Improvements in Machines for Making Lock Washers.
Year: 1892

page_text: Date of Application, 8th Mar., 1892-Accepted, 16th Apr., 1892
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Machines for Making Lock Washers.
MONROE PACKARD WILKINS of No. 46 Marion Street in the City of New
York, in the State of New York, United States of America, Machinist, 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 an improvement in lock washer machines, in which the
bar or rod of material to form the washer is fed, bent into a circular spiral shape,
its ends spread and notched, and the completed washer severed from the bar or
rod, the several operations being so timed as to render the making of successive
washers automatic, and the process continuous.
A practical embodiment of my invention is represented in the accompanying
drawings, in which-
Fig. 1 is a top plan view of the machine;
Fig. 2 is a section through linear of Fig. 1;
Fig. 3 is a section through line y y of Fig. 1;
Fig. 4 is a section through line of Fig. 1, certain of the parts being omitted
to show others more clearly.
Fig. 5, 6, and 7 represent, upon an enlarged scale, in detail, three successive
stages of the operation, viz. :-
First, the position of the bar, the anvil, the roller, the die, and the plunger, at
the completion of the feed ;
Secondly, the position of these parts when the bar to form the washer is partially
bent; and
Thirdly, the position of these parts when the washer is completed, and is about
to be severed from the bar.
Fig. 8 represents a view in detail of the end of the former around which the
washer is bent;
Fig. 9 represents a view, in detail, of the upper end of the anvil on which the
washer is bent;
Fig. 10 represents a view, in detail, in section, of the ends of the die and
plunger;
Fig. 11 represents an end view of the die; and
Figs. 12, 13, and 14 represent views of the completed washer in side elevation,
edge elevation, and transverse section, respectively.
Considering the several parts of the machine with reference to the order of the
several steps in the operation of making the washer, I shall find it convenient to
describe, first, the feed mechanism, and then the bending, the spreading and
notching of the ends, and the severing mechanism, in the order named.
A represents the bed frame of the machine, supported in any suitable manner.
The main driver shaft is represented by B, and is supported, in the present instance,
in bearings depending from the bed frame A, and is provided with a band pulley b,
for the connection therewith of a belt leading to a source of power not shown. The
driving pulley is here represented as of large size, and serves the purpose of a
balance wheel.
The driver shaft B has fixed thereon a bevel faced gear wheel, which inter-
meshes with a corresponding bevel faced gear wheel e fixed on a shaft C, extending
transversely to the driver shaft B.
The shaft C has fixed thereon the crank wheel c', the wrist pin c² of which is
connected by a rod with a vibrating arm ce loosely mounted upon the shaft d of
the lower feed roll D. The lower feed roll D has fixed, to rotate therewith, a

page_text: ratchet wheel d', the teeth of which are in position to be engaged by pawls
carried by the vibrating arm c. When the arm c is swung in one direction, the
pawls e carried thereby will move freely over the teeth on the ratchet wheel d³,
but when vibrated in the opposite direction, the said pawls will engage the teeth on
the ratchet wheel, and will cause it, and hence the roll D fixed thereto, to be
rotated in a direction to feed the rod or bar of material forward to be formed into a
washer. The arm is provided with an elongated slot c, within which the end of
the connecting rod is secured by means of a binding screw c', so that the throw
of the vibrating arm & may be increased or diminished, at pleasure, to regulate the
length of feed.
In the position shown in Fig. 2, the main driver shaft B is supposed to have
completed the first half of its revolution, and the bar a of material to be operated
upon has, during, such half revolution, been fed forwardly over the anvil by the
lower feed roll D and the upper corresponding roll D'.
At the
The anvil is represented by E, and is provided, at its upper end, with a gradually
inclined seat lending from a lowermost point e, around the face, and terminating at
a point e above the starting point e, forming, between the two points e e, an abut-
ment e, as clearly shown in Fig. 9. As the bar is fed forward, it rests on the
inclined end of the anvil, at the point e, in proximity to the abutment e².
moment the feed has ceased, there rests in contact with, or in proximity to
the inclined end of the anvil, a former F (see Fig. 8), the end of which is provided
with a notched incline, adapted to scat centrally on the inclined end of the
anvil, and abut against the ledge formed on the anvil by the inclination. The
former F consists in the present instance of the reduced end of a vertically recipro-
cating rod, which has a movement toward, and away from, the end of the anvil,
at predetermined intervals, as will be hereinafter more particularly described.
