Improvements in Machinery or Apparatus for Pointing Skewers and other Cylindrical Wooden Rods or Blanks.
Year: 1895

page_text: Date of Application, 25th Jan., 1895-Accepted, 16th Mar., 1895
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Machinery or Apparatus for Pointing Skewers and
other Cylindrical Wooden Rods or Blanks.
I, THOMAS WILLIAMS, Junior, of Bay Tree Cottage, Church End, Finchley, in
the County of Middlesex, Engineer, 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 improvements in that class or type of machinery or
apparatus for pointing skewers and other cylindrical wooden rods or blanks,
wherein the blanks to be pointed are fed by means of vibrating feed arms between
revolving rubber tyred feed wheels and curved ways or guides which partially
encircle the peripheries thereof, the said blanks being rolled upon their axes along
the said curved ways by the révolution of the feed wheels, and being pointed by
revolving cutters mounted upon a shaft arranged eccentric to the feed wheel shaft
so as to cause the blanks to approach the cutters gradually.
The chief object of my invention is to produce a better finished point on the
skewers than has hitherto been accomplished, and also to render it possible to turn
out completed skewers of exactly similar length; this I effect by the peculiar
construction of the revolving cutters hereinafter described. My invention further
relates to a method of mounting the said cutters upon independent shafts carried in
bearings in adjustable brackets, whereby the adjustment of the cutters on the line
of their axes, for the purpose of varying the length of the skewers produced, may
be more readily effected; and my invention also relates to an improved arrangement
of the vibrating feed arms and their operating mechanism.
In the accompanying drawings in which similar letters refer to corresponding
parts in all the figures :-
Fig. 1 is a side elevation, about one quarter full size, of a machine for the purpose
set forth embodying my invention.
Fig. 2 is a transverse section thereof on line 1-2 Fig. 1.
Fig. 3 is a plan on an enlarged scale, about half full size, of the revolving cutters
and feed discs:
Fig. 4 is an end view of one of the revolving cutters.
Fig. 5 is a view on an enlarged scale shewing the appearance of a skewer pointed
by my peculiar cutters.
Fig. 6 is a detached view illustrating one of the vibrating feed arms in the act of
feeding.
Fig. 7 is a plan of the bedplate of the machine, on a reduced scale, about one
eighth full size.
a is the bedplate of the machine which is mounted upon suitable standards >.
ce are revolving feed wheels each surrounded by a rubber tyre c' and mounted upon
the shaft carried in bearings in the brackets which are adjustably secured to
the bedplate a by the bolts e passing through longitudinal slots therein. d d are
curved ways or guides partially encircling the peripheries of the feed wheels c,
between which latter and the said curved ways the skewer blanks e are fed. The
said curved ways d are also adjustably secured to the bedplate a by means of the
bolts d' which pass through the longitudinal slots d² therein. ff are the peculiar
revolving cutters, the construction of which I shall hereinafter fully describe, each
cutter being mounted upon an independent shaft f¹ carried in bearings in a
bracket adjustably secured to the bedplate a by the bolts and nuts f³ which

