EP0005915A1 - Verfahren und Vorrichtung zum Herstellen von Zeichen, hierbei verwendete Zeichenträgerfolien - Google Patents

Verfahren und Vorrichtung zum Herstellen von Zeichen, hierbei verwendete Zeichenträgerfolien Download PDF

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Publication number
EP0005915A1
EP0005915A1 EP79300780A EP79300780A EP0005915A1 EP 0005915 A1 EP0005915 A1 EP 0005915A1 EP 79300780 A EP79300780 A EP 79300780A EP 79300780 A EP79300780 A EP 79300780A EP 0005915 A1 EP0005915 A1 EP 0005915A1
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EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
characters
sign
sheet
distance
carriage
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Ceased
Application number
EP79300780A
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English (en)
French (fr)
Inventor
Gregory R. Waldron
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Scott Machine Development Corp
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Scott Machine Development Corp
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Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Scott Machine Development Corp filed Critical Scott Machine Development Corp
Publication of EP0005915A1 publication Critical patent/EP0005915A1/de
Ceased legal-status Critical Current

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    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B43—WRITING OR DRAWING IMPLEMENTS; BUREAU ACCESSORIES
    • B43L—ARTICLES FOR WRITING OR DRAWING UPON; WRITING OR DRAWING AIDS; ACCESSORIES FOR WRITING OR DRAWING
    • B43L13/00—Drawing instruments, or writing or drawing appliances or accessories not otherwise provided for
    • B43L13/02—Draughting machines or drawing devices for keeping parallelism
    • B43L13/04—Guides for rulers
    • B43L13/045—Guides for rulers with carriages
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B44—DECORATIVE ARTS
    • B44C—PRODUCING DECORATIVE EFFECTS; MOSAICS; TARSIA WORK; PAPERHANGING
    • B44C1/00—Processes, not specifically provided for elsewhere, for producing decorative surface effects
    • B44C1/16—Processes, not specifically provided for elsewhere, for producing decorative surface effects for applying transfer pictures or the like
    • B44C1/162—Decalcomanias with a transfer layer comprising indicia with definite outlines such as letters and with means facilitating the desired fitting to the permanent base

Definitions

  • This invention relates to sign-making, and more particularly to improved method and apparatus for constructing signs, such as types which may be used on doors, walls and directories of commercial and public buildings, desk nameplates, and for a variety of other purposes.
  • Many such signs have been made in the past by engraving. Rows of master characters can be readily aligned relative to a strip to be engraved, and then clamped, and a complete sign can then be engraved quite rapidly using a known form of pantograph engraver, without having to re-position the master characters, and with assurance that the finished characters will be accurately aligned along a row. Further, master characters can be readily aligned to countless different orders, so that any desired words or the like can be readily engraved for a sign.
  • Engraving tends to require use of a rotating cutter, which undesirably limits the number of fonts which can be produced, since corners of characters produced by engraving are rounded. Signs which do not have the grooves which engraving provides are also desirable for some applications.
  • Characters having any desired font or style and no grooves can be transferred from a flexible carrier sheet to a receiving surface or substrate, such as a plastic strip, or sign blank, by use of a pressure-transfer process described in U. S. Patents Nos. 3, 131, 106 and 3, 212, 913, for example.
  • Carrier sheets carrying entire alphabets of transferable characters with non-transferred reference lines extending below them can be inexpensively produced. To produce a row of characters on a substrate, one need merely place one side of such a sheet in direct contact with the substrate with a selected letter positioned atop a desired location on the substrate and apply pressure by means of stylus on the other side of the sheet in order to transfer the selected letter to the substrate.
  • One object of the present invention is to provide sign-making method and apparatus which allows an operator in the field to select any of numerous different vertical spacings of rows of characters. Some persons have much less ability than others to visualize how a finished sign having rows of characters of a given size with a given row spacing will look.
  • One object of the present invention is to provide sign-making method and apparatus which readily allows a sign-maker to readily select among a number of size and row spacings which have been previously found to be acceptably attractive, so that sign-making need depend less upon the artistic skill or taste of the operator.
  • Another aid for transfer lettering comprises a rigid plastic open frame on which the edges of a transfer sheet may be adhesively mounted, with numerical scales inscribed along the edges of the frame to facilitate positioning. Such an arrangement still tends to require substantial operator calculation and provides many chances for error.
