IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF LEATHER, AND IN MACHINERY FOR THAT PURPOSE
Year: 1859

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Thomas Edward Tallent, of the Southwark Bridge
Road, Southwark, County of Surrey, Engineer, for the Invention of
" IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF LEATHER, AND IN MACHINERY
FOR THAT PURPOSE."
Sealed the 13th December 1859, and dated the 16th June 1859.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Thomas Edward Tallent
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
16th June 1859.
I, THOMAS EDWARD TALLENT, of the Southwark Bridge Road, Southwark,
County of Surrey, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF LEATHER, AND
MACHINERY FOR THAT PURPOSE," to be as follows:-
Upon two side frames is mounted a cylinder or roller on which the hides or
leather to be operated upon travels. Upon the same frame, and placed over
the said cylinder, are two endless bands travelling in opposite directions, that
is, from the centre of the machine or the roller to each extremity. Upon these
bands, and at suitable distances apart, I fix knives or scrapers, so that when
motion is communicated to the roller and the bands, the knives or scrapers
moving with the latter over the hide or leather on the former, remove the

page_text: hair, or strike, or scrape, or level and remove the inequalities on the surface of
the hide or leather. These endless bands travel over rollers, two of which are
supported and turn on an axis in the centre of the machine, and one at each
side on an axle on the frame. All three axles are placed so as to be simul-
taneously acted upon, and by means of arrangements on the side frames, the
bands, with their rollers and axles, can be raised from or brought nearer to
the large cylinder bearing the leather; the bands, and consequently the knives,
are pressed to the leather by means of a series of small rollers which act upon
the upper surface of the band next the leather. The whole is put in motion
by means of straps and pullies and gear to regulate the speed of the different
parts.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Thomas Edward Tallent in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 16th December 1859.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, THOMAS
EDWARD TALLENT, of the Southwark Bridge Road, Southwark, County of
Surrey, Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Sixteenth day of June, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine, in the twenty-second year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said Thomas Edward Tallent, Her special licence that I, the said Thomas
Edward Tallent, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as
I, the said Thomas Edward Tallent, 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
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF LEATHER, AND IN MACHINERY FOR
THAT PURPOSE," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Thomas
Edward Tallent, 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
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.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Thomas Edward Tallent, do hereby
declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to
be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement, that is to say:-
Upon two side frames is mounted a cylinder or drum, on which the hide or
leather to be operated upon travels, or is carried forward. Upon the same
frames, and placed over the cylinder or drum, are two endless bands, which
travel in opposite directions from the centre, or from within the machine
towards the side of it. These bands are driven by pullies, the two outer of
which are mounted on axles having bearings in a sliding or moveable carriage.
frame on the outside face of each side frame, and the two inner are mounted
upon an axle which has its bearings in two longitudinal frames, which are
firmly connected at each end with the said sliding carriages, so that the whole
system of pullies and their bearings are rigidly united with each other, and
although supported on the side frames, can, by means of the sliding carriages,
be all simultaneously moved upwards or downwards, and thus brought nearer
or removed from the hide on the drum. Upon these two endless bands, and
at suitable distances apart, I fix knives or scrapers, so that when motion is
communicated to the drum and the endless bands, the knives or scrapers
moving along with the bands over the hide or leather, which is carried forward
by the drum, unhair, depile, scrape, strike, or skud its surface.
In some
cases, in addition to the scrapers, I fix also upon the bands a number of
brushes; the action of these brushes is, however, essentially different from,
that of the scrapers, being only for the purpose of brushing off any sand or
other foreign substance from the hide, and generally cleaning it. The knives
or scrapers are pressed to the surface of the hide by means of a series of
rollers urging the band downwards; in order, however, to give the requisite
elasticity, the pressure of the rollers is regulated by having their bearings in
journals actuated by a spring. Moreover, in some cases I prefer to substitute
for the drum or cylinder before described, the segment or sector of a drum or
cylinder, the length of the surface of which shall be equal to that of the
largest sized hide. I mount this segment on an axis as before, but instead of
a regular circular motion, I actuate it so as to produce a reciprocating motion
of oscillation. The whole machine, when thus arranged and combined, is put
in action by a system of straps, bands, and pullies or gear, which regulates the
motion of the different parts.
In order to render the above description clear and intelligible, I have to
this Specification appended the accompanying Drawings, which are intended
to illustrate the main features or principles of construction which I adopt in

