Improvements in the Manufacture of Metal Steps for Carriages and other Vehicles.
Year: 1893

page_text: Date of Application, 11th Jan., 1893
Complete Specification Left, 11th Oct., 1893—Accepted, 11th Nov., 1893
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Manufacture of Metal Steps for Carriages and
other Vehicles.
I, WILLIAM HENRY WEARING, of Carter's Green Foundry, West Bromwich,
Staffordshire, Ironfounder, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
This invention has reference to the mauufacture of metal steps for road carriages,
cabs, dog-carts and other common road vehicles.
At the present time in making the said steps it is a common practice to weld a
short arm or shank on to the underside of the plate which forms the tread, the said
arm or shank projecting at one side thereof for the purpose of fixing the step to the
vehicle. The plate with its shank are then stamped in dies to the proper shape and
size. As it is impossible to ensure a perfect weld in all cases it often happens that
the shank breaks off from the tread part where they are welded together.
This defect I overcome by rolling several of the treads and shanks together in a
continuous bar thus ensuring homogeneity throughout the step and its tread. I employ
rolls having depressions and grooves of the proper shapes and sizes to roll the bar
which when finished has the appearance of several treads and their shanks connected
together head to head and shank to shank with a thin web at the sides of the
shanks; or the bar may have the shanks projecting at regular intervals from one or
both sides thereof. The bar is then cut up into pieces each forming a tread and its
shank which pieces are then finished by stamping in dies in the usual way.
The said rolls may either be shaped so as to form a smooth surface on that side
of the bar which answers to the top of the treads or the rolls may be so grooved or
otherwise formed as to roll the necessary pyramidal or other projections or ribs
upon the upper surfaces of the treads and thus render the stamping process
unnecessary.
Dated this 5th day of January 1893.
CHARLES BOSWORTH KETLEY,
Agent for the Applicant.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Manufacture of Metal Steps for Carriages and
other Vehicles.
I, WILLIAM HENRY WEARING, of Carter's Green Foundry, West Bromwich,
Staffordshire, Ironfounder, 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 has reference to the manufacture of metal steps for road carriages,
cabs, dog-carts and other common road vehicles.
At the present time in making the said steps it is a common practice to weld a
short arm or shank on to the underside of the plate which forms the tread the said
arm or shank projecting at one side thereof for the purpose of fixing the step
to the vehicle. The plate with its shank are then stamped in dies to the proper
shape and size. As it is impossible to ensure a perfect weld in all cases it often
happens that the shank breaks off from the tread part where they are welded
together.

page_text: This defect I overcome by rolling several of the treads and shanks together in a
continuous bar thus ensuring homogeneity throughout the shank and its tread. I
employ rolls having depressions and grooves of the proper shapes and sizes to roll
the bar which when finished has the appearance of several treads and their shanks
connected together with a thin web at the sides of the shanks; or the bar may
have the shanks projecting at regular intervals from one or both sides thereof.
The bar is then cut and the steps are finished by stamping in dies in the
usual way.
The said rolls may either be shaped so as to form a smooth surface on that side
of the bar which answers to the top of the treads or the rolls may be so grooved or
otherwise formed as to roll the necessary pyramidal or other projections or ribs
upon the upper surfaces of the treads and thus render the stamping process
unnecessary.
On the accompanying drawings
Fig. 1 represents one form of a rolled bar of iron or steel which I employ in the
manufacture of metal steps for carriages and other vehicles according to this.
invention;
Figs. 2 and 3 represent two progressive stages in the formation of the said bar
into the finished step shewn by Fig. 4;
Fig. 5 is a cross section and Fig. 6 is a front view of part of a pair of rolls for
rolling the bar shewn by Fig. 1 ;
Fig. 7 represents another form of the rolled bar of iron or steel which I employ
in the manufacture of the said steps and Figs. 8 and 9 shew two progressive stages
in the manufacture of the bar shewn by Fig. 7 into metal steps of the kind shewn
by Fig. 4;
Fig. 10 shews another bar of iron or steel partly formed into a carriage step and
Figs. 11 and 12 shew two progressive stages in the formation of the bar shewn by
Fig. 10 into the finished step illustrated by Fig. 4;
Fig. 13 is a front view and Fig. 14 a back view of another form of bar which I
employ for making the said carriage steps and Fig. 15 shews a piece of the said
bar cut off ready for stamping into the finished step such as shewn by Fig. 4;
Fig. 16 is a cross sectional elevation and Fig. 17 is a front elevation of part of a
pair of rolls for forming the bar shewn by Figs. 13 and 14;
Fig. 18 is a front view and Fig. 19 a back view of another form of bar which I
employ in the manufacture of the said metal steps and Fig. 20 is a front view of
part of the rolls for rolling the same;
Fig. 21 shews another form of the said bar and Fig. 22 shews a piece of the said
bar cut off ready for finishing into a metal step.
The same letters of reference indicate the same or corresponding parts in all the
figures of the drawings.
According to the method of carrying out my invention illustrated by Figs. 1, 2,
3, 4, 5 and 6 the iron or steel bar A is as shewn by Fig. 1 rolled with alternate
projections a' corresponding with the treads of the required steps connected together
by a thin web a', and a rounded rib a³ corresponding with the shanks of the treads
is formed at the other side of the bar. In rolling the bar I employ a pair of rolls
such as B B shewn by Figs. 5 and 6 the roll B₁ having depressions 61 and
projections 62 corresponding respectively with the required projections a¹ and thin
web or fin a, and the roll B is made with a groove corresponding with the
required rib a on the other side of the bar. Fig. 6 only shews the portion of the
rolls at the finishing gate as the proper shapes for the other gates will readily be
understood by any roll turner. The thickened portions a' of the bar A are some-
what smaller and considerably thicker than the required finished step so as to
properly fill the dies when the step is being stamped. The shaded portions a³ of
the bar A are by suitable clipping tools or by other means cut away leaving the
rib a³ and making the bar of the shape shewn by Fig. 2 the end portion of which
when heated is stamped between the usual dies having the configuration of the

