IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANU- FACTURE OF HINGES, AND IN MACHINERY TO BE EMPLOYED IN THE SAID MANUFACTURE
Year: 1878

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to James Tertius Collins, of Birmingham, in the County of
Warwick, Brassfounder, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANU-
FACTURE OF HINGES, AND IN MACHINERY TO BE EMPLOYED IN THE SAID
MANUFACTURE."
Sealed the 20th December 1878, and dated the 12th July 1878.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Tertius Collins at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 12th July 1878.
<
JAMES TERTIUS COLLINS, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Brass-
founder. IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF HINGES, AND IN MACHINERY
TO BE EMPLOYED IN THE SAID MANUFACTURE."
My Invention consists,--
First. In manufacturing hinges by the process or combination of processes herein-
after described.
And secondly. In the machinery herein-after described to be employed in the said
manufacture.
My Invention is principally applicable to the manufacture of hinges of brass and
iron, but is also applicable to the manufacture of hinges of other metals and metallic
alloys.
In manufacturing hinges according to my Invention I proceed as follows:-I form
the blanks to be made into hinges either from strips of metal. The said strips of
metal are formed by drawing, rolling, or casting, and have the sectional figure of the
flap of a hinge without the hole for the pin or axis, or I form the said blanks by
casting.
When I employ strips of metal the said strips are cut into the required lengths
by shears or saws.
When I make the blanks by casting they are cast of the required length. The
blanks thus made are planished by ineans of dies used in a stamp or press.
When the blanks are made by the drawing process I next proceed to cut away
by means of circular cutters or mills portions of the solid nearly cylindrical bead on
Pies C1

page_text: one edge of the blank, so as to form the spaces between the portions left, in which
the knuckles of the other flap of the hinge engage.
When the blanks are formed by casting these spaces are formed by the casting.
process, and the circular cutters or mills are used to dress or perfect the figure of the
ends of the knuckles.
The holes for the reception of the axis of the hinge are next drilled in the
knuckles by means of the drilling machine herein-after described.
The two flaps of the hinge are next connected by the introduction of the axis into
the holes in the knuckles, the wire forming the axis being somewhat longer than the
hinge. The partially made hinge is now placed in a holder, the hinge being wide
open, that is, the two flaps are situated in the same plane. The protruding
ends of the axis serve as guides to determine the position of the hinge in the holder.
By means of a rotating cutter the inner-faces of the hinge are dressed, together with
the inner semi-cylindrical face of the joint, at one operation. The said rotating
cutter is of a cylindrical figure with a semi-cylindrical groove corresponding in size
with the inner face of the joint at its middle. The hinge being closed, it is placed
in another holder, the wire constituting the axis serving to guide it into the required
position. The outer half of the joint is now dressed by means of a rotating concave
cutter or mill. The said cutter or mill is made of one piece of steel and not in sections
as usual. By this method of construction the surface produced is free from the lines
left at the junctions of the parts where a mill built up in sections is employed. The ends
of the axis are now rivetted and the edges of the hinge are dressed in the following
manner: Four of the hinges to be dressed are fixed in a holder of the kind herein-
after described, the said hinges being arranged in two pairs placed back to back,
with a filling piece between them of such size that the ends of the two hinges and
the filling piece are of the same length as the longer sides of the hinge. The holder
with the hinges is advanced between two rotating cutters or mills, and the longer
edges of the two pairs of hinges are simultaneously dressed. Being withdrawn and
turned through an angle of ninety degrees the holder is again advanced between
the rotating cutters, and the ends of the two pairs of hinges are simultaneously
dressed.
The drilling of the screw holes is effected by a drilling machine consisting essen-
tially of three parallel or nearly parallel drills capable of being adjusted to a greater
or less distance apart, and made to rotate simultaneously. The hinge is placed in a
holder on a rising and falling table, and being brought against the rotating drills the
three holes are drilled simultaneously in one flap. The other flap is afterwards
similarly drilled.
The drilling machine herein-before referred to for drilling the hole in the axis of the
knuckles for the reception of the pin or axis of the hinge consists essentially of two
drills situated in the same line and advancing in opposite directions as they drill.
By drilling the hole in the knuckles for the reception of the axi from opposite ends
of the hinge, the drillings meeting at or near the middle of the hinge, greater exact-
ness is obtained than when the drilling is wholly effected in one direction.
The holder herein-before referred to for holding the hinges while their edges are
dressed consists of a clamp in which the hinges are held, the said clamp being
mounted on a shaft capable of a rotatory motion. This shaft turns in a base having
suitable divisions and stop mechanism for the purpose of arresting and fixing the
shaft and clamp when they have arrived at the proper position for the action of the
rotating cutters or mills.

