IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR CUTTING, BUNDLING AND BINDING FIREWOOD
Year: 1884

page_text: Firewood.
I, FRANK KINGSTON of No. 9 Bolden Street, St John's in the county of Kent,
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of my invention for "IMPROVED APPARATUS
FOR CUTTING, BUNDLING AND BINDING FIREWOOD" to be as follows:-
In the specifications to Kingston's Patents dated respectivoly 1st June 1878
N° 2209 and the 29th July 1878 N° 2999 are described apparatus for cutting,
bundling and binding firewood, such as is ordinarily used for kindling fires. My
present invention relates to constructive details of such apparatus, which I have
found it necessary to modify in order to avoid certain difficulties attending the use
of apparatus constructed as described in the said Specifications.
For feeding the blocks of wood to the first knife which cuts slices from them,
instead of using a travelling band above the blocks, I provide two flat link
travelling chains, one on each side of the advancing blocks, these chains having
projecting spikes which enter the wood prosented end-grain to the chains, and
these chains acting along with a flat link chain instead of a band below the blocks,
give with certainty the required intermittent advance of the successive blocks.
The movement of the chains is, as formerly, effected by ratchet and pawl or silent
feed mechanism worked from one of the rotating shafts of the machine, but
I provide this mechanism with a spring slipping, arrangement which yields in case
the advance of the blocks is accidentally obstructed. I also place the intermittent
feeding movement under the control of a tappet worked automatically from the
delivery side of the machine, so as to disengage the pawl, and stop the feed when
there is a collection of excess of cut wood at the discharge.
The wood block while it is being sliced by the first knife is firmly pressed against
one side of the mouth piece by an arm worked by the knife as it descends.
Each slab of wood, as it is being sliced off by the first knife, is deflected forwards
by a sloping guide descending, which has the effect of turning down the slab from
the vortical attitude in which it is cut off and laying it on its flat side on a
travelling chain, by which it is carried forward to the second knife, the advance of
the successive slabs being ensured by being pressed down on the lower travelling
chain by a similar chain abovo them.
As the second knife has to make a number of strokes so as to divide the slabs
into rods or sticks, and as it has a better cutting action when it has an oblique
movement, I suspend it by two radii like the blade of a parallo! ruler, so that by
each to and fro' reciprocation it effects two cuts, each cut being made by the sweep
of the knife through a circular arc, while the slab operated on is firmly held,
The rods or sticks, into which the slabs are divided by the second knife, are
carried onwards between two travelling chains, one above and one bolow them, to
a shoot leading to the cylinder in which they are collected to be bundled. The

page_text: upper of the two chains is pressed down by springs, which yield, allowing a less or
greater collection of the sticks on their way to the cylinder. When this collection
exceeds a certain amount, the rising of the upper chain disengages the motor of the
first feed, as mentioned above, and so stops the feed of fresh wood until the
collection of sticks is sufficiently reduced.
•
The sticks, which are kept agitated by a reciprocating shaker, drop sideways
through a lateral slit of the cylinder within which they are collected, this cylinder
being, as before, provided with shakers which agitato the sticks so that they lie
side by side approximately parallel to the axis of the cylinder. In order, however,
more effectually to prevent the sticks from taking an angular position during their
fall, I provide within the cylinder a platform which at first is raised by a spring
up to the lateral mouth of the cylinder and which gradually descends as the
successive sticks drop in, the extent of their fall being thus limited by the
elevation of the platform and of the sticks collected on it.
When the cylinder is filled with sticks between a diaphragm which had been
made to descend through a transverse slit of the cylinder in front of them, and the
face of the retracted plunger behind them, (this plunger being such as is described
in the previous specification above referred to, but made with a sharp edge) a thin
blade or knife bent to the curve of the cylinder is, according to the present improve-
ments, advanced over the retracted plunger and over the charge of sticks closing the
lateral inlet of the cylinder, and the diaphragm being withdrawn upwards leaving
the front of the cylinder open, the slit through which the diaphragin is withdrawn
is covered by a farther advance of the knife. The plunger now making its forward
stroke, as in the former machine, pushes onwards the charge of sticks causing it to
protrudo as a cylindrical bundle, a little more that half its length beyond the
mouth of the cylinder. While the bundle is in this position undergoing the
clamping and binding process, which will be presently described, the blade and
plunger are retracted, the diaphragm is pushed down and a succeeding charge of
sticks enters the cylinder.
In order to effect the clamping and binding of the protruded bundle, the
mechanism according to the present invention is arranged and worked in the
following manner. The mouth of the cylinder, consisting of a number of elastic
blades side by side, is fitted to revolve, and is encircled by a hollow cone. This
cone being moved on to the taper of the circle of blades, compresses them, thoroby
squeezing or clamping the bundle of sticks; and then an arm, which holds between
jaws close to the bundle the end of a string drawn laterally from a heated vessel
containing pitchy cement, is made to revolve along with the mouthpiece and bundle,
thereby winding the adhesive string on to the bundle. When the arm has made
nearly one revolution, it stops releasing the end of the string and the bundle
continues to make several revolutions winding on several coils of the adhesivo
string. The bundle baying made several turns, the arm moves to the stretched
string, which it siezes by the closing of its jaws, at the same, by means of cutters
with which the jaws are armed, severing the string that is on the bundle from the
length of string the end of which is held by tho jaws.
The bound bundle is now released from the clamping action of the cylinder
mouth, and is pushed out by the advance of a succceding bundle, which takes its
place to be clamped bound and extruded in like manner.

page_text: Firewood.
T, FRANK KINGSTON of N° 9 Bolden Street, St John's in the County of Kent,
Engineer do hereby declare the nature of my invention for "IMPROVED APPARATUS
FOR CUTTING, BUNDLING, AND BINDING FIREWOOD" and in what manner the same
is to be performed to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement :—
In the Specifications to Kingston's Patents dated respectively the 1st June 1878
N° 2209 and the 29th July 1878 N° 2999 are described apparatus for cutting,
bundling, and binding firewood such as is ordinarily used for kindling fires.
My present invention relates to constructive details of such apparatus, which
I have found it necessary to modify in order to avoid certain difficulties attending
the use of apparatus constructed as described in the said Specifications.
For feeding the blocks of wood to the first knife which cuts slices from them,.
instead of using a travelling band above the blocks, I provide two travelling flat
link chains one on each side of the advancing blocks, these chains having projecting
spikes which enter the wood presented end-grain to the chains, and these chains
acting along with a flat link chain instead of a band below the blocks give with
certainty the required intermittent advance of the successive blocks. Tho move-
ment of the chains is, as formerly, effected by ratchet and pawl or silent feed
mechanism worked from one of the rotating shafts of the machine, but I provide
this mechanism with a spring slipping arrangement which yields in case the
advance of the blocks is accidentally obstructed. I also place the intermittent
feeding movement under the control of a tappet worked automatically from tho
delivery side of the machine so as to disengage the pawl and stop the feed when
there is a collection of excess of cut wood at the discharge. The wood block while
it is being sliced by the first knifo is firmly pressed against one side of the mouth
piece by an arm worked by the knife as it descends. Each slab of wood as it is
being sliced off by the first knife is deflected forwards by a sloping guide
descending, which has the effect of turning down the slab from the vertical attitude
in which it is cut off, and laying it on its flat side on a travelling chain by which it
is carried forward to the second knife, the advance of the successive slabs being
ensured by being pressed down on the lower travelling chain by a similar chain
above them.
As the second knife has to make a number of strokes so as to divide the slabs
into rods or sticks, and as it has a better cutting action when it has an oblique
movement, I suspend it by two radii like the blade of a parallel ruler, so that by
each to and fro reciprocation it effects two cuts, each cut being made by the sweep
of the knife through a circular arc while the slab operated on is firmly held.
The
The rods or sticks into which the slabs are divided by the second knife are
carried onwards between two travelling chains, one above and one below them, to
a shoot leading to the cylinder in which they are collected to be bundled.
upper of the two chains is pressed down by springs which yield allowing a less or
greater collection of the sticks on their way to the cylinder. When this collection...

