Improved Tack Receptacle for use of Boot and Shoe Lasters and others.
Year: 1897

page_text: Date of Application, 13th Dec., 1897--Accepted, 19th Feb., 1898
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improved Tack Receptacle for use of Boot and Shoe Lasters and
others.
I, JOSEPH ELIE LEMYRE, Shoe Laster, of Manchester, New Hampshire, United
States of America, 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:―
It is a common practice among lasters to place a quantity of tacks in their mouth
before commencing to last a shoe or boot, extracting them one at a time as re-
quired, during the operation.
This practice is not only dangerous to the health but is dangerous to life, still,
the practice grows and increases for the reason that time can thus be saved, and
hence a day's wages made larger than if a laster should take his tacks from a suit-
able receptacle near at hand.
The object of the present invention is to provide a suitable substitute for one's
mouth as a receptacle for tacks, which shall make it possible for a laster to
accomplish his work still more rapidly.
The invention consists in a receptacle for tacks which may be attached to either
a hammer or a pair of pliers, and certain novel mechanism whereby the tacks
contained in said receptacle are fed and stuck, one at a time where desired, ready
to be struck by a hand hammer, as fully set forth in the following specification
and claims, and clearly illustrated in the drawings accompanying and forming a
part of the same, of which,-Figure 1, is an elevation showing one of my improved
tack reservoirs as applied to a laster's hammer: Figures 2, 3, and 4, being details :
Figure 5, is a broken elevation showing that side of my improved laster's hammer
cpposite to that shown in Figure 1.
Figure 6, is an end view of the tack reservoir with its feeding mechanism; the
hammer being shown with a portion of its handle in dotted lines.
A, represents a hammer-head and B is its handle to which my improved tack
reservoir may be attached. This tack receptacle or reservoir has two compartments,
a large one C and a smaller one C¹ by reason of a partition c which bas an opening cl
at its bottom, thus limiting the quantity of tacks which may enter the compart-
ment C which serves the purpose of a feed chamber for the tacks.
The outer side of this feed chamber extends below the bottom thereof and is
provided with a vertically elongated opening and said bottom has a narrow
opening extending its entire length adjacent to the outer side of said chamber,
and a suitable carrier D) having in its top a deep slot d, is fitted to said opening c
and permitted a limited vertical movement therein by means of a screw which
passes through one end of a lever D' and the opening 2 of the feed chamber C¹
and is threaded to the lower part of said carrier D, the opposite end of said lever D¹
being rigidly mounted at one end of a shaft E carried in bearings e-e provided
upon the tack-race, to be hereinafter explained, the opposite end of said shaft being
fitted with a crank e¹ connected with a trigger or lever F, (held normally in the
position shown by a suitable spring f¹) by the connecting rod f, as seen in
Figures 1. 5 and 6.

