IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR CLEANING KNIVES
Year: 1870

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Alfred Vincent Newton, of the Office for Patents,
66, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Mechanical
Draughtsman, for the Invention of "IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR CLEANING
KNIVES." A communication from abroad by J. A. Weston, of Paris,
in the Empire of France
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Alfred Vincent
Newton at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his
Petition, on the 3rd June 1870.
I, ALFRED VINCENT NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery
Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Mechanical Draughtsman, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVED APPARATUS
FOR CLEANING KNIVES," to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to a novel construction of apparatus for cleaning
knives, the object being to construct an efficient knife cleaner at com-
paratively small cost. To this end two endless bands of leather are used
as the travelling friction surfaces, between which the knife blades are

page_text: to be inserted. These bands are set up vertically on horizontal tension
rollers contained in a case or box. This case may be conveniently made
of cast iron, having at the top a hopper for the reception of the brickdust
or other polishing powder, which descending therefrom is distributed
over the leather belts. At bottom the case is provided with a drawer
for catching the powder as it falls from the belts. One end of the case
is slotted to admit the knife blades and rests are provided to support
their handles which may be held firmly by catches or clips. The bottom
rollers are geared together and worked by a winch handle.
In adapting the apparatus for cleaning more than one knife at a time
three bands may be used, set side by side, or the pair of belts may be
lengthened and guide rollers or guide bars introduced between the bolts
so as to press the endless friction surfaces forwards and keep them in
contact with the blades that the upper blade may not hold the belts
apart and thus prevent them from acting efficiently against the lower
blade or blades. These guide rollers or bars may be self-adjusting by
means of springs applied thereto either within or outside the case. A
leather pad is fitted on the case on which to finish the cleaning of
carving knives when their blades are longer than the breadth of the
belts.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Alfred Vincent Newton in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 3rd December 1870.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ALFRED
VINCENT NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the
County of Middlesex, Mechanical Draughtsman, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Third day of June, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy, in the thirty-third
year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and
grant unto me, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, Her special licence,
that I, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, or such others as I, the said Alfred Vincent 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

page_text: 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
APPARATUS FOR CLEANING KNIVES," being a communication to me from
abroad by J. A. Weston, of Paris, in the Empire of France, upon the
condition (amongst others) that I, the said Alfred Vincent Newton,
my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my,
or their, or one of their hands and seals, 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 Alfred Vincent 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 here-
unto annexed, and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to
say):
This Invention relates to a novel construction of apparatus for cleaning
knives, the object being to construct an efficient knife cleaner at com-
paratively small cost. To attain this object endless belts or bands of
leather are employed as the travelling friction surfaces between which
the knife blades are to be inserted. These bands are set up vertically
on horizontal tension rollers contained in a case or box, and rotary
motion being communicated to the bands while the knife blades pre-
sented to them are held fast the cleaning of the knives will be readily
effected.
In the accompanying Drawings Fig. 1 is a front elevation of the
improved knife cleaner; Fig. 2 is a transverse vertical section of
the same; and Fig. 3 is an elevation of the gearing end of the box or
case.
A, A, is a rectangular case made by preference of cast iron. The
top A³ of the case is cast with a hopper for the reception of the brick-
dust or other polishing powder employed; A, A³, are the end plates cast
with bearings for the rollers. The plate A* is cast with vertical slots for
the admission of knife blades into the box, and it is also provided with
brackets for supporting the handles of the knives to be cleaned. The several
plates A', A', A³, are secured to the main casting by screws, as shewn ;

page_text: B, B¹, and B², B³, are two pairs of tension rollers over which are stretched
endless belts formed of buff leather or other equivalent material C, O¹.
These belts are brought together so as to touch and remain in contact
while passing through the vertical plane which cuts the centre of the
hopper. If, therefore, a knife blade is thrust between the belts it will
receive friction therefrom on both sides and will be speedily polished.
In order, however, to allow of more than one knife being acted on simul-
taneously pressing rollers are provided, as shewn at D, D, which will
serve to press back into position the belts when bent out of their course
by the thickness of the knife blade which they have just passed, and thus
enable the belts to act efficiently on a second blade. By the use of more
than one pair of rollers D and a corresponding lengthening of the
endless bands three or more knives may be acted on simultaneously by
the machine. The rollers D may be held up to their work by adjusting
screws or by coiled springs d, d, lying in recesses cast in the end
plates A2, A3, and pressing forward sliding blocks that bear against the
the axles of the rollers. The bands are driven by a pair of spur
wheels E, E, keyed on the extended axles of the lower rollers, and on the
squared end of the axle of one of these rollers is fitted a winch handle F
for giving rotary motion thereto. Below the bands a drawer G is
provided for receiving the polishing powder that falls from the hopper
between the bands. The knife blades being inserted in the slots of the
plate A³, the handles are secured to the rests or supports by swivel
catches or clips.
In order to increase still further the cleaning capacity of the apparatus
three bands may be used set side by side, and the lower rollers of each
band geared together. Instead also of the pressing rollers guide bars
may be introduced between the belts to press out the endless friction
surfaces and keep them in contact with the blades that the upper blade
may not hold the belts apart, and thus prevent them from acting
efficiently against the lower blade or blades. These guide bars may like
the rollers be self-adjusting by means of springs applied thereto either
within or outside the case. H is a leather pad fitted on the top of the
case on which to finish the cleaning of carving knives when their blades
exceed in length the breadth of the leather friction belts or bands.
Having now set forth the nature of the Invention of "Improved Appa-
ratus for Cleaning Knives," as communicated to me from abroad, and
explained the manner of carrying the same into effect, I wish it to be

page_text: understood that under the above in part recited Letters Patent I
claim,―
First. The use of smooth endless bands or belts arranged as described,
and employed as friction surfaces for polishing knife blades on both sides
simultaneously.
Secondly. The means described for causing a pair of endless bands
or belts to act efficiently on two or more knife blades simultaneously.
In witness whereof, I, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, the Third day of December,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and
seventy.