Improvements in the Construction and Manufacture of Springs Used as Buffer, Draw, and Bearing Springs, and for other Purposes, and Commonly Known as Volute Springs.
Year: 1887

page_text: Date of Application, 6th Jan., 1887.
Complete Left, 16th Feb., 1887.
Complete Accepted, 18th Mar., 1887.
Improvements in the Construction and Manufacture of Springs
Used as Buffer, Draw, and Bearing Springs, and for other
Purposes, and Commonly Known as Volute Springs.
I, JOSEPH WROE, of 6 Richmond Grove East, Gorton, Manchester in the County of
Lancaster do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
Volute springs are usually made from bars of steel or other suitable material,
which are ordinarily of an oblong or other similar section. The bars are cut into
pieces of the requisite length for each spring, each piece being afterwards formed into
a spiral coil.
Each piece of steel or other suitable material, before being coiled is
shaped at each end, so that when the spring is finished it has a flat bearing surface at
its upper and lower end, by which means, the thrust or pull is better applied to the
spring than would be otherwise possible. When a spring of this construction is com-
pressed to such an extent that its length is not greater than the width of the bar from
which it is made, any further shock or pressure acts upon the spring as though it was
a solid block, no further compression being possible. It is found in practice that
frequent breakage of springs occur from this cause, and my invention relates to a
method of construction and manufacture by which these breakages can be avoided or
diminished in number.
Instead of using bars of an oblong or similar section, 1 use bars of steel or other
suitable material, rolled or otherwise formed with corrugations running longitudinally
along the bar. These corrugations may be formed at equal intervals across the width
of the bars, or may be at the top and bottom only, or may be arranged at unequal
intervals. The corrugations may be of similar or dissimilar shape as desired or may
be arranged in any other convenient manner. In constructing the springs from bars
formed as just described, a similar method is used as hereinbefore described with

page_text: relation to springs made from bars of an ordinary section. When the springs con-
structed in the manner, and formed from bars made in the manner hereinbefore
described, are compressed so that the length of the springs is not greater than the
width of the bars from which they are made, in which case the corrugations in the
various folds or coils of the spring will be parallel to each other, and any further com-
pression occurs from any cause the corrugations in the springs will allow of a greater
or less amount of compression of the springs. In this manner the shock upon the
springs is diminished and the tendency of the spring to break is remedied. The
corrugated bars may be of such various sections as are necessary to construct Volute
springs in the manner herein-described of various sizes and strengths.
JOSEPH NASMITH,
Agent to the Applicant.

page_text: Improvements in the Construction and Manufacture of Springs
Used as Buffer, Draw, and Bearing Springs, and for other
Purposes, and Commonly Known as Volute Springs.
I, JOSEPH WROE, of 6 Richmond Grove East, Gorton, Manchester, in the County
of Lancaster, Engineer, 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 :-
Volute springs are usually made from bars of steel or other suitable material, which
are usually of an oblong or other similar section. The bars are cut into pieces of the
requisite length for each spring each piece being afterwards formed into a spiral coil.
Each piece of steel, or other suitable material before being coiled is shaped at each
end, so that when the spring is finished it has a flat bearing surface at its upper and
lower end, by which means the thrust or pull is better applied to the spring than
would be otherwise possible. When a spring of this construction is compressed to
such an extent that its length is not greater than the width of the bar from which it
is made, any further shock or pressure acts upon the spring as though it was a solid
block, no further compression being possible. It is found in practice that frequent
breakages of springs occur from this cause, and my invention relates to a method of
construction and manufacture by which these breakages can be avoided or diminished
in number.
Instead of using bars of an oblong or similar section, I use bars of steel or other
suitable material rolled or otherwise formed with corrugations running longitudinally
along the bar. These corrugations may be formed at equal intervals across the width
of the bars, or may be arranged at unequal intervals. The corrugations may be of
similar or dissimilar shape as desired, or may be arranged in any other convenient
manner. In constructing the springs from bars formed as just described, a similar
method is used as herein-before described with relation to springs made from bars of
an ordinary section. When the springs constructed in the manner hereinbefore
described are compressed, so that the length of the springs is not greater than the
width of the bars from which they are made, in which case the corrugations in
the various folds or coils of the springs will be parallel to each other and any further
compression arises from any cause, the corrugations in the springs will allow of a
greater or less amount of compression of the springs. In this manner the shock upon
the springs is diminished & the tendency of the spring to break is remedied. The
corrugated bars may be of such various sections as are necessary to construct Volute
springs in the manner hereinbefore described of various sizes & strengths.
In order that my invention may be understood and readily carried into effect,
I hereunto annex a sheet of drawings in which Fig. 1 is a vertical elevation of a
Volute spring made according to the methods herein-described; Fig. 2 is a sectional
view of the same; and Figs. 3, 4 & 5 are full sized sections of bars with various

page_text: methods of arranging the corrugations. In constructing the springs the plates from
which they are made may be tapered in the direction of their length, so as to be
thicker in certain of their folds than in other folds, and are usually made with the last
fold without any corrugation as shown in Fig. 3. Although this is usually done and
is preferable I can also construct the springs with the same thickness of plate through-
out and with corrugations throughout their entire length, this construction not being
illustrated. Although I illustrate three forms of bars it is understood that the bars
may be arranged with the corrugations in any other convenient manner, but the
section of bar which I prefer to use is that illustrated in Fig. 3. In manufacturing
the springs from bars formed with corrugations as herein described & illustrated a
similar process is adopted as has been hereinbefore described and which is used in the
construction of springs made from bars of an ordinary section.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said Invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim is,
1st. The construction of springs from bars or plates of steel or other suitable
material which are corrugated in the direction of their length, substantially as herein
described and illustrated.
2nd. The manufacture of springs made from bars or plates of steel or other suitable
material which are corrugated in the direction of their length, substantially as herein
described and illustrated.
JOSEPH NASMITH,
Agent for the Applicant.