A MACHINE FOR OBLITERATING POSTAGE STAMPS ON LETTERS, AT THE SAME TIME STAMPING THE PAST MADKO AND D
Year: 1857

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George Thomas Robinson, of Leamington Priors, in
the County of Warwick, Architect, for the Invention of "A MACHINE
FOR OBLITERATING POSTAGE STAMPS ON LETTERS, AT THE SAME TIME STAMPING
THE PAST MADKO AND D
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said George Thomas Robinson
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 6th October 1857.
I, GEORGE THOMAS ROBINSON, of Leamington Priors, in the County of
Warwick, Architect, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "A
MACHINE FOR OBLITERATING POSTAGE STAMPS ON LETTERS, AT THE SAME TIME
STAMPING THE POST MARKS AND REGISTERING THE NUMBER OF LETTERS 50
STAMPED," to be as follows:-
This Invention consists of an apparatus of the following construction:-1st,
an inking roller supplied from a reservoir; 2nd, a distributing wheel for
spreading the ink; 3rd, a wheel having the name and number of the post
office engraved on its circunference, and the date and mail letter supplied by
moveable type; 4th, plain rollers mounted on a spring, which presses the
letter on the aforesaid type wheel; 5th, a band passing around the said rollers,
which are caused to travel at the same rate as the type wheel.
J employ,in combination with the above arrangements,india-rubber fingers,
[Price 8d.1

page_text: which carry the letters to the before-mentioned obliterating and stamping
wheels, passing them under a flexible fringe of whalebone or other substance
for preventing more than one letter passing at a time. The letters to be
operated on are stacked by the "facer" or "sorter" in a compartment, and
pressed down by a weight. I also employ a jointed pendulum, moved by the
letters pushing a pall against a ratchet wheel, causing said wheel to revolve
one-tenth of its circumference at each swing of the pendulum. I employ four
other ratchet wheels, each of which is moved one-tenth of its circumference
by the entire revolution of a wheel immediately below. In connection with
the above wheels are dials which shew the number of letters passed through.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said George Thomas Robinson in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 6th April 1858.
TO ALL TO WHOM
THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, GEORGE
THOMAS ROBINSON, of Leamington Priors, in the County of Warwick, Archi-
tect, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Sixth day of October, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven, in the twenty-first year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
George Thomas Robinson, Her special licence that I, the said George Thomas
Robinson, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said George Thomas Robinson, my executors, administrators, and assigns,
should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at
all times thereafter during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully
might make, use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention
for "A MACHINE FOR OBLITERATING POSTAGE STAMPS ON LETTERS, AT THE SAME
TIME STAMPING THE POST MARKS AND REGISTERING THE NUMBER OF LETTERS
50 STAMPED," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said George
Thomas Robinson, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in
writing, under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should par-
ticularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in
what manner the same was to be performed, and cause the same to be filed
in the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next and
immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.

page_text: NOW ANSW 1, that 1, the said George Thomas Robinson, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is
to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement thereof, that is to say :-
My Invention is intended to afford a more perfect and expeditious mode
of obliterating stamps on letters, and also stamping the post marks, and at
the same time registering the number of letters that have been stamped;
or for obliterating and stamping or printing cheques, cards, envelopes, and
such other like articles.
The machine which I propose to use for the above purposes is constructed
as follows, that is to say, enclosed in a suitable frame or casing I arrange a com-
partment, in which the letters or other articles to be operated upon are stacked
by the "facer" or "sorter," and held down by a weight. From the aforesaid
compartment the letters are carried forward (when motion is imparted to the
machine through the shaft on which the stamping cylinder is placed) by means
of india-rubber or other elastic fingers, under a flexible fringe of whalebone
or other suitable flexible material, to prevent more than one letter passing at
a time. The letters next pass between a stamping cylinder (having the name
and number of the post office or mark to be printed engraved on its circum-
ference, and also the date supplied by moveable type,) and a plain pressure
roller, by which the obliterating of the postage stamp and the stamping of the
post mark is performed, and the letter discharged from the machine. The
inking of the stamping cylinder is effected by a distributing wheelrevolvingin
contact with an inking roller,said roller being supplied from a reservoir of ink
placed above it. The pressure rollers are mounted upon and also depressed
by a spring, and revolve either by means of toothed wheels or by means of a
band passing round the said rollers, at the same speed as the type cylinder.
For the purpose of registering the number of letters or other articles
operated upon, I employ a jointed lever, attached to which is a pallacting upon
a ratchet wheel in connection with a train of four other wheels placed
above it, record by units, tens, hundreds, thousands, and tens of thousands
on a series of dials outside of the machine the number of letters that have
been stamped. The mode of operation is as follows:-At each swing of the
lever (caused by the passing of a letter) the pall pushes the ratchet wheel
one-tenth of a revolution, and one entire revolution of the ratchet wheel
causes the toothed wheel placed immediately above it to revolve one-tenth
of its circumference, and so on through the entire train of wheels, and thence
to the dials on the outside of the machine.
In order to explain my said Invention as completely as possible, I now

page_text: proceed to describe the best means I am acquainted with for carrying the
same into practical effect, reference being had to the illustrative Drawing
hereunto annexed, and to the numeral figures and letters of reference marked
thereon respectively, as follows:-
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING.
Figure 1 exhibits a sectional elevation of my improved machine, and
Figure 2 an exterior elevation of the same.
A is the compartment in which the letters A* or other articles to be
operated upon are placed; B is an opening in the same to admit the elastic
fingers C, C, C, C; D is the flexible fringe of whalebone to prevent the
passage of more than one letter at a time; E is the stamping and obliterating
cylinder; F, F, are the pressure rollers driven by the belt G and depressed
by the spring H; J is the ink distributor; K, the inking roller; and L, the
reservoir for ink; M is the jointed lever, attached to which is the pall N; O is
the ratchet wheel which communicates the motion imparted by the pendulum
to the toothed wheels P, Q, R, and S, placed above it; and T, U, V, W, X,
are the dials placed on the outside of the machine:
Having now fully described and set forth the nature and object of my said
Invention, together with the best means I am acquainted with for carrying the
same into practical effect, I hereby declare that what I claim as my Invention is
the combined apparatus, herein-before described, forthepurposeofobliterating
postage stampson letters, stamping the post mark, and registering the number
of letters so stamped, and also for the purpose of obliterating, stamping,
printing, and registering cheques, cards, and other like articles.
In witness whereof, I, the said George Thomas Robinson, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Third day of April, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight.
GEORGE THOMAS ROBINSON. (L.S.)
Witness,
AGNES BEDFORD SPARROW,
Of Wombourne, in the County of Stafford.