Improvements in Platen Printing Machines.
Year: 1895

page_text: Date of Application, 28th May, 1895
Complete Specification Left, 26th Feb., 1896-Accepted, 16th May, 1896
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Platen Printing Machines.
We ERNEST JARDINE of The Park, Lace Machine Builder and ALFRED
ALLEN of 5 Addington Road, Mechanic in the Town and County of the Town of
Nottingham do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
The object of our invention is to provide platen printing machines with a simple
and effective control of the supply of ink from the ink duct or fountain and to more
thoroughly distribute the ink supplied.
The supply of ink from the duct or fountain has hitherto been controlled by a
knife pressed against the metal cylinder of the ink duct: the contact of the knife
with the cylinder being regulated by a number of set screws. The greater the
pressure of this knife upon the cylinder the less the supply of ink.
For the purpose of our invention we regulate the position of this ink cylinder
knife by means of an eccentric shaft. By rotating this shaft we increase or
decrease the distance of the knife from the ink cylinder and therefore obtain a
thick or thin supply of ink by a simple movement of this shaft instead of by
delicately adjusting a number of set screws as hitherto.
The second object of our invention is to thoroughly distribute the ink on the ink
plates or discs, which are of the usual construction.
For this purpose we fix to the side arms of the machine or press, which is
substantially of the usual construction, a stud or axle carrying a connecting link
which actuates a swing frame. This frame swings on axles or on a shaft located at
the back of the machine somewhere beneath the ink plates.
The top ends of the frame are slotted to receive the spindle of the ink cylinder
which we support or carry on 2 trucks of larger diameter than the cylinder.
These trucks run on the inclined ink plate (of usual construction) and keep the
cylinder at a set distance from the plate.
The ink duct which is located at the back of the ink cylinder and attached to the
ink cylinder spindle by bearings is also carried on trucks which run on the inclined
ink plate.
On the front side of the ink cylinder are two short arms or links attached by
bearings to the cylinder spindle. These arms are slotted at their front ends to
receive the spindle of a composition roller of about the same diameter as the ink
cylinder. This roller is kept in contact with the ink cylinder by springs or similar
means.
This composition roller is therefore located in front of the ink cylinder just as
the ink duct is located at the back thereof but instead of the composition roller
running on trucks, as is the case with the ink duct, it runs on the inclined ink plate
or discs.
The ink cylinder is moved up and down the ink plate by means of the afore-
mentioned swing frame. As the cylinder moves down the plate the composition
roller is brought in contact therewith, presses against the cylinder, and by friction
rotates it and consequently at the same time takes off the ink from the cylinder and
deposits it on the ink plate or discs.
As the ink cylinder is moved back or up the ink plate the composition roller
leaves the ink cylinder but is carried up the plates by the aforementioned slotted
arms or links that are attached to the cylinder spindle. That is supposing the
slots to be longer than the diameter of the composition roller spindle then the
roller would be drawn up the plate of an inch distant from the cylinder which
consequently does not rotate on its upward journey.

page_text: From the description given it will be seen that the ink duct, ink cylinder and
composition roller are moved up and down the ink plate for each impression of the
machine, that the composition roller is covered with ink by rubbing against the ink
cylinder, which is rotated by the friction of this roller and that the roller deposits
this ink on the ink plate or discs.
The ink is carried from the ink plate to the type by rollers in the usual
manner.
Dated thin 07th 1
Improvements in Platen Printing Machines.
We, ERNEST JARDINE of The Park, Lace Machine Builder and ALFRED
ALLEN of 5 Addington Road, Mechanic both in the Town and County of the
Town of Nottingham do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what
manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement :—
Our invention has for its object a more ready means of providing platen printing
machines with a simple and effective control of the supply of ink from the ink duct
or fountain and to more thoroughly distribute the ink supplied.
The supply of ink from the duct or fountain has hitherto been controlled by a
knife pressed against the metal cylinder of the ink duct; the contact of the ink
knife with the cylinder being regulated with a number of set screws.
The greater
the pressure of the knife, the less the supply of ink.
For the purpose of our invention we regulate the position of this ink cylinder
knife by means of an eccentric shaft. By rotating this shaft we increase or
decrease the distance of the knife from the ink cylinder and therefore obtain a
thick or thin supply of ink by a simple movement of this shaft instead of by
delicately adjusting a number of set screws as hitherto.
The second object of our invention is to thoroughly distribute the ink on the ink
plate disc or discs which are of the usual construction.
.
For this purpose we fix to the side arms of the machine or press which is
substantially of the usual construction a stud or axle, carrying a connecting link
which actuates a swing frame. This frame swings on axles, connected to links,
which links are carried by a shaft located at the back of the machine somewhere
beneath the ink plates. The top ends of the swing frame are bored to receive the
spindle of the ink cylinder, which we support or carry on two trucks or rollers
of larger diameter than the cylinder. These trucks run on an inclined ink plate
of the usual construction and keeps the cylinder at a set distance from the
plate.
The ink duct is located at the back of the ink cylinder and attached to the ink
cylinder spindle by bearings and is also carried on trucks which run on the inclined
ink plate.
On the front side of the ink cylinder are two short arms or links attached by
bearings to the cylinder spindle. These arms or links are slotted at the front end
to receive the spindle of a composition roller of about the same diameter as the ink
cylinder. This roller is kept in contact with the ink cylinder by springs or similar
means.
The composition roller is therefore located in front of the ink cylinder, just as
the ink duct is located at the back thereof, but instead of the composition roller
running on trucks or rollers as in the case of the ink duct it runs on the inclined
plate or disc.

