Year: 1887

page_text: [Communicated from abroad by EMERY MANVILLE HAMILTON, Mechanical Engineer,
and LOUIS GOLDSMITH, Gentleman, both of the City, County, and State of
New York, United States of America.]
I, HERBERT JOHN ALLISON, of 52 Chancery Lane, London, County of Middlesex,
Patent Agent, 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 a type-writing machine in which the printing is effected
by types fixed on the inner ends of a series of levers arranged radially around a circle
so that each lever when actuated carries its type to the centre of the circle where the
printing impression is made upon the paper which is presented to the type by the
bereinafter described paper-carriage which is actuated to move across the machine for
this purpose as hereinafter set forth.
This invention consists in a type-writing machine comprising the hereinafter
described devices whereby the printing by the types directly upon the paper is
accomplished by the peculiar and novel movement set forth of levers arranged and
actuated as specified whereby the ink is supplied directly to the types by an
inking-pad contained in a described case: whereby the paper upon which the printing
is effected is supported by rollers, having the construction set forth, mounted on a
carriage constituted as specified whereby said carriage is moved across the machine
with a step by step motion which presents the paper to the types in such manner that
uniform spaces are secured between the successive type impressions in printing a
word in the operation of printing across the paper from side to side thereof and
whereby the paper is moved directly through the rollers in the direction at right
angles to said lateral or side movement thereof, to form successive lines of printing..
In the drawings Figure 1, sheet 1, is a plan of a type-writing machine embodying
this invention.
Figure 2, sheet 2, is a vertical cross-section of the same.
Figure 3, sheet 2, is a plan of the disk or annulus in which the type-levers and
thair sou

page_text: Figure 4, sheet 2, is a vertical section of said disk and showing in elevation a
portion of the annulus which rests thereon.
Figure 5, sheet 2, is an elevation in detail of a train of levers illustrating the
movement of the type-levers and their actuating mechanism.
Figures 6 and 7, sheet 2, are detail views partly in elevation and partly in section
of the train of levers by which the motion is given to the paper-carriage to secure
uniform spaces between the letters of a word in the operation of printing.
Figure 8, sheet 3, is a plan of the annular inking-pad.
Figure 9, sheet 3, is a plan of the sliding paper-carriage and its feed-rollers and
showing the construction of the latter.
Figure 10, sheet 3, is an end elevation of the paper-carriage.
Figure 11, sheet 3, is an end elevation of the sliding frame of the paper-carriage..
Figures 12 and 13, sheet 3, are end views and Figures 14 and 15 a rear elevation
and plan respectively of one end of the feed-rollers and sliding carriage, and illustrating
the mechanism for feeding the paper through the rollers to form successive lines of
printing
and
Figure 16, sheet 3, is a vertical section of the inking-pad and its enclosing case.
I will now proceed to describe the machine in detail.
M is the base or frame of the machine.
A, A, is the series of type-levers: a, a, are types mounted severally on the inner
ends of the levers. Said levers are arranged radially in a circle as shown plainly in
Figure 1. aa is a series of rocking arms to which the outer ends of the levers A. A
are severally pivoted. aa² are toothed segments of pinions formed severally on said
rocking arms and the axial pins or journals a of which are journalled in a supporting
disk or annulus B. The levers A A are fulcrumed on an annular rib b on the disk B,
which disk is supported centrally of the annular plate B₁ by posts 6, as shown. The
levers A, A, play in keeper-slots, which are vertical, in flanges projecting upward"
from the disk B. B2 is an annulus which rests upon the flanges, and has an
annular ribb 3 projecting downward in opposition to the rih . Between these opposed
ribs and the levers A A are held in place and allowed to slide back and forth
endways when actuated by the rocking arms a² as presently described.
A. A are
radial slots in the rim of the disk B, in which the rocking-arms and their toothed
segmental pinions play. is a groove circumferential of the upper face of the disk B
and intersecting the radial slots 6. The journals a³ rest in said grooves on each side
of said several slots, with a space between the adjacent ends of said journals. In this
space on the disk B between the adjacent journals, and about midway between the
several slots are apertures drilled and tapped to receive the several screws 8, the
broad flanged heads of which reach over the two adjacent ends of journals a and
constitute means for holding the journals adjustably in place in their bearings.
cc' is a series of radially arranged levers which I prefer to employ as part of the
mechanism for giving the rocking motion to the arms a to actuate the type-levers A.
a a are segmental racks formed severally on the outer ends of said levers e¹. C, C, are
the key-levers, having keys C₁ provided with finger pieces C2, bearing each some
letter or figure corresponding to the type borne by the type-lever A, actuated thereby.
The key-levers C are fulcrumed on pins or studs cf on the base of the machine. ³ ³ are
rops arranged to work vertically in apertures in the disk B and base M, and are
severally pivoted to the key-levers C, and their upper ends impinge severally against
the underside of the levers c¹. The levers c' are fulcrumed near their inner ends on
an inwardly turned and rounded annulus which is on an upwardly projecting
annular flange c carried by an annular disk c that rests upon and is secured to the
plate B which plate is in turn supported on posts rising from the base M. 8c arc
curved projections formed severally on the under sides of the short arms or inner ends
of the levers c¹, and which hook under said rounded annulus c. The levers c¹ are thus
free to oscillate on their fulcrums, while they are prevented from escaping therefrom.
The flange is preferably formed with the vertical lip or rim extending above the
annulus in which lip are formed, the vertical slots in which the levers c¹ severally
rest, are held in position and have their play. By depressing a key C₁, the key-lever

page_text: connected thereto operates through its rod c³, to throw upward the outer or long arm
of a lever c¹, the reverse or downward motion of said lever e¹ back to place being
accomplished by springs e arranged as shown, bearing severally upon the upper face
of said levers c¹.
:-
The operation and movement of the type-levers A A in this machine is as follows:-
When a key C is pressed the movement of its lever will, through a rod e³ and lever c¹
cause the rack a thereon to be projected upward which will consequently cause the
pinion to make a half revolution or nearly so, thereby rocking its arm a' into the
position shown in dotted lines in Figure 5. While the arm is making this movement,
the free end of the lever A, carrying the type, describes the curve shown by the dotted
line in said Figure, whereby the type at the beginning of the movement is carried
directly, or nearly directly, downward away from the inking pad, (shown detached
and in section at D, in said Figure) and at the end of the movement directly upward
against the roller (shown at E², this figure, in dotted lines) to make the printing
impression. Then when the key-lever is released the spring e' acts to rotate the arm a
in the opposite direction reversing the movement of lever A and bringing its type
back to the inking-pad.
Other devices may be substituted for the rods c³ and levers c¹ which will communi-
cate the described motion from the key levers C to the racks at.
Or said racks may
he carried directly by the rods 3 which may each have a retracting spring. By means
of the construction, arrangement and movement described of the levers A, I am enabled
to construct a type-writing machine with great economy of material and space.
D is an annular inking-pad, of felt or some analogous material, Figures 2 and 16.
Dis an annulus which is supported on the flange of disk B, and upon which
the pad D rests. d is an outside circumferential upwardly extended flange on the
annulus D. D² is an annular disk of substantially the same external diameter as the
annulus D, and has the circumferential rebate d' on the upper face of its external rim.
This disk rests on top of the pad D. D³ is an annular cap fitting over and enclosing
circumferentially the annulus D', pad D and disk D². The internal diameter of the
top of the cap is such that it fits into the rebate d¹. The flange of the cap D³, is
externally threaded to screw to a threaded seat on the inner edge of the annulus B.
The parts D1, D2 and D³ thus constitute a case for the pad D. The relative internal
diameters of the pad D, annulus D' and disk D2 are such that when the pad is placed
centrally in its case the inner edge of the pad will project beyond the inner edge
of the annulus, and the types a, a, be therefor inked by being pressed against the
projecting edge of the pad; and the inner edge of the disk D² will project beyond the
inner edge of the pad to protect the same and hold it in contact with the types. By
screwing the cap D³ up or down the pressure of the pad on the types may be so
adjusted as to cause more or less ink to be given thereto."
