IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF UMBRELLAS AND PARASOLS
Year: 1860

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Henry Cotterell, of Balsall Heath, King's Norton,
in the County of Worcester, Manager of Works, for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF UMBRELLAS AND PARASOLS."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Henry Cotterell at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 11th
August 1860.
1, HENRY COTTERELL, of Balsall Heath, King's Norton, in the County of
Worcester, Manager of Works, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF UMBRELLAS AND PARASOLS,"
to be as follows:-
My Invention consists in making the stretcher joints of umbrellas and
parasols from sheet metal as herein-after explained. I cut blanks of a nearly
rectangular form from sheet brass or other suitable metal, the said blanks
being of a length equal to the length of the joint, and of such a width that
when the middle portion is doubled, as herein-after explained, it forms a fork
of a suitable size for the joint. Two slits are made opposite to each other on
opposite sides of the blank, the said slits extending across about one-third of
the blank. The said blank is thereby partly divided, there being formed three
flaps on each side of the middle or uncut portion of the blank. The two
middle flaps are bent parallel to one another, and form the fork of the joint.
The outer flaps are bent in the opposite direction, and are closed by pressure
upon the rib. The said rib has notches or indentations where the said flaps
are closed upon it, by which means the joint is prevented from sliding on the
rib. sometimes bend all the flaps in the same direction, that is, I bend the

page_text: blank into a trough-like form leaving the middle flaps parallel to form the fork
of the joint, and close the outer flaps around the rib. The blank is somewhat
wider at the parts which are to be formed into the fork of the joint for the
reception of the end of the stretcher, and is also suitably rounded and pierced
at those parts. The joint is finished in the ordinary manner. When I apply
the first described joint to hollow or tubular ribs, I sometimes make the turned-
in in the be
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the, said Henry Cotterell in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
,5th February 1861.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, HENRY
COTTERELL, of Balsall Heath, King's Norton, in the County of Worcester,
Manager of Works, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent,. bearing date the Eleventh day of August, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty, in the twenty-fourth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said Henry Cotterell, Her special licence that I, the said Henry Cotterell,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
Henry Cotterell, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any
time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times there-
after 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 "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF UMBRELLAS AND PARASOLS," upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said Henry Cotterell, my executors or adminis-
trators, 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 immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.'
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Henry Cotterell, do hereby declare
the nature of the 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 thereof, that is to say :-
My said Invention consists in making the stretcher joints of umbrellas and

page_text: parasols from sheet metal, and attaching them to the ribs of umbrellas and
parasols in the manner herein-after particularly explained.and illustrated in
the accompanying Drawing.
'
In carrying my Invention into effect I cut from sheet brass or other suitable
metal or alloy, blanks of a nearly rectangular form, the said blanks being of a
length equal to the length of the joint to be made and of such a width that
when the middle portion is doubled, as herein-after explained, it forms a förk
of a suitable size for the joint. A blank of this kind is represented in plan and
.edge view in Figure 1. of the accompanying Drawing.. The middle part a of the
said blank Figure. 1, has two tongues or projections made upon it, as repre-
sented, the ends b, c, of the said blank having a rectangular figure. I take
the said blank Figure 1 and pierce the tongues of the middle part a' with
holes, as shown in Figure 2, for the pin of the joint. The pierced blank
-Figure 2 is next placed in a press, and two slits or incisions cut parallel to
each other on opposite sides of the blank, as indicated by the dotted lines in
the said Figure 2; the blank Figure 2. thereby assumes; the form represented
in plan, and side; and end elevations in Figure 3. The said blank, Figure 3,
is thereby partly divided, there being formed three flaps a³, b, and c³, on each
side of the middle or uncut portion a of the blank. The partly divided blank,
Figure 8, is next operated upon so as to bend the outer flaps 6, c², into a
trough-like or nearly semicylindrical figure, as well as to flatten the middle
flaps a³, a², as represented in plan, side elevation, and end elevation in Figure 4;
in which Figure the troughs formed by the folded flaps b, c, are marked d, e.
The blank, Figure 4, is finally operated upon so as to bend the middle flaps a³,
, and bring them parallel to one another, as represented in Figure 5, the
said flaps being bent in a direction the opposite of that in which the other
flaps were bent. The said Figure 5.represents the joint in side elevation, plan,
and end elevation respectively, the parallel flaps, constituting the fork of the
joint, being marked f. The stretcher joint, Figure 5, is fixed to the rib of the
umbrella or parasol, by closing the trough-like parts d, e, by pressure upon
the said rib. Figures 6 and 7 represent in back and side elevations re-
spectively, the joint, Figure 5, fixed on a rib, the parts of the said joint being
being marked with the same letters as corresponding parts in the said Figure 5.
The rib, Figures 6 and 7, has notches or indentations made where the said
parts d, e, are. closed upon it by means of which the joint is prevented from
sliding on the said rib. The end of the stretcher 9 is inserted between the
prongs of the fork f, and a pin is passed through the said fork and end of the
stretcher and rivetted in the ordinary manner, and the said stretcher is thereby
secured to its joint.

page_text: I sometimes modify my Invention by bending all the flaps in the same
direction, that is' to say, I give the blank the form represented in Figure 8,
(which represents a blank pierced and cut ready for bending) the middle
flaps h to form the fork of the joint being much broader than the side flaps i.
The whole of the blank, Figure 8, is bent into a trough or inverted U-shaped
form, as represented in front elevation in Figure 9; and end elevation in
Figure 10; the middle flaps h being bent parallel to one another to form the
prongs of the fork, while the side flapsi are closed upon and made 'to clip the
umbrella or parasol rib, as illustrated in elevation and section in 'Figure 11.
When I apply the joint herein first described and illustrated in Figures 1 to 7,
to hollow or tubular ribs I prefer to make the parts d, e, pointed, and insert the
points in holes or piercings in the ribs. The tools and machinery by which the
blanks are cut out, pierced, slit, and shaped, or bent, as well as those by which
the flaps of the-joint are closed upon the rib, are of the kind commonly em-
ployed for effecting similar operations for other purposes, and I therefore do
not-think it necessary to describe the said tools and machinery.
Having now described the nature of my Invention, and the manner of
carrying the same into effect, I wish it to be understood that I do not limit
myself to the precise details herein described and represented, as the same
may be varied without departing from the nature of my Invention; but
I claim as my Invention the improvements in' the manufacture of umbrellas
and parasols herein-before described and illustrated in the accompanying
Drawing, that is to say, making the stretcher joints of umbrellas and parasols
from sheet metal and attaching them to the ribs of umbrellas and parasols
essentially in the ways described and illustrated in the accompanying Drawing:
In witness whereof, I, the said Henry Cotterell, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Fourth day of February, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-one.
Witness,
GEORGE SHAW.
HENRY COTTERELL. (L.S.)