Year: 1897

page_text: Date of Application, 4th May, 1897-Accepted, 5th June, 1897
A communication from abroad by THE SEYBOLD MACHINE COMPANY, a
corporation organized under the laws of the State of Ohio, of Dayton in
said State, in the United States of America.
I PHILIP MIDDLETON JUSTICE of 55 and 56 Chancery Lane in the County
of Middlesex Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Patent Agents 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:-
This invention relates to machines for the cutting and trimming of paper and has
special relation to that class of machines in which an automatic clamp is employed
for clamping and holding the paper in connection with the cutting knife.
In paper cutting machinery it is very essential that powerful pressure shall be
brought to bear on the paper to clamp it tightly or the paper is very apt to slip
under the cutting strain, and as a consequence in machines of the class under
consideration, the operating parts are usually of massive and powerful construction
to enable then to withstand the strain and exert the necessary pressure.
Machines heretofore constructed for the smaller classes of work have therefore
of necessity either been so large, cumbersome or complicated, as to be unsuited for
the purpose or they have been so cheaply constructed as to be ineffective.
It is the purpose of the present invention to supply a machine of great simplicity
of design and lack of complicated parts, and one in which a minimum amount of
power is required to perform the work demanded.
In order to obtain the requisite amount of clamping power without complication
of parts or massiveness of design, the mechanism for operating the knife is
fulcrummed on the clamp and consequently through the clamp on the paper to be
cut so that before the knite will operate at all the clamp must exert its pressure on
the paper and so that the duller the knife or the tougher the paper, the greater the
pressure exerted by the clamp. This forms one of the most important features of
the invention.
Another feature of the invention consists in the construction and arrangement of
parts whereby the clamp when the machine is not in operation will be disconnected
from the knife operating means to enable a ready adjustment of the clamp to
correspond with the varying thicknesses of the piles of paper to be cut and of the
means employed for positively coupling the knife and clamp the moment the machine
is thrown into operation.
A third feature of importance consists in the means employed for preventing any
release of the clamping power and consequent possible shifting of the paper until
the knife has completed its stroke and cut through the last sheet of paper to be cut.
It is evident that inasmuch as the fulcrum of the knife lever is on the paper to be
cut the precise point of this fulcrum will depend on the quality of paper to be
operated upon, with soft spongy paper the clamp will descend lower than with stiff
hard paper and as a result unless some means were employed to prevent it, the knife
in certain cases will have more shear than in others, because the machine must be
so constructed that the knife will always complete its stroke. When with the last
few sheets of paper the shear of the knife is considerable it is apt to cut so easily

page_text: Champ pressure is not maintained and the shear of the knife is very apt LO
shift the paper instead of cutting it.
It is to remedy this defect that means hereafter pointed out and claimed have
been provided whereby the action of the knife on the paper can never be such as
to release the clamp pressure or cause the sheets to slip laterally.
There are various other features of novelty in construction and in combination
of parts which will be hereinafter more particularly pointed out and claimed.
In the drawings--
Figure 1 is a front elevation of the improved machine, at the beginning of the
operation.
Figure 2 is a rear view of a portion of the machine, showing the method of
coupling the knife driving mechanism to the clamp operating devices, the final
position of the parts being shown in dotted lines.
Figure 3 is a detail rear view of the outer end of the knife bar showing the
method of coupling the knife to its pulling bar.
Figure 4 is a top plan view of the parts shown in Figure 3.
Figure 5 is a front elevation of the machine at the end of the operation.
The frame of the machine upon which the operating parts are mounted consists
of a standard A, preferably cast in a single piece and a rear central leg or brace B,
which supports the rear end of the table C and also acts as a brace for the frame.
The operating parts being all mounted on the standard A, it will be seen that with
this construction of frame, by removing the table and back leg B, the entire
machine can be readily carried through very narrow places and that the machine
itself occupies but a small space.
Securely bolted to the frame A, are the upright standards D, D which are in
turn braced and bolted together by the cross beam E. is the knife bar or carrier
to which the knife a, is bolted in the nsual way. This knife bar is swung on arms
or links,, pivoted to the upper ends of the standards D, D, the knife bar being
guided and descending with a shearing cut in vertical slots or ways in the ends of
the standards; G is the clamp of suitable size and weight guided on the
standards D, 1), and supported at each end by the links c, c.
