IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY USED FOR PRINTING
Year: 1851

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, AUGUSTUS
APPLEGATII, of Dartford, in the County of Kent, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland, bearing date at Westminster, the Twenty-fourth day of
December, One thousand eight hundred and fifty-one, in the fifteenth year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs, and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said Augustus Applegath, my oñors, adññiors, and assigns, Her especial
licence; full power, sole privilege and authority, that I, the said Augustus
Applegath, my exors, adñiors, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
Augustus Applegath, my exors, adñiors, and assigns, should at any time agree
with, and no others, from time to time and at all times during the term of years
therein expressed, should and lawfully might, use, exercise, and vend, within
England, Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY USED FOR PRINTING;" in which said Letters
Patent is contained a proviso, that I, the said Augustus Applegath, shall
cause a particular description of the nature of my said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, by an instrument in writing under my
hand and scal, to be inrolled in Her Majesty's High Court of Chancery
within six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said
in part recited Letters Patent, as in and by the same, reference being there-
unto had, will more fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Augustus Applegath, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention,
and the manner in which the same is to be performed, are fully described and

page_text: ascertained in and by the following statement thereof, reference being had to
the Drawings hereunto annexed, and to the figures and letters marked thereon,
that is to say-
Figure 1 is a side clevation of a printing machine adapted for newspapers,
which I call a Victoria machine; Figure 2 is an end elevation of the same;
the same letters refer to each Figure. A is the ordinary feed board upon which
the paper is laid by the workman; it is furnished with the usual apparatus,
viz, a feed drum B, a dropping roller 1, sets of endless tapes 2, 2, and
rollers 3, 3, for conveying the sheets of paper to and from the impression
cylinder C, which has the customary woollen cloth upon it at the part where
the impression takes place. D and E are the type cylinders, upon which the
type is placed in columns, some of the columns being upon D and some
upon E; 0, 0, are the usual bearers; P, P, are the usual lifts for the
inking rollers; F, F, are the type holders or galley chases; the column of
type is securely held in the galley chase by means of the side nuts and
screws G, G, and the set screw H, at the foot of the column.
The galley chases may be attached to the type cylinder by screws S, S, or
in any suitable manner, due regard being had to their distances from each
other, so that the impressions from the alternate columns may fall in right
position upon the paper.
The action of the dropping roller is obtained as follows:-Q is a shape wheel
fixed upon the spindle of the impression cylinder; 7 is a pulley, which rests
upon the shape wheel, and revolves upon a pin in the arın 8, which is hinged
at 9. From the arm a light rod rises to a lever 10, which is fixed at the
opposite end of the ordinary vibrating spindle of the dropping roller, so that
when the pulley 7 descends into the depression of the shape wheel Q, tho
dropping roller also descends upon the sheet of paper, which is drawn by the
motion of the tapes and feed drums towards the impression cylinder. I, I, are
the inking rollers, supported in ligkt iron frames Z, which are connected to
the frame of the machine by hinges W, W; at Y are smaller pullies fixed to
the frames Z, and which act against the indented sides V, V, of the cylinders
D and E, thereby causing the frames Z and the rollers in them to move
end ways; 12 are light iron rods which connect the frames Z. The inking
rollers are kept in contact with the distributing tables and type by light coiled
springs 4, 4. The inking rollers of the type cylinder D are not shewn.
The ink is received from the doctor roller K upon the roller R, and thence
it is occasionally carried to the distributing surfaces L, L. by means of the
vibrating rollers M, M, which are kept in contact with the distributing surfaces
by the light coiled springs 5, 5; but on the middle sot of lifts are small

page_text: usual manner.
projections 6, 6, which occasionally force the vibrating rollers against the
Distributing surfaces on D & E, which thus receive a fresh portion of ink in the
Motion is given to the doctor roller K by a band passing over
a rigger on C. The type cylinders, the impression cylinder, and the feeding
apparatus are connected by toothed wheels in the usual manner, as shewn in
Figure II., and, motion being communicated to them, the sheet of paper laid
upon A is conveyed in the direction of the arrows to the impression cylinder C;
where it first receives the impression from the columns placed upon D, and
then as it revolves it receives the impression from the columns placed upon E,
and thus the sheet becomes printed with the whole of the form, and is conveyed
by the usual tapes to the receiving board A*, upon which it is laid by the
workman.
The objects gained by dividing the form into columns placed upon two type
cylinders is, that the type can be more securely held in single columns than in
pages composed of several columns, and also that cylinders of small diameter
may be employed, which may be placed horizontally as well as vertically;
whereas in the machinery used at the "Times," to which this Patent is.
intended to be a sequel, the type cylinder is two hundred inches in cir-
cumference, and being made to revolvo vertically, expensive feeding apparatus
is required for the conveyance of the sheets from the flat to the vertical position..
Now, on the principle of dividing the form into columns, the cylinder for:
ordinary type need not be more than 70 inches in circumference; and when
taper or "wedge-sided" type is employed the cylinder need not be more in
circumference than the size of the sheet of paper (measuring across the
columns), which permits the printing of long continuous paper, as indicated by.
Nicholson's Patent of One thousand seven hundred and ninety-two.
In Figures I. and II. the circumference of the type and impression
cylinders is supposed to be 70 inches, which gives space for the form and a.
distributing surface; but Figure III. is a Diagram, shewing a journal of
12 columns and 36 inches width, divided upon two cylinders of 36 inches
circumference.
F, F, are the typeholders; F is the type, the sides of which are bevilled,
but not to the angle which a circumference of thirty-six inches would indicate,
for a column of type three inches wide tapered to such an angle would not.
lock up, but would rise as the sides or abutments advanced and pressed against
it, therefore the type is bevilled to the angle given by a circle of seventy inches.
The enclosing black line represents a circle of thirty-six inches in circumference,.
and the red lines represent columns of type with sides bevilled to a circle of 70.
inches. The flattening of the type may be remedied by overlaying the impression

