Improvements in Engraving or Carving Machines.
Year: 1887

page_text: Date of Application, 29th Mar., 1887.
Specification Accepted, 13th May, 1887.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Engraving or Carving Machines.
I, GEORGE KINGSLEY BIRGE, of Buffalo, in the County of Eric, in the State of
New York, United States of America, Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of
my invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN ENGRAVING OR CARVING MACHINES" and in
what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement :-
My invention relates particularly to a special combination and arrangement of
mechanical devices, to form a routing machine adapted for a special purpose, viz:
that of mechanically producing a pattern upon the print-rollers (usually of wood)
employed in the manufacture of wall-paper. These print-rollers are cylindrical in
form and the raised pattern thereon has heretofore been produced by hand-cutting.
The object of my invention is to do away with this slow hand-manipulation; and
to that end it consists of a carriage or table adapted to receive the print-roller to be
operated upon, upon which the pattern has been previously painted or outlined, the
roller having a rotary motion thereon, and the carriage or table a motion in the
direction of the length of the print-roller, both of which motions being controlled
entirely by hand, and the drill or routing tool having a controlled motion to and from
the print-roller.
My invention further consists in a pantographic arrangement in combination with
the above outlined mechanism, by means of which it is not necessary to paint or
outline the pattern upon the print-roller being cut; all as will be more fully herein-
after described and claimed.
In the drawings Figure 1, is a side elevation, partly in section,-Figure 2, is a
top plan view; Figure 3, is a front elevation, and Figure 4, is a partial end
clevation of my improved device; and Figures 5 and 6 are detail views.
Referring to the drawings, a, is a frame-work upon which the operating mechanism
is mounted. Across its upper portion is the tenoned bed a', upon which is mounted
the mortised table or carriage b. Upon this carriage b, at either end, and immediately
over the bed a', are the end standards b', in which is mounted the axle ². This
axle ³, is adapted to receive and carry the print-roller c, which is to be operated upon.

page_text: :
d, is a gear-wheel mounted upon the shaft 2, and which intermeshes with the gear-
wheel upon the shaft d, underneath the carriage b. At the other end of this
shaft d, is the worm wheel d³, which intermeshes with the endless screw or worm d',
upon the shaft d, at right angles to shaft 2. This shaft , exiends out to a point in
front of the machine and convenient for the operator, and has the hand-wheel do, by
means of which the roller c, upon the carriage b, is revolved back and forth, as
desired, at the will of the operator.
The horizontal movement of the carriage b, in the direction of the length of the
print-roller, back and forth upon its bed a', is accomplished as follows:
e, is a screw-threaded rod, mounted loosely in brackets e, e, at the front of the
frame a.
At the left-hand end of this rod is the bevel-gear e, which intermeshes
with the bevil-gear e³, upon the shaft ef, at the outer end of which and within easy
reach of the operator is the hand-wheel. Surrounding the screw-threaded rod e, is
the screw-threaded collar, which is rigidly connected to the front side of the
carriage b, by the bracket
It will be seen that by turning the hand-wheel e, the screw-threaded rod e, may be
revolved either way in the bearings, and, when so revolved, the collar, will be
correspondingly moved back or forth thereon, thus giving to the attached carriage b,
and roller C₁ the desired horizontal motion.
Having outlined the mechanism for giving to the print-roller the two motions,
rotary, and in the direction of the length of the print-roller, in both directions, which
are controlled by the band and eye of the operator, I will now proceed to describe the
construction and operation of the cutting-drill and pantographic arrangement, in
which 9: is a curved standard, rigidly secured to the framework, in the upper portion
of which is pivoted the lover h. At the rear end of this lever h, is pivoted the
pitman, its lower end being pivoted to the outer end of the foot-lever h², pivoted
at, and having the foot-rest, at its front end. The inner face of the standard
is mortised, as at g', to receive the tenoned socket . The tenoned portion of the
socket k, is provided with the two lugs or spurs ¹, between which the shouldered
inner end of the lever, rests (see fig. 6). The socket k, is apertured vertically
so as io receive the drill-holder l, in which it is caused to rapidly revolve, by the
belt m, passing around the pulley P, upon the upper end of the drill-holder l. In the
lower end of the drill-holder is removably secured the drill or routing-tool n.
spring o, secured to the framework at one end and at the other to the outer end of
lever h, keeps the drill or routing-tool n, normally away from the roller, and when it
is desired to cut the roller, the drill or routing-tool is pressed against the roller by
means of the foot-lever or treadle h², and intervening mechanism described; the
inner end of lever h, pressing against the lower lug k. When the foot is removed
from the treadle the spring o, pulls down the outer end of the lever h, causing the
inner end to raise the socket k, by means of the upper lug kl.
The
With the mechanism already described the roller c, to be operated upon is prepared
by having the pattern painted or traced directly upon its cylindrical surface. The
portion of the roller c, to be cut away by the drill or routing-tool is brought under
the drill by manipulating the hand-wheels e, and d, which enables the operator to
ilus present any part of the roller to the action of the drill. By forcing down the
drill or routing-tool which is being rapidly revolved by the bolt m, the cutting is
accomplished, the design being to cut away with the drill or routing-tool the un-
painted portions of the surface of the roller, thus leaving the pattern in relief; and
the drill being arranged as shown, it is always perpendicular to the axis of the roller
or to the tangent plane at the point of contact of the drill with the roller.
In order to produce the pattern upon the roller c, without previously painting or
tracing the pattern thereon, which involves considerable time, I have attached the
following pantographic arrangement.
in
The carriage b, as the overhanging extension r, with the end standards,
which is mounted the axle s. The cog wheels, upon the axles, intermeshes with the
cog wheel 3, upon the axle 2, which in turning causes the axle s, to revolve, and

