IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR FORMING TYPE MOULDS OR MATRICES, AND FOR OTHER TYPOGRAPHICAL PURPOSES
Year: 1880

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Robert Lake, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake, &
Co., Patent Agents, Southampton Buildings, London, for an Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR FORMING TYPE MOULDS OR MATRICES,
AND FOR OTHER TYPOGRAPHICAL PURPOSES." A. cominunication from abroad
by Johann Georg Thoma, of Freiburg, Baden, Germany.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by William Robert Lake at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents on the 27th July 1880.
WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake, & Co., Patent Agents,
Southampton Buildings, London. "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR FORMING
TYPE MOULDS OR MATRICES, AND FOR OTHER TYPOGRAPHICAL PURPOSES."
[A communication from abroad by Johann Georg Thoma, of Freiburg, Baden,
Germany.]
This Invention relates to machinery for expeditiously forming moulds or matrices
for casting type of various kinds, and the said machinery is also applicable for
letter press writing. The employment of a machine constructed according to this
Invention provides means for dispensing with a considerable quantity of the type
ordinarily used in printing works, and the preparing of the matrices or moulds is
considerably simplified; moreover, the spaces between the types are formed by
means of the said machine, that is to say, they are formed according to the
compositors' pleasure.
In carrying the said Invention into practice, I provide a bed-plate made of wood
or any other suitable material, which is supported by a frame the parts of which
are bolted together. Underneath the said bed plate there is a drawer supported by
ledges, in which tools may be placed. Upon the bed plate I provide an arched
piece or bridge piece, which carries a lever at its centre; at one end of this lever
there is a counterweight which keeps a treadle connected with the other end of the
said lever in its raised position. A projection is provided on the bridge-piece, and
supports the lever in its position of rest. There is a short link on the lever
D
31

page_text: arranged to press upon a bolt carried through the centre of the bridge piece. This
pressure is exerted by operating the treadle and effects the stamping in the material
to form the matrices or the printing or writing on paper or the like. A screw is
furnished near one end of the bridge piece, and serves to limit the downward
motion of the lever.
A plate of wood, papier maché, or lead is placed upon the bed piece, into which
plate the letters, figures, or the like are to be stamped. This plate is moved by
means of two racks situated in guides on the bed plate, as hereinafter explained,
and an arm connected with one of the racks serves to transfer the motion from the
said rack to the matrice plate. Above the latter there is another plate resting on
the bed plate at both sides; it is provided with a pivot in the centre and a ring
concentric with the same on which rests a metal disc. The latter is provided with
slits above the ring, and is connected with an outer ring by means of four arms.
The disc and outer ring are made of brass or of some other suitable metal, and the
latter is covered by a somewhat stronger metal plate.
The bodies or shanks of the types (about 70 or 80 thereof) are put into holes in
the outer ring, and may be arranged as desired, according to the diameter of the
said rings. These type-bodies may be made of steel or of any sufficiently strong
material; they have a guiding groove on one side, and carry on their lower surface
the letter, figure, or character which has to be stamped; they are, as will be more
fully hereinafter explained, pressed down according to requirements by the bolt
in the centre of the bridge-piece; when the pressure ceases the shanks are raised
up again by means of small spiral springs which surround them, and they are
suitably supported in the outer ring. The radial slits in the disc correspond exactly
to the type shanks in the outer ring, and the same letters or figures are marked on
the disc as are on the type shanks, but they are always in a diametrically opposite
position. The disc with the outer ring is moved by a regulating lever, which has
a hexagon shaped piece at its centre wherewith it takes hold of the pivot, and is
The
connected by means of a bush with another lever provided with a handle.
