US2631712A - Music typing machine - Google Patents

Description

March 17, 1953 Filed Jan. 3, 1949 R. H. KEATON MUSIC TYPING MACHINE 4'Sheecs-Sheet l INVENTOR. ROBERT H. KEATON ATTORNEY March 17, 1953 KEATON 2,631,712

MUSIC TYPING MACHINE Filed Jan. 3, 1949 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN VEN TOR.

ROBERT H, KEATO/V ATTORNEY March 17, 1953 R. H. KEATON MUSIC TYPING MACHINE 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Jan. 3, 1949 IN VEN TOR.

m U m N KW R r l m R \lllllllllll 8s Illlllllllllllll March 17, 1953 R. H. KEATON 2,631,712

MUSIC TYPING MACHINE Filed Jan. 3, 1949 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 I INVENTOR. ROBERT H. KEATON ATTORNEY Patented Mar. 17, 1953 UNITED STATES MUSIC TYPING MACHINE Robert H. Keaton, San Francisco, Calif.

Application January 3, 1949, Serial No. 68,967

10 Claims.

This invention relates to an improved typewriter adapted to type musical notes and characters on musically staifed paper.

A- principal object of the present invention is to improve generally on that type of music typing machine which forms the subject matter of my U. S. Patent No. 2,047,690, dated July 14, 1936.

In typing musical characters or figures, provision must be made in the typewriter to space the characters both longitudinally and laterally with respect to the paper, and in view of the fact that musical characters are written on a staff comprising five closely spaced staif lines and four spaces between the lines, it is essential that provision be made to print the musical notes and characters in exact position upon the paper. Another object, therefore, of the present invention is to provide means in a music typewriter for shifting the keys thereof both laterally and longitudinally with respect to the paper and to provide means to indicate the exact typing locus on the paper whereat the next musical character will betyped. 1

Another principal object and advantage of the present invention is to provide in a music typewriter a novel means for shifting a typewriter ribbon into operative position only upon depression of a typewriter key to permit normal visual access to the particular point or typing locus on the paper whereat the next note will be typed.

Another object is to provide in a music typewriter a novel keyboard arrangement whereby one keyboard is adapted to type one class of musical characters, such asbar lines and ledger lines, which, when repeated, always appear in the same relative spaced positions with respect to the lines comprising a chosen staff in a direction longitudinally of the paper and a second keyboard adapted to type another class of musical characters, such as the notes, rest signs and sharp and flat signs etc., which may, when repeated, appear in various spaced positions with respect to the lines cornprising a chosen staff in a direction longitudinally of the paper. The particular advantages at-. tained in employing such a novel keyboard arrangement will be more fully explained herein-.

after. a

Another object is to provide a novel and efii+ cient means for mounting a type bar in a frame of a typewriter.

Other objects of the present invention are to provide a music typewriter capable of typing a great many musical characters on a sheetof staffed paper, which is compact in size, rugged in construction, whichrequires relatively few mal 2 chined parts and which is relatively inexpensive to manufacture.

Other advantages and objects of the present invention will become apparent upon reading the following specification and referring to the accompanying drawings in which similar characters of reference represent corresponding parts in each of the several views:

In the drawings:

Fig. l is a plan view of the invention.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken on line 2-2 of Fig. 1 showing some of the parts partly broken away.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a plan view of the base plate and lower carriage members and showing other parts of the typewriter partly broken away.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary view partly in section taken on line 55 of Fig. 1 and showing in detail a part of the ribbon shifting mechanism.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary view showing the operation of that portion of the ribbon shifting mechanism illustrated in Fig. 5.

Fig. 7 is a rear elevational view of the invention. a i

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary view in perspective showing the manner in which a type bar is supported in a frame.

Construction and operation of the base plate and -movable paper holder The base plate, indicated generally at A, in the drawings, comprises a flat table part i I, having attached to the bottom thereof and extending transversely thereof end support members I2 and i3 and a. central transverse support member H5. Extending transversely across the top of the table part I I are a front trackway i5 and a rear trackway it, which said latter element is mounted adjustably movable in a direction toward and away from thesaid front trackwa'y by means of adjusting screws I! and I8. Extending upwardly above the top of the rear trackway l6 and rearwardly thereof is a. notched bar or ratchet-i 9 which is supported at its opposite ends by ad- J'ustable screw assemblies I! and i3.

Extending lengthwise of base plate A and positioned to the left and'slightly below the table part I i is a trackway. 25 which is provided throughout about one half of its length thereofv with a plurality of equi-distantly spaced notches or grooves 22. The distance between adjacent notches 22 may be made to correspond exactly to the distance between adjacent staffs on the sheet of paper on which the composition is to be typed, and for reasons which will appear hereinafter.

A paper holder, indicated generally at B, comprises more specifically an elongated angle bar 23, a laterally projecting handle member 24 and a plurality, preferably two, of paper spring clamps 25. Attached to the underside of angle bar 23 and depending therefrom are a pair of rollers 26 and 21, which, in turn, are suitably flanged at their ends to engage trackway 2| of base plate A.

In operation, the sheet of staff paper, indicated generally at C, may be securely clamped to angle bar 23 by clamps 25 in such manner that the edge of the paper is in parallel alignment with the edge of the said angle bar. Upwardly extending lugs 28 may be provided at each end of the angle bar to serve as stop mean and against which the edge of the paper may be moved to aid in aligning the paper parallel to the edge of theangl bar as aforesaid The paper holder and the staffed sheet of paper C'maybe moved longitudinally with respect tothe table part II by appropriatemanualmovement of'handle 2d which isslidablysupported by abar' 2&-

which is provided on thebas'e' platefor this pur pose. Roller 26 is adapted to engage and nest into any one of the notches" 22 provided on bar 2|, and as has hereinabov'ebeen pointed out the said notches may be spaced from each otherat' Construction and operation of th lower carriage and lateral spacer mechanism The lower carriage of the typewriter, indicated generally at D, comprises more specifically a rectangular frame consisting of a pair of parallel sidetrackways 32" and 33 and a pair of end connecting bars 34 and 35.

traokway I5, and the underside of end piece 35 is provided with a suitable arcuate bearing surface which is adapted to slidably engage trackway 16.

Referring now particularly to Figs. 1 and '7, numeral 31 indicates an upwardly extending boss to which is pivotally mounted adjacent its upper end a bifurcated bell crank lever 38' which, in turn, is provided with an: elongated actuating arm 39. The lower end of the bell crank lever 38 has pivotally attached thereto a pawl H which is adapted to engage the teeth of ratchet H]. A pawl release bar 42 is pivotally attached to the top of end bar 35- and is held normally in inoperative position by means of a coil spring is. A suitable coil spring 44' having its opposite ends attached to an arm of bifurcated bell crank 38' End bar 34* is provided with a roller 36 which is adapted toroll alongv and to bell crank adjusting screw i5, respecto abut against the lower arm of hell crank lever 38 and limit its movement thereby.

In operation, when arm 39 is depressed (by a mechanism which will hereinafter be described in more detail), the lower arm of bell crank lever 33 is moved to the left causing pawl Al to bite into a tooth of ratchet i9 and force carriage frame D to the right along trackways l5 and 15. The distance. between two adjacent teeth.v on ratchet l3 may be conveniently regarded as-the equivalent or one lateral space on the typewriter, and it is evident that the number of spaces that the carriage D will be moved to the right upon a singledownward stroke of arm 39 is dependent upon thelength of that downward strokei. e.,

the greater the distance that arm 39 is moved downwardly; the greater will be the number of ratchet teeth that pawl 4! will move over. If it is desired to move the carriage frame D to the left (referring now to Fig. 1 particularly) an operator needonly grasp the release bar. 42 and move it to the left which will cam pawl 4! upwardly out of engagement with ratchet I5v and permit the carriage to be movedas: far'to the left as desired over' trackways. l5 and It. Upon release of bar 42, pawl 41. willagain drop into engagement with'ratchet l Qand'spacing to the right may be accomplished by successiveactuation of arm 39 as hereinabovedescribed.

Construction. and operation of theupper carriage and. longitudinal spacer mechanism Referring now particularly to Fig, 5 in the drawings, the. upper. carriage, indicated generally at L, i supported movably along-trackways 32 andti oflower carriage?) by means of a' plurality ofroll'ers (preferably four). which are identified.

by the numeral 59;. More specifically upper carriage E comprises end bar 48; arcuate dial QT, arcuate type bar' frame" 48 and connecting bar 39; The inner'top: edge of dial 4? is preferably markedoff at giveniintervals with straight lines or arrows or other indicia, such as indicated at 55, whereas the. outer edge of'dial 41 is provided with a plurality'ofinotchesi 52. Generally, 1- prefer to make the five: center lines 5| black and make the remainingilines provided on either side of the center lines: a different color, such as red for example. In addition; I. prefer to provide twice as many notches 52 as there are. lines or indicia 5i and to arrange. the notches in such manner that one notch is positionedzopposite each line 5i and a second notch is provided opposite the-space between; adjacent lines 5 I; The reason for this preferred arrangement. of parts will be more fully described hereinafter.

