US1312145A - Type-writing machine - Google Patents

Description

E. THOMAS AND B. C. STICKNEY.

TYPE WRITING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED DEC-2|, I916.

Patented Aug. 5, 1919.

4 SHEETS-SHEET I INV NTORS:

ATTOR EY] WITNESSES CLXMCI.

E. THOMAS AND B. C. STICKNEY.

TYPE WRITING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED 050.2], 1916.

M)? W Q-W A BY lad 64m M E. THOMAS AND B. C. STICKNEY.

TYPE WRITING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED DEC.2I,1916.

1,312,145, I PatentedAng. 5,1919;

4 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

' 1 IN NTORS: WITNESSES; W

W W BY E. THOMAS AND B. C. STICKNEY.

TYPE WRITING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED DEC-2|, 1916.

1,312,145. Patented Aug. 5, 1919.

4 SHEETSSHEET 4.

WITNESSES:

QMQ. iwzj m BY TT RNEY.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

EDWARD THOMAS, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., AND BURNI-IAM C. STICKNEY, OF ELIZABETH,

NEW JERSEY, ASSIG-NORS, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO UNDERWOOD COMPUTING MACHINE COMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

Specification of Letters Patent.

TYPE-WRITING MACHINE Patented Aug. 5, 1919.

Original application filed January 22, 1915, Serial No. 3,691. Divided and this application filed December 21, 1916. Serial No. 138,159.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that we, EDWARD THOMAS and BURNHAM C. STICKNEY, both citizens of the United States, said THOMAS residing in New York city, county and State of New York,

and said STICKNEY residing in Elizabeth, county of Union, and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Type-Writing Machines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to typewriting machines and more particularly to means for controlling the character of the printing.

In practice, it; is sometimes desired to have the writing in certairf columns .charac teristically distinguished from that done in other columns. This may be done by writing the characters with types of diffor changing the character of printing is preferably connected to the column-selecting keys to be operated thereby.

The typewriter carriage, however, may be fed into the special zone in which-the distinctive printing is desired by its ordinary escapement mechanism, or otherwise than by tabulating. As it is sometimes desired to determine whether the carriage entered the special zone by the column-selecting mechanism, or by the escapement mechanism orotherwise, we provide mechanism which will cause the printing in the special column,

when the carriage is thus positioned, to be distinctive not only from the ordinary work but also from the work which is done in the special column, when the carriage is located therein by the column-selecting mechanism.

In the present disclosure of our invention, we utilize the case-shift mechanism of the ordinary machine to change the character of printing in the special zone, when the pose, the upper set of types on the type-bars are of different size or conformation from those of the lower set of types.

This utilization of the case-shift may be effected by providing a bail having connections to a cam arm, which, when operated, engages and operates the case-shifting mechanism of the typewriting machine. This bail may be operated by an interponent arranged on the operated column-selecting key, which interponent may be moved into and out of cooperation with the bail at will, by means of a revolu'ble cap on the forward end of the key lever. These capsv may be set to proper position by the operator, according to the nature of the work to be done. A lock may be provided for automatically holding the platen shifted or in its upper-case position.

- In providing for the additional distinctive printing while' the carriage is in the special zone, after being. ositioned there bythe ordinary letter-fee ing escapement, we have found it convenient to utilize the bichrome ribbon-shift pf the machine, so as to change the color of the printing. The bichrome ribbon usually comprises two distinctive colors, one of which is usually red and the other black. This bichrome shift maybe controlled by a lug settable along the carriage; and this lug may be part 0 the usual tabulator stop.

In order not to burden the typewriter carriage with the actual operation of the rib bon-shifting mechanism, and in case the typewriter carriage should pass the special zone without any printing being done therein, we have provided mechanism, whereby the carriage simply positions certain mecha nism, which causes the shifting operation to take place, when the type keys are operated to rint. This mechanism may comprise a bai extending across the entire zone, and adapted to be operated by a lug on a tabulator stop used'to locate the carriage in the special zone. Connected to this bail by suitable mechanism, may be provided an interponent in the form of a universal member, which is moved by the operationof the bail beneath the type key levers of the machine.

the bichrome ribbon-shift of the machine.

mal and special types thereon.

