US2248522A - Automatic telegraphy - Google Patents

Description

y 1941- I. w. CONRAD 2,248,522

AUTOMATIC TELEGRAPH! Filed April 18, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 "I. 5 7 INVENTOR.

Fig.5.

Patented July 8, 1941 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 1 2,248,522 AUTOMATIC rnpncasrnr Ivan w. comm. Washington, D. 0. Application April is, 1939, Serial No. 268,591

1 Claims. (01. 178-62) The present invention relates to automatic telegraphy' and has for its principal obioct to provide simple, practical, extremely high speed I means for recording at a receiving station characters selected at a sending station.

Selection of characters at the sending station may be accomplished manually as by keyboard, mechanically as by perforated tape, or in any other desired manner and transmission of s18- nals to the receiving station may be carried out by radio as well as by wire. Essentially the invention contemplates the use of electrochemical means for translation of the signals into characters of the alphabet or any other desired symbols, as distinguished from such translation by instantaneous spark discharge recording means which latter means is the subject of petitioner's copend'ing application #164,51'1 filed July 19, 1937.

Prior art discloses the auxiliary use of electrochemical means for the purpose indicated in conjunction with mechanical means which because of inertia is necessarily relatively slow in operation, as reflected in Letters Patent #275,339 issued to A. F. Johnson and B. F. Johnson and #316,689 issued to H. Van Hoevenbergh. It is therefore a further object of this invention to panying' drawings and defined in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings wherein are illustrated different, non-limiting, practical embodiments of the invention and wherein like characters of reference denote corresponding parts in related views:

. Figure 1 is a diagrammatic view illustrating the general principle oi the invention.

Figure 2 'is a diagrammatic view illustrating one practical embodiment of the invention.

Figure 3 is a side elevation of the receiving station mechanism diagrammatically illustrated in Fi 2.

Figure 4 is a side elevation of the sending station mechanism diagrammatically illustrated in Fig. 2.

Figure 5 is a view of character formation utilized to give uniform thickness of line to line] printed character.

Figures 6 and 7 are diagrammatic views illustrating alternative forms of recording means which may be used in lieu of the recording means shown in Figs. 2 and 3.

Figure 8 is a side elevation of character matrix shown diagrammatically in Figure "I.

Figure 9 is a side elevation of an alternative character matrix which may be used in lieu of the matrix shown in Figure 8.

Referring to the drawings in detail, A and B designate generally, and respectively, sending and receiving station mechanisms including rotatable elements it and ll, respectively, which, in accordance with the invention, are driven at high speeds and partake of equal, or substantially equal, angular increments of movement during any given period of operation of the system. In this connection the synchronous or the substantially synchronous driving of said elements l0 and Il may be efiected in any suitable manner, as, for example, through the instru- 'mentality of synchronous electric motors designated as 12 and i3, respectively, which may derive their power either from a common A. C. source or from separate frequency sources. If said motors derive their power from a common A. C. source this A. C. source may, for example, be a 1000 cycle oscillator located at the sending station controllingthe transmitting motor, and by transmission of the 1000 cycle frequency over interconnecting wires, controlling the receiving motor as well. Said motors thus will be synchronized within sufllciently narrow limits for the successful operation of the invention. If, on the other hand, said motors derive their power from separate frequency sources, they must be approximately synchronized and any error in synchronization may be permitted to accumulate for one or a series of revolutions but must periodically be reduced to zero, which can be done by timing impulses in a well known manner. In other words, while it is not essential to the successful operation of the present invention that the elements l0 and ll be exactly synchronized, it is essential that they be driven approximately synchronously, either by synchronous motors employing current of suitable high frequency or in some other appropriate manner in itself forming no part of the present invention and therefore not specifically shown or claimed.

The rotatable element l 0 of the sending mechanism A carries a plurality of contacts I l which are spaced angularly about the axis oi rotation of said element and also longitudinally along said element. on the other hand, the rotatable element ii of the receiving mechanism 3 carries a plurality of characters II which are spaced angularly about the axis of rotation of said element corresponding to the angular spacing of the contacts H, but which are disposed in a common plane normal to the axis of rotation of said member.

A plurality of contacts it, one individual to each of the contacts I 4, are provided for cooperation with said contacts I4. These contacts it normally are disposed out of the paths of rotation of the contacts H, but are movable into the paths of rotation of said contacts ll so as to be engaged by said contacts l4 responsive to rotation of the element ill. Moreover, said contacts II are disposed in a common plane including the axis of rotation of the element II and thereby have fixed positions so far as concerns rotation of the element ii and the contacts I, so that no two of said contacts II can simultaneously engage related contacts ll, because of g the aforesaid angular spacing of the contacts II.

The characters I! are, according to one practical embodiment of the invention, in the form of electrodes and cooperate with an electrode I! which is mounted outwardly of and adjacent to the rotatable element Ii in a fixed position, so that the characters I! successively move past the same in suitable spaced relationship thereto as the element ii rotates. Thus, by the selection of a contact I! bearing any particular designation or character, and by the actuation of properly spaced and will follow one another in a line on the recording medium.

While some or all of the characters ll may comprise only a single electrode for cooperation with the fixed electrode II, it is preferred that said characters, except in the cases of such of the same as are relatively small, as commas, periods and the like, shall be comprised by pluralities of electrodes designated as 22, and that th electric currents between the fixed electrode l1 and the diiferent electrodes 22 shall be distinct from each other, thereby to assure recording or the complete outlines of said characters ll. These features of the invention, as well as a suitable current producing means especially suited for. use in the present system is illustrated in 1"lga2to4ofthedrawings.

said contact so that the related contact I 4 will engage therewith, element ll may be so oriented that upon engagement of the related contact ll therewith, the corresponding character I! will be in a position alined with the electrode I! when engagement between the contacts ll, ll occurs. In this connection any suitable means responsive to engagement of any given pair of the contacts H, IS with each other may be provided to effect recording of the related character II at the instant of its alinement with the fixed electrode i1. One such means is illustrated conventionally in Pig. 1, from which figure it will be observed that all of the contacts II are connected with the electrode I! by a common line wire it; that all of the contacts I! are connected with all of the characters I! by a common line wire ll; that a suitable recording medium 2| affected by flow of electric current is interposed between the element i I and the fixed electrode l1, and that interposed in the line wire ll is a means 2i for producing an electric current between the electrode l1 and the particular character I! which may be alined therewith when the circuit is closed by engagement of a related pair of the contacts I and it. Thus, upon closing of the circuit as a result of movement of any selected contact [6 into the path of movement of its related contact I! and subsequent movement of the contact ll into engagement with the selected contact it, a recording of the character I! related to the selected contact I will be effected on the recording medium 20 by the electric current between the electrode i1 and the said related character IS.

The recording medium 20 may be in the form of a strip of paper or other suitable material sensitized or otherwise treated so as to be afi'ected by the electric current, and any suitable means may be provided for advancing the same as the characters I! are successively recorded so that the successively recorded characters will be Referring in detail to Figs. 2 to 5 which illustrate a refined embodiment of the invention as compared with the conventional Figure l illustration. it will be observed that the rotatable element II is provided with a series of contacts 23 which are angularly spaced apart corresponding to the angular spacing of the characters II: that a fixed contact 2| is providedfor cooperation with said contacts 23; that the line wire ll connects all of the contacts I with all of the contacts 22; that a wire 2' leads from the fixed contact 24 to the current producing means designated generally as 2 i, and that the line wire ll connects'all of the contacts II with said current producing means 2i. It will further be observed that the rotary element ll carries a plurality of conductor rings 20; that there are separate connections 21 between said rings and the electrodes 22 of each of the characters II, and that each conductor ring 2! has cooperating therewith an individual fixed contact 22.

Of course, some of the characters ll may be comprised by a greater or lesser number of electrodes 22 than other of said characters. Accordingly. there are as many of the conductor rings 28 as the maximum number of electrodes in any given character ll so that each electrode of each character may have a connection 21 with a distinct ring. Thus, all of the rings 20 may be utilized to provide separate connections for the electrodes 22 of certain of the characters II and only some of said rings may be utilized to provide separate connections for the electrodes of other of said characters, depending, of course. upon the number of electrodes comprising the difierent characters.

