IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINES FOR TRUSSING CASKS BARRELS AND THE LIKE
Year: 1885

page_text: and HAU.
We, ALLEN RANSOME and THOMAS JAMES WILKIE both of Stanley Works
Kings Road Chelsea in the County of Middlesex Engineers do hereby declare the
nature of our invention for IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINES FOR TRUSSING CASKS
BARRELS AND THE LIKE," to be as follows:-
"
This Invention has for its object improvements in trussing machines of the class
in which a bell or cone fitting one half of the outside of a barrel is used for
drawing the staves together such bell or cone being provided with grooves to
receive the trussing hoops and arranged to open so as to allow the barrel to be
taken out with the truss hoops on. It has been usual hitherto to raise the table
upon which the staves are placed for the purpose of being forced into the cone or
bell either by means of a screw actuated by suitable gearing or by an hydraulic
ram Both of these methods are open to the objection that it is possible for the
operator to allow the table to rise too high or not quite high enough and thus
make the barrel either too small or too large in diameter. To obviate the chance
of this accident and to ensure uniformity in the size of the barrels we employ
a crank or cranks and connecting rod or rods driven by suitable gearing for the
purpose of raising the tables of cone trussing machines the completion of the
trussing of each end of the barrel taking place when the crank is at its upper dead
centre or in other words as near the cone or bell as it is capable of approaching,
by this means also a great economy of power is obtained as compared with an
hydraulic trussing machine, as by the toggle action of the crank increased power
is obtained at the time it is required viz: when the trussing of the barrel is
approaching completion.

page_text: We ALLEN RANSOME and THOMAS JAMES WILKIE both of Stanley Works
Kings Road Chelsea in the County of Middlesex Engineers 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 has for its object improvements in trussing machines of the class
in which a bell or cone fitting one half of the outside of a barrel is used for
drawing the staves together such bell or cone being provided with grooves to
receive the trussing hoops and arranged to open so as to allow the barrel to be
taken out with the truss hoops on. It has been usual bitherto to raise the table
upon which the staves are placed for the purpose of being forced into the cone or
bell either by means of a screw actuated by suitable gearing or by an hydraulic
ram. Both of these methods are open to the objection that it is possible for the
operator to allow the table to rise too high or not quite high enough and thus make
the barrel either too small or too large in diameter. To obviate the chance of this
accident and to ensure uniformity in the size of the barrels we employ a crank or
cranks and connecting rod or rods driven by suitable gearing for the purpose of
raising the tables of cask trussing machines the completion of the trussing of each
end of the barrel taking place when the crank is at its upper dead centre or in
other words as near the cone or bell as it is capable of approaching. By this
means also a great economy of power is obtained as compared with an hydraulic
trussing machine as by the toggle action of the crank increased power is obtained
at the time it is required viz, when the trussing of the barrel is approaching
completion.
In order that our said invention; may be most fully understood and readily
carried into effect we will proceed to describe the drawings hereunto.annexed.
,DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS,

page_text: part is fixed to the pillars and the others can turn about the pillars so as to open
outwards from the stationary part or close together the closed position is that
which they occupy when the machine is at work and they are latched together.
The truss hoops into which the staves are to be collected are introduced into
grooves B¹ B¹ in the cone as is usual. C is a table which is able to rise and fall
between guides D D which also form part of the fixed frame of the machine.
E.E.represent the staves set up upon the table.C.and held together at their lower
ends by the truss hoops F. The table C receives its motion from a pair of icon-
necting rods G G which are jointed to it at their upper ends, and at their lower
ends the connecting rods are jointed to crank pins projecting from the sides of a
pair of spur wheels,H.H. The wheels H are fixed upon an axis H¹ carried in
bearings on the main frame of the machine; they gear with pinions I upon another
axis which also carries a spur wheel I'. The wheel I' in turn gears with a
pinion K.on.an axis K which also carries a worm wheel K² the wheel K³ engages
with a worm L¹ on the shaft L on which also are belt pulleys L³ L³ L*.
The central pulley L³ is fast upon the shaft, the two others revolve loosely upon
it. There are a pair of driving belts by which the machine receives motion from
any motor; one of these belts is straight and the other is crossed so that the
direction of motion is changed by shifting one belt or the other on to the fast
pulley L³. M is a sliding bar with forks upon it embracing the driving belts.
A link connects this bar with a lever N fixed on the same axis N¹ with a bevelled
sector Nº.
The sector N2 engages with another similar sector 0¹ on the axis O-this axis at
its upper end carries a handle O³, by means of which the machine is started, and
by the same handle the machine can be stopped when necessary. The stopping is
also effected automatically when the table C reaches its highest or its lowest
position for this purpose a disc H is provided upon the axis H¹, it has slots
in it in which fingers H3 H³ may be set and the position of the fingers upon the
disc can be adjusted as may be found necessary. There is a projection M¹ upon
the sliding bar M and with it these fingers come into contact as the table approaches
either end of its travel. In the drawing the table C is shown in its lowest position
and the machine is at rest, neither of the driving belts being upon the fast
pulley L³.
By the handle O2 the sliding bar M is shifted to the right, and one of the belts
is thus placed on the pulley L³, the machine is thus started into movement, the
table ascends and the movement continues unless stopped by the workman, until
a finger H³ comes against the projection M³, the sliding bar then commences to
move and it takes the driving belt off the pulley L³.
As soon as it is off the machine stops, the table then being in its highest position.
During the rise of the table the staves have been collected into the truss hoops
carried by the cone B. The cone is now opened and the trussed cask is disengaged
from it.
The descent of the table C is caused by the movement of the handle 0° carrying
the sliding bar M further than it was previously moved by the finger H³ this.
brings the other driving belt on to the pulley L³ and the machine starts in the
reverse direction. The table now descends and continues to do so until the other
finger Hs comes into contact with the projection M¹ and again brings the sliding
bar M to its middle position. The cask having been trussed at one end is turned
over and trussed at the other end in a similar manner. Raising the table C by
crank connecting rods as described ensures that it shall always rise to the same
height and consequently irregularities in working are thereby avoided, also it will
be seen that the rise of the table at the commencement when the strain is slight is
rapid, and as the strain increases the speed diminishes. The machine consequently
is both rapid in its action and powerful to perform the necessary work.

page_text: Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that what
we claim is
(1.) Our improvement in machines for trussing casks, barrels and the like which
consists in imparting movement to the table by a crank or cranks and connecting
rod or rods driven by gearing substantially as described.
(2.) Our improved trussing machines substantially as described and represented
by the annexed drawings.