IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR DISINTEGRATING WOOD AND OTHER SIMILAR FIBROUS SUBSTANCES
Year: 1867

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Riddell, of Crosby Hall Chambers, in the
City of London, Merchant, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR DISINTEGRATING WOOD AND OTHER SIMILAR
FIBROUS SUBSTANCES."
Sealed the 20th August 1867, and dated the 21st February 1867.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Riddell at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 21st
February 1867.
I, WILLIAM RIDDELL, of Crosby Hall Chambers, in the City of London,
Merchant, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR DISINTEGRATING WOOD AND OTHER SIMILAR
FIBROUS SUBSTANCES," to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to a peculiar construction, arrangement, and com-
bination of machinery or apparatus for disintegrating or reducing to filaments
wood and other like fibrous substances, and consists in the employment of two
sets of knives, each set consisting of any desired number, the knives in one
set being made to cut in one direction, whilst those of the other set cut in
an opposite direction, the cutting action being similar to that of a planing
machine. The cutters may be placed at an horizontal angle with the line of
traverse of the timber or other material for the purpose herein-after explained.

page_text: In front of each set of cutters there is fitted a scorer or serrated knife, or
series of markers, which score or indent the timber in longitudinal parallel
lines, so that the shavings produced by the succeeding action of the knives or
cutters will assume the form of threads or filaments. By placing the knives
obliquely or at an horizontal angle to the line of traverse of the material a
curling of the filaments will be effected, which may be produced to a greater
or less degree by varying the said angle of the knives. The knives and scorers
are carried in a frame capable of vertical adjustment by screws or otherwise,
and the material to be operated upon is fixed to a longitudinal reciprocating
table or bed, which is driven by any suitable arrangement of reversing gear,
so as to cause the material to travel to and fro beneath the disintegrating
instruments which operate in both directions.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said William Riddell in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
21st August 1867.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
RIDDELL, of Crosby Hall Chambers, in the City of London, Merchant, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent bearing date the Twenty-first day of February, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven, in the thirtieth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said William Riddell, Her special license that I, the said William Riddell,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said William
Riddell, my executors, administrators, or 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
MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR DISINTEGRATING WOOD AND OTHER SIMILAR FIBROUS
SUBSTANCES," upon the condition (amongst others) that 1, the said William
Riddell, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under
my hand and seal, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the
said Invention, and in what manner the same was to be performed, and cause
the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar
months next and immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Riddell, 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,
reference being had to the accompanying Drawings, and to the letters and
figures marked thereon, that is to say:-
My said Invention relates to a peculiar construction, arrangement, and
combination of machinery or apparatus for disintegrating or reducing to
filaments wood and other like fibrous substances, and consists in the employ-
ment of two sets of knives, each set consisting of any desired number, the
knives in one set being made to cut in one direction, whilst those of the other
set cut in an opposite direction, the cutting action being similar to that of a
planing machine. The cutters may be placed at an horizontal angle with the
line of traverse of the timber or other material for the purpose herein-after
explained. In front of each set of cutters there is fitted a scorer, or serrated
knife, or series of markers, which score or indent the timber in longitudinal
parallel lines, so that the shavings produced by the succeeding action of the
knives or cutters will assume the form of threads or filaments. By placing.
the knives obliquely or at an horizontal angle to the line of traverse of the
material in lieu of at right angles therewith a curling of the filaments will be
effected, which may be produced to a greater or less degree by varying the
said angle of the knives. The knives and scorers are carried in a frame
capable of vertical adjustment by screws or otherwise, and the material to be
operated upon is fixed to a longitudinal reciprocating table or bed which is
driven by any suitable arrangement of reversing gear so as to cause the
material to travel to and fro beneath the disintegrating instruments which
operate in both directions.
And in order that my said Invention may be fully understood I shall now.
proceed more particularly to describe the same, and for that purpose shall
refer to the several Figures on the annexed Sheet of Drawings, the same
letters of reference indicating corresponding parts in all the Figures.
Figure 1 of the Drawings represents a longitudinal vertical section of my.
improved machine for disintegrating or cutting into filaments wood and other
similar fibrous substances; Figure 2 is a corresponding end elevation of the
same; and Figures 3 and 4 are details herein-after referred to.
A is the main framing of the machine supported upon the foundation B,.
upon which latter are laid the two longitudinal beams or sleepers C, C,
carrying the A-shaped rails a, a. Along these rails travels to and fro the
table D, which is provided with antifriction rollers b, b, of a shape corresponding
to the rails. The to-and-fro longitudinal traverse of this table which supports,