page_text: exceeds a certain amount, the rising of the upper chain disengages the motor of the
first feed, as mentioned above, and so stops the feed of fresh wood until the
collection of sticks is sufficiently reduced.
The sticks, which are kept agitated by a reciprocating shaker drop sideways
through a lateral slit of the cylinder within which they are collected, this cylinder
being, as before, provided with shakers which agitate the sticks so that they lie
side by side approximately parallel to the axis of the cylinder. In order, however
more effectually to prevent the sticks from taking an angular position during their
fall, I provide within the cylinder a platform which at first is raised by a spring
up to the lateral mouth of the cylinder and which gradually descends as the
successive sticks drop in, the extent of their fall being thus limited by the elevation
of the platform and of the sticks collected on it.
When the cylinder is filled with sticks between a diaphragm which had been
made to descend through a transverse slit of the cylinder in front of them, and the
face of the retracted plunger behind them, (this plunger being such as is described
in the previous Specifications above referred to but made with a sharp edge) a thin
blade or knife bent to the curve of the cylinder is according to the presont
improvements advanced over the retracted plunger and over the charge of sticks
closing the lateral inlet to the cylinder, and the diaphragm being withdrawn
upwards leaving the front of the cylinder open, the slit through which the
diaphragm is withdrawn is covered by a farther advance of the knife. The
plunger now making its forward stroke ns in the former machine pushes onwards
the charge of sticks causing it to protrude as a cylindrical bundle a little more
than half its length beyond the mouth of the cylinder. While the bundle is in this
position undergoing the clamping and binding process, which will be presently
described, the blade and plunger are retracted, the diaphragm is pushed down and
a succeeding charge of sticks enters the cylinder.
This
In order to effect the clamping and binding of the protruded bundle, the
mechanism according to the present invention is arranged and worked in the
following manner. The mouth of the cylinder consisting of a number of elastic
blades side by side is fitted to revolve and is encircled by a hollow cone.
cone being moved on to the taper of the circle of blades compresses them thereby
squeezing, or clamping the bundle of sticks; and then an arm, which holds
between jaws close to the bundle the end of a string drawn laterally from a heated
vessel containing pitchy cement is made to revolve along with the mouth piece and
bundle thereby winding the adhesive string on to the bundle. When the arm has
made nearly one revolution it stops releasing the end of the string, and the bundle
continues to make several revolutions winding on several coils of the adhesive
string. The bundlo having made several turns the arm moves to the stretched
string which it seizes by the closing of its jaws at the same time, by means of
cutters with which the jaws are armed, severing the string that is on the bundle
from the length of string the end of which is held by the jaws. The bound bundle
is now released from the clamping action of the cylinder mouth and is pushed out
by the advance of a succeeding bundle which takes its place to be clamped bound
and extruded in like manner.
The accompanying drawings show the construction of a machine embodying my
improvements.
Fig. 1 is an elevation of the front side of the machine at which the wood blocks
are fod,
Fig. 2 is an elevation, of the hinder side at which the tied bundles are discharged,
with the bundling cylinder shewn in longitudinal section.
Fig. 3 is a transverse section shewing the course of the wood through the
machine.
Fig. 4 is an end view of the machine.
Fig. 5 is a plan of the machine.
Referring first to Fio. 3 in which is shown the process of the wood through the

page_text: until they are successively engaged on the lower chain 6 and between the side
chains 6 which press against the ends of the blocks. By the simultaneous inter-
mittent motion of these chains, the blocks W are advanced step by step through a
mouth where a retractile serrated cheek k at one side advances while the chains
are stationary and holds firmly in the mouth the foremost block which had by the
movement of the chains been made to protrude about half an inch beyond the
mouth. While the foremost block is thus held the first knife K slices off from it a
slab w which is shewn in the act of falling over. To ensure its falling flat like
those w beyond, a spring guide & descends upon it and presses it down while the
knife K ascends. When the knife K has ascended, the cheek k is retracted
releasing the block which is again advanced a step by the movement of tho
chains b. The cheek again grips the block, and K cuts off another slice.
