US1183280A - Letter-space lock for combined type-writing and adding machines. - Google Patents

Description

W. L. DENCH.

LETTER SPACE LOCK FOR COMBINED TYPE WRITING AND ADDING MACHINES.

APPLICATION FiLED JUNE 16, I908. 1,183,280.

Patented May 16, 1916.

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W. L. DENCH. LETTER SPACE LOCK FOR COMBINED TYPE WRITING AND ADDING MACHINES.

v APPLICATION FILED JUNE 16, 1908. 1 183 280 Patented May 16, 1916.

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LETTER SPACE LOCK FOR COMBINED TYPE WRITING AND ADDING MACHINES.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE I6, I908.

1 ,1 83,280. Patented May 16, 1916.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM L. DENCH, OF PELHAM, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR T0 ELLIOTT-FISHER GOM- PANY, OF HARRISBURG, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE.

LETTER-SPACE LOOK FOR COMBINED TYPE-WRITING AND ADDING MACHINES.

Application filed June 16, 1908.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, \VILLIAM L. DENOH, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at Pelham, in the county of Westchester and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Letter-Space Looks for Combined TypelVriting and Adding Machines, of which the following is a specification.

My present invention relates to improvements in combined typewriting and adding machines, but more particularly to a letter space lock designed to prevent the advance of the carriage until the latter has been sufiiciently retracted after the recording and adding of a number, to properly position the parts for a repetition of the operation.

It may be stated by way of premise that the Elliott-Fisher billing and adding machine, to the improvement of which my invention is more particularly directed, is a combined typewriter and adder in which a master means operated from the keys serves to operate the number wheels of a register. The register is stationary and the master means is movable to successive number wheels by the advance of the typewriter carriage, the retraction of which effects the resetting of the carrying devices of the registering mechanism. The typewriter keys are normally disconnected from the master means, to avoid the burdening of the keys when writing outside of the column to be computed, and are automatically connected by the forward movement of the carriage after the latter has been retracted a predetermined distance subsequent to the printing and adding of a number.

It sometimes happens that having printed and added a number, the operator will retract the carriage sufliciently to print the highest digit of the next number in its proper position but insufficiently to properly set the parts for the automatic connection of the keys. This results in the printing of the number while the keys remain disconnected from the adding mechanism, the printed amount being thus inadvertently omitted from the computation. To avoid this possibility is the purpose of this invention, and the desired object is attained, as before stated, by dogging the carriage against forward movement until it has been sufficiently retracted to insure the proper po Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 16, 1916.

Serial No. 438,835.

sitioning of the parts for a repetition of the adding operation.

In the accompanying drawingsFigure 1 1s a sectional view, partly in elevation, of an ElliottFisher billing and adding machine equipped with my invention and. having certain of its parts broken away. Fig. 2 is a rear elevation of the carriage and the parts carried thereby, the register being outlined in dotted lines and the key connecting plate carried by the register being shown in section. Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 1, but showing the mechanism as it appears during the retraction of the carriage. Fig. 4 is a rear elevation of a portion of the car riage with the register in dotted lines and the key connecting plate in section, the parts being shown in the positions they assume during the forward movement of the carriage, and Fig. 5 is a detail perspective view of the lower portion of the register.

Each part is indicated by the same reference character wherever shown.

T he billing machine.The Elliott-Fisher billing machine includes a fiat platen 1 over which a machine frame 2 is mounted to travel longitudinally to space the writing. Mounted to travel on the frame 2 transversely of the platen, to letter space the Writing, is a carriage 3 the upper portion of which is in the form of a casing a surmounted by letter and numeral keys 5 and 6 the stems 7 of which are connected to key levers 8 fulcrumed in the casing and connected by draw wires 9 to downwardly swinging type bars 10. The carriage is moved to the right by carriage propelling mechanism including spring drums, not shown, and tapes 11, one of which is indicated in Fig. 2. The letter space movement of the carriage is controlled by key-operated escapement mechanism indicated generally at 12 in Fig. 1. As usual in this class of machines, the characters are printed one at a time by the depression of the keys and the carriage advances step by step under the control of the escapement as the keys rise.

