Improvements in and connected with Paper Gauging Devices for Printing Presses.
Year: 1893

page_text: Date of Application, 7th Nov., 1893-Accepted, 9th Dec., 1893
COME LEIE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in and connected with Paper Gauging Devices for
Printing Presses.
A communication from abroad by THOMAS A. BRIGGS, of Arlington, in the State
of Massachusetts, United States of America, Machinist.
I, JOHN MAGRATH KELLY of 20, Cheapside in the City of London Merchant
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:
The present invention is more particularly designed for the class of printing
presses designated "platen presses."
The object of the invention is to provide the platen with automatic paper-gauging
devices for placing the paper or card in proper position for receiving the impression
of the type secured to the bed of the press.
By the employment of said gauging devices, the operation of feeding the paper
or cards to the press is greatly facilitated and may be performed by unskilled and
cheap labor.
And to that end the invention consists chiefly in the combination, with the platen,
of a gauge or gauges fixed thereto, a paper-carrying sheet mounted movably on the
platen and guided transversely thereon, and one or more paper-guides fixed to said
sheet to carry the paper or card to the aforesaid gauges. Said sheet, even when
moved by the hand of the operator, greatly facilitates the feeding of the paper or
card to the press.
And the invention also consists in novel devices automatically operating the
aforesaid paper-carrying sheet. all as hereinafter more fully described and
specifically set forth in the claims.
In the annexed drawing,
Figure 1 is a face view of a platen provided with the invention, Fig. 2 is a side
view of the same,
Fig. 3 is a plan view of the back of said platen,
Fig. 4 is a plan view of the automatic paper gauging devices arranged for
gauging toward either one or the other side of the platen and
Fig. 5 is a transverse section on line xx, in Fig. 1.
Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts.
P represents the platen which is rocked to and from the type-bed of the press in
the usual and well known manner not necessary to be here shown. P' denotes the
tympan which is also applied to the platen in the usual manner and only shown in
Fig. 1 of the drawing.
a denoted the gripper-shaft which is pivoted to ears on the lower end of the platen
and receives an oscillatory motion about its own axis during the movement of the
platen and thereby causes the gripper a¹ to bear on the edge of the paper or card
to be to be imprinted and thus hold the same in its position on the platen during the
approach of the latter to the bed of the press. In the retreat of the platen from the
bed the gripper is automatically lifted to release the imprinted paper or card and
allow the same to be removed from the platen, and another paper or card to be
placed thereon. All of said operations and the means for producing the same are
well known to persons conversant with that class of printing presses.
6 represents a side gauge which is affixed to the tympan in such a position in
relation to the form on the typebed, that, by placing against said gauge the side edge
of the paper or card to be imprinted, the latter is in line with the form secured to
the type-bed.

page_text: Upon the tympan is mounted movably a paper-carrying sheet C which is guided
transversely and provided with a slot c through which the gauge b protrudes, said
slot being of sufficient length to allow the sheet C to freely move laterally on the
tympan. The top surface of the sheet C is provided with suitable projections or
bottom gauges d. d. which are arranged to receive the bottom edge of the paper or
card to be imprinted, and support the same in proper position in relation to the
form of the press-bed.
In feeding the paper to the press the operator lays said paper upon the sheet C
with the lower edge of the paper resting against the gauges d. d. Then by moving
the sheet C laterally the paper to be imprinted is carried with it and brought to
bear with its side edge against the side gauge b, which arrests the movement of
Baid paper and aligns the same in relation to the form on the press-bed. Hence
the operator is relieved of the care of placing by hand the paper or card in proper
position against the side-gauge, and therefore the operation of feeding the paper or
cards to the press is facilitated and can be performed by cheap labor. It will of
course be understood that the gauge and gauges are not attached directly to the
platen, but to the tympan.
The invention is not limited to the specific arrangement of the gauges as
aforesaid, inasmuch as the bottom-gauges d d may be attached to the platen or
more properly the tympan on the platen, and the sheet C provided with elongated
apertures c¹ for the protrusion of said gauges as indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 1.
of the drawing. The paper or card to be imprinted has sufficient frictional hold on
the sheet C to move with the same and slide on the gauges d d, or, in order to
insure a positive movement of the paper or card, the sheet C may be provided with
a side-gauge d¹ which by contact with the side edge of the paper or card pushes
the same along with the sheet C. Said side gauge may be readily formed by
simply making a V-shaped incision in the sheet and bending the V portion up from
the plane of the sheet.
For guiding the sheet C it is preferred to employ the clamp D consisting of two
straight stiff bars u and u¹ detachably secured to each other and holding the end of
the sheet between them. Said clamp extends along the free end of the platen and
is provided with a longitudinal groove e by which it rides on pins el projecting from
the end of the platen as shown in Fig. 5 of the drawing. The clamp is thus allowed
to slide transversely in relation to the platen.
For moving the said clamp automatically with the movement of the platen there
is fulcrummed on the platen a bell-crank lever l, one end of which is connected to the
clamp D, and to the opposite end of said lever is connected the push bar which
may be actuated by any moving part of the printing press, but is preferred to
connect it to a crank g secured to the gripper shaft a, the oscillation of which
imparts a reciprocating motion to the push bar which oscillates the lever / and
thereby reciprocates the clamp D. In the first movement of the clamp in one
direction the sheet C carries the paper or card to be imprinted to the side-gauge b
by which it becomes aligned as hereinbefore stated. The gripper a¹ being then
brought to bear on the said paper or card in the usual manner, it holds the same in
position while the sheet is receiving its impression.
In order to sustain the lever 1 more positively in its normal position, the lever /
is placed on two fulcrums h h and is held thereon by means of a spring i secured at
its central portion to the lever and passing with its ends across the fulcrums at the
sides opposite to the bearings of the lever. Said spring thus sustains the lever in
its normal position, and to positively arrest the movement of the lever when the
paper in transit is brought up against the side-gauge ba stop o is employed pro-
jecting from the back of the platen and in such a position as to cause the lever to
come in contact therewith when moved the desired distance. The spring connection
of the lever allows the gripper shaft a to continue its motion sufficiently to bring
the gripper to bear on the adjusted sheet while held at rest, and also allows the
gripper to be raised from the sheet before the lever is set in motion toward its
normal position.

page_text: The push-bar actuates the lever I only in one direction, and in order to allow
the thrust of the lever to be adjusted so as to move the sheet-holding clamp D to a
greater or less degree, the said push-bar is connected to the crank g by means of a
barf hooked at one end in an eye on the crank and passing with its opposite end
through a sleeve f" on the push-bar and adjustably confined therein by set
screws, The push bar passes through a stirrup 1 attached to the lever
and is guided thereby.
•passes
To allow the printing press to be operated without the described automatic
gaging devices when desired means are provided for throwing the push-bar fout of
engagement with the lever and for that purpose it is preferred to employ the
latch which is pivoted at one end to the push-bar and
with the opposite
end through the stirrup and is provided with a lateral projection ; which is
adapted to engage the stirrup when the latch is swung to one side, and release said
stirrup when the latch is swung to the opposite side. The movement of the latch
is limited by lips projecting vertically from the side edges of the push-bar,
between which lips the end of the latch plays. A small conical boss n on the
push-bar central between the lips partially locks the latch in either of its
aforesaid positions. By the employment of the described latch the use of
detachable locking devices which are liable to be lost is avoided.
When it is desired to have the automatic gauging devices adapted to gauge
toward either side of the platen the three-armed lever shown in Fig. 4. of the
drawing is employed which lever is fulcrummed at its centre in the manner
herein before described, and has its rearwardly extending arm connected to the
clamp D, and to each of its laterally extending arms is connected one of the
push-bars which is movable longitudinally thereon and provided with the latch j
by which it is adapted to engage and transmit motion to the lever. Each of said
push-bars is connected to and receives motion from a crank attached to the
gripper-shaft a. The push-bar is sustained on the underside of the platen by the
lever which is held in a plane parallel with the platen by the connection of said
lever to the clamp D which is maintained in a uniform plane.
To adapt the platen to carry sheets of paper which are longer than the platen
the latter is provided with an extension P detachably connected thereto and
preferably formed of wire bent into the shape of three sides of a rectangle and
inserted with its ends into sockets in the clamp D.
