Improvements in Automatic Machinery or Apparatus for Centring, Drilling, and Cutting or Drifting the Circles of Machinery for Combing Fibres.
Year: 1893

page_text: Date of Application, 13th Mar.. 1893
Complete Specification Left, 13th Dec., 1893-Accepted, 13th Mar., 1894
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Automatic Machinery or Apparatus for Centring,
Drilling, and Cutting or Drifting the Circles of Machinery for
Combing Fibres.
I, JOHN WALTER BRADLEY, of 13, Clarendon Street, Bradford, in the County
of York, Machine Comb Maker, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to
be as follows:-
"
This invention relates to improvements in automatic machinery or apparatus for
centring, drilling, and "cutting or drifting the holes for the pins in circles of
Noble's and other machine combs.
For this purpose we employ two spindles arranged as close together as convenient
and one above the other. The bearings of one spindle are capable of independent
adjustment in relation to the bearings of the other spindle so as to allow the
relative position of the two spindles to be adjusted and assuming the lower spindle
to be used for centring enable the drilling spindle to be adjusted to such a position
that the centre previously made will on reaching the drilling spindle exactly
coincide with the centre of the drill.
For this purpose the bearing of the drilling spindle may be mounted in an
approximately vertical slide secured to the drilling head and provision made for
To allow of this
tilting or inclining this slide by a worm and rack or other means.
adjustment independent of the tail slide the fork or its equivalent engaging the tail
of the spindle to operate it longitudinally is loosely mounted upon a stud or is
capable of lateral motion.
The drill spindle is also capable of longitudinal adjustment in relation to the
centring spindle to accommodate drills of different length. This adjustment may
be effected by a worm and rack.
The centring spindle is so arranged that it is only brought into operation or
only reaches the comb circle immediately before or as cach hole is finished and
the two spindles are capable of longitudinal adjustment in relation to each other.
The tail slide is traversed by a lever moving under the influence of a spring or
weight to feed the drill and centring spindles, and said slide and spindles are
withdrawn by a suitable can. To clear the hole being drilled the drill and drill
spindle are withdrawn at regular intervals by a second cam connected by change
gearing to the first cam and preferably loosely mounted upon the same shaft. To
adjust the length of the stroke of the tail slide the fulcrum of said lever may be
capable of adjustment so as to vary the distance of the fulcrum from the portion
of the arm engaging the tail slide.
"
An ordinary pawl and ratchet "picking motion or motion for moving the circle
being drilled after each hole is completed is employed and a third cam may be
provided to operate this motion instead of actuating it by the return motion of the
tail slide.
The arm or lever or its equivalent for engaging the third can to operate the
picking motion is only brought into position to be operated each time a complete
hole is drilled. For this purpose an arm projecting from a light shaft rests upon
the drilling spindle preferably close to the nose and this arm when a hole is
completed drops into an annular groove in the spindle. This motion of the
arm brings a small block or spacing piece attached to the light shaft into
position between a rapidly revolving eccentric or cam and a detent arm or spring
which moves the operating arm or its equivalent of the picking mechanism into
position to engage its cam. A second cam or eccentric on the same shaft

page_text: immediately raises the said spacing piece out of action and at the same time
lifts the arm out of the groove in the spindle to allow it to be withdrawn.
The said detent arm or spring and parts connected thereto are also automatically
restored to their normal position as the drill is withdrawn.
The tail slide piece is preferably made telescopic and a spring the tension of
which is adjustable introduced which may be compressed instead of moving the
spindle inwards in case the drill is not sharp enough or the metal exceptionally
hard. For more delicate work a similar arrangement and lighter spring is fitted in
connection with the mechanism for adjusting the drilling spindle longitudinally.
Or for particularly fine drilling a telescopic piece may be fitted in the spindle nose
to carry the drill chuck and a light adjustable spring arranged to keep it up to its
work. Provision is made for stopping any or the whole of these telescopic
actions.
A separate cutting head is preferably employed mounted at the other side of the
machine and adapted to carry two or more drifts or cutters capable of delicate
adjustment in relation to each other. The spindle or spindles of the cutting head
is or are moved longitudinally by a cam motion arranged to quickly withdraw the
cutters and such cam may be driven by different mechanism and at a greater speed
to that operating the drilling cam.
The same picking motion may be employed for the drifting or cutting head but
it is in this case operated at each motion of the drifting spindle after the cutters
are withdrawn.
Dated this 11th day of March 1893.
DRACUP & NOWELL,
Bradford, Agents.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Automatic Machinery or Apparatus for Centring,
Drilling, and Cutting or Drifting the Circles of Machinery for
Combing Fibres.
I, JOHN WALTER BRADLEY, of 13, Clarendon Street, Bradford, in the County
of York, Machine Comb Maker, do hereby declare the nature of this invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described
and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
This invention relates to improvements in automatic machinery or apparatus for
centring, drilling, and " cutting or drifting the holes for the pins in circles of
Noble's and other machine combs
In the accompanying sheets of drawings forming a part of this Specification
similar letters and numerals of reference indicate corresponding parts in each of
the figures.
Figure 1, is a side view of such parts of a circle drilling machine as are
necessary to illustrate the application of my improvements.
Figure 2, is a front view of the same.
Figure 3, is a plan view of the same.
Figures 4 to 14 are views of detail hereinafter referred to.
The framework A, face plate A¹ on which the circle to be drilled is mounted
and the pawl A2 and ratchet A' are connected by change gearing A* to the
worm A operating the face plate A' are of ordinary construction. The spindle
head A is adjustably mounted in the customary manner upon the cross slide A
mounted upon the gantry A", but two spindles B and B are mounted in this bead.
One spindle B for drilling in the ordinary way and the other B₁ for carrying a
short stiff drill for "centring," that is to say for accurately marking the centres
or position of the holes for the drill carried by B to drill. This centring process
is not new but has hitherto been done by a short drill placed in the same spindle

page_text: as the drill for finishing the hole and has been done preparatory to the drilling
process, consequently a very considerable saving of time is effected by drilling and
centring concurrently.
The centring spindle B' is mounted in bearings of the usual type for this class
of spindle formed in the head A' and the drilling spindle B is mounted in similar
bearings but these bearings are adjustable in relation to the bearings of B¹ to
allow the alignment of the drilling spindle in relation to the centre mark made by
the centring spindle to be accurately obtained. For this purpose the spindle B
is mounted in the adjustable portion of B³ of the head A°. This portion B³ is
mounted on the vertical slide B' accurately hinged by the pin B to the head A°.
The slide B provides for the vertical adjustment of the spindle B and to enable
it to be also adjusted at right angles thereto the slide B is capable of being
turned upon the pin B by the worm B and hand wheel B12 mounted in bearings B'
on A engaging the rack B8 projecting from the back of the slide B'. The bolt B'
connected to A and passed through the slot B10 in B8 (Fig. 8) is provided to
clamp these parts after adjustment. This is clearly shown in Figures 4 and 5
(which represent a plan and side view of the head and its attachments) and in
Figures 6 and 7 (also a plan and side view of the head with parts in section and
showing the attachment of certain other parts). Figure 8, is a view of the right
hand end of Figure 7. The spindle B and B are preferably driven by separate
belts approximately side by side.
The tail slide C for traversing the spindles longitudinally is mounted upon the
two studs C, C¹ projecting from the rear of A' and this slide is moved upon
such studs by the lever C2 (Figures 1 and 2) engaging the plunger piece C³ fitted
in C. The two arms of the lever C² are adjustable in relation to each other and
are fixed by the bolt C. To allow the position of the head in relation to the
stud C on which such lever is mounted to be somewhat varied and in order to
enable the stroke of the slide C to be adjusted the lever C is connected by a
slot to the piece C³ and the fulcrum stud C is capable of adjustment in the
slot C by the screw C' so that adjusting the stud C has the effect of altering
the length of that arm of the lever operating the plunger piece. The plunger
piece C is fitted in a spring box C formed in C in which a spiral spring C10 is
placed so as to break the rigidity of the connection between C and C2 and thus
reduce the maximum pressure put upon C to that required to compress the
spring C. The pin C fixed in C³ and working in the slot C12 (Figure 7)
prevents the spring pushing C³ out of the spring box but allows it to be moved
independently. The motion of the tail slide is communicated to the spindle B
through the medium of the worm D mounted in the arm D' projecting from C³
and adjusted by the hand wheel D'. The worm D engages a rack cut on the side
of the spring box D³ fitted telescopically upon the end of the spindle D* con-
nected by the fork piece D³ to the spindle B in the ordinary way. To allow of
some deviation in the alignment of the spindles B and D when the spindle B is
adjusted by the worm B6, the end of D₁ abutting against B is made somewhat
larger and the arm D thereon carries a stud D' on which the fork D³ is mounted.
To clearly show this a section of the junction of the ends of the spindles is shown
in Figure 10 in which a piece of leather a is introduced for the end of the
spindle B to bear against. A spiral spring D' (Figure 6) is contained in the
spring box D³ so that the maximum pressure applied to the drill spindle cannot
exceed that required to compress this spring. The lock nuts D 10 mounted upon
the screwed end of D₁ bear against the end of the spring box and prevent the
spring forcing it off the spindle.
The spindle B' may be operated longitudinally in a similar manner to B but we
prefer to move it more gradually so as not to feed the centring drill carried
thereby too suddenly against the circle operated upon. With this object the
shank E of the fork piece E¹ engaging the end of B₁ is mounted in a slide in C
and this slide engages and is operated by the arm E³ projecting from the short
rocking shaft E³ mounted in bearings formed in C. The shaft E³ is rocked at

page_text: each movement of C by the arm E projecting from the end and connected to the
fixed stud E by the short bridle rod E. As in this arrangement the vibration
of the shaft E³ moves E2 in the reverse direction to C but at a slower speed
the movement of the spindle B¹ operated thereby is proportionally limited and
reduced in speed.
The lever C is operated to withdraw the drill by the cam F engaging the
antifriction roller F₁ on the end of said lever and the spiral spring F2 (Figure 1)
connected to said lever and fixed at its lower end to the stationary stud F3 is
provided to vibrate such lever in the reverse direction to the cam F and feed the
drill. The cam F withdraws the drill at each revolution to clear the hole being
drilled and to prevent the drill being fed too fast but to allow it to penetrate a
little further each time it is inserted the antifriction roller F also bears upon the
comparatively slowly revolving cam F4 of spiral form. These cams revolve in
the direction of the arrow Figure 1 and are so relatively operated that the step F
in the cam F passes the roller F1 when the proud portion of F has raised said
roller. The cam is fixed upon the shaft and the cam F is mounted upon
the sleeve F revolving on said shaft and is driven by the pulley G fixed thereon
connected by the belt G to the pulley G2 on the main driving shaft G³. The
shaft F is driven from the sleeve F7 by the wheel G fixed on F7 connected by
the stud wheel G' and the change wheels G, G7, G, and Go (mounted upon the
stud plate F8) to the wheel F° fixed upon F. The shaft F is supported at one
end by the bracket F and it is also supported in the sleeve F' whilst the latter is
mounted in the standard F".
To bring the picking mechanism into operation each time a hole is completely
drilled the arm H is provided pivoted upon the stud H' and having a finger H²
resting upon the adjustable sleeve D" mounted upon the spindle D' projecting from
the spring box D³. The arm H is so arranged that its free end is capable of a
limited downward movement so that when the drill passes through the circle the
finger H2 drops off the end of D". This allows a spacing piece H³ carried by H
to pass between the rapidly revolving cam H and the end of the rod H
(Figures 3, 4 and 5) normally held in the position shown by the spring He but
capable of a certain amount of longitudinal motion and this longitudinal motion is
imparted to it each time the spacing piece H³ passes between it and the cam H.
The rod H has an inclined face H' at its opposite end and this inclined face
bears against the projection Hs on the spring detent I holding the lever J. When
the rod H is moved its inclined face engages the projection H" and thereby
operating the detent disengages the lever J. This lever is mounted upon a stud Fi
fixed to the top of the bracket F1 (projecting from A°) and is connected by the
connecting rod J' to the lever J³ on the picking shaft J supported in bearings J
fixed to the gantry A" and this picking shaft J is connected by the arm Jo and
link J to the pawl A2 of the ratchet picking motion. A spring J enclosed in
a spring box J' is coiled round the shaft J and is so arranged that as soon as J
is released the rocking shaft moving under the influence of such spring turns
sufficiently to bring the pawl A' on to the next tooth of the ratchet A3 and at
the same time draws the lever J towards it. The lever J has an arm K con-
nected by a link to the arm K¹ on the rocking shaft K2 mounted in bearings f
in F3 and fin F" and when the lever J is moved in the above described manner
this shaft is also partly turned. The shaft K2 has an arm K³ fixed to its opposite
end carrying a spring stud K* and when the shaft K' is moved the said stud
bears upon the incline K carried by the bracket K on F" and such stud is moved
longitudinally so that the antifriction roller K' on the end thereof is moved into
the same plane as and within reach of the cam K8 mounted upon the sleeve F'.
This is shown in detail Figures 11, 12, and 13 as well as in Figures 2 and 3.
The antifriction roller is only held in this position until the rise of the cam K
engages it and by vibrating the arm K³ turus the shaft K and through the medium
of the connecting mechanism restores the lever J to its normal position, where the
detent H retains it, and at the same time rocking the picking shaft J' so as to turn

page_text: the picking mechanism the distance of one tooth of the ratchet and thereby move
the circle into position for the next hole to be drilled and centred. As soon as the
cam K has effected this movement a reduced portion or depression in its periphery
allows the spring stud to spring back to the position shown in the drawings thus
inoving the antifriction roller out of the path of the cam where it remains until the
hole is drilled.
For very delicate drilling a sliding piece L carrying the drill chuck is accurately
fitted in the adjustable screw plug L' fitting a female screw thread in the hollow
nose of the spindle B as shown in Figures 6 and 7. This sliding piece is free to
move inwards but is made to rotate with the plug by a pin L fixed in L' and
passing through the slot L3 in L. A light spiral spring L is placed in the hollow
nose of the spindle to press L to its normal limit so that the maximum feed pressure
on the drill cannot exceed the pressure required to compress this spring, and this
pressure may be regulated by screwing L' in or out. If this spindle is used for
work too heavy for the spring L a second pin similar to L2 is passed through the
slot L but at the opposite end so as to prevent the sliding piece L being pressed
inwards.
When the sliding piece L is in use I employ a modified arrangement shown
in Figures 4 and 5 to bring the picking mechanism into operation. In this
case the finger H2 rests upon the nose of the spindle and is fixed upon the
light shaft M mounted in bearings M' supported by F13 and A and the spacing
piece H³ is fixed on the other end of this shaft. An annular groove M² is formed
in the sliding piece L and the parts are so arranged that when each hole is com-
pleted the finger H2 drops into such groove thereby slightly turning the shaft M
and thus introducing the spacing piece H³ between the cam H and the end of the
rod. The cam H is mounted on a short shaft M³ mounted in the bracket M*
connected to F3 and this shaft is rapidly rotated by the band M' communicating
motion from the pulley M on the driving shaft G³ to the pulley M7 on M³. To
lift the spacing piece from between the cam H and the rod H a second cam N is
mounted upon M3 which engages the arm N' carrying the spacing piece and at
each revolution lifts the spacing piece into its normal position until the spindle B
is withdrawn and finger H is clear of the groove M². Figure 9 is a separate view
of the cam shaft M³ and certain other parts.
When the finger 12 is carried by the arm H as described above with reference
to Figures 1, 2 and 3 the second cam N Figure 3 is also employed to lift H by
engaging the finger N Figure 2.
