IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR POLISHING NEEDLES
Year: 1872

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Victor Milward, of Ipsley, in the County of
Warwick, Needle and Fish-hook Manufacturer, for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR POLISHING NEEDLES."
Sealed the 12th April 1873, and dated the 31st October 1872.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Victor Milward at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
31st October 1872.
I, VICTOR MILWARD, of Ipsley, in the County of Warwick, Needle
and Fish-hook Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR POLISHING NEEDLES," to be
as follows:-
:-
My Invention consists of the construction and combination herein-
after described of the parts of machinery for polishing needles. The
said machinery consists essentially of a series of pairs of polishing rollers.
combined with a series of pairs of feeding rollers, each pair of polishing
rollers being situated between two pairs of feeding rollers.
I prefer to employ three pairs of polishing rollers, and four pairs of
feeding rollers, but any other number of the said rollers may be
combined in the machine. The feeding rollers are driven at a slow

page_text: speed, and the polishing rollers at a high speed. The feeding rollers
besides a slow rotatory motion, have a sliding motion parallel to their
axes communicated to them, the upper roller of each pair sliding in one
direction and the lower roller of each pair sliding in the opposite
direction. By means of the said sliding motion of the feeding rollers,
the needles being fed to the polishing rollers have a rolling motion given
to them, or are rotated on their axes and every part of them thereby
brought in succession under the operation of the polishing rollers.
The needles to be polished are fed in a row from a delivery plate
between the first pair of feeding rollers, by which they are seized and
carried between the first pair of polishing rollers, the said needles having
a rolling motion given to them by the sliding of the feeding rollers.
Before the needles pass from the first pair of polishing rollers, they are
seized by the second pair of feeding rollers by which they are rotated
and conveyed to the second pair of polishing rollers and so on through
the machine, the polished needles passing from the end pair of feeding
rollers being received in a suitable receptacle.
In order to assist in preserving the parallelism of the needles during
their passage through the machine, guides may be placed between the
rollers of each pair to guide the whole row of needles.
The motions of the several parts of the machine are obtained in the
following manner :-The rapid rotatory motion of the polishing rollers
is effected by means of an endless driving band or cord, passing between
opposed concave pulleys on the ends of the said rollers, the necessary
amount of friction being obtained by making one of the said concave
pulleys adjustable, so as to cause the band or cord to be pressed with
the required pressure against the pulleys.
The slow rotatory motion of the feeding rollers is effected by an
intermediate shaft and worm and toothed gearing driven from the axes
of the driving pulleys, by which the driving band or cord described is
worked.
The sliding motion of the feeding rollers in opposite directions for
giving the rolling motion to the needles, is obtained from a second
intermediate shaft driven from the axes of the driving pulleys described.
The said second intermediate shaft carries at either end excentrics
which give motion to a parallel shaft provided with a series of bell-

page_text: crank levers, the vertical arms of the said levers engaging between
collars on the lower rollers of the several pairs of feeding rollers. A
second and upper parallel shaft similarly provided with bell-crank levers
is connected by a connecting rod to the first or lower parallel shaft, the
vertical arms of these bell-crank levers engaging between collars on the
upper rollers of the several pairs of feeding rollers. The result of this
arrangement is that on the rotation of the excentric shaft a sliding
motion in one direction is communicated to each of the bottom rollers,
and a corresponding motion in the opposite direction to each of the top
rollers of the several pairs of feeding rollers.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Victor Milward in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 25th April 1873.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, VICTOR
MILWARD, of Ipsley, in the County of Warwick, Needle and Fish-hook
Manufacturer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Thirty-first day of October, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-two, in the
thirty-sixth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said, Victor Milward, Her special license
that I, the said Victor Milward, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as I, the said Victor Milward, 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 "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MACHINERY FOR POLISHING NEEDLES," upon the condition (amongst others)
that I, the said Victor Milward, my executors or administrators, by
an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands
and seals, should particularly describe and ascertain 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.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Victor Milward, do hereby declare.
the nature of the 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, that is to say :-
My Invention consists of the construction and combination herein-after
described of the parts of machinery for polishing needles. The said
machinery consists essentially of a series of pairs of polishing rollers
combined with a series of pairs of feeding rollers, each pair of polishing
rollers being situated between two pairs of feeding rollers.
I prefer to employ three pairs of polishing rollers and four pairs of
feeding rollers, but any other number of the said rollers may be combined
in the machine. The feeding rollers are driven at a slow speed, and the
polishing rollers at a high speed. The feeding rollers, besides a slow
rotatory motion, have a sliding motion parallel to their axes communicated
to them; the upper roller of each pair sliding in one direction, and the
lower roller of each pair sliding in the opposite direction. By means of
the said sliding motion of the feeding rollers the needles being fed to the
polishing rollers have a rolling motion given to them, or are rotated on
their axes, and every part of them thereby brought in succession under
the operation of the polishing rollers.
The needles to be polished are fed in a row from a delivery plate
between the first pair of feeding rollers, by which they are seized and
carried between the first pair of polishing rollers; the said needles having
a rolling motion given to them by the sliding of the feeding rollers.
Before the needles pass from the first pair of feeding rollers they are:
seized by the second pair of feeding rollers, and so on through the
machine, the polished needles passing from the end pair of feeding rollers
being received in a suitable receptacle.
In order to assist in preserving the parallelism of the needles during
their passage through the machine guides may be placed between the
rollers of each pair to guide the whole row of needles.
The motions of the several parts of the machine are obtained in the
following manner :-The rapid rotatory motion of the polishing rollers is
effected by means of an endless driving band or cord passing between.
opposed concave pulleys, on the ends of the said rollers the necessary
amount of friction being obtained by making one of the said concave
pulleys adjustable so as to cause the band or cord to be pressed with.
the required pressure against the pulleys.

page_text: The slow rotatory motion of the feeding rollers is effected by an in-
termediate shaft and worm, and toothed gearing driven from the axes of the
driving pulleys, by which the driving band or cord described is worked.
The sliding motion of the feeding rollers in opposite directions for
giving the rolling motion to the needles is obtained from a second
intermediate shaft driven from the axes of the driving pulleys described.
The said second intermediate shaft carries at either end excentrics which
give motion to a parallel shaft provided with a series of bell-crank levers,
the vertical arms of the said levers engaging between collars on the lower
rollers of the several pairs of feeding rollers. A second and upper
parallel shaft similarly provided with bell-crank levers is connected by a
connecting rod to the first or lower parallel shaft, the vertical arms of
these bell-crank levers engaging between collars on the upper rollers of
the several pairs of feeding rollers. The result of this arrangement is
that on the rotation of the excentric shaft a sliding motion in one
direction is communicated to each of the bottom rollers, and a
corresponding motion in the opposite direction to each of the top rollers
of the several pairs of feeding rollers.
The driving of the polishing and feeding rollers, and the sliding
motion of the feeding rollers may be effected in a variety of ways, as
herein-after described.
Having explained the nature of my Invention, I will proceed to
describe, with reference to the accompanying Drawings, the manner in
which the same is to be performed.
Figure 1 represents in side elevation, and Figure 2 in end elevation, a
machine for polishing needles, the parts of which are constructed and
combined according to my Invention; Figure 3 is a plan, and Figure 4
a longitudinal vertical section of the same. The same letters of
reference indicate the same parts in Figures 1, 2, 3, and 4.
The said machine consists of three pairs, by preference, of polishing
rollers, marked a, a, and four pairs of feeding rollers, marked b, b; the
said polishing and feeding rollers being arranged in the manner best seen
in Figure 4, that is, the pairs of feeding and polishing rollers alternate
with one another. The polishing rollers a, a, are driven at a high speed,
and the feeding rollers b, b, at a slow speed, in the manner herein-after
explained. I prefer to make the polishing rollers a, a, of metal bodies,
covered with leather, and the feeding rollers b, b, of metal bodies,

