IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS CONNECTED WITH, CYLINDER PRINTING. MACHINES
Year: 1884

page_text: I, ROBERT CUNDALL of Leaventhorpe Mill Thornton, near Bradford in the
County of York, Printing Machine Maker, do hereby declare the nature of my
invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS CONNECTED WITH, CYLINDER PRINTING.
MACHINES" to be as follows:-
The first part of my Invention has reference to that class of cylinder printing
machines wherein the paper is fed to the machine in single sheets.
The object of the first part of my Invention is to provide the feed table of such
machinery with adjustable gauges or stop pieces, so that each sheet of paper will
be placed onto the table square, and at right angles with the printing cylinder.
For this purpose I employ a gauge to which one or more screws are attached,
such screws being geared together by bevil or spur gearing, so that when one
of such toothed wheels is operated by a hand wheel the screw or screws are
caused to rotate; thereby moving the gauge backwards and forwards to suit the
various sizes of paper, at the same time maintaining a parallel and perfectly right
angle position, consequently the sheets of paper can be folded accurately square.
Secondly-My Invention relates to a new form and construction of apparatus to
be employed for receiving the sheets of paper after they have been printed, and is
applicable to all descriptions of cylinder printing machines.
For this purpose I employ a rising and falling table moved downwards by means
of a ratchet wheel and catch, or rack and pinion actuated at the proper time from
any convenient moving part of the machine.
The catch and wheel or rack and pinion are operated so as to lower the table
gradually as each sheet of paper is placed thereon, so that the height or level of the
upper surface of the paper is always the same, and when a given number of sheets
are placed upon the table, or when the table has nearly reached its lowest point of
descent, a projection thereon comes into contact with a bell or other indicator so as
to arrest or call the attention of the workman; if however he should not attend to
and stop the machine a finger or wedge connected to the descending table will
come into contact with the catch or pinion (which ever is used) and disconnect
same, consequently preventing breakages which would happen if the lowering
mechanism continued to proceed after the table had reached its lowest point.
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page_text: By the employment of the self-acting lowering table herein described, a far
greater number of printed sheets of paper can be placed upon the table than can be
placed upon a stationary table.
Thirdly My Invention relates to a means or method of counting the sheets of
paper as they are placed upon the table. For this purpose I employ self-acting
mechanism which places the paper upon the table in tiers of equal numbers one
above another, but not with their edges in the same vertical line.
The form of apparatus I employ consists in a reciprocatory gauge or fingers
which. by means of a cam-wheel, causes the gauge or fingers to advance a given
number of times and to remain stationary the same length of time, by which means
the advancing gauge or fingers will place the sheets further on the table than when
they remain stationary.

page_text: I, ROBERT CUNDALL, of Leaventhorpe Mill, Thornton, near Bradford, in the
County of York, Printing Machine Maker, do hereby declare the nature of my
invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS CONNECTED WITH CYLINDER PRINTING
MACHINES," and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement:-
the
My invention has reference to that class of cylinder printing machine wherein
paper is fed to the machine in single sheets.
The object of the first part of my invention is to provide the feed table of such
machinery with adjustable gauges or stop pieces; so that each sheet of paper will
be placed onto the table square, and at right angles with the printing cylinder.
This part of my invention is shewn on sheet 1, where Fig 1 is plan of a table,
having the ordinary fixed gauge 1 on one side thereof. 2 is an adjustable gauge
which moves backward and forward through the slots, shewn by dark lines at 3.
This gauge is fastened to nuts working upom screws 4 caused to rotate by bevil
wheels 5 from cross shaft 6 operated by hand wheel 7. It will be seen that by
turning the hand wheel, that the gauge 2 will be worked backward and forward,
exactly parallel and at right angles to the fixed gauge 1. Fig 2 is plan of table
with a single gauge 10, the said gauge being operated by nut 11 and screw 12 as
previously explained. Fig 3 is section of same.
By the use of gauges or stop pieces such as those just described, the paper shewn
in position in dotted lines cannot get twisted, nor out of square, consequently the
sheets of paper are accurately fed forward, which is a very desirable thing in
printing machines.
Secondly. My invention relates to a new form and construction of apparatus
to be employed for receiving the sheets of paper after they have been printed, and
is applicable to all descriptions of cylinder printing machines. For this purpose
I employ a rising and falling table moved downwards by means of a ratchett wheel
and catch, or rack and pinion actuated at the proper time from any convenient
moving part of the machine.
This part of my invention is shewn on sheets 2 and 3, wherein Fig 4 is end
elevation, Fig 5 opposite end elevation of so much of a cylinder printing machine
as is necessary to shew the application of my invention. Number 13 is the
cylinder supported by the usual framing 14. On the sheets of paper coming from
under the cylinder they are caused to travel forward by the rotary endless
tapes 15, until they get onto the prongs of an oscillatory fork 16, which prongs
pass through spaces between the narrow tapes 15 as seen in plan view Fig 6.
Close to the axis of the fork 16 is a gauge or stop piece 17 which determines the
distance each sheet of paper shall travel, and its position upon the fork. This fork
is attached to or forms part of a rocking shaft 18, which shaft as each sheet of
paper is received onto the fork is caused to rock or oscillate, the motion of which
transfers the paper from the fork onto the descending table 19. It must be under-
stood that this stop piece 17 is of considerable importance, as by receiving the
paper at a regular point the fork is able to turn the paper over on to the table in
one uniform and regular order.
The shaft 18 receives its rocking motion by pinion 20 operated backward and
forward by segment 21, which segment is actuated by lever 22 working upon a
stud 23, the said lever being operated by tappit 24 on shaft 25. A spiral spring 26

