IMPROVEMENTS IN TINNING PINS AND OTHER SMALL ARTICLES, AND IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS
Year: 1868

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Edridge, of Birmingham, in the County
of Warwick, Manufacturer, and Joel Merrett, of Birmingham,
aforesaid, Manufacturer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
TINNING PINS AND OTHER SMALL ARTICLES, AND IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS
Sealed the 22nd May 1869, and dated the 18th December 1868.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Edridge and
Joel Merrett at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with
their Petition, on the 18th December 1868.
We, JOHN EDRIDGE, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick,
Manufacturer, and JOEL MERRETT, of Birmingham aforesaid, Manu-
facturer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "Iм-
PROVEMENTS IN TINNING PINS AND OTHER SMALL ARTICLES, AND IN MACHINERY OR
APPARATUS TO BE USED FOR THAT PURPOSE," to be as follows:-
In the ordinary process of tinning pins and other small articles the
pins or articles are cleaned by dilute acids or a solution of chloride of
zino or other cleaning liquid to secure the perfect adhesion of the tin
thereto.

page_text: In tinning pins and other small articles according to our Invention
we dispense with the use of acid or cleaning solutions, or fluxes in
solution, and we use a dry flux such as powdered salammoniac. The
pins or articles on leaving the machine in which they are made are
simply cleaned in dry sawdust and transferred to the tinning pot where
by the use of salammoniac or other dry flux the proper adhesion of the
tin is secured, as will be understood by the description herein-after
given in conjunction with the machinery or apparatus constituting
another part of our Invention.
The machinery or apparatus constituting another part of our Invention
is constructed essentially in the following manner:-A cast-iron pot or
vessel of a globular figure and having a wide mouth or neck is supported
in a furnace, the axis of the said vessel being horizontal or nearly
horizontal. The said vessel is so supported-in-the-furnace as to be
capable of receiving a rotary motion. We will herein-after-call-the-said.
vessel the tinning pot. A projection at the back of the tinning pot
rests on a bearing in the furnace, and the neck which projects out of
the furnace is supported on antifriction rollers. By means of a winch
near the mouth of the tinning-pot-a-rotary motion can be readily given
to it; or a rotary motion may be given to it by steam or other power.
The interior of the tinning pot is provided over about three-fourths of
its surface with small projections which are cast in one piece with the
vessel. The remaining one-fourth of the interior surface has the figure
of a portion of a hollow sphere without projections.
In using this machinery or apparatus the pins or articles to he
tinned are introduced into the tinning pot, and when they are sufficiently
heated the required quantity of tin for tinning them is introduced into
the tinning pot and salammoniac in powder is dusted over the said
articles by means of a perforated ladle introduced into the tinning pot.
By rotating the said pot the pins or articles are uniformly heated and
the tin and salammoniac uniformly distributed over them; the pro-
jections on the inside of the tinning pot effectually turning over the pins
or articles. When the tin has spread uniformly over the pins or articles
the finning pot is brought to rest, its plain side, or that part having no
projections on it, being at bottom and containing the pins or articles.
By means of a fork or rake of a shape proper to fit the bottom of the
tinning pot the pins or articles are drawn out of it and fall on a
horizontal sieve or grating to which a reciprocating motion is given.

page_text: The pins or articles pass through the sieve or grating into water, and in
order to expedite their falling into the water a fan is made to rotate
underneath the sieve. By the rotary motion of this fan its vanes strike
the pins immediately they have fallen through the sieve and force them
rapidly into the water, and thereby cool them.
Our Invention is especially applicable to the tinning of pins, but
is also applicable to the tinning of various other kinds of small
articles.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said John Edridge and Joel Merrett in the Great
Seal Patent Office on the 12th June 1869.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, WC, JOHN
EDRIDGE, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Manufacturer,
and JOEL MERRETT, of Birmingham aforesaid, Manufacturer, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Lötters Patent, bearing date the Eighteenth day of December, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight, in the
thirty-second year of Her reign, did; for Herself, Her heirs and
successors, give and grant unto us, the said John Edridge and Joel
Merrett, Her special licence that we, the said John Edridge and
Joel Merrett, our exccutors, administrators, and assigns, or such others
as we, the said John Edridge and Joel Merrett, our executors, adminis-
trators, 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 "IMPROVEMENTS IN TINNING
PINS AND OTHER SMALL ARTICLES, AND IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS TO BE USED
FOR THAT PURPOSE," upon the condition (amongst others) that we, the
said John Edridge and Joel Merrett, our exccutors or administrators,
by an instrument in writing under our or their hands and seals, or
under the hand and scal of one of us or them, should particularly
describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what

