AN IMPROVED METHOD OR METHODS OF MAKING OR. MANUFACTURING LINKS FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF FLAT CHAINS USED FOR MINING AND OTHER PURPOSES
Year: 1844

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOB HAINES,.
of Tipton, in the County of Stafford, Coal Master, for myself and for RICHARD
HAINES, of Tipton aforesaid, Coal Master, send greeting.
WHEREAS we, the said Job Haines and Richard Haines, did, by Petition,
humbly represent unto Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria,
that we had invented "AN IMPROVED METHOD OR METHODS OF MAKING OR.
MANUFACTURING LINKS FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF FLAT CHAINS USED FOR MINING
AND OTHER PURPOSES;" and Her said Majesty being willing to give encourage-
nient to all arts and inventions which may be for the public good, was
graciously pleased, by Her Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, bearing date at Westminster,
the Thirteenth day of February, (One thousand eight hundred and forty-four,)
in the seventh year of Her reign, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, to
give and grant unto us, the said Job Haines and Richard Haines, our
executors, administrators, and assigns, Her especial licence, full power, sole
privilege and authority, that we or they, by ourselves or themselves, or by
our or their deputies, servants, or agents, or such others as we or they should
agree with, and no others, during the term of fourteen years from the date of
the said Letters Patent, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and
vend our said Invention within that part of Her said Majesty's Dominions
called England, Her Dominion of Wales, and Town of Berwick-upon-

page_text: Tweed, in such manner as to us, our executors, administrators, and assigns,
shall seem meet, and as that we or they shall enjoy the whole profit and
advantage arising by reason of the said Invention during the said term of
fourteen years; and for that end, Her said Majesty requires and strictly
commands all Her subjects whatsoever within England, Wales, and Berwick-
upon-Tweed aforesaid, that they shall not, neither directly nor indirectly, make,
use, or put in practice our said Invention, or any part thereof, nor in anywise
counterfeit, imitate, or resemble the same, nor make any addition thereto or
subtraction therefrom whereby to pretend himself or themselves to be the
inventor or inventors thereof: And whereas the said Letters Patent contain
a proviso obliging us, the said Job Haines and Richard Haines, particularly to
describe and ascertain the nature of our said Invention, and in what manner
the same is to be performed, by an instrument in writing under our hand
and seal, and to cause the same to be inrolled in Her Majesty's High Court of
Chancery within six calendar months next and immediately after the date of
the said Letters Patent, as in and by the same (reference being thereunto
had) will more fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Job Haines, for myself and for the said Richard Haines, do hereby declare
that our said Invention is described and ascertained in manner following, and
by the aid of the Sheet of Drawings hereunto annexed (that is to say):-
The flat chains to which our said improved method or methods of manu-
facturing links relates are chains of that kind or class whereof the links are
connected by cylindrical joint pins passing across the chain through holes at
the ends of the several links whereof the chain is composed. Those links
being disposed side by side in such number as will give the chain a suitable
breadth for what are commonly called flat chains; see Figure 1 of the
Drawing hereunto annexed, which is a front view, and Figure 2, a side view
of a portion of such a flat chain, with joint pins for uniting the links thereof.
Those links being alternately three links side by side, and then four links
side by side, as is plainly shewn in Figure 1, each joint pin passing across
through seven links; similar chains have been heretofore made and used for
mining and other purposes, but the links whereof such chains have been
usually composed have not been properly proportioned as to the form of the
links to enable such chains to endure long wearing when in use, and to give
the full strength of the iron to resist breaking, without any more weight of
metal in the chain than is rendered fully available for giving strength and
durability thereto, and to render the chain as strong at the joints of the several
links as at any other parts. The Drawing explains clearly the form of the

