IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR PRINTING COLOURS ON TWINE OR CORD, APPLICABLE ALSO TO THE PRINTING OF YARNS OR THREADS
Year: 1880

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Jonathan Blakey, Samuel Collinge,
and Hugh Gearing Grant at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on
the 2nd September 1880.
JONATHAN BLAKEY, of Bradford, near Manchester, in the County of Lancaster,
Mechanic, SAMUEL COLLINGE, of Ardwick, near Manchester, Cashier, and HUGH
GEARING GRANT, of Manchester, in the same County, Engineer. "IMPROVEMENTS
IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR PRINTING COLOURS ON TWINE OR CORD,
APPLICABLE ALSO TO THE PRINTING OF YARNS OR THREADS."
The Invention relates to improvements in machinery or apparatus employed to
print colours upon twine or cord, and is applicable to the printing of yarns or
threads, and consists principally of improvements on Letters Patent granted to a
certain Arthur Waithman, bearing date the Fourth day of September, in the
year 1875, and numbered 3109. In the said former Invention the twine or cord
was coated with colour by passing it over a grooved roller, which roller was fed
with colour, and a rotatory motion given to the twine or cord by means of
reciprocating rollers having a to and fro motion lengthways of the roller in order
to roll the twine or cord upon the grooved edges of the roller. This method is
objectionable on account of producing variations in the impressions, and also on
account of the destructive action of the said reciprocating rollers. To remedy these
defects and to improve the appearance of the finished article are the principal
objects of our Invention. To this end we print the colour upon the twine or cord
by passing it between printing faces, which are fed with colour on their peripheries
by means of a colour roller. The said faces are preferably made of india rubber,
being serrated in any desired manner. The said printing faces are mounted on
the bosses of a pair of metal elips, which clips are caused to slide upon and revolve
with a shaft by means of curved levers actuated by cams on a second shaft, and
the metal clips are rotated with the said shaft by means of fixed pins or projections
on the shaft, fitting loosely into slots formed in the boss of the clips. We may
mount any desired number of printing faces on the same shaft and pass a strand
of twine or cord between each pair of clips. By the constant rotation of the clips,
and by reason of being always in contact with the colour-roller, a flood of colour
will be raised on the peripheries of the clips, which flows down the grooves and
over the meeting edges of the printing faces, which are brought together to print
the twine or cord by the action of the cams and levers herein before mentioned.

page_text: The shaft on which the cams are mounted is caused to revolve at about three times
the speed of the shaft on which the printing clips are mounted, in order to bring
the printing faces to bear on the twine or cord which may be passing between
them about three times during one revolution of the clip shaft. The twine or cord
to be printed is passed in endless lengths from one reel to another, and between
ordinary guide eyes and metal rollers to guide it in a straight line, and to put a
tension thereon, and the speed of the twine is so regulated that after receiving a
print from the faces, it travels onwards a distance as will just clear the printed
length and present a plain twine to the printing faces, which are again brought to
bear upon it without causing a break in the printed twine. We make the shaft
which rotates the colour roller adjustable in its bearings, so as to ensure contact
with the peripheries of the discs. Any suitable manner of driving the shafts may
be employed, so long as the printing clips make about one revolution to three
revolutions of the cam shaft. By our method we are enabled to print or impress the
colour upon the twine in lieu of rubbing it on, and we are enabled to dispense
with the rotatory motion heretofore given to the twine, whereby we are enabled to
simplify the operation of the machine and produce a better appearance in the
finished article. The machine is also applicable to the printing of yarns or threads.