US1575385A - Typewriting machine - Google Patents

Description

f, H. L. PITMAN TYPEWRITING MACHINE Original File Marchl7. 19.23

Patented Mar. 2, 1926 UNITED TATE-s PATENT OFFICE.

HENRY L. PITMAN, OF WESTFIE LD, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO UNDERWOODTYPE- \VRITER COMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE.

TYIIPEWRITING- MACHINE.

Application filed March 17, 1923, Serial No. 625,699. Renewed -J'u1 y 18,1925.

\Vcstlield, in the county of Union and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in 'lypewriting M chincs,of which the following is a specificat ion.

This inventionrelates to means for automatically tabulating a' paper-carriage or other letter-feeding carriage of a typewriter at one or more predetermined points in a line of writing, and is in the nature of an improvement on my co-pending application, Serial No. 621,520, filed February 27, 1923.

In said co -pending application the letterfeeding movement of the paper-carriage is controlled by a rack pivotally mounted on the carriage and normally meshing with a pinion permitted to advance one step at a time at each operation of the escapement mechanism. The teeth of the rack are at lettenspace intervals, and the pinion is of such size that two of its teeth are always in position to mesh with the rack, For automatically tabulating the carriage teeth are omitted to form gaps separated by a single isolated tooth, which stops the carriage in a column in which typing is to be effected by but a single operation of a type-bar before the next automatic tabulating movcmentoe curs. Operation of a type-bar to print in this column causes the pinion to be advanced one step, and unless provision is made for lifting the rack at this instant the single isolated tooth remains in engagement with the sametooth on the rack. 7 To effect such lifting of the rack at the proper time, use is made of a member or yoke so positioned on the rack-bar as to engage at that instant the usual roll by which the rack lifted in connection with manual tabulation. It is desirable to lift the rack just enough to clear the pinion, and it would be necessary to exercise great care in making the roll-engaging part of the yoke, of, the right thickness. m

According to the presentinvention, pro vision is made of improved automatic racklifting means adjustable to fix with suitable precision the extent [of the lifting ofthc rack. p j .i i

In the preferred form of the invention, the temporary lifting of the rack is effected by engagement of the usual rack-lifting roll by a member threaded through the rack at one side of the row of teeth and extending downwardly so that, when the carriage reaches the predetermined letter-space position, the lifting member will ride over the roll and temporarily disengage the rack from thepinion. By using a fine thread for the screw, the extent of the downward projection of thelifting member may be adjusted as precisely as required. The lifting member maybesecured in adjusted position by suit I able means, such as a locking. nut.

The threaded lifting member is provided at its lower end with opposite cam-surfaces so as to be effective in both directions of movement of the carriage. This arrangement limits the adjustment to that'obtained by turning the threaded member to the nearest half rotation. ,1

It will be seen that, inasmuch as the adjustable lifting member does not extend across the row of teeth, it will not affect the engagement of the pinion with the rack at any point except the onedesired. I

. Other features and advantageswill hereinafter appear. r i

V In the accompanying -drawings,

- Figure Al is a diagrammatic side elevation, partly in section, showing the invention applied to so much of an Underwood standard typewriting machine as is necessary' for the purpose of illustration.

Figure 2 is a detail view, showing the relative positions of the rack and pinion at the end of the first automatic tabulating movement. 1

Figure 3 is a. View similar to Figure 2, but with the rackklifted as the single isolated tooth thereon is released from the piniontooth engaged thereby in Figure'2.

Figure ft is a view similar to Figures 2 and 3, showing the relative positions of the rack and pinion at the endof the second automatic tabulating movement. t

Figure 5 is a detail view, partly in section,

of the adjustable means for lifting the rack. 1

Figure'tl is a view of the screw-member by which the extent of lifting of the rack is determined. i

Upon an actuation of type-keys (not shown), the usual bell-cranks 11 will be act'uatedto swing typebars 12 upwardly and rearwardly, to cause types 13 thereon to v in the desired letter-spacepositions.

riage by means of arms 19, and having'on'its" lower face teeth20, at;let ter-space distances, meshing with teeth 21 on a pinion 22. The pinion 22has a one-way connection with an escapement wheel 23 bymeans of apawl 24;, pivoted'on'the escape'ment wheePa-t 25, and urged into engagement with the teeth 21 by means of a spring-2o, thus permitting substantially free movement of the pinion 22 by the racii when the carriage is returned, but preventing movement of'the pinion 22 relatively to the escapement wheel 23 when the'carri'a ge is fed in a letter-feeding direction. I p r Normally the carriage is held againstletter-feeding movement by means of a' loose dog 27 in engagement with atooth of the escapement wheel. The loose dog 27 is pivotally mounted on a dog-rocker 28, so to swing transversely of the machine, and normally is held against a stop 29 on the dog=roclreragainst the action of a spring 30. As an actuated type-bar 12 nears the end of its typing movement, a heel 31 thereon engages a universal bar '32, forming part of a universal, frame 33, and

