CERTAIN IMPROVE MENTS IN PRINTING PRESSES
Year: 1840

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, THOMAS
EDMONDSON, of Manchester, in the County of Lancaster, Clerk, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at
Westminster, bearing date the Ninth day of June, in the third year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said Thomas Edmondson; Her special license, full power, sole privilege and
authority, that I, the said Thomas Edmondson, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, and such others as I, the said Thomas Edmondson, my executors,
administrators, and assigns, should agree with, and no other, from time to
time and at all times during the term of years therein expressed, should and
lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within England and Wales
and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVE
MENTS IN PRINTING PRESSES;" in which Letters Patent is contained a proviso
that I, the said Thomas Edmondson, shall cause a particular description of the
nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed,
to be enrolled in Her Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six calendar
months next and immediately after the date of the said in part recited Letters
Patent, as in and by the same, reference being thereunto had, will more fully
and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said.
Thomas Edmondson, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention,
and the manner in which the same is to be performed, is particularly described

page_text: and ascertained in and by the Drawings hercto annexed, and the following
explanation thereof (that is to say):-
My improvements in printing presses consist,-
Firstly, in a certain novel arrangement of mechanism or construction of
apparatus designed for the purpose of printing a set form of type in one part
or portion of the machine or press, and a varying or changeable set of type
in another portion of the same machine, such as a regularly progressive
number, letter, or other 'character; and,
Secondly, in certain novel constructions of apparatus for printing set forms
only, but with great facility and dispatch. The principal object of the first
part of these improvements is, to print cardboard tickets (such as are assigned
to book passengers travelling upon railways, either throughout the line, or
from any one intermediate station to another, in such a manner that each ticket
shall bear a progressive number or figure; and thus, by being delivered in
successive rotation to the passengers, the way bills will be readily made out,
and also a most perfect check kept upon all clerks or other officers in any way
engaged, either in receiving money or despatching trains, and a daily, weekly,
or monthly return may-be-readily made of all railway transactions, by merely
noticing the opening and closing numbers of the tickets delivered to each
passenger after the despatch of every train, the class of passenger being dis-
tinguished by the color or pattern of the ticket, or otherwise.
Tliese improvements are accomplished by a peculiar construction of apparatus
or printing press, wherein certain mechanism is provided, particularly adapted
to the above purpose, which consists principally of a tube or chamber to
contain the. blank tickets to be printed; a feeding apparatus for conveying
each ticket separately under a set form of type; a form of type for printing
the usual letter press" upon the ticket; such as names of station, fare,
company's rules, &c.; a set of rotary type wheels or-cylinders, capable of
being progressively changed or altered upon each print, for the purpose of
printing the distinguishing progressive number upon the end of each ticket as
it comes from the fixed form of type; a set of ratchet wheels and palls
suitably adjusted to alter the change printing cylinders bearing the figure
types; as the progressive number of the ticket. requires a travelling band, a
ribbon previously prepared, and saturated for the purpose of inking the
printing types; and a general printing table for giving the impression. The
whole of which apparatus is worked by the rapid vibration of a hand lever,
printing completely, and discharging in a receiver below, a ticket at each stroke
of a hand lever, which may be worked as quickly as desired; and also a
simply contrived hand press or machine for printing the date or number of the
train separately, if required.

page_text: In order that these improvements may be perfectly explained and better!
understood, I have attached to these Presents two Sheets of Drawings,
representing several views of my improved printing presses, and marked the
same with figures and letters of reference, having placed similar letters upon:
corresponding parts of the mechanism in all the Figures.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
In Sheet 1, Fig. 1 represents a side elevation of one of my improved
printing presses; Fig. 2, a section taken vertically through about the
middle of the machine; and Fig. 3, a front view of the same drawn upon a
scale of about one third the real size. The side frames of the machine are
shewn at a, a, a, a.
The tube or chamber 6, b, containing the blank card-
board tickets c, c, is placed at the back of the machine. The lever handled, d,
for working the machine, is to be vibrated up and down (as drawn in red in
Fig. 2), and has its fulcrum & supported in the side frames. To the under part
of this lever d a small bracket f, f, is screwed and attached by the connecting.
links g, g, to the feeding lever h; this lever h vibrates upon its fulcrum at i,
and slides the notched feeding bar j in the carriage k, k; and as this bar j
has a notchi bearing or shoulder upon its end, it strikes against the edge of the
undermost blank ticket c, and pushes it into the printing machine exactly
under the set form of types 1, 1, at every upstroke of the handle d, the blank
tickets gradually falling in the tubb b, ready to be fed into the machine, one
at every stroke of the lever handle. Immediately upon the blank ticket
having been pushed under the form of types 1, the handle d causes the side
links m, m, to press the printing table n, n, upwards by bearing against the
studs.o in the side of the table, and thus the ordinary letter-press part of the
tickets is successively printed (see Fig. 4, which represents a printed
ticket, the part just printed being that at the left-hand side of the red
line), the tickets being pushed into the machine until the end of, the
foremost reaches the cylinders. p, p, and q, q. These wheels or cylinders p
and
each carry a double set of printing figure types of one hundred to
the entire circumferance, the row or set of the figures on the wheel q
commencing with 00, and extending up to 99, and the other wheel p
commencing with a blank space ranging from 1 to 99, so that it will readily
be perceived that if one wheel, say p, is allowed to remain stationary at blank
whilst the other wheel q has been progressively shifted ninety-nine times, and
thus printed tickets with numbers ranging from 00, to 99, then, if the
wheel p is turned one tooth or number and prints the next ticket 1, whilst the
wheel 9 has completed its revolution, and is recommencing its round at 00,
i

page_text: the ticket produced will be No. 100; and so on until the wheel P has been
shifted one tooth ninety-nine times (or one revolution to ninety-nine revolutions
of the wheel 9), when it will come opposite the 99 in wheel 9, and thus produce
a ticket marked 9999, or within one of ten thousand tickets, each bearing a
regular progressive number or figure, without requiring any change in the
machinery. Thus it will be seen that as the table n, n, rests at every stroke
of the handle d, the front part n will just catch the end of the ticket and press
it upwards against the lowest points of the wheels p and q containing the
figures, and thus print the distinguishing progressive number at its end (as also
seen in Fig. 4 on the right-hand of the red line), when the complete ticket will
fall into the receiving tube or chamber r below, as the blank tickets are fed
into the machine. The types are all inked, or rather the ink is supplied for
the tickets by means of a novel contrivance, being a band or ribbon s, s, having
been previously saturated and prepared with ink, one end of which is fastened
to the roller u, and the other end to the roller v, and passed between the types
and the tickets, which, as the press table rises, takes or squeezes the ink
from the ribbon instead of inking the types as usual, which could not otherwise
be readily done in this machine.
x
The printing process having now been fully explained the progressive motions
of the figure wheels or cylinders p and q have to be also described. It will be
perceived that each wheel p and q is separately furnished with and connected to
a ratchet wheel w and-a, containing. one hundred teeth corresponding with the
hundred type figures upon the wheels p and 7. Now, at every stroke- of the
handled an upright rod y fixed at its end, and carrying a click or ratchet z, moves
up and down, and thus pulls the ratchet wheel and the type wheel q round one
tooth at every vibration of the handle d, and thus changes one set of figures
from 00, to 99, at every impression; and when the wheel 9 has thus made
one entire revolution a stop or pin 1 upon its side strikes against a catch lever
2, which raises the catch 3 one tooth upon the wheel p, and thus moves that
wheel the space of one tooth, and changes the progressive number to 100, and
so on successively until the wheel 7 has made ninety-nine revolutions to one
revolution of the wheel p, when the progressive number will stand 9999, and
thus the round of ten thousand printed tickets be completed, cach ticket
bearing a different and a progressing distinguishing number. In order to
perform the regular successive passage of the inking ribbon s, s, it will be
seen that the upright rod y also carries two ratchets or palls 4 and 5, taking
alternately into the ratchet wheels 6 and 7 fixed upon the ends of the inking
rollers and v; and thus by disengaging either of the ratchets 4 or 5, the
inking ribbon may be drawn backwards and forwards through the machine as

page_text: long as it will deliver sufficient ink for giving the impression, which failing, the
ribbon must be removed, and again prepared or saturated with ink. It now
only remains necessary to remark, in conclusion, that a certain regulating
or adjusting screw is provided at 8 for the purpose of removing the form of
types 1, 1, or suiting them to the rise of the press table; and also a regulating
screw 9, and sliding frame 10, for the purpose of setting the upright guide
rod 11 of the press table n, n*, more or less out of the centre in order to
obtain a greater or less degree of pressure at the point n for imprinting the
progressive numbers; and there is an adjusting screw 12 in the link g for the
purpose of regulating the stroke of the said lever h, which is also regulated by
the stop 13; and also that the saturated or prepared inking ribbon may be
employed in any other description of printing presses, and worked by any suit-
able mechanical arrangement for inking the types; instead of the ordinary
means, being much more cleanly. The nip or pressure of the table n; n, may
be adjusted by the curved foot piece 14 acting on the pin 15 in the rod 11,
and shifted or regulated by the set screw 16.
.
In Sheet 2, Fig. 1 represents a side elevation of another construction of
printing press, and is designed to be placed upon the office desk for the
purpose of printing from small forms of type (such as the dates and numbers
or times of railway trains, &c.) by hand, and may be used with great facility
and expedition, the whole being put in complete operation by merely pushing
the end of a card-board ticket into the apparatus, being drawn about two
thirds of the full size. It will be seen that one side of the case (in which the
case may be inclosed) is removed in order to shew the apparatus.
Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same having the top of the case removed; and
Fig. 3 is another side clevation of the same with the case thrown back upon
its hinges, and below the top part of the apparatus also thrown back upon its
hinges in order to get at the interior with ease. This printing press is composed
of two parts for the sake of convenience, the upper part being jointed or hinged
to the lower by the hinge a, and capable of being thrown back (as
in Fig. 3) for the sake of convenience, when repairs or alterations may
require, such as changing the types, &c. The apparatus cousists of two
side plates b, b, held together by the bolts c, c, c, c, which supports a small
case or form d, d, for the type e to be placed in, and also the rollers f and g,
around which the saturating ribbon h is to be wound in a similar manner, as
previously described with reference to the first machine, for the purpose of
supplying ink to the printing types. The operation of the apparatus is as
follows: Upon introducing the cardboard ticket to be printed (say with the
date Jan. 1, 1841," in its end) into the opening i of the receiver j, and
pushing it as far as and under the types e, the hand must press lightly agains

