US228439A - Cork-cutting machine - Google Patents

Description

(No Model.)

P. L. BLAIR. Cork-Cutting Machines. No. 228,439. v Patented June 8,1880.

96H eH @9- 6 nesses {WW Z [Izaak/2'0 'aQw/M M 5 Mm Warren {STATES PATENT Qrrrca FRANK L. BLAIR, OF ALLEGHENY, PENNSYLVANIA.

CORK-CUTTING MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 228,439, dated June 8, 18 80,

Application filed March 18, 1880.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK L. BLAIR, of Allegheny city, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Machines for Outting the Ends of Corks; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which- Figure 1 is a side elevation of my improved cork-cutting machine, and Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same.

Like letters of reference indicate like parts in each.

My invention consists of a machine for cutting corks of irregular lengths to a uniform length.

In the manufacture of cork-blanks-that is, the cylindrical blanks of cork-wood of which tapering stoppers of bottles are made-the scraps of the cork-wood are utilized by passing them through the cork-cutting machines. The result is the formation of cork-blanks of varying lengths and of cork-blanks having defective ends. In order to fit these for use it is necessary to cut them a uniform length. Some portions will make corks of greater length than others, and so the gage of the machine must be changed to suit the various lengths into which these corks can be out. They are first sorted in accordance with their various sizes, and then the gage of the machine is set accordingly.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I will now describe its construction and mode of operation.

Upon a suitable frame, a, is a circular disk or knife, I), mounted on an arbor, c, which is provided with a pulley, c, for applying power to it. Upon the same frame a, and within the range of the knife I), is a circular head, (I, mounted on the shaft 6, which is provided with a pulley, c. In the periphery of the head cl there are a series of grooves, f, the front sides of which are beveled oif, as at f. On the inner side of the head (I is a disk, g, between which and the head is a slot or space, 9, in which the knife rotates. Extending up between the arbor of the knife and the headdis a curved guide, h, which is attached to a rod,

(No model.)

It, upon a suitable part of the frame of the machine, on which itis adjustable by nuts If. This guide extends back over the front portion of the head cl in such a position that it covers the grooves f as they turn toward the rotating knife. Attached to the frame of the machine by means of a bolt passing through a slot in it is a' movable gage, i, which extends out straight from the side, and then runs up along the outerside of the head (I opposite the grooves f. This gage is semicircular in form, and extends far enough around the head to afford a bearing for the end of the cork while it is undergoing the cutting action of the knife. It is adjustable by means of a screw-bolt and slot, 6. The shaft upon which the head revolves is adjustable to and from the knife by means of slots and bolts 0 Extending from below the front part of the head (I are two' troughs, one, It, to carry off the refuse ends of the corks, and the other, I, to carry off the corks as they are delivered from the head. In side of the head d is a spring-holder, m, which presses against the end of the cork and holds it in position against the gage i.

The operation of my machine is as follows, viz: The corks to be trimmed are placed by the attendant, one by one, in the grooves f as the head (I rotates. The rotation of the head carries the cork in under the curved holder m and guide It, The spring-holder m holds the cork up against the gage i, and the guide It holds it securely in position upon the face of the head (I as it is carried into and exposed to the operation of the knife. The knife severs the end which projects beyond the slot 9 in the head, and the severed end falls down into the trough is, while the cork, being carried on around by the head, is discharged into the trough land falls into a suitable receptacle. The gage i may bemoved out for the purposeof accommodating a longer cork, and" the curved guide It may be adjusted to suit any thickness of cork. In case of the wear of the knife and its consequent reduction of diameter, the shaft 0 may be moved toward it to compensate for such wear.

For corks of greater or less thickness, heads (1, having grooves f of corresponding size, may be substituted for the head (I.

The disk 9 constitutes a part of the head d,

and aflords support for the outer end of the cork While being cut, and prevents its being bent down by the knife and cut angling. This is a very material feature, owing to the soft and flexible nature of the cork.

The advantages of my machine are the precision and quickness of its operation and the saving in cork-wood efl'ected by the ability to cut the corks all of any desired gage.

Vhat I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a machine for removing the ends of corks, a rotating head having transverse grooves on its periphery for the reception of corks and a circular slot for the reception of the periphery of a rotating cutting-disk, in combination with a springholder arranged to cover the ends of the cork-grooves upon one side of the head and an adjustable gage upon FRANK L. BLAIR.

WVitnesses T. B. KERR, JAMES A. MoKEAN.

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