IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MEANS AND APPARATUS FOR ASSORTING NAILS
Year: 1874

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Imray, of No. 20, Southampton Buildings,
Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MEANS AND APPARATUS FOR ASSORTING NAILS." -A
communication from abroad by John Coyne, of Pittsburgh, Penn-
sylvania, in the United States of America.
.
Sealed the 12th March 1875, and dated the 1st December 1874.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left. by the said John Imray at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
1st December 1874.
I, JOHN IMRAY, of No. 20, Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane,
in the County of Middlesex, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MEANS AND APPARATUS FOR ASSORTING
NAILS," to be as follows:-
In making nails by machinery, sometimes there is a failure in forming
the head, or pieces of metal cuttings are sometimes discharged along
with the perfect nails.
This Invention relates to a method and apparatus for assorting nails
so as to reject those pieces of metal which are headless and let only those
which are complete pass into the packing cases or bags. For this

page_text: purpose a kind of sifting apparatus is applied to a nail-making machine,
such apparatus being constructed and worked in the following manner :-
Two strips of metal are fixed at an angle to each other so as to form a
trough or spout, the adjacent edges of the strips being left with a space
between them so that the spout presents a slit or opening along its
bottom, this slit being made by adjusting the side strips of a width
suited to the nail, but not large enough to let the head of the nail pass.
The said edges of the strips are bevilled so as to present vertical faces on
cach side of the slit. Near one end of the trough the slit is widened
enough to let thic nail head pass through it. Several of these spouts
may be arranged side by side when applied to the nail machine in an
inclined position, the wide part of the slit being near the lower end, and
a hopper or feeding trough with inclined sides and open at bottom being
placed over the upper end. As the nails are discharged from the
machine into the hopper they pass thence into the spout or spouts above
described and slide downwards into a packing.case or bag placed at the
lower end of the spout under the widened part of the slit. During the
descent of the nails along the spout such pieces of metal as having no
heads can pass through the slit fall through on to a shoot placed below
and inclined in the contrary direction to the spout.
To aid the descent of the nails and the separation of the waste pieces
the spout frame is preferably kept in vibratory motion by the following
arrangement:-On the upper transverse strap of the spout frame is
formed or fixed a sleeve in which is held a rod lying in the direction of
the spout below the same. The one end of this rod is secured to a
bracket having a socket fitting on a round bar carried by the nail
machine, the socket being secured on the bar by a setting screw so as to
hold tho bracket and spout frame in any desired angular position. The
said bracket projects to the front or lower end of the spout frame and is
curved up over such lower end. The other end of the before-mentioned
rod is embraced by the loop of a horizontal spring bar attached to the
nail machine. Upon this bar is an adjustable sleeve carrying a rod
adjustable in a vertical direction, which rod is struck by the heading
lever of the nail machine, and thus a vibratory motion is imparted to
the before-mentioned rod carrying the spout frame and consequently to
the spout frame itself.

page_text: passing through slotted holes so that they can be set nearer together or
farther apart as may be desired, and for more accurately adjusting the
width of the slit a conical or taper gauge graduated on its side is
employed, the said gauge on being inserted through the slit shewing by
the depth to which it can be inserted the width of the slit.
I
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said John Imray in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 20th May 1875.
•
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
IMRAY, of No. 20, Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane, in the
County of Middlesex, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the First day of December, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-four, in the
thirty-eighth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and suc-
cessors, give and grant unto me, the said John Imray, Her special
license that I, the said John Imray, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, or such others as I, the said John Imray, my executors,
administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree with, and no
others, from time to time and at all times thereafter during the term
therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and
vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the
Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS
IN THE MEANS AND APPARATUS FOR ASSORTING NAILS," a communication to
me from abroad by John Coyne, of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in the
United States of America, upon the condition (amongst others) that I,
the said John Imray, my executors or administrators, by. an instrument
in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should
particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention,
and in what manner the same was to be performed, and cause the
same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar
months next and immediately after the date of the said 'Letters
Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said John Imray, do hereby declare
'

page_text: performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement thereof, reference being had to the accompanying
Sheet of Drawings and to the figures and letters marked thereon, that is
to say :-
:
In making nails by machinery sometimes there is a failure in forming
the head, or pieces of metal cuttings are sometimes discharged along
with the perfect nails.
This Invention relates to a method and apparatus for assorting nails
so as to reject these pieces of metal which are headless, and let only
those which are complete pass into the packing cases or bags. For this
purpose a kind of sifting apparatus is applied to a nail-making machine,
such apparatus being constructed and worked in the following manner :-
Two strips of metal are fixed at an angle to each other so as to form a
trough or spout, the adjacent edges of the strips being left with a space
between them so that the spout presents a slit or opening along its
bottom, this slit being made by adjusting the side strips of a width
suited to the nail but not large enough to let the head of the nail pass.
The said edges of the strips are bevilled so as to present vertical faces on
cach side of the slit. Near one end of the trough the slit is widened
enough to let the nail head pass through it. Several of these spouts
may be arranged side by side when applied to the nail machine in an
inclined position, the wide part of the slit being near the lower end, and
a hopper or feeding trough with inclined sides and open at bottom being
placed over the upper end. As the nails are discharged from the
machine into the hopper they pass thence into the spout or spouts above
described and slide downwards into a packing case or bag placed at the
lower end of the spout under the widened part of the slit. During the
descent of the nails along the spout such pieces of metal as having no
heads can pass through the slit, fall through on to a shoot placed below
and inclined in the contrary direction to the spout.
To aid the descent of the nails and the separation of the waste pieces
the spout frame is preferably kept in vibratory motion by the following
arrangement:-On the upper transverse strap of the spout frame is
formed or fixed a sleeve in which is held a rod lying in the direction of
the spout below the same. The one end of this rod is secured to a
bracket having a socket fitting on a round bar carried by the nail
machine, the socket being secured on the bar by a setting screw so as to
hold the bracket and spout frame in any desired angular position. The

page_text: said bracket projects to the front or lower end of the spout frame and is
curved up over such lower end. The other end of the before-mentioned
rod is embraced by the loop of a horizontal spring bar attached to the
nail machine. Upon this bar is an adjustable sleeve carrying a rod
adjustable in a vertical direction, which rod is struck by the heading
lever of the nail machine, and thus a vibratory motion is imparted to the
before-mentioned rod carrying the spout frame, and consequently to the
spout frame itself.
For setting the slit of the spout to suit a particular size of nail, the
strips constituting its sides are fixed to their frame by screws or bolts
passing through slotted holes so that they can be set nearer together or
farther apart, as may be desired, and for more accurately adjusting the
width of the slit a conical or taper guage graduated on its side is
employed, the said gauge on being inserted through the slit shewing by
the depth to which it can be inserted the width of the slit.
said bracket projects to the front or lower end of the spout frame and is
curved up over such lower end. The other end of the before-mentioned
rod is embraced by the loop of a horizontal spring bar attached to the
nail machine. Upon this bar is an adjustable sleeve carrying a rod
adjustable in a vertical direction, which rod is struck by the heading
lever of the nail machine, and thus a vibratory motion is imparted to the
before-mentioned rod carrying the spout frame, and consequently to the
spout frame itself.
For setting the slit of the spout to suit a particular size of nail, the
strips constituting its sides are fixed to their frame by screws or bolts
passing through slotted holes so that they can be set nearer together or
farther apart, as may be desired, and for more accurately adjusting the
width of the slit a conical or taper guage graduated on its side is
employed, the said gauge on being inserted through the slit shewing by
the depth to which it can be inserted the width of the slit.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Fig. 1 is a plan of one of the channels of the assorter for a nail
machine which is shown in perspective with the assorter attached to it
in Fig. 2. The other Figures represent details which will hereafter be
referred to.
The spout, a transverse section of which is shewn in Fig. 3, and a
side view in Fig. 4 is constructed in duplicate so as to present two
channels, each channel being formed by two inclined plates a, a, placed
on cross pieces b, b, with the lower edges a little apart so as to form a
longitudinal slot c. The inner edges of the plates a are bevelled so that
they are parallel, or nearly so, to each other. Just inside of the lower
strap is an enlarged part of the slot forming an opening c¹ through
which the nails which slide down to the ends of the slot are discharged.
The plates a are secured on their straps by bolts and nuts d, d, the bolts
passing through slots formed in the straps or in the plates themselves so
that the plates can be adjusted to increase or decrease the width of
the slot between them, according to the size of the nails to be assorted.
b
On a part of the upper strap 6 projecting backwards is formed a sleeve
embracing a rod e, on which the assorter is secured by a set screw e¹.
To the front end of the rod e is attached by means of a clamp yoke fand
set screw f¹ (as shewn in section at Fig. 5) a centre rib g extending
forward and bending round the front end of the assorter. The back end