Th longitudinal spacingmechanism-i. e., the mechanism employed to move upper carriage E longitudinally with respect to; the table part and the paper supported thereon-is indicated gen.- erally' at F and comprises morerspecifically an elongated lever arm 53 pivoted as. at 54 to connecting bar 48' anditerminating at one of its ends in a pointer. as at 55. The opposite end of lever arm 53 is disposed slidably in a sleeve 56 which, in turn, is pivoted as. at 51 to type bar frame 48?. Attached to the end of lever arm 53 adjacent the pointer end thereof'i's a U-shaped frame 59 which carries a depending wheel or: roller 51 on the innerside thereof and knob 62 on the. outer side thereof.

In'operation, knob 62 may be employed to move lever arm 53 arcuately over dial 4! until pointer 55 is indesired registry with one. of the markings 5i. Accurate alignment betweenthepointer and one of the markers may be rapidly accomplished another. It is evident that movement of lever arm 53 will, because of its pivotal connection 54 with upper carriage E and its slidable connection with fulcrum sleeve 56, cause upper carriage E to move correspondingly in the direction in which the lever arm is moved and in a direction'longitudinally with respect to the table part of base plate A.

In connection with the construction and operation of the upper carriage and longitudinal spacer mechanism, it is noted that the markings are so spaced, and the spaced mechanism F is so arranged, that movement of pointer 55 over dial 4! a distance of one marking will cause the upper carriage to move longitudinally with respect to the paper a distance exactly equal to the distance between adjacent staff lines on the paper. In view of the fact that there are two notches 52 for each marking 5i, movement of lever arm 53 from one notch to the next will cause the upper carriage to be moved longitudinally with respect to the paper a distance equal to the distance between a staff line and the center of the space existing between said staff line and an adjacent staff line. Moreover, the reason I prefer to make the center five markings 5| on the dial a different color than the remaining markings is that the center five lines may be deemed representative of the five lines within a staff on the paper, and so long as the lever arm 53 is'confined in movement within the center five black markings, an operator is assured that the next typed character will be printed within the limits of the staff on the paper.

Construction and operation of the keys, the type bar frame and. key frame -The keys and type bars of the present typewriter are divided into two separate and distinct groups, indicated generally at J and K. The keys of group J in the drawings are mounted in an arcuate frame 48 which is attached-immovablywith respect to lower carriage D, whereas the keys which comprise group K are mounted in an' arcuateframe 48 attached to upper carriage E and are, therefore, movable with respect to the keys of group J and to lower carriage D. Each of the type bar frames is provided with an arcuate key frame 63 supported in vertical alignment with the respective type bar frames by means of post members 65. A plurality. of in-- wardly projecting lugs 65 are provided around the inner perimeter of members 48 and 48 and each inwardly projecting lug 65, in turn, is provided-with an upwardly facing -shaped slot, such'as indicated at 66. A plurality of small spring clips, such as are indicateda-t 61 in Fig. 8, are attached at their inner ends to the inner sides of members 48 and 48 and are arranged in such manner that one such spring clip overlies each of the said V-shaped notches 61. V i 5 The keys of groups K and J are formedidenti cal with one another, andeach key comprises an index-head 68 toindicate the musical character which that particular key is adapted to type, and

a vertical stem 69 mounted slidably in a hollow boss I0 and which said stem is bent at right angles adjacent its bottom terminal end as at I l. It is noted that the keys which are arranged within the inner row of each group have their stems bent outwardly, whereas the keys comprising the outer row of each group are arranged with their stems bent inwardly.

Each key is also provided with a suitable coil spring 12 mounted around its stem 69 which is disposed between the top of frame member 63 and index head 68 to normally maintain the key in upwardly spring biased position. A link member 13 is connected pivotally at one of its ends to a bent end of stem II of each key and is connected pivotally at its opposite end to a type bar 14 adjacent the bottom end thereof. Each type bar, in turn, is formed with a printing head having a selected typing character 15 provided thereon which is adapted to strike down upon an inked typewriter ribbon to type the character upon the paper located beneath said ribbon. Each type bar is provided at its bottom end with a pressed in pivot pin 16 which is adapted to engage and nest into V-shaped slots 66 in a manner which will more fully appear.

