Perforating, Forming, and Testing Paragon Umbrella Ribs and Stretchers.
Year: 1886

page_text: Perforating, Forming, and Testing Paragon Umbrella Ribs
and Stretchers.
I GEORGE FREDERICK REDFERN, of the General Patent Office, No. 4 South
Street, Finsbury, in the County of Middlesex, Patent Agent, do hereby declare the
nature of this invention (a communication from abroad by Daniel Marks Redmond
of Philadelphia, in the county of Philadelphia and State of Pennsylvania, United
States of America) to be as follows:→
In making the so-called "paragon" umbrella ribs and stretchers, the paragon
wire which is U shaped in cross section is flattened at intervals while the wire is
in a wrought iron or soft state and perforated at the flattened portions for the
passage through the ribs and stretchers of the binding wire by which they are
connected to the top notch or ring of the umbrella and to the umbrella braces.
After this the wire is hardened and tempered.
In order to supplement the weakening effect of flattening and piercing the ribs
it is found desirable to strengthen or re-enforce them at the flattened portions so
that the ribs and stretchers may be of ample strength throughout to stand the
strain brought upon them in use.
This strengthening or re-enforcing of the ribs and stretchers is accomplished by
inserting in the groove of the wire at the points where it is to be flattened and
perforated short pieces of wire or strips of metal previous to the flattening and
perforating, and the perforations are usually made through the re-enforcing strips
so that they not only strengthen and stiffen the ribs and stretchers but are them-
selves thereby securely held in place and also form bearings for the binding wires
that unite the ribs and stretchers to the top ring and braces of the umbrella
frame.
Heretofore in the manufacture of these ribs the strengthening or re-enforcing
pieces of metal have been inserted by hand and the ribs and stretchers have
always been formed in short lengths suitable for the umbrella frame which they

page_text: are to form. The perforating has been done by suitable punching machinery in
which each short piece or rib is placed separately by hand and held while the
piercing is performed. After punching the ribs they have been hardened by
heating many of them together in a metal tube and subsequently immersing them
while hot in some cooling liquid, usually oil. After this cooling in oil the ribs and
stretchers have been tempered or annealed by mingling them with numerous
other heated wires from which they take the required slow second heat by
radiation.
After this second heating and after cleaning the ribs which is a laborious and
time consuming operation (rendered so by the burning of the adhering oil in the
annealing process) the ribs and stretchers are severally tested by hand by taking
each rib and stretcher and bending it over pins to the proper curve. If the ribs
and stretchers take the curve without breaking or cracking and when released
spring back of their own accord to a straight line they have been successfully
treated. But owing to the fact that the success of this, the old method depends
almost altogether upon the skill and judgment of the workman, many ribs fail to
stand the test and these ribs so failing are worthless and lost.
Besides this loss and the unavoidable loss of time and labour incident to the
many operations through which the ribs pass and the cost of skilled labor required
in carrying it on in anything like a practical manner this old method is attended
with another serious difficulty, videlicet the warping of the short ribs or stretchers
in the first tempering or hardening heat. This warping and twisting is very
difficult to remove in the tempering and causes defective ribs and stretchers.
This invention consists principally of a method of manufacturing paragon
umbrella ribs and stretchers which consists (as practically conducted) in flattening,
re-enforcing, perforating, hardening, tempering, annealing, and testing while the
grooved or paragon wire is in continuous lengths, thus conducting the work with
mechanical precision, rapidly and without skilled labor, and without many of the
operations followed in the old method, and particularly avoiding loss in the
tempering and testing operations.
The invention also consists of a machane and its details, constructed for flattening,
re-enforcing and perforating the ribs and stretchers in continuous lengths.
This machine embodies grooved rollers for the pargon or grooved wire, and feed
rollers and holding devices for the re-enforcing wire, a knife for cutting the short
re-enforcing pieces from the re-enforcing wire, a reciprocating die and stationary
anvil for flattening the wire, reciprocating punches and stationary punch plates
and dies for perforating the wire, a reciprocating feeding device for drawing the
paragon wire intermittently through the machine, and a reciprocating knife and
stationary anvil for nicking the wire at regular intervals to facilitate the separating
of the wire into lengths suitable for umbrella frames.
. The main shaft of the machine is journaled in suitable bearings formed in
or secured to the main frame which is of appropriate size, form, and strength to
bear all the operative parts of the machine.
1 Slow rotary motion is imparted to the shaft from a suitable motor acting
through a drive pulley, a short shaft, and cog wheels and the main shaft commu-
nicates reciprocating motion to a flattening die which acts against a stationary
anvil. It also reciprocates the knife stock, two punches which act against the
stationary punch dies respectively, and the nicking die which acts against the
stationary anvil all of which will be more particularly described below.
The main shaft also communicates motion through the medium of two beveled
gear wheels to a short transverse shaft the office of which is first to reciprocate the
feeding device for drawing the grooved paragon wire intermittently through the
machine, which it accomplishes by a crank disc and connecting rod and secondly
to revolve the receiving drum by means of an endless belt or chain and sprocket
wheels for winding on the drum the wire as it passes from the machine.
+
The grooved wire as it enters the machine is in a wrought iron or soft state and
U-shaped in cross section and it enters the machine in a continuous length between

page_text: guide rollers at the front, and in being intermittently drawn through the machine
by the sliding action of the feeding mechanism it first receives at regular intervals
short re-enforcing wires, then it is flattened at intervals against the re-inforcing
pieces, then it is twice perforated at the flattened and re-enforced portions, and
finally is nicked between the perforations to enable the wire to be easily separated
into short pieces of the required length.
•
I prefer to use two sets of guide rollers for leading the paragon wire to
the machine, but a single set might be used if desired. The lower rollers are
peripherally grooved to receive the wire while the upper rollers are made quite
thin to run in the gutter of the wire for forcing the wire down into the grooves of
the lower rollers so that these rollers while they act as guides to the wire also act
to straighten it and to remove from it any indentations or irregularities.
The upper rollers are by preference made adjustable to and from the lower
rollers by the screws or otherwise to enable the pressure of the upper rollers upon
the wire in the grooves of the lower rollers to be regulated that more or less tension
may be put upon the paragon wire.
The upper rollers may be adjusted in several ways but I prefer to use screws
which are swiveled at their lower ends in the uprights and work in screw threaded
openings in the lugs or projections formed at the upper ends of the plates. These
plates carry the shaft journals of the roller and embrace the edges of the uprights
by means of dovetailed flanges so that by turning the screws by cranks or other-
wise by plates and with them the rollers may be conveniently raised and lowered.
Lateral guides for the wire are placed between the sets of rollers, but these may
be omitted if desired.
In entering the long lengths of the wire to the machine after one end is placed
between the rollers it is pushed between an orifice past the flattening die and its
stationary anvil and past the knife stock thence past the two punches to the sliding
feeding mechanism or device and is then placed between a pivoted jaw and the
stationary jaw of the said feeding mechanism. It may be stated here that the
sliding motion imparted to the feeding device by the crank disc and connecting
rod automatically closes the jaw upon the wire upon the back motion and releases
it upon the forward motion so that the wire is intermittently drawn through the
machine the wire resting at regular intervals.
The details of the construction of the feed mechanism will be hereafter more
fully described.
The short re-enforcing pieces are cut from a continuous wrought iron wire by a
knife held in a knife stock. The wire is fed intermittently into the machine by
feed rollers which are geared together by gear wheels and intermittently operated
from eccentrics on the main shaft. This eccentric acts through a strap surrounding
it, links, a rocking pawl-lever and a racket wheel, the latter secured upon the
shaft of the roller. The pawl-lever is fulcrumed on the said shaft so that the pawl
thereof engages with the teeth of the ratchet wheel. The longitudinal movement
of the connections caused by the eccentric rocks the pawl-lever and causes an
intermittent rotary motion to be imparted to the feed rollers, each movement being
sufficient to feed the wire the desired length for a whole re-enforcing piece.
In order to adapt the feed roller to feed wires of different sizes I make one of
the rollers adjustable to and from the other roller by means of an ordinary block
bearing and set screw inserted in slots in the frame that receives the feed rollers.
From the feed rollers the wire is forced through an orifice made by preference
in the main frame of the machine, which orifice is exactly in line with the orifice
through which the paragon wire passes, and also exactly in line with the knife and
stock so that the down thrust of the said knife and stock will sever the short
re-enforcing pieces from the wire and deposit them as they are successively out
into the groove of the paragon wire.
The knife stock is held in a groove in a rigid vertical upright and is operated
from the main shaft by a cam and a centrally fulcrumed lever which is connected.
with the stock at one end, preferably by means of a projection at the upper end of

page_text: the stock, and acted upon at the other by a coiled spring which holds the lever in
contact with the cam so that the revolution of the shaft and cam rocks the lever
and vertically reciprocates the stock.
.The down thrust of the stock causes the knife carried at its lower end to sever
a short re-enforcing piece from the wire and deposit it in the groove of the paragon
wire in front of the flattening die between it and the stationary anvil. At this
time the paragon wire is at rest and at this time the flattening die is forced
forward by the action of an eccentric on the main shaft and compresses the wire
and re-enforcing piece between the die and anvil so that the said wire and re-
enforcing piece are made flat for a space equal to the width of the face of the die.
The grooved wire is in this manner closed upon the re-enforcing wire so that the
latter is held securely in place and becomes in effect a part of the wire.
When the die recedes, the knife and knife stock are elevated and at this time
the feeding mechanism draws the paragon wire along a stated distance and the feed
rollers feed the re-enforcing wire forward the length of another re-enforcing piece
ready for the next operation of the cutting and flattening die.
To ensure the deposition of the short re-enforcing pieces in the groove of the
paragon wire as they are cut off by the knife I locate the feed rollers so that the
grooves thereof stand on a slightly higher level than the orifice and slant the orifice
slightly downward to give the wire a downward pitch so that as the wire issues
from the orifice its forward end will dip into the groove of the paragon wire. In
addition to this I employ a plate for depressing the forward end of the re-enforcing
pieces into the paragon wire.
