Improvements in Machinery for Printing Designs upon Paper or other Material, especially applicable to the Decoration of Ceramics, Glass, and other substances.
Year: 1891

page_text: Date of Application, 17th Jan., 1891
Complete Specification Left, 14th Nov., 1891-Accepted, 19th Dec., 1891
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Machinery for Printing Designs upon Paper or
other Material, especially applicable to the Decoration of
Ceramics, Glass, and other substances.
We, HENRY HEATH of Sneyd Green, in the County of Stafford, Potter, and
THOMAS PHOENIX of 21 Liverpool Road, Newcastle-under-Lyme, in the County
of Stafford, Paper Maker, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
Machines at present used for printing designs on paper or other material
intended for the decoration of ceramics, glass and other substances are not
provided with adequate appliances for sizing or preparing the paper for receiving
perfect impressions from the engraved cylinder, nor are they provided with
adequate appliances for containing the colour to be applied to the engraved
cylinder, such appliance generally consisting simply of a flat plate placed over the
engraved cylinder, and owing to the position of such plate, much of the super-
fluous colour that is scraped off the engraved cylinder by the doctor or scraper
wasted, and also sometimes destroys the impressions by dropping upon them from
off the ends of the flat plate.
is
Our invention relates to an improved construction of such printing machines
whereby the above named defects are obviated, and a great saving is effected both
in the cost of working and in the expenditure of colour.
We construct such machine as follows. On the upper part of a suitable framing
is mounted a cylinder or roll of brass or other suitable metal, which dips at bottom
into a trough containing size, and parallel to this cylinder is a second cylinder or
roller, which is covered with felt or other similar material, the first cylinder being
kept in contact with the second one with adjustable pressure by mounting its
trunnions in sliding bearing blocks, that can be moved to or from the second
cylinder by a suitable screw adjustment. Resting upon the top of the first
cylinder is a roll upon which is wound the continuous length of paper to be
printed upon, the trunnions of the roll being guided in the vertical slots of
standards mounted upon the framing.
The end of the paper sheet having been passed between the two cylinders where
they are in contact, and rotary motion having been imparted to the second cylinder,
either by hand or by any suitable power, it will effect the rotation of the first
cylinder by their frictional contact and will at the same time cause the paper sheet
to be drawn forward between them.
By the rotation of the first cylinder, this will carry up size from the trough
and will apply it to the side of the paper sheet which is presented to it, such
application of the size being effected in a very perfect manner as the paper remains
in contact with the cylinder over a quarter of its circumference, and is then
subjected to pressure thereby as it passes between the line of contact of the two
cylinders.
Below the second cylinder is situated the engraved copper cylinder or roll by
means of which the impression of the paper is to be effected.
This cylinder, which may be hollow and heated internally, has its trunnions
mounted in bearings on the forked end of a double ended lever carried by the
framing and having its other end pivotted to a screw spindle, which passes down
through a hole in a bracket, below which it carries a wheel-nut and a spring
interposed between the nut and the bracket, so that by screwing up the nut more
or less the engraved cylinder can be pressed with greater or less elastic force
against the surface of the second cylinder.