T he computing meckrmism.This mechanism includes a computing device or reg ister 13 adjustable longitudinally of a guide bar 14 carried by brackets 15 secured to the frame 2. The adjustment of the register 13 enables the same to be located in position for use with reference to a column located at any desired point on the work sheet,

which latter is supported in a flat spreadout condition on the platen 1.

The computing device or register usually embraces a series of denominational members or digit carriers disposed at the front of the register and equipped with suitable carrying mechanism whereby, when the value accumulated upon any member reaches the limit of that particular order or denomination, the value so accumulated will be automatically transferred to the wheel of neXt higher order. The primary element of the actuating mechanism for the denominational members of the register is a master wheel 16 mounted on the carriage 3 of the typewriter and movable therewith into engagement with successive denominational members of the register. The master wheel or actuator 16 is rotated a difierent distance by each numeral key 6 for the purpose of moving the engaged member a distance proportionate to the value of the particular numeral key from which the actuator is operated. Thus when any numeral key is depressed, the digit of corresponding value will be printed on the work sheet in a given denominational position, and the registering member of corresponding denomination will be given a movement corresponding in value to that of the printed digit, so that the value of such digit will be added to the amount already accumulated in the register. The master wheel 16 is fixed to a comparatively long actuator shaft 17 suitably supported above the carriage casing 4 and each numeral key 6 is arranged to be operatively connected with the shaft by one of a series of operating connections identical in construction and operation, except as to a graduated variation of the movement transmitted to the shaft from the several keys. One of these operating connections is shown in Fig. 1. It includes a ratchet wheel 18 fixed to the shaft 17 and designed to be engaged by a driving pawl 19 carried at one end of a driving arm or lever 20 mounted to swing loosely on the shaft 17. The opposite end of the lever 20 is geared to the rear end of a lever 21 fulcrumed at its front end on the carriage casing and arranged in crossing relation with a lever 22 fulcrumed at its rear end and having loose pivotal connection with the lever 21 at the point of intersection of said levers, as indicated at 23.

From the front end of each lever 22 depends a link 24- connected to the adjacent numeral key stem 7 by a separable connection 25 located within the casing 4:. In printing outside of a column or adding field, the actuator or wheel 16 is out of coincidence with the register 13, and therefore the latter is not operated when a digit is printed. If the connection between the links 24 and the numeral keys 6 were maintained, however, the keys when printing digits outside of an adding field would be burdened by the operating mechanism of the register which mechanism would necessarily be operated upon each depression of a key. This unnecessary burdening of the numeral keys when printing outside of a column is undesirable. It is for this reason that the links 24 are arranged to be swung out of engagement with the numeral keys so as to render the latter entirely independent of the register or its operating connections.

For a more complete disclosure of the mechanism described than has been deemed necessary for the purposes of the present disclosure, attention is directed to Patent No. 829,971 issued to Laganke and Smith, September 4, 1906.

The means for automatically connecting the keys with the register operating mechanism when the printing point of the typewriter is presented to the adding field. The shifting of the links 24: to effect the connection and disconnection of the keys and adding mechanism is accomplished by means of a yoke 26 which engages in the slots 27 in the several links. This yoke normally occupies the position shown in Fig. 3, but at a given point in the advance of the carriage, to-wit, when the printing point of the typewriter moves into the adding field or column, the yoke is automatically operated to throw the links forward to the position shown in Fig. 1, thus effecting an operative connection between said links and the numeral keys 6. The means whereby this automatic connection of the keys is effected is fully disclosed in Patent No. 863,232 to John A. Smith and a general description thereof will therefore suflice.

Suitably mounted in the casing 4 of the typewriter is a yoke operating lever 28, see Figs. 1 and 3, normally occupying the position shown in Fig. 3, and having its rear end bifurcated for the reception of an abutment in the form of a roller 29 carried by the abutment plate 30 which may be shifted longiti'ldinally of the lever by setting mechanism which need not be described. In one position of the roller 29, to-wit that position shown in both Figs. 1 and 2, it overlies the front end of what is called an intermediate lever 31 suitably fulcrumed in the casing 4 and having its rear end extended through the back wall 4* of the casing and engaged by the bifurcated end of an arm 32 pivotally mounted on the rear side of the wall 4 and normally held in its elevated position by a spring 33.

Mounted to swing from the fulcrum 34- of the. lever 32 is what is termed the key connecting arm 35 resting upon an abutment 36 at the lower edge of the arm 32, the purpose being to allow the arm 35 to swing freelv in an upward direction, but to depress the arm 32 when forced downward.

At its front or left hand end viewed from the rear of the typewriter, the arm 35 is provided with a laterally disposed cam 37 adapted to coact with what is termed the key connecting plate 38 of the register. The plate 38 is merely a ledge extending across the front of the register at its bottom, as shown in Fig. 5, and acts, upon the advance of the carriage, to depress the key connecting arm 35 to the position shown in Fig. a. That is to say, as the carriage advances in the direction of letter spacing, the cam 37 of the arm 35 will engage the end of the plate 38, and being inclined, and adapted to yield, said arm will be depressed sufliciently to allow the cam 37 on the end of the arm to ride under the plate. \Vhen the arm 35 is thus depressed it in turn depresses the arm 32, which depresses the rear end of the lever 31, causing the front end of said lever to be elevated. This movement of the lever 31 will cause it to engage the roller abut ment 29 and thus swing the yoke operating lever 28 for the purpose of throwing the several links 24: into engagement with the numeral key stems. Thus, when the key connecting arm 35 and the plate 38 bear the relation indicated in Fig. 1. the carriage will be advancing in the direction of letter spacing with the keys connected to the adding mechanism, as shown in Fig. 1, and with the printing point of the typewriter located within the adding field.

lVhen the master means 16 has moved beyond the register and the printing point has advanced beyond the adding field, the cam 37 will have passed beyond the end of the plate 38 and will be sufliciently elevated by the spring 33 to effect the disconnection of the keys and the restoration of the key connecting arm 35 to normal position. If now, the carriage is retracted, the cam 37 will ride back over the plate 38, as shown in Fig. 2, since, as has been explained, the arm 35 may yield upwardly independently of the arm 32.

The letter space Z0c7c.As stated, the mechanism thus for described is shown in the two patents heretofore identified, and the difliculty to the avoidance of which my invention is directed will now be clearly understood.

It will be seen that during the retraction of the carriage the cam 37 and the key connecting arm ride back over the .plate 38 and that during this manipulation of the machine the keys are disconnected and can only be re-connected by retracting the carriage sufliciently to cause the cam 37 to drop down from the end of the plate and in position to be depressed by said plate upon the forward advance of the carriage. If. however, the operator retracts the carriage to a new writing position without retracting it "sufficiently to cause the cam 37 to clear the plate 38, he may proceed with the writing of a number in the column to be computed while the keys remain disconnected, because during this premature forward movement of the carriage the key connecting arm will be resting upon the upper side of the plate 38. To render this impossible, I provide the upper side of the plate 38 with ratchet teeth 39 arranged to dog the cam 37, and hence the carriage, against forward or letter space movement in the event of insufficient retraction of the carriage to cause the cam 37 to drop into proper position for the automatic connection of the keys and adding mechanism. By reference to Fig. 2, for instance, wherein the parts are shown in the positions they assume during the retraction of the carriage. it will be seen that the lower edge of the cam engages the teeth on the plate 38 thus constituting the plate and arm 35 a pawl and ratchet mechanism which acts during a predetermined portion of the retractile movement of the carriage to prevent a forward or letter space movement of the carriage until the retractile movement of the latter has been completed sufficiently to insure the proper operation of the automatic key connecting mechanism. It will also be observed that as soon as the proper retractile movement of the carriage has been insured, the locking mechanism becomes ineffective and permits the forward advance of the carriage, which is necessary for the proper operation of the machine.

It is thought that from the foregoing, the construction and operation of my letter space lock will be fully comprehended, but

I wish to be understood as reserving the right to effect such variations of the illustrated structure as may come fairly within the scope of the protection prayed.

lVhat I claim is 1. In a combined typewriting and adding machine, the combination with a typewriter including a carriage, keys and printing mech anism. of an adding mechanism under the control of the keys, and means operative during the retraction of the carriage across the adding field to prevent the advance of the carriage until the latter has been retracted to a predetermined point and inoperative to prevent such advance after said carriage has been retracted to said predetermined point.

2. In a combined typewriting and adding machine, the combination with a typewriter including a carriage, keys, and printing mechanism, of adding mechanism, operating means for the adding mechanism, the denominational relation of the adding mechanism and its operating means being variable by the movement of the typewriter carriage, and means for dogging the carriage against forward movement, said dogging means be ing rendered operative and inoperative at movement to present the arm and cam in oodifferent points in the retractile movement ofthe carriage.

3. In a combined typewriting and adding machine, the combination with a typewriter including a carriage, keys, and printing mechanism, of adding mechanism controlled by the keys of the typewriter, automatic key connecting mechanism operated at a predetermined point in the carriage movement to connect the keys with the adding mechanism, and means operative during the location of the printing point of the typewriter within the adding field to prevent forward movement of the carriage until the latter has been sufiicientlv retracted to insure the proper operation of the key connecting mechanism.

4%. In a combined typewriting and adding machine, the combination with a typewriter including a carriage, keys, and printing mechanism, adding mechanism and automatic key connecting mechanism, of pawland ratchet mechanism arranged to dog the carriage against forward movement during a given retractile movement of the carriage, to compel sufficient retractile movement thereof to insure the proper operation of the key connecting mechanism.

5. In a combined typewriting and adding machine, the combination with a typewriter including a carriage, keys and printing mechanism, adding mechanism including a register, automatic key connecting mechanism operative at a given point in the carriage travel to operatively connect the keys and adding mechanism, said key connecting mechanism including a cooperating arm and cam, and means for dogging said arm during a portion of the retractile movement of the carriage to compel sufficient retractile operative relation.

6. In a combined typewriter and adder, the combination with a typewriter including a carriage, keys, and printing mechanism, of adding mechanism including a register, automatic key connecting mechanism including a cooperating arm and cam, one of which is associated with thecarriage and the other with the register, and means operative during the retractile movement of the carriage to dog said carriage against forward movement until sufliciently retracted to present the cam and arm in cooperative relation.

7. In a combined typewriter and adder, the combination with a typewriting machine including a carriage, keys, and printing mechanism, of adding mechanism including a register, and automatic key connecting mechanism including a plate carried by the register and an arm carried by the carriage, said arm being depressible by the plate during the advance of the carriage to effect the automatic connection of the keys and adding mechanism and arranged to ride over the plate during the retraction of the carriage, and said plate being provided with ratchet teeth arranged to dog the forward movement of the arm and carriage.

8. In a combined typewriter and adder, the combination with a typewriter including a carriage, keys, and printing mechanism, of adding mechanism including a register, and automatic key connecting mechanism including an arm mounted on the carriage and provided with a cam, and a plate mounted on the register in position to depress the arm by coaction with the cam thereof during the forward movement of the carriage, said plate being provided on its upper side with ratchet teeth adapted to coact with the cam on the arm to dog the carriage against forward movement until sufficiently retracted to allow the cam to ride under the plate.

