Improvements in Machines for Cutting or Bevelling Etched, Engraved, and like Plates.
Year: 1898

page_text: Date of Application, 1st Feb., 1898-Accepted, 20th May, 1898
Improvements in Machines for Cutting or Bevelling Etched,
Engraved, and like Plates.
I, VERNON ROYLE, of Paterson, in the County of Passaic, and State of New
Jersey, United States of America, Manufacturer of Machinery, 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:-
My invention relates to an improvement in beveling machines, and more par-
ticularly to that class of bevelers which are employed in connection with
half-tone plates, which leave a "proving bearer" surrounding the beveled edge
of the engraving, which bearer can be removed at will by hand, or by the aid of a
pair of pliers, according to the depth of the cut.
In plates of this character, their thinness renders them peculiarly liable to
"bow-up" under the cutter, and the danger of injuring the engraved surface
attendant upon using ordinary forms of clamps, has rendered it difficult to pro-
duce a satisfactory beveling machine.
The object of the present invention is to provide means for overcoming the diffi-
culties hitherto experienced, and to produce a machine which shall be strong,
compact, and accurate in its operations, and one that may be operated with facility
by unskilled, as well as skilled workmen.
In the accompanying drawings,
Fig. 1 is a view of the machine in end or side elevation;
Fig. 2 is a view in front elevation;
Fig. 3 is a top plan view, the table being removed;
Fig. 4 is a top plan view of the table in detail;
►
Fig. 5 is an end view of the table, showing a portion of the carriage in section;
Fig. 6 is a partial view, in front edge elevation, of the table;
Fig. 7 is a top plan view of the clamp and portion of the table;
Fig. 8 is a view, in vertical transverse section, through the clamp, its operat-
ing shaft, and a portion of the table;
Fig. 8 is an enlarged view, in end elevation, of the mechanism for supporting
and adjusting the gauge which is located on the machine frame;
Fig. 9 is an enlarged view in detail of the gauge carried by the table for
squaring the position of the plate;
Fig. 10 is a view in face elevation of the gauge supporting plate;
Fig. 11 is a view in end elevation of the gauge and its supporting plate;
Fig. 12 is a partial view, in rear elevation, showing the means for adjusting
the table vertically;
Fig. 13 is a face view of the cutter head, with cutters in position;
Fig. 14 is an edge view of the cutter head, showing the means for securing
the cutters to the head;
Figs. 15 and 16 are partial plan and sectional views of one of the plates, show-
ing the beveled grooves cut therein;
Fig. 17 is a top plan view of the machine, with certain of the parts broken away,
to show more clearly other parts beneath them; and

page_text: Fig. 18 is an enlarged view, in detail, showing a partial vertical section through
the table, along the central portion of the sliding plate G.
The pedestal on which the working parts of the machine are mounted is denoted
by A, and is made heavy and rigid to prevent torsional strain and other derange-
ments incidental to uneven and settling floors. It is provided with a door a open-
ing into its hollow interior, which latter is employed as a store room for tools.
The table for supporting the parts to be operated upon is denoted by B¹, and
is supported upon a carriage B mounted upon the said pedestal. The carriage B
is mounted to travel on a raised tongue or way b, fixed to the machine frame,
and on a paralled flat faced way b', also fixed to the machine frame. The move-
ment of the carriage B with its table 13¹ is intended to be sufficient to carry the
plate beneath the cutter a distance equal to the length of the longest groove to
be cut, and such movement is imparted to the carriage by means of a rotary shaft C
operated by a hand wheel c, and provided with a beveled gear c', which intermeshes
with a bevel gear on a screw threaded shaft c³, which engages a nut c fixed to
travel with the carriage.
The table B' is provided on its under side with an elongated recess b³ for the
reception of the head d of an arm projecting from a rock shaft D journalled in
the carriage, and provided with an operating arm & projecting from the shaft at
an angle to the arm d, and, under the control of a thumb screw , to rock
the shaft, and thereby slide the table transversely with respect to the travel of the
carriage. A spring d³ is employed to hold the arm d' against the end of the
adjusting screwd, and the tension of the spring d is intended to be sufficient to
rock the shaft D, and slide the table in one direction, viz.:-The direction
opposite that in which it is forced by the turning down of the screw d³.
The table B has an additional adjustment vertically with respect to the
carriage B, for the purpose of moving the work towards or away from the cutter,
and hence increasing or decreasing the depth of the beveled groove. This adjust-
ment is effected by means of a wedge shaped bar E, which rests and slides upon
a beveled seat e at the rear of the carriage, with its upper horizontal edge engaged
with the rear edge of the table. The wedge-shaped bar E is held in position by
means of screws e¹, which pass through elongated slots es in the bar, and enter
the rear of the carriage. The bar E is moved longitudinally with the greatest
accuracy by means of a thumb nut e³, which engages a fine screw et, fixed in the
end of the sliding bar E. The nut e is held against longitudinal movement by
means of a collar on its hub, which loosely engages a support e fixed relatively
to the bar E, so that the nut e³ may rotate freely in either direction, and hence,
while held against longitudinal movement itself, force the screw , and hence
the bar E, in one direction or the other, as may be desired.
The table B is secured to the carriage by means of a single bolt F, which
extends through an enlarged opening f in the carriage, and thence into the under
side of the table, the bolt having inserted, between its head and the carriage,
yielding washers f¹, so as to permit the swaying movement of the bolt F in the
carriage a distance sufficient to permit the transverse adjustment of the table
with respect to the carriage, and a vertical yielding movement, sufficient to permit
the vertical movement of the table hereinabove referred to. There is also prefer-
ably a metallic washer f, located between the head of the bolt and the yielding
washer or washers f, to give the bolt head a more extended bearing on the yield-
ing washers.
4
Lost motion, due to wear, between the head d of the double operating arm 5
and the walls of the elongated recess in which it engages, may be taken up by
means of a sliding plate & located in the under side of the table, and, under the
control of the adjusting screw g, to move it longitudinally, and a clamping screw g
to hold it fast to the table, the end of the plate G being located at the wall of
the recess in the under side of the table, so that the recess may be narrowed slightly 5
at the point where the head d enters it.
The plate to be operated upon is clamped to the table by means of a vertically

page_text: movable clamp H, mounted at its ends in sliding adjustment in standards h,
uprising from the table B¹, and provided with a pair of rack bars h¹, which mesh
with pinions h² on a rotary shaft h³, mounted in said uprising standards h, and
operated by means of a worm i on an operating shaft I, provided with a hand wheel i',
the said worn i engaging a worm wheel h on the shaft h³. The lower or operat-
ing face of the clamp is preferably made broad, to give it an extended bearing
upon the plate to be held.
For placing the work in the proper position on the table B with respect to
the cutter, to be hereinafter described, I provide two gauges, one of them K,
secured to the supporting frame and the other, L, mounted on the table. The
gauge K is fixed, in the present instance, by set screws & to a swinging frame k',
pivotally secured excentrically to the ends of a rock shaft or bar, which latter
has adjustably fixed thereon a sleeve ³, provided with a collar ³, for turning the
shaft, and thereby throwing the gauge K a greater or lesser distance over the
rear edge of the plate to be operated upon. The sleeve k³, which carries the
shaft is mounted in the upper end of a supporting standard *, which standard
is split at its upper end, and provided with a set screw, for the purpose of
clamping the sleeve in the desired rotary adjustment. During the operation
of placing a plate on the table to be operated upon, the guage K may be utilized
to align the plate with respect to the base line, which may have been utilized
for purposes of etching, and, after the plate has been clamped in the desired
position, the guage K nay be thrown back with its pivotal support out of the way
during the operation of the cutters. To relieve the concussion when the gauge K
is thrown forward into operative position, I provide a spring, the free end of
which is in position to be engaged by the lug 48 fixed to rock with the swinging
frame k, and so located that the said lug will strike the spring just before
the gauge reaches the limit of its forward swing.
The gauge L is fastened by screws to a swinging support fixed to the rock
shaft, providing with an actuating spring 3, the tension of which tends to keep
the gauge depressed, with its sharp edge in the bottom of the beveled groove.
The gauge may be lifted from its position in the groove by means of an operat-
ing handle 10, fixed to either the gauge supporting piece ¹ or to the shaft . The
rock shaft is mounted in the supporting piece, removably secured to the face
of the adjustable supporting plate lo, provided with a dove-tailed tongue 1, and
a tapered tongue 18 adapted to fit in corresponding grooves extending length-
wise of the table B'. The plate le is clamped in the desired adjustment longitudinally
along the table B by means of a thumb-nut 79, which engages with a screw
secured to the dove-tailed tongue 17, or, as I prefer, the tongue may be the head
of the screw itself, the screw extending from the head or tongue 1 through the
plate 16, into engagement with the nut 1. The gauge L is used, after the first
groove has been cut in alignment with the gauge K, and serves to locate the
second cut exactly at right angles to the first cut, for the reason that the edge of
the gauge L is set at right angles to the edge of the guage K, and the guage Lis
made to follow the vertex of the V-shaped groove first cut in locating the plate
on the table for the second cut. In the same manner, the third and fourth cuts
may be squared, or located exactly at right angles to the previous cuts, by employ-
ing the gauge L in adjusting the plate on the table.
The cutter head is denoted by M. It is a cylindrical shaped disc, fixed on a
driving shaft N journalled in suitable bearings in the frame, and provided with
a band pulley n, for transmitting the necessary rotary movement to the cutter.
The cutter head M, in the form which I have herein presented, is adapted for
two cutters, and for this purpose is provided with grooves m and m¹, extending
across the face of the disc, for the reception of the cutters 0 and 0¹ respectively.
The cutters are held in position by means of beveled faced clamps P and P¹; the
faces of the said clamps, towards the cutter, being straight, while their faces
towards the opposite walls of the grooves are beveled, as shown at p & p³, to
correspond to the beveled walls of the grooves. The clamping pieces P and P¹

page_text: are forced inwardly, to clamp the cutters in position by means of set screws, Q
and Q¹, the threaded ends of which engage threaded perforations in the clamp-
ing pieces P, P¹.
The plate, with its grooves cut therein, is denoted by R, its groove in one
direction by r, and the groove at right angles thereto by r. The particular form
of the groove which I prefer to cut is of a general V-shape in cross section, with
a steeper portion at the upper portion of the wall adjacent to the general
portion of the plate. The particular form of groove is not, however, a matter of
essential importance, as the cutters may be employed to simply rabbet the edge
of the plate, or grooves, of other forms in cross section, as may be found desirable.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is:
-
1. In a beveling machine, the combination with a cutter head and cutters
carried thereby, of a carriage, means for moving the carriage bodily in its own
plane, a table mounted on the carriage in position to support the plate to be
operated upon, means for moving the table bodily forward and backward in a
direction transverse to that in which the carriage moves, and means for raising
and lowering the rear edge of the table beneath the cutters while the opposite
edge retains its position upon the carriage, substantially as set forth.
2. In a bevelling machine, the combination with the cutter head and cutters,
of a carriage, a table mounted on the carriage in position to support the plate to
be operated upon, a tapered adjusting bar or plate located between the carriage
and that portion of the table beneath the cutters, an adjusting device for advan-
cing and withdrawing the tapered adjusting bar or plate for raising or lowering
the rear edge of the table beneath the cutters, while the opposite edge retains its
position upon the carriage, and means for moving the table bodily forward and
backward transversely to the movement of the carriage, and independently of
the said adjusting device, substantially as set forth.
3. The combination with the cutter head and cutters, of a table for supporting
the plate to be operated upon, means for advancing the table along the path of
the cutters, an angle lever having one of its arms engaged with the table, and an
adjusting device engaged with the opposite arm of the angle lever, for moving
the table transversely to its movement along the path of the cutters, substantially
as set forth.
4. The combination with the cutter head and cutters, of a carriage mounted to
travel along in proximity to the cutters, a table mounted on the carriage in
position to support the plate to be operated upon, a screw feed, under the control
of the operator, to advance the carriage and the table supported thereon, and a
table adjusting device mounted on the carriage for moving the table transversely
to the movement of the carriage, substantially as set forth.
5. The combination with the cutters, the table for supporting the plate to be
operated upon, and means for operating the table, of a swinging gauge mounted
on a support fixed relatively to the table, and an excentric connecting the gauge
with its support, for adjusting the gauge at different distances over the edge of
the table, substantially as set forth.
6. The combination with the cutters, the table for supporting the plate to be
operated upon, and means for operating the table, of a swinging gauge mounted
on a support fixed relatively to the table, an eccentric connecting the gauge with
its support, for adjusting the gauge at different distances over the edge of the
table, and means for cushioning the fall of the gauge, substantially as set forth.
7. The combination with the cutters, the table for supporting the work to be
operated upon, and means for operating the table, of means for indicating the
base line for the first cut, and a pivoted gauge secured to the table in sliding
adjustment for indicating a cut at right angles to the base line, substantially as
set forth.

page_text: 8. The combination with the table for supporting the plate to be operated upon,
and provided with a groove along its surface, of a gauge supporting plate pro-
vided with a tongue to fit the groove, means for holding the plate in its adjust-
ment, along the table, and a gauge pivoted to the supporting plate with its edge
transverse to the sliding movement of the support, substantially as set forth.
9. The combination with a table for supporting the plate to be operated upon,
and provided with means for securing a gauge thereto, of a gauge consisting of
a straight edge, and means for swinging the straight edge towards and away
from the table and for sliding it along the table, substantially as set forth.
Dated this First day of February 1898.
NEWTON & SON,
Agents for the Applicant.