US3590705A

US3590705A - Photographic-type composing apparatus

Info

Publication number: US3590705A
Application number: US690720A
Authority: US
Inventors: Louis M Moyroud
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Autologic SA
Priority date: 1966-06-10
Filing date: 1967-12-13
Publication date: 1971-07-06
Anticipated expiration: 1988-07-06
Also published as: NL150048B; DE1597780A1; CH483924A; DE1597780B2; GB1157635A; SE347203B; AT297751B; NL6707839A; ES342083A1; BE699577A

Abstract

Photographic-type composing apparatus in which transparent characters are carried on a continuously revolving disc. A shutter and a flashlamp are mounted translate with the disc. As each selected character moves past a projection window in the shutter, it is illuminated with a short, intense flash of light from the flashlamp. The character image is projected through an optical system onto photographic film. After the projection of each character, the disc, the shutter and the flashlamp are moved as a unit in a direction parallel to the line of characters being composed by a distance equal to the relative width of the character next to be projected. During this movement, the optical system and the film remain stationary. The point size of images on the film is changed simply by adjusting the magnification of the optical system; the character spacing will remain correct without changing the amount of movement of the disc.

Description

United States Patent l l 1 UN Inventor Louis M. Moyroud 202 Grove Way. Delray Beach. Fla. 33444 690,720

Dec. 13, i967 July 6, 1971 June 10, 1966 Great Britain Appl. No Filed Patented Priority PHOTOGRAPHlC-TYPE COMPOSING APPARATUS 26 Claims, 17 Drawing Figs.

U.S. Cl 95/4.5 lnt.Cl B4lb 17/10 Field of Search 95/4.5

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2/l965 Wilson 9/1965 Blakely.... 3/1967 Proud 3,347.l4() l0/l967 Ritchie 3.434.402 3/1969 McCall Primary lz'xammer -lohn M. Horan Altorney-Richard F Bannasch ABSTRACT: Photographictype composing apparatus in which transparent characters are carried on a continuously revolving disc A shutter and a flashlamp are mounted translate with the disc As each selected character moves past a projection window in the shutter, it is illuminated with a short, intense flash of light from the flashlamp. The character image is projected through an optical system onto photographic film.

PATENTEUJUL slsm 3,590,705

SHEET 1 [)F 7 INVENTOR 100/: M M Via 1/0 ATTORNEY PATENTEU JUL 6 |97| SHEET 7 BF 7 ATTORN EYS- PHOTOGRAPHlC-TYPE COMPOSING APPARATUS One of the most important advantages of photographic-type composing or photocomposing machines over systems using hot metal resides in the capability of photocomposing machines to produce characters of different point sizes from the same matrix character. The different sizes are generally obtained either by projecting images onto a photosensitive surface by lenses of various predetermined focal lengths, or by refocusing a single lens for different magnification ratios, such as by the use ofa zoom lens. In some prior systems, for example, in machines commercially known under the trademark PHOTON Model 200 series, a lens turret provided with lenses of different focal lengths is utilized to project character images of predetermined point sizes. In this class of machine it is, of course, necessary to provide means to variably space character images on the film taking into account not only the relative character widths of a given alphabet (based, for example, on a fixed number of units to an Em), but also it is necessary to introduce a factor representing the point size of the character on the film. The space allocated on the film for each character can thus be determined by multiplying the basic relative character width (in units) by a set factor representing the ultimate point size, as explained in U.S. Pat. No. 2,876,687. Characters can be spaced on the film by moving the film either after or before each character projection. In any case, in such prior systems the displacement of character images relative to the film always represent a discrete number of widthunits dependent on point size, as is described in U.S.

Pat. No. 2,876,687. In order to handle a relatively large number of elementary width units, multiples of which are used to measure the widths of characters of different sizes, it has been necessary to use rather complex mechanisms such as that described in U.S. Pat. No. 2,806,574 or in U.S. Pat. No. 2,678,713.

An object of this invention is to provide an improved photographic-type composing machine in which character spacing is accomplished without moving the film or optical system. Another object of this invention is to provide an improved photographic-type composing machine capable of producing character images of different sizes with simple and inexpensive means for correctly spacing these characters according to their relative widths and their sizes.

A feature of the invention is the provision of a photographic-type composing machine having a movable character matrix which can be displaced by discrete steps representing relative character widths in order to properly space these characters on a film regardless of the optical enlargement or reduction ratio used in the machine.

Another feature of the invention is the provision in a photographic-type composing machine of style selecting means controlled by the character spacing mechanism.

Another feature of the invention is the provision in a photographic-type composing machine of a character bearing matrix movable in discrete increments during the composition of a line while the optical system and film are stationary.

The foregoing and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following more particular description of a preferred embodiment of the invention.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective, partially exploded view of a preferred embodiment of the photocomposing machine of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional and partially schematic view taken along line 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the machine components shown in FIG. 2; 1

FIG. 4 is an end elevation view of the machine components shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged, partially schematic view of a portion of the machine shown in FIGS. 1 through 4;

FIG. 6 is a simplified perspective drawing illustrating schematically some of the operating principles of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram further illustrating operating principles of the invention;

FIG. 8 shows analternative form of the character disc of the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a partially cross-sectional view of an alternative form of the character composing apparatus of the present invention;

FIG. 10 is an end elevation view of the apparatus shown in FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is a plan view of a portion of the apparatus shown in FIGS. 9 and 10;

FIG. 12 is an elevation view of a portion of the apparatus shown in FIG. 11;

FIG. 13 is a view illustrating characters recorded on film in order to illustrate one of the problems solved by the present invention;

FIG. 14 is a partially cross-sectional view taken along line l4l4 ofFlG. 2;

FIG. 15 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 15-15 of FIG. 5;

FIG. 16 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 16-16 of FIG. 5; and

FIG. 17 is a schematic circuit diagram of the preferred control circuit for the photocomposing machine of the present invention.

QVERALLIOPERATION A preferred embodiment of the photocomposing machine of the present invention is shown in FIG. I. The photocomposing machine 30 is designed to operate upon instructions given to it by means of a punched tape 32. The tape can be prepared by typing the matter to be composed on the keyboard of an inexpensive counting tape perforator (not shown) such as those which are sold under the trademarks 'I'TS" or JUSTOWRITER." The punched tape 32 contains coded patterns identifying each character to be composed, other patterns signalling the end of a line of characters, and other information necessary to the photocomposition process. After having appropriately adjusted the controls 36 of the machine, the operator places the punched tape 32 in a tape reader 34. Then, the machine automatically reads in instructions on the tape and an electrical control unit 40 and a photographic unit 42 prepare a strip of film with a completely justified composition recorded on the film. The operator removes the film from a film magazine 38 located at the top of the machine 30, and then has the film developed. The developed film is utilized in the production of printing plates that are used for printing newspapers, magazines and books in the usual manner.

Means are provided for automatically shifting the sytle" of the characters being recorded on the film in response to appropriate signals from the tape 32. As is shown in FIGS. 1 through 4, and particularly in FIG. 5, an opaque disc 48 has a plurality of

concentric rings

41, 43 and 45 of transparent characters 47, 49 and 51. The characters in each ring preferably are all of one typeface; e.g., all of Bodini Roman, or

all of Bodini Italic, etc. The photocomposing machine automatically selects among the typeface rings on the disc 48 in response to appropriate signals from the tape 32. Ifa typeface not on the disc 48 is desired, the disc can be easily and quickly replaced by another disc bearing characters of the typeface desired.

In accordance with another advantageous feature of the invention, the sizes or the images recorded on the film can be adjusted simply by moving levers 44 and 46 'on the side of the photographic unit 42. This movement adjusts the optical system to provide greater or lesser magnification of the characters.

