IMPROVED MACHINERY FOR FILLING DIPPING CLAMPS WITH TAPERS, MATCH STEMS, AND SPLINTS
Year: 1861

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Thomas Higgins, of Bow, in the County of
Middlesex, Tornographer, for the Invention of "IMPROVED MACHINERY
FOR FILLING DIPPING CLAMPS WITH TAPERS, MATCH STEMS, AND SPLINTS."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Thomas Higgins at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
10th December 1861.
I, THOMAS HIGGINS, of Bow, in the County of Middlesex, Tornographer,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVED MACHINERY
FOR FILLING DIPPING CLAMPS WITH TAPERS, MATCH STEMS, AND SPLINTS," to be as
follows:-
The object of this Invention is so to adjust the position of or arrange in a
-box or receptacle, tapers, matches, or splints, which are required to be tipped
with the compound commonly applied to the ends of lucifer matches. Such
tapers or matches may be thrust endwise therefrom by a series of plungers,
and thereby be discharged into dipping clamps provided to receive them. A
long narrow box is provided (open at top and slightly contracted towards its
bottom) to receive the tapers, splints, or matches, which are cut to a uniform
length, and placed therein across the breadth of the box.. This box is fitted
with a series of half-round-tubes-formed_with_open_ends, and set so closely
together as to prevent the matches or tapers from falling between them, and

page_text: they are made capable of receiving an axial motion; the bore of these tubes is
somewhat greater than the diameter of the tapers to be arranged. A slight
axial motion is given to these tubes by means of a sliding bar or its equivalent
connected to all the tubes, and operated through the crank pin of a rocking
wavy edged bar, which receives its motion from the bar to which the before
mentioned plungers are attached. This bar slides on guides, and is provided
with studs which embrace the wavy edge of the rocking bar; as, therefore, it
is slidden by hand to and fro, an oscillating motion is imparted to the rocking
bar, which, by its connection with the half tubes, causes those tubes to disturb
the overlying tapers or matches, and shake them into a position parallel to
each other and to the tubes.. By this means the lowermost tapers will be
deposited into the hollow of the tubes and lie snugly therein, at which time
they will severally be in a line with one of the plungers of the series attached
to the sliding bar. The plungers are now therefore moved forward and caused
-to thrust the tapers or matches out of the box, suitable clamps being at the
same time brought up to the box to receive them. Instead of half round
tubes being used to form the bottom of the box and to effect the requisite
parallel arrangement of the tapers to allow of their rapid discharge into
dipping clamps, rollers arranged parallel to each other may be substituted,
the upper portion of the peripheries of adjacent rollers serving to support
the tapers in a line with the plungers. These rollers, like the half tubes, are
also to receive an axial motion.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Thomas Higgins in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
10th June 1862.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, THOMAS
HIGGINS, of Bow, in the County of Middlesex, Tornographer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her. Letter's
Patent, bearing date the Tenth day. of December, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-one, in the twenty-fifth year. of Her reign,
did, for Herself; Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
Thomas Higgins Her special license that I, the said, Thomas Higgins, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Thomas
Higgins, 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

page_text: vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland; the Channel
Islands; and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVED MACHINERY FOR FILLING:
DIPPING CLAMPS WITH TAPERS, MATCH STEMS, AND SPLINTS, upon the condition
(amongst others) that I; the said Thomas Higgins, by an instrument in
writing. under my hand and seal, 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 Thomas Higgins, 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; reference being had to the Drawing hereunto' annexed; and to the
letters and figurés marked thereon (that is to say):
This Invention relates to. a novel arrangement of machinery whereby the
splints, tapers, or matches intended to receive on their ends a coating of com-
position! that will ignite by the application of friction may be arranged with
facility in clamps ready to undergo what is known as the dipping process,
which is the process by which the phosphorus.compound is applied to the tips
of the splints, tapers, or matches.
In the accompanying Drawing, Fig. 1 is a plan view of the machinery;
Fig: 2 is a longitudinal vertical section; and Figs. 3 and 4 are views of details
that will presently be more particularly referred to: The object of this
machinery is, first; to arrange in rows the tapers or splints which are supplied
thereto preparatory to their being discharged into the dipping clamps. The
tapers or splints are arranged parallel to and equidistant from each other, and
while in this position they are to be simultaneously thrust into the clamps
prepared to receive them, which operation is effected by means of a series of
plungers:
t
A; A; is the bed of the machine; upon which a plate of iron B is bolted.
To this plate guide bars C, C*; are secured by screws: These guide bars are
each pierced by a row of equidistant holes, which are intended to receive a
series of sliding rods D; D; D. In front of these rods and at the outer end of
the plate B, a box E'is mounted for receiving the splints, tapers, or matches to
be operated upon. This box: is open at top; its length is about equal to the
width of the machine, and its breadth and .length are slightly contracted
towards the bottom, which is formed of a series of parallel tubes a; a mounted
loosely in bearings in the sides of the box, and having their upper halves cut
away, as shown' best in the partial longitudinal view, Fig. 3. The ends of

