IMPROVEMENTS IN LETTER-PRESS PRINTING
Year: 1837

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, DAVID,
NAPIER, of the York Road, Lambeth, in the County of Surrey, Engineer,
send greeting.
WHEREAS His late most Excellent Majesty King William the Fourth,
by His Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date
at Westminster, the Eighteenth day of April, in the seventh year of His
reign, did, for Himself, His heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said David Napier, His especial licence, full power, sole privilege and
authority, that I, the said David Napier, my exors, admors, and assigns, or
such others as I, the said David Napier, my exors, adñiors, or 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 make,
use, exercise, and vend, within England, Wales, and the Town of Berwick;
upon-Tweed, my Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN LETTER-PRESS PRINTING;" in
which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso that I, the said David Napier,
shall cause a particular description of the nature of my said Invention, and
in what manner the same is to be performed, to be inrolled in His said
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 thereunto had, will more fully and at large
appear.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
David Napier, do hereby declare the nature of my Invention, and the
manner in which the same is to be performed, are fully described and
ascertained in and by the following Statement thereof, reference being had
to the Drawing hereunto annexed, and to the figures and letters marked
thereon, that is to say:-
My Invention consists in certain improvements in two different kinds of
letter-press printing machines,-First, that kind which is known by the name
of flat surface printing machines; the type being laid upon one surface, and the
impression given by another by means of levers or otherwise. Secondly, that
kind which is known by the name of cylindrical printing machines, having
the type fixed upon one cylinder and the impression given by another which
revolves along with and against it.
And whereas both the above methods of printing have been long known and
in use, and seeing that I claim no particular arrangement or construction of
these machines either in whole or in part, save only those points which are the
subject of this Patent, I have therefore drawn and described in this Specifi-
cation those parts only which are necessary to a full understanding of my
Invention.
Figures 1, 2, and 3, illustrate the first part of my Invention (the same
letters denoting the same parts in each), the object of which is to obtain from
the continuous revolving shaft A a horizontal reciprocating action to the
frisket frame B, and at the same time an interval of rest at each end of its
action to allow time for the impression to be taken, and for laying on the
paper, &c. This is obtained by the compound eccentric piece C, which I shall
hereafter denominate the guide C, of which Figure 2 is an elevation, and
Figure 3 a section, the action of which is as follows:-The guide C being
fixed upon the shaft A, which revolves in the direction of the arrows, with the
sliding piece D connected to the end of the lever E, as shewn in section at
Figure 3, and inserted into the circular groove of the guide C, as shewn at
different points in Figure 2, whilst the lever E is connected with the frisket
frame B by levers; as shewn at Figure 1, it is obvious that as the guide C
revolves from its present position in Figure 1 that during the first half revolu-
tion it will produce no action upon the lever E, the sliding piece D being then
in the outer concentric groove F, and consequently the frisket frame B will be
at rest in its present position; but during. the second half revolution the
action of the sliding piece D in the eccentric groove G will bring the lever E
down to the red line H, and consequently the centre of the frisket frame B

page_text: from I to K, as shewn by the red lines, which denote the vibration of the levers.
The third half revolution will produce no action on the lever E, the sliding
piece D being then in the inner concentric groove L, leaving the frisket
frame B at rest as before, but at the opposite end of its action; and during
these intervals of rest, the frisket frame B being double, an impression may be
given by the surface (or platin), represented at M, in any of the ordinary ways
at one end, while a sheet is being laid on at the other. During the fourth
half revolution of the guide C the action of the sliding piece D in the eccen-
tric groove N will bring the lever E up again to its original position, and in
like manner the frisket frame B to the point from whence it started, as seen
at Figure 1.
Figure 4 will serve to describe the second part of my Invention, the
object. of which is a greater facility in the process of printing. This I.
obtain simply by appropriating part of the periphery of type cylinder as a
distributing surface for the ink; and encreasing the inner bar of the impressing
cylinder, thus enabling me to obtain several impressions from one type
cylinder. A represents a type cylinder, which revolves in the direction of the
arrows; from B to C represents stereotype plates; D, D, D, &c., &c., impression*
cylinders with their inking rollers H; the distributing surface may commence
at E, and occupy more or less of the type cylinder A, according to the number
of impression cylinders D intended to be used. The feeding roller F, which
takes its ink in the common way from the duct roller G, communicates the
same in two or three revolutions on the distributing surface at E, so that each
set of inking rollers II, II, II, &c., &c., will pass over the whole length of dis-
tributing surface E before they come into contact with the type, there being
one set of inking rollers H for each impressing cylinder D. The paper may
be supplied and delivered in any of the usual ways; that represented by the
rollers I, tapes K, and boards L, is adopted by some of the most rapid
machines at present in use.
I may here again state, that I claim no particular arrangement or construc-
tion of these machines either in whole or in part, save only the points already
described, and which are as follows, videlicet,-
First, in flat surface printing machines I do claim as my Invention that
peculiar combination of eccentric and concentric guides which I have called.
the guide C, whereby I obtain from the shaft A a reciprocating action to the
frisket frame B, and an interval of rest at each end of its action.
Secondly, in cylindrical printing machines I do claim as my Invention the
mode of appropriating a part of the periphery of the cylinder on which the