and Pressing Cup Shaped and other Articles therefrom.
Year: 1888

page_text: and Pressing Cup Shaped and other Articles therefrom..
WILLIAM RIGHTER COMINGS Engineer of 128A Queen Victoria Street London
Middlesex do hereby declare the nature of said invention to be as follows:―
My improvements consist of automatic feeds, gauge, & trimming mechanisms,
which can be applied to most of the ordinary forms of cutting or stamping presses.
These improvements are particularly advantageous where it is desired to operate upon
material in sheets, as in making round & other shaped covers from sheets of paper,
tin, & similar materials. In carrying out my invention 1 place upon each side of the.
press one or more sets of feeding rollers which are thrown into operation at the
proper time, by mechanisms actuated from the driving shaft or plunger of the press..
The axis of these feed rollers are preferably at right angles to the travel of the sheet
material.
In connection with the feed rollers upon the exit side of the press, at which the
material passes out, the rollers are constructed to answer a double purpose to draw
the material from the 'press & at the same time trim off the surplus scrap left in
cutting the blanks. For this purpose they have trimming shoulders so arranged as
to shear or trim off the material desired. By a suitable adjustment of this set of
rollers in connection with the cutting die, the edge of the material can be cut away
more or less so as to leave the sheet with a straight or nearly a straight line so that
it is in shape to be immediately passed through the feed rollers again for cutting the
second row, & so on, until the sheet is entirely used up.
I further use in connection with these feed rollers a small chain or other conveyor
which carries off the scrap trimmed off from the edge of the sheet. In addition to
this arrangement with the removing rollers I connect a set of supplemental guide
rolls placed a little further on which keep the material straight & prevents it twisting
to one side as the sheet goes through & out of the machine.

page_text: Upon the entrance side of the press I'employ one or more sets of feed rollers
which open automatically when the press is stopped so as to allow the material to be
casily introduced between them. When the press is started the rollers are caused to
approach each other sufficiently to firmly grasp the material & feed it.under the blank
cutting die.
In order to secure the least possible amount of scrap, the trimming rollers are
adjusted so as to trim off only the front portion of the line of scrap. This leaves the
edge of the sheet with a scollop, the points of which are all on a straight line. Then
in connection with the feed rollers on the ontrance side of the press, I employ'a
guage which fits into one of the scolloped indentations of the sheet & is arranged
from such a distance from the plunger, as to start the sheet in such a way that the
first cut of the second roll will come in the most economical position for saving the
material, namely between the cuts of the preceding row.
In operation the sheet material is placed against this guage which if made in the
ordinary construction would prevent the feed rollers from acting. To obviate this
the guage is connected with a mechanism operated by hand or treadle so that when
the feed rollers are thrown into action the guage is removed below the surface of the
feed table & the material is therefore free to slide over it through the rolls.
Where it is desired to cup or emboss the blanks & remove them from the top side
of the press employed in connection with the above mechanism, I employ an air
blast or a mechanical mechanism to remove the stamped articles between each stroke
of the press. Instead of causing the trimming to be effected by the removing
rollers the same result can be accomplished by means of a straight cutter independent
of the rollers. On the entrance side of the press I prefer to employ two sets of feed
rollers, the first set nearest to the dies being always in operation while the press is
running, the second set which are nearest to the intermittent gauge are thrown into
action simultaneously with the removal of the gauge from its connection with the
sheet material, while the above forms of mechanism are highly adapted for cutting &
cupping, they may also be employed with advantage for cutting all sorts of blanks &
flat articles. In order to handle the material in the method described it is desirable
that all of the feed rollers mentioned should be adjustable in the direction of their
axis so that the machine can readily be changed for cutting any sized blanks. The
throw of the rollers is also made adjustable for the same purpose.
In working materials like paper & similar substances that require the use of
heated dies to obtain the best results I employ a heating chest interposed between the
die & the bed of the press. This heating chest is preferably made hollow. & so
arranged that steam, gas, or hot liquids can be made to circulate through the chest to
raise it to any desired degree of heat, underneath the chest, & to separate it from the
bed of the press, I interpose a packing of asbestos or some non conducting material
to prevent the heating of the press & causing the heat of the chest to be transmitted
to the dies placed upon it. This arrangement obviates the necessity of having a
special heating apparatus for each set of dies.
London April 26th 1888.

