AN IMPROVED MACHINE FOR CUTTING FILES."
Year: 1874

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Maurice Mondon, of No. 77, Boulevard de
Clichy, Paris, in the Republic of France, Civil Engineer, for the
Invention of "AN IMPROVED MACHINE FOR CUTTING FILES."

page_text: Fourthly. The mechanical arrangement for changing the height of
the shaft according to the thickness of the files to be cut.
First Part. Motion is given by any suitable means to a horizontal
shaft turning in bearings having a vertical motion if required. On this
shaft is keyed a cam, setting in motion the herein-after described ratchet 5
and click arrangement, and also as many cams as there are hammers
required for the machine. The handle of each hammer oscillates round
an axis, and is pressed by the cam against a spring, which in expanding
throws the hammer on to the cutting tool, which is contained in a spring
tool holder, which is raised by a spring as soon as the cut is made. 10
Above the hammer is a mass of lead enclosed between two sheets of
india-rubber for preventing the hammer from rebounding. To regulate
the force of the blow to the varying width of the file the hammer is
made to come in contact in falling with a spring arranged so as to
present a rigidity decreasing in proportion as the width of the file 1
increases, so as to gradually increase the force of the blow of the
hammer, which becomes free towards the middle of the file. This
object may also be obtained by causing cams with cross projections to
successively act on the hammer.
Second Part. The file blank to be cut rests on a support having three 2
movements, videlicet, an advancing intermittent movement; secondly, a
swing front and back movement; thirdly, an oscillating movement round
its longitudinal axis. The first movement is given by the ratchet and
click arrangement as herein-after described. The second is obtained in
the following manner:-The file carrier has a lower surface exactly 2
parallel to the upper surface of the file blank to be cut, and its advance-
ment causes it to slide on to the bearing of an anvil, so fixed that its
lower surface, and hence also the upper surface of the file blank, shall
be kept tangential to a horizontal plane. The extreme fixing points of
attachment of the file carrier to the carriage are free to rise and fall. 3
For this purpose the front and back part of the carriage are each formed
with a double joint, leaving the inflexions of the file carrier free during
the whole of its course. The third movement is necessitated by the
irregularity of the surface of flat files, and by the manufacture even of
round and half round files. For this purpose the handle is provided with 3
a bearing, on which the file carrier presses, whilst the two first joints of
the front and back of the carriage being constructed of rollers the whole

page_text: to the left. The half round and round me blanks are placed on the
carriers constructed to turn on their own axes, the successive positions
of which corresponding to the line of cuts are given by an endless screw
taking into a toothed half circumference adapted to the axes of the rollers
of the back part of the carriage. These positions are determined by the
interposition of a wedge in a pinion placed for that purpose in the
middle.
Third Part. The Ratchet and Click Arrangement.-The cam operating
the ratchet and click acts upon a balance lever, communicating motion
to a series of levers, the last of which actuates a catch on a ratchet
wheel. The motion of the ratchet wheel is communicated by a couple
of bevil wheels to a screw in the centre of the machine, and producing
by means of two screw nuts the movement of the carriage bearer. This
rotary motion communicated to the ratchet wheel extends to a certain
number of teeth, plus a fraction of a tooth. The angle which the ratchet
wheel has turned is also described by a second ratchet placed on the axis
of the screw, so that the point of the click of this second ratclict shall
rest at the end of the movement between the bottom and the point of
the tooth. As soon as the movement of the cam begins to bring back
in an opposite direction the click of the first ratchet the action of the
second click brings back by means of its spring the second ratchet, and
thereby the screw itself, thus causing the file to slightly recoil, and the
file then remains immoveable during the action of the hammer.
Fourth Part. When it is required to make files of different
thicknesses it is necessary to have the means of raising or lowering the
cam shaft without changing the relative positions of the click levers
with regard to the cam and the balance lever. For this purpose the
movement of the screw raising or lowering the cam shaft is transmitted
by a series of cog wheels to a trundle wheel turning a pinion carrying
the screw,
which receives the end of the balance lever at the end of the
click lever. The head of that screw is loose on the end of the balance
lever, whilst its lower extremity is screwed into a cap attached to the
end of the click levers, hence it follows that any vertical movement
communicated to the cum shaft corresponds to a removal or un

page_text: approaching of these two parts without changing the relative positions
of the other parts of the machine.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Maurice Mondon in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 6th April 1875.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, MAURICE
MONDON, of No. 77, Boulevard de Clichy, Paris, in the Republic of
France, Civil Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Seventh day of October, in the 1
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-four, in the
thirty-eighth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and suc-
cessors, give and grant unto me, the said Maurice Mondon, Hor
special licence that I, the said Maurico Mondon, my executors,
administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Maurice ]
Mondon, my executors, administrators, 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 2
for "AN IMPROVED MACHINE FOR CUTTING FILES," upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said Maurice Mondon, my executors or administrators,
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 2
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.

page_text: The improved machine consists of your principal parts, videncet
Firstly. The hammer operated by cams and the tool holder.
Secondly. The anvil and the carriage or file carrier.
Thirdly. The ratchet and click arrangement.
Fourthly. The mechanical arrangement for changing the height of
the shaft according to the thickness of the files to be cut.
To make my Invention better understood I will proceed to describe
the same by reference to the accompanying Drawing, in which Figure 1
shews an elevation of my improved machine for cutting files.
Firstly. The hammer and tool holder or carrier.-Motion is given
either by hand by means of straps or bands, shown in dotted lines in
Figure 1 of the annexed Drawing, or by a pulley keyed on to the shaft A ;
this shaft turns in bearings moving vertically by means of screws a
between the uprights A, A³, fixed to the framing T. On this shaft is
keyed a cam O setting in motion by means of the balance lever D the
clicks and ratchet mechanism herein-after described. As many cams B
as there are hammers to be worked are also keyed on to this shaft. Only
one cam and one hammer are shown in the Drawing for the sake of
simplicity. The hammer o" is provided with a handle n oscillating at m,
and is pressed at i by the cam B which presses the tail piece ; against
the spring; when the projecting part of the cam has passed the spring
throws the hammer forward so as to strike on the head t of the cutting
tool; this tool is fixed by any suitable means in a tool carrier u, jointed
at y; when it has acted it is raised by a spring a pressing on a fixed
Another spring i forces a piece d" provided with a roller e" to
press on the surface of the file; this piece d" is provided with a screw f",
on which is caused to butt the tool carrier when it is raised by the
spring, so that while at rest the tool is always at the same distance as
the file whatever may be the irregularities of the surface. The hammer.
head has at its upper part a heavy mass r placed between two india-
rubber plates g and h so as to prevent the hammer rebounding. When
it is desired to withdraw a hammer from the action of the cam the
arm v.

page_text: 11
handle & carrying a cutter 2¹¹ is raised which raises the handle n and
prevents the cam B reaching the extremity of the handle n. To
regulate the force of the blow according to the varying width of the
files the hammer is provided with a piece 8" wider than the head o";
the side projections of this piece 8" come in contact with a spring of a
forked shape r attached to a support s bent into a rectangular form and
passing into a slide z, Figures 1 and 4; this rods has at its extremity
a bevil bearing on a key t, also bevilled off t, Figure 1, worked by the
screw u and allowing the rising or lowering of the spring rat option;
this spring is so arranged as to present a rigidity which decreases in
proportion as the hammer which meets it strikes parts of the file where
it increases in width. Thus the blow becomes less and less diminished
in force till nearly the middle of the file is reached where it then ceases
to meet the spring. The same result can be obtained by keying on to
the shaft A a cam provided with projections having a conical surface so -
as to progressively lessen or increase the tension of the spring / by a
smaller or a larger rise, obtained by means of a simultaneous longi-
tudinal extension of the shaft A.
When several hammers are employed the cams employed to work
them are keyed in such a manner that the blows shall not fall close
together but at a short distance apart, and so that the time that the
total number of actions of the hammer take is less than the time in
which the carriage is at rest.
111
I prefer employing a third means shown in plan in detail at Figure 5,
and in elevation at Figure 1. I place under the spring a shaft a™, s
provided with a cam 6, so placed excentrically that in the turning of
the shaft a¹¹ this cam will press in an increasing degree on the spring
and increase its action; this axle is provided with a screw gearing t¹¹¹, m¹¹¹,
which is put in motion by another shaft, provided with a ratchet ¹¹¹,
and elongated screw thread c™ and which has at its extremity a knob.
A screw nut, surrounds the screw c¹ and is provided with two
pins e, e, passing into a slot made in the head f" of a curved flexible
piece o¹¹ fixed at g on the platform of the carriage bearer. By this
means in proportion as the carriage advances the nut advances the
screw which turns the shaft ¹¹, and afterwards the shaft o¹¹¹, the cams
of which slowly raise the spring 1, thereby increasing the force of the
blow, the nut k¹ releasing the screw c¹¹¹ as soon as the sides of the file
are parallel, and then the blows are regular, the click on the ratchet

