IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF CUT NAILS
Year: 1875

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Walter Stuart Hutton at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 9th July 1875.
I, WALTER STUART HUTTON, of Leeds, in the County of York, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MACHINERY FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF CUT NAILS," to be as follows:-
This Invention has for its object the application to nail cutting
machines (which cut nails from narrow strips of metal commonly called
"screeds") of an automatic feeding apparatus which draws back the
strip of metal or "screed" to clear the moving cutter, turns the screed
over after each cut, and moves it forward under the cutter the proper
distance to form a nail. For this purpose upon a foundation a trunnion
block is placed, with bearings at each end, in which the trunnions of a
box casting swivels. Upon this box casting the feeder frame is fixed a
horizontal shaft passing through the bearings on the foundation plate,
and also through the trunnion bearings, and revolving at the same speed
as the crank shaft of the nail cutting machine, from which it is driven
by means of an endless chain working on toothed pulleys.

page_text: The horizontal shaft drives a vertical shaft by suitable gearing at the
same speed. The wheel on the top of this vertical shaft gears into
another wheel with double the number of teeth koyed on a cross shaft,
and thus revolves at one half the speed of the horizontal shaft. On the
end of this cross shaft is keyed an eccentric (or a cam may be used),
which by means of a connecting rod gives motion to a segment wheel.
On the cross shaft a wheel is keyed, which works into another wheel
with half the number of, teeth keyed on another cross shaft, so as to get
up the speed to be the same as the crank shaft of nail cutting machine.
On the end of this last-mentioned cross shaft an eccentric is keyed (or
a cam may be used) which works a ratchet feed wheel by means of a
connecting rod and lever. A segment wheel drives a wheel upon a
socket which is connected by a clutch to a nipper shaft. The nipper
shaft has a key groove from end to end, in which a key fixed in the
clutch slides, the " screed or strip of metal is held in a pair of nippers
fixed to the end of the nipper shaft end with a universal joint to allow
the nippers to rise or turn slightly up when the strip of metal is being
turned over. A cam is fixed at the back end of the nipper shaft working
into another cam fixed on a link, which connects the nipper shaft with
the feeding screw. The object of these cams is to draw the nipper shaft
back while it is working before the "screed" is turned over.
"
"
In order to turn the "screed or strip of metal over a segment wheel
is employed which has a backward and forward movement given to it by
the eccentric and connecting rod previously described (or a cam may be
used). The said segment wheel drives the wheel on the socket, which is
connected by a clutch to the nipper shaft, and causes it to move half way-
round, first in one direction and then in the other, by which means the
"screed" is turned over.
"
In order to feed the "screed or strip of metal a screw is employed
which is connected to the nipper shaft by a link and a half nut, which
does not revolve, is attached to a frame, and fits on the said screw. The
screw is caused to revolve by means of a ratchet wheel fixed between
two bearings on the frame, and a lever and pawl turns the ratchet wheel
round. The ratchet wheel being keyed on the screw (which has a groove
in it from end to end) as the screw revolves in a stationary nut, and is
connected by a link to the nipper shaft, every movement of the ratchet
wheel moves the nipper shaft to form the width of the nail, which can
be varied according to the number of the teeth of the ratchet wheel

page_text: which the pawl is adjusted to move.
The screed" is turned over and
fed forward between the cutters of the nail cutting machine the proper
distance to form a nail when the moving cutter has moved away from
the bottom or fixed cutter.
The "screed " or strip of metal must be drawn back to clear the
moving cutter on its upward movement before being turned over. For
this purpose two cams or discs of metal are employed with projections
and recesses working face to face and held together by a strong spring,
one cam is fixed to the link and the other is fastened on the back end of
the nipper shaft. When the "screed" is fed under the moving cutter the
spring yields, and the nipper shaft in moving or turning forward brings
the projecting or convex surfaces of the cams together, and when the
nail is cut off and the nipper shaft turns or moves backward the action
of the spring draws the concave or recessed surfaces of the cams
together, which draws the nipper shaft back to clear the upward move-
ment of the moving cutter.
"
In order to bring the nipper shaft back automatically after a "screed”
has been used up the nut is disengaged from the screw, and one end of
a chain is fixed to the link, and a weight at the other end working over
a pulley draws the nipper shaft back the moment the nut is disingaged,
and when the clutch is thrown out of gear the nipper spindle ceases to
revolve and another "screed can be fixed. The nut, lever, and clutch
I have only to be pushed into their places, when the feeding will
commence working again. The nut is thrown out of gear with the
screw as follows:-A "knocker off" is fixed on the link, and the nut is
held in gear with the screw by means of a catch lever and a spring; a
lever and spring is also attached to the nut, and when the "knocker off"
has travelled up to the catch lever it pushes it back, and the nut being
released is pulled back by the action of the spring (or a weight may be
used) attached to the lever, the link is carried down to and slides upon
a bar which forms a support for the nipper shaft. A loose collar is fixed
on this bar which can be adjusted to suit the length of the "screed,"
and forms a stop to bring the nipper shaft back.
For the purpose of varying the taper of the nails the feeder frame
swivels on the top of the box casting, so that its lateral inclination may
be varied to change the taper of the nails.
For the purpose of adjusting the "screed" to the heading slide of the

page_text: nail cutting machine the trunnion block can be moved by means of a
screw along the foundation plate for the purpose of adjusting the
"screed" to the heading slide to vary the heads of the nails.
For the purpose of altering the angle of the nipper shaft to suit the
varying heights of the bottom cutter, due to its grinding, so as to make
the "screed" lay firmly on the bottom cutter, the feeder frame fixed on
the box casting swivels in the trunnion block and can be adjusted to
the required angle by the bolts in radial grooves.