US2237548A - Duplicating machine - Google Patents

Description

April 8, 1941.

R. J. COPELAND ET AL DUPLICATING MACHINE Filed March 29, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet l Im/en tors. erfJCa oe/ana/ Ernest LIB/com,

April 1941- R. J. COPELAND ET AL 2,.Z3ZEM8 DUPLICATING MACHINE Filed March 29, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Apr. 8, 1941 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE DUPLICATING MACHINE Robert J. Copeland, Toronto, Ontario, and Ernest J. Bloore, Brampton, Ontario,- Canada; said Bloore assignor to said Copeland Application March 29, 1940, Serial No. 326,706

9 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in duplicating machines of the type in which successive copies are obtained by first preparing a master sheet on which the matter to be duplicated is superposed in a substance which is soluble in a special volatile fluid and the copies are made by moistening the successive copy sheets with such fluid and they are then brought into engagement with the master sheet and an impression or print is received therefrom.

Machines for holding the master sheet on the surface of a rotating cylinder and feeding the copy sheets in contact with a moistening device to apply the special fluid required to the surface thereof so that copies may be made with great rapidity therefrom are known, and the principal object of the present invention is to provide a machine of this class of greatly simplified form which may be made available at very low cost.

and which may be very readily handled in the operation of producing multiple copies.

A further and important object is to provide an improved means for feeding the volatile fluid to the surface which is adapted to apply the volatile fluid to the copy sheets, said feeding means being particularly adapted to conserve the volatile fluid and to avoid losses due to unnecessary handling.

A further object is to provide a duplicating machine in which the means for manipulating the pressure roller for holding the copy sheets into contact with the master sheet in the printing operation may be readily altered or adjusted.

The principal features of the invention consist in the novel construction and arrangement of parts whereby the master sheet-holding cylinder, which is rotatably driven by a gear-connested hand crank, is provided with removable cam surfaces adapted to engage and periodically remove the pressure roller from operative engagement with the periphery of the master cylinder, and the cylinder carries means for cooperatively engaging and holding the copy sheets into wetting contact with a moistening device.

A further and extremely important feature of the invention consists in the novel construction and arrangement of the moistening device which has its moistem'ng terminus arranged in a position elevated above a supply well from which the moistening medium is conducted by capillary attraction and the moistening fluid is automatically fed to a Well or trap receptacle.

A still further feature of importance consists .in the novel simplicity of means carried by the master cylinder for gripping and holding the master sheet which is cooperative with manual means for effecting the release of the master sheet.

In the accompanying drawings Figure 1 is a plan view of our improved duplieating machine.

Figure 2 is a vertical longitudinal mid-sectional view and part elevation of the machine.

Figure 3 is a vertical sectional View taken on the line 3--3 of Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a plan view of the moistening device having parts thereof broken away to illustrate internal and hidden portions.

Figure 5 is an enlarged cross sectional detail taken through the sheet-moistening device and a portion of the master cylinder and pressure roller.

Figure 6 is an enlarged sectional detail through one end of the cylinder and the frame showing the driving connection between the crank drive and the cylinder and the means for operating the master sheet gripping bar.

Figure 7 is a longitudinal broken sectional View of the master cylinder showing the means for holding a cam in place.

Figure 8 is a part end elevation and part sectional View of the master cylinder showing one of the cams.

Figure 9 is a sectional and part elevational view showing a modified arrangement of cams in the master cylinder for operating the pressure roller.

In the structure illustrated in the accompanying drawings the frame is formed of a pair of end panels I which are spaced apart and rigidly connected by a plurality of cross bars 2. Each of the and panels is provided with a boss 3 in which a shaft 4 is journalled and said shaft has mounted thereon a spur gear 5 which meshes with a pinion 6 mounted on a short shaft '5 journalled in the upper part of one of the bosses 3 and upon the outer end of which is secured a crank 8 or other driving means.