  • These prior art methods depend for precise alignment, upon the visual acuity and manual dexterity of the operator.
  • One object of the present invention is to provide improved sign-making method and apparatus for dry lettering transfer with which precise alignment can be obtained much more independently of the visual acuity and. manual dexterity of the operator.
  • One important object of the present invention is to provide improved method and apparatus for sign-making which allows pressure transfer to be used rapidly and economically to produce. signs having their characters accurately aligned along rows in both translational and rotational senses, with plural rows accurately extending parallel to each other with desired spacings between successive rows of characters, and with the rows accurately spaced relative to edges of the sign.
  • the production of a sign having an optimum appearance tends to require consideration of numerous factors.
  • the factors can be generally grouped into two classes, those of inter-character and other horizontal positioning of characters, and those of inter-row and other vertical positioning of characters.
  • the making of a sign involves consideration of the size of a sign blank, selection of the nominal size of characters to be formed and selection of a desired font or style, how many rows of characters are to be placed on the sign blank, whether the rows use only upper-case characters, or only lower-case characters, or a mixture of both upper-case and lower-case characters, how closely together successive rows should be spaced, whether the rows should be vertically centered relative to the vertical centerline of the sign blank or instead some other line across the sign, and how the rows should be vertically centered relative to one line or another across the sign.
  • the vertical centerline of the sight may depend upon whether a sign holder will obscure a strip 'along the upper edge of a sign blank or instead the lower edge, or whether neither edge will be obscured.
  • One object of the present invention is to provide improved method and apparatus for pressure- transfer sign-making which can be used rapidly and accurately by unskilled labor.
  • a sign making kit which uses a transfer sheet positioning machine to position special character-bearing transfer sheets having their characters spaced on the sheets to match an incremental movement characteristic of the machine.
  • the machine allows one to rapidly and accurately position such sheets relative to any of a plurality of standard size sign blanks or substrates placed in the machine.
  • the speed and accuracy with which pressure lettering can be done are markedly increased by constraining the vertical locations at which reference'portions of characters can be placed to a relative few discrete locations.
  • the machine to be described allows a transfer sheet, once it has been gripped in the machine, to be moved vertically through a distance well exceeding its height, but allows the sheet to be stopped and held fixed only at a plurality of discrete or specific positions within that range of travel. If the operator moves the sheet to a position somewhere in between two of the discrete positions, the machine then automatically'moves the sheet to one or the other of the two discrete positions.
  • Another object of the invention is to provide improved apparatus for positioning a character-bearing transfer sheet relative to a receiving surface wherein only a coarse adjustment is required by an operator in order to provide precise positioning of the transfer sheet.
  • sign -making apparatus must accommodate more than one nominal character size, and must allow a number of different types of vertical spacings between rows.
  • an architect may have to specify a large amount of font size and spacing data to a sign-maker to order the signs required for a building.
  • the production of signs could be appreciably expedited if the architect could instead merely select a sign having font sizes and spacings deemed attractive from a catalog, giving only a catalog number and desired sign wording to a sign-maker, and yet be assured that signs having the same appearance would result.
  • Another object of the invention is to provide method and apparatus which will enable a sign-maker to rapidly and accurately make pressure-transferred signs having a variety of different "standard" font sizes and spacings, so that orders can be conveniently transmitted and accurately executed, and so that new signs can be readily made to be compatible with earlier-made signs.
  • the invention accordingly comprises the several steps and the relation of one or more of such steps with respect to each of the others, and the apparatus embodying features of construction, combination of elements and arrangement of parts which are adapted to effect such steps, all as exemplified in the following detailed disclosure, and the scope of the invention will be indicated in the claims.
  • Fig. 2a three upper-case characters of a given nominal size of a font known as Helvetica Medium are shown aligned in a row.
  • the size of a group of characters intended to be used together is usually stated in terms of the approximate height of most of its upper case characters, and is termed nominal because some of the characters may have substantially different heights.
  • Line b-b constitutes the baseline for the characters. Fonts are designed so that the baselines of all characters in a row are intended to coincide.
  • Line b-b coincides with the lower extremities of flat-bottomed characters, such as the A and T shown, but passes through round-bottom characters slightly above their lower extremities, as in the case of the letter C shown. With some letters extending slightly below their baselines and others of the same nominal size and case not so extending, it will be apparent that one cannot merely align lower extremities of characters to provide a properly appearing sign.
