AN IMPROVEMENT IN D.
Year: 1861

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Smith, of Derby Street, Birmingham, in
the County of Warwick, for the Invention of "AN IMPROVEMENT IN
D.
"
Sealed the 3rd October 1861, and dated the 8th April 1861.
I, WILLIAM SMITH, of Derby Street, Birmingham, in the County of
Warwick, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "AN
IMPROVEMENT IN THE MANUFACTURE OF UMBRELLAS, PARASOLS, AND OTHER SIMILAR
ARTICLES," to be as follows:-
I make the ends of the ribs and of the stretchers of a crutch or T-shape, or
of an oval or ball-shape, & slotting the runner & notch so as to receive the
same ends. These are then inserted and kept in position without the aid of
wire, as now used, & by this means I obtain greater strength and durability.
I also propose to apply a similar principle to join the rib and the stretcher, and
improve the spring catches.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Smith in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 8th
October 1861.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
SMITH, of Derby Street, Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Eighth day of April, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-one, in the twenty-fourth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said William Smith, Her special licence that I, the said William Smith,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
William Smith, my executors, administrators, 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 "AN IMPROVEMENT
IN THE MANUFACTURE OF UMBRELLAS, PARASOLS, AND OTHER SIMILAR ARTICLES,"
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said William Smith, 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 per-
formed, 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 William Smith, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement, reference being had to the accompanying Drawings (that is to
say):-
This Invention consists of improvements in the manner of constructing
those parts of umbrellas, parasols, or similar articles called the "top notch"
and "runner notch," and the ends of the ribs and stretchers to fit the same,
by which means they may be made cheaper and more durable.
In the accompanying Drawings I have shown the several forms which the
top notch and runner notch assume in the process of making.
Fig. 1 is a piece of metal of the necessary thickness cut into the required
shape. This disc of metal is then made to acquire a form similar to Fig. II.,

page_text: being raised by any of the usual processes into that shape; after which the
ends or points are turned towards the centre as Fig. III., causing them to
form a groove, in which the ends of the ribs or stretchers are laid before fixing
on the stick, handle, or tube portion of the runner notch as shown in Fig. V.,
which part may be made from a circular piece of metal drawn by the usual
process into the form of a tube, and beaded and turned on the edge by pressure
in tools made for that purpose, as shown in Fig. IV. The ends of the ribs
and stretchers may be formed in any shape similar to Fig. VI., VII., VIII.,
and the manner in which they appear when in their proper position is shown
by Fig. IX., X. These ends I also make at the end of the stretcher, which
works in the middle bit of the rib, but which is not shown in Drawing, as
various shapes of middle bits may be used.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention, I wish it to be under-
stood that I do not confine myself to any particular material for making the
same, as they may be made all of metallic substances, or partly of metallic
and partly of other substances, such as whalebone, cane, or other suitable
material.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Smith, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Seventh day of October, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-one.
Witness to the signature of
William Smith,
THOMAS GORDON.
WILLIAM SMITH. (L.S.)