IMPROVEMENTS IN FURNITURE SPRINGS AND IN MACHINERY TO BE EMPLOYED. IN THE MANU- FACTURE OF FURNITURE SPRINGS
Year: 1866

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Henry Timmins, of No. 10, Soho Square, in the
County of Middlesex, Machinist, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
FURNITURE SPRINGS AND IN MACHINERY TO BE EMPLOYED. IN THE MANU-
FACTURE OF FURNITURE SPRINGS."
Sealed the 24th April 1867, and dated the 28th November 1866.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Henry Timmins at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 28th
November 1866.
I, HENRY TIMMINS, of No. 10, Soho Square, in the County of Middlesex,
Machinist, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IM-
PROVEMENTS IN FURNITURE SPRINGS AND IN MACHINERY TO BE EMPLOYED IN THE
MANUFACTURE OF FURNITURE SPRINGS," to be as follows:-
My Invention relates to the springs used for giving elasticity to mattresses
and seats, and for other like purposes, and commonly called furniture springs.
The said springs consist of spirals of wire, the coils being of smallest diameter
at middle, the diameter increasing from the middle to the summit and to the
base. The coil of wire forming the top, as well as that forming the bottom of
the spirals, are usually fixed to the next coil by twisting the end of the wire
obliquely around the said next coil, or by binding it thereto with a clip or
binding wire.

page_text: My improvements in the said springs consist in connecting the end of the
last coil of the springs at top and bottom to the adjacent coil by bringing the
end into the same plane as the coil to which it is to be fixed, and twisting the
extreme end of the wire around the said coil so as to form as nearly as
possible a continuous ring around the said coil and at right angles to it. By
this method of manufacture the base and summit of the spring have a flat
bearing, and bear firmly against the surface between which the spring is
placed.
My improvements in machinery to be employed in the manufacture of
furniture springs consist in the arrangement herein-after described of the
parts of a machine for forming the connecting rings or loops used to connect
the ends of the spring to the adjacent coils, as herein-before explained. In
the base of the machine is a slot, through which the end of the coil is passed
so as to project upwards; a lever working in a vertical plane is made to bend
down the projecting end of the coil on to the base of the machine and against
a. cylindrical peg of the same diameter as the wire of which the spring.
is made; another lever turning in a horizontal plane carries on the end of
its short arm a pressing roller, oy turning this lever upon its centre the wire
is pressed around the before-mentioned peg and bent into the figure of a nearly
complete circle; both ends of the spring are similarly treated, and the circular
ends or loops of the wires are closed upon the adjacent coils of the spring at
top and bottom by means of an ordinary press.
The machine described may also be employed to prepare the ends of the
spring for being secured by the ordinary method of twisting.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Henry Timmins in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
24th May 1867.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, HENRY
TIMMINS, of No. 10, Soho Square, in the County of Middlesex, Machinist,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-eighth day of November, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-six, in the thirtieth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said Henry Timmins, Her special licence that I, the said Henry Timmins, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Henry

page_text: Timmins, 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
FURNITURE SPRINGS AND IN MACHINERY TO BE EMPLOYED IN THE MANUFACTURE
OF FURNITURE SPRINGS," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the
said Henry Timmins, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in
writing under my, or their, or one 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 Henry Timmins, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement thereof, that is to say:-.
My Invention relates to the springs used for giving elasticity to mattresses
and seats, and for other like purposes, and commonly called furniture springs.
The said springs consist of spirals of wire, the coils being of smallest diameter
at middle, the diameter increasing from the middle to the summit and to
the base. The coil of wire forming the top as well as that forming the bottom
of the spirals are usually fixed to the next coil by twisting the end of the
wire obliquely around the said next coil, or by binding it thereto with a clip_or
binding wire.
My improvements in the said springs consist in connecting the end of the
last coil of the springs at top and bottom to the adjacent coil by bringing the
end into the same plane as the coil to which it is to be fixed, and twisting the
extreme end of the wire around the said coil, so as to form as nearly as
possible a continuous ring around the said coil and at right angles to it. By
this method of manufacture the base and summit of the spring have a flat
bearing and bear firmly against the surfaces between which the spring, is
placed.
My improvements in machinery to be employed in the manufacture of
furniture springs consist in the arrangement herein-after described of the parts
of a machine for forming the connecting rings or loops used to connect the
ends of the spring to the adjacent coils as herein-before explained. In the base
of the machine is a slot through which the end of the coil is passed so as to
project upwards; a lever working in a vertical plane is made to bend down

page_text: the projecting end of the coil on to the base of the machine and against a
cylindrical peg; another lever turning in a horizontal plane carries on the end
of its short arm a pressing roller, by turning this lever upon its centre the
wire is pressed around the before-mentioned peg and bent into the figure
of a nearly complete circle; both ends of the spring are similarly treated, and
the circular ends or loops of the wire are closed upon the adjacent coils of
the spring at top and bottom by means of an ordinary press.
Having explained the nature of my Invention, I will proceed to describe, with
reference to the accompanying Drawings, the manner in which the same is to
be performed.
Figure 1 represents in elevation a furniture spring made according to my
Invention..
a is the last coil of the spring at top and bottom, and 6 is the adjacent
coil to which the said last coil a is to be connected. In connecting the said
last coil a to the adjacent coil 6 I bring the end of the said coil a into the
same plane as the said coil 6, and twist the extreme end of the coil a around
the coil 6, so as to form as nearly as possible a continuous ring c around the
said coil 6 and at right angles to it. The position of the last coil a with
respect to the adjacent coil 6 as well as the position of the ring c will be readily
seen by referring to the Drawing. By connecting the last coil of furniture
springs at top and bottom to the adjacent coil in the manner described and
represented the base and summit of the spring have a flat bearing and bear
firmly against the surfaces between which the spring is placed.
Figure 2 represents an end elevation, and Figure 3 a plan of a machine
constructed according to my Invention for forming the connecting rings or
loops used to connect the ends of the spring to the adjacent coils; Figures
4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 are portions of the same as berein-after explained. The
same letters of reference are employed to indicate the same parts in each Figure
of the Drawings.
a is the bed plate of the machine (shown separately in Figure 4), a part of
which is cut away at 6 (see Figure 4) to receive the steel plate c shown separately
in plan and elevation in Figure 5; this plate c carries a stud d round which the
wire is bent, and has a slot e made in it excentric to the stud d. In the bed
plate a is a slot f through which the wire to be bent or fashioned is passed. In
the said bed plate a slot g is also made (indicated in dotted lines in Figure 4),
in which slot a slide catch h works, the inclined free end of the said slide
catch being made to slide across the opening and hold the wire i tight between
the said end and back of the said opening. The slide h is kept in its place in
the slot by means of the plate k screwed on the bottom of the bed plate. The

