US477404A - Type-writing machine - Google Patents

Description

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J.- M. CRARY. TYPE WRITING MACHINE.

No. 477,404. Patented June 21, 1892.

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' J. M. CRARY.

TYPE WRITING MACHINE.

Patented June 21,1892.

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No. 477,404. Patented June 21, 1892.v

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NTTED STATES PATENT OEEICE.

JOSEPH M. CRARY, OE JERSEY CITY, NEV JERSEY.

TYPE-WRITING MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 477,404, dated June 21, 1892. Application tiled December 28, 1891. Serial No. 416.350. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.:

Be it known that I, JOSEPH M. CRARY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Jersey City, Hudson county, New Jersey, have in-- ing devices; and it consists, partly, in the proobscure the present improvements.

vision of legs or feet to hold either the carriage or type mechanism stationary in relation to the other, partly in the combination, with the carriage and the type mechanism movable thereon, of a supporting-frame (having paperfeeding devices) attached removably to the carriage, and partly in the combination and arrangement of astrip-platen with the paperfeeding devices and in other details of construction hereinafter set forth and claimed.

The invention will be understood by reference to the annexed drawings, in which Figure l is a plan of the entire-apparatus. Fig. 2 is a front elevation, the type-bars and keys being in great part omitted, as they would Fig. 3 is a plan of the stand for the paper-feeding devices. Fig. 4 is an end elevation, upon alarger scale, of the spacing-pawl and ratchet, the ratchet being shown in section on line :n in Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a section of the stand upon the same enlarged scale on line y y in Fig. 3. Fig. 6 is a rear elevation of the spring-drum F with its bearing and the pawl for locking the spindle. Fig. 7 shows the inner side of the detachable leg j. Figs. 8 and 9 are drawn upon the same enlarged scale, Fig. 8 showing the under side of a portion of the carriage and its attachment to the type mechanism and Fig. 9 showing an end view of the guide and gib by which said parts are fitted movably together. Eig. l0 shows a ribbon end with looped cord attached; Eig. 11, a plan of the spool with the cord hitched thereon, and Fig. 12 a side view of the same with one flange removed.

The type mechanism may be made of any preferred design, that shown herein being the same as is illustrated in my application, Se-

rial No. 376,606, tiled January 3, 1891, in which an annular plate D is employed to sustain the pivots of the type-bars, and the key-rods for the type-bars are sustained above the same by an annular plate D. Only two of the type-bars d are shown with their keyrods r, the hole d in the plate D showing where the remainder of therods would beinserted. The type-bars strike downward upon a platen below' the plate D.

The plate D, as shown in Figs. l and 8, is provided with projections or guides C, fitted to grooves E in the opposite edges of the carriage E. The guides are formed with rolls c', tted in the groove to diminish the friction, and rolls czare also attached to the guides to bear upon the edges of the carriage. Two of the latter rolls are pivoted upon adjustable feet a, provided with clampscrews a', by which the rolls may be set toward the edge of the carriage E to compensate for lost motion, as shown in Figs. S and 9. Such adj ustable rolls may be called roll-gibs, because they serve as gibs to tit the type mechanism movably upon the carriage with the least possible play, and thus secure the most perfect alignment of the type-impressions.

F is the spring-drum for shifting the type mechanism upon the carriage by means of the usual cord u, the drum being provided with the usual spring-winding spindle z', which is mounted in a bearing E', attached to the plate D. The end of the spindle, as shown in Figs. l and 6, is squared and locked by a pivoted arm n, having a rectangular notch adjacent to one corner of the spindle. The side of the notch, where it extends past the adjacent corner of the spindle, is rounded off, as shown at n in Fig. G, and the arm is pressed toward the spindle by a spring u', applied to its pivot. With this construction a wrench or key may be applied to the square of the spindle to wind it up, (in the direction indicated by the arrow 912,) and the arm then operates as an automatic locking device, which is pushed out of the way by the corners of the spindle when rotated in the direction of the arrow and engaged by the notch in the arm 'n when it begins to turn in the opposite direction.

vRibbon-spools 7c and a ribbon-guide e are shown in Fig. l with the ribbon j extending between the same, and the type-bars operate IOO in practice, when pressed by the keys r', to press each type upon the ribbon in the center of the plate D. The spacing-lever h would by suitable mechanism be vibrated by each type-impression or movement of the typekeys, and is provided in practice with a pawl to operate upon a rack e on the edge ofthe carriage E. The operation of these parts, as well as of the spring-drum F and the bell t2, (shown in Fig. 1,) are already Well known.

The under side of the carriage is adapted to it upon the stand shown in Figs. 3 to 7,inclu sive, the under side of the carriage being provided with holes to lit steady-pins b upon the stand, so as to set the parts in their proper relation. The carriage and stand may be secured together, if desired, by screws f. (Shown in Figs. 5 and l.) The stand consists in footpieces A, attached together by a T-bar B, upon the top of which is secured a flat-strip platen o. A feed-roll o is journaled in bearings in the foot-pieces close to the edge of the stripplaten, and several independent rolls o2 are pressed upon the top of the same by separate springs p', which are attached to a common support or bar p2. This bar is extended between the frames parallel with the platen, and the springs p are secured at. one end to the bar and are forked at the other end to receive the pivots of the independent rolls o2.

The roll o is covered with india-rubber or other yielding material and the platen 0 is formed of similar substance, both being shown in solid black upon the drawings; but the rolls o may be made merely of metal and are preferably made quite small.

Beneath the springs p a shelf or table o3 is provided to guide the paper between the rolls o and o2 and the paper is set parallel withA the platen whenever its forward edge is in contact with two of the rolls o2.

The roll 0 is furnished at one end with a knobp` to turn the roll, and its rotation operates to draw the paper in between the rolls and to project it over the platen. The rolls set so close to the edge of the platen, upon which the type-impressions fall, that the paper may be printed very close to its rear edge, while the front edge may be set to receivethe impressions as close to the margin as is desi red.

The knob p is lfurnished with a gagewvheel y, having two sets of notches e therein at different distances from one another. These notches arc formed in two adjacent grooves, and a wire spring-catch y is attached to the foot-piece and fitted to bear in either of the grooves at pleasure, by which the movement may be ga-ged to constitute a line-spacing mechanism and make a larger or smaller space upon the paper when the roll is turned.

The plate D, carrying the type mechanism, is moved longitudinally over the strip-platen o, the type-impressions falling upon the platen at different points as the plate is advanced by the spring-drum and pawl c, operating in the feed-rack e. Vhen the type mechanism has moved to one end of its stroke, the pawl may be released from the rack by any wellknown means and the type mechanism moved to the opposite end of the carriage to print an ladjacent line. After such readjustment of the type mechanism the paper-roll 0 is turned by the knob p, and the paper is thus drawn across the platen a suitable space.

A sheet of paper is indicated by dotted lines m in Fig. 3, and a dotted line m is shown in Fig. 5 to exhibit the movement of the paper over the platen o and between the paper-feeding rolls o and 02.

In my application, Serial No. 1:11,'1'73, filed November 13,1891, I have shown and claimed a type mechanism and carriage adapted to operate in a bed-frame over heavy books, and

my present invention is designed to utilize such type mechanism and carriage for printing upon loose pieces of paper, for which purpose the stand is adapted by the pins b for attachment beneath the carriage in the proper relations to it the paper.

WVhen the carriage has been used for printing on a book, it cannot thereafter be applied to the stand in exactly the proper relation to the platen o and paper-feeding rolls o and 02, unless it is guided by some means into exactly the proper position upon the stand.

Such adjustment is furnished by the pins b or by the screw f', and the adjustment is thus readily effected when the stand is resting upon the foot-pieces A.

When the carriage E and stand A are secured together, it is obvious that eitherv the type mechanism or the stand may be held IOO stationary and the other moved in relation thereto by the feed-pawl. To adapt the apparatus for use in this manner, I provide detachable legs for the plate D, which legs are made longer than f the foot-pieces A to hold the type mechanism stationary with the paper-feeding mechanism suspended beneath it. The legs are shown herein as bent bars f, secured, removably,in sockets q upon the plate D by set-screws q.

To alord the carriage a support when traversed movably beneath the type mechanism, the bars are extended parallel with the grooves E and then bent downward, thus providing means for attaching auxiliary rolls f2, which are fitted to the parallel grooves E several inches outside of the rolls c. such auxiliary rolls the carriage is held steady and in perfect alignment when suspended from the plate D and traversed through its entire stroke beneath the type mechanism.

The legs are shown in Fig. 2 resting upon a table A and supporting the carriage and stand A clear of the table, so that the operation of the feed-pawl upon the rack@ moves the carriage and stand beneath the type mechanism. Vith this arrangement the type-keys,

B y means of IIO guided by the plate D', are held in the same posit-ion during the use of the machine. By

477,404 A Y e paratus is then used, with the carriage and stand stationary, while the type mechanism moves thereon.

The apparatus is by the use of the removable legs adapted, therefore, for use in two entirely-different modes, with either the type mechanism or the carriage movable in relation to the other element.

The stand is shown with foot-pieces; but such feet are not essential, as the foot-pieces themselves or the entire stand may be constructed in any convenient form to rest upon a Hat surface when supporting the type mechanism movably.

The construction shown for the stand is a very cheap and simple one, consisting, merel y, in the two foot-piecesA and the T-barB; but other forms may obviously be devised.

When the carriage and the stand are united together, the flat platen 0 and the line-spacing devices obviously move with the carriage and forni an attachment of thesame as effectually as if the construction were integral.

The independent operation of the rolls 02 is a very great advantage in the operation of the paper-feeding and line-spacin g devices, as it secures the firm grip of the paper-feeding roll 0 upon the paper at its contact with each of the rolls o2, and thus enables the feedingroll to operate upon sheets of paper of different widths with equal certainty.

IVhere two long rolls are pressed together, it is very common for them to yield in the middle or for them to press unequally upon the paper at opposite ends, and pieces of paper of various Widths are thus liable to slip at one edge or the other when moved forward by the line-spacing mechanism and the lines thus vary from strict parallelism.

