AN IMPROVEMENT IN THE MANUFACTURE OF UMBRELLAS AND PARASOLS, AND IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY TO BE USED IN THE MANUFACTURE OF UMBRELLAS AND PARASOLS
Year: 1861

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Thomas Warwick, of Birmingham, in the County
of Warwick, Machinist, for the Invention of "AN IMPROVEMENT IN THE
MANUFACTURE OF UMBRELLAS AND PARASOLS, AND IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY
TO BE USED IN THE MANUFACTURE OF UMBRELLAS AND PARASOLS."-Partly a
communication from Charles Augustus Van Kirk, of Philadelphia, in
the United States of America.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Thomas Warwick at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 3rd
October 1861.
I, THOMAS WARWICK, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Machinist,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "AN IMPROVEMENT IN
THE MANUFACTURE OF UMBRELLAS AND PARASOLS, AND IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY
TO BE USED IN THE MANUFACTURE OF UMBRELLAS AND PARASOLS," to be as
follows:-
The said Invention consists, firstly, in the manufacture of top notches for
umbrellas and parasols, by raising the said top notches from thick sheet metal.

page_text: I take blanks in the form of circular disks cut from sheet metal of the thick-
ness of that part of the top notch in which the groove is turned, and I pierce
a small hole in the centre of the blank; I then subject the pierced blank to
the action of a pair of raising dies, by which a short tubular piece is made in
the centre of the blank. The said blank is thus made to have the general
figure of a top notch, and is finished in the usual way.
The said Invention consists, secondly, of a machine for making the knobs
on the ends of umbrella and parasol ribs. The said machine is constructed as
follows: A feeder moving horizontally carries the wires (which are fed to it
by hand) to a pair of tools, between which the wire is seized. The said tools
have a reciprocating motion in a vertical plane, one of the said tools moving
upwards, while the other moves downwards. The wire pressed between them
is thus made to have a backward and forward rotatory motion. Its end
during this motion is operated upon by a pair of dies, one of which is fixed,
and the other rises and falls rapidly. The said dies are of the figure proper
to form by their action on the end of the wire a head or knob of the required
size and shape. The motions of the feeder and tools by which the rotatory
motion is given to the wire, as well as that of the moveable die, are given by
cams on the main shaft of the machine.
The said Invention consists, thirdly, of a machine for grooving notches,
constructed essentially as 'follows:-The said machine resembles in its general
arrangement an ordinary turning lathe, but the several parts are made self-
acting. The notches to be grooved are dropped by hand into a feeder, which
advancing horizontally carries the said notches one at a time to the centre of
the lathe or machine. The rotating spindle, which has a sliding motion,
advances against the notch and fixes it, and gives to it a rotatory motion.
The feeder is drawn from under the notch, and a cutting tool advancing from
the side opposite that on which the feeder is situated, turns the groove in the
notch. The cutting tool retires, and the rotating spindle sliding away from
the notch, it falls from the machine. The feeder, which has been supplied
with another notch to be grooved, advances, and bringing the notch to the
centre of the lathe, it is fixed and grooved in the manner last described. The
machine is driven by steam or other power, and the motions of the several
parts are taken from the main shaft of the machine.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Thomas Warwick in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
28th March 1862.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, THOMAS
WARWICK, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Machinist, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Third day of October, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-one, in the twenty-fifth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
Thomas Warwick, Her special licence that I, the said Thomas Warwick, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Thomas
Warwick, 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 "AN IMPROVEMENT IN
THE MANUFACTURE OF UMBRELLAS AND PARASOLS, AND IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY
TO BE USED IN THE MANUFACTURE OF UMBRELLAS AND PARASOLS," the result partly
of a communication made to me by Charles Augustus Van Kirk, of Phila-
delphia, in the United States of America, and partly of Invention and
discovery made by me, upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the
said Thomas Warwick, my executors or administrators, by an instrument
in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should par-
ticularly 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 Thomas Warwick, 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:-
The said Invention consists, firstly, in the manufacture of top notches for
umbrellas and parasols, by raising the said top notches from thick sheet metal,
as herein-after explained and illustrated in the accompanying Drawings.
In carrying this part of the said Invention into effect I take blanks in the

page_text: form of circular disks, the said disks being cut from sheet brass or other
suitable metal or alloy of the thickness of that part of the top notch in which
the groove is turned, and I pierce a small hole in the centre of the said
circular disks or blanks. A disk or blank of this kind is represented in edge
view at a, cross section at b, and plan at c, in Figure 1 of the Drawings. I
subject the pierced blank, Figure 1, to the action of a pair of raising dies
worked by an ordinary press, by which a short conical tubular piece is forced
from the centre of the blank in the manner illustrated in Figure 2; in which
Figure 2, d represents an elevation, e a cross section, and f a plan of the
blank in this stage. By subjecting the blank, Figure 2, to the action of other
raising dies its shape is changed, first, to that represented in Figure 3, and
afterwards to that represented in Figure 4, the said Figure 4 having the shape
of a partially made top notch. In Figure 3 the elevation of the partially
made notch is marked g, the cross section 7, and the plan i. In Figure 4 the
elevation of the partially made notch is marked , the cross section 1, and the
plan m. By the action of the raising dies the metal from the centre of
the blank or disk is forced gradually outwards, so as to form a short hollow
tubular piece n to the part or ring o of the notch, in which ring o the groove
is turned, the thickness of the part or ring o remaining the same as that of
the blank or disk from which the top notch is made, as illustrated in the
several Figures of the Drawings. After the turning of the groove in the part
or ring o, and cutting the notches across the said groove, the top notch is
finished in the ordinary manner. The raising tools which I employ in car-
rying this part of the said Invention into effect are of the kind commonly used
in raising or shaping metals for other purposes, and the tools are worked in
presses or machines of the ordinary kind.
The said Invention consists, secondly, of a machine constructed as herein-
after described and illustrated in Figures 5, 6, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10 of the
accompanying Drawings, for making the knobs or heads on the ends of
umbrella and parasol ribs; Figure 5 being a side elevation (partly in section),
Figure 6 a plan, and Figure 7 a plan partly in section of the holding dies of
the same, herein-after described. Figures 8, 9, and 10 represent the excentric
and cams by which the principal motions of the machine are obtained. I
prefer to make the machine double, as represented in the plan, Figure 6, but
as the two sides of the machine exactly resemble each other, I will only
describe one side. The same letters and figures of reference indicate the same
parts in Figures 5, 6, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10. The ribs to be headed are placed
upon the supports a, b, c, and are pushed one at a time over the angles d, d,

page_text: Each rib is carried forward and
held while being headed, in the
or uprights fixed on the bar k,
on to the lower part e of the supports a, b, c.
delivered into the dies ff, by which it is
following manner :-g, h, i, are three fingers
to which bar a reciprocating motion is given through the rod land excentric m
on the principal shaft n of the machine. The uprights o, p, on the bar
engage on either side of the excentric m. The said excentric is represented
separately in Figure 8. As the fingers g, h, i, advance the finger y pushes
the end of the rib to be headed from off the part e of the support a, which end
of the rib falls into the dies f, f. The other part of the rib is supported by
the tongues q, r, on the supports b, c, respectively, which said tongues are
pressed forward, when at liberty to move, by the springs t into the position.
shewn in the plan and elevation of the support c, represented in Figure 6*..
On the return motion of the bar k the fingers h and i press back the tongues
q, r, into the position represented in Figure 6, when the rib being no longer
supported falls from the machine. The dies or tools f, f, into which the end
of the rib to be headed is carried and held, have a reciprocating motion in a
vertical plane, one of the said tools moving upwards, while the other moves
downwards. The rib thus held between them is thereby made to have a
rotatory motion during the action of the heading tools. The motion of the
dies ff, is effected by the lever u turning upon the centre v, the said lever u
being connected at opposite points of its centre v with the tools f, f. The
pins or screws w, x, connect the lever u with the dies or tools f, f.
motion of the lever u is effected by a cam y on the main shaft n. The said
cam y is shewn separately in Figure 9. 1, 2, are the dies by which the knob
or head is made, the die 1 being moveable, and the die 2 fixed on the bed of
the machine. The acting surfaces of the said dies are sunk of the proper
figure to produce the knob or head and shoulder on the end of the rib; 3 is a
stop or guide against which the end of the rib bears. The die 1 is fixed to
the bolt 3, working in the dovetail guides 4; 5 is the lever which communi-
cates motion to the bolt 3; the said lever turns upon the centre 6; 7 is a
cam (shewn separately in Figure 10) on the main shaft n, by which cam
motion is given to the lever 5. By the figure of the said cam 7 it will be
seen that a series of rapid motions or blows is given by the die 1 to the end of
the rib under operation, and forms between its end and the top of the fixed
die 2 the head or knob and shoulder on the end of the said rib; the said. rib
during the action of the heading dies 1, 2, having a rapid rotatory motion
given to it by the dies or tools f, f, as herein-before explained. The
return motions of the levers u and 5 are effected by helical or coiled springs,
The

