US1108994A - Type-writer erasing device. - Google Patents

Description

W. KLINE. TYPE WRITER ERASING DEVICE. APPLICATION FILED JUNE as, 1913. 1,108,994. -Patented Sept. 1, 1914.

- 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1. 43 v J3 J3 J4 W. KLINE. TYPE WRITER ERASING DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 26, 1913. 1,108,994, Patented Sept. 1, 1914.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2.

' :mda in the State of Virginia,-have inventicense. I

To all whom it may concern:

" ITEi) STATES PATENT OF l KLINE, 0F WOODSTOCK, VIRGINIA, ASSIGN'OR 0E ONE-HALF '10 WILLIAM J. MOORE, OF WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF (.'IOL' [J'.TM[BI.A-

TYPE-WRITER EnAsING DEVICE.

Be it known that I, WILLIAMKLINE, of lVoodsto'ck, in the county of Shenandoah,

ed a certain new and useful Improv ment in Type-Writer- Erasing Devices, an do hereby declare that the foll wing is a full, clear, and exact description thereof.

My invention relates to erasing devices forming part of, or being an attachment to a typewriting machine, by means of which the erasure of printed characters may be effected while the paper is still upon the platen, so that changes or corrections can be easily and expeditiously made. A device for this purpose, to be acceptable, must involve no interference with the use of the typewriting machine nor require any al:

terat'ion or modification of the .machinestructure; and it must be easy'and convenient of use or manipulation and of doing the work desired quickly and efficiently, and the object of my invention is to provide an erasing device possessing these qualities and others which will appear hereinafter.

In the accompanying drawings- -Figure 1' is a vertical section from front to rear of a typewriting machine equipped with an embodiment of my invention, the device being shown in position for an erasingoperation, but only a fragment of the typewriting machine being shown; Fig. 2 is a top plan view thereof, but a portion of the typewritthe drawings has been adapted, is of the ing machine being shown; Fig. 3 is a view in vertical section of my erasing device shown separated from the typewritin ma chine and on a larger scale than Fig. 1; Fig. 4.1 a detail vertical section on the line 4l of Fig. 3; Fig. 5 is a detail vertical section taken on, a different plane than Fig. 4; Fig. 5*. is a detail view on an enlarged scale showing the rotary eraser pivoting means; Fig. 6 is a detail cross section on the line 6-6 of Fig. 3; Fig. 7 *is a detail view in section on the line 7-7 of Fig. 4. 5

The' typewriting machine, to which the embodiment of my invention illustrated in visible writing type, and it needs only a' general description, especially since, as l have already explained, no modificati on or alteration, of the typewr1t1ng'mach1ne is required with my lllVQIltlOIl" since, indeed,

' Specification of Letters Patent.

one of itsobjects is to avoid the necessity of alteration or modification of the typewritmg machine structure. It is, therefore,

suflicient .to say of the typewriting machine shown that it has a frame 10 and a roller platen 11, these parts being mentioned in particular to facilitate the description of 'i-- mounting and operation of the erasing, device.

Generally described, my erasing device comprises in its preferable form a rotatable disk of rubber, means for rotating the disk while in contact with the paper on the platen and a jointed support for the parts mentioned by which the same may be'moved into and out of position for an erasin operation, while supported with such sti ness or rigidity from the machine frame as will enable the action of the diskeraser only on the character it is desired to erase.

It will be understood that my invention may be embodied in a form permitting of Patented Sept. 1, 1914. Application filed June 26, 1913. Serial No. 775,977.

its rigid attachment to typewriting machines already made as by the use of a suitable clamping device for the attach-' 'ment of the support to apart of themachine frame, or the latter, preferred, may be provided-inits original construction with such frame member as may be necessaryfor the mounting of the eraser mechanism upon the machine. The embodiment of my in vention illustrated, in the drawings isone in. the form of an attachment for machines constructed without reference to the employment of my erasing mechanism there-l with. J

The jointed support comprises a post 12 standing vertically at the rear of the typewriting machines to the lower frame bar of which it is rigidly clamped as hereinafter described, and an arm 13 which is pivotallv connected to the post 12 at the 'top thereof so that it may be swung to a horizontal p0- ition inwhich it extends forwardly over the top of the typewriting machine above and-forward of the platen 11, which is the position when an erasing operation is to be performedor swung to a vertical position so as to place the erasing mechan1smentirely out of the way when it is not to be.

used. The post and the swinging arm are preferably constructed ofsquare tubing because such tubing islight and is strong and maybe obtained as stock material and lends" itself ageadily in various ways to the construetien-and 'uses of-the parts of the mechanism.

Secured to what is theunderside of the pivoted arm 13, when in a horizontal posi tion, is a bracket-14: having a transverse pin 15 on which is pivoted one end-o'fan arm 16 whose other end has a pivotal support for thei'eraser which is preferably in the form of a disk 17 or rubber. As I prefer to. construct it the pivotal support for the eraser is formed by a horizontal pin or stud 18 and a bushin 19 free to turn on the stud, said bushing eing divided, or split, and having anopposing p'airof axially extending lips 20separated byla slight space. The bushing' 19, preferably .has an inner sleeve 180 which has contact with the pivot pin or stud l8 and formsthebearin'g, as best shown in Fig. 5*, the bushing and sleeve being fastened together so that they rotate together 380118113366, and they are prevented from endwise movement ofi the pin or stud 18 by a securing in181 which passes through the stud 18 an overlaps the end of the sleeve 180; The eraser disk, or rubber, has upon each of its sides a metal wear plate 21 and perforating the plates and disk at the center is a round hole with a radial offset making a key hole slot22 which .fits the bushing, and as the opposite sides of the radial slot are engaged by thebush-in lips with some pressure, due to the ten'ency of said lips tospring outward when the eraser disk is slipped upon ,thebushing, the eraser disk is thereby firmly :held upon the bushing although the disk may .be readily removed and replaced as by a new disk when this may be desired on account of the reduction of diameter of the eraser disk from use. The pivot-forming stud and bushing are supported only at oneend so that an eraser dlfsikraay bereadily applied and removed.

'A'iili'advan-tage of the non-circular form oft e bushingpivot which results from the presence of the radial lips, is that only an eraser disk provided with the c0mplemen ta ry hole canbe used so that I am thus able to control or make sure that the disks supplied for use in the mechanism shall be proper or suitable to be used.

In the underside of'the swinging arm 13 just above the eraser disk, is a slot or opening 23 through which the upper portion of sa d disk is adapted to project and be in cbntact with the underside of a sliding or reciprocating rod or bar .25 which is supported by said arm softhat by the sliding movement of said rod, and preferably its inward movement and the frictional contact thereof with the vperiphery of the disk, the latter may be rotated or turned for an erasopenation as hereinafter described. At.

its inner end the slide rod 2. bears against one of the coil spring 26'whose other iof the p end bears against a cross piece or partition 27 in the'arm near its pivot or hinge, said spring being placed around the rod 28, which, at one end is attached to said partition and passesthrough an opening in the end of the push rod 25 (which is made hollow for the purpose). Said rod 28 has a head 29 that snugly fits the interior of the push rod so that thus a steady guiding means for the push rod is supplied by said rod 28, while additionally to brace or support the push rod from lateral movements it closely fits a guide opening in the outer end wall 30 of the arm 14:, and at its inner end has a clip form bearing member 31 that engages the inner surface of the top and sides of the arm 14. The spring 26 acts normally tomove the push rod outward so that the movement of the push rod to rotate the eraser disk is inward and against the pressure of the spring and for conveniently pressing or movingit against the pressure of the s ring it has on its outer end a head 32. djacent the head 32 the rod has an annular groove 31 for engage ment by a spring latch 33.secured to the outer side of the arm 13 and thereby the push rod is latched in a position Where .it is practically wholly contained within the arm 13 so that it is out of the way when the eraser is not to be used. For convenient lifting of the latch 33 to :free the push rod, it has at its outer end a cross bar 34, and the outer ends of said cross bar are adapted to be engaged by the tips of the first and second fingers of the hand when the thumbvis applied'to the head on the pushrod to force it inward and thus the hand is supported and steadied against any sidewise tendency which might tend to vibrate the eraser supporting arm 13 laterally and interfere with a clean operation of the eraser upon a single character to be erased. The' spring latch 33 .is attached at its inner end to the top of the tube 13 by a clip 330 that straddles the tube 13 and is secured thereto by screws 331,

which, at their inner ends project sufficiently into the tube to form stops for engagement by the bearing member 31 to limit the outward movement of the push rod 25 under the outward pressure of its spring 26.

Pivoted to a horizontal pin 35 that'passes through the bracket 14, is a strap or plate 36- which has a curved portionthat is concave on its underslde and which s curved on an arc of a radius the sameasthe radius of the arc ofthe platen roller againstavhich said plate is adapted to bear during an erasing operation. Said plate 36 has and down swinging motion, motion being caused when it a limited up is pressed against thelplaten and said upward motion is providedso that, by. means of a spring 38 which is placed .under tension by such action atenthe eraser disk will be moved its v upward 40 ment is also utilized to hold the housing disk, one end-bearing against the underside with sufficient pressure against the push rod lution or turning of the eraser disk for an erasing operation by that portion of the disk which is incontact with the paper on the.

platen. The spring 38 is coiled around the pivot of the-arm which carries the eraser of said arm and the other end bearing against the plate 36 which by its upward movement tightens the coils of the spring,

and hence, causes the end of the spring which bears against said arm to swing the arm. upward. The plate 36 is extended by a reversed curve beyond" the point where it needs bear against the platen so as to form a housing, and in furtherance of this purpose there is attached toeach side of said plate a side-plate 39. which extends sufiiciently' high as always to overlap the sides of the arm 13 and thus at all times, except when access to the rubber disk is required, the mechanism below the arm 13 is housed.

For the protrusion of that portion of the eraser disk'which is necessary to give it contact with the paper on the platen, the curved plate '36 has a .slot 40; Each of the side members or plates 39 of the housing has a forwardly extending lug or tongue 41 which is engaged by a lip or flange 42 on a catch 43 slidably mounted on the outer end of the arm 13. When it is desired to release the housing and permit it to be swung to aposition to completely expose the eraser disk, as when a worn disk is to be replaced by a new one, such catch is moved, outward to clearthe tongues on the housing side plates. The

' spring latch 33 which is provided to hold the push rod 24 at its inner limit of movelatch at its inner position, said spring latch 33 being provided for this purpose with a downwardly projecting stop or lug 44;

The portion of the. disk rotating .rod 25 which engages the periphery of the disk has the form of a groove 45 on the underside of said disk rotating rod 25 so that there are downwardly projecting flanges that overlap the opposite sides of the disk at the periphery thereof and thereby .afl'ord a lateral support for the disk at its rim that prevents any wabbling motion thereof and assures that in wearing away the periphery of the disk willbe'a smooth regular surface in good condition for an erasing operation.

An important advantage from the mountingof the eraser disk on a movable support, such as the swinging arm 16, is that notwithstandingthe decrease in diameter of the disk in consequence of its use it is always in proper operating engagement with the push .rod so thatsubstantial reduction of the diameter o-fthe diskmay take-place before it requires to be discarded or thrown away.

Unequal 'wear of the eraser disk, which operation the pressure may be released so thattupon the return stroke of the push rod under the action of the return sprin it will cause no reverse rotation of the dis or at best only a slight rotation thereof.

The post 12, as I prefer to construct it, comprises two telescopic members :or sections, each of square tubing, the hinge connection between the swinging arm 13 and the post being formed at the upperen-d of the inner post section 46, the upper end of said inner post section being straddled or embraced by ears on the arm 13, which in turn are overlapped by ears on the upper end of a short vertical tube section 47 which telescopes over'the upper end of the vertical post sect-ion 48, a pivot bolt or screw 49 being passed through the described overlapping portions of the post'section-and the swinging arm 13. Thus a stiff rigid support is provided at and contiguous to vthe joint between the post and the swinging arm 13 which precludes any such lateral movement of said swinging arm as would prevent limiting the erasing action to a particular'character and result in rubbing adjacent printed characters.

To prevent loosening of the pivot 49 (which is in the form of a screw or bolt), from the'swinging of the arm 13, various expedients may be resorted to; shown in the drawings, the pivot bolt or screw may be passed through a bushing 50 against whose ends the screw head and the securing nut abut, and a lock nut may be employed. i

T The post sections 46 and 48 are detachably connected by a spring latch 51 secured to the outer side of the post section 48 which has a 'pinpassing through a hole in, the side of the post section and enters hole in the side of the inner post section 46. Thus when desired the swinging eraser-carrying arm 13, along with the inner post section 46, may be removed from thetypewriting machine.

' At its lower end the outer post section is attached to a frame that comprises a horizontal base 52 that extends equal distances on opposite sides of the post, and an upwardly and inwardly inclined brace 53 that reaches from the outer end of the base to the contiguous side of the post section 48, the two upwardly and inwardly extending braces thus formed being rigidly attached at their upper ends to the post on opposite sides thereof and thus a rigid support ,is provided for'the post at its lower portion, that eliminates any lateral. movement 'that Thus, as i would be objectionable-to the satisfactory operation of the eraser. Increased stifiness is imparted by extnding a bent portion of the base up into the post section 48. At its lower and a bolt'54 is provided that passes through said inwardly extending portion of the base and the contiguous sides of the post section 48 and through Vertical portions of the braces 53 and a'lug 55 on the outer side of each of said vertical portions,

' which lug projects rearwardly from a plate 56 which is rigidly clamped to the rear bar of the machine frame by overhanging lugs 57 and clamping screws 58. A limited swing of the post 12 backward and forward is desirable to enable the eraser disk to be brought into proper working relation with the paper on theplaten, and the bolt 54 arranged as described provides the necessary pivotal connection for this purpose; To limit the outward or rearward swing of the post, a suitable stop is provided which may consist of a headed projection or screw 59 attached to the clamp plate 56, and a screw or stitd 60 secured to one of the braces 53 and projecting so that it will encounter the head of the screw 59.

When it is desired to erase a character from the paper on the platen, the spring latch is lifted to free the push rod so that the latter is moved by the action of its springto its outermost position and the arm 13 is swung downward and forward to bring the eraser disk to the platen, the lat-- ter h; '.'ing been partially rotated to bring the line with the character to .be erased sufiiriently above the printing point of the machine to give access of the eraser disk thereto. With the fingers bearing upon the outer end of' the-arm 13 and caught over the handle of the latch 33, and the thumb bearing against the head upon the outer end of the push rod. a slight downward pressure of the lingers will, due to the bearing of the curved plate 26 upon the platen, result in increasing the tension of the spring 38, and the friction of the disk and the push rod '25, so that upon an inward movement of the push rod by the thumbthe eraser disk will be rotated and the portion of the periphery thereof in contact with the character on the paper which it'is desired to erase, will rapidly pass over said character and remove it, the work being done quickly and thoroughly and limited to the character it is desired to erase. If there are carbon sheets, each sheet in succession after the original may be similarly operated on. it being necessary merely to rock the swinging arm 13 to carry it and the erasing mechanism out of the way for turning over each sheet after it has been acted upon and swinging the arm back again in position for use on the succeeding sheets; It is very important that an erasing device should be adaptable for erasers on the menace carbon sheets, and I have accordingly met ing machines, the combination of a rotatable eraser, a support upon which it is freely rotatable, and eraser-rotating means acting directly upon the eraser and moving cross wise of the eraser axis.

2. In an erasing mechanism for typewriting machines, the combination of a rotatable eraser, eraser-rotating means acting directly upon the eraser, said means consisting of a reciprocating slide, and a support for the eraser and its operating means movably attached to the typewriting machine whereby the eraser may be placed in and removed from position for use.

3. In an erasing mechanism for typewriting machines, the combination of a rotatablc eraser disk, a support upon which the disk is freely rotatable, and means for rotating the same acting directly upon the periphery of said disk and having frictional contact with the disk and being free therefrom. a

In an erasing mechanism for typewriting-machines, the combination or" a rotatable eraser disk, and a slidable rod having frictional contact with the disk.

5. In an erasing mechanism for typewriting machines, the combination of a rotatable eraser disk, means for rotating the same act-- lug directly upon the periphery of said disk, said disk being supported for movement toward and from said rotating means.

6. In an erasing mechanism for typewriting machines, the combination of a rotatable eraser disk, and means for rotating the same acting directly upon the periphery of said disk, said disk being supported for movement toward and from said rotating means, and a spring acting upon the disk support.

7. In an erasing-mechanism for-typewriting machines. the combination or a movable supporting member mounted on the typewritingvuachine. an eraser disk, an arm carrying said disk movably connected with said supporting member, disk rotating means mounted in said member directly engaging the disk. a spring acting on the disk-carrying arm, and a platen engaging plate mov-.

ably connected with said supporting member having contact with said spring.

j by said arm.

ing machines, the combination of an eraser disk, means for rotating the disk having frictional contact directly with the disk, and a pivot for the disk upon which it is detachably mounted having a radial projection, the disk having an opening corresponding to the configuration of the pivot.

10. In an erasing mechanism for typewriting machines, the combination of a jointed support comprising a post rigidly attached to the machine frame at the rear side thereof, and an arm pivoted to, the free end of the post to swing to and from position for use, and eraser mechanism carried 11. In an erasing mechanism for typewriting machines, the combination of a 1o1nted su port comprising a post attached to themac ine frame, and an arm swinging to and from position for use, an eraser carried bysaid arm, and an eraser operating slide mounted in said arm. I I 12. In an. erasing mechanism for type- Writing machines, the combination of a ointed support comprising a post attached to the machine frame, and an arm swlngmg to and from position for use, an eraser carried by said arm, an eraser operating slide bar mounted insaid arm, a spring forinoving said slide bar in one direction, and a latch for said slide bar to hold it against the action of said spring.

18. In an erasing mechanism for typewriting machines, the combination of a rotatable eraser disk, a support upon which it is freely rotatable, and a reciprocating disk rotating bar having a grooved portion to engage the periphery of the disk.

14. In an erasing mechanism for typewriting machines, the combination of a jointed support comprising a post at the rear of the machine, and an arm pivoted to the top of the post and swinging backward and forward, an erasing mechanism carried by said arm, and a post-supporting means allowing limited backward and forward movement of said jointed support.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand.

WILLIAM KLINE. Witnesses i S. S. SUTHERLAND, H. N. GURLEY.

Images