  • Line a-a is shown located midway between the upper and lower extremities of the letters A and T, and substantially midway between the upper and lower extremities of the letter C.
  • Line a-a constitutes what may be termed the apparent vertical centerline of the row of upper-case characters shown in Fig. 2a.
  • the apparent vertical centerline of the row in Fig. 2a is not established with complete mathematical precision, its location being slightly subjective. One might instead deem it to lie midway between the upper and lower extremities of the letter C.
  • Fig. 2b illustrates a row of lower-case characters from the same font and nominal type size as those in Fig. 2a.
  • the intended or accepted baselines of all of the lower-case characters are shown aligned on line b-b, some lower-case characters, such as the "g" shown extending below their baselines.
  • the apparent vertical centerline of the row of lower-case characters is shown by line a-a in Fig. 2b. Because lower-case characters are in general not as tall as upper-case characters, the distance (dimension k in Fig. 2b) between the baseline and the apparent vertical centerline is somewhat less than dimension j in Fig. 2a.
  • the exact location of the apparent vertical centerline of a row of lower-case characters is also slightly subjective.
  • Fig. 2c illustrates a "mixed" row of characters of the same nominal size and font as that of Figs. 2a and 2b, the row having an initial upper-case character P followed by a plurality of lower-case characters, all the characters having their baselines aligned on line b-b.
  • the apparent vertical centerline of a row containing both upper case and lower case characters might conceivably be deemed to lie above the baseline by a distance which is some form of average between dimensions j_ and k of Figs. 2a and 2b.
  • form visually inspecting a large number of signs it is my belief that the visual or apparent vertical centerline perceived by most persons for such a mixed row substantially corresponds with that of a row of all lower- case characters.
  • the apparent vertical centerline of a row may be deemed to lie at one distance k above the baseline of the characters if the row contains any lower case characters, but lies higher at distance j above the baseline of the characters if the row contains only upper case characters. Stated in another way, one should use the apparent centerlines of lower case characters.
  • Fig. 2d the second "e” is shown having a rather gross upward translational mis-registration, i.e. its baseline is above those of the other characters, and the second upper-case “F” is shown with a gross rotational mis-registration.
  • a translational mis-registration any more than 1. 5 percent of character height, or a rotational mis-registration exceeding 0. 75 degree, would render a sign unacceptable.
  • a sign is to carry an odd number of rows of characters, it is usually desired that the apparent vertical centerline of the middle row lie on the vertical centerline of the eventual sight of the sign, as is illustrated in Fig. 2e, while if a sign carriers an even number of rows, as in Fig. 2f, it is instead desired that a pair of middle rows be spaced equal distances above and below the vertical centerline of the eventual sight of the sign.
  • the types of vertical spacing shown in Figs. 2e and 2f will be referred to as odd spacing and even spacing, respectively.
  • the signs of Figs. 2e and 2f will be seen to differ in that much more vertical space is provided between successive rows in Fig. 2e than in Fig. 2f. That difference will be termed the breadth or narrowness of vertical spacing.
  • the method and apparatus of the present invention may be better understood by reference now to Fig. 3a.
  • the letter carrier sheet S thereshown includes a pair of target marks T 1 , T 2 defining an imaginary primary reference line A o extending horizontally across the sheet.
  • the sheet can also be envisioned as having numerous further imaginary reference lines A 1 to An each running parallel to line A o and each spaced a respective distance id therefrom, where i is an integer, and d is a predetermined distance which will be termed the incrementing distance, and which is described as 0. 250 inch in an exemplary embodiment.
  • all lower-case characters are placed on such transfer sheets so that their .apparent vertical centerlines are situated on one or another of the imaginary reference lines.
  • Fig. 3b four characters of different sizes intended to represent lower case o's are shown with their apparent centerlines aligned on the same imaginary reference line A i .
  • Such placement results in lower case characters of sizes #1 to #4 having their baselines located respectively distances k i to k 4 below the reference lines on which their visual centerlines lie.
  • all upper case characters on all transfer sheets are vertically located so that their baselines either coincide with those of lower case characters of the same size or are displaced therefrom by a distance id.
  • the baseline of an upper case I of size #1 is shown distance k 1 below reference line Ai, while the baseline of an upper case E of size #4 is located distance k 4 below line A i .
