US2616344A - Roller printer - Google Patents

Description

NOV- 4, 1952 w. R. PATIENCE ETAL 2,616,344

ROLLER PRINTER Filed Nov. 24,` 1948 44 4/ 55A' [ya l 52 5'/ /a 67 l l @-53 .5654/4 5f 37 INVENT R WARREN FLPPIE CE & EYDWIN S. PATIENCE.'

T/.ve/r ATTORNEYS.

'f terial.

-machine to the other.

Patented Nov. 4, 1952 UNITED STATES APATENI' OFFICE lROLLER PRINTER WarrenzR. Patience, Franklin ;Square,and Edwin S. Patience, Hempstead,N.wY.

Application November 24,'1948,"Serial"No."61,844

.-.4 claims. 1

Ifhisinvention relates-'to improvements inpho- A rtoprinting andphotocopying apparatus. `AIt--il'e- 'lates'particularly to an improved form of copying and printing device whichis adapted to I be-used inlmaking photographic prints from strip 4film, copying from separateY papers or from pagesof books, either by transmitted light or by reflex, and formany other purposes.

A great many kinds of copying -or printing machines havebeen devised heretoforeflargely :for commercial printing operations with different Vtypes of light-sensitive materials. Usually, the prior machines have been one purpose machines,

made primarily to handle one type of Vcopy machine, the copy is fed forwardly in contactvwith the light-sensitive materialirom one-end of/ the Articles such as the ypages in books cannot be handled in .thesemachines for the pages cannot be fed between thesupporting and feeding elements far enoughto permit a copy of a complete page to bemade without `tearing the page from the book. .Also,.un1ess V'these prior devicesare especiallyfconstructed,

they are notvvery satisfactory'for-copyingrstrip film, for example, motion picture lmffor the reason that the. light source is notregulated-.to

l.give the narrow beam of light required; forsharp .copying with thehighly sensitive positive or nega- 4tive materials used in such copyingA operation.

Another problem encounteredtwith` the prior rdevicesis that of providing efficient coolingwithoutloss of copying eiliciency bythe introduction -of dust by the cooling system. Usually, these prior devices are provided-withair cooling means whereby air is circulated aroundthe light source Unless great. care is exercized, .the

.An object of the present' invention is to pro- -v vide avery versatile 'photoprinting and copying machine .of compact form by means of which Ymany different types of materials can be copied or printed, for example, the-pages in books, mo-A :rtion fpicture iilms, blueprints, printed p matter,

either by reiiected or transmitted light and `which rr.caneven be used tomake color separation negativeszor positives.

@Another object oi':l the inventiony isi ,tof provide In the automatic type of copying maa copying-1nachine-Whch,` because of its struc- `ture, permits the -easy and automatic copyingoi pages of books Iwithoutrdanger Aof tearing the pages lfrom -the rbooks, the I machine, however, without `modiiicationvbeing equally adapted to handle'continuousstrip material such -as motion picture film andzthe like.

A furthel` object of the invention is to provide a photocopying or photoprinting machine having an improvedcooling system :and a lightv concentrating system thereinwhich [to alarge degree eliminates problems'of dust and heat while providing a very concentrated beam of light for producing sharp copies ofthe copy material.

Otherobjects Aoi? Athe invention. will become apparent -from thefollowingdescription of a typical form ofI copying and` printing apparatus embodying the present invention.

Devices of the type embodying the present invention may include-a pair of cooperating rollers of small diameter between which the copy Vmaterialand the light-sensitive material are passed in contact :with each other, one of the rollers being made of or having a-covering of soft rubber- Vlike material. The roller cooperating with the soft roller is Vvmade of transparentmaterial such as glass or transparentplastic,` this roller being of such diameter-that it acts as a condensing lensto concentrate light from-asource of light 1located adjacent toiit'intheform of -a sharp narrow beam essentiallyfatfthe-zone of contact of y the two rollers 4to-prevent 1 scattering of the light and resulting foggingher distortion of the copy.

In addition to the foregoing'features, the device isf'provided with aV light housing `which' is dis- Aposed adjacent to-the transparent roller, the

source of light 'being housed lpreferably in a tubular -transparent member through l which air -may'be circulatedin order tocool the light source Vwithout'the-.air being directedagainst the transparent roller or other mechanism. I'By providing filtered air, the problem of dirt or dustV in the housing is tora'very largegdegree eliminated so that rloss of eiiiciency or -mar1 ingof .the prints isY largely overcome. Y

:A `further feature'ofl--the invention is the provision of--a1lter mechanism associated with the light source whereby diierentl-ltersrrnay be interposed between the light source and the transparent rollerto permitfif desired 4separation negatives orf-positives -to-bee-printedA through several differentseparation lters. Moreover, the devicemaybe provided with suitable lightbaf- 1 ilesf whereby the' light may be f concentrated directly upon a narrow zone of the copy material or may be spread out over a somewhat wider zone to control the amount of light and the exposing of the copy material.

