US2725136A - Typewriter margin mechanism - Google Patents

Description

NOV. 1955 R. E. KINGSBURY TYPEWRITER MARGIN MECHANISM Filed May 20, 1954 INVENTOR. RALPH E. K/NGSBUR) BY 1444 Q fiw ATTORNFY United States Patent TYPEWRITER MARGIN MECHANISM Ralph E. Kingsbury, Rocky Hill, Conn., assignor to Underwood Corporation, New York, N. Y. a corporation of Delaware Application May 20, 1954, Serial No. 431,033

3 Claims. (Cl. 197-63) This invention relates to margin regulating mechanisms for typewriters, and more particularly such as are provided at the front-rail of the machine in differentiation from margin regulating mechanisms having stops arranged at the rear of the machine. v

, Although in most present day typewriters the margin stops are provided upon the rear of the carriage, in some settable from points remote thereto, front-rail margin mechanisms are nevertheless the most eflicient for speed: ily effecting margin-regulating adjustments. One underlying cause for the trend away from front-rail margin stop mechanisms has been that in connection with known structures an operators sleeve, or hanging bracelet, etc. was very much prone to catching on margin stop adjusting handles and stop position indicators projecting from the machine in objectionable relations thereto. Also the structures and arrangements in prior mechanisms were such as to expose extensively the margin mechanism, and for this and other reasons the prior mechanisms were unsuitable for modern, stream-lined machine design. I

In awareness of the fundamental merits and great simplicity of the front-rail margin mechanisms, it is a main object of the present invention to evolve a front-rail margin mechanism having an improved organization and structure of parts, whicheliminates the stated'objections, and thereby to provide a margin stop mechanism which in all mechanical respects is satisfactory and, moreover, facilitates modern styling of the machine.

A more specific object of the invention is to provide an eificient margin stop mechanism comprising margin stops arranged on a front bar of the carriage, said bar being formed to nest concealingly, the margin stops as well as an associated mounting rack.

Another object of the invention is to provide a margin stop mechanism which facilitates the provision of a guide rail for the carriage in closely contiguous and harmonious correlation to said carriage bar on which the margin stops are concealingly carried.

Other objects and features of the invention will become apparent from the drawings and in the light of the detailed description of the mechanism which follows:

Referring now more specifically to the drawings, Figure 1 is a sectional side elevation showing the top portion of a typewriter embodying the invention,

Figure 2 is a front sectional view along line 2-2 of Figure 3 and shows in enlarged aspect a left margin stop along with a portion of its supporting rack,

Figure 3 is a sectional side elevation showing the parts seen in Figure 2,

Figure 4 is a perspective view illustrating the upper portion of the typewriter embodying the invention,

Finally, Figure 5 is a sectional plan view illustrating a right-hand portion of the carriage front bar, along with the right-hand margin stop supported thereon.

Referring now more particularly to Figures 1 and 4, a typewriter carriage, generally designated by the numeral 10, embodies a platen 11 turnably supported therein, and comprises widely spaced end-members 12 which are joined 2,725,136 Patented Nov. 29, 1955 2 by a bar 13 extending parallel to the platen at an appreciable distance in front of the platen at the general level thereof.- On this front bar 13 of the carriage, in a manner to be described hereinafter, are carried a left margin stop 14L and a right margin stop 14R.

Referring now particularly to Figure 1, a centrally disposedtype bar 15 of a usual full system, is indicated as having been moved closely to typing position in a general path 16. More outwardly disposed type bars of the system takepaths'closer to the carriage bar 13 which is disposed far enough forward from the platen so that there is no conflict between any of the type bars and the margin stops. Moreover, the bar 13 is suffic'iently forward of the platen to allow conveniently the loading of typewriter ribbons 17 upon conventional spool supports indicated at 18.

The front bar 13 of the carriage is of angle or L cross section and specifically comprises a shallow, front wall 20, and a ledge 21 extending along the top of the wall rearwardly. 1

The main framework of the machine comprises side walls 24 which support a track bar 25 in front of the carriage bar 13. Specifically, the track bar 25 is fastened at each of its ends to an interior flange 29, a screw 26 reaching upwardly through each flange 29 into the track bar to fasten the latter. A front panel 27 abuts the track 1 bar 25 and closes up the front of the typewriter above the conventional keyboard. The track bar 25 includes a steel channel insert 28 extending along the rear side thereof, secured thereto by screws 3i), see Figure 1. Into the channel 28 reach two antifriction rolls 31 which are rotatively carried by shouldered studs 32 on the front wall 20 of the carriage bar 13. Thus, at the front of the machine, the carriage It) is guided by means of the rolls 31 riding in the channel 28. At the rear the framework of the machine supports a round rail 33 whereupon the carriage has guiding support in a conventional manner, not shown.

The aforestated margin stops 14L and MR are adjustably supported on a rack bar 34 that extends slightly spaced rearwardly from the wall 20 and somewhat below the ledge 21.- The rack bar 34 is notched, as at 35, at

intervals which are in agreement with the letter-feedspaces of the machine. The margin stops ML and MR comprise blocks internally channelled to fit slidingly the bar 34 along its top and bottom edge. Each of the stops 14L and 14R is normally held in an adjusted position along the rack bar 34 by means of'a lock plunger 36 which is accommodated in a vertical cross slot 37 cut in the margin stop. Said lock plunger 36 fits vertically slidably in the slot 37 behind the rack 34 and embodies a forwardly reaching tongue 38 for entrance in any of the rack notches 35. The lock plunger 36 of each margin stop has thereabove a laterally offset, upreaching extension 39 hearing a finger piece 41. A compression spring 49 biases each of the plungers 36 upwardly to its stop holding position. Specifically, each said spring is accommodated and seated in the related margin stop in a vertical bore and presses upwardly against the offset plunger extension 39, Downward pressure exerted against either of the finger pieces 41 will free the related margin stop from the plunger tongue 33 and then the freed stop may be moved along the rack 34 to the desired new position. The rack 34 is secured at each carriage 'end by a screw 42, the rear wall 20 of the carriage bar having at each end a boss spacing the rack bar therefrom.

The margin stops 14L and MR have each a downwardly reaching lug 43 for co-action with a counterstop arm 44, the latter of which is borne centrally of the machine on a frame-supported shaft 45 and normally occupies the position seen in Figure 1. In such position the counterstop arm 44 cooperates with the margin stops 14!. and 14R to limit the carriage travel in opposite directions.

The shaft 45 is limitedly displaceable .leftwardly on the frame by the right-hand margin stop 14R, for conventional line-locking action. Moreover, the said arm is downwardly turnable clear below the margin stops 14L and 148., to permit typing beyond the normal line limits which the margin stops define. A fork member 46 secured to the bottom of the track bar at the middle of the machine abuts normally the counterstop arm-44 against rightward displacement and permits against the urge of resilient means, not shown, a limited leftward displacement for line-end locking action. Further details of the lineend locking and releasing mechanism are not shown inasmuch as the details thereof are immaterial to the invention.

The margin stops 14L, 14R, includes each an upreaching pointer 47 by which they are settable in reference to a scale element 49 on the bar-ledge 21 which is secured on such ledge at each carriage end by a screw 48. The scale bar 49 is of arched cross section, as shown, and the indicating ends of the pointers 47 are substantially flush with the top of the scale bar so that clothing etc. is not apt to catch thereon.

To adjust the carriage guiding rolls 31 to their proper guiding levels, their mounting studs 32 are screwed fast in individual eccentric bushings 51, and each individual bushing is securable in the carriage bar wall in appropriately turned position by a set screw 52, the latter reaching at an upwardly inclined angle from below toward the bushing 51, for access from below in one of the extreme carriage positions. In order to render the set screws 52 conveniently accessible, the carriage bar Wall has a local forward bulge 53 adjacent to each roller on the side toward the end of the carriage. The said bulges 53 are dimensioned to traverse freely the channel 28. It will be observed that the structure and arrangements of the parts is such that the track bar 25 meets flushly the front panel 27 of the machine and further that the front bar 13 of the carriage is directly contiguous to the rear of the track bar 25. Further, in the stated organization, the manipulative controls for the margin stops are reaching up behind the front bar 13 of the carriage where they are not interfering with the operators clothing, etc. The stated arrangement also facilitates modern styling of the machine so necessary to make even a mechanically superior device popularly acceptable on the market.

Having explained the nature and the objects of the invention in its preferred form, what is claimed is:

1. In a typewriter having a main frame, a platen, and front-strike type bars individually operable against said platen; a letter-feeding carriage supporting said platen and comprising at the general level of the platen, forwardly thereof, clear of the operating paths of said type bars, .a front bar extending parallel to the platen, a framesupported track bar at the front of the carriage front bar and having a channel therein facing the latter, means on said carriage front bar reaching into the track-bar-channel for carriage guiding cooperation, said carriage front bar comprising an elongate shallow front wall closelycontiguous to the rear of said track bar and a rearwardly overhanging ledge extending along the top of said wall, a margin stop supported on said carriage under said ledge and behind said front wall for adjustment parallel to the latter to diiferent margin-defining positions, and release means for said margin stop comprising an operating member upreaching behind said ledge for stop releasing operation and to facilitate the adjustment of said stop.

2. In a front-strike typewriter comprising a platen, and a platen-supporting carriage having a carriage frame bar extending parallel to the direction of travel of the carriage and spaced from the front of the platen, the said carriage frame bar comprising an elongate, shallow wall and a rearwardly overhanging ledge extending along the top of said wall; a rack bar disposed parallel along the rear of said wall and covered by said ledge, and a margin stop supported on said rack bar for adjustment therealong and including releasable means normally holding said stop in adjusted position along said rack bar, said margin stop being substantially covered by said ledge, and said releasable means comprising an operating member upreaching behind said ledge for stop-releasing operation and to facilitate adjustment of the stop along said rack bar to different positions.

3. In a front-strike typewriter comprising a platen, and a platen-supporting carriage having a carriage frame bar extending parallel to the direction of travel of the carriage and spaced from the front of the platen, the said carriage frame bar comprising an elongate, shallow wall and a rearwardly overhanging ledge extending along the top of said wall; a rack bar disposed parallel along the rear of said wall and covered by said ledge, a margin stop supported on said rack bar for adjustment therealong and including releasable means normally holding said stop in adjusted position along said rack bar, a scale bar generally coextensive with the carriage and carried upon said ledge, and an indicating finger upreaching from said margin stop behind said ledge for position indicating cooperation with said scale bar, said margin stop substantially covered by said ledge, and said releasable means comprising an operating member upreaching behind said ledge for stopreleasing operation and to facilitate the adjustment of the stop along said rack bar to different positions.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 956,672 Berry May 3, 1910 1,469,777 Crawley Oct. 9, 1923

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