page_text: is employed to assist in drawing the segment down after having been elevated by
the lever 22.
In order to lower the table 19 gradually, so that the upper surface of the paper
may always remain the same height notwithstanding the increasing number of
sheets placed thereon, a boss or nut 27 is secured to the end of the table, through
which boss or nut a screw 28.is passed, being supported by brackets 29 and 30.
At the bottom of this screw is a ratchet wheel 31, (shewn clearly in plan view
Fig 7, sheet 2) in the teeth of which is a catch 32 secured to the top of the lever
arm 33 operated by rod 34, bell crank lever 35, and vertical rod,36 from lever 37
operated at each rotation of the tappit shaft 25 by cam thereon 38.
It will therefore be seen that at each revolution of the tappit shaft one sheet of
paper will be fed onto the transferring fork 16, and to allow for the increased
thickness of the pile of paper placed on the table, the screw 28 will be operated by
the rods and levers previously explained, whereby the table will lower equal to the
thickness of each sheet of paper placed thereon, the speed at which the table shall
lower being easily determined and regulated by.changing the size of the ratchet
wheel 31, or by other well known mechanical arrangements.
In order to raise the table more rapidly than it descended, the upper part of the
screw shaft 28 is provided with a hand wheel 39, whereby after the catch is
disengaged from the wheel, the table can be quickly raised. When the table has
nearly reached its lowest point of descent a finger 40 projecting from the screw 28
will come into contact with the lever 41 connected to the bell 42, which it will
ring to arrest the attention of the workman, so that he can stop the machine; if
however the workman failed to stop the machine, and it continued to descend, the
vertical finger 43 projecting from the screw nut 27 would come into contact with
the catch 32, which it would push sideway, and disengage it from the teeth of the
wheel, and consequently prevent breakage which would happen if the machine
continued to descend beyond a given point. Instead of lowering the table by
means of a screw, a rack and pinion may be employed at each side of the table, the
pinion wheels being operated by ratchet wheel and catch.
Thirdly. My invention relates to a means or method of counting the sheets of
paper as they are placed upon the table. For this purpose I employ self-acting
mechanism which places the paper upon the table in tiers of equal numbers one
above another, but not with their edges in the same vertical line.
The form of apparatus I employ consists in a reciprocatory gauge or finger,
which by means of a cam wheel causes the gauge or finger to advance a given
number of times, and to remain stationary the same length of time, by which means
the advancing gauge or finger will place the sheets further on the table than when
they remain stationary.
This part of my invention is shewn in Fig 4, sheet 2, and Figs 8 and 9, sheet 3.
The reciprocatory or advancing gauge or finger is marked 44 which in this case is
a lever working upon a fulcrum 45. The lower end of this lever is drawn by
spring 46 against a rotary cam plate 47 which is provided with notches 48 made or
formed on the periphery of the said cam plate, and it will be understood that as
the plate revolves the lower end of the lever 44 will enter the notches 48, causing
the other end to advance which it is timed to do just as each sheet of paper reaches
the end of the tape 15, such advanced movement pushing the paper some distance
further crosswise on the tapes, but when the blank face of the cam plate 47 comes
into contact with the lower end of the said lever 44 it remains stationary,
-consequently the position of the paper upon the tapes is not altered, therefore the
paper is transferred by the fork upon the table in the manner shewn in Fig 9,
whereby counting of the paper is unnecessary.
The cam plate 47 can be changed when required for a plate having a different
number of notches, the said cam plate having an intermittent motion given to
it by means of any well known mechanical arrangement for obtaining such
movement.

page_text: Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is
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Firstly. In a cylinder printing machine, the employment of adjustable gauges
operated in the manner and for the purposes set forth.
Secondly. In a cylinder printing machine, the employment of a gradually
descending table operated in the manner substantially as herein shewn and
described, or means equivalent thereto whereby the upper surface of the table or
paper is always the same height.
Thirdly. In a cylinder printing machine the means or method substantially as
herein shewn and described, whereby the printed paper is placed onto the table in
tiers of equal number, whereby the counting of each separate sheet is rendered
unnecessary.
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