' OVERALL OPERATION or THEVPIHOTOGRAPI-IIC UNIT Referring now to FIGS. 2 and 5, as well as to FIG. I, the principal components of the optical unit 42 of the photocomposing machine 30 are mounted in a housing 50. The optical components include the character disc 48, a flashlamp 52, a projection lens 54, and first, second and third front-surfaced

mirrors

56, 58 and 60. A strip of film 62 is shown schematically in FIG. 2 supported by

rollers

64, 66, 68, and 70 in a horizontal position in the magazine 38.

The disc 48 rotates continuously so as to move the characters in one of the

concentric rings

41, 43 or 45 past a projection position defined by an aperture 61 in a shutter 63 (see FIG. 5). The flash tube 52 flashes light through the aperture 61 at the instant when the character to be projected is properly located at the aperture to project light through the transparent character on the disc. The light rays are reflected along an optical path indicated by the line 72 in FIG. 2. Light passes through the projection lens 54, is reflected off the

mirrors

56, 58 and 60, and then passes upwardly to the film 62 where the projected character is imaged. The operation of the flashlamp 52 is substantially the same as is described in U.S. Pat. No. 2,775,l72.

In accordance with one advantageous feature of the present invention,'the character disc 48 is rotatably mounted on a slidable carriage 74 (see FIG. 4). Also mounted on the carriage 74 is the flash assembly which includes the flashlamp 52 and the shutter 63. While the character disc 48 rotates, the carriage 74 moves horizontally after each flash in a step whose length is equal to the relative width ofthe characters next to be projected. If an interword space is required next, the carriage moves the length of the interword space as computed by the justifying apparatus of the electrical control unit 40.

Although the carriage is described as moving the width of the next character to be projected in the preferred embodiment it should be noted that man alternative embodiment it could be moved the width of the character previously projected following each flash.

Automatic film advancing means of a type known in the art is provided so that when a full line of characters has been composed on the film 62, the film will be advanced (moved to the left in FIG.- 2) to a new position at which the film is to be exposed for the composition of the next line.

Changes in the point size of characters on the film 62 are obtained in the preferred embodiment of the invention shown in FIGS. 1 through 5'-.by, in effect, moving the lens 54 either I closer to or farther away from the film 62 in order to change the magnification provided by the lens 54; that is, the lens 54 is moved either tothe left or the right as it is shown in FIG. 2 in order to change itsmagnification and thus to change the ultimate point size of the characters on the film. Every time the lens 54 is moved to the left or right, its focal point shifts. Therefore, for each such movement of the lens 54 the

mirrors

56 and 58 also must be moved by a certain amount to brin the images produced by the lens 54 back into focus on the film 62. Because of the use of the mirrors, neither the film 62 nor the carriage 74 need to be moved to refocus the images on the film. This simplifies the optical unit considerably.

Before proceeding further with the detailed description of the optical system, the principles of its operation will be described.

OPERATION PRINCIPLES OF THE OPTICAL SYSTEM Referring now to the schematic representation in FIG. 6, the character or matrix disc 48 and flashlamp 52 can slide along a path Y-Y' parallel to the line X-X' representing the base line of a'composed line of characters on the film 62. Selected characters of the matrix 48 are projected through a stationary lens or lens system 80 onto the film 62 which also is stationary during composition of a line. It has been assumed in drawing FIG. 6 that the disc 48 shown in solid lines is located along line Y-Y' at a position appropriate for projecting the first character of the line of text of length L. The first character to be projected is shown at 82 on the disc. Its image will be located at point 84 on the film, at the beginning'of the line. After the disc carriage has moved a distance d, the disc as moved to projection position indicated in dashed lines and the location of projected characters has also moved, as shown, to a position indicated at 86. It can be seen quite readily that the distance L which the image position moves on the film 62 when the disc 48 moves a distance d depends upon the enlargement or reduction ratio of the lens system 80. Thus, the spacing between characters and words in a line depends upon the enlargement or reduction ratio of the lens system 80. Therefore, the movement of the disc 48 betweenprojections of characters can be limited to the relative widths of the characters on the matrix disc and the ultimate point size of the image can be adjusted simply by adjusting the magnification or reduction ratio of the lens system, without the need for varying the movement of the disc. The foregoing is a major principle used in the present invention, and is termed optical leverage." Since the amount of disc movement used to provide character spacing need not change when the point size is changed, the arrangement described above provides simple and inexpensive means for projecting and properly spacing character images. I

The schematic representation of FIG. 7 further illustrates the optical leverage system of the invention. A lens 88 of correct focal length for focusing images on the film is positioned halfway between the plane of the matrix characters and the plane of the film so that it will project onto the film character images having the same size as the characters on the disc 48. If lens 88 now is replaced by another lens 90, also of correct focal length and located on the same optical axis as lens 88 but having an enlargement ratio of magnification of three, characterimages projected on the film will be 3 times as large as the characters on the disc. A character projected from a character projection position 92 by either lens 88 or is imaged in the film plane at a point 94 on the optical axis 96. After the disc has moved a distance s however, the same character projection position 92 has moved to a point 98 and new characters will be projected to a point 100 on the film by lens 88, or to a point 102 by the lens 90. The distance s between

points

94 and 102 is 3 times s."

As a specific example, assume thatthe so-called units of an Em system" is utilized, and that a character on the disc 48 to be projected is nine units of an Em wide. Assume also that the character is of six point" size. If six point size characters are desired on the film 62, the lens 88 with an enlargement ratio of one is used, and the image of the nine-unit character also is nine units of an Em wide. If, however, it is desired that the character images be much larger, say of 18 point size, then the lens 90 having an enlargement ratio of three is used instead of the lens 88, and the image produced will be 3 times wider that is the relative units in 18-point are 3 times as wide as they are in six-point.

As is well known in the art, different lenses each having a different magnification corresponding to a specific point-size value and a different focal length can be mounted in a lens turret and the appropriate lens can be brought into position for use by rotation of the turret. However, it is not necessary to use separate lenses giving exact point-size values, and it may be desired to provide continuous variation of the enlargement or reduction ratio. Thus, by using a single zoom" lens rather than separate lenses of various focal lengths, it is possible to adjust the enlargement to any point size within the limits of the lens. The same result can be achieved by the use of a single lens with proper size and focus and by displacing the relative positions of the matrix, the lens and the film; that is, by moving those elements towards or away from one another in order to change the magnification produced by the lens and to keep.

the images in focus on the film. It is the latter arrangement which is used in the preferred embodiment of the invention which has been described above in connection with FIGS. 1 through 5.

The operational principles of the optical system having been explained, the details of its operation now will be described.

MOVEMENT OF THE. CHARACTER DISC AND FLASH ASSEMBLY Referring particularly to FIGS. 2, 3 and 4, the character disc 48 is rotatably mounted on the carriage 74 by means of a shaft 104 (FIG. 2). A toothed pulley 108 is secured to the right end of shaft 104. A drive motor 110 (FIG. 3) rotates a toothed pulley 112 which drives a correspondingly toothed flexible belt 114. The belt 114 passes over a pair of pulleys 116 (FIGS. 3 and 4), engages the upper surface of the toothed pulley 108 (FIG. 2), and passes around an idler pulley 118 (FIG. 4). A roller 120 (FIG. 2) which is rotatably mounted on the carriage 74 presses downwardly against the belt 1 14 directly above the center of the pulley 108 so as to insure positive driving engagement between the belt 114 and the pulley 108. The motor 110 thus rotates the disc 48 continuously, at a constant rate of speed. The preferred speed is approximately revolutions per second in the preferred embodiment being described.

The disc 48 is detachably mounted on the left end of shaft 104 by means of an easily detachable screw knob 107 (FIG. 3). The disc 48 is made of a transparent material such as a hard plastic or glass coated on one side with opaque material. The opaque material is absent in the areas defining the characters, thus forming transparent characters on the disc. The transparent characters can be formed by photographic techniques well known in the art, for example as described in US. Pat. No. 2,715,862.

The carriage 74, which preferably is made of a light metal such as aluminum, is mounted for horizontal movement on two

slide bars

122 and 124 whose ends are secured to support

members

126 and 128. The carriage 74 has a pair of depending arms 130 and 132 each of which is slidably mounted on the lower slide bar 124 by means of roller bearings. As is shown in FIG. 2, the carriage 74 has two vertically mounted

rollers

126 and 138 which are positioned on opposite sides of the upper slide bar 122 to act as low-friction guide members for guiding the carriage in its horizontal movements along the guide bar 122.

The carriage 74 is moved horizontally in discrete increments by a conventional stepping motor 140 (see FIG. 2) which drives a spur gear or pinion 142 which, in turn, drives a rack 144 which is secured to the carriage 74. During composition of a line, the carriage 74 moves to the left as shown in FIG. 4, and returns to the farthest right position to start a new line. It is desired that the stepping speed of the stepping motor 140 be high, especially since the motor is used for driving the carriage both in the forward and return directions. A stepping motor with a stepping rate of approximately 1200 steps per second has been found to be satisfactory for use in the preferred embodiment of the invention.

The flashlamp 52, which preferably is of relatively light weight and produces a very short but intense flash of light, is mounted, together with the shutter 63, on a mounting member 146 which is swingably mounted on the carriage 74 by means of a pin 148 (see FIGS. 4 and 5). Referring specifically to FIG. 4, the mounting member 146 can be swung clockwise to a position where the left edge of the support and the flash unit are beyond the right edge of the disc 48, thus facilitating the changing of character discs. The character discs are changed easily simply by swinging the support 146 to the right, removing the knob 107, removing the disc 48 and replacing it with another and swinging the support 146 back into position. A spring and a stop member (not shown) may be provided; the spring to return the support 146 counterclockwise to its position in front of the disc 48, and the stop member to stop the return movement ofthe support 146 at the proper position.

The above-described arrangement in which the character disc 48, the flashlamp 52 and the shutter 63 all move together as a single unit in order to provide character spacing in the composition of a line of characters is highly advantageous. First, by carrying the flashlamp along with the character disc, the use of complicated optical coupling means between the two is avoided. Carrying the shutter 63 along with the character disc 48 also provides a substantial advantage in that style selection among the various rows of characters on the disc can be accomplished simply and with a minimum of mechanical or electrical apparatus. All of these factors combine to produce an extremely simple, reliable, and relatively inexpensive character spacing mechanism.

Also carried on the carriage (see FIG. 5) is a slit indicating photodiode 220 which generates an electrical signal each time one of the transparent slits 216 or 218 allows a light beam to impinge on the active area of the photodiode as is well known in the art. Each transparent slit 216 is associated with a radial matrix character position and the electrical pulse generated by the passage of a slit between the photodiode and the light source is transmitted to the electronic control unit as more fully described hereinafter.

AUTOMATIC STYLE SELECTION MECHANISM The mechanism for selecting which row characters are to be projected from is shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. Referring particularly to FIG. 5, the shutter 63 is pivotally mounted at point 158 on a plate 159 which is secured to the support 146 (see FIG. 16). The shutter 63 is a relatively thin strip of metal with an enlarged upper end with a square hole in it. The hole 61 is large enough to encompass any character on the disc and allow projection of the character. The enlarged end of the shutter 63 is large enough to completely cover the light outlet opening of the flashlamp 52 so that light flashes will pass only through the aperture 61.

The shutter 63 is pivotable about the point 158 to three different positions as indicated at 61, 161 and 162 so as to align the aperture 6] with one of the three

concentric rings

41, 43, 45 of characters on the disc. It should be understood, of course, that more than three rings of characters can be provided on a disc if desired, and the shutter can be appropriately designed to be shifted to any one of the rows of characters.

The particular mechanism illustrated in FIG. 5 for moving the shutter to one of the three positions comprises a pair of

solenoids

150 and 152 whose plungers abut against the flexible portion of a spring blade 154 which is secured to the plate 159 at point 156. The left end of the blade 154 is secured at 160 to the lower portion of the arm of shutter 63 at a position above the pivot point 158. When neither solenoid is energized, the blade 154 takes the position shown in'FIG. 5 and the aperture 61 s aligned in the position shown in solid lines in FIG. 5 with the center character ring 43. When solenoid 152 is energized but solenoid 150 is not, the plunger of solenoid 152 thrusts the blade 1S4 upwardly and forces the shutter 63 to pivot to the left to a position 161 in alignment with the innermost ring of characters 41. If solenoid 150 is energized and solenoid 152 is not, the plunger of solenoid 150 thrusts the blade 1S4 downwardly and forces the shutter 63 to pivot to the right to position 162 in which the aperture 61 is aligned with the outermost character ring 45. Style change instructions are typed by the operator and signals are punched into the tape 32 which when decoded by the electronic control circuit cause operation of the solenoids to shift styles.

The above style selection arrangement is simple and lightweight. The energization of the solenoids is rapid enough so that typeface changes can be made rapidly without stopping the composition of a line. For example, one word in a line of Roman type may be italicized by shifting to the italics ring and back again without a pause in the composition of the line.

Another advantageous feature of the style selection mechanism just described is that the disc 48 and shutter 63 are located relative to one another so that the characters move vertically past the shutter, and the character style rings are separated from one another horizontally at the shutter location. Thus, movement of the shutter 63 for style changes is in a horizontal direction, the same direction as the direction in which the carriage 74 moves to space characters. Because both the carriage and the shutter move horizontally, unwanted character image displacement can be compensated for quite simply be merely instructing the stepping motor 140 to move the carriage 74 either forwardly or backwardly by a number of steps appropriate to compensate for the movement of the shutter. For instance in a preferred embodiment of the invention the character rings are radially spaced from each other by 32 relative units. Accordingly, to change from the character ring 43 to 41 the shutter is moved so the aperture 61 is in position 161 and the carriage is moved backward 32 steps. Thus, absolutely no additional mechanism is needed to make this correction, and the simplicity and reliability of the photocomposition machine is enhanced.

' POINT-SIZE CHANGING MECHANISM As has been indicated above, in order to change the point size of the characterimages on the film 62, highly adby using one of a number of well-known autofocusing ment of the

mirrors

56 and 58 each time the lens 54 is moved in order to refocus the image on the film. In order for the image to be focused on the film 62, the elements of the optical system always must be positioned so as to satisfy the following equation: 7 .Z. P'. .f

In which: i V

P is the length of the optical path from the characters on disc 48 to the lens 54;

P is the length of the optical path from the lens 54 tothe film 62; and

f is the focal length of the lens54. v I v It can be seen from the above equation that the distance the

mirrors

56 and 58 must movein orderto satisfy the equation is not the same as the distance moved by the lens 54. Thus, in accordance with another aspect of the present invention, the lens 54 and the

mirrors

56 and 58 are mounted for independent movement towards and away from the plane of the character disc 48. I v r Specifically, the lens 54 is mounted on a support member 164 (FIG. 2 which is secured to a slide member, 165 which is slidably mounted on a track 166. Similarly, the mirrors 56 and 58'are mounted on another support member168-which is secured to another slide member, 165 which also slides on the track 166. i v v Referringparticularly to FIG. 3, the adjustment levers 44 and 46 (also see FIG. 1) whichextend outside of the housing of the photographic unit'42, aresecured, respectively, to the slide members for the lens support 164 and the mirror support 168. Each lever has a main link 170 which is secured to the slide member 165 (see FIG. 14) and has a somewhat pointed outermost end 172. A pivot member 174 with a similarly pointed outermost end is pivotally connected at 176 to the link 170. The pivot member 174 also is pivotally connected at a point 178 which is spaced from the point 176 to an actuating link 1 80 which is connected at its innermost end 182 to a pawl 184. Each of the pawls v184 has a pointed tip which normally is biased by a spring into one of a plurality of notches 186 in a bar 190 extending longitudinally in a direction parallel to the track 166. The bar 190 is mounted in the photographic unit by means of support brackets 192. The engagement of the pawls in the notches positions the lens 54 and the

mirrors

56 and 58 in place. An operator can squeeze the pointed ends of the

members

172 and 174 together so as to pull the actuating lever 180 and pull the pawls 1 84 our of the notches and release the lens 54 and mirrors 56 and 58 for movement. As is shown in FIG. 14, a pointer 194 is secured near the outermost edge of each lever 172, and each

adjustment lever

44 and 46 extends through an elongated slot 195 in the housing of theoptical unit. A point-size scale member 193 is mounted at the edge of each slot so that the pointers indicate the point size of the characters being projected on the film. The notches in the bar 190 are spaced relative to one another so that when the pawls 184 are engaged in selected .onesof the notches, the optical assembly will produce precisely focused images of a desired point size on the film. The point size produced is indicated on the scales 193 which are within clear view of the operator. r

