IMPROVED MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING THIN STRIPS OR FILAMENTS FROM VARIOUS SUBSTANCES.
Year: 1868

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George Coles, of Gresham Street West, in the
City of London, Merchant, and James Archibald Jaques, Chemist,
and John Americus Fanshawe, Engineer, both of Tottenham, in the
County of Middlesex, for the Invention of "IMPROVED MACHINERY OR
APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING THIN STRIPS OR FILAMENTS FROM VARIOUS
SUBSTANCES.'
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said George Coles, James
Archibald Jaques, and John Americus Fanshawe, at the Office of
the Commissioners of Patents, with their Petition, on the 21st April
1868.
We, GEORGE COLES; of Gresham Street West, in the City of London,
Merchant, and JAMES ARCHIBALD JAQUES, Chemist, and JOHN AMERICUS
FANSHAWE, Engineer, both of Tottenham, in the County of Middlesex,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVED

page_text: MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING THIN STRIPS OR FILAMENTS FROM
VARIOUS SUBSTANCES," to be as follows:-
Our Invention of "Improved Machinery or Apparatus for Producing
Thin Strips or Filaments from various Substances" is intended to be
used more particularly for dividing sheets of vulcanized or unvulcanized
india-rubber into threads. This object has usually been effected in a kind
of lathe or other analogous machine by means of knives or cutters having
fine, thin, and sharp cutting edges. We have found that these sharp edges
are very liable to become blunted and get out of order so that then they
will not cut the rubber cleanly and will not leave a good square edge.
To obviate these inconveniences and difficulties we propose to use pairs
or sets of cutters with square edges; we propose also to use a number
of these cutters in combination, so that several threads may be cut
simultaneously from the same sheet of rubber.
In carrying out our Invention we form the cutters of circular discs
of steel with square edges and of the proper thickness, according to the
size of thread it is desired to produce. Any number of these (according
to the width of the sheet of rubber to be operated upon) are mounted on
a shaft or spindle with metal washers between them so as to keep the
cutting discs the proper distances apart. Two of these spindles with
the cutting discs on them (and screwed up tightly) are arranged together
in such a manner that the projecting edges of one set of cutting discs
will be made to gear or take into the spaces between the opposing set of
discs. The two spindles are to be geared together by means of toothed
wheels, and therefore made to rotate together either at the same or
unequal speeds, according to the proportion of their toothed driving
wheels. From the above description it will be understood that if a sheet
of rubber be placed between the two sets of rotating discs it will be
quickly divided into separate threads, and as the cutters always rotate
continuously in the same direction the cutting operation will be
continuous until the sheet of rubber is cut up or divided from end
to end.
As a modification of the above instead of the cutting discs being made
circular and caused to rotate continuously in one direction they may be
made in the form of sectors and caused to vibrate or oscillate on their
centres of motion. The sheet to be operated on will then be moved
forward with an intermittent motion, and the cutters instead of cutting

page_text: continuously will cut only short lengths at a time, according to the
length of the cutting edge of the discs.
Another modification consists in making the cutting discs in the form
of thin straight plates of steel with square edges. Two sets of these are
arranged opposite to each other on a plate or frame, and one or both.
of them may have a rising and falling motion or a vibrating motion
communicated to them while the sheet of rubber is between them.
From the foregoing description it will be evident and clearly under-
stood that the essential feature of the Invention is the use or combination
of two square cutting or shearing edges which act on the principle
of a pair of shears or scissors in contradistinction to the sharp knife
cutting edges which have been heretofore employed for such or analogous
purposes.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said George Coles, James Archibald Jaques, and John
Americus Fanshawe in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 21st
October 1868.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, GEORGE
COLES, of Gresham Street West, in the City of London, Merchant, and
JAMES ARCHIBALD JAQUES, Chemist, and JOHN AMERICUS FANSHAWE,
Engineer, both of Tottenham, in the County of Middlesex, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-first day of April, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight, in the thirty-
first year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto us, the said George Coles, James Archibald Jaques,
and John Americus Fanshawe, Her special licence that we, the said
George Coles, James Archibald Jaques, and John Americus Fanshawe,
our executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as we, the said
George Coles, James Archibald Jaques, and John Americus Fanshawe,
our 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,

page_text: use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain
and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for
"IMPROVED MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING THIN STRIPS OR FILAMENTS
FROM VARIOUS SUBSTANCES," upon the condition (amongst others) that we,
the said George Coles, James Archibald Jaques, and John Americus
Fanshawe, our executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing
under our, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should particularly
describe 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 we, the said George Coles, James Archibald
Jaques, and John Americus Fanshawe, do hereby declare the nature of
our said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, to
be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following state-
ment, reference being had to the Drawing hereunto annexed, and to
the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say):
Our Invention of "Improved Machinery or Apparatus for Producing
Thin Strips or Filaments from various Substances" is intended to be
used more particularly for dividing sheets of vulcanized or unvulcanized
india-rubber into threads; this object has usually been effected in a kind
of lathe or other analogous machine by means of knives or cutters
having fine, thin, and sharp cutting edges. We have found that these
sharp edges are very liable to become blunted and get out of order, so
that then they will not cut the rubber cleanly, and will not leave a good
square edge. To obviate these inconveniences and difficulties we use
pairs or sets of cutters with square edges. A number of these cutters
may also be used in combination, so that several threads may be cut
simultaneously from the same sheet of rubber.
In the accompanying Drawing Fig. 1 is a plan view, Fig. 2 a
longitudinal vertical section, and Fig. 3 a transverse vertical section of
a machine constructed according to our Invention. The sectional view
Fig. 3 is taken in the line 1, 2, of Fig. 2, and looking towards the left,
but with some of the parts removed in order that the cutting discs a, a,
may be more clearly seen.
The cutters are formed of circular discs of steel with square edges,
and of the proper thickness according to the size of thread it is desired
to produce, as shewn in the enlarged detached views Figures 4 and 5.

page_text: Any number of these cutting discs a, a, according to the width of the
sheet of rubber to be operated upon), are mounted on shafts or spindles a¹
with metal washers b, b, of the same thickness as the cutters between
them, so as to keep the cutting discs a, a, the proper distances apart.
Two of these spindles a', a', with the cutting discs a and washers b
on them are screwed up tightly by jam nuts a³, Fig. 1, which are
arranged together as shewn at Figures 4 and 5 in such a manner that
the projecting edges of one set of cutting discs a will be made to gear or
take into the spaces between the opposing set of discs. The two
spindles a¹ are to be geared together by means of toothed wheels a³, and
therefore made to rotate together either at the same or unequal speeds,
according to the proportion of their toothed driving wheels a³. From
the above description it will be understood that if a sheet of rubber c,
Figures 1 and 4, be fed forward by the front and back nipping rollers e
and between the two sets of rotating discs a, a, it will be quickly
divided into separate threads, and as the cutters a always rotate con-
tinuously in the same direction as indicated by the arrows in
Figures 1, 2, and 4, the cutting operation will be continuous until the
sheet of rubber is cut up or divided from end to end into separate
threads, as shown at c*, Fig. 1. In order to discharge the divided
threads of rubber from between the cutting discs there are a series of
fingers d, d, Figures 4 and 5, consisting of metal plates of nearly the
same thickness as the washers b, b. These finger plates d, d, are
inserted between the discs a, a, as shewn at Fig. 4, and will thus prevent
the threads from being carried round.
In order to keep the
A set of the finger plates is adapted to each of the set of cutting
discs, and they are secured on the bars a, a, by means of tightening
screws d', separating pieces being placed between the finger plates in
order to preserve their proper distances apart.
square edges of the cutting discs a, a, in proper condition steel
rollers g, g', are made to bear with considerable pressure against their
peripheries, as shown at Figures 1, 2, and 3, so as to break down any
burr that may be formed on the edges of the discs a, a, by continual
working.
Instead of the cutting discs being made circular and caused to rotate
continuously in one direction, as above shewn and described they may
be made in the form of sectors and caused to vibrate or oscillate on their
centres of motion. The sheet to be operated on will then be moved

page_text: forward with an intermittent motion, and the cutters instead of cutting
continuously will cut only short lengths at a time like a pair of shears,
according to the length of the cutting edge of the sectors.
Another modification consists in making the cutting discs in the form
of thin straight plates of steel with square edges. Two sets of these are
arranged opposite to each other on a plate or frame, and one or both of
them may have a rising and falling motion or a vibrating motion com-
municated to them like a pair of shears while the sheet of rubber is
between them.
From the foregoing description it will be evident and clearly
understood that the essential feature of the Invention is, the use or
combination of two square cutting or shearing edges which act on the
principle of a pair of shears or scissors in contradistinction to the sharp
knife cutting edges which have been heretofore employed for such or
analogous purposes.
Having now described our Invention, and the manner of carrying
the same into effect, we claim as the Invention secured to us under the
herein-before recited Letters Patent, the use of the square-edge cutting
discs a, a, for the purpose of dividing or cutting sheets of vulcanized
or unvulcanized india-rubber into separate threads, as herein set forth.
In witness whereof, we, the said George Coles, James Archibald
Jaques, and John Americus Fanshawe, have hereunto set our
hands and seals, the Seventeenth day of October, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight.