US2280772A - Copyholder - Google Patents

Description

' April 28, 1942 N. nouns COPY HOLDER Filed Nov. 20, 1940 3 Sheets-Sheet l April 28,

N. moons 2,280,772 COPY HOLDER Filed NOV. 20, 1940 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 M57011; fiodals" amend M v April 28, 1942.

N. oons COPY HOLDER 5 Sheets-611%: 3

1 Filed Nev. 20, 1940 w Myezaifiodds Patented Apr. 28, 1942 COPYHOLDER Nugent Dodds, Washington,'D.'C., assignor to Aifred M. Houghton, Washington, D. 0.

Application NovemberZO, 1940, Serial No. 366,486-

8 Claims.

This invention relates to copy holders and more particularly to devices of that character in which succeeding lines of written text material are successively designated in a step-by-step manner for accurate reading by a copyist.

While there are a variety of known copy holdersso constructed as to be subject to manipulation by an operator to present a selected line of written material in reading position, those which have enjoyed the widest commercial acceptance are characterized by a construction including two members; one of which serves to support the copy, while the other includes some line designating means. In such a machine, it is customary for one of the members to be held stationary, while the other is arranged for movement in a step-by-step manner to bring succeeding lines of copy into registry.

It is evident that, regardless of which one of the relatively movable members is actuated, the position thereof should, at all times, be completely under the control of the operator so as to insure accurate designation of any selected line of copy which, of course, will facilitate accurate reading of the material being copied. There are machine with which the copy holder will be cus-- tomarily associated.

It will be noted that each of the above control factors are incident to the operation of the machine in copy supporting position. However,

since in the usual construction of a copy holder the relatively movable members mutually telescope, and since most copy holders are portable, that is, bodily movable, it is desirable that the control over the position of the movable member be continuous, regardless of whether or not the 1 machine is in operation or whether it is being moved from place to place. Otherwise, the telescoping members might become disengaged as a result of handling in the course of transportation thereby rendering the re-assembly of the machine necessary before it can be used again.

The necessity for maintaining control over the movable member at all times when the machine is not in operation is of special advantage in some types of copy holders which have been recently .1.

developed. One such machine, disclosed in Dodds Patent 2,976,443, is adapted for specific use in conjunction with a typewriter. Copy is normally held in reading position rearwardly of, but above, the typewriter. The copy holder disclosed is intended for permanent installationon a typewriter desk and, as a consequence, means are provided whereby both the copy support and the line designating guide, as a unit, may be folded to a position rearwardly of the typewriter, but below the upperedge thereof, so that both-the typewriter and the copyholder may be used in conjunction with a folding-type desk 'or may be protected by a dust cover of ordinary construction.

Since, in the patented device, both of the relatively movable members are moved as a unit from a vertical operative to a horizontal inoperative position, and since during such movement they may become extended to a degree which may prevent folding of .thedesk, it is evident that control over the movable member when the machine is in inoperative position may contribute considerably to the'convenience of the operator in taking advantage of the folding construction.

It is therefore anobject of this invention to overcome all of the foregoing disadvantages and to provide a copy holder including a movable member, the position of which is under the control of the operator at all times, regardless of whether the machine is in operative or inoperative position, and regardless of whether or not it is in a stationary position or being moved about.

By this invention, it is contemplated that the movable member of a copy holder may be adjusted to different amplitudes of movement, will respond accurately to the adjustment and will maintain any adjusted position against all vibrations incident. to use in conjunction with copying apparatus.

It is a further object-of this invention to auto iatically lock the movable member of a copy holder against disengagement from its support during transportationor incident to movement from an operative to an inoperative position.

Other objects and advantages of this invention will be apparentfrom a consideration of the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment thereof in conjunction with the annexed drawings wherein:

Figure 1 is a view in front elevation of a copy holder of the type which may be moved from a vertical operative to a horizontal inoperative positi'cn showing, in released position, a locking dog for holding the movable copy support in retracted position;

Figure 2 is a detail view of the locking dog shown in Figure 1 when biased to locking in released Figure 6 is a detail view similar to Figure 5 but showing the lifting bar in gripping position;

Figure 7 is a detail view similar to Figure 5 but showing both cramping bars in released position;

Figure 8 is a perspective view showing the construction of the lifting bar;

Figure 9 is a perspective view showing the construction of the holding bar;

Figure 10 is a perspective view of the bar through which the cramping bars are operated.