9. The combination with a computing mechanism and keys, of mechanism adapted to establish a cooperative relation between the computing mechanism and the keys, a carriage, and a lock operative to prevent movement of the carriage in one direction when the keys and computing mechanism are not cooperatively related, but in operative to prevent the movement of the carriage when the keys and computing mechanism are in cooperative relation.

10. The combination with a computing mechanism, an actuator therefor, a series of keys, means for establishing a cooperative relation between the keys and the actuator, and a traveling carriage movable to efl ect relative lateral movement of the computing mechanism and its actuator, of a carriage lock operative while the keys and actuator are out of cooperative relation but inoperative when the keys and actuator are cooperatively related.

11. The combination with a computing mechanism, a master actuator therefor, a series of keys, and means for intermittently establishing a cooperative relation between the keys and actuator, of a traveling carriage arranged to effect relative movement of the computing mechanism and its actuator to present said actuator in and out of engagement with the computing mechanism, and a carriage lock operative when the actuator is in engagement with the computing mechanism and out of operative relation with the keys, and inoperative when the keys, the actuator and the computing mechanism are in cooperative relation.

12. In a combined typewriter and calculating machine, the combination with a typewriter, of a computing device, means including key connecting mechanism for establishing a cooperative relation between the typewriter keys and the computing device, a lock operative to prevent forward movement of the carriage when the keys are out of cooperative relation with the computing device and ineffective to prevent forward movement of said carriage when the keys and computing device are cooperatively related.

13. In a combined typewriter and calculating machine, the combination with a typewriter including a carriage, keys and printing mechanism, of a computing device, a master actuator therefor, said actuator and computing device being relatively movable into and out of cooperative relation by the movement of the typewriter carriage, key connecting mechanism between the numeral keys of the typewriter and the actuator, and a carriage lock operative to prevent forward movement of the carriage while the actuator is opposite the computing device but disconnected from the keys, said lock being inoperative when the actuator is connected with the keys and is in cooperative relation with the computing device.

14.111 a typewriting and adding machine, the combination with a typewriter including a carriage, keys, and printing mechanism, of an adding mechanism under the control of the keys, and means operative during the movement of the carriage across the adding field to prevent the movement of the carriage in the opposite direction.

15. The combination with a register and a master actuator movable to change their denominational relation, of means for dogging such relative movement to prevent the premature reestablishment of an engaging relation between the master means and a denominational member previously engaged.

16. In a combined typewriting and add ing machine, the combination with a typewriter including a carriage, keys, and printing mechanism, of adding mechanism cooperatively related to the keys of the typewriter, and means operative during the traverse of the adding field in one direction by the printing point of the typewriter to compel a complete traverse of the adding field before such field can be traversed in the opposite direction.

17. In a combined typewriting and adding mechanism, the combination with a typewriter including a carriage, keys, and printing mechanism, of a register, a toothed register plate, and means coacting with the plate to dog the typewriter carriage during a predetermined portion of its movement in one direction.

18. In a combined typewriting and adding machine, the combination with a typewriter including a carriage, keys and printing mechanism, of adding mechanism controlled by the keys of the typewriter and adjustable to a selected one of several adding fields, automatic key connecting mechanism operated at a selected one of several predetermined points in the carriage movement to connect the keys with the adding mechanism and means operative during the location of the printing point of the typewriter within any selected adding field to prevent forward movement of the carriage until the latter has been sufficiently retracted to insure theproper operation of the key connecting mechanism.

19. In a combined typewriter and adding machine the combination with a typewriter including a carriage, keys and printing mechanism, of adding mechanism cooperatively related to the keys of the typewriter, and means, operative during the location of the printing point of the typewriter in the adding field, to compel predetermined movement-of the carriage in one direction before said carriage can be moved in an opposite direction.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

IVILLIAM L. DENCH.

IVitnesses:

L. MAIER, MAX C. BEARD.

copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner 01 Patents, Washington, D. G.

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