page_text: Below the engraved cylinder is a hollow trough heated internally by water,
steam, or hot air, and which contains the colour to be applied to the engraved
cylinder. Into this trough dips a roller which is pressed against the underside of
the cylinder by means of springs with or without screw adjustment. Thus the
rotation of the second above described cylinder will impart a corresponding
rotation to the engraved cylinder by its frictional contact, and the engraved
cylinder will impart rotation to the inking roller which will consequently take up
colour from the trough and apply it to the engraved cylinder, and the latter will
then carry up and apply the color to the sized surface of the paper which passes
between it and the second cylinder after passing from between the second cylinder
and the first cylinder. On that side of the engraved cylinder towards which it
travels from the inking roller, is a doctor or scraper which is kept pressed against
the engraved cylinder in such a position as to scrape off the whole of the color on
the surface of the engraved cylinder and only leave that which is contained in the
sunk design, the superfluous colour scraped off the cylinder being caused to fall
down into the colour trough again, and thus prevent all waste.
The doctor is by preference fixed to a spindle, to which a slight longitudinal to
and fro motion is imparted by an eccentric, cam, or other suitable means, the
spindle being also acted upon by a spring or weight tending to turn it so as to
maintain the doctor pressed with suitable force against the engraved cylinder.
By the above described reciprocating motion of the doctor the grooving of the
engraved cylinder thereby, which might otherwise occur, is prevented. By
mounting the engraved cylinder on a lever as described, it can readily be removed
and replaced by another. The application of the engraved cylinder against the
paper may also be effected by weighting the tail of the lever, instead of by means
of a spring and screw as described.
It will be evident that the above described relative positions of the paper roll,
sizing cylinder, felt cylinder and engraved cylinder may be varied.
Dated this 17th day of January 1891.
ABEL & IMRAY,
Agents for the Applicants.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Machinery for Printing Designs upon Paper or
other Material, especially applicable to the Decoration of
Ceramics, Glass, and other substances.
We, HENRY HEATH, of Sneyd Green, in the County of Stafford, Potter's
Merchant, and THOMAS PHOENIX, of No. 21 Liverpool Road, Newcastle-under-
Lyme, in the County of Stafford, Paper Maker, do hereby declare the nature of
this invention and in what manner the same is to be performed to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
Machines at present used for printing designs on paper or other material
intended for the decoration of ceramics, glass and other substances are not
provided with adequate appliances for sizing or preparing the paper for receiving
perfect impressions from the engraved cylinder, nor are they provided with
adequate appliances either for containing the colour nor for applying it to the
engraved cylinder, such appliance generally consisting simply of a flat plate placed
over the engraved cylinder, and owing to the position of such plate, much of the
superfluous colour that is scraped off the engraved cylinder by the doctor or
scraper is wasted and also sometimes destroys the impressions by dropping upon
them from off the ends of the flat plate.
Our invention relates to an improved construction of such printing machines
whereby the above named defects are obviated, and a great saving is effected both
in the cost of working and in the expenditure of colour.

page_text: We will proceed to describe the construction of our said improved printing
machine with reference to the accompanying drawings in which Fig. 1 shews a
side elevation while Figs. 2 and 3 shew respectively a part elevation and part
plan to an enlarged scale.
On the upper part of a suitable framing is mounted a cylinder or roll B of brass
or other suitable metal, which dips at bottom into a trough C containing size,
and parallel to this cylinder is a second cylinder or roller D, which is covered with
felt or other similar material, and which may be hollow and heated internally by
steam or otherwise, the cylinder B being kept in contact with the second one with
adjustable pressure by mounting its trunnions B' in sliding bearing blocks b, that
can be moved to or from the second cylinder D by a suitable screw adjustment b¹.
Resting upon the top of the cylinder B is a roll A upon which is wound the
continuous length of paper to be printed upon, the trunnions A' of the roll being
guided in the vertical slots of standards a mounted upon the framing.
The end of the paper sheet having been passed from roll A. over roll B to the
point where it is in contact with D, and then between B and D and round the
underside of the latter and rotary motion having been imparted to D either by
hand or by any suitable power, it will effect the rotation of the cylinder B by
their frictional contact and will at the same time cause the paper sheet to be
drawn forward between them from the roll A.
By the rotation of the cylinder B this will carry up size from the trough C
and will apply it to the side of the paper sheet which is presented to it, such
application of the size being effected in a very perfect manner as the paper
remains in contact with the cylinder over a quarter of its circumference, and is
then subjected to pressure thereby as it passes between the line of contact of the
two cylinders B and D.
Below the second cylinder is situated the engraved heated cylinder or roll E
which may be of one or more metals as may be desired and by means of which
the impression on the paper is to be effected.
The relative positions of the roll of paper A and the cylinders B D. and E
may be modified or altered to any extent that may be desired relatively with the
cylinder D.
This engraved cylinder, which may be of copper or other suitable material, and
may be hollow and heated internally by steam or otherwise, rests with its trunnions
in brackets carried by a slide e capable of being moved vertically on the framing
by a screw spindle J, the lower end of which can be rotated by a hand wheel
through suitable gearing, as shewn, while its upper end works through an internally
threaded eye e¹ on the slide. By this means the engraved cylinder can be made
to bear with any desired pressure upon the sized surface of the paper as it passes
round the underside of the cylinder D in order to produce a perfect impression
thereon. Below the engraved cylinder E is a composition inking roller F which
dips at bottom into a colour trough G which has a cavity heated by steam or
otherwise so as to keep the colour always ready for use. The trunnions of the
roller are carried by brackets on a slide f, which slides or guides on the slide e
and which can be adjusted vertically so as to bring the roller F in more or less
close contact with the engraved roller E, by means of two screw spindles I,
screwing through bosses of worm wheels L carried in slotted brackets e³ on the
slide e and rotated by a worm and hand wheel as indicated for raising or lowering
the screw spindles for removing and replacing the engraved cylinder with the
greatest facility.
The hollow heated colour trough G rests upon sockets which can slide upon
the screw spindles I, and which are supported thereon by nuts g³, screwed on the
spindles, so that by turning such nuts in one direction or the other the height of
the trough, and consequently the degree of immersion of the roller F can be
accurately adjusted.
Rotation is imparted to the roller F from the cylinder D through an inter-
mediate shaft with pullies K, one of which is driven by a belt from a pulley on

page_text: the shaft of D, while the other drives a pulley on the shaft of F by a second
belt, as indicated; by this means the inking roller F may be made to travel with
any desired surface speed quicker or slower than that of the engraved roller E,
which revolves at the same speed as the cylinder D it being carried round by
frictional contact with the latter. By means of such differential surface speeds
of E and F the latter conveys the colour with a rubbing action to the engraved
surface of E, so that the engraved lines of the latter become effectually filled with
colour, thus ensuring a perfect printing of the design on the paper. As the
underside of the cylinder E travels round to the right hand after receiving the
colour from F, it comes in contact with the edge of a doctor or scraper H, which
scrapes off all the superfluous colour from the surface of the cylinder. This doctor
is rendered capable of very accurate adjustment relatively to the cylinder and also
receives a longitudinal to and fro motion upon the same being for this purpose
arranged as will be more readily understood on reference to Figs. 2 and 3. The
doctor blade P is fixed to a spindle P¹, the ends of which are carried in
bearings that can be adjusted up or down by screw spindles M³ screwing
through eyes on the bearings, and held in inclined loops M¹ formed on each end
of a slide M, which can slide to and fro horizontally between guides on the
framing.
This slide has a slotted boss T at one end, in the slot of which works a crank
pin S projecting from the lower end of a vertical spindle S₁ carried by the
framing and receiving a slow rotary motion from the shaft B₁ of the cylinder B,
by means of a worm Q on the shaft B₁ gearing with a worm wheel R on the
spindle S¹, so that by the rotation of the crank pin S a slow to and fro motion is
imparted to the slide M M and consequently to the doctor P, while this is kept
pressed against the surface of the cylinder E by means of a weight V attached to
an arm U fixed to the spindle P¹ of the doctor.
By means of the said to and fro motion of the doctor upon the cylinder E as
also by the accurate adjustment thereof by means of the screws M all grooving
and unequal wear of the engraved cylinder E by the doctor is avoided, and the
colour on the surface of the cylinder is effectually scraped off and falls back into
the trough G.
By the above described improved construction of printing machine not only is
the effectual sizing of the paper insured while all excessive strain on the paper is
avoided but also a perfect impression of the design thereon is insured and all waste
of color and deterioration of the printed designs is prevented.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that
what we claim is :-
1. In printing machinery of the kind herein referred to, the combination of the
roll A carrying the paper or other material, the sizing cylinder B with sizing
trough C, and the impression cylinder D all arranged and operating substantially
as herein described.
2. In printing machinery of the kind herein referred to the combination with the
impression cylinder D of the engraved printing roller or cylinder E supplied with
colour by the composition roller F dipping into the heated colour trough G which
roller is pressed against the engraved cylinder E such pressure as also the position
of the colour trough G relatively to the inking roller F being regulated by screw
or other action substantially as described.
3. In printing machinery of the kind herein referred to the combination with
the engraved roller E, inking roller F and color trough G, of a travelling doctor
or scraper H made to bear against the engraved roller so as to scrape off all
superfluous colour which falling back into the colour trough G is ready for
working again while at the same time the doctor receives a longitudinal to and
fro motion upon the cylinder E so as to prevent grooving and unequal wear,
substantially as described.

page_text: 4. The construction of printing machinery for printing designs upon paper or
other material for transfer on to ceramics, and other articles, combined and operating
as herein described.
T
.EAT
11001
ABEL & IMRAY,
Agents for Applicants.