Improvements in Nailing Machines.
Year: 1896

page_text: Date of Application, 23rd June, 1896-Accepted, 22nd Aug., 1896
COMIDELE SI MOITICATION,
Improvements in Nailing Machines.
I, HERBERT HOWARD BUFFUM, of Abington, in the County of Plymouth
and State of Massachusetts, United States of America, Gentleman, 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 particularly to slug making and driving machines, by
cutting a strip of metal transversely, and it has for its object to provide a simple
durable, and rapidly operating machine of this class adapted to cut a strip into
wedge-shaped slugs without waste of metal and without previous punching or cutting
of the strip; and to these ends, the invention consists in the improvements which
I will now proceed to describe and claim.
Of the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification.
Figure 1 represents a front elevation of a nailing machine embodying my
improvements.
Figures 14, 1B, and 1° represents detail views.
Figure 2 represents a side elevation of the machine, looking in the direction of
the arrow in the Figure 1.
Figures 2 and 2 represent detail views.
Figure 3 represents a side view of the side opposite that shown in Figure 2.
Figures 3 and 3B represent sectional views of parts of the machine hereinafter
referred to.
:
Figure 4 represents an enlarged view, partly in section, of a portion of Figure 3,
showing some of the parts in a different position.
Figures 4A, 4B, and 4° represent detail views.
Figure 4 represents a section on line 4-4, Figure 4.
Figure 5 (Sheet 1) represents a section on line 5-5 of Figure 3.
Figure 6 represents a horizontal section on the line 6-6, Figure 4.
Figures 6A, 6B, 6º, 6º, and 6 represent detail views.
Figure 7 represents a sectional view of a portion of the machine, on the
line 7-7, Figure 2, looking downwardly.
Figure 8 represents a sectional detail view on the line 8-8 of Figure 6, looking
toward the left.
Figure 9 represents a view similar to Figure 8, showing the parts in a changed
position and to be hereinafter explained.
Figure 10 represents a horizontal section on line 10-10, Figure 9, looking
downwardly.
Figures 11 to 18, inclusive, represent detail views hereinafter explained.
The same letters of reference.indicate the same parts in all the figures.
In the drawings-
a represents a supporting frame or head resting upon a support b and suitably
secured thereto. Journalled in suitable bearings in the head' a is a shaft c having
a driving-pulley d which is connected with the shaft. by a clutch, shown at a
Any suitable clutch adapted to be operated' to connect the driving-pulley with
and disconnect it from the shaft at the will of the operator may be employed, and
said clutch may be operated by a treadle (not shown) attached to an arm a
through suitable connections as a (Figure 1). To one end of said shaft is
attached a came (Figure 1B), which is adapted. to alternately raise and release a
:

page_text: spring-depressed driver-bar f at each rotation of the shaft c, said cam having
a recess a23 and a raised portion a22, which co-operate with a roll a" on the
driver-bar.
The
The rear end of the shaft c is provided. with a gear g, which meshes with a
gear secured to a shaft i journalled in suitable hearings in the head a.
gears g h are so formed that one rotation of the gear g imparts a one-half rotation
to the gear h, the gear h being provided with twice as many teeth as the gear 9,
so that the shaft i which carries the nail-strip o and is connected with the
mechanism which feeds the strip to the cutting mechanism imparts a half-rotation
to the said feeding mechanism and strip after the formation of each slug, to the
end that the slugs may be given a tapering form, as hereinafter described.
To the gear h is secured a slug-strip holder, shown in Figures 24 and 2B as
composed of two side-pieces j k provided with flanges l m bolted to the gear h, and
a stud n supporting the coiled strip o.
The shaft i is hollow, to permit the passage of the strip through it to the
feeding mechanism, and from thence to the cutting and driving mechanism. The,
feeding mechanism is carried by another hollow shaft p, which is in line with
the shaft i, the strip passing through both shafts. The shafts i and p are connected.
by means of a sleeve q which surrounds the shafts near their adjacent ends and
communicates rotary motion from the shaft i to the shaft p through studs 7 and 8
secured to the shafts, and slots 34 in the sleeve 9, and is longitudinally
reciprocated so that it imparts longitudinal movement to the shaft p and the
feeding mechanism hereinafter described. A spring 9 (Figure 4) is interposed
between the shafts inside the sleeve, and acts to press the shaft p against its
fixed abutment when the said shaft is at the forward end of its movement, as herein-
after described. The slot 4 is straight, while the slot 3 is inclined, the object of
this form of the slots being hereinafter explained.
The sleeve g has flanges rs, which engage a roll t mounted on a lever u which
is pivoted at v to a fixed arm w. The upper end of said lever is engaged with a
cam-groovey in a cam-sleeve al upon the shaft c, said cam-groove and lever
reciprocating the sleeve q and the tubular shaft p. The shaft p is provided with
an enlarged head or holder ¹ for the strip-feeding mechanisin, which comprises two
rolls d (Figures 11-18) which are rotatable in said holder and have their
journals elf connected by gears 7 q' (Figure 14). To the journal f¹ is secured a
ratchet g (Figure 11), which is engaged by a pawl h' mounted on an arm which
is pivoted at to the holder 6. The arm ¹ has a journal k¹ formed upon its outer
end, upon which is mounted a roller arranged to strike the face m¹ of a fixed
annular abutment n', which receives a flange o' on the shaft p. This contact of
the roll with the face of the socket causes the arm i to swing on its pivot and
move the pawl in the direction required to rotate the ratchet g' in the direction
of the arrow marked thereon in Figure 13, the feed-rolls being thus caused to move
the strip
o forward to the cutters hereinafter described. The feed-roll c' has no
lateral play in its bearings, while the 'roll d has a limited lateral play and is
pressed against the strip o by means of a spring 61 (Figures 12 and 14) secured
at to the holder b₁, and pins 614 615 interposed between said spring and the
journals of the roll d' and communicating to the latter the pressure of the spring,
which may be varied by an adjusting-screw 18.
The shaft p is provided at one side of the feed-rollers with a quill r, which is
formed to fit the strip o and support the same between the feed-rolls and the
cutters, the outer end of the quill resting against the cutters when they are
severing the strip.
The cutters st¹ are movable in guides or ways in the supporting frame, and are
reciprocated in opposite directions by power communicated from the driving-shaft,
through cams 620 630 (Figures 1 and 5) on said shaft, yokes u pivoted
respectively at all to lugs 'y' (Figure 5) on the supporting frame, and provided
with rolls a a³ which are mounted on arms a² a² on said yokes and are pressed by a
spring against said cams, arms a d³ formed on said yokes, screws (Figure 8)

page_text: in said arms bearing on the cutters s¹ t, and links d d (Figure 8) pivoted to the
outer ends of the cutters s¹t. The knives are forced inwardly to cut the strips by
the positive action of the car on the screws 6 through the intermediate
connections, and are retracted by the action of the spring through the same
connections, and the links d² d².
The cutters are formed with inclined cutting edges e² 3, as shown in Figures 64.
and 6B, so that each cut leaves an inclined end on the strip o, as shown in Figures 4,
12, 15, and 18. The cutters are arranged so that each slug m² severed from the
strip drops into a recess 2 (Figure 4), where it is held by centering jaws h³ ³ in the
path of the driver f. The centering jaws are formed with inclined shoulders 2020
(Figure 4B), so that a tapering cavity exists between them, formed to receive a
tapering or wedge-shaped slug. The jaws are held yieldingly in place against
fixed supports by springs 22 (Figure 4), so that they separate when the driver
descends to drive the slug.
The driver is forced downwardly to drive the slugs, by a helical spring n² one
end of which is secured to an arm n³ bearing upon the driver-bar, while the other
end is secured to a collar n adjustably secured by set-screws n' n to a stud n³
affixed to the supporting frame. Said collar and set-screws permit any desired
adjustment of the tension of the spring.
