AN IMPROVED METHOD OF OR APPARATUS FOR INKING, PRINTING, OR STAMPING SURFACES
Year: 1856

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Charles William Lancaster, of New Bond Street, in
the County of Middlesex, Manufacturer, for the Invention of "AN
IMPROVED METHOD OF OR APPARATUS FOR INKING, PRINTING, OR STAMPING
SURFACES."A communication.
Sealed the 1st November 1856, and dated the 10th July 1856.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Charles William Lancaster
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 10th July 1856.
I, CHARLES WILLIAM LANCASTER, of New Bond Street, in the County of
Middlesex, Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "AN IMPROVED METHOD OF OR APPARATUS FOR INKING, PRINTING, OR STAMPING
SURFACES," (communicated to me by a foreigner residing abroad) to be as
follows:-
My Invention consists in mounting an inking roller upon an arm or lever
in such manner that when the stamping or printing surface is at rest the roller
is held clear thereof, and that when the printing surface moves it acts upon
the lever, presses it back, and causes the inking roller to traverse over and ink
the printing surface. Upon the printing surface resuming the position from
which it started, a spring draws back the lever and roller to their original
position, and causes the inking roller in its course to travel a second time over
the printing surface.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Charles William Lancaster in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 10th January 1857.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, CHARLES
WILLIAM LANCASTER, of New Bond Street, in the County of Middlesex,
Manufacturer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Tenth day of July, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-six, in the twentieth year of Her reign, did,
for Herself,.Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said Charles
William Lancaster, Her special licence that I, the said Charles William
Lancaster, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said Charles William Lancaster, my 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 "AN
IMPROVED METHOD OF OR APPARATUS FOR INKING, PRINTING, OR STAMPING SURFACES,"
communicated to me by a foreigner residing abroad, upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said Charles William Lancaster, my executors or
administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of their
hands and seals, 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 Charles William Lancaster, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is
to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement thereof, reference being had to the Drawings annexed,
that is to say:-
This Invention consists in mounting an inking roller upon an arm or lever in
such manner that when the stamping or printing surface is at rest the roller is
held clear thereof, and that when the printing surface moves it acts upon the
lever, presses it back, and causes the inking roller to traverse over and ink the
printing surface. Upon the printing surface resuming the position from which
it started, a spring draws the lever and roller to their original position, and
causes the inking roller in its course to travel a second time over the printing
surface.

page_text: Figure 1 of the Drawings annexed is a side elevation; Figure 2, a back
elevation, partly in section; and Figure 3, a front elevation of a desk or
counter printing apparatus, with this method of inking the printing surface
applied thereto; and Figure 4 is a view of the inking roller and arm detached.
The same letters indicate similar parts in all the before-mentioned Figures.
A is an arm or bracket, cast in a piece with the base B, having at its top a
boss or hollow head B', in which there is a longitudinal groove a. To the
bottom of the rod C is fitted a wood or metal frame D, which receives a stamp
or block, or set of types D¹. E is a handle or button on the top of the rod C;
and C is a guide on the rod which works in the groove in the boss B¹. The
inking roller F is mounted on an arm F¹ of the lever F", the end 6 of which
is bent at right angles or nearly so to the lever F", and passes through a hole
at c in the bracket A, where it is secured by a pin. G is a helical spring,
hooked at d to the bracket A, and at e to the lever F", and keeps the roller F
raised, when the apparatus is at rest, clear of the under side of the printing
surface or block D'. f is a pin fixed in the side of the frame D, which, when
the rod C is depressed causes the inking roller F to traverse under and ink
the stamp or printing surface D'. A spring H is attached at top to the bent
pin g fixed in the boss B¹, and at bottom to the neck of the button h, which is
screwed into the frame D.. This spring H draws up the rod C and the
printing surface, on the hand being withdrawn from or releasing the handle E,
after having effected an impression.
To use the apparatus, I first fix any required stamp or type in the frame D,
and distribute printing ink evenly over the roller F. The rod C is depressed,
whereby the inking roller will be caused to travel under the printing surface
or stamp, and an impression thereof will be produced upon the paper, cloth, or
other material placed under it, the inking roller lever, printing surface, or
stamp and rod, all assuming the position indicated by the dotted lines in
Figure 1. Upon withdrawing the pressure from the rod, the springs Ġ and. H
return the parts to their original position, and the apparatus is ready to make
a fresh impression. It will be observed that the inking roller passes twice over.
the printing surface or stamp, once as the stamp is descending, and again
when it ascends. When the apparatus is not in use. I slip a metal. cover or
case over the inking roller, in order to protect it from dust and dirt.
At Figure 5 I shew a side elevation, and. at Figure 6 a back elevation,
partly in section, of a hand stamp, being a modification of the apparatus
shewn at Figure 1. Figure 7 is a plan of the sole or base on the line a, b, of
Figure 5. Figure 8 is a front, and Figure 9 an end view, of the inking roller,
arm, and lever detached. A is the frame of the apparatus, the base or sole B

page_text: of which is perfectly flat at its under side, having a square or other shaped
hole formed in it, seen more clearly at Figure 7. Through the boss or upper
part C of the frame, a hole is formed which receives the hollow rod or tube D,
fixed in the handle E, by the screw d. This handle E is sufficiently hollowed
out at its under side to allow it when depressed to work freely over the boss
or upper part C of the frame A. In the interior of the rod D, I place a
helical spring F, abutting at bottom on the pin e, and at top against the
handle E at e¹. To the lower end of the hollow rod D, I attach the frame G,
which receives the stamp or types G¹. The spring F keeps the handle raised,
and the frame G close against the under side of the boss C. The hollow
rod D is slotted in front from x to y, to allow it to traverse over the pin e,
when the rod is pushed down, and again while being raised by the spring F.
H is the inking roller mounted on the arm I of the lever I¹; the end I of
which is bent at right angles to it, as in the Figure before described. The
arm I" of this lever passes through a hole at f in the frame A. A hole is
formed in the end of the arm I", in which the small lever K is inserted and
fixed. The spring L is hooked at top into a hole in the lever K, and at
bottom on to a pin g fixed in the frame A. The pin h presses on the lever I,
and guides it in such manner, as when the stamp is depressed to cause the
inking roller H to pass under the stamp or types G¹. To make an impression
with this stamping apparatus, the inking roller is first supplied with ink, and
the sole or base B is placed on the paper or material to receive the impression;
the handle E is depressed, when the inking roller will be brought under and
clear of the stamp, which on being pressed to the end of the stroke of the
handle, makes its impression. As soon as the impression is made the hand is
released, and the helical spring in the interior of the rod D, restores the parts
to the position from which they stated; the inking roller, as in the apparatus
first described, passing, as it returns, a second time under the stamp or types.
And having now described the nature of the said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, I declare that I claim the inking of the
surface of a stamp, types, or other printing surface by means of an inking
roller made to work in the manner herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Charles William Lancaster, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Eighth day of January, One thousand
eight hundred and fifty-seven.
CHADIES TXT TANGASTED
CHARLES W.
T
TYT
ANCASTER