page_text: links, and being drawn of the real size, the dimensions of every part can be
ascertained by measuring the Drawing. The iron of the links at the middle
parts of their length between their ends is of a somewhat oval form, as is
shewn in section at Figure 3, and at the said ends the links are enlarged to
the forms of bosses of an oval figure, which are thicker as they appear edge-
ways in the front view, Figure 1, and wider as they appear in the side view,
Figure 2, than the iron is at the said middle parts of the links, so as to leave
a suitable quantity of metal at each side of the pin hole (which is drilled
through each end of each link), for giving strength, and so as to give a suitable
surface of metal withinside of such pin hole, for bearing upon the joint pin
over such a portion of the length of that pin as will better enable the iron to
resist rapid wearing away of the pin and of the hole. The thickness of the
link at the boss is nearly equal to the diameter of the pin hole, so that the said
portion of the length of the pin, which is subjected to bearing within each pin
hole, is nearly equal to the diameter of the pin. That circumstance which results
from increased thickness that is given to the links at their ends, where the joint
pins pass across through them, is of importance to the durability of the chain
by resisting wearing much longer than if the thickness of the bosses was not.
so increased beyond the thickness of the middle part of the length of the links..
The links are all precisely alike as to those three links which are disposed side
by side, and also as to the two innermost links of the four, which are disposed
side by side, but the two outermost of those four links are thinner as they
appear edgeways in the front view, Figure 1, being but little more than half
the thickness of the other links, but the said two outermost links are somewhat
broader flatways, as they appear in the side view, Figure 2, and they are flat
at their inner sides, as is shewn in the horizontal or cross section, Figure 3.
The four links which are disposed side by side contain only a little more metal
in them than the three links which are disposed side by side, the little
that there is of excess in metal being an allowance for the loss of metal that
must inevitably result from the surface of the iron rusting away gradually by a
long continued use, because as there is more surface exposed to the action of
rusting in the four links than there is in the three links, the loss of substance
of the metal of the four links will be proportionably more rapid, and therefore
by the time that the chain has been a long time in use, and become much
rusted away, the strength then remaining of the four links will be nearly as
great as the strength then remaining of the three links, so that although the
chain must inevitably become weakened by the loss of metal from rusting
away, nevertheless it will continue to be of uniform strength at the different
parts of its length. The bosses at each end of each link are of a somewhat

page_text: oval form, being longer in the direction of the length of the links than in the
opposite direction across the breadth thereof, and the pin holes are drilled at a
sufficient distance from the ends of the links to allow some excess of metal in
so much of each boss as is at the end of the link beyond the pin hole, more
than there is at the two sides of the same boss on each side of the pin hole,
which excess is an allowance for the gradual wearing away of the metal at the
inside of the pin hole towards the end of the link, so that after long continued
wearing by use there shall remain sufficient metal at the end of the link
beyond the pin hole to give strength equal to the strength then remaining of
the other parts of the chain; and as to the flat chains hitherto made with
links united by joint pins, although bearing a general resemblance to those
represented in the Drawing, such chains have not had their links duly pro-
portioned, as is the case in the links represented in the Drawing, and particu-
larly in the circumstances herein-before mentioned, and in consequence, such
flat chains have not been found to answer well for mining and other purposes,
but have become weak and unsafe to use after having been continually worked for
some time, and having had their strength reduced by a gradual wearing away
at the pin holes, and by the iron of the links becoming reduced by the gradual
rusting away of the surface of the iron. A want of sufficient thickness at the
ends of the links in the direction of the length of the pins, to give an adequate
extent of surface for bearing upon the pins, has occasioned the pins and the pin
holes to be worn and cut away very rapidly, which will not be the case in
links proportioned as represented in the Drawing, and herein-before described.
And our improved method or methods of manufacturing links for the con-
struction of flat chains relates solely to links of the kind represented in the
Drawing, and herein-before described. The wrought iron whereof such links
is to be made should be of a very good quality, such as is used for the making
of ordinary welded link chains, and after being carefully wrought into bars of
suitable size by the usual and well-known mode of making bar iron, then such
bars being duly heated in a furnace such as is used in rolling mills, are to be
passed between a pair of revolving rollers disposed one above another, in the
usual manner of rollers for rolling iron, and having grooves around their
circumferences, which grooves correspond and are adapted to receive and pass
the iron between them with a rolling or laminating action, which will reduce
the iron nearly to the size and to the oval form that is required for the middle
parts of the links, between their two ends, as is shewn in the section, Figure 3,
the groove around the uppermost of the two rollers being adapted to prodnce
one half of the said oval form, and the corresponding groove around the lower-
most of the two rollers being adapted to produce the other half of the said

page_text: oval form, so as, between the two corresponding grooves of the two rollers, to
give the intended oval form to the bar of iron by the passage of that iron in its
heated state through between the revolving rollers, in the manner well known
and commonly practised for rolling bar iron. And the said corresponding
grooves around the said revolving rollers have enlargements or cavities cut out
in the said grooves at intervals in the length of those grooves, suitable for
forming the bar of heated iron which is passed through between the rollers
with bosses, like the bosses at the ends of the links, the said enlargements being
cavities cut out in the depth as well as in the width of each of the grooves,
and the said enlargements or cavities in the groove around the uppermost roller
being precisely correspondent to the enlargements or cavities in the groove
around the uppermost roller, both enlargements will receive the heated iron at
the same instant in the passing of the bar of iron through between the two
revolving rollers, and the said enlargements or cavities of the grooves will leave
corresponding enlargements or bosses on the bar of iron, both at the breadth
and at the thickness thereof, those bosses being situated at such distance apart
along the length of the bar as will suit for the bosses of the links, when the
bar is afterwards cut off into lengths. The said enlargements or cavities in
each of the grooves around the rollers must be disposed in pairs, with two such
enlargements or cavities situated very near one to the other, (as near as they
can be without joining together,) those pairs of enlargements or cavities being
for forming the bosses of adjacent links at the sides and at the edges of the bar
of iron, and it is at each of the short intervals between such adjacent bosses that
the bar is afterwards to be cut across, in order to divide it into separate links.
The several enlargements or cavities in each of the grooves which form pairs,
as aforesaid, must be disposed at such distances apart along the lengths of
those grooves, from the enlargement or cavity of the one pair to the enlarge-
ment or cavity of the next pair thereof, as will suit the intervals between the
bosses at the ends of the several links, and the size of the revolving rollers
must be such as that the circumference of the groove around each roller will
be of a suitable length for dividing into some exact number of parts (such as
five or six), and that the distances or intervals resulting from such division into
an even number of parts will be suitable for disposing the pairs of enlarge-
ments or cavities which are to form the bosses on the bar of heated iron, so as
that the said bosses will be at the proper intended distances apart along the
length of the said bar for the links. The bar of iron being properly heated in
a furnace in the usual manner of heating bars of iron for rolling the same, the
instant after the iron is withdrawn from the furnace it is to be passed through
between the revolving rollers in the corresponding grooves thereof with the

page_text: flat side of the bar uppermost, and the motion of the rollers will draw the bar
through between them, and the iron will be compressed nearly to the size and
shape of the intended oval section for the middle parts of the lengths of the
links, but the several corresponding enlargements or cavities in the said
grooves will leave bosses at the sides and at the edges of the bar of iron
-suitable for the bosses at the ends of the links. And in order to prevent the
iron from being carried round with either of the revolving rollers, in case of
the iron sticking and fastening into either of the grooves, or the enlargements
or cavities therein, suitable guards are to be fixed near to the circumference of
each of the rollers at the back thereof, near where the iron will come out
through from between them, the said guards entering into the groove, so as to
turn the iron out from them in case of sticking, and the same or other guards
will conduct the bar of iron with the bosses upon it in a straight direction as
it passes out from between the rollers. And the links for the outermost of the
four links which are disposed side by side in the chain, and which links are
flat at their innermost sides, as herein-before described, are to be prepared in
the same manner as the other links, except that being flat at one side, one of
the rollers, which may be the uppermost, is to be flat, without any groove
around it. And the long bars of iron with projecting bosses at their sides
and edges, which are thus obtained by passing the heated iron in manner
aforesaid between the grooves of the said revolving rollers, are afterwards to
be cut across and separated into links, each of which will have a boss at each
end of it. The cutting may be performed by any suitable cutting machine of
the nature of shears, such as is well known and commonly used in iron works
for cutting off bars of iron; and such cutting will be best performed when the
bar of iron is moderately heated, also beginning the cutting on the two edges
of the bar, in order that the cutting may be more suitable to the rounding
that must be given to the boss at the end of the link. Or the cutting off may
be performed with ordinary smith's chisel and hammer; and after separate
links are thus obtained with a boss at each end of each link, then, to ensure
an exact similarity in the several links, they are to be again heated in a
furnace, and taken out one by one, and placed edgeways upwards in the
hollow of the lower half of a mould of iron or steel, and then the corresponding
upper half of that mould is brought down upon the iron with a sufficient
force of pressure for pressing the iron into the shape of the hollow of the
mould, one half of that hollow being in the upper and the other in the lower
half of the mould, whereof the two halves are mounted in any suitable kind of
machine, such, for instance, as a fly press actuated by a screw; which machine
will ensure that the two halves of the mould shall come down exactly one

