IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF STAPLES
Year: 1886

page_text: I, EDWARD ODELL ELY of Boston in the County of Suffolk, in the State of
Massachusetts one of the United States of America, Gentleman, and of 55 Chancery
Lane in the County of Middlesex do hereby declare the nature of my invention
for IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF
STAPLES and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
This invention has for its object to produce a simple and compact machine for
automatically making from a continuous piece of wire staples.
My invention consists in certain combinations of mechanism and details of
construction as will be hereinafter described and claimed.
Fig. 1 in front elevation shows a staple making machine containing my
improvements.
Fig. 2 a left hand side elevation thereof.
Fig. 3 a section below the dotted line X-X Fig. 2.
Fig. 4 a cross section of a portion of the machine showing the bed, the former
and the hammers.
Fig. 5 a detail showing the ejector removed from the machine.
Fig. 6 a front elevation of the die and mechanism by which it is attached to
the plunger.
Fig. 7. an underside view of Fig. 6, and
Fig. 8 a section of Fig. 6, taken on the dotted line X³-X³.
The main shaft A, having its bearings in the framework A¹, rising from the
bed A of the machine, is rotated by a clutch pulley B of any usual or suitable
construction, said shaft also having mounted upon it an eccentric B¹, surrounded
by an eccentric strap of a pitman B², connected with a plunger or cross head B³,
adapted to be reciprocated in suitable guideways of the frame-work A¹, all being
substantially as the stiles press of ordinary construction.

page_text: The former a over which the wire is bent in the production of each staple
consists of a rectangular plate rigidly attached to the bed A2 of the machine by
a screw 2, the upper edge of the said plate being of such shape in cross section as
to give to the crown or top of the staple the shape desired.
The wire 8, shown only in Fig. 4, by dotted lines, and taken from any suitable
reel, not shown, is led between a pair of annularly grooved feed rolls a¹, a², secured
respectively to the shafts a³, a turning in bearings in uprights a', a¹
The shaft as has attached to it a toothed gear a³, which is engaged and rotated
by a toothed gear a secured to the shaft a'.
The shaft a has secured to it at one end a ratchet wheel a³, which is engaged
and rotated intermittingly by a pawl a³, pivoted to the arm a¹ by a pin, all the
arm a¹0 being in turn pivoted to the framework A¹ by a pin α¹³.
The arm a¹ is moved on its pivot to thereby raise the pawl a³ by a stud a¹s
rigidly connected with the plunger or cross head B³ and moving with it, said stud
entering a slot a¹ in and moving the arm a¹0, and its pawl to rotate the feed rollers
at the proper times and feed the wire forward.
The wire is fed forward by the feed rolls through a hole 6¹ in a block b, see
Fig. 4 and through a hole in a block 62 of steel dovetailed into the block b¹, the
latter serving as the stationary member of the cutting mechanism.
After passing through the block 62 the end of the wire is projected against the
face of the gauge 63 mounted on the block b, and slotted to receive the set
screw 65 an adjusting screw 66 being preferably provided to enable the gauge to be
adjusted to provide for the equal length of the staple legs, and to hold the gauge
in adjusted position.
After the wire has been fed into position over the former a with its end against
the gauge as described, the die c see Figs. 6, 7, 8 suitably connected with the
plunger B³, is forced downward by the said plunger upon the said former a, and
in its descent one edge of the die c cooperating with the block or cutter 62, severs
the wire, and the die in its further descent acts to bend the short piece of wire
about the former a, thus producing from it a staple, the lower end of the die c
being provided with a channelled or grooved face shown best in Fig. 6, to embrace
and conform in shape to the former a.
The die c having a head c³ of dovetail shape and a flange c³, enters a corre-
spondingly shaped recess in a head block c² having a stem or shank c¹ that enters
a hole in the plunger B, where it is suitably fixed.
After the head c³ has been inserted the side bars c5, c, are secured to the head
block c² by screws 3.
The bars co, c, are provided with adjusting screws 4, to act upon and adjust the
head in the head block c².
The flange of the head c³ is brought to bear against one side of the die c, and
the clamping blocks c', c³, are applied one against the opposite side of the die c,
while the other bears against the opposite side of the flange c*; the said clamps
being drawn together by bolts.5, thus firmly locking the die c in position.
The die c is provided with a clearer e to prevent any staples being retained
within the die after it had been forced down upon the former, and is being removed
therefrom, said clearer herein consisting of a narrow strip of metal placed longi-
tudinally within the die c and connected therewith by rods e¹, ea, the ends of which
bear against spiral springs e³, e, seated within the said die, see Fig. 8, pins e³,
projected from the rods e¹, e², and travelling in the slots e in the sides of the die
preventing the said clearer from. dropping out.
The wire having been cut off and bent by the die over the former a, the ends
of the staple while yet held firmly between the die and former, are acted upon and
bevelled or pointed by two hammers m, m³, fitted to slide in openings in the
blocks 6 and 6, the acting ends of the said hammers being bevelled as shown in
Fig. 4, the bevelled ends of the hammers being thrown forward against the sides
of the staple legs near their points and while supported by the former.

