IMPROVEMENTS IN PRINTING MACHINERY, AND IN THE MECHANISM OR APPARATUS APPLI- CABLE THERETO FOR CUTTING, FOLDING, COUNTING, AND PILING THE PRINTED SHEETS
Year: 1876

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Conquest, of Tudor Street, Whitefriars, in the
City of London, Mechanical Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
IN PRINTING MACHINERY, AND IN THE MECHANISM OR APPARATUS APPLI-
CABLE THERETO FOR CUTTING, FOLDING, COUNTING, AND PILING THE PRINTED
SHEETS." A communication from abroad by Richard March Hoo and Stephen
Davis Tucker, of New York City, in the United States of America.
Sealed the 1st August 1876, and dated the 2nd February 1876.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Conquest at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 2nd February 1876.
WILLIAM CONQUEST, of Tudor Street, Whitefriars, in the City of London,
Mechanical Engineer. "IMPROVEMENTS IN PRINTING MACHINERY, AND IN THE
MECHANISM OR APPARATUS APPLICABLE THERETO FOR CUTTING, FOLDING, COUNT-
ING, AND PILING THE PRINTED SHEETS."
The first part of the Invention consists in an improved arrangement of the
working parts of a rotary web printing machine, the object being to economise
the space required for such machines.
The other parts of the Invention relate to improvements in the mechanism or
apparatus for cutting, folding, counting, and piling the printed sheets so that the
latter may be readily removeable from the receiving table or receptacle in quires,
which shall consist of any desired number of sheets.
The first part of these improvements consists in arranging the type or stereotype
cylinders and impression cylinders with the requisite series of inking and distri-
buting rollers in two horizontal lines, the one over and above the other, the roll or web
of paper being carried above the upper series of cylinders. From the roll the paper
is led down between the first or upper pair of type and impression cylinders of
equal diameters, and printed on one side, and from thence down in a perpendicular
course to the other pair of type and impression cylinders of the lower set, and
printed on the opposite side. This last impression cylinder is of greater diameter
than that of the first pair, and is arranged to serve also as one of a pair of cutting
cylinders, the other cutting cylinder being mounted on the same horizontal line, or
the cutting of the paper may be arranged to take place between the last pair of
type and impression cylinders. From thence the cut or partially severed sheets are

page_text: taken up to the collecting cylinder, mounted on the higher horizontal line, to be
afterwards delivered and piled, or they may be delivered to one, two, or more
folding cylinders similarly situated, to be thereby folded before being delivered
from the machine. In some cases it may be found more convenient to mount the
roll or web of paper on or about the same horizontal line as the lower group
of cylinders, and lead the web of paper up to and around the upper inpression
cylinder.
The second improvement in printing machinery consists in the application to
continuous web printing machines of guides formed of wire, thin bands of steel,
rods, or tapes. These guides pass through the machine between the type and im-
pression cylinders, and if desired between or around the cutting and collecting
cylinders, and when the cut sheets are to be folded these guides may extend to the
cylinders or other suitable portions of the folding apparatus attached to the printing
machine. The continuous web of paper and the severed sheets will thus be auto-
matically guided and supported through the machine while it is subjected to its
several operations, and will be delivered from the machine printed and folded, or
printed and piled, without external aid. By these improvements a more perfect
register and greater certainty and facility in the above combined operations at high
speeds will be obtained.
Another improvement relates to the rotating cutting cylinders of that class of
printing machines that operate on a web or continuous sheet of paper. The two
cylinders, which carry respectively the male and female cutting devices, are geared
together by toothed wheels so as to run at an uniform speed. These cylinders are
provided with longitudinal mortices extending their whole width, into which fit
boxes or cases of metal for supporting the cutting devices. The cutter is a plate of
steel preferably with a serrated edge, and is detachably fastened to a cutter bar,
which is provided with one or more slots parallel with and near its inner edge.
Into these slots enter teeth, formed on a longitudiual shaft, carried in wooden bear-
ings in the metal boxes or cases, which are formed in two halves and secured by
screws, so as to be readily detachable. The cutter shaft is provided with one or
more teeth and an abutment, both of which are formed by cutting away portions of
the shaft. The abutment, which may be continuous or not, as desired, will together
with the teeth govern the movements of the cutter. The cutter shaft projects
.beyond one end of the cylinder, and carries a crank, which runs in a cam groove
fixed to the frame of the machine. The female cutting device consists of a groove
or slot adapted to receive the cutter, which slot is formed by the adjacent faces of
two blocks of rubber separated a suitable distance apart by a plate, the whole being
.secured in the metal box fitted in the mortice cut in the cylinder in a similar
manner to the other cutting cylinder. This form of construction admits of the
parts being readily separated and withdrawn from their cylinders for inspection or
repair. Conductors are provided that reach from the cutting cylinder to the tapes,
and these conductors may be tapes, cords, wires, bars, or strips of metal, but it is
, preferred to employ fixed strips of metal as guides, which may extend between the
cylinder from side to side if thought desirable, and be supported by rods attached
to the frame, in which case these guides must be sufficiently narrow and thin to be
spanned by narrow slots or gaps in the male cutter, but it is preferred to have
grooves in the female cutting cylinder sufficiently deep to receive the guides at the
time the male cutter is projected out, or the cylinder may be constructed in sections,
and the conductors act between certain of the sections, in which case the paper may
be completely severed if desired.
Another improvement relates to means for counting the sheets of printed paper
as they are delivered from the machine, and depositing them on the table of the
machine in quires (or half quires) composed of any desired number of sheets. If
it is desired to so pile the sheets that they are easily removeable in quires consisting
of, say, 26 sheets, it will be necessary to collect and fly them in sets of 6 and 7
sheets alternately, and to shift the fly-board after every half-quire of 13 sheets
have been deposited thereon, or, if desired, after 26 sheets, that is the whole quire,

page_text: have been flown. To effect this object the grooved cam for operating the switch of
the collecting cylinder is made of twice the usual diameter, and geared by an ex-
ternal or internal wheel, with a pinion of suitable proportion, on the shaft of the
collecting cylinder. This driving pinion receives its motion from a sliding clutch,
which is automatically thrown out of gear after the collection upon and delivery
from the cylinders of, say, 6 sheets, and is held out of gear while the collecting
cylinder makes one revolution, so that the next time the switch of the collecting
cylinder is operated 7 sheets will be deposited by the action of the fly, and so on
alternately. The table for receiving the printed sheets is mounted on guides, and
receives a shogging motion (after it has received the desired number of sheets) from
a rack and pinion gear operated by a tappet or excentric on the shaft of the grooved
cam. In this way the receiving table may be moved at each revolution of the
grooved cam, or after two revolutions. Or the grooved can for operating the
delivery switch of the collecting cylinder may be driven so as to perform one-half
of its revolution at an increased speed, and the remaining half at a normal speed,
so that during one half of its revolution time will be given for the collecting
cylinder to receive a greater number of sheets than during the other half revolu-
tion. This is effected by the application to the machine of a well-known arrange-
ment of a train of spur wheels and pinions, ending in an excentric wheel. The
first pinion of this train is fast on the axle of the collecting cylinder. Upon the
stud axle of the last wheel of the train, and mounted excentrically thereon, is a spur
wheel, which is driven by a stud pin from that wheel entering a radial slot in the
excentrically mounted wheel; this latter wheel is geared with a wheel of half its
diameter fast on the axle or hub of the grooved cam. By this arrangement of
gearing the number of revolutions of the collecting cylinder required to collect and
deliver half a quire is reduced to one revolution of the last wheel of the train, and
by the excentric arrangement above described the grooved cam will be driven at an
increasing and decreasing speed at each alternate half revolution, and this amount
of irregularity may be modified so as to determine the number of sheets collected
and delivered at each revolution of the grooved cam by the amount of excentricity
given to the excentric gear. Or a suitable train of gear may be adapted to the
collecting mechanism so as to obtain one revolution of the tappet or grooved cam
for the number of revolutions of the collecting cylinder required to collect the
desired number of sheets for a quire, the operating parts or tappets being arranged
at unequal distances around its circumference so as to deliver from the collecting
cylinder three collections, whose total number forms the desired number of sheets to
the quire, say 3 collections, two of 9 sheets and one of 8, comprising a quire of 26
sheets.
Another improvement relates to folding apparatus applicable to or forming part of
the printing machine. This apparatus is composed of 3 cylinders, two of which
are mounted one above the other in a vertical line, and the remaining cylinder on a
horizontal line with the axis of the lower cylinder of the group. These cylinders
are geared together by spur gear, and the sheets of printed paper to be folded are
brought towards the rollers and enter between the upper and lower pair of cylinders,
passing through until the centre of the sheet is nearly or immediately over the lower
pair of rollers. A blast of air from a flat nozzle is directed upon the sheet and
deflects it into the bite of the horizontal pair of rollers. This creasing action of
the blast may be aided by suction acting on the under side of the sheet from the
periphery of one of the rollers, or an additional roller (supported on balanced arms)
may be brought down on the outer lower roller so as to bite the sheet, and by the
direction of its rotation crumple or double the sheet and enable the blast of air to
enter the fold in between the rollers, from whence it will issue folded.
