Machinery for Painting, Colouring, or Ornamenting India-rubber Balls.
Year: 1889

page_text: Date of Application, 16th Nov., 1889
Complete Specification Left, 16th Aug., 1890-Accepted, 20th Sept.. 1890
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Machinery for Painting, Colouring, or Ornamenting India-rubber
Balls.
We, GUSTAV LOUIS HILLE, GEORGE ASHDOWN AUDSLEY, and MAURICE ASHDOWN
AUDSLEY, all of Moorgate Station Buildings, 45, Finsbury Pavement London, do
hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
-
Our invention has for its object to effect the painting coloring or ornamenting
of india rubber balls by mechanical means, and it consists essentially in the employ-
ment of a wheel having a grooved periphery, the groove being of a semicircular
section or nearly so, and of a size corresponding to the diameter of the ball. The
middle part of the groove is by preference recessed, thereby dividing the acting
surface into two parts which may receive different colors.
To these parts of the groove color is applied from one or more color troughs on
one side of the wheel, by preference by means of a ball or balls dipping in the color
and rolling in contact with the wheel. The said surfaces may either be smooth and
have the coloring matter applied uniformly over them, when the balls are to be painted
a uniform color or colors, or they may have projecting lines which receive the color
when the ball is to be painted with lines, or they may have raised or sunk designs of
any desired configuration. The pigment applied may be of a single color, or there
may be two or more differently colored pigments applied to different parts of the
wheel surfaces. On the side opposite that where the color is applied to the groove
of the wheel is a fixed trough-shaped guide extending partly round the wheel, and
the balls to be colored are introduced at one end of this guide by means to be presently
described, whereupon they are seized by the groove of the wheel which carries the
ball round between it and the guide, causing the ball to turn round and round and
thereby to receive the color from the groove of the wheel on all parts until on issuing
from the guide, it is delivered on to an inclined ribbed table from which it passes to
an endless travelling band having projecting pins on which the ball rests while it is
conveyed to a drying chamber.
For introducing the ball between the wheel and the guide, the latter may either be
carried round underneath the wheel and have an inclined straight extension beyond,
so that on placing the balls at the end of such extension they roll down the same
until they are caught between the guide and the wheel; or according to another
arrangement there is provided at the lower end of the guide a pivotted lifting arm
on the end of which the ball is placed, whereupon the arm is raised so as to bring
the ball close against the groove of the wheel, which then carries in into the guide.
This lifting arm may be made to act automatically by providing it with a tail which
is acted upon by studs on the side of the wheel so as to cause the arm to be raised,
once, twice, or more times at each revolution of the wheel, the arm being if necessary
drawn down again by a spring. In cases where the balls have lines or patterns
painted upon them it is necessary that they should be held in a fixed position while
being acted upon by the wheel.
For this purpose a fixed gauge is placed in front of the lifting arm, by the aid of
which the ball is accurately placed on the arm in the first instance, and the wheel or
guide is provided with small projections or teeth that prevent the ball from shifting
while being acted upon. Instead of using a trough shaped guide, this may be formed
merely of two curved bars, so placed as not to bear upon the balls at the parts where
they receive the paint.
Also, in place of causing the ball to travel along between the wheel and a guide, it
may be held in a cap, ring, or other shaped support in which they may rest upon
antifriction rollers, so that as the groove of the wheel acts upon them, the balls are

page_text: made to turn round and round in the support. The antifriction rollers may also
receive rotary motion from the shaft of the wheel, so as to assist in the rotation of
the balls.
According to another modification we arrange two grooved wheels opposite each
other and revolving in the same direction so as to act upon a ball held on a support
between them.
In this case the one wheel may be made to apply one color to the ball and the other
a different color, and the one wheel may be made to act on one hemisphere and the
other on the other hemisphere, the wheels being in this case formed with quadrant
grooves only.
Lastly in place of the above described revolving grooved wheel may be employed
a reciprocating sliding block with a groove or grooves for applying the colors to
the balls.
Dated this with des
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Machinery for Painting, Colouring, or Ornamenting India-rubber
Balls.
We, GUSTAV LOUIS HILLE, GEORGE ASHDOWN AUDSLEY, and MAURICE ASHDOWN
AUDSLEY, all of Moorgate Station Buildings, 45 Finsbury Pavement, London, 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 :-
Our invention has for its object to effect the painting or coloring of india rubber
halls by mechanical means, whereby on the one hand a great saving of time and
labour is effected, and on the other hand a much finer, enamel-like surface is imparted
to the ball than when painted by hand.
This is effected by bringing concave printing surfaces supplied with the necessary
colours and having a rotary or to and fro motion imparted to them, in contact with
a ball which is either made to roll upon a suitably formed path, or is carried round
by suitable revolving holders, whereby the ball will be printed upon in one or more
colours.
The ball is coloured or printed upon by this means in a few seconds, and owing
to its surface being brought repeatedly in contact with the uniformly coloured
printing surfaces, the colouring thereof will be of a very uniform and enamel-like
nature.
We will proceed to describe the construction of the machinery employed for this
purpose with reference to the accompanying drawings in which Figure 1 shews a side
elevation and Fig. 2 a longitudinal section of a machine constructed according to our
invention.
This machine serves to print balls with two different colours, in which case the axis
of rotation of the ball must of course always remain in one and the same direction.
The wheel A is provided at its periphery with the two concave pressing surfaces a
and b, the form of which is shewn at the part end view at Fig. 3. Facing this wheel
and extending about half round it, more or less, is a guiding trough B having
1wo concave guide surfaces corresponding to those of the wheel A. These guide
surfaces have at their outer edges small projecting points or teeth, which, in coming
in contact with the caoutchouc ball, prevent its axis of rotation from shifting.
To enable the ball to be correctly placed in the guide trough B there is provided at
the lower end of the guide a flap G fixed to a rotatable axis S and held by means
of the arm H and spring I J in the lowered position shewn in full lines at Figures 1
and 2.
A second arm P fixed on the axis S, Figure 1, is acted upon by the two rollers Q
carried on the side of the wheel A, which rollers, in coming in contact with the lever,

