US36056A - Improvement in rattan machinery - Google Patents

Description

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UNITED STATES PATENT EEICE.

THOMAS J. MAYALL, OF BOSTON, ASSIGNOR TO GYRUS VAKEFIELD, OF

SOUTH READING,

MASS ACH USETTS.

EMPROVEMENT IN RATTAN vMACHINERY.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 36,056, dated July 29, 1862.

b @ZZ whom it may concern: A i

Be it known that I, THOMAS J. MAYALL, of Boston, in the county of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented a new and use` fnl Machine for Cutting the Joint Rings of Rattan; and l do hereby declare that the fol'- lowing is a full, clear,` and exact description of the same, reference being had to the 'annexed drawings, making a part of this specification, and to the letters tif-reference marked thereon. The object of my invention is to ont away the rings that project at the joints of rattan without otherwise impairing the surface; and it consists in the combination, with a series of feed-rollers constructed Afirmly to grasp the rattan without, however, injuring itsglazed surface, and to pass it through the machine, of a series of rotating cutters that are raised from .the surface until the presence of a ring or other excrescence causes them to converge and reduce the stick to a uniform cylinder.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I will proceed to describeits construction and operation.

Figure l of the drawings is a side elevation of my improved machine. Fig. 2' is a sectional elevation. Fig. 3 is a plan, and Fig. 4 is a transverse section, of the same. Fig. 5 is a detached portion of the machine, that will be hereinafter more particularly described.

The pairs of rollers a, b, c-,fand d have grooves in the middle of their length for the reception of the rattan, which are faced or lined with india-rubber, that it may be strongly and securely grasped without injury to its silicious surface. Theserollers are placed in the frame of the machine so that the stick of rattan will is so limited in extent as not to interfere "with4 the-.proper action oi' the gear-wheels, by which. the rollers are rotated on motion' being imparted to them from the main drivingshaft g.

H is a revolving sleeve through which the rattan passes. Itis rotated by the spur-wheel i, which is driven by bevel-gearingfrom the shaft g. It carries a head (represented rie-- tached in Fig. 5) containing a series of cutters or knives, k, the edges of which are sharpened tangentially to the surface of the rattan. Each of these knives is hung on a central pin, and has its cutting-edge pressed against the rattan by a helical spring placed under its opposite end and within the head. The depth to which the knives are permitted to cut in relation to the general surface of the stick is adjusted by set-screws l. On the ends of the knives opposite the cutting-edges are small rollers m, which are clasped by a cord or belt, n, the ends of which are fastened to the vertical arms o o of a pair of bell-cranks placed on each side of the-machine. The other arms, p p. of these bell-cranks cross one another over the top of .the machine, and are secured by a pin` g, Working in a slot in one of the arms, thatthus holds the arms together and permits their being depressed. The fulcrum or center of motion of each bellcrank isat r. The eiicct of the depression of the arms p is to separate the arms o, and to canse the rollers m to converge together and the cutting ends of the knives k to diverge from the rattan.

S is a slide beam that has a longitudinal motion in the bearings t t, and carries a cam, s, on its lower side, that depresses the arms of the cranks. The beam is caused to slide to the right by the knot or tally-gage u coming in rcontact with a knot or ring on the rattan that is being passed through the machine. When it has thus been carried to the right into the position indicated in red lines, the stationary cam o raises the gage u by compressing its sp ring and occasions the cessation of the movement of the slide-beam. The knot-gage may be placed on the end of the machine at a distance from the knives equal to the space between the rings of the rattan, as shown in the drawings, so that the knives are depressed to cut one ring by the contact of the gage with the ring immediately following; or it may be placed within the frame'andjust in vfront of the knives, so that each knot passing the gage will place the knives in position for cutting it away. The slidebeam S is restored to its original position by the top cross-piece of the frame w, which vibrates on the center x and is operated by the pin y, projecting from the roller c.

In operating this machine, the rattan is entered' between the rubber-lined grooves of the rollers a, b, c, and d, which are adjusted to suit its size by the set-screws f, the knives are set by the screws Z, so that they will only cut into the rattan to the required extent, and the cam s is placed upon the arms of the bell.

cranks to hold the knives from the'surface. The machine is then put in motion from the driving-shaft g. The rollers revolve with the rattan tightly grasped and carried through the sleeve H, which also carries the knives in rapid revolution around the rattan. Vhen a ring or knot strikes the gage a, the slide-beam will be moved to th e position indicated in red, the bell-cranks will be relieved from the cam s, the cord will be relaxed around the rollers m, and the knives will be caused to converge by their springs and will cut away theknot presented for their action to the depth that has been regulated by their adjusting-screws. When the ring has passed through the knives, the pin y on the roller c strikes the lower portion of the frame w and shifts the slide-beam back to its original position in which the cam bears upon the bell cranks and opens the knives. The return of the slide-beam also releases thegage u from the cam fv, and the eX- pansion ofthe spring of the gage causes it to again rest upon the rattanin readiness for another knot.

In the machines that have been invented hitherto rollers have been used for feeding the cane or rattan; but where sufficient pressure has been employed to hold the cane firmly the surface has been bruised or crushed; and they have been further objectionable for the reason that inequalities of surface would cause the rattan to slip or jerk. These objections have been remedied in my machine by lining the grooves of the rollers with india-rubber, which will hold the rattan firmly without risk of injury,and will cause it to be fed uniformly; but their action was essentially different from that of the side cutters hereinbefore described, asv

instead of removing the excrescenees or knots by a clean cut, or preferably a draw-cut, they were scraped off by a series of knives or cutters, the scrapingedges of which formed a circle more or.less in conformity with the sectional circumference of the rattan, and have pressed against it throughout its whole length, whereby its silicious and glazed surface,which it is so important to preserve intact, was liable to be scraped and otherwise injured. The shape and operation of the knives, on the other hand, were such as to render them very liable to be broken, or at least of becoming speedily dull, requiring constant sharpening and adjustment. It will be observed that my knives are only brought into operation when they are required to cut away a proj ecting knot or ring, and that their circular motion, in combination with the rectilinear movement of the rattan, insures a clean smooth cut by the drawing diagonal resulting from these components. Both the rollers and the knives are susceptible of easy adjustment to meet the requirements of the different sizes of canes or rattans that it may be desired to operate upon. In conclusion, I would observe that I do not wish to be understood as confining myself to the precise construction and arrangement of parts as hereinbefore described. It must appear obvious that this my invention is susceptible of many modifications without departing from the principle of my invention.

Now, having fully described my improvements, I shall state my claims, as follows:

1. The method of cutting away the knots of rattan by the employment,in combination with two or more pairs of rollers to impart to the stick of rattan a rectilinear movement, as de`

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