Improvements in Serpentine or Crimped Type Spaces, and the Art of Making same.
Year: 1898

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Serpentine or Crimped Type Spaces, and the Art of
Making same.
I, CHARLES R. MURRAY, of No. 183, Monroe Street, in the City of Chicago, County
of Cook, State of Illinois, and United States of America, Mechanical Engineer, do
hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
-
This invention relates to a certain form of space which is used for the purpose
of automatic justifying in composing type, and is principally employed in type-
setting or composing machines. The general characteristic of spaces of this class
is that they are serpentine or non-rectilinear longitudinally and adapted to be
compressed by lateral pressure applied longitudinally with respect to the line of
composition in which the space is set. These spaces have been made
exclusively by forming type of suitable soft metal of width approximately
equal to the bodywise dimension of the type, the same being cut into proper
lengths and crimped by pressure between dies of suitable form. Great difficulty
has been experienced in this mode of production of such spaces: in the first place,
because the metal for producing such spaces must be soft enough to endure
straightening caused by lateral pressure upon the space without fracture; and
metal of this character cannot be, or at least hitherto has not been, successfully
produced by running it hot through a die or port of proper shape because the
slightest variation in temperature of the die causes a thinning or thickening of the
tape; and it cannot be produced by rolling or drawing, cold, because of the ten-
dency to tear or flake, which causes the spaces to yield a flaky powder or dust in
the process of use, which is seriously damaging to the machine in which they are
used, and objectionable for other reasons. Neither has it been found practicable
to produce such tape by cutting the same in strips from sheets, because the cut-
ting process leaves a feather, thread or fillet at the cut edge, which must after-
wards be dressed away in some manner in order to adapt the space for this purpose.
The most nearly satisfactory metal tape for this purpose thus far produced is
made by first running the metal into a cylindrical rod. and then rolling such rod
flat to form the tape. This process, however, gives the tape a rounded edge, and
slightly deficient uniformity in width, both of which defects tend to prevent the
space being securely held in the form when it is locked up. To overcome all these
objections and produce a space as accurate in its form and absolutely reliable in its
texture, stiffness and pliability, I make a mold in which such spaces may be cast
from soft metal, and I employ for this purpose a special composition much softer
than any type metal composition.
As spaces of this sort and for this purpose have heretofore been made, their
longitudinal outline has comprised a plurality of inflections ending in a straight
portion located in a plane midway between the planes of the crests or nodes of
the inflections. This form has been found objectionable for reasons which I will
point out, and my present invention involves a different form which is serpen-
tine in longitudinal section in the plane of the runningwise dimension and com-

page_text: prises a plurality of inflections making up the serpentine portion, the crests of the
serpentine inflections at one side being all in one plane and the end portions being
straight and having one face in the planes of the crests or nodes of the inflections
at that side; being in this respect distinguished from former type spaces designed
for similar use, in that in all such former spaces the end portion, if straight for a
short distance, has been located between the planes of the opposite crests of the
inflections of the serpentine portion, the result of such construction being that,
in compression of the line, the type are liable to be tilted, and such tilting is
avoided by my improvement consisting in terminating the space at both ends with
straight portions, both of which have one face in the plane of the crests at one
side, as stated.
This space I produce in a mold wherein two opposite cheeks have their opposed
faces longitudinally conformed to the space to be produced, such cheeks being
spaced by a follower of like form which constitutes a third side for the mold, a
fourth side being formed by a plate which is adapted to slide or otherwise to move
from that side to cover the mold, the cast being ejected by a longitudinal thrust-
ing movement of the follower between the serpentine faces in a direction trans-
verse to the serpentine contour. One end of the mold cavity may be closed by a
simple plate or gate, and the other end provided with the customary jet pieces
forming the reduced inlet for the metal into the mold.
... My improved space, produced by casting as described, can be readily dis-
tinguished from a space even of the same form made in the ordinary manner, the
character of the surfaces being without marks either of the rolling, trimming or
drawing processes, which are necessarily employed in making such spaces by the
old method.
Tuted this 3rd day of a 1000
CHAS. R. MURRAY,
By Herbert Haddan & Co.,
Agents to Applicant,
18, Buckingham Street, Strand, W.C., London.
Improvements in Serpentine or Crimped Type Spaces, and the Art of
Making same.
I, CHARLES R. MURRAY, of 183, Monroe Street, in the City of Chicago, County
of Cook, State of Illinois, and United States of America, Mechanical Engineer, 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:-
This invention relates to a certain form of space which is used for the purpose
of automatic justifying in composing type, and is principally employed in type-
setting or composing machines. The general characteristic of spaces of this class
is that they are serpentine or non-rectilinear longitudinally, and adapted to be
compressed by lateral pressure applied longitudinally with respect to the line of
composition in which the space is set. These spaces have heretofore been made
exclusively by forming tape of suitable soft sheet-metal of width approximately
equal to the bodywise dimension of the type; the same being cut into proper
lengths and crimped by pressure between dies of suitable form. Great difficulty
has been experienced in this mode of production of such spaces; in the first place,
because the metal for producing such spaces must be soft enough to endure

