AN IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR, MARKING OR DIRECTING BOXES AND PARCELS, AND FOR OTHER LIKE PURPOSES
Year: 1868

page_text: PROVISIONAL, SPECIFICATION left by William Robert Lake at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
14th May 1868.-A. communication from abroad" by William Wirt
Secombe, of the City and State of New. York, United States of
America, Manufacturer.
I, WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE; of the International Patent Office,.
No. 8, Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane, in the County, of,
Middlesex, Consulting Engineer,, do hereby declare the nature of the
said Invention for. "AN IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR, MARKING OR DIRECTING
BOXES AND PARCELS, AND FOR OTHER LIKE PURPOSES," a. communication, to be.
as follows:-
This Invention consists in a revolving type wheel which has its
bearings in a forked handle in close proximity to an ink roller, being
held in contact therewith by suitable springs in such a manner that.
by rolling the said type wheel over the cover. of a box or: other:
surface to be marked the types in sweeping past the ink roller take
up a supply of ink, and on coming in contact with the surface to.
be marked the ink taken up by the types is transferred to the said,

page_text: surface, and the operation of marking is performed with great dispatcn
and neatness.
The said Invention consists also in an ink roller composed of a
hollow cylindrical reservoir perforated with small holes and surrounded
by a strip of cloth or other absorbent material in combination with
a type wheel in such a manner that a large number of impressions can
be made with the type wheel without the necessity of recharging the
ink roller.
The said Invention consists further in the arrangement of raised
flanges on the surface of the type wheel in such a manner that the
said wheel on being rolled over the surface to be marked is kept from
tipping over sideways, and a neat and perfect impression is obtained.
The said Invention consists also in the arrangement of a stop in
combination with the type wheel and ink roller in such a manner
that the correct starting point of the type wheel is determined.
And the said Invention consists, finally, in the arrangement of a spring
to carry the type wheel back to its starting point as soon as the same
is lifted from the surface to be marked.
The type wheel made of cast-iron or other suitable material is
arranged so that the desired types can be applied to or inserted into
its periphery either permanently by means of a strip of copper or other
suitable material, or so that the said types can be changed at pleasure.
This type wheel is mounted on an axle which has its bearings in a
forked handle. The said wheel is provided with projecting flanges
which are either. formed solidly with the wheel or made of india-
rubber or other soft and elastic material. When made solidly
with the wheel they are a little lower than the surface of the type,
but when made of india-rubber or other clastic material they may be
equal in height or even a little higher than the type, and they serve
to keep the roller from tipping down sideways while passing over the
surface to be marked. As the wheel revolves, the type on its circum-
ference come in contact with the surface of the ink roller which is
mounted on an axis having its bearings in the extreme ends of the handle.
Suitable springs draw the ink roller towards the type wheel, and by
disconnecting the said springs the ink roller can be removed from its
seat. The said ink roller may be made solid similar to ordinary printers'
rollers, or it may be made in the form of a hollow cylindrical reservoir
to which access can be had by removing one of the heads. This

page_text: reservoir is perforated with a number of small holes and is surrounded.
by a strip of cloth or other absorbent material; by these means a
large supply of ink can be carried in the roller, and the marking
wheel produces a large number of impressions before it is necessary to
recharge the same. The type wheel is provided with a stop, and as
the wheel revolves this stop defines the correct starting point of the
same. For this purpose I prefer to use a stud projecting from the
whical and a pin secured in the handle. When the wheel is turned
back until the stud strikes the pin it has arrived at its correct starting
point. A spring is applied to the axle of the type wheel, and as soon
as the wheel is raised from the surface to be marked this spring carrics
the same back until the stud strikes the pin, and consequently the
wheel is always in the correct position for starting.