IMPROVEMENTS IN PRINTING MACHINES
Year: 1868

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Joseph Holt, of 4, Brooke Street, Upper Clapton
and George Sparciate Coponet, of 6, Red Lion Street, Clerkenwell,
in the County of Middlesex, Engineers, for the Invention of "Iд-
Sealed the 5th January 1869, and dated the 8th July 1868.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Joseph Holt and George
Sparciate Coponet at the Office of the Commissioners of latents;
with their Petition, on the 8th July 1868.
We, JOSEPH HOLT, of 4, Brooke Street, Upper Clapton, and GEORGE
SPARCIATE COPONET, of 6, Red Lion Street, Clerkenwell, in the County
of Middlesex, Engineers, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN PRINTING MACHINES," to be as follows:-
Our Invention is especially applicable to that class of printing
machines known as "Maine's," Patent, No. 13,827, November 8, 1850,
and by means of the improved combination of mechanism, which
constitutes our Invention, we can cause such printing machines to print
alternate sheets and "double roll" the "forme," or we can maintin

page_text: the "impression cylinder" and "feed board" inoperative at pleasure for
the purpose of "inking up or otherwise.
""
The parts which are brought directly in contact with our improved
mechanism in those printing machines to which our Invention is
applicable (to which parts only we think it necessary to allude) are the
cams for actuating the impression cylinder and feed board. A cylinder,
on which the said cams are fixed, and which is made to surround a
portion of the driving shaft of the machine, and formed so as to gear
with a clutch at one extremity; a clutch also mounted on the driving
shaft at one extremity of the said cylinder and formed to gear with it;
a spring for keeping the said clutch in gear with the cylinder; a sliding
bar suitably guided and placed underneath and parallel with the said
driving shaft; a projection on which bar engages the said clutch, and on
the lower side of which bar are fixed friction rollers which are made to
engage a cam formed with suitable lateral projections capable as it
revolves of imparting a to-and-fro motion to the sliding bar. This cam
forms the first and the principal part of our improved mechanism; it is
fixed on one extremity of a shaft suitably mounted and placed underneath
and parallel with the sliding bar and the driving shaft; on the opposite
extremity of this shaft we fix a tooth wheel, which gears into another
tooth wheel of half the diameter mounted loose on the outer extremity of
the driving shaft; this latter wheel is formed to gear on one side with
a clutch which we place beside it on the driving shaft, which clutch
works on feathers and can be geared with the wheel by means of a
suitable handle.
The mode of operation is as follows:-While the smaller toothed wheel
remains out of gear with the clutch beside it the machine prints con-
secutive sheets, but if the said clutch be placed in gear with the wheel,
then the cam on the lower shaft is set in motion and actuates through
the sliding bar the clutch which gears with the cylinder on which are
fixed the impression cylinder and feed board cams, so as alternately to
put them in and out of gear with the driving shaft, whereby the machine
prints alternate sheets; finally, if while the said pair of cams are out of
gear with the driving shaft the small toothed wheel be thrown out of
gear by drawing back the clutch the impression cylinder and feed board
can be maintained inoperative at pleasure.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Joseph Holt and George Sparciate Coponet in the
Great Seal Patent Office on the 7th January 1869.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, JOSEPH
HOLT, of 4, Brooke Street, Upper Clapton, and GEORGE SPARCIATE
COPONET, of 6, Red Lion Street, Clerkenwell, in the County of Mid-
dlesex, Engineers, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Eighth day of July, 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 us, the said Joseph Holt and George Sparciate Coponet,
Her special licence that we, the said Joseph Holt and George Sparciate
Coponet, our executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as
we, the said Joseph Holt and George Sparciate Coponet, our 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 MACHINES," upon the condition (amongst others) that we, the
said Joseph Holt and George Sparciate Coponet, our executors or
administrators, by an instrument in writing under our, 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 immediately after the date of the
said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that we, the said Joseph Holt and George Sparciate
Copouet, do hereby declare the nature of our said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement :-
Our said Invention is specially applicable to that class of printing
machines known as "Main's" Patent, No. 13,327, November 8, 1850,
and by means of the improved combination of mechanism which con-
stitutes our Invention we can cause such printing machines to print

page_text: alternate sheets and "double roll" the "forme," or we can maintain the
impression cylinder and feed board inoperative at pleasure for the purpose
of "inking up" or otherwise.
The parts which are brought directly into contact with our improved
mechanism in those printing machines to which our Invention is appli-
cable (to which parts only we think it necessary to allude) consist of
the cams for actuating the impression cylinder and feed board, which
cams when our Invention is applied to the machine are fixed on a
cylinder or barrel made to surround a portion of the driving shaft of
the machine, one end of which cylinder is formed to gear with a
clutch; a clutch suitably mounted on the driving shaft capable of
gearing with the end of the said cylinder; a spring by means of which
the said clutch can be maintained in gear with the end of the said
cylinder a sliding bar suitably guided and placed underneath and
parallel with the said driving shaft, a suitable projecting arm on the
upper side of which bar engages the said clutch, and on the under
side of which bar a pair of friction rollers are attached which engage
a cam formed with lateral projections, which cam as it revolves imparts
a to-and-fro motion to the said bar. This cam forms the first and the
principal of the parts of our improved combination of mechanism; it
is fixed on one extremity of a shaft suitably mounted and placed
underneath and parallel with the said sliding bar and driving shaft;
on the opposite of this shaft we fix a toothed wheel which gears into
another toothed wheel of half the diameter mounted loose on the outer
extremity of the driving shaft; this latter wheel is formed to gear on
one side with a clutch which we place beside it on the driving shaft
moveable as is the first-named clutch on suitable feathers or fixed
keys in the shaft; this clutch we actuate by means of a handle
or lever so as to put it in or out of gear with the wheel beside it at
pleasure.
The following is a description of the Drawings descriptive of our
Invention hereunto annexed:-
Figure 1 represents a front view, and Figure 2 a plan of our
improved combination of mechanism, together with those parts of
the printing machine which come more immediately in contact with
the same.
Similar letters of reference denote similar parts in both
views.

page_text: and the feed board inoperative, both being in this condition at the
time the projection P on the cam N is passing through the rollers M, M.
Next suppose it is required to maintain the impression cylinder raised
and the feed board inoperative at pleasure, as, for instance, to ink up,
the clutch U should be thrown out of gear while the projection P
on the cam N is in gear with the rollers M, M, at which time the
impression cylinder and feed board are in the required condition in
which they will remain during pleasure.
Having thus described the object of our Invention, with its nature
and the mode of its performance, we would have it understood that
we do not confine ourselves to the exact details described; but what
we claim is, the combination of mechanism described consisting of the
cam N to which motion is given when in operation by the toothed
wheels S and T, which wheels we control by means of the clutch U as
described.
In witness whereof, we, the said Joseph Holt and George Sparciate
Coponet, have hereunto set our hands and seals, this Seventh day
of January, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred
and sixty-nine.