IMPROVEMENTS IN KNIFE AND FORK CLEANING MACHINES
Year: 1862

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Adam Dixon at the Office of
the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 21st April
1862.
I, ADAM DIXON, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Engineer,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
KNIFE AND FORK CLEANING MACHINES," to be as follows:-
This Invention consists in improvements in both those machines known as
rotary knife cleaners, in which the faces of the blades of the knives to be
cleaned are set in the machine at right angles or nearly so to the centre line-
of axis, and are so cleaned by revolving discs, as well as in those of a
cylindrical construction, having the blade faces set for cleaning in a line-
parallel or nearly so with the main or working centre of the machine...
In the first description of cleaner my improvements consist in, first;.
occupying, filling, or taking up a large portion, in proportion to its diameter,.
of the central, or but little effective cleaning surface of the disc, by. a solid
block or tube, (the latter preferred for reasons herein-after explained,) and
against which the knife or knives when inserted for cleaning coming in.
contact are forced and retained in a tangential instead of a radial line across
the polishing discs, by this I am not only enabled to use a much less
'diameter of disc than at present, but also from the knives lying in this
tangential line they receive at their points, always the dirtiest parts, nearly as
much travelling or rubbing surface from the cleaning discs as they do at their

page_text: heels or bolsters. I have said I prefer a tube to fill up or occupy the central
portion of disc, because into this tube can be inserted or lifted the cleaning
powder, and distributed thence through holes drilled in its circumference.
Secondly, the manner of making the bodies of the discs of cast iron, with
open channels or grooves cast right through their faces, with rings or ledges
cast on behind; into these channels are fitted the polishing strips of leather,
or other suitable material, their back edges butting against the ledges or
rings, and so prevented from passing too far through, while they are hindered
from coming out by wires, wedges, glue, pitch, or other suitable fastening
behind the faces of said discs.
Thirdly, binding the periphery of said discs with a strap of leather or other
pliable material, and made fast thereto just outside the circumference of the
polishing strips, and of a suitable height thereto, against which the bolsters of
the knives when inserted come in contact, and are thus hindered from passing
too far between said discs. This strap also acts as a retaining ledge to keep
the bulk of the powder among the polishing strips.
Fourthly, when more than one knife at a time is to be cleaned I.apply a
catch worked by a trigger, bolt, cam, or. eccentric, with or without springs ;
which catches, acting against the heels of the knives, counteract the tendency
imparted by the tangential line when working the-machine to push out the
knives. This catch may also be applied to. single knife cleaners, but for sim-
plification it is preferred in these machines to dispense with this catch, it being
easy to hold one knife with the left hand while working the machine with
the right.
The adoption of this tangential line also enables me to clean forks in
machine similar in principle to that described for knives, and only varying in
construction as to the materials fastened on the discs for cleaning with, viz.,
bristles instead of leather strips, as being better suited to accommodate them-
selves to and enter into the various intricacies of a fork; and also as to the method
of holding the fork for cleaning, for the insertion of which a guide is necessary
to determine the proper distance to which the fork ought to be pushed into
the machine, from having to allow such clearance for the entrance of the bow
on the fork at the junction of the prongs, as would also admit the bolster of
the fork to pass through between the polishing discs. To obviate which I
apply an adjustable guide clipping the handle of the fork, on which guide are
wings or shoulders, and which on the insertion of the fork for cleaning catch
.against the outer casing of the machine, and so hinder the fork from passing
too far into the machine to the injury of either the one or the other, or both.
This machine for cleaning forks will also answer for knives, but is not to

page_text: be preferred; and the fork cleaner may be made either as a separate machine,
or combined with a knife cleaner, so as to form a knife and fork cleaner in
one and the same machine.
In the second description of cleaner, viz., the cylindrical, my improvements
consist in building up the outer cleaning case with overhanging pieces
securely fastened to a revolving plate or cylinder. These pieces may be either
solid or hollow, the latter preferred, as then they may be made to act as lifters
and mouths for the cleaning powder. On the extremity of the overhang of these
pieces or mouths a retaining ring is fastened so as to bind them all together,
and in the spaces thus formed between the revolving back plate and the front
retaining ring, and between the pieces and mouths themselves work segments
of circles carrying the polishing strips or bristles. On the backs of these
segments are fastened bow or other springs or adjustable screws, bearing
against the fixed mouths or pieces, and thus the said segments are pressed
towards the centre of the machine, and so against the blades of the knives
when inserted. These outer segments, as well as the inner block or brush on
which are carried the cleaning strips or bristles may be made of wood, but I
prefer making them, especially the outer segments, of cast iron, with channels
or grooves and. ledges, as already described in this for the rotary discs, and
fastening therein the cleaning strips, with the addition of wedges on their
face sides, so as to throw the strips into lines radial with the centre of the
machine. To prevent the knives being pushed too far into this machine
ledges of leather or other material may be fastened at the outer ends of the
polishing strips, as described already; but I prefer using a guard ring
fastened immediately behind where the knives are inserted, in which ring are
slots sufficiently wide to admit the blades, but not the bolsters of the knives,
and with supports for the back edge of the blades close to the handles.