The printing or master cylinder 8 is concentrically mounted on and secured to the shaft 4 so that upon the turning of the crank t3 the master cylinder will be rotated through the medium of the gears 5 and 6.

A shallow L-shaped slot 10 is formed in the perimeter of the cylinder 9 and extends from endto-end thereof and communicates with radial slots II in the end Walls of the cylinder. An L-shaped bar I2 having its ends slidably mounted in the radial slots fits snugly within the L-shaped slot and the peripherally extending portion of the said bar is adapted to grip and hold the end edge of the master sheet upon which the desired printing impression has been made with the printing media. The bar I2 is held to its inward position by a suitable spring which is not shown.

A rod i3 is journalled in the ends of the cylinder 9 and has a pair of short curved fingers l4 mounted one on each end thereof, which fingers engage the ends of the bar l2. Mounted on one end of the cylinder on a journal pin I5 is a cam member I 6 which has a finger ll at the inner end engaging one of the fingers l4. This cam is adapted to be engaged by a sliding bolt l'l, Figure 6, mounted in one end of the casing, which bolt is adapted to be pressed in by the finger of the operator, so that as the cylinder revolves the cam will engage the bolt and be tipped so as to swing the fingers l4 upwardly to lift the bar l2 out of its slot to release the master sheet.

After the release of the master sheet and the insertion of a new one, so as to engage the bar I2, the cam passes under the bolt and the bar l2 being spring-actuated moves inwardly to grip the new sheet.

As the cylinders rotation continues the bolt IT is engaged by a lug member [8 secured to the end of the cylinder which has a bevelled outer portion which engages the inner end of the bolt and pushes it outwardly so that it will not engage the cam l9 until it is again pressed inwardly by the operator.

Mounted on one end of the cylinder shaft 4 is a disc I9 is provided with a notch in its periphery. This notch is engaged by a roller Zl mounted on a pivotal arm 22 which is spring-held by the spring 23 in close engagement with the disc. When the roller drops into the notch it forms a positive positioning stop for the cylinder and the operator has a definite indication that the cylinder is in the proper position for the feeding in of a copy sheet.

It will be noted that a transverse plate 24 extends between the end panels of the frame structure near the top and this is above the cylinder. This plate is formed with a pair of 110mgitudinal slots 25 in which clamping bolts 26 are mounted which extend through and grip the edge guide members 26 which are used in properly positioning the master sheet when it is being inserted into engagement with the bar l2.

A pressure roller 21 is mounted on a spindle which is supported on pivotal arms 28 mounted on pivots 29 extending inwardly from the end panels I below the master cylinder 9. The free ends of the arms 28 are engaged by adjustably mounted springs 29 which hold the surface of the roller in close engaging contact with the surface of the cylinder so that when a sheet of paper is fed in between the rotated cylinder 9 and the pressure roller 21 the said sheet will be held in close engaging and pressure printing contact with the master sheet carried by the master cylinder.

The cylinder 9 has mountedon its perimeter adjacent to each end a pair of cam members 30. These are preferably made removable each having a dowel pin 3| arranged adjacent to each end which fit into radial holes in the cylinder, and the outer edge of the cam is bevelled and is engaged by sliding clamp members 32 mounted in transverse slots in the cylinder and engaging the bevelled edges of the cams.

are adapted to engage and lift the pressure roller from contact with the master cylinder for a portion of a revolution to permit the rotation of the master sheet to a predetermined position and to permit the insertion of the copy sheet. When the copy sheet has been inserted between the master sheet mounted on the cylinder and the pressure roller the cam track then drops the pressure roller into contact and the continued rotation of the cylinder presses the copy sheet against the master sheet and an impression is taken therefrom.

These cams 7 When the machine is to be used for taking a number of duplicate copies of say a letter or a circular then it is desirable to remove the cams and the pressure roller will remain in constant contact and the copy sheets can be fed in to the point of contact of the pressure roller and cylinder so that they will then be gripped between the two and carried through and print the full circumference of cylinder.

