IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF WELDED IRON CHAIN AND WELDED STEEL CHAIN, AND IN TOOLS TO BE EMPLOYED IN THE SAID MANUFACTURE
Year: 1863

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Edward Tangye, of the Firm of Tangye Brothers,
of Brussels, in the Kingdom of Belgium, Manufacturers, for the
Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF WELDED IRON CHAIN
AND WELDED STEEL CHAIN, AND IN TOOLS TO BE EMPLOYED IN THE SAID
MANUFACTURE'
Sealed the 23rd May 1864, and dated the 21st December 1863.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Edward Tangye at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 21st
December 1863.
I, EDWARD TANGYE, of the Firm of Tangye Brothers, of Brussels, in the
Kingdom of Belgium, Manufacturers, do hereby declare the nature of the
said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF WELDED IRON
CHAIN AND WELDED STEEL CHAIN, AND IN TOOLS TO BE EMPLOYED IN THE SAID
MANUFACTURE," to be as follows:-
My Invention consists, firstly, in welding the links of welded iron chain and
welded steel chain by the use of a pair of dies, by preference of the kind

page_text: herein-after described, the moveable die of the said pair of dies being worked
either by the direct action of steam or by hydraulic power. By actuating the
moveable die of the pair of dies by means of direct steam or hydraulic power
a very rapid and perfect welding of the links is effected.
When I use
hydraulic power I prefer to use that particular form of hydraulic pressure
called accumulated hydraulic pressure.
My Invention consists, secondly, of the following improvements in tools to
be used in the manufacture of welded iron chain and welded steel chain. I
make the dies, by means of which I effect the welding of the links, of such a
figure that the space enclosed between them when they are closed nearly
resembles that of the link to be made, such portions only of the dies being cut
away as is necessary to admit the end of the link last formed and through
which the link about to be welded has been passed. By giving the dies as far
as possible the figure of the whole of the link instead of only one half of a link
as is commonly done, I secure great uniformity in the size of the links, which
uniformity of size is, for some of the purposes to which chain is applied, of the
utmost importance. One of the said dies is fixed and the other moveable, the
latter being made to descend upon the former either by the action of cams on
a rotating shaft, or by any of the other well-known methods of actuating
moveable dies. But I prefer to actuate the moveable die either by the action
of direct steam or by hydraulic pressure, as herein-before described under the
first part of my Invention.
In making chain by the use of the tools constituting this part of my
Invention, I make a semicircular bend in the middle of the rod of which the
link is to be made, and afterwards bend the ends of the rod inwards, and
make them overlap one another; I then pass one end of the partially formed
link through the previously made link, and heat the overlapping ends of the
said partially made link to a welding heat; I then place the partially made
link in the lower die, and bring the upper die down upon it when the welding
together of the overlapping ends of the link is effected by the pressure or
percussive action of the moveable die. As the whole of the link being welded
is (with the exception of the small part of its cold end which is crossed by the
previously formed link) enclosed between the dies during the welding, the
link is unable to expand either longitudinally or transversely during the action
of the dies, and the links made are consequently of uniform size.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Edward Tangye, in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
17th June 1864.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, EDWARD
TANGYE, of the Firm of Tangye Brothers, of Brussels, in the Kingdom of
Belgium, Manufacturers, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-first day of December, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, in the twenty-seventh year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give aud grant unto
me, the said Edward Tangye, Her special licence that I, the said Edward
Tangye, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the
gaid Edward Tangye, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any
time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times there-
after 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 "IMPROVE
MENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF WELDED IRON CHAIN AND WELDED STEEL
CHAIN, AND IN TOOLS TO BE EMPLOYED IN THE SAID MANUFACTURE," upon the
condition (amongst others) that I, the said Edward Tangye, my executors
or administrators, by an instrument 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
calender mouths next and immediately after the date of the said Letters
Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Edward Tangye, 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 Invention consists, firstly, in welding the links of welded iron chain and
welded steel chain by the use of a pair of dies by preference of the kind
herein-after described, the moveable die of the said pair of dies being worked
by hydraulic power. By actuating the moveable die of the pair of dies by
means of hydraulic power a very rapid and perfect welding of the links is
effected. I use that particular form of hydraulic pressure called accumulated
hydraulic pressure.

page_text: My Invention consists, secondly, of the following improvements in tools to
be used in the manufacture of welded iron chain and welded steel chain.
I make the dies by means of which I effect the welding of the links of such a
figure that the space enclosed between them when they are closed nearly
resembles that of the link to be made, such portions only of the dies being cut
away as is necessary to admit the end of the link last formed, and through
which the link about to be welded has been passed. By giving the dies as far
as possible the figure of the whole of a link instead of only one-half of a link
as is commonly done, I secure great uniformity in the size of the links, which
uniformity of size is for some of the purposes to which chain is applied of
the utmost importance. One of the said dies is fixed and the other moveable,
the latter being made' to descend upon the former either by the action of cams
on a rotating shaft or by any of the other well-known methods of actuating
moveable dies; but I prefer to actuate the moveable die by hydraulic pressure,
as herein-before described under the first part of y Invention.
"
In making chain by the use of the tools constituting this part of my Inven-
tion, I make a semicircular bend in the middle of the rod of which the link
is to be made. I then pass one end of the partially formed link through the
previously made link, and afterwards bend the ends of the rod inwards änd
make them overlap one another; I afterwards heat the overlapping ends of
the said partially made link to a welding heat. I then place the partially
made link in the lower'die and bring the upper die down upon it, when the
welding together of the overlapping ends of the link is effected by the
pressure
or percussive action of the moveable die. As the whole of the link being
welded is (with the exception of the small part of its cold end' which is
crossed by the previously formed link) enclosed between the dies during the
welding, the link is unable to expand either longitudinally or traversely during
the action of the dies, and the links made are consequently of uniform size.
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 vertical section, and Figure 2 in elevation, the
hydraulic machinery which I use in the manufacture of welded iron chain and
welded steel chain according to my Invention.
The said machinery differs in no essential respect from hydraulic machinery
used for other purposes, but has the modifications and additions herein-after
explained necessary to adapt it to the manufacture of the said chain.
a is the hydraulic cylinder, and b the ram. The cylinder a and bed d are