page_text: with it, the auxiliary roller t, rigidly encircling such shaft, and the cog wheels s¹,
and 63, being of the same diameter, the two rollers cand t, revolve at a uniform rate
of speed.
The design of the pattern to be cut upon the roller c, is to be drawn upon a piece'
of paper or cloth of a size to accurately fit and cover the auxiliary roller t, upon
which it is to be securely attached in any suitable manner, the surface of the roller
being left untouched.
u, is an arm rigidly secured at its inner end to the sliding socket k, its outer end
being provided with a ring u', for the reception of the socket u². This socket u² is
recessed centrally and vertically to receive the pencil-holder u³, (see fig. 5), its
smaller upper portion a, being screw-threaded and passing up loosely through the
top of the socket u², its lower portion fitting snugly, but loosely, in the lower portion
of the recessed socket. A screw-threaded cap, w, with milled edge is engaged with
the screw-threaded portion ', of the pencil-holder, and within the recessed socket and
surrounding the upper portion of the pencil-holder is the spiral spring, u, its lower
end pressing against the shoulder u7, of the holder. In a socket in the lower end of
the holder ³, is secured by the thumb-screw 8, a pencil-point v, which is adjustable
in such socket. By turning the cap, the holder u³, can be raised or lowered to
adjust the pencil to different sized rollers, and different sized pencils can be secured in
the lower socketed end of the holder u³, to correspond with different sized drills in
the machine.
With this construction, the operator, by means of the hand-wheels e, and de, can
readily and accurately cause the pencil-point to traverse the outlines of the design
upon the roller t, which will at the same time cause the drill or routing-tool n, to cut
away the proper surface upon the unmarked roller c, leaving, in relief upon that
roller, an exact reverse copy of the pattern upon the auxiliary roller t.
While my improved machine is shown especially adapted for cutting print-rollers
for wall-paper, it apparent that it is also adapted for other analogous purposes,
cylinders for calico-printing, and all carving upon cylindrical surfaces of either wood
or metal.
The revolving drill or routing-tool might, by means of suitable mechanism, be given
a horizontal motion, in either direction, instead of the print-roller, which would then
have only the rotary motion in both directions, the horizontal motion of the drill or
routing-tool being controlled by hand substantially as the carriage carrying the print-
roller now is, the same result being accomplished in either event, or the revolving
drill or routing-tool might be made stationary with respect to the print-roller, and the
print-roller moved to and from the routing-tool by mechanism controlled by the
operator.
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 :-
1. A routing machine for cutting patterns upon print-rollers &c., consisting of a
carriage adapted to receive the print-roller to be operated upon, mechanism controlled
by hand to give a motion in the direction of the length of the print-roller to the
carriage, and a rotary motion to the roller in both directions, and a revolving drill or
routing-tool adjustable to and from the roller, substantially as shown and described.
2. A routing machine for cutting patterns upon print-rollers, consisting of a carriage
adapted to receive the print-roller to be operated upon, and an auxiliary roller adapted
to receive the design of the pattern to be cut upon the print-roller, mechanism
controlled by hand to give a motion in the direction of the length of the print-roller
to the carriage and a rotary motion to the rollers in both directions, a revolving drill
or routing-tool adjustable to and from the print-roller, and a pencil adjustable to and
from the auxiliary roller substantially as and for the purpose stated.
3. In a routing machine, for cutting patterns upon print-rollers, the combination
with the print-roller c, mounted upon the axle 6, having a rotary motion in either
direction controlled by the hand-wheel dº, operating the intervening mechanism, as

page_text: shown, and the carriage b, in which the axle 2, is mounted, such carriage having a
motion in the direction of the length of the print-roller in either direction upon its
bed controlled by the hand-wheele, operating the intervening mechanism, as shown,
in a line
of the revolving drill or routing-tool n, adjustable to and from the roller
perpendicular to its axis by. means of the foot-lever ³, and intervening mechanism,
substantially as shown and described.
c,
and
4. In a routing machine, for cutting patterns upon print-rollers, the combination
with the print-roller c, and auxiliary design roller t, mounted upon the axles b², and 8,
having a rotary motion in either direction controlled by the hand-wheel de, operating
the intervening mechanism, as shown, and the carriage b, in which the axles,
are mounted, such carriage having a motion in the direction of the length of the
print-roller in either direction upon its bed controlled by the hand-wheel e, operating
the intervening mechanism, as shown, of the revolving drill n, and pencil-point v,
adjustable to and from the rollers c and 't, respectively, in a line perpendicular to their
axes by means of the foot-lever 12, and intervening mechanism, substantially as shown
and described.