IMPROVEMENTS IN MILLING MACHINES
Year: 1867

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Joseph Henry Barker, of Leeds, in the County of
York, Woollen Manufacturer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MILLING MACHINES."
Sealed the 28th June 1867, and dated the 3rd April 1867.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Joseph Henry Barker at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
3rd April 1867.
I, JOSEPH HENRY BARKER, of Leeds, in the County of York, Woollen
Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN MILLING MACHINES," to be as follows:-
The object of my Invention is, in the first place, to prevent that breakage of
the pieces which results from the ordinary machines; this I consider the
primary point of my Invention in the commercial sense, but there is also
another important feature in the said Invention, which consists of a motion
which will be explained below.
In the first instance I place my "knocking-off board" at about three times
greater distance from the top board than is now the practice for the purpose
of leverage. That "knocking-off board" I mount by means of arms which
are keyed on to a shaft (running transversely across the machine) somewhere,

page_text: by preference about the centre part of the length of the machine. One end
of the bearing shaft of these arms is fitted with a lever, and in conjunction
with that is a slotted lever which effects the junction between the said axis
and the lever which is in use for the "knocking-off board."
The advantages gained by this arrangement are that in the first instance
upon a knot in the fabric being milled coming to the "knocking-off board" it
immediately throws the belt on to the loose pulley; the servant attending
then rectifies the knot. Another advantage is that the machine having by
my self-acting motion been stopped on account of a knot in the piece or some
like cause the moment that the difficulty is removed the "knocking-off
board" falls to its normal position, and acting upon the levers in conjunction
with it my arrangement throws the belt on to the fast or driving pulley
again.
What I consider the principal points in this Invention are, firstly, what I
term the direct action of the "knocking-off board;" and, secondly, the self-
adjustment of the driving belt from the loose to the fast pulley, and I deem
the results gained with my improved arrangements, which are virtually the
saving of tears in the piece and the saving of time, should the servant be
away from his machine when the stoppage takes place, as is now often the
case, and the machine releases itself when the knot is not too tight.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Joseph Henry Barker in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
1st October 1867.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOSEPH
HENRY BARKER, of Leeds, in the County of York, Woollen Manufacturer,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Third day of April, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven, in the thirtieth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said Joseph Henry Barker, Her special licence that I, the said
Joseph Henry Barker, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such
others as I, the said Joseph Henry Barker, 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, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of

page_text: Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MILLING MACHINES," upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said Joseph Henry Barker, my executors or administrators,
by an instrument in writing under my, 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 I, the said Joseph Henry Barker, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to
be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement thereof, that is to say :-
The objects of my Invention are, firstly, to prevent the piece being torn
during the process of milling; and, secondly, to keep the machine constantly
in motion, except when such a knot comes to the "knocking-off board" as
absolutely requires that the machine should stop, in order to prevent its
being torn or at the will of the "miller." During the process of "milling"
or fulling woollen or other cloths capable of being milled in the machines
commonly known as "milling machines" it often happens that the cloth
becomes knotted or twisted or otherwise entangled in such a manner as to
prevent it passing through the orifices provided in the "knocking off board,"
and if some means were not provided for stopping the machine unde: such
circumstances as those referred to, the cloth would in most instances be torn
asunder. The ordinary provision for this purpose is well known; it however
is by no means a safe arrangement, and it is not unusual for the cloth to be
torn asunder before the machine is stopped. Instances also very often occur
in which the cloth comes to the "knocking-off board" only partially knotted
or twisted, yet sufficiently so as to raise the "knocking-off board" and thus
stop the machine, while at the same time the entanglement has been so slight
as to free itself by coming in contact with the knocking-off board," and thus
the machine is made to stop when there is no real necessity for its so doing;
and it is a well known fact that in this manner much time is lost and constant
attention is required, because the machine must stand till the "miller" puts
the strap on again. To obviate these defects I place my knocking-off
board," which may be of any suitable construction, at about three times greater
distance from the top board than is now the practice, for the purpose of
leverage; that "knocking-off board "I mount by means of arms, which are
keyed on to a shaft (running transversely across the machine) somewhere, by
preference about the centre part of the length of the machine. One end of
65

page_text: the bearing shaft of these arms is made to project on the outside of the
machine and is fitted with a lever, and in conjunction with that is a slotted
lever, which effects the junction or connection between the said axis and the
lever which is now in use for the knocking-off board."
Another and what I consider a superior arrangement consists in securing to
the end of the transverse shaft a cam or tappet in lieu of the lever before
named. To the outside of the side frame on the driving side of the machine
I affix by means of bolts an iron bracket through a suitable bearing, in which
the end of the transverse shaft having the cam or tappet secured to it passes.
A stud projecting from the bracket sustains or carries a compound lever
(having a cranked short arm) parallel with the side of the machine. The
shorter arm of the lever is furnished with a friction pulley to rest on the cam
or tappet, and with a slotted end secured by a chain or other convenient
means to a bell-cranked lever placed beneath and at right angles to it, one
arm of such bell-cranked lever forming or being connected to the strap or belt
guide. A small bracket projecting from the side frame bracket carries the
stud upon which the bell-crank lever works. The longer arm of the first-
named lever projects to the front part of the machine, and is furnished with a
handle for use by the "miller" when required.
In order, however, that my Invention may be better understood reference
is made to the accompanying Sheet of Drawings, and the letters and figures.
marked thereon, similar letters representing similar parts, that is to say :-
DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS.
Figure 1 is a side elevation of a milling machine, baving my self-adjusting
"knocking-off motion" applied; Figure 2 is a sectional plan; and Figure 3
an end view of the same.
A represents the side framework of the machine, having a bracket B
secured thereto by bolts; C is a cam or tappet on the transverse shaft c to
which latter are secured the arms bearing the "knocking-off board" (seen
in dotted line); D is a compound lever working upon a stud projecting from
the bracket B and having towards the front end of the machine a handle, the
other or shorter end being connected at d by a chain e to one arm of the bell-
cranked lever E; a weight e¹ is also suspended from the same arm to which
the chain is attached for a purpose named hereafter. E' is the strap guide
bolted to the one arm of the lever E; F is a friction pulley carried by the
lever D and bearing upon the cam or tappet C. In Figure 1 the apparatus
is seen in its normal working condition when no impediment prevents the free
passage of the cloth through the "knocking-off board."

page_text: The action of my apparatus is as follows:-The material being milled passes
repeatedly through the holes of the "knocking-off board" as usual, and
between the milling rollers in the customary manner. Upon the piece
becoming knotted it raises the "knocking-off board" (through the holes of which
the knot cannot pass) and consequently the cam or tappet C secured to the
transverse shaft c which carries the arms bearing the "knocking-off board;"
this action raises the short arm of the lever D, and therefore by means of the
chaine connected at the slot d it raises the bell-cranked lever E, which carries
on its other arm the strap guide E', and thus the driving belt is thrown from
the fast pulley x to the loose pulley and the machine is stopped. Upon the
knot or twist, however, becoming unloosed (whether in case of a decided knot
unravelled by the "miller," or simply a twist, which coming in contact with
the "knocking-off board" unlooses itself) the board drops to its usual position,
and in so doing the weight e¹ (which had been raised by the previous action)
pulls down the arm of the bell-cranked lever E to which it is connected, and
in consequence the strap guide E¹ places the belt upon the fast pulley x, and
the friction pulley F (through the chain e and lever D) into the recess in the
cam or tappet C, and the machine is again in motion until stopped by a
similar cause, or by the "miller," pressing upon the handle of the longer arm
of the lever D and fastening it in the catch guide . A spring may be
substituted if desired for the weight e¹. It will be seen that with this
arrangement, upon an exceedingly slight impediment presenting itself at the
"knocking-off board" by the leverage of the latter, and proper adjustment of
the other levers, the machine immediately stops, in itself a great advantage,
as time is not allowed for a tear in the piece, and also that the impediment
either being removed by the "miller," or correcting itself, the motion is self-
acting, and at once throws the driving belt (where belting is used) from the
loose to the fast or driving pulley and fulfils the object of my Invention,
viz., the prevention of tears in the pieces, and keeping the machine regularly
in motion, when no impediment prevents the passage of the material being
milled through the "knocking-off board." My motion may also be applied
when the machiue is actuated otherwise than by belting. The first-named
method alluded to accomplishes the same result as the one described and
shown, by an arrangement virtually the same, by the substitution of a slotted
link in lieu of the chain here shown, but it is not so compact and convenient
generally.
Having now fully ascertained and described the nature of my Invention, and
in what manner the same may be performed, I wish it to be understood that
what I claim as of my Invention is,―

page_text: Firstly, an improved stop motion, the power required for moving the
strap from the driving to the loose pulley being obtained from the knotted
material in motion and transmitted direct through the arrangement of parts
shown and described to the driving belt.
Secondly, a self-acting "setting-on" motion, the action of which com-
mences when the cause which has previously stopped the machine no longer
exists.
And, lastly, the combined arrangement for stopping and starting the
machine without confining myself to the precise details shown and described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Joseph Henry Barker, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Tenth day of August, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven.
Witness,
PHILIP H. SHARP,
Patent Agent,
Leeds.
JOSEPH HENRY BARKER. (L.S.)