Thus slice after slice is cut off, and the successive slices w are advanced by the
movement of two chains b³ below them and b above them, towards the rapidly
reciprocating knife K' which cuts each slab into a number of separate sticks w¹
each about half an inch square in section. These sticks w' are advanced along a
slope between two chains 6 below and be above them, to a hopper space where they
are accumulated at w³ immediately above the bundling cylinder C, which in the
figure is shewn filled with sticks w³ separated from those w³ above by a slide c.
When the cylinder is emptied of the sticks w³ as will hereafter be described, the
slide c is retracted leaving the upper side of the cylinder C open under w². The
sticks w² thereupon fall into the cylinder, but as they sometimes form themselves
into an arch which might prevent them from falling, a knife c¹ descending breaks
up the arch and ensures that the sticks w² drop into the cylinder to take the place
formerly occupied by w³. On referring now to Fig. 2 which is an elevation of the
back of the machine shewing the cylinder C in longitudinal section, the parts
belonging to this cylinder are shewn in the position occupied by them just beforo
the cylinder is about to receive a fresh charge of sticks w³. Within the cylinder is
a plunger C¹ having a chisel edge at c³. When the plunger has completely retreated
to the left just beyond the opening under w², the slide c is retracted leaving that
opening free; and a sluice diaphragm c³ descends across the cylinder closing it. The
sticks then descend into the space in the cylinder between c² in front and the
plunger behind, but in order to ensure that the sticks shall descend in attitudes
approximately parallel to the axis of the cylinder, two blades c in the first place
ascend through slots in the lower side of tho cylinder; and receiving the sticks
on their upper edges, they gradually descend, the sticks following them. Also two
other blades o having a rapid reciprocation vertically, act as shakers causing the
sticks to arrange themselves parallel or nearly so to the axis of the cylinder.
When the space in the cylinder is filled with sticks, the slide c advances separating
those win the cylinder from those w³ accumulating above, the sluico diaphragm c³
ascends, leaving the cylinder open in front, and thereupon the plunger C advances
to the right, (its chisel edge c³ clearing away in front of it any fragments of wood)
and pushes the mass of sticks as a cylindrical bundle to the position w protruded
a little more than half its length beyond the mouth of the cylinder. Leaving the
bundle w' in that position to be clamped and tied as will presently be described,
the plunger C¹ retreats, c³ descends, c is withdrawn, and the cylinder C receives a
fresh charge of sticks. The protruded bundle is in the first place clamped.
For this purpose the mouth of the cylinder which consists of a number of segmental
pieces co each sloped outside and fixed to the end of a blade spring is contracted by
causing these segments to be pressed inwards by means of a hollow cone c' which
is pushed back by a ring c. While the bundle w is thus clamped the tying
operation is effected. A tubular arm T, standing forward like a crank pin from a
counterbalanced arm T', has at its end a boss t sloped off in front and on a spindle
which is fitted to revolve and slide longitudinally within T there is fixed another
bosst sloped off in rear. On t and tare fixed cutting chisels, and on t¹ is also
fixed a bent wiro ². The end of a string which passes through a heated pot P of
pitchy cement being held clamped-between t and t, the arm T makes nearly a

page_text: revolution round the bundle w', thus laying round it nearly one complete con-
volution of the adhesive string and then t¹ separating a little from
and so
leaving the string free the wire t² makes a revolution wiping the string out from
between tand and pressing it on to the bundle. The arm T now rests while the
front part of the cylinder C which is fitted in a bearing and has on it a toothed
ring is caused to make several revolutions, the bundle w revolving with it and
winding on to itself the free string in several convolutions and the arm T again
moves a little onwards until it again engages the string between t and t¹ whereupon t¹
is retracted so as to clamp the string, and the cutters on t and tsever the string
which is on the bundle from that which is held between t and t'. The bundle being
thus tied in its clamped condition, the ring c is retracted and the segments cº spring
a little backwards releasing the bundle. The plunger C₁ now comes forward
pressing before it a fresh bundle which extrudes the tied bundle w from the
cylinder mouth and takes its place to be clamped and tiod in its turn.
