IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR TICKETING OR LABELLING SPOOLS, BOBBINS, OR REELS, FOR ADJUSTING THE SIZE THEREOF FOR SAMPLING PATTERNS, FOR PRINTING LABELS OR TICKETS, AFFIXING POSTAGE OR OTHER STAMPS OR LABELS, FOR CUTTING THEIR EDGES, AND DIVIDING THEM INTO GIVEN QUANTITIES AND SIZES
Year: 1858

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Bishop, of Boston, in the County of
Lincolnshire, Gentleman, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR TICKETING OR LABELLING SPOOLS, BOBBINS, OR
REELS, FOR ADJUSTING THE SIZE THEREOF FOR SAMPLING PATTERNS, FOR
PRINTING LABELS OR TICKETS, AFFIXING POSTAGE OR OTHER STAMPS OR LABELS,
FOR CUTTING THEIR EDGES, AND DIVIDING THEM INTO GIVEN QUANTITIES AND
SIZES"
'
Sealed the 19th October 1858, and dated the 22nd April 1858.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Bishop at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
22nd April 1858.
1, WILLIAM BISHOP, of Boston, in the County of Lincolnshire, Gentleman, :
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR TICKETING OR LABELING SPOOLS, BOBBINS, OR REELS,"
FOR ADJUSTING THE SIZE THEREOF FOR SAMPLING PATTERNS, FOR PRINTING LABELS OR
TICKETS, AFFIXING POSTAGE OR OTHER STAMPS OR LABELS, FOR CUTTING. THE IREDGES.
AND DIVIDING THEM INTO GIVEN QUANTITIES AND SIZES!" to be as follows:
I J
For ticketing spools, bobbins, or reels, I propose to employ tubes of brass,
or other material, with knives or wedges as indentations at the top where the"
tickets are discharged, these knives (which resemble the point of a peuknife
DQ77
;

page_text: broken from the blade about a to an inch and inverted) cut the tickets on
the plug employed to deliver them being pressed, and form the wedge, pre-
venting the exit of more than one ticket at a time. For holding the spools,
bobbins, or reels, I propose to use a tube of suitable material, one end being
closed, putting a small spiral spring into the bottom of the closed end, a
round flat plate upon the spring, and upon that a ball fitting easily in the
tube, the whole being closed by a cap, through a hole in which the ball will
partially protrude, to suit the size of the bobbin; the tube may be moved
backwards or forwards by a screw thread on its exterior, three will hold the
spool. For gumming the bobbins, I place blocks of india-rubber (hollow or
otherwise) in tubes of sufficient substance to give a run of gum, which may be
put on as printers' ink on type, or the ticket may be wetted in the tube by
saturated flags of calico or other material; this treatment may also with slight
modification be applied to postage stamps and labels. For cutting labels I
use knives made fast on a frame, the substances to be cut being placed on
another, one frame moving over or under the other, and cutting in the desired
direction, circularly or otherwise. For printing the labels I use punches
bearing the design, various colored papers being held in the ticket tubes
above described, and the most desirable shades of color delivered at the
will of the operator. And for adjusting the size of bobbins I propose to
employ files made the shape of the models desired and in lengths, that they
may by machinery be moved simultaneously over hundreds of spools,bringing
all to the same size and to one or more models as required.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Bishop in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
22nd October 1858.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
BISHOP, of Boston, in the County of Lincolnshire, Gentleman, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-second day of April, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight, in the twenty-first year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant
unto me, the said William Bishop, Her special licence that I, the said
William Bishop, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others
I, the said William Bishop, my executors, administrators, and assigns,
should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all
as
..

