US1647246A - Photographic printing machine - Google Patents

Description

Nov. 1, 1927.

A. G. lOGDEN PHOTOGRAPHIC PRINTING MACHINE v Filed Deo. 8, 1925 5 sheets-sheet' l INV TOR QM/@g 70 TORNEY Nov. l, 1927.

A. G. OGDEN PHOTOGRAPHIC PRINTING MACHINE 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Deo. '8. 1925 Nov. 1, 1927. 1,647,24

A. G. OGDEN PHOTOGRAPHIC PRINTING MACHINE Filed Dec. 8. 1925 5 sheets-sheet 3 l" 86 37" 95 i f IQ/2 l .f

Nov. l, 1927.

- A.` G. QGDEN pHOTOQRAPHIC PRINTING MACHINE 0 A:if/27 Nov. l, 1927.

A. G. oGvDl-:N PHOTOGRAPHC- PRINTING MACHINE File@ Dec. s, 1925 l 5 sheets-sheet 5 'l n l l l In INVENTOR l fia/pa ATTGRNEY Patented Nev.' 1, 1921. f

UNITED -sTATiais PATENT OFFICE.

ASHLEY GUY OGDRN, or BALTIMORE, MARYLAND, AssIeNoR To AMERICAN MACHINE f a 'roUNnRY COMPANY,A A CORPORATION or NRW JERSEY.

-PHOTOGRARRIO rRINrINe MACHINE.

Application mea December e, '19:25: yserial Noun-,122.

This invention relates to an improvement Iin photographic printing machines of the type wherein a plurality Vof duplicates of the same negative, or of diiferent negatives, is made in predetermined positions upon, a presserplate to be used for lithographie re- In certain known machines offthis type that are operable in daylight, a stationary light and a stationary negative areused, and means are provided'for shifting a sensitized lplate to different printing positions relative to the stationary negative. These vmachines are designed to operate on large" presser-A plates, and the two devices which must be moved in order to shift the sensitized plate, are of necessity large and heavy. V I-Ieretofore, it has been customary to provide each of such devices with two guiding surfaces, one at either side, and with two interconnected screwsl for moving said devices. `It has been found in practice, however, that this construction does not always result in accurate registration, forthe reason that the initial machining of the parts is diiiicult,

and their wear permits a waving movement involving difficulties in controllingthe registrations with the accuracy desired. It has been discovered that this difficulty can be overcome by the utilization of a single guiding surface and a single screw in, close juxtaposition thereto for each plate-shifting clement of the machine, located at one side thereof, and by permitting the opposite side r of the element to move freely, the rigidit of the element being` sutiicient to cause botl sides ofi the same to move in absolute unison. A. In these machines also, the mechanism for operating the screws which move the sensitized plate, and that for showing the exact distance the plate moves, were crude, and inaccurate in operation. Furthermore, they could be used only for duplicating an original negative hy time exposures directly on a press-plato.

The main Object of the present invention is the production of an improved photographic printing machine that is free from the defects of the earlier machines, and

0 which may be used for preparing, by instan taneous exposures of an original negative, a multiple negative to be duplicated ona pressplate, as well asfor dupllcating the original negative by vtime exposures directlyfon a press-plate, so that economy of time and cost,

and higher eiiiciency' through greater accuracy, may be attained.v With these and other the invention consists incertain parts, constructions, and combinations-which will be hereinafter fully described and then specifiform a partof this s ecitication and in which like characters o the same or like parts, Fig. 1 is 'a plan view reference indicate y .objects not .specifically mentioned yinv view,

