IMPROVEMENTS IN COPYING PRESSES
Year: 1865

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Phineas Lawrence and George Jefferys, of the City
and State of New York, United States of America, for the Invention of
Tan D
Sealed the 12th December 1865, and dated the 15th June 1865.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Phineas Lawrence and
George Jefferys at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with
their Petition, on the 15th June 1865.
We, PHINEAS LAWRENCE and GEORGE JEFFERYS, of the City and State of
New York, United States of America, do hereby declare the nature of the
said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN COPYING PRESSES," to be as follows:-
We employ a bed plate and a follower, between which the book or other:
article to be pressed is placed, as usual. Our improvements relate to the
mechanical arrangements for applying the compressing power. For this
purpose we make use of a cam or excentric connected with or formed at the
end of a lever, the said cam or excentric turning upon a shaft that is supported
in an arm that extends up from the side of the bed plate, and comes over
above towards the centre part of the press, so that the power of the cam or
excentric when turned by its lever will act upon a projection at the centre of
the follower to force the same towards the bed. In order to prevent the cam
or excentric and lever turning back after pressure has been applied, we employ
a ratchet and pawl, the said pawl being hinged to the stationary arm aforesaid
and its point-taking into ratchet teeth, around the cam near the junction

page_text: thereof with the lever. The follower is to be raised up when the pressure is
relieved by means of springs or by projecting fingers from the follower
entering grooves in the sides of the cam parallel to the excentric face of the
said cam. The arm that comes up from the bed, and at the end of which the
cam and lever are connected, is much better than the cross head heretofore
employed, because the said arm is not in the way of introducing any size of
book or sheet of paper within the copying press, and the said arm may be
cast in one piece with the bed, so as to avoid the bolts and screws usually
employed with the cross heads.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Phineas Lawrence and George Jefferys in the Great Seal
Patent Office on the 15th December 1865.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, PHINEAS
LAWRENCE and GEORGE JEFFERYS, of the City and State of New York, United
States of America, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Fifteenth day of June, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-five, in the twenty-eighth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto us,
the said Phineas Lawrence and George Jefferys, Her special licence that we, the
said Phineas Lawrence and George Jefferys, our executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as we, the said Phineas Lawrence and George Jefferys,
our 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 COPYING PRESSES,"
upon the condition (amongst others) that we, the said Phineas Lawrence and
George Jefferys, our executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing
under our or their hands and seals, or under the hand and seal of one of us, or
them, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Inven-
tion, 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 we, the said Phineas Lawrence and George Jefferys,
do hereby declare the nature of said Invention, and in what manner the

page_text: same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement thereof, reference being had to the accompanying
Drawings, that is to say :-
We employ a bed plate and a follower, platten, or top plate; between
these plates the book or other article to be pressed is placed, as usual. Our
improvements relate chiefly to the mechanical arrangements for applying the
compressing power. For this purpose we use a cam or excentric connected
with or formed on a lever, the said cam or excentric turns upon an axis
supported in an arm which extends up from one side of the bed plate, and
comes over above the centre part of the press (or thereabout), so that the
cam or excentric when worked by its lever will act upon a projection, stem, or
pillar on the follower, top plate, or platten, so as to force it towards the bed
plate, in order to effect the requisite pressure.. In order to prevent the cam
and lever from turning back after pressure has been applied, and to retain
them at the required point in order to adjust the pressure as desired, we
employ a ratchet and pawl; the pawl is connected with the aforesaid arm,
and its point takes into ratchet teeth on the cam.
When the pressure is
relieved, the follower, top plate, or platten is raised up by the aid of springs or
by projecting fingers or pieces on the follower entering grooves or cam paths
on the sides of the cam. The arm which rises from the bed plate and carries
the cam and lever is preferable to the beam or cross head heretofore employed
because the cam is not in the way of a book or article of any size which it
may be desirable to introduce in the copying press. The arm is, by preference,
cast in one piece with the bed, so as to strengthen the press and avoid the
bolts and screws usually employed with the ordinary beams or cross heads.
We now proceed with reference to the accompanying Drawings more par-
ticularly to describe in what manner the Invention may be carried into
effect.
Figure 1 is a side elevation of a copying press constructed according to
these improvements; Figure 2 is a plan; Figure 3, horizontal section on the
line x, x, of Figure 1; Figure 4, vertical section on the line y, y, of
Figure 1.
A is the bed plate; B, the follower, top plate, or platten. The article to
be pressed is introduced between A and B. C is an arm fixed to or cast in a
piece with the bed plate A; it rises from one side of the bed plate, and
extends over the follower or platten B to or towards the centre thercof. This
arrangement of arm forms a semi-arch, and leaves the ends of the press free,
so that books of any size, or letters with overhanging leaves may be inserted
conveniently in it.
D is a cam or excentric, turning on an axis d, mounted

page_text: in the arm C, the: arm being forked at the end to. receive it. E is a lever
cast in a piece with the cam D, or firmly fixed to it at one end; 9; 9; are
ratchet teeth on the cam D, disposed partly round its periphery, the other
part of the periphery being smooth; h is a groove or cam path formed on the
cam D. There is one such cam path or groove h on each side or face of the
cam, these cam paths or grooves being parallel with each other; I is a pillar,
stem, or shank, cast on or fixed to the centre of the follower B, or instead of
this pillar descending directly to the centre of the follower it may be arched
or branched at its lower ends, and attached thereat to any convenient parts of
the follower. The top of the shank I is formed or provided with fingers,
hooks, or projecting pieces i, i, which engage in the cam paths h, h, one
finger in each path. J, J, are pawls, which are pivoted to the arm C, and
take into the ratchet teeth g, g. These pawls are so disposed that the point
of one comes a little more forward than that of the other; their back ends
project sufficiently to admit of their being depressed at those ends, so as to
raise their opposite ends free from the ratchet teeth when required. 3, 8,
are springs attached to and fitted between the arm C and pawls J, J, one
spring to each pawl. A single pawl, or three or more, may be used. k is a
flat spring fastened at one end to the arm C; its opposite end is forked and
embraces the pillar I, and presses against studs 1, 1, on the. same. The
pillar I passes through and is guided by a branch m projecting from the
arm C. The plate B is recessed at the part next the arm C, so as to be
guided as it works up and down the said arm C. When it is desired to
depress the follower, platten, or top plate B towards the bed plate A, to effect
the required pressure, the free end of the lever E is depressed, thereby causing
the smooth under edge of the cam D to press upon the pillar I, and force it and
the plate B downward. When the cam and lever are brought into the
required position they are retained thereat, and the pressure is thereby
controlled and adjusted accurately by means of the pawls which take into the
teeth g, and thereby hold the cam D. To raise the follower, platten, or top
plate B the pawls are lifted out of the ratchet teeth, and the lever E is raised
at its free end, and the fingers or pieces i, i, being engaged in the paths h, h,
the cam will lift the pillar I by these fingers i, and will thereby, of course,
lift the follower or platten B with it. The spring k assists this upward action,
or the action may be assisted by spiral or curved C-springs fitted between the
plates A and B, preferably on each side of the root of the arm C, or by spiral
springs coiled round upright rods, one end of such springs being fastened to
the plate B, and the other pressing against studs on the arms C or m. Other
ordinary arrangements of springs may be used for aiding or effecting the lift

page_text: of the follower or platten, but all springs may be dispensed with for that
purpose when the fingers i, i, are used.
Instead of forming the ratchet teeth on the cam they may be on a disc or
piece fixed to the cam at one or both sides thereof, or in any convenient
position with respect thereto, a pawl or pawls working into the teeth as
above described.
Having now described the nature of the said Invention, and in what
manner the same may be performed, we declare that we claim,-
First, the employment of a cam or excentric worked by a lever and
furnished with ratchet teeth engaging with one or more pawls, the whole
arranged and combined substantially in the manner and for the purpose
described.
Second, the employment of an arm rising from the bed plate, and cast in
a piece therewith, or fixed thereto, such arm forming a semi-arch, substantially
as described.
Third, the arrangement of parts for raising the follower, platten, or top
plate, such arrangement consisting of fingers, hooks, projections, or pieces
working in grooves or cam paths, substantially as described.
Fourth, the general arrangement and combination of parts constituting the
improved press herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Phineas Lawrence, for myself and on
behalf of the said George Jefferys, have hereunto set my hand and
seal, this Thirteenth day of December, One thousand eight hundred
and sixty-five.
Witness,
E. DE PASS,
68, Fleet Street,
London.
PHINEAS LAWRENCE. (L.S.)