Microscopic Symbols Gauging System For Type Bar Alignment

Abstract

A microscopic symbols gauging system and scale therefor, said scale being mounted in a carriage of a typewriter and having a transparent section, upon which is formed a series of gauges having a predetermined sequence and spacing, each of said gauges representing both one of the symbols of a typewriter and the background of said symbol. To automatically gauge the symbols of a typewriter, their impressions are typed in the predetermined sequence on a paper rolled over a platen in said carriage and then the typed impressions are positioned beneath their corresponding gauges. The alignment of the impressions relative to their gauges is transversely exposed through said gauges.

Description

COMPARING PRESENT AND PRIOR ART ALIGNING OF SYMBOLS

Description of Alignment of Prior Art

Heretofore, a misaligned symbol was aligned with respect to its adjacent symbol. But after typing the aligned symbol with another adjacent symbol, it was found that the aligned symbol is not aligned with the other adjacent symbol. Then the aligned symbol was realigned with its new adjacent symbol.

Obviously, that method of alignment was a hit and miss operation, consequently increasing the cost of alignment for either the user of the typewriter or the manufacturer of the typewriter or both.

That impractical and expensive system of alignment became more expensive in remote portions of the world where there is not a repair department.

ALIGNING BY PRESENT INVENTION

In the present invention, each typewriter symbol is aligned with respect to its own accurately aligned copy. Said aligned copy is termed symbol checking gauge.

For each symbol of a typewriter, there is one gauge. The gauges are formed in an order and sequence on a transparent material incorporated on a microscopic symbol gauging scale described in the immediate following paragraphs.

MICROSCOPIC SYMBOLS GAUGING SCALES

The present scale has permanently formed thereon copies of typewriter symbols, guide lines and other marks in a given configuration.

There are shown in the drawing two embodiments of microscopic symbols gauging scales. Only one portion of one of said two embodiments is shown in FIG. 13. This embodiment is termed modified form and is fully described in the course of the following specification.

The other embodiment of said scale will be presently described. It is depicted by numeral 16 as shown in FIGS. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 11.

Said scale 16 comprises three elements or parts, one of which is made of a transparent material 17 upon which are permanently formed duplicate impressions of aligned symbols of a typewriter.

A second part of said scale 16 comprises two rings respectively 20 and 22 secured at the edges of said transparent material 17 forming a cylindrical unit. A portion of said cylindrical unit is cut out as shown by numeral 18 and 19, best seen in FIG. 5.

Said scale 16 is mounted in a carriage of a typewriter which is termed gauging carriage 61 at a short distance over a platen 26 in said gauging carriage 61.

The scale 16 is mounted over said platen 26 so that the gauges 104 remain on the horizontal axis of the platen 26, therefore the gauges 104 could not and are not shown in FIGS. 1, 2, 5 and other FIGS. However, the gauges 104 are shown in FIG. 11, which is a partial illustration of the plan view of FIG. 1.

GAUGING TYPEWRITER SYMBOLS BY THEIR GAUGES

By gauging typewriter symbols by their gauges, it means checking and detecting the alignment or otherwise misalignment of the symbols of said typewriter transversely through the outer surface of said gauges.

For gauging, the symbols are typed in sequence on the paper 35 rolled over said platen 26 and typed impression is termed a gaugeable symbol 102. Each gaugeable symbol 102 includes an impression of a typewriter symbol and the background of said paper 35 adjacent the impression. The gaugeable symbols 102 are positioned beneath their corresponding gauges 104 to detect their accuracy or otherwise their inaccuracy.

To position the gaugeable symbols 102 beneath their gauges 104, the platen 26 is rotated by 8 teeth of the line spacing wheel 40 if the total teeth of the line spacing wheel is 32. This will bring said typed gaugeable symbols 102 beneath their corresponding gauges 104. An inspection through the transparent background of said gauges 104 will show whether the gaugeable symbols 102 beneath said gauges 104 are or are not misaligned.

If no portion of a typed gaugeable symbol 102 is seen through the transparent background of its gauge 104, the typed symbol 102 is aligned. But if and when any portion of said gaugeable symbol 102 can be seen through the transparent background of its gauge 104, it is misaligned, and the appropriate typebar 33 must be adjusted to align the gaugeable symbol 102 when in engagement with guide 27.

The gauging is done substantially automatically instead of depending upon the judgment of a repairman.

The gauging carriage 61 is a property of a repair department.

When a repairman goes to an office to align a typewriter, he brings his gauging carriage 61, removes the typing carriage and mounts his gauging carriage 61. Within a few minutes, the symbols 102 are gauged and aligned.

