Rooy2

ROOY PORTABLE -- mechanical details

by Will Davis; diagrams from Chuck & Rich

On the first page of this section, we explored the ROOY PORTABLE in general, along with its inventor and manufacturer. Still, it is impossible to fully appreciate this machine without an understanding of the technical details of its design; we'll look at some of those here.

At left, we see the machine in typing position, but with its ribbon covers open to allow some internal views.

At right, a closer look under the left ribbon cover. The main, or carriage, spring is the black disk shaped object in the center of the picture; it's acutally in front of the carriage itself. In the picture above, two red dots can be seen, one by each ribbon spool. These are for the manual ribbon reverse.

In the picture at left, the four rightmost type bars have been raised to show the intermediate segment. This can be seen in detail view on the previous page, using the patent drawing. This is one way in which the machines are made flat; by the use of short, linear motions under the type bars.

Several outer type bars on each side have this unusual shape, to allow them to lay flat, yet still clear the intermediate segment.

These machines are only 1 11/16 inches thick, which does not allow for the full depression of the longest key levers. Their action is accomodated by a trap door on the bottom of the typewriter itself, which also allows for repair access. The door opens to a "half latch" position upon the first depression of the longer key levers.

In the drawing above, we see the angle that the trap door is at when the machine is in use. The link, or latch, is hinged on the door, and holds on pins in the sides of the machine. At left, the right latch is seen on the pin (door in typing position); this is just below and to the left of the margin release key in the picture. Springs are used to place tension on the latches.

At left, a view of the bottom of the ROOY PORTABLE with the trap door fully open. The latches must be pushed off the pins from the keyboard side in order to allow this. The intermediate segment, crescent-shaped, is visible at the top of the opening. The rather delicate nature of the parts of this machine can be seen in this view; so can the diminutive size of these working parts.

At right, two competitors, both also new in 1950 but with pedigrees. Left, the SKYRITER, and right, the MONTANA LUXE.

An interesting fact about the ROOY PORTABLE is that it uses some parts which are duplicated from the HERMES BABY; the carriage return/line space lever and mechanism for one, and the margin sets for another. This may well have been done to help reduce startup cost; this would have been desirable since the machine was deliberately designed to compete with two very well established machines of just larger size. The first of these (and the first truly small 4-bank portable) was the HERMES BABY/ HERMES FEATHERWEIGHT, launched in 1935 in Switzerland and still being produced in great numbers in 1950. From the USA was the SMITH-CORONA SKYRITER, developed from the CORONA ZEPHYR of 1938. In addition, the HERMES design was under license production in two other countries, England and Italy, as the EMPIRE ARISTOCRAT and MONTANA LUXE, respectively. For Messrs. Rooy, though, no reduction of cost, nor license production, could save the company; it was bankrupt and no longer making typewriters by 1960, and liquidated by 1963. Unlike many other designs which, at the time, were spreading worldwide through mergers and joint ventures, that of the ROOY PORTABLE, and Borel's concepts, died at that time as no further production from this tooling was undertaken anywhere.

to return to ROOY part one