Improvements in Buffing or Polishing Devices.
Year: 1896

page_text: Date of Application, 13th June, 1896-Accepted, 18th July, 1896
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
[Communicated from abroad by GEORGE HENRY PECK FLAGG, of 122 Lincoln
Street, Boston, in the County of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts, United
States of America, Gentleman.]
Improvements in Buffing or Polishing Devices.
1, HENRY HARRIS LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake & Co., Patent
Agents, 45 Southampton Buildings, in the County of Middlesex, 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 a yielding-surfaced cylindrical cushion or roll, which is
supported by a rotary hub or holder and supports a flexible band or cover, the
whole constituting a rotary buffing device or a rotary polishing device, according
to the nature of the cover, which is of sand-paper or other abrasive material for
buffing, and of some non-abrasive material such as silesia, for polishing. My
invention relates particularly to an appliance of this class comprising a series of
strips of limp flexible material extending lengthwise of the hub, the strips radiating
from the hub and being free at their outer edges, so that they constitute a cushion
the surface of which is supported by centrifugal force when the hub is rapidly
rotated, the strips being adapted to yield to the pressure of the article pressed
against the cover.
My present invention has for its object to provide a cushion which, while to a
certain extent yielding and acted on by centrifugal force, so that it will conform
freely to the surface to be acted on and will not be liable to develop a burning
friction thereon, shall prevent said article from sinking into the cushion sufficiently
to present more than the desired part of its surface to the cover. For example, in
buffing the bottom face of a shoe-sule or heel, it is desirable to have the cushion
sufficiently yielding to conform to the undulations and inequalities of the said face,
and of such character that an injurious or burning friction will not be developed,
and it is at the same time desirable that the edge adjoining the said face shall not
come in contact with the cover. I attain this object by the improvements which
I will now proceed to describe and claim.
Of the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification,-
Figure 1 represents a side view of one of the sections of my improved cushion.
Figure 2 represents a section on line 2-2 of Figure 1.
Figure 3 represents a view similar to Figure 2, showing the section composed of
one flexible member.
Figure 4 represents a longitudinal sectional view of a buffing appliance
embodying my invention.
The same letters of reference indicate the same parts in all the figures.
In the drawings-
a represents the rigid hub or holder of the yielding cushion, said hub being here
shown as a tube adapted to be placed on the shaft which rotates the appliance of
which the cushion forms a part. The hub is provided at its ends with suitable
means for grasping and supporting the ends of the flexible cover b, said means, as
here shown, comprising collars y g of felt or other suitable yielding material affixed
to the hub, and clamping fingers h, which project over the peripheries of said

page_text: cushions and are adjustably connected with the hub, so that they may be forced
inwardly upon the end portions of the cover, pressing the latter into the yielding
surfaces of the collars g. My present improvements are not dependent on these
particular devices, and may be used in connection with any other suitable means
for connecting the end portions of the cover b with the hub a.
In carrying out my invention, I provide the hub a with a centrifugally
maintained yielding cushion composed of a series of annular flexible or limp
sections i strung upon the hub a, their outer edges constituting a series of flexible
or limp cover-bearings surrounding the hub and adapted to yield at all points.
The said sections are preferably composed of limp or flabby leather, having
comparatively little inherent stiffness, kid, sheepskin, and other similar kinds of
leather being suitable.
It is essential that the sections be spaced or separated to permit the free
circulation of air bebind the cover, thus preventing injurious or burning friction on
the work, and to give the bearing edge of each section freedom to sway or bend
sidewise to some extent, this freedom also enabling the bearing edges to sink
inwardly toward the hub.
Each section may be composed of two annular flexible disks or members 3 3, as
shown in Figure 2, said members being cemented or otherwise firmly secured
together at their inner portions, while their outer portions are disconnected and
separable. In Figure 3, I show a section composed of but one flexible disk.
To insure adequate spacing between the sections, I provide spacing-pieces 4,
which are preferably rings or washers of leatherboard or other comparatively
stiff material, one of these being preferably cemented or otherwise secured to each
section.
It will be seen that the sections thus constructed are adapted to be assembled
upon the hub to form a cushion of any desired length, the cushion being made
more or less yielding by decreasing or increasing the number of sections, the
spaces between the bearing edges being increased by decreasing the number of
sections.
I prefer to weaken the marginal portions of the sections, to make the bearing
edges more yielding. This is best accomplished by cutting out small pieces of the
material, thus forming apertures 5 in the flexible portions of the sections.
When the cushion is rapidly rotated, the bearing edges of the sections are
yieldingly held by centrifugal force at their maximum distance from the axis of
rotation. The spaces between the sections permit a free circulation of air behind
the cover, and permit the bearing edges to sink under the pressure of the work
against the cover b sufficiently to conform to the inequalities and curves of the
work. At the same time, the continuity of each bearing edge around the hub,
and the comparatively close proximity of said bearing edges to each other (as
compared with the bearing edges of strips extending lengthwise of the hub and
radiating therefrom) make the cushion sufficiently firm to prevent a piece of work,
such as a heel, from sinking into the cushion far enough to subject the edge of the
heel to contact with the cover when the bottom or tread surface is in position to
be buffed.
. I prefer to fit the sections so loosely to the hub that they are capable of turning
independently thereon, so that their rotation may be retarded to some extent by
the tangential pressure against their bearing edges, resulting from the rotation of
the device and the pressure of the work against it.
A section of the described construction constitutes an article of manufacture, and
may be sold as such.
may
am aware that it is not new to make a cylindrical cushion by assembling a
series of annular disks side-by-side upon a hub, but such disks have heretofore been
clamped closely together to form a periphery which is practically continuous from
one end of the cushion to the other and is not provided with intermediate spaces
between the bearing edges of the sections.

page_text: Date of Application, 13th June, 1896-Accepted, 18th July, 1896
[Communicated from abroad by GEORGE HENRY PECK FLAGG, of 122 Lincoln
Street, Boston, in the County of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts, United
States of America, Gentleman.]
Improvements in Buffing or Polishing Devices.
I, HENRY HARRIS LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake & Co., Patent
Agents, 45 Southampton Buildings, in the County of Middlesex, 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 a yielding-surfaced cylindrical cushion or roll, which is
supported by a rotary hub or holder and supports a flexible band or cover, the
whole constituting a rotary buffing device or a rotary polishing device, according
to the nature of the cover, which is of sand-paper or other abrasive material for
buffing, and of some non-abrasive material such as silesia, for polishing. My
invention relates particularly to an appliance of this class comprising a series of
strips of limp flexible material extending lengthwise of the hub, the strips radiating
from the hub and being free at their outer edges, so that they constitute a cushion
the surface of which is supported by centrifugal force when the hub is rapidly
rotated, the strips being adapted to yield to the pressure of the article pressed
against the cover.
My present invention has for its object to provide a cushion which, while to a
certain extent yielding and acted on by centrifugal force, so that it will conform
freely to the surface to be acted on and will not be liable to develop a burning
friction thereon, shall prevent said article from sinking into the cushion sufficiently
to present more than the desired part of its surface to the cover. For example, in
buffing the bottom face of a shoe-sole or heel, it is desirable to have the cushion
sufficiently yielding to conform to the undulations and inequalities of the said face,
and of such character that an injurious or burning friction will not be developed,
and it is at the same time desirable that the edge adjoining the said face shall not
come in contact with the cover. I attain this object by the improvements which
I will now proceed to describe and claim.
Of the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification,-
Figure 1 represents a side view of one of the sections of my improved cushion.
Figure 2 represents a section on line 2-2 of Figure 1.
Figure 3 represents a view similar to Figure 2, showing the section composed of
one flexible member.
Figure 4 represents a longitudinal sectional view of a buffing appliance
embodying my invention.
The same letters of reference indicate the same parts in all the figures.
In the drawings-
J
a represents the rigid hub or holder of the yielding cushion, said hub being here
shown as a tube adapted to be placed on the shaft which rotates the appliance of
which the cushion forms a part. The bub is provided at its ends with suitable
means for grasping and supporting the ends of the Hexible cover b, said means, as
here shown, comprising collars y g of felt or other suitable yielding material affixed
to the hub, and clamping fingers h, which project over the peripheries of said

page_text: cushions and are adjustably connected with the hub, so that they may be forced
inwardly upon the end portions of the cover, pressing the latter into the yielding
surfaces of the collars g. My present improvements are not dependent on these
particular devices, and may be used in connection with any other suitable means
for connecting the end portions of the cover b with the hub a.
In carrying out my invention, I provide the hub a with a centrifugally
maintained yielding cushion composed of a series of annular flexible or limp
sections i strung upon the hub a, their outer edges constituting a series of flexible
or limp cover-bearings surrounding the hub and adapted to yield at all points.
The said sections are preferably composed of limp or flabby leather, having
comparatively little inherent stiffness, kid, sheepskin, and other similar kinds of
leather being suitable.
It is essential that the sections be spaced or separated to permit the free
circulation of air behind the cover, thus preventing injurious or burning friction on
the work, and to give the bearing edge of each section freedom to sway or bend
sidewise to some extent, this freedom also enabling the bearing edges to sink
inwardly toward the hub.
Each section may be composed of two annular flexible disks or members 3 3, as
shown in Figure 2, said members being cemented or otherwise firmly secured
together at their inner portions, while their outer portions are disconnecte.I and
separable. In Figure 3, I show a section composed of but one flexible disk.
To insure adequate spacing between the sections, I provide spacing-pieces 4,
which are preferably rings or washers of leatherboard or other comparatively
stiff material, one of these being preferably cemented or otherwise secured to each
section.
It will be seen that the sections thus constructed are adapted to be assembled
upon the hub to form a cushion of any desired length, the cushion being mude
more or less yielding by decreasing or increasing the number of sections, the
spaces between the bearing edges being increased by decreasing the number of
sections.
I prefer to weaken the marginal portions of the sections, to make the bearing
edges more yielding. This is best accomplished by cutting out small pieces of the
material, thus forming apertures 5 in the flexible portions of the sections.
When the cushion is rapidly rotated, the bearing edges of the sections are
yieldingly held by centrifugal force at their maximum distance from the axis of
rotation. The spaces between the sections permit a free circulation of air behind
the cover, and permit the bearing edges to sink under the pressure of the work
against the cover b sufficiently to conform to the inequalities and curves of the
work. At the same time, the continuity of each bearing edge around the hub,
and the comparatively close proximity of said bearing edges to each other (as
compared with the bearing edges of strips extending lengthwise of the hub and
radiating therefrom) make the cushion sufficiently firm to prevent a piece of work,
such as a heel, from sinking into the cushion far enough to subject the edge of the
heel to contact with the cover when the bottom or tread surface is in position to
be buffed.
I prefer to fit the sections so loosely to the hub that they are capable of turning
independently thereon, so that their rotation may be retarded to some extent by
the tangential pressure against their bearing edges, resulting from the rotation of
the device and the pressure of the work against it.
A section of the described construction constitutes an article of manufacture, and
may be sold as such.
I am aware that it is not new to make a cylindrical cushion by assembling a
series of annular disks side-by-side upon a hub, but such disks have heretofore been
clamped closely together to form a periphery which is practically continuous from
one end of the cushion to the other and is not provided with intermediate spaces
between the bearing edges of the sections.

page_text: Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, as communicated to me by
my foreign correspondent, I declare that what I claim is :-
1. An appliance of the character specified, comprising a rotary hub, a cushion
composed of limp annular sections surrounding the hub and separated at their
bearing edges, a flexible cover supported by said bearing edges, and means for
securing the end portions of the cover to the hub.
2. An appliance of the character specified, comprising a rotary hub, and a
cushion composed of annular sections surrounding the hub and weakened at their
marginal portions.
3. An appliance of the character specified, comprising a rotary hub, a cushion
composed of a series of limp annular sections mounted to turn loosely thereon and
separated at their bearing edges.
4. In an appliance of the character specified, a cushion-section composed of an
annular disk having a limp outer margin, and a spacing-piece secured to the disk
within the margin.
Dated this 13th day of June 1896.
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45 Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicant.

page_text: Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, as communicated to me by
my foreign correspondent, I declare that what I claim is :-
1. An appliance of the character specified, comprising a rotary hub, a cushion
composed of limp annular sections surrounding the hub and separated at their
bearing edges, a flexible cover supported by said bearing edges, and means for
securing the end portions of the cover to the hub.
2. An appliance of the character specified, comprising a rotary hub, and a
cushion composed of annular sections surrounding the hub and weakened at their
marginal portions.
3. An appliance of the character specified, comprising a rotary hub, a cushion
composed of a series of limp annular sections mounted to turn loosely thereon and
separated at their bearing edges.
4. In an appliance of the character specified, a cushion-section composed of an
annular disk having a limp outer margin, and a spacing-piece secured to the disk
within the margin.
Dated this 13th day of June 1896.
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45 Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicant.