Proportional spacing mechanism control for typewriters

Claim 1

A PROPORTIONAL SPACING MECHANISM CONTROL ARRANGEMENT FOR TYPEWRITERS HAVING A PLURALITY N OF SELECTABLE AND ELECTROMAGNETICALLY OPERABLE STOP MEANS FOR STOPPING AFTER A KEY OPERATION THE TYPEWRITER CARRIAGE IN A POSITION SPACED FROM THE PRECEDING POSITION BY A VARIABLE MULTIPLE OF A PREDETERMINED FRACTION A/N OF THE STANDARD CARRIAGE STEP A IN PROPORTION TO THE TYPE WIDTH OF THE CHARACTER PRINTED UPON SUCH KEY ACTUATION, AND FURNISHING WITH EACH INDIVIDUAL KEY ACTUATION AN ELECTRICAL STOP ACTUATING PULSE FOR SETTING RESPECTIVELY SELECTED STOP MEANS, COMPRISING, IN COMBINATION, A PLURALITY OF INPUT MEANS FOR RECEIVING SAID STOP ACTUATING PULSES AND RESPECTIVELY ASSOCIATED WITH DIFFERENT MULTIPLES OF SAID PREDETERMINED FRACTION A/N OF THE STANDARD CARRIAGE STEP; MULTIPOLE DISTRIBUTOR SWITCH MEANS CYCLICALLY TURNABLE IN ONE DIRECTION IN SYNCHRONISM WITH THE CARRIAGE MOVEMENT THROUGH A PLURALITY OF POSITIONS RESPECTIVELY CORRESPONDING IN SEQUENCE TO SEQUENTIAL POSITIONS OF SAID CARRIAGE WHICH ARE SPACED FROM EACH OTHER BY SAID FRACTION A/N AND WHICH SAID CARRIAGE MAY ASSUME IN MAKING A STEP AFTER A KEY ACTUATION, SAID DISTRIBUTOR SWITCH MEANS HAVING A PLURALITY OF INPUT TERMINALS RESPECTIVELY CONNECTED WITH SAID PLURALITY OF INPUT MEANS IN SEQUENTIAL ORDER CORRESPONDING TO SAID DIFFERENT MULTIPLES OF SAID FRACTION A/N AND A PLURALITY OF OUTPUT TERMINALS RESPECTIVELY CONNECTED TO SAID ELECTROMAGNETICALLY OPERABLE STOP MEANS, AND SAID DISTRIBUTOR SWITCH MEANS PROVIDING IN ANY ONE OF SAID SEQUENTIAL POSITIONS THEREOF AN INDIVIDUAL PATH FROM ANY ONE OF SAID INPUT TERMINALS VIA A SELECTABLE ONE OF SAID OUTPUT TERMINALS TO THE RESPECTIVELY CONNECTED STOP MEANS, THE INDIVIDUAL PATH TO A SELECTED OUTPUT TERMINAL AND TO THE STOP MEANS CONNECTED THEREWITH BEING DETERMINED BY THE POSITION WHICH SAID DISTRIBUTOR SWITCH MEANS OCCUPIES AT A GIVEN MOMENT, SO THAT IN ANY POSITION OF SAID DISTRIBUTOR SWITCH MEANS A STOP ACTUATING PULSE APPLIED TO A PARTICULAR ONE OF SAID INPUT TERMINALS ASSOCIATED WITH A PARTICULAR MULTIPLE OF SAID FRACTION A/N IS TRANSMITTED TO SAID STOP MEANS IN SUCH A MANNER THAT IRRESPECTIVE OF THE EXISTING POSITION OF SAID CARRIAGE THE LATTER WILL CARRY OUT, AFTER THE PRINTING OF THE CHARACTER CORRESPONDING TO THE KEY ACTUATION PRODUCING THE PARTICULAR STOP ACTUATING PULSE, A STEP IN THE MAGNITUDE OF THAT MULTIPLE OF SAID FRACTION A/N WITH WHICH THE INPUT TERMINAL IS ASSOCIATED TO WHICH THE PARTICULAR STOP ACTUATING PULSE HAS BEEN APPLIED; AND MEANS FOR TURNING SAID DISTRIBUTOR SWITCH MEANS IN ONE DIRECTION CYCLICALLY THROUGH SAID SEQUENTIAL POSITIONS IN SYNCHRONISM WITH THE CARRIAGE MOVEMENT.