IMPROVEMENTS IN PRESSES OR MACHINERY FOR EMBOSSING AND COLORING
Year: 1855

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Edward Field, of the firm of M'Glashan and Field,
of the Coal Yard, Drury Lane, Engineers, for the Invention of "IMPROVE-
Sealed the 19th February 1856, and dated the 21st August 1855.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Edward Field at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, ou the 21st August
1855.
I, EDWARD FIELD, of the firm of M'Glashan. and Field, of the Coal Yard,
Drury Lane, Engineers, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN PRESSES OR MACHINERY FOR EMBOSSING AND COLORING" to be
as follows:-
This Invention is an improvement on the embossing press, known as the
cameo" press, and has for its object the simplification of that machine, and a
consequent reduction of cost. It consists of a strong framing, in the upper
part of which is fitted a horizontal shaft, to which is keyed a fly wheel. Upon
the shaft are two cams, one of which depresses a heavy ram placed over a disc
of metal made to receive the engraved die. The other cam actuates a lever,
which gives an oscillating motion to a small frame fitted between the standards
of the machine; this moveable frame carries a series of rollers over an inking
table fixed beneath it: At one end of the inking table is a small trough to
holil a supply of printing ink or coloring matters; a portion of which is taken

page_text: up at every revolution of the machine by the roller nearest the trough, and
spread over the inking table; as the other rollers pass over the ink they take
up a thin coating of it, which is distributed over the plane portion of the die
as the rollers pass over it. The under surface of the ram is roughened, or
cut similar to the face of a rasp, so that a yielding substance will adhere
to it by pressure. Before stamping paper or other material, an impression in
relief or matrix of the die is obtained by placing a piece of leather, gutta
percha, or other yielding substance upon the die; the ram is caused to descend
by putting the fly wheel in motion, the pressure of which forces the leather or
other material into the "sunk" parts of the die, producing an impression
in relief. The leather adheres to the ram and forms a matrix, which forces
the paper or other substance to be embossed into the die. To each side of the
ram is fitted a strong spring, of vulcanised india-rubber or other elastic
material; these springs raise the ram when the pressure of the cam is removed.
The moment the ram is raised, the cam which actuates the inking rollers is
brought into action, and the surface of the die is coated with a film of the
coloring material. The machine may be put in motion by hand or power,
and made self-feeding as regards the paper or other material to be embossed.
I reserve a right to vary the details of my Invention, of which the above
is an outline.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Edward Field in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
21st February 1856.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, EDWARD
FIELD, of the firm of McGlashan and Field, of the Coal Yard, Drury Lane,
Engineers, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-first day of August, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-five, in the nineteenth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said Edward Field, Her special licence that I, the said Edward Field, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Edward
Field, 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 PRESSES OR

page_text: MACHINERY FOR EMBOSSING AND COLOURING," upon the condition (amongst others)
that I, the said Edward Field, my executors or administrators, by an instru-
ment 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 performed, and cause the same to be filed
in the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next and imme-
diately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Edward Field, do hereby declare the
nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:
My Invention of improvements in presses or machinery for embossing and
colouring has reference to the description of presses used for embossing or
striking in relief letters or designs upon paper or cardboard; for example, the
ornamental devices used in lieu of seals upoù envelopes, heads of letter paper,
labels, and other similar purposes, and known in trade as "cameo presses.
These designs are struck upon the paper or cardboard by means of an engraved
die fitted to a ram or plunger, which descends upon a "force" or matrix
placed beneath. In the ordinary presses of this kind now in use the paper to
be embossed is introduced by hand between the die and the force, and the die
is caused to descend by means of a screw or ball lever, the number of
impressions produced per hour by these means being very limited. One of the
objects of my Invention is for construction of a machine at one third the cost
of the self-acting machines now in use, capable of striking a far greater number
of impressions per hour, at the same time requiring less personal attention than
the ordinary hand embossing press, thus rendering it available for purposes to
which it has hitherto been inapplicable. The paper is supplied to the machine
herein-after described continuously by means of a series of endless bands
actuated by rollers. These bands carry the sheets of paper or envelopes
beneath the die, where they are checked or stopped for a moment by means of
a moveable table, in order to allow the die to descend and strike the impression.
If desirable, the ground or lower surface of the design may be colored of any
required tint. This is effected by means of a series of inking rollers, which are
made to pass over the surface of the die, and distribute the color thereon
every time the die is raised, to allow the envelope or sheet of paper to pass
between it and the "force."
In the Drawings forming part of this Specification the improved embossing
or cameo press is shown at Fig. 1 in front elevation; Fig. 2, in side view;
and Fig. 3, in plan. A, A, is the framing or standards of the machine; B, the
:

page_text: cam or drawing axle, to which is fitted a fast and loose pulley,. a fly wheel, and
eccentric for working the inking-roller frame. To the front of the standards
A, A, is bolted or otherwise attached, the guide C,, in which the compound
plunger D works. The die E may either be fitted in, the lower part of the
plunger. D, or, the design may be sunk in the steel face of the plunger. In
the upper part of the plunger is fitted an adjusting fork and nut carrying an
antifriction roller F. The plunger is caused to descend by the cam G, forged
in.one piece with the driving shaft B. From each side of the plunger D'a lug d'
projects; similar lugs c', c',. are also cast on the upper part of the guide. C.
Stout rings of vulcanized india-rubber or other suitable elastic material is passed
round these projecting parts, and by this means the plunger is raised, when the
impression bas, been struck. When the die is depressed by the, cam G,
the elastic ring is thereby distended, and upon, the pressure, on the plunger
being removed by the rotation of the cam, the contraction of the elastic
material lifts the plunger and die...In the lower part of the framing is fitted a
hollow piece.of. metal H, the height of which may be, adjusted. by means, of
screws h¹, h.. In the recess of the step or.socket His placed a piece of metal' I;
which serves as a support for. the "force".or matrix. This consists of a piece
of leather or other.. soft material, upon which an impression of the device is
formed in relief by causing the die to descend upon it. In order to obtain. a
sharp and well-defined impression upon the paper, a slight rise or incliné
is made on the cam G, as shewn at g. This. increases the pressure at the
moment when the die is at its lowest point, and forces the paper into the inter-
stices of the die. The distance of the force or matrix from the die is regulated
by the screws h¹, h", the former of which elevates or depresses the step or
socket H, the horizontal screw tending to hold it firmly in its place. It is
necessary to carefully adjust the height of the force or matrix. according
to the thickness of the paper or cardboard to be embossed. The sheets of
paper are carried beneath the die by endless bands of tape, somewhat similar
to those used in feeding printing machines. K, K, are two series of bands
which pass round the drums or rollers I, L, M, M, and thence to other
similar drums or rollers upon the opposite side of the machine. The sheets of
paper are supplied to the machine from a "bank" or inclined plane, as in
printing machinery; the sheets pass along the tapes, and when they arrive
beneath the die they are arrested for a moment by a moveable table N;" which
is caused to rise and fall by a cam, set in motion by pullies or other suitable
s'or
means connected with the driving shaft. The surface of the table N is studded
with points, and being caused to rise at the moment the die is descending, the
points project above the tapes, and the sheet of paper is stopped or held for an

page_text: instant while the impression is made; the revolution of the cam causes the
table N to descend, and the paper is released. The impressed sheets travel
onward, and are carried into a box placed for the purpose at the right hand, or
egress side of the machine. The colouring of the ground or lower portion of
the impression is effected by means of a series of rollers in connexion with an
inking apparatus. O is a cam, or eccentric, fitted on the main shaft, and
revolving in a strap, to the lower part of which is connected by means of a
ball and socket joint the lever P, which is jointed to the traversing frame Q.
In this frame are fitted a series of rollers R, one of which has a serpentine
motion, intended to distribute the ink or coloring matter over the surface of
the die. The ink is placed in the trough or duct S, in which a roller T
is caused to rotate by means of a catgut t¹, carried round a pulley fixed on its
axis, thence round the pullies t¹¹, t, and U; the latter being fixed on the
driving axle, of course imparts motion to the others. Adjoining the trough S
is an inverted inking table V. The roller T revolving, the edge of the trough
is coated with ink, a portion of which the rollers R take off as they pass under
the roller T. In their forward motion the rollers R rotate against the inking
table V, which spreads the ink evenly over their surface, so that when the
rollers pass under the die a thin uniform coating of coloring matter is distri-
buted thereon. The moment this is accomplished, the cams G and O begin
to act in contrary directions, the die is depressed by the cam G, and the inking
rollers are withdrawn by the cam O rising and elevating the lever P, by
which the inking rollers receive a fresh supply of coloring matter preparatory
to their forward traverse. The inking trough is fitted with a distributor or
scraper, the edge of which may be adjusted against the roller T by means
of a screw W, in order that the flow of ink may be regulated according to
the quantity required to be distributed over the die. The ink roller and
duct is cast in one piece, and is fitted so as to be readily removed for the
purpose of cleaning.
Having described the nature of my Invention, and the means of carrying
the same into practical effect, I wish it to be understood that I do not
confine myself to the precise arrangement of the details of the press herein
described and shown, as the same may be varied without departing from the
Invention. But what I claim, and desire to secure under the herein-before
in part recited Letters Patent, is,-
Firstly, the mechanical arrangement for supplying or feeding the press
with sheets of paper or other material to be impressed, and also the arrange-
ment for coloring or inking the die, as herein described, and shown by the
accompanying Drawings.

page_text: Secondly, the general arrangement and combination of the parts of the
embossing or cameo press, substantially as herein described, and shown by the
Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said Edward Field, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-first day of February, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-six.
Witness,
CHARLES BARLOW,
Patent Office, 89, Chancery Lane.
EDWARD FIELD. (L.B.)