The last improvement relates to means for checking the velocity of the sheets
arriving at or passing through the folding apparatus of printing machines. In place
of the fixed stop ordinarily used, rollers provided with segments or toes, which are
inclined planes formed on their peripheries, are brought to bear upon or bite the
sheets and reduce its velocity to their own gradually. Or a flyer, tail, or hinged

page_text: lever may be brought to bear on the sheet as it is passing over the carrying roll,
and so reduce its velocity by friction, the amount of which may be regulated at
will.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said William Conquest in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 2nd August
1876.
THE
WILLIAM CONQUEST, of Tudor Street, Whitefriars, in the City of London,
Mechanical Engineer.
"IMPROVEMENTS IN PRINTING MACHINERY, AND IN
MECHANISM OR APPARATUS APPLICABLE THERETO FOR CUTTING, FOLDING, COUNT-
ING AND PILING THE PRINTED SHEETS." A communication from abroad by Richard
March Hoe and Stephen Davis Tucker, of New York City, in the United States
of America.
The first part of this Invention relates to an improved arrangement of the
working parts of a rotary web printing machine, the object being to economize the
space required for such machines.
The other parts of the Invention relate to improvements in the mechanism or
apparatus for cutting, folding, counting, and piling the printed sheets so that the
latter may be readily removable from the receiving table or receptacle in quires,
which shall consist of any desired number of sheets.
The first part of these improvements is shown in Sheets I. and II. of the accom-
panying Drawings, and consists in arranging the type or stereotype cylinders and
impression cylinders with the requisite series of inking and distributing rollers in
two horizontal lines, the one over and above the other, the roll or web of paper
being carried above the upper series of cylinders.
Fig. 1 is an elevation of a continuous web printing machine, constructed according
to this head of the Invention. From the roll, the position of which is indicated by
dots at a in Fig. 1, the paper is led down between the first or upper pair of type
and impression cylinders b and c, which are of equal diameters. The paper is by
this means printed on one side, and is from thence conducted down in a perpen-
dicular course or direction to the other pair of type and impression cylinders b¹, c¹,
of the lower set, and is printed on the opposite side. This last impression cylinder c¹
is of greater diameter than the impression cylinder c of the first pair, and may be
arranged to serve also as one of a pair of cutting cylinders, the other cutting
cylinder being mounted on a horizontal line a little lower than that of the
cylinders b¹, c¹. Or the cutting of the paper may be arranged to take place
between the last pair of type and impression cylinders b, c. It will however be
found more convenient to have a separate pair of cutting cylinders, as shown at d
and d', in Fig. 2, which will be hereafter more particularly referred to. By thus
employing separate cutting cylinders instead of using the large impression
cylinder e as one of them, the construction of the latter will be simplified, as there
will then be no necessity to divide the blanket on the large impression cylinder into
three parts in order to introduce the cutting knife.
From the large impression cylinder c¹ the cut or partially severed sheets are
taken up to the collecting cylinder e, mounted at or near the horizontal line of the
upper type and impression cylinders, and is afterwards delivered and piled in the
ordinary manner. Or they may be delivered to one, two, or more folding cylinders
similarly situated so as to be thereby folded before being delivered from the
machine.
The collecting and delivery mechanism shewn at Fig. 1 is of the ordinary con-
struction, but in order to shorten the space required for the machine, it is proposed
to cause the sheet flyer f to work inwards towards the large impression cylinder,
instead of outwards as shewn at Sheet I., which has hitherto been the case. This
improved arrangement is shewn at Fig. 2, Sheet II. It will be seen that the moving

page_text: parts are operated much in the same manner as in the old arrangement; but that
these parts are somewhat differently arranged. For instance, instead of mounting
the grooved camg (which actuates the switch whereby the sheets are removed from
the collecting cylinder) below the collecting cylinder e, as in Fig. 1, it is placed
behind, and on a level with the collecting cylinder, so that room is left beneath the
latter for the fly frame f to work below the cylinder e, so as to throw the collected
sheets down on to the table ', which is placed between the cutting cylinders d, d¹,
and the fly frame instead of outside the machine as heretofore. Moreover the
rocking shaft f1, of the vibrating fly frame f, is placed lower down than heretofore,
so as to prevent the necessity of raising or altering the position of the collecting
cylinder and its accessories. By this arrangement of parts the space required to
work the machine is considerably shortened. It has been stated that the continuous
roll or web of paper is mounted above the upper type and impression cylinders, as
indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 1; but in some cases it may be found more con-
venient to mount the roll or web of paper on or about the same horizontal line as
the lower group of cylinders, as shewn at a* in Fig. 1, and lead the web of
paper up to and around the upper impression cylinder; when such is the case a
board or table should be placed under the paper, in order to prevent it from
falling on to the inking rollers i, i, below, and also to prevent any flue or dust from
the paper from dropping into the inking apparatus.
