IMPROVEMENTS IN COLLED SPRINGS, AND IN THE MACHINERY EMPLOYED FOR MAKING THE SAME
Year: 1869

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Charles Denton Abel, of No. 20, Southampton
Buildings, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Patent
.Agent, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN COLLED SPRINGS, AND IN
THE MACHINERY EMPLOYED FOR MAKING THE SAME."-A communication
from abroad by William Metcalf, of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, United
States of America.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Charles Denton Abel
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 15th July 1869.
T, CHARLES DENTON ABEL, of No. 20, Southampton Buildings,
Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Patent Agent, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN COILED
SPRINGS, AND IN THE MACHINERY EMPLOYED FOR MAKING THE SAME," to be as
follows:
This Invention has for its object the construction of double springs
from single plates of metal by rolling or coiling such plates when
Price Gd1

page_text: properly shaped and heated so as to produce either, first, a double volute
coil, or second an elliptic coil, such coils having when made symmetrically
shaped ends for supporting a load or resisting compression, and each coil
when in use being compressed or resisting compression in the direction
of the axial line of the coil. The machine for making such coils consists,
first, in the construction of a slotted coiling spindle operated by a sliding
screw and chuck for coiling the springs in connection with head and tail
blocks and suitable driving gear for operating the same; second, in com-
bining with such coiling spindle devices for feeding in the plates to be
coiled; and third, in the combination of devices by which the machine
is operated. For making such double volute or elliptic coiled springs a
steel or other suitable metal plate is slit in the middle of its width at
one or more points of its length, and such slit parts are then distended
so as in the case where the plate is formed with a slit at one or both ends
to impart a fork-like shape to one or both ends of the plate, or, where
the plate is slit at one or more intermediate points of its length to
produce elliptic openings in the plate, either of equal or of varying
widths. The slit and distended plate is then coiled round a mandril so
as to assume the form of a double volute or elliptic coil, the parts having
the greatest distension forming the bearing ends of the spring. The
machine for coiling such springs consists of a framing carrying two head-
stocks, one of which carries a shaft provided with suitable driving gear
for receiving rotary motion and carrying at its overhanging end a chuck
or socket. The other headstock carries a revolving screw nut held so as
to be capable only of rotary motion, through which nut passes a screw
spindle. On the nut is fixed or formed a spur wheel, in gear with which
is a pinion carried by a spindle receiving rotary motion through a winch
handle, whereby rotary motion is also imparted to the nut, which thus
effects a longitudinal motion of the screw spindle through a bush on the
headstock. To the screw spindle is connected a slotted mandril in such
manner that the latter can turn independently of the former, which is
capable only of end motion. The slot in the mandril serves to receive
the end of the bar or plate to be coiled, and when the spring is coiled up
on the mandril this is slided back by turning the screw spindle to which
it is attached, whereby the spring is pushed off therefrom; to facilitate
this a "discharging ring" is placed loose on the mandril. On one side
of the machine near the mandril is an adjustable guide rest or bed for
supporting the plate while being coiled, which guide rest is made
adjustable by a sliding block which is raised or lowered by a
screw

page_text: spindle receiving motion from a pinion on the chuck shaft. The motion
is so graduated that the guide rest shall rise as the spring is coiled, so
that a uniform distance shall be maintained between the surface of the
bed and the under side of the spring during the operation of coiling.
For holding the spring while being coiled so as to cause it to be fed
forward in a straight line, guides are attached on each side of the guide
rest under which the plate for forming the spring is held.
For coiling
the plate the front end of the slotted mandril is advanced so as to enter
the chick on the driving shaft, which is then rotated so as to carry with
it the mandril. The bearing ends of the springs may be flattened after
coiling, or the edges of the plates may be flattened by forging, cutting,
or grinding before coiling.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Charles Denton Abel in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 14th December 1869.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, 1, CHARLES
DENTON ABEL, of No. 20, Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane, in
the County of Middlesex, Patent Agent, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Fifteenth day of July, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine, in the thirty-third year
of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant
unto me, the said Charles Denton Abel, Her special licence that 1, the
said Charles Denton Abel, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or
such others as I, the said Charles Denton Abel, my executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from
time to time and at all times thereafter during the term therein ex-
pressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within
the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands,
and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN COILED SPRINGS, AND
IN THE MACHINERY EMPLOYED FOR MAKING THE SAME," a communication to me
from abroad by William Metcalf, of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, United
States of America, upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said
Charles Denton Abel, my executors or administrators, by an instrument

