improvements in Printing Fresses.
Year: 1893

page_text: Date of Application, 20th June, 1893
Complete Specification Left, 20th Mar., 1894-Accepted, 5th May, 1894
improvements in Printing Fresses.
A communication by JAMES R. McDONALD, of Chicago, in the County of Cook
and State of Illinois, United States of America.
I, WILLIAM PHILLIPS THOMPSON, F.C.S., M.I.M.E., of The Agency for
Foreign Patent Solicitors 6 Lord Street, Liverpool and 6, Bank Street
Manchester, both in the County of Lancaster and 323 High Holborn, in the
County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this
invention to be as follows:-
:-
This invention relates primarily to job presses for small work, such as return
requests and similar matter upon envelopes, and for printing cards, circulars and
the like.
Heretofore the usual small job-press has required a careful placing and positioning
of the material to be printed upon the platen and against guides or registers, usually
quads pasted upon the tympan-sheet, the latter then carrying such material against
the form, to receive the impression, and, after a short "dwell," being returned to
receiving position, when the printed sheet is removed by hand.
The purpose of the present invention is to feed the sheets-rapidly to the platen
and discharge them upon the other side of the machine when printed, without the
exercise of any care other than their delivery by hand to a conveyor with a
rapidity commensurate with the speed of the machine and without special regard
to their placing, positioning or registering, this being left to the machine itself.
In carrying out the invention, an inverted bed is employed, capable of being
rocked to bring the form uppermost in order that corrections may be made or the
old form removed and a new form inserted. The body of the bed is, in a sense, a
hollow drum, or barrel, though of irregular outline, and around it travel the inking
rollers, being caused to follow its outline and pass over the planed surface forming
the bed proper by strong springs holding the rollers to its face or to peripheral
tracks upon or adjacent to its heads or ends. In their passage, these rollers receive
ink from localised spreading rolls, and upon leaving the latter pass over the face of
the type, once for each printing operation. The platen is mounted upon a vibrating
frame beneath the bed, the axis of vibration of this frame being at a considerable
distance from the bed. Mounted also in this frame is a suitable conveyor, for
instance, two or more positively driven belts having pins placed abreast of each
other, in pairs, at intervals corresponding to the timing of the machine, so that
material fed at the end farthest from the platen to each set or pairs of pins will
successively arrive at the platen and be properly deposited thereon in the intervals
between each impression. A rake or pusher takes the material from the belts as
it approaches the platen and carries it on beneath presser-springs above the platen
and against stationary register pins at the outer end of the platen, but not attached
thereto, then the platen moves up against the form and an impression is given, and,
at the same moment and just as it begins the descent, the outer margin of the sheet
or envelope, or whatever it may be, is seized by horizontal vibrating gripping
fingers and having been, by the upward movement of the platen, carried above the
register points, it is, as the platen descends, drawn outward and deposited in a
suitable receptacle. Thus the operation is continuous, the attendant at the feed-
end simply supplying material to the conveyor belts as fast as each set of
conveyor-pins comes around, often using each hand alternately to keep up with the

page_text: speed of the machine, paying no regard to alignment or to actual contact with the
pins, but leaving the entire positioning and registering to the machine itself.
In the drawings:
:―
Figure 1 is a side elevation of a machine embodying the invention.
Figure 2 is a vertical longitudinal section therethrough on the correspondingly
numbered line in the fourth figure, showing the platen down and the inking rolls
travelling over the form.
Figure 3 is a similar longitudinal vertical section upon the same line, but
showing the platen up for the purpose of making an impression, the inking rolls
just beyond the distributing rolls and travelling over the cylindrical inking plate.
Figure 4 is a top plan view on the correspondingly numbered line in the first
figure of the drawing, showing only the conveying devices and platen.
Figure 5 is practically a horizontal section on the irregular line 5-5, of
Figure 2: and
Figure 6, a vertical section on the correspondingly numbered line of the tenth
figure of the drawings, showing the action of the gripper-fingers when seizing the
margin of the sheet :
Figure 7, also a vertical section on the line 7-7 of said tenth Egure, showing the
gripper fingers withdrawn and open.
Figures 8 and 9 are enlarged details of the gripper fingers, the first intended to
correspond with their position in the sixth figure of the drawings and the second to
correspond with their position in the seventh figure of the drawings.
Figure 10 is a transverse section on the correspondingly numbered line in the
first figure, showing the relation of the platen, register points and friskets, and also
of the gripper fingers and receptacle for printed matter:
Figure 11, a transverse detail view on the correspondingly numbered line in the
fourth figure of the drawings.
Figure 12 is a vertical transverse section, mainly on the line indicated in the
first figure and partly on the line indicated in the third figure :
Figure 13, an enlarged detail in side elevation of the bed-frame or barrel and a
gear for the ink distributing devices, together with the lever for rotating the
årum to bring the bed uppermost :
Figure 14, an enlarged detail of the device shown in the foregoing figure, but
in top-plan view :
Figure 15, an enlarged detail in section of the holding clamp for the lever,
whereby the bed-clamp or frame is rotated to bring the bed uppermost.
A, represents a strong metal frame for the support of the various shafts,
brackets and other accessories of the mechanism. B is a rock-shaft mounted
in bearings near the top of the frame and capable of being rocked by a
lever B¹ (Figures 1 and 13). This lever, when down and holding the shaft in its
effective position, will be retained by any suitable clip or catch, for instance, the
clip B, which is secured to the frame by a hand-screw and spring b³, the object
of the latter being to open the catch whenever the screw is released without any
trouble being given to the attendant further than to retract the screw.
Upon the just-mentioned rock-shaft is secured the bed B³ of the machine, so as
to turn with said shaft whenever the latter is oscillated. The body of this bed
in effect is an irregular shaped barrel through which the rock-shaft runs centrally,
having one face formed as a plañed surface to afford the bed-plate proper, and the
remainder either described on a regular are, as shown, or of any suitable outline
for its purpose.
In the present instance, it is shown as described on a centre or as
having the outline of a segment of a cylinder to serve as an inking table, as
presently described. At each end of the bed-plate proper are grooved flanges 6³,
that is to say, the heads B' of the barrel extend beyond the face of the bed and
are grooved. These grooves receive the edges of the chase B' in which the
form is locked, and a screw 8 (Figure 3) passed through the bed-plate retains the
chase in position when it has been put in place. The chase is shown as made with
a bottom 6, upon which the type are imposed and which rests against the bed,

