AN IMPROVED CLUTCH APPARATUS FOR TRANSMITTING MOTION то VARIOUS KINDS OF MACHINERY
Year: 1861

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Edward Newton, of the Office for Patents,
66, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, for the
Invention of "AN IMPROVED CLUTCH APPARATUS FOR TRANSMITTING MOTION
то VARIOUS KINDS OF MACHINERY." A communication from abroad by
Messrs. Colas, Brothers, of Paris.
Scaled the 21st June 1861, and dated the 18th January 1861.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Edward Newton
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 18th January 1861.
I, WILLIAM EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane,
in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of
the said Invention for "AN IMPROVED CLUTCH APPARATUS FOR TRANSMITTING
MOTION TO VARIOUS KINDS OF MACHINERY," to be as follows:-
This Invention of "An Improved Clutch Apparatus for Transmitting
Motion to various Kinds of Machinery," has for its obtject to obviate the
shocks which are always produced when a toothed clutch is brought into
action. By means of the Invention hereafter described this object may be
effected even when heavy masses are driven or moved at very high speed.
The improved apparatus consists principally of two metallic cones, one of
[Price 8d.]

page_text: which enters the other. The hollow cone should generally, if not always, be
mounted or placed on the driving shaft or the axle of the fly wheel. The
periphery or surface of the other cone is furnished with bars of wood like an
ordinary break, in order to obtain a considerable amount of friction or holding
power. This clutch will be found particularly useful for large metal rolling
mills; it serves to communicate an alternative rotary motion to the cylinders
when heavy iron bars are rolled; it may also be employed for other purposes.
In the application of the Invention to a mill for rolling metal, a double
clutch or two clutches are used, and when the metal has passed between the
cylinders the clutch is loosened, there is then a momentary stoppage, the other
clutch is then thrown into gear, and the cylinders rotate in the contrary
direction. For a rolling mill which acts in this way it is necessary that the
fly wheels should be constructed to act as pullies, so that when motion is com-
municated to the fly wheels their shafts while turning on their axes may have
a short endway motion imparted to them, for the purpose of gearing or
ungearing the clutches. Each end of the shaft of the lower roller carries
one of the inner or male cones, and each of the fly wheel shafts carries a
female or hollow cone, which receive the other cones, the surfaces of which, as
before mentioned, are armed with bars of wood. The lateral or endway
motion of the hollow cones is obtained by means of a small cylinder and
piston, which is actuated by the agency of steam, compressed air, or gas.
The piston rods of these cylinders are connected by means of a dowel or
socket or otherwise with the fly wheel shafts. This socket turns with the fly
wheel shaft, and the piston rod acts upon the shaft, and causes it to move
forward when the piston of the small cylinder is brought into action, by
introducing steam or some other elastic medium by means of a suitable valve
actuated by a hand lever. By this arrangement the operation of the parts is
rendered very easy, and the cones are always pressed into contact by a force
which is exceedingly elastic. It may be here observed that two fly wheels
turning in opposite directions are required, and these fly wheels are always in
motion at the desired speed, so that when one with its hollow cone is pushed
forward into contact with the cone on the end of the lower roller shaft, the
rollers are driven in one direction, and immediately the fly wheel is drawn
back and the cones are separated the rollers stop, for the force of momentum
of the latter is not great, therefore the intervals between the alternate rotations
are not of long duration.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Edward Newton in the Great Seal Patent Oflice on
the 18th July 1861.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the County
of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Eighteenth day of January, 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 William Edward Newton, Her special license that I, the said William
Edward Newton, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as
I, the said William Edward Newton, 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 "AN IMPROVED CLUTCH APPARATUS FOR TRANSMITTING MOTION TO
VARIOUS KINDS OF MACHINERY," a communication from abroad by Messrs.
Colas, Brothers, of Paris, upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the
said William Edward Newton, 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.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Edward Newton, 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, reference being had to the Drawing hereunto annexed,
and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say):-
This Invention of an improved clutch apparatus for transmitting motion to
various kinds of machinery has for its object to obviate the shocks which arc
always produced when a toothed clutch is brought into action. By means of
the Invention hereafter described this object may be effected even when
heavy masses are driven or moved at very high speed. The improved
apparatus consists principally of two metallic cones, one of which enters the

page_text: other. The hollow cone should, by preference, be generally, if not always,
mounted or placed on the driving shaft or on the axle of the fly wheel. The
periphery or surface of the other cone is furnished with bars of wood like an
ordinary break, in order to obtain a considerable amount of friction or holding
power. This clutch will be found particularly useful for large metal rolling
mills; it serves to communicate an alternative rotary motion to the cylinders
when heavy iron bars are rolled; it may also be employed for other purposes.
In the application of the Invention to a mill for rolling metal a double
clutch or two clutches are used, and when the metal has passed between the
cylinders the clutch is to be loosened. A momentary stoppage will then take
place, and the other clutch is then to be thrown into gear, and the cylinders
will be made to rotate in the contrary direction. For a rolling mill which
acts in this way it is necessary that the fly wheels should be constructed to act
as pullies, so that when motion is communicated to these fly wheels, their
shafts while turning on their axes may have a short endway motion imparted
to them, for the purpose of gearing or ungearing the clutches. Each end of
the shaft of the lower roller carries one of the inner or smaller cones, and each
of the fly wheel shafts carries a female or hollow cone which receive the other
cones, the surfaces of which, as before mentioned, are armed with bars of wood.
The lateral or endway motion of the hollow cone is obtained by means of a
small cylinder and piston, which is actuated by the agency of steam, compressed
air, or gas. The piston rods of these cylinders are connected by means of a
dowel or socket, or otherwise with the fly wheel shafts. This socket turns
with the fly wheel shafts, and the piston rod acts upon the shaft and causes it
to move forward, when the piston of the steam cylinder is brought into action
by introducing steam or some other elastic medium by means of a suitable
valve actuated by a hand lever. By this arrangement the operation of the
parts is rendered very easy, and the cones are always pressed into contact by a
force which is exceedingly elastic. It may be here observed that two fly
wheels turning in opposite directions are required, and these fly wheels are
always in motion at the desired speed, so that when one with its hollow cone
is pushed forward into contact with the cone on the end of the lower roller
shaft the rollers are driven in one direction, and immediately the fly wheel "is
drawn back and the cones are separated the rollers stop, for the force of
momentum of the latter is not great, therefore the intervals between the
alternate rotations are not of long duration..
In the accompanying Drawing, Fig. 1 represents the general arrangement
of a double cylinder rolling mill drawn to a scale of one-thirtieth the real size.

page_text: This apparatus is to be employed for rolling iron, and the improved friction
clutch apparatus is adapted thereto. This allows of the direction of rotation
being changed at pleasure. Fig. 1 is a plan view of the same.
In order that the rolls A. A', may always properly drive one another, which-
ever of them may receive motion first from the driving shaft, and to whichever
extremity of the shaft that motion is communicated, the prolongations of their
shafts are geared together by means of toothed pinions B. B'. The inter-
mediate shafts are also furnished with loose collars D, D', as in ordinary rolling
mills, and are worked by gearing. This arrangement may be in duplicate at
both sides of the machine, as represented in the Figure, or adapted to one end
only, in order to simplify the mechanism. It will, however, only be necessary
to describe this arrangement as applied to one side, as both are identical in all
respects. Upon the prolonged shaft of the lower pinion B is mounted the
solid cone E. which may be cast in one piece. and simply turned, as shewn
detached in Fig. 2, or, by preference, armed on its periphery with wood or
leather. as shewn at Fig. 3. In either case it is embraced by a hollow
cone E, which is turned out on its inner periphery, so that when brought into
contact with the solid cone E' it will exactly fit on to its outer periphery (see
Fig. 2). and will be slightly detached therefrom when drawn outwards, as
shewn at Fig. 3. It will be readily understood that by giving the requisite
dimensions to the conical surfaces, sufficient adherence may be obtained to
cause the power to be transmitted to both cones when brought into contact:
it will also be understood that power may be applied in proportion to the
resistance offered by the adherence of the two cones in order to effect their
being thrown out of gear when necessary. For this purpose. instead of
making use of levers or mechanism of greater or less complexity, and operated
by hand, it has been deemed preferable to apply to each extremity a special
apparatus, which should be constantly at the disposal of the attendant. This
apparatus, which may he worked by the agency either of steam or compressed
air, is composed of a horizontal cylinder F, in which works a piston G. the
rod of which is connected with a moveable socket I, which on one side is
adjusted freely in the end of the rod, in order not to carry it round during its
rotary motion, and on the other is keyed to the extremity of the shaft J, which
carries the large driving pulley L and the hollow cone E'. Above the cylinder
is a steam chest, and also a steam valve, which serves to admit alternately
steam, air. or gas on the right or left-hand side of the piston, and which for
that purpose is worked simply by hand by means of the hand lever M. The
manner of setting the apparatus to work is very simple, it being only necessary

page_text: for that purpose to bring either one of the cones E into gear by bringing one
of the pistons in the cylinders F into operation. The alternating rotary
motion of the rolls in either direction may thus be speedily produced without
fear of any shock, especially as the apparatus is driven entirely by means of
pullies and bands which rotate in reverse directions, as shewn by the arrows
in Fig. 1.
Having now described the Invention that has been communicated to me by
my foreign correspondent as aforesaid, and having .explained the manner of
carrying the same into effect, I desire it to be understood that I claim as
the Invention secured to me by Letters Patent as aforesaid, the mode herein
set forth of constructing, applying, and operating clutch apparatus for trans-
mitting motion to various kinds of machinery.
In witness whereof, 1, the said William Edward Newton, have here-
unto set my hand and scal, this Eighteenth day of July, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-one.
Witness.
J. W. MOFFATT,
66, Chancery Lane.
W. E.
(L.S.)