Improvements in and relating to Stapling Machines for Use in Binding Paper and analogous Materials.
Year: 1895

page_text: Date of Application (in United Kingdom), 5th June, 1895
Complete Specification Left, 5th June, 1895-Accepted, 28th Dec., 1895
Improvements in and relating to Stapling Machines for Use in
Binding Paper and analogous Materials.
I, EDWIN TRUMAN GREENFIELD, of No. 44 Broad Street, New York City,
in the County of New York, and State of New York, United States of America,
Electrician, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement :-
My invention is directed particularly to improvements in stapling machines
which sever and simultaneously drive staples from a metallic strip of formed staples
which are united together and are severed one by one and driven through the
material to be bound or held by the driven staple, and to this end it consists,
First, in the novel mechanism hereinafter described for simultaneously severing
and driving previously prepared formed staples; second, in the novel means for
holding the supply of united staples as they are fed forward for use, and third, in
the details of construction hereinafter described, all of the novel points of my
invention being particularly pointed in the claims at the end of this Specification.
My invention will be fully understood by referring to the accompanying
drawings in which,
Figure 1 is a side elevational view of a complete machine embodying my
improvements, illustrating also in dotted lines the position of the pivoted portion
of the machine in the act of feeding the supply of staples forward.
Figure 2 is a vertical sectional view taken through the body of the machine on
the line 2-2, Figure 3, and as seen looking from left to right in the direction of
the arrows upon that figure.
Figure 3 is a transverse sectional view taken through the body of the machine
on the line 3-3, Figure 2, and as seen looking from right to left in the direction
of the arrows upon that figure.
Figure 4 is a similar transverse sectional view taken through Figure 2 on the
line 4-4.
Figure 5 is a perspective view of the prepared staples united together in strip
form.
Figure 6 is an enlarged perspective view of the stationary portion of the
clinching anvil.
Figure 7 is a similar enlarged perspective view of the movable portion of the
clinching anvil.
Figures 8 and 9 are enlarged transverse sectional views of the staple driving
and staple clinching apparatus taken on the line 3-3, Figure 2, the former
Price 8d1

page_text: indicating the act of severing and driving a staple, and the latter the completed
act of clinching it through the material to be bound or held.
Referring now to the drawings in detail in all the figures of which like letters of
reference represent like parts wherever used.
B represents the base of the machine which is preferably of cast metal and is
provided with a pair of lugs or ears 6'' to which is pivoted by a screw rod r the
frame or support G for the staple severing and staple driving apparatus. H2 is a
spiral rod secured to one end of the frame G and adapted to sustain a strip of
prepared staples S as they are fed forward by a feed wheel R through a guide-
way formed between the frame G and a detachable part G₁, the latter being
secured to the former by detachable side plates G³ G³. The distance between the
convolutions of the said spiral rod is such as to prevent the legs of the staples from
interfering with each other as the material is fed forward.
P is the staple severing and staple driving plunger having vertical movement in
the body of the frame G, which movement is regulated in one direction by a stop
rod n and in the other direction by a set screw o upon the opposite flattened faces
and O' of the plunger. The lower and inner edge of this plunger is in the nature
of a kuife-edge and is adapted to shear off one of the staples S' from the next
adjoining staple as it is forced past the cutting edge of the part G'.
P2 is a strong spiral spring surrounding the upper end of the plunger P, its
opposite ends bearing respectively against the upper portion of the frame G and
the under portion of the operating handle C. The feed wheel R is frictionally
journalled upon the screw rod by a cup-shaped washer W, see Figure 4, and is
operated by a propelling pawl R2 secured to the part B, said pawl being adapted
to feed the staple strip S forward one step at a time during the tilting of the
machine into the position shown in dotted lines in Figure 1.
R2 is a yielding feeding pawl secured to the under side of the base B by screws
and so arranged that its free or yielding end will come into contact with the teeth
of the feed wheel R as the pivoted part of the apparatus is tilted into the position
shown in dotted lines in Figure 1, and R' is a check pawl secured to the under side
of the pivoted part of the machine and designed to fall between each pair of teeth
in succession.
F is a stationary anvil which has secured to its upper end a cross arm F¹ having
inwardly inclined faces ff on its upper edge, said anvil fitting in an opening g² of a
movable anvil which in turn is adapted to rest upon a strong spiral spring y2 when
the parts are put together aud the stationary anvil secured by screw threads in the
base B, as clearly shown in Figure 2. The movable anvil G2 is provided with a
lateral slit in which the ends of the cross arm F' are located.
9 g are inclined faces in the upper surface of the part Gadapted to give to the
free ends of the staple S' after it is severed and driven forward an inward inclination,
and g³ ³ are similarly inclined faces in the upper part of the movable anvil G2
adapted to give to the free ends of said staple S a further inward movement as it
is forced forward.
The operation of the mechanism is as follows:-
The strip of prepared staples S having been placed upon the spiral rod H² in the
manner shown in Figure 1 so that the inner staple lies directly under the knife-
edge of the plunger P and the material M to be bound placed upon the anvil G
the handle C is then given a sharp blow by the hand of the operator, thus causing
the plunger P to be forced forward against the action of the spiral spring P2. As
the knife-edge comes into contact with that portion of the strip which joins the
staples S together, it severs the first staple and the plunger causes it to be driven
forward until the free ends S¹ S₁ are bent inward slightly by the inclined
faces yy. A further forward movement of the plunger causes the staple to pass
through the material M until the ends come into contact with the inner inclined
faces of the yielding or spring-seated anvil G2, thus bending them into the
position shown in Figure 8. A further forward movement causes the spring-seated
anvil to be forced forward against the action of the strong spiral spring 2 until the

