Improvements in Typewriting Machines.
Year: 1899

page_text: Date of Application, 5th July, 1899-Accepted, 5th Aug., 1899
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Typewriting Machines.
I, BERNHARD GREVE, of Janbenstrasse 36, Berlin, Manufacturer, do hereby
declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:-
This invention relates to improvements in type-writing machines.
"
The keys under finger pressure, in previous key-board typewriting machines,
gave solely a swinging movement; and in fact without exception the same
occurs in all those systems in which, for the sake of simplicity of construction,
several or even all the type characters are brought on to a single carrier, whilst
the combined motion of swinging and shifting which was the natural product
of the one key" machines remained confined to "single key" machines without
being able to remedy their fundamental defect, that is, their slow writing speed.
It is the purpose of the present invention, as the various forms of construction
in the drawings illustrate, to apply this simplification of the type writing machines
which is achieved by such a combined key motion to the quickly writing key-
board machines, and thereby to bring them to a greater degree of simplicity.
The point of the invention lies therein, that the oscillatory and displaceably
mounted key body simply receives by a direct pressure on it, a swinging and
a displacement movement, one of which motions serves to set up a character,
the other to impress the same whilst the key bodies are either directly attached
to type carriers or indirectly act on a common type-carrier. Another further
very important simplification accruing from this arrangement is the reduction of
the number of keys by providing each key body with several key buttons, corre-
spondingly supplying it with several characters, and in order to localise each
respective character by a simple pressure on one or other of the key buttons,
the touched key is temporarily used which for this purpose is moveable, as a
striking means to localise the next character.
In the annexed drawings:
Figs. 1-8 illustrate one form of carrying out the invention, of which Figs. 1
and 2 are respectively vertical sections of the machine at rest and in action,
Fig. 3 is a plan of the guiding plate for the keys whilst Figs. 4 to 8 show
details.
'
A sector plate 5 is swingingly poised by a weight 4 on an axis 3 between two
stands 1 which are connected to each other by a cross piece 2. A spiral spring 6
holds the plate 5 in its resting, position, Fig. 1, whilst a mandril 8 resting
against a touch 7 limits the stroke.
Plate 5 is provided with radial slots 9 in which the head pieces 10 of the key
rods 11 are guided by rigid noses. On the other hand, the rods 11 are led in
borings on plate 5 by pegs 12, and are held in the position represented in Fig. 1
by spiral springs 13, which are spanned between the head pieces 10 and the
pins 12, so that the projections 12 abutt against the upper edges of the slots.
The abutting piece 10, shown in detail in Fig. 6, and in enlarged partially
sectioned plan in Fig. 5, is forked and turnable on a pin bolt 14, it takes up

page_text: between its prongs the short key levers 15 (Fig. 7) and 16 Fig. 8 which are
held in raised position Fig. 1 by springs 17, 18, and project with their projec-
tions 19, 20, into the slots 9. Under the plate 5, a circular stepped piece 22,
is arranged, the projections 23 of which each form three steps a, b, c. In the
normal position of the piece 22, the step a will be found in the path of the
slots Fig. 3 and serve as lower abuttment for the displacement of the key rods 11.
This displacement is the result of pressure on one of the key buttons 24, 25 or 26
against the resistance of spring. 13, and as a matter of fact I obtain in this
manner three different displacements, in that a pressure on button 24, which
is firmly connected with 10, makes the projection 12 abutt against the step a,
a pressure on button 25 makes projection 19 which has just escaped from the
slot, abutt against the same step, and by a pressure on button 26 (Fig. 2) the
now emerging projection acts similarly, corresponding to these three shifting
movements, the third sixth and ninth types 27 (counted from above), affixed
to the lower end of rod 11 come into position for action. If now the pressure
on the respective key be continued, and as the obstructed key rod can no longer
advance, a downward swing of the entire plate 5 follows and a printing; of the
already set type on the paper on the paper carrier 28 takes place either by means
of an inking ribbon, or as is represented in Fig. 1 and 2 by the employment
of a small inking roller 29 over which the rods 11 together with the types 27
slide. If the stepped slab 22 is moved so that step 3 now comes into line with
slot 9, three further shiftings of the key rods take place, and the second, fifth,
and eighth types come into print, whilst lastly by adjusting step c in a line with
slot 9, the first, fourth, and seventh type are brought to print.
In this wise ninety type characters can be printed with only ten key rods,
and a rapid writing keyboard machine of hitherto unheard of simplicity is obtained
which can be seen at once by a glance at the drawings.
