IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF SHEETS AND STRIPS OF HORN AND OTHER SIMILAR SUBSTANCES, AND IN MACHINERY AND APPLIANCES THEREFOR
Year: 1884

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
I Arthur MickELTHWATE of Somerset House, 115 Abbeydale Road, Sheffield,
in the County of York (out of business) do hereby declare the nature of my said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF SHEETS AND STRIPS OF
HORN AND OTHER SIMILAR SUBSTANCES, AND IN MACHINERY AND APPLIANCES
THEREFOR," to be as follows :-
The rough horn, or other similar substance, is first heated in a pan containing
heated water, or its equivalent, and is passed through a slitting machine, consisting
of a pair of hollow rollers heated by steam, gas or their equivalents, and having
in front thereof a knife, or knives, which cut the horn, or similar substance, into
sheets of uniform thickness as it leaves the rolls. The shects are cut to the
required size and shape by shears or otherwise. In dividing the sheets of horn
into strips the sheets are, heated and, placed in a mould, consisting of a pair of
trough shaped plates grooved to give the strips the required form in cross section.
A heated sheet of horn is placed in, the mould and it is subjected to pressure in
a press, and the sheet is thereby indented and pressed to the form of the grooves
in the mould, thereby forming narrow strips which are wholly, or partly, severed
from one another in the process of pressing. 23.
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In manufacturing strips of horn which are curved in cross section,,, one half of
the mould is made with, concave grooves, and the other half with convex grooves
by which the sheet of horn is pressed into and cut into curved strips.
Sheets of horn prepared in the manner and by the apparatus above described
can be used for the loose "socks" of boots,, and for other useful purposes; and the
strips of horn prepared in the manner and by the apparatus above described can
be employed as a substitute for the whale-bone strips in corsets, dresses and for
other purposes.
201

page_text: ⚫I ARTHUR MICKELTHWATE of Somerset House 115 Abbeydale Road Sheffield
in the County of York out of business do hereby declare the nature of my said
Invention for IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF SHEETS AND STRIPS OF
HORN AND OTHER SIMILAR SUBSTANCES AND IN MACHINERY AND APPLIANCES
THEREFOR and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement:-
The rough horn or other similar substance is first heated in a pan containing
heated water or its equivalent and is passed through a slitting machine consisting
of a pair of hollow rollers heated by steam gas or their equivalents and having in
front or at the back thereof a knife or knives which cut the horn, or similar
substance into sheets as it leaves the rolls. The sheets are subsequently cut to the
required size and shape by shears or otherwise.
In dividing the sheets of horn into strips, the sheets are heated and placed in
a mould consisting of a pair of trough shaped plates grooved to give the strips the
required form in cross section. A heated sheet of horn is placed in the mould and
it is subjected to pressure in an ordinary press and the sheet is thereby indented
and pressed to the form of the grooves in the mould thereby forming narrow strips
which are wholly or partly severed from one another in the process of pressing.
In manufacturing strips of horn which are curved in cross section, one half of
the mould is made with concave grooves and the other half with convex grooves
by which the sheet of horn is pressed into and cut into curved strips.
Sheets of horn prepared in the manner and by the apparatus above described
can be used for the loose "socks" of boots and for other useful purposes; and the
strips of horn prepared in the manner and by the apparatus above described can
be employed as a substitute for the whale-bone strips in corsets, dresses and for
other purposes.
The accompanying Drawings illustrate the machinery and appliances employed
in carrying into effect my Invention.
Fig. 1 to Fig. 4, inclusive illustrate the machinery by which the horn is cut into
sheets.
Fig. 1 is a front view Fig. 2 is a plan, Fig. 3 is an end view and Fig. 4 is
a vertical section as taken through the dotted line Y. Z (Fig. 1.) A is the framing
in which the pair of hollow rolls B, B¹ rotate; C, C, are a pair of wheels on the
shafts of the rolls B, B¹ by which the said rolls are rotated the end of the roll
shafts are formed with squares on which a handle or hand wheel is fitted to rotate
them. One or both of the rolls is or can be indented to cause it or them to bite
the horn and so carry it forward through the rolls; D is a knife secured in
a projection of the framing at the back of the machine and having its sharp edge
immediately at the back of the rolls so that as the horn is carried through the
rolls it is forced on to the sharp edge of the knife and is thereby slit into sheets;
E. E. are set screws for adjusting the position of the bottom roll; F, F, are pins
which adjust the position of the top roll and are secured in position by the spring H
and screw G; K. K. and K', K', are bearing blocks (in which the shafts of the
rolls B. B¹. rotate) which slide in recesses in the framing A and are retained in
position by the covers M N.
In using this apparatus a handle or hand wheel is placed on the square of the
roll shaft and the rolls are thereby rotated; the horn to be slit is passed through
from front to back and is forced onto the sharp edge of the knife.

page_text: The rolls are adjusted for any thickness of horn by turning the set screws E. E,
and the hand wheel L and screw G; the knife D is adjusted and retained in
position by the set screws.
་
Figs. 5. 6. 7 and 8 illustrate the moulds for dividing sheets of horn into strips ;
Fig. 5 is a plan view of half a mould and Fig. 6 is an end view of a pair of moulds
for forming one sheet of horn into strips which are curved in cross section, the
grooves in the mould being so formed as to sever the strips wholly or partially
from one another. P is the bottom half of the pair of moulds and Q is the
top half.
Figure 7 is a plan view of one half of the mould and Fig. 8 is an end view of ·
a pair of moulds for dividing two sheets of horn into strips R is the bottom mould
and S is the top mould of the pair of moulds and T is the plate which divides
them in the centre.
The hollow rolls can be heated with steam in the ordinary manner or with a jet
of gas or in any equivalent manner.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim is
1) Improvements in the manufacture of sheets of horn (for the socks of boots
and other useful purposes) by heating the horn, and passing it through heated
rollers and forcing it against the sharp edge of a knife for the purpose of slitting it
substantially as herein-before described.
2) The manufacture of strips of horn by placing the sheets (manufactured as
firstly claimed) in a grooved mould and subjecting them to pressure in an ordinary
press substantially as herein before described.
3) The machinery for the manufacture of sheets of horn consisting of the
arrangement of hollow heated rolls and knife substantially as illustrated by Fig. 1
to Fig. 4 inclusive of the accompanying Drawings and as herein before described.
in reference thereto.
4) The appliances for the manufacture of strips of horn consisting of the moulds
illustrated by Figures 5 to Figure 8 inclusive of the accompanying Drawings and
as herein before described in reference thereto.
Dated this 22nd day of July 1884.
E. EDWARDS HEWETT,
Agent for the Applicant.