After the symbols 102 are aligned, the repairman will demonstrate the accuracy of the aligned symbols 102 to the typist who will move the gauging carriage 61 from one end of the typewriter to the other end while looking through the microscopic gauges 104 to see the aligned symbols 102 of the typewriter with respect to their gauges 104.

GUIDE LINES

To accurately position the gaugeable symbols 102 beneath the symbols of their corresponding gauges 104, a set of vertical and horizontal guide lines 130 and 132 is formed on the transparent gauging section 17 of said scale 16 adjacent to the symbols of said gauge 104; and an identical set of said guide lines is typed adjacent to said gaugeable symbols 102.

The relative position of the two sets of guide lines accurately guide the positioning of the gaugeable symbols 102 relative to their gauges 104, as described in the latter part of this specification.

TO ALIGN MISALIGNED SYMBOLS

The carriage 61 is back-spaced the distance that the misaligned symbol 102 has been advanced. Then the typebar 33 of the misaligned symbol 102 is adjusted and the symbol 102 is typed again. This new typing is done, as the first typing, at the horizontal typing center of the platen 26. Then the platen 26 is rotated, as previously described 8 teeth of the line spacing wheel 40 to bring the newly typed impression under its gauge 104 on scale 16, then the new gaugeable symbol 102 is gauged with its gauge 104.

After the accuracy of the retyped gaugeable symbol 102 is observed, the symbol 102 of the next typebar 33 is checked.

Then the third symbol 102 is checked, and this process is continued until all symbols 102 are checked.

MODIFIED MICROSCOPIC SYMBOL GAUGING SCALE

A modified symbol gauging scale is shown in FIG. 13, wherein the color of the gauge 104 and that of the background of the gauge 104 are reversed from those shown on cylindrical section 17 of scale 16, otherwise the two scales are identical.

In the modified embodiment shown in FIG. 13, the background of the gauge 104 is black and the symbol is transparent as compared with that of said section 17, wherein the symbol is black and the background transparent.

To detect whether a gaugeable symbol 102 is or is not misaligned, it is typed, as in the preceding case, on a white paper 35 rolled over said platen 26 and then positioned beneath its gauges 104 on the modified scale, if and when the typed impressions are in aligned condition the black color of the typed impression will be beneath the transparent symbol of their gauges 104 so that the entire surface of the scale will appear to the black. But if and when a white portion of the paper 35 can be seen through the transparent portion of the gauge 104, the symbol 102 beneath the gauge 104 is misaligned, and should be aligned by adjusting the typebar 33.

OTHER DATA ON THE SCALE

Other data may be formed on the transparent section 17 of scale 16 that need not be typed on the paper 35. For example, variable width units such as 2, 3, 4 and 5 indicating respectively the widths of i, n, m, and w, may be provided above the gauges 104 where small circles 6 are marked in FIG. 11.

Again, information about the type of foreign characters may be used to assist a repairman who does not know anything about a foreign character, such as is shown in FIG. 15.

A magnifying device 76 is removably mounted by an arm 77 pivotally connected to frame 49 and is focused on the gauges 104 of scale 16 to enlarge the superimposed gauges 104 and gaugeable symbol 102. Example of an enlarged typewriter gaugeable symbol 102 and its gauge 104 is shown in FIG. 14 in which through the magnifying device 76, the character "q" of the scale 16 can be seen only. The typed symbol "q" beneath the gauge 104 cannot be seen.

With the present invention, typewriter symbols 102 can be gauged by a watch repairman and the like, without requirement of any other knowledge and experience than what is described in this application. Therefore, the symbols 102 of a typewriter can be aligned in any city whether or not there is a typewriter repair department located there.

After aligning typewriter symbols 102 with the microscopic symbols gauging scale 16 by either a salesman or a repairman, the aligned typewriter can be readily and convincingly observed by a typist who may shift the carriage 61 from one end of the typewriter to the other end thereof while looking through the magnifying device 76 at the accuracy of the impressions beneath their gauges 104 on said scale 16.

It is obvious that the aligning of typewriter symbols 102 by the present gauging system will greatly save time and money to both manufacturers and users of typewriters.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

This invention contemplates a microscopic symbol gauging system including a microscopic symbol gauging scale 16 mounted in a gauging carriage 61, which temporarily replaces the normal typing carriage of a typewriter during alignment of the typewriter symbols 102. Said microscopic symbols gauging scale 16 comprises three essential parts: a central transparent cylindrical section 17 and two mounting rings 20 and 22 respectively at its opposite ends and two mechanical movements for adjusting said scale 16. Upon said cylindrical section 17 is formed a series of gauges 104 having predetermined sequence and spacing. These gauges 104 are called microscopic symbols gauges. In one embodiment, said gauges 104 each include an impression of a symbol of said typewriter and a transparent background of said impression.