page_text: SPOOLS.
times thereafter during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might
make, use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain
and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR TICKETING OR LABELING
BOBBINS, OR REELS, FOR ADJUSTING THE SIZE THEREOF FOR SAMPLING PATTERNS, FOR
PRINTING LABELS OR TICKETS, AFFIXING POSTAGE OR OTHER STAMPS OR LABELS, FOR.
CUTTING THEIR EDGES, AND DIVIDING THEM INTO GIVEN QUANTITIES AND SIZES,"
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said William Bishop, my
executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their,
or one of their hands and seals, should particularly describe and ascertain the
nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same was to be per-
performed, and cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office
within six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said
Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Bishop, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement, reference being had to the accompanying Sheet of
Drawings forming part of this my Specification, and to the letters of reference
inarked thereon, similar letters denoting similar parts where such parts
appear or can be seen in each of the Figures respectively:-
:-
My Invention has principally the same object in view as that set forth in
the Final Specification filed in the Great Seal Patent Office according to the
proviso contained in the Letters Patent, No. 1546, granted to me on the
Fourteenth day of July, One thousand eight hundred and fifty-four, the
improvements I have since made permitting my now Invention to be used for
several purposes not then mentioned. The use of my apparatus in any of its
forms will greatly economize both time and money in the various operations it
performs. In ticketing spools of other packages or parcels, I believe the cost
iu money will be reduced three-fourths, and the enormous waste of saliva will
be entirely avoided; the present process or processes being injurious to the
health of those employed in ticketing, from the cause previously and above
stated. The apparatus invented by me for carrying ont the foregoing and
other objects is not of great bulk, and may be used as it were separated, that
is, instead of an apparatus for working a square of thirty-six spools in number
it may be formed so as to work only one, two, four, or in fact any given
number of spools, reels, or other packages or parcels. It will also be evident:
that although I shall herein-afterdescribe and shew only an apparatus working
vertically, I can with certain modifications, and without in any degree depart-

page_text: I
ing from the principle of the working, cause the apparatus to perform its
functions horizontally, or even by rotary motion; the same receivers, tubes,
caps, labellers, springs, and other parts being employed in whatever direction
may make the apparatus perform its functions. As it is very desirable, nay
absolutely necessary for the efficient working of the apparatus, that all the
planes or surfaces should be uniform and true, such uniformity is obtained by
any of the usual means. In the annexed Drawing, Figure 1 shews side view
of labeling machine; Figure 2, side view of damper or press which gums the
tickets; Figure 3, side view of receiver for reels, spools, or other packages;
Figure 4, plan view of Figure 3; Figure 5, vertical section of part of labeling
machine; Figure 6, views of various kinds of springs used for fastening spools
in receiver; Figure 7, views of ball or buffing spring; Figure, side and
plan view of tube cap; Figure 8*, plan view of one of the tubes; Figure 9,
section and plan of knife cap; Figure 10, side view of part of cutting table;
Figure 11, plan view of Figure 10; Figure 12, side and plan view of sheet
ticket press; Figure 13, end view of file used to shape spools, reels, or other
packages; Figure 14, vertical section of water damper; and Figure 15; postage
stamp receiver and stamper. At Figure 1 will be seen a stand a, with wooden
plugs passing through the bottom thereof, and through another piece c, on
which are fixed metal tubes d, (Figure 8*,) on the upper part of these tubes
are placed caps e, having indentations formed on the upper edge to prevent
the tickets which are placed in the tubes d from passing more than one at a
time when forced up by the plugs b; guide legs or pins f pass through the
whole of the frame to keep the parts in place; around these legs are placed
spiral springs, said springs being between the stand a and the piece c to keep
them apart till requisite. Figures 3 and 4 denote the receiver for holding
reels, spools, or other packages to be labeled, which are inserted in the
recesses made for the purpose,and there held by springs, as shewn; various
kinds of springs can be used for this purpose, for some of which see Figure 6,
where the springg is cut with two notches, one on each side, and are to have
a bandh passed over them when the projections are bent down and fall into
notches made in the sides of the spring; the band h is also a spring, having a
needle point at each end thereof so that when placed on the piece of wood of
which the receiver is made, the needle points are sprung into the wood, and
the springs thereby kept secure; all the springs being slightly curved to the
circumference of the spools, as in plan at p. At Figure 2, i is a frame of suit-
able material, having pieces of hollow cork j, india-rubber, or other such like
material let into it, and all kept flush on the top; a gummed roller, similar to
a printer's inking roller, is then to be passed over the top of said pieces; to