page_text: pass through one of the slots d². fare belt pulleys on the shafts ƒ¹ for rotating
the cutters f.
g is the hopper, secured by suitable screws to the upper ends of the ways d, and
leading to a chute g down which the skewer blanks e pass until they are arrested
by the spring feed aprons h secured to the brackets e and shewn in plan in dotted
lines in Fig. 3. ii are curved vibrating feed arms secured to the arms which are
keyed on the rocking shaft k mounted in suitable bearings at each end of the frame
of the machines are rollers on the ends of the arms with which rollers engage
tappets or wipers keyed on the revolving shaft which carries a spur wheel 12
engaged by the pinion m on the first motion shaft m' which revolves in bearings m
and is driven by the belt pulley m³. The position of the feed arms i when raised
by the tappets and in the act of feeding is clearly shewn in Fig. 6. Heretofore
the feed arms have been secured to and dependent from a rocking shaft mounted
above the bed plate of the machine and vibrated by a crank and pitman; my
arrangement simplifies construction and keeps the greater part of the feed arms and
all their operating mechanism out of the way beneath the bed plate.
The feed wheels c are revolved at a slow speed in the direction of the arrow
(Figs. 2 and 6), by means of the worm n which gears with the worm wheel c® on
the feed shaft c. This worm n is fixed on the vertical shaft n', the upper end of
which revolves in a bearing carried by the bracket n2, whilst the lower end revolves
in the footstep bearing 3. The shaft n' is rotated, through the bevel pinion n
carried thereby, by the bevel wheel mt on the end of the first motion shaft m'.
The peculiar revolving cutters consist each of a drum around the periphery of
which are formed a number of sharp edged cutting ribs running angularly or
spirally to the axis of the drum which gradually increases in diameter for nearly
the length of the cut portion of the skewer and then abruptly spreads out or.
expands at an angle of about 30 degrees to its axis. This abrupt expansion of the
drum is a very important feature, since without it a ragged or frayed point of
varying length would be liable to be produced upon the skewer, and in any event
the point would be of narrow angle and easily broken. The effect of the sudden
expansion of the cutter is to finish off the skewer with a neat and clean point e', as
clearly shewn in Fig. 5, which by reason of its wide angle is strong and not liable
to break. By thus ensuring a clean and sharp point to the skewers I am obviously
enabled to turn them out all of precisely similar length. In a machine which I
have constructed and which operates with good effect, the cutting ribs on the drum
are arranged about one quarter of an inch apart. prefer to arrange the cutting
ribs on the expanded portions f" of the cutters slightly out of line with the cutting
ribs on the main portions of the cutters, as shewn clearly in Fig. 3.
The operation of the machine is as follows:-
h
The skewer blanks placed in the hopper g fall down the chute g onto the spring
feed aprons (see Fig. 2). The first motion shaft m' by its revolution rotates at a
slow speed the feed wheels c through the worm n as before explained, and at the same
time revolves the tappets 7 and so vibrates the feed arms i which keep thrusting at
rapid intervals the lowermost skewer blank e between the curved ways d and the
rubber tyres cl of the feed wheels c (see Fig. 6), which latter, as they revolve, roll,
the skewer blanks round upon their axes along the said curved ways, the said
blanks being pointed during their passage by the revolving cutters which are
driven at a higher speed than, and in the opposite direction to, the feed wheels c.
The relative eccentricity of the cutting and feed wheels, whereby the blanks are
caused to gradually approach the cutters as they are rolled along the ways d, is
clearly shewn in Fig. 4, where the dotted circles indicate a feed wheel and shaft.
I prefer to so time the vibrations of the feed arms in regard to the speed of the
feed wheels as to cause the skewer blanks carried round by the latter to be
separated from one another by about an inch and a half.
The adjustment of the cutters f on the line of their axes, in order to vary the
length of skewer produced, is accomplished by loosening the nuts 3 and then
shifting the brackets f' to the desired position. Heretofore the cutters were usually

page_text: both keyed on a single cutter shaft, and the feed wheels were mounted on sleeves
through which this cutter shaft passed; my arrangement simplifies construction and
facilitates adjustment.
The machine as shewn and described above is constructed in duplicate so as to
point the skewer blanks simultaneously at each end, the blanks being afterwards
severed across the middle so as to form two skewers. If desired, however, only one
feed wheel, curved way, and cutter may be employed, when a single skewer only
will be produced from each blank.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is:-
1. In machinery or apparatus for the purpose set forth, the use in combination
with a revolving feed wheel c and a curved way or guide d partially encircling the
same, of a revolving cutter f of the peculiar construction hereinbefore described,
substantially as and for the purpose set forth and illustrated.
2. In machinery or apparatus for the purpose set forth, the use in combination
with a pair of revolving feed wheels c each partially encircled by a curved way or
guide d, of a pair of revolving cutters of the peculiar construction herein before
described, each cutter being mounted upon an independent shaft f1 carried by a
bracket 2 secured to the bedplate of the machine by a bolt and nut passing
through a longitudinal slot therein whereby the cutters may be adjusted on the line
of their axes, substantially as shewn and set forth.
3. In machinery or apparatus for the purpose set forth, comprising a revolving
feed wheel c and a curved way or guide d partially encircling the same, the
combination of the rocking shaft k mounted beneath the bedplate, a feed arm i
connected with the said shaft, the revolving shaft l', a tappet or wiper / carried
thereby and adapted to vibrate the feed arm i, the first motion shaft m', and
gearing connecting it with the shaft P, all constructed and arranged substantially as
shewn and set forth.
تبعه
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