Improvements in Apparatus for Taking Press Copies of Letters or Documents.
Year: 1892

page_text: Date of Application, 21st Nov., 1892
Complete Specification Left, 17th June, 1893-Accepted, 22nd July, 1893
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Apparatus for Taking Press Copies of Letters
or Documents.
We, CYRUS BULLOCK, of King Street, Manchester, in the County of Lancaster,
Engineer, and JACK HARCOURT WILLSON, of Booth Street, Manchester,
aforesaid, Surveyor, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
This invention refers to apparatus in which press copies are taken upon tissue
paper by passing the original letter or document together with the damp tissue
paper under a rubber or other pressure roller.
In this class of machine as hitherto constructed, the tissue paper has been
supplied in the form of a roll, and no provision made for copying the letters or
documents upon separate sheets, and this invention is designed with the object of
providing means whereby single sheets of the copying paper can be passed into the
machine and damped, and the copics or impressions taken upon them.
It consists essentially in altering the arrangement of the machine for feeding in
the tissue, and constructing it with a roll or endless band of cotton, flannel or other
absorbent material which will pass through the water trough and between the
pressing rollers, and which will carry the sheets of tissue and the letter or
document together through the rollers and deposit them in a receptacle at the
other side.
In carrying out the invention, where the copies are only required upon sheets,
we dispense with the roll of tissue and insert instead, a roll of a suitable material
to carry moisture, and at the same time sufficiently hard to assist in the copying of
the document. The end of this roll of material is passed forward through the
trough of water and out over the roller or reel at the other end of the machine.
This material as it issues from the machine, may either fall into the suitable
receptacle, or be rolled up upon another roller.
Instead of a roll of material, an endless band may be used which would pass
forward from a roller at the back of the machine through the pressing rollers and
over a roller at the front of the machine, and back again underneath, the cloth
dipping into a trough of water, either before entering the pressing rollers, or
during its travel from the delivery end to the receiving end of the machine.
Where it is desired, the roll of tissue may also be retained in addition to the
travelling band, so that where desired the copies' can be taken on continuous
lengths of paper as at present, as well as upon sheets, the present arrangement for
taking up the copy being retained.
The operation of the machine will be very simple. The sheet of tissue and the
original letter or document will be laid together upon the damping cloth, and with
it passed through the machine, when the two will be delivered into a basket or
other receptacle at the delivery end. By this arrangement considerable advantage
will accrue in the use of the machine, as sheets of any thickness can be used, or
different sheets used for different documents, instead of as at present, the same fine
tissue being applied to each.
Dated this 10th day of Nove 1000
WM. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
6, Bank Street, Manchester, Patent Agents.

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Apparatus for Taking Press Copies of Letters
or Documents.
We, CYRUS BULLOCK, of King Street, Manchester, in the County of Lancaster,
Engineer, and JACK HARCOURT WILLSON, of Booth Street, Manchester,
aforesaid, Surveyor, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what
manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement :-
This invention refers to apparatus in which press copies are taken upon tissue
paper by passing the original letter or document together with the damp tissue
paper under a rubber or other pressure roller.
In this class of machine as hitherto constructed the tissue paper has been supplied
in the form of a roll, and no provision made for copying the letters or documents
upon separate sheets, and this invention is designed with the object of providing
means whereby single sheets of the copying paper can be passed into the machine
and damped, and the copies or impressions taken upon them.
It consists essentially in altering the arrangement of the machine for feeding in
the tissue, and constructing it with a travelling endless band of cotton, flannel, or
other absorbent material which will pass through the water trough and between
the pressing rollers, and which will carry the sheets of tissue and the letter or
document together through the rollers and deposit them in a receptacle at the
other side.
The invention will be fully described with reference to the accompanying
drawings.
Fig. 1, is a side elevation in section.
Fig. 2, is a back elevation partly in section.
Fig. 3, is a plan.
Fig. 4, is a side elevation of modification.
Fig. 5, is a side elevation with reel for taking up and drying a continuous
tissue.
When the press copies are only desired upon sheets of paper we dispense with
the roll of tissue ordinarily employed and arrange a travelling band A of a suitable
material to carry moisture and at the same time sufficiently hard to assist in the
copying of the document.
The band A is passed forward between the two pressing rollers B and C and
under the roller D in the trough E which is supplied with water and by which the
band is moistened as it passes through. A squeezing roller F is also provided to
remove superfluous moisture from the band A as it passes from the trough to the
pressing rollers.
The endless band A thus passes forward between the squeezing roller F at the
back of the machine through the pressing rollers B and C and over a roller G at
the front of the machine, and back again underneath, the cloth dipping into a
trough E of water under the roller D before entering the pressing roller.
Instead of using an endless band such as A a roll of material A' may be used
(as in Fig. 4) passing from a roll a at one end of the machine through the water
trough E and between the pressing rollers B' and C₁ to a roll a' at the other end
or it may fall over the roller into a suitable receptacle.
When it is desired (as in Fig. 5) the roll H of tissue may also be retained in
addition to the travelling band A" which in this case may pass directly over the
under pressing roller C and the immersing roller D" in the trough E. In this
case a reel or holder K is arranged for taking up the wet tissue and holding it
until it is dry.
For clearness of description the machine illustrated in Fig. 1. is shown as applied
to the copying on sheets and that illustrated on Fig. 5. to the copying on a

page_text: continuons tissue; it is intended that the supporting brackets L and M shall be
movable and interchangeable so that the machine can at any time be altered as
may be required.
The operation of the machine will be very simple. The sheet of tissue and the
original letter or document will be laid together upon the damping cloth, and with
it passed through between the rollers of the machine, when the sheet will be
delivered into a basket or other receptacle at the delivery end. By this arrange-
ment considerable advantage will accrue in the use of the machine, as sheets of
different thickness can be used, or different sheets used for different documents,
instead of as at present the same quality of tissue being applied to each.
In the ordinary roller machine the paper is saturated with water by being
allowed to lie in the water trough and is afterwards subjected to tension on being
drawn through the machine consequently a comparatively thick paper of high
quality must necessarily be used whereas in this machine the damping or saturation
only takes place at the instant of copying and no tension is applied so that a much
commoner, thinner, or weaker quality of paper can be employed.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we
claim is
1. An appliance for taking press copies of letters or documents constructed with
a travelling band for damping the copying paper substantially as described.
2. In a machine for taking press copies of letters or documents the combination
with the pressing rollers B and C of the endless band A. of absorbent material by
which the paper is damped, the water trough E the roller D, and the squeezing
roller F for removing superfluous moisture substantially as described.
3. An appliance for taking press copies of letters or documents constructed with
the several parts arranged in combination substantially as described and shown with
reference to either of the figs. of the drawings.
Dated this 16th day of June 1893.
WM. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
Manchester, Liverpool, and London, Patent Agents.
WM. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
Manchester, Liverpool, and London, Patent Agents.