IMPROVEMENTS IN VICES
Year: 1872

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Peter Joel Livsey, of the City of Manchester,
in the County of Lancaster, Consulting Engineer and Patent Agent,
for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN VICES." -A communication
from abroad by Thomas Hall, of Florence, Massachusetts, United
States of America.
Sealed the 24th January 1873, and dated the 31st October 1872.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Peter Joel Livsey at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
31st October 1872.
I, PETER JOEL LIVSEY, of the City of Manchester, in the County of
Lancaster, Consulting Engineer and Patent Agent, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN VICES," a com-
munication to me from abroad by Thomas Hall, of Florence, Massa-
chusetts, United States of America, to be as follows:-
First. The Invention consists in mounting the jaws of the vice on a
dovetail base plate, so that the can be swivelled round to any required
:

page_text: position, being held firmly by spreading or pushing apart the two halves
in which the base plate is formed, and secured by the same handle that
is used to actuate the moveable jaw as herein-after described, or by
independent mechanism, or by a toothed bar or its equivalent, herein-
after described, which is connected with the nut of a screw vice.
Secondly. The Invention consists in combining a lever handle with
the moveable jaw piece of a vice, and so arranged that by moving the
handle one way the jaw can be quickly opened or closed to suit the
article to be held, and then by moving the handle the other way the
article can be clamped and held firmly between the jaws, the particular
mechanism employed being herein-after described.
Thirdly. The Invention consists in a fixed jaw, in which a sliding jaw
is made to move to and from the fixed jaw; this sliding jaw has a handle
fitted to it, the boss of which is secured to the slide by adjustable bands
and to a radius pin in the boss; a wedge bar is jointed that acts against
toggle levers, one toggle having its abutment against a cross piece in
the sliding jaw, the other toggle having its abutment in a bar toothed on
its under side to correspond, with teeth in the fixed jaw or in a separate
bar, resting on the base plate upon which the fixed jaw may swivel.
One end of the toothed toggle bar is in a guide pin, and is acted upon
by a spring which will draw back the toothed bar, and push up the
toggle levers when the handle is turned up, and the toothed end of the
toggle bar is lifted by a lever, having its fulcrum on a pin in the sliding
jaw, which lever is acted upon by a pin in the boss of the lever handle,
so as to release the toothed toggle bar when the handle is turned up,
and allow its teeth to gear with those of the toothed bar on the fixed
jaw or base plate when the handle is turned down. The toothed toggle
bar may be actuated either by the lever described, or by an equivalent
arrangement.
When the fixed jaw is mounted to swivel on a base plate, as described
under the first head, the pressure of the toggles upon the toothed bars
and the forward pressure of the loose toothed bar (which has its
end bevelled, so as to come against a bevel in the fixed jaw) operate
together to clamp and hold the fixed jaw on the swivel base plate, and
by this means the same handle is used to adjust the moveable jaw, to
clamp and release the article, and to clamp or release the fixed jaw.upon
its swivel plate.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Peter Joel Livsey in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 15th April 1873.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, PETER
JOEL LIVSEY, of the City of Manchester, in the County of Lancaster,
Consulting Engineer and Patent Agent, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Thirty-first day of October, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-two, in the
thirty-sixth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said Peter Joel Livsey, Her special
license that I, the said Peter Joel Livsey, my executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Peter Joel Livsey,
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 VICES," (a communication to me from abroad by Thomas Hall, of
Florence, Massachusetts, United States of America) upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said Peter Joel Livsey, 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 Peter Joel Livsey, do hereby
declare the nature of my 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 the accompanying Drawings (that is
to say):-.
First. The Invention consists in mounting the jaws of the vice on a"
dovetail base plate or its equivalent, so that they can be swivelled round,
being held firmly by spreading or pushing apart the two halves in which
the base plate is formed and secured in the position required by the
same handle that is used to actuate the moveable jaw as herein-after

page_text: described, or by independent mechanism or by a toothed bar, herein-
after described, or its equivalent, which is connected with the nut of a
screw vice.
Secondly. The Invention consists in combining a lever handle with
the moveable jaw piece of a vice, and so arranged that by moving the
handle one way, the jaw is at liberty, and can be quickly opened or closed
to suit the article to be held, and then by moving the handle the other
way the article between the jaws can be clamped and held firmly
therein, the particular mechanism employed being herein-after described.
Thirdly. The Invention consists in a fixed jaw, in which a sliding jaw
is made to move to and from the fixed jaw; this sliding jaw has a handle
fitted to it, the boss of which is secured to the slide by adjustable bands
and to a radius pin in the boss; a wedge bar is jointed the acts against
toggle levers, one toggle having its abutment against a cross piece in the
sliding jaw and solid therewith, the other toggle having its abutment in a
bar toothed on its under side to correspond with teeth in the fixed jaw, or
in a separate bar resting on the base plate, upon which the fixed jaw
may swivel. One end of the toothed toggle bar is on a guide pin, and is
acted upon by a spring which will draw back the toothed bar, and push
up the toggle levers when the handle is turned up, the toothed end of the
toggle bar being lifted by a lever having its fulcrum on a pin in the
sliding jaw, which lever is acted upon by a pin in the boss of the lever
handle, so as to release the toothed toggle bar when the handle is turned
up, and allow its teeth to gear with those of the toothed bar on the
fixed jaw or base plate when the handle is turned down. The toothed
toggle may be actuated either by the lever described or by an
equivalent arrangement.
When the fixed jaw is mounted to swivel on a base plate, as described
under the first head, the pressure of the toggles upon the toothed bars,
and the forward pressure of the loose toothed bar (which has its end
bevelled so as to come against a bevel in the fixed jaw) operate together
to clamp and hold the fixed jaw on the swivel base plate, and by this
means the same handle is used to adjust the moveable jaw to clamp
and release the article, and to clamp or release the fixed jaw upon its
swivel plate.
Fig. 1 is a longitudinal view partly in section, and Fig. 2 is a plan
view partly in section, the upper portion being supposed cut away.
These two Figures illustrate the said improvements in vices combined

page_text: together. a is the dovetailed base plate in two halves, which can be
pushed apart by the wedge b, and secured to the bench by screws. The
holes for the screws in the base plate a may be slotted to allow of the
two halves of the base plate being brought nearer to or pushed further
apart. The dovetail of the base plate a fits a dovetail recess in the fixed
jaw part c, so that the fixed jaw and with it the moveable jaw can be
swivelled round to any required position upon the base plate. The
moveable jaw d has a horizontal part, which is made to fit and slide
freely in the fixed jaw part c. At the end of the slide part there is a
lever handle e, having a boss formed by two discs e¹, which fit recesses
in the end of the slide, the boss of the lever being held in the recesses
by adjustable bands e, by which the friction on the boss may be
regulated. To a pin f, between the discs e¹, one end of a rod ƒ¹ is
jointed, the end of which forms a wedge that acts upon the upper side
of one of a pair of toggle levers 7 and 9¹. One toggle (g) has its abut-
ment against a cross piece d¹ in the hollow of the slide, and soled there-
with; the other toggle (g¹) acts against a bar (h), one end of which
slides upon a pin h¹ secured in the part d₁ forming the abutment. Upon
the pin h¹ a helical spring he is placed, which serves to draw back the
bar, and force up the toggle levers 7 and 9' when the lever handle e is in
the position shown. The bar (/) is toothed on its under face, ratchet
fashion, to correspond with teeth in a bar i, resting upon the upper
surface of the base plate (a), the ends of the bar coming between
projections cand c² from the fixed jaw c. One end of the toothed'
bar i is bevelled to come under a bevel part on the front projection (c¹),
so that when the bar i forced forwards it will assist along with the
downward pressure upon the base plate to hold the fixed jaw in the
required position upon the base plate. When the lever handle e is in
the position shown, the teeth in the end of the bar are lifted clear of
the teeth in the bar i, as shown, by a lever j having its fulcrum on the
slide part, which lever (j) is acted upon by a pin k in the lever
handle (e). This pin need only project from one disc of the lever
handle, a notch being found in the side of the rod f to allow it to pass
when required.
I

page_text: into the vertical position, as by this movement the toothed bar h is first
lowered into gear with the teeth of the bar i, and the toggle levers g
and g¹ are forced down by the wedge (f). The pressure of the toggles
upon the bar i, and its forward pressure at the same time hold the jaws
in the position in which they were placed before turning the handle
down, and the vice is thus operated every way and with great facility by
one hand upon the same lever handle.
It will be readily seen that vices having different clamping mechanism
from that shown in the Drawings may be mounted to swivel round a
base plate (a), and that in such cases the screw nut of screw vices may
be arranged so as to be drawn against the dovetail of the base plate, or
an equivalent for the toothed bar combined with other clamping
mechanism may be made to act upon the base plate, or an independant
lever handle may be used actuating an excentric wedge or screw or
other equivalent for clamping the jaws in the required position upon the
base plate. The improved vice may be used without an independent
base plate for swivel adjustment, the base plate and fixed jaw in this
case forming one piece.
I have now particularly described the nature of the Invention com-
municated to me, and claim as the Invention secured to me by the in:
part recited Letters Patent,―
Firstly. The mounting of the jaws of vices on a circular base plate (a)
so that they can be swivelled round to any required position and secured
or clamped substantially as herein-before described.
Secondly. The combination of a handle with the moveable jaw pieces
of a vice arranged so that by the same handle the moveable jaw can be
adjusted and the article clamped between the jaws, substantially as
herein-before described and illustrated by the Drawings, also the recess
in the jaw to receive the handle, and also the bands e² or their
equivalents as described.
Thirdly. The clamping of the vice to the base plate a by a downward
and forward pressure upon the toothed bar i or its equivalent substan-
tially as herein-before described.
Fourthly. The combination of a handle, wedge, toggle and toothed
bar for clamping the jaws of vices, substantially as herein-before
described, and also the abutment d³, solid with the jaw slide as
described.

page_text: Fifthly. The lever ; or its equivalent for releasing the toothed bar h,.
or its equivalent, and allowing it to gear with the bar i, or its equivalent,
substantially as herein-before described..
Sixthly. The clamping of the article between the jaws and the jaws
themselves in the required position upon the base plate by the same
handle (e), substantially as herein-before described.
Seventhly. The combination and arrangement of the mechanism of
a vice, substantially as herein-before described and illustrated by the
Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said Peter Joel Livsey, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Fourteenth day of April, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-three.