Improvements in the Manufacture of Corks and in Machinery Employed for this Purpose.
Year: 1887

page_text: Improvements in the Manufacture of Corks and in Machinery
Employed for this Purpose.
We, JOHN LOWMAN of 188 Albany Road Camberwell in the County of Surrey
Engineer and JOHN HOWARD of the firm of Fisher Howard and Sons of 73 Minories
in the City of London Cork Merchants 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:-
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This invention relates to improvements in the method of manufacturing corks from
pieces of cork technically known as "squares or "quarters" and in the arrange-
ment and construction of machinery employed for this purpose.
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Hitherto the previously cut squares or quarters have been converted into
round or oval shaped corks by means of suitable knives or cutters principally by
hand and in place of so cutting corks the object of this invention is to convert or
shape such" squares or "quarters" into round oval or other shaped corks by the
process of grinding and for this purpose we find a revolving disc or discs faced with
glass sand or emery paper or other suitable grinding surface revolving at a high rate
of speed to be most advantageous.
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The squares" or "quarters" are applied to the face of the disc (either by hand
or by suitable holding mechanism designed for the purpose) by which means the
corners are ground off and the squares are thus converted into round oval or other
shaped corks having a smooth surface.
By this means round oval or other shaped corks can be made of a fuller or larger
size of a better quality and more economically as the least possible waste cutting
or shaving from the "square" or "quarter" is sacrificed by this process hence
the larger cork and better quality thereof. Another advantage obtained by these

page_text: improvements is that the unskilled labour (especially of boys and girls) can he
utilized.
The arrangement of machinery which we have found suitable for carrying this
invention into practice (although we do not limit ourselves thereto) consists of a head
stock in which a shaft or spindle is mounted in suitable bearings with fast and loose
pulleys for driving the same. On one end of the shaft a face plate or disc is
mounted faced with glass sand or emery paper or other suitable grinding surface.
The "squares" or "quarters" of cork may be applied to the surface of the face
plate by the hand of the workman to grind off the corners and thus shape it into a
round oval or other suitably shaped cork. But we find it more advantageous to
employ a holder or feeding apparatus mounted between two head-stocks and face
plates such as before described the face plates being opposite to each other.
The "square" or "quarter" to be ground is placed upon a table or platform
between two holding instruments one of which is pressed forward by a spiral spring
on a spindle to hold the cork firmly against the opposite holder and carry it up against
one or other of the face plates as follows.
The holders are carried by a frame or oscillating bracket mounted upon centres
upon which it can be moved to and fro by a suitable handle to place the cork in the
holder against the face of either of the face plates, the glass sand or other grinding
surface on one of such face plates being finer than the other to give a final finished
surface to the cork.
The spindle of the spring holder is mounted in adjustable bearings on the
oscillating frame and has a handle on one end to impart rotary motion to the cork
whilst being ground.
A cam or shaped eccentric is mounted upon the spring holder spindle and bears
against a truck or wheel carried by a fixed standard or arm by which means any
desired shape can be given to the cork in the operation of grinding.
The table upon which the "square" is first placed acts as an adjustable gauge for
placing the cork properly to centre and the whole of the apparatus is mounted upon a
central adjustable support so that it can be adjusted to the height required.
When taper corks are required to be made by the machine previously described the
grinding discs are placed at a suitable angle to each other to produce the taper of
the cork as required.
In place of the face plates or discs the grinding surface may be arranged on the
periphery of a drum or cylinder revolving at a high rate of speed.
And in order that our invention may be clearly understood and readily carried into
practice we will now describe the drawings hereto annexed.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figure 1 shows a front elevation Figure 2 a transverse section and Figure 3 a plan
of a machine for manufacturing corks in accordance with our invention.
a a are two head stocks on which fast and loose pulleys a¹ a² are mounted upon
axes as a on the inner ends of which the revolving discs at a are fixed faced with
sand glass or emery paper or other suitable grinding surface.
7 are holding instruments between the ends of which the "square" of cork is
held whilst the corners are ground off. The holder b consists of a spindle capable of
sliding and revolving in bearings 22 carried by the frame c which moves upon
centres c c on the stationary bar d mounted upon the adjustable support d' and fixed
bed d. The spring 63 acts to force out the holder (when the spindle is drawn back)
so as to close upon the end of the "square" or block of cork laid by hand upon the
adjustable table e on the fixed support el to take and hold the cork firmly against the
end of the rotating holder b¹. The spindle and holder receives rotary motion by
means of the crank handle and c² is a handle by which the frame c can be moved to
and fro to cause it to oscillate upon the centres c¹ e' so as to place the revolving cork
against the face of either of the discs at a as required.

page_text: 6 is a cam or shaped eccentric mounted upon the spindle & this cam which
corresponds in contour with that of the cork when ground revolves in contact with
the friction roller carried by the fixed standard f' on the bar d.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that what we claim is :-
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1. The improved manufacture of corks by grinding off the corners of the "squares
or "quarters to produce corks of the required contour substantially as described.
2. We claim the improved manufacture of corks by grinding the "squares"
quarters" to the required shape against revolving discs covered with glass sand or
emery paper or other suitable grinding surface substantially in the manner herein-
before described and represented in the drawings hereto annexed.
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3. The improved arrangement construction and combination of machinery or
apparatus for grinding "squares' or "quarters" of cork into shape substantially as
hereinbefore described and represented in the drawings hereto annexed.
TONGUE & BIRKBECK,
34, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C.,
Agents for the Patentees.