IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR REGULATING THE WIDTH PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION Black and COLORED BORDERS ON CARDS, PAPER, and Envelopes
Year: 1875

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Joseph Parkins, of Brewer Street, Golden
Square, in the County of Middlesex, Manufacturing Stationer, for
the Invention of "IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR REGULATING THE WIDTH
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Joseph Parkins at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition on the
3rd April 1875.
I, JOSEPH PARKINS, of Brewer Strect, Golden Square, in the County
of Middlesex, Manufacturing Stationer, do hereby declare the nature of
the said Invention for "IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR REGULATING THE WIDTH
Of Black and COLORED BORDERS ON CARDS, PAPER, and Envelopes,” to be as
follows:-
"
The object of my Invention is to construct a machine in which sheets
of letter or note paper, cards, or envelopes may be arranged in order so
that black or colored borders may be made thereon with greater
accuracy as to width and facility of execution than heretofore.

page_text: It has been found in practise that owing to the defects in the spacing
apparatus (more especially in those machines having a movable table),
that the spacing between the sheets of paper to be bordered is frequently
very imperfect; it has also been found that in machines having a fixed
table and a movable spacing apparatus some of the spacing mechanism is
liable to become loose and thereby produce irregularites in the spacing,
which causes great inconvenience and frequently spoils the work.
The improvements hereafter described are intended to obviate theso
defects, thereby enabling the attendant to produce better work on the
machine and also to render the machine to a great extent automatic.
In those machines having a movable table a rack which is attached
to the underneath of the table gears into a spur wheel keyed on a shaft
supported in bearings -attached to the framework of the table. This
shaft carries a smaller spur wheel which takes into a pinion keyed on
another shaft, which also carries one of a series of ratchet wheels having
different numbers of teeth, and which regulate the width of the black or
closed bordes. A pawl or click is adapted to this ratchet wheel, and
prevents it from rotating until the click is lifted out of the way of the
teeth. This is effected by a lever, which may be operated either from
below by means of the foot or from above by a hand lever. Above the
movable table and attached to the framework of the machine is a cross
frame, having at or near its middle an angular guide, corresponding to
the corners of the sheet of paper to be bordered. This angular guide is
fixed to the lower ends of two vertical rods, and is capable of rising and
falling in guides when actuated by the hand lever. To the under side
of the movable table is attached a cord which passes over a pulley
which carries at its opposite end a weight which will pull the table
along cach time the pawl is lifted from the ratchet, thus saving to the
attendant the trouble of pushing the table forward.
.
It is obvious that as the table advances the rack will cause the spur
wheel to rotate, thus communicating motion to the ratchet, which will
revolve until stopped by the pawl and the table has advanced a distance
equal to the width of the intended border. By continued repetitions of
this operation a number of sheets can be laid in succession on a board,
each a little in the rear of the preceding one, and when the board is
full they may be colored in the ordinary manner.
The second part of this Invention relates to machines having a fixed

page_text: table, and the spacing apparatus moving forward over the top of the
table This spacing apparatus consists mainly of a moveable frame,
which is mounted on wheels and travels on rails fixed on the table. An
annular guide similar to that above described is raised or lowered in its
vertical guides by means of a hand lever, as in the former instance.
The width of the border is regulated by a ratchet wheel, which may
be changed according to the width of the border desired. The ratchet
wheel, which is keyed on a shaft supported at both ends in an adjustablo
frame so that it may be kept perfectly steady, is caused to rotate by
motion communicated by a pinion from a spur wheel taking into a rack
fixed to the table of the machine.
The speed at which the ratchet rotates may be nicely regulated by
changing the pinion on the shaft supported by the adjustable frame.
This frame is carried by a bracket attached to the movable frame, and
having at its upper end a slot through which passes a pin or bolt
attached to tho adjustable frame, and which may be tightened or other-
wise by a thumbscrew. The bracket (which supports the adjustable
frame) also carries the pawl which stops the ratchot when the spacing
apparatus has advanced a sufficient distance along the table. The pawl
is lifted out of the way of the teeth of the ratchet by a rocking pin or
stud which is raised by the hand lever
The movable frame may be either pushed along the table by the
attendant pushing the hand lever, or may be pulled forward by one or
more weights, as described in the first part of the Invention. Each time
the pawl stops the ratchet the attendant places a sheet of paper or an
envelope against the angular guide until the board is full, when it is
removed in order that the borders of the paper left exposed may be
colored in the usual way.
.

