IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS "QPLICING" OR PREPARING PIECES OF LEATHER FOR SPLICING FOR
Year: 1883

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Sam Haley of Bramley near Leeds in the County of
York for an Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS
"QPLICING" OR PREPARING PIECES OF LEATHER FOR SPLICING
FOR
"
3 »
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Sam Haley at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents on the 7th September 1883.
· ImprovemenTS
SAM HALEY, of Bramley, near Leeds, in the County of York
IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR SPLICING OR PREPARING PIECES OF LEATHER
FOR "SPLICING."
«
This Invention relates to machinery or apparatus for tapering the ends of pieces
of leather previous to joining or splicing the same and my Improvements
consist :-
Firstly, in the employment of a divided roller or a roller composed of a series of
brass or other metal rings mounted side by side upon an axis of smaller diameter―
This roller rests upon the leather during the cutting operation and is supported on
If there should be any
its upper surface by means of a composition roller.
inequalities in the leather the sections of the divided roller which are in contact
with the thicker parts, will be displaced or caused to sink more deeply into
the surface of the composition roller and thus no part of the leather is subjected to
excessive pressure
Secondly, My Improvements consist in the employment of mechanism for holding
the leather and drawing it through the rollers against the edge of the knife. This
mechanism consists of a hollow cylinder or barrel mounted loosely upon a shaft in
which is formed a longitudinal groove-In the surface of the barrel is a longi-
tudinal slot through which passes a metal plate the lower edge of which rests
within the groove in the shaft-Over the slot in the barrel a rail is fixed so as
to leave a space of about an inch between the surface of the barrel and the
underside of the rail. When the machine is at rest the slot in the barrel is directly
over the centre thereof whilst the groove in the shaft is at an angle of 45° with
the centre and the plate is about level with the surface of the barrel. On

page_text: commencing to use the machine the leather is passed between the barrel and the
fixed rail and thence forward to the required distance beyond the edge of the
cutting knife. The shaft of the barrel is then turned partially round, the barrel
meanwhile remaining stationary so that the plate is caused to project from the slot
until it presses the leather firmly against the rail when any further movement of
the shaft is impossible without the barrel being caused to revolve along with it.
The leather being thus secured the barrel is thrown into gear with the remainder
of the machine, that is to say, with the mechanism for operating the inclined
table and squeezing rollers and the cutting operation is completed after which the
motion is reversed and the machine returns to its first position releasing the
leather ready for the next piece.
My Invention also includes improvements in the arrangement of the gearing
for imparting motion to the different parts of the machine, as well as an arrange-
ment of racks and pinions for adjusting the wedges which support the inclined
table at any desired angle instead of having to adjust the same by hand as
heretofore.
こ