The distance between adjacent lugs 66 of frames 48 and 48 substantially equals the width of the bottom end of a type bar 14. In assembling the type bar to frame 48 or 48 the bottom end of the type bar is inserted between a pair of adjacent lugs 56 so that opposite ends of pivot pin 16 of the type bar engage and nest in adjacent V-shaped slots 66 of the lugs and are held in nested position by spring clips 61. I have found that the round pivot pin in combination with the V-shaped slots provide a highly satisfactory pivotal connection about which a type bar 14 can swing. An advantage of such an arrangement of parts is that a minimum of machining is required to make a pivot bearing which will permit the typebar to swing downwardly in a straight line without wavering or wobbling to the right or left during a typing stroke.

In operation, depression of the index head 68 of a key will cause the stem thereof to move slidably in boss 16 andby virtue of the link connection 13 between the stem and the type bar 14, the'type bar will be caused to swing around its pivotal axis I6 whereby the printing head of the type bar will strike the typewriter ribbon and impress a character on the paper beneath said ribbon. When pressure is released from the index head, coil spring 72 will urge both the type bar and the ,head upwardly and back to their original positions.

Arcuate frames 48 and 48 comprise a segment of, a,;cir cle having a common diameter and the length of each of the type bars (as measured from. pivot pin to printing head) corresponds to the length-of the radius of said common circle. Because of this arrangement of parts the printing heads carried by the said type bars mounted in frame. 48. will, uponactuation, swing downwardly to a common printing position or point located centrally .withrespect to the frame. The printing heads provided on the type bars mounted in frame 48 are preferably offset, as indicated at l48 in suchmanner that the said printing heads 7 will not move to a common centrally locatedprinting position or pointbut the offset heads are-preferably so constructed as to move to respective printing'positionswhich are all located tudinal; axis of. the paper.

It should be further pointed out, however, that the centrally; located printing position. to which type bars supported in frame. 418 all; move is also located along the common line paralleling the longitudinal axis of the paper and along which said line are located the respective printing positions of the type bars. mounted in frame 48* as aforesaid. The reason for this preferred arrangement of parts and the purpose of making the keys and type bars of group J immovable with respect to. lower carriage D and the keys and type bars of group K movable longitudinally with respect tothe paper and with respect. to lower carriage D, are as follows:

In writing music certain of the musical; charactors and particularly the clef signs, the bar lines which indicate the end of a. measure, and the ledger lines which appear above and below the staff, are always placed in the same spaced position with respect to, the lines which comprise a particular stair in a direction longitudinally of the paper. Thus, musical characters of this type are adapted to be printed by the typebars mounted in frame 48a; for, regardless of, movement or positioning of longitudinal spacer mechanism- F, eachprinting head will always and repeatedly print its respective; character in the same spaced position with respect to the lines comprising a chosen staff in a direction longitudinally of the paper. As. previously explained the printing heads of these type bars are peculiarly offset so that the respective printing positions of each are located along a common line drawn parallel to the longitudinal axis of the paper and so that the. characters printed by the respective heads will appear above or below one another on or with respect toa chosen stair.

With regard to perhaps the majority of musical characters, including the notes, sharp and fiat signs, rest signs, and many others, the characters may appear repeatedly in various spacedpositions with respect to the lines comprising a staff in a direction longitudinally of the paper. Thus charactors of this latter type are printed on my machine by the type bars mounted in frame 43 which may be moved to various spaced positions with respect to a chosen staff both longitudinally and laterally oi the paper.

Construction and operation of the lateral spacer mechanism Provided on end member 46 of the upper'c'arriage are a pair of upwardly extending posts 11 to rigidly support thereon U-shaped member; 78. Pivotally attached as at 19 to opposite ends of U-shaped member i8 is U-shaped spacing barmedially of spacer bar 8! by a common pivot pin.

88, and said keys are adapted to overlie, respectively, adjusting screws 84 and 85. Rigidly; attached to spacer bar. 8| adjacent; the pivot point 88 is a central key 853.

Rotatably' mounted around. adjusting screw 85 is an annular disc 9% which may be provided with a plurality of. stop lugs .92 which project up:

Rigi'dly attachedhas been moved to. such an extent as will cause lower carriage D to move laterally to the right a wardly frorndisalll to different heights. Disc 5.0

may be adjustably rotated around screw 85. in. such manner that. one of the lugs is positioned.

directly beneath and alignment with the bottom of spacer bar. 8,!

The above described arrangement of. parts makesit possible to, obtain atleastthree different lateral spacings on the machine by merely selectively depressing either one of the keys. 8.6,.

' latter movement will, in turn (as has been. in-

dicated heretofore), determine the number of spaces, or distance that carriage D will be moved laterally to the right. Preferably, stop screw 84 is adjusted to a height that will permit key 8.6 and bar, 8! to move arm 33 downwardly only sufiiciently far to. move carriage D to the right one space. Similarly, I prefer to adjust stop screw 8.5 to a height which will prohibit further depression of key ill and bar 8| after the arm distance of two. spaces. Depression of key 8.9 will cause the spacer bar to move downwardly against one of the stop lugs 92 on disc 9% to limit lateral movement of carriage D to three, four or five spaces, depending on which of the lugs has been adjustably aligned beneath the spacer bar as hereinabove mentioned. It is noted that when spacer bar at is depressed by pressing down upon key so adjusting screws 84. and 8.5 will strike against the bottoms of keys 8 S and 8?, but be-' cause of their pivotal mounting at 83, the keys will be forced upwardly and will not inhibit further depression of the spacer bar.

Construction and operation of the ribbon. winding and feeding mechanisms. and ribbon shifting mechanism A bracket 94 extends upwardly from bar 83 and is provided with axle pin 93 to support rotatablythereon ratchet wheel 95 and attached ribbon winding reel Q1 Lever arm $6 is also rotatably mounted on axle 93 and is provided at one end with an escapement slot 98 and is prop Support member Q9 extends upwardly from type, bar frame 48 to support adjacent its upper end thereof by means of pivot pin lll, L-shaped arm H32. Extending outwardly from the shorter leg .of l.-shaped arm :82 is an axle pin I03 to rotatably support a conventional typewriter ribbon unwinding reel ids, and depending downwardly from arm I32 is rod M5 which supports agts bottom end a ribbon guide its and a pointer U-shaped frame I 56 ispivotally hinged to bars 82 and 63 by means of an axle pinpldfi and, attached to the ends of the extending arms of U-shaped frame Hi8 by screws N39 is a ribbon shifting actuating ring Hi! which has an armate portion thereof arranged and constructed to conform incontour to the type bar and key frame members 43 and 53. Ring I I0 is normally urged upwardly by action of spring Ho against the bottoms. of the bent. stem portions of the keys which comprise group K and in such manner member N38 to pivot about pin I08? about its pivotal-axis I08 pression of any one of the keys located'nearest bent stem portions will bear against the ring to move it downwardly causing U-shaped frame A segmental ring or engaging member III somewhat similar in construction to ring H is mounted slidably upon arm H2 of U-shaped member N38, and is held normally upwardly biased against the bent stems of the keys of group J. The reason for making segmented member III slidable with relation to arm H2 is that when the upper carriage E which carries U-shaped member 563 is moved longitudinally with respect to the keyboard of group J, member III will remain in contact with the bent portions of the keys comprising that group. Upon depression of any one of the keys in group J, the bent portions thereof will Referring again to Figf it is seen that the longer arm of L-shaped member I02 connects with ring H0 by a linkage comprising member "H3 depending from me'mberlt2 and pin H4 whichprojects from member H3 and engages escapement slot II5- provided in the upper end of support member H6, which said latter member is rigidly mounted to ring'l I0;

In operation, when any one of the keys 68 is o depressed downwardly against either ring H0 or segment III, U-shaped frame I08 is caused toswing downwardly about its axis I08. Simultaneously, member H6 carried by ring H0 will move downwardly, and because of the connection between pin H4 and escapement slot H5, L- shaped member I02 will swing about its pivotal axis IOI, and this latter movement, in turn, will cause rod I05 carrying ribbon guide I06 and pointer It! to swing to the left with respect to the paper (or to the right when viewed from the front as indicated in Fig.6). An adjustable stop screw I20 may be provided to abut against the side of rod I05 to limit the extent to which the ribbon guide and ribbon may move to the right with respect to the paper.

After ring H0 and member H6 have been moved downwardly'upon depression of a key to the approximate position indicated in Fig. 6, pin H4 will disengage from notch H5 to permit further depression of ring H0, but pin H4 will, by virtue of its slidable contact against edge H8 of member H6, continue "to maintain the ribbon cocked to the left with respect to the paper, as

above noted. In this respect it is noted that the distance that notch H5 is moved downwardly out of engagementwith pin H4 is largely dependent upon which one of the keys is depressed against ring I I0 or segment member I I I to cause U-shaped member I08 to swing downwardly For example, de-

pin I08 will, according to commonlyunderstood i'leverage' principles, cause member I I6 to move downwardly further than would be the case upon depression of one of the keys located further away from pivot I08.

-' As heretofore'noted, lever arm 95"is provided with a V-shaped cut out and escapement notch 98 that is normally in engagement with a pin I I1 carried by ring H0.

When' ring H0 is swung arcuately downwardly upon depression of any tion to wind the ribbon off of reel Ind and on to reel 92. Although not absolutely essential to the operation of my device, I generally prefer to provide a second pawl H9 which is pivotally suspended from element 94 for the purpose of engaging ratchet wheel 95 to lock said wheel against backward rotation.

The overall operation of the typewriter is as follows: A sheet of musically staffed paper is clamped to holder B with its opposite side edge inserted between guides 29 and 3| and the table part of the base plate. The holder B together with the paper may be moved longitudinally along trackway 2I until the center of the staff which is to be typed upon is brought within close proximity of pointer I81. Preferably the adjustable spacer means F should be positioned so that pointer directly overlies and registers with the center mark or point on dial 47. Adjustable screws I8 make it possible to move rear trackways I5 and the entire machine supported thereon in such manner that the end of pointer I07 is directly aligned with or points to the middle of the centerline of the chosen staff when pointer 55 ofrthe longitudinal spacing mechanism has been centrally positioned with respect to dial 47, as above suggested. Once the typewriter has been adjusted with "respect to one staff on the paper in the above manner, it is only necessary to move paper holder bar 23 by means of handle 24 from one notch 22 to another in order to shift the paper longitudinally from one staif to another by virtue of the fact that the distance between adjacent notches 22 equals the distance between adjacent staffs on the paper.

The construction of the ribbon shifting mechanism, above described, is, such that the pointer I0! normally indicates: the central printing position of the type bar members mounted in frame 48 which said position or point, it will be recalled, is located along a common line drawn parallel to the longitudinal axis of the paper and along which said line are also, located the several re spectiveprinting; positions of the type bars mounted in frame 48*. Because the ribbon shifting mechanism normally, maintains the ribbon to the right of the typing locus (and,therefore, to

therightof the common longitudinally projected shifted to the left to align itself between the printing head'of a type bar and the indicated is located.

Notches 52 which are engaged by roller BI on the longitudinal spacer mechanism F are spaced at such intervals that movement of roller 6| a distance of one notch will correspondingly cause pointer I01 to move one degree up or down the scale or one half the distance between two adjacent staff lines on the paper. All lateral spacing to the right on the present typewriter is accomplished through manual'operation of the spacer bar 8| having keys 86, 81 and 89, in a manner above set forth. The degreeor amount of lateral spacing accomplished on each depression of spacer bar 8| is dependent upon which of the spacer keys is struck and dependent also, of course, on the adjustment which has been made on the screws a l and 85 as well as on the position of disc 90. writing musical passages, such as cadenzas or grace notes, it is generally desirable to provide a relatively small lateral space between successive notes along the staff, whereas on the other hand, when a musical accompanipeated in the same spaced positions with respect to the lines comprising a stall in a direction longitudinally of the stafied sheet of paper. Such characters comprise, among others, the various f ledger lines which are always placed the same distances above or below the stair, and the bar line '(to indicate the end of a measure) which always appears as a "line perpendicular to the staff line and which connects the top and the 1 bottom lines of the stafi. An obvious advantage of such an arrangement or parts is that an oporator, when he desires to type characters of this latter type, need not pay attention to the "position of the longitudinal spacer mechanism F when he depresses any one of the keys of group J.

Although I have described my invention in some detail by way of illustration and example and for purposes of clarity or understanding, it is understood that c'ertain'chan'ges and modifications may be made and'p'ractic'ed With'in'th'e scope of the invention and the appended claims.

1 claim:

1. In a music typing machine the combination comprising a base plate t'osupport a sheet of musically "staffed paper thereby, a first carriage mounted movably laterally with respect to said base plate, a second carriage mountedcn said first "carriage "and movable longitudinally with respect to said first carriage and said base plate, a first keyboard mounted on said first carriage and having individually movable typing membersto type musical characters upon a said sheet b'f paper, and a second keyboard mounted on and movable with said second carriage and havf ing a plurality of individually movable typing member's -to type musical characters on a said sheet o'fpap'er, the said individually movable typin'g members comprising said first keyboard arranged to type musical characters. of the class which when repeated always appear inthe same spaced positions relative to the several lines which comprise -a staff in a direction longitudinally of a said stafied sheet of paper, the individually movable type members comprising said second keyboard arranged to type musical characters of the'class which may appear repeatedly in various spaced positions relative to the several lines which comprise a staff in a direction longitudinally of said staffed sheet of paper.

2. In a music typing machine the combination comprising a base plate to support a sheet of musically staffed paper thereby, a first carriage mounted movably laterally with respect to said base plate, a second carriage mounted on said first carriage and movable longitudinally with iespect'to said first carriage and said base plate, a'first keyboard mounted on said first carriage and having individually movable typing members to type musical characters upon a said sheet of paper, a second keyboard mounted on and movable with said second carriage and having a plurality of individually movable typing members to type'musical characters on a said sheet of paper, the said individually movable typing members comprising said first keyboard arrangedto type "musical characters of the class which when re-' peated always appear in the same spaced 'positions relative to the several lines which comprise a staff in a direction longitudinally of a said staff-ed sheet of paper, the individually movable type members comprising said second keyboard arranged to type musical characters of the class which may appear repeatedly in various spaced positions relative to the several lines which comprise a staff in a direction longitudinally of said staiied'sheet of paper, means to'support an inked ribbon longitudinally/"of said base plate and said paper between said paper and said type members of said first and second keyboards, and ribbon shifting means associated with said last named means and said first and second keyboards to maintain normally said ribbon out of typing alignment with respect to the typing members of said first and second keyboards and to move automatically said ribbon into typing alignment with respect to said typing members upon movement of any one of said members to type 'a musical'character on said "paper.

3. In a music typing machine the combination comprising a 'base'plate'tosupp'ort a sheet of'm'u- "sically staffed paper "thereby, a first carriage mounted movably laterally with respect to said base plate, "a second carriage 'mountedfon said first carriage and movable longitudinally with respect to said firstcarria'g'e an'dsaid base plate, a first keyboard mounted on said first carriage and having individually movable'typing members to type musical'chara'gters upon a said sheet 'of paper, "a second keyboard mounted on and movable with said second 'carriage'and having a -plurality of individually movable typing'm'embers to type musical characters on a said sheet of paper, the said individually movable typing members comprising said first keyboard arranged to type 'musical 'charact'ers'of the class which when repeated always appear in the same spaced positions relative to the several lines which comprise a staff in a direction"longitudinally of a said stafied sheet of paper, the individually movable type members comprising said second keyboard arranged to type musical charac'ters'oi the'class which may appear repeatedly in various spaced positions relative to the severallines which comprise a staff in a-direction longitudinally-'of said staffed sheet "of paper, the individually "movable type members comprisingsaid first keyboard arranged to move individually 'to respective printing positions located along a common linedrawn parallel to the longitudinal "axis of 'said supported sheet of paper, the'type members comprisingsaid keyboard r ed to move individually to a common printing point located along said common line, a ribbon guide to support an inked ribbon longitudinally of said base plate 'an'd'said paper between said typing members and said paper, and ribbon shifting means associateii' with said individually movable type members ofsaid first and second keyboards and said ribbon guide to maintain norma'lly sa'id r ibbon shifted to a position laterally removed from 's'a'id common line and to shift upon actuation of one =o' f said typing members said ribbon into ty pin'g alignment with respect to said common line andsaid printing point and said printing positions located along said common line.

4. In a music typing .rmachine the combination comprisinga base plate'to supportdzhereby 'a'sheet of musically stafied paper, a first arcuateztrame supporting pivotallya plurality of individually movable type-barsmounted above said basezplate and movable laterally with-respect thereto,'a-sec- 0nd arcuate frame supporting pivotally a plu- 13 rality of individually movable type bars mounted above said base plate and movable longitudinally but not laterally with respect to said first frame, said first and second arcuate frames each comprising a segment of a circle having a common diameter, each of the said type bars supported pivotally by said first and second frames having a length substantially equal to the radius of said common circle, a printing head provided at the free end of each of the said type bars supported by said first frame, the printing heads of the said type bars supported by said first frame being offset with respect to one another and arranged and constructed to swing pivotally downwardly to individual printing positions, all of said printing positions being located along a common line drawn parallel to the longitudinal .axis of said paper, and a printing head provided on the free end of each of the said type bars supported by said second frame and arranged and constructed to swing pivotally downwardly to a common printing point located along said common line, the said printing heads provided on the said type bars supported by said first framev arranged to type musical characters of the class which when repeated always appear in the same relative spaced positions with respect to the lines comprising a staff in a direction longitudinally of said sheet of staffed paper, the said printing heads provided on said type bars supported by said second frame arranged to type musical characters of the class which may appear repeatedly in various spaced positions relative to the lines comprising a staif in a direction longitudinally of said sheet of staffed paper.

5. A music typing machine according to claim 4 wherein indicating means associated with said second frame is provided to normally indicate on said paper the location of said common printing point and said common line.

6. A music typing machine according to claim 4 wherein there is provided a ribbon guide to support an inked ribbon longitudinally of said base plate and a said supported sheet of paper between said paper and said type bars, and ribbon shifting means associated with all of said type bars to shift laterally upon actuation of any one of said type bars said ribbon into typing alignment with respect to said common line and said printing positions and printing point located along said common line.

'7. In a music typewriter the combination comprising, a base plate to support thereby a sheet of musically staffed paper, a first frame supporting a plurality of individually movable type bars mounted above said base plate and said paper, a second frame supporting a plurality of individually movable type bars mounted above said base plate and said paper, said first frame mounted for movement toward and away from said second frame, type bar actuating members to move individually each of said type bars to a printing position, the printing positions of all of said type bars being located along a common line, a ribbon guide to support a ribbon between said paper and said type bars, a ribbon shifting member having parts thereof in normal engagement with the type bar actuating members which are adapted to actuate the type bars supported in said first frame, an engaging member mounted on said ribbon shifting member and arranged for relative slidable movement with respect thereto in the direction of movement of said first frame toward and away from said second frame, said engaging member being in normal engagement with the type bar actuating members which are said ribbon guide, said ribbon shifting member,

said engaging member, and said link means to shift upon operation of one of said type bar actuating members said ribbon from a first position removed from alignment with respect to said common line to a second position whereat said ribbon is placed in printing alignment with respect to said common line and said printing positions located therealong.

8. A music typing machine comprising a base to support a sheet of musically staffed paper thereby, a plurality of typing members mounted above said base and said paper, depressible keys to move individually said typing members toward said paper, means to support an inked ribbon in a first position longitudinally of said paper be tween said typing members and said paper, means associated with said ribbon supporting means to indicate the typing locus on said sheet of paper whereat the next character is to be typed, and means associated with said keys to shift automatically upon depression of a key said ribbon from said first position laterally into typing alignment between a typing member actuated by said key and the typing locus of said sheet of paper whereby said typing member will strike against said ribbon and print a character'at the typing locus on said paper and to shift automatically upon release of said key said ribbon back to said first position whereat the typing locus on said paper and the space above and below said typing locus remains visible.

9. A music typing machine comprising a base to support a sheet of musically staffed paper thereby, a frame mounted above said base and said sheet of paper, a plurality of typing members pivotally supported by said frame, depressible keys to move individually said typing members toward said sheet of paper, a ribbon guide attached pivotally to said frame to support a ribbon in a first position longitudinally of a said supported sheet of paper between said paper and said frame, a ribbon shifting actuating member mounted on said frame movable with said depressible keys, a link to connect said ac-- tuating member to said ribbon guide, means associated with said ribbon guide to indicate the typing locus on said sheet of paper whereat the next character is to be typed, and means, including said actuating member and said link, to move upon depression of a key said ribbon guide about its pivotal axis in a direction to automatically shift laterally said ribbon from said first position into typing alignment between a typing member actuated by said key and the typing locus on the paper, whereby said typing member strikes against said ribbon to print a character at the typing locus on said paper and to shift upon release of said key said ribbon back to said first position whereat said typing locus normally remains visible.

10. A music typing machine comprising a base to support a sheet of musically staffed paper thereby, an arcuate frame mounted above said base plate and a sheet of paper supported thereby, a plurality of type members pivotally supported in row formation by said arcuate frame and arranged to swing arcuately downwardly tc- 15 Ward a sheet of "paper supported by said basedepressible keys sl'idably mounted in said frame to move individually said typing members toward said sheet of paper, a ring pivotally mounted on said frame and having portions adjacent the free end thereof in normal engagement with each said depressibl'e key, a ribbonguide mounted pivotally to said frame to support an inked ribbon longitudinally of said sheet of paper between said frame and said paper, a pointer on said ribbon guide to indicate the typing locus on said paper whereat the next character is to be typed, a pin projecting outwardly from said ribbon guide, an escapement slot provided in said ring adjacent the free end thereof to normally engage said pin, means to normally maintain said ribbon guide and said ribbon in a position removed from said typing locus whereby said typing locus is 'visible, and means including said ring, said escapem'erit 16 slot, and said pin to move automatically upon depression of one of said keys said ribbon guide pivotall y about its axis to a position wh'ereat said ribbon is shifted into typing alignment between a type member actuated by said key and the typing locus on said paper.

ROBERT H. KEATON.

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

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 489,871 Merritt Jan. 10, 1893 671,186 Dukes Apr. 2, 1901 810,202 Hagerstrom Jan. 16, 1906 1,251,922 Rivera Jan. 1, 1918 2,047,690 Keaton -.1 July 14, 1936

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