US10554A - Jambs foster - Google Patents

Description

uNirEn STATES PATENT @FFICE' JAMES FOSTER, JR., or GINCINNAT, oHIo, AssIGNoR To PLATT EvENs, JR.

'SEAL-PRESS.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 10,554, dated February 21, 1854.

To all whom t may concern.' p

Be it known that I, JAMES FOSTER, .I r., of Cincinnati, Hamilton county, Ohio, have invented an Improvement in Seal-Presses, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the annexed drawings.

In all the presses hitherto known and used for stamping letters, books, packages, oficial and legal documents, etc, the pressure has been made by either the screw or lever, and such presses' have been expensive and generally very heavy. Stamps have been used without a frame or bed-plate in which the stamp was either' brought down by a quick movement of the hand or when down was struck by a sudden blow from the hand. Presses for stamping metals have been made so that a blow from a hammer would by means of a die make the desired impression, but such could not be used for the purpose Aof my press, nor be possessed of the samey For instance,

and facility of using, specially adapting it to the use of notaries public when called out to take the acknowledgment of deeds, &c., as it can be carried in the pocket without any inconvenience, thereby saving time and trouble to themselves and others. Its lightness and its principles of construction and operation give it the two-fold merit and character of a press and paper weight. The pressure requisite to produce a clean and sharp impression upon paper with a die and counterdie in most seal presses of the lever and screw kind amounts to nearly one ton. The proper stability of fulcrum must of course be found for this great strain and of lnecessity such presses have been heavy and expensive, and their use has not extended beyond official and legal papers. The same amount of pressure is requisite in my press, but no such fulcrum is needed, and the great weight of the parts needed for its support are dispensed with. 'As I construct and use it, this powerful pressure is attained bya blow from the hand', upon which it reacts, and such a slight blow that it may be repeated with great frequency and a great number of times without pain or inconvenience to.

the hand or arm, while at the same time the form given to the press and its size and weight are such that it makes an excellent paper weightfor the desk or table, and this ycircumstance determines somewhat of its real value as a seal press, for itmust always be at hand and where it is most likely to be needed-viz., on the desk or table. The only very nice mechanical point to be attended t-o in my press is to insure an accurate and at the same time easy fit ofthe piston rod in its bearings or boxes and a bearing that will endure for a long time, which bearing may be made with a groove in a circular piston or by making the piston in a square, octagonal, oval, oblong, or any other form presenting surfaces and angles on its surface with corresponding angles or surfaces in the surrounding boxes or its equivalent to prevent a side shake, for in case of the use of a counter die, if the piston has any side shake, the die will soon be ruined. This Il provide for by using antifriction metal boxes, so that when once started with a good iit it will last a great length of time. Although antifriction boxes or bushings are very common, they have a special meaning and advantage in my press for in the lever and screw seal presses whatever wear takes vplace is in some particular direction and may be guarded against ,but in my press the blow being made in every possible directionAY the box or bushing must be of the most durable character, and to prevent any loss of power from the blow of the hand the fit of the piston must be such that it may have freedom of motion, while at the same time it is required to be very accurate. These conditions are best attained by antifriction boxes. I sometimes use the press without a counter die; but commonly with a counter die, and have `found that with a counter die the antifriction box is necessary, for without it no matter how good the lit may be the press will wear out and be ruined in a short time.

Prior to my invention the use of seal presses was exceedingly limited, but since my iirst attempt to procure Letters Patent for the same its great practical worth and economy have been fully recognized, business men and others finding it very ,economical for marking their papers, books, documents, envelops, etc.

Figure `1 is an outline 'drawing ofV the press. of full size. Fig. 3 is a horizontal cross section of the piston, showing the groove in the piston.

I make a metallic frame which is ordi narily cast of iron, having two arms B, C, and a base of the size and thickness represented. In these two arms are the antifriction boxes in which the piston D plays. This piston has a groove E cut on one side, which receives the projections F, from antifriction boxes, serving to keep the piston always in the right position for the matching of the die and counter die. Between the arms B and C there is a spiral spring Gr, operating to keep the piston up and to raise it after the blow has been struck. The die is usually attached to the piston by a screw. The counter die is represented by H on the base of the press. Upon the top of the piston is a knob I, which is of a rounded form suitable to be struck by the hand without inconvenience of or pain.

Fig. 2 isa perspective of the same,

For the antifriction boxes I employ the well known Babbitt metal or other antifriction metal.

I-Iaving thus described my percussion seal press, I will state that I do not claim substituting percussive force for pressure in presses generally, nor eve-n in seal presses, nor do I claim returning the piston or die of a Vpress with a spring, but

I do claim as my invention and improvement in seal presses,

The combination of the `following elements or their equivalents, to wit: a :frame work to sustain the boXes and guides for the piston, a spring piston bearing the die and surmounted by a knob or suitable provision for receiving the blow of the hand and guided by the grooveand guide pieces, or their equivalents,VY substantially `in the manner and for the purposes set forth.

` JAMES FOSTER, JUNR. Witnesses:

J. i M. WiLsoN, F. W. HOWARD.

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