A separate drifting or cutting head is preferably employed mounted at the
other side of the machine and adapted to carry two or more drifts or cutters capable
of delicate adjustment in relation to each other. The spindle or spindles of the
cutting head is or are moved longitudinally by a cam motion arranged to quickly
withdraw the cutters and such cam may be driven by different mechanism and at a
greater speed to that operating the drilling cam.
The same picking" motion may be employed for the drifting or cutting head
but it is in this case operated at each motion of the drifting spindle after the
cutters are withdrawn.
The drifting or cutting head () mounted on the gantry A" is shown in Figures 2
and 3 and a separate side view in Figure 14 is provided with a spindle O' of
square or other suitable section fitted in bearings in said head so that it is free to
slide to and fro longitudinally. This spindle is adapted to carry two drifts or
cutters fixed in the chucks or holders O2, O2 mounted upon the vertical slides O³, O³,
and adjusted by the screws 0,0. The slides O³, O³ are formed on the horizontal
sliding piece 0, 0) (adjusted by the screws 0, 0) fitting in guides 07, 07, secured
to the end of the spindle 01. The opposite end of the spindle O¹, carries an
antifriction roller l' bearing against the cam P" which is arranged as it rotates to
press the spindle O' inwards to pass the drifts through the holes. And a spiral
spring O enclosed in a spring box and surrounding the spindle bears against the
collar on the spindle and moves the spindle in the reverse direction to the cam

page_text: to withdraw the drifts. After the drifts are withdrawn the cam P is so formed
that they remain in that position until the picking motion is brought into operation
and the pick made as now described.
The cam P is mounted upon the shaft P2 revolving in bearings P³ connected to
the head O and such shaft is driven by the band P connecting the pulley P* on
the main shaft G³ to the pulley P on P². The shaft P2 also carries a crank
disc P' the crank pin P8 of which is connected by the rod P to the arm P⁰ of the
picking shaft J and by this means the picking motion is brought into operation at
each movement of the spindle O¹.
The length of the rod P is adjustable to allow the head O to be moved inwards
or outwards. The crank pin P is fitted in a sliding block R fitting a slot in the
end of the rod and a spring R' the pressure of which is regulated by the screw R²
bearing upon said block. The spring R' is confined between the end of the slot
and the nut R³ of the screw so that the screw which freely passes through a hole
in the end of the slot tends under the influence of the spring to keep the block R
at the opposite end of the slot. But nevertheless in case of abnormal pressure the
block is free to move in the slot.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is:
1. A drilling machine having a drill spindle and a centring drill spindle brought
into operation each time a hole is drilled, substantially as herein shown and
described.
2. The combination with a centring drill spindle, of a drill spindle the bearings
of which are capable of adjustment both approximately in a vertical and horizontal
direction in relation to the centring spindle, substantially as herein shown and
described.
3. In a combined drilling and centring head, operating the adjustable spindle
longitudinally by means of a fork or its equivalent loosely mounted upon a stud or
free to move laterally, substantially as herein shown and described and for the
purpose specified.
+
4. Mechanism for putting the picking motion into operation each time a hole is
drilled, consisting of a finger bearing upon the drilling spindle or other part moving
therewith and when each hole is drilled the movement of the said finger brings
spacing piece in contact with a revolving cam or its equivalent adapted to cause
said spacing piece to release a catch or detent and thereby allow the picking
mechanism to move into an operative position, substantially as herein shown and
described.
5. A lever for imparting longitudinal motion to a drill spindle mounted upon an
adjustable fulcrum to regulate the extent of such longitudinal motion, substantially
as herein shown and described.
6. A drill spindle feed and withdrawal motion consisting of a feed lever operated
by a spring or its equivalent, a feed cam arranged to regulate the speed, a with-
drawal cam rotated in a comparatively rapid manner connected thereto by change
gearing, and a picking cam, substantially as herein shown and described.
7. A drill spindle for drilling circles, having a spring slide in the nose,
substantially as herein shown and described.
8. A drifting or cutting spindle carrying two or more drifts or cutters mounted
in chucks adjustable in relation to each other, substantially as herein shown and
described.
Dated this 11th day of December 1893.
DRACUP & NOWELL,
Bradford, Agents.