IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF NAILS FOR FASTENING HORSESHOES AND OTHER PURPOSES.”
Year: 1880

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Addison Coleman, of Providence, Rhode Island,
United States of America, but at present of the Grand Hotel, Trafalgar
Square, in the County of Middlesex, for an Invention of " IMPROVEMENTS
IN APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF NAILS FOR FASTENING HORSESHOES
AND OTHER PURPOSES.”
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Addison Coleman at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 9th December 1880.
JOHN ADDISON COLEMAN, of Providence, Rhode Island, United States of America,
but at present of the Grand Hotel, Trafalgar Square, in the County of Middlesex.
"IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF NAILS FOR FASTENING
HORSE SHOES AND OTHER PURPOSES."
In the Specification of a Patent granted to J. H. Johnson, No. 55, of 1880, is
described apparatus for manufacturing nails for horse-shoes which operates in the
following manner :-A bar of iron rolled with a thickened rib along each edge is
fed step by step under a pair of punches which by their descent punch transversely
therefrom two blanks or pieces of the metal, intended each to form a nail, the
thickened end in each case being suited to form the head of the nail. As these
pieces are severed they lie to opposite hands in the die, and in that position they
are received by spring fingers, which by a sweeping movement take them out of
the die and carry them round, one towards the right and one towards the left, and
insert them between two rollers. In passing through between those rollers the
blanks are drawn out in length and squeezed partly towards the finished shape.
Leaving the rollers the blanks are again seized by fingers and transferred to
another pair of rollers by which they are farther drawn and pointed to the required
shape. From the second pair of rollers the nails are transferred to a pair of
finishing punches which strip off the thin fin and such other protuberances as may
be caused by the squeezing action of the rolls, delivering the nails in finished
condition. My Invention consists in improvements in the general arrangement
and construction of apparatus of this kind, whereby the structure and action of
the parts are rendered more simple, and the machine, besides being less expensive
in first cost, is thus rendered more durable and capable of producing an increased

page_text: quantity of the articles which it manufactures. For this purpose I arrange under
the first cutting out punches a pair of arms centred respectively to right and left of
the middle line and worked by cams so as to have the following sequence of
movements, a circular sweep downwards through a right angle, a vertical descent,
an ascent, and again a circular sweep upwards. At the extremities of these arms
are spring fingers which seizing the punched blanks as they lie borizontally in the
die carry them down and present them vertically with their heads downwards
towards a pair of rollers mounted below, between which rollers the dies are inserted.
The rollers draw the blanks from the fingers which reascend to seize a fresh pair of
blanks, whilst the former pair after passing through the rollers and a fixed guide
are carried by another pair of arms and fingers to the second pair of rollers which
are immediately below. As they pass from these the shaped blanks are by a third
pair of fingers advanced in a vertical attitude to the finishing punches which work
horizontally. By thus arranging the parts so that the blanks after being first
turned from their horizontal attitude descend vertically, the scale and chips clear
themselve off by gravity, and the movements of the arms and fingers are rendered
very simple. The reciprocating motions of the punches, rollers, and transferring
arms are all produced by cranks, eccentrics, and cams, so set on one rotating shaft
as to time the various movements suitably to one another. The rollers are geared
together, and in order to provide for wear I divide the gearing pinions into two or
more thicknesses, some of which can be set so as to prevent back lash.
Although I have in the preceding description referred only to nails for horse-
shoes as being the articles manufactured by my improved apparatus, it is obvious
that like apparatus is applicable for manufacturing nails for other purposes of such
form that they can, like horse-shoe nails, be shaped by a similar succession of
operations.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said Addison Coleman in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 7th June
1881,
JOHN ADDISON COLEMAN, of Providence, Rhode Island, United States of America,
but at present of the Grand Hotel, Trafalgar Square, in the County of Middlesex.
"IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF NAILS FOR FASTENING
HORSESHOES AND OTHER PURPOSES."
