US2905307A - Typewriter carriage position indicator - Google Patents

Description

Sept. 22, 1959 c. E. DE CLERCK 2,905,307

TYPEWRITER CARRIAGE POSITION INDICATOR Filed March 29, 1957 2,905,307 TYPEWRITER CARRIAGE rosrrron INDICATOR Oharles-E. De Cler'ck; Elnshing, N.Y., assignor to'iHazelti'ne. Research; Inc.-,v Chicago IlL, a corporation of Illinois Application March'29,:1"9 57,"Serial N6. 649548 2:.Claimsz; (Glu197- 187) This invention relates to a typewriter carriage positionindicati'ng device. This device is particularly useful for simplifying conventional j'i'lstifyir'ig procedures whereby the right-hand margin of typewrittencop'y ismade uniform. Justifyingmarginsis commonly used in applicat'ions when distinctive lookingcorrespondence is required.

One procedure for justifying the right-hand margin requires the preparation ofadr'aftcopy prior to the final copy. In the course of preparing the draft, notations are made which instruct the typist of. the proper. adjustment in line length required for producing a uniform margin on the final copy; This procedure, because it entails double typing, is laborious. In addition, the present means by which the corrective notations are. obtained is awkward and inaccurate. The operator is, therefore, required to exercise great care and ;concentration in deriving these. corrective notations. Operator fatigue is, therefore, very common. The present invention, while not .modifying the basic conventional procedure, eliminates the most awkward step in the procedure and results in greater accuracy with less fatigue on the part of the operator- A brief discussion of the conventional procedure "and a description of how the present invention facilitates its performance will be discussed hereafter.

It is an object of thein'vention to provide an inexpensive attachment to typewriter machines which wil1I'facili-' tate the justification of the right-hand margin on typewritten copy, without substantially interferingwith normal operation of the typewriter.

It is a further object of this invention to provide an accurate and efiicient means for justifying the right-hand margin on typewritten copy.

In accordance with the invention, there is provided a typewriter carriage position indicator comprising an indicating means, an actuating means for engaging the typewriter carriage and whose movement is representative of the typewriter carriage travel and aninclined plane fastened to the actuating means for translating the motion of the actuating means to the indicating means for recording on. the indicating means the position of the typewriter carriage with respect toa prescribed reference.

For a better understanding of the present. invention, together with other and further objects thereof, reference is-had to the followingdescription taken. in connection with the accompanying drawing, and its. scopewill be pointed out in the appended claims.

Referring to the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a perspectiveview of apparatus embodying the present invention in. a particularform;

Fig. 2 is a bottom view of a portion of. theFig. 1 embodiment, and Fig. 3 is a fragmentary view of a prior art device and is useful in describing .the operationof the.Fig..1 embodiment.v

Referring tosFig. 1 there is shownazp'erspective .view of a. typewriter carriage position-indicating device embodying theprinciples of this invention. The typewriter carriage position-indicating.deviceincludes atypewriter carnited States Patent 2 riage position indicator 10 comprising anindicatingmeans 11;: The. indicatingmeans. 11 is represented inFig, 1. as a conventional dial indicatingdevice including an indicator .dial 12,..a-spring-loa-ded plunger 13, neck 41, and a fine zerdadjustmeans 14.v Inzone applicationofthe Fig. 1 embodiment, a dial indicatorFederal modehGSI with: a. modified .C3W balanced dial. was .used effectively. Dial indicating means llioperates. inaconventional man: ner. to amplify the travel of theplunger 13 to register-on the indicating .dial. 12.themagnitude. of the .travelzof plunger 13..-

The. typewriter carriage position-indicating-:device.10 also includes an. actuatingmeans 27 forengaging, the typewriter carriage. and whose movementis representative of the typewriter: carriage .traveL. The actuating means 27 comprises-a rigid elongated member 29;. at one end of. which is an offset. member 30'. In the alternative, the..olf.-. set 30 may pivot aboutthe end of the elongated member 29 for storage and' be spring-loaded so. that it. cannot .be rotated parallel to elongated member 29- in use.

A rectangular b1ock.31, preferably metal,.is attached to. the right end of carriage .32, engaging offset 30 of actuat-. ing means 27 during-at least a. portion of its traveL, The size and location of block 31, are determined by this, function. Thetypewriter carriage position-indicatingde-v vicje 10 also includes means for translating the motionv of .the actuating n1eans.27'to the indicating means 11 for. recording, on the indicating means. 11, the position of the typewriter carriage with respect to a prescribed refer-. once. The translating means includes a, block 15., prefer: ably metal, constructed to perform several functions in. the operation. of the Fig. l embodiment. On the upper. surface of block 15 there is inserted a .thumbscrew .16.v

The surface opposite that. containing the thumbscrew. is. constructed in the form of a guide rail 19'. Coaxial. with the longitudinal axis of block 15 is an aperture1 7. Actuating means 27 is. inserted in aperture 17' and fastened to block 15. by tighteningthumbscrew 16.. An.inclin,e.d plane 20 is constructed on. oneof the remaining surfaces of 'block'15. The angle of the inclined plane 20 is. pro.-. portioned in accordance with the amplificationfactor of. dial indicating means 11 to adjust the amplification of the movement of the actuating device to plunger 13. An assumed slope .of 0.160 inch per inch of length. coupled with, the. Federal G81 indicator. and the modified CZW dial develops a gain of ten. An amplification of ten was found to be adequate.

The translating means further includes a base meme ber 22. for supporting the indicating dial 12 and block 15. The base member 22 includes an aperture 23. through which is inserted the fixed section of plunger 13.. The base member 22 also includes a slot 24, preferably parallel to thetop. surface of base 22,. from one edge of base 22 to the circumference of. the aperturev 23. A- screw ZS-completes the. means for fasteningdial indicat ing means. 11 to base. 22. The fastening operation-is accomplished by inserting the fixed section of neck ,4 in: aperture2-3. Subsequently, screw'25. is actuated to-compress the small dimension of slot 24,.closing aperture23 about neck4l, thereby'cl'amping the dial indicating means 11 to base 22. Base 22 further includes a guide recess 26 constructed in conformance with the cross-sectional configuration of guide rail 19. One side of guide recess 26 includes a thin rectangular piece of bar stock 28- which maybe readily adjusted laterally to adjust for varying tolerances in the construction of guide recess 26.

Referring now to Fig. 2, there is shown a spring mechanism for returning blocklS to its extreme right setting, asrepresented by the dotted outline37', after each operation of the typewriter carriage. The reset mechanismv includes a screw 36. which is fastened to the underside of base 22. The reset mechanism further includes a peg 33 which is fastened to the undersurface of guide rail 19 in block 15. Peg 38 is inserted in a slot 34 which is constructed in the underside of base 22. Spring 37 connects peg 38 to screw 36 thereby providing a reset action for block 15.

A sheet metal bracket 40 is provided for fastening the typewriter carriage position-indicating device to the top cover 42 of the typewriter.

As heretofore discussed, a widely used conventional procedure for justifying the right-hand margin requires a high degree of concentration and often precipitates fatigue in the operator. The conventional procedure will now be discussed in detail in order to facilitate the understanding of the present invention. After inserting the paper in the typewriter, the operator determines the length of line she wishes to have justified and positions the carriage at the exact location of this right-hand margin. To the right of the carriage position is found a scale, graduated in units and provided with a V notch at one of the graduations. In Fig. 3 there is represented a particular stationary scale which includes the V-type notch just described. The next step is for the operator to take a sharp pencil and insert the point in the V- type notch provided on the scale. The V notch occurs to the right of the point to which the carriage has been positioned. The operator now proceeds to draw a vertical line down the length of the paper by turning the platen of the typewriter upward. This line thereby becomes a reference point for the V-type notch. The first step in preparing a justified manuscript is to type a rough draft ignoring to some extent the necessity for making a uniform margin. The operator proceeds to type out a single line. The operator then proceeds to note, at the termination of this line, the position of the V notch with respect to the reference line previously drawn. If the V notch falls to the right of the vertical line, the type line is too long and must subsequently be decreased in the finished manuscript if the margin is to be made uniform. The magnitude by which the line must be decreased is determined by counting the number of divisions on the scale separating the reference line from the V notch. The number of divisions is then noted alongside the typewritten line. In the present example, it is preceded by a minus sign. The minus sign informs the operator that the line is too long and must be shortened on the final copy. On the other hand, if the V notch at the end of the typewritten line falls to the left of the reference line, the typewritten line is too short and must be expanded in the finished copy of the manuscript. Again, the extent by which this expansion is computed is for the operator to count the number of units between the reference line and the V notch on the left of the reference line. Once again, a notation is made to the right of the typewritten line. However, this time the notation is preceded by a plus sign indicating that an expansion is required. Should the V notch, at the end of a typewritten line, fall exactly on the previously drawn reference line, the operator is thereby informed that no adjustment is necessary.

Margin justification is used in conjunction with typewriters employing proportional spacing. On the proportional spacing typewriter, unlike the conventional typewriter, each character is automatically given the correct spacing in accordance with its width. For example, in one system, the unit of space is of an inch wide and each character is allocated one or more units in accordance with its width. In this particular system, the i is allocated two units and the m is allocated five. It is, therefore, possible, with a proportional spacing typewriter, to expand or contract a typewritten line by the addition or subtraction of unit spaces between sentences and words. A correction of five units in the length of a line requires a total adjustment of merely 7 32 of an inch. Consequently, a skilled operator ,is

capable of adjusting the length of a line without sacrificing the appearance of that line as seen by the reader.

The present invention is particularly directed towards facilitating that portion of the procedure in which the operator is required to determine the magnitude of expansion or contraction required. At present, the operator must locate the V slot and count scale divisions to the reference line. These scale divisions are & of an inch apart and often not readily distinguishable. It is, therefore, awkward to derive the proper corrections. Often, when making erasures, the paper moves relative to the roller thereby necessitating a realignment of the reference line and the V notch. The typewriter carriage position-indicating device 10 operates to automatically indicate at the end of each typewritten line the magnitude of correction required and, in addition, the direction in which that correction must be made, positive or negative. Because the calibration is independent of the paper, it is unaffected by minor movements of the paper on the roller. The first step is to align the typewriter position-indicating device 10 in conformance with the point at which the right-hand margin is to be made uniform. This is done by positioning the carriage 32 at the exact location of the right-hand margin. Thumbscrew 16 on block 15 is loosened, permitting the parallel movement of actuating device 27 until offset 30 is in contact with block 31. The block 15 is then positioned with respect to dial indicating means 11 so that the plunger 13 is approximately in the center of inclined plane 20 and the dial approximately reads zero. Thumbscrew 16 is then tightened, fastening the block 15 and actuating means 27 in this fixed position. A fine zero adjustment on the indicator dial 12 may be made by operating the fine adjustment screw 14 on dial indicator device 11. In making this initial adjustment, block 15 and, corresponding ly, peg 38 are positioned in the center of their travel.

What has been accomplished by the foregoing is to initially adjust the typewriter carriage position-indicating device 10 so that it reads zero at the exact location of the right-hand margin. A movement of carriage 32 either to the right or the left will cause a corresponding movement in actuating means 27. A movement to the left of carriage will cause block 31 to further move actuating means 27 to the left. A movement to the right of carriage 32 will cause block 31 to release its pressure on actuating means 27 and enable spring 37 to reset block 15 until contact is once again made between block 31 and actuating means 27. In a proportional spacing machine, the carriage moves a distance corresponding to the number of units allocated for the particular character activated. For example, if the letter m were typed, the carriage would move five units to the left. This would cause block 31 to move actuating means 27 five units to the left. The movement of the actuating means 27, to the left, for example, is coupled to inclined plane 20 causing plunger 13 of dial indicator device 11 to be compressed a distance corresponding to the movement of carriage 32. This movement is amplitied and registered as a negative five on indicator dial 12. It is to be emphasized that initial contact between block 31 and actuating means is made prior to the time the carriage is positioned at the exact location of the right-hand margin. Consequently, when the carriage is positioned at the extreme right, the dial indicator will read at the maximum positive value on indicating dial 12. As the operator proceeds in typing a line, the carriage moves from right to left and eventually block 31 engages actuating means 27. From this point, the dial indicator, starting at the maximum positive reading, decreases towards zero and, should the carriage proceed past the location of the right-hand margin, continues in a negative direction. Accordingly, the operator at the end of each line merely has to glance at indicating dial 12 to note the required correction. The value shown on indicating dial 12 is noted, as in the conventional system, to the right of the typewritten line. A final copy may now be produced in the conventional manner.

The procedure just described has been found to be simple and accurate. The typewriter carriage positionindicating device using a rigid actuating means may be disabled in the event the operator does not wish to justify the righthand margin. This may be simply accomplished by loosening thumbscrew 16 and rotating actuating means 27 so that oifset 30 cannot come in contact with block 31 during the full travel of carriage 32. On the other hand, the modified offset capable of being pivoted may be rotated to a position parallel to the carriage 32, thus avoiding contact with block 31.

While there has been described what is at present considered to be the preferred embodiment of this invention, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the invention, and it is, therefore, aimed to cover all such changes and modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A typewriter carriage position indicator comprising: an indicating means; an actuating means for engaging the typewriter carriage and whose movement is representative of the typewriter carriage travel; and an inclined plane fastened to said actuating means for translating the motion of the actuating means to the indicating means for recording on the indicating means the position of the typewriter carriage with respect to a prescribed reference.

2. A typewriter carriage position indicator comprising: a dial indicating means including a spring-loaded plunger; an actuating means comprising a rigid elongated member parallel to the typewriter carriage with a right angle offset at one end, said offset for engaging the typewriter carriage, the movement of said actuating means being representative of the typewriter carriage travel; and an inclined plane connected to said actuating means and in contact with said plunger for translating the motion of the actuating means to the plunger of said indicating means for recording on the indicating means the position of the typewriter carriage with respect to a prescribed reference, whereby margin justification is simplified.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Dodge Sept. 3, 1940 Dodge Dec. 10, 1940 Hodson May 30, 1950

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