Improvements in Printing Machines.
Year: 1889

page_text: Date of Application, 11th Jan., 1889
Complete Specification Left, 11th Nov., 1889-Accepted, 11th Jan., 1890
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Printing Machines.
I, PAUL ODON LAFFITTE, of No. 33 Ryland Road, Prince of Wales Road, in the
County of Middlesex, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be
as follows:-
One part of this invention has for its object to dispense entirely with toothed
gearing such as has been heretofore necessary for driving the forme and pressing
cylinders of printing machines, and the inaccuracy of construction and the wear of
which are productive of defective action in printing. For the above purpose the
cylinders are all connected at one end of their shafts to connecting rods by means
of a special construction of crank pin which will be described presently, so that by
imparting motion by any suitable mechanism to the connecting rod or rods, a rotary
motion is imparted simultaneously to all the cylinders thereby, in a similar manner
to the coupled wheels of a locomotive. The crank pins are connected to the connecting
rods by blocks that are rendered adjustable on the rods by means of screws, wedges
or other devices.
The arrangement of the connecting rods and cylinders can be variously modified
according to the nature of the machine to which the invention is applied; thus for
machines having pairs of forme cylinders and pressing cylinders of which the former
revolve in the contrary direction to the latter all the cylinders revolving in one and
the same direction would be driven simultaneously by a connecting rod at one end
thereof.
Again, in printing machines having cylinders and reciprocating tables, the cylinders
are, driven by one connecting rod, and the tables are driven by another, timed so as
to move the tables in accord with the cylinders.
Another part of the invention relates to an improved construction of crank pin
employed for the above described purpose. Instead of connecting the pin. rigidly to
a crank on the shaft to be driven thereby, it is rendered adjustable relatively thereto,
so that the forine-cylinders which are fixed on the shafts are capable of being moved
in any direction independently of the cranks in order to adjust them for any desired
register.
For this purpose according to one arrangement, a disc or wheel hollowed out on
each side is fixed to the shaft, in sectional shape like an ordinary pulley. In the
annular hollows on either side are fitted two loose rings, the outer one of which
carries the crank pin, and which are connected together by two or more screw bolts
passing through curved slots formed in the disc, so that the two rings can be shifted
round within considerable limits relatively to the disc, or the forme cylinder with its
shaft and disc can be shifted round relatively to the stationary crank pin, such shifting
being effected by any suitable means, such as a pinion carried by the rings gearing
with a segmental rack formed in a curved slot in the disc.
In place of the above described arrangement of disc and rings, other equivalent
devices may be employed whereby the crank pin is rendered adjustable in a circular
slot on a crank or crank plate fixed on the shaft.
Another improvement consists in applying to the periphery of the crank disc above
described or any other arrangement of disc or wheel a circular revolving support or
roller on which the said disc or wheel rest with its underside, the disc or wheel being
by preference provided on its periphery with a covering of leather, felt, caoutchouc
or the like whereby the printing cylinder is preserved to a great extent from shocks
or vibrations.
Another improvement has for its object to enable the diameters of the cylinders

page_text: to be increased or decreased at will, whereby they are enabled to print on sheets of
paper of different lengths. This is effected by providing several cylindrical shells of
varying thickness all having an internal diameter corresponding to the diameter of the
cylinder to which they are to be applied, which is of the minimum diameter required,
so that according as a shell of greater or less thickness is fixed on the cylinder, the
diameter of the latter will be increased or diminished.
Such shells may be fixed upon the cylinders by various means, such as simply by
screw bolts, securing the two halves of the shell, or by keys &c.
When such shells are applied to the pressing cylinders, their outer surfaces are
made smooth, but when applied to the printing cylinders they require to have dovetail
grooves, for securing the type forme.
With such an arrangement of cylinders, it is of course necessary to provide for
the adjustment of the cylinders farther from or nearer to each other, which may be
readily effected by rendering the bearing of their shafts adjustable by screw or other
action.
In applying paper-cutting apparatus to printing machines with cylinders of
variable diameter, such as are referred to above it is necessary to render the paper
cutting apparatus adjustable to correspond to the variable length of sheets printed
upon the machine.
For this purpose the cutting apparatus is, according to the present invention,
mounted upon a frame separate from that of the printing machine, and it can be
placed so as to cut the continuous paper either before or after it has been printed
upon. The apparatus consists of a framing consisting of two uprights mounted on
wheels, having horizontal guides within which slides the cutting knife with its support
and other accessories, so that the whole can have a to and fro motion imparted to
it between the guides. This motion, which should correspond exactly with the travel
of the paper to be cut, is effected by a connecting rod which is actuated by either
the first or last printing cylinder (according to the position of the cutting apparatus)
so as to have, as regards the forward movement, precisely the same speed as the
cylinder and consequently as the paper.
The backward movement is effected by a weighted lever pivotted to the framing.
In addition to this motion the cutting blade receives a vertical up and down move-
ment, for which purpose it works in guides at right angles to the other guides and
is moved upward by springs or counter weights, while the downward or cutting
motion is obtained by levers acted upon by eccentric discs having adjustable pins,
and made to press upon adjustable heads fixed on the upper side of the cutter.
By the above described to and fro and up and down motion of the cutting blade the
paper will be cut without in any way interfering with the continuous motion of the
latter. For rendering the cut adjustable according to the length of the paper,
the before mentioned eccentric discs with adjustable pins have a rotary motion imparted
to them by a crank plate with adjustable crank pin, receiving motion by a connecting
rod from the first or the last printing cylinder, so that by adjusting the crank pin in
the disc and also the pins in the excentrics that act on the cutter levers, the cutting
action will be made to take place at variable intervals of time, corresponding to the
variable length of sheet required.
Another improvement relates to the employment of several pairs of forme and
pressing cylinders in one and the same printing machine for dividing the operation
of printing upon one side of a paper sheet into two or more separate operations,
instead of effecting the whole operation by one cylinder.
For this purpose each such printing cylinder is made to effect the impression of
a portion of the type or cuts of a sheet which requires to be printed in a different
manner from that of the other parts, and each such cylinder is consequently provided
with an inking apparatus of the appropriate quality and arranged to apply the ink
to a greater or less extent, as may be required in order to produce a varied appearance
of the printed matter.
By the above described improvement the printing can be effected with greater