lower part of the lever with the hexagon piece drops into the slits in the disc, and
the latter and the outer ring will thus be rotated according to the direction in which
the other lever is turned. The lever with the hexagon piece can be fixed in such a
position that the ring has underneath the slits in the disc a corresponding lug, and
this catches in the end of the said lever. As the same letters lie diametrically
opposite each other on the disc and outer ring the letter visible under the lever through
the slit in the disc will lie opposite the same letter on the type-shank, and when
the lever is in this position will be immediately underneath the sliding bolt in
connection with the lever first herein mentioned; when, therefore, pressure is applied
to the treadle the bolt presses the letter marked on the slit under the lever into
the matrice and the bolt shifts one notch in a horizontally sliding plate, hereinafter
described. At the same time as the stamping or pressing takes takes place, the plate
in which the characters are stamped is shifted in the following manner, that is to
say In order to cause the machine to provide the spaces between the letters or
figures in a line automatically, the left hand arm of the handle lever fits into
curved slots in a piece connected with the said horizontally sliding plate connected
with the centre of the disc by an arm; it therefore turns with the disc. It carries
on its extreme end a roller on a bolt; by means of this roller the right hand arm
of a bent lever is moved; this lever is movable around a pivot, and the left hand
arm of the said lever carries on its end a pawl provided with a spring. This pawl
works in a ratchet wheel, on the axis of which is a toothed wheel gearing into one
of the racks herein before mentioned, which is pushed sidewise as the ratchet wheel
turns. If the lever with the handle is brought from the position hereinbefore
mentioned into a position at right angles thereto, then the roller will be pressed
against an inclined portion of the right hand arm of the bent lever and the latter
will be moved, whereby the left hand arm is caused to push the pawl forward, and
moves thereby the ratchet wheel with the toothed wheel underneath it, and the rack
is moved sidewise. As soon as the lever leaves the last mentioned position the

page_text: right hand arm of the bent lever is pushed back into its normal position by a spring
fixed on the bridge-piece, and each time the lever is again placed in the second
position, that is to say, in the position for stamping a letter, the rack and with it
the plate fixed thereon is moved automatically by means of the roller on the bent
lever, whereby the spaces between the letters in a line are formed automatically
without any further operation.
In order to be able to make larger spaces in the line one more lever is provided,
which is moved by hand according to requirement, and likewise acts on the ratchet
wheel by means of a pawl; this lever moves over a quadrant on which the size of
the spaces can be measured. Another pawl serves to move the two pawls herein-
before mentioned out of gear at the same time, when a new line has to be started,
so that the sidewise movement of the matrice can be quickly effected by means of
the ratchet wheel and a handle.
The holes in the outer ring which receive the type-shanks are large enough to
receive differently sized alphabets or the like, and in order to make more or less
room on the matrix for receiving wider or narrower types the lever is arranged to
be adjustable in the aforesaid bush, and in such a manner that a pin from the lever
can be fixed in a slot in the bush; according as this pin is held in the notches in
the slot the position of the curved slots and horizontally sliding plate may be
varied, and by this means the bent lever is turned, or the plate of wood, papier
maché, or lead is shifted according to desire. A spiral spring on the lever holds it
in the bush.
In order to be able to arrange the proportion of space or the sidewise movement
of the wood, papier maché, or lead plate to correspond with different sizes of type,
the fulcrum of the bent lever can be shifted by putting the pivot-bolt into another
hole of a series provided on the lever. The distance between each two lines on
this plate is effected by the rack being shifted with its arm, which is done by
turning a hand wheel. The latter is provided with a toothed wheel, which gears
into the rack, and thus the plate can be shifted according to requirement by simple
movements of the hand.
The above described machine can also be used as a letter-press writing machine,
in which case the bridge piece with the lever may be removed, as a much slighter
pressure is required for this purpose than for the above described matrice making
machine. The sheet of paper or cardboard which has to be printed on is laid on
the plate; instead of the matrice a lever is movably fixed on the arm which
supports the horizontally sliding plate. This lever is generally raised by a small
spring, but if a type shank is to be pressed down by the left hand arm of the lever
then the right arm thereof is pressed upward by a wedge.
I may modify the construction of the letter-press writing machine by providing
different means for operating the type, as follows, that is to say:-On an arm
which supports a plate a lever is moveably fixed; this lever catches in an arm of
another lever, so that when the latter is pressed down the former will also be
moved down at one end and will press the type upon the paper. When the machine
is used for this purpose it is provided with an inking arrangement, which consists of
two small tin boxes containing four or five small rollers covered with india-rubber,
which distribute the ink on the type.
