IMPROVEMENTS IN KNIFE CLEANING MA- CHINES."
Year: 1878

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Frederick Bramley, of Mile End, in the County of
Middlesex, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN KNIFE CLEANING MA-
CHINES."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Frederick Bramley at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 9th April 1878.
FREDERICK BRAMLEY, of Mile End, in the County of Middlesex.
MENTS IN KNIFE CLEANING MACHINES,"
"IMPROVE-
In knife cleaning machines as usually made, the brushes are in sections, com-
posed of about two parts leather and 1 part hair or bristles (called "tops"), the
object of the said tops being to enable the knives to be inserted between the
brushes, it being impossible to insert them between the leather portions of the
brushes without risk of cutting the leathers.
The disadvantages resulting from the use of these hair "tops" are, that the
portion of the circumference of the drum or case available for receiving the knives
is necessarily limited; that the knives can only be inserted when the brushes are
in a particular position; that in passing from the tops to the leathers, the knives
have a tendency to twist and rip the leathers; that in consequence of the leather
sections of the brushes wearing more quickly than the " tops" the latter are liable
to be pressed so tightly together as to strain and break the knife handles, and that
when clogged with emery the "tops" are so hard, that nearly all the pressure
comes on them, and little or none on the leathers which form the cleaning section
of the brushes. The brushes are usually tightened up separately by means of nuts,
one for each brush, the disadvantage of which is, that an inexperienced person
frequently screws up one side more than the other, which has the effect of displacing
the brushes from the centre of the stay holes in which the knives are held.
Now by my Invention I avoid these objections, as I dispense entirely with the
hair "tops," and cover the whole surface of the brushes with strips of leather, thus

page_text: obtaining a much larger polishing surface, and as in my improved machine the
knives may be inserted at any point of its circumference, a much larger number of
knives may be cleaned at once than in an ordinary machine of the same size.
According to my Invention the brushes are entirely clothed with strips of leather,
and instead of being fixed to their spindle in the usual way, they are mounted to
work on right and left handed screws formed on the spindle, so that when the
spindle is turned in the one direction, the brushes (which are meanwhile held or
prevented by friction from partaking in the motion of the spindle) are caused to
approach one another and meet face to face exactly in the centre, and when the
spindle is turned in the other direction, the brushes are caused to separate sufficiently
to enable the knives to be inserted without risk of cutting the leathers.
In mounting the brushes the middle portion of the spindle is left large for their
reception, and one-half of this part is screwed with a right-handed thread, and the
other half with a left-handed thread, corresponding nuts or female screws being
provided at the centres of the brushes to work on the screwed portions of the
spindle.
The brushes are prevented from turning backwards by a ratchet wheel and pawl,
and in order to cause the brushes to separate to enable the knives to be inserted or
withdrawn, it is only necessary to turn the handle of the machine backwards in the
ordinary way of easing the knives off the stays of the machine. Upon the inside
and outside of both brushes there are collars to limit the extent of motion of the
brushes along their spindle, and by means of which the brushes are adjusted as they
wear, this adjustment being effected simultaneously and to an equal extent for both
brushes by means of a spindle passing axially through the brush spindle. This
adjusting spindle is capable of revolving but not of moving longitudinally, and is
threaded with right and left hand screw threads, upon which travel nuts or female
screws formed in halves and fixed to the inside of the collars above mentioned,
which are merely rings travelling on the main spindle. The latter has cross slots
for the half nuts to pass through, and engage with the thread of the adjusting
spindle.
My Invention also comprises a slotted and curved stay for each knife. This stay
instead of being fixed rigidly to the case or drum as the stays hitherto used is
mounted on a hinge, and acted on by a spring which throws the slotted part of the
stay forward, and allows the knife to be inserted with greater accuracy and facility.
The stay bears against the blade of the knife when the latter is first placed in the
machine and holds the same in position, and when the blade of the knife is after-
wards entirely inserted, the handle strikes the front curved portion of the stay and
throws it back, the stay still holding the knife in position and serving to ease the
shoulder of the knife off the block. The stay bearing on the knife when the latter
is being drawn out, serves to polish the back edge against the block.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said Frederick Bramley in the Great Scal Patent Office on the 9th
October 1878.
FREDERICK BRAMLEY, of Mile End, in the County of Middlesex.
MENTS IN KNIFE CLEANING MACHINES."
"
IMPROVE-
In knife cleaning machines as usually made, a segment of the "brushes" equal to
about one-third of their whole area is composed of hair or bristles (called "tops"),
the remainder, which constitutes the polishing portion of the brushes, being made of
leather. The object of the said "tops" is to enable the knives to be easily inserted
between the "brushes," which cannot be done between the leather portions when
the brushes are pressed tightly together as usual, without risk of cutting the
leathers.
The disadvantages resulting from the use of these hair "tops" are, that the
effective area of the "brushes" is lessened; that the knives on the "tops" leaving
them have a tendency to twist and so rip the leathers which follow; and that in
consequence of the leathers wearing more quickly than the tops, the latter aro
liable to be pressed so tightly together as to strain and break the knife handles,
the "tops" when clogged with emery becoming so hard that nearly all the pressuro
comes on them and little or none on the leathers.
Now by my Invention 1 am enabled to dispense altogether with the hair "tops,"
and make the brush surfaces wholly of leather, thus rendering their entire area
effective for polishing and avoiding the objections attending the use of hair "tops"
above mentioned.
F
According to my Invention, the brushes instead of being permanently fixed on
the spindle in close proximity to one another are capable of being simultaneously
traversed along the spindle in opposite directions, until they are sufficiently
separated to enable the knives to be inserted between them without risk of cutting
the leathers, and of being afterwards closed together again.
This separation and closing together of the brushes may be effected by the
following means:-The portions of the spindle on which the two brushes are
mounted have cut upon them the one a right and the other a loft handed screw
thread, which screwed portions pass through corresponding nuts or female screws
fixed at the centres or bosses of the brushes. The spindle is capable of turning
therein to a limited extent without rotating the brushes, so that when the spindle
is turned in the backward direction, the brushes will be caused to recede from one
another, and when turned in the forward direction they will be caused to approach
one another and meet face to face exactly opposite the median line of the knife
holes in the drum or case.
The brushes are connected by a clutch, and when the spindle is turned back-
wards, they are prevented from turning backwards also by a pawl engaging with a
ratchet on the circumference of one of them, or by a friction stop. When the
spindle is turned in the forward direction, their own inertia is sufficient to prevent
the brushes partaking fully in its motion, until they have been closed up tightly
together again, whereupon they rotate with the spindle as though they were keyed
thereon as usual.
A stop limits the extent of traverse of the brushes along the screwed parts of the
spindle, and by shifting this stop by means of an adjusting screw, the traverse of
the brushes may be so far varied as to compensate for wear of the brush surface.
Both brushes being thus regulated by a single adjusting screw and stop, instead of
being tightened up separately as usual, the objection that an inexperienced person
may tighten up one more than the other, and so displace the brushes from their
proper position opposite the knife holes, is avoided.

page_text: Figure 1 is a sectional elevation of the machine taken between the brushes.
Figure 2 is a vertical section on line 1-1, Figure 1.
A is the case or drum, and B the frame, and O the brush spindle mounted in
bearings in frame B, and provided with a handle D as usual. E, E¹, are the two
"brushes" consisting of discs faced or clothed entirely with the usual leather strips,
and they are mounted upon the spindle C, and connected thereto by the following
means of my Invention, so as to be traversed simultaneously in opposite directions
to an equal extent, that is to say, from the full line position, until they meet at the
dotted line a in Figure 2, and vice versa, by merely turning the handle D forwards
or backwards as the case may be. C, C¹, are right and left handed screw threads
of the same pitch, cut upon portions of the spindle of larger diameter than the rest.
e, el, are female screws fixed or formed in the centres of the "brushes." E, E¹, in
which the screws c, c', work; F is a clutch made in two parts, embracing a plain
part of the spindle between the screws c, c¹, having arms that enter holes in the
bosses of both brushes, and connect them so that they cannot rotate independently
of one another, without however interfering with their traversing movement along
the screws c, c', of the spindle. G is a pawl mounted on the inside of the drum A,
and engaging with ratchet teeth on the periphery of one of the brush discs E, to
provent the brushes turning backwards. Or a friction stop of any suitable kind
might be used instead of a pawl and ratchet.
H is a collar secured by studs to the boss of one of the brushes at a short distanco
therefrom, and I is a tube or sleeve on spindle C which passes through said collar
H, and has a flange or shoulder i upon it that is confined between the collar H and
the boss of the brush to which said collar is attached. The shoulder i is of less
width than the distance between collar H and the boss of the brush, so as to allow
a sufficient traverse of the brushes, for which said shoulder forms a stop in either
direction. It is fixed and adjusted in position by a collar K, mounted to turn
freely on a spindle C between shoulders thereon, so as to be incapable of longitudinal
movement. It is screw threaded externally, and enters a corresponding female
screw in the sleeve I, whereby the latter is moved longitudinally and held firmly
in any position, said sleeve being prevented from turning upon the spindle by a key
L fixed in the spindle C, and received in a longitudinal slot in sleeve I. The
brushes being unable to revolve independently, one stop suffices to limit the traverse
of both, and their traverse being equal, they necessarily meet exactly opposite the
median line of the knife holes.
It will be obvious that only one of the brushes might be made to traverse a
screw on the spindle, the other being fixed permanently in place as usual; but this,
although cheaper, is less advantageous than when both are made to traverse.
M are slotted guards or stays hinged at m inside the case within each of the
knife holes, and counterweighted at m³, so as to be held up free of the brushes
when not in use. The knife blade passes through the slot of the guard, and the
shoulder coming against the guard presses it against the brushes, tho guard serving
to prevent the knife being drawn into the machine.
Having described the nature of my Invention, and the manner of performing the
same, I declare that what I claim as my Invention to be protected by the herein-
before in part recited Letters Patent is,―
1st. A rotary knife cleaning machine provided with means of temporarily
separating the brushes, substantially in the manner and for the purpose specified.
2nd. Connecting the brushes of a rotary knife cleaning machine to their spindle
by right and left handed screw threads formed thereon, and working through cor-
responding female screws in or attached to the brushes, substantially as shown and
described for the purpose specified.

page_text: 5
3rd. In a knife cleaning machine, the combination with the brushes mounted to
traverse right and left handed screws on their spindle as described, of the means
substantially as shown and described for preventing the backward motion of the
brushes, and ensuring their separation.
In witness whereof, I, the said Frederick Bramley, have hereunto set my
hand and scal, this Eighth day of October, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and seventy-eight.
TOT BY
FREDERICK BRAMLEY. (1.5.)