Apparatus or Means Employed therein.
Year: 1884

page_text: Apparatus or Means Employed therein.
I CHARLES CHESWRIGHT of Leith Villa Parkhurst Road Holloway in the County
of Middlesex Manufacturer do hereby declare the nature of the said invention for
IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF METAL FOIL AND IN THE APPARATUS
OR. MEANS EMPLOYED THEREIN to be as follows:-
16
"
This Invention relates to the manufacture of what is known as beaten foil in .
contradistinction to rolled foil and consists in effecting the beating process by the
combination of a power hammer having a simple or a compound traversing move-
ment and a table or bed having also a simple or a compound traversing movement
combined or not with a rotatory movement; or the hammer may be fixed and the
table or bed alone caused to traverse or rotate beneath it; or the table or bed may
be stationary and the hammer caused to traverse over its surface whilst at work the
object being to ensure the shifting of the relative positions of the foil and hammer
in a regular and mechanical manner after cach blow or succession of two or more
blows, whereby a more uniform beating action over the entire surface of the sheet
on the said table or bed is obtained.
The change of position or the traversing or rotatory motion of the hammer or of
the table or of both as the case may be in the direction required is by preference
effected automatically from the striking motion of the hammer itself by the inter-
vention of ratchet and pall movements combined with racks screw spindles or
equivalent mechanism in connection with the hammer and table although the
said traversing movements may if desired be accomplished separately by the hand
of the attendant. By my invention I obtain a dull granular beaten foil of better
quality and more uniform texture than the ordinary hand beaten foil and specially
suitable for wrappers and envelopes of all kinds and for other purposes where
beaten foil is preferred (as in the chocolate and other trades) on account of its
greater pliability and softness of texture. I greatly reduce the amount of waste as
compared with that produced in making rolled foil and am also enabled to produce
sheets of beaten or granular foil of larger dimensions than has heretofore been
found practicable, such sheets being specially adapted for the manufacture of
looking glasses, whilst at the same time I effect economy in labour and increase
the rate of production.

page_text: Apparatus or Means Employed therein.
I CHARLES CHESWRIGHT of Leith Villa Parkburst Road Holloway in the County
of Middlesex Manufacturer do hereby declare the nature of the said invention for
IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF METAL FOIL AND IN THE APPARATUS
OR MEANS EMPLOYED THEREIN " and in what manner the same is to be performed
to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement:-
This Invention relates to the manufacture of what is known as beaten foil in
contradistinction to rolled foil and consists in the application to the beating of the
metal sheets into foil of one or more power hammers so combined with
table or
bed for supporting the packs of metal sheets to be operated upon as to admit of the
shifting during the beating operation of the position of the pack or of the hammer
or both in a regular and mechanical manner after each blow or succession of two or
more blows, whereby the beating action over the entire surface of the metal is
effected in a more uniform and expeditious manner than by the costly and
laborious process of hand beating hitherto adopted. The power hammers may be
worked by cams or tappets driven by steam or other power or the hammers may
be worked by the direct action of steam; compressed air, or other elastic fluid.
My said invention may obviously be carried out in various ways, for example
I may employ one or more direct action power hammers worked by steam or com-
pressed air, having a traversing movement in combination with a beating table or
bed having also a traversing or a rotatory movement or if preferred the hammer
or hammers may be stationary and the table or bed alone caused to traverse or
rotate or the table or bed may be stationary and the hammer or hammers caused
to traverse over its surface whilst at work. .
The change of the relative positions of the hammer face or faces and table during
the beating operation may also be effected in various ways as for example by
causing any suitable reciprocating portion of the hammer itself to operate upon a
ratchet and pall or equivalent mechanical movement in connection with piuions
and racks or with screw spindles and travelling nuts so arranged as to cause the
hammer itself to shift its own position along an overhead supporting guide, or to
cause the table to be shifted by the action of the hammer, or to cause both hammer
and table to be shifted automatically as will be readily understood by a practical
mechanic. Or the traversing movements of the hammer and table may if desired
be accomplished separately by the hand of the attendant; or, which I prefer,
partly by the hand of the attendant and partly by self acting mechanism driven
from the first motion shaft of the machine as is hereinafter fully described.
By my invention I obtain a dull granular beaten foil of better quality and more
uniform -texture than the ordinary hand beaten foil and specially suitable for
wrappers or coverings of all kinds and in all cases where beaten foil is preferred
as in the chocolate and other trades on account of its greater pliability and softness
of texture; I greatly reduce the amount of waste as compared with that produced