In addition to said scale 16, there is a platen 26 in said gauging carriage 61. The impressions of said symbols are typed on paper 35 rolled over said platen 26.

Said typed impressions are positioned beneath their gauges 104 for detecting their alignments or otherwise misalignment transversely through their gauges 104.

The primary objective of the present invention is to provide a system for rapidly and accurately gauging symbols 102 of all typewriters of all languages irrespective of whether the repairman knows the language or not.

Indeed if the repairman knows very well some Asiatic language, still, due to the intricate nature of said language, the repairman would have great difficulty to align it by the defective prior art practice, an example of such an Asiatic language being a Persian (and Arabic) typewriter.

The number of Persian alphabetical characters were about twice the total number of lower case and upper case of English characters. This was difficult to apply to a typewriter of 42 keys.

Furthermore, the Persian characters were classified into four cases as compared with two cases, upper and lower cases in English; and of course, the four cases made the typing more difficult.

On Jan. 10, 1922, a U.S. Pat. No. 1,403,329, was granted to applicant herein, in which the number of characters is reduced by one half. This patent was assigned to Underwood Corporation; and it was the first practical and accurate Persian typewriter of 42 keys which was made.

There remained two more problems to be solved. They were:

A. How to use the four cases, and

B. How to join the characters at the horizontal typing center of the platen.

On Jan. 14, 1960, the U.S. Pat. No. 2,940,575 was issued. In this patent I have classified the Persian and Arabic characters into two cases; one of which I termed "preterminal," the other "terminal" characters. This greatly facilitates the use of each case in proper position of any word.

Example of the junction of the letters is given in FIG. 15, which reads Khalil in Persian, the name of the inventor. It consists of four characters (instead of six in English). Two of the four characters are written in broken lines for no other reason than for clarity of showing their junctions with the other two letters which are written in full black. All four characters are correctly positioned relative to the horizontal typing center of the platen 26.

The foregoing objectives and advantages of the invention will appear more fully hereinafter from a consideration of a detailed description which follows, taken with the accompanying drawing, wherein two embodiments of the invention are illustrated by way of example. It is to be expressly understood, however, that the drawing is for illustrative purposes only and is not to be considered as defining the limits of the invention.

IN THE DRAWING

FIG. 1 is a front elevational view of a typewriter from which the typing carriage is removed and instead the gauging carriage substituted. (Note the symbols of the scale that is the gauges, the guide lines and other data which are permanently formed on the microscopic scale 16 prior of mounting it in its carriage are not shown because they could not be visible. However, said symbols, guide lines and other data are shown in FIG. 11.)

FIG. 2 is a plan view of FIG. 1 partly in section.

FIG. 3 illustrates the method of assembling the platen with the scale.

FIG. 4 is a section taken along the line 4--4 of FIG. 3.

FIGS. 5, 6, 7 and 8 are sections taken along the lines 5--5, 6--6, 7--7 and 8--8 of FIG. 1

FIG. 9 is a cross section view of a fragmentary portion of FIG. 1 illustrating the method of mounting the platen assembly in the carriage.

FIG. 10 is a section taken along the line 10--10 of FIG. 9.

FIG. 11 is a diagrammatical view of the platen and scale assembly of FIG. 2 illustrating proper alignment of the typewriter symbols and guide lines with the scale symbols, guide lines and other data.

FIG. 12 illustrates misalignment of the typed guide lines with the scale guide lines.

FIG. 13 illustrates a typed symbol and a modified gauge.

FIG. 14 is a plan view of a section of the platen, typing material upon which symbol "q" is typed, microscopic scale upon which the gauge "q" is formed and a magnifying glass positioned to view the typewriter symbol "q" in relation to its corresponding gauge.

FIG. 15 is name of applicant, Khalil, written in Persian, showing the alignment, that is the junctions of the characters.

Since no feed mechanism is shown in the drawing, the side of the carriage 61 is shown narrower than it should be; this is done so as to save space. As an example in FIG. 5, the side of the carriage 61 is shown broken to indicate that it (as well as all other carriages in the drawing) should be larger.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Assembling Parts of Gauging Carriage

A microscopic symbols gauging scale 16, a platen 26 and other parts are assembled on a shaft 24 prior to assembling them in a gauging carriage 61. The platen 26 and the scale 16 are assembled together as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. The scale 16 consists of three parts permanently secured together; they are a cylindrical section 17 connected at each end respectively to rings 20 and 22. The section 17 consists of a transparent material such as for example, film acetate, whereas said rings 20 and 22 are metallic with mounting holes 21 and 23 respectively at the center of each of said rings 20 and 22. Hole 21 has threads formed therein to accept the reduced diameter 31 of dial 30 as best can be seen from FIG. 2. The cylindrical section 17 has an opening formed therein, which is defined by longitudinal edges 18 and 19 and rings 20 and 22 as best can be seen from FIG. 5. The platen 26 is then inserted through the opening into the cylindrical section 17 of said scale 16 as shown after rotating the scale 16 as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4.