In the Specification of a Patent granted to J. H. Johnson, No. 55,-of 1880, is
described apparatus for manufacturing nails for horseshoes, which operate in the
following manner :-A bar of iron rolled with a thickened rib along each edge is
fed step by step under a pair of punches which by their descent punch transversely
therefrom two blanks or pieces of the metal, intended each to form a nail, the
thickened end in each case being suited to form the head of the nail. As these
pieces are severed they lie to opposite hands in the die, and in that position they
are received by spring fingers, which by a sweeping movement take them out of
the die and carry them round, one towards the right and one towards the left, and
insert them between two rollers. In passing through between those rollers the
blanks are drawn out in length and squeezed partly towards the finished shape.
Leaving the rollers the blanks are again seized by fingers and transferred to
another pair of rollers, by which they are farther drawn and pointed to the
required shape. From the second pair of rollers the nails are transferred to a pair
of finishing punches which strip off the thin fins and such other protuberances as
may be caused by the squeezing action of the rolls, delivering the nails in finished
condition. My Invention consists in improvements in the general arrangement
and construction of apparatus of this kind, whereby the structure and action of
the parts are rendered more simple, and the machine, besides being less expensive
in first cost, is thus rendered more durable and capable of producing an increased
quantity of the articles which it manufactures.
For this purpose I construct a machine to operate as I will describe, referring to
the accompanying Drawings.
Fig. 1 is a front view; Fig. 2, a side view; and Fig. 3 a vertical section of the
machine. The other Figures shew separately parts thereof drawn to an enlarged
scale, that is to say, Fig. 4 is a front view, Fig. 5 a side view, and Fig. 6 a plan of
the apparatus for transferring the punched blanks from the die to the first pair of
squeezing rollers. Fig. 7 is a front view shewing the mode of holding the blank
as it issues from the first pair of rolls so as to transfer it to the second pair of rolls,
Fig. 8 being an enlarged side view, and Fig. 9 an enlarged plan of the spring
holders employed for this purpose. Figs. 10 and 11 are respectively front and side
views shewing the mode of holding the nails ready for the action of the finishing
dies. In all these Figures corresponding parts are marked by similar reference
letters. A is the framing of the machine which at its upper part has bearings for
the main shaft A¹, by the continued revolution of which all the movements of the
various parts are affected. This shaft may conveniently be driven as shewn by
bevil gearing A³, A³, from a more rapidly revolving shaft A which may be driven
from any suitable motor. In the middle of the shaft A is fixed an eccentric A
which in every revolution of the shaft gives an up and down motion to a pair of
punches b. These punches are so shaped as to punch at each stroke a pair of blanks
baving approximately the shape of the nails from a bar B. This bar, as is more
clearly seen in Fig. 4, is rolled of a section having the metal thickened towards
each edge, and the two punches 6 being set the one with the broad part of its face
towards the right, and the other with the broad part of its face towards the left, each

page_text: punches out a blank having one of its ends wider and thicker than the other to
form the nail head, the two blanks thus punched being forced through the die b¹
with their heads presented towards the right and left respectively. At each up
stroke of the punches b the bar B is fed forwards a suitable distance to present fresh
metal for the next punching. This feed motion is effected in the following
manner-A barrel cam A on the shaft A gives reciprocating movement to a bent
lever B', and through it to a sliding carriage B'. In this carriage is a hinged
flap b² which is alternately prised firmly down on the bar B and relieved therefrom.
This movement is effected by a face cam A' on the shaft A, which engaging a stud
on a vertical slide bar a causes it to reciprocate, and this movement communicated
by a connecting rod a¹ to a lever a² mounted on the carriage B2 brings a cam
face as on that lever alternately to bear on the flap 62 and to relieve it. The
cams A and A' are so timed to one another and to the eccentric A³ that while
the punches 6 worked by A are performing the upper part of their movement
clear of the bar B, the flap 62 is pressed firmly on the bar B, and the carriage B¹
is advanced the proper feeding distance, while the punches 6 descend the
carriage B² holding the bar B remains stationary, and while the punches b are
penetrating and holding the bar B the flap b² is released and the carriage B² moves
back without tending to drag back the bar B. The two blanks punched from the
bar B are pressed through the die 61 each in a horizontal attitude, being received
between the spring jams of a holder c¹ for the one blank, and c² for the other blank.
These two holders c¹ and c², are respectively fixed on spindles C and C³, which are
geared together by toothed wheels cs and c, at their ends, so that the two spindles
make a partial revolution in opposite directions, the one of them C¹ being worked
by a crank which engages in a cam slot in a reciprocating plate C³. This plate
which is mounted on a pivot c³ is worked by a rod C from a lever C³, which is
pivotted at C and has a forked end embracing an eccentric As on the shaft A.
The spindles C and C² are mounted on a frame C which is pivoted at co to the
framing of the machine, and is drawn up by a spring c². The cam slot in C³ is so
shaped as to give to the holders c¹, c², the following series of movements :-First,
baving remained in their upper position for a time stationary, to receive their
respective blanks pushed into them by the descent of the punches b, they are
caused by the partial movement of the lever C³ to turn through an angle of 90°,
each therefore turning its blank from a horizontal to a vertical attitude with its
head presented downwards. The crank of c¹ now comes against a stop c³ on the
frame C, preventing the holders c¹, c², from turning further round; but the
continued movement of C causes the frame C to move bodily downwards, and the
blanks are thus thrust by their holders between the first pair of rollers D', D². The
dotted lines in Fig. 4, indicate these movements of the holders. As the lever C5
makes its back stroke, the frame C is raised by the spring c and the spindles C¹, C²,
are turned backwards through 90°, so that the holders c', c², resume their first
position ready to receive another pair of blanks from the die b¹. The two pairs of
rollers, D¹, D2, the upper pair, and D3, D4, the lower pair, receive reciprocating
rotary motion through a part of a revolution, each pair in opposite directions, by
toothed wheels Ds and D°, which gear with one another, whilst D5 gears with a
pinion on the axis of the roller D', and De gears with a pinion on the axis of D³,
the pinion on D' gearing with a pinion on D2, and the pinion on D³ gearing with
a pinion on D. The first wheel D5 has on its axis a crank arm D' which is linked
by a rod D to a crank pin A projecting from the wheel A2, so that for each
revolution of the shaft A the rollers are caused to perform their complete
reciprocation. The rollers have portions of their peripheries hollowed out
as indicated by the dotted lines d', d², in Fig. 4, and by the darkened parts d', d²,
d³, d, in Fig. 3, these hollows being so shaped that the blanks delivered
from the holders c¹, c, in between the rollers D', D2, are by the movement of
these rollers to a certain extent squeezed into shape and extended in length, and
that the blanks delivered thus partly shaped from the rollers D1, D2, are further
shaped to their final form by the hollows of the second pair of rollers D³, D',

page_text: between which they are caused to pass. The rollers D¹, D³, are so set on their
axes and their movement is so timed to that of the holders c¹, c³, that they present
their hollows d', d, upwards when the holders c', c³, descend, inserting the
blanks between the rollers, and this descending movement of the holders is
made to correspond as nearly as possible with the surface movement of the
rollers D, D, as they begin to grip the blanks, until the rollers having got a
firm grip drag the blanks out of the holders and pass them through to other
holders ready to receive them below the rollers D1, D2, in order to transfer them
to the lower rollers D³, D. The holders e for this purpose, shewn to an enlarged
scale in Figs. 8, and 9, and appearing partly in section as they hold the blank in
Fig. 7, present trumpet mouthed slots having one side covered by a moveable
piece e, which is held up by a spring e². The upper rollers D1, D2, in delivering
the two blanks from between them through a fixed guide d³ thrust the blanks head
downwards, one into each of the slots in e, the cover piece e¹ yielding to let the
heads of the blanks pass, and then being returned by the spring e² so as to grip
firmly the shanks of the blanks, the heads of the latter projecting below, as indi-
cated in Fig. 7. The blanks thus held in the slots of e are by the descent of e
conveyed to the lower rolls DS, D4, and have their heads thrust into the hollows of
these rolls, which are at that time directed upwards to receive them. The rolls D³, D',
having gripped the blanks drag them out of the holder e, which reascends to receive
a succeeding pair of blanks. As the blanks leave the rolls D3, D4, they are in a
similar manner received by another holder like e, and are by it conveyed down to
grippers hereafter to be described, by which they are presented to the finishing
punches. The two holders, namely, e above the rolls D³, D, and the corresponding
holder below these rolls are respectively at the ends of arms e³ and e" projecting
from vertical rods e¹ and e. These rods are caused to reciprocate in a guide E
