IMPROVEMENTS IN. CHARCOAL Box IRONS
Year: 1867

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George Hurdman, of Wolverhampton, in the County
of Stafford, Pattern Maker, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN.
CHARCOAL Box IRONS."
Sealed the 5th November 1867, and dated the 21st May 1867.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said George Hurdman at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
21st May 1867.
I, GEORGE HURDMAN, of Wolverhampton, in the County of Stafford, Pattern
Maker, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVE-
'MENTS IN CHARCOAL BOX IRONS," to be as follows:-
My Invention consists of the improvements herein-after described in con-
necting the lids or covers of charcoal box irons to the bodies of the same,
whereby the opening and closing and fastening and unfastening of the said
lids or covers are effected in a simple and efficient manner, and neatness of
appearance secured.
In charcoal box irons as ordinarily constructed the lid or cover is either.
made capable of being lifted entirely from the body, or turns upon a hinge or-
joint on the body.
My Invention consists in making the lids or covers of charcoal box irons
slide upon the body for the purpose of gaining access to the interior of the
iron, or for closing the open top of the iron.

page_text: In constructing a charcoal box iron according to my Invention I fix across
the middle of the body in the longer direction thereof a rod, pin, or guide,
and I make upon the under side of the lid or cover two or more eyes or
brackets, the said eyes or brackets being engaged with and working upon the
rod, pin, or guide fixed across the body. By this means the lid or cover is
securely connected to the body, and is capable of sliding upon the rod, pin,
or guide and edges of the top of the body, so as to open or close the top of
the said body. Instead of the arrangement described the lid or cover may
be made to slide upon the body by making projections on the said body with
which the lid or cover engages, or by making projections on the lid or cover
which engage with grooves in the body. I prefer, however, the arrange-
ment first described; I fasten the sliding lid or cover in its place by means
of a button or turn working on a pin at the end of the lid or cover. When
the lid or cover has been made to close the body of the iron the button
described is turned and made to bear upon the end of the iron, and thus
secure the lid or cover in its place. As the button or turn described is not
disconnected from the lid or cover when the latter is fastened or unfastened
it is secured against being lost. The lid or cover of the iron is provided with
the ordinary chimney bandle and guard.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,.filed
by the said. George Hurdman in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
19th November 1867.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, GEORGE
HURDMAN, of Wolverhampton, in the County of Stafford, Pattern Maker,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-first day of May, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven, in the thirtieth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said George Hurdman, Her special licence that I, the said George Hardman,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
George Hurdman, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any
time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times there-
after during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might make,
uise, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVE-

page_text: MENTS IN CHARCOAL BOX IRONS," upon the condition (amongst others) that I,
the said George Hurdman, my executors or administrators, by an instrument
in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should par-
ticularly 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 I, the said George Hurdman, 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 cousists of the improvements herein-after described in con
necting the lids or covers of charcoal box irons to the bodies of the same
whereby the opening and closing and fastening and unfastening of the said
lids or covers are effected in a simple and efficient manner, and neatness of
appearance secured.
In charcoal box irons as ordinarily constructed the lid or cover is either
made capable of being lifted entirely from the body, or turns upon a hinge
joint on the body.
My Invention consists in making the lids or covers of charcoal box irons
slide upon the body, for the purpose of gaining access to the interior of the
iron, or for closing the open top of the iron.
'
:.
In constructing a charcoal box iron according to my Invention, I fix across
the middle of the body.in the longer direction thereof a rod, pin, or guide,
and I make upon the under side of the lid or cover two or more eyes or
brackets, the said eyes or brackets being engaged with and working upon the
rod, pin, or guide fixed across the body. By this means the lid or cover is
connected to the body, and is capable of sliding upon the rod, pin, or guide
and edges of the top of the body, so as to open or close the top of the said
body. Instead of the arrangement described the lid or cover may be made to
slide upon the body by making projections on the said body with which the
lid or cover engages, or by making projections on the lid or cover which
engage with grooves in the body. I prefer, however, the arrangement first
described. I fasten the sliding lid or cover in its place by means of a button
or turn working on a pin at the end of the lid or cover. When the lid or
cover has been made to close the body of the iron the button described is
turned and made to bear upon the end of the iron, and thus secure the lid or
cover in its place. As the button or turn described is not disconnected from
the lid or cover when the latter is fastened or unfastened it is secured against

page_text: being lost. The lid or cover of the iron is provided with the ordinary chimney
handle and guard.
Having explained the nature of my Invention, I will proceed to describe with
reference to the accompanying Drawings the manner in which the same is to
be performed.
Figure 1 represents, partly in longitudinal section, and partly in side
elevation, a charcoal box iron to which one of the arrangements of my
Invention is applied; Figure 2 is an end elevation of the same; and
Figure 3 is a portion of the same.
.
.
a is the body of the box iron having the ordinary form, and 6 is the sliding
lid or cover of the same constructed according to my Invention. The said lid
or cover 6 carries the handle c, guard d, and chimney e, and is connected to
the body aby means of the eyes or brackets f, f, on the under side of the said
lid or cover'engaging with and sliding upon a rod, pin, or guide g, fixed in the
manner best seen in Figure 1 across the middle of the body a in the longer
direction thereof. The shape of the eyes or brackets f,f, which work upon
the roil or guide 9 is best seen in the separate view of the lid or cover
represented in Figure 8. The elges of the lid or cover 6 are provided with
flanges, as represented, which bear against the sides of the body and prevent
the escape of the gases from the iron. On the end upright of the handle c
is a button or turn h working freely on the pin or centre i for fastening the
lid or cover to or unfastening it from the body a; k is the damper by which
the admission of air to the body a for combustion is regulated; the said
damper is provided with a strong knob or handle Z. When it is wished to
open the top of the iron for the introduction of charcoal therein, or for other
purpose, the button or turn h is partly rotated, so as to remove its lower arm
from the end of the body a, as seen in the separate view, Figure 8. The
knob or handle 1 of the damper is then held with the left hand, and the lid or
cover b is moved from heel to point of the body with the right, hand, the eyes
or brackets f, f, of the lid or cover sliding upon the fixed rod or guide g.
After the introduction of the charcoal the lid or cover is returned to its place,
so as to close the top of the iron, and the button or turn h is again made to
bear upon the end of the iron in the manner represented in the Drawing);
the lid or cover is thereby securely fixed in its place.
Figures 4, 5, 6, and 7 represent another arrangement of my Invention in
which the sliding motion of the lid or cover is effected by projections on the
under side of the lid or cover engaging with projections on the body of the
iron, Figure 4 representing a side elevation of the box iron, the handle and
chimney being represented broken off, and Figure 5 a cross section of the

page_text: same, Figure 6 representing a plan of the body of the iron with the lid or
cover removed, and Figure 7 a plan of the under side of the lid or cover of
the iron. On the top and inner sides of the body a are projections b, the
sides of which are inclined, as best seen in the section, Figure 5, and on the
under side of the lid or cover c projections d, d, are made, the outer sides of
the said projections d, d, being inclined to engage with the inclined sides of
the projections b, b, on the body a. At the point end of the body a openings
or slots e, e, (see Figure 6) are made, through which the ends d' of the pro-
jections d on the lid c are passed to engage the said projections & with-th
on the body of the iron. When the projections d and b are engaged together
the lid or cover c is fastened to the body, and is capable of sliding upon the
said body. On the lid or cover c is a stop f, by which the projections d, d,
when the lid or cover is opened are prevented from being disengaged from the
projections b, b, on the body a. The button or turn g in this arrangement
consists of a thumb plate having a portion of its disc or plate cut away, the
remaining part of the disc when it is turned into the proper position bearing
upon the end of the iron, and fixing the lid or cover in its place. The ventilator
h is provided with a hooked handle i for holding the body of the iron during
the sliding motion of the lid or cover to open or close the iron. Instead of the
last described arrangement for effecting the sliding of the lid or cover upon
the body, a plate may be substituted for the projections on the under side of
the lid or cover, the said plate sliding underneath the projections on the inner
side of the body.
Figure 8 represents a side elevation of a box iron provided. with this
arrangement; Figure 9 is an end elevation of the same, and Figure 10 is a
cross section of a portion of the same; Figure 11 represents a plan of the
body of the iron with the lid or cover removed, and Figure 12 represents a
plan of the under side of the lid or cover. a, a, are the projections on the
inner side of the body the said projections being broader than those in the
arrangement last described, and c is the plate fixed to the under side of the lid
or cover d, its ends being engaged and capable of sliding under the pro-
jections a, a, as illustrated in Figure 10. The said plate c is fastened to the
lid or cover d by placing the said plate under the projections a, a, and then
fastening it to the lid or cover by the screws e, e, passed from the upper side
of the lid or cover. The lid or cover is thus connected to the body, and is
capable of sliding upon the said body for the purpose of opening and closing
the iron. The lid or cover d is fastened in its place when the iron is closed
by means of a spring hook f on the lid or cover engaging with the end of the
iron, in the manner best seen in Figures 8 and 9. By lifting the said spring

page_text: hook f from the end of the body the lid.or cover d may be moved upon the
body. On closing the lid or cover the spring hook f snaps upon the end of
the body and fastens it in its place. The damper 9 in this arrangement turns
upon the centre h, and is fastened in its place by the hook or catch- on the
said damper engaging with. the shank of the screw k. Instead of the pro-
jections on the lid or cover engaging with projections on the body, as described
and illustrated, the said projections on the lid or cover may be engaged with
and slide in grooves in the body.
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
sanie may be varied without departing from the nature of my Invention; but
I claim as my Invention the improvements in charcoal box irons, herein-
before described and illustrated in the accompanying Drawings, that is to say,
connecting the lids or covers of the said irons to the bodies of the sanie,
substantially in the several ways herein-before described and illustrated,
whereby the said lids or covers are capable of sliding upon the said bodies
for gaining access to the interior of the irons, or for closing the open tops of
the irons; also fastening the said lids or covers in their places by means of
a button or turn or spring hook, which button or spring hook is not dis-
connected from the lid or cover when the latter is fastened or unfastened;
also providing the dampers of the said irons with a strong knob or hooked
handle for holding the irons during the opening or closing of the tops of the
said irons.
In witness whereof, I, the said George Hurdman, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Sixteenth day of November, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven.
Witness,
RICHARD SKERRETT,
Clerk to George Sliaw,
Birmingham.
GEORGE HURDMAN. (L.S.)