AN IMPROVEMENT IN PAPER-MAKING MACHINES
Year: 1861

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George Knox, of Skinners Place, in the City of
London, Paper Manufacturer, for the Invention of "AN IMPROVEMENT IN
PAPER-MAKING MACHINES."
Sealed the 1st April 1862, and dated the 4th October 1861.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said George Knox at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 4th
October 1861.
I, GEORGE KNOX, of Skinners Place, in the City of London, Paper Manu-
facturer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "AN IMPROVE-
MENT IN PAPER-MAKING MACHINES," to be as follows:-
In order to explain my Invention I may state that a great desideratum
hitherto in the manufacture of machine-made writing and printing papers is a
readily cleansing knotter, whereby it shall be kept. uniformly in the greatest
practicable state of cleanness, and so cleansed that there shall be no stoppage
of the machine, nor of any part of the knotter, while supplying the machine
with pulp, the bad effect of that being to pass through the knotter plate some
of the knots and dirt that are being disturbed, and more especially to increase
suddenly, by the removal of the knots and imperfectly reduced pulp, the weight
of the paper which previously had been gradually diminished by the accumula-

page_text: tion of the same. To effect this I make a circular knotter plate or brass or
other metal; or I put together a number of segmental plates, say 8, or any
other number, so as to form a circular knotter plate, the cuts or slits being of
the dimension and size commonly in use. I fix my knotter plate in a bed or
framework of convenient depth, to admit of a continuous flow of pulp from the
pulp chest being distributed over the part of the surface exposed thereto, and
underneath which is placed a trough to receive the pulp and pass it on to the
machine.
By means of some convenient mechanical arrangement I make the knotter
thus completed to rotate horizontally, and I communicate to the same, by
appliances to the axis or shaft through the centre, the jumping motion which
is now generally given to knotters for the purpose of shaking the fibre
through the knotter plate, and thereby supplying the wire of the machine.
This trough for the supply of the machine, which I place at the end thereof,
and contiguous thereto, is the shape and size of one-half of the circle by a line
drawn through the centre, although it may be of other proportions; and
place another trough forming a like semicircle underneath the other portion
of the knotter plate, the contents of this trough being conveyed by means
of a pump to the heating engines. I also divide the upper surface of the
knotter plate into two parts, one of which includes the entire semicircle or
other proportion of the knotter plate placed above the trough for the supply of
the machine, and one-fourth or other proportion of the other semicircle,
making ths of the entire circle, and this division I effect by means of a belt
or cushion of vulcanized india-rubber or other suitable material of the depth of
the knotter bed fastened to a frame, so that the india-rubber, by means of a
spring applied to the frame, presses firmly against the knotter plate, and is
kept in a slightly inclined position towards the same, and which frane has
communicated to it the same jumping motion as the knotter. I apply to
the ths or other proportion of the knotter plate which is thus kept free from
pulp, a constant stream or shower of water, with such a degree of force as will
entirely cleanse the cuts of the knotter plate as they come under its operation
by the circular motion of the knotter, and the part thus cleansed passes under
the india-rubber belt, and is brought again as clean as a new knotter plate to
receive fresh pulp. On the small section of the knotter plate, viz., th or
other portion which receives the pulp on the upper surface, but is always
moving over the water trough, and never over the machine trough, the
knots will accumulate as the plate moves round, but they are kept back by
the india-rubber belt, and as often as may be necessary are removed with an

page_text: india-rubber scoop or other contrivance, care being taken not to approach too
near the part over the machine trough, so as to injure the quality or disturb
the weight of the paper.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said George Knox in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 4th
April 1862.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, GEORGE
KNOX, of Skinners Place, in the City of London, Paper Manufacturer, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Fourth day of October, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-one, in the twenty-fifth year of Her
reign; did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said George Know, Her special licence that I, the said George Knox, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said George
Knox, my executors, administrators, 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 "AN IMPROVEMENT IN PAPER MAKING
MACHINES," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said George Knox,
my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or
their, or one of their hands and seals, should particularly describe and ascer-
tain 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 George Knox, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to
be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement thereof, reference being had to the Drawings hereunto
annexed, that is to say:-
In order to explain my Invention, I may state that a great desideratum
hitherto in the manufacture of machine-made writing and printing papers is a
readily cleansing knotter, whereby it shall be kept uniformly in the greatest

page_text: practicable state of cleanness, and so cleansed that there shall be no stoppage
of the machine, nor of any part of the knotter, while supplying the machine
with pulp, the bad éffect of that being to pass through the knotter plate some
of the knots and dirt that are being disturbed, and more especially to increase
suddenly, by the removal of the knots and imperfectly reduced pulp, the weight
of the paper which previously bad been gradually diminished by the accumula-
tion of the same. To effect this I make a circular knotter plate of brass or
other metal, or I put together a number of segmental plates, say 8 or any
other number, so as to form a circular knotter plate, the cuts or slits being of
the dimension and size commonly in use. I fix my knotter plate in a bed or
framework of convenient depth to admit of a continuous flow of pulp from the
pulp chest being distributed over the part of the surface exposed thereto, and
underneath which is placed a trough to receive the pulp and pass it on to the
machine.
By means of some convenient mechanical arrangement I make the knotter
thus completed to rotate horizontally, and I communicate to the same by
appliances to the axis or shaft through the centre the jumping motion which
is now generally given to knotters for the purpose of shaking the fibre through
the knotter plate, and thereby supplying the wire of the machine. This
trough for the supply of the machine; which I place at the end thereof and
contiguous thereto, is the shape and size of one-half of the circle by a line
drawn through the centre, although it may be of other proportions; and
I place another trough forming a like semicircle underneath the other
portion of the knotter plate, the contents of this trough being conveyed by
means of a pump to the beating engines. I also divide the upper surface of
the knotter plate into 2 parts, one of which includes the entire semicircle or
other proportion of the knotter plate placed above the trough for the supply of
the machine, and one-fourth or other proportion of the other semicircle
(making ths of the entire circle), and, this division I effect by means of a
belt or cushion of vulcanized india-rubber or other suitable material of the
depth of the knotter bed fastened to a frame, so that the india-rubber, by
means of a spring applied to the frame, presses firmly against the knotter
plate, and is kept in a slightly inclined position towards the same, and which
frame has communicated to it the same jumping motion as the knotter.
I apply to the 3ths or other proportion of the knotter plate which is thus kept
free from pulp, a constant stream or shower of water, with such a degree of
force as will entirely cleanse the cuts of the knotter plate as they come under
its operation by the circular motion of the knotter, and the part thus cleaned

page_text: passes under the india-rubber belt, and is brought again as clean as a new
knotter plate to receive fresh pulp. On the small section of the knotter plate,
viz., th or other portion which receives the pulp on the upper surface, but is
always moving over the water trough, and never over the machine trough,
the knots will accumulate as the plate moves round, but they are kept back
by the india-rubber belt; and as often as may be necessary are removed with
an india-rubber scoop or other contrivance, care being taken not to approach
too near the part over the machine trough, so as to injure the quality or disturb
the weight of the paper.
Figure 1 of the accompanying Drawings is a plan of a knotter, shewing
the divisional plates, with the upright shaft or axis upon which the whole
rotates. Figure 2 is a sectional elevation of the same, shewing, the divisions
above and below the knotter plate; Figure 3 is an elevation, and Figure 4 a
plan of the framework, in which the knotter is fitted, showing also the method
of driving the same.
a, a, is the knotter, supported on cushions a¹, a¹, on the standards h, h.
The knotter is composed of segmental plates b, b, and arranged in
such manner that any segment when worn out or requiring to be recut
may be replaced by a spare plate. c is the upright shaft, to which the
knotter is connected, as shown in Figure 3. The knotter is of such a depth
as to allow a sufficient flow of pulp from the pulp chest, which may be
distributed over the area of the knotter-plates by means of a trough d, with
holes therein, as shown in Figure 1, or in any more convenient way. e, e',
are belts or cushions in the knotter, formed of metallic plates or of wood,
carrying vulcanized india-rubber or other material between them to prevent
the pulp passing under, as shewn at Figure 5. There are two troughs
beneath the knotter, one f to receive the strained pulp which passes on to the
machine, and the other g to receive the water or water and pulp mixed, which
comes through the plates forming the semicircle at the back of the knotter,
and which may be pumped back to the beating engines. The knots or other
impurities are kept back by the cushion e¹, and are removed with a scoop or
hand shovel as often as may be necessary. h, h, h, are standards supporting a
top plate i, on which gearing is mounted, as shewn, for communicating rotary
motion to the knotter; k is a tappet passing through the head or top of the
shaft for imparting a vibratory up-and-down motion to the knotter, which
is required to shake the pulp through the cuts or slits in the knotter plates.
In order to give ease and elasticity to the vibratory motion of the knotter
1 pass the upright shaft c through a spring l, which yields to the extent of the

page_text: depth of the tappet teeth. The stream of water which is to fall on the area
of the knotter plate may either flow from a rose m, or from a series of jets or
bars converging at the bottom, and radiating from the shaft to. the circum-
ference of the knotter.
And having now described the nature of my said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, I declare that I claim as my improve-.
ment in paper-making machines the construction and employment of "knotters"
made to act substantially in manner and for the purposes herein-before described,.
and illustrated in the accompanying Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said George Knox; have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Third day of April, One thousand eight
hundred and sixty-two.