IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR SHAPING OR RAISING SHEET METAL
Year: 1870

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Frederick Ryland, of West Bromwich, in the
County of Stafford, Mechanical Engineer, for the Invention of
Sealed the 31st December 1870, and dated the 27th October 1870.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Frederick Ryland at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
27th October 1870.
I, FREDERICK BYLAND, of West Bromwich, in the County of Stafford,
Mechanical Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR SHAPING OR RAISING SHEET METAL,"
to be as follows:-
My Invention relates to those parts of machinery for shaping or
raising sheet metal by which the edges of the metal blank are held or
through which they are drawn as the plunger descends through the
bottom die. The said parts are ordinarily called the pressure plate or
upper die, and the lower or holding die.
My Invention consists in so constructing the acting faces of the said
pressure plate or upper die and the lower die used in machinery for

page_text: shaping or raising sheet metal that no pressure is exerted upon the
blank beyond that which is necessary to hold the said blank in its
proper position while the said blank is being drawn through the bottom
die by the plunger or force employed.
In carrying my Invention into effect I form upon the meeting face of
the lower or bottom die and at the inner side thereof an annular recess
for the purpose of receiving the metal blank to be operated upon, and
upon the meeting face of the upper die or pressure plate and at the inner
side thereof I form a projecting annular rib or lip, the depth of the said
rib or lip being the same as that of the recess in the bottom die less the
thickness of the metal blank to be operated upon, so that when the
meeting faces of the upper and lower dies (or pressure plate and lower
die) are brought together a space is left between the said faces on the
inner side of the dies the exact gauge or thickness of the metal blank to
be pressed through the lower die by the plunger. Or I effect the same
object by means of a metal ring placed upon the meeting face of the
lower die, the thickness of the said ring being the same as the gauge or
thickness of the metal blank to be operated upon. Or the same result
may be obtained by recessing either the pressure plate die or the bottom
die, the recess being of the same gauge or thickness as the metal blank
to be operated upon.
The essence of my Invention consists in providing the inner sides
of the meeting or acting faces of the pressure plate or upper die and
the lower die with an annular space of the same thickness or gauge
as the metal blank to be operated upon, through which space the said
blank is drawn as the plunger or force descends through the lower
die, by which means no pressure is exerted by the pressure plate
upon the blank during the operation of forcing the blank through the
lower die.

page_text: WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-seventh day of October, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy, in the thirty-
fourth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said Frederick Ryland, Her special licence that
I, the said Frederick Ryland, my executors, administrators, and assigns,
or such others as I, the said Frederick Ryland, my executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, should at any time agree 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 "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY
FOR SHAPING OR RAISING SHEET METAL," upon the condition (amongst others)
that I, the said Frederick Ryland, 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 Frederick Ryland, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner 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 relates to those parts of machinery for shaping or
raising sheet metal by which the metal blank is held or through which
it is drawn as the plunger descends through the bottom die. The said
parts are ordinarily called the pressure plate die and the lower or
holding die.
My Invention consists in so constructing the acting faces of the said
pressure plate die and the lower die used in machinery for shaping or
raising sheet metal that no pressure is exerted upon the blank beyond.
that which is necessary to hold the said blank in its proper position
while the said blank is being drawn through the bottom die by the
plunger or force employed.
In carrying my Invention into effect I form upon the meeting face of
the lower or bottom die and at the inner edge thereof an annular recess

