Patent GB-191015372-A (GB)
Title: Type Casting and Composing Machine.
Inventor: NICHOLAS WILLIAM
IPC: B41B7/00
Filed: 1910-06-27
Granted: 1911-06-27
Abstract: 15,372. Nicholas, W., and Ackermann, W. June 27. Single-type composing and casting mechines. -The composition is set from a keyboard on a series of independent controller-members, the member for controlling the justification being set last and then transferred to the casting- apparatus ahead of the other members, these acting to cast the characters in order of composition. The casting-apparatus comprises a matrix-plate and a justifier of the kind described in Specification 23,684/94, the justifier, according to the present invention, being arranged so that the justification is distributed to the space quads in amounts which are factors of a selected unit of set width, in such a manner that only two sizes of quads occur in a line or a justified section of a line, these sizes varying only by a single unit; further the space quads have the same possible variation in size, namely from four to sixteen units, as the characters. The machine is electrically controlled throughout. Keyboards and driving-mechanism.-(1.) The controller, Figs. 10, 11, and 15, comprises a number of independent spindles 66, each provided with three friction collars 59, which may be set from the keyboard. The spindles are mounted, as by rollers 68, on tracks carried by the frame-plates 61, 62, and are fed through a setting-device A and thence pass over a series of contacts 150, which are in the circuits of the casting-apparatus. The spindles are stacked in the track 50, and are fed one at a time by means of an escapement comprising pallets 71 on levers 72 which are rocked by means of a toothed wheel 89 which is engaged by a pawl. The pawl is given an idle stroke by an electro- ,magnet 79, and is returned to operate the wheel by a spring 85. The setting-device comprises stops 95, Fig. 15, formed on slides which are mounted in a frame 100 and are connected to the armatures 105 of a series of electro-magnets 108. The side - collars 59 are adapted to be moved outwards along the spindles by means of dogs 114 carried by slides 116, which may be moved in opposite directions bv means of levers 119 which are connected to bell-crank levers 122 forming the armatures of electro - magnets 124, 124'. The magnets 124, 124<1> are larger than the stop-magnets 108, and are slower in action so that the stops are projected before the collars are moved. The left-hand and the right-hand collars are respectively termed " individual " and " row " collars as they operate at the contacts 150 to select the individual matrix in the selected row of the matrixplate. The middle collar 59 is for a function described below, and, when required, is moved to a position determined by a fixed stop 113 by means of the lever-armature 109 of an electromagnet 112. The spindles after being set are released by the escapement 72, and are then discharged into one of the tracks or magazines 51, 53, Fig. 11, according to the function of the spindle. The mouth of the magazines is provided with a rocking plate 52, which is mounted on a shaft 131, and is connected to the rocking armature of a pair of electro-magnets 141, 142. Each of the keys at the keyboard is in circuits which determine the setting of the two side collars 59 and the discharge of the spindle into the appropriate magazine, the character, space, and like keys discharging their spindles into the magazine 51, and the justification and like keys discharging their spindles into the magazine 53. The following parts of the controller are operated from the shaft of the casting-apparatus, so that the control thereof is independent of the keyboard, and the operator may thus work several lines in advance. The circuits controlled by the collars 59 are brought to contacts 150, Figs. 10 and 11, which are operated by levers 152, and are connected to the sections 160, 161 of a cable 151. The spindles are carried past the levers 152 by means of a wheel 57 consisting of two peripherally notched disks mounted on a shaft 219. In the composition of a line a trip-spindle precedes the character and space-spindles, these being all delivered to the magazine 51. At the end of the line a spindle is set for the required justification and this spindle is delivered to the magazine 53. In passing over the contacts 150 the justification - spindle must precede the character and like spindles and for this purpose the mouth of the magazines 51, 53 is provided with a reversible escapement which also serves to feed the spindles at a rate governed entirely by the casting-shaft. The escapement consists of two arms 167, Figs. 10 and 26, which are secured, one on each side of the controller, to a shaft 166, each arm being formed with two inwardly projecting ledges 168, 169, which catch under and retain the spindles. According as to whether the arms 167 are rocked to the right or the left, the release of the spindle will be from the magazine 53 or 51. The arms are