IMPROVEMENTS IN BOOK BINDING, AND IN THE MACHINERY OR APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREIN.
Year: 1878

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by John Henry Johnson at the Office of
the Commissioners of Patents on the 29th November 1878. A communication
from abroad by James S. Lever, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
of America..
JOHN HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of Middlesex,
Gentleman. "IMPROVEMENTS IN BOOK BINDING, AND IN THE MACHINERY OR
APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREIN.' A communication from abroad by James S.
Lever, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States of America.
"
This Invention has for its object. 1st. Securing to the pack of sections of a book
a strip of open fabric extending from end to end of the same or nearly so, so that
the back shall present a uniform surface free from the ridges which are formed by
transverse tapes and by glue applied to the same, as hereinafter explained.
2ndly. Securing to the pack of sections a fabric which will afford a substantial
hinge for the side boards; and third, preventing the lumps which disfigure ordinary
books, and which are due to the thick cords commonly used for connecting the side
pieces to the back.
The usual plan adopted in securing the backs of books of the class to which the
Invention relates is, to first secure to the backs of a pack of sections by staples or
stitches a number of narrow transverse tapes which project beyond the pack of
sections for attachment to the side boards, glue being applied to the folded edges of
the sections as well as to the tapes which are composed of open fabric, so that the
glue will penetrate through them and insure a proper junction of the fabric with
the folded edges of the section.
The objection to this plan is, that the opposite selvages of each tape with the
glue which accumulates at these edges on applying it by means of a brush, form
ridges, which interfere with the proper finishing of the back of the book in com-
pleting the binding of the same.
In order to obviate this difficulty, a strip of open fabric is employed extending
throughout or nearly throughout the entire length of the sections, the strip being
secured by staples or by ordinary stitches. On applying the glue to the exterior
•

page_text: of this strip, it will penetrate through to the folded edges of the sections without
accumulating more at one point than at another, so that the back will have a
uniform surface free from the objectionable ridges before referred to, the loose
projecting portions of the strip being cemented to the back or the backs being
secured in the manner hereinafter described. The strip may be composed of the
ordinary open fabric commonly used by bookbinders, but it is preferred in all cases
to use a special fabric consisting of strong substantial threads interwoven with
lighter threads, which may be more or less fragile providing they serve to maintain
the stronger threads in their proper position. The strip is so cut and applied that
the strong threads shall extend across the back so as to form a substantial medium,
by which the side boards are hinged to the pack of sections. While the strong
threads are comparatively thick the other threads are so thin that proper
interstices are presented for the penetration of the glue. The projecting portions of
the strip on each side of the back may be glued directly to the side boards; but it
is preferred to secure these boards in the following manner:-After the strip of the
fabric described above has been secured to the folded edges of the sections by
staples or stitches and glue, the overhanging edges are cut away so that nothing
remains but short bands or tapes of the fabric. To the pack of sections is then
applied one of the side boards, which has been pierced with an awl in the ordinary
manner at points opposite the tapes, after which a little paste is applied to each
tape, the latter is twisted at the end, and the ends of the tapes thus pointed are
passed through the orifices in the back, care being taken to draw the tape tight so
that the side board may fit snugly to its place, after which the opposite side board
is secured in a similar manner. As soon as the paste applied to these twisted ends
of the tapes is dry the sides will be firmly secured to the back of the book, which
is now ready to be finished in any style desired.
In binding books in the manner hereinbefore explained it is proposed to employ
sewing machines, such as are described in the Specification to Letters Patent
granted to August Brehmer, dated the 17 September 1877, No. 3497, with the
following improvements applied thereto, the object of such improvements being to
render the said machine available for this purpose.
In this machine constructed in accordance with the Specification to the said
Letters Patent, an oscillating bracket is employed which carries at its upper end
the clutching devices, and an adjustable table is also provided on which the
signatures or sections to be secured to the binding fabric are successively placed,
lugs on the opposite ends of this table being adapted to guides in the arms of the
bracket. A bar is also used which carries clinching devices, three for example of
these devices and a corresponding number of tapes and tape guides being provided.
The grooved bar to which these tape guides are secured is connected to the bracket
immediately above the clinching devices by arms. The guides have grooves in
their upper surfaces for the reception of the tapes, which are held in position by
clamps connected by springs to the frame, the inner ends of the tapes being attached
to the table by a spring clamp.
At
In carrying out this Invention the guide blocks and spring clamps are dispensed
with, and to the grooved bar is secured a plate or bar having a plane surface long
enough to form a continuous bearing for a binding fabric, which is as wide, or
nearly so, as the book sections are long which the machine is adapted to sew.
one end of this plate it is preferred to arrange a stop, which serves as a guide for
the operator in placing each section in a proper position to be stitched, and along
the upper edge of the plate on the side adjacent to the table there is formed a
narrow groove, for a purpose hereinafter explained.
To the opposite ends of the frame is adapted a slotted bar; or separate bars,
secured to the ends of the said frame, may be substituted for this slotted bar.
The strip of fabric drawn from a roll arranged on the lower part of the machine
is first passed over and under the bars formed by the slots in the bar, and then over
the plate, the end of the strip being confined to the table by a clamp. By thus

page_text: passing the fabric through the slots in the bar it receives a proper tension, and its
uniform bearing on the plate is assured.
Section after section of the book is secured to the fabric by the stapling devices.
used in the said machine for securing the sections to the objectionable tapes.
When the number of sections necessary to complete the book had been stitched
to the tapes in the original machine, it was usual to cut the tapes with a pair of
scissors, the spring clamps being first removed for that purpose. By the present
Invention the use of scisssors is dispensed with by forming in the plate the above
mentioned groove, so that when the required number of sections have been secured
to the binding fabric all that is necessary to sever the strip is to draw a knife
along this groove, after which the end of the fabric is released from the clamp, the
sections are removed from the table, the fabric is drawn forward, and its end
clamped to the table prior to the securing of another set of sections to it: