US2421683A

US2421683A - Typewriter word counter

Info

Publication number: US2421683A
Application number: US527181A
Authority: US
Inventors: Chaskin Harold
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1944-03-20
Filing date: 1944-03-20
Publication date: 1947-06-03
Anticipated expiration: 1964-06-03

Description

June 3, 1947. H. CHASKIN TYPEWRITER WQRD COUNTER Filed March 20, 1944 3 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR. Harold (/msA z'n W June 3, 1947.

H. CHASKlN TYPEWRITER WORD COUNTER Filed March 20, 1944 LEI 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

Harold (has/227a June 3, 1947.

H. CHASKIN TYPEWRITER WORD COUNTER Filed March 20, 1944 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR. [fare/d C /iaak/fl Patente d June 3, 1947 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 3 Claims.

This invention relates generally to typewriting machines and more particularly to means for automatically counting the number of words typed.

In many typewriting operations it is highly desirable to keep track of the number of Words written. It is of course a very simple matter to provide a counter or register to be actuated either by the usual spacer bar or by a special counter key. The use of a special key however requires such an interference with the normal operating procedure as to render it impractical.

On the other hand extremely inaccurate results occur when using the spacer bar as the counter-actuator since the spacer bar is repeatedly used not only at the end of a word but also to provide additional spacing.

It is the object of my invention to provide mechanism for counting the number of words written and at the same time eliminate the foregoing objections.

I provide mechanism which can be coordinated with any type of machine and which will automatically count and register the words as written without any special attention to the spacer bar action and without requiring any special key.

To accomplish this I provide mechanism which automatically initiates action of the counter when any letter key is depressed to start a word. The counter then remains inactive and is not re-set until either the spacer bar is depressed at the end of the word, or in case the word ends at the end of a line and the spacer bar is not depressed until the line spacer lever is actuated to start a new line.

I also provide mechanism for preventing the accidental counting of the first part of a hyphenated word as a full word by making me effectual the movement of the spacer bar immediately following a hyphen.

Mechanism is also provided to complete the counting and the resetting of the parts in case the operator uses a dash character immediately following a finished word instead of striking the spacer bar.

It will be seen that the ideal action depends upon the nOVel step of starting the counter when ever a word is started and completing the counter action and restoring it ready to count another word only when the mechanism is ready to start another word.

The counter mechanism is not shown in detailbecause any conventional type may be used. The invention relates to the actuating and control mechanism for any suitable machine and counter.

In the drawings,

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a keyboard section of a standard typewriting machine embodying my invention.

Fig. 2, is a, sectional View of the plane of the line 22- of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a diagrammatic veiw showing various circuits,

Fig. 4 is a part plan and part diagrammatic view showing the chassi for the counter unit and relay elements.

Fig. 5 is a front elevational view of the appairatus of Fig. 4 with the cover removed.

Fig. 6 is a plan view of a portion of one end of the typewriting machine carriage showing one of the switching devices.

Fig. 'I is an elevational view looking from the right side of Fig. 6.

Fig. 8 is an elevational view lookin from the rear of Fig. 6.

My invention contemplates the use of a standard typewriter with a counter device which is electrically connected to a source of electromotive power, such as a house supply.

In Figs. 1 and 2, a fragment of a standard typewriter machine is shown comprising the front frame I which defines the space for the bank of character keys or keyboard. This keyboard is of the standard type consisting of an upper row of numerals and punctuation marks and three lower rows including letter keys 2.

Underneath the levers of the letter keys 2 and positioned in the path of movement of said levers is a pivotally mounted frame 3 which is stepped in formation, in cross section, to correspond to the stepped formation of the bank of key levers whereby upon movement of any of said letter keys said frame is moved downwardly.

It will be noted from Fig. 1 that this frame 3' does not extend under the furthermost three character keys on the right side of the lowermost row of keys, under the furthermost two character keys on the. right side of the next higher row of keys, under the furthermost key on the right side of the next higher row of keys nor under any of the keys on the top row.

Under the frame 3 and in the path of movement thereof and centrally of the bank of keys is the movable contact of an electric switch 4, which switch is adapted. to be closed by the engagement of said. frame with its movable contact.

Another switch 19 is similarly positioned adja- 3 cent switch 4 and is adapted to be opened by depression of the frame 3.

Still another switch 7 is positioned underneath and in the path of movement of the lever of the character key 6 and its movable contact is adapted to be actuated by said lever.

Under the lever of the hyphen key Ha is another switch iLthe movable contact of which is adapted to be engaged by said lever upon movement thereof for operating the switch.

I also propose to open the circuit through the counter actuator by means of an electric switch actuated by movement of the line spacing lever 26 on the carriage. I have accordingly placed a switch 9 on a stationary part of said carriage, the movable contact of which is disposed in the path of movement of a lug 26a on said lever 26.

All of the foregoing switches are adapted to control various circuits which include the actuator for the counter device I6 which may be positioned on a support adjacent the support for the typewriter.

