IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR MAKING MATCHES
Year: 1854

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Henry Johnson, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields,
in the County of Middlesex, and of Glasgow, North Britain, Gentleman,
for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR MAKING MATCHES."
-A communication from Edward Zulzer, of the City and County of New
Va in the United States of America.
Sealed the 18th July 1854, and dated the 21st February 1854.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Henry Johnson at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
21st February 1854.
I, JOHN HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of
Middlesex, and of Glasgow, North Britain, Gentleman, do hereby the nature
of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR MAKING MATCHES,"
communicated to me from Edward Zulzer, of the City and County of New
York, in the United States of America, to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to the manufacture of that class of matches known
as "vestas," and also to the production of the ordinary wooden matches, and
consists in the employment of a drum if wax matches are to be manufactured,
round which the wax wicks are wound. These wicks are then passed along
between grooved feeding rollers and corresponding guide grooves in fixed
tables, until their ends enter suitable holes in a moveable dipping board, where-
upon by means of knives worked by the machine they are cut into proper
lengths, and thus made ready for dipping into the combustible preparation.

page_text: The dipping board is perforated with a large number of holes, arranged in
vertical and horizontal lines, and each horizontal line is filled at one revolution
of the driving shaft.
As many wicks are wound over the drum as there are holes in a horizontal
line, and after each horizontal line has been filled, the dipping board is raised
to bring another line in front of the grooves in the tables. In this way the
operation continues until the dipping board is completely filled, when it is
removed and a fresh board substituted.
By a slight modification of the above mechanism, and a simple arrangement
of saws and guides, the machine may be made to manufacture wooden
matches, which are passed between the feed rollers and into the dipping board,
in the manner above described.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Henry Johnson in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
21st August 1854.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of Middlesex,
and of Glasgow, North Britain, Gentleman, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-first day of February, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-four, in the seventeenth year of Her reign,
did, for Ierself, Iler heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
John Henry Johnson, Her special license that I, the said John Henry
Johnson, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said John Henry Johnson, my executors, administrators, or 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 "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN MACHINERY FOR MAKING MATCHES," communicated to me from
Edward Zulzer, of the City and County of New York, in the United
States of America, upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said
John Henry Johnson, by an instrument in writing under my hand and
seal, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Inven-
tion, 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.

page_text: ANOW 1, that 1, the said John Henry Johnson, 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, reference being had to the accompanying Drawings, and
to the letters and figures marked thereon, that is to say:-
The said Invention relates to the manufacture of that class of matches known
as "vestas," and also to the production of the ordinary wooden matches, and
consists in the employment of a drum if wax matches are to be manufactured,"
round which drum the wax wicks are wound. These wicks are then passed
along between grooved feeding rollers and corresponding guide grooves in
fixed tables, until their ends enter suitable holes in a moveable dipping board,
whereupon by means of knives worked by the machine they are cut into proper
lengths, and thus made ready for dipping into the combustible preparation.
The dipping board is perforated with a large number of holes arranged in
vertical and horizontal lines, and each horizontal line is filled at one revolution
of the driving shaft. As many wicks are wound over the drum as there are
holes in a horizontal line, and after each horizontal line has been filled, the
dipping board is raised to bring another line in front of the grooves in the
tables. In this way the operation continues until the dipping board is com-
pletely filled, when it is removed and a fresh board substituted.
By a slight modification of this mechanism, and a simple arrangement of
saws and guides, the machine may be made to manufacture wooden matches,
which are passed between the feed rollers and into the dipping board, in the
manner herein-before described.
Fig. 1 of the accompanying Sheet of Drawings represents a side elevation
of one modification of the machine. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal vértical section
of the same. Fig. 3 is a plan of the machine. Fig. 4 is a front eleva-
tion of the dipping board detached; and Fig. 5 is a corresponding side view
of the same filled with matches ready for the dipping process. A, A, are the
side frames or standards of the machine, carrying the large drum B, working
in the bearings C, C. Round this drum are wound the wax wicks, colored red
in the Drawing, to be cut into suitable lengths for matches, each wick being
passed along the guide grooves D in the fixed table E, thence between the
pair of grooved feeding rollers F, and finally through the first guide board G.
The feeding rollers are driven from the main driving shaft H, which is fitted
with a fly wheel and winch handle I. On the opposite end of this shaft is
keyed the segmental wheel J, which gears with the spur pinion K fast on the
end of the shaft carrying the lower feeding roller. This pinion gears with a
corresponding pinion L on the upper feeding roller, whereby an equal speed is

