IMPROVED MACHINERY FOR CUTTING CORKS
Year: 1859

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Alfred Vincent Newton, of the Office for Patents,
66, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Mechanical Draughts-
man, for the Invention of "IMPROVED MACHINERY FOR CUTTING CORKS."-
A communication from abroad by Edward Conroy, of Boston, in the
United States of America.
Sealed the 27th October 1859, and dated the 28th June 1859.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Alfred Vincent Newton
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on.
the 28th June 1859.
I, ALFRED VINCENT NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery
Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Mechanical Draughtsman, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVED MACHINERY FOR CUTTING
CORKS," to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to a machine for cutting corks in proper taper or
conical form for bottles and other vessels. The Invention consists in the
employment or use of a revolving cutter plate in connection with a sharpening
device and means for feeding in the rough pieces of cork to be cut, whereby
the cutting of corks may be performed automatically and in a perfect manner, the
cutter being kept in proper working order by the sharpeners despite the action
of the grit or fine and hard foreign substances frequently contained in cork.

page_text: The cutter is mounted on a rotating shaft set vertically or slightly inclined
from the vertical. The shaft rests on a foot step and has its bearings in a
sliding frame.
The corks to be cut are placed in a vertical trough, and they are drawn out
singly by a sliding feeder actuated by a crank lever and can and placed in a
mandril which gives the cork a slow rotation while under the action of the cutter,
and allows it to fall out of the machine when finished. The rotary cutter is
pressed up to the work by a segment cam operating upon the sliding frame in
which the cutter shaft is mounted; and to keep the cutter sharp the following
automatic contrivance is adopted :-The sharpening device consists of a plate
whose end next the rotating cutter plate is tapered and made in the form of a
segment of a circle to correspond with the bevils, and curve of the cutting
edges of the rotating cutter plate, from the lower surface of which projects
downwards a pin or stud against which the elastic end of a bent spring presses
to keep it against the curved edges of a cam plate secured to the top of the
main frame. The sharpening plate or device is thus brought periodically
in the proper relation to the edge of the cutters during their revolutions to
sharpen the same.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Alfred Vincent Newton in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 28th December 1859.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ALFRED
VINCENT NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the County
of Middlesex, Mechanical Draughtsman, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-eighth day of June, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine, in the twenty-third year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, Her special license that I, the said
Alfred Vincent Newton, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such
others as I, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, 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 "IMPROVED MACHINERY FOR CUTTING CORKS," being

page_text: a communication from abroad, upon the condition (amongst others),
that I, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, by an instrument in writing under
my hand and seal, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of
the said Invention, and in what manner 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 Alfred Vincent Newton, 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, reference being had to the Drawing hereunto annexed,
and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say) :-
This Invention as communicated to me by my foreign correspondent consists
in the employment of a revolving cutter plate in connection with a sharpening
device and means for feeding in the rough pieces of cork to be cut, whereby
the cutting of corks may be performed automatically and in a perfect and
economical manner.
The Invention is illustrated in the accompanying Drawing, in which Fig. 1
is a top or bird's-eye view of the improved machine with the circular cutter
plate removed, and its outline represented by blue lines; Fig. 2 is a vertical
transverse section of the same at the line 1, 1, of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a vertical
longitudinal section of the same at the line 2, 2, of Fig. 1; Fig. 4 represents
the cam through whose agency the sliding plate is moved to be cut, and the
machine is fed with the same; Fig. 5 is a section of the moveable plate for
sharpening the bevelled cutting edges of the rotating cutter. Similar letters of
reference indicate corresponding parts in all of the Figures.
The frame A is inade of a rectangular form of suitable size, strength, and
material, to contain and support the several parts of the machine, and within
this frame A is arranged an upright sliding frame B, having horizontal right-
angled plates C secured to its upper and lower ends, whose bent ends slide on
horizontal guides D, fastened to the upper and lower transverse timbers of the
frame A. Within the frame B is arranged the cutter shaft E, which is slightly
inclined from a vertical line to give the required taper to the cork being cut,
and whose lower end is stepped in the end of an upright adjusting screw passing
through the lower beam of the frame B, and by which means the shaft E can
be raised or lowered to suit the desired thickness of the cork to be cut.
upper end of the shaft E is enclosed in a sliding box or plate p, provided with
an adjusting screws for regulating the inclination of the shaft E, and conse-
quently the taper of the corks. To the top of the sliding frame B is secured
The

