US2898112A - Indicator slips with blushed lacquer coating - Google Patents

Description

A 4, 1959 G. FLOWER, JR., ET AL 2,898,112

INDICATOR SLIPS WITH BLUSHED LACQUER COATING Filed Sept. 1, 1954 E 5' as 32 INVENTORS wiles FZOZIJQJ hfll Frederic/c WRobers Ric/ward .Rowe

United States Patent Ofiice 2,898,112 Patented Aug. 4, 1959 INDICATOR SLIPS W IIH BLUSHED LACQUER COATING Guiles Flower, Jr., Darien, Frederick W. Roberts, Fairfield, and Richard G. Rowe, Redding Ridge, Conn., assignors to Dictaphone Corporation, Bridgeport, Conn., a corporation of New York Application September 1, 1954, Serial No. 453,666

2 Claims. (Cl. 2741) This invention relates to dictating machines and more particularly to an improved type of indicator slip for use in conjunction with dictating machines. The indicator slips of the present invention are particularly adapted for use with dictating machines of the type wherein recording is effected on a rotating endless belt or cylinder by a recording head that moves laterally along the belt or cylinder and thereby produces a helical sound track thereon and will be illustratively described as used with such a machine although as the description proceeds it will be apparent that the indicator slips can be readily adapted for use with other types of machines as Well.

It has been customary for many years to mount a pad of elongated indicator slips on such machines adjacent to the belt or cylinder and to provide the recording head with a marking means capable of being moved into contact with the top slip of the pad to produce a mark thereon adapted to convey certain information concerning the dictated matter to the person who is to transcribe the record. For example, the slips may be marked to indicate the beginning or end of a letter or memorandum or the need for a correction. The effective length of the slip is usually approximately the same as the width of the belt or cylinder so that the slip can be marked at any point throughout the operative range of movement of the recording head. In general there are two types of situations where indicating marks are required to convey information to the transcriber namely, (1) the beginning or ending of a letter or other discrete body of dictated matter and (2) the point at which a correction is to be made, and it is desirable that the mode of mark ing the indicator slip be such as to differentiate clearly between the two types of situations.

It is further desirable that the marking be effected without the use of ink since the marking device is used at relatively infrequent intervals and it is thus difficult to maintain a proper flow of ink over an extended period of time. Moreover if ink is used the ink supply must be replenished from time to time which is inconvenient. If on the other hand a pencil or its equivalent is used there is a transfer of material from the marking means to the indicator paper and eventual replacement of the pencil or its equivalent is necessary. Accordingly it is desirable to provide for this service a paper that can be marked by the application of stylus pressure thereto and without transfer of materials from the stylus to the paper.

It is accordingly an object of the invention to provide an improved type of indicator paper for use in a dictating machine indicator pad. It is another object of the invention to provide an indicator paper of such a type that the relatively light pressure of a stylus will make a clearly visible mark thereon. It is still another object of the invention to provide an indicator slip wherein 2 clearly differentiating markings can be made by a single stylus to indicate distinct types of information concerning the subject matter being dictated. Other objects of the invention will be in part obvious and in part pointed out hereafter.

In one of its broader aspects the invention comprises the utilization of an indicator slip which is made of a coated paper of the type described hereafter and which has a coating that is readly displaceable by light stylus pressure to expose an underlying layer of a color that contrasts with the color of the coating on the paper. The many objects and advantages of the present invention can best be understood and appreciated by reference to the accompanying drawing which illustrates a pad of indicator slips incorporating a preferred embodiment of the invention.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a dictating machine showing the relative locations of the indicator pad and the cooperating stylus;

Figure 2 is a general perspective view of the indicator pad on an enlarged scale;

Figure 3 is a front View of the indicator pad broken away to show the laminar structure of the indicator slips and more particularly of the top indicator slip of the pad;

Figure 4 is a fragmentary section through one of the indicator slips taken on the line 4-4 of Figure 3 but on a greatly enlarged scale and illustrating semi-diagrammatically the layers of which the indicator paper is composed; and,

Figure 5 is a view similar to Figure 4 but illustrating a modification of the embodiment shown in Figure 4.

Referring to the drawing and more particularly Figure 1, the numeral 10 designates a dictating machine comprising a rotatable mandrel 12 adapted to support and rotate an endless plastic recording belt of known type, and a recording head (not shown) which is actuated in the usual manner to move laterally along the width of the belt and thereby produce a helical sound track in the recording belt. Located in the front of the lower portion of mandrel 12 there is a pad 16 of indicator slips, the top slip'of which is positioned to be marked by a stylus 18 laterally movable with the recording head 14.

