IMPROVE- MENTS IN PRINTING AND OTHER PRESSES
Year: 1859

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Edgar Andrew Porteus, of 18, Warwick Square,
Paternoster Row, Engraver and Printer, and William Henry Burke, of
79, Cannon Street, West Manufacturer, for the Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN PRINTING AND OTHER PRESSES."
Sealed the 13th October 1859, and dated the 29th April 1859.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Edgar Andrew Porteus and
William Henry Burke at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents with
their Petition, on the 29th April 1859.
We, EDGAR ANDREW PORTEUS, of 18, Warwick Square, Paternoster Row,
Engraver and Printer, and WILLIAM HENRY BURKE, of 79, Cannon Street
West, Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of the Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN PRINTING AND OTHER PRESSES," to be as follows:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in printing and other presses.
For these purposes in constructing a printing or other press motion is com-
municated to the platten or moveable part of the press in the following
manner: An axis, with a lever, handle, or other instrument for giving a
partial rotation thereto, is used, on which axis there is a boss or projection,
against which, and in suitable notches or recesses formed at opposite parts of
its periphery, two of the edges of two rectangular plates press; the other edge
of one of these plates is received into a notch or recess in the platten or other
moveable part of the press, and the other edge of the other rectangular plate

page_text: is received in a notch or recess in a crosshead or other resisting part of the
press. It is preferred that the two edges of each plate should be formed into
knife-like edges, and that they should be received into corresponding notches
or recesses, but this may be varied. By this arrangement the platten or
moveable part of a press will be acted on very powerfully by the lever or other
means used for causing the axis to rotate partly round in consequence of the
two plates being thereby brought more nearly into the same place. When
making a lithographic press, we employ a friction roller under each of the
axes or necks of the cylinder or roller, over which the carriage of the press
moves, and in order to ensure greater accuracy in the movement of the platten
of a printing or other press, we prefer to apply apparatus such as above
described at both ends of the platten, and whether such apparatus or other
means be employed at both ends for giving motion to a platten, we apply V or
angular guides to the two ends of the platten and a bar in the centre thereof,
which moves and is guided through a suitable passage in the crosshead or
other part of the press.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Edgar Andrew Porteus and William Henry Burke in the
Great Seal Patent Office on the 29th October 1859.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, EDGAR
ANDREW PORTEUS, of 18, Warwick Square, Paternoster Row, Engraver and
Printer, and WILLIAN HENRY BURKE, of 79, Cannon St. West, Manufacturer,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-ninth day of April, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine, in the twenty-second year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto us, the
said Edgar Andrew Porteus and William Henry Burke, Her special licence
that we, the said Edgar Andrew Porteus and William Henry Burke, our
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as we, the said Edgar
Andrew Porteus and William Henry Burke, our 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 AND OTHER PRESSES," upon the condition

page_text: (amongst others) that we, the said Edgar Andrew Porteus and William
Henry Burke, our executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing
under our or their hands and seals, or under the hand and seal of one of us
or them, 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 immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that we, the said Edgar Andrew Porteus and William
Henry Burke, 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 :-
This Invention has for its object improvements in printing and other presses.
For these purposes in constructing a printing or other press motion is com-
municated to the platten or moveable part of the press in the following
manner: An axis, with a lever handle or other instrument for giving a partial
rotation thereto, is used, on which axis there is a boss or projection against
which and in suitable notches or recesses formed at opposite parts of its
periphery, two of the edges of two rectangular plates press, the other edge of
one of these plates is received into a notch or recess in the platten or other
moveable part of the press, and the other edge of the other rectangular plate
is received in a notch or recess in a crosshead or other resisting part of the
press. It is preferred that the two edges of each plate should be formed into
knife-like edges, and that they should be received into corresponding notches
or recesses, but this may be varied. By this arrangement the platten or
moveable part of a press will be acted on very powerfully by the lever or other
means used for causing the axis to rotate partly round in consequence of the
two plates being thereby brought more nearly into the same plane. When
making a lithographic press we employ a friction roller under each of the axes
or necks of the cylinder or roller over which the carriage of the press moves;
and in order to ensure greater accuracy in the movement of the platten of a
printing or other press, we prefer to apply apparatus such as above described
at both ends of the platten, and whether such apparatus or other means be
employed at both ends for giving motion to a platten we apply V or angular
guides to the two ends of the platten, and a bar in the centre thereof, which
moves and is guided through a suitable passage in the crosshead or other part
of the
press.
And in order that our Invention may be most fully understood and readily
carried into effect, we will proceed to describe the Drawings hereunto

