IMPROVEMENTS, IN THE MANUFACTURE OF RUNNERS AND TOP NOTCHES FOR UMBRELLAS AND PARASOLS
Year: 1872

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to. Thomas Cox and William Holland, of the Firm
of Cox Brothers and Holland, of Birmingham, in the County of
Warwick, Manufacturers, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS, IN
THE MANUFACTURE OF RUNNERS AND TOP NOTCHES FOR UMBRELLAS AND
PARASOLS."
· Sealed the 21st March 1873, and dated the 2nd October 1872.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Thomas Cox and
-
William Holland at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents,
with their Petition, on the 2nd October 1872.
We, THOMAS Cox and WILLIAM HOLLAND, of the Firm of Cox
Brothers and Holland, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick,
Manufacturers, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF RUNNERS AND TOP NOTCHES FOR
UMBRELLAS AND PARASOLS," to be as follows:-
Our Invention consists in making the said runners and top notches
by the process or combination of processes herein-after described. .
&
We will describe our Invention as applied to the manufacture of
runner, the manufacture of a top notch according to our Invention

page_text: t
differing from the manufacture of a runner in no essential respect.
The said runner consists of three parts, the tube, the notch. on its upper
end to which the stretchers are jointed, and the ring at its lower end by
which the lower edge of the tube is enclosed and strengthened. The
tube of the runner is raised by ordinary raising tools into a cylindrical
form from a flat blank of sheet metal. The notch at the top and the
ring at the bottom of the runner tube are placed upon and temporarily
fitted in their respective positions on the tube by means of the ordinary
tools and processes.
In order to solder or firmly connect the parts together we immerse
for a short time the partially made runner in a bath of melted zinc, the
said partially made runner having been previously cleaned by the
pickling process and otherwise treated with respect to its immersion in
the bath of melted zinc, as articles are treated in the ordinary galvanizing
process.
.
By the immersion of the partially made runner in the bath of melted
zinc the notch and ring are firmly connected with or soldered to the
runner tube. The said runner tube is turned in a lathe, and the zinc
adhering to the external parts of the said tube removed. The notch is
finished by the turning and other processes by which runner notches are
ordinarily finished. The runner is finally japanned and stoved in the
ordinary manner. The parts of the top notch having been fitted together
are treated with the zinc bath in the manner described with respect to
a runner.
Although we prefer to use a bath of pure zinc, yet an alloy con-
sisting mainly of zinc may be used with the same or nearly the same
effect.
By our improvements the runners and top notches are made very
economically, and the notches of the said runners and top notches are
as effectually secured to the tubes as by the more troublesome process
of hand brazing, while they are much stronger and bear the stoving
process much better than the runners and notches made by the soft
soldering process.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Thomas Cox and William Holland in the Great
Seal Patent Office on the 27th March 1873.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, THOMAS
Cox and WILLIAM HOLLAND, of the Firm of Cox Brothers and
Holland, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Manufacturers,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Second day of October, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-two, in the thirty-
sixth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto us, the said Thomas Cox and William Holland, Her
special license that we, the said Thomas Cox and William Holland, our
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as we, the said
Thomas Cox and William Holland, our 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 King-
dom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of
Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF RUNNERS
AND TOP NOTCHES FOR UMBRELLAS AND PARASOLS," upon the condition (amongst
others) that we, the said Thomas Cox and William Holland, our exe-
cutors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under our or
their hands and seals, or under the hand and seal of one of us or them,
should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Inven-
tion, 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 William Holland, on behalf of
the said Thomas Cox and myself, do hereby declare the nature of
the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed,
to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement thereof, that is to say :-
Our Invention consists in making the said runners and top notches
by the process or combination of processes herein-after described and
illustrated in the accompanying Drawings.