page_text: of the rib g has an eye g¹ embracing a rod
which is fixed between two
of the supports of the nail machine, or is attached to any other con-
· venient part thereof. The assorter is secured to this rod h by means of
a clamp and set screw i and ¹, so that the inclination of the assorter can
be varied to suit different kinds of work.
In many cases the vibration of the nail machine is sufficient to
accelerate the passage of the nails down the inclined assorter, but in
some cases it is necessary to increase this vibration to prevent the nails
from hanging in the slots. To provide for this the rod c is extended
backwards so as to bring it under the heading lever of the nail machine.
To any convenient part of the machine is attached a spring j or an
elastic piece of steel sustaining a rod j¹, the end of which is bent round
so as to form a hook engaging the rod c. On the rod j¹ is fitted a
sliding sleeve n (as shown in Fig. 7), having transverse cyes or openings
n', n³, and a set screw m. Through the vertical opening n' is passed a rod
which is adjusted so as to extend up to the path of the heading lever of
the nail macliine. The sleeve is hield firmly in its position on the rod j¹,
and the rod is held in its position in the sleeve by the set screw m.
72
When the nail machine is in operation the heading lever in its down-
ward stroke strikes the top of the rod 7, forcing j' downwards. in opposition
to the spring j, which at the upward stroke of the lever causes the rod j¹
to rise. This movement communicated to the rod e by the hook / gives
a vibration to the assorter, the slight vertical movement of the front end
being limited by a set screw o in the turned-up end of the rib g. If the
foot is inadvertently placed upon the assorter it is protected from injury
by the strap resting upon the rib g. The hooked end g³ and pro-
jection of this rib protect the front end from injury by nail boxes if
they are thrown carelessly down. The upper strap 6 has a bracket p
supporting a pan q which receives the nails from the machine and
directs them into the slots of the assorter, preventing them from re-
bounding and flying off laterally. Below the assorter is a shoot or
spout hung by a strap r¹ and inclined in an opposite direction, or it
might be transversely to the assorter behind the discharge openings c¹
for the good nails so as to catch the headless nails and other refuse and
conduct them away from the nail boxes.
The shoot » may be on a separate stand, but it is preferred to attach it
directly to the assorter so that the vibration of the latter shall be communi-
cated to it for the purpose of hastening the downward passage of the refuse.

page_text: The taper gauge s, shewn in Fig. 6, is for adjusting the slots between
the plates a to the various sizes of nails for which it is graduated.
The operation of the assorting apparatus is as follows:-The nails
falling from the nail machine are received in the pan q and conducted
into the slots c. The good nails hanging by their heads slide down the
spout to the openings c¹ through which they drop. The headless nails
and other refuse fall through the slots on to the shoot r, by which they
are conducted to any suitable receptaclc. The same apparatus is
applicable for assorting tacks as well as nails.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, as communicated to me by my
foreign correspondent, I claim,-
First. The method, substantially as herein described, of assorting nails
by means of a inclined slotted spout by which the perfect nails are
conducted to the nail box, while the headless nails and other refuse pass
through the slots.
Second. The use for assorting nails in the manner referred to above of
a nail assorter having one or more adjustable sides by which the size of
the slot may be suited to the nails operated on, substantially as herein
described.
Third. The method, substantially as herein described, of communi-
cating vibration to the assorter above referred to.
Fourth. The use in combination of the assorter above referred to of
a pan or receiver and a refuse shoot arranged substantially in the manner
and for the purposes herein set forth.
•
In witness whercof, I, the said John Imray, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Twentieth day of May, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-five.