IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR TREATING SPLIT AND UNSPLIT SKINS AND HIDES IN THE MANUFACTURE OF LEATHER
Year: 1871

page_text: "
LETTERS PATENT to John Turney, of the Firm of Turney Brothers, of
the Trent Bridge Works, near Nottingham, in the County of
Nottingham, Leather Dressers and Manufacturers, for the Inven-
tion of "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR TREATING SPLIT AND UNSPLIT
SKINS AND HIDES IN THE MANUFACTURE OF LEATHER."
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Sealed the 13th February 1872, and dated the 7th December 1871.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Turney at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
7th December 1871.
I, JOHN TURNEY, of the Firm of Turney Brothers, of "the Trent
Bridge Works, near Nottingham, in the County of Nottingham,
Leather Dressers and Manufacturers, do hereby declare the nature of the
said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR TREATING SPLIT AND
UNSPLIT SKINS AND HIDES IN THE MANUFACTURE OF LEATHER," to be as
follows:-
This Invention has for its object the construction of apparatus for
treating split and unsplit skins and hides for the manufacture, of
leather.
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page_text: The principal operations performed by my apparatus are those techni-
cally known in the trade as scudding, fleshing, unharing, scouring, and
striking out.
In my improved apparatus a number of knives are mounted in such
manner as to revolve, one half revolving in one direction and the other 5
half in the opposite direction. Beside this rotary motion the whole set.
of knives has a to-and-fro travel or traversing or longitudinal motion.
A roller or cylinder is mounted in the framework of the machine in
order to support the skin or hide to be treated. This roller is caused to
revolve by any suitable means, and it is capable of vertical adjustment.
The relative position of the roller and the knives is such that a skin or
hide spread upon the roller will be subjected to the action of the
revolving knives.
The apparatus may be so constructed that either brushes or knives
can be used in the same machine, the knives being removeable so that 1
brushes may be substituted, and vice versa.
For unhairing brushes instead of knives may be used, such brushes
being made of some stiff or strong material, as for instance, partly bristle
and partly wire.
In order to obtain a sufficiently resilient surface an improved roller is a
constructed for carrying the skin or hide, such roller consisting of a
number of strips of spring steel having at 'intervals discs or washers of
caoutchouc or other elastic substance. The whole is covered with
leather, canvas, or other suitable material. The roller may be made
adjustable by lever and weights, that is to say, the cylinder axis may be a
mounted in a fork or bracket attached to a lever, whereby it can be placed
in the required position. A weight is suspended on the lever so as to
adjust the position of the cylinder.
3.2.
I proceed particularly to describe one arrangement for carrying out
the Invention:-The cylinder is caused to revolve by a spur wheel on
its axle in gear with a worm on shaft supported in the framework, and
actuated by any prime mover. Above the cylinder are the series of
knives which extend nearly the length of the cylinder, and are secured
-on axles which revolve in bearings in a sliding frame. The knives are
caused to revolve by a train of wheels in gearing with each other, one set
of the wheels being secured on the axles of the knives, and another set
on axles in the sliding frame. The axle of the end knife projects beyond

page_text: the others and carries a fast and loose pulley worked by a belt from the
prime mover. The knives may consist of blades radiating from a boss
which receives their axles. By arranging the gear wheels so that one
half may turn in one direction and the other half in the other direction,
one half of the series of knives will turn in one direction and the other
half in the opposite direction. Reciprocating motion is given to the
sliding frame by a connecting rod attached to such frame, and also
attached to a crank on one end of the worm shaft above mentioned.
For unhairing skins and hides the knives are dismounted from the
sliding frame and a set of hard brushes substituted for them. The
brushing portion of such brushes is made of stiff or strong substances, as
for instance, one half of the brush may be composed of bristles
and the other half of the said brush of wires, the brushes being in all
respects mounted and worked in the same manner as the knives above-
described.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said John Turney in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 7th June 1872.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
TURNEY, of the Firm of Turney Brothers, of the Trent Bridge, Works,
near Nottingham, in the County of Nottingham, Leather Dressers and
Manufacturers, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Seventh day of December, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-one, in the thirty-
fifth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said John Turney, Her special licence
that I, the said John Turney, my executors, dministrators, and
assigns, or such others as I, the said John Turney, my executors,
administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others,
from time to time and at all times thereafter during the term therein
expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend,
within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel
Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS
FOR TREATING SPLIT AND UNSPLIT SKINS AND HIDES IN THE MANUFACTURE OF

page_text: In order to
material, as for instance; partly bristle and partly wire.
obtain a sufficiently resilient surface an improved roller is constructed
for carrying the skin or hide, such roller consisting of a number of strips
of spring steel having at intervals discs or washers of caoutchouc or
other elastic substance. The whole is covered with leather, canvas, or
other suitable material. The roller used may be made adjustable by
lever and weight, that is to say, the cylinder axis may be mounted in a
fork or bracket attached to a lever, whereby it can be placed in the
required position. A weight is suspended on the lever so as to adjust
the position of the cylinder.
:-
I proceed to describe one arrangement for carrying out the Inven-
tion The cylinder is caused to revolve by a spur wheel on its axle in
gear with a worm on a shaft supported in a framework and actuated
by any prime mover. Above the cylinder are a series of knives, which
extend nearly the length of the cylinder and are secured on axles which
revolve in bearings in a sliding frame. The knives are caused to revolve
by a train of wheels in gearing with each other, one set of the wheels
being secured on the axles of the knives and another set on axles in the
sliding frame. The axle of the end knife projects beyond the others and
carries a fast and loose pulley, worked by a belt from the prime mover.
The knives consist of blades radiating from a boss which receives their
axles. By arranging the gear wheels so that one half may turn in one
direction and the other half in the other direction, one half of the series
of knives will turn in one direction and the other half in the opposite
direction. Reciprocating motion is given to the sliding frame by a
connecting rod attached to such frame, and also attached to a crank on
one end of the worm shaft above mentioned.
For unhairing skins and hides the knives are dismounted from the
sliding frame and a set of hard brushes substituted for them. The
brushing portion of such brushes is made of stiff or strong elastic
substances, as for instance, one half of the brush may be composed of
bristles and the other half of the said brush of wires (or other strong
elastic substances;) the brushes being in all respects mounted and worked
in the same manner as the knives above described.

page_text: +
Figure 1 is a front view of a machine constructed and arranged
according to my improvements. Figure 2 is a view of the-left-end- of
the same, and Figure 3 is a sectional view through the centre of the
length of the machine. Figures 4 and 5 are front views of two of the
rotary, knives, Figure 6 is a sectional view of one of the knives.
at +
A, A, are vertical standards, connected together by a tie bar B at their
upper ends and by rails C, C, at their lower ends, and also by a tie bar D
the back. These standards carry bearings for the axes of a drum or
cylinder E, which is driven or caused to revolve in the direction of the
arrow by means of a spur wheel E¹ secured on one end of the axle of
the drum or cylinder E. This spur wheel is driven by a worm on a
short horizontal shaft E, which, lies at right angles to the cylinder. E,
and is supported in bearings on the outside of the left end standard.
The axle of the worm is provided at the front of the machine with, fast
and loose pulleys driven by a belt, from any prime mover. Above the
cylinder is placed a series of rotary knives F and Fl. These, knives
extend nearly the whole length of the cylinder and they are secured
upon axles F which revolve in and are carried by bearings F3 attached
to a sliding frame G. Half the number of knives like the knife shewn
at Figure 4, revolve in one direction and the other half of the number of
knives, like the knife shewn at Figure 5, revolve in the opposite direction,
as shewn by the arrow y, Figure 1. Rotary motion is imparted by a
series of wheels F* gearing into each other: Twelve of these wheels are
secured on the back ends of the axles of the knives, the remaining ten
wheels revolve on axles secured in the sliding frame G. The axle of
the knife nearest the left end of the machine is somewhat longer than
the axles of the others, and is carried by and revolves in bearings in an
arched bracket-G, which is attached to and slides with the frame G.
This axle is provided with a loose pulley G³ and a fast pulley G²,
actuated by a second belt from any prime mover. The sliding frame G
has a to-and-fro.movement imparted to it by means of a connecting rod
H-attached to it, and also to a crank at the back end of the worm shaft
E. The to-and-fro stroke or travel of the knives is of such length that
the skin or hide, which is placed upon the roller E and spread evenly
upon it by the workman, is scraped or acted on over the whole of its'
width by the knives F and F¹, as such skin or hide is in its length
passed' under them by the revolving cylinder. The cylinder E is capable
of adjustment vertically by means of a screw E³ in each standard, so as
•

page_text: to compensate for the varying substance of the skins or mines and the
wear of the knives. The driving shaft E is capable of vertical adjust-
ment by the screws E*, so that the worm is kept in gear with the spur
wheel E¹.
Each revolving knife (one of which is shewn in section at Figure 6)*
is fixed to a boss I perforated to receive an axle. From this boss blades
K radiate. There is a hole in each blade through which a wire ring L.
is passed. A grove is cut in one end of the boss to receive the ring L.
Saw gates are cut on the circumference of the boss so as to radiate from
the centre and to lie at an angle to the length of the axle. These saw
gates receive the blades, which are first placed upon the ring L, and are
held in their places by a thin plate or washer secured by a nut screwed
on the axle which carries the knife. I prefer to make the blades of the
knives of steel.
A machine constructed as above described may be advantageously
employed to scud seal skins or other heavy skins or hides, which cannot
be operated upon by brushes..
Instead of using the drum or cylinder E, shown at Figures 1, 2, and 3,
I sometimes employ my improved construction of cylinder with resilient
surface shewn at Figures 7, 8, and 9. Figure 7 is a front view of the
cylinder Figures 8 and 9 are drawn one-half the size of Figure 7;
Figure 8 is an outer end view of the cylinder, and Figure 9 is an end
view with one of the discs O removed, shewing one whole series of
springs secured to the laths and axle.
The cylinder is constructed as follows:-N is an axle on which are
secured four discs O. Each of these discs is grooved on its circumference
to receive an india-rubber ring P. The rings carry a number of metal
laths Q. Each lath is secured to the axle N by three flat steel
springs R.
The inner end of each spring is secured by a screw or rivet
to the axle N, and the outer ends of the springs are secured to a lath by
screws or rivets. When all the springs and laths are secured to the axle
they are enclosed in a cover S made of leather, canvas, india-rubber, or
cloth. A portion of this cover is shewn at Figure 7.
A portion of the laths and springs is not drawn at the lower side of
the Figure, which shows the lower lath attached to the axle by the three

page_text: Having now described the nature of the said Invention, and in what
manner the same may be performed, I declare that I claim;--
First. The employment and arrangement of rotary knives, worked and
constructed in combination with a revolving roller or cylinder substan-
tially in the manner and for the purposes described.
Second. The improved adjustable drum or roller with resilient surface
constructed substantially as and for the purpose described.
Third. The employment of revolving brushes composed partly of bristle
and partly of wire or of other strong elastic substances and arranged
and worked by machinery substantially as described for the purpose of
unhairing skins and hides.
Fourth. The construction of knife consisting of a number of radial
blades set on and around a boss substantially as described for the purpose
set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Turney, have hereunto set 1
my hand and seal, this Fourth, day of June, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-two.
Witness,
HENRY TOONE.
JOHN TURNEY. (L.S.).
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