US2841267A - Tabulating device for typewriting machines - Google Patents

Description

L. V. TREVE TABULATING DEVICE FOR TYPEWRITING MACHINES Filed June 18, 1956 July 1, 1958 3 Sheets-Sheet l July 1, 1958 1.. v. TREVE 2,841,267

TABULATING DEVICE FOR TYPEWRITING MACHINES Filed June 18, 1956 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 llll'lli y 1958 v. TREVE 2,841,267

TABULATING DEVICE FOR TYPEWRITING MACHINES Filed June 18, 1956 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 United States Patent Ofilice 2,841,267 Patented July 1, 1958 TABULATING DEVICE FOR T YPEWRITING MACENES Lucien V. Treve, Bourg-la=Reine, France, assignor to Societe de Mecanographie Japy (Societe Anonyme), Paris, France, a French company Application June 18, 1956, Serial No. 591,987

Claims priority, application France June 23, 1955 5 Claims. (Cl. 197--177) It is known that the majority of typewriting machines are provided with a tabulating device, that is to say a device which, by acting on a key of the machine, produces a movement of the carriage and brings the latter into a predetermined position for typing.

This device is usually composed of riders or similar members which form a projection on the carriage of the machine, whilst the tabulating key frees the escapement of the said machine and causes a stop member to appear on the path of the said rider. Thus when the tabulat ing key is pressed the carriage is freed and moves under the action of its return spring, the rider which it carries coming into contact with the stop member which is located on its path.

This well known device has a drawback, namely that it causes the relatively delicate stop member, which is actuated by the key, to withstand the full shock of impact of the carriage.

In addition, certain machines and in particular those which are intended for use in accountancy, for example for the preparation of invoices, have a special form of tabulation. In this case, for a single stop-rider arranged on the carriage it is possible to provide at the choice of the operator a number of stops spaced apart by the distance of one character, in order to permit of column entries being made, the superposed characters being aligned vertically in the said columns. The drawback referred to is then still more marked, since each of the stops of the series has necessarily a very small thickness, due to the fact that the distance between two consecutive stops is reduced to the typing space comprised between two characters.

In order to prevent the shock of stoppage of the carriage from being directly applied to the said stops, it has already been proposed to utilise the shock of impact between the rider and the stop to set in action the release mechanism of the machine, in order that the shock of stoppage of the carriage may be mainly supported by the strong pawl or dog of the escapement and not by the stops.

The known constructions of this type have however, serious disadvantages. In fact, the stops do not directly stop the carriage, and it is thus necessary that these stops should be carried by a member capable of a slight lateral movement in the same direction as the said carriage, in order that the said member may, at the moment of the shock of impact give way under the shock in order to actuate the release of the escapement pawl. In view of the fact that, in these known forms of construction, to each of the tabulating keys there will correspond a transmission which acts on a stop of the said member, the construction is rendered extremely complicated.

The present invention provides a remedy for this drawback. The invention has for its object a tabulating device with spaced stops permitting of the use of reinforced abutments or stops which are capable of withstanding, without any additional arrangements, the shock of impact of thecarriage. However these stops are preferably carried by a member capable of a slight lateral movement in the same direction as the carriage and intended by its movement, to cause the actuation of the escapement pawl for the stopping of the said carriage. In both these cases, the connection between the tabulating keys and this device is particularly simple.

In accordance with the invention, the spaced-apart tabulating stops are carried along a helix, by a cylinder which is rigidly fixed to a toothed-wheel engaged with a toothed sector, the rotation of which is controlled in a spaced manner by the different tabulating keys, in such a way that the rotation of the said cylinder brings one of the spaced stops into the path of the riders of the carriage.

A single transmission with a variable travel thus permits of the choice of the stop which is to be made operative. In addition, as the stops are no longer arranged side by side, but are distributed along the periphery of a cylinder, the size of the said stops is no longer limited by the space between successive characters. The stop members can thus be made as strong as may be desired.

In one preferred form of embodiment of the invention the cylinder is in addition carried by a frame which is movable for rotation about the axis of the said sector, in order that this cylinder may, in addition to its movement of rotation, carry out an epicyclic movement rising with respect to the said sector, so as to bring the selected stop into the path of the riders. Thus, by the impact of the carriage rider against the selected stop, which impact produces a slight axial movement of the cylinder, it is possible to actuate the escapement dog so as to absorb the shock of impact and to free the frame of the member which retained it in the upper position, that is to say to eclipse automatically the tabulating device after it has operated, by permitting the cylinder to fall back under its own weight into its initial position.

By virtue of this arrangement, it is possible to reduce the transmissions between the tabulating keys and the tabulating device to two, namely: one which controls in a spaced manner the amplitude of rotation of the toothed sector, and the other which controls the rising epicycloidal movement of the cylinder which carries the stops,

The description which follows below with reference to the attached drawings (which are given by way of example only, and not in any sense by way of limitation), will make it quite clear how the invention may be carried into efiect, the special features which are brought out either in the drawings or in the text, being understood to form a part of the said invention.

Fig. 1 shows diagrammatically and in perspective a tabulating device in accordance with the invention.

Fig. 2 is a view in elevation of the upper left-hand portion of the device shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3a is a side view of the device taken along the line III-III of Fig. 2, in the position in which none of the keys of the tabulator has been operated, whilst Fig. 3b, which is similar to Fig. 3a corresponds to the case in which one key of the tabulator has been operated.

Figs. 4a and 4b are also side views of the device, but looking on the side opposite to that which corresponds to Figs. 3a and 312. Fig. 4a corresponds to the position of rest of the device, and Fig. 4b corresponds to the position in which the release key of the tabulator is operative.

In known manner, the carriage 1 of a typewriter machine, part of which can be seen in Figs. 3 and 4, comprises series of riders or tabulation blocks 2 arranged in slots 1a at right angles to its longitudinal direction, which is that of its displacement. In the example shown, these riders are small plates which can oscillate about a longitudinal axis 3, and which comprise a lower heel portion 2a, intended to co-operate with the stop member, and

[the small plates 25a, 25b, port the keys 22 these plates comprise in addition a 7 second heel- 26a, 26b, 2611, all these heels being of 7' an upper heel 2b co-operating with a bowed spring blade 4 to retain'the said rider either in the active position (in' full lines in Fig. 3a), or in the withdrawn position (shown in dotted lines in the same. figure).

Also in known. manner, when the carriage has been brought into. a position for typing to be carried out at any predetermined point of its travel, by acting on an appropriate; key (not shown), a selected rider can be caused'to pass from its inoperative to its operative posi-' tion.

The riders 2 are intended to co-operate in their active position with the stops 5a, 5b, 5c,- etcL, spaced apart along a helicoidal line on the cylinder .6. This cylinder can rotate and slide on a spindle 7 which is manner on the shaft of a centrifugal brake mechanism, in-

tended; to prevent too-rapid rotation of the escapement wheel when this latter is freed from its dog; The drum mounted overhung on an arm 8 rigidly fixedto a shaft 7 9. At its other extremity this shaft. is also rigidly fixed to a' crank-arm 1i). i

The toothed sector 11 which co-operates with the toothed wheel 12 fixed on the cylinder 6, is pivotally mounted on the shaft 9. Thus the cylinder 6 is able to rotate on itself under the control of the toothed sector 11 and at the same time by rotation of the assembly 8, 9, 10, about the pivots 13, it can carry out an epicy- V cloidal movement on this sector.

The rotation of the sector 11 around the shaft 9 is effected through the medium of the bell-crank lever 15, the crank 14 and the adjustable crank 16, 'by means of the crankpin 17 fixed V to a flat'bar'18 (the selection bar) parallel to the edge of the keyboard which is provided at its extremities with lugs'19 pivotally mounted on a spindle 20.

On, this bar are arranged to act the heels 21a,

21b, 21n, of increasing length of the tabulation keys 22, which are generally arranged at the top of the keyboard, parallel to the lines of the character keys In Fig. I, there has been shown only one key 22a and the last key 22n which, as'will be shown later, is furthermore the cancelling key. The keys are provided with individual return springs, and the selection bar 18 has a-return' spring 24. The graduations in length of the heels 21a,

21b, 21n are such that the difference in length of two consecutive heels causes the cylinder 6 to pivot, through the medium of the sector 11 through an angle whichcorresponds to the angular space which separates two consecutive stops such as 5a and 5b. Thus, the operation of one of the keys 22 further and further away towards the right, corresponds to a rotation of the cylinder 6' which brings an increasingly distantstop towards the upper-generator of the said cylinder.

The heels 21a,'21b, 212: are punched out from equal length. These latter heels play a double part: engaged in the slots 27 of the frame, they serve as vertical with the exceptionof the last 26h which is fixed to the key containing this brake, which is well known per se, isindicated at 47 in Fig. 1.

The other extremity of the nipple the tail 48b, bent over at right angles, of a pawl 48 which is pivotally mounted on a spindle 49 fixed to'the frame of the machine. The nose 48a of this pawl is hooked on a flat member 7a on the extremity of the shaft v7 onwhich the cylinder 6 rotates. The return spring 50 tends to keep; 1

ymis hook- .i-

this pawl hooked on the said flat member.

7 ing engagement, pivotal movement of -the' assembly 3,19

. 25n which serve to sup-:

- 7 When one of the keys 22 is depressed, the

and 10 about the pivots 13 is prevented, which means that the upward movement of the cylinder G-by epicy; cloidal movement on the sector 11 cannot'take place 1 unless the pawl 48 is previously released, 7 I 7 Against the extremity of thecylindegifi opposite to the toothed wheel. 12 is applied the end of a stop-scliew 51 carried by a square member 52. This square is movable laterally in its plane, and is guided on the one'hand by r the arm 520 which slides inan opening in the frame of the machine and, on the, other hand, by means of the '7 screw 53, fixed to this frame' which passes through the; elongated opening 54 formed in the said square (see also q a Fig. .2). The lower vertical arm 52b of this square is:

bent over to a right-angle, and the arm,52c thus'formed has the rod 34 passed through it. The square is urged towards the right in Figs. 1 and 2 by means of a'spring 55. r

The carriage being'assumed to be fully pushed back. towards the right, and a'rider' 2 being brought out to the.

' active position, the device which has just been described above operates .in the following manner: 7 r

21 and 2601? the corresponding key are caused to. act on the two fla't'bars 28 and 187which pivot about the axis 20., The pressure appliedto the bar 28 lifts theflat rod 34 through the transmission130,.31. and 32 (see 'Fig...3b)..

In this movement the .cheekl36 rocks and this frees the rotationalmovement of the escapment wheel'through dog 39.. The carriage begins to move from the-right 7 towards the left:

" guides for the small plates 25; in addition all these heels, 7

22 n, are adapted to act on a second flat bar 28 parallel to' thebar 18 which by means of arms 29, can also pivot about the axis 20. By means of the crankpi'n, the crankarm 31 of adjustable length and the bell crank lever 32 which pivots aboutfthe axis 33, all the. keys 22, except 7 the last 22n, may impart a rising movement to the vertical flat rod 34. The'upper extremity of the able length (see Figs. 1, 2 and 3) which is carriedbya cheek 36 pivotally mounted ona fixe'daxis 3 7. 'This 7 cheek'or strap, thecentral part of which is of U-shape,

flat rod 34 comes into]. abutment with the extremity of a nipple'35. of adjust comprises a finger 36a. directed towards the; front in Fig.1,- and, directed towardsthe rear, an extended por-,

tion 36bgin-which is fixed the nipple 35, the said extern- .sion being folded back at'right angles ,at 360 to serve as j i a support for a spring 38interposedbetween the crank-pin] 10 and the said extension 36c.

The finger 36a acts on the end of the dog'39 (which I pivoted about an axis 4tliand is controlled by the return At the same time however, the rocking movement'of the check 36 hascaused that of the. check 44, which puts" the pinion 45 into engagementwith the toothed wheel 46. By virtue of the elasticcoupling of the two cheeks this, engagement of the-' teeth ofthe pinionis effected as soon as the wheel 42 hasfbegun to rotate and thusto;

bring facing eachothzrthe teeth'of the pinion 45. iandl the wheel 46. The brake thus comesimmediately into action in order tofreduc'e'the speed of movement of the carriage towards the left;

7 At the'same time, the rocking motion ofr the iiheekmi v hascaused that of the pawl 48 which has freed the shaft 7. The frame of the carriage, that is to say the assembly 8, 9'and 10, can thusrotate about the pivot13; This 7 movement is carried out under the thrust of the spring 38 which, being compressed by the upward movement of the check 36, lifts the crank-pin 10. The u'pwardtravel of this-crank-pin is limited by an arm'561(se e'Fig s. l

and 2) which is rigidly fixed to the frame of the'machineI During this upward movemengthe IQQthed wheel l2j, rolls on the sector 11} (which'is assumed tobe momena tartily stationaryhso that-at the same time' as the cylinder 5 6 moves upward, it-rrotateson itself rthrough an anglei which brings the stop 5a onto" the path of the rider 2 V 35 is in contact with two heels In other words, the first of the keys of the tabulator, that is to say the key which conventionally corresponds in tabulation to the figure of the units, does not require to be provided with a heel 21, since the epicycloidal movement of the cylinder 6 alone brings the first stop a into the path of the rider 2.

The other keys, which usually correspond to the higher orders of units (tens, hundreds, thousands, etc.) and which are provided with heels of progressively increasing length, are adapted, when they are depressed, to produce, at the same time as the rising and rotating movement of the cylinder 6 which has just been described, an additional rotation of this cylinder by virtue of the sector 11,

this being effected by the medium of the bar 18 and of the transmission 14, and 16. In other words, as the order of magnitude of the number to be entered in the column predetermined by the rider 2 increases, the greater is the degree of rotation of the cylinder 6 and the more distant is the stop 5b, 50, etc., which comes into position on the path of the rider 2.

If, for example, the number to be entered in the column, the position of which is determined by the rider 2, is a number of four figures, it is the stop 5d which will be placed in the path of the rider 2, thus determining or providing the space of four characters, before the rider 2 again comes opposite the point of the cylinder at which the typing is effected (the right-hand edge of the column on the document typed on the machine).

One of the stops being thus interposed in the path of the rider 2, when the rider comes into contact with it, it imparts a slight movement from right to left to the cylinder 6 in the direction of its axis. Through the intermediary of the stop-screw 51, this cylinder thus moves the square 52 towards the left, which frees the fiat rod 34 from the extremity of the nipple 35 by the arm 520, by bringing this rod 34 into the position 34' shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2. Under the action of the spring 38, which expands, the cheek 36 then rocks in the reverse sense,

which puts the dog 39 again in engagement with the escapement wheel 42 so as to stop the movement of the carriage. The shock of stopping this carriage is thus supported by the dog and the strong escapement tooth of this wheel.

Since the cylinder 6 is no longer urged by the action of the spring 38, it falls back by its own weight and the return spring 50 of the pawl 48 again hooks the latter on to the shaft 7, which has returned to its original position. As the toothed wheel 12 has rolled in the opposite direction on the toothed sector 11 (which, if it has rotated on itself, has been brought back to its original position by the spring 24) it has restored the stops 5 also to their initial positions. Finally, the active stop (5d) having escaped from the rider by the return of the cylinder to its original position, the spring 55 brings back the square 52 towards the right, so that the rod 34 comes back into position under the nipple 35. The device is ready for a further operation of tabulation.

The device which has just been described is completed, for returning the riders to the inoperative position, by the following members:

The wheel 12, or in other words the cylinder 6, is rigidly fixed to a cam 57 on the path of which is located the nose 58a of a rectangular lever 59. This lever is controlled by a return spring 60 and pivots about an axis 61 carried by the crank-pin 8. This lever is coupled by a crank-arm 62 to a cheek 63 which passes round the cylinder 6 and which is able to rotate freely about the axis 7 of the cylinder. This check is terminated by a finger 63a.

In order to cancel a tabulation, that is to say to cause a rider 2 to pass from its operative to its inoperative position, this rider is brought opposite the finger 63a and the key 2211 is depressed. As has already been indicated, this key only acts on the hat bar 18 by means of (see Fig. 4b), the rider 2 concerned thus passes from' its active to its inactive position. As the rod 22n cannot act on the bar 28, the cylinder 6 has remained in its lower position during this operation.

When the key 2211 is released, it moves upward under the action of its return spring 23, and the bar 18 also returns to its position under the action of its own spring,

this movement bringing the sector 11 back into its original position, whilst the cheek 63 is also brought back into its initial position by the spring 60.

Although the machine has been described in its most complete form of construction, it is possible, without thereby departing from the scope of the invention, to make it considerably more simple, especially if the shock of impact of the carriage can be supported by the spaced stops. In this case, the cylinder 6 may be rotated only and it is provided with strengthened stops 5. The tabulating keys then act only on the selection bar 18 and on a common release member for the dog. By releasing the tabulating key after the stoppage of the carriage, the dog again becomes operative to retain the carriage, and the stop is withdrawn by the return of the cylinder to its original position.

It will of course be understood that modifications may be made to the forms of embodiment which have just been described above, in particular by the substitution of equivalent technical means without thereby departing from the spirit or from the scope of the present invention.

What I claim is:

1. A tabulating device for typewriting machines having a carriage and a keyboard with aligned tabulating keys, comprising a frame pivotally mounted with respect to said machine about an axis in parallel relationship with said carriage; a shaft carried by said frame in parallel relationship with respect to said carriage; a cylinder rotatably and slidably carried by said shaft; regularly spaced stops carried by said cylinder along a helix thereof; a

'toothed wheel fast with said cylinder; a toothed sector engaging said toothed wheel and rotatable about the pivot of said frame; a first linked transmission connecting said keyboard to said toothed sector for imparting rotation thereto; a second linked transmission connecting said keyboard to said frame for imparting rotation in upward direction to said frame about the pivots thereof; and tabulating keys imparting stepwise spaced travel to said first transmission and a constant travel to said second transmission.

2. A tabulating device for typewriting machine according to claim 1 wherein said first and second transmissions comprise each a bar located in parallel relationship with said aligned tabulating keys, said keys having each a first heel of a length different from the lengths of the first heels of the other keys acting on the bar corresponding to the first transmission; and a second heel of equal length for all the said keys acting on the bar corresponding to the second transmission.

3. A tabulating device according to claim 1 for typewriting machines further having an escapement device for the carriage, wherein the part of said second transmission directed towards said pivoting frame comprises a rod adapted for longitudinal and pivotal displacement; a lever in abutting relationship with said rod having an arm adapted to free the said escapement; connecting means between said lever and said frame; and a spring urged member sliding in parallel relationship with the said shaft in abutment relationship with the end of said cylinder din:ctezl'tcwm'ds said rod and provided with an opening through which passes said rod v I :4. A tabulating device according totclaim 3' wherein? said connecting means comprise a compression spring inserted between said lei/errand frame and a spring urged pawl i1'1 abuttingrelationshiplwith said lever and catch ing said frame in the lower position thereof and further comprising a fiXedstop-member limitilig the. upward ro-v ftation of said frame;

5. A tabulating device according to claim 1 further comprising :at least a 'rider carried by said carriage for cooperation with said stops; a cam member fast with said cylinder and-toothed wheel; a spring Urged adaptedto be actuated by said cam; a'leyer pivoting about" V the saidshaft, connected to said 'linkageand'haying'an upwardly'directedextension adapted to contact saidri'der; and' a further key acting only on said firstV-tratrsmissio'x for imparting thereto a greater trayel than'the tabulat iiig keys.

" 'R efereficesC ited in /the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,485,767 crawle t; Mina-1924;

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