page_text: carrying out my said Invention; many of the details of which may, however,
have other well-known combinations and equivalents substituted for them, and
other well-known anologous devices may be introduced to effect the working
and results of some of the minor actions.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
A, A, are the main side frames upon which the various parts are supported
and attached to; they are firmly bound together by longitudinal girders or
bars. On each side frame, and in grooves or guides, I fix the sliding carriage
frames a, a; b, b, are the blocks or journals on which are mounted the
axles 6, 6, of the end pullies b², b². On the prolongation of either of the
axles 61, 61, I mount the driving pulley or pullies 63, 6; the sliding frames a, a,
are firmly attached to each other by the longitudinal beams or bearers B, B.
Supported on bearings placed on the beams B, B, is an axle which carries the
central pair of pullies d, d; a strong endless band c passes over one of the
end pullies 6, and one of the central pullies d, and another band c¹ passes
over the other pulley and the other central pulley d. A number of knives
or scrapers e, e, of the form shewn in Figures 8, 9, 10, and 11, are firmly
attached to these bands, and also a number of brushes g, g; h, h, is a pair of
mitre wheels, which receive motion from the driving axle, and transmit it
through the shaft h² and the other pair of mitre wheels h³, h³, to the axle of
the outer pulley 63. If, now, the driving pullies be put in motion, then by
means of its own axle through the last-mentioned transmitting gear, the band
pullies at each end will rotate, giving motion to the endless bands and central
pullies, the one band moving in one direction from the centre outwards, and
the other in the opposite direction, and also from the centre outwards. If,
therefore, any substance be brought beneath the bands and the knives, these
latter will exercise an action upon it in their rotation with the band from the
centre to the outside. On the extremity of the axle of the pulley b¹, at either
side of the machine, is an endless screw or mitre wheel i, mounted upon the
upright shaft j, on the lower extremity of which is formed an endless screw
or pinion, which works in the toothed wheel j, mounted upon the axle j³,
which being supported on bearings on the side frames A, A, carries the drum
or cylinder (or in some cases the segment of the cylinder) C.
It will be easily seen that when the endless bands c, c', are in motion, this
motion will be conveyed through the last described transmitting gear to the
drum C; if, then, a hide in the process of manufacture be placed upon
the drum, which is arranged so as to be in close proximity to the knives on the
under side of the bands c, c¹, and motion be given to the machine from the

page_text: driving pullies, then it will be evident that as the drum c slowly revolves, it
will gradually carry the hide underneath the knives, which being continually
carried from the centre to the outside, will produce an effect upon .successive
portions of the hide, which is called unhairing or depiling, scudding, striking,
or scraping, according to the particular state of the hide, and the form and
action of the knives. When I substitute for the drum before described the
segment of the drum, and obtain, instead of the circular motion, a reciprocal
motion of oscillation, I arrange the motive parts so that the movement of the
segment forward, when it carries the hide under the knives, shall be slow, and
the motion backwards, when the hide is removed, shall be quick.
Such are, then, the leading features and principles of combination and
action of my machine for effecting the different before-mentioned actions on
hides or leather in the process of manufacture; and I now proceed to describe
the details, devices, and arrangements I make use of for regulating and per-
fecting the actions of these parts, so as to give the machine as a whole the
uniformity, nicety, and accuracy of motion required for effecting these different
motions.
First, then, in order to set the endless bands with the knives at a proper
distance from the drum, that is, from the hide or leather which lies on the
drum, the carriage frames a, a, move in guides or slides in the side frames ;
now, as the carriage frames carry the longitudinal frames B, B, and the
journals or blocks b, b, it will be evident, if the carriage frames be raised or
depressed, all the axles, pullies, and bands will in like manner be raised
or depressed. Mounted upon the small brackets k, k, which are cast with, or
firmly attached to the carriage frames a, a, are two screw spindles 1, 1, each of
which turns in an eye or socket in the said brackets; the upper end of these
screw spindles pass through the guides m, m, and also through a nut m'
placed within the boss of each of the mitre wheels m³, m², which gear into the
other mitre m, n.
The arrangement of the spindle with the nut within the boss of the mitre
wheel is shewn in Figs. 4, 5, & 6 of the Drawings; from these it will be
seen, that if the wheels n, n, be turned by means of the small fly wheel o
either to the right or left, the screw spindles acted upon by the other mitre
wheels m², m, and the nut m¹ within them, will be raised or depressed as the
case may be, and the knives will thus be set at their proper distance from the
drum and from the hide upon it. Should it, however, be wanted to raise
the knives suddenly from off the hide when the machine is in action, and as
quickly to lower it again, this is effected by pressing down the lever p, which
acting on the bent levers p', p', and the cranks på, p³, elevates the upright

