IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR SUSPENDING WALL PAPER IN RACKS TO DRY AND FOR MARKING THE WEB OF PAPER AT CERTAIN INTERVALS
Year: 1882

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Alexander Melville Clark at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 11th February 1882. A com-
munication from abroad by Henry Staib, of the City, County and State of
New York, United States of America.
"
ALEXANDER MELVILLE CLARK of 53 Chancery Lane in the County of Middlesex,
Patent Agent. "IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR SUSPENDING WALL PAPER IN RACKS
TO DRY AND FOR MARKING THE WEB OF PAPER AT CERTAIN INTERVALS."
A communication from abroad by Henry Staib, of the City, County and State of
New York, United States of America.
In the manufacture of paper hangings, the web of paper as it comes from the
printing machine is carried to a rack where it is suspended to dry in loops on
sticks placed at intervals.
This Invention relates to the mechanism for taking the paper and carrying it
upon the racks, as well as to the racks used for supporting the paper, and has for
its object to facilitate such work and render the operation automatic.
The mechanism for receiving the paper and carrying it to the racks, consists of a
frame with side bars having bearings in which rollers are mounted carrying endless
belts, these belts being connected by a cross strip and furnished with pushers
which are attached to the belts lengthwise, and a projecting cross piece fixed to
the belts at a suitable distance from the pushers. Above the belts is fixed a long
narrow box to contain a pile of the sticks used to suspend the paper and placed so
that the lower stick of the pile shall rest on the belts. A weight is suspended
from one of the rollers by a cord which is wound on the roller so that the weight
tends to turn the roller and retain the pushers at the back of the box. A stand
is fixed in front of the box at a distance therefrom about equal to the elevation of
the drying rack above the floor. On this stand is a rock shaft carrying two
vibrating arms, provided with a crank arm from which a rod extends to a crank
on the driving shaft. The arms are of a length to extend to the endless belt and
strike the projection thereon when in about a horizontal position, and their ends
[Price 4d1

page_text: The fixed bars of the
drying rack terminate above the stand so as to receive the vibrating arms between
them when raised to a vertical position.
are notched to receive the stick, as hereinafter described.
The rack bars are suspended by
The construction of the rack is as follows.
hangers placed at suitable intervals, and upon bearing strips attached to said
hangers are rollers that support slide bars which are provided with straps extending
The slide bars are furnished with
above the rollers to prevent their dislocation.
pivoted pushers resting on the rack bars, and the slides are connected together by
cross pieces so that they shall move together. A hanger fixed above the rack
carries a vibrating arm that connects by a rod with a crank of the driving shaft
Other similar slides
and also by a second rod with a cross piece of the slides.
provided with pivoted pushers are also fitted in the same manner above the racks
in rear of those first mentioned and connected by a rod to the vibrating arm. The
pushers of these slides are however much closer together than the others and the
connecting rod is attached nearer to the axis of the vibrating arm than the rod
that connects the first slides so that the movement imparted to the slides is corre-
spondingly shortened. In both cases the movement of the slides should correspond
in length to the distance between their pushers so that when the paper is put on
the rack, the loops are first kept some distance apart in order that they may
partially dry before being moved closer together. If extensive surface is required,
the racks may extend a long distance and to economise space may be turned in any
direction by a quarter, half, or reverse curve as required. In the case of a reverso
curve, the sticks would be carried around such curve by the following means.
the centre of the first curve is fitted a vertical post on which is a sleeve carrying
radial arms forming a spider on which are hung pawls or pushers that rest on the
curved portion of the rack bars. The sleeve is connected by a link to a cross pieco
connecting the slides. A similar sleeve provided with arms also furnished with
pawls is fitted at the centre of the second curve and the two spiders connect by
segmental racks carried by the sleeves so that they shall move together. The arms
of both spiders are placed a proper distance apart to give the required length of
movement to the sticks.
At
For a turn of 180° or less, but a single spider is required and the shaft will
connect to the straight side bars at each side, but for a reverse curve the two spiders
are necessary.
The operation is as follows:-The vibrating arms of the mechanism for trans-
ferring the paper to the racks in their downward movement strike the projection
of the endless belts and move the belts and the pushers being thereby moved
beneath the box, carry the lower stick out upon notched side bars of the frame.
The arms then moving upward take the stick by their notched ends and carry it
upward and deposit it on the rack bars in front of the outermost pusher of the
rack. The loop of paper between the rack and a friction roller on the frame over
which the paper passes is thus carried to and remains suspended from the rack
while the arms move back to receive another stick and loop. The slides of the
racks then move forward and the pivoted pushers carry the stick and loop of
paper; the slides then move back to receive the next stick brought up by the
vibrating arms and at the next forward movement both sticks are carried forward
and so on.
Each loop of paper is of a defined length and it has been usual heretofore to
puncture the web by hand at every third or fourth loop so as to ensure uniformity
of the rolls into which the paper is finally made. To effect this automatically, a
roller is fitted in suitable bearings between the slides and lengthwise of the same
bearing on its surface oppositely inclined or cam grooves into which a pin projects
from one of the slides and engages the grooves in succession as the slide reciprocates
and thereby gives the roller an intermittent movement on its axis.
One end of
the roller has a projection that comes in contact with the web of paper beneath at
each revolution of the roller. This projection may be formed to print, impress, or

page_text: puncture the paper and will act at regular distances according to the number and
arrangement of the cam grooves, for instance, to mark every fourth loop, the roller
will be turned by eight movements given by the slide in its reciprocation. .
To obtain a record or register of the number of loops, the shaft of the roller will
be provided with a pulley fitted for moving a rod that is in connection with a
register or counter placed at a convenient point.