NEW OR IMPROVED MACHINERY FOR MAKING IMPRESSIONS OR FORMING MOULDS FOR STEREOTYPE OR ELECTROTYPE PLATES
Year: 1866

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Mortimer Nelson, of the City and State of New
York, United States of America, for the Invention of "NEW OR
IMPROVED MACHINERY FOR MAKING IMPRESSIONS OR FORMING MOULDS FOR
STEREOTYPE OR ELECTROTYPE PLATES.
Sealed the 6th October 1866, and dated the 27th April 1866.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Mortimer Nelson at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 27th
April, 1866.
I, MORTIMER NELSON, of the City and State of New York, United States
of America, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "NEW
OR IMPROVED MACHINERY FOR MAKING IMPRESSIONS OR FORMING MOULDS FOR
STEREOTYPE OR ELECTROTYPE PLATES," to be as follows:-
The said Invention consists chiefly in arranging type radially around the
periphery of a rotating wheel or disc, which type are operated individually to.
impress their characters upon paper or other substance by a series of levers.

page_text: carrying keys marked with the type characters, and connected to the said
type by mechanism whose action is controlled by a perforated roller or
cylinder, the perforations in which are so formed and arranged as to limit the
action of each lever to its corresponding type.
The said Invention also consists in the mode of regulating the movement
of the platen upon which the prepared paper or other substance to be im-
pressed is secured to insure the successive impressions of the type being
produced in the proper positions on the wax surface of the said paper or other
substance. The type rest in recesses formed in the periphery of the said
wheel or disc, and are held therein by an elastic ring, preferably of india-
rubber, passing over them, they being provided with grooves or nicks for the
said ring to rest in. This elastic ring holds the type securely in the wheel
or disc, but permits each individual type to be forced out to form an impres-
sion on the surface of wax on the paper or other material. When released
the type is drawn back by the elasticity of the india-rubber ring. The surface
of the type is damped by means of two small revolving wheel's covered with
cloth which is kept wet. The wheel or disc carrying the type is secured upon
the end of a horizontal shaft whose other end is connected by bevil or other
suitable gearing to a horizontal roller or cylinder having holes or perforations
formed in a spiral direction along its surface. These perforations correspond
in number with the type in the wheel or disc. The horizontal roller receives
a continuous rotary motion from a friction pulley held in contact with the said
roller by a spring. The said pulley is driven by a treadle apparatus or other
suitable means. A series of vertical rods or wires are arranged. immediately
below the horizontal roller or cylinder corresponding in number with the
perforations in the said roller, and consequently with the type in the wheel
or disc. These rods or wires are guided by a horizontal bar attached to the
framing of the machine, and are connected to the rear ends of a series of
horizontal levers which are supported on fulcrums, and whose front ends are
provided with finger keys marked with alphabetical, numeral, and other
characters to correspond with the type carried by the wheel or disc, each key
representing and operating its corresponding type. These keys are mani-
pulated in the same manner as the keys of a pianoforte. When a key is
depressed the wire at the opposite end of the lever is raised against the surface
of the horizontal roller till it meets the perforation corresponding with the
type whose character is marked on the said key. The rod then enters the said
perforation and arrests the motion of the horizontal roller. A single lever is
pivotted upon a portion of the framing of the machine above the series of

page_text: parallel levers carrying the finger keys. One end of this lever extends to
the wheel or disc carrying the type, and rests just above the inner or
unlettered ends of the said type, which as the wheel revolves pass under the
said end. The other end of this lever is connected by a vertical rod to a
vibrating frame pivotted to the uprights at the back of the machine framing.
This vibrating frame rests upon the upper ends of a second series of vertical
wires, which are supported in a stationery horizontal guide bar, and whose
lower ends are connected with the parallel key levers in the same manner as
the first series of rods or wires. When one of the keys is depressed the end
of the vibrating frame resting on the vertical wires is elevated, and by means
of the vertical rod connecting the said frame to the single lever, the end of
the latter extending over to the type is depressed. By the same movement
the vertical rod or wire connected to the said key is pressed up into the
corresponding perforation in the horizontal roller, whose character is marked
on the single lever, and forces the type corresponding in character with the
key, then pressed by the operator into contact with the waxed paper or other
substance upon which it is desired to form the impression. The end of this
lever is provided with a catch or projection formed to fit into the grooves in
the wheel or disc. The said projection holds the said wheel firmly until a
perfect impression of the type has been produced, and the key has been
released from the finger of the operator. The paper or other substance upon
which the impression is to be taken is secured to a platen which rests upon
a board or table. The said table is supported upon vertical screws fitted into
upright portions of the framing. By means of these screws the table and
platen can be adjusted to any required height under the wheel or disc. The
said platen is moved from side to side to give the proper space between the
impressions produced by the type upon the paper or other substance by
means of a toothed pinion and rack. A lever having a blank key is suspended
upon & fulcrum fixed on the board or table. One end of this lever rests upon
the vibrating frame attached to the uprights of the framing; the other end of
the said lever carrying the blank key rests upon a horizontal cross bar, one
end of which is suspended on a fulcrum pin, the other end being connected
by a vertical rod to the pinion, which is operated by a friction clutch or
equivalent device. When either of the keys on the parallel levers is depressed
the vibrating frame is raised and depresses the front end of the lever carrying
the blank key. This operates the horizontal cross bar connected with the
toothed pinion, which by means of the rack causes the platen to move the
required distance for the impression of the letter, figure, or other character to