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said Sam Haley in the Patent Office on the 7th March 1884.
SAM HALEY of Bramley near Leeds in the County of York,
"IMPROVEMENTS
IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR 'SPLICING' OR PREPARING PIECES OF LEATHER
FOR 'SPLICING
This Invention relates to machinery or apparatus for tapering the ends of pieces
of leather previous to joining or splicing the same and my improvements consist
Firstly In the employment of a divided roller, or a roller composed of a series
of brass, or other metal rings mounted side by side upon an axis of smaller
diameter. This roller rests upon the leather during the cutting operation and is
supported on its upper surface by means of a composition roller. If there should
be any inequalities in the leather the sections of the divided roller which are in
contact with the thicker parts will be displaced or caused to sink more deeply into
the surface of the composition roller and thus no part of the leather is subjected to
excessive pressure.
Such being the nature and object of the first part of my Invention I will now
proceed to describe same more fully assisted by the accompanying Sheets of
Drawings wherein Fig 1. is cross section of a machine or apparatus employed
for splicing leather having my improved divided roller applied thereto which is
shown at I and in front elevation in Fig 2 and in section on a large scale in
Fig. 3.
It will be seen that this roller is composed of a series of hollow brass or other
metal rings 2 mounted side by side upon a shaft or axis 3, the holes in the said
rings being larger than the shaft so as to allow of their being depressed as.
hereinafter explained.
Upon the same shaft and within each of the hollow rings is boss or collar 4
secured by a screw which are employed to prevent the hollow rings from tilting
sideways.
It will be observed that the roller 1 rests upon the leather during the cutting
operation, and it is pressed downwards upon the leather by a composition roller 5
which is kept stiff and rigid by a short roller 6 resting thereon and capable of
adjustment by screwed brackets 7 in the hollow casting 8. The peripherys of the
rings upon the divided roller rest upon the bottom of the hollow casting 8 and
protrude through an opening made lengthwise therein but the opening is too small
to prevent the divided roller from coming through. If there should be any
irregularities in the thickness of the leather the rings or sections of the divided
roller which are in contact with the thicker part will be displaced or caused to sink
more deeply into the composition roller, whereby no portion of the leather is
subjected to excessive pressure, nor has the knife 9 any tendancy to suck the
leather and make an uneven splice as is the case without the flexible parts herein
mentioned.
In addition to the divided roller and composition roller yielding to the unequal
thickness of leather the hollow casting 8 and all the parts therein are allowed
to rise and yield for the same purpose and this is effected in the following manner.
The hollow casting 8 is suspended at each end thereof to the framework 10 at the
top of the machine by means of screwed rods 11 passing up the tube 12 and.
entering a hollow screw formed in the boss of the hand wheel 13 the rods being
suspended by lock nuts 15. Between the underside of the boss of the wheel, and'
the upper end of the tube 12 is a piece of india rubber 14 placed there for the
purpose of allowing the parts to yield. It will therefore be seen that when any

page_text: uneven leather is passing between the rollers that ample provision is made for it
by the divided roller and composition roller in the one case, and in the other case,
by the india rubber 14 around the rods 11 for suspending the hollow casting 8.
By these combined means the parts are very flexible easily yielding when uneven
leather is being operated upon consequently uneven splicing by the sucking of the
knife is avoided.
Secondly. My Invention consists in the employment of mechanism for holding
the leather and drawing it through the rollers against the edge of the knife. This
mechanism consists of a hollow cylinder or barrel mounted loosely upon a shaft in
which is formed a longitudinal groove.
This part of my Invention is shown in cross section at Fig 1 and longitudinal
section at Fig 4 where 16 is the hollow cylinder mounted loosely upon the
shaft 17 having a longitudinal groove or opening 18 formed therein.
A longitudinal slot 19 is formed in the barrel or shaft 17 in which slot the lower
edge of a metal plate 20 rests the upper edge passing through the slot formed in
the cylinder. Over the slot or opening in the cylinder is a fixed rail 21 placed in
such position as to leave about one inch space between the surface of the cylinder
and the underside of the rail. When the machine is at rest as shown in Fig 1 the
slot in the cylinder is directly over the centre thereof, whilst the groove in the
shaft is at an angle of 45% with its centre and the top of the plate 20 is about
level with the surface of the barrel. On commencing to use the machine the
leather is passed between the cylinder and the fixed rail, and thence forward to
the required distance beyond the edge of the cutting knife 9. The shaft 17 of the
cylinder is then turned partially around the cylinder meanwhile remaining
stationary so that the plate 20 is lifted up and caused to project beyond the slot
until it presses the leather firmly against the underside of the rail 21 as shown in
detail Fig 4 and longitudinal section Fig 5, whereby any further movement of
the shaft 17 is impossible without the cylinder being caused to revolve along
with it.
The leather being thus secured the wheel 22 on the cylinder shaft is thrown
into gear with the remainder of the machine as is hereinafter explained when the
leather is drawn against the cutting edge of the knife and cut thereby after which
the motion of the parts is reversed and the machine returns to its formner position
so as to release the leather ready for another piece. The weight 23 is employed to
counterbalance the barrel 8.
Thirdly, My Invention consists in an arrangement of racks and pinions for
setting and adjusting the wedges for supporting the inclined table at any desired
angle instead of having to adjust the same by hand as heretofore.
This part of my Invention is shown at sections Figures 1 and 6 where 24 is the
inclined table hinged at 25 to a bracket 26 on the table 27. Underneath the
table 27 is a rack 28 gearing with a pinion 29 on the shaft 30 which shaft can be
thrown in and out of gear of the wheel 22 by depressing the end of the lever 31
and removing the wheel 32 out of gear with the wheel 22 on the end of the
cylinder shaft 17. A rack 34 is also fixed on each side of the inclined table 24
gearing with a pinion 35 on the ends of the bottom feeding roller 36 so that as
the table moves either backwards or forward the roller 36 is caused to rotate
'thereby, whilst the divided roller 1 rotates by frictional contact with the
composition roller 5 which roller is driven by wheel 37 on the end of the bottom
roller 36 through the intermediate wheels 38 and 39. (see end view Figures
7 and 8)
In order to raise and lower the front end of the inclined table 24 so as to adapt
the machine for different thicknesses of leather a wedge 40 is employed at
each end of the plate 41 upon which the end of the said inclined table rests.
Underneath this plate 41 is a rack 42 gearing with a pinion 43 keyed upon the
shaft 44 upon which is a ratchet wheel 45 in the teeth of which is catch 46 so that
when once set and adjusted the wedge 40 is prevented from moving backward by
the pressure exerted by the machine when cutting. This wedge 40 can be placed

page_text: at any position under the corner of the inclined table so as to elevate or lower the
table and set it to any thickness of leather.
The action of the machine is as follows,
When about to splice or cut a length of leather with a bevil or tapering edge the
point of the screw 50 is set to a figure on a gauge marked or fixed for that purpose
upon the front end of the table 27.
0
The point of the screw 50 abuts against the framing 51 and determines how far
the table shall travel outward and consequently determines the length of splicing.
A gauge 48 on the table 49 is also set to the same figure as the point of the
screw 50 and against the gauge 48, the end of the leather is placed as shewn in
Fig 1. Wen the wedges are drawn and the leather set to the knife ready for
cutting, the cylinder 16. is turned partially around, raising the plate 20 up against
the leather which is forced against the underside of the rail 21 and secured thereby.
The machine is now set in motion by the handle 52 causing the tables to move
outward and the rollers 36 and 1 to rotate and feed the leather in conjunction with
the drawing cylinder 16 by which means the leather is forced against the knife 9
and cut thereby. By the time the end of the leather has passed the knife, the end
of the screw 50 will have left its starting point a distance equal to the length of
splice cut, and the distances indicated by the gauges; the machine is then turned
back and the point of the screw 50 brought back to its original position into
contact with the framing of the machine which prevents the table travelling any
further inwards and the feed rollers from revolving, the continued motion of the
wheel 22 will however force and compel the wheel 32 to drop out of gear with the
wheel 22 whereby the table and cutting part of the machine will remain
stationary, allowing the cylinder 16 to revolve until the leather is released, the
weight 23 balancing the cylinder 16 and placing it in its original position ready
for making the next splice.
The knife 9 has a continuous reciprocatory motion given to it by eccentric on
shaft 54 working within a slot at the upper end of lever 55 to which the knife is
attached, the shaft 54 receiving its motion from pullies driven by strap.
Having thus described the nature and object of this my said Invention together
with the manner in which the same may be performed or carried into practical
effect I would have it understood that what I claim is
Firstly. The employment of the divided roller 1 in combination with the driven
composition roller 5 and parts connected therewith for making the feeding parts
flexible to suit uneven leather in manner substantially as herein shown and
described in the first part of this Specification.
Secondly. The employment of the cylinder 16 and plate 20 operated in the
manner and for the purposes set forth and shown and described in the second part
of this Specification.
Thirdly-The means and method herein shown and described for operating and
adjusting the inclined table 24 so as to cut or splice any thickness of leather
substantially as set forth.
In witness whereof I the said Sam Haley have hereunto set my hand and seal
this Fifth day of March in the Year of our Lord, one thousand eight hundred and
eighty four.