IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY EMPLOYED IN THE MANUFACTURE OF IRON
Year: 1861

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Gay Newton Alleyne, of Butterly Ironworks,
Alfreton, in the County of Derby, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
IN MACHINERY EMPLOYED IN THE MANUFACTURE OF IRON."
Sealed the 3rd October 1861, and dated the 4th April 1861.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Gay Newton Alleyne
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 4th April 1861.
I, JOHN GAY NEWTON ALLEYNE, of Butterly Ironworks, Alfreton, in the
County of Derby, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY EMPLOYED IN THE MANUFACTURE OF IRON," to be
as follows:-
My Invention has for its object the facilitating of the manufacture of large
masses of iron into plates or bars, tee and angle iron, beam or joist iron, or
iron of any other section, by the operation of rolling in rolling mills, and is also
applicable to the manufacture of light and thin plates or bars, such as require
to be manufactured with great rapidity, in order to get the work requisite on
them done while they are hot. It consists in one part in applying two or
more steam engines to drive a rolling mill in such a manner that the rolling
mill on being connected with one engine or set of engines, is caused to revolve
in one direction, while if disconnected from this engine or these engines, and
connected with another engine or set of engines, it is caused to revolve in the
reverse direction to what it did at first, the first-named engine or set of engines
Price 8d 1

page_text: being during this time usefully employed in getting up their speed, and the
momentum of the fly wheel ready for when it is or they are next required to
be brought into action. By this arrangement large masses of iron may be
passed through a groove in the rolls in one direction, and then by reversing
the motion of the rolls in the manner before mentioned, the iron may be
passed back again either through the same groove or through other grooves,
or through another set of rolls, the rolls being made to approach each other as
occasion may require, or through rolls without grooves where plates are being
rolled, thus working the iron very rapidly, and without giving it time to lose
so much heat as is the case usually when the rolls run in one direction, and
where the iron has to be raised over the rolls to bring it back for passing
through the next groove, and as one engine or set of engines is always
alternately out of gear, and consequently getting up the momentum of their
respective fly wheels, while the other engine or set of engines are turning the
rolls, this arrangement will also work much more efficaciously than where the
rolls are reversed by the action of one and the same engine or engines, as is
done at present, in which cases the power accumulated in the fly wheel of the
engine or engines is gradually consumed until it is necessary to stop the work
in order to get up the speed of the engines again.
The manner in which the two engines or sets of engines may be alternately con-
nected and disconnected with the rolling mill so as to cause it to revolve alternately
in reverse directions is capable of various arrangement; thus, for instance, an
engine or set of engines may be placed at either end of the rolling mill, and
each engine or set of engines moving in reverse direction to that at the other
end, may be alternately connected and disconnected directly with the rolling
mill, by means of a clutch; or when it is required to reduce the speed of the
rolling mill from that of the engines to a slower speed I place the two engines
or, sets of engines side by side at one end of the rolling mill, as close together
as the radii of the fly wheels will allow, with the mill shaft between the engine
shafts, and I so arrange the gearing that by means of two loose spur wheels
on the mill shaft and clutches to put them in and out of gear, and one spur
wheel on each engine shaft in gear with one of the wheels on the mill shaft,
the same is first caused to revolve in one direction by one engine or set of
engines, and then in the other direction by other engine or set of engines,
the diameter of the spur wheels being so proportioned as to reduce the speed
to the amount required, or sometimes I so proportion the gearing on the mill
and engine shafts that the rolling mill runs faster than the engines. In some
cases I also proportion the gearing so as to make the speed of the mill for
going forward different from that for going backward, or I arrange two speeds

