IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS AND IN THE APPLICATION THEREOF FOR THE SHEARING OF SHEEP AND OTHER "ANIMALS
Year: 1866

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Arthur Dallison Renshaw, of Fetter Lane, in the
City of London, Publisher, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
APPARATUS AND IN THE APPLICATION THEREOF FOR THE SHEARING OF SHEEP
AND OTHER "ANIMALS."
Scaled the 14th December 1866, and dated the 19th June 1866.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Arthur Dallison Renshaw
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 19th June 1866.
I, ARTHUR DALLISON RENSHAW, of Fetter Lane, in the City of London,.
Publisher, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVE
MENTS IN APPARATUS AND IN THE APPLICATION THEREOF FOR THE SHEARING. OF SHEEP
AND OTHER ANIMALS," to be as follows:-
My improvements consist in the construction and application of mechanically
acting shears for shearing sheep and other animals, instead of producing the
action of the shears directly by the hand of the operator as usual, with this
view I produce the cutting action by an arrangement of parts acting somewhat
in the manner of the cutting shears of a reaping machine, but instead of
giving the reciprocating part of the shears or cutters a rectilinear motion I
prefer to mount them on a centre, on which they oscillate, the general outline-
of the cutting instrument or shears in front being a curve described from the
centre on which the oscillation takes place. The lower surface consists of a

page_text: plate of metal on which are fastened pointed steel teeth, projecting in front in
the manner of a comb, said steel teeth or prongs having sharp cutting edges
throughout their projecting length; this comb may be termed the stationary
cutter; superposed on this comb, which I make of a breadth of, say, four or
five inches, is the reciprocating cutter which oscillates on the centre, mounted
on the stationary cutter with space between the said cutter and the upper
frame or stock of the apparatus which forms the hand hold. The cutters are
of form somewhat like a lady's fan partially spread, the lower one being
extended in the rear of the pivot and fixed to the stock above (supposing it
to be in a horizontal position) while the points of the comb teeth are severally
supported therefrom by slight pieces of metal extending from the front of the
stock and over the moving cutter teeth close down upon which they come,
the fixed cutter may be otherwise supported from the frame or stock if desired.
A small dise is mounted on an axis near one side of the apparatus and pro-
jected from the stock down towards the cutter plate, a crank pin in this disc
communicates by a rod with a pin on the movable cutter, which by the rotation
of the axis and disc receives a reciprocating motion. This disc is rotated by
frictional contact with a larger wheel, or it may be by a band, on the axis of
which larger wheel is a band wheel, all mounted within the stock or frame of
the apparatus, which band receives motion by a suitable and preferably
an elastic band driven from some source of power. The upper and moving
cutter is pressed down on the lower cutter by a spring exerting a pressure
near the back part. The action is very similar to that of a reaping machine,
and the lower and stationary teeth which are made very thin at the points
extend with their supporting fingers beyond the moving cutter and enter the
wool in advance thereof, and are held close down to the skin of the sheep as
the machine is pressed forward, and the reciprocating notion of the upper
cutter being at the same time continued the wool will be shorn between the
cutting edges of the stationary and movable cutters. The pitch or distances
apart of the prongs or projecting teeth of the fixed and movable cutters are
the same, say about an inch, while the cutting front is, say, from four to five
inches in width. Instead of one reciprocating cutter two may be adopted
moving simultaneously in opposite directions, and the motion may be rectilinear
instead of curved. I mount the band pulley so as to run loose upon its axis,
unless pressed into gear by the finger of the operator when motion will be
imparted to the cutters, but otherwise they will remain stationary.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filci
by the said Arthur Dallison Renshaw in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 19th December 1866.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ARTHUR
DALLISON RENSHAW, of Fetter Lane, in the City of London, Publisher, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Nineteenth day of June, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-six, in the twenty-ninth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
Arthur Dallison Renshaw, Her special licence that I, the said Arthur
Dallison Renshaw, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others
as I, the said Arthur Dallison Renshaw, 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, use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain
and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN APPARATUS AND IN THE APPLICATION THEREOF FOR THE SHEARING OF SHEEP
AND OTHER ANIMALS," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said
Arthur Dallison Renshaw, my executors or administrators, by an instrument
in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should par-
ticularly 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 Arthur Dallison Renshaw, do hereby
declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to
be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement, reference being had to the Sheet of Drawings hereunto
annexed, and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say) :-
My improvements consist in the construction and application of mechanically
acting shears for shearing sheep and other animals, instead of producing
the action of the shears directly by the hand of the operator; with this view
I produce the cutting action by an arrangement of parts acting somewhat in
the manner of the cutting shears of a reaping machine, but instead of giving
the reciprocating part of the shears or cutters a rectilinear motion I prefer to
mount them on a centre, on which they oscillate, the general outline of the
cutting instrument or shears in front being a curve described from the centre

