IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR CUTTING PAPER AND FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF PAPER TWINE
Year: 1874

page_text: "
LETTERS PATENT to William Robert Lake, of the Firm of Haseltine,
.Lake, & Co., Patent Agents, Southampton Buildings, London, for
the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR CUTTING PAPER AND
FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF PAPER TWINE." -A communication from
abroad by J. B. Wortendyke, of Godwinville, New Jersey, United'
· States of America.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Robert Lake
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 27th March 1873.
.
:
I, WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake, & Co.,
Patent Agents, Southampton Buildings, London, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR CUTTING
PAPER AND FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF PAPER TWINE," a communication, to bo
as follows:-
The first part of my Invention relates to a new and useful device for

page_text: cutting paper from a continuous roll into strips, and is designed more
especially for cutting paper for the manufacture of paper twine, but it
may be advantageously used for other purposes where paper requires to
be cut into narrow strips.
It consists, firstly, in the employment. or use of two rollers in con-
nection with a grooved cylinder and a cylinder of cutters so arranged as
to ensure the proper cutting of the paper in an expeditious manner.
It consists, secondly, in the employment or use of two sets of receiving
rollers, as herein. described, whereby the cut paper strips are wound
upon their respective blocks without the liability of one strip to lap over
or upon the block of the strip contiguous to it.
It consists, thirdly, in a novel manner of attaching the blocks on
which the cut strips are wound to their shafts, whereby the strips are
wound compactly on the blocks and without subjecting the former to
any undue strain or tension.
A framing of rectangular form, and constructed in any proper manner
is arranged to support the working parts. A cylinder is placed hori
zontally on this framing, and has a roller at each side of it, the axis of
the said rollers being in the same horizontal plane. These rollers may
be covered with felt, india-rubber, or other suitable material to give.
them a surface which will be yielding or pliable to a certain degree..
:
"
Directly over the cylinder, and in the same axial plane, there is a
second cylinder, which is provided with a series of circular cutters at,
suitable and equal distances apart, the said cutters working or fitting in
grooves made circumferentially in the first cylinder, so that the peri-
phery of the second cylinder may work in contact with that of the first
cylinder.
-
The journals of the first cylinder are fitted in slotted uprights at cach
side of the framing with set screws in their upper ends, whereby the
pressure on the paper which passes between the two cylinders may be
regulated as desired.
A roller is placed on the framing at one end of it, and has the paper-
which is to be cut wound upon it in a continuous roll. At the opposito
end of the framing there are placed two shafts, and on these shafts the
blocks on which the cut paper strips are wound are placed. These blocks

page_text: are secured on their shafts by a piece of india-rubber inserted in a hollow
screw passing into the block radially from their peripheries. The rubber
may be made to press in a greater or less degree on the shafts by turning
or adjusting the screws. Between the blocks and upon the shafts discs
may be placed.
The paper to be cut passes from a roller underneath the first named
rollers, and over the first cylinder, the said rollers keeping the paper
snugly down on the upper part of the said cylinder, so that the cutters
can act in the most efficient manner in cutting the paper into strips.
This feature of the two rollers placed at opposite sides of the cylinder is
an important onc. The strips as they are cut are wound upon the blocks
on the two shafts, the said strips passing alternately from the cutters to
the blocks on the two shafts.
The aforesaid discs keep the blocks at the required distance apart, and
they may, if desired, be of greater diameter than the blocks in order to
serve as guides for the strips being wound upon the blocks.
In working the machine power is preferably applied to the first named
cylinder, and motion is communicated therefrom to the shafts by
a belt.
The second part of this Invention is designed to effect the manufacture
of paper twine of good quality by machinery, substantially like that
employed in spinning cotton and other fibrous materials consisting of
rolls arranged substantially like, the drawing rolls of spinning frames,
and a, throstle or spindle applied and operating, substantially like those
of such frames.
The paper on being cut, as herein-before set forth, into a strip or
strips of proper width to form the twine, and of as great length as
possible, is placed on a roll, whence it is taken by the drawing rolls.
i
In order that the paper may be well spun it is moistened, and after.
wards gathered up laterally into the form of roping during its passago
to or between the rolls, and it is mainly to this moistening and lateral
gathering up of the paper while it is on its way to the throstle or spindle
that this portion of my Invention relates.
To moisten the paper I cause it to pass over a roller which rotates in
a box or trough containing water, and takes up a sufficient quantity of
water to moisten the paper. To keep this roller from applying too
i

page_text: -
much water to the paper I provide in this roller a series of circum-
ferential grooves, that is to say, endless grooves encircling the said
roller. By thus grooving the roller its grooved parts are kept from
applying water to the paper, and the paper is thereby kept from being
so much moistened as to impair its tenacity in such a degree as to
prevent its being successfully twisted or spun into twine or cord..
The roll from which the paper is supplied is arranged behind the back
pair of rolls in bearings in which it is free to turn casily to allow the
paper to be drawn off as fast as required by means of the said rolls. The
lower roll has arranged below it a trough or box containing water, in
which its lower part rotates for the purpose of taking up a sufficient
quantity for moistening the paper as it passes between the said roll and
the upper roll. To prevent the application by this roll to the paper of
sufficient moisture to impair its tenacity in too great a degree for the
twisting operation the said roll has pivoted in it a series of endless
grooves extending circumferentially all around it.
I sometimes use a perforated or finely slit steam pipe as a substituto
for the trough, the said pipe being arranged as close as practicable in
front of the rolls, and in such a manner as to deliver the steam directly
upon the under surface of the paper.
Between the said back rolls and the front roll there is arranged a
taper spout like guide of tin plate or other metal or material through
which the paper has to pass on its way from one pair of rolls to the
other. The entrance of this guide is of a width not less than the full
width of the strip or strips of paper of which the twine is to be made,
but its outlet is little if any greater than the thickness of the twine to
be produced. A trumpet or funnel-shaped passage may be substituted
for the said spout guide.
The top roll may be dispensed with, as the paper will be moistened by
passing over and in contact with the roll without any top pressure. The
twine produced by my improvements is very uniform and smooth, and
may be used as strands for cord.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said William Robert Lake in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 26th September 1874.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
ROBERT LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake, & Co., Patent Agents,
Southampton Buildings, London, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-seventh day of March, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-four, in the
thirty-seventh year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and suc-
cessors, give and grant unto me, the said William Robert Lake, Her special
licence that I, the said William Robert Lake, my executors, adminis-.
trators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said William Robert Lake,
my exécutors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree
with, and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter
during the 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
"IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR CUTTING PAPER AND FOR THE MANUFACTURE
OF PAPER TWINE," a communication to me from abroad by J. B. Wor-
tendyke, of Godwinville, New Jersey, United States of America;
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said William Robert
Lake, 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 William Robert Lake, 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 accom-
panying Drawing, forming a part of this Specification.

page_text: .
cutting paper from a continuous roll into strips, and is designed more
especially for cutting paper for the manufacture of paper twine, but it
may be advantageously used for other purposes where paper requires to
be cut into narrow strips.
It consists, firstly, in the employment of two rollers in connection
with a grooved cylinder and a cylinder of cutters so arranged as to
ensure the proper cutting of the paper in an expeditious manner.
It consists, secondly, in the employment of two sets of receiving
rollers as herein described, whereby the cut paper strips are wound upon
their respective blocks without the liability of one strip to lap over or
upon the block of the strip contiguous to it.
It consists, thirdly, in a novel manner of attaching the blocks on
which the cut strips are wound to their shafts, whereby the strips are
wound compactly on the blocks and without subjecting the former to
any undue strain or tension.
In Figures 1 and 2 A represents a framing of rectangular form, and
constructed in any proper manner to support the working parts; B is a
cylinder placed horizontaily on the framing A, and having a roller C at
each side of it, the axes of the rollers C, C, being in the same horizontal.
plane. These rollers C may be covered with felt, india-rubber, or other.
suitable material to give them a surface which will be yielding or pliable
to a certain degree.
Directly over the cylinder B, and in the same axial plane, there is a
cylinder D provided with a series of circular cutters E at suitable and
equal distances apart, said cutters working or fitting in grooves a made a
circumferentially in the cylinder B so that the periphery of the cylinder
D may work in contact with that of cylinder B.
The journals of the cylinder B are fitted in slotted uprights 6 at each
side of the framing A with set screws c in their upper ends by which
the pressure of D or B, or rather the pressure of D on the paper which
passes between D and B may be regulated as desired.
E is a roller placed on the framing A. at one end, and having the paper
which is to be cut wound upon it in a continuous roll; at the opposite end
of the framing there are placed two shafts F, F, one above the other, and
on these shafts I place the blocks G on which the cut paper strips are

page_text: wound. These blocks are not keyed on their shafts, being secured
thercon by friction, which result is obtained by a piece of india-rubber d
inserted in a hollow screw e passing into the block radially from their.
peripherics. The rubber d may be made to press in a greater or less:
degree on the shafts F by turning or adjusting the screws e. Between
the blocks G and upon the shafts F discs. H may be placed.
The paper to be cut passes from.the roller E' underneath the rollers.
C, C, and over the cylinder B, the rollers C, C, keeping the paper snugly
down on the upper part of B, so that the cutters E can act in the most.
efficient manner in cutting the paper into strips. This feature of the.
two rollers C, C, placed at opposite sides of the cylinder B is an
important one, for whether the tension to which the paper is subjected.
in passing through the machine be greater or less it cannot affect the
proper action of the cutters on the paper, for the latter will always be
pressed snugly over the cylinder B. The strips as they are cut are
wound upon the blocks G on the two shafts F, F, the strips passing
alternately from the cutters to the blocks on the two shafts. By this
arrangement or division of the blocks the latter are not placed in contact,
and the paper strip of one block cannot lap over the strip on the block-
adjoining or contiguous to it.
The discs H keep the blocks G at the required distance apart, and
they may if desired be of greater diameter than the blocks to serve as
guides for the strips while being wound upon the blocks.
"
:
By having the blocks & secured on the shafts F by friction the paper:
is kept from being subjected to any undue tension which would occur.
with a roll of paper of irregular thickness, and the strips wound.
compactly on the blocks. In case, for instance, one of the strips is
subjected to a considerable tension in being wound on its block G the
latter will be held stationery, and its shaft F allowed to slip within it
until the tension is reduced so that the friction produced by the spring
or rubber d is able to turn the block.
In working the machine power is preferably applied to the cylinder
B, and motion is communicated therefrom to the shafts F by a belt a¹.
The second part of this Invention is designed to effect the manu-
facture of paper twine of good quality by machinery, substantially like

page_text: that employed in spinning cotton and other fibrous materials, consisting
of rolls arranged substantially like the drawing rolls of spinning frames
and a throstle or spindle applied and operating substantially like those
of such frames.
The paper on being cut, as herein-before set forth, into a strip or strips 5
of proper width to form the twine, and of as great length as possible is
placed on a roll, whence it is taken by the drawing rolls.
In order that the paper may be well spun it is moistened and after-
wards gathered up laterally into the form of roping during its passage
to or between the rolls, and it is mainly to this moistening and lateral 1
gathering up of the paper while it is on its way to the throstle or
spindle that this portion of my Invention relates.
To moisten the paper I cause it to pass over a roller which rotates in
a box or trough containing water, and takes up a sufficient quantity of
water to moisten the paper. To keep this roller from applying too. 1
much water to the paper my Invention further consists in providing in
the said roller a series of circumferential grooves encircling the said
roller. By thus grooving the roller its grooved parts are kept from
applying water to the paper, and the paper is thereby kept from being
so much moistened as to impair its tenacity in such a degree as to 2
prevent its being successfully twisted or spun into twine or cord.
.
Referring to Figures 3, 4, and 5 the roll from which the paper is
supplied is arranged behind the back pair of rolls B, B', in bearings in
which it is free to turn casily to allow the paper to be drawn off as fast
as required by means of the said rolls. These rolls may be of wood or 2
other material, and the necessary pressure of the top roll B¹ may be
obtained by any suitable system of loading. The lower roll B repre-
sented in Figures 3 and 4 has arranged below it a trough or box C
containing water in which its lower part rotates for the purpose of
taking up a sufficient, quantity for moistening the paper as it passes 3
between the said roll and the upper roll B'. To prevent the said roll B
from taking up and applying to the paper sufficient moisture to impair
its tenacity in too great a degree for the twisting operation, the said roll
has pivoted in it a series of endless grooves extending circumferentially
all around it, as shown at v, v, in Figures 3 and 5. The roll thus grooved 3
will only apply the moisture from the surface between the-grooves v, v,
-

page_text: but the moisture taken up from the surfaces will spread itself through
the whole width of the paper.
Figures 5 and 6 represent a perforated or finely slit steam pipe as a
substitute for the trough C, the said pipe being arranged as close as
5 practicable in front of the rolls B and B', and in such a manner as to
deliver the steam directly upon the under surface of the paper, and
thereby moisten it as it emerges from between the said rolls.
.
Between the back rolls B, B¹, and the front ones D, D', there is
arranged a taper spout-like guide E of tin plate or other metal or
O material through which the paper has to pass on its way from one pair
of rolls to the other. The entrance of this guide is of a width not less
than the full width of the strip or strips of paper of which the twine is
to be made, but its outlet which is brought as far as possible into the
entrance between the rolls D, D¹, is very narrow, its width being in fact
little if any greater than the. thickness of the twine to be produced.
The moistened paper, on being drawn through this, is gathered up
laterally into the form of a roping ready to be twisted by the throstle or
spindle G after it has been delivered through the rolls D, D'. A trumpet
or funnel-shaped passage may be substituted for the spout guide E, and
will have the same effect.
The rolls B, B, and D, D', are or may be driven in the same manner
as the back and front drawing rolls of spinning frames for spinning
cotton and other fibrous substances except that the front rolls do not
require to have any higher- velocity, as no draft is intended to be
produced.
By the moistening of the paper on its way to the throstle or spindle
by which it is spun into twine it is softened and so enabled to be easily
gathered up laterally in the form of roping and to be easily spun, and
retains its twist after being spun. By gathering up the strip or strips
laterally into the form of roping the paper may be much better twisted
than otherwise. The moistening of the paper sufficiently with perfect
'uniformity can be much better effected while it is on its way from the
roll A or its equivalent to the throstle or spindle, for if moistened while
or before being placed on the roll it is not so easy to deliver the whole
length of a piece at a uniform dampness, but I do not confine myself

page_text: Eighth. Manufacturing twine or cord of paper, substantially in the
manner and by the means above set forth.
.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Robert Lake, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Twenty-sixth day of September, in
the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
four.
Witness,
H. J. NOONE,
8, Southampton Buildings,
London.
WN. ROBT. LAKE. (L.S.)