Improvements in and relating to Matches and the Manufacture thereof.
Year: 1893

page_text: Date of Application. 7th Feb., 1893-Accepted, 25th Mar., 1893
Improvements in and relating to Matches and the Manufacture
thereof.
1 CHARLES MICHAEL BOWMAN a citizen of the United States of America
of 908 Cumberland Street in the City of Lebanon, County of Lebanon and State
of Pennsylvania in the United States of America, Editor, do hereby declare the
nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be
particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement:-
My present invention relates to matches and the manufacture thereof, and has for
its object certain improvements in the article and in the method of and means for
making matches.
In the prevailing practice of making matches splints are used in lengths to make
one or two matches and these have been wrapped in a roll of webbing, and then
treated with paraffine and dipped in fulminate. One of the greatest disadvantages
attending this practice is the number of imperfect and slivered matches that are
produced, and another is the number of matches that come out of the fulminate
bath with two heads joined by the fulminate, and as a consequence great waste of
material attends this practice.
Another practice of treating the splints is to place individual splints in cells in a
holder, this is slow and tedious, and consequently expensive. In the practice
using the roll of webbing the double splints must be removed from the roll and
severed before the fulminate becomes dry to prevent ignition due to the friction
produced by the heads of the matches rubbing against each other as they are being
handled to pass them against a knife, which frequently cuts the matches of different
lengths.
It is my purpose to obviate the difficulties attending these several practices and
manufacture matches with the minimum of loss and at a greatly increased rate of
speed as compared with said practices.
To this end my invention will be fully disclosed in the following Specification
and claims.
In the accompanying drawings which form part of this Specification,
Figure 1, is a perspective of a match-card;
Fig. 2, a like view of part of a tray for assembling match-cards and a match-
card-holder in position to be filled ;
Fig. 3, a like view of a match-card-holder filled with match-cards;
Fig. 4, a side elevation of one of the separating bars of the card-holder;
Fig. 5, a side elevation of a completed match, and
Fig. 6, a vertical section.
Reference being had to the drawings and the letters thereon A indicates a
match-card on both sides of the body a of which are match splints 6 separated by
spaces c, and from the outer end of each splint a portion of the material is removed
and the slot d formed. The splints are separated and the material removed
from the end of the splint by means of circular saws properly assembled and
operating upon the card.
B indicates part of a tray which is of a width corresponding with the width of
the match-card-holder and of a depth equal to the length of the splints b on the
card, so that the body a or uncut portion of the card will be about even with the
top of the tray when the cards are in a vertical position. The tray may be made
any desired and convenient length to accommodate a number of card holders.
C indicates a match-card-holder, and for the purpose of illustration consists of
two parallel rods e e upon which are supported a number of bars f for separating
the cards to prevent the fulminate joining the heads of the matches. The bars

page_text: are preferably made with an aperture g in one end which passes over one of the
rods e and upon which it swings freely, and the opposite end provided with a
vertical slot in its under side which passes over the opposite rod e and upon
which said end of the bar rests. It is obvious that both ends of the bars may be
provided with slots if desired. The latter end of the bars extends beyond the
side of the tray to afford means for raising them from between the cards, and they
may all be raised at once, or separately.
At one end of the rods e is secured a plate of thin metal, and at the opposite end
is a plate or bark which slides freely on the rods and forms a clamping plate
which may be secured by the ordinary means of a screw threaded portion of the
rods and a nut (not shown) or preferably by a tension device / on each rod e.
The tension devices are provided with an aperture m at one end which engages
the rode and are slightly curved at n.
It will be observed that the slot d is normally open between the two side
walls ddto receive fulminate, leaving sufficient of the wood on each side of the
slot to prevent curling or warping when the splint is heated to prepare it for the
paraffine bath, into which the splint is dipped before the fulminate is applied.
The splint retains its original external form throughout its length and is dipped
in fulminate to a depth equal to or slightly in excess of the depth of the slot or
fulminate receptacle, which fulminate fills the slot or receptacle d, forms a key d¹¹
therein and surrounds or envelops the end of the splint, as shown in Figures 5
and 6.
By this construction of the splint the fulminate b¹ forms a complete envelop to
the end of the splint and is keyed into the slot d which prevents the fulminate
being accidentally detached in handling, or broken off in striking a match without
igniting the fulminate and the splint.
The operation is as follows. The cards having been prepared in the manner
described they are assembled in a vertical position in a box or tray so that the body
or uncut portion of the card projects above the tray. The card-holder is placed on
top of the tray with the lower edge of the holder resting on the upper edge of the
tray, the cards are then separated laterally and the bars of the holder dropped
between each two adjacent cards until all the bars have been dropped and the
holder filled. The cards thus separated are then clamped in the holder and placed
upon a heating table to prepare them for the paraffine bath. After heating the
tips on one end and having dipped them in paraffine, the holder is inverted and the
tips on the opposite end of the cards heated and treated in like manner. The card-
holder with the cards is then passed to the dipper who dips the tips in a suitable
fulminate in the usual way. The holder with the cards is then set aside and the
fulminate permitted to dry, after which the cards of matches are released and
removed from the holder and passed through a pair of saws and both sets of
matches severed from the body or uncut portion of the card simultaneously when
they are packed in boxes ready for use.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
:-
First. An improved article of manufacture, a match having a portion of the
splint removed from the centre of one end forming a normally open slot, and the
fulminate keyed into and surrounding the splint.
Second. An improved article of manufacture, a match having a slot in one end
formed by removing a portion of the splint, and bounded on two sides by
longitudinal projections, in combination with fulminate keyed into said slot,
surrounding the projections and completely encasing the end of the match.
Third. A match splint having uniform parallel sides throughout its length, a
portion of one end removed forming a slot and provided with two parallel walls
constituting a fulminate receptacle, in combination with fulminate keyed into the
fulminate receptacle and encasing the end of the match.

page_text: Fourth. The method of making matches, which consists in forming cards of
match-splints, cutting slots in the outer ends of the splints, and applying paraffine
and fulminate to entirely envelop the tips of the splints.
Fifth. The method of making matches, which consists in forming match-cards
with an uncut portion or body and match-splints on both sides of said body integral
therewith, cutting slots in the outer ends of the splints, assembling the cards in a
suitable tray, separating the cards and securing them in a separated position in a
holder at the uncut portion of the card, and treating the tips with paraffine and
fulminate.
Sixth. A match-card-holder consisting of parallel rods, bars engaging one of
said rods at one end to swing thereon, and provided with a slot on the underside of
the opposite end to engage the opposite bar of the holder, a clamping plate and
means for applying tension thereto.
Dated thio 7th dovr of Fabr 1902
JENSEN & SON,
77, Chancery Lane, London, W.C., Patent Agents.