CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN CYLINDRICAL PRINTING MACHINERY FOR PRINTING CALICOES AND OTHER FABRICS, AND IN THE APPARATUS CONNECTED THEREWITH, WHICH IS ALSO APPLICABLE TO OTHER USEFUL PURPOSES
Year: 1841

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, GEORGE
BENT OLLIVANT and ADAM HOWARD, of Manchester, in the County of Lancaster,
Millwrights, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at
Westminster, the Fifth day of June, One thousand eight hundred and
forty-one, in the fourth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and
successors, give and grant unto us, the said George Bent Ollivant and
Adam Howard, Her especial license, full power, sole privilege and autho-
rity, that we, the said George Bent Ollivant and Adam Howard, our
exors, admors, and assigns, and such others as we, the said George Bent
Ollivant and Adam Howard, our exors, adñiors, and assigns, should at any
time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times during
the term of years therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use,
exercise, and vend, within England and Wales, and the Town of Berwick-
upon-Tweed, our Invention for. "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN CYLINDRICAL
PRINTING MACHINERY FOR PRINTING CALICOES AND OTHER FABRICS, AND IN THE
APPARATUS CONNECTED THEREWITH, WHICH IS ALSO APPLICABLE TO OTHER USEFUL
PURPOSES;" in which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso, that we,
the said George Bent Ollivant and Adam Howard, shall cause a particular

page_text: description of the nature of our said Invention, and in what manner the same is
to be performed, to be enrolled in Her Majesty's High Court of Chancery
within six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said in
part recited Letters Patent, as in and by the same, reference being thereunto
had, will more fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW, that in compliance with the said proviso, we, George
Bent Ollivant and Adam Howard, do hereby declare that the nature of our
Invention is an improved contraction of a cylinder printing machine and
gearing, with drying framing to dry two printed pieces at one time, by which
improvements, combining simplicity of construction, we effect an important
saving in labour and economization of steam power, the operation of which is
described in the following Specification, having reference to the annexed
Drawings contained in two Sheets. The scale to which the accompanying
Drawings are made is marked thereon, and the same figures or letters of
reference indicate the same parts throughout the Drawings.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figure 1, Sheet 1, is a front elevation of a four-colour printing machine and
the gearing. Figure 2 is an inside elevation of the machine or of Figure 1
cut through the middle at line X. Figure 3 is an end elevation. Figure 4
is a plan of the gearing. Figure 5, Sheet 2, is a sectional elevation of the
machine, shewing the drying frame. We shall commence with illustrating
Figure 2, in which A represents four bowls in a perpendicular line over each
other, these bowls are set up to the copper rollers or cyliders B by means of a
screw and wedge motion C, which puts the nip or pinch on the copper rollers or
cylinders simultaneously by the turning round of the fly wheel D, as described
hereafter; E represents an eccentric motion which we use for putting the nip
on and taking it off the copper rollers separately, as shewn hereafter; F repre-
sent the maundrills; G, the furnishing roller in the color box H; I, the lint
doctor; K, the cleaning doctor; and L, the cleaning doctor weights. In
Figure 1, M represents a cranked shaft which traverses all the doctors
together; N is a bar which we employ to pitch our copper rollers, as herein-
after described; O are worms working into the worm wheels P, which we
employ to drive our maundrils; Q are upright shafts driven from the gearing
by bevil wheels R. In this elevation, Figure 1, is shewn the position and
arrangement of our printing cylinders and bowls, and also the method we adopt;
by driving them from both sides of the machine by two upright shafts and two pair
of bevil wheels from the same gearing, and by using a catch box at the bottom

