Improvements in Machinery or Apparatus for Grooving or Nicking Printing Type.
Year: 1890

page_text: Date of Application, 28th June, 1890
Complete Specification Left, 31st Mar., 1891-Accepted, 9th May, 1891
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Machinery or Apparatus for Grooving or Nicking
Printing Type.
We, JOHN ROBERT TOPLISS, temporarily residing at 14 Courthope Road,
London, N.W. Journalist, and JOSHUA ALEXANDER KAY, temporarily residing
at 16 Wharton Street, Kings Cross Road, London, Consulting Mechanician, do
hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:--
This invention has reference to the construction of machinery or apparatus by
which the combinations of grooves or nicks, required in printing type especially for
type for use in automatic distributing machines or appliances, can be cut with speed
and exactitude; and also with the least liability of fracturing or otherwise
damaging the type characters. For this purpose one or more rotary saws or
cutters are used, each fixed upon a shaft provided with suitable driving mechanism
and mounted to rotate in a frame or head-stock provided with suitable mechanism
for accurately adjusting its position in a transverse direction to a bed or guide
upon which a carriage for carrying the type to be cut or nicked, is arranged to
travel. This carriage, which is arranged to move in a longitudinal direction
beneath the cutter or cutters, can be made adjustable in height and be provided
with means for readily clamping thereon, type to be cut or nicked, and for after-
wards readily unclamping the same. An arrangement of machine or apparatus
according to this invention comprises a bed frame mounted on a suitable stand and
provided on one side with a centrally arranged transverse frame, carrying, in
suitable slides or guides, one or more (according to the number of grooves or nicks
desired in any given combination) movable head-stocks, in each of which rotates a
pulley-shaft, having one end overhanging the bed frame to a sufficient distance to
carry a rotary saw or cutter. Each head-stock is held in position by a suitable
device such as a screw, connected to, or working in the cross-frame, and by which
the head-stock can be moved backwards or forwards to any desired extent in a
direction transverse to the bed frame. This screw is fitted with an adjustable
disc, formed with notches recesses or holes to receive a spring-catch for the purpose
of accurately governing the turning movement of the screw.
The bed frame is formed with guides in which works the carriage carrying the
type which is placed side by side in a row with that edge uppermost that is to be
grooved or nicked. This carriage is so constructed that it can be raised or
Lowered to the greatest nicety according to the depth of cut required, and to
suit different sizes of type. For this purpose the carriage can be made in two
parts the underside of the upper part being made inclined and arranged to work
upon a correspondingly but reversely arranged inclined surface on the lower part
suitable means such as a screw being provided to effect vertical adjustment when
necessary. The carriage can be arranged to slide underneath the cutter or cutters
by pressure directly applied to it; or by suitable mechanism, operated by hand or
automatically from a moving part of the machine or other moving part. Suitable
means for this purpose comprises a screw running lengthwise of the bed-frame, and
engaging a nut on the carriage; or a rack and pinion can be used. The row of type
is adjusted in position against straight edges or bars on the carriage and is held
down in a longitudinal direction by means of lips or flanges on the bars overlapping
that part of the ends of the type upon which the cutters are not required to
operate. The row of type is held endwise between two strips of such height as to
allow clearance for the cutters.
To facilitate the ready adjustment of the type in position, one of the flanged side

page_text: bars, and one of the end strips, can be made removable and be fitted with eccentric
cam levers for speedy manipulation in clamping and unclamping.
Dated this 28th day of June 1890.
JOHN ROBERT TOPLISS.
JOSHUA ALEXANDER KAY.
W. Lloyd Wise,
46, Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, W.C., Agent for the Applicants.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Machinery or Apparatus for Grooving or Nicking
Printing Type.
