IMPROVEMENTS IN PRINTING
Year: 1876

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Walter Humberstone, of Clerkenwell, in the County of
Middlesex, Engineer, for the Invention of
MACHINERY."
#4
IMPROVEMENTS IN PRINTING
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Walter Humberstone at tho
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 8th March 1876.
WALTER HUMBERSTONE, of Clerkenwell, in the County of Middlesex, Engineer.
"IMPROVEMENTS IN PRINTING MACHINERY."
This Invention relates to improvements in printing machinery, and more especially
in that class known as rotary "perfecting" machines, in which both sides of the
paper are printed in one passage through the machine.
According to my Invention I mount between suitable side frames and in the same
horizontal plane two main cylinders of equal diameters, made each to serve both as
inking and form cylinder, and provided each at one and the same end of its axle
with a spur wheel for driving it, of about the saune diameter as the cylinder itself.
Between these main cylinders I place two impression cylinders of diameters (for
convenience and economy) half that of the main cylinders, and also provided each
with a spur wheel for driving the distance between the main cylinders, and the
positions of the impression cylinders being such that the spur wheel on each of the
main cylinders will gear into the spur wheel of the impression cylinder nearest to
it, and the two wheels on the impression cylinders into one another.
The impression cylinders are mounted in bearings to allow of adjustment relative
to the main cylinders, which adjustment may be by spring or screw, or the two
combined.
To enable the main cylinders to be used each as both inking and form cylinder I
apply the ink to a part of its surface and attach the form to the other part, the
proportion reserved for the ink being the smallest necessary to effect its proper
distribution.
The ink is first applied to the surface of the cylinder by an ordinary vibratory
roller actuated by an excentric, and is then distributed by ordinary distributing
rollers or wavers set to the curve of the cylinder and supported in suitable bearings
in the side frames.
The wavers are raised from the form as with the roller it passes under them and

page_text: the inkers or form rollers adjusted either by an excentric worked from the axle of
the cylinder or by a cam rim thereon.
The lateral motion of the wavers is imparted by an excentric and bell-crank
lever worked from the axle of either of the cylinders or by other suitable means.
The taking or feeding is accomplished by two or more discs mounted on a hori
zontal axle, each of the discs being provided near its periphery with a small disc
roller projecting beyond its circumference, so that at each revolution of the discs
the small disc rollers press against an ordinary taking drum and carry forward a
sheet of paper between the tapes.
Thus the
A convenient size for the taking drum is half the diameter of the impression
cylinders, from one of which it is driven by a wheel of two to one.
taking drum will make two revolutions to one of the impression and four to one of
the main cylinders, and the taking discs are driven by gear from the taking drum,
reducing the speed of the former as one to four, and so making the revolutions of
the taking discs and main cylinders equal.
The axle of the taking discs is set in bearings capable of allowing exact adjust-
ment relative to the taking drum, the adjustment being by screw or spring, or the
two combined.
One set of tapes passes over tightening pullies between the taking drum and
smoothing roller back over one of the impression cylinders, and thence up between
the two and over the second, and returns round a roller between the main and
impression cylinder back to the receiving drun, the tapes for the second main
cylinder being arranged in similar relative positions.
For making the machine a double-feed machine, a second taking drum, smoothing
roller, and series of discs are arranged above the first to take the sheets from the
opposite direction, all the sheets passing between the first taking drum and
smoothing roller, and the speeds of the two taking drums and discs being in this
case reduced to half that of the single-feed machine, and made to act alternately.
Endless tapes also pass round the two smoothing rollers to guide the sheets from the
upper to the lower.
In the case of the double feed machine two flyers or fans are employed for the
taking off instead of one only, as in the case of the single feed machine.
The toothed wheel on the outer main cylinder is rondered capable of adjustment
relative to the circumference of the cylinder itself to regulate the register in case of
wear or inaccuracy.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said Walter Humberstone in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 8th
September 1876.
WALTER HUMBERSTONE, of Clerkenwell, in the County of Middlesex, Engineer,
"IMPROVEMENTS IN PRINTING MACHINERY."
This Invention relates to improvements in printing machinery.
And in order that my Invention may be clearly understood and readily carried
into effect I will proceed to describe it with the aid of the accompanying Drawings,
reference being had to the letters and figures marked thereon, and in which
Figure 1 is a side elevation partly in section of a double feed rotary "perfecting"
printing machine constructed according to my Invention; Figure 2, a plan thereof;
and Figures 3 and 4, views of detail.
きま
The same letter of reference indicates the same part or parts in the several
Figures..
According to my Invention I mount between suitable side frames A two cylinders B
and C, the diameters of which are equal and determined by the size of the sheets
to be printed. These cylinders are made to serve each as both inking and form
cylinder, as herein-after, fully explained. Between these cylinders I place two