page_text: shaft 9, which works in the bracket q' attached to the carriages a, a, and urges
these latter up, and thus the whole system of pullies and bands, and with it
the knives, are instantly raised from the hide. It will be seen that the screw
spindles and nuts rise up through the boss in the mitre wheels m³, m³; by
allowing the levers p to return to their first position, the knives will return to
⚫theirs.
'
The next part of the details relates the mode of regulating the speed of
the drum for increasing, diminishing, stopping, or reversing its motion. It
will be perceived that motion is given to the drum from the axle of the
pulley by means of the vertical rod with the screw or toothed gear; if,
therefore, it is required to give the drum a quicker or slower motion, this
will be effectted by the introduction of shafts with a multiplying or diminishing
gear between the receiving gear on the pulley shaft and the transmitting gear
on the upright shaft. Upon the aforesaid shaft is also arranged a small
clutch, which by means of the forked lever 1, throws the lower portion of
.it, and the toothed wheel, and also the drum, out of action or into action,
according as it is raised or depressed. Another friction clutch s, acted upon
by the lever s¹, throws the axle of the drum into or out of gear, so that without
stopping the other parts in motion the drum may be thrown out of gear, and
either stopped or reversed, and caused to rotate in the opposite direction; by
throwing the clutch into gear it will move on as before. It will be also seen that
a somewhat similar arrangement will suit the use and application of the segment
of the drum instead of the drum, as in this case the segment will, with the
hide upon it, be carried forward slowly under the knives; when the whole
bide has passed under them, the segment will be thrown out of gear (the hide
being removed, and by a quick reverse motion brought back to the original
point, and another hide being applied, the same forward motion will be
repeated.
In order to hold the knives (and when used the brushes firmly to the
surface of the hide, so as to make them act evenly and regularly, I adopt the
arrangement shown in Fig. 7, which is a section on the line x, y, in Fig. 3,
through the side frames b, b, shewing the interior of them; t, t, are a series
of small rollers having their bearings in the side frames, but pressing on the
endless bands immediately over the scrapers, and thus preventing the band
from raising up when the latter are acting on the hide. In order, however, to
give freedom and elasticity to the knives, the bearings of the rollers are acted
upon by a spiral spring round the pin, forming the cap of the bearings, so that
when the pressure exceeds the strength of the spring they will then rise. In
order to regulate the tension on the endless bauds, and to increase or diminish

