Indexing means

An apparatus for drilling holes through batches of paper, the apparatus having a vertically movable drilling head, a movable table for supporting the batch of paper through which the holes are to be drilled at predetermined positions, and an indexing means incorporating elongate indexing members with holes or recesses provided therein corresponding to the positioning and spacing of the holes to be drilled, and a locating pin arrangement associated with and movable with the table and adapted for engagement in respective holes or recesses in a particular indexing member to set the table at the required positions for drilling operations. In one embodiment the locating pin arrangement is manually retracted and relocated, while in another embodiment the retraction and relocation is facilitated semi-automatically after each drilling operation.

The present invention relates to drilling apparatus in general and paper 
drilling apparatus in particular. 
Paper stationery is customarily provided with an arrangement of holes along 
its left hand margin to enable it to be fitted into files and binders. 
There are a number of different types of files and binders on the market 
and different arrangements of holes are required to fit the different 
types of files and binders. This can cause a problem in the printing of, 
for example, headed notepaper. Printed stationery is customarily provided 
with the required arrangement of holes by means of a paper drilling 
apparatus. However, because the required arrangement of holes varies from 
batch to batch the paper drilling apparatus has to be reset between 
batches. The process of resetting can occupy more time than the actual 
drilling process. Thus, the cost of a batch of printed stationery can be 
inordinately increased by the drilling process. This problem has existed 
particularly in small printers' works for many years. 
The present invention provides an apparatus for drilling, particularly for 
drilling paper, in which the time spent on presetting is reduced. The 
present invention also provides an indexing attachment for a drilling 
apparatus. 
In accordance with the present invention there is provided a drilling 
apparatus comprising a vertically movable drilling head and a table for 
receiving material to be drilled, the drilling head and table being 
laterally movable relative to one another, wherein there is attached to 
the apparatus an indexing means having a plurality of rows of indexing 
members such as holes or recesses of preset spacing, and engaging means 
for step wise indexing engaging with the indexing members of a selected 
row, whereby the material can be drilled with a desired arrangement of 
holes at a pre-set spacing. 
Preferably, the drill head is laterally fixed and the table is movable in 
the lateral direction. In this case the indexing means is mounted so as to 
engage indexing engagement means associated with the table. However, it 
must be understood that the drill head can alternatively be laterally 
movable and the table fixed in which case the indexing means would engage 
with an indexing engagement means associated with the drill head. 
The present invention also provides an indexing attachment for a drilling 
apparatus comprising an indexing means having a plurality of rows of 
indexing members such as holes or recesses of preset spacing, means for 
attaching the indexing means to a drilling apparatus, and means for step 
wise indexing engagement with the indexing members of a selected row. 
The present invention further provides a drilling apparatus having means 
for lubricating a drill bit, in use, which means comprises means for 
urging a lubricating stick of solid lubricant into engagement with a drill 
bit. 
As indicated above the present invention has particular reference to the 
drilling of batches of printed stationery although it is applicable to the 
drilling of batches of any sort of paper or to the drilling of other 
materials.

In FIGS. 1 and 2 of the drawings, there is shown the lower part only of a 
stem 10 which carries a drilling head (not shown), and a table 12 which is 
laterally movable. Towards the rear (as seen in FIG. 2) the table 12 has a 
pair of wheels 14 mounted on its underside. The wheels 14 are flanged and 
ride on a circular rod 16. Towards the front (as seen in FIG. 2) the table 
is supported on a single unflanged wheel 18 which is mounted on a bar 20. 
A vertical plate 22 is mounted across the width of the table 12 and 
provides a backing for batches of paper being drilled. 
Further, an adjustable plate 24 is mounted at right angles to the plate 22. 
In use, a side of a batch of paper is located against the adjustable plate 
24. The adjustable plate 24 extends behind the plate 22 and is threadedly 
engaged with a threaded rod 26. The position of the adjustable plate 24 is 
adjusted in use by movement on the threaded rod 26 to accommodate 
different sizes of paper. 
Below the threaded bar 26 is located an unthreaded bar 28 on which are 
mounted adjustable stops (not shown) which provide conventional means for 
setting of the position of the table for drilling. 
A generally cylindrical indexing drum 30 is mounted at one end of the bar 
20 intermediate its ends by means of a bracket 32 and at the other end to 
the end of the bar 20 remote from the table 12 by means of a bracket 34. 
The indexing drum 30 is located below the table 12 and comprises a 
plurality of recessed strips 36 as can be seen more clearly in FIG. 3. 
Each strip 36 contains a plurality of recesses 40 which are spaced apart 
by a predetermined distance to enable the drilling apparatus to drill 
batches of paper in accordance with standard spacing found in files or 
binders without the need to pre-set the machine. 
As can be seen in FIG. 3 the indexing drum 30 may also include a strip with 
conventional pre-setting spacers 42 to enable the apparatus to drill holes 
with unconventional spacings. This is an alternative to the rod 28 with 
spacers. 
At the remote end from the table 12 the indexing drum 30 contains a 
plurality of notches 44 corresponding to a respective strip 36. The 
notches 44 are arranged for engagement with a spring biased finger 46 
mounted on the bracket 34 as can be seen more clearly in FIG. 5. 
A spring biased locating pin 48 as can be seen more clearly in FIG. 4 is 
mounted to the underside of the table 12 and is arranged for indexing 
engagement with each member of the row of recesses 40 in a strip 36. 
In use a batch of paper to be drilled is placed on the table 12 with two 
sides on engagement with the plates 22 and 24 to ensure correct alignment. 
The indexing drum 30 is rotated, upon withdrawing the finger 46 manually, 
to the position where the strip 36 with the desired arrangement of holes 
40 is in alignment with the locating pin 48. The finger 46 is then 
released for engagement with the corresponding notch 44. In this way the 
position of the indexing drum 30 is fixed. 
The table 12 is then traversed to the right as seen in FIGS. 1 and 2 until 
the locating pin 48 engages with a first recess 40. The table is stopped 
and the drill head lowered so that the drill bit can drill a hole through 
the batch of paper. Once this is done the locating pin 48 is retracted and 
the table traversed to the right until a second recess 40 is engaged at 
which point the process is repeated. The above steps are carried out for 
each hole in the strip 36. 
When a batch of paper is required to be drilled with a different 
arrangement of holes the indexing drum is merely rotated until the 
corresponding notch 44 of the appropriate strip 40 is in engagement with 
the finger 46. Thus, batches of paper can be drilled with a wide variety 
of hole spacings without the need for a time consuming pre-setting 
operation. The indexing drum can be arranged for any standard hole spacing 
such as kalamazoo, standard five holes and standard two holes. 
If an unconventional spacing has to be drilled the conventional spacers 42 
can be used. The spacers 42 are set manually by means of a grub screw. 
Similar spacers on the bar 28 can be used as an alternative. 
Further, the drilling apparatus of the present invention may be provided 
with a drill bit lubricating attachment 50 which is shown in detail in 
FIGS. 6 and 7. 
As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 the lubricating attachment 50 comprises a 
slidably mounted tube 52 located within the drilling head 54. The portion 
of the tube 52 is maintained by tightening a threaded locking bolt 56 
mounted in the drill head 54. A rod 58 is movable mounted in the tube 52 
and extends from the bottom of the tube 52. The rod 58 is spring urged 
downwardly by means of a spring 60 located within the tube 52. The rod 58 
is provided with a stop 59 to prevent it from being ejected from the tube 
52 when not in use. 
At its lower end the rod 58 is threadedly attached to a boss member 62. The 
boss member 62 has a flat lower surface and is arranged through the spring 
60 to press against the top surface of a batch of paper 64 being drilled. 
The height of the tube 52 is adjusted as required to accommodate batches 
of paper of different heights. 
As can best be seen in FIG. 7 the boss member 62 contains a horizontal 
internally threaded tube 66. The internally threaded tube 66 has mounted 
within it an externally threaded adjusting member 68 with a knurled head. 
The adjusting member 68 contains a longitudinal aperture 69 extending 
through its entire length. A ram rod 70 extends through and beyond the 
aperture 69. In its portion extending beyond the aperture 69 the ram rod 
70 has a spring 72 mounted around it. The spring 72 abuts against the 
inner end of the adjusting member 68 and against a lubricating member 74 
containing a stick 76 of a solid lubricant. The spring 72 urges the stick 
76 into engagement with a drill bit 78. The position of the adjusting 
member 68 may be varied as desired to provide an appropriate degree of 
pressure on the stick 76. The adjusting member is locked in position by a 
locking bolt 80 having a knurled head. The ram rod 70 is provided with a 
stop 82 at its free end to prevent it being pulled through the aperture 69 
when the drill bit 82 is absent. 
In use, the engagement of the stick 76 with the drill bit 78 causes 
lubricant to be applied to the drill bit 78 as it is rotated. The 
application of lubricant facilitates entry of the drill into the batch of 
paper being drilled. 
In a modification of the indexing attachment of the present invention, and 
as shown in FIGS. 8 to 10 of the drawings, the operation of the locating 
pin 48 which is arranged for indexing engagement with a row of indexing 
recesses 40 is caused to operate automatically. 
In accordance with this modified form of the attachment, the integers 
directly related to integers in the preceding embodiment have been 
identified by like numerals, with some slight variations, for example, the 
holes 40 in the respective strips 36 extend through the strips, rather 
than being blind holes as shown in the preceding embodiment. 
In this modified arrangement, the locating pin arrangement 48 is received 
within a sub-housing 90, which is then supported within a main housing 84 
which in turn is suspended from the table 12 by a support 86. As shown, 
the sub-housing 90 containing the locating pin arrangement 48 is clamped 
within the main housing 84 by pairs of screw members 88 on either side of 
the housing, and the screw members 88 allow for some variation of the 
lateral position of support in the main housing 84 for fine adjustment 
purposes. The main housing 84 carries a solenoid valve 92, the extreme end 
of the valve member 94 of which abuts against the inwardly facing side of 
the actuating knob 96 of the locating pin arrangement 48, and is adapted 
to extend, and therefore retract, the pin of the arrangement 48 from a 
recess 40 at specific times during operation of the attachment. 
Referring to FIG. 9 of the drawings, the lower wall of the main housing 84 
supports a spring biased link arrangement 98, which comprises a link 
member 100 bent at right angles to provide a locating pin engaging portion 
102. The link member 100 has a elongate slot 104 formed therethrough 
extending lengthwise of the link, and receives a pivot member 106 in the 
form of a screw member as shown and about which the link member 100 can 
pivot. A tension spring 108 is connected between one end of the link 
member 100 and a fixed pin 110, and when the locating pin of the 
arrangement 48 is received within a hole 40 the spring biased link 
arrangement 98 adopts the position shown in FIG. 9 against the biasing 
effect of the tension spring 108. 
The operation of this modified form of indexing attachment will now be 
described. With the locating pin of the arrangement 48' engaged within a 
hole 40' of the row in a selected strip 36' as shown in FIG. 9, the hole 
through the batch of paper at the position set by the indexing attachment, 
is drilled. The solenoid valve 92 is actuated in response to completion of 
the drilling of the hole, for example, by means of a contact switch 
actuated in response to raising of the drilling head after completion of 
the drilling. The locating pin of the arrangement 48' is automatically 
withdrawn from the hole 40' to the position shown in FIG. 10 and the link 
member 100 pivots to the position shown in FIG. 10 under the action of the 
tension spring 108 such that the engaging portion 102 prevents the 
locating pin from re-entering the hole 40'. The engaging portion 102 of 
the link member 100 has applied thereto a layer of material of high 
friction coefficient, such as rubber. Upon subsequent movement of the 
table 12 and therefore the indexing arrangement carried thereby, relative 
to the particular strip 36' of the indexing drum 30', the engaging portion 
102, because of the friction engagement between it and the strip 36', 
tends to remain at a fixed position relative to the strip 36. The link 
member 100 is therefore caused to pivot about the pivot member 106 and 
back to the position shown in FIG. 9, thus moving the engaging portion 102 
out of engagement with the locating pin while the table is being advanced 
to its next position, so that, the locating pin is free to automatically 
engage in the next hole 40' in the particular row in the strip 36' as soon 
as it is aligned therewith. The position of the table required for the 
next hole to be drilled in the batch of paper, is thus automatically set, 
and the automatic disengagement and engagement of the locating pin 
arrangement 48' is repeated until completion of the drilling of the 
necessary number of holes in the positions as dictated by the particular 
strip 36' of the indexing drum 30'. 
Modifications and variations such as would be apparent to a skilled 
addressee in the art of drilling paper are deemed within the scope of the 
present invention. For example, the cylindrical surface of the drum 30 or 
30' could be formed from a single sheet of material with the required rows 
formed therein. Also, the indexing members need not be recesses 40 or 
holes as shown, but any means which can be engaged in step wise manner. 
Also, the indexing means need not be a cylindrical drum. Any configuration 
which will enable different rows of indexing members to be engaged is 
within the scope of the present invention.