IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR HOLDING, CUTTING, AND GILDING, OR OTHERWISE ORNAMENTING BOOKS, PAPER, OR CARDS
Year: 1875

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Duncan Darrock Ritchie, of Glasgow, in the
County of Lanark, North Britain, Engineer, for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR HOLDING, CUTTING, AND GILDING, OR
OTHERWISE ORNAMENTING BOOKS, PAPER, OR CARDS."
Sealed the 14th September 1875, and dated the 20th March 1875.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Duncan Darrock
Ritchie at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his
Petition, on the 20th March 1875.
I, DUNCAN DARROCK RITCHIE, of Glasgow, in the County of Lanark,
North Britain, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR HOLDING, CUTTING, AND
GILDING, OR OTHERWISE ORNAMENTING BOOKS, PAPER, OR CARDS," to be as follows,
that is to say :—

page_text: In carrying out the Invention a series of open rectangular frames
provided for holding the books, paper, or cards, are fitted to slide along
guide rails formed upon a pair of long parallel frame standards at a con-
venient height for the manipulation of the operator. At one part of
the standards a horizontal plate or table is arranged to be adjusted
vertically, and cach sliding frame is brought over this for the purpose of
adjusting the height of the books, paper, or cards in it, and on being
so adjusted the books, paper, or cards, are firmly clamped in the frame
by means of a cross bar working in guides within the frame, and moved
by screws tapped through one end of the frame.
For the purpose of moving the sliding frames along the rails a hori-
zontal screw shaft is mounted longitudinally between the rails, and is
kept continuously revolving by a prime mover. Each sliding frame is
fitted with a segmental screwed nut and a lever, so that it can be
engaged with the screw shaft when required. Stops, inclines, or other
suitable projections may be fixed at different points to act on the lever
of the segmental nut in order to automatically disengage any frame
from the screw shaft on such frame reaching its intended position.
When a quantity of books, paper, or cards is fixed in a frame the frame.
is moved along under a horizontal knife placed transversely, and made
to reciprocate transversely by means of a revolving crank or eccentric.
A bar or strip of wood, lead, or other suitable material is fitted in the
holding frame at the rear of the books, paper, or cards, to prevent the
edges from being bended back by the knife. The knife takes a shaving
off this back strip at each cut, and the strip is screwed further up for the
next cut. By these means the edges are very accurately cut at the top,
bottom, or side, according to the positions in which the books, paper, or
cards are held in the sliding frame, and the frame is passed on to the
further end of the machine. The coloring of the edges is then effected,
the adhesive matter applied, and the gold leaf laid on, or any other known
ornamenting process is employed.
In one modification of the machine three sliding frames are used, and
room is provided on the rail standards for all three on each side of the
knife.
When the gold leaf has been applied to the books in the three frames

page_text: moved back so as to bring the first frame under the burnisher which is
arranged to work in a position near the knife. The burnishing is then
effected on the contents of the three frames in the order in which they
were originally fitted and cut.
The burnisher, consisting of the usual ironstone or other suitable
material, is carried by a holder fitted with an adjustable spring to a slide
capable of moving along a transverse horizontal bar which works in
longitudinal guides at the side of the machine. The bar is connected
by links to a pair of levers fast on a rocking shaft, which has also on it
a lever adjustably connected to a revolving eccentric, and by these
means a longitudinal reciprocating motion, which can be regulated, is
imparted to the burnisher. The burnisher is at the same time moved
gradually across the machine by means of a screw spindle in or on the
transverse bar, such screw spindle being at one end connected by
reversed pawls to reversed internal ratchet wheels formed with cylin-
drical external surfaces.
Movable friction rails are provided for the wheels, and when either
rail is adjusted against its wheel the reciprocation of the bar causes the
wheel to turn backwards and forwards, and to turn the screw spindle in
one direction accordingly.
When the burnisher slide reaches either end of the bar it, through
levers or other connections, automatically reverses the frictional rails, or
it may be arranged to move one out of its operating position without
acting on the other.
When the frames with their contents are moved backwards under
the knife this instrument is raised sufficiently to avoid rubbing, and
its reciprocation is stopped by a clutch movement. The burnisher is
also capable of being put out of gear when not required to operate.
An important feature of the herein-before described arrangements is
the adaptation of the holding frames and the rest of the apparatus to
cach other, so that as described the books, paper, or cards are adjusted
and fixed once only for all, the operations on one edge or side whereby
arises the advantage amongst others that a troublesome process of
scraping hitherto required is altogether dispensed with.
The parts of the apparatus may be modified in various ways provided this
important feature is retained. Thus the holding frames may be moved on

page_text: circular instead of straight rails, or they may be carried round into the
positions for the various operations by a horizontal wheel frame; or the
holding frames may be moved in a vertical instead of a horizontal
direction, or again the holding frames may be stationary, and the cutting
and burnishing apparatus be moved to operate in succession on their
contents.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Duncan Darrock Ritchic in the Great Scal Patent
Office on the 18th September 1875.
EO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, DUNCAN
DARROCH RITCHIE, of Glasgow, in the County of Lanark, North Britain,
Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twentieth day of March, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-five, in the thirty-
eighth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said Duncan Darroch Ritchie, Her special
licence that I, the said Duncan Darroch Ritchic, my executors, admini-
strators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Duncan Darroch
Ritchie, 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
use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain
and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR HOLDING, CUTTING, AND GILDING, OR OTHER-
WISE ORNAMENTING BOOKS, PAPER, OR CARDS," upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said Duncan Darroch Ritchie, my executors or
administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one
of their hands and seals, 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 Duncan Darroch Ritchie, do hereby
declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the

page_text: same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement in writing, reference being had to
the accompanying Drawings, that is to say:-
My said Invention has for its object the economising of labor and
time and the obtaining of superior results in the cutting and gilding or
otherwise ornamenting of books, paper, or cards.
In carrying out my Invention according to one modification a series
of open rectangular frames provided for holding the books, paper, or
cards are fitted to move on guide rails formed upon a pair of long parallel
frame standards, and an important feature of my arrangements is the
adaptation of the holding frames and the rest of the apparatus to each
other, so that the books, paper, or cards are adjusted and fixed once only
for all the operations on one edge or side, whereby arises the advantage,
amongst others, that a troublesome process of scraping hitherto required
is altogether or to a great extent dispensed with. The parts of the
apparatus may be modified in various ways provided this important
feature is retained; thus the holding frames may be moved on circular
instead of straight rails, or they may be carried round into the positions
for the various operations by a horizontal wheel frame; or the holding
frames may be stationary and the cutting and burnishing apparatus be
moved to operate in succession on their contents.
And in order that my said Invention and the manner of performing
the same may be properly understood I hereunto append a Sheet of
explanatory Drawings, to be herein-after referred to, and representing a
practically successful modification of my improved apparatus. In these
Drawings the same reference numerals are used to mark the same or like
parts wherever they are repeated.
Figure 1 of the Drawings is a plan and Figure 2 is a side clevation of
the machine; Figure 3 is a transverse vertical section as at the
line A-A in Figure 1; and Figures 4 to 8 are enlarged views of one of
the holding frames.
The main framing of the machine comprises two long parallel side
frames or standards 9, represented as formed each in three parts length-
ways, bolted to each other, and down upon wooden base pieces 10. The
two middle frame lengths are cast with transverse connecting ribs 11,
and transverse frame pieces 12, 13, are bolted to and connect the extreme

page_text: ends of the side frames. Rails or guides 14 with angular inner edges
are formed along the entire length of the side frames 9, and the open
rectangular holding frames 15 are fitted to move smoothly along the
rails 14, being kept down upon them by angular fitting pieces 16, seen.
best in Figures 4 and 5, which are longitudinal and transverse vertical
sections of one of the holding frames.
The machine shown in the Drawings is constructed for three of the
holding frames 15, and room is provided on the rails 14 for all three on
each side of the knife bar 17, which is at about the middle of the
machine. I originally intended to provide only one adjusting table for
the three holding frames, but with the view of economising time I now
prefer to have three adjusting tables, as shown in the Drawings. Each
adjusting table consists of a pair of horizontal plates 18 fixed on a pair
of vertical rack bars 19 fitted to move accurately in vertical guide
brackets fixed to the side frames. The rack bars 19, which are indicated
by dotted lines in Figure 1, are acted on by pinions on a transverse
shaft 20, which is carried in bearings in the side frames 9, and has a
worm wheel fixed on one end in gear with a worm on a vertical shaft 21,
which has a hand wheel fixed on its upper end. The holding frame 15
being set over its adjustable table 18 a quantity of books, paper, or cards
is placed on edge upon the table and within the frame, and the table is
then adjusted vertically by turning the hand wheel of the shaft 21, so
that the cut (which is made horizontally and transversely as respects the
machine) may take effect at the desired part of the books, paper, or
cards. These are then clamped firmly in the frame 15 by means of a
cross bar 22 sliding on guides within the frame, and moved and held by
means of a pair of screws 23 tapped through one side of the frame. The
cross bar 22, which is shown in plan, back view, and cross section in
Figures 6, 7, 8, has fitted to it a bar or strip 26 of wood, lead, or other
suitable material to prevent the edges at the rear of the mass of books,
paper, or cards from being bended back by the knife. The knife takes a
shaving off this back strip 24 at each cut, and the strip is moved further
up for the next cut by means of a pair of screws tapped through the
bottom of the bar 22.
For the purpose of moving the holding frames 15 along the rails 14 a
horizontal screw shaft 25 is mounted longitudinally between the side
frames 9, and is made to revolve by gearing at one end of the
machine. Each holding frame 15 is formed with a box 26, through

