390,052. Printers' composing- machines. HART, H., 9, Kingsway, London.-(Mergenthaler Linotype Co. ; 29, Ryerson Street, Brooklyn, New York, U.S.A.) Aug. 13, 1932, No. 22721. [Class 100 (iii).] Strip-perforating machines ; keyboards.- Relates to machines for producing perforated or other symbols on tapes for controlling the release of matrices, types, dies, &c. in typographical composing-machines, and particularly to means for indicating the thickness of the composed elements and the number of spacing- elements required to justify the line. A set of dummy matrices or indicators, corresponding in thickness to the matrices, and operated from the keyboard of the perforating-machine, are employed to effect the measurement, which is indicated by a pointer on a scale graduated in ems. A second pointer moving along the scale in the opposite direction indicates the possible expansion of the spacebands, so that, when the two pointers meet, the line can be justified. (1) The tape-perforating mechanism comprises guide-plates A<1>, A<2>, Fig. 1, between which the tape is drawn for perforation by six vertically movable punches A<5>, operated by electromagnets A<33>. The tape is advanced by feedrollers A<8>, operated by ratchet-mechanism from a vertical slide A<18>, which is actuated by a solenoid and also serves to operate a feed-hole punch. The keys C<1> of the keyboard act through push-rods on key-bars C<10>, Fig. 2 which are guided so as to move edgewise into contact with yieldingly mounted pins c<2>, carried by conductor-bars C<24>, and so to close the circuits of one or more of the magnets A<33> that operate the punches. The key-bars also rock a plate C<14>, which closes the circuit of the solenoid that operates the tape-feeding mechanism and the feed-hole punch. (2) The dummy matrices or indicators B<10>, Figs. 2 and 6, are mounted in a rack B<11>, and are raised by reeds B<19>, operated from the keyboard, into the path of a measuring-rod, which may be in the form of a toothed bar B<25>. The bar is moved endwise against the pull of a spring by a solenoid, the circuit of which is closed by the reeds B<19>, and its movement is arrested by the particular dummy matrix projected into the path of its teeth. The movements of the bar are transmitted by rack-mechanism and toothed gearing to a ratchet-wheel B<6O>, on which the total movement is stored up. The movement of the ratchet-wheel is transmitted by wormgearing and rack-mechanism to a pointer P, Figs. 1 and 12, which is moved against spring pressure along an em-scale B<81>, so as to indicate the length of the composed line including the unexpanded spacebands. An adjustable pointer P<1> serves to indicate the length of the completed line. A third pointer P<10> is operated by gearing and ratchet-mechanism from a lever S<10>, which is rocked by the reed B<10> corresponding to the space-key. The pointer P<10> is initially set to coincide with the pointer PI, and moves a step towards the pointer P, indicating the expansibility of a space band, for every space inserted in the line, so that, when the pointers P, p<10> meet, the line is of justifiable length. At the end of a line, the depression of a hand-lever B<76> causes the disengagement of clutches in the driving-mechanism of the pointers P, P<10>, and allows them to be returned to initial position by springs. The lever S<10>, that actuates the pointer P<10> is provided with an adjustable pivot, so that the movement of the pointer can be varied according to the expansibility of the spacebands used. The pointer P must not be allowed to pass beyond the pointer P<1>, or the line would be too long. A circuit-breaking device is therefore provided, which disconnects the source of energy when the pointers come into contact, and renders the keyboard inoperative. (3) The reeds B<19>, Fig. 2, that raise the dummy matrices, are operated from a series of vertical slides M<3> through cam-yokes M<5> and power-rolls M<6>. The slides M<3> can be raised by spring-actuated pins M<8>, and are normally held down by a bar Q, which engages lugs at their lower ends, and is controlled by a solenoid. The slides M<3> are notched in their rear edges, and are engaged by horizontally sliding notched bars R<1>, which are operated by electromagnets controlled from the keyboard. Each rearrangement of the bars R<1> permits the rise of two of the slides M3, corresponding to an upper and a lower case character. One of the pair is, however, prevented from rising by a locking-bar V, which is controlled by two shift-keys, and serves to lock either the upper-case or lower-case set of slides. The controlling connections of the machine may be pneumatic instead of electrical.