose lower end is secured to the bed plate,
whose upper end H is screw threaded and bears a nut I which bears upon the top
of the lever and holds its padded inner end down upon the key bars. The tension
of this spring may be regulated by turning the nut I.
J is the paper roll supported on a pivot K in a binged standard L, the standard
turning down on a joint M to render the machine compact so that it may be placed
in a small case. The strip of paper J, from the roll passes over a guide N. O is a
feed wheel which bears upon the upper side of the strip J and by its rotation
draws the strip from the roll and carries it forward over the markers F. The
paper strip rests on an anticipation roller N¹ supported on the guide N vertically
beneath the feed wheel O.
The markers are arranged to mark the paper strip at different places transversely;
the marker of the central key bar C¹ marking it in proximity to the outer edge, the
marker of the outer key bar marking the paper by the inner edge while the other
markers make impressions at different points between. P is the ink-ribbon which
is interposed between the paper strip and the markers. The ink-ribbon is coiled
on two rollers P1, P1 which have simultaneous rotation imparted to them, so that
as the ribbon is unwound from one roller it is wound upon the other.
The ribbon rollers P', P' are actuated by a wheel driven by the same clock-
mechanism as the feed roller O. The clock-mechanism may be of any suitable
description.

page_text: I show a spring barrel R with a cog wheel S, upon it, which engages a pinion T¹
upon the same shaft T which carries the friction wheel Q. U, U are two
transmitting friction wheels turning upon arbors upon' a frame V. which swings on
the shaft T or upon an axis concentric therewith. The arrangement is such that
the wheels U are in constant frictional contact with the wheel Q while by slight
movement of the frame V on its axis one of the wheels U is carried into frictional
contact with a circular flange P³ of one of the ink ribbon rollers and the other
wheel carried out of contact with a similar flange of the other ink ribbon roller.
Thus either of the ink ribbon rollers may be made the driver the ribbon being coiled
upon that one and drawn from the other. The frame V is moved by a lever V'.
The shaft T carries a cog-wheel T2 engaging a pinion W on the shaft W of the
feed wheel O Bо as to cause the rotation of such feed wheel. The shaft W also
carries a cog wheel W engaging a pinion X¹ on a shaft X which shaft also carries
a screw gear wheel X³ engaging a gear screw upon a fly shaft Y. The fly Y' is
of the description common in the striking mechanism of clocks and whose purpose
is to check the velocity of the mechanism. To stop the motion of the clock work
a rod Z is moved into the course of the wings of the fly. This rod is connected to
an arm a of a rock shaft u. This rock shaft has an arm a² having at the end a
finger piece b and beneath it a spring c.
The arrangement is such that when the arm a² is depressed the rod Z arrests the
movement of the fly and thus stops the clock work, and when the finger is removed
from the spring c throws up the arm a² and carries the rod Z out of contact with
the fly. The arm a may be held down by a turn latch d that may be made to
engage over the top of it."
It will be seen that the motion of the paper beneath the feed-wheel is constant
while the clock work is running, but that the impingement of a marker against the
ink ribbon will momentarily arrest its motion at the point of marking. This
causes the paper strip to bend slightly between these points and its flexibility
enables it to straighten out when relieved from the pressure of the marker.
At e is shown a ratchet key by which the clock work is wound up.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is:
1. A stenographic machine having a clock mechanism arranged to continuously
drive or feed the paper upon which the marks are made.
2. A stenographic machine having a clock mechanisin arranged to continuously
drive or feed the paper upon which the marks are made and the ink ribbon.
3. The combination in a stenographic machine of a set of marking keys
substantially as shown, and a clock work mechanism arranged to feed the paper
receiving the marks over the markers of said keys.
4. A stenographic machine having a paper feeding roller placed to the rear of
the marker so as to flex the paper during the moment of marking.
Dated this 13th day of October 1884.