An Improvement in Printing Machines.
Year: 1898

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
An Improvement in Printing Machines.
I, OLIVER IMRAY, of Birkbeck Bank Chambers, Southampton Buildings,
Chancery Lane, in the County of London, Chartered Patent Agent, do hereby
declare the nature of this invention (as communicated to me from abroad by
Irving Lee Stone, of Battle Creek, Michigan, United States of America) to be
as follows:-
This invention relates to apparatus for collecting sheets when they are printed
on the one side and suspending them vertically parallel to one another but at some
distance apart, so that the ink becomes set or dried before the sheets are printed
on the other side thus avoiding the risk of smudging.
The collecting apparatus may be applied to single acting presses, in which case
the sheets after the ink is dried can be delivered on to a pile, without requiring
blank sheets to be inserted between them.
But the collecting apparatus is more especially applicable to perfecting presses.
having two forme tables and two impression cylinders as described in a previous
Specification No. 7639 of 1894.
The two cylinders are mounted in the reciprocating frame at sufficient distance
apart to give room for the collecting mechanism between them. This mechanism
consists of two endless chains caused to travel overhead step by step by ratchet
and pawl worked from the gear of the machine. The links of the chains carry
spring grippers which hold the upper edges of the sheets allowing the sheets to
hang vertically at some distance apart. When the first impression cylinder has
printed a sheet on one side, its grippers open and a set of transfer grippers seize
the edge of the sheet and carry it up delivering it to the chain grippers which
moves the sheet one step onwards. A number of sheets are-thus transferred to
and carried along by the chain grippers and the foremost is by another set of
transfer grippers delivered to the grippers of the perfecting cylinder by which
the printing of the other side is effected.
Thus once the row of the chain grippers is full of sheets, the foremost is taken
off at one end to be perfected while a fresh sheet printed on the one side only is
put on at the other, the rate of feed and delivery of the press being the same as
if there were no collecting mechanism, but each sheet having nevertheless time
for the ink of its first impression to dry before it is fed to the second cylinder
in the case of the perfecting press, or to the delivery pile in the case of a
single acting press.
Tuted this 20th don of Now 1000
ABEL & IMRAY,
Agents for the Applicant.

page_text: The shaft 12 is mounted on the main frame between the cylinders 3 and 4
and is driven by bevel gears 14 on the shaft 12; 15 and 16 on the vertical
shaft 20 having bearings at 22 and 23; 17 and 18 on the horizontal shaft 21,
having bearings at 24 and 25; and 19 on the crank shaft 7.
.26 indicates a pair of levers, on opposite sides of the press outside of the
frames 13 and 13, fulcrumed on a stud 27, each lever being caused to move up
and down by the stud 28 and pitman 29 which connects them to pins 30 on
crank discs 31.
The highest position of levers 26 is shewn in Figure 2 by full lines and the
lowest position by dotted lines.
On each side of the press the ends of levers 26 are connected to sliding
blocks 37, by links 35.
As the crank discs 31 revolve the sliding blocks 37 move up and down upon
the vertical guides 55.
The sliding blocks 37 have bosses 38 through which passes the shaft 39, on
one end of which is secured the segment gear 40 having teeth that engage with
teeth on the underside of a swinging rack bar 41, which is pivoted on a stud 42
on the frame 13.
To guide the free end of the rack bar 41 and prevent it from leaving the
segment 40, a swinging bracket 43 is loosely mounted on the shaft 39, and
serves to guide the bar 41.
44 indicates a pair of arms attached to the shaft 39 and carrving grippers 45
adapted to catch the edge of a sheet of paper and transfer it from the first
impression cylinder 3 to one of the holders of the collector.
The grippers 45 are closed by springs, and are provided with trip arms 46
carrying rollers 47.
When the shaft 39 is in its uppermost position the arms 44 are horizontal
as shewn in full lines Figure 2 and when shaft 39 is in its lowest position the
arms 44 are vertical, as shewn by dotted lines in Figure 2. This is caused by
the engagement of the rack bar 41 with the segment 40 the shaft 39 being
nearer the stud 42 when in its highest position than when at its lowest position
so that a partial rotation of the segment and shaft is caused as the shaft is
raised and lowered. When the parts are in the position shewn in dotted lines
Figure 2, the cylinder 3 has just imprinted a sheet on one side and stopped
in position to surrender the sheet to the grippers 45 on the arms 44.
The front edge of the sheet of paper just printed is then taken from the
cylinder 3 by the grippers 45 and carried by the arms 44 forwards and upwards
and is delivered to the sheet collecting mechanism, while the grippers are moving
in nearly a vertical direction.
This sheet collecting device is such that a large number of sheets printed on one
side are collected or assembled and suspended vertically and parallel, and then
moved slowly along toward the second impression cylinder so much more slowly
than the feed to and delivery from the press, that a large number of impressions
are made before any sheet printed on the first cylinder reaches the second
cylinder. The number of sheets thus collected, before the first sheet is perfected,
furnishes a supply of sheets to the second cylinder as fast as required each sheet
being nevertheless suspended long enough to set the ink of the first impression
before it is perfected.
The grippers 45 when about to take a sheet from the cylinder 3 are opened
by means of one of the cams 54 having a race way 53, cam roller 52. lever 51.
shaft 50, and levers 49 respectively provided with shoes 49* on their ends adapted
to engage the rollers 47 and open the grippers 45 when required.
In the opposite ends and upper part of the frames 13 are journalled shafts 56
The shaft 56 also has on
and 82 each carrying a pair of sprocket wheels 67.
it near one end a ratchet wheel 57, and loosely mounted beside the ratchet is a
lever 58 carrying a pawl 59 which engages the ratchet.

page_text: The reel 85 is operated by gears 185 and 184 from a wheel 183 on the shaft 12
and its gripper may be controlled by a lever 121 and cam 122.
The mechanical details of construction may obviously be varied, the essential
novelty of the present invention being the provision of means whereby a large
number of sheets printed on one side may be collected and suspended until the
ink is practically dried, and then successively delivered to be perfected the con-
struction being such that the press is operated continuously, and yet many cycles
of operation take place before any sheet printed on the first side is delivered to
be perfected.
The sheet collecting and holding device may obviously be employed in single
acting presses of various kinds, so that the sheets printed on one side may be
suspended to dry, and are then delivered one by one to any suitable mechanism
for depositing them upon a bank or table.
By this means the liability of the sheets to be "smudged" and the necessity
of inserting blank sheets between them to prevent "offset" would be avoided and
the printer could proceed to perfect the sheets much sooner than when they
are piled together immediately after impression.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I claim
is:-
1. In combination with a printing machine, collecting mechanism arranged
and operating substantially as described with reference to the drawings and for
the purpose set forth.
2. In combination with the pair of revolving and reciprocating cylinders of a
perfecting press, a pair of chains mounted above the press and having spring
grippers moved step by step for each stroke of the cylinders, a set of transfer
grippers arranged to take the edge of each sheet from the first impression cylinder
and deliver it to the chain grippers, and another set of transfer grippers arranged
to take the upper edge of each sheet from the chain grippers and deliver the
lower edge to the grippers of the second impression cylinder, substantially as
described.
3. For transferring the sheets from the first impression cylinder to the chain
grippers the combination of the crank moved levers 26, the sliding blocks 37 the
segment 40, the pivotted rack bars 41, the guide brackets 43 the gripper carrying
arms 44 and the cam moved levers 49, substantially as described.
4. For transfering the sheets from the chain grippers to the perfecting cylinder,
the combination of the cam moved arms 78 having catches 79 and the guide
funnel 82, substantially as described.
5. The modified mechanism for transferring the sheets to the perfecting cylinder,
comprising the gripper reel 85 and gear for working it substantially as described.
Dated this 16th day of February 1899.
ABEL & IMRAY,
Agents for the Applicant.