US2141747A

US2141747A - Educational appliance

Info

Publication number: US2141747A
Application number: US94982A
Authority: US
Inventors: Philip S Gross
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1936-08-08
Filing date: 1936-08-08
Publication date: 1938-12-27
Anticipated expiration: 1955-12-27

Description

Deg; 27, 1938. P. s. GROSS EDUCATIONAL APPLIANCE Filed Aug. 8, 195e r9 INVENTOR ATTOR N EYS Patented Dec. 27, 1938 UNETED STATES ATENT oFFlcs This invention relates to educational appliances and more specifically to an apparatus which is designed primarily to teach the touch system of typewriting.

A further object is to provide an appliance of this character which may be manufactured and sold at a reasonably low price and which will be most ei'oient in the performance of its function.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists in certain novel features of construction and combinations and arrangements of parts, all of which will be more fully hereinafter described and pointed out in the claim.

1 In the accompanying drawingf appliance;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary plan view on a somewhat enlarged scale looking down upon the intermediate plate of the device; and

Fig. 3 is an enlarged view in section on the staggeredline 3-3 of Fig. 1.

The reference character A is employed to indicate generally a board, which comprises three superimposed plates I, 2 and 3. These platesV may of course be of any suitable material and in the cheaper form cardboard may be used. The plate I constitutes a backing plate on which the intermediate plateZ and the top plate 3 are secured by adhesive or in any other manner. 'I'he top plate 3 is provided with openings 4 correspending in number and in general shape to the keys of a typewriter, and the backing plate I in line with these openings 4 is provided with characters 5 corresponding to the characters of the keyboard of a typewriter. The term character is used in its broadest sense to indicate letters, numerals and symbols such as are commonly employed. The intermediate plate 2 is formed with elongated slots 6 in which movable shutter disks or shutters l are located. These shutter disks may be moved to a position back of the openings 4 to show the characters 5, or they may be moved away from this position to expose the characters. It is to be understood that the shutters are loosely mounted in the slots so that a tipping or tilting movement of the board A will cause all of the shutters to move by gravity to closed or open position.

The board A and more particularly the top plate 3 is provided with numerals 8 Ibelow or at least adjacent to the openings 4. 'Ihese numerals l, 2, 3 and 4 which are thus employed indicate the fingers of the hand which are to be used in manipulating the shutters 1.

The top plate 3 is provided with a field 9, which Figure 1 is a plan view illustrating my improved field is divided by a line IIJ into what may be known as a right-hand space II and a left-hand space i2, and on said plate 3 a space I3 is provided containing the caption Space bar, which is also divided by a line I4 into a right-hand space I5 and a left-hand space I6, indicating by this terminology the hand which is used to strike the portions of the space bar. Four of the openings 4 in each of the spaces II and I2 are located within what may be termed a home space. That is to say, in the right-hand space I I a home space I1 is provided for the fingers of the right hand and in the left-hand space I2 a home space I8 is provided for the fingers of the left hand. These various spaces may be more clearly differentiated by colors or other means and it is to be understood of course that the exact location and arrangement of parts may be varied to suit conditions. i

The primary use of the board, as above stated, is to teach the touch system of typewriting, and the initial position of the fingers of the right hand is in the openings 4 of the home space Il, and of the fingers of the left hand in the openings 4 of the home space I8. It will be noted that these `openings in the home spacers are numbered 1 2, 3 and 4, respectively, indicating the position of the lingers of the hand, and the other openings of the board are numbered 1, 2, 3 and 4 indicating that the shutters of these several openings are to be operated by the fingers which correspond to the nger positions in the spaces I'l and I8. In other words, the index iinger is numbered l and this finger is to be used to operate all of the shutters marked 1; the middle finger is numbered 2 and is to be used to operate all of the shutters marked 2, etc., and thus the operator knows that he or she must use that particular finger to operate the shutters under the openings having a corresponding number. It is not intended that the finger always return to the home space, but it is to be understood that the initial position of the fingers is in these home spaces and there is a mental concept of the distance fromV these home spaces to the other openings in the board, thus giving the greatest amount of freedom and utility to the action of the fingers in rapidly typing by the touch system.

It will be noted by reference to the drawing that the shutters 'I to be operated by the right hand have a movement which is directed downwardly and to the left, while the shutters to be operated by the left hand have a movement which is downwardly and to the right.

In the touch system of typewriting, the four lingers, eliminating the thumb, rest lightly upon or hover over the home keys, as shown in the spaces I1 and i8. When an assigned nger moves to an assigned shutter, as, for instance, the little nger of the left hand moving to the Q letter, the index linger, middle finger, andnger adjacent to the middle nger rest lightly on the home or guide keys spaces while the little finger reaches up to clutch down the shutter covering the letter Q; thus the only movement in depressing the shutter covering the letter Q Will be one going downwardly towards the right and towards the center of the operators body. The same holds true when an attempt is made to move the shutter covering the letter P on the right. Here the little lnger of the right hand moves downwardly and to the left, which is the natural movement, and towards the center of the body.

While I have illustrated and described what I believe to be the preferred embodiment of my invention, it is obvious that various slight changes may be made with` regard to the form and arf rangement of parts without departing from my invention, and hence I do not limit myself to the precise details set forth but consider Ymyself at liberty to makeV such changes and alterations as fairly fall within the spirit and scope of the claim.

I claim:

An educational appliance including a board having openings in'its top corresponding to the standard keyboard of a typewriter,v said board back of said openings containing characters corresponding tothe characters of the keyboard, and sliding shutters back of said openings adapted when in one position to cover the characters and when in another position to expose the characters,V said board having an intermediate plate having elongated slots therein for the accommodation and longitudinal movement of the shut- Y ters, the slots to accommodate the shutters for the right hand extending downwardly and to the left and those to accommodate the shutters of the left hand extending downwardly and to the right, whereby as the result of this arrangement the shutters to be operated by the lingers of the right hand are. movable in a path downwardly and to the left and the shutters adapted to be moved by the lingers of the left hand are mov# able downwardly and to the right.

PHILIP S. GROSS.