Improvements in Apparatus for Operating or Controlling Type- setting Machines, Type-writers, and the like, by the Aid of Electricity.
Year: 1888

page_text: Date of Application, 5th Mar., 1888
Complete Specification Left, 5th Dec., 1888
Complete Specification Accepted, 22nd Jan., 1889
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Apparatus for Operating or Controlling Type-
setting Machines, Type-writers, and the like, by the Aid of
Electricity.
I, EDWARD FITZGERALD LAW, of the Army and Navy Club, Pall Mall, in the
County of Middlesex, Major reserve of Officers, do hereby declare the nature of this
invention to be as follows:-
My invention relates to apparatus of the kind or class described in the Specification
of former Letters Patent granted to me and dated 15th December A.D. 1886
No. 16,485 for operating or controlling type-setting machines, type-writers and the
like by the aid of electricity.
The invention described in the said former Specification is designed to provide for
the setting up or composition of type or the printing of news or other matter at one
station, or at two or more stations simultaneously by an operator at another station
distant therefrom. The apparatus used for this purpose comprises commutators and
reeds or vibrators at the sending and receiving stations, the said commutators having
combined therewith brushes rotated by means of a wheel actuated by one or more
electro-magnets. In the said Specification, I have more particularly described
apparatus wherein two line-wires are used for the transmission of the electric
impulses necessary in the operation of the said apparatus.
Now the object of my present invention is to provide in a simple and efficient
manner for the operation of the apparatus by the use of one line-wire instead of two,
that is to say, to afford the means whereby one line-wire may be used to transmit the
electric impulses for operating the reeds or vibrators at the receiving stations in
synchronisin with that at the sending station, and also the electric impulses for
operating the levers or keys of the type-setting or other machines at the said receiving
stations. For this purpose I use some of the contact strips or segments in each of the
commutators at the sending and receiving stations for the transmission of impulses
from the sending station to the electro-magnets of the reeds or vibrators at the
receiving stations. For instance I reserve for this purpose say six contact strips or
segments of the commutator at the sending station for transmitting impulses through
the corresponding strips or segments of the commutators at the receiving stations,

page_text: the remaining strips or segments being used for operating the levers or keys of the
type-setting or other machines or for other purposes. I can, however, use any other
desired number of the contact strips or segments for transmitting impulses to the
reeds or vibrators.
At the sending station I employ a battery one pole of which is connected to earth
.and the other pole thereof to each of the strips or segments reserved for operating the
reeds or vibrators at the receiving stations. At each of the receiving stations
I connect the corresponding strips or segments directly to one of the terminals of the
reed or vibrator. The apparatus is otherwise arranged at the sending and receiving
stations substantially as described in the said former specification, or in any other
suitable manner.
To ensure the proper action of the commutating apparatus notwithstanding
deficiencies in the action of the operating devices, I employ, in combination with
the rotating toothed wheel, a box or case containing a large quantity of mercury
sufficient to ensure and maintain by its momentum the uniform rotation of the wheel,
which would otherwise be liable to stoppage or retardation on account of the
temporary cessation or variation of the electrical impulses or from other causes, and
which would require complicated means for correction.
In starting the apparatus at the receiving station, it is necessary to switch the line
into direct connection with the aforesaid terminal of the reed-apparatus and to adjust
the ring of contacts until a shunted current is received through the strips to the same
terminal. The direct line switch may then be opened and the impulses received only
through the strips or segments. Taking the case where there are six contact strips,
as before mentioned, interposed at equal distances, if the ring should still not be in
the right position relative to that at the sending station, the direct line switch should
be again closed until the adjustable ring has been rotated the sixth part of a revolution,
and so on until the correct one of the six positions is arrived at, when the direct line
switch may be permanently opened and the other contact strips or segments be
made use of for the purpose of sending impulses to the type-composing or printing
machine.
By my present invention I am enabled to maintain the necessary synchronism of
the rotating wheels carrying the brushes.
Although I have described my present improvements more particularly as applied
to the apparatus described in my said former specification No. 16,485, I wish it
understood that they are also applicable to the apparatus described in the provisional
specification filed with my application for Letters Patent No. 12,025 bearing date
5th September, A.D. 1887, wherein each of the contact strips or segments for
transmitting impulses for operating the keys or levers of the type-composing or
printing machine is used for several distinct letters or other characters instead of
for only one letter or other character.
Dated this 5th day of March 1888.
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C.,
Agents for the Applicant.

