IMPROVEMENTS IN ANVIL BEDS
Year: 1874

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Robert Lake, of the Firm of Haseltine,
Lake, & Co., Patent Agents, Southampton Buildings, London, for
the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN ANVIL BEDS."-A communication
from abroad by Alonzo Hitchcock, of the City and State of New
York, United States of America.
Sealed the 9th March 1875, and dated the 21st September 1874.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Robert Lake
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 21st September 1874.
I, WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake, & Co.,
Patent Agents, Southampton Buildings, London, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN ANVIL BEDS," a com-
munication, to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to the combination of atmospheric air with
water in the formation of an anvil bed, wherein the force of blows upon
the anvil is measurably expended in simultaneously moving the water
and compressing the air..

page_text: A plunger is fitted into the neck of a strong metal cylinder, the latter
being provided with a packing forming a water-tight joint around the
plunger, while the said plunger is permitted to have longitudinal move-
ment in the cylinder; the anvil is placed at the top of the plunger.
The said plunger is cored to form in it a central chamber, open at the
bottom and closed at the top.
The cylinder is provided with a small aperture through which water
may be forced into the cylinder by a force pump, and the plunger is
provided with a small aperture through which air may be forced into
the aforesaid chamber by an air force pump. Both apertures are pro-
vided with suitable stop valves.
Before water is introduced into the said cylinder the plunger will rest
on the bottom of the cylinder or be suspended therein by a flange
resting upon the top of the said cylinder. By forcing water into the
cylinder the plunger and anvil may be raised to any desired height
within the length of the cylinder. Upon introducing the water into the
cylinder, if the air it contains is allowed to escape, the water will take
its place and entirely fill both the chamber and the space in the cylinder
not occupied by the plunger. Under these conditions the water con-
stitutes the immediate bed of the anvil, and is of course practically solid
and inelastic, and the entire force of a blow upon the anvil beyond that
expended in overcoming the inertia of the anvil and plunger will be
communicated hydraulically to the interior surface of the cylinder and.
the upper parts of the chamber, no movement of the water taking place..
If, however, the contained air is not allowed to escape upon the
introduction of the water, or if afterwards air is forced in through the
aperture, it will it is evident be imprisoned over the water at the top of.
the chamber, where it will be compressed to a degree due to the weight
of the anvil and plunger, and constitute an elastic cushion upon which
the plunger will rest, and a downward motion of the plunger will not
only farther compress the air but also move the entire mass of the
water. This movement of the water must take place under the pressure
to which it is at the instant subjected, for it is evident that as the
plunger moves downward a portion of the water below it is displaced.
and caused to rise into the chamber against the air, whereby the air is
quickly compressed between the downward moving upper end surface of
the aforesaid chamber and the upward moving column of water within
the said chamber, and at the same instant there is caused a movement

page_text: among themselves of all the atoms of the entire body of water in the
cylinder. This latter movement taking place under intense pressure will
consume force for its accomplishment in proportion to the pressure.
The extent of the elastic action of the air under a given pressure is
determined by the amount of air confined, and this amount may be
regulated by means of a force pump. The anvil may be elevated or
lowered by increasing or diminishing the amount of water in the cylinder
by the said force pump.
In place of locating the chamber in the interior of the plunger it may
be in a separate cylinder or pipe closed at the upper end, the lower end
opening into the cylinder below the plunger. The preferable arrangement
however is to locate it in the plunger, and I would also recommend that
the lower end of the hollow cylinder constituting the cored body of the
plunger be beveled to an edge, whereby the plunger is made to rest
almost wholly upon the air cushion, and the concussive action upon the
parts of a blow upon the anvil is thereby almost wholly relieved.
I may use a double cylinder with two plungers. This cylinder may or
may not be divided into two compartments by a central partition. It is
evident that by this arrangement the elastic action of the air would be.
doubled.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said William Robert Lake in the Great Scal Patent
Office on the 19th March 1875.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
ROBERT LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake, & Co., Patent Agents,
Southampton Buildings, London, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-first day of September, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-four, in the thirty-
cighth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,

page_text: give and grant unto me, the said William Robert Lake, Her special
licence that I, the said William Robert Lake, my executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said William Robert Lake,
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 Ircland, the
Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS
IN ANVIL BEDS," a communication to me from abroad by Alonzo
Hitchcock, of the City and State of New York, United States of
America, upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said William
Robert Lake, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in
writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and scals, 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 Scal Patent Office within six calendar
months next and immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Robert Lake, 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
Drawing forming a part of this Specification:-
This Invention relates to the combination of atmospheric air with
water in the formation of an anvil bed wherein the force of blows upon
the anvil is measurably expended in simultaneously moving the water
and compressing the air.
In the accompanying Drawing I have shown an anvil bed embodying
the said Invention.
E
Figure 1 is a central vertical section, and Figure 2 an elevation of
my combined water and air anvil bed and anvil.
Figure 3 is a central sectional view of a double cylinder embodying
the same principles as herein-after more particularly described.
Like letters indicate the same parts throughout the Drawing.
A is a strong metal cylinder, and B a plunger fitted into the neck of
the cylinder, the latter being provided with a packing a forming a water-

