IMPROVEMENTS IN BOX-NAILING MACHINES
Year: 1884

page_text: I, FREDERICK WALTER BLOOD, 66 Grafton Street, Liverpool, in the county of
Lancaster, Merchant, do hereby declare the nature of my said invention for
*IMPROVEMENTS IN BOX-NAILING MACHINES," to be as follows:-
My invention relates to improvements in box-nailing machinery described in the
specification of Letters Patent granted me the 12th Nov. 1881 No 4961.
In some box-nailing machines at present constructed no provision is made to
allow of the table being adjusted to receive the additional thickness of the second
side and much time is lost in the passing of the partially framed case from one
machine to another, and in those machines where the table is adjustable and
operated by hand the lowering and raising of the table is a great strain on the
operator and also a serious loss of time.
This invention is designed to overcome this difficulty and by the use of suitable
mechanism to cause the table of a box nailing machine to rise and fall adjusting
itself after each stroke being previously set to receive thicknesses of timber
required for the box under operation. To the centre of the table which slides
between two upright supporting frames is attached an upright shaft or pillar which
passes through the foundation plate and is supported there by a pair of friction
rollers or other mechanism. On this shaft there is placed a crosshead free to slide
to any position and retained firmly where required by a set screw or other
mechanisin. This crosshead is furnished with two pins or trunnions which engage
with one end of a lever forked at both ends, the other carries a small roller wheel.
The holes which fit onto the pins of the crosshead are elongated slightly to allow
for play. The body of the lever is slotted out to receive a slide which may be
fastened thereto by a set screw or other mechanism. This slide is pivoted to a
movable block which forms a fulcrum for the lever. This block moves in a
horizontal direction in a slot in the bed plate of the machine and is caused to
travel by a screw and suitable mechanism. Between the end of the lever where
the small wheel is affixed and the slide a weight or counterpoise travels. The
weight is connected to the slide which moves in the alot of the lever or to the
fulcrum by a rod having a knuckle joint where it is fastened to the body of
the fulcrum. This weight acts wholly or partially as a counterbalance for the
weight of the table. Carried in suitable bearings at right angles to the lever is
a revolving shaft attached to which is a cam wheel or cam wheels making a

page_text: quarter of a revolution at each stroke of the nail punches. The cam or cams
strike the small wheel attached to the end of the lever and depressing or releasing
it cause the table to rise or fall a desired height. Passing through the table near
the top is a hollow shaft and at either end is a pawl this shaft may be moved by
hand or is made self adjusting by a spring attached to a projecting rod fastened 5
to the shaft. It is supported at either end by bearings and through it passes a
solid shaft capable of revolving, having attached to each end a pawl. To this
shaft is fixed a lever which can be operated by hand and attached to the lever by
a pin is a connecting rod having notches cut on one face of it. This rod slides up
and down through a block which has two lugs a pawl is pivoted between these 1
lugs and fits into the notches cut in the connecting rod. At right angles to the
pawl and spindle on which the pawl moves is a small projecting lever at the end
of which is a knuckle joint into which fits a connecting piece. This is attached to
a pivoted lever carrying a small roller at its other end. This lever is actuated by
a can wheel or cam wheels which revolve on the same shaft on which is fixed the ]
mechanism for raising or depressing the table. This roller on the lever is kept in
contact with the can wheel by a spring which at the same time keeps the other
end depressed and by its action keeps the pawl out of the notches in the connecting
rod until the cam allows the other end of the lever to rise.
The sides of the supporting frames are hollowed out each to receive one or more
slide blocks with a notch for the pawl or pawls to fit into, these slides are raised
and lowered to the desired height by screws and can be worked by hand or by
suitable mechanism.
To increase the facility and rapidity of working I make the nail holder cross
head automatically self adjustable at the same time it can be raised or lowered by
the foot treadle and levers described in specification of Patent 4961 of 1881.
