IMPROVEMENTS IN PRINTING MACHINERY
Year: 1879

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Silver Foord, of Kinaston Street, in the County
of Surrey, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN PRINTING MACHINERY,'
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Silver Foord at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 25th January 1879.
WILLIAM SILVER FOORD, of Kinaston Street, in the County of Surrey. "IM-
PROVEMENTS IN PRINTING MACHINERY."
My Invention relates to improvements in printing machinery of that class in
which the type-forms are placed upon a travelling bed having a reciprocating or to
and fro motion beneath the impression rolls.
The object of the said Invention is to provide simple and effective means whereby
the said bed may be caused to travel at a higher speed, and the machine consequently
to perform more work in a given time than is practicable with such machines as
ordinarily constructed.
In carrying my Invention into practice I make use of the ordinary endless rack
and rack-frame to which a to and fro motion is imparted in the usual manner by
means of a pinion in a vertical shaft or spindle driven by or from the main or driving
shaft of the machine, but instead of placing the forms of type upon the said rack-
frame, thereby causing them to travel with and therefore at exactly the same speed
as this frame, I connect to the latter a rod or bar which extends longitudinally
beyond the rack-frame and has journalled to it a toothed wheel. The axis of the
said toothed wheel is placed at right angles to the longitudinal axis of the said rod
or bar in such a manner that the said wheel will rotate freely in its journal
bearings; this wheel is geared with two racks one above the wheel and the other
below the same. The lower rack is fixed and remains stationary, and the said
wheel rolls thereon when moved to and fro, so that the upper rack which is attached
to the lower surface of the bed carrying the forms of type is caused to travel to and
fro by the action of the said toothed wheel. It will thus be seen that the recipro-
catory motion imparted to the ordinary rack frame in the usual manner is com-
municated to the aforesaid toothed wheel, and by reason of the manner in which
the latter is arranged in combination with the rack below it, as above described,
the part of the said wheel above its axis travels at a much greater speed than that
of the said rack-frame, consequently the bed which is attached to and travels with
the rack above the said toothed wheel also .travels at the same increased speed,
and, the operation of printing is therefore effected at a correspondingly increased
...oll

page_text: rate, and a greater number of sheets may be printed within a given time than
is_practicable_when_the_forms_of_type_are_upon and consequently travel only
at the same speed as the ordinary_rack-frame. I may employ one or more of
the aforesaid toothed wheels and racks as found most desirable in particular
-cases-
Another advantage-arising-from-my-said-Invention-is-that- whenever desirable
=beds of greater length and consequently carrying more type may be used than is
practicable or convenient with machines in which-the-bed-travels-at-exactly-the
same speed as the aforesaid ordinary rack-frame.
I am aware that a toothed wheel working-in one fixed and one moveable rack has
been heretofore used in a printing machine, but the same has been operated by
means of a crank and connecting rod which impart to it a very irregular movement,
and the results in the printing have been altogether unsatisfactory.
My said Invention obviates the difficulties heretofore existing and enables me to
print at a much higher rate of speed than has heretofore been practicable with such
machines, and without liability to imperfections in the work arising from want of
uniformity in the movements of the travelling bed.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said William Silver Foord in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 25th
July 1879.
WILLIAM SILVER FOORD, of Kinaston Street, in the County of Surrey.
PROVEMENTS IN PRINTING MACHINERY."
"
IM-
My Invention relates to improvements printing machinery of that class in which
the type-forms are placed upon a travelling bed having a reciprocating or to and
fro motion beneath the impression rolls.
The object of the said Invention is to provide simple and effective means whereby
this bed may be caused to travel or move to and fro more rapidly than heretofore,
and the machine will perform more work in a given time than is practicable with
h machines as ordinarily constructed.
In carrying my Invention into practice I make use of the ordinary endless or
laterally moving rack to which an end wise to and fro motion is imparted, preferably
in the usual manner by means of a pinion on a vertical shaft or spindle driven by
or from the main or driving shaft of the machine, while its lateral movements are
imparted to it by a parallel motion, but instead of placing the forms of type upon
the said rack frame, thereby causing them to travel with and therefore at exactly
the same speed as this frame, I adopt the arrangement hereinafter described, and
shewn in the accompanying Drawings, in which,-
Figure 1 is a plan of a printing machine with my improvements applied to the
same..
Figure 2 is a side elevation of the said machine with parts of the framing broken
away.
Figure 3 is an end elevation of the said machine with a portion of the framing
removed.
A is the framing of the said machine; a is the driving shaft; b is the vertical
spindle; c is the rack pinion; d is the endless or laterally moving rack; e, e, are
the cylinders which are geared together by intermediate small wheels instead of by
the ordinary large wheels as and for the purpose hereinafter described; f, f, are
intermediate rollers; g, g¹, are the type tables; h is the table bar. The dotted
circles 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, represent spur wheels for communicating motion to the
various parts of the machine in the usual manner.
The rack frame d is connected by rods or bars i to the journals of toothed wheels j
in such a manner that the journals of the said wheels will turn freely in the
journal bearings i¹ formed in the ends or heads of the rods i, and these wheels gear
with racks k, l. The lower racks k are fixed to the frame A and therefore remain
stationary, and the upper racks are attached to the lower surface of the type table
or bed g and travel to and fro with the same. Instead of providing the machine
with two wheels j and two pairs of racks k, l, I may use only one or any desired
number of such wheels and a corresponding number of upper and lower racks.
It will be obvious from the above description that the reciprocating motion
imparted to the ordinary rack frame in the usual manner is communicated to the
toothed wheels ; which are thereby caused to roll upon the racks k and move the
rack and type tables, and by reason of the manner in which the said wheels are
arranged in combination with the racks k as above described, the part of the said
wheels above the axis thereof travels at a speed much greater than that of the rack d,
consequently the type tables or beds which are connected, and move with the racks
above the said toothed wheels also travel at the same increased speed. The operation
of printing is therefore greatly accelerated, and a much larger number of sheets may
be printed within a given time than is practicable when the forms of type travel at
the same speed as the ordinary rack-frame.
Another advantage arising from my said Invention is that whenever desirable,
beds of greater length, and consequently carrying more type, may be used than is

page_text: practicable or convenient with machines in which the bed travels at exactly the
same speed as the aforesaid ordinary rack-frame.
I am aware that a toothed wheel, geared with one fixed and one moveable rack
has been heretofore used in a printing machine, but it has been in these cases
operated by means of a crank on the main shaft and a connecting rod which impart
-to-the-said-wheel and to_the_type_bed or table.a.movement which by reason of the
various angles assumed by the said connecting rod in every revolution of the said
crank-varies-in-speed-throughout-such-revolution,-and-this-variation-in-the-speed-is
perceptible in the printing which is therefore not accomplished in a satisfactory
manner.
My said Invention obviates this difficulty and others heretofore existing, and
enables me to print with perfect uniformity and at a much higher rate of speed
than has heretofore been practicable, with such machines. Moreover by the arrange-
ment of the intermediate wheels 4, 5, and rollers in combination with the cylinders e
in place of the large wheels heretofore employed, access is afforded to the
machine on the wheel side of the same for putting on or taking off the sheets.in a
very convenient. manner.
י
Having thus fully, described my said Invention and shown how the same may, be
conveniently and advantageously carried into practice, I wish it understood that I
claim,―
ป J
First. The improvements in printing machinery consisting in the combination of
the endless or endwise and laterally moving,rack with the toothed wheel or wheels
journalled in a rod or bar extending from the said rack; and each of which wheels
is.geared with a fixed rack and with a rack on or connected with the type table,
substantially as and for the purposes specified.
Second: In combination with the above described novel arrangement of mechanism
for operating the type-tables the arrangement whereby access is permitted to the
type beds.at the wheel, side of the machine as and for the purposes specified...
In witness whereof, I, the said William Silver Foord, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty fifth day of July, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and seventy nine.
2 TOORD