These links c, c, are
coupled to the outer ends of two intermeshing segment gears Hand I, which are
journalled on stud bolts d, d, mounted on one of the cross braces of the frame A. so
that upon the rotation of the segment gears the clamp will be raised or pulled down
with equal power at each end. J is a foot treadle connected with one of these
segment gears at its inner end by the connecting rod e, so that when it is desired to
raise the clamp for adjusting the paper to be cut, the operator steps on the treadle
thus rotating the segment gears downwards and raising the links c, and with them
the clamp. The treadle bar J, passes through a slotted plate K, secured to the
central portion of the frame A, and this plate is provided with an offset or shoulder
in the usual way to hold the treadle down and the clamp up while adjusting the
Paper A
When the paper is adjusted, the foot treadle is released, allowing the
clamp to descend by its own weight upon the paper, it being of course understood
that during this adjustment of paper and clamp the segment gears are entirely
disconnected from the driving mechanism of the machine as will be hereinafter
explained.
Pivoted outside of and on the same stud bolt d, as the segment gear H, is a
guide lever L, at the lower end of which is an eye to which the pulling bar M is
pivoted. On the inner face of this guide lever L, is a stud bolt upon which is
pivoted the toothed segment N. This segment also carries a stud, which rides
and is guided in a segment slot k, in the guide lever L. The toothed seginent N,
meshes with a similar segment O, the upper end of which is slotted at 1, and is
mounted on the same stud bolt d with the segment gear H. When the machine is
not in operation the toothed segment O, drops by its own weight within the limits
of the slot 1, and this segment is entirely disconnected from the segment gear H.
The periphery or face of the gear II, however is provided with a set of fine teeth P,
and the inner adjacent face of the toothed segment O, is also provided with a few

page_text: teeth m, m. Securely bolted to the back of the toothed segment N, is a cam
lever R, provided with a segmental cam face n, which has a bearing against the
roller P, on the segment O. It will be evident from this that the moment the
segment N, is shifted by the driving mechanism as hereinafter described,
the segment O, will be thrown up and the tooth m, will lock with the teeth P, on
the segment gear H, and further oscillation of the segment N will drive the segment
gear H, the segments N and O remaining constantly in mesh and the segmental
cam lever riding along the roller p, as shown in dotted lines Fig. 2. The throw of
the segment O upward to lock same to the segment gear H is positive and direct
and the construction is such that a very slight oscillation or shifting of the
segment N will at once lock the segment to the segment gear H. Were any
other arrangement employed resulting in any other than a direct positive throw of
the segment to lock it to the gear H, the locking teeth on the two pieces might
easily catch on their point and fail to intermesh and there would necessarily be
some slip in the operation of the machine. This feature therefor whereby a direct
positive intermeshing of the parts is obtained forms one of the important parts of
the invention.
Coupled to the lower end of the toothed segment N, is the driving rod S, which
is pivoted at the other end on the crank pin », secured to the cogged gear wheel T,
which in turn is mounted on a stud shaft secured to the frame A. The gear
wheel T meshes with a pinion on the driving shaft U, which shaft also carries the
driving pulley V, by means of which power is applied to the machine by belt in
the usual way.
It will be seen therefore that when the power is applied, the driving rod S, at
once begins to actuate the segment N, which locks the segment O to the segment
gear H and the segment gears H and I are rotated upwards where they intermesh
thus pulling down the links c, c, and bringing the clamp to bear with great pressure
on the paper A¹. It is understood of course, that, before the machine is operated
at all the operator has adjusted the paper and released the foot treadle J, so that
the clamp rests on the paper by its own weight. The segment gears will continue
to rotate under the action of the driving rod S, until the paper is compressed by
the clamp G, within the limits of the power of the machine. But as soon as all
the sponginess is pressed out of the paper and it presents a solid resistance to the
clamp the further rotation of the gear wheel T, and thrust of the driving rod S,
will begin to shift downwardly, the guide lever L, and the segment N, and the
pulling bar M will be drawn downwards.
This pulling bar M is coupled to the knife bar in the following manner. The
outer end of the knife bar is slotted as shown at s, Fig. 4, and outside of this slot
the bell crank casting W, is pivoted on the pin t; the end of the pulling bar M
passes through the slot in the end of the knife bar and is pivoted to the casting W,
by the pin u and while in its working position the two pivotal points and u, are in
a direct line with the point of attachment of the pulling bar to the segment N, so
that the pulling bar can exert its full power on the knife bar swinging it down-
wards with a shearing cut. The casting W, is provided with a downwardly
extending arm y, which carries a pin a' while B' is a coiled' spring having a bearing
between this pin and a stud on the frame. A near its base. The function of this
spring B is threefold. It holds the casting W in the position shown in the
drawings, with the two pivot pins t and u in line with the pulling bar. Second, it
sustains the weight of and holds up the knife bar until the machine begins its
work; this is necessary because until that time the segment N is disconnected
from the segment gear H. Its third function is to return the casting W to its
normal position as will now be explained. It will be evident from the construction
already explained that the work done by the driving rod S under the rotation of
the gear wheel T, is first expended in forcing down the clamp G, upon the paper
to be cut, and then it begins its action on the pulling bar M. Now the amount of
movement of the crank pin r and rod S taken up in operating the clamp will
depend of course, on the character and quality of the paper operated on, with

page_text: spongy paper the pulling bar M would not be forced down so far as with hard stiff
paper. It is further evident that it is essential to so proportion the parts that the
knife will under any circumstances make a complete cut. It will therefor follow
that if the pulling bar were coupled directly to the knife bar the throw of the
knife in as much as it swings elliptically, would under certain conditions have much
greater shear than down cut and as a result, the last few sheets of paper
might be shifted sidewise instead of cut by the push or shearing stroke of the
knife, especially as the fulcrum of the knife is on the paper and the easier the
knife cuts the less power is brought to bear on the clamp. To remedy this possible
defect the casting W, intermediate the pulling bar and the knife bar is employed a
cam being provided on the casting. The links are of such length that when
the kuife has reached a position in which the side shear and the down cut are
about equal, this cam b¹ comes in contact with the trip stud c¹ extending out from
the standard D and the casting is turned on its pivots so that the pivot pins t and
are no longer in line with the pulling bar and the further operation of the pulling
bar has no further effect on the knife but only turns the casting against the
pressure of the spring B', and as soon as the pulling bar has reached the limit
of its stroke the spring returns the casting to its normal position. The parts are
also so proportioned that the knife will have reached the table and completed its
operative stroke at the moment the cam comes in contact with the trip stud. With
this construction, therefore, the quality of the paper can have no effect on the
operation of the knife as the shear of the knife can never be greater than the
down cut.
It has been already mentioned that the machine is driven by belt on the
pulleys V, but for small machines the pulley can also be turned by hand as will
be readily understood, but whether the machine is driven by hand or power it is
desirable that it be automatically stopped at the completion of each stroke to
enable the operator to remove the severed portions and to turn the paper for a
new cut. To accomplish this result, a split expansion band friction clutch of the
ordinary construction shown at C₁ Fig. 1, is employed the band pulley running
loose on the driving shaft until the friction clutch is thrown, this is done by the
arm d' mounted on the shaft or rod e¹, journalled in lugs extending down from the
base of the table. Secured to this shaft e and extending out horizontally is
the hand lever by raising which the shaft is rotated and the arm d' throws the
friction clutch into operation. The opposite end of the hand lever on the rear side
of the shaft e¹ has a downwardly extending block g¹ while a vertically extending
arm is secured to the driving rod S, the parts being so proportioned that just
before the completion of the stroke of the driving rod the arm will come in
contact with the block g' shift the shaft e and arm in the other direction and
throw out the friction clutch, thus stopping the machine automatically. D¹ is a
hand wheel which operates by means of a screw the usual gauge for the paper.
In describing above the mechanical parts of the machine, the operation of the
cutter has probably also been made sufficiently clear. The machine being at rest
the operator raises the clamp by the foot treadle, having adjusted the paper, he
allows the clamp to descend to the paper by its own weight, then starting the
machine with the hand lever f the cam lever R at once locks the toothed
segment to the segment gear H, the segment gears are rotated bringing the
clamp to bear upon the paper until it can descend no further, then the driving
mechanism begins to act on the knife pulling bar and as the knife begins to cut,
the greater the resistance either on account of dullness of knife or toughness of
paper the greater the pressure of the clamp, because the fulcrum of the knife is on
the clamp and through it on the paper and until the clamp ceases its downward
movement the knife will not operate at all. It will be understood of course, that
while the knife carrier has been shown and described as pivoted on links to the
standards the same movement of the knife can be obtained by forming diagonal
slots in the knife carrier through which studs on the frame pass, so that when the
knife carrier is pulled downwards by the pulling bar, the knife will descend with a

page_text: licaring cut.
Therefore the invention is not to be deemed as limited to this:
particular arrangement, as other methods of obtaining a downward shearing cut.
can of course be readily substituted for the particular arrangement shown.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said"
Invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, as communicated to.
me by my foreign correspondents I declare that what I claim is:-
1. In a paper cutter, the combination with a clamp and cutting knife, of a pair-
of intermeshing segment gears with links connecting same to said clamp, mechanism,
for operating said knife normally out of connection with said segment gears, and..
coupling device to couple said knife operating mechanism with said segment gear,,,
substantially as shown and described.
2. In a paper cutter, the combination, with a clamp and cutting knife, of a
pair of intermeshing segment gears, with links connecting same to said clamp, a.
wheel provided with a crank pin and means for driving said wheel, a driving.
rod and guide lever with connecting device coupling the crank pin to said segment.
gears and a pulling bar connecting said knife with said guide lever, substantially
as shown and described.
3. In a paper cutter the combination with a clamp and cutting knife, aud!
separate mechanism for actuating said knife and clamp, of a pair of toothed
segments normally out of contact with each other, cam lever secured to one of said,
segments and roller on the other segment bearing against said cam one of said.
toothed segments being coupled to the knife actuating mechanism and the other
provided with means for locking itself to the clamp operating devices whereby
upon the operation of the machine, said separate mechanisms will be coupled,
together and the cutting knife find the fulcrum of its leverage on the paper to be.
cut, substantially as shown and described.
4. In a paper cutter, the combination with the frame, of a cutting knife and.
knife carrier therefor with means connecting said carrier to the frame, so that.
said knife will have a downward shearing cut, pulling bar with driving mechanism.
acting thercon to operate same, bell crank lever to which said knife carrier and
said pulling bar are respectively pivoted with their pivots normally in line with,
the draft of said pulling bar, and means for tripping said crank lever to throw
said pivots out of line whereby the draft of the pulling bar may be transferred
from said knife carrier to said crauk lever, substantially as and for the purpose:
described.
5. In a paper cutter, the combination with the frame, of a cutting knife and.
knife carrier therefor with means connecting said carrier to the frame, so that
said knife will have a downward shearing cut, pulling bar with driving mechanism.
acting thercon to operate same, bell crank lever to which said knife carrier and
said pulling bar are respectively pivoted with their pivots normally in line with the
draft of said pulling bar, cam on said crank lever with trip stud on the frame-
to throw said pivots out of line with spring acting on the other arm of said.
crank lever, to hold in normal position said lever and said knife carrier and to
return said lever to its normal position when released by the trip stud, substantially.
as shown and described.
6. In a paper cutter, the combination of the supporting frame, the table, the
clamp bar, and the knife frame mounted above the table, geared segments.
journalled upon studs below the table, links coupling said segments to the clamp
bar and treadle, a link connecting the treadle to one of said segments for the
purpose of elevating the clamp bar and holding it in the elevated position, a
swinging arm pivoted upon the journal of one of said segments, a pulling bar
coupling the lower end of said swinging arm to the knife frame, a pair of inter-
meshing cogged segments one mounted to oscillate upon said swinging arin, the
other adapted to be locked to one of the knife bar actuating segments and lock the
segments and swinging arm together, a wheel having a crank pin, and means for

page_text: rotating said wheel and the connecting rod coupling the crank pin of said wheel to
the lower arm of the segment, substantially as shown and described.
7. In a paper cutting machine, the combination with the supporting frame and
table, of two geared segments, the reciprocating clamp bar, rods at each end of the
geared segments connecting the clamp bar and segments, the swinging arm pivoted
upon the journal of one segment, the cutter frame fitted to swing diagonally above
the table. a rod connecting the lower end of the swinging arm to the knife frame,
a toothed segment coupled to the swinging arm, and means such as shown for
locking said segment to bring its teeth in gear with one of the segments that
actuate the clamp bar, whereby the swinging arm coupled to the knife frame is
actuated in its downward movement and the clamping bar firmly pressed upon the
paper, substantially as shown and described.
Dated this 4th dox of May 1807
PHILIP M. JUSTICE.