AN IMPROVED TYPE CASTING, BREAKING, RUBBING, AND SETTING MACHINE
Year: 1870

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION filed by John Alfred Thomas Overend at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents with his Petition and
Declaration, on the 20th September 1870, pursuant to the 9th
Section of the Patent Law Amendment Act, 1852.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
ALFRED THOMAS OVEREND, of San Francisco, California, in the United
States of America, send greeting.
WHEREAS I am in possession of an Invention for "AN IMPROVED
TYPE CASTING, BREAKING, RUBBING, AND SETTING MACHINE," and have made
solemn Declaration that I verily believe myself to be the true and first
Inventor thereof.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said John Alfred Thomas Overend, do
hereby declare that the following Complete Specification, under my hand
and seal, fully describes and ascertains the nature of my said Invention,
and in what manner the same is to be performed :-

page_text: The object of my Invention is to provide a machine for casting movable
type, and then conveying them directly from the matrix and mold to
another part of the mechanism by which the type are broken from the
stem and rubbed or cleaned and smoothed of any irregular projecting
edges which may have been formed in casting, the whole operation
being continuous and requiring no power but that required to drive the
machine.
It also consists in a novel arrangement of the pump by which the
metal is forced into the mold, and of the conveying nozzle through
which the metal passes. The melting pot is provided with a partition
'or diaphragm with openings near the bottom so that fresh metal can be
introduced when necessary to one compartment and not materially
reduce the temperature of that in the other, while by means of the
openings at the bottom no dross or impurities can pass to the second
compartment which contains the pump. An opening in the side of the
pump cylinder allows the metal to be always in contact with the piston
or plunger. As this rises some of the melted metal will flow into the
barrel beneath the plunger. When the plunger is forced down com-
munication with the pot is severed by the movement, and at the same
instant a small hole connecting with the hollow space in the lower end
of the plunger will be brought opposite the ejection nozzle. The further
contraction of the space forcibly ejects the metal through the nozzle into
the mold, which has been closed and moved closely against the carrier
ánd opposite the nozzle. The matrix being in position a type will be
formed, after which the matrix is retracted, the mold opened, and the
carrier moved forward by suitable mechanism. The carrier consists of
a wheel, or series of arms having holes through their ends. This wheel
is turned till one of these holes is brought into line with the nozzle
and the mold when the metal is ejected and the type is formed. When
the wheel next moves forward the type is carried out of the opened
mold, which is then closed, and another arm being in position another
type is formed. The movement of the arm carries the type forward and
downward till it lies with its side on an inclined plate, where a sort
of clamp holds it. A. sliding plate then moves forward and pushes it
forward into the smoother, at the same time breaking it from the stem
by which it was held to the arm. The smoother or rubber consists of
two angular rasps or planes, one above and one below, between which
the type must pass.

page_text: Referring to the accompanying Drawings for a more complete
explanation of my Invention, Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the machine;
Fig. 2 is a top view or plan; Fig. 3. is an enlarged sectional view of the
melting pot, pump, and nozzle, showing their arrangement; Fig. 4 is an
enlarged view of the carrier wheel or arms..
A is. a frame or bed upon which the machinery, is placed; B is a
melting pot, under which is the furnace necessary for melting the metal
and keeping it liquid. The pot is provided with a movable diaphragm C,
which may be raised slightly, or it may be provided with holes a, a, near
the bottom. In one of the compartments thus formed, the pump
cylinder D. stands close to the side of the pot, so that the metal will pass
through as short a distance as possible after leaving the pot: The other
compartment serves to receive the metal, and in this, it is first melted,
after which it is free to pass to the second compartment through the
holes a.
This arrangement prevents any dross or other impurities from
passing into the pump compartment, and also prevents too great a
reduction of temperature in that part by the introduction of cold metal,
The pump cylinder D is provided with a narrow slot b.at the side within
the pot, and long enough to cusure its being filled with metal. The
plunger E moves up and down in the cylinder, so that its bottom just
rises above the slot b, and passes a little below it. An opening c is made
in the bottom of the plunger, and a small hole d connects this opening
with the ejection, nozzle e. This nozzle fits loosely in a hole bored out
for it, and has its inner or receiving end rounded so, as to make a sort
of ball-and-socket joint, as shown, in which it has some motion. This
is for the purpose of allowing the nozzle to adjust itself to any changes
in position caused by the varying temperature of the parts. The pump
is driven by a lever F, which is moved by a crank G on the shaft G!
by means of a connecting rod E. A cam H on the driving shaft of the
machine strikes an arm H' which is keyed to, the shaft G' and thus
operates the pump mechanism. The type mold is placed in a line with
the nozzle e and the matrix f, in which the letter is formed, is brought
up against the end of the mold. The upper part 9 of the mold is
hinged to the frame at x, and an arm k which extends out from it is
connected by a rod with an oscillating arm i on the shaft M, and by this
the mold is opened and closed at the proper time. In order to hold
the type and convey it to the rubber after it is made, the carrier I is
interposed between the nozzle and the mold.
This carrier consists