page_text: Figure 1 is a side view, and Figure 2 an end view, partly in section, of a
letter press, constructed according to our Invention. a is the framing of the
machine; is the platten (shewn separately at Figure 5), at the two ends of
which are V-shaped projections 1, which work in V-grooves in the pieces a²,
bolted to the framing a. On the top of the platten there is a forked pro-
jection c, on the top of which there is a square bar c¹, which works through a
suitable hole in the crosshead a². Around the square bar c¹ there is a spiral
spring, which constantly tends to keep the platten 6 in its highest position. d
is the carriage of the press, which is supported by and slides in grooves in the
projecting bars e, e; this carriage is moved backwards and forwards by means
of the roller f in the ordinary manner; g is an axis, which is capable of rising
or falling between the guides a³, bolted to the framing a; at one end of this
axis there is a lever handle h, and near each end of the axis there are two
notched projections g¹ (as is shewn on an enlarged scale at Figure 6); each
of these notched projections works in one end of a rectangular bar i, the other
ends of these bars are formed with V-shaped edges, and these ends of two of
the bars i work in notches in the platten b, and the ends of the other two bars
work in notches in the framing a. The V-shaped ends of the bars i are
prevented from moving sideways by pins k, k, on the platten and on the
framing. By these means when the lever handle h is depressed, the rotation
of the axis g will tend to bring the bars e into the same plane, and will thus
powerfully force down the platten b. The lever handle h is prevented from
moving too far either way by the stops 1, 1.
Figure 3 shows a side view, and Figure 4 an end view, of a lithographic
press. a is the framing; is the moveable carriage; c is the cylinder or
roller over which the carriage b works. The axes at each end of the roller o
are capable of rising and falling between the guides d, and rest on friction
rollers e, e; these rollers are carried by the sliding boxes f, which are capable
of sliding up and down in guides in the framing. g is an axis, which gives
motion to bars i, i, as in the machine above described. The V-formed ends of
two of the bars i work in notches in the under sides of the sliding boxes f, the
V-formed ends of the other two bars i rest in the notches a' in the framing,
and are held in position by the pins k, k. By this means when the end of the
carriage is moved forwards so that its end is between the roller c and the
scraper m, and the lever handle h is depressed, the roller c is forced powerfully
upwards, and the lithographic plate or stone is pressed between the roller c
and the scraper, and the carriage is drawn through the press by turning the

page_text: handle c' on the axis of the roller c. The lever handle h is then raised, and
the carriage b is moved back. The scraper m can be raised or lowered so as
to adjust the amount of pressure to which the carriage is subjected by the
screw m¹ screwing through the crosshead a².
Having thus described the nature of our Invention, and the manner of
performing the same, we would have it understood that we lay no claim to any
of the mechanical parts separately, and that although we have only shewn two
descriptions of presses, the moveable part of other descriptions of presses may
be actuated in a similar manner to that above described.
In witness whereof, we, the said Edgar Andrew Porteus and William
Henry Burke, have hereunto set our hands and seals, this Twenty-
ninth day of October, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight
hundred and fifty-nine:
EDGAR ANDREW PORTEUS. (L.S.)
WILLIAM HENRY BURKE.
(L.S.)
EDGAR ANDREW PORTEUS. (L.S.)
WILLIAM HENRY BURKE. (L.S.)