IMPROVEMENTS IN THE METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR CLIPPING SEAL SKINS
Year: 1880

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Lorentz Albert Groth, Civil Engineer, and Proprietor of
the Scandinavian Patent Office, under the Firm of L. A. Groth & Co., 97,
Finsbury Pavement, London, E.C., for an Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
THE METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR CLIPPING SEAL SKINS." A commu-
nication from abroad by Ferdinand Florian Cimiotti and Gustav Cimiotti,
both of the City of New York, in the County and State of New York, United
States of America.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Lorentz Albert Groth at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 6th August 1880.
"
LORENTZ ALBERT GROTH, Civil Engineer and Proprietor of the Scandinavian
Patent Office, under the Firm of L. A. Groth & Co., 97, Finsbury Pavement,
London, E.C. 'IMPROVEMENTS IN THE METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR
CLIPPING SEAL SKINS." A communication from abroad by Ferdinand Florian
Cimiotti and Gustav Cimiotti, both of the City of New York, in the County and
State of New York, United States of America.
Every seal-skin has, besides the soft fine hair or wool which forms the main
attraction of the skin, long glossy hair or bristles, the socalled "water-hair," the
greater part of which is removed in dressing the skin.
33
The shorter bristles however remain in the skin and have to be removed by
clipping or plucking. This has heretofore been accomplished by hand, the operator
throwing the fine hair back so as to expose the long and stiff bristles, which are
then either cut off short or pulled out by pincers. This method of clipping or
plucking the thick hair is slow, tedious, and expensive, and requires skilled hands.
The object of this Invention is to furnish a machine by which the thick "water-
hair or bristles of the fur can be removed in a rapid, uniform, and reliable
manner, and the Invention consists of a knife-odged bar over which the seal skin
is tightly stretched and intermittently fed by means of winding and unwinding
rollers. The narrow portion or strip of the skin directly over the knife-edge is
exposed to a vertical blast of air from a bellows or blower, and retained at both
sides of the knife-edge by laterally movable guard-combs. The stiff bristles,
projecting through and above the combs are then clipped off by knives or shears.
On the supporting frame of our improved machine for clipping seal-skins, and at
the middle portion of it, is arranged a fixed knife-edged bar that extends
Over this bar the
transversely from one side-support of the frame to the other.

page_text: seal skin to be clipped is tightly stretched by being wound upon a roller at one
side of the knife-edged bar, and upon a second roller at the other side of the same.
The skin is connected to the rollers by means of bands attached to the ends of the
skin, which bands are of such length that every part of the skin can pass over the
knife-edge. By a suitable pawl and ratchet mechanism the rollers are intermittently
operated so as to move the skin forward over the knife edge at the proper time.
Above the knife-edged bar, and of equal width with the same, is arranged a
bellows or other air-forcing apparatus, which is supported on the frame and provided
with a nozzle, the narrow discharge orifice of which is vertically above the knife-
edged bar. The bellows is operated by means of a treadle, which is connected by
cords or rods to the upper movable portion of the bellows, and by weights which
are hung to cords passing over pulleys at the top of the frame. By the weights
the bellows is opened as soon as the treadle is released by the foot. The treadle
is also connected by a cord passing over a pulley to a slotted lever arm, which
turns loosely on the shaft of a pinion which intermeshes with gear-wheels at one
end of the winding and unwinding rollers. To the lever is also applied a ratchet-
wheel, the teeth of which are engaged by pauls which are pivoted equidistantly
from the shaft of the pinion to the lever, so as to turn thereby the pinion at each
down-stroke of the treadle, and impart by the gear-wheels jointly a winding-up-
motion to the front roller, and an unwinding-motion to the rear roller. The seal
skin, stretched over the knife-edged bar, is thereby moved forward for a short
distance. Before the skin passes on to the winding up front roller, it passes over
a transverse tension-rod, which is hung by connecting springs to the side-standards
of the frame. This tension-road prevents the too tight stretching of the skin, and
facilitates the motion of the same over the knife-edge. The treadle is furthermore
connected by slotted lever-arms to vertically-guided and spring-cushioned connecting
rods, to the upper ends of which arms are pivoted which carry horizontal guard-
combs. These combs are arranged at both sides of and symmetrically to the
knife edge. By the downward stroke of the treadle the combs are made to close
over the skin above the knife-edge by being guided by their inclined rear-sides
along fixed pins of adjustable side-plates, to which also the knife-edged bar is
attached. On the release of the treadle the guard combs recede so as not to be in
the way of the air-current from the nozzle of the bellows. Above the guard-combs
are arranged two clipping knives, the edges of which are arranged in the form of
a flat double V, they being guided by slots along fixed pins and operated by a crank
handle at one end of the same, so as to pass one over the other and exert a shear
cut upon the bristles projecting over the combs.