In Figure 3, I have shown means for automatically forcing the work-supporting
horn n upwardly toward the nail-delivering throat while the nail or slug is being
driven, the horn being released at other times, so that it may be normally
supported by a light spring and readily movel by the operator.
Said means
comprise a standard d to the upper end of which is pivoted at d an arm d. Said
arm is connected at d to a rod do, the upper end of which is pivoted at e* to a
bell-crank lever es, said lever being pivoted at e to the frame a. The upper end
of said bell-crank lever is provided with a roller e', which enters a cam-groove e³ in
a cam-disk e secured to the shaft i. To the arm d' is pivoted at fi³ a pawl f
pressed toward the horn by a spring f which causes the pawl to engage teeth f*
formed upon the horn when the pawl is raised by the action of the cam-groove
upon the bell-crank lever, this movement taking place before the nail is driven.
The pawl therefore forces the horn upwardly, and holds it in position to firmly
hold the heel while the nail is being driven. After the nail has been driven, the
pawl is disengaged from the horn by the downward movement of the bell-crank
lever, which lowers the pawl until the upper end of the latter comes in contact with
a knock-off g consisting of an upwardly extending standard 9 secured to the
horn-support and formed to displace the pawl when the latter is being moved
downward, and thereby disengage the pawl from, the horn, as shown in Figure 3.
The tip or anvil of the horn is yieldingly supported by a relatively stiff
spring (Figure 3), which imparts a yielding quality to the upward pressure
exerted on the horn as above described.
The horn is yieldingly supported by a relatively light spring (Figure 3), the
bottom of which rests upon a support in the horn-support d, the upper end
bearing against a collar upon the horn. The lower end of the horn is provided
with a rod connected with, a suitable treadle (not shown), by which the operator
may depress the horn when the machine is at rest.
To prevent the horn from rotating, a slot 3 is formed in the lower end thereof,
into which projects a spline secured to the under side of the spring-support 15.
represents a feed-dog the outer end of which projects through the frame a so
that the work may be held against it by the operator. The inner end of the
feed dog rests upon a suitable support, which is provided with a stud i projecting
through a slot in the feed-dog, to permit longitudinal movement of the latter, the
top of the stud being provided with a nut 0 to prevent displacement of the feed-
dog. To effect a longitudinal movement of the feed-dog, a cam j on the shaft i is
provided, against the face of which is pressed by a spring a roll journalled upon
a stud which is adjustably secured to the feed-dog, one end of said spring being
secured to the feed-dog and the other to a standard secured to the frame a

page_text: A: lateral movement is imparted to the feed-dog by a lever pivoted at to a
support attached to the frame. The upper end of the lever engages a cam upon
the shaft (see Figure 2), and the lower end is provided with a projection which
engages the edge of the feed-dog, the latter being held in contact with the cam by
the spring which stands at such an angle to the feed-dog that tension is exerted
both laterally and longitudinally.
The operation is as follows: While the driver is rising and its cutters are being
retracted to the position shown in Figure 11, the sleeve is moved in the direction
indicated by the arrow 5 in Figure 4, and moves the head and its adjuncts
forward. The roll on the arm is thus caused to strike the abutment n', the
pawl being thus moved to partially rotate the feed-rolls, thus advancing the
strip between the cutters, as shown in Figures 13 and 15, the strip remaining in
this position while the cutters are severing it. By reference to Figure 15, it will
be seen that the inclination of the cutting edges of the cutters is such that after
each cut the inclination of the end of the strip, which will then be on the line of
the cutting edge e, makes the lower edge of the strip in advance of the upper edge.
Here it should be noticed that after each cutting operation the strip is retracted
and is given a half-rotation, so that the inclination of its outer end when it is held
in position for the action of the cutters is always such that the upper edge is in
advance of the lower edge, as shown in Figure 15. This inclination of the cutting
edges of the cutters, together with the half-rotation of the strip after each cut,
causes the formation of a tapering or wedge-shaped slug m² having a penetrating
point and a head of the elongated form desirable in heel-slugs.