The use of small rollers of the type referred to above makes the device particularly suitable for copying the pages of books because these small rollers do not interfere with the entry of the page almost completely between the rollers into a position to be copied. To prevent damage to the book or its pages, an automatic reversing mechanism has been provided whereby the page is advanced between the rollers until the back or adjacent pages of the book come in contact with a control member, whereupon the direction of rotation of the rollers is reversed, the light source is shut oi and the page is backed out of the rollers.

An apparatus of the type described generally above can be made very compact and is of relatively light weight so that it is readily portable and does not require a large amount of space for its installation and use. It will be understood, of course, that the length of the rollers may be varied to accommodate various widths of the copy material. Because of the versatility of the device, it lends itself particularly to office use for making copies of letters and other papers and does away with the need for a photostatic camera or other similar device.

For a better understanding of the present invention, reference may be had to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a view in elevation of a typical form of device embodying the invention with a part of the housing removed and also shown partly in section to disclose details thereof; and

Fig. 2 is a view in section taken on line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

The device chosen for purposes of illustration is of the portable type including elements of such size as to make it suitable for copying books, letters and manuscripts of ordinary legal and similar sizes. The device, of course, may be made larger, if desired, or even smaller, for copying photographic negatives of the conventional sizes.

lThe device includes a flat supporting base I@ provided with uprights Ii and I2 near its opposite ends, these uprights being of any desired shape and size, and, as illustrated, each includes a generally rectangular lower portion i3 and an upwardly tapering portion terminating in a curved or rounded upper end portion It. A metallic housing or cover portion I5 having a semicylindrical upper portion and downwardly converging sideportions I6 and Il is mounted on and between the uprights II and i2. The side portions I6 and I'i terminate at about the horizontal diameter of a transparent roller i8 and may be provided with thin, inwardly directed baffles Ita and Ila closely adjacent to the surface of the roller I8.

The roller I8 is supported rotatably by means of stub shafts i9 and 2t at its opposite ends engaging in the bearings 2l and 22 in the side frame. The roller I8 is provided with end anges 23 and 24 in order to guide large or relatively wide copy material but these end anges can be omitted if desired.

The roller I8 cooperates with a roller 25 which may include a hard metal core 2S and a relatively thick covering 2'I formed of soft spongy rubber or rubberlike material. The roller 25 is supported at its opposite ends by means of the projecting ends 28 and 29 of the core 2d in suitable,

bearings 3i) and 3| in the uprights II and i2. The rollers It and 2'! are so related in position that the transparent roller IS indents the surface of the rubber roller to a substantial extent in order to assure intimate surface contact of the copy material, for example, the page of a book B and the photosensitive copying material M shown in Fig. 2.

The left-hand ends of the rollers 'i8 and 2 are connected by means of the gears 32 and 33 so that they are rotated in opposite directions by means of the reversible motor 3ft. The motor 3Q is connected by means of the reducing gearing 35 to a gear 36 at the righthand end of the roller 2'1 so that the roller 21 can be driven in either direction.

The speed of the motor can be controlled by means of a rheostat 3l connected between the motor 34 and the power line in order to regulate the printing time.

The motor may be reversed by means of a switch 38 mounted on the side plate I2 and having an upwardly extending switch plunger 3S.

Light is supplied for the printing operation by means of a lamp Iii) which may be of incandescent, gas, or arc type which is supported in a socket 4I.

The socket is mounted in the center of a cupshaped element 42 which is secured at its leithand end to the upright I I. The base of the cupshaped member d2 is provided with a plurality of relatively large openings 43, lit, these openings being in alignment with similar openings 55, it in the upright II. The cup-shaped member i2 is adapted to receive one end of a hollow glass tube 47 which is substantially concentric with the lamp di] and is supported at its opposite end in an annular collar 48 on the upright I2. The upright is provided with a hole A39 in alignment with the tube 41.

The cup-shaped member 42 and the collar i3 also form a support for a generally cylindrical tubular filter member 5B which is rotatably mounted on the collar 42 and the collar fie. The lter member is provided with a knurled disc member 5I which extends through a slot 52 in the housing I5 so that the lter can be rotated to position any part of it between the light source M3 and the roller I8. As shown in Fig. 2, the filter 50 may have three differently colored segmental lter elements 53, 54 and 55 suitable for making separation negatives or it may have more of the filter elements if desired. In order to reinforce the lter member 50, it may be provided with longitudinally spaced bars 525 extending from end to end.

In order to further control the amount of light directed against the roller I8, the housing may be provided with a pair of shutters 57 and 58 which extend lengthwise of the housing I5 below the center of the filter I5 and are pivotally supported in the housing at their upper edges. The lower ends of the shutters 51 and 5S are provided with slotted brackets 59 and 6@ which receive pins iii and 62 mounted on the nuts 63 and Gi. These nuts are threaded on the shaft $5 which is rotatably'mounted in the converging walls of the housing I5 and is provided with oppositely directed threads so that upon rotation of the shaft 55, the shutters swing inwardly or outwardly to vary the width of the beam of light directed against the roller I8.

The intensity of the light l0 may be varied by means of a rheostat 68 mounted on the upright I I.

Qooling of the light source may be eifected by means of a suitable motor 61 driving a blower B8 which is connected by means of a conduit 59 to the openings 45 and 46 in the uprightand the openings '42, l'44 `in the cup-.shaped member 42. The air flows through the tube 4l and is discharged to atmosphere through the opening 49 in the upright I2.

By providing' a suitable lter at the intake of the blower 68. relatively dust-free air can be directed around the lamp to keep the transparent member free of dust. Also, the cooling air is confined within the transparent member 4'! and thus does not pass over the surface of the roller I8 or other cooperating parts, Transfer of heat to the copy material may be further reduced by mounting a glass plate 'IU between the filter member 50 and the roller I8, this plate being supported by means of suitable brackets II and l2 on the uprights II and I2.

In order to support copy material and the sensitive material while passing between the rollers I8 and 25, the device may be provided with an upwardly inclined platform 'I3 which is mounted on the base I and terminates adjacent the periphery of the roller 25. The material is supported on the opposite side of the nip between the rollers I8 and 25 by a horiontal platform 14 extending between the uprights II and I2 and mounted on the base I0 of the device.

The motor 34 for driving the rollers I8 and 21 is reversible under the control of the switch 38. as described above. Advantage of this arrangement is taken to permit the copying of pages of books; thus, for example, as shown in Fig. 2, a page of a book and a sheet of photosensitive material thereon may be introduced between the rollers I8 and 25 and the motor 3f: started so that the page advances from left to right between the rollers I8 and 20. When the covers or adjacent pages of the book come into substantial contact with the rollers I3 and 25, a bail or tripping member 'I5 formed of wire or the like is engaged by the book and is moved downwardly about its pivots I6 and I'I in the uprights II and I2. Downward movement of the bail member trips the switch 38 by engagement of the arm 'I8 on the tripping member with the push button 39 so that the motor is immediately reversed, thereby backing the book away from the rollers. The switch 38 may also be used to deenergize the light 40 when the motor is reversed to prevent double exposures.

This reversing mechanism does not, however. interfere with the passage of sheet or strip material between the rollers for the bail member merely rests upon the surface of the copy material or photosensitive material and is not displaced thereby.

The use of the soft rubber roller 25 and the transparent roller 28 is eective in producing very sharp copies 0f copy material such as motion picture lm and the like` Inasmuch as the soft rubber roller is indented by the transparent roller, very tight contact is obtained between the copy material and the copying material. Moreover, the use of the transparent roller as a focusing element assures a sharp concentration of light at the zone where the materials are forced most intimately into engagement.

From the preceding description, it will be apparent that we have provided a very versatile type of photoprinting or photocopying device and one which is capable of handling a very large variety of materials with a minimum of attention. Moreover. the device is so arranged that very accuratelytimedexposures can bemade by adjustment of kthe speed of the drive motor 34 and variation'in the spacing of the shutters 51 and 58.

It will be understood that the device is susceptible to considerable modification in its details and that `the filter structure may be modified to render it suitable for the copy work being done and that the device may be modified in size and shape depending upon requirements. Therefore, the form of the invention described herein should be considered as illustrative and not as limiting the scope ofthe following claims.

We claim:

1. A photoprinting and photocopying device comprising a frame, va. pair of cylindrical rollers of about the same relatively small diameter, said rollers being rotatably mounted at their opposite ends -in said frame, one of said rollers being transparent and the other soft and rubbery and being indented normally by peripheral engagement with said transparent roller, a source of light mounted in said frame to one side of and in spaced relation to 'said transparent roller for directing light therethrough toward said rubbery roller, a reversible electric motor for rotating said rollers to advance copy material between said rollers and retract said copy material, switching means for reversing the direction of rotation of said rollers by said motor, and a bail member pivotally mounted 'in said frame in -advance of said rollers and in the path of a part projecting from Vthe plane of the copy material advancing between said rollers, said bail member being displaceable by engagement with said part to actuate said Vswitch and reverse said motor to retract said copy material.

