Method of and apparatus for multi-galley composition

Abstract

In a photocomposition machine environment the apparatus and method show the concept of advancing the photosensitive material into position normally occupied for composition of text. The known apparatus and method are then modified by providing reverse leading for the paper and re-advance to the starting point followed by composition of a second column lateral to and aligned with the first column. A particular advance in the art is the ability to compose a complex mathematical formula with greatly simplified software using the improved hardware.

The point of reference is established by a sensor which is activated upon advance of the paper to the sensor and therefore reversal and re-advancement of the paper will cause an exact repositioning of the paper for each column.

Description

A gear 26 directly driven by gear 23 in turn is connected to drive a pinion 27. Pinion 27 operates through a spring friction slip clutch 28 to drive a reverse set of rolls 29.

Because of the arrangement of the pinions and gears, the set 29 is always urging a reverse drive of a web sheet passing through the magazine, but the spring friction clutch will allow a sheet driven by rolls 18 and 19 to advance against the reverse drive force. Such reverse drive assures a very tight, smooth section of paper web between the advance drive rolls and the reverse roll set 29. Threading of the paper web is accomplished by Gear 23 drives roll 18 up and down in steps determined by motor 21. Motor 21 steps to rotate pinion 22 clockwise, as viewed in FIG. 2, which turns roll 18 counterclockwise to drive the paper web in an advance direction.

A one-way clutch 24 is carried on the shaft of roll 18. The clutch is designed to impart drive force to pinion 26 only when motor 21 is reversed to drive roll 18 in a web retraction direction.

Pinion 27 is journaled on the shaft of roll 29, and has a friction drive connection to the shaft through slip clutch 28. (See FIG. 4.)

In operation, with motor 21 in advance mode, roll 29, pinion 27, and pinion 26 turn freely under drive of the paper web, upon roll 29. This is an idle following.

When motor 21 is reversed to retract mode, clutch 24 will drive pinion 26 as well as roll 18. Because pinion 26 is larger than the pinion 27, there will be an urge to drive roll 29 at a feed rate greater than the reverse feed of roll 18. The slip clutch 28 will permit pinion 27 to turn at the greater speed and deliver rotational drive only to the degree permitted by roll 18. Therefore, precision matching of pinion gears is unnecessary.

Threading of the paper web is accomplished by mounting the idler rolls on a pivot carriage to swing them aside during loading. See U.S. Pat. No. 3,724,945.

An edge sensor 30 is positioned along the side of the path established for the paper web sheet and is equipped with a light source 31 and a sensor 32 such that when the sheet advances to the edge sensor 30 a signal will be generated.

A controller 34 such as a PDP-8 manufactured by Digital Equipment Corporation, Maynard, Mass. is a computer, commonly referred to as a mini-computer because of the limited capacity thereof, and contains all controls for the entire photocomposing machine including the necessary control of disc 10, flash tube 12, and letter-by-letter and character-by-character placement of the image on the paper sheet bridging between the advance and retract rolls of the magazine.

The controller 34 also contains logic which will receive the signal generated by arrival of the paper sheet web at the edge sensor 30, and will cause the stepper motor to cease forward advance drive of roll 18. Then, the controller 34 will cause the photocomposing system to expose a series of characters in a line reestablished length on one portion of the paper bridging between the drive and retract roll sets. After composition of the first line, the controller 34 will cause the stepper motor to advance the drive rolls 18 and 19 a distance known as a leading distance whereafter a second line is composed. Line by line a column is thus composed for a given predetermined column length.

At this point this invention differs from standard practice in that piror prior standard practice has been to continue composing in a single column regardless of available paper web width, and thereafter to manually cut and paste the columns in lateral alignment for a finished gallery of multiple columns.

A mathematical formula represents a photocomposition problem of considerable programming difficulty in standard machines. This invention enables such composition with ease. One word, or even a letter or number may be treated as a column. The placement of the formula characters in correct leading relationship becomes attainable with ease.

According to this invention, the controller, at the end of column 1, will cause stepper motor 21 to reverse. Such reversal will not affect the drive roll 18 because of the one-way clutch 24, but the reversal will then allow the roll set 29 to reverse direction under the crive drive influence of the spring friction clutch 28 and reverse the paper back toward a raw film storage box 35. The construction of a normal paper feed magazine is such that there is sufficient room between the box 35 and the reverse roll set 29 to allow the paper to fold harmlessly until re-advanced.

The stepper motor is reversed a distance sufficiently to bring the top of the composed column well below the normal composing position, rather than to reverse just to a composing position. Forward advance will again pick up the slack that is in the drive gear construction and hence make possible a much less costly construction than would be required if precision gearing were specified without a backlash tolerance.

When the stepper motor is again advanced, it will proceed to drive the paper web sheet back to the edge sensor 30 and produce a signal when the paper edge reaches the sensor 30. The signal is recognized by the controller 34 and composition is then connected in a second column lateral to the first column and with the starting line in exact alignment with the first line of the first column composed.

It has been found that a series of holes or marks along the edge of the paper web also provides a useful means for control of positioned relationship, rather than the cut end. It is the use of a useful references feature, not any particular marker, that enables the proper leading and reverse leading.

EXAMPLE 3

1. set left margin at an indent value corresponding to beginning of the first character in the equation.

2. Lead down 44 points. Set leading reference.

3. Type [R¹ =].

4. reverse leads 26 points from reference.

5. Type [N-1] .

6. lead down 9 points.

