mprovements in or relating to Moulding or Planing Machines for Wood or other Materials.
Year: 1892

page_text: Date of Application, 9th Aug., 1892-Accepted, 14th Jan., 1893
COMEDIE DIEUITIVA.
mprovements in or relating to Moulding or Planing Machines for
Wood or other Materials.
I, CHARLES LOUIS GOEHRING, of 170 Sandusky Street Alleghany, County of
Alleghany, and State of Pennsylvania, United States of America, Doctor of
Medicine do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the
same is to be performed to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement :-
My present invention relates generally to the art of wood working and that class
of machine adapted to form flooring, wainscotting, etc., or cut wood on lines other
than straight and parallel with the line of feed of the material and it has also for
its objects to provide in a machine embodying a rotary cutter-head that operates
upon the material adjustable eccentric mechanism which will cause said cutter head
to cut a series of curves of any desired configuration but particularly regular,
reverse curves or waves, the arcs of succeeding ones being equal, without the use
of special cams cut for each curve desired.
In the accompanying drawings,
Figure 1 is a diagram showing the movement of a cutter-head and the line of
cut when reciprocated by an ordinary eccentric cam or crank.
Figure 2 is a diagram showing the movement when operated by the eccentric
mechanism constructed according to this invention.
Figure 3 is a plan view of the preferred form of the eccentric mechanism.
Figure 4 is a sectional view on the line 16-16 of Figure 3 showing a cutter
head and its actuating mechanism.
Figure 5 is a face view of the eccentric cam.
Figure 6 a similar view of the other side, and
Figure 7 is a sectional view of the same.
Similar letters of reference in the several figures indicate similar parts.
Heretofore it has been impossible to cut true, regular reverse curves on the
edges of boards or strips by means of a rotary cutter-head actuated towards and
from the progressively moving strip, by a true eccentric cam, i.e., one formed by a
circular rim set eccentric to its centre of rotation, for the reason that the line of
cut shifts from one side of the line in which the head travels, to the other, as
different parts of the curve are traversed. In the diagram Figure 1 the line nn¹
represents that in which the centre of the cutter-head travels relatively to the strip
or board Z when reciprocated by an eccentric cam, but it will be noticed that the
outer edge of the head being thrown forward of the centre, will traverse the
line z z¹ this being caused by the shifting of the line of cut from one side of the line
of movement of the head to the other.
By reference to the circles, n' n³ n n° in said diagram indicating different
positions of the cutters relative to the board it will be seen that when they are at
the crowns and hollows of the waves respectively the radial lines n° at right angles
to the feed which is straight, intersect the strip at the cutting points and are parallel
with the line in which the cutter head reciprocates, but along the inclines of the
waves the intersecting radii n' of the cutting points are at an angle to the strip and
to the line in which the cutter reciprocates and it will also be seen that these inter-
secting lines vary from to ¹ during the passage of the board from crest to
hollow and from hollow to crest of the waves or curves, and that during such varia-
tions the movement of the cutter toward and from the strip must be accelerated at
the points where the line of cut is in advance of the centre or radial line nº and
retarded when it is in the rear of it, in other words, the cutting edge must be
caused to travel in the line traversed by the centre of the cutter-head when moved

page_text: by an ordinary eccentric and the centre line of the head to traverse the line
traversed by the cutting edge when operated by the same means. This is shown
diagrammatically in Figure 2 wherein line is the one desired to be cut, and
n' n³ that traversed by the rotating centre of the head, the forward movement of
the head when moving from the position n° increasing up to the maximum at n
and decreasing at n again, while from n¹¹ to n¹ it is slower, the slowest point
being at nor the crest of the wave, then gradually increases in speed to n again
when it is fastest.
Of course this movement would be produced by a cam having an irregular
surface, but the objection to this form of device is that it is very expensive to
make, but more than all a different cam must be employed for each curve desired,
that is, each curve of different depth must have a different cam provided for it, but
I have discovered that by moving the cutter-head toward and from or over the
surface of the material by a device producing a determinate movement, constant in
amplitude (as an eccentric connection) and causing the device to vary in speed at
different portions of its movement an infinite number of regular or irregular curves
can be produced.
This invention therefore, consists broadly in providing mechanism for moving a
cutter head toward and from the centre of the progressively moving material by
means of a rotary eccentric or crank of determinate throw, and varying the speed
of said eccentric during its rotation to change the line of cut, also in an improved
machine for forming a series of regular reverse curves on boards or strips by
moving a cutter head toward and from the progressively moving material by
means of a rotary eccentric or crank of determinate throw and compensating for
the shifting of the line of cut of said head by varying the speed of said
eccentric during its.. rotation, and it is obvious that various modifications can be
made of the mechanism shown though for reasons presently stated, I prefer to
employ that illustrated in the accompanying drawings, which I will now proceed
to describe, but do not desire to be limited to this form otherwise than as specified
in the claims.
Referring particularly to Figures 3 to 7-0 represents a portion of the frame
work of any suitable machine embodying suitable support O' for the board or
strip Z to be operated upon over or by which it is positively fed forward past the
cutter N. A roller P is shown in Figure as a conventional form of feed
mechanism, but other feeding device may of course be employed. This head N is
mounted on a suitable spindle or shaft N¹ rotated rapidly in frame Q which latter
is adapted to be reciprocated toward and permitted to move from the board by a
pitman R¹ having on its outer end a strip or yoke embracing an eccentric cam R.
The frame or slide Q is pressed outward and its pitman held against the cam by a
spring R operating upon it and the main frame which form of device I prefer to
an eccentric strap connection as all lost motion is thereby taken up. The cam R is
provided with a rectangular elongated opening R' fitting over a block + keyed or
otherwise rigidly secured to a short shaft having its bearing in a movable bearing
block mounted in a stationary guide or way O' on the main frame of the machine,
and said cam is connected to the block by a screw passing loosely through a
lug R on the cam R and screwing into a lug on the block so that by moving
said screw the eccentricity of the cam can be readily adjusted and it can be secured
in adjusted position by a bolt passing through alot in a flange formed on the
block and entering the side of the cam R.
r'
Secured rigidly to the other side of the cam R is a plate R' having a way or
slot R therein, crossing the centre of the shaft in the plane of movement of the
cam on the shaft.
A suitable scale is provided on the guide or way O' with which co-operates a
pointer or index o for indicating the amount of adjustment of the block and said
block may be adjusted in its guide by means of screw rotating freely in the end
of said guide O' and screwing into the block, the longitudinal movement of the
screw being prevented by suitable collars, as usual.

page_text: In a machine adapted to form flooring or wainscotting it is of course desirable to
have both sides of the board or strip cut at the same time and for this purpose
two cutter heads will have to be employed, the movement of the second head
toward and from the strip relative to the first cutter head, being dependent upon its
position, and in illustrating this device I have therefore shown devices for operating
two heads supposed to be arranged on opposite sides of the material operated upon,
but of course I do not desire to be confined to this arrangement or construction of
parts.
The construction of the cams and pitmen for actuating the cutter-heads being
the same and the only difference being in their adjustment with relation to the
motive power, the previous description will answer for both.
Arranged between the shafts r¹ and in the same horizontal plane therewith is a
shaft S having a gear wheel S¹ thereon for rotating it at a regular speed, or any
other suitable driving means may be employed. On one end of shaft S is provided
a collar S³ preferably secured rigidly though removably, in position by means of a
movable key or spline S³ engaging the shaft and held in contact therewith by a set
screw S passing through the collar. The other end of the shaft is encircled by a
collar S held in position by means of a set screw Se, and provided with an index
or pointer s co-operating with a graduated scale on a collar s¹, on the shaft so that
the rotary adjustment of the collar Ss on the shaft can be determined to a nicety.
Formed upon the outer sides of the collars S' and S are crank pins S' having
rectangular blocks S journalled thereon and arranged when the parts are together,
to slide in the ways R on the sides of the eccentrics R.
As stated the shafts S and r' are in the same horizontal plane and when they
are also in the same vertical plane or in line, the pointers or indices o will be at the
zero points on their scales and the crank pin S' will cause the rotation of the
shafts and S synchronously and the greater or less movement of the cutter-head by
the cams R dependent upon the eccentrical adjustment, thereby producing the move-
ment of the cutter-heads on the lines shown in Figure 1, but by adjusting the
blocks carrying the eccentric shafts outward by means of the set screws (the
amount being determined by reading the scales with which index o co-operates and
comparing it with a previously prepared table) the two shafts will be thrown out of
the same vertical plane and the crank pins S' will describe circles eccentric to the
shaft (the sliding blocks transmitting the motion) and will vary the rotation of
the latter, giving it a fast motion when near the centre of rotation, that is when
passing from n to n" (see Figure 2) while the crank pins will be moving farther
from the centre when the line of cut from n¹ to n' is being made and consequently
the speed of rotation of the shaft r' will be slower, thus causing the desired motion.
By this adjustment of the cam R on its shaft r¹ the depth of the cut to be made
can be easily regulated but at the same time the shaft r will have to be adjusted
also to produce the fast and slow motion at the proper points when making regular
curves, however, if it is desirable to cut the board on different lines the adjustment
of the cam and also the outward movement of the shaft can be changed relatively
to each other to produce an irregular but constantly repeating curve as will be
understood.
The length between the crests of the waves or curves can be changed by
increasing the speed of the material relative to the frequency of the inward move-
ment of the cutter-heads.
As stated the adjustments of the two collars or discs S and S' relatively to
each other will depend entirely upon their relation to each other in the direction
of the movement of the board and the parts of the wave operated upon therein
simultaneously.
It will be noticed that the various adjustments of the parts, particularly, that of
the shaft and S relatively to each other, also permits the elimination of the
slight error that might otherwise occur in calculation, due to the up and down
movement of the pitman operating on the eccentric.

page_text: The mechanism herein shown for. carrying out the latter part of the present
invention is only one form of the many that can be readily devised for the
purpose, but this I have practically operated and find it admirably adapted for
the purpose and by the use of a single eccentric cam, I can produce an
infinite number of different curves, either regular or irregular so that if waved
or serpentine flooring or wainscotting is to be made matching cutter-beads can be
employed and all the boards will be found to match and fit exactly at all points
in their length.
For forming geometrical figures on the surface of a board by a cutter having
its axis parallel with the plane of movement of the board said cutter may be
operated by the before described mechanism whereby numerous different designs
may be produced.
wish it understood that I regard a crank or any other similar device for
producing an even reciprocation of the cutter-head the speed of rotation of which
is varied, as described, as the equivalent of the eccentric cam shown and described
herein, the latter being but one form of device for the purpose.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is :-
:-
1. In a wood working machine the combination with feeding mechanism for
advancing the material of a rotary cutter-head a rotary eccentric or crank for
operating the cutter toward and from or over the material at a right angle to the
line of feed and mechanism for varying the speed of the eccentric during its rotation
substantially as described.
2. In a wood working machine the combination with feeding mechanism for
advancing the material of a rotary cutter-head a rotary eccentric or crank of deter-
mined throw for operating the cutter toward and from the centre line of the
material at a right angle to the line of feed and mechanism for varying the speed
of the eccentric during its rotation substantially as described.
3. The combination with a movable frame a cutter-head mounted thereon and an
eccentric cam for reciprocating said frame of a shaft a crank pin thereon engaging
with and rotating the eccentric and means for adjusting the crank and cam relative
to the rotary centre of the latter substantially as described.
4. The combination with a movable frame a cutter-head mounted thereon and an
eccentric cam for reciprocating said frame of a shaft a crank pin thereon engaging
with and operating the eccentric said eccentric and shaft being adjustable relative
to each other in a plane parallel with the movement of the movable frame whereby
the position of the pin relative to the centre of rotation of the cam may be changed;
substantially as described.
6. The combination with a movable frame a cutter-head mounted thereon a
movable block and a rotary eccentric cam mounted upon the block and con-
nected to the frame for reciprocating it of a rotary shaft mounted in stationary
bearings and having a crank pin for rotating the cam substantially as described....
6. The combination with a movable frame a cutter-head mounted thereon a
movable block and a rotary eccentric cam mounted on it having the groove in its
face and connected to the frame for reciprocating it of a rotary shaft a crank pin
thereon operating in the groove in the cam substantially as described.
7. The combination with the movable frame a cutter-head thereon an adjustable
eccentric cam of a rotary shaft having a crank pin co-operating with the cam and
rotating it said cam and shaft being adjustable relative to each other whereby the
position of the pin relative to the centre of rotation of the cam can be adjusted
substantially as described.
8. The combination with the rotary shaft having the two crank pins thereon
adjustable relative to each other of two movable frames each carrying a cutter-
head two eccentric cams one connected to each head and each cam operated upon

page_text: by one of the crank pins and adjustable relative to the shaft whereby the position
of the pins relative to the centre of rotation of the cams can be adjusted sub-
stantially as described.
9. The combination with the rotary shaft having the crank pin and sliding block
thereon, of the cam having the slot or way for said block the movable block in
which the cam is mounted the movable frame and the cutter-head thereon and
connections between said frame and the cam for causing the reciprocation of the
former by the rotation of the latter substantially.as described.
Dated this 9th day of August 1892.
W. P. THOMPSON & BOULT,
Agents for the Applicant.