Year: 1898

page_text: Date of Application, 17th Jan., 1898
Complete Specification Left, 17th Oct., 1898-Accepted, 17th Jan., 1899
I, MATTHEW HENRY WHITTAKER, of 6, Trafford Road, Salford, Engineer, do
hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:--
My invention relates to improved matrices for linotype machines, and in carry-
ing it into effect, I make the matrix with the Roman face letters on one edge,
and italic, small capitals or other characters on the reverse edge. Thus by turn-
ing upside down a word set up in matrices, the word would thus be cast in
italic or other face along with the ordinary Roman face line. The matrices after
casting would drop off into the sort box in front of the machine, and could then
be put into the machine and distributed to their own places in the ordinary way.
The matrix is provided with clearance at the bottom so that if sent through as
italic, small capital or other face it will work as far as the sort box and may be
distributed to its proper place in the ordinary way.
Dated this 17th day of January 1898.
HUGHES & YOUNG,
23, Coleman Street, London, E.C., Agents for Applicant.
I, MATTHEW HENRY WHITTAKER, of No. 6, Trafford Road, Salford, in the
County of Lancaster, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and
in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement:-
The present invention relates to improvements in the matrices of linotype
machines and has more particular reference to the matrices of the well-known
Mergenthaler linotype machine.
Referring to the accompanying drawings which are to be taken as part of this
specification and read therewith,
Figure 1 is a side elevation from the left hand, of a Mergenthaler linotype
machine mould block and row of improved matrices standing unreversed against
it in the casting position.
Figure 2 is also a side elevation from the same hand of the same mould block
and a row of improved matrices standing reversed against it in the casting
position.
Figure 3 is a perspective view from the mould side, of a composed line of
improved matrices.
D
037

page_text: Figure 4 is a side elevation of the elevator arm at work on the composed line
of matrices and space bars shewn in Figure 3.
a
A matrix of a Mergenthaler linotype machine consists of a rectangular plate y
having a rectangular shoulder y projecting from each of its four corners;
rectangular notch y in the side edge ; a formative cavity or matrix proper y'
in the plate y and opening into the said notch; and a deep V shaped notch in the
top edge of the plate having teeth y on its edges. For the purpose of this
specification, the cavity y is called the normal cavity. It may be pointed out
that the only function of the notch y is to form with the other notches in the
composed line, a part of the mould cavity o for the body of the linotype. It is
not a necessary adjunct to the formative cavity.
The operator, seated at a key-board, brings the matrices down from their
magazine by depressing the respective keys in the proper order. The matrices
are automatically assembled in the assembly box. From the assembly box, they
are transferred to the casting mechanism which holds them tightly against the
mould block o¹3 in the position shewn in Figure 1. From there, they are removed
by the swinging elevator T which delivers them to the distributor. That eleva-
tor T gets hold of them in the following way. It carries a rail t which is of the
same cross section as the ✓ shaped notches in the matrix tops, and is swung
down until that rail t is aligned with the row of V shaped and toothed notches,
whereupon the matrices are pushed along laterally into the piece R until all their
teeth y are engaged with the corresponding teeth on the rail t. The elevator T
is then swung up towards the distributor. Figure 4 shews it being swung up
with matrices hanging from its rail t. The space bars Z are distributed by a
special mechanism which is not affected by the present invention. Further par-
ticulars of the method and apparatus shortly described above will be found in
the Specification of Letters Patent 14582 of 1890.
Up to a quite recent date, the matrices above described had only one formative
cavity, so that if a word in a different fount occurred in the copy; italic, for
instance, in a Roman job; the operator had to draw on the resources of a:
different fount of matrices.
The Specification of Letters Patent No. 14548 of 1892 describes a Mergenthaler
linotype matrix having two formative cavities, one in each side edge, both oppo-
site each other, one for the normal character, e.g., Roman, and the other for the
variant character, e.g., italic. With a magazine equipped with such a duplex
character fount of matrices, the operator would compose the word to appear in
the variant fount, in the normal one, and reverse the matrices of it by turning
each one singly about its vertical axis as soon as it had reached the assembly
box. That would be enough as far as getting the word cast in the desired
variant fount, is concerned, but the distributor being of the same cross section as
the rail t, and in addition to that, having its teeth notched at given intervals
to let the matrices drop from it, it could not deal with the reversed matrices,
because as the teeth y of a matrix for any given character, differ from those of
the matrices for every other character in the fount, their teeth would not then be
in the proper position for co-operating with the distributor notches.
4
The Specification of Letters Patent No. 18886 of 1895 describes a modification
of the matrices and assembling mechanism of the Mergenthaler linotype
machine, according to which modification, both normal and variant formative
cavities are both in the edge 3, one above the other, and the matrices for the
word in the variant fount are assembled at a higher level than those for the 5
words in the normal fount, so as to bring their variant formative cavities in
line with the normal ones, in which relative positions, they all pass to the cast-
ing position. After the linotype has been cast, the variant matrices drop into
line with the normal ones and so pass to the rail t above described.
According to the present invention, each matrix has a second notch y70 and a
variant formative cavity y67 in the side edge opposite to the edge y³; but instead