page_text: The ink cylinder is moved up and down the ink plate by means of the afore-
mentioned swing frame. As the cylinder moves down the plate the composition
roller is brought in contact therewith, pressing against the cylinder and by friction
rotates it, and consequently at the same time takes off the ink from the cylinder
and deposits it on the ink plates or discs.
As the ink cylinder is moved back, or up the ink plate, the composition roller
leaves the ink cylinder but is carried up the plates by the aforementioned slotted
arms or links that are attached to the cylinder spindle. That is supposing the
slots to be of an inch longer than the diameter of the composition roller spindle
then the roller would be drawn up the plate of an inch distant from the cylinder
which consequently does not rotate on its upward journey.
From the description given it will be seen that the ink duct, ink cylinder and
composition roller are moved up and down the ink plate for cach impression of the
machine, that the composition roller is covered with ink by rubbing against the ink
cylinder which is rotated by the friction of this roller and that the roller deposits
the ink on the ink plates or discs.
The ink is carried from the ink plate to the type by rollers in the usual
manner.
This arrangement enables the printer by simply moving the lever attached to the
eccentric shaft to regulate the supply of ink as required.
In order that our invention may be more clearly and readily carried into effect,
we will proceed aided by means of the accompanying drawings more fully to
describe the same.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Fig. 1. is a side view of a platen printing machine of the usual construction
showing general arrangement of our invention.
Fig. 2. is a front view of same.
Fig. 3. is a section of our improved arrangement for ink supply.
Fig. 4. is a front and end view of eccentric shaft G.
Fig. 5. is an end view of our invention as seen from right hand side of
machine.
Fig. 6. is a front view of our invention.
Fig. 7 is a side view of the short slotted arm or link Q.
In all figures like parts are indicated by similar letters of reference.
Attached to the side arms M. of a platen printing machine which is substantially
of the usual construction is a stud or axle e. carrying one end of the connecting
link L to the other end of which link L the swing frame K is attached and by the
motion of the machine the swing frame K is moved backwards or forwards.
This spring frame K is pivoted at its bottom ends to a rocking lever c carried in
bearings attached to the back of the machine below the ink plate or disc N.
Near its top end the swing frame K is pierced or drilled to receive the ends of
the ink cylinder spindle O.
A. is the ink cylinder that carries the ink from the ink duct F. and is revolved
by the friction of the composition roller P which is kept in contact with the_ink
cylinder A on its downward or distributing journey by the spiral springs S or
similar means, and is controlled by the short slotted arms or links Q, which are
attached or journalled by the bearings to the ink cylinder spindle O, such arms
or links are slotted about a of an inch longer at m than the diameter of the
spindle of the composition roller P and form a bearing or journal for the before-
mentioned spindle so that on its upward journey it draws away from the ink
cylinder A of an inch and leaves the ink cylinder A at rest.
The top ends g of the slotted arms or links Q are drilled to receive the stay n
which passes from one of the short slotted arms or links to the other across the
length of the composition roller and keeps the two short slotted arms or links Q
rigidly in their proper positions relative to each other.
B. B. are rollers or trucks about a quarter of an inch larger in diameter than the

page_text: ink cylinder A and are journalled on to the ink cylinder spindle O so that the ink
cylinder A is kept clear above the ink plate or disc N by an th of an inch and
travel up and down the ink plate or disc N carrying with them the ink cylinder A,
the ink duct D and also pushing the composition roller P down the ink plate or
disc N in front of them which composition roller P is controlled by the short
slotted arms or links Q.
C. is a hand wheel keyed fast to the ink cylinder spindle O by which the ink
cylinder A can be revolved when required.
The ink duct D is carried at the front by the ink cylinder spindle and is
supported at the back on small trucks or rollers E by which the ink duct D is kept
in its proper position relative to the ink cylinder A.
In each end of the ink duct D are sliding bearings Y which bearings carry the
eccentric shaft G by revolving the eccentric shaft G the ink duct knife is moved
backwards or forwards to or from the ink cylinder A. so as to regulate the supply
of ink. The ink duct knife F is fastened in position by the screw W and the
washer X. On one end of the eccentric shaft and made fast to it is a lever H by
which the eccentric shaft G is rotated. This lever H is kept in any position by
the spring catch Z which catches into recesses U. U. in the quadrant I, the lever H
is shown in the middle of the quadrant I, and by moving it towards the stop a
brings the ink duct knife F closer to the ink cylinder A and cuts off the supply of
ink, but to prevent jamming the knife F too hard against the ink cylinder A
(which is frequently done by the old method of regulating by means of a number
of set screws). We introduce at the back of the sliding bearings Y that carry the
eccentric shaft G two strong spiral springs J which are enclosed in a recess cast in
each end of the ink duct D and kept in position by the screws f which screws can
be set up until the required close contact or pressure between the ink duct knife F
and the ink cylinder A is obtained.
In moving the lever H towards the stop it carries the ink duct knife F away
from the ink cylinder so that as great a supply of ink can be obtained as
required.
The top ends of the beforementioned swing frame K are drilled to receive the
ends of the stay d which passes across the machine, for stiffening or keeping the
swing frame in position, journalled to this stay d is the catch R.
By lifting the before mentioned stay n Fig. 2 which carries with it the short
slotted arms or links Q also the composition roller P and resting the before-
mentioned stay n into the catch R it keeps the composition roller P clear of the ink
plate or disc N leaving the ink roller A at rest when not required for use or
cleaning down purposes.
We do not confine ourselves to the exact details given but
may alter arrangement
and sizes of different parts without in any way departing from the principle of our
improved method of ink supply and distribution.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we
claim is―
1. The method of regulating the supply of ink from the ink fountain or duct of
printing machines substantially as herein described.
2. The arrangement of the moving ink duct and composition roller substantially
as described and for the purpose set forth.
Dated this 25th day of February One thousand eight hundred and ninety-six.