page_text: moisten them, the frame is then to be turned over, and placed on the top of
the stand a, the legs passing through c rresponding holes when it is pressed'
downwards, by which means the tickets in the tubes & become gummed; it is
then withdrawn, and the receiver, Figures 3 and 4, takes its place, when it is'
also pressed down, and takes a ticket from each tube; upon the withdrawal of
the receiver each reel or spool will be found to have its ticket securely
gummed on its surface. Where two sorts of tickets are used at different ends,
another stand containing the second ticket must be employed in the sane
manner. I also employ a novel spring of my Invention, as shewn at Figure 7,
where is a tube screwed on the outer side, and having a spiral spring inside
with a small plate in front, the end of the tube being closed; in front of the
plate is placed a small ball m, the whole being secured by a cap n screwed
on the end, and having a hole cut in it to allow the ball to protrude a slight
distance;
three or more of these are screwed into the holes in the receiver and
adjusted as required, so it will appear that as the reel passes into the receiver
the ball revolves, still holding the reel sufficiently tight while undergoing the
operation of labeling, when it can easily be withdrawn for others to be
operated upon in like manner; this spring is applicable to other purposes,
such as to support various articles, allowing them to be freely moved. When
so used there should be an axle through the ball, and resting on a hoop fitting
within the tube k, which will perinit the ball to move up, down, and all round.
The stand a may be made as shewn at Figure 5, with the plugs b, having a
flange turned on them between a double bottom of the stand, on the lower one
of which may be placed spiral springs, as shewn, or pieces of india-rubber, so
that the pressure may be uniform when there is any unequal length of spools,
or more or less tickets in the tubes, and these tubes inay be cut away on four
of its sides to lessen the friction of the up and down motion of the tickets, as
shewn in plan at Figure 8*.
When the tickets are already gunmed and only require damping, a water
damper is used, see Figure 14, where I employ a box o having a water tank
inside and slots q cut in the sides thereof, with rollers to slide up and down in
said slots; over these rollers is passed a piece of woollen cloth or other
suitable fabric, having weights affixed at each end, so that as the cloth is
required to be kept more or less damp, so the rollers can be let up and down,
allowing the cloth to dip deeper in the water as required; a flat pad is then
laid on the top to be moistened, and then transferred to the ticket holder and
pressed down when the tickets become damped ready for the spool receiver to
be applied; the bobbins also may require sizing or the application of a
solution of gum.
It being necessary that all the reels should be the same

page_text: size, which is almost impossible by the usual mode of turning them, I use
files cut the shape of the reels, as at Figure 13, so that after being turned the
files are applied to them, and continue to cut until the ends of the file touch
the bed or rests of the lathe placed for the purpose, when the reels will
revolve without touching the file, consequently keeping every reel the same
size and shape.
In winding on the spool the present mode of securing the end of the cotton
by crossing the thread gives an uneven surface, which is continued throughout
the winding; to obviate this I provide a curved nipper roughed on its inner
edge, which will seize the end of the thread as it leaves a groove of its own
size, and press it into the barrel of the spool close against the shoulder, the
spool revolving but slowly at first will not drag the cotton from this small
indentation, and a perfectly even winding surface will be left. Further to
secure the end of the cotton in the indentation so made, and also to facilitate
the continuance of the winding when the thread is broken, I use a plate
forming segment of a circle, and resting easily upon a spring; this plate will
press upon the end of the cotton yielding to the winding, and is it proceeds
may be thrown out of gear and into gear again should the breaking of the
thread again necessitate its application, or it may be found advantageous to
continue the use of the plate throughout the winding.
For cutting up sheets of tickets, labels, or patterns for commercial purposes
out of any description of fabric, I employ a table, Figures 10 and 11, having
wedge-shaped knives placed upon them at the requisite distance apart; the
paper or other material to be cut is then held together by flat bars very
slightly asunder, to allow the knives to pass between them, the whole of the
bars being secured at their ends by cross bars screwed together; the material
is then placed against the points of the knives and drawn over the table, when
it will be found the sheets are divided into strips. For cross cutting the
knives require to be again shifted unless the tickets or other articles to be cut
are exactly square..
In forming tickets the strips cut as above are treated as follows:-I use a
horizontal frame divided into grooves of the width of the strips to be operated
upon; at the bead of each of these grooves, the metal forming the frame will
curve over, making a matrix or form of the shape of ticket desired, be it
angular or otherwise; several layers of the strips are placed upon the frame
within its grooves and covered with a plate of equal width, the head of which
will be of similar shape to the head of the matrix or form; the strips (the
upper ends of which are square) are then pushed up to the head of the matrix,
and turning over on to the upper plate assume the desired fold, or the corners

page_text: of the strips may be turned down in one form, and a moveable bar running
from end to end of the frame will raise and turn over the centre part through
which the eyelet hole will be pierced,connecting the whole of the parts turned
over. The frame and plates will be slightly convex towards the head just
before the matrix or form, for the purpose of slightly raising the corners of
the strips before they enter it.
For printing tickets I employ cutting punches to cut out the design, which
is then placed on a different coloured paper, the outer rim with the names,
et cetera, being also cut in the same manner of a different colour, so that the
colour of the ground will shew through the pattern cut on the surface paper;
the whole can then be gummed together in the machine before described,
forming an entirely new ticket without printing ink.
When large quantities of spools require to be labeled, they may be placed
on a long table the length of the room, and a large cylinder already charged
with labels be rolled from one end of the room to the other, discharging its
tickets upon the end of every reel in its passage along. The cylinder should
be built in strips, so that it should fall flat on the ends of the spools as it
passes over them. To prevent the tickets sticking together, which they are
apt to do with the varnish on them, I find in practice that a little pulverized
French chalk should be dusted over the sheets before cutting.
Postage stamps are enclosed in a tube of the same shape, and after being
damped are delivered singly as required, the operation being the same as
described in reference to the ticketing of spools; the tube and its contents are
placed in any convenient holder; one is shewn at Figure 15 of the Drawing.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of my said
Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be carried into
effect, I would observe in conclusion that I do not confine or restrict
myself to the precise details or arrangements of apparatus for ticketing or
labeling spools, and for performing other operations indicated in the title
of the herein in part recited Letters Patent, which I have had occasion to
describe and refer to,as many deviations may be made therefrom (instances of
which I have herein-before mentioned) without deviating or departing from
the main characteristics; and I lay no claim to any of the mechanical parts
used in making or forming the machine or machines or apparatus, by the use
of which my Invention is utilized, when taken as parts and nct in combination,
or for the purposes of my Invention, except in so far as may have been
expressly reserved in the foregoing description or Specification; nor do I
confine myself to the use of any particular metal, wood, or other material in
forming, making, or combining the several parts which when put together.

page_text: form my machine or apparatus for ticketing or labeling, as I use such
materials as I find in practice to be most suitable to the purpose to which
they are applied; but I do claim the exclusive use of the combination of parts
and substances herein-before described, and in part shewn in the Drawing,as
being of my Invention, and forming when so combined "Improvements in
"Machinery or Apparatus for Ticketing or Labeling Spools, Bobbins, or Reels
"for Adjustingthe Size thereof,for Sampling Patterns, for Printing Labels or
Tickets, Affixing Postage or other Stamps or Labels, for Cutting theirEdges
"and Dividing them into given Quantities and Sizes."
In witness whereof, I, the said William Bishop, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-first day of October, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight.
Witness,
W. E. GEDGE,
4, Danes' Inn, Strand,
London.
WILLIAM BISHOP. (L.S.)