Improvements in Apparatus for Registering Autographic Duplicates of Writings.
Year: 1891

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Apparatus for Registering Autographic Duplicates
of Writings.
I, HERBERT JOHN HADDAN, of the firm of Herbert & Co., Patent Agents, of
18, Buckingham Street, Strand, W.C., London, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare
the nature of this invention, a communication to me from abroad by The Dayton
Autographic Register Company, of Dayton, County of Montgomery and State of
Ohio, United States of America, 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 improvements in apparatus for registering autographic
writings, the original of which is to be used by the writer, or other person for the
purpose for which it may be intended while duplicates thereof are automatically
filed away and securely preserved in the register, and it consists of the various
improvements in the mechanism thereof, which will hereafter more fully appear.
In the drawings,
Figure 1 is a central longitudinal section of one form of register.
Figure 2, is a central longitudinal section of another form, in which the paper
rolls can be easily and expeditiously inserted in place, each roll acting as a tension
for the other, and in which filing arms are used to file the severed sheets on the file.
Figure 3, is a top plan view of the apparatus shown in Figure 2, with parts of
the top casing broken away.
Figure 4, is a cross section of Figure 1, taken on the lines a, e, thereof.
Figure 5, is a cross section of the form shown in Figure 2, taken on the lines y, y,
thereof.
Figure 6, is a cross section of the writing tablet.
Figure 7, is a detailed view of one side of the writing tablet.
Figure 8, is a cross section of Figure 7.
Figure 9, is a top plan view of the divider bar and rod to separate the sheets of
paper.
Figure 10 is a detailed view in cross section of one of the views of the guiding
shelves of the filing compartment.
Like letters of reference indicate identical parts in all the figures.
The apparatus is enclosed in the usual box or casing, consisting of bottom A,
sides B, B, ends C, C, with horizontal top D, and inclined top E cut away to allow
the writing on the tablet K. These top covers D and E are separate and
removable, to allow access to the two compartments formed by the cutting and
filing appliances, which occupy the central portion of the case, each top being.
supplied with an independent lock, so that access may be had to either compartment
independently of the other.
To allow freer access to the paper supplying compartment, I sometimes cut away
the end C and insert a sliding panel F as shown in Figures 2 and 3, the panel
sliding in grooves in the case, so that when the top E is removed, the panel F may
be slid out and the compartment completely opened up. This panel F is provided
with a double headed catch a, and a pin 6 is arranged on the end C, so that when
the panel is slid to place, the lower head of the bar or catch a, will catch over the
pin and thus lock the panel in place, while the upper head of the bar a is in the
same way locked to the top E. The top D of the register is provided with a
curved flange D" and the top E is also provided with a similar curved flange at its
inner end E", the two flanges fitting together, so that the filing and cutting
mechanism is properly covered, the flange D being provided with a horizontal slot
to allow for the passage of the paper.
The metallic frame work consisting of sides G, G, is securely fastened within
the box or casing, to supply the working parts of the apparatus. In this frame.

page_text: work the paper rolls H and I are journalled in proper bearings, or as a preferable
construction, cut the long inclined slots L, L, in opposite sides of this frame work,
and the paper rolls Hand I, and if desired a third roll J are journalled in these
inclined slots, one above the other, so that the roll. I will rest upon and serve as a
tension, for the roll H, and so on. As many rolls may be used as it is desired to
make copies, but I find that three rolls to supply paper for one original and two
duplicate copies, are all that are usually required. When the rolls are journalled
one above the other in the inclined slots, a metallic tension roller M is placed on
top the upper roll and journalled in the slot, which roller serves as a tension for the
upper roll.
When the rolls are journalled separately as shown in Figure 1, a
number of metallic tension rollers M are hinged on arms pivoted to the frame, so
as to rest against the rolls separately. These paper rolls H, 1 and J, supply the
paper upon which the writings are to be made, the paper passing from one roll
under the other as shown in Figure 1, and thence to the guide rods C, C, or passing
directly from the rolls as shown in Figure 2, to these guide rods C, C, which extend
from side to side at the end of the frame work, and serve to guide and keep the
paper taut. Kis the writing tablet upon which copies are made.
This tablet is
supported by the cross bars d, d, and rods e, f, which together form a rectangular
frame. The rod f, being held down to the cross bars by a catch which can be
released allowing the rod f, to be separated from the cross bars. The other rod e,
passes loosely through cars g, g, on the frame, which thus forms a hinge upon which
the tablet can be raised up and swung to the side of the apparatus. The copying
medium h, h, is moved on these rods e and from side to side as occasion may.
require when the copying medium is worn, by turning the rods. In Figure 6, is
shown a single sheet of copying paper but when three copies are to be made, and
the paper supplied from three rolls, two strips of copying paper are required, the
paper from the roll J is passed directly over the face of the tablet K, and the
copying paper brought down over it; the paper from roll 1 is passed in the same
way between two sheets of copying paper, and the paper from the bottom roll H is
passed over the top of the second sheet of copying paper; in this way any writing
made on the top sheet, would be transferred to the other two, and duplicates thus
made. I prefer to use prepared cloth for the copying medium, as numerous copies
may be made before it is necessary to shift the cloth, and when this is done, the
cloth being wound tightly on the rod and in contact with the balance of the prepared
cloth, the ink used, soaks through and thus re-inks the used portions of the copying
medium.
