US993189A - Type-writer. - Google Patents

Description

C. .OLIVETTL 'TYPE WRITER. Anmonzdx rLnnrnB.1s, moe.

'rammed may `23 1911.

C. lOIIIVETTI.

TYPE WRITER. APPLIoA'rIoH riLBD rmi. 1a, 190'.

Patented May 23, 1911.

4 sums-exu1 a.

iwf/270x M o m s 96226K @2v/MM TYPE WEITER.

PPLIog'rIoH FILED H1B. 1a. 190e.

Patented May 23, 1911.4

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

CAMILLO oLrvETTr, or Ivana, ITALY.

TYPE-WRITER.

11o all whom 'it may concern:

.. -Be it known that I, CAMILLO Omvn'i'ri, a

subject of the King of Italy, residing at Ivrea, Italy, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Type-lVriters, ot'

which the following is a specification.

My present invention relates to improvements in typewriters and more especlally to the class wherein the type strike the front of the platen so as to renderl the 'writing' visible, and it has for its object primarily to provide an improved mechanism for actuating the ty ie-bars from the keys whereby' a light, rapi and uniform touch is secured and a.good alinement of the type is maintained.

Another object of the invention is to provide springs for uickly restoring the typebars to initial position without, however, apprecably increasing the initial blow requi site in throwing thetype-bars into'printing position, such springs being mounted in an improved manncrw ercby the results stated Imay be obtained and, moreover, the tension of such springs may be readily adjusted.

Further objects of the invention are to provide a yielding connection between the type-bars and their actuating keys whereby an elastic touch of thekeys may be secured, a spring being preferably used a part of whichserves as an operating crank, to provide an improved means for'mounting the type 4rest whereby rebounding of the typebars after returning to initial osition is eliminated or reduced to a minimum and, furthermore, to provide a simple and im-y proved 'bearing for the type-bar pivots whereby such bearings ma, be readily adf justed without the necessity of removing either the type-barsor their bearings from the machine.

With these and other objects in view, the linvention consists 1n certain improvements in the construction ofthe parts and in .the

combinations 4and relative arrangements.

motion from the key to the type-bar, one of the type-bars at the left hand side of the ,e beingshown this re and the typeieshown 1n printing position; Fig. 2 is Specication of Letters Patent.

Application tiled February 18, 1909. Serial No..478,581.

' chine embodying Patented Fig. l; Fig. 3 is a detail view showing one of the countershafts provided with a spring which is interposed as a connect-ion between Y showing a modified form of the key action;

Fig. (l is a diagrammatic view showing the relative arrangement. of the keys and their shafts, the countershaftsy and the typebars that are actuated therefrom, the key actions in this figure corresponding to the construe? May 2.3.1911.

a side elevation of the mechanism shown in tion shown in Figs. l and 2; Fig. 7 repre# I sents a vertical section of a typewritin Inathe present invention s owing especially t e bearings for the t -bnr pivots and the retractingsprings; ig;l 8V and 9 are detail sectional views of theA rings for the pivots ofthe ty bars; Fig. 10 is a diagrammatioview simi ar to Fig. 6, the relative arrangement of the key mechanism in this figure corresponding to that shown in Figs. 4 and 5; and Fig. 11 represents` avertical section through a typewriter where-` in the key action is similar to that. shown in Figs. 4 and 5 and the position of the bear.- ings for the type-bars is reversed.

Similar' parts are designated by the same reference characters in the several. views.

In the accompanying drawing, I have shown certain embodiments of the invention. It will be understood, however, that these embodiments are shown merely as examples. I have also shown the key action as applied to the so called Standard Key --Board wherein each typebarisprovided with two i characters, .the proper character 'being brought into printing position by a vertice shifting movement of the platen. It will be understood,'however, that the invention is not limited to a machine of this specific class as the invention is capable of use in connection with machines having key-boards 'of various kinds. As the platen carria. the shifting mechanism therefor and e ribbon mechanism form no part of the presxent invention, they are not herein illustrated, it being necessary only to illustrate the platen, the operation of machines ofthe class illustrated being, well understood by,

those skilled in the art.

