IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINES USED FOR CUTTING PAPER
Year: 1853

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Robert Whewell, of Little Bolton, Bolton-
le-Moors, in the County of Lancaster, Printer and Bookbinder,
for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINES USED FOR CUTTING
PAPER.'
Sealed the 25th April 1854, and dated the 17th December 1858.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Robert Whewell
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 17th December 1858.
I, ROBERT WHEWELL, of Little Bolton, do hereby declare the nature
of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINES USED FOR CUTTING
PAPER" to be as follows:-
These improvements relate to machines of that principle which act
by forcing a knife through the paper to be cut, the direction of the
motion of the knife being wholly perpendicular in some machines, and
in others at an angle to the edge of the knife, and they consist in certain
combinations and arrangements of mechanism for giving either of the
motions to the knife referred to; one arrangement being as follows:-
The bar carrying the knife is fitted in slides, and the ends of two or
more screws are attached to it, which screw through the bossis of
worm wheels secured in position by the framing; into these worm wheels

page_text: take worms fixed on a shaft secured in bearings across the machine;
upon this shaft the handle for working the machine is fixed; it now
follows that if the shaft be turned by the handle one way the knife will
descend, and if the contrary way, it will ascend. The arrangement
described gives a simple motion to the knife, perpendicular to it's edge;
but a compound lateral and perpendicular motion may be given to it by
arranging the bar carrying the knife so as to slide laterally, motion
being given to it by eccentric toothed wheels fixed to the knife bar, and
taking into toothed racks on the sides of the framing, or by the ends of
the bar working against inclines. The paper may be held while cut by
a cross bar acted upon by a screw, as in machines of ordinary arrange-
ment, worked by a separate handle; or, instead of working it by hand,
motion may be imparted to the screw by wheels from the first motion
shaft, which may be made so as to be brought in and out of geer by a
"clutch box" or other suitable mechanism. By this arrangement all
the screws will be worked by one handle. In the arrangement just
described the actuating mechanism is above the level of the table, but
in the arrangement about to be described it is below. The knife is
carried on a square frame working in slides (the frame descending
below the level of the table); one or more screws, which screw into the
lower cross bar of the frame, are fixed to work in bearings, which keep
them in a stationary position; the screw or screws have motion imparted
to them by a shaft, as described of the first arrangement, and by worm
and worm wheels, or by bevil geer. The paper may be held while cut
by a screw and cross bar, as in the ordinary arrangement, actuated by
a separate handle, or may be actuated from the first motion shaft, as in
the first arrangement described, in which case the bar will have to be
formed into a frame similar to that for the knife, and actuated in a
similar manner. The compound lateral and direct motion may be
given to the knife in this arrangement as in that first described. A
novel feature in this Invention is in the use of a fly-wheel on the
first motion shaft of paper cutting machines, by means of which a
momentum may be acquired before the knife enters the paper, which
will assist in carrying it through, and by which an impetus can be given
to the shaft when the paper is cut sufficient to bring it back. When

page_text: bevil geer is used to given motion to the screw, as referred to in the
second arrangement described, the first motion shaft may always go in
one direction, as the reverse motion can be given to the knife by a
double clutch box alternately gearing with bevil pinions on opposite
sides of the wheel on the end of the screw, so as to make the machine
self-acting when the first motion shaft is turned. Machines constructed
as herein generally explained may be modified (retaining their peculiar
features) where a great thickness of paper is required to be cut, and
they may be driven by power.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Robert Whewell in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 16th June 1854.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I,
ROBERT WHEWELL, of Little Bolton, Bolton-le-Moors, in the County
of Lancaster, Printer and Bookbinder, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Seventeenth day of December, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-three, in the
seventeenth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and succes-
sors, give and grant unto me, the said Robert Whewell, Her especial
liciense that I, the said Robert Whewell, my exccutors, administrators,
and assigns, or such others as I, the said Robert Whewell, 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, excrcise, and
vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the
Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MACHINES USED FOR CUTTING PAPER," upon the condition (amongst others)
that I, the said Robert Whewell, 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 per-
formed, and cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office

page_text: within six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the
said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Robert Whewell, 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 and accompanying Drawings (that is to
say):-
My Invention relates to that class of paper cutting machines which
act upon a quantity of paper by forcing a knife through it, and it
consists in certain combinations and arrangements of mechanism which,
without further preface, I shall at once proceed to explain by the
assistance of the two Sheets of Drawings hereunto annexed, which
show several modifications of my Invention. The same letters and
figures of reference will be repeated, and will denote the same or
corresponding parts in each Figure of the Drawings. Fig. 1 is a front
elevation, and Fig. 2 (Sheet 1) an end or side clevation of one modifi-
cation of my Invention, in which the screws and other mechanism for
actuating the knifo are placed above the level of the table. A, side
frames of the machine; A', cross beam to resist the force of the knife
and paper holder; A'x, table; B is the knife; C is the knife bar to
which the knife is fixed by the bolts C'; it slides in a groove on the side
frames, the pieces A², forming one side of the groove, being adjustable
by the set screws A3 and A'; D are two screws, the ends of which are
secured in sockets in the knife bar C by pins C³, or other means; these
screws screw into nuts formed or fixed in the centre of two worm
wheels E, which are kept in position by the cross beams A³. Tho
worm wheels E are revolved by worms F, secured on the shaft F,
carried in bearings on the side frames. This shaft may be revolved by
the handle I, or by other means. It will now be seen that when the
shaft is revolved one way the knife (B) will descend, and when it is
revolved in the contrary direction it will ascend. F is a fly wheel on
the end of the shaft F; G, a screw passing through a bush secured
between the cross beam A, to screw the paper holder up and down;
G', handle of screw. Fig. 3 is a front elevation, and Fig. 4 a side or
end sectional elevation of another modification of my Invention, in

page_text: which the screws and other mechanism for actuating the knife are
placed below the level of the table. In this modification the ends of
the knife bar are connected by side bars C, with a cross bar C, under
the table, or the knife bar is formed into a rectangular frame, the sides
of which fit in grooves formed in the side frames A, passing through
(at the sides) slots in the cross beam A', and the screws screw through
the cross bar C, or through bushes secured in them, the upper ends
working in bushes D', secured in the cross beam, the force endway's
on the screw when bringing down the knife being resisted by a collar
or sholder D, while end motion is prevented in the other direction
(when the knife is risen) by a collar or shoulder D', which bears
against the pedestals D', secured to the cross beam D. The worm
wheels E are secured on the screw shafts D; therefore, when motion is
imparted by the worms F' on the shaft Fito the worm wheels, the bar
C' of the knife bar C will be moved up and down, according to .tho
direction of the revolving motion. The paper holder H slides in grooves
(H) in the side frames, the screw G for moving it screwing through
the cross beam A, or through a bush fixed in the cross beam. Fig. 5
is a front elevation, and Fig. 6 an end sectional elevation of another
modification where bevil geer are used in place of worms and wheels,
and also an arrangement by which the paper holder may be worked by
the same handle which actuates the knife. In this arrangement both
the ends of the knife bar C and the paper holder H are connected by
side bars C, H, with cross bars C, H, under the table, or they are
formed into rectangular frames sliding in grooves C³, H',. formed in thọ
side frames, as explained, of the knife bar in the last modification
described, except that the connecting side bars of the knife bar. have
slots Co, through which the shaft F passes to its bearings 'on the side
frames, the screws D giving motion to the knife bar, acting in like
manner to those described of Fig. 3 and 4, as well as the screw G, for
actuating the paper holder H, but as the shaft passes over the centres
of the screws D, for actuating the knife, brackets A' are brought down
from the beam A' (through holes in which the shaft F passes), so that
the ends of the screws D can bear against them. The ends of the screiv
shafts D come flat against the face of the brackets Ao, a small pin in

page_text: the centre of the end of the screw shaft (D), taking into a hole in each
bracket, being employed simply to keep them in position while the
screw shafts D are held up and retained in that position by bearings
D' on the cross beam D', against which collars or shoulders (formed by
the bosses of the wheels E) on the screw shaft D rest. The end of the
screw shaft G, for the paper holder H, is also arranged to act against
the beam A', and is kept in position by the pedestal I, secured to the
beam A. The screws D are driven from the shaft F by bevel geer F
and E; and to the bevel wheel on one of the screws (E) a spur wheel
E' is fixed or cast with it, which works into another spur wheel K², loose
on the screw shaft G of the paper holder H. To the boss of the last-
mentioned wheel K², one half of a clutch box K³ is fixed or cast, the
other half K being secured on the screw shaft G, and a clutch box
fork L is arranged on a stud from the beam A', the end or handle L'
passing through the side frame A, by which the spur wheel K2 and
upper half of the clutch box K' can be moved, and thus the screw G
be brought in and out of geer with the driving power. The proportions
of the wheels F and E, and pitches of the screws (D and G), are
arranged, so that when the clutch box (K³, K') is in gear, the knife
and paper holder will ascend and descend at equal pace. With the
above-described arrangement the clutch box can be brought into geer
when the edge of the knife is, say, half an inch above the under surface
of the paper holder, and they will thus be brought down together, the
paper holder coming in action first, and when the workman feels the
paper to be tight enough he presses down the handle (L') of the clutch,
and thus disconnects it, while he continues to turn the handle, to carry
the knife through the paper, and when the knife has again ascended to
the point where the clutch box was disconnected, the handle of the
clutch is liberated, and the clutch is brought into geer by a helical
or other spring G³, placed to force it down, when the paper holder will
ascend or descend with the knife. The clutch box is brought into
action at the point mentioned above, or at any other required point, by
a self-acting arrangement, as follows:-The handle of the clutch fork is
rigid vertically, and moves in a slot in the side frame, but it is made
elastic in the horizontal direction, so that when it is pressed down it

page_text: will latch in a notch on one side of the vertical slot (see Fig. 7, which
is a part side view of the frame), and a lever J is fixed on the side frame
on a fulcrum at J', the edge of the lower end coming against the side
of the handle L, so that on the upper end of the lever being forced on
one side the lower end will force the handle L' out of its notch, and
allow the helical or other spring G² to bring the clutch K³, K* into
geer. The lever J is acted upon as follows:-Slots A' are formed in
the side frame opposite the centre of the knife frame and paper holder
frame, so that a trigger M can be fixed on a stud to the paper holder
frame, and so that a pin N may be fixed in the knife bar frame, which,
on the ascent of the knife bar frame, will come in contact with one
finger of the trigger M, and thus force the other finger against the
lever J. The trigger may be arranged to maintain the position in
which it is shewn in Fig. 7, when not acted upon by the pin, by a
weighted tail piece or by an elastic spring, and the pin N, by changing
its position on the knife holding frame, may be made to bring the clutch
sooner or later into action, as required.
The modification last described, as well as those going before, may
be readily combined with an arrangement for stopping the descent of
the knife when it has got through the paper, and with an arrangement
whereby the motion of the knife may be reversed, the first motion shaft
constantly revolving in the same direction. Instead of the worm and
worm wheel or the bevel geer, "skew" or oblique bevil geer may be
used. So far I have only described my Invention as it relates to
machines making a simple vertical cut; but the Figs. 7, 8, and 9
shew the mode in which a lateral combined with a vertical cut
may be obtained, which method may be combined with any of the
modifications described.
A cross bar C takes the place of the knife bar itself, and against
the under side of this bar the upper edge of the knife bar (C) bears the
ends passing through slots A' in the side frames, and which is secured
to the cross bar, so that it may be lifted by it, yet be at liberty to slide
laterally; in those machines constructed according to modification
shewn by Fig. 1 and 2, the mechanism for actuating the knife being
above the table, but in machines with the mechanism below the table,

page_text: as in that shewn in Figs. 7, 8, and 9. This is accomplished by the knife
bar fitting and passing through slots in the side- connecting parts C
When thus arranged, friction bowls P may be placed at one or both
ends of the knife bar C, taking into inclined slots Q, or working against
inclined planes or paths; these paths or inclines may be of any desired
forin, say, waved, to give a motion from side to side, as the knife bar is
forced down. That shewn in the Drawing is an incline groove of one
direction; the arrangement of which will be understood by reference to
the Drawing. The Figs. 8 and 9 also shew the manner in which one
screw may be applied, especially for narrow machines, in place of two
or niore screws. The modifications shown by Figs. 1 and 2 is well
adapted for a heavy class of work, to be driven by power, say, by a
system of fast and loose pulleys on the end of the shaft F, or geering
with it worked and reversed in the manner and by similar mechanism
to that used to produce. the forward and reverse motions in machines
for cutting or planing metals, which is well known, the worms F' (or
bevel geer) being loose on the shaft F, but having an arrangement of
clutch boxes, so that they may be made to partake of the motion of the
shaft F when required, the clutches being provided with an arrange-
ment to disconnect the worms (or bevel wheels) with the shaft F,
when the. knife bar has descended to its lowest and ascended to
its highest points, the object of this provision being to quickly or
instantaneously stop the descent or ascent of the knife, so as to give
time for the reversing of the strap. Fig. 1 is a back view, and Fig. 2"
a side sectional view of part of the machine represented by Figs. 1 and 2,
shewing a mode in which the clutches may be worked to accomplish
the above-mentioned object. a is a bar supported to slide in bearings
on the framing A, upon which are secured clutch forks b, taking hold
of that part of the clutch box c loose on a fixed key, the other part
being secured to or forming part of the worms F, which are free.to
revolve on the shaft F, but secured against side motion by the point of
a set screw passing through the boss, taking into a groove cut round
the shaft; when the bar a is forced one way the clutches are put out of
geer, and when it is left at liberty a spring d brings the clutches into
géer. The bar is acted upon as follows:-Two fine thread worms e, e',

page_text: are placed on the shaft F, one a right and the other a left handed
thread, and they geer into worm wheels secured on the cross frame A³,
one above and one below the shaft F. These worm wheels fhave each
a pin f projecting from them, which (either one or the other), on the
knife arriving at its lowest or highest point, will come against a finger a¹
fixed on the bar a, and force the clutch boxes out. It will be seen that
both worm wheels will have an oscillator movement, one pin acting to
force the clutches out of geer when the knife is down, and the other
when the knife is up. If the knife is only required to be stopped at its
I
lowest point, then one worm e and wheel f" will only be necessary.
have not shown any arrangement for squaring or gunging the paper to
be cut, as it forms no part of my Invention, and may be readily
applied.
I have now particularly described the nature of my Invention, and
the manner in which it may be carried into effect, and wish it to be
understood that I do not claim all the parts herein described and
shown in the Drawing, separately considered; but claim,―
Firstly, the general combination and arrangement of the parts of the
several modifications of machines for cutting paper herein described, and
shewn in the Drawings annexed hereto.
Secondly, I claim the mode herein described and explained for
obtaining a compound lateral and vertical movement of the knife.
Thirdly, I claim as my Invention the actuating of both the paper
holder and knife by one handle, or by motion obtained from the same
first motion shaft, herein fully described, and explained by the Drawings
annexed hereto.
In witness whereof, I, the said Robert Whewell, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Fifteenth day of June, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-four.