Improvements in or relating to Machines for Cutting Files, Rasps, and the like.
Year: 1897

page_text: Date of Application, 3rd Aug., 1897-Accepted, 18th Sept., 1897
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or relating to Machines for Cutting Files, Rasps,
and the like.
I, JAMES DWIGHT FOOT of 102 Read Street, City, County and State of New
York, United States of America, Merchant, 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 that class of machines for cutting files, rasps, etc., in
which a blank of proper shape and dimensions is operated upon at successive
portions by means of a reciprocating tool; and my invention consists in mechanism
whereby the blank is automatically properly fed both laterally and longitudinally,
and whereby a peculiar movement is imparted to the cutting tool, the latter
preferably of peculiar construction, as fully set forth hereinafter and as illustrated
in the accompanying drawings, in which,
Fig. 1 is an end view in part section, illustrating my improved file or rasp
cutting machine.
Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional elevation.
Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the preferred form of tool.
Fig. 3 is a plan view.
Fig. 4 is an enlarged detached view of the devices employed for imparting the
lateral feed to the carriage.
Fig. 5 is an enlarged detached sectional view of a safety device.
The frame A of the machine is suitably constructed to support the parts
hereinafter set forth, and has bearings at the upper part for a driving shaft 9,
upon which is a cam 10 that operates upon a reciprocating slide 12, from which
motion is imparted to the cutter 13. The cutter 13 is supported in a rocking
holder B, pivotted at r, to the frame of the machine and connected with a
spring 14, which tends to lift the holder by drawing one end of it upward. On
the holder is an adjustable bearing 15, receiving an adjusting screw 16, by
turning which, the bearing (which is wedge-shaped) may be drawn further in or
carried further out from the pivot of the frame, and beneath the end of the slide 12,
to thereby vary the extent to which the holder is thrown down by the reciprocation
of the said slide.
The tool 13 may be substantially square in cross-section or triangular or
diamond-shaped, or as hereinafter described as may be found desirable according
to the character of the article that is to be cut, as to whether it is a rasp or file
and the angle of the tool may also vary according to different circumstances, but
as shown it is arranged at an angle of about 30° for cutting rasps.
As thus arranged the oscillation of the holder B not only carries the point of the
tool downward against the blank which is beneath it, but also backward towards the
heel or the blank, thereby lifting up a portion of the metal to form a tooth very much
in the same manner in which it is lifted up by the operation in hand cutting,
and it will be seen that this is effected by means of a holder oscillating on a point
at one end and without any jointed connection of the tool with the holder. By

page_text: "
this means, very certain and uniform results are secured. While I have shown
a rotating can or eccentric and a reciprocating slide for imparting the rocking
movement to the holder, it will be evident that other well known mechanical
devices may be employed with like results; for instance, the cam or eccentric 10
may bear directly upon the adjustable bearing wedge 15 without the intervention
of the slide 12.
In transverse guides of the bed of the frame A slides the carriage C, the said
carriage being moved laterally back and forth for the purpose of enabling the
vool to cut successive teeth alongside of each other transversely across the blank,
as in ordinary rasps. The longitudinal movement of the blank for the purpose
of cutting successive teeth from the point towards the heel of the blank is effected
by securing the blank X to a carrier D, which slides longitudinally upon the
carriage, but with an intermittent movement, each forward movement of the
carrier being effected after all of the teeth in a transverse row have been cut after
the lateral movement of the carriage.
Different means may be employed for imparting the lateral movements inter-
mittently to the carriage and the longitudinal movements intermittently to the
carrier; I will now describe those which I have found to be exceedingly effective
in operation.
From one side of the carriage C extends an arm 17 which has near the outer
end at the top a rack 18 and at the lower edge near the junction with the
carriage another rack 19, the teeth of the two racks being set in reverse directions.
From the side of the arm 17 extend four pins 20, 21, 22, 23.
To brackets 24, 25, secured to the frame of the machine are pivotted two
bell-crank levers F, G. The lever F carries a pawl H¹ having a tooth 65, and an
arm 26 nearly at right angle with said tooth. The tooth 65 of the pawl H¹
engages the rack 18 and the arm 26 of said pawl-extends downward between the
pins 20, 23. A similar pawl H is pivotted to the lever G and also has a tooth' 65
and an arm 26, the latter extending upward between the pius 21, 22..
One arm of each lever F, G, is slotted and pins 29, 30, extend from a bar I into
the slots of said arms as shown, the said har being connected to and forming
part of a slide to which a reciprocating motion is imparted through a connecting
rod J by a cam or eccentric 32 on the shaft 9. By the reciprocation of the slide
and bar f, the levers F, G are rocked simultaneously in opposite directions, that
is, so as to carry the two pawls simultaneously in opposite directions.
Each pawl is weighted to normally engage its rack and is combined with a
friction device which tends to hold it in position when set away from the rack.
For instance, there is a pointed block 37, pressed by a spring 38 towards the hub
of the pawl, in which there is a notch w, into which the pointed end of the slide
can enter and is there held with sufficient force to tend to hold the pawl open,
but not so firmly but what a strong pressure upon the arm or pin 26 will move the
pawl out of place and allow the end of the slide to rest on the hub of the pawl.
Assuming the parts to be in the position shown in Figs. 1 and 4, if the bar I'is
raised, the levers F, G each swings in the direction of its arrow and the pawl H
engages a tooth of the rack 18 and carries the arm 17 and the carriage one step to
the right, and this action takes place at each upward movement of the bar I until
the pin 20 makes contact with the arm 26 of the pawl, when the latter will be
turned or swung until the locking block 37 enters the notch w and holes the pawl
out of engagement. At the same time the pin 21 makes contact with the arm 26
of the pawl H and throws the latter into engagement with the rack 19.
Each upward movement of the. bar I-thereafter brings the pawl H into engage-
ment with a tooth of the rack 19 and feeds the carriage C in a reverse direction.
By this construction and arrangement the carriage C is moved step by step
laterally first in one direction and then in the other, the feed and change of
direction being entirely automatic.
. If, however to any disarrangement of the parts, both pawls were to simul-
taneously engage the racks, it would result in injury to the apparatus if the bar I

page_text: was to continue its movement. In order to prevent such injury, I provide the
connecting rod J, with a cap 35, Fig. 5 through which extend two bolts 36, 36
between the head of each of which and the cap is a spring 67 which tends to hold
the cap in place and in contact with the cam 32 under normal conditions. If,
however there is any resistance to the movement of the bar I, the cap 35 will lift
and permit the eccentric 32 to rotate without lifting the connecting rod or its bar.
The yielding connection may be a any other suitable point.
The step by step longitudinal movement of the carrier D upon the carriage C
is. effected by means of a weight W, connected by a cord or band 39 with the
carrier, and two pawls 40, 41 engaging side racks 42 upon the carrier. Each of
these pawls 40, 41 is pivotted adjacent to side cars 45 on the carriage C between
which the carrier slides, and each pawl has a rearwardly projecting arm 48 which
passes beneath a shaft 49, upon which are two cams or eccentrics 50 51. These
parts are so arranged and operated that after the tool has operated upon the blank
so as to complete the raising of the number of teeth that are in a transverse line,
and raising the last tooth at one edge, the cam 50 or 51 adjacent to that edge will
depress the tail of the adjacent pawl 40 or 41 and lift the same while the other
cain or eccentric will commence to permit the opposite pawl to descend so that as
one pawl passes from one tooth of one rack the other pawl will enter the space
between the next two forward teeth of the other rack and the weight will carry
the carrier longitudinally the distance of one tooth after which the carriage will
begin to move laterally and carry. the blank by successive steps beneath the tool
until another transverse row of teeth is cut, when the above described operations
will be repeated and the carrier and blank will be moved one step further
longitudinally, and so on until the surface of the blank has been entirely cut.
Any suitable means may be employed for rotating the shaft 49 carrying the
cams 50 and 51. As shown, the said shaft is driven by means of a worm-wheel 53
on the shaft engaging a worm on a shaft 54, which is driven by means of bevel gears
from a vertical shaft 55, which in turn is driven by a pair of bevel gears 56 from
the shaft 9, these gears being proportioned to give the revolution to the shaft 49
at the desired rate of speed.
As
The tool 13 may have more than one tooth. Thus as shown in Fig. 2 it has
two teeth and it may have three, four, or more.
As shown the tool consists of a
block of metal having at one side parallel V-shaped ribs b-beach with a curved
edge extending to the end of the block where there is a bevelled face a.
thus formed there is no tendency of the cutter to dig or draw inward. The cutter
may be in one block, as shown in Fig. 2 or consist of a series of tools set side by
side. It will be understood that when the tool has two or more teeth the carriage
will be fed laterally at each movement two or more times as far as it would be
with a tool having one tooth.
While the machine as constructed and described is one which is primarily
intended for cutting rasps, it will, of course, be evident that it may be used with
but slight modification for cutting files, and that some of the parts may be used
in connection with the cutting of both round the flat files.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is:-
1. The combination in a rasp cutter, of a holder B, pivotted at a fixed point
above the carrier, a cutting tool supported by the holder at an acute angle to the
carrier with its point adjacent a vertical plane passing through the pivot, and
means for oscillating the holder to carry the point of the cutter both downward
and with an inward sweep towards said plane, substantially as described.
2. The combination in a rasp cutter, of the holder B, pivotted at a fixed point
above the carrier, a cutting tool supported by the holder at an acute angle to the
carrier with its point adjacent a vertical plane passing through the pivot means for
osillating the holder to carry the point of the cutter both downward and inward

page_text: toward said plane, and devices for varying the extent of such oscillation,
substantially as described.
8. The combination with the frame and cutter, of the carriage having a step
by step movement transversely, a carrier for the blank having a similar movement
at right angles to the carriage, an arm having reverse racks and projecting beyond
the carriage at the side thereof, and means substantially as described supported
by a stationary part of the machine for alternately engaging said racks to move
the carriage, substantially as shown and for the purpose described.
4. The combination of the carriage carrying the blank, the arm having the
reverse racks, and the pawls for engaging said racks, the cam 32, and a connecting
rod provided with a yielding cap, substantially as shown and for the purpose
described.
5. The combination of the cutter, the carriage, and the carrier, an arm projecting
beyond the carriage and having reverse racks, pawls for engaging the racks, and
means for operating the pawls, the said means comprising in parts a can
independent of the cutter operating cam, and a connecting rod provided with a
yielding can, substantially as described.
6. A rasn cutting machine, in which the holder B is pivotted at in the peculiar
relation to the carrier and to the angle of the cutting tool 13, together with means
for moving the cutter and the carrier, and devices, as the parts 15 and 16 for
varying the extent of the oscillation, as set forth.
7. A rasp cutting machine having a reciprocating tool and a carriage and
characterised by the means for moving the carriage consisting of the arm 17 having
the reversed racks, the levers FG, and their pawls 65, and the devices for vibrating
ne levers, and the pawls 40 41, and operating devices for securing an intermittent
longitudinal movement of the bed, as set forth.
8. The peculiar construction of the cutting tool characterised by the ribs bb,
with curved edges and the inclined face a, as set forth.
T
A
1007
BOULT & WADE,
Agents for the Applicant.