Item ST 38365 Typewriter - Nippon Keieiki Co. Ltd., Pion 1/4, 1976

Summary

Index typewriter designed for typing Japanese characters, manufactured by the Nippon Keieiki Company in 1976.

The Japanese written language is represented by ideograms, one set of which, known as Kanji, contains some 50,000 characters. In this typewriter each Kanji character is embossed on the end of an individual type 'slug'. Several thousand of these slugs, representing the most used characters, are arranged in a rectangular array in a tray positioned in front of a cylindrical platen. The operator moves the operating mechanism over the array and presses a handle. The mechanism picks up the slug for the selected character, lifts it out of the tray and swings it up and forward to make contact with the inking ribbon, paper and platen. The slug is then returned to its position in the tray. Extra trays containing additional character sets were provided with the machine.

Physical Description

Metal frame with cylindrical platen at rear. Tray containing about 2500 individual character slugs in front of platen. Operating mechanism and platen move on carriage. Operating handle moves vertically to select character to be printed. Inking ribbon carried between two spools on vertical axes.