IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINES WORKED BY WATER, AIR, STEAM, OR OTHER FLUID PRESSURE FOR RIVETTING, PUNCHING, SHEARING, PRESSING, FORGING, SHAPING, SLOTTING, AND SUCH LIKE OPERATIONS."
Year: 1880

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Ralph Hart Tweddell, of Delahay Street, Westminster,
in the County of Middlesex, and James Platt and John Fielding, both of the
Atlas Works, Gloucester, in the County of Gloucester, for an Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINES WORKED BY WATER, AIR, STEAM, OR OTHER
FLUID PRESSURE FOR RIVETTING, PUNCHING, SHEARING, PRESSING, FORGING,
SHAPING, SLOTTING, AND SUCH LIKE OPERATIONS."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Ralph Hart Tweddell, James
Platt, and John Fielding at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the
6th March 1880.
RALPH HART TWEDDELL, of Delahay Street, Westminster, in the County of
Middlesex and JAMES PLATT and JOHN FIELDING, both of the Atlas Works,
Gloucester, in the County of Gloucester. "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINES WORKED
BY WATER, AIR, STEAM, OR OTHER FLUID PRESSURE FOR RIVETTING, PUNCHING,
SHEARING, PRESSING, FORGING, SHAPING, SLOTTING, AND SUCH LIKE OPERATIONS."
Our Invention relates to machines in which the pressure of water, air, steam, or
other fluid acts on a piston or plunger so as to move jaws carrying tools for
rivetting, punching, shearing, pressing, forging, shaping slotting, and such like
operations, the objects which we have in view being to secure simplicity, steadiness
of action, and facility of application of such machines. Hitherto, when a pair of
jaws carrying tools have been moved by fluid pressure around one common centre
or around two centres, joints have been interposed between the plunger and the
arm on which it acts, so as to allow for the latter moving in a circular arc round its
centre of motion, whilst the plunger moved in a straight line, and such joints
besides adding complexity to the apparatus rendered its action unsteady laterally,
so that the tools on the jaws did not come in proper line to their work. Now
according to our Invention we bore out the cylinder and turn the plunger which
works in it to the shape of a portion of a ring having its axial line a circular arc
struck from the (centre round which the arm moves. The cylinder-thus-bored

page_text: being fixed rigidly on one arm of the jaws, whilst the plunger is also fixed rigidly
on the other arm, no intermediate connections are required, and there is no move-
ment of the plunger relatively to the jaw, such as is apt to result from the looseness
or wear of the intermediate joints. Those portions of the jaw arms which carry
the cylinder and the plunger may either be in line with the portions which carry
the tools, or they be at any convenient angle thereto, the arms being in that case
in the form of bent levers. According to a modified construction, the arms which
carry the cylinder and the plunger are jointed together, and present sockets into
which the arms which carry the tools are inserted. The arms carrying the tools
may be fitted to slide longitudinally and to be clamped in these sockets, so that
they can be adjusted to act with greater or less leverage, as may be desired. They
may also be fitted to turn round in the sockets so as to present tools of various
shapes or sizes, or at various angles at their acting ends; and the arms which carry
the tools may be adjusted in the sockets at greater or less distance apart from each
other, so as to widen or narrow the space between the jaws as may be required for
the work.
Instead of fixing the cylinder on one arm and the plunger on the other, there
may be between the arms and connected to their fulcrum a stationary cylinder
having plungers protruded from it both ways, one plunger on each arm, or there
may be a stationary plunger between the arms with a cylinder on each arm
working on the two ends of the stationary plunger.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said Ralph Hart Tweddell, James Platt, and John Fielding in the Great
Seal Patent Office on the 1st September 1880.
RALPH HART TWEDDELL, of Delahay Street, Westminster, in the County of
Middlesex, and JAMES PLATT and JOHN FIELDING, both of the Atlas Works,
Gloucester, in the County of Gloucester. "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINES WORKED
BY WATER, AIR, STEAM, OR OTHER FLUID PRESSURE FOR RIVETTING, PUNCHING,
SHEARING, PRESSING, FORGING, SHAPING, SLOTTING, AND SUCH LIKE OPERATIONS."
Our Invention relates to machines in which the pressure of water, air, steam, or
other fluid acts on a piston or plunger so as to move jaws carrying tools for
rivetting, punching, shearing, pressing, forging, shaping, slotting, and such like
operations, the objects which we have in view being to secure simplicity, steadiness
of action, and facility of application of such machines. Hitherto, when a pair of
jaws carrying tools have been moved by fluid pressure around one common centre
or around two centres, joints have been interposed between the plunger and the
arm on which it acts, so as to allow for the latter moving in a circular arc round
its centre of motion, whilst the plunger moved in a straight line, and such joints
besides adding complexity to the apparatus rendered its action unsteady laterally,
so that the tools on the jaws did not come in proper line to their work. Now
according to our Invention we bore out the cylinder and turn the plunger which works
in it to the shape of a portion of a ring having its axial line a circular arc struck
from the centre round which the arm moves. The cylinder thus bored being fixed
rigidly on one arm of the jaws, whilst the plunger is also fixed rigidly on the other
arm, no intermediate connections are required, and there is no movement of the
plunger relatively to the jaw, such as is apt to result from the looseness or wear of
the intermediate joints. Those portions of the jaw arms which carry the cylinder
and the plunger may either be in line with the portions which carry the tools, or
they may be at any convenient angle thereto, the arms being in that case in the
form of bent levers. According to a modified construction, the arms which carry
the cylinder and the plunger are jointed together, and present sockets into which
the arms which carry the tools are inserted. The arms carrying the tools may be
fitted to slide longitudinally and to be clamped in these sockets, so that they can
be adjusted to act with greater or less leverage, as may be desired. They may also
be fitted to turn round in the sockets so as to present tools of various shapes or
sizes, or at various angles at their acting ends; and the arms which carry the tools
may be adjusted in the sockets at greater or less distance apart from each other,
so as to widen or narrow the space between the jaws, as may be required for the
work.
Instead of fixing the cylinder on one arm and the plunger on the other, there
may be between the arms and connected to their fulcrum a stationary cylinder
having plungers protruded from it both ways, one plunger on each arm; or there
may be a stationary plunger between the arms with a cylinder on each arm
working on the two ends of the stationary plunger.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.

