CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF UMBRELLAS AND PARASOLS, AND IN THE APPLICATION OF A NEW CONDITION OF MATERIAL TO THE PRODUCTION OF SOME OF THE PARTS THEREOF THAT HAS NOT HERETOFORE BEEN USED FOR THAT PURPOSE
Year: 1857

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Rubery, Umbrella and Parasol Manufacturer,
of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, for the Invention of
"CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF UMBRELLAS AND PARASOLS,
AND IN THE APPLICATION OF A NEW CONDITION OF MATERIAL TO THE PRODUCTION
OF SOME OF THE PARTS THEREOF THAT HAS NOT HERETOFORE BEEN USED FOR THAT
PURPOSE."
Sealed the 4th June 1858, and dated the 4th December 1857.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Rubery at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 4th
December 1857.
I, JOHN RUBERY, Umbrella and Parasol Manufacturer, of Birmingham, in
the County of Warwick, do hereby declare, the nature of my said Invention
for "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF UMBRELLAS AND PARASOLS,
AND IN THE APPLICATION OF A NEW CONDITION OF MATERIAL TO THE PRODUCTION OF
SOME OF THE PARTS THEREOF THAT HAS NOT HERETOFORE BEEN USED FOR THAT
PURPOSE," to be as follows (that is to say):
My Invention relates, first, to the mode of manufacturing the tubular slides
for parasols, when such parasols are made with jointed handles.
Secondly, to the mode of manufacturing the barrels for the runners of
umbrellas and parasols.

page_text: Thirdly, to the mode of cutting radial notches in the top and runner notches
for umbrellas and parasols.
Fourthly, in the application to the manufacture of top and runner notches
for umbrellas and parasols of common cast iron, from which material I purpose
casting them in the ordinary way in which small articles are usually cast of
that material.
Lastly, my improvements relate to a new mechanical arrangement, whereby
I am enabled to straighten and greatly improve the surface of the tubular
sticks for umbrellas and parasols, and which machine is also applicable to
the straightening of steel wire, of which the ribs of umbrellas and parasols are
usually made, and which consists in an hollow mandrel mounted on a proper
frame or bed, working in suitable journeys, with a small pulley fixed on one
end, by which means it may be driven by a band or otherwise at a high
velocity. In that part of the mandrel between the bearings, about six (more
or less) plates of steel aro inserted with holes in them, the same size as through
the mandrel; these plates are held by set screws so arranged as to contract the
orifice to the size of the wire or tube intended to be straightened, which have
only to be pulled through the mandrel while it is rapidly revolving, which will
have the effect of not only rendering the tube or wire passed through it
perfectly straight, but will, from the plates through which they pass being
made of hardened steel, will have a kind of burnishing effect, and will make
the tubes not only straight but perfectly smooth and uniform in their general
surface.
And the manner in which I purpose to cut the radial notches on the top
and ruuner notches will be understood by the following description :-I fix one
or more circular saws, say of two and a half or three inches in diameter, more
or less, as required, on a spindle, and place the spindle in a machine somewhat
nnalagous to a common lathe, by which means they may be driven at a
high velocity, which machine may be fitted with a reverse motion, so that the
direction of the saw or saws may be reversed. The rings I intend to notch
I place on a spindle, say in quantity about two dozen, and as many saws as I
may desire to work, so I apply spindles charged with rings; these spindles
are fitted into a carriage and passed under the saw or saws when one nick will
be cut through as many as may have been put under this operation. When the
spindle or spindles on which they are placed are turned around through (say)
the sixth part of a circle, when they are again brought under the operation of
the saw or saws, and so on, until the whole (under operation) bave been
properly nicked, when they may be removed from the machine, and the spindles
charged with other rings and again put through the same operation. By this

page_text: means I not only gain great regularity in the size of the nicks, but also in the
regular division of the same.
And my improvements in the slides for jointed parasol sticks consists in
raising them from flat sheet metal, which obviates all necessity of soldering, and
renders the slide (so made) perfectly true and uniform; and with a view of
giving strength, I sometimes spread the metal at the ends by the process know
as spinning, and turn it over into a bead or other desirable form, making a
nice top and bottom finish.
may
And my improvements named under the second head consist in cutting
strips of metal the width of the circumference of the runner barrel I wish
to make, and which strips are passed through a machine that not only cuts
them off at the right length, but also bends them into a complete circular form,
in which form the metal is so set that the necessity of soldering is entirely
obviated, the more so as they are subsequently held at the top by the notch,
and at the bottom by a ring or bead, which bead I purpose making and
applying in the following way:-I take a disc of metal a little larger than the
circumference of the barrel, and pierce out the centre a little smaller than the
interior of the barrel; this flat ring I raise into a little more than the half of a
circle in its transverse section, and by slightly spreading out the bottom end of
the runner barrel I am enabled to apply this ring, and by suitable tools so fix
it that it forms a bold and uniform bead; and this mode of finishing this part
of umbrellas and parasols is also applicable to the finishing of the seamless
slides for parasols last described.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Rubery in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 4th
June 1858.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
RUBERY, Umbrella and Parasol Manufacturer, of Birmingham, in the Connty
of Warwick, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Fourth day of December, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven, and in the twenty-first year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said John Rubery, Her special licence that I, the said John Rubery, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said John
Rubery, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree

page_text: 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 "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS
IN THE MANUFACTURE OF UMBRELLAS AND PARASOLS, AND IN THE APPLICATION OF A
NEW CONDITION OF MATERIAL TO THE PRODUCTION OF SOME OF THE PARTS THEREOF
.THAT. HAS NOT HERETOFORE BEEN USED FOR THAT PURPOSE," upon the condition
(amongst others) that J, the said John Rubery, my executors 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 John Rubery, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention, and in what mauner the same is to be performed,
to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement
thereof, that is to say:-
My Invention consists, firstly, of the method, herein-after described, of
making parasol and umbrella joint slides.
My Invention consists, secondly, of the machinery, herein-after described and
illustrated in the accompanying Drawing, for making the barrels of runners
for umbrellas and parasols.
My Invention consists, thirdly, of the machinery, bercin-after described and
illustrated in the accompanying Drawing, for cutting radial notches in the top
notches and runner notches of umbrellas and parasols.
My Invention consists, fourthly, of tho method, herein-after described and
illustrated in the accompanying Drawing, of making the rings for runners and
slides for umbrellas and parasols.
My Invention consists, fifthly, of the machinery, herein-after described and
illustrated in the accompanying Drawing, for straightening. tubes used- in the
manufacture of umbrellas and parasols.
My Invention consists, lastly, in making runner and top-notches of umbrellas
and parasols of unannealed cast iron.
In making the slides for parasol and umbrellas joints according to the first
part of my Invention I take a circular disc of sheet brass or other suitable
metal or alloy, and operate upon the said disc by means of dies or tools, such
as are commonly used for raising metals. By means of the said raising dies
or tools, I cause the said disc to assume first a cup-like form, and afterwards.
eflect the contraction in diameter and elongation of the same, -until it assumes

page_text: the form of a taper tube closed at its narrow end. The said taper tube being
of the form and size suitable for an umbrella or parasol joint slide, I cut off
the closed end of the tube, and also trim or make smooth the wide end of the
tube.
As the raising dies or tools which I employ in carring this part of my In-
vention into effect resemble the dies or tools commonly used for raising metals,
and as the process of raising metals by the use of such dies or tools is well
known and commonly practised, I do not think it necessary further to describe
the same.
I sometimes effect the raising of the slide by drawing the said disc through
a succession of dies, and operate upon the partially formed slide by a pair of
raising dies after the drawing has been effected, the said raising dies giving the
required taper. The partially formed joint slide may be finished in the ordinary
manner.
Figuro of the accompanying Drawing represents in elevation, Figure 2
in plan, and Figure 3 a plan, of the under side of my machinery for making the
barrels of runners for umbrellas and parasols. The sheet metal of which
the said barrels are to be made is fed into the machine at a. A cutter b
descending vertically cuts off a piece of metal of the proper size between the
cutting edges c, d. The piece of metal cut off falls into a hopper, by which it
is delivered in a vertical position between the dies e, f, the said piece of metal
being held in the dies in the position indicated at 9. A mandril h carried on
the slide i advancing and carrying the piece of metal g before it, bends the
said piece of metal into a trough-like form. The dies e, f, now close upon the
piece of metal g and the mandril h, (the said mandril and metal being in the
position indicated at k,) and complete the bending of the said piece of metal
around the mandril h. The said piece of sheet metal is thereby bent into a
nearly tubular form. Its edges may be joined by soldering, and the barrel
may be finished in any convenient manner. The dies e, f, and the mandril h
are fixed upon slides, which said slides are actuated in the following manner:
A connecting rod from the crank or from the clip of the excentric m fixed on the
main shaft is jointed to the bolt or plunger n, which works in the slides o, p,
and by the rotation of the shaft la reciprocating sliding motion is communicated
to the plunger ; q, r, are bent levers turning upon centres s, t. Pins u, v, in
the plunger n engage in slots w, x, of the levers q, r. The lower ends q', r¹,
of the levers q. r, engage in the slides carrying the dies e, f, and when the
bolt n rises the slides carrying the dies e, f, approach each other and close
the dies as herein-before described. The slide carrying the mandril h, is
actuated by a lever similar to one of the levers q, r, but which said lever,

