IMPROVEMENTS IN BLOCK PRINTING MACHINERY
Year: 1853

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Alfred Vincent Newton, of the Office for
Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex,
Mechanical Draughtsman, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Alfred Vincent
Newton at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with
his Petition, on the 1st February 1853.
I, ALFRED VINCENT NEWTON, do hereby declare the nature of the
said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN BLOCK PRINTING MACHINERY" to
be as follows:-
In the machines heretofore made use of for printing in colors,
the block is brought down upon the paper by a crank, which re-
volves uninterruptedly, and which, while it affords all the pressure
required, fails to keep the block sufficiently long in contact with the
paper to sink the coloring matter into it, and the consequence is
an imperfect impression. The same defect. has also been found to
exist in the cylinder printing machines. Now the object of this
Invention is to avoid this difficulty, and otherwise to make a truly

page_text: efficient machine for printing patterns. For this purpose the
platen which carries the blocks or pattern to be printed, is mounted
intermediate between two arrangements of apparatus for distributing
color, and when the platen is in a raised position, the transmitting
rollers (which are alternately brought into contact with the endless
sieves of their respective color boxes) are caused to traverse over
the blocks or pattern surface and impart color thereto. The platen
is carried by guide rods, which slide up and down in fixed guides,
by reason of a pair of rotating cams, upon which pins projecting
from the guide rods rest. The pressure of the block upon the
material under operation is also effected by the rotating cams.
The material to be printed is fed on to the table of the machine by
rollers, and clips or holders are employed for holding down the
material to prevent its being carried up by the ascending platen.
An intermittent motion is given to the feed rollers by means of a
click and ratchet wlieel (which receive their motion from a segment
rack) for the purpose of ensuring a perfect register of the pattern.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters
Patent, filed by the said Alfred Vincent Newton in the Great
Seal Patent Office on the 1st August 1853...
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I,
ALFRED VINCENT NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery
Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Mechanical Draughtsman, send
greeting:
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the First day of February, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-three, in the
sixteenth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and suc-
.cessors, give and grant unto me, the said Alfred Vincent Newton,
Her special license that I, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said

page_text: Alfred Vincent Newton, my executors, administrators, and 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 "IMPROVEMENTS IN BLOCK PRINTING"
(being a communication from a foreigner residing abroad), upon i
the
condition (amongst others) that I, the said Alfred Vincent Newton,'
by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, should par-
ticularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and
in what manner the same was to be performed, 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 Alfred Vincent Newton, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described
and ascertained in and by the following statement, reference being
had to the Drawings hereunto annexed, and to the letters and
figures marked thereon (that is to say):
In the manufacture of paper hangings by hand as heretofore
practised, the block after receiving the color is pressed upon the
paper by the workman, who employs a lever of the second kind to
encrease the power of his arm, and holds the block thus pressed
upon the
paper a sufficient length of time to obtain a full and per-
fect impression.
In the machines heretofore made use of for the same purpose,
the block is brought down upon the paper by a crank, which
revolves uninterruptedly, and which, while it affords all the pressure
required, fails to keep the block sufficiently long in contact with
the paper to sink the coloring matter into it, and the result is an
imperfect impression. The same defect has also been found to
exist in the cylinder printing machines. Now the Invention which
has been communicated to me by my foreign correspondent is
designed to obviate this defect, by leaving the blocks some time in

page_text: contact with the paper, while the other parts of the machine con-
tinue in motion, and also relates to certain improvements in the
method of applying the color to the blocks, and in the method of
communicating an intermittent motion to the carriage upon which
the color rollers are traversed.
..
In order that others skilled in the art may understand and make
use of this Invention, I will proceed to describe its nature and
operation.
In the accompanying Drawing, Fig. 1, is a plan of the machine;
Fig. 2, is a side elevation; Fig. 3, is a plan of the lower part of the
machine, the upper timbers of the frame being removed; Figs. 4,
5, 6, 7, and 8, are details which will be referred to hereafter.
The movements of this machine, which is entirely automatic, may
be divided into three classes. First, those which relate to the
motion of the blocks to and from the paper. Second, those which
govern the distribution of the color upon the blocks. Third, those
which give motion to the paper across the table, and hold it
stationary while the color is being impressed.
A, is the main frame of the machine; a, is the driving shaft from
which, through the cog gearing b, c, motion is communicated to
the cam shaft d, which drives through the various cams and arms
all the moving parts of the machine; B, is the platen to which the
printing blocks are secured. The platen is made fast to the under
side of a horizontal bar D, which is attached at its ends to two
vertical rods C, upon which it is adjusted vertically by means of
the nuts e, and e¹, and screw f. These rods C, work in guides g, g;
projecting from the main frame. At both extremities of the shaft
d, outside the frame work of the machine are cams E (shewn
detached and in side view at Fig. 6, and in section at Fig. 7).
The object of these cams is to give motion to the vertical rods C,
the platen, and printing blocks, which is effected in the following
manner: h, h, are pins projecting inwards from the vertical
standards C, and resting upon the periphery of the cam E, the form
of which thus governs the up and down motion of the platen and
blocks. This cam E, for about a quadrant, is an arc of a circle i

page_text: to ¹, and as it revolves, the pin resting upon this periphery in this
arc remains stationary. From i to 22, the pin, and with it the
standards and platen, descend. 2 to 3 is a segment of a circle for
another quadrant, or thereabouts. During the time that the pin is
passing through this arc the platen B is in its lowest position, and
the block rests upon the printing table. k, is an enlargement upon
the cam, which bears upon the upper surface of the pins h, and
presses the block firmly upon the paper, in a manner similar to that
described above, as practised in the hand method. Thus while the
shaft d, is revolving through the quadrant i to i¹, the platen and
block are in their highest position, and the latter receives its color.
As the shaft d revolves another quadrant, and while the pin h is
passing from 1 to 22, the block descends to its lowest position.
During the next quadrant of the revolution of the shaft d, the pin
passes through the groove 1, in the face of the cam, and thus the
block receives its pressure as before described. During the next
quadrant of revolution the pin passes from 3 to i, and the
standards, platen, and block, are raised to their highest position, as
shewn at Fig. 2.
I will now describe the motions which govern the distribution of
the color upon the block. m, m³, are standards rising from the
frame of the machine, and supporting the coloring tubs or troughs
n, n¹. Near the bottom of these tubs revolve the lower sieve
rollers o, o. Upon the top of the standards m, in', revolve the
upper sieve rollers p, p¹. q, q', are endless sieves (shewn by dotted
lines in Fig. 2), kept constantly in motion by the revolution of the
upper sieve rollers p, p', which are revolved by bands from some
moving part of the machinery, or in any other appropriate manner.
F, is a carriage which is made to traverse longitudinally upon the
upper timbers of the framework, in the manner hereafter to be
described, and is held in position by the dogs r, beneath the hooked
heads of which it slides. H, are standards rising from the carriage.
F, near one extremity, and carrying the color rollers I, I'. When
the carriage is in the position shewn in Figs. 1 and 2, the roller I'
is in contact with the endless sieve q'; and when it is traversed to:

page_text: the opposite side of the machine, the roller I is in contact with the
sieve g. The gearing which actuates the carriage is so arranged
that the color rollers pass from one sieve to the other, once for
each entire revolution of the cam E. Thus while the pin his
resting upon the concentric portion i, to ¹, of the cam, and con-
sequently the block remains stationary in its highest position, the
carriage with its color rollers I, I', traverses beneath the block,
which receives its color from the rollers as they pass; the latter
being made to revolve while in contact with the block, by means
of a rack bar s, which is attached to the horizontal bar D, and
engages with the cog wheels t, t', upon the axles of the color rollers.
The machinery which communicates to the carriage its traverse
motion may be described as follows: G, is a rock shaft
carried by bracket bearings », bolted to the main frame. Keyed
to this shaft near its centre is a segment rack L. M, is a shaft
boxed in the main frame, and carrying at its centre the cog
wheel N which engages with the rack L. At its extremities
this shaft M carries the cog wheels P, which engage with the
racks Q, upon the under side of the longitudinal bars of the
carriage F. Thus it will be perceived that if the cogged seg-
ment L be vibrated at stated intervals, an intermittent travers-
ing motion will be communicated to the carriage F, and color
rollers. Attached to the shaft G is an arm R, which carries at its
extremity a wrist pin a', and upon this pin works the hooked rod
T, which is permitted to rise and fall between the guides w. The
inner extremity of this rod carries a hook a, and also a horizontally
projecting pin y. z, is another rod, also moving freely upon the pin
a¹, and carrying at its other extremity the vertical pin 6¹, the lower
end of which lies in a switch or trough c¹, which has two spring
gates, Fig. 8, for the purpose of guiding the pin b₁ through the
straight or curved trough of the switch, as will be hercafter ex-
plained.
Upon the shaft d, is screwed the double arm h¹, carrying upon
on side of the shaft d, the adjustable pin ", and upon the opposite
side of the shaft a similar adjustable pin m". The pins, and m¹,

page_text: project from opposite sides of the arm k¹; and as the shaft d re-
volves, the pin upon the arm k engages with the hook * of the
rod T, by which means through the connection of the latter with
the arm R, the segment rack L, is caused to rock and drive the
wheel N, and shaft M, and consequently the wheels P, which
engaging with the rack Q, as before described, traverse the carriage
F, from its position near the sieve q¹ (as shewn at Figures 1; and 2),
to the opposite side of the machine, whereby the roller I is brought
into contact with the sieve q. While the rod T is going through
this motion, the rod z is moving correspondingly; and in order that
its pin b¹, may not come in contact with the pin m¹¹ upon the arm
k, the pin 61 strikes against the spring gate f¹, and is guided
thereby through the circular trough of the switch, and out of the
way of the revolving pin m¹, and as it continues it forces open the
gate d¹, and enters the straight trough of the switch. During this
advancing motion of the rod T, the pin y passes beneath and raises
the spring guide r¹, which falls again as the pin passes. The con-
tinued revolution of the shaft d, causes the pin m¹ to strike
against the vertical pin 61 of the rod z, and drive it back through
the straight trough of the switch. By means the arm R, and the
segment L, will be caused to return through the portion of the
revolution which it has just made, and the carriage, through the
connections already explained, will return to its former position as
shewn at Figs. 1, and 2. While this is taking place, the rod T is also
carried back, and in order that the hook may not interfere with
the line ', as the rod is carried back, thé pin y, rides up upon the
spring plate r; and the pin is thus permitted to revolve. When
the latter has passed, the rod T, falls from the spring plate r³, into
a position ready to be operated upon by the pin l, as the latter
again comes round. It will now be understood that as the rods T,
and Z, act through the arm R, on the segment rack L, so as to
drive it in opposite directions, the color rollers will be traversed
one in one direction for every two revolutions of the cam shaft d, by
means of the rod T, and through the agency of the rod z, the color
rollers will be traversed in the opposite direction upon the alternate

page_text: intermediate revolutions of the cam shaft. The paper is fed
through the machine, and a perfect register is obtained in the
following manner:-a¹¹, 61, are the feed rollers, the latter being
banded to the former in such a manner, that its surface velocity
shall be greater than that of a", for the purpose of producing a
constant drag upon the paper. The register is regulated by the
roller a¹¹, which is accomplished by driving the roller 611, by a
band from a, which runs in the groove d upon the former
roller. The rollers ell, and fl, are pressing rollers, which serve to
press the paper against the feeding rollers. An intermittent feed
motion is communicated to the roller a", in the following manner:-
c¹¹, is a ratchet wheel attached to the roller a¹¹; d¹¹, is a cog wheel
revolving freely upon the end of the shaft of the roller, but not
attached to the latter; e¹¹, is a pawle upon the cog wheel d¹¹, pressed
down by the spring. f, and engaging with the ratchet wheel c¹,
upon the end of the roller. It is évident that when the
cog wheel:
d, is revolved in one direction, the ratchet wheel c¹¹ and the feed
roller to which it is attached, will be carried with it. When, how-
ever, the cog wheel is revolved in the other direction, the pawle e!!
slips freely over the teeth of the ratchet wheel c¹¹, and no motion
of the feed roller takes place. A¹, is a segment rack mounted on
the shaft B¹, which engages with the cog wheel d". C, is an arm
attached to the shaft B¹, carrying a hooked rod g¹¹. h¹¹, is an arm
attached to and revolving with the cam shaft d. Projecting from
this arm is the pin ¹¹, which engaging with the hook upon the arm
91, rocks the shaft B¹, and with it the segment rack A¹, and cog
.wheel d", which, by the connections already described, drives round
the roller a an amount dependent upon the distance of the pin 11,
from the shaft d, which pin is made adjustable upon its carrying
arm 6. As the shaft & continues to revolve, and the arm 6" is
carried round, the pin " escapes from the hook in the lever g",
and the latter is carried back by the action of the loggerhead D¹,
upon an arm projecting from the shaft B¹, until its hook rests against
the shaft d, the pawle e¹¹, upon the wheel d", passing freely over the
ratchet wheel without turning the same, as already described. The

page_text: rod g, always remains in this position upon the shaft, when not
absolutely set in motion by the pin i¹¹; as before mentioned: Thus
with each revolution of the cam shaft, the rod g is moved a
distance equal to that of the pin ", from the shaft d, and thus a
perfect register of the is obtained..
paper
:
In order that the paper may not adhere to the block after it has
been impressed upon it, and the block begins to rise, it is necessary
that the paper be held firmly to the table, and also that it be
released before the feed commences. This is accomplished in the
following manner:-k" (Figures 4, and 5), are clamps or holders
connected to the bar ", beneath the printing table E'; 'm", is a
vertical rod attached to the bar 11, and working freely through the
lower timbers of the main frame, as shewn at Figures 4, and 5;
n, is a coiled spring bearing against the under part of the pin o,
projecting from the rod m", the effect of which spring is to keep
the clamps constantly elevated from the table, except when
they are brought into operation by the following means:-H', is a
cam upon the shaft d, against the periphery of which the pin o!!
constantly bears; the cam is so formed that, as it is revolved by
the shaft d; it depresses the pin o", and with it the clamps k¹.
When the block is raised from the surface of the paper, the pin o
rises into the recess a³ of the cam, and the clamps are raised, and
the paper is again fed to the machine.
OPERATION.
Commencing with the machine in the position represented at
Figures 1, 2, and 3, the shaft B', revolving through the operation
of the pin and arm gl, and driving the feed roller a¹¹, and the
roller I', having received its color from the revolving sieve q', the
carriage F now commences its traverse to the opposite side of the
machine, it being driven in a manner already described by the seg
ment L. The color rollers, arc thus brought immediately beneath
and in contact with the block, and the carriage continuing its
motion, the rollers proceed out of the way of the block; the roller I;
remaining in contact with. the revolving sieve q, until the time

page_text: arrives for it again to traverse in the opposite direction. The cam
E, has now revolved so that its point i¹ is immediately beneath the
pin the feeding of the paper having been accomplished. The
pin now passes along the periphery of the cam E, from i to 21,
and the rods C with the block descend. The pin / next enters
the groove of the cam E, and the projection applies the re-
quisite amount of pressure to the pin h, to keep the block in
contact with the paper during a quarter revolution of the cam,
more or less, by which means the color is fully impressed upon the
surface of the paper. Before the pin h leaves the groove 1, and
the block begins to rise, the clamps 11 are brought down upon the
edges of the paper by the operation of the cam H¹. The block is
now raised by the continued revolution of the cam E, and the pin
m", striking against the pin upon the rod z, drives it through
the straight trough of the switch c¹, by which means the carriage
F, is again returned into the position shewn at Figures 1, and 2,
distributing the color upon the block as it passes preparatory to
another descent of the same.. The hooked rod T as it returns is
prevented from interfering with the pin ", by the spring plate 1,
the pin y, upon the rod T, sliding up the plate r, and thus raising
the rod sufficiently far out of the way, to clear the pin ; another
stretch of paper being introduced, the block again descends; and
thus the operations continue automatically as before.
Thus far I have described the improved machine, as particularly
applicable to house paper printing. I do not, however, limit myself
to such application, as it is evident that the Invention may be
applied to the printing of woollen or even lighter goods, oil cloths,
canvas, carpets, and a variety of other processes in which block
printing is found advantageously to supersede cylinder printing.
Having now described the Invention as communicated to me by
my foreign correspondent, I wish it to be understood, that under
the above in part recited Letters Patent, I claim,.
1
First, holding the printing block in contact with the paper or
stuff to be printed during a quarter revolution, more or less, of the
cam shaft, while the necessary pressure is applied to transfer the

page_text: color to the material, without interrupting the continuity or velocity
of the other movements of the machine, by means of the devices
made use of for that purpose, or of any others calculated to produce
the same result.
Second, the cam E, constructed and operating as described for
the purpose of prolonging the pressure of the block upon the paper
in the manner and for the purposes set forth.
Third, the vertically revolving sieves q, q', in combination with
the carriage F, and the color rollers I, I', constructed and operating
in manner substantially. as described.
Fourth, the combination of elements in which the intermittent
traversing motion is communicated to the carriage F, and color
rollers I, I, viz. the segment rack L, and the rods T'and Z, operated
in manner substantially as described.
Fifth, the device employed for feeding the paper or stuff to be
printed, and by which the register of the pattern is obtained.
In witness whereof, I, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this First day of August,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and
fifty-three.
Witness,
J. W. MOFFATT,
66, Chancery Lanc.
A. V. NEWTON. (L.S.)