page_text: the front of the receiving, lever j, which, vibrating upon its fulcrum k below,
will strike against the piece l, which also vibrates on its fulcrum m. The
piece forming the fulcrum' m consists of a small rod, having flattened ends,
which pass through small mortices n, n, in the side plates b, b, which act as
guides. The fulcrum rod m also carries an upright piece o, which gives the
pressure to the types, and thus forms the printing table. This piece o is also
provided with small guide pieces, sliding in similar mortices n, n. It will be
seen that there is an inclined plane formed upon the foot of the piece l, which,
as that piece is forced inwards, the incline will act upon the roller P below it,
and thus force the bar or press table o upwards against the types, and cause
the impression to be received upon the ticket; the fulcrum piece m, and side
pièces in the bar o, sliding upwards in the guide slots n. Now, at the same
time there is a small link q attached to the upright piece l, and also to the
upright bar r, which carries the two ratchets or palls s, s; and as the picce /
vibrates, one of the ratchets s will thus be caused to act upon the ratchet
wheel t, upon the ends of the roller g, and shift the inking ribbon h slightly
after every impression, which is retained in its position by the clicks u, when
the ticket is to be withdrawn,-as-in-Fig. 4, with date printed on, and another
introduced to be similarly printed. It only remains to add, that when the
inking ribbon h has been entirely drawn from one roller to the other, the
ratchets s and u must be thrown out of gear, and other ratchets s and v above
be put in-gear with the ratchet wheel w, on the roller f, by moving the outside
levers and y, by placing the ends of these upon the pins z, z, and thus
causing their other extremities to change the ratchets, by acting upon the
pins 1, 1, on the several ratchets. These are also provided with slight side
springs to hold the ribbon rollers from slipping when either of the ratchets
are out of gear.
Another arrangement of my improved printing press is also shewn in
Sheet 2 of the Drawings, and is drawn about half the real size. It consists
of a small portable apparatus, designed for the office use of bankers and
others; for printing acceptances, indorsements, or other slight lables, by hand,
and with facility and expedition.
Fig. 5 represents a side.elevation of the printing press, with the side of the
case in which it may be enclosed removed; and
Fig. 6, a plan or horizontal view with the top of the case removed; and
Fig. 7, an end view, "with the end of the case removed, in order to shew the
interior.
It will be readily understood, by an inspection of the Drawing, that
all the elementary parts of the press are the same as that just described, the
only variation being in the arrangement of the apparatus. Supposing the

page_text: press to be drawn in that position in which the impression has just been com-
pleted, the lever handle a must be thrown back, as drawn in red, and vibrated
forwards, as drawn in the Fig. 5, when the impression is about to be given,
this being the only motion requisite to be performed by the operator. The
lever handle a is fixed upon a cross shaft b, b, supported by pedestals c, c,
fixed in the bed plate d, d, and is attached by means of connecting links e, e,
to sliding bars f, f, also moving in pedestals g, g, fixed to the bed plate d, d.
A frame h, h, is also attached to the bed plate, for the purpose of holding the
case of types i, i, in a proper position to give the required impression. Another
frame, consisting of two parallel bars j, j, carries a bed or plate k, constituting
the printing table. These bars j, j, swivel upon centres 1, 1, and are also sup-
ported by the pedestals g, g. Upon pressing the lever handle a backwards a
pin m, fixed in the sliding bars f, f, strikes against the tail of the bars j, j, and
causes them to turn upon their centres 1, 1, and descend upon the types. At
the same time other bars n, n, (attached by links o, o, to the bars f,f,) slide
over the ends of the bars j, j, and thus hold them down, while the nip or
pressure is given by the cam p pressing against the tail of the bars n, n.
These pressing bars bear also in the pedestal g, which forms the fulcrum of
the leverage. The inking ribbon q, q, it will, be seen, is used between the
type and the paper or card to be printed, exactly in the same manner as above
described with reference to the other machines, and is drawn as required from
the rollers r and s, and regulated by means of the ratchets t and u, as before
described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Thomas Edmondson, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Eighth day of November, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and forty.
AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the same Eighth day of November,
in the year above mentioned, the aforesaid Thomas Edmondson came before
our Lady the Queen in Her Chancery, and acknowledged the Specification
aforesaid, and all and every thing therein contained, in form above written.
And also the Specification aforesaid was stamped according to the tenor of the
Statute in that case made and provided.
Inrolled the Ninth day of December, in the year above written.