IMPROVE- MENTS IN MACHINERY FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF SHEET-METAL CHAINS.
Year: 1861

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to James Lancelott, Jeweller, of 2, Brownlow Road,
Dalston, in the County of Middlesex, for the 'Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN MACHINERY FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF SHEET-METAL CHAINS.".
Sealed the 30th August 1861, and dated the 11th April 1861.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Lancelott at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his. Petition, on the 11th
April 1861.
I, JAMES LANCELOTT, Jeweller, of 2, Brownlow,Road, Dalston, in the
County of Middlesex, do hereby declare the nature of the said, Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF SHEET-METAL CHAINS,"
to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to a machine for the manufacture of chains from
sheet metal, by which the whole worke of forming the chain may be, pre-
formed expeditiously and automaticaly from stock consisting of metal plates
previously prepared in any proper way.
The chain is composed of links. haveing three or more arms projecting from
a body or centre, and haveing cross, bars or increased breadths at the extremity:
of the arms, and in chains in which the arms of the links overlap. The arms.
which overlap are cut the longest so as to enable their cross bars, to reach over
the cross bars of the arms beneath, strips of metal of the proper width and thick-

page_text: ness, being presented to the machine, are drawn by the intermittent action of
a pair of rollers over a cutting die; this die has an aperture of the forme of
the required link. Directly above this aperture is suspended a cutting punch
with its face formed to cut the link in a bent forme, so that its arms are bent
downwards from the body untill reaching nearly to the cross bars, and then
upwards. This punch decends and cuts out a link, and deposites it apon a
plate haveing an aperture of the size of the chain; this plate is situated
directly under the cutting die. The cutting punch has a rod within it which
now decends, and forces the body of the link into the aperture of the plate,
and partially bends up the arms. The cutting die and punch now turn on
their axis and cut a second link, and deposite it with its arms interlocking the
arms of the first link beneath. The rod within the cutting punch decends
as before, partially bending up the arms of the top link as before, which forces
the link below its full distance within the aperture of the plate, and bends its
arms at right angles, so that its cross bars reach over the body of the top link;
the chain is forced down by the same operation.
When it is required to round or indent the arms of the links in imitation of
wire, portions of the face of the cutting punch may be rounded or shaped to
project above the cutting edges so as to indent the arms of the links.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said James Lancelott in the Great Seal. Patent Office on the
I'1th October 1861.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JAMES
LANCELOTT, Jeweller, of 2, Brownlow Road, Dalston, in the County of Mid-
dlesex, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters'
Patent, bearing date the Eleventh day of April, in the year of our Lord.
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-one, in the twenty-fourth year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said James Lancelott, Her special licence that I; the said James.
Lancelott, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such other as I;.
the said James, Lancelott, 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.

page_text: *** IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF SHEET-METAL CHAINS,"
upon the condition (amongst others) that I; the' said James Lancelott, my exe-
cutors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one
'of their hands and seals, 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 James Lancelott, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the fol-
lowing statement, reference being had to the Sheet of Drawings hereunto
annexed, and to the letters and figures marked thereon, that is to say :-
My Invention relates to machinery for manufacturing chains from sheet
metal, by the use of which the work is performed expeditiously and automa
tically from stock consisting of metal plates of the requisite thickness pre-
viously prepared by any of the usual methods. I will now proceed to describe
the construction and operation of my machine.
DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS.
Figure 1 is a front sectional view of a machine constructed according to my
Invention taken in line m, m, Figure 2, and in scale. of the usual size of the
machine; Figure 2 a side sectional view taken in line n, n, Figure 1;
Figure 3, a sectional plan taken in line o, o, Figure 2;. Figure 4, an enlarged
front sectional view of certain working parts; Figures 5 to 12 are sectional
views on an enlarged scale, shewing detached portions of the machine and the
work produced by it. A shews a solid frame, two uprights rising from its
base, with a brace B connecting them (as shewn at Figure 1.). The tops
of these uprights form bearings for a shaft C; on this shaft two cams D, E,
are placed, one of which, D, actuates a lever F, the fulcrum pin a (Figures 1
and 2) of which is situated in the upright A'. This lever F has an arm G,
(Figure 2) which gives motion through connecting rod 6 to a pair of feed
rollers H (see Figure 2); the lower end of lever F is connected by the bent
rodic to the frame I (as shewn, Figure 2.) This frame I is placed within
the solid frame A; it is formed of two rectangular uprights connected by
three discs or rings f, f, and k (Figures 1 and 2) placed transversely. The
upper disc forms a necks, which is fitted into the brace B of the solid frame A;
the lower disc k is pierced and cupped to receive the hollow centre e, on which
it is allowed to turn freely. This hollow centre is a hollow screw fixed into

page_text: the solid frame A, having an aperture extending lengthwise through its centre
(as shewn in Figures 1 and 2.) In the centre of frame 1, and parallel
with its axis, a hollow rectangular plunger J is fitted in guides f, f, formed of
portions of the frame I; the upper end of the plunger J extends above.tho
neck s, and is swiveled (as shewn, Figures 1 and 2) into the driver K, which
:is made with an adjustable screw and a fork. v, which spans the shaft C; in
this fork (or slotted piece) is a pin t, which takes into a groove formed on the
side of the cam E; the object of this pin is to draw back the driver K, and
consequently the plunger J. The downward movement of driver K is actuated
by the face g of the cam E, which bas two, faces, the face g bearing against
the hub of the driver K, whilst the face h actuates the rod O, which extends
through the centre of the driver K into plunger J. A spring is fitted
into and through rod O, the end of which spring presses on the angular edge
of a slot formed in the plunger J (Figures 1 and 2.). In the lower end of
plunger J the male cutting die P is fitted; this die P is made hollow, so that
rod O (which is a plain round rod) may pass through it (as shewn at Figure 4).
I prefer to make rod O in pieces with an adjustable screw, as at Figure 8.
The face of die P is not level or flat, as in ordinary cutting punches, but is
cupped in its centre, and beveled near its outer edges (see Figure 9, which is
a sectional view taken in line u, u, Figure 5,) the object of forming the face
of the die P in this manner being to cut the link in a bent form, as will
presently be shewn. The outline of the face of die P depends on the pattern
of the chain to be made, the one shewn in the Drawings being a six-armed
link (see Figure 5, which is the female cutting die). It will be seen. that
half the number of arms are longer than the others alternately. This female
die Q is placed in the lower disc k of the frame I, and of course in line with
die P; a cap j is screwed on the die Q to hold the metal in position (see
Figures 1 and 2.) Directly under the female die Q a plate or die R is placed
and fixed in the hollow screw or centre e (Figures 1 and 2); this die has a
perforation the size of the full-formed chain, the centre of said perforation being
coincident with the centres of dies P and Q. The face of die R is reccssed
substantively of the form shewn in the sectional Figure 6, being formed of a
cone or ring round the perforation for the links to sit on. The small teeth 1
projecting from its outer circumference. (shewn clearly, Figure 7) form guides
to receive and retain the links in proper position; on the, shaft C a suitable
fly. wheel is placed.to give steadiness to its motion. It will be observed that
cam E operates twice to each revolution of the shaft C, thus cutting two links.
The cam D operates but once to each revolution, that is to say, it rotates the
frame I to the right when the first link is formed, and rotates it back to the

page_text: left when the second link is formed in one revolution of the shaft. The feed
rollers H have two ratchets (Figure 2), and are operated by both rise or fall
of the arm G of lever F.
The operation of the apparatus is as follows:-The stock or material from.
which the chains are made consists of strips of metal plates prepared in any
proper way, and of suitable dimensions. The shaft is rotated by any con-
venient power; one of the strips of metal is inserted under the capj and
over the die Qinto the feed rollers H, which give the required intermittent
motion to the metal; the die P, moved by the cam E (face g), cuts out a blank
or link, and forces it through the die Q on to the die R. (the cross arms of the
link entering between the teeth 7 of the die R (see Figure 7, the link being
shewn in red; and I would here observe, that it is best to put a piece of
chain (Figure 10) into the die R before operating. This blank or link will
now have two bends in its arms, one downwards from its body or centre, the
other upwards just within its cross arms (as shewn, Figure 12, which repre-
sents a side view of a link as cut). The bends in the link are determined by
the formation of die P; for as the lower portions of the arms of die P
enter the die Q, and cut the metal through at that point first, the remaining
portions of the metal forming the link conform to the formation of the surface
of the face of die P. When die P has risen a short distance, the cam E
(face h) forces the rod O (which has descended; simultaneously with die P)
out of die P a little way into die R. (see Figure 4), thereby bending the arms
of the link slightly upwards; the rod O being thrown up by the spring i over-
takes the die P in its ascent, both being now in their original. position. The
cam D moves the frame I on its axis (and of course the dies P and Q with it)
a certain distance, so that the dies P and Q will cut the next link in such a
position that its arms will interlock the arms of the last-formed link, that
shewn in the Drawing being a six-armed link; the rotation is one-twelfth of a
circle simultaneously with the angular movement of the cutters Q and P on
their axis; the arm G of lever F operates through the connecting rod b, the
feed rollers E, which draw in the metal the required distance to form another
blank. The die P again descends, cuts a second link," and deposits it on
die R, with its arms interlocking the arms of the first link; the rod O then
descends to its full depth as before, and bends the top link as before, but the
action on the top link forces the link below further into the die R, which
causes its arms to bend upwards and inward until its cross arms reach over
the body or centre of the top link, and grasp, as it were, the rod O. The two
top links will be now in position, as at Figure 10 (which is a side view), and
Figure 11 (which shews the top of the chain). It will be seen that the cross

page_text: ends of the three long arms of the link reach over or overlap .the cross ends
of the short arms which is the object of forming them of different lengths.
<The object of cutting the links in a bent form will now be apparent, it being
necessary for the cross arms of the under link to be bent over the body or
centre and between the arms of the-top link so as to clinch them into chain.
The die P and rod O rise again to their first position; the frame I turns on-
its axis back to its first position- (the feed rollers acting at the same time), a
third link is cut, and deposited with its arms interlocking the arms of the link
below, and the before-described operations are repeated.
Having now described the nature of my said Invention, and the means by
which I carry it into practical effect, I would have it understood that I do
not confine myself to the precise details herein given or shewn in the Drawing
(as slight modifications may be made therein without departure from my
Invention,) and that I claim as of my Invention, in reference to the machine
herein-before described,―
Firstly, giving to the cutting dies P and Q an angular movement on their
axis so as to cut out the successive links in alternate' positions.
Secondly, forming the face of die P as described for the purpose of
enabling the arms of the links to overlap when said die is used in connection
with die R and rod O or their equivalents.
Thirdly, the combination and operation of rod O and die R for the purpose
of bending or clinching the links into chain.
Fourthly, the arrangements of the dies P, Q, and R, the whole essentially,
as herein-before described and illustrated by the annexed Drawing...
In witness whereof, I, the said James Lancelott, have hereunto set my
.
hand and seal, this Eighth day of October, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-one.
JAMES LANCELOTT. (L.S.)