page_text: And secondry. In the machinery nerein-after described to be employed in the said
manufacture.
My Invention is principally applicable to the manufacture of hinges of brass and
iron, but is also applicable to the manufacture of hinges of other metals and inetallic
alloys.
In manufacturing hinges according to my Invention I proceed as follows:-I form
the blanks to be made into hinges either from strips of metal, or I form the said
blanks by casting. The strips of metal are formed by drawing, rolling, or casting,
and have the sectional figure of the flap of a hinge without the hole for the pin or
axis.
When I employ strips of metal of the sectional figure described the said strips
are cut into the required lengths by shears or saws.
When I make the blanks by casting they are cast of the required length. The
blanks thus made are planished by meaus of dies used in a stamp or press, the figure
of the lower die being made to the exact shape of the side of the blank on which the
knuckle bead is situated, the other or upper die or tool being flat. The blanks thus
made from strips are next operated upon by means of circular cutters or mills so as
to cut away portions of the solid nearly cylindrical bead on one edge of the blank,
and thereby to form the spaces between the portions left in which the knuckles of
the other flap of the hinge engage.
When the blanks are formed by casting these spaces are formed by the casting
process, and the circular cutters or mills are used to dress or perfect the figure of the
ends of the knuckles.
The holes for the reception of the axis of the hinge are next drilled in the
knuckles by means of the drilling machine herein-after described.
The two flaps of the hinge are next connected by the introduction of the axis into
the holes in the knuckles, the wire forming the axis being somewhat longer than the
hinge. The partially made hinge is now placed in a holder, the hinge being wide
open, that is, the two flaps are situated in the same plane. The protruding ends of
the axis serve as guides to determine the position of the hinge in the holder. By
means of a rotating cutter the inner faces of the hinge are dressed, together with the
inner semi-cylindrical face of the joint, at one operation. The said rotating cutter
is of a cylindrical figure, with a semi-cylindrical groove at its middle corresponding
in size with the inner face of the joint. The hinge being closed, it is placed in
another holder, the wire constituting the axis serving to guide it into the required
position. The outer half of the joint is now dressed by means of a rotatory con-
cave cutter or mill. Each of the cutters or mills described is made of one piece of
metal and not in sections. By this method of construction the surface produced is
free from the lines left at the junctions of the parts where a cutter or mill built up
in sections is employed.
When hinges of common quality are to be made the dressing of the inner faces of

