IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS EMPLOYED IN THE MANUFACTURE OF GAS BURNERS
Year: 1876

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Joseph Shaw Gent, of Salford, in the County of Lancaster,
Machinist, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS EMPLOYED IN
THE MANUFACTURE OF GAS BURNERS."
Sealed the 27th April 1877, and dated the 6th November 1876.
"IM-
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Joseph Shaw Gent at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 6th November 1876.
JOSEPH SHAW GENT, of Salford, in the County of Lancaster, Machinist.
PROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS EMPLOYED IN THE MANUFACTURE OF GAS BURNERS."
My Invention relates to the apparatus employed in the drilling, facing, and
forming of gas burners. In such apparatus constructed previously to my Invention,
the partly formed burners, which I will call blanks, have been held in tongs by the
attendant, or have been singly placed in holders and have been moved towards the
drill or cutting or shaping tool by the attendant.
According to my said Invention the said blanks are fed into an apparatus in
which each blank is seized by a vice or by holding jaws, is adjusted in position in
such jaws, and is moved towards the drill or cutting tool, and after being withdrawn
therefrom is released, the rate of feed towards the tool being determined by the
apparatus and not by the pressure of the hand of the attendant.
In the arrangement which I have devised for the purpose the blanks are placed
in a hopper or on an inclined slide. The blank or the lowest blank falls into a
recess from which it is pushed by a rod into a vice. The said hopper and vice are
mounted upon a carriage which is moved to and fro by a cam upon a revolving
shaft, the said rod being stationary. One jaw of the said vice is fixed, the other
jaw being hinged or movable and being acted upon by a cam lever which is
mounted on a fulcrum fixed to the said carriage, and is connected by a rod and
spring with a fixed point, so that the forward movement of the carriage causes the
said jaw to grip the blank. I prefer that the said jaw shall be provided with a
spring upon which the said cam lever acts, a weaker spring tending to open
the vice.
Before the blank is tightly gripped a cross sliding adjusting piece having an
inclined end is moved into position behind the blank, and by pushing it forwards to
some extent adjusts its position in the vice. The said adjusting piece moves with

page_text: the carriage and is actuated by a fixed cam. The blank is then firmly gripped and
the carriage continuing to move forwards the blank is presented to the drill or
cutting tool and is thereby operated upon. When the said tool has completed its
work, the said carriage makes a return movement whereby the vice is permitted to
open, the blank is released, and a fresh blank is pushed into its place.
The details may be varied to some extent so long as the automatic action of the
parts which grip the blanks and subject them to the action of the drill or cutting
tool is retained.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by the
said Joseph Shaw Gent in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 5th May 1877.
JOSEPH SHAW GENT, of Salford, in the County of Lancaster, Machinist.
PROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS EMPLOYED IN THE MANUFACTURE OF GAS BURNERS."
IM-
My Invention relates to the apparatus employed in the drilling, facing, and
forming of gas burners. In such apparatus constructed previously to my Invention,
the partly formed burners which I will call blanks have been held in tongs by the
attendant or have been singly placed in holders and have been moved towards the
drill or cutting or shaping tool by the attendant.
According to my said Invention the said blanks are fed into an apparatus in
which each blank is siezed by a vice or by holding jaws, is adjusted in position in
such jaws, and is moved towards the drill or cutting tool and after being withdrawn
therefrom is released, the rate of feed towards the tool being determined by the
apparatus and not by the pressure of the hand of the attendant.
And in order that my Invention may be more readily described and 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 to the said Drawings Figure 1 drawn to a scale of about four and a
half inches to the foot, represents a side view of my improved apparatus; Fig. 2
representing an end view of the same.
15
In the said Figures A is a bed which is planed to receive a headstock B, in which
the drill spindle is fitted to revolve as in ordinary apparatus used for a like purpose.
The said bed is mounted upon suitable standards in which are formed bearings for
a revolving shaft C, which is fitted with fast and loose pulleys a, by means of which
the said shaft receives motion from the mill shafting. On the shaft C is fixed a
pulley b which drives the drill spindle in the headstock, and a second pulley c
which imparts motion to a pulley d. The last-named pulley is mounted upon a stud
fixed to the lathe bed, and is attached to a spur pinion which gears with a spur wheel e,
which is fixed on a shaft D. The said shaft is fitted to revolve in suitable bearings
formed in brackets projecting from the side of the bed. On the said bed is mounted
an adjustable bed E which can be moved towards or from the drill headstock, and
be fixed in the required position by means of a bolt f. The bed E is formed with
vee slides," and is prepared to receive a carriage F which is fitted to slide to and
fro on the said bed; a plan of the said carriage is represented in Fig. 3. A bracket g
is bolted or secured to the said carriage, and on this bracket is mounted a bowl
which enters between the two parts of a cam G, which is fixed on the shaft D. The
said cam acting on the said bowl imparts a to-and-fro sliding movement to the said
carriage. Upon the said carriage is mounted a vice H consisting of a pair of
holding jaws, represented also about the full size in and by Figs. 4, 5, and 6, Fig. 4
being a side view; Fig. 5, an end view; and Fig 6, a plan. One of the jaws of the
said vice is fixed to a plate / which is bolted to the carriage F. The other jaw is
fixed to a lever i which is fitted to swivel upon a screw studj which is secured to
the said carriage. The opposed faces of the said jaws are hollowed to fit the burner
to be drilled, so that when the lever i is pressed towards the plate the burner is
securely gripped and held by the vice. The two jaws of the vice are secured to the
lever i and the plate h respectively by means of set screws indicated by dotted