page_text: in making rolled foil and am also enabled to produce sheets of beaten or granular
foil of larger dimensions than has heretofore been found practicable by rolling foil;
such sheets being specially adapted for the manufacture of looking glasses.
Figure 1 of the accompanying drawings is a side elevation of a machine for
beating foil constructed according to my said invention showing the table as being
traversed or shifted by self acting reversing gear worked from the driving shaft of
the machine and the power hammer (one only being shown in my drawings) as
being traversed or shifted separately by hand at the will of the attendant.
Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the machine corresponding to figure 1.
a is a fixed beḍ on which slides to and fro longitudinally the table 6 carrying
the pack of metal sheets to be beaten. cc are upright side standards connected by
a strong overhead slide hed d along which the cylinder e of a direct action steam
or compressed air power hammer provided with the usual combined self acting and
hand worked valve gear is caused to traverse in either direction at right angles to
the traverse of the table 6 by the screw spindle f which engages in a travelling
nut g connected with the hammer cylinder said screw spindle being mounted at each
end in fixed bearings in the heads of the standards and actuated as required by
the hand of the attendant. The cylinder and valve box are attached to the slide
block which slides along the slide bed d-The steam and exhaust pipes i
respectively connected with the valve and actuating cylinder are jointed at i¹ so as
to admit of the supply of steam or compressed air to the haminer whatever may be
its position along the slide bed d. The hammer may be either single or double
action so as to impart either dead blows (given by the gravitation of the falling
hammer head assisted or not by springs) or elastic strokes controlled by the
attendant as is well understood.
As a convenient arrangement for accomplishing the traverse of the table
I attach to each side thereof a rack, the tecth of which engage with spur
pinions 7 fast on a shaft m having its bearings in the fixed bed. This shaft is
driven by the strap pullies n n and train of gearing o which may be arranged like
the well known reversing gear of a planing machine in conjunction with the
striking gear p and strap shifter q actuated by a tappet or striker adjustable in
any desired position along a slot in one of the racks k.
The strap shifter q is worked from the vertical rocking spindle p of the striking
gear by a connecting rod s jointed to a lever arm t at the lower end of the said
spindle On the upper end of this spindle there is mounted the lever arm u which
is acted upon by tho adjustable tappet r. As the table and hammer are shifted or
traversed in directions at right angles to each other it is obvious that the hammer
can be readily brought to operate upon any and every part of the pack of sheets
on the said table until the entire surface has undergone the required beating under
the superintendence of the attendant.
According to one mode of using the machine the pack of sheets to be beaten is
first properly adjusted on the table so as to bring the particular part of the pack
where the beating operation is to be cominenced under the hammer say for example
at or about the middle of one end of the pack. The position of the adjustable
tappet is then regulated along its slot to a suitable distance from the lever arin .
of the striking and strap shifting gear p which distance varies according to the
range of longitudinal traverse in a direct line to be made by the pack under the
hammer. Just as the pack on the table has completed its longitudinal traverse in
one direction the tappet r will encounter the lever arm of the striking gear p
thereby shifting the driving strap onto the loose pulley. The attendant at the same
time stops the hammer by the hand gear and shifts its position along the slide bed
transversely to the pack by imparting one or more turns to the hand wheel on the
end of the screw spindle. He then shifts the driving strap by hand onto the
reversing pulley of the gearing and the motion of the table is reversed it being
ruu back quickly to its original position in readiness for a second longitudinal
traverse under the previously shifted hammer block so as to cause another series of
blows to be imparted along a second line parallel to and in juxtaposition with the

page_text: line of the first series of blows the table being again stopped automatically on
arriving at the end of its traverse as before and the hammer again shifted and so
on, In this way a succession of blows is given along a series of longitudinal
parallel lines on the pack the hammer being shifted as each row is completed so as
to be in a position for the commencement of a succeeding row on either side of the
first row until the entire surface of the pack has undergone the beating process.
Or in lieu of the hammer being stopped and the table run back quickly in order to
take up its position for a fresh series of blows as previously described the hammer
may be kept continually at work and the driving strap shifted across the loose
pulley direct onto the reversing pulley by the self acting strap shifting arrangement
at each end of the traverse of the table there being provided in that case a second
adjustable tappet r attached to the table on the opposite side of the striker or strap-
shifting gear so that the strap may be shifted. automatically at the termination of
.each traverse of the table in either direction. The shifting of the position of the
hammer can be accomplished whilst it is still at work at the time the direction of
motion of the table is being changed thus the blows may be imparted whilst the
table is making its traverse in either or both directions the to and fro motion of
the table being effected regularly and automatically. In this mode of working the
gearing should be so arranged as to cause the reverso traverse of the table to be
made at the same speed as the forward traverse so that each row may be subjected
to an equal number of blows or thereabouts. Or according to another mode of
working the beating action may be commenced in the centre of the pack provided
a circular rotating table he employed in combination with a traversing power
haminer in which case each shift of the hammer along its slide bed will cause the
blows to be imparted to the pack in the direction of a series of concentric circles
or curves in lieu of in straight parallel lines as previously described. The rotary
motion of the circular table may be imparted thereto by a spur pinion or worm
gearing into a circular rack or worm wheel connected with the said table.
Hammer heads of various kinds may be used at the discretion of the attendunt
as the beating progresses from the first commencement to the finishing, the said
heads being made removeable from and capable of ready replacement on the hammer
shank as required.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim is
1. The application and use to and in the manufacture or production of beaten
metal foil of a power hammer or hammers combined with a hed or table carrying
the pack of sheets to be operated upon and with self acting or other traversing
mechanism for effecting the shifting of the relative positions of the pack and
hammer face or faces after each blow or succession of blows substantially as
specified.
2. The machinery or apparatus for the manufacture or production of beaten
metal foil arranged and caused to operate substantially as hereinbefore described
and illustrated by the drawings annexed.
3. As a new article of manufacture machine-beaten metal foil produced sub-
stantially in the manner specified.