IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR MANUFACTURING TYPES."
Year: 1880

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Mair Hepburn, of 19, Bow Street, Long Acre, in
the County of Middlesex, for an Invention of " IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS
FOR MANUFACTURING TYPES."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Mair Hepburn at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 27th February 1880.
JOHN MAIR HEPBURN, of 19, Bow Street, Long Acre, in the County of Middlesex:
"IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR MANUFACTURING TYPES.”
My Invention relates to apparatus for the manufacture of types, that is to say,
the casting of the types in a mould and the subsequent operations of dressing or
rendering true and smooth the sides and ends of the types. The apparatus
employed for these purposes may be separate, that is to say, one set of apparatus
for casting the typos and another set for dressing them; or the casting and dressing
apparatus may be combined so that each type is cast and has the successive dressing
operations performed upon it, finally leaving the machine in a finished state ready
for use. Apparatus of the kind referred to have for a number of years been in use
separately and also in combination, and it is to improvements in the construction
of various parts of such apparatus and in the arrangement of the stages of operation
which the perform that my Invention, is directed, the objects which I have in
view being to simplify those parts, to facilitate their delicate adjustment, and to:
render them more readily accessible for inspection, cleansing and repair.
For casting each type a jet of molten metal is forced by a pump into the mould.
Instead of the ball valve used in this pump I employ a conical thimble valvo
resting on a screw plug in the end of the piston; I also arrange the pump in the
melting pot in such a position that the flame plays directly upon it and the passage.
from it to the mould, so as to keep the metal in those parts at a suitable heat, and
I provide at the sides of the melting pot baffles whereby the flame and products of:
combustion are caused to circulate round the pot on their way to the chimney, the
hent being thus fully utilised and considerable economy being effected in the
expenditure of the gas used for melting the metal. I provide an adjustable screw.
DOJI

page_text: to form a stop for the melting pot when it is drawn forwards, so that the nozzle
cannot injure the mould by undue pressure.
The side blocks of the mould are usually of cast iron, faced with steel pieces
fitted and screwed to the blocks. For these I substitute blocks of malleable cast
iron having their faces case-hardened, thus obtaining a solid mould without
separate facings. In fixing the mould to the table of the machine I employ
adjusting screws to determine its exact height. For adjusting the matrix which
forms the front of the mould I fix it in a frame which is mounted on a pillar and
which has setting screws for giving lateral and longitudinal movement to the matrix,
and part of which can be turned on horizontal trunnions so as to give the matrix
angular movement in the vertical plane. The column can also be adjusted vertically
and the matrix can be turned on it as on a pivot, thus giving angular movement
in the horizontal plane and enabling the matrix frame to be turned so far round
that at any time the matrix can be inspected and cleaned without reinovcal or
alteration of its other adjustments. The matrix frame is moved to and from the
mould by an incline on the lining bar acting on the base of the column, thus
dispensing with the separate cam and lever employed for this movement. I mount
the block which forms the top piece of the mould on a column similarly to the
matrix frame, and in order to determine its exact position when it is moved over
the mould I make its upper side of tapering dovetail form, which as the top piece
is advanced over the mould enters an adjustable dovetail guide that determines its
accurate movement. Like the matrix frame this top piece of the mould, when in
its back position, can be turned on the column as on a pivot, so that it can be
cleaned and inspected without removal. When the dressing apparatus is combined
with the casting apparatus I utilise the forward stroke of this top piece for
advancing the types through their first dressing or rubbing stage. For this purpose
they are pushed by a steel edge fixed on the front of the top piece of the mould,
(which is kept cool by circulation of water or cold air through it) into and along a
space between two plates which are adjusted to the thickness required in the types
by interposing between them four types already finished to guage. In cach of the
two plates is fixed an oblique cutter somewhat like a plane iron, the one in advance
of the other, so that as the types advance through the space between the plates
they are dressed or rubbed first on the one side and then on the other. For special
types requiring to be kerned the cutters are so shaped as to effect the kerning
during the operation of rubbing. The break or tail of each type which constituted
the runner of the metal into the mould is cast a little deeper than the set of the
type, thus forming a shoulder which acts as a guide while the type is being pushed
along between the cutter plates, after which the tail is broken off by coming in
contact with a stud, past which the types advance in a row between two horizontal
bars or rails. From time to time the attendant inserts into this row a selfacting
catch acted on by a weight which pushes the row of types in front of it onwards
towards the next part of the dressing apparatus. The catch employed for this
purpose is made retractile and urged by a spring. When the operator pinches its
case the catch is retracted, and when the pressure is relieved the catch is protruded
and engages between two types of the row. The rails along which the types are
advanced lead to a quadrant down which they are guided, so that they are
successively turned into an attitude at right angles to their former attitude, the
sides that were formerly horizontal now being vertical, and the sides that were
formerly vertical now being horizontal At the bottom of the quadrant there is a
horizontally reciprocating pusher adjustable to types of different bodies, which
coming against the side of each type successively as it reaches the bottom of the
quadrant pushes it forward into the space between another pair of plates adjusted,
as previously described, by interposing between the plates four types already
finished to the desired guage.
The types as they pass between these plates are guided by an adjustable bar

page_text: nicked if required, dressed on the sides in the manner already described, and
finally adjusted for height to paper by an adjustable cutter which acts on the bases
of the types, while their faces bear against a buffer of lignum-vite or other suitable
material that will not injure the character. The types are thus guaged from the
face instead of from the nick as they are usually guaged, and their uniform height
is determined by their passage between the cutter and the buffer.
Additional nicks are also cut in the types, if required, by means of separate
cutters adjustable by screws vertically and horizontally. The types now being in
a finished condition pass from between the cutter plates on to a rail which is
mounted on trunnions at its ends. When the rail is charged with a row of types
a wooden rail or stick is placed by the attendant over them, and the two rails
while they are held together with the types between them are canted over to an
inverted position so that the types are lodged on the wooden rail on which they are
removed, the other rail being then returned to its former position to receive a fresh
row of finished types.
By the use of a combined casting and dressing machine, as above described,
finished types can be produced with great economy and rapidity, and can be
delivered directly from the machine into the cases or tubes used for composing.
Fresh matter can thus be composed always from fresh types without the trouble
and expense involved in breaking up the formes and distributing the types which
have been already used, and which can be remelted to furnish material for the
fresh types produced by the machine.

page_text: •
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said John Mair Hepburn in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 20th
August 1880.
John Mair HEPBURN, of 19, Bow Street, Long Acre, in the County of Middlesex.
"IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR MANUFACTURING TYPES."
My Invention relates to apparatus for the manufacture of types, that is to say,
the casting of the types in a mould, and the subsequent operations of dressing or
rendering true and smooth the sides and ends of the types. The apparatus
employed for these purposes may be separate, that is to say, one set of apparatus
for casting the types, and another set for dressing them, or the casting and
dressing apparatus may be combined so that each type is cast, and has the
successive dressing operations performed upon it, finally leaving the machine in a
-finished state ready for use. Apparatus of the kind referred to have for a number
of years been in use separately, and also in combination, and it is to improvements
in the construction of various parts of such apparatus, and in the arrangement of
the stages of operation which they perform, that my Invention is directed, the
objects which I have in view being to simplify those parts, to facilitate their
delicate adjustment, and to render them more readily accessible for inspection,
cleansing, and repair. I will describe these improvements referring to the
accompanying Drawings. Fig. 1 is a front view, and Fig. 2 a plan of combined
type casting and dressing apparatus; the other Figures represent to a larger scale
parts of the apparatus as follows:-Fig. 3 is a transverse section through the
melting pot and mould; Fig. 4 is a part transverse section looking towards the
mould in a direction opposite to that in which it appears in Fig. 3; Fig. 5 is a
part longitudinal section through the mould table shewing in front view the
matrix holder; Fig. 6 is a plan of the matrix holder, and Fig. 7 a plan of the
same, and of the mould in their relative position for casting a type; Fig. 8 is a
front view, and Fig. 9 a plan of the dressing part of the apparatus; Fig. 10 is a
plan of one of the dressing cutters; Fig. 11 is a side view of a type as it is cast
before its runner tail is removed; Fig. 12 is a plan, and Fig. 13 a transverse section
of the catch for advancing the types after their first dressing stage. In order to
simplify the description I have omitted from the Drawings several well known
parts of type casting and dressing apparatus to which my Invention does not
relate, retaining only those parts to which my improvements apply. Throughout
the several Figures the same parts are marked by corresponding reference letters.
For casting each type a jet of molten metal is forced by a pump into the mould.
A is the melting pot; a, the pump piston or plunger; a the passage for the
molten metal from the pump to the mould. Instead of the ball valve used in this
pump as hitherto constructed, I employ the conical thimble valve a² resting on the
screw plug a³ in the end of the piston. As the piston makes its up stroke the
valve is floated up from its lower seat allowing molten metal to pass down into
the
pump
below the piston. When the piston makes its downstroke the valve a²
seating upwards prevents escape of the metal which is forced along the passage a',
and caused to jet into the mould. I arrange the pump in the melting pot A in
such a position that the flame a' plays directly upon it and the passage al from it
to the mould, so as to keep the metal in those parts at a suitable heat, and I
provide at the sides of the melting pot baffles or refractory linings a³, whereby the
fame and products of combustion are caused to circulate round the pot, as indicated
by the arrows, on their way to the chimney aº, the heat being thus fully utilised
and considerable economy being effected in the expenditure of the gas used for
melting the metal. I provide an adjustable screw a to form a stop for the melting

page_text: pot when it is drawn forwards in the usual way by the screw a, the screw a
being adjusted so that the nozzle a cannot injure the mould by undue pressure.
The side blocks of the mould B are usually of cast iron faced with steel pieces
fitted and screwed to the blocks. For these I substitute blocks of malleable cast
iron, having their faces case hardened, thus obtaining a solid mould without
separate facings. In fixing the mould to the table of the machine I employ
adjusting screws b' pushing it upwards, and screws b pushing its flanges
downwards, so as to determine its exact height. For adjusting the matrix C
which forms the front of the mould, I fix it in a frame c which is mounted
on a pillar c¹, and which has setting screws, as shewn in Figs. 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7,
for giving lateral and longitudinal adjustment to the matrix, and part of
which can be turned on horizontal trunnions c³, so as to give the matrix angular
movement in the vertical plane. The pillar c¹ can also be adjusted vertically and
the matrix frame c can be turned on it as on a pivot, thus giving angular move-
ment in the horizontal plane, and enabling the matrix frame to be turned so far
round (as indicated by the dotted lines c¹ in Figs. 6 and 7), that at any time the
matrix can be inspected and cleaned without removal or alteration of its other
adjustments. The matrix frame c is moved to and from the mould by the action
of an incline c on the lining bar on a roller coat the base of the pillar c', thus
dispensing with the separate cam and lever usually employed for giving this move-
ment. I mount the block D which forms the top piece of the mould on a column d'
similarly to the matrix frame, and in order to determine its exact position when it
is moved over the mould I make its upper side of tapering dovetail form d, which
as the top piece is advanced over the mould entera an adjustable dovetail guide d
that determines its accurate movement. Like the matrix frame this top piece D of
the mould can be turned on the column das on a pivot (as indicated by the
dotted lines d' in Fig. 7), so that it can be cleaned and inspected without removal
from its support. When the dressing apparatus is combined with the casting
apparatus, I utilise the forward stroke of the top piece D for advancing the types T
through their first dressing or rubbing stage. For this purpose they are pushed
by a steel edge d³ fixed to the front of the top piece D which is kept cool by the
circulation of cold water or cold air through it admitted to holes bored in it, and
emitted from them by pipes d³. The steel edge d³ is oblique so as to force the
types T in an inclined attitude, as shewn in Fig. 9, between two plates E, E, which
are adjusted to the thickness required in the types by interposing between them
four types c, e, already finished to gauge, and screwing the top firmly down thereon.
In each of the two plates E, E, is fixed an oblique cutter c', provided with a
guard plate like a plane iron, as shewn at Fig. 10, the one cutter being fixed in
advance of the other, so that as the types T advance through the space between
the plates E, E, they are dressed or rubbed first on the one side and then on the
other. For special types requiring to be kerned the cutters e' are so shaped as to
effect the kerning during the operation of rubbing. The break or tail t of each
type which constituted the runner of the metal into the mould is cast a little
deeper than the set of the type, as shewn at Fig. 11, thus forming a shoulder
which moving along an edge e in the lower plate E acts as a guide while the type
is being pushed along between the cutter plates. The tail t is broken off by
coming in contact with a stationary stud e³ past which the types are pushed, so as
to advance in a row between two horizontal bars or rails F, F. From time to time
the attendant inserts into this row a self acting catch facted on by a weight f¹,
which pushes the row of types in front of itonwards towards the next part of the
dressing apparatus. The catch employed for this purpose, as shewn by the plan
and section, Figs 12 and 13, is made retractile and urged by a spring. When
the operator pinches its case, forcing in a sliding part f³, which bears against the
inclined side of a slot in the spring bolt f, this bolt is retracted and when the
pressure on is relieved the catch fis protruded by the force of the spring f', and
its upper knife edge enters between two types of the row T. This catch arrange-

page_text: ment with its weight f¹ may be dispensed with, the row of types T being advanced
step by step by the stroke of the cover block of the mould, as already described.
The rails F, F, along which the types are advanced lead to a quadrant G down
which they are guided, so that they are successively turned into an attitude at
right angles to their former attitude, the sides that were formerly horizontal now
being vertical, and the sides that were formerly vertical now being horizontal. At
the bottom of the quadrant G there is a horizontally reciprocating pusher g moved
in the one direction by a cam g¹ on a shaft g³ that revolves in time with the shaft
of the moulding machine, and moved back by a spring g³ against an adjustable
stop 9 The upper part of the pusher slide is an edge g, which is adjusted to
the body of the type, and which coming against the side of each type successively
as it reaches the bottom of the quadrant G, pushes it forwards into the space
between another pair of plates H, H, adjusted as previously described in respect of
the plates E, E, by interposing between the plates four types h, h, already finished
to the desired gauge. The types as they pass between the plates H, H, are guided
by an adjustable bar h³, which fits the nick cast in the side of each type. By
means of two oblique cutter knives the types as they pass between the plates
H, H, are dressed on the sides; they are also nicked if required by vertical
cutters h³, adjustable in position vertically and horizontally by setting screws and
cut out at foot by an adjustable side cutter ht. The types are finally adjusted for
height to paper by an adjustable side cutter 75, which acts on the bases of the
types while their faces bear against an adjustable buffer 16, of lignum vitæ, or
other suitable material that will give sufficient resistance without injuring the
character on the face of the type. The types are thus gauged from the face
instead of from the nick as they are usually gauged, their uniform height
being determined by their passage between the cutter h and the buffer hº. The
types T now being in a finished condition pass from between the cutter plates
H, H, on to a rail K, which is mounted on trunnions h, k, at its ends. When this
rail is charged with a row of types a wooden rail or stick L is placed by the
attendant over them, and the two rails while they are held together with the types
between them are canted over to an inverted position turning on the trunnions
k, k. The types are thus lodged on the stick L on which they are removed, and
the rail K is restored to its former position to receive a fresh row of finished
types.
By the use of a combined casting and dressing machine, as above described,
finished types can be produced with great economy and rapidity, and can be
delivered directly from the machine into the cases or tubes used for composing.
Fresh matter can thus be composed always from fresh types without the trouble
and expense involved in breaking up the formes and distributing the types which
have been already used, and which can be remelted to furnish material for the fresh
types produced by the machine.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, I hereby declare that I make no general claim to the
casting of types by injecting molten metal into a mould, nor to dressing types by
causing them to pass stationary cutters, but I claim in respect of type casting
and dressing apparatus, whether they be employed separately or combined in one
machine,-
First. The herein described construction of melting pot A, having a pump for
the molten metal with the thimble valve a³ in its plunger a, having baffle lining a³
and an adjustable stop screw a².
Second. The herein described construction of the matrix frame c and its pillar c',
with horizontal, vertical, and angular adjustments for the matrix C.
Third. The herein described construction of the top piece D for the mould, with
its pillar d, its dovetail guides d, d, and sloped pushing edge d³.
Fourth. Adjusting the space between the cutter plates E, E, and H, H, by inter-
posing between them types already finished to gauge, as herein described.

page_text: Fifth. Guiding the types T through the cutter plates E, E, by the shoulder ¿ of
their tails or runners, as herein described.
Sixth. Guiding the types as they pass between the cutter plates H, H, by an
adjustable bar fitting the nick in the side of each type, as herein described.
Seventh. The use of cutters h³ adjustable horizontally and vertically for cutting
nicks as required in the sides of the types, as herein described.
Eighth. The combination of the end cutter and the buffer hª for adjusting the
height of the types to paper, substantially as herein described.
Ninth. The combination of the cutter plates E, the rails F, the quadrant G, the
pusher g, and the cutter plates H for dressing and finishing types, substantially as
herein described.
Tenth. The combination of the type dressing and finishing apparatus referred to
in the preceding claim with a type moulding apparatus, substantially as heroin
described.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Mair Hepburn, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twentieth day of August, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and eighty.
J. M. HEPBURN. (L.S.)