Patent GB-191217382-A (GB)
Title: Improvements in and relating to Typewriters.
Inventor: TURNER SAMUEL WILLIAM
IPC: B41J25/18
Filed: 1912-07-26
Granted: 1913-07-28
Abstract: 17,382. Turner, S. W. July 26. Tabulating - mechanism; tabulating - key actions. -Column-selecting mechanism comprises a series of stops mounted on the carriage and formed with stopnoses arranged at graded heights and adapted to engage a stop which is raised to the required height by a sliding index and is then moved into the path of the selected stop-nose by a carriagereleasing key; means are also provided to facilitate reverse tabulating, and if desired special stops may be provided for use in denominational tabulating. The mechanism shown is adapted to select from sixteen columns, there being sixteen column-stops 51, shown in rear view in Fig. 4, with stop-noses 53 at graded heights. The stops are mounted on the carriage in a stop-bar consisting of two racks 47 provided at the rear with locking-bars 58, 59 which are mounted by inclined slots 60 on studs 61 on the racks and are connected by a toggle 64 and a spring 62. When the stops are to be adjusted, the toggle is straightened by a knob 65, thereby causing the locking-bars to uncover the teeth of the racks. The stops can then be extracted and inserted from the rear, the toggle holding the locking-bars apart when the hand is withdrawn from the knob 65. Abutments are provided in front of the racks to engage the stops. The co-operating stop 82 is formed on a bar 81 pivoted on a bell-crank lever 79 connected by a link 83 to the sliding knob 86 having an index arranged over a scaleplate 126, provided with divisions which are numbered from one to sixteen and bear inscriptions such as the titles of the columns and denominational items such as pounds, shillings, &c. The inscriptions are preferably written in, the scale-plate being made from a material which permits erasions to be made. The knob 86 is secured to a slide 85 which is mounted in a slot 87 in the plate 88, the knob being drawn up to the plate by a leaf-spring and being provided with a spring-pressed ball adapted to engage recesses 92 in the plate and hold the knob in the set. position.. The stop 82, after being set by the knob 86, is moved forward into the path of the stops on the carriage by means of a keylever 112 which is also arranged to release the carriage. This key-lever is coupled by a link 111 to a bell-crank lever 103 formed with a forked end 105 which engages the bar 81, the bar being arranged between a spring 108 and a pin 107 on the fork. The bar is mounted between guide-plates 98 and can swing between abutments 98<a>, 99. The key-lever is also coupled by a link 121 to a lever 122 adapted to engage a lever 36 which controls the usual carriage-releasing clutch 32 and retarding-device 18. In operation, the index is set to the required column, thereby raising the stop 82 to the level of the stop-nose on the corresponding column-stop; the key-lever 112 is then depressed and the carriage runs until it is arrested by the stop 82. To facilitate reverse tabulating the stop-bar is provided with a lost-motion mounting to compensate for the thickness of the stops; further, the key-lever 112 is adapted as described below to control the stop 82 without releasing the carriage, so that the carriage can be pushed backwards for reverse tabulation and be retained in the selected position by the escapement-mechanism. The lost-motion mounting consists of pins 69, Fig. 4, on the stop-bar engaging slots 68 in plates 67 secured to brackets 41 on the carriage, the stop-bar being retained in the normal position by springs 72, 74 secured to the stop-bar and to plates 71 fixed to the plates 67. In forward tabulating, the slots 68 allow the carriage to move through a space equal to the thickness of the stop 82 and the stop-nose 53 after the stop-bar has been arrested. In reverse tabulating, there is no lost-motion and the column-stops are therefore each effective to arrest the carriage in the same letter-space position in both forward and reverse tabulating. The key-lever 112 works in a guide 113, Fig. 4, having a shoulder 119 on one side, the arrangement being such that when the key-lever is pressed straight down it makes a full-stroke, whereas when the key is pressed down and slightly to the right it is arrested by the shoulder 119 and makes a half-stroke. The full-stroke operates both the carriage-re leasing devices and the bar 81, whereas the halfstroke operates only the bar 81, there being lost-motion between the levers 122, 36, so that the half-stroke does not release the carriage. The special stops for denominational tabulating each consist of a plate 136 formed with sixteen steps 137 adapted to co-operate with the stop 82 in the same manner as the stop-noses 53. The plate 136 is secured to plates 134 adapted to engage the teeth of the racks 47 and to be' locked by the locking-bars 58, 59. A denomination-stop is usually placed at the right or the left of the series of column-stops for denominational tabulating in the first or the last column. When the denomination-stops are placed intermediate of the column-stops, the position of the carriage determines whether the mechanism is operative for column-selection or for denominational tabulating. The denominationstops can replace the column-stops in which case the mechanism is operative only for denominational tabulating. The mechanism as a whole can be readily applied to existing machines, the greater part of the mechanism being mounted on an attachment-plate 76 and bracket 101.