IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR PLANING AND SHAPING THE PISTONS OR REVOLVERS OF ROTARY BLOWERS AND PUMPS
Year: 1884

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
I, THOMAS HIRST THWAITES, of the firm of Thwaites Brothers, Vulcan
Ironworks, Thornton Road, Bradford, in the county of York, Engineers, do heroby
declaro the nature of the said invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR
PLANING AND SHAPING THE PISTONS OR REVOLVERS OF ROTARY BLOWERS AND
PUMPS" to be as follows:-
My invention relates to improvements in apparatus used in planing and shaping
truly the rotating pistons of that class of rotary blowers and pumps (not necessarily:
identical in the form of the curves) for which Letters Patent were granted to
William Edward Newton dated the ninth day of May one thousand eight hundred
and sixty six and Numbered 1333 as a communication, from Francis Marion Roots
and Philander Highley Roots and to Alfred Vincent Newton dated the twenty
third day of April one thousand eight hundred and sixty seven and Numbered
1181 as a communication from Philander Highley Roots.
For planing and shaping the rotating pistons hereinafter called "revolvers," of
blowers constructed wholly of iron I cause the hole through the revolver which is
afterwards to receive the shafts for driving the revolver to be truly bored out to.
the required size and a temporary shaft or mandril which accurately fits the hole is
driven in tightly leaving a few inches of the shaft projecting at each end of the
revolver, upon which projecting ends the revolver is supported during the procoss.
of planing and shaping. A carriage or pedestal of the required height supporting
V bearings is fixed by means of bolts to the table of the planing machine and one
of these pedestals is placed under each end of the mandril and secured firmly to it
by means of caps held in their places by bolts and nuts, and the pedestals are
bolted to the table of the planing machine. The two carriages or pedestals being
of equal height and the mandril having its sides parallel, the revolver is con--
sequently held in a vertical position for being planed and is exactly parallel with
the table of the machine it is also firmly bold laterally by wedges or chocks bolted
to the table of the planing machine and pressing against each side of the revolver..
The table of the machine is made to work backwards and forwards in the
ordinary manner. I operate upon one end of the revolver at a time; the outline
of the end when shaped forms a convex curve equal to nearly two thirds of a
circle. The tool or tools for planing or shaping these revolvers operates or operate
upon the metal by cutting in a line parallel with the axis thereof and is or are
fixed in a tool holder working upon a slide formed of the shape of a convex curve
of larger radius than the end of the revolver hereinbefore mentioned but having

page_text: the same centre as the end of the revolver being operated upon; the tool is there-
fore caused to operate in the required curve from the centre of the end of the
revolver.
The recessed portion of the revolvers is planed or shaped by a tool held in
position by a tool-holder the centre upon which the tool holder works being a point
corresponding with the centre from which the concave curve of the revolver is
struck and the slide upon which the tool holder works is of the form of parts of
circles having the same centres as the concave curves hereinbefore mentioned.
The tool therefore moves and consequently cuts out the depression in the side of
the revolver to the required curve.
For the purpose of planing or shaping the convex ends of the rotating revolvers
as herein before described to the required curve the tool holder is made to traverse
the curved guide by means of a rack attached to the tool holder, which rack as
the same curve as the guide, and is actuated by pinions which are placed at
intervals along the face of the guide so that, after the guide has nearly passed one
pinion it is engaged by the one further on until a sufficient portion of the revolver
has been planed. The pinions are all moved in the same direction by intermedinte
wheels which receive their motion from a worm and pinion actuated by a pawl
and a ratchet which receives sufficient traverse from a block which moves the
ratchet every time the table of the planing machine passes it in one direction.
For planing or shaping revolvers the framework of which is constructed of iron
with an outer covering of wood, the wood covering is firmly fixed by means of
bolts or screws to the iron framework and is roughed out to a size slightly larger
than the revolver is required to be when finished. The revolver is then secured to
the table of a wood planing machine by a mandril or shaft in a similar manner to
that described for fixing the revolvers constructed wholly of iron; the revolver
thus secured is then passed under a revolving steel cutter which is made of the
exact size and contour of one half of the finished revolver and is caused to rotate
at a very high speed.
