Year: 1885

page_text: I, WILLIAM NORMAN, of 41 Burns Street, in the town and county of the town
of Nottingham, Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
Each machine consists of a metal bed carrying two slotted standards, in which
the axis of a roller is free to rise and fall, the top of the standards are connected
by a tie bar through which one or more thumb screws pass, the lower ends of these
screws turn in an horizontal bar from the lower side of which three or more
bearing brackets project, the number varying with the width of the machine, in
these bearings the axle of the roller above named revolves, the roller may be in
two or more lengths, each covered with elastic india rubber, or the roller may be
covered by as many short cylinders of elastic india rubber as the number of knives
the machine is required to clean at one and the same time..
Such number will depend upon the width of the machine. Between one of the
bearing brackets, and a standard, the axis of the roller has a worm secured on it,
which gears into a toothed wheel carried by a short vertical shaft, provided with
a toothed wheel below it, which gears into a rack on one side of a metal frame,
these wheels can be thrown out of gear by a hand lever and cam. In wide
machines employ two worms, two vertical shafts, two pair of toothed wheels,
a toothed rack on each side of the frame; one end of the roller axis is provided
with a handle by which the roller is turned, and in large machines the axis is
provided with a suitable sized fly wheel at the opposite end, the metal frame either
forms or carries a bed to receive as many wood rockers as there are short cylinders
on the roller, each rocker is flat on its top, and forms part of a circle on its lower
side, each rocker is secured in position on strips of webbing, leather, or metal
secured to the metal frame, the rockers also lie either on the bed of the frame or
on an elastic, felt, or india rubber bed, above it; at the front of the bed, there is a
flange through which one or more winged thumb screws are passed, by which
a wood or metal strip, as long as the width of the frame can be adjusted onto the
ends of the handles of the knives to be cleaned, so as to press the shoulders up to
the front ends of the rockers, upon which the knives are placed, the handles of the
knives being kept the required distance apart by the sides of troughs in which

page_text: they are placed, the metal frame carries rollers beneath it which run on the metal
bed; when the worm or worms are out of gear with the toothed wheel or wheels,
upon the handle being turned, the frame can be brought to the front, to place the
knives in position to be cleaned, or to take them away after cleaning, and when
the worms are placed in gear with the wheels the roller or rubber cylinders, being
placed close to the shoulders of the knives, the machine being put in motion the
roller revolves and gradually cleans and polishes the knives from shoulder to end,
on one side; the machine is then reversed, the knives are turned over and the
other side operated upon. The rocker on which each knife rests moving to
accomodate the thickness of the knife under the cleaning and polishing rubber.
By means of a machine constructed as above, I am able to clean and polish a
larger number of knives in considerable less time than machines previously
constructed.

page_text: Dereafter described.
Each machine consists of a metal or wood bed A to the sides of which two
slotted standards B are secured, the standards are connected by a tie bar B¹
through which thumb screws B are passed, the lower ends of which press upon
bearing blocks B³ sliding in the slotted standards, in the bearing blocks the axis
of a roller revolves, the roller being provided with as many short cylinders C of
india-rubber as the number of knives the machine is set out to clean at one and the
same time. The axis of the roller has a worm D secured on it which gears into a
toothed wheel D¹ carried by a short vertical shaft provided with a toothed wheel D*
which gears into a toothed rack E on one side of a metal frame E'. The upper end
of the vertical shaft carries a stud on which a hand lever cam D³ rocks, this lever
when placed in the reverse position to that shown at Figure 2 will raise the toothed
wheel D¹ clear of the worm D.
In wide machines I employ two worms on the axis of the roller, two vertical
shafts, two pair of toothed wheels, and a toothed rack on each side of the frame.
The roller axis is provided at one end with a handle C¹ by which the roller is
turned, and in large machines the opposite end of the roller is provided with a
suitable sized fly wheel.
The metal frame either forms or carries a bed E to receive as many rockers F as
there are short cylinders on the roller, each rocker is flat on its top and forms
portion of a circle on its lower side, each being secured in position on strips of
webbing, leather or metal F¹ secured to the bed or metal frame, or each rocker may
be secured in position to an elastic, felt, or india rubber bed, placed above the bed
first named, the front of the metal frame has two thumb screws passed through it,
by which a wood or metal strip Es, as long as the interior width of the frame, can
be adjusted up to the ends of the handles of the knives to be cleaned, so as to press
the shoulders up to the front ends of the rockers, upon which the knives are placed,
the underside of the bed E' is provided with a stop piece E, and rollers Es, which
run on the bed A, which if made of wood is provided with metal strips E under
the rollers, the stop piece striking against the inside of either end of the bed A
prevents the frame E¹ running off the bed.
The machine operates as follows:-When the worm D is out of gear with the
toothed wheel D¹, upon the handle being turned the frame can be brought to the

page_text: front, to place the knives in position to be cleaned, or to take them away after
cleaning, and when the worm is placed in gear with the toothed wheel after the
india rubber cylinders have been placed close to the shoulders of the knives, upon
the machine being put in motion the cylinders revolve and gradually clean and
polish the knives from shoulder to end on one side, the machine is then reversed,
the knives turned over and the other side operated upon.
The rocker on which each knife rests moving to accomodate the thickness of the
knife under the cylinders, which are occasionally supplied with a suitable polishing
powder.
By means of a machine constructed as above described, I am able to clean and 1
polish a larger number of knives in considerable less time than by any machine
previously constructed.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that
what I claim is
The construction and employment of a knife cleaning machine, substantially as
described and illustrated in the Drawings annexed.
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