page_text: of each upright shaft, we can disengage each set of copper rollers separately,
by which contrivances we are enabled to print two pieces at one and the same
time by the same gearing. We can drive one, two, or more maundrils from.
each side of the machine as may be required. Now, in printing one piece of
cloth only one pair of bevil wheels are necessary, as the maundrils are all driven
from one side of the machine by one upright right as shewn in the section,
Figure 6. We have to observe that we do not confine ourselves to the
number of colours, as we can print any number; in printing one piece of cluth
we only use one blanket, shewn by the yellow line in Figure 2, but in printing
two pieces at the same time two blankets are necessary, shewn in the sectional
elevation of the drying framing in Sheet 2, Figure 5.
We shall now describe the improved parts and the manner of their
operation. Figure 2,-the screw and wedge motion C is worked by the large
fly wheel D, which when moved, turns the worm shaft a and gives motion to
the worm wheel b, which is chased out to receive the screw c. Now, when the
wheel b revolves, it rises the screw c, which bring the wedges & along with it;
consequently, by reversing the motion of the fly wheel D, the nip or pinch can
be taken off the copper rollers simultaneously, or put on at pleasure. The
eccentric motion E is worked by a shaft d running across the machine through
each opposite lever e. Now, by turning this shaft d half a revolution, it brings
each bowl back separately from each copper roller as required. In Figure 2,
e, e, e, e, e, e, e, e, represent eight levers, and f, f, f, f, four screws, by the
combination of which we can work either all or part lever nips, or all or part
screw nips, for to suit surfaces as may be required. In working screw nips, we
use studs, which are placed in the levers at letter g, in order to take the
action off the levers and put it on the screws, Figure 1. Instead of using a
screw at each side, in the ordinary way, for the fitting in of the pattern, we only
use one screw at one side of the machine, which screw h is connected. with a
slide i fitted tight into a groovej in the maundril end by the screw moving the
slide i; we fit in the pattern endways, as shewn in Figure 1 and in the section,
Figure 10. A further improvement in the fitting is in our box wheel'; in
place of working a box wheel of the ordinary description, we use a bush k,
which is bored to fit on the maundril end, which bush k has a spirill placed on
its periphery, and is made to fit into the eye of the maundril wheel P by means
of the wheel being chased out; this wheel having a loose pap screwed on one
end, with a hollow screw n working through it, enables us, by setting this
screw against the maundril end or from it, to get a rotary motion in the
maundril either way, as may be required by the printer. Now, in order to

page_text: secure the wheel on the wheel on the maundril end, we work a screw O, which
moves through the hollow screw N and sets into the maundril end, with a
shoulder upon it working against the bush end, as seen in the section of the
maundril end, Figure 1; by which combined improvements we-save much time
in the fitting in. Another improvement is the application of a bar, which we call
a pitch bar, to the copper rollers for the purpose of pitching them, represented
by N, Figure 1; it is attached to a shaft p, and is brought down vertically over
the rollers immediately they have done printing, being in the machine for the
first time and pitched to a centre point on the bar, thus saving the trouble and
delay of pitching them in the ordinary way on the blanket every time they are
changed; by this our contrivance, a set of copper rollers, when once pitched,
can be put into the machine and set to work immediately, an important saving
in time when rollers have to be changed often times in a day.
In Figure 3 is seen our self-acting motion for stretching the cloth, by which
we are able to put all the strain upon the cloth that it will bear. q is the roller,
sitting upon a full roll of cloth r; s is an arm by which the roller is suspended;
t is the arm shaft, with a quadrant u keyed on the end of it; below is another
quandrant v, of small dimensions, which quandrants are connected together by a
chain w; on the small quandrant axle an arm is fitted, on which is a ball y,
made to rise and fall by means of a hoop z screwed upon the arm, which can
be screwed up and down at pleasure to accommodate the strength of the cloth.
It acts thus as the roll of cloth r diminishes, the roller 9 falls, and thus turns
the quadrant shaft below, and rises the ball y, which equalizes the weight upon
the roll of cloth in proportion to the reduction of its diameter.
Figure 4 is our gearing, which we shall now describe; it has four speeds,
which speeds can be increased to any number that may be required, and are
all relieving motions; a, a, is a shaft; b, b, a tappet rod; c', c', c', c', are four
spur wheels bored out to fit on the shaft; each wheel is cast hollow, with an
inclined plane cast in the eye, as shewn in the section, Figure 11; d', d', d³, d',
are four catches, which are worked through the recesses of the shaft a, a, by
the tappet rod b, b, into the wheels c', c', c', c', alternately, thus avoiding any
check upon the machinery; e, e, is a rack, which sits loose upon the tappet
rod b, b, in order that such tappet rod may revolve without turning the rack;
ff, is a pinion made to work in the rack, which pinion we reserve to turn by
any process we find convenient to suit the situation in which the gearing may
'be erected. We shall now state how it acts. The pinion f, f, being the
exact circumference of the distance between the centres of the wheels c, c,
by turning the pinion once round traverses the tappet rod b, b, out of one