page_text: Each hammer normally held back by a spring n, is acted upon as herein shown
by an adjusting screw f³, carried by a presser lever pivoted at f³, each lever
having a rounded or inclined end f8, which is acted upon by a wedge block o,
fitted in guides o' and actuated by a lever o² provided with a roll 12, which is
struck by the cam 13 fast on the shaft A, a spring 14 normally keeping the roll 12
against the said cam.
The screws f³ are provided to adjust the time of the hammers and their stroke
with relation to the former.
After the staple has been formed and its points bevelled and flattened upon the
former as described, it is ejected therefrom by an ejecting device herein shown as
consisting of a slide r, see detail Fig. 5, shaped to conform to and slide upon the
former a, the ejector entering a groove in the guide block 15 secured to the bed
of the machine.
The ejector is operated upon the former, to eject the finished staples by an arm t,
connected with it by a pin t¹ projecting from the ejector and entering the forked
end of the said arın.
The arm is attached to a rock-shaft t, having its bearings in a projecting
portion to of the framework of the machine, an arm to of the said rock shaft being
acted upon by a cam t mounted upon the main rotating shaft A.
A spring is connected to said arm t by a pin to, the other end of said spring
being made fast as at 10.
This spring under the action of the cam upon the arm t³ of said arm t, serves
to actuate the ejector to remove the staple, and the said ejector is thereafter
restrained by the action of the cam.
As the ejector removes the finished staples from the former, they drop singly
into the discharge opening p located at the end of the former and enter any
suitable vessel.
The parts herein decribed are all arranged to operate automatically and
consecutively, each performing its own work until the staple is completed and
discharged.
It is obvious that any ordinary staple may be made upon this machine, and
the mechanism for bevelling and broadening the points thereof being omitted if
desired.
It is also obvious that any other suitable mechanism may be employed to raise
and lower the plunger carrying the die, without departing from this invention.
I do not desire to limit my invention to the employment of the exact devices
shown for actuating the hammers m, m¹.
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. In a machine for making staples, a former over which the wire is bent, and
a vertically reciprocating die to cut off the wire and bend it over the former,
combined with hammers to strike and broaden the ends of the wire, and means
substantially as described to operate the said hammers, as set forth.
2. In a machine for making staples, the former, and die, and means substantially
as described for operating said die, combined with a pair of presser levers, means
substantially as described for operating them, and the adjusting screws f³, fs, and
the hammers m, m¹ as set forth.
3. In a machine for making staples, the former and die, combined with the
ejector moving upon the former to free the latter of staples, and means substan-
tially as described for moving said ejector positively in both directions as set
forth.
4. In a machine for making staples, the former and vertically reciprocating
die c, combined with the presser levers f. f and hammers m, m³, substantially as
described.

page_text: 5. In a machine for making staples, the former and vertically reciprocating
die c, combined with the presser levers ff, and hammers m, m³, and an automatically
operated ejector moving upon the former, substantially as described.
6. The die c having a dovetailed head c³ and a flange c* combined with the
plunger, a head block correspondingly recessed to receive the die head and fitted
to the plunger, side bars co, co, clamping blocks and adjusting and fastening means,
substantially as described.
7. The former and die, combined with the spring controlled clearer, wedge
block c, its side pieces c, c³, plate c³, and its side pieces c³, c, all substantially as
described.