The arrangement for holding the copying cloth is of considerable advantage, as
fresh portions of the cloth can be presented without touching the same, by winding
up one of the rods and when the paper strips upon which the copies are to be made,
are to be adjusted, the rod F can be removed from the frame, and the copying cloth
raised up out of the way, without soiling the hands or injury to the cloth by
handling it. N and O are the gripping or feeding rollers made of rubber or other
suitable material, journalled in the sides of the frame work in suitable bearings
between which the paper from the rolls is fed, one sheet into the filing compartment,
and the others out through the slot on top of the register. The lower roller is
provided with a crank handle m, by which it is operated, while a ratchet wheel n,
and dog o on either roller shaft as preferred, prevent the feeding rollers from being
rotated in the wrong direction. Immediately in front of the delivery of the feeding
rollers, is a dividing bar p, which extends from side to side of the frame, and is
supported on side supports r, which are hinged at q, q, in the lower portion of the
case, so that this dividing bar may be swung down out of the way when it is desired
to get at the paper files, as shown in Figures 1 and 4. This dividing barp, carries
a rods, (Figure 9) which extends along very close to the delivery of the feed
rollers N and O, while the central portion of this bar is raised as shown in
Figures 9 and 1, to further assist in the delivery of the paper.
In autographic registers as hitherto constructed, the duplicate sheets which are
to be preserved, have been either wound on storing reels within the box, or separated

page_text: from the roll by cutting but the means hitherto employed to separate the sheets,
has been by shears, cumbersome in design, and one part of this invention consists in
new and improved means for cutting off the written sheets from the rolls.
In order to properly sever the sheets, I employ a cutting knife P, which consists
of a thin steel knife blade raised at the center to give a shearing cut, and securely
riveted to a reciprocating carrier frame R, consisting of a rectangular plate which
slides up and down in the guides or lugs t, t, on the supporting frame. In order to
lighten this carrier plate R and improve its appearance, I pierce it with a series of
circular openings, as shown in Figure 4, and I prefer to use a knife 'carrier in the
shape of this plate, in order to more completely separate the filing from the paper
distributing compartment, though of course the shape of the carrier frame is not
material. This knife blade P works into the slotted bars S, S, extending across
the frame immediately above the edge of the knife. In Figure 1 is shown but a
single slotted knife bar S, but in order to ensure the severing of the paper at each
operation, I prefer to use two slotted knife bars, as shown in Figure 2 in cross
section.
These knife bars are rigidly secured to small castings u, u, which are pivoted to
the frame on opposite sides at e, in order to allow these knife bars to be swung up
out of the way to enable the user to get at the file. The knife bars and the side
supports are held down by the catch e, pivoted at the side of the case, as shown in
Figure 2. When this double form of slotted knife bar is employed, the dividing
bar p is dispensed with, and the lower knife bar is curved upwards at a¹, as -shown
in Figure 2, to serve as a guide for the paper.
At the central portion of the bottom of the knife carrier frame 'R "at 'the back,
is formed a lug T which lug is grooved or hollowed out to form a tooth or cog V.
At the rear of the carrier frame, the shaft, A¹, is located, journalled in 'suitable
bearings in the frame work and operated by the crank B. Attached to this shaft
at or near its central portion, is an arın or fixed pawl which pawl engages with
the cog V so that when the crank handle B' is revolved, the pawl will raise the
frame R, and the cutting knife, and carry it within the slotted bearings in the
knife bars S. Integral with the base of the knife carrier frame R, and extending
out at right angles thereto, are the projections or arms C on which are rigidly
attached in an upright condition, the filing pins c' which are thus raised and lowered
simultaneously with the knife. These pins have eyes, and they may be hollowed
or grooved and carry a piece of twine therein, extending from one needle to the
other as shown in Figures 4 and 5, with which twine when the files are removed,
they may be tied or bound up, and in this connection I prefer to use a heavy piece
of cardboard D' at the bottom of the file, as shown in Figure 1, in order to serve
as a cover for the files. The knife carrier frame and knife is arranged 'to be
returned to its normal position by its own gravity, or to assist the return, I'may
use a spring secured to the shaft A' and bearing against the lug T on the' carrier
frame. Extending from the edge of the cutting knife, as shown in Figure 1, are
the fingers e, e', which are frictionally attached to the shaft A¹, one near each
end of the shaft, as shown in Figure 4, so that when the shaft is turned and the
knife raised, the fingers will be at once thrown back out of the way, but upon
the 'fingers coming into contact with the feeding roller O, they will still allow
the shaft A' to be rotated and the knife raised, while as soon as the knife is
lowered, the fingers will at once return to their normal position, the object of
these fingers being to prevent the lower sheet of paper from coming into contact
with the knife edge until it is ready to be severed. Where the two slotted knife
bars are employed as shown in Figure 2, a pin f¹ supports the lower sheet, so that
the fingers in this construction are dispensed with.