page_text: cylinder, and it may also be assisted by shaping the bed of the type holder a
at column 1 on the left-hand cylinder, so that at last the impression will no
be discernable from that of a truc circular surface.
Figure IV. is a diagram shewing part of a cylinder of 70 inches circum
ference on which a column of the ordinary flat type is used segmentally, and
the bed of the typeholder is shewn shaped in the manner of those used at the
"Times" machines, the paper or impression cylinder being also overlaid to
compensate the flattening of the segment.
Figure V. is a diagram shewing type made to a circle of 70 inches and
placed upon a cylinder of 100 inches circumference, which in some cases may
be more convenient for book work.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention by an example of the
most simple construction, I do not intend to limit myself to the same, for
machines upon the principle of a division of the type may be made of various
forms, too numerous to insert in a Specification; but it may be convenient
to indicate by the following diagrains several machines likely to become
useful.
Figure VI is a side diagram of a double-action Victoria machine to print a
journal either with ordinary or with taper type. The cylinders are 70 inches
circumference, and revolve in the direction of the arrows. The type is divided,
as before described, upon the cylinders D and E, and which have distributing
surfaces upon them, and each type cylinder has two sets of inking rollers I, I,
so that when the type las imparted its ink to the paper upon the upper cylinder
C it acquires a fresh charge of ink from the inuer set of inking rollers at X
before it comes in contact with the sheet of paper upon the lower cylinder C*,
and thus the type performs a double action, by printing two sheets at each
revolution. The feed and taking-off boards are not shown in this diagram, as
their position must depend upon the room in which the machine is to 'bo
worked. This machine with ordinary type and distributing surfaces can
safely be worked up to the supply of paper afforded by six layers-on, or from
8,000 to 9,000 per hour; but if taper type is used the circumference of the
type cylinder need not be more than 36 inches, or the dimensions of the paper
upon which the journal is printed, in which case a different arrangement of
inking apparatus would be required, and the produce nearly doubled.
Figurd VII, is aside diagram of type and impression cylinders, of 70
inches circumference, arranged so as to form a perfecting machine, and may
be used either for journals or book work. The motion is in the direction of
the arrows, and the paper issues from the machine at X printed on both sides.
Figure VIII: is a convenient form for a perfecting machine to print " rolls"

page_text: or long sheets of paper with taper type; D and E are the type cylinders, say
36 inches circumference; C and C are the impression cylinders. The
motion is in the direction of the arrows, and the paper issues printed on both
sides at X, when it may be cut or separated by any convenient apparatus.
This machine being without distributing surfaces, ink must be supplied to the
rollers I, I, by any of the means usually employed in machines without dis-
tributing surfaces. In preparing type for these machines, and especially when
taper type is used, I recommend the compositor to dispense with the common
gallies and to put the matter into the galley chase, where proofs may be taken
and corrections made, and by which the ordinary "making-up" will be saved,
and if alterations are required during the working it is evident that such
alterations can be conveniently made in the column chases.
Machines on the principle of dividing the type may be made of various
other forms besides those herein indicated, so that I cannot limit myself to
any particular construction; but I claim the division of the form of type upon
two cylinders, whether such cylinders are placed horizontally or vertically, or
however combined with the impression cylinder and other parts of a printing
machine; also the galley chase for retaining the type; also the use of taper
type, having sides tapering to a larger angle than that given by the cylinder
upon which it is imposed; and I further claim to double action by arranging
two impression cylinders to act against the type cylinders, whereby two com-
plete impressions are obtained at each revolution of the type.
In witness whereof, I, the said Augustus Applegath, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Seventeenth day of June, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-two