page_text: made in one piece with the bracket or body c; e, f, are the upper and lower
dies respectively, the former being raised and lowered by the ram b, and latter
being fixed on the bed d; the passage g at the top of the cylinder a is con-
nected with a hydraulic accumulator. The said hydraulic accumulator con-
sists of a chamber or vessel, in the lower part of which water has been
pumped under great pressure. The upper part of the said vessel or chamber
contains highly compressed air, which, when the water is allowed to escape,
forces the said water out of the said accumulator under great pressure. As
the said accumulator is well known and constitutes no part of
I have not thought it necessary to represent the same.
my Invention,
On the top of the cylinder a are two valves h, i, pressed upwards to their
seats by springs. By means of the rods k, l, acted upon by the lever M, either
of the valves h, i, may be lowered at pleasure. When it is wished to make
the upper die e descend rapidly and to weld between it and the lower die fa
chain link in the manner herein-after more particularly explained, the leverm
is moved in the direction indicated by the arrow in Figure 1, the valve / is
thereby depressed, and water from the accumulator passing along the passageg
through the seat of the valve into the passage n, enters the space o between
the top of the cylinder a and the ram b. The ram band die e are forced
down rapidly and the welding of the link of the chain is effected. The lever m
is now moved in a direction contrary to that indicated by the arrow in Figure 1,
by which motion the valve h is allowed to close by its spring and the valve i
is opened. The water in the cylinder a can now escape by the passage p, and
the ram bis raised in the cylindera by the coiled spring q. The manner in
which the lever m acts through the rods k, l, on the valves h, i, will be readily
understood by an examination of Figures 1 and 2.
My improvements in the dies to be used in the manufacture of welded iron
chain and welded steel chain are illustrated in Figures 3 and 4, Figure 3
being a plan of the upper die, and Figure 4 a plan of the lower die. The
said dies Figures 3 and 4 are represented in section at e, f, in Figure 1,
and in elevation at e, f, in Figure 2. The dies Figures 3 and 4 are marked
with the same letters as in Figures 1 and 2. The said dies e, f, have such a
figure that when the die e is brought down upon the die f, the space enclosed
between them resembles that of the link to be made, with the exception that
such portions are cut away as are necessary to admit of the link last formed,
and through which the link about to be welded has been passed. The form
of the cutaway portions will be understood by an examination of the Drawings.
By giving the dies e, f, as far as possible the figure of the whole of a link

page_text: instead of only one half of a link as in ordinary dies, I secure great uniformity
in the size of the links. The dies e, f, may either be used with a hydraulic
machine, as herein-before explained, or be used with any other pressing or
stamping machinery by which dies are or may be worked. I prefer, however,
to actuate the moveable die by hydraulic pressure or by the direct action of
steam applied after the manner in which it is applied in a steam hammer. In
preparing the links to be welded by the action of the dies e, f, I make a
semicircular bend in the middle of the rod of which the link is to be made, the
said bend being so made that the two parts of the bent rod are not in the same
plane. Figure 5 represents a rod so bent. One end of the bent rod Figure 5
having been passed through the link last welded, its ends are turned inwards
and made to overlap in the manner represented at in Figure 6. This
bending and overlapping is effected by the machine represented in plan in
Figure 7, side elevation in Figure S, transverse section in Figure 9, and end
elevation in Figure 10. The partially made link Figure 5 being passed
through the link last made is placed in the fixed die s. The moveable dies t, t,
are made simultaneously toapproach each other by turning the handle w, when
the curved undercut portions u, u, (indicated in dotted lines) of the dies t
come against the ends of the partially formed link and beud them inwards and
over one another in the manner shown at r, Figure 6. The motion of the
dies t is effected by right and left handed screws on the axis v, as seen in
Figure 7. The handle w gives motion to the dies t. The partially made link,
Figure 5, is raised to a low red heat before being operated upon by the
machine, Figures 7, 8, 9, and 10. The bent and overlapping parts 7 of the
link are now raised to a welding heat and operated upon by the dies e, f, in the
manuer herein-before described, when the said overlapping parts r of the
link are welded together by the pressure or percussive action of the move-
able die. During the welding of the parts of the link the whole of the
link, except that part of its cold end which is crossed by the previously
formed link, is enclosed between the dies e, f, and the expansion of the
link either longitudinally or transversely during the action of the dies is
thereby prevented. Besides the welding of the parts r of the link, the dies
e, f, also bring the sides of the link parallel.
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 in the
Drawings, as the same may be varied without departing from the nature
of iny Invention.

page_text: But I claim as my Invention, firstly, the improvements in the manufacture
of welded iron chain and welded steel chain herein-before described and
illustrated in Figures 1 and 2 of the accompanying Drawings, that is to
say, welding the links of the said chain by the use of a pair of dies, the
moveable die of the said pair of dies being worked by hydraulic pressure
of the kind called accumulated hydraulic pressure.
Secondly, the improvements in tools for welding the links of welded iron
chain and welded steel chain herein-before described and illustrated in Figures
1, 2, 3, and 4 of the accompanying Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said Edward Tangye, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-fourth day of May, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four.
Witness,
E. FORSTER BELLOWS,
44, Rue de l'Association,
Brussels.
EDWARD TANGYE. (Ls.)