NEW OR IMPROVED MACHINERY FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF PERCUSSION CAPS, AND FOR CUTTING-OUT AND RAISING ARTICLES IN METAL GENERALLY
Year: 1856

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Abrahamn, of Birmingham, in the County of
Warwick, Machinist, for the Invention of "NEW OR IMPROVED MACHINERY
FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF PERCUSSION CAPS, AND FOR CUTTING-OUT AND
RAISING ARTICLES IN METAL GENERALLY."
Sealed the 27th June 1856, and dated the 16th January 1856.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Abraham at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 16th
January 1856.
I, JOHN ABRAHAM, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Machinist,
do hereby declare the nature of the Invention for "NEW OR IMPROVED MACHI-
NERY FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF PERCUSSION CAPS, AND FOR CUTTING-OUT AND RAISING
ARTICLES IN METAL GENERALLY," to be as follows:-
My said Invention consists of machinery for making percussion caps, and
for cutting out and raising metals, in which the several processes are conducted
in the following manner :-The sheet of metal from which the blanks are to be
cut is fed into the machine between a pair of rolls, and the waste metal is
removed from the machine in a similar manner. The cutting-out is effected
by a pair of dies, the lower being fixed and the upper moveable. The sheet
metal is conducted by an intermitting motion over the lower dies, and during
the rest of the sheet of metal the upper dies descend and cut out the blanks.
The said blanks are delivered on a plate or bed; a circular disc or plate turns

page_text: upon a centre upon the said bed, which said disc is provided with holes. The
said disc is so actuated, that a set of holes therein is brought under the lower
dies before the descent of the moveable dies; the blanks cut out are thus
delivered through the holes in the said disc. By the partial rotation of the
said disc, the blanks are pushed or carried on the bed plate from under the
cutting-out dies and over the raising dies. The carrying disc or plate is
temporarily bolted over the raising dies. The upper raising dies descend
through the holes in the carrying disc or plate, and, carrying the blanks into
the lower dies, raise the same into a cup-like form. The moveable dies in
ascending may carry upon them the raised articles, but in their ascending
motion they pass through collars, by which the articles are stripped therefrom.
The stationary raising dies are also provided with plungers or moveable bottoms,
by which any device may be impressed on the articles raised, and any thing
left in the said dies may be raised therefrom. I fix the dies in the bed plate
by inserting them in conical holes, and fixing them down by screws whose
heads are flush with the surface of the said plate and dies. I communicate
the several motions from a common shaft by means of levers, cambs, and other
mechanical agents, which I do not think it necessary here to describe.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Abraham in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
15th July 1856.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
ABRAHAM, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Machinist, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Sixteenth day of January, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-six, in the nineteenth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said John Abraham, Her special licence that I, the said John Abraham,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said John
Abraham, 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 "NEW OR IMPROVED
MACHINERY FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF PERCUSSION CAPS, AND FOR CUTTING-OUT AND

page_text: RAISING ARTICLES IN METAL GENERALLY," upon the condition (amongst others)
that I, the said John Abraham, my executors or administrators, by an in-
strument in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals,
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 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 John Abraham, 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:
My said Invention consists of machinery for the making of percussion caps
and cutting-out and raising metals generally, the said machinery being
constructed as herein-after described, and illustrated in the accompanying
Drawing.
Figure 1 represents a front elevation, Figure 2 a side elevation, and
Figure 3 a plan, of a machine constructed according to my Invention;
Figures 4 and 5 represent portions of the same in section. I have represented
any machine applied to the cutting-out of the cross-like blanks from which
percussion caps are made, and raising the said blanks into percussion caps.
a, b, are rolls, by means of which the sheet of metal from which blanks are to
bo cut is fed into the machine. These rolls are geared together, and on the
axis of one of them is a ratchet wheel c; a click d engages in the ratchet
wheel c, and the rod e by an alternating motion causes the click d to carry the
wheel c round to a sufficient extent to feed the requisite quantity of metal.
The rod e is fixed on the clip f, working on the excentric g on the main shaft h
of the machine. The waste metal passes out of the machine between a pair
of rolls i, Figure 3. Dies k, k, k, are fixed in the bolt or plunger l, to which
motion is given by the excentric m on the shaft h. Dies or tools, the counter-
part of the dies or tools k, k, k, are fixed on the bed of the machine. One of
these dies is shewn at n, Figure 5. On the descent of the bolt 1, the cutting-
out tools k, k, k, pass first through the guide plate o, and afterwards enter the
dies n, cutting out the blanks from the sheet metal resting on the dies n. Tho
blanks are received on the tops of the bolts p, p, p; motion is given to the
5. said bolts by the lever q, actuated by an excentric on the main shaft, as will be
understood by an inspection of Figure 2. The bolts p, p, p, descend.
carrying the blanks on their tops; the said blanks are lowered to the surface of
the plater, the said blanks entering the holes s, s, s, in the disc t. The said
disc t turns upon a centre u, and motion being communicated to it by the