Referring to the drawings in further detail, it will be seen that the copy holder of Figures 1, 3 and 4 is'of the type shown in Patent 2,076,448 and is adapted for permanent attachment together with a typewriter to the moving panel of a folding desk.

The copy holder comprises a base ID, a vertical standard II and a copy support I2 mounted for vertical sliding movement on the standard.

Base III consists of a flat portion, adapted to rest on a supporting platform preferably with its forward edge disposed beneath the rear legs of a typewriter, not shown, and a vertically disposed plate I3. Plate I3 is adapted, when the fiat portion of base I is disposed beneath a typewriter, to extend vertically in spaced relation to the rear thereof, and it is to this plate that standard II is attached.

Standard ll consists of a rear plate It having channel guides I5 along its vertical edges, a bottom plate I6 and a top plate II. An auxiliary plate I8 is attached to the rear face of plate I4 at I9 and 20, plate I8 being positioned parallel to but spaced from plate I4. The spacing between plates l4 and I8 is sufficient to accommodate the head of a bolt 2| which passes through and serves to join plate I8 to vertical plate I3. Thus, standard II is supported on base II] by attachment of members I8 and I3.

When standard II and copy support I2 carried thereby are as a unit in vertical operative position, as shown in Figure 1, bottom I6 of standard II rests on the flat portion of base I0 forward of plate l3 while the edge of said bottom is slipped under gripping members 22, which may conveniently be stamped from base II]. In order to hold the standard in this position, a U-bar 23 is employed. This bar comprises a shank 24 serving as a handle, a shank 25 and a transverse shaft mounted for rocking movement in a barrel 2'6 attached at 21 to the rear face of plate I3. In the position shown in Figures 3 and 4, shank 25 acts as a cam to urge the entire standard in a direction away from plate I3 so that the forward edge of bottom I6 is held under and in engagement with gripping members 22. Movement of U-bar 23 in the direction of the arrow in Figure 3 will release the standard II and copy support I2 carried thereby. This release is effected so that the standard and support as a unit may be moved to a horizontal position lying below the upper edge of a typewriter in a manner to be herein- 28 of copy support I2 and a pair of L-shaped' and are adapted to fit thereover to permit relative sliding movement between members II and According to the construction shown, standard II is held stationary while copy support I2 is moved with respect thereto. As a consequence, a copy gripper is associated with copy support I2 while a line designating guide is attached to standard II.

The copy gripper comprises primarily a flat bar 3i extending for the full width of front plate flat strips 32, one shank of which extends upwardly from either end of flat bar 3I, while the other shank extends rearwardly across the top 30 of a copy support I2 in a plane at right angles to the plane of bar 3|.

Strips 32, at their ends remote from bar 3|, are connected by a barrel 33 which includes two downwardly projecting tabs 234. Each tab 34 is attached to a leaf spring 35 which in turn is attached at its other end 36 to the rear face of plate 28. Springs 35 are so adjusted that they normally tend to hold bar BI against the front face of plate 28. It will be understood that in constructing the copy gripper bar 3I, strips 32, barrel 33 and tabs fi l may be stamped from a blank and may thereafter be bent into the form shown in Figure 3. The fiat surface of bar 3| which faces the front of plate I3 is provided with a continuous strip of resilient gripping material 31 which conveniently may be made of sponge rubber. A thumb rest 36 is attached to the center of top Wall 36 of member I2.

Barrel 33 has detachably received therein one shank of a U-bar 39. This bar is mounted for pivotal movement about barrel 33 as an axis, the free shank extending rearwardly of plate I4 of standard II.

When copy is to be held on supporting member 52 in reading position, the operator may grasp barrel 33 and thumb grip 33 with his fingers and force them toward one another. This will result in compression of springs 35 and the forward movement of strips 32 and bar 3| carried thereby. Thus, bar EI will be moved away from the face of plate 2%. Once gripping strip 37 and the front face of plate I3 are spaced apart sufiiciently to accommodate a sheet or sheets of copy therebetween, such copy is inserted and an edge thereof is pushed up until it comes to rest against the lower surface of the shanks of strips 52 which are at right angles to the long axis of the plate 23 and hence to the paper held thereagainst. These shanks of strips 32 serve to align the paper on the supporting member I 2 for the reason that they lie in a plane parallel to its top 30. Once the paper is in position, thumb grip 38 and barrel 33 are released. Springs 35 then move to normal position (as shown in Figure 3) thereby compressing the sheet or sheets of copy between gripping strip 3'? and the front face ofplate 28. Since gripping strip 31 is continuous for the full length of bar 3i, the copy will be held firmly in aligned position during the ordinary manipulation of the copy holder.

If material is to be copied from a sheet of a bound volume, such as a stenographers notebook, the top edge of bar 3| is used as a sight line to align the copy while pages not in use may be thrown back over top 3t and held against back plate M of standard I I' by the free arm of U-rnember 39. Since U-member 39 is mounted for pivotal movement in barrel 33, the distance of the free arm thereof from plate i4 maybe adjusted to accommodate any number of sheets up to a cumulative thickness equal to the length of the radial arm of the U-member.

Since the material to be copied is held between gripping strip 37 and the front plate 26 of the copy supporting member, it will hang downwardly parallel to the front face of plate 28. In order to designate a particular line to be read, a line designating guide 49, is employed. Guide M is mounted to extend across the face of plate 38 in spaced relation with respect thereto. Guide 49 consists of a flat strip having a barrel along one of its long edges. One shank of a U- bar M is mounted in this barrel while the other shank is pivotally mounted in a barrel 42 attached at 43 to the rear face of plate M of the supporting standard. When copy is being attached to the copy support plate l2 and it is desirable to have line designating guide 46 out of the way, U-bar 4! is moved about its axis in barrel 42 until the radial arm thereof is substantially at right angles to the long axis of plate 28. This will leave ample space between plate 28 and the line designating guide to permit easy adjustment of the paper in the manner heretofore described.

As has been stated, the copy holding member i2 is mounted for movement on standard H.

The purpose of this movement is to lift the copy held against plate 26 so that successive lines thereof may be presented to the line designating guide 4%.

The actuation of copy support i2 is effected by manual operation of a lever M which will move a U-shaped lifting bar 45 which in turn lifts cramping bar t6 which acts on a rod 41 attached to copy support 12.

Operating lever M includes an arm 48 acting as a handle, a shaft 49 mounted for rocking The movement of arm 58, limited by the setting of cam 53, will be imparted to driven arm 52 through shaft 45. Arm 52 is connected to a shank 54 of U-shaped lifting bar 55, the shank being provided with a slot 55 for this purpose (see Figure It will be noted that slot 55 has its mouth opening to the left side of shank 54 as viewed in Figure 1.

The other shank of U-shaped lifting bar 45, designated by the numeral 56, is mounted for vertical reciprocating movement in two shelflike members 5? and 58 attached at 59 and 65!, respectively, to rear plate M of standard H. Each of the members 5'! and 58 is provided with a rectangular slot 6! and filo, respectively, adapted to receive shank 56. Both slots are of a length in excess of the width of shank 56 and the slot 8| in member 5'! is open at one end (see Figure 4).

From the construction thus far described, it will be seen that downward movement of arm 48 of operating lever 44 will cause upward movement of driven arm 52 and that this upward movement will be imparted to u bar through the top edge of slot in shank 54. Since U-bar 45 is of unitary construction, movement of shank 54 thereof will also result in movement of shank 56. This shank, acting through cramping bar 46, will lift copy support i2 through lifting rod 41 attached thereto.

Referring now to Figures 5 to 10, inclusive, it will be observed that cramping bar 46 is provided with a rectangular aperture 62 at one end thereof and at the other end with a round aperture 63. Aperture 62 is intended to receive a neck of reduced width 64, formed near the free end of shank 56, as shown in Figure 1, while aperture 63 loosely accommodates lifting rod 47. Apertures 62 and 63 are spaced apart a distance such that the edge of aperture 62 nearest aperture 63 will be held closely against neck 64. Above neck 64, shank 56 widens to form a portion 65 which extends in the direction of rod 41 in a position above cramping bar 46. The fiat under surface of this portion extends at a right angle to neck 64. Thus, cramping bar 46 is pivotally attached to neck 64 of shank and clockwise movement thereof is limited by rod Al, as can be seen in Figure 6, while counterclockwise movement is limited by portion 65 in the manner shown in Figure '7.

