IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR TAPPING NUTS FOR SCREW BOLTS
Year: 1870

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Philippe Koch, of the City of Manchester, in
the County of Lancaster, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
IN MACHINERY FOR TAPPING NUTS FOR SCREW BOLTS."
Sealed the 21st March 1871, and dated the 23rd September 1870.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Philippe Koch at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
23rd September 1870.
I, PHILIPPE KOCH, of the City of Manchester, in the County of
5 Lancaster, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR TAPPING NUTS FOR SCREW BOLTS," to be as
follows:-
My said Invention relates to a simple and cheap but perfectly efficient
machine whereby the operation of tapping or forming the threads in
O metallic nuts can be more conveniently and rapidly accomplished than
has heretofore been practicable.
The said machine is constructed with a horizontal table on which
the nuts to be tapped are placed. From this table extends downward

page_text: in an inclined plane a plate, wherein are formed grooves or channels
through which the nuts are conducted to the taps. The said taps are
formed on the lower end of stems or rods which are fitted in the sockets
of vertical spindles which rotate in suitable bearings at the top of the
machine. The inclined grooves or channels terminate in horizontal
recesses which hold the nuts centrally under the rotating taps, the
outer end of these recesses having a wall or flange for preventing
the passage of the nuts beyond the proper position under the tap.
Below the inclined bed of the machine are treadles which are connected
by suitable rods to the tap spindles. I prefer to use two treadles
and to connect one. half of the entire number of spindles to each
treadle. These treadles are so arranged that by the pressure of the
foot they are actuated to raise the spindles to which they are connected.
After each nut has been tapped it is necessary that the tap should be
raised to allow the next nut which has been stopped at the bottom of
the inclined groove to pass therefrom into the proper position under
the tap, but this passage of the nut must not take place until the
tap has risen. I therefore provide means for retaining the bottom
nut in the groove for a brief space of time, and for this purpose I
arrange a shaft over the inclined bed or in any other suitable and
convenient position; this shaft is provided with springs or elastic
arms which extend over the grooves. The free end of each spring is
in the proper position to rest on the bottom nut in each groove, and
these springs resting on the said nuts retain them in the bottom of
the inclined groove until the taps have been raised sufficiently to
allow the said nuts to pass under them, and at the moment when this
occurs the springs or arms are raised and the nuts slide forward under
the taps. The raising of these springs may be effected by any suitable
mechanism in connection with the treadle; I prefer however for this
purpose to place a short arm on the shaft of the springs, which arm is
connected to a vertical rod. On this rod is a small stud or projection
which at the proper moment is acted on by a tappet operated by one
of the spindles, the said rod being slightly raised by the said tappet
and thereby raising the spring and releasing the nuts. When the
operator removes his foot from the treadle the spindles and taps descend
by their own gravity, the taps enter the nuts which have just passed
under them from the inclined grooves, the elastic arms or springs again
close upon the next nuts which now lie at the bottom of the inclined
grooves and the operations are repeated as before. The spindles and

page_text: taps rotate continuously in one direction, and as the taps pass through
the nuts the latter are collected upon the stems or rods of the taps
above the screwed or cutting portion. When a certain quantity
have been thus tapped and collected the operator should remove the
tap from the spindle socket, and after removing the nuts should
again insert the tap in the socket without stopping the machine or
the rotation of the spindle. To allow this removal and insertion of
the spindle, the socket, and the end of the tap are constructed as
follows: The socket is circular for the greater part of its depth, but
at the end a small portion (say, about three-eights of an inch of it)
is left square.
A similarly small portion of the extremity of the
stem of the tap is also made square to fit the square part of the socket.
The same object may be effected by slightly flattening a portion of
the socket and stem. A shallow groove or channel is made around
the circular part of the stem within the socket, and a spring pin
projects through the socket into the groove, its pressure being just suffi-
cient to prevent the falling of the tap from the socket but not sufficient
to prevent the easy removal and insertion of the said tap while the
spindle is rotating. This peculiarly constructed socket also allows the
tap to be removed automatically if the operator should neglect to
remove it when it is full of nuts, for each nut as it is tapped is raised
by the continuous rotation of the spindle above the threads of the
tap and pushes upward the preceding nut. It is therefore obvious
that the entire space between the threads of the tap and the socket
will soon be filled, and when this is the case the tapping of another
nut causes a pressure on the socket which draws the tap from
the same without stopping the spindle or injuring the tap or the
machine.
0
5
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Philippe Koch in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 23rd March 1871.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, PHILIPPE
KOCH, of the City of Manchester, in the County of Lancaster, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-third day of September, in

page_text: the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy, in
the thirty-fourth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and
successors, give and grant unto me, the said Philippe Koch, Her
special licence that I, the said Philippe Koch, my executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Philippe Koch, 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, usė,
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 FOR TAPPING NUTS FOR SCREW BOLTS," upon
the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Philippe Koch, 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 the same to be filed in the
Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next and imme-
diately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Philippe Koch, 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, reference being had to the accompanying Drawing
forming a part of this Specification:-
My said Invention relates to a simple and cheap but perfectly efficient
machine whereby the operation of tapping or forming the threads in
metallic nuts can be more conveniently and rapidly accomplished than
has heretofore been practicable.
The said machine is constructed with a horizontal table on which the
nuts to be tapped are placed; from this table extends downward in an
inclined plane a plate, wherein are formed grooves or channels through
which the nuts are conducted to the taps. The said taps are formed
on the lower end of stems or rods fitted in the sockets of vertical
spindles, which rotate in suitable bearings at the top of the machine.
The inclined grooves or channels terminate in horizontal recesses which
hold the nuts centrally under the rotating taps, the outer end of these
recesses having a wall or flange for preventing the passage of the nuts
beyond the proper position under the taps. Below the inclined bed of
the machine are treadles which are connected by suitable rods to the

page_text: tap spindles: I prefer to use two treadles, and to connect one-half of
the entire number of spindles to each treadle. These treadles arc so
arranged that by the pressure of the foot they are actuated to raise the
spindles to which they are connected. After each nut has been tapped
it is necessary that the tap should be raised to allow the next nut
which has been stopped at the bottom of the inclined groove to pass
therefrom into the proper position under the tap, but this passage of
the nut must not take place until the tap has risen. I therefore provide
means for retaining the bottom nut in the groove for a brief space of
time, and for this purpose I arrange a shaft under the inclined bed or
in any other suitable and convenient position; this shaft is provided
with springs or elastic arms which extend over the grooves. The free
end of each spring is in the proper position to rest on the bottom nut in
each groove; and these springs resting on the said nuts retain them in
the bottom of the inclined groove until the taps have been raised
sufficiently to allow the said nuts to pass under them, and at the
moment when this occurs the springs or arms are raised and the nuts
slide forward under the taps. The raising of these springs is effected
by any suitable mechanism in connection with the treadle; for this
purpose the shaft of the springs may be connected to a vertical rod
which at the proper moment is operated by one of the spindles, the
said rod being thereby slightly raised, and raising the springs and
releasing the nuts. When the operator removes his foot from the
treadle the spindles and taps descend by their own gravity, the taps
enter the nuts which have just passed under them from the inclined
grooves; the elastic arms or springs again close upon the next nuts
which now lie at the bottom of the inclined grooves, and the operations
are repeated as before. The spindles and taps rotate continuously in
one direction, and as the taps pass through the nuts the latter are
collected upon the stems or rods of the taps above the screwed or cutting
portion. When a certain quantity have been thus tapped and collected
the operator should withdraw the taps from the spindle sockets, and
after removing the nuts should again insert the taps in the sockets
without stopping the machine or the rotation of the spindles. To
allow this removal and insertion of the spindles, the sockets and the
ends of the taps are constructed as follows:-The socket is circular for
the greater part of its depth, but at the end a small portion (say, about
three-eighths of an inch of it) is left square. A similarly small portion
of the extremity of the stem of the tap is also made square to fit the

page_text: square part of the socket; or the same object may be effected by slightly
flattening a portion of the socket and stem. A shallow groove or
channel is made around the circular part of the stem within the socket,
and a spring pin projects through the socket into the groove, its pressure
being just sufficient to prevent the falling of the tap from the socket,
but not sufficient to prevent the easy removal and insertion of the said
tap while the spindle is rotating. This peculiarly constructed socket
also allows the tap to be removed automatically if the operator should
neglect to remove it when it is full of nuts, for each nut as it is tapped
is raised by the continuous rotation of the spindle above the threads of
the tap and pushes upward the preceding nut; it is therefore obvious
that the entire space between the threads of the tap and the socket will
soon be filled; and when this is the case the tapping of another nut
causes a pressure on the socket, which draws the tap from the same
without stopping the spindle or injuring the tap or the machine.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING.
Figure 1 is a plan of a nut tapping machine constructed according to
my said Invention; Figure 2 is a front view of the same; Figure 3 is a
vertical transverse section on the line x, x, Figure 1; Figure 4 is a
horizontal section, and Figure 5 a vertical section drawn to an enlarged
scale, illustrating the contrivances for holding the taps in the spindles.
Like letters indicate the same parts throughout the Drawing.
A is a strong frame of cast iron or other suitable material whereon
the parts of the machine are firmly supported; a is the horizontal table
on which the nuts are placed, and 6 the inclined plate with the grooves
or channels 6¹ through which the nuts z are conducted into the horizontal
recesses c under the taps; c¹ is the wall or flange at the end of each of
the said recesses for preventing the passage of the nuts beyond the
proper position; c² is a cavity or space below each of these recesses to
allow the tap to descend far enough through the nuts.
The machine shown in the Drawing has two sets of taps d and e,
each set being operated by a separate treadle for raising them; each set
d¹ and e¹ of the tap spindle has a set of levers f, g, which levers are
operated through the treadles h, i. One of the levers f is arranged
below each spindle d', and these levers fare all keyed or otherwise made
fast on the shaft j, while the levers 9 (one of which is arranged below

page_text: each tap spindle e¹) are all fast on the shaft k; these shafts are supported
to work freely in bearings in the brackets A' formed or fixed on the
frame A. The levers f, g, are connected by the rods f', g', to the
treadles h, i, which have their fulcrums at ', . The free end of each
of the levers f, g, projects under the bottom of one of the tap spindles,
as shown in Figure 3, far enough to raise the said spindle without
touching the tap. With this arrangement of the treadles, levers, shafts,
and connections, it is obvious that by depressing either of the said.
treadles all the taps of one set will be raised simultaneously, and when
the treadle is released they will descend by their own gravity.
The springs for holding the bottom nut in the grooves b¹ while the
taps rise, are also arranged in two sets l, m, and these springs are raised
by the levers o, p, through the medium of the levers o', p', rods o³, o',
levers 05, 0, and shafts o', os. The levers o are keyed fast on the shaft o³,
and the levers p on the shaft oº. One arm 1 of each of the levers o³, 06,
projects over the outer tap spindle of each set, and when either set of
taps is thrown up by the treadle the end of the said spindle acts on the
arm 1 of the corresponding lever, and through the medium of the afore-
said connections acts on the levers o or p. From each of the springs a
pin 2 projects down through a slot in the bed, and lies in contact with
one of the said levers, and by this means the spring is raised and releases
the nut just as the tap is raised to its highest position.
The sockets q for the reception of the taps and the end of the tap rods
or stems, as herein-before stated, are constructed in a peculiar manner to
permit the removal and insertion of the taps without stopping the
machine. By referring to Figures 3, 4 and 5, this part of my Invention
will be readily understood.
I have already stated that I make a portion of the socket square or
flat to ensure the rotation of the spindle, but I prefer the following con-
struction: At the top of the socket q I form a recess or slot, which
extends through the sides of the socket. Into this recess I insert a
metal block r, having in it a square hole ¹.
round, and fits the round portion d' of the drill stem, but the end d² of
the said stem is made square to fit the square hole 7"¹.
When the tap
The holes in the socket is
is to be secured in the socket it is inserted into the same and pressed
upward lightly till the square part enters the hole. Outside the
socket is fixed the spring t, and this spring bears on the pin t³, which
passes through the socket into the groove d* in the stem d', as shewn,

page_text: and prevents the falling out of the tap, although, as herein-before stated,
it permits its removal by the operator, and its automatic removal in case
the operator should neglect to withdraw it when the stem is full of nuts.
The spindles d'; e¹, are fitted to rotate and work up and down freely in
the sockets A² formed or fixed on the frame A.. At the top of the 5
spindles are bevelled pinions u, v, each of which by means of a feather
is caused to rotate with the spindle while allowing the same to slide up
and down through the pinion; these pinions are geared in connection
with the pinions w on the driving shaft B, which extends entirely across
the machine, and is supported in bearings A³ at each end of the same. 1
The said driving shaft is provided with fast and loose pulleys C, C¹, and
is driven by means of these pulleys from a steam engine or other source
of power.
Having thus fully described my said Invention, I wish it understood
that I claim,―
First. In a machine for tapping nuts a series or set of rotating tap
spindles arranged and combined together and with suitable mechanism
for operating them in such a manner that the entire series or set will be
raised and lowered simultaneously for the purpose specified.
]
Second. Two or more of such sets or series of tap spindles arranged 2
together in the same machine, and operated by separate treadles or
other devices, so that one set is raised or lowered independently of the
others, substantially as set forth for the purpose specified.
Third. The inclined plane with grooves or channels through which
the nuts descend from the table to the taps, constructed and arranged
substantially as set forth.
Fourth. The springs for stopping the descent of the nuts down the
said grooves until the nut which has last been tapped has been raised
sufficiently to permit the next nut to advance into the proper position
under the tap, substantially as set forth.
Fifth. Arranging the tap spindle in combination with a treadle in
such a manner that the spindles are raised by depressing the treadle,
and are allowed to descend by their own gravity when the treadle is
released, substantially as set forth.
Sixth. The devices, whereby without stopping the machine the taps a
may be removed from or inserted in the sockets, and by which they are
released automatically when full of nuts, substantially as set forth.

page_text: Seventh. A machine for tapping nuts with the horizontal table, and
the grooved inclined plane leading therefrom to horizontal recesses
under the taps in combination with one, two, or more sets or series of
tap spindles connected with treadles for raising the same, and with the
other devices herein specified arranged and operating together, sub-
stantially as set forth for the purposes specified.
In witness whereof, I, the said Philippe Koch, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Twenty-second day of March, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-one.
PHILIPPE KOCH. (L.S.)
Witness,
W. ROB. LAKE.