IMPROVEMENTS IN BEVELLING ANGLE BARS AND IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREFOR
Year: 1881

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Henry Johnson, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the
County of Middlesex, Gentleman, for an Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
BEVELLING ANGLE BARS AND IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS EMPLOYED
THEREFOR." A communication from abroad by William Highfield, of Phila-
delphia, Pennsylvania, United States of America.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Henry Johnson at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 19th May 1881.
JOHN HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of
Middlesex, Gentleman. "IMPROVEMENTS
IN BEVELLING ANGLE BARS AND IN
MACHINERY OR APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREFOR." A communication from
abroad by William Highfield, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States of
America.
This Invention has for its object effecting the rapid and accurate bevelling of
angle iron bars, that is to say, the spreading of the flanges demanded by the
position of the bar in the ship or other structure of which it is to form part.
The ordinary method of performing this operation is to secure one of the flanges
of the bar to a bed plate or casting, and then hammer the other flange against a
suitable template or templates; but this mode is objectionable partly on account
of its tedious and expensive character, but principally because it results in the
production of a curved or hollow flange, the angle being more acute at and near
the corner or point of junction than it is at other parts of the flange owing to the
greater thickness of metal at the said point and the consequent greater difficulty of
bending the flange at this point by hammering. Owing to this curved or hollow
shape of the flange it fails to afford a firm scat for a plate or bar which is rivetted
thereto, and a structure in which the angle irons are used must on this account
always be more or less defective.
In carrying out this Invention, in order to effect the object before mentioned
the hammering of the flange is dispensed with and the bevelling operation is
performed by means of two pairs of conical rolls carried by short shafts, one pair
of rolls being adapted to one flange of the angle bar, and the other pair of rolls
being adapted to the other flange of the same.
Each roll shaft is carried by two boxes, the outer box of each shaft being pivoted

page_text: to the opposite side frames of the machine, and the inner boxes of the shafts
having projecting lags or pins adapted to slots in the said side frames.
Power is applied to one of the shafts of each pair of rolls, and is transmitted
therefrom to the other shafts through the medium of suitable bevel gearing, so
that all the rolls are caused to move in the same direction at the point of action
on the bar. Power may be applied to the shafts in various ways, as for example,
by means of a horizontal driving shaft at the base of the machine operating in
conjunction with suitable bevel gearing, and with vertical and horizontal trans-
mitting shafts. In this case one of the vertical shafts may carry a cone, pulley, or
drum, a belt passing round the same and round a similar cone pulley on a short
vertical shaft which is provided with a worm, the latter gearing into a worm wheel
on a central longitudinal shaft adapted to suitable bearings on the frame of the
machine. The shaft last mentioned carries eccentrics which act upon two pairs of
sliding yokes adapted to guides on the side frames, one pair of the said yokes being
connected by rods to the boxes of the shafts of one pair of rolls, and the other
pair of yokes being connected by similar rods to the boxes of the shafts of the
other pair of rolls.
The machine operates in the following manner :-
The angle bar is drawn from the furnace by means of tongs or other suitable
drawing mechanism, and the end of the bar is introduced between the rolls, while
the latter are in such a position that the faces of one pair of rolls are at right
angles to those of the other pair of rolls, the yokes being at the limit of their
upward movement.
As the bar is fed through the rolls however the latter are depressed by the
action of the eccentrics on the yokes and a consequent change in the angle of the
pairs of rolls in respect to each other is effected, thus resulting in the desired
spreading or bevelling of the flange of the angle bar.
The spreading of the bar is effected gradually or abruptly in accordance with the
gradual or abrupt depression of the rolls, hence this result is governed by the speed
of the eccentric shaft in respect to the speed of the roll shafts, so that by a proper
adjustment of the belt on the cone pulleys the spreading or bevelling of the flanges
can be regulated as desired. It is advisable in most cases to make the worm before
mentioned loose on its shaft, and to provide the said shaft with a device for
clutching the worm to or releasing it from the shaft, so that any desired length of
the bar can be allowed to pass between the rolle before throwing the eccentric
shaft into gear and commencing to depress the said rolls and spread or level
the bar.
