GB1564745A

GB1564745A - Variable bottomedge margin indicator and method for type-write

Info

Publication number: GB1564745A
Application number: GB315377A
Authority: GB
Original assignee: Rines C M
Current assignee: Rines C M
Priority date: 1977-01-26
Filing date: 1977-01-26
Publication date: 1980-04-10

Description

(54) VARIABLE BOTTOM-EDGE MARGIN INDICATOR AND METHOD FOR TYPEWRITER PAPER (71) I, CAROL MARY RINES a Citizen of the United States of America of 13 Spaulding Street, Concord, New Hampshire 03301, United States of America do hereby declare the invention, for which I pray that a patent may be granted to me, and the method by which it is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the following statement:- The present invention relates to bottomedge margin indicating apparatus and techniques for typewriter paper and the like.

The concept of providing paper-end indicators for typewriter paper and related sheets is quite old; with the art attempting in various ways to provide a ready practical attachment for typewriters to attain such ends, particularly since the advent of electrically operated typewriters that made the use of electrical power available for signaling purposes. Illustrative of such prior attempts are later-discussed United States Letters Patent Numbers 2,595,178 and 3,0921,321 and the references cited therein.

Despite such proposals, however, such devices have not found their way upon the general market, and the world of typists, apart from automatic preset computercontrolled machines, has had to put up with the wasteful process of retyping where bottom margins have inadvertently been seriously neglected or overlooked during the pressure of typing, or the public has had to content itself with, and indeed has had to accept as a necessary and inherent evil, irregular bottom margins from page to page.

Among the reasons for the lack of commercial practicality of such prior proposals as those described in said Letters Patent, is their inherent inflexibility for simple operator adjustment and preset bottom margin calibration variation, as well as signal techniques foreign to the customary alarm or warning indicators to which the army of typists of all generations has become accustomed. Apparently, the direction taken in attempting to provide such indicators, including the positioning and nature of the sensors, led away from the concepts of the present invention and the novel results attendant thereupon.In accordance with the present invention, on the other hand, such difficulties or disadvantages have now been overcome by novel sensor positioning and adjustable calibrated control and alarm, thus providing a new and improved variable bottom-edge margin indicator and method for typewriter paper and the like.

A further object is to provide such a novel indicator with flexibility for practical and simple controlled variable adjustment by the operator, and, where not initially incorporated as part of the original typewriter equipment, adapted for universal and ready attachment and removal from existing machines.

Still another object is to provide a novel margin indicator of more general utility, as well; other and further objects being explained hereinafter and more particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

The invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawing, Fig. 1 of which is an exploded isometric view of a preferred embodiment with the end roll of the platen cut away and the roller shield displaced below the platen to illustrate details of construction; Fig. 2 is a combined side-elevation and schematic block circuit diagram of a modified embodiment; Fig. 3 is a similar view of a modified lightdetecting sensor arrangement, again in exploded position; Fig. 4 is a fragmentary side elevation, with parts broken away, of the applied sensor system of Fig. 3; and, Fig. 5 is an isometric view of a system intended to have the adjustment and calibration structure of Figs. 1 or 2, but with a pair of resilient finger electrical sensor contracts.

Referring to Fig. 2, the paper or other sheet 1 is shown being typed upon or otherwise printed or recorded upon (and hereinafter generically referred to as a typewriter paper), by, for example, an electric typewriter printing head or ball 2, the paper 1 being transversely advanced during the typewriting around the circumferential cylindrical surface of the longitudinal axially rotatable platen 3, as is well known.

