Improvements in Horseshoe Machines.
Year: 1891

page_text: Date of Application, 14th Apr., 1871-Accepted, 16th May, 1891
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Horseshoe Machines.
A communication from abroad by CAMPBELL CARRINGTON, Lawyer, ROBERT
EMMET MORRIS, Real Estate Broker, and Joux EDWARD BUCKLIN,
Mechanician, all of 615, Seventh Street, N.W. Washington, D.C., United
State of America.
I, WILLIAM PHILLIPS THOMPSON, F.C.S., M.I.M.E. of the Agency for Foreign
Patent Solicitors, 6, Lord Street, Liverpool, and 6, Bank Street, Manchester, both
in the County of Lancaster and 323, High Holborn, in the County of Middlesex,
Civil Engineer, 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 :-
This invention relates to certain improvements in horseshoe machines, and it
consists substantially in such features of arrangement, construction, and combination
of parts, as will hereinafter be more particularly described and claimed.
The object of the invention, broadly stated, is to provide a horse-hoe machine
which shall at one operation effect the cutting of the blank, and both the bending
and swaging of the shoe, substantially as will hereinafter be more fully understood
on reference to the accompanying drawings in which―
Figure 1 is a side elevation of a horseshoe machine embodying the features of
this invention; and
Figure 2 is a vertical longitudinal sectional elevation taken on the liner, x, of
Figure 3.
Figure 3 is a front elevation of the machine with the oscillating or swinging anvil
detached or broken off so as to more clearly represent the construction and
operation of the several parts.
Figure 4 is a side view in detail of a certain feature of the machine, and which
will be more fully explained hereinafter.
Figure 5 is a detail in perspective of the reciprocating guide plate.
In carrying this invention into effect a machine is provided in the front of which
is a plate or frame caused to reciprocate vertically between the two sides of walls
of the machine, and this plate supports and carries with it both the cutter for the
blank and the bending or shaping rolls which bend the blank around the forming
die. This frame also supports at a line centrally intermediate of the shaping rolls,
a vertical tube or sleeve which is slotted diametrically for a suitable distance from
its lower end, and a spiral spring is contained in said sleeve, against the action of
which at proper intervals a movable finger is caused to be held down over the
forming die, so as to accurately centre the cut blank and permit of the shaping
rolls to properly effect the shaping of the shoe. The said movable finger work in
the slotted end of the tube, and the arrangement thereof is such with respect to the
connection between the vertically reciprocating plate and the operating shaft of the
machine, as that, immediately the blank is cut, the said finger is brought into
po-ition for holding said blank.
As soon as the shaping rolls effect the bending of the blank around the forming
die, the vertically reciprocating plate or frame which carries such rolls begins to
recede upwardly, and at this time a pivoted oscillating or swinging anvil begins to
move inwardly toward the forming die. This swinging anvil carries the swage
which presses the shoe into form, the said shoe being both creased and pressed into
proper configuration by its action. At the same time as the swage reaches the
forming die, the finger which has been held down upon the blank will be lifted by
virtue of the vertically reciprocating plate having receded upwardly to its utmost
Emit, and at this tane also the forming rolls will have been restored to their former

page_text: positions ready to again be carried down on the next movement of the reciprocating
plate.
Beneath the shaping rolls, and the cutter for the blank, and in a plane coincident
with the plane in which the reciprocating plate or frame moves, is a guide plate for
receiving and holding the bar from which the blank is cut, which guide plate is also
made to reciprocate vertically so as to be carried downward immediately the blank
is cut from the bar, thus enabling the reciprocating plate or frame to move
downward with the shaping rolls for bending the blank around the forming die.
The cutter for the blank has a stop opposite to it and both the cutter and stop
are taken or received into slots in the upper edge of the guide plate, as the
reciprocating frame moves downward, and it is in this way that the said guide plate
is operated, the downward movement of the latter taking place a little after the
frame has started and immediately the blank is cut from the bar. The upper or
return movement of the guide plate is effected through the action of a spring
simultaneously with the upward or return movement of the plate or frame.
During the severance of the blank from the bar, it is of course necessary that
the guide which holds the bar shall be sustained against the force necessary to
effect the cutting; and it is further necessary from the construction resorted to, that
as soon as the blank has been cut, the guide shall be carried down out of the way
of the forming rolls. To provide for this a stationary slotted tube is employed
extending upwardly from the base of the machine and containing a spiral spring,
and working in this tube against the action of the spring is a sleeve which fits
around a rod pendent from the guide plate on one side at its lower portion. This
sleeve is adapted to turn or rotate on the rod, and is formed with a nose or
projection which normally rests upon the upper edge of the stationary tube just to
one side of the slot thereof. In this position of the parts, the guide plate will be
sustained in position to enable the cutter to do its work; and then immediately
the blank has been cut there will be a lever actuated from the drive shaft of the
machine to move against the nose or projection on the sleeve and thereby turn the
sleeve and bring such nose or projection into the slot of the tube in which the sleeve
works. At this time, the guide plate commences to move downward with the
reciprocating frame, and, as soon as the bending and swaging of the shoe have been
completed, the parts will all be restored as originally. When the nose of the sleeve
again reaches the upper edge of the slotted tube it is forced over to one side of the
slot by a spring actuated pin which works against the same.
Reference being had to the several parts of the drawings by the letters marked
thereon:-
A A represent the two sides or walls of the machine in which the main driving
shaft, B, has its bearing, as shown. The said shaft is provided centrally between
the two walls or sides with an eccentric C, which is movably connected to one end
of a walking-beam D that is supported by a standard E, the other end of said
walking-beam being in movable connection with a link F, which in turn is in
movable connection with the vertically reciprocating plate or frame G, which works
on guides a a, bolted or secured to the front edges of the walls or sides A A at
their upper portions.
The said vertically reciprocating frame or plate is formed or provided at its
lower portion with hollow sleeves or guides bb, oppositely arranged to each other,
and in these guides are located or arranged the horizontal blocks or carriers c e in
which the shaping or bending rolls d d have their bearing, as shown.
Secured to the inner edges of the opening 1 in the vertically reciprocating plate
are the flat springs dd which extend down behind the shaping rolls, and bear
outwardly against the blocks or carriers with the tendency of foreing them outward
or apart. The outer ends of these blocks or carriers work against the inclined
faces of the guides e, and, when the reciprocating plate or frame G moves
downwardly, it will be apparent that the sliding blocks or carriers will be forced
together inwardly and the bending rolls caused to work around the enter surface
of the forming die H with powerful effect. On the return or upward movement of