page_text: on which the oscillation takes place. The lower surface consists of a plate of
metal, on which are fastened pointed steel teeth, projecting in front in the
manner of a comb, said steel teeth or prongs having at their upper surface
sharp cutting edges throughout. their projecting length; this comb may be
termed the stationary cutter; superposed on this comb, which I make of a
breadth of, say, four or five inches, is the reciprocating cutter, which oscillates
on the centre mounted on the stationary cutter, with a space between the said
cutter and the upper frame or stock of the apparatus which forms the hand
hold. The cutter plates or carriers are in form somewhat like a lady's fan,
partially spread, the lower cutter being extended beyond the limits of the moving
cutter and fixed to the stock above (supposing it to bo in a horizontal position)
by a box or sides enclosing the working gear. The points of the comb teeth are
severally supported by pieces of metal extending from the front of the stock
over the moving cutter teeth close down upon which they come. The fixed
cutter may be otherwise supported from the frame or stock if desired. A
small disc is mounted on an axis near one side of the apparatus projected
from the stock, a crank pin in this disc communicates by a rod with a pin on
the movable cutter, which by the rotation of the axis and disc receives a
reciprocating motion therefrom; this disc is rotated by frictional contact with
a larger wheel, or it may be by toothed gearing or by a band, on the axes of
which the larger wheel is a band wheel, all mounted within the stock or frame of
the apparatus, which band wheel receives motion by a suitable and preferably
by an elastic band driven from some source of power. The upper and
moving cutter is pressed down on the lower cutter by a spring exerting a
pressure on the upper part, or the cutters may each receive a separate and
individual pressure. The action is very similar to that of a reaping machine,
the lower and stationary teeth which are made very thin at the points, extend
with their supporting fingers beyond the moving cutter, and enter the wool in
advance thereof, and are held close down to the skin of the sheep as the
machine is pressed forward, and the reciprocating motion of the upper cutter
being at the same time operated the wool will be shorn between the cutting
edges of the stationary and movable cutters. The pitch or distance apart of
the prongs or projecting teeth of the fixed and movable cutters are the same,
say, about an inch, while the cutting front, is, say, four or five inches in
width. Instead of one reciprocating cutter plates two may be adopted moving
simultaneously in opposite directions, and the motion may be rectilinear
instead of curved. I mount the band pulley so as to run loose on its axis,
unless pressed into gear by the finger of the operator when motion will be
imparted to the cutters, but otherwise they will remain stationary.

page_text: DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS.
Figure 1 of the Drawings hereunto annexed represents a sile elevation,
Figure 2 a plan or bird's-eye view, Figure 3 an under side plan, Figure 4
a longitudinal vertical section of the apparatus constructed according to my
Invention; Figure 5 is an under side plan, but with the under plate and
cutters removed, while Figures 6 and 7 show the cutter plates detached.
A, A, is the case or frame of brass or other suitable metal to enclose the
working parts of the machine. It is constructed as light as can be consistent
with strength, and is furnished with a hand hold B, which may be of wood
or other suitable material, and whereby the instrument is grasped in the hand
in shearing, it is suitably screwed or otherwise secured to the top of the case.
The bottom of the case consists of a plate of metal C, C, to which plate I fix
the stationary cutters a, a, a, (five being the number represented, but this
may be varied as may be advisable), see Figure 7, which is an upper side
view of plate C detached. These cutters I recess into the upper side of
plate C, and fix them by screws b, b, passing through slots & from below; the
slots have bevil edges to receive the pressure of the conical heads of the
screws, whereby to fix them and the cutters a with the screws in any position
in the slots. This range of adjustment is to allow for wear of the cutters from
sharpening, and it may be their projection from the front of the box A.
These cutters are double edged, being sharpened on both sides and with the
cutting edges in the plane of the upper surface. In order to steady the points
of these cutters I fix a plate D on the inclined front of the box A carrying
fingers ff, or what may be termed a comb, the extreme sharp points of the
cutters enter small recesses in the pendant ends of these fingers. As seen in
the plan, Figure 2, these fingers are carried off to a fine but not sharp point,
while in side view they appear somewhat rounded, so as to prevent abrasion
of the skin of the sheep, while at same time they penetrate the wool easily.
They further by acting as shields prevent the points of the cutters sticking
into or cutting the sheep. In plate C I fix a pivot or axis e, on which I
mount the upper cutter plate F, seen separately at Figure 6; axis e forms the
centre or fulcrum on which plate F oscillates, the one is suitably connected
with the other by the screw nut on axis e, or otherwise, which with an elastic
metallic washer intervening between the nut and upper plate may produce
the necessary pressure between the cutters so as to obtain a shear scissors-like
cutting action, or otherwise as herein-before described. This plate F1 make
of a double thickness, except from point 1, 1, to the front end. The movable
cutters g, 9, are recessed into F, the recesses passing quite through at the

page_text: thin end of the plate; these cutters like a, a, in the lower plate are recessed
with their faces flush with the face of the plate; the cutters 9, 9, are fixed in
their recesses by screws h, h, passing through slots i, i, in plate F, which slots
permit of regulating their position and advancing them from time to time as
they become shorter from sharpening; k, k, are springs each acting separately
on the cutters; these springs are fixed by screws or otherwise to the plate F,
at m, m, while their opposite and free ends bear with a constant and equal
pressure on the blades or cutters g, which being secured at a distance (at
screws ) from the impact of the springs, and being somewhat slender in
their stems recede a little to the pressure of said springs k; this maintains
an independent and elastic pressure between the upper and lower cutters a
and g, whereby to produce a shear-like cut as their edges cross each other.
The plates C and F are represented as being held together by a stud r passing
through a slot p in plate C, and screwed in the upper plate F, the pressure
being regulated by said screw at pleasure so as to make the cutter faces rub on
each other with more or less frictional contact as may be necessary to produce
the cutting or shearing action that will result from the oscillation of the plate F.
During the oscillation of the plate F the screw traverses in the slot p and
necessarily produces friction by its downward pressure on plate F; this friction
may be mitigated by effecting such compression between the plates at the
axis e as herein-before mentioned, and as usual in scissors and shears having
crossed limbs hold together by a bolt or rivet. Such are the cutting parts, it
now only remains to describe the means of communicating motion to the
oscillating or reciprocating shear plate F; this may be done in a variety of
different ways, two of which I have represented in the Drawings annexed, which
will be sufficient to make them clearly understood. To plate F is affixed a stud
pin, to which a connecting rod s is attached, which rod communicates with
a crank pint fixed in a boss or disc u, this is of a piece with a spur wheel v
mounted on a fixed axis was seen; wheel gears with another spur wheel a
fixed on an axis bearing in a bridge piece y stretched across the box or
frame, and also in a sleeve or hollow axis of the main driving pulley H;
sleeve is fitted in a bearing in the top plate of the box frame in which it
is free to rise up and down, and as controlled by the forked end of the
hand lever I. The forked end of lever I embraces the sleeve ¹ in a groove
(see Figure 4) formed for its reception. The tail end of the lever is carried
up under the hand hold B in a position to be compressed at will by the fingers
of the operator while at work, the opposite action of the lever I being pro-
duced by a spring j. The effect of spring j is to raise the sleeve and band
pulley upwards and away from the spur wheel c, throwing two clutch pins 9, 2,

page_text: out of action, but which when the pulley H is lowered, as shown by the dotted
lines, take into arms or cross bar o, o, on the lower side of pulley H, and
transmit the rotary motion from the pulley H directly to wheel a, and thence
by the wheel v, crank pin t, and connecting rod s, imparting a reciprocating
motion to the plate F as will be readily understood and herein described
as the oscillating motion of that plate and its cutters. The pulley H is
driven by an endless band L which I prefer to be elastic and of india-rubber,
it passes round the pulley as in ordinary, and thence to a band wheel mounted
on a suitable frame at some little distance, and driven by hand or other prime
mover. The band is conducted out of the case by friction rollers P, P;
Q, Q, Q, three of which are vertical and two horizontal, as seen; this provides
for the contact and free running of the band while the apparatus may be
moved about and held in different directions by the operator, thus preventing
its rubbing against any stationary part, whereby obstruction might be created.
If it is desirable I also use stationary guide rollers for the band L, between
the apparatus and the driving wheel so as to prevent the possibility of its
getting off its driving wheel. Thus it will be understood the operator will
have considerable freedom of movement and liberty of change of position of the
apparatus in manipulating and shearing a sheep (at same time receiving the
necessary motion) by reason of such guiding of the band and the extent to
which it can be stretched. In shearing with this apparatus the operator
would hold it in the one hand while bandling or manipulating or bringing the
parts of the sheep round to the cutters to be sheared, the advance of the one
or the other being made according to the rate of cutting of the shears or
cutters. The driving wheel is of course operated simultaneously by other
power.
In order to make the apparatus as light as possible I have represented the
box or frame A as of sheet brass, the two sides, front and bottom plate, being
united by knees or augle pieces and screws, but it may be a brass casting or
castings, and the parts united in any suitable way as will be readily
understood.
Figure 8 represents another arrangement for driving the oscillating cutter
plate, the Figure shows a cross section of the box A at the axis of pulley H.
1 dispense with the spur wheel and fix a disc on the lower end of the axis=
below bridge y, in this disc I fix a crank pin 2, which communicates by a con-
necting rod 3 with a stud fixed to an arm 4, projecting from the one side of the
plate F. The arm 4 (see Figure 9, partial plan of plate F) is extended in order to
permit of the necessary length of rod 3, and although projected through the

page_text: side of case A may be enclosed by a small cap or covering piece, a disc 5 on
axis z carries the clutch pins 9, 9, as before.
Having described the nature of my Invention, and the manner of per-
forming the same, I desire it to be understood that I do not confine myself to
the precise details herein given, as such are capable of considerable variation
without departing from my Invention, and I declare that what I claim as my
Invention to be protected by the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent
is, apparatus having reciprocating cutters arranged and operated as herein-
before described for the shearing of sheep and other animals.
In witness whereof, I, the said Arthur Dallison Renshaw, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Nineteenth day of December, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-six.
Witness,
W. CLARK,
Patent Agent,
53, Chancery Lane,
London.
ARTHUR D. RENSHAW. (L.S.)