CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN LITHOGRAPHIC AND COPPER-PLATE PRINTING PRESSES
Year: 1855

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George Frederick Rose, Engraver and Printer, of
Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, for the Invention of "CERTAIN
IMPROVEMENTS IN LITHOGRAPHIC AND COPPER-PLATE PRINTING PRESSES."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said George Frederick Rose at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
31st August 1855.
I, GEORGE FREDERICK ROSE, Engraver and Printer, of Aun Street, Birming-
ham, in the County of Warwick, do hereby declare the nature of my said
Invention for "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN LITHOGRAPHIC AND COPPER-PLATE
PRINTING PRESSES" to be as follows, that is to say:-
My Invention relate to the mode of applying to lithographic and copper-
plate printing presses the motive power by which they are put into motion,
and consist in the use of one or more cog wheels, the teeth of which take
into a corresponding rack or racks placed underneath the bed of such
presses, and is used only as a power for carrying the bed backward
or forward, as required, while the bed is supported upon friction rollers
placed at the sides. And in some instances I may use circular bearings,
the curved surface of which must be equal to the range or extent of the
forward or backward action of the bed, by which means I greatly diminish
the friction attendant upon such action.

page_text: Another feature of improvement in lithographic printing presses relate to
the mode in which the scraper is brought down to give the required pres-
sure on the stone, and consist in fitting the scraper that it may work up
and down in vertical grooves, the said scraper being actuated by a screw
working through the bridge, and in some instances through the bridge and
middle bar for greater steadiness, and at the top end of the screw I place
a wheel, by which the screw is turned around as a means of raising and
lowering the scraper, as I find a wheel much more convenient than a cross
bar or lever.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said George Frederick Rose in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 29th February 1856.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, J, GEORGE
FREDERICK ROSE, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Engraver and
Printer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Thirty-first day of August, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-five, in the nineteenth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
George Frederick Rose, Her special license that I, the said George Frederick
Rose, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
George Frederick Rose,my executors, administrators, or 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 "CERTAIN IMPROVE-
MENTS IN LITHOGRAPHIC AND COPPER-PLATE PRINTING PRESSES," upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said George Frederick Rose, by an instrument in
writing under my hand and seal, should particularly describe and ascertain the
nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same was to be per-
formed, 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 George Frederick Rose, do hereby
declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is
to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement (that is to say) :-

page_text: My improvements in lithographic and copper-plate printing presses consist,
in the first place, in the mode of applying the power for impelling forward and
backward the bed of such presses. The mode at present in use is to fit a
roller between the framework of the press on which the bed rests, and to the
axis of such roller a handle is applied, and by turning the roller the bed resting
on its periphery is carried forward and backward, according to the way in
which the handle is turned; but this is attended with two serious objections:
the first is, the great and uncertain amount of power required to put the bed
in motion; secondly, that if the top pressure is brought down too tight on the
impression to be printed, the roller is apt to slip without moving the bed. To
obviate these difficulties, I apply my motive power in such a way that it shall
not be required to carry any weight or downward pressure, but simply to be
used for propelling the bed forward and backward, as required, in working,
introducing rollers and other suitable moving bearings for carrying the weight
and downward pressure of the bed in the process of printing.
And, secondly, my improvement in lithographic printing presses relates to
the manner in which the scraper is fitted and brought down to bear on the
tympan during the process of printing; but as I have amply exhibited mý
improvements in the four Sheets of Drawings hereunto annexed, I will at
once proceed to describe the same.

page_text: should be cast on the bed, as they would materially strengthen it. But
in applying my improvement to presses now in use, it would be necessary
to apply the guides or flanges for carrying the rollers. F is a plank of wood,
that may be varied in thickness as desired, and lying on the bed, just long
enough for the stone to rest on, extending from F to F, as seen in Figure 2,
which also exhibits the lithographic stone G, likewise the tympan frame d, d,
which is hung on an axis or centre at e, and of course is lifted up in order to
lay a sheet of paper on the face of the stone, that the design there drawn may
be imparted to the paper; but to do this, the bed with its attendant parts of
stone and tympan must be passed along under the scraper H, which may
be
adjusted in the following way:-The scraper is made to slide vertically between
guides f,f, cast or otherwise formed or attached to the side frames A, A, and
is united in the centre to the clip g, which is united to the screw bolt h by the
screw i, so that by turning the screw bolt h (which may be readily done by
the finger and thumb applied to the large part j), the scraper may be made to
rise or fall; this is necessary, in order that it may be adjusted to meet the
variation in the thickness of the stones that may be required to be printed
from; but, as with my improvements the scraper requires to be raised and
lowered with each impression printed, it is evident that some quick and
ready mode is required; this, heretofore, has been generally done by a cam
action applied below the bed or axis of the roller on which the bed worked,
thus lifting the bed and stone up to the scraper instead of lowering the scraper
to the stone, which must be the case with my improvements; and this may
be done by a cam action, or by means of a screw, as here exhibited, which
works down through the cross piece C, and united by the pin k to a square
bolt I, which works through the cross piece D. The screw m is fitted at the top
to a large cast-iron circular head or wheel L, provided with a stop n on the
under side of the centre boss, which, when brought in contact with the pro-
jecting stop o on the cross piece C, defines the position for the scraper during
the process of printing, to do which we must return and describe the manner
in which the bed is put into action:-Along through the lengthway centre of
the bed is formed a rack, the same being moulded and cast with the bed; this
rack is best exhibited in the sectional part of Figure 2, at p, p, and we will
now suppose that we are ready for taking an impression; the bed and stone
with its attendant parts is pushed forward in the direction of the arrow by
the hand, until the stone and tympan is fairly under the scraper H, in which
position it will be found that the rack p will be completely in gear with the
toothed wheel g; but before q is put in motion by the handle J, it is necessary
that the scraper should be brought down in thorough and complete contact

page_text: with the tympan and stone, which is done by turning the head wheel L in
the direction of the arrow, until the stops n and o are brought in contact;
in this position the bed and stone is made to pass along under the scraper H
by means of the handle J and wheel q, in connection with the rack p, p,
before described, until as much of the surface of the stone had passed under
the scraper as would be required for transmitting the intended impression
to the paper, when the scraper H may be lifted up by reversing the screw m
by the wheel L, when the stone may be brought back to its present position by
being pushed back by the hand, or, what would be more proper, by turning the
handle J in a reverse direction; the tympan may now be raised, the impression
removed, and another sheet taken for the foregoing operations to be again
repeated.
We will now pass to Sheet Two. Figure 3 represents a side view of a
lithographic press with the front part partly broken off, for the purpose of
shewing the rack by which the bed is impelled forward and backward, as
exhibited on Sheet One; but in this modification of my improvements, instead
of the bed working on rollers fastened to its side, I have introduced the two
double rollers a and b, for taking the weight, as will be best seen at Figure 4,
which is an end view of the last Figure; the rollers a, a, are supported on an
axis running through from c to c; but to prevent any deflection to the axis
when the pressure is on it, I have introduced the centre support and stay A,
which branches off on either side, and is secured to the side frames by the
screws d, d; and the mode of adjusting and working the scraper B is the same
as described in Sheet One, with the exception that the bridge C is made deeper,
so as to serve the place of the middle stay there introduced; and in order that
the bed D may work freely from end to end, I have introduced four small
rollers on each side of the frame marked f, and fully exhibited at Figure 5,
which is a plan of the frame with the bridge C, scraper B, and bed D removed,
as also the lower bearing and connecting stay A; E is the handle by which it
is worked; F, the axis; and G, the cog wheel.
Figure 6 is simply the under side of the bed, supposing it to be made of
wood, shewing the rack h, h, as also exhibiting plates of iron screwed to the
under side of the bed by way of imparting strength, as well as providing a better
surface or bearing for working over the rollers a, a, and b, b. I am not bound
to use the rollers a, a, and b, b, as they may be dispensed with, and additional
rollers inserted in the sides, as exhibited at f,f, Figure 7, which is a plan, like
Figure 5, drawn for the purpose of exhibiting how such cross rollers may be
dispensed with, as also the mode of throwing the cog wheel G in and out of
gear with the rack, which is done by pulling the axis F, F, on which the wheel

page_text: is fixed, either to the right or left, until it is perfectly clear of the teeth of the
rack; this may be serviceable in some instances when it is desirable to remove
the cog wheel from the rack, for the purpose of pushing the bed back without
turning the handle.
And another modification of a lithographic press I have exhibited in an end
view at Figure 8, Sheet Three, with the scraper, bridge, screw, etc., above the
bed removed. A is the bed, resting, by means of the rollers a and a, on the
projections formed on the sides of the press at 6 and 6', and it will be seen
that the bed is cast with lengthway projections on the lower surface, marked
c, c, for the purpose of taking a bearing on two circular supports, marked B, B,
which work on the axis C, which axis works through two centres or bosses
cast on the standards; and I have also further strengthened the bed by the
centre projection, along the middle of which the rack is formed, and on each
side of the cog wheel D projecting flanges are left, in order that the centre part
of the bed, each side of the rack, may work on them, as will be seen by the
contact at d, d; the circular bearings B, B, are as much of a circle (on the
periphery) as will meet the traversing action of the bed, as will be seen in
Figure 9, which is a side view of the last Figure, with the front side or
standards removed or broken off below e, e, shewing an entire side view of the
bed A with a wood plank E resting on the top of it. In this Figure the pro-
jecting bearing for the small wheels to work on at the side of the bed extends
from end to end, marked b and 6', and the true form of the circular bearing B
is here fully exhibited working on the axis C, as also the flange d, d, around the
wheel; and it will be seen that in order that the circular bearing B should
have free room to pass around (as indicated by the dotted lines f, f.) I have
placed the cog wheel forward enough for the periphery of the bearing B to
pass free of the axis G, on which the cog wheel D works, and to meet this
necessity I have been obliged to extend the rack F beyond the bed to such an
extent that it may gear in with the teeth of the cog wheel D so placed.
cog
Figures 10 and 11 represent a side and end view of a press for copper-
plate printing. The pressure of the roller A upon the plate is regulated by
the screws a, a, and for the purpose of strengthening the standards I have
introduced the stay bearing B in a similar way, as represented at Figures 3
and 4, Sheet Two, the bearing clipping the axis C, on which the toothed
wheel D is fixed, on each side of which a flange bearing is formed, as
described at d, d, Figures 8 and 9; the bed F, as in that Figure, working
on the centre bearing d, d; and the flange on which the rollers f, f, work
I have represented as made of angle iron, and secured to the sides or
standards by screws, shewing with what facility a common press may be

page_text: altered or fitted with these improvements. I have likewise exhibited the
cross stays E, E, to prevent any lateral or raking motion.
Passing to Sheet Four: I have exhibited a front and end view of a litho-
graphic press at Figures 12 and 13 very similar to the one represented at
Figures 8 and 9 in the last Sheet, and introduced here principally to shew that
the circular bearing may be used with the motive power placed in the centre;
in that case a circular slot extending from A to B, Figure 13, is formed in the
circular bearing, and in that case I fit on the axis Ca roller, the periphery of
which is the exact size of the width of the slot A, B, so that when the bed
of the press is in motion, and with the pressure on it, the periphery of the
circular bearing will be strengthened in its course by bearing on the roller D,
which again transmits the pressure to the inner or concentric side of the slot
A, B, and from thence to the axis D, on which it works.
Figure 14 represents the under side of the bed, shewing that I propose to
form the metal part of a kind of skeleton casting, to be secured to the bed by
screws, as here represented. And Figures 15, 16, and 17 represent a end,
side, and bottom view of a bed, drawn for the purpose of shewing that grooves
may be formed on each side of the metal part, into which a sufficient number
of rollers may be placed, which rollers I propose to leave in a loose state, and
not to be secured by any positive or fixed axis; a projecting axis may or may
not be formed upon the sides of the rollers, as exhibited in the end view,
Figure 15, but if so introduced, small side grooves (as here exhibited) must
be formed, as at a, a, Figure 15, for such projections to work in, and this
groove and corresponding projection I have shewn at b, b, and c, c, c, Figure 16,
where a part of the outside of the cast-iron bed or frame is removed for the
purpose of clearly exhibiting the side view of the rollers and grooves in which
they work, or this traversing groove may be formed on the sides or cheeks of
the press; as, for instance, a groove may be formed from end to end of the side,
as exhibited by the dotted lines extending from q to q, Figure 7, such groove
being deep enough to regulate the action of the rollers, but not so deep but
that the rollers placed in it would stand above its surface, so that the bed may
work freely on them; the rollers so placed, as at Figure 16, would be simply
dropped into the groove, and not fixed to any positive axis.
In referring to Figure 1, Sheet One, I have represented the scraper as
being raised and lowered with each impression printed, by means of a screw
actuated by the circular head or wheel L. This screw should be somewhat
quick in its action, or be made double-threaded about the pitch, exhibited at
Figure 18, Sheet Four, which may be considered as full size, but broken off
lengthway for the convenience of space, as also the circular head L.

page_text: And before concluding I will further observe that in some instances it may
be preferable to apply handles radiating from the periphery of this circular
head or wheel, which handles I have represented at g, g, g, Figure 9, as they
would afford additional power or means of working the screw.
Having thus particularly described the nature of my Invention, and the
manner in which the same may be carried into effect, I wish it understood
that I do not confine myself to the precise detail, size, or form of the various
parts herein described and exhibited, as they are capable of considerable
modification, and in many instances iron is exhibited where wood may be
beneficially used; but what I do claim as of my Invention is,―
First, the manner in which I apply the motive power for the traversing
action of the beds of copper-plate and lithographic printing presses, as here
exhibited and exhibited.
Secondly, I claim the application, as herein exhibited and described, of fixed
or traversing rollers for sustaining and carrying the beds of lithographic and
copper-plate printing presses, by which their action (when in use) is greatly
facilitated and rendered more uniform.
Lastly, I claim the mode herein described and exhibited of regulating and
applying the pressure of the scraper to lithographic presses.
In witness whereof, I, the said George Frederick Rose, have hereunto 2
set my hand and seal, this Twenty-seventh day of February, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-six.
Witness,
J. S. COCKINGS.
GEORGE FREDERICK ROSE. (L.S.)