IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR PRINTING PIECE GOODS OR FABRICS
Year: 1854

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Edward Newton, of the Office for Patents,
66, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, for the
Invention of "IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR PRINTING PIECE GOODS OR FABRICS."
66, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, for the
Invention of "IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR PRINTING PIECE GOODS OR FABRICS."
-A communication.
Sealed the 30th June 1854, and dated the 5th April 1854.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Edward Newton,
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 5th April 1854.
I, WILLIAM EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane,
in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of
the said Invention for "IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR PRINTING PIECE GOODS OR
FABRICS" to be as follows:-
This Invention consists in the adaptation of a series of blocks to a table or
stationary platen, the blocks being moved out upon each side of the machine
to receive their color, and then carried back and depressed upon the goods,
which are fed forward over the surface of the table between each impression, a
distance equal to the width or length of the blocks. By this means, any
number of colors, according to the number of blocks used, may be simul-
taneously applied to the fabric, and by that means a very considerable economy
in labour and time will be effected.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Edward Newton in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 5th October 1854.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the County
of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Fifth day of April, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-four, in the seventeenth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said William Edward Newton, Her special licence that I, the said William
Edward Newton, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I,
the said William Edward Newton, 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 "IMPROVED
APPARATUS FOR PRINTING PIECE GOODS OR FABRICS," being a communication from
abroad, upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said William Edward
Newton, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, should par-
ticularly 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 I, the said William Edward Newton, 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, reference being had to the Drawings hereunto annexed,
and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say) :-
This Invention consists in the adaptation of a series of blocks to a table or
stationary platten, the blocks being moved out upon each side of the machine
to receive their color, and then carried back and depressed upon the goods,
which are fed forward over the surface of the table between each impression, a
distance equal to the width or length of the blocks. By this means, any
number of colors, according to the number of blocks, may be simultaneously
applied to the fabric; and by that means a very considerable economy in labor
and time will be effected.
I will now proceed to describe the principal parts of the machine and then

page_text: its general operation, setting forth, finally, those parts which I consider as new
and desire to claim.
Fig. 1 in the accompanying Drawings is a perspective view of the machine;
Fig. 2 is a transverse section of the same; Figures 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8, repre-
sent certain of the working parts detached, and will be hereafter more
particularly referred to.
The machine represented in the Drawings is arranged with three blocks,
but any other number may be employed, according to the number of colors to
be applied. A is the framework of the machine; B, the driving shaft. This
latter carries a pinion C, which gears into the cog wheel D upon the cam
shaft E. From this shaft all the operating parts of the machine derive their
motion. The goods or fabrics to be printed are fed through the machine,
and the pattern registered in the following manner :-F, F, are endless chains,
which carry the hooks a, upon which the fabric is to be stretched. These
chains are composed of links, which are united by hinges b, b, and receive an
intermittent motion through the machine. This motion is communicated to
them in the following manner :-G is a cog wheel upon the shaft H (Figures
1 and 2), and the teeth of this wheel gear with the teeth on the under side
of the chains F. In Fig. 6, I is a ratchet wheel, also attached to the shaft
H, and having two or more teeth c. K is a short drum, which runs loose
upon the shaft H in immediate contact with the ratchet wheel I. d is a
pawle attached to the drum k, and enters the teeth c of the ratchet wheel,
the spring serving to keep the pawle in contact with the wheel. It is
apparent, from the connections of the parts above explained, that when the
drum K is turned in one direction it will carry with it the shaft H and
the cog wheel G; when it is turned in the opposite direction, however,
the pawle d slips over the tooth c, and no motion of the shaft E results.
L is a cog wheel attached to the drum K, and revolving with it loosely
upon the shaft H. M is a vibrating arm pivoted at N, and having a toothed
segment a at one end, which engages with the cog wheel L. The other
end of the arm M is connected by means of the rod O to the lever P
(Figures 1 and 4), which is pivoted to the main frame of the machine at g,
and is vibrated up and down by the cam Q, upon the shaft E, a pin h on
the lever P, but not seen in the Drawing, being made to enter a groove i in
the face of the cam. Fig. 8 is a diagram of the throw of this cam. The arm M
is thus vibrated as the shaft E revolves, and the shaft H and cog wheel G
therefore receive an intermittent motion in one direction, by which means the
chains F, which carry the material to be printed, are fed intermittently through
the machine. The bed of the machine is so formed at its forward end (as

page_text: seen in Fig. 3) that the chains F are permitted to approach each other, and
at this point the fabric to be printed is caught upon the hooks a, and thus, as
the chains advance upon their diverging ways, it is stretched out smooth and
level preparatory to being printed, and as it is held rigidly and securely by the
chains, and is fed uniformly through the machine, an amount exactly corre-
sponding to the length to be printed at each impression, perfect register of the
pattern is obtained.
The machinery by which the blocks are operated will now be explained.
R, R, are the blocks which are secured to their plates S, and operated in the
following manner :-T are the block carriages, through holes in the four corners
of which pass the flat-headed pins m, which screw into the plates S, (Figures 1
and 2,) and thus the latter are suspended from their carriages T. n are springs
which embrace the pins m, and bear upon the under surface of their heads and
the top surface of the carriages, by the action of which, the plates S and the
blocks secured to them are kept constantly elevated, as seen in Fig. 1, when
they are not depressed by other means, as will be hereafter explained. The
tension of the springs n, and consequently the force with which the blocks are
held up to their carriages, is regulated and adjusted by screwing the pins m,
more or less, into the plates S. A pin p in the centre of the plate S is
screwed, and may be raised or lowered at pleasure. Motion is communicated
to the printing blocks in the following manner:-V (Figures 1 and 5) is a
crank upon the end of the shaft E, and having a pin working in a groove W
of the vibrating sector X. This sector is pivoted at the point Z, and receives
an intermittent vibratory motion as the crank arm V revolves, the groove W
being so formed, that after each vibration, and while the pin is passing
through the circular portion of the groove, the sector shall remain stationary.
The diagram, Fig. 7, will illustrate the motions of this sector. While the crank
pin is passing from 1 to 2, it moves in the straight portion a¹ of the groove W,
and the sector consequently moves with it; from 2 to 3, the pin runs in the
circular portion of the groove, the radius of which is equal to the distance of
the pin from its centre of motion, and the sector consequently remains at
rest; from 3 to 4, the pin runs in the straight portion of the curve, and
the sector moves with the pin in the opposite direction; from 4 to 1, the pin
lies in the opposite curved portion of the groove, and the sector remains
stationary upon the opposite side, until the pin reaches the point 1, when it
again commences to return as before. As the velocity of the pin is uniform,
and the sector performs its vibration in the one case while the pin is passing
from 3 to 4, and in the other while it is moving from 1 to 2, it is evident that
the sector will move with a velocity in the first instance double that which it

page_text: has in the other. The object of this difference of velocity imparted to the
blocks while running out and in is as follows:-There is a limit to the velocity
at which the blocks may be made to travel after they have received the color,
as, if moved too quickly, the color is thrown or disturbed on the surface of the
block, and the pattern is not printed uniform; it therefore becomes necessary
that their velocity should not exceed a certain rate; this necessity, however,
does not exist after the impression has been made, and the blocks may be
allowed to move out with double the velocity. The arc of the segment X is
furnished with cogs c', which engage with the cog wheel d¹ upon the shaft f¹,
and thus this shaft is made to revolve intermittently in one direction. A
toothed wheel g¹ upon the shaft f¹ engages with a similar wheel h¹ of equal
dimensions upon the shaft ¹, which is thus caused to move when the shaft f¹
moves, but in a contrary direction. The shafts f¹ and 2 carry cog wheels ki
(Figures 1 and 2), which engage with rack bars m¹ upon the carrying frames
of the blocks, by which means the latter are alternately run out to receive
the color and returned to give the impression to the fabric, the carriages
travelling in and out upon the ways n¹, which are secured to the framework
of the machine.
.
I will now describe the manner in which the color is put upon the blocks
preparatory to printing. A¹ is a cam upon the shaft E, and actuates the
arm B¹; this arm is pivotted to the framework at q behind, and is connected
by the rod D¹ to the lever C¹ below, and which is secured to the shaft F¹,
running longitudinally beneath the machine, the shaft being thus caused
to vibrate back and forth as the shaft E revolves. H' are the cases which
are caused to rise and transfer the color to the blocks when the latter are
run out for the purpose, as in Fig. 1. They are operated in the following
manner: From the centre and bottom of the case descends the shaft or
rod I, which slides freely up and down within the hollow standards K'.
G¹ are levers pivoted to the frame of the machine, one for each case, upon
the long arms of which levers rest the rods I', which support the cases H¹.
L' are cams upon the shaft F¹, and act against the short arms of the levers G'
as the shaft F vibrates, and thus the cases are caused to rise and transfer the
color to the face of the blocks. M¹ are the sieves, upon which the color is
distributed by the attendants between each impression. It is evident that
the ordinary roller sieves may be arranged to operate beneath the blocks
after they are run out, in place of the apparatus above described.
The next operation is the giving of the impression or the transferring of the
color from the blocks to the fabric.
N are short vertical followers, which slide freely up and down in the

