CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR CUTTING CORKS
Year: 1852

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
ARMAND GILBEE, of No. 4, South Street, Finsbury, in the County of Mid-
dlesex, Gentleman, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland, bearing date at Westminster, the First day of June, in
the Fifteenth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said William Armand Gilbee, my exors, admors,
and assigns, Her especial license, full power, sole privilege and authority, that
I, the said William Armand Gilbee, my exors, admors, and assigns, or such
others as I, the said William Armand Gilbee, my exors, admors, or assigns,
should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all
times during the term of years therein expressed, should and lawfully might
make, use, exercise, and vend, within England, Wales, and the Town of
Berwick-upon-Tweed, and in the Islands of Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney, Sark,
and Man, and also in all Her said Majesty's Colonies and Plantations abroad,
the Invention for "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR CUTTING CORKS,"
communicated to me from abroad; in which said Letters Patent is contained a
proviso that I, the said William Armand Gilbee, shall cause a particular
description of the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, by an instrument in writing under my hand
and seal, to be inrolled in Her said Majesty's High Court of Chancery
within six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said

page_text: in part recited Letters Patent, as in and by the same, reference being there-
unto had, will more fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said.
William Armand Gilbee, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Inven-
tion, and the manner in which the same is to be performed, are fully described
and ascertained in and by the following statement thereof, reference being
had to the Drawing hereunto annexed, and to the figures and letters marked
thereon, that is to say:-
The improvements communicated to me consist in combining machinery by
which cork of any shape is cut into corks. The machinery is composed prin-
cipally of a knife moving horizontally and of two discs, either of the same or
a different diameter. And in order that the Invention may be fully understood
and readily carried into effect, I will proceed to describe the Drawing hereunto
annexed, in the various Figures of which the same letters of reference are
used to indicate the same parts wherever they occur.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING.
Figure 1 represents a front view of the machine for cutting corks; Figure 2,
an end elevation of the same; Figure 3, a plan or bird's-eye view of the
same.
The arrangements of the machinery are very simple, and when motion is
given to the machine, which may be either by hand or by any other suitable
power, a piece of cork of a square, round, or any convenient shape being
taken hold of by claws or holders, is cut immediately by the blade of the
horizontal knife into a cylindrical or conical cork. When the cork is to be
made of a cylindrical shape, the diameter of the disk of the claws is the same;
but when the cork is to be of a conical shape, the diameter of the disk of the
claws must then vary, and gradually decrease from the large end to the small
one. The piece of cork being taken hold of by the clutches, which receive a
rotative motion, is cut circumferentially and tangently to the disk of the
clutches by the knife, which moves in a horizontal direction and alternately.
The disc of the clutches serves as the standard or type for the different sizes of
the corks. In Figures 1, 2, and 3, A is a cast-iron frame supporting two iron
cylinders G, G, on which is placed the cast-iron plate N, Figs. 1 and 2, on
which the knife O is set horizontally by means of iron cross pieces. P and
screws Q. The two horizontal cylinders G, G, are permanently fixed at the
top B of the cast-iron frame A by means of screws. C, C, are two cast-iron
_supporters for the cog wheel F; D is the winch for setting the cog wheel F in
motion; E, the fly wheel; H, an excentric, by which the cross piece I' is set in

page_text: motion; K, a connecting rod jointed to the fly wheel E and to the iron plate M,
on which the plate N of knife O is placed. It is by means of the herein-
before described organs E, F, H, and K, Figs. 1, 2, and 3, that the whole
machine is put in motion. R is a cast-iron chamber or recess, fixed also on
the cast-iron frame A, and serving to support the plate A', on that plate is
set the small moveable plate B', which ascends, descends, or bends, according
to the size and form of the cork to be cut. The rack i, conjointly with the two
adjusting screws y, y, give movement to the plate B¹. Two axes b, b, and
two racks, a, a, are also placed on the said plate B¹. The two axes b, b, on
bearers, are provided with the cogs c, c, and carry at one of their extremities
the disc of the claws e, e. The holder a¹, set on the spring rod b¹, passes
through the table B'. This holder a¹, besides having an alternate ascending
and descending motion, serves also to support and maintain the piece of the
cork intended to be cut into a cork before the aforesaid piece of cork is
taken hold of by the claws e, e; k is a spring set in motion at 1 by the plate Y.
As soon as the piece of cork is cut by the action of the knife O into a cork,
the herein-before described spring K strikes the cork and forces it off the
claws e, e, and to leave the machine. The piece h, jointed to the lever z, is
provided at one of its extremities with the weight X, and gives a to-and-fro
motion to one of the axes 6 at certain determined intervals. g is a small.
rotating grinding stone, serving to sharpen the knife O during its alternate
motion; J is an iron wedge fixed into the groove 9 of the cross piece I'. This
wedge slides over the small rollers r, r, and forces the racks a, a, to ascend by
means of the small rollers p, p, within the groove of two arms U, when the
two racks a, a, are made to ascend by the motion they have received from the
wedge J, they catch the cogs c, c, with which the axes b, b, are provided,
as herein-before described, and they by that means give the said axes 6, 6, a-
rotary motion. When the wedge J has arrived at the end of its range, the
weights V, V, in their returning movement force the racks a, a, to descend.
The weights V, V, are attached to the arm 0', which is jointed to the racks
C¹ is an iron rod jointed to the piece m', and causes, by its bearing on
the pin g', the wedge J to return when the said wedge J has completed its
forward motion. The iron arm c¹ having brought back the wedge J to its
former position, strikes in sliding over the piece T, and escapes at the same
time as it leaves the wedge J; z is an iron lever attached to the jointed piece
h, herein-before described, and supports the weight X. L is a spring bearing
upon the catch v of the plate Y, in order to bring back that plate at certain.
When the wedge J is close to the fly wheel E, the axes b, b, are
forcibly separated by means of the table or metal plate y, which in its pre-
a, a.
moments.