  • Various characters of either upper or lower case, and particularly those of larger sizes extend across one or more of the imaginary reference lines adjacent to the one to which their location is primarily referenced. For example, while all the characters in Fig. 3b are shown located with reference to imaginary line A i , various of them extend across nearby lines A i+1 , A i+2 , etc.
  • the baseline of any character lies a distance (id+k m ) from reference line A o on any transfer sheet, where m is the size number of the character, and it lies distance k m below some particular one of the reference lines.
  • the visual centerline of an upper case character of a given size lies further up (dimension j in Fig. 2a) from its baseline than that of a lower case character
  • the visual centerlines of all upper case characters lie slightly above various of the reference lines.
  • the visual centerline of the upper case I of size #1 lies distance (j 1 -k 1 ) above line A i
  • the visual centerline of the upper case E of size #4 lies distance (j 4 -k 4 ) above line A i in Fig. 3b.
  • 3b of characters of different nominal sizes located relative to line A i is not intended to imply that a given transfer sheet must carry characters of different nominal sizes. In general I prefer that a given transfer sheet carry only characters of one nominal size, though it is possible and within the scope of the invention to have characters of plural nominal sizes on the same transfer sheet.
  • the targets T 1 , T 2 preferably define a line somewhere near the vertical center of the sheet S as shown. The targets could instead define a line near the lower edge or the upper edge of the sheet, but defining a line near the center is preferred for the reason that vertical positioning errors due to stretching of the sheet then tend to be minimized. While all the imaginary line A 1 to An are shown in Fig.
  • the invention can perhaps be best understood by consideration next of the semi-diagrammatic plan view of Fig. 1.
  • the invention may include a generally flat base 10 which in some respects resembles a drafting board, and which may be supported atop a table or desk, or provided with legs (not shown) in the manner of some drafting boards.
  • the left-right direction and the up-down direction in Fig. 1 will be termed X and Y directions, respectively.
  • a cursor 12 extends across base 10 in the Y direction and is freely slidable across the base in the X direction except when locked in a given X position by cursor lock means CL.
  • Gear racks lla and 11b are affixed to and extend parallel to each other in the X direction across respective upper and lower edges of base 10.
  • a shaft 14 extending inside the cursor and journalled therein carries pinions 13a, 13b on its ends, with the pinions engaging the racks lla, 11b and insuring that both ends of the cursor travel the same distance, thereby maintaining an edge or surface 12a of the cursor aligned in the Y direction.
  • a further gear rack 17 is mounted inside the cursor to extend in the Y direction the entire length of the cursor.
  • a transfer sheet carriage or chase 20 includes a spring-operated gripping means 21 for gripping the lefthand edge of a flexible transfer letter sheet S.
  • the carriage preferably grips sheet S at a distance above the surface of base 10 approximating the thickness of the thickest sign blank to be used, such that the sheet may lie flat atop a sign blank B when the cursor is moved rightwardly from the position shown in Fig. 1.
  • Carriage 20 is mounted on cursor 12 to be freely movable along the cursor in the Y direction whenever the operator pushes lever 26 to disengage a spring-biased detent means 25 which otherwise engages rack 17 and prevents movement of carriage 20 in the Y direction.
  • the pitch of the teeth of rack 17 is chosen to establish a selected Y increment distance, such a 0. 250 inch, this being the value referred to as d in the preceding discussion of Figs. 3a and 3b.
  • the detent means engages rack 17, constaining the carriage to move to the nearest one of a plurality of discrete Y positions spaced 0. 250 inch apart, and preventing the carriage from occupying some other Y position in between a pair of the discrete positions.
  • the total range of travel of the carriage along the cursor is of the order of 16 inches, the carriage can occupy only something of the order of 64 evenly spaced Y positions.
  • the detent means 25 engage the rack to fix the carriage Y position with no appreciable backlash or play, and important that rack 17 have uniform tooth pitch along its entire length.
  • Various known forms of detent means may be used.
  • a pair of shafts 28, 29 journalled on base 10 to extend in the X direction may be rotated by cranks 31, 32 to rotate spools 34, 35 carried on the shafts, thereby reeling portions of a flexible tape 36 from one spool toward the other, and thereby positioning a selected section of the length of the tape below window or opening 10e where it may be viewed.
  • Tape 36 carries a plurality of marks such as the rectangular boxes 9a-9d shown in Fig. la, with the heights of such boxes and spacings between boxes different along different sections of tape 36.
  • separate rigid strips are substituted for the continuous length of flexible tape.
