IMPROVE MENTS IN METAL EYELETS, AND IN APPARATUS FOR MANUFACTURING THE SAME, AND IN THE METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR FIXING EYELETS IN VARIOUS MATERIALS
Year: 1880

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Randall Harris and James Gould Cooper, both
of Manchester, in. the County of Lancaster, for an Invention of " IMPROVE
MENTS IN METAL EYELETS, AND IN APPARATUS FOR MANUFACTURING THE
SAME, AND IN THE METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR FIXING EYELETS IN
VARIOUS MATERIALS." 1
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Randall Harris and
James Gould Cooper at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the
19th July 1880.
WILLIAM RANDALL HARRIS and JAMES GOULD COOPER, both of Manchester, in
the County of Lancaster. "IMPROVEMENTS IN METAL EYELETS, AND IN APPARATUS
FOR MANUFACTURING THE SAME, AND IN THE METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR
FIXING EYELETS IN VARIOUS MATERIALS."
Our Invention has for its object in the first place to facilitate the fixing of metal
eyelets in labels, cloth, leather, and other materials. We make the eyelet suitable
to act as a punch, so that it is not necessary to perforate the material preparatory
to the insertion of the eyelet. The eyelet is left hard and is not flanched out at
the lower end so much as the ordinary eyelet, and the smaller end is left as much
as possible with a sharp cutting edge. These eyelets may be inserted with the
ordinary apparatus, but we prefer to use a modified form of apparatus wherein the
lower die is grooved to shape the flanch of the eyelet, and the lower piston is
pressed upwards by means of a strong spring. When the material is pressed upon
the eyelet the perforation is formed, and the eyelet is fixed by the single operation.
In the second place we employ apparatus to make the eyelets at one operation
without requiring the metal to be annealed. A riband of sheet metal is coiled
upon a roller or bobbin, and the waste riband is received by a second bobbin,
which is rotated at intervals by means of a ratchet which is actuated by a cam.
The two bobbins are mounted in a frame which is acted upon by two hearts or
scrolls, which cause the frame to slide to and fro in the direction of the breadth of
the riband. Circular blanks are punched out of the said riband by means of a

page_text: sliding hollow punch, which acts in concert with a fixed die. The said punch is
caused to move towards and from the die by means of an excentric or of a can.
The riband of sheet metal passes between the punch and the die.. The end of the
punch is cupped to shape the exterior of the eyelet. Within the die is fitted to
slide a hollow piston which is acted upon by a spring, and within the said piston is
a stationary adjustable stump. Within the said punch is a pusher which is pressed
towards the end of the punch by means of a spring. When the punch advances, it
cuts a blank out of the sheet and carries it forwards into the die, the said blank
being nipped between the end of the punch and the end of the aforesaid hollow
piston, which recedes as the punch advances. The blank thus carried forwards is
pressed against the end of the stump, whereby the blank becomes pressed into the
end of the punch, and is thereby moulded into a cupped form.
When the punch
arrives at the end of its stroke, the end of the cupped blank is forced against a
slight shoulder which is formed within the punch, and the angle of the cup bottom.
or.end is nipped so tightly as to cut the metal. As the punch retires the aforesaid
pusher forces out the moulded eyelet. To ensure the discharge of the eyelet
a finger is moved across the face of the punch so as to strike off the eyelet.
A sliding collar on the punch acts as an abutment for the riband when the punch
is withdrawn. The bottoms of the cup-shaped blanks are not usually in all cases
entirely detached, but they become separated when the said blanks are shaken
together in a suitable apparatus. The eyelets so formed are very suitable for use
in the carrying into effect of the first part of our Invention.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, and of
an Order of the Lord Chancellor, filed by the said William Randall Harris &
James Gould Cooper in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 27th January
1881.
WILLIAM RANDALL HARRIS and JAMES GOULD COOPER, both of. Manchester, in
the County of Lancaster. "IMPROVEMENTS IN METAL EYELETS, AND IN APPARATUS
FOR MANUFACTURING THE SAME, AND IN THE METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR
FIXING EYELETS IN VARIOUS MATERIALS."
Our Invention has for its object in the first place to facilitate the fixing of metal.
eyelets in labels, cloth, leather, and other materials. We make the eyelet suitable
to act as a punch, so that it is not necessary to perforate the material preparatory
to the insertion of the eyelet. The eyelet is left hard, and is not flanched out at
the lower end so much as the ordinary eyelet, and the smaller end is left as much
as possible with a sharp cutting edge. These eyelets may be inserted with the
ordinary apparatus, but we prefer to use a modified form of apparatus, wherein the
lower die is grooved to shape the flanch of the eyelet, and the lower piston is
pressed upwards by means of a strong spring. In the second place we employ
apparatus to make the eyelets at one operation without requiring the metal eyelets
to be annealed. A riband of sheet metal is coiled upon a roller or bobbin, and the
waste riband is received by a second bobbin, which is rotated at intervals. The
two bobbins are mounted in a frame, which is caused to slide to and fro in
the direction of the breadth of the riband. Circular blanks are punched out of the
said riband by means of a sliding hollow punch, which acts in concert with a fixed
die, and is cupped to shape the exterior of the eyelet. Within the die is fitted to
slide a hollow piston, which is acted upon by a spring, and within the said piston
is a stationary adjustable stump. Within the said punch is a pusher, which is
pressed towards the end of the punch by means of a spring. When the punch
advances it cuts a blank out of the sheet and carries it forwards into the die, the
said blank being nipped between the end of the punch and the end of the aforesaid
hollow piston, which recedes as the punch advances. The blank thus carried
forwards is pressed against the end of the stump, whereby the blank becomes
pressed into the end of the punch, and is thereby moulded into a cupped form..
When the punch arrives at the end of its stroke the end of the cupped blank is
forced against a slight shoulder, which is formed within the punch, and the angle
of the cup bottom or end is nipped so tightly as to cut the metal. As the punch
retires the aforesaid pusher forces out the moulded eyelet. The eyelets so formed
are very suitable for use in the carrying into effect of the first part of our
Invention.
In order that our Invention may be fully understood, we have attached hereunto
a Sheet of Drawings marked with letters of reference. Referring to the said
Drawings, Fig. 1, drawn larger than the full size, indicates the form of eyelet we
employ, a being the said cutting edge. The eyelet is left hard, that is to say, the
eyelets are not softened after or during the manufacture. Fig. 1a illustrates the
modification we make in the eyeleting machine. In the lower die c is formed a
groove which, surrounds the piston d; which is forced upwards by means of a
strong spring e. When using the apparatus one of our improved eyelets is placed
upon the piston, and the material is brought over the eyelet. When the upper
die is brought down the eyelet is forced through the material, and fixed therein by
one operation. The remaing Figures are illustrative of the machinery we use in
the manufacture of the said eyelets. Fig. 2, drawn to a scale of about one and a
half inches to the foot, is an end elevation, Fig. 3 a front elevation, and Fig. 5 &
plan of the machine, Fig. 4 representing a vertical section on the line A, B, Fig. 3,

page_text: In the said Figures f is a frame, which carries a roller g, upon which is wound the
riband of metal from which the blanks are to be punched. The frame f is sup-
ported and guided by means of four wheels h, h, which are mounted upon studs
fixed to the framing C of the machine. A rod at the upper end of the frame is
fitted to slide in a bracket which is fixed to the framing C, the frame f being
thereby steadied in its movements. Upon a shaft j are fixed two cams k, which
act upon anti-friction bowls which are mounted upon the frame f. The said shaft
is connected by bevil gearing with an intermediate shaft t, upon which is fixed a
worm wheel m. Upon the main driving shaft n is fixed a disc o, upon which is
formed a scroll rib, which gears with the wheel m, the said scroll being, formed to
move the wheel m to the extent of one tooth for each revolution of the driving
shaft, a part of the scroll being concentric, so that there are intervals of rest, as
will be well understood. Each time that the wheel mis acted upon the cams /
rotate to a certain extent. The said cams are formed to impart a horizontal
movement to the frame f, one cam moving the frame to the right hand, and the
other cam moving the frame to the left hand. The frame f carries a second roller p,
which receives the riband after the blanks have been punched out of it. The coil
of metal rests upon a driving roller q, and upon the axle of the latter roller is fixed
a ratchet wheel r, with which engage driving pawls which are carried by a levers,
and holding pawls which are mounted upon a bracket t. A projection on the
levers is acted upon by a double wiper u, which slowly raises the arm of the lever,
a spiral spring tending to draw down the said arm. When either of the wipers
passes the projection the spring draws down the lever arm by a quick movement,
and the pawls on the other arm of the lever are thereby caused to carry around
the ratchet wheel to a certain extent. This movement of the ratchet wheel is
arranged to take place at the termination of each traverse in either direction of the
frame f, and has the effect of rotating the roller p, whereby the riband of metal is
moved upwards in order to present a fresh part of the riband to the punch.
Weighted cords act upon wheels which are fixed upon the ends of the axle of the
roller g so as to prevent over running of the said roller as the riband is drawn off it,
and the spiral springs act upon the axle of the roller p to press the coil of riband
thereon into contact with the roller q in order that the latter roller may give
motion to the former. A crank upon the driving shaft is connected by an adjustable
link with a sliding punch carrier u, which is represented on larger scale in Fig. 6.
One end of this carrier is bored to receive a punch x, which acts in concert with a
die y which is fixed in a rail z which is secured to the framing C. The ends of
the said punch and die are represented about the full size in Fig. 8. The die is
bored to suit the size of the punch, so that when the latter advances and presses
the metal riband against the end of the die a circular blank is punched out of the
said riband. Within the bore of the die a piston a¹ is fitted to slide, and is pressed
outwards by means of a spiral spring, a collar on the piston preventing the piston
from being pushed out of the die. The die is bored to receive a stationary stump b',
which can be adjusted by means of the screw c¹. The end of the punch is cupped
to shape the exterior of the eyelet, a slightly projecting shoulder formed by a
contraction of the bore being formed at the bottom of the cup, as indicated at d¹.
Within the punch is mounted a pusher e¹, which is acted upon by a spiral spring
which tends to force the end of the pusher into the position indicated in Fig. 6.
The said spiral spring abuts against a spindle f, which is supported by a second
spiral spring, which furnishes a yielding abutment to the first named spring, this
arrangement improving the action of the parts. The said pusher is formed as a thin
bar, and its edges slide in grooves formed in the bore of the punch. The forked
end of a bar passes over the end of the punch, and the said bar is acted upon
by spiral springs ' which push the said forked end towards the end of the punch.
The riband of metal passes from the roller g over a rod and upwards between the
ends of the punch and die to the receiving roller p, as indicated by the dotted line
in Fig. 4. The action of the machine may be described as follows:-During each
revolution of the driving shaft the punch is advanced towards the riband until the

page_text: latter is punched between the die and the punch, and the movement of the latter
continuing a circular blank is punched out of the riband and is pushed before the
punch into the bore of the die and, against the end of the stump, the end of the
bar h yielding to the pressure of the riband upon it. The forward movement of
the die continuing, the central part of the blank is forced into the cupped cavity
by bearing upon the end of the fixed stump 61, the outer edge of the blank being
held between the ends of the die and the punch. The effect of this is to form the
blank into a cup shape, the bottom of the cup being forced inwards as far as
the shoulder d'. The parts are so adjusted as that when the punch has entered
the die to its fullest extent the cup bottom is punched between the end of the
stump b' and the shoulder d, so that the circular bottom of the cup is cut out, or
nearly so. The punch now retires, and the end of the bar h! pushes off the riband
from the end of the punch, and at the same time the pusher e' pushes the cup out
of the cavity in the punch. To render the ejection of the cup more certain a
finger m³ upon the bar n¹ strikes the part of the cup, which projects from the punch
end in the event of the pusher failing to act by reason of the cup adhering to the
pusher. Should the cup, on the other hand, stick to the face of the die a¹, the
horizontal movement of the brass riband and frame causes it to become detached.
The bar n¹ is raised by means of a lever o¹, which is acted upon by a wiper p¹, and
when the said lever is released by the said wiper the bar n³ is suddenly drawn
down by the action of a spring r¹, whereby the finger m' is caused to act in the
manner hereinbefore mentioned. At the time when the punch has withdrawn
from the hole punched in the metal riband the disc o commences to rotate the
wheel m, whereby the cams k are caused to move the frame f horizontally. This
movement has the effect of presenting a fresh part of the riband to the action of.
the punch, and the actions of the punch and of the cams are repeated until a row
of holes extending across the width of the riband has been punched. While
winding the brass riband upon the feed roller g we prefer to slightly lubricate that
side which faces the punch, so that the punch is thereby constantly lubricated
during the operation of the machine. In the meantime the wiper u has been
slowly carried around by the successive movements of the shaft j until when
the last hole in the row has been punched the end of the wiper passes the end of
the projection on the lever s, and the said lever is then drawn down by a spring,
whereby the roller q and, as a consequence, the roller p are rotated, as herein before
described. This movement of the roller p draws upwards the metal riband, in
order that a fresh row of perforations may be made therein. The described operations
of the parts of the machine continuing, one of the so termed cups is formed for each
perforation made in the riband until the latter becomes perforated all over from
one end the other, or thereabouts, when a fresh length is attached. The bottom of
the cups so formed are not usually in all cases entirely detached, but they become
separated when the said cups are shaken together in a suitable apparatus. For
certain classes of work it is desirable to produce an eyelet having a smooth and
polished instead of a sharp edge, and in these instances we treat the cups in the
said shaking apparatus a sufficient length of time to smooth and polish the edges
as desired. When the bottoms are removed or shaken out the eyelets are complete,
with the exception of any tinning or lacquering operations which may be considered
to be necessary to improve their appearance. The edge of the bole formed by the
removal of the bottom of the cup having been punched between the end of the
stump b' and the shoulder d', and the metal blank being thereby reduced in
thickness at that part, a sharp edge is formed, and as the eyelet has not been
softened this sharp edge cuts its way through the material wherein the eyelets may
be fixed without requiring a preliminary punching of the material, as hereinbefore
mentioned. The die and punch with their contained piston, stump, and pusher
acting in the manner set forth may be used in connection with other arrangements
for feeding with metal riband than are herein described.
Having now fully set forth and indicated the nature of our said Invention, and

page_text: the manner in which we carry the same into practical effect, we would have it to
be understood that we claim,
First. The hard eyelets, each formed with a cutting edge or with a sharp edge,
which can be forced through some materials without preliminary punching of the
material, substantially as set forth and indicated.
Secondly. The method of fixing the said eyelets, and the apparatus fitted with a
grooved bottom die, substantially as set forth and indicated.
Thirdly. The apparatus for making eyelets, substantially as set forth and indicated
herein before and in and by the accompanying Drawings.
Fourthly. The punch and die, formed, fitted, and acting substantially as and for
the purpose set forth and indicated.
And Lastly. The punch and die acting in concert to punch out a blank and to
form it into an eyelet or into a cup with the bottom nearly detached, substantially
as set forth and indicated.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Randall Harris, for myself and on
behalf of the said James Gould Cooper, have hereunto set my hand and seal,
this Eighteenth day of January, in the year of our Lord One thousand
éight hundred and eighty one.
WILLIAM RANDALL HARRIS. (L.S.)
Signed, sealed, and delivered by
the said. William Randall Harris,
in presence of
EDWARD K. DUTTON,
41, John Dalton St.,
Manchester,
(Agent for the Patentees.)