IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR PRINTING FLOOR CLOTH, WALL- PAPER, AND THE LIKE
Year: 1881

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Robert Lake, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake,
& Co., Patent Agents, Southampton Buildings, London, for an Invention
of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR PRINTING FLOOR CLOTH, WALL-
PAPER, AND THE LIKE." A communication from abroad by Charles Ezra
Benedict of Rutala Na V
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Robert Lake at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 3rd October 1881.
WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake, & Co., Patent
Agents, Southampton Buildings, London. ." IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR
PRINTING FLOOR-CLOTH, WALL-PAPER, AND THE LIKE." [A communication from
abroad by Charles Ezra Benedict, of Buffalo, New York, United States of
America.]
Heretofore oil cloth has only been successfully printed by hand from blocks, the
blocks receiving ink or paint from a pad which has been supplied therewith by an
ordinary brush, and being then placed on the material to be printed and tho
impression given by hand. This operation where many colors are used is slow
and expensive.
The object of this Invention is to produce a machine for facilitating the printing
of oil-cloth, or floor-cloth, wall-paper, or similar material.
According to the said Invention I employ an endless apron to receive the
material to be printed, an endless chain gear arranged on each side of the apron or
other suitable feeding device, provided with pins to catch into the margin and
assist in holding the article to be printed, and in drawing it through the machine
in combination with one or more printing platens to receive and hold the printing
blocks, one or more movable parts for supplying the ink to the printing blocks,
and suitable mechanism for giving the several parts their proper movements.
In carrying the said Invention into practice I provide a frame which is mide
preferably of cast iron, that being the strongest and cheapest material, and is held
Du 21

page_text: together by the usual binding rods. The printing portion of the machine is pro-
vided with two large rollers having an endless apron of felt, heavy cotton duck,
or other suitable material. Below the apron is securely fastened to the frame a
bed, so as to be adjustable vertically like any other printing-press bed, one being
used for each printing platen, and arranged directly in a line below it and also
under the apron, so that it moves easily over it. To the shaft of a roller is secured
by a key in the usual way a ratchet wheel having a pawl arm and a pawl. The
said arm is connected with one end of a rod or arm, having its opposite end jointed
to a cam-wheel from which it receives its movements to operate the endless
apron.
Endless chain gear passes around the said roller and over another roller, and
then over and around another roller at the foot or back end of the machine. It
is operated by the same mechanism that moves the endless apron as it passes
around the first roller and gears into a toothed wheel thereon. There is a series
of fine pins projecting upward from the chain gear, the object of which is to
hold the cloth exactly in place while it is being printed and carried through the
machine, which they do by passing through the margin of the cloth as it is drawn
into the machine.. To keep the chain gear in perfect line along the machine: it is
made to gear into small. toothed wheels on rollers, and in some cases where greater
accuracy is required the chain gear may be fitted to run in grooved slideways
arranged between the rollers.
The printing platens receive an up and down movement from cams on can
wheels-which-are-grooved-or-internal-cams. The-platens-are-connected-with-the-
cams by arms, friction rollers fitting into them. The upper ends of said arms are
rigidly fastened to the platens one on each side of the machine, and the lower
portions are provided with slots through which the cam-wheel-shafts pass, so as to
keep them in line vertically while in operation.
The printing blocks are put into slide ways on the lower face of the platen.
The ink-pads are arranged to move on slide ways in any well known way and
receive their movement by means of a rocking or swinging arm, having a friction
wheel fitted into a grooved cam on a cam-wheel to which they are connected by a
connecting rod or arm.
The upper surface of the pad is covered with an elastic or yielding bed of india-
rubber or other suitable material, and is supplied with ink by means of a roller
made in the form of a roller brush of bristles or an ordinary ink roller, to which
the ink may be supplied by any well known printing ink fountain, or in some
cases it may be supplied by an ordinary brush.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said William Robert Lake in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
3rd April 1882.
WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake, & Co., Patent
Agents, Southampton Buildings, London. "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR
PRINTING FLOOR-CLOTH, WALL-PAPER, AND THE LIKE." A communication from
abroad by Charles Ezra Benedict, of Buffalo, New York, United States of
America.
Heretofore oil cloth has only been successfully printed by hand from blocks, the
blocks receiving ink or paint from a pad which has been supplied therewith by an
ordinary brush, and being then placed on the material to be printed, tho
impression boing given by hand. This operation when many colors are used is
slow and expensive.
The object of this Invention is to produce a machine for facilitating the printing
of oil-cloth or floor-cloth, wall-paper, or similar material.
According to the said Invention I employ an endless apron to receive the material
to be printed, an endless chain gear arranged on each side of the apron or other
suitable feeding device, provided with pins to catch into the margin and assist in
holding the article to be printed, and in drawing it through the machine, the
combination with one or more printing beds to receive and hold the printing
blocks, one or more movable pads for supplying the ink to the printing blocks,
and suitable mechanism for giving the several parts their proper movements, as
hereinafter described.
In the accompanying Drawing,
Figure 1 is a side elevation of the printing portion of the machine, one sido of
the frame being removed to shew the printing beds, blocks, movable ink pads,
and the endless apron and mechanism for giving the required movements to the
several parts.
Figure 2 is a side elevation extending from the point z, Figure 1 (from which
it is broken) to the back end of the machine outside of the frame, being removed
to shew a portion of the endless chain gear and its arrangement.
Figure 3 is a plan or top view of Figure 2, aud enough of Figure 1 to shew its
back roller.
Figure 4 is a plan or top view of Figure 1.
Figure 5 represents one of the arms for connecting with a cam on one side of
the machine for moving the beds.
Figure 6 is a front elevation of the machine, and
Figure 7 represents one of the arms for the other side of the machine, shewing
an opening through which the printing blocks are put into the slideway in the
beds.
A represents the frame of the machine, which is made preferably of cast iron,
that being the strongest and cheapest material, and is held together by the usual
binding rods A', A'. The printing portion of the machine, see Figure 1, is provided
with two large rollers a, a, having an endless apron b of felt, heavy cotton duck,
or other suitable material. Below the apron b is securely fastened to the frame A
a bed b' so as to be adjustable vertically like any other printing press bed, one
being used for each printing bed B or B', and arranged directly in a line below it,
To the
see Figure 1, and so that the apron moves easily over the said bed b¹.
shaft c of the roller a is secured by a key in the usual manner a ratchet wheel C
having a pawl arm C¹ and a pawl ». The arın C¹ is connected with one end of a

page_text: rod or arm D, having its opposite end Jointed to a cam wheel D, from which i
receives its movements to operate the endless apron b.
The endless chain gear E, E, see Figures 2, 3, and 4, passes around the roller a
over the roller a', and then over and around the roller, as shewn in Figure 2, at
the foot or back end of the machine. It is operated by the same mechanism that
moves the endless apron as it passes around the roller a, and gears into a toothed
wheel a³ thereon, but it is omitted in Figure 1 so as to shew the endless apron b.
The letters e represent a series of fine pins projecting upward from the chain-
gear E, E', the object of which is to hold the cloth exactly in place while it is
heing-printed and carried through the machine, which the said pins effect by passing
through the margin of the cloth as it is drawn into the machine.
To keep the chain-gear in perfect line along the machine it is made to gear into
small toothed wheels e¹ on the rollers e, see Figures 2 and 3, and in some cases
where greater accuracy is required the chain gear may be fitted to run in grooved
slideways arranged between the rollera e².
The printing beds B, B', receive an up and down movement from the cams F, F',
on the cam-wheels D', D², see Figure 1, where the cams (which are grooved or
internal cams) are shewn by dotted lines. The beds are connected with the
cams by the arms f, f', see Figures 1, 4, 5, 6, and 7, by friction rollers G fitting
into them also, shown by dotted lines in Figure 1. The upper ends of the said
arms are rigidly fastened to the beds, one on each side of the machine, and the
lower portions are provided with slots through which the cam-wheel-shafts pass
-so-as-to-keep-them-in-line-vertically-while-in-operation.