page_text: for going forward and two speeds for going backward. The details of the
arrangements admit of various modifications, by which the general principle
of this part of my Invention may be carried out.
A second part of my Invention has for its object the obviating of the
difficulty attendant on transferring large masses of iron at a very high
temperature from one groove in the rolls of a rolling mill to the next groove,
or from one set of rolls to another, as is the case in rolling plates, which rolls
may also be without grooves. For this purpose I construct a tramway on
either side of the rolling mill, just in the front and behind of the rolls running
parallel with the same, and either sunk into the floor of the mill, or
level with the same, or at the same inclination as the floor of the mill.
Upon these tramways I place travellers, capable of running along on both
sides of the rolls, in a direction parallel with the same, and actuated either by
steam or other power. Thus in one arrangement I prefer to make the level
of the top of these travellers on the same level or inclination as the floor of
the mill, and I fix transversely upon them rails corresponding with other rails
placed upon the mill floor, and leading at a certain incline down from the
heating furnaces to the rolling mills, such as have already been made use of,
and which do not form part of my Invention. Upon these rails I place other
carriages or trucks, which receive the heated: iron as it comes out of the
furnace, and which are then run down the incline and on to the traveller; the
heated iron is then received by a groove in the rolls and run through the same;
or it is run through plain rolls as in ordinary plate mills. On arriving on the
other side of the rolls, the iron is received upon the other traveller, which is
then moved laterally till the iron is before the next groove or before. the next
pair of rolls, and is then run back through the rolls on to the first-named
traveller, the motion of the rolls having been reversed, or the iron may be run
backwards and forwards through the same groove or plain rolls several times,
the rolls being made to approach at each operation. Sometimes I have only
such before-mentioned traveller and tramway on one side of the rolls, and on
the other side I fix two sets of rollers at certain distances along the rolls, one
set being placed with their axes parallel with that of the rolls, while the axes
These two sets of
of the other set are at right angles to the axes of the rolls.
rollers are so arranged that they may be raised or lowered by machinery, one
above or below the level of the other, so that, for instance, when the rolled
iron is run through the rolls, it is received upon the set of rollers whose axes
are parallel to that of the rolls, and when it is desired to move the iron
laterally to the next groove or to the next pair of rolls, the other set of rollers
is raised above the level of the first-named set, thus raising the rolled iron off

page_text: the same and by their rotatory motion causing the iron to travel in a line
with the rolls until it has reached the next groove or set or rolls; or the
iron may be received on bars traversing on the second set of rollers; this
set of rollers is then lowered, and the iron again rests upon the first-named
set, from which it is led or driven forward between the rolls. I also sometimes
employ such before-mentioned rollers on both sides of the rolling mill. Jn
some cases, also, I fix rollers parallel with the rolls upon the framework of the
traveller, and arrange them so that they can be raised or lowered, so that the
rolls deliver the iron on the rollers of the traveller, and then the traveller is
moved laterally, as before described. Should the action of the mill rolls not
impart momentum enough to the iron for the same to clear the guards and
headstocks of the mills, the carriages may be drawn back in the one case,
or the iron drawn a little further from the rolls of the mill while it rests on
the rollers herein-before described.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Gay Newton Alleyne in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 4th October 1861.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
GAY NEWTON ALLEYNE, of Butterly Ironworks, Alfreton, in the County of
Derby, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Fourth day of April, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-one, in the twenty-fourth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said John Gay Newton Alleyne, Her special licence that I, the said John Gay
Newton Alleyne, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others
as I, the said John Gay Newton Alleyne, 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 for. "INPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FMPLOYED IN THE MANUFACTURE
OF IRON," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said John Gay
Newton Alleyne, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing
under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should particularly describe
and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same

page_text: 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 John Gay Newton Alleyne, 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 thereof, that is to say:
My Invention has for its object the facilitating of the manufacture of large
masses of iron into plates or bars, tee and angle iron, beam or joist iron, or
iron of any other section by the operation of rolling in rolling mills, and is also
applicable to the manufacture of light and thin plates or bars, such as require
to be manufactured with great rapidity in order to get the work requisite on.
them done while they are hot. It consists in one part in applying two or
more steam engines to drive a rolling mill in such a manner that the rolling
mill on being connected with one engine or set of engines, is caused to revolve
in one direction, while, if disconnected from this engine or these engines and
connected with another engine or set of engines, it is caused to revolve in the
reverse direction to what it did at first, the first-named engine or pair of
engines or more engines being during the time usefully employed in getting
up the speed, and the momentum of the fly wheel ready for when it is or they
are next required to be brought into action. By this arrangement large
masses of iron may be passed through a groove in the rolls in one direction,
and then by reversing the motion of the rolls in the manner herein-before
mentioned, the iron may be passed back again either through the same groove
or through other grooves, or through another set of rolls, the rolls being made
to approach each other as occasion may require, or through rolls without
grooves where plates are being rolled, thus working the iron very rapidly and
without giving it time to loose so much heat, as is the case usually when the
rolls run in one direction, and where the iron has to be raised over the rolls
to bring it back for passing through the next groove; and as one engine or set
of engines is always alternately out of gear, and consequently getting up the
momentum of their respective fly wheels, while the other engine or set of
engines are turning the rolls, this arrangement will also work much more
efficaciously than where the rolls are reversed by the action of one and the
same engine or engines as is done at present, in which cases the power
accumulated in the fly wheel of the engine or engines is gradually consumed
until it is necessary to stop the work, in order to get up the speed of the
engine again.
Another advantage of my present Invention is the avoidance of the serious

page_text: complication of toothed wheels, which are necessary where only one engine or
only one set of engines is employed for reversing, as in one arrangement I
employ no toothed wheels at all. The manner in which the two engines or
sets of engines may be alternately connected and disconnected with the rolling
mill so as to cause it to revolve alternately in reverse directions, is capable of
various arrangements, thus, for instance, an engine or set of engines may be
placed at either end of the rolling mill, and each engine or set of engines
moving in reverse direction to that at the other end, may be alternately
connected and disconnected directly with the rolling mill by means of a clutch.
Or when it is required to reduce the speed of the rolling mill from that of the
engines to a slower speed, I place the two engines or sets of engines side by
side at one end of the rolling mill, as close together as the radii of the fly
wheels will allow, with the mill shaft between the engine shafts; and I so
arrange the gearing that by means of two loose spur wheels on the mill shaft,
and clutches to put them in and out of gear, and one spur wheel on each
engine shaft in gear with one of the wheels on the mill shaft, the same is first
caused to revolve in one direction by one engine or set of engines, and then in
the other direction by the other engine or set of engines, the diameter of the
spur wheels being so proportioned as to reduce the speed to the amount
required; or, sometimes I so proportion the gearing on the mill and engine
shafts that the rolling mill runs faster than the engines. In some cases I also
proportion the gearing so as to make the speed of the niill for going forward
different from, that for going backward; or I arrange two speeds for going
forward and two speeds for going backward. The details of the arrangement
admit of various modifications by which the general principle of this part of
my Invention may be carried out.
case in rolling plates which may
construct a tramway on either
and behind the rolls, running
floor of the mill or level with
A second part of my Invention has for its object the obviating of the
difficulty attendant on transferring large masses of iron at a very high tem-
perature from one groove in the rolls of a rolling mill to the next groove,
or from one set of rolls to another, as is the
also be without grooves. For this purpose I
side of the rolling mill just in the front of
parallel with the same, and either sunk in the
the same, or at the same inclination as the floor of the mill. Upon these
tramways I place travellers capable of running along on both sides of the rolls
in a direction parallel with the same, and actuated either by steam or other
power. Thus in one arrangement I prefer to make the level of the top of
these travellers on the same level or inclination as the floor of the mill, and I
fix transversely upon them rails corresponding with other rails placed upon the

page_text: On arriving on the other side of
mill floor, and leading at a certain incline down from the heating furnaces to
the rolling mills, such as have already been made use of, which do not form
part of my Invention. Upon these rails place other carriages or trucks
which receive the heated iron as it comes out of the furnace, and which are
then run down the incline and on to the traveller; the heated iron is then
received by a groove in the rolls and run through the same, or it is run
through plain rolls as in ordinary plate rolls.
the rolls the iron is received upon the other traveller, which is then moved
laterally till the iron is before the next groove or before the next pair of rolls,
or the traveller is adjusted by being moved to a very slight extent, so as to get
the iron into the rolls, the other traveller being allowed to stand still, and the
iron is then run back through the rolls on to the first-named traveller, the
motion of the rolls having been reversed; or the iron may be run backwards
and forwards through the same groove or plain rolls several times, the rolls
being made to approach at each operation. Sometimes I have only such
before-mentioned traveller and tramway on one side of the rolls, and on the
other side I fix two sets of rollers at certain distances along the rolls, one set
being placed with the axes parallel with that of the rolls, while the axes of
the other set are at right angles to the axes of the rolls. These two sets of
rollers are so arranged that they may be raised or lowered by machinery one
above or below the level of the other, so that, for instance, when the rolled
iron is run through the rolls it is received upon the set of rollers whose axes
are parallel to that of the rolls; and when it is desired to move the iron
laterally to the next groove or to the next pair of rolls, the other set of rollers
is raised above the level of the first-named set, thus raising the rolled iron off
the same, and by their rotatory motion causing the iron to travel in a line
with the rolls until it has reached the next groove or set of rolls, or the iron
may be received on bars travelling on the second set of rollers; this set of
rollers is then lowered and the iron again rests upon the first-named set of
rollers from which it is led or driven forward between the rolls. I also some-
times employ such before-mentioned rollers on both sides of the rolling mill.
In some cases also fix rollers parallel with the rolls upon the framework of
the traveller, and arrange them so that they can be raised or lowered, so that
the rolls deliver the iron on the rollers of the traveller, and then the traveller
is moved laterally as before described. Should the action of the mill rolls not
impart momentum enough to the iron for the same to clear the grooves and
headstocks of the mills, the carriages may be drawn back in the one case, or
the iron drawn a little further from the rolls of the mill while it rests' on the
rollers herein-before described.

page_text: But in order that my invention may be more fully understood and readily
carried into effect, I will now describe the best modes I am acquainted with
of performing the same, reference being had to the accompanying Drawings,
and to the letters and figures marked thereon.
On Sheet I is shewn an arrangement, wherein one engine is placed at each
end of a rolling mill, which engines run in reverse directions and are
alternately put in gear with the rolling mill by means of clutches.
Figure 1 shews a sectional elevation, and Figure 2 shews a plan, similar
letters indicate similar parts in both the Figures.
A, A', are steam engines which may be of any suitable known arrangement,
and which impart rotatory motion in reverse directions to their respective
crank shafts B, B', and fly wheels C, C, as indicated by the arrows. These
engines are placed at either end of a rolling mill D, D, D, which is of
ordinary construction and which requires no further description. The motion
of the crank shafts B, B', is imparted directly to the lower set of rolls by
means of the clutches E, E', in such a manner that when the rolling mill
is required to run in the direction in which the engine A is running then
the clutch E is put in gear, the clutch E¹ having previously been put out
of gear, and when the rolling mill is required to run in the reverse direction,
then the clutch E is put out of gear and the clutch E' is put in gear. The
motion of the lower rolls is imparted to the upper rolls by means of the
pinions F, F, as is well understood. The engines and crank shafts may
also be so arranged as to impart motion direct to the upper rolls instead
of to the lower rolls. The putting in and out of gear of the clutches E, E' is
effected by means of a hydraulic or steam cylinder G shewn in plan, which
is furnished with a piston and long piston rods H, H', carried by bearings
I, I, I, and connected at their ends to the levers J, J¹, fixed to the spindles
K, K', to the other ends of which are attached the forked levers L, L',
working in the collars of the moveable parts of the clutches E, E', and
causing them to move backwards and forwards by their motion as is well
understood. By means of the lever M and spindle N the inlet and outlet
valves X, X, to the hydraulic or steam cylinder G are opened or closed,
by which water under pressure or steam is admitted on one side or the
other of the piston, and the consequent motion of the piston rods H, H',
effect the putting out of gear of one clutch, and the putting in gear of the
other, I prefer to employ steam power for working the cylinder G. In place
of the above, described arrangement for working the clutches E, E', any
other suitable apparatus, may be employed worked by any suitable power.
In order to facilitate the moving of the masses of iron that have to be

page_text: rolled in front of the rolls, travellers 0, 0¹, are provided on either side of
the rolling mill. These are constructed in such a manner that their plat-
forms are on a line with the floor of the mill pits P, P¹, being formed for
them to work in; Q, Q, are the rails upon which they run, either with
wheels as shewn, or they may be so arranged as to slide upon V-shaped rails
without wheels. Upon their platforms are fixed the transverse rails R, R¹,
corresponding with other rails S, S, S', S', laid upon the floor of the mill
or workshop, and leading down from the heating furnaces to the edge of
the traveller pits. Upon these rails run the trucks T which serve to carry
the heated metal from the furnaces on to the travellers O, O', in front of
the rolling mill. These trucks are so arranged that their platforms may
be raised or lowered according to the height of the rolls through which the
metal upon them has to pass, or the platforms may be fixed. The raising
or lowering of the platform may be effected as shewn by turning the right
and left handed screw 1 and causing the ends of the levers 2, 2, to approach
or recede from each other, or the platform may be raised or lowered by any
other suitable known means. The travellers 0, 0¹, receive their motion
in the direction parallel with the rolling mill in the following manner:-
Fixed to the bottom of the traveller pits P, P', are the large hydraulic cylinders
U, U', having pistons and piston rods V, VI, working out at either end of the
cylinders. To the ends of these piston rods are attached cross-heads carrying
sheaves of pullies W, W₁, other sheaves of pullies Y, Y', being fixed in
front of the former to the floor of the pit. Chains indicated by dotted lines
are fixed with one end to the fixed sheaves Y, Y', then pass backwards
and forwards, round the pullies of the sheaves Y, Y, and W, W, after
which they pass round the pullies Z, Z', fixed to the ends of the pits, and
lastly, they are attached by their other ends to the hooks a, a', of the
travellers. By means of levers b, b', and spindles c, c', the inlet and outlet
valves d, d, f, f, to the hydraulic cylinders U, U', are opened or closed,
adınitting water under pressure through the pipes g, g', to whichever side
of the piston it is required, and thus effecting the motion in one direction
or another of the piston rods V, V¹, which motion is imparted to the
travellers 0, 0, in a multiplied form as is well understood.
By the above described arrangements it will be seen that the mode of
operation in rolling metal will be as follows:--A mass of heated metal being
taken out of the heating furnace and placed on to the truck T, this is
run down on to the traveller O, the clutch E is then put out of gear and
the clutch E is put in gear, by which means the rolling mill is caused to
revolve in the same direction as the crank shaft B'. The metal is then

page_text: run through the rolls, in front of which the travellers have been placed, and
is delivered on to a truck upon the traveller O¹. The travellers are then
moved to the next groove or to the next pair of rolls, the motion of the
rolling mill is reversed by the engine A' being put out of gear, and the
engine A being put in gear (this latter having during this time been usefully
employed in getting up its speed whilst running empty) and the heated
metal is run back through the rolls on to the truck on the traveller T.
and this operation is repeated as long as required, or until the metal
requires reheating. If desired the metal may be run backwards and forwards
through one and the same groove, or through one and the same pair of
rolls, they being screwed up every time the metal passes through them.
In some cases I employ the ordinary overhead traverse gear in combination
with the travellers and trucks.
On Sheet II. is shewn another arrangement of my Invention. Figure 3
shews a plan, and Figure 4 shews an elevation of a rolling mill with engines
and travellers. Here there are two pairs of engines, A1, A2, at one end of the
rolling mill B, B, B, and two pairs A, A, at the other end. Each pair of
engines is coupled together at right angles by the crank shafts Z'. Z³, Z. Z',
upon which are fixed the fly wheels C1, C2, C3, C, and the spur pinions
D', D3, D3, D, of which latter D', D, are in gear with the spur wheel E fixed
on the shaft F, to which they communicate motion in the direction indicated
by the arrows, whilst the pinions D, D', are in gear with the spur wheel E¹,
fixed on the shaft F, to which they communicate motion in a direction the
reyerse to that of the shaft F, as indicated by the arrows. Each of the shafts
F, F, are provided with a clutch G, G', through which their motion can be
alternately imparted to the lower rolls of the rolling mill B, B, B, causing the
same to revolve alternately in reverse directions. It will be observed that the
speed of the shaft F, F', and consequently that of the rolling mill is reduced
from that of the engines, owing to the proportion of the diameters of the
pinions D1, D2, D3, D', and spur wheels E, E', but all four engines at each end
of the rolling mill may also be connected directly respectively with the shafts
F, F, these latter being then provided with fly wheels. Instead of having
two pair of engines at each end there may be also only one
be more than two pair of engines employed at each end.
disengaging of the clutches G, G', is here shewn as being effected by hand by
means of the levers H, H¹, fixed upon the spindles I, 1', to which are also
attached the forked levers J, J', working in the collars of the clutches, but any
other suitable known means of moving the clutches may be adopted.
pair, or there may
The engaging and
On each side of the rolling mill are placed travellers K, K', running upon

page_text: rails L, L', fixed in the traveller pits M, M'. the traveller K', &c. being shewn
partly broken off. The backward and forward motion of these travellers in the
direction parallel with the rolls is effected by the small engines N, N, indicated
by red lines, upon the crank shafts O of which are fixed the pinion P in gear
with the spur wheel Q. Upon the same shafts with these latter are the pitch
wheels R, R, R', round which pass the pitched chains S, S. S¹, and to which
they impart their motion. The pitched chains pass round drums T, T, T¹,
fixed at the other end of the pits, and are attached to either end of the tra-
vellers K, K', so that practically they form endless pitched chains. The links
by which they are attached to the travellers may be provided with screws for
tightening up the chains. By causing the engines N, N, to work in one direc-
tion or in the reverse by suitable reversing gear, the pitch wheels R, R', pull
the pitch chains S, S', and with them the travellers K, K', in whichever direc-
tion they are required to move for bringing the heated mass of iron placed
upon the trucks U, U, in front of the requisite pair of rolls. Or. in place
of the above-described arrangement I employ a rack and pinion worked by
steam or other power for moving the travellers, as is well understood. The
platform of the travellers K. K', are level with the floor of the mill or work-
shop, and the trucks U. U₁, run from the rails V, V, fixed upon the floor
of the mill or workshop on to similar rails W, W¹, fixed on the travellers.
X, X, are rollers fixed to the floor of the traveller pits, over which the
pitched chains travel. The mode of operating the rolling of the metal is
precisely similar to that described with reference to the first arrangement
shewn on Sheet I.
On Sheet III. is shown another arrangement of my improvements. Figure 5
shews a plan, and Figure 6 shews a sectional elevation of a rolling mill,
engines, &c. Here there are two engines at one end of the rolling mill
moving in reverse directions, and put alternately in gear with the rolling mill.
A, A', are the crank shafts of the engines, which latter are not shown on the
Drawing, and which may be of any suitable known construction. Upon the
crank shafts are fixed the fly wheels B, B', and the pinions C, C1, of which
latter C is in gear with the spur wheel D, fixed on the shaft E, whilst C' is in
gear with the spur wheel D', fixed upon the hollow shaft F, the proportion of
the diameters of the pinions C. C', and spur wheels D. D¹, being such as to
reduce the speed of the engines for that of the mill. I sometimes arrange the
gearing through which the motion of the engines is communicated to the roll-
ing mill in such a manner that the proportion of the relative speeds of engine
and mill may be varied at pleasure. For this purpose I furnish the pinions
C, C, with false rims of teeth, which are put on in whole rings, as the pinions

page_text: overhang the necks of their shafts; and these rings are bolted on to the
pinions by means of face and back plates, or other suitable means. When it
is required to reduce the speed of the engines I take off the false rings of
teeth from the pinions and fix similar rims of teeth on the circumference of the
spur wheels D, D', (which rims must be in two halves, as they have to pass
the shaft.) thus reducing the diameter of the pinions and increasing that of
the spur wheels, the sum of their diameters remaining the same; or when it is
required to increase the speed of the rolling mill I put a ring of teeth on the
pinions and take one off the spur wheels.
The shaft G of the rolling mill X, X. passes through the hollow shaft F, as
shown more clearly in the sectional detail of this part at Figure 7, and takes
a bearing in the end of the shaft E. At the shaft G is formed square, or it
may be of any other suitable form, and provided with a feather or feathers, and
upon it slides the moveable double clutch H, the fixed clutch H' being formed
in one with the hollow shaft F, and the other fixed clutch H2 being fixed to the
shaft E.
The two clutches H¹ and H2 revolve in contrary directions, as indicated by
the arrows, and it will be seen, that according as the sliding clutch H is put
in gear with the one or with the other, the rolling mill will be made to revolve
in one direction or the other. The moving of the clutch H is here effected by
the small steam engine I, the piston rod of which is attached to a lever J fixed
upon the same spindle with the forked lever K working the clutch, but any
other suitable arrangement may be adopted.
Travellers L, L. are provided on either side of the rolling mill running upon
rails M, M', fixed in the traveller pits N, N¹; they receive their motion from
the endless pitched chains O, O', to which they are attached, which chains pass
round pitch wheels P, P', fixed on the crank shafts Q, Q', of the small steam
engines R, R', which cause them to revolve in one direction or the other by
means of suitable reversing gear worked by the levers S, S¹. I sometimes
work both the travellers simultaneously by one pair of engines, or one single
engine only, in which case the crank shaft is continued across beneath the roll-
ing mill to the other traveller pit, as indicated by dotted lines where it has the
other pitch wheel fixed upon it. Or, I have only one engine to work each
traveller, which may or may not be connected at right angles by a shaft run-
ning across underneath the mill. T, T', are drums fixed at the other end of
the traveller pits, round which the pitched chains pass. In some cases I
dispense with the steam engines R, R', altogether, and connect the pitch
wheels P, P', by suitable gearing to the shafts of the engines that drive the
mill, or to a winn or capstan worked by a horse or by manual power. The

page_text: trucks U, U, which bring the heated iron down from the furnaces on to the
travellers L, L', are provided with rollers V, V¹, to allow of the iron being fed
more easily between the rolls; these rollers may be made capable of being
raised or lowered by any suitable known contrivance, or they may be fixed.
W, WI, are the rails upon which the trucks U, U', run.
On Sheet IV. is shown another arrangement of my improvements. Figure 8
shows a plan, Figure 9 shews a sectional elevation on line z, z. Here there are
two pair of engines at one end of the rolling mill, each pair of engines being
coupled at right angles and moving in a contrary direction to the other pair,
their motion being communicated alternately to the rolling mill. A', A2, are
the engines, upon the crank shafts B1, B2, of which are fixed the fly wheels
C, C, and the spur wheels D', D; these are in gear with the pinions E', E²,
which run loose upon the mill shaft F, but which can be made alternately to
revolve with the mill shaft by means of the friction clutch F', which may be
also a clutch of ordinary construction. Thus by putting the clutch in gear
with the pinion E¹, and thereby with the engines A', A', the rolling mill X, X, X,
will be caused to revolve by the pair of engines A', A', in the direction indicated
by the arrow, whilst if the clutch is put in gear with the pinion E³, the mill
will be caused to revolve by the pair of engines A2, A2, in the reverse direction.
The apparatus for effecting the motion of the clutch F' is not shown on the
Drawing, and may be of any suitable arrangement. It will be observed that
the speed of the rolling mill is increased from that of the engines, owing to the
difference of the diameters of the spar wheels D', D3, and pinions E', Es, but
the toothed wheels may also be so proportioned as to make the speed of the
mills equal to that of the engine, or the speed may be reduced. G, H, are
two travellers on one and the same side of the rolling mill, which are capable
of moving along in front of the rolls independently of each other by the
following arrangement-On the end of the crank shaft B' is fixed the drum I,
which communicates its motion by means of a strap J to a smaller drum K,
fixed on the end of the traveller shaft L. This shaft is either formed of an
angular section or is circular with a key groove cut along its whole, length. It
is carried in the traveller pit M by means of pendulum brackets N, N, the
nature of which is well understood. Upon this shaft L are the skew bevel
pinions O, P, which are held below the platforms of the travellers G, H, in
such a manner that they revolve with the shaft L, but are caused to travel
backwards and forwards upon the same with the travellers. Running loose
upon the axles Q, R, of the wheels a, b, of the travellers, and in gear
with the pinions O, P, are the skew bevel pinions S, S', T, T¹; by putting
the sliding clutches U, U. in gear either with S, S', T or T¹, the axles

page_text: Q and R, and with them the wheels a, b, may be made to revolve either
in one direction or the other, as is well understood, and thereby the
travellers are made to traverse in the required direction. Upon the plat-
forms of the travellers are fixed brackets carrying rollers V, W, which may
be so arranged as to be raised or lowered by any suitable known means,
and on to which the heated iron is delivered from the trucks Y, Y¹, which
bring the same down from the furnaces. Z, Z, are the rails upon which these
trucks run, and 1. 1. are the rails on which the travellers run. If found
requisite, racks may be fixed alongside these rails, and to the wheels a, b.
of the travellers may be attached spur wheels in gear with the racks, so that
they shall assist the friction of the wheels a, b, in moving the travellers. The
traveller shaft L, may also be worked by means of a small separate engine or a
pair of engines. In some cases I dispense with the traveller shaft L, and
cause the axles Q. R. to revolve by means of suitable gearing fixed to the
travellers and worked by hand in a manner as is well understood and is
commonly employed for the ordinary travellers; or I attach to each side of the
traveller a block and tackle, which may be worked by a horse or by manual
labor for moving the traveller backwards and forwards. On the other side
of the rolling mill I either place other travellers similar in arrangement to
those just described, or in lieu thereof I fix two sets of rollers on the floor of
the mill as shewn on the Drawing; c, c, c, are rollers fixed on the floor of the
mill in a line in front of each pair of rolls and parallel with the same; d, d, d
are other rollers placed between the first-named set with their axes at right
angles to that of the rolls. The rollers c, c, c, are so arranged that they can
be raised or lowered slightly above or below the level of the rollers d, d, d,
so that when raised, they receive the heated iron as it passes through the rolls,
and when lowered, the heated iron rests upon the rollers d, d, d, and is then
capable of being moved parallel with the rolls until it is over the next set
of rollers c,. c. c, which in their turn are raised so that the iron rests upon
them and can be fed forward through the required rolls. The manner of
raising and lowering the rollers c, c, c, is shown more clearly in Figure 10,
which shews a part transverse section of the rolling mill. It is effected by
means of the toggle joints e, e, e, attached to the bearings f. f, f, of the rollers,
which are capable of sliding up and down in the frames g, g. g, the toggle
joints e, e, e, being actuated by the rods h, h, and short levers i, i, upon the
same spindle i, with which is the hand lever k. If the rollers have to be
lowered the lever k is pushed forward and the toggle joints and rollers assume
the position as indicated by red lines. The rollers c, c, c, may, however, be
actuated by any other known means, as, for instance, by their being attached to