page_text: finished step such as shewn by Fig. 4 which is cut off from the bar and the web or
fin el is clipped off and the perforations & punched in as usual.
Another form of bar which I make for forming the carriage steps is shewn by
Figs. 7, 8 and 9. In this case the portions a' which are to form the treads of the
steps are made of a bulbous shape at regular intervals along the bar the smaller
portions a³ between these bulbous portions corresponding with the shanks for the
finished steps. The bar A shewn by Fig. 7 is formed into carriage steps by the
same method as above described with reference to Figs. 2, 3 and 4 that is to say
the end portion of the bar shewn by Fig. 7 is heated and is stamped between dies
which somewhat flatten it to the shape shewn by Fig. 8 and then this flattened
portion is again stamped in the finishing dies which give it the form shewn by
Fig. 9 or any other forms as may be desired the web or fin c¹ being afterwards
clipped off as usual.
Or the rolled bar A may be of rectangular cross section as shewn in Fig. 10 and
the portion a³ be formed by operating upon the bar whilst heated at a short distance
from one end by fullering or swaging tools leaving the portion a' to form the tread
of the required step this portion a' is then whilst heated stamped to the required
shape and size by dies as above described with reference to the bar shewn by Fig. 1
and Fig. 7. When this finished step as above described is separated from the end
of the bar another neck portion a³ is then produced by the fullering or swaging
tools leaving another portion a' at the end of the bar which is stamped to form the
finished step and so on until the whole of the bar is used up.
Figs. 13 and 14 shew another form in which I make the bar for forming the
carriage steps. In this case the bar A' is made with the shank portions a³
projecting from one side thereof at regular intervals these projecting shanks being
connected together by the thin web or fin a' which has to be cut away to waste.
The bar is then cut across equidistant between the shanks as shewn by the dotted
lines a in Figs. 13 and 14 forming the bar into blanks of the shape shewn by
Fig. 15 which are then heated and stamped by dies in the usual way to the shape
and size of the required metal steps. In rolling the bar shewn by Figs. 13 and 14
I employ a pair of rolls such as D' D' shewn by Figs. 16 and 17 the roll D'
having longitudinal depressions d' corresponding with the projecting shank
portions a³ of the bar and the roll D₁ has a rebate at d so as to form the
thickened portion a' of the bar. Figs. 16 and 17 only shew the portions of the
rolls at the finishing gate as the proper shapes for the other gates will readily be
understood by any roll turner.
In the methods above described the bars for forming the steps are made with the
smooth surface on that side which answers to the top of the treads as the blanks
are all finished to the proper shape and size by stamping between dies but in order
to render the stamping process or processes unnecessary the said bars may as shewn
for instance by Figs. 18 and 19 be rolled with ribs along that surface which corre
sponds with the upper surface of the tread of the finished step or instead of being
rolled with ribs the bar may have pyramidal or other projections rolled upon it by
making the rolls of corresponding shape. It will be seen that the bar A shewn
by Figs. 18 and 19 has small ribs rolled along one side of it and on the other side
there are at regular intervals the rounded projecting portions a' which form the
shanks of the finished steps so that to form this bar into carriage steps the shaded
portions a Fig. 19 have to be clipped out and the steps cut one from the other.
The finishing gate of a pair of rolls E' E' suitable for forming the bar shewn by
Figs. 18 and 19 is shewn by Fig. 20 where it will be seen that one roll E' is
grooved to form the ribbed upper surface of the bar and the other roll E' has
depressions e' corresponding with the projecting shanked portions as of the bar A².
Or as shewn by Fig. 21 I may roll the ribbed bar A' of the proper thickness to
form the steps and with the shank portions as projecting from the sides with thin
web or fin portion a' between each shank which have to be cut away and then the
remaining portion of the bar divided at the lines a' so as to form the finished steps
such as shewn by Fig. 22.

