Apparatus for Cutting the Fibres of Wood before Embossing its Surface.
Year: 1885

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Apparatus for Cutting the Fibres of Wood before Embossing
its Surface.
I, WILLIAM ARNOLD COMPTON, of Liberty Corner, Somerset County, New
Jersey, United States of America, Gentleman, 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:-
This invention consists primarily in the combination, with an embossing tool
having embossing surfaces, of cutters affixed directly to the tool and projecting
around the margin of such embossing surfaces to sever the wood at the points
where the depressing action of the tool is liable to rupture the woody fibres: it
also consists in a modification in which the cutters are rotated apart from the
embossing roller, in a line with the edge of the embossing surface.
Several applications of my improvement to both flat and cylindrical tools, are
shown in the annexed drawing, in which Fig. 1 represents a flat tool provided.with
raised embossing surfaces, and cutters applied around the margin of the same;
Fig. 2 shows the same tool partly in section on line x, x, in Fig. 1, a shank being
shown to support the tool in a suitable press; Fig. 3 is a side view of a roller with
similar attachments, Fig. 4 being a section of the same on line y, y, in Fig. 3; Fig. 5
is a side view of a roller mounted upon an arbor and provided with the wave line
cutters at each end of the embossing roll; Fig. 6 is a plan and Fig. 7 a transverse
section of a board einbossed by such roller; Fig. 8 is a plan of an embossing roller,
with cutters mounted upon a spindle separate therefrom, and rotated on a line with
the end of the embossing surface; and Fig. 9 is a section on line 2, 2, in Fig. 8, with
the addition of feed rollers and of fixed knives in dotted lines.
In Figs. 1 to 4 inclusive, a is the embossing tool having raised surfaces b formed
thereon, and surrounded each by projecting cutters c; the flat tool is pressed by
any suitable means upon the surface of the wood, and the rotary tool is rotated in
contact with the wood, which may be forced against the tool and propelled beneath
it, by any convenient means.
It is obvious that the cutters operate upon the wood slightly in advance of the
raised embossing surfaces and thereby sever the woody fibres around the entire
margin of the same so that a perfect separation of the depressed and undepressed

page_text: part of the wood is effected when the raised part of the tool compresses the wood
in the act of embossing the same.
A geometrical pattern is shown upon the flat tool in Fig. 1, and a succession of
leaves upon the rotary tool in Fig. 3, and any other device may be embossed by
the application of the cutting edges to the margin of such parts as are depressed
below the adjacent surface.
A roller embossed or ornamented with engraving in relief upon its entire surface,
may be used to form a continuous depressed strip in the wood as shown in Figs. 5
to 9 inclusive; the cutting edge being then applied to the ends of the roller to
Bever such depressed strip from the unornamented surface of the wood.
Fig. 6 shows such a depressed strip separated, by a waving line, from the
elevated surface of the board which appears more plainly in section in Fig. 7, at
each edge of such strip; the cutters c¹ being made of suitable contour and affixed
upon the same arbor at opposite ends of the embossing roller a¹, the rotation of the
entire tool in contact with the wood serving to first cut the fibres at the margin of
the strip, and then depress and ornament its entire surface between such cut lines.
A roller adapted to form a depressed strip with straight edges is shown in
Figs. 8 and 9 at a mounted upon an arbor with the cutters c mounted upon
a separate arbor d and adjusted to sever the fibres of the wood on a line with the
roller.
The roller a is shown with plain surface in Fig. 8, and may be thus used,
to depress and burnish a strip upon the surface of a board, the cutters serving to
effect a clean separation of the depressed fibres from those adjacent thereto.
Stationary knives may be used in the place of the rotary cutters, as indicated in
the dotted lines e in Fig. 9; and cutters of either kind may be used with a roller
having an engraved or ornamented surface, provided the roller is constructed to
depress all the material between the parallel cuts.
The embossing roller a² and cutters c³ are represented in Fig. 9, as combined
with a bed to support the wood, and with anti-friction rollers g to sustain their
pressure; and feed rollers are represented as applied to the wood to propel
it through the machine thus constructed.
Such elements would constitute a complete embossing machine when provided
with suitable bearings for the arbors and feed rollers and with mechanism to
rotate the same: but such bearings and mechanism are intentionally omitted from
the drawing as their nature is well understood and they would only obscure the
parts already shown. In Figs. 1 to 4 inclusive, are shown tools adapted to produce
embossed impressions at intervals upon the surface of the wood, the surface of the
tools being provided at certain points with raised parts b to depress corresponding
portions of the wood; but in Figs. 5 and 8 the entire surface of the roll is intended
to operate continuously so as to form a continuous depressed strip upon the surface
of the wood; the cutters then serving to sever the depressed from the undepressed
parts of the wood by acting only at the ends of the roller.
It is obvious that the rotary tools shown in Figs. 3, 4 and 5, and having the
cutters attached directly thereto, may be applied to any wood planing machine to
emboss the wood continuously as it is propelled through the machine and is
smoothed by the rotary cutters. The embossing is by this means effected and the
wood materially beautified without the use of any separate machine, and without
any other expense than the maintenance of the embossing tool.
It is obvious that the wave line cutters applied to the ends of an embossing
roller may be indented, scolloped, or formed with any regularly recurring figure to
form an ornamental margin for the depressed strip.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is
1st The improvements herein shown and described for cutting the fibres of
embossed wood at the margin of the depressed surface.

page_text: 2nd The combination, with an embossing tool having raised embossing surfaces,
of projecting cutters applied to the tool around such surfaces to sever the fibres
around the depressed portion of the wood.
3rd The combination, with an embossing roller, of two cutters operated con-
tinuously to sever the fibres at the ends of such roller, substantially as herein set
forth.
4th An embossing roller engraved or ornamented upon its entire surface, and
having an indented, scolloped, or wave line cutter affixed to each end, as and for
the purpose set forth.