  • a plurality of index marks 8a to 8e inscribed atop base 10 at the edge of window 10e lead to sign blank height bars shown inscribed on base 10 in the manner of bar graph elements.
  • the bottom edges of the bars depicted are all shown aligned on a reference line Y o .
  • a pair of thin plates 40, 41 carried atop base 10 slidingly abut along a line 42 which is canted from the X direction.
  • the plates are each shown carrying five labelled index marks, and upper plate 41 also carries a target index line TL.
  • the position of plate 40 on base 10 is fixed, and plate 41 is slidable against plate 40.
  • the two plates When a sign is to be made with its row or rows having all lower-case characters or a mixture of lower-case and upper-case characters, the two plates are relatively positioned as shown so that their two left-most index marks (which are labelled "Lower Case or Mixed") are registered, and target line TL will have a predetermined Y position. That position is labelled Y 1 for sake of explanation.
  • the other index marks on the plates each relate to a respective one of four different nominal character sizes #1 to #4, which might be, for example, 3/8, 1/2, 3/4 and 1 inch nominal sizes.
  • the pair of lines relating to the desired nominal character size are aligned with each other if the row or rows on the sign being made contains only upper-case characters.
  • target line TL will be moved distance (j 1 -k 1 ) below line Y 1
  • the target line TL will lie distance (j 4 -k 4 ) below line Y 1
  • plate 41 will be seen to form scale means for moving target line TL to .different Y positions relative to line Y 1 in accordance with a selected character height or mix of character heights.
  • Respective edges of a further pair of thin plates 44, 45 carried on board 10 similarly engage each other along a line shown centered at an angle from the X direction.
  • Each of these plates has a trio of index marks labelled "Bottom”, “Neither”, and “Top”, pertaining to which edge, if either, of a sign to be lettered will be partially covered when the sign is put into use.
  • edge 45a of plate 45 will have one predetermined Y position on base 10, while sliding plate 45 rightwardly or leftwardly to register the "Bottom” marks or “Top” marks, respectively, will move edge 45a downwardly or upwardly, respectively, in any case keeping edge 45a aligned precisely in the X direction.
  • Edge 45a c om- prises a reference edge against which sign blank B may be abutted and then temporarily affixed atop base 10, as by means of adhesive tape 46, for example while a sign is being made.
  • plate 45 will be seen to comprise scale means for determining the Y position of an edge of a sign blank atop base 10 in accordance with the location of an edge of the sign which will later be occluded in use. In a typical application moving slide 45 from its centered position will shift the mounting position of the sign blank about 1/4 inch.
  • the use of single pairs of "Bottom” and “Top” marks assumes use of holders which will cover a known width of strip at the upper or lower edge of a sign.
  • a plurality of additional scale marks may be carried on plates 44 and 45 to allow edge 45a (and hence the sign blank B) to be positioned at various other positions to accommodate sign holders which cover different edge areas of signs.
  • each index mark of the group 8a to 8e (Fig. la) is inscribed above line Y o at a distance equal to one-half of the sign blank height with which it is associated. For example, index line 8a associated with signs 9 inches high lies 4.
  • target line TL lies at line Y 1 , the situation when all lower-case or mixed lower case and upper case characters are to be used. If a transfer sheet is slidingly positioned in carriage 25, with the carriage detent engaged, until targets T l and T 2 on the transfer sheet are aligned on target line TL and then gripped by the carriage gripping means, one is assured that thereafter, whenever the detent means is engaged, that all of the imaginary lines A o to An on the transfer sheet lie integral multiples of increment distance d from target line TL; and further, because the apparent vertical centerlines of all lower case characters are situated on various of those imaginary lines as previously explained, one is assured that those apparent centerlines lie integral multiples of increment distance d from target line TL.
  • Plate 45 is slid to register the pair of "Bottom” index marks, and the sign blank is butted against edge 45a and line 7d and taped to base 10. The vertical centerline of the "sight", or portion of the sign blank to be eventually displayed will then lie aligned with index mark 8a. Plate 41 is then slid to register the pair of 1-inch index marks. Cranks 31 and 32 are turned until a section of tape 36 is labelled "1- inch wide" appears in window 10e.
  • the centerline 6 (labelled "odd") of the selected section of tape 36 is aligned with the index line 8a leading from the 9-inch height bar to window lOe.
