Year: 1895

page_text: Date of Application, 28th Jan., 1895
Complete Specification Left, 28th Oct., 1895-Accepted, 30th Nov., 1895
I, WILHELM MAX ROCKSTROH of 12 Grenzstrasse, Plauen, near Dresden,
Germany, Works Director, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:
;
This invention relates to a new method of inking the laying-on or forme-inking
rollers of platen printing presses, according to which the rollers are inked whilst
situated above the forme, and are also inked whilst below the forme, so that the
perfect 'inking of the forme is effected.
The inking of the rollers above and below the forme may be applied to all the
rollers or to only some of them. All previously known methods of inking such
machines, are open to objection, particularly for fine work, by reason of the
formation of stripes in the inking, or by insufficient covering. These disadvantages
are completely obviated by my invention with the result that the inking in platen
printing presses is not inferior to that in cylinder-printing presses. The method
consists in providing all or some of the forme-inking roilers with certain rollers or
"doctors," which come in contact with the forme-inking rollers at the first inking
(that is to say, above the forme) and in this manner receive from said forme-inking
rollers ink which is given up to said forme-rollers below the forme thus inking said
rollers anew.
My new method is considerably improved by arranging that the feed roller shall
not give ink from the ink-trough to the large inking roller direct, but that the
ink is transferred first to a smaller roller, and from the latter by means of
distributing rollers and their counter-rollers to the large roller, whereby there is
produced a more even distribution of the ink, and the formation of stripes upon the
large roller is prevented.
A construction of apparatus according to my invention is as follows:-A
feed roller takes up ink from the ink-trough and transfers it first to a small roller
arranged in about the same horizontal plane which in turn transfers it to a
distributing or working-up roller arranged a little higher than the small roller
referred to. By the distributing or working up roller the ink is, by means of a
counter-roller situated above and bearing upon said roller, well distributed or
worked up, and is then transferred from the distributing or working-up roller to a
large transferring or inking roller. The counter-roller also at the same time
transfers ink to a second distributing roller which transfers the ink (well worked up
by means of a pressure roller situated above and resting on it) to a second
transferring or inking roller somewhat smaller than that first mentioned.
This small inking roller transfers its ink (when the roller-frame or carriage is in its
uppermost position) to the two uppermost of four formne-inking rollers the axes of
which are in or about the same vertical plane, whilst the large inking roller
transfers ink to the two lowermost of said forine-inking rollers.
The forme-inking rollers rest, in the usual manner in spring bearings, so that
when the rollers run up on the inking rollers, they are brought by the spring
action into intimate contact with the same for the purpose of receiving ink there-
from. In the same manner during the to-and-fro movement of the roller frame or
carriage, the spring action serves as usual to bring all or some of the rollers into
intimate contact with the type-forme so as to ink the latter.

page_text: Above the two lower forme-inking rollers two doctors are mounted in spring
bearings in such a manner that they come into intimate contact with the forme-
inking rollers only when the latter are in their highest position at which time they
are inked by the said doctors which have a rotary motion imparted to them.
If now the roller frame or carriage (which is moved up and down as usual by
means of rods and rocking arms) be drawn downwards, the doctors will in
consequence of their limited inward movement he moved out of contact with the
two lower forme-inking rollers so that the doctors cannot now transfer the ink they
have taken up, to the forme-inking rollers.
The two lower forme-inking rollers now move over the type and ink the same,
whilst the two higher forme-inking rollers are kept raised away from the type by a
locking device. This locking device may consist of a bolt which is capable of
being adjusted by means of a lever. This bolt bears with bevelled noses behind
the spring bearings of the two upper forme-inking rollers.
When the roller frame or carriage is in its lowest position, the two lower forme-
inking rollers run on two rollers which project from the framing below the
type-forme; this serves to bring the two lower forme-inking rollers again into
intimate contact with the two doctors. At the same time on the completion of the
downward movement of the rolier-carriage the locking device is disengaged by a
stop that acts against its lever, so that the two upper forme-inking rollers are now
also drawn on to the forme.
Suitable devices are provided to impart to the rollers which project from the
framing below the forme a periodical peripheral or rotary motion, and also a
simultaneous side-motion. For imparting these movements I may employ a
friction driving-mechanism which is thrown into action at the proper time by the
downwardly moving roller-carriage and which consists of a friction disc mounted
so as to be capable of rocking in an arm; toothed wheels being provided to impart
to the disc a suitable peripheral rotation, and at the same time also a slight
oscillation in an axial direction.
The friction disc thus actuated is pressed at the proper time against counter
friction discs mounted on the ends of the rollers that project from the framing
below the forme, by means of an arm, which projects from the roller-frame or
carriage and which (when the carriage moves down) acts against the end of: a
rocking finger, (which is provided with an antifriction roller), whereby the friction
driving gear is thrown into action, so that the peripheral movement and side
movement of the friction disc are transmitted to the rollers situated below the
forme. The peripheral movement of these rollers is transmitted to the two lower
forme-inking rollers, which are pressed against their doctors, and consequently also
to the doctors, so that these completely transfer the ink they carry, in or by several
revolutions to the two ink-less lower forme-inking rollers upon which the ink is by
the side motion of the rollers arranged below the forme, finely and uniformly
distributed or worked up without the formation of stripes, before said ink is
transferred on to the type.
After this renewed inking of the two lower forme-inking rollers and on the
upward movement of the roller frame or carriage, all the four forme-inking rollers
move over the forme, inking the same, whilst the doctors remain out of action.
On the completion of the upward movement of the roller-carriage the locking
device is again thrown into action, so that on the renewed downward movement of
the roller frame or carriage, the two upper forme-inking rollers pass over the
forme without inking it.
Thus the forme is inked by six freshly inked rollers, that is to say, two rollers
whilst the roller frame or carriage noves downwardly and four rollers when it
moves upwardly. As will be evident the number of the forme-inking rollers and
doctors may be varied according to requirement and the number of the working-up
or distributing rollers arranged below the type forme may if desired be made to
correspond with the number of forme-inking rollers.
דיי.
Furthermore the forme-inking rollers below the forme may, instead of being