page_text: •
We will describe our Invention as applied to the manufacture of a
runner, the manufacture of a top notch according to our Invention
differing from the manufacture of a runner in no essential respect.
The said runner consists of three parts, the tube or barrel, the notch on
its upper end to which the stretchers are jointed, and the bead at the 5
lower end by which the lower edge of the tube or barrel is enclosed and
strengthened. The tube or barrel of the runner is raised by ordinary
raising tools into a cylindrical form from a flat blank of sheet metal.
The ring at the top of the runner tube or barrel from which the notch
is made and the bead at the bottom of the said runner tube are placed 1
upon and temporarily fitted in their respective positions on the tube by
ordinary tools and processes; and the parts thus fitted together are
soldered or firmly connected to the tube or barrel in the manner herein-
after described.
The manner in which the runner tube or barrel is made and the bead 1
and notch ring fitted in their places on the said tube or barrel is
illustrated in the accompanying Drawing.
Figure 1 represents the blank from which the runner tube or barrel
is made. By means of raising tools the said blank is first brought into
the trough form, Figure 2, and afterwards into the tubular or cylindrical 2
form, Figure 3. The bead at the lower edge of the runner tube is made
from the cupped blank, Figure 4, the said cupped blank being raised by
a pair of dies from the flat disc, Figure 5. The bead of the runner
tube a is made from the cupped blank, Figure 4, and fitted on the said
runner tube in the following manner-The end of the runner tube to 2
receive the bead is expanded or coned as represented in Figure 6, and
upon the said expanded or coned end the cupped blank is placed and
pressed or closed thereon, as illustrated in Figure 7. A circular piece or
disc is next pierced or cut from the interior of the partly made bead b as
illustrated in Figure 8, and the inner edge c of the said bead 6 is pressed 3
inwards or spun upon the runner tube, as illustrated in Figure 9. The
bead 6 is thus made and fitted in its place on the lower edge of the
runner tube or barrel a. In order to fit the notch ring d shown in
Figure 10 upon the top end of the runner tube a an annular shoulder is
first made by pressing tools upon the said tube, and the notch ring d 3
placed upon and supported by the said shoulder as illustrated in Figure 11,
where the notch ring is marked d, and the supporting shoulder is
marked.e. The projecting edge ƒ of the runner tube a is next expanded

page_text: outwards and closed upon the top face of the notch ring d, as illustrated
in Figure 12, where the closed edge of the runner tube is marked 9:
The notch ring d is thus fitted in its proper position on the upper end of
the runner tube or barrel a. In order to solder or firmly connect the
parts a, b, and d tögether we immerse for a short time the partially.
made runner or combined tube, notch ring, and bead in a bath of melted
zinc, the said partially made runner having been previously cleaned by
the pickling or dipping process, and otherwise treated with respect to
its immersion in the bath of melted zinc, as articles are treated in the
ordinary galvanizing process. By the immersion of the partially made
runner in the bath of melted zinc the notch ring ȧ and bead b are
firmly connected with or soldered to the runner tube a. The bath of
melted zinc has on its surface the usual layer of sal-ammoniac or other
flux as is well understood. The said runner tube is turned in a lathe
and the zinc adhering to the external parts of the said tube removed.
The ring d is next converted into a notch and is finished by the turning.
and other processes. The runner is finally japanned and stoved in the
ordinary manner.

page_text: By our improvements the runners and top notches are made very
economically, and the notches of the said runners and top notches are
as effectually secured to the tubes as by the more troublesome process of
hand brazing, while they are much stronger and bear the stoving process
much better than the runners and notches made by the ordinary soft
soldering process.
Having now described the nature of our Invention, and the manner
in which the same is to be performed, we wish it to be understood that.
we do not limit ourselves to the precise details herein described and
illustrated as the same may be varied without departing from tlie nature
of our Invention, but we claim as our Invention the improvements in
the manufacture of runners and top notches for umbrellas and parasols
herein-before described and illustrated in the accompanying Drawing,
that is to say, temporarily fitting the notch ring and bead of the
runner in their places on the runner tube or barrel, and the notch ring
on the top notch tube substantially in the manner described and illus-
trated, and soldering or firmly connecting the parts together by
immersing or partly immersing the combined article or partly made
runner or top notch in a bath of melted zinc or alloy of zinc as herein-
before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Holland, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Twenty-fourth day of March, in
the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
three.
Witness,
RICHARD SKERRETT,
Clerk to George Shaw,
Birmingham.
WILLIAM HOLLAND. (L.S.)