page_text: of six or other number of arms, either separated or united by a rim so as
to form a wheel, and it revolves in a plane at right angles with the
plane of the mold. A small hole v is made in the end of each of the
carrier arms, and when the machine is in motion one of these holes
The mold being
is stopped opposite the nozzle at each movement.
closed and the matrix in place, these with carrier are given a side
movement by a cam J which brings them closely against the nozzle, and
makes a tight joint throughout. At this instant the piston moves in the
pump cylinder, and ejects a small portion of the melted metal, which
is forcibly thrown into the mold and matrix, thus forming a type. A
stem projects from the type and extends into the hole v in the arm.
After the type is formed, the carrier, mold, and matrix are allowed
to move away from the nozzle by a side movement from the cam as
before described, the mold opens, and at the same instant the carrier
moves forward taking the type with it. In the present case the second
movement of the carrier lays the type with its side on an inclined
table K, when a clamp L is brought down and holds the type. The
clamp is operated by the arms k and 1, and a connecting rod j from the
shaft M as shown. As soon as the clamp has seized the type a sliding
plate N is moved forward by an arm from the shaft O, and this plate
forces the type between the rubbers P which are placed angularly in the
table K, one above and one below the type. These rubbers are for
the purpose of smoothing off any little rough edges which may be left
in casting. The movement of the sliding plate N also breaks the type
from its holding stem, so that it is all ready for service. The type on
emerging from between the rubbers are thrown off by the fly m into
the trough n, so as to lie on their sides in a line, or they may drop
directly into the proper receptacle below. As the carrier continues to
revolve the holes in the arms are brought opposite a short pin », near
the bottom of the machine, and when the side movement takes place
for making the joint for casting, this pin enters a hole and forces out
the stem which is left after breaking the type; this leaves the arm free
and all ready for another type when it arrives at the proper place.
A short shaft operated by a pulley on the crank R drives the machine.
The shaft G is operated by the cam H on this shaft as before described.
Another cam S on the same shaft operates an arm T which is keyed to
the shaft M, giving it an oscillating motion, and from this shaft M the
mechanism which opens and closes the mold is driven, also the device
for operating the clamp L. Above the shaft M is the shaft W extending

page_text: parallel with it, and driving the carrier I which is keyed to the shaft W.
This shaft has an end motion for closing the joints, through which the
metal passes as before described, and has the cam J keyed to it. An
arm U is placed loosely on the shaft W, and has friction rollers t, t,
at each end which bear against the side face of the cam. In this face
are depressions u, and when the rollers t fit into these depressions the
end movement of the shaft allows the carrier I and the mold to move
away from the nozzle, but when the rollers rest on the higher part of
the face the joint will be closed. The edge of the cam is formed into
a ratchet, and by means of a pawl z on the arm U the cam and shaft
are rotated with the necessary intermittent movement. The cutters or
rubbers are made self cleaning, being formed like planes with a throat,
and they are set at an angle with the table, and also with each other
so as to form a y or an X shape as they stand.
The different mechanism for operating the parts is clearly shown in
the accompanying Drawings, but I do not wish to confine myself to the
especial devices shown for this purpose, as it will be manifest to any
skilled person that many different arrangements of mechanism might
be employed and the same results attained; but what I do claim and
desire to secure by Letters Patent is,-
First. The melting pot B, with its perforated movable diaphragm C,
the whole constructed and operating substantially as herein described.
Second. The pump cylinder D with the openings and d, and the
chambered piston E, the whole constructed to throw the metal into
the mold without the use of valves, and operating substantially as
herein described.
Third. The self-adjusting nozzle e, when constructed to operate sub-
stantially as herein described.
Fourth. The carrier arms I, either with or without a rim, and provided
with the holes v, or an equivalent device for carrying the type to the
rubbing table, substantially as herein described.
Fifth. The self-clearing rubbers P placed angularly with each other,
and with the table K, when constructed and operating substantially as
and for the purpose described.
Sixth. The sliding plate N for breaking the type from its stem, and
forcing it between the rubbers, substantially as herein described.
Seventh. The fly m, or an equivalent device for setting or laying the
type in rows, substantially as described.

page_text: Eighth. Giving the carrier I, the mold g, and the matrix fa side
movement by means of the cam J and the arm U, or an equivalent
device for the purpose of making a tight joint, substantially as
described.
In witness whereof; I, the said John Alfred Thomas Overend,
have hereunto set my hand and seal, this Fifteenth day of
August, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and
seventy.
(L.s.) JOHN ALFRED THOMAS, OVEREND.