IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR COMPOSING AND DISTRIBUTING TYPE
Year: 1879

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Herbert John Haddan, of tho Firm of Herbert and
Company, Solicitors of Patents, of 67, Strand, in the City of Westminster,
Civil Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR
COMPOSING AND DISTRIBUTING TYPE." A communication from abroad by
Carl Gustav Fischer, of Schloss Holte, and Alfred von Langen, of Düsseldorf,
both in the Empire of Germany.
Sealed the 23rd March 1880, and dated the 30th September 1879.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Herbert John Haddan at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 30th September 1879.
HERBERT JOHN HADDAN, of the Firm of Herbert and Company, Solicitors of
Patents, of 67, Strand, in the City of Westminster, Civil Engineer. "IMPROVEMENTS
IN MACHINERY FOR COMPOSING AND DISTRIBUTING TYPE." A communication
from abroad by Carl Gustav Fischer, of Schloss Holte, and Alfred von Langen, of
Düsseldorf, both in the Empire of Germany.
This Invention relates to type composing and distributing machinery, and consists
in the application of a leather endless band for transporting the type in combination
with a depositing apparatus which drops the types upon various points of the
length and breadth of the said band, the type being stored in piles arranged in rows
of perpendicular compartments actuated by keys or other suitable devices. The
Invention consists also in a device for conducting to the centre the type deposited
at various points of the width of the endless leather band, consisting of endless
straps, converging towards the centre and moving in the same sense as the main
band. Also in constructing the said type holders or perpendicular compartments
of three parts, viz., a shaft or receptacle preferably made of sheet metal, open on
one side and provided with a spring for keeping the pile of types in its place; a
foot for holding and supplying a number of types while the shaft or principal
receptacle is exchanged for another, the bottom of said foot being provided with
projections or plates supporting the lowest type, a movable shoe forming the
continuation of the vertical compartment or type channel and capable of being
turned horizontally by a slide or other suitable contrivance actuated by the keys so
as to allow the lowest type to fall by its own weight upon the travelling band,
which carries the types to the curved collecting funnel of the composing machinery.
The latter arranges the types in a number of parallel grooves which can be moved
across the mouth of the collecting funnel by means of a spring and a ratchet or
detent, the latter being put out of gear by a wedge as soon as a row has been
filled.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said Herbert John Haddan in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 25th
March 1880.
HERBERT JOHN HADDAN, of the Firm of Herbert and Company, Solicitors of
Patents, of 67, Strand, in the City of Westminster, Civil Engineer. "IMPROVEMENTS
IN MACHINERY FOR COMPOSING AND DISTRIBUTING TYPE." A communication from
abroad by Carl Gustav Fischer, of Schloss Holte, and Alfred von Langen, of
Düsseldorf, both in the Empire of Germany.
The improvements relate to type composing and distributing machines, and
have for their object greater facility, rapidity, and certainty of operation, and better
preservation of types.
This is effected in the following manner :-
In the composing machine the types are released from their piles by a pressure
on the finger keys, fall upon a band which transports them to a collecting place, and
delivers them into a curved channel leading downward, a (horizontal) continuation
of said channel receiving the types placed upright in a row and delivering them
into the composing frame which advances automatically after the completion of
a line. In the distributing machine the types removed from the set by a pressure
on the finger keys and placed upon the band, are carried by the latter along a row
of curved guides which are closed by pressing the respective keys. The type is
thereby laterally guided from the band into a channel, turned up by a pusher and
shifted into the pile.
In the accompanying Drawings which serve to illustrate the Invention the finger
keys are supposed to be in front and the composing frame and the distributing
receptacle or store at the right hand side.
Fig. 1 is a front view of the composing machine, partly broken off; Fig. 2, a plan
of the collecting guides with the descending or guide channel and the composing
frame; Fig. 3, a partial plan and horizontal section of the composing plate (bed
plate) with the keys; Fig. 4 is a cross section of the same; Fig. 5, a right hand side
view of the storing or distributing machine; Fig. 6, a plan of the latter broken off,
and Fig. 7 a secton of the same. Figs. 8-19 show details of the composing machine,
and Figs. 20-22 details of the distributing machine, which will be hereafter further
described. In the two machines which supplement each other the construction and
arrangement of the key board is similar. It contains several rows of keys a,
Figs. 1, 3, 4, 6, 7, which are attached to the long arm of the T shaped lever d. The
short arm is suspended at the top from the axle f which forms the fulcrum, while
the lower part enters a clasp placed on the respective slide k or w³.