each formed with a rib 173, which engages beneath the second spindle, and permits only the bottom one to escape. The arms are rocked by means of a rod 182 which is pivoted at 183 to a lever 178 engaging a collar 176 on a rod 175 which is operated by a cam on the casting- shaft. The rod 182 is formed with a T-piece having sockets 184, 185 adapted respectively to engage pins 188, 189 on a cross-piece on one of the arms 167, the direction of swing of the arms 167 being thus dependent on the angular position of the rod 182. The change-over of the rod is effected by electro - magnets 190, 191 having a pivoted armature 194 which is connected by a lever 197 to a slide 200 engaging the rod 182. The arms 167 are returned by springs 204, and, to ensure the return to midposition, there are provided two stops 207 formed on slides which are set alternately by the slide 200 to arrest the arms 167 by engaging a T-head 208 thereon. The wheel 57 is stepped forward by means of a pawl carried by an arm which is operated by the upward movement of the rod 175. The trip-spindle has the left or " individual " collar 59 in the extreme position, that is, against the left roller 68; and when the wheel has made one step, the collar engages a lever 235, Fig. 33, to close the circuit of the magnet 191 through a contact 238. The cam that operates the rod 175 gives a dwell between the rise and fall of the rod, and, during the dwell, a commutator on the casting-shaft sends a current through the magnet 191 and thereby throws the escapement into the position shown in Fig. 26 so that a justification-spindle is next fed from the magazine 53. During the following revolutions of the shaft, the justification-spindle is fed forward, and the trip-spindle is carried off the lever 235, thereby breaking the circuit of the magnet 191. The spindles following the trip-spindle engage by means of their left collars with a lever to close the circuit 244, Fig. 10, of the magnet 190, so that all the spindles following the justification-spindle are fed from the character channel 51, this continuing until the next trip - spindle presents itself. The circuits, described below, of the contacts 150 are in part common to the matrixselecting devices and the justifier, the changeover being effected by means of a contact 248, which is controlled from the trip-spindle, and the justification-spindle by the following mechanism. The contact 248 is operated by a lever 249, Fig. 36, adapted to engage levers 252, 253, which respectively abut on slide-rods 256, 260. The rod 256 is operated by the left collar of the trip-spindle when in the position marked 5 in Fig. 33, and the rod 260 is similarly operated by the left roller 68 of the other spindles when in the position marked 4. The levers 252, 253 co-operate with pawls 258, 261 formed on a bell-crank lever which carries a latch 263 adapted to engage a lug 269 on the lever 253. In moving from the 4 to the 5 position, the trip collar engages the rod 256, and pushes the lever 252 into engagement with the pawl 258, and releases the lever 253 from the pawl 261, the lever 253 being then swung by a spring 265 into the path of the lever 249. When the justification-spindle reaches the 4 position the roller 68 engages the rod 260 and pushes the lever 253 back to engage the latch 263 and thus permits the lever 249 to close the contact 248. In the movement of the justification-spindle from the 4 to the 5 position, both levers 252, 253 are released, and the contact 248 is broken. The lever 253 is released, and is restored to normal position by the spring 265, thereby rocking the bell-crank lever and releasing the lever 252, the latch 263 being released by engagement with a pin 267. The following spindle re-sets the parts in the positions shown in Fig. 36, these positions being maintained until the next trip-spindle passes through the wheel. The trip-spindle is thus operative merely to set the mechanism controlling the contact 248, the actual closing and opening of the contact being placed entirely under the control of the justification-spindle. Under normal conditions the trip-spindle and the justification-spindle are in adjacent notches of the wheel 57, but under abnormal conditions, such as arise when the operator has delayed the setting of the justification-spindle, there is a gap between the trip-spindle and the justification-spindle, the mechanism above described then acting to permit the delayed justificationspindle to perform its normal function instead of co-operating with the matrix-selecting circuits to cast a character, as would be the case if the trip-spindle itself closed the contact 248. The contacts 150 are closed by the levers 152 when the spindles are in the 5 position. The spindles, after passing through the wheel 52, are moved up a vertical track 58, Fig. 11, which opens into the track 50, and is provided with convergent ribs 60, which engage the collars 59 and restore them to the un-set or middle position. The spindles are moved up the vertical track by means of a lever 225