CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN PRINTING AND IN PRESSING MACHINERY, WITH A METHOD OF ECONOMISING THE POWER APPLIED TO THE SAME WHICH METHOD OP ECONOMISING POWER IS APPLICABLE TO OTHER PURPOSES
Year: 1830

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, DAVID
NAPIER, of Warren Street, Fitzroy Square, in the County of Middlesex,
Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS His present most Excellent Majesty King William the Fourth,
by His Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date
at Westminster, the Thirteenth day of October, in the first year of His reign,
did, for Himself, His heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
David Napier, His especial licence, sole privilege, and authority, that I, the
said David Napier, my exors, adiňors, and assigns, or such others as I,
the said David Napier, my exors, admors, or assigns, should at any time
agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times during the term
of years therein mentioned, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and
vend, within England, Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my In-
vention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN PRINTING AND IN PRESSING MACHINERY,
WITH A METHOD OF ECONOMISING THE POWER APPLIED TO THE SAME WHICH METHOD
OP ECONOMISING POWER IS APPLICABLE TO OTHER PURPOSES;" in which said Letters
Patent is contained a proviso that the said David Napier shall cause a
particular description of the nature of my said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, to be inrolled in His said Majesty's

page_text: High Court of Chancery within six calendar months next and immediately
after the date of the said in part recited Letters Patent, as in and by the
same, reference being thereunto bad, will more fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the s
David Napier, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention, and in
what manner the same is to be performed, are particularly described and
ascertained by the following description thereof, reference being had to the
Drawing hereunto annexed, and to the figures and letters marked thereon
(that is to say):-
My improvements in printing machinery consists, first, in keeping two
printing cylinders revolving in one direction by their being acted upon by
reciprocating racks and by each other alternately. This will be better under-
stood by referring to Figure 1, which represents a perfecting machine (that is,
to print on both sides), in which there are many things shewn which are not
new. I shall thereforo first describe the above movement, to which I lay claim,
and then point out its connection with the other parts of the machine.
A, A, are two cog wheels, which it is only necessary should be toothed half
their circumference, the pitch line of which wheels correspond with the peri-
phery or diameter of the printing cylinders. These wheels turn loose upon the
cylinder spindles, and are situate inside of the frame and close to the end of
the cylinders, with their toothed segments in gear with the racks B, B; which
racks are attached to the printing surfaces C, C, on which the forms of tipe are
laid, and which surfaces are also connected together by the bars D; E, E, are
two riggers of equal diameter fixed to the ends of the cylinder spindles, with a
strong gut band passing twice round each, and crossing, thay they may turn
in contrary directions, so that one cylinder cannot move without the other,
and supposing (as is intended) that the printing surfaces C, C, which traverse
upon the friction rollers F, F, are moved to and fro by means of a fly wheel
and crank, the throw of which crank exactly corresponds with or is equal to one
half of the circumference of the printing cylinders; it is obvious that the wheels
A, A, will perform half revolutions to and fro, but the wheels A, A, arò cacli
provided with a spring catch, and the ends of the cylinders with a stop, so that
the wheels turn free in one direction, but in the other they bring the cylinders
along with them in the direction of the red arrows, and that alternately, one
when the surfaces are going, and the other when they are returning, and whilst
the one cylinder is acted upon by its wheel, and by it brought round one half
revolution, then it is that that cylinder performs its operation of printing, whilst
at the same time it acts as a moving power to the opposite cylinder by means

page_text: of tho riggers E, E, and gut band, whilst its wheel is turning in the opposite
direction, and vice versa; and the wheels, racks, and riggers, &c. thus repre-
sented as on one side of the machine, I would, by way of security, have upon
both sides. According to Figure 1 the cylinder on the left has just been brought
round and given its impression, and that on the right is in its turn about to
perform the same operation; G, G, are two feeding boards, which supply paper
in the usual way, and as a sheet is taken from each at the same instant, and
that at every second or alternate revolutions of the printing cylinders, the
distance of the one board from the other is exactly equal to one revolution, so
that the cylinders have a sheet at every revolution. The paper is conveyed
along between tapes in the common way, and receives its first impression by
the cylinder on the left, and the second by that on the right, and is finally dis-
charged on a board under the centre of the machine at H; the blue arrows
point out its course; I, I, are the two inking ducts or troughs.
My next improvement in printing is the application of what is well known
by the name of Bolton and Watt's parallel motion to printing machines or
presses for the purpose of passing the inking rollers over the form. It is
represented at Figure 2 in a way suited to the common press, on reference to
which Figure it will be observed that the parallel motion is doubled; the
reason of which is, that by so doing I have two stretchers, which unite the
front links A, A, with the parallel rods B, B, upon which rests my roller
frame C, and as these joints or stretchers traverse in an horizontal direction
parallel with the plane below, so must also the frame C, and consquently the
rollers D, D, as represented by the faint lines; it may be moved over the form
by hand or in any of the common methods, as represented at Fig. 2; E is au
eccentric, which acts upon a lever connected with the back link F; the
eccentric and the wheel G are upon the same spindle; the pinion H, there-
fore, which is upon the spindle of the fly wheel, gives motion to the eccentric.
On the same fly-wheel spindle is a small rigger, which is connected by a gut
band with the rigger I of the ink duct, to which it gives motion.
My improvements in pressing machinery, which are claimed for the use of
printers alone, consist in passing the printed paper, (when dried, in a similar
manner to that of printing it between two pressing cylinders coated either with
glazed board or with any other suitable medium, in place of the present
tedious methods of either of screw or hydraulic pressure.
Fig. 3 is a representation of this machine, and requires no further ex-
planation than to say that the paper is received by it and discharged from it
exactly in the same manner as a printing machine. A is the supply board;

page_text: B, B, the pressing cylinders, with wheels on the opposite ends; C, a pinion on
the spindle of the fly, wheel by which they are turned.
As regards my method of economising the power applied to my machines,
and which is also applicable to other purposes, it is well known that in turn-
ing a fly wheel the nian expends much power on points of the action where
ho can obtain little or no mechanical advantage. My improvement is that of
applying one or more springs, siinilar to that of a clock, (but in proportion to
the work) between the mover and the moved, or between the man and the
fly wheel, which spring or springs the man is constantly winding up by means
of a lever, somewhat similar to the action of a pump, so that no power may be
expended in vain, which winding up would not be as in the clock by turning
round the centre spindle on which the spring is wound, but rather by
turning round the outer case in which the spring is contained, which may be
understood by referring to the Diagram, Fig. 4, which represents a fly wheel
with a toothed wheel and pinion without framing; on the spindle of the cog
wheel A is the spring box with its ratchet B, the spring being connected to
the spindle and box in the usual way. The lever C is provided with a catch D,
which taking into the ratchet on the spring box enables it to be pulled round,
whilst the catch E, one end of which would be connected with the frame, would
prevent its return; and seeing that it matters not with what velocity that
lever is acted upon, it having no instantaneous effect upon the fly wheel, it is
obvious that it might be applied either to explosive or steam engines, and
especially where it would be an object to dispense with the crank, as in loco-
motives. In such cases one or more lovers of this kind being connected with
the piston rod would keep winding up their springs, and consequently produce
the rotative motion required without the aid of the crank and without the
concussions of the engine being felt, and would at the same time dispense with
the necessity of more than one engine, which is found necessary when there is
no fly wheel for overcoming the dead points in the action of the crank. I
therefore limit my claim as regards this point to printing machines, steam and
explosive engines.
The above improvements are claimed without any respect to the particular
combination or arrangement of their parts.
In witness whereof, I, the said David Napier, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Thirteenth day of April, One thousand eight
hundred and thirty-one.
DAVID (L.8.) NAPIER.

page_text: AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Thirteenth day of April,
in the year of our Lord 1881, the aforesaid David Napier came before our
said Lord the King in His Chancery, and acknowledged the Specification
aforesaid, and all and every thing therein contained and specified, in form
above written. And also the Specification aforesaid was stamped according
to the tenor of the Statute made for that purpose.
AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Thirteenth day of April,
in the year of our Lord 1881, the aforesaid David Napier came before our
said Lord the King in His Chancery, and acknowledged the Specification
aforesaid, and all and every thing therein contained and specified, in form
above written. And also the Specification aforesaid was stamped according
to the tenor of the Statute made for that purpose.
Inrolled the Thirteenth day of April, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and thirty-one.