page_text: one end of a curved bar F, the opposite end of which extends upward and
outward from the side of the same, and is provided with dovetailed guides
between which the sharpening device is arranged. This sharpening device
consists of a plate G, whose end next the rotating cutter plate H is tapered
and made in the form of a segment of a circle to correspond with the bevils
and curve of the cutting edges of the rotating cutter plate H, from the lower
surface of which projects downward a pin or stud I, against which the elastic
end of a bent spring J presses, to keep it against the curved edges of a cam
plate K secured to the top of the frame A, which serves periodically to bring
the sharpening plate or device in the proper relation to the edges of the cutters
during their revolutions to sharpen the same.
Motion is communicated to the cutter shaft E by means of a band L passing
around a band wheel L³, secured on a horizontal transverse shaft M, on which
is also secured a somewhat smaller band wheel or grooved pulley M', around
which is passed a band M². This band is crossed and passed around a grooved
pulley M³, secured on a horizontal shaft N, which turns in bearings secured to
the frame A. On this shaft is formed a screw or worm O, which gears with a
worm wheel O', secured on the end of a longitudinal shaft 0%, carried by
bearings on the frame A, and extending from one side to the other, and having
a cam 0³, secured near its centre, the segmental portions of which are of
different diameters or radii, and joined by curved surfaces for giving the
required movement to the slide frame B. On the end of the horizontal shaft
O, opposite to that on which the worm wheel O' is secured, there is attached a
bevil cog wheel P, which gears with another bevil cog wheel P¹ of similar size,
keyed to the lower end of an inclined shaft P2, which turns in suitable bearings
projecting from the side of the frame A, and carries on its upper end a cam Q.
The enlarged half of this cam is made in the form of a semicircle, while the
reduced portion is in the form of the segment of a circle concentric with the first
portion, the peripheries of the two being joined by curved surfaces, one of
which curves is more upright in relation to the peripheries than the other. On
this shaft Ps, immediately next the cam Q, is secured a bevil wheel R, on the
bevilled surface of which are formed cogs extending nearly one half round the
wheel, the remaining portion being blank, in order that the cogs shall, during
the revolutions of the bevil wheel R, give a full revolution to a smaller bevil cog
wheel S, with which it gears at every revolution as it passes the same, and
allows the said bevil cog wheel S to remain in a state of rest during the
remainder of its circuit for the purpose herein-after stated. The cog wheel S
is mounted loosely on the end of a horizontal shaft T, which turns in bearings
on the top of the front part of the frame A, and it is prevented from turning on

page_text: the shaft by a cog or pin which enters a longitudinal slot in the periphery of
the same, which admits of the longitudinal movement of the shaft T, through
the bevil cog wheel S, the said shaft being surrounded by a coiled spring T¹,
which is compressed between one of the bearings of the shaft and a cog or pin
on its periphery, so as to keep its outer rounded end always pressed in contact
with the irregular periphery of the cam Q, the opposite end of this shaft T is
serrated or provided with points, and immediately opposite and on the same
horizontal line is secured to a slotted sliding plate U a similarly serrated
or pointed hub U', which turns in a journal box rising from the end of the
slotted plate U, and between which and the shaft T the cork is held during
the process of being cut. Inside the upper front timber of the frame A, and
at right angles to and above the plane of the upper surface of the same, is
arranged a horizontal sliding plate V, moving in dovetailed guides at its edges,
and bent vertically at right angles at its front end, and having a horizontal
dovetail slot on the front surface of the bent portion, in which slot is inserted
a slide W, greater in length than the width of the sliding plate V, and armed
on its front surface with two or more sharp pins which project the required
distance therefrom, to enable them to draw the uncut cork from the bottom of
the trunk X when inserted into the side of the same.
This sliding plate V is
attached to the end of an obtuse angled lever Y, by a screw passing through a
slot in the end of the lever and entering the sliding plate V. The angular
lever Y is secured to the top of the frame A by a fulcrum pin at its bent
or angular part, and is provided with a pin Z, which presses against its front
edge for the purpose of always keeping its end against the periphery of a cam a,
secured on the inclined shaft P2. One portion of this cam is in the form of a
semicircle, and from one of its terminations there extends a curved excentric
surface, whose curve bisects a line tangentially with a circle described from the
centre of the inclined shaft P, and extending from a segmental surface of
greater radius than the semicircular portion to which it is joined by a straight
surface tangential with a small circle also described from the centre of the
inclined shaft.
The operation of the machine is as follows:-Motion being communicated to
the horizontal driving shaft M by any convenient power, the rotating cutters and
horizontal and inclined shafts O, P, respectively are set in motion through the
bands L, M³, screws O, and cog wheel O', whereby the following effects are pro-
duced through the respective agencies of parts thereafter detailed in their regular
order of action. Let it supposed that the several parts are in the position
represented in Fig. 1 of the Drawings, with a cork to be cut, firmly embraced
between the pointed surface of the hub U¹, and the corresponding surface of