page_text: Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner. the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. Making metal steps of the kind herein referred to for carriages and other
vehicles by first rolling several of the treads and shanks together in a continuous
bar having thin webs at the sides of the shank portions and then separating the
webs and finishing the steps by stamping in dies substantially as hereinbefore set
forth.
2. Making metal steps of the kind herein referred to for carriages and other
vehicles by first rolling several of the treads and shanks together in a continuous
bar which has small ribs or other depressions rolled on that side which corresponds
with the upper surface of the treads, and has thin webs at the sides of the shank
portions and then separating the webs and the steps from each other substantially
as hereinbefore set forth.
3. Making metal steps of the kind herein referred to for carriages and other
vehicles by first rolling several of the treads a' and shanks a' together in a
continuous bar such as A Fig. 1 having thin webs a at the sides of the shank
portions and then separating the webs a² and finishing the steps by stamping in
dies substantially as hereinbefore set forth.
4. Making metal steps of the kind herein referred to for carriages and other
vehicles by first rolling several of the tread portions a¹ and shank portions a*
together in a continuous bar such as A Fig. 7 and then finishing the steps by
stamping in dies substantially as herein before set forth.
5. Making metal steps of the kind herein referred to for carriages and other
vehicles by first rolling several of the tread portions a¹ and shank portions a
together in a continuous bar such as A' Figs. 13 and 14 having thin webs a² at the
sides of the shank portions and then separating the webs a³ and the tread
portions a' from each other and finishing the steps by stamping in dies substantially
as herein before set forth.
6. Making metal steps of the kind herein referred to for carriages and other
vehicles by first rolling several of the treads a' and shanks a' together in a con-
tinuous bar such as A Figs. 18 and 19 that side of the bar corresponding with the
upper surface of the tread being ribbed or otherwise formed with projections as
set forth and the said bar having thin webs a' at the sides of the shank portions
and then separating the webs a² and dividing the steps from each other substantially
as hereinbefore set forth.
7. Making metal steps of the kind herein referred to for carriages and other
vehicles by first rolling several of the treads a¹ and shanks as together in a con-
tinuous bar such as A Fig. 21 that side of the bar corresponding with the upper
surface of the tread being ribbed or otherwise formed with projections as set forth
and the said bar having thin webs a' at the sides of the shank portions and then
separating the webs a and dividing the steps from each other substantially as
hereinbefore set forth.
8. For the manufacture of metal steps of the kind herein referred to for
carriages and other vehicles making rolled iron or steel bars forming several tread
and shank portions connected together as hereinbefore described and illustrated by
Fig. 1 of the accompanying drawings.
9. For the manufacture of metal steps of the kind herein referred to for
carriages and other vehicles making rolled iron or steel bars forming several tread
and shank portions connected together as hereinbefore described and illustrated by
Fig. 7 of the accompanying drawings.
.
10. For the manufacture of metal steps of the kind herein referred to for
carriages and other vehicles making rolled iron or steel bars forming several tread
and shank portions connected together as herein before described and illustrated by
Figs. 13 and 14 of the accompanying drawings.
11. For the manufacture of metal steps of the kind herein referred to for

page_text: carriages and other vehicles making rolled iron or steel bars forming several tread
and shauk portions connected together as hereinbefore described and illustrated by
Figs. 18 and 19 of the accompanying drawings.
12. For the manufacture of metal steps of the kind herein referred to for
carriages and other vehicles making rolled iron or steel bars forming several tread
and shank portions connected together as hereinbefore described and illustrated by
Fig. 21 of the accompanying drawings.
13. Making metal steps of the kind herein referred to for carriages and other
vehicles from a rolled iron or steel bar A by first swaging or fullering down a
portion of the bar such as a³ a short distance from one end to form the shank of
the step and then finishing the end a¹ and the shank a portious of the bar by
stamping between dies substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to
Figs. 10, 11, and 12 of the accompanying drawings.
Dated this 10th day of October 1893.
CHARLES BOSWORTH KETLEY,
Agent for the Applicant.