Year: 1886

page_text: Date of Application, 26th Nov., 1886
Complete Left, 26th Sept., 1887
Complete Accepted, 28th Oct., 1887]
We, PERCY RUSKIN ALLEN, of No. 35, Mall Road, Hammersmith, in the County
of Middlesex, Engineer, and JOHN LA MERT, of No. 4, Malcomb Place, Dorset
Square, Regents Park, in the County of Middlesex, Surgeon, do hereby declare the
nature of this invention to be as follows:-
-
This invention relates to improvements in the class of printing instruments that are
usually described as type writers.
In machines constructed according to this invention the letters, figures, and
symbols that it is desired to employ, are arranged round the periphery of a wheel or
disc or of a segment of a wheel mounted on a spindle that has a spiral formed upon
it. A nut having a pointer attached to it is able to be slidden along the spindle, and
when a wheel is used the pitch of the spiral may be such that the passage of the nut
from one end of its stroke on the spindle to the other will cause the type wheel to
make one revolution. The pointer attached to the nut moves over or opposite a surface
hereinafter called the slide that has letters, figures, and symbols arranged upon it
corresponding to those upon the type wheel and which are placed in the same relative
order, so that when the pointer is brought opposite a letter on the slide, the corre-
sponding letter on the type wheel is in a position to print when it is brought into
contact with the paper. In order to keep the type wheel a convenient size, the letters
may be arranged in two rows round the periphery, thus the capital letters and numerals
form one row, and the small letters and symbols form the other row, and either may
be printed at will by depressing a lever which moves the impression roller relatively
to the type wheel, or the type wheel relatively to the impression roller, and so determines
whether the small or large letters strike the paper. It is preferred to mount the type
wheel and spindle upon a swing frame, which when depressed brings the type wheel
in contact with the paper, and the up and down movement of this frame works the
impression roller across, space by space, underneath the type wheel. When the machine
is being worked, the step by step motion of the impression roller is at right angles to

page_text: the centre line of the type wheel and spindle, but for the sake of portability the box
for covering the mechanism up is, according to one arrangement, so constructed with
the side and top and bottom hinges that the whole structure of the box may be folded
together to form a flat base which acts as a foundation for the machine when it is at
work, or, according to a modification, a separate cover is used in combination with a
body box which has the sides or lids hinged to the base. For portability and convenience
in packing, the spindle may be made to assume a position parallel to the axis of the
impression roller, or the carriage of the impression roller may be turned parallel to
the spindle and frame.
W. LLOYD WISE,
46, Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, W.C.,
Agent for the Applicants.

page_text: We, PERCY RUSKIN ALLEN, of No. 35, Mall Road, Hammersmith, in the County
of Middlesex, Engineer, and JOHN LA MERT, of No. 4, Malcomb Place, Dorset
Square, Regents Park, in the County of Middlesex, Surgeon, do hereby declare tho
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 improvements hereinafter described by aid of the drawings
annexed in the class of printing instruments that are usually described as type writers.
Referring to the said drawings,
Figs. 1 to 7 inclusive (sheet 1) show a machine constructed according to this
invention, Fig. 1 being a side elevation, Fig. 2 an end elevation, Fig. 3 a plan, Fig. 4
a view showing the type wheel and other parts when printing capitals, and Figs. 5, 6,
and 7 smaller scale views showing the containing case closed with parts of the mechanism
in dotted lines. a is the type wheel, ba spindle with spiral formed upon it, and
e a nut that has a handle forined on it, and a pointer d attached. This pointer moves
over a notched slide with letters arranged in the same order and the same relative
distance apart as other like letters around the circumference of the type wheel, so that
when the pointer is brought into a notch opposite a specific letter on the slide the
corresponding letter on the type wheel will be in a position such that when depressed
it will print on paper that is on roller t. As shown in the drawings, the type wheel
and spindle are carried by arms f, so united by the spindles g and has to form one
frame; the weight of this and other parts may be counterbalanced either by a weight
or a spring, and its normal position is such that the type wheel is clear of the paper.
The arrangement of machine now being described is designed especially with a view
to portability, simplicity, and cheapness, and with the object of making it compact the
framework carrying the swing frame is mounted on the base j of a box of which k
and are the ends-m is the back, n the front, and o the top-These portions are so
hinged and mitred at the ends that they come together and form a closed rectangular
box as shown in Figs. 5, 6, and 7, or they may be folded on themselves as shown in
Figs. 1, 2, and 3, 50 that they then form a wide base for the machine to stand on.
In this case they are kept stiff and in position by means of the frame p carrying the
roller carriage: this frame being locked to the wood-work by means of catches 9, 9-
The frame and roller carriage are at right angles to the centre line of the type wheel
and spindle when the machine is being worked, but are placed parallel to it when the
machine is packed for travelling as shown in Figs. 5, 6, and 7.
In order that the type wheel may be kept of small size, in this form of machine, the
letters and symbols are placed in two rows around the periphery of the type wheel,
the upper case in one line and the lower case in the other line, and the carriage s

page_text: Figs. 14 and 15 show the feed motion on the carriage;
Figs. 16 and 17 show an arrangement of slack nut; and
Figs. 18 and 19 show an alternative arrangement of slack type wheel-no inking
arrangements are shown in this sheet of drawings, but they may be of any convenient
form such as rollers, pads, ribbons, etc., and the type on the wheel may be metal or
india-rubber, and may print through a slotted shield, but these points do not affect the
essential features of the invention.
:
In Figs. 8, 9, and 10, a is the type wheel, b¹ is the spiral spindle, c¹ the nut, and
d the pointer this arrangement is carried between centres or in bearings in a swing
frame which turns on an axis at f¹, this axis being the same height as the top of the
impression roller, and so disposed that when the type wheel descends it will strike
the paper on the impression roller at right angles. This is to prevent smudging. The
pointer moves over a scale gl and has a small tongue at its back so that it is kept
close up to the scale. The locking arrangement and feed motion are as follow:-An
arm ¹ turns on the same axis as the frame e and is so shaped that it has a projection ¿¹
on it that passes through the frame el over the type wheel al and in certain positions
enters notches in the side of the type wheel. The frame e¹ has a tail-piece k¹ on it,
and the arm has a similar tail . The frame e has a constant tendency to be lifted
by means of the spring n¹, while the arm has a like tendency due to the spring of
which acts upon it through a bar p', but the arm h' does not move up so far as the
frame e and consequently the tooth i¹ is withdrawn clear from the notches j', and the
type wheel may be freely rotated, but when the frame is depressed to print, the tooth
enters the notch that is opposite or approximately opposite it, and forces the typo
wheel into exactly the right position.
To enable the type wheel to adjust itself freely to the proper position, either
the nut is made as in Figs. 16 and 17 so that it will turn slightly inside the handle.
and index ', or the type wheel is not rigidly fixed to the spindle but is attached by
means of a strong spring as shown in Figs. 18 and 19, and thus if the index be not
stopped just opposite the centre of the letter, the finger will enter the type wheel
notch and put it, right.
The variable feed for the different widths of letters is obtained as follows:-The
arm h¹ is prolonged, and on the opposite side of the fulcrum carries a pin which

page_text: works in a slot in the bar p¹, the end of this slot is normally kept up against the pin
by the action of the spring o¹, and thus as the arm ' descends with the frame e' it
causes the arms to move the pawl which engages with the rack u'-The amount
of travel of the arm ' depends upon the depth of the notches j', and as these can be
nade to represent varying breadths of letters, the feed motion can be made to vary
exactly as the letter to be printed: thus say whereas M might require a movement
equal to three teeth of the rack, a movement of one tooth might suffice for I.
As it is necessary, in order to prevent sinudging, to have the impression cylinder
absolutely stationary at the moment of printing, the pawl has a tail on it, and is
struck out of gear with the teeth of the rack by means of an arm w¹ on the frame e¹
when the type wheel gets within a certain distance of the paper. This arm to also
carries a pin, which, when the frame e is down, enters the rack and prevents it
moving, and the pawl has a thumb-piece y' so that the pawl can be thrown out of
gear when it is desired to run the carriage back for a new line &c. The word-
spacing motion is obtained by means of a trigger lever this has a small cranked
arm which engages in a slotted hole in the bar p¹; this slotted hole is of such a length
that the ordinary to and fro movement of the letter spaco does not move the trigger,
but when it is desired to provide the space between two words, which is about double
the maximum letter space, the trigger is pressed down, and the lever and pawl th
have an extra movement given them independent of the pin p' which is unaffected
because of the slot. In Fig. 8, the feed motion is shown just after having fed with
the type wheel down on the paper, and the pawl knocked out of gear. In Fig. 14 it
is shown with the frame e¹ and the arm h¹ up and just going to take a new feed.
Fig. 15, the word-spacing has just been accomplished by the depression of the trigger z¹.
As will be evident, instead of using a type wheel constituting a complete circle, it
might be a segment of a circle, in which case the spiral of the spindle would be arranged
to give a corresponding part of a rotation by each complete traverse of the nut.
In
It will be seen that in both the arrangements of machine above described, the
carriage carrying the impression roller is made with inclined or bevelled sides which
slide in corresponding slides in the frame, and thus when the type wheel descends on
the paper, it presses the carriage firmly down into the inclined sides, and prevents
shake, or side movement.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this invention,
and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we claim is :-
1. In a type writer the combination of a type wheel, a spindle with spiral or screw
and a nut the construction and arrangement being such that by traversing or moving
the nut (without rotation thereof) along the spindle from its one extreme position
thereon to the other the type wheel will be caused to make a complete rotation or if
it be segmental a point in its periphery will be moved through an arc equivalent to
that described by the periphery of the segment substantially as described.
2. In a type writer the combination of a type wheel, a spindle with spiral or screw,
a nut on same with index finger or pointer, and a slide or scale marked with letters
or figures corresponding to those on the type wheel, all these parts being mounted
upon a swing frame, and the arrangement being such that by moving the nut along
the spindle so as to bring the index finger or pointer opposite to any lotter or figure
on the slide or scale and then pressing down the nut and with it the swing frame
the corresponding letter or figure will be printed or impressed substantially as
described.
3. In a type writer such as referred to in the preceding claim mounting the
impression roller upon a sliding carriage constructed with inclined or bevilled sides
substantially as described.
4. In a type writer such as referred to in claim 1, and in which the letters are
arranged in more than one row round the periphery of the type wheel so mounting
the impression roller that it can be moved relatively to the type wheel in such a
manner that the letters or figures of either of the rows round the type wheel may be
printed from substantially as described.

page_text: 5. Providing a type writer with a box substantially such as described, which will
contain and enclose the operating mechanism when not in use and can be folded
together to form a flat base serving as a foundation for the machine when in use such
base being then stiffened by means of the frame work in which the impression roller
is supported as above set forth.
6. The improved type writer substantially as described with reference to sheet 1
of the drawings annexed.
7. The modified type writer described with reference to sheet 2 of the drawings
annexed.
Dated this 26th day of September 1887
PERCY RUSKIN ALLEN.
W. LLOYD WISE.