Improvements relating to the Production of Type.
Year: 1895

page_text: Improvements relating to the Production of Type.
I, JOHN NEVIL MASKELYNE Junior of The Egyptian Hall, Piccadilly, in the
County of Middlesex, Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to
be as follows :-
This invention relates more particularly to producing type for use in the type-
writer now known as the " Maskelyne" typewriter, in which the printing is
effected directly by the type, in contradistinction to that which is done through a
carbon or other strip, but the invention is applicable to producing the type for any
other typewriter, or for any other printing purpose requiring a hard and perfect
type.
For the printing type, it is necessary that the type should be sharp and well
defined, and also, when the type has to strike the paper with a considerable blow,
as in most printing typewriters, it is necessary that the type should be strong
or tough. For this purpose it is necessary to make use of a hard tough metal, such
as iron, and various attempts have been made to produce a sharp, well-defined,
strong type.
It has been proposed to cast the type, but though they may be thus obtained
sharp and well defined, they are brittle. They have also been pressed out of iron
rod by an arrangement of toggle levers, but though such type may be said to
be comparatively tough, they are not sharp and sufficiently well defined, and,
owing to the necessarily obtuse angle subtended by the sides and face of each
character, are liable to hold the ink to such an extent as to blotch and blur the
paper.
In carrying out this invention, the soft iron is submitted to direct pressure,
preferably hydraulic, to form the type, which are pressed cold in suitable dies or
moulds, and afterwards hardened in any convenient manner.
For the purposes of the Maskelyne typewriter, three characters, say, a capital,
a small, and a figure, are on each type block, and I form each block with a longi-
tudinal groove at the back, to receive the type bar, to which the block is secured
by soldering and pinning.
In producing the type, I have found that with an ordinary plain punch or
plunger, notwithstanding enormous pressure employed, it is impossible to force the
metal into the recesses in the matrix which form the letters, owing to the excess of
metal which necessarily exists in those portions of the type-block which are situated
between the several characters, and in order to overcome this difficulty, I form
recesses in the sides of the plunger at points corresponding to the spaces
between the characters, so that the excess of metal can spread in a backward
direction, and form lugs or bulges on the walls of the longitudinal groove.
By thus providing, as it were, a means of escape for the metal, I can force it
well down into the character recesses with comparatively slight pressure, and I
produce characters at once sharp and well defined.
In producing these type, I find it most satisfactory, in order to lengthen the life
of the dies, to carry out the manufacture in two operations; the first, to more
or less roughly form the type, and the second to completely finish the type.
The apparatus which I prefer to use in forming my type, consists of a bed or

page_text: table which is recessed to receive the matrix or die, and a pair of jaws, which slide
over, and are in immediate contact with, the matrix.
The jaws are recessed or rebated on their abutting edges, to form a receptacle
or holder for the piece of soft iron which is to form the type block. These jaws
are worked in and out by an arrangement of levers, and they are tightened up by
means of wedges, which are inserted between the jaws and the walls of the recess
in the bed. The jaws are kept down on the bed by suitable guide bars or straps,
secured in any convenient manner to the bed.
A punch is made to fit into the space between the jaws, and is operated by a
plunger in the usual way, the punch being shaped to allow for the flowing
backward of the excess of metal between the characters, as before described.
Dated this 5th day of February 1895.
NEWTON & SON,
Agents for the Applicant.
I JOHN NEVIL MASKELYNE, Junior, of The Egyptian Hall, Piccadilly in the
County of Middlesex, 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 the production of type for use in machines known as
typewriters, and more particularly to that machine known as the "Maskelyne"
typewriter, in which the impression on the paper to be printed is effected directly
by the type, in contradistinction to that when an intervening carbon or other strip
is used for imparting the impression to the paper. The invention is also applicable
to the production of type for printers' use.
For typewriters, it is especially desirable that the type should be sharp and well
defined, and also, as the type has to strike with a considerable blow, that it should
be strong or tough. For this purpose, it is necessary to make use of a hard, tough
metal, such as iron (which experience has proved to be difficult of manipulation),
to secure the desired result.
It has been proposed to form the type by casting, but though the type may be
thus obtained sharp and well defined, it has proved to be brittle. Type has also
been pressed out of iron rod by an arrangement of toggle levers, but though
comparatively tough, sharpness and well defined impressions are not realized, and
owing to the necessarily obtuse angle subtended by the sides and face of each
impressed character, there is a liability, in their use, to hold the ink to such an
extent as to blotch and blur the paper.
In carrying out this invention, I provide a rectangular blank of soft iron, of
suitable gauge and length, and submit it to direct pressure, preferably hydraulic,
to form the type. This metal is pressed cold in suitable dies or moulds, and
afterwards hardened in any convenient manner.
For the purposes of the Maskelyne typewriter, three characters, say, a capital,
a small, and a figure, are on each type block, and I form each block with a
longitudinal groove at the back, to receive the type bar, to which the block is
secured by soldering and piuning.
In striking type out of solid metal, great difficulty has been found in obtaining,
even with the use of an excessive pressure, a perfect impression of the matrix,
owing to the excess of metal contained in the die.
Experience has proved that an escape for this surplus metal is essential to secure
a good result, and in forming my type with three characters on its face, I provide

page_text: an escape for the surplus metal, and mould the same into lugs at the back of the
type, for attachment to the levers by which the types are to be operated.
The moulding I effect by two operations, and in this way I am enabled to ensure
good impressions of the matrix, with the use of a moderate hydraulic pressure.
In the accompanying drawing, I have illustrated the process of forming types for
type-writers, and also the mechanism used in their construction.
Fig. 1 is a plan view of a divided die, shaped to receive the soft iron
blank; and
Fig. 2 is a front view of the same.
This die consists of two parts, A A', and is mounted on a solid metal plate B,
which is recessed on its face, to receive the half dies A A', and allow of their
sliding apart in their recesses, for the release of the soft iron blank inserted in
the die.
CC are wedges for holding the half dies in contact with each other, preparatory
to the insertion of the type blank.
DD are metal straps made fast to the plate B, and serving to hold down the
half dies and wedges in place.
E is the matrix of hardened steel inserted in the plate B, with the letters or
characters indented therein, in a line parallel and coincident with the opening in
the die A A¹.
a a' are two bell crank levers fulcrummed on the plate B at the points 1, 1, and
pivotally connected to the half dies A A' respectively at the points 2,2. The
shorter arms of these bell-crank levers are also pivotally connected to each other
at 3, to ensure their simultaneous motion.
a² is an extension of the bell-crank lever a¹, and constitutes a hand lever for
rocking the bell-cranks, and thereby sliding the parts A A' of the divided die apart
from each other, for the release of the moulded type.
Situate immediately above the die, are the parts for imparting the desired
pressure to the metal from which the type is to be formed. These parts are
shown in plan view at Fig. 3, in front view at Fig. 4, and in side view at Fig. 5.
They consist of a slide F, pierced at its centre to receive a steel head or plunger G,
which is designed to strike upon a punch inserted in the die A, as indicated by the
dotted lines at H in Fig. 2.
This punch, which is shown in full size at Fig. 6 (which represents it in side view,
cross action, and inverted plan view), serves to mould the back of the type, and for
this purpose its operating edge is provided with a tongue h, extending along its
whole length, and a pair of rounded recesses h¹ on either side of the tongue, for the
reception of the surplus metal.
The slide is so fitted to the ram of the press, as to be adjustable on its
supporting bars G1, for the purpose of bringing its plunger G immediately over the
steel punch H. It is with the aid of this mechanism that I produce, in soft
iron, my improved type, and that by the process which 1 will now proceed to
explain.
In producing these types, I find it most satisfactory, in order to lengthen the life
of the dies and matrices, to carry out the manufacture in two operations, in the first
of which the type is more or less roughly formed, while in the second the type is
completely finished.
From a rod of soft iron of suitable section for the type to be produced, I cut
pieces of a given length, and having subjected them to the well-known process of
"rumbling," to remove the scale, I obtain blanks of suitable size and proportion for
a type, as shown in side and end views at Figs. 7.
A blank thus prepared I drop into the opening in the closed die (see Fig. 1),
and I insert by hand the punch H. then set the hydraulic press in action, and
cause the punch to compress the soft iron blank beneath it, so as to partially form
the characters on the underside of the blank, by its contact with the matrix E, and
indent and shape the upper face of the blank, as shown in the side and end views of
the partially formed type at Figs. 8.

page_text: On the completion of this first operation, I raise the plunger G, and withdraw
the punch H from the die; the end of the punch being firmly embedded in the
back of the partially formed type the latter necessarily comes away also. The
punch and type together are then inserted in a second hydraulic press identical
with the first, the indentations in the matrix being, however, somewhat shallower
than those in the matrix of the first press.
On again applying hydraulic pressure, the face of the type is brought up
clean, and a perfect counterpart of the characters with which it is provided is
obtained.
Thus, by making the type in two operations, the wear upon the matrix which
gives the characters their final contour, is reduced to a minimuin, and an indefinite
number of type may be pressed from the matrices.
On the raising of the plunger, the type is released from the mould by the
rocking of the hand lever and bell-cranks, which open the mould, and leave the
type free to be withdrawn by the attendant, who lifts it out by means of
the adhering punch, from which it may be readily detached. It only then
remains to harden the metal in the usual way, when the type will be realy
for use.
The finished type tbus produced is illustrated in side view, top, and inverted
plan views, and end view, at Figs. 9.
From the foregoing description it will be readily understood that the result
obtained is mainly due to providing a means of escape or flow for the compressed
metal, which allows of the pressure applied forcing the metal well down into the
character recesses in the matrix, and producing characters at once sharp and well
defined.
In fitting this type in the type-writing machine, I insert the end of the type
bar in the groove at the back of the type, and secure it in place by soldering, and
pins passed through the lugs on the back of the type.
When applying this invention to the manufacture of printers' type, I take short
pieces of soft iron to form the blank,-say, a cube for the letter M, and provide a
steel punch suitably recessed to receive the excess of metal escaping from the die.
This punch will preferably form the stem of the finished letter, and will therefore
be cut to a proportionate length. As the excess of metal enters into the recess or
recesses of the punch, the punch will be locked to the moulded type, and give to it
the required depth, corresponding in length to compositors' type.
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 :-
The means above described for producing hard metal type applicable to type
writing machines and other uses.
Dated this 5th day of November 1895.
NEWTON & SON,
Agents for the Applicant.