page_text: which the screw shaft 25 passes, and within the box there are two
segmental or half nuts 27, having pins in their sides, entered into curved
slots in a disc on a spindle 28, which has on its outer end a lever 29 and
a short weighted arm. The turning of the spindle 28 by the lever 29
causes the half nuts 27 to close upon and engage with the screw shaft,
or to separate and become disconnected from it, according to the direction
in which the lever is moved; and thus any one of the holding frames 15
can be moved by the shaft or be disengaged therefrom as required.
Stops, inclines, or other suitable projections, such as are indicated by
dotted lines at 30 in Figure 2, may be fixed at different points to act on
the lever 29 in order to automatically disengage a frame on its reaching
its intended position, and the levers 29 of the several frames 15 may be
arranged in different positions, and their respective inclines 30 also, so
that each frame may not be acted on by the incline intended to stop
another frame. The action of the screw shaft 25 moves each holding
frame 15 along under a horizontal knife 31 fixed to the under side of
the transverse horizontal knife bar 17, which is made to reciprocate
horizontally by means of a revolving crank or eccentric pin 32 on the
upper end of a vertical shaft 33. The knife bar 17 works in guides in
frame plates 34 bolted to flanges cast on the outer sides of the middle
lengths of the main side frames 9. The end of the knife bar further
from the shaft 33 is supported by a roller 35, and is kept down by a
block above it, and which can be accurately adjusted by a screw
spindle 36 having a hand wheel on it. By these means the edges are
very accurately cut at the top, bottom, or side, accordingly as the books,
paper, or cards have been fixed in the holding frame with the top,
bottom, or side edges uppermost. The holding frame 15 passes onwards
beyond the knife towards the further end of the machine (the left hand
end in the Drawing), and each frame stops in the position determined
for it by its lever 29 and incline 30. The coloring of the edges is then
effected, the adhesive matter applied, and the gold leaf laid on; or
any other known process for ornamenting the edges may be then
employed.
When the gold leaf has been applied to the books, paper, or cards in
the three holding frames 15 those in the first one (or at the left hand
end of the set) will have rested for about the time required for drying,
and the frames are then, by reversing the motion of the screw shaft 25
moved back so as to bring the said first frame 15 under the burnisher,

page_text: which is arranged to work in a position near the knife (to the left of it
in Figures 1, 2,). The burnishing is then effected on the contents of
the three frames 15 in the order in which they were prepared.
The burnisher 37, which consists of the usual piece of ironstone or
other suitable material, is carried by a holder 38, fitted with two
adjustable springs and an adjusting screw to a slide block 39 capable of
moving along a transverse horizontal bar 40, the ends of which work in
longitudinal guides 41 formed in the frame plates 34. The bar 40 is
connected by links 42 to a pair of levers 43 fast on a rocking shaft 44,
which has also fast on it a lever 45 adjustably connected to the rod 46
of a revolving eccentric 47, and by these means a longitudinal recipro-
cating motion, the extent of which can be regulated, is imparted to the
burnisher 37. The eccentric rod 46 is connected by a gab notch to a pin,
which is adjustable by a screw on the lever 45, and can be thrown out
of gear by means of a lever 48. The burnisher 37 whilst reciprocating
is at the same time moved gradually across the machine by means of a
screw spindle in or on the transverse bar 40, such screw spindle having
on one end of it two loose pulleys 19, 50, formed with internal ratchet
teeth in reverse directions, and engaging with reverse pawls on the
spindle.
Movable friction rails 51, 52, are arranged so that either can be raised
into contact with its pulley, according to the direction in which the screw
spindle is to be turned, the turning being effected by the rolling of the
pulley on the rail and by the pulley's acting on the spindle through its
ratchet in one direction. The rails 51, 52, are raised and lowered by
suitably placed wipers on two spindles 53, 54, connected by short levers
and links to a hand lever 55.
The reversing of the motion of the screw spindle may be made
automatic by connecting through a bell-crank lever to the hand
lever 55 a transverse rod fitted with stops to be acted on by the
burnisher holder 38, 39, on approaching cither side of the machine, or
one frictional rail 51, 52, may be automatically moved out of its acting
position without the other being acted on.
When the holding frames 15 are moved backwards under the knife 31
this instrument is raised sufficiently by means of the screw 36 to avoid
rubbing, and its reciprocation is stopped by a clutch movement. The

page_text: operate.
The driving gearing may be arranged in various ways, but in the
modification shown in the Drawings the longitudinal screw shaft 25 has
fast on one end of it a spur wheel 53', which is in gear with a pinion on
a first motion shaft 54', having on it a fast pulley 55¹, and two loose
pulleys 56 for open and crossed driving belts from any convenient
driving shaft or prime mover. The forks and connections for shifting
the driving belts are not shown, but are by preference arranged so that
the operator can act on them through levers and rods from any part of
the machine. The screw shaft 25 has also fast on it a spur wheel 57
driving a spur wheel fast on a lower longitudinal shaft 58, and this last
by bevil wheels 59 drives a transverse horizontal shaft 60 having fast on
one end of it the eccentric 47 which works the burnisher. On the other
end of the shaft 60 there is a bevil wheel 61 in gear with a bevil wheel
on the vertical shaft 33 which works the knife bar 17, but the wheel 61
can be put into or out of gear by a clutch 62 acted on by a lever 63
(Figure 1) and rod 64.
With the gearing and arrangements shown in the Drawings the knife
will have a comparatively rapid reciprocation; it will however in many
cases be better for the knife to have a slow, steady, and uniform motion,
which, combining with the forward motion of the holding frames 15,
will be equivalent to the diagonal cut of some existing paper cutting
machines. Such modified motion of the knife may be obtained in
various ways; thus an endless steel band passing round two pulleys on
horizontal spindles may be used for the purpose, or the bar (17) moving
across alternately from side to side may be actuated by rack and pinion
or other gear put into and out of gear by projections on the holding
frames (15) or again each holding frame may have a toothed rack at its
side to engage as the frame moves forward with horizontal spur wheels
gearing with rack teeth on the knife bar, and such action taking place
alternately on each side of the machine so as to reverse the transverse
motion of the knife. Provision may be made for sharpening the
knife without taking it out of the machine, either by arranging a
stone or emery wheel driven by a belt to travel along the knife, or by
having such stone or wheel in one position and acting on the knife as
the latter moves across.

page_text: Instead of the holding frames (15) being moved along by a single.
screw shaft (25) in the middle two parallel screw shafts placed near the
sides may be used; or the frames may be moved by means of fixed racks
and travelling worms on a grooved shaft, or by endless chains or bands,
or in any other convenient way. In all cases I prefer to introduce
automatic stops or contrivances to prevent the holding frames from being
moved too far or too soon. Thus when the frames are first filled with
books, paper, or cards, their longitudinal movement may be started by
the action of lowering the adjustable tables 18, these tables or their rack
bars 19 being connected to levers or rods acting on the engageing levers 29.
Each lever 29 is fitted with a movable pin 65 acted on by a spring, as
best seen in Figure 3, and this pin is moved inwards by hand to clear
the incline 30 when putting the segmental nuts 27 into gear with the
screw shaft 25 in order to return each holding frame towards the right
hand end of the machine.
The screw for adjusting the burnisher holder 38 may be turned by
means of a worm wheel fast on it and in gear with a worm held by the
block 39, and turned by a square rod extending across the machine, and
fitted with hand wheels at its ends, so that the adjustment can be con-
veniently effected from either side of the machine. Two or more
burnishers, each acting on separate portions of the books, paper, or cards
held in one frame 15, may be carried by the one cross bar 40.
Having thus particularly described my said Invention, and the manner
of performing the same, I have to state that I do not restrict myself
to the precise details herein described or delineated, but that what I
believe to be novel and original and claim as the Invention secured to
me by the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent is,―
1. The arranging or combining together of parts of mechanism to form
apparatus for holding, cutting, and gilding, or otherwise ornamenting
books, paper, or cards, substantially in the manner herein-before
described.
2. The constructing of the holding frames and the adapting of them.
and the apparatus for carrying and moving them and acting on their
contents, so that such contents are adjusted and fixed once only for
all the operations to be performed in the apparatus on one side or
surface of the contents, substantially as herein-before described.

page_text: 3. The combing of cutting and burnishing apparatus so that the
cut surfaces may require no readjustment for the burnisher, as herein-
before described.
4. The burnishing of the cut edges of books, paper, or cards, by means
5 of apparatus substantially such as is herein-before described.
5. The cutting of the edges of books, paper, or cards, by means of the
horizontal sliding holding frame (15) and the transversely moving
horizontal knife (31), substantially as herein-before described.
In witness whercof, I, the said Duncan Darroch Ritchie, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this Seventeenth day of September,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
five.
Witness,
EDMUND HUNT,
Patent Agent,
Glasgow.
DUNCAN D. RITCHIE. (L.S.)