IMPROVEMENTS IN FLUTING OR CRIMPING MACHINES
Year: 1872

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Henry Johnson, of 47, Lincoln's Inn
Fields, in the County of Middlesex, Gentleman, for the Invention
of "IMPROVEMENTS
IN FLUTING OR CRIMPING MACHINES."-A com-
munication from abroad by Theodore M. Tucker, of Newark,
New Jersey, in the United States of America.
Sealed the 23rd July 1872, and dated the 31st January 1872.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Henry Johnson
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 31st January 1872.
I, JOHN HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County
5 of Middlesex, Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN FLUTING OR CRIMPING MACHINES," a com-
munication from abroad by Theodore M. Tucker, of Newark, New
Jersey, in the United States of America, to be as follows:-

page_text: This Invention relates to a peculiar construction and arrangement
of fluting or crimping machine, and consists in the combination of a
self-acting or automatic cam or eccentric with a moveable frame carry-
ing the upper fluting roller, and with a lever, spur pinion, and rack for
lifting the top roller.
The journals of the bottom crimping or fluting roller work in fixed
standards, in one of which standards there is made an upright slot which
receives one of the journals also of the upper roller, the slot allowing
the upper roller to be raised and lowered. The inner faces of the said
slot in lieu of being flat are made concave or channelled so as to leave 1
a narrow chipping seat at each edge, which affords two points of bearing
to the spindle or journal, and facilitates the construction of the machine.
The journals of the top roller.work in a separate frame capable of being
raised and lowered as herein-after described.
The stationary slotted standard is extended in the form of a horizontal 1
bar over the top roller, which bar carries a spur pinion gearing into a
slotted guiding rack on the moveable frame for the purpose of lifting
the same, the said pinion being worked by a lever handle. On the
horizontal bar and situate on each side of the pinion there is a hollow
projection for the reception of a helical spring, which springs bear upon a
the moveable frame, and thus keep the top roller down upon the bottom
one, two thumb screws serving to graduate the pressure of the said
springs. In order to strengthen the horizontal bar a projecting rib is
formed on each side thereof at the place where the hollow projections
are made for the entrance of the upper ends of the springs.
When the top roller is lifted in order to introduce or remove the
goods, it is important that it shall remain elevated until required to be
lowered again, and this is accomplished by means of an automatic cam
or eccentric carried on the axis of the lower roller, which cam or
eccentric is so weighted on one side as to turn partly round immediately
the pressure thereon of the moveable frame is removed, and this partial
rotation of the cam or eccentric brings the most eccentric portion of its
periphery under the moveable frame, thereby propping it up against the
mere pressure of the springs. But when the top roller is to be lowered
again the lever handle in connection with the spur pinion is turned, and
the increased bite or pressure of the moveable frame on the cam or

page_text: eccentric forces it back to its original position again when the machine
is ready for fluting or crimping. A projection or stop on' the cam
prevents it from turning too far when released.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said John Henry Johnson in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 25th July 1872.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of
Middlesex, Gentleman, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Thirty-first day of January, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-two, in the
thirty-fifth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and
successors, give and grant unto me, the said John Henry Johnson,
Her special license that I, the said John Henry Johnson, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
John Henry Johnson, my executors, administrators, or 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 FLUTING OR CRIMPING
MACHINES," a communication to me from abroad by Theodore M.
Tucker, of Newark, New Jersey, in the United States of America,
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said John Henry
Johnson, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing
under my hand and seal, 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 John Henry Johnson, do hereby

page_text: same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement, reference being had to the accom-
panying Drawings, and to the letters and figures marked thereon,
that is to say :-
The said Invention relates to a peculiar construction and arrangement
of fluting or crimping machine, and consists in the combination of a
self-acting or automatic cam or eccentric with a moveable frame carry-
ing the upper fluting roller, and with a lever, spur pinion, and rack for
lifting the top roller.
The journals of the bottom crimping or fluting roller work in fixed
standards, in one of which standards there is made an upright slot which
receives one of the journals also of the upper roller, the slot allowing
the upper
roller to be raised and lowered. The inner faces of the said
slot in lieu of being flat are made concave or channelled so as to leave
a narrow chipping seat at each edge, which affords two points of bearing
to the spindle or journal, and facilitates the construction of the machine.
The journals of the top roller work in a separate frame capable of being
raised and lowered as herein-after described.
The stationary slotted standard is extended in the form of a horizontal
bar over the top roller, which bar carries a spur pinion gearing into a :
slotted guiding rack on the moveable frame for the purpose of lifting
the same, the said pinion being worked by a lever handle. On the
horizontal bar and situate on each side of the pinion there is a hollow
projection for the reception of a helical spring, which springs bear upon
the moveable frame, and thus keep the top roller down upon the bottom
one, two thumb screws serving to graduate the pressure of the said
springs. In order to strengthen the horizontal bar a projecting rib is
formed on each side thereof at the place where the hollow projections
are made for the entrance of the upper ends of the springs.
When the top roller is lifted in order to introduce or remove the a
goods, it is important that it shall remain elevated until required to be
lowered again, and this is accomplished by means of an automatic cam
or eccentric carried on the axis of the lower roller, which cam or
eccentric is so weighted on one side as to turn partly round immediately
the pressure thereon of the moveable frame is removed, and this partial
rotation of the cam or eccentric brings the most eccentric portion of its

page_text: In red
Figure 1 is a front view of the machine; Figure 2 is an end elevation
showing the cam and upper roller frame in position for fluting.
lines are shown the frame raised and the cam down. Figure 3 is a
horizontal section of the frame.
A is the main bed piece and frame; B is the moveable frame or holder
of the upper roller; C is the under roller, with its bearings in the
frame A; D is the top roller, with bearings in the moveable frame B.
In the top bar of the main frame A there is a slot to admit the com-
bined rack and guide E, this guide being an integral part of the moveable
frame B. The slide guide E is a frame with a rack z on the inner side
of one of the uprights. Provision is made on the top bar of the
main frame for bearings for a pinion y to be operated by the lever
handle w. By means of the rack z and pinion y the upper roller D is
lifted for the insertion of the material to be fluted between the rollers.
The cam a falls by its own gravity when the frame is raised. To hold
and guide the spiral springs of the required strength and tension without
incumbrance to the frame, two projections u and are cast upon the
main frame, with holes from below through the bars to receive the spiral
springs, as shown by the dotted lines, the tension of the springs & and t
being graduated by the thumb screws p and r, that are tapped through
the solid tops of the projections u and v. In order to strengthen the
upper bar of the main frame at the place where the projection for the
screw is placed a rib r¹ is formed on each side of the said upper bar.
The gravity cam a has an arm b, as a weight, of sufficient power by its

page_text: own gravity to turn the cam when relieved of pressure by the end of
the frame B when the machine is in operation. This cam has also on it
a small cam or projection ' that serves as a catch to prevent it from
falling down below the point shown in red lines. It is made somewhat
eccentric on its upper periphery, and is grooved out to lighten the
upper side so as to turn readily by its own gravity. In Figure 3, c, c,
and d, d, are the bearings of the frame A, giving two points of bearing
on the ends of the shafts of the fluted rollers, a curved concave recess or
hollow being formed between the said bearing points c, c, and d, d, thus
giving strength and great rigidity. to the bearing, while the frame is
made light, thus having a leverage of two fulcrums in the bearings on
the end of the shafts, which is of great importance when the pressure on
the rollers is at a distance from the bearing points.
In the operation of this Invention when the work of fluting is being
done, the arm 6 of the cam a is in position, as seen in Figure 2, the
rollers revolving without affecting the cam. In order to raise the
roller D the lever wo is depressed, which revolves the pinion y operating
the rack z, and raising the roller D to receive the goods to be fluted;
and as soon as the pressure from the springs & and t is taken off, the
cam a rotates by its own gravity into the position seen in red lines in
Figure 2, the cam or small projection 6' catching against the frame B
and stopping its further rotation; it is thus held in this position until
the goods are removed or inserted, as the cam will not turn by the
pressure of the springs. To lower the roller D it is only necessary to
turn the crank, and the bite of the roller bearing D catches the cam and
turns it round to its position, as before, when the machine is ready again
for fluting. It will be seen that this is a very important feature in the
Invention, as it acts automatically, which is of vast importance when the
rollers are fully heated, which is the case when it is at work.
Having thus described and particularly ascertained the nature of the
said Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used or
carried into effect, I would observe in conclusion that what I consider,
to be novel and original, and therefore claim as the Invention secured to
me by the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent is,-
First. The peculiar construction and arrangement of crimping machine

page_text: Second. The concave recesses in the inner faces of the slot of the
main framing, as and for the purpose herein-before described.
Third. The application of the strengthening ribs to the upper bar of
the main framing, as and for the purpose herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Henry Johnson, have to this
my Specification set my hand and seal, this Twenty-third day
of July One thousand eight hundred and seventy-two.
J. HENRY JOHNSON. (L.S.)