page_text: wheel keeping the whole in place. In the opposite movement the
nut engages automatically in the threads of the screw which are
arranged for that purpose.
Secondly. The Anvil and the Carriage or File Carrier.-The file
blank b, Figure 1, to be cut rests on a blank a¹ having three different
movements, videlicet, firstly, an intermittent advance motion given by the
clicks and ratchet wheels; secondly, a swing advance and back motion;
thirdly, an oscillating motion round its horizontal axis. The first motion
is given by the clicks and ratchet wheels as herein-after described, 'the
› second motion is given in the following manner :-The under side of the
file carrier a has a lower surface absolutely parallel with the upper
surface of the file blank to be cut; the advance of the ratchet wheels
causes it to slide on a bearing a placed on the anvil E' fixed to the
framework, the lower surface of the file carrier and consequently the
upper surface of the file must therefore be tangential at the middle of
the anvil to a horizontal plane, so that the tool shall always strike at the
same angle. Hence it follows that the extremities of the file carrier
must rise and fall, according to the curvo of the file, and for this purpose
I have arranged the carriage bearer in the following manner :--The first
O part or hind carriage moved by the screw nuty is provided at the side of
the file with a recess receiving a bottom ƒ provided with a conical hole
in which the end of the file bears; e is a rotula box containing a sphere,
the neck of which passing through an oval hole in the box e is adapted
to a second joint, shown in elevation, Figure 3, two files being supposed
to be in the machine at one time. The stud and the wheels m' and m
serve to raise or lower the centre of the joint, causing the pieces i to
slide along the framing which is notched for this purpose; these pieces
consist of iron plates cut into a circular form at the lower part, and
against which (pressed by the T bolts ) are applied the plates g and g¹
slightly notched according to the circumference of the pieces i; a
counterweight k at the end of a lever arm facilitates this movement, so
that the movement communicated to the end of the carriage is trans-
mitted to this double joint without the file carrier advancing or receding.
The other end of the file carrier takes into the fore carriage moved by
the nut q', and shewn in elevation at Figure 4. This carriage is similar
to the first, excepting the modifications herein-after described. It
will thus be seen how the second or rocking movement of the file
carrier is effected, and it will also be seen that the third or rotating.

page_text: movement on its longitudinal axis is effected by means of the rollers of
the first joints of the fore and hind carriages.
The file is held on the file carrier by means of two rollers o and c¹ on
the rods m", n", supporting the counterweights Y'. These counter-
weights can be raised by the bar R jointed at S, and which may be held
in its place by bringing down the wedge P on the cleat Q. If the file
should be a little aslant the tool in striking at the side will raise the file,
causing it to slightly turn as well as the bearing d and the spheres e.
For half round files I do away with the bearing d, and make the file
carrier itself of the same form as the bearing, as seen at C, Figure 5.
A is a support of suitable form, and B the file. These files, as well as
round or rat tailed files, must be caused to turn a portion of a rotation
after each line of cut. For this purpose the hind carriage (Figures 1
and 4) carries a shaft p moved by hand by means of the keys 5, and
carrying in the middle a pinion 7, between the teeth of which may or
may not be interposed a wedge, forming the extremity of pincers, which
can be raised or lowered by hand. This shaft also carries two endless
screws 6, 6, gearing with the toothed half circumferences 9 at the ends
of the axis of the rollers; the plates n, as well as the bridges o, serve to
fix this shaft to the piece S, Figure 1. It follows that in turning this
shaft tho file placed on the file carrier can be turned to any desired
angle, and its position during the corresponding cut can be insured by
means of the pincers.
Thirdly. The ratchet and click arrangement or mechanism is shewn
in elevation in Figure 1 and in plan at Figure 2. The cam O acts on a
forked balance lever D jointed at E, and giving movement by means of
the piece G, H, I, K, to the levers L, M, and N, the latter of which is
provided with a series of holes in which may be placed the pin of a
joint O, the rod of which at Q actuates the click S of a ratchet wheel T.
It will be understood that the angle described by this ratchet wheel at
each stroke will vary according to the position of the pin or axis O. The
ratchet wheel T is mounted on a shaft U, giving motion to the screw N
by means of the bevil wheels 13 and 14. These bevil wheels can be put
out of gear when required by means of the ungearing mechanism 11,
16, 15, 17. Two other ratchet wheels 18 and Z, having corresponding
clicks 19 and 20 (not shewn in the Drawing to avoid confusion) are
keyed on the shaft of the screw M. One of these ratchet wheels can be

page_text: regulated by the screw X, moved by the small pinion Y, stopped when
required by the bolt V. The rotatory movement communicated to the
ratchet wheel T is calculated so as to embrace a certain number of teeth,
plus a fraction of a tooth, say for example half a tooth, or, together, five
and a half teeth. The ratchet wheel 18, which is of the same diameter
and turns at the same speed as the ratchet wheel T, will therefore also
be moved five and a half teeth, and its click will rest in the middle of a
tooth. As at this point the cam causes the click S to again descend the
spring of the click of the ratchet wheel 18 bearing on the tooth will
cause the ratchet wheel to rotate in the opposite direction until the click
strikes against the bottom of the notch. By these movements the screw
will at the same time have advanced, then slightly recoiled in such a
manner that the edge of the tool will come on to the rough edge formed
by the preceding blow. The stoppage then takes place and the blow is
given. Files called three square files are placed on an angular stake or
anvil, and the cutting of the projecting angles can be effected by means
of a roller in connection with the pressing rollers c and c¹.
Fourthly. The mechanical arrangement or vertical movement for
changing the height of the shaft according to the thickness of the files
to be cut. When files of different thicknesses have to be cut, means
must be provided to allow of raising or lowering the shaft and all the
parts carried by the same without changing the relative positions of the
ratchet wheels, the balance lever, and the cam. For this purpose the
movement of the screw a is transmitted by the gearing c, d, e, carrying
the screws f",f¹, f, alternately right and left handed to the trundle
wheel L' gearing with the pinion I, the head H of which is provided
with a pin groove which allows it to turn loosely in the cap G, forming
a socket with the extremity F of the balance lever D. Under the
pinion I is a screw j screwing into the socket / connected to the lever L.
It will be seen by this arrangement that any vertical movement imparted
to the shaft by the arms c, c¹, c¹¹, corresponds to a separation from or an
approach towards one another of the points F and K, without any
change taking place in the position of the levers or of the balance
lever D.

page_text: for cutting files, as herein-before described and represented in the accom-
panying Drawing.
Secondly. The combination of the parts allowing of raising and
lowering the driving shaft and the tool without changing the relative
positions of the ratchet and click mechanism and balance lever, substan- 5
tially as herein-before described and represented in the accompanying
Drawing.
Thirdly. The ratchet and click mechanism allowing of obtaining,
firstly, an advance movement; secondly, a slight recoil movement;
thirdly, a slight stoppage for determining the striking point of the cutter 1
and to facilitate its action, substantially as herein-before described and
represented in the accompanying Drawing.
Fourthly. The setting up on the same shaft of a number of cams of
different sizes, so as to allow the fall of the hammers at close intervals,
but comprised within the time occupied by the stoppages produced by 1
the ratchet and click mechanism, substantially as herein-before described
and represented in the accompanying Drawing.
Fifthly. The arrangement of the hammer having a heavy head
placed between two india-rubber plates or springs to prevent the
rebound, and the means of raising the tool as soon as it has been struck, 2
substantially as herein-before described and represented in the accom-
panying Drawing.
Sixthly. The means for gradually increasing or diminishing the force
of the blow of the hammer, either by fixing on the driving shaft a cam
having projections increasing in size, or by means of a spring regulator 2
receiving the blow of the hammer and moderating it, or by means of a
cam operated by the motion of the carriage and increasing gradually
the tension of the spring which brings back the hammer, substantially
as herein-before described and represented in the accompanying
Drawing.
Seventhly. The combination of the double jointed double carriage
bearer with the curved tool carrier and the anvil having a moveable
bearing, allowing of obtaining the movement required to be given to the
file carrier, substantially as herein-before described and represented in
the accompanying Drawing.
g

page_text: Eighthly. The arrangement of the front carriage for the manufacture
of round and half round files, substantially as herein-before described
and represented in the accompanying Drawing.
Ninthly. The combination of the pressing rollers and counterweights
allowing the free oscillation of the file carrier under the action of the
tool, substantially as herein-before described and represented in the
accompanying Drawing.
In witness. whereof, I, the said Maurice Mondon, have hereto
set my hand and seal, this Third day of April, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-five.