By the depression of the treadle a strong current of air is thrown by the bellows
upon the narrow strip of skin which is at the time above the knife-edge, the
current forcing the soft hair of the fur down and parting it at both sides of the
knife-edge, so as to retain the soft hair or wool and protect it against any injury in
clipping or removing the bristles which project through the teeth of the combs.
By a motion of the operating crank of the knives the projecting bristles are clipped
off close to the skin, or they may be plucked by pincers, or removed by other
devices, in case no knives are desired to be used. The knives however are
preferable, as they accomplish the clipping operation across the whole width of
the skin at one operation, and at that portion which is above the knife-edged bar.
On the release of the treadle the bellows opens, the combs are raised and moved
away from each other, and the skin is fed forward for a short distance over the
knife-edged bar so as to expose an adjoining strip to the action of the current and
to the clipping knives as described.
The clipping operation is repeated until the entire skin is freed of the stiff water-
hair or bristles, which is in this manner accomplished at a considerable saving
of time and expense as compared with the clipping or plucking of the skin by
hand.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said Lorentz Albert Groth in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 31st
December 1880.
LORENTZ ALBERT GROTH, Civil Engineer, and Proprietor of the Scandinavian
Patent Office, under the Firm of L. A. Groth & Co., 97, Finsbury Pavement,
London, E.C. "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR
CLIPPING SEAL SKINS." A communication from abroad by Ferdinand Florian
Cimiotti and Gustav Cimiotti, both of the City of New York, in the County and
State of New York, United States of America.
Every seal skin has, besides the soft fine hair or wool which forms the main
attractions of the skin, long glossy hair or bristles, the so called "water hair," the
greater part of which is removed in dressing the skin. The shorter bristles
however remain in the skin and have to be removed by clipping or plucking.
This process has heretofore been accomplished by hand the operator blowing the
fine hair back so as to expose the long and stiff bristles, which are then either cut
off short or pulled out by pincers. This method of clipping or plucking the hair is
alow, tedious, and expensive, and requires skilled hands.
The object of this Invention is to furnish a machine by which the thick water
hair or bristles of the fur can be removed in a rapid, uniform, and reliable manner.
The Invention consists of a knife edged bar, over which the seal skin is tightly
stretched and intermittently fed by means of winding and unwinding rollers. The
narrow portion or strip of the skin directly over the knife edge is exposed to a
vertical blast of air from a bellows or blower, & the fine hair or wool is retained
at both sides of the knife edge by laterally moveable guard combs. The stiff bristles
projecting through and above the combs are then clipped off by horizontal knives
or shears arranged above the combs. In the accompanying Drawings, which fully
illustrate the Invention, Figs. 1 & 2 represent vertical transverse sections of the
improved machine for clipping or plucking seal skins, shewn respectively before and
during the clipping action. Fig. 3 is a sectional front elevation. Fig. 4 is a top
view of the same, and Figs. 5 & 6 are detail top views respectively of one of the
retaining guard combs and of the lower clipping knife. Similar letters of reference
indicate corresponding parts. A represents the supporting frame of our improved
machine for clipping seal skins, at the middle portion of which is arranged a fixed
knife edged bar B that extends transversely from one side support of the frame to
the other. Over this bar B the seal skin to be clipped is tightly stretched by being
wound upon a roller C at one side of the knife edged bar and upon a second roller Ci
at the other side of the same.
The skin is connected to the rollers C, C', by means of bands attached to the ends
of the skin, which bands are of such length that every part of the skin can pass over
the knife edge. By a suitable pawl and ratchet mechanism the rollers C & C¹
are intermittently operated so as to move the skin forward over the knife edge at
the proper time. Above the knife edged bar, and of equal width with the same, is
arranged a bellows or other air forcing apparatus D, which is supported on frame A,
and provided with a nozzle D', the narrow discharge orifice of which is vertically
above the knife edged bar B. The bellows D is operated by means of a treadle E,
which is connected by cords or pivot rods A to the upper moveable portion of the
bellows and by weights f, which are hung to cords d, passing over pullies b, b, at the
top of frame A. The weights f open the bellows as soon as the treadle is
released by the foot. The treadle E is also connected by a cord e, passing over a
pulley e to the rear end of a slotted or punched lever arm g, which turns loose on
the shaft of a ratchet wheel g¹ and pinion g², which latter intermeshes with gear
wheels gs at the ends of the shafts of the winding and unwinding rollers C, C¹.

page_text: The short shaft of the ratchet wheel g¹ and pinion g² is supported in suitable
bearings of frame A.
