IMPROVED MACHINERY FOR MAKING OR FORMING THE TEETH OF COMBS
Year: 1860

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Edward Newton, of the Offico for Patents,
66, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, for the
Invention of "IMPROVED MACHINERY FOR MAKING OR FORMING THE TEETH
OF COMBS." A communication to him from abroad by William Noyes,
junior, of West Newbury, in the County of Essex and State of Massa-
chusetts, United States of America.
Sealed the 27th April 1860, and dated the 29th February 1860.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Edward Newton
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his 'Petition, on the
29th February 1860.
I, WILLIAM EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane;
in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of
the said Invention for "IMPROVED MACHINERY POR MAKING OR FORMING THE
TEETH OF COMBS," to be as follows:-
This Invention of improved machinery for making or forming the teeth:of
combs is more particularly intended to be applied to, the purpose of cutting..
the fine teeth of combs, when made from indurated vulcanized caoutchouc,'
gutta-percha, or like material.. In sawing plates of hard vulcanized caoutchouc.
for the purpose of making fine comb teeth therein, the circular saw used has:
to be very thin. Its flexibility is so great that the saw is easily swerved out of
its true course while cutting the material, or making the first cut or kerf in the
comb plate or blank.. In other words, a small gritty particle in the material,

page_text: or a little springing of the saw, the burr on the teeth, or some other slight
cause is sufficient to deflect the saw out of a straight line, and make it to saw
in a curve. In order to cause the saw to cut in a straight line it is necessary
to have applied to it some means of controlling it, or bending in such degree or
to such extent as to make it take the path that may be desirable, should it tend
to swerve therefrom. It is found that this control of the saw is not necessary,
generally speaking, after the first kerf has been cut.
The present Invention consists in combining with the saw and its peripheral
guide or guides a means by which the saw may be pressed or bent laterally, or
otherwise moved or controlled, so as to be made to cut in a straight path or
kerf when there is any tendency of it to swerve therefrom. This is effected
by mounting the saw shaft in bearings which will admit of the saw and its
shaft having a lateral or endway motion communicated to it. To this end,
one of the journals of the saw shaft turns in a bearing attached to a spring
plate which will yield to any lateral or endway thrust. The opposite journal
turns in a step piece, which is controlled by a lever and wedge or cam piece, by
turning or moving which the shaft will be moved laterally to a slight extent.
The Invention further consists in a mode of producing the movements of the
comb blank carrier, both toward and away from the saw, in its plane and late-
tally, or at a right angle with respect to it, by means of a cam and a screw
formed on its periphery, and made to operate with a rack applied to the
carriage of the comb blank carrier. The comb blank carrier is a clamp or
vice arranged within the comb blank carriage, and supported on centres so as
to be capable of being vibrated therein, either towards or away from the saw.
The carriage is supported on a long rail projecting upward from the bed plate,
the upper surface of such rail being semi-cylindrical, so as to enable the car-
riage not only to be capable of being tipped in transverse directions on the
rail, but of being moved longitudinally thereon. A round rack having very
fine teeth is affixed to the carriage. This rack rests on a cam whose periphery
is grooved to receive the rack teeth, or is provided with a thread to enter
between the same. The coils of the threads for a short arc are helical or
curved like a screw thread, while on a larger arc they run parallel to the side
of the cam, each coil by its helical bend being made to run into that which is
next to it. The form of the periphery of the cam is such as to move the
carriage so as to carry the comb blank against,. and force it away from the
saw, so as to enable the saw to form a kerf in the blank, and the said blank to
be retracted sufficiently beyond the saw for the carriage to be. moved longi-
tudinally far enough for the saw to form the next kerf in the blank. The cam
therefore by its action on the rack will not only impart the necessary motions

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Edward Newton in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 29th August 1860.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the County
of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-ninth day of February, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty, in the twenty-third year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said William Edward Newton, Her special license that I, the said William
Edward Newton, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as
I, the said William Edward Newton, my 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 "IMPROVED
MACHINERY FOR MAKING OR FORMING THE TEETH OF COMBS," being a communi-
cation from abroad, upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said
William Edward Newton, by an instrument in writing under my hand and
seal, 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 William Edward Newton, do hereby.
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to
be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement, reference being had to the Drawing hereunto annexed,
and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say):-
This Invention, as communicated to me by my foreign correspondent, relates
more particularly to the cutting of the teeth of fine combs made from indurated
vulcanized caoutchouc, gutta-percha, or like material.
In the accompanying Drawing, Fig. 1 is a plan view of the machine
forming the subject of the present Invention; Fig. 2 an elevation of the same;.

page_text: Fig. 3 is an end elevation; Fig. 4, a vertical and transverse section; and
Fig. 5.is a longitudinal section taken through the saw shaft.
Its
In sawing plates of hard vulcanized caoutchouc for the purpose of making
fine comb teeth therein, the circular saw used has to be very thin.
flexibility is so great that the saw is easily swerved out of its true course while.
cutting the material or making the first cut or kerf in the comb plate or blank;
in other words, a small gritty particle in the material or a little spring of the
saw, the burr on the teeth, or some other slight cause is sufficient to deflect tho
saw out of a straight line, and make it to saw in a curve. As the curve is as
liable to tend towards the middle of the comb blank as to take an opposite
direction, it will be readily seen that when the next or second cut or kerf is
made by the saw, it might fall into the first at or near the base of the first.
tooth, and either entirely or nearly sever the tooth from the blank. Should
the first cut of the saw swerve from the middle of the comb blank while the
saw was entering it, the first tooth, when made, should be a little wider at the
base than necessary. This, however, would not be so objectionable as a curve
of the kerf in the opposite direction, as the latter tends either to weaken the
first tooth at its base or to separate it entirely from the blank, thus materially
injuring the comb. In order to cause the saw to cut in a straight line, it is
necessary to have applied to it some means of controlling it or bending in such
degree or to such extent as to make it take the path that may be desirable,
should it tend to swerve therefrom. It is found that this control of the saw is
not necessary generally speaking after the first kerf has been cut, as, owing to
the narrowness of the comb teeth formed by the kerf, each tooth will be flexible
enough to prevent the saw from swerving out of a straight path. The great
point is to make the first kerf straight; this having been done, all the rest can
be made so with little or no difficulty. But should this not always be the case,
the present Invention affords the means of correcting the error at any time
during the carrying on of the process of forming the teeth of the conib.
The Invention consists in combining with the saw and its peripheral guide
or guides a means by which the saw may be pressed or bent laterally, or other-
wise moved or controlled so as to be made to cut in a straight path or kerf
when there is any tendency of it to swerve therefrom..
The Invention further consists in producing the movements of the comb blank
carrier both toward and away from the saw in its plane, and laterally or at
a.right angle with respect to it by means of a cam and a screw formed on its
periphery, and operating with a rack applied to the carriage of the comb
blank carrier.,
In the Drawing, A denotes a thin circular saw mounted on an arbor B,

page_text: whose journals are seen at a, b. Each of these journals is conical on its
end, and is supported by one of the standards or posts C, C, extending upward
from the bed plate or frame D. The conical end of the journal a enters or
rests against a spring c. while the other journal b rests against the end of a
stud d, extended from the side of a lever E, which turns in a vertical plane
on a fulcrum e, and has a cam or bevilled surface on one side of it, as shown
at f in Fig. 6, which is an under side view of the lever. This cam surface is
also shewn in Fig. 7, which is a transverse section of the lever, and exhibits
the conical pointed screw g, against which the cam surfacef rests. A spring h,
applied to the shorter arm, serves to elevate the tail or longer arm of such
lever after it has been depressed. The saw at or near its periphery should
run between two or more guides F, G, H, arranged as shewn in the Drawing,
or otherwise suitably applied to it. By pressing downward the tail end of the
lever E, the arbor of the saw will be moved longitudinally so as to press the
saw against one of the guides and cup, or spring the saw more or less, the
lever beingcaught by the lower notch i (Fig. 3) of a spring catch l'after its
tail has described the proper movement. The spring catch arranged has a pro-
jection or notch at top for stopping the tail of the lever when in a horizontal
position.
In the Drawing I, exhibits the comb blank carrier, it being a clamp or
vice arranged within the carriage K, and supported on centres ?, n, so as to
be capable of being vibrated therein either towards or away from the saw.
The comb blank is held in the carrier in the position shewn at L by red lines.
The carriage K is supported on a long horizontal rail M standing up from
the bed plate. The upper surface of this rail is made semi-cylindrical, to
enable the carriage not only to tip in transverse directions on the rail, but to
be moved longitudinally thereon. Affixed to the carriage K is a round rack N,
having very fine teeth. This rack rests on a cam O, whose periphery is
grooved to receive the rack teeth or is provided with a thread to enter between
the same. The coils of the threads for a short are a, b, (see Figures 8, 9, and
10,) are helical or curved like a screw thread, while on the larger are a, c, d, b,
they run parallel to the side of the cam, each coil by its helical band being
made to run into that which is next to it. The form of the periphery of the
cam is such as to move the carriage K so as to carry the comb blank against
and force it away from the saw in such manner as to enable the saw to form a
kerf in the blank. The blank is then to be drawn back sufficiently beyond the
saw for the carriage K to be moved longitudinally far enough for the saw to
form the next kerf in the blank. The cam therefore by its action on the rack
will not only impart the necessary motions of the comb blank toward and

page_text: away from the saw, but will move the blank longitudinally a short distance
preparatory to the formation of each kerf. At R a rest is provided for the
comb blank to extend under and be supported against while the saw is
operating on it, the direction of the rotary movement of the saw being indicated
by the arrow S (see Fig. 4). The cam O is fixed on a shaft T, carrying a
driving pulley U. An arm r and a studs serve to determine the position of
the carriage K for the first kerf to be sawn. The arm extends from the
carriage while the stud projects from the frame of the machine in the position
as shewn in the Drawing. Preparatory to the first kerf being made in the
comb blank the tail of the lever E should be depressed and be held down by
the lower notch of the spring catch 1.A projection t on the carriage K will, by
the movements of the carriage, be forced against the spring catch, so as to
letach the lever preparatory to the formation of the second kerf. Finally, on
the completion of the last kerf of the series in the blank, the arm will be
received on an inclined plane u (Fig. 2). and by it will be lifted so high as to
raise the rack N out of engagement with the cam O, so as to arrest further
movement of the carriage.
With the above described machine vulcanized or hard india-rubber.comb
blanks can be sawn to great advantage.
Having now set set forth the nature of the Invention of "Improved
Machinery for Making or Forming the Teeth of Combs," as communicated to
me from abroad, and explained the manner of carrying the same into effect, I
wish it to be understood that under the above in part recited Letters
Patent I claim the arrangement of machinery above described for cutting
comb teeth.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Edward Newton, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, the Twenty-ninth day of August, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty.
Witness,
FRED. WALK den,
66, Chancery Lane,
W. E. NEWTON. (L.S.)