2. A photoprinting and photocopying device comprising a base member, a pair of end plates spaced apart lengthwise of said base member, a pair of relatively small rollers rotatably mounted in peripheral engagement in and extending between said end plates in spaced relation to said base member, said rollers being of about the same diameter and having their axes in substantially a vertical plane, the lower roller having a soft rubbery surface and the upper roller being transparent, gear means at the ends of said rollers connecting them for simultaneous rotation in opposite directions and at the same peripheral speed, a motor connected to one of said rollers to rotate them, a source of light including a housing extending between and supported at its ends at the upper ends of said end plates, said light source and housing directing a band of light lengthwise of said transparent roller, the latter being of such small diameter as to act as a lens to focus the band in a narrow beam at the surface of said lower roller, a shelf to one side of said rollers extending substantially horizontally between said end plates and approximately in alignment with the engaging peripheries of said rollers to receive copy material, the opposite sides of the rollers being otherwise substantially unobstructed to permit a page in an open book to be passed between the rollers to substantially the full width of the page before the remainder of the book comes into engagement with said rollers.

3. A photoprinting and photocopying device comprising a base member, a pair of end plates spaced apart lengthwise of said base member, a pair of relatively small rollers rotatably mounted in peripheral engagement in and extending between said end plates in spaced relation to said base member, said rollers being of about the saine diameter and having their axes in substan- .aclarantially a vertical plane, the lower roller having a soft rubbery surface and the upper roller being transparent, means connecting said rollers for simultaneous rotation in opposite directions, a motor connected to said rollers to rotate them, a source of light including a housing extending between and supported at its ends at the upper ends of said end plates, said light source and housing directing a band of light lengthwise of said transparent roller, the latter being of such small diameter as to act as a lens to focus the band in a narrow beam at the surface of said lower roller, a shelf to one side of said rollers extending substantially horizontally between said end plates and approximately in alignment with the engaging peripheries of said rollers to receive copy material, the opposite sides of the rollers being otherwise substantially unobstructed to permit a page in an open book to be passed between the rollers to substantially the full width of the page before the remainder o the book cornes into engagement with said rollers, a contacting member pivotally mounted between said end plates and having an outer portion adjacent to said unobstructed side of said rollers, said pivotally mounted member being movable toward said rollers by a part projecting from the plane of the page being advanced by and between said rollers, and means to reverse the direction of rotation of said rollers actuated by movement of said member toward said rollers.

4. A photoprin-ting and copying device comprising a substantially at, long and narrow 'base member, a pair of end plates mounted in spaced substantially parallel upwardly extending relation from and on opposite ends of said base member, a pair of relatively small diameter rollers rotatably mounted at opposite ends in said end plates, extending between said end plates above said base member and arranged one above the other, the lower roller having a flexible deformable friction surface normally engaging the surface of said upper roller between said end plates, said upper roller being transparent, gear means connecting said rollers for simultaneous rotation at the same peripheral speeds, motor driven means for rotating said rollers, a light housing connecting said end plates above said rollers having an opening at the bottom directed toward said upper roller throughout the length thereof, and a source of light in said light housing extending between said end plates for directing a band of light throughout the length of said housing between said end plates toward said transparent roller for focussing by said transparent roller. in a narrow beam at the surface of said lower roller, the space between said end plates along one side of said rollers above said base member being substantially unobstructed for feeding sheet material between said rollers throughout the length thereof from one side of said device for delivery outwardly beyond the opposite side.

WARREN R. PATIENCE.

EDWIN S. PATIENCE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent: Y

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,251,076 Mauch Dec. 25, 1917 1,744,323 Mayer Jan. 21, 1930 1,950,692 Owens Mar. 13, 1934 1,989,836 Whitman Feb. 5, 1935 2,041,478 Niederle May 19, 1936 2,222,961 Szasz Nov. 26, 1940 2,260,486 Smeck Oct. 28, 1941 2,308,130 Von Meister et al. Jan. 12, 1943 2,346,988 Noel Apr, 18, 1944 2,351,339 Hruby June 13, 1944 2,427,443 Cochran Sept. 16, 1947 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 483,014 Great Britain Apr. 8, 1938

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