page_text: as represented in Figure 5. One rib is headed on either side of the machine
at each revolution of the main shaft n.
The said Invention consists, thirdly, of a machine for grooving notches con-
structed in the manner herein-after described, and illustrated in Figures
11, 12, 13, 14, 15, and 16 of the accompanying Drawings. The said machine
resembles in its general arrangement an ordinary lathe, but the several parts
are made self-acting. Figure 11 represents a side elevation of the said
machine (the feeder herein-after described being shewn broken off); Figure 12
is a plan of the same, shewing the feeder; Figure 13 is an end elevation of
the same; Figure 14 is a transverse vertical section of the same, taken
through the dotted line A, Figure 11, the said section being viewed from the
right-hand side of the elevation, Figure 11; Figure 15 is a portion of the
machine, as berein-after explained; and Figure 16 is a transverse vertical
section of the machine, taken through the dotted line B, Figure 11.
The same letters and figures of reference are used to indicate the same parts
in Figures 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, and 16. The plain notches to be grooved are
dropped by hand one at a time into the semicircular holder a of the feeder a, b.
The said feeder a, b, has an advancing and retiring horizontal motion given to
it in the manner herein-after explained. The said feeder on advancing carries
the notch deposited in its holder to the centre of the lathe or machine. On
the arrival of the notch at the centre of the machine the rotating spindle c
(which has a backward and forward sliding motion) advances against one side
of the said notch, and fixes it between its end and the end of the other
rotating spindle d of the machine, and thereby gives to the notch a rapid
rotatory motion. The feeder a, b, now retires to the position best seen in
Figures 12 and 14, that end of the said feeder which carries the notch being
depressed in order to escape from under the notch fixed in the machine, as
herein-after more fully explained. The cutting tool e, situated on the side of
the machine opposite to that at which the feeder a, b, is situated, is next
advanced against the rotating notch, and turns the groove in the said notch.
The notch being operated upon is represented in the Drawings in the position
last described, and is marked f. The groove having been turned in the
notch f, the cutting tool e retires, and the rotating spindle c sliding away from
the notch, the said notch falls through the opening g into a receptacle placed
to receive it. The feeder a, b, which has been supplied with another notch
to be grooved, again advances, and bringing another notch to the centre of the
machine, it is fixed in the machine, grooved, and liberated from the said
machine in the manner last described. The motions of the several parts of the

page_text: machine are taken from the main shaft h, which may be driven by steam or
other power. Above and parallel with the main shaft h is a shaft i, carrying
the cams by which the feeder a, b, turning tool e, and spindle c are actuated.
The motion of the main shaft h is transmitted to the shaft i though
the pulleys k, l, and driving band m, the said pulleys and band con
municating a slow rotatory motion to the said shaft i. The rotatory motion
of the spindles c, d, is effected through the pulleys n, n, and driving
bands o, o. The advancing and retiring horizontal motion of the feeder
a, b, is thus effected. The said feeder a, b, consists of three steel plates
fixed together (see Figure 12), the said feeder sliding against the plate a³,
which is supported by the bracket a³, fixed to the frame of the machine.
The feeder a, b, is connected to the plate a² by a pin on the former, working
loosely in a slot in the latter, as best seen in Figures 13 and 14. The upper
end of the lever p is jointed to the said feeder at q, the said feeder being also
capable of turning in a vertical plane upon the said joint q. The said lever p
turns on a centre at r, and its lower end is connected by the link or connecting
bar s to the arm or lever t, jointed to the frame of the machine at u. The
middle of the bar or link s is looped (as indicated in dotted lines), through
which loop the shaft i works. A cam v on the
on the said link or bar s, and gives, through the
the required retiring motion to the feeder a, b.
said feeder is effected by the coiled spring *.
the notch to the centre of the machine, and the said notch has been fixed by
the advancing of the spindle c, on the retiring of the feeder, its end, in order
to escape from under the said fixed notch, is slightly depressed by the said
fixed notch, and made to turn upon the joint q. After escaping from the fixed
notch the feeder is raised into its horizontal position by the coiled spring <,
and the said feeder is ready to receive another notch. The slot in the plate a²
is sufficiently large to allow the pin which slides in it to have the necessary
vertical motion requisite for the escape of the end of the feeder from under
the fixed notch. The reciprocating sliding motion of the rotating spindle c,
so as to fix and liberate the notch, is effected in the following manner :-The
end of the spindle c is connected to the links 1 and 2, the said links being
jointed to one another. The links 2 are fixed by a screw to the bracket 2ª on
the frame of the machine. A connecting rod 3, jointed to the links 1, 2,
at 3, is connected to an arm or lever 4, carrying a roller 5. The arm or
lever 4 is jointed to the frame of the machine in the manner represented in
Figure 16, and its free end is kept down by the coiled spring 6, and the
shaft i acts against a roller w
said link or bar s and lever p,
The advancing motion of the
When the feeder has carried