The treadle, the lever connected therewith, and the bridge-piece first herein
described may, if desired, be retained when the apparatus is to be used as a writing
machine, and in this case the only addition required will be the inking devices
above described.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, and
of an Order of the Lord Chancellor, filed by the said William Robert Lake in
the Great Seal Patent Office on the 26th February 1881.
"
WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake, and Co., Patent
Agents, Southampton Buildings, London. IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR
FORMING TYPE MOULDS OR MATRICES, AND FOR OTHER TYPOGRAPHICAL
PURPOSES." A communication from abroad by Johann Georg Thoma, of Freiburg,
Baden, Germany.
This Invention relates to machinery for expeditiously forming moulds or matrices
for casting type of various kinds, which machinery is also applicable for letter
press writing upon paper or the like, that is to say, it may be employed as a
type-writer.
The use of my machine enables a printer to dispense with a great quantity of
the type hitherto required, and greatly simplifies the work of the compositor, as
the so-called "spaces" are automatically formed at the will of the compositor.
Moreover, the applicability of this. machine or apparatus for type-writing, as above
stated, is an advantage offered by no similar apparatus hitherto used.
In the accompanying Drawings,
Figure 1 is an elevation of my apparatus or machine partly in section, and
Figure 2 is an end view partly in section of the same.
Figure 3 is a front view of what I term a type body or shank.
Figure 4 is a plan of the same.
Figure 5 is a longitudinal section of the said type body with the adjacent parts
of the ring, enclosing the same.
Figure 6 is a plan of the entire machine.
Figure 7 is a view of a guide-box or sleeve on the adjusting lever, hereinafter
described.
Figure 8 represents in section a modification of the machine or apparatus as
used for type-writing.
Figures 9 and 10 are detail views of a lever, shewn in Figure 8.
Figure 11 is a modification of the printing-mechanism for rendering the apparatus
applicable for type-writing.
The said machine is provided with a plate A made of wood or of any other
suitable material, which is supported by two simple frames B connected by four
bolts.
Underneath the plate A is a drawer C supported by ledges, in which drawer
tools can be placed.
On the plate A there is an arched or bridge-piece d, which carries a lever e.
A counter-weight e² placed upon the left hand arm of the lever e keeps the
treadle e¹ connected with the right hand arm in its normal or.raised position; e³ is
a projection on the lever e, by which the said lever is supported on the arched piece
or bridge d in its position of rest. When pressure is exerted upon the treadle e¹ the
right hand arm of the lever e depresses by means of a short link e the bolt f
(Figures 1 and 2), passing through the centre of the bridge d, and impressions are
made in the material to form the matrices, as hereinafter described. The screw e
serves to limit the downward notion of the lever e. M is a plate of wood,
papier-maché, lead, or other suitable material, in which the letters, figures, or the
like, are to be stamped. The plate M is moved as required by means of the two
racks I and K, situated in guides on the plate A, as hereinafter explained, and the
arm K¹, connected with the rack K, serves to transmit motion from K to M.
Above the plate M there is a plate g resting on the plate A at two points. This
plate g is provided with a central pivot and a ring or hoop concentric with the

page_text: pivot on which rests the metal disc h. The latter is provided with slits above the
ring and is connected with the outside ring ' by means of four arms, as shewn in
Figures 1, 2, and 6.
The disc h and the ring
are made of brass or other suitable motal, the ring h¹
being covered by a metal-plate, as shewn.
The type bodies or shanks i are put into the ring h¹, and their number (say
about 70 or 80) can be varied according to the diameter of the said ring h¹. These
type bodies are separately represented in Figures 3, 4, and 5. They can be made
of steel or other suitable material. These type-shanks or bodies have a guide
groove on one side, and carry on their lower surface the letter, figure, or other
character which has to be stamped in the material to form the matrix. The said
shanks are, as will be hereinafter explained, depressed according to requirement by
the bolt f. When the pressure ceases the said shanks or bodies i are lifted into
their original position by small spiral springs (see Figure 5), which surround them
and are supported in the ring h. The radial slits in the disc h correspond exactly
with the type shanks i in the ring h, and the said slits are marked with the same
letters, figures, or other characters, as the type-shanks i, but the letters with which
these slits are marked are always in a diametrically opposite position to like letters
on the type-bodies aforesaid, as shewn by the letters a, b, c, on the disc h and on
the ring h¹, represented in Figure 6. The disc h, with the ring ', can be moved by
the regulating or adjusting lover m, whose central portion is of hexagonal shape
(see Figure 9), and surrounds the pivot of the disc h. The adjusting lever m is,
by means of a bush or sleeve L, connected with the lever m¹ provided with a
handle. The lower part of the lever m drops into the slits in the disc h, and the
latter and the ring h¹ will thus be carried along according to the direction in which
the lever m' is turned. The lever m can be fixed in the position shewn in dotted
lines in Figure 6. For this purpose an opening is provided at this place in the
ring of the plate g underneath the slits in the disc h, and the end of the lever m
engages with this opening at 1, see Figures 2 and 8. As like letters are
diametrically opposite each other on the disc and the ring h¹ the letter visible
under the lever m through the slit in the disc h will be the same as the letter on
that type-shank i, which, when the lever is in this dotted position, is directly
underneath the sliding bolt f on the lever e. Therefore when pressure is applied to
the treadle e' the bolt will press the letter marked on the slit under the lever m
into the matrix-material, and the bolt ƒ shifts one notch in the plate o, which will
be hereinafter mentioned.
Simultaneously with the stamping or pressing the plate m is shifted in the
following manner, that is to say -For obtaining automatically the spaces between
the letters or figures in a line, the left arm of the lever m' is arranged to fit into
curved slotted guides n, which are connected with a horizontally sliding plate o.
This plate o is, as shewn in Figure 1, connected with the centre of the disc h by an
arm 8, and therefore participates in the movement of the disc h. It carries on its
extreme end a roller p fixed on a bolt or pin. This roller p causes the right arm D
of a lever to turn around the pivot q (Figure 6), and the left arm D₁ of said lever
carries on its end a pawl D2 provided with a spring; this pawl works in a ratchet-
wheel F, on whose axis is a toothed wheel which gears into the rack I, the latter
being pushed sideways as the ratchet wheel F turns. If the lever m' is brought
from the position shewn by full lines in Figure 6, into that shewn by dotted lines,
the roller p will be pressed against the inclined portion of the arm D, and this will
rotate the arm D', and being thereby caused to push the spring pawl D² forward.
The latter actuates the ratchet wheel F with the toothed wheel underneath it, and
the rack is thereby moved laterally. As soon as the lever m' leaves the position
indicated by dotted lines, the lever D¹ is pushed back into its normal position by
the spring D³ fixed on the bridge d, and each time the lever m¹ is again placed in
position for stamping a letter, as above described, the rack, and with it the plate M
fixed on it, is actuated by means of the roller p, whereby the spaces between the
letters in a line are automatically formed.

page_text: •
To permit the formation of larger spaces in the line, I provide another lever
Figure 6, arranged to be moved by hand, and to act on the ratchet wheel F like the
lever D', by means of a pawl, as shewn. The lever moves over a graduated
quadrant, on which the size of the spaces can be measured or regulated.
The pawl w serves to simultaneously throw the pawls D2 and 7 out of gear when
a new line has to be commenced, and the side movement of the matrix can be
quickly effected by means of the ratchet-wheel F and the hand-crank f' shewn in
Figures 1 and 6.
The holes in the ring ¹ which receive the type-shanks are large enough to receive
alphabets of different sizes, and in order to make spaces in the matrix suitable for
wider or narrower types, the lever m¹ is made movable in the bush or sleeve L in
such a manner that, as shewn in Figure 7, a pin on the lever m¹ can be fixed in a
slot in the bush or sleeve L. According to the notch in the slot in which the said
pin is held, the position of the curved guides n and the plate o varies, and by this
means rotation of the bent lever D or the shifting of the plate m are varied as
desired. A spring on the lever m' holds the latter in the bush or sleeve L.
"
To enable the operator to arrange the " 'space or the lateral movement of the
plate M to correspond with the size of different alphabets, the fulcrum q of the
lever D, D¹, can be shifted, as shewn in Figure 6, by putting the pivot bolt into
one or other of a series of holes provided in the lever D. The distance between
each two lines on the plate M is produced by shifting the rack K with the arm K',
by turning the hand wheel R (see Figures 1 and 6). The latter is provided with a
toothed wheel which gears into the rack K, and thus the plate M can be shifted
according to requirement by a simple movement of the hand wheel.
The above described machine may also be used as a letter-press-writing-machine
or type-writer. In this case the bridge-piece d and lever e are removed, as a much
slighter pressure is required in this case than for producing matrices as above
described. This slighter pressure can readily be exerted with the lever m or m¹.
Instead of the matrix-material (such as lead, papier-maché, or the like), the sheet
of paper or card-board which has to be printed on is laid on the plate M. A lever t
is movably fixed on the arm which supports the plate o, as shewn in Figure 8.
This lever t is generally held up by a small spring attached to the arm s, but if a
type-shank is to be pressed down by the left arm of this lever t, the right arm
thereof is pressed upwards by a wedge connected with the lever m, which is
separately represented in Figures 9 and 10. In Figure 8 the lever m is shown at
right angles to the lever t, and therefore the wedge u is not seen in gear with the
latter.
In Figure 11 I have shewn a modification of the letter-press writing machine or
type-writer, which differs from the one above described only in the manner in
which the types are depressed. On the arm which supports the plate ot, a lever t
is movably fixed in the same manner as clearly shewn in Figure 8. This lever t
takes into the lever arm m (Figure 11). Therefore when the arm m' is depressed,
the lever will also be moved down at one end, and will press the type upon the
paper to be written upon. When the machine is to be used for this purpose, it is
provided with an inking arrangement, which consists of two small tin boxes or
wells; one of these is shewn in Figures S and 11 in section at v. It contains four
or five small rollers covered with india-rubber which distribute the ink on the
bottom surfaces of the type.
The treadle, the lever e and the bridge d used in the machine employed for
making matrices may, if desired, be retained when the machine is used as a type-
writing-machine, and in this case the addition of the small ink-wells will constitute
the only alteration required.
Having thus fully described the said Invention as communicated to me by my
foreign correspondent, and the manner of performing the same, I wish it understood
that I claim,
First. In machinery for forming matrices or type-moulds, in plates or blocks of
papier-maché, lead, wood, or similar material, the depressing lever e with the

page_text: pressure-bolt and link mounted upon an arch or bridge-piece, the levers m and m¹
connected with each other, and the circular disc arranged concentrically with the
ring h, all substantially as above set forth and for the purposes specified.
Second. The two racks placed at right angles to each other, and with or without
the arm K¹ in guides on the table, by which racks and parts connected therewith,
the plates are moved across the table in two directions, substantially as above
described and for the purposes specified.
Third. A machine for producing type moulds or matrices consisting of the parts
combined and arranged, substantially as shewn in the Drawings, and operating as
set forth.
Fourth. The modification of the said machine, substantially as herein described
and shewn in the Drawings, for the purpose of rendering the same applicable as a
letter-press writing machine or type-writer.
Fifth. The roller p, the lever D, D¹, provided with apertures, and the ratchet
wheel with a toothed wheel underneath, which gears with the rack for automatically
moving the plate M laterally, as and for the purpose above set forth.
Sixth. The lever arranged in combination with the ratchet-wheel and racks
for moving the plate M laterally by hand, substantially as and for the purpose set
forth.
Seventh. The type-shanks or bodies shaped, as shewn in Figures 3, 4, and 5, and
as above described and arranged or supported in the disc, as and for the purposes
set forth.
Eighth. The combination of the lever arm m³ with the bush L and the lever t',
as and for the purposes above set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Robert Lake, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty fifth day of February, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and eighty one.
W. ROB. LAKE. (L.S.)