IMPROVEMENTS IN HAIR-CUTTING MACHINES, ALSO APPLICABLE TO CLIPPING OR SHEARING SHEEP AND OTHER ANIMALS
Year: 1869

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to James Hancock Morl, of the Town and County
of Cambridge, Hair Dresser, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
HAIR-CUTTING MACHINES, ALSO APPLICABLE TO CLIPPING OR SHEARING SHEEP
AND OTHER ANIMALS."
Scaled the 13th August 1869, and dated the 20th February 1869.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Hancock Morl
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 20th February 1869.
I, JAMES HANCOCK MORL, of the Town and County of Cambridge,
Hair Dresser, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN HAIR-CUTTING MACHINES, ALSO APPLICABLE TO CLIPPING OR
SHEARING SHEEP AND OTHER ANIMALS," to be as follows:-
My Invention relates to improvements in hair-cutting machines in
which a revolving knife or knives mounted helically on a drum and
acting against a fixed knife are employed. A difficulty has always been
experienced in using these machines, inasmuch as when cutting hair of
any thickness the knives are liable to become choked or clogged and so
completely arrest the motion of the machine.

page_text: According to my improvements I obviate this difficulty and render
the machine equally adapted for cutting large or small quantities of hair
at a time. For this purpose I mount the drum or axis on which said
helical knives are fixed in spring bearings so arranged as to allow said
rotating knives to recede slightly from the fixed knife when cutting any
thickness of hair. The springs, however, always tend to keep the rotating
knives up against the fixed knife until their power is overcome by an
extra quantity of hair getting between the rotating and fixed knives.
These springs may either be spiral or otherwise, or may be of india-
rubber or other elastic material. If spiral springs are employed they
may be contained in the standard in which the axis of the rotating
knives is mounted, and connected at one end to the bearings of the
latter; or the springs, whether spiral or otherwise, may be placed above
the bearings, the knives when caused to recede compressing the springs
between the bearings and the guides in which they move.
These improvements are applicable to machines having revolving
knives used for cutting human hair, and for shearing or clipping
animals.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said James Hancock Morl in the Great Scal Patent
Office on the 20th August 1869.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JAMES
HANCOCK MORI, of the Town and County of Cambridge, Hair Dresser,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twentieth day of February, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine, in the thirty-
second year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said James Hancock Morl, Her special
licence that I, the said James Hancock Morl, my executors, admi-
nistrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said James Hancock
Morl, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time
agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter
during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might make,

page_text: use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain
and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for
IMPROVEMENTS IN HAIR-CUTTING MACHINES, ALSO APPLICABLE TO CLIPPING
OR SHEARING SHEEP AND OTHER ANIMALS," upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said James Hancock Morl, my executors or
administrators, by an instrument in writing, under my, or their, or one
of their hands and scals, should particularly describe and ascertain the
nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same was to
be performed, and cause the same to be filed in the Great Scal Patent
Office. within six calendar months, next and immediately after the date
of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said James Hancock Morl, do hereby
declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement, reference being had to the Sheet of Drawings
liereunto annexed, and. to the letters, and figures marked thereon
(that is to say):
My Invention relates to improvements in hair-cutting machines in
which a revolving knife or knives mounted helically on a drum and
acting against a fixed knife are employed. A difficulty has always been
experienced in using these machines,. inasmuch as when cutting hair of
any thickness the knives are liable to become choked or clogged and so
completely arrest the motion of the machine..
According to my improvements I obviate this difficulty and render
the machine equally adapted for cutting large or small quantities of hair
at a time. For this purpose I mount the drum or axis on which said
helical knives are fixed in spring bearings so arranged as to allow said
rotating knives to recede slightly from the fixed knife when cutting an
unusual thickness of hair. The springs, however, always tend to keep
the rotating knives up against the fixed knife until their power is over-
come by an extra quantity of hair getting between the rotating and
fixed knives. These springs may either be spiral or otherwise, or may
be of india-rubber or other elastic material. If spiral springs arc
employed they may be contained in the standards in which the axis of
the rotating knives is mounted, and connected at one end to the bearings
of the latter; or the springs (whether spiral or otherwise) may be placed
above the bearings, the knives when caused to recede pressing tho
springs between the bearings and the guides in which they move.

page_text: section, a hair-cutting apparatus in which the bearings of the revolving
helical knives are made movable and furnished with springs according
to one arrangement of my Invention.
a, a, are the knives mounted helically on shaft & of the machine in the
usual manner, and c is the fixed cutter plate against which said knives
a, a, cut upon rotary motion being imparted to shaft 6 by power applied
to the pulley in the ordinary manner. In this manner the stationary
cutter c, instead of being maintained rigidly in contact with the revolving
kuives a, a, as hitherto, is free to recede slightly from the knives or the
knives from the cutter when required, as shown by the red circle in
Figure 2, and thus substitute an elastic or yielding action for the rigid
arrangement above mentioned. d, d, are the bushes in which shaft of
the helical knives rotates. Each of these bushes d is capable of slight
vertical motion in the standards e of the cutter carrier, and is connected
to one end of a spring frecessed in the standard to which the other end
of the spring is attached. In this manner, should an unusual thickness
of hair be interposed between the knives a and cutter c, the springs f
although always tending to keep them in contact, will extend and allow
the said cutters to yield or recede slightly the one from the other for the
purpose before mentioned.
Figures 3 and 4 show detached views of another arrangement in which
the springs fare disposed above the bushes or bearings which move in
slots as before, the only variation from the arrangement before described
being that the springs (which may be of metal, india-rubber, or other
elastic material) are compressed instead of being extended when the
knives are required to yield.
In Figure 5 springs f¹ are shown as inserted beneath the stationary
knife c and the bottom g of the frame in which it is carried. In this
case the bearings d may either be made movable in guides as before and
provided with springs, or they may be rigidly fixed, the elastic or
yielding action being obtained by the springs f, which enable the
cutting edge of the stationary knife to yield or recede from the rotating

page_text: knives a when required. The knife c is attached to the frame g by
screws g' or by any other suitable means to retain it in position and at
same time allow of its yielding when required. The springs f¹ are partly
recessed in holes sunk in part g, into which they are compressed by
cutter c when it is caused to recede from the rotating knives by an
unusual quantity of hair getting between them. Part 9 is in all cases
provided with a comb as usual for raising the hair and presenting it to
the knives. k, Figure 5, is a cover enclosing the caps of the bearings
to prevent the hair becoming entangled therein.
Having described the nature of my Invention, and the manner of
performing the same, I would observe that I make no claim to the usc
of revolving cutters acting against the fixed knife in machines for
cutting, clipping, or shearing hair; but I declare that what I claim as
my Invention to be protected by the hercin-before in part recited Letters
Patent is, the application of springs to such machines, as hercin-before
described and illustrated in the several Figures of the Drawing, and for
the purpose specified.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Hanccck Morl, have hereunto
set my hand and scal, this Twentieth day of August, in the year
of our Lord One thousand cight hundred and sixty-nine.