NEW OR IMPROVED MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR 'CUTTING OUT' TEXTILE AND OTHER FABRICS."
Year: 1881

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Fox, of Milton Street, in the City of London,
Machinist, for an Invention of "NEW OR IMPROVED MACHINERY OR APPARATUS
FOR 'CUTTING OUT' TEXTILE AND OTHER FABRICS."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Fox at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents on the 29th August 1881.
JOHN Fox, of Milton Street, in the City of London, Machinist. "NEW OR
IMPROVED MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR CUTTING OUT' TEXTILE AND OTHER
FABRICS."
"
This Invention relates to certain new or improved machinery or apparatus for
cutting out" textile and other fabrics for clothing, upholstery, and other such
like purposes, the object being to provide for the operating of a knife blade upward
and downward through a slot in the cutting board at the same time that a
backward and forward motion is also given to the same.
The apparatus consists of a vertical knife passing upwards through a bed or
surface plate, which knife is attached at its lower end to a vertical bar which is
jointed to the ends of two horizontal parallel arms which vibrate in a vertical
plane, the opposite ends of the said arms being attached to two rocking shafts
which are held between centres in a frame projecting from the underside of the
bed.plate. This frame may be mounted in slotted bearings adjustable by a set
screw to adjust or regulate the throw of the knife or length of stroke.
Reciprocating motion is communicated to the vibrating knife frame by means of
a connecting rod, one end of which is attached to the vertical bar, and the other
end to a crank pin projecting from the face of a disc which is keyed on the end of
a horizontal shaft, which shaft also carries a balance wheel and pulley, and at its
opposite end a pinion gearing into and driven by a spur wheel which runs freely
upon a stud projecting from a bracket attached to the underside of the bed plate,
and will be driven by treadle or power.
Machines according to this Invention may be constructed either with or without
a self acting feed in the bed plate; if with a feed, by preference a wheel feed, acting

page_text: on the underside of the material to be cut, and a pressing plate or wheel carried
by an overhanging arm acting on the upper side of the material.
Motion is communicated to the machines by steam or other power through an
ordinary pulley and belt or by a connecting rod, one end of which is connected to
a crank pin in the spur wheel, and the other end to a treadle fixed to the framing
which carries the bed plate, or to the floor of the cutting room. The slotted plate
through which the knife operates is provided with bars for holding a piece of felt
or other material for assisting in the guiding of the knife and lubricating same.
The said plate will be readily applied to any ordinary bench or table, as also with
the rest part of the apparatus.
It is an important feature of this Invention that machines constructed as
described may be fitted into any cutting board or bench at present existing in a
factory or workroom, thus conferring all the advantages to be derived therefrom
without increasing the space at present occupied in the process.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said John Fox in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 28th February
1882.
JOHN Fox, of Milton Street, in the City of London, Machinist.
"NEW OR
IMPROVED MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR CUTTING OUT TEXTILE FABRICS."
This Invention relates to certain new or improved machinery or apparatus for
"cutting out" textile and other fabrics for clothing, upholstery, and other such
like purposes, the object being to provide for the operating of a knife blade upward
and downward through a slot in the cutting board at the same time that a
backward motion upwards and forward motion downwards is also given to the
sanie.
Fig. 1 of the Drawings represents in front view a construction of apparatus for
carrying the Invention into practice.
Fig. 2 is a side view from left of Fig. 1.
Fig. 3 a plan of the bed plate and knife plate, the working parts below being
shown in dotted lines; Fig. 4 represents the shank of knife.
The apparatus consists of a knife A passing upwards through a bed or surface
plate B, which knife is attached at its lower end to a vertical bar C which is
jointed to the ends of two parallel arms D which vibrate in a vertical plane, the
opposite ends of the said arms D being attached to two rocking shafts E which are
held between centres E¹ in the frame F secured to two bracket pieces G forming
part of and projecting and depending from the underside of the bed plate, to which
bracket pieces G the frame F is bolted by screw bolts G' passing through slots in
the lugs F of the frame F to allow for adjustment vertically so as to regulate the
throw of the knife or length of stroke. There is provided on the underside of the
bed plate at B² a groove or channel (see Fig. 1) for reception of the flat head of a
hanging adjusting screw F³, which said adjusting screw is for purpose of supporting
the frame F whilst the bolts G' are being set.
Reciprocating motion is communicated to the vibrating knife frame by means of
a connecting rod or link H, one end of which is attached to the vertical bar C
at H¹, and the other end to a crank pin projecting from the face of a crank arm I,
which is keyed on the end of a horizontal shaft K carried in a frame F" bolted to
the bed plate. The shaft K also carries a balance wheel L and pulley M, and at
its opposite end a pinion N gearing into and driven by a spur wheel O (the pitch
line only of these gears is shown in Fig. 2), which runs freely upon a stud P
projecting from a lug ƒ of frame F³, and will be driven by treadle or power;
a stud Q for this purpose is provided on the spur wheel.
These two means of applying power, that is, the pulley M and pinion N for
operating the driving shaft K is useful for applying to the machinery the power
most readily available, and as the spur wheel O runs free on its centre stud P, it
will not interfere with the operating of the mechanism when the pulley M is used
as the driver.
Machines according to this Invention may be constructed either with or without
a self acting feed for the material; if with a feed, by preference a wheel feed,
acting upon the underside of the material, and a pressing plate or wheel carried by
an overhanging arm acting on the upper side of the material not shown in the
Drawings.
Motion is communicated to the machine by steam or other power through
an ordinary pulley and belt, or by a connecting rod, one end of which is connected
to the crank pin Q in the spur wheel O, and the other end to a treadle fixed to
the framing which carries the bed plate, or to the floor of the cutting room.
The slotted plate b through which the knife operates has the slots thereof
enlarged at the ends b¹ to allow of the dust and dirt from cutting clearing itself
away, and is provided with bars or a second slotted plate c for holding a piece of

page_text: felt or other material for assisting in the guiding of the knife, and lubricating same
if desired; d are screws holding the bars or plate c to plate b, which last is held
in a recess of bed plate B by screws, as shown.
The bed plate and machine will be readily applied to any ordinary bench or
table, as at R, by cutting out the necessary portion thereof and recessing the edge,
as at R¹, to accomodate flange B¹ of the bed plate.
It will be obvious that the operation of the knife may be effected from reverse
position by mounting the apparatus in a cross head.
The knife is formed, as shown in Fig. 4, with an open slot A¹ in the tail of the
shank, and a hole A² for facility of fastening and applying the knife to the knife
bar by means of the clamping screws C₁, a binding plate C laying between the
screw heads and the knife shank; the dotted line A³ indicates the line of the knife
edge as it is sometimes made; S is a counterweight for the vibrating knife frame;
certain inclination may be given to the knife A by placing one of the screws C¹ out
of the central line.
The motion of the rocking shaft E, arms D, knife car C, and knife A,
constituting the vibrating knife frame, is controlled by the throw of the crank I
(which might be varied) and the throw is timed, as will be clearly seen by
referring to Fig. 2, so as not to bring the stroke of the frame and knife below the
horizontal lines x, x³, passing through the centres E'; thus the down stroke (which
is the cutting stroke) is a.compound movement downward and forward against the
material following the curved dotted line x between the horizontal lines x1, x2, of
Fig. 2, and for the upstroke the course of the movement is upon same line x
upward and backward clear from the material being cut.
Having now described the nature and particulars of the said Invention
I claim,―
First. The knife A having a downward and forward (cutting) motion and an
upward and backward (clearing) motion through bed plate B, in combination with
and controlled by the parallel arms D and actuated by crank I, in the manner and
for the purpose specified.
Second. In " cutting out" machinery, as herein described, the bed plate B
flanged at B¹ for fitting into the cutting out board or bench, and provided with
the supporting-pieces-on-the-underside-thereof,-in-combination_with_and_for
carrying the frames F and F2, and the operating mechanism for the knife A, as
herein set forth and shown by the Drawings.
Third. In "cutting out" mechanism, the knife A carried in the counter-balanced
vibrating frame operated between the parallels x¹, x³, said knife in its movement
following the course of lines x, said vibrating frame being operated by the link H,
crank I, and shaft K, driven off the pulley M or spur N, as and for the purpose
specified.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Fox, have hereunto set my hand and
seal, this
day of February, in the year of our Lord One thousand
eight hundred and eighty-two
. In presence of
ALFRED E. WELSH,
Clerk to Walter A. Barlow,
Patent Agent and Engineer,
6, St. Paul's Churchyard,
E.C.
JOHN FOX. (LS.)