7. Type [&1e(p) 1] .

8. Reverse lead 21 points from reference (4 points).

9. Type [2] .

10. Lead down 4 points.

11. Type [ ].

12. Lead down to reference (17 points).

13. Type [= ].

14. Reverse lead 4 points from reference.

15. Type [Zero width][2] .

16. Lead down 6 points.

17. Type [E].

18. reverse lead to reference.

19. Type [2(m-1)+].

20. Reverse lead 4 points from reference.

21. Type [Zero Width][2] .

22. Lead down 6 points.

23. Type [ο].

24. Reverse lead to reference.

25. Type [ ].

26. Reverse lead 4 points from reference.

27. Type [Zero Width][2] .

28. Lead down 6 points.

29. Type [E].

30. reverse lead to reference.

31. Type [+C].

32. lead down 2 points.

33. Type [k].

34. Reverse lead to reference.

35. Type [(m+2)dud][Return].

36. Reverse lead 7 points from reference.

37. Type [No Flash][R'=][Flash][p=ο][Return].

38. Lead down 14 points.

39. Type [No Flash][R'=][Flash][N- 1].

40. lead down 9 points.

41. Type [&1i(s)1&1i(s)1].

42. Reverse lead 4 points (or, reverse lead to reference, lead down 12 points).

43. Type [2].

44. Lead down 4 points.

45. Type [ ][Return].

46. Lead down 10 points.

47. Type [No Flash][R'=][Flash][p=ο].

Proceed with remainder of equation.

Where reverse leading is present as in Example 3, characters can be entered in more nearly their normal sequence. Interspersed commands can move the baseline back and forth as required. The use of a reference baseline makes it convenient to work with respect to some central baseline from which all other dimensions can be determined. Since repetitive leading in forward or reverse directions may result in error accumulations, returning to a reference baseline will improve typographic quality and keep baseline deviations to a minimum.

Claims

1. A method of multi-column composition, comprising the steps of:

providing a means for detecting a reference feature of a paper sheet advancing along a path and for producing a control signal from such reference feature when detected;

providing a power-driven paper feed means for advancing a photosensitive sheet along said path;

advancing a sheet along said path until the reference feature thereof is detected by said means, and a control signal is generated;

applying said signal to stop said power-driven paper feed means;

composing characters to produce at least one character in a first column position;

thereafter reversing said paper feed to withdraw the paper to a position retracted from said means for detecting the desired reference feature; and

re-advancing said sheet until another control signal is produced by said means for detecting the reference feature, and,

finally, composing a second at least one character on the same page in a lateral position to the first character and in a predetermined relationship thereto by a relationship to said reference feature;

whereby a multiple column galley is obtained in registration from a common reference.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said composition takes place in a first column of a multiple number of lines, followed by reverse leading and composition of a second column wherein said lines are aligned with those of the first column.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein said composition placement of the characters is random but aligned in relationship to a common lead reference.

4. A multi-column photocomposition machine, comprising:

a photocomposition system including a font of characters and projection means for projecting characters of said font in column lines;

a power-driven paper feed means for advancing a photosensitive sheet along a path defining the image plane of said photocomposition system;

means for producing and thereafter detecting an established reference feature of a paper sheet advancing along said path and for producing a control signal when such feature is detected.

a controller for said machine, said controller providing advance feed of paper until a control signal is recorded, and thereafter providing multiple lines of composition in a column by repeating character-by-character exposure and line-by-line leading advance of said paper feed means;

whereby, the paper may be retracted and re-advanced repeatedly to be again detected and establish a new column starting line in alignment with a previous line.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein a photosensitive sheet is provided with preformed features which are detectable to establish a reverse and new advance leading.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein a photosensitive sheet is provided with a series of features for counting and leading control.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the reference feature is the lead edge of the paper.

8. A method of irregular baseline composition, comprising the steps of:

providing a means for detecting a reference feature of a sheet-web advancing along a path and for producing a control signal from such reference feature when detected;

providing a power-driven, sheet-web feed means for advancing a photosensitive sheet-web along said path;

advancing a sheet-web along said path until the reference feature thereof is detected by said feed means, and a control signal is generated;

applying said signal to stop said feed means;

composing characters to produce at least one character on a first column baseline;

thereafter reversing said feed means to withdraw the sheet-web to a position retracted from said means for detecting the desired reference feature;

re-advancing said sheet-web until another control signal is produced by said means for detecting the reference feature, and;

finally, stepping said feed means a leading distance equal to the distance of said first column baseline from said reference feature and further adjusted by a fractional leading distance to produce subscript and superscript insert positions off the baseline of said composed one character;

whereby an irregular baseline composition is obtained in registration from a common reference.

9. An irregular baseline photocomposition machine, comprising:

a photocomposition system including a font of characters and projection means for projecting characters of said font in column lines;

a power-driven, sheet-web feed means for advancing a photosensitive sheet-web along a path defining the image plane of said photocomposition system;

means for detecting an established reference feature of a sheet-web advancing along said path and for producing a control signal when such feature is detected;

a controller for said machine, said controller providing advance feed of the sheet-web until a control signal is recorded, and thereafter providing multiple lines of composition in a column by repeating character-by-character exposure and line-by-line leading advance of said feed means; and

said controller also providing for reverse of said feed means to retract said reference feature to a position prior to said means for detecting the feature and readvancing the sheet-web relative to the new detection to a desired leading offset above or below the baseline of the characters previously set;

whereby, the sheet-web may be retracted and readvanced repeatedly to again detect the reference feature and establish a new baseline in accurate reference to the reference feature.