Improvements in or in the Manufacture or Production of Certain Kinds of Watch and other like Keys.
Year: 1893

page_text: Date of Application, 24th Aug., 1893
Complete Specification Left, 12th June, 1894-Accepted, 21st July, 1894.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or in the Manufacture or Production of Certain
Kinds of Watch and other like Keys.
We, THOMAS VALE, JOSEPH VALE, and GEORGE WILLIAM VALE, of the
Firm of William Vale and Sons, of Unett Street, in the City of Birmingham,
Manufacturers do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention relates to improvements in, or in the manufacture or production
of watch and other like keys of that type known as the "Birch" expanding key,
and consisting essentially of loose and sliding jaws, working within an outside
tubular casing, and operated by a pusher, and opened by a cross pin and closed by
a spring.
Now expanding watch keys, as ordinarily made, have their primary movements
composed of at least three component parts fitted and connected together.
Thus the expanding jaw is made up of two loose sectional parts, fashioned from
flat half-round sheet steel, with attachment notches upon the upper ends of their
outer sides and gripping parts at their lower ends.
These sectional jaw parts, which when put together take the inside diameter or
nearly so of an outside casing, are traversed over a bisecting cross pin disposed in
the path of the inside parts of the said jaws, by a claw clip having a barrel
upper end, upon which a coiled spring enclosed between it and the pusher cap
impinges.
Now the primary object of our invention is to reduce the cost of manufacture of
the said watch keys, and consists primarily in making both the gripping jaws and
the claw clip and barrel all in one piece from a blank of sheet or pen steel, or from
other suitable metal fashioned and shaped as may be desired.
Thus in carrying out our invention, we cut from thin sheet steel, a blank,
comprehending an upper plain part to form the barrel, a middle part to form the
claw clip parts, and the lower parts to form the gripping jaws which take upon the
post of a watch for winding.
This said blank is in figure alike unto that of a two-pronged trident or spud.
The leg parts of the said figure form the gripping claws and jaw clips, whilst the
upper and unseparated part forms the barrel.
Gaps are made in the metal at the junction of the upper part with the lower
parts, so that when the said blank is turned up into a barrel form the claw clip
constitutes spring arms terminated by gripping jaws.
We propose to operate upon the spring arms and jaws prior to the turning up by
semi-circular troughing the same, and shaping the jaws with angular grips, so that
on the said angular grips coming together, they constitute a square, which is the
shape of the post of a watch or clock.
The normal condition of the jaws is to be opened out, when they come below
the barrel casing. The upper and barrel part is fitted with a collar or a pusher
cap, against the underside edge of which, a spring for giving the return action
impinges.
This spring has its other abutment on an angular shoulder in the interior of the
barrel casing.
Assuming that the said new or improved movement is fitted within the barrel
casing, and with a pin for the expanding of the jaws passing through a clearance
separating the said jaws which are inclined or are formed with inclined inner sides,
and with a coiled spring surrounding the upper part of the movement, which is
fitted with a pusher cap; the pushing of the said pusher cap traverses the

page_text: movement, compresses the spring, and by the impingement of the inclined sides
upon the cross pin, the jaws are made to considerably extend beyond the mouth
of the casing, and to open out by the inclined inner sides of them working over
the pin.
By releasing the pusher end, the whole of the component parts of the movement
are taken back to their normal positions by the expansion of the spring.
Instead of the whole of the movement comprehending the jaws, the spring arms,
spoken of in the first instance as a claw clip, and barrel, being made up from a
single blank, the same may be made up of two component parts, viz. a barrel part
and combined arms with jaws.
Dated this 23rd day of August 1893.
Improvements in or in the Manufacture or Production of Certain
Kinds of Watch and other like Keys.
We, THOMAS VALE, JOSEPH VALE, and GEORGE WILLIAM VALE, of the
Firm of William Vale and Sons, of Unett Street, in the City of Birmingham,
Manufacturers, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner
the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in
and by the following statement :-
This invention relates to improvements in, or in the manufacture or production
of watch and other like keys of that type known as the "Birch" expanding key,
and consisting essentially of separate and loosely fitted sliding jaws, working within
an outside tubular casing, operated by a pusher, opened by a cross pin and closed
by a spring.
Now expanding watch keys, as ordinarily made, have their primary movements
composed of at least three component parts fitted and connected together.
Thus the expanding jaw is made up of two loose sectional parts, fashioned from
flat half-round sheet steel, with attachment notches upon the upper ends of their
outer sides, and gripping parts at their lower ends.
These sectional jaw parts, which when put together take the inside diameter or
nearly so, of an outside casing, are traversed over a bisecting cross pin disposed in
the path of the inside parts of the said jaws, by a claw clip having a barrel upper
end, upon which a coiled spring enclosed between it and the pusher cap
impinges.
Now the primary object of our invention is to reduce the cost of manufacture of
the said watch keys, and consists primarily in making both the gripping jaws and
the claw clip and barrel all in one piece from a blank of sheet steel, or from other
suitable metal fastened and shaped as may be desired.
Thus in carrying out our invention, we cut from thin sheet steel, a blank
comprehending an upper plain part to form the barrel, a middle part to form the
claw clip part or spring arms, and the lower parts to form the gripping jaws which
take upon the post of a watch for winding.
This said blank is in figure alike unto that of a two-pronged trident or spud.
The leg parts of the said figure form the gripping jaws and spring arms, whilst the
upper and unseparated part forms the barrel.
Gaps are made in the metal at the junction of the upper part with the lower
parts, so that when the said blank is turned up into a barrel form, the gripping

page_text: part of the movement consisting of spring arms terminated by gripping jaws 13
formed.
We propose to operate upon the spring arms and jaws prior to the turning up by
semi-circular troughing the same, and shaping the jaws with angular grips, so that
on the said angular grips coming together, they constitute a square, which is the
shape of the post of a watch or clock.
On the jaws coming below the tubular casing, then they open out.
The upper and barrel part is fitted with a collar or a pusher cap, against the
underside edge of which, a spring for giving the return action impinges.
This spring has its other abutment on an angular shoulder in the interior of the
barrel casing.
Assuming that the said new or improved movement is fitted within the barrel
casing, and with a pin for the expanding of the jaws passing through a clearance
separating the said jaws, which are inclined or are formed with inclined inner and
outer sides, and with a coiled spring surrounding the upper part of the movement,
which fitted with a pusher cap, the pushing of the said pusher cap traverses the
movement, compresses the spring, and by the impingement of the inclined sides
upon the cross pin, the jaws are made to considerably extend beyond the mouth of
the casing, and to open out, by the inclined inner sides of them working over
the pin.
By releasing the pusher end, the whole of the component parts of the movement
are taken back to their normal positions by the expansion of the spring.
Figure 1 of the accompanying drawing represents a universal watch key, having
a movement made according to our invention.
Figure 2 represents a side elevation of the said movement separately.
Figure 3 shows a vertical section of the same, and Figure 4 represents an
edge view.
Figure 5 represents a cross section of the movement upon the dotted lines x-x
Figure 2 and
Figure 6 is an end view of the gripping jaws, showing the angular inside grips
thereof.
In Figure 1, a is the outside tubular casing, having an inside shoulder a²; b is a
traversing movement; c a bisecting fixed cross pin, d is a pusher, working through
the back or top end of the casing, and e is a coiled spring, interposed between the
underside of the pusher d, and the inside shoulder a³.
The movement b, in Figures 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6, consists of a barrel or body b¹,
spring arms, terminated by gripping jaws 6, having angular inside grips b*,
which, on being brought together by the closing of the arms, form a square eye or
key for taking upon the post of a watch or clock.
In making the movement, a piece of thin sheet steel Figure 7, is taken, and a
blank Figure 8 is cut out therefrom then by means of dies and pressure, the spring
arms 63, are inside concaved or troughed, and the jaws 6, and angular grips b³, are
also fashioned, as shown in Figure 9. This partly fashioned blank Figure 9 is then
turned up into the movement, and the upper and body part is formed tubular or
barrel shaped, and the spring arms, terminated by the gripping jaws, are brought
opposite to each other, with their grips presented face to face, so as to form the
holding key, as shewn in Figures 1 to 6.
It will be thus seen that the whole of the parts of the movement are integral and
made from a single blank of sheet metal.
Instead of the whole of the movement comprehending the jaws, the spring arms
and the barrel being made up from a single blank, the same may be made up of two
component parts, cit., a barrel part and combined arms with jaws.
Figure 10 represents a part of a movement made according to a further form of
our invention.
Thus we make the movement up of two component parts, one of which is shown
in Figure 10, each of which is made from a blank of thin sheet steel, fashioned by
dies and tools into the figure as represented. Two of these parts are then taken,

page_text: their concaves presented to each other and then the same are united, either by a
closing process or a cap forming a movement.
Figure 11 represents a movement, which is made up of two cardinal
parts 61, 62, 63, 64, united together by a cap or a pusher-cap d.
Figure 12 represents a still further form of our invention. In this arrangement,
a blank Figure 13, is taken, of a little more than double the length of the
movement to be made, and after the end parts have been fashioned into spring
arms and gripping parts and the middle into a barrel, the said end parts are folded
nearly upon themselves as in Figure 12, hence a movement made nearly all in
⚫one piece.
If necessary, the pusher cap may be attached to the movement by contracting
its inner end into an eyelet, and then passing the same through a hole bo, made in
the crown or end of the barrel part 61, and there secured by rivetting, clenching or
bulging. It is obvious that three spring arms with gripping jaws may be fashioned
in the same way as two.
Instead of the movements being made from sheet metal, they may be made from
strip metal of a part round, crescent or flat section.
Figure 14 is a section of part round wire, and Figure 15 a section of flat wire.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
.invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what
we claim is:
--
First. In the movements or gripping movements of universal watch and like keys,
making the same, or the whole of the component parts thereof, such as the spring
arms terminated by gripping jaws and the barrel, from a single blank of sheet metal,
substantially as described and set forth in Figures 1 to 9.
Secondly. In the movements of universal watch and like keys, making the same
from two or more sectional parts fashioned from sheet metal, such as described and
represented in Figure 10, united together by a closing process, or by a cap such as
represented in Figure 11, substantially as described and set forth.
Thirdly. In the movements of universal watch and like keys, making the same,
either alone or combined with the pushers, from a single blank of sheet metal,
substantially as described and set forth in Figures 12 and 13.
Fourthly. The manufacture of the spring or spring arm movements of universal
watch and like keys from sheet or strip metal, or from wire, by the means and in
the ways substantially as described and set forth.
Dated this 9th.
OL OUDE 107T
CHIN 4
THOMAS VALE,
JOSEPH VALE,
GEORGE WILLIAM VALE,
By Henry Skerrett,
6, Livery Street, Birmingham, Agent for Applicants.