An Improved Machine for Cleaning Knives and Forks.
Year: 1891

page_text: Date of Application, 31st Aug., 1891
Complete Specification Left, 31st May, 1892-Accepted, 9th July, 1892
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
An Improved Machine for Cleaning Knives and Forks.
I, CHARLES GODBOLT, of 57 Flaxman Road, Brixton, in the County of London,
Builder, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention relates to an improved machine for cleaning knives and forks and
is designed to provide a machine which shall be more rapid and efficient in its
action, and less liable to wear the knives thau machines of this kind or class as
heretofore usually constructed.
For this purpose
I provide a machine with one or more pairs of rubbers or
cleaners consisting of alternate rows of bristles and rows of leather or other similar
material secured in a suitable backing between which rubbers or cleaners the knives
are inserted, and which are arranged to be reciprocated in opposite directions.
The mechanism for effecting this reciprocation comprises a pair of toothed crank
discs, the crank pin of ench disc boing secured to a connecting rod which serves to
transmit motion to one or the other of the rubbers or cleaners, and the two discs
engaging with a toothed driving wheel or pinion mounted at right angles between
them and provided with a suitable driving handle situated preferably at the end of
the knife cleaner. The knives or forks are held by a clamp or holder having a
pair of sliding jaws which are arranged to be moved towards or away from one
another simultaneously by a screw threaded spindle having the portions on which
the two jaws work provided respectively with a right handed and a left handed
thread. The jaws are so arranged that they meet or tend to meet practically in
the plane of contact of the rubbing surfaces, thereby clamping the knives or forks
The
in their proper central position whatever may be the thickness of the same.
casing or body of the machine, which is movable about its longitudinal axes is
provided with a suitable device by which it can be fixed in any desired position.
This may consist of a ring perforated with holes adapted to receive a catch pin or
the like carried by the standards or supports of the machine. It is obvious that
other arrangements such as eccentrics may if desired be employed to reciprocate
the rubbers or cleaners instead of the crank discs above referred to.
In 1901
UHAMLED
W. Lloyd Wise,
46, Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, W.C., Agent for the Applicant.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
An Improved Machine for Cleaning Knives and Forks.
I, CHARLES GODBOLT, of 57 Flaxman Road, Brixton, in the County of London,
Builder, 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 an improved machine for cleaning knives and forks, and
is designed to provide a machine which shall be more rapid and efficient in its
action, and less liable to wear the knives than machines of this kind or class as
heretofore usually constructed.
For this purpose I construct the machine with one or more pairs of rubbers or
cleaners each of which consists of alternate rows of bristles and leather or other
similar material secured in a suitable backing, the rubbers or cleaners of each pair
being arranged to be reciprocated in opposite directions.

page_text: Fig. 2 a side elevation, and,
Fig. 3 a transverse section on the line a Fig. 1 of a machine constructed
according to this invention, certain parts of the machine being removed for the sake
of clearness.
Fig. 4 is an end view shewing a detail of construction.
Fig. 5 shews an alternative arrangement of driving mechaniem.
A is a box or casing supported by pins or studs A' in hearings in the upper part
of the standards B, so that it can be turned about its longitudinal axis.
CC are rubbers placed face to face and arranged to reciprocate within the said
casing. Each of these rubbers is composed of a backing or board of suitable
material such as wood, to which are secured rows of bristles O and strips O' of
material such as leather, india rubber or linoleum arranged alternately as shewn.
Or there may be a single strip 0' of material such as mentioned arranged between
each adjacent pair of rows of bristles. These rubbers are shewn more clearly in
Fig. 1 in which the cover of the casing A is removed, and a portion of the upper
rubber C is broken away to shew the face of the lower rubber. They are arranged
to reciprocate between the guides C and are provided with bearing pieces C³, the
lower of which are supported by bearing pieces C. These bearing pieces C are
made vertically adjustable by means of screws. C which pass through the underside
of the casing A and are retained in position by split pins C inserted through holes
in them in the said screws. The bearing pieces C are formed with screw threaded
holes adapted to receive the screw threaded 'ends of the screws Cso that by turning
the latter in the proper direction the bearing pieces and the rubbers carried thereby
can be raised to compensate for wear.
To the back of each rubber is fixed a plate D carrying a pin D' to which.is
pivotted one end of a connecting rod D', the other end of which is connected 'to
suitable driving mechanism by which the rubber can be reciprocated. In the
arrangement illustrated in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, each rod D is connected at one end to.
the strap of an eccentric E fixed upon a vertical driving shaft G. The
eccentrics E may be provided at their peripheries with circumferential grooves aB
shewn, and the straps E' be provided with screw threaded pins E' which project
through the said straps into the said grooves the arrangement being such that the
straps can be easily slipped onto the eccentrics and be secured in position by
screwing in the pins E2 until they project into the aforesaid grooves.
In the arrangement illustrated in Fig. 5, each rod D' is connected at one end'to

page_text: a crank pin P fixed to a bevel wheel O' mounted to revolve around a pin formed
on a oross pièce Q that is firmly secured to the sides of the extension A of the box
or casing A. The two bevel wheels O each gear with another bevel wheel R
fixed upon the driving shaft G, the inner end of which is carried by the cross
piece Q.
The driving shaft in each arrangement is provided with a suitable handle H or
hand wheel; or it may if desired bel provided with a pulley or toothed wheel
whereby it can be driven from a suitable engine or motor.
The casing A is secured in its proper position by the device shewn in Figs. 2
and 4 which comprises a catch or pin I carried or acted on by one end of a lever I'
pivotted at 1' to a stationary ring J. The other end of this lever is acted upon by
a spring J whereby the said lever is caused to press tho catch or pin I through an
aperture in the ring J. The centre of the said ring J, as shewn, coincides with the
axis of rotation of the casing A, and a second ring K corresponding with the ring J
is mounted flush therewith on the axis of the said casing. In this second ring are
formed suitable apertures preferably, four, situated at equal distances apart, into
which the catch or pin I can enter and thereby secure the casing in position.
FF are olamps or holders secured to opposite sides of the casing A and whereby
knives can be held in the proper position whilst being cleaned. These clamps are
each composed of a pair of jaws of material such as wood or iron formed with screw-
threaded holes through which passes a spindle M. The portion of the apindle on
which one of the jaws works, is formed with a left handed screw thread, while that
portion on which the other jaw works is formed with a right handed screw thread,
so that by turning the spindle in one direction by means of a handle M' (Fig. 2),
the jaws will be moved together, and by turning it in the other direction they will
be separated. The spindles M are supported in bearings N so that the jaws meet
opposite the middle of the aperture A' in the casing, through which the knives
project. The clamps are thus self centreing" and the knives are held true
between the jaws of the clamp and are acted on equally on both sides, by the
rubbers or cleaners. Each of the spindles has preferably a small amount of play
longitudinally in its bearings to enable the knives to adjust themselves readily to
any slight inequalities in the surface of the rubbers C C¹. The jaws are or may be
lined or faced with elastic material L auch as india rubber. A single machine
would have a clamp at one side only.
The operation of the machine is as follows:-Suitable cleaning or polishing
material such as emery powder is applied to the rubbers C.C. The jaws of the
clamps F are then separated, the knives are inserted at right angles into the
casing A until their blades are situated between the rubbers and their handles are
situated between the said jaws which are then tightened up. The casing A
(Figs. 1,2 and 3) is then turned upon its axis until it assumes a position in which
the handle H can be conveniently operated and locked in this position by the catch
or pin I. The handle H is then rapidly rotated, thereby causing the rubbers C C¹
to be rapidly reciprocated, the moveinents of the two rubbers taking place in
opposite directions. The sides of the knives are thus each subjected to a transverse
rubbing action and any marks thereon take the form of straight lines, instead of curves
as in rotary knife cleaning machines. Furthermore movement of the knife blade in
one direction, due to the action of one. rubber is prevented by the other rubber
which acts in the opposite direction.
Strips of flexible material such as thin leather or india rubber may be connected
to the adjacent free sides of the rubbers C C' as shewn in dotted lines in Fig. 2 in
order to lessen liability of the polishing material to pass to the driving mechanism.
With a like object each connecting rod D' may have attached to it one end of a
tubular casing T (Fig. 1) of flexible material, the other end of which is secured
around the hole in the wall of the casing through which the rod works.
When the machine is to be used for cleaning forks the rubbers or cleaners are
provided with bristles only, the strips of leather, indiarubber or linoleum being

page_text: dispensed with. In other respects the machine is constructed substantially as above
described.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inveu-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
aluim is :-
1. A knife and fork cleaning machine constructed with rubbers or cleaners,
driving gear such as described for imparting reciprocating motion to such rubbers
or cleaners, and a clamp or clamps for holding the knives in position, such clamp
(or each if more than one) comprising a pair of jaws mounted on a spindle M having
left and right handed screw-threads, as and for the purpose set forth.
2. A knife and fork cleaning machine such as referred to in the preceding claim,
constructed with a rotatable casing and with a device for fixing such casing in
position, as herein before described.
3. My improved knife cleaning machine constructed, arranged and operating as
bereinbefore described with reference to Figs. 1 to 4 inclusive of the accompanying
drawings, or modified according to Fig. 5.
Dated this 31st day of May 1809
CHARLES GODBOLT.
W. Lloyd Wise,
46, Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, W.C., Agent for the Applicant.