Im- PROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS EMPLOYED IN THE MANUFACTURE OF TIN PLATE
Year: 1875

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Josiah Richards and David Williams, both of
Pontypool, in the County of Monmouth, and Thomas William
Matthews and Thomas Picton Leather, both of Broughton Road,
Salford, in the County of Lancaster, for the Invention of "IM-
Sealed the 11th May 1875, and dated the 13th March 1875.
:
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Josiah Richards,
David Williams, Thomas William Matthews, and Thomas Picton
Leather at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with their
Petition, on the 13th March 1875.
We, JOSIAH RICHARDS and DAVID WILLIAMS, both of Pontypool, in
the County of Monmouth, and THOMAS WILLIAM MATTHEWS and THOMAS
PICTON LEATHER, both of Broughton Road, Salford, in the County of
Lancaster, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "Im-
PROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS EMPLOYED IN THE MANUFACTURE OF TIN PLATE," to
be as follows:-
-
In manufacturing tin plate the sheets of metal, after having been dipped

page_text: has set, for the purpose of squeezing off from their surface excess of the
coating metal. It is found that the thickness of coating left upon the
sheets depends in great measure on the speed with which they are passed
through the rollers, and it is therefore important to have sure and ready
means of regulating the speed of the rollers employed in this operation.
Moreover in tin plate works there is usually a range of tin baths and
rollers including many sets thereof, and as it is often necessary to drive
some sets of the rollers at a different velocity from some of the others,
recourse is sometimes had to separate engines or motors, one for cachi
set of rollers, involving complexity of machinery and losses, and
difficulties arising from the reiterated stopping and starting of the
various motors.
Our Invention relates to means of readily and quickly varying the
speed, or entirely arresting the movement of rollers such as are above
referred to; and the use of these means gives the power of working a
number of sets of such rollers, cach with the desired velocity, from one
prime moving shaft. For this purpose we connect cach pair of rollers
by gearing to a drum on a shaft mounted in sliding bearings, the drum
itself also being fitted to slide along its shaft on a feather, so that the
shaft must revolve with it. The bearings of the shaft are connected to
a lever by which the shaft and drum can be moved bodily in a lateral
direction, and the drum can be moved along the shaft by a screw, rack,
or other suitable means. The drum is made with a periphery somewhat
soft, as for example, with a clothing of leather. We prefer, however, to
make it of paper put on it in the shape of numerous rings, side by side,
and tightly squeezed up between two collars or flanges. The prime
moving shaft is mounted to revolve at right angles to the drum shaft,
and carries a disc or circular plate, the face of which is presented to tho
drum described above. As long as the drum is kept out of contact with
the disc no motion is imparted from the latter to the former; but when
by moving the bearings of the drum shaft the drum is pressed against
the revolving disc, it is caused to revolve by the frictional contact, and
it puts in motion the rollers with which it is geared. When it is desired
to move the rollers slowly, the drum is moved along its shaft nearer to the
centre of the disc, making contact with a portion of its surface where the
speed is less. When on the other hand it is desired to move the rollers
with greater speed the drum is moved away from the centre of the disc
to make contact where the velocity is greater. In this manner each set

page_text: of rollers in a range being thus geared to a drum facing one of a cor-
responding number of discs on a prime moving shaft, the velocity
of any set of the rollers may be varied as desired, notwithstanding
that the prime moving shaft revolves at a constant speed, and any set
of the rollers can be started or stopped at pleasure, by mercly moving
the drum shaft belonging to that set to or from the face of the disc
appropriated to it.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Josiah Richards, David Williams, Thomas William
Matthews, and Thomas Picton Leather in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 11th September 1875.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, JOSIAП
RICHARDS and DAVID WILLIAMS, both of Pontypool, in the County of
Monmouth, and THOMAS WILLIAM MATTHEWS and TпоMAS PICTON
LEATHER, both of Broughton Road, Salford, in the County of Lancaster,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Thirteenth day of March, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-five, in the
thirty-eighth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and suc-
cessors, give and grant unto us, the said Josiah Richards, David Williams,
Thomas William Matthews, and Thomas Picton Leather, Her special
license that we, the said Josiah Richards, David Williams, Thomas
William Matthews, and Thomas Picton Leather, our executors, admi-
nistrators, and assigns, or such others as we, the said Josiah Richards,
David Williams, Thomas William Matthews, and Thomas Picton Leather,
our executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree
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 Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS EMPLOYED IN THE MANUFACTURE OF TIN PLATE,"
upon the condition (amongst others) that we, the said Josiah Richards,
David Williams, Thomas William Matthews, and Thomas Picton
Leather, our executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing

page_text: under our or their hands and seals, or under the hand and seal of
one of us or them, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature
of the said Invention, and in what manner the same was to be per-
formed, 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 Thomas William Matthews, on
behalf of myself and the said Josiah Richards, David Williams, and
Thomas Picton Leather, do hereby declare the nature of the said In-
vention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be par-
ticularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement
thereof, reference being had to the accompanying Sheet of Drawings,
and to the figures and letters marked thereon, that is to say:—
In manufacturing tin plate the sheets of metal, after having been dipped
in the bath of fused tin, are usually passed between rollers before the tin
has sot, for the purpose of squeezing off from their surface excess of the
coating metal. It is found that the thickness of coating left upon the
sheets depends in great measure on the speed with which they are passed
through the rollers, and it is therefore important to have sure and ready
means of regulating the speed of the rollers employed in this operation.
Moreover in tin plate works there is usually a range of tin baths and
rollers including many sets thereof, and as it is often necessary to drive
some sets of the rollers at a different velocity from some of the others,
recourse sometimes had to separate engines or motors, one for each
set of rollers, involving complexity of machinery and losses and diffi-
culties arising from the reiterated stopping and starting of the various
motors.
Our Invention relates to means of readily and quickly varying the
speed, or entirely arresting the movement of rollers such as are above
referred to; and the use of these means gives the power of working a
number of sets of such rollers, each with the desired velocity, from one
primo moving shaft. For this purpose we connect each pair of rollers
by gearing to a drum on a shaft mounted in sliding bearings, the drum
itself also being fitted to slide along its shaft on a feather, so that the
shaft must revolve with it. The bearings of the shaft are connected to
a lever by which the shaft and drum can be moved bodily in a lateral
direction, and the drum can be moved along the shaft by a screw, rack,

page_text: or other suitable means. The drum is made with a periphery somewhat
soft, as for example, with a clothing of leather. We prefer, however, to
make it of paper put on it in the shape of numerous rings, side by side,
and tightly squeezed up between two collars or flanges. The prime
moving shaft is mounted to revolve at right angles to the drum shaft,
and carries a disc or circular plate, the face of which is presented to the
drum described above. As long as the drum is kept out of contact with
the disc no motion is imparted from the latter to the former; but when
by moving the bearings of the drum shaft the drum is pressed against
the revolving disc it is caused to revolve by the frictional contact, and it
puts in motion the rollers with which it is geared. When it is desired
to move the rollers slowly the drum is moved along its shaft nearer to the
centre of the disc, making contact with a portion of its surface where the
speed is less. When on the other hand it is desired to move the rollers
with greater speed the drum is moved away from the centre of the disc
to make contact where the velocity is greater. In this manner cach set
of rollers in a range being thus geared to a drum facing one of a cor-
responding number of discs on a prime moving shaft, the velocity of any
set of the rollers may be varied as desired, notwithstanding that the
prime moving shaft revolves at a constant speed, and any set of the
rollers can be started or stopped at pleasure by merely moving the drum
shaft belonging to that set to or from the face of the disc appropriated
to it
Fig. 1 represents a side view; Fig. 2, an end view; and Fig. 3, a plan
of apparatus constructed and arranged according to our Invention for
driving tin plate rollers at varying speeds from a uniformly rotating
driving shaft.
Fig. 4 is a perspective view shewing several sets of such apparatus
worked from one shaft.
A is the prime moving shaft on which is fixed the disc B, having in.
contact with its face the drum C, the periphery of which is of soft
material as above described. This drum is fitted by a feather on its
shaft c, so that it turns with it but can be slid along it by means of a
screw D having a fork d introduced between collars on the drum C.
The shaft c has on it a pinion gearing with a wheel E on a shaft e which
drives the rollers. The one end of the shaft c turns in a hole in a

page_text: weighted lever L, and the bearing of its other end at c' is somewhat free, so
that by moving the lever L in the one direction or the other the drum O
can be pressed against or withdrawn from the face of the disc B. It will
be seen that according as the drum C is in contact with the disc B at a
distance from or near to the centre of the disc the speed with which O is
driven by its frictional contact with the disc is greater or less, and conse-
quently the speed of the rollers worked by the shaft e will be greater or
less in like proportion. The screw D for altering the position of C can
be worked by hand wheel, as shewn, and locked, if desired, in any
required position. The face of the disc B may be smooth, the drum 0
being pressed against it with sufficient force to be driven by friction,
or the face of B may be roughened by radial grooves with prominences
between, which impressing themselves in the soft periphery of C act as
teeth to drive it.
Having thus described the nature of our Invention and in what
manner the same is to be performed, we claim, for the purpose of driving
at various speeds from one uniformly rotating shaft several sets of the
rollers used in manufacturing tin plate, the use of apparatus consisting
of a disc on the prime moving shaft against the face of which an
adjustable drum is pressed at a greater or less distance from the centre
of the disc, substantially as herein described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Thomas William Matthews, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this Eleventh day of September,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
five.