IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR CUTTING FRAMING AND PACKING LUCIFER AND OTHER LIFE WOOD MATCHES
Year: 1857

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Thomas Cook, of Old Kent Road, in the County of
Surrey, Machinist, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR
CUTTING FRAMING AND PACKING LUCIFER AND OTHER LIFE WOOD MATCHES
"
Şealed the 27th April 1858, and dated the 29th October 1857.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Thomas Cook at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
29th October 1857.
I, THOMAS COOK, of Old Kent Road, in the County of Surrey, Machinist,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MACHINERY FOR CUTTING, FRAMING, AND PACKING LUCIFER AND OTHER LIKE WOOD
MATCHES," to be as follows:-
My said Invention consists in the novel construction and in the application
of machinery for cutting wood for matches, filling the frames used for dipping
them, and removing and depositing the same in boxes.
Machines made according to my said improvements consist of a main
framework supporting a sliding frame carrying cutters, having above it a
vertical box, down which the wood is guided to the cutters, which in their
backward motion cut the block, and in their forward motion carry the matches

page_text: so cut into a frame, after which the box receives a slight transverse motion
ready for the next cut, and so on alternately, the whole being operated by
steam or other power. At the back of the main frame is an arrangement
for receiving the frame holding the ready-dipped matches, and the action of
the sliding frame before named forces the matches out into a trough, and
thence into the boxes.
The matches are cut from blocks of wood cut the length of the intended
match, and the box or frame in which they are placed is made their exact
length, and wide enough to contain several, and they- are prevented from
falling through by stiff springs pressing against the blocks. A series of
feeding tongs work outside the box, passing through slots at the bottom, to
grasp, force, and hold the blocks while being cut. A sliding frame underneath
carries a series of single cutters, placed the distance of the thickness of a
match apart, and fitted into a conical groove in the sliding frame, so that one
screw will hold a number in their place. In the match frame the laths are
held together by spiral or other-springs, and can be forced apart by a wedge
or inclined plane at each end, and carried downwards the thickness of a lath
at each stroke, by the same means. The frame slides in stationary grooves in
front of the block-frame or box and the sliding cutter frame. At the back of
the machine are also stationary grooves to receive the match frames when
discharging the matches, by means of a thin steel blade attached to the
sliding frame for passing between each lath. A trough is here provided
with a cylinder at each end, the size of a match box, with a slot in the
side that is attached to the trough. On one end of the cylinders is a
thin rim, on which to fit a match box. A plunger works in each cylinder
from end to end, and a slide block fitted into the trough works similarly, and
the ends of the slide are made to fit into the slots in the cylinders, so as to
form a perfect cylinder; the several motions are produced by cams on a
central main shaft. My cutters, on coming into contact with the wood blocks,
cut out every alternate match, leaving the surface fluted where the matches
have been ploughed out, and at the return stroke of the cutters, the block
meanwhile having moved slightly transversely, the projections of the blocks
are in their turn cut away, & carried onwards to the match frame.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Thomas Cook in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
29th April 1858..
:
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, THOMAS
Cook, of Old Kent Road, in the County of Surrey, Machinist, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-ninth day of October, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven, in the twenty-first year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors; give and grant unto, me; the
said Thomas Cook Her special licence that I, the said Thomas Cook, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said: Thomas:
Cook, 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 Ireland, the Channel
Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY
FOR CUTTING, FRAMING, AND PACKING LUCIFER AND OTHER LIKE WOOD MATCHES,"
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Thomas Cook," my
executors. or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or
their, or one of their hands and seals, should particularly describe and ascer-
tain 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 Thomas Cook, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:-
My said Invention consists in the novel construction and in the application
of machinery for cutting wood for matches, filling the frames used for dipping
them, and removing and depositing the same in boxes.
And for the better understanding of the sanie, I will now proceed to detail
the particulars thereof, reference being had to the Drawings hereunto annexed,
in which the same letters refer to corresponding parts throughout.