page_text: and Pressing Cup Shaped and other Articles therefrom.
I WILLIAM RIGHTER COMINGS formerly of 128A Queen Victoria Street but now of
49 & 51 Fann Street in the City of London Engineer, 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:-
This invention relates to apparatus intended to operate in an advantageous and
economical manner upon material in sheets from which blanks may be cut and cup
shaped or other articles pressed or formed-To attain the desired end the improved
machine is constructed substantially as hereinafter described. Reference being had
to the accompanying drawings in which :-
Figure 1 shows the machine in elevation as seen from its left hand end.
Figure 2 shows the same for its opposite or right hand end.
Figure 3 is a front sectional elevation of the machine on the line x x of Figure 5.
Figure 4 shows in front elevation the details of a part of the mechanism shown in
Figure 3 with those parts which are in front and obscuring said details removed.
Figure 5 shows the machine in plan view with the parts above the line y y (shown
in Figure 1) removed.
Figure 6 shows a fragment of a sheet of material in plan from which a series of
circular discs have been cut and the remaining parts trimmed off, and a series of
circles in broken lines indicating the position of the next succeeding series of discs
to be cut at the next operation and a series of half circles also in broken lines to
indicate the position of the next succeeding series to be cut.
Figure 7 is a diagram showing the usual manner of cutting and its waste of
material and
Figure 8 is a sectional elevation of a lower die and heating chest.
To any well known form of machine such as the parts 1. 2. 3. 5 and 4 constituting
the base, die, punch table and framework above to guide and hold the punch and its
driving mechanism there are added substantially the following parts namely, two
rollers a. a slightly projecting above the table 5 and directly over these two other
and like rollers b b¹.
in
The roller 6 has on its shaft and bearing, nearest said roller, a loose block
which it turns. Said block is supported on an arm or support b forming a part of
the base 1 and is held in its place by means of dowell-pins & Figure 4 and raised
from its support by means of a spring b. By means of this arrangement the
roller is raised from the roller a¹ far enough to readily admit the thickest sheets to
be worked. Said rollers a¹ b' are brought into operative contact by means of a
treadle c connected through a rod c¹ to a crank or lever con a shaft c³ turning in
the support from which a connecting link crises and is at its other end, united to
the block b. The said treadle c may also be raised by a spring & and the rod c¹ by
direct connection with the block 6' be made to perform the functions of the previously

page_text: described mechanism but by extending the shaft c³ through the block 3 and attaching
to its outer end another crank or lever c connected to one of the levers c which
rest upon it, as plainly shown in Figures 4 and 5, said lever c6 may be operated by.
said treadle and through it the adjusting block or blocks d which are secured upon a
plate carried upon the outer ends of the arms c. Said arms c are connected
rigidly at their rear ends by a cross-piece so as to cause all the parts to operate
together, and are carried at their ends on the projecting end of a shaft as shown.
Said plate d' passes through the table 5 and has shoulders, or other suitable stops,
which brings its surface on the same level with the table 5 when the parts are in
their raised position as shown in Fig. 3.
The rollers a. b a b₁ have positive rolling contact through the equal diameter
gears on their shafts and to either set of their shafts (in this case the lower one)
are attached equal sized bevel gears f¹ all driven by bevel gears on a shaft f which
extends into and is fastened to the gear wheel f³. Said wheel f³ gears into a wheel f
on a shaft f supported by suitable brackets above the wheel On the inner side
of the gear wheel is a ratchet wheel f' on which plays a pawlf secured in this
case to the same pin f' (Figure 3) which actuates the lever f8 secured to the shaft fo
and to which one end of the pitman-rod fo is attached the other end thereof being
connected to a crank on the driving shaft g which is actuated by a pulley g¹ and belt
from any suitable driving mechanism. The throw of pitman rod fo is sufficient to
produce a reciprocating motion of the pawl f' and a consequent intermittent rotary
motion of the ratchet wheelf gear wheels ff3 and connected mechanism.
On the opposite side of the punch 3 and on the same shaft f2 and actuated by like
bevel and straight gear f₁ and and driving similar but longer shafts are
pair of rollers h h¹ of equal diameter with the rollers a ba¹ b¹. Said rollers h h
are adjustable longitudinally on the shaft, and the upper one is provided with a bevel
disc which with its sharp edge works closely against the rear side of the lower
roller, thereby forming a rotary cutter or shear of well known form which trims the
punched material as it passes under it into the form shown at the upper edge of
Figure 6 in which case circular plates are being cut. Said discs are adjusted and
secured on their shafts by means of set-bolts h³.
The object of making the rollers hh' adjustable as stated is to cut the projections i
of proper length for each size of discs cut.
On the shaft of the roller is a sprocket wheelj of somewhat smaller diameter than
the roller and on it is an endless chain belt 3 carried at its opposite end on a
sprocket wheel j' on a shaft secured under the table 5. Said chain belt has spurs j
which serve to rake out the trimmings as they fall from the cutter 2 and on the outer
end of said shaft is a roller k³ also longitudinally adjustable on its shaft as already
described and shown for the rollers which also projects through a hole in the
table 5. and upon it plays a roller k adjustably attached to the back k¹ which said back
is an upright plate of metal adjustably secured on the table 5. and of which its front
face is in line with the front face of the cutter and of which the end toward 'the
cutter is cut on a bevel 'so as to throw the clippings back upon the chain-belt 3 and
said bevelled edge is also curved in an arc with said cutter 2 until it meets the surface
of the table 5. Said back k¹ may be made adjustable in any suitable way as by slots
across the table and through them, the back held by screw bolts passed.into it from
below, as shown in Figures 1 and 5.
Near the upper edge of said back and at some distance from the roller k is a pin
upon which is loosely secured a sleeve of which the rear end is attached to a flat
bar playing against the back k¹ and provided at its outer end with a pin upon which
plays the roller k-by this means the said roller becomes self adjusting to the varying
thicknesses of straw-board passed under it which thus presses upon it with its own weight
and that of the bar and which, by means of the circumferential sharp V shaped edges
cut into the periphery of said roller holds the trimmed material secure from slipping
away laterally as it moves and is guided along the face of the back kl.
From the back edge of the table 5, rises a vertical back or stop m against which the
edge of the sheets to be cut is held when put into the machine.

