Improvements in Stapling Machines.
Year: 1897

page_text: Date of Application, 11th Jan., 1897-Accepted, 13th Mar., 1897
UUMI LEIE
Improvements in Stapling Machines.
A communication from abroad by THE CENTURY MACHINE COMPANY, a
corporation organized under the laws of the State of New York, and.
having its principal place of business at No. 125 West 32nd Street,
in the City, County, and State of New York, in the United States of
America..
I, JOHN CORRY FELL, of the Firm of Fell and James, of No. 1 Queen :
Victoria Street, in the City of London, Chartered Patent Agent, 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:-
My invention relates to that class of stapling machines in which the staple"
is formed from a pin or piece of wire and is driven through the paper or other.
material and clinched; and my objects are to provide a simple, durable, and
effective structure, machine, or implement of this character.
My improvements consist in certain features of construction and combinations of
devices, all as will be hereinafter more fully explained and particularly pointed out."
in the appended claims..
:
1
In carrying out my invention, I place the pin, piece of wire, or other material
which is to form the staple, into the mouth of an inclined guideway or receptacle,
formed at the front side of the frame-work, and the said pin or wire, by its own
weight, slides downwardly and inwardly over a fixed anvil attached to the frame
work and under a combined cutter and bender which slides in said frame-work.
This cutting and bending device is connected to a slide or plunger by means of
an L-shaped slot and a cross-pin. A driver mounted to slide in ways in said
bender (which I shall hereinafter designate the device for brevity and convenience)
is also connected to the slide or plunger by means of a pin which works always in
the horizontal portion of the L-shaped slot in the latter. Other slots are formed
in the side plates of the frame-work, and pins projecting from the bender travel
in said slots, which are so shaped as to give to the bender and the driver their
proper movements, it being necessary for these various parts to first move
downwardly in a right line, then rearwardly and downwardly, and finally for
the driver to move down alone in a vertical direction, as will be presently seen.
The slide or plunger moves always in the same vertical path, and during its
descent, the staple is formed, inserted, and clinched. A spring restores the slide
or plunger and the bender as well as the driver to their normal positions. The
several parts involve other features of detail construction which will be more
fully explained hereinafter. The inserted pin or wire is first cut to size by the
shearing edges of the descending bender, which then immediately forces the blank.
down upon the fixed anvil. By continuing to descend, the bender then operates
to form the staple about said anvil, by bending down the protruding end portions
of the wire at right angles to the middle portion which rests upon the top of the
anvil. The slide or plunger still descending, the bender is then retreated or forced
rearwardly and downwardly, by reason of the pins and the inclined portions of the
slots in the side plates, and the staple is carried back therewith, owing to grooves
or channels in the bender, and far enough to enable the staple to entirely escape
i
.

page_text: the anvil and take a position in line with a clinching recess formed in the base-
plate. After this action, the bender, still holding the staple, is forced down
perpendicularly upon the paper or other material to be stapled, and thereafter
acts as a clamp to securely hold the material upon the bed-plate. The movement
of the slide or plunger continuing after the bender has come to a bearing on the
material, the driver is then carried down independently in the ways in the bender,
and acting on the staple, forces its legs through the material and at the same time
the clinching recess in the bed-plate operates to turn the legs of the staple
inwardly towards each other and cause them to bear up against the under side of
the material, substantially parallel with the crown or head of the staple, all as
will now more fully appear from the description of the accompanying drawings, in
which,
Figure 1 is a side elevation of the machine or implement in its normal condition.
Figure 2 is a front sectional elevation taken on the line 2, 2, Figure 1.
Figure 3 is a longitudinal section taken on the line y, y, Figure 2, but with the
moving parts in the positions which they occupy at the completion of the stapling
action; that is to say, with the staple driven and clinched.
Figure 4 is a front sectional view showing the position of the cutter and bender
and driver at the completion of the formation of the staple on the anvil.
Figure 5 is a central vertical section, similar to Figure 3, but showing the parts
in the positions they occupy just before the retraction of the bender, driver and
staple.
'Figure 6 is a similar view, showing the parts in the positions which they occupy
immediately after the retraction of the bender, driver and staple, but just previous
to the final downward clamping movement of the bender, illustrated at Figure 3,
and before the descent of the driver to effect the insertion of the staple, this'last
mentioned operation being also illustrated at Figure 3.