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of a machine constructed in accordancewith g the invention; Fig. 2' is aside elevation of the structure shown inlFig. 1; Fig. 2a is a -fragmentary cross-.sectional view' taken on the line 2%# a in Fig. 2, showing the Vernier 2 attachment tothe machinebase and lower carriage; Fig. 3 is an end elevation of the structure shown inFigs. 1 and 2; Fig. 4 is a sectional side elevation showing the mount yand the carriages and the attachment of the pressiplate frame; Fig.5 is a sectional end elevation showing the'press-plate frame lowering device and the negative slide; Fi s. 6'

to 9 lare sectional views showing detlai s of f the press-plate tension mechanism; Figs. 10 and 11 are front and end viewsshowingthe arrangement of the Vernier scales; Figs. 12

and 13 are front and sectional side views showing the screw turnlng handle, pointer,

and index dial; Figs. 14 and 15 are sectional side and end views of the 'dry-pla'te holder,

combined with raising and lowering device' Figs. 16 and 17 are plan and crOss-sectional views showing the outside negative registering device; Figs. 18 and 19 are ,plan and cross-sectional views .showing the insertion of the outside registering frame into the negative slide; Fig. 20 is a' detail fragmentary view of the slide, filler block, and' bar andl screw employed to lock the slide in operative position; and Fig. 21 is a fragl -mentary view showing the -hlock used in connection vwith the adjusting screws 113.

Generally speaking, the Original negative is first accurately registered (within one thousandth of an inch) in the centre of a Slidable frame which is subsequently placed and vheld stationary at the exact centre of the machine, which essentially consists of a solid.v i

bed upon which are mounted, one on the other, two rectangular carriages, the lower carriage being slidable on the bed, and the upper carriage being slidable on the lower trolled isbroughtinto the .diierent predeceA termined positions with respect to the centre of the negative, and in each position, after the carriages have been locked in place and intimatecontact has been established between the press-plate and the negative by lowering the frame carrying the former and pressing it ,against the latter by swinging into place and operating a pressure-head provided for the purpose, the vnegative is photographed upon the press-plate, so that, upon completion of the entire manipulation, the press-plate contains the desired number of duplicates, accurately spaced. To check. up on the movement of the screws and tov accurately read the distance traveled, each of the two lcarriages is provided with a y sliding Vernier having three scales.

` To expedite. thev inal work of reproduction, in case `of small negatives the duplicating machine may be used to iirstl prepare a multiple negative which is subsequently Vduplicated on the press-plate. For this purpose, a dry-plate is inserted into the frame carried by the upper carriage and the machine is manipulated as before until t-he desired number of photographic impressions have been taken from the original negativa Thereupon the dry-plate thus prepared is used in place of the original negative kand the process is repeated with' a press-plate in the 'upper carriage. Since the dry-plate process requires instantaneous exposure, while the press-plate work is done with time exposure, the machine is fitted with a removable device having a photographic shutter, this device being pulled out `of the way and replaced by an ordinary iexible shutter for press-plate work.

All photographic operations can in this machine be handled in ordinary daylight, suitable means being'provided to protectthe photo-sensitive surfaces of the negatives and press-plates. The latter, not being' in Va highly sensitive condition, are kept in the shadow by the frame construction and by suitable curtains dropped from the carriage to the plush cover on the top of the machine base. 4Dry-plates are protected by special dry-plate holder construction by which light-sealing surface-contact is maintained vwhile the carriages are mov-ed.

n I reg1ster frames are emplbyed. When a negative mounted in a ymetal holder, is accurately regstered in a. sepa-rate.registering frame provided for the purpose, it will automatically occupy the centre of the negative slide when inserted into the latter vafter being transferred from one of these out-- side register frames.

Referring particularly to Figs. l to 5, the base 20 of the machine, which is supported by legs 2l, is provided with a V- shaped guiding rail 22 running the entire length of one of -its sides, and with a parallel non-guiding rail 23 on the other, these two rails forming a track for the lower carriage. On theguiding rail 22 is fitted a corresponding guiding bearing surface 24 0f the lower carriage 25, which, ou its opposite side, has a non-guiding bearing surface including anti-friction traveling on the rail 23. The lower carriage 25 has, at right angles to its guiding bear ing surface 24, a V-shaped guiding rail 27 ,on which rests a corresponding guiding bearing surface 28 of the upper carriage 29. The opposite side oi said upper carriage is provided with a non-guiding bearing surface including anti-friction rollers 30 resting on a non-guiding rail of the lower carriage. The base of the machine carries a bracket 31 in which the screw 32 for moving the lower carriage is journaled, the screw 32 passing through the threaded socket 33 attached to the lower carriage This screw is thus located in close juxtaposition with the guiding rail which controls the direction of movement of the lower carriage, the thrust of the screw being in ex act `parallelism with the longitudinal axis of the guiding rail. VVavering movement of the carriage is prevented, even when the guiding rail and screw wear, by the rigidity of the carriage and the freedom with which its unguided side moves. n

