IMPROVEMENTS IN THE METHOD OF AND IN MACHINERY FOR MANUFACTURING METAL RINGS
Year: 1875

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Thomas Brayshaw, of Manchester, in the County
of Lancaster, Metal Worker, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
IN THE METHOD OF AND IN MACHINERY FOR MANUFACTURING METAL
RINGS."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Thomas Brayshaw at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 19th October 1875.
I, THOMAS BRAYSHAW, of Manchester, in the County of Lancaster,
Metal Worker, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
IMPROVEMENTS IN THE METHOD OF AND IN MACHINERY POR MANUFACTURING
METAL RINGS," to be as follows:
--
My Invention relates principally to the iron rings ordinarily termed
cotton-can rings, but is or may be also applicable in the manufacture of
iron or metal rings for other purposes. The said cotton-can rings have
previously been made wholly or principally by hand, and the object of
my Invention is to effect their production by means of machinery. To
this end I employ in the first place a machine to punch the holes in the
bars and to cut them to the required lengths. Upon a shaft which is

page_text: caused to revolve in bearings in or on suitable standards are mounted
excentrics, which can be slid to and fro and fixed in the required
positions. The said excentrics actuate bars which carry the punches,
the said bars sliding in carriages which can be adjusted sideways, as in
the case of the excentrics, the dies being also arranged to be adjusted.
The whole of the holes in the length of bar which is to form one ring
can thus be punched at one operation.
An additional excentric or crank at one ond of the machine actuates
a shearing blade, by means of which the bars are cut into the required
lengths. The said lengths are bent in a machine in which a bending
wheel is caused to revolve on a vertical or inclined axis. A roller can
be moved towards and from the said wheel by the operator. A second
roller or guide is fitted to be adjusted by means of a screw nearer to or
farther from the said wheel. The end of the length of bar is introduced
between the said wheel and the first-named roller, which has been
moved to admit the bar, and the roller is then forcibly pressed towards
the bar, which is thus gripped and carried forwards against the second
roller or guide, which bends the bar into the required form. When
completed the curved bar is released and falls down. The partly formed
ring is then heated and subjected to the action of a welding machine.
Two rollers are fixed or formed on the ends of the two shafts, which are
fitted to revolve in bearings, and the ring to be welded is introduced
between the said rollers, and the welding is effected by the revolution
and pressure thereof. The peripheries of the said rollers are turned to
suit the section or sections of the bars from which the rings are
formed.
In one arrangement the axis of the lower roller revolves in bearings
in the framing, the axis of the upper roller revolving in bearings in a
hollow shaft which is formed to act as an excentric, and on which is
fixed a weighted lever, which imparts the required pressure. The said
weighted lever is raised at intervals by means of a cam on a revolving
shaft, whereby the upper roller is raised for the introduction of the
ring.
In a modification of this arrangement parts of the peripheries of the
rollers are cut away, and the ring is introduced, when the vacancies thus
caused come opposite to each other, the weighted lever or screws being
employed to give the required pressure as preferred.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Thomas Brayshaw in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 19th April 1876.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, THOMAS
BRAYSHAW, of Manchester, in the County of Lancaster, Metal Worker,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Nineteenth day of October, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-five, in the
fortieth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said Thomas Brayshaw, Her special
licence that I, the said Thomas Brayshaw, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, or such others as I, the said Thomas Brayshaw, 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
" IMPROVEMENTS IN THE METHOD OF AND IN MACHINERY FOR MANUFACTURING
METAL RINGS," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said
Thomas Brayshaw, 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 immediatly after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Thomas Brayshaw, 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 and accompanying Drawings, that is
to say:
-
My Invention relates principally to the iron rings ordinarily termed
cotton-can rings, but is or may be also applicable in the manufacture of
iron or metal rings for other purposes. The said cotton-can rings have
previously been made wholly or principally by hand, and the object of
my Invention is to effect their production by means of machinery. To

page_text: this end I employ in the first place a machine to punch the holes in the
bars, and to cut them to the required lengths. Upon a shaft which is
caused to revolve in bearings in or on suitable standards are mounted
excentrics, which can be slid to and fro into the required positions. The
said excentrics actuate bars which carry the frames, the said bars sliding
in carriages which can be adjusted sideways, as in the case of the
excentrics, the dies being also arranged to be adjusted. The whole of
the holes in the length of bar which is to form one ring can thus be
punched at one operation.
An additional excentric or crank at one end of the machine actuates a
shearing blade, by means of which the bars are cut into the required
lengths. The said lengths are bent in a machine in which a bending
wheel is caused to revolve on a vertical or inclined axis. A roller can
be moved towards and from the said wheel by the operator. A second
roller or guide is fitted to be adjusted by means of a screw nearer to or
farther from the said wheel. The end of the length of bar is intro-
duced between the said wheel and the first-named roller, which has been
moved to admit the bar, and the roller is then forcibly pressed towards
the bar, which is thus gripped and carried forwards against the second
roller or guide, which bends the bar into the required form.
completed the curved bar is released, and falls down. The partly formed
ring is then heated and subjected to the action of a welding machine.
Two rollers are fixed or formed on the ends of two shafts, which are
fitted to revolve in bearings, and the ring to be welded is introduced
between the said rollers, and the welding is effected by the revolution
and pressure thereof. The peripheries of the said rollers are turned to
suit the section or sections of the bars from which the rings are
formed.
When
And in order that my said Invention may be fully understood I have
appended hereunto a Sheet of Drawings marked with letters of
reference, corresponding marks indicating the same parts in the various
Figures.
Referring in this place to the said Drawings, Fig. 1 represents an end
and Fig. 2 a front elevation of the aforesaid punching machine drawn
about one sixth of the full size.
In the said Figures a is a shaft which is fitted to revolve in bearings
formed in the standards b, b, and is actuated by means of the driving

page_text: pulleys and spur gearing c. On the said shaft are mounted four
excentric blocks d, d, which are provided with keys which enter a key
groove formed in the shaft. The said blocks are provided with straps c,
which in the example are formed in one piece of cast iron, and are
bored out to fit on the said blocks. Each strap is jointed to the upper
end of a square barf, which is fitted to slide up and down in a carriage g.
The lower end of each bar is provided with a suitable punch . Each
carriage is fitted to slide to and fro on a back rail i, in which is formed
a slot, through which pass bolts, by means of which the carriage is
secured to the said rail. When the said bolts are slackened the carriage
may be moved sideways in either direction, and when the bolts are
tightened will be secured in the required position. The excentric
blocks & can also be slid to, and fro on the shaft a, and when necessary
are shifted sideways to some extent, as in the case of the said carriages.
Means may be provided for fixing the excentric blocks in the required
positions on the shaft. Dies are fitted to slide in a groove formed in the
bed plate j, as seen in Fig. 3, which represents a cross section through
one of the said dies. Each die may be moved sideways in the groove,
and when adjusted is fixed by tightening a bolt. It will thus be seen
that the distances apart of the excentrics, punches, and dies can be
readily adjusted. An excentric is fixed on one end of the shaft, and
actuates a pair of cutting shears m of an ordinary description, which
may be used for cutting the bars into the required lengths.
The lengths of bar are each placed on the bed over the discs, and are
punched at one revolution of the shaft a. The bars are now bent by
the machine, illustrated by Figs. 4 and 5, Fig. 4 being a front elevation,
and Fig. 5 a part plan and section on the line A in Fig. 4. On a vertical
shaft n, which is fitted to revolve in a bearing formed in the framing of
the machine, is fixed a wheel o, the periphery of which is turned to suit
the form of the bars which are to be bent. On the upper end of the
shaft n is fixed a bevil wheel, which gears with a pinion p, which is
fixed on a shaft q, which is fitted to revolve in a bearing formed in the
framing, and is actuated by means of a strap pulley r, a revolving motion
being thus imparted to the wheel o. A second wheel s is fixed on a
shaft which is fitted to revolve in a bearing formed in a second shaft t,
which is fitted in a hole bored in the framing, the bearing in the shaft t
being excentric with its axis, as seen in Fig. 5. On the lower end of
the shaft t is fixed a handle u, by means of which the said shaft may be

page_text: caused to turn in its bearing, and thereby to move the wheels nearer to
or farther from the wheel o. A third wheel is mounted on a stud,
which can be moved to and fro in a slot formed in the framing, so that
the said wheel can be fixed in position nearer to or farther from the
wheel o.
The wheel can be moved towards the wheel o by turning
the screw w, and the wheel be then fixed in position by tightening the
nut on the end of the stud. When a bar is to be bent the end of the
bar is inserted between the peripheries of the wheels o and s, and the
handle is drawn forwards so as to cause the bar to be nipped between
the two wheels. The revolution of the wheel o carries the bar forwards,
and the bending is effected by the joint action of the three wheels.
When the bar is bent into a ring the said handle is moved back, and the
ring is thereby released, and falls down.
2
revolve in bearings formed in
The peripheries of the two
outer forms of the metal rings
The shafts y and 6¹ are geared
Fig. 6 represents a front elevation, and Fig. 7 a side elevation, drawn
about one fourth of the full size of the welding machine. In bearings
formed in the framing B a shaft x is mounted, and in the said shaft a
bearing is formed for a shaft y upon one end of which is mounted a
wheel z.
The bearing for the shaft y is excentric to the axis of the
shaft x.
On the last-named shaft is fixed a strong weighted lever a¹,
which tends to press down the shaft y and the wheel z by reason of the
aforesaid excentricity. Screws h¹ support the weighted lever, and by
being adjusted regulate the degree of contact or nearness of the two
wheels and c¹. On a shaft b¹ fitted to
the framing is fixed a second wheel c¹.
wheels are turned to suit the inner and
to be welded, as indicated by Fig. 8.
together by means of spur wheels d¹. A driving shaft e¹ is fitted with a
strap pulley f¹, and also with a spur pinion, which gears with a spur
wheel which is fixed on the shaft y, the shafts y and b¹ being thus
caused to revolve in opposite directions. A portion of the periphery of
the wheel c¹ is cut away in order that the ring to be welded may be
introduced between the two wheels. The ring having been sufficiently
heated at the joint is placed on the lower wheel at the time when the
gap in its periphery is opposite to the upper wheel, and the welding is
effected by the pressure of the revolving wheels. A greater or lesser
pressure may be obtained by increasing or decreasing the weight on the
lever a. In the example the said lever is supposed to be cast in one
piece with the weight, but if preferred the said weight may be

page_text: Signed and sealed by the
said Thomas Brayshaw,
in the presence of
EDWARD K. DUTTON,
Agent to the Patentec,
3, Princess Street,
Manchester.
THOMAS BRAYSHAW. (L.S.)