I have illustrated in the drawings two methods of separating and guiding the
severed sheet to file the same. In Figure 1 and 10, is shown one form which
consists of the shelves or guides g', g¹ which are swung or hinged longitudinally
along the sides of the filing compartment on the supports ',, attached to 'the

page_text: top D. These shelves are so hinged to the supports h', ', that they will fall by
their own weight, into a horizontal position as shown in Figure 1, where they will
rest against the pins k¹, k¹, which are attached to the supports h', '. Rigidly
attached to the knife carrying frame R, and extending out horizontally, are the
pins, which rest underneath and against the shelves g', when in their normal
position, so that when the knife carrier frame R is raised and with it the pins 1, 1,
these pins will at the same time raise the shelves g', ', to an upright position,
while the paper is being cut off and filed on the needles, and as soon as the knife
and needles are lowered, the shelves will again fall back to their normal horizontal
position, the purpose of the shelves being to properly guide the sheet of paper into
the filing compartment and prevent its curling up.
Another construction of filing mechanism and the preferable one, is illustrated
in Figures 2, 3 and 5.
A
At the rear of the filing compartment, in suitable supports is pivoted the hori-
zontal shaft E¹. This shaft carries the long wire fingers or arms m³, m', which
extend upwards and outside of the needles, to a point slightly above the point of
the needles. The object of these fingers is to separate the duplicate strip being
filed just as the shelves ', ' in Figure 1. Immediately underneath the shaft E
is journalled a second shaft F1, and upon this shaft the fingers m², m³ rest as shown
in Figure 2. The shaft E' will revolve upwards and the fingers can be thrown up
and back against the end of the case when it is desired to get at the paper files.
The shaft carries an arm a¹ rigidly secured thereto at one end near the side of
the case.
This arm is forked as shown in Figure 3, and between the forks is
pivotted the square casting or box o¹, through this box a round bar pl works
loosely, the bar p' being a continuation of and rigidly attached to the bar ».
coiled springs connects the box of with the end of the bar surrounding the
round bar p throughout its length. The flat bar extends along the side of the
case a short distance into the paper supplying compartment, while the inner end
of this bar ¹ is connected with the side of the case by the coiled wire spring t¹,
and the pin u¹ fixed to the case, serves to support the bar. Affixed to the shaft A'
operating the knife carrier frame, is a second arm immediately under the bar,
The position of this arm is such that as the shaft A¹ is operated to raise the cutting
knife, this arm lifts up and finally passes by the bar ; when the shaft A
reaches its farthest point of rotation in raising the knife and filing pins. After
the knife and pins have done their work and are returning to place, the arm.
returning also comes into contact with the end of the bar and pushes it forwards
against the action of the spring . Permanently fixed to the shaft F¹ and
extending out therefrom to a point above the point of delivery of the sheet to be
filed, is the wire frame or arms w'. The movement of the bar pushes over the
round bar pl and the coiled springs frictionally grasping this bar and bearing
against the box o¹, the arm n¹ is rotated and with it the shaft F¹ and thus the wire
fingers or frame w¹ is brought down heavily on the paper strip to be filed, and thus
drives the sheet down on the pins and packs them at the base of the same. When
the filing pins are almost filled with sheets, the wire frame cannot revolve to its
full extent, and in that event the round bar pl slips through the box o¹ and the
coiled springs alone does the work; but when only a few sheets are packed on
the pins, the frictional hold of the spring on the bar pl holds the bar and in that
way the arm n¹ is pushed over and the wire filing arms w¹ are brought down on the
sheets. The bar is corved downwards at its outer end as shown in Figure 2, so
that while the arm v is pushing the bar the under side of the bar is brought
to bear against the pin u¹, thus raising it somewhat so that the bar is tripped and
released from its engagement with the arm during its operation and the spring t¹
at once draws back the bar, and the shaft F and with it the wire filing arm or
frame w¹ is returned to its original position.
The operation of the autographic register I think will be clear from the above
description.

page_text: Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
:-
1. In an autographic register, the combination with the frame, of a series of
paper rolls journalled in an inclined slot therein, one above the other so that each
roll will serve as a tension for the one below, substantially as shown and
described..
