IMPROVEMENTS IN PRINTING MACHINERY
Year: 1868

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to James Salmon, of Manchester, in the County of
Lancaster, Printers' Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
PRINTING MACHINERY."
Sealed the 2nd February 1869, and dated the 11th August 1868. .
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Salmon at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
11th August 1868.
I, JAMES SALMON, of Manchester, in the County of Lancaster,
Printers' Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN PRINTING MACHINERY," to be as follows:-
These improvements relate chiefly to a machine for printing cards and
envelopes, and consist in an improved arrangement and combination of
mechanism, by which the cards are set in position for printing, printed,
and delivered from the machine, and also the type inked, and the inking

page_text: roller fed with fresh supplies of ink, all these operations being performed
self-acting. The cards are laid in a pile one above another upon a table.
Underneath the pile of cards a small "feeder" is caused to move to
and fro, at each forward motion taking a card from underneath the pile
and delivering it over the place where it is printed. As the "feeder
recedes after delivering the card the "forme" rises and presses the card
against the platen; or the forme may be stationary and the platen
moved towards the forme. When the forme and platen separate after
printing the card a small tooth or teeth are brought against the edge of the
printed card and carry it forward from over the forme to the front of the
machine, where the card falls into a shoot consisting of adjustable
inclined planes, set in such a manner as to turn the card over and cause
it to fall with the printed side uppermost; as the printed card passes
off the inking roller is caused to pass over, the forme giving it the
necessary supply of ink for the next impression, and continuing its
motion comes in contact with a disc, from which it takes up a fresh
supply of ink, the disc being caused to change its position each time
the roller passes across it, so as to present a fresh surface to the roller
at each stroke. The requisite action of the roller may be obtained by
causing it to pass over and under the platen by suitable mechanism, as,
for instance, a chain or chains driven by chain wheels at each end of
the platen, and carrying the roller or rollers, the disc being set directly
over the platen face downwards, or on the top of the platen face upwards;
or in like manner the roller may be passed over and under the forme;.
or the platen may be caused to slide to and fro over the forme, carrying
the inking roller with it, and remaining stationary while the card is
being printed, the motion in one direction taking the ink from the disc
and in the other delivering it on the forme; or the inking roller may be
carried by the feeder itself, taking up its supply of ink from the disc
when free from the forme. The roller may also have independent
to-and-fro movement over the forme, taking fresh ink from the disc
which moves vertically at one side or end of the machine.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said James Salmon in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 9th February 1869.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JAMES
SALMON, of Manchester, in the County of Lancaster, Printers' Engineer,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Eleventh day of August, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight, in the thirty-
second year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said James Salmon, Her special licence that I,
the said James Salmon, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or
such others as I, the said James Salmon, 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 "IMPROVEMENTS IN PRINTING MACHINERY,"
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said James Salmon,
my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my,
or their, or one of their 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 imme-
diately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said James Salmon, 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:―
These improvements relate chiefly to a machine for printing cards
and envelopes, and consist in an improved arrangement and combination
of mechanism by which the cards are set in position for printing, printed,
and delivered from the machine, and also the type inked and the inking
roller fed with fresh supplies of ink, all these operations being performed
self-acting. The cards are laid in a pile one above another upon a table.
Underneath the pile of cards a small "feeder" is caused to move to &

page_text: fro at each forward movement, taking a card from underneath the pile
and delivering it over the place where it is printed. As the feeder recedes
after delivering the card the forme rises and prints the card; or the
forme may be stationary and the platen move towards the forme. When
the card has been printed it is forced out by the following card being
pushed in and falls into a shoot consisting of adjustable inclined planes
set in such a manner as to turn the card over and cause it to fall with
the printed side uppermost. As the printed card passes off the inking
roller is caused to pass over the forme, giving it the necessary supply of
ink for the next impression, and continuing its motion comes in contact
with a disc from which it takes up a fresh supply of ink, the disc being
caused to change its position each time the roller passes across it, so as
to present a fresh surface to the roller at each stroke. The requisite
action of the roller may be obtained by causing it to pass over and under
the platen by suitable mechanism, as, for instance, a chain or chains
driven by chain wheels and carrying the roller or rollers, the disc being
set directly over the platen face downwards or on the top of the platen
face upwards.
In the annexed Drawings Fig. 1 is a side view of a machine for
printing cards. A is the pile of cards to be printed; B, the small feeders
to which the necessary motion is imparted by means of the cam D on the
shaft C acting through the system of levers and links E¹, E, E³, E';
Fis the forme to which an upward and downward motion is imparted by
means of the cam G on the shaft C; this shaft is revolved by turning the
fly wheel H, H. The platen is shewn at I; this platen is provided with
adjustable guides which hold the card in position while it is being
printed; K, K, are the adjustable inclined planes which cause the card
to be turned over as it falls; L, L, are the chains carrying the inking
roller M. Although I have shewn only one inking roller in this plan I
prefer to use more than one in order to distribute the ink. The chains
L, L, work round the chain wheels N, N, to which the necessary motion
is imparted by the gearing O, O. The proportion of the number of teeth
in one of these chain wheels to the number of links in the chain is the
same as that of the number of teeth in the small wheel to the number of
'teeth in the large wheel; P is the inking disc to which a slow rotary
motion is imparted by means of the ratchet lever Q. In like manner the
inking roller may be made to pass over and under the forme when the
machine has a rising and falling platen.

page_text: In Figs. 2 & 3, Sheet 2, I shew another arrangement of mechanism
for inking the forme. Fig. 2 shews part of a side view of this arrange-
ment, and Fig. 3 shews part of a plan of the same. The inking
rollers A, A, A, are carried by a frame B to which a to-and-fro motion is
imparted in the following way:-The heart wheel C is fixed on the
driving shaft D and gives motion to the lever E working on fulcrum F.
This lever is connected by means of the link G to the toothed segment H
which works into the rack I; this rack carries the ink roller frame B; K
is the inking disc, and the proportion of the different parts must of course
be so arranged as to give sufficient motion to the frame B to insure the
rollers being properly inked and to distribute the ink over the surface of
the type; I', I, are the guides, which can be adjusted to suit cards of
different sizes by means of the screws K', K. These guides have a hinge
joint at L, so that they may be readily thrown back out of the way when
it is necessary to give a fresh supply of ink to the disc. Every time the
rollers have passed over the disc it is caused to move through a portion
of a revolution by means of tappets on the segment H acting on the
ratchet lever M.
In Fig. 4, Sheet 3, I shew another convenient arrangement. The
forme A is fixed, an up-and-down motion being given to the platten B by
the cam C on the driving shaft D. The inking rollers E, E, are carried
by a frame which also carries the feeders. The motion is imparted to
this frame by means of the cam Fon the driving shaft and the levers and
links G1, G2, G3, G. The disc H is carried on a frame which is provided
with a toothed rack I, into which works the segment K, so as to give a
to-and-fro motion to this disc, the necessary motion being given to the
segment by means of the toothed rack L on the rod O, fixed to the
platen. A step-by-step motion may be given to the disc by providing it
with a ratchet wheel, which is caused to come in contact with a catch at
every stroke of the frame, and thus cause the disc to turn through a
portion of a revolution. The rollers N1, N2, serve to carry the ink from
the disc to the inking rollers, and also to distribute it more evenly. In
this arrangement the platen might be driven from above the gearing &
mechanism, being of course reversed in position. The roller may also
have an independent to-and-fro movement over the forme, taking fresh
ink from the disc which moves vertically at one side or end of the
machine. The well-known arrangement called the "ink fountain"
might be used to supply the ink in the above plans.

page_text: Having thus fully described my Invention, and the best methods
with which I am acquainted for putting into operation, I wish it to be
understood that I claim the combinations described above or any mere
modifications thereof.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Salmon, have hereunto 5
set my hand and seal, this Eighth day of February, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine.
JAMES SALMON. (L.S.)