IMPROVEMENTS IN ROLLING MACHINERY FOR ROLLING GUN BARRELS, CANNONS, AND OTHER ARTICLES
Year: 1862

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by David Brown and William Brown
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with their Petition,
on the 25th October 1862.
We, DAVID BROWN, of Smethwick, in the County of Stafford, Gun Barrel
Manufacturer and Ironmaster, and WILLIAM BROWN, of Smethwick, aforesaid,
Gun Barrel Manufacturer and Ironmaster, do hereby declare the nature of
the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN ROLLING MACHINERY FOR ROLLING
GUN BARRELS, CANNONS, AND OTHER ARTICLES," to be as follows:-
Our Invention consists in driving or actuating the rolls of rolling machinery
by constructing and arranging the driving gearing in the manner herein-after
explained, whereby an intermittent rotatory motion is communicated to the
rolls, the said rolls being brought to rest at the proper times for the purpose
of permitting of the ready introduction of the gun barrel or other article
between the rolls. By our Invention the loss of time which frequently occurs
by the workman being unable to introduce the article between the rolls at the
moment when the steps of the opposed rolls meet is avoided:
In constructing the driving gearing of rolling machinery according to our In-
vention, we mount upon one end of the shaft or axis of the lower roll'a toothed
wheel, which said toothed wheel works loosely upon the said axis. Motion is
communicated to the said loose toothed wheel by the driving shaft of the rolling
machinery to which it is keyed. A toothed wheel on one end of the axis of the
upper roll gears with the first-mentioned toothed wheel, and a toothed wheel
on the opposite end of the axis of the said upper roll gears with another toothed.

page_text: wheel on the opposite end of the lower roll to that on which the loose toothed
wheel works. Motion being given to the loose toothed wheel, the said motion
is transmitted through the toothed wheels described to the upper and lower
rolls.
The loose toothed wheel and that gearing with it on the upper roll are
constructed as follows:-The loose toothed wheel is of somewhat greater
diameter than that on the upper roll with which it gears, and one part of its
periphery is plain or untoothed, the length of the said plain part of the wheel
being equal to the space occupied by several teeth. The other toothed wheel on
the upper roll has such a diameter that a number of teeth equal to that of the
teeth on the loose toothed wheel are made on its periphery, and a blank space left
equal to one or more teeth. By giving a rotatory motion to the loose toothed
wheel it gears with the smaller toothed wheel on the upper roll, and through
the said smaller toothed wheel gives motion to both rolls in the manner before
explained. When the plain or untoothed part of the loose toothed wheel
comes opposite the other toothed wheel, the last-mentioned toothed wheel
and the rolls are brought to rest at the moment when the steps of the rolls
meet or nearly meet, and the gun barrel or other article can be introduced
between the rolls. By the continued rotation of the loose toothed wheel it
again gears with the other toothed wheel and communicates motion to the
rolls, the said rolls being brought to rest at each rotation of the said. loose
toothed wheel. The open space on the periphery of the smaller toothed whee!
enables the first tooth on the loose toothed wheel to gear with the said smaller
toothed wheel. When it is wished to stop the rolls at a half or quarter
revolution plain places of the kind described are made on the toothed wheels
at each half or each quarter of the circumference of the said wheels.
We also effect the introduction at the proper time of the gun barrel or
other article between the rolls by means of a table on which the gun barrel
or other article being rolled is placed, the said table being connected to a
crank or cranks on the shaft of one of the rolls. The said crank or cranks
bring up the table when the steps of the rolls meet, and the end of the gun
barrel or other article is then seized by the rolls.
Rolling machinery constructed according to our Invention is especially
applicable to the rolling of gun barrels, but may also be used for rolling
cannons, tubes, and other articles.