page_text: these tubes are open, and the forward ends project through the front of the:
box E. From the under side of each tube, and about midway between the ends.
thereof, projects a pin b. This series of pins enters a series of holes in a pierced
bar F, which lies below the tubes and extends from end to end of the series of
tubes; when therefore an endway motion is imparted to this bar, all the
tubes will be caused to rock simultaneously in the same direction in their,
bearings. The bore of these tubes is a little superior to the diameter of the
splints or tapers to be supplied to the box E, and the machines must therefore:
be built to suit a given kind of work. That shown in the Drawing is intended
to operate upon wax taper matches, which are cut to a uniform length, and
inserted in any required quantity in the box E. By the oscillating motion of
the tubes a the mass of loose tapers immediately overlying the tubes will be.
disturbed and caused to arrange themselves parallel to each other, while the
lowest tapers of the series will drop into the cavities of the tubes ready to be
discharged from the box. This oscillating motion of the tubes I obtain in the
following manner :-G is a rock shaft mounted in bearings in the guide bar C,
and in a bar attached to the back of the box E; secured to this rock shaft, or;
forming a continuation of it, is a flat rod G*, with a rounded end, which rests
in a bearing in the guide bar C*. For a portion of its length this flat rod is
twisted axially alternately to the right and left (see Fig. 1), so as to produce a
wavy edge. Set over this rod and extending across the machine is a traversing
bar H, provided at its opposite ends with handles. This bar is pierced like
the guide bars C, C*, with holes to receive the rods D, and by means of screws.
these rods are firmly clamped to the bar H, so that when it is moved to and:
fro by the workman all the rods will move with it. The bar H also carries a
two studs c, c, which embrace between them the wavy edge of the flat rod G*;
as therefore the bar H is moved. backwards and forwards it will cause the
shaft G to rock and impart an endway motion to the pierced bar F, whereby
an axial motion will be given to the tubes as before mentioned. At the same
time that this axial motion of the tubes takes place for the purpose of arranging
the tapers in the box F parallel to each other, and causing a certain number of
them to fall into the tubes, the rods D, being as before mentioned secured to,
the bar H, will be thrust-forwards,-and-being brought into contact with the.
ends of the tapers in the tubes, they will expel them from the box. The
clamps for receiving the tapers being arranged immediately in front of the
tubes a, as shewn at I, I, Figs. 1 and 2, (that is, so that the grooves in the
.clamps will be in a line with the tubes A,) the tapers as they are thrust
forward will be deposited in the clamps, the ends of the whole row ranging
with each other and with those that have previously been discharged into the.

page_text: clamps. The attendant now secures, them in position by the application of an
additional clamping board to those already piled up, and he continues the
operation until he has accumulated the desired number of rows convenient for
dipping. He then combines them together and puts the block of filled clamps
aside ready for the man whose duty it is 'to dip the tapers or apply the
phosphorus compound thereto.
I would remark that instead of forming the bottom of the box E of tubes a, with
their upper halves cut away, I may use rollers for arranging the splints or tapers,
as shewn at Fig. 4, the proximate surfaces of adjacent rollers serving as guides
for supporting the splints and guiding them out of the box E when acted upon
by the propelling rods D, as already explained. The oscillation of these rollers'
will be effected in a manner precisely similar to that of the tubes. The last
roller, however, of the series will form the rock shaft G of the first described
arrangement.
Having now explained the nature of my Invention of improved machinery
for filling dipping clamps with tapers, match stems, and splints, and having
explained the manner of carrying the same into effect, I wish it to be under-
stood that under the above in part recited Letters Patent I claim the
mechanical means above described for arranging splints, tapers, and matches-
parallel to each other, and discharging them into suitable dipping clamps.
In witness whereof, I, the said Thomas Higgins, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Seventh day of June, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-two.
Witness,
FRED. WALKDEN,
66, Chancery Lane.
THOMAS HIGGINS. (L.S.)