page_text: working in a plane at right angles to that in which the levers q, r, work, is not
represented in the Drawing. The barrels are soldered and finished in the
ordinary manner.
Figure represents in plan my machine for cutting radial notches in top
and runner notches for umbrellas and parasols; y, y, aro a series of circular
saws rotating upon the axis, to which motion is communicated through the
pullies 1. The top and runner notches, in which radial notches are to be cut,
are strung upon mandrils 2, the said mandrils being carried by a table 8. The
said mandrils are all geared together by a series of toothed wheels 4, and by
the handle 5 a simultaneous partial rotation can be given to the mandrils 2
by the workman. The frame 3 carrying the mandrils 2 has a reciprocating
sliding motion in a direction at right angles to the axis of the rotating saws y:
This motion is effected in the following manner:-Connecting rods 6 jointed
to the table 3 engage with the crank 7 on the shaft 8; a slow rotatory motion
is communicated to the shaft 8 from the main shaft of the machine by means
of the bevil gear g, shaft 10, worm 11, and worm wheel 12, the said worm
wheel 12 being upon the axis or shaft 8. Tho action of the machine is as
follows: Motion being communicated to the machine through one of the
pullies 1, the saws y are made to rotate, the table 3 also moving slowly and
carrying the notches on the mandrils 2 underneath and against the rotating
saws y.
When the mandrils 2 have passed under the saws y, and a groove
or notch has been cut across the notches strung upon each mandril, the work-
man by means of the handle 5 gives a partial rotation to the mandrils 2, when
the table 3 performing its return motion, the saws y make other grooves in
the notches on the mandrils 2, and so on until the requisite number of grooves
have been cut in the notches upon the mandrils 2.
My method of making the rings for runners and slides of umbrellas and
parasols is illustrated in Figures 5, 6, 7, and 8' of the accompanying Drawing.
The said rings aro ordinarily made by soldering a solid ring on the outside and
at the end of the runner or slide.
In making the said rings according to my Invention, I take a ring having
a trough-like form marked 13 in Figure 6. I place the ring 13 upon the end
of the runner or slide 14 (see Figure 7), and fix the said ring thereon in a
lathe in the following manner :-A conical mandril, shown at 15 in Figure 5,
is fitted in a lathe head 16, the runner 14, with a ring upon it, is placed upon
the mandril 15, and the centre 17 is made to press the runner upon the
mandril during the rotation of the latter. The ring and the end of the
runner are expanded by the conical mandril 15, and a rotating tool 18 being
pressed by the workman against the outside of the ring 13, the said ring

page_text: is closed upon the runner 14. The rotating tool 18 must have the figure
which it is desired to give the exterior of the ring.
Figure 8 represents in section the runner with a ring closed upon it, the
said ring in Figure 8 not having been expanded by the conical mandril 15 in
Figure 5.
My machine for straightening tubes to be used in the manufacture of
umbrellas and parasols is represented in Figures 9, 10, and 11 of the accom-
panying Drawing. Figure 9, being an elevation; Figure 10, a longitudinal
vertical section; and Figure 11, a transverse vertical section. The said
machine consists of a frame 19, supported by and turning upon the hollow
axes 20, 20. In the frame 19 a series of dies or tools 22, one of which is
seen in elevation in Figure 11, are fixed and adjusted by screws and nuts
21, 21. The said dies or tools are made to rotate rapidly by means of a
pulley 23. The said dies or tools 22 are made of hardened steel, and are ad-
justed as represented in Figure 10, so as to press alternately on opposite sides
of the tube passed through them. While the frame 19 is in rapid rotation,
the tube 24 to be straightened is introduced at one of the hollow axes 20,
and passed through the rotating dies in the frame 19, the said tube coming
out through the other hollow axis 20. During the passage of the tube through
the machine by the workman, it is held firmly by him so as to prevent its
rotation. The pressure of the rotating dies about the non-rotating tube
passing through them straightens the said tube.
In place of the dies 22, I sometimes employ rolls fixed in the interior of the
frame 19 in the relative positions illustrated at 25 in Figure 10.
My Invention consists, lastly, in making the runner and top notches of
umbrellas and parasols of cast iron, in a hard or unannealed state.
Having now described the nature of my Invention, and the manner of
carrying the same into effect, I wish it to be understood that I do not limit
myself to the precise details herein described and represented, as the same may
be varied without departing from the nature of my Invention.
But I claim as my Invention, firstly, the method herein-before described of
making the slides of umbrella and parasol joints, that is to say, by raising the
same from discs of sheet metal by dies and pressure.
Secondly, the machinery, herein-before described and illustrated in Figures
1, 2, and 3 of the accompanying Drawing, for making the barrels of runners
for umbrellas and parasols.
Thirdly, the machinery, berein-before described and represented in Figure 4
of the accompanying Drawing, for cutting radial notches in the runner and
top notches of umbrellas and parasols.

page_text: Fourthly, the method, herein-before described and illustrated in Figures 5,
6, 7, and 8 of the accompanying Drawing, of making the rings of runners and
slides for umbrellas and parasols.
Fifthly, the machinery, herein-before described and illustrated in Figures 9,
10, and 11 of the accompanying Drawing, for straightening tubes to be used
in the manufacture of umbrellas and parasols.
Lastly, making runner and top notches for umbrellas and parasols of un-
annealed cast iron.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Rubery, havo hereunto set my hand
and seal this Thirty-first day of May, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight.
Witness,
GEORGE SHAW.
JOHN RUBERY. (L.S.)