page_text: bevil gear v, actuated by the rod w, the said disc carries the blanks. from off
the bolts p, p, p, and brings them under the operation of the raising dies, by
which they are raised into a cup-like form. The raising dies consist of the
pegs x, x, x, affixed to the bolt 7, and holes formed in the plate y. The blanks
are held by the disc t in a central position over the holes, while the pegs
x, a, a, descend and force the blanks into the said holes, and thereby raise
them into a cup-like form. During the descent of the pegs a, a, a, the disc t
is bolted firmly in its place by means of the bolt 1, the pointed end of which
engages in notches 2, 2, formed at suitable distances in its periphery. The
bolt 1 is made to slide to and fro by means of the lever 3 and a camb on the
driving shaft, as will be understood by an inspection of Figure 1. Pegs 4
slide in the holes z, and constitute the bottoms of the said holes. By the lever
5, actuated by a camb on the driving shaft, the pegs 4, 4, are made to rise in
the holes, and the raised percussion caps are lifted from the said holes, the
tops of the pegs 4, 4, rising to the level of the plate y. By the motion of
the disc t, the caps are carried from off the pegs 4, 4, and brought over a hole
in the bed of the machine, through which they fall down the pipe 6 into a
receptacle placed to receive them. At each revolution of the shaft 'h a set of
blanks is cut out, and a previously cut set raised into a cup-like form. When
it is wished to impress any design upon the top of the percussion cap, it is only
necessary to engrave the said design upon the top of the pegs 4, 4, when the
pressure of the metal between the pegs and 4 will impress the said design
upon the percussion cap. The pegs a, a, x, pass through collars in the plate 7,
so that on the rising of the said pegs the caps are stripped off. Should
they be carried upon the pegs, I prefer to make the holes constituting the
lower dies n and z in conical pieces of steel, and to insert the same in the bed
of the machine, by dropping them into conical holes in the said bed. I do
not, however, confine myself to any particular method of making the said dies.
In order to apply the machinery herein described, and represented in the
accompanying Drawing, to the cutting-out and raising of other articles in metal,
it is only necessary to remove the tools or dies represented, and substitute
such others as may be required, for the production of the articles to be
manufactured.
Having now described the nature of my said Invention, and the manner of
carrying the same into effect, I wish it to be understood that I do not limit s
myself to the precise details herein described and represented, as the same
may be varied without departing from the nature of my said Invention. But
1 claim as my Invention,-
Firstly, the general arrangement of the machinery herein described, and

page_text: represented in the accompanying Drawing, for the manufacture of percussion
caps, and for cutting-out and raising articles in metal generally.
Secondly, feeding blanks to the raising tools of machines for raising articles
in metal by means of a rotating disc or plate, as herein described, and illustrated
in the accompanying Drawing.
In witness whereof, I, the suid John Abraham, have hereunto set my
hand seal, this Fourteenth day of July, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-six.
Witness,
GEORGE SHAW.
JOHN ABRAHAM. (Ls.)