page_text: the pistons of small vertical hydraulic cylinders, into which water under
pressure may be admitted at pleasure, as is well understood. In some cases [
make the rollers c, c, c, stationary, and cause the rollers d, d, d, to rise and fall
in the manner before described. The rollers c, c, c, and d, d, d, may be made
to revolve by means of straps driven from the engine or by any other known
means, or the metal to be rolled may be moved upon them by manual labor.
I sometimes also provide a framework or platform which rests upon these
rollers, and upon which the rolled iron is received and moved along. In some
cases I provide the before described travellers G, H, with two sets of rollers
similar in arrangement to those just described for receiving the rolled iron. In
rolling mills where there are two sets of rolls placed one a little above the
other and each running in a reverse direction to the other, I prefer to place an
engine or set of engines at each end of the rolling mill, the one engine or set
of engines running in the reverse direction to that of the other engine or set
of engines, and I either connect the same directly, one to one pair of rolls and
the other to the other pair of rolls, or I connect them through the intervention
of gearing for increasing or decreasing the speed; or I sometimes place both
engines at the same end of the rolling mill. In some cases I drive the rolling
mill or mills direct from the engine shafts, and fix the fly wheels of the same
upon a countershaft, and drive them by means of gearing so proportioned as to
increase the speed of the fly wheels from that of the engines, thus increasing
their momentum. Sometimes it may be desirable to dispense altogether with
fly wheels to the engines and to depend on the steam for doing the work,
which arrangement might well be employed where the engines are coupled at
right angles, by which the violent shocks resulting from the momentum of the
fly wheels, and which are so detrimental to the machinery, would be obviated.
Having now described the nature of my Invention, and the best means
I am acquainted with of performing the same, I wish it to be understood that
I do not limit myself to the exact details of the various arrangements as
shown on the accompanying Drawings, as these may be variously modified
without departing from the principle of my Invention, nor do I limit myself
to the combinations of the manner of driving the mills and travellers as shown
on the Drawings, as any one arrangement for driving the mills may be employed
with or without any one arrangement for driving the travellers, and vice versa,
nor do I claim generally the alternate reversing of the motion of the rolls of
a rolling mill, nor the bringing the heated iron from the furnaces to the rolling
mill upon trucks running upon rails, as I am well aware that this has been
done before, but what I claim under the before in part recited Letters
Patent is.-

page_text: Firstly, the construction of rolling mills, wherein the motion of the rolls is
reversed by their being alternately put in gear with one of two engines or two
sets of engines running in reverse directions, one of these engines or set of
engines whilst running empty being usefully employed in getting up its or their
speed whilst the other engine or set of engines is or are driving the mill,
substantially as herein-before described.
Secondly, the arrangement wherein one engine or a set of engines is placed
at either end of a rolling mill and cause the mill to revolve alternately in
reverse directions by being alternately put in and out of gear with the same,
the motion of the engines being communicated to the shaft of the mill either
directly from their crank shafts or through the intervention of speed-reducing
or speed-increasing gearing, the fly wheels being either fixed upon the engine
shafts or upon countershafts, and driven by means of gearing at a greater
speed so as to increase their momentum, substantially as herein-before set forth
with reference to Sheets I. and II. of the accompanying Drawings.
Thirdly, the arrangement wherein two engines or two sets of engines running
in reverse directions are placed at one and the same end of a rolling mill, each
engine or set of engines being put alternately in gear with the rolling mill and
driving it in a reverse direction to that of the motion which it receives from
the other engine or set of engines, either with or without the use of fly wheels,
substantially as herein-before described with reference to Sheets III. and. IV.
of the accompanying Drawings.
Fourthly, the arrangement wherein travellers of any known form or con-
struction are placed in front of the rolls, receiving a motion parallel or nearly
so with the rolls, either by hydraulic, steam, horse, or manual power, and by
any known means or contrivance, and upon which travellers' trucks having
moveable or fixed platforms, or moveable or fixed rollers, and carrying the
metal to be rolled, are made to run so that the heated metal is first carried
down from the furnaces on to the travellers by these trucks, and then the
traveller is moved parallel with the rolls so as to bring the iron expeditiously
before the required groove or pair of rolls, substantially as herein-before
set forth with reference to Sheets I., II., and III:, of the accompanying
Drawings.
Fifthly, the arrangement wherein the traveller is furnished with a set or two
sets of rollers on the platform; and wherein the truck runs the heated iron
down to the traveller, which receives, the heated metal upon the before-
mentioned rollers, which are capable of being raised or lowered by any known
means substantially as herein-before described with reference to Sheet IV. of
the accompanying Drawings.

page_text: Sixthly, the arrangement wherein two sets of rollers are fixed on the floor
of the rolling mill in front of the rolls, the one set being placed parallel with
the axis of the rolls and the other set being placed in between the first-named
set with the axis of the rollers at right angles to the axis of the rolls, and
either the one set of rollers or the other set of rollers being capable of being
raised or lowered slightly above or below the level of the other set by any
known means, which rollers may or may not be caused to revolve by machinery
so as to move the heated iron resting upon them into any required position,
substantially as herein-before described with reference to Sheet IV. of the
accompanying Drawings.
Seventhly, I claim the arrangement wherein any of the herein-before
described modes of reversing the motion of rolling mills are employed in con-
junction with any of the herein-before described modes of moving the iron to
be rolled in front of the rolling mill, either by means of travellers, or by means
of two sets of rollers placed at right angles to each other on the floor of the
mill, substantially as herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Gay Newton Alleyne, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Second day of October, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-one.
Witness to the signature,
WILLIAM ARTHUR,
of Butterley Iron Works.
J. G. N. ALLEYNE. (L.S.)