Improvements in Apparatus suitable for Punching Paper for Telegraphic Purposes.
Year: 1896

page_text: Date of Application, 16th Sept., 1896
Complete Specification Left, 16th June, 1897-Accepted, 11th Sept., 1897
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Apparatus suitable for Punching Paper for
Telegraphic Purposes.
I, GODFREY MARSDEN GIBSON of The Rectory, Chulmleigh, North Devon, Gentleman,
do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
According to this invention all the punches used for each letter or character are
automatically put into operation by depressing the corresponding key on a key
board.
For this purpose the act of depressing the key successively makes a number of
contacts closing a number of circuits through electro magnets whereby the valves of
pneumatic cylinders operating the punches are shifted.
Preferably the cylinders are supplied from an air chest common to them all and
the valves are simple flap valves covering the admission ports from the chest to the
cylinders except when they are attracted by the electro magnets.
The air chest is provided with an admission valve leading from the air supply and
an exhaust valve leading to the open air-preferably these two valves are conical
valves on the same spindle and are shifted simultaneously by an electro magnet on a
circuit closed by the last contact made by each key.
The paper is fed by spikes on a ratchet wheel rotated by a pawl on a sleeve
carrying a number of radial arms at angles to each other. These arms carry the
armatures of electro-magnets in the above mentioned circuits so that as each key is
depressed the sleeve is rotated through a greater or less angle according to the
number of punches used. On the circuits being broken the sleeve is moved back
again by a spring carrying the ratchet wheel with it and feeding the paper through
a distance equal to that covered by the last set of holes.
Dated this 16th day of September 1896
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Apparatus suitable for Punching Paper for
Telegraphic Purposes.
I, GODFREY MARSDEN GIBSON, of The Rectory, Chulmleigh, North Devon,
Gentleman, 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 :-
According to this invention all the punches used for each letter or character are
automatically put into operation by depressing the corresponding key on a key
board

page_text: For this purpose the act of depressing the key successively makes a number of
contacts closing a number of circuits through electro magnets whereby the valves of
pneumatic cylinders operating the punches are shifted.
Figure 1 is an elevation of one of the finger keys and Figure 2 an elevation of one
of the circuit closers actuated by them. Figure 3 is a plan and Figure 4 a sectional
end elevation of the punching machine. Figure 5 is a sectional elevation of
the supply and exhaust valve. Figure 6 shows a piece of the punched paper
produced."
a Figure 1 is a finger key carried by a lever a pivotted at a². a³ are projections
on the underside of the lever al arranged above the transverse bars 6' to 64 Each
of these bars is mounted as a parallel ruler by links B¹ from fixed rods B as shown
in Figure 2 and its end bears against a spring contact maker B³ so that when a bar is
depressed a circuit is closed. Six of these circuits actuate as hereinafter described
punches perforating a strip of paper with holes to correspond to dots in the Morse
code and also central holes to feed the paper, six perforate holes to correspond with
dashes and also central holes, one perforates a central hole only and one operates the
air supply and exhaust valve. The right hand end of Figure 6 shows the result of
operating all the punches simultaneously the holes being marked to to correspond
with the bars closing the circuits producing them. It must be understood however
that the two punches on both sides of the centre of the paper are never in practice
depressed simultaneously as this would he equivalent to sending at the same moment
a dot and dash signal, the actual results produced are such as are shewn in the
remainder of Figure 6. The paper shown is that commonly used for submarine
telegraphy, it will be obvious however that the machine may be modified to punch.
paper for a Wheatstone transmitter. Every lever a has projections a³ above the
hars 6 and 6, that above the former being of such a size that this bar is not depressed
till after the others. In addition to these two projections, each lever has a projec-
tion or projections above, one or more of the other bars corresponding to the dots
and dashes making up the letter or sign inarked on the key.
² to c¹ Figures 3 and 4 are magnets through which circuits are closed by the
bars to be respectively. The armatures of the magnets e to e" are carried by flap
valves d, Figure 4, in air chests d¹ connected by pipes d² to each other and to the air
supply valve Figure 5. In this figure e is a pipe connected to a reservoir of com-
pressed air and e¹ e² are valves on a common spindle connected by a lever e³ to the
armature of the magnet c¹. The valve e¹ leads to the air pipe e and e² to the
outer air.
The chests d' open into cylinders having pistons f piston rods and springs f
tending to force the pistons outwards. The various piston rods f are pivotted to
the lower ends of arms g2 to g14. The upper ends of the arms g2 to g' and go to g14
are fixed to sleeves h² to h4 and ho to h¹ working one inside the other on two
shafts the arm g5 being fixed to the shaft 1. The sleeves and the shaft
have fixed to them arms 2 to k¹ resting on the heads of the punches 12 to 114 the
last 12 being side punches and the first a central punch.
Each of the punches to has a collar L Figure 4 on it bearing on one or
other of six cross pieces 1 each of which carries one of the remaining central
punches 15 to 20 so that each time one of the punches 13 to 14 is depressed the
corresponding central punch is depressed also.
When one of the finger keys is put down three or more of the bars b¹ to 614 are
depressed by it closing circuits through the magnet. e, and one or more of the
magnets to e4 and immediately afterwards a circuit through the magnet el. The
effect is to open the corresponding flap valves d and then open the air supply valve e¹
so that air rushes in to those cylinders whose valves have been opened, so depressing
the punch and one or more of the other punches. When the finger key is released
the circuits are broken, the valve 2 opens, the cylinders exhaust and the flap valves
close.
In order to feed the strip of paper forward after the holes corresponding to ench
character have been punched the following arrangement is adopted.

page_text: The central punches are prolonged upwards see Figure 4 and above their heads are
arms m² and mis to m20 (which are omitted in Figure 3) fixed to a shaft or sleeve n
see Figures 3, 4 and 7 to which is also fixed an arm connected by a link n²,
lever n³ and link n to a lever n carrying a pawl n gearing with the teeth of a
ratchet wheel n' fixed to the shaft ns which also carries the pin wheel nº by which
the paper is fed. The arm m² normally rests upon the punch whilst the other
arms are not normally in contact with their punches but when the punch descends
the shaft is turned by the spring n10 until it is arrested by the arin m¹s coming on
to the punch 15, similarly, if this punch descends the shaft again turns until
m comes into and so on. When the punches are released they are raised
again by their springs turning the shaft n back again to its original position and
propelling the ratchet wheel n. Thus the angular movement of the shaft n and
consequently the feed of the paper depends upon the number of holes made in the
paper by the central punches, that is upon the length of the character.
The air cylinders and the electro magnet cl may be omitted, the electro
magnets c to e¹ being made more powerful and having their armatures fixed to the
arins g2 to g" as shown in Figure 8. In all other respects the arrangement is the
same as that above described.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is:-
1. Automatically working all the punches used for each letter or character by
depressing the corresponding finger key and closing circuits through electro-magnets
operating or controlling the punches.
2. Operating the punches by means of pneumatic cylinders whose valves are
worked by the electro-magnets.
3. Mechanism for closing the circuits by means of the finger keys substantially as
described and shown in the drawings.
4. Feeding the paper by a ratchet moving through a distance dependent on the
number of punches used substantially as described.
5. Feed mechanisin substantially as described and shown in the drawings.
6. Apparatus suitable for punching paper for telegraphic purposes substantially as
described and shown in the drawings.
Dated this 16th day of June 1897.