IMPROVEMENTS IN PRESSES POR PRINTING IN COLORS, CALLED 'POLYCHROMATIC PRINTING PRESSES.
Year: 1855

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George H. Babcock and Asher M. Babcock, of
Westerly, in the State of Rhode Island, in the United States of America,
for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN PRESSES POR PRINTING IN COLORS,
CALLED 'POLYCHROMATIC PRINTING PRESSES.'"
Sealed the 25th September 1855, and dated the 30th March 1855.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said George H. Babcock and
Asher M. Babcock at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with
their Petition, on the 30th March 1855.
We, GEORGE H. BABCOCK and ASHER M. BABCOCK, of Westerly, in the State
of Rhode Island, in the United States of America, do hereby declare the nature
of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN PRESSES POR PRINTING IN COLORS,
CALLED POLYCHROMATIC PRINTING PRESSES,"" to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to an improved construction and arrangement of
machinery or apparatus for printing colors on surfaces; and consists, first, of
an improved system or mode of actuating the inking roller; second, of an
improved arrangement for conveying the sheets to be printed to the successive
forms; and, third, of certain modifications in the necessary accessaries for the
purpose of printing with platens and beds.
The beds on which the types are fixed are placed round a prism, which

page_text: forms a revolving platen or tympan. This platen is composed of as many
sides as there are colors to be printed, with one additional side for the
purpose of feeding and flying the sheets. At each corner is hung a frisket
frame, which is pressed down upon the platen by cams acting upon rollers,
attached to each side of the frisket. On the shaft of this frisket, and
near the centre thereof, is fitted a helical spring, which, as the face of the
prism comes up and the cams release the frisket, raises the same to
deliver the printed sheet and receive a new one. At the next turn this
frisket is closed and the succeeding one rises. The sheet is held fast when once
taken on until all the colors are printed. According to the arrangement at
present described, three beds for forms are used, although a greater number
may be employed without changing the principle of the machine. These beds
are all made to slide in a straight line perpendicular to their faces, and are
thus brought up against-the-polygonal revolving tympan; they are actuated
by connecting rods and lever arms or cranks on a suitable actuating shaft,
which receives a rocking motion from the main shaft by crank and connecting
rod. The inking rollers are carried at the ends of a set of oscillating or
vibratory arms attached to the rocking shaft which works the beds. There
are two rollers in each arm, and as many arms as there are printing beds. The
rollers are fitted in slots in the arms, and are pressed out towards the ends
of the arms by double-leaved springs pressing against the sides of cam-shaped
projections. The ink fountains and distributors are of the ordinary con-
struction. When the-arms are stationary, the inking rollers are kept in
contact with fixed revolving cylinders, from which they receive their supply of
ink. The prism or polygonal tympan is rotated at the required moment by
the aid of a connecting rod and lever acting upon a disc fast on the tympan
shaft. This disc is fitted with as many pins as there are sides to the polygon,
& the pins are so acted upon by springs as to enter a slot in the actuating lever
arm, and cause the disc to be moved the proper distance at the correct time.
The disc is held steady after each movement by the pin last acted on dropping
or being pushed into a hole in a fixed plate attached to the side of the
machine for that purpose. When more than three beds are used, it is proposed
to place the polygonal tympan and beds in a vertical position, and feed in the
sheets from above by suitable feeding mechanism. In this case the additional
side to the platen or tympan will not be required; or in other words, as many
beds may be used as there are sides to the polygonal tympan. The inking
rollers will be contained in a polygonal frame of as many sides as there are
beds, and they will receive their ink from below, and will pass up and down
across the several forms before each impression. It is also contemplated

page_text: making the beds stationary, and causing the platens to move outwards against
the beds by a series of levers and connecting rods, as herein-before described
with reference to the beds.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said George H. Babcock and Asher M. Babcock in the Great
Seal Patent Office on the 29th Septer jer 1855.
.:
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, GEORGE
H. BABCOCK and ASHER M. BABCOCK; of Westerly, in the State of Rhode
Island, in the United States of America; send greeting..
4
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Thirtieth day of March, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-five, in the eighteenth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant' unto us,
the said George H. Babcock and Asher M. Babcock, Her special license
that we, the said George H. Babcock and Asher M. Babcock, our executors,
administrators, and assigns, or such others as we, the said George H.
Babcock, our executors, administrators, or 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 "IMPROVEMENTS IN
PRESSES FOR PRINTING IN COLORS, CALLED POLYCHROMATIC PRINTING PRESSES," upon
the condition (amongst others) that we, the said George H. Babcock and
Asher M. Babcock, by an instrument in writing under our hands and seals,
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 we, the said George H. Babcock and Asher M.
Babcock, do hereby declare the nature of our said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascer-
tained in and by the following statement, reference being had to the accompany-
ing Drawings, and to the letters and figures marked thereon, that is to say :—
Our said Invention relates to an improved construction and arrangement of
niachinery or apparatus for printing colors on surfaces; and consists, first,
of an improved system or mode of actuating the inking rollers; second, of an

page_text: improved arrangement for conveying the sheets to be printed to the successive
forms; and, third, of certain modifications in the necessary accessaries for the
purpose of printing with platens and beds.
The beds on which the types are fixed are placed round a prism, which
forms a revolving platen or tympan. This platen is composed of as many
sides as there are colors to be printed, with one additional side for the
purpose of feeding the sheets. At each corner is hung a frisket frame,
which is pressed down upon the platen by cams acting upon rollers attached
to each side of the frisket. On the shaft of this frisket, and near the centre
thereof, is fitted a helical spring, which, as the face of the prism comes
up, the cams release the frisket, raises the same to deliver the printed
sheet, and receive a new one. At the next turn this frisket is closed and
the succeeding one rises. The sheet is held fast when once taken on until
all the colors are printed. According to the arrangement at present described,
three beds for forms are used, although a greater number may be employed
without changing the principle of the machine. These beds are all made
to slide in a straight line perpendicular to their faces, and are thus brought
up against the polygonal revolving tympan; they are actuated by connecting
rods and lever arms or cranks on a suitable actuating shaft, which receives
a rocking motion from the main shaft by a crank and connecting rod. The
inking rollers are carried at the ends of a set of oscillating or vibrating
arms attached to the rocking shaft which works the beds. There are two
rollers in each arm, and as many arms as there printing beds. The rollers
are fitted in slots in the arms, and are pressed out towards the ends of the
arms by double-leaved springs pressing against the sides of cam-shaped
projections. The ink fountains and distributors are of the ordinary con-
struction. When the arms are stationary, the inking rollers are kept in
contact with fixed revolving cylinders, from which they receive their supply of
ink. The prism or polygonal tympan is rotated at the required moment by
the aid of a connecting rod and lever acting upon a disc fast on the tympan
shaft. This disc is fitted with as many pins as there are sides to the polygon,
& the pins are so acted upon by springs as to enter a slot in the actuating
lever arm, and cause the disc to be moved the proper distance at the correct
time. The disc is held steady after each movement by the pin last acted
upon dropping or being pushed into a hole in a fixed plate attached to the
side of the machine for that purpose. When more than three beds are used,
it is proposed to place the polygonal tympan and beds in a vertical position,
and feed in the sheets from above by suitable feeding mechanism. In this
case the additional side to the platen or tympan will not be required, or in

page_text: other words, as many beds may be used as there sides to the polygonal
tympan. The inking rollers will be contained in a polygonal frame of as
many sides as there are beds, and they will receive their ink from below, and
will pass up and down across the several forms before each impression. We
also contemplate making the beds stationary, and causing the platens to move
outwards against the beds by a series of levers and connecting rods, as herein-
before described with reference to the beds.
And in order that our said Invention may be more properly understood, we
shall now proceed to describe and refer to the several Figures on the Sheet of
Drawings hereunto annexed, the same letters of reference indicating corre-
sponding parts throughout the several Figures on the Sheet.
Figure 1 is a side elevation; Figure 2 is a front elevation; Figure 3, a
vertical section; and Figures 4, 5, and 6, details of our machine.
Our improvements consist in certain devices for actuating the inking rollers,
conveying the sheets to be printed to the successive forms, and in giving the
impressions, together forming a compact combination of "forms" and the
necessary accessaries for the purpose of printing with platens and beds. In
the Drawing three beds are represented, but it is obvious that a greater number
than three can be added without changing the principle. The frame a may bé
made of cast iron of suitable form to contain the parts. Through the centre
or about that point there is a driving shaft b, having a fly wheel b' on on
end of it outside the frame, and on the other end is a pinion 6. This shaft
may be driven by a pulley or crank, by manual power, or otherwise. The
pinion gears into a spur wheel c on the main shaft c', on which there is a
crank c, by which the impression is given, by means herein-after described.
At the spur wheel there is a cam c", niore clearly shewn in Figure 1 by dotted
lines; from these two elements of mechanism all the motions of the machine
are derived. The beds d on which the types are fixed for printing are placed
around a polygonal prism, which forms the revolving platen and tympan.
These beds are all made to slide in a straight line perpendicular to the face
thereof by the following apparatus:-On a central axis e, on which the poly-
gonal platen or tympan f revolves, there' is a set of arms g, placed at either end
of the platen, which turn on the shaft or axis e. There are as many arms as
there are beds, and all revolve together around the central axis e. The ends
of these arms are connected by connecting rods h with the beds, so that by a
partial revolution of the arms the beds will all be drawn towards the platens,
as shown in the Drawings. The turning of the arms g is effected by con-
necting rods i attached thereto, and descending to arms ¹ on a shaft ¹ at the

page_text: a
near side of the frame. On this shaft " a third arm is connected by a
rod with crank c¹ on the main shaft, above described. Inside of the arms g,
on the shaft or axis e, is another series of radial arms k, broader and lighter
than those which give the impression, and sufficiently long to support the
inking rollers. In the outer end of these arms k, k, are slots or deep channels,
in which the axis of the inking rollers are supported and play. The rollers
are borne out towards the ends of the arms by means of a double-leaf spring m,
which presses against the two sides of a cam-shaped projection n of a proper
shape to keep up the necessary pressure, as clearly shewn in Figure 3. The
two rollers of each set of inking apparatus are, when the arms are stationary,
borne against the cylinder x, where they receive their supply of ink, & after
each impression they are made to roll over the bed and back to their place,
thus passing twice across the form to ink it. This motion is effected by con-
necting the arms k with an arm o on a shaft o¹ below by means of rods o¹¹,
the shaft itself being turned by the cam c acting on a lever p by means of
pulley q that works in the groove of the cam c¹¹. To the end of the lever
p there is another rod r, extending up to an arm s, turning loosely on the
axis e.
Inside of this arm there is a disc or wheel s¹ (shewn in section in
Fig. 4); around on the inside are a set of springs t, equal in number to the
sides of the polygon. These springs pass through pins which slide in holes
in the disc, and when the said springs are pressed down to the disc, the pins
project through the opposite side and enter a slot in the arm s, by which the
disc is turned, and with it the prism on the end of the arm s. There is a stud
projecting over the edge of the wheel, in which there is a pin u (see Figure
2 & 5), against which lies one end of a spring turning buckle. This is for
pressing the spring t inward, and forcing the pin t' into the slot in the arm,
while at the same time it relieves it from a hole in the piece v, attached to
the frame, by which the prism is held steady during the impression. From the
hole the piece v extends upwards, to prevent the spring t from releasing
the pin, so as to insure the prism to be turned to the proper point before the
impression can be taken if the machine is turned either way. As the arm s
reaches the point of vibration, the pins spring out of the slot and the next
pin is caught below, while the buckle on returning is lifted off the pin u, and
passes back without disturbing the spring t. or pin attached thereto.. The
platens are all connected together in the form of a prism, of as many sides as
there are to be colors, with one additional side, for the purpose of feeding
and flying the sheets. To each corner is hung a frisket frame w (see Figures
3 and 6), which is pressed down upon the platen by the cams y acting

page_text: upon rollers w attached to each side of the frisket. On the shaft of this
frisket near the middle there is a spring w", which, as the face of the prism
comes up and the cams y release the rollers w³, raises the frisket to deliver the
printed sheet & receive a new one; at the next turn the frisket is closed
& the succeeding one rises. The sheet is held fast when once taken on till
all the colors are printed. The ink fountains, distributors, &c. are of the.
ordinary construction, & are not represented in the Drawing. One modifi-
cation which we contemplate, when more than three beds are used, is to place
the polygonal & beds in a vertical position, & feed the sheets in from above
by appropriate feeding apparatus, by which means we dispense with one of
the platens, or, in other words, use as many beds as there are. platens. In
this case the frame of the inking rollers will form a polygon of as many sides
as there are beds, receiving their supply of ink from underneath, & will pass
up & down across the forms before each impression. We contemplate also
making the beds stationary, and causing the platens to move outward
against them by a series of levers, similar in effect to those herein-before
described.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of our said
Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may used or carried
into effect, we would observe, in conclusion, that we do not.confine or restrict
ourselves to the precise details or arrangements which we have had occasion to
describe or refer to, as many variations may be made therefrom without devi-
ating from the principles or main features of our said Invention; but what we
consider to be novel & original, and therefore claim as the Invention secured
to us by the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent, is,-
1st, the arrangement & combination of the polygonal platens & beds,
either in a horisontal or vertical position, substantially in the manner & for
the purposes above set forth.
2nd, the construction & arrangement of the inking apparatus, consisting
of the vibrating arms & springs for holding out the rollers in their proper
place, as herein-before described.
3rd, the combination of arms q, 2, 3, &c, or their equivalents, & con-
necting rods h, i, c', or their equivalents, for giving a series of impressions,
forming progressive levers, in the manner specified.
4th, the apparatus for turning & holding the prism, consisting of the
vibrating arm s, disc s¹, springs & pius t & t, or their mechanical equivalents,
with the apparatus for engaging & disengaging the same, as herein-before
described.

page_text: 5th, the arrangement & combination of the frisket w, platen, & cams y,
or their equivalents, as above specified, for holding the sheets firm while taking
the several impressions.
In witness whereof, we, the said George H. Babcock and Asher M.
Babcock, have hereunto set our hands and seals, the Sixth day of
September, One thousand eight hundred and fifty-five.