It should be noted that in determining the spacings of the notches 186 for the

mirrors

56 and 58, the movement of both mirrors simultaneously causes a change in the length of the optical path between the lens and the film which is twice the actual amount of movement of the mirrors because of the fact that two separate segments of the path are being lengthened or shortened by movement of the two mirrors simultaneously.

It should be readily apparent to one skilled in the art that many other mechanisms can be provided for adjusting the relative positions of the lens 54 and the

mirrors

56 and 58. The adjustment could be made by adjusting only one lever orknob mechanisms which automatically maintain the system in focus while its magnification is being changed. AIso, appropriate motors and drive arrangements could be used to move the optical components automatically in response to electrical pointsize change signals developed in the perforated tape. However, in keeping with one of the objects of the invention, the point-size adjustment means preferably is kept in the form shown in the drawings in order to keep it simple and inexpensive.

The lens 54 should be a precision lens preferably known in the art as a process lens," and should have a wide enough angle of view to see" characters presented atany position along the extent of travel of the carriage 74. A lens angle of 24 has been found to be sufficient in practice. The

mirrors

56, 58 and 60 preferably are front-surfaced.

The above described point-size adjustment system is highly advantageous in that it is considerably less expensive and decisively more compact than would be a lens turret providing the same number of point-size adjustments. Furthermore, although it may be preferred to provide definite positions at which the

levers

44 and 46 may be located to provide only several specific point sizes bysimply making the notches 126 very close together and regularly spaced, or by providing other means to releasably hold the lens 54 and mirrors 56 and 58 in place, it is possible to provide continuous point-size adjustment over a range within the scope of the lens 54. Continuous adjustment is not possible with a lens turret.

CORRECTION OF POINT-SIZE CIIANGE DISPLACEMENTS FIG. 13 illustrates the relative positions on the film 62 of a character 200 of one point size and the same character 202 after its point size has been increased by the point-size change mechanism described above. It can be seen that the right edge of the character is displaced to the right from the right edge 206 of the character 200 by a distance w. Means is provided in accordance with the present invention for correcting such displacement. Briefly described, the correction means'causes the stepping motor 140 to step in a forward direction in an amount proportional to the point-size change in order to bring the right edge of the new character 202 into alignment with the right edge 206 of the original character 200. If the pointsize change is a reduction instead of an enlargement, the carriage is moved backwardly to make the correction.

Part of the specific means used for producing the above corrections is illustrated in FIG. 14 as well as in FIG. 3. Secured to the member is a block 208 of insulating material with five electrically conductive spring blade contactv arms 210 bearing against a code panel 212 mounted on a support bracket 214. The code panel 212 has a coded array of conductive and insulating segments aligned in the paths along which the brushes 210 move when the lens support 154 is moved along the track 166. In each position of the lens 54 in which the pawl 184 can rest in a notch 186 on the bar 190, there is a separate pattern of conductive and insulating segments which are contacted by the brushes 210. Electrical circuitry (not shown) is provided to apply either a voltage or no voltage to each of the brushes 210, so that the pattern of the voltages on the brushes is in binary coded form, with each position of the support 165 being represented by a different binary number. The signals from the brushes 210 then are converted by the electronic control circuit which will be described in detail below which causes the stepping motor 140 to step forwardly and backwardly by a number steps proportional to the change in magnification. Turning back to FIG. 13 it can be seen that the larger M 202 is displaced downwardly from the original base line 204 of the smaller m 200 by a distance H. This can be corrected in two ways. In a preferred embodiment the character to be projected from the matrix disc is only flashed when its base coincides with the optical axis 72 of lens 54. In this case only the upper half of the lens 54 is used and no matter what point size is used all characters are imaged on the film on the same base line rather than as shown in FIG. 13.

However, in some cases it may prove desirable to use more than half of lens 54; for example to avoid vignetting when projecting at larger point sizes. In such cases the characters as projected onto the film will be on different base lines in different magnifications as shown in FIG. 13. In which case the correction can be made by displacing the film forwardly 'or backwardly by a distance H in much the same manner as was described in relation to the carriage above.

OPERATION OF ELECTRONIC CONTROL CIRCUIT The control circuit shown schematically in FIG. 17 has three main cycles of operation and operates in much the same way as that described in US. Pat. No. 3,273,475:

A. the rea cycle during which the tape reader 34 reads the information from the tape 32 into the control circuit;

B. The justification cycle during which the control circuit computes the proper spacing between words for producing a fully justified line of characters; and

C. The exposure cycle during which the characters are projected upon the film.

Each of these three main operating cycles is repeated for the composition of each line of characters. The read and justifying cycles occur during the time in which thecarriage 74 is returning from its point of furthest advance to its starting position. After the carriage has traversed the film in the composition of a line of characters, the film is shifted to a new position and the carriage is returned to the starting position so that a new line of characters can be composed on the film.

The control circuit shown in FIG. 17 includes the tape reader 34, storage means 224 which preferably is a multicore magnetic memory, an information register 226 and an address register 228. Also included is an input device 230 for providing a binary input signal representing the desired length of a composed line of characters. Prior to composition, the line length input device is operated to supply a line length signal to an accumulator 232. The value of the line length signal may be set either manually or automatically by means of signals stored on the punched tape 32.

As has been described above, a number of different discs 48 can be used in the machine 30, each disc bearing characters of a different typeface. For each different disc 48 there is a special program tape which is run through the tape reader 34 prior to the composition of characters. By this means the relative widths of the characters on that particular disc are stored in the memory 224 together with special internal codes for the handling of special functions and instructions for following the sequence of computing and storage steps to be described next. When this programming has been accomplished, the control circuit is prepared for reception of the paper tape.

A. The Read Cycle During the read cycle, the punched tape 32 bearing the character-representative signals and special function code is fed into the tape reader 34, and each character is processed according to the following eight steps, the sequence of which is directed by the program already stored in the computer:

I. First, the coded signal representing the character is read into the information register 226 and the line storage portion of memory 224 by the tape reader 34.

2. Next, the line storage address in the address register 228 is transfcred into a temporary storage device 234, and the code configuration is now transferred from the information register 226 to a position register 236.

3. Next, the address register 228 is cleared or reset" by means ofa signal from a source 238.

4. After the address register 228 has been cleared, the code configuration is transferred from the position register 236 to the address register. The code configuration plus a combination of the three high order bits of the address correspond to the address in memory 224 where the width for that particular character is stored.

5. Next, the width information which is stored in that particular address is read out of the memory into the information register 226 and is regenerated and stored at that address in the memory once again.

6. The width information form the memory is sent to the width register 240 by way of the information register 220. Simultaneously, a clearing signal is sent to the address register 228.

7. The character width information is shifted from the width register 240 to an adder-subtractor 242 which subtracts the value of the character width from the value stored in the accumulator 232.

B. The information or line storage address stored in temporary address unit 234 is returned to the address register 228 in preparation for the reading of the next character.

As each new character appears at the tape reader 34, the control system repeats the above eight cycles until finally an end-of-line signal is read. Then the tape reader 34 stops until the justification and exposure cycles have been completed and it is time to read another line of characters.

During the reading of a line of characters in the manner described above, function signals stored on the tape, such as those identifying interword spaces, style changes or end-ofline signals, etc, are transmitted to a function decoder 244 which decodes the signals and transmits them to a quotient register, andthe spaces counter 246 counts interword spaces for use in the justification calculation. The typeface unit 248 is a register which instructs the address register 228 to address a certain portion of memory 224, the portion of the memory corresponding to the style and Case'f (i.e., uppercase or lowercase) of the characters being read into the memory.

B. Justification Cycle As soon as the end-of-line signal is read from the tape, the justification cycle starts. It should be recalled that both the read and justification cycles take place while the carriage 74 is returning to its starting position. The quotient and spaces counter 246, and adder-subtractor 242, the accumulator 232, and a remainder counter 250 all compromise the justification circuit. The number of interwords is divided into the deficit in the accumulation 232 by means of repeated subtraction, thereby yielding a quotient which is stored in the quotient register 246 and represents the interword expansion necessary to justify the line. The remainder of an imperfect division is stored in the remainder counter 250. The amount in the remainder counter represents the number of interword spaces which will receive one extra unit of escapement.

C. Exposure Cycle A limit switch (not shown in FIG. 17) is closed by the carriage 74 when it returns to its initial position, and this signals the start of the exposure cycle. The exposure cycle consists of two steps, an exposure step during which the character is projected, and an escapement" step during which the carriage 74 is moved by stepping motor to the proper position for projection of the next character.

In the exposure step, the character code signals are read out of the memory 224 and into the information register 226. The

typeface codes via the function decoder condition the typeface unit 248 according to the particular typeface of the character being projected; The typeface unit 248 sends a style signal to a shutter control unit 252 which in turn sends an electrical impulse to one or the other of the

solenoids

150 or 152, or to neither, in order to position the shutter 63 over one of the three

rows

41, 43 or 45 or characters on the disc 48. The typeface unit also registerswhether the character to be projected is uppercase or lowercase;

The position register 236 receives a signal indicating the position of the character on the disc. The lamp 220 and photodiode 221 (see right-hand lside of FIG. 17) cooperate with one another to produce a'series of electrical pulses corresponding to each of the transparent slits 216 and 128 which are sent to a character counter 258. in each of the concentric rows of

characters

41, 43 and 44, the uppercase letters are located in a particular segment of the disc. For example, the uppercase letters are all in one half of the disc and the lowercase letters in the other half of the disc.

There are 112 characters around the disc so that there are 56 uppercase characters and 56 lowercase characters. Each character pulse increments the character counter 258. When the count in the character counter exceeds 56 the uppercase lowercase flop 255 is set indicating that characters on that half of the disc are uppercase. When the count in the character counter 258 exceeds 112 the counter itself is reset to zero by the reset pulse on line 268 and the uppercase lowercase flop 255 is also reset indicating that characters on that half of the disc are lowercase. The zone equality comparator compares the state of the UCLC flop with that of the uppercase lowercase flop in the typeface flops 248. When coincidence is detected by the zone equality comparator an enabling pulse is transmitted to the position equality comparator 256 indicating that the proper zone of the disc 48'is moving past the aperture of the shutter 63.

The equality comparator 256 continually compares the contents of the position register 236 and the character counter 258. When equality is detected a signal is sent to a flash control unit 260 which sends a signal to the flashlamp 52 and causes it to expose the proper character which is projected onto the film. f

. The narrow slit 218 on the disc; 48 signals the start of a new revolution of the disc 48. The way in which this is done is as follows: The train of pulses 266 (see bottom of FIG. 17) which is generated by the photodiode 22l 'is sent to 'a'delay multivibrator 262 and also to one input lead of an AND" circuit 264. The trailing edge of each pulse generated by each slit 216 starts the multivibrator 262. The multivibrator automatically turns off 200 microseconds later. Since the spacing between signals from adjacent slits 216 normally is considerably greater than 200 microseconds, by the time the next signal appears at the input of the AND" circuit 264, normally there is no signal on the output of the multivibrator circuit 262,.and there is no signal sent out over the line 268 to reset the counter. Thus, character pulses continue to be counted by the character counter 258. Then, when a signal is generated by the passage of the slit 218 between the lamp 220 and the photocell 221, it creates a pulse which occurs at the same time that the multivibrator 262 produces an output signal. The AND circuit 264 then generates a reset pulse along line 268 to reset the character counter to zero and to start a new counting cycle.

As soon as the flashlamp 52 flashes, the escape step starts. The same eight steps as are used in the read" cycle again are used in the escape step, except that the character widths are added to instead of being subtracted from the accumulator 232 by the adder-subtractor 242. The character widths are transferred from the accumulator 232 to a motor register 270 by means of a complementary transfer, with the result that the motor register 270 receives a signal corresponding to the width of the character next to be projected. The motor register 270 actually is a binary counter which operates a gate (not shown) which allows pulses 272 to be transmitted to a carriage control unit 276 which transmits the pulses to the stepping motor to step it forward in a number of steps equal to the compliment of counter 270. Thus, the number of pulses 272 transmitted is equal to the relative width of the character next to be projected. The flash command signal opens the gate and the motor register 270 closes it. When the binary counter or motor register 270 has counted a number of pulses 272 equal to the character width of the character next to be projected, it shuts off the gate and the carriage stops. A signal is sent out over a line 274 when the count in the counter is only two steps from being full in order to supply appropriate deceleration signals to the stepping motor 140 to slow it down and stop the carriage 74 precisely at the location desired. I

When the "escape" step is completed, the next character is read from line storage memory. This sequence then is repeated for all of the characters and spaces in the line until the end-of-line signal is received, which signal starts the tape reader 34 in the reading of the next line of characters.

A tab control circuit 280 is provided for the rapid printing of columns of material. Also provided is a second accumulator 282 which stores the line deficit at the end of each column being printed. It should be understood that in the photocomposition of tabular materials; i.e., materials arranged in columns, the line length input device 230 is set so that each column is treated as if it were a whole line of characters. Therefore, the remainder at the end of the material printed in the columns is a measure of the distance to the beginning of the next column, and the tab control circuit contains conventional circuitry which causes the accumulator 282 to transfer the line deficit to the motor register 270 to cause the carriage 74 to be stepped to the beginning of the next column.

If the information in the columns is to be centered within each column, the line deficit is divided between the

accumulators

232 and 282, and half of the line remainder is inserted at the beginningof the column by the accumulator 232, and the other half of the remainder is inserted after the printing of the characters in the column by means of the accumulator 282 sending the other half of the remainder to the motor register 270 and creating corresponding movement of the carriage 74.

A point-size encoder 278 is provided to compensate for displacements of characters caused by changes in'the point size of the character images. The encoder 278 preferably comprises the brush and code plate arrangement illustrated in FIGS. 3 and- 14 which produces a coded signal indicative of the relative position of the lens 54 relative to the-character disc 48. The coded signal from encoder 278 is sent to the function decoder 244 which decodes the signal sent to it and sends a signal to the address register 228 which locates the appropriate address in the memory 224 in which information is stored giving the number of units the carriage 74 must be moved to compensate for character image displacements caused by point-size changes. That information is sent to the width register 240, thence to the adder-subtractor 242, and then the accumulator 232 which sends a signal to the motor register 270 which causes the carriage stepping motor 140 to step an appropriate number of steps to compensate for the horizontal displacement of the character images.

In order to enable the point-size change to be made manually, a stop" signal is recorded on the punched tape 32 and is read by the tape reader 34. When the signal is read at the end of a line, the composition equipment is stopped until the point size has been changed and an appropriate start switch has been pushed by the operator. Of course, if the point size is to be changed automatically by means of appropriate tape signal, such a stop" signal is not necessary.

