US3733978A - Type composer - Google Patents

Abstract

The apparatus is designed to compose justified copy on a sensitized sheet or film exposed through a movable matrix to actinic rays which impress an image of the characters carried by the matrix onto the sensitized sheet material. Operation of the composer is in response to signals from a suitable source, typically a memory unit alone or a memory unit which is operated in conjunction with a keyboard to store one or more lines of type composition prior to justification of the lines. Provision is made for flexibility in operation and product output as well as accommodation to various allied equipment.

Description

United States Patent [191 Spievak 1 May 22, 1973 1 1 TYPE COMPOSER [76] inventor: Louis A. Spievlk, 2905 Mandeville Pnmary Hora Canyon Road, Los Angeles, Calif. Diamond 90049 [57] ABSTRACT [22] Filed: Sept. 5, 1967 The apparatus is designed to compose justified copy [21] P N05 665,586 on a sensitized sheet or film exposed through a mova- I ble matrix to actinic rays which impress an image of [52] U.S. C1. ..95/4.5 the h r t rs carried by the matrix onto the sen- [51] Int. Cl. ..B4lb 17/06 sitized sheet material. Operation of the composer is in [58] Field of Search ..95/4.5 response to signals from a suitable source, typically a memory unit alone or a memory unit which is [56] References Cited operated in conjunction with a keyboard to store one or more lines of type composition prior to justification UNITED STATES PATENTS of the lines. Provision is made for flexibility in opera- 2,207,265 7/1940 Ogden ..95/4.5 tion and product output as well as' accommodation to 2,388,961 11/1945 Elliott ..95/4.5 various allied equipment. 2,887,936 5/1959 Spievak.... ..95/4.5 3,122,075 2/1964 Klyce ..95/4.5 9 Claims, 22 Drawing Figures PAI NI xze I975 3, 733,978

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TYPE COMPOSER CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED PATENT The present apparatus may be regarded as an improvement in the subject matter of my U.S. Pat. No. 2,887,936, issued May 26, 1959, for TYPE COM- POSING APPARATUS. Reference is made herein to this earlier patent for added details of structure or operation or for supplemental disclosure of related equipment, particularly with respect to a keyboard, memory unit, line length gauge, and other equipment constituting an input to the apparatus which is the subject of this application.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates generally to the typesetting art; but it is more particularly concerned with apparatus which is capable of composing justified lines of characters of non-uniform width. More specifically, the invention relates to means for projecting onto a sensitized surface images of the characters required to compose a line of type and means which may be used to effect the necessary movements of the matrix providing the characters and of the carriage for the sheet material required to produce justification of the lines.

The general problem of producing justified lines of type composition is old in the printing arts and has been solved in various ways according to the different types of apparatus used or composition. The problem has been set forth in my earlier patent, referred to above, in which was disclosed one type of apparatus capable of using photographic techniques for producing justified lines of composition on a photographic film or other sensitized sheet material.

The general object of the present invention is to provide an improved and simplified design of composing apparatus that provides-additional practical advantages in operation and a wide range of application to allied equipment, thereby increasing the utility of the type of apparatus disclosed in my earlier patent.

More particularly, it is an object to provide type composing apparatus which is responsive equally well to various input equipment that may be operated by a memory unit, such as magnetic tape, or punch tape, upon which characters are-stored in a readable manner, or may be combined with a keyboard having a memory unit.

Likewise, it is a particular object of the present invention to provide type composing apparatus which is sufficiently flexible in design to permit its use with various output products, such as photographic film, sensitized paper, or other ribbon or sheet materials.

A further object of the present invention is to provide an improved and simplified design of various motionproducing components of the type composing apparatusin order to design them for response to incoming signals and to reduce the number of units required by increasing the number and variety of motions capable of being produced by a single unit.

A further object of the invention is to provide a type composing apparatus which is basically a selfcontained unit capable of independent operation; but which, at the same time, may be connected to other input or output equipment in order to increase its range of applications.

Another object is to develop apparatus consonant with a systems" approach to producing justified copy.

This involves designing the total equipment complex in several mutually compatible modules that are capable of being arranged or used in several combinations to accommodate varying sizes of work loads or varying kinds of work In particular, it is an object to modify the line length gauge of my earlier patent to increase its versatility and flexibility and thereby increase the op portunity or the applications of the composer of novel design.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The above, as well as other objects and advantages of the invention, are achieved by providing an apparatus comprising a matrix carrying a plurality of characters and movably mounted to bring a selected character into a predetermined position; a magazine or carriage with a sensitized sheet on which lines of type are to be recorded, a source of actinic rays to project an image of a character from the matrix onto the sensitized sheet; and at least a pair of variable actuators which are operatively connected to the matrix, each producing one component of movement of the matrix required to bring the selected character into said predetermined position. These variable actuators are responsive to input signals to produce linear movements of variable magnitude as determined by the input signals. Drive means connect the variable actuators to a motor means, the drive means including a clutch which is operable to periodically drive the actuators in response to an input signal, each cycle of operation being carried for each individual character.

As a plurality of the variable actuators may conveniently be provided, all of the actuators are duplicates in order to simplify their construction and manufacture, and, consequently, they are flexible in their out put motions. To reduce the number of variable actuators to a minimum, they may be combined with means to provide each one with a dual range of movements, as for example when the matrix is shifted between lower case and upper case characters. Also, since there are intervals of time during which a particular actuator is not required to be in operation to perform a specific function, it may be used to perform another funqtion separated in time from the first function; and forthis purpose, actuators may be provided with means enabling them to perform double duties.

The variable actuators are of novel design in which the power input is always a uniform motion or stroke while the power output is a variable motion or stroke, the length of which can be controlled by energizing selected stops which control the length of the output stroke.

The matrix and the sensitized sheet are placed as close together as possible in order to reduce the diffusion of light between these two components. In order to contribute to the close proximity of the sensitized sheet to the matrix, a simplified shutter consisting of a plurality of linearly moving elements is provided since a shutter of this construction is particularly adapted to operation by variable actuators having a linear output motion.

For many purposes, the final productpreferably has justified lines, that is, the lines are all of substantially equal length; when this is the case, a justifler is used which receives the justification information prior to composing a line of type on the sensitized sheet in which it operates to increase the lengthof the spaces between words by an increment which results in equalizing the length along the various lines of column. The justifier is adapted to receive this justification information from one of different sources in order to provide flexibility in the use and application of the apparatus. The invention also comprehends improved line length recording means including means for driving the gauge backwards as the original copy is typed at the input keyboard, thus permitting proper editing of copy from an automatic typewriter. The gauge reverses in response to the back space key on the keyboard.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING How the above objects and advantages of the present invention, as well as others not particularly mentioned herein, are attained will be more readily apparent by reference to the following description and to the annexed drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of type composing apparatus embodying the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a plan view, partially in diagrammatic form, of the power unit and certain major elements operated thereby;

FIG. is a fragmentary section of a commutating clutch mechanism;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary perspective of operating elements of a variable actuator;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary vertical section through the limit pins of a variable actuator, taken on line 55 of FIG. 6;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary diagrammatic plan of an actuator;

FIG. 7 is a diagrammatic perspective of the matrix carrying a font of characters and the associated shutter mechanism;

FIG. 8 is a plan view of the shutter mechanism isolated from the rest of the mechanism;

FIGS. 9, 10, and 11 are fragmentary views corresponding to FIG. 8 showing sequential positions of the shutter mechanism;

FIG. 12 is a fragmentary vertical section through the shutter on line l212 of FIG. 7;

FIG. 13 is an end view of the matrix taken in the direction of the arrows 13-13 in FIG. 7;

FIG. 14 is a fragmentary perspective of indexing teeth on the character matrix;

FIG. 15 is a diagrammatic perspective of the film carriage and mechanism for moving the film showing the relation thereof to the shutter mechanism;

FIG. 16 is a side elevation of the ratchet drive mechanism for character spacing of the film, viewed as on line l6--l6 of FIG. 15;

FIG. 17 is a side elevation of the film spool and spool mounting elements;

FIG. 18 is a reversing drive mechanism for line length g FIG. 19 is a side elevation of the justifier mechanism;

FIG. 20 is a bottom plan view of a stack of cams in the justifier, as viewed on line 20-20 of FIG. 19;

FIG. 21 is a fragmentary plan view of a portion of a line length gauge for recording the line remainder; and

FIG. 22 is a fragmentary plan view of interrelated scales calibrated in line justification units.

DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT GENERAL CONSTRUCTION Referring now to the drawing, and more particularly to FIG. I, the general operation and arrangement of the major components of the type composing apparatus will be discussed first in broad terms. FIG. 1 shows the apparatus as it would appear mounted on a base with the cover removed and it illustrates the physical relationship of the major components.

Power for the operation is derived from motor means, typically an electric motor, indicated generally at M. Motor M provides a source of power which is transmitted through a plurality of actuator units A. These units are shown in greater detail in FIG. 2 from which, together with later description, it will be apparent that each actuator unit provides one or more linear movements which can be controlled or regulated quantitatively as required to operate other components.

One of the components so operated is the character matrix C on which is carried at least one complete font of type comprising upper and lower case characters together with such auxiliary characters as are commonly used. Of course the invention is not limited to any particular number of characters or fonts on the matrix. The matrix C is physically shifted through the action of one of the actuators A to bring a selected character thereon into a predetermined position, at which position suitable aetinic rays, typically visible light rays, create an image of the character on a sensitized sheet, typically photographic film at F. The film is moved laterally step-by-step to receive each character and also longitudinally line-by-line to receive successive lines of characters, by one of the units of the actuator means A.

In addition to these major components, means I are provided for justifying the righthand margin, if desired, and for performing certain additional operations. All of these operations are carried out in response to selected input signals, normally coded electric pulses, which are received through input terminals from any suitable source of coded signals. This source of signals may be connected to a keyboard which generates signals in response to operation of the keyboard and which may be located at or remote from the composing apparatus. Such a source is disclosed in the patent referred to above. Alternatively, the signal source may be a magnetic or punched tape or other type of storage or memory unit upon which coded electric signals have been stored for reading and repetition and use at a later time, or any other suitable source of useable signals.

POWER UNIT The power unit of the present composer may be considered to consist of the combination of motor M and the actuator units referred to collectively at A. The motor is a continuously revolving electric motor which is connected by belt 10 to driven pulley 11 on shaft 12. Shaft 12 carries the driving element of a single revolution clutch 14, the driven element of which is mounted on the end of cam shaft 15. The clutch may include a brake 14a. Cam shaft 15 is mounted in suitable bearings in the actuator housing and carries a plurality of cams numbered consecutively from 16 to 23 as well as a plurality of cranks 25 to 28. From further description, it will be evident that cranks 25 to 28 function essentially as cams and could be replaced by such.

As may be seen by reference to FIG. 2 particularly, the cams and cranks are grouped to transmit power and motion to four individual variable actuators designated consecutively as 31, 32, 33 and 34.

Motor M and shaft with its cams and cranks provide an input or source of power and intermittent rotary movement which is repeatedly performed on command. Each actuator converts rotary motion into linear motion, a factor in determining the final or output motions being the shape of the cams or the radii of the cranks. AS will be seen, each variable actuator 31, 32, 33 and 34 provides means for converting the input rotary movements from shaft 15 into a plurality of output linear movements of which at least some can be limited or controlled individually at will, in response to the incoming coded signals, to provide the desired actuation of the character matrix C, the advance of film F, and other operations described later.

FIG. 4 illustrates the construction of variable actuator 33, a construction that is typical of the other variable actuators. The actuator has a main operating rod 36 which is confined to longitudinal linear movement by any suitable means, such as spaced guides 37 which are stationary and are mounted on the framework of the actuator unit. At one end operating rod 36 carries plate 38 which bears against crank 25 and functions essentially as a cam follower riding against the crank.

Tension spring 39 is connected at one end to crank 25 and at the other end to a laterally extending arm on operating rod 36 so that the operating rod is normally urged by the spring toward and into engagement with crank 25. Thus, as crank 25 rotates counterclockwise from the position of FIG. 4, movement of the crank is transmitted through spring 38 to the operating rod and the operating rod moves toward the right in FIG. 4, which may be considered as the working or advance stroke. The second half of the operational cycle of crank 25 returns the operating rod to the left for the return stroke. Arrows indicate the direction of the advance stroke of the parts in FIG. 4.

Spring 39 constitutes an elastic connection between operating rod 36 and crank 25 which transmits power to the operating rod during the advance or work stroke but allows the crank to over-travel the operating rod when the operating rod is stopped short of the full range of movement of crank 25, as will be explained.

This elastic connection enables the operating rod to be moved positively during the work stroke and yet permits variation in the length of that output or work stroke without requiring any change in the constant path of crank 25.

Variationin the length of the work stroke is achieved by limiting the movement of operating rod 36 toward the right by means of cross bar 40 which is pivotedly mounted at 41 at its center to the operating rod, the cross bar extending laterally on both sides of rod 36 where it comes into engagement with selected pins, collectively referred to as pins 42, arranged in two parallel rows at opposite sides of rod 36.

As shown in FIG. 6, in a typical arrangement cross bar 40 rests on and slides horizontally over the top surface of plate 44. Pins 42 are mounted to move upwardly through plate 44 to a position at which they project above the plate and into the path of cross bar 40 to limit the'advance movement of the cross bar to the right in FIG. 4. Each of the pins 42 is normally biased to araised position as shown at the left in FIG. 5 in which raised position a pin projects into the path of cross bar 40 in position to limit its motion to the right. The upper ends of the pins are preferably beveled as shown so that upon return movement of the cross bar to the left in FIG. .5, the cross bar can, upon engagement with a pin, depress it and allow the cross bar to move on over the pin. The pins are biased to this raised position by means of tension coil springs 45 around the shank of each pin and which urge the pins upwardly. A selected pin or pins can be retracted downwardly out of the path of cross bar 40 by energizing an electromagnet 46 below each of the pins and so arranged that, when energized, the magnet retracts the pin as shown at the right in FIG. 5.

Alternatively, the movement of the pins may be reversed by having the pins normally biased to a retracted position and then having the individual pins move upwardly when the coil of magnet 46 is energized. This can be accomplished by extending the pins downwardly through the centers of the electromagnetic devices so that the pins become movable armatures within the coils.

Pins 42 are arranged in two rows parallel to operating rod 36, the rows being disposed one on each of two opposite sides of rod 36. The arrangement of the pins in each of the two rows may assume any of several possible layouts. The spacings are determined by the number of different advance movements desired for rod 36 and the length of each one; generally, the layout of the pins being such that several different advances are possible from the starting position shown in solid lines in FIG. 6 as a consequence of rotational movement of crank 25 and the rod 36 by driving spring 39. Spring 39 advances rod 36 and cross bar 40 until selected pins extending above plate 44 stop the advance motion of rod 36. For example, in FIG. 6, the third pin in the righthand row is raised to stop bar 40. The travel of rod 36 is shown by the movement of pin 41 to 41a. Thus, pins 42 act to limit or stop the advance travel of rod 36, allowing crank 25 to continue its rotational movement out of contact over a part of the cycle with follower plate 38. Operating rod 36 is returned to its starting position by engagement of the crank with follower 38 during the terminal portion of the rotational cycle of the crank.

Whenever a constant or uniform motion is needed, operating rod 36 may be connected directly to an element of the composer that is to be moved by the actuator. l-Iowever, actuator 33 illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 6 is designed to produce variable rotational movement of matrix C. Assume that matrix C carries a complete set or alphabet of upper case characters and a second complete set or alphabet of lower case characters. From a position of rest the matrix is moved in a first direction,

which typically may be a rotational movement, a given amount to shift from lower case to upper case; and after this given amount of movement has taken place, an additional rotational movement of the matrix is required to bring a selected character into a predetermined position. The amount of this second movement alone from the initial rest position would bring the corresponding lower case character into the same predetermined position. Thus, when lower case characters are being composed, a certain basic range of movements of the matrix is required; but when upper case characters are being composed, an additional preliminary movement is required to shift the matrix from the lower case to the upper case. This shift is known in connection with typewriters, linotypes and other composing machines. Keeping in mind this shift requirement, it will be seen that actuator 33 is designed to produce the motion in the basic range as well as the added motion of the matrix to bring about a shift from lower to upper case. These motions are made possible by a sheave 48 mounted on one end of reciprocating rod 49 which extends parallel to operating rod 36. Cable 50 extends from the forward end of operating rod 36 to the upper groove on sheave 48 and is anchored to the periphery of the sheave at a suitable point so that the advance movement of rod 36 rotates the sheave about its pivotal mounting on the forward end of rod 49.

