IMPROVEMENTS APPLICABLE TO MACHINES FOR CUTTING PAPER
Year: 1854

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Lamb, of Newcastle-under-Lyne, in the County
of Stafford, Paper Manufacturer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
APPLICABLE TO MACHINES FOR CUTTING PAPER."
Sealed the 27th October 1854, and dated the 6th July 1854.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Lamb at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 6th
July 1854.
I, JOHN LAMB, of Newcastle-under-Lyne, in the County of Stafford, Paper
Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS APPLICABLE TO MACHINES FOR CUTTING PAPER" to be as follows:-
My Invention is applicable to cutting machines of the usual construction,
and consists of a new arrangement of parts, by which paper when cut is col-
lected into piles of any required depth, and the delivery stopped when the piles
are complete, thereby reducing manual labour, and allowing the machine to
work at a greater speed than heretofore. In order to effect these objects, I
cause the endless web, on which the cut paper is brought from the cutting
machine, and from which the attendants now remove it by hand, to deliver the
paper on to a platform; this platform, by means of racks and pinions or other
suitable means, is made to descend every time a fresh supply is brought
forward by the endless web. By this means the upper surface of the pile of
paper on the platform is at all times kept at the same level. When the plat-

page_text: form has descended as far as is requisite, a spring is liberated, by which a bell
is rung or other signal given; the platform then rises again to its original
position, and the attendant removes the pile or piles of paper from the plat-
form; the machine then continues its work as before. If, however, the
attendant is not at hand to remove the paper when the signal is given, a stud
on the pinion shaft, by which the racks are driven, raises the catches which
actuate the drum by which the paper is brought forward, thereby stopping
the supply.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Lamb in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 5th
January 1855.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN.
LAMB, of Newcastle-under-Lyme, in the County of Stafford, Paper Manu-
facturer, send grecting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Sixth day of July, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-four, in the eighteenth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said John Lamb, Her special licence that I, the said John Lamb,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
John Lamb, 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 Ire-
land, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS
APPLICABLE TO MACHINES FOR CUTTING PAPER," upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said John Lamb, by an instrument in writing under my
hand and seal, should particularly describo 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.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said John Lamb, 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 following statement,
that is to say-
The nature of my Invention consists in collecting paper (after it has been

page_text: acting mechanical agents, thereby dispensing with the manual labour required
for that purpose.
Having thus stated the nature of my Invention, I will proceed to describe
the manner of performing the same.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING.
Figure 1 is a side elevation of part of a paper-cutting machine of the
ordinary construction, to which my improved machinery is applied; Figure 2
is an elevation, and Figure 3 a plan, of the same. In Figure 1, a is the drum,
under which the paper to be cut is brought from the rollers on which it is
wound; a' is the ratchet wheel; a³, the driving click, which is hinged to the
lever as; b is a roller, over which the felt or apron passes, by which the paper
is held in contact with the drum a; c, c, are the circular cutters, which cut
the paper longitudinally; d, the knife, by which the paper is cut transversely;
e is an endless cloth passing over the rollers f and g, the latter of which is put
in motion by the pulley h and the driving shaft h, and the crossed strap h³
passing around the pulley h and grooved pulley g' on the axis of the roller g.
On the driving shaft h' is fixed a pinion h³, gearing into the wheel i on the
cross shaft t, to which is fixed the disk i, by which the ratchet wheel a', fixed
to the axis of the drum a, is put in motion, and the excentrics, by which the
knife d is actuated. All the parts above described are made in the usual
manner. The paper in the machines now known is removed by hand from
the endless cloth e; whereas, by means of the machinery I am now going to
describe, each packet of sheets of paper (or, if only one thickness of paper is
delivered on the endless cloth e, each sheet,) delivered on the cloth c is
deposited on the platform j, to which a gradually descending motion is given,
as will be explained hereafter. The platform j with the partitions ¹ are sup-
ported by the frame j³, each corner of which is provided with a guide spindle,³
fitting in the sockets k. The partitions have notches to determine (according
to the length of the sheets) the position of the end pieces j', against which the
paper comes when deposited on the platform. The inner ends of the partitions
jare guided by the ends of the partitions 7. These partitions are suspended to
the rods jo, and they are held at the proper distance apart on the said rods by
set washers, shewn best in Figure 3. The rods ja are supported by uprights
fixed to the framing of the cutting machine. The outer ends of the partitions
are supported by the rod j³, which is also furnished with set washers, and
this rod is supported by brackets fixed to the frame j. It is necessary to
remark here that the platform j and the end partitions j' are made with inter-
J