page_text: but obviously it may be made without such bottom, provided the bed itself is planed
true and smooth. At each end of the bed and upon its rock-shaft, as a journal,
are mounted equal loose gears B, the inner faces of which are channelled to form
parallel guides B', one on each side of the shaft, for the reception of the square
boxes 6 of the inking rolls BB, that revolve around the bed and inking table. To
each of the roller boxes is secured a rod 68, parallel with its guide-way and playing
through a lug B', forming the end of said guide-way opposite to the roller,
and a coiled spring 6, enclosing said rod, acts to draw the boxes and the rollers
carried by them toward the periphery of the bed and of the inking table, so that
the rollers will pass evenly over the flat surface of the form and then accommodate
themselves to the cylindrical surface of the inking table.
These independent gear-wheels at each end of the bed, and which may be
termed the inking-gears, are driven at equal speed from the main shaft C by means
of a pinion C¹ on said shaft and interposed transmission gears C2, oue at each end
of a counter-shaft C³, which mesh with said inking-gears at the respective ends of
the shaft, so that the alignment of the inking rolls will be preserved as they pass
around the bed and inking table for each impression.
The pinion on the main shaft is loosely mounted thereon, but has an elongated
hub c terminating in a clutch-box or shield c', inside of which an ordinary friction-
band is arranged in a well known way. A lever is pivoted to the box and at one
end secured to an end of the strap, so as to bind it tightly about an extension of
the hub within the box, when suitably actuated. A sliding cone C is mounted
upon the shaft adjacent to the clutch-lever, and moved towards or from its free end
by means of hand-lever C to operate it. When moved toward it, the cone
surface first passes under the free end and raises it until it rests upon the
peripheral plane surface c', when the strap will be tight and the pinion clutched to
the shaft. By withdrawing the sliding cone, the clutch-lever will be released, the
strap unloosed and the pinion unclutched.
As the inking rollers are carried around by the revolution of the gear-wheels
driven at equal speed from the main end and countershafts, they would be liable to
be cut if the transition from the bed to the inking table was sharp, that is, if they
passed immediately from a plane surface to a cylindrical surface, they would be
cut at the angle formed between the two, therefore the heads of the barrel which
form the bed and inking-table are made with rounded bulges cat these angles or
corners that lift the inking rollers temporarily from contact with the barrel itself,
carrying them around the angle and then letting them down either upon the form
imposed upon the bed or upon the inking table.
The gear-wheels are formed with cam-projections C abreast of each other, and
inside of the series of teeth so as not to interfere with their enmeshment. In the
present instance, these cam-projections are shown as integral with a disc to which
gear-rims are attached, but it will be understood that it is immaterial whether they
are made integral with the teeth of the gear-wheel, or whether the latter are
rigidly secured to the face of the disc in the form of a rim. These cam-projections
serve two purposes; they serve to prolong the guideways for the bearing-blocks of
the inking-rollers, so that the latter may have greater play or their boxes a longer
slide; and they also serve to operate ink-feeding and distributing rollers, as will
now be explained.
An ink-receptacle or fountain C7 is located above the machine adjacent to the
bed. The bottom c² of this fountain is practically a valve or scraper of metal,
adjustable by means of set screws c towards a feed-roller C8 intermittently driven.
In contact with this is a second or spreading roller c of smaller size, supplied by
the first from the ink-receptacle. A third roller c¹0, of the same size or practically
the same size as the second, is arranged parallel with the latter, being mounted in
bearings on pivoted arms or levers D, the heel-ends of which are pressed up by a
spring d, encircling a rod d from the frame. The feed-roller is intermittently
actuated by an eccentric D¹ on the counter-shaft, which eccentric is encircled by a
yoke d, and, through a rod or pitman D³, actuates a pawl-arm D³ pivoted upon

page_text: the gudgeon of said roller. The connection with, this arm is made by means of a
block d, adjustable along a slot in the, arın by means of a feed-screw d', so as to
vary the stroke as may be necessary. A ratchet D' on the gudgeon of the feed-
roller of the inking-receptacle is engaged by a pawl upon the pawl arm, so that,
at each downward stroke of the latter, the roller will be intermittently moved a
greater or less distance, according to the adjustment of the pitman connection for
each revolution of the eccentric. The second roller of the just described series is
driven by frictional contact with the first or feed-roll, the third is not normally in
contact with the second, but, when brought in contact therewith, is also frictionally
driven thereby. The springs acting upon the heel-ends of the levers which carry
this third roller tend to keep it, normally away from the second, and in, contact
with a fourth, or supply roller, D', mounted in swinging arms D' to overhang the
adjacent side of the cylindrical inking table. Adjustable stops d', acting upon the
swinging arms, limit the approach of this last roller to the inking table..while
permitting it to be lifted away therefrom. The gudgeons of, the supply-roller are
elongated to allow end wise play in its bearings, and a face cam d' upon a pinion D'
driven by one of the gears which carries the inking rollers, acts. upon. the end of
one of the gudgeons to push the roller in one direction, while a spring d³, coiled
about the gudgeon and suitably seated at each end, tends to return it, thus
imparting to the roller a constant to and fro motion, lengthwise of its axis to more
perfectly equalise the supply of ink. Upon the forward ends of each of the
levers carrying the third of the distributing, rollers, or that one which is normally
urged into contact with the supply-roller, is an anti-friction roll Ds or other
suitable contact surface, arranged in the path of the cam upon the gear-wheel
carrying the sliding bearings of the inking-rolls at the corresponding side of the
machine, and of a concentric, track do, extending from one foot of the cam to the
other. The cams coming abreast of each, other strike the .contact surface,
whatever it may be, at the end of each lever simultaneously and lift both levers,
aud with them the distributing roller which they bear, away from the supply-roller,
carrying the distributing roller against its stationary mate, or the second in the
train, to receive a fresh load of ink. While the levers are still held elevated by
the concentric reaches of the cams, the first of the inking rollers, running along
the inking table, passes beneath the supply-roller, slightly lifting it, turning it by
frictional contact, and receiving a renewed charge therefrom, then the second
inking roller, following, strikes the supply-roller just as the levers have run off the
cams and the distributor is again in contact therewith, and also has its charge
renewed.
E is the conveyor-frame, pivoted to the machine near its receiving end by means
of a through-rod or axle e, or by any other suitable journal. At the opposite end,
beneath the bed, it is supported by rods E¹, connected by straps el with twin
eccentrics E upon the shaft E³, hereinafter termed the cam-shaft, so, that, as said
shaft is revolved through the intermeshing of its gear E with the pinion on the
main-shaft, this end will be carried towards the bed and withdrawn therefrom.
The gear E' is loose upon the cam-shaft, and its hub is formed with a clutch-face e³
with which engages a sliding clutch-half e, splined to the shaft and, controlled by
a levere the object of this clutch being to render the cam shaft idle and non-
resistant when it is desired to turn the bed upwards. At this end of the conveyor
frame, above the cam shaft, is mounted the platen E' in such position that it will
be brought flatly and squarely against the form upon the bed when the conveyor
frame is at its highest elevation. Set screws E with nuts e serve to properly
adjust the platen relative to the plane of the bed, while the lower ends of the
supporting and actuating links themselves are screwed into sockets, e upon their
straps to obtain the permanent adjustment of the corresponding end of the
conveyor frame, and their upper ends hinged to said frame by a pivot rod e' which
prevents such adjustment from being lost. Springs E' are interposed between the
conveyor-frame and the main frame or "bench" beneath the platen to ease the
rise and fall of the latter and the action of the eccentrics. At each side of

page_text: the platen are guides or shutes e³ to receive the edges of the paper or envelope fed
to it, and these shutes have upwardly curved receiving ends, ensuring the proper
delivery of the paper thereto and are open at the opposite end to permit the
withdrawal of the paper at that end after the impression has been made.
1
F is a shaft at the feed-end or receiving-end of the conveyor frame, having a
sprocket wheelf keyed to it and taking motion from a similar sprocket-wheel ƒ¹
on the hub of one of the transmission wheels which drive the inking-gears or upon
the counter-shaft carrying such wheels. These sprocket-wheels are shown as
connected by a leather belt F' perforated at intervals as at f* for the reception of
the sprocket-teeth, but it is obvious that a chain may be employed instead of a
leather belt, the latter being preferred for its cheapness and smooth running.
Opposite this end-shaft in the conveyor-frame is another or idle-shaft F2 located
near the, platen and the two. shafts have corresponding sprocket-wheels f
connected preferably by perforated leather belts F3 though of course chains may
be used. These belts have pins f³ at regular intervals and placed abreast of each
other on the belts, their distance apart lengthwise of the belts being determined by
the timing of the machine so that the space between each pair of pins shall be in
congruence with each successive impression or each successive rise of the platen
towards the form.
Supported upon brackets 9 from the conveyor-frame, are transverse rods G
to which are secured longitudinal flooring strips, G', practically flush with the
surface of the upper ply of the conveyor-belts just described. Side guards or
guides G are also secured to these rods by split sleeves g' so that they may be
adjusted towards or from each other by unloosening the screw-bolts g³ which clamp
the sleeves to the rods. The feed-belts or conveyor-belts will not serve to carry
the material to be printed clear home upon the tympan or platen and therefore a
raking or pushing device is provided which catches the rear edge of each blank or
sheet at the proper time and carries it on into the shute and over the platen, against
register-fingers, presently to be described, and then withdraws to rake or push in
the succeeding blank when the platen falls. This rake consists of a reciprocating
carriage G³ mounted upon guide-rods 93 secured in hangers g* beneath the conveyor
and longitudinally thereof and advisably provided with spring buffers g at one
or both ends to receive the shock of the carriage and prevent jar. From each end
of this carriage rise standards G supporting a transverse rock-shaft G bridging
the conveyor-channel. Fingers g forked at their ends project forward from this
shaft and are normally urged downward towards the surface of the flooring slats
by means of a spring g' coiled about the rock-shaft or rake-head and secured at
one end to the shaft and at the other to one of the standards. From the other side
of the rod projects a tail piece 9 bent at its end to take into switching track-
ways, formed on the inner face of a bar or casting fixed to the frame outside of
and parallel with one of the guides of the feed-channel or conveyor-channel.
These switching track-ways are so formed that, when the carriage is at the
extreme of its rearward traverse, the bent tail piece of the rake has passed the
downwardly curved projection at the end of the flange which forms the division
between upper and lower ways, and in the succeeding forward movement, being
lifted by the action of the spring on its shaft, catches and rides up that curved
projection, and snapping past a spring-gate * enters upon the straight reach of the
upper track-way H, and there remains confined by the overlying Hange until it
approaches the extreme of its forward traverse when it pushes aside the curved
spring terminal * of said upper track-way and is, in the return movement, switched
downward to the lower track H' by the action of the lower surface of said spring
terminal. In the rearward traverse from this point it will move in the straight
reach of the lower track and be confined therein by the under surface of the
dividing flange ¹ until it reaches the termination of the rearward traverse again
and rises once more to the upper track in the forward movement. In action there-
fore the forked push-fingers will be held down yieldingly upon the flooring
slats in the forward movement and will be positively lifted therefrom in the

page_text: Tearward movement so as to escape or pass over the blanks or other material being
fed forward by the conveyor and come down behind such material in the forward
'movement, taking it from the conveyor and pushing it into the shutes and over
the platen and against the registers. This forward traverse will take place once
for each successive pair of feed-fingers on the conveyor-belts, or should be so timed
as to take place concordantly therewith. The reciprocation or to-and-fro traverse
of the push-finger carriage as it may be termed, is caused by an eccentric, H2, on
the cam shaft to which is strapped a connecting rod H³ operating a lever H the
upper end of which is connected by link with the carriage, the throw being
regulated by means of a slot 5 and pin which determine the point of attachment
of the connecting-rod lengthwise of the lever.
K represents the register-pins or gauge-stops, secured by means of a split
sleeve and thumb-screws k', which permit of their adjustment to a rod K' fixed
rigidly on brackets K' from the frame. These register-pins are at the delivery
end of the platen and when the latter is down, as it will be whenever a blank is
being fed to it, they project above it, as represented in Figure 7, but when the
platen rises, these fingers, being supported from the fixed frame and therefore
stationary, are left behind, as in Figure 6, so that they will interpose no obstacle
when the blank or other sheet is withdrawn from the platen after the impression is
taken. Before the sheet or blank is carried away from the control of the gauge-
stops, however, its edges are clamped down upon the platen by means of friskets K³
which are in effect flat plates having shanks set at right angles to the length and
adjustable by means of clamping screws ³ in guide-sockets at the upper end of
vertical sliding rods K moving in bearings k at the outer end of brackets K' from
the conveyor-frame. These rods are connected by links K with crank-arms k
from a rock-shaft K'. A single crank-arm k from this rock-shaft is pinned to a
connecting rod K8 slotted at its opposite end to take over the cam-shaft and having
an anti-friction roller which travels on the periphery of the eccentric K and is
held down there against by the weight of the superincumbent apparatus and by a
spring, coiled around its rock-shaft, the effect of these agencies being sufficient
to hold the roller against said periphery and cause it to sink whenever the eccentric
falls away. This construction insures that the platen in its rising movement may
clamp the sheet against the friskets, and even lift the latter elastically irrespective
of the eccentric, if the timing be irregular, while the eccentric will sufficiently
delay the descent of the friskets, when the platen falls, to allow the latter to
release the sheet for the purpose of permitting its withdrawal before the gauge-stops
.are reached.
In order to remove the sheet after it has received the impression, the gripper-
carriage L is employed. This is mounted to slide to-and-fro upon bars L hinged
at one end by pintles to brackets l' from the delivery end of the conveyor-frame
adjacent to the outer edge of the platen, and, at the other end, pivoted to radius-
bars L which are journalled upon a shaft 2 running transversely of the main-frame
at its outer side and near the bottom thereof and accommodate themselves to the up
and down vibrations of said conveyor-frame and platen. Upon the last-mentioned
shaft is also mounted a lever L which is attached by slot and pin 13 for the
adjustment of its throw to a connecting-rod 1 strapped to eccentric L° on the
cam-shaft. The upper end of the lever is connected by link and pendant lug
or ear to the gripper-carriage, so that with each revolution of the cam-shaft,
and that implies each rise and fall of the platen, the gripper-carriage shall be
.advanced and retracted. .
The lower gripper-finger L' is practically a flat spring secured at one end to
the gripper-carriage and thence curved up and then horizontally to its receiving
end. The upper gripper-finger L' is mounted upon a rock-shaft I, being readily
secured thereto by means of a split-sleeve or hub and thumb-screw. This rock-shaft
or gripper-shaft is mounted in standards / from the gripper-carriage and is acted
upon by a coiled spring in such manner that it normally urges the upper finger
towards the lower.

page_text: Secured to the end of this gripper-shaft is a trip-latch M, and mounted above
said shaft is another shaft M' having above the latch a trip-catch or dog m
normally urged into engagement by means of a coiled spring m¹ upon said shaft.
The trip latch is of peculiar outline; at the end it is bevelled or has an incline m²
succeeded by a recess m³ which in turn is succeeded by a step or shoulder m
towards which the trip-log is constantly urged by its spring. When the trip-dog
engages with the shoulder, the upper gripper finger is held open while it is in the
recess, said finger is forced against the lower one by means of the spring on its.
shaft. Secured to the delivery end of the platen is a trip-stop m³ arranged in
the path of the trip-dog so that, as the open gripper-fingers reach the extreme of
their inward traverse and are one on each side of the projecting margin of the
sheet, as in Figure 6, the trip-dog will come against this stop and be forced out of
engagement with the shoulder and drop into the recess as the trip-latch is carried
up by the spring on the gripper-shaft, where it will remain during the outward
traverse, being held by frictional contact with the vertical face of the shoulder.
At the extreme of the outer traverse is a cam-arm m³ arranged in the path of the
trip-latch, as in Figure 7, and against which the inclined or bevelled end of the
trip-latch strikes as the carriage reaches it, thus being forced down to open
the upper gripper-finger, perinitting the sheet that has been withdrawn from
between the platen and form to fall upon the table N beneath and releasing the
trip-dog from the recess, and leaving it free to snap over the shoulder of the
latch by the force of the spring on its shaft and lock said latch with the fingers
open for the ensuing forward traverse.
The table N may, if desired, be adjustably supported from the frame by means
of a legn, sleeve n' and clamping-screw n², as shown, or it may be permanently.
fixed in place.
To ensure the escape or ejection of the sheet from between the gripper-fingers,.
when they open, an ejector-finger N¹, one or more, is employed. This consists of
a bent wire of small diameter secured at one end to an arm n³ from the rock-shaft
which supports the upper gripper-finger, and thence passing through a guide-eye n³
in the lower finger, then bent up vertically as at n' and passing through a slot in
the end of said lower finger and up alongside the upper finger. By the oscillation.
of the rock-shaft whenever the upper finger is closing, the ejector finger will be
drawn back, giving sufficient space for the margin of the sheet to be seized, but,
as it opens at the extreme of the outward traverse, the ejector-finger will be
moved forward to push the sheet from between the two gripper-fingers.
Feed-tables O are supported from the bench at the receiving end of the machine,.
one at each side of the conveyor and about flush with the upper edges of its
lateral guards, and a light presser-spring or springs o will be arranged over said
conveyor to hold the sheet down thereupon in its passage, and in a measure retard
it, so that the conveyor-fingers, overtaking it, may align it for delivery to the rake.
or push-fingers.
In operation, the attendant may be at the receiving end of the conveyor between.
the two tables and feed from both alternately with the right and left hand. The
belts carry the sheet on beneath the presser-spring or finger, or other suitable.
retarding device, which delay it sufficiently to allow the teeth on the belts to catch.
up with and come squarely against it, when it is carried to the mouth of the shute.
The rake or push-fingers at that moment get behind it and push it on over the
tympan and against the register fingers. The platen end of the conveyor-frame is
then raised by the eccentrics ou the cam-shaft, the sheet clamped by the friskets
and carried against the form and the impression made, at which time the gripper--
fingers will be sufficiently advanced to grip the sheet, when, as the platen falls.
away from the form, it will be grasped by the gripper-fingers, released by the
friskets, withdrawn by the rearward movement of the gripper-carriage, and.
dropped upon the table or receptacle beneath. Meanwhile another sheet will be
deposited upon the tympan, the conveyor frame will again be elevated at the
platen end for another impression, the gripper-fingers will concurrently move.

page_text: forward and the operation will be repeated without any interval of rest to the
machine.
Dated this 19th day of April 1893.*
WM. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
Agents for the Applicant.
Improvements in Printing Presses.
A communication by JAMES R. MCDONALD, of Chicago, in the County of Cook
and State of Illinois, United States of America.
I, WILLIAM PHILLIPS THOMPSON, F.S.C., M.I.M.E., of The Agency for
Foreign Patent Solicitors 6, Lord Street, Liverpool and 6, Bank Street,
Manchester, both in the County of Lancaster, and 323 High Holborn in the
County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, 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 relates primarily to job presses for small work, such as return
requests and similar matter upon envelopes, and for printing cards, circulars and
the like.
Heretofore the usual small job-press has required a careful placing and positioning
of the material to be printed upon the platen and against guides or registers,
usually quads pasted upon the tympan-sheet, the latter then carrying such
material against the form, to receive the impression, and, after a short "dwell;"
being returned to receiving position, when the printed sheet is removed by hand.
The purpose of the present invention is to feed the sheets rapidly to the
platen and discharge them upon the other side of the machine when printed,
without the exercise of any care other than their delivery by hand to a conveyor
with a rapidity commensurate with the speed of the machine and without special
regard to their placing, positioning or registering, this being left to the machine
itself.
In carrying out the invention, an inverted bed is employed, capable of being
rocked to bring the form uppermost in order that corrections may be made or the
old form removed and a new form inserted. The body of the bed is, in a sense, a
hollow drum, or barrel, though of irregular outline, and around it travel the ink
rollers, being caused to follow its outline and pass over the planed surface forming
the bed proper by strong springs holding the rollers to its face or to peripheral
tracks upon or adjacent to its heads or ends. In their passage; these rollers
receive ink from localised spreading rolls, and upon leaving the latter pass over the
face of the type, once for each printing operation. The platen is mounted upon a.
vibrating frame beneath the bed, the axis of vibration of this frame being at a con-
siderable distance from the bed. Mounted also in this frame is a suitable conveyor,
for instance, two or more positively driven belts having pins placed abreast of each
other, in pairs, at intervals corresponding to the timing of the machine, so that
material fed at the end farthest from the platen to each set or pairs of pins will
successively arrive at the platen and be properly deposited thereon in the intervals
between each impression. A rake or pusher takes the material from the belts as it
approaches the platen and carries it on beneath presser-springs' above the platen
and against stationary register pins at the outer end of the platen, but not attached
thereto, then the platen moves up against the form and an impression is given, and,
at the same moment and just as it begins the descent, the outer margin of the sheet
or envelope, or whatever it may be, is seized by horizontal vibrating gripping
fingers, and having been, by the upward movement of the platen, carried above the

