Year: 1886

page_text: Date of Application, 16th Apr., 1886.
Complete Left, 15th Jan., 1887.
Complete Accepted, 15th Feb., 1887.
1, JAMES PLATT of the Atlas Iron Works in the City and County of Gloucester,
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said invention, to be as follows:-
My invention relates to apparatus for forging chains in the following manner.
Having bent to U shape a piece of rod suitable for a link of the chain, I heat its ends
to a welding heat and then clamping the bend between two halves of a lower die,
I cause an upper die to descend so as to bend the upwardly projecting ends of the
link inwards and weld them together. On the retraction of the upper die, the two
halves of the lower die are separated releasing the finished link. For making in this
manner the successive links of a continuous chain, I provide in the die a hole through
which the last finished link protrudes inwards. A limb of the bent piece which is to
make the new link, when it is inserted in the clamping die, is passed through this
protruding link, and thus when the new link is welded, it is engaged with the pre-
ceding link. The upper die and the retractile half of the lower clamping die may be
worked by screws, levers or toggles, or they may be worked by hydraulic pressure,
each of them being for that purpose attached to the plunger or ram of a hydraulic
press.
ABEL & IMRAY,
28, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C.,
Agents for the Applicant.

page_text: 1, JAMES PLATT, of the Atlas Iron Works in the City and County of Gloucester,
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 :-
:―
My invention relates to apparains for forging chains in the following manner.
Having bent to Ụ shape a piece of rod suitable for a link of the chain, I heat its ends
to a welding heat and then clamping the bent piece between two halves of a lower die,
I cause an upper die to descend so as to bend the ends of the link inwards and weld
them together. On the retraction of the upper die, the two halves of the lower die
are separated releasing the finished link. For making in this manner the successive
links of a continuous chain, I provide in the die a hole through which the last finished
link protrudes inwards. A limb of the bent piece which is to make the new link,
when it is inserted in the clamping die, is passed through this protruding link, and
thus when the new link is welded, it is engaged with the preceding link. The upper
die and the retractile half of the lower clamping die may be worked by screws, levers
or toggles, or they may be worked by hydraulic pressure, each of them being for that
purpose attached to the plunger or ram of a hydraulic press.
The accompanying drawings represent an arrangement of hydraulic press, shewn in
side view by Figure 1, and in front view by Figure 2, suitable for forging chains in
the manner described above, and the other figures of the drawing shew to an enlarged
scale the dies employed, that is to say, Figures 3 and 4 are vertical sections on planes
at right angles to each other, and Figure 5 is a side view of the upper and lower dies,
Figure 6 is a plan of the lower die.
The upper die A is fixed to the plunger B of a hydraulic cylinder C, above which
is a smaller cylinder D the plunger of which is connected by side rods E to the
head of the plunger B so that when the pressure in the cylinder is relieved,
the pressure in the smaller cylinder D causes the ascent of the upper die A. The
lower die consists of two parts, a part F fixed to the anvil or bed of the press, and a
moveable part G attached to the plunger H of a horizontal hydraulic press which is
accommodated in the framing and has behind it a small draw back cylinder J.
Through the sides of the dies F and Gare slots through which is introduced a
finished link K of the chain. The heated blank L to form the new link, which is
a piece of round bar bent to the form of a staple, being then put in the die F, with
one of its limbs passed through the link K, the die G is made to advance so as to
clamp the link L, and the upper die A is made to descend forcing L down into the
lower die and so causing its ends to bend round the curve of the die to meet each

page_text: other and to become welded together. The dies A and G being then retracted, the
newly forged link L is withdrawn from the die and is introduced in the place of K to
have a new link connected to it in a similar manner.
Although I have shewn an arrangement of press for working the dies by hydraulic
pressure, it is obvious that their movements, which are of limited extent, might be.
produced by other means, such as screws, toggle or other levers.
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 :-
The construction and use of apparatus for forging chains, wherein a lower die made
in two parts, the one moveable to and from the other, receives a link already made
introduced laterally and clamps the staple shaped blank for a new link, and an upper
die descends forcing the blank down into the clamping dies, substantially as herein
described.
ABEL & IMRAY,
Agents for the Applicant.