IMPROVEMENTS IN AND MACHINERY FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF SHEET METAL ELBOWS
Year: 1879

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Guy Wilson, of the British & Foreign Patent Office,
71, Market Street, in the City of Manchester, Mechanical Engineer and Patent
Agent, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN AND MACHINERY FOR THE
MANUFACTURE OF SHEET METAL ELBOWS." A communication from abroad by
Wilhelm Moritz and Wilhelin Schilg, both of the Firm of Moritz & Schilg, of
Görlitz, in the Empire of Germany.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Guy Wilson at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 26th November 1879.
JOHN GUY WILSON, of the British & Foreign Patent Office, 71, Market Street,
in the City of Manchester, Mechanical Engineer and Patent Agent.
"IMPROVE-
MENTS IN AND MACHINERY FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF SHEET METAL ELBOWS." A
communication from abroad by Wilhelm Moritz and Wilhelm Schilg, both of the
Firm of Moritz & Schilg, of Görlitz, in the Empire of Germany.
The object of this Invention is to combine in one self-acting machine the work
hitherto done in at least two machines, and so to produce a better finished sheet
metal elbow at one operation, the straight tube being introduced into the machine
and the finished elbow delivered from it.
The complete mechanism is disposed in a framework and is divided into two
principal groups:
1. The mechanism of movement.
2. The mechanism of the tools.
The first consists of a shaft provided with pulley and fly-wheel. Motion is
transmitted from this shaft by a pinion and toothed wheel to a cranked shaft, the
connecting rod of which actuates a slide of peculiar construction, and which being
set in motion actuates the tools hereinafter described.
The operation of the tools is divided into three separate movements:-1, the
first bulging of the sheet metal tube; 2, the flattening of the bulging so made;
3, the raising of the tube to the extent of one bulging so as to allow a fresh bulging
to be effected whilst the previous one is flattened.
The slide hereinbefore mentioned is provided underneath with a small stud and
bolt, connected to a three armed lever by a connecting link having a long slot.

page_text: This lever oscillates upon a shaft, and one of its horizontal arms is provided at its
end with a counter weight, whilst the end of its other horizontal arm is connected
to a cross piece and a vertical rod provided with a head of square section and of a
tapered form at its lower part.
The axis of this vertical rod coincides with that of a cast iron boss, which
supports the tools for effecting the bulging operation.
The tube to be bent in elbow form is passed over this head and rests upon a cross-
head, which is capable of being elevated by an adjustable ratchet motion.
This cast iron boss which is supported by three rods fixed to a cross piece on the
frame carries a pair of tappets, constructed in two parts like shears, and which are
mounted upon bolts whilst their vertical position is assured by two discs, the lower
one of which is fixed by a screw to the boss herein before mentioned, and is connected
to the upper disc. by three bolts. The tappets are caused to open by the drawing
down of the vertical rod by means of the three armed lever until its tapered head
passes down into the boss, and thus such tappets cause a bulging of the tube
diminishing proportionately from one side to the other. In order to allow the
necessary raising of the tube a spring is arranged to close the tappeta as soon as
the vertical rod is raised again.
Simultaneously with the formation of a new bulging the previous bulging is
folded or flattened.
The apparatus for folding or flattening the bulgings is arranged outside the
metal tube, and consists of a sole-piece attached to the framework supporting
a disc which embraces the tube on a level with the top of the internal boss
herein before mentioned; this sole-plate also supports two pairs of circular jaws,
the lower pair being connected together by joints and a pair of bolts passing
through the aforesaid disc, and being arranged to work horizontally, whilst the
upper pair are capable of being inclined and so serve to flatten or fold down the
bulging. These jaws are actuated by a pair of cheeks connected by suitable arms
and links to a pair of levers, which in turn are actuated by suitable inclines formed
upon the slide first herein before mentioned.
The action of the tool mechanism may be thus described:-As the slide advances
its inclines first cause the cheeks and jaws to close, by which time the three armed
lever has arrived in the position for drawing down the tapered head, which being
now done has effected a bulging in the tube, whilst the previous bulging has become
flattened by the simultaneous lowering of the upper jaws. The slide being now
reversed the upper jaws are raised again, the tappets closed, the jaws once more
opened, and the tube is raised for another bulging.
By a continued repetition of these movements an elbow is completely finished
from a straight length of tube, and delivered from the machine in a few minutes.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said John Guy Wilson in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 26th May
1880.
JOHN GUY WILSON, of the British and Foreign Patent Office, 71, Market Street,
in the City of Manchester, Mechanical Engineer and Patent Agent. "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN AND MACHINERY FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF SHEET METAL ELBOWS." A
communication from abroad by Wilhelm Moritz and Wilhelm Schilg, both of the
Firm of Moritz and Schilg, of Görlitz, in the Empire of Germany.
The object of this Invention is to combine in one self-acting machine the work
hitherto done in at least two machines, and so to produce a better finished sheot
metal elbow at one operation, the straight tube being introduced into the machine
and the finished elbow delivered from it.
