IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR SPLITTING LEATHER, SKINS, AND OTHER SIMILAR ARTICLES
Year: 1865

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George Tomlinson Bousfield, of Loughborough Park,
Brixton, in the County of Surrey, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
IN MACHINERY FOR SPLITTING LEATHER, SKINS, AND OTHER SIMILAR ARTICLES."
A communication from abroad by Sewell Brown Noyes, residing at
Newburyport, in the County of Essex, and State of Massachusetts,
United States of America.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said George Tomlinson
Bousfield at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his
Petition, on the 19th December 1865.
I, GEORGE TOMLINSON BOUSFIELD, of Loughborough Park, Brixton, in the
County of Surrey, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR SPLITTING LEATHER, SKINS, AND OTHER
SIMILAR ARTICLES," to be as follows:
This Invention has for its object improvements in machines for splitting
leather, skins, and other similar articles. In machines for splitting leather of
the ordinary construction where the knife vibrates longitudinally over the
feed cylinder, the surfaces. of the leather which come in contact with the edge

page_text: of the knife have been nicked or slightly cut at each vibration of the knife,
owing to the leather being crowded or fed uninterruptedly against the knife
during the short space of time it is at rest after the completion of each of its
vibrations, and in such machines it has heretofore been impossible to split
green hides, because no means have proved successful for holding them snugly
down upon the feed cylinder, and preventing them from slipping or "bagging
up" while being cut.
To overcome the above-mentioned difficulties is the object of this Invention,
which consists in regulating the speed and arresting the motion of the feed
cylinder by the vibrations of the knife, whereby the leather is prevented from
feeding and crowding against the edge of the knife during the interval
between its vibrations; and the Invention also consists in extending the
apron over a considerable portion of the outer surface of the feed cylinder, and
forming the pressure shoes or their equivalents separately and independently
of each other, whereby an extended bearing surface and a uniform pressure is
obtained, thus allowing a hide to be cut when green with equal facility as
when dry, the pressure shoes or their equivalents yielding to the inequalities
of the hide, so that it may be fed up to the knife in such manner, as to
insure at all times a smooth cut of uniform thickness throughout.
Figure 1 is an elevation of one side of the improved machine for splitting
leather, skins, and other articles, some of its parts being represented in
section; Figure 2 is a rear elevation of the same; Figure 3 is an elevation
of the pressure shoes, together with the bar or frame in which they rest;
Figure 4 is a plan of the driving pulley and its crank shaft; Figure 5 is an
end elevation of the upper portion of the frame of the machine detached;
Figures 6 and 7, details to be referred to.
In the said Drawings A is the lower portion of the framework, in the sides
of which are formed recesses a for the reception of the boxes 6 in which
revolves the shaft B of the cylinder C, which is formed in two pieces, c, d,
(Figure 6), securely stayed and held, together by the arms e and bolts f.
The boxes are made to slide up and down in the recesses a by operating the
set screws 9, whereby the cylinder C may be raised or lowered, and the space
between it and the edge of the knife regulated to gauge the thickness of the
cut required, the set screws g being provided with check nuts h to keep the
cylinder C in place after it is adjusted. D, Figures 1, 2, and 5, represent
the upper portions of the framework secured to the lower portions A by the
bolts i, the upper portions D being connected and securely held together by
the longitudinal beam E; j is an open slot formed in each side of the frame-

page_text: work D for the reception of the bar F, in which are placed a row of pressure
shoes k, which are made separately and operate independently of each other:
Each
pressure shoe k is of the form of a bolt, its head being placed downward,
and its shank passing up through a ledge 1 (projecting from the side of the
bar F), and having at its lower end a shoulder upon which rests, the spiral
spring m which surrounds the shank of the shoe k. The line of the under
side of the pressure shoes is placed sufficiently above the outside of the
cylinder C to allow a hide to be fed between them when the shoes are down,
the shoes being prevented from going below the horizontal line of their
adjustment by means of pins 'n passing through the upper part of their
shanks and resting on the ledge l' of the bar F. The height of the bar F is
regulated by set screws (not shown in the Drawings); G, H, are pressure
rolls, the axes of which are connected by the rods o, and around these rolls is
wound an apron I of canvas or other suitable material, which keeps the hide
or leather constantly pressed down in the following manner upon the cylinder
when fed thereon:-The extremities of the shaft of the upper roll G rest in
bearings J which rise and fall in the guide or frame K, which is securely
bolted to each side of the frame D. The upright portions of the bearings J
are of a circular form, and surrounded by a spiral spring p, which rests on a
shoulder q, the roll G and apron I being raised against the resistance of the
spring p from contact with the cylinder C: when the hide or leather is fed
forward. The under side of each bearing J is. bent around, as shown at r,
Figure 1, and has secured thereto the V-shaped piecè L, one extremity of
which extends, under the roll G to near the lower point of its periphery, the
5 opposite extremity of the V-shaped piece L projecting forward to near the
line of the front of the pressure shoes k, in order that the apron may be. con-
ducted over it, and press down upon the hide or leather in its passage from
the roll G to the pressure shoes k, and: thereby prevent the liability of the
hide or leather "cockling" or "bagging up," the front corners of the pressure
shoes being rounded off to facilitate the delivery of the leather thereunder.
To the upper portion of each side of the frame A is fastened one end of a bed
piece M, which is provided with a longitudinal groove for the reception of a
tongue t projecting from the bottom of a knife N which is confined by the
plate O upon the bed piece M by bolts and keys, by which means the knife N
is allowed to slide longitudinally, but is prevented from having any lateral or
vertical motion. The edge of the knife projects a short distance under the
line of the rear of the pressure shoes to prevent the leather or hide from
"bagging up
as it is fed forward thereto; P is a rod which connects the
"

page_text: end u of the knife N with a crank shaft Q, which is supported in suitable
bearings, and driven by power applied to the pulley R. This crank shaft Q
carries at one of its ends a circular plate S provided with a slot v for the.
reception of a stud T, to which is loosely pivoted the upper ends of the con-
necting rods U, V, the .lower ends of these rods U, V, being pivoted at w,x,&
to arms or levers W, X, also pivoted loosely to the shaft Y which carries the
ratchet wheel Z, into which the pawls. y, z, alternately engage as. the knife N
vibrates back and forth, To one end of the shaft Y is secured a beve!
pinion A¹, which gears into a bevel wheel B¹ secured to the outside of the
arms e of the cylinder C, see Figures 1 and 6, and it is by the arrangement.]
above described that the cylinder is revolved and brought to rest by means of
the knife, for, the purpose. of preventing the hide or leather from being. fed
forward and cut by the edge of the knife when at the end of its vibrations...
46
OPERATION.
. The machine being set in motion, the leather or green hide with its 1
hair or "grain" side down is fed by the operator between the cylinder C
and lower roll H, the apron I pressing it. singly down upon the cylinder.C,
which carries it under the upper roll G and V-shaped piece L, and thence
beneath the pressure shoes k, where. it is delivered to the edge of the
knife N, which commences to. move before; the cylinder, C (and, vibrates
back and forth over its face, the split leather passing off the cylinder, and the
"chip'
or refuse being carried over the knife frame on to the floor, the
pressure shoes k rising and falling to correspond with the inequalities in the
*surface of the leather or hide, and the pawls y, z, alternately engaging with
the ratchet wheel Z when the knife is in motion, thus through the connections
described moving the cylinder C, the pawls y, z,. ceasing to act upon the
ratchet when the knife is at rest at the completion of each vibration, thereby
stopping the cylinder and preventing the hide or leather being fed and
crowded up against the knife, thus preventing the nicking of the leather, and
insuring a uniform thickness of split at all times. When it is required to cut
the leather into splits of a different thickness from those previously, cut it is
simply necessary to raise or lower the cylinder C by the set screws 9, and
tighten the check nuts h, the height of the knife remaining permanently
fixed after its first adjustment. The same machinery is applicable for splitting
sheets of gutta percha and other articles..