page_text: lines in Figs. 4 and 5, so that when necessary the said jaws can be removed and be
replaced by jaws better formed to grip any particular form of burner which is to be
operated upon. A cam lever kis mounted upon a stud which is fixed to the carriage,
and is jointed by one end to a rod which is fitted to slide in a bearing m.
The
said bearing is carried by a bracket n which is bolted to the bed A, and the said
bearing is fitted to swivel on the said bracket, so that it can accomodate itself to
the side movements of the rod. l. The part which slides in the bearing m consists
of a tube which is mounted on the said rod as represented in full size by Fig. 9,
wherein the said tube is drawn in section. The said rod is screwed and the end of
the tube marked x is tapped to screw on to the said rod. The said tube is formed
with a milled collar x, by means of which collar the tube can be turned so as to
compress or relax the spiral spring, and thereby to regulate its action on the lever k.
The other end of the said tube is tapped to receive a nut y which is formed with a
milled collar.
When the carriage is moving back the collar of the said nut comes into contact
with the bearing m, whereby the action of the spiral spring upon the lever k is
arrested, and the carriage continuing to move back the said lever is moved in a
dnection contrary to that indicated by the arrow in Fig. 3. the effect being that the
pressure of the said lever upon the lever i is relaxed. The collar of the nut y may
be arranged to come in contact with the bearing m earlier or later by screwing the
said nut into or out of the tube. Lock nuts 2, 2, on the rod secure the parts in
their adjusted positions. The shorter end of the lever bears against a steel
spring w, which is fixed to the lever . The said spring bearing upon the end of the
lever tends by reaction to press the lever i towards the plate h, and thereby to
hold the burner in the vice H, and at the same time the yielding pressure of the
spring permits the burner to be pushed into and out of the vice. When the carriage
is slid forwards towards the drill headstock, the tube on the rod / slides in the
bearing m, and the spiral spring is further compressed. The lever / is now pulled
over by the action of the said spiral spring in the direction indicated in Fig. 3,
whereby the short end of the said lever is caused to bear forcibly upon the spring w,
and the vice H is thereby forcibly closed so as to hold the burner with increased
firmness.
Other arrangements for closing the vice H may be adopted, as for example, a
fixed incline may act upon the lever i as the said lever slides forwards, or may act
upon the lever k or upon a modified form of lever, which in its turn acts upon the
lever i, but I have found the arrangement illustrated to be very suitable. A tube o
is fixed to the plate h, and a rod p which is fixed to a pillar q enters the said tube.
The said pillar passes through a slot in the carriage and is fixed to the bed E.
As the carriage slides to and fro the tube o slides upon the rod, which is sta-
tionary. A slot or opening is formed in the top of the tube, and the burners to be
drilled are dropped singly through this opening into the tube. A hopper or
inclined shoot or other arrangement to hold a number of burners, and to feed them
into the tube o or to the vice H, may be adapted to the machine; but I have found
that the burners may be dropped singly into the said tube by the attendant with
sufficient rapidity. A plate r is fitted to slide in " vee "slides across the carriage,
that is to say, in a direction at right angles to the direction of motion of the
carriage or thereabouts, and to the said plate is fixed a finger 8.
A bowl indicated by dotted lines is fixed to the said plate, and is acted upon by
a fixed cam plate t, which is sustained by pillars which are fixed to an adjustable
bracket n, which is bolted to the bed A. An end view of this arrangement is
shewn in Fig. 7. As the carriage moves towards the drill headstock the bowl on the
plater running in contact with the said cam plate is thereby pushed inwards
towards the carriage, whereby the said plate is slid inwards, and the finger 8 is
thereby brought behind the vice H. When the carriage retires a spring v, which
keeps the said bowl in contact with the cam plate t, slides the plater back. The
form of the cam G will vary to some extent, according to the work the machine is
intended to do.

