As we have seen, Edward Kleinschmidt, upon resigning from Teletype Corporation as vice president when it was taken over by Western Electric, had agreed to do development work for them, working independently but assigning any inventions to the new Teletype Corporation.

And so it was that Kleinschmidt Laboratories came into existence. Incorporated on March 21, 1931, under Delaware laws, for the immediate purpose of doing research and development work for Teletype, the principals of the new company were Edward E. as president, and his two sons, Edward F. as vice president and Bernard L. as secretary.

Kleinschmidt had earlier proposed a comprehensive and completely automatic printing telegraph switching system in which messages are automatically routed from the subscriber printer through telegraph centrals of the addressee printer under control of address tape perforations. Under his development contract with Teletype he continued work on the system. Message storage in perforated tape was provided for at all central switching points, and an answerback arrangement was included in the system by the automatic return transmission of the addressee’s number to the sender.

As the research and development work for Teletype continued, the switching system was completed, and various other devices of more or less importance were developed, with patents assigned to the Teletype Corporation. In late 1934 the contract with Teletype expired.

At that time, son Bernard was operating a printing plant in rather close quarters in Highland Park, Illinois. The operations of the Laboratories had been carried on in rented quarters at the Merchandise Mart in Chicago. Seeing that there would be no work for Teletype, it was decided to set up working quarters in Highland Park where the family lived. Since rented space was not available, a building was constructed on Lincolnwood Road in the Braeside section of Highland Park to house both the B. L. Kleinschmidt Printing Company and the machinery and other equipment of the Laboratories. The Laboratories, now inactive, became a personal holding company with 2300 shares to cover a book value of approximately $230,000.00 (Kleinschmidt having distributed the major portion of these shares to his children and grandchildren).

Son Edward F. turned his thoughts to other fields and carried on experimental work in the new building in devices not connected with the telegraph. Son Bernard was involved in his printing business. Their father’s thoughts lay dormant for a long time, but still there was the urge to continue with the telegraph, and a plan for operating a five-unit-code selecting mechanism, operating on a progressive stop principle to position a typewheel or to select a typebar for printing on tape or page, was worked out.

When models of this new plan were completed and operating successfully, Edward E. Kleinschmidt immediately thought of Teletype Corporation and brought the apparatus to their attention, submitting models and patent applications for their evaluation. After numerous conferences and correspondence, however, his offer for the sale of patent rights and models was rejected. Discouraged, he left the completed models at the Highland Park lab and moved to Florida.

During the second world war, son Bernard abandoned his printing establishment and started a tool and die shop, using the machinery and facilities of the Laboratories as well as space occupied by his printing shop. The B. L. Kleinschmidt Company was kept busy building tools, dies, and special devices for the war effort.

Through Bernard’s associations he learned that the United States Signal Corps needed a light-weight, transportable teleprinter for tactical field use, and he asked his father if he could show the progressive stop printer to the Signal Corps at their Chicago headquarters. His father, in Miami at that time, gave his approval. Two days later, the telephone rang in Miami and it was Bernard saying, “Dad, they are interested and want you to bring the printer model to Army Headquarters in Washington.” Nothing could have pleased his father more!

In February of 1944, Edward E. Kleinschmidt demonstrated a working model of his teleprinter in Washington at the office of the Chief Signal Officer. Officials of the Signal Corps were greatly interested in the unit, not only because of its extreme lightness and small bulk, but because of the representations that the basic design features of this tape printer, exclusive of the printing mechanism, could be incorporated in a page-type printer which could be constructed with a total weight of approximately thirty pounds. The machine was subsequently informally tested at the Signal Corps Engineering Laboratories and found to have excellent margins when working without an intermediate relay on very low line current, a highly desirable feature in a piece of tactical teletypewriter equipment.

The exhibit at Headquarters was successful, and after operative tests at the Signal Corps’ Coles Signal Laboratories in Red Bank, New Jersey, where approval for further studies was given, the Kleinschmidt organization was asked to prepare plans toward a tactical light-weight printer for field use.

It should be pointed out that teletypewriters at that time were heavy, cumbersome, and intended for use only at telegraph offices or at other plant or office fixed installations.

The plans for a light-weight page printer were submitted to the Signal Corps as requested and were well received by their engineers. These engineers then wrote up specifications detailing their requirements for a rugged, light-weight portable set for hand-carrying through jungles and swamps, and operable under severe climatic conditions; the specifications were submitted to the Teletype Corporation, the Western Union Telegraph Company, and to the Kleinschmidt organization. Western Union did not take on the development job, but Teletype and Kleinschmidt accepted. A contract for the development of a teletypewriter according to Signal Corps specifications was closed with both companies in 1945.

The Kleinschmidt Laboratories were not in active operation at this time, so the first development contract was closed with the B. L. Kleinschmidt Company which was fully equipped to carry on the work. Expert tool and model makers were in his employ, some of whom turned out to do well at the drawing board and were of great help in working out mechanical functions. As a matter of fact, five or six of Bernard’s employees are still with the Kleinschmidt Division of SCM Corporation at this writing, some having attained supervisory positions.

Edward F. joined his father in further engineering and development work, and models of a typebar page printer and a typewheel page printer to operate at 60 words per minute were built. Upon evaluation by the Signal Corps and Army engineers, a printer with a higher operating speed, up to 100 words per minute, was demanded. This new requirement meant a complete redesign of apparatus, but it was successfully carried through and experimental models were submitted by both companies. Thereupon both Kleinschmidt and Teletype were asked to build ten printers for field tests. This was done, and after extensive field testing, the Kleinschmidt-designed, keyboard-operated, 100-words-per-minute typebar page printer was accepted, and, by order of the then Secretary of War, it was made the standard for the Military, effective on January 1, 1949. (This printer was later to be known as the TT-4 tactical page printer, the principal component of Teletypewriter Set AN/PGC-1.) (See fig. 13.)

An announcement from the Department of the Army, in a document released for publication on February 13, 1949,[16] read as follows:

Portable Teletypewriter Developed by Signal Corps

Portable teletypewriter equipment so light that a parachutist can carry it on a jump from an airplane has been developed and adopted by the Army, promising a major advancement in military communications, the Signal Corps announced today.

Weighing but 45 pounds, compared with current field equipment that weighs 225 pounds, the new portable teletypewriter is but one-fourth the size of the old, has 300 fewer parts, is considerably stronger and consequently requires far less maintenance. The new equipment is capable of transmitting and receiving messages 66 per cent faster than existing types and will operate on both wire and radio circuits. It is waterproof and should it be used in amphibious operations, could be floated onto a beach.

The development is the fruition of a 20-year-old project that did not get under way in earnest, however, until World War II was nearly over.

Because of its light weight, the new teletypewriter can be used much closer to the front lines than has been the case. During World War II, teletyped messages could go only as far forward as a division headquarters. How much farther forward the new equipment can be used, will be determined in forthcoming field tests.

The portable teletypewriter was developed by the Signal Corps Engineering Laboratories at Fort Monmouth, New Jersey, through a research and development contract with Kleinschmidt Laboratories, Incorporated, of Highland Park, Illinois.

There are three components to a complete field unit: the teletypewriter itself, weighing 45 pounds; a power unit, and a case of accessories. The three together weigh 116 pounds. All units are waterproof, both to permit flotation in amphibious activities and to provide complete protection from weather. One man can carry the teletypewriter itself, while two men can carry all three units.

The field teletypewriter in current use weighs 225 pounds and—if a vehicle is not available—requires four men to carry it. With power unit and accessories, present field equipment totals more than 400 pounds and requires seven men to carry it.

While development work for the Signal Corps was progressing, Bernard kept busy managing general operations and Edward F. took hold in the general design and devised important features that were patented in his name.

Bernard died in March, 1948. However, development work went along with the B. L. Kleinschmidt facilities until 1949, when a production order for 2,000 teleprinters, conforming to the now approved Kleinschmidt design, was to be placed. Now that Bernard was no longer there to take over business details, and as a certain amount of basic capital was needed to operate a production establishment, arrangements were made to transfer Bernard’s equipment to Kleinschmidt Laboratories which thereafter closed a contract to manufacture the required quantity of teleprinters now designated as the TT-4 telegraph typewriter.

Kleinschmidt senior, now seventy-four, was not eager to take over the management of production activities, and while manufacturers in the office equipment and radio field were ready and anxious to take on the manufacture of these new teleprinters, he sought to keep the future of this new development with the Kleinschmidt Laboratories—now owned by all members of his family. His son-in-law, Emerson E. (Bud) Mead, was operating a manufacturing plant, producing electrical control devices quite successfully, so, “Why not ask Bud, then Secretary of Kleinschmidt Laboratories, to take over? He could no doubt sell the Mead company at a profit.” Bud did find a buyer for his company and he was then made vice president of Kleinschmidt Laboratories; later, when Edward E. Kleinschmidt turned over full management to him, Mead became executive vice president.

The immediate problem at the Laboratories was to find manufacturing space. The first thought was to rent, but then there would be no room to expand should larger orders follow, and this could be expected since Kleinschmidt teleprinter apparatus was now made standard equipment for all U.S. Armed Services. Upon further investigation, Bud Mead found a plot in Deerfield, Illinois, facing County Line Road, consisting of thirteen acres, which could be purchased at a reasonable price. This area would give plenty of building room and space for parking cars. Kleinschmidt Laboratories’ first building, 200 × 150 feet, was soon erected.