In the modification of the invention shewn in. Fig. 9 the functions of shifting
and swinging are exchanged. The key-rods 11 which are guided as described on
the plate 5, carry type segments, 30 of nine types each 31 at their lower ends,
whilst in the abutting head 10 the revolvably mounted' short key levers 15', 16',
have tho shape shown in Figs. 10 and 11, and are provided with projections 32.
and 33. These projections and' the rigid projection 121 (Fig. 9) on the abutting
liead serve in the present case as abuttiments, for the swinging movement of
plate 5 and to set the types 37 in their respective positions for impression. In
the raised position of rest of the key levers 15', 161, the projections 32, 33 end
Hush with projection 12 so that by pressure against the key button 24 which
is firmly connected with 10, the projection 12, abutts against the slanting
plate 34, and the third type 37 (counted from below) comes into position. If the
pressure is continued, a further swinging motion of plate 5 is hindered and a
downward oblique directed shifting movement of the key rod takes place till the
set type is printed on the paper on the paper cylinder.
If button 251 be pressed as represented in Fig. 9 the lever 15 first of all under-
goes a rotary motion, as the result of which the projection 32 is turned further
outwards and by means of the lever 15¹ it sets itself nearly vertically to plate 5
till the end 35 of the key lever reaches plate 5. Thereupon the swinging motion
of plate 5 follows till it is. obstructed by the stroke of nose 32 against plate 34.
Thereby the second type 31 (reckoned from below) comes into printing position
and is printed by a continued pressure on,251. The procedure when pressing on
button 36 is analogous, in that the abuttment is formed by the further pro-
truding projection 33 of key lever 16 and thereby the first type is brought into
the, printing position.
As a
The striking plate 34, so mounted as, to be parallelly shifted, can be inter-
mittently adjusted in two deeper positions by the action of the switching
keys 36, 37, the strokes of which are limited by the striker pins 39, 39¹.
result by pressure on the buttons 24', 25' 26" in the middle position of the plate 34,
the sixth, fifth or fourth type, (counted from below).can be printed, and lastly

page_text: at the lowest position of plate 34 the ninth, eighth, or seventh type come into
play. In this wise ninety characters can be printed with ten key rods.
It is of course self evident that by a given increase in the number of key rods 11,
a corresponding decrease in the number of types on each type rod can take place,
till the limit arrives when each rod has but one type and one rigid button to press,
and carries but one rigid striker, without altering the character of the invention.
Fig. 12, shows a detailed view of a third forin of carrying out the invention,
which as far as construction and modus operandi go, remains unaltered, whilst
the key levers 11, are combined to one common key plate 11' and carry the
types 40 underneath on their shortened ends.
The plate 11 represented as broken off, is preferably held in the given normal
position by springs 41, 42, 43, which are fastened to an arm 44 which is rigidly
attached to plate 5 and is always brought again after each displacement to the
given normal position under the influence of the springs by a guiding piece 45,
46 rigidly connected to plate 5, which has a cast out piece 47' for the reception
of the rollers 47, 48, 49.
The key buttons, 50, 51, 52 capable of displacement on alight spring pressure,
are in the plate 11' and three each thereof lie on a radial slot 9 and are provided
at the other ends of their stems with a guiding stay 53. When no pressure is
exerted on the key button, the stay 53 is found sunk in the plate 11' flush with
its undor-surface and plate 11 can slide in any direction on plate 5. If how-
ever the key button be pressed down when the relative normal position of plate 111
to plate 5 is such as is represented, its stay 53 enters the thereto appertaining
slot 9 in plate 5 and so forms a guiding piece for plate 11' which now, on a
continuation of pressure on the key, glides along the inclined plate 5 and can
therefore slide from time to time in the direction of one or other of the ten
slots 9. The dotted position of plate 11' as shown in Fig. 12 is obtained by
pressing down, a key button over the last right hand slot of plate 5 and this
last slot represents the nine mentioned types 40 of which three each out of one
of the lines d, e, f, arrive in the printing line g accordingly as either the first,
second or third key button is operated.
Here, the printing takes place suitably on an anvil 54 against which plate 11'
swings after its adjustment under continued pressure on the key. As however
the anvil 54 together with the paper can be moved from the normal position h,
and k, by means of two switch keys, each of the three characters lying on the
lines d, e, f, come to print, so that here again ninety characters can be printed
by ten key rods.
A further form of carrying out the system on a common type carrier, namely
a type cylinder, is illustrated in Figs. 13, 14 and 15. The arrangement which
in general represents that of Figs. 1 and 2 differs therefrom therein that the
key rods 11 (front elevation Fig. 13) lie parallel and are dentated at tlieir lower
ends, in order by the longitudinal shifting to interlock with the tooth gearing 55
carried by plate 5, to turn this according as they slide, and thereby simul-
taneously to set the type cylinder 56 for printing. The abutting surfaces for
the separate transpositions are supplied by the stepped plate 57 with its ten steps
for the ten key rods 11 as shown in detail in Fig. 15, so that each step repre-
senting the three key buttons of each key rod, causes three displacements of
the type cylinder subdivided into thirty parts, namely the first step to the left,
the setting of the first, eleventh, and twenty-first rows of types, the next step the
setting of the second, twelfth, and twenty-second rows of types and so on, and
the last step the setting of the tenth, twentieth, and thirtieth rows of types.
Moreover the type cylinder is longitudinally shiftable by two switching keys so
that again ninety characters can be printed with ten key rods.
That the number of key rods in Figs. 13 and 14 respectively also in Fig. 12
can be increased and simultaneously the number of buttons on each of the rods
to be pressed i.e. in each of the rows,--can be lessened, is evident without
altering the nature of the invention.

page_text: But it must be specially noticed that the nature of the invention remains
unchanged (in all forms of carrying out the same) if the oscillating axis of plate 5
and the buttons to be pressed, on the one hand and the paper drum and the
anvil on the other, are transferred so that the first come below and the latter
above, an arrangement that can be seen at a glance by giving Figs. 1 and 2
a turn of 90º.
The switching of letters can be undertaken in any manner by the swinging
movement of plate 5.
Although plate 5 in the drawings is only represented at an incline, the inven-
tion is not to be limited thereby as without going into detail it is clear that the
described mode of action, also operates even when plate 5 is hung completely
vertical, in that in this position a moment of rotation is transmitted to the key
body by the pressure on a pressure button. In that mode of carrying out shown
in figs. 1, 2, 3 with convergingly arranged key rods which simultaneously
serve as carriers of the groups, each shifting movement can be resolved into two
parts, a constant component equal to the distance of the point of convergence 21
(Fig. 3) from the end of the key rod in its resting position, and a varying com-
ponent equal to the distance of the type, which has for the time being to be
set, from the keyrod end. The latter component is for the often repeating
characters which have therefore to be placed at the rod end, whereas the first
constant component necessitates by each stroke a relatively long shifting path
with the key rod and therefore influences the writing rapidity.
To do away with this constant shifting is the purpose of the following described
arrangement; the constant displacement namely the transmission of the key rod
to the printing position is done not by a special means, but by the springing
motion which apart from this is necessary for the printing.
Thereby the shifting movements of the key rods is limited to the distance
requisite to set the types, and becomes for the often repeating characters, ex-
cessively small.
This is shewn in Fig. 16 in lateral and partly in sectional elevation, and in
Fig. 17 in plan.
The key rods 58 lie in an oblique surface, and are at one end so guided in the
piece 59 of the frame plate 60 and at the other end in the sector plate 62 (Fig. 18)
of the frame provided with radially directed slots 61 that they can by a pressure
on one of the key buttons 63, 64, 65 be swung for printing against the paper
carrier 66 in the position shown in Fig. 16. In order thereby that all the key
rods meet the common printing point 67 (Fig. 18) the ends 69 of the key rods
provided with the type groups 68 are bent over a suitable length.
The pressing button 63, is rigidly connected with the key rod, and the same as
regards the abuttment 70, whilst the buttons 64, 65 are seated on short
levers 71, 72, which are jointed on the key rods at 73 and are maintained in raised
position by springs 74 in such wise that the abuttments 75, 76 of the levers 71, 72,
do not protrude beyond the lower edge of the key rods. Fig. 19, shows the key
rod ends with the pressure buttons in plan. The abuttments 75, 76 however,
protrude from below when the buttons 64, 65 are struck. The abuttments act
together with the striking edge 77 of the frame plate 60, and thus limit the
shifting path of the key-rods accordingly as one or other of the buttons 63, 64, 65,
are struck in such wise, that thereupon either the third, second' or first type 68
(counted from below) is set for impression, and is printed by a continuation of
the pressure on the key button, for the front end 69 of the key 1od is guided
along slot 67 in printing position by the swinging motion which was as one can
see apart from this, needful for printing. The striking edge 77 of the plate 60
serves at the same time as a stop to the swinging of the key rods, whilst the front
part of plate 60' is flatter than the back portion to facilitate the oscillation.
The springs 78, 79 serve to maintain the key rods in their represented
positions of rest and to guide the same back thereto, the first of which offers

page_text: the necessary resistance to oscillation, and the second against displacement, whilst
the resistances of both springs are so gauged one to the other that the swinging
cannot be completed before the full shifting has taken place.
In order to print the types of the second groups (fourth, fifth, and sixth
groups) either the front part of plate 60 together with the striking edge 77,
or the paper-carrier 66 can be twice removed by means of two switching keys.
