IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR PRINTING FABRICS
Year: 1880

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to James Kerr and Joseph Haworth, both of Church, in
"
the County of Lancaster, for an Invention of IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY
OR APPARATUS FOR PRINTING FABRICS."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Kerr and Joseph
Haworth at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 9th November
1880.
JAMES KERR and JOSEPH HAWORTH, both of Church, in the County of
Lancaster. "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR PRINTING
FABRICS."
Our Invention consists of an arrangement of machinery or apparatus whereby
the present mode of block or hand printing in some classes of goods can be entirely
dispensed with.
We attach to the machine a self acting motion acting upon the
weight levers, and thus upon the printing rollers, so that any pattern can bo
impressed on the cloth or woven fabric, being printed during the procecs of printing
other patterns without having to stop the machine. With this apparatus we
combine a measuring apparatus also constituting a part of the machine, so that the
distance between such patterns can be varied at will. This combined apparatus is
intended to be applied to the production of that class of printing on calico, or
cloth, and other fabrics in which it is desired to print a pattern across the piece at
intervals, the interval between the cross patterns being greater than the circumference
of ordinary printing rollers. We act upon the weight levers by cams or tappets
which are keyed upon a revolving shaft below the machine and driven by the
machine or by slide bars provided with inclined projections. The driving may be
effected by means of spur wheels or chain wheels keyed upon the shaft of the
printing machine bowl.' All the machinery or apparatus is under the machine
below the floor line, and is thus out of the way of the printer or his attendants.
The machine when not required for printing blocking work or other patterns, at
present put in by hand, may be used as an ordinary printing machine by merely
sliding a wheel out of gear, without the removal of any other parts of the machine.

page_text: The measuring apparatus consists of levers or catches keyed upon a revolving shaft
which is driven from the cam shaft by change wheels, so that by placing in or
connecting certain wheels we obtain the required distance between the cross
patterns. This arrangement can be applied to any existing printing machine as
well as to new machines adopted for this purpose.
In carrying out our Invention four (or any other suitable number) of printing
rollers are employed, upon which are engraved the cross patterns, the said roller
being required to be brought into and out of contact with the fabric being printed
at certain intervals to give the required distance between such cross patterns.
In conjunction with these rollers we employ any suitable number of ordinary
printed rollers, the whole being arranged around the printing machine main bowl,
round which the fabric to bo printed passes. Upon the shafts of the printing
rollers are keyed spur wheels gearing into the crown wheel of the machine. Upon
the shaft of the main bowl is keyed another spur wheel which drives a spur wheel
upon another shaft, having keyed upon it another spur wheel; the latter is arranged
to slide upon the shaft so as to put the whole apparatus for blocking work out of
action when it is required to do ordinary printing. From the shaft last mentioned,
motion is communicated by means of gearing to another shaft, which has keyed or
otherwise fastened upon it a number of cams or tappets arranged in connection
with a series of slides. These cams or tappets in revolving act upon the slides
which are raised or lifted by the lift on the cams, together with levers and weights
connected with the slides, and in this manner the printing rollers are moved away
from the fabric being printed. When any slide is raised a weight upon a lever,
connected with a locking bar, draws the latter under a lip or catch on the slide so
as to hold the printing roller away from the fabric being printed until the cam
makes a certain number of revolutions corresponding to the distance between the
cross patterns. Another shaft is driven from the cam shaft by means of change
wheels keyed on the cam shaft through the intervention of a stud wheel mounted
upon a radial arm and communicating motion to another wheel on the shaft to be
driven. Upon this shaft are keyed a number of lovers or catches, which in
revolving come in contact with the lips or catches on the locking bars, and
withdraws them so as to allow the weight lever to fall and bring the printing
roller into contact with the fabric being printed. When the printing rollers have
completed the cross patterns, the cams again raise the sliding bars, together with
the weight levers, and bring the printing rollers away from the fabric; they are
then locked as before by the locking bars being acted upon by the levers and
weight before referred to. This arrangement may be applied to any number of
printing rollers consistent with tho diameter of the bowl. The cams or tappets on
the cam shaft, as well as the levers or catches on the shaft carrying them, are
placed one behind another to correspond to the distances from one printing
roller to another.
It may be observed that important features of this Invention consist in the use
of arrangements whereby the lifting of the levers and weights is caused to move
the rollers away from the fabric, and also in the use of locking devices for the
holding up or locking the levers when the rollers aro in that position.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said James Kerr and Joseph Haworth in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 9th May 1881.
