US1561539A - Tabulator mechanism for typewriters - Google Patents

Description

Nov. 17, 1925- o. HOKANSON TABULATOR MECHANISM FOR TYPEWRI'I'ERS 3 Shets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept. 13, 1920 Nov. 17, 2 1,561,539

0. A. HOKANSON TABULATOR MECHANISM FOR TYPEWRITERS Filed Sept. 13, 1920 s Sheets-Sheet 2 Q 'ZQZZ7?: 255 W Nov. 17, 1925- O. A. HOKANSON summon MECHANISM FOR 'ryrzwnnzxs Filed Sept. 13, 1920 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Mum ' QMW Patented Nov. 17, 1925.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

OTTO A. I-IOKANSON, OF WOOD STOCK, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR T WOOIJSTOCK TYPE- TIVRITER COMPANY, OF WOODSTOCK, ILLINOIS,

A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

TABULATOR MECHANISM FOR TYPEWRITERS.

App1ieation fi1ed September 13, 1920. Serial No. 410,043.

To aZZ 2072/0771 it'm'ay concern:

Be it known that I. O'l'lO A. HoKANsoN, a citizen of the United States, residing at W'oodstock, in the county of McHenry and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Tabulator Mechanism for Typewriters, of which the following is a specification. a

This invention relates to typewriters generally and more specifically to mechanism for controlling the movement of the platen carriage for performing tabulating operations and has for its object the provision of mechanism of the class named which shall be of improved construction and operation.

The invention is exemplified in the combination and arrangement of parts shown in the accompanying drawings and described in the following specification, and it is more particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

1 In the drawings- Fig. 1 is a horizontal sectional view through a portion of the platen carriage frame having one form of the present invention applied thereto;

Fig. 2 is a vertical section showing the tabulator stop mechanism in elevation;

Fig. 3 is a section substantially on line 3-3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a top plan View with parts omitted showing one end of a typewriter carriage having the invention applied thereto; and

right in Fig. 1.

Although the invention is applicable to various forms of typewriters, in the embodiment shown in the drawings it is illustrated as being applied to a typewriter having a foldable platen carriage frame. The platen carriage frame is supported by a pair of arms 11 pivotally mounted at 12 on the base frame 13. The platen carriage 14 is supported by ways 15 for longitudinal movement along the frame 10 and is provided at each end with upright plates 16 in which the platen 17 is journaled for rotation. The platen is provided with paper feed rollers 18 and operating mechanism therefor, described in my application, Serial No. 396,888,filed July 17, 1920, and also with line lock mechanism comprising a margin stop member 19 and associated parts, described in my application, Serial No. 386,887, filed June 5, 1920.

Fig. 5 is an elevation looking from the A margin and tabulator stop bar 20 is supported by a pair of arms 21 pivotally mounted at 22 on the end plates 16 of the platen carriage. The arms are shown as located adjacent the inner face of the end plates 16 and a yoke23 is bent around the edge of the plates 16 and connected to a lever 24 carried by the pivot 22 so that movement of the lever will raise and lower the arms 21 and the bar 20. It will be apparent that the lever 24 could be connected directly to the arm 21 so that the lever would lie in the plane of the arm 21, but the arrangement shown in the drawings is merely for the purpose of convenience in the location of the operating lever and the support of the various parts carried by the plates 16. The bar 20 is provided with a series of notches 25 by which tabulator stops 26 are held in various positions of adjustment along the bar.

The platen carriage is controlled in its movement along the platen frame by a pinion 27 provided with an escapement wheel 28 which cooperates with amovable dog 29 and a fixed dog 30 supported by a rocker plate 31 in a manner more fully described in my application, Serial No. 381,250, filed May 14, 1920. The pinion 27 meshes with a rack 32 supported by a pair of lever arms 33 pivoted at 22 on the end plates 16. A spring 34 normally draws the rack 32 into engagement with the pinion 27 and the rack may be moved out ofengagement with the pinion by an extension 35 on one of the arms which formsa finger piece for releasing the rack. The platen carriage is provided with the usual spring drum and is normally held against movement by the dog 29 which engages the escapement wheel 28.

