IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR SPLITTING PREPARING CANE
Year: 1865

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Rémy Biessy, of Trinity Square, Southwark, for
the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR SPLITTING
PREPARING CANE."
Sealed the 23rd March 1866, and dated the 20th October 1865.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Rémy Biessy, at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 20th
October 1865.
I, RÉMY BIESSY, of Trinity Square, Southwark, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR SPLITTING
AND PREPARING CANE," to be as follows:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in apparatus for splitting
and preparing cane. In order to split off the outer skin or rind of cane and
to separate it from the pithy central portion, I employ a tool of a hollow
cylindrical form, one end of the cylinder being formed to a cutting edge; a
number of small radial knives or cutters are also formed on the exterior of
this end of the cylinder, which are for dividing the rind of the cane into
numerous strips. The cane is fed up by rollers covered with elastic materiał
through guides to the cutting end of the cylindrical tool, and as the cane is
so fed up the central pithy portion of the cane passes into the interior of the

page_text: tool and escapes at its opposite end, and is afterwards conducted away by
rollers, whilst the rind passes along its exterior, and is divided by the small
radial knives above mentioned into numerous strips. The guide through which
the cane passes, before coming up to the tool above described, is divided into
two halves, which are pressed towards each other by springs in order always to
retain the cane concentrically with the tool should the cane vary in thickness.
In order to reduce the strips of cane so obtained simultaneously to an even
width and thickness, each strip is afterwards fed up by rollers to a knife or
plane, provided on its under surface with two small flanges, one on each of its
sides; these flanges are at a distance apart equal to the width to which it is
desired to reduce each strip of cane, and they are formed at their ends into
knife edges. The strips of cane are fed up to the cutting edge of this knife
by a pair of rollers; the upper roller is of small diameter and is driven at one
end by suitable mechanism, at the other end this roller is drawn by a spring
against the lower roller; the lower roller is of larger diameter than the
upper roller, and around its circumference a groove is formed for the strip of
cane to rest in. Close to the point where the strip of cane emerges from
between the rollers it comes up to the cutting edge of the knife above
mentioned, and it is held up to the knife by the surface of the lower roller;
the knife is carried in such manner that the distance between its cutting end
and the surface of the lower roller can be varied so as to be enabled to vary
the thickness to which it is desired to reduce each strip of cane. The end of
a strip of cane is placed between the rollers with the outer surface of its
rind resting on the lower roller, and as by the revolution of the rollers it is
fed up to the knife, the flanges of the knife reduce the strip to the width
desired, whilst the knife itself reduces
cutting away any excess of thickness from its upper pithy surface. In order
to guide the strips of cane as they come up to the pair of rollers, the strips of
cane rest on a table having projecting up from it a fixed guide, against which
one edge of the strip is constantly pressed by a moveable guide, which is pressed
against the opposite side of the strip by a spring. In some cases I reduce the
circular strip obtained from the central portion of the cane by separating it
from the outer rind as above described into four or other number of strips,
circular in section, by causing such strip to travel past the end of a tool resem-
bling in end view four or other number of hollow punches placed side by side.
As the strip of cane comes up to this tool it is divided by it into four or other
number of circular strips, which pass away at its rear end, or the circular strip
obtained from the central portion of the cane may be divided into four smaller
circular strips by first splitting such strip longitudinally into two equal strips
the strip to an even thickness by

page_text: and then causing each such strip to be moved up against a tool resembling two
hollow punches placed side by side, so reducing each half of the original
strip into two strips of smaller diameter.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Rémy Biessy in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 20th
April 1866.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, RÉMY
BIESSY, of Trinity Square, Southwark, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twentieth day of October, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-five, in the twenty-ninth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said Rémy Biessy, Her special licence that I, the said Rémy Biessy,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
Rémy Biessy, my executors, adininistrators, 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 APPARATUS FOR SPLITTING AND PREPARING CANE," upon
the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Rémy Biessy, 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 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 Rémy Biessy, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, 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 apparatus for splitting
and preparing cane. In order to split off the outer skin or rind of cane and
to separate it from the pithy central portion, I employ a tool of a hollow cylin-
drical form, one end of the cylinder being formed to a cutting edge; a number
of small radial knives or cutters are also formed on the exterior of this end of
the cylinder, which are for dividing the rind of the cane into numerous strips.

page_text: The cane is fed up by rollers covered with elastic material through guides to
the cutting end of the cylindrical tool, and as the cane is so fed up the central
pithy portion of the cane passes into the interior of the tool and escapes at
its opposite end, and is afterwards conducted away by rollers, whilst the rind
passes along its exterior and is divided by the small radial knives above
mentioned into numerous strips. The guide through which the cane passes,
before coming up to the tool above described, is divided into two halves, which
are pressed towards each other by springs in order always to retain the cane
concentrically with the tool should the cane vary in thickness. In order to
reduce the strips of cane so obtained simultaneously to an even width and
thickness, each strip is afterwards fed up by rollers to a knife or plane,
provided on its under surface with two small flanges, one on each of its sides;
these flanges are at a distance apart equal to the width to which it is desired
to reduce each strip of cane, and they are formed at their ends to knife
edges. The strips of cane are fed up to the cutting edge of this knife by a
pair of rollers; the upper roller is of small diameter, and is driven at one end
by suitable mechanism; at the other end this roller is drawn by a spring
against the lower roller; the lower roller is of larger diameter than the upper
roller, and around its circumference a groove is formed for the strip of cane to
rest in. Close to the point where the strip of cane emerges from between the
rollers it comes up to the cutting edge of the knife above mentioned, and it
is held up to the knife by the surface of the lower roller; the knife is carried in
such manner that the distance between its cutting end and the surface of the
lower roller can be varied so as to be enabled to vary the thickness to which it is
desired to reduce each strip of cane. The end of a strip of cane is placed between
the rollers with the outer surface of its rind resting on the lower roller, and as
by the revolution of the rollers it is fed up to the knife, the flanges of the knife
reduce the strip to the width desired, whilst the knife itself reduces the strip
to an even thickness by cutting away any excess of thickness from its upper
pithy surface. In order to guide the strips of cane as they come up to the
pair of rollers the strips of cane rest on a table having projecting up from it a
fixed guide, against which one edge of the strip is constantly pressed by a
moveable guide, which is pressed against the opposite side of the strip by a
spring. In some cases I reduce the circular strip obtained from the central
portion of the cane by separating it from the outer rind as above described.
into four or other number of strips, circular in section, by causing such strip
to travel past the end of a tool resembling in end view four or other number
of hollow punches placed side by side. As the strip of cane comes up to this
tool it is divided by it into four or other number of circular strips, which pass

page_text: away at its rear end; or the circular strip obtained from the central portion
of the cane may be divided into four smaller circular strips by first splitting
such strip longitudinally into two equal strips, and then causing each such
strip to be moved up against a tool resembling two hollow punches placed
side by side, so reducing each half of the original strip into two strips. of
smaller diameter.
Having thus stated the nature of the said Invention, I will proceed more
fully to describe the manner of performing the same.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figure 1 shows a front elevation of the guiding apparatus used, through
which the cane is fed up to the cutter. Figure 2 shows a longitudinal section
of the machine and apparatus by which the outer rind of a cane is removed
from the central part or pith. Figure 3 shows part of a plan of the machine.
The cane is introduced through the hollow passage in the block N, it is
nipped and moved forward by the rollers O and P, it then passes through the
hollow passage in the block Q, and is then nipped by and continually moved
forward by the rollers R, S, through the guides K, L, which have between
them an angular passage of the form shown. The guides K, L, are constantly
pressed towards each other by the coiled springs I, J, as shown in Figure 1,
and it is by means of these guides that the cane is retained in a central
position, notwithstanding the section of the cane varying. G and H are cross
heads; C, D, E, F, are connecting rods. The inner ends of these connecting
rods are attached to the ends of the short levers V, V, as shown in Figure 1.
The end of the cane having passed the guides K, L, is acted on by the cutting
cylinder M, which is hollow, and is formed with a circular cutting edge, whilst
on the outside there are radial cutters, which divide the rind or outer surface
of the cane into as many strips as required, the central part or pith of the
cane passing through the hollow cutter M to the nipping rollers T, U, which
draw it forward. The strips of the rind of the cane obtained as above
described are next subjected to the action of another machine, in which there
is a cutter, which not only removes the angular part formed between the
previous radial cutting edges, but also, by having a raised cutting edge on
either side of its horizontal cutting edge, also cuts the sides of the strips
parallel and to the desired width. Figure 4 shows a side elevation, Figure 5
a plan, Figure 6 an elevation in section, and Figure 7 an end view of the
grooved cylinder and cutter separately. A is a cylinder in which there is
formed a groove a to receive a strip of cane; K is a grooved roller, which is
kept pressed on to the roller A by the spring on the stem of the outer bearing

page_text: of the axis or shaft of such roller K. The cylinder A and the roller K are
geared together by the wheel and pinion M and N; the axis of the cylinder
A is supported in bearings formed in the framing C, C. The cylinder A is
for the most part enclosed, except at the top, where its surface comes through an
opening in the table I, I, which is fixed to the parts D, D, F, F, which are
all arranged to turn on an axis or joint at E. The stem of the cutter J is
fixed in the holder, which is fixed to the table through a slot therein as shown.
There is only one groove and one cutter J shown, but several may be arranged
side by side; H is a stationary or fixed guide on the table, and H' is another
guide, which moves on an axis or screw on one end, whilst it is pressed
towards the fixed guide by a spring as shown. A strip of cane is introduced
between these guides H, H', and is moved by the rotation of the roller K and
cylinder A up to the cutting edges of the cutter J. It will be evident that
discs mounted on an axis and each formed with a groove in it may be used in
place of the grooved roller A.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention, and the manner of
performing the same, I would have it understood that what I claim is,-
First, the combined arrangement shown and described with reference to
Figures 1, 2, and 3.
And, secondly, I claim the combined arrangements described with reference
to Figures 4, 5, 6, and 7.
In witness whereof, I, the said Rémy Biessy, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Ninth day of April, in the year of our Lord One thousand
eight hundred and sixty-six.
RÉMY BIESSY. (L.S.)