TYPE WRITERS
Year: 1885

page_text: I, FRANK ROBERTS, Shorthand Clerk, of 56 Holly Street, Dalston in the County
of Middlesex do hereby declare the nature of my invention for TYPE WRITERS
to be as follows:-
The Type writers hitherto introduced may be divided into two distinct classes
2. Those in
1. Those in which a separate type-bearer is employed for each letter
which the types are carried on one and the same lever, or wheel, or similar device,
each letter, as required for use, being shifted to the proper position for imprinting.
The first mentioned are quicker in operation than those of the second class, because
in the latter a large proportion of time is occupied in bringing the letters to the
On the other hand,
required position before being struck down on to the paper.
however, the price at which the first kind are put upon the market is, I think,
such as to prohibit their introduction for very many of the purposes for which.
manuscript is used.
My object therefore is to produce a machine which can be operated rapidly, which
is sufficiently neat and accurate in its results for all ordinary purposes for, which
manuscript is at present used, and in which the cost of construction is such as will:
bring it within the reach of persons of very limited means. To effect this object
I propose to employ about 9 characters only which consist of parts of letters.
and which can be combined in various ways to form, with fair accuracy, all the
letters of the alphabet. It should be observed that the forms thus obtained,
although not perfect throughout the alphabet, are superior to most ordinary
manuscript in point of neatness and legibility.
The characters I use may be as follows.

page_text: depression of any one or more of the keys. This is generally effected by means of
a moveable piece, hinged or otherwise, inserted under the keys, and which is
pressed down with each depression of any one or more of the keys. This moveable
piece actuates a pawl or other equivalent arrangement for working into a rack
fixed to the paper roller. The rack is thus moved onwards tooth by tooth,
carrying with it the paper which is being written upon, and this movement
corresponds with the depression of the keys. It is obvious that a key can be
attached to the moveable piece referred to which does not actuate any type but is
simply to be used for spacing such as between the words-In addition to this it is
convenient for me to have a further arrangement which by giving, say twice the
ordinary amount of movement to the moveable piece in question, or by other
means, secures double the ordinary movement to the paper. It will be readily
seen that this can quite easily be arranged for. This double movement of the
paper may be made to occur immediately after the last letter of a word (for
instance, by depressing a special key simultaneously with the key used for
printing the last letter of the word) so that the necessary space is provided
between that word and the next. It is also necessary in connection with
character N° 9, in order to counterbalance the forward position of this character in
relation to the position of the others.
The following shows the manner of combining the characters to form the letters

page_text: FRANK ROBERTS 56 Holly Street Dalston E Shorthand Clerk 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:-
Type-writers may be classed generally under two heads 1 Those in which a
separate finger key and lever are used for each letter. 2. Those in which all the
letters are carried on one common type-bearer (as for instance a wheel with the
types arranged round its outer circumference), and in which the letter to be struck
must first be shifted into a certain required position. Those of the latter class are
very simple, portable, and comparatively cheap, but they all appear to be wanting
more or less in what I regard as the essential features which should characterize a
machine intended to replace ordinary handwriting; viz., 1 Capability of rapid
manipulation. 2. Relief from strain on the eyesight, and from inconvenient and
injurious postures of the body, and also from cramps arising from the whole of the
exertion falling on a small set of muscles, as in ordinary writing. Machines of
the former class possess these advantages to a much greater extent, but on the
other hand they are not nearly so portable, are complicated, and moreover very
expensive.
'
The public want in this direction is not fully met by machines having the above
disadvantages, and my object has been to provide a machine which obviates the
monotonous drudgery and injurious effects on the eyesight &c. which attend
ordinary writing, and which, at the same time, is easily learned, very portable,
capable of rapid manipulation without fatigue, and also very inexpensive. I have
succeeded to a considerable extent in the present invention although my system is
not applicable to Capital' letters. It can, however, be used with immense
advantage for such purposes as the transcription of shorthand notes for the press,
preparing notes or full text of Lectures, Sermons, &c., drafting out Authors' Works
for the press; as well as for all the numberless objects for which rough manuscript
is at present employed. When 'Capitals' are indispensable these can be added
with facility by the pen or otherwise, as the writing passes immediately in front of
the operator during the process of working the machine.
In effecting my object I use a small number of characters which may be as
follows:-

page_text: about an inch below the lower part of the frame, they are, however, held a short
distance above that centre by means of spiral springs.
A metal, wooden or other base is provided for the machine, and from this base,
at the side nearest to the operator a support or supports are raised, to which the
frame A is rigidly attached, the other sides of the base or stand being left vacant
to allow of the movement of the paper carriage and paper, as will be presently
described. The paper is made to pass beneath the plungers from right to left of
the operator, and at the distance from the plungers which has been calculated as
their centre. The plungers have engraved upon, or attached to their lower ends,
the characters enumerated above. They are then adjusted to strike upon the
paper in the following relative positions, 1, 1, and, strike exactly in a central
position, c, e, s and o strike slightly to the left of the centre, and strikes slightly
to the right of the centre. A slight forward movement of the paper accompanies
each depression of the plungers, as will be more fully explained hereinafter. The
result is that the letters of the alphabet may be represented as follows:―

page_text: To ensure the proper spacing between the letters, or between 2 or more
characters struck separately to form one letter the following points need
attention-1 The distance between the teeth of the rack should be equal to the
width of the character ò (or indeed of any of the characters o, e, s, c, ?, which
5 should be of uniform width) 2 Previous to the imprinting of the characters 1, 1, (, ),
the paper should make a movement equal to one tooth of the rack. 3 Previous to
imprinting the characters c, o, e, s, the paper should make a movement equal to
two teeth of the rack. 4 After the imprinting the character 7 and before another
character is imprinted the paper should have an increased movement, beyond what
I have stated above, to the extent of one tooth of the rack.
The requirements 2 and 3 are easily met simply by adjusting the size of the
wedge-shaped pieces W. Requirement N° 4 is arranged for by the special shape
given to the wedge-piece attached to the plunger which carries this character (" ").
This shape is shown at W¹. The backward movement of the rocking lever Lis
ordinarily stopped by the lower part of this wedge-piece coming into contact with
its corresponding pin on the lever & preventing further backward movement.
But whenever this plunger is used the said pin does not at once return to its
normal position but it slides down the wedge and into the slot made in it, and as
the slot is adjusted to a sufficient depth, the lever rocks back further than is
usually the case to the extent of one tooth of the rack at the point where the pawl
or click is attached. When the lever is again rocked forward without the use of
the plunger in question, the pin is carried out of the slot, the said plunger rises to
its normal position, and the usual action is resumed. It should be noted that in
writing the letters / and x the two characters used in each case to form these
letters should be struck very rapidly after one another, that is to say there should
be no backward movement of the lever L after the striking of the first character
and before the striking of the second. Also in writing m the lever should be only
partially released, that is, sufficiently to allow the last character to be preceded
by a forward movement of one tooth of the rack. A similar remark applies to the
form used for z.
Referring to the speed of this system, it is true that in some few cases two
strokes have to be given to produce one letter, but this is fully counterbalanced by
the fact that a separate finger can be used for each key so that all shifting of the
position of the hands is avoided. A still more important fact is that under this
arrangement there can be no variation in the method of fingering, and therefore
there is no need for complicated finger exercises such as are necessary in other
separate key Type Writers to prepare the operator for the ever-varying combinations
which he has to meet with.
With regard to the method of producing the impressions on the paper-This may
be done in the ordinary way by causing the types to strike through inked ribbon,
carbon paper, or other similar material-Or if preferred I may have a small brush,
steeped in strong aniline or other colour, traveling to and fro across the face of the
types This can be very simply arranged by having the brush on a lever worked
by the rocking lever L."
It is obvious that, instead of plungers, levers or other equivalent devices may be
employed to carry the types. It is also obvious that the characters employed may
be to some extent modified in their shape, in the number used, or in the manner
of combining them to produce the various letters without affecting the principle
of my invention. For instance, I may dispense with one of the characters by
combining e and to represent s, thus e, or on the other hand I may use a
crossed t or a dotted í in order to get a better result, and so on.
An additional plunger or key is used, which works the rocking-lever L without
printing any character. This is used for spacing purposes between words &c.
A convenient method of making and fitting the plungers is to form them of
two parts, the upper part being square and having the wedge-piece attached; and
the lower part (consisting simply of a piece of metal wire) is then fastened by a
screw into a hole drilled in the upper part. To fit them, square slots may be cut

page_text: at the edge of the upper part of the frame, into which the square upper portions
of the plungers are inserted. They are then fastened in position by a strip of
metal being screwed to the outer edge of the frame as indicated in the drawing.
This arrangement allows of the easy withdrawal of the parts.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is:-
.
1. In a Type-writer the use of the characters o, c, 7, 1, 1, 1, 7, or any mere
modifications of them in such a manner that they can be employed separately or
in combination to represent various letters of the alphabet, as described in the
foregoing specification.
2. In a type-writer the use of the characters described in Claim 1 and in the
manner there described, in conjunction with the characters s and e (with the option
of slight modification in the way of omitting or adding further similar characters)
in order to represent with more or less exactness the whole of the alphabet as
explained in this specification.
3. The combination of frame A plungers P, with their wedge-pieces acting upon
a rocking lever L, as and for the purpose described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Frank Roberts, have hereunto set my hand
and seal this Third day of May, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight
hundred and eighty six.