IMPROVED MACHINERY FOR CUTTING UP LINEN, COTTON, WOOLLEN, AND OTHER RAGS, FIBROUS WASTE, OR VEGETABLE SUBSTANCES FOR VARIOUS PURPOSES IN THE INDUSTRIAL ARTS
Year: 1861

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George Bottomley, of St. George's Place, Leeds,
in the County of York, Gentleman, for the Invention of "IMPROVED
MACHINERY FOR CUTTING UP LINEN, COTTON, WOOLLEN, AND OTHER RAGS,
FIBROUS WASTE, OR VEGETABLE SUBSTANCES FOR VARIOUS PURPOSES IN THE
INDUSTRIAL ARTS."
Sealed the 25th April 1862, and dated the 26th November 1861.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said George Bottomley at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
26th November 1861.
1, GEORGE BOTTOMLEY, of St. George's Place, Leeds, in the County of York,
Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVED
MACHINERY FOR CUTTING UP LINEN, COTTON, WOOLLEN. AND OTHER RAGS, FIBROUS
WASTE, OR VEGETABLE SUBSTANCES FOR VARIOUS PURPOSES IN THE INDUSTRIAL ARTS,"
to be as follows:-
My Invention of improved machinery for cutting up linen, cotton, woollen,
and other rags, fibrous waste, or vegetable substances for various purposes in
the industrial arts, is intended to be applied more particularly for cutting up
rags preparatory to reducing them to pulp for the manufacture of paper; but
my improved machinery may also be employed to cut up woollen rags pre-
paratory to disintegrating them, and reducing them to a fibrous state. One of
the essential features of novelty is the employment of a pair of cylinders of
peculiar construction, to which the rags or material to be operated upon are
[Price 8d.]

page_text: fed by a travelling endless belt or apron, on which they are placed by the
attendant; one of these rollers is provided longitudinally with a series of
blades having angular cutting edges, which as the roller rotates are brought
in succession against the surface of a corresponding series of flat metal bars,
which are fixed in the periphery of the other roller. The cutting blades of
the first roller are secured in their places by wedge-shaped pieces, which are
firmly held by screw bolts, or in any other convenient manner. The two
rollers are geared together by toothed wheels on their respective axles, so that
they may revolve in unison, in order that the cutting edges may always come
against the flat bars of the other cylinder. It will therefore be understood
that by this arrangement of parts the rags or other substances will be nipped
between the cutting edges of one roller and the flat bars of the other, and will
thus be cut or divided, and after having passed between the two rollers the
rags or other substances will be delivered on to a pair of conical rollers, which
are placed beneath, and are made to rotate in opposite directions, so as to turn
the cut rags or other substances over or round, and deposit them on another
endless travelling cloth or apron in a longitudinal direction. The rags will be
carried forward by the second travelling cloth or apron to a second pair of
cutting rollers constructed like the first, and whereby they are still further cut
up or divided, and in this state are ultimately delivered from the machine into
any convenient receptacle.
As an obvious modification of the machinery above described, the flat bars
of the lower rollers may be attached to an endless travelling chain, which
must be made to travel at the same speed, as the cutting roller, so that the
bars may be brought forward to receive the cutting edges of the longitudinal
knives,
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said George Bottomley in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
26th May 1862.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I. GEORGE
BOTTOMLEY, of Saint George's Place, Leeds, in the County of York, Gen-
tleman, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-sixth day of November, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-one, in the twenty-fifth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,

page_text: the said George Bottomley, Her special license that I, the said George
Bottomley, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said George Bottomley, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at
any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times there-
after 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 "IMPROVED
MACHINERY FOR CUTTING UP LINEN, COTTON, WOOLLEN. AND OTHER RAGS, FIBROUS
WASTE, OR VEGETABLE SUBSTANCES FOR VARIOUS PURPOSES IN THE INDUSTRIAL
ARTS,"
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said George Bottomley,
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 l'atent Office within six calendar months next and immediately after the
date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said George Bottomley, 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 ful-
lowing statement, reference being had to the Drawing hereunto annexed, and
to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say):-
My Invention of "Improved Machinery for Cutting up Linen, Cotton,
Woollen, and other Rags, Fibrous Waste, or Vegetable Substances forvarious
Purposes in the Industrial Arts," is intended to be applied more particularly
for cutting up rags preparatory to reducing them to pulp for the manufacture
of paper; but my improved machinery may also be employed to cut up woollen
rags preparatory to disintegrating them and reducing them to a fibrous state.
One of the essential features of novelty in the present Invention is the employ-
ment of a pair of cylinders of peculiar construction, to which the rags or
material to be operated upon are fed by a travelling endless belt or apron, on
which they are placed by the attendant. One of these rollers is provided
longitudinally with a series of blades having angular cutting edges, which as
the roller rotates are brought in succession against the surface of a corre-
sponding series of flat metal bars, which are fixed in the periphery of the other
roller. The cutting blades of the first roller are secured in their places by
wedge-shaped pieces, which are firmly held by screw bolts, or in any other
convenient manner. The two rollers are geared together by toothed wheels
on their respective axles, so that they may revolve in unison, in order that
the cutting edges of the upper roller or cylinder may always come against the
flat bars of the other cylinder. It will therefore be understood that by this

