Improvements in and connected with the Moulds of Linotype Machines.
Year: 1896

page_text: Date of Application, 19th Mar., 1896
Complete Specification Left, 1st Jan., 1897-Accepted, 6th Feb., 1897
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in and connected with the Moulds of Linotype
Machines.
We, THE LINOTYPE COMPANY, LIMITED, of No. 188 Fleet Street, in the
City of London, Sole Manufacturers, Licensors and Vendors under the
"Linotype" Patents, CHARLES LEWIS IRELAND, and FERDINAND JOHN
WICH, both of No. 11 Hulme Street, Oxford Road, Manchester, in the County
of Lancaster, Engineers, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
Our invention relates to improvements in and connected with the moulds of
linotype machines, and consists in the combination with the moulds of linotype
machines, of automatic mechanism for coring them as may be required by any
necessary departure, in respect of the contour of the body of the finotype, from
the normal rectangular one.
One of such departures consists in making the linotype bodies taper from the
top to the foot, the object of such tapering being to make them fit up to each
other when they are imposed upon the surface of a cylinder, each one parallel
with the axis thereof. There are several methods by which linotypes so imposed
can be held down upon the cylinder against centrifugal energy. One of them is
by means of interspaced rules, the ends of which engage in grooves fast to the
cylinder, each rule acquiring its hold upon the adjacent linotype by the engage-
ment of a longitudinal ridge which is part of such rule, in a corresponding groove
in the side of the linotype. Another is by means of a notch in the end of each
linotype, and a bar standing within the groove which is produced in each side of
the column of linotypes by the aggregation of their notches, the ends of the bars,
or of the column enclosing frame of which the said bars are members, engaging in
sockets formed upon the cylinder surface.
In carrying the present invention into effect, suitable cores are provided and
fitted within a special chamber or chambers formed in the substance of the mould
block (or material surrounding the mould cavity) in such a way that they can be
automatically protruded therefrom into the meuld cavity just before the metal is
injected into the latter, and withdrawn therefrom before the ejection of the
linotype from the said cavity. Such protrusion and withdrawal must be automatic.
For that reason, the present invention provides for two contacts taking place, at
the respectively proper moments, between some relatively fixed or moving members
of the machine and the core, which latter, or an extension of it, is made to
project beyond the mould block for that purpose. One of the above mentioned
contacts effects the protrusion, and the other, the withdrawal, of the core in
question..
The details of the mechanism by which the above mentioned protrusion and
withdrawal of the core, are effected, may be of any suitable type according to
the special construction of the machine to which the invention is to be applied.
The linotype machine for which the present invention has been conceived and
developed, is the Mergenthaler linotype machine. This machine is already well.
known in this country, by its extended use as well as by the specifications of the
various patents which cover its mechanisms. Both the specifications next
mentioned are those of two of the said patents. In applying the invention to
the mould block described in the Specification of Lett rs Patent 25491893 when
the said block is fitted to the mould wheel of the machine described in the

page_text: Specification of Letters Patent 145821800, and for the purpose of making
tapered linotypes having a longitudinal groove in one side, we proceed as
follows. The top and bottom pieces of the mould block are divergent towards
the front instead of parallel, for the purpose of producing the desired taper
in the linotype. The core is the convex nose of a plate as long as the mould
cavity. The chamber for this plate is a vertical one in the top piece of the
mould block exactly over the desired position of the groove in the linotype.
The contact to protrude the core above mentioned into the mould cavity,
is between the bottom edge of a rearwardly and downwardly projecting
member of the vertically moveable yoke, the latter being the organ which
carries the assembled line of matrices and space bars to and from the mould.
This contact takes place at the end of the downward travel of the said
yoke towards the mould. The top of the core plate is inclined to the front and
concaved there. There project from the ridge along the top piece above
mentioned, two short bars, both pivotted in the said ridge. The noses of these
bars rest upon the top rear edge of the core bar, one near each end of it. The
object of this combination of inclined and concaved top edge and bars is to make
the contact in question smooth and gradual.
After the linotype is cast, the yoke rises, leaving the core protruding into the.
mould. The second contact is provided in the following way. The trimming
knives carry pointed pins or wedges or on incline or inclines, which present their
minima in the path of a corresponding surface or surfaces on or in or carried by
the core plate. When the mould wheel advances to the front to bring the newly
cast linotype up to the trimming knives and past which it is to be pushed by the
ejector after the wheel is up to the said knives, the corresponding surfaces above
mentioned slide over the said ends of the pointed pins or the wedges or incline or
inclines, whereby the core plate is raised far enough for the core to be withdrawn
into its cavity.
Even in applying the invention to the Mergenthaler linotype machine, we are
in no degree restricted to the, cavity being in the top plate, nor to the particular
contacts detailed above. The position of the core plate and cavity may. be.
varied to any extent without going beyond the scope of the present invention; and:
other pairs of contacts may be arranged for, or special ones, even, may be devised.
The shape and position of the core in the mould and of, the core plates and
cavities in the mould blocks; depend upon the shape and position of the desired
coring in the linotype. Neither form any part of the present invention and may
be as may be desired.
Dated this 10th day of March 1806
PHILLIPS & LEIGH,
Agents for the Applicants..
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in and connected with the Moulds of Linotype.
Machines.
We, THE LINOTYPE COMPANY, LIMITED, of No. 188 Fleet Street, in the
City of London,. Sole Manufacturers, Licensors and Vendors under the.
"Linotype." Patents, CHARLES. LEWIS IRELAND, and FERDINAND JOHN
WICH, both of, No. 11 Hulme, Street, Oxford Road, Manchester, in the County
of Lancaster, Engineers, do hereby declare the nature of this. invention and in
what manner the same is to be performed,. to be particularly described and
ascertained in. and by the following statement :-
The present invention relates to improvements in and connected with the

page_text: moulds of linotype machines. It is applicable to all linotype machines the
moulds of which do not part. It has been conceived and developed with special
reference to the Mergenthaler linotype machine described in the Specification of
Letters Patent 145821800, and for that reason its application thereto has been
selected for illustration and detailed description.
The invention consists in the combination with the above mentioned class of
moulds of automatic mechanism for coring then as inay be required by any
necessary departure, in respect of the contour of the body of the linotype, from
the normal rectangular one.
One of such departures consists in making the linotype bodies taper from the
top to the foot, the object of such tapering being to make them fit up to each
other when they are imposed upon the surface of a cylinder, each one parallel
with the axis thereof. There are several methods by which linotypes s imposed
can be held down upon the cylinder against centrifugal energy. One of them is
by means of interposed rules, the ends of which engage in grooves fast to the
cylinder, each rule acquiring its hold upon the adjacent linotype by the engage-
ment of a longitudinal ridge which is part of such rule, in a corresponding groove
in the side of the linotype. Another is by means of a notch in the end of each
linotype and a bar standing within the groove produced in each side of the column
of linotypes by the aggregation there of their notches, the ends of the bars (or of
the column-enclosing frame of which the said bars are members) engaging in
sockets formed upon the cylinder surface. A further method consists in the foot
of the linotype being longer than the printing edge, whereby the two ends are
tapered, being thereby adapted to fit under, and to be held down by, an undercut
bar on each side of the column of linotypes.
The Mergenthaler linotype machine is well known to the printing trade of this
country, by its extended use as well as by the numerous patents covering its
mechanisms. In the Specification of Letters Patent 14582 September 16th 1890,
the, mould cavity is shewn as being a slot in gear wheel known as the mould
wheel. In the Specification of Letters Patent 11645, June 14th 1895, it is
shewn as being a slot in a block detachable from the said wheel. The latter has
been found to be the more convenient combination of muld cavity and mould
wheel, and is the one illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
Figure 1 is a side elevation, partly in section, of the mould block, mould
wheel, vice frame and yoke or transporter, in the casting position.
