Year: 1898

page_text: We, WILLIAM SILVER FOORD, WILLIAM WATSON FOORD, and JOHN KILBY FOORD,
all of Kinaston Works, Oakley Street, Lambeth, in the County of Surrey,
Engineers, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows;-
This invention relates to improvements in printing machines of that kind or
class in which the paper may be fed alternately from each side of the cylinder,
which latter is given a continual oscillatory movement as the forme is reciprocated.
In such machines, as heretofore constructed, it is not possible to vary the size
of the sheet to be printed except within very narrow limits, say about 6 inches,
for the reason that the grippers cannot be arranged to be adjusted upon the cylinder
within wider limits than this; and even with this moderate amount of adjustment
it is necessary to make such alterations or adjustment in the mechanism as to
occupy considerable time in effecting each change.
Now the object of our invention is to provide means whereby such double feeding
machines will be rendered capable of printing sheets of any size up to the largest
for which they are designed, only a slight and readily effected adjustment being
necessary at each change.
The essential feature of our invention consists in providing means whereby the
point or time at which the paper is brought to the cylinder may be varied within
any desired limits and thus enable sheets of any dimensions to be printed upon the
one machine.
According to one construction of our invention instead of placing the grippers
on the cylinder, we provide a pair of drums arranged adjacent to the cylinder, one
on either side of the printing surface, and having gripping devices mounted
thereon. These drums are suitably geared to the cylinder, as for instance, by gear
wheels or pinions provided at the outer sides or ends of the drums and adapted to
engage with a gear wheel on the end of the cylinder. Said drums are carried in
bearings capable of being adjusted in a circular path concentric with the cylinder,
so that the positions of such drums may be varied without interfering with the
said gearing. Means are provided for turning the drums when desired indepen-
dently of the gear wheels, in order that, after the positions of the drums have been
adjusted, their gripping devices may be placed uppermost. The arrangement is
such that according as the drums are disposed nearer to or further from the middle
of the printing surface, so will the grippers mounted on such drums carry the paper
to the cylinder later or earlier during the rotary movement of said cylinder and thus
enable a smaller or a larger sheet to be printed.
Instead of mounting the drums adjustably in relation to the cylinder we may
mount them in fixed bearings, and provide for the variation in the point or time
at which the paper is brought to the cylinder by so turning the drum as to shift
the gripping device more or less from the printing surface and thus cause the paper
to be carried later or earlier to the cylinder.

page_text: It may not be necessary to mount both the grippers on drums. For instance
one gripper may be arranged on the cylinder in the usual manner, and the other
gripper be carried on a drum as above described. In such case instead of varying
the position of both grippers, the cylinder gripper would be fixed or be adjustable
only within narrow limits, and the position of the drum gripper would be adapted
to be varied within limits twice as wide as those above mentioned.
According to another construction of our invention we arrange the gripper
drums in fixed bearings at a suitable distance from the cylinder and suitably geared
therewith and we cause the paper to travel through tapes over, say, two rollers
on its way from the gripper to the cylinder. These two rollers are so mounted that
the distance between them can be varied, so that the paper is compelled to take
a longer or shorter path and thus reach the cylinder at a later or earlier point in
its rotation.
Although we have described the employment of drums for carrying the gripping
devices we may of course employ other suitable means for this purpose, as will be
readily understood.
Moreover it will be obvious to all acquainted with printing machines that other
modifications may be made without departing from the essential feature of our
invention.
The guiding of the paper, and the take-off, may be effected in any appropriate
manner.
By means of our invention sheets of any size may be printed upon a double feed
machine as rapidly and with the same facility as it has heretofore been possible to
print sheets of that size for which the machine is set; and we thus provide a double
feed machine capable of performing work as varied as can be performed by a
single machine.
Dated this 22nd day of March 1898
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C.,
Agents for the Applicants.
improvements and relating
We, WILLIAM SILVER FOORD, WILLIAM WATSON FOORD, and JOHN KILBY FOORD,
all of Kinaston Works, Oakley Street, Lambeth, in the County of Surrey,
Engineers, 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 :—
This invention relates to improvements in printing machines of that kind or
class in which the paper can be fed alternately from each side of the impression
cylinder; that is to say printing machines in which the paper can be printed both
at the forward and the backward stroke of the forme.
In such machines, as heretofore constructed, it is not possible to vary the size
of the sheet to be printed, except within very narrow limits, say about 6 inches.
for the reason that the grippers or other contrivances used for taking the sheets
from the laying-on table cannot be adjusted on the impression cylinder within wide
enough limits. And even the very narrow limits of adjustment above stated,
necessitate corresponding alterations or adjustments in other parts of the mechan-
ism of the machine, so that considerable time is occupied whenever one adjustment
is changed to another.
Now the object of our invention is to render printing machines of the aforesaid

page_text: type capable of printing sheets of any size up to the largest for which the machines
are designed, only a slight and readily effected adjustment being necessary at each
change. For this purpose we provide means whereby the point or time at which
the paper is brought to the impression cylinder may be varied or adjusted within
the desired limits according to the size of the sheets to be printed.
In order that our said invention may be clearly understood and readily carried
into effect we will proceed. to describe the same more fully with reference to the
accompanying drawings, in which:-
Figure 1 is a side elevation of a printing machine with one form of our device
applied thereto; only so much of the working parts of the machine being shewn as
will suffice to explain our invention.
Figure 2 is a sectional end view, and
Figure 3 a vertical section shewing on a larger scale, the means of adjustment
employed in Figure 1.
Figure 4 is an elevation of another form of our device.
Referring more particularly to Figures 1 to 3 A is the impression cylinder,
BB are the cylinders or drums carrying the gripping devices; C C the laying-on
boards; D D the flyers; E E the taking-off boards; and F is the reciprocating
forme.
The aforesaid cylinders or drums B are arranged on opposite sides of the impres-
sion cylinder A and are keyed to axles revolving in bearings carried
by the framing of the machine. Each of the said drums has a grip-
ping device b¹ of any appropriate kind, for taking the sheets from the adjacent
laying-on table and inserting them between the travelling tapes by which the said
sheets are conducted between the forme and the impression cylinder for printing.
On each of the said axles b is loosely mounted a toothed wheel 62 gearing with a
toothed wheel a on the impression cylinder, so that the drums and the impression
cylinder revolve together. Each of the said toothed wheels 62 has a pair of lugs
for supporting a shaft 63 provided with a worm that gears with a worm-wheel
keyed to the axle 6 of the gripper-drum. The said shaft 63 is suitably formed to
receive an appropriate handle for revolving the worm and thereby revolving the
worm-wheel 65 and axle b together with the drum B, while the toothed wheel be
being in gear with the cylinder A remains stationary. The position of the grip-
ping devices is thus varied with relation to the point at which they take the sheets
to be printed. After each adjustment of the gripping devices the worm and worm-
wheel act to lock the toothed wheel 62 to the axle b so that said toothed wheel and
drum will revolve together as one piece.
In order to further facilitate the ready adjustment of the gripping devices into
the required position for sheets of any particular size, we prefer to arrange a dial
on the toothed wheel 62 and a pointer on the axle b, the said dial having figures or
other signs thereon, so that the proper position to which the gripping devices have
to be set in order that the machine will print, for the time being, the particular
size of sheet required, can be at once ascertained and readily effected by operating
the worm until the proper figure representing the size of the sheet in question
is brought into a position to coincide with the pointer.
It is not always necessary to mount both of the aforesaid gripping devices on
the drums B. For instance one of them may be arranged on the cylinder A in the
usual manner and one of the gripper-drums B may then be dispensed with. In
such case instead of varying the position of both of the gripping devices the
cylinder-gripper would be fixed, or be adjustable only within narrow limits, and
the drum-gripper would be adjustable within limits twice as wide as would be
necessary when both of the gripping devices were carried by the drums B.
According to a modification in the means employed for adjusting the gripper-
drums, the bearings of the latter can be mounted in arms extending radially from
the shaft of the cylinder A, such arms being capable of adjustment angularly on
said shaft. The gripper-drums B, by reason of their being in gear with the toothed
wheel of the cylinder A, would, in the act of shifting the said radial arms, be caused

page_text: to shift angularly on their axles in accordance with the extent to which the radial
arms were shifted, and therefore a device similar to that already described above
would be required for setting the grippers into the proper position relatively to the
laying-on boards after the gripper-drums had been adjusted. The said laving-on
boards would also require to be adjusted to suit the position into which the drums
were set.
In Figure 4 of the drawings we have shewn a further modification wherein the
gripper-drums B are not adapted to be adjusted angularly to alter the position of
their gripping devices for varying the time or point at which they take the sheets,
a similar result being attained by providing the tapes a¹ a² with devices for increas-
ing their length of travel. For this purpose we provide a pair of rollers at each
side of the cylinder A, such rollers being mounted in a pivotal frame at which is
capable of being angularly adjusted on its pivot and of being locked in the required
position. The position of the rollers a relatively to the tapes can thus be varied
and the journey traversed by the tapes be increased or diminished in accordance
with the size of the sheets under treatment, the usual tension devices employed with
the tapes being likewise altered accordingly. Hence the sheets are caused to take
a longer or shorter path and reach the impression cylinder A later or earlier in its
rotation.
Although we have described the employment of drums for carrying the gripping
devices we may employ other suitable means for this purpose, as will be readily
understood. And it will be obvious to all persons acquainted with printing
machines that other modifications in details may be made without departing from
the essential feature of our invention.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what
we claim is:---
1. A printing machine of the type hereinbefore referred to, provided with means
for enabling it to be quickly adjusted to print sheets of any size up to the largest
for which it is designed.
2. The combination with the impression cylinder, of a pair of gripper-drums
geared therewith and of means for angularly adjusting the position of the gripper-
drums substantially as described with reference to Figures 1 to 3 of the drawings
and for the purpose specified.
3. The combination with the tapes that conduct the sheets to the impression
cylinder, of means whereby the said tapes can be so adjusted that the sheets are
compelled to take a longer or shorter path in accordance with their size substan-
tially as described with reference to Figure 4 of the drawings and for the purpose
specified.
Dated this 21st day of December 1898.
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C.,
Agents for the Applicants.