page_text: arrangement of parts the rags or other substances will be nipped between the
cutting edges of one roller and the flat bars of the other, and will this be cut
or divided; and after having passed between the two rollers the rags or other
substances will be delivered on to a pair of conical rollers, which are placed
beneath, and are made to rotate in opposite directions, so as to turn the cut
rags or other substances over or round, and deposit them on another endless
travelling cloth or apron in a longitudinal direction. The rags will be carried
forward by this second travelling cloth or apron to a second pair of cutting
rollers constructed like the first, and whereby they are still further cut up or
divided, and in this state they are ultimately delivered from the machine into
any convenient receptacle.
As an obvious modification of the machinery above described the flat bars of
the lower rollers may be attached to an endless travelling chain, which must
be made to travel at the same speed as the cutting roller, so that the flat bars
may, as in the cylinder arrangement, be brought forward to receive the cutting
edges of the longitudinal knives.
In the accompanying Drawing, Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the machine
complete; Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same as seen from above; and Fig. 3
is a longitudinal vertical section of the machine.
The framing of the machine is seen at a, a, a, a, and in the side standards of
this framing are suitable bearings to receive the working rollers or cylinders b
and c. The rags or substances to be operated upon a replaced by the attendant
on the travelling endless cloth or apron d, d, to which motion is given by means
of the toothed gearing and band and pullies shewn in the Drawing. The
endless cloth or apron moves between vertical plates e, e, which will prevent
the rags or other substances from falling off sideways. The roller bis made
sclid, or nearly so, and is provided at intervals throughout its circumference
with a series of angular cutting edges ff, which are held tightly in their
places by means of wedges g, which are secured by the screw bolts h, h, as
seen in the sectional view, Fig. 3. The cylinder c is provided at intervals
throughout its periphery with flat metal bars i, i, against which the angular
cutting edges ff, of the upper roller b bear when the rollers rotate. On one
end of the axles of the rollers b and c are mounted toothed wheels &¹ and c',
Figures 1 and 2. These toothed wheels b and c are of the same dimensions
and number of teeth, and as they gear into each other the working rollers or
cylinders b and c are made to revolve in unison in the direction of the arrows
and at exactly the same speed, so that the angular cutting edges of the
upper roller or cylinder bare always coincident with the flat bars i, i, of the
lower roller or cylinder c. The rags or other substances from the travelling

page_text: apron d, after passing between the rollers b and c, whereby they are cut or
divided, fall down on to the conical rollers j, j, which rotate in opposite
directions, as indicated by the arrows in the plan view, Fig. 2. The rags by
the action of these conical rollers are turned round and thrown over on to a
second travelling endless cloth or apron k, which has a surface speed about
equal to that of the cylinders or rollers b and c, and the endless apron d. The
rags are carried forward by the travelling endless cloth or apron / to a second
pair of working rollers or cylinders b, c, constructed and worked precisely
like the first pair. The rags or other substances in passing between this
second pair of rollers are still further cut and divided, and are then thrown
out of the machine or deposited in some suitable receptacle placed there for
the purpose, or they may be carried to any required place by a travelling or
delivering sheet.
Having now described my Invention of" Improved Machinery for Cutting
up Linen, Cotton, Woollen, and other Rags, Fibrous Waste, or Vegetable
Substances for various Purposes in the Industrial Arts," and having explained
the manner of carrying the same into effect, 1 claim as my Invention the
improved machinery herein set forth, or any mere modification thereof, in
which the rags or other substances are cut up or divided by means of
working rollers or cylinders constructed and operated in the manner above
described.
In witness whereof, I, the said George Bottomley, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, the Fifteenth day of May, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-two.
)
GEORGE BOTTOMLEY. (L.S.)
Signed and sealed by the said George
Bottomley, in the presence of
J. B. WILKINSON,
Clerk to Messrs. Richardson & Turner,
Solicitors, Leeds.