IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR APPLYING BRONZE AND OTHER POWDERS ON PAPER AND OTHER SURFACES
Year: 1867

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Alexander Melville Clark, of 53, Chancery Lane,
in the County of Middlesex, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
APPARATUS FOR APPLYING BRONZE AND OTHER POWDERS ON PAPER AND OTHER
SURFACES. A communication from abroad by Jacques Laurent Poirier,
Mechanical Engineer, of 29, Boulevart St. Martin, Paris.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Alexander Melville Clark
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
14th November 1867.
I, ALEXANDER MELVILLE CLARK, of 58, Chancery Lane, in the County of
Middlesex, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN APPARATUS FOR APPLYING BRONZE AND OTHER POWDERS ON PAPER AND
OTHER SURFACES," to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to an apparatus for applying bronze and other powders
on paper and other surfaces with continuous action, the apparatus consists of
two vertical frames or uprights, at the upper part of which is mounted a
hollow cylinder or drum having a slit or opening parallel to its axis. Beneath
this cylinder is a roller of smaller size in contact with the upper one and
covered with velvet, flannel, or other suitable material rotating in a trough
containing the bronze or other powder. Opposite the opening in the drum
there is placed a table on which are disposed the sheets of paper, fabric, or

page_text: other surface to be bronzed; this table has to-and-fro motion imparted which
moves it towards and from the drum at each revolution of the latter in order
that a clip disposed in the slit or opening may seize the sheet at the time
desired. The sheets are fed up to the drum in succession, which seizes them
one by one and delivers them to the small roller turning in the trough which
deposits the bronze on the sheet, and the motion of the cylinder being
continuous the said sheet is then brought under the action, first of a circular
brush having rotary motion, which removes any superfluous bronze, and
afterwards of a series of rubbing surfaces covered with velvet or flannel for
fixing and equalizing the bronze powder remaining on the sheet. The paper
or other surface continues its motion on the drum until released by the
clip, when it is delivered on a receiving table disposed above the one before
mentioned. Another sheet is then seized by the clip and so on; the drum,
bronzing roller, brush, and table are set in motion by means of gearing suitably
disposed.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Alexander Melville Clark in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 13th May 1868.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ALEXANDER
MELVILLE CLARK, of 53, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Fourteenth day of November, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven, in the thirty-first year of Her
reign, did; for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant, unto
me, the said Alexander Melville Clark, Her special licence that I, the said
Alexander Melville Clark, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such
others as I, the said Alexander Melville Clark, 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 APPLYING BRONZE AND OTHER.
POWDERS ON PAPER AND OTHER SURFACES," a communication to.me from abroad.
by Jacques Laurent Poirier, Mechanical Engineer,, of 29, Boulevart. St..
Martin, Paris, upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said

page_text: Alexander Melville Clark, my executors or administrators, by an instru-
ment 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 Alexander Melville Clark, 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, reference being had to the two Sheets of Drawings hereunto annexed,
and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say) :-.
This Invention relates to apparatus for applying bronze and other powders
on paper or other surfaces with continuous action.
The apparatus consists of two vertical frames or uprights, at the upper part
of which is mounted a hollow cylinder or drum having a slit or opening
parallel to its axis. Beneath this cylinder is a roller of small size in contact
with the upper one and covered with velvet, flannel, or other suitable material
rotating in a trough containing the bronze or other powder. Opposite the
opening in the drum there is placed a table on which are disposed the sheets
of paper, fabric, or other surface to be bronzed; this table has to-and-fro motion
imparted which moves it towards and from the drum at each revolution of the
latter in order that a clip disposed in the slit or opening may seize the sheet
at the desired time. The sheets are fed up to the drum in succession, which
seizes them one by one and delivers them to the small roller turning in the
trough, which deposits the bronze on the sheet, and the motion of the cylinder
being continuous the said sheet is then brought under the action, first, of a
circular brush driven at a high speed, which removes any superfluous bronze,
and afterwards of a series of rubbing surfaces covered with velvet or flannel
for fixing and equalizing the bronze powder remaining on the sheet; the paper
or other surface continues its motion on the drum until released by the clip, when
it is delivered on a receiving table disposed above the one before mentioned.
Another sheet is then seized by the clip, and so on; the drum, bronzing roller,
brushes, and table are set in motion by means of gearing suitably disposed and
os herein after described

page_text: of the parts; Figure 2, an elevation of same on the side where the material
is fed to and from the machine. The same letters. apply to both Figures.
A, A, vertical frames or standards connected together by cross bars B;
between standards A, A, is mounted a cylinder or drum C on a horizontal
shaft receiving motion from gearing D mounted at one end of the machine;
E, longitudinal opening made in drum C receiving a bar F mounted on
arms G, G, jointed to the shaft of drum C; this bar F serves as a clip for
seizing the paper, and is set in motion by an arrangement of levers H, I, one,
1, being provided with a friction roller at its end which in the rotation of
druin C comes in contact with a curved surface J so as to obtain the necessary
opening for gripping the sheet; K, small cylinder covered with velvet or
flannel turning in a trough containing bronze or other powder, said cylinder
is mounted on the driving shaft, which is provided with fast and loose pullies,
fly wheel, and pinion L for imparting motion to wheel D.; M, circular brush
contained in the trough of cylinder K and driven at a high speed in a contrary
direction to drum C by the aid of a wheel N mounted on the shaft of cylinder K
and gearing with a small pinion O cast on a wheel P having a ring of teeth
in its interior, which in its turn gears with a small pinion mounted on the axis
of brush M; said brush M may be brought closer to drum C if desired, without
however disconnecting it with the gearing by the aid of arms Q, Q, and screw
rods R, R.
In the Drawing I have shown the machine with one brush only, although
it will be understood that I may place several in a parallel or other position
so as to act on the sheet either separately or together, their number being
regulated according to the nature of the operation; S, S, friction surfaces or
bars covered with velvet, flannel, cloth, felt, or other suitable material mounted
on screws carried on lugs formed on framing A. These friction surfaces are
disposed so as to apply an elastic pressure on the drum by the aid of smail
springs; T, small roller for guiding the paper and assisting its removal from
drum C after it is bronzed; U, horizontal table mounted on the sliding cross
bars V, V ; one of these cross bars is connected to the levers X mounted on a
shaft extending across the machine, which shaft receives to-and-fro motion by
the aid of a lever Y¹ mounted on the drum C for the purpose of advancing
table Ụ at the desired time to enable the sheet to be gripped; Z, table placed
in a slightly inclined position as shown for receiving the bronzed sheets on
their leaving drum C.
The parts being arranged as described the machine is operated in the
following manner:-The sheets of paper or other material to which the
powder is to be applied are placed on the table U and fed in succession up

page_text: to the drum C, which in passing seizes them one by one and presents them
to cylinder K for depositing the bronze or other powder thereon, any excess
being removed by the circular brush; the series of rubbing surfaces before
referred to then proceed to fix and equalize the powdered substance, after
which the paper or material continues its movement with the drum until the
gripper releases the sheet and delivers it on the receiving table.
Sheet 2 of the Drawings illustrates a modified arrangement of the bronzing
machinery of this Invention; Figure 8 shows a transverse vertical section, and
Figure 4 a front elevation of the improved machine. The same letters apply
to both Figures.
The first improvement consists in rendering moveable the trough containing
the bronze This trough a is mounted vertically by the aid of two levers m, m,
carrying a weight p which causes the trough to rise as the quantity of bronze
in the said trough becomes reduced.
A further improvement consists in the application of a small roller c covered
with velvet, flaunel, or other suitable material placed immediately behind the
bronzing cylinder band in contact with drum d, and either turning in the
reverse or in the same direction as the bronzer 6; said roller c rotates twice as
fast as b, and serves to smooth the bronze or other powder deposited by the
first bronzing cylinder.
A third improvement relates to the arrangement of the circular bruslies;
1 dispose a chamber or compartment immediately behind the roller c in which
is placed a brush f turning in the contrary direction to drum d at a sufficient
speed to remove any excess and equalize the bronze deposited by the bronzing
and smoothing rollers; the brush f is driven by the aid of a toothed wheel g
mounted on the shaft of cylinder b, and gearing with a pinion h keyed on the
end of the brush shaft; said brush fis mounted in adjustable bearings so as to
regulate its position and degree of pressure on drum d; besides the brush f
I place another brush i in a separate compartment as before; this brush i also
tuins in a contrary direction to drum d and at a higher speed than f, it being
intended for removing and smoothing the bronze left by the first brush. This
brush is also mounted in adjustable bearings and is set in motion by a wheel j
gearing with a pinion k. The two compartments containing the brushes
are hermetically closed so that none of the bronze may be wasted, it being
afterwards removed at the bottom of the compartments, access being had
thereto by metal plates sliding in grooves arranged for the purpose.
As before mentioued with reference to the machine illustrated in Sheet 1,
the friction surfaces disposed on the periphery of the drum serve to fix and
equalize the bronze or other powder remaining on the sheet. These surfaces,

page_text: consisting of velvet, flannel, or other suitable material, are made slightly hollow
or grooved so as to obtain a more elastic pressure, their number also varies
according to the nature of the operation, or one reversible friction surface only
of large dimensions may be used if desired..
Having described the nature of this Invention, and the manner of performing
the same, I declare that what I claim as the Invention to be protected by the
berein-before in part recited Letters Patent is,-
1st. The arrangement and combination of parts comprising the improved
machine for applying bronze and other powders on paper and other surfaces,
in the manner and for the purposes described.
2ndly. I claim the modified arrangement of the apparatus represented in
Sheet 2 of the Drawings, including the improved adjustable trough, bronzing
and smoothing rollers, circular brushes with their receptacles, and friction
surfaces, all as herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Alexander Melville Clark, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Thirteenth day of May, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight.
A. M. CLARK. (L.S.)