A spring pawl g is pivoted to the lever g, and a check
pawl go to the shaft of the roller C. The pawl g* passes over the teeth of the
ratchet wheel on depressing the treadle E, but engages the same on the return
motion of the lever by the action of a spiral spring h, which is attached to the rear
end of the lever g and frame A. The return motion of the lever g, imparted by
spring h, causes the pawl g' to engage the ratchet wheel g³, so as to turn the same
and pinion g², which latter turns the gear wheels g³ in opposite directions, so as to
produce the unwinding of the skin from the front roller C and the winding up of
the same on the rear roller C¹. The seal skin stretched over the knife edged bar is
thereby moved forward for a short distance. Before the skin passes over the knife
edged bar B it passes over a transverse tension rod i, the ends of which are
connected by springs to the side standards of frame A, as shewn in Figs. 1 & 3.
This tension rod prevents the too tight stretching of the skin, and facilitates the
motion of the same over the knife edge. The treadle E is furthermore connected at
both ends by fixed and headed pins to slotted pivot links A, which are applied to
the lower ends of vertically guided and spring cushioned connecting rods 12. These
are applied at the upper ends to guide plates m, which are guided by parallel slots
on fixed pins of frame A, as shewn in Figs. 1 & 2. The guide plates m are
centrally recessed at their upper ends for the bar B. To the lower parts of the guide
plates m are pivoted the shanks n of horizontal guard combs F, which are arranged
above and symetrically to the knife edged bar B, and pressed outwardly by a V shaped
spring n¹. The inclined rear sides of the shanks n of the combs F¹ move during the
downward motion of the treadle along antifriction rollers n² of fixed side plates n³
of frame A, the joint action of the slotted guide plates and rollers n² may be set
somewhat higher or lower by means of wedge-keys n³, so as to secure the exact
position of the combs close to the narrow strip of skin above the knife edge. Above
the guard combs F are placed two horizontal clipping knives G, the inner cutting
edges of which are arranged in the form of an obtuse angled V, as shewn in Figure 4.
These knives ore operated by a crank handle G₁ at one end so as to exert a shear
cut upon the bristles projecting above the combs. The joint motion of the knives G
is obtained by action of the outer pins p of the crank G¹ upon the upper and lower
knives, as swinging the crank around the intermediate fulcrum p¹, as indicated by'
arrows in Fig. 4. Both knives are provided with enclosed slots p2 by which they
are enabled to slide along the fulcrum p¹. The upper knife is furthermore provided
with a slot for the outer pin p, which passes through the same to the lower knife,
as shewn clearly in Figs. 4 & 5. By depressing the treadle a strong current of air
is threwn by the bellows upon the narrow strip of skin which is at the time above
the knife edge, the current forcing the soft hair of the fur down and parting it at
both sides of the knife edge, so as to return the soft hair or wool and protect it
against injury in clipping or removing the bristles which project through the
teeth of the combs. By a motion of the operating crank of the knives the
projecting bristles are clipped off close to the skin, or they may be plucked by
pincers, or removed by other devices in case no knives are desired to be used. The
knives, however, are preferable, as they acccomplish the clipping operation across
the whole width of the skin at one operation, and at that portion which is above
the knife edged bar. On the release of the treadle the bellows open, the combs are
raised and moved away from each other, and the skin is fed forward for a short
distance over the knife edged bar so as to expose an adjoining strip to the action
of the current and to the clipping knives, as described. The clipping operation is
repeated until the entire skin is freed of the stiff water hair or bristles, which is
in this manner accomplished at a considerable saving of time and expense as
compared with the clipping or plucking of the skin by hand.
The machine is supplied with a protecting guard to cover the flank of the skin
between the combs and the knives; this guard prevents the knives cutting into the
flanks of the skin,

page_text: Having thus described my Invention, I claim as new,-
First. In a machine suitable for clipping seal skins, the combination of the knife
edged bar and means for stretching and intermittently feeding the skin over the bar
with an air delivering apparatus arranged above the knife edged bar, substantially
as specified.
Second. In a machine suitable for clipping seal skins, the combination of a
knife edged bar and means for feeding and stretching the skin over the same with
oscillating guard combs, substantially as set forth.
Third. In a machine suitable for clipping seal skins, the combination of the knife
edged bar and means for stretching and feeding the skin over the bar with an air
delivering apparatus above the bar, and with oscillating guard combs, substantially
as set forth.
Fourth. In a machine suitable for clipping seal skins, the combination of a knife
edged bar and means for stretching and feeding the skin over the bar, with an air
forcing apparatus above the bar, with oscillating guard combs, and with clipping
knives above the same, substantially as specified.
Fifth. The method of and apparatus for clipping seal skins, substantially as
specified.
In witness whereof; I, the said Lorentz Albert Groth, have hereunto set my
hand & seal, this Thirtieth day of December, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and eighty.
LORENTZ ALBERT GROTH. (L.S.)