Machine for Working Peat or Turf Blocks for Forming Firelighters.
Year: 1899

page_text: .Date of Application, 9th May, 1899 -Accepted, 15th July, 1899
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Machine for Working Peat or Turf Blocks for Forming Firelighters.
I, RICHARD BIAL, of No. 22, Krausenstrasse, Berlin, Germany, Engineer, 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 follow-
ing statement:
-
The present invention consists of a machine for preparing blocks of peat or
turf and cutting and boring the same to form firelighters.
In order to render the present specification more easily intelligible reference
is had to, the accompanying drawing in which similar letters of reference denote
similar parts throughout the several views:
Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the machine, Fig. 2 a plan of the same, Fig. 3 a
cross section on line of Figure 2, Fig. 4. a detail of the block moving
mechanism, Fig. 5 a section through one of the driving pulleys and Fig. 6 a
perspective view of the finished block of turf.
According to the present invention the irregular pieces of turf are first fed
between the two circular saws U U (Fig. 2), between which two sides of the same
are cut evenly. These two saws are mounted on a shaft having a belt pulley V,
by means of which the same is rotated. The blocks are fed one after the other
by the workman, to these saws one block serving to push the other along.
A belt pulley B₁ is mounted on a driving shaft B, which latter also carries a
gear meshing with a gear D) on a second shaft E. In the face of the latter
gear a cam groove D is provided, in which a pin or roll of the short arm F of
an angle lever F F engages, said angle lever being loosely mounted on the
shaft B and serving to reciprocate a slide or pusher F, guided by a frame F
in guideways, by means of a connecting rod F2 swivelled to the upper end
of the angle lever previously mentioned.
This pusher F is timed to reciprocate so as to push the irregular block coming
in front of it, in a direction at right angles to its movement hitherto, thus forcing
it between a pair of circular saws UU mounted to rotate in a horizontal plane
and driven by a special pulley U as shown at Figure 1. These saws effect the
paring or cutting of two further sides of the block, which is step wise pushed
passed them and between two further saws U2 mounted to rotate in a vertical
plane, but at right angles to the saws ; so that the remaining two sides of
the block are now cut clean. The latter pair of saws -is rotated by means of
bevel gears from the shaft of the saws U Ů. After the block has been pushed
past the last pair of saws being guided in the machine frame A, it is forced under
a set of vertically moveable drills L which are rotated by means of a separate
pulley K and raised and lowered by mechanism (not shown) so as to per-
forate vertically each block as it passes. The block of turf or peat thus
perforated is now pushed" further on until it reaches the end of the guide,
when it is moved laterally by the following mechanism and brought within reach
of a set of horizontally moveable drills I. These drills are driven by a separate
pulley I mounted on a key or feather (Fig. 5) and adapted to be slid forward
by means of the levers G G³ mounted on the pivot H and the actuating lever G¹

page_text: which is operated by the angle lever F F¹, to reciprocate said drills I. The piece
of turf duly cut and bored in the vertical direction reaches the end of the frame A,
when a blade or wall (5 is lowered behind it at the side (Fig. 3). The blade 05
has a pivot O adapted to slide in a slot 03 of a lever 002 pivoted at 0, and
having its outer end connected to a downwardly extending lever N linked to the
machine frame at M by means of the link M¹. This link M¹ is depressed at
intervals by means of a pin or roll N2 on the face of a disc N¹ mounted on and
rotating with the shaft E. The blade or slide 05 is pivotally connected to a
swinging arm Pat P, said arm being keyed to a pivot P¹ at its upper end. To
this pivot is also keyed a lever arm P³ from the free end of which is suspended
a lever R. The lever R is pivoted to a cam pivotally mounted in the machine
frame at St (Fig. 4) and within which a rotary lever Tacts, said lever being fast
on the shaft E. When the arm T depresses the cam arm S, the lever R is drawn
down and moves the swinging lever 1 to the right (Fig. 3) thus pushing the piece
of peat, which has been bored horizontally sidewards and forcing it under a
set of incision circular saws Z, which partially cut the cake as shown at Fig. 6
After the cake
at Z. The finished piece of peat then passes on to the rack Z².
has been sidewardly moved by the slide or blade 05, the latter is raised, by the
action of the lever U O2, which lifts it out and passes it backwardly over the next
lying cake, behind which it is again inserted.
Any suitable spring device may be employed to retain the lever M against
the pin of the disc N and the slot 03 of the lever O enables the sideward move-
ment of the blade to take off the piece of peat. All the parts of the above
described mechanism are time so that the blade is first inserted behind the next
lying piece of peat, then moved to pass the said piece to the side, then raised again
and passed over and inserted again behind the side of the next piece.
The drills, both horizontal and vertical may be of any of the known kinds
and rotated and raised and lowered or advanced and retired by any class of known
gearing.
As will be seen from Fig. 6 the finished firelighter consists of a cake of peat
having vertical and horizontal borings L' and I and having longitudinal
incisions to enable the firelighters to be easily detached before employment.
The pieces of peat thus prepared are then impregnated in any of the known
manners.
Instead of the device described the pieces of peat could be moved from one
part of the machine to the other by means of a rotary table or the like.
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 I
claim is-
1: Machine for cutting and boring pieces of peat to produce fire lighters
according to which the rough hewn pieces of peat are stepwise fed to a series
of circular saws which determine the height, breadth and length of each piece,
each piece being then bored vertically and horizontally, and finally being partially
cut through in the manner and for the purpose substantially as described.
2-One form of embodying the invention covered by Claim 1, according to
which the pieces of peat are first cut into lengths by a pair of circular saws and
then moved into the path of a reciprocating pusher, which forces them in the
direction of their length between consecutively arranged pairs of circular saws
for cutting the remaining two dimensions for boring the said pieces first vertically
and then horizontally and for finally making the incisions therein in the manner
and for the purpose substantially as described.
3: In the device covered by Claim 2 the means for moving the cut. and
bored pieces of peat in a direction at right angles to their length, which consists
of a blade or slide 05 and a lever mechanism in connection therewith, to cause
said blade to be inserted behind the side of the next lying piece of peat, and
then to move laterally the said piece and finally to be raised and moved back

page_text: over the next lying piece in the manner and for the purpose substantially as
described.
4: A machine for cutting and boring pieces of peat to form firelighters in
the manner substantially as described and for the purpose stated, said machine
being constructed as illustrated in the accompanying drawing.
Dated this 9th day of May 1899
REGINALD W. BARKER,
Applicant's Agent, 56, Ludgate Hill, London, E.C.,