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The cipher wheel phase controller
Here is a quick video of how the cipher wheel output phase mechanism works.
The encoding and decoding mechanism of Cipher Machine relies on its ability to alter the phase of the output (cipher) wheel by 180˚ .
The mechanism used to achieve this is an output shaft phase controller. A chain is looped around 4 gears and pinched in the middle by two pins. The pins are mounted on a sliding carriage that can move up or down.
When the carriage is up, the output shaft exactly matches the input shaft. When the carriage is moved down the top pin takes extra chain with it, lengthening the 'distance' between the two top gears. The bottom pin moves down in unison, releasing the same amount of chain, thereby shortening the distance between the two bottom gears.
This has the effect of changing the output phase any amount from 0˚ to 180˚ depending on the vertical position of the carriage. To ensure the machine only uses 0˚ (to encode) and 180˚ (to decode) there is a spring on the switch to lock it in one position or the other.