page_text: the arbor or shaft T and the cam 08, in the relation to the friction roller b on
the sliding frame B, which is constantly pressed against its periphery by the
coiled spring c represented. The cogs on the bevilled surface of the wheel R
being in gear with the bevil cog wheel S or pinion, will turn the same and the
shaft or arbor T on which it is attached, and with it the cork in such a manner
as to cause the cork to be effectually cut by the swift revolution of the cutters
H past its revolving surface. After this part of the process is performed the
semicircular cams 0³, a, and Q, will have respectively passed in their revo-
lutions the friction roller b, on the sliding frame B, the end of the bent or
angular lever Y, and rounded end of the arbor or shaft T, which have been
respectively pressed against them by the springs c, Z, and T, and the sliding
frame B, and rotating cutter plate H attached thereto will be withdrawn from
the cork during the passage of the abrupt curved portion of the periphery of
the cam O next the friction roller b on the same, and simultaneous with this
action the shaft or arbor T, having made a revolution through the action of
the bevilled pinion S on its end and the bevil cogs on the wheel Q, ceases to
turn, and is then withdrawn from the cork (its end moving on to the smaller
segmental portion of the periphery of the cam Q) when the cork will be allowed
to fall in a finished state from the machine. Immediately after this disen-
gagement and discharge of the finished cork the curved excentric surface of
the cam a acts upon the lever Y, causing it to vibrate and slide the plate V
forward, and with it the sliding plate W on its front end, one of the ends of
which latter W is kept pressed beyond the sides of the sliding plate V by a
spring d, so as to bring the points on its front surface in the proper relation to
the cork in the bottom of the upright trunk X, through which the rough corks
are fed to the machine, and yet admit to be slidden with the same. The
plate and points W on its front surface are thus pressed forward by the
excentric portion of the cam a as stated, and the points enter and thus take
hold of the lowest piece of cork in the upright trunk X, and after this excentric
portion of the cam a passes the end of the lever Y in its revolution, the lever
will return to its former position, whereby the cork attached to the prongs or
points on the plate will be drawn between the serrated or pointed surfaces of
the hub U', and shaft T, where it will remain until the shaft T is forced
towards the hub U¹, so as to secure the cork between the two serrated surfaces.
When the cork is firmly embraced as stated, the sliding plate V and its
attachments are slidden from the cork, and the points or prongs of the slide W
entirely withdrawn from the same. The cogs on the bevilled wheel R now
again come into gear with the cog wheel or pinion S, and the abrupt portion of
the cam O³ acting on the friction roller b presses forward the sliding frame B,

page_text: so that the rotating cutter H is brought to act upon the rotating cork. In
this way the operation is continued at each revolution of the shaft T, at whose
end the cork is held, and the cutting edges of the rotating cutter H are kept
sharp by the sharpening device being periodically brought into contact with
them as before stated at the finishing of each cork.
Many of the working parts of this machine may be duplicated if desired,
so as to cause a cork to be cut at both sides of the machine, and in
this manner double the number of corks can be cut in the same space
of time.
Having now set forth the nature of the Invention of "Improved Machinery
for Cutting Corks," as communicated to me by my foreign correspondent, and
explained the manner of carrying the same into effect, I wish it to be under-
stood that under the above in part recited Letters Patent, I claim the arrange-
ment of mechanism as herein-before described for cutting corks to a taper or
conical form.
In witness whereof, I, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, have hereuuto
set my hand and seal, the Twenty-eighth day of December, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine.
Witness,
J. W. MOFFATT,
66, Chancery Lane.
•
A. V. NEWTON. (L.S.)