Figure 7 is a cross section taken on the line a, a, Figure 5.
Figure 8 is a perspective view of the combined cutter and bender with its
accompanying driver.
In the various views the same part will be found designated by the same numeral
of reference.
From the base-plate 1 at its rear side rises a standard or bracket 2, forming part
of 'the frame-work, and supporting the remainder of the frame-work, which is
comprised of the parallel side plates or cheeks 3 and front plate 4, preferably
formed of a piece with the side plates. The latter are attached at near their-rear
edges to the standard' by means of screws 5 5.
6 designates a plunger or slide, of plate-like form, but having a depending
cylindrical guide rod or shank 7, which slides at its lower end in a bushing 8
inserted in the bed-plate and projecting upwardly a suitable distance above the top
thereof.
The rear portion of the slide 6 is guided between a pair of lugs or ears 9
projecting forwardly from the uppermost end of the standard. The guide rod or
shank 7 is bifurcated at its upper portion, and the slide 6 is fitted between the
forks thereof and secured preferably by means of rivets, but of course, if desired,
these two portions may be made integral out of one and the same piece of metal.
Fitted over the bushing at its lower end is a coiled spring 10 which surrounds the
guide rod and bears at its upper end against the downwardly extending rear
portion or wing 11 of the slide 6. Said spring serves to hold the parts in their
raised normal position, and also to return them thereto after depression. To enable
the slide to be conveniently depressed by a blow its uppermost end is provided with
a disc-like head 12, which may be attached' by means of a rivet as shown.
The front plate is formed with a mouth or opening 13 extending across its 'full
width, and each side or cheek plate 3 is formed with a downwardly and rearwardly
extending slot '14 in open communication with said mouth or opening and forming
therewith an inclined guideway for the reception and retention of the pin or wire,
previous to the cutting and bending operation requisite to form the staple.

page_text: In each cheek plate 3 and at near the front edge thereof are formed two slots,
one arranged over the other and each comprising a straight or vertical portion 15,
an inclined or oblique portion 16, and a second or final vertical portion 17.. The
two slots in one cheek plate are arranged directly opposite the similar slots in the
other. These slots receive the projecting ends of a pair of pins 18 fitted or seated
in holes formed horizontally in the bender 19.
Below the plane of the inclined slots which receive the pin or wire to be formed
into the staple, is arranged the anvil 20, and which is preferably secured to the
front plate 4 by means of rivets 21. The upper surface of the anvil is flat and
about this portion the staple is formed. The rear upper corner of the anvil is
beveled as shown at 22 to facilitate the removal of the finished staple.
The cutting and bending device 19 is preferably three-sided in cross-section,
being open at the front side. It is formed of a block of steel and comprises the
side members 23, back member 24, and an extension or shank 25. The block is
hollow longitudinally or has an interior space formed by the several members 23, 24,
for the accommodation of a driver 26, whose longitudinal edges are beveled in
opposite directions and slide in a V-shaped groove 27, formed on the inner sides
of the side members 23 and extending to the bottom. or lower end of the
device 19.
ורי
The extension or shank 25 is slotted longitudinally and centrally at 28, and is
provided with a transverse pin 29, which passes through an L-shaped or rectangular
slot 30 in the slide or plunger, said slot consisting of a horizontal portion and a
vertical portion communicating with the rear end of the horizontal portion and
extending upwardly. The driver is bifurcated at its upper end and is also provided
with a cross-pin 31 which passes through the horizontal portion of the L-shaped
slot. By means of these pins the bending device and the accompanying driver are
suspended from the slide or plunger. On the rear wall or member of the bending
device are two lugs 32 to which are attached the lower ends of a coiled spring 33,
the opposite looped end of which bears against the .lower edge of the slide.
In the lower end of the driver is formed a groove or recess 34 for the crown of
the staple, and in the surface of the bed-plate, or in a plug 35 inserted therein, is
formed a clinching recess 36 for the legs of the staple, said clinching recess being
located in a vertical plane in rear of the anvil.
As will be seen at Figure 1, when the movable parts are in their normal positions,
the slide or plunger is in an elevated position; the cross-pins 29 and 31 of the
bender and driver respectively stand in the horizontal portion of the L-shaped
slot 30 the guide pins 18 on the bender stand at the upper ends of the vertical
portions 15 of the slots in the side plates; and the bender and driver are suspended
over the anvil and above the mouth of the inclined guideway which receives the
pin or wire to be made into a staple. In the drawings, I have shown an ordinary
pin 37, but a plain piece of wire may of course be used in lieu thereof.
The pin or wire to be formed into the staple is conveniently passed into the
mouth 13, whereupon it descends at once by gravity to the ends of the side slots 14,
which terminate at a slight distance above the top of the anvil. The papers to be
stapled are inserted in the space formed by the top of the bed-plate and the
bottom of the side plates 3 and front plate 4, as shown at Figure 3, 38 designating
three sheets of paper. The pin or wire and the papers having been placed in position,
the machine or implement is ready for action. One blow on the head 12 suffices to
cut the pin or wire to staple size; to form the staple; to carry the staple into line
with the clinching recess; to insert the staple in the paper; and to clinch the
legs thereot; and all of these operations take place during the downward
movement of the slide or plunger.
I.shall now describe each action.or operation separately.
The cross-pin 29 of the bender occupying a place in the horizontal portion of
the L-shaped slot 30, the bender is carried down at the beginning of the descent
of the slide or plunger until the bottom of the bender strikes the pin or wire resting
in the path thereof. The outer side edges 39 of the bender co-operating with the

page_text: '
inner edges of the inclined slots 14, act immediately to cut off the projecting ends
of the pin or wire, which ends fall outwardly on the paper or on the desk or
table.. At the same time the central portion of the pin or wire is carried down by
the bender onto the top of the anvil. The bender continuing to descend, it at once
operates to bend or turn down the lateral unsupported portions of the pin or wire
each to a vertical position or at right angles to the top or supported portion of the
wire, and thus forming or completing the staple, as illustrated at Figure 4, the
staple being designated by the numeral 40. During this operation, the bender
embraces the upper portions of the anvil, and at the same time the legs of the
staple are caused to enter the lower portions of the V-shaped grooves 27 in the
bender, the lower end of the driver at this time being at such an elevation as
to permit the legs of the staple to enter said grooves. At the conclusion of
this operation the pins 18 have traveled to the lower ends of the straight
portions 15 of the slots in the cheek plates, or are both at the positions
illustrated at Figure 5. Thus far the bender has descended in a line perpendicular
to the bed-plate and the driver has come down with it without altering its position
relatively thereto; but as illustrated at Figure 5, at the end of this operation the
driver is forced down onto the crown or top of the staple and the groove or
depression therein has embraced the same. Thus the staple is now engaged by
the grooves in the bender and by the groove or depression in the driver, which
grooves may be either rounded or V-shaped. Owing to this engagement of the
staple by the bender and the driver, but particularly the former, the staple may
now be positively withdrawn from the anvil and carried back to a position for
insertion in the papers in register with the clinching recess.
The withdrawal of the staple from the anvil is accomplished by a retreating
or backward and downward movement of the bender, which is performed by the
action of the pins 18 18 on the inclined portions 16 of the slots in the cheek plates,
such inclined portions acting as cams or wedged to force the bender rearwardly
during its continued descent. As soon as the pins 18 are acted upon by the
inclined walls 16, the bender and with it the driver are forced to move rearwardly
or away from the anvil and in this movement the staple accompanies them.
During the retraction of the bender and driver under the action of the pins 18
and inclines 16, the cross-pins 29 and 31 travel rearwardly in the horizontal
portion of the L-shaped slot in the slide 6 until the parts are brought to the
positions represented at Figure 6, where it will be seen that the pius 18 are now
at the upper ends of the vertical portion 17 of the slots in the cheek plates
and the cross-pin 29 is at the lower end of the vertical portion of the L-shaped
slot 30, the cross-pin 31 being still in the horizontal portion of said slot and at
about the middle thereof.
The parts are now in position to enable the staple to be driven through the
papers and to be simultaneously clinched, but just prior to the driving of the
staple, the bender is brought down upon the paper to clamp it securely upon
the bed-plate as shown at Figure 3; yet this movement takes place before any
independent movement of the driver, and hence before the driver has arrived at
the position shown at Figure 3; in other words, the bottom of the bender takes
a bearing upon the papers before the relationship existing between the driver
and the bender has been changed from that shown at Figure 6 to that shown
at Figure 3.
When the parts have got into the position shown at Figure 6, the continued
descent of the slide or plunger causes both the bender and the driver to descend
therewith until the foot of the bender, which projects some distance beyond that
of the driver, comes to a bearing on the paper, whereupon meeting this resistance
to its further movement, the bender is arrested, but the driver now continues to
descend independently of the bender, sliding in the V-shaped grooves or ways
therein, and in its descent forcing or driving the staple legs through the paper
and into the clinching recess, by which they are upturned against the under side
of the paper, as shown at Figure 3. During the movement of the bender from

page_text: the position shown at Figure 6 to that shown at Figure 3, the pins 18 travel
in the lower vertical portion 17 of the slots in the cheek plates, and hence the
bender is caused to move down perpendicularly to the paper, so that its foot will
be planted squarely thereupon.
During the final independent descent of the driver the vertical portion of the
L-shaped slot travels down about the cross-pin 29, which is at this time stationary,
and the bottom edge of the slide 6 moves down through the slot 28 in the shank of
the bender. Immediately the bender has come to a bearing on the paper and the
driver has started down independently, the slide 6, acting on the loop of the
spring 33, tends to wind or tighten the coils of the spring 33 and cause said spring
to exert a downward force upon the bender to hold it firmly in place during
the descent of the driver and slide 6 independently thereof.
On the completion of the stapling operation, the coil spring 10 operates to
restore the slide to its normal position, and the inclined portions 16 of the slots in
the cheek plates, together with the pins 18, operate to independently restore the
driver and bender to their normal positions.
It will be seen from the foregoing that the operations of forming the staple,
carrying it to a driving position, clamping the paper, and driving and clinching the
staple all successively take place rapidly during the descent of the slide or
plunger 6, under a single blow or force upon the head 12 thereof.
Various changes in detail construction and arrangement may be made without
departing from the features of my invention as embodied in the subjoined claims.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what [
claim is:
1. In a stapling machine, the combination of a vertical slide or plunger, a bender
suspended therefrom, a stationary anvil in the path of descent of the bender, and a
paper support beneath said anvil.
2. In a stapling machine, the combination of a bed-plate, a frame-work, a
stationary anvil supported by said frame-work above the bed-plate, a slide or
plunger guided in said frame-work, and a bender suspended from said slide or
plunger and also guided in said frame-work.
3. In a stapling machine, the combination of a slide or plunger, a stationary
anvil, a bender carried by said slide or plunger and adapted to cut the staple
material to staple size and to form the staple about said anvil, means for retreating
said bender during the continued descent of the slide or plunger and causing said
bender to remove the staple from the anvil and take it to a position in line with a
clinching recess, means for bringing said bender down upon the material to be
stapled during a further descent of said slide or plunger, and a driver also con-
nected to said slide or plunger and adapted to be moved independently during the
final descent thereof and to force the legs of the staple through the material, and
with the clinching recess, cause them to be clinched or upturned on the under side
of said material.
4. In a stapling machine, the combination of a bed-plate having a clinching
recess, a frame-work, a slide or plunger adapted to slide therein, a stationary anvil
supported by said frame-work above the bed-plate, a bender suspended from said
slide or plunger, a driver also suspended from said slide or plunger and movable
independently in said bender, and means for retreating said bender and driver after
the formation of the staple, but before the completion of the descent of the slide
or plunger, and means whereby, during the latter portion of the descent of the
slide or plunger, the bender carrying the staple is first brought down upon the
material to be stapled and then, during the final portion of the descending move-
ment of the slide or plunger, the driver is forced down independently and causes
the legs of the staple to be driven through the material.
5. In a stapling machine, the combination of a bed-plate having a clinching
recess, a frame-work having a stationary anvil and guiding slots, a spring-pressed

page_text: slide or plunger having an L-shaped slot, a bender suspended from said L-shaped
slot and having guiding pins adapted to the guiding slots in the frame-work, and a
driver also suspended from said L-shaped slot.