A standard or bracket G is fixed to the bed frame A, and is provided with
arms g, in the ends of which there are bearings for the reception of a vertically
reciprocating sleeve or hollow shaft g. To the lower end of said sleeve ', there
is secured an arm (see Fig. 4), which, in the present instance, consists of a
pair of spring jaws, clamped to the sleeve by means of a bolt g³. The arm g²
carries a shaft or axle, upon which a roller is loosely mounted, in such position
that its face will bear against the side of the bar a, opposite the abutment e² on the
anvil. The lower side of the roller is intended to rest on the face or end of
the anvil E. The sleeve g¹ has fixed, to rotate therewith, a bevel-faced pinion,
the said pinion being secured on the sleeve intermediate between the arms g
of the standard or bracket G, and being held by the adjacent faces of said arms
against vertical displacement.
The connection of the pinion g with the sleeve gl may be of the well known
feather and groove description, so that while the pinion is fixed to rotate together
with the sleeve, the sleeve will be allowed to slide vertically independently of
the pinion. A seginent gear 4 is secured to a rock shaft H, mounted in suitable
standards G on the main frame, so as to engage the bevel faced pinion on
the sleeve g. The shaft H is provided with a crank ', the latter being. con-
nected, by a rod 2, with a crank wheel ³ secured on the shaft C. The
connection of the rod with the crank is such, that the throw of the crank h¹
may be increased or diminished at pleasure. This is accomplished, in the present
instance, by providing the crank with an elongated slot (see Fig. 2), and
connecting the rod by means of a binding screw, of well known or suitable con-
struction, extending through the slot.
As the main shaft B performs the second half of its revolution, it will swing the
crank, and hence the gear h, in the direction to rotate the sleeve', and thereby
carry the roller in a circular path around the centre of the anvil E. As the
said roller rests on the inclined end of the anvil, it will be caused to ride along
up the said inclined surface, and as its adjustment is such as to leave between its
face and the former F, the thickness of the bar a, it will bend the said bar a around

page_text: the former F, as indicated in Figs. 5, 6, and 7. The stroke of the gear is such,
that it will carry the roller gone complete revolution, and an additional quarter
revolution, more or less, to the position shown, for example, in Fig. 7, the position
shown in Fig. 5 being taken as the starting point.
In order that the sleeve g', carrying the forming roller, may be held suspended
after having completed its stroke, and during the subsequent feeding of the bar, I
provide the upper end of the sleeve with an annular groove y', which, when the
sleeve is elevated, will be in position to receive the forked end of a vibrating
angle lever g, operated through a connecting rod go, and a rising and falling bar,
by means of a cam g, fixed on the main shaft B. The rising and falling bar gis
pivoted at one end to the bed frame A, and rests, intermediate of its ends, upon the
rotary cam g, so that when the eccentric portion of the cam comes into engagement
with it, it will lift the bar g, and thereby rock the angle lever gs, so as to throw
the arms into engagement with the sleeve in the annular groove g". The cam g
is so arranged with reference to the rotation of the main shaft, that it will through
the lever g into engagement to hold the sleeve suspended just as the forming
roller has completed its rotary movement, and has completed the curve of the
washer.
The said cam g will hold the sleeve and forming roller suspended during the
return stroke of the gear, and hence will carry the forming roller over the
bar as it is being fed during the first half of the revolution of the main shaft.
It will be observed that the spiral form is given to the washer, at the same time
that it is being bent into circular form, by means of the inclined end of the anvil on
which it rests while being wound.
