IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR STAMPING OR MARKING LETTERS OR SIMILAR. ARTICLES
Year: 1861

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Archibald Kennedy Irvine at the
Office of the Commissioners of: Patents, with his Petition, on the 2nd
March 1861.
I, ARCHIBALD KENNEDY IRVINE, of Glasgow, in the County of Lanark,.
North Britain, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR STAMPING OR MARKING LETTERS OR SIMILAR.
ARTICLES," to be as follows, that is to say:->
This Invention has for object the contriving or arranging of apparatus for
stamping or marking letters or similar articles so as to obtain increased
rapidity and certainty of action. Parts of the apparatus may be repeated, so
that two or more streams of letters may be acted upon simultaneously, but in
a modification for a single stream of letters embodying the present improve-
ments, the letters are placed by the attendant upon a moveable platform or
endless cloth, the surface of which is by preference horizontal. This endless
cloth carries the letters gradually forward to the inner end by a movement
arranged to depend on the letters themselves in such a way that notwith-
standing they may be of very irregular thicknesses they will not be fed forward
either too quickly or too slowly. The letters rest in inclined positions, each
with one of its long edges upon and across the cloth. From this position each
letter is taken in turn by a lifter, of which there may be two or more, and
introduced between a pair of rollers, one of which carries the stamp duly inked
by suitable means. These rollers draw and pass the letter through them
stamping it in its passage. When there are two lifters their motions are

page_text: arranged, so that as one is taking up a letter and carrying it to the rollers the
other is returning to take up the next letter, so that no time may be lost, and
so that the action of lifting the several letters may be made as slow as possible
consistently with the other movements of the apparatus. Each lifter is formed
with a mouth-piece consisting of a perforated plate, from behind which the air
is drawn at the proper time through a tube, whilst the front is fitted with a
thin edging or lip of flexible or elastic material, such as caoutchouc. At the
moment the lifter is brought in contact with the letter the air is drawn in at
the mouth-piece, which causes the letter to adhere by atmospheric pressure.
The lifter then commences at first very slowly to move away the letter,
but with the lower edge by preference moving more quickly than the upper,
the motion gradually increases, and at the same time gradually assumes a
direction in the plane of the letter until the lower edge is projected between
the rollers. The sucking action is discontinued at this point or a little before
it, and the lifter being detached moves on, and in such a way as to be ready
to take up the next letter but one in due course. From between the rollers
each letter passes down a guide to a moving delivery cloth or platform, being
put forward by a rotating or reciprocating propeller, so that the succeeding
letter falls into its place behind, and the letters are gradually formed into a
.elosely arranged stream resting with their edges on the delivery cloth, and in the
best condition for being removed, and afterwards sorted or otherwise dealt with
by the attendant; one or both of the rollers are made with projecting flanges
of an elastic material, such as caoutchouc, which flanges are the parts that as
it were take hold of the letters, being at the same time capable of yielding
slightly when a letter of extra thickness comes between them.. Counting
mechanism may be applied to the apparatus, being by preference arranged to
be acted upon by the rollers, but only when a letter passes through the
.apparatus.