IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR PRINTING OILCLOTH OR OTHER FABRICS
Year: 1873

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Alexander Melville Clark, of 53, Chancery
Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Patent Agent, for the Invention
of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR PRINTING OILCLOTH OR OTHER
FABRICS." A communication from abroad by W. H. Townsend,
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION filed by the said Alexander Melville Clark
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition
and Declaration, on the 23rd June 1873, pursuant to the 9th
Section of the Patent Law Amendment Act, 1852.
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 I am in possession of an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MACHINERY FOR PRINTING OILCLOTH OR OTHER FABRICS," and have petitioned
Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, to grant unto me, my

page_text: executors, administrators, and assigns, Her Royal Letters Patent
for the same, and have made solemn Declaration that it has been
communicated to me from abroad by W. H. Townsend, of New York
City, United States of America.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Alexander Melville Clark, do
hereby declare that the following Complete Specification, under my
hand and seal, fully describes and ascertains the nature of the said
Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, in and by
the following statement, reference being had to the accompanying
Drawings and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is
to say) :-
.
This Invention relates to machines which permit the successive
printing of oilcloth or other fabrics in different colors by means of
mechanical appliances, and has for its object the substitution of the
hand coloring of the printing blocks and the adjustment of the
fabrics by such means that the whole apparatus may be driven by
steam power and the manufacture of oil cloth and other fabrics be
accelerated.
The Invention consists in the arrangement of suitable coloring rollers
with boxes on a spider frame in such a manner that the requisite
number of printing blocks of the. printing roller are successively colored,
and the cloth carried forward as soon as the printing of the blocks is
completed. The shaft of the printing roller is connected by pawl and
ratchet arrangements with the printing bed and moveable frame which
regulate the forward motion of the cloth and the return of the supporting
frame at the time required.
Figure 1 represents a side elevation of the improved oilcloth printing
machine showing arrangement of printing roller with coloring rollers;
Figure 2 a vertical longitudinal section on the line c, c, Figure 3,
showing spider frame of coloring rollers with boxes attached; and
Figure 3 a horizontal section on the line x, x, Figure 1, showing
arrangement of eccentrics and ratchet wheels for the motion of the cloth
and table frame. Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding
parts.
A represents the frame of the printing machine. It is built of wood
or other suitable material of sufficient strength and size to sustain the
different parts of the machine,

page_text: B is the printing roller shown in the Drawing of octagonal prismatic
form, but may be constructed with any number of sides, according to the
colors to be applied. The roller B has projecting gudgeons a¹, a¹, at
the ends which enter into slotted plates b', 6', of the main frame, and
hang in vertical rods d', d³, which are suspended from eccentrics e¹, e¹,
of shaft b. The shaft 6 hangs in the upper part of the frame A and is
connected by suitable mechanism to the driving power. Its rotation
serves by means of the said eccentrics to alternately raise and lower
the printing roller B. By suitable lever arms, f¹, f¹, Figure 2, the
shaft serves also to vibrate a pawl g¹ and to thereby impart inter-
mittent rotary motion to a ratchet wheel h¹ which is sideways applied to
a gear wheel. This wheel ¹ again meshes by suitable intermediate
gearing,, into an upright toothed wheel m¹ which meshes into teeth
n', formed at the end of the printing roller B. When the roller B is
being elevated the same is by the action of levers f¹, pawl g¹, and the
connecting gearing on wheel m₁ also turned so as to bring another
sprface over the fabric and is then lowered to print with such other
surface. The several faces of the printing blocks are provided with
projecting pins for producing the design in the ordinary manner.
The coloring rollers C are supported in a spider frame D keyed on
shaft a which rests in suitable bearings on the side beams of frame A
parallel to the axis of the printing roller B. The rotary motion of the
spider frame D is transmitted by suitable gearing from the main shaft
Arms e have
b to shaft a by means of eccentric wheels d and arms e.
attached at their ends pawls f which rest with one end loosely on shaft
a, the other end into a ratchet wheel 9 applied rigidly to the arms of
spider frame D. Spider frame D is provided with as many arms / as
coloring rollers may be used. The arms h are placed diametrically from
the centre and have slots i for the insertion of the shafts k of the
coloring rollers C. Circular segments applied to the sides of frame
A, guide shafts k, that part toward the printing roller B being formed
straight, so that shafts k gliding along, the same carry the coloring rollers.
evenly over the blocks of printing rollers B.
Additional guide pieces m are by means of springs n carried along the
straight parts of segments 1, giving thereby elasticity to the action of the
rollers C in passing over the printing blocks. Slots i of arms h permit
the adjustment and flexibility of rollers C.
.

page_text: rollers to correspond to seven blocks of the printing rollers, the finishing
block or masher requiring no color, as it serves to connect or blend those
printed on the cloth.
Levers o in connection with lugs or projections p applied to the
gudgeons a¹, a¹, of printing roller B strike in some suitable manner the
lever arms e, so that the same do not act on the ratchet wheel 9 and
leave the spider frame D in position for the passing of the finishing block
without applying color to the same. The same object may also be
reached by constructing the spider frame with as many rollers as there
are blocks on the printing roller, providing a blind or false roller for the
finishing block.
The coloring rollers C are suspended laterally on the arms of spider
frame D and supplied with weighted color boxes q hung on the shafts k.
Mutilated pinions or gear wheels 1, keyed to one side of shaft / to mesh
into racks q¹ of printing blocks, guide the rollers over the same,
distributing the color evenly over the blocks. Projecting lugs 8 of the
color boxes q at the other side of shafts k below the smooth side of
wheels glide with the boxes over the smooth frame of printing roller
B and prevent the upsetting of the color boxes q.
The color is adjusted evenly on the rollers in the usual manner by
blades or "doctors" running alongside of the same.
The boxes may if
required be divided into two or more parts by vertical partitions,
allowing thereby a variety of colors on one block.
The spider frame is so arranged with the printing roller that the
former turns when the latter descends causing one of the coloring rollers
to run up along the face of the block; the frame then stops till a turn of
the printing roller brings the surface of the next block toward the next
coloring roller, which continues till the masher faces the coloring rollers,
wliich remain still by means of the lever arrangement and lugs on
gudgeons a¹, a¹, till the masher has passed, or, as in the case of the
false roller, glides over the same without receiving color.
After all the blocks of the printing rollers have passed over the
coloring rollers and printed on the cloth or other fabric resting on the

page_text: printing bed E below roller B, it is necessary to expose the adjoining
part of the fabric to the printing roller and feed the cloth in regular
succession. For this purpose main shaft b is connected by eccentrics 's¹
and pawls t passing along the outside of frame A with two ratchet
wheels n and n which gear by suitable cog wheels with cloth roller F at
one end of bed frame. Ratchet wheels n and n¹ have as many teeth
as there are printing blocks, ratchet n being larger than ratchet n¹ and
loose on the shaft, being therefore carried along by the pawls t over the
tight ratchet till the printing roller has completed its revolution. A
deep notch of loose ratchet n allows the pawl t to take hold of the tight
ratchet turning the cloth roller F and with it the moveable frame G
and the cloth stretched thereon. The transmission of motion from the
ratchets to the cloth roller must be so calculated that the frame is
carried forward the required distance by roller F. The pawl and ratchet
arrangement of the cloth roller carries the movable frame forward; that
arrangement at the other end of frame A with roller F¹ brings it back
again. Eccentric cylinders H and H' are appled on shafts a² parallel to
the longitudinal axis of frame A on the outside of the same, and guide
suitable clamp levers v and v³ which secure the cloth alternately to the
moveable frame G and the printing bed E to secure the proper feeding
of the cloth after each revolution of printing roller B. Similar ratchet
wheels and u³ are connected by pawls w with main shaft b, and
transmit the motion by cog wheels to the shafts a² and eccentrics H
and H. The loose ratchets u² have instead of one deep notch as ratchet,
n, two deep notches, so that when pawls w enter the first notch the
eccentric cylinders H, of slightly greater length than the printing
blocks, raise the ends of clamp levers which press therefore their
clamp ends tightly on the cloth and carry the same forward as soon as ·
the masher is lifted from the cloth. Pawls w then take hold of the next
notch which turns the short eccentric cylinders H up, pressing the
clamp levers v¹ on the cloth, securing it on the printing bed. The
turning down of cylinders H releases at the same time levers vand
allows the movable frame G to glide back under the cloth. The
continuous printing of the blocks in connection with the corresponding
motion of the movable frame and the feeding of the cloth allows an
uninterrupted printing of the cloth till the whole piece is finished. The
printing blocks may be replaced by those of other patterns, and
oil cloth be manufactured in shorter time and with less expense than
at present.

page_text: Having described the nature of the Invention, and in what manner
the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim as the
Invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent is,-
1st. The prismatic printing roller B suspended from the shaft 6 to
receive vertical motion, and connected with wheel m¹ for receiving 5
intermittent rotary motion, substantially as set forth.
2nd. The printing roller B having racks q' at ends thereof to guide
coloring rollers as described.
3rd. The spider frame D having arms with slots i and side ratchet
wheels for the purpose described.
9
4th. The combination of spider frame D with pawls f, arms e,
eccentrics e¹, and shaft b, to produce intermittent rotary motion of
frame D, as specified.
1
5th. The connection of lever o and lug p of printing roller B with
pawlf to keep spider frame D at rest for passage of finishing block, as 16
set forth.
6th. The coloring rollers C having mutilated pinions and weighted
color boxes q, as described.
7th. The weighted color boxes q provided with vertical partitions for
different colors on one block, and guards s to prevent upsetting when 20
passing along printing blocks, as set forth.
8th. The combination of coloring rollers C with segmental guides 1,
straight pieces m, and springs n of frame A for guiding the rollers over
printing block B, as described.
9th. The table motion produced by eccentrics s', pawls t, ratchets 25
n, n', in combination with cloth rollers F, F¹, and moveable frame G,
substantially as described..
10th. The loose ratchet n having deep notch so that pawl t gears with
tight ratchet n¹ after every full rotation of printing roller B as set
forth.
11th. The eccentric cylinders H and H³ guiding clamp levers v and v¹
in combination with ratchet wheels u² and u³, pawls w, frame and
printing bed E, as set forth.
30

page_text: 12th. The loose ratchet u² having two deep notches to produce the
consecutive engaging of pawl w into tight ratchet ³ for the purpose
described.
13th. The combination of the printing roller B, spider frame D, the
table motion, side eccentrics H, H³, with clamp levers v, v', and inter-
mediate parts with frame, forming the oilcloth printing machine,
substantially as and for the purpose described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Alexander Melville Clark, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this Twenty-third day of June, in
the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
three.
Witness,
HENRY W. DEWEY,
53, Chancery Lane.
A. M. CLARK. (L.S.)