CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR ROLLING OR SHAPING METALLIC ARTICLES
Year: 1865

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Edward M°Nally, of Manchester, in the County of
Lancaster, Engineer, for the Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN
MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR ROLLING OR SHAPING METALLIC ARTICLES OF
Sealed the 24th October 1865, and dated the 28th April 1865.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Edward McNally at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 28th
April 1865.
I, EDWARD MCNALLY, of Manchester, in the County of Lancaster, Engineer,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS
IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR ROLLING OR SHAPING METALLIC ARTICLES OF
IRREGULAR FORM, SUCH AS 'FILE BLANKS' AND SIMILAR ARTICLES," to be as.
follows:-
The Invention relates to a novel method and an improved arrangement of
mechanism designed for the purpose of rolling and shaping metallic articles
of irregular, and especially tapering form, such as spindles, skewers, file blanks,
and the object is effected by increasing or diminishing the pressure of revolving
rollers acting upon the metal during the process of formation.

page_text: The first part of these improvements is more particularly applicable to the
formation of flat surfaces such as "file blanks," and consists in an arrange-
ment of rollers supported between bearings, the upper two of which are
duplicates and of irregular diameters made to suit different thicknesses of
metal; the top roller revolves in fixed bearings, and the under or second roller
bears or rests upon the periphery of a pattern wheel or cam, and is so caused
to rise or fall according to the pattern or undulations formed in such wheel,
thereby causing a gradually increasing or diminishing pressure to be given by
the rollers to the metal submitted to their action. These rollers are driven by
suitable gearing in connection with a clutch box, and the shaft of the top
roller extends beyond its bearings in the uprights to which the said driving
wheels and clutch are secured; one of these wheels gears into and drives a
wheel secured on the pattern or cam shaft, which gives as such pattern wheel
revolves the necessary rise and fall to the under or pressure roller required
to form or taper the metal under operation, or the roller may be so formed as
to dispense with the pattern cam and give the varying pressure itself. The
outer surface of the wheels secured on the pattern wheel shaft is provided with
adjustable projections or tappets, which are caused at required intervals (that
is, when each separate article submitted to the action of the rollers has passed
between them) to come into contact with a spring lever and cam actuating
the clutch, whereby the machine is stopped by self-acting means; the
machine can also be set in motion or stopped by a foot lever in connection
with the aforesaid cam and spring, throwing the clutch in and out of
gear.
The second part of the Invention is more particularly applicable to the
formation of round articles, such as round file blanks, spindles, or similar
pieces of metal requiring a gradually tapering extremity. The bars of metal
to be formed or shaped are secured by clips to conical wedges, which are
actuated by screw shafts which are retained in position by a cross head, and
projecting arms secured to the uprights of the aforesaid pressure rollers; these
screw shafts are caused to revolve by suitable mitre gearing, by which means
the cross head and the driving gear are caused gradually to advance or slide
upon the said projecting arm, thereby causing the revolving clips retaining
the piece of metal to force it whilst revolving between the pressure rollers,
thereby pressing, rolling, or forming it to the shape required.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Edward McNally, in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
28th October 1865.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, EDWARD
MCNALLY, of Manchester, in the County of Lancaster, Engineer, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-eighth day of April, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-five, in the twenty-eight year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said Edward McNally, Her special license that I, the said Edward McNally,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
Edward McNally, 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 "CERTAIN IMPROVE-
MENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR ROLLING OR SHAPING METALLIC ARTICLES
OF IRREGULAR FORM, SUCH AS FILE BLANKS AND SIMILAR ARTICLES," upon the
condition (amongst others) that I, the said Edward McNally, my executors or
administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of their
bands and seals, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the
said Invention, and in what manner the same was to be performed, and causo
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 Edward McNally, 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
and accompanying Drawings (that is to say):-
The Invention relates to a novel method and an improved arrangement
of mechanism designed for the purpose of rolling and shaping metallic articles
of irregular and especially tapering form, such as spindles, skewers, file blanks,
and the object is effected by increasing or diminishing the pressure of revolving
rollers acting upon the metal during the process of formation.
The first part of these improvements are more particularly applicable to
the formation of flat surfaces, such as "file blanks," and consists in an
arrangement of rollers supported between bearings, the upper two of which
are duplicates, and of irregular diameters made to suit different thicknesses

page_text: of metal; the top roller revolves in fixed bearings, and tho under or second
roller bears or rests upon the periphery of a pattern wheel or cam, and is so
caused to rise or fall according to the pattern or undulations formed in
such wheel, thereby causing a gradually increasing or diminishing pressure
to be given by the rollers to the metal submitted to their action. These
rollers are driven by suitable gearing in connection with a clutch box, and
the shaft of the top roller extends beyond its bearings in the uprights to
which the said driving wheels and clutch are secured; one of these wheels
gear into and drives a wheel secured on the pattern or cam shaft, which gives
as such pattern wheel revolves the necessary rise and fall to the under or
pressure roller required to forin or taper the metal under operation, or the
roller may be so formed so to dispense with the pattern cam, and give the
varying pressure itself. The outer surface of the wheel secured on the pattern
wheel shaft is provided with adjustable projections or tappets, which are caused
at required intervals (that is, when each separate article submitted to the
action of the rollers have passed between them) to come into contact with
a spring lever and cam actuating the clutch, whereby the machine is stopped
by self-acting means; the machine can also be set in motion or stopped by a
foot lever in connection with the aforesaid cam and spring, throwing the clutch
in and out of gear.
The second part of the Invention is more particularly applicable to tho
formation of round articles, such as round file blanks, spindles, or similar
pieces of metal requiring a gradually tapering extremity. The bars of metal
to be formed or shaped are secured by clips to conical wedges which are
actuated by screw shafts which are retained in position by a cross head and
projecting arms secured to the uprights of the aforesaid pressure rollers; theso
screw shafts are caused to revolve by suitable mitre gearing, by which means
the cross head and the driving gear are caused gradually to advance or slide
upon the said projecting arm, thereby causing the revolving clips retaining
the piece of metal to force it whilst revolving between the pressure rollers,
thereby pressing, rolling, or forming it to the shape required.
In order that the Invention may be better understood and explained in
detail I have hereunto attached a Sheet of Drawings, made upon a scale of
about two inches to the foot, similar letters of reference being marked upon
corresponding parts of the apparatus.
Fig. 1 represents a front elevation of the machine supplied with rollers,
particularly adapted for manufacturing and shaping of flat tapering file blanks,
this view also illustrates the novel and improved arrangement of driving.
Fig. 2 represents a transverse sectional elevation of the rollers and pattern

page_text: cam, shewing their respective positions, and the manner in which such
pattern cam actuates the under roller for the purpose of varying the thickness
of the articles under operation. Fig. 3 represents a detached plan view
of a portion of the machine, having arranged and adapted thereto the improved
mechanism or apparatus which is employed in conjunction with the ordinary
roller when the formation of round articles are required, the rollers of the
machine in this instance being grooved and adapted for the manufacture of
round articles. In Figs. 1, 2, and 3, a, a, are the uprights of the machine, which
are ridgidly connected together at the top by the cross bar b; the rollers c and d
and the pattern cams or revolving tappets e are all supported and worked in the
uprights a; the top roller c revolves in fixed bearings, and the under roller d
is moveable or sliding bearings, which are supported along with the under
roller by the tappets or pattern cams e; these cams as they revolve raise or
lower the bottom roller d nearer to or farther from the top roller c, the
action of which gives to the articles passing between the rollers c and d a
tapering or varying thickness according to the character or formation of the
pattern cam e. The driving of the machine is effected by a peculiar arrange-
ment of gearing, which may be thus described:-The driving pulley f is secured
on the shaft g, which is supported in bearings attached to the uprights a; the
pinion h on the end of this shaft gears into the wheel i giving motion to the
top roller, and so through the wheels and to the under roller also. The
face of the wheel i is provided with a clutch which gives motion when in
contact with the clutch m to the wheel n; this wheel gears into and drives
the wheel o, which gives motion to the pattern cams e. The levers and rods
actuating the clutch m are acted upon by a foot treadle and projecting tappets
on the face of the wheel o for starting and stopping the machine in the following
manner: The treadle p is connected by the rod 7 to the block r; this block
when the treadle is depressed becomes elevated or raised as shown in Fig. 1
out of reach, and above a number of tappets or projections u secured to the
face of the wheel o. One end of the lever s clips the sliding clutch box, and
the other end is connected to the block r and acted upon by the spring t when
the block is raised so as to throw the clutch into gear. The clutch acts when
the block is lowered if not acted upon by the tappets u, but so soon as one of
the tappets comes into contact and forces back the block the clutch is thrown
out of gear and the machine stopped. These tappets may be so arranged
that the machine will stop immediately the article placed between the rollers
have passed through the same, whether short or long. The flat files are beld
by a sliding cross bar that works three or more blanks at a time, the flat sides

page_text: being acted upon by those portions of the rollers marked 1, and the edges by
those marked 2. Immediately the flat sides have passed through their
respective rollers a lateral sliding motion is given to the holders or bar
retaining them, which places them with a quarter turn opposite the space 2,
through which they pass and are delivered complete.
The improved arrangement of apparatus for actuating and holding round
articles when passing between the rollers c and d is shewn in the plan Fig. 3,
wherein the horizontal sliding bars v are secured to the uprights a on a line with
the division between the top and under rollers. These horizontal projecting bars
support sliding bearings w which form holders or supports for the spindles or
shafts ; one end of these shafts & are driven by mitro gearing y, driven by a
pair of mitres, which are actuated by the feathered shaft a¹ driven from the
gearing of the machine. The opposite end of the spindles terminate in a
cross bar, the ends of which form the fulera of two levers which act as tonges
or holders for the articles to bo placed under the operation of the rollers c
and d; these lever tonges are caused firmly to grip the articles to bo
operated upon by means of the wedge c'; this wedge is worked by a screw
thread upon the central driving spindle, and when screwed up between the
extremity of the levers forming the tonges b forcibly press the opposite end
of such lever together, so as to grip the article placed been them. When in
action the mitre wheels y drive the shaft and grip levers b' at a great
velocity, which has the effect when in conjunction with the rollers c and d of
producing a perfectly round taporing article, or if desired according to the pattern
wheel employed producing any round articles that is to have a varying thickness
or diameter.
I would remark that when rolling articles singley four rollers actuated by
pattern rollers connected together may be employed so as to reduce and shape
the four sides of the article simultaneously, one pair of rollers being employed
to shape the upper and lower surfaces, the other pair shaping the edges or sides
of the article.
Having now described the nature of the said Invention, together with the
method of carrying the same into practical effect, I wish it to be distinctly
understood that I claim,-
First, the application and use of pattern cams having the exterior surface
so formed as to produce articles (such as file blanks) of varying thicknesses
by acting upon the rollers by which the articles are rolled and formed.
Secondly, I claim the novel arrangement and construction of apparatus for
effecting the stoppage of the rollers as desired.

page_text: And, lastly, I claim the novel arrangement of apparatus for the formation
of round articles, such as spindles, round file blanks, and similar articles,
as herein-before described, set forth, and fully illustrated in the Drawings
attached.
In witness whereof, I, the said Edward McNally, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-fifth day of October, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-five.
EDWARD MCNALLY. (L.s.)