Improvements in the Driving and Feeding Gear of Lathes, Planing Machines, and other Machine Tools.
Year: 1891

page_text: Date of Application, 10th Nov., 1891
Complete Specification Left, 9th Apr., 1892--Accepted. 10th Nov., 1892
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Driving and Feeding Gear of Lathes, Planing
Machines, and other Machine Tools.
We, JAKOB TOBELL, Manager of a Sugar Manufactory, of Aussig on the
Elbe, and ERNST FRIEDRICH, Engineer, of Prague, Bohemia, both in the Empire
of Austro-Hungary, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
This invention relates to driving and feeding mechanism for machine tools
whereby, while the speed of rotation of the tool remains constant the extent of its
motion or feed upon or in the surface worked upon is also made uniform so that
the work is performed with greater precision and in less time than hitherto. In
the operation of machine tools of the old construction it has indeed been found that
much time is lost in planing and working plane surfaces owing to the invariably
uniform speed of the face-plate, the table, or the tool itself, though the tool may
not be required to engage the blank at all parts of the stroke. The present
invention obviates this drawback and it consists in the following means for con-
trolling the motion of the blank support in connection with a tool or cutter-head
rotating with a constant speed.
The part, the motion or feed of which is thus to be controlled or adjusted (the
face-plate, table, or tool) is provided with devices the construction of which depends
on the form of the surface to be operated upon and which by means of levers or
the like are adapted to adjust one of the pair of friction wheels forming part of the
driving mechanism of the piece (plate, table or tool) whose feed it is intended to
control.
The (angular) speed of rotation of the face-plate, which at each point of engage-
ment of the cutters determines the extent of displacement or feed, is adjusted in
such a manner that the actual feed at the various points of engagement remains
practically uniform. The result is that in the surface operated upon the appearance
of the cut will everywhere be the same, the distance between any two adjacent
arcs of engagement being uniform. For this purpose the face-plate or its spindle
is provided with suitable tappets, cams, pulleys or drums provided on their surfaces
with grooves or cam surfaces curved in such a manner as to enable the motion
transmitted to the driving gear to vary in direction according to the requirements
of the work or to the shape or surface of the blank.
From this cam or feed-regulating or "steering" device motion is transmitted by
means of a lever to one of a pair of friction wheels the second wheel of which pair
is adapted by means of gear-wheels and a worm to operate the face or work-plate
to control the rate at which the work is presented to the tool or cutter. The
friction wheel which thus drives the face-plate, and the cutter-head are driven from
any source of power through suitable straps. This construction of the apparatus
will be found particularly convenient for facing frames and boards or plates.
As another illustration, the invention may be applied to a table which is also
provided with a guide-piece or cam having a cam-groove or surface for a purpose
similar to that of the cam in the first form of apparatus. The feed is here again
adjusted by a lever operating a friction-wheel the companion wheel of which
operates the table through the medium of a worm and a worm-wheel or equivalent
apparatus. This construction will prove valuable especially in dealing with pipe-
flanges and other narrow symmetrical surfaces. When the motion of the table is
to be reversed one of the friction wheels is moved to the opposite side of the centre
of the other friction wheel.
As before mentioned the guiding or steering mechanism instead of being applied

page_text: to the blank-support or table, may be arranged to control the motion or feed of the
tool itself which is in this case either directly or through its head or carrier con-
nected with a guiding spindle operated by means of a worm and worm-wheel from
one of the pair of friction pulleys or wheels which in its turn is adjusted by a lever
which in this instance itself carries the cam. The adjustment of the lever is effected
by means of a roller mounted on the cutter-head or bearing the table being in
this construction stationary. Instead of a stationary blank support however a
rotating face-plate may in this modification also be employed, and in that case its
motion or feed will be controlled by appliances such as before described, motion
being conveyed to the driving spindle of such plate, in the same way as it is imparted
to the guide-spindle of the tool. The extent of the cut may by these means be
readily and precisely adjusted which as will be understood is an appreciable
advantage.
Dated this Tenth day of November 1891.
W. P. THOMPSON & BOULT,
Agents for the Applicants.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Driving and Feeding Gear of Lathes, Planing
Machines, and other Machine Tools.
We, JAKOB TOBELL of Aussig on the Elbe, Bohemia, Manager of a Sugar
Manufactory, and ERNST FRIEDRICH of Prague, Bohemia, both in the Empire of
Austro-Hungary, Engineer, 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 feeding mechanism for machine tools whereby, while the
speed of rotation of the tool remains constant, the extent of its motion or feed upon
or in the surface worked upon is also made uniform, so that the work is performed
with greater precision and in less time than hitherto. In the operation of machine
tools of the old construction it has, indeed, been found that much time is lost in
planing and working plane surfaces, owing to the invariably uniform speed of the
face-plate, the table, or the tool itself though the tool may not be required to
engage the blank at all parts of the stroke. The present invention obviates, this
drawback and it consists in the following means for controlling the motion of the
blank support, in connection with a tool or cutter-head rotating with a constant
speed.
The part, the motion or feed of which is thus to be controlled or adjusted (the
face-plate, table, or tool) is provided with devices the construction of which depends,
on the form of the surface to be operated upon, and which by means of levers or the
like are adapted to adjust one of the pair of friction wheels forming part of the
driving mechanism of the piece (plate, table or tool), whose feed it is intended to
control, in such a manner that in the surface operated upon the appearance of the
cut will everywhere be the same, the distance between any two adjacent arcs of
engagement being uniform.
In the accompanying drawings Figures 1 and 2 for example represent a face,
plate P in front of which a cutter-head F is arranged to rotate. The rotary motion
of the face plate P is automatically controlled in such a manner as to admit of the
tool operating uniformly at any part of the surface. For this purpose the face-
plate or its spindle W is provided with a suitable tappet cam, pulley or drum T
(as shown in the drawings) to enable the motion transmitted to the driving gear to,
vary according to the requirements of the work or to the shape, or surface of the
blank.
From this cam or feed-regulating or "steering" devices motion is transmitted, by
means of the lever H to one R' of a pair of friction-wheels R R* the, wheel B' of

page_text: which is adapted by means of gear wheels Z1 Z2 and a worm S gearing with the
worm wheel teeth formed on the edge of the face-plate P to control the rate at.
which the work is presented to the tool or cutter. The friction wheel R' which
drives the face-plate and the cutter-head are driven from any source of power
through suitable straps. This construction of the apparatus will be found par-
ticularly convenient for facing frames and boards or plates.
In Figures 3 and 4 of the drawings the invention is illustrated as applied to the
table P of a planing or similar machine, which is also provided with a guide-piece
or cam T having a curved surface to operate for a purpose similar to that of the
grooved cam shown in Figure 2. The feed is here again adjusted by a lever H
which transmits motion to the friction wheel R¹ the rotating companion wheel R²
of which operates the table P through the medium of a worm S and worm wheel S¹
or equivalent apparatus. This construction will prove valuable especially in
dealing with pipe-flanges, and other narrow symmetrical surfaces. When the
motion of the table is to be reversed the wheel R' is removed to the opposite side
of the centre of wheel R².
As before mentioned and as illustrated in Figures 5 and 6 the guiding or steering
mechanism, instead of being applied to the blank-support or table, may be arranged
to control the motion or feed of the tool F which is in this case either directly or
through its head or carrier connected with a screw guiding spindle or shaft L
operated by means of a worm S and worm wheel S' from one R' of the pair of
friction-pulleys or wheels R' R' which in its turn is adjusted by the lever H which
in this instance itself carries the guiding groove or cam T. The adjustment of the
lever H is effected by means of a roller mounted on the cutter-head or bearing F
the table or work plate P being in this construction stationary. Instead of a
stationary blank-support, however, a rotating face-plate may in this modification
also be employed; and in that case its motion or feed will be controlled by
appliances such as are shown in Figures 1 and 2, motion being conveyed to the
driving-spindle of such plate in the same way as it is imparted to the guide-
spindle L of the tool. The depth of the cut may by these means be readily and
precisely adjusted, which, as will be understood is an appreciable advantage.
Figures 7, 8, 9 and 10 of the accompanying drawings represent two machines
illustrating the practical application of the various mechanisms shown on Sheet 1.
Figures 7 and 8 represent a duplex cutter or facing lathe adapted simultaneously
to cut or shape two flat pieces such as frames, plates, etc. upon the face-plates P.
It will be seen that this machine is really the practical embodiment of the idea
illustrated in a general way in Figures 1 and 2. The drums T with the cam
grooves C are mounted upon separate short auxiliary shafts which receive motion
from the lathe spindles W through gear-wheels W₁ which are changeable to
adjust the working of the lathe to the shape of the particular article to be
worked.
Figures 9 and 10 show a duplex cutter machine adapted for facing the ends of
cylindrical articles such as tubes, pillars, columns, supports, rods and the like; or a
machine of practically identical construction may serve for shaping or finishing rails,
tubes bars, etc. The steering or reversing mechanism is here a combination of the
arrangements shown in Figures 3 to 6. The bed or table P is stationary and carries
the blanks tightly secured thereon, while the steering device operates on the
rotating cutter-heads F which are carried in the travelling headstock T'.
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:-
In a machine-tool automatic gear by which the motion or feed of either the face-
plate or the table or if desired the tool itself is controlled by means of correspondingly
moving operating-mechanism (tappets, cams drums such as T) and through the
medium of a pair of friction-rollers such as R' R' so coupled with the driving
mechanism that one of such rollers or wheels R' may be adjusted through the

page_text: before mentioned cam mechanism according to the feed or depth of cut required
substantially as described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
Dated this 9th day of April 1892.
W. P. THOMPSON & BOULT,
Agents for the Applicants.