For depressing the rear end of each re-enforcing piece I form the knife with
a projection or shoulder and cause the knife after cutting each re-enforcing piece
to be forced down unto the paragon wire upon the re-enforcing wire. This down
movement of the knife grips the re-enforcing wire in the paragon wire, and the
cam is flattened at its outer surface so that the knife while gripping the re-
enforcing wire will dwell a sufficient length of time for the flattening die to move
forward and flatten the paragon wire upon the re-enforcing piece.
The said plate is pivoted to another plate attached to a spring which is attached
to a rigid arm so as to hold the plate, so that it runs in the groove of the paragon
wire. The spring permits the plates to have an upward movement so that the
flattened and re-enforced portions of the paragon wire may pass under the plate
and the forward end of the said plate is slightly beveled to form a lifting cam to
facilitate the passage of the flattened and re-enforced portion under the plate. The
spring also causes the plate to grasp the forward end of each re-enforcing piece
between it and the bottom of the paragon wire so that while the knife holds one
end of each re-enforcing piece the other end is held by the plate at the time the
wires are flattened by the die.
The die is connected to an eccentric by a connecting strap attached to a block
to which the die proper is adjustably attached by a screw. The block slides in a
suitable guide recess formed in the main frame of the machine, and the anvil is
held in a recess made in the main frame and is adapted to be adjusted by a screw
to adapt the die to exert a greater or a less pressure upon the paragon and re-
enforcing wires.
At the same time the die is forced forward for flattening the paragon and
re-enforcing wires, the punches are forced forward by their respective eccentrics on
the main shaft, for perforating or piercing the paragon and re-enforcing wires where
Hattened by the die thus forming the perforations. The penetrating points of the
punches enter shallow recesses formed in the punch dies, and the wire is held in
proper position against the faces of these punch dies by a plate, which plate is
perforated for the passage of the penetrating points of the punches. The punches
are duplicates of each other, each being connected to its eccentric by a connecting
strap and each held in a way formed by dove-tailed cleats secured to the main
frame of the machine.

page_text: In addition to the plates for holding the wire against the punch dies a pivoted
button may be used, arranged to act upon the upper edge of the wire to prevent it
from lifting.
In place of this button a sliding bar may be used to prevent upward movement
of the wire, and this bar is given a vertical reciprocating movement by means of a
cam on the main shaft and a centrally fulcrumed lever. By this construction
the wire is clamped by the bar, and firmly held at the time the punch passes
through them.
At the time the punches, and the flattening die are withdrawn from the wire by
the action of their eccentrics on the main shaft and the knife stock elevated, the
feeding device is carried backward by the action of the crank disc and the
connecting rod so that it feeds the wire into the machine the required distance.
Then the feeding device releases the wire and is forced forward to grasp the wire
again. During this forward movement of the feeding mechanism the knife stock,
and the knife descend, and the flattening die and the punches, are forced forward,
each to act upon the wires as already described.
:
While various devices or mechanisms for intermittently drawing the wire through
the machine may be used, a feed mechanism having a reciprocating right line
action, so constructed that the reverse motion of the connecting rod will cause
automatic grasping and releasing of the wire, is preferred. The feed motion consists
essentially of a sliding block that moves in a groove made in the main frame of the
machine and a sliding block or flanged plate that moves in another groove. The
connecting rod is connected directly to the sliding block and this block is
connected to the block or plate by a bar, the above mentioned jaw and the stop
button or link which is pivoted to the plate and engages with the pin secured in
the jaw. The jaw is hook shaped, fulcrumed to the plate and is provided with an
adjustable bit to act against the stationary jaw for grasping the wire.
The button is slotted in which slot the pin works, and when in operation the pin
traverses this slot with each reciprocation of the bar. This gives the bar a slight
movement equal to the length of the slot independent of the pin before the jaw
acts to lock the bar, to the bar, and this independent movement is communicated
directly to the jaw for opening and closing it. Upon the backward movement of
the whole feed inotion the bar and the said bar jaw move together independently
of the bar or plate until the pin strikes the rear end of the slot. This movement
is sufficient to close the bits of the jaw upon the wire. The bars will now be
locked together by the closing of the jaw and the action of the plate button and
pin, so that the whole will be moved back together drawing the wire along in the
machine. Upon the forward motion the bar will move independently of the bar
until the pin strikes the forward end of the slot. This movement will open the
jaw and release the wire and lock the bars together so that the whole will move
forward for again grasping the wire and drawing it along in the machine.
A plate is formed with a series of holes for connecting with the jaw, and this
plate is made adjustable by means of a screw and jamb nuts so that by adjusting
this plate the jaw may be made to close more or less snugly upon the wire being
treated; in order to adjust the throw or distance of movement of the feed motion,
the connecting bar is made moveable to and from the axis of the crank disc
preferably by means of a T-slot made in the disc and a sliding T-plate placed
therein to which the wrist pin is attached. This plate may be secured at any
point in the slot by a set screw so that the feeding of the wire will always be
accurate.
After the wire passes the feeding mechanism having been re-enforced, flattened
and perforated it passes between nicking jaws one of which is reciprocated at proper
intervals for indenting or nicking the wire between the perforations to enable the
wire to be easily separated into strips of proper lengths.
The jaw is held in ways and is reciprocated from the main shaft by means of an
eccentric, connecting straps, connecting link, and lever connected at its lower end
to a link centrally fulcrumed in the arm and connected at its upper end to the jaw,
.

page_text: From the nicking jaws the wire passes to the receiving drum placed loosely on a
square portion of a shaft which is slowly revolved by a shaft and an endless chain
and sprocket wheels.
The drum when filled with wire is removed from the shaft and placed upon a
support shaft held by a post in front of a hardening furnace through which the
wire is slowly but continuously drawn by the testing drum and subjected in the
furnace to a uniform hardening heat throughout its whole length.
Next to and in line with the furnace is placed a cooling tank to which water or
oil is supplied from a supply tank and through which the wire is continuously
drawn for suddenly and continuously cooling as it issues from the furnace. Next
to the cooling tank and in line there with is placed an annealing or tempering
furnace through which the wire passes and continuously receives its second or
tempering heat; a drum is revolved at a speed bearing a certain relation to the
degree of heat maintained in the furnaces, and the size of the wire, so that the wire
will receive just the required heat, the required length of time, no more and no
less; and the drum is of such a size in circumference that the wire wound around
it will be brought to the proper curve for testing it.
The heat in the furnaces will be kept uniform at just the required temperature
while the wire is passing through them so that every part of the wire throughout
its whole length will be subjected to the same heat, and thus be uniformly tempered
throughout; and the wire will be kept taut by the drums so that the wire cannot
warp either in the first or second heating.

page_text: New or improved method of and Apparatus for Strengthening,
Perforating, Forming, and Testing Paragon Umbrella Ribs
and Stretchers.
I, GEORGE FREDERICK REDFERN of the General Patent Office, No. 4, South
Street, Finsbury, in the County of Middlesex, Patent Agent, do hereby declare the
nature of this invention (a communication from abroad by Daniel Marks Redmond,
of Philadelphia, in the County of Philadelphia and State of Pennsylvania) and
5 in what manner the same is to be performed to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement :—
In making the so called " paragon" umbrella and parasol ribs and stretchers the
paragon wire, which is U-shaped in cross-section, is flattened at intervals while
the wire is in a wrought iron or soft state, and perforated at the flattened portions,
for the passage through the ribs and stretchers of the binding wire by which they
are connected to the top notch or ring of the umbrella and to the umbrella braces.
After this the wire is hardened and tempered.
In order to supplement the weakening effect of flattening and piercing the ribs,
it is found desirable to strengthen or reinforce them at the flattened portions so
that the ribs and stretchers may be of ample strength throughout to stand the
strain brought upon them in use.
This strengthening or reinforcing of the ribs and stretchers is accomplished by
inserting in the groove of the wire at the points where it is to be flattened and
perforated short pieces of wire or strips of metal previous to the flattening and
perforating, and the perforations are usually made through the reinforcing strips so
that they not only strengthen and stiffen the ribs and stretchers but are them-
selves thereby securely held in place and also form bearings for the binding wires
that unite the ribs and stretchers to the top ring and braces of the umbrella
frame.
Heretofore in the manufacture of these ribs the strengthening or reinforcing
pieces of metal have been inserted by hand, and the ribs and stretchers have
always been formed in short lengths suitable for the umbrella frame which they
are to form. The perforating has been done by suitable punching machinery in
which each short piece or rib is placed separately by hand and held while the
piercing is performed. After punching the ribs they have been hardened by
heating many of them together in a metal tube and subsequently immersing them
while hot in some cooling liquid, usually oil. After this cooling in oil the ribs
and stretchers have been tempered or annealed by mingling them with numerous
other heated wires from which they take the required slow second heat by
conduction.
After this second heating and after cleaning the ribs, which is a laborius and
time-consuming operation (rendered so by the burning of the adhering oil in the
annealing process) the ribs and stretchers are severally tested by hand by taking
each rib and stretcher and bending it over pins to the proper curve. If the ribs

page_text: and stretchers take the curve without breaking or cracking, and when released
spring back of their own accord to a straight line they have been successfully
treated. But owing to the fact that the success of this, the old method, depends
almost altogether upon the skill and judgment of the workman, many ribs fail to
stand the test and these ribs so failing, are worthless and lost.
Besides this loss and the unavoidable loss of time and labor incident to the
many operations through which the ribs pass and the cost of skilled labor required
in carrying it on in anything like a practical manner this old method is attended
with another serious difficulty, videlicet, the warping of the short ribs or stretchers
in the first tempering or hardening heat. This warping and twisting is very
difficult to remove in the tempering and causes defective ribs and stretchers.
This invention consists principally of a method of manufacturing paragon
umbrella ribs and stretchers which consists (as practically conducted) in flattening,
reinforcing, perforating, hardening, tempering, annealing and testing while the
grooved or paragon wire is in continuous lengths, thus conducting the work with
mechanical precision, rapidly and without skilled labor, and without many of the
operations followed in the old method, and particularly avoiding loss in the
tempering and testing operations.
The invention also consists of a machine and its details, constructed for flattening,
reinforcing and perforating the ribs and stretchers in continuous lengths.
This machine embodies grooved rollers for the paragon or grooved wire, and
feed rollers and holding devices for the reinforcing wire, a knife for cutting the
short reinforcing pieces from the reinforcing wire, a reciprocating die and stationary
anvil for flattening the wire, reciprocating punches and stationary punch plates
and dies for perforating the wire, a reciprocating feeding device for drawing the
paragon wire intermittently through the machine, and a reciprocating knife and
stationary anvil for knicking the wire at regular intervals to facilitate the
Beparating of the wire into lengths suitable for umbrella frames.
In order to enable the invention to be fully understood I will proceed to describe
the same by reference to the accompanying drawings in which figure 1 is a plan of
my machine for reinforcing, flattening, perforating and nicking the wire; figure 2
is a side elevation of same; figure 3 is an enlarged transverse sectional elevation
on the line, x, of figure 1; figure 4 is a similar view on the line x, x¹, of figure 1;
figure 5 is a similar view on the line y, y, of figure 1; figure 6 is a similar view on
the line y, y, of figure 1; figure 7 is an enlarged detailed, longitudinal, sectional,
elevation taken on the line 8, z, of figure 3; figure 8 is an enlarged detailed
sectional plan view on the line s¹, s¹, of figure 7; figures 9 and 10 show
respectively detailed top and edge views of the roller and feed mechanism for the
strengthening wire, or wire from which the strengthening pieces are cut; figure 11
is a detailed plan view of the feed motion for feeding the rib wire through the
machine; figure 12 is a sectional elevation showing one of the punches and dies
and one of the means for holding the wire while being pierced; figures 13 and 14
show respectively a side and plan view of a modified device for holding the rib
while being punched; figure 15 is a detailed plan view of the rear end of the
machine showing the reel for the rib wire as it issues from the machine; figure 16
is a view showing the means employed for tempering and testing; figures 17
and 18 show respectively a side and a plan view of a portion of a completed
umbrella wire; figure 19 shows the sectional U form of the paragon wire to which
form it is bent in long lengths before it enters the strengthening, flattening and
punching or piercing machine.
A represents the main shaft of the machine journalled in suitable bearings
formed in or secured to the main frame B which is of appropriate size, form and
strength to bear all the operative parts of the machine.
Slow rotary motion is imparted to the shaft A from a suitable motor acting
through a drive pulley 'C a short shaft, and cog wheels C1, C2, and the main
shaft A communicates reciprocating motion to a flattening die D (Figure 1). which
acts against a stationary anvil D'-It also, reciprocates the knife stock d two
:

page_text: punches E, F, which act against the stationary punch dies E, respectively, and
the nicking die G which acts against the stationary anvil G, all of which will be
more particularly described below.
The main shaft A also communicates motion, through the medium of two beveled
gear wheels H, H, to a short transverse shaft H, the office of which is first to
reciprocate the feeding device I for drawing the grooved paragon wire a (figures 17,
18 and 19) intermittently through the machine, which it accomplishes by a crank
disc I, and connecting rod I', and secondly to revolve the receiving drum J
(figures 15 and 16) by means of an endless belt or chain J, and sprocket
wheels J, J, for winding on the drum the wire a, as it passes from the machine.
The grooved wire a, as it enters the machine is in a wrought iron or soft state
and U-shaped in cross section as shown in figure 19, and it enters the machine in
a continuous length between guide rollers b, 61, at the front, and in being inter-
mittently drawn through the machine by the sliding action of the feeding
mechanism I it first receives at regualar intervals short reinforcing wires a¹
(Figure 18) then it is flattened at intervals against the reinforcing pieces a¹, as
shown at as, then it is twice perforated as shown at a³, a³, (figures 16 and 17) at
the flattened and reinforced portions, and finally is nicked between the perforations
as shown at a', to enable the wire to be easily separated into short pieces of the
required length.
I prefer to use two sets of guide rollers 6, 61, for leading the paragon wire to the
The lower rollers b are
machine, but a single set might be used if desired.
peripherally grooved to receive the wire a while the upper rollers b¹ are made quite
thin to run in the gutter of the wire a, as shown clearly in figure 7 for forcing the
wire a, down into the grooves of the lower rollers b, so that these rollers while they
act as guides to the wire also act to straighten it and to remove from it any
indentations or irregularities.
The upper rollers b¹, are by preference made adjustable to and from the lower
rollers 6 by the screws b', or otherwise to enable the pressure of the upper rollers
upon the wire in the grooves of the lower rollers to be regulated that more or less
tension may be put upon the paragon wire. The upper rollers may be adjusted in
several ways but I prefer to use the screws 6, which are swivelled at their lower
ends in the uprights 6, and work in screw-threaded openings in the lugs or pro-
jections formed at the upper ends of the plates 6.-These plates carry the shaft
journals of the roller b', and embrace the edges of the uprights 63 by means of
dove-tailed flanges as shown clearly in figure 8, so that by turning the screws 6*
by cranks b or otherwise the plates 6 and with them the rollers b¹ may be
conveniently raised and lowered.
Lateral guides 66, 66, for the wire a, are placed between the sets of rollers 6, 61,
as shown clearly in figure 2 but these may be omitted if desired.