swings the dogerocker 28, so as to, withdraw the loose dog" from engagement with the escapement wheel, and to, move a' fixed dog 84 on the dog-rocker 28 into engagement with the escapement-wheel-tooth just released by the loose dog.) Theloose clog27 is then drawn to the left ,by the Spi'ingBO, and, upon release of the dog-rocker 28 and return thereof to normal position, the loose dog 27 will engage the next "tooth to the left (Figure 2), and theIspring-drum 17 will advance 7 the .escapement wheel 23 against the action of the spring 80 until the loose dog 2;? again engages the stop 29.

:Upon actuation 0t a tabulator-key (not shown), a link 35. is drawn downwardly, thereby rocking a trame36 forwardly about its pivot 37, to bring, a columnstop 38 thereon into the path of a finger. 89, mounted on the rear of the carriage. The frame 36 comprises a'lower bar 40, ends {11 and a top bar, 42, having on its inclined face a scale 13 to assist inpositioningstopsBS Each step is pivotally, and slidably mounted one rod 4%, supported in the ends d1 of the frame 36, and is held in position bythe projection ofits upper end into one of the "eries of notches to'atgletter-space positions in the loweredge of the bar12. ,Wlien it is desired to change the position of a stop 38, it is swung downwardly and rearwardly. by means, of a handle 46 I to I withdraw its upper edge from the corresponding notch 45, and then moved along the rod {14 to the desired position. Each stop 38 is provided with'a pointer 47 to cooperate with the scale 43. Upon completion of such adjustment along the rod 44, the 's'top"38 is swung forwardly to carry its upper end into the corresponding notch To enable the tabulation of the carriage when the stop-frame 3G is swung forwardly,jprovision is made of an arm 18 extending forwardly from the bar 40, so that, upon forward rocking of the frame 36, the arm 1-8 will engage the rear end oi a lever igand swing about its pivot 50, to cause a roll 51 on the forward end of the lever to liftthe rack 18 out of engagement with the pinion 22, thus permitting the carriage'to advance until theiinger 39 engages one of the stops 38. Theroll 51 engagesa track portion 18 of the rack 18, immediately to the front of the teeth 20, a'nd normally liniits'the downward movement ot therack. In orderto pos ition the roll at the proper elevation, the lever 19 is provided with a set screw 52 to engage a portion'of a bracket 53 on which the lever 49 ispivoted. I v 1 Foricertain kinds of work, it is found desirable' to tabulate the carriage automatically, and, fol-this purpose, certain teeth ofthe rackl8 are omitted. As herein disclosed, novisionis made of me -ape in the rack-teeth separated by a single tooth 20 the arrangement being the same in said co-pending application. I I I As shown in Figure '2 the single tooth 2O" is iir engagement withthe tooth 21 of the pinion 22. A single operation of the escapem ent mechanism will advance the tooth 21 from the I igure2 position to the Figure 3 positiomand, unless the rack 18 were lifted as shown in Figure 8, the tooth 20 would still be held by the'tooth 21.

According to the present invention, such. lifting o'l the racklS-is effected by adjustable means comprisinga screw 5st threaded through the portion 18 of the rack 18, at such afpointthat, when the rack in me position shown inFigure 2, the lower end of the screw is in engagement withtho roll 5 1. Upon a single operation of the escapement mechanism, the rack 18will move from its Figure 2 position to its Figure -1 position, When use is made of lifting device of l'ixed range, the rack may be lifted too far or not far enough to clear the pinion, but by means of the adjusting mea ns or the present invention, the proper adjustment may easily be etlected. fllo facilitate the movement of the screw 5 t over the roll 51, the lower end of the screwis taperedat' opposite sides to form a chisel-point with cam-surfaces These surfaces 55 must always extend across the path of movement of the rack, and, in adjusting the screw, it must be turned in either direction throu h an angle of 180 degrees or a multiple thereof. The thread of the screw may, however, be made suliiciently fine to enable the adjustment of the screw to a sutlicient degree of precision. I or such adjustment, the screw is provided with a head 56 having a slot 57 to enable the screw to be adjusted by means of a screw-driver and the screw 54: may be locked in adjusted position by means of a locking nut 58.

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 typewriting machine, a carriage urged in letter-feeding direction, escapement means including a pinion advanced one tooth at each typing operation, a mutilated rack on the carriage normally in mesh with said pinion, a track upon the rack, a roller engaging the track to support the rack, and means for automatically lifting the rack out of engagement with the pinion when the carriage reaches a predetermined position.

2. In a typewriting machine, a carriage urged in letter-feeding direction, escapement mechanism including a bar having a mutilated rack section and a track section, a feeding device to co-operate with the rack section, a roller to support the bar by engaging the track section, and means to free the rack section from said feeding device and adjustable relatively to the roller to vary the extent of such rack movement.

3. In a typewriting machine, a carriage urged in letter-feeding direction, means to control the carriage, including a pinion and a mutilated rack on the carriage meshing with the pinion, means to disengage the carriage-feeding elements, including a. roller and a track to run on said roller, and means to automatically disengage the rack from the pinion, including a screw point threaded through the track and adjustable to determine the extent of the rack disengagement.

a. In a typewriting machine, the carriage urged in letterfeeding direction, means to control the carriage, including a pinion and a rack on the carriage meshing with the pinion, and means to disengage the rack from the pinion, including a member threaded through said rack at one side of the teeth thereof for adjustment to Vary the extent of the disengaging movement.

a 5. In a typewriting machine, a carriage urged in letter-feeding direction, means to control the carriage, including a pinion and a rack on the carriage meshing with the pinion, and means to dlsengage. the rack from the pinion, including threaded through said rack at one side of theteeth thereof for adjustment to vary the extent of the disengaging movement,- said member having a cam at its effective end to facilitate the action thereof.

6. In a typewriting machine,a carriage urged in letter-feeding direction, means to control the carriage, including a pinion and a rack on the carriage meshing with the pinion, and means to disengage the rack from the pinion, including a member threaded through said rack at one side of the teeth thereof for adjustment to vary the extent of the disengaging movement, said member having oppositely-positioned caius to facilitate its action irrespective of the direction of movement of the carriage.

7. In a typewriting machine, a traveling carriage, and means for automatically tabulating the carriage, comprising a pinion advanced one step at each typing operation, a letter-space rack on the carriage normally meshing with said pinion and having two gaps in its teeth separated by a single tooth, and a device to shift said rack out of engagement with the pinion as the pinion-tooth first engaged by the single tooth of the rack is advanced one step, thereby preventing the single tooth of the rack from being held by the same tooth of the pinion in the second position of the latter, said device being adjustable to vary the extent of such rackshifting movement.

8. In a typewriting machine, a carriage urged in letter-feeding direction, escapement means including a pinion advanced a member one tooth at each typing operation and a' 'shiftable rack on the carriage having a row of letter-space teeth normally engaging two teeth of the pinion and a straightportion at one side of said row, and means to disengage the rack temporarily when the carriage reaches a predetermined position, the disengaging means comprising a member over which the straight portion of the rack travels and a device on the rack, adjustable to vary the extent of projection thereof from the rack, to engage said member and ride over the same, thereby disengaging the rack from the pinion for one letter-space movement of the carriage.

9. In a typewriting machine, a carriage urged in a letter-feeding direction, escapement mechanism comprising a pinion rotatable one step at each typing operation and a letter-space rack on the carriage normally in mesh withitwo teeth of the pinion and having two gaps, separated by a single tooth, for automatically tabulating the carriageto two ditierentcolumns, and automatic rack-shifting means for releasing the single tooth from the pinion as a result of clu ding a member on the rack adjustable to vary the'extent of the rack-shifting movement.

10. In a typewritingmachine, a carriage urged in a letter-feeding directiomescapement mechanism comprising a pinion rotatable one step at each typing operation and a letter-space rack on the carriage normally in mesh with two teeth of the pinionand having two gaps, separated by a single tooth, for automatically tabulating the carriage to two diil'ei'ent columns, and automatic rack-shifting means for, releasing ,the single tooth from the pinion as a result of a single typing operation inthe corresponding column, said rack-shifting means including an adjusting screw-on the rack to vary the extentof the rack-shifting movement. 7

11'. In a typewriting machine,.a carriage urged in alett'er-ieedin direction, escape- Inent mechanism comprising a-pinion rotat able'one step at each typing operation" and a liftable letter-space rack on thecarriage normally inmeshwith two teeth of the'pinion and having two gaps, separated by a single tooth,-for automatically tabulating the carriage to twoditferent columns, aroll engaging the rack at one side of the rackteeth'to limitthe downward movement of the rack and automatic rack-lifting means for releasing the single tooth from'the pinionas a result of a'single typing operation in, the corresponding column, said racklifting'means comprising a cam so positioned on the lower side ofthe rack as to ride over the roll when a typing operation is effected in the column corresponding to the single tooth, and adjustable to vary the extent oi the raclolifting movement.

12. 111 an automatic tabulating-device for a typewriter carriage, an escapement rack having gaps in its teeth separated by a single tooth, and a rack-lifting device comprising a screw movable with the rack to coropcratevwith' a stationary cam for a rack littingmovement, Z v I, 1

HENRY L; PITMAN.

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