page_text: ends of the staple S¹ come into contact with the inclined faces ff of the arm F¹
carried by the fixed anvil F. This last movement turns the ends of the staple
inward to such an extent that they now are in position to be forced upward against
the under face of the material M by the upper surface of the fixed anvil F in the
manner shown in Figure 9, the strong spiral spring y being now compressed to its
lowest position. Immediately after the blow thus given by the operator, the spiral
spring P restores the plunger P to its uppermost position and in like manner the
strong spiral spring y2 under the yielding anvil G2 restores it to normal position as
shown in Figure 2. The body part or frame G is now tilted into the position shown
in dotted lines in Figure 1, and the material to be bound placed in position for the
next succeeding staple.
As the frame was tilted into the position shown in dotted lines in Figure 1, the
end of the yielding feed pawl R2 came into contact with the tooth just above it
and imparted to it a forward motion sufficient to feed the strip forward until the
next staple to be severed came into contact with the inner face of the guide-way
for the plunger and thus checked its forward movement, leaving said staple in
position to be severed upon the next downward motion of the plunger P; at the
same time the check pawl R', by reason of the rotation of the feed wheel R, fell
into position between the next succeeding pair of teeth of said wheel. Should the
operator rotate the pivoted part of the machine again into the position shown in dotted
lines in Figure 1, before the staple now in position is severed, the yielding nature of
the feed pawl R2 will not permit it to force the strip forward until a staple has been
severed. At the same time the check pawl R¹ will maintain the feed wheel in the
position in which it was last left by reason of its frictional bearing upon the teeth
of that wheel.
I do not limit myself to the special details of construction herein before described
for severing and driving staples from a strip of prepared staples, as it is obvious that
many of the details of construction might be materially departed from and still come
within the scope of my invention.
To make a single illustration, although I have shown a spiral rod H2 which acts
in the nature of a reservoir or support or chamber for the staple binding material S,
it is obvious that this specific form of apparatus might be modified in many ways
and still come within the scope of my invention so long as the arrangement of the
support, chamber or reservoir for the staple forming material be in the nature of
a spiral guide-way which causes the material to be held in compact form in the
mauner shown. It is also obvious that this form of reservoir or support or chamber
for the staple forming material might be modified to suit different types of staple
forming material, such as wire and other types of material in which the staple
bianks are united together and stored in quantity for use as wanted and still coine
within the scope of my invention.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. In a stapling machine a spirally disposed support adapted to sustain a strip
of united stapies, the distance between the convolutions of said support being such
as to prevent the legs of the staples from interfering with each other as the material
is ted forward.
2. In a stapling machine a spirally disposed support adapted to sustain a strip
of united staples in combination with feeding mechanism adapted to feed the
material forward and a plunger adapted to shear off and drive a single staple at
each operation, the distance between the convolutions of the spirally disposed
support being such as to prevent the legs of the staples from interfering with each
other as the material is fed forward..
3. A stapling machine provided with mechanism for feeding forward a strip of
completed stapies, a single plunger for severing and driving one staple at a time
and a clinching anvil for clinching the staple u on the under side of the material to

page_text: be bound, said feeding mechanism being carried by an arm pivoted to the base of
the machine and provided with means for preventing the forward movement of the
completed strip of staples, and additional yielding means which is brought into
action after the strip of staples is checked in its forward movement and is thereby
adapted to feed the strip forward only after each complete operation.
4. A stapling machine provided with mechanism for feeding a strip of completed
staples forward as they are used one at a time, a single staple severing and staple
driving plunger, said feeding mechanism and plunger being carried by an arm
pivotally secured to the base of the machine, in combination with a yieldingly
supported anvil adapted to bend the inner ends of the staple inward as they are
driven through the material to be bound; a stationary or fixed anvil adapted to
clinch the ends into the under surface of the material at the completion of the
stroke of the plunger, means for preventing the forward movement of the staple
strip after a staple has been placed in position beneath the plunger, and a yielding
attachment in connection with the feeding mechanism which permits said feeding
mechanism to yield after the staple strip has been checked in its forward
movement.
5. A stapling machine provided with a single plunger adapted to sever and drive
one staple at a time from a strip of completed staples; a clinching anvil for
clinching the free ends of the staples upon the under side of the material to be
bound; checking or holding means for preventing forward movement of the
completed strip of staples when a staple is in position to be severed and driven
therefrom; additional yielding means acting in conjunction with the feeding
mechanism and adapted to prevent the latter from forcing the staple strip forward
after it is held by the checking or holding means.
Dated this 5th day of June 1895.
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45 Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicant.