US1501910A - Typewriting machine - Google Patents

Description

Patented July 22, 1924.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFF ICE. 7

HARRY 'I. MCBBIEN, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO, ASSIG-NOR TO UNDERWOOD TYPEWRIT'ER COMPANY, OF NEW YORKv N. Y.,

A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE.

TYPEWRITING MACHINE.

Application filed June 28, 1921. Serial No. 480.964.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HARRY T. MCBRIEN, a citizen of the United States, residing in Cleveland, in the county of Cuyahoga and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Typewrtting lachines, of which the following is a specilication.

This invention relates to means for holding a large stiff card, or the like, in proper relation at the writing line with the revoluble platen of a front-strike typewriting ma chine, and is herein illustrated as applied to an Underwood Standard typewriter.

For certain kinds of work, for example, the keeping of savings bank accounts, it has been customary to use large cards for individual accounts, each card being introduced into th typewriter each time an entry is to be made thereon, usually only one entry being made for a given date. The card in each case has usually been introduced at the front of the platen, while the feed-rolls were released, and brought to proper typing position. The feed-rolls have then been restored and the usual card-guide, pivoted upon the front bar of the typewriter carriage, swung back to hold the card against th platen at the printing line. the stiffness of the cards, each card has neessarily been held against the platen by some such means as the card-guide, since 7 otherwise the card would not lie closely against the platen at the printing line, and,

when struck by a type, would be moved slightly, thereby preventing good type impressions. It will be seen that the cardguide must be moved to one side each time a card is to be inserted at the front of the platen and must then be shifted to its effective position before typingon a card. Obviously, the operation of moving the cardguide back and forth interferes with rapid work.

The main object of the invention is to provide improved card-controlling means by which a card in use will be held in proper position against the platen at the printing line, and which will permit the introduction and arrangement of a card in printing position more rapidly than heretofore, thereby enabling a higher speed of operation. Other objects of the invention are to'provide card-controlling means simple in form, economical to manufacture, efficient Owing to in operation, readily applicable to existing machines, and attractive in appearance.

According to this invention, the use of the aforesaid swinging card-guide is unnecessary, and the means for holding the card at the delivery side of the platen is stationary with respect to the platen-fran1e,thus avoiding any delay which would result if any shifting of parts were necessary.

In carrying out the invention, provision may be made of a plate or support above the platen bent upwardly atone end, preferably at the left, to form a flange or sideedge gage which may be used in aligning a card with reference to the platen. An arm is bent from the gage at its upper edge and extends to the right, parallel to the plate, and at its free end the arm .isbent downwardly to form a card-holding finger, sufiicient space being left between the finger and the plate to permit the free introduction-of a card edgewise under the finger and movement of the same along the plate to engage the side-edge gage. Although the form just verging from the side-edge gage to the finger. In order t9 make the arm lighter in weight and to enable the surface of the card lying beneath the same to be seen, the arm may be cut away to as great an extent as may bepossible without weakening the same sufficiently to render it ineffective.

, A lthough the card-holder may be used in. case a card is insertedat the rear of. the platen, it is particularly adapted for use with a machine arranged for front insertion of the'cards. In inserting a card, the righthand lower edge may. conveniently be introduced first and the card advanced until the left-hand edge is substantially in front .of the eard-holdingfinger when the card may be bent to the rear and swung to the left to carry its left-hand edge between the finger until the part on which the entry is to be conveniently be formed with its sides conl at sired made is positioned at the writing line, which may be determined by the position of the wing scales. l Vhen the card has been posi-' narrow cards.

Other features and advantages will hereinafter appear.

In the accompanying drawings,

Figure 1 is a fragmentary perspective view, showing the invention applied to the platen-frame of an Underwood Standard typewriter.

Figure 2 is a side view, partly in section, of the mechanism shown in Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a rear elevation, showing the means by which the attachment is supported on the platen-frame.

A platen 11 is mounted on a platen-axle 12, journaled in the, ends 13 of the platenframe, said ends being connected by a rear paper-table 1t, which may be of the usual form. The portion of the rear paper-table lying beneath the platen is cut away to accommodate front feed-rolls 15 and rear feed-rolls 16, thus forming fingers 17 which extend upwardly a short distance at the front of the platen. ing scales 18 are pro- .vided at the front of the platen, and their upperedges 19 are bent outwardly, as shown in the patent to Kunath, No. 817,923, granted April 17, 1906, to facilitate front insertion of cards or the like. The feed-rolls 15 and 16 may be cast off by any suitable means, such, for eXam le, as shown in the patent to J-sse A. B. mith, No. 1,378,627, wanted Ma 17, 1921.

in ying out the present invention, provision be made of a plate 20, above plateinbent upwardly at its left-hand reform. a flange which may serve sid. lldge for a card 22 inserted in the machine, From the upper edge of the gage. an arm or guard 23 extends to the ght and provided with a finger 24 ex- 1 toward the plate 20, but spaced herefrom sutliciently to permit the card to be. slidfreely between the finger and the plate, and the edge of the card brought into en gement with the flange or gage 21. The flange 21. arm 23 and finger 24 may be con nected with the plate 29 in any desired manner, but, preferably, are formed from an extension of the plate bent into shape as de- It should be understood that the spacing. of the finger 24 from the plate is such that-no gripping of the work-sheet is effected and that the plate 20 serves principally asa support for the gage 21 and arm 23 and as a means to guide the card under the finger 24 and to the gage21.

