Improvements in Means and Apparatus for Copying Documents and the like.
Year: 1888

page_text: Improvements in Means and Apparatus for Copying Documents and
the like.
I WILLIAM HARKINS of 1007 Opera House Block Chicago, County of Cook, State
of Illinois, United States of America, Instructor 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, reference being made to
the accompanying drawings in which :-
Fig. 1 is a top view of the frame A with the stencil paper B cut away to show
the stencilling fabric C beneath and the latter also cut away to show the ruled
board C.
>
Fig. 2 is a sectional view of frame A midway of the ends showing the same.
materials.
Fig. 3 is a top view of the frame A when ready for printing with the material B
as in Fig. 1 after becoming a stencil with the addition of an ink pad L above it the
stencil B being cut away to show the paper to be printed on P.
Fig. 4 shows the same material B C and C arranged on a typewriter platen.
Fig. 5 is a side view of the frame A shown at an angle with the printing board or
base K.
Fig. 6. is a section of the stencil paper B showing the borders B¹ B₁.
Fig. 7 is a view of the rubber tubing fused to hold the material C in place while
stretching it in the frame A.
Fig. 8 is an enlarged sectional detail showing the rubber tube f. in the groove of the
holder before it is compressed by the tongue of the binder.
Similar letters refer to similar parts throughout the several views.
The first part of my invention relates to the making of a stencil by a stylus held in
the hand and duplicating the handwriting in printers ink.
The second part of my invention relates to the making of such a stencil by using
the same materials in a typewriter the type of the typewriter acting as the aforesaid
stylus and duplicating the writing as beforesaid.
These results I secure as follows: I take porous paper of even and firm texture
such as Japanese paper coat it with paraffine or a mixture of paraffine and tallow on one
or both sides, in the case of the type writer especially I use a border of non porous
paper to prevent leakage of printing ink through the creases made in folding the
borders over to insert it in the type writer, the centre of porous paper being of the

page_text: are held
width of the ordinary typewriting. In such case the boarders and centre ar
together by the coating given them together.
In the drawings, the coating paper or stencil material is lettered B and the
border B¹.
To copy handwriting I place the stencil material B and a stencilling material C
together in the frame A, the stencilling material C under the material B.
The frame A is made of three parts the under piece or holder D the middle piece or
binder E and the upper piece or stretcher F each piece being formed of four sides,
so that all parts fit together. The holder D is made with grooves d d on its
upper surface into which tongues e e of the binder E work, the holder and
binder E being hooked together when needed, by the hooks h h.
The stretcher F is made of wood or metal with an inner flange G which projects
downwards and when in place to or beyond the lower surface of the holder D.
Through g g perforations of the stretcher F, pass binding screws H which screw into
the plates a a inserted in the binder E while on the upper surface of F are metallic
plates b. Between the binder E, and grooves d d are the loose unattached rubber
tubes ff. Fastened to D are the hinge plates c c. K is the base board to which the
frame A is hinged, being a flat board having at one end the hinge plates kk these
latter being perforated by the elongated slots i i for the insertion of the studs which
are fixed in the hinge plates c c as the pintle of the hinge.
In placing the above mentioned material in the frame A I remove the two upper
parts F and E place the stencilling material C (of sufficient size to extend from side
to side) upon the holder D and to hold it fairly stretched and in place during
the subsequent operation press it into the grooves d d of the holder D by inserting
above it the rubber tubes ff. Over this stencilling material C is laid the stencil
sheet Band upon this latter the binder E is then laid and hooked down to the holder D
the tongues of the binder compressing the rubber tubing, and holding the materials B
and C, firmly but not too tightly, the tongues e e fitting the grooves d d loosely in
order to permit this effect.
The stretcher F is then put in place over the binder E and the screws H turned
down. Their heads work against. the plates bb and their threads in the screw
plates a a bring the binder and stretcher together thus forcing the flange G down-
wards to secure any desired tension to the material to be stretched. In practice
the stretcher and binder may be always kept connected but free to be separated a
short distance in order that the stretcher may be adjusted as described in stretching the
paper.
I elect sometimes also to make the binder and stretcher of a single piece dispensing
with the binding screws H and their accompaniments.
The stencilling material I employ is a woven fabric more or less flexible to conform
to various surfaces, preferably silk bolting cloth of suitable mesh, and the writing is
done in the case of handwriting with a stylus. The latter by pressing the material C
upon the stencil paper B removes the coating from the surfaces of said stencil paper
along the lines of writing and minutely perforates it above the meshes thus making a
stencil. I also use Emery cloth or paper as a stencilling material with an approxi-
mately similar effect.
The material C is placed beneath the fabric C the former being oiled paper,
ruled before oiling the ruling serving as a guide when seen through the materials
above it, both said stencil paper and bolting cloth, which forms the stencil material C
being partly transparent. But any other hard surface as a zinc plate may be used
instead of C.
To copy typewriting, the same materials above mentioned namely the oiled sheet C!
stencilling material C, stencil paper B, are placed upon the platen of the typewriter in
the order of their mention, the oiled backing C₁ being next the platen, and the
material B being next the printing type O. These last act as the stylus in the case of
handwritten stencils. When the typewriter has a hard platen the backing sheet C¹
may be omitted.
"To prevent the clogging of the type in long work and secure proper stencilling

