AN IMPROVEMENT OR IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF BUTT HINGES
Year: 1873

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Rowland Hodges, the younger, of Birmingham,
in the County of Warwick, Brass Founder, for the Invention of
** AN IMPROVEMENT OR IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF BUTT
HINGES."
Sealed the 15th August 1878, and dated the 4th March 1873.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by tho said Rowland Hodges at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 4th March 1878:
I, ROWLAND HODGES, the younger, of Birmingham, in the County of
Warwick, Brass Founder, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "AN IMPROVEMENT OR IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF
BUTT HINGES," to be as follows :—
My Invention has reference to those kinds of butt hinges which are
made from sheet brass or other sheet metal by a stamping process in dies,
and commonly called stamped butt hinges; and my said Invention has for
its object principally to strengthen and support the barrel or knuckles of

page_text: the joint of stamped butt hinges, in order to prevent the said barrel or
knuckles opening out when considerable strain is put upon them. The
flaps of the hinges are also strengthened.
In manufacturing stamped butt hinges according to my Invention I
cut out from sheet brass or other sheet metal blanks having the usual
length, but having a breadth double the breadth of the flaps of the
hinges to be made, the said broad blanks being provided with the usual
projecting parts, along one edge from which the knuckles are to be
mado. By a stamping process the said projecting parts of the blank are
bent or fashioned into the knuckles of the flap of the hinge, the bent or
turned over edge of the metal from which the knuckles are made nearly
touching the upper side of the flap. The knuckles thus made have an
open or unsupported side. The broad flap of the hinge is next doubled
or folded along its middle in the direction of its length, that is to say,
the half of the flap which is most distant from the kuckles is folded or
doubled upon the upper side of the half nearest tho said knuckles, tho
inner edge of the folded half of the flap being presented to and pressed
in contact with the open or unsupported side of the knuckles of tho
joint. The flaps of the hinge are then finished, and jointed together in
the ordinary way. By thus manufacturing stamped butt hinges the
open sides of the soveral knuckles of the joint of the flaps are supported
along their whole length, and the said knuckles so strengthened that
their opening out when considerable strain is put upon them is pre-
vented. The knuckles are also made very accurate as regards their
position with respect to ono another, and the flaps are strengthened.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Rowland Hodges in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 27th August 1873.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ROWLAND
HODGES, the younger, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, 3
Brass Founder, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Fourth day of March, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-three, in the

page_text: •
thirty-sixth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said Rowland Hodges, Her special
license that I, the said Rowland Hodges, my executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Rowland Hodges,
5 my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree with,
and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter during the
term therein expressed, 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 "AN IMPROVEMENT
) OR IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF BUTT HINGES," upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said Rowland Hodges, my executors or
administrators, by an instrument 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
3 performed, and cause the samo to be filed in the Great Seal Patent
Office within six calendar months next and immediately after the date
of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, tho said Rowland Hodges, 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, that is to say :—
My Invention has reference to those kinds of butt hinges which are
made from sheet brass or other sheet metal by a stamping process in
dies, and commonly called stamped butt hinges; and my said Invention
has for its object principally to strengthen and support the barrel or
knuckles of the joint of stamped butt hinges, in order to prevent the
said barrel or knuckles opening out when considerable strain is put upon
them. The flaps of the hinge are also strengthened.
In manufacturing stamped butt hinges according to my Invention I
cut out from sheet brass or other sheet metal blanks having the usual
length, but having a breadth double the breadth of the flaps of the
hinges. to be made, the broad blanks being provided with the usual
projecting parts, along one edge from which the knuckles are to be
made. By a stamping process the said projecting parts of the blank
are bent or fashioned into the knuckles of the flap of the hinge, the bent,
or turned over edge of the metal from which tho knuckles are made
nearly touching the upper side of the flap. The knuckles thus mado

page_text: have an open and unsupported side. The broad flap of the hinge is
next doubled or folded along its middle in the direction of its length,
that is to say, the half of the flap which is most distant from the
knuckles is folded or doubled upon the upper side of the half nearest
the said knuckles, the inner edge of the folded half of the flap being 5
presented to and pressed in contact with the open or unsupported side of
the knuckles of the joint. The flaps of the hinge are then finished in
the ordinary way. By thus manufacturing stamped butt hinges the
open sides of the several knuckles of the joint of the flaps are supported
along their whole length, and the said knuckles so strengthened that 1
their opening out when considerable strain is put upon them is pre-
vented. The knuckles are also made very accurate as regards their
position with respect to one another, and the flaps are strengthened.
b
I will now describo with reference to the accompanying Drawing the
manner in which my Invention is performed. I cut out at a press by 1
means of press tools flat blanks of the kind represented in plan and odge
view in Figure 1. The said blanks are of the length of the flaps of the
hinges to be made, but are double the breadth of the flaps to be made.
The edges of the projecting parts 6 of the blanks are first slightly bent
or rounded, and the said parts 6 aro afterwards bent or fashioned into
the knuckles of the flaps of the hinge, as illustrated in Figure 2. The
bending or fashioning of the knuckles 6 is effected by tools worked in a
press in the ordinary way. By an examination of the edge view of ono
of the flaps represented in Figure 2 it will be seen that the knuckles b
thus made have an open or unsupported side at b. The knuckles of
the flaps, Figure 2, are next engaged together, and a pin or axis passed
through their engaged knuckles, so as to joint the flaps a, a, together, as
illustrated in Figure 3, where the pin or axis is marked c. I next take
the partly made hinge, Figure 3, and double or fold one half of cach
flap at the dotted lines d, d, upon that half of the flap nearest the
knuckles b. That is to say, by means of press tools worked in a pross
the outer half a' of each flap is first bent into the figure represented in
Figure 4, and the bent parts a³, a³, are afterwards further bent and
flattened upon the upper side of the parts a, a, of the flaps, as represented
in Figure 5. By this folding of the outer half a³ of each flap upon the
inner half a of the flap the inner edge a³ of the folded half aª is
presented to and pressed in contact with the open or unsupported side
of the knuckles 6 of the joint, whereby the said knuckles are supported

page_text: and strengthened along their whole length.
The flaps are also
strengthened. The hinge is finished by countersinking the screw holes
in the manner represented in Figure 6.
Although I have described and represented the doubling or folding of
the broad flaps of the hinges as being effected after the two flaps have
been engaged and jointed together, yet the doubling or folding of the
flaps may be effected before they are engaged and jointed together.
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
claim as my Invention the improvement or improvements in the
manufacture of butt hinges herein-before described and illustrated in
the accompanying Drawing, that is to say, supporting the knuckles of
stamped butt hinges along their whole length, and also strengthening
the said knuckles and the flaps of the hinges by making the flaps of
the said hinges from blanks having double the breadth of ordinary
blanks, and folding or doubling one half of the flap upon the other half
of the said flap, so as to present the edge of the folded half of the flap
to the open or unsupported side of the knuckles of the flap, substantially
as and for the purposes described and illustrated.
In witness whereof, I, the said Rowland Hodges, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Twenty-sixth day of August, in tho
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
three.
ROWLAND HODGES, JUn³. (L.S.)
25 Witness,
RICHARD SKERRETT,
Clerk to George Shaw,
Birmingham.