Improvements in Leather Splitting Machines.
Year: 1889

page_text: Date of Application, 15th Oct., 1889-Accepted, 7th Dec., 1889
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Leather Splitting Machines.
I, JOSEPH ANDRESS SAFFORD, of 108 Summer Street, Boston, in the County of
Suffolk and State of Massachusetts, United States of America, gentleman, do hereby
declare the nature of my invention and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement :
This invention relates to leather splitting machines, employing an adjustable gauge
roll which is rigidly supported at any position to which it may be adjusted, a yielding
pressure roll, and a splitting knife to which the leather is presented by said rolls.
The invention consists in certain improved means for adjusting and supporting the
gauge roll, and in various other improvements in the construction of machines of
this class, all of which I will now proceed to describe and claim.
Of the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification, Figure 1
represents a top view of my improved leather splitting machine. Figures 2 and 3
represent elevations of the same from opposite ends of the machine. Fig. 4
represents a section on line xx, Fig. 1. Fig. represents a perspective view of
a part of the splitting knife, and one of the gauges or stops which limit the forward
movement of the splitting knife.
The same letters of reference indicate the same parts in all of the figures.
In the drawings
a represents the splitting knife which is supported by the bed plate b, the latter
forming a part of the supporting frame; c represents the plate which is attached to
the supporting frame at the front thereof, and supports the leather as it passes to
the splitting knife. de represent the rolls between which the leather passes to the
knife; the upper roll, which is the gauge roll d, is vertically adjustable by means
hereafter described to determine the thickness of leather passing between it and the
knife, and is rigidly supported at any position to which it may be adjusted.
The means for supporting the gauge roll constitute an important part of my
invention, and comprise a bifurcated frame or yoke f composed of side arms 22 and
extensions 3 3 of said arms connecting the latter with the forward end 4 of said
frame. The arms 22 are pivotted at g g to support h h hereinafter referred to, said
arms containing the bearings for the gauge roll.
The said yoke or frame is adjusted by means consisting of a screw threaded bolt
pivoted at to an arm k on the supporting frame and passing through an orifice m
in the swinging end 4 of the yoke or frame f, and having a nut which bears on the
upper side of said yoke or frame and holds the same against the pressure of a
spring o, the tendency of which is to press the yoke or frame upwardly and thus raise
the gauge roll, the nut n which is located about at the longitudinal centre of the
machine holding or supporting the yoke and gauge roll at a height which is determined
by the adjustment of said nut.
It will be seen that the yoke or frame supporting the gauge roll enables said roll
to be adjusted simultaneously and uniformly at both ends by the operation of the nut n,
instead of being adjusted by independent adjusting devices, one at one end of the roll
and the other at the other end as heretofore, hence much time is saved in adjusting the
gauge roll, and the liability heretofore existing of adjusting the gauge roll out of
parallelism with the knife, or, in other words, of making one end higher than the
other by inadvertence or lack of skill on the part of the operator, is avoided.
I prefer to strengthen the yoke or frame by a cross bar 5, connecting its arms
over the gauge roll. Said yoke with its cross bar is preferably cast in one piece, but
t is obvious that it may be made in two or more pieces suitably connected at the
forward end 4 through which the bolt i passes, or elsewhere.
га

page_text: The yoke or frame is here shown as curved, so that its forward end 4 and the
adjusting nut n above the same are below the upper surfaces of the table c, so
that said nut and the forward end of the yoke do not interfere with the leather
as it passes to the knife.
The supports h h to which the rear ends of the arms of the yoke are pivoted
at 99 are heads formed on bolts+g' gl, which are adapted to slide vertically in
sockets formed in ears 9 on the supporting frame, and are vertically adjustable by
means of springs interposed between said ears and the heads h and nuts p on the
bolts bearing against the under sides of the ears and holding the heads / against
the upward pressure of the spring . By adjusting the nuts p the heads or supports h
may be vertically adjusted as may be desired.
The object of the vertical adjustment of the heads h and the pivots of the yoke
or frame is to enable the gauge roll to be adjusted to and made parallel with
the edge of the knife, if, as often is the case, the inclination of the knife edge is
altered by grinding, it being very difficult, if not impossible, to grind the knife so
as to keep its edge absolutely parallel with its sides.
The yielding pressure roll e co-operates with the gauge roll d in presenting the
leather to the knife. Said pressure roll is journaled in the free ends of two arms
or levers tt, the opposite ends of which are pivoted at u to the ears or projections q
on the supporting frame.
Said arms and the roll journaled therein are supported and pressed upwardly by
springs interposed between said arms and sockets in the supporting frame. The
springs impart an upward yielding pressure to the roll e. The extent of the
upward movement imparted to the said roll e may be determined by adjustable
stop screws w in the supporting frame, arranged to bear against the arms tand
prevent their upward movement beyond the point to which said screws are adjusted.
Power is applied to the rolls de through a shaft A journaled in the arms of the
yoke or frame and provided with a balance wheel B having a crank or handle, a
pinion C on said shaft meshing with a gear wheel D on the gauge roll d, a pinion E
on the opposite end of said shaft, an intermediate pinion F on a stud affixed to an
ear F1 on the yoke or frame f, and a gear wheel G on the pressure roll e meshing
with the intermediate pinion F.
The rotation of the shaft A communicates motion to the gauge roll through the
pinion C and gear D, and to the pressure roll through the pinion E, intermediate
pinion F and gear G. It will be observed that the shaft A and the intermediate
pinion F are supported by and move with the yoke or frame f, so that they are
raised and lowered with the gauge roll when the latter is adjusted, hence the adjust-
ment of said gauge roll causes no change in the relative position of the pinion Cand
and gear D, and of the pinion E and the intermediate pinion F.
The intermediate pinion F is located between the pressure roll e and the pivots u on
which said roll swings, so that the depth of engagement of the teeth of the pinion F
with those of the gear G is not varied by the upward and downward movements of
the pressure roll.
The knife a is secured upon the bed by a clamping bar H, formed on or attached
to arms II which are pivoted at J J to fixed ears K on the supporting frame.
Said clamping bar bears on the upper side of the knife and is pressed down
thereupon by screws L L entering the bed b.
M M represent adjustable stop or gauge pieces, which are attached to the bed plate
at opposite ends of the knife. by screws P passing through longitudinal slots Qin
the said pieces. On the forward ends of the pieces M are inwardly projecting
shoulders M which bear against the cutting edge of the knife at the ends thereof,
and act as stops to determine the position of the knife when the same is moved
forward into contact with said shoulders.
In operating this machine the thickness of the shaved leather is determined by the
adjustment of the gauge roll, and the shavings removed by the knife pass between
the knife and the pressure roll, the latter rising and falling to conform to inequalities
or variations in the thickness of the leather.

page_text: I do not limit myself to the precise details of construction here shown but may vary
the same.
For example, a nut on the screw i under the gauge roll supporting frame f
may be used instead of the spring to hold said frame against the adjusting nut n.
Other equally obvious changes may be made without departing from the spirit of
my invention.
The machine is here shown as arranged so that the leather is fed horizontally between
the rolls de to the knife, but it is obvious that the arrangement may be such that
the leather may pass vertically from the rolls to the knife, as shown in Letters Patent
No. 305,240, issued to me September 16, 1884, by the United States Patent
Office.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what 1
claim is;
1. In a leather splitting machine, the combination with a splitting knife and a
pressure roll, of a gauge roll, the frame or yoke supporting the gauge roll and composed
of the side arms 22 pivoted to the supporting frame at their rear ends, and the
cross piece 3 connecting the outer portions of said arms with each other, the
screw threaded rod i pivotally connected with the frame of the machine and passing
through an opening in the central portion of the cross piece 3, a nut on said rod
constituting an adjustable stop or support for the gauge roll supporting frame or
yoke, and a spring whereby said frame or yoke is held against said nut, as set forth.
2. In a leather splitting machine, the combination, with a pressure roll, the gauge
roll, the knife and the leather supporting table, of the gauge roll, the supporting
frame made as one piece and composed of the side arms 22 in which the gauge roll
is journaled, said arms being pivoted to the supporting frame at one side of the
gauge roll, and the connecting portion 33 curved downwardly and terminating in
the end 4, which is below the table and located at the opposite side of the gauge
roll from the pivoted ends of said arms, as set forth.
3. In a leather splitting machine, the combination of the supporting frame, the
gauge roll, the adjustable gauge roll supporting arms 22 pivoted to said frame,
the
pressure roll, the arms t t pivoted to the supporting frame and carrying the
pressure roll, the gears D G attached respectively to the gauge roll and the pressure
roll, the shaft A journaled in the gauge roll, supporting arms between the gauge
roll and the pivots of said arins, and provided at one end with a pinion C meshing
with the gear D on the gauge roll, and at the other end with a pinion E, and the
intermediate pinion F mounted on a stud supported by one of the gauge roll
supporting arms and meshing with the pinion E and the gear G on the pressure
roll, said intermediate pinion being located between the pressure roll and the pivots
that connect the carrying arms of said roll with the supporting frame, the arrange-
ment of said shaft A, pinions C E F and gears D G being such that the operative
engagement of said pinions and gears is not affected by the movements of the rolls,
as set forth.
4. The combination of the bed b, the splitting knife a, the clamping plate having the
arms I hinged to fixed ears on the bed, and the screws engaged with the bed and having
heads bearing on said arms I, whereby said plate is pressed upon the knife, as set forth.
5. In a leather splitting machine, the combination with the knife and the pressure
roll, of the gauge roll, the frame in which said roll is journaled, the vertically movable
supports h h to which said frame is pivoted, said supports being located at one side of
the gauge roll, means for vertically adjusting said supports, and an adjusting device
for the forward end of said frame, located at the opposite side of the gauge roll from
the supports hh, as set forth.
1- 11
1
2
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n 1000
JOSEPH ANDRESS SAFFORD.
Haseltine, Lake & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, Agents for the Applicant.