IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR Apparatus for CUTTING, PUNCHING, AND OTHERWISE PREPARING THE ENDS OF BALE HOOPS AND OTHER BANDS OR HOOPS
Year: 1871

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William MºNabb, of No. 6, Cambridge Terrace,
London Road, Clapton, in the County of Middlesex, Gentleman,
for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR Apparatus for
CUTTING, PUNCHING, AND OTHERWISE PREPARING THE ENDS OF BALE HOOPS
AND OTHER BANDS OR HOOPS."
Sealed the 27th October 1871, and dated the 19th June 1871.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William McNabb at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 19th June 1871.
I, WILLIAM MºNABB, of. No. 6, Cambridge Terrace, London Road,
Clapton, in the County of Middlesex, Gentleman, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR
APPARATUS FOR CUTTING, PUNCHING, AND OTHERWISE PREPARING THE ENDS OF
BALE HOOPS AND OTHER BANDS OR HOOPs," to be as follows:-
The machinery or apparatus consists of a frame having a bed plate
upon which are the bolsters or bed picces and a standard within which

page_text: or through which the sliding block and carriage for the punch cutter or
die slides up and down. The sliding action of the block or carriage
within the standard may be effected by a lever, eccentric, cam, screw, or
any equivalent means.
For the purpose of slitting, cutting, punching, and otherwise preparing
the ends of bale hoops and other bands or hoops, I arrange the operating
tools or instruments to be employed within the machine or apparatus
in accordance with the precise nature of the operation to be performed,
as for example, for the purpose of making several slits or series of slits,
one set in advance of the other, I may either use a single tool or
instrument or two or more sets of tools or instruments as herein-after
described. When two sets of slits or "preparations" have to be made
at one and the same time at or in the end of the hoop, I propose to
employ three cutters or instruments (or three pairs of instruments) onc
in advance of the other; of which two only are used or employed for
preparing one end of each hoop i.e. the centre one, and either of these
on the outside, corresponding with the end or side of the machine at
which the insertion of the end of the hoop or band to be prepared takes
place. Thus the opposite ends of the same hoop would be inserted at
opposite sides or ends of the machine or apparatus, the central die or
instrument where three are used, one in advance of the other, would
thus in each case effect the preparation at the point of hoop, whilst the
innermost preparation of each end of the hoop would at the same time
be produced by the die or instrument at the end of the machine at or
from which the insertion takes place. Where the machine is intended
to have the hoops inserted at one end only, I propose to so form the
operating tools or instruments that the one end of the hoop to be pre-
pared is inserted, say, at the right, and the other end at the left side
of the machine, and in that case when there are two preparations at
each end of each hoop, only two sets of instruments (instead of three)
one in advance of the other are employed, each slitting or preparing
instrument being as it were one instrument and a half in width.
In each of the foregoing cases the hoop is. guided as to its longi-
tudinal central position by the side or sides of the bolster or bottom
instrument or of the cutter holder, and is also guided as to the proper
length to which the insertion of the hoop is to be made by a projecting
part or obstruction from or on the bottom die or instrument, and not by
any external guide fence or stop.”

page_text: By the foregoing disposition of the cutters, dies, or instruments I am
enabled not only to insure greater accuracy of the work performed, but
also to enable the proper amount of clearance or "fit" to be given to
the "preparation" at each of the ends, and also avoid the production
of "burrs" and ragged edges.
The die picces, tools, or operating instruments should be made
separately and fitted independently so as to be readily replaced as they
become worn or damaged, and that the correct centres or central lines
may be constantly preserved.
"
To prevent the distortion of the ends of the hoops during their
removal from between the faces of the instrument or instruments, and
to effect the ready disengagement and rapid performance of the work in
the machine or apparatus, I cither employ cross rods or bars or bracket
pieces which come into play and perform their functions during each
return stroke of the plunger or the top die or moving portion of the
machine or apparatus immediately after the operation has been effected.
The carriage for these disengaging cross rods or bars may either be
rigidly attached to and move the entire distance up and down with the
plunger or moving top dic block, in which case the lower cross rods may
be fixed to it and the upper rods be fixed to the machine, and be free to
slide or move in vertical slots in the sides of the carriage, or the carriage
may be fitted to and slide to a limited extent upon the plunger or
moving top die block by means of slots in the sides of the carriage, so
that the hoop is first lifted off or disengaged from the lower instrument
or instruments, and carried up with and against the face of the upper.
instrument or instruments (by the lower cross rods which are fixed to
the carriage) until near the end of its upward stroke, when by reason
of the carriage being prevented from rising further whilst the plunger
has yet some part of its stroke to perform the upper rods disengage the
hoop from the face of the upper instrument or instruments, and the
hoop is free to be withdrawn from the machine. The cross rods or bars
so employed are in each case (whilst the hoop end is being operated
upon) below the lower face of the bottom cutter die or instrument and
correspondingly within the upper face of the top cutter die or instru-
ment so as not to interfere with the action of the machine, and they
may come into play when the cutting, slitting, or other "preparation"
has been effected in the machine or apparatus. Again, when the carriage
is fixed to and moved with the plunger, or is a part thereof, and the

