IMPROVEMENTS IN FILE-CUTTING MACHINERY
Year: 1866

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Robert Lake, of the "International Patent
Office," No. 8, Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane, in the County
of Middlesex, Consulting Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
IN FILE-CUTTING MACHINERY."-A communication from abroad by Alfred
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION filed by the said William Robert Lake
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition and
Declaration, on the 3rd October 1866, pursuant to the 9th Section of
the Patent Law Amendment Act, 1852.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
ROBERT LAKE, of the "International Patent Office," No. 8, Southampton
Buildings, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Consulting Engineer,
send greeting.
WHEREAS I am in possession of an Invention for " IMPROVEMENTS IN
FILE-CUTTING MACHINERY," and have petitioned Her Majesty to grant unto me,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, Her Royal Letters Patent for the
same, and have made solemn Declaration that it has been communicated to
me from abroad by Alfred Weed, of Boston, Massachusetts, United States of
America.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Robert Lake, do hereby
declare that the following Complete Specification under my hand and seal fully.

page_text: describes and ascertains the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner
the same is to be performed, in and by the following statement :-
In cutting from the narrow to the wide parts of the face of a file blank, or
vice versa, it is not only necessary to vary the force of the blow of the cutter
according to the width of the blank, as is well understood, but it is desirable to
variably space the teeth, so that they shall be farthest apart where the file is
widest, and shall regularly vary in distance apart according to the width of the
blank; and this Invention consists principally in modifying the force of the
cutting blow and the extent of the feed motion of the blank relatively to each
other by means of cams placed on the same shaft, when this is actuated by
one and the same device, to operate the cams and thereby the mechanism con-
trolling the blow and the feed, and in the manner of effecting the feed of
the blank.
A machine embodying the Invention is represented in the Drawings;
Figure 1 showing a plan and Figure 2 a side elevation thereof.
a denotes the frame or bed; b, a carriage sliding upon suitable ways on
such bed and carrying the movable bearing which supports the front end of
the shaft or blank holder c, the opposite end of such shaft sliding through a
stationary bearing on the frame a. The carriage b is fastened to or forms
part of another carriage d, the rear end of which is supported on a roller e.
A feed roller f¹ impinges against the upper surface of this carriage, the said
roller being mounted on a shaft g, one end of which bears a wheel h, through
which an intermittent feed movement is imparted to the carriage and the file
blank fixed thereto, as will be herein-after explained.
Erected upon the frame is another frame i, in the front end of which is
journaled the shaft k, which carries the cutter lever or arm l. The blank
holder turns freely in its bearings and the leveller by which the face of the
blank is kept parallel to the edge of the cutter is fixed to an arm hung loosely
upon the shaft k; the under surface of the file bed which supports the file
blank being supported under the cutter in a semicircular or curved bed, in
which it can freely turn. The shaft k has an arm m fixed to and projecting
below it, which arm is operated upon by wipers or cams n on the driving
shaft o; the striking of each wiper turning the shaft k and lifting the arm l,
and its cutter, and the cutter being thrown down as each wiper passes the
arm m by the action of a spring p upon a pin q, projecting from the cutter
arm 1, as will be readily understood. The carriage b carries a pattern holder r
in the top of which is secured a pattern or inclines. Upon this incline the
lower end of a rod t impinges, this rod projecting from an arm u fixed upon a
shaft v turning in bearings in the frame i. This shaft has an excentric or

page_text: cam w fixed to it, against the face of which a slide x is held by the spring p.
This slide has a projection y, through which an adjusting screw z works; and
the spring p is supported upon the front end of this screw, the force of the
blow of the cutter, dependent upon the spring, being adjusted by the screw,
and the screw working through the projection from the slide x, which is held
to the surface of the cam w by the force of the spring. The shaft v carries
another cam or lifter a¹, to the upper end of which a long pawl rod b¹ is held
by a spring c. The front end of this pawl rod slides between guide pins, and
is held in normal position with respect to an arm projecting from the
shaft k by a spring f¹, the extent of its movement towards the projection
Leing determined if necessary by an adjustable stop 9' abutting against the
guide pins or in any other suitable manner. The other end of this pawl rod
is jointed to a friction pawl h¹ on the top of an arm i, which is mounted
loosely on the shaft g which carries the feed wheel h. The arm is drawn
towards the frame by the spring f'; the pawl h¹ is hung on a pin m³,
eccentrically to the arm ¹, so that in its normal position its lower surface does
not impinge upon the perimeter of the feed wheel; while if the pawl rod be
pushed outward the pawl h¹ turns on the pin m', by which it is jointed to the
arm, and impinges upon and imparts rotation to the wheel h, the pawl
slipping back over the surface of such wheel without communicating motion
to it. To prevent any retrograde movement of the wheel, however, an excentric
brake roller is hung to the frame a in such manner as to be thrown tightly
against the surface of the wheel by any tendency of said wheel to turn back.
The operation of the mechanism is as follows:-The file blank being laid
upon the file bed, with its shank secured in the end of the shaft c, and the
carriage being drawn back to bring the point of the file under the cutter, the
parts are then in about the position shown in Figure 2. Motion being then
given to the driving shaft, the blows of the cutter are effected by the wipers
or cams n, and the spring p, and the pawl rod 6 is driven back after each
blow of the cutter by the arm d, thus actuating the friction pawl h¹, turning
the feed wheel h and carrying the carriage and its blank forward the space of
a tooth. As the carriage and blank move forward the incline or pattern s
lifts the rod t which turns the shaft v, causing the cam w to force in the slide x
which carries the cutter spring p. This movement of the slide increases the
stress of the spring p, causing the cutter to be driven with increasing force
against the face of the blank, as the blank is fed from the point towards the
shank. The movement of the shaft v at the same time causes the cam or
lifter a¹ to gradually raise the pawl rod b', so that the arm d³ drives the pawl
rod a gradually increasing distance at each successive blow of the cutter, and

page_text: thus communicates an increasing feed movement to the blank. It will thus
be observed that the increase of space between successive teeth from the point
to the shank and the increase of the force of the successive blows of the cutter
are simultaneously and automatically produced, and that these changes may
be produced according to the nature or shape of the face of the blank by the
form or degree of inclination given to the pattern s.
It will be obvious that the variable spacing of the teeth is produced with
greater certainty and accuracy by the employment of the friction pawl than
could be effected by a ratchet mechanism.
Having thus fully described the said improvements as communicated to me
by my foreign correspondent I claim,―
The combined arrangement of parts operating together substantially as
described for varying relatively to each other at the same time, and from
the same indicator, the force of the cutting blow and the extent of the feed
movement.
Also the employment of the friction pawl h¹ acting upon the surface of the
feed wheel h, substantially as set forth.
Also in combination with the feed wheel h the brake wheel k¹ operating as a
detaining pawl, substantially as set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Robert Lake, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this First day of October, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-six.
WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE. (L.S.)
Witness,
GEORGE HASELTINE,
8, Southampton Buildings,
London, W.C.