Improvements in Cutting, Slotting, Cornering, or Punching Machinery for Cardboard Box Making and similar Purposes.
Year: 1896

page_text: Date of Application, 17th Feb., 1896
Complete Specification Left, 17th Nov., 1896-Accepted, 19th Dec., 1896
POLTTOAIION.
Improvements in Cutting, Slotting, Cornering, or Punching
Machinery for Cardboard Box Making and similar Purposes.
I, JOHN EDWARD THORNTON, of Rokeby, Oldfield Road, Altrincham,
Cheshire, Manufacturer do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be
as follows:-
Hitherto the operations of cutting, slotting, cornering, or punching of cardboard
and similar materials in cardboard box making have commonly been done by
separate machines, and by cutters or punches having a vertical reciprocating action
of an intermittent character; it was also usual to make each cut by a separate
operation.
For instance the corners were generally taken out by two knives joined to form
a right angle, which cut one corner completely out at one stroke, requiring four
operations for the four corners of a box; or a single knife that made one cut
at a stroke, thus requiring 8 operations for one box. Slots and other cuts were
made in a similar manner. Consequently the complete cycle of operations to form
a box took considerable time and labour.
For very thin boards of only a few sheets in thickness, the cuts were sometimes
all made at cne stroke, by cutting rules arranged like type in a printing or other
press. These did not always make clean sharp cuts, and for thick boards (such
as are used for strong boxes) were useless. Therefore, in such cases, the system
hereinbefore described was in general use.
The machine forming the subject of any invention enables all the operations
to be completed before the board leaves the machine, and at a very rapid rate
thus effecting a very great saving of time and labour.
In carrying out this invention I employ cutters or punches (hereinafter termed
cutters) having a rotary motion, which may be continuous, and in order to enable
boxes of various sizes to be cut in the same machine, I make the cutters
adjustable.
They may be mounted in various ways, to suit circumstances, either on drums
or rollers, or on shafts; and as many drums, rollers, or shafts may be employed
as are required.
If all the cutters are mounted on one drum the various cuts required for one
box will be produced at once, but for general work of varied sizes it is most
convenient to have the cutters mounted on several drums or shafts, whereby the
box is completed at several successive operations before leaving the machine.
I will now describe a convenient form of construction as an example.
It is preferred to have the cutters mounted in pairs (that is, male and female)
on upper and lower shafts or drums.
It is also preferred (though not absolutely necessary) that the dimensions shall
be such that the face of the cutter describes a circle at one revolution equal to
or more than the length of the largest board. Thus smaller boards are cut at
the same rate as the largest, but by increasing the number of cutters in the
circle a corresponding increase in the number of smaller boxes producible is
obtained.
The rotating drums or shafts are carried in suitable bearings mounted in a
framework, and are driven in pairs by toothed wheels or other form of gearic.

page_text: Feeding and delivering tables or platforms are mounted on the framework, and
travelling bands or tapes, friction or draw rollers, or other suitable means are
employed to convey the board to, between, and from the cutters.
Slotting may be done by straight cutters carried parallel with the axis of the
shaft, and adjustable both laterally and circumferentially upon it, or by segmental
disc cutters carried at right angles to the axis of the shaft, and also adjustable
both laterally and circumferentially upon it.
The cutting or punching of eyelet holes, thumb holes, tongues, or any other
shaped form of cut, may be done by cutters mounted in either of the ways
described.
Cornering (or taking out a complete corner) is most conveniently done by
making two separate cuts or slots at right angles to each other, so that they meet
at the apex of the angle, whereupon the piece is detached and falls out.
This may be done by passing the board successively through the straight cutters
and segmental disc cutters.
Another method of making cuts at right angles to those previously made is to
change the direction of travel of the board after the first lot of cuts have been
made. This can be done in various ways, but a convenient way is to form the
machine in two sections placed at right angles to each other. As the board leaves
the first section it is thrown out on to a delivery platform against a stop or gauge
whence it is carried by moving bands or tapes, draw rollers, or other feeding
mechanism into the second section of the machine.
The boards may be fed into the machine by hand, or by any of the well known'
mechanical feeding devices that may be suitable.
Gouges or scrapers may be used to clear away pieces of board which may stick
in the revolving cutters, and fan blowers may be employed to remove them out of
the way.
Deted this 15th day of February 1896
J. E. THORNTON.
Improvements in Cutting, Slotting, Cornering, or Punching
Machinery for Cardboard Box Making and similar Purposes.
I, JOHN EDWARD THORNTON, of Rokeby, Oldfield Road, Altrincham, in the
County of Chester, Manufacturer, 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 :-
In the manufacture of boxes from cardboard strawboard leatherboard and similar
materials the operations of cutting slotting cornering or punching of the material
have hitherto been done by separate machines and by cutters or punches having a
vertical reciprocating movement of an intermittent character moreover it has been
usual to make each cut by a separate operation.
For instance the corners were generally taken out by two knives joined to form
a right angle which cut one corner completely out at one stroke requiring four
operations for the four corners of a box; or a single knife that made one cut at a
stroke, thus requiring eight operations for one box. Slots and other cuts were
made in a similar manner. Consequently the complete cycle of operations to form
a box took considerable time and labour.
For very thin boards of only a few sheets in thickness the cuts were sometimes
all made at one stroke, by cutting rules arranged like type in a printing or other
press. These did not always make clean sharp cuts, and for thick boards (such as

page_text: time and labour.
It will be fully described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
Fig. 1. Front elevation.
Fig. 2. Side elevation of one set of cutters.
Fig. 3. Front elevation of another set of cutters.
Fig. 4. Side elevation of same.
Fig. 5. Front elevation showing modified arrangement for adjusting the cutters.
Fig. 6. Front elevation of another modification for adjusting the cutter.
Fig. 7. Sectional side elevation of same.
In carrying out the invention I employ a number of cutters A. or punches
(hereinafter called cutters A) having a continuous rotary movement by which the
several cuts required in the board to shape it for a box can be made. The
position of these cutters A is adjustable to enable boxes of various sizes to be cut
or shaped by the one machine.
The cutters A are mounted on shafts B (or on drums or rollers) and I employ
as many of the shafts B with cutters A mounted thereon as may be found
necessary or required to give the desired number of cuts as the board passes
through the machine.
I at present prefer to mount the cutters A in pairs upon shafts B and employ
two or three sets of cutters and shafts but the cutters may be mounted on the
periphery of a drum of a diameter to allow of them being placed at a suitable
distance apart to give the desired number of cuts at one revolution thereof.
Each pair of cutters A comprises a cutting blade or male die such as a and a
complementary grooved or female die such as a'. For cutting longitudinal slots
the cutting blade a is made of one two or more segments the periphery of which
corresponds with the length of the cut. In the illustrations shown in Figs. 2 to 8
when the back edges b are close together the periphery of the two blades a may be
equal to half the circumference of a circle leaving the other half blank. The
blades a can be set with any desired distance between the edges bb and between
the edges b. The lower die may be grooved all round its periphery so as to
present a cutting groove to the blade a when set in any position.
In Figs. 3 and 4 I show an arrangement of cutters A for making transverse cuts
for cornering. Any pieces of board punched out by the cutting blade a fall out of
the hollow die a¹ as it revolves. In this case the cutters are mounted on plain
shafts and secured and adjusted by means of set screws though they may be
mounted on screwed shafts as shown in the other figs.
The top and bottom shafts B which carry the cutters A are geared together by
toothed wheels or other suitable gearing.
The cutters A on the shaft B are adjustable in position by forming the shaft
with a screw thread by which the cutters can be secured or clamped in any desired
position. In Fig. 1 the shafts B are shown made with a continuous screw upon
which the cutters are clamped by means of nuts C. The cutting blade or disc is
loose on the shaft and is clamped thereon by clamping discs D also loose on the
shaft the nuts C being screwed up tightly on each side. To adjust the cutters A
the nuts are slackened and screwed to one side or the other and then clamped
tight together again.
In Fig. 5 the shaft B is formed with a right and left hand screw one at either
end and the cutting blades a are mounted on sleeves or blocks E with internal
threads corresponding to the screw on the shaft. A feather or key F extends
along the length of the shaft one end is fast to the gear wheel and it is supported
at the centre by an eye or sleeve G embracing the shaft B. The toothed gear
wheel is loose on the end of the shaft and outside it is a hand wheel H keyed or
affixed to the shaft. Affixed to the gear wheel is a clamping screw K to lock the

page_text: hand wheel and the gear wheel together. When the two wheels are locked
together the cutters A shaft B and wheels revolve together. When the clamping
screw K is slacked and they are not locked together the turning of the hand
wheel H and screwed shaft B while the gear wheel and cutter A remains stationary
causes the cutters A to be brought nearer to or further from each other so that
they may be set or adjusted to any desired position.
In Figs. 6 and 7 the shaft B is formed with right and left hand screws encased
in a tube L upon which the cutters A are fitted to slide to right or left. The tube
is provided with a longitudinal slot I through which a key or projection carried
by the cutter projects and engages with the screw. The gear wheel is keyed fast
to the tube and the hand wheel H is keyed to the acrewed shaft thus the turning
of one without the other causes the movement of the cutters A along the shaft.
In Fig. 1 the lower tool or cutter A is shown grooved all round and such answers
in most classes of work the machine is used for, such as slotting. In punching
irregular shapes the bottom tools a' have to be an exact counterpart of the cutting
blades a hence it is necessary that the upper and lower cutters rotate in unison
when being set or adjusted therefore in Fig. 6 the gear wheels M are made fast to
the tubes L that enclose the shafts and the gear wheels N are made fast to the
screwed shafts. The hand wheel H is also made fast to one screwed shaft and by
turning it both serews are rotated to adjust all the cutters. To adjust the position
of the dies circumferentially relatively to the work the gear wheels M are turned
and the upper and lower dies are turned in unison and set to any part of the circle
desired.
When set as in Fig. 1 the top and bottom dies are adjustable not only from
side to side of the machine but circumferentially forwards and backwards as well.
The rotating shafts B are carried in suitable bearings mounted on a framework O
and are driven in pairs by toothed wheels M or other form of gearing. Feeding
and delivering tables or platforms are mounted on the framework and travelling
bands or tapes, friction or draw rollers, or other suitable means are employed to
convey the board to, between, and from the cutters.
Slotting is preferably done by the annular or segmental cutters a such as shown
in Figs. 12 and 6 and transverse slotting by straight cutters carried parallel with
the axis of the shaft as in Figs. 3 and 4.7
Cornering is most conveniently done by the joint operation of the two sets of
tools described with reference to Figs. 1 and 2 and Figs. 3 and 4 making separate
cuts or slots at right angles which meet at the apex of the angle whereby the
piece is detached and falls away.
Another method of making cuts at right angles to those previously made is to
change the direction of travel of the board after the first lot of cuts have been
made. This can be done in various ways, but a convenient way is to form the
machine in two sections laced at right angles to each other. As the board leaves
the first section it is thrown out on to a delivery platform against a stop or
gauge whence it is carried by moving bands or tapes, draw rollers, or other
feeding mechanism into the second section of the machine.
The boards may be fed into the machine by hand, or by any of the well known
mechanical feeding devices that may be suitable.
Gouges or scrapers may be used to clear away pieces of board which may
stick in the revolving cutters and fan blowers may be employed to remove them
out of the way.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. Apparatus for cutting slotting cornering or punching cardboard for box
making and similar purposes constructed with adjustable rotating cutters such
as A whereby the process is rendered continuous substantially as described.
2. In a machine for cutting slotting cornering or punching cardboard for box

page_text: making and similar purposes the combination of rotating cutters such as A with
screwed shafts whereon their position is adjustable substantially as described and
shown.
3. Apparatus for cutting slotting cornering or punching cardboard for box
making and similar purposes having the several parts constructed and arranged
in combination substantially as described and shown with reference to either of
the figs. of the drawings.
Dated this 13th day of November 1896.
WM. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
6, Bank Street, Manchester, Patent Agents..