Improvements in Balling Boxes.
Year: 1890

page_text: Date of Application, 20th Dec., 1890
Complete Specification Left, 21st Sept., 1891-Accepted, 24th Oct., 1891
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Balling Boxes.
We, JAMES LONGMORE, Mill Manager, and ROBERT WILLIAMSON, Merchant,
both of 34 Leadenhall Street, in the City of London do hereby declare the nature
of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention has for its object so to construct balling boxes as to enable the
balls to be built up to a very much greater size than has hitherto been the case while
at the same time enabling said balls to be conveniently and readily removed from
the machinery; the invention is specially applicable to lap balling.
In a machine of this description as hitherto constructed there are provided two
parallel drums rotated in the same direction by any convenient means. These
two drums by frictional contact rotate at first the roller or core on which the lap
is to be balled and then the ball itself until it is of the desired size.
According to this invention the roller or core is free to rotate upon a shaft
between two discs or plates also mounted on said shaft which is supported at or
near its ends in bearings which are free to slide vertically in slotted standards.
The discs may be mounted on the shaft bearings or journals and one or both may
be arranged so that the distance between them may be increased so as to release
the finished ball from between the two discs.
The standards may be provided with any suitable device for, enabling the
journals to be temporarily clamped in position, and moreover each standard is
adjustably mounted on the main fraining of the machine so that it may be moved
in a direction transverse to the axes of the friction drums and roller or ball-
carrying shaft. This adjustment may obviously be effected in various ways for
example it may be arranged so that the standards, mounted on dovetail or
equivalent slides, may be pushed merely by hand from one position to another and
retained in either position each by one or more pins, or each standard may have
formed on it a rack with which engages a pinion on a shaft rotated by means of a
crank handle or the standards may be connected to pitch chains operated by two
pitch wheels both mounted on the same shaft which may be rotated by a crank
handle or other suitable means.
When the machine is operated the ball roller or core, and its shaft, then in their
lowest position, are rotated by direct frictional contact with the drums.
The lap
is then wound upon the core in the usual manner and as it accumulates upon the
core and the ball grows larger in diameter the core shaft raises its journals in their
standards and this continues until the desired size of the ball is attained.. The
vertically sliding journals are then temporarily secured to the standards and the
core shaft is drawn longitudinally out from the core. One or each of the discs is
then moved sidewise away from the ball and the standards are then also moved
along the main framing so as to leave the side of the ball quite exposed. A shaft
or rod may then be passed through the core and the ball may be lifted out of the
machine on the shoulders of two attendants. This arrangement entirely dispenses
with the necessity of lifting tackle over the machine.
The ends of the ball constructed as before described between two discs are quite
Hat and consequently when subsequently unwound for combing the edges of the
lap are clearly defined and do not taper down as is sometimes the case when
otherwise constructed.
Dated this 20th day of December 1890.
W. P. THOMPSON & BOULT,
Agents for the Applicants.

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COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Balling Boxes.
We, JAMES LONGMORE, Mill Manager, and ROBERT WILLIAMSON, Merchant,
both of 34 Leadenhall, Street, in the City of London 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 :-
This invention has for its object so to construct balling boxes as to enable the
balls to be built up to a very much greater size than has hitherto been the case
while at the same time enabling said balls to be conveniently and readily removed
from the machinery; the invention is specially applicable to lap balling.
In a machine of this description as hitherto constructed there are provided two
parallel drums rotated in the same direction by any convenient means. These
two drums by frictional contact rotate at first the roller or core on which the lap is
to be balled and then the ball itself until it is of the desired size.
In the accompanying drawings:
Figs. 1, 2 and 3 are respectively a side elevation, an end elevation and a plan of
a balling box constructed according to this invention.
A. A are the drums rotated both in the same direction, as shown by the arrows
in Fig. I, by any convenient means as by the gear wheels B B B B B of which
the wheels B are secured one on each of the drum shafts A, the intermediate
wheel B! between the wheels B is mounted on shaft C, the wheel B' is secured on
shaft A of drum A and gears with the intermediate-wheel-Badriven by-pinion B
which is secured on the shaft-D-of-the-lower of-the-rollers D! Eig. 1., all of these
parts may be of ordinary-construction-as also may be. the framing E so far as it
pertains to the supporting of the before-mentioned shafts.
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F is the roller or core upon which the ball is formed and which is rotated upon
the shaft G by frictional contact with the drums A. A. H Hare discs which
limit the width of the ball-formed on the core-F-and-each-of-which is secured_to_
the preferably flanged end of a short tubular shaft H or H³ journalled in a
bearing Hwhich is vertically adjustable in a slotted standard 1.
The shaft G which for convenience is provided at one end with a looped or other
handle G passes axially through the shafts H2 H3 and core F.
The shaft H to which the disc H is secured may be moved in the direction of
its axis in its bearing H by means of a screw J the inner end of which is so
connected to the adjacent end of shaft H³ that it can be rotated but not moved
longitudinally independently of said shaft. The screw works through a nut J¹
and at its outer end is provided with a hand-wheel J2 or a handle or equivalent:
the extent of this adjustment of the shaft H is preferably limited by shoulder H
and collar H or other means and the nut J¹ may be secured to the appropriate
bearing H by-studs J.
K are bolts and Knuts thereon each of which bolts passes through a slot K³ in
one of the standards I and through a hole in an extension H7 of cach of the
bearings H the nut K' being at the outside of said extension and the head of the
bolt at the inside of the standard I.
Each standard I is provided with a rack L with which engages a pinion L' the
shaft L2 of which is supported by the framing E in any convenient manner and is
square ended so that a crank handle may be fitted on when it is desired to move
the standards I and discs H H' along the machine as hereinafter_described.
M are pins which fit into holes formed in the standards I and framing E to secure
the various parts in the positions they respectively occupy when a ball is being
made. The framing E as shown most clearly in Fig. 2 is preferably formed dove-
tailed at the parts E on which the standards I slide.
In operation the material to be formed into a ball passes from the rollers D' over
the plate N and initially is lapped around the core F. By the rotation of the

page_text: drums A A' the core F and material being rolled upon it are caused to rotate and
further coil the material upon the core. As this material accumulates on the core
and the size of the ball gradually increases the shaft G is raised and raises with it
the shafts H H discs H H and bearings H. As soon as the desired size of ball
is reached and the shaft G and discs H H are raised say to the position shown in
dotted lines in Fig. 1 the machine is stopped and the nuts K are tightened on the
bolts K so as to clamp the bearings H in their raised position. The shaft G by
means of its handle G' is then pulled longitudinally out from the core F and the
disc H is drawn away from the ball and core F by means of the screw J.
The pins M are then removed and the standards I are moved along the framing E
by means of the shafts L and racks and pinions L L' so as to leave the sides of
the ball quite exposed. A shaft or rod is then passed through the hole in the
core F and the ball may then be lifted out of the machine on to the shoulders of
two attendants.
To prepare the machine for the next operation the standards I are returned to
their central position and the pins M inserted. The nuts K are then loosened and
the bearings H and their attachments are lowered, which may be effected by
means of a bar passed through both of said bearings and lowered by two
attendants one on each side of the machine, a core F is then placed between the
drums A A' and disc H' replaced and the shaft G passed through it and
shafts H H. The machine is then started and the before described cycle of
operations repeated.
In the accompanying drawings the machine is shown with the shafts G H² H³
and core F not in their lowest position and with a ball O Fig. 3 partly formed.
The apparatus may be modified without departing from the spirit of the
invention for example the racks L pinions L' and shafts L may be dispensed with
and the standards may be pushed aside by hand or the standards may be
connected to pitch chains operated by two pitch wheels both mounted on the same
shaft; further, both of the discs H H may be movable nearer to and farther from
the standards instead of one (H¹) as in the example illustrated in the accompanying
drawings.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that what
we claim is :-
core F of
1. In a balling machine the combination with two drums A A' and
two standards such as I adjustable transversely to the axes of the drums and core
and two independent shafts such as H2 H3 and discs such as H H one at least of
which is adjustable in a direction parallel with the axis of the core substantially
as described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
2. The combination and arrangement of parts constituting the complete balling
machine substantially as described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
Dated this 21st day of September 1891.
W. P. THOMPSON & BOULT,
Agents for the Applicants.