page_text: it at pleasure, I fix to each extremity of the axle of each of the end pullies à
tension rod t, t; these tension rods proceed or are fixed to the centre or near
the centre on each side of the side frames b, b, and are their screwed or fixed
to a small rotating pin or lever t¹, which is centred on the boss of the toothed
wheel, which works of rod ; by turning, therefore, the small wheel
attached to the screw spindle to the right or left, the stretching rods will
cause the axles of the pullies to approach or recede from each other, and
hence the bands will be more or less stretched. The form of the knives will
greatly depend upon the particular kind of work to be done to the hide,
therefore I do not claim any exact form.
Figs. 7, 8, 9, 10, shew forms which I prefer. Instead of causing the
endless bands to traverse from within the machine in opposite directions to the
outside, as before described, in some cases I arrange to cause them to travel
from side to side across the machine, either using two bands or more;
generally, however, I do not prefer this plan so much as the other. Further-
more, instead of using pullies and endless bands, having the scrapers attached,
I prefer in some cases to substitute for them one or two elastic steel bands
disposed horizontally; each end of each band terminates in a vertical slot link,
and another horizontal link passes round the vertical one. The neck of a
crank, whose axle corresponds in function and position with the axle of one
of the end pullies described in the previous arrangement, works in the slots
of these links; if there be two bands there will be a single crank at each end
and a double crank in the middle, the end cranks on this system representing
the end pullies, and the central crank the central pullies in the former system.
The knives or scrapers are attached to the bands on their under side, so as to
act similarly to those before described, excepting that they only move over a
space equal to the throw of the cranks. It will be seen that when motion
is given to the crank axles, the necks working in the slots will give the
steel bands and scrapers reciprocating motion, and a similar action will take
place on the surface of the hide to that before. Details somewhat similar to
those last described will be adopted for regulating and adjusting the various
actions of the different parts when the last arrangement is adopted.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my
Invention, and how the same is constructed and acts, I wish it understood
that what I claim and want secured by the before in part recited Letters
Patent, are,
First, the mode of unhairing, depiling, scraping, striking, and skudding
hides or leather in the process of manufacture, by means of knives or scrapers
attached to one or more endless bands actuated by pullies, and travelling in

page_text: the same or opposite directions, and from the interior or centre of the machine
outwards, or from side to side, as described in this Specification, and generally
illustrated in the Drawings appended thereto.
Second, the mode of arranging, combining, and supporting the pullies with
their axles and the endless bands, so as to form a compact system, which can
be elevated or depressed while in action, substantially as described herewithin,
and generally illustrated in the appended Drawings.
Third, the arrangement and mode of elevating and depressing the said
system of pullies with the bands and knives or scrapers, so as to set the latter
at any required distance from the hide or leather on the drum, substantially
as described in the Specification, and generally illustrated in the Drawings
.appended.
Fourth, the method and means of elevating and depressing the said system
of pullies, bands, and scrapers; so as to allow it to be quickly raised from the
.surface of hide without interupting the action of the other parts of the
machine, substantially as described herewithin and illustrated in the accom-
panying Drawings.
Fifth, the application and use of a drum or cylinder in combination with
the previous described and claimed parts, that is to say, in combination with
the arrangement of pullies, cranked axles, endless bands, elastic steel bands,
and scrapers or knives used for effecting the purposes before described.
Sixth, the application of the segment of a drum or cylinder to be used
generally in treating hides or leather in the process of manufacture for the
purpose of effecting on them the various actions before described, and the
arrangement of working the said segmental drum, as herewithin described.
Seventh, the arrangement, the method, and means of actuating the afore-
said drum or cylinder, for regulating its motion, and for stopping or reversing
it, without affecting the other parts of the machine, generally as described in
this Specification, and illustrated in the Drawings appended hereto.
Eight, the method of holding or pressing the knives or scrapers to the
surface of the hides by means of the rollers and springs, as described herewithin
and illustrated in the accompanying Drawings.
Ninth, the mode of regulating the tension on the endless bands by means
of the tension rods, as herewithin described, and as shewn in the Drawings
appended.
Tenth, the use of elastic steel bands for attaching the knives or scrapers to,
and the form, arrangement, and mode of actuating these bands and the knives
by means of the cranked axles working within the slot links, as more particu-
larly described herewithin.

page_text: Eleventh, the general arrangement, form, and combination of parts by
which I constitute and construct the machine as a whole, and by which I'effect
the action of unhairing, depiling, striking, skudding, scraping hides or leather
in the process of manufacture, as generally described in this Specification, and
more particularly illustrated in the Drawings appended herewith.
In witness whereof, I, the said Thomas Edward Tallent, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Sixteenth day of December, in the year One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine.
0 Witness,
THOMAS EDWARD TALLENT. (L.S.)
JAMES WRIGHT,
42, Bridge Street, Blackfriars,
London.