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,'filed
by the said George Tomlinson Bousfield in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 7th June 1866..
"
"
.:
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE, PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, -GEORGE
TOMLINSON BOUSFIELD, of Loughborough- Park, Brixton, in the County. of
Surrey, send greeting.
+
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing. date the 19th day of December, in the year of our Lord
1865, in the twenty-ninth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and
successors, give and grant unto me, the said George Tomlinson Bousfield,
Her special license that I, 'the said George. Tomlinson Bousfield, my exe-
cutors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said George
Tomlinson Bousfield, 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 of. "Im-
PROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR SPLITTING. LEATHER, SKINS, AND OTHER SIMILAR
ARTICLES," being a communication to me from abroad by Sewell Brown
Noyes, a person resident at Newburyport, in the County of Essex, and State
of Massachusetts, United States of America, upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said George Tomlinson Bousfield, 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 Patent. Office
within six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said
Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said George Tomlinson Bousfield, do hereby
declare the nature of the 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 Drawings hereunto annexed,
and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say) :-
Fig. 1 is an elevation of one side of my improved machine for splitting
leather, etc., some of its parts being represented in section; Fig. 2 is a rear
elevation of the same; Fig. 3 is an elevation of the pressure shoes,. together
with the bar or frame in which they rest; Fig. 4 is a plan of the driving

page_text: pulley and its crank shaft; Fig. 5 is an end elevation of the upper portion of
the frame of the machine 'detached; Figs. 6 and 7, details to be referred to. .
In machines for splitting leather of the ordinary construction where the
knife vibrates longitudinally over the feed cylinder, the surfaces of the leather
which come in contact with the edge of the knife have been nicked or slightly
cut at each vibration of the knife, owing to the leather being crowded or fed
uninterruptedly against the knife during the short space of time it is at rest
after the completion of each of its vibrations; and in such machines it has
heretofore been impossible to split green hides, because no means have proved
successful for holding them snugly down upon the feed cylinder and preventing
them from slipping or "bagging up" while being cut...
To overcome the above-mentioned difficulties is the object of my Invention,
which consists in regulating the speed and arresting the motion of the feed
cylinder by the vibrations of the knife, whereby the leather is prevented from
feeding and crowding against the edge of the knife during the interval between'
its vibrations; and my Invention also consists in extending the apron over. a
considerable portion of the outer surface of the feed cylinder and forming the
pressure shoes or their equivalent separately and independently of each other,
whereby an extended bearing surface and a uniform pressure is obtained,
thus allowing a hide to be cut when green with equal facility as when dry;
the pressure shoes or their equivalents yielding to the inequalities of the hide
so that it may be fed up to the knife in such manner as to insure at all times
a smooth cut of uniform thickness throughout.
To enable others skilled in the art to understand and use my Invention, I
will proceed to describe the manner in which I have carried it out.
In the said Drawings A is the lower portion of the framework, in the sides
of which are formed recesses a for the reception of the boxes b, in which
revolves the shaft B of the cylinder C, which is formed in two pieces c, d,
(Fig. 6), securely stayed and held together by the arms e and bolts f. The
boxes 6 are made to slide up and down in the recesses a by operating the set
screws 9, whereby the cylinder C may be raised or lowered and the space
between it and the edge of the knife regulated to gauge the thickness of the
cut required; the set screws g being provided with check nuts h to keep the
cylinder C in place after it is adjusted. D, Figs. 1, 2, and 5, represent the
upper portions of the framework secured to the lower portions A by the
bolts i, the upper portions D being connected and securely held together by
the longitudinal beam E. ; is an open slot formed in each side of the frame-
work D for the reception of the bar F in which are placed a row of pressure

page_text: shoes k, which are made separately and operate independently of each other.
Each pressure shoe k is of the form of a bolt, its head being placed downward,
and its shank passing up through a ledge (projecting from the side of the
bar F), and having at .its lower end a shoulder upon which rests the spiral
spring m which surrounds the shank of the shoe k. The line of the under side
of the pressure shoes is placed sufficiently above the outside of the cylinder C
to allow a hide to be fed between them when the shoes are down, the shoes
being prevented from going below the horizontal line of their adjustment.by.
means of pins n passing through the upper part of their shanks and resting
on the ledge of the bar F: The height of the bar F: is regulated by set
screws. (not shown in the Drawings). G, H, are pressure rolls, the axes of
which are connected by the rods o; and around these rolls is wound an apron I
of canvass or other suitable material which keeps the hide or leather con-
stantly pressed down in the following manner upon the cylinder when fed
thereon: The extremities of the shaft of the upper roll G rest in bearings
J which rise and fall in the guide or frame K, which is securely bolted to
each side of the frame D. The upright portions of the bearings J are of a
circular form, and each is surrounded by a spiral spring p which rests on a
shoulder ; the roll G and apron I being raised against the resistance of the
spring p from contact with the cylinder C when the hide or leather is fed
forward. The under side of each bearing J is bent around as shown.at r,
Fig. 1, and has secured thereto the V-shaped piece L, one extremity of which
extends under the roll G to near the lower point of its periphery; the
opposite extremity of the V-shaped piece L projecting forward to near the
line of the front of the pressure shoes k in order that the apron may be con
ducted over it and press down upon the hide or leather in its passage from
the roll G.to the pressure shoes k, and thereby prevent the liability of the
hide or leather "cockling" or "bagging" up; the front corners of the pressure
shoes being rounded off to facilitate the delivery of the leather thereunder.
To the upper portion of each side of the frame A is fastened one end of a bed
piece M which is provided with a longitudinal groove for the reception of a
tongue t projecting from the bottom of a knife N, which is confined by the
plate. O upon the bed piece M by bolts and keys, by which means the knife N
is allowed to slide longitudinally, but is prevented from having any lateral or
vertical motion. The edge of the knife projects a short distance under the
line of the rear of the pressure shoes to. prevent the leather or hide from
bagging" up as it is fed forward thereto. P is rod which connects the
end u of the knife N with a crank shaft Q which is supported in suitable

page_text: bearings and driven by power applied to the pulley R. This crank shaft Q
carries at one of its ends a circular plate S provided with a slot v for the
reception of a stud T to which is loosely pivoted the upper ends of the con-
necting rods U, V, the lower ends of these rods U, V, being pivoted at w, x,
to arms or levers W, X, also pivoted loosely to the shaft Y, which carries the 5
ratchet wheel Z' into which the pawls y, z, alternately engage as the knife N
vibrates back and forth. To one end of the shaft Y is secured a bevel pinion A¹
which gears into a bevel wheel 'B' secured to the outside of the arms e of the
cylinder C (see Figs. 1 and 6), and it is by the arrangement above described
that the cylinder is revolved and brought to rest by means of the knife for. 1
the purpose of preventing the hide, or leather from being fed forward and cut.
by the edge of the knife when at the end of its vibrations.
OPERATION.
The machine being set in motion, the leather, green hide, etc., with its hair
or " grain side down, is fed by the operator between the cylinder C and. 1
lower roll H, the apron I pressing it snugly down upon the cylinder C which
carries it under the upper roll G and V-shaped piece L, and thence beneath
the pressure shoes k, where it is delivered to the edge of the knife N, which
commences to move before the cylinder C and vibrates back and forth over its
face; the split leather passing off the cylinder, and the "chip" or refuse being 2
carried over the knife frame on to the floor, the pressure shoes k rising and
falling to correspond with the inequalities in the surface of the leather or hide,
and the pawls y, z, alternately engaging with the ratchet wheel Z when the
knife is in motion, thus through the connections described moving the cylin-
der C; the pawls y, z, ceasing to act upon the ratchet when the knife is at 2
rest at the completion of each vibration, thereby stopping the cylinder and
preventing the hide or leather being fed and crowded up against the knife,
thus preventing the nicking of the leather, and insuring a uniform thickness
of split at all times. When it is required to cut the leather into splits of a
different thickness from those previously cut it is simply necessary to raise or s
lower the cylinder C by the set screws g, and tighten the check nuts h, the
height of the knife remaining permanently fixed after its first adjustment.
Having now set forth the nature of this Invention, and explained the
manner of carrying the same into effect, I wish it to be understood that under
the above-recited Letters Patent I claim, arresting and regulating the speed 3
of the feed cylinder C by means of the knife N, substantially as and for the
purpose set forth..

page_text: I also claim connecting the knife N to the cylinder C by means of
mechanism, substantially as described for the purpose set forth.
I also claim extending the apron I over a considerable portion of the
surface of the cylinder C in combination with the pressure rolls G, H, for
the purpose set forth.
I also claim the V-shaped piece L substantially as and for the purpose
described.
In witness whereof, I, the said George Tomlinson Bousfield, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Twentieth day of March, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-six.
GEO. T. BOUSFIELD. (L.S.)