IMPROVEMENTS IN PUNCHES AND DIES FOR FORMING THE TEETH IN METAL CARDS USED IN CARDING ENGINES, AND IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS CONNECTED THEREWITH
Year: 1873

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Daniel Foxwell, of the City of Manchester, in
the County of Lancaster, Card Manufacturer, for the Invention
of "IMPROVEMENTS IN PUNCHES AND DIES FOR FORMING THE TEETH IN
METAL CARDS USED IN CARDING ENGINES, AND IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS
CONNECTED THEREWITH.”
"
"
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION filed by the said Daniel Foxwell at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition and
Declaration, on the 31st October 1873, pursuant to the 9th Section
of the Patent Law Amendment Act, 1852.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, DANIEL
FOXWELL, of the City of Manchester, in the County of Lancaster, Card
Manufacturer, send greeting.
WHEREAS I am in possession of an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS
IN PUNCHES AND DIES FOR FORMING THE TEETH IN METAL CARDS USED IN CARDING
ENGINES, AND IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS .CONNECTED THEREWITH," and have

page_text: petitioned Her most Excellent Majesty to grant unto me, my executors,
administrators, and assigns Her Royal Letters Patent for the same, and
have made solemn Declaration that I am the first and true Inventor
thereof.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Daniel Foxwell, do hereby declare
that the following Complete Specification, under my hand and seal,
fully describes and ascertains the nature of the said Invention, and
in what manner the same is to be performed in and by the following
statement, reference.being had to the accompanying Sheet of Drawings
and to the letters of reference marked thereon (that is to say) :-
This Invention relates to metal cards formed of strips or fillets of steel
or other metal having teeth punched and bent or turned from the metal
itself, and consists in improved punches and dies for forming the teeth,
which as well as the strips are of any required size and strength; and
also in improved modes or methods of making and setting the dies and
punches and in the machinery or apparatus connected therewith.
On the accompanying Sheet of Drawings Fig. 1 is a front elevation;
Figs. 2 and 3, end views; Fig. 4, a plan; and Fig. 5, a transverse section
representing my improved machinery for punching and forming the
teeth. Figs. 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11, are enlarged views of the dies;
Figs. 12, 13, 14, and 15, are enlarged views of the punches; Figs. 16
and 17 are front and end views of a piece of card; and Figs. 18, 19, 20,
and 21, are views for illustrating the mode of making the punches and
dies.
On side frames a fixed to suitable standards or framework there is a
plate or table 6 having a recess or guide, in which is fitted a sliding
bar c, to the front of which is attached the box containing the punches
or stabbers. The back part of the bar c is connected to an adjustable
fork having two prongs d for being acted upon by two cams e, f, fixed
to the main shaft g; and one cam is used for pushing the bar and a
punches forward to form the teeth in the metal strip h, and the other
for moving the bar back and withdrawing the punches; but when
desired, instead of the two cams, an eccentric, rod, and strap may be
used to perform both operations.
The metal strip from a coil on the floor or on a bobbin is fed to the g
dies and punches by two small rollers i, j, fixed to shafts working in
brackets & fastened to two sliding rods 7, m, fitted in holes in the side

page_text: frames a.
The rollers are geared together by the toothed wheels n, and
the ends of the rollers are in contact with the inner sides of the brackets,
and the strip is firmly pressed and held between both feed rollers i, j,
by two springs o.. The shaft, P of the front roller i extends through onc
of the side frames, and has loose upon it the ratchet wheel q, to which.
is fixed two rods fitting loosely in holes in the carrier s fixed at the
end of the shaft p, and the ratchet wheel is prevented from moving side-
ways by the end of the screw ț fitting a groove in the boss of the ratchet
wheel, the boss passing through a hole in the side frame. The feed
rollers i, j, shaft p, and carrier s have intermittent revolving motion
imparted to them by the cam u, lever v, propeller w, and the ratchet
wheel q, the propeller at every revolution of the main shaft pushing
forward the ratchet wheel one or more teeth, thereby turning the rollers
to carry forward the strip the distance required from one row of teeth to.
the next.
.
The edges of the strip are in contact with adjustable guides x and y,
and in one of the side frames a there is a set screw z for adjusting the
position of the strip to receive cach alternate punch or stab for forming
the rows of teeth a', Fig. 16, the brackets, rollers, guides, and strip being
held firmly by one or more springs 6¹, Fig. 1. To one end of the rod m
is fastned an inclined piece c¹, and at one side of the machine is fixed
a guide d', in which is fitted a sliding rod e¹ having at the front an
inclined or wedged shaped end f¹ in contact with the incline c' on the
rod m, and the incline or wedge f¹ when it comes forward moves the.
brackets k, guides x, y, rods l, m, shaft p, carrier 8, and rollers i, j, side-
ways, so as to place the metal strip in the required position to receive
each alternate punch or stab for forming the rows of teeth g¹, Fig. 16,
the incline c¹ being held close to the wedge by the spring or springs ¹ to
Keep the brackets, rollers, and strip steady during the forward and
O backward motion of the punches. The sliding wedge f¹ is moved forward
by a cam h¹ on a short countershaft ¹ turned by a toothed wheel k¹
gearing into a toothed wheel on the main shaft, the wheels being in
the proportion of two to one, so that the wedge is actuated once in every
two revolutions of the main shaft, and after each movement, and the
punching completed, the wedge is returned to its original backward
position by the spring m³, and the spring or springs b¹ bring back the
brackets, guides, and rollers to place the strip in lateral position for
receiving the next punch or stab.

page_text: When desired the brackets, rollers, and strip may be moved to and fro
sideways by a cam, but I prefer the incline and wedge, because by
turning the screw n¹ the wedge may be more or less in contact with the
incline, and thereby regulate the movement sideways, according to the
distance required between the longitudinal rows of the teeth.
The dies and punches are made like type set in boxes, so that if one
die or punch breaks it can be instantly taken out and replaced by
another, and the dies are marked o¹, Figs. 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11, and the
punches p¹, Figs. 12, 13, 14, and 15. The box q¹ containing the row or
set of punches is fixed to the front end of the sliding bar c, Figs. 3, 4,
and 5, and the box ¹ containing the dies is fixed to the cross bar s¹ at
the front of the machine in proper position to receive the punches, the
metal strip being between the punches and dies, and receiving the blow
at every forward movement of the sliding bar c or revolution of the
shaft g. Two sides of each punch cut the metal, the third side turns up
the metal as the punch passes through and forms the tooth or point so
as to produce a card; and in order to prevent the punches from drawing
the metal out of its place when they recede there is a small guide
plate, Figs. 6, 9, and 11, fixed to the die box r¹ as close as convenient
to the face of the dies, and the bottom edge of the plate and the bottom
of the dics are rounded or curved to enable the strip to pass easily
onwards. At this stage of the operation, that is, after the punches have
formed the teeth and receded from the metal, the teeth are in the dies,
and at the feeding or taking up of the metal by the action of the cam u
and propeller w the teeth pass through slots ¹, Figs. 6, 8, and 11, formed
in the dies, and so leave the dies free for the next operation of the
punches, there being a row of teeth made or punched at each revolution
of the main shaft, which is provided with an ordinary driving pully w¹
and clutches x put in and out of gear as required by the fork y¹,
handle z', and spring a² on the rod 6³, there being a flat spring c³ fitting
notches in the rod to keep the parts in and out of gear.
It is necessary that the punches and dies should be made so as to
insure perfect regularity in size and shape, or else one tooth would be
higher or lower than the next, and to accomplish this I plane in a piece
of steel a half vee groove a³, Figs. 18 and 19, of the shape and size
required, and for dies a thin shaving is taken off the edge in order to
form the slots u¹, Figs. 6 and 8. I then cut the piece into lengths,
which are turned edgeways, and so form the dies required, and from the

page_text: same piece of steel I form the punches from the same vee groove
without the shaving being taken off the edge, and thus perfect accuracy
is ensured between the punches and dies, the angle of the punch in
Figs. 20 and 21 being the same as that of the die.
Having now described the nature and particulars of my said Inven-
tion, I desire it to be understood that for manufacturing metal cards
used in carding engines I claim,-
First. The improved punches and dies and the mode of making them,
the punches and dies being set in boxes and held fast by screws or
wedges.
And, Secondly. The improved arrangement and combination of
machinery employed in connection with the punches and dies for
making the metal cards, as such improvements are herein described and
illustrated on the accompanying Sheet of Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said Daniel Foxwell, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Twenty-fourth day of October, in
the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
three.
Signed, sealed, and delivered, by
the within-named Daniel Foxwell,
in the presence of
G. SEPTIMUS HUGHES,
Patent Agent,
Manchester.
DANIEL FOXWELL. (L.S.)