Rod 49 reciprocates in a suitable guide and is normally urged to the right, viewed in FIG. 4, by a force derived from spring 51 which is anchored to the actuator frame at one end attached at the other end to push rod 52. Push rod 52 reciprocates in suitable guides and is normally urged by spring 51 toward and against rotating cam 20. A laterally extending arm 53 on rod 52 engages pin 54 on rod 49, transmitting to rod 49 the pull of spring 51. A pair of pins 55 projecting upwardly above plate 44 are constructed in the same manner as pins 42 and are also provided with individual electromagnets, like magnets 46, or other means, to interpose selected ones of the pins 55 into the path of a laterally projecting arm 56 carried by rod 49.

Passing around the lower groove in sheave 48 is cable 58 which is anchored at one end to the actuator frame and which extends at the other end to the character matrix C, as shown in FIG. 2. Without discussing at this point detailed operation of the character matrix, it will be seen that, with this construction, when rod 49 and sheave 48 are in the positions shown, forward movement of operating rod 36 causes sheave 48 to rotate in a counterclockwise direction, viewed from above in FIG. 4, causing the moving end of cable 58 to pull on the character matrix. If the amount of movement of rod 36 is equal to the interval 59'shown in FIG. 4, then the movement imparted to cable 58 is equal to the same distance, a distance that may print the letter d on the matrix.

This assumes that rod 49 has remained stationary, held by the left hand pin 55. Should a specific input signal be received, the left hand pin 55 is retracted and the pull of spring 51 moves rod 49 to the right, bringing arm 56 into engagement with the right hand pin 55. This then advances the sheave to the right by the distance 60 in FIG. 4, a distance which shifts the matrix from lower case to upper case. The above-described movement of rod 36, whether simultaneous with or subsequent to the movement of rod 49, will now add to the travel of cable 58 the same distance 59. this would now print the letter D on the matrix.

The shutter mechanism S is operated in timed sequence with the matrix by rod 62 which is attached to one end of shutter cable 63. Rod 62 has mounted on one end a box-shaped cam follower 64 surrounding and cooperating with rotating cam 21. This type of cam follower exemplifies construction which makes it possible for an actuator rod to be pulled by a cam and therefore to advance to the right in response to rotational motion in a positive manner, the return stroke being accomplished by a spring, as mentioned later. Of course, it will be realized that in these mechanisms, power may be derived from a spring, in the manner already explained and the cam riding against the push rod then provides the return movement. This latter type of construction is more adaptable to advance strokes of varying length whereas the cam follower arrangement carried by rod 62 is practical when the advance stroke is constant in length.

CHARACTER MATRIX The character matrix at C provides all of the letters, punctuation, and other characters which are required for the composition. The primary element of the matrix is the drum 65 having a cylindrical wall upon which the characters are located. For purposes of disclosure, it may be assumed that drum 65 carries only a single font of characters; but it may likewise be designed to carry a plurality of fonts. This can be accomplished by enlarging the size of the drum and expanding the range of travel.

Typically, the cylindrical wall of drum 65 may be a film negative, a metal sheet, or other construction with all of the portions of the wall entirely opaque to actinic rays except for transparent areas which represent the various characters. The cylindrical wall of the drum is supported at one end by end plat 66 and at the other end by an annular frame member 67 to which is connected a single radial spoke 68. End plate 66, ring 67 and spoke 68 are preferably made of low density materials, for example, plastics, in order to produce a cylinder assembly which is very light in weight and therefore has a minimum inertia since it must be moved rapidly and stopped accurately in any one of a number of positions.

The individual characters are arranged on the surface of the cylinder wall in a grid-like or bi-axial pattern so that any one of the characters can be brought to a predetermined position by a combination of two movements of the cylinder. To provide these two movements, the cylinder is mounted for both rotational and axial travel. From this, it will be realized that a flat sheet can be substituted for the cylinder, in which case the sheet is moved along two axes at right angles to each other. The same bi-axial combination of motions applies regardless of the shape of the matrix.

End plate 66 and the inner end of spoke 68 are rotatably mounted on bearing sleeves 69 which in turn are slideably mounted on rectangular tube 70 which serves as a supporting axle for the matrix assembly. Tube 70 is a hollow member preferably square or rectangular in cross-section which is non-rotatably mounted in suitable support brackets 71 and 72, which are part of the frame structure of the composer. Bracket 72 is indicated as being swingingly mounted on post 73 as a diagrammatic illustration of a type of movable support for tube 70 which permits a cylinder 65 to be removed endwise from the supporting tube and replaced by another one when it is desired to change character fonts.

Linear movement of drum 65 parallel to the axis of tube 70 is accomplished by attaching a radially extending arm 75 to bearing 69 adjacent end plate 66, the arm 75 extending outwardly beyond the periphery of drum 65. The outer end of arm 75 is connected to cable 77 which is connected to one end of return spring 78, the other end of the return spring being anchored to a part of the frame at 79. Cable 77 extends from spring 78 around two idler pulleys 80 and then to actuator 34, as shown in FIG. 2. The connection and operation of this actuator will be described further.

The other component of motion of drum 65 is the angular or rotational motion which moves any particular point on the drum in a direction at right angles to the linear motion along tube 70. The angular motion is imparted to the drum by drive pulley 82 which is rotatably mounted on tube 70 and which carries an axially extending drive arm 83 which slideably engages drum spoke 68. Arm 83 slides through the drum spoke so that it can transmit torque to the drum while allowing a shift in the longitudinal position or movement of the drum.

Rotational movement about the axis of tube 70 is imparted to drive pulley 82 by cable 58 which passes around the periphery of the drum and may be anchored to the periphery at a suitable point. If it is assumed that the advance movement of cable 68 rotates drum in a counterclockwise direction viewed from the left in FIG. 7, then the return movement of the drive pulley can be obtained by extending cable 58 around the drum and attaching the end of it to return spring 85, the other end of the return spring being attached to some stationary point on the frame of the apparatus. Thus, advance motion of cable 58 and drum 65 extends the spring; and the contraction of the spring produces the return stroke.

In order to lock matrix drum 65 firmly in a predetermined position at the end of each movement bringing a character on the drum into position to be printed, frame 67 is provided with a plurality of teeth 86, preferably in the form of rectangular pyramids as shown in FIG. 14. Cooperating with and engageable with these teeth is a locking member 87 which is likewise provided with teeth 87a which are adapted to fit into the spaces between successive teeth 86 on the drum. The lock 87 is pivotally mounted on the frame and is to be rocked about its pivot point into engagement with the drum teeth to lock the drum into position. Movement of lock 87 is accomplished by cable 87b which typically can be connected to push rod 520 of actuator 34 which is timed to actuate the locking means after the drum has been rotated to bring the selected character into position and which releases the drum after the exposure of the character by the optical system and shutter mechanism described below.

SHUTTER AND OPTICAL SYSTEM FIG. 7 also illustrates a suitable optical system which constitutes a means for transferring a selected character from the wall of matrix 65 onto a sensitized sheet of material exemplified by the film F. A wide range of systems are available and adaptable to the general purpose of generating actinic rays and then directing them to and through the transparent portions of the drum wall in order to create upon the film F an image of a character. For purposes of disclosure, the film F is assumed herein to be a photographic film sensitive to visible light. However, this example is not intended to be limitative upon the invention since a wide variety of sheet materials are available. For example, sheet materials sensitive to heat or infra-red rays may be used to receive images from the character matrix and in that case, a directly readable product is the output of the composer and may be used without further development or treatment.