page_text: the wood or other material E to be disintegrated or cut into long curled
filaments may be imparted to it by any well-known mechanical contrivance,
as, for example, an arrangement similar to that employed in metal planing
machines for traversing the bed plate or table, and which is well known to
mechanics as a reversing motion. F, F, F, are the 3 driving pulleys of
the reversing motion; I employ the central one, F being the fixed pulley on
to which the driving strap in action for the time being is shifted from one or
other of the two outer loose pulleys F, F, on one of which works a crossed
strap, whilst the other carries an open strap, the to-and-fro motion being
imparted to the table by alternately shifting the crossed and open strap on to
the fast pulley F by a self-acting strap shifter or by hand. G is a spur
pinion fast on the second motion shaft H, which gears directly into a longi-
tudinal rack I secured to or formed on the under side of the table D, and G¹
is a spur wheel also keyed on to the shaft H, to which motion is imparted by
the pinion G on the driving shaft G. The wood to be disintegrated is
secured firmly in any well-known manner upon the surface of the table D, and
as nearly level or horizontal as practicable. I generally take a number of
beams or baulks E sawn to the same breadth, and place them upon their
narrow edge side by side, as shown clearly in Figure 2, wedges or packing
pieces being inserted at c, c, between the outer sides of the two outer baulks
and the raised ribs or lugs on the sides of the table, as is also shewn in
Figure 2. Between the two upright standards A there are fitted to slide
freely in a vertical direction the two cutter holders or blocks K, K', the sides
of the standards serving as guides therefor. In these blocks are secured by
nuts and screws d, or by wedges or other suitable and well-known contrivance,
a number of plane irons e, e, and e¹, e', inclined in reverse directions so as to
produce a cut in whatever direction the timber is moving. In Figure 1 I
have represented two of such plane irons or cutters in each block; the hinder
cutter of each pair in action is set a little lower than the forward one so as to
commence its cut on or take a shaving from the surface left by the front one,
the two cutters operating simultaneously and precisely in the same manner as
a carpenter's plane, excepting that the plane in this case remains stationary
whilst the timber traverses to and fro, the filaments or shavings issuing from
the inclined openings in the cutter holders or blocks. In order that these
shavings may be very narrow so as to present the appearance of threads or
filaments I secure to the outer end of each cutter block a species of comb
plate or scorer ff', having a sharp serrated edge, as shewn in Figure 2, and
in enlarged detail at Figure 3, the serrations making a number of parallel
cuts longitudinally in the surface of the timber as it passes along so that when

page_text: the cutters e or e¹ come into action the shavings they produce will assume the
form of narrow filaments; these filaments may be curled more or less as they
issue from the plane by disposing the plane irons or cutters e, e', obliquely across
the timber in lieu of at right angles to the direction of motion of the timber.
In front of each scorer there is a cleaning knife or "doctor". 9, 91, which slides
up and down the face of the scorer at the end of each traverse of the timber
in order to scrap off any resinous or foreign matter which would tend to clog
the teeth or sharp points of the scorers; this up-and-down motion of the
"doctors" g, g', alternately is effected automatically by the aid of a rocking
shaft h, h', working in small brackets i, i¹, attached to the outer ends of the
two blocks K, K¹. A lever k, k¹, and pendent rod 1, 1, gives the requisite
motion to the rocking shafts for working the "doctors" or scrapers; the
levers k, k, work on fixed centres m, m', and their ends are slotted and
provided with a pin-which works in another slotted lever n, n', fast on the
rocking shafts h, h; these shafts each carry arms or studs o, o¹, which enter
slots in the top of the "doctors." From the inner ends. of the levers k, k; are
suspended weighted rods p, p, which carry each a horizontal stud or pin 9, 9',
engaged respectively in the two long slots 1, 1, made in a plates (shewn in
detail with the centre portion broken away at Figure 4), which plate and
slots extend the full length of the table, and is screwed to the side thereof, as
shown in Figure 2. Each time the table arrives at the end of its traverse
one or other of the pins q, q', will rise up a hinged flap t, t, into the raised or
curved portion u, u', of the slot, and in doing so will lift the corresponding rod p
or p' and elevate the lever k or A, depressing its opposite end, and thereby
causing the "doctor" to pass down over the scorer and clean the same.
the pin q or q¹ descends again to the straight portion of the slot the weighted
rod p or pt will fall and draw down the inner end of the corresponding lever k
or k, thereby lifting the "doctor" again; this same motion of the lever k or k¹
is transmitted by a rod vor v' to a friction feed lever wor w', which operates
upon the wheel x or a coupled by a sliding clutch with the overhead
cross shaft y or y¹ supported in brackets 9, q', (Figure 2); each of these
shafts carries two mitre wheels z, z, in gear with other mitre wheels 1, 1, fast
on the upper ends of the vertical screw spindles 2, 2, which work through
nuts 3, 3, in the opposite sides of the blocks K, K¹; by this means each block
with its cutters and scorers will be lowered or fed downwards alternately
sufficiently for a fresh cut at each traverse of the timber, the operation of
cutting being continued until nearly the whole of the timber is worked up.
If preferred the screw spindles 2 and the actuating gearing for lowering or
feeding down each cutter block K, K', alternately at each traverse of the
As

page_text: timber may be situate below in lieu of above the machine, whereby the tops of
the cutter blocks will be left free. 4, 4, are grooved band pulleys loose on
the shafts y, y', and coupled therewith by the clutch for the purpose of
imparting a quick reverse motion to the screws 2, when the blocks K, K¹,
are to be elevated for commencing a fresh piece of timber; the pulleys 4
are driven by a band and pulley worked by hand or otherwise. By the aid
of this machine I obtain curled filaments of wood or other like fibrous
material, which will be found to answer well for the preparation of pulp for
the manufacture of paper, or as stuffing for beds, cushions, and articles of
furniture either alone or mixed with horsehair or other stuffing material.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of my said
Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used or carried
into effect, I would observe, in conclusion, that what I consider to be novel
and original and therefore claim as the Invention secured to me by the
herein-before in part recited Letters Patent is,-
First, the general construction, arrangement, and combination of machinery
or apparatus for disintegrating wood and other similar fibrous substances,
substantially as herein-before described.
Second, the combination of one or more cutters or plane irons with one or
more scorers, arranged and operating substantially as and for the purpose
herein-before described.
Third, the combination of 2 sets of cutters or plane irons and scorers
operating alternately in opposite directions upon the material to be disen-
tegrated, substantially as herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Riddell, have to this my
Specification set my hand and seal, the Twentieth day of August, One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven.
WILL". RIDDELL. (L.S.)