CERTAIN APPARATUS OR MACHINERY FOR THE PURPOSES OP SPLITTING, RENDING ASUNDER, CUTTING, OR CLEAVING OF WOOD, AND FORMING AND SECURING THE SAME IN BUNDLES
Year: 1825

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, HENRY
OSWALD WEATHERLEY, of Queen Anne Street, in the Parish of Saint Mary-le-
bone, in the County of Middlesex, Gentleman, send greeting.
WHEREAS His present most Excellent Majesty King George the Fourth,.
by His Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at
Westminster, the Fourteenth day of May, in the sixth year of His reign, did,
for Himself, His heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
Henry Oswald Weatherley, His especial licence that I, the said Henry Oswald
Weatherley, my exors, adñiors, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
Henry Oswald Weatherley, my exors, adñiors, and 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, my
Invention of "CERTAIN APPARATUS OR MACHINERY FOR THE PURPOSES OP SPLITTING,
RENDING ASUNDER, CUTTING, OR CLEAVING OF WOOD, AND FORMING AND SECURING
THE SAME IN BUNDLES;" in which said Letters Patent there is contained a
proviso obliging me, the said Henry Oswald Weatherley, by an instrument in
writing under my hand and seal, particularly to describe and ascertain the
nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed,
and to cause the same to be inrolled in His Majesty's High Court of Chancery
within six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said in
part recited Letters Patent, as in and by the same, reference being thereunto
had, will more fully and at large appear.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Henry Oswald Weatherley, do hereby declare that the nature of my said
Invention, and the manner in which the same is to be perfornied, are particu-
larly described and ascertained in and by the Drawings hereunto annexed,
and the following description thereof (that is to say):-
That part of my said Invention which relates to the apparatus or machinery
for the purpose of splitting, rending asunder, cutting, or cleaving of wood I
effect in the following manner.
In Drawing No. 1, Fig., 1 is a plan, and Fig. 2 an clevation or side view
of a machine or apparatus calculated to effect the above purposes, and in which
said Figures the said letters of reference indicate the similar parts. A, A, &c.
is the cast-iron frame or support of the circular saw and its appendages, by
means of which the wood is to be cut across into any lengths required. Bis
the saw mounted upon an axis or spindle C (shewn in Fig. 1 by dotted lines),
running in brasses or other proper bearings D, D, affixed to the frame and
table E. F is a fast and G a loose pulley or rigger upon the outer end of the
axis, and to which motion is to be communicated by a band driven by a
drum or band-wheel in the steam mill or other first-moving power of the
machinery. His, the guide, with its parallel rods I, I, set screw and arch J,
and adjusting pieces & set screw K, affixed to the tablo E, as usual. The pieces
of wood having been sawn across into proper lengths by the action of the
circular saw B, are to be placed upright. upon their ends on the two endless
cloths L, L, which are carried along over two pairs of rollers or drums M, M,
&c., the necks or pivots of which move in brasses and headstocks or plummer-
blocks N, N, &c. affixed upon a wooden or other frame 0, 0, &c. The
endless cloths L, L, are supported between the front, &c. hind rollers upon a
table P, and between and on each side of them upright ledges Q, Q, Q, are
placed to keep the pieces of wood properly confined between them. The front
rollers are actuated in the following manner-Upon each end of their axis a
ratchet wheel R, R, is mounted, into the teeth of which the catch hooks S, S,
which are jointed to the arms or levers, T, T, affixed upon the axis, insert
themselves. To the arms T, T, the connecting rods U, U, are likewise
jointed, and which extend upwards to the levers V, V, which turn upon
pins jointed in the heads of the two brackets or standards W, W, affixed to
the frame 0, 0, &c. These levers V, V, are alternately acted upon by the two
pairs of excentric cams X, X, which are affixed upon a shaft or axis Y,
turning upon necks properly supported in bearings (not shewn in the Draw-
ings), & turned by the steam engine or other first mover of the machinery.
The connecting rods U, U, may be jointed to the levers V, V, at any of the

page_text: holes provided for that purpose in them, so as to vary the extent of their
motion, as may be required in use. There are also provided two palls
or detents,, which drop into the teeth of the ratchet wheels R, R,
and hold them still between whiles. The front rollers M, M, thus actuated
from time to time carry forwards the endless cloths L, L, and the upright
pieces of wood upon them, and deliver them upon the cast-iron tables
a, a, of the splitting or cleaning machine, which has four steel upright
blades b, b, b, b, mounted in pairs diagonally or at right angles to each
other upon the lower ends of two upright square metal rods c, c, which are
guided by passing through square holes made in the two guide brackets
d and e, the uppermost of which d is supported by the walls of the building,
whilst the lowermost one e is lodged upon the machine frame. This lower
guide bracket e is also filled with felt or other elastic body to break the shock
of the knives in falling. These knives pass through slits made in the shelves
a, a, below, and also through other slits made in two metal plates g, 9, (shewn
in Fig. 2,) placed above the pieces of wood to prevent them from rising by the
action of the knives. These knives are moved up and down by the two pairs
of double arms h, h, &c., which are affixed upon the axis Y, and have friction
rollers i, i, &c., at their ends acting underneath the two other arms j, j, which
are secured by wedges upon the upright rods c, c. The upright pieces of
wood are thus subjected to the cross action of the knives b, b, &c., and are
thereby split, rent asunder, or cleft into proper sizes, as may be required for
their intended purposes. The wood thus sawn or cut and split, rent asunder,
or cleft is formed and secured in bundles in the following manner:―
In Drawing No. 2 Fig. 3 is a plan, and Fig. 4 an elevation or side view of
an apparatus or machine for performing the said operations of forming and
securing the wood in bundles, and in both of which Figures, as well as in the
others to be hereafter described, the same letters and figures of reference point
out the similar parts of the machinery. k, in Fig. 4, is an upright shaft or axis,
to which a rotative motion is communicated from the moving power, viz.,
a steam engine, &c.; at the top of this shaft a crank is affixed, upon the stud
m of which one end of a connecting rod n is hung, the. other end of which is
forked or divided, as shewn at o, o, in Fig. 4. This forked end is jointed to
the arm p, which is affixed upon another upright shaft or axis q, turning in a
brass in the step or chair r below; & in other brasses of the headstock s above;
upon the shaft q a wheel t, with four notches or gaps v, v, v, v, in its edge. At
each revolution of the crank la catch hook w, jointed to the arm p, lodges
in one of the gaps, and pulls the wheel tone quarter round, the catch hook
being pressed towards the rim of the wheelt by a spring a. Upon tho

page_text: upright shaft q' another wheel y is also affixed, which has four elliptic sockets
,,,, made near its rim. The upper edges of these four sockets are
removed one half of their inner circumference, and four semicircular
clips 1, 1, 1, 1, are jointed to them at one end of each, their other ends
being jointed to four rods 2, 2, 2, 2, which pass through holes made in
the guiding blocks 3, 3, 3, 3, affixed upon the arms of the wheel y. To the
inner ends of these rods friction rollers 4, 4, 4, 4, are mounted, which, as
the wheel y revolves, are acted upon by the fixed excentric cam 5, which
surrounds the axis q, but is kept from revolving with it by means of the
arm 6, to which it is fastened, and the other end of which arm is firmly
secured to an upright support 7. The cam 5 closes the semicircular clips
1, 1, &c., as they successively come into contact with its projecting or
excentric part, and they open again on quitting that part by the action of the
four springs 8, 8, 8, 8, upon their outer ends; the use of this arrangement
will bo described hereafter. 9, 9, 9, is a flat cast-iron circular plate, supported
upon three pillars 10, 10, 10, & the use of which will likewise be described
hereafter. Upon the upright shaft or axis q a bivil wheel 11 is also hung,
which works into a bivil pinion 12, mounted upon a horizontal shaft 13. Upon
the other end of this shaft 13 a spur wheel 14 is affixed which drives
another spur wheel 15, placed above it upon another horizontal shaft 16.
The necks or pivots of this shaft turn in the brasses, &c., 17, 17, affixed to
the frame 18, 18, &c. Near the spur wheel 15 a clutch box 19 slides upon
the prolonged end of the shaft 16, but is prevented from turning round
upon that shaft by means of a fin or web let into it as usual. The horns of
this clutch box enter between the arms of the spur wheel 15, and which turns
the clutch with it whilst they are engaged with each other; they are, however,
engaged and disengaged alternately in the following manner:-20 is a squaro
slide, guided underneath the staples 21, 21, so as to move horizontally back-
wards and forwards; to this slide 20 a forked lever 22 is jointed, the lower
end of which is hung by another joint to a small arm or brackett 23, affixed
to the frame 18. The fork of the lever 22 is lodged in a groove, made
around the clutch box 19 to receive it, and it is carried backwards and
forwards so as to engage and disengage the clutch from the spur wheel 15 by
means of two cams, one of which projects from each side of the spur wheel,
and they alternately act against the sides of a bent part of the slide 20, one of
them being shown in action in Fig. 4. Upon the horizontal shaft 16 an
eccentric cam 21 (shewn on a larger scale in Fig. 5) is affixed, which acts
against the lever 25 of a catch hook 26, suspended upon another horizontal
axis 27, which is mounted parallel to and on a level with the axis 16. The

page_text: catch hook 26 takes into the six gaps or notches 28, &c., which are
made around a ratchet wheel 29 affixed upon the axis 27, and turns it one
sixth part of a revolution at each movement of the cam 24. Upon the other
end of the axis 27 a bevil wheel 30 is mounted, which drives another at right
angles to it, 31, affixed upon the lower end of an upright axis 32, which carries
on its upper end a spur wheel 33 acting in a pinion 34, mounted near the
upper end of an upright hollow shaft or axis 35, at the upper end of which is
mounted a reel 36 to hold wire, which passing down through the hollow
shaft 35 is carried through a hole 37, made in an arm 38 affixed to the lower
end of the shaft 35, to the outside of that arm, and is then passed through
another hole 39 made at the lower end of the said arm. The use of this
wire will be described hereafter. The arm 38 in revolving encounters a
lever 40, (shewn better in Fig. 6.) mounted upon a small axis 41; at the other
end of which axis another lever 42 is affixed, which is united by means of the
connecting rod 43 to a small bent lever or quadrant 44 turning upon a stud 45,
affixed to the frame of the machine. 46 is a lever turning upon a stud 47 as
a fulcrum, which is affixed to the machine frame; an arm 48 projects at right
angles from the lever 46, having a sliding or adjusting weight 49 upon it,
and its further end is lodged within a notch or gap made in the quadrant 44′
to receive it, and it falls out of that gap when the quadrant is moved by the
the lever 40. being struck by the arm 38 in its revolution. The upper end of
the lever 46 is forked and lodges within a groove 50, made around the sliding
stem or axis 51, and which is moved backwards and forwards by the action.
of the fork of the lever 46 in the said groove. One end of this sliding axis 51
is guided by and turns in brasses in the plummer block 52, which is affixed"
to the machine frame. Its other end is received within a horizontal hollow
shaft or axis 53, with necks 54, 54, turning in two brasses and plummer
blocks 55, 55, affixed to the frame of the machine. To that end of the
sliding axis 51 which passes through the hollow shaft 53 a pair of cutting and
holding plyers 56 are affixed, one blade of them being made fast to the axis'
and the other moveable upon a joint. The moveable blade has a short arm
or lever 57 to which motion is communicated by a rod 58, which is lodged
within a groove made along the axis 51 to receive it; this rod is connected
with a sliding collar 59 upon the axis 51, and a helical spring 60 upon tho
sliding axis presses against it so as to keep the blades or jaws of the plyers
open, unless when closed in the manner to be hereafter described. Upon the
shaft or axis 16 a spur wheel 61 is placed, but so as to turn loosely upon it
occasionally when urged by a stud 62, which is affixed in the side of a band
wheel or rigger 63, mounted upon the axis 16 in the manner to be described

page_text: hereafter. Around the band wheel 63 a leather band or strap 64 is wound,
to which is hung a weight 65, and which weight gives motion to several parts
of the machine, as will be described hereafter. The spur wheel 61 works into
and drives a long pinion 66 mounted upon the sliding axis 61. On the side
of the spur wheel 61 a tappet 67 is affixed, which occasionally strikes against
the lower arm of the lever 46. Around the wheel y, y, four cylindrical studs
68, 68, &c. are affixed; these strike against and turn a sprocket or spoke
wheel 69, (shewn on a larger scale in Fig. 7.) turning on an axis 70, and upon
which axis spur wheel 71 is affixed, which acts in a ring of teeth 72 made
around the widened end of the hollow spindle or shaft 53, and which is shewn
on a larger scale in Figs. 8, 9, and 10. On a flanch 73 made at this end of
the shaft are mounted the following parts, viz: two fixed jaws 74, 74, &c.,
and two moveable ones 75,75, &c. hinged to them. The loose jaws 75,75, &c.
are kept shut occasionally by the action of the springs 76, 76, &c. upon the
heels 77, 77, of the moveable jaws, and they are opened at the proper times by
the small levers 78, 78, &c., which are mounted upon the axis 79, 79, &c., and
united by other levers 80, 80, &c. and the connecting rods 81, 81, &c. with
the moveable jaws 75, 75, &c. by the levers 78, 78, &c. coming into contact
with an arm 82, which is affixed to the machine frame, as shewn in Fig. 4;
and when so opened they are retained in that situation by coming underneath
the hooked catches or levers 83, 83, &c. and which are kept up by the action
of the springs 84, 84, &c. upon their heels. These parts are shown in their
places in the machine in Fig. 3, but upon too small a scale to be referred to.
Having thus described the various parts of the apparatus or machinery
and their different movements, I shall next procced to describe their appli-
cation to the forming and securing wood in bundles. The wood having
been cut or sawn into proper lengths, and also split, rent asunder, or
cleft, by the action of the machines described in the references to Figs. 1
and 2, is to be placed upright or on its ends within the sockets,, &c.,
as shewn at 85 in Fig. 3, it being supported below upon the circular
plate 9, 9, 9. The socket so filled with wood is then by the action of
the crank brought into the situation shewn at 86, in Fig. 3, being then
compressed into a circular form by the action of the fixed excentric
cam 5 upon the friction roller 4 and the connecting rod 2, and which
thrusts or forces the loose semicircular part of the socket towards the
fixed part of it. It is now formed into a bundle, and is ready for receiving
the wire around it by which it is to be secured. On the socket and wood
approaching to the situation indicated at 86, one of the studs 68 which are
affixed to the rim of the wheel y, y, strikes one of the spokes of the wheel 69

page_text: and moves it one sixth of a circle, and the toothed wheel 71 upon its axis
drives the pinion 72 upoli, the end of the hollow axis 53 half a revolution;
the diameters of the wheel and pinion being to each other as three to one.
In this situation the wire which had been previously placed in one of the
pairs of jaws 74 and 75 is brought to the opposite side of the hollow axis
ready for the other parts to perform their operations upon it. The socket
having arrived at its proper situation, the clutch 15 is thrown out of action by
the locking and unlocking apparatus connected with it, as before described,
and the weight 65 descending gives a movement to the cam 24, which pulls
the ratchet wheel 29 ono sixth round, and which by the train of wheels con-
nected with it, as already described, causes the upright bollow axis 35 to
make one revolution, by which means the wire is carried around the bundle
of wood, and as the arm-38 arrives at the end of its movement' it strikes the
lever 40 and throws the catch of the quadrant 44 out from under the lever
48, which then falls by the action of the weight 49, and the sliding axis 51
is thrust forwards by the fork 50, and the sliding collar 59 coming into con-
tact with the end of the hollow axis 53 by means of the rod 58, it shuts the
jaw 57 of the cutting pliers 57 and cuts off the wire on both sides of the.
jaw, at the same time holding both ends of the wire which has been carried
round the bundle of wood by the arm 38. By this time the stud 62 comes
into contact with one of the arms of the toothed wheel 61 and carries it
along with it; and this wheel gives four or five turns to the pinion 66 of the
sliding axis, and thus twists the crossed wire held in the jaw 57 of that axis
as many times, and effectually secures the bundle. The wire being thus
twisted, the tappet 67 comes in contact with the lower arm of the lever 46
and raises the lever of the weight 49 into the notch of the quadrant 44, and
it there remains ready to perform its action to the succeeding bundle of wood,
and so on continually during the action of the machine. The weight 65
having exerted its action, the cam on the opposite side of the toothed wheel
15 acts in the contrary direction, so as to throw the clutch into geer with the
wheel, and there remain ready for action as before. The bundle of wood thus
formed and secured, on the relaxation of the loose circular part 1 of the socket
, and after passing by the excentric 5, on quitting the end of the circular
plate 9, falls out of the socket of its own accord ready to be taken away.
In witness whereof, I, the said Henry Oswald Weatherley, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Fourteenth day of November, in tho year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and twenty-five.
HENRY OSWALD (L.s.) WEATHERLEY.

page_text: AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Fourteenth day of November,
in the year of our Lord 1825, the aforesaid Henry Oswald Weatherley came
before our said Lord the King in His Chancery, and acknowledged the
Specification aforesaid, and all and every thing therein contained and specified,
in form above written. And also the Specification aforesaid was stamped
according to the tenor of the Statute made for that purpose.