Improvements in and relating to Type-writers.
Year: 1890

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in and relating to Type-writers.
I, ALEXANDER TIMOTHY BROWN, a citizen of the United States of America, residing
near Syracuse, in the County of Onondaga, and State of New York, one of the United
States of America, Mechanical Engineer, 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 :-
The improvements mainly relate to the construction and mounting of the paper
carriage, the escapement, the margin regulator, and the mounting of the type levers
in the frame, also to other minor improvements as will be fully described
hereinafter.
Fig. 1 is a rear perspective view of the machine, parts being broken away. Figs.
and 3 are front perspectives of the carriage. Figs. 4 and 5 are partial front views of
the rear carriage rail and margin gauge. Fig. 6 is a cross section of top plate and
carriage, the positions of the paper roll being shown in dotted lines. Figs. 6* and 6b
are details of track adjustment. Figs. 7, 8, 7 and 7b are detail views of part of the
escapement. Fig. 9 is a broken detail of the rocker bar pivot. Figs. 9 and 10 are
broken details of bottom of carriage, showing catch of margin gauge. "Figs. 11 and 12
are end views of the paper roll in its cradlo removed from the carriage. Fig. 13 is a
bottom: view of roller cradle and attachments. Fig. 14 is a perspective view of the
basket which carries the type bars, only a few of the type bars being in place.
Figs. 15 and 16 are broken detail plans of the type basket or ring and attachments.
Fig. 17 is a perspective of a detached bearing plate. Fig. 18 is a type lever
detached.
The letter A indicates the frame of the machine, and a, the top plate thereof. a' is
a bar above the top plate. Plato, a, carries studs 1, 1, extending upward, and the
guiding rails 2 and 3 are attached to these studs.
The guide rails 2 and 3 are grooved on opposite side faces and one of these
rails is adjustable away from the other by a set screw 7, or by other suitable
means.
The inner sides of the parallel side rails of the carriage b, are grooved to correspond
with the side rails, and steel balls 5 are interposed in these grooves. The weight of
the carriage is thus borne on the balls 5, running in the grooves, on ways 4, and the
adjustable track or guide rail can be set up to hold the carriage firmly in position
without binding. The adjustable rail is held to the top plate by screws 8 passing
through slots 9 in the rail (see detail plan Fig. 6b). The other rail may be fixed to
the top plate in any suitable manner. The groove in which the balls run will be of
such form as to give few points of contact, and the bearing surface will thus he
reduced to a minimum. Preferably there will be two balls in the rear groove, and
one in the front groove of the rails. The carriage is drawn along on the ball bearings
by a spring and chain or strap connection, as usual. The rear bar of the carriage
framo bears a rack bar 10, having teeth extending upwardly.
A rock shaft 11 is supported in a bearing 12, above this rack 10, and an arm 13
secured to this rock shaft 11 is connected by a pull rod 14 with the key mechanism, so
that the rock shaft is rocked when a key is struck, the connection being well known
in this art.
The rock shaft 11 bears a pawl 15, directly over the rack bar 10, and when armı 13
is drawn down this pawl 15 will engage one tooth of said rack.
The rock shaft 11 has a short arm or cam lever 16, extending at the
side opposito said pawl 15, and for convenience said arm may be a part of the pawl,
but extending along-side the rack 10.
A pawl 17 is pivoted to a bearing 18 on the top plate or bar a¹ of the machine.

page_text: This pawl 17 has a set scrow 20 projecting through an offset 19, so as to bear on the
arin or cam lever 16. The pawl 15 is normally held out of engagement with the
rack 10 by a spring in any suitable location, such a spring being indicated in a
diagrammatic way at e, Fig. 7. The pawl 17 normally drops down and engages one
tooth on the rack 10. When the arm 13 is drawn down pawl 15 engages the next
succeeding tooth of rack 10, and pawl 17 is lifted out of engagement with the rack by
arm or cain lever 16 bearing on screw 20.
The rack teeth on bar and the carriage will thus be held alternately by the
pawls 15 and 17, and will be permitted to move along the distance of a rack tooth
whenever shaft 11 is rocked by arm 13. The relation of the pawls 15 and 17 to each
other can be regulated by screw 20.
A rocker bar 80 is pivoted or hinged at each end of the carriage frame, and extends
under a stud 31 projecting from the side of jawl 20. This bar can be rockel by
lover 33, extending under a projection 34 on bar 30. The lever 33 is pivoted to the
frame (near the end of the roller) at 35, and a finger pieco 36 extends to the front of
the carriage.