page_text: over the other, and which will exert a sufficient pressure on the iron for
moulding the same between the two halves, so that it will be pressed to the
exact form and size of the hollow in the mould, which hollow is the exact
form and size for the intended links. The iron was brought very near to that
intended size and form by the operation of the rolling and cutting off, but the
subsequent operation of pressing ensures that all the links will be alike, and
that the bosses at each end of each link shall be flat at each side, and the two
sides parallel, and that the thickness and breadth of each boss shall be so
much more than the thickness of the middle part of each link as will com-
pensate for the metal that is to be removed by the drilling of the pin holes.
The links thus prepared may, if requisite, be cut smooth. at the edges, to
remove any redundancy of iron which may have squeezed out between the
moulds, and the links are afterwards to be drilled through with a pin hole nearly
at the centre of each of the bosses, those holes being in a direction exactly at
right angles to the flat and parallel surfaces of the bosses, and the holes at each
end of the same link being in directions exactly parallel, that is to say, the
direction of one hole being exactly parallel to the direction of the other hole at
the other end of the same link, also the distance between the holes being the
same in all the links which are to go together side by side in the same chain,
the said bosses at each end of each link being of an oval figure, longest in the
direction of the length of the link, in order to allow for wearing away of the
metal at the interior of the pin holes towards the ends of the links by use, and
yet leaving sufficient metal at the ends of the links beyond the pin holes after
a long course of wearing has been gone through, the holes when drilled, although
being, as already mentioned, nearly at the centre of each boss, being so much
farther from the end of each link than the exact centre of each boss, as will
allow of wearing to take place as aforesaid, and that the holes after such long
wearing shall not get far beyond the said exact centres of the bosses towards
the ends of the links. And note.-There must be a distinct pair of moulds for
the thin flat-sided links which are to be the outermost of four links in the chain,
with the hollow in that mould suitable for forming those thin flat-sided links,
which are but little more than half the thickness of the other links, being very
nearly the same size and shape as would result from one of those other links being
divided or split in its thickness into two, as is shewn by the lines in Figure 6.
And the joint pins for uniting the links together so as to form the chain are to
be made of round rolled iron rod, of the best quality, made very true and
straight and smooth, which may be done by swageing in the usual manner
practised by smiths, or the round iron may be drawn through a draw plate
in the manner of wire-drawing, so as to render the surface smooth and true,

page_text: and such iron being cut into suitable lengths, a rounded head is to be raised at
one end of each pin, as shewn at the upper part of Figure 1, and after the pins
are inserted in their places through the links, the protruding end of the pin is
rivetted down to form a similar head, and prevent the pin from coming out or
the links separating. That rivetting will be more easily and effectually per-
formed if the extreme end of the pin is made hot before inserting it. The
pin holes through the ends of the links should be somewhat larger than the
pin, to allow freedom of motion in the joints of the chain; but the ends of the
pin should fit very tight into the holes in the thin links, which are the outer-
most of the four in the chain; the pin holes through those thin links may be
somewhat less in diameter than the pin holes of the other links, and then the
ends of the pins will by the rivotting become fastened in those holes. Links
for flat chains of greater or less strength than those represented in the Draw-
ing may be made therefrom by constructing a suitable scale thereto, so as to
preserve the same forms and proportions as in the Drawing, whatever the size
of the links may be.
Having now described our said improvements, I, the said Job Haines, do
hereby declare that what we claim as new invention is the improved method
or methods herein-before described of making or manufacturing links for the
construction of flat chains used for mining and other purposes. The essential
character of the said improved method or methods being that links of the
forms and proportions represented in the Drawing hereunto annexed, and
herein-before fully described, are prepared by rolling bars of heated iron
between a pair of revolving grooved rollers, with the flat side of such bars
uppermost, and with such enlargements or cavities in the said grooves as will
leave enlargements of the thickness of such bars to form bosses on the flat
surface or surfaces, as well as enlargements of the width of such bars at both
edges thereof, such enlargements of thickness and of width being at proper
distances apart along the bars suitably for the bosses at the ends of such links
as aforesaid. And note.-We do not claim the preparing of iron for making
the links of flat chains by rolling the bars of iron therefor edgways upwards
between revolving grooved rollers, with enlargments of width at the two edges
of the bar, unless enlargments of thickness are also at the same time formed
at both the flat surfaces (or at one of the flat surfaces) of the bar, as well as
at the two edges thereof, and then after cutting off the iron bars so prepared
into separate links of the forms and proportions aforesaid, then pressing such
links (whilst the iron is in a heated state) in the hollow of a mould composed
of two halves, the link being placed edgway upward in such hollow, as herein-
before described, so as to receive the pressure on the edges of the links. And

page_text: note. We do not claim the moulding or pressing of links whereof the bosses at
the ends have no enlargement of thickness, and when such links are placed
flat ways in the mould, so as to receive the pressure on the flat sides of the
links.
In witness whereof, I, the said Job Haines, for myself and for the said
Richard Haines, have hereunto set my hand and seal, this Twelfth
day of August, One thousand eight hundred and forty-four.