Shaft 24 is inserted through scale 16 and platen 26 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 and the platen 26 is secured to the shaft 24 by a set screw 34 threaded into opening 34a in the right end of the platen 26 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.

A dial 30 is mounted over the left end of shaft 24 and has a reduced and threaded diameter 31 for engagement with threaded hole 21 of the ring 20. Dial 30 is rotated so that a portion of the reduced diameter 31 is threaded into the threaded hole 21 of the ring 20 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. A line spacing wheel 40 having teeth 42 is mounted over shaft 24 and secured thereto by a set screw 81. A compression spring 60 is mounted over the left end of shaft 24. A cam 69 is nonrotatably mounted over the left end of the shaft 24 with its largest diameter towards spring 60. A key 66 slides into a keyway 67 formed in shaft 24 and into a keyway 68 in cam 69 to prevent relative rotation between cam 69 and shaft 24. Cam 69 has a reduced diameter 70 formed on a side opposite spring 60. A knob 73 is mounted on the left end of the shaft 24 and has a keyway 70' for receiving key 66 to prevent rotation between shaft 24 and knob 73. A collar 74 is mounted on the left end of the shaft 24 and is secured thereto by a pin 75 to prevent the knob 73 from slipping off the left end of shaft 24.

Referring to the right end of shaft 24, worm wheel 44 is rotatably mounted on shaft 24 and is held from moving to the left or right sides respectively by the stops 50 and 51, secured to shaft 24 by set screws 52 and 53 respectively. (See FIGS. 1 and 2).

Three rods 58, the ends of which 59 have a reduced diameter are inserted through three holes 56 spaced 120.degree. apart in worm wheel 44 as most clearly shown in FIG. 7. The left ends 59 of rods 58 terminate in ring 22 of scale 16 as can be seen in FIGS. 1 and 2. A wheel 54 is mounted over shaft 24 and has three blind holes 56 spaced 120.degree. from each other for receiving the right ends 59 of rods 58.

Another compression spring 60 (similar to that shown on the left side of FIGS. 1 and 2) is mounted on the shaft 24 to the right side of the wheel 54. Another cam 69 is mounted to the right side of said compression spring 60 with a shoulder 71 (as shown illustratively in FIG. 2) engaging the spring 60 and a reduced diameter 70 opposite the spring 60. Shaft 24 and key 66 engage in a keyway 67 as best can be seen from FIGS. 2 and 9.

Over the right end of the shaft 24 and key 66 is mounted a knob 73, which is prevented from sliding to the right by a collar 74; the collar 74 is secured to the shaft 24 by a pin 75. The knobs 73 have each a reduced diameter 72, the inner ends of which are in constant engagement with outer surfaces of cams 69. Shaft 24 is now assembled and is in condition to be mounted in gauging carriage 61.

Gauging carriage 61 has a circular opening 62 formed at each end, said opening 62 having a diameter slightly greater than the reduced diameters 70 of cams 69. Slots 63, having a width greater than the reduced diameter 72 of the knobs 73, connect openings 62 with the top of the carriage 61 as shown in FIG. 9. An arm 64 extends across carriage 61 from the rear to the front as shown in FIGS. 2, 5 and 8, at the lower left side of the carriage 61.

Shaft 24 is mounted in carriage 61 by exerting an inward force on knobs 73 to compress springs 60 and move cams 69 inwardly. Reduced diameters 72 of knobs 73 are then vertically inserted into slots 63 as shown in FIG. 9. A groove 39 in dial 30 engages arm 64 which is seen in front elevation in FIG. 1, from a top elevation in FIG. 2, and in side elevation in FIGS. 5, 6, and 8 to prevent longitudinal movement of the dial 30 when it is rotated. Knobs 73 are then released so that reduced diameters 70 of cams 69 engage openings 62 in the carriage 61.

A pair of arms 48 are pivotally mounted on the pivots 90 on the right side of carriage 61 and support the shaft 92 of the worm 46, said worm 46 being positioned above worm wheel 44 and held in operative mesh with worm wheel 44 as most clearly shown in FIGS. 2 and 7. A conventional knob 92' is mounted to the shaft 92 of the worm 46 to impart rotation to the worm wheel 44 which rotates scale 16 through rods 58 and ring 22.