Consequently, as used herein, the term actinic rays refers to incident electromagnetic rays of wave lengths which can cause a latent image, potentially developable, in the sensitized material on a film or other sheet stock. Such rays include not only the visible spectrum but extensions of both ends thereof and also X-rays, since ultraviolet infrared, heat rays, and X-rays are all capable of producing photographic effects on a suitably sensitized surface. One of the big advantages, it will be realized, of using a sheet material which is not sensitive to visible light is the simplicity of the machine because of the fact that it is then not necessary to enclose the film F and the film carriage in a lightproof enclosure.

The optical system illustrated in FIG. 7 includes as a source of actinic rays an incandescent lamp 88 which generates high intensity light. Behind thelamp is reflector 89 which increases the amount of light passing through lens 90. The lens directs a high intensity beam of light into the open end of tube 70, the light rays passing axially along the tube until they reach mirror 92 which is positioned in the tube in such an angle that it reflects the light beam radially outwardly through the wall of drum 65. There is an opening 93 in the wall of tube at an appropriate location to allow the reflected light beam to pass out of the tube and to reach the drum wall. If desired, a polarizing screen or prism 91 may be used to produce polarized light to reduce the normal diffusion of the light beam.

When the-character on the wall of drum 65 is transparent to light, the image produced on film F when developed is a black image of the character; but it will be realized that if a white or transparent image of the character is desired on film F, then opaque letters on a transparent background may be placed upon the drum wall.

The optical system also includes shutter mechanism S illustrated in FIGS. 8 12. This shutter mechanism constitutes means for intermittently passing the actinic rays to the sensitive sheet material F in timed relation to the other operationsof the composer and for intercepting or shutting off these rays during periods of motion of the matrix or the film.

The simplified shutter construction illustrated comprises an aperture 95 in the wall of housing 96 which encloses the sensitized film F. The film is arranged to close proximity to the inner surface of the wall. On top of wall 96 is a stationary guide 97 which restrains and confines to linear reciprocating motion the two elements of the shutter, slide 98 and mask 99. Both slide 98 and mask 99 are preferably thin strips of metal which are opaque and strong enough to provide a minimum transverse thickness to the shutter elements. These two shutter elements are provided respectively with apertures 98a and 99a which can be brought into registration with each other and with stationary aperture 95 to admitthe light beam from mirror 92 to film F.

As shown particularly in FIG. 8, shutter slide 98 is connected to cable 63 which pulls the slide to the left in FIG. 8. This motion is opposed by return spring 100 which is fastened to the opposite end of shutter slide 98, the spring being anchored to a stationary portion of the frame. Mask 99 is slideably mounted on the shutter between slide 98 and the upper surface of housing wall 96.

At a suitable location, slide 98 is provided with an opening 101 and mask 99 is provided with an upwardly turned tab 102 which projects upwardly through slide opening 101 and by engagement with the ends of opening 101 causes the slide and mask to move in unison.

Assuming that the parts are in the closed position shown in FIG. 8, slide 98 is at the extreme right hand position, being held against stationary stop 104 by spring 100. The motion of the spring in pulling the slide to the right brings the slide into engagement with mask tab 102 at the left hand end of opening 101. In this position, mask opening 99a is in registration with aperture 95; but slide opening 98a is offset therefrom to the right in FIG. 8 and aperture 95 is closed.

As cam 21 rotates to open the shutter, cable 63 pulls slide 98 to the left away from stop 104 until the parts are in the position of FIG. 9 in which the aperture is fully open and film F is exposed. Movement of the slide to the left away from stop 104 brings the right hand end of opening 101 into engagement with tab 102 at the time that aperture 98a has moved into registration with aperture 99a and 95, thus fully uncovering the film beneath aperture 95. During this movement of the slide, mask 99 has remained stationary. Further movement of the slide now causes the slide and mask to move in unison to the left, being pulled by cable 63, until the two elements of the shutter reach the position of FIG. 10 in which aperture 95 is again closed. It will be appreciated that during this forward movement of the slide, the aperture in the slide scans the fixed aperture 95 from right to left and the exposure of the film across the entire aperture 95 has been uniform.

During the return stroke, which occurs during the second half of the revolution of cam 21, tension on cable 63 is relaxed and the slide moves to the right under the pull of spring 100. The direction of movement now of the slide is away from tab 102 on the mask so that the mask remains stationary during the initial portion of the travel of the slide back to its starting position. The mask remains stationary with its opening 99a out of registration with aperture 95 until the left hand end of opening 101 in the slide again engages tab 102, as shown in FIG. 11. By virtue of this engagement, the slide and mask now move in unison to the right during the remainder of the return stroke, which terminates when the slide again engages stop 104. In this position, the parts are now returned to the position of FIG. 8. It will be appreciated that during the second portion of the return stroke from the position of FIG. 11 to the position of FIG. 8, the openings 99a and 98a in the mask and slide respectively are out of mutual registration so that during the return stroke fixed aperture 95 in the film housing is continuously covered and no light is admitted to the film F.

Tab 102 on the mask and the cooperating slot in the slide provide means for moving the slide and mask in unison over the latter portions of the forward and the return strokes, such cooperating means providing positive movement of the mask. At other times, it is desirable that the mask be restrained against movement, particularly uncontrolled movement as might result from frictional drag of one member on the other. Accordingly, it is desirable to provide some type of detent means which holds the mask stationary during periods when positive movement is not desired. Such detent means may take any suitable form; but, as an example of a satisfactory means, it will be seen that in FIG. 12 friction pads 106 are provided at each side of the mask between it and the top of guide 97. Such pads are resilient members and exert sufficient pressure on the mask to eliminate random and undesired movement of the mask.

FILM CARRIAGE ASSEMBLY A supply of suitable sensitized film is provided on spool 110, or other magazine, and means are provided for imparting two independent and distinct movements to the film spool. One movement is to unroll the film from the spool in predetermined increments in order to provide longitudinal spacing between lines of the composition and the other movement translates the spool axially by predetermined increments in order to achieve the lateral spacing required for successive characters in a line of composition. Mechanism and means of this character are shown in FIGS. 15 17.

Film spool is mounted on a carriage indicated generally at 112 and which is moved by means providing the two separate movements to the film. Rotational movement of the film spool is provided by pinion 113 meshing with an elongated drive gear 111. Pinion 113 is preferably mounted on carriage 112 to revolve coaxially with film spool 110 and drives a second pinion 114 that meshes with pinion 115 mounted on a stub shaft 116 rotatably mounted on the carriage. Stub shaft 116 carries film drive sprocket 117 so located that the teeth on the drive sprocket can enter sprocket holes on the film, which may be seen in FIG. 15. Thus, rotation of pinion 113 is transmitted through gears 114 and 115 to film sprocket 117 which engages the film and advances it by definite predetermined increments to unroll the film from spool 110.

The desired motion of pinion 113 is imparted to it by ratchet mechanism shown in FIG. 15, comprising a toothed ratchet wheel 120 mounted on the same shaft 121 that carries elongated drive gear 111. Also pivotedly mounted to turn about the axis of shaft 121 is a swinging arm 122 on the outer end of which is carried pivotedly mounted pawl 123. Connected to pawl 123 is cable 124, the other end of the cable being connected to variable actuator 31 as shown in FIG. 2. Thus periodic movement of cable 124 by the actuator swings arm 122 and pawl 123 around the axis of shaft 121, causing ratchet wheel 120 to rotate in a counterclockwise direction by a predetermined amount during each forward stroke of actuator rod 36 of actuator 31. This rotational movement of ratchet wheel 120 is imparted to the gear 111 and in turn moves the film through the mechanism described immediately above.

Gear 111 is elongated in order to permit continuous engagement between it and pinion 113 during linear travel of carriage 112 parallel to the axis of shaft 121. This linear movement of carriage 112 is produced by rotation of cam 125 which is provided with a spiral cam slot 126 engaged by follower 127 on yoke 128 of the film carriage. Thus, as cam 125 rotates counterclockwise viewed in FIG. 15, follower 127 riding in the spiral slot moves yoke 128 on the film carriage to the right in that figure.

