IMPROVEMENTS IN CYLINDER PRINTING MACHINES
Year: 1876

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Alexander Melville Clark, of 53, Chancery Lane, in the
County of Middlesex, Patent Agent, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
IN CYLINDER PRINTING MACHINES." A communication from abroad by Auguste
Hippolyte Marinoni, of Paris, France.
Sealed the 8th August 1876, and dated the 18th February 1876.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Alexander Melville Clark
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 18th February 1876.
ALEXANDER MELVILLE CLARK, of 53, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex,
Patent Agent. "IMPROVEMENTS IN CYLINDER PRINTING MACHINES."
This Invention relates to the separation of the printed sheets in cylinder printing
machines, and consists in a separator so arranged and operating that several sheets
may be received simultaneously by the same flyer.. This result is obtained by
means of an arrangement of tapes in combination with the separator, as illus-
trated in the accompanying Drawing.
a, a', adjustable rollers or separators, which by a lateral movement serve either
to coil the sheets around rollers g, h, or conduct them to the flyer N, according to
their position, the sheets being deposited by said flyer upon table O. The paper
from the roll passes in the direction of arrow 1 around the blanket cylinders B, B',
to be printed on both sides by the type cylinders A, A', thence between the knife
cylinders K, K¹, to be cut up into sheets which are delivered to flyer N. On
leaving cylinders K, K¹, the sheets are carried by the tapes of rollers f, f, to
rollers g, h, where they are coiled one on the other, when the separators a, a¹, are
in the position indicated by the full lines. When, on the other hand, the separators
a, a', are moved into the position indicated by the dotted lines, the sheets are no
longer wound on rollers g, h, but pass to the flyer N by which they are deposited
upon table O; the rollers a, a¹, then returning to their former position again coil
the sheets around cylinders g, h. It will be seen that if rollers a, a¹, remain in
the line position indicated while coiling several sheets (four for example), the "flyer'
will thus receive four sheets at a time, or more, if the rollers remain a longer time
in the same position, the position of the separator being regulated according to
the number of sheets to be delivered at a time, which is readily done as each sheet
corresponds to one revolution of the printing cylinders.
The method of transmitting motion to the separator is omitted in the Drawing

page_text: for the sake of clearness; it may however be transmitted in various ways by a
suitable arrangement of toothed wheels, cams, and connecting rods, or other means
so disposed that the separator shall be shifted when four, five, or a greater
number of sheets have been coiled on cylinders g, h.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said Alexander Melville Clark in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
14th August 1876.
ALEXANDER MELVILLE CLARK, of 53, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex,
Patent Agent.
" IMPROVEMENTS IN CYLINDER PRINTING MACHINES." A commu-
nication from abroad by Auguste Hippolyte Marinoni, of Paris, France.
This Invention relates to the delivery of the printed sheets in cylinder printing
machines, and consists in a divider so arranged and operating in combination with a
particular arrangement of tapes, hereafter described, as to cause the consecutively
printed sheets to be collected, and received in packets of a number at a time by
a single flyer.
In order that the Invention may be more readily understood, I have illustrated
it in the accompanying Drawings, and will proceed to describe it with reference
thereto.
Figure 1 shows the divider and tapes applied to a cylinder printing machine.
a, a, represent the movable rollers of the divider which, according to the position
they occupy, either cause the sheets to be collected into packets by being super-
posed or coiled one on the other around rollers g, h, as hereafter described, or
deliver them to the flyer N, by which they are deposited upon table O. The paper
from the roll J passes in the direction of arrow 1 around the blanket cylinders
B, B1, and is printed on both sides by the type cylinders A, A¹, and is then passed
between the knife cylinders K, K¹, whereby it is cut up into sheets all as in ordinary.
These consecutive printed sheets are collected and delivered to the flyer N as
follows: On leaving cylinders K, K', the sheets are conveyed by the tapes upon
the rollers ff, and delivered in succession to the tapes upon the rollers g, h. So
long as the divider a, a¹, remains in the position indicated by the full lines the
sheets are carried round in a circuit around the rollers g, h, each successive sheet
being laid or coiled upon the previous one, until a sufficient number are collected
together, whereupon the divider a, a³, is moved into the position indicated by the
dotted lines, and the sheets so collected are delivered to the flyer N, by which they
are deposited upon table O. The rollers a, a¹, being then returned to their former
position another batch of consecutive sheets is collected around cylinders g, h, and
delivered as before. It will be seen that the number of sheets collected and
delivered at once to the flyer depends upon the length of time that the rollers
a, a¹, remain in the line position shown in the Drawing. In order to receive, say,
four or any other number of sheets at a time, it is only necessary that the divider
should be moved into the dotted line position at longer or shorter intervals, which
may be easily regulated as each sheet corresponds to one revolution of the printing
cylinders. The method of transmitting this motion to the divider is omitted in the
Drawing for the sake of clearness; it may however, be transmitted in various
ways by a suitable arrangement of toothed wheels, cams, and connecting rods, or
other means so disposed that the divider shall be shifted when four, five, or a
greater number of sheets have been collected around cylinders g, h.
In order to prevent the sheets as they are delivered in front of the flyer having
their corners turned over or being otherwise disarranged by the resistance or the
motion of the air, I provide an arrangement of tapes whereby these irregularities
are avoided, and large sheets may be received either entire or cut up by the
machine into two, three or other number of parts.
Figures 2 and 3 respectively show end and face views of this arrangement of

page_text: tapes. The sheets as they are delivered in front of the flyers N are received
between the tapes 1, 1, 2, 2, which travel at the same speed as the sheets are
delivered to the flyers, and are so disposed as to retain the sheets by their side edges
and prevent them being disarranged. The flyers when brought down on to the
receiving table O draw the sheets from the tapes and lay them with great regularity
upon the table O.
When the sheets are divided through the middle or in several places I provide
additional tapes 1', 1', similar to those at the side at either side of the division to
retain the edges of the half sheets, or other parts into which the sheets are divided,
whereby they are received with great regularity upon the table O; these additional
tapes for receiving two half sheets are shown in Figure 3. If the sheets to be
received are not divided through the centre the tapes 11, 11, are dispensed with, or
if the sheets are divided in several places two additional tapes are provided along-
side each division as above mentioned.
As before described in reference to Figure 1 the consecutive sheets received from
the tapes fare (the rollers a, a¹, being in the line position) caused to pass in a
circuit around the rollers g, h, until a sufficient number of the sheets are collected
together, when they are delivered together to the flyer N by shifting the rollers
a, a, to the dotted position. If however the rollers a, a¹, instead of being movable
be permanently fixed in the dotted position, the consecutive sheets will no longer
be collected in the circuit around g, h, but will be delivered separately one at a
time to the flyer. This facility of delivering the sheets one, or any desired number,
at a time, by merely making rollers a, a, fixed or movable admits of the adaptation,
as represented in Figure 4, to the printing machine of a mechanical folder P, to
which the sheets are separately delivered; this mechanical folder being arranged to
work independently of the printing machine, so that in case of stoppage of the
folder the working of the printing machine is not interrupted, the sheets being in
that case received several at a time as before, by merely making the rollers a, a¹,
movable as above described.
Figure 4 shows also a modification of the tapes in the printing machine, con-
sisting in a duplicate set of tapes similar to those described in Figure 1, and a
divider b, b, by which the printed sheets are delivered alternately to the one set of
tapes passing round rollers c, c', f, or the other set of tapes passing round rollers
d, d, d, the rollers b, b¹, of the divider between which all the sheets from the
cutting rolls K, K¹, pass being made movable, and shifted by suitable mechanism
from opposite rollers d, d, to rollers c, c¹, or vice versa, as the case may be,
after the passage of every sheet, so that one-half the number of sheets is conveyed
by the tapes of rollers c, c¹, to the rollers a, a, and the other half by the tapes of
rollers d, d, to the rollers e, e¹.
By making the rollers e, e¹, capable of being fixed in the dotted position a
mechanical folder P, of any known and suitable construction, may be adapted to
receive the sheets one at a time from the rollers e, e¹, as shown. If desired two
mechanical folders may be similarly adapted to receive the sheets from the printing
machine, the said folders being quite independent of the machine, as before men-
tioned, so that either of them may be stopped or dispensed with without inter-
rupting the work of the printing machine; the sheets being in that case received in
packets of several at a time, as before.
Having described the nature of the said Invention and the manner of performing
the same, I declare that what I claim as the Invention to be protected by the
herein-before in part recited Letters Patent is,
First. The application and employment of the divider and combination of tapes
arranged and operated, as described and shown in Figure 1, for collecting the con-
secutively printed sheets and delivering them in packets of several at a time to a
single flyer, as described.
Second. The employment in combination with the flyer of the arrangement of
tapes, described and shown in Figures 2 and 3, adapted to guide and retain the

page_text: sheets as they are delivered to the flyer, and enable the packets of large or
small sheets to be regularly received upon the table, as described.
Third. The combination of one or several mechanical folders working indepen-
dently of the printing machine, with one or several dividers and sets of tapes
capable of delivering the sheets collectively or separately, as described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Alexander Melville Clark, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Fourteenth day of August, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and seventy-six.
A. M. CLARK. (L.S.)