The second improvement in printing machinery consists in the application to con-
tinuous web printing machines, of guides formed of wire, thin bands of steel, rods,
or tapes. This improvement is shewn at Fig. 3, Sheet III.; these guides j, j, pass
through the machine between the type and impression cylinders b and c, and are
secured by their ends to some convenient part of the framework, as shewn at Fig 3.
If desired the guides ; may also be made to pass between the cutting cylinders d, d¹,
and also around the collecting cylinder, which however is not shewn in the
Drawing. When the cut sheets are to be folded, these guides j, j, may if desired be
made to extend to the cylinders or other suitable portions of the folding apparatus
attached to the printing machine. The continuous web of paper u*, and the severed
sheets will thus be automatically guided and supported through the machine while
it is subjected to its several operations, and will be delivered from the machine
printed and folded, or printed and piled without external aid. By this improvement
a more perfect register and greater certainty and facility in the above combined
operations at high speeds will be obtained.
Another improvement relates to the rotating cutting cylinders of that class of
printing machines that operate on a web or continuous sheet of paper. This
improvement is shewn in the several Figures in Sheets IV. and V. The two
cylinders d and d', which carry respectively the male and female cutting devices
are geared together by toothed wheels, so as to run at an uniform speed. These
cylinders, which are drawn on an enlarged scale at Fig. 4, Sheet IV., are provided
with longitudinal mortices extending their whole width, into which fit boxes or cases
of metal k, k, for supporting the cutting devices. The cutter is a plate of steel
(preferably) ith a serrated edge, and is, with the bar l', to which it is temporarily
attached, shown detached on an enlarged scale at Fig. 5, Sheet V. The cutter bar
has notches made in its cutting edge for the purpose hereafter explained. If it be
desired to leave small portions of the paper web uncut at the line of severance
which divides sheet from sheet, these notches in the cutter will effect that object.
The cutter is detachably fastened to the cutter bar l, by means of screws and
nuts, as shewn at Fig. 5, for which purpose the cutter bar is provided with two or
more short slots. The outer edge of the cutter bar 1 may form the cutting edge,
but it is preferable to attach a thin cutting blade to the bar, as shewn in the
Drawing. It is preferable to make the cutting blade in sections whose ends abut
against each other, and which are secured to the cutter bar by the screws and nuts,
as shewn, so that the parts of the cutter blade are easily removed and replaced
when required. The cutter actuating shaft m is shewn in elevation and end view
at Fig. 6, and is of cylindrical form, and is cut away on one side so as to provide

page_text: two or more teeth m², m³, and an abutment m², which latter is in reality the side
of a long tooth. These teeth enter the slots in the cutter bars 1, and when thus
mounted upon it the inner edge of the cutter bar is seated upon and bears
against the abutment m³, which may be continuous or not as desired. The teeth m¹,
m², of the rocking cutter shaft m together govern the movements of the cutter as
the cutter shaft is rocked, as will presently appear.
The cutter shaft is also cut away in front of the teeth m¹, m³, so as to clear the
cutter bar for a purpose herein-after explained. This cutter shaft is supported in
wooden bearings which are cut away on their inner faces to accommodate the
cutter bar and cutter, and the movements thereof. These wooden bearings are
adapted to fit snugly within the metal box or case k, Fig. 4, where they may be held
by pins or screws, and they securely hold the cutting devices in the operating
position. These wooden bearings for the shaft, and the guide way they form for
the cutter bar and cutter 1, obviate the necessity of lubricating such parts, and
thus the presence of oil at a point where it would readily reach and soil the paper
operated upon is dispensed with. The actuating shaft m projects beyond one end
of the cylinder, and carries a crank arm m³ in which is fixed a pin provided with
an antifriction bowle, which runs in the groove of a cam platen, shewn detached at
Fig. 7, and fixed to the frame. The shape of this cam groove is such that it will
cause the shaft m to vibrate with such a motion as to force the cutter out quickly
.and draw it back slowly, the form of the cam groove being also shown in dotted
lines in Fig. 4; when this shaft m is thus rocked outward the abutment m2 upon it
bears against the upper or inner edge of the cutter bar, and acts as a lever to
thrust it and the cutter (which it carries) outward. The sudden impulse and
force thus imparted to the cutter drives it quickly through the paper, which it
severs by the help of the female cutting device presently to be explained. The return
movement of the cutter is not required to be quick, and is accomplished by the
gradual curve of the cam groove, Fig. 7.
The cutter 1, together with the cutter bar l', shaft m, and crank m³, while
connected together and enclosed in the box or case may be withdrawn end wise
from the cylinder d for the purpose of repair or adjustinent. The cam plate n,
Fig. 7, is pierced with a suitably shaped aperture to permit the passage through it
of these parts when they are drawn out of the box . When the parts are in
working position however this aperture in the cam plate n is filled by a plug or
plate which fits into it and has its inner face shaped to form a part of the cam
groove; this plug is attached to a bridge bar which is secured by screws to the
exterior surface of the cam, thus holding the plug in place. The abutment m² upon
the shaft m which actuates the cutter in its outward movement may be continuous,
as shewn in Fig. 6, that is, it may extend throughout the length of the shaft, or it
may be broken up or divided into a series of short abutments, pins, studs, or teeth,
it being imperative that there shall be a bearing surface for the cutter bar at such
a number of points on the shaft as will insure a parallel movement of the entire
edge of the cutter, or such bearing points for it as will not strain either the cutter l
or its bar . It will be evident that teeth on the cutter shaft m can be made to
work in the slots in the cutter bar so as to move it both out and in, but it is
preferable that the abutment should move it out as described, the abutinent m² being
stronger and more durable than isolated teeth.
The cutter is attached to its supporting bar by screws which project through
oblong holes or slots in the cutter, so that it may be adjusted on the bar , as may
be required. The teeth m¹, m', which draw the cutter back into the cylinder may
(like the abutments) be of any number, so long as sufficient bearings for the cutter
are provided to ensure the durability and precision of the movement required.
The cutter is guided in its movements out of and into the cylinder by the
parallel faces of the bearing blocks o, ol, which form its guiding slot, and its motion
relative to its actuating shaft m is such that the teeth m' are nearly disengaged
from its bearing slots as it reaches its extreme outward throw. When its actuating
shaft m is so rocked as to carry it into the cylinder the surface of its supporting

page_text: | var ¿* just clears the cut-away portion of the said shaft. Figures S and 9, Sheet V.,
are sectional views of parts of the cutting cylinders and shewing the cutting devices
in different positions. For the convenience of construction the boxes may be
divided longitudinally through their base plates, as shewn in Figures 4, 8, and 9,
and the two parts are held together by screws p, p. In the box k, l, in the lower
cylinder for holding the female cutting devices this peculiar mode of construction
has several advantages, as will presently appear.
This female cutting device
consists of a groove or slot adapted to receive the edge of the cutter ; this slot is
formed by the adjacent faces of two blocks q, q, of rubber separated a suitable
distance apart by a plate », and held in place by projecting ribs cast on the faces of
the box,, and extending inwardly, so that they may enter properly shaped
recesses made in the sides of the rubber blocks, or they may be made to imbed
themselves in the sides of the rubber blocks. The metal separating plate is of a
thickness somewhat greater than that of the cutter 1, and projects towards the
periphery of the female cylinder to a distance which will properly support the
rubber blocks apart at their upper edges and yet will not interfere with the cutter &
when it enters the groove thus formed. The separating plate is perforated at its
base to admit the ends of the screws p, which fasten together the two sections of
the box in like manner as are the sections of the box in the upper or male
cylinder. The outer surfaces of the rubber blocks q; q, extend beyond the periphery
of the female cylinder for the purpose of pressing the web of paper between them
and the face of the upper cutting cylinder, so as to stretch it tightly over their face
ends during the time the cutter is severing the paper and also to hold the leading
or severed end of the web and insure its being drawn forward until it is securely
caught and held between the peripheries of the two cylinders. Like the cutter
and its appurtenances the cushions or blocks q, q, forming the cutting groove may
be removed from the box l, but when such removal is necessary it is preferable to
remove them together with their holding box after it has been relieved from its
holding screws P, p.
The cutting groove in the female cylinder may be formed of a single piece and
provided with a central longitudinal slot or recess, in which case the plater would
be omitted. When the web of paper has passed the cutting cylinders and is
severed into sheets, these latter are directed to the printing machine, if unprinted,
but if printed then they are conducted to the flying or folding mechanism by means
of tapes running over pullies in the well known inanner. "To facilitate the delivery
of the sheets to these tapes, especially when the broken or fresh end of a web is
entered or when it is desired that the sheets shall be completely severed from the
web, conductors or guides 8, s, Fig. 4, are provided; these guides reach from the
cutting cylinders to the tapes t, t, and they may be formed of tapes or cords, wires,
bars, plates, or strips of metal.
When the cutter is slotted so as to allow the web of paper to remain continuous
at two or more points of its width, both cutting cylinders may be grooved circum-
ferentially at such points, so that the tapes or cords, wires or bars may lie in such
grooves, and thus provide the means of conducting the web of paper.
In Figures 8 and 9 fixed strips or guides of metal are used and possess
advantages over running cords or tapes. Such guides or conductors may extend
through between the cylinders from side to side, as shewn at Fig. 8, or they may be
on the delivering side of the cylinders only, and they may be supported on rods
attached to the framework on one side of the cylinders, as shewn at Fig. 9, or on
both sides, or they may be secured in place in any other suitable manner,
and they
may occupy the space just described as providing for the passage of the cords
or tapes. In both arrangements these conductors may be both above and below the
web of paper if desired, and they will not only guide it into the tapes t, but if (in
printing) the web of paper breaks they will prevent it from winding around the
cutting cylinders, as sometimes happens with the cutting devices at present in use.
In order to sever the sheets completely from the continuous web with facility the
guides or conductors 8, 8, extending across the cylinders and the grooves, conductors,

page_text: and slots in the cutter of the male cylinder must be quite narrow, and the grooves
in the female cylinder must be opposite those in the male cylinder, and the
conductors must be so thin that the slots in the cutter will straddle them in
passing. But a preferable manner is to have deep grooves in the female cylinder
and to sink the conductors of this cylinder below the reach of the cutter of the
male cylinder when it is projected out to cut the sheets, as shewn at Fig. 8, and
then the grooves and conductors in this female cylinder may be of the ordinary
width. To facilitate this construction of cylinders they may be made up of a series
of sections or short cylinders, but with a narrow space left between them, in which
spaces the conductors are, placed; cutting cylinders thus arranged will sever the
sheets from the web as completely as if no grooves existed and the cutter was left
entire. When the conductors s are placed in front of the cylinders, as at Fig. 9,
the grooves need not be deep in either cylinder. If it be desired to sever the sheet
completely from the web, and the cutter of the male cylinder is of the stationary
kind, then the grooves, conductors, and slots in the cutter of that cylinder must be
quite narrow, but if the cutter has a reciprocating movement and draws in beyond
the bottom of the grooves when passing the conductors, then the cutter may be left
entire and the grooves and conductor be of the ordinary width, the same as in the
female cylinder.
Another improvement relates to means for counting the sheets of printed
paper as they are delivered from the machine, and depositing them on the table
of the machine in quires (or half quires) composed of any desired number of sheets.
If it is desired to so pile the sheets that they are easily removable in quires con-
sisting of, say, twenty-six sheets, it will be necessary to collect and fly them in sets
of six and seven sheets alternately, and to shift the fly board after every half quire or
thirteen sheets have been deposited thereon, or if desired after twenty-six sheets,
that is, the whole quire, have been flown.
Fig. 10, Sheet VI., represents one arrangement for effecting this object, to which
end the grooved cam g for operating the switch of the collecting cylinder c may be
made of twice the usual diameter, and is provided with two lifts or steps not shewn
in the Drawing, but formed in the groove at unequal distances apart, so as to
operate the bowle g¹ of the connecting rod g² (jointed to the switch g³) at varying
intervals of time, so as to allow of the collection of six and seven sheets alternately.
This grooved cam is geared by an external wheel with a pinion c¹ on the shaft of the
collecting cylinder e of suitable proportion so that it will rotate at the rate of
thirteen to one of the large wheel.
'
The table u for receiving the printed sheets is mounted on guides, and receives a
shogging motion (after it has received the desired number of sheets) from a rack
and pinion gear v operated by an excentric won the shaft of the grooved cam g, as
shown by dots in Fig. 10. The excentric w acts against a bowle at the upper end
of the vertical rod connected by its lower end to a rocking lever v² carrying a
pawle or click which actuates a ratchet wheel ³ keyed on the same shaft as the
pinion beneath the table. It will now be understood that at every revolution of
the grooved cam g the ratchet wheel will (by the click and rod v¹) be driven
round part of a revolution, and will thus by means of the rack and pinion v beneath
the table shift the table forward after deposit of two collections of sheets forming
half a quire. It will be obvious that if desired this shifting of the table may take
place after two revolutions of the grooved cam instead of after every revolution.
Figures 11 and 12, Sheet VII., represent another arrangement for effecting the
same object. In this instance the pinion e' for actuating the grooved can g acts on
an internal toothed wheel, instead of an external one, as in Fig. 10. The delivery
table for receiving the sheets is also actuated in a somewhat different manner. The
excentric w on the axle of the grooved cam g draws up the vertical rod v¹ at each
revolution of the grooved cam, and by that means a rocking lever and pawle v²,
which are mounted loosely on the axle of a ratchet wheel 23, are made to actuate
the ratchet wheel, and an intermittent motion is communicated to the latter.
On
the same shaft as the ratchet wheel is keyed the cam v' so that the ratchet and

page_text: cam move in unison. The cam in its rotation acts against a pair of antifriction
wheels attached to a reciprocating rod or bar v³, which is connected to the delivery
table of the sheet flying apparatus. It will be seen that as the cam v moves
intermittently it will by means of the rod or bar shift the table a short distanco
for every rotation of the grooved cam. The groove of this cam is divided into two
unequal parts, that is to say, it has two lifts, so as to give time for the collecting
cylinder e to collect seven sheets and six sheets alternately. This will necessitate a
double action of the fly frame for every revolution of the grooved cam, and this is
effected by means of the double fly cam x, shown by dots in Fig. 11, which by
acting on the bell crank of the fly frame will actuate the latter at the proper times,
and twice for every revolution of the grooved cam.
Another arrangement for collecting different numbers of sheets alternately is
shewn at Figures 13 and 14, Sheet VIII. In this instance the proportions of the
toothed wheel on the axle of the grooved cam to the pinion on the axle of the
collecting cylinder are as six to one, and the grooved cam acts only once on the
switch at each revolution, so that six sheets will be collected at each revolution of
the grooved cam. The wheel and pinion being six to one it follows that during the
first rotation of the cam six sheets will have been collected and flown. The pinion e¹
is driven by a clutch, and during the second revolution of the cam wheel (and while
the fly frame is down on the receiving board) the clutch will be uncoupled (but the
wheel and pinion are not put out of gear) during one revolution of the collecting
cylinder. This latter will thus receive an additional sheet for each revolution during
which the clutch is uncoupled. The uncoupling of the clutch may be effected by
means of a cam having a groove in its periphery, which will act upon the movable
part of the clutch or upon a rocking lever connected therewith.
Another arrangement of mechanism for counting or regulating the number of
sheets to be collected on the collecting cylinder is shewn at Figures 15 and 16,
Sheet IX. In this instance the grooved cam for operating the delivery switch of
the collecting cylinder is so driven as to perform one revolution at an increased
speed, and the succeeding revolution at a normal speed, so that during one of its
revolutions time will be given for the collecting cylinder to receive a greater number
of sheets than during the next succeeding revolution. This is effected by the
application to the machine of a well-known arrangement of a train of spur wheels
and pinions e¹, e, e³, e, ending in an excentric wheel y. The first pinion e¹ of this
train is fast on the axle of the collecting cylinder e. Upon the stud axle of the last
wheel e' of the train, and mounted excentrically thereon, is a spur wheel y, which is
driven by a stud pin es from the last wheel of the train, entering a radial slot in the
excentrically mounted wheel y. This latter wheel is geared with a wheel y¹ of half
its diameter fast on the axle or hub of the grooved cam g. By this arrangement of
gearing the number of revolutions of the collecting cylinder e required to collect
and deliver half a quire is reduced to one revolution of the last wheel et of the train,
and by the excentric arrangement above described the grooved cam will be driven
at an increasing and decreasing speed at each alternate revolution, and this amount
of irregularity may be modified so as to determine the number of sheets collected
and delivered at each revolution of the grooved cam by the amount of excentricity
given to the excentric gear, as will be better understood by reference to the diagram,
Fig. 17. The table u is shifted (after every deposit of sheets thereon) in a manner
similar to that already described in reference to Figs. 11, Sheet VII.
Figures 18 and 19, Sheet IX., represent an arrangement of mechanism for deliver-
ing any desired number of sheets to the quire. For this purpose a suitable train of
gear may be adapted to the collecting mechanism so as to obtain one revolution of
the tappet or grooved cam g for the number of revolutions of the collecting
cylinder required to collect the desired number of sheets for a quire. To this end
the operating tappets g*, g*, g*, are arranged at equal or unequal distances around
the circumference of the tappet wheel g, so as to deliver from the collecting
cylinder e three collections whose total number shall form the desired number of
sheets to the quire, say three collections, two of nine sheets and one of eight,

page_text: comprising a quire of twenty-six sheets. If it be desired to alter the number of
sheets to the quire, say, to twenty-seven instead of twenty-six, then it will be
necessary to alter the proportions of the last wheel and pinion of the train, for
which purpose the pinion is mounted on a shifting quadrant piece z, so as to admit
of a larger or smaller pinion being mounted thereon, according to the size of the
large wheel. The tappets * may then be shifted on the face of the wheel g to
suit the altered number of sheets.
