US2758705A - Typographical composing and slug casting machines - Google Patents

Description

Aug. 14, 1956 J. N. BANKS TYPOGRAPHICAL COMPOSING AND SLUG CASTING MACHINES Filed Sept. 12, 1950 S N M h m o\ v Ax -x wx m m w t t A Q E w\ I V! A. Q b N\ n WNW n A- u W NN MHMAMANMMWNMMMM ulmmmmm nummhrqww s. z? 1 a A A. .m LWAHQ WHHW mmm.. M mw HmmmmmMUG 1 J r! l Q x m R b A I J I A A I J i imxirfim United States Patent TYPOGRAPHICAL COMPOSIN'G AND SLUG CASTING MACHINES John Nelson Banks, London, England, assignor to Linotype and Machinery Limited, London, England, a British company Application September 12, 1950, Serial No. 184,368

4 Claims. (Cl. 19963) This invention relates to typographical composing and slug casting machines of the kind known commercially under the registered trademark Linotype wherein circulating matrices are released from a channelled magazine in the order in which their characters are to appear in print and then assembled into line, the composed line transferred to the face of a slotted mould, the mould filled with molten metal to form a type bar or slug against the matrices which produce the type characters thereon, and the matrices thereafter elevated and returned through the medium of distributing mechanism to the channels in the magazine from which they started. More particularly, it relates to the matrices of these machines and the assemblage of such matrices in a composed line.

The. matrices are usually formed with inverted intaglio characters from which a type bar is cast, and these characters are positioned on the matrices with reference to a datum line which passes through the tops of the upper case characters (inverted), all characters throughout the various fonts growing upwardly from this line. The disadvantage of such a matrix character arrangement is that it is difiicult to mix different heights of characters in the same line due to the top alignment.

According to the present invention, the above-mentioned disadvantage is avoided by providing in or for a typographical composing and slug casting machine, a matrix having an intaglio character from which a typographical slug is cast wherein the said character is positively formed and positioned on the matrix with reference to a datum line passing through the base of the character and the top of the character extends upwardly from this line towards the top of the matrix.

The invention also refers to a method of employing in a typographical composing and slug casting machine a series of matrices having intaglio characters from which a typographical slug is cast, said characters being positively formed and positioned on the matrices with reference to a common datum line passing through the bases of the characters, which method consists in successively releasing said matrices from a magazine and causing them to travel towards the right of the machine (as viewed from the front) to form a composed line of matrices with the said characters thereon facing rearwardly of the machine.

Apparatus for carrying out the invention may comprise means for successively conveying said matrice to a chute, and mechanism for successively directing the matrices towards the right of the machine and into an assembler gate in which the matrices form a composed line with the characters thereon facing rearwardly of the machine. The assembler gate may be connected to mechanism for moving it to a position in which the matrix line can be transferred to an assembler elevator for carrying the line to a position from which it can be transferred for casting a typographical slug, and a matrix pusher member may be provided for transferring the line to the assembler elevator. Preferably, the assembler gate is connected to a shaft which, by means of a hand lever, is rockable to ice lower and raise the assembler gate, said hand lever being connected to the matrix pusher and being slidable axially along the shaft to operate the pusher.

The invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a view of three matrices having intaglio characters of different sizes;

Figure 2 is a front elevation of part of a typographical composing machine showing the matrix assembling apparatus according to the present invention, and

Figure 3 is a side view, partly broken away, of the mechanism for lowering the assembler gate and transferring the matrices.

Referring to Figure l, the matrices X are formed, as usual, with upper projecting ears x and lower projecting ears x Each intaglio character Y is positively formed and positioned on a matrix X with reference to a datum line d passing through the base of the character Y and the top of the character Y extends upwardly from the line d towards the top of the matrix, that is to say, towards the upper projecting ears x Referring now to Figure 2, the matrices X released from a magazine (no-t shown) in the order in which their characters are to appear in print travel on a moving inclined assembler belt 1 by which they are brought against a spring guide 2 which deflects the matrices into a chute 3. A star wheel 4 rotating in a clockwise direction as viewed in Figure 2 and disposed at the lower end of the chute 3 pushes the matrices X to the right of the machine into a vertically movable assembler gate 5 so that the matrices form a composed line with the characters thereon facing rearwardly of the machine. The assembler gate 5 is located to the right of the usual vertically movable assembler elevator 6 which is provided in the machine for carrying a line of matrices upwardly to a position from which the line is transferred for casting a typographical slug.

The assembler gate 5 is provided with a fixed shelf 7 and an adjustable shelf 8 so that if two-character matrices are used the same may be assembled at different levels in Well-known manner. A slide 9 having an upright finger 10 is mounted in the assembler gate 5 and when matrices are pushed by the rotating star wheel 4 into the assembler gate 5 the matrices bear against the finger 10 and the slide 9 is moved to the right to carry the composed line of matrices into the assembler gate 5.

In its matrix-receiving position shown in Figure 2 the assembler gate 5 is at a higher level than the lowermost position of the assembler elevator 6. Mechanism is, therefore, provided for lowering the assembler gate 5 to a position in which matrices can be readily transferred to the assembler elevator 6. The assembler gate 5 is arranged to slide in vertical guides 11 secured to the machine frame and is provided with a downwardly extending link 12 which is pivotally connected at 13 to an arm 14 secured to and extending rearwardly from a rotary shaft 15 mounted in bearings 16 .in the machine frame, so that a rocking movement of the shaft 15 moves the assembler gate 5 upwardly and downwardly in the guides 11. The shaft 15 is formed with a keyway 17 which is engaged by a key18 on a hand lever 19 having an arm 20 pivotally connected at 21 to the lower end of an upwardly extending link 22 which at its upper end is formed with a slot 23 engaging a pin 24 on a horizontally slidable matrix pusher 25, formed with a matrix-engaging head 26. An upward movement of the hand lever 19 thus turns the shaft 15 to lower the assembler gate 5, and a leftward movement of the hand lever 19 axially along the shaft 15 moves the matrix pusher 25 so causing the head 26 to bear against the end matrix in the composed line and transfer the matrices from the assembler gate 5 towards the assembler elevator 6. The upper end of the 3 slotted link 22 is so arranged that during the leftward movement of the link 22 and hand lever 19 the upper end of the link 22 bears against the end of the slide 9 in the assembler gate 5 or against the finger on said slide, so as to return the slide 9 with finger 10 to the position for receiving another matrix line.

When the assembler gate 5 is lowered, it is brought level with, and to the right of, a fixed intermediate channel 27. The assembler elevator 6 when .in its lower position is level with and to the left of the intermediate channel 27, and is provided with a spring catch 28 which eugages the underside of the intermediate channel 27. Leftward movement of the hand lever 19, therefor, causes the head 26 of the matrix pusher 25 to engage the line of matn'ces and transfer it from the assembler gate 5 through the intermediate channel 27 and .into the assembler elevator 5. As the matrix pusher 25 reaches the end of its leftward stroke, a projection 29 on the head 26 engages the spring catch 28 and releases it from the underside of the intermediate channel 27. When so released, the assembler elevator 6 is moved upwardly by any suitable mechanism (such as a spring or power-operated mechanism or manually-operated mechanism) to carry the matrix line to a position from which it can be transferred for casting a typographical slug.

Movement of the hand lever 19 to the right along the shaft restores the matrix pusher to its original position, and a downward movement of the hand lever 19 rocks the shaft 15 to return the assembler gate 5 to the upper position for receiving another line of matrices. If desired, the assembler gate 5, the assembler elevator 6 and the intermediate channel 27 may be respectively provided with flat steel springs 5 6 and 27 to assist in retaining the matrices in an upright position.

Having described my invention, I declare that what claim is:

1. A series of matrices adapted to be composed in line from left to right and with their casting edges facing away from the compositor, said matrices bearing on their casting edges intaglio characters of difierent heights which are positively formed and positioned on the matrices with reference to a common datum line passing through the bases of the characters, the tops of said characters extending upwardly from said datum line towards the tops of the matrices.

2. in a typographical composing and slug casting machine equipped with matrices each having on its casting edge an intaglio character which is positively formed and positioned on the matrix with reference to a datum line passing through the base of the character, the top of said character extending upwardly from said datum line towards the top or" the matrix, the combination therewith of assembling apparatus comprising means for successively conveying said matrices to a chute in the order in which their characters are to appear in print, and mechanism for successively directing the matrices from said chute towards the right of the machine and into an assembler gate in which the matrices form a composed line with the characters on their casting edges facing rearwar-dly of the machine.

3. n a typographical composing and slug casting machine equipped with matrices each having on its casting edge an intaglio character which is positively formed and positioned on the matrix with referenec to a datum line passing through the base of the character, the top of said character extending upwardly from said datum line towards the top of the matrix, the combination therewith of assembling apparatus including an assembler gate, means for successively directing the matrices in the order in which their characters are to appear in print towards the right of the machine and into said assembler gate to form a composed line with the characters on their casting edges facing rearwardly of the machine, an assembler elevator for receiving the line of matrices, mechanism for moving the assembler gate to a position in which the line of matrices can be transferred to the assembler elevator, and means for transferring the line of matrices from the assembler gate to the assembler elevator.

4. The method of casting type bars with type characters which in print read from left to right and which are arranged in base alignment, comprising the steps of providing a series of matrices formed in their casting edges with positive intaglio characters positioned thereon with reference to a common datum line passing through the bases of the characters and with the tops of said characters extending upwardly from said datum line towards the tops of the matrices, selecting the matrices for composition in the order in which their characters are to appear in print,

COmposing said matrices in line, in the order of their character selection, from left to right with their casting edges facing away from the compositor and with the characters in base alignment, and casting the type bars from the matrix lines as thus composed.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 868,538 Drewell Oct. 15, 19.07 1,028,137 Rogers June 4, 1912 1,088,440 Morrison Feb. 24, 1914 1,099,488 Coe June 9, 1914 1,105,204 Mayer et al. July 28, 1914 1,111,098 Rogers Sept. 22, 1914 1,231,912 Kingsbury July 3, 1917 1,477,436 Freund Dec. 11, 1923 1,671,129 Rousseau May 29, 1928 2,098,916 Freund Nov. 9, 1937 2,166,726 Mead July 18, 1939

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