Improved Mechanism for Throwing Belt Driven Machinery into and out of Action.
Year: 1886

page_text: Date of Application, 27th Aug., 1888.
Complete Left, 27th May, 1887.
Complete Accepted, 28th, June 1887.
RESERVE
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improved Mechanism for Throwing Belt Driven Machinery into and
out of Action.
JOHN AUGUSTE ARNOLD BUCHHOLZ, of Twickenham in the County of Middlesex,
Engineer do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention relates to mechanism for putting belts out of action by lifting them
out of contact with their driving pulleys in place of as heretofore shifting them on to
loose pulleys forming part of the machines which they are intended to drive and
allowing them to continue running when out of action.
The invention applies to belt driven machinery generally but is especially applicable
to roller mills driven on opposite sides of the machine by one belt or by a pair of belts
having an equal tension.
Mounted loosely on the plummer block of a driving shaft fitted with a belt pulley,
is a segment shroud which overlies say one third of the circumference of the pulley
and is intended when brought into action to lift the driving belt cloar of its pulley.
A handle is fitted to the shroud to give it an axial motion and thereby to bring it
between the pulley and its belt. To facilitate this movement, the shroud is formed
with a radius arm in which is mounted a tension pulley.
When the shroud is out of action the belt will be tightened by this pulley but
when the shroud is moved into position for lifting the belt clear of its pulley, the
tension of the belt will be slackened by the retirement of the shroud pulley, thereby
facilitating the transference of the belt from its driving pulley to the shroud."
I have said that the shroud is mounted upon the pluminer block, this is to free the
driving shaft from all unnecessary friction.
An annular groove is turned in the outer end of the plummer block and the shroud
is divided transversely at its centre to permit of its insertion in the annular groove.
I may in some cases find it desirable to fit the segment shroud with anti-friction
rollers which will facilitate the putting of the shroud into and out of action.
.

page_text: When applying my invention to a roller mill driven at its opposite ends I provide
a pair of shrouds or belt-shifters which I mount upon opposite ends of a driving
shaft having its bearings in the framing of the mill.
This shaft is fitted with a pair of pulleys for transmitting motion to the mill and to
ensure the simultaneous removal of the belt or belts from both pulleys I connect the
two shrouds together by a transverse rod which serves as a handle for operating them.
In this case I dispense with the tension pulleys as I fit the mill with a pair of
tension pulleys mounted in a yoke pendent from an adjusting screw and capable of
putting an equal pressure upon hoth pulleys.
The tension of the pulleys I control by a hand wheel which the attendant can
operate at the moment of pulling over the shrouds.
By this means the requisite slackening is given to the belt or belts while the shrouds
are moved round to put the belt or belts out of contact with the driving pulleys and
arrest the action of the mill.

page_text: out of Action.
I, JOHN AUGUSTE ARNOLD BUCHHOLZ, of Twickenham, in the County of Middlesex,
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:
This invention relates to mechanism for putting belts out of action by lifting them
out of contact with their driving pulleys, in place of, as heretofore, shifting thein onto
loose pulleys forming part of the machines which they are intended to drive, and
allowing them to continue running when out of action.
The invention applies to belt driven machinery generally, but is especially applicable
to roller mills driven on opposite sides of the machine by one belt, or by a pair of belts
having an equal tension.
I will first describe the invention as applied to a single driving pulley, and I will
afterwards explain the manner of adapting the invention to roller mills actuated by a
pair of driving pulleys according to the most modern plan of driving roller mills.
In the accompanying drawings:
Fig. 1 is a side view of a driving pulley fitted with a belt shifter according to my
invention, the belt shifter being out of action.
Fig. 2 is an edge view of the belt shifter out of action, and mounted on the plummer
block in which the driving shaft runs.
Fig. 3 is a similar view to Fig. 1, but with the belt shifter in action, the belt being
held off or out of contact with its pulley.
In these figures, A is the driving pulley keyed to the driving shaft B; A' is the
driving belt; C is the plummer block; and D my improved belt shifter.-Mounted
loosely on this plummer block C is the belt shiftor, consisting mainly of a segment
shroud, which overlies, say, somewhat more than one third of the circumference of
the pulley A. The shroud is carried by a segment shaped plate cast with a half boss,
to which is bolted an arm D* cast with a corresponding half boss, and constituting a
handle for working the belt shifter.
The division made between these two castings provides for the fitting of the belt
shifter to the plummer block, which has an annular groove turned in it to receive the
parts which are to be bolted together.-Fitted to the plate of the bolt shifter is a
radius arm D', which carries at its outer end a tension pulley D.-This arm is bored
at its inner end to embrace the boss of the belt shifter, and it is secured in its
adjusted position by means of a bolt passing through a segment slot of the plate, and
through a hole in the arm, which bolt is tightened up by a clamping nut.
When the shroud is out of action, as indicated at Fig. 1, the belt will be tightened
onto the pulley A by the pressure of the adjusted pulley D³, the belt shifter being
retained in this position by means of a catch bar C' pivotted to the plummer block C,
and taking onto a pin projecting from the side of the belt shifter. When the shroud

page_text: is moved into position for lifting the belt clear of its pulley, as at fig. 3, the tension of
the belt will be slackened by the retirement of the pulley D from contact therewith,
thereby facilitating the transference of the belt from its driving pulley A to the
shroud.
I have said that the shroud is mounted upon the plummer block; this is to free:
the driving shaft from all unnecessary friction.
I may, in some cases, find it desirable to fit the segment shroud with anti-friction
rollers, as indicated in fig. 1, with a view of facilitating the putting of the shroud
into and out of action.
When applying my invention to a roller mill driven at its opposite ends, I use the
belt shifters in pairs, which I mount as already explained on the plummer blocks of
the driving shaft.
Figs. 4 and 5 shew the means of applying my invention to roller mills of this
character, Fig. 4 being a front elevation of a pair, or a portion of a series, of roller
mills driven from a shaft which is common to all the mills, and Fig. 5 an end elevation
of the same.
The plummer blocks C of the driving shaft B are bolted to the side frames of the
mills, and between the mills, the shaft B is fitted with a pulley B', to which motion is
communicated from overhead or other gearing.
This motion is transmitted to the mills from the driving shaft B by the pulleys A
and belts A', which pass down to pulleys on the lower roller, thence over pulleys on
the axle of the upper roller, then under tension pulleys D3, and up to the pulleys A.
To ensure the simultaneous removal of the belt or belts from both pulleys A of the
roller mill, I connect the two belt shifters D together by transverse rods D³, one of
which serves as a handle for operating them.
In this case it will be seen that I dispense with the radius arm D₁ for carrying the
tension pulley D, and I fit each mill with a pair of tension pulleys D' mounted in a
yoke D pendent from an adjusting screw D³, and capable of putting an equal pressuro
upon both pulleys.
The tension of the pullers D'I control by a hand wheel D, which the attendant
can operate at the moment of pulling over the shrouds.
By this means the requisite slackening is given to the belt or belts, while the
shrouds are moved round to put the belt or belts out of contact with the driving
pulleys and arrest the action of the mill.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said invention,
and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what.I claim is :-
The means above described for lifting driving belts out of contact with their driving
pulleys.