IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR DISTRIBUTING AND SETTING UP OR COMPOSING TYPE
Year: 1857

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Robert Hattersley, of Ardwick, near the City of
Manchester, Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY
FOR DISTRIBUTING AND SETTING UP OR COMPOSING TYPE."
Sealed the 1st December 1857, and dated the 26th June 1857.
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
26th June 1857..
I, ROBERT HATTERSLEY, of Ardwick, near the City of Manchester, Engineer,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MACHINERY FOR DISTRIBUTING AND SETTING UP OR COMPOSING TYPE," to be as
follows:-
The object of this Invention is to diminish manual labour in setting up or
composing type.
The type is first distributed on shelves or in feeders to supply the setting up
or composing machine, all the types being deposited from the shelves or feeders
into troughs placed side by side across the machine. The last type in each.
trough is held against a fixed plate by a vulcanized india-rubber or other spring
acting on a follower within each trough. Every type has a corresponding key,
which on being depressed causes a piston to depress the required type; the
type so acted upon is conveyed through a guide, furnished with passages and
springs, to the instrument commonly called a compositor's stick, into which it
drops in the required position. Every time that a key is acted upon the com-
positor's stick is moved laterally to allow the descending type to drop into its
place. When a line of type has been set up, the attendant, by turning a handle

page_text: projecting from a wheel, causes this wheel to act on screws, by which means
the set-up type is drawn forward sufficiently to make room for the succeeding
line of type.
My Invention also consists in making compositors' sticks of sufficient
length that the type, when set up therein, may be divided into two or more
lines of printing.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Robert Hattersley in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
26th December 1857.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ROBERT
HATTERSLEY, of Ardwick, near the City of Manchester, Engineer, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters.
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-sixth day of June, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven, in the twenty-first year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said Robert Hattersley, Her special licence that I, the said Robert Hattersley,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, 'the said
Robert Hattersley, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any
time ȧgree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times there-
after during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use,
exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland,
the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS
IN MACHINERY FOR DISTRIBUTING AND SETTING UP OR COMPOSING TYPE," upon the
condition (amongst others) that I, the said Robert Hattersley, my executors
or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of
their hands and seals, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature
of the said Invention, and in what 'manner; the same was to be performed,
and cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six
calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said Letters
Patent.
:
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Robert. Hattersley, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement (that is to say) :-
The nature of my said Invention of improvements in machinery for dis-

page_text: tributing and setting up or composing type consists, first, in improved
arrangements and combinations of machinery, whereby the types are selected
and deposited in the compositor's stick; secondly, in improvements in the
construction of compositors' sticks; thirdly, in an improved arrangement of
machinery for changing the position of the compositor's stick after each row of
type has been set up; and, lastly, in making compositors' sticks of sufficient
length that the type set up therein may be divided into two or more lines of
printing. The object of these improvements is to diminish manual labour in
distributing and setting up or composing type.
And in order that my Invention may be fully understood, and readily carried
into effect, I. will proceed to describe the accompanying Sheet of Drawings,
reference being had to the figures and. letters marked thereon.
Figure 1 is a front elevation of my improved machine for setting up type,
and Figure 2 is a side elevation of the same; Figure 3 is a plan view of my
improved compositor's stick, Figure 4 is a front view, and Figure 5 an end
view of the same; Figures 6 and 7, shew another modification of my improved
compositor's stick; and Figures 8, 9, and 10 are views of the type feeders;
Figure 11 is part of the compositor's stick; and Figure 12 represents two
views of the block for holding up the type.
On Figure 1, a, a, is the framing of the machine, to which is attached
by set screws a type table b, which can thus be easily removed when
required; this table is furnished with a number of thin sheet metal
partitions marked c (seen best in Figure 2), not quite the height of
a type, and running nearly the whole length of the table b; these par-
titions are placed sufficiently apart to allow the types to move freely
between them. These partitions likewise divide the table into the requisite
number of compartments, into which the type is placed, one compartment
being exclusively filled with spaces, another with periods, another with the
letter a, and so on; two or more of these tables are used, one being charged
with type while the others are being worked out on the machine. At the back
of these rows of type are placed the followers or propellers d (see Figure 1),
which by means of the cords and elastic bands d', made of vulcanized india-rubber
or other material, passing around the pulleys d², and fastened to the stationary
bar d³, keep the type firmly pressed against the plate e. The upright support d'
of the pulleys d being jointed at d³, can be moved into a horizontal position
when required. e¹ are pistons or plungers, one of which is placed exactly over
the last type of each row for the purpose of depressing it into the guide plate f,
when required; o is an angular strip of metal extending over the last row but
one of the types on the table, to prevent the types from rising when the piston