page_text: y
of being opposite to the notch y and cavity y, it is lower down and upside down
too. To distinguish the last mentioned cavity from the normal cavity y', it is
herein referred to as the variant one. The cavities are for the characters in
the normal fount as heretofore, while the variant cavities 167 are for the char-
acters in the variant fount. The operator composes the improved matrices in the
ordinary way and when he has all the matrices of the variant copy in the
assembly box, he takes hold of them en bloc and reverses them by turning them
up end down, each matrix in its own plane, so that their notches y70 and variant
cavities 7 align respectively with the notches y and normal cavities y of the
others. Figure 3 shews a composed line of three words in the improved matrices.
The outside words are in the normal fount, that is, they will present their notches;
and normal cavities to the mould cavity o in the mould block o3, while the
middle word has been reversed and will present its notches 70 and variant
cavities 67. Looking at Figure 1, the distance between the notch y70 of a variant
cavity and the top shoulder y on that edge of the matrix. is the same as the
distance between the notch y and the bottom shoulder y on the edge y³, because
the whole line of matrices is justified from the shoulder 18 on the mould block.
A comparison of Figures 1 and 2 will make that relation clear. The top
shoulders y are deeper than the bottom ones. The reversal above described
brings the deeper shoulders to the bottom and there is therefore a larger clear-
ance 68 than heretofore to make room for them, as shewn in the said Figures 1
and 2. Further. each matrix has a notch 69 in the foot or end opposite the
toothed V shaped notch, wide enough to clear the rail t when the composed line
is pushed on to it, so that as the notches 1/69 of the reversed matrices, instead of
their toothed notches, are aligned with the rail t, the elevator T leaves them
behind with the space bars Z, and when the latter are distributed, the said
reversed matrices drop into the well-known sorts box on the front of the machine,
from which they are taken and sent to the distributor in the usual way.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is:-
-
1. A matrix having a normal formative cavity in one edge thereof for a cer-
tain character and a variant formative cavity up side down in the opposite edge,
the two cavities being at the same distance from the respective shoulder that
engages with the justifying shoulder on the mould block.
2. A matrix having a normal formative cavity in one edge thereof for a cer-
tain character and a variant formative cavity up side down in the opposite edge.
the two cavities being so situated with respect to each other that the reversal
or turning of the matrix up end down in its own plane will bring the variant
cavity in proper position for presentation to the mould cavity.
3. A matrix having a normal formative cavity in one edge thereof for a cer-
tain character and a variant formative cavity up side down in the opposite edge,
the two cavities being at the same distance from the respective shoulder that
engages with the justifving shoulder on the mould block, and having also a
notch in its foot adapted to align with the distributing notches in the unreversed
matrices in the same composed line and to clear the rail of the elevator T.
4. A matrix having a normal formative cavity in one edge thereof for a cer-
tain character and a variant formative cavity up side down in the opposite edge,
the two cavities being so situated with respect to each other that the reversal or
urning of the matrix un end down in its own plane will bring the variant
cavity in proper position for presentation to the mould cavity, and having also
a notch in its foot adapted to align with the distributing notches in the unre-
versed matrices in the same composed line and to clear the rail t of the
elevator T.
5. A fount of matrices each of which has a normal formative cavity in one

page_text: edge thereof for a certain character and a variant formative cavity up side down
in the opposite edge, the normal and variant cavities being so situated with
respect to each other that the reversal or turning of the matrices up end down
in their respective planes will align the variant cavities with the normal ones
then in the composed line.
6. A fount of matrices each of which has a normal formative cavity in one
edge thereof for a certain character and a variant formative cavity up side down
in the opposite edge, the normal and variant cavities being so situated with respect
to each other that the reversal or turning of the matrices up end down in their
respective planes will align the variant cavities with the normal ones then in the
composed line, and which has also a notch in its foot adapted after the reversal
of the latter, to align with the distributing notches in the unreversed matrices in
the same composed line and to clear the rail t of the elevator T.
CHAS. S. WOODROFFE,
188, Fleet Street, London, E.C., Agent for the Applicant.