Equally as has been noted, the represented order of the arrangement of
Figs. 12 and 3 can be reversed so also the form shown in Figs. 16, 17 can be
reversed, the paper carrier above being arranged as can be seen at a glance by
turning Fig. 17 at an angle of 90°.
The represented adjustment of the keyrods on a curved surface. is advisedly
chosen, but it is not absolutely necessary to the spirit of the invention. The
main point lies rather therein that those ends of the keyrods which carry the
types converge, in swinging downward towards the point of impression which
can be achieved in manyfold wise by a suitable socketing or guiding of the key
rods even when the keyrods do not lie on a curved surface but in a plane.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is:-
1. An improved typewriting machine in which the oscillatory and displace-
ably adjusted key body can, by the pressure of the finger be simultaneously set
swinging and be shifted, one of these motions being employed to set a character,
the other to print the same.
2. An improved typewriting machine as in Claim 1, the key bodies of which
are directly constructed as type-carriers.
3. An improved typewriting machine as in Claim 1, the key bodies of which
act indirectly on a common type carrier.
4. An improved typewriting machine as in Claims 1 and 2 and 1 and 3, in
which each key body is provided with several pressure buttons in order to mini-
mise the number of such bodies and therefore correspondingly commanding
several type characters.
5. An improved typewriting machine as in Claims 1 to 4 wherein the pressure
buttons are movably adjusted in order to admit of the various characters being
Bet by simple pressure on the corresponding buttons, and thus also to make them
temporarily act as strikers for the setting movement, one of the buttons together
with the striker appertaining thereto being however allowed to be rigidly fastened
to the key body.
6. A form of construction of the improved typewriting machine as in
Claims 1-3 and 4-5 provided with an inclined or vertical oscillatory suspended
plate with guiders and stroke receivers for the key bodies or for the simul-
taneous reception of the common type carrier swinging with it.
7. A form of construction of the typewriting machine as in Claims 4-6 in
which the rod shaped key bodies, radially set to the sector-formed swinging
plate are provided at their converging ends with types or with type groups.
8. A typewriting machine as in Claims 1 to 7 wherein the setting of a
character for print is obtained by a shifting of the key body, whilst the printing
of the self same character is achieved by the swinging either of the key body
itself or of the plate.
9. A form of construction of the typewriting machine as in Claims 1, 2, 4, 5, 6
and 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, in which the rod shaped key bodies, radially set to the section
formed swinging plate are attached at their ends and provided with type groups
on the outer side of the arch, so that the setting of characters for print is effected
by their swing or that of the plate, whilst their displacing movement accom-
plishes the impression of the same character.
10. A typewriting machine as in Claim 9 wherein the swinging motion of the
plate can be controlled by adjustable abuttments.
4
'
i

page_text: 11. A form of constructon of the typewriting machine as in Claims 1, 2, 4, 5, 6
and 1, 3, 4, 5, 6 wherein the common type carrier consists of a plate or slab.
12. A form of construction of the typewriting machine, wherein the common
type carrier is provided with guiding pins which coincide with the guiding slots
of the swinging plate during the type carriers normal position, which is regulated
by a spring action, and these pins enter into the guidings appertaining to
them, by the pressure on a button affixed to them, in such wise, that by the
continuation of pressure on the key button, first of all a shifting of the type
carrier up to the abuttment for the time being in action, and in the direction
of the guiding slot at the time being in action, takes place, and by a yet further
continuance of the key pressure the type plate together with the oscillatory
swinging plate, swing downwards and cause the set characters to print.
13. A form of construction of the typewriting machine as in Claims 1, 2, 4, 5, 0
and 1, 3, 4, 5, 6 wherein the common type carrier consists of a wheel or cylinder
carried by the swinging plate.
14. A typewriting machine as in Claim 13, wherein on account of their
dentated ends, the key rods moving parallel during their shifting either directly
or indirectly interlock with the type carrier in such wise that the latter receives
a rotary adjustment corresponding to the path of displacement of cach key rod,
and comes to print as a result of such displacement.
15. An improved typewriting machine as in Claims 1, 2 and 1, 3 respectively
so constructed that the key rods which simultaneously act as type carriers
converge with their type-carrying ends in order that the motion which serves
to print may at the same time partially transmit the types to a position for
printing and thus shorten the distance of displacement.
16. A form of construction of the machine as in Claim 15 in which the type
carrying ends of the oscillatory and shiftable key rods, which lie preferably
on a curved cylindrical surface and are bent over at right angles, are guided in
slots that converge to the point of printing in the swinging direction..
Dated this 5th day of July 1899.
HERBERT HADDAN & Co.,
Agents to Applicant, 18, Buckingham Street, Strand, London.