IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR POLISHING GLASS
Year: 1864

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Edward Hall, of Dartford, in the County of Kent,
Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR
POLISHING GLASS."
Sealed the 20th May 1864, and dated the 3rd March 1864.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Edward Hall at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
3rd March 1864.
I, EDWARD HALL, of Dartford, in the County of Kent, Engineer, do hereby
declare the nature of the Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR
POLISHING GLASS," to be as follows:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in machinery for polishing
glass. For these purposes two polishing machines are combined together and
receive motion from a crank on a shaft which is below the floor on which the
two machines are fixed. The crank, by a connecting rod, gives motion to an
upright lever or beam the upper end of which rises above the floor and comes
between the two machines and in a position to have the two sets of polishing
apparatus connected therewith by two connecting rods. The polishing appa-
ratus of each machine consists of three rows of polishing blocks carried by a
frame one end of which is a cross head to which one of the connecting rods
above mentioned is connected. The side bars of the frame which carries the
polishing blocks are supported by and move on stationary rollers or pulleys
the axes of which are carried by the fixed framing of the machine. Each
polishing block has a stud or axis fixed at its upper surface midway of its

page_text: length, and the bearing for such stud or axis is hinged on the frame so that
the bearing may be readily lifted off the stud or axis of each polishing block.
The bed frame on which the table carrying the glass is placed is capable of
being moved in a direction at right angles to the lines of motion of the
polishing blocks by means of an upright shaft carrying a pinion which takes
into and gives motion to a rack fixed on the bed frame. On this shaft is a
screw or worm wheel which receives motion from a screw or worm on a shaft
or axis which receives motion by a ratchet wheel thereon and a driver as the
polishing apparatus is moved to and fro; and the arrangement is such that
the workman attending to the machines may put the traversing motion of the
bed out of gear for a time, according as he finds particular parts of the glass
require to be more or less acted on by the polishing blocks. The glass is fixed
or bedded on a wood table fixed on the bed frame, and this table is arranged
so as readily to be turned partly round from time to time on the bed frame by
means of a table and upright axis at the centre of the bed frame, by which
the table is readily lifted from the frame and then turned on the axis.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Edward Hall in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 1st
September 1864.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, EDWARD
HALL, of Dartford, in the County of Kent, Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Third day of March, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-four, in the twenty-seventh year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said Edward Hall, Her special licence that I, the said Edward Hall,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Edward
Hall, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree
with, and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter during
the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and
vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel
Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY.
FOR POLISHING GLASS," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said
Edward Hall, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing
under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should particularly
describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner

page_text: the same was to be performed, and cause the same to be filed in the Great
Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next and immediately after
the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Edward Hall, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement thereof, that is to say :-
This Invention has for its object improvements in machinery for polishing
glass. For these purposes two polishing machines are combined together and
receive motion from a crank on a shaft which is below the floor on which the
two machines are fixed. The crank, by a connecting rod, gives motion to an
upright lever or beam, the upper end of which rises above the floor and comes
between the two machines and in a position to have the two sets of polishing
apparatus connected therewith by two connecting rods. The polishing appa-
ratus of each machine consists of three rows of polishing blocks carried by a
frame, one end of which is a cross head to which one of the connecting rods
above mentioned is connected. The side bars of the frame which move the
polishing blocks are supported by and move on stationary rollers or pulleys
the axes of which are carried by the fixed framing of the machine. Each
polishing block has a stud or axis fixed at its upper surface midway of its
length, and the bearing for such stud or axis is hinged on the frame so that
the bearing may be readily lifted off the stud or axis of each polishing block.
The bed frame on which the table carrying the glass is placed is capable of
being moved in a direction at right angles to the lines of motion of the
polishing blocks by means of an upright shaft carrying a pinion which takes
into and gives motion to a rack fixed on the bed frame. On this shaft is a
screw or worm wheel which receives motion from a screw or worm on a shaft
or axis which receives motion by a ratchet wheel thereon and a driver as the
polishing apparatus is moved to and fro; and the arrangement is such that
the workman attending to the machines may put the traversing motion of the
bed frame out of gear for a time, according as he finds particular parts of the
glass require to be more or less acted on by the polishing blocks. The glass
is fixed or bedded on a wood table fixed on the bed frame, and this table is
arranged so as readily to be turned partly round from time to time on the bed
frame by means of a table and upright axis at the centre of the bed frame,
by which the table is readily lifted from the frame and then turned on the
axis.
Having thus stated the nature of my said Invention, I will proceed more
fully to describe the manner of performing the same.

page_text: structed and combined according to my Invention; Figure 2 shews a plan,
the mechanism of the upper table of one machine being removed; and Figure 3
shews an end view. In each of these Figures the same letters indicate the
same parts.
In these Drawings two square polishing machines are shewn to be combined
in such mauner that they may be worked conjointly or separately by means
of a single crank a on a shaft (with its fly wheel) placed below the floor of
the polishing room. The power from the revolving shaft is transinitted by a
connecting rod c to the lower end of an upright oscillating lever d situated
between the two polishing machines. The moveable polishing frame e, e, of
each machine is constructed to carry three rows of polishing blocks f, f, there
being three polishing blocks fin each row, but when longer machines are
made more blocks will be used in each row, and more or less polishing blocks
than what are shown may be used in square machines, These three rows of
polishing blocks in each machine are all attached to the same frame e, e,
which consists of two side bars e, e, and one cross head e' with cross bars e³
with hinged drivers e³ for moving the polishing blocks, each of which can be
raised when required to remove any one of the polishing blocks without
raising the moveable frame. The polishing blocks are each provided with a
toothed plate or mortice on top for the driver e³ to gear into. The frames e, e,
themselves are, as usual, supported on rollers 9, 9. The wooden table h on
which the glass is bedded is capable of being moved round when required by
raising and turning a circular central plate i. The plate i is raised up a little
by means of a lever acting on a pivot underneath it. The advantage of
being able to change the position of the table h thus easily is to prevent the
surface of the glass operated upon from being ribbed or grooved by the con-
tinued action of the polishing blocks moving in the same direction on the
glass during the whole time of polishing. The bed frame k, k, on which the
wood table (carrying the glass) is placed is capable of being moved in a
transverse direction at right angles to the lines of motion of the polishing
blocks, and this may be done by the ordinary reversing notion in use in
polishing machines; but for the best quality of mirror glass I prefer the use
of a motion consisting of an upright spindle carrying a pinion m which works
and gives motion to a toothed rack fixed on the bed frame of the machine.
On this spindle is a screw wheel or worm wheel n which receives motion
from a screw or worm on another spindle o moved by a ratchet wheel p thereon

page_text: acted upon by a driver q attached to the working beam of the polishing appa-
ratus. This arrangement is such that the workman attending to the machines
may readily put the traversing motion of the table or bed frame out of gear
for a time, according as he finds particular parts of the glass require to be
more or less acted upon by the polishing blocks.
Having thus described the nature of my said Invention, and the manner of
performing the same, I wish it to be understood that I make no claim to any
of the mechanical parts separately, but I claim the combined arrangement
herein described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Edward Hall, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Twenty-second day of August, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four.
EDWARD HALL. (L.B.)