US2104863A - Platen mechanism for printing machines - Google Patents

Description

.Jan. 11, 1938. c. J. HUEBER -PLATEN'MECHANISM FOR PRJNTING MACHINES Fiied Feb. l2, `1936 -5 Sheets-Sheet 1 ATTORNEY S .Y

Jan. 11, 1938. c, J, HUEBER l A2,104,863

PLATEN MECHAN'ISM FOR PRINTING MACHINES l Filed Feb. 12, 1936 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 LLL @6 .My

. ATTORNEY Jans 11, 1938- c. J. HUEBER l 2,104,863

PLATEN MECHANISM FOR PRINTING MACHINES Filed Feb. 12, 193e 3 sheets-sheet s' [.f INVENTOR.

ATTORNEYS issued July '7,.,1914, to my assignee, Addresso- Y Patented Jan. l1, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT ori-ICE PLATEN MECHANISM FOB. PRINTING MACHINE ration of Delaware Appiicatmnrebrury 12, 193s, semi No. 63,515 2z claims. (C1. 10i- 274) This invention pertains to a printing machine. and especially toan improved platen or impression mechanism therefor. More particularly, my invention is concerned with the provision of an improved roller-platen mechanism for use in printing machines, such as address printing machines. These, therefore, are the general bjects of the present invention.

Generally in the past, series printing machines, such as address printing machines, have been provided with either one of two types of platens. One of these types is known as stamper or ilat platen, and the other type is known as a roller platen. The stamper platens are mounted to be brought into contact with the entirearea of theprinting member, at one time, by a blow or stamping action.

A roller type of platen, printing by rollingraction a line at a time,'is capable of producing a clearer copy than the stamper platen, and has the further advantage that the impression more closely resembles a typewritten impression. The

present invention is concerned with improve-- ments in rollerplatens and the means for operating the same.

The usual roller type of platen comprises a roller having a rubber or similar impression' making surface and is mounted at one end oi' an overhanging frame arm, the other end of such arm being pivoted to the main frame of 'the printing machine.. Such a frame arm is swung about its pivot until the roller coacts with a work sheet -superimposed above a suitable printing device, whereupon the roller is rolled across the work. An example of such a roller platen is shown in Patent #1,102,396, of Joseph S. Duncan,

graph Company. The present invention may be considered an improvement on the construction shown in'that patent. Y Roller platens have heretofore required more or less complicated operating mechanisms, as is evidenced by the patent abovementioned. Likewise, clarity and evenness of the impression have been impaired, both by the wear at the frame arm pivots, and by the warping of the arm. -Cumbersome operating mechanisms have also been required to swing the frame arm, which itself has been made unwieldy, to minimize the'exing of the arm. Such operating mechanisms-have also requiredcomparatively large and expensive power units.`

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a roller platen and a simple operating mechanism therefor, which may be supported on a stationary frame arm and which will make accurate impressions from4 various printing members, regardless o! the arrangement or number of printing characters on such printing member.

Other objects of the invention will become more apparent from the following description, reference being had to the preferredembodiment of the invention, illustrated by the accompanying drawings. The essential and novel features of the invention will be summarized in the l claims,

In the drawings, Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a. comparatively small Vand compact printing machine, having a platen, a platen-supporting, and a platen-operating mechanism constructed in accordance with the present invention, certain parts of the machine being broken away to more clearly illustrate the internal construction thereof; Fig.' 2 is a. transverse, vertical section, on an enlarged scale, through the platen and its Supporting mechanism, theV plane of the section being indicated by the lines 2-2 on Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a centrally located vertical section through the platen, as indicated by the line 3 3 on Fig. 2,

the platen being in engagement. with the work; Fig. 4 is a sectional view, taken in the plane indicated by the line 4 4 on Fig. 2, illustrating. however, the platen inra. raised position, out of contact with the work sheet; Fig. 5 is a horizon- -tal section, through the platen-supporting mechanism, illustrating the platen in plan view, certain parts being broken away to more clearly illustrate th'e internal construction thereof, the plane of the section being indicated by the lines S-Spn Fig. 2; Fig'. 6 is a substantially horizontal detail. being a section taken in the plane indicated by the line 6 6 on Fig. 4:1182 7 is a sectional detail, the plane of the section being indicated by the line .Y1-'I on Fig. 5; Eg.8 is a detail, similar toFig. "I, but illustratlngthe partsin the position they occupy when 'the platen is raised out of contact with the worksheet, namely, I

in its uppermost position.

Ihave chosentoilllstratemypreferredplaten,` together with its supporting and operating mechanismiin connection with a. printing machine of the type shown and described in my prior application, Serial No. 62,416, iiled February 5, 1936,

and assigned vto my assignee. Addressograph Company. Y

. Referring now to Hg. l, I indicate at Il, the main frame of an addressing machine, provided with a horizontal guideway I I, along which. printing devices', such as'address plates D, may be.

of a. stack indicated at I2 to a. supporting bed or stack indicated at I8'. A suitable conveyor, such as a pair` of reciprocating feed bars I4, is provided to progress the printing devices. Suitable mechanism,such as,for instance, an eccentric I5, driven by a motor M and connected by suit# able links and levers I6, with the feed`bars, may

be used to periodically reciprocate such bars.-

When the feed bars I4 move to the right (Fig. 1) suitable abutments I9 thereon engage the bottommost plate in the stack I2 and shove it along toward printing position, the same operation causing all plates in advance thereof to be moved, one after another by va suitable spring-pressed pawl I1 carried by the feed bars I4, so that one after another of the printing ona support or anvil I3.

The platen-supporting mechanism comprises I a. pair of spaced frame arms 20a. and 2IIb,.rig idly connected to the frame I0. Such arms may be an integral part of the frame, or may be secured thereto by suitable bolts, not shown. These work or printing device D.

m nism, such as, for instance. an eccentric 3l, whichis driven by the motor M in timed relation with the eccentric I5, heretofore'described. The eccentric 3I is drivingly connected by a crank 32 with a pair of levers, one of which is shown at 33 in Fig. 1, and both of which are pivotally mounted on a rod 34, supported by the frame I0. Each lever 33 carries, on its upper end, a pin 35. These pins arearranged to be engaged by notches 36, formed at one end of respective links 31, the other end of which is pivotally connected as ,at 38 with a platen carriage C. Suitable springs 39 are interconnectedY between each link 31 and its respective lever 33, and serve to normally maintain the links connected with their. levers, providing a. safety feature hereinafter to be more fully described.

The platen comprises a .roller 4U, journalled. by suitable anti-friction bea-rings 4I, on a. shaft 42, which is supported at either end of the roller,

by bushings 43, carried by respective links 44.

The platen is provided -with a segmental printing member or surface composed of rubber or other suitable material 45. Y

The platen links 4 4 are pivotally connected to another pair of links 41 by a suitable rod 48.

The links 41, in turn, are secured to a rock shaft 49, journalled in suitable bearings which have a universal connection with the platen carriage,

D hereinafter more'fully described, but which permit adjustment of the printing pressure, as well --as adjustment of the transverse alignment between the platen-contact'surface 45 with the 'I he platen shaft 42 is also linked to a shaft 59, which is supported in suitable bearings formed in the platen carriage C. As shown, this connection comprises a pair of links 5I, one end .of each of which is xed to the shaft 50, and the. other ends of which 'are pivotally connected to devices come to rest Yaiogsea progressed one after the other from the bottom' the `platen-supporting bushings 43, as indicated in Fig. 2.

The platen is normally maintained in the pov v sition shown in Fig. 4, Where it will be noted that it is spaced some distance above the work-sheet W by a. torsion spring 55 encircling the shaft 50 and having one end thereof, engaging the Y.64, rotatably mounted in the carriage C, as illussuch guide-rail.

carriage C and the other end connected as at' 56 (see Figs.- 3 and 6) to a suitablenut which f1s1ocked to the shaft 5o.

s heretofore mentioned, the platenrockshaft 49 is mounted in the carriage by universal bearing units which, as shown in Fig. 2, comprise a pair of spaced sleeves or bushings' 59, in which the shaft is journalled. Each sleeve is provided with a pin 60, arranged to occupy an axially extending arcuate recess 6I, formed in the arms of respective yokes 62. Each yoke is provided with a stud 63, which threadingly engages a. bushing trated in` Fig.

