Year: 1888

page_text: Date of Application, 19th May; 1888...
Complete Specification Left, 21st Jan., 1889
Complete Specification Accepted, 23rd Feb. 188
I JOSEPH HARTLEY WICKSTEED of Well House Foundry, Leeds, in the County of
York, Engineer do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This Invention facilitates the application of the same machine to testing long or
short pieces or pieces of intermediate length in tension or in compression or for
testing in deflection.
In carrying out this invention I prefer to place the weighing levers at the same end
of the machine as the straining ram and in making the straining ram push a sliding
frame away from the levers, which sliding frame carries the cross heads for either
pulling or thrusting while the cross heads for measuring the stresses may be connected
to the weighing levers which are mounted upon the fixed cylinder casing of the
straining ram. The cross head for pulling is adjustable at the outer end of the sliding
frame. The cross head for thrusting is fixed at the end of the sliding frame nearest
to the straining ram.. The cross head for measuring the stresses is carried between
the other two cross heads by tension bars pulling upon the weighing levers.
The invention is particularly applicable to Testing machines of the Horizontal type
which may be required for testing very long pieces as well as short ones.

page_text: I, JOSEPH HARTLEY WICKSTEED of Well House Foundry, Leeds, in the County of
York, Engineer, 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 :-
This invention facilitates the application of the same machine to testing long or
short pieces, or pieces of intermediate length, in tension or in compression or for
testing in deflection.
In carrying out this invention I place the weighing levers at the same end of the
machine as the straining ram and I make the straining ram push a sliding frame
away from the levers which sliding frame carries the cross heads for either pulling
or thrusting, while the cross head for measuring the stresses is connected to the
weighing levers. which may be mounted upon the fixed cylinder casing of the
straining ram. The cross head for pulling is adjustable from the outer end of
the sliding frame. The cross head for thrusting is fixed at the end of the sliding
frame nearest to the straining ram. The cross head for measuring the stresses is
carried between the other two cross heads by tension bars pulling upon the weighing
levers. The invention is particularly applicable to testing machines of the horizontal
type which may be required for testing very long pieces as well as short ones.
In the accompanying drawings;-
Figs. 1, 2 and 3 are respectively a part side elevation, a part plan, and a cross
section of a horizontal testing machine made in my improved manner, Fig. 4 being a
cross section showing the manner of securing the cross head D to the sliding frame C
hereinafter described.
A is the hydraulic straining ram and B B are the weighing levers which are
mounted on the fixed cylinder casing of the straining ram. CC is the sliding frame
which is pushed out by the straining ram and which carries the cross heads D and E
for pulling or thrusting against the cross head F which is connected to the weighing
levers and which therefore measures the stress that is brought to bear upon it.
The cross head D may be adjusted from the outer end of the sliding frame and
fixed by locking bolts M M in any part of the sliding frame so as to be carried
with it, for pulling specimens of various lengths from the weighing cross head I.
The holes into which the bolts M fit are provided at suitable intervals along each
member of the sliding frame and when these bolts are withdrawn the cross head,
which may be mounted on wheels as shown, can be run along into any new position
that is desired. The cross head E forms a fixed part of the sliding frame at the
end nearest to the straining ram and it thrusts specimens against the weighing
cross head which is connected by the tension bars with the weighing levers. To
admit longer specimens in thrust, the cross head F is adjusted along the four tension
screws GG, but if it is not required to test pieces in compression longer than the
stroke of the straining ram then the tension screws G G beyond the cross head F

page_text: are not required. The cross head E may also carry supports H H for testing beams
in deflection. The supports may be adjustable to varying distances apart they thrust
the beam against a suitable centre piece carried by the cross head F which measures
the thrust fending to the deflection of the beam. I shows a specimen in position
for pulling, Ja specimen in position for crushing and K a beam in position for
cross straining. The whole apparatus may be mounted at any convenient height
upon a fixed bed L the object of which is to support the various parts of the machine
in alignment, to guide the sliding frame in line while it is being pushed forward
by the straining ram, to support with anti-friction rollers or other anti-friction
supports the tension screws and weighing cross head F and to guide the weighing
cross head F against all transverse movements when it is being used to measure
thrust stresses. The return stroke of the straining ram and sliding frame may be
effected by constant. weights at W or by other-suitable means. I wish to say that
I do not confine the use of my invention to universal testing machines for making
tests in tension, compression and.deflection as described, but that my invention, may
be used in machines constructed for any one of these tests or for any two, as well as
for the whole three modes of testing. It has been usual to construct testing machines
with the straining ram at one end of a fixed, frame and the weighing levers at the
other end and this has necessitated in a universal machine the use of an extra set of
tension bars for compression or. deflection tests which extra bars I entirely dispense
with, and in such a machine as it has been usual to construct. if the machine is
intended for tensile testing only it must be provided with incans of coupling short.
specimens between the straining cross head which is at the end furthest from the
weighing levers and the weighing cross head, but by my invention the tension
screws G G are not required beyond the cross head F in a machine used for tensile
testing only or in a machine used for long tensile tests and for compression tests
confined in length to the stroke of the straining ram and for deflection also if
required. The straining cross head D may be adjusted and fixed on the frame as near
as required to the measuring cross head without providing any other means of
coupling than that of the sliding frame itself.
My improvement facilitates the construction of a testing machine for either long or
short pieces either in tension, compression, or deflection, and for a machine which may
test indefinitely long specimens in extension and without any extra tension bars may
he used for compression up to the length of stroke of the straining ram and also for
deflection. My improvements also reduce the length of the cycle through which the
stresses are transmitted.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is;-
A testing machine in which the weighing lovers are at the same end of the machine
as the straining ram and the cross heads for pulling and thrusting are carried by a
sliding frame which is pushed away from the levers by the straining ram substantially
as described.
Thated this 10th dow of January 1889