Improvements in Web Printing and Folding Machines.
Year: 1893

page_text: This print is in accordance with the Original Specification as it stands after
Amendment (under Section 18 of the Patents, &c. Act. 1883) as allowed by
the decision of the Chief Examiner of the 4th day of September 1897.
Date of Application, 20th Sept., 1893
Complete Specification Left, 20th June, 1894-Accepted, 28th July, 1894
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Web Printing and Folding Machines.
I, ROBERT CUMMING ANNAND, of Cornwallis Street, South Shields, in the
County of Durham, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be
as follows:.
-,
My invention refers more particularly to the means whereby reels of paper are
mounted on standards in connection with web printing machines so that the empty
spindles can be quickly removed and their place taken by full reels of paper.
Also it refers to the printing mechanism and to mechanism or associating and
folding of a plurality of webs after they have been printed.
I will describe my invention as applied to a triple web printing machine in which
three single machines are arranged the one above the other.
To carry the reel I employ an axle with radial arms, it is mounted horizontally
in suitable bearings on standards.
The arms are forked at their ends, they are arranged in two sets and there may
be two three or four or more arms in each set, for a triple machine four arms will
be suitable.
The necks of the reel spindles lie in the forks, each spindle extending horizontally
between an arm of one set and the corresponding arm of the other set.
The spindles are prevented from escaping from the forks by fixed guards
extending round somewhat more than half a circle. Upon the axle outside the
standards there is a worm wheel driven by a worm with belt pulley and belt or by
other convenient means.
To supply a new set of reels to the machine the axle is set in motion and as each
pair of arms passes under the axle and beyond the guards the empty reel spindles
escape from the forks and roll away. Afterwards as each pair of arms becomes
horizontal a fresh reel is rolled forward along a platform, and the necks of the reet
spindle enter the pair of forks placed ready to receive it. The rotation of the
axle causes the reels to be carried on when each pair of arms has received a reel
the machine is then brought to rest with the reels in position for the paper to be
drawn from them to the printing mechanism. Suitable breaks are provided
attached to the arms at one side for regulating the tension of the paper.
In the printing mechanism there is a part of the blanket midway between
the ends of the blanket eylinder which is not worn because it does not receive the
pressure of the stereo plates consequently it stands higher than the rest of the
blanket and has a great tendency to burst the paper at the side of the print. By
cutting a shallow groove around the blanket cylinder of the width of the centre
margin of the paper printed the blanket at this part is allowed to sink below the
level of the impression surface and this prevents any tendency to burst the web.

page_text: To fold the webs after printing 1 employ two longitudinal folders set back to
back working in conjunction with severing and transverse folding rolls. This
mechanism deals with two of the webs and if there be (as I have supposed) a third
web it may be passed to a separate folder and other severing and transverse folding
rollers.
Thus suppose it is required to produce a 4 page newspaper each machine prints
in duplicate and the three folding mechanisms are used. The web from the bottom
machine is led up and joins the web from the middle machine: they are led to the
back to back longitudinal folders and then separated each folder guiding down one
of the webs to the severing and transverse folding rolls. The web from the top
machine is carried up over another longitudinal folder working with othertrat sverse
cutting and folding mechanism.
The same arrangement of webs as above described will produce an S page news-
paper by causing the small cutting cylinders in each of the three folders to collect
and keep back for a revolution (of the small cylinder) one half sheet and then to
deliver it with the second half sheet to be folded together between transverse
folding rolls.
If it is desired to produce a 6 page product in duplicate or a 12 page product
I lead the web from the top machine over one of the back to back longitudinal
folders and the web from hottom machine over the fellow folder. The web from
middle machine is cut in halves by a longitudinal slitter of the well known form
and one half of the web is taken to each of the back to back folders. The two
half webs are thus folded inside the two full-width webs and both products pass
into the transverse cutting and folding apparatus.
A 12 or 24 page product can also be produced by directing the three webs
together over either of the back to back longitudinal folders.
A 10 or 20 page product can be obtained by running full width webs in the
bottom and top machines and a half width web in the middle machine, all passing
together over one of the back to back folders.
Dated this 20th day of September 1803
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION (AMENDED).
Improvements in Web Printing and Folding Machines.
İ, ROBERT CUMMING ANNAND, of Cornwallis Street, South Shields, in the
County of Durham, Engineer, 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:-
My invention refers more particularly to the means whereby reels of paper are
mounted on standards in connection with web printing machines so that the empty
spindles can be quickly removed and their place taken by full reels of paper.
Also it refers to the printing mechanism and to mechanism ror associating and
folding of a plurality of webs after they have been printed.
I will describe my invention as applied to a triple web printing machine in which
three single machines are arranged the one above the other.
Figure of the annexed drawings is a side elevation of such a combination of
mechanism.
To carry the reels 1 employ an axle 1 with radial arms 2.2. The axle is mounted
horizontally in suitable bearings on standards 3.
The arms are forked at their ends, they are arranged in two sets and there may
be two three or four or more arms in each set, for a triple machine four arms will
be suitable.

