IMPROVEMENTS IN COOPERAGE MACHINES
Year: 1880

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Allen Ransome and Thomas James Wilkie, both of the
Stanley Works, Chelsea, in the County of Middlesex, for an Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN COOPERAGE MACHINES."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Allen Ransome & Thomas
James Wilkie at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 23rd
September 1880.
ALLEN RANSOME and THOMAS JAMES WILKIE, both of the Stanley Works,
Chelsea, in the County of Middlesex. "IMPROVEMENTS IN COOPERAGE MACHINES."
This Invention has for its object improvements in cooperage machines. For the
purpose of dividing the split staves a band saw is employed, and to present the
stavo to the saw there are feed rollers on each side of the stave. These feed rollers
are carried by slides, which are coupled together in such a way that the rollers on
opposite sides of the stave can recedo from and approach each other, to accommodate
the varying thickness of the wood. The rollers move equal distances, so the saw
always occupies a central position between the rollers. The axes of these feed
rollers are arranged approximately in the same plane with the saw, in order that
they may efficiently control the position of the part of the stave presented to the
saw. Two feed rollers are provided on one side of the stave, and these support the
stave near its two edges; whilst on the other side of the stave there is a single
central roller occupying a central position in respect of the stave.
In order that the machine may also be used for dressing staves, the feed rollers
on the two sides may be disconnected. One slide is then set fast so as to romain
always at the same distance from the saw, whilst the other slide moves to
accommodate the varying thickness of the stave.
For the purpose of bringing the staves approximately to the form they are
required to take in the cask, they are steamed and then submitted to pressure
between metal plates of the proper form. An hydraulic press with curved platten
and head is employed. The staves with the plates between them are placed in
this press, which can be supplied with water under high pressure from an
accumulator or direct from a pump.

page_text: In order to reduce the backs of the staves to the proper curvature, they are
passed beneath and subjected to the action of knives of suitable form mounted on
an horizontal axis driven at a high speed. The staves are securely held by top
and bottom holding plates. The bottom holding plate is sustained by a weight or
spring, and it can yield to accommodate varying thicknesses. The staves are fed
centrally to the machine between guides, which can be simultaneously adjusted
by right and left hand screws, or by like means. The feed rollers by which the
stave is passed through the machine are driven by a pair of pinions of equal size
and gearing together. There are three feed rollers, an upper and lower feed
roller on the entrance side, which nip the stave between them before it reaches
the cutter, and a third feed roller on the under side, which presses the stave
against the upper holding plate, and sustains it after it has passed the cutter. The
bearings of the two lower feed rollers are carried by radial arins, which are ablo
to turn about the axis of the lower driving pinion and pinions on the axes of
the feed rollers gear with this driving pinion. The lower feed rollers are
supported by coiled springs; their position varies to accommodate the different
thicknesses of the stave or staves. The arrangement of the driving mechanism
already described permits of this variation in the position of the rollers.
The axis of the upper feed roller is carried in fixed bearings, and has a pinion
upon it which gears with the upper driving pinion.
For jointing or forming the edge of the stave, a disc carrying cutters and
revolving on an horizontal axis is employed. The stave is clamped down upon
a curved table capable of swinging about horizontal pivots approximately in the
_ plane of the face of the disc. The clamping is effected by dogs at either end
of the stavo, which can slide along the arms by which the table is carried;_the_
dogs are actuated simultaneously_by_eccentrics-on-an-horizontal axis carried by
-the-arms, and which axis has upon it a lever handle. The placing-of-the-stave
_ upon the table-is-controlled-by a pair of stops, one near either end of the stave.
The stops are connected with arms upon an axis and are supported by coiled
springs. The stops which readily yield to admit of the stave being placed recede
and advance together, and so ensure that the stave when jointed shall be of the
same width at its two ends. In some cases the frame on which the stave is
clamped is made to swing on vertical pivots, and from side to side, so that both
sides may be jointed at one setting. The clamping of the staves is effected in this
case by dogs, one at either end. The dogs are made to advance simultaneously
along guides by the action of a lever handle. The handle is on an axis carrying an
eccentric pin, which enters a slotted hole in one of the dogs, and when the axis is
turned, this dog is moved along its guides. At the other end the arrangement is
similar, but the axis receives motion by a link which connects an arm upon it with
a similar arm on the axis having the lever handle.
For the purpose of trussing the cask, the staves when set up in suitable hoops
are taken to a trussing press, and are forced through a cone with movenble
segments. The staves being thus brought together, the truss hoops are then put
on, and in the same machine they are forced home to their places by means of
drivers fixed upon three or other number of brackets. These brackets by means
of a handle can be simultaneously moved inwards towards the centre, so that the
hoop drivers como immediately over the hoops, and hold and retain them whilst
the press continues to move the cask upwards.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said Allen Ransome & Thomas James Wilkie in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 23rd March 1881.
ALLEN RANSOME and THOMAS JAMES WILKIE, both of the Stanley Works,
Chelsea, in the County of Middlesex. "JMPROVEMENTS IN COOPERAGE MACHINES.'"
This Invention has for its object improvements in the machinery for the
manufacture of casks or barrels, and relates to the following machines :—
First. A special adaptation of feeding apparatus for band sawing machines, to
enable them to divide split staves into two equal portions.
Second. A special machine for shaping the backs of the staves to the required
curvature.
Third. Machinery for cutting or jointing the edges of the staves to the required
shape.
Fourth. Improvements in the trussing machine described in our Patent, No. 2173,
dated 1877, whereby a number of truss hoops are forced simultaneously on to a
cask.
In order more clearly to describe the above Inventions, Drawings are appended
which are referred to in the following detailed description of the machines :-
Figure 1 is a front elevation, and Figure 2 is a plan, partly in section, of a band
sawing machine for dividing split staves; two pulleys X, X, carry the saw; a
table A carries the new automatic feeding and dividing mechanism. This latter
consists of two vertical spindles B, B, each revolving in a moveable carriage C, C,
and driven by worms D, D, and worm wheels E, E. The spindle F, which carries
the worms D, D, is driven by a counter shaft Z, from the lower saw pulley shaft Y
as shown. Upon the vertical spindles B, B, are fixed three feed rollers, of which
two G, G, are mounted upon the spindle B, and one G' upon the spindle B'. Those
feed rollers are adjustable vertically to suit tho varying width of staves. The feed
rolls G, G, on the spindle B, are placed in such position as to press on the top and
bottom of one side of a stave, while the roller G₁ on the spindle B' presses on the
middle of the other side of the stave. This machine can be used to thickness
staves, that is to say, to reduce staves which are not sufficiently thick to make two
barrel staves to a comparatively uniform thickness. For this purpose one of the
roller carriages is securely cramped at a fixed distance from the saw while the
other is at liberty to advance towards or recede from the saw according to
the thickness of the rough stave. In order to divide a rough stave equally, the feed
rollers are so connected that they are advanced or withdrawn from the line of the
saw simultaneously by means of the connecting links and levers Y, Y, and
the weight I. The levers turn about fixed centres at Y¹. Owing to this connection
the feed rollers G, G, and G¹ are always equidistant from the saw, no matter what
may be the thickness of the stave passing between them.
Figure 3 is a side elevation, and Figure 4 is a plan of a special machine for
shaping the backs of the staves to form a cask to the required curvature. A is the
cutter block, capable of revolving at a high speed in bearings formed in the
framing of the machine, and driven by a belt from a countershaft in the usual way.
Upon this cutter block are bolted cutters B, B, of the required shape to give the
required curvature to the back of the stave. The staves (which may have been
previously partially bent to the required shape in a special press), are fed beneath
the cutters by three feed rollers C, C, C, the ono above the stave and the other two
bencath it; those two latter are carried in hinged bearings working about a fixed
centre which allows them to adjust their position to suit for staves of different
thicknesses. The upper feed roller revolves in bearings F, F, attached to the main
frame of the machine. These three feed rollers are driven by a train of six spur

page_text: wheels G to L, arranged in such a manner that whatever may be the position of
the lower feed rollers, the wheels are always correctly in gear, from the fact that
the arms D, D, which carry these feed rollers revolve about the centre of the driving
pinion. The whole of these wheels and rollers are driven by a spur wheel, and
pinion and pulley, as shown. The feed rollers are pressed up to the staves by
means of the spiral springs M, M, or weights and levers may be employed for the
same purpose. In order to steady the stave while passing under the cutters,
pressure bars are provided; two N, N, are fixed above the stave, and one O below
the stave; this latter is carried on a rising and falling stem, and is kept in contact
with the staves by means of the lever and weight Q; further to guide the stave
while passing under the cutters, in order to ensure the centre of staves of all
widths always passing under the centro of the cutter, and to prevent them from
swerving either to the right or the left, two guides or fences R, R, are provided at the
entering end of the machine; these guides are connected by nuts to a right and
left handed screw and hand wheel T, so that they can be simultaneously opened or
closed towards the centre line of the machine.
Figures 5 and 6 show a front elevation and a side clevation of a machine for
jointing staves. Four or more plane irons or cutters A, A, A, A, are mounted in
a disc B, revolving at a high speed in bearings in the standard C. The stave to bo
jointed is cramped on a template screwed to the table, and curved similarly to the
inside of the finished cask. The stave is held by means of the cramps E, E,
moving in guides F, F, and actuated by means of the eccentrics G, G, upon the
shaft H, which in its turn is operated by the hand lever I. The table D is attached
to the framework J, which oscillates upon the pivots K, K, which motion permits
of the stave boing presented to the cutting disc. The pivots K, K, are capable of
adjustment outwards from the plane of the face of the cutting disc-by-means-of-the
-screws-L-Land-nuts M, M. After one edge of a stave has been jointed it has to
_ be taken out of-the-stave-holder-and-turned round and re-cramped. Now in order
to ensure both ends of the stave being of equal width, fingers or guides N,N, are
provided, against which the already jointed edge of the stave is pressed; and as
these fingers or guides are attached to the same horizontal spindle they have a
simultaneous movement, and are consequently always parallel to the face of the
cutting disc; 0, 0, are arms supporting the spindle, and P is a spring. The
tablo Ď and its attachments are counterbalanced by the weight Q, so as to lessen
the labor necessary to work the machine.
Figure 7 shows a front view, and Figure 8 an end view of another machine for
jointing staves arranged to finish the stave on both edges without taking it out of
the cramp; B and A are the disc and cutters respectively as in the former machine,
and C the main standard.
The stavo is held in a swinging frame D hung on the centres E, E¹, which are
adjustable to and fro in a direction parallel to the axis of the disc. This swinging
frame is provided with a curved form F, on which the stave is bent by the two
dogs G, G. These dogs are simultaneously advanced by means of the eccentric
pins H, H, attached to the double levers I, I, which in turn receive motion from
the hand lever J and the connecting rod K. The pins H are received into slotted
holes in the dogs G.
It is evident that by this machine the two edges of the staves can in turn be
presented to the disc and cutters by rotating the swinging frame D on its
pivots E, E'.
The disc lettered B on this as also on the former machine can be made either
flat or slightly concave on the cutting face. If the disc be concave the stave will
not require to be so much bent before presenting it to the cutters as is otherwise
requisite.
Figure 9 is a plan, and Figure 10 is an elevation of a trussing machine, similar
to that described in the Specification of a former Patent granted to us, No. 2173,
in the year 1877. The machine is shown with our improved truss hoop drivers
applied. By the use of these drivers, which are dogs having steps or projections

page_text: formed on them (one for each truss hoop), all the truss hoops can be forced on one
end of a cask at the same time.
This machine consists of a rising platen or table A fixed on the upper end of
the ram B, working in the hydraulic cylinder C, which can be placod in connection
with an hydraulic accumulator or direct to a pump. The staves to form the barrel
having been previously arranged in a circle, and held at one end by temporary
truss hoops, are placed on the said platen with the unclosed end upwards. Imme-
diately over this table, and supported by two vertical rods or bolts D, D', is a
hollow inverted cone E. The lower part of this cone is one continuous solid ring,
but the upper part is divided into a series of radial segments F, F', F², &c.; theso
seginents are capable of being simultaneously withdrawn from the centre by means
of a pin or stud G, G¹, G fixed in each. The pins project into tangential slots cut
in the annular plate H, which is capable of receiving a movement of partial rotation
by means of the handle I. On the rising of the table the upper ends of the staves
are brought together by being forced through the cone E and the segments F, F', F⁹.
At this stage of the operation the truss hoops J, J', J³, which are to retain the
upper part of the barrel in shape, are dropped over the ends of the closed staves,
and the segments F, F, F, are withdrawn, leaving the barrel free for the operation
of driving on the hoops J, J, J2, by means of the following mechanism:--
On the vertical rods D, D', is supported a ring K, carrying three or more sliding
pieces L, L, L², attached to each of which by means of screws are lugs or drivers
ML, M, two or more in number. These sliding pieces are so connected by levers
N, N', N2, and links 0, 0, 0, that they can be simultaneouly moved towards the
centre by means of the handle P, so far as is required to bring the lugs M, M,
immediately over the hoops J, J, J, so that when the cask is raised by the platen
and ram. the drivers force the three truss hoops firmly and simultaneously into
position.
Having thus described the nature of our said Invention, and the manner of
performing the same, we would have it understood that we claim,—
First. Our automatic feeding and dividing apparatus, illustrated by Figures 1
and 2, with vertical power driven feed rollers so grouped and arranged as to bring
continuously that portion of the stave being sawn into a vertical position, the same
feed rollers being so connected as to open equally to the centre line of the band
saw, thus ensuring the stave being divided truly down the centre.
Second. Our improved machine for shaping the backs of staves, illustrated by
Figures 3 and 4, the said machine having its feed rollers disposed and driven
substantially in the manner described; also in this machine the arrangement of the
bottom plate for steadying the stave under the action of the cutters.
Third. Our improved jointing machine, illustrated by Figures 5 and 6, and
especially the setting and clamping arrangements, admitting of staves of different
widths being accurately jointed on both sides without altering the adjustments of
the machine.
Fourth. Our improved jointing machine, illustrated by Figures 7 and 8, and
especially the clamping and holding arrangements thereof.
Fifth. Our improvements upon the trussing machine of our former Patent,
consisting in the combination therewith of drivers which are moveable simul-
taneously to and from the centre, substantially as described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Allen Ransome, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Twenty-third day of March, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and eighty one.