Improvements in Apparatus for use in the Cutting of Roller Covering and other Material.
Year: 1889

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Apparatus for use in the Cutting of Roller Covering
and other Material.
I JOSEPH STANDRING DRONSFIELD of the firm of Dronsfield Brothers of the Atlas
Works, Oldham, in the County of Lancaster, Card Grinding Machine Makers, do
hereby declare the nature of this Invention to be as follows :-
:-
My Invention relates principally to the cutting of the skins or leathers with which
the top rollers used in spinning and other textile machinery are covered. A former
invention for which Letters Patent number 6485 of the year 1884 have been granted
to me had for its object to produce the beveled edges upon the pieces of leather in the
operation of dividing a band of leather into pieces of the required size the severance
being effected by a slanting cut. The objects of my present invention are to improve
the means for obtaining a clean cut which will leave the severed pieces with straight
and "clean" edges and also to facilitate the obtainment of exactness in the length of
each severed piece and in the parallelism of the cut edges. I feed the band of skin
forward after each cut by means of rollers which or one of which can be turned to a
determined extent so as to measure the length of skin which is to be severed. These
feeding rollers might be applied to the apparatus illustrated in the drawings attached
to the specification of my former invention but I prefer to dispense with the cutting
table of the said apparatus and to sever the skin by a cut taken close to the nip of
a pair of jaws which clamp or hold the skin during the severance. By preference
one jaw of the clamp is fixed and the other is movable and the edges of the closed
jaws form a slanting face over which the cutting knife passes either in contact with
such face or nearly so. One of the feeding rollers is turned to a determined size so as
to act as a measuring roller. Arrangements are made for turning this roller to the
required extent after each cut so that the severed pieces shall be of uniform length.
This may be effected by employing a handle and notch plate or a dividing plate or
wheel or a wheel or part which can be quickly turned exactly to a known extent
change gearing being used in any case if required or I may turn the said roller by
means of a handle or lever which can be moved to and fro within adjustable limits.
In the arrangement which I have devised for the purpose I employ a double lever
which can be caused to grip and release a disc wheel which is upon the shaft of the
measuring wheel or is connected therewith. The movement of this lever partly around
the axis of the said disc wheel is limited in one direction by a stop which may be
permanently fixed and in the other direction by an adjustable stop. In connection
with this latter stop I prefer to use an arc piece which is divided and graduated or
marked with indications of measurement so that the stop may be readily adjusted to
the position which will ensure that the movement imparted to the measuring roller
shall carry forward the skin to the extent required to produce the several skins of
such a length as shall be required. Each forward feeding movement of the roller is
effected by gripping both members of the lever so that the disc wheel and lever are
caused to move together the lever being thrown back without the gripping action the
disc wheel then remaining stationary. During the feeding forward of the skin the
clamping jaws are open but are closed preparatory to the severing operation. One
or more grip rollers is or are employed in connection with the measuring roller and
may or may not receive positive motion in surface unison with the latter. When
using a knife mounted upon a sliding carriage I prefer to obtain a slicing cut by
fixing the knife in a slanting position. The apparatus might be adapted for use in
the cutting up of material for other purposes the severance being effected by a
" "square" or a slanting cut as required.
Dated this 1st day of February 1889.

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Apparatus for use in the Cutting of Roller Covering
and other Material.
I JOSEPH STANDRING DRONSFIELD of the firm of Dronsfield Brothers of the Atlas
Works, Oldham, in the County of Lancaster, Card Grinding Machine Makers, 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 and accompanying drawings
My Invention relates principally to the cutting of the skins or leathers with which
the top rollers used in spinning and other textile machinery are covered. A former
invention for which Letters Patent number 6485 of the year 1884 have been granted
to me had for its object to produce the beveled edges upon the pieces of leather in
the operation of dividing a band of leather into pieces of the required size the
severance being effected by a slanting cut. The objects of my present invention are
to improve the means for obtaining a clean cut which will leave the severed pieces
with straight and "clean" edges and also to facilitate the obtainment of exactness
in the length of each severed piece and in the parallelism of the cut edges. I feed
the band of skin forward after each cut by means of rollers which or one of which
can be turned to a determined extent so as to measure the length of skin which is to
be severed. These feeding rollers might be applied to the apparatus illustrated in the
drawings attached to the specification of my former invention but I prefer to dispense
with the cutting table of the said apparatus and to sever the skin by a cut taken
close to the nip of a pair of jaws which clamp or hold the skin during the severance.
In order that my Invention may be clearly understood I will describe the same
with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein Fig. 1 represents a side
elevation and Fig. 2 a plan of a machine constructed in accordance with my inven-
tion. In the said Figs. a and b are the said feeding rollers cd are the clamping
jaws and e is the cutting knife. Of the two feeding rollers the larger one a is
turned to a determined size so as to act as a measuring roller. In the machine
selected for illustration I use a roller measuring nine inches in circumference but of
course the roller may be larger or smaller as considered to be most suitable in each
case. On the roller shaft is fixed a spur pinion f which gears with a spur wheel
which is mounted upon a stud g¹². The wheel g is twice the diameter of the pinion f
so that one revolution of the former would move any point in the periphery of the
roller a to the extent of 18 inches. Loosely mounted upon the stud g¹ is a hand
lever whereby the wheel can be rotated upon its stud and thereby effect the rotation
of the roller a. The said hand lever consists in reality of two levers h. ' one mounted
upon each side of the wheel and just clearing the sides of the wheel when kept at
their greatest distance apart by means of a spring at 2. When the action of this
spring is not overcome the hand lever can be moved in either direction without
turning the wheel g. The movements of the lever are limited by stops one i being
fixed and the other adjustable. The latter stop is fitted to slide upon an arc
shaped bark and is secured by means of a nut and holt in the adjusted position.
A scale of inches and parts of an inch is marked upon the periphery of the bar k as
seen in Fig. 2 and the stop is formed with a flange which is fitted to slide upon
this periphery. The front end of this flange is beveled as indicated by the dotted lines
at in order that the stop may be conveniently set to any desired indication of
measurement. The scale is calculated so that when the stop j is set to any measure-
ment upon the scale-say for example to 5 inches-the movement of the hand lever
between the limits of the two stops will effect the rotation of the roller a to the extent
which will give a circumferential movement of say 5 inches. The skin to be out is
indicated by m and passes between the rollers a and b. The latter roller is mounted
so as to be free to yield vertically and is pressed toward the roller a by means of
springs n so that the skin is gripped between the two rollers and is fed forward when
the roller a is turned in the direction indicated by the arrow in Fig. 1. Of the two
clamping jaws the one c is fixed and the other a is movable. A slide o is mounted

page_text: to turn upon a centre at p the said slide being provided with trunnions which turn
in hearings formed in the framing at q. Upon one of these trunnions is fixed a lever
arm and upon the other trunnion a second arms. When the parts are in the
position represented in Fig. 1 the outer end of the armrests upon a spiral spring
which is indicated by dotted lines at t the said spring by its re-action upon the said
arın tending to raise the slide o into the position indicated in Fig. 3. I may provide
the said slide with a weighted arm as indicated by o' in lieu of the spring. The jaw d
being carried by the said slide is raised away from the part c so that there is a free
space between the two jaws for the passage of the skin. By pressing upon a knobs
at the outer end of the lever s the jaw is brought down into the position represented
in Fig. 1 and is pressed upon the skin so that the latter is firmly clamped or held
between the two jaws. I may arrange for the parts to be brought down by means of a
treadle or foot lever. The jaw d is formed with two shanks d' which slide in bearings
and are acted upon by spiral springs so that the jaw is forced with a yielding pressure
upon the skin. A knife carriage e' is -mounted upon the slide o and carries the
slicing knifee which is adjusted at such an angle as to sever the skin by an inclined
slicing cut as will be understood when the drawings are examined. I may use a long
knife instead of the indicated short knife but I have found long knives to be more
troublesome to keep in order. It is of advantage to hold the skin on a line as near
to the line of cut as possible. I have therefore applied a presser bar u which extends
over the skin and is carried by springs u¹ which are attached to the underside of the
slide o. When the latter is raised as in Fig. 1 this bar is lifted from contact with