The paper-carriage and feed-rollers are constructed as follows:
E is a frame formed of side bars or rods e and cross-bars e¹. are screw pins
which pivot the cross-bars e¹, on the rear side of the frame, to post e which rise from
the base of the machine. The carriage may thus be swung on these hinges or pivots e
into the position shown in dotted lines in Figure 10, so that its under side is exposed
to view. E is a frame fitted to slide on the side rods e of hinged frame E. E² and E³
are the paper feed-rollers, journalled in end-pieces et which are tied together by the
journal rod or axis of the roller E³. A roller-frame is thus constituted and this is
pivoted or hinged at its front-edge by pins e and e' projecting from the end pieces e¹
and taking in bearings in posts or lugs e and respectively which rise from the end-
pieces eo of the sliding-frame E. e" is a spring in a socket in the post 8 and
against this the pivotal pine bears. The pins e and e' are of a length to give them
longitudinal play in their hearings. e¹s are laterally projecting pins on the end-
pieces et on the side of the roller-frame opposite to its hinges e, e, and e¹ are catches
on the frame E which engage said pins e3 when the roller-frame rests down in
position on the frame E. By moving the roller-frame longitudinally on its pivots e, e
against the stress of the spring e, which may be conveniently done by pressure in
the direction stated on the outside of the hand-wheel es of the roller the pins e¹³

page_text: may be released from their catches e and the roller-frame then be swung on its
pivots forward towards the front of the machine, as shown in dotted lines in
Figure 11.
When the rollers are in this position the paper to be printed upon may-
be readily and conveniently introduced between the rollers E2 and E³.
paper is thus introduced the roller-frame may be swung back into position on the
frame E', the pins e¹³ and their catches holding it in place.
When the
ele are set screws in the posts e³ provided with bearing springs 7 therein. The
bearings of the screw pins in the posts are slotted and the pins take into the set
screws e transversely thereof and by this means the paper-carriage frame E is given
a horizontal adjustment on the machine over the series of type-levers. 18 18 are set
screws seated vertically in the free ends of the cross bars e of the carriage frame E,
and bear upon the tops of pillars e¹ which rise from the base of the machine. By
this means the paper-carriage is given a vertical adjustment on the machine.
The feed-roller E³ is constructed as shown in Figure 9, & is a hollow cylinder with
heads through which are apertures of smaller diameter than the interior diameter of
the evlinder. is a rod of spring material passing longitudinally through the
cylinder and fitting loosely in the apertures in the heads, thus permitting the
cylinder to revolve freely on the rod. The ends of the rod are fixed in the end
pieces of the roller-frame. The spaces on. the rod between the cylinder ends and
the end pieces et are filled by the conical loose sleeves ³ which taper from the cylinder
ends towards the rod ends as shown.
The roller E is composed preferably of a cylindrical shell k, Figure 14, covered
with a sheath of soft rubber or similar yielding material to constitute a suitable
elastic surface to receive the blow of the type. is an axial rod fixed in the heads
of the cylinder, the ends of which rod are journalled in slotted bearings in the end
pieces are set screws seated in threaded apertures in the end pieces e with
their inner ends abutting against the journals of the roller E. By means of these set
screws the roller E may be forced in its slotted bearings towards the roller E³ so as
to press the rollers closely together, the spring-rod acting to make said pressure a
yielding spring pressure, regulated by said set.screws. By means of this construc-
tion the entire strain of the spring-rod 2 is borne by the end pieces e, thus permitting
the other parts of the carriage to be made light and slender, which is desirable as it
reduces the weight of the paper-carriage to be moved on the machine in the operation
of printing.
The rotation of the feed-rollers to feed the paper through between them at pleasure
to form successive lines of printing, is effected by the following devices: n is an
outwardly projecting annular flange on the head of the roller E2, Figures 12, 13, 14
and 15. n is a ratchet-pinion on the axial rod of said roller and within the recess
constituted by said flange n. 2 is a lever pivoted loosely on said rod 7 outside
ratchet-pinion and beyond said flange. is a depending pawl pivoted on the inner
side of said lever n² and engaging said ratchet-pinion within said flanged recess.