I cut a slot in each of the side connecting rods in a longitudinal direction, through
this slot pusses a set screw which is attached to a second connecting rod, and can
be adjusted anywhere within the slot, at end of this connecting rod I place a small
roller wheel to reduce the friction when travelling on the cam which I fix to the
main driving shaft. I place the cams at each end of the shaft where the connecting.
rods pass down.
The main driving shaft when rotated each successive time by the cam raises or
lowers the nail holding crosshead.
When making large heavy boxes I cause the projecting wooden portion of the
table to be tilted in a slanting direction so that the box will slide down to the
floor. This wooden portion is hinged and underneath is placed a flat iron bar or
bars under which rollers travel carried by sliding rod or rods, these rods slide in
and out and support the table. After the cross head holding the nail punches
descends any given number of times required by operator these sliding rods
withdraw their support from the table, and it falls in the direction named and the
case slides off. The sliding rods then resume their original position and the hinged
portion of the table rises to the original level, to assist the movement of a large
box I attach a pusher to the table fixed at the back over the smaller back plate or
fence and operated in conjunction with the table tilting apparatus. The tilting
apparatus is operated by connecting rods attached to eccentrics which are fixed to
a common shaft and carried in suitable bearings attached to the back of the table,
this shaft is geared to an upright slotted shaft by a worm and worm wheel, on
this upright slotted shaft the worm travels and adjusts itself with the rise and fall
of the table.
The method of working this machine is thus.
The operator has a certain sized case to make, he adjusts the height of the table
for the size of the case to be made by means of the gear attached to the outside
slides. The outside pawls are then in the nicks. The inside slides are then moved
below the outside slide a distance equal to the thickness of timber making the
other side of the case: the set screw attached to the crosshead of the upright shaft
is then tightened up, the fulcrum of the lever adjusted for the required rise and fall

page_text: of the table. The making of the box is commenced by first nailing one side to the
ends. The main shaft carrying the discs which actuate the nail punches is con-
nected with the shaft carrying the cam wheels by suitable gearing or other
mechanism so that each time the main shaft revolves the other makes a quarter
of a revolution. When the crosshead rises after driving the second lot of nails,
one of the cams on the cam wheel moves the lever attached to the upright shaft
of the table and slightly raises the table at the same time, the other cam raises the
lever attached to the pawls which hold the table and lifts them out of the notches
in the outside adjustable slides. As the cams revolve they cause the table lever
to depress the table allowing the other pawls attached to the table to fall into the
notches of the inside adjustable slides.
The other cam now releases the levers and other mechanism attached to the
table pawls and a spring attached to the lever brings the pawl block onto the face
of the bed plate of the nailing machine, at the same time releases the pawl which
moves between the lugs of the pawl block and disengages it from the notches in
the connecting rod and allows the table pawls to fall against the smooth face of the
adjustable slides in the supporting frame. The operator then nails on the other
side, after which the cam operates the lever which moves the table, and raises the
table up to the original height, and the table pawles fall into their respective
notches.
WP. THOMPSON & Co.,
Of 6, Lord Street, Liverpool,
and 323, High Holborn, London,
Patent Agents for the Applicant.

page_text: I, FREDERICK WALTER BLOOD of 66 Grafton Street Liverpool in the County
of Lancaster Merchant do hereby declare the nature of my said invention for
IMPROVEMENTS IN BOX NAILING MACHINES 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 improvements in box nailing machinery described in the
specification of Letters Patent granted me the 12th November 1881. N° 4961.
In some box-nailing machines at present constructed, no provision is made to
allow of the table being adjusted to receive the additional thickness of the second
side and much time is lost in the passing of the partially framed case from one
machine to another, and in those machines where the table is adjustable and
operated by hand, the lowering and raising of the table is a great strain on the
operator and also a serious loss of time.
This invention is designed to overcome this difficulty and by the use of suitable
mechanism to cause the table of a box nailing machine to rise and fall, adjusting
itself after each stroke, being previously set to receive thicknesses of timber
required for the box under operation.