page_text: register points, it is, as the platen descends, drawn outward and deposited in a
suitable receptacle. Thus the operation is continuous, the attendant at the feed-
end simply supplying material to the conveyor belts as fast as each set of
conveyor-pins comes around, often using each hand alternately to keep up with
the speed of the machine, paying no regard to alignment or to actual contact
with the pins, but leaving the entire positioning and registering to the machine
itself.
In the drawings accompanying the Provisional Specification,
Figure 1 is a side elevation of a machine embodying the invention;
Figure 2 is a vertical longitudinal section therethrough on the correspondingly
numbered line in the fourth figure, showing the platen down and inking the rolls
travelling over the form.;
+
Figure 3 is a similar longitudinal vertical section upon the same line, but
showing the platen up for the purpose of making an impression, the inking rolls
just beyond the distributing rolls and travelling over the cylindrical inking
plate;
Figure 4 is
top plan view on the correspondingly numbered line in the first
figure of the drawing, showing only the conveying devices and platen.
Figure 5 is practically a horizontal section on the irregular line 5-5 of
Figure 2: and
Figure 6, a vertical section on the correspondingly numbered line of the tenth
figure of the drawings, showing the action of the gripper-fingers when seizing the
margin of the sheet:
Figure 7, also a vertical section on the line 7-7 of said tenth figure, showing
the gripper fingers withdrawn and open:
Figures 8 and 9 are enlarged details of the gripper fingers, the first intended to
correspond with their position in the sixth figure of the drawings and the second to
correspond with their position in the seventh figure of the drawings:
Figure 10 is a transverse section on the correspondingly numbered line in the
first figure, showing the relation of the platen, register points and friskets, and also
of the gripper fingers and receptacle for printed matter:
Figure 11 a transverse detail view on the correspondingly numbered line in the
fourth figure of the drawings:
Figure 12 is a vertical transverse section, mainly on the line indicated in the first
figure and partly on the line indicated in the third figure:
Figure 13, an enlarged detail in side elevation of the bed-frame or barrel and a
gear for the ink distributing devices, together with the lever for rotating the drum
to bring the bed uppermost :
Figure 14, an enlarged detail of the device shown in the foregoing figure, but
in top-plan view :
Figure 15, an enlarged detail in section of the holding clamp for the lever,
whereby the bed-clamp or frame is rotated to bring the bed uppermost.
A, represents a strong metal frame for the support of the various shafts, brackets
and other accessories of the mechanism. B is a rock-shaft mounted in bearings b near
the top of the frame and capable of being rocked by a lever B¹ (Figures 1 and 13).
This lever, when down and holding the shaft in its effective position, will be
retained by any suitable clip or catch, for instance, the clip B³, which is secured to
the frame by a hand-screw b' and spring 6, the object of the latter being to open
the catch whenever the screw is released without any trouble being given to the
attendant further than to retract the screw.
Upon the just-mentioned rock-shaft is secured the bed B³ of the machine, so as
to turn with said shaft whenever the latter is oscillated. The body of this bed in
effect is an irregular-shaped barrel through which the rock-shaft runs centrally,
having one face formed as a planed surface to afford the bed-plate proper, and the
remainder either described on a regular arc, as shown, or of any suitable outline
for its purpose. In the present instance, it is shown as described on a centre or
as having the outline of a segment of a cylinder to serve as an inking table, as
B

page_text: presently described. At each end of the bed-plate proper are grooved flanges 6º,
that is to say, the heads B of the barrel extend beyond the face of the bed and
are grooved. These grooves receive the edges b' of the chase B³ in which the
form is locked, and a screw (Figure 3) passed through the bed-plate retains the
chase in position when it has been put in place. The chase is shown as made with
a bottom 6, upon which the type are imposed and which rests against the bed,
but obviously it may be made without such bottom, provided the bed itself is
planed true and smooth. At each end of the bed and upon its rock-shaft, as a
journal, are mounted equal loose gears B, the inner faces of which are channelled
to form parallel guides B', one on each side of the shaft, for the reception of the
square boxes 67 of the inking rolls B³, that revolve around the bed and inking
table. To each of the roller boxes is secured a rod 6, parallel with its guide-way
and playing through a lug B', forming the end of said guide-way opposite to the
roller, and a coiled spring, enclosing said rod, acts to draw the boxes and the
rollers carried by them towards the periphery of the bed and of the inking table,
so that the rollers will pass evenly over the flat surface of the form and then
accommodate themselves to the cylindrical surface of the inking table.
These independent gear-wheels at each end of the bed, and which may be
termed the inking-gears, are driven at equal speed from the main shaft C by means
of a pinion C¹ on said shaft and interposed transmission gears C², one at each end
of a countershaft C', which mesh with said inking-gears at the respective ends of
the shaft, so that the alignment of the inking rolls will be preserved as they pass
around the bed and inking table for each impression.
The pinion on the main shaft is loosely mounted thereon, but has an elongated
hub c terminating in a clutch-box or shield c', inside of which an ordinary friction-
band is arranged in a well known way. A lever 'c is pivoted to the box and at
one end secured to an end of the strap, so as to bind it tightly about an extension
of the hub within the box, when suitably actuated. A sliding cone C is mounted
upon the shaft adjacent to the clutch-lever, and moved towards or from its free
end by means of haud-lever C' to operate it.
When moved toward it, the cone
surface first passes under the free end and raises it until it rests upon the
peripheral plane surface c', when the strap will be tight and the pinion clutched
to the shaft. By withdrawing the sliding cone, the clutch-lever will be released,
the strap unloosed and the pinion unclutched.
As the inking rollers are carried around by the revolution of the gear-wheels
driven at equal speed from the main end and countershafts, they would be liable
to be cut if the transition from the bed to the inking-table were sharp, that is, if
they passed immediately from a plane surface to a cylindrical surface, they would
be cut at the angle c formed between the two, therefore the heads of the barrel
which form the bed and inking-table are made with rounded bulges eat these
angles or corners that lift the inking rollers temporarily from contact with the
barrel itself, carrying them around the angle and then letting them down either
upon the form imposed upon the bed or upon the inking-table.
In the
The gear-wheels are formed with cam-projections C³ abreast of each other, and
inside of the series of teeth so as not to interfere with their enmeshment.
present instance, these cam-projections are shown as integral with a disc to which
gear-rims are attached, but it will be understood that it is immaterial whether
they are made integral with the teeth of the gear-wheel, or whether the latter
are rigidly secured to the face of the disc in the form of a rim. These cam-
projections serve two purposes; they serve to prolong the guide-ways for the
bearing-blocks of the inking-rollers; so that the latter may have greater play or
their boxes a longer slide; and they also serve to operate ink-feeding and
distributing rollers, as will now be explained.
An ink-receptacle or fountain C is located above the machine adjacent to the
bed. The bottom c' of this fountain is practically a valve or scraper of metal,
adjustable by means of set screws 8 towards a feed-roller C8 intermittently driven.
In contact with this is a second or spreading roller c of smaller size, supplied by

page_text: the first from the ink-receptacle. A third roller c¹º, of the same size or practically -
the same size as the second, is arranged parallel with the latter, being mounted in
bearings on pivoted arms or levers D, the heel-ends of which are pressed up by a
spring d, encircling a rod d' from the frame. The feed-roller is intermittently
actuated by an eccentric D' on the counter-shaft, which eccentric is encircled by a
yoke d, and, through a rod or pitman D, actuates a pawl-arm D³ pivoted upon the
gudgeon of said roller. The connection with this arm is made by means of a
block &, adjustable along a slot in the arm by means of a feed-screw d*, so as to
vary the stroke as may be necessary. A ratchet D' on the gudgeon of the feed-
roller of the inking-receptacle is engaged by a pawl d' upon the pawl arm, so that,
at each downward stroke of the latter, the roller will be intermittently moved a
greater or less distance, according to the adjustment of the pitman connection for
each revolution of the eccentric. The second roller of the just described series is.
driven by frictional contact with the first or feed-roll, the third is not normally in
contact with the second, but, when brought in contact therewith, is also frictionally
driven thereby. The springs acting upon the heel-ends of the levers which carry
this third roller tend to keep it normally away from the second, and in contact with
a fourth or supply roller Ds, mounted in swinging arms D to overhang the adjacent
side of the cylindrical inking-table. Adjustable stops d', acting upon the swinging
arms, limit the approach of this last roller to the inking-table while permitting it
to be lifted away therefrom. The gudgeons of the supply-roller are elongated to
allow endwise play in its bearings, and a face cam d' upon a pinion D' driven by
one of the gears which carries the inking rollers, acts upon the end of one of the
gudgeons to push the roller in one direction, while a spring ds, coiled about the
gudgeon and suitably seated at each end, tends to return it, thus imparting to
the roller a constant to and fro motion, lengthwise of its axis to more perfectly
equalise the supply of ink. Upon the forward ends of each of the levers carrying
the third of the distributing rollers, or that one which is normally urged into con-
tact with the supply-roller, is an anti-friction roll D³ or other suitable contact
surface, arranged in the path of the cam upon the gear-wheel carrying the sliding
bearings of the inking-rolls at the corresponding side of the machine, and of a
concentric track d, extending from one foot of the cam to the other. The cams
coming abreast of each other strike the contact surface, whatever it may be, at the
end of each lever simultaneously and lift both levers, and with them the distributing
roller which they bear, away from the supply-roller, carrying the distributing roller
against its stationary mate, or the second in the train, to receive a fresh load of ink.
While the levers are still held elevated by the concentric reaches of the cams, the
first of the inking rollers, running along the inking-table, passes beneath the supply-
roller, slightly lifting it, turning it by frictional contact, and receiving a renewed
charge therefrom, then the second inking-roller, following, strikes the supply-roller
just as the levers have run off the cams and the distributor is again in contact
therewith, and also has its charge renewed.
E is the conveyor-frame, pivoted to the machine near its receiving end by means
of a through-rod or axle e, or by any other suitable journal. At the opposite end,
beneath the bed, it is supported by rods E', connected by straps with twin
eccentrics E' upon the shaft E³, hereinafter termed the cam-shaft, so that, as said
shaft is revolved through the intermeshing of its gear E with the pinion on the
main-shaft, this end will be carried towards the bed and withdrawn therefrom. The
gear E is loose upon the cam-shaft, and its hub is formed with a clutch-face e
with which engages a sliding clutch-half e³, splined to the shaft and controlled by a
lever es, the object of this clutch being to render the cam shaft idle and non-resistant
when it is desired to turn the bed upwards. At this end of the conveyor frame,
above the cam shaft, is mounted the platen E' in such position that it will be brought
flatly and squarely against the form upon the bed when the conveyor frame is at
its highest elevation. Set screws E with nuts serve to properly adjust the
platen relative to the plane of the bed, while the lower ends of the supporting and
actuating links themselves are screwed into sockets, e, upon their straps to obtain

page_text: the permanent adjustment of the corresponding end of the conveyor frame, and
their upper ends hinged to said frame by a pivot rod e' which prevents such adjust-
ment from being lost. Springs E' are interposed between the conveyor-frame and
the main frame or "bench" beneath the platen to ease the rise and fall of the latter
and the action of the eccentrics. At each side of the platen are guides or shutes e
to receive the edges of the paper or envelope fed to it, and these shutes have
upwardly curved receiving ends, ensuring the proper delivery of the paper thereto
and are open at the opposite end to permit the withdrawal of the paper at that end
after the impression has been made.
F is a shaft at the feed-end or receiving-end of the conveyor frame, having a
sprocket wheel ƒ keyed to it and taking motion from a similar sprocket wheel f¹
on the hub of one of the transmission wheels which drive the inking-gears or upon
the counter-shaft carrying such wheels. These sprocket-wheels are shown as con-
nected by a leather belt F¹ perforated at intervals as at f for the reception of the
sprocket-teeth, but it is obvious that a chain may be employed instead of a leather
belt, the latter being preferred for its cheapness and smooth running. Opposite this
eud-shaft in the conveyor-frame is another or idle-shaft F' located near the platen
and the two shafts have corresponding sprocket-wheels f* connected preferably by
perforated leather belts F³, though of course chains may be used. These belts have
pins fat regular intervals and placed abreast of each other on the belts, their
distance apart lengthwise of the belts being determined by the timing of the machine
so that the space between each pair of pins shall be in congruence with each
successive impression or each successive rise of the platen towards the form.
Supported upon brackets g from the conveyor-frame, are transverse rods G to
which are secured longitudinal flooring strips, G', practically flush with the surface
of the upper ply of the conveyor-belts just described. Side guards or guides G³
are also secured to these rods by split sleeves g¹ so that they may be adjusted
towards or from each other by unloosening the screw-bolts 9 which clamp the
sleeves to the rods. The feed-belts or conveyor-belts will not serve to carry
the material to be printed clear home upon the tympan or platen and therefore
a raking or pushing device is provided which catches the rear edge of each
blank or sheet at the proper time and carries it on into the shute and over the
platen, against register-fingers, presently to be described, and then withdraws to
rake or push in the succeeding blank when the platen falls. This rake consists
of a reciprocating carriage G³ mounted upon guide-rods g³ secured in bangers g
beneath the conveyor and longitudinally thereof and advisably provided with
spring buffers at one or both ends to receive the shock of the carriage and
prevent jar. From each end of this carriage rise standards G supporting a
transverse rock-shaft G bridging the conveyor-channel. Fingers y' forked at their
ends project forward from this shaft and are normally urged downward toward the
surface of the flooring slats by means of a spring g coiled about the rock-shaft
or rake-head and secured at one end to the shaft and at the other to one of the
standards. From the other side of the rod projects a tail piece 98 bent at its end
to take into switching track-ways, formed on the inner face of a bar or casting
fixed to the frame outside of and parallel with one of the guides of the feed-
channel or conveyor-channel.
These switching track-ways are so formed that, when the carriage is at the
extreme of its rearward traverse, the bent tail piece of the rake has passed the
downwardly curved projection h at the end of the flange which forms
the division between upper and lower ways, and in the succeeding forward
movement, being lifted by the action of the spring on its shaft, catches and rides
up that curved projection, and snapping past a spring-gate * enters upon the
straight reach of the upper track-way H, and there remains confined by the over-
lying flange until it approaches the extreme of its forward traverse when it
pushes aside the curved spring terminal of said upper track-way and is, in the
return movement, switched downward to the lower track H¹ by the action of the
lower surface of said spring terminal. In the rearward traverse from this point

page_text: It will move in the straight reach of the lower track and be confined therein by the
under surface of the dividing flange h¹ until it reaches the termination of the
rearward traverse again and rises once more to the upper track in the forward
movement. In action therefore the forked push-fingers will be held down yieldingly
upon the flooring slats in the forward movement and will be positively lifted
therefrom in the rearward movement so as to escape or pass over the blanks or
other material being fed forward by the conveyor and come down behind such
material in the forward movement, taking it from the conveyor and pushing it into.
the shutes and over the platen and against the registers. This forward traverse
will take place once for each successive pair of feed-fingers on the conveyor-belts,
or should be so timed as to take place concordantly therewith. The reciprocation
or to-and-fro traverse of the push-finger carriage as it may be termed, is caused by
an eccentric, H', on the cam shaft to which is strapped a connecting rod H'
operating a lever H, the upper end of which is connected by link with the
carriage, the throw being regulated by means of a slot hand pin which
determine the point of attachment of the connecting-rod lengthwise of the lever.
K represents the register-pins or gauge-stops, secured by means of a split sleeve k
and thumb-screws k₁ which permit of their adjustment to a rod K' fixed rigidly on
brackets K' from the frame. These register-pins are at the delivery end of the
platen and when the latter is down, as it will be whenever a blank is being fed to
it, they project above it, as represented in Figure 7, but when the platen rises,-
these fingers, being supported from the fixed frame and therefore stationary, are
left behind, as in Figure 6, so that they will interpose no obstacle when the blank
or other sheet is withdrawn from the platen after the impression is taken. Before
the sheet or blank is carried away from the control of the gauge-stops, however,
its edges are clamped down upon the platen by means of friskets K' which are in
effect flat plates having shanks k set at right angles to the length and adjustable
by means of clamping screws in guide-sockets at the upper end of vertical
sliding rods K' moving in bearings at the outer end of brackets K' from the
conveyor frame. These rods are connected by links K with crank-arms ke from a
rock-shaft K'. A single crank-arm k' from this rock-shaft is pinned to a connecting
rod K8 slotted at its opposite end to take over the cam-shaft and having an anti-
friction roller which travels on the periphery of the eccentric K' and is held
down there against by the weight of the superincumbent apparatus and by a
spring coiled around its rock-shaft, the effect of these agencies being sufficient to
hold the roller against said periphery and cause it to sink whenever the eccentric
falls away. This construction insures that the platen in its rising movement may
clamp the sheet against the friskets, and even lift the latter elastically irrespective
of the eccentric, if the timing be irregular, while the eccentric will sufficiently
delay the descent of the friskets, when the platen falls to allow the latter to
release the sheet for the purpose of permitting its withdrawal before the gauge-
stops are reached.
In order to remove the sheet after it has received the impression, the gripper-
carriage L is employed. This is mounted to slide to-and-fro upon bars L' hinged
at one end by pintles to brackets from the delivery end of the conveyor-frame
adjacent to the outer edge of the platen, and, at the other end, pivoted to radius-
bars L which are journalled upon a shaft running transversely of the main-frame
at its outer side and near the bottom thereof and accommodate themselves to the
up and down vibrations of said conveyor-frame and platen. Upon the last-
mentioned shaft is also mounted a lever L³ which is attached by slot and pin / for
the adjustment of its throw to a connecting-rod L' strapped to eccentric L' on the
cam-shaft. The upper end of the lever is connected by link and pendant lug or
ear to the gripper-carriage, so that with each revolution of the cam-shaft, and
that implies each rise and fall of the platen, the gripper-carriage shall be advanced
and retracted.
The lower gripper-finger L® is practically a flat spring secured at one end to the
gripper-carriage and thence curved up and then horizontally to its receiving end. The

page_text: upper gripper-finger L' is mounted upon a rock-shaft L³, being readily secured
thereto by means of a split-sleeve or hub and thumb-screw. This rock-shaft or
gripper-shaft is mounted in standards from the gripper-carriage and is acted upon
by a coiled spring in such manner that it normally urges the upper finger towards
the lower.
When
Secured to the end of this gripper-shaft is a trip-latch M, and mounted above
said shaft is another shaft M' having above the latch a trip-catch or dog m
normally urged into engagement by means of a coiled spring m¹ upon said shaft.
The trip latch is of peculiar outline; at the end it is bevelled or has an
incline m² succeeded by a recess m³ which in turn is succeeded by a step or
shoulder m' towards which the trip-dog is constantly urged by its spring.
the trip-dog engages with the shoulder, the upper gripper finger is held open, while
it is in the recess said finger is forced against the lower one by means of the spring
on its shaft. Secured to the delivery end of the platen is a trip-stop m³ arranged
in the path of the trip-dog so that, as the open gripper-fingers reach the extreme
of their inward traverse and are one on each side of the projecting margin of the
sheet, as in Figure 6, the trip-dog will come against this stop and be forced out of
engagement with the shoulder and drop into the recess as the trip-latch is carried
up by the spring on the gripper-shaft, where it will remain during the outward
traverse, being held by frictional contact with the vertical face of the shoulder.
At the extreme of the outer traverse is a can-arm me arranged in the path of the
trip-latch, as in Figure 7, and against which the inclined or bevelled end of the
trip-latch strikes as the carriage reaches it, thus being forced down to open
the upper gripper-finger, permitting the sheet that has been withdrawn from
between the platen and form to fall upon the table N beneath and releasing the
trip-dog from the recess, and leaving it free to snap over the shoulder of the latch
by the force of the spring on its shaft and lock said latch with the fingers open for
the ensuing forward traverse.
The table N may, if desired, be adjustably supported from the frame by means
of a leg n, sleeve n' and clamping-screw n², as shown, or it may be permanently fixed
in place.
To ensure the escape or ejection of the sheet from between the gripper-fingers,
when they open, an ejector-finger N¹, one or more, is employed. This consists of a
.bent wire of small diameter secured at one end to an arm n' from the rock-shaft
which supports the upper gripper-finger, and thence passing through a guide-eye n³
in the lower finger, then bent up vertically as at nt and passing through a slot in
the end of said lower finger and up alongside the upper finger. By the oscillation
of the rock-shaft whenever the upper finger is closing, the ejector-finger will be
-drawn back, giving sufficient space for the margin of the sheet to be seized, but,
as it opens at the extreme of the outward traverse, the ejector-finger will be moved
forward to push the sheet from between the two gripper-fingers.
Feed-tables O are supported from the bench at the receiving end of the machine,
one at each side of the conveyor and about flush with the upper edges of its
lateral guards, and a light presser-spring or springs o will be arranged over said
.conveyor to hold the sheet down thereupon in its passage, and in a measure retard
it, so that the conveyor-fingers, overtaking it, may align it for delivery to the
rake or push-fingers.
In operation, the attendant may be at the receiving end of the conveyor between
the two tables and feed from both alternately with the right and left hand. The
belts carry the sheet on beneath the presser-spring or finger, or other suitable
retarding device, which delay it sufficiently to allow the teeth on the belts to catch
up with and come squarely against it, when it is carried to the mouth of the shute.
The rake or push-fingers at that moment get behind it and push it on over the
tympan and against the register fingers. The platen end of the conveyor-frame is
then raised by the eccentrics on the cam-shaft, the sheet clamped by the friskets
and carried against the form and the impression made, at which time the gripper-
fingers will be sufficiently advanced to grip the sheet, when, as the platen falls

page_text: away from the form, it will be grasped by the gripper-fingers, released by the
friskets, withdrawn by the rearward movement of the gripper-carriage, and dropped
upon the table or receptacle beneath. Meanwhile another sheet will be deposited
upon the tympan, the conveyor frame will again be elevated at the platen end for
another impression, the gripper-fingers will concurrently move forward and the.
operation will be repeated without any interval of rest to the machine.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, as communicated to me by
my foreign correspondent, I declare that what I claim is :-
1. A job printing press of the character substantially as herein described in
which the material is fed straight through instead of as heretofore being fed in and
drawn back after the impression.
2. The combination, substantially as herein before set forth, of the printing-bed,
the vibrating conveyor-frame, the platen mounted thereon, and a rake which carries.
the sheet along the conveyor-frame and over the tympan.
3. The combination substantially as herein before set forth, of the printing-bed,.
the vibrating conveyor-frame, the platen mounted thereon, a conveyor terminating
adjacent to the platen, and a rake which takes the sheet from the conveyor and
carries it over the tympan.
4. The combination, substantially as hereinbefore set forth, of a printing-bed,
the vibrating conveyor-frame, the platen mounted thereon, a toothed conveyor
terminating adjacent to the platen, and a rake which takes the sheet from the
conveyor teeth and carries it over the tympan.
5. The combination, substantially as hereinbefore set forth, of the vibrating
conveyor-frame, conveyor-belts mounted thereon and having teeth set in pairs.
abreast at distances between the parts corresponding to the timing of the vibrations,.
the overhead printing-bed, the platen mounted upon the conveyor-frame beneath
said bed and means for transferring matter from the conveyor to the platen.
6. The combination, substantially as hereinbefore set forth, of the oscillating
conveyor-frame, the platen mounted on said conveyor-frame, the printing-bed above,
the toothed-belts delivering the sheet adjacent to said platen, the adjustable side--
guards and the rake which carries the material onward from the belts and deposits
it over the platen.
7. The combination, substantially as hereinbefore set forth, with the printing-bed
and vibrating conveyor-frame, of the platen mounted on said frame beneath the
bed, the toothed conveyor-belts, the register-fingers fixed to the stationary-frame.
outside of the platen, and the rake for carrying the material onward from the
conveyor-belts or teeth over the platen and against said fingers.
8. The combination, substantially as herein before set forth, with the printing-.
bed, and with the vibrating conveyor-frame and platen mounted at the delivery
end thereof, of the register-fingers fixed to the stationary-frame at the outer side.
of the platen whereby they rise above the surface of the platen when it is down.
and are left beneath when it is raised.
9. The combination, substantially as hereinbefore set forth, with the platen.
and the conveyor delivering there-toward, of the guide shutes at each side of the
platen and the rake for delivering material into said shutes and over the platen.
10. The combination, substantially as hereinbefore set forth, with the platen, of
the feed-channel, the reciprocating rake-carriage, the rock-shaft mounted thereon
above the feed-channel, the forked push-fingers or rake-teeth carried by said rock--
shaft, the rearwardly projecting arm from said rock-shaft, and the switch-tracks
operating on said arm to raise or depress the fingers.
11. The combination, substantially as hereinbefore set forth, with the reciprocating
rake-head and its push-fingers, and controlling-arm, of the switch-tracks constructed.
as described, with a central flange downwardly curved at one end and terminating
in a spring gate at the other end, and the coiled spring on the rake-head.
12. The combination, substantially as herein before set forth, with the vibrating-

page_text: conveyor-frame, the printing-bed and the platen upon said frame beneath the bed,
of the reciprocating gripper.
13. The combination, substantially as herein before set forth, with the vibrating
conveyor-frame, the printing-bed and the platen upon said frame beneath the bed,
of the reciprocating gripper and its ejector-finger.
14. The combination, substantially as hereinbefore set forth, with the printing-
bed, vibrating conveyor-frame and platen thereon, of the reciprocating gripper-
carriage, the guide-rods therefor hinged to the platen or conveyor-frame and
the vibrating links to the upper end of which the outer ends of said rod are
pivoted.
15. The combination, substantially as herein before set forth, with the reciprocating
gripper-carriage, and vibrating ways on which it slides to and fro, of the trip-
fatch, the trip-dog, the disengaging stop at one end of the traverse for said dog
and the cam for the latch, at the outer end of the traverse, to re-set the dog.
16. The combination, substantially as hereinbefore set forth, of the reciprocating
gripper-carriage, its rock-shaft, the spring acting on said rock-shaft, the movable
gripper-finger fixed to said rock-shaft and the stationary gripper-finger fixed to
the carriage, an ejector-finger to strip the gripper-fingers, the trip-latch on said
rock-shaft and the trip-dog on an overhead rock-shaft, arranged to engage
alternately with a recess and with a shoulder on said trip-latch, the disengaging
stop for the dog and the resetting cam.
17. The combination, substantially as hereinbefore set forth, with the printing-
bed and with the vertically vibrating conveyor-frame and platen thereon, of the
fixed register-fingers and the reciprocating gripper.
18. The combination, substantially as hereinbefore set forth, with the fixed
gripper-finger and the movable gripper-finger and the rock-shaft upon which
the latter is mounted, of the arm from said rock-shaft, and an ejector-finger
pivoted to the end of said arm and passing through a guide-eye in the fixed gripper-
finger.
19. The combination substantially as hereinbefore set forth, with the vibrating
conveyor-frame, the bed and the platen, of the eccentrics on the cam-shaft and
connecting-rods strapped to said eccentrics and hinged beneath the delivery end of
said conveyor-frame whereby the latter is carried up toward the printing bed and
withdrawn therefrom.
20. The combination, substantially as hereinbefore set forth, with the feed-
channel having side-guards and the toothed conveyor-belts having teeth arranged
by pairs at distances apart lengthwise of the belts corresponding to the timing of
the machine, of a retarding device for said sheet held upon said belts whereby
the teeth may catch up with said sheet and properly align it for delivery.
21. The combination, substantially as hereinbefore set forth, with the feed-
channel, having side-guards and with the toothed conveyor-belts timed as set forth,
of the retarding-finger, or spring arranged to press upon the blanks delivered to
said belts and retard them until the teeth can overtake them.
22. The combination, substantially as hereinbefore set forth with the vibrating
conveyor-frame, and the platen mounted thereon, of the friskets and accessory
mechanism whereby said friskets are clamped against the platen after the blank is
delivered and permitted to rise with said platen in the vibrations of the bed.
23. The combination, substantially as hereinbefore set forth, with the vibrating
conveyor-frame and platen mounted thereon, of the friskets, mechanism adapted to
clamp said friskets upon the bed and permit them to rise therewith and to retard
them as the platen begins to descend.
24. The combination, substantially as hereinbefore set forth, of the vibrating
conveyor-bed, the platen, the fixed register-fingers, the friskets and the reciprocating
gripper-fingers.
25. The combination substantially as hereinbefore set forth, with the platen and
vibrating conveyor frame on which it is mounted, of the vertically sliding friskets,
the eccentric on the cam-shaft, the slotted link with its roller taking over the

page_text: periphery of said eccentric, the intermediate rock-shaft and the spring coiled around
said rock shaft, whereby the friskets are clamped upon the platen yieldingly and
elastically, and caused to rise therewith, but relatively retarded in their descent.
Dated this 19th day of March 1894.
WM. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
Agents.