There is an electric current producing means It individual to each of the conductor rings 2 to assure a separate current between the electrode I1 and each of the electrodes 22 comprising any given character being recorded. Since, however, said current producing means are, or may be duplicates of one another, only one of the same has been illustrated for the sake of simplifying the description and to avoid complicating the illustration.

As illustrated in Fig. 2 a preferred current producing means includes essentially a thermionic vacuum tube 2! including filament II, a grid 3|, and a plate 22. A source of E. M. 1". I! normally serves to bias tube 29 negatively thru impedance 34 to essentially -cut-oif" or zero plate current condition. However, upon engagement of any given contact II with its related contact ll, said bias will be removed at the instant contacts 23 and 24 engage, thereby permitting a source of plate E. M. F. ii to force an electric current through the vacuum tube plate circuit which as indicated includes contact 28, ring 20, character contact l1, and the plate I! and filament II of the tube itself. Thus since as aforesaid, there is a current producing means II individual to each of the rings 20 and therefore to each of the electrodes 22 of each of the characters II, it is apparent that during the time interval in which contacts l4, It and II, 24 remain closed, there will occur a separate current between the the high speed rotation of the element it and despite the possibility, and probability, that the contact l4 may travel past the contact II a number of times while the latter contact is held depressed. In the present instance the means referred to comprises, in association with each of the contacts ll, two channels 4i and 42 (Fig. 4)

fixed electrode i1 and all of the electrodes 22 of any character being recorded, with the result that a distinct outline of the complete character throughout the angle represented by the maximum hunting range of the synchronous motors i2 and II. The contacts 23 are, on the other hand, oi knife-edge type. to assure that a current between the fixed electrode II and any given character I! will occur only when said character it is exactly alined with said fixed electrode ll. Thus, straight line recording of the characters ii, as distinguished from staggered recording thereoi, is assured.

Since contacts 23 and 24 determine the interval during which recording current flows through recording medium 20, and because of the finite width of these contacts it will be apparent that the characters being recorded will move through a small peripheral distance during the recording operation. In order to obtain printed characters of uniform line width, therefore, it is desirable to form the characters as shown in Fig. in such a manner that the width of vertical lines 36 is equal to the width of horizontal lines 31 plus the trolled gaseous discharge tubes may be used equally as well with proper choice of circuit components and constants, as may also multi-grid tubes.

According to the specific embodiment of the invention illustrated in Figs. 2 to 5, the contacts it are disposed above the rotatable element I. and are in the form of laterally deflectable fingers depending from pivoted lever arms 3! which are constantly urged upwardly by spring means 40. Accordingly, said fingers normally are held out of the paths of rotation of their related contacts H, but are depressible to positions where they will be engaged by said contacts i4 and, when released, will retum to their normal positions. In this connection means are provided whereby depression of any given contact it into the path of rotation of its related contact i4 will result in engagement of said contact H with said contact It only once even though the contact I may be held depressed, thereby to assure that the related character it will be recorded only once despite in the element II respectively alined with and disalined from the contact II when the latter is in its normal, retracted position. The last mentioned channel 42 of each pair is annular, and the companion channel 4| is substantially annular, but instead of continuing entirely around the element II, is interrupted and is Joined, at its trailing end, as regards the direction of rotation of the element ill, with the channel 42 by a diagonal channel 43 in which, at the side thereof toward the channel 4|, is located the contact 14. Accordingly, when the contact it is depressed, its lower end enters the channel 4| and remains therein until, by rotation oi the element II, it is deflected into the channel 42 by the diagonal connecting channel 43. As this deflection or switching occurs thecontact i4 wipes against the contact II and provides for closing of the related circuit by engagement of the related contact 28 with the fixed contact 24 at the instant when the related character it is exactly alined with the fixed electrode i'I. Obviously, once the contact I I is deflected laterally into the channel 42, it will remain therein as long as it is held depressed and cannot again enter the channel 4| until it has been released and again depressed. which means, of course, that despite the high rotary speed of the-element it, the related circuit will be closed once, and only once, upon depression oi any given contact l8, no matter how long said contact may be held depressed. In short, the means described insures against repeated records of any character I! being made on the recording medium 20 as the result of any single actuation of the related contact I.

The arms 38 carrying the contacts ll may be arranged in the manner of the keyboard arms of a typewriter, and may be equipped with linger buttons or keys 44 having thereon characters corresponding to the related characters ii. Alternatively, any suitable means other than the means described may be provided for controlling engagement and disengagement of the contacts l4, ii. For example, engagement and disengagement of said contacts may be under the control of a perforated tape in a manner well known in socalled tape transmission telegraph systems.

As aforesaid, any suitable means may be employed to effect advance of the recording medium 2| as recordation of successive of the characters it takes place. As illustrated in Fig. 3 this means may comprise a wheel or roll 45 rotatably urged by a spring or other suitable means in a direction to advance said medium 20; an escapement lever 48 cooperating with teeth 41 on said wheel or roll, and suitable electro-magnetic means 4! cooperating with spring means 49 to actuate said lever 4i to permit said wheel or roll 45 to advance the recording medium 20 one step each time a recording of any one of the characters It takes place. This electro-magnetie means may derive its actuating energy from a thermionic tube, the grid of which is ailected by the recording impulse, as shown in Fig. 2. There may also be provided any suitable means for actuating said sheet or strip advancing means for the purpose of obtaining spaces between characters I! and between words or the like formed by groups of said characters, said means including, for example,'a pair of contacts H, II cooperating with a blank space in lieuoi a character II on the element II.

The forms of the invention illustrated in Figs. 1 to 5 utilize unidirectional electric current under thermionic vacuum tube control to effect recording of the characters on the recording medium 2'. However it will be readily understood that other forms of current producing means might be employed. For example, the high frequency alternating current from a Tesla coil or radio frequency oscillator might be employedas the current producing means 2|. A simplified circuit capable of accomplishing this result is shown in Fig. 6 wherein T represents a high frequency transformer coupling the output from oscillating.

tubes I! into recording circuit containing electrode I l, electrodic characters i I, and recording medium 20. g

Further it is apparent that instead of utilizing synchronous distributors at sending and receiving stations, for selection of characters, other suitable nonsynchronous means might be'employed such as the use of different frequencies, one for each character to be recorded. In Fig. 'l is shown a practical receiving station mechanism responsive to selection of characters by frequency differentiation, in which all mechanical motion whatsoever has been. eliminated with the sole exception of that required to advance the recording medium. In Fig. 'L- It and II designate a transmission circuit over which is received a recording signal consisting of a short wave train of frequency 1:.- Normally this signal will be short circulted through impedance 34 and source of E. M. 1''. II. except in that instance where the impedance 34, being new a tuned circuit, is resonant at the frequency 1:, in which latter instance the signal will be impressed upon the grid II of the vacuum tube 2!, which normally is biased to cut-oi! by E, M. I". N. The signal will thereupon decrease the effective resistance of tube 29, permitting E. M. 1''. II to force an electric recording current through electrode ll, recording medium 2|, recordable character II, and plate 32 of said vacuum tube 29. The recordable characters in this instance consist of elemental .conducting areas 22 outlining and partially filling the form of the character to be recorded, all elemental areas of any one character being connected together as at II and to the plate 32 of the vacuum tube It. Interspersed with and surrounding the elemental areas or electrodes 2! of any one-character, are placed other elemental electrodic areas held in a character matrix 52 and connected in groups to outline all required characters, each group being connected to a different vacuum tube or other current producing means. In Fig. 8 are shown one character i! with elemental areas connected as at II and the manner in which other required characters, only one of which is shown for the sake of clarity, are in effect superimposed in matrix 82 although comprising different electrodic elements.

Alternatively, as shown in Fig. 9, character matrix 52 might be constructed of relatively large electrodic elements 53, none of which are connected together, each being supplied by a separate current producing means, and selectively grouped by any desired type of signal to produce desired characters ii. Areas shaded indicate manner of such grouping. For example, each current producing means may be an electronic tube SI, designed to energize its related character element upon the receipt over line ll of a relatively short wave train of an audio frequency signal. Upon the simultaneous receipt at the receiving station of a combination of such signals.

each frequency component may be separated by v a suitable filter network in a well known manner. and caused to energize the related character elements to produce any desired character.

While the drawings illustrate wire connections between the sending and receiving mechanisms A and B, it is manifest that such connections may readily be replaced by suitable wireless transmitting and receiving devices associated with the sending and receiving mechanisms A and B, respectively, d that it'accordingly is within thepurview the invention to employ such devices if desired. Moreover, while only certain specific embodiments of the invention have been illustrated and described to convey the general concept of the invention, it is to be understood that the same is readily capable of various other embodiments within --its spirit and scope as defined in the appended claims.

I claim: a

1. In a telegraph system, a receiving station mechanism including means defining recordable characters in the form of letters, numerals and symbols, a sensitized electrically conductive recording medium, means for advancing said recording medium relative to said characters, means with which said character defining means cooperate to supply to said recording medium by direct contact conduction a recording current to eifect complete, instantaneous electro-chemical recording of saidcharacters on said'recording medium, said means and said characters having an unvarying relationship to each other with respect to motion, and means controlling said recording current and the selection of characters to be recorded.

2. In a telegraph system, a receiving station mechanism including means defining recordable characters in the form of letters, numerals and symbols, a sensitized electrically conductive recording medium. means for advancing said recording medium relative to said characters. means fixed with respect to said characters and with which said character defining means cooperate to supply to said recording medium by direct contact conduction a recording current to effect complete, instantaneous electrochemical recording of said characters on said recording medium, and means controlling said recording current and the selection of characters to be recorded.

3. In a telegraph system, a receiving station mechanism including means defining recordable characters in the form of letters, numerals and symbols, a sensitized electrically conductive recording medium, means for advancing said recording medium relative to said characters. electrodic means continuously uniformly movable relative to said characters and with which said character defining means cooperate to supply 'to said recording medium by direct contact conduction a recording current to effect complete, instantaneous electrochemical recording of said characters on said recording medium, said electrodic means and said characters being continuously uniformly movable one relative to the other, and means controlling said recording current and the selection of characters to be recorded.

4. A telegraph system as set forth in claim 3 in which the electrodic means and the character defining means have rotary motion one relative to the other.

5. In a telegraph system, a receiving station mechanism, comprising electrochemical character recording means including recordable electrodic characters in the form of letters, numerals, and symbols, each comprising a plurality of electrodes; a recording medium; means for advancing said recording medium relative to said characters; cooperative means, including an electrode, fixed in relation to the electrodes of said characters and with which the electrodes of said characters cooperate to efiect complete instantaneous recording of the electrodes of any given character by the electrochemical action of a recording current conducted to said recording medium by direct contact of the electrodes of said characters and said cooperating electrode therewith; a separate recording current producing means for each electrode oi. each of said characters, said character electrodes having an interfitting relationship to each other so that "certain of the same are common to diiIerent characters, and means controlling said recording current and the selection of character electrodes to be recorded.

6. In a telegraph system, a receiving station mechanism including recordable electrodic characters in the form of letters, numerals and symbols; a sensitized, electrically conductive recording medium relative to said characters; means for advancing said recording medium; cooperative means including an electrode fixed in relation to said electrodic characters and with which said electrodic characters cooperate to effect complete instantaneous recording of the same by the electrochemical action of a recording current conducted to said recording medium by direct contact of said electrodic characters and cooperative electrode therewith; and means controlling said recording current and selection of characters to be recorded; said electrodic characters each comprising a plurality of electrodes connected together and further connected to a separate recording current producing means individual to each character, the elecrodes comprising each character being separate and distinct from the electrodes comprising each other character and certain of the electrodes comprising certain of said characters being disposed within the outlines of certain other of said characters.

7. In a telegraph system, a receiving station mechanism comprising recordable characters in the form of letters, numerals and symbols; 9. recording medium; means for advancing said recording medium relative to said characters; means for recording said characters on said medium; said last mentioned means includin means whereby said characters and said medium have motion relative to each other during recording of said characters, and means to assure that recorded characters possess uniform line width regardless 01' relative motion between said recordable characters and said medium during interval in which recordation or characters occurs, said last mentioned means comprising recordable characters of such line width that the sum of the displacement relative to said recording medium of any given point on a character being recorded during the recording interval, and the line width of said character at said given point measured in the direction or said relative displacement, is a constant.

IVAN W. CONRAD.

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