page_text: straightening caused by lateral pressure upon the space without fracture; and
metal of this character cannot be, or at least. hitherto has not been, successfully
produced by running it hot through a die or port of proper shape, because the
slightest variation in temperature of the die causes a thinning or thickening of the
5 tape; and it cannot be produced by rolling or drawing, cold, because of the ten-
dency to tear or flake, which causes the spaces to yield a flaky powder or dust in
the process of use, which is seriously damaging to the machine in which they are
used, and objectionable for other reasons. Neither has it been found practicable
to produce such tape by cutting the same in strips from sheets, because the cut-
O ting process leaves a feather, thread or fillet at the cut edge, which must after-
wards be dressed away in some manner in order to adapt the space for its purpose.
The most nearly satisfactory metal tape for this purpose thus far produced is
made by first running the metal into a cylindrical rod, and then rolling such rod
flat to form the tape. This process, however, gives the tape a rounded edge, and
5 slightly deficient uniformity in width, both of which defects tend to prevent the
space being securely held in the form when it is locked up. To overcome all these
objections and produce a space accurate in its form and absolutely reliable in its
texture, stiffness and pliability, I make a mold in which such spaces may be cast
from soft metal, and employ for this purpose a special composition of about
90% lead and ten per cent tin which is much softer than any type metal
composition.
As spaces of this sort and for this purpose have heretofore been made, their
longitudinal outline has comprised a plurality of inflections ending in a straight
portion located in a plane midway between the planes of the crests or nodes of
5 the inflections. This form has been found objectionable for reasons which I will
point out, and my present invention involves a different form which is shown in
the drawings and will be fully explained.
In the drawings,
Fig. 1 is a greatly enlarged edge elevation of my improved space.
Fig. 2 is a perspective of the same on a reduced scale but still greatly enlarged
beyond type size.
Fig. 3 is a side elevation of a portion of line composition in which my improved
spaces are set.
Fig. 4 is a plan of the mold for casting my improved space with one side
removed.
Fig. 5 is a section of such mold at the line 5-5 on Fig. 4.
A is my improved space. It is serpentine in longitudinal,--that is to say, ver-
tical, section in the plane of the running wise dimension. As illustrated, it com-
prises three inflections, A¹ A¹ A¹, having their crests at one side, and two
intermediate inflections, A2 A2, having their crests at the other side, the end
portions A3 A3 being straight and having one face A30 in the plane of the crests
or nodes of the inflections A2. The number of infections is immaterial, provided
only there is a plurality of crests at each side. From this form, it results that
when the space is set in a line of composition, the type at one side bears directly
against the faces A30 A30 at the ends. The space is designed to be set with this
side toward the last preceding type, and by reason of the bearing at the ends, all
danger of tilting the type as the line is compressed is avoided, such tilting being
the defect which is observed in the use of crimped spaces in which the straight
portion is formed between the planes of the opposite crests or nodes of the
inflections.
I prefer to produce these spaces in a mold such as is shown in Figs. 4 and 5,
wherein two opposite cheeks B B have their opposed faces longitudinally serpen-
tine in form and are spaced by a follower C of like form, which forms a third
side of the body, a fourth side being formed by a plate D, which is adapted to
slide or otherwise move from that side, the cast being ejected by thrusting move-
ment of the follower C in the direction of the bodywise dimension of the space
between the serpentine faces of the cheeks B B. One end of the mold cavity may

page_text: be closed by the plate E, and the other end provided with jet pieces F F having
the customary metal inlet or jet port f. This mold may be operated in any suit-
able machine.
My improved space produced by casting as described can be readily distin-
guished from a space even of the same form made in the ordinary manner, by reason
of the different character of the surfaces, which are without marks either of the
rolling or trimming or drawing processes, which are necessarily employed in
making such spaces by the old method.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim
is:-
1. A cast type space which is vertically serpentine in the plane of the running-
wise dimension.
2. A type space which is vertically serpentine in the plane of the runningwise
dimension and has at the upper and lower ends straight portions, of which one
face is in the plane of the crests or nodes of the intervening inflections.
9
HERBERT HADDAN & Co.,
Agents to Applicant,
18, Buckingham Street, Strand, W.C., London.
HERBERT HADDAN & Co.,
Agents to Applicant,
18, Buckingham Street, Strand, W.C., London.