Improvements in Belt-tighteners, and in the. Arrangement of the Belting for Driving the Cutter Shafts of Planing, Moulding, and other similar Wood Working Machines.
Year: 1893

page_text: Date of Application, 3rd Jan., 1893
Complete Specification Left, 12th Sept., 1893-Accepted, 4th Nov., 1893
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Belt-tighteners, and in the. Arrangement of the
Belting for Driving the Cutter Shafts of Planing, Moulding, and
other similar Wood Working Machines.
We, JOHN BRECKENRIDGE NOBLE, Lumber Manufacturer, of Tatum; in the
County of Rusk, and JOSEPH BENJAMIN HENSLEY, Mechanic, of Baird, in the
County of Callahan, both in the State of Texas, United States of America, do
hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
Our invention relates to improvements in belt-tighteners, especially adapted for
use in connection with the running belts of planing, sizing, matching, moulding,
and like machines, and has for its object to provide a tightener capable of being
conveniently and expeditiously applied and readily and effectually manipulated to
tighten or to slacken belts, and also to provide a tightener which will economize in
the cost of belting, as the shafts carrying both the right and left hand cutter heads
may be connected with the driving pulley by a single belt, and the belts when
passing over the tightener will have their surfaces which come in contact with
the pulleys upon the cutter head shaft, faced outward so that any shavings, chips,
or foreign material caught by the belts at the cutter. heads will be discharged at
the tightener. Another object of the invention is to so construct the belt tightener
that the tension upon the belt may be increased or decreased while the machine is
in motion and without interfering in the least with the proper operation of the
machine. The tightener is both simple and durable and is also exceedingly
economic.
The tightening pulley spindle is mounted in boxes at the ends of a yoke-like
frame pivoted or fitted to slide in dovetailed gibs on a bracket, a tension device
being connected to the yoke frame whereby the latter is moved upon its pivot or in
its guides so as to apply the necessary tension to the belt, the tension device
consisting of an adjusting screw-rod with lock nuts attached to the frame of the
machine and a spiral or other spring interposed between the adjusting screw and the
yoke frame.
-
In applying the tightener to a machine, a planer for instance, having two vertical
cutter shafts, both of these shafts are driven by a single belt arranged as follows:
The two vertical shafts, each of which carries a cutter head, are each provided with
a pulley through the medium of which the shafts are revolved by a belt receiving
motion from a driving pulley a single belt being employed to drive both the cutter
head shafts. From the driving pulley the two members of the belt pass around the
pulleys of the right and left hand cutter shafts and thence around the tightening
pulley, the belt being crossed so that the loop formed by crossing the belt envelops
the tightening pulley and the pulley of one of the cutter shafts. Those portions of
the belt which lap around the pulleys upon the cutter shafts when passing over the
tightening pulley are outermost, therefore any material clinging to these faces will
drop off as the belt passes around the tightening pulley. The shaft of the
tightening pulley is stepped upon an adjusting screw located in the lower bearing
box, by means whereof the pulley shaft may be tightened should it run too loosely,
and the pulley is provided with flanges to prevent the belt leaving the pulley.
It is to be distinctly understood that the spring may be removed from the tension
device if in practice it is found desirable, but the spring cushions the yoke frame
when employed.
Among the advantages possessed by the tightening pulley above set forth may
be mentioned that when it is employed less belting is required than usual for belting
up a machine, the belts are never run too tight which always results in heating the
17

page_text: boxes or breaking the belts, belts of light material such as cotton may be made to
do as much service as will ordinary leather belts, the belts never run too loose and
are therefore not liable to slip over the pulleys, and the belt is prevented from
becoming heated. Proper tension can be imparted to a belt through the medium.
of our attachment without stopping the machine and consequently without the
operator losing time, and as heretofore stated it is impossible for saw-dust, chips,
or shavings, to adhere to a belt when our tightener is used as the inner side of the
belt, that is the side next to the driving or driven pulleys, is freed from all trash
or foreign matter by centrifugal force as the belt passes around the tightener.
Dated this 3rd day of January 1893.
J. D. NUDLE,
J. B. HENSLEY,
By A. M. & Wm. Clark,
53, Chancery Lane, London, Chartered Patent Agents.
E
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Belt Tighteners, and in the Arrangement of the
Belting for Driving the Cutter Shafts of Planing, Moulding, and
other similar Wood Working Machines.
We JOHN BRECKENRIDGE NOBLE, Lumber Manufacturer, of Tatum, in the
County of Rusk, and JOSEPH BENJAMIN HENSLEY, Mechanic, of Baird, in the
County of Callahan, both in the State of Texas, United States of America, do
hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to
be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement :-
Our invention relates to improvements in belt tighteners, especially adapted for
use in connection with the running belts of planing, sizing, matching, moulding and
like machines, and has for its object to provide a tightener capable of being
conveniently and expeditiously applied, and readily and effectually manipulated to
tighten or to slacken belts; and also to provide a tightener which will economize
the cost of. belting, as the shafts carrying both the right and left-hand cutter heads
may be connected with the driving pulley by a single belt, the arrangement being
such that the faces of the belt which run in contact with the pulleys upon the
cutter head shaft, will be faced outward. before again coming in contact with said
-pulleys so that any shavings, chips, or foreign material caught by the belts at the
cutter heads will be discharged by centrifugal action. Another object of the
invention is to so construct the belt tightener, that the tension upon the belt may
be increased or decreased while the machine is in motion and without interfering in
the least with; the proper operation of the machine. The tightener is both simple
and durable and is also exceedingly economic.
The invention consists in the novel construction and combination of the, several
parts, as will be, hereinafter fully set forth and pointed out in the claims.
Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this
Specification, in which similar figures and letters of reference indicate corresponding
parts in all the views.
Figure 1 is a plan view of a portion of the frame of a planer illustrating the
,application thereto of the invention.
Figure 2 is a vertical section through a portion of the frame of the planer,
illustrating the device in side elevation and partly in section..
Figure 3 is a detail view of the tightener pulley, the said pulley being inside
elevation.
Figure 4 is a side elevation of a modified form of the tightener pulley; and 1.
Figure 5 is a view of the base plate in which the pulley shown in Figure 4 has
movement..

page_text: f
The spindle of the tightening pulley 10 is mounted in boxes 11, at the ends of a
yoke-like frame 12, pivoted to or fitted to slide in dovetailed gibs on a bracket 13.
A tension rod 14 is connected to one member of the yoke frame by a nut 15, the
opposite end of the said rod being connected with one extremity of a spiral or other
spring 16, whose other extremity is secured to an adjusting screw 17, which passes
through an opening in one end of the body A, of the planer, as shown in Figures 1
and 2; and carries two lock nuts 18 and. 19, one of which is in contact with the
inner and the other with the outer face of the end piece of the frame, whereby
through the manipulation of the said nuts 18 and 19 the yoke 11 carrying the
pulley 10 may be permitted to incline in direction of the cutter.head shafts, or
away from said shafts, or may be maintained, in a. vertical position, as may be
demanded by the condition of the belt the pulley is to carry.
In applying the tightener to a planing machine, for instance, the yoke frame
carrying the belt, tightening pulley is normally vertical, the bracket 13 in which
the yoke is pivoted being secured to the inside of the machine frame.
The machine is represented as provided with two vertical shafts 21 and 22, each
of which shafts carries a cutter head 23, the right hand shaft being provided with
a pulley 25 and the left hand one with a pulley 24, through the medium of which
the shafts are revolved by means of a belt 28, receiving motion from a pulley 26
upon a driving shaft 27, located at one end of the frame beneath the tension device
of the pulley 10.. Both the cutter, bead shafts are driven by a single belt 28,
which passes around the driving pulley 26, thence around the pulleys 24 and 25 of
the right and left-hand cutter shafts and thence around the tightening pulley 10,
the belt being crossed so that the loop formed" by crossing the belt envelops the
tightening pulley and the pulley of one of the cutter shafts, as shown in Figures 1
and 2, opposite faces of the belt lapping around the pulleys of the two cutter shafts
so that each face, is: outermost at some point of its course; therefore any material
clinging to either of these faces will drop off as the belt passes with that face
outwards around a pulley.
The shaft of the tightening pulley 10, is stepped upon an adjusting screw 29,
located in the lower bearing box 11, as is best shown in Figure 2, by means of
which the pulley shaft may be tightened should it run too loosely. The pulley is
also provided with flanges at its ends, extending some distance beyond its periphery
to prevent the belt leaving the pulley.
It is to be distinctly understood that the spring 16 may be removed from the
tension device, if in practice it is found desirable; but the spring cushions the
yoke frame 12 when employed, and when the spring is omitted a single threaded
rod, that carrying the lock nuts, is carried through the ends of the machine and
through the yoke.
Instead of the yoke frame 12 being pivoted in the bracket 13, it may be provided,
as shown in Figure 4 with a rear extension 12", preferably of dovetail shape in
cross section, which is received in a correspondingly shaped groove 13ª in the
bracket 13, attached to the frame of the machine, whereby the yoke frame is
rendered capable of a sliding movement upon said bracket. This modification in
the construction of the pulley frame and bracket may be very advantageously
employed in connection with some machines; in other forms of machines the pivoted
yoke frame is preferred.
Among the advantages possessed by the tightening pulley above set forth may
be mentioned that when it is employed less belting is required than usual for
belting up a machine; the belts are never run too tight, which always results in
heating the boxes or breaking the belts; belts of light material, such as cotton,
may be made to do as much service as will ordinary leather belts; the belts never
run too loose, and are therefore not liable to slip over the pulleys or to become
heated. Proper tension can be imparted to a belt through the medium of our
attachment without stopping the machine and consequently without the operator
losing time, and, as heretofore stated, it is impossible for saw-dust, chips or shavings
to adhere to a belt when our tightener is used, as the inner side of the belt, that is,

page_text: the side next to the driving or driven pulleys, is freed from all trash or foreign
matter by centrifugal force.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that what we
claim is.
1. The combination with the frame, the vertical shafts 21, 22, having
pulleys 25, 24, and the horizontal driving shaft 27, at the opposite end of the
frame and the pulley 26, of a belt tightener comprising a bracket 13 mounted
between the driving and driven shafts, a movable yoke 12 carried by the bracket
and a tightening pulley parallel with the pulleys 24, 25, a screw rod extending
through a bearing at the rear of the frame and provided with inner and outer jam
nuts, a rod 14 connected to the yoke 12, and a spring 16 connecting the rods 14, 17,
and the belt 28 passed around the pulleys 25, 26, and crossed, the loop formed by
the crossing of the belt enclosing the pulleys 10 and 24, substantially as set
forth.
2. The combination with the bracket 13, of the vertical yoke 12, pivoted at its
inner end to the bracket and provided at its outer end with boxes 11, 11, an
adjusting screw 29 projecting up into the lower bearing, the tightening pulley, the
axis of which is stepped on the screw 29, the threaded rod 17, having jam nuts 18, 19,
spring 16, and the rod 14, connecting the spring and the said yoke, substantially as
set forth.
J. B. NOBLE,
J. B. HENSLEY,
By A. M. & Wm. Clark,
53, Chancery Lane, London, Chartered Patent Agents.