AN IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR ROLLING LEATHER
Year: 1876

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Richard Gibson Harding and John Melbourne both of
Warrington, in the County of Lancaster, for the Invention of " AN IMPROVED
APPARATUS FOR ROLLING LEATHER."
led the 28th April 1876, and dated the 18th February 1876.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Richard Gibson Harding and
John Melbourne at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 18th
February 1876.
RICHARD GIBSON HARDING and JOHN MELBOURNE, both of Warrington, in the
County of Lancaster. "AN IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR ROLLING LEATHER."
"
This is an apparatus for rolling what are technically termed "butts or "bends,"
and consists principally of a box or carriage, weighted as required, carrying a roller,
which box is caused to traverse to and fro by means of a worm or screw auto-
matically changing the direction of its motion at the end of its traverse.
The box runs upon small wheels on a tramway which may be slightly raised or
lowered by means of a lever, to admit of the insertion between the roller and a
fixed table of "butts" of varying thicknesses, or if preferred the box itself may be
raised by any suitable arrangement. A worm or screw runs the whole length of
the traverse of the box or carriage, working in a nut or boss attached to the said
box, thus moving it in one direction or the other according as the worm revolves
to the right or left. The screw is caused to revolve alternately in opposite directions
as follows-At one of its extremities is keyed or otherwise fixed a bevil wheel,
into which gear two other wheels in the form of a "jack in the box." One of these
two latter wheels is keyed to a shaft and the other to a sleeve turning loosely on
that shaft.
To both the shaft and the sleeve is keyed a fast pulley, and between the two
runs a loose pulley upon the shaft; thus it will be evident that according as the
strap be upon one of these fast pulleys or the other the worm will be turned to the
left or right, or vice versa; the bevil wheel and pulley upon which the strap is
not easily turning in the reverse direction.
In order to change the strap from one pulley to the other automatically, the

page_text: box or carriage is provided with two pins, one of which comes into contact at each
end of the traverse with a lug or projection upon a shaft which is thus moved
in one direction or the other. This shaft acts upon the strap fork by means of
a bell-crank lever, which is so arranged that at the end of the traverse of the
carriage the strap is shifted from one fast pulley to the other across the loose pulley,
and the return journey commences. If thought desirable a slight lateral motion can
be imparted to the table, which may be mounted in slides for that purpose.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by the
said Richard Gibson Harding and John Melbourne in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 17th August 1876.
RICHARD GIBSON HARDING and JOHN MELBOURNE, both of Warrington, in the
County of Lancaster. "AN IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR ROLLING LEATHER."
This is an apparatus for rolling what are technically termed "butts" or "bends,"
and consists principally of a box or carriage, weighted as required, carrying a roller,
which box is caused to traverse to and fro by means of a worm or screw auto-
matically changing the direction of its motion at the end of its traverse.
Such being the nature and object of our said Invention we will now proceed to
describe in detail the 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 clearly under-
stood we 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 :-
Fig. 1 is a plan view, and Fig. 2 a front view of our improved rolling press.
The box a, a, runs upon small wheels b, b, on a tramway c, c, which may be
slightly raised or lowered by means of a lever d, d, rocking shaft d', and con-
necting rod d², to admit of the insertion. between the roller e, e, and a fixed table
ff, of butts of varying thicknesses, or, if preferred, the box a, a, itself may be
raised by any suitable arrangement. A worm or screw g, g, runs the whole length of
the traverse of the box or carriage a, a, working in a nut or boss h, h, attached
to the said box a, a, thus moving it in one direction or the other according as the
worm g, g, revolves to the right or left. The screw is caused to revolve alternately
in opposite directions as follows:-At one of its extremities is keyed or otherwise
fixed a bevil wheel i, i, into which gear two other wheels k and in the form of
a "jack in the box." One of these two latter wheels is keyed to a shaft m, m,
and the other to a sleeve n, n, turning loosely on that shaft.
To both the shaft and the sleeve is keyed a fast pulley o, o¹, and between the
two runs a loose pulley p, p, upon the shaft m, m; thus it will be evident that
according as the strap be upon one of these fast pulleys o, or the other o¹, the
worm will be turned to the left or right, or vice versa; the other bevil wheel and
the pulley upon which the strap is not turning easily in the reverse direction.
In order to change the strap from one pulley to the other automatically the box or
carriage a, a, is provided with two pins 7 and 8, one of which comes into contact at
each end of the traverse with a lug or projection t and u, upon a shaft v, v, which is
thus moved in one direction or the other. This shaft acts upon the strap fork w, w,
by means of a bell-crank lever x, x, which is so arranged that at the end of the
traverse of the carriage a, a, the strap is shifted from one fast pulley o, o, to the
other o across the loose pulley p, p, and the return journey commences.
thought desirable a slight lateral motion can be imparted to the table which may
be mounted in slides for that purpose.
If
Having now described the nature and object of our said Invention, together

page_text: with the manner in which the same is to be or may be performed or carried into
practical effect, we wish it to be understood that we claim as our Invention, tho
improved apparatus for rolling leather, herein-before described and illustrated by the
Drawings annexed, and more especially we claim the means shown and described.
for automatically giving an alternate reciprocating motion to the weighted box
and roller, substantially in the manner and for the purposes herein-before set
forth.
In witness thereof, I, the said Richard Gibson Harding (on behalf of myself
and the said John Melbourne) have hereunto set my hand and seal, this
Sixteenth day of August, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight
hundred and seventy-six.
RICHARD GIBSON HARDING. (L.S.)