Improvements in Typewriters.
Year: 1897

page_text: Date of Appligation, 22nd May, 1897-Accepted, 13th Nov., 1899
Improvements in Typewriters.
I, WILLIAM PREHN QUENTELL, of No. 55 East 76th Street New York City, New
York, United States of America, Gentleman, 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 that class of typewriting machine wherein the type
characters are mounted upon a rotary and oscillatory support, preferably cylindrical
in form, and in which the series of key levers operate first through interposed cams
and suitable gearing to, rotate the type holder, so as to bring the desired character
opposite the printing position; and second, by their continued movement, to oscillate
the type holder whereby to move it into printing position and effect the printing.
The invention consists in certain novel devices and combinations of devices, as
hereinafter described and particularly pointed out in the claims.
In the accompanying drawings,
Figure 1 is a plan view with the ends of the key levers broken away;
Figure 2 is a side elevation partly in section and with parts broken away;
Figure 3 is also a sectional elevation showing the type-holder in the printing
position;
Figure 4 is a front elevation of the type holder, its supports, and a locking cam
used in connection therewith.
Figure 5 is a top or plan view of the gearing for rotating the type holder.
Figure 6 shows in several views, the details of construction of the button end of
the key lever.
A
In the drawings 10 represents the base of the machine, near the sides of which are
standards 11-12, to the edges of which are secured vertically slotted plates 13-14.
rock shaft 15 pivoted in the standards 11-12 affords a pivotal support for a series of
key levers 16, said key levers being preferably stamped out from sheet metal and of
approximately the outline shown in the drawings, Figures 2, 3 and 6.
These key
levers work in the slots of the plates 13-14 and are therefore steadied in their
movements. The front ends of the key levers are upturned, as shown in Figure 6,
and their extremities are provided with the integral discs 17 forming the support for
the letter tabs 18, which may be of paper and have the lip 19 to engage within the
notch 20 of the disc 17. The tabs are covered with a sheet of celluloid or other
transparent material 21, and the edges of the several parts are protected and united
by the band 22, which may be of metal. The forward ends of the key levers are
bifurcated and the arms thereof are marked 23-24. The arm 23 has the oblique cam
surface 25 and the arın 24 has the oblique cam surface 26. The arm 23 operates to
rock a pivoted bail 27 and the arm 24 operates to move a plate 28. The plate 28 is
supported upon the parallel pivoted arms 29, two of said plates being employed, and
each having oblique cam slots 30 therein. The front edge of the bail 27 has its ends
beveled, as shown at 27, 27b, Figure 1 and said beveled surfaces extend in planes
which intersect the planes of the slots 30. The bail 27 is provided with a lug 31
which operates a pivoted stop arm 32, said stop arm projects forward into the path
of a rotary cam disc 33, Figure 2 through which a shaft 34 passes, the latter being
slidably mounted in an oscillating frame 35; Figure 3 which is pivoted upon the

page_text: standards 36. The shaft 34 also carries at its upper end, a type holder 37 having
thereon three circumferential rows of type characters. The type wheel 37 has a
collar 38 secured thereon and said collar turns in a groove 39 in the shaft. The type
wheel or holder is turned upon the shaft by means of a pinion 40, Figures 2 and 4
sleeved upon the shaft and engaged with the rack segments 41-42, which are pivoted
upon the frame 35. The arms of said segments are drawn back by the springs 43,
and are held in aligment by pins 44.thereon, which engage with the shoulders of a
mutilated disc 45 secured to or formed integrally with the base of the cam disc 33.
The gear seginents are moved by means of the plate 28 which has an extension 46
and a pendant pin 47 engaging with the segment arm. A bail 48 is lung upon the
shaft 15 and has a forwardly and downwardly extending arm 49 engaging loosely
the lower end of a pivoted locking dog 50, said dog being pivoted at 51 on the
swinging frame 35. On the shaft 34 is also loosely mounted, a toothed locking
disc 52, with which the upper end of the dog 50 engages during one part of the
operation and the rocking frame 35 has a slotted guide 53 for the forward end of
the stop lever 32. The locking disc 52 is secured to a driving arm 54 in the form
of a flat bar, the lower end of which is secured to the cam disc 33 and projects
through an aperture in the lower surface of the type holder 37, and thus when the
pinion or gear 40 is turned, it carries with it the mutilated locking disc, the
cam disc, the serrated
or toothed locking disc 52, the driver 54 and the
type holder 37, said several parts moving as one In cr.ler to steady
the swinging frame 35, and the type holder, I show a second locking dog 55,
which is mounted in a slot or groove in a standard 56, so that while rigid in one
direction, it may yield in the opposite direction and engaging with the notches of the
disc 52, Figure 3, the latter will be securely locked on opposite sides of its axis of
rotation. A sliding paper carriage 57 is mounted in the rear of the type holder and
has journalled therein, the platen roll 58, the tension roll 59 and carries the paper
clamps 60 and 61, Figures 2, 3 and 4. 62 represents the paper. In order to ink the
type, I have mounted an ink roller 63 Figures 1 and 2, on the end of the curved
spring arm 64.
The base of the paper carriage which is operated in any well known
manner is provided with a toothed rack 65 and a pivoted locking dog 66 normally
engaging the teeth of the rack as in the Remington and similar machines said dog
being connected by the cord or wire 67, Figures 2 and 3 with one end of a bell crank
lever 68 pivoted on a suitable support and having its other arm extended over the
bail 48. In order to space without printing, I have shown a space key 69, which is
connected to the bell crank 68. In order to bring the several rows of type into
printing position, the shaft 34 is, as before described, mounted so as to slide in the
frame 35 and through the several parts of which it constitutes the axis, namely, the
pinion, the mutilated locking disc the cam disc, the driver bar and the toothed
locking disc and said shaft is normally held down by the springs 70 and it is raised
by means of an arm 71 through the intervention of the levers 72-73, which are shown
in section in Figure 4, and in plan view in Figure 1. Said arm 71 is pivoted at one
end to the frame 35 and inclines toward its opposite end, so that the levers 72-73
engage therewith at different elevations. The ends of said levers are also curved in
an are concentric to the axis of the swinging frame 35 and by their depression, the
shaft carrying the type-holder is raised in its bearing, thus elevating a new row of
type into the printing position.
The operation of the parts above described is as follows: Upon the depression of
any one of the key levers, its arm 23 will engage and rock the bail 27, thus moving
the lug carried thereby and permitting the stop arm to drop down into the path of
the cam disc.
The extent to which the stop arm will descend is regulated by the
distance from the centre at which the key lever engages the oblique fronted edge of
the pivoted bail and the cam disc itself may have its edge serrated, as shown, but it
will be arrested whether serrated or not when it is turned so that it strikes upon the
projecting end of the stop arm. By the same movement the arm 24 of the key lever
will engage through its cam surface 26 with the wall of the slot 30 and will therefore
move the plate 28 forward, the latter preserving its parallelism with the base of the

page_text: machine, by reason of its form of support. This plate 28, will have a greater or less
movement, depending upon the position of the key lever which is actuated with
reference to the centre of the machine. The key levers nearest the centre of the
machine will move the plate the shortest distance, while those farthest from the
centre will move it correspondingly greater distances. The extent to which this
plate is moved forward regulates the extent to which the segments are swung upon
their pivots and consequently the extent of rotation of the pinion and its connected
mechanisms, including the type holder. The type characters will be arranged with
definite relation with the key levers and consequently the depression of any particular
key lever will operate through the intervening and connecting mechanisms to turn
the type-holder, so as to bring the appropriate character opposite the printing
position. During the first part of the movement therefore, the stop arm is lowered,
then the segment is shifted and the type holder is turned until it is brought to rest
by the engagement of the can disc with the stop arm. By the continued movement,
the key lever lifts the bail 48 and through its link 49 pulling on the locking dog 50
below the pivot 51, tilts the frame 35 to the position shown in Figure 3. During
this movement, the ink roller is pressed out of the way and the type strikes the
paper. The tilting frame 35 is returned to its normal position by a spring 74 and
may be provided with the stop arm 75 which contacts with the base of the machine.
Several of the movable parts are also provided with springs to return them to their
normal positions, such for example, as the movable plates 28, which have the
springs 76, the bail 27 which has a spring 77, and the stop arm 32 which has a
spring 78. The several key levers are also normally held down by springs, as shown
at 79, Figures 2 and 3.
While I have described the preferred construction, I may, of course, without
departing from the nature of my said invention vary some of the details thereof.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is
1. In a type-writing machine, the combination with a rotary type holder and a
series of finger keys operatively connected therewith, whereby to rotate the type
holder and a stop mechanism comprising a cam concentric to the axis of the type-
holder and a pivoted stop arm also actuated by the key and adapted to be projected
into the path of said cam, substantially as described.
2. In a type-writing machine, the combination with a rotary type holder and
oscillating frame whereon said type holder is mounted a pinion for driving said type
holder, a segment mounted upon said frame enmeshed with said pinion and a
movable frame interposed between said segment and the ends of the key levers,
whereby the depression of the key lever operates through said frame to move said
segments and thereby the pinion and type-holder, substantially as described.
3. In a type-writing machine, the combination with a rotatable type wheel or
holder, gearing for rotating said type holder, a series of finger keys, a frame inter-
posed between said keys and said gearing and having a variable movement depending
upon the position of the key which is moved, and a stop mechanism for said type
holder also actuated by the keys, substantially as described.
4. In a type-writing machine, the combination with a series of pivoted keys, a
rotary type holder mounted upon a swinging frame, gearing operated by said keys
for rotating the type-holder, a stop mechanism for arresting said type-holder, a
pivoted bail adapted to be rocked by the key lever and having a link connecting it
with the swinging frame, whereby the latter may be oscillated, substantially as
described.
5. In a type-writing machine, a type holder having circumferential rows of type
characters thereon, an oscillating support for the type holder and such holder being
adapted to rotate about its own axis to oscillate with its support and having also a
sliding movement therein in combination with means for rotating, oscillating and
sliding said type holder, all substantially as described,

page_text: 6. In a type writing machinė, the combination with a series of key levers, of a
rotary type holder, a sliding shaft whereon said type holder is mounted, a pinion
loosely mounted on said shaft and a driver arm secured with said pinion and having
a sliding engagement with the rotary type holder, substantially as described.
7. In a type writing machine, the combination with a rotary type holder, gearing
for rotating said type holder, a sliding frame, a series of key levers engaging said
frame at variable distances from their pivots, a stop mechanism comprising a cam
concentric to the axis of the type holder, a pivoted stop arm projecting into the path
of the cam, a bail for operating said stop arm and said key levers also engaging said
bail at variable distances from their pivots, substantially as describ. d.
8. In a type writing machine, the combination with a rotary type holder, a shaft
on which said type holder is mounted, a gear wheel or pinion loosely mounted on said
shaft, gear segments pivoted eccentrically with said shaft enmeshed with said gear,
Baid segments having stop pins thereon and adapted to retain said type holder in its
normal position, substantially as described.
9. In a type-writer, the combination with a rotary and oscillatory type holder, of a
rotary and oscillatory locking disc and locking dogs disposed on opposite sides of the
axis of said holder and said disc, whereby to engage and hold said type holder,
substantially as described.
10. A key lever for a type-writer constructed from a sheet metal blank having its
terminal portion in the form of a disk disposed at right-angles to the plane of the
body of the key and flanged to receive a suitable label or tab, substantially as
described..
11. A key lever for a type-writer constructed from a sheet metal blank having its
terminal portion in the form of a disk disposed at right-angles to the plane of the body
of the key and flanged to receive a suitable label or tab, said disk having a notched
or recessed portion and said tab having a lip adapted to engage said recess, and means
for binding the parts together, substantially as described.
Dated the "nd day of WOW EX47
tod the 2nd day of
EX
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicant.