Improvements in Coal Tongs, Ice Tongs, Sugar Tongs, Fire Iron Tongs, and other like Tongs.
Year: 1896

page_text: Date of Application, 21st May, 1898
Complete Specification Left, 2nd Feb., 1897-Accepted, 6th Mar., 1897
Improvements in Coal Tongs, Ice Tongs, Sugar Tongs, Fire Iron
Tongs, and other like Tongs.
I ROWLAND HILL BERKELEY trading as Berkeley and Company of Henry'
Street, Ashted, Birmingham in the County of Warwick Steel Toy Manufacturer
do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
My invention relates to tongs used for taking hold of articles or substances, such
for example as coal tongs, sugar tongs, scissor tongs fire iron tongs and fire tongs
of the kind commonly called tongettes and other like tongs; and my said invention
consists of the improvements hereinafter described in the said tongs whereby a
better and more certain bite or grip on the article or substance is obtained than by
the use of tongs of the ordinary construction.
In order that my invention may be the better understood I remark that the
claws or gripping ends of tongs of the ordinary construction generally consist of
two roughened plates fixed to or made in one piece with the gripping arms of the
tongs the said claws being parallel or approximately parallel when the tongs are
closed. The claws of tongs of this the ordinary construction have a very imperfect
grip or bite on articles taken hold of by the tongs as the said claws on the opening
of the tongs become inclined to one another and on taking hold of an article have
a very insecure grip on it.
By my improvements the defects herein before referred to in tongs of the
ordinary construction are remedied.
In constructing tongs according to my invention I make the claws separate from
the gripping arms of the tongs and connect the said claws to the ends of the said
arms by joints preferably stop joints which permit of a slight angular motion of
the claws on the ends of the gripping arms.
By jointing the claws to the gripping arms the said claws on the closing of the
arms take the inclination of those parts of the article on which they bear and a
very secure grip on the article is thereby obtained.
I wish it to be understood that I do not limit myself to the configuration of the
jointed gripping claws of the tongs, nor to the form of the joint by which the said
claws are connected to the ends of the gripping arms as the same may be varied;
the essence of my invention consisting in the use of jointed claws in place of fixed
claws, whereby greater facility in gripping the article and a better grip is obtained
than by the use of tongs having fixed claws.
DT day of Mo 1806
W. T. WHITEMAN,
Agent for the Applicant.

page_text: Improvements in Coal Tongs, Ice Tongs, Sugar Tongs, Fire Iron
Tongs, and other like Tongs.
I ROWLAND HILL BERKELEY, trading as Berkeley and Company, of Henry
Street, Ashted, Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Steel Toy Manufacturer,
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 tongs used for taking hold of articles or substances, such
for example, as coal tongs, sugar tongs, scissor tongs, ice tongs fire iron tongs, and
fire tongs of the kind commonly called tongettes, and other like tongs; and my
said invention consists of the improvements hereinafter described in the said tongs
whereby a better and more certain bite or grip on the article or substance is
obtained than by the use of tongs of the ordinary construction.
In order that my invention may be the better understood I remark that the
claws or gripping ends of tongs of the ordinary construction generally consist of
two roughened flat plates or claws fixed to or made in one piece with the gripping
arms of the tongs the said claws being parallel or approximately parallel when the
tongs are closed: The claws of tongs of this, the ordinary construction have a
very imperfect grip or bite on articles taken hold of by the tongs, as the said claws
on the opening of the tongs become inclined to one another and on taking hold of
an article have a very insecure grip on it. Fixed claws however are sometimes
made of a curved figure or with a series of fingers. These however possess to a
greater or less degree the defects hereinbefore pointed out with respect to fixed flat
gripping. plates.
By my improvements the defects herein before referred to in tongs of the ordinary
construction are remedied..
In constructing tongs according to my invention I make the claws separate from
the gripping arms of the tongs and connect the said claws to the ends of the said
arms by joints, preferably stop joints, which permit of a slight angular motion of
the claws on the ends of the gripping arms.
By jointing, the claws to the gripping arms, the said claws on the closing of the
arms take the inclination of those parts of the article on which they bear and a
very secure grip on the article is thereby obtained.
I wish it to be understood that I do not limit myself to the configuration of the
jointed gripping claws of the tongs, nor to the form of the joint by which the said
claws are connected to the ends of the gripping arms, as the same may be varied;
the essence of my invention consisting in the use of jointed claws, in place of fixed
claws, whereby greater facility in gripping the article and a better grip is obtained
than by the use of tongs having fixed claws.
Figure 1 of the accompanying drawing represents in elevation a pair of scissor
coal or like tongs containing my improvements the said tongs being partially open,
and Figure 2 represents the same after they have been further opened;
Figure 3 represents in section the lower or gripping ends of the said tongs
showing one of the jointed claws in section and the other in elevation and also
showing the stop joints of the said claws;
Figure 4 is a side elevation of the lower portion of one of the arms and the
gripping claw jointed thereto.
Figure 5 represents a pair of jointed tongettes or coal vase tongs containing my
improvements and

page_text: Figure 6 represents a pair of spring tougettes or coal vase tongs containing my
improvements.
The same letters of reference indicate the same parts in the several figures of
the drawing.
In constructing tongs according to my invention for taking hold of articles such
as coal and the like I make the, preferably, serrated gripping plates or claws a, a
separate from the arms b, b of the tongs and I connect the said gripping plates or
claws a, a to the ends of the said arms b, b by joints c, c the said joints being
preferably of the kind called stop joints (see Figure 3). When the tongs described
are in use, the arms b, bare opened for taking hold of the article, say, for instance
a piece of ice or coal, to be picked up and when the claws a, a are closed on the
article the said claws a, a adjust themselves to the sides of the article gripped and
consequently a secure bite or hold on the said article is obtained. It will be seen
by reference to Figures 1 and 2 that the claws a, a are capable of preserving their
parallelisın even when the tongs are more or less fully opened, or of becoming
more or less inclined to one another as is indicated in dotted lines in Figure 1.
The joints c, c instead of being situated at the extreme ends of the arms b, b
may be arranged at a short distance from the said ends the claws or gripping
plates a, a in this case being made in one piece with the jointed ends of the arms.
Although I have only represented my invention in connection with tongs having
flat serrated gripping plates or claws I wish it to be understood that the said
jointed gripping plates or claws may be made of any desired shape or form.
The application of my invention to tongs other than scissor coal vase tongs and
jointed and spring tongettes or coal vase tongs, differs in no essential respect from
its application to scissor coal vase tongs and jointed and spring tongettes or coul
vase tongs as herein before described and illustrated.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that I claim as
my invention :-
The improvements in coal tongs, ice tongs, sugar tongs, fire iron tongs and other
like tongs hereinbefore described and represented in the accompanying drawing,
the said improvements consisting in jointing the claws or gripping plates of the
said tongs to the arms of the tongs so as to permit the claws or grips to
accommodate themselves to the surfaces of the articles gripped and thereby
facilitate the gripping of articles by the tongs and obtain a firm and secure hold
on the said articles substantially as described and illustrated.
Dated the Twenty-ninth day of January 1897.
ROWLAND HILL BERKELEY.