page_text: dispatch and better, and the various kinds of printing are under better control than
if the whole of the impression of a page were effected by a single cylinder, as
heretofore.
ABEL & IMRAY,
Agents for the Applicant.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Printing Machines.
I, PAUL ODON LAFFITTE of No. 33 Ryland Road, Prince of Wales Road in the
County of Middlesex, 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 :—
One part of this invention has for its object to dispense entirely with toothed
gearing such as has been heretofore necessary for driving the forme and pressing
cylinders of printing machines, the inaccuracy of construction and the wear of which
are productive of defective action in printing. For the above purpose, the cylinders
are all connected at the ends of their shafts to connecting rods by means of a special
construction of crank pin hereafter described so that by imparting motion by any
suitable mechanism to the connecting rods a rotary motion is imparted simultaneously
to all the cylinders, in a similar manner to the coupled wheels of a locomotive. The
crank pins are connected to the connecting rods by blocks that are rendered adjustable
on the rods by means of screws, wedges or other devices.
The arrangement of the connecting rods and cylinders can be variously modified
according to the nature of the machine to which the invention is applied; thus for
machines having pairs of forme cylinders and pressing cylinders revolving in opposite
directions all the cylinders revolving in the same direction may be driven simultaneously
by one set of connecting rods.
Again, in printing machines having cylinders and reciprocating tables, the cylinders
are driven by one set of connecting rods, and the tables are driven by another set
timed so as to move the tables in accord with the cylinders.
Another part of the invention relates to a construction of adjustable crank suitable
for the mode of driving above described.
Instead of connecting the pin rigidly to a crank on the shaft which it drives, it is
rendered adjustable relatively thereto so that the forme cylinders which are fixed on
the shafts are capable of being moved in any direction independently of the cranks in
order to adjust them for any desired register.
For this purpose a disc hollowed out on each side like a dished pulley is fixed to
the shaft. In the hollows on either side are fitted two loose rings, the outer one of
which carries the crank pin. These rings are connected together by screw bolts
passing through curved slots formed in the disc so that the two rings can be
shifted round within considerable limits, relatively to the disc, or the forme cylinder
with its shaft and disc can be shifted round relatively to the stationary crank
pin, such shifting being effected by any suitable means, such as a pinion carried
by the rings gearing with a segmental rack formed in a curved slot in the disc.
Instead of the above described arrangement of disc and rings, the crank pin may be
rendered adjustable by being held in a circular slot on a crank or crank plate fixed
on the shaft.
The periphery of the crank disc above described or of parts of the printing
cylinders may be covered with leather caoutchouc, felt, or other elastic or yielding
material bearing against a similar disc or against the impression cylinder the printing
cylinder being thus preserved to a great extent from shocks or vibrations.
by making parts of this covering thicker or thinner or pasting paper or the like
locally on it the impression can be more or less eased where required.
Also
Another improvement has for its object to enable the diameter of the cylinders to