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
from abroad by my foreign correspondent, I declare that what I claim is :—
1. The combination, with the platen and tympan, of a side-gauge or gauges
fixed to the tympan, and a paper carrying sheet mounted movably on the platen
and guided transversely thereon, and one or more bottom gauges fixed to said sheet
to carry the paper to the aforesaid side gauge or gauges as set forth.
2. The combination, with the platen and tympan, of a side gange fixed to the
tympan, a paper carrying sheet mounted movably on the platen and guided
transversely thereon and provided with an elongated aperture for the protrusion of
the aforesaid gauge, and bottom gauges projecting from the face of said sheet to
carry the paper to the aforesaid side-gauge as set forth.
3. The combination, with the platen and tympan, of a side-gauge or gauges
fixed to the tympan, a paper carrying sheet mounted movably on the platen, and
having bottom gauges affixed to it, and a clamp carrying said sheet and connected
to the platen movable transversely thereof as set forth.
4. The combination with the rocking platen and tympan, of one or more side
gauges fixed to the tympan, and a paper carrying sheet mounted movably on the
tympan, one or more bottom gauges on said sheet, a clamp extending along the free end
of the platen and carrying the aforesaid sheet, and a fever actuated by the rocking
of the platen and transmitting reciprocating motion to said clamp as set forth.
5. The combination with the platen and tympan, of one or more side gauges,

page_text: fixed to the tympan, a paper carrying sheet mounted movably on the tympan,
bottom gauges fixed to the sheet, a clamp extending along the free end of the
platen and having the aforesaid sheet secured to it, a lever pivoted to the platen
and connected to the aforesaid clamp, and a bar actuated by the motion of the
platen and transmitting motion to the aforesaid lever as set forth.
6. The combination, with the platen and tympan, and one or more gauges
attached to the tympan, of a sheet mounted movably on said tympan, and one or
more gauges on said sheet, a clamp extending along the free end of the platen
movable transversely thereof, and having the aforesaid sheet attached to it, a lever
fulcrummed on the platen, a spring sustaining the lever in its normal position, a
push bar actuated by the motion of the platen and transmitting motion to the
lever, and a stop on the platen limiting the motion of the lever as set forth.
7. The combination, with the rocking-platen tympan and gripper-shaft pivoted to
the platen, a gauge or gauges on the tympan, a paper-carrying sheet mounted
movably on the tympan and provided with paper gauges, a clamp carrying said
sheet and connected to the end of the platen movable transversely thereof, a lever
fulcrummed on the platen and connected at one end to the aforesaid clamp, a crank
secured to the aforesaid gripper-shaft, and a push-bar transmitting motion from said
crank to the aforesaid lever, substantially as set forth.
8. In combination with the platen tympan and gripper-shaft, a gauge or gauges
on the tympan, a sheet mounted movably on the tympan, and provided with gauges,
a clamp connected to the end of the platen movable transversely thereon and
carrying the aforesaid sheet, a lever fulcrummed on the platen and connected at one
end to the clamp, a crank on the gripper-shaft, a push-bar connected to said crank,
and a latch on the push-bar adapted to engage and release the aforesaid lever,
substantially as set forth.
9. The combination with the platen tympan and gripper shaft, of a clamp
extending along the free end of the platen and movable transversely thereon, a sheet
connected to said clamp and lying upon the tympan, gauges on the tympan and the
aforesaid sheet, a three-armed lever fulcrummed at opposite sides of its centre to
the platen and having its rearwardly extending arm connected to the aforesaid
clamp, a spring holding the lever on its fulcrums, push-bars connected longitudinally
movable to the laterally extending arms of the aforesaid lever, latches on the
push-bars adapted to engage and release the lever-arms, and cranks connecting said
push-bars to the gripper-shaft, substantially as set forth.
10. In combination with the lever 1, the push-bar provided with the lips,
and boss n, the latch pivoted to said push-bar and playing between the aforesaid
lips and provided with the projection and the stirrup (" on the lever guiding the
push-bar, substantially as described and shown.
11. In combination with the platen and gripper-shaft a the lever 1, clamp D,
sheet C, the crank g, push-bar and the barf connected at one end to said crank
and at the opposite end longitudinally adjustable to the push-bar as and for the
purpose set forth.
Dated this 7th day of November 1802
PHILIP M. JUSTICE,
55 & 56, Chancery Lane, London, Chartered Patent Agent,
For the Applicant.