This application is a division of our application, Serial No. 3691, filed January 22, 1915.

Other features and advantages will hereinafter appear.

In the accompanying drawings,

Figure 1 is a sectional side View of an Underwood typewriting machine showing this invention as applied thereto.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary perspective view showing a few type-bar heads and the nor- Fig. 3 is a plan view of the; c0l1imn-se lecting keys.

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 1, but show ing a column-selecting key depressed, and

the machine effective to perform special 20 J work.

Fig. 5 is a rear view of part of the columnselecting mechanism showing especially, the

parts controlled by the type-writer carnage, in said view the third column-selecting key being effective.

Fig.- 6 is a skeleton perspective view showing more particularly the connections whereby figures having a special significance in a predetermined zone are written in red.

Fig. 7 is a diagrammatic sectional side view-of the parts shown in Fig. 6.

Fig. 8 is a plan view of the parts shown in Fig. 7. p

Fig. 9 is a front view of the same.

In the usual Underwood typewriting machine, alphabet keys 1 and numeral keys 2 depress levers 3 to rock bell cranks 4 which are connected to swing type-bars 5 upwardly and rearwardly against the front side of a platen 6, mounted in a carriage 7. The carriage 7 travels step bystep at each depression of a numeral key by means of the usual escapement dogs8 and 9, which are effective on the usual escapement wheel 10 permitting the carriage to be drawn forward by a sprin barrel, not shown herein. The carriage 1s controlled by said esoapement wheel through a rack llfivingableon said carriage, but normally meshing with a pinion 12- connected with said escapement wheel.

To permit said escapement wheel to turn,

the dogs Sand 9 are rocked at each depres.- sion of a numeral key, by means of a uniplaten. In addition-to the above-described forward letter feed of the carriage, the Underwood typewriting machine usually includes a tabulating mechanism for rapidly positioning the typewriter carriage at any one of a number of selected letter-spaces. For this purpose, the machine is provided with decimal tabulating keys 15 mounted on the front ends of key levers 16, pivoted at 17, so that when any one of said keys is de- In the present machine, the mechanism is somewhat modified from the usual Underwood mechanism and is of the general type illustrated in the patent to VVernery, No. 1,108,415, August 25, 1914-, and illustrated more in detail in the co-pending application No; 782,391, filed Au mechanism illustrated 1n said patent and application, thecolumn stop bar 21 is normally raised so as to hold its stops 20 out of the reach of the counter-stops 19 even when a counter-stop is pro'ected, as above described; the rack bar or this purpose comprisirfg arms 22 which are pivoted at 23- on st 1, 1913. In the the typewriter carriage, thus permitting a spring 24 to normally hold said rack bar in' its elevated position. 7

Whenever it is desired to perform the tab ulating operation, it is necessary in the present disclosure of the invention to depress both a decimal tabulating key- 15 and a column-selecting key 25,- and the connections are such that whenever a column-selecting key is depressed, the rack bar 21 willbe swung downwardly when the column stop 20 thereon approaches the proper column, with the resultthat the stop20 then lies in the path of the elevated counter-stop 19. In other words, the zone in which the tabulating is to be done must be first determined by the column-selecting'key 25 and then the particular letter-space in said zone is determined by the decimal tabulating key 15, which in the meantime,- has been depressed. In order to bring about this result, the column-selecting keys 25 are effective to depress the rack bar 21 only when said rack bar has brought the stop thereon approximately to the beginning of the desired zone or column. c

To accomplish this, the column-selecting keys 25 which are mountd on the front ends of key levers 26, pivoted at 27, raise at their rear ends, column-selecting bars 28, which normally are ineffective on the rack bar 21, but which are each adapted to tension their own springs 29, with the result that when the stop 20 arrives at the proper column, the spring 29 which is tensioned by its columnselecting key, will depress the. rack bar 21, this being accomplished through connections to be described presently in detail, but which include a lever 30 comprising a roller 31, rolling on the top of a plate 32, fast to said column stop rack bar 21. Whenever a spring 29 is thus tensioned, it tends to raise a slide 33 on its bar 28 and as soon as it can raise said slide, the slide will rock the range of any elevated counter-stop 19 andthus the first column-stop 20 would arrest the typewriter carriage by colliding with the elevated counter-stop 19.

In order to prevent this, the column-stops 20 are adapted to operate a slidable locking bar 38 which prevents any slide 33 from prematurely becoming efiective t-o'move the column-stops 20 within the range of the counter-stops 19. Thisslidable locking bar is mounted in brackets 39 and is normally at rest. It, however, is moved along one step whenever any column stop 20 passes the array of decimal tabulating counter-stops 19, and for this purpose, the column-stops 20, as they pass said array of counter-stops, are adapted one after another, to hit and turn to the extent of one tooth, a slide-operating wheel 40, which therefore moves said slidable locking bar one step whenever one of said column-stops 20 passes said array of decimal stops 1 To do this, the wheel 40 is fast on a shaft j'ournaled in an extension of the framework 41 in which the counter-stops are mounted, said shaft carrying at its opposite end, a pinion 42 meshing with a rackbar forming part of the slidable locking bar 38. This slidable locking bar comprises, as disclosed in the aforesaid application and patent, a shelf which normally overlies the lugs 43, there being one lug 43 on each slide 33.. The shelf however, is interrupted at one point, or provided with a notch so that whenever the slidable locking bar 38. occupies an appropriate position, it will permit one of the lugs 43 to slide upwardly through said notch, and therefore will permit the slide 33 of which'said lug forms a part, to be drawn upwardly by its spring 29 and become elfec five on the bail 34, and thereby depress the rack bar 21, with the result that the columnstop 20, at that moment approaching the decimal counter-stop 19, is depressed enough to be intercepted by the counter-stop 19. This permits thecarriage to be arrested at the zone which has been selected by the column-selecting key 25 depressed at the moment because any column-selecting key 25 tensions only its own spring 29.

In order to prevent any column-selecting .key from being depressed after the type-- writer carriage has passed the Zone, in which sa d key is supposed to be effective, the bar 28, operated by said key, is provided with a locking lug 44, which however is normally free to be elevated upward. When, however, the typewriter carriage has passed the zone in which any given column-selecting key 2-5, is to be effective, the locking lug 44 belonging to that key, is prevented from being moved upwardly, because the slidable lock-- ing bar 38 has, in moving along, carried a shelf 45, forming part of said slidable bar, above the lug 44 aforesaid, thus completely blocking the column-selecting key 25 until the typewriter carriage is returned to a point which moves the aforesaid locking bar 38 to a point where it clears said locking lug 44.

' In order to prevent the typewriter carriage from being released from its escapement mechanism to travel to a new column before any column-selecting key is depressed, the decimal tabulating keys 15 'operate the usual carriage-release mechanism (described below) but are normally held locked against being depressed by a swinging bail 46, which underlies ears 47 projecting upwardly from the levers 16 of said keys. This swinging bail 46 normally holds said key levers locked, because a spring 48 holds it rearwardly under the overlying upper parts of the ears 47. When, however, any column-selecting key 25 is depressed, said bail 46 is swung to ineffective position by means of an upward y extending follower 49 on the key lever 26 of the column-selecting key, and said ear cams the rocking bail 46 forwardly clear of the ears 47. thereby freeing all the decimal. tabulating keys 15. The carriage 7 is freed from' the escapement mechanism in the usual manner when any one of the 'decimal selecting keys 15 is depressed. For this purpose, the plungers 18 are provided with shelves 50 effective on a short universal bar 51 pivoted at 52, so that when any plunger 18 is lifted, the rear end 53 of said universal bar draws down on a link 54, thereby drawing down the rearendof a lever 55, so that the front end of said lever will lift the rack bar 11 off the escapement pinion 12 by means of an idle wheel 56, which runs on the lower side of said rack bar.