My present invention contemplates opening the circuit through the counter by means of an electric switch actuated by movement of the spacer bar of the typewriter. For this purpose a switch 8 is mounted directly underneath the spacer bar 14 with its movable contact in the path of movement of said bar so that as the bar is depressed after completion of a word, the movable contact is engaged thereby and moved to open circuit position.

The counter device l6 and associated parts are shown in Figs. 3, 4 and and may be mounted on a suitable chassis which also supports a relay 5, a relay i8 and a pilot light 23. The relay 5 is preferably a solenoid magnet type and is positioned so that the arm l3a of its plunger I3 is adapted to engage and actuate the lever l5 of the counter 15.

The relay device I8 is connected in circuit with the switches I 1 and l 9.

The main and auxiliary circuits for the various devices are shown in Fig. 3 and controlled as follows:

When the first letter of a word, for instance, the letter T of the word The is struck, it will depress the frame 3, which will move the movable contacts of switches 4 and l 9, which are the make and break switches, respectively. However only the switch 4 is effective by this action and a circuit is closed through said switch from the left side of the line of the electromotive supply, said switch 4, the winding of magnet 5, and switches I, 8 and 9 to the right side of the line. Upon retraction of the frame 3, switch 4 is released but magnet relay 5 remains energized by a circuit from the right side of the line, through

switches

9, 8 and 1, winding of magnet 5, the inner contacts of magnet relay 5, to the left side of the line. Thus it is seen that when magnet relay 5 is once energized, the inner contacts thereof function to lock the relay, as long as current from the right side of the line reaches the magnet winding.

With magnet 5 operated, a second circuit is also closed from the right side of the line, pilot light 23, outer contacts of magnet relay 5, to the left side of the line.

From the foregoing, it will be seen that the depressing of the letter T of the word The causes magnet relay 5 to become energized, to lock and to light the pilot light. Any successive and subsequent strokes of the letters h and e to complete the word The have no efiect on the 4 circuits previously set up by the depressing of said letter T.

When the word The however has been completed by the depressing of the letter c after h, a space must be provided between said word The" and the next word to follow and this space is provided by depressing the space bar l4. When this spacer bar is moved downwardly it opens switch 8 This releases relay magnet 5 breaking its outer contacts and thereby extinguishing pilot light 23. The counter has recorded the count of the word The and the counter mechanism has been reset preparatory to counting subsequent words.

Thus it will be seen that movement of the spacer bar l4 downwardly following movement of any letter key 2 will complete a word count, and cause the above cycle of operations to be accomplished. A sole movement of the spacer bar l4 without movement of a letter key 2 will have no effect since the solenoid relay 5, which controls the counting apparatus, does not become excited until the switch 4 has been closed.

It is essential that the first part of a hyphenated word be not counted as a full word and in order to accomplish this the movement of the spacer bar must be made ineffectual if it takes place immediately following the movement of the hyphen key Ila. Movement of this latter key will move the movable contact member of switch I! which is directly underneath and close said switch momentarily. Referring to Fig. 3, the circuit, through this switch, is closed from the left side of the line, through the switch ll, the winding of relay I8, and the break switch l9, to the right side of the line. Relay l8 remains energized after switch I! becomes released by the return of the key. The locked circuit is then from the right side of the line, switch 19, and the winding and inner make contact of relay l8 to the left side of the line.

The effect of the downward movement of the hyphen key Ila is thus to bring the relay [8 into the circuit. Any movement of the spacer bar l4, whether accidentally or not, will have no eifect on the counter action, as the solenoid relay 5 will not be released as long as the relay [8 is in operated position. The circuit for the solenoid relay is then from the right side of the line, outer contacts of relay [8, winding of magnet 5 and inner contacts of magnet 5 to the left side of the line.

With the holding circuit thus set up, a downward movement of the spacer bar l4 opening switch 8 will not cause magnet 5 to release, due to the locking action of both relay l8 and relay 5. Hence no counter actuation or indication of a completed Word can take place when the hyphen relay I8 is operated. This is as it should be, as a hyphen appears in the body of a word and it is not desirable to count one portion of a hyphenated word as a complete word.

It is also important that the count of the last word on a line be completed. It often happens that the typist fails to strike the spacer bar after such last word but instead returns the carriage and platen to a new line position. I have made provision for such a contingency. On a stationary part of the slidable carriage of the typewriter adjacent the line spacing lever 26 thereof is located the trip switch 9. This switch includes a stationary contact member 9a: and a movable contact member 9 positioned in the path of movement of the lug 26a on lever 28.

When the last letter of the last word on the line has been struck and the typist fails to strike the spacer bar in order to complete the count of said word and restore the parts, movement of the carriage and platen to the left of the type writer casing for new line position, which is done by the line spacing lever 26, will cause the projecting lug 26a to wipe over the movable contact member. '9'. and open theswitch 9 which will open the circuit of relay magnet and cause it to complete the cycle.

The circuitincluding. this. switch 9 (Fig. 3) is from the right side of line, switches 9, 8 and 1, winding of relay 5., inner lockcontacts oi relay 5 to the left side of line.

