Improvements in Calico Printing Machines.
Year: 1889

page_text: Date of Application, 8th May, 1889
Specification Accepted, 8th June 1889
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION
Improvements in Calico Printing Machines.
I, JAMES SUTHERLAND of 3050 Richmond Street in the City of Philadelphia, State
of Pennsylvania United States of America, Calico Printer, 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 :-
My Invention relates to the production of Calico prints and like fabrics which have
the pattern upon each side, the object of my Invention being to effect the printing of
such tabrics that the pattern on one side will register accurately with the pattern on
the other side, and thus impart to the fabric the appearance of one in which the pattern
is produced by weaving rather than printing.
This object I attain in the manner hereinafter set forth, reference being had to the
accompanying drawing, in which―
Figure 1 shows an outline diagram of sufficient of a calico printing machine to
illustrate my invention, and
'
Figure 2 a side view of the machine, showing the bearings for the carrier rolls, and
one form of gearing whereby the impression rolls may bo driven.
A is the main cylinder of the machine, on opposite sides of which are, in the present
instance, pairs of impression rolls B B, B₁ B', on which is formed the pattern to be
printed upon the fabric These rolls may be provided with any of the inking devices
common in ordinary calico printing machines
Passing around a portion of the cylinder and around suitable supporting and
guiding rolls a is the usual blanket D, and passing around a portion of the cylinder
outside of this blanket is a sheet F, which is drawn from a roll b, passes over suitable
carrier and guide rolls d, and is wound upon the roll f.
Between the impression rolls B B and the cylinder A are interposed bearing
rolls G G, and the fabric & which is to be printed passes around guide rolls and
thence up between the rolls B and G, being printed on one side by the rolls B in this
'
9,

page_text: passage. The fabric passes around the upper roll G, and the direction of its movement
is thus reversed, the fabric passing down around the lower portion of the cylinder
with its printed side in contact with the sheet F, which thus receives the offset from
the printed fabric and prevents blurring of the design.
When the fabric reaches the opposite side of the cylinder the design is impressed
upon the outer face of the same by the rolls B₁ B', and the fabric, with its backing
sheet, then leaves the cylinder the fabric being drawn off to suitable drying machinery,
and the backing sheet being wound upon the roll f
This backing sheet is usually of unbleached material, and the offsot upon the same
is washed out in the subsequent washing and bleaching operations to which it is
subjected, a fresh unbleached sheet being used as the backing for the new sheet of
fabric which is being printed.
The rolls B B, B₁ B₁ always preserve precisely the same lateral position in respect
to the cylinder and as the fabric is immovably held in position laterally in passing
around the cylinder, its follows that, supposing the design upon the rollers B¹ to be
similar to that upon the rollers B, the impressions upon the opposite sides of the sheet <<
must necessarily accurately register with each other so that the fabric presents the
appearance of having a pattern produced by weaving whereas if the design is printed
upon the opposite sides of the fabric in different machines, it is almost impossible to
accurately register the two impressions.
In many cases it is advisable to interpose a backing fabric between the strip and
the bearing rolls G so as to provide a comparatively yielding bed for said fabric
when the impression is being formed thereon by the rolls B. B.
2
For this purpose I provide a second strip FI which is drawn from a roll m passes
around guide rolls thence between the rolls B and G around the upper roll G down
outside the fabric & in its passage partway around the lower portion of the cylinder A.
and thence around rollers ¹ to a roll n on which it is wound,
It will be understood that the rolls B B¹ and G are so driven as to have the same
surface speed as the cylinder A. and by preference, the rolls controlling the movement
of the blanket D and strips F F are likewise driven
In Figure 2 I have shown one form of gearing which may be used for driving the
impression rolls B B and B B' so that they will have the same surface speed as the
cylinder A. The shaft of the impression cylinder has a spur wheel J which gears
directly into spur pinions K K on the shafts of the impression rollers B¹ B' the pitch
lines of the wheels J and K being coincident with the surface lines of the cylinder
and rolls B¹. On the shafts of the impression cylinders B B are similar spur
pinions M. M. but owing to the interposition of the rolls G G between the impression
rolls B B and the cylinder A. it becomes necessary to introduce intermediate spur
wheels N. N between the spur wheel J of the cylinder and the spur pinions M. M on
the shaft of the cylinders of the rolls B B as shown in Figure 2.
Although I have shown two impression rollers in each set, on opposite sides of the
cylinder A, there may, as will be evident be more than two as the variety of colors in
the design to be produced may require, or there may be but one of these rolls on each
side of the cylinder
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim 18:
First. The combination of the cylinder of the press, two sets of impression rolls on
opposite sides of the latter and bearing rolls interposed between one set of impression
rolls and the cylinder whereby the sheet to be printed can after passing between said
set of impression rolls and the bearing rolls be reversed and carried around the
cylinder to receive the impression from the other rolls.
Second. The combination of the cylinder, the blanket, the backing sheet F', two sets
of impression rolls on opposite sides of the cylinder, and bearing rolls interposed
between one set of impression rolls and the cylinder and serving as a means of

page_text: reversing the direction of movement of the fabric to be printed so as to direct it
around the cylinder to the other set of rolls with its printed face in contact with the
backing sheet.
Third. The combination of the cylinder, the blanket the two sets of impression
rolls B B' on opposite sides of the cylinder, the bearing rolls interposed between the
cylinder and the rolls B, a backing sheet F passing around the cylinder outside of the
blanket, and a second backing sheet F¹ passing between the rolls B and G and then
down between the latter rolls and the cylinder.