page_text: is drawn up; it is also furnished with adjusting screws o¹, which serve to keep
the pistons e¹ in their proper positions over the tops of last types. e² are wires
and elastic bands, which bring back the pistons quickly into position after each
depression; they are also kept from rising too high by the plate e³ (sce
Figure 1); these pistons e¹ are also made in two parts, attached to each other
by a small screw, as shewn in the Drawings; the bottom parts, marked e', are
made thin and bent at right angles, in order that they may pass through the
slots in the guide plate f; the bent ends of two pistons passing through one
slot. The projections 9 serve as lateral guides, and keep the pistons e¹ in an
upright position. On referring to Figure 2, it will be seen that the guide
plate f, which is shewn with part of the door or lid removed, is furnished
with a number of grooves marked f, all converging towards the outlet at the
bottom; into these grooves the types drop when depressed by the pistons e¹;
and one groove is made to serve two rows of type by tapering the solid part
of the guide plate f between the grooves, as shewn at f³ in Figure 2; to the
door or lid of the guide plate f is attached an outer plate f, into which a
number of screws f* are inserted, for the purpose of carefully adjusting tho
space through which the type has to descend, and prevent it from turning
round or being stopped in its descent; for the same purpose very thin springs
are introduced at the places marked f', and wherever they are found requisite.
To the framing a is bolted a bracket g¹, for the purpose of holding the com-
positor's or composing stick g², shewn in dotted lines, which in this instance
is a piece of angle iron (see Figure 11, which is an end view) of such a length
that two or more lines of printing can be set up along it; the face of the
bracket g is made to slope in two directions, as will be best understood by
referring to the Drawings, and the composing stick g² is retained in its place
on it by means of the spring h and projections h' and h², between which it
slides; by pressing upon the projections h', they can be depressed to the level of
the face of the bracket, thus allowing the composing stick to be slid on and off
at pleasure; the spring h, pressing against the under side of the frame of the
projections h¹, keep them in an elevated position. h³ is a lever moving on a
pivot fixed in the stand g³, and reaching to the inside of the composing stick.
g, see Figure 2; this lever, which is kept in contact with the mover h¹ by the
elastic band i, is for the purpose of moving the compositor's stick forward
when the machine is being worked. The mover h is made narrower at the
point of contact with the lever h³, so that upon being depressed it forces the
lever against the type, thus moving the compositor's stick a little down the
inclined face of the bracket g', the object of which will be explained hereafter.
The mover ht, which is made of thin metal, is jointed to the lever ³, attached

page_text: to the framing a; this mover is kept up by means of the elastic band h³,
attached to it, and fastened to the under side of the frame a; he is a bracket,
also fastened to the under side of the frame which supports the pulleys i, see
Figure 2; on the other side of the frame is another lever exactly similar in
shape and position to the lever h³, being connected by the shaft h" and rod h°;
this rod, which passes under all the pistons, is acted upon by the ends e* of the
pistons when depressed. The bracket he is shewn partly broken away, in
order to shew more plainly the pulleys, which move on the shaft 2,
supported in thin metal bearings h', likewise attached to the framing; the
pulleys are placed in a line behind the pulleys i, and part of them are not
shewn, to avoid confusion; is a series of pulleys equal in number to the
pulleys and, moving on the shaft i, at right angles to the shaft ; these
three rows of pulleys are for the purpose of guiding the cords or bands k,
which are fastened in the first place to the pistons e at the parts marked e*,
are taken under the pulleys i, around the pulleys 2, and over the pulleys i³,
and are then connected to the bottom levers j; the first fifteen bands, however,
are not sufficiently out of the perpendicular to need guide pulleys, and so
communicate directly with the pistons; also the first fifteen of the levers
marked j are made gradually shorter, in order to keep their respective bands
or cords perpendicular in one direction, as shewn best in Figure 2; the rest of
the levers j, of which there is one to each band, are of the same length as the
first marked 1; a few only of these levers are shewn in Figure 1. The levers
j move on centres fixed in the stand, and have their ends resting on the
bowls, which are pivoted in the levers ², these levers also move on
centres fixed in the stand ¹; are keys communicating with the levers 1³,
and are supported in a key frame l', fixed to the main frame a, as will be
readily understood by referring to the Drawing; these keys l are as many in
number as the different kinds of types used in the machine, and each key, by
means of their respective levers, bands, and pistons, operate on their respective
types, the tops of the keys being marked with corresponding letters, periods,
or spaces, so as to facilitate the working of the machine, which will now be
described.
The type table b having been first filled with type in a manner to be
described hereafter, the composing stick g is placed upon the face of the
bracket g¹, the operator now commences setting up the type by depressing
that key which corresponds with the letter required in his copy, upon
depressing any of the keys l motion is communicated to one of the levers k³,
which is in connection with it; this action raises the end of the lever j, resting
on the bowl, drawing down that end which is attached to the cord ; the

