IMPROVEMENTS IN TRIP HAMMERS
Year: 1854

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Comstock, of the City and County of New
London, in the State of Connecticut, United States of America, for the
Levention of is Mom Teen The "
Sealed the 12th June 1855, and dated the 27th December 1854.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Comstock at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
27th December 1854.
I, JOHN COMSTOCK, of the City and County of New London, in the State of
Connecticut, United States of America, do hereby declare the nature of the
said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN TRIP HAMMERS" to be as follows:-
I construct an ordinary trip hammer, say, one thousand pounds weight (more
or less), in such a manner that a spring can be applied to hold said hammer up
at any required point; and to the handle or slings of said hammer I attach
a connecting rod, operated on by means of a lever and cams, so as to pull
said hammer down and give the blow thereby, the spring again raising said
hammer.
On to the shaft carrying the before-mentioned cams a pulley and belt serve
to rotate the same, and a tightening pulley causes said belt to rotate said cams,
or allows the same to slip on its pulley; thereby the workman or forgeman is
able to cause the hammer to strike a quick or slow blow with his hammer, in
proportion to the tightness of the driving belt, thus causing a large hammer of
even a thousand pounds to be as much under the controll of the forgeman as
a small hammer would be in his hand.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Comstock in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
27th June 1855.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
COMSTOCK, of the City and County of New London, in the State of Connecticut,
United States of America, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-seventh day of December, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-four, in the eighteenth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said John Comstock, Her special license that I, the said John Comstock,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said John
Comstock, 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 TRIP HAMMERS,"
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said John Comstock, by an
instrument in writing under my hand and seal, 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 Comstock, do hereby declare the
nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed,
to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following state-
ment, (reference being had to the Drawing hereunto annexed, and to the
letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say):-
My said Invention consists in so applying a loose belt with cams and other
parts that a forging hammer can be brought to strike heavy or light blows, or
the hammer entirely stopped, although the power which drives the parts con-
tinues its motion, thus placing the attendant in possession of facilities for
causing the power to strike the desired blow.
a is a pulley on a shaft 1, supported in suitable bearings, to which a con-
tinuous rotation is given by competent power. A loose belt 2 passes from the
pulley a around a pulley 6 on a shaft c, set in bearings 3, 3, and near the end
of this shaft c a fly wheel & is attached, so as to cause a steady rotation of the
shaft c.

page_text: e is a pulley, hung on a frame 4, moving on centres 5, which, when brought
against the belt 2, tightens the same on its pulleys; this tightener is drawn
back from the belt by a spring 6, when not acted on by a rod f, to a right
angle lever g on a fulcrum 7, to the end 8 of which lever g the foot of the
operator is applied to tighten the belt 2, and cause the shaft c to be rotated.
When it is desired to stop the revolutions of the shaft c, the operator removes
his foot from the end 8 of the lever, and allows the spring 6 to draw back the
tightening pulley; and I cause the same movement to apply a break to the
fly wheel by means of a pin 9 on the side of the frame 4, taking a slot in a
bent lever h on a fulcrum 10, the other end of which acts on a lever k lying
nearly horizontal, to the opposite end of which a break block 11 is attached,
as shewn in Fig. 3. Thus the revolutions of the shaft c are entirely under
the control of the operator; for when but a slight pressure is given to the
tightening pulley, the belt 2 will partially slip; thus the speed can be regulated
or the shaft c stopped.
C is the bed of the forging hammer, supported on suitable foundations D.
m is the forging block or die, which may be made adjustable as usual, so as
to coincide with the die on the hammer, if required At the other end of
the bed C short standards n are fitted, to receive a frame o, attached to the
standards by bolts 16 passing through slots in the standards into a plate 17;
by this means the frame o and hammer can be raised or lowered as desired.
18, 18, are centre screws passing through the frame o into the ends of the
hammer trunnions p, to which the slings or handle 9 of the hammer r are
attached; and s is the movable face or die of the hammer.
v is a cross piece between the slings q, to which a bar 22 and screw shackle
are attached, connecting the same to a spring pole, or any similar means for
lifting the hammer to the required height, according to the position of the screw
shackle. t is a cross bar over the slings q, attached to them in any suitable
manner, so that it can be moved nearer to or farther from the trunnions p, p,
to vary the leverage of the hammer. To this cross bar t a rod 19 is connected,
that passes down to the screw shackle 20, which connects to the horizontal
lever u (see Fig. 3), that is jointed at 21 by a fulcrum on the foundation D,
and the other end passes beneath the shaft c; and on this shaft, over the
lever u, cams i, i, are fitted, either to slide on a square part of the shaft or
on a key; and 12 is a fork, passing into a neck between said cams; this
fork is on the end of a rod 1, running to a bent lever 13, the horizontal arm of
which terminates as a stud 15, passing through a hole in the foot piece 8.
14 is a contractile spring, which, unless otherwise acted on, keeps the longest
cam i over the lever u.

page_text: It will now be apparent that the operation of these parts is, that when the
attendant presses down the end 8 of the lever g, the hammer is moved with a
speed proportioned to the tightness of the belt 2, the cam i by its length
giving a heavy blow, the force of which blow can be regulated by the screw
shackle 20, and the spring w lifts the hammer again each blow; and when the
forging is nearly complete, or requires but slight blows, the workman presses
down the end 15 of the lever 13, which slides the cams i and i' along on the
shaft, bringing the cam ¹ into operation, which, being shorter, does not strike
so hard a blow, but one suited for finishing the forging.
The separate cams, levers, pulleys, and other parts of this apparatus having
before been used for various purposes, I make no claim to any of said separate
parts; but,--
First, I claim the method herein described and shewn for regulating the
speed of the blows given by a forging hammer, by the use of a tightening
pulley combined with the break applied to the fly wheel, substantially as
specified.
Second, I claim the method herein described and shewn of regulating the
amount which a hammer is drawn down to give the blow by rotating cams, by
combining with said cams and hammer the adjustable screw shackle 20 and
lever u, or their equivalents, for the purposes and substantially as specified.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Comstock, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Eighth day of May, A.D. One thousand eight
hundred and fifty-five.
Witnesses,
LEMUEL W. SERRELL,
289, Broadway, N. York.
THOMAS G. HAROLD,
20, Bergen St., Brooklyn.
JOHN COMSTOCK. (L.S.)