IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF AUTOMATIC "REGISTERING APPARATUS TO BE APPLIED TO LITHOGRAPHIC AND OTHER PRINTING MACHINES
Year: 1883

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by John Mearns at the Office of the
Commissioners of Patents on the 14th June 1883.
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JOHN MEARNS of Salford in the County of Lancaster. "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
CONSTRUCTION OF AUTOMATIC "REGISTERING APPARATUS TO BE APPLIED TO
LITHOGRAPHIC AND OTHER PRINTING MACHINES
"
This invention consists of an automatic registering apparatus to be applied to
lithographic and other printing machines for printing in colors whereby an unskilled
person can be able to feed the sheets of paper to the machine. and the same will
be registered as accurately as can be effected by a skilled operative, or even more
accurately.
In gear with the loose toothed wheel on the end of the cylinder of the machine
I mount a toothed pinion through the centre of the boss of which is chased or cut
a left handed screw thread whereby the said pinion forms a screwed nut through
the centre of which works a similarly screwed rod, the said rod being prevented
from turning by its end being squared and fitted in a square hole in a short arm,
the other end of the said arm being attached to a long rod sliding in bearings and
mounted parallel with the axis of the toothed pinion so that as the latter is turned
forward or backward by the motion of the loose spur wheel the sliding rod is
moved to and fro in its bearings which latter are fixed at the back of the "feeding
board"
One of the gauges (which I will call the "feeding gauge ") is fixed to this long
rod and projects through a slot in the "feeding board." The other end of the long
aliding rod passes through a tube on which the other gauge (which I will call the
"registering gauge") slides. This tube is placed between two of the bearings of
the sliding rod, and has at the end next the "feeding gange a projecting collar.
At the other end is a coiled spring which has a constant tendency to force the tube
against the central bearing in the direction of the "feeding gauge
"
19
This bearing is provided with a catch which holds against the collar above
named when in gear, but can be raised out of gear by means of a slotted bracket
fixed to the sliding rod and working against an inclined plane formed on the catch.
The action is as follows. The attendant slips the paper down over the feeding
Price 271

page_text: board between the two gauges. The action of the spur pinion upon the left handed
screw causes the sliding rod to advance and the "feeding gauge moves the paper
sideways to the "registering gauge." When the edge of the paper reaches this
gauge a shoulder on the sliding rod comes against the end of the tube and carries
it with it a short distance, both gauges touching the edges of the paper and the
coiled spring giving way.
The reverse action of the loose spur wheel now causes the rod to recede and both
gauges and 1 paper recede with it until the collar on the end of the tube comes
against the central bearing which point is the exact "register" for the printing.
The sliding rod still receding allows the catch to fall down and lock the
*register gauge" and at the instant whilst the paper is accurately "registered"
and quite stationary the "gripper" seizes the paper and conveys it to the cylinder
to be printed.
The attendant then slips another paper down the feeding board between the two
gauges and the operation proceeds as before.
The great advantages of this automatic feeding are that no particular care is
required in feeding the sheets and the sheet is accurately "registered" and in a
state of rest when the "gripper" seizes it, the "register" therefore is absolutely
correct at all times and skilled labor is not required for feeding in the sheets.