Figure 2 is a side elevation of one of the trimming knives and its core
withdrawing pins.
Figure 3 is a rear elevation of the same.
Figure 4 is a plan of the mould block and mould wheel shewing the former
partly in section, such section being taken along the line 4-4 of Figure 6.
Figure 5 is an enlarged plan of the mould block without the core plate
and core.
Figure 6 is a front elevation of the mould wheel and one mould block.
Figure 7 is a transverse vertical section taken along the line 7-7 of Figure 8.
Figure 8 is a front elevation on an enlarged scale of a detached mould block
with its core protruded into the mould cavity.
Figure 9 is a plan, partly in section, of the mould wheel, mould block, left hand
vice jaw and vice frame, in the ejecting and trimming position.
Figure 10 is a front elevation of the core appearing in several of the preceding
figures, together with its core plate.
Figures 11 and 12 are sections taken along the lines 11-11 and 12-12
respectively, of Figure 10.
Figures 13 and 14 are, respectively, front and side elevations of a short
piece F.
Figure 15 is a perspective view of the linotype made in the mould block cored
with the core illustrated in Figures 1, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12.
Figures 16 and 17 are elevations of linotypes having notched ends.

page_text: igures 18 and 19 are perspective views of the cores used in the casting of the
linotypes illustrated in the Figures 16 and 17, respectively.
For the purpose of identification, the reference letters used in the Specifica-
tions 14582 and 11645 above mentioned are used in the present one to indicate
the same parts wherever they occur.
N is the head of the yoke or transporter. This head consists of a pair of
parallel rails. Its function is to receive the composed line of matrices Y and
space bars from the shifter L L (not shewn), to carry them down into the casting
position (the one illustrated in Figure 1), to hold them there during the act of
justification and the process of casting, and to then carry them up to the guide R (not
shewn) at which the distribution commences, from which position it is returned to
its original one ready to receive a second line from the said shifter. N¹ is one of
the guides in which the transporter works up and down.
The presence of the line in the transporter head N is illustrated in Figure 1 by
a matrix Y shewn in dotted lines, the matrices being supported therein by the
engagement of their top shoulders y, y, in corresponding grooves in the said
head.
O is the mould wheel; B, the mould block; and o, the mould cavity in the
latter: The rear face of the said mould block is a vertical plane up against
which the mouth of the delivery pipe from the melting pot (uot shewn) is adapted
to fit metal-tight, so as to close in the said cavity o, while the front face of the
said mould block is likewise a vertical plane adapted to fit metal-tight against the
face of the above mentioned composed line and to close in the line of intaglio
letters or matrices proper, y', in the said face.
P is the head of the vice frame. It has a vertical face adapted to bear against
the front of the transporter head N so as to firmly sustain the latter against the
pressure of the composed line of matrices and space bars as the mould block B is
pressed against them from the rear. is the left hand one of the pair of rear-
wardly projecting jaws between which the composed line is held after it has been
lowered between them by the descending travel of the transporter N. p² is a
broken gear pinion fast on the outer end of a screw p³ connected to the jaw p¹.
This pinion is in gear with a rack bar p which is pushed vertically upwards at the
proper time and through the proper distance, by mechanism not shewn. p2 is an
arm fast on to the end of the screw p and standing normally in position to be acted
on by the end of the rack bar p' after its teeth have disengaged from those of the
pinion p². It serves as a lever against which the rack bar p acts with great
advantage to assist in turning the screw p³. The engagement of the smooth edge
of the bar with the outer flat edge of the said arm pe holds the said screw
against backward motion.
The organs above described and their operations are the same as described in the
above mentioned Specification 14582.
Of all the possible corings which the circumstances under which linotypes are to
be used, may require to be made in them, two are selected for illustration. One of
these consists of a longitudinal groove in one side of the linotype and the other, of
a notch in each of its ends. The mechanism by which the coring is effected
is quite independent of the shape of the corings or of their position in the
linotype.