page_text: covered with hard india-rubber, the latter being covered with a thin
casing of soft india-rubber. The said polishing and feeding rollers a, a,
and b, b,'are carried by the uprights c, c, of the machine; the said
uprights being connected to the bed or base plate d. The spindles of the
polishing rollers a, a, turn in sliding bushes of hard wood e, e, adjustable i
The top
vertically and horizontally in the framing of the machine.
rollers of the several pairs of polishing rollers are carried by the hinged
or jointed frame f, f, so that they may be readily lifted from, and
returned to, the bottom rollers; the said top rollers act as pressure
rollers, the required pressure being put upon them by means of the set
screws represented. The top rollers may, however, be carried by the
fixed framing of the machine.
The polishing rollers may be driven in either of the following ways,
namely, the lower rollers only may be driven by a band or other gearing,
and the upper rollers may have no motion excepting that which they
receive by the travelling of the needles, or the upper rollers may have
a rotatory motion of the same speed as that of the lower rollers by being
driven independently of the said lower rollers, or by being geared to the
said lower rollers, either by toothed gear or by friction gear, or other-
wise. In the former case the upper rollers only press the needles upon
the lower rollers, the said lower rollers effecting the polishing; but
whether the upper rollers have motion communicated to them directly
or only receive motion from the needles, I wish it to be understood that
by the expression pair of polishing rollers I mean a lower polishing roller,
and the roller situated immediately above it.
In Figures 1, 3, and 9 I have represented the lower polishing
rollers as driven by a single band passing over pulleys h on their ends,
and also over guide rollers i, i, below the said pulleys, the driving
band receiving motion from the pulley k on the driving shaft 7. This
method of driving the lower polishing rollers will be best understood
by an examination of the diagram, Figure 9.
p
The slow rotatory motion of the feeding rollers b, b, is effected in
the following manner :- On the driving shaft is a worm m (see Figures
2 and 4) which gears with the worm wheel n on the shaft
at right
angles to the driving shaft l. On the said shaft p is a series of worms
q, q, which gear respectively with worm wheels on the ends of each of
the lower feeding rollers b, b, as will be best seen by reference to
Figure 4. The worm wheels with which the worms 2, 9, gear are not

page_text: represented in the Drawing, in order that other and more essential
parts may not be confused. Each pair of feeding rollers b, b, is geared
together by the toothed wheels r, 8, (see Figure 2).
The sliding or lateral motion of the feeding rollers b, b, is effected
as follows: On the end of the spindle of each feeding roller is
a box cam t, that is, a cam in the periphery of which an inclined
groove is made, and on the framing of the machine are fixed studs u,
which engage in the grooves of the box cams t, t. In Figures 1 and 2,
the studs u, u, both of the upper and lower rollers, are indicated in
dotted lines.
The grooves in each pair of cams t, t, are so arranged that the rotation
of one cam causes the roller carrying it to be moved in one direction
across the machine, and the rotation of the other cam causes the roller
carrying it to be moved in the opposite direction across the machine.
By this means the upper roller of each pair slides in one direction,
and the lower roller of each pair slides in the opposite direction.
At the back and front of each pair of feeding rollers b, b, pairs of
guides v, v, are fixed. The shape of the bars, constituting these guides,
is best seen in Figures 2 and 4. By means of the said guides o, v, the
parallelism of the needles passing through the machine is preserved.
Around the under side of the bottom rollers of the polishing rollers b, b,
guards are fixed for preventing the polishing material from passing
on to and injuring the feeding rollers. These guards are represented in
Figure 4.
The action of the machine is as follows:-The needles to be polished
are fed in a row from a delivery plate at the end A of the machine
between the first pair of feeding rollers b, b, by which feeding
rollers they are seized and carried between the first pair of polishing
rollers a, a, the needles being caused to rotate on their axes or having a
rolling motion given to them by the sliding or lateral motion of the said
feeding rollers as herein-before described. By the action of the first
pair of polishing rollers the needles are carried between them and partly
polished. Before the needles pass from between the first pair of feeding
rollers they are seized by the second pair of feeding rollers, by which
they are rotated and conveyed to the second pair of polishing rollers by
which they are further polished; and in like manner they are carried
through the machine, the polished needles falling from the machine into

page_text: a suitable receptacle. During the passage of the needles through the
machine they are guided by the guides v, v. By the action of the
polishing rollers combined with the feeding and rolling motion given to
the needles the said needles are thoroughly polished as they pass from
the machine.
Instead of giving the sliding or lateral motion to the feeding rollers
by box cams and fixed studs engaging with them as before described
and illustrated, the arrangement represented in edge view in Figure 5.
and plan in Figure 6 may be employed. In this arrangement I use a
shaft w at right angles to the feeding rollers, the said shaft being driven
by any convenient gearing from the main shaft of the machine; and I
arrange on the said shaft and opposite the feeding rollers a series of
cams x, x, which act directly on the ends of the spindles of the feeding
rollers b, b, and by their action give the required sliding or lateral
motion to the said feeding rollers. In this arrangement a shaft and its
cams give motion to the top rollers in one direction, and another shaft
and its cams give motion in the opposite direction to the bottom rollers
of the several pairs of feeding rollers. The spindles of the rollers are
pressed against the cams x by springs or weights.
Or the sliding or lateral motion of the feeding rollers may be effected
by the arrangement of parts represented in front elevation in Figure 7,
and longitudinal half sections in Figure 8. In this arrangement I place
on the shaft y excentrics, one of which is marked z, which give a
rocking motion through the arms 7 to the parallel shaft 2. On the said
parallel shaft 2 are arms 3 which engage between collars on the lower
rollers of the several pairs of feeding rollers b, b. A second and upper
parallel shaft 4 is similarly provided with arms 5, which engage with
collars on the upper rollers of the several pairs of feeding rollers b, b.
The two shafts 2 and 4 are connected together by the connecting rods 6
and arms 8. The excentric shaft y is driven by the worm and worm
wheels represented from the driving shaft 1. By the rotation of the
excentric shaft y a sliding motion in one direction is communicated by
the arms 3 to each of the bottom feeding rollers b; and a corresponding
motion in the opposite direction is communicated to each of the top
feeding rollers by the arms 5.
In Figures 7 and 8 the centres in which the spindles of the polishing
rollers a, a, turn are best seen, as well as the bearings for supporting

page_text: the rotating and sliding feeding rollers b, b. The said Figures 7 and 8
also exhibit the arrangement of my Invention in which the polishing
rollers are driven by an endless driving band from the driving shaft
passing between opposed concave pulleys a³, a³, on the ends of the said
rollers.
Although in the accompanying Drawings I have represented the best
methods with which I am acquainted of giving the sliding or lateral
motion to the feeding rollers, yet I wish it to be understood that I do
not limit myself thereto, as other mechanical combinations of parts may
be employed for effecting the said motion.
Having now described the nature of my Invention and the manner in
which the same is to be performed, I wish it to be understood that I do
not limit myself to the precise details herein described and illustrated,
as the same may be varied without departing from the nature of
my Invention; but I claim as my Invention, the improvements in
machinery for polishing needles herein-before described and illustrated
in the accompanying Drawings; that is to say, machinery for polishing
needles, consisting essentially of a series of pairs of rotating polishing
rollers, and a series of pairs of rotating feeding rollers, arranged or
combined in the manner described and illustrated; the said feeding
rollers besides a slow rotatory motion having a sliding motion given to
them in opposite directions for the purpose described; the several parts
of the machinery being constructed, arranged, and worked substantially
as described and illustrated.
In witness whereof, I, the said Victor Milward, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Twenty-third day of April, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-three.
0
Witness,
WILLIAM LANE,
Redditch.
VICTOR MILWARD. (L.S.)