IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR SCOURING NEEDLES AND KNITTING PINS, AND FOR OTHER LIKE PURPOSES
Year: 1876

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Richard Bennett, the younger, of Redditch, in the County
of Worcester, Foreman of Works, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MACHINERY FOR SCOURING NEEDLES AND KNITTING PINS, AND FOR OTHER
LIKE PURPOSES."
Sealed the 8th December 1876, and dated the 10th July 1876.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Richard Bennett at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents on the 10th July 1876.
RICHARD BENNETT, the younger, of Redditch, in the County of Worcester, Fore-
man of Works. "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR SCOURING NEEDLES AND
KNITTING PINS, AND FOR OTHER LIKE PURPOSES."
My Invention consists of the arrangements or combinations of parts of mechanism
herein-after described for effecting the process called scouring, the said process con-
sisting essentially in packing the needles, knitting pins, or other articles made of
lengths of wire in a bag or envelope of canvas or other fabric together with emery
or other scouring material, and subjecting the bag or package of needles or other
articles to a rolling motion under pressure. By this treatment the surfaces of the
needles or other articles are rendered smooth and bright.
My improvements in machinery for effecting this scouring process are as follows:-
I mount a cylindrical drum of large diameter upon a horizontal axis, and by means
of a pulley and band or other gearing communicate thereto from a steam engine or
other prime mover a slow rotatory motion; or the said drum may be turned by
hand. Around the drum described a series of rollers of small diameter is arranged,
the said small rollers being of about the same length as the drum. The axes of the
said small rollers are parallel to the axis of the drum. The centres on which these
rollers turn work in bearings arranged on the edges of two discs situated respectively
at a short distance from the ends of the drum. These bearings are capable of being
removed and of being adjusted to a greater or less distance from the axis of the
drum by means of screws and screw nuts. The middle part of each bearing, that is
the part which receives the centre of the roller, is also capable of a longitudinal
adjustment. The said rollers are arranged around the drum in pairs, the two rollers
of each pair being a short distance apart. The bags or packages of needles are
arranged between the pairs of rollers and the drum, each package of needles being
Bupported between and pressed upon by the pair of rollers and the drum. The
rotatory motion given to the drum is communicated to the packages of needles and
[Price Gd.]

page_text: by these to the rollers, so that when the machine is at work each package of needles
is put into rotation and is pressed through its whole length in three lines, that is,
by the drum and the two rollers. Or the rollers may be geared to the drum by
toothed gearing or otherwise so as to have an independent rotatory motion; or
toothed caps may be placed on the ends of the packages and made to gear with
toothed wheels on the ends of the drum. The pressure and rotatory motion thus
given to the packages of needles cause them to rub against one another, and by the
action of the scouring material they are rapidly and efficiently scoured.
Although I have only described my Invention as applied to the scouring of
needles, yet my said Invention is also applicable to the scouring of knitting pins
and other articles cousisting essentially of straight lengths of wire.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by the
said Richard Bennett in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 5th January
1877.
RICHARD BENNETT, the younger, of Redditch, in the County of Worcester, Fore-
man of Works. "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR SCOURING NEEDLES AND
KNITTING PINS, AND FOR OTHER LIKE PURPOSES."
My Invention consists of the arrangements or combinations of parts of mechanism
herein-after described for effecting the process called scouring, the said process_con-
sisting essentially in packing the needles, knitting pins, or other articles made of
lengths of wire in a bag or envelope of canvas or other fabric, together with emery
or other scouring material, and subjecting the bag or package of needles or other
articles to a rolling motion under pressure. By this treatinent the surfaces of the
needles or other articles are rendered smooth and bright.
My improvements in machinery for effecting this scouring process are as follows:
-I mount a cylindrical drum of large diameter upon a horizontal axis, and by
means of a pulley and band or other gearing communicate thereto from a steam
engine or other prime mover a slow rotatory motion; or the said drum may be
turned by hand. Around the drum described a scrics of rollers of small diameter
is arranged, the said small rollers being of about the same length as the drum.
The axes of the said small rollers are parallel to the axis of the drum. The centres
on which these rollers turn work in bearings arranged on the edges of two discs
situated respectively at a short distance from the ends of the drum. These bearings
are capable of being removed and of being adjusted to a greater or less distance
from the axis of the drum. The middle part of each bearing, that is, the part
which receives the centre of the roller, is also capable of a longitudinal adjustment.
The said rollers are arranged around the drum in pairs, the two rollers of each pair
being a short distance apart. The bags or packages of needles are arranged between
the pairs of rollers and the drum, each package of needles being supported between
and pressed upon by the pair of rollers and the drum. The rotatory motion given
to the drum is cominunicated to the packages of needles and by these to the rollers,
so that when the machine is at work each package of needles is put into rotation
and is pressed through its whole length in three lines, that is, by the drum and the
two rollers. Or the rollers may be geared to the drum by toothed gearing or other-
wise so as to have an independent rotatory motion; or toothed caps may be placed
on the ends of the packages and made to gear with toothed wheels on the ends of
the drum. The pressure and rotatory motion thus given to the packages of needles
cause the needles to rub against one another, and by the action of the scouring
material they are rapidly and efficiently scoured.
Although I have only described my Invention as applied to the scouring of
needles, yet my said Invention is also applicable to the scouring of knitting pins
and other articles consisting essentially of straight lengths of wire.
Having explained the nature of my Invention I will proceed to describe with

page_text: reference to the accompanying Drawings the manner in which the same is to be
performed.
Figure 1 represents in side elevation, Figure 2 in cross section, and Figure 3 in
longitudinal vertical section, a machine for scouring needles and other like articles
constructed according to my Invention, the said section, Figure 3, being taken on
the dotted line A, B, Figure 1.
Figure 4 is an elevation of the drum of the machine detached, and Figures 5
and 6 represent details of the machine drawn to a larger scale. The same letters of
reference indicate the same parts in the several Figures of the Drawings.
a is the cylindrical drum of the machine shown detached in Figure 4. The said
drum a is of large diameter, and is keyed to the horizontal shaft or axis b supported
in the bearings at c, c, on the foundation plates d, d, of the machine. A slow rotatory
motion is communicated to the drum a by means of a band passing over the fast
pulley of the fast and loose pulleys c, e, on the shaft b of the drum. Arranged
around the said drum a and parallel to its axis b is a series of pairs.of small rollers,
each pair of small rollers being marked f, g. The rollers f, g, are of the same length
as the drum a (see Figure 3), and work in bearings constructed on the edges of and
carried by the two discs h, h, at the ends of the drum. These discs h, h, are pro-
vided with bosses h², 2, by which they are supported, the said bosses surrounding
the drum shaft b. The said shaft b works loosely in the bosses h³, h², so that no
motion is communicated to them from the said shaft b, but the discs h, h, are
capable of independent rotatory motion for the purpose and in the manner herein-
after described. The said discs h, h, are connected together by the cross tie rods
represented. The bearings of the small rollers g of the pairs of rollers f, g, are
formed on the edges of the discs h, h (see Figure 1), and the brasses of the said
bearings are capable of sliding in the direction of radii in the pedestals or frames
for the purpose herein-after explained. The bearings of the rollers f of the pairs of
rollers f, g, are carried by the outer ends of the levers i, i, jointed to the discs h, h,
by the pins or centres k. The inner ends of the said levers i, i, have crank pins 12
upon them, which work in curved slots in the discs h, h. By means of the slots
the position of the bearing levers i, i, may be adjusted, the said levers being fixed
in their adjusted position by screw nuts so as to increase or diminish the distance
between each pair of rollers f, g. In the Drawing the adjustable roller f of each
pair of rollers is represented at its greatest distance from the corresponding roller
By the adjustment the pairs of rollers are capable of different sized bags, or packages
of needles may be operated upon in the machine. The bags or packages of needles
to be operated upon by the machine are marked m, m, the said bags being arranged
between the rollers f, g, of each pair, as seen in the Drawing, the said bags being
supported and pressed upon by the cylindrical surface of the drum a and the said
pairs of rollers f, g.
g.
For the purpose of introducing the bag or package of needles between the pairs
of rollers f, g, and removing it from the said rollers when required, the roller g of
cach pair has to be raised from the drum a. This is effected by means of the
arrangement best shown on a large scale in Figure 6. On the side of each of the
brasses in which the roller g works a rack n is made, with which a pinion p gears.
By turning the pinion p at each end of the roller g by means of keys placed upon
the square axes of the said pinions the brasses of the roller g are raised in the
pedestals or frames q carrying the roller g with them. When the roller has been
raised to the required height a hole in each of the pedestals comes opposite a hole
in each of the pinions p, and by passing pins into the said holes the roller
suspended in its raised position, and the bag of needles may be introduced into or
removed from the machine. After the bag of needles has been introduced into the
machine the fixing pins are removed and the roller g moved into its normal position
to press the bag between itself and the other roller f.
is
Instead of a cross pin being used to hold the roller g in its raised position a pawl,
as represented in Figure 1, and marked s, may be used to gear with the pinion p
and prevent its back motion.

page_text: Rotatory motion is communicated to the rollers g of the pairs of rollers, y, from-
the drum a in the following manner:-On one side of the drum a is a large spur
wheel, and on the axis of each of the rollers'g is a spur pinion u.
Between each
of the pinions and the large spur wheel is an intermediate spur wheel w,
through which intermediate spur wheel w the motion of the drum a is commu-
nicated to the roller g. The rotation of the drum a and roller g communicates
rotation to the bag of needles m, and through the said bag to the other roller'f of
each pair. The rotatory motion communicated to the drum is thereby communi-
'cated to each of the bags or packages of needles m, each bag or package being put
into rotation and being pressed upon throughout its whole length in three lines,
namely, by the said drum a and the two rollers f, g. The pressure and rotatory
motion thus given to the bags or packages of needles m cause the needles in the
said bags to rub against one another, and by the action of the scouring material
packed with the said needles they are rapidly and efficiently scoured.
When the bags of needles are first introduced between the pairs of rollers' f, g,
and the drum a it is necessary to temporarily gear the two rollers f, g, together for
the purpose of imparting the required speed to the roller f. This is effected by the
mechanism indicated in dotted lines in Figure 1 and shown detached, drawn to a
larger scale in Figure 5. On the foundation plate of the machine is a bracket v,
in which a cranked lever 2, 2, turns on the centre, the said centre being
adjustable in the slot of the lever. The end of the short arın of the lever carries
a toothed wheel y, which at pleasure can be brought between the toothed wheel w
on the axis of the roller.g and the toothed wheel on the axis of the roller f, as
represented in Figure 5, so that the motion communicated to the toothed wheel u
and the roller g is transmitted through the middle wheel y to the toothed wheel
and the other roller f. The wheel u having been geared with the wheel = the
required length of time to impart to the latter and the roller on it the required
velocity the handle end of the lever x, ², is depressed so as to lift the middle
wheel y out of gear with the wheels u and z. The bag of needles thus put into
rotation and the pair of rollers f, g, between which it is working are next moved
from the summit of the machine so as to bring another pair of rollers into the
position which the last described pair of rollers occupied for the purpose of impart-
ing rotatory motion to the roller by the use of the removeable middle wheel y,
Figure 5. It will be understood that each of the rollers is provided with a
toothed wheel z.
For the purpose of bringing the several pairs of rollers f, g, in succession to the
summit of the machine the discs h, h, on which the several pairs of rollers turn are
moved bodily through a portion of a rotation. This movement of the discs h, h, is
eflected by means of the worm wheel on one of the bosses of the disc h, as repre-
sented in Figure 3, and in the enlarged view Figure 5. A worin 2 on the axis 3,
moved by the hand wheel 4, gears with the worm wheel 1. By turning the hand
wheel 4 in one or other direction the discs h, h, can be moved bodily through a
portion of a rotation so as to bring any pair of the rollers f, g, carried by them to
the summit of the machine and in a position for the toothed wheel y on the
lever a, a, to be geared between the toothed wheels u, s, of the said pair of rollers.
The worm and worm wheel 1, 2, besides serving to give rotation to the discs h, 7,
also lock the said discs, and prevent them being carried with the shaft b upon
which they are supported.
Having now described the nature of my Invention, and the manner in which the
same is to be performed, I wish it to be understood that I do not limit myself to
the precise details herein described and illustrated, as the same may be varied
without departing from the nature of my Invention; but I claim as my Invention,
the improvements in machinery for scouring needles and knitting pins and for other
like purposes herein-before described and illustrated in the accompanying Drawings,
that is to say, machinery consisting essentially of a cylindrical drum having a slow
rotatory motion given to it, around which drum a series of pairs of rollers of small
diameter compared with the diameter of the drum is arranged, the said series of

page_text: pairs of small rollers being about the same length as the drum and parallel to its
axis, and turning in bearings carried by a pair of discs situated at the ends of the
drum, the said discs being supported upon the axis or shaft of the drum, but
capable when necessary of motion about the said axis or shaft, the bags or packages
of needles or other articles to be scoured being arranged between the pairs of small
rollers and the drum, by which roliers and drum they are supported and rotated
and pressed upon through the whole of their length, the several parts of the
machinery being constructed, combined, and working substantially as described and
illustrated.
In witness whereof, I, the said Richard Bennett, the younger, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this First day of January, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and seventy-seven.
Witness,
GEORGE SHAW.
RICHARD BENNETT, JUN". (L.S.)