page_text: impression cylinders D and E, the diameters of which are equal to one another and
half that of the cylinders B and C taken on the outer line of the forms F attached
to their circumferences. The circumferences of the impression cylinders D and E
impinge one on each of the forms F, on the cylinders B and C, and also on one
another, and the whole four cylinders are geared together by spur wheels, the pitch
lines of which are respectively the same as that of their cylinders. The driving
gear may take on to the axle of any one of these four cylinders, but must be
arranged to give the speed required.
In the machine illustrated the driving wheel H is shown as attached to the axle
of the left-hand impression cylinder D, and is geared into by driving pinion I; X is
a hand wheel, and Y fast and loose pulleys.
The cylinders B and C are mounted in adjustable bearings G to allow of adjust-
ment relative to the impression cylinders D and E. This adjustment may be by
screw, spring, or other convenient method. In the accompanying Drawings it is
shewn as effected by screws.
To enable the cylinders B and C to be used each as both inking and form
cylinder, I apply the ink to a part only of the surface of each and attach the form
to the other part, the proportion of the surface reserved for the ink being the
smallest necessary to effect its proper distribution. In the machine illustrated this
proportion is about one half.
The ink is first applied to the surface of each cylinder by an ordinary vibratory
roller J taking it from the ductor K. This vibratory roller J is held off the surface
of the cylinder by a cam L (worked from the axle of the cylinder) except during
the time when it (the roller J) is required to impinge on the inking surface, vizt.,
during say half the traverse of such surface, or one-fourth a revolution of the
cylinder, during which time it is released by the cam, and is held up to the cylinder
by-counterbalance m. The cam L actuates the vibratory roller J through the
medium of a roller at the extremity of connecting rod M, the centre line of action
being maintained by the forked guide at the end thereof taking on to the axle of
the cylinder.
The roller J of cylinder B is omitted on the plan to avoid confusion of
lines.
The ink having been applied to the cylinder is distributed by ordinary wavers N
working in suitable guide bearings in the side frames A, so as to bear on the curved
surface of the cylinder when not raised therefrom.
The lateral motion of the wavers is imparted by cam O on the cylinder, spindle,
and bell-crank lever P, as shewn; that one of the bell-crank levers P relating to
cylinder C is omitted from the plan (at the right-hand side) to avoid confusion of
lines. The inking rollers Q also work in suitable guide bearings in the side
frames A so as to bear on the curved surface of each of the cylinders B and C when
not raised therefrom. The wavers N are raised clear of the forms F, and the
inkers Q raised on to or adjusted thereto at the proper time by a cam rim R on each
of the cylinders, which, with the cylinder, passes under them; or this may be
effected by an eccentric or eccentrics worked from the axle of the cylinder; S, T,
are two taking drums. These are each of half the diameter of the impression
cylinders. They are geared. together by spur wheels S¹ and T¹ of equal diameters,
and are driven by a spur wheel E' on the axle of the impression cylinder E of a
relative diameter, as two to one, thus causing the taking drums to make two
revolutions to one of the impression cylinders,, and four to one of the inking and
form cylinders, so that the surfaces of the taking drums and of the impression and
the inking and form cylinders all travel at the same rate of speed.
The taking or feeding is accomplished on the one side of the machine by an
ordinary drop bar U raised or lowered from the taking drum by a cam U¹ on a hori-
zontal axle V, the cam being capable of adjustment relative to the spur wheel U,
by which it is driven, such adjustment being by screw and slot, as shewn.
The taking or feeding on the other side is accomplished by two or more small
rollers V (see plan) on a horizontal axle V3, said axle being attached to two discs V¹

page_text: (near to the peripheries thereof) on horizontal axle V³, so that at one point of tho
revolution of the discs V¹ the rollers V will be brought in contact with the taking
drum S, and so cause a sheet of paper to be moved forward.
The discs V carrying the taking axle Vs and rollers V are made capable of
adjustment in relation to the actuating cam U¹ of the drop bar U and the driving
spur pinion U2, so that the two feeds may be set to act alternately. This is effected by
the discs V and a plate W (see plan) being keyed fast to the axle V2 and spur wheel
U, to which cam U is secured and adjusted, being secured and adjusted to plate W.
The plate W enters within the thickness of spur wheel U2, as shewn on the plan
by dotted lines, the teeth of wheel U being omitted that these dotted lines may
be seen.
The detail of discs V₁ is shewn at Figure 3. The axle V³ which carries the
taking rollers V is supported in movable bearings a, each working in a slot in
disc V, and held off from the centre by a spiral spring acting between the boss of
the disc and an elbow of the bearing a, the spring being to ensure contact of the
taking rollers with the taking drum S. To raise these rollers whilst the sheets of
paper are being introduced a curved projecting arm b is bolted to the side frame A,
so that the bearing of axle V³ will impinge therefrom at a given point of the revo-
lution of the disc and raise the rollers until the curve has been traversed.
It will be seen that both the taking discs V' and the drop bar U are actuated
from the same axle V. This axle is driven from the nearest of the two taking
drums by spur gear, reducing the speed as one to eight, so that this axle makes half
a revolution and passes forward a sheet of paper to each revolution of the taking
drums. For a single feed machine this axle would of course have to travel at
double the speed, and in such case I prefer to use the taking discs as described
instead of the ordinary drop bar.
If desired both feeds in the double feed machine may be effected by taking discs,
but I prefer the arrangement described and illustrated, as thereby both feeds may be
actuated from the one axle V2. The spur wheels on the axles of the two cylinders B
and C, and by which the cylinders are driven, are rendered capable of adjustment
relative to the circumference of the cylinders for regulating the register in case of
wear or inaccuracy in fitting. This is effected by keying a plate c to the cylinder
axle and attaching the spur wheel thereto by means of bolts passing through slots
in plate c, the slots allowing of the lateral adjustment of the wheel.
This arrange-
ment is shown at Figure 4. d is an ordinary flyer for taking off the sheets of
paper after they have been printed. It is worked by a cam on the axle of
cylinder C, the cam acting under a roller on the end of connecting rod e, which is
provided within its length with a screw-adjusting joint and a fork or slot taking on
to axle of cylinder C to maintain the centre line of action. f is the board on which
the sheets of paper rest after they have been taken off by the flyer.
One set of tapes n pass over tightening pulleys and thence between taking
drum T and smoothing roller g back over impression cylinder E, and thence up
between the two impression cylinders and over the second D and between it and
cylinder B, and returns (round one or more rollers) between the cylinders E and C
back over tightening pulleys to receiving drum T. The other set of tapes o pass
over tightening pulleys to and between smoothing roller and taking drum S down
between the two taking drums, and thence down between cylinders E and C and
up between the two impression cylinders, and thence between cylinders D and B
and down over rollers i and j back between cylinders D and B to tightening pulleys
and taking drum S. Endless tapes also work over rollers kand ; also others over
smoothing rollers g and h to small rollers below to guide the sheets between the
other tapes. The forms on the two cylinders B and C are set to impinge on the
impression cylinders alternately. They are attached to the cylinders in the ordinary
manner.
Although my Invention is herein described as applicable to a "perfecting"
printing machine it is equally applicable to ordinary rotary printing machines
which are not "perfecting.”

page_text: Having thus particularly described and ascertained the nature of this my said
Invention and the manner in which the same is to or may be performed, I claim
as my Invention to be secured by the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent,―
First. The construction and use in rotary printing machinery of one cylinder
serving both as inking and form cylinder.
Second. The construction and use in printing machinery of taking discs, as
described and illustrated, for passing the sheets of paper into the machine.
Third. The construction and use of printing machinery substantially as herein
set forth and described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Walter Humberstone, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Eighth day of September, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and seventy-six.
Witness,
JOHN WM. GRAY, C.E.,
Patent Agent,
16, Southampton Buildings.
W. HUMBERSTONE. (L.S.)