At right angles to the direction ot' movement of the lower carriage, said lower carriage carries a bracket 34 which forms a journal for the screw 35 for moving the upper carriage by means ot' the threaded socket 36 affixed' to it. Thus, wavering movement of the upper carriage is prevented in the same way that/it is prevented iu the lower carriage.

rollers I 26,

The screws 32 and 35 are turned by means of handles 37 provided with pointersmoving over dials 39 keyed to brackets 31 and 34 respectively. The handle 37, Figs. 12 and 13, is hollow, and it carries' the pointer 38 which is forced outwardlyA towards the dial 39 by the spring 40, the end of the pointer engaging one of the division holes of the dial when the spring yis released. By turning the knob 41 so that the pin 42, inserted near its end in the pointer 38, engages thc vertical portion of the bayonetslot 43, the spring is restrained, and' the pointer is held away from lthe dial, so that the handle canl be freely turned.y Over each dial are mounted two movable fingers 44 and 45, the split hub of the finger 45 surrounding the hub of the finger 44 and being provided with a lock-screw 46,so that the two fingers can be set and held in any desired relative position at any point on the dial.. The fingers- 44 and 45 are pressed against the dial by the spring-washer 47 4bearing against the hub of the finger 45.

The dial is, or `may be, so divided that each hole represents a carriage movement of one-thousandth of an inch. vFor example, the dial shown in Fig-12 is 'used in connection with a screw having a pitch of one-fifth of an inch,and it is divided into 200 divisions. The distance to be ,traveled by the carriage having been translated into so many complete turns of the handle, plus so many holes of the dial, the lingers 44 and i" 45 are set the required number of holes apart and then as a unit ,are turned so that the trailing fingerlies over the ,edge of the hole in which the pointer 38 of the handle has last stopped. To make the given'move,

then,the handle is turned the required num.

ber of full revolutions and advanced to the leading finger, whereupon the point-er is released so vas to cause it to enter the indicated hole of the dial. For the next move of equal distance, the finger unit 44, 45, lett set as before, is advanced until the trailing finger touches the pointer stillin the hole just waca'ted by the leading finger, and

then the handle is turned as before and the pointer inserted in the hole indicated by the leading finger.

The verniers used for reading the distances traveled bythe carriages consist of a stationary scale 48, Figs. 10 and 11, attached to the part carrying the journal for .the driving screw of the carriage in question,

and two movable scales, the upper scale-49 being attached to the sliding carriage by a bracket 50, and the lower scale 51 being free to move anywhere along the stationary scale. By setting the zero of the scale 51 to the starting line of the marker 52 attached to the scale 49, the exact distance moved is obtained by reading scale 51 through the marker 52 and noting the co- Having moved the carriaes into the exact desired positions for taking the impression on the press-plate, they are held in place aga-inst accidental displacement byx l locking the screw-clamps -54 carried by them e. on the rods 5'5 attached to the machine base Aand lower carriage respectively (Fig. l). The negative slide? 56 (Figs. l, 5 and 19),

slides on a V-shaped guiding rail 57l and on a parallel non-'guiding rail .1 58 of the machine base,'upon which it is held by the overlapping strips 59 aiiixed to the top'of the base. Within the frame 56, twoghiss plates 60 and 61 are supported, the lower plate 60 being held in a frame 62 which can' be leveled by the vertical screws 63. The upper plate 61 is held in a frame 64 which can be centered by the horizontal adjusting screws Upon the upper plate 61, the negative 66 'is mounted asnear central as possible, and it is then accurately registered in the frame 56 by means of the adjusting screws 65 and of an auxiliary transp-arent cross-frame 67, temporarily attached to the' frame 56 by means` of taper-pins 68, the frame 67 beingl marked with cross-lines locating the exact centre of the frame 56. The slide 56 for this purpose is placed at the end of its track which overhangs the .solid part of the base so that a. light can be placed below the glass plates 60 and 61. After properly centering the negative, 'the registering frame 67 is removed andthe negative slide 56 `is pushed into the machine u ntil it ,Strikes the l stop 69, whereupon the` centre ofthe neg. e' tive slide will be exactly at the centre of, the

' by the 'lock-screw 72 for locking said slide in stationary position. j

From the upper carriage 29 is suspended the inner trame 73, the latter having the brackets 74 towhich are pivoted the link 75 shafts 77 supported in bearines 78 and 79 affixed to the upper carriage. lhe shafts 77 can be simultaneously turned by the lever 80 which is pinned to one of them, the motion being transmitted to the other by means of the cranks 81 andthe connecting rod 82. Vhen the lever 80 in full line position, the inner' frame 73 is raised so that the press-plate carried by it is clear of the negative and can be moved about without injury Vto its sensitized lower surface, and

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4connected with the cranks 76 attached to the posure is furnished when turned into the dotted position shown in Fig. 5, after-the desired position has been reached and the carriages have been locked in place, the press-plate is in contact with the negative, ready to receive the final pressure requiredfor the photographic lmpression,` While inl its released position, the

' lever `80 is prevented from accidentally being raised and thereby lowering the press-plate while the latter is in motion, lby the pin 813 (Fig. 4) which is resilient'ly supported in the bracket 84 attached to the carriage 29, the in 83 being beveled in such manner that 1twill automatically recede and allow the level 80 to pass when depressing the latter.

The pressure for proper photographic eX- bg' the pressure-head 85 which is carried by t swivel-beam 86, the

llatter being fulcrumed on the shaft 87 held lby the bracket 88 supported on the lateral yprojection 89 of the machine base.

The pressure-head, which carries the interchangeable press-block 90, slidably held. by a universal joint 91, is slidably attached to the beam 86 and is controlled by' the cranklever 92 attached to the hubl of the beam.

86. The crank 92 is connected to the pressure-head by means of an adjustable rod 93, bellcrank 94, and links 95. When the crank is turned in the direction of the arrow shown in Fig. 3, the press-block yis forced into the dotted position, thereby exert-ing tionary blocks 101 which are attached to the carrier-frame and a ainst which the clamp-heads 102 are force between them. Springs 104 are provided which separate the clamp jaws upon release ofy the screws 103.` The clampsalong the opposite edge of the press-plate board consist of the blocks 105; slidably attached to turning back the handle, the springs 125.

the frame 100'by means of screws 106 assing through slots cut in the holdingange of the lframe 100, the blocks 105 having lugs 107 in which are pivcted the clamp-heads 108. Screws 109, freely vpassing through the blocks 105, bear against plates 110 attached in the bottoms of the notches of the board l 97, and carry the restan ular nuts 111 fitting between andg y the 'lugs 107 of the blocks 105 and ng against the upright arms of the cl heads 108. 'l3y turning the screw 109, te nut 111 is forced against the clamp-head 10.8, rst closing its jaw against the press-plate 96 inserted bebg the screwsV 103, after thepress-plate has een inserted tween it and theblock 105, and then pushing the block 105 and clamp-head 108. away from the board 97, thereby stretching the press-plate. :Sprin s 112, provided within the lugs 107 oit the locks 105, pull back the 1 blocks 105 and vopen the clamp jaws when the screws 109 are released.

When the machine is to be used to make a multiple negative upon a dry-plate, the inner frame 73 is lowered by the lever 80 until the usual plush covering placed around the bottom of the vdry-plate carrier just meets the usual plush covering of the top of the machine base, thereby preventing light from v entering between them when the carriages are moved. When lowered to the proper position, the inner frame is locked affainst further downward motion, which would interfere with the movement of the carriages,

