Improvements in Machines for Shearing or Clipping Wool and for Cutting Hair.
Year: 1892

page_text: Date of Application, 28th Oct., 1892
Complete Specification Left, 23th July, 1893-Accepted, 14th Oct., 1893
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Machines for Shearing or Clipping Wool and for
Cutting Hair.
We, JOHN MOFFAT, of Irvinebank, Queensland, and Bridge Street, Sydney, New
South Wales, Tin Smelter and WILLIAM WRIGHT VIRTUE, of Bridge Street,
Sydney aforesaid, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention' to be as
Follows:-
This invention relates to machines for shearing or clipping wool and cutting
hair, ordinarily known as sheep shearing machines, wherein the shearing, clipping
or cutting is effected by a knife or cutter caused to vibrate over a fixed comb or
gathering plate by the action of a vibrating lever driven by a crank pin on the end
of a driving shaft, as in the construction of machine described in the Specification
of Letters Patent granted to us dated 30 November 1891 No. 20833.
Our present invention has for object to simplify the construction and improve the
working of machines of the kind referred to.
For this purpose the vibrating lever is formed with a tubular boss that is mounted
at its upper and lower ends in rings encircled by antifriction balls interposed between
them and the casing of the machine and held in place by washers, the arrangement
being such as to form ball bearings that will considerably reduce the friction of the
vibrating lever in its bearings and enable it to be easily operated. To cause the
knife or cutter to bear against the comb or gathering plate with the necessary
tension or pressure for shearing or cutting and to admit of the knife or cutter
automatically adjusting itself towards such plate to compensate for wear, the bar
(hereinafter called the cutter lever) that is trunnioned in the vibrating lever and is
formed or provided with claws or horns that engage the knife or cutter, is
constantly acted upon by a spring. According to one arrangement the spring
which may conveniently be a coiled spring, is located within the lower part of the
tubular boss of the vibrating lever and acts against a pin that engages the said
cutter lever and extends through the top of the tubular boss of the vibrating
lever to the exterior of the machine, the arrangement being such that the knife
or cutter will be constantly pressed against the comb or gathering plate with a
tension or pressure suitable for shearing or cutting and will also automatically
compensate for wear, but upon depressing the said pin the knife or cutter will be
relieved of the pressure of the spring and will be disengaged from the cutter lever
so that it can then be easily removed for sharpening or other purpose.
To permit of the pressure on the cutter lever being uniformly distributed upon
the knife or cutter, we loosely mount in a bifurcated part of the cutter lever a
spring plate formed at its upper side with a projection adapted to bear against the
upper part of fork in which it is mounted and with spring fingers adapted to bear
on the tops of the teeth forming the knife or cutter. The arrangement is such as
to form practically a universal joint so that the spring plate under the action of
the spring and cutter lever, is free to automatically adjust itself and take an even
bearing on the knife or cutter for which purpose the two outermost spring fingers
may advantageously be made more elastic than the intermediate one so that the
latter will only come fully into action after the others have been pressed upon
the knife or cutter.
Dated this 28th day of October 1892
W. LLOYD WISE,
Per F. J. Brougham,
46, Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, W.C., Agent for the Applicants

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Machines for Shearing, or Clipping Wool and for
Cutting Hair.
We, JOHN MOFFAT, of Irvinebank, Queensland, and Bridge Street, Sydney,
New South Wales, Tin Smelter and WILLIAM WRIght Virtue, of Bridge Street,
Sydney aforesaid, 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 machines for shearing or clipping wool and cutting
hair, ordinarily known as sheep shearing machines, wherein the shearing, clipping
or cutting is effected by a knife or cutter caused to vibrate over a fixed comb or
gathering plate by the action of a vibrating lever driven by a crank pin on the end
of a driving shaft, as in the construction of machine described in the Specification
of Letters Patent granted to us dated 30 November 1891 No. 20833.
Our present invention has for object to simplify the construction and improve the
working of machines of the kind referred to.
Referring to the accompanying drawings,
Fig. 1 is a vertical section of part of a sheep shearing machine with our improve-
ments applied thereto; and
Fig. 2 is a plan with the cover plate removed.
The vibrating lever A is formed with a tubular boss B that is mounted at its
upper and lower ends in rings C C encircled by antifriction balls D D interposed
between said rings and the casing of the machine and if necessary held in place
by washers or rings E the arrangement being such as to form ball bearings that
will considerably reduce the friction of the vibrating lever in its bearings and enable
it to be easily operated.
To cause the knife or cutter F to bear against the comb or gathering plate G
with the necessary tension or pressure for shearing or cutting, and to auto-
matically adjust itself towards such plate to compensate for wear, the bar H
(hereinafter called the cutter lever) that is trunnioned in the vibrating lever A
and is formed or provided with claws or horns that engage the knife or cutter, is
constantly acted upon by a spring. In the arrangement illustrated this spring
is a coiled spring which is located within the lower part of the tubular boss B of
the vibrating lever A and surrounds the shank of a sliding piece I against a shoulder
on which it bears.
This sliding piece I is capable of sliding within the tubular boss B, it carries a
ball J that bears against the underside of the cutter lever H and transmits the
force of the spring K thereto causing it to turn on its axle or trunnion K¹ (engaged
by the lever A) and so press on the cutter F. The upper part of the sliding
piece I is tubular and has a pin or knob L screwed into it, which extends through
the top of the tubular boss of the vibrating lever to the exterior of the machine.
The tubular part of the sliding piece. I is cut away as shewn in Fig. 1 to allow the
end of the cutter lever H to project over the ball J. The arrangement is such that
the knife or cutter will normally be constantly pressed by the spring K against the
comb or gathering plate with a tension or pressure suitable for shearing or cutting
and will also automatically compensate for wear, but upon the pin or knob L being.
depressed by the operator the knife or cutter F will be relieved of the pressure of the
spring and will be disengaged from the cutter lever so that the said knife or cutter
can then be easily removed for sharpening or other purpose.
To distribute the pressure on the cutter lever H uniformly upon the knife or
cutter we loosely mount in a bifurcated part K' of the cutter lever a spring
plate M formed at one side with a projection M' adapted to bear against the
adjacent part of the fork in which it is mounted, and with spring fingers M²
adapted to bear on the tops of the teeth forming the knife or cutter. Through

page_text: the plate M, forward of the projection, there is formed a hole. A screw K* the
inner end of which is pointed is screwed through the bifurcated part K' and caused
to enter the above mentioned hole. This arrangement forms practically a universal
joint so that the spring plate M under the action of the spring K and cutter lever
is free to automatically adjust itself and take an even bearing on the knife or
cutter, F and to further aid in accomplishing this the two outermost spring fingers
of the plate M may advantageously be made more elastic than the intermediate one
so that the latter will only come fully into action after the others have been pressed
upon the knife or cutter.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that what
we claim is :-
1. In a machine for shearing or clipping wool and for cutting hair means for
causing the knife or cutter to bear against the comb or gathering plate with the
necessary tension and to automatically compensate for wear and for relieving the
tension when required substantially as described with reference to the drawings.
2. In a machine for shearing or clipping wool and for cutting hair, means for
uniformly distributing the pressure of the cutter lever upon the knife or cutter
substantially as described with reference to the drawings.
3. A machine for shearing or clipping wool and for cutting hair constructed and
arranged substantially as described with reference to and shewn in the accompanying
drawings.
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1 nort
T.... 1902
W. LLOYD WISE,
Per F. J. Brougham,
46, Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, W.C., Agent for the Applicants.