'I'his arrangement is such that consequent upon the turning of both bushings 64, the platen will be raised and lowered as a. unit, or consequent upon the turning of one bushing, one end of the platen may be raised or lowered relative to the other end. Thus the platen is readily adjusted.

Suitable locking nuts threadngly coact with.

the respective bushings 64 and may be readily tightened to maintain the platen in its adjusted position relative to the printing device supported on the anvil I3.

'As heretofore mentioned, vthe carriage slides along rails 30, which are carried by respective frame arms 20a and 20h. As illustrated in Figs. 2 and 5, the carnage is provided at either side thereof with a pair of spaced rollers 66 arranged to engage, the lower face of a guide-rail 30, and a roller 61 arranged to engage the upper face of The guide-rails extend along the 4-fraine arms, as indicated in FigL-l, and are preferably pivotally connected therewith at their rearmost ends by suitable screws 68. The forward endsof theserails may be individually raised or lowered by eccentric adjusting members 10, and clamped in an adjusted position by clamping screws 1I. 'Ihese adjusting members and clamping screws pass through suitable slots in their respective guide rails and engage respective frame arms.

The platen, in its retracted position, is normally some distance above the 'work sheet. When, however, it moves toward the right, to the position indicated in Fig. 1, the foremost rollers 66 of the platen carriage engage, as shown in Fig. 8, cam surfaces 12 of respective links 13 pivoted as at 14 to their respective-guide-rails 30. This engagement rocks the links 13 in a counterclockwise direction against the action of tension springs 15. Continued-forward movement of the platen carriage causes the ends 16 ofthe rod 48 to engage notches 11 formed at the ends of the respectivelinks 13.

rIhe contact between the walls of the notches 11 and the rod 48 causes the forward movement of the rod to be retarded, whereupon the links 44, 41 and-5I are rocked about their respective pivots into the positions indicated in Figs. 7 and 3. 4This causes" the platen to be lowered into contact with the work W, superimposed above an inking ribbon R which overlies the printing device D supported by the anvil I3, thereby causing the platen to engage the work with printing pressure.

It be noted that when the platen is in the position shown 'in Fig. 3, the upper end of the The platen assumes the position illustrated in Fig. 3, when it reaches the end of the righthand stroke (Fig. 1) whereupon the platen carriage is drawn to the rear by the operating mechanism, heretofore described, to effect the printing.

It will be noted that while the platen is being moved rearwardly, the spring 55 acts to maintain`the links 44 and 41 in the position indicated in Fig. 3, thus making, in effect, a straightened toggle. `As the platen carriage is drawn rearwardly by w the links 31, the platen roller is positively rotated independent of the frictional contact between the platen and the work sheet to insure proper rolling action at all times, regardless of variations in frictional contact. between the `work and platen, due to a varied number of printing characters. Forthis purpose, it will be noted, that the platen-supporting arm 23h is provided on its undersurface -with a rack 89, arrangedto be constantly engaged by a gear 90, rotatably mounted on the shaft 53, which, as

heretofore mentioned, is vcarried in a xed axis relative to the platen carriage C.

As shown in Fig. 6, the gear 9U is drivingly secured to .a bushing 9|, rotatably mounted on the shaft 50. Likewise secured to the bushing 9| is a pinion 92, arranged to constantly engage a gear`93, rigidly xed as shown in Fig. 2, to the platen roller` 40.- The arrangement of this gearing is such as to cause the platen roller to engage the work sheet at all times with a perfect rolling action.