page_text: cord being thus acted upon causes one of the pistons el to descend and depress
the type over which it is stationed into the guide plate f, the rest of the type
in the compartment of the table being pushed forwards against the plate e by
the propellers d, ready for another depression of the piston. The type which
has been thus depressed into the guide plate ƒ passes along the tubes f², and
drops through the orifice at the bottom into the composing stick ; the type
drops securely and regularly into its place, because the stick being placed
upon the sloping face of the bracket leans forwards and downwards, as has
been described; the first type falling against a block m, fixed in the composing
stick g; a type is shewn in its position in the stick in Figure 2, and also
in dotted lines in Figure 1. At the same time that any of the pistons e²
descend to depress the type the part marked e comes in contact with and
forces down the rod h³, connected to the mover h', which causes the lever h³ to
move the composing stick g² a sufficient distance to allow room for another
type to drop in its right place, in the manner described. All the keys I can.
be likewise acted upon in the way just described until a sufficient number of
lines have been set up, when the matter is removed from the stick in the
manner practised at the present time, and the operator cemmences again.
I will now proceed to describe my improved compositor's stick, as shewn at
Figures 3, 4, and 5. A is a flat plate of the shape shewn in the Drawings, to
which is attached two side plates B, into which the nuts C slide, see Figure 4;
the screws D move in these nuts, and their ends project through and are
supported in the back plate D¹; the spur wheels D³ are keyed on to these
projecting ends of the screws D, and geer into the larger spur wheel D³,
likewise supported in the back plate D¹; attached to and moving with the
nuts C is the pusher D', which is so fixed as to be easily removed when
required, see Figure 3; between the sides B is inserted a slide D, and
between this and the pusher D' the type drops; the Drawing at Figure 3
shews a line of type set up, and the attendant by turning the handle E causes
the pusher to move this line of type sufficiently back to allow of another line
being set up in the same place, and so on till the stick is full; the slide Do
being sufficiently tight in its place to maintain the type in an upright position.
The part marked 2 of this composing stick slides upon the face of the bracket
g of the machine, when used.
Figures 6 and 7 shew another modification of my improved compositor's
stick, which is very similar to the one last described (similar letters of refer-
ence being put on corresponding parts). In this case, the wheels, screws, and
nuts are dispensed with, and the slide F, in connection with the pusher D', is
continued round the back of the stick and elevated, as shewn at Figure 7, so

page_text: that it can be easily moved backwards and forwards by the fingers of the
attendant as each line of type is set up, in the same manner as described in
reference to Figures 3, 4, and 5; the slide piece F is held in position by the
lugs H, which are fast to the sides of the stick. In order to accommodate
different breadths of columns, a moveable piece G, sliding on the plate A, and
moving between the sides of the stick, is used and is adjusted as required by
the set screws marked 3, 4, and 5. Figure 8 is a side view of the type feeders
used for charging the type table b, and Figure 10 is a plan of the same; this
type feeder is made with a loose side (shewn in Figure 9), which has a stud
I projecting from it; this loose side is removed when the type is being placed
in the feeder by the attendant, and when filled it is replaced and held in its
position by the stud I, plates I and I, as shewn in the Drawings; a block
13, see Figure 12, with a spring fastened to its side to bear against the inside
of the feeder, is inserted in one end thereof to prevent the type from falling
out, the other end being secured by a little projection, shewn in Figure 10.
When the type table b is to be charged the propellers d are drawn back and
the feeders placed at the entrance of the compartments between the partitions
c, the ends of the propellers are then brought to the other end of the type
feeders, and allowed to push the charge of type into its position against the
plate e, the blocks Is being removed a little before the type is quite pushed up
to its place.
Having thus stated the nature of my Invention, and described the manner
of performing the same, I wish it to be understood that I do not limit myself
to the details herein set forth, but what I do claim is,―
First, the improved combination and arrangement of machinery shewn and
described for distributing and setting up or composing type.
Secondly, the use and application of springs of vulcanized india-rubber or
other suitable material for propelling the type against the plate e, and for
raising the pistons e².
Thirdly, the improved mode of constructing the guide plate f and the
lower part of the piston marked e, working through a slot in the said guide
plate.
Fourthly, constructing the guides in the plate f, so that the type from
two contiguous compartments of the table can descend through the same
guide.
Fifthly, the application of springs in the guide plate f, for guiding the type
and for holding the type in the proper position in the compositor's stick.
Sixthly, the application of a door or lid to the guide plate f, and the
adjusting screws acting on the lid.

page_text: Seventhly, making the table charged with 'type in two parts, and each part
capable of being removed for the purposes described.
Eighthly, the lever h³ and parts in combination therewith for actuating
the compositor's stick.
Ninthly, the holder marked g¹ and parts attached thereto, as shewn in 5
Figures 1 and 2, for supporting the compositor's stick in a diagonal position..
Tenthly, the arrangement of guide pulleys and cords for connecting the
keys to the pistons, whereby the position of the keys can be varied at
pleasure.
Eleventhly, the improvements in the construction of compositors' sticks, as 1
shewn and described in reference to Figures 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7.
And, lastly, the feeders shewn and described in Figures 8, 9, and 10, and
the block 13, shewn in Figure 12, for holding up the type while entering the
compartments of the table.
In witness whereof, I, the said Robert Hattersley, have hereunto set 1
my hand and seal, this Twenty-fourth day of December, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven.
Witness,
H. B. BARLOW,
Manchester.
ROBERT HATTERSLEY. (L.S.)