IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF PRESSES FOR PLATE PRINTING, AND IN APPARATUS FOR CLEANING AND POLISHING PLATES USED IN CONNECTION THEREWITH
Year: 1875

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Robert Wilmot Wilkinson, of Farringdon Road,
in the County of Middlesex, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF PRESSES FOR PLATE PRINTING, AND IN APPARATUS
FOR CLEANING AND POLISHING PLATES USED IN CONNECTION THEREWITH
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Robert Wilmot
Wilkinson at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his
Petition, on the 29th July 1875.
I, ROBERT WILMOT WILKINSON, of Farringdon Road, in the County
of Middlesex, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF PRESSES FOR PLATE PRINTING, AND IN
Apparatus for CLEANING AND POLISHING PLATES USED IN CONNECTION THEREWITH,”
to be as follows:-
The main object of the first part of this Invention is to print from
engraved plates much more rapidly than by the machinery and processes
hitherto used for that purpose This object is attained by causing a
series of plates cach carrying an engraved plate to traverse an annular

page_text: bed, and by arresting the movement of the plates at intervals for the
purpose of affording time for inking the plates, applying the paper, or
other necessary operations, and for making the impression when the
direct pressure of a platen is used, but when rollers are employed for
making the impression the plates are caused to change their course from
an annular path to one at night angles to the rollers, owing to the
peculiar construction of ways and grooves on the bed as herein-after
mentioned.
Instead of damping the paper prior to placing it on the plate it is
adjusted to the latter in a dry condition, the damping effect being
subsequently obtained by the use of a wet pad during the making of
the-impression. The annular bed is supported partly by legs and partly
by frames, the bed plate having at its inñer and outer edges flanges, on
which the plates bear, and between these flanges arc pins, which project
from each plate and serve to retain the latter in its proper course and
position. An annular rack rests on the bed, and is driven by a pinion.
On the rack there are as many pins as there are plates, each pin pio-
jecting into an oblong recess in the under side of the plate. When a
platen is used for obtaining the desired impression the ways and grooves
of the bed are annular throughout, so that the plates can traverse in an
annular path throughout, their motion being arrested as each plate in
succession arrives at a position beneath the platen After the impression
has been imparted and the platen begins to rise the machinery is again
started, and the plates pursue then course until another is beneath the
platen, when their movement is again arrested, and so on.
When rollers are used for making the impression the ways and
grooves of the bed are not annular throughout as in the former case, but
the before-mentioned flanges and grooves take a straight course at right
angles to the rollers for a short distance at or near the latter, this straight
portion of the ways and grooves merging with curves into the annular
portion, so that the plates as they traverse the bed, will, owing to the
controul which the grooves have on their pins suddenly depart from
their annular course and pursue one at right angles to the rolls as they
pass beneath the same, but will again resume their annular course after
they are clear of the rolls One of the rollers is secured to a shaft,
which turns in bearings in the opposite frames of the bed, and which
carries a cog wheel driven by a pinion on a shaft, which also turns in
the opposite frames, and carries fast and loose pulleys for the receiving

page_text: and driving belt. The bed is cut away in order to admit the lower
roller, the top of which is level with or very slightly above the upper
surface of the ribs or ways of the bed, the annular rack projecting into
a groove in the roller, so that its teeth may gear into those of the pinion
formed in the groove.
The upper roller turns in bearings arranged to slide in the frames and
acted on by set screws, by which more or less pressure may be imparted
to the upper roller, as in ordinary copper plate printing presses. A bar
is arranged to slide in the opposite frames, and carries at its outer end a
belt shifting arm, and this bar can be moved outward, so that the bolt
will be shifted to the fast pulley provided for that purpose by depressing
a treadle, which forms one arm of a bell-crank lever, by which the said
bar is actuated, and the other arm of which is connected to the bar.
When the bar is moved outward it is retained by a lever, which is hung
to the side of one of the frames, one arm of the lever fitting into a notch
in the under side of the bar, and the other arm being connected to the
lower end of a guided rod, the upper end of which is furnished with a
stud inclined on the under side, so that as a pin on cach plate passes
beneath the stud the latter, and with it the rod, will be clevated, and
the lever and the bar being consequently released will be forced rearward
by a spring provided for that purpose, and the belt will thereby be
moved from the fast pulley to the loose pulley, and thus the movement
of the plates will be arrested
An important feature of this Invention is that which dispenses with
the usual preparatory damping of the paper to be printed When
paper is damp it is difficult to register the sheets properly on the plate,
as they vary in size, and are more or less distorted After the inking of
the engraved plate perfectly dry paper is placed on the same, and on
the paper is placed a damp pad of felt or other equivalent absorbent
material, the pad being large enough to overhang the edges of the
engraved plate. A quadrangular frame of thin metal is then placed
over the pad, so as to depress its edges to the face of the carrying plate,
and so confine it to the engraved plate that it cannot be displaced by
the action of the roller
The press herein-before described although especially intended for