On the accompanying 2 Sheets of Drawings, Fig. 1 represents a vertical section
and Fig. 2 a plan of this improved machine; Fig. 3 represents a transverse section
of Fig. 1 on the line X-Y; Fig. 4 represents a longitudinal section of the tools
and mechanism for operating the same, and Fig. 5 is an exterior view of the parts
represented by Fig. 4; Figs. 6 to 17 illustrate details of the machine. In all the
views the samo letters of reference are used to denote similar parts. The complete
mechanism is disposed in a framework A and is divided into two principal groups :-
1. The mechanism of movement.
2. The mechanism of the tools.
The first consists of a shaft W, provided with a pulley R and fly-wheel S. Motion
is transmitted from this shaft by a pinion R' and toothed wheel R2 to a anked
shaft W, the connecting rod Z of which actuantes a slide S' of peculiar construction,
and which being set in motion actuates the tools hereinafter described.
The operation of the tools is divided into three separate movements:-1, the first
bulging of the sheet metal tube; 2, the flattening of the bulging so made; 3, the
raising of the tube to the extent of one bulging, so as to allow a fresh bulging to
be effected whilst the previous one is flattened. The slide S' is provided under-
neath with a small studs and bolt b, connected to the three armed lever H by a
connecting link 8¹ having a long slot, as illustrated. This lever H oscillates upon
a shaft h, and one of its horizontal arms is provided at its end with a counter
weight G, whilst the end of its other horizontal arm is connected to a cross piece T
from which rises a vertical rod., provided with a head k of square section and of
a tapered form at its lower part. The axis of this vertical rod coincides with that
of a cast iron boss K, which supports the tools for effecting the bulging operation.
This cast iron boss K which is supported by three rods t, t, t, fixed to a cross
piece T on the frame A carries a pair of tappets c, c¹, (see Figs. 10, 11, 12, 13,
14, and 15), constructed in two parts like shears, and which are mounted upon
bolts e and el, whilst their vertical position is assured by two discs d and d³, the
lower one of which is fixed by a screw v to the boss K and is connected to the
upper disc d by three bolts e, el, aud e². The upper disc d' is of a conical form,
as illustrated, in order to accomodate the bending of the tube. The tappets c and cl
are caused to open by the drawing down of the vertical rod by means of the three
armed lever, until its tapered head K comes in contact with the projections m, m,
of the tappets, and by pushing them outwards so causes a bulging of the tube
diminishing proportionately from one side to the other. After the formation of the
first bulging the tube must be elevated to receive a second bulging, and during
which operation the flattening out of the said first bulging must be effected, both
operations being executed at the same time. In order to allow the necessary raising
of the sheet metal tube, which is supported in corresponding grooves in the cross
head C, a spring p is arranged to close the tappets c and cl as soon as the vertical
rod is raised again. Fig. 1 represents the tube during its formation, supported

page_text: upon the cross-head C, and it will be seen that such tube is delivered from the
machine by raising it successively.
The disc c of the cross-head C is provided with grooves corresponding to the
different diameters of tubes, and it will be clearly understood that for the formation
of tubes of different diameters there are tools and tappets of corresponding size to
be fitted to the machine. The cross head C is guided by the rods t' by means of
the slide-boxes p' at the outsides of the cross-head. For the purpose of raising the
cross head C in a suitable manner the chains r are fixed to the slide-boxes p¹, and
after passing round the small pulleys f, f, such chains are affixed to the pulleys R³
on the shaft w¹. The rolling up of a certain piece of the chains r, and in con-
sequence the raising of the cross head C and tube, is executed by the notion of the
slide S' in a direction opposite to that indicated by the arrow on the connecting
rod Z in Fig. 2. A rod t2 is connected at one extremity to the slide S¹ by means
of the joint O, and at its other extremity to ratchet wheels on the shaft w³ by
means of the crank K' and connecting link q. Rod #2 is supported by the small
pulley g', and the connecting link q is arranged to allow only the last part of the
motion of the slide S¹ to act upon the ratchet wheels. The crank K¹ is provided
with a handle so that it may be moved by hand, and with a disc & which turns
freely on the shaft w¹. The ratchet wheels is fixed to the shaft w¹ by a key as
well as the stop-wheel 8, whilst the stop wheel 8 is fixed with its nave within the
frame (see Fig. 16 and 17), whilst the shaft w turns free within the nave of the
wheels. This shaft w also carries the two chain pulleys R³, as hereinbefore
described.
On the wheels 8² and 8³ are fixed by means of rivets i, the two springs f serving
as pawls, being provided at their free ends with the small studs s, t, corresponding
with ratchet holes arranged on the front sides of the wheels 8 and 8 (see Fig. 17).
The relative position of the ratchet wheels 8 and 8 is so arranged that just at the
instant of the transition of pawl ts from out of one hole of the wheel 83 into the next
one the pawl t stops the wheel 8, so that any sliding of the chains on the pulleys
R³ is rendered impossible. The pitch of the wheels and g¹ corresponds to the
degree or extent of the bulgings of the tube.
