IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINES FOR COMPOSING AND DISTRIBUTING TYPE
Year: 1856

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Isidore Delcambre, of Paris, Engineer, for the Inven-
tion of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINES FOR COMPOSING AND DISTRIBUTING
TYPE"
Sealed the 24th March 1857, and dated the 18th October 1856.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said lsidore Delcambre at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 18th
October 1856.
I, ISIDORE DELCAMBRE, of Paris, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature
of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINES FOR COMPOSING AND
DISTRIBUTING TYPE," to be as follows:-
The machine is composed of two principal parts, viz., that for the distribu-
tion and that for the composing of the types. The distributing part consists
of an inclined plane of a triangular form, provided with proper grooves serving
as guides for the types to glide in, whereas by means of the keys of a keyboard
acting on proper lever arms, excentricums, and other connecting parts, each
line and each letter or type of these lines is carried to its corresponding box
of the composing part, which latter also consists of an inclined. plane, with
proper guiding grooves for the types, which are moved also by means of suitable
levers acted upon by the keys of a keyboard as for the distributing. part, and

page_text: whereby the types are thrown in a suitable hole, corresponding with one of the
guiding grooves, and from thence are brought into lines, each type coming to
stand close against its proceeding one, and are moved by a treadle working by
the foot of the compositor.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Isidore Delcambre in the Great Seal Patent- Office on the
18th April 1857.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ISIDORE
DELCAMBRE, of Paris, Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Eighteenth-day-of-October, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-six, in the twentieth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give anda grant unto me, the said
Isidore Delcambre, Her special licence that I, the said Isidore Delcambre,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Isidore
Delcambre, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree
with, and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter 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 MACHINES. FOR
COMPOSING AND DISTRIBUTING TYPE," upon the condition (amongst others) that I,
the said Isidore Delcambre, my exccutors 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 Isidore Delcambre; do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in' what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:-
The Invention relates to certain improvements in machines for composing and
for distributing type, the same may be understood by the following description;
and by referring therein to the annexed Drawings, in which corresponding
parts are indicated by the same letters of reference. And in order to make
1

page_text: the Invention better understood, I will herein first describe those improve-
ments relating to the machine for composing, and afterwards give a description
of the machine for distributing. The improvements I have made in the
machine for composing, consists, firstly, in an arrangement permitting of
increasing considerably the quantity of type held by the machine in comparison
to what has been possible till now.
. Fig. 1 shows a perspective view, of the, machine for composing, and Fig. 2
a similar view of the machine for: distributing. The machine for composing
consists of a suitable frame A, on which rests an inclined plane B, furnished
with proper grooves or furrows C, for guiding the types, which latter fall down
from proper compartments D and,D', and by a suitable mechanism come to
lay themselves side by side on a justificator E (shown separately in Fig. 6);
the types in the compartments D and D are situated in vertical furrows G,
and on pressing on the keys of the keyboard F, they fall in their respective
grooves C on, the incline B, but as the compartments D and D¹ would hold
only a small quantity of type, I have annexed to them curved canals II, forming
prolongation of the furrows of the, compartments D and D', and serving con-
sequently for feeding these latter with type when required; this forms the first
part of my improvements.
"
A second improvement consists in the manner in which the types are caused
to fall down in the grooves C of the incline B; this is done by means of a
curved lever I, one end J, of which the form of a T, this lever turns on a
pivot i, when actuated by the rods K, each of which latter is connected to
one of the keys of the keyboard F; the end.J of the lever I serves for throwing
a type out of its corresponding groove.D, and so cause it to fall in its respective.
groove C. of. the, incline B, springs L serving for. forcing the levers to return.
to their original position.
A third improvement consists in an arrangement for carrying the types in
the required position in the grooves C; for this purpose the rod K has a
tooth on which rests a hook l, which follows the motion of the rod K in such
manner that when this latter is pulled down by the action of the corresponding
key of the keyboard F, the part of the: hook comes to bear on the type, which
latter has been thrown forward by the crutch or T-piece of J, and thus prevents.
the type from taking .a.wrong position; the stem of, the hook passes through
a-hole in the cross bar. U.
i
Another improvement..consists in the mode of causing, the types, on arriving,
at the end of the. grooves C, to take. the right position, side by side. This,
arrangement is shown.in. Figs. 12 and 13, and consists of a hammer M, worked,