When the switch 9 is thus operated to complete the count, subsequent movement of the spacer bar [4, without first moving a letter key will be ineffective to complete a count so that the end word cannot be counted more than once, since magnet 5 is now unlocked and therefore now inoperative.

Certain typists enclose parenthetical or subordinate matter in parenthesis characters or between dash characters and in using dash characters for this purpose often print the dash immediately following the last letter of the previous word without leaving a space. My invention contemplates the use of dash characters for this purpose without using a space between the dash character and the last letter of the previous Word, and provides mechanism for completing the count of said previous word upon movement of the dash character.

In carrying out this feature of my invention, it is contemplated that the upper case character of the 6 key Ia be used as the dash character. This can readily be done by shifting the keys for upper case writing by striking the Shift key key and then by turning the platen slightly to bring said upper case character to midway the height of the letters and then striking said 6 key. Underneath said 6 key and in the path of its movement is a break switch I, which switch is in the circuit with relay 5. When the key 6 is moved downwardly, it engages the movable contact of switch 1 to open the same and thus break the cricuit through the magnet 5, permitting the counter lever to complete the count and returning the movable parts to normal condition preparatory to subsequent count- It will be seen from the foregoing that I have provided three methods of breaking the circuit through solenoid relay 5 in order to break the circuit for completing the counting action and restoring the various elements to normal positions. One is by moving the spacer bar 14 downwardly to open switch 8. Another is by striking the dash key 1a and the third is by moving the line spacing lever 26 for tripping the switch 9. When the spacer bar is moved to complete the counting action, the switch 9 cannot be effective to complete the count and vice versa, when the switch 9 is operated, the spacer bar I4 cannot be effective. If all three were operated in succession, only one of them would be effective.

The pilot light 23, preferably red, may be mounted on the counter chassis for visibly indicating that the word is being counted and has been completed. This permits the typist to visualize an error in counting a word that should not be counted and is a warning that the error should be corrected which can be done manually by turning the hand screw (not shown) on the counter backwardly to erase the count ofzthe word.-

It will be noted that the only way to terminate the relay interlocking action of the hyphen relay I8 is by operationof a letter key which in depressing the frame 3 causes it .to actuate the break switch I9 thereby opening the circuit through the relay l8- The current for operating the mechanisms may b obtained from any suitable source by connecting a flexible conductor (not shown) to a plug device 22 on one side of the chassis of the counter. The other side of the chassis is provided with a 6-point outlet member 2| which may be connected by a flexible conductor (not shown). toa socketv 21. suitably placed on the typewriter machine.

It willbeunderstood that individual switches might be provided for each letter key instead of having a single frame 3 as shown.

The present invention is a simplification of and improvement over the broad invention disclosed in my copending applications, Serial No. 522,099, filed February 12, 1944, and Serial No. 524,021, filed February 26, 1944.

It is characterized by fewness of parts and positiveness of action.

It should be understood that the mechanical details involved in the so-oalled solenoid magnet type relay are unimportant. The main feature of this device is that direct connection is effected by the use of this type of relay so as to avoid the necessity of intervening connecting relays.

I claim:

1. Means for automatically operating a counter machine having a counter actuator from a standard typewriting machine having letter keys and a spacer bar including a main line circuit and an independent circuit arranged in parallel, a relay device of the solenoid magnet type in said independent circuit having a plunger, switching means in circuit with said relay device actuated by movement of a letter key of the typewriting machine for energizing said relay device to actuate its plunger for moving the counter actuator to a position preparatory to registering the count, means for maintaining said relay device energized for holding the counter actuator in moved position and inactive when subsequent letter keys are moved and a main line switch actuated by movement of the spacer bar of the typewriting machine for opening the circuit through said relay device thereby deenergizin the independent circuit for moving the counter actuator to complete the count.

2. Means for automatically operating a counter machine having a counter actuator from a standard typewriting machine having letter keys and a spacer bar including a main line circuit and an independent circuit arranged in parallel, a relay device of the solenoid magnet type in said independent circuit having a plunger, Switching means in circuit with said relay device actuated by movement of a letter key of the typewritin machine for energizing said relay device to actuate its plunger for moving the counter actuator to a position preparatory to registering the count, means for maintaining said relay device energized for holding the counter actuator in moved position and inactive when subsequent letter keys are moved, a main line switch actuated by movement of the spacer bar of the typewriting machine for opening the circuit through said relay device thereby deenergizing the independent circuit for moving the counter actuator to complete the count, and visual means for indicating that the counter actuator has moved.

3. In a word counting device for a standard typewriting machine having letter keys, a counting actuator, an electrical solenoid type relay having a coil in a power circuit which includes a switch, the circuit of which is adapted to be closed by the depression of any one of the letter keys of the typewriting machine so as to energize the relay device and place the counting actuator in position for registering a count, a second circuit including the coil of said relay device and having a second switch, the circuit of which is closed when said relay device is energized for maintaining said relay device energized and said actuator in moved position and a third switch in the second circuit of said coil, which third switch is normally closed, the opening of said third switch serving 8 to break said second circuit and permit said counting actuator to move to complete the count.

HAROLD CHASKIN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS