IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR CUTTING PAPER, CARDBOARD, AND SIMILAR MATERIALS
Year: 1855

page_text: Sealed the 2nd May 1856, and dated the 7th November 1855.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Frederick Scholefield at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
7th November 1855.
I, FREDERICK SCHOLEFIELD, of the City of Manchester, in the County of
5 Lancaster, Machinist, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR CUTTING PAPER, CARDBOARD,
AND SIMILAR MATERIALS," to be as follows:-
Instead of the usual method of forcing down the knife or cutter perpen-
dicularly by a rack and pinion, or by screws and bevil wheels, or by giving a
0 radial movement to the knife or cutter as it descends, both of which plans are
complicated, tedious, and expensive, I propose to give the knife or cutter a
horizontal or endwise movement as it descends, so as to produce an effect
similar to that produced by hand in cutting leather, which I accomplish in the
following
manner :-I make a frame of iron cr other material, in the upper

page_text: pro-
part of which, extending above the table, I make a slot or opening in each side
of the knife holder in the usual manner, the ends of the said knife holder
jecting through each side of the frame sufficiently to allow a connecting rod to
take hold. In the lower part of the frame, and under the table on which the
paper or material to be cut rests, I place a strong shaft, each end of which a
revolves in bearings in the frame sides. Near each end of the said shaft is
securely keyed a tappet or heart wheel, and on the lower end of the connecting
rod I fix a bowl, against which the periphery of the tappet presses when the
shaft revolves, so that both connecting rods are drawn down simultaneously,
and with them the knife or cutter. I make the lower end of each connecting
rod work in a guide, to resist its tendency of moving from the vertical position
by the action of the tappet sidesways against the bowl whilst revolving. I have
also a bowl carried by each connecting rod immediately above each tappet or
heart wheel, for the purpose of raising the knife or cutter to its former position
after the cut has been made. Motion is given to the main (or heart wheel)
shaft by a spur wheel of sufficient size and strength, keyed on in the middle,
and into which gears a pinion, carried by a shaft in any convenient position
higher up in the framing, and on the end of the last-mentioned shaft I fix a fly
wheel or cross handles to give the requisite motion by hand. The same shaft
is fitted with pullies and suitable gear when required to be driven by power.
Another mode by which I propose to force down the knife or cutter is by what
is generally known as the mangle wheel, and substituting for the connecting
rods, before described, a rack gearing into a pinion on each end of the main
shaft; or I effect the same object by means of a double rack, instead of the
connecting rod; when the pinion operating on one side has drawn down the
knife or cutter, it changes its position, traversing the opposite rack, by which
the knife or cutter is raised again. The horizontal or endwise movement is
given to the knife or cutter by means of a guide fixed on one side of the frame,
having a groove or sliding bar fixed at any desired angle, with a suitable piece
on the end of the knife holder to work into the said groove, or take hold of
the sliding bar, so that when the necessary power is applied to draw down the
knife or cutter perpendicularly, it also performs a motion endwise during
the cut. The same angular guide may also be fixed, if preferred, at the
middle part of the knife holder instead of the end.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Frederick Scholefield in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 7th May 1856.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, FREDERICK
5 SCHOLEFIELD, of the City of Manchester, in the County of Lancaster, Machinist,
send greeting.
year
of
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Royal
Letters Patent, bearing date the Seventh day of November, in the
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-five, did, for Herself, Her
heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said Frederick Scholefield,
Her special licence that I, the said Frederick Scholefield, my executors,
administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Frederick Schole-
field, 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 MA-
CHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR CUTTING PAPER, CARDBOARD, AND SIMILAR MATERIALS,'
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Frederick Scholefield,
by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, 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 Royal Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Frederick Scholefield, 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 (that is to say):-
Instead of the usual method of forcing down the knife perpendicularly by a
rack and pinion, or by screws and bevil wheels, or by giving a radial move-
ment to the knife as it descends, both of which plans are complicated, tedious,
and expensive, I propose to give the knife a horizontal or endwise movement
as it descends, so as to produce an effect similar to that produced by hand
in cutting leather or other tough substance, which I accomplish in the
following manner:-I provide a frame of cast iron or other material, in
the upper part of which, extending above the table, I make a slot or opening
in each side, to guide the knife holder in the usual manner. In the lower part
of the frame, and under the table, on which rests the material to be cut, 1

page_text: place a strong shaft, each end of which revolves in bearings in the frame sides.
Near each end of the said shaft, either inside or outside of the frame, is
securely keyed a tappet or heart wheel, the periphery of each pressing against
bowls or rollers attached to guides, which are connected to the knife holder by
means of connecting rods, fitting into joints at the upper end of the guides, so 5
as to allow them to vibrate with the lateral movement of the knife holder.
The said guides resist the tendency of moving from the vertical position by the
action of the tappets as they revolve, a projecting rib or flange resting on each
side of the parallel centre piece of the frame. Motion is given to the main or
heart wheel shaft by means of a spur wheel and pinion fixed on the shaft,
either inside or outside the frame; the pinion shaft is provided with a handle
and fly wheel to give the requisite motion. The horizontal or endwise move-
ment is given to the knife by causing a bowl or roller attached to the knife
holder to move in a groove or guide fixed on one of the side frames, or between
them, so that when the power is applied to draw down the knife perpendicularly
it also performs a movement endwise during the cut. These improvements
will be clearly understood by reference to the accompanying Sheet of Drawings,
with the figures and letters of reference thereon, in which Fig. 1 is a side, and
Fig. 2 a front, elevation of my improved machine. The main side frames are
represented at a, having the slots or openings 6, in which the knife holder c is
guided. The tappets or heart wheels are shewn at d; they are made fast to
the shaft e, to which motion is given by means of the spur wheel f, pinion g,
and handle h. The tappets as they revolve press against the bowls or rollers
i and i", which are attached to the guides j, the said guides having openings k
in the centre to allow their vertical movement free of the shaft. The rods
which connect the knife holder c and guides are shewn at 1; they are furnished
with screw couplings m for adjusting their length. The upper ends of the
said connecting rods can move transversely with the knife holder by means of
the joints n and o. The slot, groove, or guide to cause the endwise movement
of the knife is shewn at p, to which is fitted the bowl or roller q, attached to
the knife holder c. Thus, when a revolving motion is given to the tappets, a
compound vertical and endwise movement is given to the knife. It will be
seen that when motion is given to the tappets or heart wheels d by means of
the handle h, a pressure is communicated to the lower bowls ", which causes
the guides ; to descend, drawing down the knife holder c by means of the con-
necting rods l, the bowl q guided in the slot p giving the endwise movement.
The upper bowls i on the guides d are employed for raising the knife after
the cut.
Having thus fully described the nature and particulars of my said Invention,

page_text: and the manner of carrying the same into practical effect, I desire it to be
distinctly understood that I do not confine myself to the exact details herein
set forth, as such may be varied or modified without departing from the
principle thereof; but what I claim is, the combination of the vertical and
endwise movement by the means described, so as to produce the compound
action of the knife during the cut.
In witness whereof, I, the said Frederick Scholefield, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Sixth day of May, One thousand eight
hundred and fifty-six.