Simultaneously with the formation of a new bulging the previous bulging is
folded or flattened, as will clearly be understood by reference to Fig. 4.
The apparatus for folding or flattening the bulgings is arranged outside the metal
tube, and consists of a sole piece E attached to the framework supporting a disc v,
which embraces the tube on a level with the top of the internal boss K herein-
before mentioned; this sole plate also supports two pairs of circular jaws, seen in
Figs. 6, 7, 8, 9, and 9a.
The lower jaws consists of four cheeks u, u¹, u³, and u³, connected together by
joints and held in correct position by the joint bolt of the cheeks u and u', which
is fixed to the disc v. The cheeks u² and u³ are arranged with prolongated ends
in which are formed holes x, x. The shears U and U¹ (see Fig. 2) partly embrace
in their opened position the outer vertical and cylindrical surface of the sole-piece E,
and are provided with the supports us and u carrying the vertical pivots y, y,
which pass through the holes x, x, of the cheeks u² and u³. At their other ends the
shears U and U' are connected to the levers L¹ by means of the connecting joints
, . The levers L, L, have their fulcra upon the pivots y¹, y¹, and are both pro-
vided with the inclined planes P, P, and P. It will be seen that as the levers L₁
move in the direction of the arrows (Fig. 2) the cheeks U and U₁ are closed, and
consequently at the same time the checks u, u¹, u², and us are closed by the
influence of the pivots y, y, leaving a space large enough for the bulging of the
tube, and embracing exactly with their upper and inner jaws the cylindrical tube.
For providing the space necessary for the bulging the cheeks are correspondingly
countersunk,
The lower jaws being now shut the bulging which had been previously executed
must next be folded and flattened by means of the upper jaws. These upper jaws
'consist equally of four cheeks u, u³, u, and u¹º (see Figs. 8, 9, and 98), also con-

page_text: nected together by joint bolts and arranged to close simultaneously, the lower jaws
being connected also to the shears U and U' by means of the pivots y, y, passing
through the ball joints ¹ and and the prolonged ends of the jaws u and u
Before the commencement of the flattening operation (see Fig. 1 and 2) the upper
jaws are elevated at an angle, being held by the link a², by the tappets c³, c³, of the
combined levers L2 by means of the pivots projecting from the cap pieces of the
ball joints. The levers L² have their fulcra within the centre of the joints O¹,
and are connected at their ends by the bolt at which serves as an axle to the
friction wheel R+.
The other lever arms are provided with the tappets which are screwed or
riveted in position, or may be constructed in one piece with such levers, and are
combined by the half-circular cross piece T2 oscillating upon the pivots ", x³. It will
be clearly understood that by raising the lever arins containing the small pulley R*
the upper jaws are pressed down, and so the bulging projecting over the lower jaws
is folded and flattened. The motion of the levers L, L, and L³, L³, is executed by
the action of the slide S', which is provided with the inclined planes P2, P³, P³, P³,
corresponding to the inclined planes of the levers L¹, L, and also with the
incline P*, corresponding to the pulley R of the combined levers L², L².
The action and work done by the slide S' during its to and fro traverse is as
follows: First, the inclines P come in contact with the inclines P and cause a
movement of the levers L'in the direction of the arrows. The shears being now
completely closed the bolt b of the joint s has arrived at the end of the link s¹ and
the pulley R at the foot of the incline P. By a continued movement of the
slide S' in the direction of the arrow a second bulging is executed and at the same
time a flattening of the previous bulging.
By a reversed motion of the slide S₁ the small pulley R' leaves the incline P',
the upper jaws are raised again, the tappets c and care closed by the spring p, the
inclines Ps of the slide S' touch the inclines P¹ of the levers L¹, and the latter
return to their outward position, and consequently the tube is raised to the extent
required for a bulging by means of the ratchet mechanism. By a continued
repetition of these combined movements of the machine a sheet metal elbow tube is
completely finished and delivered from the machine in a very short time.
Having thus fully described the Invention so communicated to me as aforesaid,
and fully explained in what manner it may be carried into effect, I claim,-
1st. The combination and arrangements of the tappets c and c', the discs d
and d', the boss K, tapered head % of the rod I, the crosspiece T, lever H, connecting
piece 8¹, stud 8, and the bolt & with the slide S', as and for the purpose hereinbefore
described and illustrated on the accompanying Drawings.
2nd. The combination and arrangement of apparatus for raising the tube, as
herein before described and shewn in the annexed Drawing,
3rd. The lower and upper jaws for flattening the bulgings and producing the
bending of the tube in combination with the levers L₁, L³, and the inclines
P, P', P2, P³, actuated by the slide S₁, substantially as hereinbefore described and
illustrated on the accompanying Drawing.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Guy Wilson, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this 25th day of May, in the year of our Lord 1880.