page_text: The necks of the reel spindles lie in the forks, each spindle extending
horizontally between an arm of one set and the corresponding arm of the other set.
The spindles are prevented from escaping from the forks by fixed guards 5
extending round somewhat more than half a circle. Upon the axle outside the
standards there is a worm wheel driven by a worm 7 with belt pulley and belt or
by other convenient means.
To supply a new set of reels to the machine the axle 1 is set in motion and as
cach pair of arms passes under the axle and beyond the guards 5 the empty reel
spindle escapes froin the forks and rolls away. Afterwards as each pair of arms
becomes horizontal a fresh reel is rolled forward along the platform S, and the necks
of the reel spindle enter the pair of forks placed ready to receive it. The rotation
of the axle causes the reels to be carried on. When each pair of arms has received
a reel the reel carrier is brought to rest with the wheels in position for the paper to
be drawn from them to the printing mechanism. Suitable breaks are provided
attached to the arms at one side for regulating the tension of the paper.
The paper passing from the reels into the triple web printing machine is indic.ted
by dotted lines.
The arrangements of the printing mechanism will be readily understood from
the drawing they present no special feature of novelty. Beyond the printing
mechanism and working in conjunction therewith there is folding mechanism
which is hereinafter described.
To fold the webs after printing I employ folding mechanism such as is shown
in Figure I and also in Figure III the latter figure being a plan. There are two
longitudinal folders 10 and 11 set back to back in the position shown in Figure I,
that is to say, a line joining their apices, points towards the printing cylinders
working in conjunction with any suitable severing and transverse folding rolls
such as are shewn more clearly by Figure IV. This mechanism deals with two
of the webs and if there he (as I have supposed) a third web it may be passed to
a separate folder 12 and other severing and transverse folding rollers also like those
shewn by Figure TV but the rollers are half the length of those which serve the
folders 10 and 11, or the web may be dealt with as hereinafter explained. By the
combination of mechanism which is here shewn very great facility for varying
the product is afforded.
Thus suppose it is required to produce a 4 page newspaper each machine prints
in duplicate or in other words from two sets of similar stereo plates, six sets in all
being required and the three folding mechanisms are used. The web 13 from
the bottom machine is led up and joins the web 14 from the middle machine; they
are led to the back to back longitudinal folders 10 and 11 and then separated each
folder guiding down one of the webs to the severing and transverse folding rolls
shown by Figure IV. The web 15 from the top machine if used is carried up over
the other longitudinal folder 12 working with other transverse cutting and folding
mechanism. The web 15 is turned by the angle bar 16 when the products from the
three machines are folded separately but when products of two machines are
associated no turning on angle bar is needed.
The folding mechanism shewn in side view at Figure IV is not in itself novel
and moreover a slightly different form of it is described in my Specification
No. 16607 of the year 1893, hence a short description of it will suffice.
The continuous web of printed paper coming down over the surface of the
triangular folder here marked 11 has its edges deflected inwards and as it passes
between the receiving rollers a these edges are brought together the web being
creased longitudinally. The folded web then descends to the cutting and folding
rollers 17 and 18.
Points 19 on the roller 17 penetrate the end of the doubled web as it descends
and consequently the end of the web is carried round by the roller 17 during half
of its revolution.
Then the points 19 retire and at the same time the blade 20 on the roller 17
lucks the paper into one of the grippers 21 on the roller 18, thereby at the same

page_text: time producing a transverse fold and transferring the hold on the paper to the last
mentioned roller. Presently the folded portion of the paper held by the gripper 21
is detached by the operation of one of the knives 22, 22.
Finally the gripper 21 presents the folded sheet in a well known manner, to one
of the grippers 23 upon the delivering roller 24 which carries it over and drops it
upon the slowly moving endless tapes 25 from which the papers are removed from
time to time in bundles by hand.
The same arrangement of webs as above described will produce an S page
newspaper by causing the small cutting cylinders in each of the three folders to
collect and keep back for a revolution (of the small cylinder) one half sheet and
then to deliver it with the second half sheet to be folded together between
transverse folding rolls. In this case three sets of stereo plates are used, one set in
cach machine. The points 19 no longer retire at every revolution but at alternate
revolutions only as described in my former Specification.
If it is desired to produce a 6 page product in duplicate from each of the back
to back folders or a 12 page product I lead the web 15 from the top machine over
one of the back to back longitudinal folders 10, 11 and the web 13 from bottom
machine over the fellow folder. The web from middle machine as it enters the
folder is cut in halves by a longitudinal slitter of the well known formland one half
of the web is taken to each of the back to back folders. The two half webs are
thus folded inside the two full width webs and both products pass into the
transverse cutting and folding apparatus.
I would remark that under Claim 3 I make no claim in respect to the printing
and folding of a plurality of webs except by two longitudinal folders set back to
back in combination with three single printing machines superposed in such a
manner that the printed webs pass one above another to the folders and that the
upper and the lower webs may be carried each to one of the longitudinal folders
and the middle web may be split and passed one half to each longitudinal folder
as herein described the half web being so folded within the entire web and the two
passing together to cutting and transversely folding mechanism. In this arrange-
ment turning bars are not used either in the printing machines or the folders.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said in-
vention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is:-
-
1. Apparatus suitable for carrying the paper reels of a web printing machine,
and so arranged that the reels may be rolled into the arms of the apparatus and
then, by the rotation of the arnis, lifted and carried to the working position
substantially as described.
2. A reel carrier substantially as represented in Figure 1 of the annexed
drawings.
8. The combination of mechanism consisting of three printing machines ranged
one above another and two longitudinal folders 10 and 11 set back to back, with
their apices pointing in the direction shown in Figure I, the arrangement being
such that each longitudinal folder may be supplied by the printing machines with
a web from one printing machine and a half web from another printing machine
and may pass the same to cutting and transversely folding mechanism substantially
as described but subject to the disclaiming note.
1004