Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 90.djvu/64

 This Typewriter Is a Self-Starter

��It saves about four seconds of the time required for each letter

���After the indicators on the back of the machine are set the typist is relieved of the necessity for any mental computation in the operation of the machine

��ELIMINATING the hand settings of a typewriter carriage for the writing of indented Hnes, the new self-starting device fitted on type- writers of one prominent make, starts the carriage instantly at the correct starting point by simply pressing one of five keys. When it is realized that the writing of the average letter requires twelve dead stops and that each stop means an average time loss of four seconds, the yearly saving attributable to the device will be appreciated. The self-starter is an improvement on the old column selector previously used on some typewriters in that after the indicators on the back of the machine are set, each of the self- starter keys indicates the same starting point irre- spective of the position of the carriage on the line. This relieves the operator of the necessity of any mental computation in the operation of the keys, which from the mechanical standpoint, was one of the most serious drawbacks

���REVERSIBLE RACK STARTER LEVERS STARTER keys'

��Pawls operated from the self- starter keys contact the stops

��in the operation of the old-style sel- ector mechanism. Another ad- vantage of the self-starter is that the mechanism operates from either end of the line. If the carriage has passed the starting point of the next line of writing it is not necessary to return to the beginning of the line and then jump forward to reach the proper point. It can be jumped back instantly to the starting point desired. The importance of this ad- vantage can be understood by noting the starting points of the indented lines of the average letter. In most cases it will be found that the termination of the last writing line is beyond the starting point of the next indented line.

The operation of the device is accomplished by the use of a reversible rack on the back of the machine. Different shaped stop pieces can be set at any desired positions on the rack. Stop pawls operated from the self-starter keys by levers come into contact with the stops accord- ing to the shapes of the latter which are so de- signed that the movement of, say, the third key per- mits the first two stops to be jumped. This enables the carriage to be moved immediately to any de- sired stop, no matter whether it is to the right or left of the stop.

The device will be ap- preciated most especially by the typists, who will realize more vividly than others the meaning of a few seconds saved from the time required for the writing of each letter or the spacing of each tabu- lated statement.

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