  • Line 8a will be aligned with the center of the sight to be used on the 9-inch sign blank, and hence moving centerline 6 into alignment with index line 8a serves to vertically position the boxes 9a-9c at the same Y positions as the three rows of 1-inch characters should have on the sign blank.
  • carriage to align its targets with target line TL on slide 41 insures that the apparent centerlines of all 1-inch nominal-size upper case characters carried on the sheet then lie either on various of the index lines 8a-8d or are vertically spaced therefrom by distances which are integral multiples of the Y incremental distance, 0. 25 inch.
  • the cursor and carriage are next moved until the left edge of the first character to be transferred sits on the 1-inch margin guideline 7d, and a small pencil or pen "tick" mark is made on an edge of sheet S to coincide with the selected margin guideline.
  • the cursor and carriage are then moved to position the first character above the box 9a visible on tape 36 through window 10e, (it being assumed that the uppermost of the three rows is to be formed first, which is not really a requirement.
  • the carriage may move some appreciable distance (e. g. 0.0 1 0 inch) one way or the other in the Y direction as the detent means 25 seats against rack 17.
  • the cursor is then moved to the right until the tick mark registers with the selected margin guideline, the cursor is locked in place, and the first letter to be transferred is then in proper position to be burnished in place on the sign blank. Whenever the operator moves the cursor rightwardly so that the right edge of sheet S passes the left edge of the sign blank, he lifts the right edge of the transfer sheet so that it does not catch on the left edge of the blank.
  • the cursor and carriage then may be moved to position the second letter and successive letters of the first row at their correct Y positions over the sign blank without making any further vertical alignment operations other than the extremely simple one of insuring that a selected letter ready to be transferred is not vertically misplaced by one or more discrete Y increments, i. e. 0. 25 inch or a multiple thereof in the exemplary embodiment.
  • the operator can, of course, readily detect any such gross misalignment.
  • the horizontal or inter-character spacing between letters along a line must be properly adjusted by the operator, of course, by proper X movement of the cursor.
  • the cursor and carriage are then moved to position the first character to be used in the second line above the next lower box visible on tape 36, and forming the second line follows the same procedure as that just described.
  • the similar procedure for forming of the third line will be apparent without further explanation.
  • window 10e has a Y dimension approximating 9 inches
  • tape 36 has 8 sections, arranged in series along the tape, with each section being approximately 9 inches long and having "odd” and "even” index lines of the nature of those shown at 5 and 6 in Fig. 1.
  • Two such sections of tape are preferably provided for each character height, one section relating to "wide” interline spacing and the other relating to "narrow” interline spacing, although sections for various other interline spacings also may be provided, as will be explained.
  • Fig. 4 illustrates four exemplary sections of tape 36 shown horizontally aligned with a dimension 10e representing an edge of window 10e.
  • Section 36a which is also shown in Fig. la, is labelled "1-inch, Wide", and is shown containipg four boxes 9a-9d each assumed to be 1-inch high, and with "wide" inter-row spacing.
  • the vertical centerlines of all of boxes 9a-9d lie vertically spaced apart at distances which are integral multiples of the incrementing distance d.
  • 1-inch high boxes with such spacing as can be fitted in the Y dimension (assumed to be 9 inches) of the largest sign blank to be used, without equalling that Y dimension, are preferably provided.
  • box 9e shown in dashed lines could be provided on section 36a, but that use of 5 lines of I-inch characters with such 1-inch spacing would result in no upper and lower margins being provided on a 9-inch high sign. Since such a sign is deemed unacceptable, box 9e is not carried on tape section 36a.
  • Tape section 36b carriers boxes for 1-inch high characters having "narrow" inter-row spacing, so that one-half inch spaces are provided between adjacent pairs of boxes in section 36c.
  • Tape section 36d is shown as carrying boxes each 0. 75 inches high with what may be termed “extra-wide” inter-row spacing, and is shown with 1-inch spacing between adjacent pairs of boxes.
  • Tape section 36e is shown carrying boxes each 0.-75 inch high with what may be termed "extra- narrow" inter-row spacing, which is shown as one-half inch spaces between adjacent pairs of boxes. It will be apparent that further generally-similar sections can be provided along the length of tape 36 having yet further types of inter-row spacing.
  • the distance from the bottom, centerline or top of any box in a given section of tape to the bottom, centerline or top of any other box in that section is an integral multiple of the Y increment distance (assumed to be 0. 250 inch) of the carriage 20 on the cursor 12.
