IMPROVEMENTS IN MECHANISM OR APPARATUS TO BE EMPLOYED, FOR NUMBERING AND PRINTING TICKETS CONSECUTIVELY
Year: 1868

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Marcus Bebro, of Manchester, in the County of
Lancaster, and Oswald Hopwood and William Elam, both of Liver-
pool, in the same County, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MECHANISM OR APPARATUS TO BE EMPLOYED, FOR NUMBERING AND PRINTING
TICKETS CONSECUTIVELY."
Sealed the 29th December 1868, and dated the 30th June 1868.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Marcus Bebro, Oswald
Hopwood, and William Elam at the Office of the Commissioners
of Patents, with their Petition, on the 30th June 1868.
We, MARCUS BEBRO, of Manchester, in the County of Lancaster,
and OSWALD Hopwood and WILLIAM ELAM,. both of Liverpool, in the
same County, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN MECHANISM OR APPARATUS TO BE EMPLOYED FOR NUMBERING
AND PRINTING TICKETS CONSECUTIVELY," to be as follows:-
Our Invention relates to that class of printing machines employed"
for printing tickets, and is designed for the purpose of facilitating and

page_text: expediting the process of such printing by a novel and peculiar arrange-
ment of mechanism, which may be thus described :—
A cylinder the length and diameter of which is proportioned to the
maximum amount of type desired to be presented is mounted upon a
central screw or shaft supported in suitable bearings, longitudinal parallel
grooves being formed in the periphery of the cylinder extending from
end to end thereof and to a depth sufficient to receive and hold type,
BO "set up" or placed in the grooves that when the cylinder is
caused to revolve and traverse by means of the screw upon which it is
mounted it will impart a spiral course to the type and cause them to
deliver the impression of their numbers or letters consecutively and
progressively upon a continuous sheet or strip of paper passing beneath,
and actuated as follows:-The continuous strip of paper is secured by a
roller, over and from which it passes beneath the second roller which
presses the paper in its course on to the moving type of the cylinder, from
whence it passes over a third delivery roller on to a spool or reel, or is
carried and formed into layers. The cylinder containing the type during
the traverse of the paper is actuated so as to move below the rollers in
a spiral course, the cylinder and rollers being connected for such purpose
by suitable gearing, and inking rollers of ordinary construction are
provided, the lower one of which is immersed in ink contained in a
trough or upon a slate, and as the cylinder revolves conveys a con-
tinuous and required amount of ink to such type as are passing between
the top pressure roller and their upper or numbered surfaces, thus as
the cylinder containing the type passes in its spiral course between the
top rollers and ink rollers the numbers or subject-matter which the type
composes become regularly and continually impressed consecutively
upon the traversing ribbon or strip of paper passing over them. The
roller delivering the continuous strip of printing paper is provided with
knives, perforators, or piercers to subdivide or pierce the said length of
paper into divisions representing tickets, each ticket containing a
number or numbers. It will be readily understood from the foregoing
description that by setting up the consecutive numbers so as to leave
each alternate groove blank, or every alternate two grooves blank, and
arranging the feeding and delivery rollers accordingly, tickets may be
printed and perforated or pierced of various lengths, and it. will further
be evident that a similar process of printing may be effected by allowing

page_text: the cylinder to revolve, and the top rollers and ink rollers to traverse
so as to receive the numbers progressively and consecutively as such
roller moves from one end of the cylinder to the other.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Marcus Bebro, Oswald Hopwood, and William
Elam in the Great Scal Patent Office on the 30th December
1868.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, MARCUS
BEBRO, of Manchester, in the County of Lancaster, and OSWALD
HOPWOOD and WILLIAM ELAM, both of Liverpool, in the same County,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Thirtieth day of June, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight, in the thirty-
second year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto us, the said Marcus Bebro, Oswald Hopwood, and
William Elam, Her special license that we, the said Marcus Bebro,
Oswald Hopwood, and William Elam, our executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as we, the said Marcus Bebro, Oswald Hopwood,
and William Elam, our executors, administrators, 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
Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MECHANISM OR APPARATUS TO BE EMPLOYED FOR NUMBERING
AND PRINTING TICKETS CONSECUTIVELY," upon the condition (amongst
others) that we, the said Marcus Bebro, Oswald Hopwood, and William
Elam, our executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing
under our hands and seals, or under the hand and seal of one of
us, 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.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Marcus Bebro, do hereby declare
the nature of our said Invention, and in what manner the same is
to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
the following statement, and accompanying Drawings, that is to say :--
Our Invention relates to that class of Inventions employed for printing
and consecutively numbering continuous strips or ribbons of paper, and
is designed for the purpose of facilitating and expediting the process of
such printing by a novel and peculiar arrangement of mechanism, which
may be thus described:-
A cylinder, the length and diameter of which is proportioned to the
maximum amount of type desired to be printed, is mounted upon a
central screw or shaft supported in suitable bearings, longitudinal parallel
grooves being formed in the periphery of the cylinder, extending from
end to end thereof, and to a depth sufficient to receive and hold type
so set up or placed in the grooves that when the cylinder is caused to
revolve and traverse by means of the screw upon which it is mounted
it will impart a spiral course to the type and cause them to deliver the
impression of their numbers or letters consecutively and progressively
upon a continuous sheet or strip of paper passing beneath and actuated
as follows:-The continuous strip of paper is secured by a roller, over
and from which it passes beneath a second or central roller which
presses the paper in its course on the moving type of the cylinder,
from whence it passes over a third delivering roller on to a spool or reel,
or is carried and formed into layers. The cylinder containing the type
during the traverse of the paper is actuated so as to move below the
rollers in a spiral course, the cylinder and rollers being connected for
such purpose by suitable gearing. An ink roller or rollers of ordinary
construction are provided, the lower one of which is immersed in ink
contained in a trough or upon a slab, which by the rollers is transferred
as required to the type previous to their passing between the top pressure
roller and their upper or numbered surfaces, thus as the cylinder
containing the type passes in its spiral course between the top rollers
and ink roller, the numbers or subject-matter of which the type is
composed becomes regularly and continuously impressed consecutively
upon the traversing ribbon or strip of paper passing over them. The
rollers delivering the continuous strip or ribbon of paper is provided with
knives, perforators, or piercers, which subdivide or pierce the said length of

page_text: paper into divisions representing tickets, each ticket containing a number
or numbers it will readily be understood by the foregoing description that
by "setting up" the consecutive numbers so as to leave each alternate
groove blank, and arranging the feeding and delivery rollers accordingly,
tickets may be printed and perforated of various lengths, and it will
further be evident that a similar process of printing may be effected by
allowing the cylinder to revolve, and the top rollers and ink roller to
traverse, so as to receive the numbers progressively and consecutively
as such rollers move from one end of the cylinder to the other.
In order that the Invention may be better understood and explained
in detail I have hereunto annexed a Sheet of Drawing made upon a
scale 3 inches to the foot, similar letters of reference being marked on
all the Figures alike.
Fig. 1 represents a longitudinal elevation of the improved continuous
spiral printing machine; Fig. 2 represents an end sectional elevation of
the same through the line A, B, of Fig. 1; and Fig. 3 represents a sample
of the printed and subdivided strip of paper or other material.
In Fig. 1 and 2, a, a, is the framing and two uprights of the machine
which supports the stationary screw 6; on this screw the longitudinally
groover cylinder C is mounted, the grooves being provided for the purpose
of receiving numbered type, which are placed therein in a spiral course,
the spiral line of which corresponds to the pitch of the screw b, upon
which the cylinder is mounted, thus, as an example, if the cylinder
contains twelve grooves the numbered type in the front groove will be
set up a distance apart equal to the pitch of the screw in the following
order, viz., 0, 12, 24, 36, 48, 60, 72, 84, 96, 108, &c., so that every
revolution of the cylinder as it traverses on the screw will represent
twelve consecutive numbers, but in order to transfer these numbers
consecutively and continuously on to a travelling strip of paper the
following additional mechanism is required :-A central saddle framing d
is secured to the framing a, which arches over and embraces the
traversing cylinder containing the type. This framing supports three
rollers, e, f, and g, the central one being provided with a key that locks
or attaches it to the driving shaft h, the revolving of which also gives
motion to the other two rollers f and g; the pinion I on this shaft h,
being secured thereto by a key running in a sliding groove, is employed

page_text: for giving motion to the cylinder through the medium of the wheel I'
secured by the cylinder, which being provided with central screw nuts
is caused as it revolves to traverse from end to end of the stationary
screw 6; during the time it is thus traversing the consecutive numbers
on the spiral line of the cylinder are successively brought under the
periphery of the central roller e, which being covered with printer's
cloth causes any substance that is passed between the two surfaces,
that is, the surface of the spirally moving type and the roller e, to receive
and have impressed thereupon the running numbers contained in the
cylinder grooves. The central roller e is also provided with knives or
perforators, which being positively driven are caused, as the roller
revolves, to press against an elastic surface formed on the periphery of
the guide roller f, which is adjusted by means of the set screw a'. Thus
when the machine is in action one end of the continuous strip of blank
paper contained on the stud is passed between the nipping surfaces
of the rollers and e, the knives m which subdivide the strip so passing
into equal length or tickets; the paper passes onwards from these knives
over and against the numbered type of the cylinder a, which moving
in unison with the knife roller impresses its numbers consecutively and
continuously on the subdivided strip of paper, the said numbers having
been previously supplied with ink by the rollers n, or if desired the
whole set of type contained in the grooves of the cylinder may be
simultaneously inked by an ordinary printer's ink roller. The paper
after receiving the numbers is received by the roller g and passed on to
a spool "or reel "redy for use if desired; the paper after being numbered
may receive an impression from type placed and secured in grooves
formed in the roller g, the said roller for this purpose being positively
driven by a train of gearing actuated by a wheel on the central driving
shaft, a sample of the tickets thus produced being shewn in Fig. 3.
Having now described the nature of the said Invention, together with
the method of carrying the same into practical effect, I wish it to be
distinctly understood in conclusion, that I claim the novel and peculiar
arrangement and combination of mechanism, herein-before described, or
any slight modification thereof, whereby an arrangement of spirally com-
posed type will be enabled to continuously print consecutive numbers
or subject-matter upon continuous length of paper, together with the
arrangement of cutters for subdividing such continuous length of paper,

page_text: as herein-before described, set forth, and fully illustrated in the Drawings
attached.
In witness whereof, I, Marcus Bebro, have hereunto attached
my hand and seal, this Twenty-ninth day of December, in
the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-
eight.