Line-spacing system for printing office machines

In a printing office machine of the type having a carriage, a controllable line spacing mechanism and a controllable carriage return mechanism for returning the carriage to the beginning of the printing line, comprising:

• actuatable control means for enabling both the line spacing mechanism and the carriage return mechanism;
• means for actuating said control means to effect both the line spacing and the return of the carriage to the beginning of the printing line;
• manually actuatable stop means for preventing the movement of the carriage to override said carriage return mechanism;
• and
• means for manually actuating both the control means and the stop means to effect the line spacing of the carriage without the return of the carriage to the beginning of the printing line, wherein the forward shifting of the carriage is effected by an escapement tooth coacting with a first rack of the carriage and wherein said stop means includes a second rack disposed on the carriage and a detent configured to coact with the second rack, wherein said detent is disposed in correspondence with the printing point of the machine to enable line-spacing without carriage return to the beginning of the printing line from any position along the printing line, wherein said control means effects the line-spacing before the return of the carriage and wherein said stop means includes a movable support slidably disposed relative to said carriage and shifted together therewith for disenabling the carriage return mechanism after the enabling of the line spacing mechanism, and wherein said detent is mounted on the movable support and the travel of the support is less than or equal to the escapement step of the first rack.