Improvements in Machines for Treating Hides and Skins.
Year: 1895

page_text: Date of Application, 4th June, 1895-Accepted, 6th July, 1895
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Machines for Treating Hides and Skins.
I, ALFRED SEYMOUR-JONES, of Cambrian Leather Works, Wrexham, in the
County of Denbigh, Leather Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of this
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement :—
My invention relates to a machine for fleshing scudding or cleansing, striking
out or slicking, skiving or frizzing, unhairing, or laying out hides, skins or leather
as may be necessary within the meaning of the several terms which are well-known
and understood among hide, skin and leather dressers.
More especially my invention relates to that class of machines in which the knife
wheel provided with spiral knives is revolved at a rapid rate of speed and the skins
or hides are fed to it. In this class of machines the knife wheel revolves at a much
higher rate of speed than the feed apparatus and consequently in many of the
machines heretofore used there has been complicated and costly gearing to bring
about this change of speed. The use of costly rubber bands to act as feed belts
has also swelled the initial expense as well as the expenditures for repairs. The
object of my invention is to avoid this costly and cumbersome construction which
also absorbs an unnecessary amount of power and to substitute in place thereof a
cheap, compact and simple combination of elements which may be driven without
the use of toothed gearing of any kind. The form of machine invented by me to
carry out these principles is described in the accompanying two sheets of drawings,
in which
Fig. 1, is a side elevation of my machine.
Fig. 2, is a cross section of the same.
Fig. 3, is a front elevation with portions of some of the feed rollers broken away
for greater clearness, and the belts removed.
Throughout the drawings like reference figures refer to like parts.
1, 1, are the side frames of the machine which are held together by the
longitudinal studs or struts, 1°. 2, is a well known form of knife-wheel familiar to
those skilled in the art. 3, is one of the journals of said knife wheel which runs in
the journal boxes 4. 5, and 6, are upper and lower screws for adjusting the position
of the journal boxes and consequently of the knife wheel. 7, is the driving pulley
mounted on the shaft or journal, 3, of the knife wheel.
.
8 and 9 are two co-acting feed rollers which are journalled beneath the knife
wheel 2. There are two radial arms 10 pivoted to the main-frame, for maintaining
these co-acting feed rollers in tangential relation. In the construction shown in the
drawings, the pivots of the arms coincide with the projecting ends of the shaft 12
of the feed roller 9. Thus the shaft 12 performs a double function and a
simplification of the apparatus and reduction of the number of parts result. This
condensation of the mechanism is not necessary, though advantageous, and is not
essential to my invention.
The feed roller, 9, should preferably be of metal, while that, 8, should be faced
with india rubber or some other yielding material. This roller 8, may be adjusted
to and from its co-acting roller 9, by means of the set screws 11. The radial arms
may be oscillated, and consequently the point of tangency of the feed rollers.
caused to approach or withdraw from the knife wheel by means of the links 13
which are connected to the levers 14, which are operated by the treadle 15, in the
well-known way.