While the operation of bending has been going on, the operation of spreading
and notching the ends of the washer has also been taking place as follows:
:-
At a point back from the anvil a distance equal to the length of bar or rod a
required for a washer, there is located a die 1, in the face of which there is a
groove i, corresponding to the size of the bar a of material from which the washers
are to be made. At the central portion of the groove i, there is a raised portion i¹.
making the groove at this point shallower than are the portions upon either side of
it, and there also formed in the opposite walls of the shallow portion of the groove,
notches, those upon one side having a slant in one direction, and those upon the
opposite side, in the opposite direction.
Opposite the face of the die 1, there is located a plunger K, which is operated
by means of a toggle lever, the said toggle lever being itself operated by means
of an excentric fixed on the main shaft B, and connected with the toggle lever
by a suitable rod and strap A³.
As the bar arests in the recess i during the bending operation, the excentric k
upon the main shaft operates the toggle lever kk, and throws the plunger K
toward the face of the die I, thereby forcing the rod or bar of material a into the
recess i, and, because of the shallow and notched portion of said groove, spreading
and notching a portion of the bar, which, when divided centrally, as will be here-
inafter explained, forms the spread notched ends of the washer. The raised central
and notched portion of the die is preferably formed with its notched walls gradually
flaring from the bottom towards the top, thereby giving the spread notched ends of
the completed washer, flaring shaped sides.
The rod or bar, after having been crushed within the recess within the dic, will,
in practice, spring out of the recess when the plunger recedes, so as to allow the bar
io be freely fed forward.
Should there, however, be any trouble from the bar clinging to the recess.
it may be readily obviated by means of a spring, of any well known form, con-
nected with the die in position to force the bar out. Just before the second hali
revolution of the main shaft is completed, the cutter L is forced forward, and cuts
the bent washer from the bar at a point intermediate of the spread and notched
portion. This is accomplished as follows:-

page_text: An excentric, on the main shaft (see Fig. 4), is connected, by means of a suit-
able strap and rod l, with one arm of an angle lever, fixed upon a rock shaft M,
another arm of said angle lever being connected with a toggle lever by a link,
the arm of the toggle lever being connected with the sliding cutter holder 1°.
The cutter L, as it advances toward the material to be cut, forces the said material
against the inner edge of the abutment e² on the anvil, and thereby shears it off,
and at the same time pushes the severed washer itself across the top of the anvil, so
that it fails out of the way as soon as the cut is completed.
It is desirable that the former F should be removed from its central position in
engagement with the end of the anvil at the moment the cutting operation begius
to take place. To this end the rod herein before referred to, is allowed a
vertically sliding movement within the sleeve g', and is lifted out of position within
the bent washer at the proper moment by means of a finger N, fixed on the rock-
shaft M, the free end of which works within an elongated loop at the lower end
of an operating rod 7'. The upper end of said rod is connected with one arm of
an operating lever O, the other arm of said lever being connected with the upper
end of the vertically sliding bar or rod", the lower end of which constitutes the
former F. The finger N has lest motion within the loop n, so that while the
bending operation is taking place, and the cutter L is advancing toward its work,
the finger N will be travelling along down the loop n, but just before the cutter L
engages the washer, the finger N will have reached the lower end of the loop ",
and will have depressed the opérating red »; and thereby, through the lever O,
have lifted the former F out of its engagement with the end of the anvil, to allow
the cutter to sever and remove the washer.
After this has been done, and the bar is being fed forward under the first half of
the revolution of the main shaft, the finger N will be again lifted, and will thereby
positively rock the lever O in a direction to again seat the former F on the end of
the anvil, ready for the bending operation, which follows immediately upon the
completion of the feed.
The several operations have been so fully set forth in connection with the
mechanism for carrying them into effect, that it is not necessary to repeat them at
length. The operation of the whole may be stated, in short, as follows:-
The first half of the revolution of the main shaft advances the material to form
the washer over the end of the anvil, in position to be bent. The former is now
in central position upon the end of the anvil, and, at the beginning of the second
half revolution of the main shaft, the forming roller begins its travel in contact
with the bar of material to form the washer, bending it around the former, and
itself riding along up the incline, and finally, as the bend is completed, being
held suspended until it is again returned to its position to operate upon the next
washer.
