Improvements in Boot Blacking and Polishing Machines.
Year: 1891

page_text: Date of Application, 20th Feb., 1851
Complete Specification Left, 30th Nov., 1891-Accepted, 30th Jan., 1892
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Boot Blacking and Polishing Machines.
I, ROBERT LETHBRIDGE TAPSCOTT of 62 Croxteth Road, Liverpool in the
County of Lancaster, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention
to be as follows:-
:-
Improvements in boot blacking and polishing machines, consisting of several
sets of brushes moved backwards and forwards by means of eccentric rods and
eccentrics, working on a shaft attached by connecting rods to another shaft, which
is revolved either by hand or power. Some of the brushes being supplied with
blacking by tubes connected with a reservoir.
Dated this Nineteenth day of February 1891.
R. LETHBRIDGE TAPSCOTT.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Boot Blacking and Polishing Machines.
I ROBERT LETHBRIDGE TAPSCOTT of 62 Croxteth Road Liverpool in the
County of Lancaster Civil Engineer, 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 :-
The object of my invention is to provide means whereby boots may be covered
with blacking and polished. For this purpose I provide four sets of brushes, each
set consisting of several brushes, cach brush being moved to and fro, so as to
produce a similar motion to that produced by hand. Two sets of brushes have
tubes connecting them with the reservoir of liquid blacking such tubes having an
intermediate length of rubber tubing to allow of the free movement of the brushes.
The reservoir containing the liquid blacking or each tube, is provided with valves
so arranged as to allow only a small quantity of liquid blacking to flow to the
brushes at a time. The valves are controlled by levers and handles supported by a
rod passing across the upper part of the machine. Two sets of brushes are used
for polishing the boots after the others have spread the blacking. The machine
shown on the drawings does not provide for the adjustment of the brushes for
different sizes of boots, such adjustment forming a separate application for
Patent.
The accompanying drawings show the machine generally:
Figure 1 is an elevation.
Figure 2 is a side view.
Figure 3 is a plan.
Figure 4 shows how the to and fro motion is produced.
The different parts are denoted by the following letters,-
rods .c.
Handles for turning, h. Upper crank shaft carrying handles, m¹. Cranks on
upper shaft. Eccentrics p. Eccentric rods c. Support and guide for eccentric
Brushes b. Boot rest . Boot y. Rods communicating motion to toe
brushes e¹. Rods communicating motion to heel brushes, e. Support for grooved
bar on which toe and heel brushes slide, f. Reservoir containing liquid blacking, o.
Tubes between blacking reservoir and brushes, t. Body of machine, n.
In carrying my invention into effect the boots, y, are placed on the boot rest, I,
the handle h is turned revolving the shaft m' carrying the cranks k, which com-
municate the motion by means of connecting rods to the lower shaft carrying the
[ Price field1

page_text: eccentrics attached to the rods c, which pass through and are supported by the
guide bar, these rods carry the brushes, except the toe and heel brushes which
are carried by the grooved bar and worked by the secondary rods e¹ and e. The
brushes are thus moved to and fro and being in contact with, and pressing against,
and passing frequently and rapidly over the blacking on the boots, produce a
polish. For receiving blacking the boots will be placed on the boot rest, which
has working around it the brushes connecting with the reservoir of liquid blacking
and the handle controlling the valves will be moved allowing the blacking to flow
through the tubes, which will then either fall on the boots themselves or on the
brushes and as the brushes are moving to and fro it will be spread over the boots,
when this has been done the boots will be transferred to the other set of brushes
where they will be polished.
The toe and heel brushes slide on the grooved bar, or are carried by blocks
sliding on the grooved bar, and have fixed to them by means of a hinged joint, the
secondary rods which are attached at their other ends to the eccentric rods by
means of a pin connection; so as to obtain from the eccentric rods a motion at
right angles to theirs. When the end of one of the eccentric rods, actuating a
heel brush, is at its furthest distance from the crank shaft the secondary rod
attached to it has drawn the brush, or block carrying the brush, towards it; and
the end of the other eccentric rod is in its nearest position to the crank shaft and its
secondary rod is nearly parallel to the grooved bar.
The valves controlling the flow of liquid blacking work from or to the tube into
or out of the chamber extending from it and consist of two flat discs placed in
horizontal positions in the tube the one above the other and sufficiently far apart
to admit between them a uniform quantity of liquid blacking. When the upper
disc is drawn out and the lower one pushed in the liquid blacking flows from the
reservoir and fills the length of tube between the discs; then the upper disc is
pushed in and the lower one drawn out so that the liquid blacking flows to the
brushes. The discs are fixed to rods attached outside of the tube to opposite ends
of a lever working on a pivot at its centre. Each tube having a similar arrange-
ment and all the levers of a set being collected by a rod attached at their upper
end, this rod has arms projecting from it which are attached to another rod
parallel to it and this second rod is supported by brackets from the reservoir and
has fixed to one end of it the handle shaft. The valves are grouped into four sets
each set being controlled by one handle.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is,
A combination of mechanical movements substantially as and for the purpose
herein described and shown upon the drawings.
Dated this Nineteenth day of November 1891.
R. LETHBRIDGE TAPSCOTT.