Improvements in Beam Shearing Machines.
Year: 1895

page_text: Date of Application, 14th Mar., 1895-Accepted, 20 h Apr., 1895
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Beam Shearing Machines.
I, HENRY CARTWRIGHT JONES of 1315 Delaware Avenue in the City of
Wilmington County of Newcastle, State of Delaware, one of the United States of
America, Mechanical Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of my invention and
in what manner the same is to be performed to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement :-
My invention relates to improvements in shearing machines for cutting metal
beams such as I-beams, channels, angles, and various other shapes. This object
I attain in the following manner reference being had to the accompanying drawings
in which :-
Figure 1 is a front view of sufficient of the machine to illustrate my invention.
Figure 2 is a section on the line 3, 3, Figure 1.
Figure 3 is a plan view of the lower cutter.
Figures 4, 5 and 6 are diagram views illustrating the different movements of
the machine :
Figures 7, 8 and 9 are views of modifications and different arrangements of the
cutters.
The main object of the invention is to so construct the machine that it will first
cut the web of an I-bar for instance by a vertical movement and then by a lateral
movement first in one direction and then the other, shear the flanges of the beam;
by this means the cutting is accomplished very quickly and with a single sliding
head.
A A are the housings of the machine having guide ways a a for the vertically
reciprocating head B, hung to the crank shaft D by the yoke frame b b and sliding
blocks 6 which are adapted to the cranks of the shaft. The crank shaft D is
mounted in suitable bearings in the housings A and is driven from the intermediate
shaft D' through gears d d¹ and this shaft is driven from the driving shaft D' by a
pinion d2 and gear wheel d³. The driving shaft D2 can be driven direct by an
engine, its connecting rod being coupled to the crank d' or it may be driven from
line shafting if more convenient.
A¹ is the base on which are ways a¹ for the lower stationary cutters a³ and
adjustable head blocks a² carrying the side cutting knives. The lower dies or
cutters a³ are held in place by bolts a¹ and can be removed and different sized
cutters can be placed in their stead. The cutters a³ have detachable blades held in
position by bolts a as shewn in Figure 3 so that the blades can be turned or
replaced.
The head blocks a² are laterally adjustable to accommodate different widths of
beams and are moved towards and from each other by a screw A² having a hand
wheel a, this screw has a right and left hand thread and one thread is adapted to
one block and the other to the opposite block so that they will move in unison
towards or from each other. On each head block are blades a' which are
preferably made square in cross section and the bolt holes are so arranged in the
block that the knives can be turned or reversed to present a good cutting edge.
Coupled to the upper portion of the head B, is a piston rod E connected to a
piston E¹ in a cylinder E' mounted on the frame of the machine; fluid under
pressure is admitted to the space under the piston so as to counterbalance, to a
certain extent, the weight of the reciprocating head B.

page_text: The head B is made hollow in the present instance and hung to a pivot bar F.
I is a lever carrying the upper cutting knives these knives are mounted in the
lower portion of the lever in any suitable manner, in the present instance they are
adapted to sockets and are secured in place by bolts 3. At the end of each long
socket for the side knives are hard metal bearing plates (Fig. 7) which rest in
grooves, being inserted through slots in the sides.
Carried by the head B is a short crank shaft F1 having a crank fon which is
mounted a sliding block adapted to a slide way in the upper portion of the
lever I; the crank shaft F¹ is adapted to removable bearings 62 in the head B so
that the shaft can be readily inserted or detached.
On the front end of the shaft F¹ is a bevel wheel g meshing with a bevel pinion g¹
mounted on a vertical shaft G having its bearings in a bracket B' on the head B,
and adapted to slide in the hub of a bevel pinion H, to which it is splined so that it
will turn with the pinion; this pinion is mounted in a fixed bearing A³ secured to
the frame of the machine and gears with a pinion J on a shaft J' mounted in
bearings in the frame of the machine. This shaft J' is coupled to a gear wheel j
by a clutch j so that the shaft can be thrown into and out of gear with the gear
wheel. This wheel is geared to the wheel which is also loose on the shaft D
and is coupled thereto by a clutch which can also be thrown into and out of gear
by the operator.
On each side of the frame of the machine are mounted chocks S which consist
essentially of a shaft s adapted to bearings s' and on each shaft is an arm s² and a
handle the handles can be turned in such a manner that the arms s will bear
directly upon the rear of the head blocks a, and thus take the strain off the
adjusting screw A³, when the machine is shearing.
When the blocks are adjusted for different sizes of beams filling pieces may be
inserted between the blocks and the chocks if found necessary.
In Figure 7. I have shewn a modification in which two sets of knives can be
adjusted in position for use, using an intermediate head block a and dispensing
with the central upper knife i; a wedge is inserted between the two knives ',,
and a confining screw is passed through the block into the head. This arrange-
ment is only used when beams of the smaller sizes are to be cut.
The side knives are double ended so that when one edge is worn they can be
turned to present new cutting edges and it will be noticed in Figure 1, of the
drawings, that there are two sets of these knives at each side of the centre knife i.
By this arrangement I can use the intermediate knives as fillers, yet when a
narrower I beam is to be cut, the outer knives can be detached and the intermediate
knives become the side cutting knives and when still smaller beams are to be
cut both side knives can be removed leaving only the central knife; when other
sizes are to be cut these knives may be detached and others substituted therefor
and suitable wedge blocks and filling pieces may be used, as shown in Figures 8
and 9.
The operation of the machine is as follows :-
If, for instance, an I-beam is to be cut, as shown in the drawings it is mounted in
position on the lower cutter and the head blocks adjusted so that the side knives of
the said block will bear upon the flanges of the beam, the chocks are then turned
so as to relieve the screw of the pressure, the clutch is thrown into gear imparting
motion to the shaft D, which will force the head B down and the upper knives will
cut through the web of the beam, leaving the flanges intact. The clutch is then
thrown out of gear and the clutch j¹ thrown into gear so as to impart motion to the
shaft J which will turn the short crank shaft F1 carried by the head B; this crank
shaft will give a lateral motion to the lever I carrying the upper knives which will
cut one flange of the I-beam as shown in Figure 5, and as the cam shaft revolves it
will cut the other flange, as shown in Figure 6, after which the clutch is
thrown out of gear and the clutch a thrown into gear to raise the head B and its
knives.

