IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR POLISHING CYLINDERS
Year: 1867

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Robert Leake, of the Strangeways Engraving
Works, Manchester, in the County of Lancaster, and Joseph Beckett,
of the same Place, Machine Superintendent, for the Invention of
IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR POLISHING CYLINDERS."
Sealed the 15th April 1868, and dated the 6th November 1867.
No text detected.

page_text: The stone is traversed to and fro lengthwise and at right angles to the cylinder
by a rack and pinion and a crank or other equivalents. By the combination
of these three motions, that is to say, the rotation of the cylinder and the to-
and-fro motions of the stone, the surface of the cylinder is accurately polished
without the aid of manual labor as now customary. A self-acting apparatus
is applied to the machine to arrest its action as soon as the cylinder bas
attained the diameter required. This apparatus consists of a roller bearing
against the surface of the cylinder; this roller is connected by a lever or other
equivalent to an index pointing to a graduated dial, and the index is connected
to the weighted lever by which the stone or other polishing agent is held in
contact with the cylinder. As soon as the cylinder has been brought to the
diameter required the index disconnects the weighted lever and prevents the
stone from acting on the cylinder.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Robert Leake and Joseph Beckett in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 5th May 1868.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, ROBERT
LEAKE, of the Strangeways Engraving Works, Manchester, in the County
of Lancaster, and JOSEPH BECKETT, of the same Place, Machine Superintendant,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Sixth day of November, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven, in the thirty-first year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto us, the
said Robert Leake and Joseph Beckett, Her special license that we, the said
Robert Leake and Joseph Beckett, our executors, administrators, and assigns,
or such others as we, the said Robert Leake and Joseph Beckett, our
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 MACHINERY FOR
POLISHING CYLINDERS," upon the condition (amongst others) that we, the said
Robert Leake and Joseph Beckett, our executors or administrators, by an
instrument in writing under our, or their, or one of our or their hands and

page_text: seals, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Inven-
tion, 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 month's
next and immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent:
NOW KNOW YE, that we, the said Robert Leake and Joseph Beckett,
do hereby declare the nature of our 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) :-
This Invention is particularly applicable for polishing the cylinders used for
calico printing, but it may be applied to polishing cylinders used for other
purposes. The cylinder to be polished is supported in suitable bearings, and
is turned round by steam or other power. The stone or other polishing agent
is held in contact with the cylinder by a weighted lever or weight, and is
traversed to and fro lengthwise and at right angles to the cylinder by a rack
and pinion and a crank or other equivalents. By the combination of these
three motions, that is to say, the rotation of the cylinder and the to-and-fro
motions of the stone, the surface of the cylinder is accurately polished without
the aid of manual labour as now customary. A self-acting apparatus is or
may be applied to the machine to arrest its action as soon as the cylinder has
attained the diameter required.
And in order that our Invention may be fully understood and readily
earried into operation, we will proceed to describe the two accompanying
Sheets of Drawings, reference being had to the figures and letters marked
thereon.
On Sheet 1, Figure 1 is an end elevation, Figure 2 a side elevation, and
Figure 3 a plan of our improved machinery for polishing cylinders.
g¹
a represents the cylinder which is fixed on the mandril 6 in the manner
ordinarily practised by the engravers of calico printers' rollers. The mandril b
revolves in the brackets c fixed to the bed d which is supported on the
standards e. The mandril 6 is turned round by a strap passing around the
pulleys on the shaft g, which is connected to the mandril by the chuck
and the ball joints b¹. On the bed d is the slide or carriage h on which are
guides for the cross slide or box h¹ containing the stone or other polishing
agent h. The carriage h is traversed to and fro on the bed & by the worm g³
on the shaft g gearing into the wheel on the diagonal shaft i, to the lower
end of which is fixed the bevel pinion gearing into the pinions and j³,
which are loose on the side shaft j, but connected to it alternately by a sliding
clutch box ; on the shaft j is a worm gearing into the worm wheel k¹

page_text: fixed on the short shaft k revolving in a bush fixed to the slide h; and to
this short shaft is fixed the pinion gearing into the rack d³ fixed to the
bed d. The cross slide h¹ is traversed to and fro on the carriage h by the
pinion j which is cast or fixed to the same bush as the worm j. This bush
revolves in bearings fixed to the carriage h, and it is grooved to fit on a key
in the shaft j, so that as the carriage traverses to and fro the rotary motion of
the worm is transmitted to the worm wheel k¹, and that of the pinion ³ to
the wheel l, in the face of which is an adjustable stud for the link / which
connects the wheel to the cross slide h¹, supporting the polishing agent h³;
by this means the polishing agent is moved to and fro lengthwise and at right
angles to the cylinder to be polished, and the length of the traverse at right
angles to the cylinder can be regulated by varying the position of the stud
in, the face of the wheel, and the longitudinal traverse can be varied
according to the length of the cylinder by changing the position of the stop
pieces n', see Figure 3, on the side rod, n, one end of which is connected to
the starting lever 2; and this lever is connected by the link n³ to the lever o,
..one end of which fits into a groove in the sliding clutch box j³, consequently as
the carriage h moves the rod n in one direction or the other the clutch box-
is moved alternately into gear with the clutches on the pinions ¹ and . The
polishing agent h² is held in contact with the cylinder a by means of the
weighted lever m, the shorter arm of which is connected to the under side of
the slide h by the regulating screw m¹. The self-acting apparatus for
arresting the action of the machine as soon as the cylinder has attained the
required diameter consists of the elbow lever p, see Figure 1, which is jointed
to a stud fixed in a bracket bolted to the carriage h. In this lever is a stud
for the roller p¹ bearing against the surface of the cylinder a; the long arm
of the lever p is connected by the link p² to the index finger q pointing to the
graduated dial q'. The index finger q is also connected to the weighted lever m
by a swivel socket q² and the rod q³.
The mode of operation is as follows:-When the driving strap is on the
driving pulley f the rotary motion of the shaft 9 and cylinder a imparts a
longitudinal to-and-fro motion to the carriage h¸ and a traversing to-and-fro
motion to the slide.h' of the polishing agent h³, and the combination of these
motions in addition to the pressure of the polishing agent against the cylinder
cause the surface thereof to be accurately ground and polished without the
aid of manual labor as now customary. When the cylinder has been reduced
to the desired diameter the index finger q points to the graduation marked
zero, as shewn in Figure 1, and the swivel q² then comes against a set washer

page_text: on the rod g³, and lifts the end of the weighted lever m, thereby removing the
pressure of the polishing agent off the surface of the cylinder, or the
machinery may be stopped when the index points to zero by the attendant
moving the driving strap from the fast to the loose pulley.
On Sheet 2, Figure 4 represents an end elevation of a polishing machine
constructed according to a modification of our Invention; in this instance the
polishing agent h² is placed so as to act on one side of the cylinder a, against
the surface of which it is pressed by the weight m attached to a cord or chain
passing over a guide pulley or by a weighted lever; the other parts of the
machine are made to correspond with the altered position of the polishing
agent, and are clearly shewn in the Drawing.
Figures 5 and 6 represent two views of a polishing machine constructed
according to another modification of our Invention. In this arrangement the
polishing agent h² acts on the lower surface of the cylinder a, as in Figure 1,
but instead of traversing bodily to and fro under the cylinder only a short
portion at one edge of the polishing agent comes in contact with the cylinder,
and it is pressed against it by the weight m attached to a rope or chain
passing over a guide roller or by a weighted lever. The slide h¹ fits in tho
swivel slide h, which is hinged to the stud hs fitting in the hole h in the
carriage h, and the slide h* is acted upon by the lever and link a¹, which
are caused to vibrate by the stud 12 in the wheel 1, the link ¹ connecting the
stud to the lever x, the up-and-down motion of the end of the slide h
combined with the weight m or weighted lever acting on the slide h¹ cause
the edge of the polishing agent to act against the cylinder a. The carriage h
is traversed to and fro on the bed d by a rack and pinion or other equivalent,
as described in reference to Figures 1, 2, and 3, and a longitudinal oscillating
motion is also given to the polishing agent by means of the grooved cam »
on the side shaft j acting on the lower arm of the lever r¹, the upper arm of
which takes in a groove in the swivel slide h. This swivelling to-and-fro
motion, combined with the up-and-down motion, impart a curvelinear action
to the polishing agent; this swivelling motion may also be applied to the
polishing agents shewn in the machines, described in reference to Figures 1,
2, 3, and 4.
We wish to remark that in some cases it may be found desirable to give a
lateral motion to the cylinder in addition to the rotary motion.
Having thus stated the nature of our Invention, and described three modes
of performing the same, we wish it to be understood that we do not intend to
limit ourselves to the details given; but what we do claim is, the combination

page_text: of self-acting machinery for imparting a rotary motion to the cylinder to be
polished, and the longitudinal and transverse to-and-fro motions to the
polishing agent.
In witness whereof, we, the said Robert Leake and Joseph Beckett, have
hereto set our hands and seals, this Twenty-eighth day of April,
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight.
הזז חממתח
ROBERT LEAKE
(L.D.)
JOSEPH BECKETT. (L.S.).