While the bending has been taking place, the die and plunger have been spreading
and notching the adjacent ends of the next two succeeding washers, and just before
the second half revolution of the main shaft is completed, the former is removed
from within the washer, and the cutter advances and severs and removes the com-
pleted washer, itself being returned past the end of the material to be fed in time
for the feeding movement of the bar.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I would remark that
it is obvious that slight changes might be resorted to in the construction and arrange-
ment of the several parts described, without departing from the spirit and scope
of my invention; hence I do not wish to limit myself strictly to the construction
herein set forth, but what I claim is -
1. The combination with an inclined seat for supporting the bar or rod to be
bent, of a bending device having a circuitous movement along the side of the material
to be bent, substantially as set forth.

page_text: 2. The combination with an inclined seat for supporting the bar or rod to be bent,
of a bending device having both a circuitous movement and a movement lateral to
its circuitous path, along the side of the material to be bent, substantially as set
forth.
3. The combination with an anvil having a spiral seat on its end, and means for
feeding a bar or rod of material across the face of the anvil, of a former located at
the central portion of the face of the anvil, and a roller having a movement around
the former, substantially as set forth.
4. The combination with an anvil having a spiral seat on its cud, and means
for feeding a rod or bar of material across the face of the anvil, of a former centrally
located with respect to the spiral seat on the anvil, and a forming roller having
a movement around the former, and a yielding movement to accommodate itself
to the inclination of the spiral seat, the said roller having a bearing on the spiral
sent, substantially as set forth.
5. The combination with the anvil and the bending mechanism, of a former
having a movement toward and away from the face of the anvil, and means for
operating the former, substantially as set forth.
6. The combination with the anvil and the former, of the bending device having
a movement around the former and return, and means for holding the bending
device suspended during its return movement, substantially as set forth.
7. The combination with the anvil, and ineans for feeding the bar or rod across
the face of the anvil, of a hollow, longitudinally-movable sleeve or shaft, a bending
device carried by the hollow sleeve or shaft, a former having a reciprocating
movement within the hollow sleeve or shaft, a pinion secured to rotate with the
hollow sleeve or shaft, and reciprocating gear adapted to engage the pinion, to rotate
the sleeve or shaft, substantially as set forth.
8. The combination with the anvil having an abutment on its face, and means for
feeding the rod or bar across the face of the anvil, of a cutter having a movement
toward and away from the edge of the abutment on the anvil, and means for operating
the cutter at predetermined intervals, substantially as set forth.
9. The combination with the anvil, the driver shaft, the former, the bending
device, and connections between the driver shaft and the former and bending
device, of a cutter and means for operating it, the said cutter being timed with
respect to the former and bending device, so as to engage the material on the
anvil after the bending is completed and the former removed, substantially as set
forth.
10. The combination with the anvil and the bending device, of a die and plunger
adapted to engage the rod or bar being operated upon, while the latter is in position
to be bent, substantially as set forth.
11. The combination with the anvil and main driver shaft, of the feed mechanism,
the bending mechanism, and the end swaging mechanism, the feed mechanism being
operated during a part of the revolution of the driver shaft, and the bending and
end swaging mechanisms being operated during a subsequent part of the rotation
of the driver shaft, substantially as set forth.
12. The combination with the cutter and the driver shaft, of a toggle lever
connected with the cutter, an excentric on the main shaft, and a connection
between the excentric and toggle lever, for operating the latter, substantially as
set forth.
13. The combination with the cutter, the anvil, the former, and the driver shaft,
of a toggle lever connected with the cutter, a lever connected with the former, a
rock-shaft, an angle lever on the rock shaft connected with the driver shaft and
with the toggle lever, and an operating finger carried by the rock shaft, and
having a loose connection with the former-operating lever, substantially as set
forth.
14. The combination with the anvil, the die, and the feel mechanism, of a cutter
and a plunger located respectively opposite the anvil and the die, toggle levers

page_text: connected with the cutter and the plunger, one with each, and means for operating
the toggle levers, substantially as set forth.
Dated this 8th day of March 1897
NEWTON & SON,
Agents for the Applicant.