page_text: roller 5, carried by the said arm or lever, is thereby made constantly to press
upon the periphery of the cam 7, situated on the cam shaft i. By the motion
of the said shaft and cam the links 1, 2, are alternately raised and depressed,
and he required rectilinear advancing and retiring motions communicated to
the rotating spindle c. The lateral motion of the links 1, 2, is prevented by
the guide or stay rod 1°. The turning tool e is advanced against the rotating
notch, and made to retire therefrom in the following manner :-The holder 8,
in which the turning tool e is fixed, is secured to the slide 11, which slide
works in a dovetail 10, fixed on the bed of the machine (see Figure 14). A
lever 12 turns on a joint at 13, the short upper arm of which lever engages
in a slot in the slide 11. The longer arm of the said lever 12 carries at its
end a roller 14 (shewn in dotted lines in Figure 14). The cam 15, by which
the lever 12 is worked, is situated on the cam shaft i, and its shape will be
best understood by referring to Figure 15, which represents the cam 15,
roller 14, and part of the lever 12 separated from the machine. On the
rotation of the cam 15, the lever 12 is made to turn upon its joint, and its
shorter end to advance the turning tool e against the rotating notch f, fixed
in the machine. The return motion of the turning tool e, and parts connected
with it, is effected by the coiled spring 16. The driving band m, giving
motion to the cam shaft i is tightened or slackened by means of the roller 17
bearing against the said band. The said roller 17 is carried by the arm or
lever 18 fixed on the frame of the machine, and by turning the said arm or
lever 18 upon the screwed pin which fixes it to the machine, the said driving
band can be tightened or slackened upon the pulleys k, l, at pleasure. The
arm or lever 18 is fixed in its position by the screw and screw nut, which
connect it to the framing of the machine.
Having now described the nature of the said Invention, and in what
manner 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 illustrated in the
accompanying Drawings, as the same may be varied without departing from
the nature of the said Invention; but I claim as the said Invention,-
Firstly, the improvement in the manufacture of top notches for umbrellas
and parasols, herein-before described and illustrated in Figures 1, 2, 3, and 41
of the accompanying Drawings, that is to say, making the said top notches
in one piece from thick pierced circular disks of metal, by subjecting the said
disks to the action of raising dies, by which the centre of the said disks is
made into a hollow tubular piece, that part of the disks not operated upon by
the dies being left of its original thickness, the top notches being afterwards
finished in the ordinary way.

page_text: Secondly, a machine for making the knobs or heads on the ends of umbrella
and parasol ribs, the parts of which are arranged or combined and worked
essentially in the manner herein-before described, and illustrated in Figures 5,
6, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10 of the accompanying Drawings.
Thirdly, a machine for grooving the notches of umbrellas and parasols, the
parts of which are arranged or combined and worked essentially in the
manner herein-before described, and illustrated in Figures 11, 12, 13, 14, 15,
and 16 of the accompanying Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said Thomas Warwick, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Twenty-fifth day of March, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-two.
Witness,
GEORGE SHAW.
THOMAS WARWICK. (L.S.)