IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR CUTTING CORKS
Year: 1852

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Robert Booty Cousens, of 50, Halliford:
-Street, in the County of Middlesex, Engineer, for the Invention
"of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR CUTTING CORKS."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Robert Booty
Cousens at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his
Petition, on the 5th November 1852.
I, ROBERT BOOTY COUSENS, of 50, Halliford Street, in the County:
of Middlesex, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR CUTTING CORK" to be as follows:-
This Invention consists of combining the knife, feeding apparatus,
and holder (which for the most part separately are similar to what have
before been used) in the following manner:-The knife is caused to
reciprocate constantly in the same plane. The feeding apparatus into
which the pieces of cork are put in succession is varied in position,'
according to the size of the piece of cork next to be cut. The holder
consists, as heretofore, of two axes, one for each end of the piece of cork.
to be cut; and in addition to their rotatory motion, their bearings have
a rising and falling movement in a plane at right angles to the plane of
the knife's movement when cutting the cork into cylinders; and according

page_text: as the succeeding pieces of cork are larger or smaller than the preceding
ones, so will be the distance of the holder from the knife. The position
of the knife, therefore, being constant, the novelty consists of the size
of the piece of cork next to be cut being the cause of guaging and
setting the feeding apparatus and holder correctly to the knife.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Robert Booty Cousens in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 5th May 1853.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I,
ROBERT BOOTY COUSENS, of 50, Halliford Street, in the County of
Middlesex, Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS IIer most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Fifth day of November, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-two, in the six-
teenth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Ier heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said Robert Booty Cousens, Her special
licence that I, the said Robert Booty Cousens, my executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Robert Booty
Cousens, my executors, administrators, and 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,
usc, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain,
and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for
"ILIPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR CUTTING COвк," upon the condi-
tion (amongst others) that I, the said Robert Booty Cousens, 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 Robert Booty Cousens, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same

page_text: is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement thereof (that is to say):
My Invention consists of combining the knife, the feeding apparatus,
and the holder, which for the most part, separately, are similar to what
have before been used,) in the following manner:-The knife is caused
to reciprocate constantly in the same plane. The feeding apparatus (into
which the pieces of cork are put in succession) is varied in position,
according to the size of the piece of cork next to be cut. The holder
consists, as heretofore, of two axes, one for each end of the piece of cork
to be cut; and in addition to their rotatory motion, their bearings have
a rising and falling movement in a plane at right angles to the plane
of the knife's movement when cutting the cork into cylinders; and
according as the succeeding pieces of cork are larger or smaller than
the preceding ones, so will be the distance of the holder from the knife.
The position of the knife, therefore, being constant, the novelty consists
of the size of the piece of cork (next to be cut) being the cause of
guaging and setting the feeding apparatus holder correctly to the knife.
And in order that my Invention may be most fully understood and
readily carried into effect, I will proceed to describe the means pursued

page_text: it is to feed the machine, takes a single "quarter" from the pan with
his right hand, and places it upon the brass rest h, which is screwed
to the upper extremity of the feeding arm i'. The surface on which
the cork is placed is inclined at an angle of 45° to the centre line of
the feeding arm, and the back or crust of the cork being placed in the
direction of the star, one of the flat sides rests upon the inclined surface,
and the opposite flat side is therefore parallel to the face k, of the
guaging index 7. Should the surface of the cork and that of the guaging
index happen to be level with each other, that "quarter" is correctly
guaged, and needs no additional adjustment. If, then, the knife a, be
supposed to be travelling in the direction contrary to that of the arrow
in Figure 1, the arm m, Figure 2, which is attached to the knife
block n, and moves with it, strikes the bent lever o, (see Figure 3,
where the lever is shewn in plan,) into the position represented by
the dotted lines; and the feeding arm i, is moved into such a position
that the axis of the "quarter" is in juxta position with the axis of the
holders p, p'. (Figures 1, and 5). That arm of the bent lever o, which
is in contact with the feeding arm, terminates in a spring, so that when
the feeding arm is stopped by the stop, on the slide head 8, (which
occurs when the knife is within about one inch of the end of its stroke,)
the spring will yield to the progress of the knife, and permit the com-
pletion of the stroke, so that the cork holders p, p', may be brought
into action, the mode of doing which I shall now describe. When a
cork is cut, that is to say, just before the completion of the stroke in the
direction of the arrow (Figure 1), the tappet f, on the knife block n,
strikes the small lever z, thereby lifting the weighted arm of the lever v,
and throwing out the holder arm to the right hand, so that the pall w,
catches into one of the ratchet teeth on the slide heads, and thus causes
the holders p, p', to remain separated for the reception between them
of the succeeding "quarter." Now, supposing them to be thus separated,
and the feeding arm with the "quarter" resting upon its upper extre-
mity to have been drawn into its second position by the spring lever as
above described, the knife performs the remaining one inch of its stroke,
and in that space the tappet ., lifts the pall w, by striking the small
arm thereof y, and the weighted arm immediately closes the holders

page_text: P, p', upon the "quarter," which is thus held at its oxtremities. The;
holder p', carried by the lever v, is cupped on its face (seo Figure 5);;
so that the end of the quarter is penetrated a short depth by tho
projecting ring shaped edge, the end of the cork and bottom of the
cup being in contact. This holder may be screwed to the end of 'a
short axis or spindle, revolving in suitable bearings, as shewn in
Figure 1; or it may be firmly fixed to the extremity of the arni
v, in which case the cork, when being cut,. will revolve upon the
ring of the cupped face as any harder substance would upon the
centro of an ordinary lathe. The holder p, is the driving holder,,
and is screwed to the axis of a small pinion y, which pinion is.
made to revolve by the action of the toothed sector, which sector,
performs a partial revolution upon the stud z. The sector has a pro-
jecting finger A, (Figure 2,) which by the tension of the spring C;
presses upon the upper edge of the inclined bar B, which bar is firmly
attached to the knife block n, and travels with it. The piece of cork,
having been fed into the machine in the manner described, and the
holders having grasped it at its extrémities,. the cutting stroke of the
knife then commences in the direction of the arrow, allowing the feeding.
armi, to resume its first position by the action of the spring j; and the
knife having penetrated the cork from end to end (see Figure 2), the:
finger A, at this moment resting upon the inclined bar at 2, begins to.
be lifted, so that when the extremity of the incline (3) has arrived at
tho finger, the pinion y, and with it the driver p, and the cork;. will:
have performed one revolution, and the knife. will have cut the cork to:
the required shape. During the completion of the knife's stroke in the
direction of the arrow, the tappet t separates the holders in the manner
previously described, and at the commencement of the return stroko'
the friction of the knife upon the surface of the cork forces it from the
driver p, to which it usually clings, and causes it to fall into a receptacle
bencath.
.
In the foregoing description of the general action of the machine I
have supposed the "quarter" to have been of such a thickness as to re-.
quire no adjustment of the apparatus to accord with it. I have now to
describe the chief novelty in this Invention, whereby, whatever may be

page_text: the thickness (within limits) of each succeeding "quarter" taken from
the hopper, the position of the "quarter" with reference to the parts-
of the machine already described will be so regulated as to be at
once accurately centred and brought within such a distance of the
edge of the knife (vertically) that, whether it be a large or a small
"quarter," the largest cork possible of a circular section will be pro-
duced therefrom, only the same thickness of shaving, measuring on the
flat sides, being taken from every sized quarter. The lower extremity
of the feeding arm i, is attached to one end of the lever D, the other
end of that lever having its centre of motion on the back plate E,
at F. The lever D, has resting upon its upper edge the toe of a
sliding stem G, which stem carries the slide head s, and with it the
lever v, with the holder p', the sector, with the finger A, and also
the pinion y, and driver p. H, I, are two stretchers, screwed into.
the back plate E, for the purpose of supporting the bar I, which
bar supports the brass plate J, of the guaging index 7, and also the
stop and guide ', of the feeding arm i. The lever D, rests upon the
cccentric K, whose centre of motion is on the continuation of the back
plate E, the eccentric being moved at will by means of the lever L, the
handle of which the attendant always retains in the left hand. Now
supposing a "quarter" to be taken from the pan f, and placed upon
the brass rest h, in such a position that one of its flat sides is upon the
inclined surface of the rest, while the opposite flat side is parallel to the
surface k, of the guaging index I, the crust or back of the ", quarter
being towards the star, and supposing the upper side of the quarter,
when so placed, to stand above the surface k, then it will be seen that
if the lever L, be moved in the direction of the arrow in Figure 2,
both the stem G, with its attachments, and the feeding arm i, with the.
quarter, will be made to descend through spaces whose relative pro-
portions will be as the distances F', and F, on the lever D. At the a
same time, by the descent of the slide head s, and the carriage s', of the
sector, and pinion y, motion is communicated to the small lover M,
and the guaging index is thereby slightly raised, and when the face /
of the guaging index and the corresponding surface of the quarter are
thus brought flush with each other, the whole apparatus is in proper