page_text: the flaps and knuckles may be dispensed with, the surface being made sufficiently
smooth by the planishing operation in dies herein-before described.
After the dressing operation described, where such dressing is required, the ends
of the axis are rivetted, and the edges of the hinges are dressed in the following
manner-Four of the hinges to be dressed are fixed in a holder of the kind herein-
after described, the said hinges being arranged in two pairs placed back to back
with a filling piece between them of such size that the ends of the two hinges and
the filling piece are of the same length as the longer sides of the hinge. The holder
with the hinges is advanced between the rotating cutters or mills and the longer
edges of the two pairs of hinges are simultaneously dressed. Being withdrawn and
turned through an angle of ninety degrees, the holder is again advanced between
the rotating cutters and the ends of the two pairs are simultaneously dressed. The
said holder consists of a clamp in which the hinges are held, the said clamp being
mounted on an axis capable of a rotatory motion. The said axis turns in a bed or
base, and the holder has suitable stop mechanism for the purpose of arresting and
fixing it when it has arrived at the proper position for the action of the rotating
cutters or mills.
The drilling of the screw holes in the flaps of the hinge is effected by a drilling
machine consisting essentially of three parallel or nearly parallel drills capable
of being adjusted to a greater or less distance apart, and made to rotate simul-
taneously. The hinge is placed on a holder on a rising and falling table, and
being brought against the rotating drills the three holes are drilled simultaneously
in one flap. The other flap is afterwards similarly drilled.
The drilling machine herein-before referred to for drilling the holes in the
knuckles of the flaps for the reception of the pin or axis of the hinge, consists
essentially of two drills situated in the same line and advancing in opposite
directions as they drill.
I will now proceed to describe in detail with reference to the accompanying
Drawing the machinery which constitutes part of my Invention, and which is
herein-before referred to in describing the process or combination of processes con-
stituting the first part of my Invention.
Figure 1 represents in side elevation and end elevation a rotating cutter or mill
made of one piece of metal, which I use for dressing the inner faces of the open
hinges and the inner semi-cylindrical face of the joint at one operation. The semi-
cylindrical groove of the cutter by which the inner face of the joint is dressed is
marked a, and the parts of the cutter on either side the said groove by which the
inner flat faces of the open flaps of the hinge are dressed are marked b, b.
:
Figure 2 represents in elevation the solid rotating cutter or mill with a semi-
cylindrical groove in it which I use for dressing the outer half of the joint of the
closed hinge, the cutting groove being marked a².
Figure 3 represents in vertical section, in conjunction with the two rotating
cutters, the holder constructed according to my Invention, which I use for holding
the closed hinges while their edges are dressed; Figure 4 is a plan of a portion of
the said holder, and Figure 5 is a horizontal section partly in plan of the holder
exhibiting the stop mechanism. The said holder is marked c, c, and is connected
to the dovetail sliding bed d by the peg or axis e, upon which it is capable of rotating.
The sliding motion of the said bed is effected by means of a rotating screw f
working in a screw box in the said bed. The two pairs of closed hinges g, g, the
edges of which are to be dressed, are arranged back to back as represented, a filling
piece h being placed between them, the said pairs of closed hinges being gripped
between the opposed faces of the holder by the closing and fixing of the clamp c²,
by means of the nut c³ working on the screw c. The filling piece h is of such a
size that the ends of the two pairs of hinges and the said filling piece are together
of the same length as the longer sides of the hinges, that is, the closed hinges when
arranged in the holder for dressing their edges form a square or equal sided

page_text: rectangular figure, as represented in Figure 4. The holder c, c², is turned on its
axis or peg e, passed through the sliding bed by the handle i, and the said holder is
held in the required position by means of a spring catch or arm k, the tooth ² of
which takes into one or other of the notches l, m, made in the cylindrical surface of
the holder (see Figure 5.) Having fixed the hinges in the holder c, c², in the
positions represented, the said holder is advanced between the two rotating cutters
or mills n, n, by the action of the screw f, and the longer edges of the two pairs of
hinges are simultaneously dressed. In order to dress the shorter edges or ends of
the hinges, the holder is withdrawn from between the rotating cutters or mills n, n,
and the tooth ² of the spring catch k is withdrawn from the notch so as to release
the said holder, which is now turned through a quadrant in the direction of the
arrow, Figure 5, by means of the handle i. By this motion of the holder the notchi
ms brought opposite the tooth 2 of the spring catch k, and by the said tooth
snapping into the said notch the holder is fixed in its adjusted position. By the
motion described of the holder the ends or shorter edges of the pairs of hinges g, gi
are brought into the positions previously occupied by the longer edges of the hinges,
that is, are brought parallel to the acting faces of the rotating cutters n, n. By now
advancing the holder between the said cutters n, n, the ends of the two pairs of
hinges are simultaneously dressed. Thus the dressing both of the longer edges and
the shorter edges or ends of the two pairs of hinges fixed in the holder is rapidly
effected without removing the hinges from the holder.
Although I have only represented two pairs of hinges dressed by the machine,
yet more than two pairs arranged in tiers above one another may be dressed at the
same time.
Figure 6 represents in front elevation, and Figure 7 in side elevation, a machine
for drilling the screw holes in the flaps of hinges constructed according to my In-
vention. p, p, p, are the three parallel or nearly parallel drills rotated by straps or
bands working over the driving pulleys p², p², p³. The said drills work in the top
and bottom bearings r, r, r, and 8, 8, 8. The top bearings r, r, r, are capable of
being adjusted in the cross slots or openings t, t, t, in the upright u of the drilling
machine, and are fixed by the screw nuts at t2, and similarly the bearings 8 of the
outer drills may be adjusted in the slot v in the upright u, and fixed by screw nuts
at v. By the means represented the drills p, p, p, may be adjusted to a greater or
less distance apart to suit the hinges to be operated upon. The drills p, p, p, have
only a rotatory motion. w is the rising and falling table on a holder on which the
hinge to be drilled is placed. The rising and falling motion of the table w for
bringing the hinge to and withdrawing it from the rotating drills p, p, p, is effected
by a fixed rack won the framing of the machine, with which rack a pinion w³
carried by the said table w gears, the said pinion being turned by the winch or
bandle w'.
In drilling the screw holes in the flaps of the hinge the hinge is opened and placed
on the holder x so that the longer edge of the flap abuts against a stop y at the
back of the holder as represented; a side stop may also be employed. The
handle w is now turned in a direction proper to raise the table w when the hinge
is brought against the rotating drills p, p, p, and the three holes are drilled simul-
taneously in the flap. The table w being lowered from the drills the drilled flap is
removed and the other flap of the hinge is placed against the stop y, and the three
holes in it are drilled in a similar manner. No special holding mechanism is
required to hold the hinge on the holder x of the table as the simultaneous operation
of the drills at three different points holds the hinge securely on the holder in the
position in which it has been adjusted.
Figure 8 represents in side elevation, Figure 9 in end elevation, and Figure 10
in plan, a machine constructed according to my Invention for drilling the axial
holes in the knuckles of the flaps for the reception of the joint pin of the hinge.

page_text: a, b, are the two drills situated in the same line. They are fixed to the rotating
spindles c, d, carried by the sliding headstocks e, f, dovetail slides on the said
headstocks working in dovetail seats i, k, on the bed or foundation of the machine
(see Figures 9 and 10).
The spindles c and d are driven by bands passing over the pulleys c², d², and a
to-and-fro motion is given to the sliding headstocks e, f, so as to cause the two drills
to approach to or recede from one another by the two hand levers g, h, jointed at
their ends to the fixed bed of the machine, and at about their middles ² to the
said sliding headstocks.
The hinge to be drilled is fixed by the screw clamp at 7 in the fixed holder m, the
knuckles of the flap to be drilled being arranged in a line with the guide holes or
bearings n, n, for the drills on the said holder. The hinge having been fixed in the
holder m in the position represented the workman grasps and presses together the
free ends of the two hand levers g, h. The two rotating drills a, b, are thereby made
simultaneously to advance in opposite directions, and to drill the knuckles from oppo-
site ends of the hinge. As soon as the two drills have partly drilled the middle knuckle
of the flap the advancing motion of one of the drills is arrested, the continued
advance motion of the other drill effecting the complete drilling of the hole in the
said middle knuckle. The two drills are now withdrawn from the drilled flap by
giving a back motion to the hand levers g, h, when the flap of the hinge is removed
from the holder and another substituted therefor, and the operations described are
repeated. By thus drilling the holes in the knuckles from opposite ends of the
hinge flap, the drillings meeting at or near the middle of the flap, greater exactness
is obtained than when the drilling is wholly effected in one direction.
Instead of making the two drills a, b, advance in opposite directions as they drill
as described and represented the said drills may have only a rotatory motion, and the
holder supporting the flap of the hinge have a sliding motion to and from the said
drills.
In this modification the holder m is carried by a dovetail slide similar to the
slides of the headstocks of the drills, and is similarly moved, the operation of
drilling being effected by first advancing the holder towards say the drill a and
after one half of the knuckles have been drilled withdrawing the said holder
from the drill a and advancing it towards the other drill b to complete the drilling
of the knuckles. I prefer, however, to arrange the parts of the knuckle drilling
machine in the manner represented in the Drawing.
The combination of processes I have described is suited for the manufacture of
hinges of the best quality, but for hinges of an inferior quality some of the processes
may be omitted, such for example as the dressing of one or both faces of the hinge, as
herein before explained, as well as the dressing of the longer or shorter, or both the
longer and shorter edges or ends of the hinge.
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
of improvements in the manufacture of hinges and in machinery to be employed
in the said manufacture,―
First. The manufacture of hinges by the process or combination of processes,
substantially as herein-before described and illustrated in the accompanying
Drawing.
Secondly. The construction and combination of the parts of machinery for
dressing the knuckles, flaps, and edges of hinges herein-before described and
illustrated in Figures 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 of the accompanying Drawing.
Thirdly. The construction and combination of the parts of machinery for
simultaneously drilling the screw holes in the flaps of hinges herein-before
described and illustrated in Figures 6 and 7 of the accompanying Drawing.
Lastly. The construction and combination of the parts of machinery for drilling
the axial holes in the knuckles of hinges herein-before described and illustrated in

page_text: Figures 8, 9, and 10 of the accompanying Drawing, and the modification described
of the said machinery.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Tertius Collins, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this First day of January, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and seventy-nine.