-by the ystop screws 113 (Figs. 2 and 3),'car- In order to bring the dry-plate into contact with the negative for printing, a separate depresser device, shown in Figs. 14 and 15, is incorporatedwith the dry-plate carrier. The board 115 on which the dry-plate 116 is mounted upon the rubberv cover 117, has four upwardly projecting studs 118 passing through the corner-brackets 119 which carry the bearings 120 for the rock-shafts 121. Upon. :these shafts are mounted 'the' oval-shaped cams 122 engaging the uppeiI ends ofthe studs 118. The cams on the shafts 121 are cross-connected by the adjustable connecting'rods 123, so that all cams can be simultaneously actuated by the handle 124 'affixed toone of the rock-shafts. When turning lthe handle 124 in the direction of the arrow, the cams 122Idepr'ess the Studs 118, thus lowering the dry-plate. On

placed around the studs within the brackets l119 and bearing against the collars 126 pinned to the studs, exert an upward pressure and force the board 115 back into its clearing position. The metal frame 127, carrying the board 115, has brackets 128 containing spring-plungers 129 which press the rollers 130 agamst the brackets 119 of the dry-plate board, thus taking up all clearance. On two sides of its bottom surface, the iframe 127 carries strips 131 upon which slides the shutter 132 for covering the dryplate. All around the edges of the board (Fig. 4) inserted along two perpendicular sides, so that the press-plate carrier 100,

or the dry-plate carrier 135, inserted into it,

can be properly secured by tightening it up against the opposite sides of the frame. p

The light control for making press-plate or dry-plate exposures, is arranged as follows: At the bottom of the lnachine base 20, two strips 139 are supported, running across the bed along the central opening of the machine. From these strips is slidingly suspended a light-tight chamber 140 which has a central opening at the bottom covered by a photographic shutter 141, and which carries an electric lamp 142 attached to it by means of the bracket 143. .For dry-plate work, this chamber and lamp are pushed by the rod 144 into the centre of the machine, directly below the central window, as in Fig-3. For press-plate work, the chamber 140 is pushed to one side, exposing the central opening which then is covered by pushing the shutter 145 shown in Fig. 3, which also is supported by the strips 139, into the centre of the. base by means of the rod 146. The rods 144 and 146 are hinged to the light chamber and shutter, respectively, so that they can be readily pushed out of the way on the rests 147 when in their drawn-out position. In Fig. 2, the light chamber is set for press-plate work and the rod 144 is shown all the way out and folded back on rest 147, while in Fig. 3 the chamber 140 is in. position for 'dry-plate work, and rod 146 is out, the shutter 141 being drawn back, either to make room for the light chamber in dry-plate work, or to allow an exposure to be made in press-plate work. In the latter case, a separate lamp, not shown, is placed in a stand on the floor below the opening under the negative.

As an important adjunct in the efficient manipulation of the machine, 4separate negative-registers are provided, as shown in Figs. 16 to 19. In order to enable negatives to be set up for subsequent obs while the negative slide is still in use in the machine, a metal negative holder 148 carrying theglass plate 149 and having the adjusting screws 150 along its circumference, is placed in the adjustable registering frame 151 to which is fastened by the taper pins 152 the'frame 153 having cross pieces 154 marking the exact centre of the frame 151 which coincides with the exact centre of the negative slide. After the negative, placedon the glass plate 149, has been properly centered in the frame 151 by the adj ustin screws150 against the stops 155 and 156, t e screws on two sides are locked by the lock nuts. provided for this purpose, and the negative holder 148 is removed from the registering frame 151 by loosening the unlocked screws 150, and is Y then inserted upon the glass plate 157 of the adjusted spacer-frame 158 shown in Figs. '18 and 19, to the inside measurements ot' which the stops 155 and 156 of the registering'frame 151 are adjusted. Hence, by retightening the unlocked adjusting screws 150 of the negative holder,the latter will be accurately centered in the spacer-frame 158, and since the latter has its adjust-ing screws 159 already set to accurately register in the,

negative slide, the negative will automatically register in the negative slide when the spacer-frame 158 is placed into the same and its unlocked adjusting screws are tightened In view of the foregoing, a detailed description of the operation of the device is deemed to be unnecessary and is therefore omitted in the interest of brevity.

What is claimed is:

1. The combination with a device for printing sensitized plates and having a sta tionary light, astationary negative, and means for shifting a sensitized plate to different printing positions relative to said stationary negative, of a negative slide movable in and out of operative position and lhaving a guiding bearing surface and a.

parallel non-guiding bearing Surface, a track including a guiding rail and a parallel non-guiding rail supporting said surfaces, and means for locking said slide in operative position including a filler-block engagingl said slide and a bar having a screwv engaging said filler-block.

2. The combination with a device for printing sensitized plates and having a stationary light, a stationary negative, and means for shifting a sensitized plate to different printing positions relative to said stationary negative, of a plate carriage having a guiding bearing surface and a parallel non-guiding bearing surface, a track ineluding a guiding rail and a parallel non-guiding rail supporting said surfaces, a screw extending along and in close juxtaposition to said guiding rail and engaging said carriage to move it along said track, and a controlling device for governing the movement of said screw including a dial havinga4 circular series of holes near its periphery, a handle on said screw carrying a pointer for engagement with a selected one of said holes, and means adjustably mounted on said dial for selecting the hole to be engaged by said pointer when shifting said plate.

3. The combination with a device for screw including a dialhaving a. circular series of holes near its periphery, a handle on said screw carrying a pointer for engagementvvith a selected one oli said holes, and means adjustably mounted on said dial for seleotingthe hole to be engaged by said.

pointer 'when shifting said plate includingr two relatively adjustable arms adjustably rotatable about the axis of said dial.

4. The combination vvith a device for printing sensitized plates and having a sta- .tionary light, a stationary negative, and

means for shifting a sensitized plate to different prmting pos1t1ons relative to said stationary negative and including a platecarriage and anl actuating' screvv for said carriage, of a controlling device for governing the movement of said screvv including a dial having a circular series of holes near its periphery, ahandle on said screw carrying a pointer for engagement with a selected one of said holes, and means adjustably mounted on said dial tor selecting the hole to be engaged by said pointer when shifting said plate.

5. The combination With a device for printing sensitized plates and having a stationary light, a stationary negative` and Ameans for shifting a sensitized plate to different printing positions relative to said stationary negative and including a plate carriage and an actuating screw for said carriage, of a controlling device forgoverning the movement of said screw including a dial havinga circular series ot holes near its periphery, a handle on said screw carrying a. pointer-for engagement with a selected one of said holes, and means adjustably mounted on said dial for selecting the hole to be engaged by said pointer when shifting said `plate including two relatively adjust-` able arms adjustably rotatable about the axis of said dial.

t3. The combination with' a device for printing sensitized plates and having a stationary light, a stationary negative, andprinting sensitized plates and havinga menare means for shifting a sensitized plate to dii- 'erentprinting positions relative to said stationary negative, ot a Vernier device tor graphically indicating the movement ot said plate including astationary scale, a second scale movable with said plate, and a third scale freely movable along said stationary scale. V

'i'. The combination with a device for printing sensitized plates and having a stationary light, a stationary negative, and means for `shitting a sensitized plate to different printing positionsv relative to said stationary nega-tive,`ot` a negative slide movable in and. out o't operative' position and having a lower glass plate and lmeans for leveling the same in said slide, and also having an upper glass plate and means for centering the saine in said slide.

8.The combination with a device for stationary light, a stationary negative, and means for shifting a sensitized plate tol dit'- ferent. printing positions relative to said stationary negative, otra negative slide movable in and outfof operative position and having a lower glass late and means for leveling the same in said slide, and also having an upper glass plate and means for centering the same in said slide including an auxiliary registering device having crosslines marking the exact centre ot said slide.

9. The combination with a device for printing sensitized plates and having a stationary light, a stationary negative, and means for shifting a sensitized plate to dit'- ferent printing positions relative to said stationary negative, ot a negative slide movable in and out of operative postiomand an auxiliary registering device includingA a spacer-trame in which a negative may he centered While said slide is in usc and later transferred to said slide.

10. The combination with a device for printing sensitized plates and having a stationary light, a stationary negative, and means for shifting a sensitized plate to dit` ferent printing positions relative to said stationary negative, of a removable plalc holder comprising a board having a covering` of yielding material engaging the plate, and spuug-opened and screw-closed clamps curvried by said board and engaging oppositel edges of the plate to hold it against'said :melding material.

In testimony whereof, Il have signed mv name to this specification.

ASHLEY GUY GGDEN.

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