Improvements in Apparatus for Arranging Screw Nuts and similar Objects in Regular Order, and for Delivering them One by One.
Year: 1898

page_text: Improvements in Apparatus for Arranging Screw Nuts and similar
Objects in Regular Order, and for Delivering them One by One.
I, FRIEDRICH AUGUST MEISCHNER, Mechanical Engineer, of Zschopanerstrasse,
Chemnitz, in the Kingdom of Saxony, do hereby declare the nature of this inven-
tion to be as follows:
This invention relates primarily to automatic means for feeding screw nuts
one by. one to tapping machines, for instance that described by the Specification
of my English Patent No. 1816, dated the 25th January 1896, which machine
must be supplied with nuts arranged in regular order and in a prescribed position.
It is applicable also as a feeding device for other small flat-faced articles.
The object of the invention is, to provide a device adapted to receive an in-
definite number of irregularly arrangel screw nuts or similar objects in a
funnel and to deliver them through an opening one by one in the required
position.
The apparatus for this purpose comprises a funnel provided with a cylindrical
neck, a vertical driving shaft passing axially through the neck and funnel, and,
provided with means for imparting rotary motion to. the shaft; a feeder fixed
concentrically, on the lower part of the shaft and extending into the neck of
the funnel. The said feeder has approximately the shape of a cylinder rounded
at the top and provided with circumferential grooves or ribs, which may be
parallel or inclined to the axis of the shaft.
The radial distance between the circumference of the feeder and the wall of
the funnel neck is rather more than the height of a screw nut, and may be
regulated by means of exchangeable rings or liners fixed to the funnel neck.
Immediately under the feeder and still in the funnel neck a flat disc is mounted
on the driving shaft, or in case the said disc and the shaft are intended to
revolve at unequal speeds, on a separate shaft which abuts against the lower
end of the driving shaft and forms a downward continuation of the same. The
said disc is. fitted into the funnel neck and is capable of turning in the same.
It closes the annular space between the feeder and the funnel neck at the bottom,
except for a small opening, which allows a screw nut to pass easily.
The said opening in the face of the disc serves as inlet for a concave guide
channel leading downward and outward through the said disc and fixed to the.
same, the said channel extending outward to the wall of the funnel base. At one
point of the circumference of the vertical funnel base, an inclined shoot is.

page_text: attached to the same, so as to form the continuation of the revolving guide
channel, when the latter passes that point of the funnel base.
As the nut slides down the concave guide channel mentioned above, it passes
underneath a slide placed radially to the curve of the said channel and extending
through the vertical wall of the funnel base. The shaft or spindle of the slide
also extends through a strap mounted on the outside of the funnel base and
enclosing a helical spring, the spindle being held in position by a pair of nuts
screwed on the end of the spindle.
The first stage of the process of feeding the screw nuts consists in bringing
the nuts from the irregular position occupied by them in the funnel into a given
position in the funnel neck; the second stage consists in feeding the nuts forward
one by one, and the third stage consists in subsequently delivering the nuts
one by one to the working tools.
During the first stage the ribs of the revolving feeder shift the adjacent nuts
outward on the inclined plane of the funnel wall and turn the same, until they
lay themselves with one of their open faces or ends against the feeder and
drop into the annular groove between the feeder and the funnel neck.
The nuts which have accumulated in the funnel neck, so that the bore of each
is approximately horizontal, are prevented by the superincumbent nuts from
taking part in the rotary motion of the feeder and disc. If now the opening or
recess of the disc arrives underneath one of the nuts, the latter drops through
the said opening and lying flat in the concave guide channel, slides down the
same, until it abuts against the vertical wall of the funnel base. In this manner
the revolving guide channel will be filled with a row of nuts, one behind the
other. When the revolving guide channel gets into line with the inclined
shoot forming the continuation of the same, the uppermost nut but one, in the
said channel, is situated underneath the slide mentioned above, and is retained
by the same, while the lowest nut slides down into the inclined shoot, which
delivers the nut out of the feed apparatus.
During each revolution of the concave guide channel, one nut is delivered
to the inclined shoot, another passes from the funnel neck into the revolving
guide channel, and a third drops from the inclined funnel wall into the funnel
neck.
The disc situated in the funnel neck may form a helical surface, instead of
being flat, and the apparatus may be duplicated by arranging two concave guide
channels, two inclined shoots and two retaining spring slides to be supplied from
the same funnel and feeder, and in the same manner three or more guide
channels and shoots may be arranged around the same axle.
Dated this 10th day of March 1898
Improvements in Apparatus for Arranging Screw Nuts and similar
Objects in Regular Order, and for Delivering them One by One.
I, FRIEDRICH AUGUST MEISCHNER, Mechanical Engineer, of Zschopauerstrasse,
Chemnitz, in the Kingdom of Saxony, do hereby declare the nature of this inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described
and ascertained in and by the following statement:-
This inveution relates to automatic means for feeding screw nuts one by one
to tapping machines, for instance that described by the Specification of my