The levers d are guided laterally by the short pipes e placed on the axle f and
by the slits in the metal sheet n. In the composing machine the slides k, guided
partly in the plate h and partly in the pile plate i, are moved by the key levers d
and act with their back end on the left side of the pile shoe c. The bed plate i,
Figs. 1, 3, 4, serves to support and hold the piles which are arranged and lodged in
the plate i in such a manner that in each transverse row every succeeding pile lies
further to the left as much as the thickness of a slide, so that every slide acts on a
different pile. This arrangement produces a number of longitudinal and transverse
rows of piles, the latter having an oblique position and enables the utilisation of the
whole upper surface of the travelling band (Figs. 1 and 4) in its length and breadth
for receiving and therefore also for transporting types, whereby the pile plate (bed
plate) and the keyboard may be reduced to the smallest possible length. Fig. 19
shows the position of types on the band if all keys are actuated at once.
The pile or type receptacle consists of three principal pieces, viz., a main part or
shaft, a foot, and a shoe. The main part or shaft r, Figs. 1, 8-11, and 13, serves to
hold the main store of types, and when empty is exchanged for a full shaft or

page_text: receptacle, during the work and without disturbing the composer; it is prossed
from a piece of sheet metal and partly open at the flat front side, as shown in cross
section by Fig. 13. A spring u' applied to the flat backside, as shown by Figs. 8, 9,
and 11, serves to retain the pile of types when the shaft or main part is removed
from the foot. On inserting the shaft into the foot the spring is lifted by the
inclined plane so as to leave free the pile of types.
The foot s fixed in the pile plate (foundation plate) (Figs. 3, 4, 8-11) has to hold
the shaft, to retain a reserve of types when the piles are being exchanged, and to
carry the shoe.
The shoe has at the bottom two angular extensions a¹, Figs. 9 and 10, projecting
with their points into the type channel and supporting the lowest type when the
receptacle is filled, the said projections being placed at such a depth that the surface
of the type lies with the lower face of the foot in one plane.
The lowest type lies in a horizontal position in a continuation of the pile foot,
that is in the pile shoe c, which can be turned on the pin b, Figs. 3, 9, 11, 12. This
shoe is held in its normal position by the spring d³, Fig. 9, so that its cavity forms
exactly the continuation of the type channel of the pile foot and shaft.
If the pile shoe by coming in contact with the slide at its left side is turned for
the length of the projections a' the left front side and the right backside of the pile
shoc are by this motion shifted under the lowest letter but one, so that the pile of
type rests now on the pile shoe. The lowest type is by this motion removed from
the said projections and falls on the straps by gravity. The small detent p,
Figs. 8, 9, 12, causes the type to fall first on the band with its base. The spring d
replaces the shoe and key into their original position after the pressure on the key
has ceased, the pile of types advances so that the lowest type rests again on the
projections a¹.
In close proximity under the type receptacles is an endless band r passing over
two rollers b (Figs. 1 and 4) and further guided or supported by a plate n¹. The
type falling from the shoe with its base in front arrives on the band and is drawn
down by the latter from the detent p and carried away. A block or weight v₁
(Fig. 1) resting on the column of types in the receptacle is provided with a long arm
or wire reaching down on the side and carrying a plate bearing a distinctive mark
and indicating whether or not the receptacle is filled.
In order to collect into a common falling channel the types which are distributed
over the whole width of the band, two curved strips or guides c' (Figs. 1, 2), of glass
or other suitable smooth material are applied which converge towards the centre so
as to form a narrow channel. The said guides are made vertically adjustable by
means of the slides and the screws e³, in order to place them very close to the
band without touching the latter. They are further made convex or concave so as
to prevent the types from sliding against them with their entire lateral surface.
The working of the apparatus decreases however in safety with the speed and the
width of the band, and the strips or guides are therefore in many cases replaced by
endless belts q², Fig. 18, running over adjustable rollers 73, the inner half of the belts
running in the same direction as the main band but with somewhat greater speed.
The flat surface of these belts may however be parallel with the flat surface of the
main belt, as indicated by Fig. 17. The channel formed by the guide strips or guide
belts lies at its narrowest place approximately over the centre of the right hand
pulley b' and ends here in a falling groove d¹ (Figs. 1 and 2) leading in a gentle
curve from a horizontal or inclined to a vertical position. The lower opening of the
falling channel is partly closed by the movable arm o.
The pusher f1 (Fig. 1) which is set in motion by the eccentric o' pushes forward
the types which have fallen into the channel e¹. The channel e' (Figs. 1, 2, 16) leads
to the grooves of the composing frame g', which is drawn backward by the spring h¹
and a string, and is arrested with its grooves placed exactly before the channel e, by
means of the ratchet e'. After a line has been filled the wedge-shaped block q' is
inserted under the ratchet i so as to lift the latter out of the groove and allow the.

page_text: composing frame to be drawn backward by the spring h¹; the ratchet falls then
into the next groove and places the latter exactly before the channel e¹. The type
which is situated on the line of contact between the channel e' and the composing
frame shares the motion of the latter; the next type is retained in the channel by
the spring (Fig. 16) while the preceding type, (which has been conveyed by the
frame and may project over the latter,) is pressed into the groove of the frame by
the inclined plane of the channel.