Pawl 15 is normally out of engagement with rack 11. By depressing finger
piece 36 the lever 38 rocks lar 80 upward, and lifts stud 31 and thus throws pawl 17
out of engagemont with its rack, thus releasing the rack and carriage, so that the
carriage may be moved in either direction. On removing the pressure from lever B
the pawl 17 will engage whatever tooth of the rack is in front of it. A spring 37
bears the rocker bar 30 down.
The margin regulator or gauge 40 has rack teeth 41 on its rear face, and is hold
against a rack 42 on the track or guide har 3. by a spring 43, said spring being held
against the gauge by a screw 44, passing through a holo in the spring and a slot 45 in
the gauge.
The upward projection 46 on the gauge overhangs har 3, to hold the gauge squaro,
and serves as a stop against which the projection 39 on the rocker bar 30 bears when
the rocker is down, thus limiting the movement of the rocker bar 30 and the carriage
to which the bar is attached. This determines the margin of the short in writing.
But if it is desired to write outside the margin, is a side note, the rocker
bar 30 may be raised and the carriage moved to the extreme of its movement.
The inclined face of the projection 46 will permit the projection 39 to ride over
said projection 46 in one direction, rocking bar 30, but not enough to raise
pawl 17.
A lever 47, pivoted to the lower face of the track 3. engages the gauge 40, and may
press rack teeth 41 of the gauge ont of contact with the teeth 12 of the track bar.
The gauge 40 can then has slipped along lengthwise of the machine, and when lever 47
is released the teeth 41 will again engage teeth 42, and hold gauge 40 and its stop,
stud, or abutment 46 in its newly adjusted position, which will determine the width of
margin in writing.
The paper holding roll or cylinder 50 has an axial shaft 51 which rests in guide
ways 52 on the carriago, and the roll is held in the carriage in the position shown
in Fig. 1, in printing position, but is swung forward in the ways 52 so as to be close
alongside the index 53 (Fig. 6) to bring the last written line of writing into position
to be read by the operator.
The shaft 51 has its hearings in the end pieces or spiders 55, 55. These end pieces
or spiders 55, are connected by bars 56 and 57, one at each sido of the roller,
and the spidors and bars constitute a cradle which is permanently attached to the
roll.
The spiders 55 have each a projecting stud 58, which rost under the spring hooks 59
of the carriage frame b. These hooks are hung in standards 60, and are in
position midway of ways 52, so that the downward pressure of the spring
hooks will land to hold the roll and cradle either at the front or rear end of the
ways 52.
The rear bar 56 of the cradle supports the paper guard or apron 65. This guard is
pivotally bung to the cradle bar 56. The end stays or strengthening strips 69, 69,

page_text: of the apron, have bearings 70 for the paper pressing or feed roller 66. Curved
fingers 68 conform generally to the curvature of the paper holding roll 50, which
they partially surround, and are extensions of said strips 69.
The apron 65 projects somewhat above the cradle bar 56. Springs 70 secured to
said bar bear on the apron, pressing the lower end of the apron, roll 66, and fingers 68
close against the paper roll 50, to guide and hold the paper against said roller.
When it is desired to apply a number of sheets of paper to the roller, a pressure
against the rear side of the apron 65, above its support, throws the fingers 68 and
roller 66 away from the paper-holding roll, leaving a space into which the paper can
be readily fed. (See dotted lines Fig. 12, and full lines Fig. 11.)
The paper holding roll or "platen" 50 is rotated by pawl 21 engaging ratchet 22,
the pawl being operated by handle 23 in usual manner.
The spring pawl 24, Fig. 13, attached to the end of the cradle, enters the teeth of
ratchet 22, and holds the ratchet by frictional contact, so that the ratchet and roller
to which it is attached will not turn in the cradle without the application of some
force. A bell crank lever 25, hung in the bar 57, engages the spring pawl, and by
pressing on the lever 25 pawl 24 may be disengaged, and the roller is then free to
turn on its bearings in the cradle.
The cradle bar 57 supports a paper guide 71, as is common in machines of this
class. On this guide I form bearings 72, which support a curved finger 73, which
finger is held up normally by spring 74, (Fig. 12). By pressing on button 75 the
finger 73 may be made to slide in its bearings in the direction of the circumference
of the roll 50, so as to cross the space between the end of finger 71 and the paper
clamp 67, and thus guide a sheet of paper into position on the roller. On releasing
the pressure on button 75 the finger 73 will be drawn back, so as not to be in the way
of the printing characters in the machine.