page_text: Mounted on an extension of the radial arms, 10, is the beitt roller, 16, and
mounted on another portion of said radial arms is a little belt roller, 17. Over
these rollers runs the delivery belt, 18 which evidently receives the skin as it comes
down through the feed rollers, 8 and 9. On the other extremities of the radial
arms 10, is mounted the small belt roller, 19. The larger belt roller 20, is mounted
on links 21, which are pivoted to the main frame and adjusted by means of the set
screws 22, as best shown in Fig. 2. Around these rollers, 19 and 20, runs the feed
belt 23, which delivers the skin well in between the main feed roller 8, and the
knife wheel. The feed roller 9, is driven by belt pulley 24, which is keyed on to
the end of the shaft as shown in Fig. 3. The feed roller 9, in turn drives the
feed and delivery belts, through the agency of the double cross belt or cord, 25,
which passes around the rollers 9, 16 and 20 as shown in Fig. 2 and partly in
Figs. 1 and 3.
The mode of operation of the invention is evident. Driving belts from the
counter shaft overhead run over the belt pulleys, 7 and 24, driving the former at a
much higher rate of speed. They are so connected that the feed roller 9 revolves
in the direction of the hands of a watch when looked at, as in Fig. 2, while the
knife wheel, 2 revolves in the opposite direction. Through the agency of the belt
or cord, 25, the feed roller, 9, drives the feed and supply belts at a uniform rate
of speed which is just a little less than the circumferential speed of the feed
roller 9, itself.
The operator spreads the skin upon the supply or feed belt, 23, smoothing it out
as it is carried forward. When the forward edge is delivered between the knife
wheel and the feed roller, 8, the operator presses his foot upon treadle 15, and lifts
the roller, 8 so that it forces the skin up against the knives. The forward edge of
the skin is carried on down between the feed rollers, 8 and 9, and after being pulled
through is delivered upon the delivery belt 18. The operator then takes his foot
off of the treadle and the combined feed and bearing roller 8 drops down away from
the knife wheel 'until another skin has been introduced.
It is evident that this machine possesses the advantages set forth as desirable in
the introductory portion of this Specification. It has the least possible number of
parts, has no toothed gearing whatever, and is economical as cheap cotton belts can
be used for jeed and delivery in place of costly india rubber bands heretofore
employed. The least possible amount of power is necessary to drive the machine,
and as all the driving is done by belts it is particularly smooth and noiseless in its
operation.
It is evident that the feed roller 8, in this combination is also a bearing roller, in
that upon one portion of its circumference it bears the weight of the hide, and
holds it against the knife wheel for action, while at another portion of its circum-
ference it co-acts with the roller 9 to operate as a feed roller to pull the hide
through and past the knife wheel.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is:-
1. In a machine for treating hides and skins, the combination of the main frame,
the knife wheel journalled on the upper part of the main frame, the two tangentially
co-acting feed rollers journalled beneath said knife wheel, the radial arms for
maintaining the co-acting feed rollers in tangential relation journalled in the main
frame, the treadles and connections for raising and lowering the radial arms,
substantially as described.
2. In a machine for treating hides and skins, the combination of the main frame,
the knife wheel journalled on the upper part of the main frame, and two tangentially
co-acting feed rollers journalled beneath said knife wheel, the radial arms for
maintaining the co-acting feed rollers in tangential relation journalled in the
main frame, the treadles and connections for raising, and lowering, the radial arms,
and the feed belts delivering on to said feed rollers, substantially aș described.

page_text: 3. In a machine for treating hides and skins, the combination of the main frame,
the knife wheel journalled on the upper part of the main frame, the two co-acting
feed rollers journalled beneath said knife wheel, the radial arms for maintaining the
co-acting feed rollers in tangential relation, journalled in the main frame, the
treadles and connections for raising and lowering the radial arms, and the feed
belts delivering onto said rollers together with the delivery belt mounted on the
radial arms and extending under the feed rollers, substantially as described.
4. In a machine for treating hides and skins, the combination of the main frame,
the knife wheel journalled on the upper part of the main frame, the two co-acting
feed rollers journalled beneath said knife wheel, the radial arms for maintaining
the co-acting feed rollers in tangential relation-journalled in the main frame, the
treadles and connections for raising and lowering the radial arms, and the feed belt
delivering onto said feed rollers, together with the delivery belt mounted on the
radial arms and extending under the feed rollers, and the double cross belt which
passes around one feed roller, one roller, of the feed belt and one roller of the
delivery belt, whereby both belts are actuated from the feed roller, substantially as
described.
5. In a machine for treating hides and skins, the combination of the main frame,
the knife wheel journalled in said frame, the radial arms journalled in said frame,
the pair of feed rollers, the shaft of one of which feed rollers furnishes the journals
for the radial arms, the belt pulley on the knife wheel shaft and the separate belt
pulley on the above mentioned feed roller shaft, the feed and delivery belts and
gearing by which said belts are operated from said feed rollers, substantially as
described.
6. The improved machine for treating hides and skins, constructed arranged and
operating substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and shown in
the drawings annexed."
Dated this 4th dar of June 1895
W. Lloyd Wise,
A. SEYMOUR-JONES.
46, Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, W.C., Agent for the Applicant.