US2599561A - Apparatus for inking ribbons - Google Patents

Description

June 10, 1952 J. P. KNIGHT 2,599,561

APPARATUS FOR INKING masons Fil ed Nov. 12, 1947 A rrORA/EMs.

Patented, June 10, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE APPARATUS FOR INKING RIBBONS John P. Knight, Detroit, Mich.

Application November 12, 1947, Serial No. 785,253

9 Claims.

The present invention relates in general to improvements in the art of supplying ink to the continuous bands or ribbons of typewriters or the like, and relates more specifically to an improved method of and apparatus for maintaining the impression ribbons of divers types of typewriting machines properly supplied with ink.

The primary object of my invention is to provide an improved mode of supplying and of applying fresh ink to the continuous ribbons of typewriters of various kinds.

It has heretofore been common commercial practice to supply fresh ink to the advancing continuous ribbons of typewriting machines such as tabulators, by feeding the ink from a supply basin through a wick to the impression face of the traveling ribbon while the latter is being fed from one guiding spool to another. In most of these prior re-inking systems, fresh ink is poured into the supply basins from a bottle or the like, whenever the supply runs low, and is delivered to the surface of the ribbon by capillary attraction through a feed tube having therein a flat or rather loosely woven wick; and. these previous devices were not only extremely messy due to the method of handling the fresh highly fluent ink, but they also failed to uniformly distribute ,the ink upon the ribbon and could not be conveniently adjusted to vary the quantity of fresh ink actually deposited upon the advancing ribbon surface.

It is therefore an important object of the present invention to provide an improved system for supplying fresh ink to such ribbon inking systems. in the form of hermetically sealed batches or cartridges which may be readily handled and applied to the machines without messing the operators hands, clothing, or the permanent parts of the machines.

Another important object of this invention is to provide an improved wick and mounting for ribbon reinking receptacles or cartridges, whereby the ink may be uniformly deposited upon the ribbons in regulated quantities and over selected areas only of the inked receiving surfaces.

A further object of my invention is to provide an improved ink confining and dispensing container or receptacle for typewriter ribbon inking devices, which will effectively seal the ink before application of the unit to a machine, and l which will also eliminate messy ink from escaping after the container has been installed for normal use.

Still another object of the invention is to provide an improved ink supply unit and an improved mode of producing the same, so that the confined ink will remain intact and fresh until the unit is applied for actual use, while most effective dispension of the contents results after such installation of the unit.

An additional object of the present invention is to provide a simple, relatively inexpensive, and highly eflicient system for effecting re-inking of continuous typewriter or similar ribbons, in which the various structural elements may be safely and conveniently handled and manipulated without introducing messy conditions.

These and other objects and advantages of my invention will be apparent from the following detailed description.

A clear conception of the several steps involved in my new system for packaging ink, and of the construction and operation of the various elements of a typical ribbon re-inking apparatus embodying the improvements, may be had by referring to the drawing accompanying and forming a part of this specification wherein like reference characters designate the same or similar parts in the various views.

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of a typical tabulator ribbon inking assemblage, illustrating the manner in which my improved fresh ink supply cartridges and wicks may be applied during actual use;

Fig. 2 is a central vertical section through one of my improved ink cartridges, with the closure cap about to be applied during production of the unit;

Fig. 3 is a part sectional elevation of one of the improved ink cartridges, looking toward the delivery end of the wick and showing the unit mounted in a pivot clamp preparatory to normal use;

Fig. 4 is a top view of one of the improved ink supply units, showing the same supported in a mounting clamp;

Fig. 5 is a transverse section through one of the ink laden cartridges taken along the line 5-5 of Fig. 2, and depicting the unit disposed within a pivot clamp;

Fig. 6 is an enlarged diagram illustrating the manner in which the improved cylindrical wick may be caused to coact with the ink transfer roller, viewed from above; and

Fig. 7 is a similarly enlarged diagram illustrating the wick and ink transfer roller coaction as viewed from the side.

While the invention has been shown and described herein as being especially advantageously applicable to typewriter ribbon re-inking systems and for ofiice use, it is not my desire or intention to unnecessarily limit the utility of the improvements by virtue of this restricted disclosure.

Referring to the drawing, the typical system for re-inking continuous typewriter ribbons shown therein, comprises in general an approximately cylindrical fresh fluent ink supply cartridge 9 adapted to be rotatably adjustably confined within a resilient clamp Ill mounted upon the frame of a typewriting machine, and having a'laterally extending tube l at its upper end within which a cylindrical felt wick l 2 is snugly confined; and an ink transfer roller I3 journalled for rotation upon the machine frame and coacting with the wick l2 and with a continuous advancing ribbon M of the typewriter so as to produceaband 1 50f ink which travels from the wick to the ribbon 14 during normal advancement of the latter. The ribbon I4 may be fed from a supply spool 16 past a set of spaced parallel guide rolls [1, l8 coacting with'one face of the ribbon, while theink transfer .roller 1 3..coacts with-the opposite facerof the3ribbon M between the guide ,rolls H, 18,;and the tension on the advancingribbongshouldbe maintained sufficient to cause the roller 13 to spread the fresh ink into a wider area or band 1,9 as the ire-inked ribbon passes the transfer roller and approaches the final guide roll 20, see Fig. 1.

Thefresh inksupply receptacle or'cartr'idge 9 is of improved hermetically sealed construction.

Each cartridge unit'consistsof a 'cylindricalrelatively deep cup-shaped tlower casing .22, and a closure cap 23 having an annular lip 24 at its lower end pierced by a vent hole 25 while its upper end is provided with another vent opening :26 normally sealediby an'integral sealing {projection 2.1 in addition to having the ,wickguiding -tube ."II rigidly associated :therewith. The inner rner depending end which is adapted to extend into the :lower casing 22 and to :rest 'ontheibottom thereof. The'outer end of the wick 12ppreferably .extendspast the tube portion128 to theouter tube end, and is initially enclosed within asealing cap 29 either screwed orslip-fitted over the tubeend, and sealed by a gasket or a seal strip 238, :as

shown in Fig. 2.

When the various elements of each :improved .ink confining cartridge 9 have been .initiallyconstructed as above described, thesuccessive lower cup-shaped casings 22 are preferably supplied as in Fig. 2, with batches or quantities of the :fiuent ink 32. With the ink 32 in each batch still in heated condition, the cap '23 .may be applied so :that :the depending end of the wick .12 will 'be immersed in the ink, and the cap lip 24 may be gradually forced within the'upperend of thelbore ofithe casing 22 with sealing cementflfiapplied to the annulargap as shown in Fig. 3. During this application of the cap 23, air will escape through rthetvent hole 25 until this escape passageis sealed by the cement 33;.and since the :ventrhole 25 is sealed by the integral projection 21 and the outer end of the tube l isalso hermetically sealed by the auxiliary cap 29 and stripf3il,the finallyprepared ink receptable will be hermetically sealed. If the cap is applied with the ink-in a heated-con- 'dition the cartridge will have somewhat reduced =internal pressure when the confinedink 32 cools --to atmospheric temperature and contracts.

After the cartridges 9 have been thus constructed, loaded and hermetically sealed, the nuts may be handled without danger of ink escaping, and in order to apply one of the ink laden cartridges to a typewriter or other machine, it is only necessary to insert the lower portion of the cylindrical casing 22 between the resilient jaws of the spring clamp l 9 which is provided with a mounting bracket 34 as shown in Figs. 3, 4 and 5, adapted to ,-be secured to the machine frame in any suitable manner. The disposition of the mounting bracket 34 must be such that the portion of the cylindrical wick l2 at the cut-out portion 28 of the confining tube l I will be approximately tangent to the periphery of the ink transfer roller [3;

and the casing 22 should be firmly frictionally engaged by the clamping jaws it but should also be rotatably adjustable about its central vertical axis so as to position the swinging end of the tube II at different selected distances toward or away from theroller 13. With the ink laden-cartridge 9 thus ;po sitioned within itsmounting clamp, the

sealing ,projection 21 may be broken awayso asto expose the interior of the previously sealed ink confining receptacle to the ambient atmosphere, and the sealing'strip 3D and cap 29 may be re- ,moved, whereupon the outerend portion of the cylindrical felt wick I2 maybe caused to coact withthe roller l3, as shown in Figsafi and 7.

With the installation of the fresh cartridge -9 thus completed, the "ink 32 will be exposed toatmospheric pressure "and ink will saturate the felt wick I 2 bycapillary attraction throughout itsentire length; and by utilizing the upper rectangu- :lar portion'of theclosure cap 23 to swing the tube 28;relative-:to the ink transfer roller 13, the outer 'end of the wick l2 maybe flattenedmore or;less

against ,the .roller periphery so as to vary :the width of the ink band ,I 5 depositedupon'theroller :13 during rotation thereof by the longitudinally advancingribbon [4. .The band 15 of ink 32 thus delivered to the roller [3 will be transferred to theribbon 14 during advancement ofithejlatter, and Will be :spread out into a somewhat wider .band 19 :as depicted in Fig. l, and by effecting accurate rotary adjustment of the cartridge 58 :within ,theholding clamp Ill, any desired uniform widths of rink bands [5, [9 may be established. The typewriter ribbon I l'may fbe advancedieither constantly orintermittently, and the Wick :12 'will continue to feed ink 32 from the casing .22 until the supply-orbatch is entirely consumed, where- :upon the empty unit maybe thrown away and replaced bya new'ink laden :hermeticallyrsealed receptacle.

While "the above described mode of applying fresh cartridges 9 and of effecting adjustment thereof, will substantially obviate undesirable escape of ink, the lower casings '22 of the cartridges l9 which are preferably formed of trans- ;parent .plastic orother material in order to give 'a visible indication as to when the ink supply haslbeen depleted, may beprovided with external parallel ribs 35 adapted to coact with the clamping jaws 10 of the mounting bracket 34 in the manner shown in Fig. 5, whereby only theridges jaws 1-0, the exterior of the casing 22 will not be smeared with ink when the cartridge-9 is inserted within the-mounting clamp and is subsequently rotated for adjustment purposes, thus insuring clear vision through the transparent cartridge wall at all times. The spaced ribs 35 also facilitate insertion and removal of the cartridge units relative to the clamp, and furthermore assist in holding the cartridges in various adjusted positions.

From the foregoing detailed description, it will be apparent that my present invention in fact provides an improved system and apparatus for inking continuous ribbons [4 without wasting ink or introducing messy conditions. By loading and sealing the supply cartridges! in the manner described, these units may be handled without danger of having any ink escape until the cartridge seals are broken, and this hermetic sealing also prevents possibletampering and substitution of ink 32 before the cartridges are to be finally utilized. The improved cylindrical wicks l2 and cut-away formation of the tube end portions 28, cooperate with the cartridge mounting brackets 34 and clamps In, to provide means for accurately adjusting or varying the rate of feed; and the tangential coaction of the cylindrical wicks 12 with the ink transfer rollers I3 insures uniform feeding and distribution of the ink upon the ribbon surfaces. The various parts of the cartridges 9 may be inexpensively but attractively produced of transparent plastic materials of diverse colors indicative of different types of inks, and the discarding of the used cartridges incurs only slight waste as compared to the advantages gained by the hermetic sealing of the original cartridges.

Features of the invention have gone into highly satisfactory commercial use and have proven very popular with the trade due to the substantial elimination of messy working conditions and more efiective application of the ink. It is also noteworthy that by forming the lower casing 22 as a unitary cup, possible leakage of ink through the cup button is positively avoided, and since the ink used in typewriter inking systems is highly fluent, this feature is important. The improved cartridge is devoid of joints at the bottom and may have the wick confining tube I 1 formed integral with the closure cap 23, and may be utilized for the dispensation of any fluid having characteristics analogous to those of ink.

It should be understood that it is not desired to limit this invention to the exact steps of the system or to the precise details of construction and use of the apparatus, herein shown and described, for various modification within the scope of the appended claims, may occur to persons skilled in the art; and it is also contemplated that specific descriptive terms used herein be given the broadest possible interpretation consistent with the disclosure.

I claim:

1. An article of manufacture comprising, a hermetically sealed ribbon inking cartridge having a sealing cap provided with a laterally ex.- tending tube and a detachable vent at the uppermost extremity of the cap, a supply of liquid ink confined within said cartridge below said cap under partial vacuum, a wick having one end immersed within the ink and its opposite end confined within said tube, and a detachable closure for the free end of the tube, the free end of said tube within said closure being formed to expose the side of the wick when said closure is removed.

2. An article of manufacture comprising, a hermetically sealed ribbon inking cartridge having a transparent lower ink receptacle and an upper sealing cap for the receptacle provided with a laterally extending tube and a detachable vent at the upper extremity of the cap, a supply of liquid ink confined within said cartridge under partial vacuum, a wick having one end immersed within the ink and its opposite end confined within the tube, and a detachable closure for the free end of the tube.

3. A sealed ink. cartridge for application to a machine to supply fluid ink to an ink carrying ribbon of the machine comprising, a hollow container body adapted to contain a quantity of fiuidink, a tube secured to the body in sealed relationship therewith and opening within the same and projecting laterally therefrom, a wick disposed within the tube and extendingwithin the hollow container body, the container body being adapted to be mounted with the tube opening into the same above the level of the fluid ink with the wick depending into the hollow of the body, means forming a vent opening for the body adjacent the portion to whichthe tube is secured, and means for sealing the vent opening and for sealing the free end of the tube and being removable to open the vent opening and expose the end of the wick for use of the cartridge.

4. A sealed ink cartridge for application to a machine to supply fluid ink to an ink carrying ribbon of the machine comprising, a hollow container body adapted to contain a quantity of fluid ink, a tube secured to' the body in sealed relationship therewith and opening within the same and projectinglaterally therefrom, a wick disposed within the tube and extending within the hollow container body, the container body being adapted to be mounted with the tube opening into the same above the level of. the fluid ink with the wick depending into the hollow of the body, means forming a vent opening for the body adjacent the portion to which the tube is secured, and destructible means normally sealing the vent opening and sealing the free end of the tube, and removable by destruction to expose the wick and to open the vent opening for use of the cartridge.

5. A sealed ink cartridge for application to a machine to supply fluid ink to an ink carrying ribbon of the machine comprising, a hollow container body adapted to contain a quantity of fluid ink, a tube secured to the body in sealed relationship and opening within the body and projecting laterally therefrom, a wick disposed within the tube and extending within the hollow container body, closure means on the free end of the tube in sealed relationship therewith for sealing the cartridge with the wick therein, the end portion of the wick being exposed upon removal of said closure means for the transmission of fluid ink from the container body through the wick and the exposed portion thereof, the body, at a location adjacent the tube, having a hollow integral projection thereon adapted to be broken off to provide a vent opening.

6. A sealed ink cartridge for application to a machine to supply fluid ink to an ink carrying ribbon of the machine comprising, a hollow container body adapted to contain a quantity of fluid ink, a tube secured to one end of the body in sealed relationship and opening within the body and projecting laterally therefrom, a wick disposed within the tube and extending into the hollow container body, said wick being secured to the interior wall of said tube, and closure means on the free end of the tube in sealed relationship therewith for sealing the cartridge with the wick therein, the end portion of the wick being exiposed'upon removal of said closure means for :the'transmission of fluid ink from the container Ebo'dy'through'the'wick and the exposed portion thereof.

7. A sealed .ink cartridge for application to ,armachineltosupply fluidink-to an ink carrying ribbon of the machine comprising, a hollow container body adapted "to contain a quantity of flu-idtink and having exterior parts constituting elements of a cylindrical bearing surface, such that the container'body may be mounted in hold- .ingimeans so that it is 'rockable on its axis and rslidable axially, artube secured to the body in sealed relationship and opening within the body and'projecting laterally'from theaxis thereof, a

"wick zdisposed within the tube and extending within the hollow container body, and closure "means on thefree end ofthe tube in sealed relationship therewith, the end portion of the wick being exposed upon-removal of said closure means for ithe transmission of fluid ink from the con- "tainer body through the wick and the exposed portion thereof.

8. Asealediink cartridge for application to a.

machine to supply f1uid=ink to anink-carrying "ribbon-of the machine, comprising a hollow containerbody adaptedto contain a quantity of fluid ink, a tubessecured to one end of the body in sealed "relationship and opening within the body and projecting laterally therefrom, a wick disaposed within the tube and extending into the hollow container body, said wick being secured "tolthe interior wall of said tube and being formed to present an edge portion lengthwise of the tube relatively narrower than the body of the =wick, and closure 'means for the tube and wick at'th'e :free-end of the tube, the tube and closure means being formed to expose the wick along its narrower lengthwise portion on removal "of thezclosure means for transmissionof fl'uid ink through said narrower exposed portion.

9. A sealed ink'cartridge for application to a machine to supply fluid ink to an ink-carrying ribbon of the machine, comprising a hollow-container body adapted tocontain a quantity of fluid ink, a tube secured to the'body in sealed relationship to and opening into the body and projecting laterallytherefrom, the body having exterior parts'constitu'ting elements of abearing surface, whereby thecontainermay be mounted in holding means and moved'to adjust the positionof'the free'endof the tube, a wickdisposed within the'tube and extending within'the hollow container body, and closure means for the :wick "and free end of the tube, the tube laterally near its free end being open, the tube andclosure means being formed to expose the wick in the opening near the free end laterally of the tube on opening, whereby the 'inking'areaof theexposedwickmay be adjusted.

JOHN ,P. KNIGHT.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in'the file of'thi's patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS

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