The arm 23 is required to be only of suitieient strength to hold the upper part of the card to the rear to insure proper positioning of the same on the platen, to enable satisfactory typing thereon, and may be shaped and cut away so as to interfere as little possiblewith the reading of printed matter which may be on the portion of the card lying back of the same. Preferably, the sides of the arm 23 converge as they extend from the gage, and the material of the arm is cut away as shown in Figure 1.

The plate 20 may be supported in any suitable manner, but, preferably, is supporton. in the same manner as the aligning plate in said Patent, No. 1,378,627. Screws extend through slots 26 in the plate 20 and are threaded into brackets 27 on the ends of arms 28, mounted on a shaft 29, which 'josrnalcd in brackets 80, secured to the ends of the platen-frame. it will be seen that. due to the provision of the slots 26, the position of the plate 20 relative to the brackets 27 may be varied. A linger-piece 31, secured to the end of shaft 29, may be used to ing the plate 29 upwardly when desired, as example, when the card-holder or attachment is not in use. (lbviously. the cardholder or attachment herein. disclosed may readily be attached to existing machines.

Each arm 28 comprises a portion 32, bent parallel to the shaft 29, and a portion Pit-3, extending at right angles thereto, through wh ch the shaft passes. It. will be seen that this construction provides a bearing of suitable length for each arm 28. To hold the arms 28 on shaft 29, so as normally to be fixed against rotation with respect thereto, provision is made of a cylindrical key 34- for each arm, mounted in slots 85 in tho portion 33 and the parallel portion of the arm 28 and normally pressed into a groove 26 in the shaft 29 by means of a spring 37 supported on the portion of the arm which e tends parallel to the shaft In like i mer, the shaft 29 may normally be held in the position shown in Figure by means of a cylindrical key 38, supported in slo s in the parallel arms of bracket 39 and pressed into a groove 39 in shaft 29 by means of spring 10.

Obviously, the cards may be inserted. over the rear paper-table 1 1 and carried around the platen to the printing line, where typing may be effected by means of a typebar 11 swinging upwardly and rearwardly to bring types 42 thereon against the platen, Profen ably, however, the cards are inserted at the front of the platen. In such an operation, the feed-rolls and 15 are cast off and the lower edge of the card inserted between the platen and the forwardly-inclined edges 19 of the wing scales 18 which guide the card into the throat or opening between the platen and the fingers 17 which are flared ontwardl to facilitate the introduction of l further insertion of the card arrying its lower edge to a position over the r paper-table 14, as shown in Figure llhen the card 22 has been partly inserted, the upper part thereof is swung to the rear, and the left edge of the card passed between the finger and the plate 20. The card is then moved to the left to bring its left-hand edge against the gage 21 and the portion of the card on which typing is to be effected brought to the writing line by positioning the card with. reference to the. upper ed es of the wing scales 18. In making such an insertion, the card may be held diagonally, so that the lower right-hand corner is introduced first. In that case, the movement of the card behind the finger 24 and into engagement withthe gage 2]. involves a swinging movement of the upper end of the card rather than a sidewise movement of the card as a whole. The feed-rol s wand 1d are then returnedto the positions in which they co-operate with the platen, and typing is effected in the usual manner by means of ype-bars 4:1 and types 4-2.

Usually, only a single entry is made at.

each insertion. As soon, therefore, as the entry of an item has been completed, the feed-rolls 15 and 16 are again cast off and the card 22 drawn out of the front of the machine; Another card may then be insert-. ed, and, after achustment by means of the side gage 21 and the wing scales 18, securely held against the platen by returning the feed-rolls15 and 16 to thelr normal effective positions. It will be evident that cards mav be inserted and removed with-very little de lay, inasmuch as either insertion removal may be effected substantially by a single movement of the card, the castingott' of the feed-rolls and/their release beingthe only changes in the mechanism in connection with such insertion and removal. y

In using different sizes of cards, it may occur that the finger 24 of the attachment will engage the card atone side of the ecutral line thereof. This condition will. result in a tendency of the card to twist and to slip from the control of the finger. 3" The plate 20, however, engages the rearface of the card and, by preventing abackwaro movement of the card at either side of the finger 24, prevents such a twisting movement and consequent release of the card. It should be understood that the card-holder of this invention may be used to the best advantage with comparatively narrow cards.

Variations may be resorted to within the scope of the invention, and portions of the improvements may be used without others. Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. In a front-strike typewriting machine, in combination, a platen, and a card-contro n device mounted above the platen 2. In a frontstril;e typewriting machine,

in combination, a platen, feeding devices cooperating with the platen, and a card-holder to hold against the platen, at the printing line, a card inserted between the feeding devices and the platen, said cardholder comprising a plate, positioned above the platen, an end gage bent up therefrom at one end, an arm bent over from saidgage to extend parallel to the plate, and diminishing in width as it extends from said gage, said arm being cut away, centrally thereof, to expose as much as possible of a cardpositioned thereunder without too great weakening ofvthe arm, and a finger extending inwardly from the end of said arm to engage the outer face of the card, but spaced fron' said plate to enable the insertion of the side edge of the card without interfer ence. v i

3. In a front-strike typewriting machine, in combination, a platen, feeding devices co-operating with the lower part of said platen and adapted for the front insertion of a card, and card-holding means compris ing a side-edge gage positioned above the platen foruse in adjusting the upper part of an inserted card when the latter isbent rearwardly from the plane of front insertion, a finger back of which the card may be moved in bringing the same into engagement with the side-edge gage, said linger being so positioned that the card, when oved to the rear thereof, will be held thereby against the platen at the printing line, and a support extending transversely of the machine to engage the rear face of plate extending longitudinally of the platen, a side-edge gage extending upwardly therefrom, and an arm projecting from said side-edge gage parallel to the plate and having a finger extending toward the plate but spaced therefrom to permit ready insertion of the card therebehind and acting to hold the card against the platenat the printing line while held between said.

platen and the feeding devices, and a mount ing for said card-controlling device whereby the latter may be shifted as a whole from effective to ineliective position, and vice versa.

5. In a front-stril'ce type-writing machine, in combination, a platen, a rear paper-table having fingers extending beneath the platen, releasable feed-rolls positioned to co-operate with the platen in the openings between said fingers, wing-scalesbent outwardly at their upper edges to facilitate front insertion, and a card-controlling device comprising a side-edge gage, and means to hold the upper end of an inserted card in a rearward positi'on to cause proper positioning of the card on the platen at the printing line comprising an arm extending from said gage paral 'lel to the platen-axis, so that its end will engage the front face of the card at a substantial distance from said side-edge gage.

6. In a front-strike typewriting machine, in combination, a platen, a platen-frame, feeding devices co-operating with the lower part of the platen and adapted for the front insertion of a card, and a card-controlling device above the platen comprising a plate extendinglongitudinally of the platen, a side-edge gage extending upwardly from the plate, near one end of the platen-frame, and an arm extending from the upper part of said gage parallel to said plate toward the middle of the platen frame, whereby a narrow card inserted diagonally at the front of the platen with its upper end inclined away from said sideedge gage maye be bent .rearwardly above the platen and swung sidewise between the plate and the arm into cont-act with said side-edge gage.

7 In a front-strike typewriting machine, in combination, a platen, a platen-frame, feeding devices co-operating with the lower part of the platen and adapted for the front insertion of a card, and a card-holding device above the platen comprising a plate extending longitudinally of the platen, a side-edge gage extending upwardly from the plate, near one end of the platen-frame, an arm extending from the upper part of said gage parallel to said plate toward the middle of the platen-frame, and a finger extending inwardly from the end of the arm and spaced from said plate sufficiently to permit edge insertion of the card without interference therewith, whereby a narrow card inserted diagonally at the front of the platen with its upper end inclined away from said side-edge gage may be bent rearwardly above the platen and swung side-- wise between the plate and the arm into contact with said side-edge gage.

8. In a front-strike typewriting machine, in combination, a platen, a platen-frame, feedin devices co-operating with the lower part of the platen and adapted for the front insertion of a card, a card-controlling device above the platen comprising a plate extending longitudinally of, and normally tangentially to, the platen, a side-edge extending upwardly from the plate, near one end of the platen-frame, an arm extending from the upper part of said gage parallel to said plate toward the middle of the platen-frame, and a finger extending inwardly from the end of the arm and spaced from said plate sufficiently to permit edge insertion of the card without inter ference therewith, whereby a narrow card inserted diagonally at the front of the platen with its upper end inclined away from said side-edge gage may be bent rearwardly above the platen and swung sidewise between the plate and the arm into contact with said side-edge gage, and a mounting for said card-controlling device whereby the latter may be shifted as a whole from normal or effective to ineffective position, and vice versa.

9. In a front-strike typewriting machine, in combination, a platen, card-guiding means for facilitating the front insertion of a card bottom foremost, and a card controlling device above the front of the platen comprising a side-edge gage and an arm arranged to engage the outer face of the inserted card positioned against the side-edge gage so as to hold the same against the platen at the printing line while various lines are being written upon the card,

HARRY T. MOBRIEN. Witnesses:

K. E. Mme,

H. B. DE RENeo,

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