IMPROVEMENTS IN PRINTING PRESSES AND PRINTING MACHINES
Year: 1858

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to James Murdoch Napier, of York Road, Lambeth,
Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN PRINTING PRESSES AND
PRINTING MACHINES."
Sealed the 19th April 1859, and dated the 21st October 1858.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Murdoch Napier
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
21st October 1858.
I, JAMES MURDOCH NAPIER, of York Road, Lambeth, Engineer, do hereby
declare the nature of the Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN PRINTING PRESSES
AND PRINTING MACHINES," to be as follows:-
In the common hand press used for letter-press or raised surface printing,
I construct the frame of the hand press all in one casting, including the feet
upon which it stands, to raise it to a convenient level from the floor line. The
table upon which the type is placed is not so deep, nor is it ribbed up so
strongly as those usually employed, which sustain the whole of the pressuro
(when the impression is taken from the type) upon two bars which slide in
grooves in the bed or guide rails below, but it is provided with a number of
bearing strips in addition to the usual guide bars. These bearing strips are
correctly planed so as to rest upon opposing bearing strips upon the bed below

page_text: which are also planed true, and so arranged as to support the table against
the pressure more generally over its surface, the bed thus taking its usual strain
while the table being well supported by the bearing strips on the bed may be
made much lighter, and will at the same time present a more rigid surface.
I make the platen in one casting with the guides, which rise up from it for
steadyment against the top of the press frame, instead of the plan at present
adopted of bolting these guides to the platen. In some cases where a lighter
arrangement is desired, I guide the platen by wrought-iron bars attached to
the platen and rising up on each side of the head of the press frame, these bars,
as do also the cast-iron guides before mentioned, form the attachment through
which the platen is raised by means of a spring. The power for giving the
impression is applied by the workman upon the end of a lever. Part of the
frame supports the fulcrum of this lever, and by means of a connecting
rod stretching from the lever to the junction of a pair of knuckle joints,
motion is given to them, and by their action the platen is depressed, the
spring previously referred to raising the platen on their return action. The
lower end of the bottom limb of the knuckle joint is made to rest and and take
its bearing on the platen or on a proper bearing provided upon it, and I prefer
that that bearing be hollow, so as to retain the oil used for lubrication, the
end of the limb of the knuckle joint fitting freely into it. At the junction of
the two limbs of the joint, that is at the middle articulation, I employ what
may be termed a "middle piece," between the two limbs formed with a hollow
to receive the lower end of the upper limb which is convex, and also provided
with a convex portion to fit in the upper end of the lower limb, which is con-
cave, this "middle piece" so arranged, admits of very complete lubrication of
the parts, and is attached by a jointed connection to the connecting rod, which
in turn is similarly attached to the hand lever upon which the power is applied;
the upper end of the top limb of the knuckle joint is concave, and a convex
piece is provided for it to act on. This piece is bedded on its upper side,
which is flat against a wedge or inclined plane used to regulate the amount of
impression by means of an adjusting screw. The wedge takes its abutment
against the under side of the press frame head. When the wedge is moved by
means of the screw, the piece below it, and which furnishes a convex surface
for the upper end of the top limb of the knuckle joint to work in, is kept from
moving sideways, its ends being guided by the guide bars previously referred
to, which rise from the platen. In order to work the type table out and in, I
place upon the under side of the table a toothed rack, and provide a wheel to
gear with it mounted on a spindle, at the end of which is a crank handle to be
acted upon by the workman. I also apply the "middle piece" used at the

page_text: articulation of the knuckle joints as described above to platen printing
machines in which knuckle joints are used, and as the sheet of paper, when
laid upon the frisket in these machines, is often displaced and made to bulge
through the openings in the frisket by the current of air caused by closing the
tympan upon it, I cause the frisket to come to rest for the exchange of the
sheet over a surface which will support the sheet when subjected to the
pressure of the air referred to; this surface will remain stationary, the frisket
coming to rest immediately above it.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said James Murdoch Napier in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 21st April 1859.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JAMES
MURDOCK NAPIER, of York Road, Lambeth, Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Iler most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-first day of October, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight, in the twenty-second year
of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said James Murdoch Napier, Her special licence that 1, the said
James Murdoch Napier, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such
others as 1, the said James Murdoch Napier, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and
at all 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 PRINTING PRESSES AND PRINTING MACHINES," upon the
condition (amongst others) that I, the said James Murdoch Napier, 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-
formed, 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 James Murdoch Napier, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement thereof, that is to say:-

page_text: In the common hand press used for letter-press or raised surface printing,
I construct the frame of the hand press all in one casting, including the feet
upon which it stands, to raise it to a convenient level from the floor line.
The table upon which the type is placed is not so deep, nor is it ribbed up
so strongly as those usually employed, which sustain the whole of the pressure
(when the impression is taken from the type) upon two bars, which slide in
grooves in the bed or guide rails below, but it is provided with a number of
bearing strips in addition to the usual guide bars. These bearing strips are
correctly planed, so as to rest upon opposing bearing strips upon the bed
below, which are also planed true, and so arranged as to support the table
against the pressure more generally over its surface, the bed thus taking its
usual strain, while the table being well supported by the bearing strips on
the bed may be made much lighter, and will at the same time present a more
rigid surface. I make the platen in one casting with the guides, which rise
up from it for steadyment against the top of the press frame, instead of the
plan at presented adopted of bolting these guides to the platen. In some cases
where a lighter arrangement is desired, I guide the platen by wrought-iron
bars attached to the platen and rising up on each side of the head of the press
frame, these bars, as do also the cast-iron guides before mentioned, form the
attachment through which the platen is raised by means of a spring. The
power for giving the impression is applied by the workman upon the end of a
lever. Part of the frame supports the fulcrum of this lever, and by means of a
connecting rod stretching from the lever to the junction of a pair of knucklo
joints, motion is given to them, and by their action the platen is depressed, tho
spring previously referred to raising the platen on their return action. The
lower end of the bottom limb of the knuckle joint is made to rest and take its
bearing on the platen or on a proper bearing provided upon it, and I prefer
that that bearing be hollow so as to retain the oil used for lubrication, the end
of the limb of the knuckle joint fitting freely into it. At the junction of the
two limbs of the joint, that is at the middle articulation, I employ what may
be termed a "middle piece" between the two limbs formed with a hollow to
receive the lower end of the upper limb, which is convex, and also provided
with a convex portion to fit in the upper end of the lower limb, which is
concave; this "middle piece" so arranged, admits of very complete lubrication
of the parts, and is attached by a jointed connection to the connecting rod,
which in turn is similarly attached to the hand lever, upon which the power is
applied, the upper end of the top limb of the knuckle joint is concave, and a
convex piece is provided for it to act on, this piece is bedded on its upper side
which is flat against a wedge or inclined plane used to regulate the amount of

page_text: impression by means of an adjusting screw. The wedge takes its abutment
against the under side of the press frame head. When the wedge is moved
by means of the screw, the piece below it and which furnishes a convex surfaco
for the upper end of the top limb of the knuckle joint to work in, is kept
from moving sideways, its ends being guided by the guide bars previously
referred to, which rise from the platen. I also apply the "middle piece,"
used at the articulation of the knuckle joints, as described above, to platen
printing machines in which knuckle joints are used, and as the sheet of paper,
when laid upon the frisket in these machines, is often displaced and made to
bulge through the openings in the frisket by the current of air caused by
closing the tympan upon it, I cause the frisket to come to rest for the ex-
change of the sheet over a surface which will support the sheet when subjected
to the pressure of the air referred to, this surface will remain stationary, the
frisket coming to rest immediately above it.
:
And in order that my said Invention may be most fully understood, and
readily carried into effect, I will proceed to describe the Drawings hereunto
annexed.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figures Nos. 1, 2, and 3 are respectively a sectional elevation, an end
view, and a plan in section, representing my improved hand printing press. A
indicates the cast-iron frame; B is the bed part of the frame A, which is
provided with bearing strips a, accurately planed to support the type table C,
which has bearing strips on its under side to correspond with those on the bed
which supports it when the impression is taken. The bed B has also the
usual guide rails for the table C to slide upon, and these are prolonged by the
rail frame D which is fastened to the bed. After an impression is taken, the
table is withdrawn from its position on the bed in the usual way by a band
attached to the table, and passing round a drum or pulley E in connection
with the crank handle F upon which the man operates, and while the sheet is
being changed the table rests on the guide rail frame D. G represents the
platen, and b, b, are the guides which rise from it for steadyment against the top
of the press frame A; the two links c, c, attached to the top of the guides b, b,
and the tee bolt a form the connection by which the platen is raised by means of
the spring e. The power for giving the impression is applied by the workman
upon the end of the lever H which has its fulcrum on a part of the frame A
at f. The rod 9 connects the lever H with the knuckle joints I, so that when
the lever is in its outward position, or that position shewn in Figure 3, the
knuckles are found to occupy the position shewn in Figure 2, and the platen

page_text: would then be in its lowest position, or in the act of pressing the paper on the
type. When the lever II is thrown into the position shewn by the red lines,
the upper and lower limbs of the knuckle joint will stand at an angle to each
other, as shewn by the red lines in Figure 2, and the platen will then be in its
highest position, being raised and kept suspended by the power of the spring
e. The end of the lever II at the fulcrum is made double or forked, and the
connecting rod 9 passes between the forks, and works on a pin h, which is
passed through the forks of the lever; i is the abutment piece, in which the
lower end of the knuckle joint takes its bearing; j is a middle piece placed
between the two limbs of the knuckle joint. It is provided with a concave
part for the lower end of the upper limb of the knuckle joints to work in, and
also with a convex portion to work in the concave upper end of the lower limb of
the knuckle joint. This middle piece has an articulated connection with the
rod g at, which allows the rod g to vibrate upon the centre at k, and conform
to the motion given to it by the lever H without undue strain or twist. The
abutment piece m is furnished with a convex portion which fits into the upper
end of the top limb of the knuckle joint; n is the wedge against which this
abutment piece acts. The adjusting screw o is used to push forward or draw
back the wedge n, and so regulate the impression.
The manner of applying the middle piece above referred to, to platen
machines where knuckle joints are used to give the impression, is easily
explained without the aid of a Drawing. In these machines the rod which
connects the crank with the knuckles will at that end where it is attached to
the knuckles be made of the same shape as the middle piece above referred,
that is, it will be provided with a convex part to fit into the concave
portion of the upper end of the lower limb of the knuckle joint, and a concave
portion to receive the lower end of the upper limb of the knuckle joint.
Figure 4 illustrates my improved plan as applied to ordinary platen
machines for sustaining the sheet of paper, and preventing the current of air
caused by closing the tympan from making it bulge through the openings in
the frisket. M is the tympan; N, one of the inclined guide rails, and O, the
frisket frame of an ordinary platen machine. Across the guide rails which
are fixed I place a frame s, with a sheet of paper or other suitable material
stretched over it. As the frisket comes to rest for the changing of the sheet
over the paper or other material, which is stretched across from guide rail to
guide rail, the paper laid on the frisket is sustained, and the rush of air is pre-
vented from bulging it through the openings cut in the frisket.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention, and the manner of
performing the same, I would have it understood that I make no claim to

page_text: any of the mechanical parts separately; but what I claim is the constructing
and combining the parts in the manner herein explained.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Murdoch Napier, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Twenty-first day of April, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine.
Witness,
JNO. ALCOCK.
JAMES M. NAPIER. (L.s.)