page_text: be received on the paper or other substance secured to the said platen. The
movement of the platen is adjusted to the different space required for different
sized letters in any one alphabet, and the various sized punctuation marks, by
means of a light cross bar sliding in bearings on the frame, and connected
with a piece of wood or metal which is provided with a series of notches or
grooves. Upon the depression of either of the keys representing a letter or
other character requiring a different space the notched piece is adjusted with
one of its notches directly under the lever carrying the blank key, which
descends into the said notch and causes the required movement to the platen.
When the spelling of a word is completed, or a period arrived at, the platen
is moved forward the required space for the next word to be impressed
by simply depressing the blank key which moves the said platen the proper
distance forward without operating any other portion of the mechanism. The
platen is moved in the direction required to give the proper spaces between
the lines and paragraphs by means of a second toothed pinion and rack
situated under the said platen. A scale of words and syllables in the various
styles of type is marked upon the board or table to assist the operator to pro-
portion the work to the size and form of the pages or columns. The machine
can be also employed to print with ink from the type fixed in the wheel or
disc by simply removing the damping wheels and substituting in their place
two similar wheels with inking bands. The machine may also be used to
imprint a form from which plates for printing music, bookwork, and orna
mental designs may be made. The rules, bars, or lines used in printing
newspapers and books are produced by a wheel rolled over the wax or other
form.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of. the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Mortimer Nelson in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
23rd October 1866.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, MORTIMER
NELSON, of the City and State of New York, United States of America,
send greeting
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-seventh day of April, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-six, in the twenty-ninth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,

page_text: the said Mortimer Nelson, Her special license that 1; the said Mortimer
Nelson, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said Mortimer Nelson, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any
time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times there:
after during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might make;
use; exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "NEW OR
IMPROVED MACHINERY FOR MAKING IMPRESSIONS OR FORMING MOULDS FOR
STEREOTYPE OR ELECTROTYPE PLATES;" upon the condition (amongst others)
that I, the said Mortimer Nelson, by an instrument in writing under
my hand and seal; should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of
the said Invention, and in what manner the same was to be performed, and
cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar
months next and immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Mortimer Nelson; do hereby declare the
nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement, reference being had to the Drawings hereunto annexed, and to
the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say):-
Fig. 1 is a front elevation of the machine ;
شت:
"
2 is a side view of the same }
"
8 is a view of the rear side of the type wheel ;
;; 4 is a section of said type wheel and part of the actuating lever j
j, 5 is a view of the end of the key barrel and actuating mechanism j
6 is a section through the key barrel and spacing meehanism }
"
"
7 is one of the keys detached ;
8 and 9 represent other portions of the machine detached:
Similar marks of reference denote the same parts.
The object of my Invention is to make a mould for stereotyping of
electrotyping by the impression of types into a surface of soft material, such
as clay or wax, said types being controlled by mechanism and presented and
impressed successively in accordance with keys struck by the compositor.
The surface of soft material is moved progressively and to the extent required
for the reception of each particular type as impressed.
The first part of the machine employed consists in the wheel carrying the
types; the second part consists in a means for rotating said type wheel, and
stopping it by pressing on the required key, so that the corresponding type is
brought into position to be impressed; the third part consists in mechanisti