Such being the successive operations performed on the wood by the parts
described, the mechanism by which these parts are caused to make their respective
movements may be varied. As these movements are all of a reciprocating or
intermittent character, they may generally be effected by cranks, eccentrics, cams,
wipers or their equivalents worked by rotating shafts. I havo, shewn in the
drawings one form of such mechanism to which however I make no claim. The
prime moving shaft A driven from any suitable motor drives by gearing as seen
best in Fig. 5 at a slower speed the second shaft A, and this again by reducing
gear drives A³, and A2 by reducing gear drives A³. A crank a on A¹ is linked by
a connecting rod a¹ to a slide a moving in inclined guides a³ and carrying the
knife K which is thus made in each revolution of A¹ by an obliquely slicing action
to cut off a slab w from the block W. Just before this cut begins a protruberance
a' on the slide a² acting on a roller a³ depresses a lever a which is connected to
the clamping check thus causing it to clamp the block until in the back stroke
of a the protruberance a' again passes a" and the cheeks ka moves backwards.
While the crank a is passing through that part of its course which retains the
knife K for a time nearly stationary in its raised position, the pulleys which carry
the lower feed chains b and those which carry the side chains 6 and which are
driven from the spindles of the former by mitre gearing 68 are caused to make part
of a revolution advancing the wood blocks the required distance for a succeeding
cut. This is effected by a cam F on the back of the gear wheel on A¹ acting on
a crank f so as to turn it partly round while the edge of the cam F acting on a
spring presses towards the left the spindle fa in opposition to a spring thus by a
friction clutch action giving a partial revolution to a ratchet wheel f³ fixed on the
spindle of the pullies which work the chains b. Should the feed of the blocks W
be obstructed the friction clutch yields. The chains 6ª 6³ 6ª and 6ª all receive their
movements from a spindle which is driven by bevil gear from a pulloy driven
by a pitch chain from a chain wheel on the shaft A¹. The knife K¹ is suspended
by two radii m m and is caused to sweep to and fro in a circular path determined by
those radii, being linked by a connecting rod m' to a crank m² on the shaft A.
"The piston C' and the slide c of the bundling cylinder C are both worked by
racks d d¹, the one d geared with a segment d³, the other d¹ geared with a partly
toothed pinion d³ on the spindle of which is a similar pinion gearing with a
segment d'. Both these segments are worked by cam wipers on the shaft A³, so
that the to and fro movements of C and c are effected once in each revolution of
the shaft A³. A longitudinal shaft A* driven by mitre gear from A³ and therefore
revolving at the same speed as A³ gives the movements for the knife c¹ sluice
diaphragm c the guide blades c and the shakers and for the clamping and tying
mechanism. On A' there are cams and wipers at A³ and A° which work c¹, c², c₁
and c; at A a cam works a bell crank lever E by which the ring that clamps the
segments c is moved to and fro. At G there is on A a toothed wheel which
through intermediate wheels G' and Gª works a large toothed wheel C³ that is
geared with the toothed ring g on the mouth of the cylinder C causing the mouth

page_text: to revolve while the bundle wo is held clamped within it, so as to wind on soveral
convolutions of string on the bundle. On the end of the shaft A* there is a
mutilated wheel, or wheel only partly toothed H with suitable wiper to bring
into gear and drive the pinion H' which carries round the binding arm T. On
a disc T behind T¹ are cam projections which give the required movements to t¹
and t³.
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
In a machine for cutting bundling and tying firewood the combination of the
intermittently moving feed chains bb, the clamping cheek, the obliquely
moving slicing knife K, tho chains b2b the reciprocating knife K', chains 6' and b³,
the bundling cylinder C with its plunger C¹ its slide c, sluice diaphragm o, guidos
blades c and shakers c, its segmental mouth c with the means of contracting
it and causing it to revolve, the tying arm T with its clamping bosses t t and
their cutters and the wiping wire t³, arranged and operating substantially as
herein described.