IMPROVEMENTS IN HAND-STAMPS FOR DATING AND ENDORSING AND OTHER PURPOSES, AND IN THE METHOD AND Minaxxce POD BURA MANIE OTHE ON TYDE WHEELS USED THEREIN "
Year: 1881

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Edwin Miller Richford, of Snow Hill, in the City
of London, for an Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN HAND-STAMPS FOR
DATING AND ENDORSING AND OTHER PURPOSES, AND IN THE METHOD AND
Minaxxce POD BURA MANIE OTHE ON TYDE WHEELS USED THEREIN
"
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Edwin Miller Richford at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 14th December 1881.
" IMPROVE-
EDWIN MILLER RICHFORD, of Snow Hill, in the City of London.
MENTS IN HAND STAMPS FOR DATING AND ENDORSING AND OTHER PURPOSES,
AND IN THE METHOD AND MEANS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF TYPE WHEELS
USED THEREIN.
My Invention relates to improvements in hand stamps for dating or endorsing
purposes and in the method of and apparatus for manufacturing type wheels used
therein for printing variable dates, numbers, words, or devices, together with
impressions of a permanent or unchangeable die.
My improvement in hand stamps consists in the employment in combination
with a slotted guide plate which may also carry a stereotype or permanent die, of
type wheels made of vulcanised indiarubber in the manner hereinafter described, the
said wheels being in the form of circular dises with a number of radial arms or
projections around their periphery, upon the end faces of which the types (which
may be letters, figures, or other devices for printing purposes) are formed. Tho
radial arins form the bodies of the types and one of them of each of the set of
wheels used in a hand stamp passes through and fits in the slot of the guide plate
and yields an impression of the type which it bears together with that of the
stereotype die upon the face of the guide plate in the same way that loose type
and band type are now used. The type wheels have a central hole and a number
of them are placed side by side upon a spindle upon which they may be revolved
independently, the spindle being provided with means of adjustment to regulate
the position of the type wheels according to the height of the stereotype die, the
spindle or the die plate being also made movable the one from the other for the

page_text: purpose of changing the types in the slotted guide. These indiarubber type wheels
are produced at one operation complete with the types formed upon them by
moulding or casting in moulds as next described.
The mould consists of a flat plate of metal having in one face thereof a cavity
corresponding in dimensions and shape to the type wheel to be produced except
that the radial portions of the cavity are of sufficiently greater length than the
arms of the type wheel to receive sunk type or matrices made of type metal or
other metal and having upon their ends counterparts in intaglio of the types to be
produced.
These matrices or counterparts are produced by casting upon ordinary printers'
type in suitable type moulds and they form the ends of the radial grooves or
cavities of the mould, and the whole forms an exact counterpart of the type wheel
to be produced. This mould is completely filled with indiarubber together with
the ingredients necessary for the process of vulcanisation and closed tightly by a
covering plate and subjected to heat for the purpose of vulcanisation in the
ordinary way. The expansion of the indiarubber during this process causes it to
penetrate all the cavities of the matrixes and ensures the perfect formation of the
type.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said Edwin Miller Richford in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
9th June 1882.
EDWIN MILLER RICHFORD, of Snow Hill, in the City of London. " IMPROVE-
MENTS IN HAND STAMPS FOR DATING AND ENDORSING AND OTHER PURPOSES
AND IN THE METHOD AND MEANS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF TYPE WHEELS
USED THEREIN."
My Invention relates to improvements in hand stamps for dating or endorsing
purposes, and in the method of and apparatus for manufacturing type wheels used
therein for printing variable dates, numbers, words, or devices together with
impressions of a permanent or unchangeable die.
In order that the Invention may be more readily understood, I will proceed to
describe it with reference to the accompanying Drawings, in which Figure 1 is an
end view, Figure 2 a side view, and Figure 3 a cross section of my improved
dating or numbering and endorsing stamp. Figure 4 is a side view of the same
with the guide plate thrown back for adjusting the type wheels. Figure 5 is a face
and edge view of one of the type wheels, and Figure 6 is a face view and cross
section of the mould in which said wheel is made, and Figure 7 represents one of
the sunk type or matrices used in and forming part of the said mould.
My improvement in hand stamps consists in the employment in combination
with a slotted guide plate A (which carries an indiarubber stereotype or permanent
die B) of type wheels made of vulcanised indiarubber in the manner hereinafter
described, the said wheels being in the form shown in Figure 5 and consisting of
circular discs with a number of radial arms or projections c around their periphery,
upon the end faces of which arms the types (which may be letters, figures, words,
or other devices for printing purposes) are formed. The radial arms c form the
bodies of the types and one arm c of each of the set of wheels used in a hand stamp,
passes through and fits in the slot a of the guide plate A, and yields an impression
of the type which it bears, together with the impression of the indiarubber stereo-
type die B carried upon the face of the guide plate A, in the same way that looso
type and band type are now used in conjunction with a similar stereotype. The
type wheels A have a central hole and a number of the wheels are placed side by
side upon a spindle D, upon which they may be revolved independently. The
spindle is passed through slots or holes in the ends of a cylindrical metal casing E,
adapted to enclose the set of type wheels, and forming the frame of the land
stamp, and which is provided with a handle F. This casing has an opening at the
underside, partly or wholly covered by the guide plate A which is hinged to the
casing at one side as at a' and provided with a renovable bolt or pin as at a² (or
it may be a spring catch) to enable the said plate to be thrown back as shown in
Figure 4, for the purpose of adjusting the type wheels. The spindle D is secured
in pluce by means of binding nuts d on its ends so that it may be accurately
adjusted in the casing E in order to make the printing face of the type wheels
passing through the slot a flush with that of the indiarubber stereotype B and
yield a joint impression therewith. The wheels C, of which there may be any
number on the spindle, are quite independent of one another.
G is a gauge
consisting of a bar pivoted on the same hinge with the plate A, and thrown back
therewith to permit of rotating the type wheels, but returned to position before
the plate A, to assist in bringing the types upon the different wheels truly into
line to ensure their entering the slot a when the plate A is returned to position.
These india rubber type wheels are produced at one operation complete with the
types formed upon them, by moulding or casting in moulds, as next described.
The mould is represented in Figures 6 and 7 and consists of a flat plate H of
metal having in one face thereof a cavity I corresponding in dimensions and shape
to the type wheel (Figure 5) to be produced, except that the radial portions i of
the cavity are of sufficiently greater length than the arms of the type wheel, to
receive sunk type or matrices K (shown separately in Figure 7) made of typo

page_text: metal or other metal and having upon their ends counterparts in intaglio of the
types to be, produced. These matrices or counterparts are produced by casting
type metal upon ordinary printers' type in suitable type moulds, and they form the
ends of the radial grooves or cavities i of the mould as shown, and the whole that
is to say, the plate H, with its cavity I and the sunk type or inatrices K fixed
in the radial parts of such cavity constitutes an exact counterpart of the type
wheel to be produced. x is a central pin fixed in the mould to form the hole in
the wheel. This mould is completely filled with indiarubber, together with the
ingredients necessary for the process of vulcanization, and closed tightly by a
covering plate, (not shown on the Drawings) and subjected to heat for the purpose
of vulcanization in the ordinary way. The expansion of the indiarubber during
this process causes it to penetrate all the cavities of the matrices and ensures the
perfect formation of the type faces.
When the vulcanizing operation is complete the type wheel may be easily
removed from the mould and it is then ready, without further treatment, to be
inserted in its place in the hand stamp hereinbefore described.
I would observe that I do not clain the use of type wheels generally in hand
stamps as similar wheels of metal have been heretofore commonly used in such
stamps, but one advantage of indiarubber wheels over metal or other rigid material
is that the radial-type-bodies c which are adjacent to, but do not pass through the
guide slot a, being flexible, can be bent back as shown in Figure 3, and conse-
quently the slot a need be no wider than the type, and the permanent stereotype B
upon plate A can approach close to the line of adjustable type formed by the type
wheels, which was not possible when metal or other rigid type wheels were used.
This advantage is possessed by indiarubber type wheels in common with loose
indiarubber type, and what is known as band type, (being indiarubber type fixed
on endless bands) but the advantage of wheels over loose type is obvious, whilst
over band type they have the advantage of greater strength and durability
the bands of band type being peculiarly liable to break in adjusting them in
position.
Having described the nature of the said Invention and the manner of performing
the same I declare that what I claim as my Invention to be protected by the
hereinbefore in part recited Letters Patent is,―
1st. In a hand stamp for dating, endorsing, and the like, the employment in
combination with a slotted guide or die plate, of type wheels made of indiarubber,
as herein shown and described.
2nd. The method of making indiarubber type wheels of the form herein described,
such method consisting in moulding or casting and vulcanizing in tightly closed
moulds which are exact counterparts of the wheels to be produced, substantially
as herein described.
3rd. The construction and employment of moulds for making india rubber type
wheels of the form herein described, such moulds consisting of a radially chambered,
or sunk plate, in combination with sunk type or matrices fixed therein and a
suitable covering plate, substantially as herein shown and described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Edwin Miller Richford, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Eighth day of June, A.D. 1882.
Witness,
T. W. KENNARD,
Clerk to A. M. & W. Clark,
Patent Agents,
53, Chancery Lane.
E. M. RICHFORD. (L.S.)