page_text: in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should
particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and
in what manner the same was to be performed, and cause the same to
be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next
and inmediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Charles Denton Abel, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
the following statement thereof, reference being had to the accompanying
Sheet of Drawings, and to the figures and letters marked thereon, that
is to say:
This Invention has for its object the construction of double springs
from single plates of metal by rolling or coiling such plates when
properly shaped and heated so as to produce either, first, a double
volute coil, or second, an elliptic coil, such coils having when made
symmetrically shaped ends for supporting a load or resisting com-
pression, and each coil when in use being compressed or resisting
compression in the direction of the axial line of the coil. The machine
for making such coils consists, first, in the construction of a slotted
coiling spindle operated by a sliding screw and chuck for coiling the
springs in connection with head and tail blocks, and suitable driving
gear for operating the same; second, in combining with such coiling
spindle devices for feeding in the plates to be coiled; and, third, in the
combination of devices by which the machine is operated.
The general style of springs covered by this Invention, and the mode
of and apparatus for preparing the plates for coiling or rolling, and for
rolling them are shown on the accompanying Sheet of Drawings.
To make a double coiled volute 1 prepare plates of metal of the proper
length, breadth, and thickness according to the size and weight of
spring desired. Such plate a, Fig. 4, I bifurcate or cut centrally and
longitudinally nearly its whole length, as in Fig. 4, and spread apart or
distend the cut portions a', a', by any suitable devices adapted for such
purposes. This slitted and distended plate is then (being first heated
if found necessary) coiled around a mandril as presently to be described
into a double volute form, as shown in Fig. 5. The two legs a, a, form
the outer ends a, a, of the coiled spring, the two being united at the
middle by the part a which remains uncut.
This gives in effect two

page_text: volute springs or a double volute made from a single plate of metal, and
one which gives double the elasticity of and equal strength with a
single volute.
Another form of spring is made from a single plate b,
(Fig. 6) which is cut centrally and longitudinally along the greater
part of its length, but not at the ends. The cut or divided parts b' are
spread apart or distended as before till the plate has somewhat the form
of an ellipse. This plate b, b, is then coiled from end to end around a
mandril as presently to be described into a coiled double elliptic. spring,
as shewn in Figures 7 and 8, the former being a side elevation and the
latter a vertical section, the dimensions however being somewhat.
enlarged from those of the plate b, b', for convenience of illustration.
The parts of the plate b, b', having the greatest distention are the parts
which give the bearing ends of the spring. The uncut ends of the plate
unite the extremities of the ellipse in the inner and outer folds or coils.
This spring possesses the requisite qualities of strength, elasticity, and
durability even to a higher degree than the spring shewn in Figure 5.
Figure is a plan view of one of the slitted and distended plates in
which the plate is slitted at several intermediate points of its length, and
the slitted parts are distended to the same breadth or spread; Figure 10
is a like view of a similar plate, except that the slitted parts are
distended to a breadth of spread which gradually increases from one end
of the plate to the other; Figure 11 is a like view of a metallic spring
plate slitted at both ends, and the slitted parts distended or spread;
Figure 12 is a side elevation of a spring made from a plate slitted and
distended, as in Fig. 10; Figure 13 shews a section of the spring shown
in Fig. 12 as made by a plane cutting the spring in the line of its axis;
and Fig. 14 is a side elevation of a spring made from a plate slitted and
distended, as in Fig. 11.
The machine by which I make these springs is shewn in Figures 1, 2,
and 3, Figare 1 being a top or plan view of the machine, Figure 2 being
a side elevation, partly in section, and Figure 3 a plan view of the guide
rest and plate.
A represents the frame of the machine, which is made of any suitable
form or material for sustaining and operating the devices to be
described. At or near one end of the frame is a head block B, and at
the opposite end is a tail block B', each being of the proper form for
the uses yet to be named. In proper bearings in the head block B rests
a shaft c, on the inner end of which is a chuck & so attached thereto as

page_text: to be removable; on this shaft ca set of graduated pulleys C, C, turn
loosely along with a pinion D which is rigidly connected therewith;
motion is communicated thence through a train of gear wheels D', D,
to a gear wheel D³ on the shaft c, and thus a slow and graduated motion
is imparted to the chuck shaft d. The tail block B carries a revolving
mut, which is secured against any but a revolving motion, and which
is tapped
so as to admit a threaded screw e. On the nut is formed or
fixed a gear wheel g, which is operated by the pinion g' on the axle g*.
The screw e operates backwards and forwards through the nut f and
through a box in the upper part of the tail block B, and has set in its
inner end a spindle or mandril e', the two being so connected together that
they can turn independently of each other. The spindle e' has a slot' s
running along on one side from end to end so as to receive the end of
the bar or plate to be coiled, and so that when coiled the spring may be
slipped off the mandril e' by running the latter back along with the
screw e, the power for that purpose being applied through the axle g³,
pinion g', gear wheel g, and nut f. To facilitate this a discharging
ring is placed on the mandril e' and operates loosely thereon.
face of the ring f is the same as that of the end of a spring when
coiled. On one side of the machine near the mandril e' is an adjustable
guide. rest or bed E for supporting the plate or bar while being
coiled. This bed E made adjustable by a sliding block E' which is
raised and lowered by a screw m.
from a pinion F on the chuck shaft
The
Motion is communicated to this
through the gear wheels F¹,
shaft m', and bevil gearing m. The motion is so graduated that the
bed E shall rise as the spring his coiled so that a uniform distance shall
be maintained between the surface of the bed E and the under side of
the spring during the whole operation of coiling.
For that purpose in
making springs from bars of varying thicknesses the gear wheels F
should be removable so as to be changed. To hold the springs while
being coiled in such position that they will be fed forward in a direct
line and give when coiled symmetrically shaped ends, I attach to the
face of the bed E guides on either side; these operate as shewn at
Fig. 3, the bifurcated legs a', a', of the plate a rest under these guides
while the uncut end is inserted in the slot s, the mandril e' being first
turned forward by the screws e till its forward end enters the chuck d;
motion is then applied to the chuck d, and the spring is coiled rapidly
and evenly; but to coil the form of plate shewn in Figures 6 to 14, 1
use a removable guide o which is so made that its edges will be cauglit

page_text: under the guides n, and so that under its middle part will be caught
one uncut end of the plate b, b', (Fig. 6,) the other uncut end being
inserted in the slots and the plate coiled as before. The coiling of
such a plate is illustrated at h, Figure 1. Each spring when coiled or
rolled is slipped off the mandril, as already described, and the springs are
coiled one after another as fast as the plates can be heated and fed in.
In this way I produce springs of the forms shown in Figures 5 to 14,
the one Fig. 5 being from a plate slit or bifurcated centrally and
longitudinally at one end, and the bifurcations spread apart or distended,
as in Fig. 4, that at Fig. 7 from a plate slit or bifurcated throughout its
whole length except at the ends and distended as described. These
give a double volute, as in Fig. 5 and a coiled or rolled elliptic as in
Fig. 7.
The other forms shewn are modifications of these. The
bearing ends of the springs may be flattened after coiling if so desired,
or the edges of the plates a, a, b, b', which in the complete spring are
to form the bearing surfaces may be flattened by forging, cutting,
grinding, or by other equivalent means. In the form shewn at Figure 10
the parts b' most widely distended will give the first or outer bearing
ends b', Figures 12 and 13, the parts will give the bearing ends b², and
so on.
I have described the spring shewn in Figure 7 as a coiled or rolled
elliptic. It may obviously with equal correctness be described as a
quadruple volute, or two double volutes made from a single plate.
Having thus described the nature of the said Invention, and the mode
of operating and using the same, what I claim therein and desire to
secure by Letters Patent is,
First. The slotted coiling spindle or mandril e' attached to a sliding
screw e for imparting thereto a longitudinal motion in combination with
a chuck & for imparting to the same a rotary motion, the parts being
constructed and operated, substantially as and for the purposes herein-
before expressed.
Second. An adjustable guide rest or bed E having guides m when
used in connection with a slotted mandril e in coiling springs,
substantially as and for the purposes herein-before expressed.
Third. A double or quadruple volute spring made from a single plate
cut or bifurcated longitudinally from one end nearly its whole length or
from the middle towards each end, the cut portions being spread apart
and the plate coiled, substantially as herein-before set forth.

page_text: Fourth. A quadruple volute or coiled elliptic spring made from a
single plate divided longitudinally to the extent of nearly its whole
length with both ends uncut or divided at two or more intermediate
points of its length, one or more intermediate portions being left uncut,
the divided parts being spread apart, and the plate coiled substantially as
herein-before set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said Charles Denton Abel, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Thirteenth day December, in
the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-
nine.
CHAS. D. ABEL. (L.S.)