AN IMPROVED CARPET STRETCHER AND TACK DRIVER
Year: 1867

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Alexander Horace Brandon, Civil Engineer, of
No. 13, Rue Gaillon, Paris, in the Empire of France, for the Invention
of "AN IMPROVED CARPET STRETCHER AND TACK DRIVER."-A com-
munication from William Brown, of New York, United States of
America.
Sealed the 24th December 1867, and dated the 31st August 1867.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION filed by the said Alexander Horace Brandon
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition and
Declaration, on the 31st August 1867, pursuant to the 9th Section of
the Patent Law Amendment Act, 1852.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE. PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ALEXANDER
HORACE BRANDON, Civil Engineer, of No. 13, Rue Gaillon, Paris, in the
Empire of France, send greeting.
WHEREAS. I am in possession of an Invention for "AN IMPROVED CARPET
STRETCHER AND TACK DRIVER," and have petitioned Her Majesty to grant unto
me, my executors, administrators, and assigns, Her Royal Letters Patent, for,
the same, and have made solemn Declaration that the same is a communi-
cation to me from William Brown, of New York, United States of America.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Alexander Horace Brandon, do hereby
declare that the following Complete Specification, under my hand and seal,
fully describes and ascertains the nature of the said Invention, and in what

page_text: manner the same is to be performed, in and by the following statement, (that
is to say)-
The nature of this Invention consists in arranging and combining together
two parts, one the shaft for the stretcher, the other the tube and operating
parts for the tack driver, these operating parts being, firstly, a plunger or
hammer; secondly, a spring by which the hammer is operated; thirdly, a
peculiar shape to the lower part of the plunger by which the descent of the
tack is regulated; fourthly, the jaws which hold the tack ready to be driven
into the floor by the blow of the plunger, and which open at the required
moment to allow the tack to pass.
My improvement may be constructed in two different shapes, one of which
(as shewn in Figs. 1 and 2 of the Drawing) is where the parts for driving the
tack and the tube or hollow column for containing them are placed in a
vertical position, and the part constituting the carpet stretcher in the inclined
position required for use, the two being united and combined so as to form
one instrument, the other form being where the parts are all united and
combined in or on a single shaft (as shewn in Figs. 4 and 5 of the
Drawing. I believe that the form of carpet stretcher represented in Figs. 1
and 2 will be most convenient in practical use.
Fig. 1 of the Drawings represents a side elevation of my carpet stretcher
and tack driver (in the form I prefer); Fig. 2 represents, a vertical cross
section through the centre of the parts represented in Fig. 1'; Fig. 3 is an
end elevation of the vertical part or column shown in Figs. 1 and 2; Fig. 4
is an exterior side view or plan of my carpet stretcher and tack driver united
in or on a single shaft; Fig. 5 is a longitudinal cross section through the
same shewing the interior parts; and Fig. 6 and 7 are top and side views in
detail of the jaws. In all the Figures the same letters represent the same
parts.
The exterior form of my combined carpet stretcher and tack driver, as I
prefer to have it constructed, is, shewn in Fig. 1, A, representing the handle;
B, the shaft; D, the vertical column or tube united at the bottom. The teeth
for seizing and holding the carpet while. being stretched and fastened are
placed at the lower extremity of the vertical tube D. C is a tube which is
the tack feeder or conductor; it may be inserted into a bore within the handle
and shaft, as in Fig. 1, or it may be placed on the exterior of the shaft, as in
Fig. 4. Within the vertical hollow.column D, towards the lower end, I place
the cylindrical plunger E (Fig. 2) which is to play up and down as required;
this plunger has a taper or bevel at e¹, and from that taper it extends down-
wards at a reduced size or diameter to the part e², where commences a second

page_text: taper or bevel which extends to the bottom of the plunger, where it ends in a
flat surface or head about the size of the ordinary carpet tack head. The
object of these tapers and variations of size in the parts of the plunger is to
regulate the motion and play of the plunger in connection with the descent
and driving of the tack. The tack conductor of feeder C is a straight hollow
metal tube extending along the upper side of the shaft of the carpet stretcher
from the handle to the part which unites the diagonal and vertical parts B, D,
together. It is open at the top to admit the dropping in of the tack always
with the point downwards (in Figs. 1 and 2 this tube is shewn as inserted in
the centre of the shaft B, but I prefer that it should be placed on the outside,
as shewn in Fig. 4). The tube C is so connected with column D that the
tack when at the bottom of the feeding tube C rests or stops with its point
at the part of the plunger e². When the plunger is at rest, as shewn in
Fig. 2, the tack is stopped by the plunger at the bottom of the tube C, but
when the plunger is raised so that its lower surface is above the opening of
the tube C into D, then the tack descends by its gravity down into the jaws,
where it is held in an upright position until the blow is given by the plunger
to drive the tack into the floor. The play and stopping point of the plunger
in its descent are regulated by the shoulder of taper e¹ coming in contact with
the bearing f inside the tube D. The interior diameter of the column or
tube D is reduced at g, g, so as to fit the reduced size of the plunger at that
part, and the diameter should be a little larger than that of the tack head, so
as to allow the tack to pass through easily but always point downwards.
The jaws G are constructed as follows: They are made of four equal
sections resembling vertically quartered sections of a funnel, and when closed
resemble Figs. 6 and 7 of the Drawing, Fig. 6 being top view and Fig. 7 a
side elevation. The upper parts of the jaws have a lip or flange by which they
are hinged within the tube D (as at h, h, Fig. 2), so that the upper part of.
the jaws are held apart and the lower parts close or open as required. The
lower part of the jaws are provided with an elastic ring of rubber which con-
fines the parts together, and when the plunger is forced downwards it opens
sufficiently to permit it to pass, and on the plunger being withdrawn it closes
immediately. When the parts of the jaws are thus closed a small opening
remains in the centre to receive the point of the tack and hold it vertically to
receive the blow of the plunger square upon the head of the tack. The
interior of the jaws being funnel-shaped the parts are easily opened. to admit
the passage of the plunger head to drive the tack. H (Fig. 2). is a spirál
spring secured to the upper end of the plunger within the tube D.; this spring
is made with a diameter of coil about equal to the interior diameter of the

page_text: tube, and is made to have sufficient action and reaction to operate the
plunger, and when at rest it should hold the plunger so that its lower end will
be just within the funnel or hollow of the jaws. The plunger is operated by
means of the cord I (Figs. 1 and 2), which is provided with a knot or handle K,
and is carried along the shaft. B, thence to the top of column D, where it
passes over a pulley at the head of D down to the bottom of spring H, where
it is fast to the head of plunger E.
When the instrument is to be used the carpet stretcher is pushed into the
carpet, which it catches by the teeth, and when the carpet is at the place for
fastening the tack is dropped into the tube C point downwards, and imme-
diately falls to the point, where it comes into contact with the plunger and is
there stopped; the plunger then being raised by drawing the cord the tack
drops into the jaws, when the cord being left free the spring drives the
plunger down upon the tack, driving it into the floor, and the plunger springs
back to its place, and the operation is then continued as before.
The con-
nections of B, D, are made in separate parts from the tubes so that they
can be easily taken apart; the head and bottom pieces of tube D.are. also
made removable, shutting upon or over the tube so as to be securely and
firmly held in place; these are for convenience of removal for inspection. and
repairing the parts of the tubes when necessary.
The instrument may be made in the form shewn in Figs. 4 and 5, in which
the operating parts are substantially the same, but arranged within and upon
a single shaft, but I regard the first-described form as the best.
Having thus described this Invention, and manner of constructing and
operating the same, what I claim therein as new and for which I desire
Letters Patent is,-
Firstly. The combining and arranging together the tubes B and D to form
a combined carpet stretcher and tack driver, as described.
Secondly. I claim the combination of the tube D with the plunger E and
the jams G, constructed and operating as described.
Thirdly. I claim the construction of the plunger E with different dimensions
in its different parts in combination with the corresponding parts of the interior
of tube D, as described, by which the action of the plunger is controlled
and regulated and the tack-held back and then admitted into the jaws when
required.
Fourthly. I claim the manner of constructing and arranging the jaws
in sections combined with the spring, in the manner and for the purpose
described.
Fifthly. I claim the making the ends of the tube D moveable and adjust-

page_text: able by box or sliding covers, and the connecting the tubes B, D, by an
adjustable and moveable piece, as described.
Sixthly. I claim the combination and arrangement of the foregoing parts in
and with a single shaft, as shewn in Figs. 4 and 5.
In witness whereof, I, the said Alexander Horace Brandon, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this 29th day of August, in the year of
our Lord 1867.
Witness,
D. H. BRANDON,
13, Rue Gaillon,
Paris.
A. H. BRANDON. (L.S.)
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