CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR CUTTING RAGS, ROPES, WASTE, HAY, STRAW, OR OTHER SOFT OR FIBROUS SUBSTANCES USUALLY SUBJECT TO THE OPERATION OF CUTTING OR CHOPPING, PART OF WHICH IMPROVEMENTS ARE APPLICABLE TO THE TEARING, PULLING IN PIECES, OR OPENING OF RAGS, ROPES, OR OTHER TOUGH MATERIALS
Year: 1840

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, 1, JOSEPH
BENNETT, of Turulee, near Glossop, in the County of Derby, Cotton Spinner
and Paper Maker, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at Westminster, the
Twenty-ninth day of July, in the fourth year of Her reign, did, for Herself,
Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said Joseph Bennett,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, Her especial licence, full power,
sole privilege and authority, that I, the said Joseph Bennett, my executors,
administrators, and assigns, and every of them, by myself and themselves, or by
my or their deputy or deputies, servants or agents, or such others as I, the
said Joseph Bennett, my executors, administrators, or assigns, should at any
time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times there-
after during the term of years therein expressed, should and lawfully might
make, use, exercise, and vend, within that part of the United Kingdom of
Great Britain and Ireland called England, the Dominion of Wales, and
Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN
MACHINERY FOR CUTTING RAGS, ROPES, WASTE, HAY, STRAW, OR OTHER SOFT OR
FIBROUS SUBSTANCES USUALLY SUBJECT TO THE OPERATION OF CUTTING OR CHOPPING,
PART OF WHICH IMPROVEMENTS ARE APPLICABLE TO THE TEARING, PULLING IN PIECES,
OR OPENING OF RAGS, ROPES, OR OTHER TOUGH MATERIALS," in such manner as

page_text: to me, the said Joseph Bennett, my executors, administrators, or assigns, or
any of them, should in my or their discretion seem meet; in which said
Letters Patent there is contained a proviso, that if I, the said Joseph Bennett,
shall not particularly describe and ascertain the nature of my said Invention,
and in what manner the same is to be performed, by an instrument in writing
under my hand and seal, and cause the same to be inrolled in Her Majesty's
High Court of Chancery within six calendar months next and immediately
after the date of the said Letters Patent, that then the said Letters Patent,
and all liberties and advantages whatsoever thereby granted, shall utterly cease,
determine, and become void, as in and by the same, reference being thereunto
had, will more fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Joseph Bennett, do hereby declare the nature of my said Invention by the
following description thereof, reference being thereunto had, and the manner in
which the same is to be performed and carried into effect, by the Sheet of
Drawings or plan which is bereunto annexed, and to the particular explanations
thereof, reference being thereunto had.
My Invention consists in the combination or application of certain machinery
or apparatus so as to adapt it to perform the operation of cutting rags, ropes,
waste, hay, straw, or other soft or fibrous substances usually subject to the
operation of cutting or chopping, part of which improvements are applicable
to the tearing, pulling in pieces of rags, ropes, or other tough materials, by
which combination or application a regular, uniform, and clear cut is produced,
an operation of very great importance in paper making, whereby manual labour
is in a great degree dispensed with, the work more effectually and better per-
formed, and trouble and expence materially diminished; and in the several
operations of tearing, pulling in pieces, or opening the said enumerated ma-
terials, by the use of my Invention, the material is torn, pulled to pieces, or
opened, and the dirt, grit, and dust got out both much sooner and more
effectually than by any methods at present practised.
Figure 1 in the Sheet of Drawings or plan hereunto annexed, reference
being thereunto bad, represents a front view of a cutting machine constructed
according to my Invention, and ready for work; which machine consists of a
strong metal frame about four feet square, with one division or midfeather
support the middle bearing of the main shaft, and to which midfeather to
the fixed knife for cutting and the feeding part are attached. Figure 2 in the
said Sheet of Drawings or plan represents a side view of a cutting machine
constructed according to my Invention, and ready for work.
A is a strong

page_text: shaft of beaten iron, with one fast collar.a at the middle bearing; c, c, c, are
three loose collars upon the same shaft, close behind each of which the shaft
is cut or slotted through, and a gibb and collars j, j, j, introduced, by which
means the shaft can always kept steady upon its bearings, and prevented
from, moving endway, which steadiness is essential in cutting any substance
when the knives have regularly to work against each other, for if the shaft has
any play or lateral motion, it will have a tendency to spoil the cutting edges of
the knives; D, D, are two bevil wheels, one on the main shaft A, and the other
on the cross shaft E, shewn in Figure 1 in the said Sheet of Drawings or plan,
upon which cross shaft E is a small pinion F, shewn in Figure 9 in the said
Sheet of Drawings or plan, working into the wheel G, attached to the feeder or
taking-in roller II, by which means the substance to be cut is introduced to
the knives. K is a mouth-piece or plate, represented in Figure 3 in the said
Sheet of Drawings or plan; the bottom part is made of metal and worked to
the same circle as the taking-in roller I, only rather closer towards the
delivering side, at which edge there is a recess "v," for the introduction of a
steel plate or knife marked d, in Figure 4 in the said Sheet of Drawings or
plan, which plate is worked to the same circle as the taking-in roller II,
and at the delivering edge of which mouth-piece the roller must come close
to the knife, so as to get a firm hold of the material close to the cut.
Figure 4 in the said Sheet of Drawings or plan represents a steel plate or knife,
which is made and fixed into the mouth-piece K, so as to keep the cutting
edge of the knife most prominent, and is fitted into the recess v of Figure 3 in
the said Sheet of Drawings or plan, the ends of which plate or knife are bevil
or dovetailed; one end is fitted into the solid metal, as shown in Figure 3 in the
said Sheet of Drawings or plan, and the other end is secured by a moveable
small plate e, shewn on Figures 3 and 8 in the said Sheet of Drawings or plan,
through which plate there is a slot z, Figure 8 in the said Sheet of Drawings
or plau; and the plate and knife are both secured by two bolts f. f. Figure 3
in the said Sheet of Drawings or plan, through the mouth-piece, Figure 8
in the said Sheet of Drawings or plan, into the midfeather of the frame, so
as to be taken out immediately when the knife wants repairing or grinding.
Figure 5 in the said Sheet of Drawings or plan represents a fluted taking-in
metal roller; the flutes or ribs may be either in straight lines, as shewn in
Figure 5 in the said Sheet of Drawings or plan), or in a spiral direction, and
may be made with coarse or fine flutes, according to the nature of the work the
machines are required to perform. It is by the pressure of this takin-in metal
roller against the circular worked mouth-piece and knife, shewn in Figures 6 in

page_text: the said Sheet of Drawings or plan, that the material is introduced, carried for-
ward, and held tight close to the cut, which pressure is obtained by levers and
weights connected with the roller pedestals or bearings marked g, i, Figure 1
in the said Sheet of Drawings or plan. 9, 9, are the roller pedestals, in which
are sliding steps, by which the pressure from the levers is communicated to the
taking-in roller; i, i, are the levers with weights attached; and L is the feeding
part, over which the material is taken to the roller H. M is a strong metal
wheel keyed upon the shaft A, Figure 1 in the said Sheet of Drawings or
plan, called the cutting wheel, upon which the revolving knives t, t, are fixed
with bolts m, m, m, and set screws 1, 1, 1, Figure 2 in the said Sheet of
Drawings or plan, by which means the knives can be adjusted as to the
required distance from cach other to enable them to work accurately. The
wheel M has two arms for knives, but they may be made, according to the
taste and wish of the user, with one, two, or more knives, the number of knives
used not being of any importance. O, O, Figure 2 in the said Sheet of
Drawings or plan, are the driving and loose pulleys; and Pis a fly wheel upon
the main shaft A. The fly wheel is about eight feet diameter, and is intended
to give an uniformity of motion, which uniformity will save power by counter-
acting the resistance or check of the cut, which resistance in strong materials
is very considerable. Figures 6 in the said Sheet of Drawings or plan represent
the end view of the taking-in part of the machine; and it will be seen from
those Figures that the circle of the mouth-piece is so constructed that the
roller H becomes quite close at the delivering edge. It is by pressure from
the roller against the mouth-piece that the material is taken in, and held
effectually tight and close to the knives in the cutting machine or to the teeth
in the opening machine. S, Figure 2 in the said Sheet of Drawings or
plan, is a pulley, giving motion to two rollers, over which rollers runs a con-
tinuous discharging cloth, the use of which is to take the cut materials away
as they drop from the knives t, t, and to which continuous discharging cloth
motion is given from the shaft A by the strap or belt r. Figure 7 in the said
Sheet of Drawings or plan represents an end view of the fixed knife. Figure 8
in the said Sheet of Drawings or plan represents the mouth-piece, with the
knife in front screwed to the midfeather of the frame. Figure 9 in the said
Sheet of Drawings or plan represents the geer wheel by which the taking-in
roller is worked, also the pinion wheel upon the shaft E, Figure 1 in the
said Sheet of Drawings or plan.
Figure 10.in the said Sheet of Drawings or plan represents the side
view of a machine constructed according to my Invention for tearing,

page_text: pulling in pieces, or opening rags, ropes, or other tough materials. a, a,
represents a feeding roller and mouth-piece, which I have already (and in
Figure 6 in the said Sheet of Drawings or plan of a cutting machine con-
structed according to my Invention) described, and are essentially the same
both in form and principle of holding the material to be operated upon
by the machine; B is a cylinder, revolving at a quick speed towards the
feeder, and full of steel or iron teeth, but I prefer steel made sharp
at the points, which teeth, when working, are brought nearly close to the
feeding part a, a, a, so that the rags, ropes, or other tough materials being
held firm at the point b, will be completely separated and opened as soon as
they come in contact with the teeth in the cylinder B, from where they are
combed down against the straight face of the feeding part a, and by it held
against the action of the teeth in the cylinder. By this means the dirt, sand,
and grit get loosened, and fall through the grating c, as the rags, ropes, or
other tough materials are carried forward over such grating. D is a box,
fixed in the intermediate space, over which the rags, ropes, or other tough
materials have to pass before they get to the dust cylinder and discharging
feeder, into which a loose grid is introduced, to receive any deposit the mate-
rial may leave in passing over. The dirt from the box D may be removed
cither through the top, or by means of a door underneath. E is a cylinder,
which moves slowly in the direction of the arrow. It is covered with wire
grating of a small mesh, to receive the dust out of the rags as they are dis-
charged and thrown against it from and by means of the revolving of the
toothed cylinder, which cylinder E revolves at the same speed as the same
speed as the discharging feeder, and is covered up with a wood or sheet iron
or other cover, with the exception of the top, to which a fan and pipes,
marked a, e, are attached to draw and convey the dust away from the machine.
F is a discharging endless cloth, going at the same speed as the dust cylinder E,
receiving and taking away the materials therefrom; and if it is found requisite,
another feeding part and cylinders may be added in continuation, but this
will, I think, seldom be needed. Figure 11 in the said Sheet of Drawings or
plan represents a feeding part, with the roller under it, to take in the material
over the top, which may sometimes be required when the cylinders revolve
uphill, or in a contrary direction to the one herein-before described and repre-
sented by Figure 10 in the said Sheet of Drawings or plan, the dotted lines in
which Figure represent the geer on the other or opposite side of the opening
machine.
I have now described fully the mode of carrying my Invention into effect,

page_text: and I do h reby declare that I consider my claim of Invention to extend to
the application of the combination of machinery or apparatus, as herein-before
described, for the purpose of cutting rags, rupes, waste, hay, straw, or other
soft or fibrous substances, and particularly to that part of the combination of
the machinery I have herein-before, and in the Figures 1, 3, 6, and 8,
described and shewn, and which I have described as a mouth-piece, and which
is represented particularly with the end view in Figures 6, the taking-in roller
and the other parts of the cutting machine, as shewn in the Drawings, which
are in connexion therewith; nor do I confine my claim of Invention entirely
to the application of the combination of machinery as at present shewn, as the
taking-in roller might be made with strong teeth instead of flutes or ribs, and
the revolving knives might be fixed between and at the outer circles of two
strong rims of metal fixed upon the same shaft, and at the same width between
as the mouth-piece or fixed knife, two or more of which might be put at tho
extreme circumference, and their cutting edges brought to meet that knife in
the mouth-piece, so as to effect a cut, which may also be obtained by a knife
worked by a crank motion against the knife fixed, but the one represented in
the Drawings I consider to be the most practicable, and least likely to get out
of repair; and I claim particularly as my Invention for cutting rags, ropes,
waste, hay, straw, or any other soft or fibrous material, the method I have
described of taking in by friction, and holding the material, as before described,
with the fixed knife in front, let the moving knives be worked in what manner
they may.
And I do further declare that I consider my claim of Invention to extend
to the application of the combination of machinery or apparatus, as herein-
before described, for tearing to pieces, pulling, and opening rags, and other
tough fibrous substances, which combination of machinery I have described as
shewn in Figure 10, such combination consisting of the feeding part, cylinder,
dust cylinder, and fan, and particularly that part through which the material
is taken in, held, and delivered to the toothed cylinder marked a, a, a, b, and
which feeding part is exactly the same, both in form and principle, as the
feeding part used in the cutting machine I have before described and repre-
sented in Figures 1, 6, and 11, in which last Figure the roller is represented
as being under or reversed, and the material is represented to be taken in over
the top, adapted to a cylinder working upwards, which in some cases may be
required.
And I do declare that my last-mentioned claim of Invention extends to all
cases when the material to be operated upon is held and delivered by the

page_text: pressure of one or more roller or rollers, and where the grip or hold is obtained
by such pressure of one roller or rollers at the delivering point b.
In witness whereof, I, the said Joseph Bennett, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-sixth day of January, One thousand eight
hundred and forty-one.
AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Twenty-sixth day of January,
in the fourth year of the reign of Her Majesty Queen Victoria, the said
Joseph Bennett came before our said Lady the Queen in Her Chancery,
and acknowledged the instrument aforesaid, and all and every thing therein
contained and specified, in form above written. And also the instrument
aforesaid was stamped according to the tenor of the Statute made in the
fifty-fifth year of the reign of His late Majesty King George the Third.