An Appliance for Screwing on and Unscrewing Nuts from Bolts, applicable to Machines for Heckling Flax and for other purposes.
Year: 1897

page_text: An Appliance for Screwing on and Unscrewing Nuts from Bolts,
applicable to Machines for Heckling Flax and for other purposes.
I, HENRY MERCER GIRDWOOD, of Broughton Flax Mills, Salford, Manchester,
in the County of Lancaster, Flax Spinner, do hereby declare the nature of this
invention to be as follows:-
My invention relates to an appliance to be actuated by power or hand for
screwing on and unscrewing nuts from bolts and is particularly applicable to
machines for heckling flax.
In heckling machines the pieces of flax are placed upon a holder and secured
by a bolt and screw nut which bears upon the cover of the holder. The
operatives, usually girls or boys, find considerable difficulty in tightening cr
screwing up the nut sufficiently with the ordinary wrench and the result is
that some of the flax fibres are by the heckling operation drawn out of the
holders.
The object of my invention is to adapt mechanical power to screw and unscrew
the nuts on the holders, or when hand power is employed, to enable the operative
to tighten the nut more effectively and with less exertion of force, and to avoid the
loss of time which occurs in placing the nut on the screw before tightening it,
and in taking it off after slackening it, and also when the nut happens to fall
upon the floor.
In carrying my invention into effect 1 substitute for the ordinary wrench a
combined box key and fly or hand wheel; in the box key I prefer to fit a
spring piece to clip and retain the nut when unscrewed from the holder. A spindle
is secured centrally to the upper side of the fly or hand wheel and on this spindle
is placed a loose sleeve or handle. The spindle and wheel are balanced by a weight
and chain and the spindle is fitted in a swivel bracket which is pivoted in a
stationary bracket secured to the heckling machine.
When the spindle and box key wheel are to be actuated by mechanical power
I employ a shaft which is driven from the heckling machine by an adjustable
friction clutch or equivalent device. This shaft is geared by bevel gears and
clutches or other suitable gearing to the spindle so as to drive it in either direction
as required in order to screw up or unscrew the nut on the bolt of the
holder.
-
The spindle of the swivel bracket can be moved over the centre of each holder
when in its stand at the changing end of the heckling machine
By adjusting the friction clutch the power transmitted to the spindle and
box key wheel can be varied and regulated to screw the nut as tightly as
Lecessary.
If required this power driven box key wheel can be actuated by hand.

page_text: If preferred the shaft and gearing can be dispensed with and the appliance be
actuated by hand power only.
In this case to put on a nut the operative draws the hand wheel which has the
nut clipped in its box key over the bolt until the nut meets the bolt when the
operative puts one hand on the sleeve or handle and gives the rim of the wheel
a spin to rapidly screw the nut down to the cover of the holder then the operative
places both hands on the wheel rim and gives a final turn to the nut to secure the
holder after which the hand wheel is pulled off and pushed out of the way.
To release the nut the box key wheel is drawn over and the box key applied
to the nut the latter is then slackened by the operative with both hands on the
wheel rim and one hand being then placed on the handle the wheel is spun round
to unscrew the nut which is held in the box key by the spring piece and remains
in it until the nut has to be again used to secure another holder full of flax.
The appliance may be used for a similar purpose in other machines if advantageous
or desirable.
Dated this 21th den of Ann 100%
H. B. BARLOW & GILLETT,
Agents for Applicant.
An Appliance for Screwing on and Unscrewing Nuts from Bolts,
applicable to Machines for Heckling Flax and for other purposes.
I, HENRY MERCER GIRDWOOD, of Broughton Flax Mills, Salford, Manchester,
in the County of Lancaster, Flax Spinner, 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 appliance to be actuated by power or hand for
screwing on or unscrewing nuts from bolts and is particularly applicable to
machines for heckling flax.
The
In heckling machines the pieces of flax are placed upon a holder and secured
by a bolt and screw nut which bears upon the cover of the holder.
operatives, usually girls or boys, find considerable difficulty in tightening or
screwing up the nut sufficiently with the ordinary wrench and the result is
that some of the flax fibres are by the heckling operation drawn out of the
holders.
The object of my invention is to adapt mechanical power to screw and unscrew
the nuts on the holders, or when hand power is employed, to enable the operative
to tighten the nut more effectively and with less exertion of force, and to avoid
the loss of time which occurs in placing the nut on the screw before tightening it,
and in taking it off after slackening it, and also to prevent the nut falling upon
the floor.
In carrying my invention into effect I substitute for the ordinary wrench a
combined box key and fly or hand wheel; in the box key I prefer to fit a
spring piece to clip and retain the nut when unscrewed from the holder. A spindle
is secured centrally to the upper side of the fly or hand wheel and on this spindle
is placed a loose sleeve or handle. The spindle and wheel are balanced by a weight
and chain and the spindle is fitted in a swivel bracket which is pivoted in a
stationary bracket secured to the heckling machine.
When the spindle and box key wheel are to be actuated by mechanical power

page_text: I employ a shaft which is driven from the heckling machine by an adjustable
friction clutch or equivalent device. This shaft is geared by bevel gears and
clutches or other suitable gearing to the spindle so as to drive it in either direction
as required in order to screw up or unscrew the nut on the bolt of the
holder.
In the accompanying sheet of drawings
Fig. 1 is a side elevation of an appliance made according to my invention and
applied to a heckling machine a small portion only of the end of the machine being
shown, and Fig. 2 is a plan of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a detailed view and Fig. 4 an
enlarged view, in section, of part of the appliance. Fig. 5 is a view, in section, of
a combined box key and wheel for hand power.
In the drawings, 2 designates the end frame of a heckling machine, 3 the feed
table, on which the flax is laid, 4 a stand, 5 a flax holder, and 6 a nut for securing the
top plate of the holder. The nut removing appliance consists of a bracket 7 which
is secured to a bracket or arm 8, bolted to the machine frame 2, and carries a short
shaft 9 on which is a bevel wheel 10 in gear with a pair of bevel wheels 13 and 14
which are loosely mounted on the shaft 12 and have clutch teeth on their bosses;
a pair of sliding clutches 15 and 16 are fitted on feather keys in the shaft 12, a
friction disc 17 is fixed upon it and a second friction disc 18 is mounted loosely
upon it; on the boss of this disc 18 is secured a spur wheel 19 in gear with a
wheel 20 secured upon a shaft 21 which is driven by a belt, not shown, on a
pulley 22 upon a constantly running shaft 23 which carries a bevel wheel 24 in gear
with a similar wheel 25 upon the shaft 21.
Instead of the shaft 23 and gearing shown for driving the shaft 12 I might
employ any other suitable arrangement, as for example, that indicated by dotted
lines in Fig. 1, and instead of having a pair of single clutches 15, 16, I might
emplov a double clutch placed between the bevel gears 13, 14.
The friction discs 17 and 18 are held in contact with one another by a coiled
spring 26 regulated by the nuts 27 to vary the power transmitted to the shaft 12 as
required.
A swivel bracket 28 is pivoted on the shaft 9 and this bracket 28 supports a
shaft 29 driven by a bevel wheel 30 on the shaft 9 gearing into a bevel wheel 31
on the shaft 29 and a bevel wheel 32 on this shaft gears into and drives a bevel
wheel 33 fitted on a feather key in a spindle 34 carried by the swivel bracket 28.
At the foot of this spindle is secured a combined box key and hand wheel 35,
and in the box key is fitted a spring piece 36 for clipping and holding the nut 6.
The spindle 34 and its appurtenances are balanced by a weight 37 suspended from a
chain which passes over a guide pulley 38 and on the spindle 34 above the hand
wheel 35 is a loose sleeve 39 for the operative's use in moving as well as in raising
and lowering the spindle 34.
To set the spindle in motion in either direction at will, two handles 40, 41, are
secured upon separate shafts 42, 43, carried in brackets 44, 45; on the shaft 43
is secured an arm 46 which rests in a slot in an arm 47 secured to the lower end of
an upright shaft 48 on which is secured a lever 49 the ends of which lie in a
groove of the sliding clutch 16; similar parts, not shown, are employed for
connecting the shaft 42 to an upright shaft 50 to which is secured a lever 51 the
ends of which lie in a groove of the sliding clutch 15. By moving one or other of
the handles 40 or 41 the corresponding clutch 15 or 16 (or a double clutch as before
indicated) is moved into gear with one of the bevel wheels 13 or 14 which gives
motion in either direction as required to the wheel 10 and the shaft 9 on which
it is secured and so by the gearing described to the spindle 34. If a double clutch
be employed only a single handle and connections would be required or in place of
single or double clutches and the gearing described any other suitable arrangement
of mechanism might be used to give motion in either direction to the spindle 34.
Figs. 1 and 2 represent the flax holder 5 in position on the stand 4 ready for the
nut to be unscrewed, then the operative takes hold of the sleeve 39 and swings

page_text: the arm, see Fig. 2, so as to bring the spindle 34 and box key over the nut 6;
the spindle is then drawn down and the box key pressed on to the nut and
simultaneously the handle 41 is moved so as to give motion in the desired direction
to the shaft 12 to unscrew the nut and when this has been done which may
be indicated to the worker by the ringing of a bell 52, or by other suitable means,
the operative pushes up the spindle with the nut gripped in the box key by the
spring piece 36 and moves the swivel bracket 28 out of the way while the flax
holder 5 is emptied. When refilled the top cover of the flax holder 5 is replaced
ready for the operative to grasp the sleeve 39 and swing the swivel bracket 28 and
spindle 34 over the bolt when the sleeve is drawn down and the handle 40 moved
to start the spindle in the reverse direction and screw the nut 6 on to its bolt. The
friction discs 17, 18, are so adjusted by the spring 26 that when the nut is tightened
on the bolt the friction disc 18 slips on the friction disc 17 and so avoids any
possibility of breaking down the gearing.
If preferred, the shafts and gearing and all the parts except the combined box
key and hand wheel 35, spindle 34 and connected balance weight 37 can be
dispensed with and the appliance be actuated by hand power only.
In this case to put on a nut the operative draws the hand wheel 35 which has
the nut clipped in its box key over the bolt until the nut meets the holt when
the operative puts one hand on the sleeve or handle 39 and gives the rim of the
wheel 35 a spin to rapidly screw the nut down to the cover of the holder 5 then
the operative places both hands on the wheel rim and gives a final turn to the
nut to secure the holder after which the hand wheel 35 is pulled off and pushed out
of the way.
To release the nut the box key wheel 35 is drawn over and the box key applied to
the nut, the latter is then slackened by the operative with both hands on the wheel
rim and one hand being then placed on the handle 39 the wheel 35 is spun round
to unscrew the nut which is held in the box key by the spring piece 36 and remains
in it until the nut has to be again used to secure another holder full of flax.
In other cases it might be advantageous to dispense also with the parts above
named and employ a combined box key and hand wheel alone made, as shown in
Fig. 5, with a spring piece 36 to retain the nut as in the previous arrangements but
without any handle other than the rim of the wheel.
Although I have, throughout my specification, described the box key as being
combined with a hand wheel, which is the construction I prefer and consider
the best, I wish it to be understood that the box key might be used alone when
driven by power or might be fitted with an arm or arms or any other suitable and
convenient form of handle for turning it and screwing or unscrewing the nuts when
actuated by hand.
I have found the appliance extremely useful for screwing on and unscrewing
nuts from bolts in machines for heckling flax but if advantageous or desirable it
may be used in other machines for a similar purpose.
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. A box key combined with a wheel or equivalent handle for screwing and un-
screwing the nuts of bolts, said box key being fitted with a spring piece for gripping
and retaining the nuts whereby it is not necessary to touch them by hand when
screwing or unscrewing them.
2. An appliance for screwing on and unscrewing nuts said appliance consist-
ing in its essential features of a box key preferably fitted with a spring nut retainer
and mounted on a spindle capable of being moved vertically and swung horizontally
over a feed table and means for rotating the spindle and box key by power or by
hand.
3. The combination with the box key fitted with a spring piece and mounted
on a spindle capable of being moved vertically and swung horizontally, of the

page_text: means shown and described for rotating the spindle and box key in either direction
to screw up or unscrew a nut substantially as herein set forth.
Dated this 24th day of January 1898.
H. B. BARLOW & GILLETT,
Agents for Applicant, 17, St. Ann's Square, Manchester.