IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE of HINGES, AND IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS TO BE USED IN THE SAID MANUFACTURE
Year: 1877

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Francis Edgar Martineau, of the Firm of Francis Edgar
Martineau and Company, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Manu-
facturers, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE of
HINGES, AND IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS TO BE USED IN THE SAID
MANUFACTURE.”
Sealed the 27th October 1877, and dated the 8th May 1877.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Francis Edgar Martineau at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 8th May 1877.
FRANCIS EDGAR MARTINEAU, of the Firm of Francis Edgar Martineau and
Company, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Manufacturers. "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF HINGES, AND IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS TO
BE USED IN THE SAID MANUFACTURE,"
My Invention relates to such hinges as are made by cutting blanks from sheet
iron or other sheet metal, and forming the barrel or joint part of the hinge by turning
up into a tubular figure portions of the said blanks.
My said Invention consists in making the said blanks by cutting or dividing a
strip or plate of metal in the manner herein-after described, whereby the flaps of
the hinges are made of equal strength to those of the ordinary kind. The flaps
made according to my Invention are much lighter than ordinary flaps, and there is
a considerable saving of metal in their manufacture.
My Invention further consists of the machinery or apparatus herein-after described
for cutting out the said blanks.
Instead of making the flaps of the hinge square or rectangular and of similar
figure, I make one of them of a tongue-like figure, and the other of a fork-like
figure, that is, with a recess in its middle of a figure the counterpart of the said
tongue-like part of the first-named flap. Both flaps have the same width near the
joint. The flap having a tongue-like figure has by preference three screw holes, one
made near the end of the tongue, and the other two in the part near the joint. The
other flap has by preference four screw holes, two in each branch of the fork. I cut
out the said blanks with cutting machinery or apparatus consisting of a press or
stamp and a pair of dies, the said machinery or apparatus resembling generally that

page_text: ordinarily employed, excepting that the pair of cutting dies have the figure proper
for cutting out the tongue-like part of one flap herein-before described, and leaving
the fork-like part of the other flap.
By feeding the metal strip with an intermittent advancing motion between the
said dies, the moveable die at each descent cuts out a flap with a tongue, at the same
time separating a flap with a fork part which had been partially made by the former
descent of the moveable die.
Instead of cutting out the blanks by the machinery or apparatus described, whereby
a blank is made at each descent of the moveable die, the said blanks may be
cut out by the commonly practised process, whereby each blank is cut at two
operations.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by the
said Francis Edgar Martineau in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 29th
October 1877.
FRANCIS EDGAR MARTINEAU, of the Firm of Francis Edgar Martineau and
Company, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Manufacturers. " IMPROVE-
MENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF HINGES, AND IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS TO
BE USED IN THE SAID MANUFACTURE.”,
My Invention relates to such hinges as are made by cutting blanks from sheet
iron or other sheet metal, and forming the barrel or joint part of the hinge by turning
up into a tubular figure portions of the said blanks.
My said Invention consists in making the said blanks by cutting or dividing a
strip or plate of metal in the manner herein-after described, whereby the flaps of
the hinges are made of equal strength to those of the ordinary kind. The flaps
made according to my Invention are much lighter than ordinary flaps, and there is a
considerable saving of metal in their manufacture.
My Invention further consists of the machiney or apparatus herein-after described
for cutting out the said blanks.
Instead of making the flaps of the hinge square or rectangular and of similar
figure, I make one of them of a tongue-like figure, and the other of a fork-like
figure, that is, with a recess in its middle of a figure, the counterpart of the said
tongue-like part of the first-named flap. Both flaps have the same width near the
joint. The flap having a tongue-like figure has by preference three screw holes, one
made near the end of the tongue, and the other two in the part near the joint. The
other flap has by preference four screw holes, two in each branch of the fork. I cut
out the said blanks with cutting machinery or apparatus consisting of a press or
stamp and a pair of dies, the said machinery or apparatus resembling generally that
ordinarily employed, excepting that the pair of cutting dies have the figure proper
for cutting out the tongue-like part of one flap herein-before described, and leaving
the fork-like part of the other flap.
By feeding the metal strip with an intermittent advancing motion between the
dies, the moveable die at each descent cuts out a flap with a tongue, at the same
time separating a flap with a fork part which had been partially made by the former
descent of the moveable die.
Instead of cutting out the blanks by the machinery or apparatus described
whereby a pair of blanks is made at each descent of the moveable die, the said
blanks may be cut out by the commonly practised process, whereby each blank is
cut at two operations.
I will now proceed to describe with reference to the accompanying Drawing
the manner in which my Invention may be performed.
Figure 1 represents in elevation and edge view a sheet metal hinge manufactured
according to my Invention. a, b, are the two flaps of the hinge, and a³, 62, are the
joint parts or barrel of the said flaps. The flap a has a tongue-like figure, and the

page_text: other flap ba fork-like figure, the recess bs between the two branches of the fork
having a figure the counterpart of the tongue part a³ of the flap a as represented.
The two flaps a, b, have each the same width near the joint. The joints a², b², are
situated on one half of the respective flaps as represented. The flap a has three
countersunk screw holes c, c, and the other flap b has four countersunk screw
holes d, d, the said holes c and d having the positions represented.
The blanks from which the two flaps a, b, of the hinge, Figure 1, are made, are
cut out from a metal strip in the manner illustrated in Figures 2 and 3 by the use
of the pair of cutting dies represented in Figures 4 and 5; Figure 4 representing
an elevation of the upper dio or punch and a vertical section of the lower die, and
Figure 5 a plan of the upper side of the said lower die. The upper die or punch
marked e is fixed to the bolt of a press or stamp, and the lower die marked f, is
fixed to the bed of the press or stamp. The lower die f is open at the sides ƒ2, ƒ³
and the acting or cutting edges of the said die f have the form represented in
Figure 5. The acting or cutting edges of the punch e have the shape shown at h, h²,
Figure 3.
The metal strip, Figure 2, having the width of the hinges to be made, is fed by
an intermittent advancing motion between the dies e, f, and against a stop, the dis-
tance through which the strip is fed at each motion being equal to the length of a
pair of blanks to be cut out. By the action of the said dies e, f, a flap blank
with a tongue is cut out from the strip at each descent of the upper die or
punch, and a flap blank with a fork which had been partially made by the
former descent of the punch e is also separated from the strip. That is to say,
the strip, Figure 2, with the forked piece g partially made by the last descent of the
punch, being fed the required distance between the dies e, f, the descent of the punch e
cuts out the tongue-like flap blank marked h, from the strip, and separates the fork-
like flap blank marked g from the strip, and in like manner the next feed of the
strip, and the descent of the punch e cuts out the tongue-like flap blank i, and
separates the fork-like flap blank k from the strip. In this way a pair of flap blanks
of a hinge is simultaneously cut without waste at each descent of the punch e. In
the strip, Figure 2, the flap blanks h, i, which are cut out by the punch, are repre-
sented by the dark or lined parts, and the other flap blanks g, k, which are separated
from the strip by the punch, are represented by unlined parts. The cut out and
separated flap blanks g, h, are represented in Figure 3. From the parts marked g², h²,
of the blanks g, h, thus produced the barrel or joint parts of the hinge are made, as
will be understood by an examination of Figure 1, the said parts g², h², being turned
up into a tubular figure in the ordinary way.
Instead of making the barrel or joint parts of the hinge from pieces left on one
half of the respective flap blanks, as before described and illustrated, the flap blanks
may be so cut out as to leave parts for the formation of the barrel or joint parts of
the shape represented in the two flaps shown in Figure 6, and in the completed
hinge in Figure 7. In this case the piece g² on the fork-like blank g to form part
of the barrel or joint is situated at the middle of the flap blank, and the pieces h³, h²,
on the tongue-like blank h are situated near the ends of the blank, so that when the
barrel parts have been made from the pieces g², h², in the usual way, the middle joint g²,
of the barrel engages between the end joints h2, h3, of the barrel, as seen in Figure 7.
In making blanks of the form of Figure 6, the shape of the acting parts of the
punch e and lower die fare correspondingly changed.
Having now described the nature of my Invention, and the manner in which the
same is to be performed, I wish it to be understood that I do not limit myself
to the precise details herein described and illustrated, as the same may be varied
without departing from the nature of my Invention.
But I claim as my
Invention,
First. The improvements in the manufacture of sheet metal hinges, herein-before
described and illustrated in Figures 1, 6, and 7, of the accompanying Drawing, that
is to say, making one or two flaps of the hinge of a tongue-like figure, and the other
flap of a fork-like figure, the recess in the fork-like flap being of a figure the counter-

page_text: part of the tongue-like part of the other flap, whereby the said flaps are much
lighter than ordinary flaps, and there is a considerable saving of metal in their
manufacture, substantially as described and illustrated.
Secondly. The process of and machinery or apparatus to be used in cutting out
the flap blanks of the said sheet metal hinges herein-before described and illustrated
in Figures 2, 3, 4, and 5 of the accompanying Drawing; that is to say, constructing
the cutting out dies or tools of the said machinery, and arranging the feeding of the
strip of sheet metal from which the flap blanks are to be cut, that each descent of
the moveable die or punch simultaneously cuts from the strip one of the flap blanks,
and separates from the strip the other flap blank which had been partially
made by the former descent of the punch or moveable die, whereby the two
flap blanks are cut out without waste, substantially as described and illustrated.
In witness whereof, I, the said Francis Edgar Martineau, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Twentieth day of October, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and seventy-seven.
Witness,
GEORGE SHAW.
FRANCIS EDGAR MARTINEAU. (L.S.)