page_text: slide catch his worked by the cranked lever turning on the centre 1, to the
short arm of which lever the slide catch is connected in the manner represented
in Figure 2. Motion is given to the lever by the treadle at the end of the
rod m, and the return motion is effected by a spring n under the bed plate a ;
this spring n. is indicated in dotted lines in Figure 4; p is a lever (shown
separately in Figure 6) for bending down the end of the wire upon the bed
plate c. The said lever moves in a vertical plane and works in the uprights or
ears q on the bed plate a. To the upright q a guider is affixed for guiding the
said lever p in its motion. The axis p* upon which the lever p turns is not
fixed to the said lever, but the said lever is capable of some play about the
said axis by means of the elliptical opening p³ in the said lever, a pin p* on
the lever guiding its motion by working in the slot r of the guide r. By this
means the motion of the lever p is excentric to the axis p³, and the greatest
pressure is always at the point p³. To the bearings or uprights g an adjustable
stop or regulators (shown separately in Figure 7) is affixed, the said stop regu-
lating the length of wire to be bent by the machine. By referring to Figure 7
it will be seen that the stop or regulator consists of two plates capable of
being raised and depressed upon the pegs t by the screw *. The stop s is fixed
to one of the bearings q by the screw u entering a hole in the tail piece t³ (see
Figures 2 and 3); w is another lever for bending the wire previously bent
on to the plate c around the peg d, the said lever w turning in a horizontal
plane; the said lever w is shown separately in Figure 8; the said lever w
turns upon the pin or centre w³, the said pin working in the curved slot ein
the steel plate c; by means of this slot e the lever w can be moved excen-
trically about the bending peg d. The lever wis provided with a pressing
roller for reducing the friction on the wire as it is pressed around the peg d.
On the bed of the machine is a guide y, under which the lever w works, and
by which the said lever is guided in its excentric course round the peg d. In
order to regulate the width of the slot f through which the wire or end i of
the spring is fed, and thereby to accommodate different sizes of wire, I use á
plug 1, which is capable of being placed at any required distance across the
slot f by means of a thumbscrew 2 acting against a stem at the back of the said
plug 1. The length of the slot f is regulated by means of a lever or guide
marked 3 (represented separately in Figure 9) working upon the pin or
centre 10 (see Figure 2), the object of the said lever, being to open or close
the back of the slot f, so as to allow the wire i to be in the centre of the
end p³ of the lever p; the said lever is adjusted by the screw 6 carried by the
fork 7 working in the screw box 8 on the end of the plate 4, the said plate 4
being fixed to the bed plate of the machine by the screw 5.. The action of

page_text: the machine is as follows:-In order to prepare the machine for work the
stop or regulator s is adjusted to permit of the required length of wire to form
the crank and hook or loop being fed into the machine; the plate or guide 3
is next adjusted by the screw 6, so as to cover sufficient of the back of the
slot to keep the wire or end of the spring i upright; the plug 1 is next
adjusted the required distance across the slot f to permit the wire i to pass
through the said slot easily. The machine is now ready to receive the wire or
end of the spring i, which is fed into the slot f between the plug 1 and side of
the said slot f, and against the stop 8; by pressing the foot upon the treddle m
the holding slide h is moved forward and the wire i jammed and securely
held between the nose of the said slide and back of the slot f. The wire i is
thus prevented from slipping during the subsequent action of the bending
tools. By raising the lever p its short arm presses upon the wire i projecting
from the slot in the steel plate c, and bends it down upon the said plate. The
lever p being raised from the wire the lever w is moved in the direction
indicated by the arrow in Figure 3, and the wire upon the steel plate c is
pressed by the roller x of the said lever around the peg d, and bent into a loop
or the figure of a nearly complete circle. On removing the pressure from the
treadle m the end of the spring may be removed from the machine, and
the other end of the said spring fixed and bent in the manner described. The
nearly circular ends or loops of the wire thus made are closed upon the
adjacent coils of the spring at top and bottom by means of an ordinary press,
and the spring thereby completed. The machine described and represented
may also be employed to prepare the ends of the spring for being secured by
the ordinary method of twisting.
In using the common make of wire to form the furniture springs I prefer
to anneal so much of the ends of the wire as are required to form the hooks
before submitting them to the bending action the machine.
Having now described the nature of my Invention, and the manner in
which the same is to be performed, I wish it to be understood that I do not
limit myself to the precise details herein described, and represented, as the
same may be varied without departing from the nature of my Invention ; but
I claim as my Invention,-
Firstly, the improvements herein-before described and illustrated in the
accompanying Drawings, in connecting the end of the last coil of furniture
springs at top and bottom to the adjacent coil, whereby the base and summit
of the springs have a flat bearing and bear firmly against the surfaces between
which they are placed.
Secondly, the improvements in machinery for the manufacture of furniture

page_text: springs, herein-before described and illustrated in the accompanying Drawings,
that is to say, arranging or combining the parts of a machine for forming the
connecting rings or loops of furniture springs, substantially in the manner
described and illustrated.
In witness whereof, I, the said Henry Timmins, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-first day of May, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven.
Witness,
H. H. MURDOCH,
7, Staple Inn.
HENRY TIMMINS. (L.S.)