US2096085A

US2096085A - Toy typewriter

Info

Publication number: US2096085A
Application number: US57985A
Authority: US
Inventors: Earl D Boisselier
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1936-01-07
Filing date: 1936-01-07
Publication date: 1937-10-19
Anticipated expiration: 1954-10-19

Description

Oct. 19, 1937. E. D. BOISSELIER TOY TYPEWRITER 3 Shets-Sheet 1 Filed Jan. 7, 1956 Earl DBdis-se liar;

Oct. 19, 1937. E, n. BOISSELIER TOY TYPEWRITER Filed Jan. '7, 1936 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 z a 2 Q 2 w 2 mg 7% Q 8 CM 2 87 w ill grwcwtoo EarlllBoisselier;

airman Patented Oct. 19, 1937 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE '1 Claims.

This invention relates to toy typewriters of the type used both for educational purposes and amusement of juveniles.

A primary object of the invention is to provide features of construction which simplify the operation and manipulation of the impression member as well as the platen carriage feeding means, thereby enhancing the reliability and practicability of the device, while at the same time providing a more substantial construction which enables the operator to more closely simulate the work produced by standard machines.

A further object is to provide a type wheel or type unit including so-called upper and lower case characters made of metal, thereby not only insuring clear and accurate impressions on the paper by use of a ribbon, but also making it possible to make carbon copies. In that connection, it is proposed to mount the carrier for the type wheel in such a way as to provide a relatively wide clearance between the type wheel and the platen in order to more clearly observe the letters being typed.

A further object of the invention is to provide a carrier for the type wheel which is constantly impelled or moved away from the platen by spring means, thus eliminating the manual operation for effecting the return of the type wheel to normal position, and, to also provide separate keys respectively for typing small and capital letters without requiring the setting of special levers or equivalent elements to effect the typing of different letters.

A further object is to provide means for efiecting a manual operation to space each letter by moving the platen step by step after a letter has been typed, and to also release the platen carriage after the completion of a line for return to normal position.

A further object is to provide a novel platen and platen carriage structure which greatly facilitates the manipulation of the paper.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, which will become more fully apparent as the 45 nature of the invention is better understood, the

same consists in the novel features of construction, combination and arrangement of parts, hereinafter more fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings and defined in the ap- 50 pended claims.

A preferred and practical embodiment of the invention is shown in the accompanying drawings, in which:-

Figure 1 is a top plan view of the improved toy 55 construction.

Figure 2 is a front elevation.

Figure 3 is a vertical cross-sectional view taken through the type wheel and its carrier, the parts being shown in their normalaat rest position.

Figure 4 is a diagrammatic vertical sectional I view similar to Figure 3 showing the relative movement and position of parts when the small type key is pressed to type small letters.

Figure 5 is a view similar to Figure 4 showing 1 the relative position of parts when the capital letter key is pressed to type capital letters.

Figure 6 is a detail vertical sectional view showing the type wheel carrier-and means for operating the same.

Figure 7 is a detail view of the platen spacing mechanism.

Figure 8 is a view of the parts shown in Figure 7 in the position wherein the, platen carriage feeding means is disengaged from the carriage rack to effect release of the latter, thereby to permit shifting of the carriage or platen back to starting position.

Similar reference characters designate corresponding parts throughout the several figures of the drawings.

In the embodiment shown in the drawings, the present device includes a casing designated generally as A, having a central raised wall portion A for supporting the ribbon rollers R in such a position that the ribbon R may be pressed forward by the type wheel unit B toward the platen device designated generally as C. For the purpose of effecting the feeding and release of the platen device C, suitable manually controlled lever means D is provided. The latter means is located at one side of the type wheel unit B, as will be apparent from Figure 1, so that it may be manipulated by the left hand of the typist while the type wheel unit B may be operated by the fingers of the typists right hand. To that end, the type wheel unit B is controlled by two separate keys E and F respectively. for actuating the type wheel unit and effecting the printing of small letters and capital letters, as desired, by the mere act of depressing the selected key.