page_text: be increased or decreased at will, whereby they can be adapted to print on sheets of
paper of different lengths.
This is effected by providing several cylindrical shells of different thickness all
having such internal diameter as to fit the cylinder to which they are to be applied,
which is of the minimum diameter required for use.
Thus according as a shell of greater or less thickness is fixed on the cylinder, its
diameter is more or less increased.
Such shells may be fixed upon the cylinders by various means such as simply by
screw bolts, securing the two halves of the shell, or by keys or dogs.
When such shells are applied to the pressing cylinders, their outer surfaces are
made smooth, but when applied to the printing cylinders, they are made with the
necessary grooves for securing the type formes on them.
With such an arrangement of cylinders, it is of course necessary to provide for
their being adjusted farther from or nearer to each other. This may be readily
effected by rendering the bearings of their shafts adjustable by screws, or otherwise.
When the diameters of the cylinders are thus varied, it is necessary also to make
the paper cutting apparatus adjustable to suit various lengths of sheets printed upon
the machine.
For this purpose I mount the cutting apparatus upon a frame separate from that of
the printing machine so that it can be placed at various distances from the cylinders
and in position to cut the continuous paper either before or after it is printed. The
apparatus consists of a framing mounted on wheels having horizontal guides in which
slides the frame carrying the cutting knife so that it can have a to and fro motion
imparted to it. This motion, which should correspond with the travel of the paper is
effected by a connecting rod, which is actuated by the printing cylinder, so as to
have as regards the forward movement precisely the same speed as the cylinder and
consequently as the paper.
In addition to this motion the cutting blade receives a vertical up and down move-
ment, for which purpose it works in guides at right angles to the other guides and is
moved upwards by springs or counterweights, while the downward or cutting motion
is obtained by levers acted upon by eccentric discs having adjustable pins, and made
to press upon adjustable heads fixed on the upper side of the cutter.
above described to and fro and up and down motion of the cutting blade, the paper
is cut without in any way interfering with its continuous motion.
By the
Fig. 1 of the accompanying drawings is a vertical section, Fig. 2 is a front
elevation and Fig. 3 is a sectional plan of an adjustable crank according to my
invention. It consists of a central disc A keyed on the shaft and having on each side
of its middle, hollows which receive two other annular discs B and C. From one of
these projects the crank pin D. The two discs B and C are secured by bolts E
which pass through slotted holes of the central disc A. On slackening the nuts of
these bolts the discs B and C can be turned a little round to adjust the position of the
crank pin D, where it is secured by tightening the nuts, again. In order to facilitate
the adjustment, a pinion F is mounted in bearings in the outer discs B and C and
gears with internal teeth of the disc A. On turning this pinion by a key or wrench
applied to its axis, the discs B and C and crank pin D can be moved a little round in
either direction. I cover the periphery of the disc A with leather, caoutchouc, felt
or such like somewhat yelding material so that as it revolves in contact with another
like disc or with a reciprocating table, shocks are deadened.
A similar covering may
be applied to the ends of the type cylinders for the same purpose, and the covering
thus applied to the disc or to the cylinder may be locally thickened by pasting on
paper or the like in places where it is desired to relieve the impression.
Fig. 4 is a part side view, Fig. 5 is a part plan and Fig. 6 is a part vertical section
shewing how several cylinders can be caused to revolve by means of a frame G
reciprocating horizontally in guides, and having slots in which the busbes of the
crank pins D can slide vertically. To avoid dead centres a similar frame G at the
other side of the machine acts on cranks at right angles. Fig. 7 shews how two
horizontal rows of cylinders can be caused to revolve in opposite directions by

page_text: engaging their cranks in connecting rods H which have themselves motion in circular
paths corresponding with those of the cranks. Fig. 8 is a front view and Fig. 9
a side view shewing four cylinders arranged vertically all similarly driven by
connecting rods H moving in circular paths. Fig. 10 is a part longitudinal section
of a cylinder provided with a shell by applying which of greater or less thickness
the diameter of the cylinder can be varied. Fig. 11 is a section on X and Fig. 12
is an end view. On the cylinder A I bolt two half shells A¹ of the desired thickness
and on its ends I bolt pieces K, and in dovetail grooves formed in the periphery
of the cylinder A I fit sliding dogs the ends of which overlap the ends of the
forme M. By unscrewing setting screws in the dogs L, the heads of which screws
bear against the pieces K, the forme M is firmly secured on the cylinder.
If cylinders thus made variable in diameter were driven as usual by gearing,
the gearing would have to be altered to suit each varied diameter. I avoid the
necessity for altering the gearing by adopting the system of driving by sliding
frames and cranks as shewn in Figs. 4, 5 and 6, making the slots in the frames G
long enough to suit the maximum diameter of the cylinder. Fig. 13 is a front
view and Fig. 14 a vertical section of the paper cutting apparatus according to
my invention. The knife N is fitted to slide vertically in a frame projecting up
from a table O which is guided to move horizontally and caused to reciprocate by an
adjustable crank and rod. The knife is urged upwards by springs n and is pushed
down by levers P acted on by cranks or eccentrics above them.
The moving parts are so timed that, while the knife is descending making
its cut, the table O moves horizontally at the speed at which the paper is travelling.
The cutting apparatus is preferably mounted on rollers R so that it can be
conveniently moved to either end of the printing machine, nearer to or farther
from the printing cylinders, to suit the cut to the places of the paper where the
sheets are to be severed.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is.
1. The use, instead of gearing, of reciprocating or rotating connecting rods or
frames in combination with cranks for driving cylinders of printing machines,
substantially as described.
2. The construction of adjustable crank, substantially as described with reference
to Figs. 1, 2 and 3.
3. Clothing the periphery of a crank disc or type cylinder with somewhat yielding
material, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.
4. In combination with adjustable bearings for printing cylinders and with cranks
for driving them, separate shells applied to the cylinders to vary their dimensions ;
substantially as described.
5. The construction of cutting apparatus substantially as described with reference
to Figs. 13 and 14.
Dated this 11th day of November 1889.
ABEL & IMRAY
Agents for the Applicant.