Upon cylindrical section 17 of scale 16 is formed a series of gauges 104, which have predetermined spacing and sequence as shown in FIG. 11. Each gauge 104 includes a copy of an aligned typewriter symbol permanently formed thereon and a transparent background adjacent thereto. The gauges 104 are positioned and spaced in relation to each other as would be the impressions typed by a properly aligned typewriter.

Also, permanently formed on section 17 are vertical and horizontal guide lines designated 130 and 132.

To gauge symbols 102 of a typewriter, the conventional carriage is removed, and the gauging carriage 61 is installed in the typewriter. A paper 35, preferably white is rolled over platen 26 and a short vertical line is typed on the paper 35 in the vicinity of the first typing position, this line being designated vertical guide line 132.

The typewriter symbols 102 are then typed on the paper 35 in the same sequence as on the scale 16. Then a horizontal guide line 132 is typed below the typed impression on the paper 35 corresponding to that of underscoring of said typewriter.

To position the typed symbols 102 beneath their gauges 104 on said scale 16, the platen 26 carrying said typed symbols 102 is rotated, for example by 8 teeth of line spacing wheel 40; this will locate the horizontal and vertical guide lines 132 beneath their corresponding guide lines 130 so closely that by looking down through the outer surface of the scale 16, the guide lines 132 cannot be seen beneath the guide lines 130. See FIG. 11. From the cut out section of the right side of said scale 16 of FIG. 11, through which a section of paper 35 is exposed, it can be seen that the typed horizontal guide line 132 to the left side of said section is fully hidden beneath the horizontal guide line 130 of the scale 16.

FIG. 13 illustrates a gaugeable unit 100 with a typed symbol "q" 102 and corresponding gauge 104, whereas in FIG. 15 there is shown the illustrative word "Khalil" in Persian characters 106 demonstrating the concern with alignment evident when such characters 106 are employed.

It is important that prior to checking the position of the gaugeable symbols 102 (typed symbols) relative to their gauges 104, the position of the guide lines 132 relative to their corresponding guide lines 130 should be checked. If upon rotating the platen 26 by 8 teeth of the line spacing wheel 40 either of lines 132 are not under their corresponding guide lines 130, as shown in FIG. 12, the guide lines 130 should be moved to coincide with the lines 132 before attempting to gauge the symbols 102. Scale 16 is provided with two mechanical movements one of which slides said scale 16 laterally to the right or to the left, and the other rotates said scale 16 in clockwise or counterclockwise direction as required. To rotate the horizontal guide line 130, the worm wheel 44 is rotated. To move the vertical line 130 laterally, the dial 30 is rotated in clockwise or counterclockwise direction as the case requires. FIGS. 11 and 12 illustrate how the scale 16 is moved to align guide lines 132 and 130. The vertical guide line "S" of the scale 16 should be the last to be moved by the dial 30 to come over the vertical guide line 132. When the lines 132 and 130 properly coincide the symbols 102 of the typewriter may then be gauged.

If and when any typed impression does not come beneath its corresponding gauge 104 while the guide lines 132 are beneath their corresponding guide lines 130 the typebar 33 of said symbol 102 should be corrected. The system is called a gauging system because no symbol comparison is required, the typed impressions must fit directly beneath the gauges 104 or there is misalignment of the symbols 102.

Claims

What I claim is:

1. A microscopic symbol gauging device for typewriters comprising a typewriter carriage, a platen carrying paper on which symbols are to be typed, said platen being rotatably carried by said carriage, an elongated scale formed of transparent material in the form of a section of a cylinder overlying said platen and supported by said carriage in concentric relationship with said platen and angularly and longitudinally movable relative to said platen, a plurality of gauging symbols and a set of guide lines consisting of at least one vertical and one horizontal line formed on said scale, said gauging symbols corresponding precisely in size, configuration and spacing to symbols on the typewriter which are to be aligned, and means for angularly and horizontally adjusting said scale relative to said platen whereby said device upon installation on a typewriter to be aligned with said scale angularly displaced from the normal symbol typing position, symbols to be aligned are imprinted on the paper carried by said platen together with a set of horizontal and vertical guidelines whereupon alignment of said sets of horizontal and vertical guide lines by relative horizontal and angular movement of said platen and scale, the gauging symbols will overlie the typed symbols to indicate the accuracy of alignment of the type symbols.

2. A microscopic symbol guaging device according to claim 1 wherein said gauging symbols are transparent and the surrounding scale portions have a contrasting light transmitting quality.