Suitable indicators may be employed in connection with the eccentric shaft and
roll shafts, in order that the attendant may easily observe and govern the
movements of the shafts and the character or extent of the level imparted to
the bar.
The slots in the side frame are such that the two pairs of rolls preserve the
same longitudinal relation to each other at the point of conveyance of the
contiguous conical sides of the rolls irrespective of changes in the vertical position
and in the angle of the rolls, so that each flange of the angle bar is always confined
by the rolls throughout its entire width, hence the flanges of the finished bar
present a uniform flat bearing throughout and afford a firm seat for plates or bars
that may be rivetted thereto.
In lieu of using cone wheels as the means of varying the speed of the eccentric
shaft in respect to the speed of the roll shaft, change wheel, or frictional speed,
changing devices may be employed, and the eccentrics, yokes, and rods, whereby
the eccentric shaft is caused to control the position of the roll shafts may be
replaced by other connections, and in some cases the rolls may retain a fixed
vertical position, changes in the angle of the rolls being effected by elevating or
depressing the outer ends of the roll shafts.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said John Henry Johnson in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
14th November 1881.
JOHN HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of
Middlesex, Gentleman. "IMPROVEMENTS IN BEVELLING ANGLE BARS AND IN
MACHINERY OR APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREFOR." A communication from
abroad by William Highfield, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States of
America.
The said Invention has for its object effecting the rapid and accurate bevelling
of angle iron bars, that is to say, the spreading of the flanges demanded by the
position of the bar in the ship or other structure of which it is to form part.
And
this object is effected in the manner which I will now proceed to describe, reference
being had to the accompanying Drawings of the machine which is employed in
carrying out the said Invention.
Figure 1 represents a side view of the machine.
Figure 2 is a transverse section taken along the line 1-2 (Figure 1).
Figure 3 is a longitudinal section of Figure 1.
Figure 4, a similar view with the parts in a different position.
Figures 5 and 6 are diagrams illustrating the character of the work performed
by the machine; and
Figure 7 is a diagram showing the defect of the usual method of bevelling.
In building iron vessels or other structures having angle iron frames it becomes
necessary to spread or change the angle of the flanges, an operation commonly
termed bevelling.
The ordinary method of performing this operation is to secure one of the flanges
of the bar to a bed plate or casting, and then bammer the other flange against a
suitable template or templates, but this mode is objectionable, partly on account of
its tedious and expensive character, but principally because it results in the pro-
duction of a curved or hollow flange, as in Figure 7, the angle being more acute at
and near the corner or point of junction x than it is at other parts of the flange,
owing to the greater thickness of metal at the said point x, and the consequent
greater difficulty of bending the flange at this point by hammering. Owing to
this curved or hollow shape of the flange it fails to afford a firmi seat for a plate or
bar which is rivetted thereto, and a structure in which the angle irons are used
must on this account always be more or less defective.
In carrying out the said Invention, in order to effect the object before mentioned,
the hammering of the flange is dispensed with, and the bevelling operation is
performed by means of rolls in the manner illustrated in the Drawing, in which
A, A', and B, B1, represent four conical rolls carried by short shafts a, a¹, and b, b¹,
the pair of rolls A, A', being adapted to one flange y of the angle bar, and the
other pair of rolls B, B', being adapted to the other flange y¹
the same.
Each roll shaft is carried by two boxes, the outer box d of each shaft being
pivoted to the opposite side frames D of the machine, and the inner boxes d¹ of
the shafts having projecting lugs or pins adapted to slots in the said side
frames.
Power is applied to the shafts a and b, and is transmitted therefrom to the
shafts a and b through the medium of suitable bevel gearing, as shown, so that
all the rolls are caused to move in the same direction at the point of action on the
bar. Power may be applied to the shafts a and b in various ways, the means
shown in the Drawing being a horizontal driving shaft at the base of the machine,

page_text: operating in conjunction with suitable bevel gearing, and with vertical and
horizontal transmitting shafts e and f. One of the vertical shafts e carries a cone
pulley or drum g, a belt passing round the same and round a similar cone pulley
on a short vertical shaft h, which is provided with a worm i, the latter gearing
into a worm wheel on a central longitudinal shaft m adapted to suitable
bearings on the frame of the machine. The shaft m carries eccentrics n, which
act upon two pairs of sliding yokes p adapted to guides on the side frames D, one
pair of the said yokes being connected by rods s to the boxes d' of the shafts a, a',
and the other pair of yokes being connected by similar rods to the boxes d' of the
shafts b, b'.
