IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF LUCIPER OR CONCRERE MAS PROAL OR CONGREVE MATCHES AND OTHER INSTANTANEOUS LIGHTS
Year: 1854

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George Bell, of 21, Cannon Street West, in the City
of London, and George Charles Grimes, of Wandsworth, in the County
of Surrey, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF
LUCIPER OR CONCRERE MAS
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said George Bell and George
Charles Grimes at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with
their Petition, on the 21st December 1854.
We, GEORGE BELL, of 21, Cannon Street West, in the City of London,
& GEORGE CHARLES GRIMES, of Wandsworth, in the County of Surrey,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
MANUFACTURE OF LUCIFER OR CONGREVE MATCHES AND OTHER INSTANTANEOUS
LIGHTS" to be as follows:-
In the manufacture of such lights, the splints of wood or other material to
serve as splints sometimes used are held in suitable frames or "clamps," in
order to their ends having applied to them suitable chemical composition.
capable of being ignited by friction, and heretofore such splints of wood or
other material have for the most part, to the best of our belief, been arranged
suitably in position in the frames or "clamps," in order to the chemical com-
position being correctly applied thereto by hand, an operation which involves
considerable trouble and great loss of time.

page_text: And our improvements relates to arranging and combining apparatus by
which this operation may be more readily effected, and also by which, when
the chemical composition has been applied, the splints of wood or other material
may be readily removed from the frames or "clamps" into suitable boxes or
other receivers.
A quantity of splints of wood or other material are placed between two
boards or plates, the lower one of which has grooves cut across it, each capable
of receiving a splint, and this board or plate has end and side pieces, by which
it becomes a sort of trough to hold the splints together. The top board or
plate is loose, and capable of an endway movement, in order to cause the splints,
aided by a shaking motion of the frame, to go into the grooves in the bottom
plate or board, where they are acted upon by bars or pins to drive them for-
wards between two plates of the frame or "clamp" held in position to receive
them. The frame or "clamp "is held by a moving frame, to which a step
by step motion is given, to move a short distance the pair of plates just filled,
and to bring a fresh pair of plates into position for a fresh supply, until the
frame or "clamp" is filled. When the separate plates of the frame or
"clamp" have been filled, they are tightened together, as heretofore, and a
fresh frame or "clamp" is. applied to the apparatus to be filled in like
The sides and ends of the trough are capable of yielding somewhat
to facilitate the operation, and the bars or pins, whilst they move to and
fro simultaneously, and also each capable of slightly yielding in case of need.
When the chemical compound has been applied to the splints, the frame or
"clamp" containing them is placed in another frame, provided with similar
bars or pins, capable of to and fro motion, to force out the matches or other
lights brought opposite them from between the plates of the frame or "clamp"
into boxes or other receivers placed in position to receive them.
.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said George Bell and George Charles Grimes in the Great Seal
Patent Office on the 21st June 1855.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, GEORGE
BELL, of 21, Cannon Street West, in the City of London, and GEORGE CHARLES
GRIMES, of Wandsworth, in the County of Surrey, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-first day of December, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-four, in the eighteenth year of Her

page_text: reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto us, the
said George Bell and George Charles Grimes, Her special licence that we,
the said George Bell and George Charles Grimes, our executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, or such others as we, the said George Bell and George
Charles Grimes, our 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 "IMPROVEMENTS IN
THE MANUFACTURE OF LUCIFER OR CONGREVE MATCHES AND OTHER INSTANTANEOUS
LIGHTS," upon the condition (amongst others) that we, the said George Bell
and George Charles Grimes, by an instrument in writing under our hands and
seals, or under the hand and 'seal of one of us, 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 immediately after the date of the
said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that we, the said George Bell and George Charles Grimes,
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):-
In the manufacture of such lights, the splints of wood or other material to
serve as splints sometimes used are held in suitable frames or "clamps," in
order to their ends having applied to them suitable chemical composition
capable of being ignited by friction, and heretofore such splints of wood or
other material have for the most part, to the best of our belief, been arranged
suitably in position in the frames or "clamps," in order to the chemical com-
position being correctly applied thereto by hand, an operation which involves
considerable trouble and great loss of time.
And our improvements relate to arranging and combining apparatus by
which this operation may be more readily effected, and also by which, when
the chemical composition has been applied, the splints of wood or other
material may be readily removed from the frames or "clamps" into suitable
boxes or other receivers.
A quantity of splints of wood or other material are placed between two
boards or plates, the lower one of which has grooves cut across it, each capable
of receiving a splint, and this board or plate has end and side pieces, by which
it becomes a sort of trough to hold the splints together. The top board or
plate is loose, and capable of an endway movement, in order to cause the splints,

page_text: aided by a shaking motion of the frame, to go into the grooves in the bottom
plate or. board, where they are acted upon by bars or pins to drive them
forwards between two plates of the frame or "clamp" held in position to
receive them. The frame or "clamp" is held by a moving frame, to which a
step by step motion is given, to move a short distance the pair of plates just
filled, and to bring a fresh pair of plates into position for a fresh supply, until.
the frame or "clamp" is filled. When the separate plates of the frame or
"clamp." have been filled, they are tightened together, as heretofore, and a.
fresh frame or "clamp" is applied to the apparatus to be filled in like
manner. The sides and ends of the trough are capable of yielding somewhat
to facilitate the operation, and the bars or pins whilst they move to and
fro simultaneously, are also each capable of slightly yielding in case of need..
When the chemical compound has been applied to the splints, the frame.
or "clamp" containing them is placed in another frame, provided with similar
bars or pins, capable of to and fro motion, to force out the matches or other
lights brought opposite them from, between the plates of the frame or "clamp"
into boxes or other receivers placed in position to receive them.
But that the nature of the said Invention, and the means we adopt in
carrying the same into effect, may be fully understood, we will proceed to,
describe the Drawings annexed.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figure 1 shows a front view, Figure 2 a side view, Figure 3 a plan, Figure 4.
a front view, in section, and Figure 5 a side view, in section, of apparatus con-
structed according to our improvements. a, a, is the main framing. The
moving parts are operated by the foot of the operator, who stands in front, acting
upon the treadle b; c is the trough, into which the splints of wood or other
material are placed to be selected, and forced into the frame or "clamp" d.
The trough c is composed of front and back plates c¹, c', and end plates c², c².
These end plates are not fixed stationary, but.capable of moving somewhat to
or from the side of the apparatus; and in order to their moving correctly they
have affixed to the pins or rods c³, which pass through and are guided by the
guide pieces. c, c, are springs of india-rubber, or they may be of other
suitable material, by which the end pieces c³ are constantly pressed towards
cach other. The lower surface c of the trough c is grooved in a direction
from front to back of the apparatus, each groove being capable of receiving
a splint. e is a board or plate, with a handle e', by which it is actuated by one.
hand of the operator. This board or plate we prefer to be grooved upon, its
under surface, in a direction; corresponding with the grooves in the lower sur-

page_text: face of the trough c, and when the splints of wood or other material are placed
in the trough c, by giving this board or plate an endway movement, the splints
will be assisted in assuming a correct position to go into the grooves formed in
the lower surface of that trough. In putting the splints into the trough care
should be observed to place them as nearly as may be pointing in a direction
from front to back of the machine.
When the board or plate e is placed, as shown, upon the splints in the trough
C, its ends will be borne against by the Sliding end plates of the trough, and
by their being capable of movement, and yet of being constantly borne by the
springs towards each other, they will follow the endway movements of the
board or plate e, and the splints will thereby for the time be enclosed on every
side. The bars or pins fact by their ends upon the ends of the splints in the
trough, and those splints are thereby successively pushed from the trough c to
between the bars or plates of the "clamp" d. The bars or pins f are affixed
at one of their ends to the frame f', which is carried by and so as to be
capable of sliding on the guides f; and its inward movement to drive out
the splints from the trough c is effected by the depression of the treadle b,
to which is attached one end of each of the cords f³, which pass up over
guide pulleys f, and at their other ends are attached to the sliding frame f'.
The frame f is drawn back by the weights f³, attached to one end of cach
of the cords f, which pass over pulleys f, and at their other ends are attached
to the frame f'.
The "clamp" & consists of a series of bars or plates d', such as is ordinarily
employed to hold splints, for the purpose of dipping their ends in suitable com-
position in the manufacture of lucifer and other matches, the boards or plates
being held together when filled by the end rods d³, as is well understood. The
separate boards or plates d' are either grooved on one of each surface in contact,
better to receive and hold the splints, or each of such surfaces are furnished
with cloth or other elastic substance. The "clamp" to be filled is placed upon
the frame g, and so as to rest at its lower part upon the projection g*, whilst
the upper ends of the rods d² are retained in recesses in the projections g**
by the nuts 9. The frame g is capable of sliding up and down upon the bars
or rods g', whilst it is sustained by the weight g², which is attached to one end
of the cord or band g³, which passes up over the pulley g', and at the other
end is attached to the frame g. This weight g² scarcely balances the frame g,
when a "clamp" is applied, so that the frame g has a constant tendency to
descend, but it is prevented doing so except as required by the instrument h,
which, by bearing upon the under side of one or other of the pins g', projecting
from the side of the frame g, sustains that frame; and these pins are so placed