page_text: '
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Third day of April, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-five, in the thirty-
eighth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said Joseph Parkins, Her special licence that
I, the said Joseph Parkins, my executors, administrators, and assigns,
or such others as I, the said Joseph Parkins, my exccutors, admini-
strators, 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 Butam and Ireland, the Channel Islands,
and Isle of Man, au Invention for "IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR REGULATING
THE WIDTH OF Black and ColoureD BORDERS ON Cards, Paper, and ENVELOPES,”
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Joseph Parkins,
my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under
my, or their, or one of their hands and scals, 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 I, the said Joseph Parkins, do hereby declaro
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to
be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement, reference being had to the Drawing hereunto
ánnexed, and to the letters and figures marked thercon (that is to
say) :—
The object of this Invention is to construct a machine in which sheets
of letter or note paper, cards, or envelopes may be arranged in order so
that black or colored borders may be made thereon with greater
accuracy as to width and facility of execution than heretoforc.
It has been found in practice that owing to the defects in the spacing
apparatus (more especially in those machines having a moveable table)
that the spacing between the sheets of paper to be bordered is
frequently very imperfect. It has also been found that in machines
having a fixed table and a moveable spacing apparatus, some of the
spacing mechanism is liable to become loose and thereby produce
irregularities in the spacing, which causes great inconvenience and
frequently spoils the work.

page_text: The improvements hereafter described are intended to obviate these
defects, thereby enabling the attendant to produce better work on the
machine and also to render the machine to a great extent automatic.
In the accompanying Drawing. Fig 1 is a partial side elevation;
Fig 2, a partial plan view, and Fig. 3, a transverse vertical section of
one of my improved machines provided with a moveable table a, a,
mounted on running wheels a¹, a¹, which run on rails fixed on the
stationary framing. A toothed rack b, shown by dots in Figures 1 and 2,
is attached to the underneath of the table a and gears into a spur
wheel c keyed on a shaft c¹ supported in beanings attached to the
stationary frame a, a, which supports the moveable table a
The spur
wheel c takes into a pinion e keyed on anothor shaft e', which also
carries one of a scrics of ratchet wheels f, of which there may be
several interchangeable and having different numbers of teeth. These
ratchet wheels regulate the width of the black or colored border, and
they may be changed when required by simply unscrewing the nut at
the end of the shaft c¹. A pawl or click g, Fig. 1, is adapted to this
ratchet wheel, and prevents it from rotating until the click is lifted
out of the way of the teeth. This operation is effected by means of a
lever, which may be operated either from below by means of the foot,
or from above, as shown in Fig 1, by means of a hand lever h, on the
axle of which is keyed a short lever through which passes a rod 7 with
an adjustable screw nut. This rod is connected by its lower end to
the click g, and therefore when the hand lever is depressed the rod j and
click g are lifted and the ratchet wheel is left free to turn the distance
of one tooth, when the table is pulled forward by the weight and
cord a*, Fig. 1. Above the moveable table a and attached to the fixed
framework d of the machine is a cross frame k, having at or near its
middle an angular guide corresponding to the corners of the sheet of
paper to be bordered. This angular guide is fixed to the lower ends
of two vertical rods 1, 1, and is capable of rising and falling in guides
when actuated by the hand lever h, the axle of which is mounted in
bracket arms k¹, k¹, fixed to the cross frame . To the under side of the
moveable table a is attached a cord which passes over a pulley and carries
at its opposite end a weight a*, which will pull the table along each
time the pawl is lifted from the teeth of the ratchet wheel, thus
saving to the attendant the trouble of pushing the table forward.
It is obvious that as the table advances the rack b will cause the spur