The roller. 48, as heretofore mentioned, is provided with a segmental platen surface member 45, and is so arranged that the platen shaft 42 may be readily withdrawn, permitting this segmental surface to be adjusted angularly about y the axis of the platen. This adjustment permits the platento selectively arranged to print as many lines L of printing characters as may be desired, thearrangement being such that the foremost edge 85 of the platen member 45 will engage the rst 'line of characters of the printing device desired to be printed'. For example, in

Fig. 3 the platen has been set to first engage the' Asecond line of characters from the left, hence, as

there shown, the last. threelines .will be printed and the rst line omitted. As illustrated in Figs. 2, 4 and 6, the left-hand end of the platen shaft 42 is provided with a printing device knurled knob` 8S,which may be grasped to slide the platen shaft to the left (Fig. 2) freeing the..

platen fromv the carriage C, and permitting it to be rotated `relative to its 'driving Ygear 92, thereby determining which line of characters ofthe Will be rst contacted by the platen.

The platen shaft is normally maintained in. the position illustrated in Fig. 2, by a latch arm 91, which is pivotally mounted on the bushing 9|, heretofore described, and is provided with a slotted opening, illustrated in Fig. 4, arranged to engage a reduced portion 99 of the platen shaft 42, thereby normally preventing removal of thev ting the hante be readily withdrawn by the provide a pair of abutments IM and IM, carn'ed by the respective frame arms 20a and 20h, and arranged to engage respective ends 15 of the rod 48, when the platen reaches the rear-most edge of the printing plate.

tarily stopped and the rearward movement of the whereupon; continued rearward movement of the rod is momenplaten ca-rriage C causes th'e linkage 43 and 41 and 5| to swing the platen from the position shown in Fig. 3 into the position shown in Fig. 4. When so raised,'the shaft ends 16 are free to moveto the left, as they are clear of the stops |80 and ll. Y

The upward movement of the platen is stopped by the engagement of a spacing sleeve |92, carried by the rod148, with suitable abutments |03 formed in the front wall of the carriage C.

As heretcfore mentioned, the platen may be moved so 'as to skip the first line, the first two lines, or the first three lines, etc. of characters on the printing device. The arrangement of Ythe stops |00 and IBI is such that they-may be adjusted so as to cause the platen to be raised from the printing plate at d''erent points. Thus, they may be so fixed as to cause the platen `to be raised from the printing plate after it hasmade an impression of any predetermined number of adjacent lines, as, for instance, the middle two I haye so arranged the platen mechanism that Vshould the operators lingers, or any. unusually thick article lie beneath the roller platen, while it is being urged downwardly to engage the work sheet with printing pressure, the platen will beA disconnected from its driving mechanism, thereby preventing injury to the person of the operator or damage to the parts of the mechanism. Such mechanism comprises the pin and slot connectiens 35, 36, between the platen-driving arms 33 Aand the links 31. It will be noted that the rearmost surfaces (Fig. 1) of the notches 36, are substantially normal or at right angles to the direction of reciprocation of the links-31, whereas Ythe foremost walls of the notches 36 are sloped,

cation of the links.

I have found that a very small amount of power is required to move the platen forwardly, that is, to the right in Fig. 1, and cause it to engage the work with printing pressure, whereas a greater amount of power isrrequiredto roll it Vacross the work. Therefore the sloping walls of the notches 36 provide suflicient contact between the pins and links to enable the platen to be readily moved forwardly and downwardly to engage the work. However, if an obstruction is placed between the platen and the work sheet, the tension of the springs 3S will be overcome and the sloping front walls will cam the out of engagement with their respective pins 35, thereby breaking the power-driving connection to the platen. Thereafter, on the return stroke of the Operating a'rms that set at an angle to the direction of recipro-Y notchesJG, and, by reason of thev abrupt wall forming the'rear of such notches, will become re-- for supporting a form. a