page_text: ring having as its axis a circular arc struck from the centre C. The lever A is also
extended beyond the centre C, and has projecting from it, but in one piece with it
or firmly attached to it, a plunger F which is shaped to fit the cavity E, and is
provided with cup leather packing f so as to work tightly therein as a piston or
plunger in a cylinder. When steam, water, or other fluid under pressure is
admitted to the cavity E it causes movement of the levers A and B round the
centre C so as to bring the tools D forcibly together. These tools may be such as
are suited for rivetting, or they may be for punching, shearing, pressing, or any.
similar operation. When the pressure in E is relieved the tools D can be separated."
There are, in lever machines thus worked by fluid pressure, many known arrange-
ments of valves for admitting the fluid to their cylinders and emitting it therefrom;
also for effecting the back stroke of their plungers when the pressure on them is
relieved. Any of these arrangements are applicable to a machine of the con-
struction shewn ; we will however describe an arrangement which is represented
on the Drawings. G is the valve box having at its side unions g¹, g², to which
respectively are connected the pipes for the supply and discharge of the working
fluid. There is also a middle passage g³ leading through the plunger F into the
cavity E. Within the valve box G there is a cylindrical slide worked by a hand
lever H, by which the passage g³ can be brought into communication with the
inlet g¹ or the outlet g³. The axis of the lever H may be connected by a slotted
link h to a horn b of the lever B, so that as the stroke of the levers A, B, is
approaching completion the slide moved by the link h automatically cuts off supply
of fluid. For the purpose of effecting the back stroke of the levers the horn b
bears on the end of a plunger e which is fitted to work in a cylindrical cavity in
the main plunger F. This cavity communicates by a small passage with the inlet
of fluid so that the plunger e is always subject to the fluid pressure, and conse-
quently when the pressure in E is relieved the pressure on the plunger e causes the
return of the plunger F into the cavity E. The machine may be suspended in
various attitudes, as indicated on Fig. 1, to suit the work to which it is applied,
as for example, for rivetting the plates of a vessel or of an iron bridge. A convenient
mode of suspension is by a chain passing over a pulley K, which can be turned
round and held in any desired position by worm gearing L. The machine may be
made of large dimensions and fixed as a stationary machine in an inverted position.
The cavity E being formed in one of the levers and the plunger F which works
in it being of one piece with the other lever or rigidly attached thereto, there are
no loose connections of the parts such as admit of unsteadiness of action, and are
subject to slackness and wear, and obviously these parts instead of being arranged
on arms of the levers extended directly back from the centre C could be arranged
on arms in various positions, as in Fig. 1ª, or as shewn in Sheet II. of the accom-
panying Drawings. Thus in the form shewn at Fig. 3 the lever B is bent nearly
to a right angle, having its plunger F entering the cavity E which is formed in the
lever A. In Fig. 4 the lever arms A, B, are fitted to slide in guides M, N, so that
they can be more or less extended in length. The space between them may also
be made greater or less by introducing packing pieces m, n, in the guides under
them. When the lever arms are adjusted as required they are secured by bolts
and nuts O. Fig. 5 shews an arrangement according to which the lever arms A and
Bare made with extensions A¹ and B' beyond the centre C so as to hold punching
or other tools D¹. Tools for shearing or straightening bars or rivets may also
be arranged as at D³. The machines described above are of a portable kind. A
similar construction is applicable also to stationary machines, as illustrated by
Fig. 6. In the machine shewn at Fig. 6, as adapted for punching, the lever A is
made with a base A to rest in a horizontal position on the ground or on a
foundation, the lever B being alone moveable. A stationary horn P forming part
of A carries the guard p for releasing the punch from the plate and serves as a
guide for the lever B. It is obvious that the machines might be made in other
forms to suit the particular uses to which they are applied without departing
•

page_text: from the essential character of the present Invention, by the use of which all
loose connections between the lever arms and the plunger and cylinder are
dispensed with.
Having thus described the nature of our Invention, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, we claim in respect of lever machines worked by fluid
pressure for rivetting and such like operations,-
First. Forming the cylinder and plunger in one piece with, or rigidly attached
to, their respective levers and of a curved shape to suit the circular movement
round the common centre of the levers, substantially as and for the purposes
herein set forth.
Second. The construction of lever machine, having curved cylinder and plunger,
herein described with reference to Figs. 1 and 2 of the accompanying Drawings.
Third. The construction of lever machine having curved cylinder and plunger
herein described with reference to Fig. 3.
Fourth. The construction of lever machine having curved cylinder and plunger
herein described with reference to Fig. 4.
Fifth. The construction of lever machine having curved cylinder and plunger
herein described with reference to Fig. 5.
Sixth. The construction of lever machine having curved cylinder and plunger
herein described with reference to Fig. 6.
In witness whereof, I, the said Ralph Hart Tweddell, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Thirtieth day of August, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and eighty.
RALPH HART TWEDDELL,
(L.S.)