page_text: tight joint around the plunger, while the said plunger is permitted to
have longitudinal movement in the cylinder; C is the anvil at the top of
the plunger. The said plunger is cored to form in it the central
chamber D, open at the bottom and closed at the top, as shown.
The cylinder is provided with a small aperture b, through which
water may be forced into the cylinder by a force pump E, and the
plunger is provided with a small aperture c through which air may be
forced into the chamber D by an air force pump F. Both apertures are
provided with suitable stop valves.
Before water is introduced into the cylinder the plunger will rest on
the bottom of the cylinder, or may be suspended therein by the flange d
resting upon the top of the said cylinder. By forcing water into the
cylinder the plunger and anvil may be raised to any desired height
within the length of the cylinder. Upon introducing the water into the
cylinder, if the air it contains is allowed to escape, the water will take its
place and entirely fill both the chamber D and the space in the cylinder
not occupied by the plunger. Under these conditions the water con-
stitutes the immediate bed of the anvil, and is of course practically solid
and inelastic, and the entire force of a blow upon the anvil beyond that
expended in overcoming the inertia of the anvil and plunger will be
communicated hydraulically to the interior surface of the cylinder A and
the upper parts of the chamber D, no movement of the water taking
place, and it is well known that it is practically impossible to control the
rending action upon the cylinder of such force so applied. If, however,
the contained air is not allowed to escape upon the introduction of the
water, or if afterwards air is forced in through the aperture c, it will it is
evident be imprisoned over the water at the top of the chamber D, where
it will be compressed to a degree due to the weight of the anvil and
plunger, and constitute an elastic cushion upon which the plunger will
rest, and a downward motion of the plunger will not only farther
compress the air but also move the entire mass of the water. Moreover,
this movement of the water must take place under the pressure to which
it is at the instant subjected, for it is evident that as the plunger moves
downward a portion of the water below it is displaced and caused to rise
into the chamber against the air at e, whereby the air is quickly com-
pressed between the downward moving upper end surface of the aforesaid
chamber D and the upward moving column of water contained within
said chamber, and at the same instant there is caused a movement
4

page_text: among themselves of all the atoms of the entire body of water in the
cylinder, and this latter movement taking place under intense pressure
will consume force for its accomplishment in proportion to the pressure.
Under the above-specified conditions the air at e in the chamber D is
compressed until it offers a resistance equal to the weight of the
plunger B and anvil C. Then if a blow is delivered upon the anvil its
force is first expended in overcoming the inertia of the anvil and plunger,
then in simultaneously compressing still farther the air at e, and displacing
a part of the water below the plunger, forcing it into the chamber D,
thereby causing a movement among themselves of the atoms of the
whole body of water, and only the force remaining after the expenditure
of so much of it as is required to produce the movements above described
will reach the cylinder A, while the elasticity of the air prolongs the
time in which the expenditure of the force takes place, thereby dimin-
ishing its concussive action upon the cylinder and the foundation upon
which the cylinder may rest.
The extent of the elastic action of the air under a given pressure is
determined by the amount of air confined, and this amount may be
regulated by means of the force pump F. The anvil may be elevated or
lowered by increasing or diminishing the amount of water in the cylinder
by the force pump E.
Instead of locating the chamber D in the interior of the plunger it
may be in a separate cylinder or pipe closed at the upper end, the lower
end opening into the cylinder A below the plunger. The preferable
arrangement however is to locate it in the plunger, as shown in the
Drawing, and I would also recommend that the lower end of the hollow
cylinder constituting the cored body of the plunger should be beveled to
an edge, whereby the plunger is made to rest almost wholly upon the air
cushion c, and the concussive action upon the parts of a blow upon the
anvil is thereby almost wholly relieved.
In Figure 3 I have represented a double cylinder with two plungers.
The cylinder may or may not be divided into two compartments by a
central partition G. It is evident that by this arrangement the elastic
action of the air would be doubled.
This combined water and air anvil bed is specially adapted to and
advantageous for the forging of large masses of metal under hammers of
great weight.

page_text: Having thus fully described the said Invention, as communicated to
me by my foreign correspondent, and the manner of performing the
same, I wish it understood that I claim, an anvil bed composed of
atmospheric air and water confined and operating as described, so that a
blow upon the anvil causing its movement acts to compress the air and
communicate motion to the water, as herein set forth and for the purpose
specified:
In witness witness whereof, I, the said William Robert Lake,
have hereunto set my hand and seal, this Nineteenth day of
March, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and
seventy-five.
Witness,
JA. EDWARDS,
8, Southampton Buildings,
London.
W. ROBT. LAKE. (L.S.)