page_text: English Patent No. 1816, dated the 25th January 1896, which machine must
be supplied with nuts arranged in regular order and in a prescribed position.
The object of the invention is, to provide a device adapted to receive an in-
definite number of irregularly arranged screw nuts in a funnel and to deliver
them through an opening one by one in the required position.
The apparatus for this purpose comprises a funnel provided with a cylindrical
neck, a vertical driving shaft passing axially through the neck and funnel, and
provided with means for imparting rotary motion to the shaft; a feeder fixed
concentrically on the shaft and extending into the neck of the funnel. The said
feeder has approximately the shape of a cylinder provided with circumferential
grooves or ribs, which may be parallel or inclined to the axis of the shaft.
:
The radial distance between the circumference of the feeder and the wall of
the funnel neck is rather more than the height of a screw nut, and may be
regulated by means of exchangeable rings or liners fixed to the funnel neck.
Immediately under the feeder and still in the funnel neck a flat disc is mounted
on the driving shaft, or in case the said disc and the shaft are intended to
revolve at unequal speeds, the disk may be secured on a separate shaft which abuts
against the lower end of the driving shaft and forms a downward continuation
of the same.
The said disc is fitted into the funnel neck and is capable of
turning in the same. It closes the annular space between the feeder and the
funnel neck at the bottom, except for a small opening, which allows a screw
nut to pass easily.
The said opening in the face of the disc serves as inlet for a guide channel
leading downward and outward through the said disc, said channel being fixed
to the same and extending outward to the wall of the funnel base.
At one
point of the circumference of the vertical funnel base, an inclined shoot is attached
to the same, so as to form the continuation of the revolving guide channel,- when
the latter passes that point of the funnel base.
As the nut slides down the guide channel mentioned above, it passes underneath
a slide placed radially to the curve of the said channel and extending through
the vertical wall of the funnel base. The shaft or spindle of the slide also
extends through a strap mounted on the outside of the funnel base and enclosing
a helical spring, the spindle being held in position by a pair of nuts screwed on
the end of the spindle.
The first stage of the process of feeding the screw nuts consists in bringing
the nuts from the irregular position occupied by them in the funnel into a given
position in the funnel neck; the second stage consists in feeding the nuts forward
one by one, and the third stage consists in subsequently delivering the nuts
one by one to the working tools.
During the first stage the ribs of the revolving feeder shift the adjacent nuts
outward on the inclined plane of. the funnel wall and turn the same, until they
lay themselves with one of their open faces or ends against the feeder and
drop into the annular groove between the feeder and the funnel neck.
The nuts which have accumulated in the funnel neck, so that the bore of each
is approximately horizontal, are prevented by the superincumbent nuts from
taking part in the rotary motion of the feeder and disc. If now the opening or
recess of the disc arrives underneath one of the nuts, the latter drops through
the said opening and lying flat in the guide channel, slides down the same until
it abuts against the vertical wall of the funnel base. In this. manner. the
revolving guide channel will be filled with a row of nuts, one behind the other.
When the revolving guide channel gets into line with the inclined shoot forming
the continuation of the same, the uppermost nut but one, in the said channel,
is situated underneath the slide mentioned above, and is retained by the same,
while the lowest nut slides down into the inclined shoot, which delivers the nut
out of the feed apparatus.
During each revolution of the guide channel, one nut is delivered to the

page_text: inclined shoot, another passes from the funnel neck into the revolving guide
channel, and a third drops from the inclined funnel wall into the funnel neck.
The disc situated in the funnel neck may form a helical surface, instead of
being flat, and the apparatus may be duplicated by arranging two guide channels,
two inclined shoots and two retaining spring slides to be supplied from the same
funnel and feeder, and in the same manner three or more guide channels and
shoots may be arranged around the same axle.
14
"In order to make my invention, more clear, I refer to the accompanying
drawings, in which similar letters denote similar parts throughout the different
views, and in which
"
Figure 1 is a vertical section through one form, of construction of the apparatus
in question;
1
ft.
Figure 2 is a horizontal section in line 7-8 of Figure 1;
Figure 3 is a vertical section through a slightly modified form of construction
of the apparatus ;
Figure 4 is a section through a slightly modified form of construction of the
disk a of Figures I and 3;
a
Figure 5 is a plan of said disk and
Figure 6 is a plan, partly in section, of the checking-device d d¹, which will
also be fully described in the further course of this specification.
The apparatus consists of the funnel A, the lower part of which contains
the feeder B fixed to the shaft B₁; the latter is provided with a worm-wheel f
which gears with a worm fl secured to, or forming part of, a horizontal shaft f.
This shaft is furnished with a cone-pulley f, and the feeder B may thus, be
rotated by this pulley.
The feeder B is not exactly cylindrical, but is either of prismatic shape or
provided with ribs or grooves which, if desired, may have an inclined position,
or may form a kind of screw-threads respectively, as already mentioned. Between
the feeder B and the neighbouring or opposite part of the funnel A remains an
anuular space, the bottom of which is formed by the disk a which either is made
integral with the feeder B or is secured as a separate piece to the shaft B¹. The
disk a is provided with a recess or an aperture a¹ which is elongated in a down-
ward direction by means of the guide-channel a², the later being either made
integral. with the disk a or secured to the same as a separate piece, as shown.
The guide-channel a² is thus made to revolve around the shaft B', but whilst
thus revolving, the lower end of the channel a2 is closed by a stationary wall b
extending, of course, along the circular path of the end of the channel a², and
forming a cylinder. I prefer to make this cylinder integral with the funnel A,
so that the whole forms a casing with a hollow base, the latter being constituted
by the cylindrical wall b. The worm-wheel f is located in this base; as is also
a part of the worm fl.
The base is provided with an aperture 6 located just in the height of the
lower end of the channel a², so that the latter at each revolution communicates
once with the aperture 1. The latter is elongated in a downward direction by
an inclined shoot c, the degree of inclination of which preferably corresponds. to
that of the channel a2...
As mentioned above, the nuts are introduced into the annular space, from
which they pass into the aperture a¹ and the channel a², the width of the latter
being such, that the nuts or other pieces form a row. They are prevented from
leaving the channel a² by the circular wall of the base 6 which allows the lower-
most of the pieces to leave the channel a² only at that moment in which said
channel communicates with the aperture 6. The lowermost piece may then glide
down upon the channel c, but the other pieces located in the channel a² and in
the aperture a are prevented from also passing away through the aperture 6¹,
by a special contrivance constructed as follows:-
A slide d (Figs. 1 and 6) is located rectangularly to the channel a² and extends
into the latter. The slide d is maintained in its proper working position by
means of a spring d, which allows the slide to, recede, when the forward edge

page_text: of the channel a² pushes against the slide d from the side, the surfaces of contact
of the parts & and a being, of course, so shaped that the revolution of the
channel a is not impeded by the slide d. When the shoot a has passed the
shoot c, the nuts in the shoot a² descend, until the nut, which had been held by
the slide, abuts against the lower part of the wall b, in which position: it remains
until the shoot a³ is again in line with the shoot c. There may be, of course,
two or more apertures 6 and a corresponding number of checking devices d, d'
in one apparatus, but there may also be two or more apertures a¹ and a corre-
sponding number of channels a², so that the pieces may be fed not only to one
machine, but to several.
In order to facilitate the movement of the pieces upon the upper surface of the
disc a, I prefer to give to the respective part of the latter a helically inclined.
position, as shown in Figs. 4 and 5, the direction of the inclination being such,
that the lowest part of the latter is located immediately at the aperture or
recess a¹. In Fig. 4 the upper half of the helical incline is indicated by a
dotted line.
In the modified form of construction represented in Fig. 3, the shaft B
extends upwards through the funnel A, and the shaft is located in the upper
part of the receptacle and provided with a bevel-wheel g', which gears with a
bevel-wheel g keyed to the shaft B'. That part of the shaft B' which is located
immediately above the feeder B, may be utilized for turning some of the pieces
contained in the funnel A, for which purpose the part B2 of the shaft B¹ has a
prismatic shape, as shown by Fig. 3.
The disc a need not indispensably rotate with the same speed, as the feeder B,
the speed of rotation of these two parts may be different, and the disc a may
thus be secured to a special shaft, which either surrounds the shaft B¹ or extends
in the opposite direction, which may be the case especially with the form of
construction shown in Fig. 3.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is:-
1. In a feeding device for screw-nuts and other flat-faced pieces of work, the
combination of a receptacle containing a rotary body B located in the lower part
of the same and having an aperture located at the side of the said body, with
a.channel forming an extension of said aperture and adapted to rotate together
with said body; a stationary wall extending along the circular path of the
end of the channel, an aperture located in said wall and adapted to communicate
with said end, and means for imparting rotary motion to the said body, sub-
stantially as described.
2. In a feeding device for screw nuts and other flat-faced pieces of work, the
combination with a receptacle, of a rotary body B located in the lower part of
the same and leaving between itself and the opposite part of said receptacle a
space adapted to receive some of the pieces of work to be fed, a rotary bottom for
said space, an aperture in said bottom adapted to let said pieces singly pass, a
channel forming an extension of the bottom and of said aperture, a circular wall
extending along the circular path of the end of said channel, an aperture located
in said wall and adapted to communicate with said end, and means for imparting
rotary motion to the said body and bottom, substantially as described.
3. In a feeding device for small pieces of work; the combination of a receptacle,
with a rotary body B located in the lower part of the same, an aperture located
at the side of said body, and a channel forming an extension of said aperture
and adapted to rotate together with said body; a slide located in said wall in
such a position as to be able to extend into said channel and to check the last
but one of the pieces of work located in the same; a stationary wall extending
along the circular path of the end of the channel, an aperture located in said

page_text: wall and adapted to communicate with said end, and means for imparting rotary
motion to said body, substantially as described.
4. A feeding device constructed and adapted to operate substantially as des-
cribed with reference to the drawings.
D
1 11:00h. due of Santomher 1898
$
FAIRFAX & WETTER,
Agents, 37 and 39, Essex Street, Strand, London.