IMPROVEMENTS IN PRINTING MACHINES
Year: 1873

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by John Henry Johnson at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
14th November 1873.-A communication from abroad by La
Société Létang and Brissard, of Paris, in the Republic of France.
I, JOHN HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County
of Middlesex, Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN PRINTING MACHINES," a communication
to me from abroad by La Société Létang and Brissard, of Paris, in the
Republic of France, to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to certain improvements in printing machines
of every description, both for typographic, lithographic, and copper plate
printing, which improvements are also applicable to machines for
printing wall papers and fabrics, and for other like purposes, and consists
of,―
First. The application of an apparatus for automatically withdrawing
the printed sheets.
Secondly. The application of a drawing or ruling apparatus provided
with discs, which admits of the simultaneous ruling and printing of the
naner

page_text: Thirdly. The application of an ink trough having compartments for
the purpose of printing in a number of colors simultaneously.
In carrying out the first part of my Invention the apparatus is so
arranged that the sheets on leaving the drum are automatically taken
hold of by pincers, which raise them in an oblique direction, in order to
deposit them without turning them over on to a table, so as to leave the
impression constantly visible. The apparatus is composed of an inclined
frame disposed at the upper part of a printing machine, which frame is
grooved throughout its length to admit of the wheels of a carriage.
traversing along the same. The carriage is provided with a transverse
shaft to which spurs are secured, the lower part of which spurs is
constantly pressed under the action of a spring against a metal blade
attached to the carriage. The blade and spurs together form a species
of pincers, the object of which is to lay hold of the printed sheets and
maintain them during the period necessary for their withdrawal. The
pincers are opened and closed as required by means of a pin working
between two stops. The carriage is caused to move up and down by
means of a crank which is fixed on the axis of the drum of the machine,
and is attached to one end of a connecting rod. The opposite end of the
connecting rod is connected to a lever arm working on an axis at the
opposite end of the frame, which axis also carries other lever arms,
which are attached by rods to the carriage, so that the motion of the
crank is transmitted through the connecting rod and the lever arms and
rods to the carriage, and its up-and-down motion is obtained. A fixed
blade is disposed in front of the carriage in order to take up the sheet,
which is at that instant liberated by the hooks which had previously
restrained it, being opened at the given movement by means of a piece
fixed on the frame. This blade guides the sheet into the pincers, which
are also opened for its reception under the action of one of the stops
herein-before referred to. The carriage then rises, the pincers close, and
the sheet is withdrawn from the machine in a flat and even condition;
the carriage on arriving at the top of the traverse meets the other stop,
which opens the pincers and liberates the sheet, which falls on to a table
provided between the frame for its reception. The carriage then
descends, and the operation is repeated, the printed sheets being piled up
without being subjected to any pressure calculated to cause the ink to
spread. The table is provided with a movable guide, which may be
adjusted to suit the size of sheet that it is intended to receive. Rollers

page_text: covered with india-rubber are also provided in front of the fixed blade
before referred to, the object of which is to press the sheets on to the
drum, in order that they may be conducted with it.
The application of drawing or ruling discs which forms the second
part of this Invention admits of the paper being ruled in one or more
colors simultaneously with the operation of printing, and also of the
extent of the ruling of the sheet being readily controlled, so that the
operation of ruling may be suspended and resumed a number of
times, if required, during a single revolution of the cylinder. The
apparatus is composed of a shaft provided with arms or supports which
receive the ends of the ink trough, in which the inking roller is partially
immersed, and which also support a shaft which carries the drawing or
ruling discs, such shaft as well as the journals of the inking roller being
loose in their bearings in the said arms or supports. The shaft which
carries the arms or supports is fitted loose in bearings secured to the
framing of the machine, and is provided at one end with a helical spring,
one extremity of which is attached to the frame and the other to the
shaft, the effect of which is to cause the drawing or ruling discs to bear
constantly against the drum. The opposite end of the shaft is also
provided with a small lever having a cam, which lever is operated by
hand when it is desired to stop the ruling. The shaft which carries the
drawing or ruling discs also carries a roller, which is acted upon by one
or more segmental pieces, on the periphery of which it rolls. The object
of these segments is to remove the drawing discs from the drum of the
machine, and consequently to suspend the ruling one or more times
during one revolution of the drum. When these segments are in the
proper position for effecting the precise ruling required they are secured
by bolts. During the whole time that the roller lastly herein-before
referred to bears on the periphery of the segments, it maintains the
drawing or ruling discs a certain distance from the drum, and the ruling
only takes place when the roller is out of contact with them, so that the
ruling may be suspended as required.
The ink trough, which forms the third part of this Invention, admits
of the printing in various colors simultaneously. It is composed of
compartments which are separated by partitions which enter for a short
distance into the body of the inking roller, such roller being provided
with annular grooves for their reception. These compartments contain
the ink of the required colors, so that the mixing of the different colors

page_text: is prevented, and the annular grooves have the further effect of spreading
the colors uniformly over the table, which is provided with grooves
corresponding to these in the roller. By this means a number of colors
may be readily printed simultaneously, without detriment to the cleanness
and clearness of the impression.