IMPROVEMENT IN THE MAKING OR MANUFACTURING OF PILL AND OTHER BOXES FROM PASTEBOARD, PAPER, OR OTHER MATERIALS, WHICH IMPROVE- MENTS ARE APPLICABLE TO OTHER PURPOSES
Year: 1832

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, GEORGE
BELL, of Primrose Hill, Salisbury Square, in the Parish of Saint Bride, in the
City of London, Dye Sinker and Embosser, send greeting.
1
WHEREAS His present most Excellent Majesty King William the
Fourth, by His Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing
date at Westminster, the Eighth day of September, in the third year of His
reign, did, for Himself, His heirs and successors, give and grant unto me the
said 'George Bell, and JOHN OSBORNE MOSLEY, of Primrose Hill, Salisbury
Square, in the Parish of Saint' Bride, in the City of London aforesaid, Dye
Sinkers and Embossers, Copartners, our executors, administrators, and assigns,
His especial licence, full power, sole privilege and authority, that we, the said
George Bell and John Osborne Mosley, our executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as we, the said George Bell and John Osborne
Mosley, our executors, administrators, or assigns, should at any time agree
with, and no others, from time to time and at all times during the term of
years therein mentioned, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and
vend, within England, Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, our
Invention or "IMPROVEMENT IN THE MAKING OR MANUFACTURING OF PILL AND
OTHER BOXES FROM PASTEBOARD, PAPER, OR OTHER MATERIALS, WHICH IMPROVE-
MENTS ARE APPLICABLE TO OTHER PURPOSES;" in which said Letters Patent is
contained a proviso, obliging us; the said George Bell and John Osborne
Mosley (or one of us), by an instrument in writing under our hands and seals,

page_text: to particularly describe and ascertain the nature of our said Invention, and in
what manner the same is to be performed, and to cause the same to be
inrolled in His Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six calendar
months next and immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent, as
in and by the same, reference being thereunto had, will more fully and at
large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the
said George Bell, do hereby describe the nature of our said Invention, and
the manner in which the same is to be performed, by the following description
thereof, reference being had to the Drawings hereunto annexed, (that is to
say):
Our improvements in the making or manufacturing of pill and other
boxes from pasteboard, paper, or other materials consist in forming, the
boxes, and also their lids, by means of dies in cutting and stamping presses, by
the employment of which presses and dies pieces of cardboard or thick paper
are first cut out to the desired shapes, and afterwards are bent up and pressed
into the forms of boxes and lids of boxes. The dies are of two kinds :-first,
the cutting dies, for forming the pieces of card or paper of which the boxes
are to be constructed; secondly, the stamping dies, for shaping the pieces and
bringing them together into the proper forms. The cutting dies must be made
according to the shapes and dimensions of the intended boxes. Suppose a
circular box is required to be made, of about one inch in diameter, and five
eighths of an inch deep, we first cut out a piece of thick paper or card, the form
of which may be described as an octagon, of about one inch and seven eighths
across, with acute notches cut out at its angles. From this piece the bottom
and cylindrical part of the box is to be made, by placing it in a stamping press
between suitable dies, and forcing up its edges first into a cup shape. A
cylindrical hoop of thick paper or card, of about three quarters of an inch
wide, and of the same diameter as the interior of the intended box, is then
provided, either by winding a strip of pasted paper round a stick, or by any
other convenient means, which hoop is to be placed within the previously
formed cup, as a lining, and must be attached to it by paste or adhesive matter.
After this the cup and lining are placed in a stamping press between other
dies, and being made to adhere firmly, form a cylindrical box with a ledge,
against which the edge of the lid is to fit, thus producing the bottom and
straight sides of the box in one piece.
The lid of this box is to be made from a circular disc of thick paper or card,
of about one inch and three eighths diameter, which is to be in like manner
pressed by dies first into a dish form, and ultimately to a true cylindrical figure,

page_text: fitting exactly on to the top of the box. The lid of the box being shallow, the
angular notches are not required to be cut out of the disc of paper.
In varying the sizes of the boxes to be made by these means, the octagons
and discs of paper or card must be varied, and also the dies employed for
cutting and forming the boxes; we therefore do not intend to confine ourselves
to any particular shapes or dimensions. For the purpose of rendering our im-
provements better understood, we have subjoined hereto, in a Sheet of Draw-
ings, representations in several Figures of the parts of a box cut out and
detached, and also combined upon this principle, and likewise various views of
the tools employed in their manufacture.
Fig. 1 is à front elevation of an ordinary fly press which we use for per-
forming all the various operations of cutting and pressing in the different
stages of our improved manufacture of pill and other boxes. a is the part
containing the upper die; b is the bed containing the counter die, which in
some instances is made moveable in the bed. And as it is necessary in some
parts of the process to raise the counter die with the portion of the box under
operation from out of the bed after the stamping or pressing has been performed,
a strong spring c is attached under the press, and connected to the bench upon
which the press is fixed by screw staples d, d, which allow of the spring being
adjusted. The centre part of the spring presses upwards against the tail piece
or piston e of a moveable counter die, and raises it after it has been depressed
by the upper die, but we do not mean or intend to confine ourselves to the use
of this spring, as a weighted lever or other construction of spring would answer.
the purpose equally well. In our improved manufacture of pill and other boxes,
we employ a number or series of these kind of presses, placed on benches round
the work room, each press containing a pair of the proper-shaped tools or dies
to cut out and form the different parts of the boxes, and the presses are
stationed in such order that the work performed by the first press may be
handed to the next, and so on throughout the whole process of manufacture,
thus keeping a very considerable number of boxes in progress at one time.
But it will be evident that a machine or apparatus might be constructed which
would perform all the various operations of our different presses, such ma-
chinery or apparatus being made to contain a number or series of the cutting
and stamping dies, worked by levers or other means, and having a feeding
apparatus to convey the material or parts of the box under operation from one
pair of dies to the next, and so on. It is therefore to be understood that the
subject of our Invention, or that which we claim as new in the manufacture of
pill and other boxes, is the process of making them from sheets of cardboard
or thick paper or other materials, by means of cutting, stamping, or pressing

page_text: dies, as described, without reference to any particular construction of ma-
chinery by which the said dies may be put into operation.
The shape of the piece of cardboard or paper used in the first instance to
form the bottom and sides of the box, as described, is represented in the ac-
companying Drawing at A. These shapes or pieces are cut out of a flat sheet
of cardboard or paper by the pair of dies a and b, shewn in plan views at
Fig. 2.
a is the upper or cutting die,' and 6 the counter die or bed. The
sheet of cardboard or paper is placed between them; as shewn in Fig. 3, in
which 6 is a vertical section taken through the middle of the counter die or
bed, with the sheet of cardboard or paper lying upon it, and above it is the
cutting die. The upper die or cutter a descends by the ordinary action of the
press, and after punching or cutting out each shape or piece of cardboard or
paper A, forces it down through the counter die b, and it falls into a box or
receptacle below. These pieces A are then forwarded to the second press, where
they are severally brought into the cup shape shewn in plan and side repre-
sentations at B. This is effected by the punch and counter die shewn at
Fig. 4, which is a section of the counter die and bed c, the punch d being
placed over it. The shapes or pieces A are severally placed in the circular
recess e, e, in the counter die or bed (as shewn at Fig. 4), and on the descent
of the punch & the piece A will be passed through the counter die c, and its
edges bent up into the shape B. The box being intended to have a shoulder
for the edge of the lid to fit against, there must be a lining placed within it,
as described, the lid being made to fit upon the lining so that the edges of the
piece B may form the ledge. This lining may be produced by taking a long
strip of pasted paper, as shewn at C, and winding it round a stick or roller.
But these
For instance, a
Figs. 5 and 6 are a side elevation and plan view of a small apparatus used
to form the lining. The roller f is placed upon the end of a shaft g, turning
in bearings in the standards h, h, and has a small winch handle i on its reverse
end, by which it is turned round, and a strip of paper being wound upon it, a
cylindrical hoop is produced, as shewn in several views at D.
cylindrical hoops or linings may be made by other means.
long cylindrical tube, of the proper diameter, may be formed out of paper
or cardboard, and the linings, cut off from the tube to the required length. The
paper hoops D, after being dried, are put upon the end of the tool or handle
k, Fig. 7, to be pasted, part of the hoop being shielded or covered by the
guard ring 1, as shewn more evidently in the section of the tool, Fig. 8.
Paste or other adhesive matter being now put upon the outside of the hoop in
order to stick it to the interior of the box, it is in that state placed within one
of the pieces.B; which has been previously put over one of the holes m, made

page_text: in the drying board, partially shewn at Fig. 9, and in section at Fig. 10.
These holes m, in the drying board, are bevelled or made conical upon the
upper edge; and in pressing the tool k with the hoop D and part B down-
wards; the inclined sides of the holes in the board will close the sides: of the
piece B around the lining D, and confine them in the drying board, as shewn
in Fig. 10; and on drawing out the tool k they will be left in: the board, as
represented at n, n, in Figs. 9 and 10, where they will remain until they are
dry enough for the next operation, and will be of the shape' represented in the
side view E, which may now be called a box, though not finished.
The next operation to be effected is that of finishing the shape of the box,
and pressing the top edge of the lining and the ledge parallel with the bottom
of the box, at the same time to emboss the name of the maker or any device
upon the bottom. This is effected by the punch and counter die shewn at
Figs, 11 and 12, in which the bed o is shewn in section, and the pair of dies
as seen on their sides. The upper part of the counter die p exactly fits the
interior of the box, the edge of the lining resting upon its ledge q, q. There
is also a ledger, r, within the bed, against which the ledge of the box is
pressed by the upper die s. This die may have upon it any device desired to
be embossed upon the bottom of the box. The outside diameter of the box
exactly fits the inside of the bed. The counter die p being raised out of the
bed o, as shewn in Fig. 12, by the spring or other means, one of the boxes
E is placed bottom upwards upon it, .the edge of the lining resting upon the
ledge g. The upper die then descends, and forces down the counter die until
the ledge of the box meets the ledge r,. r, within the bed, when a sufficient
pressure is given to emboss the name or device upon the bottom of the box,
and form it truly cylindrical and perfect, as represented at F in side and
bottom views. The box will then be ready to be covered with any coloured
paper or outer covering by hand, if desired.
The piece of paper or cardboard used to form the lid of the box is a perfect
disc, as shewn at G, and may be cut out of the sheet by a common hollow
punch, or a solid punch and hollow counter die. The latter we prefer, as it
forms a more perfect edge to the disc. The pieces G are placed into the
circular recess t of the bed u (see Figs. 13 and 14), which are section figures
taken through the bed, but shewing the upper die v and counter die w, as
seen on their sides. Fig. 13 shews the dies apart, and the disc of paper or
cardboard placed in the countersunk recess in the bed. On the die v descend-
ing the disc is held fast between the dies, and as they continue to descend the.
inclined or conical part of the bed causes the edges of the disc to be turned
up, and come in contact with the lower part of the upper die, which is just.

page_text: as much smaller than the lower or cylindrical part of the bed as the cardboard
or paper is thick. There is a small cutting edge or ledge y, y, upon the
upper die, which, when it comes in contact with the cylindrical part of the
bed, cuts off any little superfluous matter from the disc, should it happen that it
has not been placed in the recess quite central with the dies. The dies
descend with the lid of the box until the shoulder or bottom of the counter
die comes against the bottom of the cylindrical part of the bed, as shewn in
Fig. 14, when the box lid receives sufficient pressure to cause it to retain its
proper cup shape, as represented in several views at H. The counter die
being raised up out of the bed, the piece H is removed, and forwarded to
another pair of dies, when it receives its last impression, and, if required, the
name of the chemist who uses the pill boxes, or any other device may be
embossed upon it.
Fig. 15 shews a pair of dies and bed, the counter die z having a small
diameter fitting the interior of the box lid, the upper die carrying the device
to be embossed upon the top of the lid. The cup-shaped piece H, or lid, is
placed upon the smaller diameter of the counter die, and on the upper die
descending the counter die and the lid are forced down into the cylindrical
part of the bed, and there. receive sufficient pressure to form them perfectly
cylindrical, and cause them to retain their proper shape, as shewn at I, when
they will be ready to have a slip of coloured paper pasted round it to match
the box, as shewn at K, which is a perspective representation of one of our
improved pill boxes when finished. When pill boxes are not required to have
the shoulder for the lid to fit against; then the lining, if used at all, need not
extend above the top of the box, the side of the box being made somewhat
deeper. In this case the ledge q of the counter die p (see Figs. 11 and 12)
may be dispensed with, but the lining in some cases may not to be thought
necessary, as the outside covering may be found sufficient to strenghten the
sides of the box; and under the circumstances we prefer making the outside
covering in a cylindrical hoop, formed in the same manner as the linings above
described, the piece B being placed withinside of the hoop instead of the
outside.
:
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our im-
provements in the manufacture of pill and other boxes, it only remains for
us to state that the same improvements are applicable to the process or manu-
facture of various other useful articles. For instance, we make or construct
caps or coverings for vials or other bottles by the same description of cutting
and pressing dies, and emboss the name of the chemist or perfumer (who use
such bottles) upon the top part of the cap.

page_text: Fig. 16 is a perspective representation of one of these improved coverings
or caps, and Fig. 17 is a representation of a part of a vial with one of them
applied.
In witness whereof, I, the said George Bell, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Eighth day of March, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and thirty-three.
GEO. (L.S.) BELL.
AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Eighth day of March, in the
third year of the reign of His present Majesty King William the Fourth, the
aforesaid George Bell came before our said Lord the King in His Chancery,
and acknowledged the Instrument aforesaid, and all and every thing therein
contained and specified, in form above written. And also the Instrument
aforesaid was stamped according to the tenor of the Statute made in the
fifty-fifth year of the reign of His late Majesty King George the Third.
Inrolled the Eighth day of March, One thousand eight hundred and
thirty-three.