page_text: .
for the purpose of receiving the metal blank to be operated upon, and
upon the meeting face of the pressure plate die and at the inner edge
thereof I form a projecting annular rib or lip, the depth of the said rib
or lip being the same as that of the recess in the bottom die less the
thickness of the metal blank to be operated upon, so that when the
meeting faces of the pressure plate die and lower die are brought
together a space is left between the said faces on the inner side of the
dies the exact gauge or thickness of the metal blank to be passed
through the lower die by the plunger. Or I effect the same object by
means of a metal ring placed upon the meeting face of the lower die, the
thickness of the said ring being the same as the gauge or thickness of
the metal blank to be operated upon. Or the same result may be
obtained by recessing either the pressure plate die or the bottom die, the
recess being of the same gauge or thickness as the metal blank to be
operated upon.
Having explained the nature of my Invention, I will proceed to
describe with reference to the accompanying Drawings the manner in
which the same is to be performed.
Figure 1 represents in vertical section the working dies of machinery
for shaping or raising sheet metal, the said dies being constructed
according to the first described arrangement of my Invention.
a is the pressure plate die, and 6 is the plunger working through the
said pressure plate die. The pressure plate die a and plunger 6 may be
worked in the ordinary way and by the ordinary mechanism. c is the
lower die, on which the disk or blank to be operated upon is placed. On
the meeting face of the bottom die c and at the inner edge thereof is an
annular recess d, and on the meeting face of the pressure plate die a is a
'corresponding projecting annular rib or lip e, the depth of the said lip or
ribe being the same as that of the recess d in the bottom die less thẻ
thickness of the blank to be operated upon. In the recess d of the
bottom die c the metal disk or blank f to be shaped is placed, and when
by the descent of the pressure plate die a the opposed faces of the said
pressure plate die a and bottom die c are brought together a space is left
between the bottom of the recess d and the lower face of the rib or lip e
of the exact gauge or thickness of the blank or disk f to be pressed
through the bottom die c by the plunger 6. By constructing the acting
faces of the dies a and c in this way no pressure is exerted upon the
blank by the pressure plate die a beyond that which is necessary to

page_text: hold the said blank in its proper position while the blank is being forced
through the lower die by the plunger, that is to say, the rib or lip e
of the pressure plate die a confines the blank between itself and the
recess d of the lower die c so as to prevent the buckling of the said
blank, but the rib or lip e does not offer any resistance to the blank
being drawn from between the dies as the plunger descends in the
lower die. The blank marked f on the lower die c is represented cupped
at f by the descent of the plunger b.
Figure 2 représents in vertical section the second described arrangement
of my Invention. In this arrangement the annular recess and rib on
the meeting faces of the pressure plate die and lower die are dispensed
with, and in place thereof a metal ring marked g is placed on the
meeting face of the lower die c, the meeting face of the pressure plate
die a being flat as usual. The said ring g has the same gauge or
thickness as the blank or disk to be operated upon. When the
pressure plate die a descends upon the opposed face of the said ring g
the edges of the blank or disk are enclosed between the said pressure
plate die and lower die and within the ring g, but the said pressure plate
die does not exert any pressure upon the said blank or disk, as the
pressure plate die is prevented from descending upon the lower die by
the ring g, the ring 9 being exactly of the thickness of the metal disk to
be operated upon.
Figure 3 represents the third described arrangement of my Invention.
In this arrangement an annular recess marked i is made in the face of
the bottom die c at the inner edge thereof (or in the face of the pressure
plate die), the said recess i being of the same gauge or thickness as the
blank k to be operated upon by the dies. The blank on the descent of
the pressure plate die is enclosed between the meeting faces of the
pressure plate die and lower die, but no pressure is exerted by the
pressure plate die upon the blank.
Although I have represented in the accompanying Drawings the best
arrangements with which I am acquainted for carrying my Invention
into effect, yet I wish it to be understood that I do not limit myself
thereto, as other arrangements whereby a space equal to the thickness of
the blank to be shaped is left between the acting faces of the dies, within
which space the blank is enclosed, may be employed with the same
effect.

page_text: Having now described the nature of my Invention, and the manner in
which the same is to be performed, I wish it to be understood that
I claim as my Invention, the improvements in machinery for shaping or
raising sheet metal herein-before described and illustrated in the accom-
panying Drawings, that is to say, providing the inner edges of the acting
or meeting faces of the pressure plate die and the lower die of the said
machinery with a space of the same thickness or gauge as the blank to
be shaped, within which space when the pressure plate die and lower die
are brought together the blank is enclosed, and from which space the
blank is drawn as the plunger or force descends through the lower die,
whereby while the buckling of the blank is prevented no pressure is
exerted by the pressure plate die upon the blank during the operation
of forcing the blank through the lower die, substantially as described
and illustrated.
In witness whereof, I, the said Frederick Ryland, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Twenty-first day of April, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-one.
Witness,
RICHARD SKERRETT,
Clerk to George Shaw,
Birmingham.
FREDERICK RYLAND. (L.S.)