page_text: 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 we, the said John Edridge and Joel Merrett,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what t
manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement, reference being had to the
Drawing hereunto annexed, and to the letters and figures marked
thereon (that is to say) :-
In the ordinary process of tinning pins and other small articles the
pins or articles are cleaned by dilute acids or a solution of chloride of
zinc or other cleaning liquid to secure the perfect adhesion of the tin
thereto.__
In tinning pins and other--small-articles according to our Invention
we dispense with the use of acid or cleaning solutions or fluxcs in solu-
tion, and we use a dry flux, namely, powdered salammoniac. The pins
or articles on leaving the machine in which they are made are simply
cleaned in dry sawdust, and transferred to the tinning pot, where, by
the use of salammoniac, the proper adhesion of the tin is secured, as
will be understood by the description herein-after given in conjunction
with the machinery or apparatus constituting another part of our
Invention.
The salammoniac constituting this part of our Invention may be used
in the tinning of pins and other small articles in conjunction with the
ordinary or other apparatus instead of in conjunction with our improved
machinery or apparatus.
The machinery or apparatus constituting another part of our Inven-
tion is constructed essentially in the following manner:-A cast-iron
pot or vessel of a globular figure and having a wide mouth or neck is
supported in a furnace, the axis of the said vessel being horizontal or
nearly horizontal. The said vessel is so supported in the furnace as to
be capable of receiving a rotary motion. We will herein-after call the
said vessel the tinning pot. A projection at the back of the tinning pot
rests on a bearing in the furnace, and the neck which projects out of the
furnace is supported on antifriction rollers. By means of a winch near
the mouth of the tinning pot a rotary motion can be readily given to
it; or a rotary motion may be given to it by steam or other power.
The interior of the tinning pot is provided over about three-fourths of

page_text: its surface with small projections which are cast in one picce with
the vessel; the remaining one-fourth of the interior surface has the
figure of a portion of a hollow sphere without projections. In using the
machinery or apparatus the pins or articles to be tinned are introduced
into the tinning pot, and when they are sufliciently heated the required
quantity of tin for tinning them is introduced into the tinning pot, and
salammoniac in powder is dusted over the said articles by means of a
perforated ladle introduced into the tinning pot. By rotating the said
pot the pins or articles are uniformly heated and the tin and sal-
ammoniac uniformly distributed over them, the projections on the inside
of the tinning pot effectually turning over the pins or articles. When
the tin has spread uniformly over the pins or articles the tinning pot is
brought to rest, its plain side, or that part having no projections on it,
being at bottom and containing the pins or articles. By means of a
fork or rake of a shape proper to fit the bottom of the tinning pot the
pins or articles are drawn out of it and fall on a horizontal sieve or
grating or shaking box to which a reciprocating motion is given. The
pins or articles pass through the sieve or grating or shaking box into
water, and in order to expedite their falling into the water a fan is made
to rotate underneath the sieve. By the rotary motion of this fau its
vanes strike the pins immediately they have fallen through the sieve or
shaking box, and force them rapidly into the water, and thereby cool
them.
Our Invention is especially applicable to the tiuning of pins, but
is also applicable to the tinning of various other kinds of small
articles.
Having explained the nature of our Invention, we will proceed to
describe with reference to the accompanying Drawings the manner in
which the same is to be performed.
Figure 1 represents in side elevation and Figure 2 in front elevation
machinery or apparatus constructed according to our Invention to be
used in tinning pins and other small articles; Figure 3 is a vertical
section of the same; Figure 4 is a plan of the same, and Figure 5 is a
horizontal section taken through the fire-place; Figure 6 is a longi-
tudinal vertical section of the sieve herein-after explained; Figure 7
represents in front elevation and Figure 8 in vertical section the said
machinery or apparatus having a furnace made wholly of brick;
Figure 9 represents the tinning pot separately, and Figure 10 is a cross