The machine operates in the following manner: —
The angle bar is drawn from the furnace by means of tongs or other suitable
drawing mechanism, and the end of the bar is introduced between the rolls while
the latter are in the position shown in Figures 1 and 3, the faces of the rolls A, A',
being at right angles to those of the rolls B, B¹, and the yokes p being at the
limit of their upward movement. As the bar is fed through the rolls however
the latter are depressed by the action of the eccentrics n on the yokes p, and a
consequent change in the angle of the pairs of rolls in respect to each other is
effected, as shown in Figure 4, thus resulting in the desired spreading or bevelling
of the flanges y, y', of the angle bar.
The spreading of the bar is effected gradually or abruptly in accordance with
the gradual or abrupt depression of the rolls; hence this result is governed by the
speed of the eccentric shaft m in respect to the speed of the shafts a, a, and b, b',
so that by a proper adjustment of the bell on the cone pulleys g the spreading or
bevelling of the flanges can be regulated as desired. It is advisable in most cases
to make the worm i loose on the shaft h, and to provide the said shaft with a
device for clutching the worm to or releasing it from the shaft, so that any desired
length of the bar can be allowed to pass between the rolls before throwing the
shaft m into gear and commencing to depress the said rolls and spread or bevel
the bar.
Suitable indicators may be employed in connection with the shaft m and
shafts a, a¹, and b, b', in order that the attendant may easily observe and govern
the movements of the shafts and the character or extent of the bevel imparted to
the bar.
The slots d in the frames D are such that the rolls A, A¹, and B, B¹,
preserve the
same longitudinal relation to each other at the point w, irrespective of changes in
the vertical position and in the angle of the rolls, so that each flange of the angle
bar is always confined by the rolls throughout its entire width; hence the flanges
of the finished bar present a uniform flat bearing throughout, and afford a firm seat
for plates or bars that may be rivetted thereto.
Although I have shown cone wheels as the means of varying the speed of the
shaft m in respect to the speed of the roll shafts, change wheels or frictional speed
changing devices may be used, and the eccentrics, yokes, and rods, whereby the
shaft m is caused to control the position of the roll shafts, may be replaced by
other connections, and in some cases the rolls may retain a fixed vertical position,
changes in the angle of the rolls being effected by elevating or depressing the outer
ends of the roll shafts.
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 would observe in conclusion that what I consider to be novel and original,
and therefore claim as the Invention secured to me by the hereinbefore in part
recited Letters Patent is,-
First. The mode, herein set forth, of bevelling angle bars, the said mode con-
sisting in passing the bar between two pairs of rolls, which confine the opposite
flanges of the said bar, and gradually changing the angle of the pairs of rolls in
respect to each other as the bar passes between them, substantially as herein before
described.

page_text: Second. The combination of the rolls A, A', and B, B', and their shafts with
swinging boxes & for the said roll shafts, substantially as hereinbefore described.
Third. The combination of the side frames D having slots d, the rolls A, A¹,
and B, B, and their shafts a, a, and b, b¹, the swinging boxes d, and the boxes d',
having lugs or projections adapted to the slots 2, substantially as herein before
described.
Fourth. The combination of the rolls A, A¹, and B, B¹, and their shafts with
the shaft m, having eccentrics h, the yokes p, and connecting rods 8, substantially
as hereinbefore described.
Fifth. The combination of the rolls A, A¹, and B, B', the controlling shaft m,
and devices, substantially as described, whereby the speed of the said shaft m in
respect to the roll roll shafts may be varied, as set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Henry Johnson, have to this my
Specification set my hand and seal, this Twenty fifth day of October, One
thousand eight hundred and eighty one.
J. H
TATATAT
JOHNSON. (L.S.)