  • the central box if an odd number of boxes is provided in a section as is the case shown for sections 36d and 36e, or one of the central pair of boxes if an even number are provided, as for sections 36a-36c, has an index mark 6 labelled "odd" passing through its vertical center and each tape section has an "even” index mark 5 spaced vertically from the odd index mark at a distance which is an integral multiple of the incrementing distance d. If any of the tape sections shown in Fig. 2b is reeled so that part or all of the section is visible in window 10e, and either its odd index line 6 or its even in- . dex line 5 is aligned with any one of the index lines 8a to 8e, the vertical centerlines of all of the boxes of the tape section will lie at Y distances from reference line Y o which are integral multiples .of the Y increment distance.
  • Figs. 5a and 5b illustrate an exemplary arrangement for providing rack llb along the lower edge of table 10.
  • Shaft 14 which extends through c ursor 12 above the upper surface of table 10 carries a plastic pinion 13b on its end, the teeth of which engage a taut length of rubber drive belt 11b which acts as a rack.
  • Plate 12b affixed to the lower end of cursor 12 carries a pair of rollers 12c, 12d which maintain belt 11b engaged with pinion or drive wheel 13b.
  • a clamp 47 crimped around one end of rack-belt llb carries a threaded bolt 48 which is shown engaged by a wing-nut 49 allowing the tension in belt 11b to be adjusted.
  • Upper rack lla may comprise a similarly operating section of drive belt.
  • Rigid metal or plastic racks can instead be arranged to extend along the upper and lower edges of table 10, but the rubber drive belt arrangement shown is preferred because of its modest expense.
  • film or tape 36 extends between reels 34 and 35, passing over the edges of guide plates 51a, 51b which train the tape up to a position just below window 10e, which preferably carries a transparent plastic or glass insert 10f to protect the tape from accidental damage.
  • Guide plates 51a, 51b are affixed to the bottom of upper plate 10a of base 10.
  • the opening in the upper plate 10a of base 10 preferably has shelf portions 53a and 53b for supporting the edges of each plastic strip 36' carrying spacing indica.
  • the Y position of a strip 36' can be accurately shifted to provide odd of even spacing.
  • a movable target line TL such as that shown carried on plate 41 in Fig. 1 is not strictly necessary.
  • a modification is illustrated by target lines TL 1 to TL 5 shown in Fig. la in dashed lines. If a plurality of such lines are inscribed on the upper surface of base 10 at appropriate vertical locations, the operator may align the targets T l and T 2 on a transfer sheet with a selected one of those lines rather than with the line TL 1 .
  • Lines TL 1 to TL 5 preferably extend horizontally the entire width of each transfer sheet to facilitate accurate alignment of a transfer with any selected one of them.
  • a fixed line on base 10 such as the line shown at Y o in Fig. 1 is used, and one or another of two reference lines on a given carrier sheet is aligned with line Y o , to fix the vertical position of the sheet relative to carriage 20, depending upon whether or not the sign is to use all upper case characters.
  • targets T 1 and T 2 define a first reference line across carrier sheet S' and targets T 3 and T 4 define a second reference line.
  • Each sheet carries only characters of one nominal size, though it may carry both upper case and lower case characters of that size, of course.
  • the characters on each sheet as in the previous example, as all positioned so that their baselines all lie distance id vertically apart.
  • the reference line on each sheet used when all upper case characters are to be formed is shown lying distance (id +j m - k m ) below that used for lower case or mixed rows.
  • one reference line lies distance (id + j i - k i ) below the other
  • one reference line lies distance (id + j 2 - k 2 ) below the other
  • the reference line used for making a sign with all upper case characters can lie above the other reference line on the sheet, by merely assuming i to be a negative integer, of course.
  • a reference line defined on each transfer sheet be aligned with a target line on base 10 per se.
  • the portion 21' of carriage 20 which grips a transfer sheet carries a plurality of vertically spaced index marks, a selected one of which a reference line r on transfer sheet S" is aligned with.
  • the upper left corner of the transfer sheet also carries a vertical line V which appears through a slot 54 in gripping means 21' so that it may be aligned with index marks 55 on the gripping means, insuring that the sheet is positioned in the gripping means so that all character baselines extend precisely in the X direction.
  • Figs. 9a and 9b semi-schematically illustrate the principles of one form of carriage detent mechanism, with various portion omitted for sake of clarity.
  • the carriage 20 has a member extending below one side of cursor 12 to pivotally support a pair of detent arms 25a, 25b on a pin 56.
  • Tension spring 57 tends to pull the arms together, forcing their ends into a pair of the tooth recesses of rack 17 extending along the cursor, and thereby prevent Y movement of the carriage.
  • Handle 26 carries a pair of pins 26a, 26b which engage arms 25a, 25b to slightly spread the arms apart and clear their ends from the rack when handle 26 is pushed inwardly, allowing the carriage to be moved in the Y direction.

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EP79300780A 1978-05-15 1979-05-08 Verfahren und Vorrichtung zum Herstellen von Zeichen, hierbei verwendete Zeichenträgerfolien Ceased EP0005915A1 (de)

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US90574878A 1978-05-15 1978-05-15
US905748 1978-05-15

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Cited By (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
EP0066460A2 (de) * 1981-05-29 1982-12-08 Letraset Limited Methode und Vorrichtung zum Bilden von Wörtern aus gedruckten Schriftzeichen
EP0072677A2 (de) * 1981-08-14 1983-02-23 Esselte UK Limited Darstellungstafel
EP0095360A2 (de) * 1982-05-21 1983-11-30 Esselte UK Limited Magnetische Vorrichtungen, Apparat zum Gebrauch in Verbindung mit Trockenübertragungsblättern die solche Vorrichtungen umfassen und Blätter hierbei zu verwenden

Citations (7)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3131106A (en) * 1960-06-24 1964-04-28 Letraset International Ltd Adhesive transfers
US3212913A (en) * 1965-03-31 1965-10-19 Letraset International Ltd Adhesive transfers
FR2175487A5 (de) * 1972-03-07 1973-10-19 Gillot Gary
US3803729A (en) * 1972-03-08 1974-04-16 A Acerra Register-type device for use in forming indicia on a layout sheet from an indicia sheet
DE2345657A1 (de) * 1973-09-11 1975-03-20 Hans Firnges Vorrichtung zur exakten uebertragung von einriebzeichen
DE2402998A1 (de) * 1974-01-23 1975-07-24 Dieter Prange Selbstklebende buchstaben oder dergleichen zeichen
US3945141A (en) * 1974-10-29 1976-03-23 Frost William B Transparent carrier sheet carrying transferable indicia and reference transferable guide marks and method of utilizing the same for sign-making

Patent Citations (7)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3131106A (en) * 1960-06-24 1964-04-28 Letraset International Ltd Adhesive transfers
US3212913A (en) * 1965-03-31 1965-10-19 Letraset International Ltd Adhesive transfers
FR2175487A5 (de) * 1972-03-07 1973-10-19 Gillot Gary
US3803729A (en) * 1972-03-08 1974-04-16 A Acerra Register-type device for use in forming indicia on a layout sheet from an indicia sheet
DE2345657A1 (de) * 1973-09-11 1975-03-20 Hans Firnges Vorrichtung zur exakten uebertragung von einriebzeichen
DE2402998A1 (de) * 1974-01-23 1975-07-24 Dieter Prange Selbstklebende buchstaben oder dergleichen zeichen
US3945141A (en) * 1974-10-29 1976-03-23 Frost William B Transparent carrier sheet carrying transferable indicia and reference transferable guide marks and method of utilizing the same for sign-making

Cited By (6)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
EP0066460A2 (de) * 1981-05-29 1982-12-08 Letraset Limited Methode und Vorrichtung zum Bilden von Wörtern aus gedruckten Schriftzeichen
EP0066460A3 (en) * 1981-05-29 1983-04-13 Letraset Limited Method and apparaus for forming words of printed characters
EP0072677A2 (de) * 1981-08-14 1983-02-23 Esselte UK Limited Darstellungstafel
EP0072677A3 (en) * 1981-08-14 1983-11-16 Letraset Limited Layout boards
EP0095360A2 (de) * 1982-05-21 1983-11-30 Esselte UK Limited Magnetische Vorrichtungen, Apparat zum Gebrauch in Verbindung mit Trockenübertragungsblättern die solche Vorrichtungen umfassen und Blätter hierbei zu verwenden
EP0095360A3 (en) * 1982-05-21 1986-05-14 Esselte Letraset Limited Magnetic devices, apparatus for use in connection with dry transfer sheets incorporating such devices and sheets for use therein

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