Improvements in Self Feeding Staple Driving Machines.
Year: 1895

page_text: Date of Application, 31st Dec., 1895--Accepted, 8th Feb., 1896
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Self Feeding Staple Driving Machines.
I. WINFIELD SCOTT ASHBEY, of 47 Seymour Street, in the City of
Philadelphia, State of Pennsylvania, United States of America, Machinist, 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 that class of machines for driving metallic staples
sometimes called automatic or self-feeding staple-drivers, in which a series of such
staples in train are maintained upon a feeding-bar within the magazine or other
interior portion of the machine which is provided with suitable devices to cause
them to be automatically fed forward and delivered singly and successively to the
delivery and driving mechanisms. An illustration of the class of machines to
which my improvement hereinafter described is applicable, will be found in English
Letters Patent No. 2599 dated Feb. 6, 1894.
A serious defect in all such machines as commonly constructed is that a second
or third staple may be and is frequently delivered to the staple channel of the
delivery mechanism before the staple previously delivered thereto is discharged
therefrom by the driving mechanism, which invariably results in clogging the
delivery mechanism and frequently destroying the further usefulness of the machine.
Ordinarily this is occasioned by careless persons raising the driver blade far enough
to uncover the channel of communication between the feeding member and the
delivery member, and thus allow a staple to be delivered into the latter, and then,
without discharging the staple therefrom, again reciprocating the driver for a part
of its upward stroke and deliver a second staple to the delivery channel, and thus
cause the latter to be choked by the two staples therein.
My invention has for its object to effectually prevent this, by a novel combination
and arrangement of devices which operate to prevent a full upward or return
movement of the driver sufficient to cause a second uncovering of the staple
delivery channel, until any previously delivered staple in the delivery member is
completely ejected therefrom by a full downward stroke of the driver; and to that
end the device of our invention consists in the combination, with a staple-driving
machine comprising automatic staple-feeding mechanism, a staple delivery head
communicating therewith, and a reciprocating driver blade operating in the open
channel between said feeding and said delivery mechanism, and serving to open
and close communication respectively, of a spring arm, having ene end free and
provided with a hook thereon, and secured by its other end to the delivery head or
to the driving mechanism, and a cam lug contacting with pressure against the free
end of the spring arm and arranged opposite thereto and secured upon the other
of said two members of the machine, one of said parts being reciprocated vertically
and in unison with the driving mechanism of the machine, said parts being so
constructed and arranged relatively to each other, that when the driver blade
makes a full stroke the cam lug and the spring will pass to opposite sides of each
other at the termination of each full stroke in both directions, but when the driver
blade makes less than a full down stroke the cam lug will remain in its normal
position on the hooked side of the spring arm and engage the hook on an attempterk
upward retraction of the driver blade, and thus prevent the latter being raised high

page_text: enough to cause a second uncovering of the staple delivery channel of the feeding
member..
In the accompanying drawings illustrating my invention,
Figure 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a self-feeding staple driving machine,
with my improvements attached thereto.
Figures 2, 3 and 4 are like views respectively of the delivery and driving
mechanisms and part of the feeding mechanism, the views showing in dotted lines
the relative positions of the several parts of my device during the reciprocation of
the driver blade in the channel of the delivery member of the device.
Figure 5 is a lateral sectional view of the delivery head and driving mechanism
and a front view of my device in position therein.
Figures 6 and 7 show the improvement attached to a modified form of the same
machine in which the driver is actuated by a hand lever; the only difference being
that my improvements are applied to the front of the delivery head instead of at
the side as in Figures 1 to 5.
Figures 8 to 11 show the improvements in a modified form applied to the front
of the machine shown in Figure 1; and it is obviously applicable to many other
forms of self-feeding machines well known in the market.
The
The construction and operation of the feeding member, the delivery head, and
the driving member, and their position and operation relatively to each other,
are fully described in the Letters Patent hereinabove referred to.
feeding member A consists of an open magazine containing a longitudinal bar
or mandrel a on which is maintained a row of staples 6 in train which are
automatically fed forward under the pressure created by a spring-actuated
pusher rod c. This magazine communicates at its front end with a channel d
at right angles thereto in the delivery member B in which channel is vertically
reciprocated a driver blade m having usually a shanked head M. The
driver blade therefore opens and closes the channel of communication between
the feeding member and the delivery head and thus permits the staples to
be delivered automatically singly and successively to the channel d of the delivery
head at each upward stroke of the driver blade. A staple thus delivered into
the delivery head on the upward stroke of the driver, is ejected therefrom on the
full downward or return stroke of the driver. The driving mechanism, performs
primarily the function, on its upward stroke, of opening the feed channel and
allowing a staple to be delivered into the staple channel of the delivery head; and
secondly, it performs the function on its downward stroke, of ejecting the
staple therefrom and driving it. But the latter function necessarily depends upon
the downward stroke being a full stroke. The principle of operation of my
invention therefore resides in so governing the operation of the driving
mechanism, by means of my added devices, that it cannot perform its primary
function of opening the feed channel, until the previous full downward stroke
of the driver has been completed and driven out any staple previously
delivered into the delivery member. With this explanation my invention
will be readily understood; it being remembered that the driver blade of the
machine is always reciprocated within the staple channel of the delivery
member, which is always stationary relatively to the driver biade. Obviously
therefore the two elements of my added device-the hooked spring arm and
the can lug may be applied by attaching the spring arm to the reciprocating
driving member and the cam lug to the inner face of the stationary delivery
head (as shown in Figures 1 to 7), or on the other hand the reverse arrangement
may be adopted, in which the cam lug is secured to the reciprocating driving
member, and the spring arm secured by one end to the stationary delivery head (as
in Figures 8 to 11); the latter form is the simplest and in some respects more
desirable. In the drawings Figures 1 to 7 M is the spring] arm having one end
free with an outwardly turned hook n thereon, arranged and adapted to contact
with the cam lug H. In this form, wherein the spring arm is the reciprocating
element, it is secured free-end downwards on the driver shank, and the cam lug H

page_text: is a bar of some length secured on the inner face of a plate R fastened over-
the opening in the delivery head. The lug is placed at an angle to create a
resistance on one side of the perpendicular spring arm, in passing it, and it is
notched or provided with a projection p to engage the hook n on the spring arm if
the latter is retracted before reaching the lower end of the cam lug and passing
under and upon the other side thereof. The tension on the spring arm causes.
it to spring readily to the opposite side of the cam lug when it reaches the end
thereof.
In case the spring arm is the stationary element as in Figures 8 to 11, it may be
secured to the delivery head in or against the opening r therein, its free end
upward, and the cam lug H is secured to the shank of the driver, and is in such
construction, a simple bolt head placed at an angle so as to slide freely over the
rounded hook end of the spring arm M when carried downward by the descending.
driver blade. In this form, it is not necessary or desirable to make a hooked
projection on the lug, but we divide or split the spring as shown in Figure 11 so.
that at the termination of the downward stroke the lug will not have to overcome.
the resistance of the entire spring but only the inner split side M' and therefore
will pass more readily around the lower end thereof which is shortened or cut
away on the inner split side to enable the lug to pass to the opposite side of the
spring arm ready to be drawn up on that, the opposite, side of the arm on the
return or upward stroke of the driver.
The operation of the device and the purpose to be accomplished thereto is as
follows: With the parts of the machine in normal position, the driver down, the
cam lug is on the plain side of the spring arm, as shown in Figures 4 and 9.
When the driver has made its full upward stroke and let a staple into the delivery
head by opening the channel of communication with the feeding member, the cam.
lug is just beyond the free end of the spring arm, as shown in Figures 2 and 10,.
ready to pass to the other or hooked side of the latter on the return or downward
stroke of the driver. If the latter makes a full downward stroke, the lug is.
directed along that side of the spring arm, its full length, and thence passes to
the other or plain side of the arm, and so on as long as the alternate downward
strokes of the driver are full strokes, but if a partial downward stroke is made so.
that the lug will not pass the whole length of the hooked side of the spring arm,
it is obvious that if then an upward return stroke is attempted the lug will contact
with the hook of the spring arm as shown in Figures 3 to 11 and prevent the
driver blade from ascending high enough in the delivery head channel to open the
communication with the feeding member, hence a second staple can not be delivered
from the latter into the former by such partial upward return stroke, nor will such
delivery be possible until the parts are put into normal position by actuating the
driving member for a full downward stroke and ejecting the staple previously
delivered into the channel of the delivery head.
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. In combination with staple driving mechanism of the character described,
comprising feeding, delivery and driving members, mechanism consisting substan-
tially of a resilient hooked arm and a cam device one of the same being mounted
upon the delivery member and the other upon the driving member, and actuated
relatively to each other by and in unison with the driving mechanism; said parts
being combined, arranged and operating to control the successive alternate
operation of the feeding and driving members, as and for the purpose set forth.
2. The combination in a staple driving machine comprising feeding mechanism.
and delivery mechanism with driving mechanism governing primarily the channel
of communication between the feeding and delivery members and secondarily the
ejection of the delivered staple from the latter, of mechanism consisting of a.
hooked spring arm and a cam lug, one of the same being reciprocated relatively

page_text: to the other by and in unison with the driving mechanism, said parts being com-
bined and arranged to operate to control and limit the reciprocation of the driving
member relatively to the channel of the feeding mechanism, substantially as and
for the purpose described.
Dated this 31st day of December 1895.
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45 Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicant.