IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR ROLLING OR SHAPING METALS
Year: 1855

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Johnson, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the
County of Middlesex, and of Glasgow, North Britain, Civil Engineer, for
the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR ROLLING
OR SHAPING METALS."-A communication from Jackson Brothers, Petin,
Gaudet, and Company, of Rive de Gier, in the Empire of France,
Engineers.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Johnson at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
27th August 1855.
I, WILLIAM JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of
Middlesex, and of Glasgow, North Britain, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPA-
RATUS FOR ROLLING OR SHAPING METALS," a communication from Jackson
Brothers, Petin, Gaudet, and Company, of Rive de Gier, in the Empire of
France, Engineers, to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to the rolling or shaping of articles in metal, whereby
any round objects my be rolled, whether the same be perfectly cylindrical,
conical, or irregular in form, that is to say, possessing various diameters. The

page_text: article to be rolled, in place of being passed transversely between a pair of rolls,
is laid with its axial line parallel to the axis of the rolls, three rolls being
employed in place of two, and the article is laid upon or partially between the
two lower rolls, which rotate in fixed bearings, whilst the upper roll works in
vertical sliding bearings, actuated by screw spindles and bevel wheels, which
are driven from a main shaft by a small steam engine, attached to one of the
main standards-of-the-rolling-mill. By this means the upper. roll..is gradually
brought down on to the article to be shaped or rolled, and is kept pressed
thereon until the article has been reduced to the size and form required.
The rotation of the three rolls is effected by means of a pinion on a main
driving shaft, which pinion gears into three other pinions fast on the ends of
mella sanaativale
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Johnson in. the Great Seal Patent Office on the
25th February 1856.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of Middlesex, and of
Glasgow, North Britain, Civil Engineer, send greeting.
:
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-seventh day, of August, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-five, in the nineteenth year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs--and--successors, give and grant
unto me, the said William Johnson, Her special license that I, the said
William Johnson, my' executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others
as I, the said William Johnson; my executors, administrators, or 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 Great Britain
and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man,, an. Invention for "In-
PROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY, OR APPARATUS. FOR ROLLING OR SHAPING. METALS," a
communication from Jackson Brothers, Petin,, Gaudet, and Company, of Rive
de Gier, in the Empire of France, Engineers, upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said William Johnson, 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 performed, and cause the

page_text: 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 William Johnson, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement, reference being had to the accompanying Drawings, and to the
letters and figures marked thereon, that is to say:
The said Invention relates to the rolling or shaping of articles in metal,
whereby any round objects inay be rolled, whether the same be perfectly cylin-
drical, or conical, or irregular in form, that is to say, possessing various
diameters. The article to be rolled, in place of being passed transversely
between a pair of rolls in the usual manner, is laid with its axial line parallel
to the axes of the rolls, three or more rolls being employed in the place of two,
and the article is laid upon or partially between the two lower rolls, which
rotate in fixed bearings, whilst the upper roll works in verticle sliding bear-
ings, actuated by screw spindles and. bevil wheels, which are driven from a
main shaft by a small steam engine, attached to one of the main standards of
the rolling mill. By this means the upper roll is gradually brought down on
to the article to be shaped for rolled, and: is kept pressed thereon until the
article has been reduced to the size and form required.
The rotation of the three rolls is effected, by means of a pinion on a main
driving shaft, which pinion gears into three other pinions fast on the ends of
the three rolls respectively.
And in order that the said Invention may be fully understood, I shall now
proceed particularly to describe the same, and for that purpose I shall refer to
the several Figures on the Sheet of Drawings hereunto annexed, the same
letters of reference indicating corresponding parts througliout all the Figures.
Figure 1 of the Drawings represents a side elevation of the improved rolling
mill as applied to the manufacture of railway axles; Figure 2 is a vertical
section of the same, taken through the line 1, 2;. and Figure 3 is another ver-
tical section, taken through the line 3, 4, and shewing the driving gear. The
rolling mill is composed of three rollers A, A', A2, having a longitudinal outline
corresponding to. that of the article which they are intended to roll.. Two of
these rollers A and A! are. fixed, that is, their bearings are stationary, thus
allowing the rollers to move only in a rotatory direction...The third roll. A is
capable not only of moving in a rotatory direction, but can also be raised or
lowered. In Figure .lithe roller A is.removed, in order that the axle L which
is being rolled may be clearly. represented. To produce the vertical motion o
of

page_text: the roller A³, its bearings are connected to the two screws B, B, to which the
two bevil wheels C act as nuts, and are in gear with two other wheels C',
mounted upon the shaft D. This shaft carries a spur wheel E, in gear with a
pinion F on the shaft G, driven by the small steam engine H, fixed to the
framing I of the rolling mill. The rotatory motion is imparted to the three
rollers A, A¹, A, by three pinions J, driven by a fourth central pinion J', fixed
on the main driving shaft K. The three pinions J are connected with the
rolls by means of the shafts a and coupling boxes b. In rolling or shaping by
these rolls, a piece of round iron of the required dimensions is first heated to a
welding temperature, and is then introducing or laid between the rollers A and
A¹, the upper roll A² having been sufficiently elevated to allow of the entrance
of the bar. Motion is then imparted to the main driving shaft K, whence it
is transmitted to the rolls A, A'. The small steam engine H is then put in
motion, causing the roller A² to descend. The result of these combined move-
ments is to bring the bar shown at L to a form corresponding to the combined
outline of the rollers A, A1, A2. The screws B, B, worked by the steam engine
H, exert a pressure which forces the material into a space tangential to the
rotatory motion of the rollers. The length of the article when rolled is regu-
lated by the projecting collars c on the roller A, and its exact diameter is
regulated by the greater or less proximity of the rollers. This new process of
rolling, forging, or shaping metals is applicable to the manufacture of all
articles of a circular transverse section, whether they be cylindrical, conical, or
of varying diameters.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of the said
Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used or carried
into effect, I may observe, in conclusion, that I do not confine or restrict
myself to the precise details or arrangements which I have had occasion
to describe or refer to, as many variations may be made therefrom without
deviating from the principles or main features of the Invention; but what
I consider to be novel and original, and therefore claim as the Invention
secured to me by the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent, is,―
First, the general construction and arrangement of rolling mills, or machi-
nery for rolling or shaping metals, as herein-before described.
Second, the system or mode of rolling metals, by placing the articles or
metallic mass to be rolled between three or more shaping rollers, with the
longitudinal axis of the introduced mass parallel to the axes of such rolls.
Third, the application and use in rolling mills of the description herein-
before referred to, of one or more rollers, which are traversed to or from the

page_text: article under treatment by means of a separate driving power, for the purpose
of reducing the size of the article or mass under treatment, and imparting the
desired shape to the same.
Fourth, the application and use of rolls whose longitudinal outline or contour
corresponds to the desired form of the article to be rolled.
Fifth, the system or mode of driving the rolls by means of one central
pinion gearing into other pinions fast on the ends of the several rolls respec-
tively, as herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Johnson, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-third day of February, One thousand eight
hundred and fifty-six.
WM JOHNSON. (L.S.)