Typewriter

In an electric typewriter having a keyboard with a plurality of keys, a continuous rotating motor and a printing mechanism including a character selecting mechanism, the improvement which comprises:

• a plurality of interposers movably supported beneath said keyboard, each of said interposers being depressible by respective one of said keys of said keyboard;
• a common drive member located adjacent to all of said interposers and actuating any depressed one of said interposers for operating said character selecting mechanism in said printing mechanism;
• a clutch disposed between said motor and said drive member;
• a regulating lever, disposed adjacent to said clutch, being movable between a first position for keeping said clutch in a disengaged condition and a second position for allowing said clutch to be engaged;
• holding means disposed between said regulating lever and each of said interposers, said holding means normally holding said regulating lever in said first position and permitting movement of said regulating lever from said first position to said second position when any of said interposers is depressed;
• a cam member rotated for returning said regulating lever to said first position upon engagement of said clutch;
• a sensing member movably supported in parallel to and operatively connected with said drive member for being reciprocally moved in a first direction, said sensing member being further moved in a second direction by a second one of said interposers depressed subsequently while said sensing member is still in a course of the reciprocal movement caused by a previously depressed one of said interposers;
• a lock member disposed engageably with said regulating lever in said first position for locking said clutch in the disengaged condition;
• a latch member operatively engaged with said sensing member and said lock member respectively, said latch member being normally kept in a latching position to hold said lock member away from said regulating lever and being moved from the latching position by said sensing member when said sensing member is moved in the second direction;
• a spring for pulling said lock member toward said regulating lever when said latch is moved from the latching position;
• and
• returning means connected with at least one special key of said keyboard for returning said lock member to the position normally held away from said regulating lever.