Portable Copying Press.
Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application, 16th July, 1894
Complete Specification Left, 11th Apr., 1895-Accepted, 18th May, 1895
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Portable Copying Press.
I, EDWIN SMITH, of Number 38, North Side, Wandsworth Common, in the
County of London, Collector of Inland Revenue, do hereby declare the nature of
this invention to be as follows:-
:-
My invention is an improvement in copying presses, and is an apparatus for
Producing pressure upon copying books and other material.
It consists of two rectangular pieces or slabs of wood or other substance between
which I place the material to be pressed. The surfaces next the book or material
to be pressed will be flat and smooth, and may be covered by green baize or other
material. When in use I stand upon the uppermost slab, and if necessary I increase
the pressure so caused, by pulling upon a rope running twice through the lower
slab and forming a bend outside, at each end or each side, to admit of a pulling or
lifting bar being passed under such bends; and in this latter case the apparatus is
readily adjusted for persons of varying height by taking one or more turns of the
rope around the bar, and it is conveniently lowered to the floor and lifted again by
the rope. The slabs, if of wood, will be strengthened by metal. The bottom slab
is hollow or grooved underneath, and has two holes at each end and two at each
side for the rope to pass freely through, twice, from one end to the other, or one
side to the other, as may be most convenient with regard to the length or breadth
of the book or article to be pressed. The ends of the rope are joined by a sailor's
knot, or by a hook and eye or other contrivance.
Dated this 16th day of July 1894.
I, EDWIN SMITH, of No. 38, North Side, Wandsworth Common, in the County
of London, Collector of Inland Revenue, 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 copying presses and the like, and is an apparatus for
producing pressure upon copying books or other material.
It consists of two parts or pieces, of wood, metal, or other material or materials,
preferably rectangular in shape, between which I place the book or substance to be
pressed.
The surfaces next the book or material to be pressed should be quite flat and
smooth, and may be covered by green baize or other material.
When in use I stand upon the uppermost part, and if necessary I increase the
pressure so caused by pulling upon a rope which passes through or under the lower
part.
I find it convenient to have the two parts made of cast iron, the upper part being
simply a flat piece, and the lower part being made in the shape of a very shallow
lidless box, that is to say, it is a flat horizontal piece of metal the whole margin of
DQ17

page_text: which is provided with a vertical edge an inch or so in depth. In arranging the
rope before mentioned, I find it most convenient to make two holes in each of the
four sides of the vertical edge of the lower part. I then run the rope (passing it
through the holes in two opposite sides of the edge) twice through the part from
side to side or from end to end as may be most convenient with regard to the length
and breadth of the book or article to be pressed. The ends of the rope are joined
by a sailor's knot, or by a hook and eye or other contrivance. The rope thus
passed forms therefore a loop at each end or each side of the apparatus, and in
using the press I pass a bar of wood or other material under the loops and pull
upon the bar so arranged. When used in this manner the press is readily adjusted
for persons of varying heights by taking one or more turns of the rope around the
bar, and the whole apparatus is conveniently lowered to the floor and raised again
by the rope.
If made of wood the parts may be strengthened by angle iron or other material,
and the iron should be so affixed that if necessary to plane the surfaces of the
parts at any time, this may be done without encountering the metal.
The press may be made in various sizes, and one of large size may, if
desired, be provided with wheels or castors to facilitate the transfer from one
position to another.
If desired the lower part may be dispensed with, and the pressure produced by
pulling upon a rope or ropes affixed to the floor or other part of a room by means
of hooks or other contrivance the most suitable form of the press, however, is
that consisting simply of two cast metal rectangular parts as above described.
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 is :
1. The utilisation for the purpose of pressing copyingi books and other material
of the weight of the human body, such weight being caused to act uniformly upon
such book or other material by the interposition of a flat rigid slab.
2. The use of a rope or other contrivance substantially as and for the purposes
above described.
3. The apparatus substantially as above described.