A New or Improved Running Tympan for Printing Machines.
Year: 1899

page_text: Date of Application, 25th July, 1899-Accepted, 23rd Sept., 1899
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
A New or Improved Running Tympan for Printing Machines.
I, IRVING LEE STONE, of Battle Creek, State of Michigan, in the United States
of America, Manufacturer, 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:-
This invention is an improvement in type printing web perfecting presses,
and particularly in stationary bed reciprocating cylinder web perfecting presses.
In order to obtain from this class of presses fine grades of work, it is necessary
to provide some means for preventing off-set or blurring on the printed side
of the web when it passes between the second cylinder and bed, to perfect the
sheets.
Various schemes have been devised for this purpose, but none have been entirely
satisfactory prior to the present invention, but I have discovered that I can feed
a continuous tympan through the press simultaneously with the web, and handle
this tympan as the web is handled within the press, and that by so doing off-set
on the sheets can be satisfactorily prevented, and furthermore blurring or smutt-
ing of the web by the action of the second looping roller and the feeding-out
devices may also be prevented by the use of such tympan.
The object of the present invention is to provide a running or shifting tympan
which will travel uniformly with the web through the second or perfecting press.
stopping and starting with the web and effectually preventing offset on the printed
sheets, and keeping the same out of contact with the surface of the cylinder and
many of the web guiding and shifting rollers, and will also relieve the inter-
mittently shifted printed web of much of the shifting strain thereon.
The tympan may be carried through and shifted in the press by the same
means which are employed to handle the web, and after going through the
press the tympan may be re-wound so that it can be repeatedly used.
In particular, the invention is an improvement in web perfecting presses of
the kind shown in the Patent, No. 11727 of July 10th 1891, and in the drawings
the invention is shown as applied to such a press, but of course the invention is
not limited solely in its application thereto.
The accompanying drawing represents a diagramatic elevation of a stationary
bed reciprocating cylinder web perfecting printing press such as is shown in
the aforesaid patent, with my improved running tympan applied thereto.
The web of paper w to be printed upon is drawn from a roll at the left-hand
side of the machine by the infeed rollers d, d, looped over the lower looping
roller e on the reciprocating frames, then passed down under the guide f
between the lower bed a and cylinder 6 and led back to the rear guide g,
up over the upper guide h, back betwen the upper bed a and cylinder ʊ, thence

page_text: to and over the guide i, then down under the upper looping roller e, on frame s
and thence up to the out-feed rollers c, and between the cutting cylinders v.
These parts and their connections may be all constructed and operated as fully
shown and described in said patent, to which reference is made for further
explanation of the same, it being here simply necessary to state that the web
is fed in and out of the press continuously by the rollers d, c, and co-acting
tapes, and the portion of the web between the feed and delivery rollers and
extending from the guide f to the guide i, is intermittently stopped and then
hurried forward by the looping rollers e, e, which are operated by the rising and
falling frames and came as fully described in the aforesaid patent.
The continuous tympan t is led from a roll, up through the in-feed rollers d,
passing with the web w to and over the lower looping roller e, the tympan t
lying between the web w and said roller c. The tympant then separates itself
from the web and is carried down under a guide below the level of the lower
bed thence passes forward under the bed to a movable guide k and thence back
under a fixed guide p up over a fixed guide q and back to the traveling guide
roller beside the lower cylinder 6 and traveling therewith, at which point
the tympan again meets the web w and passes over the guides g and hand
between the upper cylinder and bed, (the tympan, as will be observed, lying
between the upper cylinder and the web) and thence over the roller i, and
under the upper looping roller e; (it will be observed that the tympan comes
between the web and the upper looping roller e). The tympan may then separate
from the web and be led over a roller 1, above the upper looping roller e, back
above the upper cylinder and bed to and over a guide roller m and then down
to a rewinding device n upon which the tympan is rewound. The rewinder may
be operated by any suitable mechanism, preferably by means of a friction roller o,
and is driven at a peripheral speed slightly greater than the speed of the in-
feed rollers d, so as to insure the drawing of the tympan from the press at a
speed equal to the delivery of the printing web therefrom.
The roller o may be driven by belting or gearing from the driving mechanism
of the press in a manner well understood so that no further explanation thereof
is necessary.
The web guide rollers mounted on the reciprocating carriage at each side of
the cylinder, as shown, travel back and forth with the cylinder; consequently
the loop of tympan around roller will be alternately lengthened and shortened
as the roller r reciprocates with the cylinder, and in order to compensate the
tympan for such alternate contraction and expansion of the loop around r,
the roller is made movable and is moved laterally like roll r, so that the loop
of tympan around roller will be lengthened when that around roller r
shortened, and the loop of tympan around will be shortened when that around r
is lengthened. The loops of tympan around rollers r and thus compensate each
other and therefore an equal tension on the tympan is constantly maintained.
The roller may be shifted by mounting it in arms y attached to the cylinder
carriage, or in any other convenient manner.
If desired, the tympant, instead of passing over the guide 7 may continue with
the web through the delivery rollers e and then be brought back over the upper
rollers to the guide m and rewinder o as indicated in dotted lines in the
drawings.
Also, if desired, the roller k might be fixed as indicated at k₁ and the tympan
led from said roller directly up to the roller g as indicated in dotted lines t
instead of being looped around roller r.
The tympan is fed in and fed out of the press exactly in accordance with, and
as the paper web w is fed therethrough; and the portion of the tympan within
the press, between the feed and delivery mechanisms, is intermittently stopped
and started exactly as, and in accordance with the stopping and starting of the
web, and this is best accomplished by utilizing the mechanism which feeds and
delivers and loops the web to feed and deliver and loop the tympan.

