IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR CUTTING PAPER OR OTHER MATERIALS
Year: 1861

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Daniel Nickols, of the City of Manchester, in the
County of Lancaster, Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR CUTTING PAPER OR OTHER MATERIALS."
Sealed the 3rd December 1861, and dated the 6th June 1861.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Daniel Nickols at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 6th
June 1861.
I, DANIEL NICKOLS, of the City of Manchester, in the County of Lancaster,
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVE-
NENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR CUTTING PAPER OR OTHER MATERIALS,"
to be as follows:-
This Invention consists in improved modes of giving the compound, vertical,
and horizontal, or diagonal motion to the cutting knife. The beam which
carries the knife is connected by rods to cranks fixed at the end of a shaft in
the usual manner. In one arrangement the shaft as it revolves is made to
traverse to and fro by means of a cam, whereby the shaft and knife beam
move together simultaneously, and the power required to cause the knife to
pass through the paper or other material is continuously exerted in a vertical
direction.

page_text: In another arrangement the shaft does not traverse to and fro, but the
vertical action of the rods is maintained by attaching to each a frame carrying
a friction bowl, working in a slot at each end of the knife beam; the said
frames are kept in their proper positions by means of a tie rod or slides, so
that when the compound, vertical, and horizontal, or diagonal motion is given
to the knife, the power required for cutting the paper or other material is
exerted in a vertical direction. The shaft to which the cranks are connected
is caused to revolve by a treddle, by which means a great increase of speed is
obtained. I also place the indicator at the extreme left corner of the machine,
so as to be always visible to the operator.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Daniel Nickols in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 6th
December 1861.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, DANIEL
NICKOLS, of the City of Manchester, in the County of Lancaster, Engineer,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Iler Letters
Patent, bearing date the Sixth day of June, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-one, in the twenty-fourth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said Daniel Nickols, Her special licence that I, the said Daniel Nickols, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Daniel
Nickols, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time agreo
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
Íslands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR
APPARATUS FOR CUTTING PAPER OR OTHER MATERIALS," upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said Daniel Nickols, my executors or adminis-
trators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of their bands
and seals, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said
Invention, and in what manner the same was to be performed, and cause the
same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar months
next and immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Daniel Nickols, do hereby declare the
nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-

page_text: formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement (that is to say):
This Invention consists in an improved mode of applying the power for
giving the compound, vertical, and horizontal, or diagonal motion to tho
cutting knife. The beami which carries the knife is connected by rods to
cranks fixed at the end of a shaft in the usual manner. As the shaft revolves
it is made to traverse to and fro by means of a cam, whereby the shaft and
knife beam move together simultaneously, and the power required to cause tho
knife to pass through the paper or other material is continuously exerted in a
vertical direction.
The shaft to which the cranks are connected is (when desired) caused to
revolve by a treddle, by which means a great increase of speed is obtained,
and the indicator is placed at the extreme left corner of the table of the
machine, so that it can be easily inspected by the operative.
These improvements will be clearly understood by referring to the figures
and letters on the accompanying Sheet of Drawings, in which Figs. 1 and 2
are front and end elevations of my improved machinery or apparatus for
cutting paper or other materials.
The cutting knife is shown at a, it is fixed to the beam b, fitting slots c in
the end frames d. At the ends of the beam there are studs or pins e carrying
one end of the connecting rods f, the other ends of which are jointed to the
pins 7 of the crauks h, fixed to the extreme ends of the shaft i. In the beam b
there is a diagonal slot k, which traverses upon the bowl l, working on a stud
fixed to the cross stay m. To the shaft i is fixed the cam n, in the groove
of which is placed the pin or bowl o, carried by the small frame or support p,
so that when the shaft revolves it moves to and fro simultaneously with the
knife beam. The diagonal slot k corresponds exactly with the groove in the
cam, so as to maintain the connecting rods f always in a vertical position. To
the shaft i is fixed the toothed wheel g, gearing into the pinion r, on the shaft
of which is the toothed wheels, gearing into the pinion t on the driving shaft u,
which is put in motion either by the handle v or the treddle w, connected to
the shaft u by the rod y and crank z. The amount of gearing and the strength
of the parts depend upon the size of the machine and the work required to be
accomplished.
The divisions of the indicator are formed on the periphery of a wheel or disc
fixed to a shaft, so that its upper surface or edge may project through the
table at one of its front ends, as shewn at a'. The shaft revolves in bearings
at the under side of the table, and has at one end a worm wheel gearing
into a worm c¹ fixed to the screw d', for regulating the width of the paper or

page_text: material, which arrangement enables the indicator to be seen by the operative
without changing his position, and ensures great steadiness and certainty in
the measurement.
Having now described the nature and particulars of my Invention, and
the manner in which the same is to be performed, I desire it to be under-
stood that I claim in machinery or apparatus for cutting paper or other
materials,-
First, the employment of a cam upon the crank shaft having its groove in
connection with a pin or bowl, in order that the shaft may have a to-and-fro
as well as a revolving motion, for maintaining the connecting rods in a vertical
position.
Secondly, the employment of a treddle for giving motion to the driving
shaft.
And, thirdly, the improved form and position of the indicator and parts con-
nected with it, as such improvements are herein described and illustrated in
the accompanying Sheet of Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said Daniel Nickols, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Fifth day of December, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-one.
Signed, sealed, and delivered by the
within-named Daniel Nickols, in
the presence of
E. J. HUGHES,
Patent Agent,
Manchester.
DANIEL NICKOLS. (L.S.)