The printing-blocks G' are put into the slide-ways g' on the lower face of the
beds, substantially as shown in Figures 1 and 7.
H represents the ink-pads, which are arranged to move on slide-ways h in any
well known manner, and receive their movements by means of the rocking or
swinging arm ¹ having a friction wheel I fitted into the grooved cam I' (shown by
dotted lines J, in Figure 1) on the cain wheel D³, to which they are connected by
a connecting rod or arm i, also shewn in Figure 1.
The upper surface of the pad is covered with an elastic or yielding bed of india-
rubber or other suitable material, and is supplied with ink by means of a roller
made in the form of a roller brush of bristles J', or an ordinary roller, to which
the ink may be supplied by any well known printing-ink fountain, or in some cases
it may be supplied by an ordinary brush.
The movements of each of the beds are as follow:-First, a full upward move-
ment when it remains stationary long enough for the ink pad to pass under it;
second, a slight downward movement, so that the printing block may receive ink
from the ink-pad which remains stationary under it long enough for that purpose;
third, a slight upward movement, when it again remains stationary long enough
to allow the ink-pad to move out of the way; fourth, a full downward movement
to print or give an impression on the oil cloth which moves forward a certain
distance every time the beds move up. I do not confine myself strictly to this
arrangement, as the movements may be varied without changing the nature of my
Invention. The beds when at the limit of their upward movement may remain
stationary long enough for the ink-pads to pass in and move up to supply the ink,
and then move slightly down and out, or a roller may be used to pass under and
supply the ink, but it would not answer the purpose so well.
The operation of the machine is as follows:-The ink pads being charged with
ink the cloth is started into the machine from the roll K, see Figure 1, over the
roller a on to the endless apron, the cloth being wide enough to allow the margins
to lie on the endless chain-gear E, E, and be pressed down on and over the pins e
which move along with the endless apron as the cloth is making a movement
forward by means of the pawl and ratchet wheel, the beds move up and the printing
blocks receive a charge of ink and descend and give an impression, while the cloth
remains stationary long enough for that purpose. The cloth receives an impression
at the end of every move forward until it has passed all the beds, of which there
'

page_text: may be more than the number shewn, or as many as there may be colors to print.
After the printing is done the cloth is put upon racks to dry in the usual manner.
That portion of the machine beyond the beds is made long enough to receive &
whole roll of oil cloth, from which it is taken and laid away to dry as before
mentioned.
Having thus fully described the said Invention, as communicated to me by my
foreign correspondent, and the manner of performing the same, I wish it understood
that I claim,―
First. An endless apron to receive the material to be printed and support while
being printed, in combination with an endless chain gear arranged on each side of
the apron for the purposes specified.
Second. The combination of a series of vertically movable printing beds, corre-
sponding horizontally movable inking pads, and a suitable ink supplying device,
substantially as specified, with an endless apron and an independent endless chain-
gear arranged on each side of the apron and provided with projecting pins,
substantially as and for the purposes specified.
Third. The combination of two or more vertically movable printing beds, two
or more horizontally movable flat inking-pads H arranged to slide between the
beds, and an endless apron and chain-gear E, E', provided with a series of pins c,
substantially as and for the purposes specified.
Fourth. The endless apron b on rollers a, a, endless chain-gear E, E', supported
on rollers a, a, and their operating mechanism, in combination with the beds B, B',
arms ff, and inking pads H, and their operating mechanism, substantially as
and for the purposes specified.
Fifth. The endless apron b and its operating mechanism, in combination with
one or more printing beds B, B', one or more horizontally movable inking-pads H,
and the ink supplying rollers J₁, as and for the purposes specified.
Sixth. In a machine for printing oil cloth the printing portion of the machine,
consisting of the endless apron b, printing beds, inking-pads, inking rollers, and
their operating mechanism, in combination with the rear portion of the machine,
for receiving the oil cloth after being printed, consisting of the endless chain-
gear, gear-wheels c', rollers e³, and rear supporting roller a², substantially as
specified.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Robert Lake, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this First day of April, in the year of our Lord One