page_text: By way of example, I will mention that the cam G in one machine which I have
constructed is designed to impart a movement in the direction towards the drill
headstock of one and three-quarter inches. Of this movement a part equal to about
one and a half inches is performed rapidly, the remaining quarter of an inch being
performed more slowly, and occupying about one-third of a revolution of the cam.
The drilling takes place during this slow movement. The whole of the return
movement may be performed rapidly, that is to say, at a nearly uniform rate. The
cam G may be fitted with an adjustable plate, so arranged as that by setting the
said plate the extent of the said slow movement may be increased or diminished,
as, for example, the carriage may be caused to move less or more than a quarter of
an inch at the slow rate of motion. The range of the work will thus be increased,
but I prefer to employ a different machine for each class of work.
The action of the machine may be described as follows:-The shaft C being set
in motion the drill spindle is caused to revolve rapidly, and the shaft D is caused
'to revolve more slowly, and the cam G imparts a to-and-fro sliding movement to
the carriage F. A drill of the required form is fixed to the drill spindle in a
suitable manner. I will suppose that a burner is being drilled. The attendant
now drops a burner into the tube o. When the drilling operation is completed the
carriage slides back, and the burner in the tube being prevented from moving back
by the rod p the said burner is pushed out of the end of the tube, and into the
space between the jaws of the vicé H, which is moving back with the carriage to
receive the burner. The lever i yields as much as is necessary to admit the burner
in manner as herein-before mentioned. The carriage now commences to slide for-
wards, so as to carry the burner towards the drill. The bowl on the plate r now runs
up the curved part of the cam plate t, and the fingers is pushed behind the burner.
The end of this finger is formed with a slightly inclined surface, and the parts are
so adjusted that the said finger shall push each burner slightly forwards within
the vice H, whereby the accurate adjustment of every burner is ensured. The vice
with the burner and the fingers will now be in the positions indicated in Fig. 8.
The finger s remains behind the burner during the drilling operation, and helps to
sustain the burner in the adjusted position. The carriage continuing its movement
the collar on the nut y leaves the bearing m, whereby the spiral spring is permitted
to act on the lever K, and the vice H is forcibly closed, as herein-before described.
The to-and-fro movements of the carriage have, as thus far described, been com-
paratively quick. The cam G now imparts a slower movement to the carriage, as
herein-before indicated, and the drilling operation commences, a slow forward move-
ment continuing during the drilling, and until the drilling is completed as far as
The car-
required. A fresh burner has meanwhile been dropped into the tube o.
riage now moves back, and a collar on the nut y coming against the bearing the
grip upon the burner is relaxed in the manner. herein-before indicated. The back-
ward movement continuing the burner last dropped into the tube is pushed for
wards into the vice, pushing the drilled burner out of the vice, and taking its place
therein. The actions of the various parts as described are then repeated.
Having now fully set forth and indicated the nature of my said Invention, and
the manner in which I carry the same into practical effect, I would have it to be
understood in conclusion that I claim,-
First. The apparatus arranged and acting substantially as and for the purposes
set forth and indicated herein-before, and in and by the accompanying Drawings.
Secondly. The feeding tube to receive the burner to be drilled and the fixed rod
to push the said burner out of the tube into the holding, vice, substantially as set
forth and indicated.
Thirdly. The holding vice or pair of jaws mounted upon a sliding carriage, and
arranged and acting substantially as and for the purpose set forth and indicated.
Fourthly. The rod / with tube nuts and spring, arranged and acting substantially
as and for the purpose set forth and indicated.
Fifthly. The sliding carriage carrying the burner forwards towards the drill,

page_text: and moving quickly until the part to be cut is presented to the drill, and moving
slowly during the drilling operation, substantially as set forth and indicated.
And, lastly. The sliding finger 8, acting substantially as and for the purposes set
forth and indicated.
In witness whereof, I, the said Joseph Shaw Gent, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Fourth day of May, in the year of our Lord One thousand
eight hundred and seventy-seven.
Signed and sealed by the
said Joseph Shaw Gent, in
the presence of
EDWARD K. DUTTON,
Agent to the Patentee,
3, Princess Street,
Manchester.
JOSEPH SHAW GENT. (L.S.)