US2083042A - Sheet moistening device for duplicators - Google Patents

Description

.lune 8, 1937.

F. W. STORCK SHEET MOISTNING DEVICE FOR DUPLICATORS Filed Jan. 1s, 1936 2 sheets-smet 1 June 8, 1937. F. W. sToRCK -SHEET MOISTENING DEVICE FOR DUPLI Filed Jan. 15, 193s CATORS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented June 8, 1937 .UNITED vSTATES SHEET MOISTENING DEVICE FOR DUPLICATORS Frederick W. Storck, Arlington. Mass., assignor to Standard Mailing Machines Company, Everett, Mass., a.- Lcorporation oi Massachusetts Application January 13, 1936,. Serial No. 58,803

7 Claims.

This invention relates to duplicating machines in which a record is made on a sheet of paper or the like with ink characters formed in reverse with a suitable copying ink and reproduced therefrom as positive copies on duplicate sheets of paper or the like and my present invention relates more particularly to a moistening device adaptable to machines of the lreferred to character for moistening the face of the sheet to be dupli- 10 cated upon prior to its engagement with the record copy.

In duplicating machines of the herein referred to character, which utilize the so-called wet process of duplicating, the clear sheet 415 to be duplicated upon is moistened for the purpose ,of dissolving a minute amount of the 'copying ink imprinted in reverse on the master or record copy sheet and to be transferred to the clear sheet when engaged under pressure with the master copy.

y To obtain desired and eicient results lin duplicating with the referred to machines and process of duplicating, itis essential to lutilize the medium of the moistened sheet to divide the 5 copying ink of the master copy sheet into the number of duplicate copiesdesired'.' This desired number of duplicate copies may vary up to 200 or more.

While the character kof the copying ink, fluid and paper to be duplicated upon has a direct bearing on the lnumber of duplicate copies obtainable, this is to a minor degree only. The essential requirement is to obtain the maximum number of clear, sharp duplicate copies permissible from the particular character` of. the

paper and ink to be used.

To obtain this desired maximum number of copies, the clear sheet to be duplicated upon must be moistened to an extremely limited extent, that is, the sheet must be uniformly and suiiiciently moistened to, when engaged under pressure with the master copy, dissolve only suillcient of the master copying ink to reproduce a clear, sharp copy of the master on the clear sheet. If the clear sheet to be duplicated upon carries an excess of moisture, when it is engaged with the master copying ink, an excess of the ink will be dissolved therefrom and deposited on the clear sheet, thus resulting in fewer copies being obtainable from the master copy..

Itis obvious from the above requirements thatA the control of the moisture to be applied to the clear sheet is of paramount importance.

In my U. S. Letters Patent No. 1,964,933 I have shown a device for controlling the fluid and;

while the essential features shown therein are not limited thereto, this device is particularly adapted, in this referred to patent, to moisten the under face of the clear sheet to be duplicated upon. One of the referred to essential characterlstics forthe control of the fluid, and as disclosed in' my referred to patent, embodies an intermediate applicator to which fluid is supplied from a bibulous material. Fluid is supplied to and diffused by the bibulous material which, in 10 Iturn, supplies kmoisture to the intermediate applicator and where the fluid is further diffused and limited for application to the face of a clear sheet as the clear sheet is engaged under pressure with the applicator.

In my present invention which, While not necessarily limited thereto, is particularly adapted for moistening the upper face of a clear sheet and in which I utilize the principles of my intermediate applicator with the bibulous material I have so arranged it that only a portion of the fluid sup- Vplied to the bibulous material will, in turn, be

control of the uid fed to the bibulous material has been effected by means of lifting or conf 35 trolling valves or devices for regulating the dropping of the fluid into the bibulous material. With the use of the heretofore known devices expert attention is required to regulate the supply of fluid and which requirement may vary 4-0 according to conditions.

Further, if inadvertently the operator omits to close the supply valve, the lower portion which is adapted for engagement Withthe clear sheet becomes over-saturated and the iluid will drip 45 therefrom with attendant disadvantages and Waste of the fluid, and upon further operation of the machine without rectifying this excessive accumulation of moisture, by replacement or otherwise, the sheets will be excessively moistened and thereby resulting in blurred duplicate copies being obtained from the master copy, and in many instances the master copy will be ruined by engagement with the first copy sheet so excessively moistened. Accordingly, the object of my present 55 invention is to provide a device for moistening the upper `face of a clear sheet to be duplicated upon with a limited amount of a rapidly volatilizing fluid .andto uniformly distribute the fluid moisture to the face of the sheet to be duplicated upon.

A furtherobject is to provide a device that will require but a minimum of attention on the part of the operator in the control of/the uid supply.

Another object of my invention is to provide a moistening device for duplicators that is eflicient and of a simpliiled construction and so arranged that excessive moisture will not accumulate to be deposited on the clear sheet to be duplicated upon.

15 With the above and other objects in view my invention comprises a novel combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter described and more speciiically pointed out in the appended claims.

20 While not limited thereto, in the accompanying drawings I have illustrated a preferred form of' my invention sufcient to enable those skilled in the art to understand the construction and operation thereof.

Referring to the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a transverse section of a wet process duplicator having my improved moistening device embodied therewith.

Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken substantially 30 along line 2-2, Fig. 1. with -some of the moistening device broken away to expose the interior construction, and l Fig. v3 is a sectional view of a'm'odiiication of my moistening device.

35 As illustrated in the drawings, the duplicating machine is provided with opposed side'frames I0 which support the elements of the machine. The printing platen or drum II is rotatably mounted in suitable bearings in the side frames o IIJ and is provided with a coacting pressure roller IIa.

In this instance, I have shown opposed feed rollers I2, I3 which are adapted to engage one another under pressure. 'I'hese rollers are adapt- 45 ed to berotated, through suitable driving connections, not shown, in a direct relation to the rotation of the printingplaten Il A machine embodying the aforementioned elements with their driving connections and means for opera- 50 tion is completely shown and described, but with some of the elements in different positions, in my U. S. Letters Patent No. 1,964,933, therefore, further detailed description of the construction and operation of these duplicating machine elements 55 is thought unnecessary.

The moistening receptacle I4 is pivotally supported within the side frames, in this instance by studs ,|5, I5. The receptacle comprisesig'pposed side walls, I4a, I4b and opposed end walls 00 llc, I4d and an enclosed bottom I4g which is adapted to form a catch basin for a purpose hereinafter described.

The receptacle I4 is provided with a lateral portion I4h which ,is adapted to receive and support a readilyv'ifemovable strip or wick I1 of bibulous material. lI his wick I1 is adapted to extend inwardly to, engage with the body of bibulous material I8 which is supported within 70 the receptacle, and extends below the wick I 1 and adjacent the catch basin portion I4a of the receptacle. The outer extending portion of said wick I1 is adapted for engagement with the peripheral face of the roller I2.

-A conduit I8 is lecurcd to the upper portion of the receptacle and, in this instance, is provided with an elbow 20 adapted to receive and support the spout 2i of a rellable reservoir 22 from which iluid is supplied to the moistening device. A control valve, not shown, of any of the usual and well known structures, may be disposed between the reservoir 22 and the conduit for regulating the discharge of iiuigl from the reservoir. It is obvious that various devices may be utilized for supplying fluid to the receptacle I4 which contains the bibulous material such, for example, as stated supra. The conduit I8 illustrated is provided with a plurality of small openings I9a which are disposed in the lower portion of the conduit and communicate with the bibulous material I8.

As aforesaid, the uid is supplied to the conduit I9, and, through the openings I9a, drops onto and saturates the bibulous material I8 in the receptacle I4. Over-saturation of this bibulous material I8 will cause an accumulation of the iluid to take place at the lower depending end of this bibulous material I8 and this excess fluid will drop therefrom into the receptacle catch basin I4g from which the fluid is discharged,

through the conduit 23, into a suitable receptacle 24.

The bibulous material or wicky I1 engages the bibulous material I8 and diffuses the limited moisture received therefrom by capillary action. This wick I1 being disposed above the lowermost horizontal plane of the depending portion of the bibulous material I8, it is not subjected to an excess accumulation as is this referred to depending portion. f

In this particular instance, the reservoir 22 is so angularly disposed relative to the pivotal point of the receptacle as to cause pressure to be exerted by the wick I1 as it engages the peripheral face of the roller I 3 although, it is obvious that this pressure may be effected in various ways as, for example, by means of a tension spring or like device.

At Fig. 1 I have illustrated my wick I1 disposed at a downwardly sloping angle relative to the bibulous material I8 but the lower-most point of the wick I1 is disposed above the lower terminating plane of the bibulous material I8.

At Fig. 3 I have shown a modification of my moistening device and wherein the lateral portion I4k of the receptacle4 I4 is disposed at a slightly elevated angle relative to the receptacle I4 and thus the wick 2B would eiect substantially an up-wicking of the fluid from the bibulous material I8.

The wicks I1 or 25 may be disposed in either angular relationship and in varying degrees, but

in either event, to eilect an efilcient control of,

the fluid application, the lowermost plane of the wick should be disposed above the lowermost terminating point of the bibulous material from which the wick receives its supply of moisture.

As the rollers I2, 'I3 are rotated, the wick I1 will apply a thin film of fluid to the roller l2. this thin lm is further diffused by the surface attraction of the roller and it, when engaged with a sheet to be duplicated upon, uniformly applies gs tlimited diffused moisture to the faceof the ee In the operation of my moistening device the sheets-to be ,duplicated upon are placed upon a -suitable support having a guide plate 28 which is disposed in substantial alignment with the bight 21 formed by the rollers I2, I3. This guide plate 26 is disposed in a spaced relation below the moistenlng device and is adapted to position the advanced forward end of the sheet in and against the bight 21 while the rollers I2, I3 are at rest.

When the rollers I2, I3 are actuated, the sheet is advanced by and between the rollers and moisture applied to the applicator roller is transferred to the upper face of the advancing sheet and thereby this sheet is provided with a limited uniformly distributed moisture.

As the moistened sheet is advanced, by the rollers I2, I3, it is directed for engagement by and between the pressure roller IIa and the printing platen II which then act as the feeding elements to advance and engage the moistened sheet under pressure with the master copy as set forth in my hereinbefore referred to patent.

The present embodiment of my moistening device is to be construed as illustrative, as obviously modifications may be made therein by those A skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. In a machine of the character described for duplicating from a master copy sheet; a moistening device embodying an applicator adapted to engage with said sheet under pressure, a bibulous material in engagement with said applicator, a second body of bibulous material angularly disposed relative to said iirst bibulous material and in engagement therewith, said second bibulous material having a portion depending below the lowest point of said rst material with means to supply said second bibulous material with moisture.

2. In a machine of the character described for duplicating from a master copy sheet; a moisteningp device embodying an applicator adapted to engage with said sheet under pressure, a iiuid receiving and draining device, a bibulous material in engagement with said applicator, a second body of bibulous material in engagement with said first body of material and having a portion depending below the lowest point of said first body and disposed relative to said iiuid receiving and draining device and means to supply said second body of bibulous material with moisture.

3. In a duplicating machine of the character specified; a moistening device embodying opposed rotative rollers which are adapted to' engage saidsheet to 'be moistened under pressure, with means for rotating said rollers, a body of bibulous material in engagement with -the portion of the peripheral face of Aone of said rollers, a second body of bibulous material angularly disposed relative to said first bibulous material and in engagement therewith, said last bibulous material having a portion depending below the lowest point of said first material, with means tov supply said second bibulous material with moisture.

` 4. A duplicating machine of the character specified having in combination therewith a' moistening device which includes abibulous material in longitudinal engagement with a portion of the peripheral face of the uppermost of said rollers, bibulous material angularly disposed relative to said first bibulous material and in engagement therewith, said last bibulous material having a portion thereof depending below the lowest point of said iirst material, with means to supply said second bibulous material withI moisture.

5. In a machine of the character speciiled for duplicating onto clear sheets and the like from tion depending below the horizontal plane of said,

lateral material, with means to supply moisture to the uppermost area of said material.

6. In a machine of the character specified for duplicating onto clear sheets and the like from a master copy sheet; a device for moistening lthe upper face of said sheet to be duplicated upon, said device embodying opposed rotative feed rollers disposed one above the other and which are adapted to engage with one another under pressure, a receptacle pivotally disposed in front of said rollers and having a discharge conduit associated with the lowermost portion thereof, a lateral receptacle integral with said rst receptacle and communicating therewith, lsaid lateral receptacle being disposed above said discharge conduit, a bibulous material disposed vwithin said vfirst receptacle, a readily removable bibulous material disposed within said second receptacle, said last material being adapted for engagement with said first material and to engage under pressure with the peripheral face of said uppermost roller,.withv means to supply moisture to said iirst bibulous material.

7; In a machine for duplicating asset forth in claim 5 wherein said first moistening device receptacle is pivoted for movement toward and away from said rollers and whereby said second bibulous material may be readily removed and replaced.

f FREDERICK W. STORCK.

Images