2. In an autographic register, the combination with frame work having inclined
slots on opposite sides to receive the paper rolls, of a series of paper rolls resting
therein, one above the other and a tension roll, resting on the topmost roll, to give
tension thereto, substantially as shown and described.
3. In an autographic register the combination with the cutting knife operating
against the paper to be cut of two or more slotted knife-bars, arranged on the
other side of said paper to receive and act as cutting edges for the knife, substan-
tially as shown and described.
4. In an autographic register the combination of a series of paper rolls, writing
tablet and transfer paper upon which copies are to be made, feeding mechanism to
unwind said paper, reciprocating cutting knife operating upon said paper and
slotted double knife bars arranged opposite said cutting knife and between which
bars, the paper is passed, said bars arranged to receive said knife and thus sever
the sheets, substantially as shown and described.
5. In an autographic registering apparatus in which a number of strips of paper
are employed, a writing tablet and mechanism to propel the paper over said tablet
in combination with a cutting knife arranged below the paper strips and a slotted
bar arranged above the paper, said bar being adapted to receive said knife and
sever the paper into strips, substantially as shown and described.
6. In an autographic register in which a number of strips of paper are
employed, a writing tablet, a mechanism to propel the paper over said tablet
and dividing rod to separate the sheets in combination with a cutting knife
arranged below the paper strips and a slotted bar arranged above the paper,
said bar adapted to receive said knife and to sever the paper into strips substan-
tially as shown and described.
7. In an autographic registering apparatus the combination with the paper rolls
and feeding mechanism of a reciprocating knife carrier, cog formed thereon, shaft
journalled in the frame and arm rigidly attached to said shaft and meshing with
said cog whereby rotation of the shaft, operates said knife carrier, substantially as
shown and described.
8. In an autographic registering apparatus, the combination with the paper rolls
and feeding mechanism of a reciprocating knife carrier with knife and filing
needles rigidly attached thereto, so that the duplicate sheet will be filed on the
needles simultaneously, with the severing of the sheet from the roll, substantially
as shown and described.
9. In an autographic registering apparatus a reciprocating knife carrier, cogged
arm integral therewith, shaft journalled parallel thereto, arm rigidly attached to
said shaft and meshing with said cog and fingers frictionally attached to said shaft
to serve as guides for the paper to be cut, substantially as shown and described.
10. In an autographic registering apparatus, a filing compartment having hinged
along the sides thereof, guides or shelves to support and guide the paper to be filed
in combination with a needle carrying frame and means for operating said shelves
simultaneously with said frame so that said shelves may be automatically closed
when the needles are at work in the act of filing, substantially as shown and
described.
11. In an autographic registering apparatus, in the filing compartment thereof,
shelves to support and guide the paper to be filed hinged along the sides of said
compartment, in combination with pins on the needle carrying frame to close said

page_text: shelves when the needles are at work in the act of filing, substantially as shown and
described.
12. In an autographic registering apparatus in which a number of strips of
paper are employed, a writing tablet and means for propelling the paper over said
tablet in combination with a cutting device for severing the paper into strips and
one or more filing needles having eyes at or near their points, adapted to receive a
string whereby the severed strips may be bound together the said needles being
connected to the cutting device in such manner as to be simultaneously moved
with it, thus piercing and filing the severed strips, substantially as shown and
described.
13. In an autographic registering apparatus the combination of a writing tablet,
two rollers to support and hold the copying medium arranged at opposite sides
thereof, one roller supported in the frame of the machine, and forming a hinge for
the writing tablet the other detachably connected to said writing tablet so that it
may be removed independently thereof substantially as shown and described.
14. In an autographic register the combination with a cutting mechanism and
a filing compartment and filing mechanism consisting of a rock shaft located at one
end of the said compartment, filing arms extending therefrom, a rock arm extending
from said shaft, a bar connected to the rock arm and extending across one side of
the filing compartment, a second rock shaft located at the other end of the com-
partment and a rock arm mounted on said shaft and arranged to come in contact
with said bar and operate the same and through it the filing arms all substantially
as shown and described.
15. In an autographic register, the combination with the cutting and filing
mechanism, of a shaft carrying fingers to assist in the filing, bifurcated arm
attached thereto, box pivoted thereon and bar working through the same with
springs sand, connected thereto, substantially as shown and described.
16. In an autographic register the combination with shaft F' and filing frame
thereto attached and bar connected therewith, of the shaft A' and arm ' to
operate said bar which bar is curved at its outer end and pin u to support the
same so that said bar p¹ will be tripped during its operation, substantially as shown
and described.
Doted this 7th dox of Tul.. 1001
HERBERT & Co.,
18, Buckingham Street, Strand, London, W.C., Agents to
Applicant.