n' is a handle on the said lever, and n³ is a nose or angle arm on the lever which by
contact with the frame E limits the movement of the lever in one direction, while a
stud projecting into said flanged recess from the inner side of the end-piece e' serves
by the contact with it of the pawl ³ to limit the movement of said lever in the
opposite direction. The flange n serves to hold the pawl in engagenient with the
ratchet-pinion. The parts are located and adjusted relatively to each other as shown,
so that when the lever is in the position shown in Figure 12 with its nose n³ stopped
against the frame E¹ the pawl ³ will be in the position there shown in engagement
with a tooth of the ratchet-pinion and be thus held, and consequently hold the
roller E2 and the paper being printed on while a line of words is being printed. The
distance between the teeth on the ratchet-pinion being equal to the distance between
the centres of the lines of printing to be formed, the paper carried by the rollers will
be fed forward the distance of one line by raising the lever n² into the position shown
in Figure 13, when the pawl n³ will traverse the pinion n¹ to and engage the next
tooth thereof, the movement of the lever to just that distance being limited by the
contact of the pawl with the pin n°, whereupon the lever may be again drawn down

page_text: till the nose stops against the frame E. Each successive oscillation of the
lever will thus feed the paper through the rollers the distance of one line of
proposed printing. By turning the roller E2 by the hand wheel e¹s which is fixed on
the end of the axial rod thereof, the rollers may be rotated to carry the paper
through any desired distance, the pawl n³ in this case running freely backward over
the teeth of the ratchet-pinion as the rollers revolve forward.
The pin and the depending gravity pawl are so arranged relatively to each other
that when the pawl is forced against the pin, the pin will engage the inclined face of
the end of the pawl so as to raise the pawl out of engagement with the ratchet-
wheel n', so that the roller E² may be rotated freely backwards.
The step by step motion of the paper-carriage across the machine, to bring the
paper into proper position to receive the printing impressions of the types and to
secure uniform spaces between the several letters of a word, is produced by the
following devices, shown in figures 2, 5, 6 and 7. is a post arranged at the centre
of the system of radial levers to move vertically in an aperture in the base M and
disk B. is a wide flanged collar fixed on this post upon which rests the inner or
short arms of the several levers c¹. The raising of the long arms of these levers
acts to depress the said collar and consequently the post F. F' is an elbow-lever
fulcrumed in a bracket" on the plate B¹. The lower arm f³ of said lever F¹ extends
through a slotted opening in the post F. The upper arm * extends upward as repre-
sented in said Figures 2, 5, 6 and 7. For the purpose of adjusting the collar f.
relatively to the ends of the arms of the levers c¹ the upper end of the post Fis
chambered and a long screw is fitted to work in said chamber, the lower end
impinging against the lower arm 3 of the lever F!.
His a toothed plate or ratchet-bar on the front of the sliding frame E¹ of the paper-
carriage. is a spring dog pivoted on a rocking-lever and made to engage with
the teeth of the ratchet-bar H. On the lever ¹ is formed an arm with which the
upper end of the arm of the elbow-lever F' engages. When the arm³ of said
lever is depressed the upper end of the arm is carried against the arm 2 of the
lever thereby swinging said lever to the right, thus shifting the dog h from
one tooth to another on the bar H; and if the said lever is carried far enough
the dog is lifted out of engagement with the plate H by a stop-pin h³. The
lever is swung in the opposite direction by a spring it one end of which
is secured to a set screw ³ on an arm formned on the opposite side
of the lever from that on which the arm is formed, as shown.
The
movement of the lever in this opposite direction is stopped by a pin set in the
carrier frame. The tension of the spring is regulated by a string or wire connected
thereto and passing over the set-screws . The arm 2 of the lever is furnished
with a set-screw for adjusting the bearing or engagement face of the same to the
upper end of the arm of the lever F, and is a guard in the form of a staple
with its ends passing through the arm of the lever so that said guard lies
between said set-screw and the arm of lever F¹. This guard is movable in
the apertures in the arm in which it is seated, but is held in place by frictional
contact with the sides of said apertures, the staple being made slightly longer or
shorter than the space between the said apertures, and sprung into the apertures. when
inserted. The guard h³ serves as a bearing for the upper end of the arm f' of the
lever F, which is desirable, because the movement of the lever directly upon the
head of the set-screws would be liable to turn the screw, and because the rocking
of the end of the arm on the face of said screw would shift vertically the bearing-
point of the said arm on the said face at each vibration of the lever. The staple also
provides a laterally extended bearing for said arm f 'thus permitting a lateral
adjustment of the supporting frame of the paper-carriage which is sometimes
necessary.
