CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR BENDING AND FITTING PLATES OR BARS OF STEEL, IRON, AND OTHER MATERIALS, TO BE USED FOR LOCOMOTIVE ENGINE AND CARRIAGE SPRINGS, AND OTHER PURPOSES
Year: 1848

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, THOMAS
BURDETT TURTON, of Sheffield, in the County of York, Steel Manufacturer,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland, bearing date at Westminster, the First day of June,
in the cleventh year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said Thomas Burdett Turton, my exors, adñiors,
and assigns, Her especial licence, full power, sole privilege and authority,
that I, the said Thomas Burdett Turton, my exors, admors, and assigns, or
such others as I, the said Thomas Burdett Turton, my exors, adñiors, and
assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and
at all times during the term of years therein expressed, should and lawfully
might make, use, exercise, and vend, within England, Wales, and the Town of
Berwick-upon-Tweed, my Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY
FOR BENDING AND FITTING PLATES OR BARS OF STEEL, IRON, AND OTHER MATERIALS,
TO BE USED FOR LOCOMOTIVE ENGINE AND CARRIAGE SPRINGS, AND OTHER PURPOSES;"
in which said Letters Patent there is contained a proviso obliging me, the said
Thomas Burdett Turton, to cause a particular description of the nature of my
said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, by an
instrument in writing under my hand and seal, to be enrolled in Her
Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six calendar months next and
immediately after the date of the said in part recited Letters Patent, as in

page_text: 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
Thomas Burdett Turton, do hereby declare the nature of my said Invention
to consist in certain improved mechanism for bending or fitting plates or bars
of steel or other material into the form of segments by means of rollers or
blocks, the said segments, when so shaped by the rollers or blocks, being par
ticularly applicable to the making of springs for locomotive steam engines and
carriages. And in further compliance with the said proviso I shall now proceed
to describe the manner in which the said Invention may be performed and
carried into effect; and in order to illustrate the same more clearly I shall refer
to the two Sheets of Drawings hereunto annexed. These Drawings are made
to the scales marked on each Sheet, and similar letters and figures of reference
are placed upon corresponding parts of each machine in the different views.
· DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
On Sheet 1, Figure 1 represents a sido clevation of a machine for bending
plates or bars of metal by means of three rollers placed vertically. Figure 2
is a front elevation of the same machine. In this view the driving shaft has
been omitted, in order that the parts behind it may be more clearly seen.
Figure 3 is another elevation, taken partly in section; and Figure 4 is a plan
view. The machine represented in the different views above enumerated is
driven by steam or any other power, and is for the purpose of superseding, in
a great measure, the manual labour now employed for bending or fitting
carriage springs. a is the driving shaft, on to which are keyed the fast
pulley and the bevil pinion c. d is a loose pulley, and e is another pulley,
fixed on the boss of the bevel pinion f. The pulley e and pinion f are both
loose on the shaft a. The teeth of the pinions c and f take into the bevel
wheel g, as seen in Figure 3; and as the wheel g is keyed on the same shaft h
as tho driving roller i, it is evident that the driving roller will be moved in
either direction, according as the driving strap is made to turn either the fast
pulley or the pulley e. kis a strong cast-iron table, supported by a wooden
framing, to which the bearings of the driving shaft a and vertical shaft / are
attached, as clearly represented in the Drawing. is a roller of about the
same diameter as the driving roller i, and between these two rollers the spring
plate m is compressed while passing between them. The roller is keyed on
a short shaft n, working in the bearings of a forked lever o, the fulcrum of
which is a stud fixed into the table K. Upon the shaft is also keyed a spur
pinion p, which is driven by the pinion g keyed on the vertical shaft h. These

page_text: pinions need only be used for bending strong plates, as in bending thin or
narrow plates the friction caused by the weight r is sufficient to turn the
roller . When the pinions are not required to gear into each other the
pinion p is lowered on the shaft h, as shown by the red lines in Figure 3.
The teeth or cogs of these pinions should be made rather longer than usual, to
enable the rollers to be brought closer together or further apart, according to
the thickness of the plate or bar that is being passed between the rollers.
The roller is pressed against the plate m by means of the weight r, which is
slidden along the horizontal arm of the elbow lever s, so as to vary the amount
of pressure, the vertical arm of the said lever being in contact with the
extremity of the lever O, as seen in Figures 1 and 4. By this arrangement it
will be apparent that the roller can yield in case a thicker plate than usual
is pressed between the rollers i and l.
As soon as the spring plate m has
passed beyond the rollers and i, the weight r, which has been partially
elevated when the plate enters between the rollers, drops until it is supported
by the angle bracket 4. The height of this bracket may be varied to the
greatest nicety, to suit the different thicknesses of the spring plates, by
means of the slot in the lower part of the bracket 4 and the bolt holes in the
upright 5, which is fixed to a cast-iron bottom plate, as seen in Figures 1 and
3. The requisite curvature is given to the plate or bar under operation by
the small roller t, which revolves on a stud held above by the short lever u,
and below by the longer lever v. These two levers are both keyed on a shaft
w, which works in a bush fixed on the table k. The longer arm of the lever v
terminates in a fork, and supports a screw nut x, which is provided with
trunnions taking into the above-named fork. The nut a fits on the screw y,
and by turning the handle projecting from the little fly-wheel z the position of
the roller t is altered to suit the curve of the plate or bar under operation.
It is evident that by varying the position of the roller t the curve of the plates
may be altered, so that when several of them are placed together they fit
each other, and form a complete spring. The grooves represented in the
rollers i and t are to admit the nibs which are generally made on the outer
surface of springs. These nibs are seen in the plan view, Figure 4. The
position of the groove must vary according to the breadth of the plate or spring
required; for as the nib is always placed in the centre of the breadth of the
spring, it is evident that the height of the groove from the table must
correspond to the breadth of the plate that is being operated upon. In rolling
springs it is generally found desirable to pass them twice through the rollers,
in the direction shown by the arrows in Figure 4, but in rolling a spring plate

page_text: having an eye at each end it is essential that the direction in which the rollers
revolve should be reversed, in order that when the spring plate has nearly
passed through the rollers in one direction the contrary direction may be given
to it by bringing the driving strap from the fast pulley b, on which it usually
works, to the pulley c. The screw y works in the bearings 1 fixed to the
table, and the ratchet wheel 2 is keyed on the shaft of the screw. The
pall 3 takes into the teeth of the ratchet wheel 2, and retains the roller t in
the position it has been set. By the above-described machine the plates used
for making springs or other objects requiring a certain curve may be bent
with greater accuracy and economy of time than can be accomplished by
the hand process now in use, and the article manufactured will be of better
quality, as the process of bending by a uniform pressure is much less injurious
to steel than obtaining the same result by striking with a hammer, as is now
customary.
I will now proceed to describe, with reference to Sheet 2, another machine
for the same purpose. Figure 5 is a front elevation, Figure 6 is a transverse
section, and Figure 7 is a plan view, partly in section, of such a machine. In
this machine the process of bending and fitting is performed by suitably-shaped
blocks; the lower one, marked a, remains stationary when the machine is
being used, and the upper one, b, is lifted up to allow the bar, which has been
bent, to be removed, and an unbent bar to be put in its place. The upper
block is attached to a plate c, to which is secured the guide rod d. Near
the upper extremity of the rod d is the antifriction roller e, against which
the cam h works when the top block is being pressed down upon the plate
or bar to be bent. The cam h is fixed on a shaft i, and is provided with
a segmental slot, through which, and through a fork made at the top of the
guide rod da pin or bolt m is passed; to the shaft i is also fixed a long
lever k, by means of which the machine is worked. When the attendant -
elevates this lever the upper block is raised by means of the bolt or pin m above
described, and when the bent plate has been removed, and another plates
substituted between the blocks, the attendant, by pressing down the lever k,
causes the cam h to bear upon the antifriction roller e, and by this means the
top block is depressed, so as to give the proper curve to the plate or bar
between the blocks. If it should be found more convenient to work this
machine by steam or other power instead of by the lever and its adjuncts, as
wheel 7, represented by a red line in Figure 5, should be keyed on the shaft i.
This wheel would be driven by the piniou n, fixed on the same shaft as a pair
of fast and loose pulleys o; the cam / would have to be replaced by a crank,

page_text: to which the upper end of the connecting rod p would be attached, and the
lower end of the connecting rod would be attached to the guide rod d. It
will be evident that by changing the blocks a and b any variety of curve may
be given to the plates or bars under operation. It is necessary to remark,
that the block a is provided with a groove, to admit the nibs of the spring
plates, as seen in Figures 5 and 6. The construction of the framing for
supporting and guiding the various parts of this machine is clearly shown in
the Drawing, and does not require to be particularly referred to, being well
understood by any competent workman.
Having now described and ascertained the nature of my said Invention,
and the manner in which the same may be performed, I do hereby declare
that I claim as of my. Invention the peculiar arrangements and combinations of
nechanical parts herein-before described for bending and fitting plates or bars
of steel, iron, and other materials to be used for locomotive engine and carriage
springs and other purposes. And I hereby warn all persons whatsoever
against imitating or resembling or making any addition to or substraction
from the same Invention, contrary to the terms of the said Letters Patent,
without the previous consent of me, my exors, admors, or assigns. And this
my Invention being, to the best of my knowledge and belief, entirely new, and
never before used within that part of Her Majesty's said United Kingdom of
Great Britain and Ireland called England, Her Dominion of Wales, and Town
of Berwick-upon-Tweed, I do hereby declare this to be my Specification of
the same, and that I do verily believe this my said Specification doth comply
in all respects, fully and without reserve or disguise, with the proviso in the
said herein-before in part recited Letters Patent contained; wherefore I do
hereby claim to maintain exclusive right and privilege to the said Invention.
In witness whereof, I, the said Thomas Burdett Turton, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Twenty-eighth day of November, One
thousand eight hundred and forty-eight.
THOMAS BURDETT (L.s.) TURTON.
Signed, sealed, and delivered (being
first duly stamped), by the within-
named Thomas Burdett Turton, in

page_text: AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Twenty-eighth day of Novem-
ber, in the year of our Lord 1848, tho aforesaid Thomas Burdett Turton came
before our said Lady the Queen in Her Chancery, and acknowledged tho.
Specification aforesaid, and all and every thing therein contained and specified,
in form above written. And also the Specification aforesaid was stamped
according to the tenor of the Statute made for that purpose.
Enrolled the First day of December, in the year of our Lord One thou-
sand eight hundred and forty-eight.