respectively by studs on them engaging in the cam slots of two vibrating
plates E' and E, worked by crank arms E and E* and connecting rods E³ and E6
from two eccentrics A and A" fixed side by side on the shaft A. The cam slots
in E and E and the eccentrics which work these are so shaped and timed as to
give the respective holders the required movements, that is to say, each remains for
a time stationary in its highest position while it receives the blanks passed into its
slots from the rolls above it, then each descends to deliver the blanks, the one to
the rolls D3, D4, and the other to the grippers, which will now be described. A
levor F pivotted at f¹ has the end of its short arm rounded and toothed to gear with
a short lever, which is pivotted at f. On each of the levers is a pair of fingers
having their upper ends shaped to receive and hold the heads of the nails. One of
the fingers is in each case fixed on its lever, the other being pivotted loosely thereon,
and the fixed finger of each is linked to the moveable finger of the other, so that as
the lever F is caused to reciprocate, the fingers of each pair are made to open apart
to receive a nail and to close together and grip it. The lever F is worked by a
link F¹ from a sliding rod F2 which is drawn up by a spring F³. A projection F¹
on the rod F is struck by a spring pawl hinged at the end of an arm E' projecting
from the axis of E4, so that when the holder worked by E³ descends with the nails
received from the lowest pair of rolls the grippers connected to F are opened for a
moment to receive the nail heads, and when the arm E7 passes F4 the grippers are closed
by the spring F3 so as to grip tightly the nails g¹, g², which have been introduced
between them. On the reascent of the arm E7 the spring pawl at its end yields in
passing the projection F. The nails g¹, g³, are held by the grippers exactly in
front of a die G having two holes through it, each exactly the shape of a finished
nail, each hole receiving a punch h of the same shape. The punches h are fixed to
the face of a horizontal slide H, which is connected by a link H¹ to one arm H² of a
bell crank lever, the other arm of which is connected by a rod H³ to an
eccentric A12 on the shaft A. By means of the punches h, which at their forward
stroke push the nails g¹, g², out of the grippers and through the die G, is performed
the final operation of cutting off from the nails such fins, burrs, or projections of the
metal as may have been produced by the squeezing of the rolls, and the finished

page_text: nails drop through a passage G' behind the die G, the burrs sliced off by the punches
and dies falling through an opening G2 in front of the die.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, I hereby declare that I make no general claim to apparatus
for manufacturing horseshoe or other nails by punching blanks from a bar of metal,
squeezing these blanks into form by rolls, and finishing by final punching, but I
claim in respect of apparatus of that kind,-
First. The arrangement and construction of machine consisting of the framing A,
having at its upper part bearings for a main rotating shaft A¹, which by means of
cranks, eccentrics, and cams gives movement to the feed slide B2 and its flap b² to
the punches b, to the holders c¹, c², to the rolls D', D², D³, D, to the holders e, and
the grippers of the nails g³, g², and to the finishing punches h, substantially as herein
described with reference to the accompanying Drawings.
Second. The combination of the cams A and A', the lever B¹ and slide B³, the
rods a, a¹, lever a², and its cam face as, constituting the feed apparatus, substantially
as herein described.
Third. The combination of the eccentric A8, fork lever C³, and rod C4, cam slotted
plate C³, spring frame C, and holders c², c², for transferring the punched blanks from
the die to the upper rolls, substantially as herein described.
Fourth. The combination of the eccentrics A10 and A", their rods E and E6, the
arms E³, E, the cam slotted plates E' and E2, the slide rods e¹ and e6 with spring
holders e for transferring the blanks from the first pair of rolls to the second pair,
and from the second pair to the grippers, substantially as herein described.
Fifth. The combination of the arm E' and its spring pawl with the spring slide F2
and rod F¹ the lever F and the grippers for holding the nails g', 9, at the
finishing dies, substantially as herein described.
Sixth. The method substantially as herein described of transferring a pair of
punched blanks handed from a die to squeezing rolls by causing them to turn
through an arc of 90° in opposite directions, and then to advance to the gap of
the rolls.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Addison Coleman, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Seventh day of June, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and eighty one.
J. A. COLEMAN. (L.S.)