To move the stylus 18 into contact with the top indicator slip of pad 16 there is provided, at the front central portion of the machine, a pair of tabs 20 and 22. When the tab 20 is manually depressed the stylus 18 is moved into contact with the lower portion of the indicator slip and is pressed against the lower portion of the slip to produce a mark thereon. On the other hand when the tab 22 is depressed manually the stylus 18 is moved into contact with the upper portion of the indicator slip to make a mark thereon. As shown in Figure l the tabs 20 and 22 are marked with the letters C and L respectively and thus tab C is intended to be pressed to make a mark indicating that a correction is required, whereas tab L is intended to be depressed to indicate the beginning or end of a letter or the like. The mechanism whereby the tabs 20 and 22 actuate the stylus 18 forms no part of the present invention and may if desired be of the type disclosed and claimed in Gillette and Pien'ni application, Serial No. 435,802, filed June 10, 1954, now Patent No. 2,820,639, issued Jan. 12, 1958.

Referring now to Figure 2 of the drawings, the inv gressed in the recording medium and a series of boxes 26 in which the name of the dictator, date, etc. can be inserted. There is also provided on the surface of the indicator slips two elongated blank spaces 28 and 313 which at their light margins are designated L and C respectively to correspond to the letters L and C on the tabs 22 and 20. The space 28 is intended to receive the stylus markings relating to the beginning and end of letters and the space 39 is intended to receive stylus markings that indicate the need for correction in the dictated matter.

Referring now to Figures 3 and 4, each of the indicator slips has a laminar structure and comprises a paper base 32 having two elongated parallel bands 34 and 36 of colored ink printed thereon. The color bands 34 and 36 are preferably of different and contrasting colors and may be formed of conventional nitrocellulose base inks.

Overlying the color bands 34- and 36 there is a thin plastic film 38 which may be conveniently made of, for example, cellulose acetate. The top or outer layer 40 of the indicator slip is made of a blushed nitrocellulose film which is prepared and applied in a manner described in detail hereafter. The blushed lacquer provides a white opaque surface on which the indicia shown in Figures 2 and 3 can be readily printed by conventional printing techniques. Moreover, the blushed coating is of such a character that it can be removed by the stylus 18 to render visible portions of the color bands 34 and 36. The film 38 is not removed by the stylus but it is transparent and therefore the underlying color layers are visible therethrough.

The manner in which the stylus removes the blushed coating is illustrated in Figure 4 wherein the numeral 42 designates the channel formed in the blushed lacquer coating when the stylus passes therethrough. In viewing Figure 4 it should be borne in mind that this figure is on a greatly enlarged scale and that the thicknesses of the different layers are not necessarily shown in their correct relative proportions. For example, in a typical indicator paper the thickness of the paper base might be from 30 to 50 times as great as the thickness of the coating thereon.

It has been found that in order to secure an effective removal of the blushed lacquer coating 40 by a shearing action, the blushed coating should have a composition dlfferent from that of the immediately adjacent and underlying plastic layer. Thus it has been found that if the blushed nitrocellulose coating 40 is applied directly to the nitrocellulose base ink 36, a clean shearing of the blushed lacquer coating from the indicator slips cannot readily be attained. In accordance with the present invent1on this difficulty is overcome in either of two ways. Thus as shown in Figure 4 a lacquer overcoat or intermediate plastic film 38 having a composition different from that of the blushed coating can be introduced between the color layer and the blushed coating. Alternatively, as indicated in Figure 5, the color layer can be made of a cellulose acetate base ink and the blushed nitrocellulose coating applied thereto so that the blushed coating will be readily removable from its underlying layer by shearing action of the stylus 18. The use of different plastics for the blushed coating and the plastic film to which it is applied is an important feature of the present invention.

In order to point out more fully the nature of the present invention, the following specific example is given of a method of preparing the indicator slips of the type generally described above: The base paper used was a bleached kraft having a weight of 60 pounds per ream and a thickness of approximately 3.4 to 3.5 mils. Two spaced color bands were formed on this base paper by rotogravure printing, using nitrocellulose base inks to give red and black bands 34 and 36 respectively. Thereafter, the color bands and exposed adjacent portions of the base paper were covered with a cellulose acetate lacquer to form thereon a cellulose acetate layer having a thickness of about 0.0002". On this cellulose acetate film a blushed lacquer coating was formed by applying thereto a lacquer having the following constituents in the indicated proportions.

Components: Parts by weight Nitrocellulose /2 second 14.4 Aroclor 1260 2.5 Tergitol TMN 650 2.5 n-Butanol 4.8 Acetone 382.8 Xylene 96.0 Distilled water 70.4

In the foregoing formulation Aroclor 1260 is the trade name of a mixture of chlorinated diphenyls having a boiling range of approximately 385 to 420 and Tergitol TMN 650 is the trade name for a wetting agent which is a trimethylnonyl ether of a polyethylene glycol. The lacquer thus prepared was applied to the cellulose acetate film of the indicator paper by spraying in the usual manner and drying. Due to the presence of a substantial amount of water in the formulation, the lacquer when dry had a chalky or blushed appearance and thus provided an opaque white finish covering the underlying color band. The thickness of the blushed lacquer layer was about 0.001" and its physical properties were such that the indicia illustrated in Figure 2 could be readily printed thereon. It was found that the resulting blushed coating could be readily and completely removed by relatively light stylus pressure and that the thus exposed portions of the underlying red and black color bands exhibited excellent contrast both with the blushed layer and with each other.

From the foregoing description it should be apparent that the present invention provides an indicator pad and paper capable of achieving the several objects outlined at the beginning of the present specification. Since the plastic of which the coating is formed differs from the plastic of the layer to which the coating is applied, ready removal of the blushed coating by light pressure of the stylus is obtained. Moreover, by providing separate color bands of contrasting colors selective operation of the tabs 20 and 22 causes the stylus to produce marks that are clearly differentiated and confusion on the part of the transcriber is thereby avoided.

It has been further found that coated papers prepared according to the present invention, although readily marked by stylus pressure, are abrasion resistant in the sense that the coated surface is not marred by the contacts it receives during normal handling. For example the paper is not marked even when creased in a normal manner. Moreover, the coating is resistant to discoloration by exposure to heat, light and moisture within practical limits. A still further advantage of the present paper is that its coated surface can be written on legibly with a fountain pen, ball-point pen, or a soft lead pencil at normal writing pressures.

It is of course to be understood that the foregoing description is intended to be illustrative only. For example, the illustrative lacquer formulation for the blushed coating includes a quantity of water to cause the blushed effect to be produced as the lacquer dries. However, a blushed effect can also be produced by using a conventional lacquer and passing a stream of wet air over the lacquer film to evaporate the solvent therefrom. Also different types of inks and plastics can be used than those specifically disclosed, and the solvents and proportions employed can be varied. Other modifications within the scope of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

We claim:

1. An indicating medium for use in a dictating machine of the type that includes a rotatable record support adapted to; support a sound record, and a manually operable marking device having a marking stylus adapted to be mounted for movement with a sound recording head movable transversely of said record to form a continuously curved sound track thereon, said marking device having stylus actuating means connected to said stylus and adapted to be selectively operated to force said stylus against selected side-by-side spaced areas of said indicating medium to indicate on one of said areas the termination of a body of dictated matter and on the other said area the existence of a correction in the dictated matter, said indicating medium being a pad of elongated slips of paper adapted to be mounted in said machine with the surface of the top slip of said pad confronting said stylus and with the long dimension of said pad substantially parallel to the path of travel of said stylus, each slip of said pad having a base comprising two differently colored strips extending in side-by-side relation length-wise of said slip and a blushed lacquer coating overlying the colored strips of said base.

6 2. An indicating medium according to claim 1 and wherein said colored strips have color layers composed of pigmented cellulose ester, said blushed lacquer coating is formed of a cellulose ester, and the cellulose ester of the color layer is difierent from the cellulose ester of the blushed lacquer coating to facilitate removal of said blushed coating by said stylus.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,002,058 Hano Aug. 29, 1911 1,761,078 Kalada June 3, 1930 1,843,947 Ellery Feb. 9, 1932 2,072,055 Lucarelle Feb. 23, 1937 2,154,269 Gramann Apr. 11, 1939 2,299,991 Kallock Oct. 27, 1942 2,628,841 Dann et al. Feb. 17, 1953 2,637,557 Stone May 5, 1953 2,686,676 Rowe et a1. Aug. 17, 1 954

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