page_text: transverse bars O¹, and are held up, when not otherwise depressed, by the
springs P¹. These followers are placed directly over the centre of the block
carriages, when the latter are drawn in for the purpose of giving the impres-
sion, and also immediately beneath the cam shaft E. Q₁are cams upon the
latter shaft, for the purpose of depressing the followers N¹ at the required
moment when the impression is to be made, the pressure being brought to
bear upon the adjusting stud p in the centre of the plates S (Figures 1 and 2),
thus depressing the blocks R against the action of the springs n down upon
the surface of the fabric, as already explained.
The operation of the machine is as follows:-
Starting with the parts in the position represented in Fig. 1. The machine
is set in motion by means of the winch handle, and the carpet or other fabric
to be printed is caught over the hooks a of the endless chains F, which are
immediately forced apart by the divergence of the ways upon which they
travel, and the goods are uniformly and evenly stretched preparatory to the
commencing of the printing operation, and remain so until it is completed;
the chain having moved on a distance equal to the length of one block will
then stop.
While this is taking place, the pin in the crank V is passing
through the curve 4 to 1 (Fig. 8) of the sector ✗; the blocks remain motion-
less over the cases H', and the latter are raised through the operation of the
cam A¹, and the parts actuated thereby in the manner already described. The
color is thus given to the blocks. Should the pressure be greater upon
the under surface of the latter than is necessary to impart the requisite
amount of color to them, they are allowed to yield, by rising slightly from the
ways n', which carry them. The pin of the crank V now enters the straight
portion a¹ of the cam groove W, and the blocks are carried in with their slow
motion, the pin passing through the arc 1 to 2 (Fig. 7). The cam shaft E
continuing to revolve, the cams Q¹ will force down the followers N¹, which in
turn bear upon the studs p at the centre of the plates S, to which the blocks
are secured, and the latter are thus depressed and the impression is made, the
pressure of the blocks upon the fabric being adjusted by raising or depressing
the screw studs p. An impression is thus made with all the blocks at once,
and the number of colors that may be simultaneously applied is only limited
by the number of blocks which the machine is calculated to operate. While
the impression is thus being made by all the blocks, the crank pin is passing
through the circular portion of the cam groove W through the arc 2 to 3
(Fig. 7), and the sector ✗ remains stationary. The cams Q¹ now pass off
the rollers upon the top of the followers N₁, and the latter are drawn up by
their springs P1; the blocks being thus relieved, are raised by the springs n,

page_text: and the crank pins entering the straight portions 61 of the groove W, the
sector is carried back, and the blocks are returned with their quick motion to
the position represented in Fig. 1, the crank pin passing through the arc 3 to 4.
While the pin is passing through the portion 4 to 1 of its circuit, the blocks
remain stationary and receive their color, and a new feed of the fabric takes
place; the blocks are then carried in and depressed as before, and thus the
operation continues; the material, having received each color in succession from
the appropriate block, passes out of the machine finished.
It will be perceived that a section of the fabric is printed with all its colors
at each depression of the block, and that as it is held rigidly by the endless
chains through the whole of the operation the register must be perfect.
Having now described the Invention that has been communicated to me as
aforesaid, I would observe that I do not mean or intend to confine myself
rigidly to the precise arrangement of parts herein-before described, as they
may, perhaps, be varied without departing from the nature and object of the
present improvements; but that which I claim as new in the present Inven-
tion, and therefore desire to secure under the above in part recited Letters
Patent, is,―
First, the combination of the series of blocks with the stationary cases or
their equivalents, and the endless chain register, operating in the manner
substantially as described, by which any number of colors may be simultaneously
applied, and a section of the figure be completed each time the blocks are
depressed.
Second, I claim the within-described method, or any mere modification
thereof, for holding and feeding the material to be printed by means of the
endless chain and hooks, by which the material is held rigidly until the
operation is completed, and thus perfect and unerring register is obtained.
Third, I claim the above-described method of connecting the blocks with
their carriages by means of the pins m and springs n; by which means, after
the impression has been made, and the blocks are relieved from pressure, they
are instantly ready to be carried out of the machine to receive their color, and
thus great celerity of action is ensured.
Fourth, I claim the method, substantially as herein described, of giving
motion to the blocks by means of the sector X, or its equivalent, whereby
they are moved in with a slow motion and out with a rapid motion, and
are caused to remain stationary at the two extremes of their traverse while
they receive their color, and also while the impression is being made.
Fifth, I claim the method, substantially herein described, of operating the

page_text: blocks upon horizontal ways by means of the cog wheels and rack bars, or their
equivalents, the color being applied to them at one extreme of their traverse
and the impression made at the other.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Edward Newton, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, the Fourth day of October, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-four.
Witness,
J. W. MOFFATT,
66, Chancery Lane.
W. E. NEWTON. (L.S.)