page_text: section of the same. The same letters of reference are employed to
indicate the same parts in each Figure of the Drawings.
a is the body of the furnace or stove made either of a metal case lined
internally with fire-bricks, as in Figures 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, or of bricks
alone, as in Figures 7 and 8; b is the firc-grate, and c is the ash-pit;
d is the fire-door, and e is the ash-pit door; is the chimney of the
furnace or stove. The draught through the furnace is regulated cithor
by the throttle valve g (Figure 3) worked by the lever h or by a sliding
damper i Figures 7 and 8). The furnace or stove may be heated by
coal or coke or other solid fuel on the grate b, or by gascous fuel alone
or in combination with solid fuel or with pumicestone. When gascous
fuel is employed the furnace is furnished with the required gas jets.
kis the tinning pot of a globular figure situated over the fire-place b.
The said-pot-is-supported in the furnace in a nearly horizontal-position,
and the said pot is capable of receiving a rotary motion. The back-of-
the said pot rests by the globular projection on the bearing t. The
said bearing consists of a box containing water by which the said
bearing is kept cool. Water is made to oirculate through the hollow
bearing by means of pipes (see Figure 4). The-front-or projecting end
of the pot k is supported by the collar or flange bearing on the anti-
friction rollers m, m, the said rollers being carried by the upright n
Over the mouth of the tinning pot k is a hood or channel P for con-
veying. to the chimney f the fumes issuing from the said pot when the
lutter is in use. The tinning pot k may be rotated by means of a band
passing over the fast pulley of the fast and loose pulleys q, q, at the back
end of the pot, as in Figures 1, 2, 3, and 4, or by means of the handle><
as in Figure 7. The tinning pot k when driven by steam or other power
is also provided with a handle at front for the purpose of bringing the
said pot into the required position for emptying it of its contents.
,, are small projections on the interior surface of the tinning pot k.
Only about three-fourths of the interior of the said pot is provided with
these projections, the other part being plain or without projections.
Below the mouth of the tinning pot is a horizontal sieve or
grating, r, having a reciprocating motion given to it, and underneath
the said sieve are two fans 8, 8, for accelerating the descent of the tinned
pins or articles after they leave the sieve. It is a water box or vessel into
which the tinned pins or articles fall after passing through the sieve and
by which they are cooled.