page_text: lower rods are fixed to and moved with the carriage they will pass down
between each lower pair of dies or instruments, whilst the upper rods
being free to slide up and down in slots in the sides of the carriage also
will on the downward movement of the plunger pass up between each
upper pair of dies or instruments by reason of their being either fixed
to some non-moving part of the machine or from being stopped in
their movement by some projection therefrom, whereupon the retreating
upwards of the plunger detaches the hoop from the upper die or
instrument.
For operating at or from each side of the machine with facility by
means of the same lever handle I employ a swivel clip or band fitted
in a ring or groove beneath the head of the plunger, which carrying the
fulcrum of the lever permits the lever to be moved round from one side
to the other in either direction.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said William McNabb in the Great Seal. Patent Office
on the 19th December 1871.
· TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
MONABB, of No. 6, Cambridge Terrace, London Road, Clapton, in the
County of Middlesex, Gentleman, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Nineteenth day of June, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-one, in the thirty-
fourth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said William McNabb, Her special licence that
I, the said William MºNabb, my executors, administrators, and assigns,
or such others as I, the said William McNabb, my executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others,
from time to time and at all times thereafter during the term therein
expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend,
within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel
Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY
OR APPARATUS FOR CUTTING, PUNCHING, AND OTHERWISE PREPARING THE ENDS
OF BALE HOOPS AND OTHER BANDS OR HOOPS," upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said William McNabb, my executors or administrators,

page_text: by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands
and seals, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the
said Invention, and in what manner the same was to be performed, and
cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six
calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said Letters
Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William M.Nabb, do hereby
declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement and the Drawings therein referred to (that
is to say) :-
My Invention has reference to the construction and arrangement of
machinery or apparatus for facilitating the cutting or punching of
indented fastenings in the ends of bale hoops and other bands or hoops
by employing for the above purpose a standard frame mounted upon
a sole plate in connection with a series of punches or cutting dies
horizontally arranged so as to receive motion through the medium of a
sliding block direct from a lever, cam, screw, or other equivalent means
and consists,
Firstly. Of a combination of upper and lower convex dies or cutting
instruments arranged longitudinally in two distinct sets of three each in
a line and one in advance of the other at intervals apart in such
manner that the centre punch or die in cach set shall act in common
with either of the outer ones in producing two sets of slits and corre-
sponding indentations on cither end of the hoop, so that when the ends
of the said hoop or band thus prepared are brought together for the
purpose of being joined the said slits formed therein shall fit or lock
into each other, and leave a space or opening for the insertion of a
transverse pin or cotter by which a secure splice or fastening of the
hoop or band is obtained.
Secondly. In the employment of relieving tongues or link bolts.
arranged in connection with the upper and lower dics or punches' so
as to disengage the hoop from the cutting instruments at each operation.
Thirdly. The combination and employment of a shifting gauge bar
sliding within a slot or groove formed in the pressure spindle block
provided with stop pins, by which means either of the said pins can bo
raised or lowered so as to prevent the end of the hoop from passing over

page_text: more than two punches at a time when inserted from either side of the
machine.
Fourthly. The arrangement and mode of employing swivel stud links
for guiding different widths of hoop to the machine.
And in order that my said Invention may be more fully understood
and readily carried into effect I now proceed to describe the same by aid
of the accompanying Drawings, reference being had to the letters and
figures thereon marked (that is to say) :-
Figure 1 represents an end elevation of the machine employed by me
in accordance with my improved principle of construction; Figure 2, a 1
transverse vertical section taken through the upper and lower punches
or dies shewing the relieving tongues and lifting bars in position;
Figure 3, an inverted plan view of the upper punches; Figures 4 and 5,
detached side and plan views of one of each of the upper and lower
punches; Figure 6, a side elevation of the machine with part of the
frame removed for the purpose of shewing the position and arrange-
ment of the cutting instruments and 'relieving gear with shifting gauge-
bar through spindle; also swivel stud links fixed to bolster or bed plate;
Figures 7 and 8, side and plan views of the shifting guage bar and stop
pins separately shown; and Figure 9, top view of the bolster or bed plate:
showing plan of lower punches with the swivel stud links and mode of
guiding the hoops or bands direct to the punches. In each Figure the
same letters of reference denote similar corresponding parts.
A, A, frame of the machine; B, B, bed plate; C, C, lower punches or
dies; D, D, box or case secured to the bed plate containing the lower
dies; E, E, upper punches contained in box or case E', E¹, similar to
the lower dies, and fitted within block or pressure spindle so that when
brought down to meet the lower ones the cutting edges of each of the
lower punches will fit between the respective pairs of the upper ones,
and thereby form the necessary slits and indentations in the hoop afore-
said; e, e, space blocks between each pair of the upper punches; F, F,
sliding, block or spindle in which the upper dies are fixed and receive
motion therefrom; G, G, lever for actuating the spindle; H, H, dis-
engaging upper tongues sliding within transverse slots in the spindle
and box of upper punches or dies; I, I, lower relieving tongues or
bolts; J, J, link bars connecting and giving motion to the relieving
tongues aforesaid through the medium of side nuts or bolts K, K, as
shewn at Figure 2; L, L, guage bars slotted out in centre longitudinally

page_text: as at M, M, with curved hollow upper edge N, N, for raising and
lowering the stop pins O, O, as required when inserting the hoop by
preventing its passing over more than two dies at a time from either
side of the machine or apparatus; P, P, swivel stud links fixed to the
bolster or bed plate by means of screws and nuts Q, Q, capable of being
adjusted for guiding the hoop into the machine in a line with the
punches; R, R, band or hoop placed in position for being punched.
The action of the machine is as follows:-The hoop is first pushed
forward to the cutters, guided in its longitudinal central position by the
swivel stud links on the bed plate, the lever acting in' concert with
the upper dies within, the sliding spindle is then brought down, pressing
the end of the hoop between the dies and forming the slits and in-
dentations corresponding to the dies; the lever is again raised, when the
relieving tongues are brought into play for disengaging the hoop
from the punches or cutting instruments, thereby at each operation
lifting the band or hoop. clear of the dies and facilitating its removal
from the machine.
In conclusion to the foregoing description I would here briefly
note that the dies or cutting instruments may be formed and used
separately and differently arranged in their consecutive order, or receive
such other modifications as in practice may be found necessary.
Having now fully described and ascertained the nature of this my
said Invention, and the manner in which the same is to be performed
and carried into effect, I would have it clearly understood that I do not
by any means intend to confine myself to the precise details herein-
before set forth and described, as the same may be otherwise varied
without departing from the general principle of this my said Invention,
nor do I claim as new and of my said Invention the exclusive use of the
several parts, combinations, and arrangement herein-before described
and set forth, except when the same are employed in and for the
purposes of my said Invention, which I hereby declare to consist,-
Firstly. The combination and arrangement of punches, three in a
line, one in advance of the other, and so graduated in breadth between
their cutting edges that the indented end of a hoop or band formed by
pressing it between the outer and centre punch from one end of the
machine shall fit or lock into the end of a hoop or band similarly
prepared from the opposite end.

page_text: Secondly. The combination and arrangement of the relicving tongues
and link movement for disengaging the hoops from the punches whilst
in operation.
Thirdly. The combination and employment of the shifting gauge
bar with curved and hollowed upper edge for raising and lowering 5
the stop pins and preventing end of hoops passing over more than two
punches when being indented or prepared from either end of the
machine.
Fourthly and lastly. The employment of the swivel stud links and
mode of adjusting the same to suit different widths of band and 10
guiding the same into the machine for the purpose of being punched
.in the manner and for the purposes herein-before set forth and
described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William McNabb, have hereunto set
•
my hand and seal; this Eighteenth day of December, in the year 18
· of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-one.
Witness,
B. F. WEATHERDON,
Law Chambers,
77, Chancery Lane.
WILLIAM MONABB. (L.S.)
5