Rotational motion in predetermined increments is imparted to cam 125 which is mounted upon shaft 130, in turn rotatably mounted in suitable bearings, not shown, on the frame of the apparatus. Non-rotatably attached to shaft 130 is toothed ratchet wheel 131 beside which swinging arm 132 is rotatably mounted on the same shaft. The outer end of arm 132 carries a pivotedly mounted pawl 133. Attached to the outer end of arm 132 is cable 135 which is connected to actuator 32 through an offsetting shaft 135a which also may be used to change the mechanical advantage.

When only one type size is used, the connection of cable 135 to the actuator may be direct; but ordinarily it is preferred to make provision for a change in the size of the character spaces in order to accommodate the composer to type fonts of different point sizes since obviously larger type require a larger character spacing than do smaller type. As an example of such a means, there is shown in FIG. 15 bell crank 136 which may be pivotedly mounted in any selected one of a number of positions upon pivot pin 137 in order to change the mechanical ratio or advantage between the two arms and thereby change the actual advance imparted to pawl arm 132 for a given movement of the operating rod of actuator 32. A plurality of pivots 137 can be provided with selection by a mechanism similar to that of a pushbutton radio whereby a selected pin is advanced and all others are automatically retracted at the same time.

At the end of each line of type, it is necessary to return film carriage 112 to the initial or starting position at the left hand end of drive cam'125. This is accomplished by releasing ratchet detent 140 and pawl lock 141 by pulling on cable 142. Pawl 133 is normally directed by guide 141 into a position in which forward movement of the pawl engages the teeth on ratchet wheel 131. Guide block 141 directs pawl 133 against the teeth of ratchet wheel 131 to counteract the tendency of the pawl to move outwardly under centrifugal force when arm 132 advances rapidly. This design of the guide permits high speed movement of the pawl and its arm and at the same time provides for periodic inactivation of the pawl, as will be described. A pull on cable 135 advances ratchet wheel 131 to advance the film from one character to the next, and a spring 135a returns the parts. Similarly, detent 140 is normally spring-biased at 140a to prevent reverse rotation of ratchet 131.

A pull on cable 142 disengages detent 140 from the ratchet and rotates guide 141 so that pawl 133 disengages the ratchet teeth and the ratchet wheel can turn in the reverse or clockwise direction freely. This reverse movement of the ratchet wheel and shaft 130 on which the ratchet wheel is mounted is accomplished at the end of a line of composition by a suitable spring means, for example that indicated diagrammatically at 144 as a coil tension spring anchored at one end to the frame of the apparatus and attached at the other end to cable 145 which is wrapped around shaft 130. Normal forward movement of shaft 130 extends spring 144; but when detent 140 and pawl 133 are released, the pull on the shaft by spring 144 causes the shaft to reverse, thus driving film carriage 112 to the left along cam 125 to the starting position for a new line of composition. The line end release cable 142 may be actuated in various ways. Typically, in a self-contained unit, it is connected to one of the push rods of actuator 34, such as 62c, and actuated in response to an input signal. Alternatively, the line end release cable 142 may be manually operated by connecting it to the carriage return key of a keyboard as disclosed in the patent referred to above.

As shown in FIG. 15, shaft 121 carries at one end bevel gear 148 which meshes with and drives a second bevel gear 149 which is mounted on a shaft that also carries dial 150. Dial 150 is locatedat a position where it is visible'to the operator and serves as a counter or register to indicate the number of lines of typed composition recorded on film F. Dial 150 may be used to manually advance film F. This dial is a visual indicator to enable the operator to determine at any time the particular point in the composition that the machine has reached; and the dial may be combined with an alarm or visual indicator of some type to indicate to the operator when a given number of lines have been composed, for example when the bottom of a page has been reached.

Justifier Justification in typesetting refers to the addition of a small increment to spaces in the line, usually the spaces between successive words in a line of composition, in order to expand the overall length of the line to end it at a predetermined length. The result is that all lines are of substantially equal length in the composition, giving a regular right hand margin. As the line of composition is set up, each word space is also set up between words, the initial length of this space being a so-called normal space. If an operator cannot end a line at the given length of the line, he ends the composition at some point short of the righthand margin, the unused portion of the line being called the remainder." The object of justification is to distribute this remainder equally among all spaces between words in the line in order to make a line of length equal to all other lines in the composition. Accordingly, the increment j to be added to each word space is mathematically equal to the length of the remainder r divided by the number of word spaces n in a given line of composition, or r/n j.

A more detailed discussion of justification and of a suitable mechanism for accomplishing justification is set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 2,887,936 referred to above; and reference may be had to that patent for additional details. The justification mechanism herein disclosed is essentially similar to that disclosed in the patent and the basic features will be described hereinafter. One difference between the present device and that of the patent is that the present justifier mechanism is responsive to an input signal received at the terminal block I, rather than to a memory or storage unit incorporated in the same composer.

The end result of justification is to add to each normal word space a definite increment which is calculated for a particular line of composition. This requires that the film carriage be moved at each word space not only a distance along the line equal to the normal word space width but additionally by the calculated increment appropriate for that particular'line. This is accomplished by mounting word spacing cam and shaft for linear axial movement as well as rotational movement.- To permit such motion without comparable movement of ratchet wheel 131, the ratchet wheel can be connected to shaft 130 by a spline connection allowing for the axial movement of the shaft with respect to the ratchet.

Spring 152 which is anchored at one end to a stationary portion of the frame is connected at the other end to shaft 130, as indicated diagrammatically in FIG. 15. Spring 152 normally urges shaft 130 and cam 125 to the right, which is the directionof travel of carriage 112 during setting the line of composition. This movement of the shaft is resisted by lever 154 which is pivoted at 155 at a fixed position on the frame, one end of the lever riding in collar 156 having a pair of radial flanges and attached to shaft 130. Swinging movement of lever 154 around pivot 155, as will be described later, allows the entire cam and film carriage assembly to move under the influence of spring 152 by predetermined amount to introduce into the carriage travel the justification increment.

The justifier mechanism J is illustrated in FIGS. 19 and 20, its purpose being to calculate mechanically the magnitude of the increment to be added to each word space to justify a line of composition. In FIG. 20, there is illustrated a stack of spiral cams 160 mounted upon shaft 161 to rotate therewith. The number of cams, whether ten or more, is selected to equal the maximum anticipated number of word spaces in a line; and the number ten is merely illustrative. A typical individual cam and the manner of designing the spiral outline are shown in FIG. 20. The active portion of the cam is limited to approximately three-fourths of a circle, or perhaps less. At any point along this active portion the rise of the cam is a physical distance which can be translated into the increment j to be added to the word spaces and is mathematically equal to the remainder distance r divided by the number of word spaces n.

At the beginning of the active portion of the cam, which is located at the top center of FIG. 20, the value of j is at a maximum, since at this point the value of the remainder r is a maximum and is here represented as the total length of 4 ems in the line of composition to be distributed. Mechanically, both the remainder and the justification increment are represented by the radial distance from the active spiral surface to a circle of a radius equal to the maximum radius of the spiral. Progress of composing through the remainder distance is represented by proportional angular movement of the cam, so that by proceeding angularly around the spiral surface of the cam, points are successively reached at which the value of the remainder is reduced from a maximum of 4 ems to 3 ems, then to 2 ems, and so on finally to zero.

Assuming a maximum number of word spaces as 10, the bottom cam of the stack 160 has a spiral surface which represents the value of the justification increments j for a single word space or when n equals one. Since n equals one, r and j are equal and both are represented by the rise of the bottom cam which is the radial distance between a given point on the cam surface and the maximum radius. Progressing upwardly in a stack of cams 160, each cam represents one more word space per line until at the top of the stack, the uppermost cam 160 represents the values of the justification increment j for 10 word spaces in a line. Thus, the plurality of cams in a single stack are capable of representing 10 different sets of values for j for values of n from one to 10. All of the cams are non-rotatably attached to shaft 161 and are given a common orientation so that the zero value on all cams lies along a line parallel to the axis of shaft 161 when spaced from it a distance equal to the maximum radius of the cams.

Shaft 161 is both rotatably and slideably mounted in suitable bearings in the frame of the apparatus. Attached to shaft 161 near the upper end is a linear ratchet 162 having a plurality of axially spaced, peripheral teeth. The axial spacing between these teeth is the same as the axial distance between successive cams 160 and the number of teeth in ratchet 162 is equal to the number of cams 160. Ratchet 162 is non-rotatably attached to cam shaft 161.