While conventional side margin setting devices have long been used, adjusting, for example, the left-hand side margin S of the paper 1 (Fig. 5), such devices are not adapted to the problem of indicating the bottom-edge margin M, and, more particularly, the variable presetting and adjustment thereof. Underlying the present invention, unlike the before-discussed prior art approaches, is the recognition that the bottom margin sensor has a rather critical preferred range of location regions for the purposes desired; specifically, in Fig. 1, a band 4, circumferentially curved to correspond to the underside of the platen 3 and the juxtaposed longitudinal coaxially mounted paper-roll shield 5, carries a pair of electrically insulated adjacent sensor electrical contacts 6, adjustable circumferentially by sliding transversely within a guide 7 carried by the underside of the roll shield 5.With the insulative paper 1 received between the region of the sensor contacts 6 and juxtaposed conductive band 8 circumferentially carried by the platen, preferably near its left hand side or end, as shown, the contacts 6 are electrically isolated from one another. When, however, the bottom edge of the left-hand side margin of the paper moves upward beyond and to expose the contacts 6 to the conductive band 8, the latter electrically connects the contacts 6 together, producing an electrical signal that, in accordance with a preferred feature of the invention energizes a bell or similar audible alarm or warning device 9, powered from the mains, for example, at 10, to demonstrate the reaching of the desired bottom margin M.

It should be noted that the conductive band 8 serves as a short-circuiting, floating potential member in the embodiment of Fig.

1, and that the bell or similar alarm 9 is preferably only momentarily activated upon the advent of the signal produced by the short-circuiting of the contacts 6 by the band 8, latching out as is well-known, and providing the customary type of warning to which typists are accustomed, though perhaps of a different and characteristic tone than the right-hand side margin tones.

Further in accordance with the invention, the bottom margin M (Fig. 5) may be calibratingly and accurately preset or adjusted for different-dimensional bottomedge margins, merely by externally sliding the contact band 4, from the side, within the guide 7 to the desired calibration marking at the indicator pointer 11 see Fig. 1. The bottom margin setting band 4 may be of insulative material housing the electrical connections to the contacts 6 and may be provided with the external rearward tab 4' for enabling such facile adjustment by the operator. It has been determined that the range of adjustment for the contacts 6 preferably lies generally forward of the bottom of the platen 3, with the calibration readily exposed to the operator.

In the system of Fig. 2, the contacts 6 are shown carried by a cylindrical adjustment lever or arm 4", circumferentially adjustable within a lower guide 12 below the roll guide 5, with the margin calibrations or positional adjustment indicated by the pointer 1 lea. Additionally, if desired, a supplemental lamp indicator L may also be employed. The sensor contacts 6 may also be of other forms, if desired, such as the separate adjacent spring fingers 6' of Fig. 5.

While the invention has been heretofore illustrated with electrical contact sensors, moreover, clearly other types of sensors, including light-sensitive devices, may also be employed as illustrated, for example, in the embodiments of Figs. 3 and 4. The roll guide 5 has not been shown in these figures to avoid complicating the drawing; a light source 60 and reflected light detector 60' (responsive, for example, to the reflectivity difference between the paper 1 and the platen surface 3), being shown circumferentially adjustably transversely within guide 12, by the coupled ink arm 13, with its bottom margin calibration indicator 11'.

Further modifications will also occur to those skilled in this art and all such are considered to fall within the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

WHAT I CLAIM IS: 1. A variable bottom-edge margin indicator for typewriter paper and the like having, in combination with a typewriter platen of the typewriter around the circumferential surface of which the paper is advanced in a transverse path during typewriting, sensor means mounted external to and inward of one end of the platen in the region of the path of advancement of the adjacent-side margin of the paper and disposed to receive said side margin of the paper between the sensor and the platen at said region, said sensor having means for discriminating between the presence and absence of said paper at said region and producing an electrical signal indicative of the advent of said absence corresponding to the advancement of the bottom edge of the side margin of the paper out of said region; indicator means connected to said sensor

**WARNING** end of DESC field may overlap start of CLMS **.

Claims

**WARNING** start of CLMS field may overlap end of DESC **. typewriter paper), by, for example, an electric typewriter printing head or ball 2, the paper 1 being transversely advanced during the typewriting around the circumferential cylindrical surface of the longitudinal axially rotatable platen 3, as is well known. While conventional side margin setting devices have long been used, adjusting, for example, the left-hand side margin S of the paper 1 (Fig. 5), such devices are not adapted to the problem of indicating the bottom-edge margin M, and, more particularly, the variable presetting and adjustment thereof. Underlying the present invention, unlike the before-discussed prior art approaches, is the recognition that the bottom margin sensor has a rather critical preferred range of location regions for the purposes desired; specifically, in Fig. 1, a band 4, circumferentially curved to correspond to the underside of the platen 3 and the juxtaposed longitudinal coaxially mounted paper-roll shield 5, carries a pair of electrically insulated adjacent sensor electrical contacts 6, adjustable circumferentially by sliding transversely within a guide 7 carried by the underside of the roll shield 5.With the insulative paper 1 received between the region of the sensor contacts 6 and juxtaposed conductive band 8 circumferentially carried by the platen, preferably near its left hand side or end, as shown, the contacts 6 are electrically isolated from one another. When, however, the bottom edge of the left-hand side margin of the paper moves upward beyond and to expose the contacts 6 to the conductive band 8, the latter electrically connects the contacts 6 together, producing an electrical signal that, in accordance with a preferred feature of the invention energizes a bell or similar audible alarm or warning device 9, powered from the mains, for example, at 10, to demonstrate the reaching of the desired bottom margin M. It should be noted that the conductive band 8 serves as a short-circuiting, floating potential member in the embodiment of Fig. 1, and that the bell or similar alarm 9 is preferably only momentarily activated upon the advent of the signal produced by the short-circuiting of the contacts 6 by the band 8, latching out as is well-known, and providing the customary type of warning to which typists are accustomed, though perhaps of a different and characteristic tone than the right-hand side margin tones. Further in accordance with the invention, the bottom margin M (Fig. 5) may be calibratingly and accurately preset or adjusted for different-dimensional bottomedge margins, merely by externally sliding the contact band 4, from the side, within the guide 7 to the desired calibration marking at the indicator pointer 11 see Fig. 1. The bottom margin setting band 4 may be of insulative material housing the electrical connections to the contacts 6 and may be provided with the external rearward tab 4' for enabling such facile adjustment by the operator. It has been determined that the range of adjustment for the contacts 6 preferably lies generally forward of the bottom of the platen 3, with the calibration readily exposed to the operator. In the system of Fig. 2, the contacts 6 are shown carried by a cylindrical adjustment lever or arm 4", circumferentially adjustable within a lower guide 12 below the roll guide 5, with the margin calibrations or positional adjustment indicated by the pointer 1 lea. Additionally, if desired, a supplemental lamp indicator L may also be employed. The sensor contacts 6 may also be of other forms, if desired, such as the separate adjacent spring fingers 6' of Fig. 5. While the invention has been heretofore illustrated with electrical contact sensors, moreover, clearly other types of sensors, including light-sensitive devices, may also be employed as illustrated, for example, in the embodiments of Figs. 3 and 4. The roll guide 5 has not been shown in these figures to avoid complicating the drawing; a light source 60 and reflected light detector 60' (responsive, for example, to the reflectivity difference between the paper 1 and the platen surface 3), being shown circumferentially adjustably transversely within guide 12, by the coupled ink arm 13, with its bottom margin calibration indicator 11'. Further modifications will also occur to those skilled in this art and all such are considered to fall within the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims. WHAT I CLAIM IS:

1. A variable bottom-edge margin indicator for typewriter paper and the like having, in combination with a typewriter platen of the typewriter around the circumferential surface of which the paper is advanced in a transverse path during typewriting, sensor means mounted external to and inward of one end of the platen in the region of the path of advancement of the adjacent-side margin of the paper and disposed to receive said side margin of the paper between the sensor and the platen at said region, said sensor having means for discriminating between the presence and absence of said paper at said region and producing an electrical signal indicative of the advent of said absence corresponding to the advancement of the bottom edge of the side margin of the paper out of said region; indicator means connected to said sensor

means responsive to said signal and comprising audible signal means; adjustably varying means for adjusting the position of said sensor means transversely circumferentially about the platen correspondingly to vary the location of said region; and calibrating means cooperative with said adjusting means and disposed external to said platen and sensor means to enable its viewing by the operator for controlling the adjusting means in order to vary the region, correspondingly to set different-dimensional desired bottom-edge margins of the paper.

2. A variable bottom-edge margin indicator for typewriter paper and the like as claimed in claim 1 and in which said indicator means audible signal means comprises bell alarm means adapted to ring momentarily only upon the advent of said electrical signal.

3. A variable bottom-edge margin indicator for typewriter paper and the like as claimed in claim 2 and in which said indicator means comprises lamp means.

4. A variable bottom-edge margin indicator for typewriter paper and the like as claimed in claim 1 and in which said sensor means comprises a pair of separated adjacent electrical contacts cooperative with juxtaposed conductive band means circumferentially carried by the platen.

5. A variable bottom-edge margin indicator for typewriter paper and the like as claimed in claim 4 and in which said adjusting means comprises band means carrying said contacts and adjustably disposed transversely within guide means carried by longitudinal paper shield means provided under and adjacent said platen.

6. A variable bottom-edge margin indicator for typewriter paper and the like as claimed in claim 5 wherein said band is adjustable transversely within said guide means along predetermined calibration bottom margin indicator markings.

7. A variable bottom-edge margin indicator for typewriter paper and the like as claimed in claim 6 and in which said adjusting and calibrating means are accessed at a side end of the platen.

8. A variable bottom-edge margin indicator for typewriter paper and the like as claimed in claim 1 and in which said sensor means comprises a light sensor responsive to the different reflectivity of paper and the platen absent such paper.

9. A variable bottom-edge margin indicator for typewriter paper and the like as claimed in claim 8 and in which said adjustably varying means is coupled with an arm for making such adjustments along predetermined calibration bottom margin indicator markings.

10. A method of variable bottom-edge margin indication for typewriter paper, that comprises, monitoring a side margin of paper as it is being typed upon and advanced around a platen, momentarily audibly indicating when such monitoring demonstrates the passage of the bottomedge of such side margin of the paper past a predetermined region of the platen, adjusting the location of such region about the platen, and calibrating such adjusting to predetermine the dimension of the bottom edge margin of the sheet the reaching of which shall be demonstrated by such audible indication.

11. A method as claimed in claim 10 and in which said monitoring and said adjusting are effected at regions generally forward of the bottom of the platen, toward the operator.

12. A method as claimed in claim 11 and in which said adjusting and calibrating are effected at a side end of the platen.

13. A variable bottom-edge margin indicator for typewriter paper and the like having, in combination with a typewriter of the type having a ball printing head, a cylindrical typewriter platen rotatable about its axis, immobile along its axis, and around the circumferential surface of which the paper is advanced in a transverse path during typewriting, and a part cylindrical paper shield beneath the platen: sensor means mounted beneath the platen inwardly of and adjacent to one end of the platen in the region of the paper shield and the path of advancement of the adjacent-side margin of the paper and disposed to receive said side margin of the paper between the sensor means and the platen at said region, said sensor means having means for discriminating between the presence and absence of said paper at said region and producing an electrical signal indicative of the advent of said absence corresponding to the advancement of the bottom edge of the side margin of the paper out of said region, said discriminating means comprising a pair of insulated electrical contacts closely separated at substantially the same circumferentially region of said platen and cooperative with juxtaposed conductive band means circumferentially carried by the platen: indicator means connected to said sensor means and responsive to said signal and comprising audible signal means; means for adjusting the position of said sensor means transversely circumferentially about the platen correspondingly to vary the location of said region, said adjusting means comprising insulating band means carrying said contacts at its forward end, housing therein conductors for connecting said contacts to a power source, and adjustably disposed transversely within guide means provided under and adjacent said platen and upon said paper shield, said band means extending rearwardly of said paper shield to provide exposed tab means for enabling the circumferential adjustment of the band means within said guide means and along said paper shield and to provide an exposed region at which said conductors housed in said band means are connected to further conductors leading to said power source, and calibrating means cooperative with said adjusting means and disposed external to said platen and sensor means to enable viewing of said calibrating means by the operator for controlling the tab means of said adjusting means in order to vary the region, correspondingly to set differentdimensional desired bottom-edge margins of the paper.

14. A variable bottom-edge margin indicator for typewriter paper and the like as claimed in claims 1 and 13 and substantially as hereinbefore described wtih reference to the accompanying drawings.

15. A method of variable bottom edge margin indicator for typewriter paper as claimed in claim 10 substantially as hereinbefore described.