IMPROVEMENTS IN CURTAIN SUSPENDERS AND IN THE MODE OF MANUFACTURING PART OF THE SAME, WHICH NEW MODE IS ALSO APPLICABLE TO THE MANUFACTURE OF OTHER ARTICLES
Year: 1882

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Charles Frederick Grimmett and
Joseph Cook at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 30th March
1882.
CHARLES FREDERICK GRIMMETT and JOSEPH COOK both of Birmingham in the
County of Warwick "IMPROVEMENTS IN CURTAIN SUSPENDERS AND IN THE
MODE OF MANUFACTURING PART OF THE SAME, WHICH NEW MODE IS ALSO
APPLICABLE TO THE MANUFACTURE OF OTHER ARTICLES."
Our Invention has for its object improvements in curtain suspenders which are
very much more elegant in appearance than the ordinary safety pins now used, and
also in the mode of manufacturing the cornice rings of such suspenders which new
mode is also applicable to the manufacture of rings, armlets, and other articles used
for other purposes.
Our curtain suspenders as most ordinarily used would be made in the upper part
of a round ring formed from sheet metal, generally by the new mode hereafter to
be more fully explained, the ring being cast through one part of its circumference
for the purpose of allowing the bottom part of the suspender to be more readily
joined on to it. The bottom part of the suspender would ordinarily be formed by
bending round one piece of brass or other wire so as to form at its upper end a bow
suitable for slipping over the cornice ring and the lower part of the wire or ends
would be bent round into a large and small bow something like the two legs of a
pair of tongs with a natural tendency to spring open due to the twist of the upper
portion of the wire. The curtain or other similar article to be suspended would be
placed between these two lower ends and they would then be drawn together by a
suitable ring fitting around both legs which would slide up and down drawing
together or liberating the said legs. The elegant and ornamental appearance is
given to the suspender by attaching to the outside a suitable metal or other cover
such as a leaf or other suitable design which may indeed form the front leg in itself.
Where solid rings are used we make the lower part of the suspender on the ring
itself but we prefer the upper part being made specially and split through. In cases
where it is desired to attach our suspenders to existing rings of cornice poles we
form the upper part of the suspender of a new form with a suitable hook or safety
D... 6.11

page_text: hook or other arrangement such as a split eye or swivel which enables it to be
attached to an eye such as are at present provided on cornice pole rings, but we
prefer to make the attachment as before explained because there is less liability of
the fastener twisting around and becoming unsightly. In other cases we reverse
the fastener and place the hook in the cornice rings. One neat form of detachable
fastener we make from one piece of wire by turning the book near the middle of
its length and twisting the wire round into a little coil at the root of the back leg
to form the spring, the front leg carrying the ornament as before set forth-Another
way would be to fasten a hook at the back of the ornamental plate and then to
twist the wire fastener around a pin which would make it act something like the
pin of a brooch.
The upper parts of the fasteners or rings we generally make from a strip of thin
brass or other metal which we manufacture in the following manner:-We place
in a lathe or other suitable machine a shaft having a deep spiral hollow. We then
attach to a slide rest or other arrangement a die and also a flexible mandril-We
then take a strip of brass or other metal and draw it through the die and over the
flexible mandril at the same time coiling it upon the shaft. The shaft may be
round, oval, or other shape and it may either be made with a spiral groove or not
as desired and to suit varying conditions such as the quality of the metal to be
dealt with.
The flexible mandril is of course a most important feature in the process because
without ample flexibility the tube or other coil could not be wound evenly on a
shaft. We therefore make our flexible mandril from a number of thin strips of
metal, the total number being shaped in cross section to the internal shape of the
tube required whether round or otherwise. The thin layers as they bend around a
shorter or longer curve adapting themselves in length by sliding upon the several
surfaces according to the diameter of the coil required. These mandrils are suitable
for forming other sections besides round and oval, indeed their range of usefulness
is very wide. Hollow spiral springs and other springs are so made with great
facility.
When the coil is made we run a saw through the coil crosswise which leaves a
number of rings and these may be connected together by various devices at the
ends so as to open or twist sideways sufficiently to pass over the cornice pole.