6. In a stapling machine, the combination of a bed-plate having a clinching
recess, a standard, a pair of side or cheek plates having guiding slots, a front
plate having an anvil and an inclined guideway for the wire or other material, a
spring-pressed plunger comprising a plate-like portion, a rod or shank, and a head,
and having in said plate-like portion an L-shaped slot, a bender suspended from
said slot and having a spring and also guiding pins adapted to the guiding slots in
said cheek plates, and a driver also suspended from said L-shaped slot and adapted
to slide independently in said bender.
7. In a stapling machine, the combination of a bed-plate having a clinching
recess, a standard, a pair of cheek plates terminating above said bed-plate and
provided with guiding slots comprising the vertical portions 15 and 17 and the
intermediate inclined portion 16, the front plate having an anvil and a mouth or
opening above said anvil, inclined slots in the cheek plates communicating with
said mouth or opening, a slide or plunger having an L-shaped slot, a bender
suspended from said slot, a driver also suspended from said slot and adapted to
slide independently in said bender, a spring connected to said bender and to said
slide or plunger, and a returning spring for said slide or plunger.
8. In a stapling machine, the combination with an anvil and a bender, of a front
plate having a mouth or opening above said anvil adapted to receive and support
the wire or other substance to be cut and formed into a staple.
9. In a stapling machine, the combination of a bender, a front plate having an
anvil attached thereto at its lower end and having a mouth above said anvil, and
side plates having slots communicating with said mouth.
10. In a stapling machine, the combination of a bed-plate, a standard, two side
plates having each a pair of guiding slots, one over the other, and consisting each
of the vertical portions 15 and 17 and the intermediate inclined portion 16, the
front plate supporting the fixed anvil, the wire receptacle above said anvil,
a slide or plunger, a bender loosely carried thereby so that it may be retreated,
and guiding pins on said bender adapted to the two pairs of slots in said cheek
plates.
11. In a stapling machine, the combination of a slide or plunger, a bender
suspended therefrom at its upper end and adapted to be retreated or moved trans-
versely of the path of movement of said slide or plunger, and means for retreating
said bender during the depression of said slide or plunger, after the formation of
the staple.
12. In a stapling machine, the combination of a slide or plunger, a bender
supported therefrom at its upper end and adapted to be retreated or moved trans-
versely of the path of movement of said slide or plunger, projecting pins on said
bender, and inclined slots or walls for retreating said bender during the descent of
said slide or plunger, after the formation of the staple.
13. In a stapling machine, the combination of a slide or plunger having an
L-shaped slot, a bender suspended from said slot and provided with laterally
projecting pins, a fixed anvil, and side plates having guiding slots comprising the
vertical parallel portions 15 and 17 and the inclined portions 16 to co-operate with
said laterally projecting pins in the bender.
14. In a stapling machine, the combination of an anvil, a bender having longi-
tudinal grooves adapted to receive the legs of the formed staple, and a staple
driver adapted to reciprocate in said grooves.
15. In a stapling machine, the combination of an anvil, a bender having longi-
tudinal grooves adapted to receive the legs of the formed staple, a driver adapted
to reciprocate in said grooves and formed at its end with a transverse recess
adapted to receive the crown of the staple.
16. In a stapling machine, the combination of an anvil, a bender having longi-
tudinal grooves adapted to receive the legs of the formed staple, a driver adapted

page_text: to reciprocate in said grooves and formed at its end with a transverse recess
adapted to receive the crown of the staple, means for retreating said bender and
driver, means for forcing the bender down onto the material in advance of the
driver, and means for then depressing the driver and forcing the staple legs.
through the material and clinching the same.
17. In a stapling machine, the combination of a bed-plate having a clinching
recess, an anvil arranged above said bed-plate, a slide or plunger, a bender and a
driver suspended therefrom, means for simultaneously retreating the bender and
the driver, and means whereby the said slide or plunger is thereafter enabled to
first cause the bender to clamp the material and then cause the driver to force the
legs of the staple through the material and clinch the same.
18. In a stapling machine in which the staple is formed, retreated, inserted and
clinched at one blow, the combination of a slide or plunger which receives the
blow, a bender and a driver suspended therefrom, an anvil, means for retreating
the bender and the driver, and a paper bed or support below the anvil and having
a clinching recess.
FELL & JAMES,
Agents for the Applicant.