page_text: in the side of the frame g, that when a row of splints has been received upon
a plate or board of the "clamp" d, by withdrawing the instrument h from one
of the pins g, which had been resting upon it for the next pin of the series to
rest thereon, the frame will have been allowed to descend a distance sufficient
to bring the upper surface of another board or plate of the "clamp," which
is allowed to descend upon the splints last received into the "clamp" into
position to receive a fresh row of splints, and so on, in succession. The instru-
ment h turns upon a pin h², carried by the framing, and it is constantly borne
under the pins g³ by the spring h. It is also attached to one end of the rod h³,
the other end of which is attached to the short leyer.h, which turns upon a
pin h³, and whose upper end projects upward in position to be acted upon by
the projection ho from the frame f¹. When this frame f¹ is moving inwards
to force by means of the wires or bars f splints out from the trough c into the
clamps," the projection he simply depresses the small lever h' without moving
the instrument h, as that end of the rod h³ attached to the instrument h is
then allowed to play freely through an opening in that instrument h; but
when the frame f¹ is drawn forwards, withdrawing the bars or pins f, the
projection he will act upon the short lever h, and give a quick movement to
the instrument h, withdrawing it from one pin go, when it will immediately be
drawn back by its spring, and take under the next of the series of pins g³ as
the frame g by its weight descends, and thus hold the frame g with the parts
carried thereby for the next operation.
The series of bars or plates d¹ of the "clamp" d are guided by the bars d²,
and previous to the splints being applied between them they are sustained by
the instruments i, i, one on each side of the frame. These instruments i, i,
turn each upon an axis i¹, carried by the framing, and each is formed at one
end with two blades or cutters 22, 23, which alternately pass under and support
the ends of the bars or plates d¹; and these instruments i, i, have simul-
taneous movement given to them, so that when the bar or plate d¹, for the
time the lowest, has been resting on the cutters or blades i, i², by simul-
taneously moving the instruments i, i, on their axes, the blades or cutters i
will be withdrawn from under the board or plate resting thereon, for that board
or plate to fall on to a series of splints just laid on to a previous board or plate,
by which such row of splints will then be held between a pair of boards or
plates. In this movement of the instrument i, the cutters or blades i³ will come
under and support the remaining boards or plates d', and then by a slight back
movement the boards or plates d¹ will descend again to be supported by the
cutters or blades i³, ready for one to be allowed to fall in the next movement
of the instruments i. These movements to the instruments i, i, are effected.in

page_text: the following manner :-The outer end of each of the instruments i is borne
backwards by a spring of india-rubber or other suitable material **, whilst it
is also attached by a rod is to a lever io, which turns upon a pin i, and at its
upper end. is in position to be acted upon and drawn forwards (or towards
the operator) by a projection i, from the frame f¹, in the outward movement
of that frame. We have only thought it necessary to show the instruments i
adapted to one form of "clamp," and a workman will readily make such varia-
tion therein as may be necessary when using other forms thereof. j is a bar,
extending from side to side under the trough c, to which a shaking or vibrating
motion is given for the purpose of shaking the trough c, and assisting the
splints to assume a correct position in that trough. This bar j turns upon
pins, near one of its edges, and it is borne upwards by means of suitable
springs. To the other edge of this bar is attached one end of a cord or band
3, by which the shaking or vibrating motion is obtained to the bar j in the
following manner:-The other end of this band or cord 3 is attached to a
carriage, which is capable of sliding upon the inclined guide rods jo, and has
a projection, which is in position to be acted upon by the hanging lever,
from the frame f. This lever j³, when the frame f' is moving inwards (or
from the operator), hangs loosely, and passes over the projection without
moving the carriage * or the band or cord ³ thereto attached; but when the
frame f' is returning outwards (or towards the operator), the lower end of the
lever acts upon the projection of the carriage j', and draws the cord ³ a
short distance, removing one edge of the bar j somewhat from the bottom of
the trough c. When the carriage j* has been thereby moved a certain distance
down the inclined rods je, the projection 7 releases itself from the lever by
passing under it, when the bar j will, by its springs, be thrown with considerable
force against the under side of the trough c, and a shaking or vibrating motion
will thereby be given to that trough. To prevent a rebound of the carriage j
when it passes from the lever, we have applied thereto a spring of vulcanized
india-rubber, or it may be other spring, one end of which is attached to the
carriage and the other to the framing, as shown. m is a board or plate,
extending across the machine, and acting as a stop to prevent the splints as
pushed into the "clamp" from being pushed too far; n is a board or bar, also
extending across the machine, with recesses cut or formed vertically therein,
corresponding with the transverse grooves in the bottom plate of the trough c.
The object of these recesses is to guide the projecting ends of the splints as
they descend with the "clamp" & after leaving the trough c.
o is a plate or
board over the upper ends of these recesses, and in part covering the splints
as they are pushed out from the trough c in the ",
'clamp."

page_text: The mode of operating with the apparatus will be as follows:-Supposing
the operator to be standing in front of the machino with one foot ready to act
on the treadle b, he places the quantity of splints desired in the reservoir c from
any suitable supply, taking care, as already stated, to place them as nearly as
may be pointing from front to back; he then gives a quick endway movement
to the plate e, by which the splints will be caused to go into the recesses for
them in the bottom of the trough, and opposite the ends of the bars or pins f;
he then depresses the treadle b, by which those pins will be forced forwards,
forcing the splints which for the time were in the grooves in the bottom of the
trough c'out therefrom on to a bar or plate of the "clamp" d; when another
bar or plate is allowed to fall thereon, as explained, and the frame g also
descends a distance sufficient to bring the surface of the board or plate last
lowered into position to receive a fresh supply of splints, and the splints
last fed in will for a time be guided, to keep their correct relative position,
by passing down the recesses in the bar n. In operating with this apparatus
the frame of "clamps" will have a step by step movement given to it till the
frame or "clamp" is filled, when the bars or plates of the "clamp" will be
held together by the bark and the screwing up of the nuts 1, 1, and the
clamp" will then be ready for the splints held thereby, having suitable com-
position applied thereto, as is well understood, and a fresh frame or "clamp"
will be placed in position on the frame g, as explained. The frames or
clamps" after being filled with splints, and the splints having had applied
to them the chemical composition, in order to produce the lucifer or congreve
matches and other instantaneous light, are next applied to the apparatus, which
we will now describe, in order that the matches or other instantaneous lights
produced may be removed from the " clamps."
66
Figure 6 shows a front view, Fig. 7 a side view, and Fig. 8 a plan, of such
apparatus. a, a, is the main framing; d shows a "clamp" in position for having
the matches removed therefrom. The "clamp" is held between the guides a', a',
and it is supported by the matches held between the boards or plates, resting
upon the two supporting rails b, b; c is the bar, or it may be a series of bars or
points, which serve to force out the matches from between the bars or plates d'.
This bar c is affixed to the supporting and sliding frame c', which is moved
forward as required by the treadle c², there being cords or bands e, e, connected
at one end to the treadle c², and at the other end to the frame c'. fare india-
rubber springs to take the frame c¹ back when pressure is removed from the
treadle. The frame c' is provided with wedge-formed pieces c³, which, when
the bar comes forward to push out the matches held between a pair of plates
or bars d', enter between those bars or plates to separate them, and thus

page_text: facilitate the removal of the matches or other lights. When a row of matches
or other lights are removed from between a pair of plates or boards, and the
wedge-formed pieces care withdrawn from supporting the frame or "clamp" d,
the board from between the matches last withdrawn and those next to be
withdrawn falls, and the "clamp" is then sustained only by those matches
next to be withdrawn, and the operation is repeated. g is a trough, supported
upon the carriage h, to be held in position by the hands of the operator for
receiving the matches as pushed out from the "clamps.".
Having thus described the nature of our said Invention, and the best means
we are acquainted with for carrying the same into effect, we would have it
understood that we do not confine ourselves to the precise details herein
shown and described so long as the peculiar character of our Invention be
retained; but what we do claim is, the mode of arranging, combining, and
working apparatus employed in the manufacture of lucifer or congreve
matches, and other instantaneous lights, as herein explained.
In witness whereof, we, the said George Bell and George Charles Grimes,
have hereunto set our hands and seals, this Twenty-first day of June,
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-five.
GEO. BELL.
(L.S.)
Witness,
GEORGE CHARLES GRIMES. (L.S.)
WILLIAM BROOKES, Patent Agent,
73, Chancery Lane, London.