of IMPROVED MACHINERY FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF PAPER IN SEPARATE SHEETS
Year: 1875

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Alexander Melville Clark, of 53, Chancery Lane,
in the County of Middlesex, Patent Agent, for the Invention
"
of IMPROVED MACHINERY FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF PAPER IN SEPARATE
SHEETS." A communication from abroad by Charles Jules Pierre
Desnos, of Paris, France, Civil Engineer.
Sealed the 20th December 1875, and dated the 12th July 1875.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Alexander Melville
Clark at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his
Petition, on the 12th July 1875.
1
t
..
I, ALEXANDER MELVILLE CLARK, of 53, Chancery Lane, in the
County of Middlesex, Patent Agent, do. hereby declare the nature of
the said Invention for "IMPROVED MACHINERY FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF
PAPER IN SEPARATE SHEETS," to be as follows:-
: 3
This Invention relates to the manufacture of paper in separate sheets,
ánd it consists in machinery for effecting the various operations of the
hand process of paper making.

page_text: The Invention is more especially designed for the production of
water marked paper, such as bank note paper, which it has hitherto
been impossible to produce by mechanical means with the same per-
fection as by the old hand processes.

page_text: which are parallel to the chains are attached four bearings c, c, c³, ¹c¹³,
two on either side to carry two rods d, d, upon which the mould I is
supported. The bearings are attached to the mould carriers in such
position that when the moulds are in place the cloth which covers the
same shall be exactly on a level with the point of contact of the teeth
of racks A, A¹, with the wheels D, D¹.
As many moulds I are used as there are mould carriers, the moulds
are similar to those used in the hand process, and may be made of wood
or metal; I' is a mould with the deckle removed; I³, a mould with
deckle placed thereon; I³, a mould with deckle raised. Each mould
carries on two opposite sides the round rods d, d', above mentioned,
which rods serve to support the mould in the mould carrier G, the rods
being made for this purpose to project beyond the mould on either side
and fit into the bearings o.
Each mould is provided with a hinged deckle f whose pivot is one
of the side rods d, d. The deckle remains down upon the mould when
it dips in the pulp, and also during the whole time required for
draining out the water, after which the deckle is turned back until
it rests on the cross bars at one side of the mould, this movement being
imparted by a gear wheel g keyed on the hinge pin, which at the proper
moment gears with a rack h. The deckle returns to its original position
by its own gravity and the motion of the machine, and covers the mould
again at the proper moment. Each mould is also provided on one of its
sides parallel to the chains with a rigid bent arm / by which a tremulous
or shaking motion is transmitted to the mould when charged with pulp
for spreading the pulp equally upon it.
The continuous motion of the chain brings the moulds in succession
over a large stationary vat L which is continuously supplied at its lower
part with pulp purified in the manner usually adopted in paper making.
The said vat is placed between the upper and lower parts of the endless
chain, and as each mould comes above the vat a dipping trough or
tray M, large enough to receive the mould carriers, takes up a quantity
of pulp from the vat L and then rises until the mould is immersed
in the pulp it contains; the dipper then descends, leaving the mould
covered with pulp to the level of the deckle, and again charges itself
with pulp from the vat.

page_text: In the Drawing accompanying this Specification the movement of
the dipper is produced by the combination of an up-and-down motion.
obtained by the cranks N with a to-and-fro motion imparted by
eccentrics O. I may however adopt a different arrangement of dipping
by which the dipping tray is dispensed with, the mould carriers them-
selves being made to dip into the vat, they being for this purpose
supported by springs capable of yielding under the action of suitable
mechanism, and when released, of gradually returning the carriers to
their former position.
In order to spread the pulp uniformly upon the mould and felt
the fibres together the mould is made to receive a slight vibratory
movement in its bearings c by means of the bent arm k, whose
extremity engages just before the arrival of the mould over the vat L
in a long slide P pivoted at p and having an angular reciprocating
motion imparted by a connecting rod q and eccentric arranged in
the same manner as those for vibrating the endless wire cloth in the
ordinary paper-making machine. The speed of the machine and the
length of tho chain are so calculated that the pulp is drained when
the mould arrives at the end of this slide. Immediately the mould
has passed the slide P the toothed wheel 9 on the axis of the deckle
gears with a rack fixed on the machine frame, whereby the deckle
is raised and turned over upon the cross bars of the chain. The mould
then passes beneath a couching roll Q covered with felt so as to yield
under pressure, absorb the water in the sheets, and detach them from
the mould. This roll receives motion from two equal gear wheels
R, R', keyed on its axis and driven directly by the racks or chains
A, A. This couching roll also carries an endless web S (Figures
1 and 2) of felt, wire cloth, or other material to which the sheet
attaches itself. The excess of moisture is removed from the material
by means of a number of vacuum boxes I similar to those ordinarily
employed in paper-making machines. The endless web S then passes
around a series of drying cylinders V, V, V", by which the sheet is
either wholly or partially dried, according to the particular kind of
manufacture, after which it is removed either by hand or by mechanical
means; Z, vat for washing the moulds after couching.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letter. Patent,
filed by the said Alexander Melville Clark in the Great Seal
Patent Office on the 11th January 1876.
.1
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ALEXANDER
MELVILLE CLARK, of 53, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex,
Patent Agent, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twelfth day of July, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-five, in the thirty-
ninth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,"
give and grant unto me, the said Alexander Melville Clark, Her special
license that I, the said Alexander Melville Clark, my executors, adminis-, .
trators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Alexander Melville
Clark, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time
agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter
during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use,
exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for
"IMPROVED MACHINERY FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF PAPER IN SEPARATE SHEETS,"
a communication to me from abroad by Charles Jules Pierre Desnos,
of Paris, France, Civil Engineer, upon the condition (amongst others)
that I, the said Alexander Melville Clark, my executors or admini-
strators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one
of their hands and scals, should particularly describe and ascertain
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same was
to be performed, and cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal
Patent Office within six calendar months next and immediately after
the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Alexander Melville Clark, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is
to be performed; to be particularly described and ascertained in and:
by the following statement, reference being had to the accompanying
Sheet of Drawings, and to the letters and figures marked thereon, that
is to say :-
This Invention relates to the manufacture of paper in separate sheets,

page_text: hand process of paper making.
The Invention is more especially
designed for the production of water marked paper, such as bank note
paper, which it has hitherto been impossible to produce by mechanical
means with the same perfection as by the old hand process.
The immuncond
T
19

page_text: either side to carry two rods d, d, upon which the mould I is supported.
The bearings are attached to the mould carriers in such position that
when the moulds are in place the cloth which covers the same shall be
exactly on a level with the point of contact of the teeth of racks A, A',
with the gear wheels D, D¹.
.
3rd. Of as many moulds I as there are mould carriers. The moulds
are similar to those used in the hand process and may be made of wood
or metal; I' is a mould with the deckle removed; I², a mould with the
deckle applied; I³, a mould with deckle raised. At the two opposite
sides of each mould are the round rods d, d, above mentioned, which
rods serve to support the mould in the mould carrier G, the rods being
made for this purpose to project beyond the mould on either side and fit
into the bearings c.
Each mould is provided with a deckle fhinged or pivoted on one of
the side rods d, d¹. The deckle remains down upon the mould when it
dips in the pulp, and also during the whole time required for draining
out the water, after which the deckle is turned back until it rests on the
cross bars at one side of the mould, this movement being imparted by a
gear wheel g keyed on the hinge pin, which at the proper moment gears
with a rack h. The deckle returns to its original position by its own
gravity and the motion of the machine, and is applied upon the mould
again at the proper moment. Each mould is also provided on one of its
sides parallel to the chains with a rigid bent arm k, by which a
tremulous or shaking motion is transmitted to the mould when charged
with pulp for spreading the pulp equally upon it.
The continuous motion of the chain brings the moulds in succession
over a large stationary vat which is continuously supplied at its lower
part with pulp purified in the manner usually adopted in paper making.
The said vat is placed between the upper and lower parts of the endless
chain, and as each mould comes above the vat a dipping trough or
tray M, large enough to receive the mould carriers, takes up a quantity
of pulp from the vat, and then rises until the mould is immersed in the
pulp it contains. The dipper then descends, leaving the mould covered
with pulp to the level of the deckle, and again charges itself with pulp
from the vat L.
T

page_text: obtained by the cranks N with a to-and-fro motion imparted by
eccentrics O. I may however adopt a different arrangement of dipping
by which the tray M is dispensed with, the mould carriers themselves
being made to dip into the vat. For this purpose the mould carriers
are supported by springs capable of yielding under the action of suitable
mechanism, and when released of gradually returning the carriers to
their former position.
In order to spread the pulp uniformly upon the mould and felt the
fibres together the mould is made to receive a slight vibratory move-
ment in its bearings c by means of the bent arm k, whose extremity
engages just before the arrival of the mould over the vat L in a long
slide P pivoted at p, and having an angular reciprocating motion
imparted by a connecting rod q and eccentric arranged in the same
manner as those for vibrating the endless wire cloth in the ordinary
paper making machines. The speed of the machine and the length of
the chain are so calculated that the pulp is drained when the mould
arrives at the end of this slide. Immediately the mould has passed the
slide P the toothed wheel 9 on the axis of the deckle gears with a rack h
fixed on the machine, frame, whereby the deckle is raised and turned
over upon the cross bars of the chain. The mould then passes beneath
a couching roll-Q-covered-with-felt so as to yield under pressure, absorb
the water in the sheets, and detach them from the mould. This roll
receives motion from two equal gear wheels R, R', keyed on its axis and
driven directly by the racks or chains A, A¹. This couching roll also
carries an endless web S (Figures 1 and 2) of felt, wire cloth, or other
material to which the sheet attaches itself. The excess of moisturo is
removed by means of a number of vacuum boxes T similar to those
ordinarily employed in paper making machines. The endless web S
then passes around a series of drying cylinders V, V, V", by which the
sheet is either wholly or partially dried as may be required, after which
it is removed either by hand or mechanical means; Z; vat for washing
the mould after couching.
Having described the nature of the Invention and the manner of
performing the same, I declare that what I claim as the Invention to be
-protected-by-the-herein-before in part recited Letters Patent is,-
1st. A pair of parallel endless chains (pitch chains, rack chains, or
their equivalent) receiving continuous motion as described, and carrying,

page_text: mould carriers G constructed as described, and each supporting a mould
and hinged deckle of peculiar construction and operation, substantially
as shown and described for the purpose specified.
2nd. Taking up the pulp (a) by means of a trough M made to dip
into vat L, and then rising and conveying the pulp to the moulds as
they successively arrive over the vat, as shown and described, or (b) by
making the moulds themselves dip into vat L, the mould carriers being
raised and lowered by suitable mechanical contrivances as specified.
3rd. Imparting a vibratory motion to the moulds to produce the
felting of the fibres by means of bent arms k connected to the moulds,
and working in a guide p pivoted at one end, and operated as shown and
described.
4th. The deckles hinged to the mould carriers as described, which
deckles remain down on the moulds during the dipping and draining
operations, and are raised automatically by pinions 9 engaging with
a fixed rack h, the deckles being subsequently returned to their first
position as described.
5th. The couch roll Q driven directly by racks A, A', and carrying
an endless felt or wire cloth, the roll serving to absorb the moisture in
the sheets, detach them from the mould, carry them from the vacuum
boxes T, and convey them to the drying cylinders, as shown and
described.
6th. The general combination of the arrangements or devices
comprised in the foregoing, the whole constituting a machine, as shown
and described for making paper in separate sheets, and more particularly
water marked or bank note paper.
In witness whereof, I, the said Alexander Melville Clark, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this Eleventh day of January,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
Bix.
AT ADT