page_text: ceding movement has drawn towards it the arm of the lever z, jointed by the
piece h to the axis b, the piece of cork intended to be cut has been placed on
the hand a', which is in its natural position, that is to say, at the same elevation
as the claws e, e, when the winch D being made to turn, the arm K is pushed,
and carries with it all the herein-before described organs placed on the plate M,
on which is set the knife O, and the cross iron piece I¹ is simultaneously
pushed by the excentric H, and carries with it the wedge J. This causes the
racks a, a, to move on the small rollers p, p, and this movement forces the
axes b, b, to rotate, on account of the catching of the racks a, a, with the
cogs c, c, of the axes b, b. But at the beginning of the movement the screw
e is made to bear on the head of the spring L, which draws towards itself the
plate y; the arm of the lever z then yields to the action of the weight X, and
pushes the moveable axis b, which holds between its claw and that of the
other permanent axis 6 the square piece of cork placed on the holder a¹; at the
same moment the spring n is drawn backward at t by means of the plate y, and
is made to bear in n¹ upon the catch of the rod of the spring 61, carrying the
holder a¹, and this last being forced to descend, abandons at the same time the
piece of cork to the two claws e, e; these two claws perform their rotary
motion, as herein-before described, whilst the knife O is passing, and then the
cork is made. This operation being performed, the screw e¹ is made to bear
at d' on the plate Y and forces it to recede. The springs L and n return to
their former place and abandon the cork to itself; by continuing to move the
winch D, the plate M returns back and touches the spring 1; this last spring,
by means of the rope , which is wound up on m, puts in action the spring K;
this spring pushes away the cork as it is abandoned by the claws e, e, as
herein-before described, and the arm C', bearing upon the pin q', causes the
wedge J to return back. These weights V, V, force the racks a, a, on
account of that returning movement, to descend, and therefore to take again
their former position. The knife O, during its alternate and horizontal move-
ments, is lubricated by means of the iron piece f¹, holding within its arms a
spunge constantly full of oil. The knife O is ground by means of the wheel g,
herein-before described. It will be easily understood that more than one
piece of cork can be cut by the same machine by lengthening the two cylin-
ders G, G, proportionally to the place occupied by the addition of a propor-
tionate number of plates M, and by regulating the other organs according to
the functions they have to perform. Double machines can also be constructed
by doubling the cylinders G, G, and adapting to them suitable organs and
movements for such modifications.
And having now described the nature of the Invention communicated to me,

page_text: and the best means I am acquainted with for performing the same, I would
have it understood that I make no claim to any of the parts taken separately,
nor do I confine myself to the precise details herein-before described, so long
as the peculiar character of the Invention be retained. But what I claim as
new, and intended to be protected by the herein in part recited Letters
Patent, is,
Firstly, the mode of constructing and combining machinery whereby cylin-
drical or conical corks are cut horizontally, as herein-before described, reference
being had to the Figures of the Drawing.
Secondly, the placing the knife O horizontally to the axes of the cylinders
G, G, and its alternate movement, as herein-before described, reference being
had to Figs. 1 and 3 of the Drawing.
Thirdly, the mode of placing the permanent plate A¹ and the moveable plate
B', and the regulating the latter according to the size and nature of the corks
to be cut, as herein-before described, reference being had to Figs. 1 and 3 of
the Drawing.
Fourthly, the mode of action of the racks a, a, of the holder a¹ of the spring
K, and of the jointed lever h, as herein-before described, reference being had
to Figs. 1 and 3 of the Drawing.
Fifthly, the arranging the cylinders G, G, the excentric H, and the con-
necting rod K, either above or underneath the apparatus, as herein-before
described, reference being had to Figures 1 and 3 of the Drawing.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Armand Gilbee, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Twenty-fifth day of November, One thou-
sand eight hundred and fifty-two.
Taken and acknowledged by William Armand
Gilbee, party hereto, at the Office of Her
Britannic Majesty's Consul at Paris, this
Twenty-fifth day of November, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and
fifty-two, before me,
Consul's
اهما
W. A. (LS.) GILBEE.
THOMAS PICKFORD,
Her Britannic Majesty's Consul at Paris.

page_text: HENRY GILBEE, of 4, South Street, Finsbury, in the County of Middlesex;
maketh oath and saith, that he is acquainted with the manner and character of
the handwriting of Thomas Pickford, Her Britannic Majesty's Consul at
Paris, in the Republic of France; and this deponent further saith, that the
signature "Thomas Pickford," set, subscribed, or written in the margin of
the Specification hereunto annexed, marked A., and dated the Twenty-fifth
day of November instant, and. purporting to be executed by William Armand
Gilbee, of Paris, and 4, South Street, Finsbury, London, whereby it is stated
that the Specification was acknowledged by him, the said William Armand
Gilbee, before the said Thomas Pickford, on the said Twenty-fifth day of
November, is of the proper handwriting of the said Thomas Pickford.
Sworn at the Inrolment Office, Chancery
HT. GILBEE.