Another cramping bar 66, shown in Figure 9, is associated with rod 41 and shank 56 although it is attached to neither. Cramping bar 66 rests on support 61 suitably attached at 68 to shelf 56. In this position shank 55 passes freely through forked end 69 thereof while an aperture it) freely accommodates rod 41. Since bar 66 is mounted for rocking movement about support 6? and since most of its weight is on the right side of the point of support as viewed in Figures 5 to 3, inclusive, its normal position is that shown in Figure 5. Forked end 66 of cramping bar 56 is bent upwardly so that straightening of bar as through portion 65 will be imparted thereto (see Figure '7) The lifting rod 41 on which cramping bars 46 and 66 act is provided with a threaded end if of reduced diameter. This end is passed through a suitable aperture in top 36 of copy support if, while connection is effected by a nut 12. On the under side of top 36, a resilient sleeve '53 surrounds the rod. While the copy support i2 is guided by the coaction of guides 25 and 25, a cylinder I4 is provided for the reception of rod ll. This cylinder is suitably attached to shelf 58 and bottom plate lEand serves to receive the free end of rod 4'! which passes through a suitable opening in shelf 53.

It has been explained that shank 56 may be caused to move upwardly by operation of lever 44. When this lever is released, shank 55 is returned to normal position by a spring i5 extending from shelf 5?. Normal position for shank 55 is determined by a leaf spring '76 which is attached at one end to bottom plate it with its free end underlying the transverse portion of U-bar E5 and serving to space the same from bottom I 6.

When the copy holder is to be operated, copy is attached to support 12 in the manner heretofore described. Cam 53 is adjusted to limit the movement of lever M. At the start of operation, both cramping bars are in their normal position (see Figure 5) If operating lever M is now pressed down, the motion thereof will be transmitted in the manner heretofore explained to shank 56 of U-shaped lifting bar 2-5. Because of its weight, supported only from the end having aperture 62 therein, cramping bar it will be biased in the position of Figure 5. In that position the axis of aperture 6;} is at an angle to axis of rod 47 so that the defining edges of the aperture frictionally engage the rod. Thus, the upward movement of shank 55 will be imparted, without lost motion, through the shoulders thereof at neck 64 to rod 41 which will lift copy support l2, thus bringing another line of copy into registry with line guide 40. Before lever 44 is operated, cramping bar 65 is also in the position of Figure 5, that is, gripping the rod 41. Upon upward movement of the rod, however, by action of cramping bar 46, bar 66 will be lifted by rod 4! to release position. This occurs by pivotal movement around support the forked end 69 being free.

When operating lever 44 is released, spring immediately returns U-bar 45 to normal position resting on spring 16. As this happens, cramping bar 65, which has been only slightly straightened by the upward movement of rod 41, immediately falls to gripping position as shown in Figure 5. During the downward movement of shank 56, portion 65 keeps bar 45 in release position but once the downward movement ceases, bar 46 also falls to the Figure 5 position and is again ready to lift rod 41 when lever id is next operated. Meanwhile, the adjusted position is continuously maintained by cramping bar 66.

It will be seen that if the foregoing procedure were repeated enough times, copy support l2 might be entirely separated from standard H. To prevent this a locking dog Tl is pivotally attached to rear plate I 4 of standard H near the top edge thereof. A spring 18 normally urges this dog to extended position through an aperture T9 in guide l5 and thus into engagement with the under side of guide 29. Near the lower end of guide 29 an aperture 83 is provided. Thus,

when copy support I2 is moved to such an extent that apertures i9 and 80 are in registry, dog I? will be urged by spring 18 through both of them, thereby locking standard II and copy support 12 against further relative movement. The dog 11 may be released manually.

