AN IMPROVED CORE-CUTTING MACHINE
Year: 1863

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George Davies, of No. 1, Serle Street, Lincoln's
Inn, in the County of Middlesex, and No. 28, St. Enoch Square, in the
City of Glasgow, Civil Engineer and Patent Agent, for the Invention of
"AN IMPROVED CORE-CUTTING MACHINE."-A communication from abroad
by Edward Borie and Alexander Mackie, both of Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania. United States of America.
Sealed the 18th September 1863, and dated the 29th June 1863.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said George Davies at the
Office of the. Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
29th June 1863.
I, GEORGE DAVIES, of No. 1, Serle Street, Lincoln's Inn, in the County of
Middlesex, and No. 28, St. Enoch Square, in the City of Glasgow, Civil
Engineer and Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for" AN IMPROVED CORK-CUTTING MACHINE," (a communication to me from abroad
by Edward Borie and Alexander Mackie, both of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,
United States of America), to be as follows: --
This Invention consists of certain novel mechanism for cutting corks, the
corks being applied to the machine in the form of oblong blocks, and discharged
from the machine completely cut to the required shape. A table or platform
is supported by a suitable frame, and in this table is an opening, within which
a horizontal pulley is arranged to revolve freely, the pulley being secured to a
vertical shaft which is caused to revolve at a rapid rate by means of a belt or

page_text: any suitable system of gearing in bearings on the frame. To the rim of this
pulley are secured curved blades of properly tempered steel, the blades being
bevelled from the inside and reduced to a sharp cutting edge, and the whole
forming an annular vertical knife. In front of this knife and to the table is
secured a standard, in which a tubular shaft turns freely, another shaft passing
through and turning freely in the tubular shaft. The outer end of the inner
shaft is furnished with an arm, to which a vibrating motion is imparted by any
suitable mechanism actuated by the same prime mover from which the rotary
knife derives its movement. A disc is secured to the tubular shaft, and is
connected by means of suitable bolts to an annular plate. Four spindles
situated at equal distances apart from each other are arranged to turn and to
slide horizontally in the disc and annular plate, each spindle having at one end
a head with inclined teeth on its surface, and at the opposite end a roller
maintained in its proper position by a suitable nut. Each spindle is also pro-
vided with a pinion and a spiral spring which, being confined between the said
pinion, and the annular plate tends to force the spindle forwards. The teeth
of the pinion of each spindle are adapted to those of a segment, which is secured
to the shaft above mentioned. To the table is secured a plate, so curved and
inclined as to act in succession upon tlie roller of each spindle, and cause it to
grasp and release each cork at the proper moment. A disc situated at the
opposite side of the standard is secured to the tubular shaft, and this disc is con-
nected by bolts to an annular plate, four spindles similar to those described above
being arranged to turn but not to slide in the said disc and plate, and each spindle
being furnished with a pinion having teeth adapted to those on the segment
above named. In the face of the hub of the disc are cut four inclined recesses,
forming four abrupt shoulders, against each of which in succession bears the
end of a spring catch secured to the back of the segment, so that when the
segment is moved forward, it must carry with it not only the disc but the
tubular shaft, and everything attached to the same. When the segment is
moved in' a contrary direction-the end of the spring catch will pass freely over
the shoulders on the hub, which together with the tubular shaft is held by the
end of a bar arranged to slide in a block secured to the table, the end of the
bar being acted on by the spring. The strips of cork to be cut by the im-
proved machine are applied in the form of oblong blocks of uniform or nearly
uniform dimensions, the pieces being placed in a suitable position, to be applied
to the machine by an attendant, who is seated in front of the table.
'

page_text: SPECIFICATION in. pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said George Davies in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
29th December 1863.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, GEORGE.
DAVIES, of No. 1, Serle Street, Lincoln's Inn, 'in the County of Middlesex,
and No. 28,.St. Enoch Square, in the City of Glasgow, Civil Engineer and
Patent Agent, send greeting.
WHEREAS: Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-ninth day of June, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-thrée, in the 27th year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her: heirs and successors, give and grant unto me," the
said George. Davies, Her special license that I; the said George Davies, my
executors,. administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said George
Davies, my executors, administrators, or assigns, should at any time" agree
with, and no others, from time to time and all times thereafter during
the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, usc, exercise,
and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the
Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "AN IMPROVED CORK-
CUTTING MACHINE," (communicated to me from abroad by Edward Borie and
Alexander Mackie, both of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States of
America,) upon the condition (amongst. others) that I, the said George
Davies, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my
hand and seal; or under the hand. and seal of one of them, 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 George Davies, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be. per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement in writing, and on reference to the accompanying Drawings, that is
to say...
This Invention consists of certain novel mechanism fully described hereafter
for cutting corks, the corks being applied to the machine in the form of oblong
blocks, and discharged from the machine completely cut. to a peculiar shape
described hereafter..
.
Such being the nature and object of the said Invention for "An Improved
Cork-cutting Machine," I will now proceed to describe more in. detail the

page_text: manner in which the same is to be or may be performed or carried into
practical effect. And in order that the same may be distinctly understood, I
have annexed hereunto a Sheet of Drawings illustrative thereof, and have
marked the same with figures and letters of reference corresponding with those
in the following explanation thereof, that is to say:—
Figure 1 is a plan view of part of the improved cork-cutting machine;
Figure 2a front view looking in the direction of the arrow 1, Figure 1;
Figure 8 a transverse section on the line 1, 2, Figure 2; Figure 4 a trans-
verse section on the line 8, 4, Figure 2; Figure 5 an end view looking in the
direction of the arrow 2, Figure 2; Figures 6 and 7 detached' views of part of
the machine, and Figures 8 and 9 views of corks cut by the machine.
Similar letters refer to similar parts throughout the several views.
A is a table or platform supported by a suitable frame B, and in this table
is an opening, within which a horizontal pulley C is arranged to revolve freely,
the pulley being secured to a vertical shaft D, which is caused to revolve at a
rapid rate (by means of a belt or any suitable system of gearing) in bearings
on the frame B. To the rim of this pulley are secured curved blades E of
properly tempered steel, the blades being bevilled from the inside and reduced
to a sharp cutting edge, and the whole forming an annular vertical knife.
front of this knife and to the table A is secured a standard F, in which the
tubular shaft h turns freely, another shaft G passing through and turning freely
in the tubular shaft. The outer end of the shaft G is furnished with an
arm H, to which a vibrating motion is imparted by any suitable mechanism
nctuated by the same prime mover, from which the rotary knife derives
its movement. A disc I is secured to the tubular shaft h, and is con-
nected by means of suitable bolts a to an annular plate J. Four spindles
K, K¹, K, K", situated at equal distances apart from each other, are
arranged to turn and to slide horizontally in the disc I, and annular
plate J, each spindle having at one end a head 6 with inclined teeth on
its surface, and at the opposite end a roller c, maintained in its proper
position by a suitable not d. Each spindle is also provided with a pinion 6
and a spiral spring f, which being confined between the said pinion and
the annular plate J, tends to force the spindle in the direction of the
arrow 3, Figure 2. The teeth of the pinion e of each spindle are adapted
to those of a segment L, which is secured to the shaft G. To the table
A is secured a plate M, curved and inclined in the manner best observed
on reference to Figures 1, 2, and 5, for a purpose fully explained here-
after. A disc I' situated at the opposite side of the standard F is secured
to the tubular shaft h, and this disc is connected by bolts a, a, to au annular

page_text: plate J', four spindles W, similar to those described above, being arranged to
turn, but not to slide in the said disc and plate, and each spindle being fur-
nished with a pinion e', having teeth adapted to those on the segment L', which
is secured to the shaft G. In the face of the hub i of the disc I' are cut four
inclined recesses forming four abrupt shoulders ; (see Figure 7) against
each of which in succession bears the end of a spring catch n³ secured to
the back of the segment L' and shown in Figure 6, so that when the segment
is moved in the direction of the arrow, Figure 4, it must carry with it
not only the disc I', but the tubular shaft h and everything attached to the
same. When the segment L' is moved in a direction contrary to that
pointed out by the arrow the end of the spring catch n will pass freely
over the shoulders; on the hub i, which together with the tubular shaft h is
held by the end of a bar N arranged to slide in a block I secured to the
table A, the end of the bar being acted on by the spring m. The stri of
cork to be cut by the improved machine are applied in the form of ong
blocks of uniform or nearly uniform dimensions, the pieces being placed in a
suitable position to be applied to the machine by an attendant who is
seated in front of the table A, so as to look in the direction of the arrow 1,
Figure 1.
'
.
It should be understood that the motion of the shaft G is one-fourth of
a revolution in one direction, and one-fourth of a revolution in the contrary.
direction.
As seen in the Drawings (Figures 1, 4, and 5) the shaft G is about com-
pleting its movement in the direction of the arrow 4, Figure, 4, the discs I and
1' carrying the whole of the spindles in the same direction, and the roller c-of
the spindle K' is about leaving the inclined plate M. When the several parts.
are in this position the attendant places a block of cork on a small tray q
attached to the standard F, a flange on the tray determining the position which
the block of cork should occupy, so as to be within the range of the heads 6 of
the spindles, as the latter are carried round with the discs I and I'. When
the shaft G has reached the limit of its movement in the direction of the
arrow 4, Figure 4, the roller C of the spindle K' has escaped from the control
of the inclined plate M, and has been forced by the action of its spiral spring f
against the end of the block of cork, which is thus firmly grasped between the
notched head 6 of the spindle K' and that of one of the spindles W, and the
bar N acted on by the spring m has taken its place in one of the inclined
recesses; of the hub i, so as to prevent the turning back of the tubular shaft h
and the several spindles when the shaft is turned in a direction contrary to that
pointed out by the arrow 4. In the meantime the block of cork grasped between

page_text: the serrated head of the spindle K" and that of one of the spindles W has been
brought into a proper position to be acted on by the vertical blades E of the
revolving knife (see Figure 4), the cutting effect of which had commenced
when the shaft G had reached the limit of its' movement in the direction of
the arrow 4, and when the segments L and L' bad reached the position shown
by dotted lines, Figure 4. The shaft G is now moved back in a contrary
direction to that pointed out by the arrow 4, and to the extent of one-fourth of
a complete revolution. During this movement the tubular shaft remains
stationary, owing to the retaining bar N, but the segments L and L' will turn,
and gearing into the pinion e will impart a rotary motion to the spindle,K",
as well as to the cork and to the oppasite spindle, which with the said spindle
serves to confine the cork, the latter being thus turned and cut to the
desired shape by the revolving blades E. The segments L and L', when the
shaft G has reached the limit of its backward movement, occupy the position
shown in Figure 3, one of the segments being in gear with the pinion on the
spindle K, and the other in gear with the pinion of that spindle W which coincides
with the said spindle K, so that when the spindles with the cork between them
have by another movement of the shaft G in the direction of the arrow 4 been
brought to the position previously occupied by the spindle K", the segments
will be in a proper position to impart the desired revolving motion to the cork
held by the said spindle K and its coinciding spindle W. The shaft G having
been moved to its limit in a direction contrary to that pointed out by the
arrow 4, is again ready for a reverse motion, which, owing to the spring catch
at the rear of the segment L³, carries with it the tubular shaft h and the whole
of the spindles. The first movement in this direction causes the roller c of the
spindle K to be brought under the control of the plate m, the shape of which
is such as to force the spindles outwards, thereby releasing the cut cork and
permitting the the same to fall through an opening in the table, and thence
into any suitable receptacle. It will now be seen that as the arm H vibrates,
the block of cork is first seized between the ends of two spindles carried by the
latter to a proper position to be acted on by the revolving knife, there turned
round, so that the cork can be cut to the desired shape, and finally discharged
in a completed state. The cut cork will correspond in form to the circumference
of the revolving knife, as seen in Figure 8, or the position of the revolving knife
may be so altered in respect to that of the spindles which carry the blocks of
cork, that the latter, when cut, shall be of the form shown by Figure 9; in
either case the cork possesses the advantage of being more self-retaining within
the neck of a bottle than corks of the usual shape.
Having now described the nature and object of the said Invention for "An

page_text: Improved Cork-cutting Machine," together with the manner in which the
same is to be or may be performed or carried into practical effect, I would
remark in conclusion that I claim as the Invention (communicated to me by
the above-named Edward Borie and Alexander Mackie),―
Firstly, the annular revolving knife E, when the same is applied to the
cutting of corks, substantially as described.
Secondly, in combination with the said annular knife, any desired number
of spindles K and W, whereby the blocks of cork are held and turned, as
described, for the purpose specified.
Thirdly, the discs I and I¹ on the tubular shaft h, the plates J and J¹
attached to the discs I, the segments L and L³ secured to the shaft G, which
passes through the said tubular shaft h, the whole being arranged for carrying
and operating any convenient number of spindles K with cog wheels e, sub-.
stantially as set forth.
Fourthly, the spindles K, each being provided with a roller c or its equiva-
lent, and a spiral spring f, in combination with the bent plate M or its
equivalent.
In witness whereof, I, the said George Davies, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-ninth day of December, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-three.
GEORGE DAVIES. (L.S.)