Cooperating with ratchet 162 is an actuating pawl 163 which is pivotally mounted on one end of operating lever 164. Lever 164 is pivoted to the frame at a point intermediate its ends and the other end of the lever is attached to cable 166 which in turn is connected to one of the actuators, as to the operating rod 36 of actuator 32. Each pull on cable 166 swings ever 164 in a counterclockwise direction and, with pawl 163 in engagement with ratchet 162, drives shaft 161 and the stack of cams downwardly a distance equal to the spacing between successive cams 160. Spring 167 holds the pawl in engagement with the linear ratchet but allows the pawl to ride over the cams on the return stroke. Reverse movement of the ratchet and stack of cams is prevented by latch 169 which is biased by spring 170 into engagement with the stack of cams to prevent upward or reverse movement. However, latch 169 and ratchet pawl 163 can be disengaged from the linear ratchet by branches of cable 172. The cable 172 is part of the total line end release mechanism and is connected along with cable 142 to variable actuator 34, or to a manually energized button that actuates all the line end release elements. I

Shaft 161 is urged upward in FIG. 19 by coil spring 174 which is interposed between the stack of cams 160 and the frame structure and this spring is compressed by the downward movement of the stack of cams as successive word spaces are placed in the justifier for calculation purposes. This spring serves to return the stack of cams to the upper position at the end of each line so that the cams are in the starting position for the next line.

Rotation of the stack of cams 160 in order to place into the justifier information regarding the length of the remainder r, is accomplished by rack 175 which engages teeth on pinion 176 mounted on shaft 161. Pinion 176 preferably has a spline connection with shaft 161 so that the shaft can move axially with respect to the pinion while the latter maintains engagement with rack 176. Rack 175 is connected at one end by cable to a ratchet mechanism, not shown but similar to those illustrated, and which in turn is connected by a cable to one of the variable actuators, as will be further explained, in order to rotate the stack of cams by a predetermined angular amount after the remainder area on the line has been reached and is entered, the progressive reduction of the remainder being recorded by successive increments of angular movement of the stack of cams by successive actuations of rack 175.

Shaft 161 may also be provided with knob 177 by which the shaft can be manually turned in order to place remainder information by hand into the apparatus. Information regarding the word space count u may be placed in the justifier manually by manual operation of lever 164 or manually depressing shaft 161 against spring 174. This may be done when the composer is connected to a manual keyboard without means for mechanically or electrically transmitting the justification information during typing of a line.

The pull of cable 180 is opposed by return spring 181 which is attached to a stationary anchor point on the frame and to one of end of rack 17S, and by pawl 182 which engages teeth on rack 175. The pawl holds the rack in place after each advance of the rack by cable 180; but at the end of the line when it is desired to restore the stack of cams 160 to the initial starting point for another line of composition, pawl 182 and the associated ratchet mechanism are released by a pull on cable 184 actuated by the line end release mechanism simultaneously with the other mechanisms previously described as being released at the end of a line.

Two different variable actuators normally receive input signals to place in the justifier the necessary information for calculation of the justification increments j, though the information can be inserted or altered manually. Information regarding the length of the remainder area and the word space count may be accepted from various sources. A mechanical memory or storage unit suitable for this purpose is disclosed in my earlier patent referred to above. On the other hand, a magnetic tape or punched tape may be used as a source or memory unit; and in this case, the remainder and word count are put on the tape in coded form by special coding output terminals of a line length gauge, such as is disclosed in detail in my earlier patent. This coded information can then be converted by a reading device into coded electric signals which are transmitted to and received at the input terminals I of the present composer.

Although different channels may be used, the same channels for input signals that are used for character selection can also be used for the remainder and space count information since these particular channels are not necessarily in simultaneous operation. It will be appreciated that the information for justification is inserted into the justifier prior to composing a line of type so these channels are subsequently free for acceptance of signals for character selection after composition of a line is started and the justifier is placed in operation. If this arrangement is followed, the justifier will be operated by the two actuators 33 and 34. Alternatively, actuators 31 and 32 may be used to place the justification information into the means J, since these actuators likewise are available for this duty at the beginning of a line of composition.

Insertion of the remainder and space count information into the justifier J causes the stack of cams 160 to be moved both axially and rotationally to a predetermined point with reference to reader arm 186. Arm 186 is mounted on shaft 187 which is normally urged to the right in FIG. 19 out of engagement with cams 160. The increment j to be added to each word space is shown physically by the movement of reader arm 186 toward shaft 161 from the maximum diameter of the cams into contact with any one of the cams 160. This distance for a typical cam is indicated in FIG. 19 and represents an axial shift of shaft 187 to the left under the influence of solenoid 190.

Shaft 187 is connected to solenoid 190 which is actuated each time a word space signal is received at the matrix in the composer. The response of solenoid 190 to the word space signals moves shaft 187 to the left bringing reader arm 186 into engagement with the cam stack and moving the arm and shaft through the distance j as indicated in FIG. 19. This movement is transmitted by cable 189 to lever 154 of the film carriage shown in FIG. 15. The pull on cable 189 causes angular movement of lever 154 that adds to the movement of film carriage 112 for each space between successive words to increase the length of the word space beyond that amount which is produced by cable 135 alone. When the solenoid is de-energized, shaft 187 is returned by spring 188.

Alternatively, solenoid 190 may be omitted and shaft 187 shifted in response to word space signals by cable connection to one of the cam rods of an actuator 32 or 34, corresponding to rods 52 or 62 of actuator 33.

As mentioned above, any one of the variable actuator units 31, 32, 33, or 34 can be used to perform two functions which are separated in time. This dual duty can be performed by means of a mechanical commutator switch or clutch as shown in FIG. 3.

This commutator switch 195 comprises traveling block attached to the end of cable, as for example cable 58b of actuator 32. The commutator switch comprises a pair of solenoid actuated cable grips 196 and 197. Passing through the block in a position to be gripped by one of the two solenoid operated grippers, are the cables 166 and which respectively actuate the word space counter cams 162 of the justifier unit and the letter spacing drive of the film magazine.

The solenoid actuator grippers 196 and 197 are energized by suitable input signals received at the terminal box I and are energized in a manner so that the commutator switch grips either one of the two cables 166 and 135. In the position shown in FIG. 3, solenoid 197 is energized to grip cable 135 in order to effect movement of the film carriage for spacing the carriage to receive successive characters. By de-energizing solenoid gripper 197 and energizing gripper 196, cable 135 is released and movement of the commutator switch by cable 58b instead causes word space count information to be inserted into the justifier by ratchet 162, 163.

A second commutator switch 195 can be located at actuator 31 in order to selectively connect the actuator to cable 124 of the film drive or cable leading to the justifier unit to introduce remainder data into the justifier. These two functions are carried on at different times and, consequently, a single actuator can be used for both functions.

By using commutator switches to switch an actuator from one function to another, the number of variable actuators required for all functions can be reduced to four, as shown, or even fewer; but the four actuators illustrated easily perform all of the functions with spare movements available if required.

Auxiliary Features When the photo composer illustrated herein is responsive to output signals received from a keyboard as in the patent referred to above, the line length gauge shown in detail in U.S. Pat. No. 2,887,936 can be used to accumulate data regarding the remainder length of the line typed; but such a line length gauge must be modified in order to produce the flexibility in its operation required to match the present instrument. Such a modification is illustrated diagrammatically in FIG. 18.

In this mechanism, the ratchet mechanism indicated generally at 200 corresponds to the operating ratchet turning the input shaft 315 in the line length gauge of the patent. The ratchet is operated by a variable actuator that is a duplicate of actuator 34. Generally speaking, the modification here consists of interposing reversing mechanism and drive disengaging mechanism between the ratchet and the input shaft 201 which is rotated by operation of the ratchet mechanism.

The reversing mechanism comprises a spool with two reverse or opposed bevel gears 202 and 203 slideably mounted on the shaft 204 of the ratchet wheel. Sliding the gear spool along shaft 204 brings one'or the other of the bevel gears 202 or 203 into mesh with pinion 205 on shaft 207 which through gears 206 and 208 drives shaft 201.

The disengagement feature is accomplished by journailing pinion shaft 207 in a pivotally mounted sleeve 209 so that by swinging shaft 207 about the pivotal mounting thus provided, gear 206 can be disengaged from gear 208 on shaft 201. This disengagement is effected at the end of a line of composition typed on the keyboard in order to release the line gauge and permit it to be reset for a new line of composition. Disengagement is effected by a pull on cable 210 which may conveniently be connected to the carriage return key of the keyboard or a line end key, such as shown at 110 in U.S. Pat. No. 2,887,936, which is manually actuated by the keyboard operator at the end of a line.

The reversing mechanism provided by bevel gears 202 and 203 permits the line gauge to be reversed in the event of back spacing in order to correct copy that has been typed on the keyboard. Since operation of the back spacing key of the typewriter or other keyboard actuates the ratchet 200 in the forward manner, it is necessary to drive shaft 201 in the reverse direction to introduce into the line length negative calculations about the back space. For a single space, this would not be much of a problem; but if several spaces are involved, then the correct measure of the line length is required in order to effect justification of the line. This mechanism enables accuracy in justification that is not possible without such mechanism.

An important advantage of the modification of the line length gauge is its application to the procedure referred to as hyphenation. This involves merely ending a line at a syllable without justifying the righthand margin. An example is a system in which the keyboard is not a manual typewriter, as illustrated in my earlier patent, but an automatic typewriter, like a teletype, that has a tape reader and the keys are activated mechanically in response to the tape. The operator then edits the copy received on unjustified tape as it is typed, erasing, correcting spelling, and hyphenating the lines when required, after which the final justified copy is composed in the apparatus described above.

The reversible line length gauge allows the operator at the input typewriter to manually back space a line of composition as required, for any reason but typically to a hyphenation point to insert the hyphen. It may be, and frequently is, necessary to over-run the proper hyphenation point before the point can be established. Such a typewriter with a conventional tape reader as automatic input is commercially available to be the keyboard just described and is substituted in place of and for the typewriter 11 of my patent referred to before.

In order to provide information for the operation of the justifier J as a line is composed on film F, it is necessary to accumulate this information, which involves data regarding line length and the number of word spaces in a line as it is being typed on a keyboard. This information is then inserted into the justifier after theline has been initially typed on the keyboard and before the line is composed on film F. FIG. 21 shows a line length recorder that is capable of providing this information. In a simplified version, it is driven from the line length gauge; and comprises essentially a calibrated dial 215 which is rotatably mounted. It may be driven from shaft 201 of the line gauge and so is shown here as mounted on an extension of that shaft. It can be operated by any mechanism that provides for the variable width of different letters in a font of type. The line gauge shaft rotates dial 215 which is designed to move through a definite angular distance for each line of composition. It may be assumed that the starting position is when arm 216 on the dial is at index 217. As the dial rotates clockwise, it passes a second index or calibration marking 218 which marks entry into the remainder area of the line, the angular distance of this full remainder area being indicated by R.

This remainder distance on the dial is arbitrarily divided into five spaces, at each one of which is one or more electrical terminals indicated collectively at 220 in FIG. 1. These terminals are engaged by dial arm 216 as it sweeps from one space to the next and so at the end of the line, terminals 220 send out coded electrical signals in a binary system when the operator closes an appropriate switch when through typing a particular line on the keyboard. Of course, if a line of composition stops short of the remainder area, no justification is required.

Closing this switch produces input signals which are I transmitted to one of the actuators, and in the case of line length information, the data is inserted into the justifier by movement of rack bar 175.

A similar rotating gauge may be provided to accumulate word space data. The gauge will be the same as the gauge illustrated in FIG. 1, except that equal increments of angular movement of the gauge is provided by each impulse received since the count is merely to accumulate a count of word spaces. Hence, the dial may be rotated by a solenoid driven ratchet instead of a variable actuator. Such a gauge may be assumed to have a dial as shown at 222 in FIG. 22. This figure illustrates a special gauge or calculator that may be added to the composer as an optional feature and illustrates a combination of the dial 215 of the line gauge with dial 222 of the word count gauge.

This special gauge or calculator comprises a pair of concentrically mounted independently rotating discs 225 and 226. The disc 225 is above and over disc 226. Disc 225 may be driven by rotation of word count dial 222 through a gear train indicated diagrammatically in the figure. In a similar manner, line gauge disc 215 rotates the lower disc 226. The upper disc 225 is provided with a window 227 through which is displayed justification information carried on the upper surface of gauge 226.

This special type of calculator is designed to facilitate calculations by an operator to effect approximate justification of a line when not using the more exact justification provided by the unit J of FIG. 19.

One method of justifying a line approximately is to distribute the remainder area unequally between all the word spaces. As a basis for this method of justification, provision is made to sub-divide the remainder area into some arbitrarily selected limited number of units, perhaps between 10 and 20 units. Assume, for example, that the length of the remainder is nine such units and that the line contains seven word spaces. The precise justification for each word space would then involve an increment J equal to 9/7. The approximate method of justification would instead involve distributing the nine spaces in an unequal fashion, for example adding two units to each of the first two word spaces in the line and only one unit to the remaining five word spaces. Thus, a total of nine spaces are distributed among seven word spaces. This arbitrary system is used to avoid very small increments and to simplify the justifying mechanism.

On this basis, the operator can quickly read through window 227 a formula for distribution of units for approximate justification and can then set this information into a justifier. The utility of this arrangement is greatest when the output from this machine is used with a composer not equipped for the more precise justification by the mechanism illustrated above.

Summary of Operation The type composer of the present invention is designed to be operated in response to a plurality of electric pulses received at terminals 1. These pulses constituting input signals which are appropriately coded in order to be compatible with the elements to the composer and which are received over an adequate number of channels, represented by a suitable number of terminals in the terminal block I, to actuate all of the various elements of the composer. This same general mode of operation characterized the type composing apparatus set forth in my earlier patent identified above wherein the electrical pulses were generated by suitable apparatus in response to movement of a mechanical member unit, such arrangement being typical but not limitative upon the source of the input signals.

Alternatively, the signals may be generated by a reader from a memory unit which is physically unrelated to the keyboard, as for example magnetic heads reading magnetic tape which provides the signals received at terminal I. Also, the signals may be transmitted directly from some source, such as a teletype or other circuit transmitting information in electrical pulses.

Assuming that all of the parts of the apparatus are set for the beginning of a line of composition, the first information received and placed into the apparatus is the information from which the justification increment j is calculated. This is accomplished by receipt of the count of the word spaces in the line of type to be composed and which produces movement of the ratchet 162 of the justifier J. Also placed in the justifier J is informa tion regarding the remainder distance r which is to be distributed throughout the word spaces, this being placed into the calculator by movement of rack 175 which rotates the stack of cams 160. With both movements accomplished, the justifier now is ready to read the value of j by movement of reader arm 186 when pulsed by solenoid 190 at each word space in the line of composition.

After this information is set into the justifier, the commutator switches 195 operating cables 166 and 180 are released and re-energized for other duties.

Next, information is received from the input signals for setting the various pins 42 in the four actuators 31 through 34. As a consequence of receiving these signals, the movements desired for each of the operating rods 36 are established. Also, information is received to determine the setting of any of pins 55 of the four variable actuators designed for dual range. Thus, in the case of actuator 33 release of the first pin 55 takes place when an upper case character is to be reproduced.

When all of pins 42 and 55 have been positioned by the input signals which in turn energize solenoids 46, another signal is received which causes the single revolution clutch 14 to engage and rotate shaft 15 through one complete revolution. The several earns 16 through 23 and cranks 25 through 28 are so designed and arranged that in one complete revolution of the cam shaft the parts actuated by these cams and cranks perform their functions in timed sequence to each other, thereby impressing or positioning the image of one character on the film F and subsequently positioning the film in the proper location for the next character.

In order to accomplish this, the first movement is accomplished by actuators 33 and 34 which individually produce a component of the motion of the matrix, the two motions of the matrix combined producing a resultant motion that brings a desired character into a predetermined position with respect to light aperture 95. At the end of this motion, the matrix lock is actuated and by engagement with the teeth on the end of the matrix, positively and rigidly locks the matrix in the proper position during the exposure of the character.

After the matrix is locked into position, the next operation is to open shutter 98 to admit actinic rays through aperture to the film, thus impressing on the film an image of the character which has just been positioned opposite the aperture.

During the return movement of the shutter and the matrix, the film carriage is moved the width of one character space to bring fresh film opposite aperture 95. This movement of the film carriage is accomplished by a pull on cable which is attached to actuator 32.

These operations by the variable actuators are repeated for each character in a line and continue until the specific input signal is received which indicates that the end of a line has been reached. This signal actuates the several line and release mechanisms which operate to restore the parts to the initial positions that they should occupy at the beginning of a line and also to operate actuator 31 to which cable 124 is connected thereby advancing film F for a full line of composition.

The foregoing description is that of a preferred embodiment of the invention utilizing mechanical elements. It will be apparent that various changes may be made without changing the principle of the invention or departing from the scope of it. For example, power during the work or advance stroke of any of the elements may be derived directly from power generated by cam shaft 15; and in thiscase, the parts generally return by energy stored in a return spring. However, this operation can in most instances be reversed and the energy stored in the spring can be utilized to accomplish the advance working stroke while the return of the parts are accomplished by energy from shaft 15. Such reversals in structure are well known.

Similarly, many changes may be made in the substitution of electrically actuated components for the mechanically actuated components herein illustrated. In this case, it will be obvious that energy may be produced operating the components by solenoids or other electrical elements and that the movements herein employed to pull on cables or to push on rods may be employed to close switches which in turn energize the electrical elements. All of these, as well as many other changes and modifications in the structure described above are considered to be within the scope of the present invention; and, accordingly, the foregoing description is considered as being illustrative of, rather than limitative upon, the invention as defined by the appended claims.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for composing a column of characters on sheet material, comprising in combination:

connector means for connecting the apparatus to a source of coded signals to receive input signals; motor means;

a matrix carrying a plurality of characters and mounted movably to bring a selected character thereon into a predetermined position;

a sensitized sheet on which characters are to be recorded;

a source of actinic rays associated with the matrix to create on the sensitized sheet an image of a character at said predetermined position;

a plurality of variable actuators operatively connected to the matrix, each actuator including:

an operating first member mounted for longitudinal reciprocating movement;

a lever pivotally mounted on the operating first member;

a power input including a second member moving over a uniform path of travel having a component of motlon proportional to the movement of the first member;

a resillent connection between the first member and the second member urging the first member into contact with the second member;

variable positiOning means operable to limit travel of the first member to one of a plurality of selected locations;

said positioning means including a plurality of stops;

and

means for individually moVing selected stops to limit the travel of the operating first member.

2. Apparatus as in claim 1 in which the motor means has a continuously rotating output shaft and the drive means includes a rotatable shaft with a crank for each actuator and a single revolution clutch periodically driving the shaft in responSe to an input signal.

3. Apparatus as in claim 1 in which the stops are pins arranged in two parallel rows with the operating first member between the rows.

4. Apparatus as in claim 1 which also includes a shutter means interposed between and in close proximity to the matrix and the sensitized sheet,

the sheet and the matrix being sufficiently close together that the actinic rays reach the sheet with substantially no diffusion after leaving the matrix.

5. Apparatus as in claim 1 that also includes:

carriage means shifting the sheet laterally to record successive characters in a row on the sensitized sheet;

line justifying means including means to receive remainder information;

an additional variable actuator normally operatively connected to the carriage means to shift the sheet in response to one input signal;

and means responsive to a remainder input signal to disconnect the additional actuator from the carriage and connect the actuator to the justifying means to introduce remainder Information to the justifying means.

6. Apparatus as in claim 1 that also includes:

carriage means associated with the sheet for advancing the sensitized sheet;

an additional variable actuator normally operatively connected to the carriage means to advance the sheet in response to an input signal;

line justifying means including means to receive word-space count information;

and means responsive to a word-space count input signal to disconnect the additional actuator from the sheet advancing carriage means to connect to the actuator the justifying means to introduce word-space count information into the justifying means.

7. An apparatus as in claim 1 in which the power input second member is a rotatably mounted member.

8. An apparatus as in claim 1 wherein each actuator also includes a plurality of cables each leading to an object to be moved;

and commutator clutch means selectively connecting one of the cables to the operating first member for actuation thereby.

9. An apparatus as in claim 1 wherein each actuator unit also includes output means connected to the operating first member and independently movable to pro vide a plurality of ranges of output movement, said output means comprising:

a sheave;

means mounting the sheave for bodily movement between a plurality of positions;

a cable attached at one end to the operating first member and engaging the sheave to turn the sheave in response to movement of the operating first member relative to the sheave; and

a second cable engaging the sheave and anchored at one end at a fixed position, said second cable being attached to an object to be moved in response to the combined linear travel of the sheave and the operating first member; and

means shifting the output means between selected positions to select a range of output movements.

Claims (9)

1. Apparatus for composing a column of characters on sheet material, comprising in combination: connector means for connecting the apparatus to a source of coded signals to receive input signals; motor means; a matrix carrying a plurality of characters and mounted movably to bring a selected character thereon into a predetermined position; a sensitized sheet on which characters are to be recorded; a source of actinic rays associated with the matrIx to create on the sensitized sheet an image of a character at said predetermined position; a plurality of variable actuators operatively connected to the matrix, each actuator including: an operating first member mounted for longitudinal reciprocating movement; a lever pivotally mounted on the operating first member; a power input including a second member movIng over a uniform path of travel having a component of motIon proportional to the movement of the first member; a resilIent connection between the first member and the second member urging the first member into contact with the second member; variable positiOning means operable to limit travel of the first member to one of a plurality of selected locations; said positioning means including a plurality of stops; and means for individually moVing selected stops to limit the travel of the operating first member.

2. Apparatus as in claim 1 in which the motor means has a continuously rotating output shaft and the drive means includes a rotatable shaft with a crank for each actuator and a single revolution clutch periodically driving the shaft in responSe to an input signal.

3. Apparatus as in claim 1 in which the stops are pins arranged in two parallel rows with the operating first member between the rows.

4. Apparatus as in claim 1 which also includes a shutter means interposed between and in close proximity to the matrix and the sensitized sheet, the sheet and the matrix being sufficiently close together that the actinic rays reach the sheet with substantially no diffusion after leaving the matrix.

5. Apparatus as in claim 1 that also includes: carriage means shifting the sheet laterally to record successive characters in a row on the sensitized sheet; line justifying means including means to receive remainder information; an additional variable actuator normally operatively connected to the carriage means to shift the sheet in response to one input signal; and means responsive to a remainder input signal to disconnect the additional actuator from the carriage and connect the actuator to the justifying means to introduce remainder Information to the justifying means.

6. Apparatus as in claim 1 that also includes: carriage means associated with the sheet for advancing the sensitized sheet; an additional variable actuator normally operatively connected to the carriage means to advance the sheet in response to an input signal; line justifying means including means to receive word-space count infOrmation; and means responsive to a word-space count input signal to disconnect the additional actuator from the sheet advancing carriage means to connect to the actuator the justifying means to introduce word-space count information into the justifying means.

7. An apparatus as in claim 1 in which the power input second member is a rotatably mounted member.

8. An apparatus as in claim 1 wherein each actuator also includes a plurality of cables each leading to an object to be moved; and commutator clutch means selectively connecting one of the cables to the operating first member for actuation thereby.

9. An apparatus as in claim 1 wherein each actuator unit also includes output means connected to the operating first member and independently movable to provide a plurality of ranges of output movement, said output means comprising: a sheave; means mounting the sheave for bodily movement between a plurality of positions; a cable attached at one end to the operating first member and engaging the sheave to turn the sheave in response to movement of the operating first member relative to the sheave; and a second cable engaging the sheave and anchored at one end at a fixed position, said second cable being attached to an object to be moved in response to the combined linear travel of the sheave and the operating first member; and means shifting the output means between selected positions to select a range of output movements.

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