When copy support [2 is to be lowered, operating lever 44 is pulled upwardly, thus causing arm 52 to move U-bar 45 downwardly below normal position thereby compressing spring '16. The effect of this movement on cramping bars 46 and 66 is illustrated in Figure 7. Portion 65 maintains bar 46 straight, in release position, while bar 46, acting on the ends of fork 69 pivots bar 66 to release position. Thus, when the cramping bars 46 and 66 are in the position of Figure 7, copy support l2 will not be held by either of them and so will fall by gravity to fully retracted position. Ihe fall is cushioned by sleeve 1.3 which will insure noiseless operation.

In the fully retracted position of copy support l2, aperture 80 in guide 29 is aligned with another aperture 8! located near the lower end of guide 15. A double dog is pivotally mounted on back plate M in such a position that projection 82 may pass through openings 80 and 8! to lock together copy support 12 and standard H. A spring 83 normally biases the projection 82 to this position. Another projection 84 extends through an opening 85 near the bottom of guide l5 at a point below the lower edge of copy support l2 even in its fully retracted position. Projection 84 lies in the path of handle 24 of U-bar 23 in its movement to normal position. Thus, when standard H is locked to base It, by action of cam arm 25 which forces the forward edge of bottom I5 under grippers 22, projection 84 will be engaged and retracted by handle 24. Since the double dog is of unitary construction, retraction of projection 84 also results in retraction of projection 82 against the thrust of spring 83. As

a consequence the double dog does not serve to lock together standard H and copy support 12 except at such times as handl 24 may be in release position. Handle 24 is moved to release position only when the copy support and standard are, as a unit, to be moved to horizontal inoperative position. Thus, projection 82 in no way interferes with the normal operation of the copy holder, but as the device is moved to horizontal position, the lock takes effect to prevent accidental separation of copy support I2 from its standard I I.

Movement of the standard and copy support to inoperative position involves first releasing cam arm 25, then disengaging bottom plate [5 from grippers 22 and finally moving copy support and standard, as a unit, in a counterclockwise direction to horizontal position. It will be noted that auxiliary plate 43 is provided with a generally C-shaped slot which guides the movement to and from horizontal position. This slot allows the left guide 29 to contact the upper surface of the flat portion of base l0 when the device is folded. In this position, the copy holder will not extend above the edge of a typewriter with which it may be used. Return to vertical position is also guided by the slot in plate 18. However, even when the bottom of standard H has been urged into contact with grippers 22 and lock 82 has been released, the device is not yet ready for operation. It will be seen that when slot 55 of shank 54 is disengaged from arm 52 of the operating lever, the latter will fall by gravity until cam 53 touches the surface of the support for the copy holder. This raises the end of arm 52 above the slot so that return of standard II to vertical posi tion will cause arm 52 and shank 54 to contact at a point above slot 55. Since arm 52 cannot be shifted laterally, U-shaped lifting bar 45 will pivot about slot Ma as an axis to the position shown in broken lines in Figure 1. If lever 44 is then lifted so that arm 52 is lowered and aligned with slot 55, spring 15 will move the lifting bar back to normal position.

From the foregoing, it will be seen that the operator has complete control of the movement of copy support [2 at all times. Either one or the other of cramping bars 46 and 66 or dog 11 or 82 is serving to prevent undesired movement of the copy support. Of course, it is to be understood that the construction explained above is merely exemplary and that many modifications thereof be within the scope and spirit of the annexed claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a copy holder including a base, mutually telescoping members, one of said members being adapted to hold copy and the other including line indicating means, means for moving one of said members to designate a selected line of copy, and means carried by one of said members and the base for positioning said movable members as a unit in either a vertical operative or horizontal inoperative position, means for locking said members against relative movement in any relative position when they are as a unit in vertical operative position, means for holding said members as a unit in vertical operative position, and means controlled by said holding means for locking said members against relative movement when they are as a unit in horizontal inoperative position, whereby the movable member may be held in fixed position regardless of whether the members are as a unit in vertical operative or horizontal inoperative position.