page_text: After the sheet has passed through the machine the first time, the waste trimmed
from it leaves the blunt points (Figure 6) in a straight line and between them
the circular arcs and when the sheet is returned to be fed into the machine, its
front end is placed so as to be caught between the rollers a¹ 6' and at the same
time so that one or more of the stops d, rest in said arcs or notches.
By this
means the sheet is so fed, under the punch, as to cause it to cut out the "blanks" {"
as indicated by the circles in broken lines shown in Figure 6 thus leaving but
very little waste material between the consecutive circles as may be seen by comparing
Figures 6 and 7.
The stops are cut down to the level of the base on which they stand on the
side opposite to that looking towards the punch, this permits the sheet to slip over
said stops after it is started by the rollers a¹ 61 which becomes necessary when
the treadle is released and thereby the stops d allowed to rise but which can only
be done after the rollers a¹¹ have begun to operate. Previous to this the stops d
are depressed by the treadle but they must not be depressed until after the sheet
has been properly placed and stopped by them.
When a sheet of material to be cut is placed as described the roller 61 is brought
down so as to grip the material between a¹ b until it has passed between the
rollers ab which will then feed it under the punch and into the rollers and
cutter h h h and said rollers h. h will pull the sheet through under the die and
cutter to the end.
It is evident that the relative distance between the die 2 and stop or stops d
which are made adjustable must be adjusted for each size of blanks also that the
degree of motion of the feed rollers must be varied accordingly. The latter point is
attained by replacing the gear wheels ff by another set of the desired proportions.
The stop may consist of one or more parts d and operate equally well but the said
part is not indispensable since a mark on the table, or preferably on the guide m would
show the operator where to place the point i of the sheet. Again, since the rollers and
cutter h¹² are both feed and trimming rollers, they in connection with the guide m
and punch may be made to operate and this arrangement may further be improved by
making the roller adjustable by the mechanism now shown and used for 'the roller &¹
the punch being started and stopped by any of the well known forms of clutch-
mechanism used in die-presses.
The blanks cut from the sheet are here shown to be circalar but it is evident that
the principle of the mechanism and mode of its operation are the same for any material
or metal in the form of sheets as well as for straw-board and the like. The guide m
may also be made adjustable, if desired, by any well known mechanism as by such
shown for the guide .
Instead of changing both the gears f* f^ it is preferable to change only the upper
one and for that purpose its shaft must then, in some well known manner, be made
adjustable to the changed diameter of the replaced wheel.
In Figure 7 is shown a short strip of straw board in the old form of working it.
Then the board was cut into strips wide enough to insure cutting the blanks from it,
which left considerable of a margin of waste and also much material wasted between
the cut out parts.
In Figures 1. 2. 3 and 5 a simple punch for cutting discs is illustrated as being
one of the simplest of dies. It is evident that various forms of dies may however
be used in the machine and that they may be changed from time to time as the
work or material varies. When dealing with metal the use of heated dies is of
little or no advantage but when making cup shaped or like articles from paper or
straw-board and similar substances that require the use of heated dies to obtain the best
results it is proposed to employ a heating chest o o interposed between the die-2 and
the bed 1 of the press. This heating chest as shewn in Figure 8 is preferably made
hollow and so arranged that steam, gas or hot liquids can be made to circulate
through the chest and around the die to raise it to any desired degree of heat.
Underneath the chest and to separate it from the bed of the press a packing of

