US2681139A - Typographical composing machine - Google Patents

Description

June 15, 1954 RossE'rTo TYPOGRAPHICAL coMPosING MACHINE Filed July 9, 1952 .f v 1 m s m .Afm

Patented June 15, 1954 UNITED STAT ATENT OFFICE Louis Rossetto, Kings Point, N. Y., assignor to Mergenthaler Linotype Company, a corporation of New York Application July 9, 1952, Serial No. 297,885

3 Claims.

This invention relates to typographical composing machines, such as Linotype machines of the general organization represented in U. S. Letters Patent to O. Mergenthaler, No. 436,532, wherein circulating matrices and spacebands are selectively composed in an assembler elevator, the elevator raised to line transfer position, the cornposed line transferred therefrom and presented to the face of a mold between a pair of vise jaws for the casting of a typebar or slug, and the matrices and spacebands thereafter separated and returned to their respective storage magazines for further use.

In these machines, the matrices and spacebands are assembled in the elevator by a rotary starwheel and against a yielding line resistant finger which serves to support the line endwise. The finger is mounted at the end of an assembler slide, which slide, although always under spring tension is acted upon by a friction brake which permits it to move under the influence of incoming matrices and spacebands but prevents its return movement under the influence of the spring. When the composition of the line has been completed and the elevator raised the assembler slide brake is released land the slide and finger are returned by the spring to line receiving position preparatory to the composition of the next line.

When the line has been presented to the mold between the vise jaws the line is justified that is to say the wedge-shaped spacebands are driven upwardly to expand the line between the jaws. Thereupon the molten metal is introduced into the mold and against the composed line and unless the line is fully expanded between the jaws a safety device prevents the casting operation from taking place to prevent the molten metal from being forced or squirted through any openings or spaces in the line. Thus when the line is not long enough to be fully justified the line is distrbuted without having been instrumental in producing a typebar and the line is lost. On the other hand, the length of the line must not exceed the pre-adjusted distance between the vise jaws, otherwise the line cannot be received in the casting position between the jaws and jamming will occur. When such jamming occurs, the machine is adapted to be automatically disabled, but nevertheless some damage may result to the jaws or to the matrices and, in addition, it then becomes necessary to reverse the main cam shaft of the machine by hand in order to recondition the machine for further operation. It is evident then that the or too short is highly undesirable.

The composition of lines to the proper measure has always depended largely upon the discretion of the operator, although various safety devices have been heretofore proposed to prevent the transfer to the casting mechanism of lines which are too long or too short of a desired measure. However, now that it is becoming common to equip line-casting machines with tape control units, automatic safety devices to take the place of the operators judgment are essential.

The present invention is directed to an automatic safety device for this purpose. Accordingly, the assembler slide is provided with a device which may be adjusted thereon according to the length of line which it is desired to compose. When the composition of the line is completed, the friction brake is rirst momentarily released to tighten the line to its true measure, and the position of the pre-adjusted device will then permit or prevent the operation of a locking mechanism for the assembler elevator according to the length of the line.

These and other features of the present invention will be more fully described in the detailed specication which follows.

Referring to the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a front elevation of the assembling mechanism of a Linotype machine illustrating the present safety mechanism and the electrical control circuits therefor; and

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the keyboard and the elevator locking mechanism.

The matrices and spacebands are individually and selectively released from a magazine (not shown) by the automatic operation of a keyboard A and fall by gravity onto the upper stretch of an inclined continuously moving belt l, passing around a lower drive pulley 2 and an upper idler pulley (not shown), whereupon they are directed through a guide chute formed by lower rails 3 and an upper chute ringer #i to and in front of a rotating starwheel which stacks them, one by one, in line in an assembler elevator B against a yielding line resistant finger Ei. After the line has been composed, the assembler B is manually or automatically elevated and the composed line transferred to casting position.

The line resistant finger is carried at the end of a long assembler slide l. The slide is mounted to move freely to the left under the influence of the incoming matrices which press against the line resistant linger, although its yielding movement is always under the restraint of a clock spring s. The retrograde movement of the slide to the right under the tension of the spring is resisted by a pivotal brake 9 having parallel friction surfaces which grip the upper and lower edges of the slide. When the brake S is in a vertical position, the parallel surfaces do not interfere with the slide and, hence, the spring is free to return the slide to the right or, at least, as far as the assembled matrices and spacebands allow it to be moved. Normally, however, the brake is acted upon at its lower end by a spring l0, attached to a stationary guide ll, which serves to pivot the brake from the vertical to the inclined locking position. As the matrices and spacebands are assembled by the starwheel against the linger E, the assembler' slide moves along, the friction surfaces of the brake yielding slightly and allowing the slide to move to the left.

When composition of the line has been completed, the assembler elevator B may be raised by a hand lever (not shown) connected to a long horizontal. rock. shaft i?. (see Fig. 2), latter is in turn connected to the elevator through horizontal and vertical links I3 and ifi, respectively. When the ma ne is operated automati cally, the hand lever operated by power taken from the intermedia-te drive shaft of the machine and transmitted through a clutch arrangement to periodically operate a shaft l5 (sce Fig. l). The shaft l5 is equipped with a cam (not shown) which raises the elevator. The speci; c etails of the elevator lifting mechanism per se form no cart of this invention and are shown and described with certain minor variati-ons in U. 53. Patent Nos. 2,065,0e, 2,691,286, lt Sullces to say, for present purposes, that the hand lever is adapted to yield when the movement of the elevator is unduly resisted. As the line is raised by the elevator, the brake is released in the usual manner to permit the return of the slide i and the finger t to their extreme rghtward or line receiving position.

Coming now to the present invention, the elevator raising link i3 is provided with a bracket l having a sidewardly projecting lip ld, which lip is normally engaged by a pivotal latch l? mounted on the side of the keyboard A. The latch is maintained in locking position by a small tension spring i8 (Fig. 2). When the link is thus locked, it is impossible to raise the elevator B either by hand or by power.

The latch il is adapted at all times to be maintained in locking position except when the composed line is within certain limits of the predetermined desired measure. When the line is within these limits, an electrical rotary type solenoid it is energized, thereby rotating the vertically disposed portion of the armature ica in the direction indicated by the arrow in Fig. 2. The vertically disposed portion of the armature, in turn, engages a projecting lip la of the latch l l and pivots the latch to unlocking position, as illustrated by the broken lines in Fig. 2.

Preparatory to the rise of the elevator B, the brake 9 is momentarily released in order to remove any slack in the line. Obviously, unless all the slacl; is removed, it is impossible to obtain a true measure of the line. The mechanism for accomplishing this initial release of the brake from an automatic tape control unit is described and claimed in a pending application of L. Rossetto, Ser. No. 247,501, iiled September 2G, i951. However, the stated purpose in that case is to tighten the line to straighten up the end or last matrix and to insure that it is properly positioned within the assembler during its elevation, rather than to remove the slack to obtain a true measurement thereof, as in the present case. The releasing of the brake may be accomplished manually by a horizontal lever 2t pivoted at Ma on the front of the machine. The lever 25J is provided with a downwardly depending arm 20h, which carries an adjustable screw 2te. The screw 20c is in contact with the brake 9, and when the lever 20 is depressed, that is, rotated in a clockwise direction, the screw moves the brake to release position. The balance of the lever 2G is such that its normal position is an inoperative position, where it has no effect on the brake or where the eTect is such that it is overcome by the tension of the spring l0.

The automatic operation of the lever 2@ to release the brake for the purpose stated is accomplished by a rotary type solenoid 2l, having a rotatable arm 2 la engaging a vertically disposed pin 29d of the lever. Power to energize the solenoid 2i may be taken from a normal 110 volt A. C. supply, as indicated, and to avoid placing full line voltage on the machine in the interest of safety, a transformer T is utilized to reduce the voltage to 2li. The 24 volt A. C. is transformed into direct current by a selenium rectifier, designated in l by the reference character R.

The timed operation of the solenoid 2i is oontrolled from the elevator raising shaft l5 of the automatic tape control unit. Thus, the rearmost extremity of the shaft l5 carries a cam 22 which, through a vertically movable pin a3, controls the opening and closing of contacts 2da and Elb ci' a leaf type switch generally designated 2t. Both the pin E23 and the switch 2li are supported by an inverted L-shaped bracket 25.

The opening and closing of the switch Y24E control-s the operation of the solenoid 2i. The relationship between the elevator raising shaft l5 and the cam 2E is such that normally the contacts of the switch are held apart or open by the pin 23. l'n response to a signal on the control tape, power is transmitted to the shaft l5, rotating it through one complete revolution. to effect the elevation of the assembler B. At the initial stage of the cycle, however, and before any actual movement is imparted to the elevator B, a depression 22a of the cam 22 permits the pin 23 to descend and close the switch 2li to effect momentary operation of the brake releasing solenoid 2l. Later, the high portion 22o again opens the switch 2t, permitting the solenoid to restore itself to inoperative position, the entire operation taking place before the elevator begins its ascent.

When the composition of the line is complete and the slack thus removed, the extent. of the leftward displacement of the slide l' from its exm treme rightward position affords an accurate measurement of the length of the line composed. Accordingly, the slide l is provided with a rider or clamp 3e, which may ce adjusted along the slide with reference to a scale la thereof and with respect to a leaf-type switch, generally designated 3l, mounted on the front face plate cover just above the assembler slide. The switch 3l comprises upper and lower leaf contacts 3io; and 3 i b, insulated from each other, and the lower Contact 3l?) is provided with a small roller Sie. The switch 3l is normally open, and it is closed only when the roller 3io makes Contact with the top surface of clamp 3e. The closing of the switch 3l establishes a circuit from the rectifier R to the solenoid i8, which, as we have seen, releases the latch ll and makes possible the raising of the assembler elevator B.

Thus, as the clamp 30 moves leftwardly during the composition of the line, for a given setting of the clamp the switch 3l is closed only for a line of a certain length, When the line is composed short of the desired measure, the clamp will be in a position to the right of the roller 3io, and when the line is composed beyondthe desired measure, the clamp will have traveled beneath and to the left of the roller, as indicated by the broken line showing in Fig. 1.

To facilitate the travel of the clamp past the roller 3io in either direction, the upper corners of the clamp are beveled. Actually, the upper cam surface of the clamp is about 3 ems wide so that the switch will remain closed for a 3 em horizontal movement of the assembler slide. Naturally, a clamp 0i' less width could be employed, if desired.

By way of summary, the latch Il is normally spring urged into locking engagement with the projection idc of the elevator raising link i3 and in this position prevents the raising of the elevator. Before composition, the clamp 36 is adjusted with respect to the scale 'la according to the length line which is to be assembled and for which the vise jaws are pre-set to receive. As incoming matrices and spacebands are assembled in the elevator against the finger S, the slide 1 gradually yields to the left, carrying the clamp 3l) therewith. When the composition of the line is complete, the lever is depressed to remove any slack in the line, and if the machine is equipped with an automatic tape control unit,

the lever 20 is automatically momentarily tripped 6 a slip clutch through which power is transmitted from the shaft I5 to the elevator lifting handle, prevents any damage to the machine.

The invention has been shown and described in preferred form, but obviously many variations and modifications may be made therein and in its mode of application which will still be comprised within its spirit. It is understood, therefore, that the invention is not limited to any specic form or embodiment, except insofar as such limitations are specified in the appended claims.

Having described the invention, the following claims are made:

1. in a typographical composing machine, the combination of an assembler elevator wherein the line is composed, a lock normally operative to prevent the rise oi the elevator, an electrical solenoid to control the release of said lock, a normally open electrical swi tch to control the operation oi said solenoid, an assembler slide yieldable during the composition of the line, and a rider settable on said slide in a predetermined position in relation to said switch for a given line length, said rider being adapted to close the switch when the length of the line is within the allowable range of the pre-set measure.

2. A combination according to claim 1 including an assembler side brake to normally prevent retrograde movement of the slide, and time controlled means for releasing said brake prior to any movement or" the assembler elevator to tighten up the line.

3. A combination according to claim 1 Wherein the width of the rider determines the range over which the elevator lock will remain inactive.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,970,566 Kleinschmidt Aug. 21, 19341 2,163,390 Fine June 20, 1939 2,455,276 Swatzell Nov. 30, 1943

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