ALTERNATIVE EMBODIMENTS P16. 8 shows an alternative embodiment 300 of the character or matrix disc of the present invention. There are two concentric rows of

characters

302 and 304 on the disc 300. Each row can contain characters of a given typeface or size, for example, Roman characters can be located in row 302 and Italic characters in row 304. The exact timing of the flashlamp is determined by control slits 306 in the opaque coating on the disc operating in cbnjunc'tion with a photoelectric system as described in US, Pat. No. 2,790,362. These control slits can be located on a circular band 308. Other circular bands shown at 310 can contain information representing the width of each character of the disc, if such information is desired. An initiating pulse signaling the beginning of a new disc revolution can be generated, for example, by an additional slit 312 located between a pair of the slits 306.

In a machine of this kind it is desirable to provide means to easily interchange matrix discs. A disc interchanged system similar to the one usedin machines sold under the trademark PHOTON can be utilized.

FIGS. 1 through 12 show an alternative embodiment of the character translating apparatus of the present invention. In this embodiment, there is a slidable carriage 314 made of a light material such as-aluminum. The carriage has extensions or

flanges

316 and 318 which can contain bearings sleeves (not shown) by means of which the carriage is mounted so as to slide freely along

rails

320 and 322 which are secured to the general frame 324 of the machine (FIG. Carriage 314 is further provided with a rack 236 engaged by a pinion 328 located at the output of a cariable spacing and return mechanism comprising, in the present embodiment, a torque motor 330 (FIG. 9) and a variable'escapement or stepping motor 332. The continuously rotating disc 300 is secured to the frame of the carriage 314 by the flange 334 of the motor housing of a disc drive motor 336. As it is now possible to obtain very lightweight motors, it has been found preferable in the embodiment under discussion to attach the motor 336 directly to the carriage 314, although, as is evident from the description of the preferred embodiment, other'means can be utilized to rotate the disc from a motor at a fixed location on the base of the machine. Flexible wires (not shown) connect the motor 336, flashlamp 338 and electrical controls of the carriage 314 to fixed terminals (not shown) on the base of the machine.

The elements of the photoelectric control system of the machine are not shown since they are wellknown in the art. See the above-mentioned U.S. Pat. No. 2,790,362. In the present embodiment, the photoelectric components preferably are located 180 away from the projection position of characters for mechanical convenience. Openings 340 and 432 (FIG. 10) are provided in the carriage to allow passage of the light to energize these electric controls and to project characters. The flash unit is shown at 338 (FIG. 10) attached to an arm 344 which is pivoted at 346 on the carriage 314 in order to make it easier to interchange discs in a very short time by pulling arm 34 clockwise against a spring, not shown, to clear the disc area for easy removal.

The variable escapement device 332 can be similar to the escapement device described in U.S. Pat. No. 2,678,7l3, but it has been found preferable, in this embodiment, to use a variable escapement comprising differentials similar to the ones shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,933,990 but with a reduced number of stages. In the machine being described, the basic width unit has been selected to be one thirty-six of a six-point Em. With six-point matrix characters on the disc 300, one basic unit space is equal to six times one thirty-sixth of a point, or exactly one-sixth of a point, or approximately 0.06 millimeters. If a variable escapement is used it can comprise five stages connected through differential gearing. The construction of these stages can be' such as to cause a carriage displacement of three, six, eight, 10 and 12 basic units when stage one, two, three, four and five are respectively energized. The mechanical arrangement of the variable escapement can be exactly as described in U.S. Pat. No. 2,933,990, except that only five stages are utilized. The stages 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 are connected by the proper gearing to give speed ratios of one-half from stage 1 to stage 2; three-fourths from stage 2 to stage 3, four-fifths from stage 3 to stage 4 and five-sixths from stage 6 to stage 5.

M Each escapement stage can comprise a solenoid-operated ratchet mechanism as described in U.S. Pat. No. 2,806,574. Also, a similar switching arrangement can be provided with each stage to return the carriage to an exact starting position after each line of characters has been projected. To this effect it is preferably to provide for a one-way clutch between the fourth and fifth stages so that the fifth stage only will be able to run backward, during the return of the carriage, as explained in said patent.

The end of the return can be detected by the operation of limit switch 348 of FIG. 10. The carriage return is initiated either by a manually operated key in a keyboard-operated machine, or a carriage return signal in a tape-operated machine, as is well known, the return of the carriage is obtained by the action of motor 330. This motor can be of the torque motor" class. It is also possible to return the carriage by a clutch mechanism such as those which are used in electric typewriters. Thus, with a simple four-stage variable escapement it is possible to accurately space character images of any size without shifting gears or relying on additional image displacing means such as prisms or mirrors.

Instead of a variable escapement mechanism, device 332 can be a stepping motor. In this case no return mechanism is necessary as the stepping motor can easily be reversed or return the carriage to its starting position.

The optical components of this embodiment of the invention are those illustrated in FIGS. 6 and 7 and those described above in connection with FIGS. 6 and 7. It is preferred to use a zoom lens 350 (FIG. 9) as the lens system of this embodiment. As has been indicated above, the zoom lens provides a continuously variable magnification ratio while also maintaining the images of characters in focus on the film (not shown in FIG. 9).

With machines provided with a multiple-style matrix disc the translating mechanism described in U.S. Pat. No. 2,787,199 can be utilized. Another alternative is to change the relative positions of the disc and the projection system by use of the variable spacing mechanism as will be described with reference to FIGS. 11 and 12. V

.The carriage 314 is shown in partial cross section in FIG. 11. The flashlamp is shown at 338, opposite the clearance aperture 342 of the carriage. The illumination produced by the flashlamp is limited to one character area by a window or aperture 352 in light shield 3S4 slideably attached to the carriage 314 by

buttons engaging slots

356 and 358. The window can be moved from the position shown in solid lines in FIG. 12 to a position 360 by energization of a solenoid 362 (FIG. 11) attached to the carriage which works against a return spring (not shown). The distance by which the window can slide on carriage 314 is equal to the distance between two consecutive matrix character circles such as 302 and 304 in FIG. 8. Thus, by selective energization of window solenoid 362 it is possible to illuminate characters in a predetermined circle to obtain character images having one of several styles carried by the matrix disc 300.

At the same time as the window is displaced for style shift purpose, it is necessary to move the carriage in the forward or return direction by the same amount as character rows are spaced, but in the opposite direction so as not to affect the location of projected images. This carriage movement is obtained, in the case in which a variable escapement is used, by the addition of a backspace mechanism acting either directly on the carriage or, preferably, on the variable escapement. In the example in which the variable escapement stage of the highest order causes the carriage to move 12 basic units for each step, the back space mechanism activates this stage backward by one tooth increment, or 12 units. The distance between consecutive character circles on the disc should measure an integral number of these steps, for example, five steps, or 60 units corresponding to 3.60 millimeters.

Assuming now that circle 302 containing Roman characters is being used, the window 352 will be in the position shown in solid lines in FIG. 12. If at one point in the line it is desired to shift to ltalic characters located 'on circle 304, the window solenoid 362 is energized to move the aperture 3.60 millimeters from its initial position to the position 360. At the same time, assuming that the normal direction of travel of the carriage during the composition of a line is from'left to right as seen in FIG. 11, the carriage will be moved forward (to the right) 3.60 millimeters by operating the highest stage of the variable escapement device four times, The result of this sequence is to move the illuminated area of the disc fonn circle 302 to circle 304 and place circle 304 in the position previously occupied by circle 302 in relation to the optical system. When it is desired to return to Roman characters the procedure is reversed: the window solenoid 362 is deenergized and the backspacing mechanism is operated four times to move the carriage back by 3.60 millimeters.

it is evident that the same system can be used with discs containing more than two circles of characters.

Although the flashlamp 338 has been shown as attached to the carriage 314, such a lamp is not necessary to illuminate the characters. A fixed light source can be used with a' condensing system and light baffles, or a bundle of optical fibers can be sued as described in US. Pat. No. 3,291,015.

The film is moved up for line spacing by a leading mechanism which is not shown in FIGS. 6 to 12. This mechanism can be of the same type of construction as the variable escapement.

The above description is intended to be illustrative and not in limitation of the invention. Various changes or modifications in the embodiment set forth may occur to those skilled in the art, and may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as set forth herein. For example, although it is preferred that the photocomposition machine of the present invention be adapted to use punched tape, it can be adapted to use magnetic tape as the information input medium, or it can be directly coupled to the composing keyboard as an integral unit, all as is well known in the art.

l. in photocomposition apparatus, character presentation means for sequentially presenting characters at a projection position, projection means for selectively projecting said characters onto a character image-receiving surface, said projection means including optical means for focusing said characters on said character-receiving surface and means for changing the point size of said characters, means for holding said optical means againstmovement during composition of a line relative to said characterreceiving surface, and means for moving said character presentation means in steps along a path parallel to the base line of said line of composition to provide spacing between characters in a line of composition, the lengths of said steps being proportional to the relative widths of said characters, said point-size changing means being positioned in the optical path between said character spacing means and said character-receiving surface.

2. Photocomposition apparatus as in claim 1 in which said character presentation means comprises a character carrier member rotatable to present'characters at said projection position in a continuous sequence, and including aperture means defining said projection position and mounted to move with said character presentation means.

3. Photocomposition apparatus as in claim 1 in which said projection means includes a flashlamp mounted to move wit said character presentation means.

4. Photocomposition apparatus as in claim -I in which said projection means, includes a projection lens, a pair of reflectors positionedto successively reflect images received form said lens and onto said image-receiving surface, and means for mounting said lens and said reflector pair so as to be movable toward or away from said character projection position.

5. Photocompositon apparatus as in claim in which said magnification and focal length adjustment means includes a pair of arms for sliding said lens and said reflector pair on a slide member, and releasable detent means for holding said lens and reflector pair in position.

6. Photocomposition apparatus as in claim 4 including means for supporting said image-receiving surface in a substantially horizontal position, and a third reflector intercepting the images from said reflector pair and reflecting said images onto said iamge-receiving surface.

7. Photocomposition apparatus as in claim 1 including means to shift said character presentation means in a direction and in an amount such as to relocate the vertical edge of a character at the margin of the composition on the imagereceiving surface after a change in character size has been made by means of said size changing means.

8. Photocomposition apparatus as in claim 7 including sensing means responsive to the movement of said adjustment means for providing said shift.

9. In a photocomposition apparatus, character presentation means for sequentially presenting characters at a projection position, aperture means for defining said projection position, projection means for selectively projecting said characters onto a character-receiving surface, said projection means including optical means for focusing said characters on said character-receiving surface and meansfor changing the point size of said characters, and means for moving said character presentation means and said means together with one another along a path parallel to the base line of said line of composition to provide spacing between characters in a line, said point-size changing means being positioned in the optical path between said character spacing means and said characterreceiving surface.

10. Photocomposition apparatus as in claim 9 in which said character presentation means is a movable support with spaced elongated arrays of characters on it, said support being movably mounted on a movable carriage driven by said moving means, said aperture means being shiftable in the direction of motion of said carriage to locate said projection position along a selected one of said arrays.

11. Photocomposition apparatus as in claim 10 including a flashlamp mounted to flash light through said disc only at said aperture, the light beam emitted by said flashlamp covering an area including all of said arrays.

12. Photocomposition apparatus as in claim 10 in which each of said arrays represents a different character style, and

including means for shifting said aperture means in the direction of motion of said carriage for style shifting, and means for shifting said carriage by anamount equal to the shifting distance of said aperture means in a direction such that said projection position is returned tothe relative position it had prior to the style shift. 7

13. In photocomposition apparatus, character presentation means fore sequentially presenting characters at a projection position, projection means for selectively projecting said characters onto a character-receiving surface, said projection means including optical means for focusing said characters on said character-receiving surface and means for changing the point size of said characters, and means for moving said character presentation means in a first direction corresponding to the direction of composition of a line of characters on said character-receiving surface in order to space characters therein, said character presentation means being positioned relative t'o'said projection position so that said characters move past said projection position in a second direction transverse to said first direction, said point-size changing means being positioned in the optical path between said character spacing means and said character-receiving surface.

14. Photocomposition apparatus as in claim 13 in which said second direction is substantially normal to said first direction. I

15. Photocomposition apparatus as in claim 13 in which said character presentation means comprises a rotatable support with concentric arcuate arrays of characters thereon, and means shiftable in said first direction to locate said projection position along one of said arrays.

16. In photocomposing apparatus, character support means for supporting a plurality of characters to be projected, means for'moving said character support means so as to move said characters past a projection position, projection means for projecting said characters onto a character-receiving surface, means for moving said support means in the direction of a line of characters in increments the lengths of which correspond to the relative widths of the characters to be projected, in order to space character images on said character-receiving surface, said projection means including point-size magnification means having a single lens structure permanently positioned to receive and magnify each character to be projected, and means for adjusting the magnification of said lens structure to adjust the point size of the characters projected onto said character-receiving surface, said point-size magnification means being positioned in the optical path between said character spacing means and said character-receiving surface.

17. In photocomposition apparatus, character presentation means for sequentially presenting characters at a projection position, projection means for selectively projection means including optical means for focusing said characters on said character-receiving surface and means for changing the point size of said characters, selective illumination means for illuminating characters on said character presentation means to send images thereof to said optical means, means for rotating said character presentation means relative to said illumination means, and means for moving said character presentation means together with said illumination means so as to cause character images to be projected onto said character-receiving surface in a spaced-apart array with suitable spacing between characters, said point-size changing means being positioned in the optical path between said character spacing means and said character-receiving surface.

18. Photocomposition apparatus as in claim 17 in which said character presentation means has a plurality of arrays of characters, said illumination means producing light beams each of which would pass through at least one character in eacharray simultaneously but for the presence of a shutter, and a shutter positioned between said illumination means and said character presentation means to limit the passage of said light beam through characters in only one of said arrays.

19. In photocomposition apparatus, a slideable carriage, an opaque disc with a plurality of concentric rows of transparent characters on said disc, said disc being rotatably mounted on said carriage, a shutter member adjacent said disc and having an aperture, said shutter member being mounted on said carriage to swing said aperture into alignment with any selected one of said rows of characters, an illumination device mounted on said carriage with said shutter between its light outlet and said disc, means on said carriage for swinging said shutter to align said aperture with one of said rows, a stepping motor for driving said carriage in a direction parallel to the direction of a line of characters being composed, the movement of said carriage being in steps having lengths equal to the relative width of characters to be projected, a lens for magnifying images projected from said disc, first, second and third mirrors in the optical path between said lens and said film, the first two mirrors reversing the initial direction of travel of light from said lens, the third mirror changing said direction of travel by reflecting the light onto said film, said film being aligned in a approximately horizontal plane at.the point at which the character images impinge, means for slideably mounting said lens and said first and second mirrors so as to be movable independently towards and away from said disc.

20. A transcription unit for a photographic-type composing machine, comprising a support for a light-sensitive sheet on which a line of text is to be composed; a matrix bearing a ring of master characters and continuously rotatable; a projection zone through which the master characters travel during rotation of the matrix; a light source for illuminating a selected master character while traveling through the projection zone; an optical system for projecting an image of an illuminated master character to a character-image position in a line of text under composition, said optical system including means for changing the point size of said character images as they are pro ected from said matrix to said light-senstrtlve sheet, and a matrix displacement mechanism operated during composition of the line to move the focal area of the projection zone, by optical leverage, lengthwise of the line of text under composition in order to space character images along said line on said light-sensitive sheet, said point-size changing means being positioned in the optical path between said character-image spacing means and said light-sensitive sheet.

21. A transcription unit as in claim 20 including a displaceable carriage on which said matrix is mounted and a matrix drive motor mounted on said displaceable carriage effective to rotatably drive said matrix.

22. A transcription unit as in claim 20 including a plurality of coaxially arranged rings of master characters on said matrix and a ring selector associated with the projection zone operable to select the master character ring from which the next character image is to be projected.

23. A transcription unit as claimed in claim 22 in which the ring selector includes a mask spanning the projection zone, a Window in said mask, and means to move said mask radially of the rings to bring said window into registration with the positions in the projection zone of different master character rings.

24. A transcription unit for a photographic composing machine, including a revolving matrix character carrier, projection means for projecting the images of selected matrix master characters to an image plane, a photosensitive surface located in the image plane, said projection means including means for changing the point size of said character images, and means for producing relative movement between the matrix character carrier and the image plane whereby characters are spaced from each other to form a line of composition on the photosensitive surface, said means being arranged to move the revolving matrix the relative width of each projected character along a path parallel to the base line of said line of composition, said point-size changing means being positioned in the optical path between said character-spacing means and said photosensitive surface,

25. A transcription unit as in claim 24 wherein the revolving matrix carrier is a disc having lihgt-transmitting master characters arranged in concentric arcs and each depicted on an opaque background.

26. A transcription unit as in claim 24 including means for varying the magnification ratio of said projection lens, a film feed mechanism effective to move said photosensitive surface in a direction normal to a line of composition, said film feed mechanism being ordinarily actuated following the composition of each line to provide line spacing and also being adapted to be actuated during composition of a line whenever the magnification ratio of the projection lens is changed to move the photosensitive surface a distance sufficient such that all the characters in a line of composition are projected to align on the same base line.

Claims

1. In photocomposition apparatus, character presentation means for sequentially presenting characters at a projection position, projection means for selectively projecting said characters onto a character image-receiving surface, said projection means including optical means for focusing said characters on said character-receiving surface and means for changing the point size of said characters, means for holding said optical means against movement during composition of a line relative to said characterreceiving surface, and means for moving said character presentation means in steps along a path parallel to the base line of said line of composition to provide spacing between characters in a line of composition, the lengths of said steps being proportional to the relative widths of said characters, said point-size changing means being positioned in the optical path between said character spacing means and said characterreceiving surface.

2. Photocomposition apparatus as in claim 1 in which said character presentation means comprises a character carrier member rotatable to present characters at said projection position in a continuous sequence, and including aperture means defining said projection position and mounted to move with said character presentation means.

3. Photocomposition apparatus as in claim 1 in which said projection means includes a flashlamp mounted to move with said character presentation means.

4. Photocomposition apparatus as in claim 1 in which said projection means, includes a projection lens, a pair of reflectors positioned to successively reflect images received form said lens and onto said image-receiving surface, and means for mounting said lens and said reflector pair so as to be movable toward or away from said character projection position.

7. Photocomposition apparatus as in claim 1 including means to shift said character presentation means in a direction and in an amount such as to relocate the vertical edge of a character at the margin of the composition on the image-receiving surface after a change in character size has been made by means of said size changing means.

9. In a photocomposition apparatus, character presentation means for sequentially presenting characters at a projection position, aperture means for defining said projection position, projection means for selectively projecting said characters onto a character-receiving surface, said projection means including optical means for focusing said characters on said character-receiving surface and means for changing the point size of said characters, and means for moving said character presentation means and said means together with one another along a path parallel to the base line of said line of composition to provide spacing between characters in a line, said point-size changing means being positioned in the optical path between said character spacing means and said character-receiving surface.

12. Photocomposition apparatus as in claim 10 in which each of said arrays represents a different character style, and including means for shifting said aperture means in the direction of motion of said carriage for style shifting, and means for shifting said carriage by an amount equal to the shifting distance of said aperture means in a direction such that said projection position is returned to the relative position it had prior to the style shift.

13. In photocomposition apparatus, character presentation means fore sequentially presenting characters at a projection position, projection means for selectively projecting said characters onto a character-receiving surface, said projection means including optical means for focusing said characters on said character-receiving surface and means for changing the point size of said characters, and means for moving said character presentation means in a first direction corresponding to the direction of composition of a line of characters on said character-receiving surface in order to space characters therein, said character presenTation means being positioned relative to said projection position so that said characters move past said projection position in a second direction transverse to said first direction, said point-size changing means being positioned in the optical path between said character spacing means and said character-receiving surface.

14. Photocomposition apparatus as in claim 13 in which said second direction is substantially normal to said first direction.

16. In photocomposing apparatus, character support means for supporting a plurality of characters to be projected, means for moving said character support means so as to move said characters past a projection position, projection means for projecting said characters onto a character-receiving surface, means for moving said support means in the direction of a line of characters in increments the lengths of which correspond to the relative widths of the characters to be projected, in order to space character images on said character-receiving surface, said projection means including point-size magnification means having a single lens structure permanently positioned to receive and magnify each character to be projected, and means for adjusting the magnification of said lens structure to adjust the point size of the characters projected onto said character-receiving surface, said point-size magnification means being positioned in the optical path between said character spacing means and said character-receiving surface.

18. Photocomposition apparatus as in claim 17 in which said character presentation means has a plurality of arrays of characters, said illumination means producing light beams each of which would pass through at least one character in each array simultaneously but for the presence of a shutter, and a shutter positioned between said illumination means and said character presentation means to limit the passage of said light beam through characters in only one of said arrays.

19. In photocomposition apparatus, a slideable carriage, an opaque disc with a plurality of concentric rows of transparent characters on said disc, said disc being rotatably mounted on said carriage, a shutter member adjacent said disc and having an aperture, said shutter member being mounted on said carriage to swing said aperture into alignment with any selected one of said rows of characters, an illumination device mounted on said carriage with said shutter between its light outlet and said disc, means on said carriage for swinging said shutter to align said aperture with one of said rows, a stepping motor for driving said carriage in a direction parallel to the direction of a line of characters being composed, the movement of said carriage being in steps having lengths equal to the relative width of characters to be projected, a Lens for magnifying images projected from said disc, first, second and third mirrors in the optical path between said lens and said film, the first two mirrors reversing the initial direction of travel of light from said lens, the third mirror changing said direction of travel by reflecting the light onto said film, said film being aligned in a approximately horizontal plane at the point at which the character images impinge, means for slideably mounting said lens and said first and second mirrors so as to be movable independently towards and away from said disc.

20. A transcription unit for a photographic-type composing machine, comprising a support for a light-sensitive sheet on which a line of text is to be composed; a matrix bearing a ring of master characters and continuously rotatable; a projection zone through which the master characters travel during rotation of the matrix; a light source for illuminating a selected master character while traveling through the projection zone; an optical system for projecting an image of an illuminated master character to a character-image position in a line of text under composition, said optical system including means for changing the point size of said character images as they are projected from said matrix to said light-senstitive sheet, and a matrix displacement mechanism operated during composition of the line to move the focal area of the projection zone, by optical leverage, lengthwise of the line of text under composition in order to space character images along said line on said light-sensitive sheet, said point-size changing means being positioned in the optical path between said character-image spacing means and said light-sensitive sheet.

24. A transcription unit for a photographic composing machine, including a revolving matrix character carrier, projection means for projecting the images of selected matrix master characters to an image plane, a photosensitive surface located in the image plane, said projection means including means for changing the point size of said character images, and means for producing relative movement between the matrix character carrier and the image plane whereby characters are spaced from each other to form a line of composition on the photosensitive surface, said means being arranged to move the revolving matrix the relative width of each projected character along a path parallel to the base line of said line of composition, said point-size changing means being positioned in the optical path between said character-spacing means and said photosensitive surface.