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Apparatus for Operating or Controlling Type-
setting Machines, Type-writers, and the like, by the Aid of
Electricity.
I, EDWARD FITZGERALD LAW, of the Army and Navy Club, Pall Mall, in the
County of Middlesex, Major Reserve of Officers, 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
-
My invention relates to apparatus of the kind or class described in the specification
of former Letters Patent granted to me and dated 15th December A.D. 1886
No. 16,485 for operating or controlling type-setting machines, type-writers and the
like by the aid of electricity.
The invention described in the said former specification is designed to provide for
the setting-up or composition of type or the printing of news or other matter at one
station, or at two or more stations simultaneously, by an operator at another station
distant therefrom. The apparatus used for this purpose comprises commutators and
reeds or vibrators at the sending and receiving stations, the said commutators having
combined therewith brushes rotated by means of a wheel actuated by one or more
electro-magnets. In the said specification, I have more particularly described
apparatus wherein two line-wires are used for the transmission of the electric
impulses necessary in the operation of the said apparatus.
Now the object of my present invention is to provide in a simple and efficient
manner for the operation of the apparatus by the use of one line-wire instead of two,
that is to say, to afford the means whereby one line-wire may be used to transmit the
electric impulses for operating the reeds or vibrators at the receiving stations in
synchronism with that at the sending station, and also the electric impulses for
operating the levers or keys of the type-setting or other machines at the said
receiving stations. For this purpose, I use some of the contact strips or segments
in each of the commutators at the sending and receiving stations for the transmission
of impulses from a battery at the sending station to the electro-magnets for driving
the reeds or vibrators at the receiving stations. For instance, I reserve for this
purpose say eight contact strips or segments of the commutator at the sending
station for transmitting impulses through the corresponding strips or segments of
the commutators at the receiving stations, the remaining strips or segments being
used for operating the levers or keys of the type-setting or other machines or for
other purposes.
can, however, use any other desired number of the contact strips
or segments for driving the reeds or vibrators.
At the sending station, I employ a battery one pole of which is connected to earth
and the other pole thereof to cach of the strips or segments reserved for operating the
At each of the receiving stations,
reeds or vibrators at the receiving stations.
I connect the corresponding strips or segments directly to one of the terminals of the

page_text: reed or vibrator, the other terminal whereof is connected with the earth, or, in the
case of an intermediate station, with the line extending to the next receiving station.
The apparatus is otherwise arranged at the sending and receiving stations substantially
as described in the said former specification, or in any other suitable manner.
I provide the reed with a sliding weight or other suitable means for adjusting it to
regulate its speed.
To ensure the proper action of the commutating apparatus notwithstanding
deficiences in the action of the operating devices, employ, in combination with
the rotating toothed wheel of the said apparatus, a box or case of light material
containing a large quantity of mercury sufficient to ensure and maintain by its
momentum the uniform rotation of the wheel between the reception of the impulses
by the reed-magnet through the brush, inasmuch as the wheel would otherwise be
liable to stoppage or retardation on account of the temporary cessation or variation
of the electrical impulses, or from other causes, which would necessitate complicated
means for correction. For example, with a toothed wheel of say 64 inches in
diameter and of an inch thick and weighing about twelve ounces, I employ a
mercury-box of about 6 inches in diameter and one inch deep and place therein
about ten pounds weight of mercury.
In the accompanying drawings,
Figure 1 is a diagram illustrating the general arrangement of my apparatus and
the manner of connecting the various parts thereof.
Figure 2 is a plan of the comniutating apparatus, some of the parts being
removed, and
Figure 3 is a side elevation of the said commutator, partly in vertical section.
Like letters indicate corresponding parts throughout the drawings.
To avoid complication and want of clearness in the diagram, Figure 1, the motor-
circuits at each station and the reed-circuit at the sending station are omitted.
A is the commutator at the sending or transmitting station. A¹ is the commutator
at the receiving station. B is a battery for transmitting electric impulses through
the line-wire for the purpose of driving the reed Cat the receiving station. D, D' are
electro-magnetic devices of any well-known or suitable construction for indicating the
passage of an electric current from the battery B through the line. E is a battery for
transmitting electric impulses through the line for effecting the operation of the levers
or keys of the type-setting or other machine. F, F1, F2 are circuit-closing devices
constructed substantially as described in my said former specification No. 16,485 with
reference to Figures 9 and 10 of the drawings accompanying the said specification; or
they may be of other suitable construction.
a, a are the driving contact strips or segments of the commutator, that is to say, the
segments whereby, at the sending station, when the brush f makes contact with either
of the said segments, the battery B will be connected with the line, and, at the
receiving station, when the brush makes contact with either of the said segments, the
reed-circuit will be connected with the line, so that, when the brushes f at the sending
and receiving stations are simultaneously in contact with driving segments a, an
impulse from the battery B will be transmitted through the line and through the
said reed-circuit to earth.
Between the driving segments a, of which eight are shown in each commutator,
there are other contact strips or segments, as at b, 61, 62, for the transmission of
electric impulses from the battery E for effecting the operation of the levers or
keys of the type-setting or other machine.
H is a small resistance intercalated in a shunt between the line and the reed-
circuit G, a switch J being provided in the said shunt. Another switch J' is
provided in a shunt around the electro-magnetic device D'. K is a key for
interrupting the reed-circuit G.
L, L, L are three of the relays for operating the local circuits in which are
included the electro-magnets for working the type-setting or other machine.
The commutator employed at the receiving station is more clearly illustrated in
'Figures 2 and 3. The contact strips or segments are arranged in or upon a ring g

page_text: capable of rotary adjustment by means of handles g. Or it may be provided with
means substantially as described in the said former specification for effecting its
adjustment to ensure the contact of the brush with a strip or segment at the
receiving station simultaneously with the contact of the brush with a corresponding
segment at the sending station.
is the toothed wheel fixed upon the spindle f¹ of the brush f. j, j are the
electro-magnets for rotating the said wheel. is the box containing the mercury.
I make this box much larger than heretofore so that it will, as above stated, contain
sufficient mercury to overcome any tendency to stoppage or retardation of the
toothed wheel by reason of any temporary cessation or variation of the electrical
impulses; I thus obviate the necessity for employing other devices for correcting
the movement of the said wheel.
The commutator employed at the sending station is constructed substantially as
above described with reference to Figures 2 and 3, with the exceptions that the
strips or segments are arranged in or upon a fixed ring, and the said strips or
segments should be shorter or narrower than those at the receiving stations, for
the purpose explained in the said foriner specification.
Connections are shown in Figure 1 between a set or series of three segments b, b², 62
of the commutator at the sending station and the keys F, F1, F2, and between a
similar set or series of segments of the commutator at the receiving station and the
corresponding relays. The remaining sets or series of the said segments are connected
in a similar manner with other keys and relays.
The operation of the apparatus is as follows, viz. :-The operator at the sending station
first starts the apparatus at that station; the switch J at the receiving station being.
closed, a series of impulses is transmitted from the battery B through the device D,
the strips or segments a and the rotating brush fat the sending station, and through
the line, the resistance H, the switch J, the controlling magnet of the reed C, and the
key K to earth, returning thence to the battery B. If necessary, the operator at the
receiving station adjusts the said reed, by shifting the sliding weight thereon or, in
any other convenient manner, until he obtains the greatest regular amplitude of
vibration thereof; he then starts the motor whereby the brush is rotated. This
brush will rotate in perfect synchronism with the brush at the sending station. It is
probable, however, that it will, on starting the apparatus, be in a wrong position
relatively to that at the sending station. The ring of segments must, in this case, be
rotated until the shunted impulses from the battery B are received through the
brush fand the driving segments and through the device D¹. The switch J is then
opened so that the reed will receive its impulses only through the brush fand the
driving segments a. When the device D¹ is not required to act, it may be short-
circuited by closing the switch J¹.
The operator at the receiving station, by momentarily depressing the key K, signals
to the operator at the sending station that he desires him to send a pre-arranged
signal, upon the receipt of which the operator at the receiving station turns or adjusts
the ring g of his commutator until the impulses are transmitted to the proper relays.
Then, by further depressions of the key K, which are indicated at D, the operator at
the receiving station informs the operator at the sending station that his adjustments
are complete. The transmission of impulses for working the type-composing or other
machine may then proceed by means of the segments b, b1, b2 situated between the
driving segments.
In the diagram Figure 1, the ring of segments at the receiving station is shown in
the correct position for the transmission of the impulses for driving the reeds, that is
to say, in such a position that the brush of the commutator at the receiving station
will make contact with one of the strips or segments a of the said commutator at
the same time that the brush of the commutator at the sending station makes
contact with one of the strips a thereof. The parts are not, however, in the proper
position for the transmission of the impulses for working the type-composing or
other machine. It is, therefore, necessary, in starting the apparatus at the receiving
station, to close the switch J and thus put the line into direct connection with the

page_text: reed-circuit and to adjust the ring g of contact strips or segments until a shunted
current is again received through the strips or segments a. The direct line switch J
is then opened and the driving impulses received only through the said strips or
segments a. Taking the case where there are eight contact strips a, as shown,
interposed at equal distances, if the ring g should still not be in the right position
relatively to that at the sending station, the direct line switch J should be again
closed until the adjustable ring g has been rotated the eighth part of a revolution,
and so on until the correct one of the eight positions is arrived at, when the direct
line switch J is permanently opened and the contact strips or segments 6, 61, 62 are
made use of for the purpose of transmitting impulses to the type-composing or
printing machine.
Although I have herein before described my present improvements more particularly
as applied to the apparatus described in my said former specification No. 16,485,
I wish it understood that they are also applicable to other apparatus of the same kind
or class. For example, to the apparatus described in the specification of Letters
Patent granted to me and bearing date 5th September A.D. 1887, No. 12,025 wherein
each of the contact strips or segments for transmitting impulses for operating the
keys or levers of the type-composing or printing machine is used for several distinct
letters or other characters instead of for only one letter or other character.
By my present invention, I am enabled to very effectually maintain the necessary
synchronism of the rotating wheels carrying the brushes.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I wish it understood
that I claim :-
-
First. The improved apparatus constructed and arranged substantially as herein-
before described for electrically operating or controlling one or more type-setting
machines, type-writers or the like by means of a single line-wire.
Second. In apparatus, such as is above described, the use of a mercury-box
containing a quantity of mercury sufficient to maintain the motion of the toothed
wheel with which it is connected, as, and for the purposes, described.
Date : 1
1000
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London,
Agents for the Applicant.