CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR PRINTING
Year: 1824

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, J, WILLIAM
CHURCH, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Esquire, send greeting.
WHEREAS His most Excellent Majesty King George the Fourth did,
by His Letters Patent under the Great Seal of that part of the United
Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland called England, bearing date at
Westminster, the Nineteenth day of February, One thousand eight hundred
and twenty-four, in the fifth year of His reign, give and grant unto me,
the said William Church, my exors, adñiors, and assigns, His especial
licence, full power, sole privilege and authority, that I, the said William
Church, my exors, adñiors, and assigns, during the term of years therein
mentioned, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within
England, Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, and also in all His
Majesty's Colonies and Plantations abroad, my Invention of "CERTAIN
IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR PRINTING;" in which said Letters Patent thero
is contained a proviso that if I, the said William Church, shall not particularly
describe and ascertain 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
seal, and cause the same to be inrolled in His Majesty's High Court of

page_text: Chancery within six calendar months next and immediately after the date of
the said Letters Patent, that then tlie said Letters Patent, and all liberties
and advantages whatsoever thereby granted, shall utterly cease, determine, and
become void, as in and by the same, relation being thereunto had, will more
fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Willian Church, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention, and
the manner in which the same is to be performed, are particularly described
and ascertained in and by the following description thereof, reference being
made to the Drawings hereunto annexed (that is to say):-
My improvements in machinery for printers consists in various addition to
and modifications of an apparatus or machine for printing, describ'd in the
Specification of a Patent granted to me by His present Majesty, and dated the
21st March, 1822, which said Specification was inrolled on 21st September,
in the same year. Now my present Improvements on Machinery for Printing
are embraced under the following heads (viz.):
1st, in a method of adjusting and fixing the form of types upon the table,
and of removing the same and replacing another form of types with great
expedition.
2dly, in adapting a stationary surface upon which the paper intended to be :
printed is laid and adjusted ready to be drawn off on to the frisket.
3dly, in a mode of obtaining register with perfect accuracy.
4thly, in the means and apparatus employ'd for confining the sheet of paper
upon the frisket:
5thly, in an interrupted gear motion or mechanical contrivance to effect as
reciprocating action, by which certain parts of the machinery are alternately
put in motion or set at rest while the other parts of the machinery arc con.
tinuing their progress.
6thly, in the mode of taking off the sheet of paper after it has been printed,
and delivering the sheets in succession on to a heap with perfect regularity; $
and,
7thly, in regulating the quantity of ink communicated to the distributing
rollers at pleasure.
In the improved method of adjusting and fixing the form of types upon the
table (instead of confining the iron frame or chase with wedges or quoins
driven against raised corners of the tables, as heretofore,) I attach pieces of
metal with angular edges, as chaps, on two opposite sides of the table, and
render these chaps moveable by passing a shaft with scewed ends through
them and the table, the threads of which screws being made right and left

page_text: handed, cause the chaps when the shafts turn to approach towards or recede
from each other, and thereby hold fast or release the chase.
Figure 1, in the Drawing, is a horizontal view of part of the machine,
shewing the frisket frame sliding upon the rails of the machine and the table
with the chase laid upon it. a, a, are the chaps, connected together by the
shaft b, shewn in dots. The shafts being turned by a winch placed upon
either of its square ends, the chaps will open or close, and thereby release or
confine the chase upon the table, there being small notches previously cut
in the sides of the chase for the chaps to fall into; it is hence obvious that
the notches should be so cut that when the chase is screwed up tight the
from becoms adjusted accurately. The stationary surface upon which the
paper intended to be printed is placed (called the feeding tables) are square
frames similar to tympans, covered with cloth or parchment. These frames
are seen edgeways in Figures 2 & 7 at j1 and j 2, and one of them at
,,, in Figure 1. They have a small rising and falling action upon
pivots, and are elevated by the dowble levers z, z, Figure 2, in order to allow
the friskets to pass without disturbing the paper. These double levers z are
worked by means of a cam wheel upon the shaft x, which cam wheel, by
pressing against either of the long levers y, y, cause them (by means of the
cord w, w, to draw the double levers z, z, alternately, thereby raising the
feeding table as at j 2, which on the return of the long lever falls by its
own gravity as at j 1. My mode of obtaining register is by inserting four lines
of type in holes made for that purpose in the hedge of the chase or other
part of the form in such positions that if continued across they would intersect
in the center of the form, by which means joint lines at right angles on the
four edges of the paper; and these, when the sheet is placed upon the feeding
table for printing the reverse side, are to be brought to coincide with corre-
sponding lines made upon the feeding table; the sheet will then lie in a situation
to be brought on to the form, where it will perfectly register. My method of
confining the sheet of paper on the frisket is as follows:-Having placed
the sheet upon the feeding table j, j,j, and properly adjusted it, the edge of
the paper will extend over ready to be taken hold of between the frisket d, d,
and the raised fingers e, e; the frisket having returned, and the time arrived
for carrying the sheet forward on to the form, the fingers e, e, are brought
down so as to hold the edge of the sheet upon the frisket by the following
means. A bar ff, Figure 1, to which two sliders g, p, are attached, is
made to vibrate by a tappet pressing against a jointed arm extending from
the lower end of a lever connected to the bar f. Figure 2. Upon the slider
(there are two small inclined planes h, h, which, by the movement of that

page_text: slider, pass under and raise the fingers c, c. Let it now be supposed that
the bar has pushed the sliders back, and that in consequence the inclined
planes h, h, have passed under and raised the figures e, e, (which will be the
case when they are about to take hold of the sheet) when the tappet has
struck the lever so as to force the barf back again, the slider g will be brought
forward and the enclined planes h, h, drawn from under the fingers. Now
the springs k, k, pressing upwards against the hinder parts of the fingers e, e,
cause them to come down with such force as to hold the edge of the paper
securely upon the frisket. In this situation the frisket and its frame are
carried along the machine, which brings the sheet over the form ready to
receive the impression. The tappet that actuates the bar and its lever fis
fixed to the toothed wheel c, Figure 2, and is marked m. As that wheel
revolves the tappet strikes against the end of the jointed arın of the lever f, and
causes the bar f above and the sliders g and p to move as before described.
It being however necessary, in order to effect both the backward and forward
'motion of the sliders I and P, that the lever f should be alternately moved out-
ward and inward, a rod n, connected to an excentric wheel on the axle a, is made
to shift the jointed arm at the end of the leverf so that it may come in contact
with the tappet in such positions as will alternately press the lever and its bar
outward and inward, thereby shifting the sliders and raising the fingers to corre-
spond with the other movements of the machinery. As the wheel C makes an
entire revolution to every change of the bar f, it is obvious that the tappets
which force it outward and inward must be situated upon different circles in
the wheel; and for the purpose of bringing the end of the jointed arm finto
these different circles it is required to be shifted as above described. The
interrupted gear motion is a mechanicle contrivance to effect a reciprocating
action by which certain part of the machinery are alternately put in motion or
set at rest while the other parts of the machinery are continuing their progress.
This contrivance is shewn in the Diagrams at Figure 3, 4, and 5, which
exhibit the wheels in different stages of their revolutions. A is the wheel, to
which a continuous rotary motion is given. B, the wheel, intended to revolve
with an interrupted motion. C is a guide having two grooves for movable
teeth in the wheel A to slide along. These movable teeth are shewn at a, b, in
the periphery of the cog wheel A. The mode of attaching these teeth to the
wheel is by forming them at the end of levers, which levers rise and fall upon
their pivots c, c; these levers are enclosed in the hollow part of the wheel by a
stationary face plate (which is removed in the Figures in order to shew the
interior), and upon this stationary face plate there are certain enclined planes
intended to act upon the tappet or raised parts of the levers at d and e. The

page_text: wheel A being made to revolve with a continuous motion, its teeth will work
in the toothed part of the lesser wheel B until the blank part of that wheel
comes round, at which time the movable tooth 6 is made to fall into the
groove of the guide, and the curved part of the guide coming against a
circular rim on the back of the wheel A, the lesser wheel B stands still while
the larger wheel A continues its revolution. Let it be supposed that Figure 8
the lesser wheel B has been some time quiescent, and that the large wheel A
is revolving in the direction of the arrow, at the moment that the tooth a comes
into the situation there shewn the inclined plane upon the stationary face
plate, as before mentioned, acts upon the tappet d, and by pressing the lever
down projects the tooth a into the groove of the guide, and as the wheel A
continues to revolve brings the guide into the position of Figure 4, at which
time another enclined plain acts upon the tappet e and raises the tooth out of
the groove. It will now be seen that the teeth of the larger and lesser wheel
are in gear, and that they revolve together, which they will continue to do
until the wheel B comes into the position shewn at Figure 5. At this time an
inclined plane upon the stationary face plate, as before described, pressing upon
the tappet d, forces the lever down and projects the tooth b into the other groove
of the guide, by which, as the wheel A revolves, the guide and the wheel B
are brought into the position shewn at Figure 3, and the tooth passing off at
the end of the groove leaves the wheel B in a quiescent state, the segment of
a rim on the periphery of the larger wheel at the back, shewn by dots, sliding
against the curved part of the guide, and thereby holding the wheel B steady,
and the teeth of A passing over the blank part of B until the tooth a comes
again into the situation at Figure 3, when the wheel B resumes its rotary
motion. The method of taking off the sheet of paper after it has been
printed, and of laying it upon the pile, is as follows:-Supposing the sheet to
be carried in ready to receive the impression, a bar, having two or more pairs
of clasps or fingers, is brought under the edge of the platen and made to take
hold of the edge of the paper, much in the same way as described in my former
Specification above alluded; this bar is shewn detached at Figure 6. a, a, is
the fixed part of the bar to which the clasps b, b, are attached. These clasps are
kept open by springs, but are closed when taking hold of the paper by the sliding
bar c, c. Upon this bar c there are inclined planes, which, as the bar slides,
pass under the tails of the clasps and close them. The impression being given
to the paper it is drawn off by the rotation of the wheels carrying the chains,
to which the clasp bar is attached, and is brough over the heep as shewn at
Figure 7, when an inclined plane pressing against the end of the sliding bar c,
above described, opens the clasps and lets the paper fall; the sheet of
paper is

page_text: prevented passing too far, or being effected by the wind, by. a check cloth or
apron which is suspended over it, as seen at Figure 2. This cloth is brought
down, and the levers and rod which suspend it, by means of a rod and cranks
connected to the axle of the chain wheel, as seen in Figure 2 and 8. By the
descent of these levers and rod the heep of paper is pressed upon and made
to descend gradually by sliding down its standards. In order that the progress
of the sheet in taking off may keep pace with the frisket, and still pass over
ȧ greater distance than the space through which the frisket travels, there is
an excentric toothed wheel upon the side of the chain wheel, which is
actuated by a slding pinion upon a shaft that is turned by the rack upon the
frisket carriage; hence the rotation of the chain wheel will be unequal, suited
to the required motion of the sheet of paper. In regulating the quantity of
ink supplied by the ductor roller to the distributing rollers I eniploy an
adjustable rod, which is capable of elongating or contracting by the turning
of a screw box. This adjustable rod is shown in Figures 2 and 7, one end being
connected to the ductor, and the other end to an excentric upon the axle of the
reciprocating wheel d, by which means, as the excentric passes round, the
ductor is occasionally pressed up against the distributing rollers, and held there
for any space of time required for the supply, according to the length of the
adjustable rod.
Having thus particularized and described the respective heads and principles
under which my present claims of improvement on printing machines are
founded, I proceed to explain the general operation of a machine in which
these improvements are combined, in order that their disposition, purpose, and
effect, may be clearly understood.
Figure 2 is a side view of the machine, the outer frame and fly wheel
being removed for the purpose of exposing the mechanism within. Figure 7
is a view of the reverse side of the machine, the outer frame being removed
and part of the inner frame broken away to shew the interior, and Figure 8
is an end view of the machine, the same letters referring to similar parts
in these three Figures. The fly wheel, situate upon the axle a, is to be put in
motion by a winch or otherwise which turns the small toothed wheel 6 upon
the same axle, and this communicates motion to the larger toothed wheel c,
and that to d, forming a train of three toothed wheels actuated by the shaft a.
A crank attached to the axle of the wheel d, by means of its connecting rods,
moves a toothed sector e; this sector takes into a pinion g, and a toothed
wheel upon the same axle by these means is made to drive the frisket
carriage h. The traversing of this carriage conducts the inking rollers i, i, i,
over the form of types, and ink them ready to give the impression, the

page_text: paper having been previously laid and adjusted upon the feeding table j 1,
the fingers have taken hold of its edge in the manner before described at
Fig. 1, the progress of the carriage then brings the frisket with the sheet into
the form, and then the table is raised by means of the levers and rods 1, 1, 1, 1,
actuated by the small wheel n behind the wheel b, which has now been
brought into geer with the wheels b, &c. by means of the contrivance described
in Figures 3, 4, & 5. Previous to the impression being given to the sheet the
clasps o are brought down under the platen, and are made to take hold of the
sheet by an inclined plane on the side of the table, striking against the tail of
a lever p, which moves the slider shewn at Figure 6. By these means the
paper is held between the clasps, and is carried up and deposited by the rota-
tion of the wheels g and r. The wheel is actuated by a pinion s, which is
made to slide upon its shaft, and the shaft is turned by a pinion t at the lower
end taking into the upper rack upon the frisket carriage. Thus the traversing
of the frisket carriage turns the shaft t, and that being supported at its upper
end in a rod connected to a crank v, causes the shaft to be at all times directed
to the center of the toothed wheel upon the wheel 4. A sheet of paper laid
upon the feeding table j 2 is now, by the return of the frisket carriage, brought
over the form ready to be printed, which operation takes place while the former
sheet is drawing off in the manner described before by the rotation of the
wheel & and the toothed sector e. This wheel stands still when the wheel bis
in motion, both of them being connected to the wheel c by the interrupted geer
apparatus above described, and are ultimately, as respects each other, in a state
of rest and motion. The inking rollers i, i, i, i, which are connected to and
move with the frisket carriage, at every return of that carriage rest upon the
distributing rollers u, u, which are in constant rotation, and then receive their
supply of ink, which is regulated in the manner before described.
Though I have described the general construction and operation of my
improved printing machine, yet I have not particularized all its parts, as many
of them have been before set forth in my former Specification above alluded
to, consequently, they are not now claimed; but the Invention of certain
improvements on printing machines, for which the present Patent is granted,
are the several contrivances embraced under the seven heads, as above
expressed, and which, as far as they are applicable to printing apparatus, are
hereby claimed by me.
In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and seal, this
Eighteenth day of August, in the year One thousand eight hundred
WILLIAM (L.s.) CHURCH.

page_text: AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Eighteenth day of August,
in the year of our Lord 1824, the aforesaid William Church came before our
said Lord the King in His Chancery, and acknowledged the Specification
aforesaid, and all and every thing therein contained and specified, in form
above written. And also the Specification aforesaid was stamped according to
the tenor of the Statute made for that purpose.
Inrolled the Nineteenth day of August, in the year of our Lord One