with the form, a carriage mounted in said guideto said frame and extending above and parallel means toact as a shockabsorber and move the linksmfg Pair into alignment with the links means tosupport afonn, a means-Iorguidingitparallelwiththefoms `of the other pair'to cause the platen'to coact with shaft, a roller platen carried thereby. "un 'pairs lsaidform. Y of toggle links respectively thevplatm f 2.1m.printingmachine,a:machiningmcsms- A snare with the carriage, a an the engaged to' the links 31 and thus return the way for reciprocationinaplane parallelwithsaid platen idly to its rear position, so that the maform, a shaft rotatably supported in vsaid car- 5. chine Vis ready for norm'aloperation on the suc riage, a pair of links securedvto said shaft, a v ceeding stroke. Y second pair of links pivotedto the Erst-named "If desired, the platen shaft 42 may also carry links respectively and spaced apart from each. acoaxial supplemental platenvfor printing dates, other, a second shaft removably jour-nailed in the lo numbers, etc.,'from an-impression member addllast-named pair of links; asegmentalroller platen 10i tional to the printing plates. Such supplemental coaxial with and rotatably supported on said'` platen is shown at H0 in Figs. 2 and 6, 'being 1ast-namedshaft,resilientmeans normallyfacting equipped with roller bearings embracing the shaft to retain said links out of alignment withv each 62. This supplemental platen is of slightly other and thereby maintainthe platen cutie! smaller radius than the segment 45 of the main contact withsaidY form, athird of pir-U15 platen, so that it may cooperate with a printotally connected to the platen s hatand to: said ing member Yl Il mounted -on the bed of the ma-V carriage, to guide the movement of the platen, chine at somewhat higher elevation than the means to move the mst-named pair of links into f printingV plate. alignment with each other, thereby causing the It will be understood from the description given platen to coact with said form- 20, of this machine that the entire platen mecha- 3. In aprinting machine, thecombination with nism iscarried by xed rigid frame arms which means to support a form, of a. guideway extendmay readilybe made with suicient stiffness to ing in a plane substantially parallel with said prevent any yielding action from the platen presform and thereabove, a carriage, reciproeably sure; likewise these arms have sucient area. mounted in said guideway, a` roller platen, a pair 25.

of contact with the main frame to prevent any of toggle links connected to said and yielding at their attachment to the main frame. said platen respectiveLv, means to reciprocate By employing two spaced "arms an open space is said carriage, a member pivoted to said guidewa'y provided which may act as a magazine' for the 'and acting consequent upon the'approaeh of the 80 stack of address plates or may receive a separate limit of movement of the carriage in onedirec- 3o magazine, if desired. l tion to cause the platen to engage a work sheet, It will also be observed that the platen is. moved and -means for yieldingly holding saidmember from its idle position down into active position whereby it may act-as a shock-absorber. so gradually that the force-required is 4, In a printingY machine, the cdmbiatiomof When in active position, the platen is positively a Yframe having means for supporting a form. on.- 35 rotated on the printing stroke, avoiding possibility such frame, an arm tixedly secured to said frame,

of slippage-between it and'the printing plate. a platencarriage mounted on said ann for; re The platen may be readily reset to start its printciprocation 'in a plane substantially parallel with ing 'at any line of Vthe plate and when reset the said form, a rotatableaplaten movahly mounted 40 position is positively insured by the gearing dein said carriage for moyement to andY from said w scribed.v Also the stoppage of the printing enform, means to reciprocate -the carriage, means gagement of the platenat any desired point is acting consequent of reciprocation of tl1e car readily and deinitely eilected. By'reason of theV riage tofmove the platen toward and away from mechanism which utilized to adjust the bethe form, a'rack carried by said guideway.; gearginning and ending of the printing-stroke of the ing, interconnecting 'said platen andi-ack to ro- 5 A platen, it is immaterial it the actual travel tate said platen when in contact with-the form. `of the platenl in either direction exceeds that 5.' In aprinting machine, the combination of required to make the impression. Finally, it may means for supporting a forni, a stationary guidebe -noted that the adjustments provided enable way spaced above said form, a carriage mounted 4the platen to be accurately positioned with refin said guideway, a roller platen, a pair of toggle .50

.erence to the plane of the printing member and links connected to said carriage and platen;

raisedor lowered to eilect the desired pressure. respectively, means t0 move Siiinks t0 c5115@ and enable the maintenance of this same presthe platen to move into and out of contact with sure throughout theentlre course of the irolling work-superimposed 0n Asaid form. a stationary action. f" rack'gearing connecting therackand platen and 55 Iclaim: Q j operative irrespective of thepositionofthelinks ll. In a printing machine, means ior supportand means to move the carriageinthe guidewey' ing' a. form, a `guideway extending above and to cause the platen to roll across said form. Vparallel with said form, a carriage reciprocably 6. In a printing machineI the combination of mounted -in` said guideway for movement in a means for supporting a fomastatioqaryarm.. directionin a plane parallel with-said form, a 'a carriage recipfocable on the arm, a Yroller pair of links plvotally connected to the carriage, Plten, 8'. pof'toagle links Golm the ,a second pair of-unks pivcted to thenrst-named platen with carriage, a third pdr of link links respectiyely and spaced apart from each [each plvoted to the platen attire axis thereof 35 other, a shaft jornalled i.n the last-named pair 'and to the carriage, a'stationary rack of links, a roller platen rotatably supported on by the arm, and a. trainer gearing Vsaid shaft, resilient means normally acting to the andv platen and including n gear' ooretainsaidlinksoutoialignmentwitheachother' axial wlththe l'livotoftl'lethirdlink'tothecai.F and thereby maintain theplaten out-of contact v, c. with the form'; and periodically acting yielding "L Inaprintingmachinisthewith mf in thedirection to lower the platen and against carriage, two links connecting said shaft with the platen shaft, a stationary rack and a gear train connecting it with the platen,

8. In a printing machine, the combination of means for supporting a printing form, a stationary arm, a reciprocable carriage mounted on the arm, a roller platen, toggles connecting the platen with the carriage means for straightening the toggles at the end of the stroke of the carriage to lower the platen to activeposition, means for reciprocating the carriage including a member and a driven member normally retained in engagement with each other by a spring adapted to yield and allow Athe operating member to clear the operated member in case of obstruction to the'depression of 'the platen, said engagement. of the driving member with the driven member being against an inclined surface an abrupt surface in the direction to raise the platen, whereby notwithstanding separation the parts will be automatically restored on the return stroke of the operating mechanism.

9. In a series printing machine, the combination of means for supporting printing devices one at a time in printing position, a stationary member, a Vroller platen carried by said stationary member Afor reciprocationv in a plane 4parallel with the printing device in printing. position and movable toward and away from the plane of said device,means acting consequent upon reciprocation of said platen to move the platen toward and away from work superimposed on said device, "and control means for causing the same line ot the platen to coact with the same line of the printing device on successive impressions.

10. In a printing machine, the combination of a frame having means for supporting a form, a rigid arm, rigidly secured to said frame at one end of'the arm and having a projecting portion with a free end to provide a xed guideway extending lengthwise of the projection spaced above the form, a platen carriage mounted on said guideway for reciprocation in a plane substantially parallel with the plane of said form, a platen mounted in said carriage for movement to and from said form, means to reciprocate the carriage, and meansA acting consequent on the reciprocation of said carriage to move the platen toward and from the form. l

11. In a printing machine, the combination of meansor supporting a form, a stationary guideway spaced above said form, a carriage mounted in said guideway, a roller platen, a pair of toggle links interconnected by a pivot pin and connected to said carriage and said platen' respectively, and provided with abutting surfacesar-l ranged to receive the thrust when the linksare' aligned, means adapted vto engage thepivot pin of said links toY move said links and thereby cause the platen to move into. and out of contact with work' superimposed on said form, and means to move the carriage along the guideway to cause the platen to roll across said form.

12. In a printing machine, the combination` with means to support a form, of .a guideway, a carriage mounted in said guideway for reciprocation in a plane 'substantially parallel with the surface of said form, a roller platen, a pair of interconnected toggle linksconnected to said carriage and platen respectively, means to reciprocate said carriage, means acting consequent upon the approach of the limit of movement of the carriage in one direction to cause the platen toengage a work sheet superimposed on said form, and means acting consequent upon the movement of the platen in the other direction to cause the platen to be rolled across said form, means acting consequent upon the platen arriving at a variably positioned predetermined point relative to the formduring its movement in the last-named direction to cause the platen to be raised clear of the form, and control means "for causing the same line of the platen to coact with the same line of the printing device on successive impressions.

13. In a printing machine, the combination of ,means ior supporting printing plates, a reciprocable carriage, a roller platen carried by the carriage adapted to coact with a printing plate in printing position or be free therefrom, means acting on one stroke of the carriage to lower the platen to active position and on another stroke to raise the .platen to idle position, means for reciprocating the carriage including an operating member and an operated member, and a spring for normally holding them in operating engagement, whereby said members are normally drivingly connected by the operating member and may move independently in case of abnormal resistance to the movement of the operated member. 14. In a printing machine, the combination of a frame, two rigid arms rigidly secured to the frame and spaced apart and rising therefrom then extending substantially parallel with the top of the frame, said arms being hollow on their inner faces, a horizontal guide strip carried by each arm within the hollow space, a platen carriage having outwardly projecting studs carrying rollers which engage the upper and underfaces of-said guide strips, and a magazine for address plates between the arms from which the lowermost plate in the magazine may be discharged in a. direction lengthwise of the arms.

15. A printing machine having means for supporting a form and a traveling segmental platen adapted to coact with the form, an adjustable stop for the platen adapted to be set for a predetermined selected line on the form, and means for controlling the platen to cause the same line thereof to coact with the same line of the form for'any given setting of the stop.

16. A printing machine having means for supporting the form, a reciprocating carriage, a platen, toggle links connecting the platen and carriage, and gearing eiective to drive the platen regardless of the position of the platen or its toggle links. l

17. A printing machine having means to support the form and a rigid support above the form, a rack on said rigid support, a carriage movable on the rigid support, a platen connected with the carriage. by toggle links, and gearing connecting the rackl with the platen. J

18. A series printing machine having means to support a form and a stationary arm on which a carriage is reciprocably mounted, the carriage Vhaving connected thereto a pair of toggle links which support a roller platen anda third link interconnected between the platen axis and the carriage to guide the' movement of .the platen resulting from the operationof the toggle due cluding a gear coaxial withthe pivotal connection betwen the third link and the carriage and a gear coaxial with the platen.

19. The combination, with means for support- Y ing a of a stationary platen 'su'ppoit.'` a eara frame having means for supporting a form, a

pair of arms above the frame and free therefrom.I 'atv their forward ends and having their rear ends depending and attached to the frame','

said'arms being spaced apart to allowiorms to Y be ied successively between them, a platen car-.-

riage mounted on said arms for reciprocation in a plane parallel with the surface ci the form,- a. platen carried by said carriage for movement to and from said form. and means acting consequent upon the movement of the carriage in one direction t'o move the platen vinto printing coactionwith the form.

21. In a printing nmchine, the combination 'of means for supporting' a; form, -a stationary guideway spaced above said forni, a carriage mounted in said guideway, a .roller platen, -a pair of toggle links connected together and at their free ends connected/directly to said carriage, and to the platen axes. respectively, the interconnected portions of the toggle links havingabuttingsuriaces arrangedtocoactwitheachotherwhenthe toggle is straightened to transmit theprinting pressure directly from one link to the other,

means to move said links to cause the platen to move into and ont of contact with work superimposed on said iorm, and means to move the carriage inthe Vguideway to cause the platen to` roll across said form.

22. A series printing machine having means for sulporting printing devices one at a time in a printing position, and a stationary frame sup-v porting a travelingvproller platen for reciprocation in a plane parallel with a printing device in printing position, toggle links said platenand control means governing the rotation of the platen to cause a predetermined linel on the platen-to come into engagement with those lines of ve printing devices which lie in the same predetermined position in the machine.

' CARL J. HUEBER.

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