In feeding the long lengths of the wire a to the machine after one end is placed
between the rollers b, b¹, it is pushed between an orifice c, past the flattening die D
and its stationary anvil D¹, and past the knife stock d', (see figures 2, 3 and 7,)
thence past the two punches E, E¹, and F, F¹, to the sliding feeding mechanism or
device I and is then placed between a pivotted jaw i, and the stationary jaw ¹, of
the said feeding mechanism. It may be stated here that the sliding motion
imparted to the feeding device I by the crank disc I¹ and connecting rod I auto-
matically closes the jaw, upon the wire a upon the back motion, and releases it
upon the forward motion so that the wire a, is intermittently drawn through the
machine, the wire resting at regular intervals.
The details of the construction of the feed mechanism I will be hereafter more
fully described.
The short reinforcing pieces a³, are cut from a continuous wrought iron wire W
by a knife d held in a knife stock d'. The wire W is fed intermittently into the
machine by feed rollers K, K¹, which are geared together by gear wheels k, k,
shown in figure 10 and intermittently operated from eccentrics k³ on the main

page_text: •
shaft A. This eccentric acts through a strap, surrounding it, links k³, k,
(see figure 9) a rocking pawl-lever and a ratchet wheel ke the latter secured
upon the shaft of the roller K. The pawl-lever K³ is fulcrumed on the said shaft
so that the pawl K' thereof engages with the teeth of the ratchet wheel. The
longitudinal movement of the connections K' K' caused by the eccentric K, rocks
the pawl-lever K and causes an intermittent rotary motion to be imparted to the
feed rollers K, K¹, each movement being sufficient to feed the wire W the desired
length for a whole reinforcing piece a¹.
In order to adapt the feed roller K K', to feed wires of different sizes I make the
roller K¹, adjustable to and from the roller K by means of an ordinary block bearing
and set screw inserted in slots in the frame K that receives the feed rollers.
From the feed rollers K, K¹, the wire W is forced through an orifice c¹, made by
preference in the main frame of the machine, which orifice is exactly in line with
the orifice c, through which the paragon wire a passes, and also exactly in line
with the knife and stock d, d, so that the down thrust of the said knife and stock
will sever the short reinforcing pieces. a¹, from the wire W and deposit them as
they are successively cut into the groove of the paragon wire as illustrated in
figures 7 and 8.
The knife stock d' is held in a groove in a rigid vertical upright d³ and is
operated from the main shaft A by a cam d and a centrally fulcrumed lever d³,
which is connected with the stock at one end, preferably by means of a projection
at the upper end of the stock, and acted upon at the other by a coiled spring do,
which holds the lever in contact with the cam so that the revolution of the shaft
and cam rocks the lever d³, and vertically reciprocates the stock d'.
The down thrust of the stock d' causes the knife &, carried at its lower end to
sever a short reinforcing piece a' from the wire W and deposit it in the groove of
the paragon wire in front of the flattening die D between it and the stationary
anvil D¹, as shown clearly in figure 8: At this time the paragon wire a, is at rest
and at this time the flattening die D is forced forward by the action of an
eccentric f, on the main shaft A (figure 3) and compresses the wire a, and
reinforcing piece a¹, between the die and anvil D', so that the said wire and
reinforcing piece are made flat for a space equal to the width of the face of
the die D. The grooved wire a, is in this manner closed upon the reinforcing
wire so that the latter is held securely in place and becomes in effect a part of
the wire a.
When the die D recedes the knife and knife stock d, d', are elevated and at this
time the feeding mechanism I draws the paragon wire a, along a stated distance
and the feed rollers K, K³ feed the reinforcing wire W forward the length of
another reinforcing piece a¹, ready for the next operation of the cutting and
flattening die.
To ensure the deposition of the short reinforcing pieces a³, in the groove of the
paragon wire a, as they are cut off by the knife, I locate the feed rollers K, K³, 80
that the grooves thereof stand on a slightly higher level than the orifice o¹, and
Blant the orifice slightly downwards to give the wire W a downward pitch as shewn
clearly in figure 7, so that as the wire W issues from the orifice its forward end
will dip into the groove of the paragon wire-In addition to this I employ a
plate g, for depressing the forward end of the reinforcing pieces into the paragon
wire as shown clearly in figure 7.
For depressing the rear end of each reinforcing piece I form the knife d with a
projection or shoulder d', (see figure 7) and cause the knife after cutting each
reinforcing piece to be forced down into the paragon wire upon the reinforcing
wire. This downward movement of the knife grips the reinforcing wire in the
paragon wire, and the cam d, is flattened at its outer surface, as shown at d³,
figure 8, so that the knife while gripping the reinforcing wire will dwell a sufficient
length of time for the flattening die D to move forward and flatten the paragon
wire upon the reinforcing piece.

page_text: The plate g, (figure 7) is pivoted to another plate g, attached to a spring g³,
which is attached to a rigid arm g³, so as to hold the plate g, so that it runs in the
groove of the paragon wire. The spring g³ permits the plates g, gl, to have an
upward movement so that the flattened and reinforced portions of the paragon
wire may pass under the plate g, and the forward end of the said plate g, is
slightly bevelled to form a lifting cam to facilitate the passage of the flattened and
reinforced portion under the plate. The spring g³, also causes the plate g, to grasp
the forward end of each reinforcing piece a, between it and the bottom of the
paragon wire so that while the knife d, holds one end of each reinforcing piece
the other end is held by the plate g, at the time the wires are flattened by
the die D.
The die D is connected to the eccentric f, by a connecting strap f', attached to
a block f, to which the die proper is adjustably attached by a screw f³, as shown
in figure 3. The block f, slides in a suitable guide recess f*, formed in the main
frame of the machine, as shewn in the said figure, and the anvil D¹, is held in a
recess f³, made in the main frame and is adapted to be adjusted by a screw f', to
adapt the die D to exert a greater or a less pressure upon the paragon and
reinforcing wires.
At the same time the die D is forced forward for flattening the paragon and
reinforcing wires, the punches E, F, are forced forward by their respective
eccentrics e, h, on the main shaft, for perforating or piercing the paragon and
reinforcing wires where flattened by the die D thus forming the perforations a³, a³,
shewn in figure 17. The penetrating points of the punches enter shallow recesses
formed in the punch dies Ê¹ F¹, and the wire is held in proper position against the
faces of these punch dies by a plate F (shewn in figures 4 and 12) which plate is
perforated for the passage of the penetrating points of the punches. The punches
E, F, are duplicates of each other each being connected to its eccentric by a
connecting strap j, and each held in a way formed by dove-tailed cleats j¹, 1,
secured to the main frame of the machine, as shown clearly in figures 4 and 12.
In addition to the plates F, for holding the wire against the punch dies a
pivotted button o, (see figure 12) may be used, arranged to act upon the upper edge
of the wire to prevent it from lifting.
In place of this button o, a sliding bar o¹, (see figures 13 and 14) may be used to
prevent upward movement of the wire, and this bar is given a vertical recipro-
cating movement by means of a cam o³, on the main shaft A, and a centrally
fulcrumed lever o-By this construction the wire is clamped by the bar o¹, and
firmly held at the time the punch passes through them.
At the time the punches E, F, and the flattening die D are withdrawn from the
wire by the action of their eccentrics on the main shaft A, and the knife stock d',
elevated, the feeding device I is carried backward by the action of the crank
disc 1, and the connecting rod I, so that it feeds the wire into the machine the
required distance. Then the feeding device releases the wire and is forced forward
to grasp the wire again. During this forward movement of the feeding mechanism
the knife stock d and the knife d, descend and the flattening die D and the punches
E, F, are forced forward, each to act upon the wires a, a¹, as already described.
While various devices or mechanisms for intermittently drawing the wire
through the machine may be used, a feed mechanism having a reciprocating right-
line action, so constructed that the reverse motion of the connecting rod will cause
automatic grasping and releasing of the wire, is preferred. The feed motion here
shown consists essentially of a sliding block 13 that moves in a groove I* made in
the main frame of the machine (see figures 5 and 6) and a sliding block or flanged
plate 1' that moves in another groove I°.-The connecting rod I³, is connected
directly to the sliding block 13, and this block is connected to the block or plate I³,
by a bar 17, the above mentioned jawi (see figure 11) and the stop button or
luk, which is pivotted to the plate I' and engages with the pin is secured in the
jaw i. The jaw i, is hook-shaped, fulcrumed at ³ to the plate and is provided

page_text: with an adjustable bit to act against the stationary jaw i¹ for grasping the
wire a.
The button, is slotted at 6, in which slot the pin works, and when in
operation the pin traverses this slot with each reciprocation of the bar I.-This
gives the bar I', a slight movement equal to the length of the slot i,-independent
of the pin i, before the jaw i acts to lock the bar I, to the bar I, and this inde-
pendent movement is communicated directly to the jaw i, for opening and closing
it. Upon the backward movement of the whole feed motion the bar I³, and the
said bar jaw i, move together independently of the bar or plate until the pin ³
strikes the rear end of the slot -This movement is sufficient to close the bits of
the jaw i, upon the wire. The bar I and the bar I³ will now be locked, together
by the closing of the jaw and the action of the plate button and pin i³, so that
the whole will be moved back together drawing the wire along in the machine.
Upon the forward motion the bar I will move independently of the bar 13 until
the pin strikes the forward end of the slot -This movement will open
the jaw, and release the wire and lock the bars I', and I³ together so that the
whole will move forward for again grasping the wire and drawing it along in the
machine.
The plate 17, is formed with a series of holes m, for connection with the jaw i,
and this plate is made adjustable by means of a screw m¹ and jamb nuts m² so
that by adjusting this plate the jaw i, may be made to close more or less snugly
upon the wire being treated; in order to adjust the throw or distance of movement,
of the feed motion, the connecting bar 18, is made moveable to and from the axis of
the crank disc I, preferably by means of a T-slot n, made in the disc and a
sliding T-plate n¹, placed therein to which the wrist pin is attached. The plate n¹,
may be secured at any point in the slot n, by a set screw n³, so that the feeding of
the wire will always be accurate.