page_text: provided with ink by the said doctors, be provided with fresh ink by a special
inking apparatus arranged below the forme.
Dated this 28th day of January 1895.
F. WISE HOWORTH,
46, Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, W.C., Agent for the Applicant.
Improvements in Printing Machines.
I, WILHELM MAX ROCKSTROH, of 12, Grenzstrasse, Plauen, near Dresden,
Germany, Works Director, 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 :-
This invention relates to the forme-inking apparatus of platen-printing-presses.
According thereto the laying on or forme-inking rollers, or some of them, are inked
whilst situated above the forme, and are also supplied with fresh ink whilst below
the forme, so that the perfect inking of the forme is thereby effected.
All previously known methods of inking the platens of such machines, are, so
far as I am aware, open to objection, particularly for fine work, on account either
of the formation of stripes in inking or of insufficient covering. These disadvantages
are completely obviated by my invention with the result that the inking effected
in. platen printing presses is not inferior to that effected in cylinder printing-
presses.
In apparatus according to this invention all or some of the forme-inking rollers
are provided with auxiliary rollers or "doctors," which come into contact with the
forme-inking rollers at the first inking (that is to say, above the forme) and in this
manner receive from the said forme-inking rollers ink which is afterwards given up
to the corresponding forme-inking rollers below the forme, whereby the last
mentioned rollers are again supplied with fresh ink.
In apparatus of the kind just described, considerable advantage is derived from
arranging that the feed-roller shall not give ink from the ink-trough to the large
transferring or inking-roller direct, but that the ink shall be transferred first to a
smaller roller, and from the latter by means of one or more distributing rollers and
corresponding counter-rollers to the large inking-roller, whereby the distribution
of the ink is rendered more uniform and the formation of stripes upon the large
roller is prevented.
The accompanying illustrative drawings represent, by way of example, apparatus
according to this invention in which two of the forme-inking rollers are provided
with the hereinbefore mentioned doctors.
Fig. 1 thereof is a side elevation of as much of a platen printing-press as is
necessary for explaining my invention;
Figs. 2, 3, and 4 show diagrammatically various positions of the rollers during the
inking-operation; and
Fig. 5 is a side elevation, drawn to a larger scale, of the roller-carrying frame or
carriage.
By
In the apparatus shown, a feed-roller takes up ink from the ink-trough a
and transfers it first to a small roller c the axis of which is arranged in, or
approximately in the same horizontal plane and which in turn transfers it to a
distributing or working-up roller d arranged a little higher than the roller c.
the roller. d the ink is, by means of a counter-roller d₁ situated above and bearing
upon the roller-d, well distributed or worked up, and is then transferred to a large
transferring or inking roller e. The counter-roller d' also and at the same time
transfers.ink to a second distributing roller f, which transfers the ink (well worked
up by means of a pressure roller fl situated above and bearing on it) to a second

page_text: g
g
transferring or inking roller smaller than the roller e. The small inking-roller
transfers its ink (when the roller frame or carriage is in the position shown in
Fig. 1) to the upper two forme-inking rollers 1 and 2, whilst the large inking
roller e transfers ink to the lower two forme-inking rollers 3 & 4.
The forme-inking rollers 1, 2, 3, and 4 rest, in the usual manner, shown in Fig. 5,
in spring bearings, so that when they run upon the inking rollers e & g they are
brought by the spring action into intimate contact with the same for the purpose
of receiving ink therefrom. In the same manner during the to and fro movement
of the roller frame or carriage the spring action serves as usual to bring all or
some of the rollers into intimate contact with the forme so as to ink the latter.
Above the two lower forme-inking rollers 3 & 4, two doctors 3* & 4* are
mounted in spring bearings in such a manner that it is only when they are in their
highest position (shown in Fig. 1) that they come into intimate contact with the
rollers 3 & 4 and are impregnated with ink by the rotation thereby imparted to them.
If now the roller frame or carriage (which is moved up and down as usual by
means of rods and rocking arms h¹ for the purpose of inking the forme o) be drawn
downwards, the doctors 3* and 4* will, in consequence of their limited inward
movement, cease to be in contact with the forme-inking rollers 3 & 4, so that the
doctors cannot then transfer the ink they have taken up, to the forme-inking
rollers.
The forme-inking rollers 3 & 4 now (see Fig. 2) move over the forme o and ink
the same, whilst the forme-inking rollers 1 and 2 are kept away from the type by a
locking device, which may consist, as shown in Fig. 5, of a bolt i capable of being
adjusted by means of a lever i and bearing with bevelled noses behind the spring
bearings of the forme-inking rollers 1 and 2.
When the roller frame or carriage is in its lowest position (see Fig. 3), the forme-
inking rollers 3 & 4 run on two rollers k and k¹, which project from the framing
below the forme o; this serves to bring the forme-inking rollers 3 and 4 again into
intimate contact with the doctors 3* and 4*. At the same time, on the completion
of the downward movement of the roller-carriage the locking-device
disengaged by a stop that acts against its lever i, so that the forme-inking rollers 1
and 2 are now, also drawn on to the forme.
.
.
!
is
Suitable devices are provided to impart to the rollers and a periodical
peripheral or rotary motion, and also a simultaneous end wise motion. For
imparting these movements there is shown in the drawing a frictional driving-
mechanism, which is thrown into action at the proper time. by the downwardly
moving roller-carriage and which consists of a friction-disc mounted so as to be
capable of rocking in an arm l, toothed wheels being provided to impart to the
disc a suitable peripheral rotation and at the same time also. a slight oscillation
in an axial direction.
The friction-disc ¹ thus actuated, is pressed at the proper time against counter
friction discs, mounted on the ends of the rollers k and k¹, by means of an arm m
which projects from the roller frame or carriage and, during the downward motion
of the carriage, acts against the end of a rocking finger n (which is provided with
an antifriction-roller), whereby the frictional driving-gear is thrown into action, so
that the rotary and endwise movements of the friction-disc are transmitted to the
rollers k and A¹. In some cases the periodical rotary movement of the rollers k
and k¹ may be dispensed with and instead thereof a continuous rotary motion may
be imparted to them in any suitable manner.
The peripheral movement of the rollers k and is transmitted to the forme-
inking rollers 3 and 4, which are pressed against the doctors 3* and 4*, and con-
sequently also to the doctors, so that these, in or by several revolutions, completely
transfer the ink they carry to the ink-less forme-inking rollers 3 and 4, upon which
the ink is, by the endwise motion of the rollers k and k¹, finely and uniformly
distributed or worked up without the formation of stripes, before it is transferred
to the forme.
After this renewed inking of the forme-inking rollers 3 and 4 and during the

page_text: upward movement of the roller frame or carriage (see Fig. 4), all the forme-inking-
rollers, 1, 2, 3, and 4 move over the forme o, inking the same, whilst the doctors 3**
and 4* remain out of action.
On the completion of the upward movement of the roller carriage, the locking
device i, is again thrown into action, so that on the renewed downward movement
of the roller frame or carriage, the forme-inking rollers 1 and 2, pass over the
forme o without entering it. Thus the forme is inked by six freshly inked rollers-
that is to say, two rollers whilst the roller frame or carriage moves downwardly
and four rollers when it moves upwardly.
As will be evident, the number of the forme-inking rollers and doctors may be
varied according to requirement and the number of the working-up or distributing
rollers (kk) arranged below the forme may, if desired, be made to correspond to
the number of forme-inking rollers.
Furthermore the forme-inking rollers may, instead of being provided with ink
below the forme by the said doctors, be provided with fresh ink by a special inking
apparatus arranged below the forme.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven--
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. A. platen-printing machine in which forme-inking rollers that ink the forme
during their descent, receive fresh ink before ascending again, and again ink the
forme during their next ascent, substantially as set forth.
2. A platen-printing machine of the kind specified in the preceding claim, in
which the rollers that ink the forme during their descent are provided with
doctors (3* and 4*) which receive ink whilst above the forme, are kept away from
the said rollers during the descent of the latter, and come into contact with them
only at or near the completion of the said descent when they impart fresh ink to
them, being assisted therein by distributing rollers arranged below the frame,.
substantially as set forth.
3. In a platen printing machine my improved forme-inking apparatus constructed
arranged and operating as hereinbefore described with reference to and shewn in
the accompanying drawings.
Dated this 28th day of October 1895.
F. WISE HOWORTH,
46, Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, W.C., Agent for the Applicant.