JAMES KERR and JOSEPH HAWORTH, both of Church, in the County of
Lancaster. "IMPROVEMENTS
IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR PRINTING
FABRICS."
Our said Invention relates to an improved arrangement of machinery or
apparatus whereby the present mode of block or hand printing in some classes of
goods can be entirely dispensed with.
According to our said Invention, we attach to the machine a peculiar self acting
motion, acting upon the weighted or pressure levers, and thus upon the printing
rollers, so that any pattern can be impressed upon the cloth or fabric being printed
during the process of printing other patterns without the necessity for stopping the
machine, the cbaracteristic feature of our said Invention being that the act of
lifting the weighted levers has the effect of moving the printed rollers away from
the fabric being printed, and vice versa, and that the levers are locked when the,
printing rollers are in their position away from the fabric.
With this apparatus
we combine a measuring apparatus, also constituting a part of the machine, so that
the distance between such patterns can be varied at will. This combined apparatus
is intended to be applied to the production of that class of printing on calico or
cloth and other fabrics in which it is desired to print a pattern across the piece at
intervals, the interval between the cross patterns being greater than the circum-
ference of ordinary printing rollers. We act upon the weighted levers by means
of cams or tappets, which are keyed upon a revolving shaft below the machine,
and are driven by the machine, or we may substitute for cams or tappets slide bars
provided with inclined projections.
The driving may be effected by means of spur wheels or chain wheels keyed
upon the shaft of the printing machine bowl. All the actuating apparatus is
under the machine below the floor line and is thus out of the way of the printer or
his attendants.
The machine, when not required for printing blocking work or other patterns
at present put in by hand, may be used as an ordinary printing machine by
merely sliding a wheel out of gear without the removal of any other parts of the
machine.
The measuring apparatus (which releases the lever locking gear) consists of levers
or catches keyed upon a revolving shaft which is driven from the cam shaft by
change wheels, so that by placing in or connecting certain wheels we obtain the
required distance between the cross patterns.
Our said Invention is applicable to any existing printing machine as well as to
new machines adapted for this purpose.
In carrying out our said Invention, four (or any other suitable number) of
printing rollers are employed, upon which are engraved the cross patterns, the said
rollers being required to be brought into and out of contact with the fabric being
printed at certain intervals, to give the required distance between such cross
patterns. In conjunction with these rollers we employ any suitable number of
ordinary printing rollers, the whole being arranged around the main bowl of the
printing machine, round which the fabric to be printed passes. Upon the shafts or
mandrils of the printing rollers are keyed spur wheels gearing into the crown
wheel of the machine. Upon the shaft of the main bowl is keyed a spur wheel
which drives a spur wheel upon another shaft; this shaft has keyed upon it
another spur wheel, which is arranged to slide upon the shaft so as to put the whole

page_text: apparatus for blocking work out of action when it is required to do ordinary
printing. From the shaft last mentioned motion is communicated by means of
gearing to another shaft, which has keyed or otherwise fastened upon it a number
of cams or tappets arranged in connection with a series of slides. These cams or
tappets in revolving act upon the slides, which together with weighted levers
connected with such slides, aro raised or lifted by the lift on the cams, and in this
manner the printing rollers are moved away from the fabric being printed. When
any slide is raised, a weight upon a lever connected with a locking bar draws the
latter under a lip or catch on the slide so as to hold the printing roller away from
the fabric being printed, until the cam makes a certain number of revolutions
corresponding to the distance between the cross patterns. From the cam shaft is
driven by means of change wheels another shaft, upon which are keyed a number
of levers or catches, which in revolving come in contact with the lips or catches on
the locking bars, and withdraw them so as to allow the weighted levers to fall and
bring the printing roller into contact with the fabric being printed. When the
printing rollers have completed the cross patterns, the cams again raise the slides,
together with the weighted levers, and bring the printing rollers away from the
fabric. They are then locked as before by the locking bars being acted upon by
the levers and weights before referred to. This arrangement may be applied to
any number of printing rollers consistent with the diameter of the main bowl.
The cams or tappets on the cam shaft, as well as the levers or catches on the shaft
carrying them, are placed one behind another to correspond with the distance from
one printing roller to another.
And in order that our said Invention may be fully understood, we shall now
proceed more particularly to describe the same, and for that purpose shall refer to
the several Figures on the annexed Sheet of Drawings, the same letters of referenco
indicating corresponding parts in both the Figures.
Figure 1 of the accompanying Drawings represents an end sectional elevation of
an ordinary printing machine having our said Invention applied thereto, and
Figure 2 is a longitudinal section of the same corresponding to Figure 1; A¹, A³,
A³, A, are printing rollers on which are engraved the cross patterns; B1, Bº,
B3, B4, are ordinary printing rollers; C is the main bowl of the printing machine;
D, D1, D2, are spur wheels upon the shafts 1 of the printing rollers, the said spur
wheels gearing into the crown wheel E of the machine, whereby the printing rollers
receive rotary motion; F is a spur (wheel which is keyed upon a shaft 2 of the
main bowl C and drives the wheel G upon the shaft M. This shaft has keyed upon
it the wheel H, which is arranged so as to be capable of sliding upon the shaft in
order to put the whole apparatus for blocking work or intermittent printing, to
which it imparts motion, out of action when it is required to do ordinary printing.
The motion is transmitted from the shaft M through the intervention of the spur
wheel H or carrier wheel I and a spur pinion J to a shaft K which has keyed
thercon a number of sets of cams or tappets L, L, L³, L, corresponding to the
number of cross pattern printing rollers employed, the cams or tappets being arranged
in duplicate at opposite ends of the machine. These cams or tappets operate in
the following manner, the action of one set of them (videlicet, that of the cams or
tappets L'), being taken as an example of the operation of the whole :-The cams
or tappets L in revolving act through the intervention of the rollers N upon the
slides, which they lift together with the weighted lever X' centered at 4, and
the levers Y' centered at 5 carrying the cross pattern printing roller A¹ and its
appurtenances, and in this manner the said roller is brought away from the fabric
being printed. While the slides are raised the weights acting upon the levers P
draw the sliding bars or locks O under the lips or catches 3 on the slides m³, 50 as
to hold the printing roller from the fabric while the cams make a certain number
of revolutions, which is regulated in the following manner:-In order to correspond
to the distance between the cross patterns R is a shaft, which is driven from the
cam shaft K by means of a pinion T and a change wheel U, which latter is a stud
wheel working upon the radial arm W, and driving the wheel V fast upon the

page_text: shaft R. Upon the shaft are also keyed a number of lovers or catches S, which in
revolving come in contact with such of the lips O' of the sliding bars or locks as
may be within the range of their motion. For example, assuming that the set
of slides m has been locked in the manner herein before described, the corre-
sponding levers or catches S in revolving come in contact with the lips O¹ of the
corresponding sliding bars or locks O, and withdraw them clear of the lips or
catches 3 of the slides m', so as to allow the weighted levers X' to fall and bring
the printing roller into contact with the fabric being printed. When the printing
roller has completed the cross pattern the cams L' again raise the slides m together.
with the weighted lovers X', and bring the printing roller away from the fabric,
and the slides are 'locked as before by the locks or sliding bars O and the levers
and weights P.
The action of the other cams or tappets is similar to that of the cams or
tappets L' herein before described; for example, the cams or tappets Lact through
the intervention of the slides m³, and thus by operating the levers X' work the
printing roller A³, which is locked and released in the nanner herein before
explained. Similarly with respect to the cams.or tappets L³, slides m³, and levers X³,
which work the printing roller A, and also with respect to the cams or tappets L*,
slides m, and levers X, which work the printing roller A².
The cams or tappets upon the shaft K are made adjustable, so that varied
lengths of cross patterns may be printed. This adjustment may be obtained by.
forming the cams in two, parts bolted together, one part sliding behind the other
so as to make the raised part of the cam longer or shorter as the pattern.requires;
or the adjustment may be effected by the removal or addition of certain sections
or lengths from or to the cams; or in any other convenient manner.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of our said
Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used or carried into
effect, we would observe in conclusion that what we consider to be novel and
original, and thereforo claim as the Invention secured to us by the herein before
in part recited Letters Patent is,—
First. In machinery or apparatus for printing fabrics in which printing rollers
moveable to and from the fabric being printed are employed, arranging the
operating parts in such a manner that the act of lifting the weighted or pressuro
levers of the printing rollers has the effect of moving the printing rollers away
from the fabric being printed, and vice versa, substantially as herein before
described.
Second. The employment of locking devices for holding up or locking the
weighted or pressure levers when the printing rollers are in their position away
from the fabric being printed, substantially as herein before described.
Third. The general arrangement and combination of parts constituting machinery
or apparatus for printing fabrics, substantially as herein before described and
illustrated in the accompanying Drawings.
In witness whereof, we, the said James Kerr and Joseph Haworth, have to
this our Specification set our hands and seals, this Sixth day of May, One
thousand eight hundred and eighty one.
JAMES KERR.
(L.S.)
JOSEPH HAWORTH. (L.S.)