IMPROVEMENTS IN PRINTING MACHINERY
Year: 1876

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Conisbec, of the Firm of W. Conisbee and Sons,
of Herbert's Buildings, Waterloo Road, in the County of Surrey, Engineer, for,
the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN PRINTING MACHINERY."
Scaled the 1st September 1876, and dated the 2nd March 1876.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Conisbec at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 2nd March 1876.
WILLIAM CONISBEE, of the Firm of W. Conisbee and Sons, of Herbert's Buildings,
Waterloo Road, in the County of Surrey, Engineer. "IMPROVEMENTS IN PRINTING
MACHINERY."
This Invention of improvements in printing machinery relates to printing
machines of the kind well known as the "Maine," economic, or "Tumbler" printing
machines, in which machines the impression is given by a cylinder having a rocking
motion.
Heretofore it has been usual in practice to remove the printed sheets from
machines of this class by arrangements of margin tapes and rollers in conjunction
with a flyer, the tapes being passed partly around the rocking cylinder. Such
arrangements necessitate adjustment of the tapes and flyers in each and every case
to suit the particular size of sheet required to be taken off.
Now my Invention is designed to enable sheets of either the maximum or the
minimum size the machine is capable of printing, or sheets of any intermediate size,
or sheets of two different sizes simultaneously to be taken off without the use either
of a flyer or of tapes passing round or partly round the rocking cylinder, and with-
out its being necessary to alter or adjust the apparatus to suit the size of sheet to be
taken off, and by my Invention I am enabled to deliver the sheets with their
printed sides uppermost and perfectly free from slur or set-off. For these purposes
I use in conjunction with the rocking cylinder a series of tape rollers carrying
guiding tapes, and apparatus for giving to the rollers and tapes à constant direction
of motion, and I so arrange the whole of this apparatus in relation to the rocking
cylinder, as that each sheet when ready for delivery from the rocking cylinder is
guided by rotating brushes and by the travelling tapes between the latter, and is
delivered on to the delivery board, above which I provide what I call fingers or
smoothers, so arranged as to deflect or guide the sheet down on to the delivery

page_text: board or on to any pile of sheets thereon, the fingers or smoothers being for this
purpose made adjustable to suit the height of pile there may be on the delivery
board for the time being.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said William Conisbee in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 1st
September 1876.
WILLIAM CONISBEE, of the Firm of W. Conisbee and Sons, of Herbert's Buildings,
Waterloo Road, in the County of Surrey, Engineer. "IMPROVEMENTS IN PRINTING
MACHINERY."
"
This Invention of improvements in printing machinery relates to printing
machines of the kind well known as the "Maine," economic, or Tumbler" printing
machines, in which machines the impression is given by a cylinder having a rocking
motion.
1
Heretofore it has been usual in practice to remove the printed sheets from
machines of this class by arrangements of margin tapes and rollers in conjunction
with a flyer, the tapes being passed partly around the rocking cylinder. Such
arrangements necessitate adjustment of the tapes and flyers in each and every case
to suit the particular size of sheet required to be taken off.
Now my Invention is designed to enable sheets of either the maximum or
the minimum size the machine is capable of printing, or sheets of any intermediate
size, or sheets of two different sizes simultaneously to be taken off without the use
either of a flyer or of tapes passing round or partly round the rocking cylinder, and
without its being necessary to alter or adjust the apparatus to suit the size of sheet
to be taken off, and by my Invention I am enabled to deliver the sheets with their
printed sides uppermost and perfectly free from slur or set-off.
"
In the accompanying Drawings Fig. 1 (Sheet 1) is a side elevation shewing parts
of a "Maine or "Tumbler" printing machine having my Invention applied to it;
Fig. 2 is an end view of the same.
Fig. 3 (Sheet 2) shews separately my improved taking-off apparatus in side
elevation to a larger scale, and Fig. 4 is a plan of the same.
1 is the main framing of the machine; 2, the cylinder to which a rocking motion
is imparted for giving the impression as usual in machines of this kind. Upon the
main framing I arrange two supplementary frames 3-4 and standards 5-6; the
frames 3-4 are secured together by tie rods 7-20 and 27 as shewn. The frames
3-4 are pivotted to their respective standards 5-6 at 8-9, so that they can be
moved over on those pivots as required to facilitate access to the cylinder or for
other purposes; 10-11 are projections or stops to limit the radial movement of the
frames; 12 is a shaft carrying brushes 13 and pulleys 14; 15 is another shaft which
carries pulleys 16; 17 are endless tapes passing over the pulleys 14 and 16; 18 are
tightening pulleys carried by arms or levers 19 adjustable on the tie rod 20 by set
screws 21; 22 are other endless tapes. They pass as shewn under a wooden roller
23 which is covered with blanket, thence round pulleys 24 over tightening
pulleys 25 (carried by arms or levers 26 adjustable on the tie rod 27 by set
screws 28), over and under the roller 29, and over the roller 30; 31 are fingers or
smoothers of hoop iron having terminals of crinoline steel 32, and 33 is the delivery
board.
Motion is communicated to this improved taking-off apparatus from the main
shaft 34 of the machine by a strap 35, and as the shafts 15 and 36 are in gear by
the wheels 37, the endless tapes are caused to move constantly in the direction
indicated by the arrows. The apparatus is so adjusted on the main frame of the
machine as to bring the circumferences of the brushes 13 up to within about one-
eighth of an inch from the circumference of the cylinder 2. Thus each printed

page_text: sheet when ready for delivery from the cylinder is guided by the rotating brushes
and by the travelling tapes 17 and 22 to the position 38, where it enters between
the tapes 17 and the tapes 22, and by them it is carried up to the position 39,
whence it is delivered on to the delivery board 33, the fingers or smoothers 31, 32,
serving to deflect or guide the sheet down on to the delivery board or on to any
pile of sheets thereon, for which purpose the fingers or smoothers are made
adjustable as shewn to suit the height of pile there may be on the delivery board
for the time being.
Having thus described the nature of my said Invention and explained the manner
of carrying it into effect, I hereby declare that without limiting myself to the
precise arrangement shewn (which may obviously be modified to suit circumstances
without departure from the essential peculiarities of my Invention), what I consider
to be novel and original and therefore claim as the Invention secured to me by the
herein-before in part recited Letters Patent is, the application and use in con-
junction with the rocking cylinder 2 of the endless tapes 17 and 22, brushes 13, and
fingers or smoothers 31, 32, all arranged and operating substantially as herein
described and shewn in the Drawings for the purpose specified.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Conisbee, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this First day of September, in the year of our Lord One thousand
eight hundred and seventy-six.
Witness,
T. S. CONISBEE,
40, Herbert's Buildings,
S.E.
WILLIAM CONISBEE. (L.S.)