In all of the figures wherein the platen ap ears,it is designated re erence character P.

generally by the.'

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, usarse In that form of the invention shown in Figs. 1 and 2, I have illustrated one of the kev actionswhich is arranged toward the left hand side Aof the machine, 1 indica-ting the linger key which has a stem 2 the lower end of whichis pivotally connected to the outer end of a crank 3, the latter being fixed to a shaft 4 the axis' of which extends in a direction from the front toward the back of the machine, and the ends of this shaft are provided with a pair of journals 5 by means of which such shafts may be mounted 1n appropriate bearings. A crank y6 is lixed also onthe shaft 4 toward its rear end and to this latter crank is connected a rod 7, the upper end of this rod being pivotally attached to a crank 8 which is xed toward the forward end of a countershaft 9, the latter having a pair of journals 10 on its opposite ends whereby it may be rotatably mounted in appropriate bearings. At the rear end of the cuintershaft 9 is xed a lever 11 which is bent so as to extend not only radially of the may overhang and clear the bearing which supports the rear end of this shaft 9. A connecting rod 13 has a loose or universal connection at its lower end to the crank pin 1 2 and the upper end of this rod 13 is pivotally connected at 14 to the type-bar 15, the' latter being mounted to turn about the pivot 16 as an axis as it swings to and from printing position. This type-bar carries a type-block 17 on 'its free end which bears ap ropriate characters, .the printing operation eing, of course, well`understood. A tension spring 18 is attached at one end to the pin 19 on the type-bar audits opposite end is fixed as at 20, the tension of the spring acting to restore the type-bar to its initial position.

Any suitable form of key-board may be used, the stem -2 of each key in t-he present instance being guided to operate through an aperture 21 formed in a plate 22 which is appropriately attached to the .frame of the machine.`

Normally, the keyis in its upper position, the type-bar under the combined action of its own weight and the tension of the spring 18 occupying an approximately horizontal position toward the front of the machine,A

each type-bar being supported on a rest which, in the present instance, consists of a metal strip 24 which is covered by a Vcushion 25 which cushion is lled with sand or some other non-elastic substance. In order to eliminate or reduce to a minimum a re boundingv of the type-bars, the ends of the strip 24 A.rest upon a pair of inwardly pro- Jectlng brackets 2'6 which maybe formed of integrally cast lugs on the frame of the .machlne: This strip 24 merely rests'on the rcspective brackets so that the impact between the t -bars and the cushion maybe absorbed. placement of the rest, a shouldered screw 27 is tapped into each bracket 26'and extends looselyw through an enlarged aperture which is formed in the end of the strip 24 so that owever, in order toprevent dis` the rest is free to vibrate or move in all directions.4 l 2 thereof transmits movement to, the crank 3, causing a corresponding rotation of the When a key is depressed, the stem shaft 4 and crank 6 thereon, adownward,

movement of the connecting rod 7, and a turning movement of the crank `8 and the countershaft 9. This shaft 9 is parallel to the shaft4 but is placed in such a position Vthat the pivot pin 12 on the crank 11 occupies such an angular position about the axis of the shaft 9 as to cause it to remain approximately in the same plane in which'the type-bar 15 moves, or ina plane parallel thereto so that no appreciable side thrust is sustained by the type-bar while being swungy of movement ot'4 the center pivot 14 should. i

be substantially perpendicular to the crank 11 while the latter is in its intermediate position, that is to say, rotating through half of the angle B and, moreover, the type-bar should swing in a plane substantially' parallel to the axis of the shaft'Q. Moreover,

the axis of the pivot 14 should be odset fromv the axis of the shaft 9 a distance somewhat less than they length in perpendicular'pro-4 jection of the crank 11. The angle C through which the type-bar swings. 1s approximately 99, and the pivot 14must be so placed that the chord of the are described i by it is approximately in line with the are described by the center of the crank in 1.2. l

The connecting rod 13 is preferablyA ong as compared with the radii of the arcs de- .i scribed by the pivot 14 and the rank pin 12. Rotation of the shaft9 will operate through the crank 11 and the pin 12 thereon to push the connecting rod13 upwardly, but owing to the arcs-throu h which its upper and lower ends move, 1tA will have approximately a rectilinear movement.l However, in order to permit this movement of the connecting rod 13, the crank pin 12 and the pivot 14 may be of spherical form or they may be loose, and the upward movement of this connecting rod pushes the typebar 15 upwardly around its pivot 16 as a center and the appropriate character on the type-block is thereb l l caused to strike the ribbon and produce e impression upon the paper lying againstI the platen.

. In order to lighten the-,touch of the keys, .-5 gne. o f the cranks 3, 6, 861211, instead of bel ing'rigldly xed to its shaftmay be formed as the part of a spring which in turn is fixed to the'respectiye shaft. In the resent instance, a spring 8 is shown in Fig. 3 which takes the place of the ri id crank 8 in Figs. 1 and I.2. This spring as a body portion v which loosely enclrcles the shaft' 9, one end being adjustably fixed theretob a collar 8" and its opposite endextends radially of the shaft 9 andy forms a crank which is ivotally connected to the rod 7. The col ar 8" is provided with a set-screw whereby the angular position ofthe spring around its shaft and the tension thereof may be adjusted as desired. f

In Figs. 1 and I2, the crank 11 is so placed as to actuate the type-bar by a pushing action. The same result, however, can be ob- *tained4 by reversing the position of' the reversing the position of the pivot 14 with respect to the axis of rotation of the typebar in which case `the Atype-bam would be moved into printing position byfa pulling action from the crank 1l. Such a construction 'isl sh'own in and `5 of the draw-- ing, the-construction in this instance being identical with that shown in Figs. 1 and 2, except that the position of the crank 8 is reversed, the pivot 'lll-which connects the rod 13 to thevtype-b r is placed at the opposite side of the piv al axis ofthe type-bar, and Vthe positionof'the retracting spring 18 is correspondingly reversed. As the corre- 40 spohding'parts in the two constructions rare illustrated bythe same reference chara ters,

it is thought that the rearrangement of thev parts just mentioned can bereadily understood.

ative arrangement of the type-bars, the countershafts which operate themVand the shafts which in turn are operated by the keys. In the drawing, the diagram corresponds to a machine having forty-two keys, the character 1 representing the type-bar at the extreme left hand side of the machine, the :character l representing the countershaft )from which this particular typebar is actuated, and 'the character 1 representing the shaft from which the conntershaft l and thevtype-bar 1 are nperated l By reference 'to the similar characvters, Athe countershaft, the type-bar connected thereto, and their corresponding main operating shaft may all be determined. In this figure, certain of. the connections between the type-bars, countershafts and the keys are shown A,diagrammatically 'and in the Vposition they occupy illustrated, and Figs. S and 9 show in detail :bears against aside of the flange 28, a screw crank 8 with respect to the shaft 9 and also` Fig.. 6 shows diagramm'atically the :frel- :pending plate 3,6 which is when the type-barsl are in normal or inoperative position, and one of the type-bars 'is shown in its actnatedor printing position. ln Fig. 7, I have shown a section of a machine wherein two complete actions are an improved forni of bearing wherein the pivots of the type-bars are mounted. The pivotv 16 of cach type-bar is conical at its ends in order to insure a proper centerin thereof and adjustmjent in its bearing, an

this pivot carries a flange 28 which `is formed rigidly thereon. The type-bar is slipped over one Vend of the pivot 16 Vand 29 serving to secure theV t pe-bar to the flange. A nut 30 is also t readed on the 'pivot 16 and coperates with the type-barto lock it in fixed relation to'this ange. The bearings for the type-bars cach consists of a pair of plates 31 which are arranged in opposed relation and they are secured by screws, rivets or other appropriate means, screws 132 being shown in the present instance, to a block 33. The outer or free ends of the plates 31 are provided -with conical recesses in which the cone-shaped ends of thc pivot 16 of the type-bar, are flitted, and a right and left hand screw 32 connects the.;plates' 31 anda proper fitting of the conef'shaped'ends of thep1vot'16`in the two bearing plates may be obtained by lappropriate adjustment of the screw 32..

The 'blocks 33 of tthe vurioustype-bar bearings may be. secured by screws or other appropriafe `means to a supporting plate 34,

and by using a type-bar bearing sut-,hy as that just described, it is possible to adjust the pivots of the various type-barseasily Y and without'the necessity of removin the tyBpe-bars or the bearings from the mac "ne T is supportingplate 34 is arc-shaped in oltder that the type-bars may be so larranged .as to operate 'in radial planes to, enable `the uw type thereon to strike at theisame point, and this supporting, plate 34 also carries a deseries of radiall slots 37. ithin slots areslidably mounted screws or other ap-l propriatedevices 2O which carry; hooks to which the lower ends of the springs 18 are attached. As one of these slots 37 is pro. lvided for each pair of type-bars and is arranged substantially parallel to the plane in which the type-bar swings, Athe tension-of the springs of the various type-bars may be easily adjusted by sl ing the respective spring attaching devi e 20 upwardly or dows'iwardly within its -hppropriateslota 'In order to enable all 'of the type-bars to y be accommodated in the limited space prorovided with a vided and in such a manner that the type- 20 i toward the rear as/,shown in Fig. 7, this supbeing staggered or arranged alternately with respect to those in the other row, and in order to insure .a proper positioning of the' /type-bars both with respect to the platen Aandthe rail or rest uponI which they lean while in a normal inoperative position, the

axes about which the type-bars swing are arranged in rows which coincide with the periphery of an imaginary cone having an.

vangle of approximately 45, the axis of the cone near its base coinciding with the point upon which the type-bars strike the platen.

j Although the type-bars are of two different proper point.

lengths, such a disposition of their axes will cause them both to strike the platen at the` proper point and to engage the rest at the In Fig. l1, the supporting plate 34% for the bearings of the type-bars is arranged ltoward the front of the machine instead of port being ,of curved form and the yaires 16 of the type-bars beingarranged in substantially the same manner as those shown in Fig. 7. In F ig. ll, the type-bars are elevated by a pulling action from the cranks 1l and, in this construction, connecting rods 13 are shown. The retracting springs for .the type-bars are so located and attached type-bar is in its normal retracted position the tension of the spring acts approximately in -line with the pivotal center of the bar, or

to the respective type-bars that While each` nesses'l saaie@ y front strike or visible writingv type wherein the movement is transmitted uniformly between r-all the keys and the respective typebars, irrespective of whether such bars ar located at the centeror toward either side of the machineV and, moreover, no varying side motion is transmitted to any'of the l type-bars, but on the other hand, the motion is transmitted substantially in the plane inl which the respective type-bar swings. The

touch of all thekeys is therefore uniform, light, and the type-bars remain in alinement. The improved. form ofbearing for type-bars, moreover, rovides for an adjust ment to compensate or wear which adjust'- ment can be made easily and without removing either the type-bar jor its bearing from the machine.. v

I claim as my invention In a typewriter having a series of independent typelever's, means for transmitting movement from each linger key to its corre i spondingtype lever embodying two parallel shafts, the first 'shaft being operatively connected to the finger key and the second shaft being connected to the first shaft by cranks on said shafts and a connecting rod, the

second shaft being operatively connected to the type lever through another crank on said shaft and a connecting rod,the arrangenientbeing such that the second Shaft is arranged parallel with the plane in which the type lever oscillates and at such a distance therefrom that the connecting rod which operates the type lever moves substantially in the plane of oscillation of the type lever,

substantially as and 'for the purpose set forth.` f

lIn testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of two subscribing witcAMiLLo oLiv'Err'ri.

Witnesses GIAooMo LABRUNa', GIACOMO PAGNANI.

ais-Il

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