page_text: The normal position of the carrier D is best shown in Figure 4;.e., when the
top in which the slot d is formed shall be flush with or slightly below the bottom
or the feed-chamber C', hence, some of the tacks which enter said feed-chamber
through the opening c¹ fall into the slot of said carrier with their heads resting
upon the top thereof.
In the drawings the lever or trigger F is shown in its normal position, and the
movement of the parts just described is one of the functions of said lever, and by
moving said lever (referring to Figure 1,) to the left, the carrier rises to a
point opposite the openings c formed in the walls of the feed-chamber, (one of
which openings is shown in Figure 4) and by tipping the hammer in either direction
as would naturally follow its use, the tacks in said carrier chase each other out
through either of said openings into either of the spirally inclined tack-
races G-G whence said tacks unite in the horizontally curved race H, admitting
the tacks from the spiral race Gas seen in Figures 2 and 3.
All three of the tack races may be supplied with strips of metal arranged a little
above their upper edges to prevent the accidental displacement of the tacks while
they are moving through said race-ways, as shown at g-g' and h', and to guard
against clogging, a spring actuated feed-dog I, (shown best in Figures 2 and 5)
is pivotally attached to one end of a lever i, the opposite end of which is secured to
an earg attached to or formed upon the race G as best shown in Figures 1–2,
and secured to lever i is an arm i¹, the free end of which is provided with a lateral
projection which engages the lever at a certain point in its stroke whereby
the lever i is moved upward and backward, thus disengaging the feed-dog from the
tacks in the race-way I so that when said dog again drops to its normal position
it will engage tacks back of those it had just left, and so the movement continues
with each movement of the trigger or lever F, the spring serving two purposes,
viz. to insure contact with the tacks, and to draw the tacks in the race-way H
forward, and thus keep them moving toward the tack striking mechanism at the
end of said race-way H.
In Figures 2 and 3, I show this tack driving mechanism in detail. The race-
way H terminates at one side of a vertical case or tube J which contains the
tack driver K, serving to normally hold it down within its case or tube which has
a vertical opening ; in its side at the proper point to connect with and receive tacks
from said race-way H. Opposite this opening jin said tube J are provided a tack
separator L and a feed-bar M, both working at right angles to the race-way H,
the separator being ahead of the feed-bar as shown.
S represents the tacks several of which are shown by dotted lines in Figure 3,
and in Figure 2 one tack is shown in solid black, the separator L having moved
outward separating this particular tack from the others and placing it directly
in front of the feed-bar M, which will now move sufficiently to push said tack
through the opening ; of the case or tube J and under the spring actuated tack
driver K, which immediately snaps down upon said tack with enough force to
leave it standing ready to be struck by the hammer A. The upper end of the lever
or trigger F is rigidly secured to a shaft f¹, carrying at its opposite end a crank O
which is connected by the bar p to the lower end of a rocker or lever P hung on a
pin or screw p¹, the upper end of said rocker or lever P engaging a bell-crank Q
by which the spring arm k is raised, as shown best in Figure 5. The lever P is also
connected to the bell-crank R by the bar T. This bell-crank R operates the
separator L and feed-bar M, one before the other, as shown best in Figure 5, one
end of the crank bearing against the separator while a projection r, formed upon
one side of said crank and near the end which contacts with the separator engages
the feed-bar M; said projection being located the proper distance from the end
of said bell-crank to cause the separator to move before the feed-bar. The tack
driver K rises just before the feed bar M pushes a tack under it, when it snaps
down upon the tack; the operation being repeated with each movement of the
trigger or lever F.
It is advisable to provide some means to prevent the tacks in the race-way H

page_text: from moving in a direction away from the tack sticking mechanism, and while the
dog I is designed to effect this, if desired, a separate spring-actuated stop may be
provided for the purpose.
A spring N bears upon the separator L and feed-bar M, in a manner to hold them
in such position as will leave the tacks a free passage from the race-way H to the
tube J and to return them to their normal position directly after being moved
by the bell-crank R and its projection r.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is: -
1. In a device of the character described, a suitable receptacle for tacks, race-
ways leading from each end of said receptacle to a point of union one with the
other, and means whereby said tacks may be dropped consecutively with their
heads up and then struck, all substantially for the purpose set forth.
2. The combination with a tack receptacle, of a tube, a race-way leading from
the receptacle to the tube, a spring actuated spindle within the tube, and means
for simultaneously operating the feeding mechanism, moving the spindle against
the spring, and operating the carrier, substantially as set forth.
3. The combination with a tack receptacle, of a tube, a spring actuated spindle
therein, a race-way leading from the receptacle to the tube, a separator and a
feeding bar for feeding the tacks singly to the tube, a feeding dog for feeding the
tacks along the race-way, and means for simultaneously moving the spindle
against the spring and for operating the separator, the feeding bar, and the feeding
dog.
4. The combination with the tack receptacle, of a tube, a spring actuated spindle
therein, a race-way communicating with the opposite sides of the receptacle and
with the tube, a carrier within the receptacle between the ends of the race-ways,
a separator, a feed-bar, and means for simultaneously moving the spindle against
the spring.
5. The combination with a tack receptacle, of a tube, a spindle therein, a spring
connected with the spindle, a bell-crank lever engaging with the intermediate
portion of the spring, and means for feeding tacks to the tube, and a trigger
provided with means for simultaneously operating said mechanism, and for
operating the lever.
6. The combination with a tack receptacle provided with exits and a slotted
extension, of a tack driver, a race-way leading from each of the openings to the
driver, a carrier within the receptacle, the upper end of which is provided with
means for delivering tacks to the opening and the lower end is adjacent to the
slotted extension, means for feeding the tacks singly to the driver, and a lever
provided with means for engaging the carrier at the slot of the extension, and
for operating the feeding mechanism and the driver.
7. The combination with the tack receptacle, of a tube, a spring actuated spindle
therein, a race-way leading from the receptacle to the tube, a separator and a feed-
bar, a bell-crank lever, provided with a shoulder for engaging with the feed-bar,
and means for simultaneously moving the spindle against the spring and operating
the lever, substantially as set forth.
1000