Improvements in Copying Presses and the like.
Year: 1898

page_text: Date of Application, 18th Oct., 1898-Accepted, 10th Dec., 1898
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Copying Presses and the like.
I, BENJAMIN JOSEPH BARNARD MILLS, of 23, Southampton Buildings, in the
County of London, Patent Agent, do liereby declare the nature of this invention
(a communication to me from Albert Blake Dick, of No. 152, Lake Street, in the
City of Chicago, County of Cook and State of Illinois, United States of America,
Manufacturer,) and in what manner the same is to be performed to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement:—
The invention relates to various new and useful improvements in copying
presses and the like, and the particular type of such presses to which the inven-
tion refers is that employing a relatively stationary lower plate, an upper plate
movable towards and away from said lower plate, and a hand operated screw shaft
for effecting such movement of the upper plate.
The principal object of the invention is to improve the efficiency of copying
presses and the like of this type by providing mechanism operated by a single
hand controlled element, such as the ordinary hand wheel, and by means of which
two distinct rates of movement of the plates relatively to each other may be pro-
vided for, the plates being approached towards each other at a relatively rapid
rate of movement until the object to be compressed, such as the ordinary copying
book is firmly engaged between said plates, and the plates being subsequently
approached towards each other to compress said object at a relatively slow rate of
movement, whereby a very much greater compressive effect may be produced upon
said object with the same expenditure of energy, or the same compressive effect
may be exerted upon said object with a very much smaller expenditure of energy,
than is possible in those presses of the type referred to at present on the market.
In the drawings;
-
Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the preferred form of copying press or the like.
Fig. 2, a plan view thereof;
Fig. 3, a longitudinal sectional view;
Fig. 4, a side elevation of a modified arrangement, wherein the two distinct
rates of movement are communicated to the upper plate through a system of leyers;
Fig. 5, a side elevation, partly in section, of a further modification, wherein the
two distinct rates of movement are communicated to the upper plate by a differential
screw connection;
Fig. 6, a plan view of the same, showing the screw shaft in section; and
Fig. 7, a section on the line 7-7 of Fig. 5.
Referring to Figures 1, 2 and 3, 1 represents the ordinary bed-plate of a copy-
ing press, made generally of a single casting and adapted to be screwed or other-
wise secured to the top of a table or stand. 2 is the lower plate, and 3 the upper
plate.
Ordinarily the lower plate is stationary, but in the present form of the inven-
tion this plate is capable of a slow rate of movement relatively to the upper plate,
when the object to be compressed is firmly grasped between said plates and the
upper plate has been locked against upward movement, as I shall explain. 4, 4, are

page_text: guides for both the upper and lower plates, said guides being either cast with the
bed 1 or secured to the same in any convenient way. The upper and lower plates
are provided with ears 5, 5, which bear on each side of the guides 4, and by means
of which both plates will be allowed to move vertically with respect to said guides.
Normally the ears 5 of the lower plate rest upon supports 6, cast with the guides 4,
but in operation the lower plate is adapted to be moved out of engagement with
said supports and to approach the upper plate, as will be explained. 7, 7 are
standards, which are cast with the bed plate 1, but which may be separate elements
secured to the same in any suitable way.
Manifestly these standards may be dispensed with and be replaced by ears cast
with the guides 4, 4, as will be understood. 8, 8 are levers pivoted at one
extremity in the upper ends of the standards 7, 7 and connected at their other
extremities to lugs 9, 9 cast with a collar 10. This collar is screw threaded, and
working within the same is the ordinary screw threaded shaft 11, adapted to be
operated by hand in any suitable way. I illustrate a hand wheel 12, secured to the
upper end of said screw-threaded shaft and by which it may be rotated. 13, 13
are links which are connected to the levers 8, 8 near the fulcrums of said levers in
the standards 7, and in the preferred type of the invention illustrated these links
are practically concealed by the guides 4, 4, which are hollowed out for their
reception.
Said guides 4, 4 are provided with slots 14 at their upper ends, within which work
the levers 8 and by means of which also said levers will, in a measure, be guided
in their plane of vertical movement. The lower ends of the links 13 are con-
nected by a heavy connecting bar 15, which extends beneath the lower plate 2,
said connecting bar working in a slot 16 formed in the bed-plate, said slot extending
up into the guides 4, 4 as at 17, to allow for vertical movement of said connecting
bar.
The lower plate 2 is provided at its central bottom portion with a shallow lug 18,
engaging a socket 19 in the connecting bar, by reason of which, when the lower-
plate has been elevated above the supports 6, said lower plate will be capable of a
limited tilting movement to provide for any inequalities in the copying book or
other object to be compressed.
In order that the upper plate 3 may be locked against upward movement when
the object to be compressed has been firmly engaged between the two plates. suit-
able means are to be provided, operated preferably automatically but capable of
being operated by hand. With automatic devices for this purpose, they may be
brought into operation by the screw-threaded shaft 11, and such devices are illus-
trated in the drawings. The upper plate 3 is provided on its upper surface with
a flat horizontal guide 20, on which are mounted the two locking dogs 21, 21.
These locking dogs are secured in place by means of screws 22, 22. engaging the
upper plate 3 and working in slots in said locking dogs, by which a limited
movement of the latter may be allowed. One of said screws 22 for each locking
dog is provided with an upward extension, which extension is connected by a
spring 23 with a stud 24 carried on each dog near its outer end. These springs 23
will normally keep the locking dogs 21 in their retracted positions. The outer
end of each locking dog is formed with an enlarged head 25. having a plurality
of teeth thereon, which teeth are adapted to engage with a toothed rack 26
rigidly secured to, or formed integral with, each of the guides 4. The inner
end of each locking dog is provided with an inclined cam surface 27. these surfaces
of the two dogs being, therefore, arranged relatively close together. Engaging
these surfaces is a cone-shaped cam 28, carried near the lower end of the screw-
threaded shaft 11. The extreme lower end of said shaft is formed into a cylindrical
stud 29. which engages an opening in the upper plate and by which the said screw-
threaded shaft will be kept in its proner vertical position. In order that return
movement of the vertical shaft may elevate the upper plate, the two locking dogs
are provided with overhanging lins 30, which normally are arranged directly above
the upper surface of the cone-shaped cam 28, and which will be engaged by said

page_text: cone-shaped cam when the movement of the screw-threaded shaft 11 is reversed to
elevate the lower plate.
The operation of this, the preferred form of the present invention, is as follows:
Normally the lower plate 2 is stationary, the ears 5, 5, thereof resting upon the
supports 6. The upper plate is moved out of engagement with the lower plate,
and is supported by the lips 30 engaging the upper surface of the cone-shaped
cam 28. The copying book or other object to be compressed is now inserted between
the two plates and rests upon the lower plate. The hand-wheel 12 is now rotated,
the screw-threaded shaft 11 working relatively to the collar 10 and allowing the
upper plate to be moved downwards until it engages with the copying book or
other object.
Further rotation of the screw shaft 11 serves to engage the cone shaped cam 28,
with the cam surfaces 27, to force the upper plate into closer engagement with the
object. When the resistance of the object to this actuating effect of the screw
threaded shaft 11 is greater than the resistance of the springs 23, the engagement
between the cone-shaped cam 28 and the cam surfaces 27 will cause the locking
dogs 21 to be moved outwards, so that the teeth carried by said locking dogs will
engage the racks 26. When this engagement takes place, upward movement of
the upper plate will be prevented, said plate being firmly locked in its position.
If therefore the shaft 11 is still rotated, the collar 10 is caused to be moved
upwards with respect to said shaft, thereby moving the levers 8 out of their normal
horizontal position, and through the links 13, carrying the connecting bar 15 up-
wards so as to move the lower plate towards the now stationary upper plate. Owing
to the fact that the links 13 are connected to the levers S near the fulcrum of said
levers, this movement of the collar 10 with respect to the screw threaded shaft 11
will be correspondingly reduced upon the connecting bar, and the pressure applied
to said connecting bar will be correspondingly increased. In this way it will be
seen that I provide for two distinct relative rates of movement of the two plates,
which movements are effected by a single hand operated device and preferably
entirely automatically. It will be understood, however, although it will, of course,
not be so convenient, that the locking of the upper plate, in this form of the inven-
tion, may be effected by hand, for instance, by moving the locking dogs into engage-
ment with the racks 26 by a small hand lever, when the upper plate has been
brought into engagement with the copying-book or other object to be compressed.
While it is preferred to provide for the relatively rapid movement of the com-
pressing plates by operating the upper plate with respect to the lower plate, and
to provide for the relatively slow movement of said plates by operating the lower
plate relatively to the upper plate, it is possible to effect these two rates of move-
ments in connection with a single one of said plates, and it is also possible to auto-
matically provide for the relatively slow movement of said plate when the object
to be compressed has been firmly engaged between the plates.
In Figure 4, I illustrate a form of device wherein these operations take place.
With this modification, the lower plate may be formed integral with the bed
plate 1, or, if 't is desired that the lower plate should be capable of play to provide
for inequalities in the object to be compressed, the said lower plate may be sup-
ported on the bed plate 1 by a lug similar to the lug 18. Extending up from the
bed-plate 1 are the usual standards 31, which are connected across their upper ends
by a bridge-piece 32, which may be integral with said standards. The standards 31
are provided with toothed racks 26, as in the preferred form of the invention. The
upper plate 3 is provided with ears 5, 5 by which it will be guided in its vertical
movements. Carried by said upper plate are brackets 33, to which are pivoted
the levers 34. Said levers are provided with stops 35, which engage with said
brackets when the levers are in a horizontal position and by which the said levers
will be prevented from moving upwards out of that position, while they will be free
to move downwards. The said levers 34 carry locking dogs 21 on their upper sur-
faces, which locking dogs are mounted on said levers identically like the locking
logs of the preferred construction being normally retracted by springs 23.

page_text: The screw-threaded shaft 11 is provided, near its lower end, with a collar 36,
which is adapted to engage the cam surfaces 27 of the locking dogs and force said
locking dogs into engagement with the racks 26, as will be understood. The
extreme lower end of the screw shaft 11 is provided with an enlarged head 37,
which engages, upon the return movement of said shaft, with the lower ends of the
levers 34, to thereby elevate the upper plate 3.
The operation of this modification will be readily understood. In the position
shown, the object to be compressed has been engaged by the upper plate 3, and
the continued downward movement of the screw shaft 11 has engaged the collar 36
with the cam surfaces 27, to force the dogs 21 into engagement with the toothed
rack 26. Further movement of the screw shaft 11 causes the levers 34 to force the
upper plate 3 downward with a very much increased pressure, owing to the pivoting
of said levers on the brackets 33 near their outer ends. Upon reversing the move-
ment of the screw shaft 11, the enlarged head 37 engages the lower ends of the
levers and moves them to their horizontal position until the lugs 35 engage with
said brackets. Further reversed movement of the screw-shaft withdraws the
collar 36 from the cam surfaces 27, allowing the locking dogs to be retracted from
their engagement with the toothed racks 26, whereupon the upper plate 3 may be
further elevated from the object to be compressed by the engagement of the enlarged
head 37 with the under side of the levers 34.
In Figures 5, 6 and 7, I illustrate a further modification of the invention, where-
in the two separate rates of movement are applied to the upper plate by a differ-
ential screw motion.
Referring to these Figures, A represents the ordinary bed-plate of the copying-
press, upon which the book or other object is placed. B, B, are the usual side
frames, which in this instance are cast integral with the bed-plate A and which are
connected at their upper ends by a heavy bridge piece C cast integral with said
frames. In the drawing, I show the side frames B provided each with a vertical
groove 1 therein, in which works a lug or ear E of the upper plate F, and by
which the proper vertical travel of said upper plate will be secured.
The bridge-piece C is provided at its centre with a boss G, and is screw threaded
for the reception of the ordinary screw shaft H, which, in this instance, is rotated
by a suitable hand wheel I, as is common. The upper plate F is provided with a
cast rim a at its central part, forming a socket or depression within said rim.
Carried on the rim a is a socket e having an integral flange d which is screwed or
bolted to the rim a. The socket c is screw threaded on its interior, as shown.
Engaging with said screw threaded socket is a differential screw sleeve e, the
threads of which are slightly finer than the threads of the screw shaft H. In the
particular instance illustrated, I illustrate the screw shaft H as provided with
threads of two per inch lead, and the differential screw sleeve e as being provided
with threads of two and one-eighth per inch lead; but manifestly the threads of
the shaft and sleeve may vary to a greater or less extent. The direction of the
threads, both of the screw shaft and of the sleeve, is the same, both being shown
as double right hand threads.
When it is desired that the device shall be automatic, the screw-shaft H may be
provided at its lower end with a conical or tapered portion f; which engages the
bore of the differential screw-sleeve e, and the friction between these parts is
sufficient, when a certain period in the operation has been reached, to cause the
differential screw sleeve e to be rotated with the screw shaft H, although normally
this operation does not take place, as will be explained.
C
By making the threads of the sleeve e and and collar c with a slight play between
them, the upper plate F will be free to accommodate itself to any small inequalities
in the book or other object to be compressed, but manifestly such a result may be
accomplished in many other ways.
The lower end of the screw shaft H is provided with a nut g thereon, between
which and the differential screw sleeve e is interposed a washer h. The lower end
of the screw shaft H is provided with a vertical slot i therein, and the washer h

page_text: is provided with a stud j (see Fig. 7) which engages with the said slot and by
which the washer will be turned with the screw shaft to prevent the accidental
loosening of the nut g. The differential screw sleeve e is provided at its lower end
with an enlarged flange k, which, when said sleeve has been elevated to its extreme
limit, engages with the collar c. With the device illustrated, the weight of the
upper plate forces the differential screw sleeve e onto the washer and may actually
separate the bore of said sleeve from the tapered portion f of the screw shaft.
Ordinarily, however, it is not necessary that a positive separation between these
elements should take place, since it is only necessary that the friction between
these parts should be sufficiently reduced to prevent the differential screw sleeve
from being rotated during the preliminary or rapid movement of the plate.
The operation of this modification is as follows, the parts being normally in the
position shown; The copying book or other object is placed on the bed plate A,
and the hand wheel I is rotated, moving the screw shaft H relatively to the boss G
and allowing the upper plate F to move downwards, the friction between the
differential sleeve e and the tapered portion f of said screw shaft being insufficient
to rotate the screw sleeve. When, however, the upper plate comes into engage-
ment with the book or other object, the downward movement of the screw shaft
causes its tapered lower end to engage tightly with the sleeve e, and the friction
between these parts will rotate the said differential sleeve. This rotation of said
sleeve moves it with respect to the collar e, and hence to the extent of that move-
ment reduces the rate of travel of the upper plate.
Hence the pressure which will be applied to said plate will be increased accord-
ingly. Upon reversing the movement of the screw shaft H, the friction between
its tapered lower end and the sleeve e will rotate the latter until the flange k comes
into engagement with the lower end of the collar c, and said sleeve will be pre-
vented from rotating further. By thus holding said sleeve against rotation, the
further movement of the screw shaft H disengages its tapered lower end from the
sleeve and relieves the friction between the parts, whereupon the upper plate will
be supported upon the washer and the continued movement of the screw shaft H
will then elevate said upper plate at its maximum rate of movement.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim is:
1. A copying press or the like having two plates between which the article to be
compressed is engaged, and characterized by the employment of devices controlled
by a single operating handle, and by which the plates will first be moved towards
each other with a relatively rapid movement until the object to be compressed is
engaged and by which the said plates will subsequently be moved towards each other
at a slower rate of movement, whereby an increased compressive effect may be
applied to the object.
2. A copying press or the like such as recited in Claim 1 and further character-
ized by the employment of devices by means of which when the article is engaged
the operating mechanism will automatically be brought into use to move the plates
towards each other at the slow rate of movement referred to.
3. A copying press or the like such as referred to in Claims 1 and 2 and further
characterized by the employment of a differential screw mechanism co-operating
with the upper plate and by which the two different rates of movement will be
applied to said plate.
Datod this 18th day of October 1898
HARRIS & MILLS.
23, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents.