US998861A - Type-writing machine. - Google Patents

Description

H. H. STEELE.

TYPE WRITNG MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED 00T. 5,1910.

998,861, Patented July 25, 1911.

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HERBERT E. STEELE, or MAEGELLS, NEW vom, .essienon To THE Monarca TYPE- WRITEE COMPANY, E sYRacUsE, NEW YORK, A coaroaarroiv or' NEW YORK.

cesser.

Specication of Letters Patent. yajtentd July 25, 191i.

Application ledctober 5, 1910. Serial No. 585,424.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that l, HERBERT H. STEEIE, citizen of the United States, and resident oi Marcellus, in the county of Onondaga and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful mprovements in Ty e- `Writing Machines, of which the followlng is a specification.

My invention -relates to typewriting machines and more particularly to attachments for facilitating the operation of the tabulator.

" My invention has for its principal object to provide an improved attachment comprising an auxiliary key for operating the tabulator, said key being ada ted to be operated by the palm or fiat part o the hand without the necessity of removing the fingers from the printing key-board.

My invention is in the nature of an improvement upon one invented by Jacob Felbel, and it consists in the improved'construction of attachment shown and hereinafter described and claimed.

ln the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation, partly in. vertical section,

of a typewriti'ng machine having my improved attachment mounted thereon. Fig. 2 is a rear elevation, partly in section, of part of the tabulator mechanism. Fig. 3 is afront elevation, partly in section, and showing my attachment in position on the machine.

My invention is here shown applied to a Monarch typewriter, the main frame of which comprises a base 1 having a forward extension that incloses the key-board', said extension including a side bar 2. The posts 3, top plate 4, standards 5', stationary rails 6, carriage 7, feed rack8,feed pinion 9 and escapement are all of the ordinary Monarch construction, said feed rack being as usual capable of being lifted out of mesh with the pinion 9 in order to release the carriage for a free run under the impulse of the spring drum, which last is not shown. The tabulator is also of a well-known construction and comprises a column stop bar 11 mounted on arms 12 projecting from the carriaoe 7 and having column stops 13 adjustaby mounted thereon. These column stops are adapted to be engaged by an eagle-claw stop 14 which 1s pivoted at 15 to a bracket 16 secured to the upper stationary rail 6 about the middle of the mnclamped to the typewrlter frame.

chine: y rlhis eagle-claw or stationary. stop 1s normally held by a spring 17in the posltlon shown in Fig. 1 where it is out of the path of the column stops 13. rEhe stop 14 is adapted to be moved into the path of the stops 13 by means of a push bar 18 projectmg upward from` a rack lifter 19, the stem of which is operated in the usual way by a iever pivoted to the underside o the top plate 4. Said lever is operated by a vertical pulllink 2l connected at'-'its lower end to a bell crank 22 pivoted to the right-hand rear post 3, and said bell crank isin turn operated Iby a long push rod 23 extending toward the front of the machine where it carries a push key 24. The rack lifter 19 has ears that lie beneath the feed rack Sand the construction is such that when the key 24 is pushed toward the rear of the machine, said rack lifter` and the push bar 18 are moved upward, lifting the rack out of engagement with the pinion and moving the stop 14 into the path of the sto s 13.

My attachment comprises a rame or supporting plate 25 whichis mounted on the main frame of the machine in sucha way that it can be secured to the` frame of the typewriter without any modification of said fra'me. In mounting my attachment on the particular machine shown in the drawing, this plate is secured to the right-hand side bar 2 of the forward extension of the typewriter frame. The support 25 consists of a plate of metal stamped out' in the form shown and having on its upper part an ear or projection 26 which is bent around so as to conform to the curvature of the upper edge 4of the baiI 2. At its lower end the plate `25 projects slightly below the lower edge of the lbar 2 and has threaded therethrough two screws 27, each of which is' provided with a conical washer 28. These screws and washers are so disposed that the conical or beveled surface of each washer engages the lower edge of the bar 2 in such Vfashion as not only to clamp the lower part of the plate j 25 tightly against the side of said bar 2 but alsoA so as to draw the curved projection 26 down into tight, binding engagement with the upper edge .of the bar 2. By tightening these screws 27 the late 25 is 'firmly It will be seenthat the attachment of this plate is the work of a very short time.

An angled key lever 30, preferably .made

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of sheet metal,is pivoted to the plate 25,011 a pivot 3l. At its forward end the'leve'r 30 is bent off at the left to form a key- 32, which key overlies the top of the frame bar 2. This key has an upper surface considerably larger than that of an ordinary finger key and it is designed tobe struck by the palm of the hand. Downward motion of the key 32 is limited by a buffer 33 adapted to strike .against the topof .the bar 2 and preferablyA -front of the tabulator key 24. The construction is such that when the key 32 is depressed the slot 35 therein moves to the front of the machine, thus moving the upper end of the lever 37 toward the rear of the machine and operating the key 24. The. upper end of said lever 37 is normally in contact with the key 24 vand it is that fact that keeps the movable parts of the attach- ,ment tin the normal position shown in Fig.

1, said key 24 being normally. pressed toward the frontfof the machine by the spring 17 of the tabulator.

However, an additional returning spring may be connected with one of the levers 30 or 37 of the attachmentif needed or desired.

A pin 39 projects from the plate 25 into position to arrest the return motion of the key lever 30. The plate 25 is also formed with a finger 40'whichis offset, as shown in Fig. 3, so asl to constitute a guide for said key lever 30 to resist any tendency of the forward end of said lever to be moved toward the right when the key is operated.

An attachment of this character has been found to expedite considerably the execution of work involving a frequentfoperation of the tabulator.v For example, some railroad billing work consists of sheets of paper that v are rather wide in a right yand left-hand direction andl on said sheets many short items are written 1n a number of columns. In

doing this work the tabulator is in constant demand. With an attachment of this .char-V acter on the machine the-operator can writean item and with the palm or edge of his hand can depress the key 32 to operate the tabulator without removing his nge'rs from the printing key-board. Even while holding the auxiliarytabulator key depressed the fingers of the right-hand are poised over the printing keys 4l ready for activity the instant the carriage is arrested 4by the tabulator stop. It has been found in practice that the attachment adds considerably to the speed of this and other similar work.

A device of this same general ,character is shown in the application of Jacob Felbel above referred to but the present device is an improvement on that shown in said application. In that form of the Felbel invention in which a depressible auxiliary key is employed, the detachable frame extends around` and back of the downward prolongatior42 of the forward post 3, and in securing it to the frame it interferes with the use of the base-board clamp. `It will be noted that when the screws 27 are loose the present device can be adjusted in a front and back direction, with the clamp in adjusted position, by tightening the screws. This could not be accomplished by theFelbel device referred to. Moreover, the present device employs fewer moving parts and has a neater and more compact organization.

The key 32 is situated forward of the pivot 31 and above said pivot but it is considerably more forward of the pivot than it is above it, and said key is operated by depressing it. It seems not improper therefore to refer to the key-bearing arm of said lever as an approximately horizontal lever arm.

The key 24 has a tubular stem 43 that is threaded onto the rod 23, and a check nut 44 is tightened up againsttheend of said stem. Thefauxiliary key 32 can be timed to the motion of the tabulator key, by screwing the stem 43 in or out on the rod 23.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is v 1.*An attachment for atypewriter provided with a tabulator mechanism, said attachment comprising an angle key lever having an upright arm and an upright subllever connected to said upright1 arm and adapted to actuate said `tabulator mechanis 2. An attachment for a 'typewriting machine provided with a tabulator mechanism,

connected to said upright arm of the angle lever by a pinpandslot connection, the upper end-of the sub-lever. being adapted to actuate the tabulator.

3. In a typewriting machine, ythe combinationl withl a tabulator mechanism having a part actuated by a finger of the operator, of a main angle lever having a substantially horizontal key-bearing arm and an upright arm, and an upright sub-lever of the Ifirst order having its lower arm coupled to the angle lever by a pin and slot connection.

@caser nation with a tabulator mechanismV having 'a main actuating device, of an auxiliary actuating mechanism therefor comprising a key bearing angle lever and a sub-lever coupled to the angle lever at one end and adapted at its other end to actuate said tabulator mechanism.

5. ln a typewriting machine, the combination with a tabulator mechanism, Yof a plate or bracket detachably secured to a side bar of the'base frame ofthe machine, a key bearing anglelever pivoted to said plate, and an upright sub-lever of the irst order also pivoted to said plate and 4coupled to the angle lever by a pin and slot connection.

G. An attachment for a typewriter having printing keys and a tabulator with a push key, said attachment comprising in combination a support consisting of a plate curved to ft over the top of the frame bar of the typewriter and having two' screws provided lwith beveled washers to engage the under edge of said frame bar to clamp the plate in place, an angled key lever pivoted to said plate and having an upstanding arm and an approximately horizontal arm, the lat- .ter carrying a key with a large surface adapted to be operated by the palm of the hand, an upright lever iof the rst order pivoted to said plate and having at its lower end a pin-and-slot connection with the upright arm of said key lever and having its upper` end adapted to operate said'tabulator push key, a guide nger formed on said supporting plate, and a stop on'said supvporting plate for said key lever.

Signed at Syracuse, in the county of Onondaga, and State of New York, this 3rd day of October A. D. 1910.

HERBERT H. STEELE.

Witnesses:

ELLEN M. LONG, FRANCIS B. SAMMONSJ

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