page_text: imparted to both rollers in contrary directions. M is a carrier wheel, which
receives its motion from the pinion K, and gears with the large spur wheel N
on the end of the drum shaft O. A pair of shears or cutters P, P', are
situated at the edge of the guide board G. The lower or moveable portion P¹
of the shears or cutters is fitted with a pair of horizontally slotted brackets Q,
the slots of which fit over the crank pins R in the driving shaft. The lower
end of each bracket is attached to a short vibrating lever S, fast on the rocking
shaft T, which is supported in bearings in the framing of the machine. A
transverse spindle or rod U connects the two free ends of the levers S, and to
this rod are attached the palls V, which take into the racks W on each side
of the vertical sliding frame X. This frame serves to carry and elevate the
dipping board Y, and slides in the vertical grooves Z formed in the inside of
the standards A, A. It will thus be obvious that each time the brackets Q
descend, the free end of the levers S will rise and carry with them the palls V,
which will move upwards, the frame carrying the dipping board to the extent
of one tooth, thereby bringing another horizontal row of holes in correspondence
with the holes or grooves in the second guide board a. The frame X, which
carries the dipping board, is fitted at the back with a second pair of racks b,
and is held in its position when elevated by the fixed detents c on the trans-
verse rod d. e is a small button or knob which is capable of being turned
slightly; it is carried by one of the standards A, and connected by means of the
two short links ff', and cranks g, g', to the respective transverse rods u
and d. This arrangement is for the purpose of effecting the simultaneous
releasing of the palls V and detents c from their respective racks when the
dipping board has been filled and requires removing, as will be herein-after
described. The palls and detents are held in contact with their racks by the
two helical springs h, h¹, connected with the cranks g, g', and secured at their
opposite extremities to the fixed stud pin i. Previous to starting the machine,
as many wicks are wound one or more times round the drum B as there are
holes in a horizontal row in the dipping board Y. One end of each wick is then
inserted into its corresponding groove in the guide board E, and is then passed
between the corresponding grooved rollers F, F, and finally through the holes
in the fixed table G, their ends being left just clear of the cutters P, P. The
machine is then set in motion by turning the winch handle I, which causes the
segmental wheel J fast on the end of the driving shaft H to revolve, and by its
revolution to drive the pinions K and L, which actuate the feeding rollers F, F.
As there are fewer teeth in the segmental wheel than there are in the
pinions K, it follows that these pinions with their respective rollers will only
make a partial revolution; and then stop, for every turn of the segment wheel.

page_text: This partial revolution is just sufficient to draw off such a length of wick from
the drum B as is required to form a match; but this length may of course be
varied, by using segmental wheels. with a greater or less number of teeth in
them. By the motion of the feeding rollers herein-before described, the ends
of the wicks are pushed forward in the grooves of the second table a, and
inserted into the top row of the conical holes in the dipping board Y, as shewn
in the Drawing. By this time the lower or moveable cutting blade P¹, which
has been hitherto below or out. of the way of the wicks, commences to rise by
the action of the crank pins R, and as it ascends it cuts off or severs a suitable
length of wick from the whole of the wicks simultaneously, thus leaving the
top horizontal row of holes in the dipping board filled with suitable lengths of
wick ready for being dipped, as shewn in the detail, Fig. 5. The continuous
movement of the driving shaft now causes the blade P¹ to descend, and in its
descent the palls V are elevated in the manner which I have herein-before
described, thereby raising the frame X, and with it the dipping board Y, to a
sufficient extent to bring the next consecutive horizontal row of holes in corre-
spondence with the grooves in the table a. The board is retained in its elevated
position by the detents C during the time of filling the consecutive rows of
holes. When all the rows are filled in the dipping board, the palls and detents
are released by turning the knob e, when the frame X drops, and the board Y
is removed to make room for another one. It will thus be obvious that for
every revolution of the main driving shaft a row of holes will be filled; and
when the board is entirely full it is taken with its lengths of wick to the
dipping vessels, when the matches are completed by being dipped into the
phosphorescent compound. I may here observe, that I do not confine myself to
the making of wax tapers or matches alone, as by a very simple arrangement
of saws and guides, suitable strips of wood may be introduced between the
rollers F, F, and passed through into the dipping board Y. The strips of
wood are cut and delivered in a manner substantially the same as that which I
have herein-before described in reference to wax tapers. Other suitable
materials as well as wood may be used for the manufacture of matches by this
machine. In the full-sized machines each horizontal row of holes in the
dipping board will contain as many matches as will fill an ordinary sized box,
and consequently at each revolution of the driving shaft a number equivalent
to a box of matches will be inserted into the board. By a machine of this
description one person may prepare as many as fifty thousand boxes of matches
per day.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of the said
Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used or carried into

page_text: effect, I would observe in conclusion that I do not confine or restrict myself to
the precise details or arrangements which I have had occasion to describe or
refer to, as many variations may be made therefrom without deviating from the
principles or main features of the said Invention. But what I consider to be
novel and original, and therefore claim as the Invention secured to me by the
herein-before in part recited Letters Patent, is,-
First, the general arrangement and construction of machinery, apparatus,
or means to be used for the manufacture of matches, as herein-before
described.
Second, the application and use of the perforated dipping board in com-
bination with a sliding frame, substantially in the manner herein-before set
forth.
Third, the combination of mechanism in connection with the dipping board
frame, substantially in the manner herein-before set forth.
Fourth, the application and use of the knives or cutters, as well as the
mode of actuating the same, substantially in the manner herein-before set
forth.
Fifth, the application and use of the feeding rollers in conjunction with the
supplying drum, knives, and grooved tables, substantially as herein-before set
forth.
Sixth, the arrangement and combination of the driving or actuating gearing,
substantially in the manner herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Henry Johnson, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, the Eleventh day of August, One thousand
eight hundred and fifty-four.