In order to fix precisely the size to which the wood-covered revolver or piston
shall be planed the ends of the shaft to which the cutters are bolted work in sliding
blocks having an adjustable vertical motion between guides fixed at each side of
the planing machine. These sliding blocks are actuated by two screws which are
worked simultaneously from one hand wheel or lever; they are geared together by
mitre wheels to one cross shaft at the end of which is fixed the hand wheel
or lever.
The exact distance to which the revolving cutters will have to be depressed to
finish off the wood covered revolver to the gauge required is first ascertained by
bringing down the cutters upon a finished iron model fixed to one end of the table
of the planing machine and then screwing up to the underside of the before
mentioned slide blocks the ends of two strong set screws or stops so that the cutters
can be no further depressed.
The cutters are then raised and the table is moved until the wood-covered
revolver comes immediately under the cutter and the operation of planing proceeds
until the slide blocks are depressed sufficiently to touch the ends of the before
mentioned adjusted set screws or stops when one side of the revolver will be
finished.
The revolver being operated upon is then turned over and the remaining sido
planed in a similar manner thus finishing both sides accurately to the gauge
required.

page_text: WAPLETE SPECIFICATION.
I THOMAS HIRST THWAITES of the firm of Thwaites Brothers, Vulcan Iron-
works, Thornton Road, Bradford in the county of York, Engineers do hereby
declare the nature of the said invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR
PLANING AND SHAPING THE PISTONS OR REVOLVERS OF ROTARY BLOWERS AND
"
PUMPS and in what manner the same is to be performed to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
My invention relates to improvements in apparatus employed in planing and
shaping truly the rotating pistons of that class of rotary blowers and pumps, not
necessarily identical in the form of the curves for which letters patent were granted
to William Henry Newton dated the 9th day of May 1866 and numbored 1333 us
a communication from Francis Marion Roots and Philander Highley Roots and to
Alfred Vincent Newton dated the 23rd day of April 1867 and numbered 1181-as
a communication from Philander Higbley Roots.
For planing and shaping the rotating pistons hereinafter called "revolvers"
of blowers constructed wholly of Iron, I cause the hole through the revolver
which is afterwards to receive the shaft for driving the revolver to be truly
bored out to the required size and a temporary shaft or mandril which accu-
rately fits the whole is driven in tightly leaving a few inches of the shaft
projecting at each end of the revolver upon which projecting ends the revolver is
supported during the process of planing and shaping.
A carriage or pedestal of the required height supporting V bearings is fixed by
means of bolts to the table of the planing machine and one of these pedestals is
placed under each end of the uandril and secured firmly to it by means of caps
held in their places by bolts and nuts and the pedestals are bolted to the table of
the planing machine. The two carriages or pedestals being of equal height and
the mandril having its sides parallel the revolver is consequently held in a vertical
position for being planed and is exactly parallel with the table of the machine;
it is also firmly held laterally by wedges or chocks bolted to the table of the planing
machine and pressing against each side of the revolver. The Table of the Machine
is made to work backwards and forwards in the ordinary manner. I operate
upon one end of the revolver at a time; the outline of the end 'when shaped
forms a convex curve equal to nearly two thirds of a circle. The tool or tools
for planing or shaping these revolvers operates or operate upon the inetal by
cutting in a line parallel with the axis thereof and is or are fixed in a tool
holder working upon a slide formed of the shape of a convex curve of larger
radius than the end of the revolvor hereinbefore mentioned, but having the same
centre as the end of the revolver being operated upon; the tool is therefore
caused to operate in the required curve from the contre of the end of the
revolver.
The recessed portion of the revolvers is planed or shaped by a tool held in
position by a tool holder the centre upon which the tool holder works being a point
corresponding with the centre from which the concave curve of the revolver is
--

page_text: struck, and the slide upon which the tool holder works is of the form of parts of
circles having the sanio centres as the concave curves hereinbefore mentioned.
The tool therefore moves and consequently cuts out the depression in the side of
the revolver to the required curve.
For the purpose of planing or shaping the convex ends of the rotating revolvers
as herein before described to the required curve, the tool holder is made to traverse
the curved guide by means of a rack attached to the tool holder, which rack has
the same curve as the guide, and is actuated by pinions which are placed at
intervals along the face of the guide so that after the guide has nearly passed one
pinion it is engaged by the one further on until a sufficient portion of the revolver
has been planed. The pinions are all moved in the same direction by inter-
mediate wheels which receive their motion from a worm and pinion actuated by
a pawl and a ratchet which receives sufficient traverse from a block which
moves the ratchet every time the table of the planing machine passes it in one
direction.
For planing or shaping revolvers the framework of which is constructed of
iron with an outer covering of wood, The wood covering is firmly fixed by
means of bolts or screws to the iron framework and is roughed out to a size
slightly larger than the revolver is required to be when finished. The revolver is
then secured to the table of a wood-planing machine by a mandril or shaft in a
similar manner to that described for fixing the revolvers constructed wholly of
iron, The revolver thus secured is then passed under a revolving steel cutter
which is made of the exact size and contour of one half of the finished revolver
and is caused to rotate at a very high speed.
In order to fix precisely the size to which the wood covered revolver or piston
shall be planed the ends of the shaft to which the-cutters are bolted work in
sliding blocks having an adjustable vertical motion between guides fixed at eacli
side of the planing machine. These sliding blocks are actuated by two screws
which are worked simultaneously from one hand wheel or lever; they are geared
together by mitre wheels to one cross shaft at the end of which is fixed the hand
wheel or lever.
The exact distance to which the revolving cutters will have to be depressed to
finish off the wood covered revolver to the gauge required is first ascertained by
bringing down tho cutters upon a finished iron model fixed to one end of the table
of the planing machine and then screwing up to the under side of the before
mentioned slide blocks the ends of two strong set screws or stops so that the
cutters can be no further depressed.
The cutters are then raised and the table is moved until the wood covered
revolver comes immediately under the cutter and the operation of planing proceeds
until the slide blocks are depressed sufficiently to touch the ends of the before
mentioned adjusted set screws or stops when one side of the revolver will be
finished.
The revolver being operated upon is then turned over and the remaining
side planed in a similar manner thus finishing both sides accurately to the
gauge required,
In order to enable my improvements to be fully understood I will proceed to
describe the same by reference to the accompanying drawings in which. Figure 1
represents a front sectional elevation of a Machino, for planing or shaping the convex
ends of revolvers constructed wholly of iron. Figure 2 represents a side sectional
elevation and Figure 3 represents a back sectional elevation of the samo Figure 4
represents a front sectional elevation of a modification of the same machine in
which a greater number of tools are caused to operate upon the revolver at the
same time and whereby the concave recess in the revolver is planed or shaped at
the same time as the convex ends thereof. Figure 5 represents a front elevation
of a machine for shaping wood covered revolvers which have an interior frame work
of iron-and-Figure 6 is a side elevation of the same.
Similar letters in Figures 1, 2, 3 and 4 refer to similar parts,

page_text: The piston or revolver being operated upon is shown at A, and B is the mandril
upon which it is supported and held firmly in its place while being planed or
shaped; in the machine shown at Figuro 4 wherein more than two tools are at
work at the same time three mandrils are used to support the piston or revolver
marked B.
The curved guide C upon which the tool holders D travel for the purpose of
planing or shaping the convex ends of the piston or revolver is held securely in the
centre of the cross slide E of the planing machine. At the back of the guide C
are two pawls and ratchets F which actuate worms G which worms give motion to
worm wheels J¹ and thereby to a set of pinions H and intermediate wheels J. Tho
worms are actuated by the pawls and ratchets F which receive motion at each
traverse of the planing table K from levors L which come in contact with the
blocks M fixed to the planing table K. The pinions H engage in the teeth of the.
racks N which actuate the tool holders D in such a manner that as the tool holders
pass round the curved guide C one or more of the pinions are always in gear such
pinions being driven from the worm wheel J which is keyed upon a short shaft
passing through the guide plate C from the worm wheel at the back to one of the
pinions or intermediate wheels at the front. The method of planing or shaping
the recessed or concave part of pistons or revolvers is illustrated in Figure 4 in
which four tool holders D are shown operating upon the convox ends of the piston
or revolver and one radial tool holder O which works upon a fixed centre and is
caused to travel in the usual manner planing or shaping the recessed or concave
part of the piston or revolver which is supported by three mandrils B while being
thus operated upon.
This planing or shaping of the recessed or concave part of the pistons or
revolvers can be performed upon a separate planing machine from that upon which
the ends are shaped if preferred and the tool is caused to travel in the required
curve by passing along or around a curved guide shewn at P in figure 4.
The mandril upon which the piston or revolver is supported during the time that
it is being planed or shaped is shown at B and the ends of such mandril rest in
V-shaped recesess in the top part of the pedestals R and are further secured by the
caps S firmly held by bolts and nuts.
The pistons or revolvers are held in position laterally while being operated upon
by wedges or chocks T which are bolted to the planing table K.
The steel tools used in my improved apparatus are ordinary planing tools for
cast iron and are shewn at T.
My improvements in planing or shaping pistons or revolvers the frame work of
which is constructed of iron with an outer covering of wood are represented in
Figures 5 and 6 in which the revolver being planed is shown at A and is supported
by means of the mandril B resting upon the pedestals C which are bolted to the
table D of an ordinary wood planing or similar machine. Before being fixed to
this machine the outer wood covering of the revolver is roughed out to a size
rather larger than it is required to be when finished.
Two sets of cutters or plates of steel with cutting edges E which have the same
outline as the finished piston or revolver are firmly bolted to a strong backing or
frame of iron through the centre of which passes an iron shaft H one set of cutters
being upon the opposite side of the shaft to the other set. The shaft carrying the
cutters is caused to revolve at a high rate of speed by the drum G driven from a
counter shaft.
Before the operation of planing commences the table of the machine is caused
o move until one end of such table comes under the cutters upon which end of
the table is secured a finished iron model of the exact size that the wood covered
revolver is required to be. The cutters are then adjusted in a perfectly vertical
position and are lowered by means of the screws K actuated by the mitre wheels L
which can be turned by the hand wheel M so that the adjusting screws K are
noved equally and simultaneously on both sides of the Machine.

page_text: When the cutters have been brought down upon the surface of the finished iron
revolver until they touch it evenly across, the set screws or stops O are screwed
up until they touch the under side of the adjustable brackets N which carry the
shaft of the revolving cutters, and the set screws or stops are then fixed firmly as
adjusted by the check nuts R.
-
The cutters are then raised by a few revolutions of the hand wheel M and the .
planing table moved until the wood covered revolver comes under the cutters
The machine can then be started and the wood is cut away until the bottoms of
the brackets N rest upon the set screws or stops O and one side of the revolver
will then be finished the revolver is then turned over and the other side furnished
in the same manner as the first.
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. Planing or shaping the curved convex ends and the curved concave recesses
of the Iron piston's or revolvers of rotary blowers and pumps by means of.
apparatus constructed substantially as herein described and attached to an iron
planing machine.
2. A machine having the herein described improved apparatus for planing.or
shaping the pistons or revolvers of rotary blowers or pumps applied thereto such
apparatus having curved guides or slides for guiding the tool holders and means
of actuating and traversing such tool holders by a series of pinions connected by
intermediate wheels such pinions and intermediate wheels being moved by the
passage of the planing table the whole operating in combination in the manner
substantially as described.
3. The method of and apparatus for planing and shaping wood covered
revolvers or pistons of rotary blowers or pumps by means of revolving steel cutters
the edges of which are made of the exact size and shape of the outline of one
half of the pistons or revolvers in combination with devices for the adjustment
attachment and operation of the cutters all substantially as described and
represented in the accompanying drawings.
4. Planing or shaping the wood covered pistons or revolvers of rotary blowers
and pumps on one or both sides simultaneously by means of one or more revolving
cutters the edges of which cutters are shaped to the exact size and outline of one
half of the finished piston or revolver, the shafts carrying such cutters being made
to work either in a vertical or a horizontal position.
Dated the 10th day of Fab 1885
TURNER & BAKER,
Agents for the Applicant.