page_text: adjustment by reason of the simultaneous movements described as
resulting from the action of the lever L.
The principle of the action of these parts of the apparatus will be
understood by reference to. Figure 4, where a, is a section of the knife,
and is the cork rest attached to the feeding arm. Now, keeping in
mind that the knife edge does not alter its position in a vertical direc-
tion, and supposing the "quarter" to be infinitely thin, the knife edge
represents every part of that quarter; and the under surface of the
knife and the part N, of the cork rest, together with the axis of the cork
holders, would be collected together at S. But if a quarter of appre-
ciable dimensions be taken, and suppose exact the square O, Q, P, R, to
be the section thereof, it will be seen that to centre that square upon the
holders with such precision as to cut out its inscribed circle, the cork
rest h, must be made to descend through the space 8, R, the holders
must descend through the space S, T, and at the same the guaging
index must ascend through the space S, Q. Now, the side of a square,
or the diameter of its inscribed circle, which is the same thing, being
to the diagonal as 5 is to the square root of 50, that is to say, very
nearly as 5 is to 7, it follows that if I call S, U, 5, then Q, R, will be 7,
U, R, and S, Q, being each one, consequently S, R, (the descent of
the cork rest, will be 5 + 1 = 6; S, T, (the descent of the holders)
will be = 2.5; and S, Q, the ascent of the guaging index, will
be 1; therefore the distances F', and F2, on the lever D, Figure 2,
being as 2.5 to 6, and the arms of the small lever M, being as 2.5 to 1,
every quarter, whatever its thickness, will be accurately guaged and
centred.
In the foregoing description of the principle on which the feeding
apparatus is constructed, the section of the "quarter" has been sup-
posed to be an exact square, and the object has been supposed to be
the production of a circular section whose diameter is precisely equal to
the side of the square. But it being necessary in practice to cut the
shaving of some slight thickness at the flat sides O, Q, and R, P,
Figure 4, to produce that effect, the knife is set down a little in the
direction of the centre T, so that the line of shaving would be repre-
sented by the inner dotted, circle; moreover, it being also necessary to

page_text: remove a somewhat greater thickness of shaving from that side of the
cock O, R, usually called the "belly," in practice the rest h, is set
lown a little upon the feeding arm in the direction of the line R, V,
so that the side O, R, will be represented by the dotted line parallel
thereto, the back of the cock standing up in excess in the direction of
the star. In the Drawings to which reference has been made, the ap-
paratus is represented in the position requisite for cutting the quarters
into cylinders. When it is required to cut a conical instead of the
cylindrical form the set screws W, W, (Figures 1, and 2,) are loosened,
and the back plate, which is supported by the pivot, is canted, so that
the cupped holder p', is more elevated than the holder 2, their axial
line forming an acute angle with the knife edge. When canted to the
required angle the back plate is again set fast by means of the screws.
Figure 6, is a repetition of sonic parts of the elevation Figure 2, and
shows a modification or variation of the parts previously described. In
this arrangement the "quarter" is placed on one of its flat sides, with
the back or crust towards the knife edge; and to centre it with pre-
cision vertically, the relative proportions of the distances F, and F, on
the lever D, are as 1 to 2, so that while the rest h, descends through
a space equal to the side of the square, the holders descend through a
space equal to half the side, the guaging index Y, being immovable.
But with this method of placing the quarters or their sides it is neces-
sary to use another adjustment, so that tho various sized pieces may be
accurately centred horizontally as well as vertically. For that purpose
that edge of the feeding arm i, which strikes the stop 2, on the slide
heads, is inclined to the degree of two vertical spaces to one horizontal
one, so that when the cork rest is lowered or raised by means of the
lever D, to suit the thickness of a piece of cork, the increasing or di-
minishing projection of the inclined edge of the arm causes the play of
the arm from one position to the other to be less or more, to the extent
of half the de-cending or ascending movement of the cork rest, conse-
quently each piece is guaged both horizontally and vertically. The
knife is kept sharp by passing at every stroke between two circular
stones,, (Figure 1,) which are made to revolve in contrary directions
by means of a catgut passing round the pulley 4.

page_text: Having thus described the nature of my said Invention, and the
manner in which the same is to be performed, I would have it under-
stood, that I do not confine myself to the details herein shown and
described, as variations may be made in the parts without departing
from the peculiar character of my Invention, and I make no claim to
the mechanical parts separately; but what I claim is, the combining
the knife, the feeding apparatus, and the holder of cork cutting ma-
chinery in such manner that the knife being constant, the piece of
cork to be cut becomes the measure to guage and set the apparatus
correctly for obtaining the largest cork which the piece or quarter is
capable of having cut therefrom.
In witness whereof, I, the said Robert Booty Cousens, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this Second day of May, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-three.
5
Witness,
WILLIAM SMITH,
11, Staple Inn,
Solicitor.
ROB B. COUSENS. (L.B.)