page_text: when the paraffine coating is on both surfaces of the stencil paper B I employ
also a ribbon N made of the same stencilling material as C and located in the usual
position of the inking ribbon of a typewriter, but I elect to dispense with this ribbon
if unnecessary.
Or on the other hand when it is not necessary to use the stencilling material on
both sides of the stencil sheet it may be used only on the side toward the type and
in that case I can use for that purpose the stencilling ribbon alone in the position
described.
After making the stencil I remove the material C and restore B in the frame
as before adding above it an ink pad and stencil protector made of porous paper L
as shown in Fig. 3. This ink pad when well inked enables a number of copies
to be taken without reinking and secures more uniform printing as well as protects
the stencil.
In printing the paper to be printed P is laid upon the base board K and the frame A
hinged to it is brought down upon the paper P, a printer's roller is carefully and
evenly rolled over the ink pad over which the printer's ink has been evenly distributed
and the pressure of the roller forces the ink through the stencil thus duplicating it
on the paper, an operation which may be repeated many times, and as both handwriting
and typewriting copy employ the same material the same stencil may contain both
kinds of writing.
If desired to print these in inks of different colours it is only necessary to properly
distribute the inks on the ink pad.
The use of porous paper for the stencil renders the lines perfectly continuous avoiding
the usual dotted apperance of stencilled lines.
The construction of my frame A having the stretcher provided with the flange G
which passes down inside the frame D to or below the lower surface of the frame D
enables me to print anywhere in the length of the sheet of paper P since it may be
passed freely under the entire frame A.
The spring hinge plates K, K, may be sprung aside to disengage the studs
of the plates cc and therein the frame A may be detached from the base K.
To copy an electrotype of printed matter I use an electrotype instead of a stylus or
typewriter type and by screwing the electrotype down in a press, press the
face down firmly upon the stencil paper under which is placed the stencilling
material C.
I do not claim the use of emery paper as a stencilling material nor do 1
claim broadly the stencil paper B nor the use of a frame A for stretching paper, but
having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is,
1. In combination with the hard platen of a typewriter a stencil sheet B
and a stencilling fabric backed by such hard platen substantially as set forth.
2. In combination with a hard platen of a typewriter, a stencil sheet B a stencilling
fabric . a hard backing C", said sheet, fabric and backing being backed by the platen
substantially as set forth.
3. In combination with a hard platen of a typewriter and its printing type a
stencil ribbon in the usual position of the inking ribbon and consisting of
stencilling fabric C and the stencil sheet B backed by the platen substantially as
set forth.
4. In combination with the platen and the printing type of a type writer a stencil
ribbon in the usual position of the inking ribbon and consisting of stencil fabric C the
stencil sheet B and a hard backing sheet C said stencil and backing sheets being backed
by the platen substantially as set forth.
5. In combination with a curved platen a sheet of stencilling material, which
is flexible to conform to the curvature of the platen substantially as set forth.
6. As a new article of manufacture a stencilling ribbon for a typewriter made of
stencilling material C substantially as set forth.

page_text: 7. As a new article of manufacture, a stencil sheet having a centre of porous
material and a border of material impermeable to ink the said centre and
border being united by a coating of paraffine or like material, substantially as set
forth.
8. In combination with the base K a copying frame hinged to said base and
comprising the holder D, and a frame located above said holder and having a flange
as G projecting down within the holder D as low as the lower surface of the latter
substantially as and for the purpose set forth.
9. In combination with the base K and the copying frame the hinges which unite
said base and frame comprising the laterally yielding springs parts K K secured
to the base and the plates C C secured to the frame one of said parts having
stud which operates as the pintle of the hinge and the other having an
aperture to receive the stud whereby the parts K may be sprung aside to
permit the frame to be detached from the base substantially as and for the purpose
a
set forth.
10. In combination with the base K, the frame A, comprising the holder D,
the binder E located above said holder and the stretcher F located above said
binder and having a flange G projecting down within said binder and holder
as far as the lower surface of the latter and the clamp screws H or equivalent
means to bind said frame holder and stretcher together substantially as set forth.
11. In combination with the frame A comprising means for stretching and holding
a stencil sheet, the stencil sheet B, the stencil material C and hard backing (as C
combined and adapted to be used substantially as described.
12. In combination with the stencil sheet and stencilling material. hereinabove
described a sheet of oiled paper board C¹ employed as a hard backing for the stencil
sheet for the purpose of producing the stencil, substantially as set forth.
13. The method of producing a stencil which consists in placing one upon the other
a sheet of stencil material B and a sheet of stencilling material Chercinabove
described and backing them by a hard platen and impressing by stylus or type the
outer one of said sheets whereby the material B is rendered permeable at the points
and lines of contact of the stencilling material therewith under the impressing type or
stylus substantially as described.
14. The method of producing a stencil which consists in first supporting a sheet of
stencil material B upon a hard back or platen laying upon it a sheet of the stencilling
material C hereinabove described and impressing by stylus or type the surface of such
stencilling material whereby the stencil material is rendered permeable at the points
and lines of contact of the stencilling material therewith under the impressing type or
stylus substantially as described.
15. In a printing frame, in combination with a frame having grooves d, rubber
tubes adapted to be pressed into said grooves for the purpose of yieldingly stretching
and binding the paper therein substantially as set forth.
16. In a copying machine in combination with a frame having grooves d and a
frame fitting over the first frame having tongues adapted to enter said grooves, the
rubber tube F unattached to either of said frames and adapted to enter said grooves
and pressed thereinto by the tongues substantially as set forth.
17. In combination with a paper stencil a porous pad, permeable to printer's ink
interposed between the stencil and the ink applying roller or equivalent device in the
process of printing from the stencil substantially as set forth.
TL: 15th dove of Luno 1888