page_text: wheel c to rotate, thus communicating motion to the ratchet wheel †,
which will revolve until stopped by the pawley and the table a has
advanced a distance equal to the width of the intended border By con-
tinued repetitions of this operation a number of sheets, cards, or
envelopes can be laid in succession on a board, cach a little in the rear
of the preceding one, and when the board is full they may be colored in
the ordinary manner.
The second part of this Invention relates to machines having a fixed
table, and in which the spacing apparatus is moved forward over the top
of the table. The operative parts of this machine are shown in the
accompanying Drawing at Figures 4, 5, 6, and 7, Fig. 4, being a side
clevation of the table with the moveable spacing apparatus thereon;
Fig 5 is a plan view of the same; Fig. 6-is-a front view, and Fig. 7, a
back view of this spacing apparatus, which consists mainly of a moveable
frame m, m, which is mounted on wheels m³, m³, m³, and travels on rails 12
fixed on the stationary table a An augular guide 1, similar to that
above described, is raised or lowered in its vertical guides by means of a
crank pin o fixed in the face of a disc p mounted on the end of the
shaft p provided at its other end with a winch handle, whereby it may
be rotated. The crank pin o works in a slot made in the upper part of
the link y attached by its lower end to the angular guide By this
arrangement, although the shaft p¹ may be kept constantly rotating the
angular guide will remain quiescent on the papers on the table during
a portion of thic rotation of the crank pin o.
The width of the border is determined by the intermittent advance of
the spacing apparatus over the table instead of by the intermittent
advance of the table under the spacing apparatus, as in the former
instance.
The intermittent advance of the spacing apparatus is effected by
means of a sector rack which is keyed on to the shaft p' and gears into
a small sector rack on the shaft s. An intermittent motion is thus
imparted to the shafts while the shaft p' is kept in constant rotation.
A snail or worm on the shaft s takes into and drives a worm wheel / on
the cross shaft t, on the ends of which the two large running
wheels m², m³, are mounted. It will now be understood that on com-
mencing the rotation of the shaft p¹ by the winch handle, the angular
guide will be lifted off the paper. The sector racks will then come

page_text: into
gear
and will cause the spacing apparatus to move forward a short
distance, the angular guide will then drop into position ready to receive
a sheet of paper; it will then risc again and advance as before, and so
on till it reaches the end of the table.
If preferred, the width of the border and the intermittent advance of
the spacing apparatus may be regulated by means of ratchet wheels and
a pawl as in the former instance. These ratchet wheels may be changed
according to the width of the border desired. The ratchet wheel is
keyed on a shaft supported at both ends in an adjustable frame, so that
it may be kept perfectly steady, and is caused to rotate by motion com-
municated by a pinion from a spur wheel taking into a rack fixed to the
table of the machine, as in Fig. 1.
The speed at which the ratchet wheel rotates may be nicely regulated
by changing the pinion on the shaft supported by the adjustable frame.
This frame is carried by a bracket attached to the moveable frame, and
having at its upper end a slot through which passes a pin or bolt
attached to the adjustable frame, and which may be tightened or other-
wise by a thumbscrew. The bracket (which supports the adjustable
frame) also carries the pawl which stops the ratchet when the spacing
apparatus has advanced a sufficient distance along the table. The pawl
is lifted out of the way of the teeth of the ratchet by a rocking pin or
stud which is raised by the hand lover.
The moveable frame may be either pushed along the table by the
attendant pushing the hand lever, or may be pulled forward by one or
more weights, as described and shewn in Fig 1. Each time the pawl
stops the ratchet the attendant places a sheet of paper or an envelope
against the angular guide until the board is full, when it is removed in
order that the borders of the paper left exposed may be colored in the
usual way.
Having now described my Invention of "Improved Apparatus for
Regulating the Width of Black and Colored Borders on Cards, Paper,
and Envelopes," and having explained the manner of carrying the same
into effect, I claim as the Invention secured to me by Letters Patent,
as aforesaid, the arrangement and construction of parts hercin set forth
constituting a machine or machines for facilitating the arrangement, in
order, of sheets of letter or note paper, cards, or envelopes, and so
regulating the distances of their edges from each other that black or

page_text: colored borders may be made thereon with greater accuracy, as to width,
and facility of execution than heretofore.
In witness whereof, I, the said Joseph Parkins, have hereunto
set my hand and scal, the First day of October, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy- i
fivc.