page_text: The second part of this Invention consists in improvemen
apparatus for cleaning and polishing plates in plate printing, the same
being especially applicable to cleaning and polishing plates used in
connection with the improved press herein-before described.
A series of clastic pads are placed on arms radiating from a revolving 5
shaft at right angles with the plane of the plate, so that the working
surface of the pads is in a rectilinear plane parallel and nearly coincident
with that of the plate. The line of the revolving shaft should be placed
beyond the plate
It is preferred to use as the material for the body of the pads the 1
article known as "sponge india-rubber ”
In order that the soiled covering of the pads may be readily removed
cach pad is mounted with a pair of rollers, which may be rotated with
The clean cloth for the covering
a key, and held by pawls and ratchets.
is wound on one of these rollers, and the end passes under the pad to
the other roller, to which it is secured, and upon which it may be wound
when too much soiled for further use Each pad is furnished with a
spring and adjusting screw, and the hub which carries the set of pads is
mounted on the shaft with a screw nut on cachi side, so that the pads
may be regulated to an uniform pressure by the screw on each of them,
and the entire set may then be adjusted on the shaft to the pressure
required
The edges of the plate should be bevilled in order that the pads may
not be unduly worn After the pads have left the plate in their rotation
they may pass over a cleansing roller and scraper, or over a stationary
wiping pad furnished with a moveable covering cloth in a manner
similar to the revolving pads described A press should be mounted
with two sets of apparatus, of which one to wipe the ink should have
the pads covered with twilled muslin or cloth, and the other to be used
as a polisher should have chamois or other similar or analogous covering,
and be provided with means to dust the pads with whiting in any
convenient way; and in addition the polishing pads may themselves be
advantageously polished after receiving the whiting and before reaching
the plate by passing over a smooth surface as of polished metal.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent
filed by the said Robert Wilmot Wilkinson in the Great Scal
Patent Office on the 29th January 1876.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ROBERT
WILMOT WILKINSON, of Fairingdon Road, in the County of Middlesex,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-ninth day of July, in the year
of our Lord One thousand cight hundred and seventy-five, in the
thnty-ninth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heurs and suc-
cessors, give and grant unto me, the said Robert Wilmot Wilkinson,
Her special licence that 1, the said Robert Wilinot Wilkinson,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said Robert Wilmot Wilkinson, my exccutors, administrators, and
assigns, should at any time agree with, and no otheis, 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 "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION
OF PRESSES FOR PLATE PRINTING, AND IN APPARATUS FOR CLEANING AND POLISHING
PLATES USED IN CONNECTION THEREWITH," upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said Robert Wilmot Wilkinson, my exccutors or
administrators, by an instrument in witing under my, or their, or
one of their hands and scals, should particularly describe and ascertam
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 Robert Wilmot Wilkinson, do
hereby declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner
the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement, that is to say:—
The main object of the first part of this Invention is to print from
engraved plates much more rapidly than by the machinery and processes
hitherto used for that purpose This object is attained by causing a
series of plates, each carrying an engraved plate to traverse an annular

page_text: -
bed, and by arresting the movement of the plates at intervals for the
purpose of affording time for inking the plates, applying the paper, or
other necessary operations, and for making the impression when the
direct pressure of a platen is used; but when rollers are employed for
making the impression the plates are caused to change their course
from an annular path to one at right angles to the rollers, owing to
the peculiar construction of ways and grooves on the bed as herein-after
mentioned.
Instead of damping the paper prior to placing it on the plate it is
adjusted to the latter in a dry condition, the damping effect being
subsequently obtained by the use of a wet pad during the making of the
impression The annular bed is supported partly by legs and partly by
frames, the bed plate having at its inner and outer edges flanges on
which the plates bear, and between these flanges are pins which project
from each plate and serve to retain the latter in its proper course and
position An annular rack rests on the bed and is driven by a pinion
On the rack there-are as many pins as there are plates, each pin pro-
Jecting into an oblong recess in the under side of the plate. When a
platen is used for obtaining the desired impression the ways grooves
of the bed are annular throughout, so that the plates can traverse in an
annular path throughout, their motion being arrested as cach plate in
succession arrives at a position beneath the platen After the impression
has been imparted and the platen begins to rise, the machinery is again
started, and the plates pursue their course until another is beneath the
platen, when their movement is again arrested, and so on.
and
When rollers are used for making the impression the ways and
grooves of the bed are not annular throughout as in the former case, but
the before-mentioned flanges and grooves take a straight course at right
angles to the rolls for a short distance at or near the latter, this straight
portion of the ways and grooves merging with curves into the annular
portion, so that the plates as they traverse the bed will owing to the
controul which the grooves have on their pins, suddenly depart from the
annular course and pursue one at right angles to the rolls as they pass
beneath the same, but will again resume their annular course after they
are clear of the rolls One of the rollers is secured to a shaft which
turns in bearings in the opposite frames of the bed, and which carries a
cog wheel driven by a pinion on a shaft which also turns in the opposite
irames and carries fast and loose pulleys for the receiving and driving

page_text: Deit The bed is cut away in order to any so
which is level with or very slightly above the upper surface of the ribs
or ways of the bed, the annular rack projecting into a groove in the
roller, so that its teeth may gear into those of the pinion formed in the
groove
The upper roller turns in bearings arranged to slide in the frames and
acted on by set screws, by which more or less pressure may be imparted
to the upper roller as in ordinary copper plate printing presses. A bar
is arranged to slide in the opposite frames, and carries at its outer end a
belt shifting arm, and this bar can be moved outward so that the belt
will be shifted to the fast pulley provided for that purpose by depressing
a treadle which forms one arm of a bell crank lever by which the said
bar is actuated, and the other arm of which is connected to the bar.
When the bar is moved outward it is retained by a lever which is hung
to the side of one of the frames, one arm of the lever fitting into a notch
in the under side of the bar, and the other arm being connected to the
lower end of a guided rod, the upper end of which is furnished with a
stud inclined on the under side, so that as a pin on cach plate passes
beneath the stud, the latter and with it the rod will be elevated, and the
lever and the bar being consequently cleased will be forced rearward by
a spring provided for that purpose, and the belt will thereby be moved
from the fast pulley to the loose pulley, and thus the movement of the
plates will be arrested.
An important feature of this Invention is that which dispenses with
When paper
the usual preparatory damping of the paper to be printed
is damp it is difficult to register the sheets properly on the plate, as they
vary in size, and are more or less distorted. After the inking of the
engraved plate perfectly dry paper is placed on the same, and on the
paper is placed a damp pad of felt, or other equivalent absorbent
material, the pad being large enough to overhang the edges of the
engraved plate. A quadrangular frame of thin metal is then placed
over the pad, so as to depress its edges to the face of the carrying plate,
and so confine it to the engraved plate that it cannot be displaced by the
action of the roller.
The press herein-before described, although especially intended for

page_text: The second part of this Invention consists in improvements in
apparatus for cleaning and polishing plates in plate printing, the same
being especially applicable to cleaning and polishing plates used in con-
nection with the improved press herein-before described.
A series of elastic pads are placed on arms radiating from a revolving
shaft at right angles with the plane of the plate, so that the working
surface of the pads is in a rectilinear plane parallel and nearly coincident
with that of the plate. The line of the revolving shaft should be placed
beyond the plate
It is preferred to use as tho matenal for the body of the pads the
article known as "
sponge india-rubber
"
In order that the soiled covering of the pads may be readily removed
cach pad is mounted with a pair of rollers which may be rotated with a
key, and held by pawls and ratchets. The clean cloth for the covering is
wound on one of these rollers, and the end passes under the pad to the
other roller to which it is secured, and upon which it may be wound
when too much soiled for further-use. Each pad is furnished with a
spring and adjusting screw, and the hub, which carries the set of pads,
is mounted on the shaft with a screw nut on each side, so that the pads
may be regulated to an uniform pressure by the screw on each of them,
and the entire sct may then be adjusted on the shaft to the pressure
required
The edges of the plate should be bevilled, in order that the pads may
not be unduly worn After the pads have left the plate in their rotation
they may pass over a cleansing roller and scraper, or over a stationary
wiping pad furnished with a moveable covering cloth in a manner
similar to the revolving pads described. A press should be mounted
with two sets of apparatus, of which one to wipe the ink should have
the pads covered with twilled muslu or cloth, and the other to be
used as a polisher should have chamois or other similar or analogous
covering, and be provided with means to dust the pads with whiting in
any convenient way, and in addition to the polishing pads may them-
selves be advantageously polished after receiving the whiting and
before reaching the plate by passing over a smooth surface as of polished
metal.
Having thus declared and ascertained the nature of my said Inven-

page_text: conclusion that what I consider novel and original, and therfore claim as
being the Invention secured to me by the said herein-before in part
recited Letters Patent are,―
First. The improvements in the construction of presses for plate
printing, substantially as and for the purposes herein-before described
and set forth, or any mere modifications thereof.
And, Secondly. The apparatus for cleaning and polishing plates used
in connection with the before-mentioned presses for press printing, sub-
stantially as herein set forth and described, or any more modifications
thercof.
In witness whereof, I, the said Robert Wilmot Wilkinson, have