The means I employ in the independent rolls o2 for pressing the paper upon the feeding-roll secures a parallel movement of the paper, whether it be a wide sheet resting upon the whole length of the feeding-roll ora postal-card or small piece adapted to engage only two of the pressing-rolls 02.

The type mechanism and the carriage E upon which it is moved longitudinally bythe usual pawl acting on the rack e are adapted for making a single line of printing upon any flat surface by setting the carriage (independent of the stand) directly upon such surface. To fit the carriage for such a use a dat joint is provided between the stand and the carriage, so that the under side of the carriage may be dat, and thus adapted to hold a piece of paper in place if set upon the same. The carriage and type mechanism are detached from the stand containing the paper-feeding rolls and set directly upon a sheet of paper laid upon a dat surface, such surface taking the place of the platen o of the stand A A. The carriage may with equal facility be set upon a package, envelope, or any other object having a flat surface upon which asingle line of printing is desired, and when the carriage is properly adjusted over such paper or object the type mechanism is fed along upon the carriage through the actuation of the feed by each of the linger-keys that is employed 1nprinting. The carriage may obviously be set upon a surface of anysize, and the apparatus is thus adapted to print upon sheets of paper, cards, or objects of much greater magnitude than can usually be printed by a type-Writing serve any such purpose; but my carriage differs from others in being not only combined with a stand having paper-feeding mechanism, but in being removable from such stand, and formed with a fiat under side adapted to rest upon a flat surface, or to hold a sheet of paper in place upon such surface. My type mechanism and carriage are -thus enabled to v perform a double function.

Figs. l0, ll, and l2 show a device for supporting the ribbon detachably upon the hub of the spool k and for letting out the end of the ribbon from the spool as close as may be desired to the platen o or point Where the type-impressions fall. The device consists 1n a loop of cord h', attached to the end of the ribbon 7L. The cord is readily secured to the end of the ribbon by folding over the end ofthe ribbon and stitching the same fast as shown upon the line 7b2 in Fig. 10, thus forming a loop orhem through which the cord may be inserted. The loop is made of suicient length to pass readily over the flanges of the spools k when arranged in a slip-knot, as shown in Fig. l2. The slipknot or noose is so applied to the hub 7c of the spool as to tighten upon the hub when Wound in the proper direction. Vhen thus Wound, the noose forms a half-hitch, which grips the hub firmly Without any fastening when the ribbon is wound upon the spool. The ribbon is quickly detached from the spool by un- Winding the cord from thehub and loosening the noose to slip it over the flange of the spool As the ribbon, with the loop of cord attached, is a new article, I have claimed the same herein independently of the spool.

The platen or type-impression is in my present machine situated at a considerable distance from the spool, so that the end of the ribbon requires to be extended in some manner, which is effectually secured, in addition to the other advantages mentioned above, by the use of the loop of cord h.

Having thus set forth the nature of the in-.

vention, what is claimed herein is l. In a type-writer, the combination, with the type mechanism and means for movi-ng IOO the type downward, of a carriagewith fiat under side fitted movably beneath the type mechanism and a stand fitted detachably tov the carriage and provided with suitable footpieces, with the platen o and with paperi feeding devices, and the carriage being thereby adapted when removed from the stand to fit upon a at surface for printing a single line of characters thereon, substantially as herein set forth.

2. The combination, with thecarriage E and the parrallel grooves E', of the plate D, carrying type mechanisimguides'upon the plate fitted to the grooves, and gibs fitted adjustably to the edge of the carriage, as and for the purpose set forth.

3. The combination, with the carriage E and the parallel grooves E', of the plate D, carrying type mechanism, guides upon the plate fitted to the grooves, and the adjustable rollgibs c2, fitted to the edges of the carriage, as set forth.

4. The combinatiomwith the carriage E and the parallel grooves E', of the plate D, carrying type mechanism, the rolls c upon the plate fitted to the grooves, and the adjustable rollgibs c2, fitted to the edge of the carriage, as and for the purpose set forth.

5. In a type-writer, the combination, with the type mechanism and means for moving the type downward, of a carriage fitted movably to the type mechanism, the strip-platen o upon the carriage, the paper-feeding roll o', provided with a gage-wheel y, as set forth, the springs p', pressing the rolls o2 upon the top of the roll o', and the table o3 for guiding the paper beneath the springs p', substantially as herein set forth.

6. In a type-Writer, the combination, with the type mechanism and means for moving mechanism and a stand tted detachably to the carriage and provided with suitable footpieces with the platen 0, and with paper-feeding devices and the carriage being provided with a set of detachable feet f, as and for the purpose set forth.

8. In a type-Writer, the combination, with the spring-drum and a rotary spindle with squared end, of the pivoted arm fn, pressed normally toward the spindle and provided with the notch having rounded corner n; as set forth.

9. As a new article of man ufacture,atype writer ribbon provided upon the ends with a loop of cord, as and for the purpose set forth.

l0. In a type-writer, the combination, with the winding-spool, of a ribbon having a loop of cord secured upon thehub bya half-hitch, as set forth.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JOSEPH M. CRARY.

Witnesses:

THOMAS S. CRANE, HENRYl J.. MILLER.

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