A modification of this arrangement of cam manipulation of the pressure roller is found in Figure 9 wherein the cam members are preferably formed by a pair of arc-shaped members hinged together and each is provided with a cam member 33 which is provided with a quadrangle web 34, which webs are loosely mounted back of lugs 35 mounted on the shaft 4.

A pair of eccentric members 36 are suitably journalled on the inner sides of the ends of the master cylinder. These are adapted to be rotated to move the cams outwardly to the operating position as illustrated in Figure 9, or they may be rotated to the position shown in dotted lines which will allow the cams to recede inward under the pull of the springs 31 so that no cam surfaces will be projecting and the pressure roller will operate in continuous contact with the cylinder.

The construction of the device for handling and printing the copy sheets as herein described is extremely simple and inexpensive.

It is an important feature of the present invention to provide a novel and effective form of moistening device to apply the spirit moistener to the surface of the copy sheets that are being fed in to engage the master sheet and to be printed thereby.

Between the end panels I is arranged a tray member 38 which is preferably formed of sheet metal and has upwardly extending side walls 39 which have ribs 40 sliding into slots in the panels which are engaged and held by thumb screws 4|. The tray when thus positioned has a slight upward slope toward the master cylinder 9 and it also is provided with a back flange 42 and a depression or well 43 is formed in the bottom thereof midway between its end walls.

A second tray member 44 is spaced slightly above the top of the inner portion of the tray 38 and extends inwardly therebeyond and overlapping this inner tray member is a sheet metal guard 45 which has its inward edge adjacent to the master cylinder curved downwardly and spaced from the inward edge of the tray 44, leav ing a narrow slot extending completely across between the end panels I.

A wick member 46 has a looped portion extending around and partly embedded in the depression 43 and this wick extends longitudinally and is provided with a plurality of enlarged portions 41 as is shown particularly in Figure 4, and these portions rest upon a'pad 48 arranged between the tray 44 and the overlapping guard 45.

The pad 48 is preferably covered with chamois skin and a part of this extends through the slot formed between the inner end of the member 45 and the tray 44 and is adapted to engage and rub against the surface of the paper sheets as they are passed inwardly.

A guard plate 49 extends over the top of the branched wick member to cover same and prevent undue evaporation and also to protect it from dirt.

A tank as, preferably of rectangular shape, is supported between the end panels above the tray 38 and it has a nozzle member extending downwardly therefrom into the depression 43 in the tray 38. This nozzle has a liquid feed opening 52 leading from the interior of the tank into the depression 43 and it also has a small air duct 53 which is sealed by the liquid contained in the depression and as the liquid evaporates or becomes dispersed by means of the wick, a small quantity of air finds ingress through the air duct into the tank and permits the escape of a further small quantity of the liquid. A regulating set screw 54 is arranged in the liquid passage leading to the depression or well,

It will be readily understood that, with the highly volatile liquid closely enclosed within a tank which only has a very small opening in the bottom sealed by a fluid seal, the liquid will be conserved in the best possible manner.

The tray structure is definitely arranged with the inner ends slanting upwardly toward the master cylinder to prevent the liquid ink solvent from flowing down and away on escape surfaces. A plate 55 is mounted on a bar 56 which is pivoted at the ends to form a tiltable mounting for the plate and a lever 57 is connected to said bar and extends up alongside one end of the master cylinder and is engaged by a pin 58 projecting from the end of the master cylinder. This pin is arranged so as to engage the lever at a period while the peripheral cam on the master cylinder is holding the pressure roller away from contact with its peripheral surface. A slight movement of the cylinder moves the lever downwardly to swing the plate 55 away from the slot in the moistening device so that a sheet of paper may be passed therethrough to engage the surface of the printing cylinder. A slightly further movement moves the pin past the lever allowing the plate 55 to swing upwardly through the urge of the spring 59 connected to the lower end of the lever, and said plate 55 has a rounded surface which presses the paper against the moist surface of the chamois-covered pad 48.

Immediately following the release of the lever the peripheral cams of the master cylinder allow the pressure roller to move into pressure relation with the cylinder surface. Consequently the sheet of copy paper which has been moistened by contact with the moistening pad is held in rolling gripping contact between the master sheet overlying the cylinder and the pressure roller and an impression is made on the copy sheet.

A tray member 60 is mounted adjacent to and slightly beneath the inward end of the tray 38, its inner edge extending close to the member 55. This tray is adapted to form a guide over which the copy sheets to be printed are passed. A suitable indicating pointer BI is mounted thereon and a weighted pivotal holder plate 62 is arranged between the side flanges of the tray 60 under which the individual sheets of copy paper are fed.

In placing the sheet the operator simply advances the same in the tray 60 until the rearward edge or other identifying point comes into register with the pointer BI and so that the advance edge enters the throat between the inner edge of plate 44 and plate and as the plate 55 is swung downwardly as above defined, the advance edge of the paper will strike the downwardly sloping surface of the cylinder and be deflected between the cylinder surface and the now retracted pressure roller 21 to be instantly advanced with the cylinder when the cylinder cams clear the said roller.

In this way each successive sheet may be accurately positioned in relation to the master sheet carried by the cylinder, and in practice it will be found that the operator will become quite expert in placing the sheets and even if the sheet is positioned in relation to the pointer prior to opening of the plate 55 the slight buckling of the sheet will be localized between the point of obstruction of the advance edge and the weighted hold-down plate 62 so that the instant the obstruction is removed, by downward swinging of the plate 55, the advance edge portion will spring forwardly into position to be gripped between the cylinder and pressure roller so that the operator is afforded the maximum period in which to place the sheet and may commence placing the subsequent sheet immediately the previously placed sheet has commenced its advance movement.

From this description it will be readily appreciated that a machine such as described may be manufactured at extremely low cost and it may be utilized to very great advantage in malting duplicates of invoices and for copying letters and circulars.

Where the device is used for continuous form invoicing it will be understood that cams of a suitable length are arranged on the master cylinder to hold the pressure roller from contact with the master sheet during the periods when the movement of the copy sheet is delayed and the master sheet continues its movement with out printing.

When duplicating other than continuous form invoice Work is to be accomplished on the machine the cams may be removed, or, if the retractible type of cam is used, as illustrated in Figure 9, these may be withdrawn.

In operating the device, the operator presses the bolt ll inwardly and upon the turning of the crank brings the cam l6 into engagement therewith and the cam engaging the fingers I4 lifts the bar l2. A master sheet which has been previously prepared is then placed between the guide lugs 26 carried by the member 24, which extends upwardly on one side of the cylinder, and the edge of the master sheet is inserted into the slot and in abutment with the bar I2.

A slight movement of the cylinder by turning the crank moves the cam l6 to release the bar I: and it is spring-actuated to move inwardly and grip the edge of the master sheet. The master sheet is then folded back over the cylinder.

The cams mounted on the periphery of the cylinder lift the pressure roller from engagement with the surface of the cylinder and the copy sheets are fed in from the tray 59 between the trays 38 and 44, and the member 55 is depressed by the engagement of the pin 58 with the operating lever. The end of the sheet thus may be fed in freely and immediately after its having passed into contact with the cylinder the member 55 rises upwardly and presses it against the moistening surface and the pressure roller engages the copy sheet and holds it against the master sheet and the rotation of the master cylinder draws the sheet inwardly and effects the printing thereof.

When the printing has been completed the operator may shut off the supply of volatile moistening fluid by simply turning the set screw 54 to close the opening 52.

It will be appreciated that the machine may be carried about from place to place quite readily and in the drawings it is shown arranged upon a base tray 63 which may be the bottom of a carrying casing if desired. At any rate the tray forms a base which will protect the desk upon which a machine is placed from being marred by the dropping of the printing fluid or oil thereon.

