CERTAIN IMPROVE- MENTS ON A MACHINE FOR CUTTING CORKS AND BUNGS
Year: 1811

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, THOMAS
JONES, of Cleveland Street, Fitzroy Square, in the County of Middlesex,
Carpenter, send greeting.
WHEREAS His most Excellent Majesty King George the Third did,
by His Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom of
Great Britain and Ireland, bearing date at Westminster, the Fourteenth day
of March, in the fifty-first year of His reign, give and grant unto me, the
said Thomas Jones, my exors, adññiors, and assigns, His especial licence, full
power, sole priviledge and authority, that I, the said Thomas Jones, my
exors, adñiors, and assigns, should and lawfully might, during the term of
years therein expressed, make, exercise, and vend, within England, Wales,
and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVE-
MENTS ON A MACHINE FOR CUTTING CORKS AND BUNGS;" in which said Letters
Patent there is contained a proviso obliging me, the said Thomas Jones, by
an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, to cause a particular
description of the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be inrolled in His Majesty's High Court of Chan-
cery within two calendar months after the date of the said recited Letters
Patent, as in and by the same, relation being thereunto had, may more fully
and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Thomas Jones, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention, and
the manner in which the same is to be performed, are particularly described
and ascertained as follows, that is to say:

page_text: In the Drawings hereunto annexed a representation is given of the machine
upon which I have made the said improvements, and also of the improvements
themselves, which are more particularly herein-after enumerated and dis-
tinguished.
In Fig. 1, A, B, C, D, represents the general frame, and E represents a
wheel or first mover for giving a rapid motion to another wheel F, which
carries round a perforated mandrel. G is a hollow steel tool or cutter, used
for the purpose of cutting corks out of the solid piece. The said tool G is
represented more enlarged in Fig. 6, which also shews the method of fasten-
ing the same upon the nose of the hollow mandrel. Fig. 7 is another tool,
having its front edge cut into teeth like a saw, and its inner surface toothed
like a float or quonet; this last tool is principally used for cutting and shaping
bungs, and its inner surface is of a taper or conical figure, to give the proper
slope to the outside of the bung. Fig. 9 is a tool having a cutting edge in
front, and its interior gradually widened, so as to admit the cork to pass more
readily through the mandrel, in the method of working to be described with
the machinery, Fig. 4. Fig. 8 is a tool which differs from Fig. 7 in its front
edge, which resembles that of a knife, and its general figure and dimensions,
which are adapted for cutting and tapering common corks. The Figures 8
and 9 are drawn as halves only, which is convenient for shaping their interior
surface, but two correspondent halves are fixed to the nose of the mandrel
when these are used; and in the fabrication of cutters toothed within I make
various holes, slits, or perforations in the same for the dust to fly out.
In Fig. 1, H represents a lever for pushing a rod thro' the hollow mandrel,
which rod terminates in a plug or plate, and serves to push out bungs, or
broken corks, or other obstructions which may stick in the cutting tool G.
I, I, K, K, in Fig. 1 and Fig. 2 shews cross framing, which affords grooves
for the pieces L and M to slide in, which last pieces support a bed or carriage,
having side pieces N, N, between which another bed or carriage is moved, and
serves to support a piece of cork P, P, lying between two side frames O, O,
and pressed down in its place by a screw X. Q, S, is a lever which turns upon
the pin or centre Q, and by its action upon the pin R, when S is moved by
hand, causes the bed or carriage, with the cork P, to move forward to the
tool G. T is a toothed bar, into which the click or holding piece U falls,
prevents the carriage N, N, from being drawn sideways towards S by the
actions of the weights W, W, which would otherwise produce that effect.
Several of the same parts of the said machine are represented from another
point of view in Fig. 3, where the same letters denote the same thing and
where and represents a cross frame which affords a groove, wherein a piece

page_text: slides, carrying a cutter knife Z and a catching picce Y, which, unless lifted
up, prevents the knife Z from being drawn forward by the weight V. The
last-mentioned parts could not be represented in Fig. 1, to which they belong,
without rendering the Drawing too crowded to be easily understood.
The operation or effect of the said machine and improvements is, that when
by drawing S forwards towards the mandrel the cork P is pressed against the
tool G; a round piece of the cork is cut, but not disengaged at the bottom.
The lever Q, S, is then thrown back, and, by tripping the piece U, allows the
whole carriage to advance one tooth of T in the side direction. The workman
then pulls the lever forwards a second time, which does not operate upon U in
its return, because there is a holding or catch piece under the lever, which acts
in one direction and not in the other. By this second advance of the lever a
second cork is cut, and the back stroke of the lever acting upon U causes the
carriage to shift sideways a second time in the same quantity as before; a third
cork is then cut by the same means, and in this manner the process is carried
on till the whole face of the piece of cork has been duly acted upon. In this
situation the screw X is loosened and the cork shoved forward to a stop, not
represented in the Figure, because easily to be apprehended by every mechanic.
This stop regulates the lenth of the cork, which are disengaged by the work-
man lifting the catch piece Y, Fig. 3, and suffering the knife Z to turn thro
the picce of cork and cut off all the corks and the waste material surrounding
them, both which fall down into a basket or box below; the workman then
pushes the carriage from him till the nearest corner of P is again opposite the
cutter, and then he proceeds to cut the series of corks, and disengage them as
before.
Fig. 4 represents a carriage for cutting corks of a taper form in the first
instance out of single pieces or junks. N, N, is the carriage, capable of
moving sideways. O, O, is the interior carriage, which moves lengthways.
U, R, S, is the lever for moving O, O, and also the middle piece or plug 4,
which ends in a cylinder 30, and pushes forward the junk or piece p, p,
against the cutting tool. The said junk or piece is higher in its thickness than
the depth of the groove, and it is compressed by a lever 1, 2, the face of which
is sloped so as to press most upon the part of the cork farthest from the cutting
tool. The cork in this compressed state undergoes the action of cutting, but
afterwards swells out nearly to its original size, so that the part which was so
compressed will be the largest when cut, and because the plug 3, 4, moves faster
than the carriage 0, 0. The cylindrical part 3 will push the cork when cut into
the cutting tool, where it will remain until urged forward by a second cork,
and in this manner the corks will succeed each other, and be extended from
the opposite end of the hollow mandrel.

page_text: Fig. 5 represents certain hollowed grindstones or grinders for smoothing
the surface of corks, which are applied for that purpose in the concavity while
turning. The said grinders may be made of wood or other material, and faced
with emery or sand upon glue or cement, or the like. The common grind-
stone will also smooth the face of corks applied crosswise to it, but not so
quickly or so well.
And, lastly, I do declare that the following parts or particulars of the said
machine do constitute my improvements upon the same, that is to say :-
First, the hollow mandrel, with its lever and plug piece.
Secondly, the tool, as formed wider behind than near its cutting edge
(Fig. 9).
Thirdly, the apparatus, Fig. 4, by which the cork is tapered on cutting the
same while under a regulated pressure, and the cork itself is made to advance
more speedily by the plug 4, 3, than the external part is disposed to advance
by means of the carriage O, O, and the method of using the same in the
manufacture of corks.
Fourthly, the concave grinder, Fig. 5, as before described.
Fifthly, the toothed tool for cutting bungs.
And, sixthly, the making of teeth in the interior surface of tools for cutting
corks, as in Figs. 7 and 8.
In witness whereof, I, the said Thomas Jones, have hercunto set my
hand and seal, the Thirteenth day of May, One thousand eight hundred
ond eleven