IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF UMBRELLAS AND PARASOLS, AND IN APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREIN
Year: 1865

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Samuel Fox, of Stocksbridge Works, Deepcar, near
Sheffield, in the County of York, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
IN THE MANUFACTURE OF UMBRELLAS AND PARASOLS, AND IN APPARATUS
EMPLOYED THEREIN."
Sealed the 23rd February 1866; and dated the 13th September 1865.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Samuel Fox at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 13th
September 1865.
I, SAMUEL Fox, of Stocksbridge Works, Deepcar, near Sheffield, in the
County of York, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF UMBRELLAS AND PARASOLS, AND IN
APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREIN," to be as follows:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in the manufacture of
umbrellas and parasols, and in apparatus employed therein. For these
purposes, in constructing the outer ends of what are known as trough or
paragon ribs of umbrellas and parasols, for the outer end of each rib a short
length or piece of wire is used, which at one end is flattened out so as to
cause two webs or projections to be formed one on either side of a central
ridge, which is of a size to fit into the interior of the end of the trough rib,

page_text: and to fill it up solid for a short part of its length. The outer end of the
piece or length of wire is formed into a knob or other formed point or end,
and these forms are given by dies with corresponding cavities or recesses
actuated by fly or other presses or by stamps. The wire is also flattened near
its outermost end in order to be perforated. The piece or length of wire is
fixed in the end of a trough rib of an umbrella or parasol by introducing the
central ridge of the piece of wire into the end of the trough rib, and then by
dies indenting the edges of the trough rib into the central ridge of the piece
of wire, and afterwards causing the projecting webs to be bent around
externally of the trough rib, so that at the same time the central ridge of the
wire will be tightly embraced by the end of the trough rib, and also the end
of the trough rib will be embraced tightly by the webs on the wire, which are
bent around the end of the trough rib. This way of making the ends also
applies to the making of the stretcher ends; the piece of wire may be flattened
in order to be perforated or split, and formed into an ordinary stretcher fork
with two sides, each of which is perforated.
In place of making the ribs of umbrellas and parasols of a trough-like
section from end to end, as has been the practice hitherto, each rib near its
outermost end is made flat or nearly so for some few inches, and then pro-
gressively it is bent up more and more till the transverse section becomes of
the ordinary trough or paragon section. The set of the umbrella is thus im-
proved, greater pliability being given to the outer end of the rib. With a
similar object, when making solid ribs, I reduce the diameter of the solid rib
near its outer end by heating it at this part, and stretching it by applying a
tensile strain to it whilst so heated. Near where the stretcher is pin-jointed
to its trough or paragon rib, or it may be any other rib, a spring is affixed,
having a tendency to force the stretcher and the rib apart, by which means
when the band around an umbrella or parasol is removed the springs open out
the ends of the ribs, so that the hand of the user may be more readily passed
up to the runner in order to open the umbrella or parasol. Manufacturers of
umbrella and parasol frames are very liable to fraud for want of some con-
venient means of marking their goods in such manner that purchasers may
readily recognize their make. With this object of effectually marking the
frames, whether the ribs or stretchers be of a trough-like section or of a
tubular or solid form, each rib or stretcher, or one rib or stretcher in each set,
is at one part in its length opened or spread out and a metal plate is fixed
thereto, and on such plate a trade mark or device or name is engraved or
otherwise applied, or the rib need not be flattened, but a piece of copper or
comparatively soft metal being lapped around it, the surface required for the
'

page_text: mark may be obtained by flattening by dies or stamps the softer material thus
applied. In the course of manufacturing the steel ribs of umbrellas and
parasols they have to be: tested by bending again and again to an extent
beyond that to which they will be liable when made up into an umbrella or
parasol; these repeated testings by bending are performed by hand, and one
at a time. In order that such testing may be performed on a number of
steel ribs at one time, a testing apparatus is employed wherein a handful of
ribs may be tested at a time. On a bench or other suitable surface is fixed
a hollow metal dish, which is by preference hemispherical, and above this is
an inverted dish of a like form, which is capable of being slidden freely
towards the lower dish, the distance of such sliding being controlled by
adjustable stops. A quantity of steel ribs are placed between the two dishes,
and the moveable dish is moved towards the fixed or stationary dish, by which
all the ribs will be bent simultaneously, and by such means large quantities of
steel ribs may be tested by bending at the same time.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Samuel Fox in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 13th
March 1866.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, SAMUBL
Fox, of Stocksbridge Works, Deepcar, near Sheffield, in the County of York,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Thirteenth day of September, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-five, in the twenty-ninth year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said Samuel Fox, Her special licence that I, the said Samuel Fox,
my. executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
Samuel Fox, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time
agiee with, and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafte
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
THE MANUFACTURE OF UMBRELLAS AND PARASOLS, AND IN APPARATUS EMPLOYED
THEREIN," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Samuel
Fox, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under
my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should particularly describe and

page_text: 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 Seal
Patent Office within six calendar months next and immediately after the
date of the said Letters Patent.
I NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Samuel Fox, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement thereof, that is to say:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in the manufacture of
umbrellas and parasols, and in apparatus employed therein. For these
purposes, in constructing the outer ends of what are known as trough or
paragon ribs of umbrellas and parasols, for the outer end of each rib a short
length or piece of wire is used, which at one end is flattened out so as to cause
two webs or projections to be formed, one on either side of a central ridge,
which is of a size to fit into the interior of the end of the trough rib, and to
fill it up solid for a short part of its length. The outer end of the piece or
length of wire is formed into a knob or other formed point or end, and these
forms are given by dies with corresponding cavities or recesses actuated by
fly or other presses or by stamps. The wire is also flattened near its outer-
most end in order to be perforated. The piece or length of wire is fixed in
the end of a trough rib of an umbrella or parasol by introducing the central
ridge of the piece of wire into the end of the trough rib, and then by dies
indenting the edges of the trough rib into the central ridge of the piece of
wire, and afterwards causing the projecting webs to be bentaround externally
of the trough rib, so that at the same time the central ridge of the wire will
be tightly embraced by the end of the trough rib, and also the end of the
trough rib will be embraced tightly by the webs on the wire, which are bent
around the end of the trough rib; this way of making the ends also applies
to the making of the stretcher ends; the piece of wire may be flattened in
order to be perforated or split, and formed into an ordinary stretcher fork
with two sides, each of which is perforated.
In place of making the ribs of umbrellas and. parasols of a trough-like
section from end to end as has been the practice hitherto, each rib near its
outermost end is made flat or nearly so for some few inches, and then pro-
gressively it is bent up more and more till the transverse section becomes of the
ordinary trough or paragon section.. The set of the umbrella is thus improved,
greater pliability being given to the outer end of the.rib. With a similar
object, when making solid ribs, I reduce the diameter of the solid rib near its
outer end by heating it at this part, and stretching it by applying a tensile

page_text: strain to it while so heated. Near where the stretcher is pin-jointed to its
trough or paragon rib, or it may be any other rib, a spring is affixed, having
a tendency to force the stretcher and the rib apart, by which means when the
band around an umbrella or parasol is removed the springs open out the ends
of the ribs, so that the hand of the user may be more readily passed up to the
runner in order to open the umbrella or parasol. Manufacturers of umbrella
and parasol frames are very liable to fraud for want of some convenient means
of marking their goods in such manner that purchasers may readily recognize
their make. With this object of effectually marking the frames, whether
the ribs or stretchers be of a trough-like section or of a tubular or solid
form, each rib or stretcher, or one rib or stretcher in each set, is at one part
in its length opened or spread out, and a metal plate is fixed thereto, and on
such a plate a trade mark or device or name is engraved or otherwise applied,
or the rib need not be flattened, but a piece of copper or comparatively soft
metal being lapped around it the surface required for the mark may be
obtained by flattening by dies or stamps the softer material thus applied. In
the course of manufacturing the steel ribs of umbrellas and parasols they
have to be tested by bending again and again to an extent beyond that to
which they will be liable when made up into an umbrella or parasol; these
repeated testings by bending are performed by hand, and one at a time. In
order that such testing may be performed on a number of steel ribs at one
time, a testing apparatus is employed wherein a handful of ribs may be tested
at a time. On a bench or other suitable surface is fixed a hollow metal dish
which is by preference hemispherical, and above this is an inverted dish of a
like form, which is capable of being slidden freely towards the lower dish,
the distance of such sliding being controlled by adjustable stops. A quantity
of steel ribs are placed between the two dishes, and the moveable dish is
moved towards the fixed or stationary dish, by which all the ribs will be bent
simultaneously, and by such means large quantities of steel ribs may be tested
by bending at the same time.
Having thus stated the nature of my Invention, I will proceed more fully
to describe the manner of performing the same.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figure 1 shows an end view of a piece of wire a before subjecting it to
pressure between dies to produce two side webs and a reduction of the
sectional diameter of the central part; Figure 2 shows a plan of the wire
after it has been subjected to pressure between dies to produce the reduced
central part 6 and the two flat webs c, c; and Figure 3 shows a transverse
b

page_text: section of the parts c, b, c. The part is of suitable dimensions to fill the end
of a trough-like rib. Figure 4 shows a plan of a portion of the end of a
trough-like rib d, having the part of the piece of wire a introduced into it
in the position in which it is to be fixed by bending the parts c, c, around the
end of the rib. The part 6 having been placed in this position is secured by
small punches or points being caused to form indentations, as is shown at
al, a¹, a¹, in Figure 5, which represents a side view of the parts a and d, and
Figure 6 shows a transverse section of the parts shown in Figure 5. Having
thus temporarily attached the parts a, d, the parts are placed in a hollow bed
die and receive the blow of a hollow, punch or upper die, so as to bring the
parts into the condition shown in Figures 7, 8, and 9, which show respectively
a plan, a side view, and cross section of the parts a and d connected by the
parts c, b, c, the parts or webs c, c, being partly bent on the part d of a
trough rib. The parts are next placed in and are acted on by another pair
of dies, which may be formed in any suitable manner, but it is preferred that
the hollow bed die should be deep enough, that on the parts being forced
down into it the two webs or projectious c, c, should be raised in a parallel
condition, and then by a hollow punch to fold the two webs down into the
positions shown in Figures 10 and 11, which show respectively a plan and
transverse section of the end of the ribd, having the end of the piece of wire a
fixed securely thereto by the parts c, b, c. The outer end of the piece of wire
is then finished into either of the forms shown in Figures 12, 13, or 14, or
to such other form as may be desired. In like manner may the ends of
stretchers be fixed and formed, whether such ends are to be solid, as shown at
Figure 14, or forked, as shown at Figure 13, where the part or piece of wire a
is split into a fork where it is to be attached to the rib. The end of the
stretcher where it is to be fixed in the notch of the runner may be formed as
heretofore, or made solid by the introduction and fixing in such end of a piece
of wire a as above described. The upper end of a rib where it enters the top
notch may also be formed in the ordinary manner, or may be made solid by
means of a piece of wire as above described. Figures 15 and 16 show
respectively a plan and side view of a trough rib formed with a flattened por-
tion near its outer end from e to f, as shown, by reason of which that part of
the rib will be rendered more yielding than the other parts of the rib.
Figure 17 shows a solid rib which between the points e and f near its outer
end is reduced in diameter, by which, as in Figures 15 and 16, that part of the
rib is made capable of bending more readily than the other parts of the rib.
Figures 18, 19, and 20 show a mode of carrying out that part of my
Invention which relates to the applying a spring to the joint between the

page_text: stretchers and ribs of umbrellas or parasols; other modes of carrying out
this part of my Invention may however be resorted to, particularly when other
sections or forms of ribs are employed. At Figure 18 is shown a portion of
the stick of an umbrella with one of the ribs lying alongside of it in the posi-
tion it assumes when the umbrella is folded up. The dotted lines in this
Figure show the position of the rib when the band which retains the umbrella
when folded is released. Figures 10 and 20 show sections of the joint
between the stretcher and rib. These Figures show clearly the spring a, which
tends to force the rib and stretcher apart from each other, and the action of
the spring is clearly seen at Figure 18.
In Figures 21 and 22 another part of my Invention is shown, which con-
sists in applying a plate for receiving a distinguishing mark, such as the
maker's name or a trade mark or other device by which a purchaser will be
rendered more secure in purchasing the manufacture of a particular maker.
The plate gis affixed to a trough-like or paragon rib by introducing a filling
piece of wire and then bending round the rib a plàte g, as is shown at Figures 18,
then subjecting the upper surface of the plate g to the action of a punch or
tool engraved with the desired device or mark. When marking a solid rib
the plate g will be similarly applied, the filling piece not being required.
In carrying out that part of my Invention which relates to the testing of
ribs and stretchers a suitable bench or bed is used, having thereon two hollow
dishes, one being fixed to the bench or bed and the other capable of being
slid or moved up towards the other. The hollows of the two dishes are
placed towards each other. The ends of several ribs are placed in the two
dishes, and then one of the dishes is made to approach the other, by which the
ribs or stretchers will be bent to the desired extent and then allowed to
assume their straight condition, and this bending may be repeated as many
times as desired. The hollow dishes may be placed opposite each other on
a horizontal bed, or they may be placed one above the other, as may be
preferred.
In witness whereof, I, the said Samuel Fox, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Tenth day of March, in the year of our Lord One
11 1