page_text: DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figure 1 is a side elevation of a match machine of my Invention ;
Figure 2 is a front end elevation of the same, showing especially the parts
for cutting matches and filling frames; and Figure 3 is a back end like
elevation, showing the parts for transferring matches from the frame to
boxes.
.
A, A, is the main framework, and A', the upper portion of the same;
B, B, the sliding frame, with a steel blade at y, and working on guide rods a,
and carrying the cutters 6, being worked by the cam a¹, working against the
friction rollers a¹¹; C, the guide box for the wood c, as at No. 1; and C¹,
stiff springs; D, the match frame, having laths d, through the ends of which
run the rods e, e, and are held together by spiral springs g, g, and g¹, g³, are
tightening or regulating nuts; E, E, guides for the match frame to slide in ;
F, a cross bar, with a central stuffing box h, to 'cause friction on the rod i,
that supports the weight of the match frame D; G is a lever, connected at j
by a short connecting rod k, with the bell crank 1, for operating the slide m,
wedge-shaped at the end m³, to inerst between the laths; the lever G is
connected with the rocking shaft n, which has motion given to it by cams on
the main shaft H, and the other end of G is connected at o with a vertical
rod o¹, for working, by means of pauls a passing through slots in the guides
of the filled frame S working in the guides K while discharging; n' is another
rocking shaft, with a lever p, working the connecting rod q, which operates
the levers I of the feeding tongs I connected to the shaft J; r, the toggle
joints, and the dotted lines r¹ show their motion, and, being connected to the
levers I, open and shut the tongs I. L is the trough receiving the matches,
and has a block M that works in it from end to end by means of the lever N,
worked by the lever or crank O, operated by the cams P, P', on the cam
shaft Q; R, the matcli cylinder; S¹, a plunger working in it by means of the
lever Tattached to the rocking shaft s, and worked by the lever T, also:
attached to s, and has at t a friction roller actuated by the cam U; the
cams P, P, operate on the friction roller of the lever V, connected with the
vertical box C at u, thereby giving it a transverse motion; W is the fly
wheel; X, X', two pulleys, being attached to a bush, so as to turn loose on
the shaft; a pinion Y gears into the spur wheel Y' on the main shaft H, and
on its other end is a pinion Z, gearing into the spur wheel Z' on the cam
shaft Q. No. 2 is one of the steel cutters, full size; 6¹ being a plan or back
view, and 6, a side view.

page_text: It will thus be observed that machines made according to my said improve--
ments consist of a main framework supporting a sliding frame carrying
cutters 6, Figure 1, and No. 2, having above it it a vertical box down which
the wood is guided to the cutters, which in their backward motion cut the
block, and in their forward motion carry the matches so cut into a frame D, d,
after which the box receives a slight transverse motion ready for the next cut,
and so on alternately, the whole being operated by steam or other power.
At the back of the main frame is an arrangement for receiving the frame
holding the ready-dipped matches, and the action of the sliding frame before
named forces the matches out into a trough, and thence into the boxes.
The
The matches are cut from blocks of wood previously cut the length of the
intended matches, and the box or frame in which they are placed is made
their exact length, and wide enough to contain several, and they are prevented
from falling through by stiff springs C', No. 1, pressing against the blocks.
A series of feeding tongs work outside the box, passing through slots at the
bottom, to grasp, force, and hold the blocks while being cut. A sliding frame
underneath carries a series of single cutters, No. 2, placed the distance of the
thickness of a match apart, and fitted into a conical or other groove in the
sliding frame, so that one screw will hold a number in their place. In the
match frame the laths are held together by rods having spiral or other springs,
and are forced apart by a wedge or inclined plane m² at each end, and carried
downwards the thickness of a lath at each stroke by the same means.
frame having the ends of the laths bevelled, they form an independent rack,
and the frame slides in stationary grooves in front of the block frame or box C
and the sliding cutter frame B., At the back of the machine are also stationary
grooves to receive the match frames when discharging the matches by means
of a thin steel blade y attached to the sliding frame for passing between each
lath. A trough is here provided, and when filling round or other boxes, with
a cylinder at each end the size of a match box, with a slot in the side that is
attached to the trough. On one end of the cylinders is a thin rim on which to
fit a match box, or it may be made with a bell mouth to fix it in. A plunger
works in each cylinder from end to end, and a slide block fitted into the trough
works similarly; and the ends of the slide are made to fit into the slots in the
cylinders, so as to form a perfect cylinder; the several motions are produced by
cams on the shafts. The main novelty in my improved cutters is, that the
are formed and so arranged in their frame that on coming into contact with
the wood blocks they cut out every alternate match, leaving the surface fluted
where the matches have been ploughed out, and at the return stroke of the

page_text: cutters, the block having meanwhile moved slightly transversely, the projections
of the blocks are in their turn cut away and carried onwards to the match
frame, and contiguity between the, matches thereby prevented while in the
dipping frame...
Having thus fully described one mode of carrying my said improvements
into practical operation, I desire it to be understood that the same is capable
of being, considerably modified without affecting the principle of my said
Invention; I therefore do not restrict myself to the precise form, materials,
or number of parts, herein described, so long as any modification produces
substantially the same results;. and I do declare that what I claim as my
Invention is, the peculiar improvements in machinery for cutting, framing,
and packing wood matches, as described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Thomas' Cook, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-eighth day of April, in the year of our
Lord 1858. -
THOMAS COOK. (L.S.)
THOMAS COOK. (L.S.)