The distributing machine has to deposit upon the band the types of the set to be
distributed by releasing said types from a receptacle in a manner similar to that
described above.
From the band the types are conveyed by obliquo or curved guides (which close
themselves or descend upon the band by a pressure on the respective finger key)
over an incline into the distributing grooves where they are turned up and pushed
on by a pusher.
The construction and application of the key board is here similar to that above
described.
In the plate h (Figs. 6 & 7) the slides w¹ are uniformly distributed. They have
at their back end, where they lie over the band, a small block provided with an
incline; the deflector c, which, by the action of a key closes the free type path of
the band r and the incline of which forms the continuation of the guide e³ opposite.
In consequence of the small space occupied by the keyboard, these guides are placed
very near together for which reason the pin q, applied to the slide, passes the guide
situated to the right of it, somewhat to the side, thus widening the guide channel.
By giving to the slide a somewhat longer travel the guides may be omitted, so that
the deflector directs the types directly into the falling grooves g³. The lateral
deviation of the types from the band may be produced in different ways, but always
using the endless band for propulsion, for instance, by the arrangement indicated in
Fig. 20. Here the deflectors a² constructed as falling beams and held up by the
spring b are pressed down upon the band by the slide when the keys are depressed,
thus closing the passage. Deflectors constructed as vertical slides or as tongs which
advance with their points before the falling channel could be used for the same
purpose. In order to throw a type from the distributing store upon the band
whenever a key is touched and simultaneously with the closing of the deflector, the
slide w is provided with a projection 22, which during the forward motion of the
slide impinges against a sheet m² attached to a shaft pivoted in the bearings, thus
turning the said sheet on its axis. The shaft of 2 carries a lever n³ (Figs. 5 and 6)
which moves the ejector or slide o³ of the distributing store s³.
To obtain the correct disengagement of types of different thicknesses from the
same store, all types are adjusted to the thickness of the thinnest type in such a
manner that the thicker types obtain recesses på (Figs. 14 & 15) at the diagonally
opposite places with which they rest on the projections a¹ (these recesses being
either cut out or produced by casting). The said rocesses remove from the thickness
of the type as much as is necessary to reduce the respective portion of the type to
the thickness of the thinnest type.
The distributing store must then be adjusted for the thinnest type.
The set of types may however be distributed from a composing frame instead of
being distributed from a type pile or store. The disengaging device is then placed
vertically instead of horizontally and the several lines are carried towards the same
by known appliances.
The disengaged type is guided down upon the band with the base in front by a
curved channel.
The types which have been guided downward from the band by the deflectors and
conveyed into the falling channels g³ (Figs. 5, 6, & 7) slide down on the incline of the
latter so as to get into the horizontal guide grooves v² in which they are moved on
by the pusher. This pusher is propelled by means of the system of levers w³, ³,
and cam disc is attached to the pulley and withdrawn by the springs ×³ (Fig. 7).

page_text: The pusher consists of a plain and smooth (without indentations on the surface of
contact) angle piece, in consequence of which the horizontal grooves v² are provided
with recesses corresponding to the shape of the pusher.
The shafts of the type receptacles or piles are placed with their upper end at
the back end of the grooves vso that the interior of both lies in one straight line.
At the rear, therefore at their lower end, the shafts lie with the upper narrow side
(of sheet metal) on the slides z', which are held forward by the springs a³. The
slide block which is provided with a light spring and against which rests the pile
of types advancing in the shaft, pushes back the slide 22 as soon as the filling is
completed, after which the shaft falls upon the movable sheet and turns the latter
downward, thereby causing the bell to be struck, so as to indicate when a new shaft
or pile must be inserted.
1. In type composing machines the application of an endless belt for the trans-
portation of types so that the whole width of the belt or several parts of its width
are utilized for receiving and transporting types, also the peculiar arrangement of
type receptacles or piles and slides (k) in the type plate (i).
2. The device for collecting the types deposited on various parts of the belt width,
consisting of endless guide bolts moving in the same direction as the main belt.
3. The peculiar construction of the type receptacles or piles, especially the con-
struction of the foot and shoe, and the mode of releasing the types by a horizontal
turning motion; also the device for arresting or retaining the letters in the shaft.
4. The automatically advancing composing frame (g) with accessories, especially
the means of controlling its motion and of directing and retaining the types respec-
tively at the edge of the frame.
5. In distributing machines the inode of distributing the types by transporting
them on an endless band to deflectors which arrive on the band either vertically or
from the side and thus guide the types into the lateral falling channels.
6. The mode of releasing types of varying thicknesses from a pile or receptacle
adjusted for a smaller thickness, and the adaptation of the types for this purpose by
means of recesses.
7. In distributing machines the device for the automatic release of the filled
receptacles, and the peculiar construction of the plain (without indentations) pusher
in combination with the recesses of the guide grooves.
The whole substantially as and for the purposes described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Herbert John Haddan, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Twenty fifth day of March, A.D. 1880.