The frame A, with its key board B, rock shafta C, and connections for operating
the escapement and type bars, and the inking apparatus shown in Fig. 1 are substan-
tially similar to mechanisms heretofore invented, but it is apparent that many of the
improvements are applicable to other machines.
The top plate of the machine has a frame e for the reception of the basket plato or
ring 80, which supports all the type bars. This plate 80 has secured to it a number
of upturned ears 82, 83, equal to the number of bearings for the type bars above said
plate. For convenience of construction these cars are made on separate plates 81,
which are riveted or otherwise secured to the plate or ring 80.
The ears 82 and 83 are perforated or cupped to form bearings for rocks shafts 84.
These rock shafts 84 extend across the ring or plate 80 in oblique direction, one end
of a shaft 84 being supporte in a cup or perforation in one of the inner ears 82, and
the outer end being supported in one of the outer ears 83. Preferably the inner end
of rock shaft 84 has a conical bearing 85, and the outer end is countersunk to receive
a conical point 86, on a screw 87, which screw has thread engagement with one
of the outer ears 83, and forms an adjustable cone point on which bar 84 is
supported.
.
The rock shafts 84 carry type bars 90, and these bars are preferably integral with
the rock shafts. The bars 90 are of such length as to reach the middle of ring SO,
and are offset from the shafts 84, near the inner end of said shafts. The bars 90 may
be bent to an obliquity from a right angle sufficient to compensate for the obliquity
of the rock shafts 84, so as to bring the printing characters 91 to the centre of the
ring 80 when shafts 84 are rocked.
The outer end of each shaft 84 has a crank arm 92, which arm is connected by
draw rod 93, to one of the key bars C, or to other mechanism operated by the key.
The rock shafts 84 are thus supported in bearings so as to lie obliquely across ring 80,
and a pull on rod 93 draws down the crank 92 outside the ring 80, the bar 90 will
be swung so as to carry the printing character 91 to printing position at the centre
of ring 80.
Where a small number of type bars are used, the rock shafts 84 may stand at a

page_text: right angle to the radius of ring 80, and then the typo bars 91 may be at right angles
to sail rock shafts.
To increase the number of type bars, alternate cars 88 and 89 are turned downward
from ring 80, and rock shafts 84 are mounted in said ears below ring 80, in similar
manner to those mounted above the ring 80, and the connections and operation of 5
these shafts, and their crank arms and type bars are similar to those of the shafts 84
and type bars 90 already described.
The outer and inner bearings of rock shafts 84 will be in the ears 82 and 83 of
different plates 81, where the ring or basket is built up as shown, but, as stated, the
rings 79 and 80, and plates 8.1 with ears 82, 83, 88 and 89 may all be cast or forged 1
in a single piece.
The cushion ring 94 is suspended from basket or ring 80 by rods 95. This cushion
ring has an elastie pad, 96, to prevent noise, and hold all the type bars in position for
cleaning.
The inner ends of rock shafts 84 overlap in one direction, and the hars 90 and
crank arms 92 are offset from opposite sides of the rock shafts. The rock shafts may
be as long as desirable, and by reason of their longth any vibration in their bearings
will cause but little variation in the position of the printing characters 91, so that a
practically perfect alignment of the printing characters may be maintained.
It will be understood that the modifications involving equivalent constructions are
within the spirit of this invention.
Flaving 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. The type writer carriage supported on hall bearings in the sides of the guide rails,
one of said rails being adjustable with reference to the others.
2. The escapement pawls in their relation to the rack bar of the carriage, one of
said pawls having a connection to engage and lift the other, and the rocker bar in
combination with the pawl which normally engages the rack bar of the carriago.
3. The rocker bar and escapement pawls in their general relation to each other,
and the lever extending from the rocker bar to the front of the carriage.
4. The margin regulator or gauge having tooth engagement with the rail of the
carriage, and the spring holding same in place, and the lever for releasing the
spring, in combination with the carriage and fiame, as described.
5. The roller in its cradle combined with the spring apron supported on the cradle
and extensible spring finger held on the cradle alongside the paper roll to be
extended or retracted, substantially as described.
6. The rock shafts bearing type bars and mounted substantially as described in
sories above and below the ring or type basket.
7. The novel features of the escapement, carriage, and type basket, substantially as
described.
Dated this 1st day of Soniember A.D. 1890.