IMPROVEMENTS IN INK FOUNTAINS FOR PRINTING PRESSES
Year: 1872

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Samuel Cropper, of Cheapside, in the County of
Middlesex, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN INK FOUNTAINS FOR
PRINTING PRESSES."-A communication from abroad by Messieurs
Hopson and Allen, of the City, County, and State of New York, in
the United States of America.
Scaled the 30th July 1872, and dated the 11th June 1972.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Samuel Cropper at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
11th June 1872.
I, SAMUEL CROPPER, of Cheapside, in the County of Middlesex, do
5 hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
INK FOUNTAINS FOR PRINTING PRESSES," a communication to me from
abroad by Messieurs Hopson and Allen, of the City, County, and State
of New York, in the United States of America, to be as follows:-
The Invention has for its object improvements in ink fountains for
that class of printing machine in which disc distribution is used, and
relates to a novel combination, arrangement, and adaptation of parts

page_text: whereby a simplc. and economical ink fountain is obtained which is
readily adaptable to all classes of work. For this purpose a narrow ink
The
box is employed having a roller mounted in one end thereof.
bottom of the ink box is formed by a plate screwed or otherwise fastened
thereto at one end, whilst the other end of such plate is formed to act
as a knife or "doctor" to the aforesaid roller and is acted upon by a
set screw to force it more or less closely against such roller. This roller
is by preference mounted upon an axis passed through it and through
suitable holes formed in the sides of the box. On one end of this axis
is keyed a ratchet wheel which is acted upon by a clawker or driver
carried by a lever also mounted on the said axis, and such lever receives
motion from any suitable part of the printing press. The fountain is
mounted at one side of the disc and not in the central line thereof.
For convenience of construction and to enable the parts to be readily
put together and taken apart it is preferred to form the axis of the
roller with two pins or studs projecting therefrom and with a ring or
groove formed in one end thereof.
The hole in one side of the ink box has a keyway or passage formed
in connection therewith, and keyways or passages are also formed in
the ratchet lever to permit of the passage of the studs or pins carried
by the axis of the roller, and one of such studs or pins passes into a key.
way or opening formed in the roller and the other into a similar key-
way or opening formed in the ratchet wheel, by which means the roller
and ratchet wheel are keyed on the axis, whilst a catch mounted on a
stud or pin is passed into the ring or groove in the axis of the roller
to hold the axis in position.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Samuel Cropper in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 11th December 1872.
I TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, SAMUEL 30
CROPPER, of Cheapside, in the County of Middlesex, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Eleventh day of June, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-two, in the thirty-fifth

page_text: year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and
grant unto me, the said Samuel Cropper, Her special licence that I, the
said Samuel Cropper, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such
others as I, the said Samuel Cropper, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to
time and at all times thereafter during the term therein expressed,
should and lawfully might make, usc, exercisc, and vend, within the
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and
Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN. INK. FOUNTAINS FOR PRINTING
PRESSES," a communication to me from abroad by Messieurs Hopson and
Allen, of the City, County, and State of New York, in the United States
of America, upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Samuel
Cropper, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing
under my, or their, or one of their hands and scals, should particularly
describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what
manner the same was to be performed, and cause the same to be filed
in the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next and
immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Samuel Cropper, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement thereof, that is to say :-
The Invention has for its object improvements in ink fountains for
that class of printing machine in which disc distribution is used, and
relates to a novel combination, arrangement, and adaptation of parts
whereby a simple and economical ink fountain is obtained which is readily
adaptable to all classes of work. For this purpose a narrow ink box is
employed having a roller mounted in one end thereof. The bottom of
the ink box is formed by a plate screwed or otherwise fastened thereto.
at one end, whilst the other end of such plate is formed to act as a knife
or "doctor" to the aforesaid roller, and is acted upon by a set screw to.
force it more or less closely against such roller. This roller is by pre-.
ference mounted upon an axis passed through it and through suitable
holes formed in the sides of the box. On one end of this axis is keyed
a ratchet wheel which is acted upon by a clawker or driver carried by
a lever also mounted on the said axis, and such lever receives motion
from any suitable part of the printing press. The fountain is mounted
at one side of the disc and not in the central line thereof.

page_text: The hole in the side of the ink box next the ratchet wheel d has a
keyway or passage formed in connection therewith, and keyways or
passages are also formed in the ratchet lever e to permit of the passage
of the studs or pins c', c². The stud or pin c' passes into a keyway or
opening formed in the roller b, and the stud or pin c² passes into a
similar keyway or opening formed in the ratchet wheel d, by which
means the roller band ratchet wheel d are keyed on the axis c.when
the parts are placed in the proper position, whilst a catch 9 mounted
on a stud or piu g' is passed into the ring or groove c³ in the axis c to
hold it in correct position.
h
In some cases an additional or "vibrator" roller / is employed to
conduct the ink from the roller b to the "form rollers," this arrangement
is shown by the red lines in Figure 2. This roller / may be driven by
friction from the roller or suitable gearing may be employed to com-
municate motion thereto from the axis c. The roller bor the roller h,
as the case may be, revolves in contact with the ink disc or table i.
By reference to Figure 5 it will be seen that the ink duct instead of
being placed at the upper part of a vertical line drawn through the axis
of the inking disc i is placed on one side thereof, and near the edge of
such disc, whereby a more even distribution of ink is obtained than by
the employment of ink ducts as heretofore extending across the disc i,
and the accumulation of ink in the centre of the disc i is obviated.
Having thus described the nature of the said Invention, and the
mode in which the same is carried into effect, I would have it understood
that what I claim is,-
Firstly. The novel construction and arrangement of the parts of an
ink duct or fountain, substantially as herein shown and described.
And secondly. I claim the placing of an ink duct or fountain in or
near the position on the disc or table i substantially as shown and
described with respect to Figure 5.
In witness whereof, I, the said Samuel Cropper, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Eleventh day of December, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-two.