After the wire passes the feeding mechanism having been reinforced, flattened
and perforated it passes between nicking jaws G and G¹ (see figure 6) the former
of which is reciprocated at proper intervals for indenting or nicking the wire
between the perforations a³, a³, to enable the wire to be easily separated into strips
of proper lengths.
The jaw G, held in ways as shewn clearly in figure 6 and is reciprocated from
the main shaft A by means of an eccentric 1, connecting straps, connecting link P,
and lever, connected at its lower end to the link , centrally fulcrumed in the
arm and connected at its upper end to the jaw G.
From the nicking jaws G, G¹, the wire passes to the receiving drum J (see
figure 15) placed loosely on a square portion of a shaft J which is slowly revolved
by a shaft H and an endless chain and sprocket wheels.
The drum J when filled with wire is removed from the shaft J³ and placed upon
a support shaft L held by a post L³, in front of a hardening furnace M through
which the wire is slowly but continuously drawn by the testing drum P and
subjected in the furnace to a uniformn hardening heat throughout its whole length.
Next to and in line with the furnace M
placed a cooling tank N to which
water or oil is supplied from a supply tauk Ñ¹, and through which the wire is
continuously drawn for suddenly and continuously cooling as it issues from the
furnace M. Next to the cooling tank N and in line there with is placed an
annealing or tempering furnace O, through which the wire passes and continuously
receives its second or tempering heat; a drum P is revolved at a speed bearing a
certain relation to the degree of heat maintained in the furnaces, and the size of
the wire, so that the wire will receive just the required heat for the required
length of time, no more and no less; and the drun P is of such a size in
circumference that the wire wound around it will be brought to the proper curve
for testing it.
f
The heat in the furnaces will be kept uniform at just the required temperature
while the wire is passing through them so that every part of the wire throughout

page_text: its whole length will be subjected to the same heat, and thus be uniformly tem-
pered throughout; and the wire will be kept taut by the drums so that it cannot
warp either in the first or second heating.
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. The method herein described of treating paragon wire, consisting in flattening
and perforating the same in continuous lengths while in a wrought iron or soft
state, substantially as described.
2. The method herein described of treating paragon wire consisting in Blattening
and perforating the same in continuous lengths in a wrought iron or soft state and
subsequently hardening and tempering the same in continuous lengths, substantially
as described.
3. The method herein described of treating paragon wire as a second operation,
consisting in passing the same in a continuous length and in a wrought iron or
soft state, through heating furnaces and winding the wire continuously upon a
testing drum whereby danger of warping and separate testing are avoided, substan-
tially as described.
4. The method herein described of treating paragon wire, consisting in reinforcing,
flattening and punching the same in continuous lengths in a wrought iron or soft
state, then passing the same in continuous lengths taut through a heating furnace,
cooling tank and annealing furnace and finally winding the same upon a testing
drum, substantially as described.
5. A machine for treating paragon wire comprising mechanism for feeding the
wire intermittently through the machine, flattening and punching dies, a feed for
the reinforcing wire and a reciprocating knife for cutting the reinforcing pieces,
substantially as described.
6. The feed mechanism I constructed to draw the wire a, intermittently through
the machine in combination with the feed for the wire W and a reciprocating
knife for cutting short lengths of wire from the wire W, substantially as described.
7. The combination with the reciprocating knife for cutting the reinforcing wire
of the reciprocating die for flattening the wire substantially as described.
8. The combination with the knife for cutting the reinforcing pieces of a flattening
die and punches arranged to pierce the wire at the flattened and reinforced points
substantially as described.
9. The frame of the machine formed with a passage c for the paragon wire, a
passage c¹, above the passage c for the reinforcing wire in combination with a
reciprocating knife for cutting short pieces from the reinforcing wire, substantially
as described.
10. The spring supported holding plate g, held to run in the paragon wire for
holding the reinforcing pieces on the paragon wire, substantially as described.
11. The knife d, having the shoulder d¹ in combination with means for recipro-
cating the wire and forcing it down upon the end of the reinforcing wire for holding
it in the paragon wire, substantially as described.
12. The knife d, formed with the shoulder d', in combination with the spring
supported plate g, arranged to run in the paragon wire, substantially as described.
13. The reciprocating feed motion consisting of two sliding plates or bara, one
carrying a stationary and the other a pivotted jaw, the latter of which is connected
to the sliding plate or bar by a slotted button or connection and acts through the
pivotted jaw to lock the two sliding bars together substantially as described.
14. The combination with the disc 1¹, connecting rod 12, and sliding bar I³, of the
sliding bar I, the stationary jaw it, and pivotted hook-shaped jaw i, pivotted to
the jaw I', and connected to the jaw 1, by the slotted plate 2, and pin Ì³, substan-
tially as described.

page_text: 15. The combination with the flattening and punching dies, the knife for cutting
the reinforcing wire and intermittent feed mechanism of a nicking die G consisting
of a stationary and reciprocating block substantially as described.
16. The combination with the flattening and punching dies, a knife for cutting
the reinforcing wire and mechanism for intermittently drawing the paragon wire t
through the machine, of the receiving drum J for receiving the paragon wire as it
issues from the machine substantially as described.