the skin so that the latter is free to be fed forward between the jaws c and d but when
the slide is pressed down and the skin is gripped the lower edge of the bar rests upon
the skin and bears upon it with a pressure due to the springs u¹. When the jaw d
is being brought down by pressure applied to the arms as aforesaid the jaw d
commences to press upon the skin before it has been brought into the position indi-
cated in Fig. 1. It will be seen that as the jaw is pressing upon the skin whilst it
is moving further away from the holding baru and the bite of the feeding rollers
the tendency will be for the skin to be drawn tight so that an even surface is presented
to the action of the knife. The parts being in the indicated positions the operator
whilst pressing upon the lever s noves the knife carriage across from one end of the
slide to the other or thereabouts. In the example the knife carriage would be moved
in the direction indicated by the arrow in Fig. 2. The skin is thereby severed by a
cut which leaves the necessary beveled edges on the cut skin. The lever ⚫ is then
released and the parts d and u rise so as to release the skin. The operator then
brings the hand lever over into the position indicated by the dotted lines in Fig. 1 if
the said lever be not already in this position. The operator then grasps the two
levers firmly so as to bring them together whereby they are caused to grip the wheel g.
He then moves over the lever into contact with the stop j into the position indicated
by the full lines. As the wheel g is caused to move with the handle the roller a is
revolved to an extent determined by the position of the stop j. Supposing for example
the said stop has been set at five inches on the scale the roller a will move the skin
forward five inches. It will thus be seen that at each operation a skin five inches
long will be cut off the main strip and that any required length within the limits of.
the machine can be re-produced by adjusting the stop į to the desired indication.. I
do not confine myself to the arrangements for turning the roller a as I might employ
a handle and notch plate or a dividing plate or wheel or a wheel or part which could
be quickly turned exactly to a known extent change gearing being used in any case
if required. If preferred the rollers a and b may be connected together by means of
gearing so that the roller b would receive positive movement. I might apply the
handle so as to turn the roller a directly the gearing f. 9 being dispensed with in
such a case.
The jaw or part c might be dispensed with and the skin be held between
the roller a and the jaw d. A jaw hinged or otherwise mounted to yield or move might
be used in lieu of the sliding jaw d. The apparatus might be adapted for use in the
cutting up of material for other purposes the severance being effected by a square'
or a slanting cut as required.
6:
"

page_text: 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) The combination of parts substantially as and for the purpose set forth and
indicated herein before and by the accompanying drawings.
(2) In a machine for cutting leather or material into determined lengths a feed
roller or pair of rollers adapted to be turned to a determined extent to feed forward
the required length of material in combination with holding jaws or parts and with a
sliding or guided knife to sever the material.
(3) In a machine for cutting up strips of leather or material into determined
lengths a feed roller adapted to be rotated by means of a handle or hand lever which
can be moved within adjusted limits so as to rotate the said roller in the direction
and to the extent required to feed forward the material to the desired extent in
combination with appliances for holding the material whilst being cut and with a
knife which is guided to make a straight cut across the strip of material.
(4) The roller a actuated through a hand lever or a suitable lever or handle and
the graduated arc k provided with an adjustable stop for determining the extent of
movement of the said hand lover or handle substantially as and for the purpose set
forth and indicated.
(5) The feed roller a of a known circumference and connected with parts whereby
it may be rotated to a determined extent the pressing roller 6 the gripping jaw d
and the knife carriage e' carrying and guiding a knife to give a straight cut
substantially as and for the purpose set forth and indicated.
(6) The hand lever h the arc k a fixed stop and an adjustable stop for imparting
movement to the roller a with or without the gearing f. g substantially as and for
the purpose set forth and indicated.
D
11
1000