page_text: for moving the surface of soft material the necessary distance to receive the
impress of the type, and leave the necessary space between the respective
impressions; the fourth part consists in mechanism for giving the impression
of the type in the soft surface.
In the Drawing a represents a table of any desired character. I prefer and
use a table similar to that of a sewing machine, with a fly wheel b and belt b¹
to the fly wheel c of my machine. c is a frame carrying the type wheel d,
which is the first part of my machine; this type wheel is of any desired size ;
I, however, prefer that it be made about five or six inches in diameter. I
have a number of these type wheels, having in them corresponding alphabets,
signs, characters, designs for borders, musical types, or any other kind of
types that may be desired, according to the character of matter to be
composed, and I here remark that the number of types or characters in any
one of these type wheels may be varied, the other parts of the machine being
adapted to working in harmony therewith, and the keys that control the
movements of the type wheel, as hereafter described, may have several set
of characters marked upon them, so as to correspond with the types in the
type wheels, when one of said type wheels is taken off and another one put
on in its place. Each of the type wheels is made with a central hole fitting
accurately upon the projecting end of its actuating shaft d', and in order that
it may be held in its proper position a feather on said shaft or a pin projecting
from a hub on said shaft and entering a hole in said type wheel is to be
employed. All the type wheels being of the same general character, and only
one at a time being used in the machine, I shall speak only of the type wheel
in use in the machine, and describe its construction. The type wheel d is
made as a thin metallic disk with a central hub and a circular flange or ring
near its edge, as seen sectionally in Fig. 4; this ring of the type wheel is
grooved radially, each groove being parallel-sided, and of a size to receive the
shank or body of the type, the character or letter being at the end of the
type shank. A metallic ring placed upon the surface of aforesaid grooved
flange retains the shanks of the types, but allows of their being moved
endwise or radially to the wheel. A notch is formed in the body of the type
or near its end, into which is passed a contractile band of india-rubber or
similar material, so that by it the types will all be drawn in towards the
center of the wheel d, but any one type may be pressed outwardly, as seen in
Fig. 8, in order that the surface of soft material may be impressed by said
type; in Figs. 3 and 4 this contractile rubber band is shown at 2, 2. The
types as the wheel d is revolved in the machine are kept oiled or greased so

page_text: as not to adhere to the moistened soft surface of clay or other material in
which the impression is made, and for this purpose the rollers 3 and 4 are
employed, their surfaces being coated with cloth saturated with suitable
greasy material.
Second, rotating and stopping the type wheel.-The wheel d is kept
constantly rotating except when arrested for impressing one of the types.
For this purpose the shaft d' is connected by the mitre gears 5 and 6 to the
key barrel e, which is on a shaft 7, supported by the main frame e¹ of the
machine. A belt 8 extending from a pulley on the hub of the fly.wheel c to
the pulley 9 on the shaft 7 gives rotation to the key barrel e, shaft d', and
type wheel d, and they revolve freely and in unison until one of the keys fis
pressed upon or struck by the compositor, which through its lever f¹ raises
the corresponding wire in the series of wires g, and this arrests the movement
of the barrel e by one of the pins in its spiral range of pins coming into
contact with the end of said wire g. The parts are so constructed and fitted
that the type in the wheel d corresponding to the key f that was struck is by
this motion brought to position to be acted on, as hereafter described, and
impressed in the surface of soft material. The pulley 9 continues to revolve
and moves endwise on the shaft 7 by the end of the screw 10 running up an
incline i at the end of the barrel e, compressing a spring 12, and giving motion
to a bent lever / by a rib 13 taking a fork at its upper end; this lever h is on
a fulcrum 11, and actuates both the third and fourth named mechanisms of my
machine. As the screw 10 passes off the end of this incline i the spring 12
presses the pulley 9 again up to the end of the barrel e, so that if one of the
keys f is held down its corresponding letter will be impressed, and the surface
of soft material moved as often as the pulley 9 makes a revolution; this
enables me to repeat any letter or produce a series of designs for a border or
otherwise with great rapidity.
Third, moving the surface to be impressed.-I provide an impression plate
formed of or coated with soft material, such as moist clay or other material,
and I place the same upon the bed k between suitable guides or clamps. The
bed is upon a carriage 1, supported upon a fixed table m.
The bed k can
be moved away from or towards the compositor by sliding transversely upon
the carriage, and that carriage is moved from right to left each movement
of the machine the space necessary for the reception of each type impression.
The first-named motion is effected by the wheel 14, spring stop 15, and lever 16
acting by a pinion on the shaft of 14 that takes a rack below the bed k,
so that when the stop 15 is raised by the lever 16 the bed k can be moved

page_text: forward or back upon the carriage 1 by the wheel 14 or by the pressure of the
hand upon the bed k itself. The carriage has below it a rack n acted upon
by the wheel o; the rack n; however, is attached to the carriage by springs,
so that it may be lifted by a lever or otherwise to separate its teeth from those
of the wheel o in running the bed back to bring the surface in position to
commence a line of impressions: Adjoining the wheel o is a friction feed
similar to a sewing machine wheel feed, the notched clamps 17 gripping the
circular flange 18 when the lever o¹ is depressed, and its hub acts on said
clamps 17. The lever o¹ has the shaft of the wheel o for its fulcrum, and said
clamps 17 are drawn along over the flange 18 by their springs when the
lever o² is raised. ' is a spring to apply friction to hold the wheel o from
moving as the clamps move backward; this lever o¹ hence will move the
bed a distance proportioned to its own movement; this is regulated
according to the width of type as follows:-The wires g have blocks 19 upon
them with inclined ends taking behind corresponding blocks upon a swinging
frame 20 set on centers 21, so that when one of the keys f is depressed the
sliding up of the incline 19 shall move the frame 20 towards the operator a
distance proportioned to the space required for the impression to be next
made. Upon this frame 20 is an incline 26 projecting forward (see detached
Fig. 9), and taking the rear end of the lever p on the fulcrum 22, so as to
move said lever p sidewise by the motion of the frame 20. The forward end
of this lever p carries the spacing block q moving in guides in the table m;
and having steps or varying widths proportioned to the types. A lever r
having its fulcrum on the table m is connected at the rear end by an elastic
connection or spring with the lever h (moved in the manner before mentioned),
and the front end of this lever r projects over the spacing block g, and it is
also connected with the lever o¹ of the feed motion. It will now be seen that
the act of depressing one of the keys f first moves the spacing block g, placing
it in such a position that the proper portion of said block q is beneath the
lever r, and then when the lever h is moved by the stopping of the key barrel
the lever 'r and feed motion o¹ can only be moved until arrested by the spacing
block 9, thereby moving the bed k only the required distance. The machine
may be made so that in the normal position of the spacing block q the feed
shall be each time the amount required for the most numerous or usual
widths of type, such as for the letters "a," "e," "s," "n," &c., in which case
it will only be necessary to have projections 19 upon the wires wider or
narrower letters, such as "m" and "i." The end of the lever r projecting
slightly enables the compositor to move it by hand, to space off between the

page_text: impressions, and justify the line, so as to bring the proper amount of matter
into each line.
Fourth, impressing the type.-The levers is employed to press the type
upon the surface of soft material, and to it motion is given by the lever h
aforesaid. When the type wheel d has been brought around to its place the
same is held by the lower edge of said lever passing between projecting parts
of the groove holding the type, see Figs. 3 and 4, the lower edge of the lever
or the upper edge of the projecting groove being bevelled so as to bring the
parts correctly into position, and then the projecting end 24 of the lever s
taking the upper end of the type presses the same down a definite distance,
determined by a fixed stop below the lever ; or by the end 24 of said lever
resting upon the ring in the type wheel that holds the types in place. I
remark that the grooves in the type wheel being all uniform the bodies of the
types must be all the same size to fit said grooves, and the left side of the
type (as impressed) is to be on line with the left side of the body, and with
wide types the letter head will project to the right, being wider than the
body. In Fig. 8 I have shown a plan of the frame 2 and spring rack n.
What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is,―
First, the mode herein specified of producing a mould for stereotyping or
electrotyping by pressing types or characters successively into a surface of soft
material, substantially as set forth.
Second, I claim a wheel carrying types placed radially, and constructed
substantially in the manner specified.
Third, I claim the key barrel e in combination with the type wheel d and
keys f, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.
Fourth, I claim the lever h, incline i, and sliding pulley 9 in combination
with the key barrel e, for the purposes and substantially as specified.
Fifth, I claim the feed wheel o, rack n, carriage l, and bed k, constructed
and operated in substantially the manner and for the purposes set forth.
Sixth, I claim the spacing block q and its actuating mechanism, applied
substantially in the manner and for the purposes set forth.
Seventh, I claim the lever r in combination with the spacing block q and
feeding mechanism, substantially as specified.
Eighth, I claim the levers & and in combination with the type wheel for
acting upon one type after the wheel is brought to its place, and held
substantially as specified.
Ninth, I claim a contractile band to draw the types back to place in the
type wheel, as set forth.

page_text: Tenth, I claim determining the depth of the impression of the type by a
stop applied to the lever s, substantially as set forth.
. In witness whereof, I, the said Mortimer Nelson, have hereunto set my
hand and seals, this Twenty-eighth day of September, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-six.
Witnesses,
CHAS. H. SMITH,
121, Nassau St., N. York.
GEO. D. WALKER,
121, Nassau St., N. Y.
MORTIMER NELSON. (L.s.)