US350717A - Type-writing machine - Google Patents

Description

(No Model.) 2 SheetsSheet 1.

J. BECKER.

TYPE WRITING MACHINE.

No. 350,717. Patented Oct. 12, 1886.

I IIHIHHIHI 3 N. PETERS. Phomlllhngrapher, Washington, D4 1:.

(No Model.) 2 Sh,eets Sheet 2..

J BECKER.

TYPE WRITING MAGHINE. No. 350,717. Patented Oct. .12, 1886,

V////l-llllllll 1 l I lllllllllllll N4 PETERS. Phnlo-Lllhugmphor. Whhinglon. D. c.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOH1\ BECKER, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO THE XVORLD TYPE \VRITER COMPANY, OF PORTLAND, MAINE.

TYPE-WRITING MACHINE.

$PECIPICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 350,717, dated October 12, 1886.

Application filed January 20. 1886. Serial No. 189,117. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be itknown that I, J 011x BECKER, of Boston, county of Suffolk, and State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement in Typerit- 5 ers, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, like letters on the drawings representing like parts.

This invention has for its object to construct a simple and efficient typewriter.

In this my invention an index plate is mounted to slide freely and to work upon a feed-bar. The indcx-plate has pivoted upon it a type-carrying segment having a lever by which to operate it, the said lever corresponding with the index-plate to insure the correct placing of the type which it is desired to use. A segmental piece of rubber, having type molded thereon, is secured to the type-carrying segment. The paper to be printed is fed upon and over a bed by a manually-operated feed-roll. A printinglever,pivoted to one side of the index-plate near the feed-bar,has at its underside a projectiomwhich, when depressed, strikes and forces the type upon the paper lying on the said bed. A rocking lever extending lengthwise of the machine is loosely connected with and so as to operate the printinglever, the said lever being controlled by a spring to thereby'normally keep the printing lever in its elevated position. A feed-dog, loosely pivoted to the printing-lever, engages the fcedbar, and as the printing-lever is operated the feed-dog is made to engage the next tooth ofthe feed bar, thereby moving theindexplate and its attached parts forward. The feeddog is disengaged from the feed-bar by the operator, and is employed as a lever to return the index-plate and its attached parts to their normal position to commence to print at the lefthand side of the paper. Various other details are also shown for inking the type, spacing, and centering the type-carrying segment, &c., which will be hereinafter more fully described.

Figure 1 shows in perspective atype-writer constructed in accordance with this invention; Fig. 2, a rear side view thereof; Fig. 3, a section taken in the dotted line a .r, Fig. 1, and Figs. 4 and 5 different views of a modification to be referred to; Fig. 6, a plan view of thein dex plate detached; Fig. 7, a detail of the typeearrying segment, and Fig. 8 an enlarged detail of the rubber-type segment.

The frame-work A is of suitable construction to support the working parts. The paper-feeding roll (I, preferably of rubber and mounted upon the shaft a, has its bearings in the frame-work A extended lengthwise of the machine. A thumb-piece, having in this instance four arms, is mounted upon the shaft (1, by means of which said shaft isrotated, and by turning the said thumb-piece to bring one or another arm into a certain position-as, for instance, a vertical position-the feed-roll will be rotated a definite distance to thus properly space the lines to be printed. A guard,

(0, attached to the framework A at opposite ends directly above the paper -fecding roll, serves to keep the paper in contact with the roll, and also serves as a rest or support upon which other portions of the machine bear. A feed-bar, a, having ratchet-teeth a", is fixed to the framework A at opposite ends of the machine, as at a a, thereby lying parallel with 7 5 the paperieeding roll a.

The index-plateB,provided with guide-arms b, is mounted to slide freely upon the feed-bar a said index-plate being herein shown as cast in approximately circular form, (see Fig. 6,) 8c the guide-arms b projecting outward therefrom. That portion or segment B of the said indexplate B most remote from the feed-bar a pre sents a series of letters or characters such as it is desired to print by the machine.

The type-carryi ng segn'ient O is pivoted upon a stud, 0, located at the center of the indexplate, said typc carrying segment consisting of a segmental frame, 0, having a segmental piece of rubber, 0, preferably vulcanized there- 0 to, and the segmental centering device 0 so cured to the said segment by the screws 0 The segmental piece 0, interposed between the frame and the centering device 0 and preferably vulcanized to the said frame 0, con- 9 3 sists of rubber having letters or characters molded upon its under side, as at 50, corresponding with the letters or characters represented upon the surface of the index-plate at b. An operating-lever, c", preferably cast inrco tegral with the type-carrying segment 0, extends therefrom, passing beneath the index portion bof the im'lex-plate B, shown in Figs. 1 and 3,) and a pin, c, attached to an upright or projection, c, at the extreme end of said operating-lever 0, extends over the said index portion 1) of the index-plate to register with any letter or character thereon as the operating-lever is moved.

The type or characters upon the. type seg ment 0 are arranged in reverse order to the characters upon the index portion b of the index-plate, so that as the operating -lever is moved and its pin 0 made to register with a certain letter, the corresponding letter of the type-segment 0 will be brought into printing position. The paper to be printed is fed by the feed-roll a over the bed-plate d, forming a portion of the frame-work of the machine, the said bed extending parallel with the said feed-roll a and feed-bar a The index-plate 13, near the feed-bar a", (see Fig. 6,) is provided with pad or inking-surface cl (1 which may contain any suitable ink and the types are caused to comein contact with said inked surface, as will be hereinafter described.

'A printing-lever, e, pivoted on a stud, e',at one side of the index-plate B and near the feed-bar a, has at its under side a lug or projection, 6 and two flat springs, e e, which, as the printing-lever is depressed, bear upon the rubber-type segment 0,- the fiat springs bringing the type in contact with the inked surfaces at d,'whilc the lug or projection c forces the type in contact with the paper. A

rocking bar, of bail shape,is attached to two collars, 2 3, mounted to rock upon the feedbar (0* and controlled by aspring, f, said bailshaped rockinglever passing through aloop or eye, f attached to the upper side of the printing-lever 6, thereby forming a loose connection that the printing-lever 6 may be raised and lowered by the movements of the rocking lever f,and also permitting the printing-1ever and its attached parts to move freely laterally on said-rocking lever.

A feed-dog, g, is loosely pivoted to the rear side of the printing-lever e, the said dog engaging by gravity the ratchet-teeth a of the feed-bar a, the parts being so arranged that when the printing-lever is in its elevated position the feed-dog will just engage one tooth, and as the printing-lever is depressed the feeddog will force the printing-lever and the index-plate, to which it is attached, and all its connecting parts forward one tooth, so that when the printing-lever is again elevated the feed-dog will engage the next tooth, thus feeding the type-carrying devices forward step by step until a line is completed.

The feed-dog g is disengaged from the feedbar a by the operator and employed as a hand lever at the completion of each line printed, or when it is desired to return the printing devices to the normal position to print upon the left-hand side of a sheet.

The printing lever e is provided with a headed adj ustingscrew, m, and as said lever is depressed by the rocking lever to strike the type and cause it to make an impression the under side of the head of the said adjusting-screw strikes a pin, m, attached to the frame or index plate B,"thereby limiting the downward movement of the printing-lever while depressing the rubber-type segment; but to depress the printing-lever 0 only so far as to cause the feedsdog to engage the next tooth of the feedbar a without depressing the rubber-type segment, to thereby leave a space, as between words, for instance, a spring-plate, a, secured to and projecting from the upper side of the printing-lever e, is employed, and when the lever e is depressed by bearing upon this springplate it (the said lever) descends only far enough to actuate the dog, the spring yielding and reaching the guide-arm I), and thus arresting the descent of the lever before the head of the adjusting-screw descends far enough to come into contact with the stop-pin m.

The centering deviee,before referred to, consists of a metal segment, 0, secured upon the type-carrying segment, and is provided with a series of countersunk holes, 4, and a pin, 5, is attached to the under side of the printing lever e, which, when the latter is depressed, enters one of the holes 4, and if the hole be not'presented in just its correct position, the

pin 5 will strike one side of or the countersunk portion of the hole, thereby throwing the type-carrying segment into its correct position that the pin may enter the hole.

The rocking leverf being free to rock upon the feed-bar a, and the index-plate being also free to move upon said feed-bar, the entire rocking parts may be upturned upon the feedbar to expose the paper upon the bed.

The operation may be briefly stated, as follows: The sheet of paper is placed between the feed-roll a and guard (0 as shown in Fig. 1. The operating-lever c is then turned until the pin 0 registers with the desired letter to be printed, the type-carrying segment be ing thereby correspondingly moved. The bailshaped rocking lever f is then depressed, causing the printing-lever e to strike the type-segment 0 and force the type into contact with the paper. During the time the rocking lever f is being depressed the feed-dog g is pushing against one tooth of the ratchet-toothed feedbar a, and thereby moving the entire printing devices forward; but just before the rocking lever f has become entirely depressed the feed- -dog arrives at its limit of movement, so that the entire parts are at rest while the letter or character is beingprinted. The rockinglever f is then released, when the spring f returns the same to its normal position, and by the loose connection with the printing-lever c said lever is also returned to its normal position, and the feed-dog 9, being loosely connected with the printing-lever,is therefore raised, that it may drop, by gravity, ahead of the next tooth of the feed-bar preparatory to again feeding the parts forward. Vhen it is desired to have the machine feed and not print, as for aspace between words,the spring-platen is depressed, to thus partially depress the printinglever, as described, and when it is desired to return the entire printing mechanism to the left-hand side of the machine, as at the commencement of a line, the feeddog g is disengaged and employed as a hand-lever which is grasped by the operator. To gage the relative distances between different lines the thumbpiece a is turned to present one of the arms to a certain fixed position-as upright, for in stance-and as each arm is respectively carried to the upright position the feed-roll a will feed the paper forward a definite distance.

By the employment of an operating-lever as herein described no shadow is cast upon the index-table of the index-plate to cause the operator to hesitate or to make mistakes.

The rubber-type segment 50 is provided with deep grooves or recesses, as at 6, (see detail Fig. 8,) between the type portions, that the type may be forced through the cutaway portion of the index-plate somewhat independent of each other in order that a type next the type being printed may not come in contact with the paper to blur the same.

The rubber type segment having the grooves described is ofspecial importance, as it obviates the necessity of the employment of hearing or projecting surfaces upon which those letterseach side of the letter being printed-bear, such bearing-surfaces in imme diate proximity to the letter being struck or printed being of disadvantage owing to the fact that as the type-segment is moved before the printing-lever is lifted the rubber type bears upon the sharp edge of such bearingsurfaces, thereby destroying the efficiency of the rubbertype plate.

Referring to the modification, Figs. 4 and 5, the index portion 1) of the index-plate is mounted upon legs or standards 20, thus extending in the are of a circle similar to the type-segment, and the said typesegment has an upright, 21, carrying a pen or a pointer, 22, which cooperates with the index-plate I), thus making a somewhat more compact form of machine, which is especially desirable for shipping purposes.

I have herein shown a rubber-type segment provided with projecting type properly spaced, and having deep grooves or recesses, 6, between the said type, whereby the type may be operated independently of its neighbors 011 either side; but such segment I do not herein claim, as the same is embodied in an application filed by me September 3, 1886, Serial No. 212,577.

I claim 1. In a typewriter, the movable indexplate, the type carrying segment pivoted thereon, and the operatinglever for moving the type carrying segment, combined with an independent printing-lever pivoted to the index-plate and constructed and arranged to bear upon the type-segment to print when depressed, substantially as described.

2. In a type-writer, the movable indexplate, the type carrying segment pivoted thereon, and theoperatinglever for moving the typecarrying' segment, combined with a printing-lever pivoted to the index-plate, a lug, e", and an adjustingstop, m, carried by said printing-lever, all substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

3. In a type-writer, the feedbar and movable index-plate mounted thereon, combined with the pivoted printing-lever and rocking lever for operating said printing-lever, the axial centers of the pivots of said printinglever and rocking lever being at right angles with relation to each other, so that the printing-lever may be parallel with and move back and forth upon the rocking lever, all substantially as described.

4. In a type-writer, the feed-roll and guard, combined with the feed-bar, and movable index-plate mounted to move laterally and to rotate 011 said feed-bar and normally bearing upon said guard, said index-plate being constructed and arranged to support the printing mechanism and its co-operating parts, all substantially as described.

5. In a type-writer, the indeX-plate and type-carrying segment pivoted thereon, and the centering device mounted upon said typecarrying segment and having aseries of holes, 4, combined with the printing-lever having the centering-pin 5, to enter the said holes 4, all as set forth.

6. In a type-writer, the movable indexplate, and the type-carrying segment pivoted thereon, combined with the pivoted printinglever, the feed-dog, and feed-bar, the springplate a, attached to said pivoted printing-lever, and a limiting-stop for the said plate 72, all substantially as described.

7. In a type-writer, the movable indexplate, and inking pads or cushions, and the typesegment to be brought in contact with the inking pads or cushions, combined with the pivoted printing-lever, and the springs e e, to bear upon the typesegment as the print ing-lever is depressed, substantially as described.

In testimony whcreof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JOHN BECKER.

Witnesses:

B. J. Novas, O. M. COKE.

ICO

IIO

Images