In Figures 1, 7 and 9, the mould cavity o is shewn as tapered in respect of the
distance between the top and bottom plates of it, that is in respect of the thickness
of the linotype. This distance gradually decreases from the front of the cavity to
the back of it, the decrease being effected, by the approximation of the cap
plate to the body plate b. The object of this decrease is to impart to the body
of the linotype 1, a tapered thickness diminishing from its top to its foot -
see Figures 9 and 15. The need for this tapered thickness in the said body has been
already explained. It does not by itself form any part of the present invention.
c is the coring which it is desired to produce in one side of each tapered linotype.
This coring is semi-circular in cross section, parallel with the printing edge of the

page_text: linotype and extends in a straight line from one end to the other at a distance from
the printing edge of about one third the height of the linotype. It is produced by
the presence in the mould cavity o, of a corresponding core e'. The latter is the
convex nose or rounded edge of the core plate F described further on.
Figures 16 and 17 illustrate parallel ie, non-tapered linotypes having a notch e
in each end. The function of these notches has been already explained. The bars
which co-operate with them to hold the column of notched linotypes down upon the
printing machine, are fully described in the Specification of British Letters
Patent No. 11641, 8th July 1891. It will be gathered from a perusal of the last
mentioned specification, what variations in the shape of a notch are permissible.
It may be here stated that whether the internal corners of a notch are rectangular
as illustrated in Figure 16 or arcual as in Figure 17 is immaterial. e, e-Figures 18
and 19-are the respective cores.
The Mergenthaler linotype mould block does not part-it is practically solid
throughout. So long as the linotype body was rectangular throughout, this did
not matter because, as the mould cavity was open right through the mould block,
there was no obstacle to the ejector blade pushing the linotype out of the mould
cavity o. This ejector blade is not illustrated in the figures. It consists of a metal
plate which is, at the proper moment, pushed from the rear of the mould wheel O
up to the linotype then in the cavity o, through the said cavity, and then withdrawn
from it. But it is evident that as the mould block in question is incapable of
parting, provision must be made for protruding the core or cores into the mould
cavity before the cast, and for withdrawing it or them therefrom between the
cooling of the linotype in, and the ejection of it from, the said cavity; and further,
that such protrusion and withdrawal must both be automatic. For that reason,
there are provided, according to the present invention, two contacts. One of such
contacts effects the protrusion, and the other, the withdrawal of the core or cores..
Each of them occurs at the respectively proper moment, between some relatively
stationary or relatively moving member of the machine and the plate which carries
the core or cores. It is immaterial whether both contacts are with the same or
with different members-the convenience of each particular case may decide the
point. In the Mergenthaler machine, each contact is with a different member.
The core plate may either project beyond the mould block for the respective
member to reach it, or the said member may reach the core plate through suitable
ports in the mould block itself. This alternativeness applies to both contacts.
The details of the mechanism by which the said contacts, are effected, may
be of any suitable type according to the special construction of the machine to
which the present invention is being applied.
The details of the mechanism which the present invention requires in the case of
applying it to a Mergenthaler linotype machine, are as follows. D is a vertical
chamber in the cap plate of the mould block, for the core c' to move to and fro
in. The size of this chamber and whether there is only one such, depends entirely
upon the shape and number of the cores. For instance, a pair of cores c, c,
require a pair of chambers. These chambers are vertical because the motion of the
member selected to protrude the 'respective cores into the mould cavity o, is
vertical. The member in question is a rearwardly and downwardly projecting
part E of the before mentioned yoke or transporter N. The core c', or the
cores c³, e, are made fast to a core plate F' which is always projecting beyond the
mould block. The top of this plate is inclined to the front and concaved thereto.
F, F are a pair of short pieces pivotted by a pin f, passed through their top ends
in the cap plate & above the core plate F, from which pivot pin, they hang down
with their noses constantly resting upon the top rear edge of the said core plate,
one near each end of it and in a notch f. The fronts of the pieces F, F, are so
positioned as to always present some portions of their front faces directly under the
bottom edge of the member E above mentioned. This it will be noticed in Figure 1,
has a convex contour, and the front faces of the pieces F1, F1 are concaved to
match, in order that the contact between the member E and the core plate F may

page_text: be smooth and gradual, the said front faces acting as intermediaries to that end
This contact is the one for protruding the core into the mould cavity o. The
transporter N always descends from the position indicated by the dotted lines
in Figure 1 to that illustrated by the full lines in the same figure, before the cast.
After it has got into its casting position-the one illustrated in the figure,-the
mould wheel Ŏ is moved up from the rear until the front face of the mould block B
bears upon the rear face of the composed line of matrices Y and space bars, as
illustrated. During this forward motion of the mould wheel, the front faces of the
pieces F, F, and that of the core plate Fare pressed against the member E
which is then stationary, whereby the core c' is protruded into the mould cavity,
this being duly eflected before the cast. The second contact is provided in the
following way. One of the trimming knives has a pair of pins z, z, fast to its rear
face and projecting rearwardly from it. Their ends are pointed, thereby presenting
a pair of inclined surfaces more particularly described further on. are a pair
of ports in the cap plate of the mould block, distanced to stand respectively
opposite the pins 2, 2, and large enough for the latter to pass freely through them
in either direction. 2, 22 are a pair of holes. They must be in the core plate F.
When the latter is in the withdrawn position, the holes a register concentrically with
the ports, respectively. They are just large enough to pass over, the pins z,
respectively. After the cast, the mould wheel O with the cored linotype and the
core protruded into the coring, is turned through an angle of 270°, as heretofore.
The ports, are then exactly opposite the pins z, respectively, but the
respective holes, are too much to the left, to be exactly opposite. They
present their right hand edges to the right hand inclined surfaces of the pointed
ends of the said pins. Such being the relationships as to size and position of the
parts just described, the mould wheel O is then moved to the front as heretofore,
. whereupon the said inclined surfaces engage the said right hand edges and
withdraw the core, as illustrated in Figure 9. This withdrawal is effected just
before the ejection of the linotype is started.
, are stop pius against the centrifugal tendency of the core plate F to leave
the chamber D.
Even in applying the invention to the Mergenthaler linotype machine, the present
invention is in no degree restricted to the vertical chamber being in the cap
plate b, nor to the particular contacts detailed above. The position of the core
plate and vertical chamber may be varied without going beyond the scope of the
present invention and other pairs of contacts may be arranged for, or special ones,
even, may be devised.
The shape and position of the core in the mould cavity and of the core plates
and their chambers in the mould blocks, depend upon the shape and position of the
desired coring in the linotype. Neither such shape nor such position form any part
of the present invention, and may be as may be desired.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we
claim is :-
1. In connection with the mould block of a linotype machine, the use as herein-
before described of moveable cores to effect the casting of linotypes with recesses in
their sides or ends.
2. In a linotype machine, the combination with a non-parting mould, of a special
chamber in the mould block, core or cores fitting therein, automatic mechanism
adapted to protrude it or them from such chamber or chambers into the mould
cavity, and automatic mechanism adapted to withdraw it or them respectively
therefrom, as set forth.
3. In a'linotype machine, the combination with a non-parting mould, of a core or
cores, a core plate carrying it or them, a stationary member of the machine contact
with which protrudes the said core or cores into the said cavity, incliued surface
or surfaces on the said core plate and an opposite inclined and stationary surface

page_text: or surfaces on the machine adapted to engage the former and to withdraw
the said core or cores, as and for the purpose set forth and illustrated in the
drawings.
4. In a linotype machine, the combination of a core and core plate, a top plate
slotted and fitted to receive the core, a cam serving to drive the core into position
and hold it there during the operation of casting, and pins carried by the trimming
tool and serving to withdraw the core at the proper monent as and for the purposes
described.
Dated this 1st day of January 1897
PHILLIPS & Leigh,
No. 22 Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane, W.C.,
Agents for the Applicants.