It will be appreciated that this machine will enable the printing of short sheets of predetermined lengths, or, by the removal of the cams from the master cylinder, sheets of the full length of the cylinder perimeter may be printed.

What we claim as our invention is:

1. A duplicating machine comprising a frame, a master sheet holding cylinder mounted in said frame, a pressure roller adapted to engage the surface of said cylinder, means for directing sheets to be printed between said cylinder and roller, a tray for feeding the sheets to the cylinder having an upwardly inclined inner end, a pivotal plate arranged at the inward end of said tray and forming a sheet-guiding continuation of the latter, a tray spaced above the aforesaid tray presenting a moisture-receiving depression at its lowermost point and inclined upwardly from the moisture-receiving depression toward the cylinder, a moistening pad supported from said upper tray, means for feeding moistening fluid to said pad from the said moisture-receiving depression, and means for periodically moving said pivotal plate into pressure relation with said moistening pad.

2. A duplicating machine comprising a frame, a master sheet holding cylinder mounted in said frame, a pressure roller adapted to engage the surface of said cylinder, means for directing sheets to be printed between said cylinder and roller, a tray for feeding the sheets to the cylinder having an upwardly inclined inner end, a pivotal plate arranged at the inward end of said tray, a moisture-receiving tray spaced above the aforesaid tray and inclined upwardly toward the cylinder, a moistening pad holder supported above and spaced from said upper tray and having a slot at its inner end, a moistening pad, a wick leading from said upper tray to said pad, means for feeding moisture to said wick, and means for periodically moving said pivotal plate into pressure relation with said moistening pad.

3. A device as claimed in claim 2 in which the upper tray is provided with a well, a moisture holder supported above said upper tray having a nozzle extending downwardly into said well,

said nozzle having a moisture hole and an air hole leading from the interior of the holder to the extremity of the nozzle.

4. A device as claimed in claim 2 in which the upper tray is provided with a well, and a closed casing is removably mounted above said tray and is provided with openings leading through a nozzle into said well, means being arranged to control the flow of moisture through one of said openings,

5. In a duplicating machine, a frame, a master sheet holding cylinder rotatably mounted and having a slot extending longitudinally of its periphery, a master sheet gripper bar slidably mounted and spring-operated in said slot to move radially, a rod mounted in the cylinder ends having fingers at the ends engaging said gripper bar, a cam pivotally mounted on one end of the cylinder and engaging one of said fingers, a manually operable bolt slidably arranged in the frame adapted to engage said cam in the operation of the cylinder to operate said bar to release the master sheet gripped thereby, and means on the cylinder for retracting said bolt on a further movement of the cylinder.

6. In a duplicating machine the combination with a cylinder for supporting a master sheet, pressure roller means co-operating therewith and means for moistening copy sheets in passage to said cylinder, of means carried by said cylinder for periodically retracting said pressure roller means from the cylinder as the cylinder rotates, and means on said cylinder for selectively withdrawing the aforesaid means from operation.

7. A duplicating machine as claimed in claim 6, in which said pressure roller retracting means includes cam members displaceably mounted on the cylinder to be projected into co-operative relation to the pressure roller means or retracted clear thereof in accordance with the class of work being handled.

8. In a duplicating machine of the class described, having a cylinder for supporting a master sheet, pressure roller means co-operating therewith and means for moistening copy sheets in passage to said cylinder, means carried by said cylinder for periodically retracting said pressure roller means from the cylinder as the cylinder rotates, said latter means including cam members detachably and interchangeably fitted in the periphery of said cylinder, and means for detachably retaining said cam members in place including clamp members slidable in the cylinder and having wedging co-operation with said cam members.

9. A duplicating machine as claimed in claim 6 in which said pressure roller retracting means includes cam members displaceable substantially radially in the cylinder, spring means for urging said cam members inwardly, and cam means for moving said cam members outwardly.

ROBERT J. COPELAND. ERNEST J. BLOORE.

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