Referring first to the type wheel unit B, it will be pointed out that the same includes a metallic disk or wheel I having an upper row of small letters or characters 2 and a lower row of capital letters or characters 3. The body of the type wheel is provided with a central upstanding hollow boss 4 which aifords a finger grip for aiding the operator in turning to the selected letter. The hollow boss also houses "a coil spring 5 surrounding a pivot stud 6 whereby the type wheel proper is resiliently mounted on the upper arm portion 1 of a carrier 8. holding the type wheel in the desired set or adjusted position, the bottom edge portion thereof may be notched or serrated at the location of the various letters, thereby to receive the upper For the purpose of end I of a drag spring I which is clamped bea sheet metal stamping and the side flanges 8" thereof are preferably enlarged as indicated at I and are also perforated to receive the cross pin 9. The forward end ofthe arm I of the type carrier-l is tensioned by spring ll whose upper end engages with the arm while the lower end is anchored as indicated at I. (Figure 3).

Thecrosspin linthe carrier! hasthe opposite end portions thereof pivotally and shiftably mounted for vertical movement in the slots II in the opposite parallel bracket plates l2 -l2 provided within the casing (Figure 6). Normally, therefore, the-spring ll pulls the type carrier 8 away from the platen C and also causes the cross pin 8 to be pomtioned atthe bot-' tom of the slots II.

For the'purpose of manipulating the type carrier l by the keys E and 1'' previously referred to,itmaybe pointedoutthatthesmall typekey E is'a part of the lever ll pivotally supported on the shaft ll mounted'between the spaced bracket plates l2-l2. The forward end or nose ii of the lever I3 is intended to engage the inside face of the type carrier 8. When the key E is depressed, it will be apparent from an inspection of Figures 3 and 4 that the type carrier will be rocked toward the platen against the ten-- sion; of the spring II. when the key E is released, the spring will pull the type wheel I and the entire, type unit including the carrier -'8 back to normal position. a The capital letter key F preferably co of a key of elongated or bar formation as will be apparent from Figure 1 and is carried by the spaced arms it which are bent so as to engage within the inside faces of the bracket plates l2, thereby to receive the pivot shaft "also positioned in the spaced bracket walls l2. The arms Ii of the lever beyond the pivot i'l converge as indicated at II to eventualLv meet as indicated at i9 and clamp therebetween a link 20 which is pivotally connected thereto by the pivot element 2i (Figure 3). The upper end of the link 20 is of forked formation to provide the portions 22 and 23, the latter constituting a shoulder adapted to enter a slot 24 in the type wheel car rier 8 so as to provide a point of engagement between the upper end of thelink and the type carrier above the pin 5 carried by the latter. When the capital type key F is depressed, the same will be rocked on the shaft i1 thereby forcing the link 20 upwardly which will have the eifect of initially lifting the type wheel carrier 8 due to the fact that the cross pin 9 will slide in the slots II and elevate the type wheel i so as to bring the capital letters I in line for printing at the platen. After the initial movement of the type key has effected the lifting of the type wheel, its continued movement will cause the type carrier to rock or tilt toward the platen and thus carry the type wheel with it.

It will, of course, be understood that the'sprlng l0 tensions the type wheel carrier, 8 against the operation of both levers I 3 and lB-ll so that when fingefpressure on either of the keys E or F is relieved, the carrier will be pulled back to normal position and the type wheel will be moved away from the platen. It will also be apparent that the upper portion A of the casing A constitutesthe return abutment or stop means for the upper arm I of the type wheel carrier.