The cutters are timed so that when they are in the position shown in Figure 13,
the cutter stops with its recess over the nail-slot or throat f2, the cutter ti
advancing and pushing the severed slug over said throat, into which it drops and is
held as described by the centering jaws.
The sleeve a commences to move backwardly in the direction indicated by the
arrow 50 (Figure 4) during the cutting operation, this movement being preparatory
to retracting the strip o from the cutters, in order that it may receive another half-
rotation before it is again fed forward. The sleeve does not, however, move the
shaft p and the feeding mechanism during the first part of its backward movement,
but leaves said parts at rest during the cutting operation. This result is due to
the form of the slots 34 and to the co-operation with said slots of the studs 7 8.
As above stated, the rear end of the slot 4 bears against the stud 7 at the end of
the feed movement of the strip, so that when the sleeve a commences to move
backwardly, it has a lost motion, corresponding to the distance between the stud 7
and the forward end of the slot 4; hence the shaft p and the feeding mechanism
receive no backward movement until the forward end of the slot 4 strikes the
stud 7, after which the said shaft and feeding mechanism are moved backwardly
by the sleeve and retract the strip from the cutters. It is necessary also to stop
the rotation of the shaft p and of the strip, or that part thereof that is presented to
the cutters during the cutting operation. This result is secured by the inclination
of the slot 3, which is such as to compensate for the continuous rotary movement
of the shaft i and stud 8, and permit the sleeve to move on the shaft i without
receiving rotary movement therefrom during the period of lost motion of the sleeve
on the shaft p. After said period, the sleeve gimparts both end wise and rotary
motion to the shaft p, the strip being thus retracted and partially rotated, the
rotary movement continuing until the completion of the forward movement of the
sleeve and of the feed movement of the strip. The retraction of the shaft p carries
the feed mechanism away from the abutment n', so that the pawl and arm are
free to be restored by a spring to the feeding position shown in Figure 11, said
spring being connected at one end to a stud 13 on the holder b', and at its other
end to a pin affixed to the arm i¹. A stop limits the movement of the arm i
by the spring.
It will be seen that by giving the nail-strip a half-rotation after each cut, I am
enabled to make nails or slugs with elongated heads and penetrating points, from a

page_text: plain strip without previously cutting the strip to partially form.the nails or slugs.
By the employment of a continuously rotated shaft as the motor for the head or
older of the feed mechanism, I am enabled to operate the machine much more
raj idly than would be possible if the strip were rocked or given a half-rotation
first in one direction and then in the opposite direction, as is common in tack and
cut-nail machines, where there is much loss of time due to the stoppage and
reversal of the motion of the strip. This loss of time I entirely avoid by the
continuous retation of the tubular shaft or motor that is geared to the driving-
shaft. The continuous rotation of said shaft or motor necessarily involves a slight
twisting of the strip while the latter is held stationary for the action of the cutters,
but this twisting is not sufficient to be a matter of any consequence.
I do not limit myself to the details of mechanism herein shown and described,.
and may variously modify the same without departing from the spirit of my
invention.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. In a machine of the character specified, the combination of a driver, strip-
cutters, a driving-shaft, intermediate connections for imparting motion from the
shaft to the driver and the cutters respectively, a rotary head or holder provided
with strip-feeding devices, and intermediate connections between the shaft and
holder having provisions for imparting a progressive rotary motion from the shaft.
to the holder.
:
2. In a machine of the character specified, the combination of a driver, strip-
cutters, a driving-shaft, intermediate connections for imparting motion from the
said shaft to the driver and the cutters respectively, a rotary head or holder
provided with strip-feeding devices, intermediate connections between the shaft
and holder whereby a progressive rotation is imparted from the shaft to the holder
to present the strip in different positions to the cutters, and means operated by the
rotation of the head for operating the strip-feeding devices.
3. In a machine of the character specified, the combination with a driving
mechanism and a cutting mechanism, of a rotary head or holder provided with
strip-feeding devices, a continuously rotated shaft or motor through which the
strip passes to the feed mechanism, a reciprocating connecting device between the
said motor and holder having provision for transmitting rotary motion from
the motor to the holder and for imparting an independent back-and-forth motion
to the holder.
,
4. In a machine of the character specified, the combination with a driving
mechanism and a cutting mechanism, of a rotary head or holder, strip-feeding
mechanism carried thereby, a continuously rotated shaft or motor through which
the strip passes to the feed mechanism, a movable connecting device between the
said motor and holder having provision for transmitting rotary motion from the
motor to the holder and for imparting an independent back-and-forth movement to.
the holder, and mechanism for reciprocating said connecting device, the latter also.
having provision for a limited longitudinal movement independent of the rotary
movement of the motor and without moving the holder and feed mechanism.
. In a machine of the character specified, the combination with a driving
mechanism and a cutting mechanism, of a rotary head or holder, a continuously
rotated shaft or motor, a reciprocating connecting device between the motor and
holder having provision for transmitting rotary motion from the motor to the
holder and for imparting independent endwise movements to the holder, a fixed
abutment in the path of said holder, and strip-feeding mechanism carried by the
holder and having a part which is caused to strike said abutment and operate the
feed mechanism by an end wise movement of the holder.
6. In a machine of the character specified, the combination of a driving
mechanism including a driving-shaft, a cutting mechanism operated thereby, a

page_text: strip-rotating shaft or motor, gearing connecting the motor with the driving-shaft
and adapted to rotate the motor at half the speed of the shaft, a rotary head or
holder having strip-feeding mechanism, and a connecting device between the motor
and holder having provision for transmitting rotary motion to the holder and for
imparting independent end wise movements to the holder.
7. In a machine of the character specified, the combination of a driving
mechanism including a driving-shaft, a cutting mechanism operated thereby, a
tubular shaft or motor geared to the driving-shaft to rotate at half the speed of
the latter, a strip-holder secured to said shaft, a rotary head or carrier in line with
said tubular shaft, a sleeve having a straight slot engaged with a stud on the
holder and an inclined slot engaged with a stud on the tubular shaft, mechanism
for reciprocating said sleeve, and feed mechanism carried by the holder.
8. In a machine of the character specified, the combination of a driving
mechanism, a cutting mechanism, a rotary shaft or motor connected with the
driving mechanism, a rotary head or holder, a positively reciprocated connecting
device between said holder and motor, feed-rolls journalled in the holder, one of
said rolls being yieldingly mounted, an external feed-roll operating device on
the holder, and a fixed abutment adapted to co-operate with said operating
device.
9. In a machine of the character specified, the combination of a supporting
frame having a fixed nail-guiding throat, a driver movable in said throat, two
opposed cutters having inclined cutting edges, one of said cutters being recessed to
form a guide arranged to deliver a nail to said throat, strip-feeding devices, a
rotary head carrying said devices, a rotary driving-shaft, and intermediate
connections for imparting motion from said shaft to the driver, the cutters, and the
head, respectively, the said head having provisions for imparting strip-feeding
movements to the said feeding devices.
10. In a machine of the character specified, the combination of a driving
mechanism, a cutting mechanism, a nail-guiding throat located below the cutting
mechanism and arranged to receive nails therefrom, and spring-pressed centering.
jaws in said throat, said jaws being pressed independently in opposite directions
against fixed supports and provided with shoulders which co-operate to form an
expansible nail-receiving cavity.
11. In a machine of the character specified, the combination with a supporting
frame having a nail-delivering throat, a driving mechanism on said frame, a work-
supporting horn movable toward and from the throat, an oscillatory arm adjacent
to the horn, means for oscillating said arm, and a pawl on said arm which is
engaged with the horn when the arm rises and separated therefrom when the arm
descends.
Dated this 7th day of June 1896.
HERBERT HOWARD BUFFUM.