page_text: said plate or frame the sliding carriers d d will again be forced outward together
with their rolls.
The forming die H is made integral with a plate I firmly set in the machine
and backed or re-inforced by a brace J secured between the two sides or walls A. A,
so as to furnish enough resistance to the action of the swage.
One of the sleeves or guides his formed or provided with a cutter for the
blank, and the other is formed or provided with a stop against which the end of
the bar from which the blank is cut abuts, and after the initial downward movement
of the vertically reciprocating plate or frame G, at which the blank is cut, the said
cutter and stop by the continued downward movement of said plate enter notches ii
formed in the upper edge of the guide plate and thus said plate is forced downward.
The said guide plate is formed or provided at its lower portion with a rod A which
works in a tube against the action of a spiral spring contained in said tube,
and after the plate has gone downward to the extent of its limit it will again be
forced upward by the spring, simultaneous with the upward movement of the
reciprocating frame or plate (.
The heated bar from which the blank is cut is supposed to be fed to the machine
from the side (left hand side in the drawing) and in line with the guiding spaces m m
of the guide plate, which spaces are formed by turning over the side edges of the
plate, see Figure 5 for a more complete understanding. These spaces receive the
end of the bar as it is inserted.
In order to sustain the guide plate from downward movement until after the
blank has been cut, a stationary tube O is provided extending upwardly from the
base M of the machine, the said tube being open at its upper end and slotted as
at n for a suitable distance from said upper end (see Figure 4). In this tube is
contained a spiral spring o, and working downward in the tube against the action of
the spring, is a sleeve, P which fits upon a rod or pin y pendent from the lower
portion of the guide plate at one side, and is adapted to turn on said rod or pin.
This sleeve is provided with a nose or projection which rests upon the upper edge
of the slotted tube when the guide plate is up, thus firmly sustaining the plate while
a blank is being cut from the bar.
r
Immediately the blank is cut, a bent arm or lever l' will be actuated by a cam s
(see Figure 2) on the drive shaft to move forward, so that its lower end will come
in contact with the nose and thereby turn the sleeve p around on the rod 7 until
said nose is carried into the slot, whereupon the rod and sleeve will be carried
down into the tube by descent of the guide plate. As the guide plate is again
caused to recede upwardly the spring o will at the same time re-act, and the nose or
projection be again lifted over the upper edge of the slotted tube.
The lever Pin pushing against the nose r does so against the action of a spring
bolt t, that works in a sleeve u supported by a bracket & which is secured to the
lower portion of the guide plate, as shown in Figure 4. The said bracket is formed
integral with, and at right angles to, a slotted guide re which moves on a pin or
screw r, and which serves to maintain the relative positions of the parts. It is this
spring-bolt which serves to again force the nose rover on to the upper edge of the
tube O, after said nose has been raised above the upper extremity of the
slot n.
The upper portion 2 of the lever P works through a stationary guide 3, and the
rear end of said lever is formed or provided with a nut or head 4, between which
guide and head is arranged a spiral spring 5, surrounding the lever, which spring
Decomes compressed when the lever is urged forward by the cam on the drive
shaft, and then after the cam has passed and the lever has effected its function by
working against the noser on the sleeve, the said spring expands and causes the
return of the lever in an obvious manner.
R represents a tube that is screwed or bolted to the face of the vertically recipro-
cating plate centrally thereof, the said tube being slotted diametrically for a suitable
distance from its lower end, as shown at y, so as to receive and accommodate the
movement of a branch of pendent finger 7, the said finger acting to move down
=

page_text: upon the blank immediately it has been cut from the bar, and to hold such blank
upon the forming die until after the shaping rolls have effected the bending. As the
reciprocating plate or frame descends, the slotted tube moves down upon the
branch of finger 7, and such finger remains resting upon the blank over the top
of the forming die, until the reciprocating plate again ascends, whereupon the said
finger is lifted by the bottom of the tube."
The lifting of the finger takes place just at the time the swinging anvil S has
carried its swage 8 up to shape or crimp the shoe. This swinging anvil has its
bearings between the two sides A A at the forward end of the machine, as shown,
and is operated to move forward toward the forming die at the proper intervals,
through the medium of eccentrics 99 on opposite sides of the machine and their
connecting arms or rods 10 10.
Located in suitable position in front of the machine at its forward end is a curved
discharge shute on to which the shoes fall, and from which they are discharged as
fast as they are turned out from the machine.
It is thought that from the foregoing description the construction, arrangement,
and operation of the invention will be thoroughly understood, but it may be added
that no second heating of a blank is ever required in making a shoe from this
machine, and further stated that the several parts are so arranged that the cutting,
bending and swaging of the shoe is effected in rapid succession by a single
operation of the machine, or in other words by a single revolution of the driving-
shaft.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, as communicated to me
by my foreign correspondents, I declare that what I claim is :-
1. In a horseshoe machine, the combination of a vertically reciprocating plate,
and a pair of sliding blocks or carriers, provided with bending or shaping rolls and
adapted to be reciprocated back and forth on movement of the plate, substantially
as described.
2. In a horseshoe machine, the combination of a vertically reciprocating plate,
a pair of reciprocating blocks or carriers provided with bending or shaping rolls,
and a pair of inclined guides against which the outer ends of the carriers move,
substantially as described.
3. In a horseshoe machine, the combination with the vertically reciprocating
plate, and a pair of reciprocating blocks or carriers provided with bending or
shaping rolls, of springs for maintaining said carriers normally outward, substantially
as described.
4. In a horseshoe machine, the combination with the vertically reciprocating
plate, and a suitable forming die, of a vertically operating finger adapted at
intervals to be carried down upon the die to hold the blank, and again lifted after
the blank has been bent, substantially as described.
5. In a horseshoe machine, the combination with the vertically reciprocating
plate, and the forming die, of the slotted tube secured to said plate and containing
a spring, and the vertically operating finger working in the slot of the tube, sub-
stantially as and in the manner set forth.
6. In a horseshoe machine, the combination with the vertically reciprocating
plate or frame, of a vertically operating guide plate erranged beneath the frame and
adapted to be operated thereby, substantially as described.
7. In a hor-e-hoe machine, the combination with the vertically reciprocating
plate or frame, and the vertically operating guide plate for receiving and holding
the bar from which the blank is cut, of a cutter for said blank, and a stop
against which the end of the blank abuts while being cut, substantially as
described.
8. In a horseshoe machine, the combination of a forming die, a cutter for the
blank, an automatic finger for holding the blank upon the forming die, a guide for

page_text: receiving the bar from which the blank is cut, a pair of shaping or bending rolls,
and a swage, substantially as described.
9. In a horseshoe machine. the combination with the vertically reciprocating
plate or frame, and the cutter and stop, of the vertically moving guide plate having
notches in its upper portion adapted to receive the cutter and stop on the downward
movement of said frame, substantially as described.
10. In a horseshoe machine, the guide plate having its side edges turned over to
form the spaces mm and being also formed with the notches ii, substantially as
described.
11. In a horseshoe machine, the combination with the guide plate and blank
cutter, of means for temporarily holding or supporting said plate up to the cutter,
and means for automatically releasing said support at the time said cutter has
completed its work, substantially as described.
12. In a horseshoe machine, the combination with the vertically operating guide
plate, of the slotted tube in which is contained a spring, the rod p pendent from
the frame, the sleeve adapted to turn on the rod and having the nose
projection and the lever with its spring, all substantially as described.
or
13. In a horseshoe machine, the combination with the vertically operating guide
plate, and the slotted tube O, the sleeve having the noser, the lever P, the spring
bolt supported in a bracket from the guide plate, and the slotted guide,
substantially as described.
14. In a horseshoe machine, the combination with a stationary forming die, of a
swinging anvil carrying a swage and operating at intervals to move up to said
forming die, substantially as described.
15. In a horseshoe machine, the combination with the drive-shaft, of a swinging
anvil carrying a swage, and means for operating said anvil from the shaft,
substantially as described.
Dated this 13th day of April 1891.
WM. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
Agents for the Applicant.