While I have delineated more or less all the parts of the machine, I propose only
to describe fully the new parts forming the subject of this application. These are
best described by aid of the accompanying drawings, in which :
Figure 1 is a front elevation
In these A is the table sliding between two upright supporting frames B B.
To the centre of this table is attached a vertical shaft or pillar C which passes
through the foundation plate D and is supported there by cross head E (pinned to
the shaft by set screws e or adjustable fastening) resting on another loose collar e¹
resting on the foundation plate (as shown in Figures 1 and 2) when not raised as
hereafter described. Cross head E is free to be slid on shaft Ċ to any position and
retained firmly where required by a set screw e or other mechanism. This cross
head is furnished with two pins or trunnions e² which engage with one end of a
lever F forked at both ends, the other end of lever F carries a small roller wheel G.
The holes which fit over the pins of the cross head are elongated slightly to allow
for play. The body of the lever is slotted out at f¹ to receive a slide f' which
may be fastened thereto by a set screw or other mechanism. This slide is pivoted
to a movable block H which forms a fulcrum for the lever. This block moves in a
horizontal direction in a slot in the bed plate D of the machine and can be caused
to travel by a screw and suitable mechanism not shown in the drawing. Between
the end of the lever F where the small wheel G is affixed and the slide, a weight
or counterpoise can travel. The weight if used, is connected to the slide for to
the fulcrum by a rod baving a knuckle joint where it is fastened to the body of
the fulcrum. This weight, if used, acts wholly or partially as a counterbalance
for the weight of the table. Carried in suitable bearings at right angles to the
lever F is a revolving shaft I attached to which is a cam wheel or cam wheels i

page_text: making a quarter of a revolution at each stroke of the nail punches. The cam or
cams strike the wheel G and depressing or releasing the lever cause the table A to
rise or fall a desired height. Passing through the table near the top is a hollow
shaft J, and at either end is a pawl K, this shaft may be moved by hand or is made
self adjusting by a spring L attached to a projecting rod, or lever fastened to the
shaft. It is supported at either end by bearings and through it passes a solid
shaft M. capable of revolving, having attached to each end a pawl m. To shaft M
is fixed a lever m¹ Figure 1 which can be operated by hand and attached to this
lever solidly or preferably by a pin in a connecting rod O. This rod can slide up
and down through a block o' which is fixed to it by a set screw, or has two lugs
and a pawl which latter is pivoted between the lugs and fits into notches cut in
the connecting rod. Oscillating on a pivot of Figure 3, is a nearly horizontal
lever o actuated by a cam o³ on revolving shaft I, which as before stated is geared
to revolve through 90 degrees, for each stroke of the nail punches. Lever of is
held against cam o³ by a spring or counterweight.
The mode of action of these parts is as follows:
The machine having been adjusted to the size of box and timber, to be operated
upon in the manner to be hereafter explained; the box side and end pieces are
placed on the table and the two ends nailed. The cams i and o³ have now made
half a revolution and press down their respective lovers, thereby raising the table
and pawls slightly. This raises pawl m out of its catch and thus pushes block o'
out till it is no longer in contact with the end of the lever of the block accordingly
slips past it, but coming in contact laterally with the end of the lever, it is kept
out at a sufficient angle to prevent also paul m from coming in contact with pawl
notch m¹ and catching. Cam i now continues its course and releasing its lever
the table falls till cam K catches it by falling into and resting on pawl notch k¹.
The table has now fallen the thickness of the board used, and thus the second side
of the box can be nailed by the next two strokes of the nail drivers. Then the
cams again come into play, and the table is raised till ca m again falls into its
notch and block o' oscillating back comes over lever o* ready for the cycle of
operations to begin afresh.
It will be obvious from the above that the height of the table and distance
moved depends by several factors; namely:
1st. The position of the fulcrum f of lever F, 2nd. by the shape and size of
cam. This however I prefer to keep constant, but it is obvious that if an
adjustable cam be employed a fixed fulcrum can be used instead of a movable one.
3rd. the height of the pawl notches, and these are regulated in the case of m' by
long vertical screws m³ in frame; and in the case of also by screw in the
notch frame m¹. Lastly. the blocks o' and E are adjustable on their respective
spindles.
The sides of the supporting frames are hollowed out each to receive one or
more slide blocks to carry the notch frames m³ ³ for the pawls to fit into, these
slides are raised and lowered to the desired height by screws and can be worked
by hand or by suitable mechanism.
In order to more effectually work the machine by hand in case of difference in
sizo of a box, or in case of a break down, I prefer to arrange clutch motion one
form of which is set forth in Figure 1 so that the cam shaft, or the main driving
wheel of the gearing can be thrown out of gear, as these are well known mechanical
movements I have not thought it worth while to delineate then fully, especially
as they do not form necessary parts of my invention.
Continuing the description: P is the bevel gear and P¹ the shaft for turning
screws m². the nail punching cross head carrying the nail punches q. This
cross head is worked by arm Q carrying slotted block Q and actuated by con-
necting rod Q R is the nail holding cross-head. To increase the facility and
rapidity of working I make this cross-bead automatically self adjustable; at the
same time it can be raised or lowered by the foot treadle described in Specifi-
cation 4961 of 1881. I accomplish this by cutting a slot R¹ in each of the side

page_text: •
connecting rods R. Through this slot passes a pin or set screw R³ carrying cross
head R and the height of this pin is adjusted by set screw R. SS are the nail
carriers carried by chains and chain wheels T T in the usual manner and these are
regulated from lever Q¹ by means of link T¹ and ratchet apparatus shown more
fully in Figures 4 and 5. The remaining parts are old.
The method of working the machine is thus:
The operator has a certain sized case to make, he adjusts the height of the table
for the size of the case to be made by means of the gear attached to the slides m'.
The pawls m are then in the nicks. The inside slides k¹ are then moved below
the outside slide a distance equal to the thickness of timber making the other side
of the case; the set screw attached to the cross head of the upright shaft C, is then
tightened up, the fulcrum f of the lever F adjusted for the required rise and fall
of the table. The making of the box is commenced by first nailing one side to
the ends. The main shaft T2 carrying the discs which actuate the nail punches is
connected with the shaft I carrying the cam wheels by suitable gearing so that
each time the main shaft revolves the other makes a quarter of a revolution. When
the cross head rises after driving the second lot of nails, one of the cams (2) on the
cam wheel moves the lever attached to the upright shaft C of the table and slightly.
raises the table at the same time, the other cam o³ raises the lever of actuating the
pawls which hold the table, and lifts them out of the notches in the outside
adjustable slides. As the cams revolve they cause the table lever to depress the
table allowing the other pawls attached to the table to fall into the notches of the
inside adjustable slides.
The other cam i now releases the levers and other mechanism attached to the table
pawls, and spring L attached to the lever brings the pawl rack on to the face of the
bed plate of the nailing machine.
The operator then nails on the other side after which the cam operates the lever
which moves the table and raises the table up to the original height and the table
pawls fall into their respective notches.
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
1st. The manufacture and use of box nailing machinery, substantially as described,
in which the table is alternately raised and lowered relatively to the nail driving
machinery in such a manner that both sides and ends of a box can be nailed together
on one machine successively and economically.
2nd. The mechanism whereby the table is alternately raised and lowered a given
adjustable height, substantially as described and shown.
3rd. In the mechanism for raising and lowering the table the combination of a
lever with variable fulcrum and a cam, substantially as described.
4th. In the mechanism for regulating the height of the table, the combination
of the vertical screws with the sliding notch block by which the general working
height, is adjusted and the second adjustable notch block by which the additional
height requisite to allow for the absence of the second side is regulated, substantially
as described,