IMPROVE- MENTS IN BELLOWS
Year: 1858

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Henry Johnson, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields,
in the County of Middlesex, and of 166, Buchanan Street, in the City of
Glasgow, North Britain, Gentleman, for the Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN BELLOWS."-A communication.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Henry Johnson
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
26th August 1858.
I, JOHN HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of
Middlesex, and of 166, Buchanan Street, in the City of Glasgow, North
Britain, Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN BELLOWS," a communication from a foreigner residing
abroad, to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to improvements in the construction of bellows, and
is intended to remedy several imperfections which are inseparable from the
present formation of those articles. According to my improved plan of construct
ing bellows, it consists of two levers, of which one is moveable and the other
stationary. At the extremity of the lower lever or stationary is attached a
nozzle containing therein a valve, which is free to open outwards; the upper
lever is connected near to this nozzle to the lower one, by means of a hinged
joint, allowing of free motion in a vertical direction. The blowing apparatus
consists of two discs of wood or other material, fastened to the upper and lower

page_text: levers respectively; the peripheries of these discs are united by leather or other
suitable material. The passages for the admission and exit of the air blast
are formed in the lower lever, and thence lead to the nozzle. In order to
render the leather or other material of which the bellows is composed as air-
tight as possible, it is proposed to use, in combination with the leather
ordinarily employed, flexible skins, which are attached thereto by suitable
cement, or by convenient fastenings. The body of the bellows is secured to
the discs by screws, so as to permit of an easy removal and replacement of the
leather.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Henry Johnson in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 25th February 1859.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of Middlesex, and
of 166, Buchanan Street, in the City of Glasgow, North Britain, Gentleman,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-sixth day of August, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight, in the twenty-second year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said John Henry Johnson, Her special license that I, the said John Henry
Johnson, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said John Henry Johnson, my executors, administrators, or 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 "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN BELLOWS," a communication from a foreigner residing abroad, upon
the condition (amongst others) that I, the said John Henry Johnson, by an
instrument in writing under my hand and seal, 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 calendar months next and immediately after the date
of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said John Henry Johnson, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is

page_text: to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement, reference being had to the accompanying Drawings, and
to the letters and figures marked thereon, that is to say:-
-
The said Invention relates to improvements in the construction of bellows,
and is intended to remedy several imperfections which are inseperable from
the present formation of those articles. According to this Invention two
levers are used, one of which is moveable and the other stationary. At the
extremity of the lower or stationary lever is attached a nozzle containing a
valve, which is free to open outwards. The upper lever is connected to the
lower one near to this nozzle, by means of a hinged joint, allowing of free
motion in a vertical direction. The blowing apparatus consists of two discs of
wood or other material fastened to the upper and lower levers respectively; the
peripheries of these discs are united by leather or other suitable material.
The passages for the admission and exit of the air blast are formed in the
lower lever, and thence lead to the nozzle. In order to render the leather or
other material of which the bellows is composed as air-tight as possible, it is
proposed to use in combination with the leather ordinarily employed flexible
skins, which are attached thereto by suitable cement or by convenient
fastenings. The body of the bellows is secured to the discs by screws, so as to
permit of an easy removal and replacement of the leather.
And in order that the said Invention may be fully understood, I shall now
proceed more particularly to describe the same, and for that purpose I shall
refer to the several Figures on the Sheet of Drawings hereunto annexed, the
same letters of reference indicating corresponding parts throughout all the
Figures. :
Figure 1 of the annexed Sheet of Drawings represents a complete side
elevation of the bellows expanded; Figure 2 is a similar view of the same
collapsed; Figure 3 is a plan of the upper side of the bellows; Figure 4 is a
plan of the lower disc looking on the under side of the bellows; and Figure 5
is a plan of the bottom lever, shewing the arrangement of the air passages.
On referring to these Figures it will be seen that the bellows consist of a
lower lever or arm a¹, forming a base or fulcrum, upon one end of which is
adapted a conical metal pipe or nozzle d, which fits a round boss made on
the end of the lever a¹, to which boss is fitted a flap valve i (shewn in dotted
lines in Figures 1 and 2). This boss is formed in two halves, the one being
part of the lever a', and the other forming part of the block k, to which is
secured a metal strap or fork piece m, carrying the working centre of the
upper lever a.
This fork m is screwed to the block k, and the latter is itself
lever a¹ by four screws. inserted from the under side of the
secured to the

page_text: lever. In the lever a¹ is formed a passage or thoroughfare.n, opening a com-
munication between the body of the bellows and the nozzle d. The body of
the bellows bis. a cylinder composed of hide, and having as bases the two
wooden discs b¹, 62, turned with recesses to receive the leather of the bellows
body, which is secured thereto by means of wood screws and washers. The
lower disc shewn at Figure. 4 has a recess a³, a³, formed upon it for the facility
of adjusting it upon the lower lever a¹, to which it is then secured by screws.
An opening p is made in the disc b¹, which is covered by the ordinary inlet
valve, and a second opening r allows the air compressed by the bellows 'to
escape by the passage u to the nozzle d. The upper disc 63 is constructed
like the lower one, but without the openings therein referred to; it is secured
to the actuating lever a by screws in a similar manner to the lower disc. The
working lever a is fitted with a metal ferrule t at its front end, through which
the pin or bolt m¹ passes, which forms the working centre of the lever.
Grooves or channels 9 (shewn in dotted lines in Figures 1, 2, and 5), are
made in the surface of the lever a³, for the purpose of admitting the air freely
to the opening p of the inlet valve.
The recess or sunk portion a³, a³, in the disc 6' may be made in such a
manner as to cover the grooves or channels, by making an opening or channel
on each of the lateral faces of the lever a' in contact with the sunk portion
a², a. These bellows may be composed of wood, iron, or any other suitable
material, and the body of the bellows may be of any desired form, whether
round, square, polygonal, or eliptical, and the blast pipe or nozzle d may be
of a conical or other shape, according to circumstances. The leather of the
bellows may be secured to the discs otherwise than by screws; as, for example,
metal straps or rings might be employed so as to encircle and grip the leather
against the peripheries of the discs, or other convenient means may be adopted
whereby the removal of the old leather and the replacing of a fresh one may
be readily accomplished.
In
It may be here observed, that the stiffeners or supports of wire or cane.
hitherto placed inside bellows for holding out the sides are entirely dispensed
with in these bellows, and therefore a great reduction in the wear and tear.
of the leather occasioned by the friction of such supports is obtained.
order to prevent leakage by reason of the porosity of the leather, it is further
proposed to cover such leather with flexible skins, secured thereto either by glue.
or other cement, or by stitching.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of the said
Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used or carried into
effect, I would observe, in conclusion, that I do not confine or restrict myself

page_text: to the precise details or arrangements which I have had occasion to describe
or refer to, as variations may be made therefrom without deviating from the
principles or main features of the said Invention; but what I consider to be
novel and original, and therefore claim as the Invention secured to me by the
herein-before in part recited Letters Patent, is,-
First, the general construction and arrangement of bellows or blowing
apparatus, with the mode of preventing leakage through the pores of the
leather, as herein-before described.
Second, the peculiar arrangement of the levers a, a', the former working on
a fixed centre m', as herein-before described and illustrated by the Drawings.
Third, the attachment of the leather or body of the bellows by screws to the
upper and lower discs or boards, as herein-before described.
Fourth, the peculiar arrangement and combination of the grooves or
channels q with the inlet aperture p, whereby the introduction of foreign
matters into the bellows is prevented, as herein-before described and illustrated
by the Drawings.
Fifth, the placing of the outlet valve i at the extreme end of the bellows, so
as to be as far removed as possible from the inlet valve, whereby it yields more
freely to the action of the compressed air, as herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Henry Johnson, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Twenty-fifth day of February, One thousand
eight hundred and fifty-nine.