Improvements in Cork Cutting Machines.
Year: 1892

page_text: Dat: of Application, 14th Nov., 1892
Complete Specification Left, 30th Aug., 1893-Accepted, 7th Oct., 1893
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Cork Cutting Machines.
We JEAN CUYPERS and ADRIEN BAILLY both of 21 Boulevard Poissonniere,
Paris in the Republic of France Engineers do hereby declare the nature of this
invention to be as follows:-
:-
This invention relates to a machine for cutting corks in which the blanks or
squares of cork are automatically presented to the grippers by means of a mechanical
arrangement and are presented by the said grippers to a knife operated mechanically
or otherwise which reduces them to the required form as hereinafter explained.
In a machine according to this invention a driving shaft transmits motion through
toothed wheels to a second shaft carrying a grooved pulley which communicates
motion through a cord to rollers carrying an endless apron by which the blanks
are automatically supplied to a transversely sliding carrier provided with suitable
stops and guides and a spring for holding the blank in position. This second shaft
is also provided with a cam which acts upon a rock shaft provided with arms
carrying the grippers which take the blank from the carrier and present it to the
knife. Loose on this second shaft is a wheel driven by the first motion shaft and
provided with a cam for holding open the gripper jaws until they are in position
for receiving a blank.
The travelling apron supplying the blanks to the machine pushes them on to a
table in which works the transversely sliding carrier the said table being formed
with an opening for the passage of the apron and being provided with guides or
ledges for preventing the blanks from slipping off the apron laterally.
aforesaid sliding carrier receives the blanks from the apron and transfers them one
at a time to the grippers.
The
The grippers are carried by arms or levers fixed on a rock slaft provided at one
end with a crank receiving motion from the cam in one direction being moved in
the other direction by a spring. At the other extremity the rock shaft carries the
gripper arms which by the action of the crank receives an angular movement and
are rocked to one side so as to receive the blank from the carrier after which they
In order to
are returned to the vertical position so as to present it to the knife.
cause the transversely sliding carrier to move forwards at the required time and
present the blank to the gripper the carrier is actuated by means of links and levers
connected with the rock shaft of the grippers. The gripper jaws are formed by
discs of suitable size provided with roughened surfaces to enable them to hold the
blank firmly during the cutting, and are capable of rotating in arms fixed on the
rock shaft. One gripper jaw is provided with a stein or rod formed with a helical
groove a thread working in a correspondingly. grooved reciprocating block or nut
by means of which rotary motion is imparted to the jaw and to the blank. The
gripper jaws are opened at the required times by a lever actuated by a cam and
provided with a roller acting on a disc fixed on the rod carrying the moveable jaw,
the jaw being normally closed by a spring. The cutting is preferably formed by
two passes of the knife and with this object the lever aforesaid is provided with a
tappet which engages with one of the arms on the rock shaft carrying the grippers
and prevent this shaft from moving until after the knife has taken a second shaving
off the cork.
The helically grooved block or nut which rotates the grippers receives its
a slotted arm
reciprocating motion from the knife carriage and is arranged in
attached to the nut in order to allow for the reciprocating or lateral oscillating
movement of the grippers.

page_text: t
The arrangements hereinbefore described may be employed in combination with
a knife actuated by hand or otherwise.
A knife working automatically is constructed according to this invention with a
carriage receiving a longitudinal motion parallel with the axis of the cork (in
order to cut the latter) upon a rod or guide upon which it is also capable of
performing a limited rotary motion for the purpose of enabling the edge of the knife
to be adjusted in accordance with the size of the cork to be cut. The said guide
rod is supported by brackets on a table capable of rocking on an axis at right
angles to the vertical plane in which the axis of the cork is situated and which is
adjusted in the required position by means of screws for the purpose of setting the
cutting edge at the angle required for cutting corks of conical or taper form. The
longitudinal reciprocating motion is imparted to the knife carriage preferably by
means of a crank transmitting motion through a connecting rod to a toothed wheel
or pinion gearing on the under side with a rack fixed on the adjustable table and
gearing on the opposite side with a rack on the underside of the knife carriage.
By these means the latter is caused to move at double the rate of speed of
the connecting rod.
The knife proper is fixed in a holder connected to the carriage by adjusting
screws enabling it to be adjusted for the purpose of compensating for wear.
These screws may be connected by an endless chain. In order to enable the
knife to take a second shaving off the cork it is necessary to move the edge nearer
to the axis of the cork after the first cut. This is performed automatically by
means of a roller which supports the knife carriage on one side of the guide rod.
This roller is mounted on an excentric spindle to which a rotary motion is imparted
automatically at the proper times by means of cams and levers so as to alternately
lower and elevate the axis of rotation of the supporting roller thereby lowering the
knife edge after the first cut and raising it again after the second cut into position
for acting on a fresh blank. This mechanism is arranged to be capable of being
thrown out of action when required in case each cork is cut by one movement.
The support of the excentric axis of the roller is capable of vertical adjustment for
the purpose of raising or lowering the knife in accordance with the diameter of the
corks to be cut.
The cutting edge of the knife is kept in order by means of two emery or grinding
wheels (actuated by the movement of the knife) one of which acts on the bevel
and the other on the flat side and a third wheel actuated in any suitable manner
and acting on the upper side of the knife. This latter wheel may be combined
with a brush for removing the dust and chips. The cut corks are automatically
released by the grippers and fall through a shoot into a suitable receptacle.
Dated this 14th day of November 1892.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Cork Cutting Machines.
We JEAN CUYPERS and ADRIEN BAILLY both of 21 Boulevard Poissonniere
Paris in the Republic of France do hereby declare the nature of this 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 machines for cutting corks in which the blanks or
squares are automatically presented to grippers by means of a mechanical
arrangement and are presented by the said grippers (which partake of a rotary 5
motion) to a knife operated mechanically or otherwise which reduces them to the
required form as hereinafter explained.
The manufacture of corks which was formerly effected by manual labour has
been modified in recent years the rounding or turning of the cork being usually

page_text: affected by the action of a knife or plane partaking of a longitudinally reciprocating
motion combined with a movement of the cork which is previously cut into squares
and partakes of a rotary movement enabling it to be reduced to the required
circular form. This tool is necessarily worked by hand and after the cutting of
each cork it is necessary to place by hand a fresh square of cork between the jaws
by which it is held during the turning or cutting operation. This method of
performing the operation causes great loss of time and considerable expense for
labour.
The cork cutting or turning machine forming the object of the present invention
is free from these disadvantages, the cutting is automatically performed the machine
simply requiring to be fed by placing the squares of cork in a shute or channel
whence they are conducted to grippers by which they are held and presented in
succession to the knife by the aid of mechanical combinations and without any of
the hand labour required in the case of the tools heretofore employed.
And in order that our said invention may be fully understood we shall now
proceed more particularly to describe the same and for that purpose shall refer to
the several figures on the annexed sheets of drawings the same letters of reference
indicating corresponding parts in all the figures.
Figure 1 of the accompanying drawings represents in side elevation a machine
constructed according to this invention.
Figure 2 represents the machine in plan.
Figure 3 represents the machine in transverse section the section being taken on
the line 1-2 Figure 2 and shews the arrangement for driving the knife carrier and
adjusting the blade for the second cut and the movement of the grippers in
presenting the square of cork to the knife.
Figure 4 being a similar view, to the preceding figure represents the grippers
when they are about to lay hold of the square of cork in order to present it to the
knife.
Figure 5 represents the machine in tranverse section taken on the line 3-4
Figure 2 in front of the driving mechanism and illustrating the different parts of
the latter.
Figure 6 is a similar view shewing certain of the parts of the said driving gear
in the position corresponding with that of the parts represented in Figure 4.
Figure 7 illustrates a detail of the mechanism for opening the jaws and raising
the knife carrier.
Figure 8 illustrates the other extremity of the elevating mechanism of the knife
carrier being worked by means of a roller placed upon an eccentric axis and on the
extremity of which is keyed a lever receiving motion as hereinafter explained.
Figure 9 illustrates the means employed for actuating the knife carrier.
Figure 10 illustrates a detail of a claw or fork between the legs of which slides
the nut imparting circular movement to the stem or rod of the gripper carrying the
squares of cork.
Figure 11 is a detail illustrating the arrangement of the carrier or travelling
apron in longitudinal section.
Figure 12 illustrates the rotary grippers and their levers or supports.
Figure 13 represents in elevation the knife carrier arranged upon a rocking
table.
In the machine illustrated in the accompanying drawings the work of cutting or
trimming the squares of cork in order to reduce them to the required circular form
is divided into two operations namely presenting the square to the grippers and the
cutting operation proper.
The several devices co-operating in these several operations are arranged upon a
table A supported upon legs the upper part of the latter being represented at B
Figure 1.
The machine is constructed with a shaft C Figures 1 and 2 from which movement
is transmitted to all the other parts of the machine the said shaft being driven by a
shaft D carrying a pulley E and two toothed wheels F and F' the said shafts being

page_text: supported in suitable bearings as represented in Figures 1 and 2. A grooved
pulley H fixed upon the shaft transmits motion through a corresponding pulley H'
to an endless apron c by which the blanks are automatically supplied to grippers jj.
A cam I rigidly connected to a toothed wheel J on the shaft C acts, upon a rock
shaft by which the grippers; are caused to advance and receive the blanks or
squares of cork for the purpose of subsequently presenting them to a reciprocating
knife O. A wheel J₁ loose upon the shaft C is driven by the wheel Fi and is
provided on one side with a cam a actuating mechanism which holds open the jaws
of the grippers after they have released the finished cork until they take hold of a
fresh square. Another curved or rounded cam b attached to an extension of the
boss of the wheel J' controls or regulates the ascent and descent of the knife O and
the two strokes or passes which are necessary in order to obtain a proper cutting
action. A crank arm K keyed upon the shaft C imparts a reciprocating rectilinear
movement to the knife carrier by the intervention of a connecting rod K' and
pinion or toothed wheel U Figures 2 and 9.
The operation of presenting the squares to the knife is performed under peculiar
conditions the square being presented to the knife by a series of movements
produced in the following order vizt. :-
1. Carrying forward the squares by the travelling apron or carrier c.
2. Movement of the grippers jj taking the squares one by one and presenting
them to the knife O.
3. Rotary movement of each square during the cutting operation.
The squares are moved forward by means of the carrier or endless apron c
Figures 1, 2 and 11 working upon rollers d d the roller d being connected with the
grooved pulley H¹ driven by a cord working over the pulley H hereinbefore
referred to. The shafts of these two rollers are supported in bearings underneath a
table or shoot L recessed for the passage of the apron and supported upon
brackets L and M' (Figure 11). This table supports two transverse bars c¹
arranged at a suitable distance apart and constituting with the apron a shoot or
guide for the squares of cork which are introduced by hand over the bracket L'
and which by the movement of the said apron are carried towards and placed upon
a transversely sliding carrier M arranged upon the bracket M'.
This carrier Figures 2, 3 and 4 receives the squares or blanks of cork from the
apron c and transfers them one at a time to the gripper jaws j and j' at the moment
when the latter descend and close upon or lay hold of the blank which is presented
to them.
The mechanism for actuating the grippers consists of the shaft working in
suitable bearings and provided at the end nearest to the driving gear with a crank
arm g (Figures 2 and 12) which by means of a roller acted upon by the cam I
imparts to the said shaft a rocking movement in one direction, a counter spring
being provided which constantly tends to maintain a crank arm g in contact with
the cam I.
n
At the opposite extremity the shaft is provided with levers N and N' carrying
the gripper jaws; the shape of the cam I and the angle of the crank arm g being
so regulated as to cause the said levers to move from the vertical position Figure
to the inclined position represented in Figure 4 by vibrating or rocking upon the
shaft. The inclined position corresponds with the forward movement of the
transversely sliding carrier M and in order that the movement may take place with
precision the forward movement of the carrier is effected by a positive movement
produced by the action of the levers carrying the grippers. With this object one
of the said levers such as the lever N is provided with an arm & Figures 3 and 4
connected to the carrier M by the intervention of links and lever or in any
other suitable manner so as to cause the forward movement of the carrier to take
place when the levers N and N' descend or move towards the carrier and causing
the carrier to retire when the said levers ascend or move in the opposite direction.
A blade spring attached to the carrier retains the square of cork in position upon
the latter and prevents it from becoming displaced during the movement of the

page_text: carrier. Adjustable stops arranged in line with the apron cause the jaws ; and j
to lay hold of the square exactly in the required position to enable the knife O to
act on every side of the piece of cork to be turned.
Each gripper jaw jij is formed by a small disc provided with roughened surfaces
to enable it to hold the blank firmly during the cutting. One gripper jaw
(Figure 12) is formed in one with a stem or rod P provided with a helical
groove and slides freely in the extremity of the lever N the other disc being
capable of rotating in a bearing provided in the extremity of the lever N'.
The jaws are moved towards or away from one another in order to lay hold of
the blade and release it when cut by the action of a cam a (Figure 2) which by
means of the lever arms kand k¹ aud roller k* acts upon a disc fixed upon the
rod P and compels the latter to move in a longitudinal direction. A spring n'
causes the square to be held firmly between the jaws when acted upon by the
knife O.
The cutting of the cork is preferably performed in two passes that is to say by
taking off two successive shavings as in the machines heretofore employed in order
to impart a smooth surface to the cork. With this object the lever is provided
or
with a tappet in (Figures 5 and 6) which comes in contact with an arm
projection m' fixed upon the lever N2 and prevents the latter from rocking until the
knife has performed the second pass that is to say until the grippers are required to
receive a fresh square.
The rotary movement to be imparted to the cork is obtained by means of a
helically grooved block or nut Q' (Figure 12) actuated by the knife carriage and
sliding upon the helically grooved rod P carrying one of the gripper jaws. The
said nut by reason of the reciprocating movement of the knife carriage hereinafter
described combined with the helical groove in the rod Pimparts a rotary movement
to the latter and consequently to the square of cork. Figure 10 illustrates an
arrangement in which the nut Q in place of being rigidly connected to the knife
carriage is arranged in a slotted arm Q pivotally connected to the carriage in order
to enable it to partake of the rocking or oscillating movements of the lever arms
carrying the grippers.
The arrangements herein before described may be employed in combination with
a knife actuated by hand or otherwise. In the arrangement illustrated the cutting
or turning is performed automatically by means of the knife O (Figures 3 and 4)
placed upon a carriage R capable of moving upon a rocking table S. This table
rocks upon a shaft or axis o at right angles to the direction of the movement of the
knife carrier and is adjusted in an inclined position by means of screws ✗
(Figures 1, 2, 3 and 13) arranged at each extremity for the purpose of setting the
cutting edge of the knife at the required angle relatively to the axis of the cork in
order to cut corks of conical or taper form. The carrier may be arranged to move
The raised extremities S¹
upon a fixed guide in place of on the rocking table S.
of the table support a bar or rod T acting as a guide for the knife carrier or
carriage R which is provided with two eyes or rings R' sliding upon the said rod.
The requisite longitudinally reciprocating movement of the knife is obtained by
means of a crank K (Figure 2) transmitting motion through a connecting rod K¹
to a toothed wheel U (Figures 3 and 9) gearing on the under side with a rack V
attached to the adjustable table S and gearing on the upper or opposite side with a
rack Vattached to the underside of the knife carriage R. By these means the
latter is caused to partake of a reciprocating horizontal movement at a speed double
the rate of speed of the connecting rod K' and axis of the wheel U travelling
upon the fixed rack V. This rack is provided with lateral ledges or guides for
guiding the wheel U.
The knife carriage receives in addition to the reciprocating longitudinal
movement an oscillating motion upon the guide T enabling the knife to be adjusted
at different levels according to the diameters of the corks and also for the purpose
of lowering the edge of the knife in order to enable it to take off the second shaving.
The knife blade is fixed in a holder O¹ connected to the carriage by adjusting

page_text: screws (Figures 2 and 3) enabling it to be adjusted for the purpose of compensating
for wear. These screws may be connected together by an endless chain in order to
enable the blade to be uniformly adjusted throughout its length.
As hereinbefore explained it is necessary to perform the cutting in two operations
and in order to automatically lower the edge of the knife for the purpose of taking
the second shaving off the cork the part of the carriage opposite to the guide is
supported upon a roller y Figure 8 mounted upon an eccentric spindle y' working
in a support r. This spindle is attached to a lever arms connected by a rod ¹ to a
bell crank levert (Figure 7) actuated by the cam b. The rotary motion imparted
to the eccentric spindle y1 by this combination of levers causes the knife holder to
be lowered and enables the knife to take off a thin second shaving in the second
pass. When this second pass or cut has been performed the same mechanism
elevates the knife or holder and raises the knife edge into position for taking the
first shaving off the next blauk. The mechanism for actuating the eccentric
spindle of the roller y may be dispensed with when the eutting is performed in one
operation it being simply necessary for this purpose to remove the rod a connecting
the two levers s and t and to take off the tappet m placed upon the lever k¹. In
this case the rate of production is doubled.
The roller y on which the knife carriage moves is carried by a support capable
of vertical adjustment for the purpose of raising or lowering the knife in accordance
with the diameters of the corks to be cut.
The knife O is sharpened by means of two discs u (Figure 13) composed of
emery or other suitable material one of which acts on the bevelled side and the
other on the flat side of the edge being actuated by the movement of the knife the
edge being also acted on by a disc or grindstone M' rotated by any suitable means
so that it is constantly maintained in good condition and the knife simply requires
to be adjusted to compensate for wear. A rotary brush 132 is placed upon the
shaft p of the grindstone M² for the purpose of removing the dust and chips of cork
which might otherwise be liable to interfere with the action of the knife. The cut
corks being automatically released by the grippers fall through a shoot into a
suitable receptacle placed underneath the machine.
It is evident that the shapes and dimensions of the parts of the machine
herein before described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings may be modified
in various ways without affecting the principle of the invention and in like manner
the mechanical arrangements may be modified aecording to the requirements of the
manufacture or may be replaced by equivalent mechanical devices producing the
same results without affecting the principle of the invention.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that what we
claim is :-
1. In cork cutting machines having a knife worked by hand or mechanically, an
automatic feeding device consisting essentially of a passage having a movable
bottom by which the squares of cork are propelled towards the grippers by which
they are held during the cutting operation substantially as hereinbefore described
with reference to the accompanying drawings.
2. In cork cutting machines having a knife worked by hand or mechanically the
combination of the feeding device herein before described and claimed with a
transversely moving carrier receiving the squares of cork one at a time from the
feeding device and presenting them to the grippers by which they are held during
the cutting operation substantially as herein before described with reference to the
accompanying drawings.
3. In cork cutting machines having a knife worked by hand or mechanically the
arrangement of the transversely moving carrier placed at the extremity of the
feeding device in combination with grippers carried by arms or levers actuated in
such a manner that they move towards the carrier when the latter advances towards
the grippers in order to present the square of cork to the latter the movement of

page_text: the carrier being rendered dependent on the movement of the grippers by means of
a mechanical connection substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to
the accompanying drawings.
4. In cork cutting machines having a knife worked by hand or mechanically the
grippers for supporting the square of cork during the cutting operation the said
grippers having three distinct functions vizt. (1) opening their jaws and at the same
time moving towards the transversely moving carrier supplying them with the
square of cork (2) partaking of a rapid rotary motion when presenting the cork to
the knife (3) remaining in position for presenting the cork to the knife during the
two passes necessary for completing the cutting operation all actuated and
operating in the manner substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to
the accompanying drawings.
5. In cork cutting machines the knife or cutting blade placed upon a carriage
partaking of a reciprocating rectilinear movement produced by a mechanical
arrangement such as a toothed wheel gearing with two racks one rack being
stationary and the other attached to the carriage the shaft of the said wheel being
connected to a crank by a connecting rod thereby causing the movable rack
attached to the knife carriage to travel twice the distance traversed by the wheel
rolling upon the stationary rack acting as a point of support substantially as
hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
6. In cork cutting machines the knife carriage placed upon a rocking table
enabling the angle or inclination of the knife to be adjusted relatively to the axis
of the cork and also enabling the said knife to be placed in a position parallel with
the said axis according as the corks to be cut are of conical or cylindrical form the
said rocking table carrying the stationary rack referred to in the preceding claiming
clause and the device for vertically adjusting the knife in accordance with the
diameter of the corks to be cut substantially as herein before described with
reference to the accompanying drawings.
7. In cork cutting machines a knife carriage having a rectilinear reciprocating
movement and with or without a rocking table in combination with rotary grippers
supporting the square of cork to be cut and capable of being moved forwards in
order to receive the square of cork the said combination being worked by means of
a nut or helically grooved block moved by the knife and sliding upon a helically
grooved rod connected to the grippers the said nut or block being free to move
with the grippers when they are moved forwards substantially as hereinbefore
described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
8. In cork cutting machines the combination of a reciprocating knife worked by
hand or mechanically with emery wheels and a rotary grindstone for grinding and
sharpening the cutting edge of the knife the said kuife being placed upon a carriage
and caused to project to an extent regulated by means of screws connected by an
endless chain substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the
accompanying drawings.
9. In cork cutting machines suspending the knife carriage upon a rocking table
or upon a fixed table by means of a guide rod and a roller having an eccentric axis
to which rotary motion is automatically imparted for the purpose of lowering the
knife to the extent required for the second pass or cut substantially as herein before
described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
10. In cork cutting machines the combination of the rotary grippers carried by
oscillating levers for holding the squares of cork with an automatic feeding device
supplying the said squares and with a transversely moving carrier receiving the
squares from the feeding device and transferring them to the grippers in the manner
and for the purpose substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the
accompanying drawings.
11. In cork cutting machines the rotary grippers carried by oscillating levers for
holding the squares of cork in combination with a knife placed upon a moveable
carriage supported on a rocking table and means for adjusting the height projection

page_text: and inclination of the said knife substantially as hereinbefore set forth with
reference to the accompanying drawings.
12. The arrangements and combinations of parts constituting the improvements
in cork cutting machines substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to
the accompanying drawings.
Dated this 30th day of August 1893
J. H. JOHNSON & Co.,
Agents.