page_text: wheel into the adjoining wheel of a larger diameter, and thus causes. a
variation of the motion, without any check whatever, and without rising
the doctors of the machine when working, which frequently occurs, and
occasions a good deal of spoiled work by the checks with the ordinary
gearing, and we can apply our gearing with advantage to all machinery
requiring a variation of motion.
Figure 6 is a section of worm shaft and wheels; Figure 7 is an end view
of the wedge box, with the wedges and blocks in; Figure 8 is a bird's eye
view of the wedge block; Figure 9 is a section of the wedge block;
Figure 10 is a section of the slide for fitting in endways; Figure 11 is a
section endways of the eye of the spur wheels; Figure. 12 is a section
sideways of the same.
We shall now state how the whole operates. The power is communicated
from the gearing to the upright shaft on which are the worms working into
the worm wheels which drive the maundrils and cylinders, and these again by
friction move the bowls. On the bowl end is a bevil wheel which works into
a pinion on the tap of an upright at the bottom, which is another pinion
working into an internal wheel, in whose centre rises the cranked shaft which
traverses the doctors. The doctors clean or take off the colour from the whole
surface of the cylinder, except the engraved pattern, and the cloth passing
between the cylinders and the bowls receives the impression.
We shall now describe our drying apparatus, referring to the Drawing in
Sheet 2, Figure 5. .A represents the bowls; B, the printing cylinders; g, g,
the first roll of cloth prepared for printing; and h, h, the second roll; the pieces
are seen going into the machine at X, and coming out printed at Z. To dis-
tinguish the piece from the top cylinders is coloured red, and the piece from the
bottom cylinders blue; they then follow the arrows, passing over and under the
steam chest i, i, and are then taken along the blue piece by the several conduct-
ing rollers k; and the red piece by the conducting rollers 1, over, under, and
between the steam chests m, m, and then drawn down by the drawing rollers
n, n, and deposited dried on the floor. This is the method we adopt for drying
two pieces, either by the ordinary flat steam chests or in a fire stove. Another
method for drying them is by ordinary revolving drying cylinders; instead of
running them in the direction of the arrows, we carry them direct through the
floor g, q, on to the drying cylinders 0, 0, passing from one over the other by the
several conducting rollers k and l, the blue piece by the rollers k, the red piece
by the rollers 1, and then each piece is drawn down by the drawing rollers n, n,
and deposited on the floor. Our cylinder framing is so constructed that we can

page_text: work it either horizontally, as seen in the cylinders o, o, or perpendicularly, as
seen in the cylinders p, p, to suit situation; and we do not confine ourselves
to the number of cylinders or steam chests. The pieces leave the blankets
coloured yellow when they come out of the machine, and the top blanket
travels by the conducting rollers r, r, over and under the steam chests 8, s,
back to the machine, and the bottom blanket by the rollers t, t, over and
under the steain chests u, u, back to the machine.
Having now described the improvements constituting our Invention, and
the manner in which the same is to be performed, we would have it under-
stood that we do not claim such well-known parts of the ordinary printing
machinery as we have made use of to illustrate our Drawings. and to shew
the operation of the improved parts, neither do we claim any well-known or
separate mechanical part. But we do claim such combinations or contrivances
as herein-after enumerated for effecting the various objects of our Invention,
viz. 1°. The perpendicular arrangement of the printing cylinders with separate
bowls; 2°. The driving of the printing cylinders by means of worms and worm
wheels; 3°. The driving and disengaging the printing cylinders separately from
both sides of the machine, by which we are enabled to print two pieces at the
same time. 4°. The various movements for putting on the nip or pinch of the
printing cylinders, and relieving the same, either simultaneously or separately,
together with the combination of the lever and screw nip. 5°. The pitch bar
and the two movements for fitting in the pattern by the horizontal and circular
movement of the printing cylinders on the maundrils. 6°. The differential
driving gearing as applied to printing and other machinery requiring a vari-
able driving speed. And lastly, we claim the printing and drying of two pieces
of cloth in the same plane, or one above the other, not only by the means and
arrangement already described, but by any modification of such means or
arrangement as may be required to suit the nature of the printing or work to
be performed. All which being heretofore explained and described, and never
having been practical to our knowledge and belief, we deliver this as a true
and faithful Specification of the same.
In witness whereof, we, the said George Bent Ollivant and Adam
Howard, have hereunto set our hands and seals, this Third day of
December, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and
forty-one.
GEO. BENT (L.S.) OLLIVANT.
ADAM (L.S.) HOWARD.

page_text: AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Third day of December, in
the year of our Lord 1841, the aforesaid George Bent Ollivant and Adam
Howard came before our said Lady the Queen in Her Chancery, and
acknowledged the Specification aforesaid, and all and every thing therein
contained and specified, in form above written. And also the Specification
aforesaid was stamped according to the tenor of the Statute made for that
purpose.
Inrolled the Fourth day of December, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and forty-one.