It is obvious that when any one of the keys C is depressed thereby raising the
outer long arm of a lever c¹ in addition to the notion thereby given to a type-lever A,
the post will be forced downward by the inner short arm of the lever c', carrying
down with it the arm of the lever F¹, thereby carrying the arm f* of said lever F

page_text: is
against the staple guard * of the rocking lever ¹. The reverse movement of the
lever F and consequent release by the arm thereof of the rocking-lever
secured by a spring set on the disk B, and bearing against said arm of said
lever. When the rocking-lever is rocked as described the dog h will be shifted
on the teeth of the bar H to the right, and when the pressure is taken from the
key and the lever moves reversely, releasing the lever h¹, the spring will
act to force the dog to the left, carrying with it the sliding frame El paper-
carriage, until the dog is stopped against the pin . If in this operation the post I'
is forced downward only far enough to shift the dog one tooth on bar H the
minimum feed of the paper-carriage will be effected. Therefore the maximum and
intermediate feeds will be accomplished when the said post F is forced downward to
shift the dog two, three or more teeth on the bar H, as the case may be. The
distance that the said post F is depressed is regulated and determined by the length of
the ends of short arms of the levers c¹ which bear in the collar f, assuming that the
The
outer. long arms of said levers el all move corresponding equal distances.
extremities of these short arms are therefore made of different lengths to actuate
the dog h, through the described devices, to move the frame of the paper-carriage one,
two or three teeth of the bar H, as required. For example the extremity g of the
short arm of the lever c¹ which is connected with the type-lever carrying the type-
letter I is made short, projecting only far enough on to the collar to cause the
movement of the dog over only one tooth of the har H, as seen in Figure 6. The
extremities of the short arms of the levers el connected with the type-levers carrying
the type-letters N, H, E, and those of similar width, are made longer and project on
to said collar far enough to cause the said dog to move over two teeth of said bar H,
as shown in Figure.6. For the maximum feed, or the feed for the type-letters of the
width of M, W, etc., the extremities g² of the short arms of said levers c¹ are of
sufficient length to move the said dog over three teeth of said bar H, as shown in
Figure 7.
With this arrangement of levers the described varying feed is accomplished by
making the spaces between the teeth on the bar H equal to the desired minimum feed,
and the feeding of the paper to the types different distances, namely a minimumí
distance and a maximum distance and intermediate distances which are multiples of
the minimum distance, is secured, the several feeds being proportioned to the varying
widths of the faces of the type-letters printed.
Lis a bar or plate fixed on the free end of an upwardly projecting lever or pair of
levers which are pivoted at ' to a bracket on the upper part of the machine frame
and so arranged preferably as to be between the bank of keys and the lever F¹, as
shown in Figure 2. is a spring bearing against the lever or levers and operating
to hold the said levers and bar L in an upright position and yet to permit the said
levers to be swung backward on their pivots. is a bar or arm pivoted to the rod
which unites the levers as shown in Figure 2, and 15 is the forked free end of said
arm which engages the upper end of the arm of the lever F, resting upon a pin
in said arm By means of these devices, arranged as specified, by pressure on the
plate or bar L by the operator the levers will be swung backward and the arm will
then swing the arm of the lever F¹ into engagement with the rocking-lever h¹ and
thus cause the dog h to feed the paper-carriage a greater or less distance, or to carry
said dog wholly out of engagement with the toothed bar H of the carriage, according
to the distance which the said levers are swung. By this means spacing between
the words of a line of printing is effected, or the paper-carriage is released from the
dog h so that it may be moved freely by hand in either direction. When the levers /
are released they are retracted by spring 13, and the lever F¹ is retracted by a
spring, on the disk B, and bearing against the arm, as shown in Figures 2 and 3.
h.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said invention,
and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim is:
1. In a type-writing machine the combination of a type-lever A, adapted to carry
at its free end a printing type, a fulcrum on which said lever may slide, a rocking

page_text: arm hinged to said lever and rocking on a shaft a³, with means substantially as
described for rocking said shaft as and for the purpose specified.
