Improvements in or relating to Stencilling Machines.
Year: 1898

page_text: Date of Application, 24th May, 1898-Accepted, 16th July, 1898
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or relating to Stencilling Machines.
A communication from GEORGE W. CUMMINGS, of New York City, New York,
in the United States of America.
I, ALFRED JULIUS BOULT, of 111, Hatton Garden, in the County of Middlesex,
Chartered Patent Agent, 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 relates to an improvement in stenciling machines, and involves
the application of a stencil to a perforated cylinder supplied interiorly with an
inking device, whereby the stencil through the medium of the cylinder may be
given a continuous rotary motion after the manner of a rotary printing-press,
and thus caused to print upon paper passing through the machine and supplied
from a convenient roll. The stencil used may be of any suitably prepared paper
or waxen sheet, and the characters therein may be written, as with a stylus,
or printed, as with a typewriter.
The more immediate object of the invention is to facilitate the production of
a large number of copies of a given manuscript or article, so that the same may
be furnished in the least possible time and at small expense.
The improved machine herein described finds a most useful application to the
needs of press-associations, and the like, where it is desirable to furnish to a
large number of patrons, as to a large number of newspapers, say, in a very
short space of time, items of news or other matter of general interest. It will
be understood, however, that the invention is not to be limited in its application
to this particular purpose, as it may be used to advantage generally in the
reproduction of multiple copies of manuscript or the like.
The accompanying drawings illustrate the improved stenciling machine, the
most important elements of which are the perforated stencil-cylinder, the stencil
wrapped upon and, secured thereto, an ink-chamber within, though not necessarily
a part of or connected with, the cylinder, valve-controlled outlets in said chamber,
an inking roller contacting with the inner surface of said perforated cylinder,
a yielding impression roll contacting with the stencil-cylinder, and means for
passing the paper through the machine and severing or separating the copies.
It is not, however, to be implied that all these enumerated elements form indis-
pensable parts of the machine.
In the drawings-
Figure 1 is a view in side elevation of said novel rotary stenciling machine,.
supplied with a roll of paper and in operative condition; Figure 2, a vertical
longitudinal section, the sectional plane being moved inward to cut the two
feed-rolls which draw upon and sever the paper at the rear or discharge end
of the machine; Figure 3, a broken vertical transverse section taken on line 3
of Figure 1; Figure 4, a bottom view of the ink-chamber showing the slide-valves
guarding its discharge openings; Figure 5, a section on line 5 of Figure 3:
and Figure 6, a detached view of the ink-chamber and the inking roller beneath'
the same,

page_text: A is a frame of any suitable design upon which are mounted the operative
parts. At the front end of the frame is journaled a paper-drum B upon which
is coiled a roll of paper B¹. At the opposite end of the frame are journaled
feed-rolls or drums C and D which serve the purpose of feeding or drawing the
paper through the machine and of severing the printing sheets.
In the upper central part of the frame is journaled a cylinder E, preferably
of metal, supplied throughout a portion or the whole of its surface with small
perforations t, and provided preferably, though not necessarily, with a removable
section E¹. The manner of mounting this cylinder and its attendant parts is
shown in Figure 3. The frame A is provided with journal-boxes A and A³.
The cylinder E is supported at its ends upon spiders E² and E3. The spider E³
is provided on the outer side of its hub portion with a shaft F journaled in the
box A2 and connected on the outer side of said box with an operating handle F¹.
On the inner side of its hub the spider E2 is provided with a socket to receive
the projecting shafts of an ink-chamber G. The particular form of this ink-
chamber and the particular manner of operating its valves is not of the highest
importance. It is important, however, that ink shall be supplied to the inside
of the cylinder E, and it is quite important, though not indispensable, that
automatic means be provided for admitting the ink from the ink-chamber to
the interior surface of the perforated cylinder. The spider E³ is provided at
its hub portion with an outwardly extending sleever journaled in the box A¹
on the outer side of which it is provided with a gear-wheel H secured to the
sleeve as by a set-screw 71. Through the sleever extends a shaft 9 which
supports the adjacent end of the ink-chamber E and to the outer end of which
is rigidly attached an arm ? secured to the frame A by means of a screw pl.
It thus appears that the cylinder E is free to revolve, while the ink-chamber G
is held stationary. The cylinder E is provided on its perforated portion with
a sheet of cloth or other absorbent material n to form a pad secured to the
cylinder in any suitable manner as by strips n¹ n³. Upon this pad is placed
the stencil m, which is secured in place by having its ends caught beneath
the edges of the removable section E¹. The removable section is itself secured
in place by screws (not shown) passing through the flange 7, and by the metal
strip which is provided with down-turned ends perforated to receive pins n³
shown in Figure 2.
4
The top portion G¹ of the ink-chamber G is provided with a stopper G2 which
may be removed to fill the chamber. The ink-chamber here shown is provided
at the bottom with two automatically operated valves I I¹ guarding the discharge
openings and at the top with an air-valve K, also automatically operated to
admit air at those periods when the discharge valves are open. The chamber G
is provided at its bottom with a rectangular portion G³ (see Figures 4 and 5)
having a dove-tail groove which receives the two slide-valves I and I. The valves
II' and the ink-chamber are provided with two rows of non-registering openings.
Each of the slide-valves is provided with a laterally projecting lug k carrying
a pin moving in guides 3 and respectively upon the ink-chamber and
collars L secured to the ends thereof. The valves are held normally in their
non-registering position by springs . The valves are operated by cams
(see Figures 2 and 5) located upon the inner sides of the spiders A2 and A³
The air-valve K is spring-held and pivoted as shown and provided with a curved
lever-arm K, shown in Figure 5 as engaged by a cam h¹, upon the interior
surface of the cylinder E. The cam h¹ engages the lever-arm K! at the same 5
time that the slide I' is operated by the cam upon the spider E³. Similarly,
the air-valve is operated by a second cam h at the same time the slide I is
operated by its cam on the spider E. Thus air is admitted to take the place of
the out-flowing ink.
The collars L are secured to the chamber by screws g and have downwardly 5
depending lugs L', provided with slots 9', within which are journaled the ends
of the shaft g of an inking-roller M. The roller M is of any suitable material

page_text: .
and rests at the bottom of the cylinder E upon its interior surface by which
it is given a rotary motion. Beneath the cylinder E is an impression-cylinder N,
preferably of rubber, journaled in upwardly extending arms P carried by a
shaft journaled in spring-held slides P2, moving in guides attached to the
main frame. At one end (see Figure 1) the shaft P is provided with an
operating handle Q, by means of which the impression-cylinder may be rocked
away from the stencil-cylinder to permit insertion of the paper. When the
impression-cylinder is rocked away from contact with the stencil-cylinder E the
handle rests upon a, support Q The tension of the springs controlling
the slides P¹ is adjusted by set-screws f, the distance between the top of the roller N
and the bottom of the slides being great enough to cause the latter to move
downward a short distance from the tops of their guides against their springs
when the impression-cylinder is thrown up against the stencil-cylinder E, as
shown in Figure 1. The impression cylinder is held against moving beyond a
vertical when thrown in contact with the stencil-cylinder by a lug f¹ upon the
frame A.
The gear-wheel H meshes with an idler e journaled in the frame. The idler
meshes with a gear-wheel R connected with the roll D, which, in turn, meshes
with a gear-wheel R' connected with the roll C. Extending longitudinally of
the roll C is a knife d having a serrated edge, which projects slightly beyond
the surface of the roll and is provided with spring-held rubber sheathing strips d
as shown. The roll D is provided with a female-die c which co-acts with the
knife to sever the sheets of paper. As the upper surface of the paper contains
printed matter before it reaches the roll D and since the latter presses tightly
upon the roll C to help in the action of feeding the paper through the machine
it is desirable to have the upper roll supplied with a blotter b to prevent blurring
of the copies. The blotter is secured to the roll by having its ends clamped
in place by the die-piece c. The paper supply drum B should move with
sufficient friction to insure the requisite tension of the paper in passing through
the machine. If desired, any supplementary tensioning device for insuring the
correct passage of the paper may be employed. In practice a supplementary
roller has been used for guiding the paper in a somewhat more sinuous path,
thus accomplishing this purpose, but the machine here described works satisfac-
torily, and it has been thought well to omit this feature from the drawings, for
the sake of greater perspicuity.
The operation is as follows:
Assuming the ink-chamber to have been supplied with ink, the stencil-
cylinder E to have been supplied with the sheet of absorbent material, the stencil
placed thereon with the top or smooth side toward the cylinder, and the removable
section E to have been secured in place, there remains only to pass the paper
from the roll B¹ and adjust it between the stencil-cylinder and impression-
cylinder and thence between the rolls D and C, when the machine is ready for
printing. By means of the handle F1 or any suitable power connection, if the
machine be large enough to make it desirable, motion in the direction indicated
is communicated to the stencil-cylinder and thence by the train of gearing
described to the rolls 1) and C. As the stencil-cylinder rotates the slide-valves I
and I are alternately operated and, simultaneously therewith, the air-valve is
opened to admit air to replace the outflowing ink. Ink drops down upon the
frictionally operated inking-roller M, and is thereby spread over the inner surface
of the stencil-cylinder, from which it exudes or is expressed through the minute
openings t. On the outer surface it is taken up by the absorbent pad and caused
to spread to all parts thereof by capillary attraction. From the absorbent pad
the ink is pressed out through the character perforations, as they may be termed,
of the stencil as the latter is passed in close contact with the paper between the
stencil-cylinder and the impression-cylinder. There the printing operation is
effected, and from thence the paper passes through the rolls CD where the
printed sheets are severed or perforated, as desired, by the knife above described.

page_text: It is obvious that the broad idea of the invention is that of supporting the
stencil upon a cylinder and, in any appropriate manner, supplying ink to the
inner side of said stencil in a practically continuous manner, through the medium
of the cylinder, thereby enabling the process of stenciling or mimeographing to
be accomplished in a rotary press having a continuous movement in one direction.
It is equally obvious that various changes in details of construction may be
made without departing from the spirit of the invention, hence it is to be under-
stood that no limitation is intended by the specific construction herein shown
nor by the particular description thereof, except as shall appear from the
appended claims.
In practice, it is of the utmost importance that the impression roll be of 'a
sufficiently yielding nature to prevent injury to the delicate stencil employed
and to afford a somewhat flattened surface at the line of contact. By preference,
also, the stencil used is made from the most porous of the Japanese papers,
commonly known in trade as bamboo or yoshino, and supplied with a coating
of soft wax or paraffine. The wax is readily removable by the type of a type-
writing machine, but the loose-textured fiber remains as a readily permeable
means for conducting the ink to the paper which receives the copy.
By the application of an electric or other suitable motor the machine may be
speeded up to attain the remarkable output of from forty to sixty thousand"
copies per hour. An output of eighteen thousand sheets per hour has actually
been attained by hand power.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
invention as communicated to me by my foreign correspondent, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim is:
1. In a rotary stenciling machine, the combination with the frame, of a stencil-
cylinder journaled therein, means for supplying ink to the inner side of a
stencil after the latter is in place upon the stencil-cylinder, a paper-supply drum,
and a yielding impression roll of rubber or the like, contacting with the stencil-
cylinder and co-acting therewith in the production of the copy substantially as
and for the purpose set forth.
2. In a rotary stenciling machine, the combination with the frame, of a stencil-
cylinder journaled therein, means for supplying ink to the inner side of a
stencil after the latter is in place upon the stencil-cylinder, a paper-supply drum,
an impression roll contacting with the stencil cylinder, and feed and severing
rolls journaled in the frame, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.
3. In a rotary stenciling apparatus, the combination with the fraine, of a
stencil-cylinder journaled therein, an absorbent pad on said cylinder, a wax-
coated stencil of the material herein described secured on the exterior of said
pad, means for automatically supplying ink to the pad from the interior of the
cylinder, a yielding impression-roll of rubber or the like journaled in contact
with said stencil cylinder and co-acting therewith in the production of the copy,
and a paper roll for supplying the paper, substantially as and for the purpose
set forth.
4. In a rotary stenciling machine, the combination with the frame, of a stencil-
cylinder journaled therein, means for supplying ink to the inner side of a
stencil after the latter is in place upon the stencil-cylinder, a paper-supply drum,
an impression roll contacting with the stencil cylinder, and feed. and severing
rolls journaled in the frame, one of said rolls being supplied with a blotter,
substantially as and for the purpose` set forth.
BOULT & WADE,
Agents for the Applicant.