page_text: by an excentricum N; this hammer falls down on the types m and causes
them to enter into the guide canal, whereas another little hammer O pushes
against their front side; this latter hammer is also actuated by the excen-
tricum N, through the medium of the lever P; after each falling of a type the
hammers are carried back to their original position by means of the springs n
and o. The hammer O pushes the types against the back part of the guide canal,
whereas the hammer M causes them to apply themselves against the row of
types already introduced in the said canal, and thus makes the entire advance
the justificator E. Instead of the hammer O, a pair of small nippers or
pinchers may be used for catching hold of the type and pushing these latter
in the required position, or two small rollers R may serve for guiding the
types m to their proper position, or two endless bands S may take hold of the
types and carry them forward in the same manner as with the rollers R.
Another improvement consists in rendering moveable the cross bar U, Fig. 11
which bar formerly was fixed to the frame A; this bar U being moveable
offers the advantage of cleaning with facility and amending any defect that
might occur in the parts covered by the said cross bar.
Another improvement consists in the greater height at which the keyboard F.
is placed, thus enabling the workman to look over the cross bar U, and
observing at once when any obstruction would take place and prevent the types
from taking their regular course. All these improvements, though at first
sight they may be considered of but little importance, render the machine really
workable, which before was not the case.
I now will describe the machine for distributing the types after they have
served for printing, that is to say, while they are still arranged in words, lines,
or pages. The distributing machine may be either separate, as in Fig 2, or
form part of the composing machine, as is shown in Fig. 3. The principle
of working of this machine consists in causing the types (read from an im-
pression taken therefrom) to fall one after another into its corresponding type-
box. In order to effectuate this, the types forming a page are put on a table or
platform A', Fig. 2 and 3. Fig. 17 shows a sort of knife B', turning at one end
on a pin b', and serving for separating a line of types, the letters of which line
are then read from the impressed sheet, and caused to fall one letter after
another in their respective boxes by means of the following arrangement:-
Three keys C, C2, C3, act on a combination of levers E, F, by which a sort
of small trap-door is lifted up at the height required for allowing the letter
or type to pass under it, and as there are three sizes of types, viz., those
corresponding in size with the i, those corresponding with the n, and those corrc=

page_text: sponding with the m; one key C¹ serves for lifting the trap at the height
required for the types corresponding in size with the i, the second key C³ for
lifting at the height required for the types corresponding with the n, and the
key C for the types corresponding with the m; the levers are also combined
in such manner as to push successively only one type forward at each lifting
of the trap at its corresponding height; this type thus arrives in a canal G',
with which the middle part H¹ is furnished; in this canal G¹ open lateral
canals or grooves h³, corresponding in number with the different series of types,
the entrance of each of these lateral canals h' is furnished with a little door i²,
which is opened through the medium of a key ³, when the type corresponding
with this canal arrives at the entrance of it in the middle or central canal G¹,
the door being thus opened, the type continues to fall in its corresponding
canal h, and thus arrives in its respective type-box at the end of this canal h³,
from which type-box the types may afterwards be removed to the composing
machine. A spring causes the door ¹ to return at once to its original position
after the type having entered into the canal, the finger is removed from the
key k¹. It will thus be understood that for each particular series of type a
corresponding lateral canal h¹ and key will be required, so that the work-
man has only to lower with one hand the key for opening the trap-hole at the
height required for the size of the type to pass under it, and which type he
reads on the impression or printed page he has before him, and with the other
hand to lower the key for opening the lateral canal corresponding with the box
for the type he has caused to pass under the trap-door. It will be understood
that instead of having three keys C1, C2, C3, for lifting the trap-door at the
required height, this latter might also be done by two keys only.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention, and the manner in
which the same is put into operation, I wish it to be understood that what
I claim as my Invention consists,-
Firstly, in the mode described for furnishing the composing machine with a
larger quantity of type.
Secondly, the mechanical arrangement by which the types are caused to
fall into their respective grooves on the inclined plane.
Thirdly, the mode of holding the types in order to let them fall in the
required position in the grooves.
Fourthly, the modes described for causing the types, on escaping from the
grooves of the inclined plane, to arrange themselves successively close against
one another in the guide canal.
Fifthly, rendering the cross bar U moveable.

page_text: Sixthly, the greater. height: at: which the keyboard is. placed in order of
allowing the compositors having a better control, over the regular working, of
the machine.
Seventhly, the arrangement of the machine for distributing type.
In-witness whereof; I; the said Isidore Delcambre, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Tenth day of April; One thousand eight hundred
and fifty-seven.
ISIDORE DELCAMBRE. (L.S.)
ISIDORE DELCAMBRE. (L.s.)