Machinery for the Manufacture of Umbrella Ribs.
Year: 1898

page_text: Date of Application, 18th Aug., 1898-Accepted, 18th Sept., 1899
Machinery for the Manufacture of Umbrella Ribs.
I, GUSTAV WILMS, Manager of Works, of Vilvorde, near Brussels, Belgium, 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 machines for the manufacture of metal ribs of
U shaped cross section for umbrella frames, and has for its object, to provide an
efficient machine with automatic mechanism for regulating the feed and for form-
ing the hinges.
In the following description reference will be made to the accompanying draw-
ings, which represent a machine embodying my invention, together with details
of construction and modifications.
The machine is composed of three principal parts, viz.-a pair of mech-
anisms A, A', which serve to operate on the heads of the paragon ribs, and are
attached to the body a by means of cross beams b, but so that they can be shifted
according to the length of the ribs, and the intermediate mechanism A², serv-
ing to produce the hinges (Figs. 1 and 5). The device for finishing the hinge
joint constitutes a separate mechanism indicated on Figs. 8 and 9 with the
letter B; the device for feeding the wire is indicated on Figs. 10, 11 and 13",
13b and 13 by the feed regulators C, C¹, mounted on the working
mechanism A, A¹.
The machine composed of the mechanisms mentioned above differs from the
machines hitherto known chiefly by its method of operation, and the machine
will therefore be described simultaneously with the method of operation, which
is to a great extent based on the idea, to act on the paragon rib with its opening
placed upward, while in ordinary machines the piece of work is placed with its
opening downwards.
The automatic introduction of the U shaped ribs into the machine with their
openings placed upward is rendered possible by the peculiar feed motion of the
same, as they issue from the feed regulator, in consequence of which I will com-
mence with describing the working of the feed regulator, shown by Figs. 10, 11,
13, 13 and 13°.
After the ribs have been cut to the required length in a separate machine, they
are piled one upon the other (with their wide sides in contact) and introduced into
the feed regulators C, C, in such a manner, that their open sides will be situated
towards the left wall of the regulators (Figs. 10 and 13"). The lowest rib rests
at each end in a recess of a sliding bar c or c¹ pivoted to one of the transport-
ing levers, which are made to fit the shape of such a rib, and set in motion at
the proper time from the main shaft by means of a cam d, so as to push the
rib into the machine, after which a second or return cam e places the levers again
under the regulators for receiving a new rib (Fig. 10 and 11.)
During the forward motion of the rib by means of the sliding bars ce¹ pivoted
to the transporting levers, the said rib, which is supported at its base, will came
Price Sd1
I

page_text: in contact with the pins f (one for each end of the rib) which are pressed down-
ward by helical springs, the said pins f having sharp front edges adapted to
enter the rib, so that the latter gradually gets from the lying position Fig. 13°
into an upright position Fig. 13, and will be introduced into the machine
proper with the open side directed upward, while the other ribs retain their hori-
zontal position and an interference between the ribs is thus avoided. At every
revolution of the machine a rib is taken off the regulators, while the others are
held back, partly by the rear side of the sliding bars cc which have advanced,
and partly by the pins f, the said pins being pressed upward by the sliding bars
of the transporting levers during the transport of the rib, and subsequently
depressed by the coiled springs acting on the same.
The rib introduced into the machine proper by the transporting levers as
described, arrives first in front of the vertical slides g, g¹ lodged in the two work-
ing mechanisms, A A¹ and is temporarily supported by a pair of cams or short
levers h (Figs. 14, 14b, 14°). Each of these cams is pivoted in the corresponding
slide
gorg and adapted to press the rib upward against an abutment i screwed
to the slide. For this purpose the cam h has a tail piece in contact with a ver-
tically moveable sliding bar g, which is guided in the slide I and adapted to
transmit to the said cam the pressure of an adjustable helical spring k lodged in
the upper end of the slide g. The lever m which is controlled by the cam acts
on the slide g, through the intermediary of a vertical sliding bar g³ guided in
the slide for which purpose a pin is fixed in the said bar g3 and passes through a
vertical slot of the slide g, and also through a longitudinal slot of the lever m.
During the last part of a revolution of the cam 1, Fig. 5, the friction roller runs
on the part, the lever m (Figs. 10 and 14") ascends from its lowest position
opposite the tool 8 into its starting position, shown by Fig. 5, and causes the
upper end of the sliding bar g3 to press against the tail piece of the cam h, in
consequence of which the front end of the cam h, which had hitherto held the
paragon rib against the abutment i, descends and allows the rib to drop off. The
upward motion of the sliding bar g3 has also acted on the sliding bar and com-
pressed the spring k, which now remains compressed, until a fresh paragon rib
has been inserted between the cam h and abutment i, and the lever m has been
caused to descend.
The rib is thus held fast by spring pressure independently of the working of
the machine, while in the machines hitherto known, the ribs are held fast by the
pressure of toggle levers operated by the main shaft, which method of fastening
is imperfect, because the slightest irregularity in the working of the machine
would reduce this pressure and consequently release the paragon rib from its
clip.
The two slides are now set in motion by the two cams through the inter-
mediary of the lever m, in four stages (Fig. 5), the rib clamped to the sides
being, during a revolution of the cam, consecutively guided on to the working
dies 1, 2, 3, 4, mounted in the block n, in order to perform the operations neces-
sary at the two ends of the rib Fig. 6, 6, 7, 7" and 7. When, for instance,
the cams have brought the slides g, g' and therefore the rib to the tool 1, the
two wire slides fetch at the same time by means of their tongs a wire q
coming from the reel, and carry it along a short distance, about equal to the
width of the die 1, (Figs. 1 and 2).
The wire slides are set in motion by means of the excentric and the lever s,
and recede again, after having introduced the wire.
Subsequently the slides u, which are held in the mechanisms A, A' and carry
the respective upper dies or matrices 5, 6, 7, 8, as well as the cutting-off knife 9,
are caused to advance against the ribs, by means of the excentrics t provided with
lugs, and by means of the levers t¹, and the wires introduced into the rib are cut
off close to the rib.
During the time, in which the wires are being cut off, the, upper die 5 exerts
upon the rib situated in front of the die 1, such a pressure, that the thin wire

page_text: introduced on both sides is held fast and flattened in the rib, whereby a certain
stiffness is imparted to the head of the rib (Figs. 6 and 7).
After the first flattening or crushing action on the die 1, the carriages u recede
again, and the slides g, g¹ which were constantly clamping the rib, carry it on
to the die 2 by a corresponding forward motion of the cam 1.
Subsequently the slides u make another forward motion and completely flatten
the rib at the two ends by means of the anvil 6, that is to say, the extremity a²
is pressed flat in the mechanism A', and the extremity or shield, in the
mechanism A (Fig. 12).
While the two working mechanisms A, A are acting upon the paragon rib in
the manner described, the third mechanism, which is situated between the same
and provided with a bending anvil el, performs the bending of the hinge, to which
the stretchers are fastened (as in Fig. 12), from a round wire, and its insertion
into the rib, which latter operation in consequence of the upward direction of the
opening, is again much easier, than in the machines hitherto known. As men-
tioned above, the hinge pin is made from a round wire q', said round wire being
wound off a reel (Figs. 1, 2 and 4) by means of a lever provided with a pair
of wire tongs and pivoted on the mechanism B, which lever is caused to turn on
its fulcrum by the forward motion of the slide w provided with a lug a, so as to
draw from the reel a length of wire sufficient for the formation of the hinge
(Figs. 1, 2 and 4).
The wire is now led through a wire guide g³ formed on the working
mechanism, and through the slot of the slide 2, until it arrives underneath the
paragon rib, as illustrated by Fig. 8. Simultaneously with this introduction of
the wire, the wire carriage o in the working mechanism A makes again a for-
ward motion, after the fongs have been set out of action by a disengaging
lever y acting with a roller upon the tail of the tongs, and pushes a spherical
projection against the extremity of the rib projecting from the die 2, by means
of a specially recessed steel tool z fixed to the carriage, while the dies 2 are
still under pressure (Fig. 2).
In this manner the so called ball of the paragon rib is formed (as in Fig. 12).
Subsequently the rib is transported on to the tool 3 by the motion of the
slides g, g, or of their cams, which tool exists only in the working mechanism A',
and the head of the rib is consequently rounded off by the half round die 7 of
the carriage, which had previously moved back and now again moved forward,
At the same
which rounding is dispensed with in the working mechanism A.
time the slide 2 of the intermediate mechanism is pressed downwards by a suit-
able cam or excentric 6' and a lever c², while the hinge wire remains untouched
for the present, because the slide 2 has a slot which enables it to slide under-
neath the same, until the piece d' provided on the slide gets into close proximity
to the hinge wire q' to be cut off, and the paragon rib has passed from the posi-
tion of Fig. 8 into the position of Fig. 9 in front of the projecting edge, and
the slide w has also commenced its forward motion.
When the slide w has placed the tongue e underneath the wire q', the cutting
knife fis put in motion and cuts off the piece of wire. The latter will now
drop by its own weight, but only until it has reached the tongue, and it would
drop off, if the forward motion of the slide w and the down motion of the
slide together with the piece d' did not take place at the same time.
The fall of the wire is, however, prevented by the piece which catches the
wire at that moment.
By the rapidity of the forward motion of the slide wand by the impulse
imparted to the wire by the shearing action, it is kept in equilibrium on the
tongue, until the slide wo has completely arrived under the lug in the stand A2,
and consequently the piece of wire has travelled from the mother wire to a point
above the paragon rail, and is then bent into a hinge piece by the further down
motion of the slide 2 and of the fashioning piece d¹.
As the slide 2, together with the fashioning piece completes its stroke, the

page_text: wire cut off is pressed over the tongue e¹ rounded at the top, while the two ends
impinge against the bottom of the rib and are caused to bend outward, so that the
wire assumes the shape of an eyelet, as shown in Fig. 9.
Owing to a suitable elevation on the cam, the slide w now advances a short
distance and connects the hinge eye with the rib, by flattening the latter upon
the lug of the pressure anvil by means of the prismatic projection underneath
the tongue.
As the knife f¹ is now relieved of the pressure of the thrust block, h¹, it is
carried back to its former position by a coiled spring.
As the slide wo and the slide g2 have now likewise resumed their former posi-
tion, the paragon rib to be operated upon arrives at the fourth and last stage of
the working process, in order to be placed by the slides g, gl upon the die 4,
and then to be perforated by the perforating carriages held separately in the
two stamping slides u, the needle 8 being caused to act on the flattened ends of
the rib (Figs. 6, 7, 12 and 14). The perforated slides are guided independently
of the slides u and are thrust forward by separate projections of the cam. To
facilitate the removal of the perforating slide or of the needle, it has a hinge-
joint, Fig. 15, by means of which it can be disengaged from the cam and taken
out of the carriage sideways. As the perforating needles break easily and must
therefore be frequently renewed, this feature constitutes an important advantage
in comparison with the machines heitherto known, in which the entire carriage
must be taken out of the working mechanism, when a needle breaks, whereas my
machine has a separate perforating slide, which can be easily removed from the
stamping slide.
The perforation of the paragon rib is the last operation in the manufacture of
such ribs for umbrella frames. Consequently, after all the tools have returned
to their starting position, and the lateral fastening of the rib is relieved by the
return motion of the slides g, g¹, the rib drops out of the machine through a suit-
able opening.
The whole of the excentrics or cams are set in motion from a common driving
shaft driven by a belt. A disengaging gear with pedal motion, is provided for
suddenly stopping the machine, when required, as shown on Fig. 1.
In the drawings: Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a machine embodying my inven
tion, Fig. 2 is a plan of the same; Fig. 3 a section along line X-X of Fig. 1;
Fig. 4 a section along line Y-Y of Fig. 1 looking in the direction of the arrow;
Fig. 5 is a section along line Z-% looking in the direction of the arrow.
Figs. 6 and 6 represent on a larger scale the operating tools or dies to which
the end of the ribs is subjected one after another, Fig. 6 being an elevation
and Fig. 6 a plan of the same.
u, also
Figs. 7, 7 and 7b represent one of two horizontally moveable slides
shown in Fig. 2, provided with dies or operating tools adapted to act in con-
junction with the tools shown in Figs. 6 and 6ª, Fig. 7 being a side elevation
of the said slide, Fig. 7" a plan, and Fig. 7b an end view of the same.
Figs. 8 and 8" represent on a larger scale the mechanism for forming the
hinges in the middle of the ribs, Fig. 8 being a vertical section and Fig. 8 an
end elevation of the same.
Figs. 9 and 9 represent the same mechanism in a different stage of operation,
Fig. 10 is a partial elevation corresponding to Fig. on a larger scale, and
showing one of the two upright feed channels for the umbrella ribs.
Fig. 11 is a plan corresponding to Fig. 10; Fig. 12 is a side view, and
Fig. 12ª a cross section of a finished umbrella rib made by my invention.
Figs. 13, 13, 13, show by consecutive stages of operation, how the lowest
rib is pushed out of the feed channel C and turned upward.
Fig. 14 is a vertical section of the slide and of the device for holding the
umbrella rib, after it has been delivered by the horizontal push bars c of the
transporting levers.
Fig. 14 is a partial elevation corresponding to Fig. 14", and showing the

page_text: connection between the lever m and the sliding bar g². Fig. 14ª is a horizontal
section corresponding to Fig. 14b.
Fig. 15 is a side elevation of a perforating slide ¹ and cam r. The front part
of the slide forms a link, which can be lifted out of contact with the cam.
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. A machine for the manufacture of paragon ribs for umbrella frames, into
which the piece of work of U shaped cross section is introduced with its opening
turned upward, in order to be operated upon simultaneously at the ends and
in the middle, the said machine having the characteristic feature, that the ribs
are piled up in two feed grooves with their wide sides in contact, and are placed
one by one with their opening turned upward, in front of vertically movable
slides (g, g) and are clamped to the same, in order to be transported conse-
cutively to four working organs situated one over the other, for operating on
the ribs at the ends, the said ribs being first stiffened at the ends with pieces of
wire introduced into the same, and slightly flattened for the preliminary fastening
of the same, subsequently further flattened, and rendered ball-shaped at one end
by an endwise pressure on the same, subsequently rounded at the other end by
means of a half-round die, and finally perforated at the flattened end, substantially
as described.
2. An umbrella rib making machine, having the peculiar feature, that simul-
taneously with the treatment of the two ends as described, a hinge joint is formed
on the intermediate working mechanism, from a round wire wound off a separato
reel, the slotted slide g², together with a fashioning piece fastened on the same,
being made to descend into the immediate proximity of the said wire, while the
slide w is made to advance with its tongue underneath the wire, and at the samo
moment the wire is cut through by the thrust of the knife fi guided in the said
slide, the piece of wire cut off being however seized by the fashioning piece and
held on the tongue, until the slide w has advanced underneath the lug of the
pressure anvil or block A2, after which the further down motion of the slide 9³,
together with its fashioning piece, presses the wire over the tongue rounded at
the top and presses its ends against the bottom of the rib, and the eye thus
formed is then rigidly connected with the rib by flattening it against the lug of
the pressure anvil with a final thrust of the slide w, substantially as described.
3. Machinery constructed and adapted to operate substantially as described, for
the manufacture of paragon ribs for umbrellas.
Dated this 18th day of August 1898
FAIRFAX & WETTER,
Agents, 37 & 39, Essex Street, Strand, London.