US2533856A - Copyholder - Google Patents

Description

Dec. 12, 1950 H. VAN BUREN 2,533,856

COPYHOLDER Filed May 24, 1949 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 f/W/M ATTORN EYJ Dec. 12, 1950 H. VAN BUREN COPYHOLDER 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed May 24, 1949 ATTORNEYS Dec. 12, 1950 H. VAN BUREN COPYHOLDER 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed May 24, 1949 ATTORNEYE Patented Dec. 12, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE- COPYHOLDER Harry Van Buren, Dallas, Tex.

Application May 24, 1949, Serial No. 95,007

4 Claims.

The object of my present invention is to provide an improved copy holder the various units of which are cast from light alloys and which are so associated as to afford simple disassembly for storage or shipment.

' Another object of my invention is the provision of a copy holding machine which when assembled and set up for use may be collapsed to the height of a typewriter and need never be removed from the operators desk unless so desired.

A further object of this invention is to present a. simplified machine in which one paper holding feed roller consists of a magnifying tube which acts as a copying line guide.

' Still another object of this device is the provisionof a copy holder wherein the operating force necessary to advance the paper may be adjusted to the desired touch of the copyist and wherein the momentum of the operating lever is retarded or clamped by an attached air cylinder or dashpot.

Another purpose of my present invention is to provide a copy holding machine so constructed as to permit operation by the little finger of the typist without the necessity of removing the hand from typing position on the keyboard of the typewriter.

Still other objects and advantages will become apparent from the following description of the present invention illustrated in the accompanying drawing in which:

- In the drawings:

- Figure l is a front elevation of a copy holder embodying my invention shown with its panel in the raised position.

Figure 2 is a rear elevation of the copy holder as shown" in Fig. 1.

Figure 3 is an elevation of the copy holder as seen when viewing the right hand side of Fig. 1.

Figure 4 is a sectional view taken on line 4-4 of Fig. 2.

Figure 5 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on line 5-5 of Fig. 2 and showing the operating lever mechanism.

Figure 6 is a sectional view taken on line 66 of Fig. 2 showing the bail roll and paper release embodied in the copy holder.

Figure 7 is a sectional view taken on line 'l-? of Fig. 2 showing the paper advancing pawl and racket in operative engagement.

Figure 7A is a partial view of the advancing mechanism shown in Fig. 7 with the parts disengaged.

Figure 8 is an exploded perspective view showing the means for detachably interlocking the copy feed arm and its pitman.

Figure 9 is a vertical cross sectional view taken on the line 9-9 of Fig. 5.

Figure 10 is an enlarged plan view of the panel locking structure.

Similar reference characters in the several figures indicate similar parts.

Referring first to Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings it will be seen that the base portion of my copy holder is L-shaped and comprises a cast cross piece [U to which there is fitted at one end an other casting H which extends forwardly (Fig. 3) said parts, which when the device is in o-per ating position, will enclose the rear and right hand edges of a typewriter. The section It has integrally formed on its left hand end a short cross piece l2 supported on rubber discs It for contact with a desk top. The opposite end of section I 0 is rabbeted at I 4 to receive the rear end of the forwardly extending longitudinal section ll, these mating sections being secured together by the bolt assembly l5.

' The section II consists of a horizontal base plate l6 (Figs. 3 and 5) having a vertical flange H at its outer longitudinal edge, the rear end of which is formed with a vertically projecting loop 18 to provide an elongated eye or opening [9 the purpose of which will be later explained. Rubber discs l3 on the bottom surface of plate l6 at its ends cooperate with the previously mentioned discs l3 to provide the copy holder with a nonskidding surface contact which prevent marring the finish of the desk top.