2. In a type-writing machine the combination with the series of type-levers A, their
rocking arms a¹ and rocking-shafts a³, of the disk B having radial slots b, the groove
intersecting said slots, the tapped apertures 7 intermediate said slots, and the flanged-
head screws 8, seated in said apertures, whereby said screw-heads reach over the
adjacent ends of two of said rock-shafts, as and for the purpose specified.
3. In a type-writing machine the combination of the annular inking-pad D and its
enclosing case consisting of the flanged annulus D¹, the annular disk D³ and the screw
cap D³, as and for the purpose specified.
4. In a type-writing machine, the paper-feed rollers E2 and E³, the latter being
mounted to revolve upon a spring axial rod, and the former being journalled at its
ends in slotted bearings provided with set-screws to adjust and press the rollers
together with a spring pressure, as and for the purpose specified.
5. In a type-writing machine, the combination of the roller E journalled in the
described frame the ratchet wheel on the roller shaft, the lever a loose on said shaft,
carrying a pawl n³ adapted to engage said ratchet-wheel and having the motion limit-
ing end or nose no, together with the motion limiting stop-pin n as and for the purpose
described.
6. In a type-writing machine the combination with the frame E₁ of the paper-
carriage of a separate frame carrying the feed-rollers, hinged or pivoted to said
frame E as described, so that when said frame is swung upward on its hinges it will
be turned towards the front of the machine, as and for the purpose specified.
7. In a type-writing machine the combination with the series of levers A, of the
disk B having the upwardly projecting annular and vertically sloited flanges b 2 and
the annular rib, together with the annulus B2, provided with the annular rib b³ in
opposition to said rib b, as and for the purpose specified.
8. In a type-writing machine the combination with the series of levers A of the
disk B, having the upwardly projecting annular, and vertically slotted flanges b. and be
and the annular rib & intermediate said flanges, as and for the purpose described.
9. In a type-writing machine the combination with the paper-carriage actuating
mechanism and the series of levers A severally actuated by the series of levers C
through the mechanism described, of a lever FI arranged as described to be actuated
by the movement of each and every of the levers C, as and for the purpose set
forth.
10. In a type-writing machine the combination with the paper-carriage actuating
mechanism and the series of levers A, severally actuated as specified by the series of
levers C through the series of levers c¹, of the post F and its flanged collar, and the
lever F, arranged to be actuated by the several levers c¹, as and for the purpose
specified.
11. In a type-writing machine having the described paper-carriage, the combination
of a tooth bar H on said carriage, the lever having arm to which is pivoted the
dog to engage said bar, the vertically reciprocating post F having flanged collar f
the lever Fone arm of which engages said lever ', together with the series of levers
the inner arms of which engage said collar and are of different lengths, so that by
an equal movement of said levers c' the said dog will be shifted one, two, three
or more teeth on said feed bar H, in proportion to the lengths respectively of the ends
of said arms of said levers c', as and for the purpose described.
12. In a type-writing machine, the combination with a central reciprocating post F
having a flanged collar, of the lever F¹ one arm of which engages said post, and the
series of levers c¹ the extremities 9, 1, 9, respectively of the arms of which in
engagement with said collar, are of different lengths, whereby an equal movement of
the several levers c¹ of the series will reciprocate said post F and vibrate said lever F¹
different distances, as and for the purpose specified.
13. In a type-writing machine the combination with the series of fevers el fulcrumed
by the curved projections cs on the inwardly turned annulus c of the annular flange c

page_text: the post F and its flange the levers C, rods e and keys C¹, as and for the purpose
specified.
14. In a type-writing machine the series of levers & fulcrumed on and engaging the
annulus, and having as integral parts of said levers the toothed segments at, in
combination with the rocking pinions a² rocking arms a', levers A, levers C, rods c³
and keys C', as and for the purpose specified.
15. In a type-writing machine the combination with the lever F¹ and vibrating
lever carrying dog hand having the arm 72, of the set screw and the guard ³,
as and for the purpose specified.