i In the usual case-shift mechanism of the Underwood typewriting machine, the platen 6 forms part of. the usual shift frame, which comprises a roller 57, riding on a rail 58, forming part of a bell crank 59 pivoted at 60 at the rear of the machine. This bell crank 59 may be shifted as in the usual machine, by case-shift keys 61 at the front end of key levers 62, which havev at their rear ends upwardly extending arms 63, adapted to bear against the rear side ofthe lower ends 64 of the bell crank 59. Since the platen and shift keys are pivoted at their rear ends at 65, depression of the shift key will raise keys are each provided with ha revoluble the bell crank 59, thus lifting the platen framewith its platen to upper-case position, in which position the upper-case types (see Fig. 2) are effective to print through the ribbon which passes through the vibrator 66,

instead of the lower-case types which usually print therethrough. The platen is held in this shifted position by a latch 66*, pivoted to the machine and provided with a spring 67, which, when the shift key 61 is depressed, is adapted to move said latch 66*, so as to overlie a pin 68 on the shift key and 'hold said key depressed. The latch 66 may be released to permit the platen to return to lower-case position, by manipulation of ahandle 69, formed on the latch 66*, so as to disengage the latch 66 -from the pin 68 on the key lever.

To automatically shift the platen when the carriage is brought to the proper column bythe column-selecting keys 25, said along the rear ends of the key levers 26 of the column selecting keys 25, and are adapted to occupy either a forward ineffective position or a rearward effective position, acggrding to the position of the revoluble head So that the operator may readily setthese heads 70, each of the heads is provided wlth a window or opening 70 through which either the indications A or B may be seen, according to the position of the head. When the character A is visible, the

'key will not automatically shift the platen when operated, but when the B is visible the interponent 73 is in position to cause the column-selecting key 25, to automatically shift the platen when depressed. The operator may therefore, by revolving the head '70 to either position A or position B, de-

termine whether or not the column-selecting keys, for each individual column, shall automatically shift the platen to upper-case position when said keys are used to locate the position.

When the column selecting key 25 is deprewed and rocked about its pivot 27, andv the interponent 73. thereon is in effective position, the upward movement thereof, causes the interponent to strike and lift a bail 74, overlying the interponents and fast to a rock shaft 75 journaled in the frame of the machine. Secured to the rock shaft 75 is an arm 76, which is moved downwardly when said shaft is rocked. This arm 76 is connected by a link 77 to a bell crank 78,

having an arm 79 engaging with the arm .63 of the shift key lever 62 of the usual Underwood typewriting machine. As the link 77 is drawn downwardly, by the upward movement of the bail 74 caused by the interponent 73, the arm 79, of the bell crank .78, engages the arm 63, of the shift key lever, and operates the case-shift mechanism, causing the platen to be shifted to upper-case position. The arm 63 thus being moved, causes the forward end of the shift key lever 62 to be depressed and locked in depressed position by the pin 68 thereon engaging with the latch 6.6.

If after having shifted the platen automatically when positioning the carriage by the column-selecting keys, the operator for some reason, desires to print the same form of characters as in other columns, the latch 66 may be manually moved by the handle 69, to free the pin 68 therefrom thus permitting the shift key lever 62 with the platen, to return to normal lower-case position.

According to the present invention, the character of printing is changed, even though the carriage has been positioned in the special zone by other means than the column-selecting keys, and when so positioned, the character of printing is entirely distinctive from that done in other columns, and also from that done in the special column, when the carriage is positioned by the column-selecting means. For this purpose, we have found it convenient to utilize the-usual bichrome ribbon mechanism of the Underwood typewriting machine to change the color of the printing. Said bichrome mechanism includes the usual ribbon vibrator 66 through which the bichrome ribbon is threaded at the top, said bichrome being actuated by a lever 81. This lever is adapted to be given various throws, according to the color of printingdesired, and the color of the printing is varied by the fact I that the top of the ribbon, for example, as

shown in Fig. 9, may be black, whereas thebottom of the ribbon may be red. Thus a small throw of the lever 81 will cause black printing, and a larger throw willcause red printing. The varying throw of the lever 81 is obtained by the usual'bichrome actu- "ator of the Underwood machine, said actuator being in the form of an open box, best shown in Fig. 9, as comprising a rear slde 82, a black printing side'83, and a red prlnting side 84. This actuator as usual, is mounted on the universal bar or frame 13, at the rear end thereof, and is shiftablesidewise on said frame by means of a link 85, for the purpose of bringing either the side 83 or the side 84 in engagement with one or the other of actuating. pins 86 and 87. The side 83 has a' slot in it in which the pin 86 can work, and since said pin is remote from a pivot 88 about which the lever 81 works, said pin will give. said lever 81 a comparatively small throw. The shape of this slot is best shown in Fig. 7 where it appears that the slotis vertical, and that its sides fit the pin 86 closely. The side 84 of the actuator box has a somewhat similar slot which actuates the pin 87, and since said pin is comparatively near the pivot 88 of the lever 81, it will give said lever 81 a comparatively J column-stops 20 of the typewriter, since these 4 some machines for said purpose.

stops are customarily used for selecting the special zone, and in the present invention are used to an even greater extent" than in The column-stops arev effective to determine whether the machine shall write in red or black, by means of an'arm- 89 pivoted at the rear of the machine, on which arm they are effective through a cam 90 fast on said arm. The arrangement of the column-stopsQO and the cam '90 is such that if no column-selecting 1 key 25 has been depressed, the column-stop 20, as it travels along with the typewriter carriage, will engage (see Fig. 1) and cam outwardly (see Fig. 7) the cam 90, with the result that the arm 89 on which said cam is fast, is swung rearwardly and rocks its --color control shaft 91.

black in any column, whereas the numeral Fast on this shaft 91 is a' rock'arm 92, which has pivoted upon its depending lower end a forwardly extending cam-operating link 93. This link operates a cam for the purpose of compelling the.keys, when said cam is in its effective position, to shift the ribbon so that the printing. will be done in red. This is effected by putting a ribbonshifting member 94 under the keys of the typewriter,'which is adapted to shift the above-described actuator 82 from itsnormal black-printing position to a position in which it causes the printing to take placein red. It will'be noted that the connectionsmay be such that this ribbon-shiftingmember 94 is operated only by the numeral keys of the typewriter, with the result that the alphabet keys of thetypewriter may write keys are compelled to write red in a special column when the column selecting keys have not been operated. 4 r This rib on-shifting member-94 1s 1n the the numeral keys.

7 chine.

form of a bail having upstanding arms 95, one of which is adapted to lie under every numeral key, the intervening spaces being left for the operation of the, alphabet keys of the typewriter. The bail 94 is splined on a transverse rock shaft 96, and is normally drawn by a spring 97 in such a way that the upstanding arms 95 are clear of the numeral keys of the typewriter. When, however, a column-selectlng stop 20 strikes the cam 90, as described above, so-as to shove the camoperating link 93 forward, the link carries its cam 98 forward, so as to thrust the bail 94 sidewise by a pin 99 fast thereon. This thrusts said bail, 94 so that the arms 95 thereon are in their effective ositions under With t e parts positioned thus, every time a numeral key is depressed, it will rock said bail 94 and the shaft 96 on which the bail is mounted.

When the shaft 96 is so rocked, a rock arm 100 thereon draws down a link 101 attached to a rock arm 102 on the usual color-control shaft 103 of the Underwood typewriting ma- This color-control shaft includes the usual rock arm 104, to which is pivoted the actuator shifting link 85, and this link, when shifted to the right, as seen in Fig. 9, causes the machine to write inred. p p The link is normally thrust to the left by a spring 105 coiled around the shaft 103, and shown in Fig. 6. These connections are such, therefore, that the ribbon connections normally stand so that they will print-in black, but whenever a numeral key is operated, the ribbon shifts to red, if the cam 90. engages the c0lumn-stop'20. The color-control shaft 103 maybe extended in front of the frame of the typewriting machine, in

order to enable the operative to control the color manually, and may be provided with a suitable key 106, whereby the ribbon may-be held down to print red when it would otherwise print black. In order that the keys need not print red in a special zone, the cam is so placed that when a column-selecting key swings the rack bar 21 downwardly, it carries every column-stop 20 thereon below idle, and the connections between the keys and the color shift are ineffective.

In order to make the equipment of the machine assimple as possible, the column-stops 20 may have their sides of two forms, or be unsymmetrical, as seen in Fig. 1, etc., one side being cut away as seen at 107 (see Flg. 4). When this cut-away side is uppermost, the cam 90 is always entirely out of reach of the column-stops, so that the machine, then, will write normally in black in every colthe level of the cam 90, sothat said cam is umn, or in any column in which the columnstop 20 is appropriately set.