Referring now to the platen carriage C, it may be pointed out that the same preferably comprises the front and

rear walls

25 and 28 respectively whose lower ends are flanged outwardly to be guided in the inturned channel portions 21 of a guide member 20 carried by the rear of the casing A. The rear wall 2 may be continued upwardly and bent into submtially archshaped formation as indicated at 29, andis pref- 5 erably provided at its rear side with a paper receivingslotfl Thefrontedgeisalsobentto provide a reinforced channel-like longitudinal platen member receiving seat 20. A strip or band of hard rubber or its equivalent 2! is arranged at the front edge of the reinforced seat portion 26' of the carriage element, thereby to provide a platen surface for receiving type impact imposed on the p per overlying-the platen. The ends of the front and rear carriage walls 2iand2landthearchedtopwall2l areclosed by the cap members II and respectively (1"lg ure 1). Wlthinthehouslngprovidedbytheconstruction Just described, there is provided a paper feeding and guiding member which has a portion 30 32 projecting outwardly through the slot 28 to receive and guide the paper into the slot, and also has an interior guiding surface a for directing the paper upwardly between the top edge of the front wall 25 and the reinforced seat portion 26 which carries the platen strip 20. The end walls ll and II of the carriage have journalled therein a shaft ll which is located within the housing afforded by the rear and top walls of the carriage. This shaft is provided with rollers 35 which are preferably made of rubb r and are intended to frictlonally grip a paper sheet passing over the guide portions 32 and through the opening 26". The portions of the shaft}! which project beyond the end caps II and II 3 are respectively provided with operating knobs It and 31. The knob 31 is provided with a flanged serrated disk 3| which is intended to cooperate with a resilient lug I! or its equivalent so that the operator may manipulate the knob, and consequently the rollers 35, step by step to obtain proper line spacing of the typed material.

The front wall 25 of the carriage, which is slidably mounted on the casing as above described, is provided with a series of rack teeth II which are intended to be engaged by the platen feeding means D. a

As will be observed from Figures 7 and 8, this platen feeding means includes a lever ll pivotally connected as at 42 with an arm 43 whose forward end projects through the top portion A of the casing and is provided with a finger grip M. The lever 43 is pivoted to the bottom side of the casing portion A as indicated at 45. The lever II is urged in one direction by a spring it having one end anchored to an offset portion of a lever while the opposite end is anchored as at 41 to one of the bracket plates i2. The lever ii is further provided with an oflset portion having a pair of teeth 48 for normally engaging with adjoining teeth "formed on the wall 25. It will be apparent that the spring 46 tensions the lever 4| so that this normalengagement is effected. The lever II is provided with an extension 49 adapted to overlie the end SI of a detent lever M. This is pivoted in a fixed position by the stud 52 to the underside of the casing A and has an offset portion ii. The detent lever SI is tensioned by a spring 53, one end of which connects with the lever while the other end is anchored to a perforated ear ll (Figure 1) of one of the bracket plates l2. The detent leveris provided with a single tooth 55 which also engages with the'teeth of the carriage to prevent backter spacing. o

ward or retrograde movement of the carriage under normal conditions.

The finger grip 44 of the lever 43 is located adjacent a fixed finger grip element 44 on the outside of the casing as will be apparent from Figure 1. When the operator grips the parts 44 andM and moves 44 toward 44, the lever 43 is moved to the dotted line position shown in Figure 7, and, consequently, the lever 4| is shifted to the left and the platen carriage is moved the desired distance through the. medium of the teeth 48 which engage with the toothed rack 40. When the operator releases the grip 44, the spring 46 returns the lever 4| to normal position, and it will, of course, be understood that the detent lever merely idly trails over the teeth 40 when the carriage is advanced, but comes quickly into position to prevent backward movement of the platen carriage.

When it is desired to move the carriage back to starting position, the lever 43 is moved in the opposite direction to that which it is moved to effect carriage feed as will be apparent from Figure 8. That is to say, the operator will move the finger grip 44 to the full line position shown iii-Figure 8, that is away from 44, so that the inner end of the lever 43 having the depending flange portion 43 will therebycause the toothed end of the lever 4| to be moved away from the rack 40 and consequently withdraw the teeth 48 from engagement therewith, This movement of the lever 4| also disengages the detent lever 5| from the rack due-to the fact that the extension 49 of the lever 4| engages the laterally offset or upstanding abutment 5| on the lever 5| as clearly shown in Figure 8. Accordingly, it will be apparent that the movement of 43-44 to the-extreme left in Figure 8 will simultaneously cause the

teeth

48 and 55 respectively of the carriage feeding and detent levers to disengage the rack teeth 4|] of the carriage. When this condition prevails, the entire platen carriage may be shifted:

right hand entirely for printing small or capital letters without using the left hand to raise and lower the type disk to diiferent positions, thus leaving the left hand free for letter spacing, that is, carriage movement. Also, the novel carriage construction provides a simple form of platenand paper feeding means which obviates the necessity of a roller. is simple and accurate and Without further description it is thought that the features and advantages of the invention will be readily apparent to'those skilled in the art,

and it will ofboursebe understood that changes in the form, proportion and minor details of construction may be ,resorted to, withoutldeparting from-the spirit ofthe invention and scope ofthe appended claims.-

I claim:

1. A toy typewriter including a casing, a platen, a support within. the casing'having slots, a rotatable type wheelunit having upper, and lower rows of type characters, a carrier for the type wheel having means for-operating in the slots of the support whereby the carrier may be rocked and also raised and lowered with reference to the platen, separatekey levers for actuating the car rier to cause it to tilt, and one of said levers having means for lifting the carrier.

between the flanges, offset elementscarried' by -the flanges for engagingpinwsaid slots of the body thereof, said second lever first lift and then tilt the carrier.

Moreover, the carriage feed insures uniform let- 2. In a toy typewriter, spaced frame parts hav ing slots, a rotatable type wheel, a carrier for said type wheel tensioned in one direction by a spring and arranged between said frame parts, oifset members on the carrier for engaging in said slots, a-lever for rocking said carrier when the offset members are in the bottom of the slots, a second lever having a link for engaging with said carrier to first lift the same until the offset to for engaging the carrier to first lift and then tilt the carrier.

4; Ina toy typewriter, spaced frame parts hava ing slots, a rotatable type .wheel, a carrier for said type wheel tensioned in one direction by a spring and arranged between said frame parts, 4

said carrier being of sheet metal and. having side flanges and a medially located vertical slot, 'pin portions projecting from the lower sides of the flanges and engaging in said frame slots, a lever for slidably engaging with the carrier at opposite sides of theslot therein, a second lever 'having a link provided with a shoulder normally lyingin the slot of the carrier and adapted to engage the upper edge of the slot when the lever is moved to first lift and then tilt the carrier.

5. In a toy typewriter, spaced frame parts having slots, a rotatable type wheel having rows of characters thereoma carrier for said type wheel tensioned in one direction by a spring, said carrier being arranged between said frame parts and including a body having an angularly offset arm supporting the type wheel and having flanges formed at its'side edges with. a slot in the body frame parts, a leverengaging directly Twith-the body ofthe carrier for tilting the same, and a second lever including a link adapted to engage.

directly with the carrier in the said slotof,-.th e

being adapted to 6, In a toy typewriter, spaced frame parts, a type wheel carrier spring tensioned in one direc.- tion and mounted for, sliding movement between. said frame parts, and separate key levers-for actuating said carrier, one of said levers having a sliding engagement with the .carrier and the otherhaving a flexible connection therewith to type characters, means for manually selecting f the characters desired, said means comprising a key lever for small type and akeylever for large type, and a carrier for said type'unit mounted for shifting movement and; having a slot, saidkey' lever for the small type characters engaging the 1 carrier to actuatethe same, and. said. key lever for the large type characters having a pivoted link. for engaging with an edge of said slot inthe carrier to shift the same when the last mentioned key lever is moved. l

' EARL D. oIs s'EmER. ';5'