CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR CUTTING OR MAKING CORKS AND BUNGS
Year: 1834

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, KEITI
NORMAN THOMSON, of Holland Street, Blackfriars Road, in the County of
Surrey, Cork Manufacturer, send greeting.
WHEREAS His present most Excellent Majesty King William the Fourth,
by His Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date
at Westminster, the Twenty-third day of August, in the fifth year of His
reign, did, for Himself, His heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said Keith Norman Thomson, His especial license, full power, solo-
privilege and authority, that I, the said Keith Norman Thomson, my exors,
adñiors, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Keith Norman Thomson,
my exors, adñiors, or assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others,
from time to time and at all times during the term of years therein expressed,
should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within England,
Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my Invention of "CERTAIN
IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR CUTTING OR MAKING CORKS AND BUNGS;" in
which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso, that I, the said Keith
Norman Thomson, shall cause a particular description of the nature of my
said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be
inrolled in His said Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six calendar
months next and immediately after the date of the said in part recited Letters
Patent, as in and by the same, reference being thereunto had, will more fully
and at large appear.

page_text: framework, through which the staple W passes, having set screws acting
against the projection, in order to fix it in whatever position it may be re-
quired; and it may be necessary here to remark that any degree of obliquity
may be given to the kreel by means of the screws u, u, and the staple w, accord-
ing to the figure or cone desired to be given to the corks or bungs which aro
intended to be cut. At the top of the kreel are six curved inclined planes S, S, S,
which move the kreel when acted upon by the lever or handle T, which lever
is attached at one end to the spindle U by a hinge joint, and is for the purpose
of bringing the squares or blocks of cork up to the knife or cutter by the hand
of the workman in order to be cut, as will be hereafter explained. V is a stop
or rest for the purpose of receiving the end of the lever while the cork is being
cut. W is a steel spring, one end of which is fixed to the framework A of tho
machine; the other end has a catch or stop, which falls into one of the notches
in the lower plate P, for the purpose of holding the kreel in its proper position
during the operation of cutting the cork; this will be best seen by referring to
the detached view, Figure 3. At one side of the frame is a lever X, which
moves upon a centre at Y by means of a screw Z, which takes into a socket
moving upon pins fixed in the end of the lever X; in order to accommodato
itself to the movement of the lever, on the screw Z is fixed the grooved roller a,
the axis of which turns in a bearing
fixed to the framework of the machine.
At one end of the lever X is a set screw c, which regulates the distance between
the lever and the end of the shaft B. d, d, is a bent or crank lever, turning on
a fulcrum at e fixed to the framing A, as shewn in Figure 1, the upper end of
which presses against one end of the shaft B, by means of a weight f suspended
on the lever d upon the bed of the machine; the lever g is attached by a screw
to a sliding plate h passing through the guide i, which guide i is affixed to tho
bed or upper surface of the machine. To the lever g is also attached the
sliding plate k, having its end turned up at right angles to form a stop or
abutment, into which is screwed the set screw t for adjustment, as will be here-
after explained. To the plate h is attached the guage m, by means of which
the workman is enabled to place the rough square or block of cork exactly in
the centre of the spindles O, Q, thereby preventing the waste of material that
would otherwise take place if a good centering were not readily obtained.
Having now described the several parts of the machine, I will proceed to
describe the manner of their action:-The kreel being first brought into the
position shewn in the Drawing at Figures 1 and 2, the workman places a
square or block of cork (previously cut to the required size, similar to those
intended to be cut by hand,) against the guide i, and moves the sliding plate /
by the lever g, until the head of the screw t comes against the square of cork;

page_text: this movement regulates the distance of the guage m from the centre of the
spindles O, Q; the piece of cork is then placed in the guage upon the enlarged
or flanged part of the lower spindle O', which is provided with studs or points
for the purpose of holding the piece of cork firmly; the upper spindle Q' is
then pressed down upon the square of cork, the points at its lower extremity
being forced into the top of the square; the lever T is then brought to the
front of the inclined plane S, and placed upon the top of the spindle Q', in the
position shewn by the red lines in Figure 2, which it is capable of, owing to
its being formed to turn on the spindle U, and thus it will be over the centre
of the square of cork in the guage. The lever T is next moved towards the
circular knife or cutter D, until it comes against the stop V, (carrying with
it the kreel and the square of cork intended to be cut,) where it remains
stationary, and presses upon the top of the spindle Q', preventing the cork
from being forced out of its position during the operation of cutting; as soon
as the cork is shaped or formed the handle is raised from the spindle and
brought to the front of the inclined plane next in advance, when the same
operation is repeated. Quick rotary motion being given to the shaft B, the
circular knife or cutter will be made to revole, and at the same time the
pulley F will communicate motion to the shaft J and toothed wheel N, by
the means already described; this wheel taking into the pinion at the bottom
of the spindle 0, will (at the time it is in a position for the cork to be
cut) cause it to turn, and thus bring the square of cork to revolve against
the edge of the circular knife D, in which position it is shewn in Figures 3
and 4. As cork varies in its quality, and as it is essential to remove defects
which appear upon the surface of the cork after it is first formed or shaped, it
is necessary that the knife or cutter should be made to effect this object; this
is done by the workman turning the grooved roller a, which moves outwards
the end of the lever X; at the same time the point of the screw at its opposite
end presses the shaft B, and with it the knife D, towards the kreel, by which
movement the workman is enabled to cut off with the greatest accuracy what-
ever portion of the surface of the cork may appear defective, and by turning
the roller a the reverse way, the weighted lever d, d, will force back the
shaft B and cutter D into its former position ready to operate upon the next
square or block of cork. The corks when finished are removed from the
kreel into any convenient receptacle, by the workman raising the upper
spindles from the top of the cork; the two ends are then to be cut off, in
order to remove the marks made by the points on the enlarged ends of the
spindles O, Q.
Having now fully described the construction and operation of my machine

page_text: or apparatus, I would remark, that I lay no claim to any of the parts sepa-
rately of which the machine is composed, nor in combination other than as
hereafter more particularly defined; and I am aware that many of the parts,
which I have been obliged for the purpose of explanation to describe, in the
Drawing, are similar to a machine which was the subject of a Patent granted
to Sarah Thomson, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and
nineteen, I consequently lay no claim thereto; but I would remark, that in
describing the various parts contained in the Specification of the said last-
mentioned Patent, I have not used the same terms, or figures or letters of
reference; and I would have it understood, that I confine my claim of Inven-
tion to the following two particulars
First, I claim the guaging or regulating the position of the square of cork
previous to its being cut into its finished shape, by means of the apparatus
above described, thus preventing the unnecessary waste of material which
would arise if the square or block of cork were placed out of the centre of the
spindles O, Q, as above described.
Secondly, I claim the method of moving or shifting the circular cutter or
knife to or from the cork, and thus regulating the cut and facilitating the
removing of defects, as above described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Keith Norman Thomson, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Twentieth day of October, in the fifth year
of the reign of our Sovereign Lord William the Fourth, and in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and thirty-four.
KEITH NORMAN (L.S.) THOMSON.
AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Twentieth day of February,
in the year of our Lord 1885, the aforesaid Keith Norman Thomson came
before our said Lord the King in His Chancery, and acknowledged the
Specification aforesaid, and all and every thing therein contained and specified,
in form above written. And also the Specification aforesaid was stamped
according to the tenor of the Statute made for that purpose.
Inrolled the Twenty-third day of February, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and thirty-five