IMPROVEMENTS IN PRINTING CALICO AND OTHER TEXTILE FABRICS."
Year: 1873

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Thomas Aitken, of Manchester, in the County
of Lancaster, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN PRINTING CALICO
AND OTHER TEXTILE FABRICS."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Thomas Aitken at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
4th January 1873.
I, THOMAS AITKEN, of Manchester, in the County of Lancaster, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS
IN PRINTING CALICO AND OTHER TEXTILE FABRICS," to be as follows:-
This Invention applies to that class of printing on calicoes and other
woven fabrics, wherein it is desirable to print a stripe or other pattern
across or upon the piece at intervals, the spaces between such stripes or
patterns being wider than the circumference of the ordinary printing
rollers. Hitherto such printing has been invariably effected by means
of blocks worked by hand; but by the application of this Invention it

page_text: can be effected much more expeditiously and economically by means of
the ordinary calico printing machine.
The Invention consists principally in so mounting the roller whereon
this particular part of the pattern is engraved, that it can be raised up
out of contact with the calico or other woven fabric being printed, and
be lowered or brought into contact therewith at the required intervals.
The roller (together with its own color box, furnishing roller, and
other adjuncts) is so mounted as to be capable of sliding in radial slots
formed in the main frame, and the requisite motion to and from tho
centre so as to bring it into or out of operation, at the required intervals
is imparted to it by means of cams, tappets, or other suitable mechanism,
which may be arranged in a great variety of ways as would be under-
stood by any practical machine maker, the only provisos requisite being
that the roller which by preference should be kept always revolving so
as to keep the color in the proper state for printing, shall be held out of
contact with the calico or other fabric during the interval, and shall be
brought into contact therewith whenever this part of the pattern is
required to be printed..
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Thomas Aitken in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 4th July 1873.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, THOMAS
AITKEN, of Manchester, in the County of Lancaster, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Fourth day of January, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-three, in the thirty-
sixth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said Thomas Aitken, Her special license
that I, the said Thomas Aitken, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as I, the said Thomas Aitken, 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, excrcise, and vend,
within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Charnel

page_text: Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN PRINTING
CALICO AND OTHER TEXTILE FABRICS," upon the condition (amongst others)
that I, the said Thomas Aitken, 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
Lottons Datant
Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN PRINTING
CALICO AND OTHER TEXTILE FABRICS," upon the condition (amongst others)
that I, the said Thomas Aitken, 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
Lottone Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Thomas Aitken, 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 and accompanying Drawings (that is to say):-
This Invention applies to that class of printing on calicocs and other
woven fabrics, wherein it is desirable to print a stripe or other pattern
across or upon the piece at intervals, the spaces between such stripes or
patterns being wider than the circumference of the ordinary printing
rollers. Hitherto such printing has beeni nvariably effected by means of
blocks worked by hand; but by the application of this Invention it can
be effected much more expeditiously and economically by means of the
ordinary calico printing machine.
The Invention consists principally in so mounting the roller or rollers
wherein this particular part of the pattern is engraved, that it or they
can be lowered out of contact with the calico or other woven fabric
being printed, and be raised or brought up into contact therewith at the
required intervals, or vice versa. The roller (together with its own color
box, furnishing roller, and other adjuncts) is so mounted as to be capable
of sliding in slots formed in the main frame, and the requisite motion to
and from the centre so as to bring it into or out of operation at the
required intervals is imparted to it by means of cams, tappets, or other
suitable mechanism, which may be arranged in a great variety of ways as
would be understood by any practical machine maker, the only provisos
requisite being that the roller which by preference should be kept always
revolving, so as to keep the color in the proper state for printing, shall
be held out of contact with the calico or other fabric during the interval,
and shall be brought into contact therewith whenever this part of the
pattern is required to be printed.

page_text: Such being the nature and object of my said Invention, I will now
proceed to describe more in detail the manner in which the same is to
be or may be performed or carried into practical effect, and in order that
the same may be clearly understood, I have annexed hereunto a Sheet of
Drawings illustrative thereof, and have marked the same with figures
and letters of reference corresponding with those in the following
explanation thereof :-
Fig. 1 in the annexed Drawing is a vertical section, and Fig. 2 a
front elevation of a calico printing machine with my improved Invention
shown as applied thereto.
a, a, is the framing of the machine, and b, b, the main cylinder; c, c, c,
are three ordinary printing rollers for printing the main or longitudinal
part of the pattern, and d, d, is the additonal roller for printing the
transverse stripe or other pattern at intervals. This roller (together with
its furnishing roller f, f, and color trough g, g), is attached to
slides h, h, at each end (see sectional view Fig. 3) working in slots in
the frame a, a, and connected by adjustable links i, i, to levers k, k,
which are mounted on fulcra 1, 1, at one end, and carry bowls m, m, at
the other. These bowls work on cams n, n, which are mounted on
a cam shaft o, o, actuated by a worm wheel and worm p, p, driven from
the main cylinder shaft q, q, by the bevil wheel and pinion r, r.
It will be evident that so long as the bowls m, m, are upon the lower
part of the cams n, n, the roller d, d, will remain out of contact with the
material on the main cylinder as shown at Fig. 1, and will consequently
give no impression to the calico or other woven fabric, but as soon as the
rise on the cams come under the bowls, the roller d, d, will be raised up
into contact with the fabric and give the impression as shown at Fig. 3.
I would here remark that the teeth of the spur wheels 8, 8, which
drive the roller d, d, are so deep that they always remain in gear
whether the roller d, d, is in contact with the cylinder or not, and thus
the roller d, d, with its furnishing roller f, f, are always revolving, and
hence the color on the roller d, d, is always in a fit state to give an
impression.
Having now described the nature and object of my said Invention,
together with the manner in which the same is to be or may be
performed or carried into practical effect, I wish it to be understood that
I claim as my Invention the printing of stripes or patterns. at intervals

page_text: exceeding the circumference of the roller in the manner and for the
purposes above particularly set forth without confining myself to the
precise details herein-before described and set forth on the Drawings, so
long as the peculiar feature of my Invention is retained, which is that
the roller (with its furnishing roller), which by preference is kept always
revolving, is brought into and out of contact with the material at the
required interval.
Witnessed by
THOMAS E. DAVIES,
Patent Office,
4, St. Ann's Square,
Manchester.
THOMAS AITKEN. (L.S.)