Improvements in Machinery or Apparatus for Grinding, Smoothing, and Polishing Plate-glass or the like.
Year: 1889

page_text: Date of Application, 13th Nov., 1889
Complete Specification Left, 12th Aug., 1890-Accepted, 4th Oct., 1890
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Machinery or Apparatus for Grinding, Smoothing,
and Polishing Plate-glass or the like.
I, BENJAMIN JOSLAS BREARLEY. of the Union Plate Glass Works, Pocket Nook,
St. Helens, in the County of Lancaster, Manager, do hereby declare the nature of this
invention to be as follows:-
This invention relates to improvements in machinery or apparatus for grinding
smoothing and polishing sheet material such as plate glass and has for its object to
simplify and cheapen the grinding, smoothing, and polishing operations.
According to this invention the main circular revolving disc or table usually
employed and on which the glass to be ground is cemented and revolved by a vertical
shaft and toothed wheels is provided with a false or transferable table of square or
rectangular form in plan upon which the glass is cemented and which is secured to the
main disc or table by suitable clamps. By using a transforable table of square or
rectangular form in plan, instead of circular, I find that a loss number of making up
Such a table
pieces are required than is the case when a circular table is used.
can also he more conveniently transferred from one machine to another as here-
after explained.
I also according to this invention employ an oblong runner made in one large piece
instead of two or more sections as at present. It is not necessary that such a runner
should have curved ends. The runner at or about its centre is provided with a
vertical spindle that projects upward and takes into bearings provided on the cross
beams of a gantry or framing that extends across the circular table and is supported
on wheels arranged to travel on a pair of fixed rails. The projecting end of this
spindle is formed with a screw thread and is provided with an internally screw threaded
nut adapted to be turned in either direction by a worm and worm wheel or similar
gearing so that the weight of the runner on the glass can be varied according to
requirements, and the runner can be lifted off the glass when necessary and traversed
with the gantry or framing along the rails ont of the way.
In some cases I may also employ lifting screws or their equivalents attached to the
gantry or framing for raising the transferable table with the ground and smoothed
plate or plates thereon from the main table, so that by then traversing the gantry or
framing the transferable table can be placed upon a suitable truck or carriage to be
taken away to a polishing machine such as herein ifter described; or I may employ a
crane for lifting the transferable table if desired.
The polishing machine according to my invention is made of an open frame-work
of about double the width of the ordinary tables, and is provided with a number
of clamps for securing the transferable table carrying the cemented ground and
smoothed glass plate or plates thereto. The framework is mounted on wheels or slides
and is moved to and fro in one direction by suitable gearing such as a mangle wheel
and pinion, driven from a headstock carrying four cranks set at right angles or quartor
centres with each other. The four cranks are coupled by connecting rods to four
runner bars which receive a rectilinear reciprocating motion in a direction at right
angles to the direction in which the framework and transferable table inove.
runner bars are guided in suitable bearings and each bar carries a number of dead
weighted rubbers the arrangement being such that eight sets of rubbers act upon
the sheets to be polished instead of four as in polishing machines of the usual
construction.
The
It will be understood that by my invention, when the transferable table is once
filled or covered with sheets of glass to be ground and polished, that these sheets are not
again removed from the table until the grinding, smoothing and polishing of one
side of ovah sheet has been completed, thereby reducing the risks of breakage.

page_text: It will be obvious that I may modify the details of construction of my improved
machinery or apparatus to suit different requirements without departure from the
essential features of my invention.
Dated. this 13th day of November 1880
B. J. BREARLEY,
Per L. W.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Machinery or Apparatus for Grinding, Smoothing,
and Polishing Plate-glass or the like.
I, BENJAMIN JOSIAS BREARLEY, of the Union Plate Glass Works, Pocket Nook,
St. Helens, in the County of Lancaster, Manager 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 relates to improvements in machinery or apparatus for grinding,
smoothing and polishing sheet material such as plate glass and has for its object to
simplify and cheapen the grinding, smoothing and polishing operations.
According to this invention the main circular revolving disc or table usually
employed and on which the sheet material to be ground (bereafter referred to as glass)
is cemented and revolved by a vertical shaft and toothed wheels is provided with a false or
transferable table of square or rectangular form in plan upon which the glass is cemented
and which is secured to the main disc or table by suitable clamps. By using a trans-
ferable table of square or rectangular form in plan, instead of circular, I find that a
less number of making up pieces are required than the case when a circular table is
used. Such a table can also be more conveniently transferred from one machine to
another as hereafter explained.
I also according to this invention employ an oblong runner made in one large
piece instead of two or more sections as at present. The runner at or about its centre
is provided with a vertical spindle that projects upward and takes into bearings
provided on the cross beam or beams of a gantry or framing that extends across the
circular table and is supported on wheels arranged to travel on a pair of fixed rails. The
projecting end of this spindle bearing is formed with a screw thread and is provided
with an internally scrow threaded nut adapted to be turned in either direction by a
worm and worm wheel or similar gearing so that the weight of the runner
the glass can be varied according to requirements, and the runner can be lifted
off the glass when necessary and traversed with the gantry or framing along the
rails out of the way.
on
In some cases I may also employ lifting screws or their equivalents attached
to the gantry or framing for raising the transferable table with the ground and
smoothed plate or plates thereon from the main table, so that by then traversing the
gantry or framing the transferable table can be placed upon a suitable truck or
carriage to be taken away to a polishing machine such as hereinafter described; or 1
may employ a crane for lifting the transferable table if desired.
The polishing machine according to my invention is made of an open frame-work
of about double the width of the ordinary tables, and is provided with a number of
clamps for securing the transferable table carrying the cemented ground and smoothed
glass plate or plates thereto. The framework is mounted on wheels or slides and is
moved to and fro in one direction by suitable gearing such as a mangle wheel and
pinion as at present, driven from a headstock carrying four cranks set at right angles
or quarter centres with each other.
The four cranks are coupled by connecting rods, to four runner bars which receive 5
a rectilinear reciprocating motion in a direction at right angles to the direction in
which the framework and transferable table move. The runner bars are guided in
suitable bearings and each bar carries a number of dead weighted rubbers the
arrangement being such that eight sets of rubbers act upon the sheets to be polished
instead of four as in polishing machines of the usual construction.
5

page_text: It will be understool that by my invention, when the transferable table is once
filled or covered with sheets of glass to be ground and polished these sheets need not
again be removed from the table until the grinding, smoothing and polishing of one
side of each sheet has been completed, thereby reducing the risks of breakage.
It will be obvious that I may modify the details of construction of my improved
machinery or apparatus to suit different requirements without departure from the
essential features of my invention.
Referring to the accompanying three sheets of drawings
Fig. 1. is a side elevation partly in section of a grinding and smoothing machine
Figs. 4. and 5. are enlarged views the former in section shewing the lifting gear for
the runner.
Fig. 6. is a side elevation shewing the transferable table in position on the polishing
machine sufficient of such machine being shewn to clearly illustrate the arrangement
and
Fig. 7. is a plan of the same with some of the rubbers removed.
Referring to Figs. 1. to 5. A. is an ordinary circular revolving main disc or table,
it is supported on a vertical spindle B. guided in bearings B B and rotated in any
convenient manner such as by the train of toothed wheels C. and D. D driven by
a strap running on a fast pulley E. E' is a loose pulley.
The table A. is strongly and substantially made and its upper surface is faced to run
true. Secured to it by bolts and dogs or clamps A' A' is a truly planed transferable
table F. which may be either square or rectangular in plan according to requirement.
Upon the table F. the plate or plates of glass to be treated.is or are cemented instead
of being cemented directly to the revolving table A. as at present.
Instead of using two or more runners as has heretofore been usual I employ one
large runner G. square or rectangular in plan with rounded ends as shewn in Fig. 2.
or with square ends as may be preferred. It is formed of woodwork securely jointed
together and its lower side las secured to it a number of suitably shaped cast iron
runner blocks G G (Figs. 1. and 3.). The runner is provided with a central boss G
cottered or otherwise secured to the projecting end of a suspended vertical guiding
spindle H. which rotates (as the table A. revolves) in a long sliding or adjustable
bearing or neck H¹ guided in a bearing H arranged at or about the centre of a cross
beam or gantry J. The bearing His provided with keys H³, to prevent it
rotating its upper end is externally screw threaded and on to it works an internally
screw threaded worm wheel K, the boss of which rests on the boaring H2 as shewn in
Fig. 4. The worm wheel K. can be rotated in either direction by a worm K' secured
to a cross shaft K² which is provided with a hand wheel K³. The upper end of the
spindle H. has a collar H resting on the end of the bearing H³ so that it is free to
lift up in case of accident and cannot when the hand wheel K is turned to lower the
spindle put a greater pressure on the surface of the glass than the weight of the
runner G. and attached spindle H. By rotating the worm wheel K. the pressure on
the glass can be adjusted and when removing or replacing the transferable table the
runner can be raised up clear of the glass as hereafter explained. The cross heam or
gantry J. is supported and firmly secured to carriages JJ provided with flanged
wheels J J that run on fixed rails as shewn in Figs. 2. and 3. and suitable toothed
wheels and handles J are provided for causing the framing or gantry to travel and
put the runner G. into the required position relatively to the fixed vertical centre line
of the revolving and transferable tables A. and F. As these latter revolve
eccentrically with the centre spindle the runner is caused to revolve with a
sweeping or sliding motion over the glass in the direction shewn by the arrows in
Fig. 2. For example when the glass is rough as at first the distance between the
vertical axes of the shaft B. and the spindle H. will be somewhat loss than when the
glass is ground to a more even face when the travelling gantry and attached runner
will be moved as required whilst the machine is in operation. By being able to move

page_text: the runner towards or away from the vertical axis of the transferable tablo a less
number of making up pieces are required and the corners of the sheets of glass are
not so liable to be broken off as when two or more smaller runners are used revolving
about fixed centres over a circular table as is at present usual. It will thus be under-
stood that by the construction describe when the main disc or table A. carrying
the transferable table F. revolves the friction between the surface of the glass to be
ground and the runner G. will cause the latter to rotate about a centre eccentric to
that about which the tables rotate, and as the runner has a large bearing surface it
will bring the glass to a face more quickly than the runners usually employed whilst
the projecting portion of the runner being very small in comparison to the whole of
the runner it does not spring downwards and break off the corners of the glass plate
under treatment.
For transferring the table F. and ground glass from one machine to another or
onto a truck or carriage two swivel jib lifting cranes L. L. secured to the cross beam
or gantry J. can be provided as shewn in Figs. 1. 2 and 3. lugs F₁ being formed on
the table F. as shown in Figs. 2 and 3. for the attachment of lifting chains thereto.
The runner G. is first lifted off the glass by raising the adjusting bearing H¹ the
table F. is then lifted from the table A. by the cranes L. L. and the gantry J. moved
along the rails until over a carriage not shewn also running on rails upon which the
transferable table is lowered and passed on to the polishing machine.
The polishing machine according to my invention is considerably wider than the
machines as at present constructed and comprises a large open framework M. provided
with clamps A for securing the table F. and the ground and smoothed glass cemented
thereto. The framework M. is guided in slides M' and is moved transversely by
ordinary goaring such as a mangle wheel and pinion not shewn.
Instead of employing only two runner bars N. I use four as shewn in Fig. 7.
P. P. P. P. are four cranks set at right angles with each other as shown in Figs. 6 and 7.
driven by toothed gearing as shewn from an underground main driving shaft Q.
through toothed wheels Q and Q friction coupling shaft Q and toothed wheels Q
and P. The friction coupling Qadmits of the shaft Qt being stopped and started
slowly. The runner bars N. N. are each jointed by a connecting rod N¹ to one of the
four cranks P. which imparts to it a rectalinear reciprocating motion at right angles
to the direction in which the framework and transferable table are moved. The
runner bars are each guided at its ends in bearings N2 and carry a number of dead
weight rubbers N³. Some of these rubbers are indicated by dotted circles in Fig. 7.
By the construction described eight sets of rubbers are provided instead of four only
as is usual in the ordinary construction of glass polishing machines, by this method
the driving arrangements are more perfectly balanced and the polishing arrangements
more evenly distributed than in the present machines, thus securing a very even pull
on the glass and preventing breakage.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven™
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I make no general claim to
a circular transferable table alone but 1 declare that what 1 do claim is :-
1. In a machine for grinding and smoothing sheet material such as plate glass the
use in conjunction with a rotating table such as A. of a square or rectangular trans-
ferable table F. to which the sheet material to be treated can be directly secured and
which is adapted to be raised and transported by cranes and a travelling gantry as set
forth, clamping devices for securing the transferable table to the rotating table and a
single rectangular runner capable of bearing upon the sheet material under treatment
substantially as herein described for the purpose specified.
EL
2. In a machine for grinding and smoothing sheet material such as plate glass
square or rectangular runner, with or without rounded ends, and supported on a
vertically adjustable central spindle substantially in the manner horeinbefore described
for the purpose specified.
3. In a machine for grinding and smoothing sheet material such as plate glass the
combination with a rotary table for carrying the sheet material to be treated, of a

page_text: single square or rectangular vertically adjustable runner and a travelling gantry
adapted to carry the runner and traverse the same relatively to the centre of the rotary
table substantially as herein described, for the purpose specified.
4. My improved machine for grinding and smoothing sheet material such as plate
glass constructed substantially as herein before described with reference to Figs. 1. to 5.
inclusive of the drawings annexed.
5. My improved machine for polishing sheet material such as plate glass, constructed
arranged and operating substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and
shewn in Figs. 6. and 7. of the drawings annexed.
Dated this 11th day of August 1890.