Improvements in Machinery for Cutting or Working Coal or other Materials.
Year: 1896

page_text: Date of Application, 9th Mar., 1896
Complete Specification Left, 9th Dec., 1896-Accepted, 9th Jan., 1897
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Machinery for Cutting or Working Coal or other
Materials.
I, CLAUDE WILLIAM ATKINSON, of Erwood House, The Avenue, Beckenham,
in the County of Kent, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this
invention to be as follows:-
This invention relates to machinery for cutting or working coal or other materials
of the form of a flexible band or chain carrying the cutting or working tools, and
has for its object the arrangement and construction of the parts of the device
whereby great simplicity and cheapness of construction, perfect immunity from
injury from dirt or other influences, reduction of loss in friction and consequent
great reduction of wear and finally lightness of construction are obtained.
To carry my invention into effect I form the arm or portion of the machine
carrying the tools with a roller path, upon or within which a series of rollers,
independent of each other or linked together are adapted to roll. Upon these
rollers 1 arrange the band, chain, rope or other device carrying the cutting or
other devices to travel so that the re-action due to the cutting or other operation
is taken upon the rollers.
In circumstances where lubrication is difficult I prefer to use a band of special
construction in which no hinged or pivotal joints are employed but in which the
flexibility of the material of the band is used to adapt the band to follow the
path necessary in its operation.
This band may consist of a metal ribbon or ribbons, either superposed or placed
side by side or both, or of a series of parallel wires, or of a series of stranded
wires or a band or bands of woven wires.
Upon this band are mounted the means for driving it and means for holding
the tools or devices.
A convenient method of attaching these means is to form a block of metal
with one or more corrugated recesses transversely disposed in relation to the length
of the band. The band is provided with one or more kinks or corrugations to fit
the recess or recesses in the metal blocks. In cases where the blocks may be
subjected to heavy strains I may further fix the blocks upon the band by the
insertion of taper wedges or jamming rollers or I may attach thickening pieces to
the band by means of brazing welding or other means, or I may cast metal into
the recess or recesses after the block has been placed in position on the band.
The blocks may be adapted with a flat or other face or recess or projection to
engage with suitable driving means on the wheel which drives the band.
The blocks are also provided with suitable surfaces to hear on the rollers. In
order to maintain the blocks in position on the roller path against any tendency to
deviation by the action of the strains to which they are subjected, I provide means
whereby the blocks are guided by the roller path, or a device carried by the
roller path or its equivalent.
I prefer to make the rollers with their ends rounded or conical or provided with
central pivots so as to reduce the friction of the rollers due to end pressure.
Dated this 9th day of March 1896.
FELL & JAMES,
1 Queen Victoria Street, London, E.C.. Agents for the Applicant.

page_text: COAL BELEDIFICATION.
Improvements in Machinery for Cutting or Working Coal or other
Materials.
I, CLAUDE WILLIAM ATKINSON of Erwood House, The Avenue, Beckenham
in the County of Kent, Civil 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 machinery for cutting or working coal or other materials
of the form of a flexible band or chain carrying the cutting or working tools, and
has for its object the arrangement and construction of the parts of the device
whereby great simplicity and cheapness of construction, perfect immunity from
injury from dirt or other influences, reduction of loss in friction and consequent
great reduction of wear and finally lightness of construction are obtained.
To carry my invention into effect I form the arın or portion of the machine
carrying the tools with a roller path upon or within which a series of rollers,
independent of each other or linked together are adapted to roll. Upon these
rollers arrange the band, chain, rope, or other device, carrying the cutting or
other devices to travel so that the reaction due to the cutting or other operation is
taken upon the rollers.
Further in circumstances where lubrication is difficult I use a band of special
and novel construction in which no hinged or pivotted joints are employed but in
which the flexibility of the material of the band is used to adapt the band to follow
the path necessary in its operation.
In order that the invention may be the better understood I will now proceed to
describe the same in relation to the accompanying drawings hereunto annexed
reference being had to the letters and figures marked thereon. Like letters refer
to like parts in the various figures.
Fig. 1, is a plan partly in section of the arm and its gear carrying the cutting
mechanism.
Fig. 2, is an elevation of the same partly in section.
Fig. 3, is a sectional elevation of a portion of the same.
Fig. 4 is a sectional plan of a portion of one of the tool holders.
Figs. 5, 6, and 7 show modified methods of fixing the tool holders upon the
band.
To a swivelling table A (Figs. 1, and 2,) adapted to be attached to the machine
for cutting the coal or other material attach an arm B having mounted on it a
roller path C, upon which the rollers D are adapted to roll. These rollers D may
be independent of one another or be linked together by the links E aud I prefer
to make them with rounded or conical ends so that they may bear against the
projecting portions of the arm B as shown in Fig. 3. The cutting tools & are held
in tool holders F carried by the chain or band H.
The special form of band which is a part of this invention I form by mounting
the tool holders F upon a flexible band H formed of a metal ribbon or ribbons
placed side by side or superposed or both, or a series of parallel wires as shown
in Figs. 2 and 3, or when desired of a series of stranded wires or a band of
woven wires.
The complete chain or band so formed is driven by means of a sprocket wheel I
Figs. 1 and 2 which receives motion from the driving machine and at the outer end
of the arm B passes round a second sprocket wheel K Fig. 1.
In some cases I prefer to mount this second sprocket wheel K with a roller

page_text: bearing, formed by arranging rollers L either independent of one another or linked
together, to roll on the hollow tubular formation M upon the arm B.
forn the tool holders F with a straight edge N adapted to roll on the rollers D
so that when a heavy pressure is brought to bear on the cutters G, the band is not
deflected from a nearly straight line and I mount additional rollers O which have
pivots bearing in suitable bearings in the arm B but which do not travel forwards
as do the rollers D; and for purposes of driving the band I form additional flat
surfaces P to engage with flat surfaces Q on the sprocket wheels I and K and in
some cases for greater security against slipping I form projectious R to engage
with recesses in the sprocket-wheels.
When the strains on the cutters are heaving there is a tendency for the holders
to be twisted and thus heavy strains are put upon the band H; I limit the amount
of this twisting by forming guiding surfaces S upon the arm B which are adapted
to engage with the front edge of the tool holder T. I attach the tool holders F to
the band of metal or wires H by forming in the tool holder a recess which is
corrugated as shown in Fig. 4 so that when a strain is put on the band or wires,
the corrugations prevent the tool holders slipping along the band. I may when
required further tighten the holder upon the band by means of one or more wedge
pieces U Fig. 5 which either increase the deflection of the band or wires or actually
grips the baud between the wedge and the solid portion of the holder.
In some case I prefer to replace the wedge piece by jamming rollers V Fig. 6
which are free to move in the direction of the length of the band so that when the
tool holder tends to slide on the band, these rollers move into a more restricted
portion of the groove formed for the band and grip it tightly.
In Fig. 7 I show another mode of construction, according to which after the
band has been put in position I cast in metal W which forms the corrugated surface
on the tool holder and thus holds the band firmly.
Although I have shown the device with a band formed of tool holders mounted
on a metal ribbon or band of wires I would have it understood that I may use a
chain of any construction carrying the tool holders and with pivotted joints without
departing from my invention."
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this inveu-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is :-
1st. In a machine for cutting or working coal or other materials in combination,
an arm for carrying the cutting devices adapted to be swivelled about an axis and
having a roller path or paths formed within or upon said arm; a chain, band or
other flexible device carrying the cutting tools; and rollers adapted to roll on the
said roller paths to transmit the lateral strains exerted on the band to the said
roller path, substantially as described.
2nd. In a machine for cutting or working coal or other materials, a chain, band
or other flexible device formed of flexible hands or ribbons or parallel, stranded, or
woven wires in combination with tool holders adapted with corrugated recesses to
engage the said chain band or other flexible device substantially as described and
illustrated in Figure 4 of the accompanying drawing.
3rd. In a machine for cutting or working coal or other materials a band or other
flexible device in combination with tool holders adapted to engage with the said
band or other flexible device by means of corrugations on the said band or other
flexible device and means for tightening the tool holder upon the band or
other flexible device, substantially as described.
4th. In a device as claimed in Claim 3 the specific means of tightening the tool
holder upon the band or other flexible device, substantially as described and
illustrated in Figures 5, 6 and 7 of the accompanying drawing.
5th. In a machine for cutting or working coal or other materials the specific
construction of a flexible band carrying the tool holders substantially as described
and illustrated in Figures 1 and 2 of the accompanying drawings.

page_text: 6th. The arrangement and construction of a machine for cutting or working coal
or other materials substantially as described and illustrated in Figures 1, 2 and 3
of the accompanying drawing.
Dated this 9th day of December 1806
FELL & JAMES,
1 Queen Victoria Street, London, E.C., Agents for the Applicant.