page_text: mediate pieces, of various widths, to suit the size of paper when cut. To the
frame are fixed the racks 1, gearing into the wheels m, fixed on the shaft m',
to which motion is given in the following manner :-To the inner face of tho
disk is fixed a pin t, which comes in contact with and depresses the vertical
spindle n at every revolution of the said disk. The spindle n works up and
down in the adjustable socket n', supported by brackets attached to the frame
side. The lower end of the spindle n bears on the block o, fixed to the lever o',
whose fulcrum is at 0°; consequently, every revolution of the disk depresses
the long arm of the lever o¹, and it is raised again by the spring o³. To the
short arm of the lever o¹ is jointed a click o, taking into the teeth of the
ratchet wheel p, fixed to the shaft p', on which are also fixed the pinions p
gearing into and giving motion to the wheels m, fixed on the shaft m', before
referred to. To the outer end of the shaft m¹ is fixed a cam m', which comes
in contact with a lever for striking the bell m³, as will be explained hereafter.
The racks, which are moved down by the wheels m, are guided by the anti-
friction rollers 7, fitting on the shaft q'. The ratchet wheel P' is also provided
with a retaining pall p³, which is jointed to the same bracket as the lever o¹;
but this pall and the click o' are both thrown out of gear with the ratchet
wheel p when the platform is down by the following mechanisın:-Upon the
shaft p¹ is fitted loose the disk på (see Figure 4), to which is fixed the incline
p', for acting on the click o, and the catch p', for acting on the pall 2. To the
back of the disk is fixed a stud p, which is acted upon by the piece r (sco
Figure 5); this piece is fixed by a set screw on the shaft p¹, and to it is fixed
the catch ', by means of which the click o' and pall p³ are liberated. As soon
as the click o' and palpare thrown out of gear, the platform j is raised by
the counterweights m, fixed to the levers m³, keyed on the shaft m¹. To the
shaft p is fixed the grooved plate t, see Figure 6. The notch t¹ is made in the
circumference of this plate to admit, when required, a stud, projecting from the
vertical lever s; this lever, with the horizontal link s¹, elbow lever s, vertical
rods, and stud s', are for lifting the click a out of gear with the teeth of the
ratchet wheel a¹. The starting rods is hinged to the lever s, and it is brought
to the back of the machine, as shown in Figure 2, so that the attendant may
be able to actuate the lever s from both sides of the machine. The slot link &
is fixed to the lever s, and through it passes a stud, projecting from the click o'.
The mode of operation is as follows:-The Drawing represents the various
parts in the positions they occupy when the paper (shewn by dotted lines) has
necumulated to the depth of about four inches on the platform j. When the
machine is first started, the platform is at the level indicated by the dotted line
A, B, in Figure 1; the counterweights m² are then down, as shewn by dotted

page_text: lines in Figure 1, and the piece r fixed on the shaft p' is then at the right
hand side of the shaft p', or in the opposite direction to that shewn in Figure 1.
The attendant, having determined the positions of the partitions and ³, and of
the end partitions j', according to the size of the sheets of paper required, then
starts the machine; the endless cloth e then brings forward and deposits on to
the platform j the sheet or sheets or packets of paper that are cut off by the
knife d; the disk in revolving brings the pin against and depresses the
vertical spindle n. By this means the long arm of the lever o' is depressed, and
the short arm sufficiently raised to cause the click o' to move the ratchet wheel
p the distance of one tooth in the direction of the arrow in Figure 1. This
motion is communicated to the wheels m and racks 1, thereby lowering the
platform the depth of the packet or sheet of paper that had been deposited
upon it by the endless cloth e. At the next revolution of the shaft i the knife.
d cuts off another portion of paper, which is brought forward by the endless
clothe and deposited on the paper previously laid on the platform j, the level
of which is again lowered by the pin 2, spindle n, lever o', and click o', above
described, and these operations are repeated until the piles of paper collected
on the platform are sufficiently deep. The cam m' is adjustable on the shaft
m³, and it is set in such a position that it causes the hammer to strike on the
bell m a little before the piles of paper are completed; this is to give notice
to the attendant that he will soon be required to lift the packets of paper off
the platform. The picce 7, which had previously been set on the shaft pl
according to the depth of the pile required, then comes against the stud p³ in
the disk på, and causes this disk to move in the direction of the arrow in
Figure 4; the inclines p' and p then force the click o' and pall p out of gear
with the ratchet wheel p, thereby setting the shaft p' at liberty, and allowing
the weights m to descend by their own gravity. By this means the platform
with the piles of paper upon it is raised to the level from which it started.
the same time that the click comes into operation, the notch t¹ in the plate t
comes opposite the stud projecting from the lever s; the stud then drops into
the groove in the plate t, thereby causing the vertical levers to assume the
diagonal position indicated by a dotted line in Figure 6. The rod s³ is thus
raised, and the click a lifted out of gear with the ratchet wheel a'; by this
means the supply of paper is stopped until the piles are removed from the
platform j. The catch r', which is fixed to the piece r, acts upon the other
side of the pin 2 as soon as the weights m³ have raised the platform to its
original position; this action of the catch, liberates the incline p³ and catch
At
from the click o' and pall p³, the latter of which again comes into gear with
the ratchet wheel p, but the click o' is held out of gear with the wheel p, until

page_text: the attendant, by bringing the lever 8 into its vertical position, allows the click
a to drop, thereby giving motion to the drum a, at which time the operations
continue as before. The levers is made with an hinge at s10, to allow the stud
projecting from the said lever being drawn out of the groove in the plate t.
It will be apparent that these improvements in collecting sheets of paper into
piles is equally applicable to those machines in which the cutting apparatus is
attached to and forms part of the paper machine; the only alteration required
is to reduce the amount of descent in the platform, according to the thickness
of paper deposited thereon, or to make the platform descend at intervals
instead of at every stroke of the cutter.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention, and the manner of
performing the same, I wish it to be understood that I do not limit myself to
the details set forth, as the same may be varied; but what I do claim is,
collecting paper into piles or heaps by self-acting mechanical agents.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Lamb, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Third day of January, One thousand eight hundred and
fifty-five.
Witness to the signature of John Lamb,
H. B. BARLOW,
Patent Agent,
Manchester.
JOHN LAMB. (L.S.)