Another improvement relates to folding apparatus applicable to or forming part
of the printing machine, and is shewn in Fig. 20, Sheet I. This apparatus is
composed of three cylinders, two of which y¹ and y² are mounted one above the other
in a vertical line, and the remaining cylinder y³ is on a horizontal line with the
axis of the lower cylinder y of the group. These cylinders are geared together
by spur gear, and the sheets of printed paper to be folded are brought towards the
rollers by means of tapes, and enter between the upper and lower cylinders y' and
y, passing through until the centre of the sheet is nearly or immediately over
the lower rollers y, y. A blast of air from a flat. nozzle 21 is directed upon
the sheet and deflects it into the bite of the horizontal pair of rollers y, . This
creasing action of the blast may be aided by suction acting on the under side of
the sheet from the periphery of the two lower rollers; or an additional roller s
(supported on balanced arms) may be brought down to the outer lower roller y³, so
as to nip the sheet and by the direction of its rotation crumple or double the sheet
and enable the blast of air to enter the fold in between the rollers y² and y' from
whence it will issue folded.
In order to carry the sheet across the space between the lower rollers y², y³, a
blast of air is suddenly emitted from the peripheries of these latter so as to support
the sheet while it is passing across. When this has been effected the blast is
stopped and a sucking action is set up in the rollers y, y³, for the purpose of
drawing the centre of the sheet downward in order to crease the same and carry
it onward.
The last improvement relates to means for checking the velocity of the sheets
when they are arriving at or passing through the folding apparatus of printing
machines. This improvement is shewn at Fig. 21, Sheet I. In place of the fixed
stop ordinarily used for suddenly arresting the progress of the sheet, rollers pro-
vided with excentric segments or toes which act in fact as curved wedges formed on
their peripheries are brought to bear upon or nip the sheets as they pass in, and by
this means the rollers gradually reduce the velocity of the sheets to their own speed.
Another mode of effecting this object is shewn at Fig. 22, Sheet I., in which a
flyer tail or hinged lever a¹ may be brought to bear gradually on the sheet as it is
passing over the carrying roller or tapes. By this meaus the velocity of the sheets
is reduced by the friction, the amount of which may be regulated at will.
'
Having now described the Invention of "Improvements in Printing Machinery and
in the Mechanism or Apparatus applicable thereto for Cutting, Folding, Counting,
and Piling the Printed Sheets," and having explained the manner of carrying the
same into effect as communicated to me by my foreign correspondents as aforesaid,
I claim as the Invention secured to me by Letters Patent,-
First. The arrangement and construction of parts shown and described in
reference to Figures 1 and 2, the main object being to so arrange the several work-
ing parts that the machine may be made shorter and more compact' than hereto-
fore;
also arranging the type or stereotype cylinders with the requisite series of
inking and distributing rollers in two horizontal lines, the one over or above the
other, as and for the purpose herein set forth.
.
Second. I claim the adaptation to continuous web printing machines of stationary
continuous guides or conductors formed of wire, thin bands of steel, rods, or tapes,
as and for the purpose herein set forth.
Third. I claim the method or methods herein set forth of constructing, arranging,
and operating the cutting apparatus for severing the sheets from the continuous
web of paper, as shewn and described in reference. to Sheets IV. and V. of the

page_text: Drawings. I further claim the combination with the cutting cylinders of stationary
guides or conductors as and for the purpose herein set forth.
Fourth. I claim the combination with the collecting cylinder and its switch of
such an arrangement of gear for working the switch that while the collecting
cylinder is driven at an uniform speed for collecting the sheets the switch for lifting
the latter from the collecting cylinder shall be brought into action at varying
intervals so that different numbers of sheets may be deposited in sets in succession
as and for the purpose herein set forth.
Fifth. I claim the arrangement shewn and described in reference to Fig. 20,
Sheet I., for drawing or carrying the printed sheet into the nip of the folding rollers
for the purpose of folding the same.
Lastly. I claim gradually checking the speed of the sheet as it advances to or
passes through the folding apparatus instead of suddenly arresting the same by
means of a fixed stop as heretofore.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Conquest, have hereunto set my
haud and seal, the Second day of August, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and seventy-six.
WILLIAM CONQUEST. (L.S.)