page_text: When cutting single angle bars, T or other shapes, only one side cutting knife is
used and if a machine is to be built especially for this purpose it need only have the
single side motion instead of the double motion described above.
In some instances the sides of the upper blades may be slightly curved, as shown
in Figure 8, to properly shear the flanges without undue crushing.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. The combination in a machine for cutting metallic shapes, of the reciprocating
head, a lever pivotted thereon and carrying the upper blades, with mechanism for
laterally moving the lever, substantially as specified.
2. The combination in a shearing machine, of the sliding head, a pivotted lever
carried thereby, blades mounted in the lever, a crank shaft carried by the head by
which a lateral motion is imparted to the lever, substantially as described.
3. The combination in a shearing machine for cutting metal shapes, of the base,
the head blocks adjustable thereon, side blades carried by the head blocks and
lower blades carried by the base, a reciprocating head, a lever pivotted thereto,
upper blades secured to the lever, mechanism for laterally moving the lever so that
the blades will not only cut on the face but on the sides, substantially as described.
4. The combination of the frame of the machine, the reciprocating head adapted
to the frame, a pivoted lever hung to the head, means for laterally moving the
lever, blades carried by the lower portion of the lever, a base, head blocks
adjustably mounted on said base between which the metallic shape is held, and
chocks back of each head, substantially as described.
5. The combination of the frame, the sliding head, mechanism for reciprocating
said head, a lever pivoted to the head, blades carried thereby, a crank shaft
adapted to impart motion to the lever, a vertical shaft carried by the head and
geared to the crank shaft, a pinion splined to the said shaft, so that the shaft will
turn with the pinion but will slide therein, and a driven shaft geared to the pinion,
substantially as described.
6. The combination of the frame, the base, the lower central knife secured to
the base, the laterally adjustable head blocks also carrying knives, a vertically
reciprocating and laterally vibrating head and adjustable knives therein,
substantially as described.
7. The combination in a metal shearing machine, of the reciprocating head, a
lever thereon recessed to receive blades, detachable central blade, side blades and
means for securing said blades in position, substantially as described.
8. The combination in a metal shearing machine, of the reciprocating head, the
lever pivoted thereto having pockets, central and side blades adapted to said
pockets, said side blades being shaped at their opposite ends so that they can be
reversed, substantially as described.
9. The combination in a beam shearing machine, of the base, the vertical
reciprocating head pivoted lever thereon carrying the upper blades, the lower
blades mounted on the base, side knives also mounted on the base, the sides of the
upper and lower blades for cutting the web being shaped so as not to impinge upon
the flange, during the vertical cutting, substantially as described.
10. The combination in a beam shearing machine, of the lower knives and side
blocks, with a reciprocating head, a laterally vibrating lever carried thereby,
knives on said lever, the cutting sides of said knives being curved to properly shear
the flange of the beam without crushing when the lever is vibrated, substantially
as described.
11. The combination of the metal shearing machine, the reciprocating head, a
lever pivoted thereto, having sockets, blades adapted to said sockets, with wedges
for locking the blades in position, substantially as described.
12. The combination in a metal shearing machine, of the reciprocating head,

page_text: lever pivoted thereto having a socket, side blades adapted to said socket, a central
wedge and two side blocks, a vertical screw passing through the wedge and into
the lever, substantially as described.
Dated this 14th day of March 1895.
JOHNSONS & WILLCOX,
47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, W.C., Agents.