IMPROVED MACHINERY FOR SPLITTING LEATHER
Year: 1862

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Alfred Vincent Newton, of the Office for Patents,
66; Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Mechanical Draughts-
man, for the Invention of "IMPROVED MACHINERY FOR SPLITTING LEATHER."
-A communication from abroad by Joseph Andress Safford, of Boston,
Massachusetts, United States of America...
Sealed the 11th November 1862, and dated the 19th May 1862.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Alfred Vincent Newton
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
19th May 1862.
2:
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 MACHINERY FOR SPLITTING
LEATHER," to be as follows:-
The object of this Invention is to prevent the choking or clogging of
leather-splitting machines, by reason of the inequalities in the thickness of 'the
leather under operation. To this end the feed roll (which is fluted to give it:
a good hold of the leather fed into the machine) is mounted in sliding journal
boxes, which are retained. in position by springs pressing upwards. Over-
this roll projects the fixed splitting knife, and mounted above the feed roll' in
a gauge roll, the journal boxes of which are capable of sliding like those of
the feed roll in vertical guides formed in the side frames of the machine.
The upper or gauge roll is made adjustable, its bearings being pendent from.

page_text: vertical screws, which carry bevel wheels, into which take bevil wheels from a
cross shaft at the top of the machine; by turning this shaft by a hand wheel
provided for the purpose the gauge roll may be raised or lowered to any
required extent to suit the thickness of material under operation. The
journal boxes of the feed roll are connected together by a cross rod, from
which depend rods connected with a treadle.
On the foot of the operator
being applied to the treadle the feed roll will be instantly depressed, and it is
to effect this, and thereby remove. the tendency of the machine to choke
or clog, through an excessive inequality of...thickness. of material coming
between the gauge and feed rolls and knife that this arrangement is provided.
In general, however, the yielding of the pressure springs will suffice to give
the machine the necessary relief.
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 19th November 1862,
'
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 Nineteenth day of May, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-two, in the twenty-fifth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said Alfred Vincent Newton, Her special license, 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 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 MACHINERY FOR SPLITTING LEATHER," being a communication from
abroad, upon, the condition (amongst others), that I, the said Alfred Vincent
Newton, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, should. par-
ticularly 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 imme-
diately after the date of the said Letters Patent.

page_text: 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 hereunto annexed,
and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say) :-
This Invention, as communicated to me by my foreign correspondent,.
consists in combining with a gauge roll, used for regulating the thickness of
the leather to be split, a feed roll susceptible of being depressed in a line
parallel with the axis of the gauge roll, either by the action of the operator
or the inequalities of the leather as they pass between the feed, and gauge
rolls, so as to prevent the choking or clogging of the machine, a thing of
frequent occurrence in leather splitting machines.
In the accompanying Drawing, Fig. 1 represents, in front elevation, a
leather-splitting machine constructed according to this Invention; Fig. 2 is
an end elevation of the same; and Fig. 3 represents a vertical transverse
section of the machine taken through the line x, x, of Fig. 1, and looking
towards the left-hand side of the machine.
The frame for supporting the working parts of the machine consists of two
pieces or standards A, connected together at or near their upper end by two
cross beams B, and at their lower end by cross bars C. In each standard A
is cut an opening D, into which are fitted bearings E and H, the former for
receiving the ends of the shaft F of the feed roll G, and the. latter. the ends
of the shaft I of the gauge roll J. The sides of the slots D in the standards
form guides, in which the bearings E and H are slidden up and down as
5 their respective rolls G and J are adjusted or regulated for their individual
purposes. The lower or feed.roll G has its periphery fluted or roughened to
prevent slipping on the leather, and to insure its being fed up regularly and
evenly to the knife K to be split, which knife is bolted to one of the cross
beams B. The bearings E of the roll G rest on coiled or other suitably
shaped springs d, the lower ends of which bear against the bottom of the slots,
and their upper ends against the under side of the bearings E, through a
mortice or an opening cut in that part of the standard which forms the under
side of the openings D, and through the centre of the coiled springs d is.
passed a thumbscrew a, which takes into a female screw cut in the under side
of the bearings E, to prevent the displacement of the springs. Immediately
below the feed roll is arranged a rod L, which is secured to the side of its
bearings E. At each end of this rod are fastened the ends of two wire rods
or connecting links M, the lower ends of which are attached to the treadle N,
mounted on a pivot rod O, made fast 'to the lower ends of the standards A.

page_text: From this description it will be readily understood that by simply depressing
the treadle N the feed roll G may be drawn down for a distance sufficient to.
clear the machine without varying in any degree the position of the gauge
roll J relatively to the knife,; thus in the event of the machine being choked,
all waving of the leather being cut, or deviation in the thickness of the skiver
or split part will be avoided during the act of clearing the machine. On the
end of the shaft F of the feed roll G is mounted and secured a cog wheel P,
which gears into and receives motion from a spur pinion R mounted on the
shaft S, from which motion is imparted to the machine. The driving shaft S:
is carried by bearings T, firmly bolted and secured to the standards A.that
constitute the framework of the machine. On the upper end of these
standards are formed lugs or horns, which curve outwards and upwards. The
ends of these horns form bearings for the support of a transverse shaft U, to
which are secured two bevil pinions V, one at either end, which gear into.
similar pinions X, mounted on vertical screw shafts b, the lower or screw ends
of which take respectively into female screws cut in the upper part of the.
bearings H of the gauge roll J. Standards Z, for the support of the upper.
end of the screw shafts b, are erected on and secured to the upper ends or
heads of the standards A. By means of this arrangement of devices the two
ends. of the gauge roll Jare raised simultaneously together, and in a line
parallel with the plane of the knife K, thus rendering it easy to adjust the
machine to skive or split the leather to any required thickness, and, if neces-
sary, to bevil or chamfer the leather.
The operation of the machine is as follows:-The shaft U is first turned
by means of the hand wheel f, until the gauge roll J is set to the required
distance from the knife K to split the leather of the required thickness.
Motion is then communicated to the machine, on which the feed roll G is
slightly depressed to permit the leather intended to be split to be inserted.
between it and the gauge roll. Once inserted, the treadle is released from
the pressure of the foot so as to allow the-springs d to act and press the feed.
roll G. firmly against the under side of the leather on which the latter is fed.
forward against the cutting edge of the knife by the rotation of the feed rolls;
a skiver will thus be cut off of a thickness equal to the distance between the
gauge roll and the knife; or the gauge roll may be raised and the leather;
inserted, and the gauge roll then depressed, so as to cut the skiver of the s
required thickness. In the event of the leather being of unequal thickness,
the springs d that support the feed roll either yield and allow the roll to.
descend or force up the roll to a distance sufficient to compensate for the
inequalities. When an excessive thickness occurs, the roll G must be.

page_text: depressed by the operator until the obstacle has been overcome, otherwise
the machine would choke. By this simple arrangement difficulties are imme-
diately overcome which in other machines consume much time, and create
much labour to obviate.
Having now set forth the nature of the Invention of "Improved Machinery
for Splitting Leather," as communicated to me from abroad, and explained
the manner of carrying the same into effect, I wish it to be understood that,
under the above in part recited Letters Patent, I claim providing for the
inequalities of thickness of the skins to be split, in the manner and for the
purpose above described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, the Eighteenth day of November, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-two.
Witness,
J. W. MOFFATT,
66, Chancery Lane.
A. V. NEWTON. (L.S.)