In performing tabulating operations it is desirable that the platen carriage may be released from the escapement mechanism to move along the frame 10 a predetermined dis. tance independent of the escapement mechanism. The release of the carriage is effected by means of a tabulator key lever 36 having an upwardly projecting arm 37 arranged in position to engage an arm 38 of a bellcrank lever 39 and move the arm 38 rearwardly when the tabulator key is depressed. The bell crank lever 39 is provided with a rearwardly extending arm 40 pivotally connected at 41 to a bar 42 having a longitudinal sliding movement along the platen carriage fram At the end opposite the bell crank lever 39 the bar 42 is supported by a stud bolt 43 which extends downwardly from the platen carriage frame. The lever 39 1S plvotally supported by a screw 44' secured to the platen carriage frame and a coil spring 45 normally holds the lever 39 in position to retain the bar 42 at the right extreme of its sliding movement, as viewed in Fig. 1. The movement of the bar 42 is limited by a slot 46 which engages the supporting bolt 43. The bar 42 is provided with a lug 47 in position to engage a finger 48 on the pawl 29 when the tabulator key is depressed and shift the dog '29 to the left, as viewed in Fig. 1, a suflicientamount to release the escapem'ent. wheel 28 and permit the platen carriage to move along its ways under the influence of its spring drum. The amount of movement of the platen carriage is determined by the position of the tabulator stops 26 on the bar- 20. The stops 26 engage an abutment arm 49 which is swung into the path of the stops by the movement of the bar 42 prior to the release of the escapement mechanism. The abutment arm 49 is provided with ears 50 and. 51 which are pivotally mounted on a bolt 52 carried by downwardly extending lugs 53 on a bracket plate 55 secured to the lower face of the platen carriage frame 10 by screws 56. As shown bestin Figs. 3 and 5, the ear 51 of the abutment arm 49 is provided with a. forwardly extending finger 57 which normally rests upon the upper face ofthe bar'42. A spring 58 surrounds the bolt 52 and normally presses the finger 57 downwardly against the bar 42 and holds the abutment arm 49 out of the path of the tabulator stop 26 in the position shown in Fig. .5. The bar 42 is provided with an upwardly struck=up cam lug. 59 which'is located adjacent the finger 57 in position to slide beneath the finger when the bar 42 is moved by the tabulator key. This cam lug raises the finger 57 into the position shown in Fig. 3 and moves the abutment arm intothe path of the tabulator. stops on the bar 20. The movement of the finger 57 andarm 49 occurs prior. to the. re: lease of the escapement mechanism by thelug 47 and finger 48 so that when the platen carriage'is free tomove under the influence of the spring drum the abutment member 49, will be in positionto check the movement of the carriage in any position predetermined byv the location of the stops 26 on the bar 2).

Abuffer spring 60 is interposed between the car 50 andithelug 53 to form a cushion for absorbing the force of the contact between the tabulator stop 26 and the abutment member 49. The spring 60 will be momentarily compressed whenthe carriage is brought to rest by the abutment member 49, but. will subsequently expand and return the. carriage to its proper position against the tension ofthe spring drum. When the tabulator key is released the bar 42 will be returned to normal position by the spring 45 which movement will permit the escapement dog 29 to return to position for engaging the escapement wheel 28 and thus resume control of the platen carriage. Subsequent to the return of the escapement dog the finger 57 will be released from the cam lug 59 and the abutment arm 49 will be moved out of the path of the tabulator stop so that the machine will operate in the regular manner to enter whatever items are to be written. A second operation of the tabulator key will again release the carriage and bring it to rest at any point desired, depending upon the position of the next tabulator stop 26 on the bar 20. If at any time it should happen that a t-abulator stop is in position on the bar 20 opposite the end of the cont-act arm 49 at the time that the tabulator key is depressed, the arm 49 will engage the front edge of the tabulator stop, but this will not interfere with the proper operation of the mechanism, for the reason that the bar 20 is pivotally mounted at 2-2 and will merely swing rearwardly and upwardly when this occurs so that the bar 42 will be free to complete its longitudinal movement and release the escapement mechanism. As soon as the carriage begins to move the bar 20 will drop into its normal position so that the next tab-ulator stop will engage the abutment member 49.

A single bar 20 is used for supporting the tabulator stops 26 and margin stops 61, descrlbeol in my prior application, Serial No. 386,887, referredto above. As will be seen from F ig. 5, the margin stop 61 is so shaped that it will not engage the tabulator abutment member 49, and the tabulator stops 26 do notcontact with the end ofthe. line lock lever 19, so that although the two sets of stops are carried on the same bar, neither interferes with the functions of the other.

The entire tabulator mechanism is carried by the platen carriage frame and moves with the frame into and out of operative position so that the folding of the typewriter does not. affect the operative relation of. the. various elements of. the tabulator mechanism. The arm 37 of the key lever 36 is supported on the base frame in such posi tion that the arm 38 of the bell crank 39 will be brought into operative relation with the tabulator key lever when the platen carriage is moved to its operative position, thus automatically bringing the entire tabulator mechanism into cooperative relation with the tabulator key.

I claim 1. In a typewriter, a platen carriage frame, a platen carriage arranged to move along said frame, a stop bar on said platen carriage and having margin and tabulator stops thereon, and means for shifting said bar on said carriage to move said steps out of operative position said shifting means comprising a pivoted lever having said bar secured thereto at a point removed from the pivotal support therefor and a stop on said platen carriage frame below the horizontal plane of said pivotal support for en.- gaging the stop on said bar.

2. I11 a typewriter, a platen carriage frame, a platen carriage mounted for movcment along said frame, a stop bar on said platen carriage, a tabulator stop adjustable along said stop bar, tabulator mechanism on said platen. carriage frame for engaging said tabulator stop to arrest the movement of said carriage on said frame, and means for shifting said stop bar to move said tabulator stop out of operative position said shifting means comprising a lever pivoted intermediate the ends thereof and having said bar fixed to one arm of said lever and a fingerpiece carried on the other arm thereof.

3. In a typewriter, a platen carriage frame, a platen carriage movable alon said frame, a stop bar on said frame, a margin stop adjustably mounted on said step bar, means on said platen carriage frame for engaging said margin stop to arrest the movement of said platen carriage, a tabulator stop adjustably carried by said step bar, an abutment member on said platen carriage frame and movable into and out of position to engage said tabulator stop for arresting the movement of said carriage, and means for shifting said stop bar to move said margin and tabulator steps out of operative position said shifting means comprising a lever pivoted intermediate the ends thereof and having said bar fixed to one arm of said lever and a fingerpiece carried on the other arm thereof.

:4. In a typewriter, a platen carriage frame, a platen carriage arranged to move along said frame, a stop bar on said carriage, margin and tabular stops adjustably mounted on said bar, a device arranged in the path of movement of said margin stops and out of the path of movement of said tabulator stops for engaging said margin stops to arrest said platen carriage, an abutment member movable into a position in the path of said tabulator stops but not in the path of said margin stops for arresting said platen carriage said margin and tabulator stops having their engaging members offset fore and aft relative to one another, and means for. shifting said step bar bodily to change the path of said margin and tabulator stops.

5. In a typewriter, a platen carriage, a frame on which said carriage travels, an abutment member pivotally supported on said frame and movable into and out of position for arresting the movement of said carriage, said abutment member being movable along its pivotal support, and resilient means for resisting the movement of said abutment member along its support for absorbing the shock incident to the arrest of said carriage.

6. In a typewriter, a platen arriage frame, a platen carriage movable along said frame, a tabulator stop on said carriage, an abutment member pivotally mounted on said frame for engaging said step to arrest the movement of said carriage, resilient means for receiving the shock of such arrest, a spring for holding said abutment member out of the path. of said step, a transversely arranged, horizontally sliding bar having means thereon for shifting said abutment member into the path of said step escapement mechanism, means on said bar for dis connecting said escapement mechanism, and a tabulator key lever for operating said bar.

7. In a typewriter, aplaten carriage frame, a platen carriage movable along said frame, escapement mechanism for controlling the movement of said carriage on said frame, a tabulator stop on said carriage, an abutment member movable into the path of said step for arresting the movement of said carriage, and means for shifting said abutment member into the path of said step and for subsequently releasing said esoapement mechanism to permit movement of said carriage said shifting means comprising a tabulator key, a transversely extending longitudinally slidable bar actuated by said key, and separate contact members on said bar for successively operating upon said abutment member and said escapement mechanism.

8. In a typewriter, a platen carriage frame, a platen carriage movable along said frame, escapement mechanism comprising adog for controlling the movement of said carriage along said frame, tabulator mechanism for arresting the movement of said. carriage along said frame, and a. transversely arranged longitudinally movable bar having separate contacts thereon for shifting said tabulator mechanism into operative position and for subsequently releasing said dog to permit movement of said carriage in-. dependent of said escapement mechanism.

9. In a typewriter, a platen carriage frame, a platen carriage movable along said frame, eseapement mechanism comprising a dog for controlling the movement of said platen carriage, tabulator mechanism comprising an abutment member shiftable into position to arrest the movement of said carriage, a slide having a cam thereon for shifting said abutment member, and means on said slide for engaging said dog subsequent to shifting of said abutment member to release said escapement mechanism and free said carriage for movement along said frame.

said frame, means on said bar for releasing said escapement mechanism, a spring for holding said bar in an inactive position, and key lever mechanism for shifting said bar to successively move said abutment member into the path of said stop and release said escapement mechanism.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification on this 7th day of August A. D. 1920.

OTTO A. HOKANSON.

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