Mergenthaler's Patents.

[Mechanic]

Mergenthaler's patents.

Any of our members and visitors who are interested in the evolution of the Linotype may like to have a look at some of Mergenthaler's early patents.
Patented March 3, 1885
Earliest I could find.

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/0313224.pdf

Patented May 12, 1885
First machine to use free individual matrices.

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/0317828.pdf

Patented July 13, 1886
Introduces the spaceband, which resulted in a court case over patent infringement.
http://www.metaltype.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,273.msg796.html#msg796

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/0345525.pdf

Patented Feb 28, 1888
Have a look at sheets 16 and 17. The Elektron line delivery concept was not new.

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/0378798.pdf

Patented September 16, 1890
This is the first machine that starts to resemble the Linotypes that most of us worked with.
The keyboard is the 90 key layout but the keyboard cams pull the escapement levers rather than push. The assembler elevator is elevated via a key just above the keyboard

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/0436532.pdf