page_text: impart motion thereto so as to cause it to raise the flap G and consequently to bring
the ball placed upon it against the wheel A and guide trough B. The two rollers Q
cause this motion to be effected.
The straight-edge K on the framing L at the end of the flap serves to enable the
operator to place the ball in the correct position. Diametrically opposite the guide
trough B are the colour rollers or boxes D, which supply the printing surfaces of the
wheel A with colour, and which are formed to fit against these surfaces.
The ball having been placed in position on the flap G by the operator, and the flap
having been raised, the wheel A will seize the ball and will cause it to roll along the
guide trough B, at the same time printing upon it with the colours. The coloured ball
will then fall at top upon the guide rail O provided with toothed edges, from which it
will pass on to the endless travelling apron M also provided with teeth or spikes, on
which it either remains till the colours are dry, or which leads it to a suitable drying
apparatus.
If the ball is to be printed upon in lines, the surface of the wheel A, which is made
more or less concave according to the extent of surface of the ball to be coloured, and
which for small balls may also be flat, is provided with corresponding printing strips
or lines which receive colour either from one and the same colour roller D, or, if the
lines are to be in two or more colours, from two or more separate colour rollers
or boxes.
The guide trough B consists in this case only of two suitable rails which are
situated beyond the surfaces to be coloured, so that the coloured lines are not damaged
thereby.
If the ball is only to receive one colour, the flap G can be dispensed with and the
guide trough B be continued underneath the wheel A and extended in a slightly rising
straight line beyond the same. The printing surfaces of A and the surface of the
trough B are in that case each made semi-circular.
The ball is introduced into the straight part of the trough B and rolls down this
until it arrives at the wheel A, when it is carried up by this, while rolling, until it is
discharged on to the guide 0 and endless band M.
If lines are to be printed on the ball, the guide trough B can be omitted and in
place thereof two opposite cups or holders B B be provided in front of the wheel A
between which the ball is held as shewn in front view and side view at Figs. 4 and 5.
The cups are mounted with rotatable spindles in bearings on arms bb on a rotatable
axis X, so as to be brought against the wheel A, as shewn in full lines at Fig. 5, for
being printed upon, the ball being rotated by the wheel, after which the cups are
turned into the dotted position, so that on withdrawing the one cup by a handle W
the ball is made to fall on the serrated guides O.
Instead of rotating the ball merely by frictional contact with the wheel A, the
axis of the cup B may carry a frictional or toothed wheel V in gear with a frictional
or toothed wheel U on the shaft of the wheel A, so as to impart a positive rotary
motion to the ball.
It will be understood that the wheel A need not be provided with printing surfaces
over its entire circumference, but only on a segmental part thereof, or it may
consist only of a reciprocating or rotating segment of a wheel of suitable length such
as shewn at Fig. 5.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what
we claim is:-
1. The construction of machinery for printing, coloring, or ornamenting india
rubber balls wherein travelling printing surfaces supplied with colour are brought in
contact with the india rubber balls, either made to roll on or in suitable guides, or
carried by rotating holders.
2. In machinery for colouring balls, the combination of a wheel A with concave
smooth or ribbed printing surface, made to pass in contact with colour rollers or
boxes D, a correspondingly curved concave guide trough B between which and the

page_text: wheel A the ball to be coloured is made to roll, and suitable guides O M on to which
the coloured ball is delivered for drying the same, substantially as described with
reference to the drawings.
3. In combination with a machine for colouring balls such as is referred to in the
preceding claim, the use of an automatic flap G for introducing the ball into the guide
trough B, substantially as described.
4. The combination with a machine as referred to in the preceding claims the
use of straight or concave strips or lines for ornamenting or lining the balls sub-
stantially as described.
5. The use in place of the guide trough B or of suitable rails referred to in the
preceding claims, of rotatable holders mounted in bearings, between which the ball is
held, and which are rotated together with the ball, either merely by frictional contact
with the wheel, or by independent gearing, substantially as herein described.
75
1000
ABEL & IMRAY,
Agents for the Applicants.