Variations may be resorted to within the scope of the invention, and portions of the improvements may be used without others.

Having thus described our invention, we

'keys, of a platen and rinting devices, caseshift means therefor, and separately-shiftable means each operated by its own columnselecting key for controlling the case-shift means;

2. In a typewriting machine, the combination with a carria e and column-selecting means] therefor inc uding column-selecting keys, of a platen and printing devices, caseshift means, separately-shiftable means each operated by its column selecting key for opcrating the case-shift means, and means for holding the case-shift means in operated position.

3. In a typewriting machine, the combination with a carriage and column-selecting means therefor including column-selecting keys, of a laten and printing devices, caseshift means, separately-shiftable means each operated by its column-selecting key for operating the case-shift means, means for holding the case-shift means in operated position, and means for releasing said holding means.

4. In a typewriting machine, the combinat10n with a carriage and tabulating means therefor, including column-selecting keylevers, of a platen, case-shiftin mechanism, and means settable upon sai column-selecting key-levers to enable said levers either to control the operation of said case-shiftin mechanism or not, at will.

5. In a typewriting machine, the combination with a platen, of l'etter-feedingdevice's effective to cause longitudinal movement of the platen, but ineffective to cause vertical movement thereof, manually-operable tabu-o latlng means for the platen, and means controlled by saidtabulating means for automatically effecting a vertical shift of the platen. a

6. In a typewriting machine,.the combination of a platen movable longitudinally and vertically, .1etterfeeding,devices effective to cause long tudinal movement, but ineffective to cause trans-verse movement, manually-operated mechanism operable to cause the platen to move longitudinally, and means connected to said-manually-operated mechanism to be effective only at an operationthereof, for shifting the platen verticall 7 In a typewriting machine, the combination of a platenmovable longitudinall and vertically, letter-feeding devices effective to cause longltudmal movement, but ineffective tocause-transverse movement, manually-operated mechanism operable to cause the I platen to move lon 'itudinally, means connected to said manua ly-operated mechanism to be effective only atan operation thereof,

shift of the platen.

for shifting the platen vertically, and means formoving the platen vertically independw tions in eachletter-space thereof to shift the case, decimal-tabulating keys, column-selecting keys controlling said decimal-tabulatin keys, and means also controlled by said co umn-selecting keys'for controlling the case- 10. In a typewriting machine, the combination with a carriage, of means for moving said carriage to a predetermined zone, cooperating connections for arresting said carriage at a predetermined point in said zone, means controlled by .the zone-controlling means for changing the character of printing, and means adapted to be brought into operation when the carriage is in a prede termined zone for selectively changing the color of printing.

11. In a typewriting machine, the combination with a carriage, of means for moving said carriage to a predetermined zone, means for arresting said carriage at a predetermined point in said zone, means controlled by the zone-controlling means for changing the character of printing, and means adapted to be brought into operation when the carriage is in a predetermined zone for selec,

tively changing the color of printing, the connections being such that the original character of printingmay be restored, and the original color of printing may be restored.

'12. In atypewriting machine, the combination with a carriage, of means for moving said carriage to apredetermined zone, means for arresting said carriage at a predetermined -point in said zone, means controlled by the zone-controlling means for changing the character of printing, and means adapted to be brought into operation when the carriage is in a predetermined zone for selectively changing the color of printing, the connections being such that the'original character of printing may be restored, and the original color of printing may bere stored, said last-mentioned means being manually operable.

13. In a typewriting machine, 'the combination with a platen movable longitudinally and vertically, of manually-operated means,

Ill

.whereby said means may position the platen vertically, and settable devices included in said connections adapted to cause said means to position the platen longitudinally independently of its vertical movement.

14. In a typewriting machine, the combi- I nation With a traveling platen and printing of said manually-operated positioning means for causing the printing in the predetermined column to be accomplished by types of different conformation or size from those 15 used to print in other columns.

EDWARD THOMAS. BURNHAM G. STIGKNEY.

Witnesses:

ARTHUR A. JOHNSON, CATHERINE A. NEWELL.

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