page_text: .
asbestos or some non-beat conducting material p is interposed to prevent the heating
of the body of the press and the loss of heat. This arrangement obviates the
necessity of having a special heating apparatus for each set of dies.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed as communicated to me by
my foreign correspondent I declare that what I claim is :
1st. In a machine for cutting blanks from sheets, a punch or die and table provided
with a guide m in combination with intermittently operating mechanism to feed the
material under said punch and trimming rollers substantially as specified.
2nd. In machine for cutting blanks from sheets, a punch or die and table provided
with a guide m with a stop in combination with rollers to feed the material under the
punch and rollers to trim it, substantially as specified.
3rd. In a machine for cutting blanks from sheets, a punch or die and table provided
with a guide m and a stop and a guide k¹ in combination with rollers to feed the
material under the punch and rollers to trim it, substantially as specified.
4th. In a machine for cutting blanks from sheets, a punch or die and table provided
with guide m and a stop in combination with feed rollers a band trimming rollers / h²
substantially as specified.
5th. In a machine for cutting blanks from sheets, a punch or die and table provided
with guide m and a stop in combination with feed rollers and trimming cutter /²
substantially as specified.
6th. In a machine for cutting blanks from sheets, a punch or dio and table
provided with a guide m and a stop in combination with the feed and trimming
rollers and guide rollers kk substantially as specified.
7th. In a machine for cutting blanks from sheets, a punch or die and table provided
with guides and m the latter having a stop d in combination with feed and trimming
rollers. h substantially as specified.
Sth. In a machine for cutting blanks from sheets, a punch or die and table provided
with guide m the latter having a stop d in combination with feed and trimming
rollers h. hh and guide rollers k k² with the guide substantially as specified.
9th. In a machine for cutting blanks from sheets, a punch or die and table provided
with a guide m, and a stop in combination with the feed rollers a, b; and the feed and
trimming rollers h h h² substantially as specified.
10th. In a machine for cutting blanks from sheets, a punch or die and table provided
with a guide m, and a stop in combination with the feed rollers a ba¹ b' and feed and
trimming rollers h² substantially as specified.
11th. In a machine for cutting blanks from sheets, a punch or die and table
provided with a guide m; and a stop and a guide k', in combination with the feed
rollers a ba¹ b¹ and the feed and trimming rollers h h h substantially as specified.
12th. In a machine for cutting blanks from sheets, a punch or die and table
provided, with a guide m, with a stop in combination with rollers to feed the
material under the punch or die and rollers to trim it, actuated by interchangable
gear adapted to vary the motion of said feed rollers, substantially as specified.
13th. In a machine for cutting blanks from sheets, the interchangable driving
gear-wheels ff and pawl and ratchet operating them, in combination with a
punch, or die and table provided with a guide m, and rollers to feed the material
under the punch or die and mechanism to trim the punched sheets, substantially as
specified.
14th. In a machine for cutting blanks from sheets, a punch or die and table provided
with a guide m, in combination with the interchangable gear-wheels ff, actuating
rollers to feed the material under said punch or die and mechanism to trim the waste
from the punched sheet and a guide to direct the material in starting under said punch
or die substantially as specified.
15th. In a machine for cutting blanks from sheets, driving gears f³ f whereby
intermittent and varying amount of motion may be given, in combination with a punch

page_text: or die and table provided with a guide m, and feeding mechanism actuated by said
driving gear to bring the material under said punch or die and mechanism to trim the
punched material, substantially as specified.
16th. In a machine for cutting blanks from sheets, the combination of a punch or
die and table provided with a guide m, the stop or stops d, feed rollers a¹ b', and
mechanisin to separato and to press said rollers a' bf together, rollers hh', and cutter h³,
reciprocating ratchet ", ratchet wheel fe, gear wheels f³f and the mechanism to
actuate said parts substantially as specified.
17th. In a machine for cutting blanks from sheets, the combination of a punch or
die and table provided with an adjustable guide k¹, and rollers to feed the sheets to
said punch or die the rollers h¹ and cutter h³, and chain with spurs and mechanism
to actuate said parts, substantially as specified.
18th. In a machine for cutting blanks from sheets, a table provided with adjustable
stops, a guide for feeding to feed rollers and roller for feeding to the punch or die,
rotary rollers for drawing the sheets from the punch or die rotary cutter for trimming
said sheet, a guide k¹, beyond the cutter, a roller with V shaped circumferential edges
and mechanism to actuate said parts, substantially as specified.
19th. In a machine of the class described the combination with the die of a steam
or other heat chest or channel separated from the bed plate by non heat conducting
material substantially as set forth.
Dated this 20th
1000
PHILIP M. JUSTICE,
55 & 56, Chancery Lane, London,
Agent for the Applicant.