page_text: It will be further observed, however, that the tympan separates from the
web and is looped around the first cylinder and bed so as not to interfere with
their operation in making the first impression on the web at a point where no
tympan is necessary.
The tympan roll and rewinder are simply diagramatically illustrated in the
drawing being well known, and they will be located wherever it is found most
convenient, according to the location of the press or the choice of the press
builder, it only being essential that the tympan supply and re-winding devices
shall be so located that the tympan can be conveniently fed through the press
with the web and taken care of after it has served its purposes therein.
When the tympan supply roll is exhausted, the rewound tympan can be slipped
into the supply roll supports and the tympan again run through the press, and,
if desired, first one side of the tympan can be used and then the other as it is
successively run through the machine. By this construction, a clean tympan
surface is presented to the web at each perfecting operation of the press and
tympan sheet may remain with the printed web until the latter has passed the
delivery rollers. Thus effectual provision against off-set is attained in an
economical manner as the tympan can be repeatedly reused; and when employed,
as shown, relieves the paper web of much of the strain of shifting the same,
particularly in its passage under the looping roller and through the delivery.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is:-
1. The combination of a stationary bed, a reciprocating impression cylinder,
means for directing a web between the cylinder and bed, means for continuously
feeding and delivering the web to and from the press, and means for intermittently
shifting the web between the cylinder and bed in its passage through the press;
with a tympan interposed between the cylinder and web, and means for inter-
mittently moving the tympan interposed between the cylinder and bed, in exact
accordance with the movement of the corresponding portion of the web.
2. The combination of a web, an impression cylinder, means for feeding a
web of paper between the cylinder and bed to be printed thereby, and means for
feeding a tympan between the cylinder and bed simultaneously and exactly in
accordance with the movement of the web, and means for rewinding the tympan
after its passage through the press.
3. The combination of a stationary bed, a reciprocating impression cylinder,
guides for directing the web between the bed and cylinders, means for continuously
feeding the web through the press, means for continuously delivering the web
therefrom, and looping roller for giving that portion of the web within the
printing mechanism an intermittent movement; with a tympan laid with and
handled by the web feeding, delivering and looping mechanisms, and means for
rewinding the tympan web, substantially as described.
4. In a printing press, the combination of two type beds, two cylinders coacting
therewith, and means for feeding a web of paper successively between the
cylinders and beds; with a tympan laid with the web and carried through the
press by the web feeding and delivering mechanism, said tympan being separated
from the web and carried past the first bed and cylinder, then re-united with
the web and carried therewith between the second bed and cylinder, for the
purpose and substantially as described.
5. The combination of a pair of beds, a pair of co-acting cylinders, a web feed
mechanism, a web delivery mechanism, and mechanism for looping the web,
substantially as described; with a tympan fed to the press by the web feeding
mechanism, then looped around the first web looper, then separated from the
web and carried past the first bed and cylinder, then re-united with the web
and looped over a guide roller beside and traveling with the first cylinder and
carried with the web between the second bed and cylinder, under the second web

page_text: looper and then again separated from the web and carried back to a re-winding
mechanism; with devices for looping the tympan while separated from the web
to compensate it from the movement of the said traveling guide roller, substan-
tially as and for the purpose described.
Dated this 25th day of Jul
MARKS & CLERK,
18, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C.,
13, Temple Street, Birmingham, and
25, Cross Street, Manchester, Agents.
MARKS & CLERK,
18, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C.,
13, Temple Street, Birmingham, and
25, Cross Street, Manchester, Agents.