page_text: The sieve or grating r, r, is constructed and worked as follows:-The
said sieve consists of a box or frame, having in it a scrics of longitudinal
wires and meshes. At the top of the said box the longitudinal wires
are situated, the said wires being provided at short intervals with vertical
and horizontal pegs. Under these wires two series of meshes are made
by interlacing wires in the manner represented. Inclined side plates
in the sieve serve to direct the falling pins towards the centre of the
sieve and between the fans 8, 8. By this arrangement of the sieve the
tinned pins are very effectually separated from one another before tlicy
enter the water vessel t. The sieve r, r, works between the longitudinal
bars, and is guided by them. On the bottom of each side of the
sieve is a band or plate having projections upon it. These projections
bear upon the ledges w, 10, (see Figures 3 and 4), of the bars u, u, and
thereby reduce the friction of the sieve. The reciprocating motion of
the sieve is effected by means of the connecting rod a, jointed at one
end to the sieve and at the other end to the crank pin of the crank
plate y. The crank plate y is fixed on the ond of the shaft z, and is
driven by hand by means of the winch 1, a toothed wheel 2 on the axis
of the said winch gearing with a pinion 3 on the shaft 2 of the crank
plate y. The fans s, s, are a little longer than the sieve as represented,
and are driven by a band passing over the pulleys 4, 4, on the axes of
the said fans. The bearings of the axes of the fans are carried by the
uprights 5, 5, (sce Figures 2 and 4.) These bearings 5, 5, also support
the bars, between which the sieve works.
In using the machinery or apparatus represented, the pins (or other
articles) to be tinned are placed in the globular tinning pot k, and are
heated thereby. The tin for tinning them is introduced into the tinning
pot, and sal ammoniac in powder is dusted over the pins by means of a
perforated ladle. The driving band being now passed from the loose to
the fast pulley q, the tinning pot and its contents are rotated, the pins
or articles being effectually turned over by the projections k', k', on the
inside of the said tinning pot. By the rotation of the tinning pot the
pins or articles are uniformly heated, and the tin and sal ammoniae are
uniformly distributed over them; when the tin has been uniformly
spread over the pins or articles the tinning pot k is brought to rest by.
removing the driving band from the fast to the loose pulley, and by
means of the handle the pot is turned so as to bring its plain side, or
that part without projections, lowest, as represented in Figures 3 and 8..

page_text: The tinned pins or articles situated on the plain bottom of the tinning
pot are then drawn out of the said pot by a rake of a shape proper to
or articles are made to fall
The tinned pins or articles
sieve, and are forced rapidly
by the action of the fans 8, 8, and
fit the said bottom, and the said tinned pins
on to the horizontal reciprocating sieve », ».
are separated from one another by the said
into the water in the box or vessel
thereby cooled. The tinned pins or articles are received in a tray at the
bottom of the water box or vessel, and by drawing out the said tray
the pins or articles may be removed.
In tinning articles of a hooked form, such as fish hooks and hooks
and eyes for fastening dresses, we employ a reciprocating shaking box
in place of the sieve or grating represented, as the said hooked articles
would be caught or retained in the wires or meshes of the said sieve or
grating. The sides of the said reciprocating-shaking box are provided
with inclined plates or shelves one above the other-or-with a series of
inclined wires. By the operation of this shaking box the tinned hooks
or other hooked articles deposited on the top shelf or wires on onc
side of the box fall therefrom ou to the shelf or wires next below it or
them on the opposite-side-and so on. By this means the tinned articles
are separated from one another before they reach the cooling vessel.
Although we prefer to use the sieve r, r, or shaking box and fans 8, 8,
in combination with the rotary tinning pot k, as described and repre-
sented, yet the said tinning pot may be used without the said sieve and
fans, and the coated or tinned pins or articles be separated and cooled in
the ordinary or other convenient manner.
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 the nature
of our Invention; but we claim as our Invention,―
Firstly. The improvement in tinning pins and other small articles
herein-before described, that is to say, the use of dry or solid sal-
ammoniac for securing the perfect adhesion of the tin to the said
articles in place of the liquid flux ordinarily employed for that
purpose.
Secondly. The improvements in machinery or apparatus to be used
in tinuing pins and other small articles herein-before described and
illustrated in the accompanying Drawings, that is to say, effecting the

page_text: said tiuning in a rotary globular tinning pot, constructed, arranged, and
worked substantially as described and illustrated.
Thirdly. The combination with the said rotary globular tinning pot
of apparatus, constructed and arranged in the manner herein-before
described and illustrated in the accompanying Drawings for separating
and cooling the tinned pins or other small articles.
In witness whereof, we, the said John Edridge and Joel Merrett,
have hereunto set our hands and scals, this Ninth day of June,
in the year of our Lord One thousand cight hundred and sixty-
nine.
Witness,
RICHARD SKERRETT,
Clerk to George Shaw,
Birmingham.
JOHN EDRIDGE. (L.S.)
JOEL MERRETT. (L.S.)