The cross piece 10 of the base of my device carries a pair of vertical guide rods 20. Reduced threaded ends of these rods pass through aperturesin the section I0 and are rigidly secured in plac by nuts 2|. Movably positioned on the guide rods 20 is a panel 23 which has perpendicular side flanges 24 and similar top and bottom horizontal flanges M which project rearwardly to form a shallow box-like structure. The rear faces of said flanges are provided with a plurality of small threaded holes 25 to enable the attachment of a closure plate (not shown) over the open side of the panel box to prevent undue collection of dust on operating parts contained therein and to increase the neatnessand attractiveness of the device in general. Bosses 25 are provided to give' body to the flanges 24 at points selected for the location of the threaded holes The panel 23 is shown in Figs. 1, 2, 3 and 4 in a raised position on the guide rods 20. It is this position that is assumed when the copy holder is in use. In order to maintain the panel as sembly in the raised position, I have provided a locking bar 21 having. a horizontal flange 3|.

which is supported in slots 28 (Fig. 4) passing through side flanges 24 and the bosses 29 attached thereto and to the rear face of panel 23. The bosses 29 are provided with apertures receiv: ing the upper ends of the rods and the ends of the rods carry stops which may be cotter pins 30 to limit the upward movement of the panel box once it isassembled-on. the guide rods. 7

Near the upper ends of rods 20 arehorizontal' notches 20 shown in Fig. 10, cut into the right hand sides thereof, as viewed in Fig. 2. These notches are of sufiicient depth to accommodate.

a portion of the peripheral edges of elliptical apertures 3| in the opposite ends ofthe-horizontal plate 3! of the locking bar.2'l. From this i it will be seen that when the bar 2! is in the position shown in Fig. 2 the edge of each elliptical aperture of the bar will engage its respective notch and thus'prevent'any vertical vmovementof the panel. For automaticallyi'engaging.theloclc-- in'g'ba-rZ'I, when the panel has beenzraisedtoits normal upward position, there isa coil spring 32 connected to" the bar' and toan apertured protuberance 33 on the inner face ofrpanel .23.

The" spring asthus 1 positioned is. placed? under tension and as a resultconstantly tends toiorce.

the bar 2'! into locking engagement with the notches or'to the left as viewed in Fig. 2'.

When it is desired'to lower the panel 23 to an inoperative and compact position: the tab 34- on the end of the-locking bar. is depressed: to disengage the bar from the notches in the guide rods 20- whereupon the panel is forcedi downwardly carrying the-barwith itibycoil- I springs 35 which were compressed under the momentum-created in raising the panel previ'e ously. The entire panel assembly being:then"free.

maybe moved'downwardly to'its'collapsed posi tion where its upper edgewillbe below-.the itopi of "the typewriter where it will not intereferei with further activity of the typist.

Inorder to hold the material tobecopied fi'rma 13 against the frontface of panel 23, 1 prefer to use a combination paper holder and magnifying line guide;-

is enclosed by a metallic "cap 3-1 with an axial nipple 38 thereon. The nipple at the Tightentremity of the magnifying tube; as-viewedfin'Figl 1"; isreceived in an apertureformed in=the upper end ofa pivot arm'39. The opposite nippleflfi This assembly consists of'a liquid-- filled" glass tube 36 extending horizontally across the front of the panel 23: Each end ofthe tube" orrthe left side of tube 35' is inserte'cl' into alon-'-- gitudinal slot 38 inthe upper-end"of a'second' pivot'arm 40; The latternipple isrotatablyse= cured within this slot by' m'eans'of apivoted latch 4| which is slotted to provide a projectingfinger panel box-flange 24. Theinner endsfsofr'thei pins 43-are supported by apertured ibosses lfi formed on thez'rearsfaceof panel-.23.. Eachx inlisisun rounded" by a coilispring 413oner-endioff which passes-througha slot (not shown) in'tsthe piniand the other. end. of :the springtpresses against-the surface of the panel 23. The springs 41 are so positioned as to be placed under a twisting tension and therefore constantly urge the tube 36 toward the front surface of the panel to provide a holdin force against the papers carried by the device. Thus the tube 36 has the dual function of holding the copy material in position and of magnifying each line of print as it moves behind thetube. p 7

Means are provided torelieve the=holding force exerted by the tube in order to remove or adjust the copy material as occasionmay arise. To accomplish this end I use a paper release lever 48 which is secured to one end of an oscillatory cam rod' 49 by means of the screw 50, as shown in Fig. .6. Therod 49 lies adjacent the rear face of panel 23 and is supported at its ends in aperturesprovided in the side flanges 24. At points opposite pivot arms 39 segmental slots are cut in the cylindrical surface of the rod so that when lever 48 is rotated ineither directiontheedges. ofthe slots actas cams to move the armsa-way. from: the panel 23 thereby spacing in anoutward position relative to the tube 36. Whenit is.de.- sired torenew thesholding eiTect of thetubeassemblythe releaselever. isreturned to its original. position whereupon the pivot arms 39 oncemore enter their respective slots in the cam rod.49.-'

Feeding the paper-comprising the copyis ace complished by a: transverse cylindrical rubber roller 5|, the forward edge of which protrudes through arr elongated opening 52 in the panel .23 into cooperative relation with the tube 36 ;whe'n the latter is in the holdingeposition. 1 Said roller is supported by journaling the end of .itscentral corerod 53 in aperturesin the side flanges .24 of the panel box. I

A ratchet/wheel 54 is attached to one end of the rodv 53, the wheel bein provided with aninner. hub 55 acting to space the wheel to assure proper. clearance between it and the. proximate. end .of thepaper holding and feeding assembly previously mentioned. Q

On a similar hubon the outer" face of the ratchet wheel 54 anoscillatory arm 55 1s -journaled which is held in position by a knurled abut ment'nut'51. 7

As will'beseen in Fig. 7, the free end of am}. 56 carries a pawl 58 which 'engagesthe peripheral teeth of the ratchet wheel to rotateitandfeeelv roller 5!. The pawl 58 is connected tozthe. arm bymeans: of a pivot'screw 59. and is tapered'as at some conform to the-outline of the lower edges. of the arm to prevent the presentation of u-ne necessary projecting edges which might catch-in the clothing of the typist. Surrounding the pivot screw 59, is a coil spring having an end'rfil which extends into a small hole 62' inthe arm whileits opposite enditfi extendsover the top-of the pawl to urge the same into engagementwith the teeth of the sprocket.-

Should it be desired to manually reverse the rotational direction of the rubber roller 5l and thus. lower the 'copysheet on'the panel, the pawl release knob 64 may be turned to rotateha semi;

cylindrical cam 65 which will hold pawl 58'out.of. engagement. with the. sprocket teeth. v As seen-2m Fig. 7A..the.-,ratchetwheel is thusqfreeto'revolvein either direction.

Vertical reciprocation of. the: oscillatory arm-56 is'..efiectedi.by the manipulation of anactuating. lever 66- by the typist. The forward end of the actuating lever-:is: provided with acurved finger key 67 offset from theplane of thelever as shown in Fig. 1. This offsettingflfeature; ofxthe key 61..

' allows it to be positioned in proximate relation with keys of the typewriter thereby permitting the operator to depress said finger key without removing her hand from typing position over. the keyboard. The actuating lever 55 i pivoted near its center on the shank of a bolt assembly 68 which passes through the vertical flange ll of the base section I I. r

A vertical arm or pitman 59 is joined at its lower end to the lever E36 by a swivel pin and at its upper end to the arm 56. This latter connection is effected by means of a projecting pin H (Fig.8) carried by the arm and which is re-' ceived within an aperture 32 formed at the upper 'end of the arm 8. The arm is held in place on the pin it by means of a U-shaped snap spring 13 fastened to the outer side of the arm by a screw 14. The free ends of the spring '53 extend through recess openings formed in the front and rear peripheral faces of a boss 16 on the upper end of arm 59 and engage a peripheral groove on the outer end of pin ll thereby retarding outward movement of the toggle arm on the pin. The outer edge of the pin groove is beveled to permit the disassociation of the arm and pin H with a slight force exerted by the typist when it is desired to collapse the panel assembly as heretofore explained. The toggle arm when released from its operative position, may be lowered to an unobstructing position as shown in Fig. 5.

The ultimate amount of each arcuate movement of the paper-conveying rubber cylinder 5| is controlled by means of a space regulating assembly Ti (Fig. 9). This regulator is adjustable to limit the extent of depression of the operating lever 56 in order to precisely position each successive printed line of the copy material behind the line guide 35 with each actuating stroke by the copyist.

The horizontal plate i5 is provided with a shallow groove iii to position a support member 18 firmly attached to the plate by a screw 88. The support member has an overhanging shelf 8| projecting from its upper end and in which is journaled a carrier screw 82. The lower end of the screw 82 passes through an alined aperture in the plate 56 and is provided with a detachable abutment head 83 to restrain the carrier screw assembly from vertical movement.

An internally threaded metallic stop piece 84 and a superposed rubber pad 85 are carried by the screw and are reciprocated in their vertical confine by manipulation of the knurled knob 86 formed integrally with the screw. As seen in Figs. 1 and 9 a coil spring 81 surrounds a portion of the screw and is confined between th collar BI' and the rubber pad 85 to provide sumcient frictional force between the parts to prevent accidental movement of the adjusted assembly.

When the finger key 61 of the operating lever is released from the depressed position, shown dotted at til in Fig. 3, the combined weight of the arm 69 and the contracting force of a light coil spring 89 acting on the rear end of lever 55 (Fig. 5) returns the rear end of the lever to its initial resting place on the base portion ii of the copy holder.

In operating the spacing lever 66 it may gain momentum on either the driving or return stroke which ordinarily would result in a jarring and noisy impact between certain metallic parts of the device. To obviate this undesirable occurrence I have provided on the lever a small air cylinder 98 to act as a governor to dampen the stroke, the cylinder being pivotally supported on the lever by a projection 9|. The piston in cylinder 93 is carried on a piston rod 92 suspende ed from the upper rim of the projecting loop H! by a laterally extending pin 93.

Hence it will be seen that the small amount of compression within the air cylinder effectively slows the movement of the mechanism to assure a smooth and noiseless operation of the machine in each direction.

A further control of the actuating lever 66 is provided by a frictional adjustment arranged for the rubber feed roller 58. This is accomplished by threading on the end of the roller rod 52 a knob 94 shown in Figs. 1 and 2. The knob has a boss 95 on the inner face thereof which may compress a spacing collar 9! against a coil spring 96 the inner end of which engages the panel flange 24. By screwing the knob 94 tighter the spring is compressed creating a friction which retards the rotation of the paper conveying roller assembly. Thus it will be seen that by regulating this frictional force the actuating lever will be accordingly adjusted to the desired touch of the copyist. Once correctly positioned the knob '94 may be secured in place by the set screw 98 shown in Fig. 1.

On the opposite end of the transverse rod 52 I have shown a second knob 99 removably attached to the rod by means of a set screw I03.

This knob may be used for manual operation of the paper conveying mechanism independent of the previously described ratchet and pawl assembly.

The upper portion of my copy holding panel I is provided with a bail roll assembly lBl. This assembly consists of the transverse bar H12 and a rearwardly extending arcuate fin ms secured thereto. The bar is connected at its axial extremities to a pair of supporting arms IIM by means of holding screws Hi5. Supporting arms I04 are in turn pivotally attached to the side flanges or" the panel box by pivot screws [06. The downward swing of the bail roll is limited by small abutment screws it! carried by the side flanges 24.

It is apparent from Fig. 6 that in its normal forward position the bail roll will automatically turn the copy backward and prevent the same from falling forward to obstruct the line of vision. Since the bail roll shown in the drawings is movable, the operator is allowed to copy from a number of sheets which are fastened together without tearing them apart. By merely rotating the bail roll to its backward position and releasing the paper holder, the sheets can be backed through the machine to a starting point.

From the foregoing description of my present invention it will be seen that I have provided a compact and light weight copy holder which possesses the advantages of ease of operation, simplicity and durability. Furthermore by casting the panel and its supporting frame from a light weight alloy the need for spot welding and various other mechanical operations is avoided.

This device afiords a convenient means for advancing material to be copied with the desired touch of the typist and without the necessity of removing the hand from the keyboard of the typewriter, this operation being accomplished with a minimum of noise and jar by the cooperating parts of the device.

While a preferred form of the invention has been shown and described, it will be understood 75 that variation in details of form may be made apsspzsc without departure. from the invention as defined in the appended claims.

'Iclaim:

1. In a copy holder, a combination with an L-ishaped base composed of a rear cross piece anda forwardly extending lateral piece both be.- ing of cast metal and mortised at their overlapping ends, and vertical guide rods on the rear piece, of a cast metal panel having rearwardly extendingfianges guided on the rods, an adjustable: cross bar slidably retained by said panel and: extending beyond the sides thereof, said bar-interlocking with the rods to hold the panel elevated position, spring means connecting said panel and rods biasing the panel to a nonelevated position, cooperating. paper vfeed rolls on. the. panel, a ratchet on one of the rolls and a pawl for operating it, a .spacingflever on the lateral base piece and. an arm extending vertically iromits rear end for actuating the ratchet. 4

2:...In a copy holder, the combination with an ,L-shaped base composed of a rear cross piece and .a forwardly extending lateral piece both being of cast metal and mortised at their overlapping ends, and vertical guide rods on the rear piece, of a'cast metal panel having rearwardly extending flanges guided on the rods, an adjustable cross bar in rear of the panel interlocking with the rods to hold the panel in elevated position, cooperating paper 'feed 'rolls on the panel, a O

ratchet on one of the rolls and a pawl for operating it, a spacing lever on the lateral base piece and an arm extending vertically from its rear end, for actuating the ratchet, and a rotatable cam member for selectively preventing engagement between said pawl and ratchet.

'3. In a copy holder, the combination with an -L-s'haped base composed of' a rear cross piece and a forwardly extending lateral piece both being of cast metal and mortised at their over-- lapping ends, and vertical guide rods on the rear piece, of a cast metal panel having rearwardl y extending flanges guided on the rods, an adjustable cross bar slidab'ly retained by said panel and extending beyond the sides thereof, said :bazr

' interlocking with the rods to hold the panel in elevated "position, spring means connecting said panel. and. rods biasing the panel to .a non-elevated position, cooperating paper feed rollsron the panel, a ratchet on one of the rolls, a-pa-wl for operating it, a spacing lever on the lateral bas'e piece, an. arm extending verticallyirom its-rear end for actuating the ratchet, and a rotatable cam member for selectively preventingengagement between said pawl and ratchet.

'4. In a copy holder adapted to be mounted :in rear of .a typewriter, the combination with a. base. guide rods thereon and a vertically adjustable two zposition panel thereon in one position being hidden behind the typewriter and the other being elevated in copy holding position, and we'- leasable locking means on the panel cooperating with therods for holding it'in copyin'g 1105i? tion, of copy feeding rolls on the upper. portion of the panel, a ratchet on one of the rolls, a pawl. cooperating therewith, and an oscillatory arm carrying the pawl, a spacing lever, an. lip-.- wardly extending arm on the lever and a spring clip connection between the upper end of the 1-19 wardly extending arm and the oscillatoryarm for disconnecting rsaid parts to enable the panel to be adjusted downwardly into the first mentioned position.

HARRY VAN BUR-EN.

. REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES "PATENTS Jackson May 2,. 1950

Images