Year: 1886

page_text: Date of Application, 6th Dec., 1886.
Complete Left, 27th Aug., 1887.
Complete Accepted, 27th Sept., 1887.
We WILLIAM SMITH, DAVID MARKS, and ROBERT WATSON, all of Britannia Iron
Works, Keighley in the County of York, Machine Makers, do hereby declare the
nature of this invention to be as follows, that is to say :-
It has for its object, by a simple and inexpensive arrangement and formation of
parts, the construction of a vice in such a manner that when the handle of same is
turned in one or the other direction the loose jaw is brought towards the fixed one
for the purpose of gripping, while when the handle is turned for a suitable distance in
the opposite direction the loose jaw is liberated and may be pulled further out as if
to grip a larger object, or if to grip a smaller object then it may be pushed closer to
the fixed jaw, in this manner being more readily adjusted than if requiring to be
moved all the way outwardly or inwardly by a screw or worm and rack bar as is well
understood.
To accomplish this we mount, rigidly, to the outer end of the well known horizontal
shaft, a worin which is made to engage with a rack bar as is well understood in
connection with vices, a suitable portion of the thread or screw part of this worm
being cut away so that when the same is turned with this blank part opposite the
teeth in the rack-bar it is freed and may be slided backwards or forwards as will
be seen.
In suitable proximity with the above-named worm is mounted another worm, but
this loosely, on the same shaft; this said loose worm having also a portion of its
thread or screwed part cut away as has the fixed worm.
Now, by suitable projections being formed on each of these worms, to come in
connection with each other in such a manner that when the handle is turned in the
direction for causing the vice to grip, the loose worin is brought with its cut part
opposite the perfect part of the fixed worm, and consequently its perfect part opposite
the cut part thereof, with the result that one or the other of these worms is in constant
connection or gear with the rack bar so long as the handle continues to move in the
direction aforesaid.

page_text: However by reversing the direction of the handle's motion from that above named,
the projections on the aforesaid worms are so arranged that the fixed worm turns the
loose one with its cut part opposite that of the said fixed one, that is the cut parts of
both the worms are brought into the same line, with the result that the same are freed
to be pushed or pulled in either direction.
In order to arrest the motion of the handle at the proper place when the cut
parts of the worms are brought in line with each other as above described, we mount
at the outer end of the sleeve of the vice, a spring catch, which is placed in a suitable
position so as to come in contact with an opening made in the loose worm, the
said opening being so shaped or formed that the said catch will allow it to pass in
one direction but hold it when turned in the opposite direction. Or as will readily be
seen the aforesaid spring catch may be mounted in the loose worm and the recess or
opening may be made in the outer end of the vice's sleeve.
Dated this 4th day of December 1886.
MOORHOUSE & HEY,
Agents for the Applicants.

page_text: and other Apparatus.
We, WILLIAM SMITH, DAVID MARKS, and ROBERT WATSON, all of Britannia Iron
Works, Keighley in the County of York, Machine Makers, 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, that
is to say:-
It relates to improvements in rack and worm mechanism applicable to vices
and other apparatus and consists of a simple and inexpensive arrangement
and formation of said mechanism by the application of which to a vice, the loose jaw
thereof is brought
or moved towards the fast one when the handle is turned in one or
the other direction while when said handle is turned in the opposite direction said
loose jaw is liberated and may be pulled further out as if to grip a larger object, or if
to grip a smaller object then it may be pushed closer to the fixed jaw, in this manner
being more readily adjusted than if requiring to be moved all the way outwardly or
inwardly by the common kind of screw and rack bar as is well understood.
In order that this said invention may be more readily understood, we have hereunto
appended a sheet of drawings illustrative thereof, bearing letters and figures of
reference used in the following description.
Fig. 1 is a partly sectional side elevation of a vice with our improvements applied.
Fig. 2 is a view of a vice as seen from below (when said vice is fixed in position for
use). Figs. 3, 4, 5 and 6 are detail drawings illustrating a worm constructed according
to our said invention.
The object, above set forth, is attained by rigidly mounting to the outer end of the
common and well known shaft a, the worm b which is made to engage with the rack
bar c in the common and well known manner, but a suitable portion of the screw or
threaded part d of said worm bis cut away so that when said worm is turned with
this blank part e (figs. 3 and 4) opposite the teeth in the rack bar e it (said worm) is
freed therefrom and may be moved or slided backwards and forwards as will
be seen.
On the shaft a, in suitable proximity with the above named worm b, is mounted
another worm, but this only loosely, said loose worm having also a portion of its
screw or threaded part d' cut away as has the fixed worm b, leaving in like manner a
blank part e' as will be seen (figs. 5 and 6).
Now by suitable projections or extensions g g¹ with their corresponding hollows or
openings being formed on these worms band f (one part to fit loosely in the
other when same are mounted on the shaft a),. in such a manner that when the handle i
is turned in the direction for causing the jaw k to move towards the jaw 7 (in this
manner making the vice to grip) the loose worm is brought with its part et opposite
the part d of the fast worm b, and consequently its part d' opposite the part of said

page_text: worm b, with the result that one or the other of these said worms borf will be kept
in constant connection or gear, by their respective parts d d', with the rack bar c so
long as said handle i continues to move in the direction aforesaid.
However by reversing the direction of motion of the handle i from the one above
named, the projections gland hollows are so arranged that the worm 6 turns
the worm with its part e¹ opposite the part e of the said worm b, or in other words
the cut parts e e¹ of the worms b and fare brought into a straight line with each other,
with the result that neither of them gears with the rack bar c and so the jaw k to
which they are attached by the shaft a and sleeve m of said jaw is allowed to be
moved in either direction to or from the jaw l.
In order to arrest the motion of the handle i at the proper place so that the operative
will know when the cut parts e and e¹ of the worms b and fare brought into line with
each other as above described, we mount at the outer end of the sleeve m a spring
catch (shewn in dotted lines fig. 2), which is placed in a suitable position so as to
come in contact with an opening o made in the worm f, said opening o being so
shaped or formed that the catch n will allow the worm to pass in one direction
(the one by which the vice is caused to grip), but hold it when turned in the opposite
direction. Or, as will readily be seen the positions of the catch n and the opening
may be exchanged.
0
When the jaw k is moved towards the jaw and then the handle is turned to
cause same to grip, it is found that the threads d d' of the worms and (not being
continued around said worms) often happen to be placed with their ends opposite the
teeth of the rack c and so require slightly moving before they will gear properly.
To allow for this slight movement a suitable spring p is mounted on the shaft a
between the handle and the jaw k, see fig. 1. Or to avoid the necessity of said
movement, the outer ends of the threads d d may be made of a suitable tapering form
so as to avoid the liability of coming exactly opposite the teeth in the rack bar cas
will be readily understood.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said invention,
and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we claim is
j
1. The combination of the worm b, rigidly mounted on a shaft, with the worm
loosely mounted on same shaft, a projection or an opening being made or formed on
each of said worms, and the rack bar c. all arranged and constructed to operate
substantially as set forth.
2. The combination of the shaft a, the worms and having projections and
openings and h, and the rack bar c with the spring p, the handle and the jaws k
and substantially as and for the purposes specified.
3. The combination of the shaft a the worms b and constructed as herein described,
and the rack bar c, with the spring catch n and the sleeve m in the manner and for
the purposes specified.
Dated this 26th day of August 1887.