Patent GB-190427835-A (GB)
Title: Improvements in Addressing Machines.
Inventor: ALLISON CHARLES ARTHUR
Filed: 1904-12-20
Granted: 1905-07-20
Abstract: 27,835. Allison, C. A., [Cox Multi-Mailer Co.]. Dec. 20. Addressing-machines. - The machine is more particularly for printing addresses on newspapers before they are rolled or placed in wrappers. The papers are fed from a pile 2 in a hopper 1, Figs. 1 and 5, to travelling tapes 96, 100, past a slowly revolving type drum or wheel 102, removably carrying linotypes for printing the addresses, and are finally delivered into a hopper 224. The linotypes are fed in a galley 141 to the drum 102, after being inked by a roller 158, and are taken therefrom after printing and passed along a galley 250. The shaft 119 is driven by any suitable means, such as a motor 120, coupled by gearing and belting to a pulley, which is loose on the shaft 119 and drives this shaft through a friction clutch controlled by handles on both sides of the machine. An intermediate shaft, driven from the shaft 119 by bevel gearing, revolves the drum 102 continuously through a worm and worm-wheel, and also operates a shaft 25. A travelling band 142 passes along the bottom of the galley 141, and pushes the types forward against a stop 183. The roller 144, carrying one end of the band, is diiven by a ratchet-wheel which is frictionally connected to the shaft and is actuated by a pawl on a lever reciprocated by a cam on the intermediate shaft. The faces of the slugs or linotypes are inked, while in the galley 141, by a roller 158, which is slowly moved to and fro by levers 160 on a shaft 162, reciprocated by gearing and levers from a shaft 86, driven by a chain 88 from the shaft 25. The roller 158 receives ink from a ductor through a ductor roll 171 and distributing-rolls, actuated as shown in Fig. 5. The linotypes or slugs carrying the addresses are not all of the same thickness, some being formed of several linotypes fastened together. The end slug passes partly underneath a shoulder on the stop 183, which is reciprocated by a cam on the intermediate shaft so as to feed the slugs one at a time down a shoot 201 to the drum 102. In order that only one slug at a time may be fed, regardless of the width, several pairs of spring-controlled depressible supports are provided at the end of the galley, sufficient in number to ensure that the thickest slug will be able to pass completely on to the whole number, each individual support being, however, only slightly wider than the thickness of the thinnest slug. If a thin slug is depressed by the ejector 183, the first pair of supports only will yield and allow the slug to pass, the other supportpreventing the next slug from passing with it. A double slug, formed of two linotypes, would depress the first two pairs of supports, while the next slug would be held by the third pair of supports. The drum 102 has teeth 133, on to the radial slides of which the separated slugs slide, being guided partly by pivoted spring- controlled tongues attached to the shoot 201, and projecting into recesses formed in the teeth 133. Near the base of each tooth 133 is formed a bearing for a small shaft 140, Fig. 26, carrying on one side of the drum a disc or lever 209, having a pin 136 projecting into the tooth space, and also two stops 235, 237, and on the other side of the drum a small lever 139, Fig. 1, attached to one end of a spring 137, fixed to the drum 102 at the other end. As the drum rotates after a slug has been placed on the tooth 133, the stop 237 engages with a projection 238 on an adjustably-positioned arm 239, and the pin 136 is thereby brought against the slug, and clamps it in position by the action of the spring 137. Before this takes place, the slug is pushed over against the disc 209 by a fixed, and, if desirable, springy, deflector placed on the opposite side of the drum. After the printing operation has taken place, the slug passes round to the ejecting-mechanism, Fig. 15. The slug is set free by the stop 235 engaging with a fixed projection 236, thereby opening the clamp ready for the insertion of another slug. In order to ensure that the slug drops out, a wire 245, attached to a fixed support 246, is passed round the drum 102 under the slugs, at the bottom of one of the before-mentioned slots or recesses formed in the teeth 133, and passes away from the drum at a tangent at the spot where the slugs should be ejected. A spring 247 prevents undue pressure from being exerted on the slugs, which fall head downwards on an incline 248, and are thereby partly turned over. A plunger 259, Figs. 15 and 5, actuated through levers and links 260, 261, 262, 263 from a shaft 226, which is reciprocated through a lever 232, Fig. 1, and rod 231 by a cam 229 on the shaft 119, then moves forward, and its forked end 259<a>, besides completely turning the slug head uppermost, presses it past the spring- controlled fingers 252 into the galley 250. The flanges 264 prevent the slugs from rising while being pushed into place. In an alternative method of delivering the slugs, shown in Fig. 26, they fall, when released, head first on to a ledge 291, having walls 294, 295 which prevent them from slipping off. Each slug then falls or is pushed over the wall 295 as shown, and falls with its head uppermost in front of a plunger head 290, and between the tapering ends of two springs 292, having shoulders 293. The plunger 290 then pushes it past the shoulders 293, where it joins the previous slugs and passes along the galley 250. By both the methods described, the slugs are delivered in exactly the reverse order to that in which they are fed. To obviate this, the delivery mechanism may be turned round, and the galley 250 will be passed along by the side of or underneath the trough 224, Figs. 1 and 5, instead of as shown. The galleys or races 250, 141 may be formed with removable sections 266, Fig. 5, telescoping into the fixed portions for some distance, so that, when the removable section is nearly full, it may be removed and replaced by a duplicate section 216. The papers 2, Fig. 5, are placed with the last fold downwards in a hopper 1, and are fed forward by sprocket chains 3 running on the bottom of the hopper over sprocket-wheels 4, 5. A follower 32, engaging with the chains 3 by lugs 33, assists in feeding the papers, and has one side bent backwardly to allow for the extra thickness of the papers at the doubled edges. The sprocket-wheels 5 are driven by a ratchet-wheel 7 on the shaft 6, the amount of motion being obtained and controlled as follows :-A hook 17 receives a vertical reciprocating motion from the shaft 25 through a connecting-rod 23 and lever 19. Normally, this hook engages with a catch 12 on a bar 10, the lower end of which works the pawl to revolve the ratchet-wheel 7. When the papers have been fed sufficiently far forward, arms on gauges resting on the front sheet and attached to a shaft carried by the bracket 21 move forward a lever carrying the adjustable stop 30, which pushes the hook 17 away from the catch 12, preferably by bearing on a spring attached to the hook 17. The lower edge of the front paper is held in place by a pivoted spring-controlled gate 35, which is turned down through the action of a cam on the shaft 86 at a suitable time to allow pivoted pushers, which are secured to the ends of sliding rods 40 and reciprocated through the lever 19 and links 47, to feed the paper towards the tapes 100, 96 on the pulleys 91, 92. The pushers or needle-blocks have inclined needles on their lower faces, which engage with the papers on the downward stroke only. They are assisted in feeding the papers by the suckers 57, on a hollow bar 56 connected by a flexible tube 70 and valve 78 to a reservoir 67, which is exhausted by an air pump driven preferably continuously by a chain from a sprocket-wheel on the loose pulley which drives the shaft 119. The bar 56 is supported on pivoted arms 59 actuated by a cam on the shaft 25. When the suckers are down on the paper, the valve 78 is opened by the cam 77 ; the suckers then move forward with the paper, and feed it between the tapes 96, 100. The paper passes between the tapes until it is arrested and squared by the adjustable gauges 211 on a rocker shaft 314 actuated by a cam on the shaft 119 ; while the paper is thus held, the impression segment 103, pivotally mounted on a rocking arm 105 actuated by a cam on the intermediate shaft, descends and forces the paper against the inked type in the slowly revolving drum 102. The impression segment is rotated slightly, against the action of a spring, through frictional contact with the paper and the moving drum 102. The guideplates 219, 220 conduct the paper to the gauges 211, which project through slots 221 in the upper plate 219. After the segment 103 has risen, the paper is allowed to pass over the roller 93 into the trough 227, and is pushed on to the pile of addressel papers 268 by fingers 225 attached to the rocking- shaft 226 and projecting through slots in the bottom of the receiver. If it is desired to separate automatically papers with one set of addresses from those with another, markers, such as the wooden slats 267, are deposited between the two batches from a magazine 269, composed of two vertical channel guides for the ends, by the following devices :-On the sides of the teeth 133 on the drum 102, Fig. 1, are cut recesses 286. The first or last slug of each series has a corresponding recess, and n tongue on the end of the lever 280, pivoted at 282, is pressed by a spring into contact with the slugs, so that, when a slotted slug comes opposite the tongue, the lever 280 is moved and forces a swinging hook 285 into engagement with a catch on the reciprocating bar 231. The hook 285, througt bell-crank levers 273, actuates slides 271 by which the lowest slat in the magazine is ejected through the -lots 270 and falls between the two batches. Tightening-pulleys 94, 98 are provided for the lower and upper tapes.