Improvements in Apparatus for Printing Successive Numbers and Graduations at Measured Intervals.
Year: 1892

page_text: Date of Application, 24th May, 1892-Accepted, 2nd July, 1892
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Apparatus for Printing Successive Numbers and
Graduations at Measured Intervals.
We, JOSEPH FOSTER, FRANCIS FOSTER and JAMES YATES FOSTER, all
of Bow Lane Iron Works and Soho Foundry, Preston, in the County of
Lancaster, Engineers, 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 relates to apparatus whereby successive numbers and graduations
are printed on a continuously travelling strip or sheet of paper or other suitable
receptive surface.
One main purpose of our invention is to measure off, on a travelling strip or
web of paper, yards and fractions of yards or other units and fractions of measure,
and to mark these divisions on the strip with the consecutive numbers of the units
and tens with repetition of the intermediate fractions. A strip or web of paper,
so divided and marked with numbers, may be rolled or folded up along with tape,
ribbon, or web of fabric, so that, by noting the marks on the paper, length after
length of any desired measure may be cut off, and the quantity remaining will be
at once indicated by the measure still shewn on the paper, without involving the
necessity for actual measurement. As it is one of the chief objects of our inven-
tion to graduate strips or webs of paper to be employed for the purpose mentioned,
we shall describe a machine, suited for effecting graduation in yards and sixteenths
of yards, referring to the accompanying drawings.
Fig. I is a longitudinal section of the machine.
Figure 2 is a side view and Figure 3 is a sectional plan of the type wheels for
units and tens and their drivers.
Figure 4 is a side view and Figure 5 a vertical section, partly in elevation, of
the mechanism for shifting the driver of the tens' wheel.
Referring first to Figure 1, the strip or web of paper supplied from a roll a
passes over a guide roller d round under the first cylinder A, and over.the second
cylinder B, back to a reel b which is caused to revolve by frictional contact
with the cylinder A being pressed against it by a load c on a bell crank lever
carrying b.
In
The strip or web, in passing over the cylinder B, receives impression of units
and tens from type wheels on a shaft E, which shaft with its type wheels is moved
down to make each impression once in every revolution of the cylinder B by
eccentrics B¹ on the shaft of the cylinder B and adjustable side rods B².
passing down between the cylinder B and another type wheel C carrying fraction
types the strip or web is printed with marks for fractions of a yard, preferably
with the fractions, and printed, and with intermediate divisions, each 16th,
marked by cross lines. The cylinders A, B and C and also a shaft D revolve at
the same rate being driven by equal gearing, which, in order to avoid complexity
in the drawings, is not shewn. An ink duct W with vibrating roller X driven by
suitable gear and with distributing and inking rollers Y and Z Z, serves to-ink the
types on the cylinder C and also on the units' and tens' wheels on the shaft E.
Referring now to Figure 2, the shafts D and E are connected by radius rods V
which allow the raising of the shaft E and its lowering to make the impression,
while they retain the gearing on the two shafts in proper engagement. This
gearing may, however, be disengaged for the purpose of setting the units and tens,
by turning half round eccentric bushes V¹ within the eyes of the radius rods V.
The disc, which carries the type t for tens, is loose on the shaft E but has fixed on
it a wheel G which gears with an equal wheel F, loose on, but subject to be
"
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page_text: clutched to, the shaft D. The disc which carries the types u for units is also loose
on the shaft E, but has fixed on it a wheel H which gears with a wheel J fixed on
the shaft D. The wheels H and J are not equal, but have numbers of teeth which
are in the proportion of 10 to 9; as shewn in the drawings H has 80 teeth and J
has 72 teeth, but these latter are not equally spaced all round the wheel, 16 of
their number being spaced equally with those of H and the rest somewhat wider
apart. Thus every revolution of the wheel J turns the wheel H only ths of a
revolution, therefore, after each impression, bringing into position for impression
the next in order of the unit types. The teeth of J which coincide in pitch with
those of H are arranged to be in gear with them, during the impression move-
ment. The shifting of the disc of the types t for tens is effected in the following
manner.
As shewn in Figures 4 and 5 the shaft of the cylinder A has on it a pinion M
gearing with a wheel N having 10 times the number of teeth. To this wheel N is
fixed a cam disc O which has a gap o at one part of its circumference. On this
disc by means of a spring (not shewn) is made to bear a bowl y mounted on the
one arm of a bell crank lever, the other arm Q' of which is forked to engage in
slotted holes studs projecting from a ring fitted in the groove of a clutch L, sliding
in and turning with the shaft D, and engaging the boss of the wheel F, which,
when unclutched, turns freely on D, being kept in position longitudinally by the
end of a set screw K entering a groove of D.
When, once in every revolution of O, that is to say in 10 revolutions of A, the
gap o presents itself to g, the clutch L is withdrawn from the wheel F leaving that
wheel, which had been previously clutched to D and had revolved with it, now
free. So long as F revolved with D, the same type t was brought to the impression
position and therefore was printed repeatedly with the successive units, as for
example in printing the numbers 20, 21, 22 &c., and in that case a pawl P (Figs. 2
and 3) pressed by a spring T and pivotted on the disc of the units u slipped on
the teeth of a ratchet wheel S fixed on the boss of the disc for the tens t. But
when, on being unclutched as after 29 is printed, the disc of the tens t is free,
then the units disc in making its ths of a revolution to bring the type 0 instead
of 9 into the impression position, by means of the pawl P and ratchet S moves the
tens' disc also ths of a revolution and thus brings 3 instead of 2 into the
impression position. There are 10 types u on the units' disc, namely 0 to 9
inclusive; on the tens' disc there are 10 divisions but only 9 types t namely
1 to 9 inclusive, the cypher being omitted as it is not used before any unit.
Although we have described sets of types and gearing suited for measuring
yards and fractions of yards and printing the divisions and numbers on a continuous
strip or web, obviously other sets of types and gear could be similarly arranged to
divide and print other denominations of measure.
We have described the printing of only units and tens, but obviously an
additional disc with types for hundreds might be arranged to operate, as described,
with the units and tens, the tens' disc having a pawl like P to act on a ratchet
like S and so to advance the disc for hundreds, the wheel for that disc being for
the time unclutched.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what
we claim is :-
1. Apparatus for printing successive numbers and graduations at measured
intervals, arranged and operating substantially as herein described with reference
to the accompanying drawings.
2. In apparatus of the kind above referred to, the gearing J and H for shifting
the units disc one tenth of a revolution in each revolution of the impression
cylinder, substantially as described.
3. The gearing F and G in combination with the gearing M and N, the cam O,
the lever Q', the clutch L, and the pawl P and ratchet S, for shifting the tens'

page_text: disc one tenth of a revolution in every ten revolutions of the impression cylinder,
substantially as described.
4. The combination of the shaft E, carrying the units' and tens' dises, the
shaft D, the radius rods V, the eccentrics B₁ and adjustable side rods B³, for
5 printing the units and tens, substantially as described.
Dated this 24th day of May 1892.
ABEL & IMRAI,
Agents for the Applicants.