2. In a copy holder including a base, mutually telescoping members, one of said members being adapted to hold copy and the other including line indicating means, means for moving one of said members to designate a selected line of copy, and means carried by one of said members and the base for positioning said movable members as a unit in either a vertical operative or horizontal inoperative position, means for locking said members against relative movement in any relative position when the two are as a unit in vertical operative position, releasable means for holding said members as a unit in vertical operative position, and means brought into operation by release of said holding means for locking said members in fully retracted position against relative movement when they are as a unit in horizontal inoperative position, whereby the movable member may be held in fixed position regardless of whether the two members are as a unit in vertical operative or horizontal inoperative position.

3. In a copy holder including a base, mutually telescoping members, one of said members being adapted to hold copy and the other including line indicating means, means for moving one of said members to designate a line of copy, and means carried by one of said members and the base for positioning said movable members as a unit in either a, vertical operative or horizontal inoperative position, means for locking said members against relative telescoping movement upon full extension thereof, means for locking said members against relative movement upon complete retraction thereof, and means for locking said members against relative movement in positions intermediate full extension and full retraction, only when the movable members are as a unit in vertical operative position, whereby the movable member may at all times be held in fixed position with respect to the other member regardless of whether said members as a unit are extended in vertical operative or retracted in horizontal inoperative position.

4. In a, copy holder including a base, mutually telescoping members, one of said members being adapted to hold copy and the other including line indicating means, means for moving one of said members to designate a line of copy, and means carried by one of said members and the base for positioning said movable members as a unit in either a vertical operative or horizontal inoperative position, automatic means for locking said members against relative telescoping movement upon full extension thereof, means under the control of the operator for locking said members against relative movement upon complete retraction thereof, and automatic means for locking said members against relative movement in positions intermediate full extension and full retraction only when the movable members are as a unit in vertical operative position, whereby the movable member may at all times be held in fixed position with respect to the other member regardless of whether said members as a unit are extended in vertical operative r retracted in horizontal inoperative position.

5. In a copy holder including a base, mutually telescoping members, one of said members being adapted to hold copy and the other including line indicating means, means for moving one of said members to designate a line of copy, and means carried by one of said members and the base for positioning said movable members as a unit in either a vertical operative or horizontal inoperative position, releasable means for holding said members as a unit in vertical operative position, and means for latching said members against relative movement, said latohing means being held inoperative by said releasable means only when it is in holding position, whereby upon release of said holding means said members will be locked together for movement as a unit to horizontal inoperative position.

6. In a copy holder including a base, mutually telescoping members, one of said members being adapted to hold copy and the other including line indicating means, means for moving one of said members to designate a line of copy, and means carried by one of said members and the base for positioning said movable members as a unit in either a vertical operative or horizontal inoperative position, releasable means for holding said members as a unit in vertical operative position, and means for latching said members against relative movement upon complete retraction, said latching means being held inoperative by said releasable means only when it is in holding position, whereby upon release of said holding means said members will be locked together for movement as a unit to horizontal inoperative position,

'7. In a copy holder including a base, mutually telescoping members, one of said members being adapted to hold copy and the other including line indicating means, means for moving one of said members to designate a line of copy, and means carried by one of said members and the base for positioning said movable members as a unit in either a vertical operative or horizontal inoperative position, releasable means for holding said members as a unit in vertical operative position, and a spring urged dog for latching said members against relative movement upon complete retraction, said latching means being held inoperative by said releasable means only when it is in holding position, whereby upon release of said holding means said members will be locked together for movement as a unit to horizontal inoperative position.

8. In a copy holder including mutually telescoping, relatively movable members, one adapted to hold copy and the other to designate a selected line thereof, a lifting bar, means for moving the same longitudinally in either direction, and a lifting rod attached to one of the telescoping members, a friction clutch pivotally carried by said bar and adapted to engage said rod upon upward movement of said bar to transmit the motion thereof to said rod, means on said bar for releasing said clutch upon downward movement of said bar, a second clutch underlying the first and adapted to hold said rod when said bar is not moving in either direction, said second clutch including an upwardly canted bifurcated portion between the shanks of which said lifting bar is adapted to pass, and means supporting said second clutch between its ends for rocking movement to and from gripping position, whereby when the bar is moved downwardly the efiect of the means for releasing said first-named clutch is transmitted therethrough to the second clutch to release the same.

NUGENT DODDS.

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