IMPROVED MACHINERY FOR CUTTING AND ROUNDING CORKS AND PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION
Year: 1860

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Edward Newton, of the Office for Patents,
66, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, for the
Invention of "IMPROVED MACHINERY FOR CUTTING AND ROUNDING CORKS AND
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Edward Newton
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 14th December 1860.
I, WILLIAM EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane,
in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of
the said Invention for "IMPROVED MACHINERY FOR CUTTING AND ROUNDING CORKS
AND BUNGS," to be as follows:-
The object of this Invention of improved machinery for cutting and rounding
corks and bungs is to cut from square quarters the common pot corks, bungs,
and all kinds of corks and bungs which cannot be practically made in machines
for cutting bottle corks.
The Invention relates to certain novel improvements in expanding cutters,
and in the table or bed on which the cork to be cut by the expanding cutters.

page_text: is placed for feeding the work up to the cutters with a positive pedal
movement.
The improvement in the expanding cutters consists, firstly, in pivoting the
"holder" to the lower end of a rod which passes vertically through the centre
of the tapering guide block and through the stock of the cutters, and through
the spindle or shaft which imparts rotary motion to the cutter stock, and in
the employment of an adjustable nut and spring arm in conjunction with the
above-mentioned rod for giving the requisite degree of pressure upon the
work during the operation of the cutters in forming the cork.
The Invention consists, secondly, in forming rack teeth on the outside of
and at suitable points on the knife bars, and in using for each knife bar a
spring which is capable of receiving a lateral adjustment, and which has a
tooth or hook on its lower end which engages with the teeth on the knife bar,
and confines this bar securely in its place against the tapering edge of the
guide block, and allows the knife bar to be moved downwards to compensate
for the wearing away of the knife.
The Invention-consists,-thirdly,-in-operating the-table-or bed-on-which the-
work to be cut is placed by means of a system of levers, which are jointed to
a vertical bar on which the table is mounted, and in combination therewith
are employed adjustable collars, which are placed on the vertical table bar,
-and-are-used-to-regulate the vertical movement of the table.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said William Edward Newton in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 14th June 1861.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the County
of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Fourteenth day of December, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty, in the twenty-fourth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said William Edward Newton, Her special license that I, the said William
Edward Newton, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I,
the said William Edward 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

page_text: 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 CUTTING AND ROUNDING CORKS AND BUNGS," being a communi-
cation from abroad, upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said
William Edward Newton, by an instrument in writing under my hand and
seal, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Inven-
tion, 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 Edward 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 Drawings hereunto annexed,
and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say):-
The object of this Invention of "Improved Machinery for Cutting and
Rounding Corks and Bungs," is to cut from square "quarters" the common
pot corks, bungs, and all kinds of corks and bungs which cannot be practically
made in machines for cutting bottle corks.
The Invention relates to certain novel improvements in expanding cutters,
and in the table or bed on which the work to be cut by the expanding
cutters is placed for feeding the work up to the cutters with a positive pedal
movement.
The improvement in the expanding cutters consists, firstly, in pivoting the
"holder" to the lower end of a rod which passes vertically through the centre
of the tapering guide-block and through the stock of the cutters, and through
the spindle or shaft which imparts rotary motion to the cutter stock, and in
the employment of an adjustable nut and spring arm in conjunction with the
above-mentioned rod for giving the requisite degree of pressure upon the work
during the operation of the cutters in forming the cork.
The Invention consists, secondly, in forming rack teeth on the outside of
and at, suitable points on the knife bars, and in using for each knife bar a spring
which is capable of receiving a lateral adjustment, and which has a tooth or
hook on its lower end which engages with the teeth on the knife bar, and
confines this bar securely in its place against the tapering edge of the guide
block, and allows the knife bar to be moved downwards to compensate for the
wearing away of the knife.
The Invention consists, thirdly, in operating the table or bed on which the
work to be cut is placed by means of a system of levers which are jointed to a
vertical bar on which the table is mounted, and in combination therewith are

page_text: employed adjustable collars, which are placed on the vertical table bar, and
are used to regulate the vertical movement of the table.
In the accompanying Drawings, Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the machine
for cutting corks, showing the cutting parts which carry the cutters in
transverse section; Fig. 2 is a transverse section taken through the front
part of the machine, in the plane indicated by the red line x, x, in Fig. 1,
Fig. 3 is a vertical transverse section taken through the holding and cutting
parts of Figures 1 and 2, shewing the parts enlarged; similar letters on the
three Figures indicate corresponding parts.
The cutter stock c
A represents the framework of the machine; B is the main driving pulley
which is secured to the transverse driving shaft B₁; C is a belt which
transmits motion to the pulley shaft C¹; and C2 is a belt which transmits
rotary motion from the shaft C¹ to the belt wheel a, which latter wheel is keyed
to the upper part of the vertical spindle b, to which the cutter stock c is
secured. A loose belt wheel is placed on the shaft C', for the purpose of
throwing off the belt C, and thus stopping the motion of the spindle a at
pleasure. The spindle-b has its bearings in the large head block D, which
projects out from the front end of the frame A, and which is secured to the top
part of this frame; and this spindle is allowed to rotate freely in its end
bearings, but it is not allowed to have any vertical play. The belt pulley
a is placed between the upper and lower bearings of the spindle b, as clearly
shown in Figures 1 and 2 of the Drawings. The spindle 6 is hollow, and
its lower end is secured into the upper end of the cutter stock c by a left-
hand screw, shown in the sections Figures 1, 2, and 3.
is also hollow, that is to say, it has a hole through its
in diameter to the hole through the axis of the spindle b.
c is somewhat larger in diameter than the spindle to which it is screwed,
and it is made with a flaring or bell-shaped mouth at its lower end. A slot
is cut transversely through this cutter stock of a suitable width to receive
a block E, and this slot extends from the lower end of the cutter nearly to
the upper end thereof, as shown in Figures 1, 2, and 3 of the Drawings.
This slot, which is cut through the stock c, receives the tapering block E,
and allows this block to be moved freely up, and down; at the same time
the slot, together with the central hole through the stock, prevents the block
from having any lateral movement. A hole corresponding in diameter to
the hole through the spindle b and through the upper end of the stock is
made vertically through the centre of the block E, and one end of a round
rod d is passed through the hole in this block, and a holder f, which is simply
a circular piece of metal with points or serrations formed on its lower
axis corresponding
This cutter stock

page_text: surface is attached to the end of the rod d, as shewn in Fig. 3, by a screw,
which will allow the holder to rotate. That portion of the rod d which
passes through the bock E is smaller than its upper portion, and the shoulder
on the rod d leans on the top and smaller end of the block, so as to keep
the block down to the work, as will be herein-after explained. The block
E is thus attached to the rod d, so that it will be allowed to rotate around
this rod, and so that its sides will taper upward; the upper end of the rod
d is passed up through the stock c and through the spindle b, as shown in
Figures 1, 2, and 3, and the block E is brought within the slot in the
stock c. The upper end of rod d projects from the top of the spindle b and
receives a collar g, which has notches cut in each side, and this collar is
secured to the rod d at the desired point by a set screw, or in any other
suitable manner. The notches in the sides of the collar 9 receive the forked
end of a pressure arm H (Fig. 1), which extends horizontally back from the
collar, and is pivoted at its rear end to the top of the frame A. This arm
His acted upon with a downward pressure by the helical spring I, which is
attached at its upper end to the arm H, and at its lower end to a cross bar
I which is below the lower end of the cutter stock c. The vertical rod
which is represented in Fig. 1 as passing through the centre of the spring
I serves to keep the spring straight. In this manner the rod d is constantly
acted upon by a pressure which has a tendency to force it downwards and
keep it with the block E in the position represented in Figures 1, 2, and 3.
The adjustable collar g is held down on the top end of the spindle b by the
spring I through the arm H; and this collar, by being adjusted up and down
on the bar d, will shorten or lengthen this bar according to the thickness of
the stuff to be cut. On each side (the tapering sides) of the block E is
placed a knife i, such as are commonly employed in bung cutters, and these
knives project beyond the lower end of the stock ca suitable distance, and
their inside surfaces are held snugly and securely against the block E by
means of the springs J, J, which allow the knives to be forced apart by the
block E in its upward movement, and in the downward movement of the
block E, the springs will force each knife toward the axis of this block E.
It is necessary that the springs J, J, should hold the knives i, i, in such
a way that they will not be liable to move endwise during the operation of
cutting; and it is desirable that these knives should each be made adjustable
lengthwise, so that provision will be made for their wear and for sharpening.
To this end the knife bars J, J, have teeth j, j, cut on their outside surfaces,
which teeth are pitched upwards, as shown in Fig. 8, and into these teeth
the lower ends of the springs J, J, engage. These knives i, i, will thus be

page_text: held by the springs, and prevented from being forced upwards during the
operation of cutting, but the springs will allow the knives to be drawn
downwards and their cutting points set as far below the lower end of the
stock c as may be found desirable. The springs which hold the knives i, i,
against the tapering edges of the block E are unlike the springs which have
heretofore been used for this purpose, inasmuch as the springs J, J, have
lips, k, projecting from their upper ends, which bear against the upper
end of the stock c in grooves which are continued up on each side of the
solid portion of the stock c, as shown in Fig. 1. Adjusting screws m, m,
pass through the springs at intermediate points between the ends thereof,
and are used to adjust the springs laterally, so as to increase or diminish
their action upon the knives i, i, and also to adjust the springs and adapt
them to tapering blocks E of different widths. The adjusting screws m, m,
have heads on them like ordinary screw bolts; and the springs J, J, which
are curved outwards, bear against the heads of their adjusting screws, and
are by means of these screws clamped against the head of the stock c at their
upper ends and against the knife bars at their lower ends.
It will thus be seen that the improvements in the cutter stock consist,
firstly, in passing the pressure rod (which carries on its lower end the holder
f) up through the axis of the block E through the stock c, and through the
spindle b, and applying the pressure to this rod above_the_spindle, thereby
permitting the employment of an adjustable collar and the application of a
spring in a much better manner, as will be herein-after explained.
Secondly, in applying the springs J, J, to the stock c in such a manner and
in forming rack teeth on the knife bars, into which the lower ends of the
springs press, that the springs may be adjusted laterally and the knives i, i, 'be
adjusted lengthwise thereby adapting the cutter stock to blocks E of different
widths for cutting large or small bungs or corks and providing for the wearing
away of the cutting points of the knives. L is the table on which the work
to be cut is placed. This table is arranged horizontally under the cutter
stock c in front of the frame A, A, and it is secured to the top of a perpendi-
cular bar K which plays up and down in the bearing blocks K', K¹. The
axis of this table bar K is in a line with the axis of the pressure rod d, there-
fore the pressure of this rod d on the table will have no tendency to tip it out of
its place. n, n, are two rings or collars which are placed on the bar K, one
above and the other below the bearing block K¹. The collars n, n³, are
provided with set screws p, p, by means of which these collars may be fixed to
the bar at the desired points. These collars when thus adjusted and fixed to the
table bar will regulate the upward and downward movements of the table L by

page_text: alternately coming in contact with the stationary bearing K. The back edge
of the table L. touches the two side uprights of the frame A, and these prevent
the table from rotating; r is a ring which is fixed to the perpendicular
shaft K, above the collar n¹. Two short arms s, s, are jointed at their ends
respectively to the ring and to the forked end of a lever N, which lever
projects towards the rear part of the frame A, A, and has its fulcrum at t
(Fig. 1), and hanging bearings which are secured to the two longitudinal side
bars of the frame A, A. The rear end of the lever N is connected with the
treadle P by the rods N', N', and the treadle P is pivoted at its rear end to
a bottom cross bar of the frame A, and proceeds forward and projects out a
suitable distance from the front end of the frame A, so as to be convenient
to the foot of the operator. The front end of the treadle P is hung by a helical
spring S', which elevates this treadle after it has been depressed by the foot of the
operator, and depresses the table L. The bed piece T represented on the table L
is a soft piece of wood to prevent the knives i, i, from injuring the face of
the table.
The operation of the entire machine is as follows:--Rotary motion is com-
municated to the shaft B' from any convenient prime mover, and this motion
is transmitted through the shaft C by belts to the vertical spindle b, on the
lower end of which is secured the cutter stock c, the cutters or knives i, i,
the tapering block E, and the springs J, J, and these parts are all rotated with
the cutter stock.
The diameter of the bungs to be cut by the knives i, i, is first determined,
and a tapering block E of the proper width and taper is placed on the lower
end of the pressure rod d, by removing the holder f, and slipping the block E
upon the rod d, and then securing the holder in its place again on the lower end
of this rod. The knives i, i, are slipped up on each side of the block E
the required distance, and the ends of the springs J, J, catch into the teeth j,
on the knife bars, and confine these knives securely against the sides of the
block. The collars n, n', are next adjusted up or down on the shaft K, to give
the required upward movement of the table according to the thickness of the
bungs to be cut. The collar g is then adjusted up or down on the rod d, so that
the holder f will project below the points of the knives i, i. After these adjust-
ments have been properly made a square piece of cork, wood, or what is termed
the "quarter," is placed on the table on the bed piece T, and is properly adjusted
by a gauge thereon, so that its centre will be directly under the axis of the
holder f. The table L is then slowly elevated by pressing with the foot upon
the treadle P, and the holder f first touches the "quarter," and as this holder is
acted upon by the long spring I, through the medium of the arm H and rod d,

page_text: it presses upon the "quarter," and secures this quarter in its place until
the cutters have finished their work upon it, and the table is depressed. The
quarter being thus held in its place on the bed piece T, and prevented from
rotating by the holder f, the table is still moved upwards, and the rod dis
pushed up, carrying with it the tapering block E, which revolves round the
rod d, with the stock c and the knives i, i. This upward movement of the
block E gradually separates the cutting points of the kuives i, i, from each
other, at the same time these knives are cutting the bung, and this operation
gives the tapering or conical formn to the bung. When the knives have thus
finished their work, the treadle P is released and the spring S₁ returns the
table to its original position ready to receive another quarter to be formed into
a bung, as in the first operation. When the table is depressed by the spring S¹,
the spring I will cause the quarter holder f, to follow the table until the nut
or collar g rests upon the top of the spindle b, which will prevent the rod d
from falling any farther.
It will be seen from this description that the rod d, which carries on its lower
end the holder f, does not itself rotate, but that the block E, stock c, and
spindle b rotate around-the rod d, while this rod is only allowed to have a
vertical movement. The object of passing the rod d up through the spindle b,
and applying the pressure of the spring outside, and independently of the
spindle and cutter stock, is to admit of employing a much longer spring than
could be used inside of the stock cand by thus employing a long spring, a-more
equable pressure of the quarter holder f upon the quarter is obtained. The
quarter is thus prevented from being crushed by the pressure when the holder f
is forced up to its highest point, which frequently occurs in machines where
the common arrangement of springs is used.
It will be readily seen that the springs J, J, will allow the knives i, i, to be
adjusted lengthwise, and that the knives may be easily removed for sharpening
and again replaced. The springs J, J, may also be adjusted by the set
screws m, m, so as to increase their pressure upon the knife bars or to
adapt them to blocks E, of different width and degrees of taper, all of which
adjustments may be effected in a ready and simple manner.
Having now described this Invention of "Improved Machinery for Cutting
and Rounding Corks and Bungs," and having explained the manner of carrying
the same into effect, I claim as the Invention secured to me by Letters Patent
as aforesaid.
First, the mode herein set forth of arranging the pressure rod d, which
carries the quarter holder f, and combining it with the cutter stock and the
spindle b.

page_text: Second, I claim the use of and mode of applying adjustable knife springs with
rack teeth on the knife bars to the cutter stock, as herein described and for the
purpose set forth.
Third, I claim operating and regulating the vertical movement of the
table L by means of a treadle and spring with suitable connecting rods,
levers, jointed arms, bars, and adjustable collars arranged as herein specified.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Edward Newton, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, the Fourteenth day of June, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-one.
Witness.
J. W. MOFFATT,
66, Chancery Lane.
W. E. NEWTON. (L.S.)