We, JOHN ROBERT TOPLISS, formerly temporarily residing at 14 Courthope
Road, London, N.W., but now of 7 Collins Street, Melbourne, in the Colony
of Victoria, Australia, Journalist, and JOSHUA ALEXANDER KAY, formerly
temporarily residing at 16 Wharton Street, Kings Cross Road, London, but now
also of 7 Collins Street, Melbourne, aforesaid, Consulting Mechanician, 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 has reference to the construction of machinery or apparatus by
which the combinations of grooves or nicks required in printing type especially for
type for use in automatic distributing machines or appliances, can be cut with speed
and exactitude; and also with the least liability of fracturing or otherwise damaging
the type characters. For this purpose one or more rotary saws or cutters (herein-
after referred to as cutters) is or are used, each fixed upon a shaft provided with
suitable driving mechanism and mounted to rotate in a frame or head-stock
provided with suitable mechanism for accurately adjusting its position in a
transverse direction to a bed or guide upon which a carriage, table, or carrier
(hereinafter called a carrier) for carrying the type to be cut or nicked, is arranged
to travel. This carrier which is arranged to move in a longitudinal direction
beneath the cutter or cutters, can be made adjustable in height; and be provided
with means for readily clamping thereon, type to be cut or nicked, and for after-
wards readily unclamping the same.
In the accompanying drawings,
Fig. 1 is a back elevation; and
Fig. 2 a plan of part of a type grooving or nicking machine constructed according
to this invention.
Fig. 3 is an end elevation, partly in section, of the machine.
1 is a bed frame formed with longitudinal guides or projections 2 between which
slides a carrier 3 for carrying the type to be cut, which is placed side by side in a
row with that edge uppermost that is to be grooved or nicked. This carrier is so
constructed that it can be raised or lowered according to the depth of cut required
and to suit different sizes of type. For this purpose the carrier is shown made in
two parts 3, 3, the underside of the upper part 3 being made inclined at 4 (Fig. 2)
and arranged to work up a correspondingly but reversely arranged inclined surface
on the lower part 3ª, the two being normally held together by suitable means as
for example bolts 35. The carrier may be arranged to slide upon its bed by
pressure directly applied to it, or suitable mechanical means can be provided for
causing it to reciprocate along its bed. In the example shown the carrier is
provided with a nut 6 made in two parts, each pivoted to the lower part 3 of the
carrier and provided with an arm 6ª. 7 is a longitudinal screw-shaft carried by the
bed frame 1 and provided with a driving pulley 8. By bringing the arms 6ª together,
the two parts of the nut can be caused to engage the screw shaft upon which they
can be held by causing a link-6b, hinged to one of the arms 6ª, to engage the other

page_text: arm. 6 is a spring placed between the arms and adapted to press them apart and
disengage the two parts of the nut from the screw shaft when the link 6" is turned
to disengage the arms from each other.
a
The bed frame 1, which may be mounted on a suitable stand, is provided on one side
with a centrally arranged transverse frame 1 that carries in suitable guides
number of movable head-stocks 9, in each of which rotates a spindle 10 provided
with a pulley 11, and having one end arranged to overhang the bed frame 1 to a
sufficient distance to carry a rotary cutter 12. The number of cutters employed
will depend upon the number of grooves or nicks desired in any combination. In
the example shewn three head-stocks with cutters are used, but the transverse
frame 1 is shewn as made to carry four headstocks, the bed for the fourth being
shewn at the right hand side of Fig. 2. Each headstock is provided with an
adjusting screw 13 by means of which it is held in position, and by which it can be
moved backward or forward to any desired extent in a direction transverse to the
bed frame. This screw is mounted to rotate in an extension 9" of the headstock
and to work through a fixed nut 14 carried by the transverse frame 1ª. This nut
may with advantage be of white metal cast between projecting portions 1" on the
transverse frame 1ª. Each adjusting screw 13 is fitted with an adjustable disc 15
formed with a notch at 16 (or it may be with two or more notches, recesses or
holes) to receive a spring catch 17 that is pivoted to the extension 9*. Each catch
serves to govern the turning movement of its corresponding adjusting screw, and
to hold the screw and attached parts stationary when it is engaged with the
disc. 18 is a nut between which and a collar 19 the disc 15 is normally fixed so
as to be fast with the adjusting screw. This screw is prevented from moving end-
ways, relatively to its headstock, by the collars 19, 19ª which are fast upon it and
bear at opposite sides of the extension 9ª.
Each headstock has an index 20 adjacent to which is a bracket 21 having on its
upper side a scale 21 to indicate the number of turns to be given to the adjusting
screw 13 to move the headstock to any required extent.
The row of type to be operated upon is held in position longitudinally by straight
bars 22 having lips or flanges 22ª which overlap the type and keep the same from
rising. The row of type is held endwise between two strips 23 of such height as
to allow clearance for the cutters. To facilitate the ready adjustment of type in
position, one of the flanged side bars 22 and one end strip 23 are made removable,
and eccentric cam levers 24 are provided, pivoted to the upper part 3 of the carrier,
for quickly clamping and unclamping the said bar and strip.
The operation of the machine is as follows:-
The several nuts 18 are first turned so as to release the discs 15, and the adjusting
screws 13 are rotated to move the headstocks towards the bed frame 1 until all the
cutters are in the same plane, and overhang one end of the type to a sufficient
extent. Each nut 18 is then tightened against its disc 15, care being taken that
the corresponding catch 17 is in the notch 16 of its disc 15. Each rotary cutter
requiring to be moved forward can now be placed in position by adjusting its
headstock by means of its screw 13; the index 20 and scale 21* indicating how
many turns of the adjusting screw are necessary to advance the cutter sufficiently
to agree with the arrangement of nicks to be cut as determined by a nicking chart.
By lifting the pivoted catch 17 out of the corresponding disc notch 16 and giving
one or more full turns to the respective adjusting screw 13 the relative arrange-
ment of the nicks can be varied. The carrier 3, 3ª is then made to travel
underneath the cutters, which then effect the nicking process. When this is done,
the eccentric cam levers 24 are turned to release the side bar 22 and end strip 23;
the cut type is removed and the carrier returned to its normal position to be refilled
with type, which after being clamped up, is cut by again moving the carrier
forward below the cutters as before. When the carrier is driven by power, the
split releasing nut 6 should be disengaged as soon as the row of type has passed
from under the cutters, thus stopping the movement of the carrier but allowing of
the continued rotation of the screw shaft 7.

page_text: As will be obvious, instead of making the bed 3, 3ª endways movable, it may be
fixed, the type to be grooved or nicked being then pushed over its upper surface
and below the cutters.
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. In a machine or apparatus for grooving or nicking printing type, grooving or
nicking the type by means of a rotary saw or cutter (or saws or cutters) capable,
(or each capable) of adjustment into interchangeable positions in relation to the
type to be cut, substantially as hereinbefore described for the purpose specfied.
2. In a machine or apparatus for grooving or nicking printing type by means of
cutters such as referred to in the preceding claim, a movable carrier or support
with clamps adapted to hold by the ends the type to be grooved or nicked and a
rotary cutter (or cutters) arranged to overhang the bed along which the said
support moves and capable of adjustment (or each capable of independent adjust-
ment) in a direction transverse to the direction in which the said carrier or support
moves, substantially as hereinbefore described for the purpose set forth.
3. In a machine or apparatus of the kind herein referred to, mounting the rotary
cutter, or each rotary cutter if more than one be used, on a movable headstock and
combining therewith mechanism substantially such as hereinbefore described and
shown for accurately adjusting the headstock and the cutter it carries in the
direction of the axis of rotation of such cutter and for determining the extent of
such adjustment, for the purpose specified.
4. In a machine or apparatus of the kind referred to in Claim 2 for grooving or
nicking printing type, constructing the movable type carrier or support with raised
sides that partly overlap the part or bed that receives the type, and with raised
ends, one of the sides and one of the ends being made removable, and being
secured in place by clamping devices adapted to readily fix and release the
removable side and end at will, substantially as herein described for the purposes
specified.
5. The improved machine or apparatus for grooving or nicking printing type
substantially as described and shown.
Dated this 31st day of March 1891
W. LLOYD WISE,
Per F. J. Brougham,
46, Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, W.C., Agent for the Applicants.