IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR COUNTING NEEDLES, KNITTING PINS, AND OTHER LIKE ARTICLES.”
Year: 1877

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Victor Milward, of the Firm of Henry Milward and Sons
of Redditch, in the County of Worcester, Needle Manufacturers, for the
Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR COUNTING
NEEDLES, KNITTING PINS, AND OTHER LIKE ARTICLES.”
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Victor Milward at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents on the 4th September 1877.
VICTOR MILWARD, of the Firm of Henry Milward and Sons, of Redditch, in the
County of Worcester, Needle Manufacturers. "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR
APPARATUS FOR COUNTING NEEDLES, KNITTING PINS, AND OTHER SUCH LIKE
ARTICLES."
My said Invention consists of the following construction and arrangement of the
parts of the said machinery or apparatus :-
A hopper supported on the frame of the machine receives the needles to be counted.
At the lower contracted end of the said hopper a cylinder or drum rotates on a
horizontal axis, the said cylinder or drum closing the said lower contracted end of
the hopper. The said drum has in its cylindrical surface a series of twenty-five (or
other number of) grooves or depressions, the said grooves being parallel to the axis
of the drum. One or more necks or cut-away parts are made in the drum, the
depth of the said cut-away parts considerably exceeding the depth of the grooves
described. Underneath the said drum is a lever, one end of which is pressed
upwards by means of a spring or springs against the bottom or deepest part of one
of the necks in the rotating drum. The other end of this lever carries a pawl,
which takes into a ratchet wheel connected with a counting apparatus. When a
pile or column of needles is put into the hopper, and rotation is given to the drum
by hand or other power, the said needles fall into the grooves in the said drum, and

page_text: are carried by the rotation of the said drum to the lowest part of the case in which
the said drum rotates, and fall through a slot in the bottom of the said case into a
receptacle placed to receive them. It is through the said slot that the end of the
spring lever described passes to press against one of the necks in the drum. As the
needles, when supported in the grooves of the drum, are at a greater distance from
its axis than the bottom of the neck in the drum against which the said spring
lever presses, each needle as it passes the said lever depresses it, but as soon as the
needle has escaped from the end of the said lever the said end of the lever is pressed
against the bottom of the neck by its spring; thus the passage of each needle causes
the lever to make one oscillation upon its fulcrum, and to move the ratchet wheel
described through one tooth. One rotation of the drum (supposing it to contain
twenty-five grooves) will deliver twenty-five needles, and will have given twenty-
five oscillations to the pawl lever. The pawl lever will have moved the ratchet
wheel through twenty-five teeth or one rotation, and the counter will indicate that
a series of twenty-five needles has been counted.
If any of the grooves in the drum fail to receive and carry down a needle, the
lever is not operated upon when the empty groove passes it, hence the number of
needles carried down is accurately counted by the action of the said lever.
By means of a stop connected with the counting apparatus the delivery and
counting of needles may be arrested for a time so as to permit of the removal of the
receptacle containing the counted needles, and the substitution of an empty
receptacle.
My Invention, besides being applicable to the counting of needles, is also appli
cable to the counting of knitting pins and other like articles, consisting essentially
of cut lengths of wire or rods or rod-like articles.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said Victor Milward in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 26th
February 1878.
VICTOR MILWARD, of the Firm of Henry Milward and Sons, of Redditch, in the
County of Worcester, Needle Manufacturers. "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY
OR APPARATUS FOR COUNTING NEEDLES, KNITTING PINS, AND OTHER LIKE
ARTICLES."
My said Invention consists of the following construction and arrangement of the
parts of the said machinery or apparatus
-
A hopper supported on the frame of the machine receives the needles to be counted.
At the lower contracted end of the said hopper a cylinder or drum rotates on a
horizontal axis, the said cylinder or drum closing the said lower contracted end of
the hopper. The said drum has in its cylindrical surface a series of twenty-five (or
other number of) grooves or depressions, the said grooves being parallel to the axis
of the drum. One or more necks or cut-away parts are made in the drum, the
depth of the said cut-away parts considerably exceeding the depth of the grooves
described. Underneath or at the side of the said drum is a lever, one end of which
is pressed upwards by means of a spring or springs against the bottom or deepest
part of the necks in the rotating drum. The other end of this lever carries a pawl,
which takes into a ratchet wheel which may be connected with a counting apparatus.
When a pile or column of needles is put into the hopper, and rotation is given to
the drum by hand or other power, the said needles fall into the grooves in the said
drum, and are carried by the rotation of the said drum to the lowest part of the
case in which the said drum rotates, and fall through a slot in the bottom of the
said case into a receptacle placed to receive them. It is through the said slot that
the end of the spring lever described passes to press against the necks in the drum.
As the needles, when supported in the grooves in the drum, are at a greater distance
from its axis than the bottom of the neck in the drum against which the said spring
lever presses, each needle as it passes the said lever depresses it, but as soon as the
needle has escaped from the end of the said lever the said end of the lever is pressed
against the bottom of the neck by its spring. Thus the passage of each needle
causes the lever to make one oscillation upon its fulcrum, and to move the ratchet
wheel described through one tooth. One rotation of the drum (supposing it to
contain twenty-five grooves) will deliver twenty-five needles, and will have given
twenty-five oscillations to the pawl lever. The pawl lever will have moved the
ratchet wheel through twenty-five teeth or one rotation, and the counter will
indicate that a series of twenty-five needles has been counted.
If any of the grooves in the drum fail to receive and carry down a needle, the
lever is not operated upon when the empty groove passes it, hence the number of
needles carried down is accurately counted by the action of the said lever.
By means of a stop connected with the ratchet wheel the delivery and counting
of needles may be arrested for a time so as to permit of the removal of the
receptacle containing the counted needles, and the substitution of an empty
receptacle.
My Invention, besides being applicable to the counting of needles, is also appli-
cable to the counting of knitting pins and other like articles, consisting essentially
of cut lengths of wire, or rods or rod-like articles.
I will now proceed to describe with reference to the accompanying Drawings the
manner in which my Invention may be performed.
Figure 1 represents a plan, Figure 2 a sido elevation, Figures 3 and cross
sections, and Figure 5 a plan of part of under side of machinery or apparatus con-
structed according to my Invention for counting needles.
The section, Figure 3, is taken on the line A, B, Figure 1, and the section, Figure 4,
is taken on the line C, D, Figure 1.

page_text: The same letters of reference indicate the same parts in the several Figures of the
Drawings.
e is the drum or cylinder of the machine fixed on the horizontal shaft f, driven
either by hand or by a driving belt or gut passing over the pulley f*. In the
cylindrical surface of the drum e a series of grooves or depressions e³, e, for receiving
and carrying down the needles to be counted made parallel with the axis of the
drum.
The number of needle grooves e² in the drum e may be varied, but the drum
represented has sixty grooves in its surface. The cylindrical surface of the said
drum e works closely against the inside of the cylindrical case g (see Figure 3), so
that the needles in the needle grooves are firmly held therein during the travelling
of the drum. In the said drum e two deep necks or slots h, h, are made, crossing the
needle grooves e² at right angles, as seen in Figure 5. Over the drum e, and sup-
ported on the frame of the machine, is a hopper i which receives the needles to be
counted, the passage in the drum case g into which the contracted end of the said
hopper opens being closed by the said drum (see Figure 3).
The width of the hopper i is made adjustable to suit needles of different lengths
by the sliding plate adjusted by the screw and milled nut at 28. By the rotation
of the drum e under the hopper i the needles in the said hopper fall one into each
groove e in the drum e, and are carried by the motion of the said drum to the
lowest part of the case g, and are there delivered through the delivery passage or
slot k in the said case. The counting of the needles as they are delivered into the
outlet passage k is effected by the following mechanism :-Jointed at l³ to the drum
case g is a pawl lever l, l'. This lever has on its upper arm a pawl 13 which
engages with the teeth of the ratchet wheel m turning on the horizontal axis m³,
the back or return motion of the said ratchet wheel being prevented by the click 14.
The ratchet wheel m is furnished with 50 teeth. The pawl lever is pressed
towards the ratchet wheel m by the spring 15, and the pawl 1 is maintained in gear
with the teeth of the ratchet wheel by the spring 1; 17 is a shaft or axis passing
under the drum case g, the said shaft carrying the fork n, n.
On the end of the
said axis is a crank or arm 712 jointed to the part of the pawl lever by the joint
at 18. The axis turns in the bearings at 710, 110. The fork n, n, on the axis l' is
situated at one side of the delivery slot k in the drum case g. The upper ends of
the fork n pass through the delivery slot k, and enter the necks or deep slots h, h, in
the drum e.
The way in which the branches of the fork n pass through the delivery slot k in
.the drum case, and enter the necks or deep slots h, h, in the drum is best seen
in Figures 3, 4, and 5. At the opposite side of the delivery slot k in the
drum case g to that at which the fork n of the pawl lever is situated, is a stop
or knocker-off p for removing the needles from the grooves in the drum, should
they stick in the said grooves. This stop or knocker-off is forked, as seen in
Figure 5, and its upper ends are situated in the necks or deep slots h, h, in
the drum, as seen in Figure 3. The normal position of the fork n of the pawl
lever with respect to the needles supported in the grooves e, e, in the descending
side of the rotating drum is best seen in Figure 3, in which said Figure 3 the
needle grooves in the descending side of the drum are represented filled with
needles which have been delivered into them from the hopper i.
The normal position of the fork n of the pawl lever is produced by the action of
the spring pressing on the upper arm 7 of the said pawl lever. By an exami-
nation of the said Figure 3 it will be seen that the upper ends of the branches of
the fork n cross those parts of the needles supported in the needle grooves e² which
are situated in the necks h, h, and hence the needles cannot pass excepting by the
depressing of the said fork out of the said necks h, h.
This depressing of the fork n out of the necks h, h, is effected by the action of
the needles upon the said fork, each needle in the descending side of the drum, as it
approaches the delivery slot k, acting upon and depressing the upper ends of the
branches of the fork n into the position indicated in dotted lines in Figures 3. The

page_text: needle is thus allowed to pass the said fork n, and is carried against the stop p,
which removes it from its groove, the needle falling through the delivery slot k.
Thus as each needle passes the fork n it depresses the said fork below the cylindrical
surface of the drum e, but as soon as the needle has escaped from it the said fork
resumes its normal position in the necks h, h, in the drum by the action of the
spring on the pawl lever. Should any of the grooves e in the drum e fail to
receive and carry down a needle the pawl lever is not operated upon when the
empty groove passes it. As each needle passes the fork n the pawl lever l¹ makes
one oscillation upon its fulcrum 12 and moves the ratchet wheel m through one
tooth.
When the ratchet wheel m, which contains 50 teeth, has made a complete rotation
the pawl lever will have made 50 oscillations, and a corresponding number of
needles will have passed the fork of the pawl lever and fallen through the
delivery slot k. The pawl lever thus acts as a counter, the motion of the said pawl
lever being transmitted to the ratchet wheel m through the pawl 13.
The ratchet wheel m may be connected to a counting apparatus when it is
wished to count the needles in bulk, which are delivered through the slot k, but for
counting the needles prior to papering thein or making them into packages for sale
I prefer to combine with the counting machine the arrangement of parts, which I
will now proceed to describe:-As packets containing 25 needles are generally made
up for sale, I have shown in the accompanying Drawings an arrangement whereby
the machine is made to indicate when 25 needles have been delivered by it through
the slot k.
Working in and under the delivery slot k of the drum case g is a rocking guide
plate q having inclined faces. By means of this guide plate one or other side of the
delivery slot k may be opened or closed. When the rocking guide plate is moved
to the left hand, as illustrated in Figure 3, the left-hand side of the delivery slot /
is closed, and the needles falling on the guide plate are guided to the right-hand side
of the said slot k. When the position of the guide plate q is reversed, as indicated
by dotted lines in Figure 3, the right-hand side of the delivery slot is closed, and
the needles are consequently delivered at the left-hand side of the delivery slot.
The position of the rocking guide plate q is reversed after the machine has
delivered 25 needles by the following mechanism :-On the ratchet wheel m is a
box or groove cam 7, in the groove of which a pin 8 on the short arm of the
lever t, t, works. One half of the groove in the cam is of a different radius from
the other half, as represented. The bottom of the long arm 2 of the lever t, t2, is
connected by the link to the crank t, on the axis of which the rocking guide
plate q is fixed. The crank t' works in a bearing on the bed of the machine (see
Figure 4). During one-half of the rotation of the cam r the pin 8 of the lever t, t²,
works in the groove ³, and during the other half in the groove of greater radius.
By the passage of the pins from one to the other of the grooves,, the position
of the lever t, t, is changed, and the position of the guide plate 7 thereby reversed,
the reversal taking place after each half rotation of the ratchet wheel m, and con-
sequently after the pawl lever 1, 1, has made 25 oscillations and the machine has
delivered 25 needles. Instead of the box or groove cam 7, 72, 7, a face cam may be
used, the arm t of the lever t, ts, in this case being kept to its bearing on the cam by
a spring.
As the guide plate q remains in one or other position, during the time that
25 needles are being delivered from the machine, it follows that 25 needles only are
delivered at a time at one or other side of the guide plate. The needles thus
delivered by the guide plate may be collected in trays to be papered, or the
needles may be delivered directly into the papers in which they are to be wrapped
for sale.
In Figure 3 I have represented two needle papers, marked u, v, respectively,
placed on opposite sides of the guide plate q to receive the needles from the machine.
When the paper v has received 25 needles the position of the guide plate q is
reversed and the needles are now delivered into the paper u. The paper v being

page_text: removed, an empty paper is substituted therefor, ready to receive the needles which
will be delivered into it on the reversal of the position of the guide plate q; or the
guide plate q may be dispensed with, and an endless travelling band having an
intermittent motion may be arranged to work under the delivery slot k. On the
said travelling band a series of needle papers is placed. The driving pulleys over
which the intermittent travelling band works are so geared with the ratchet wheel m
that the said band is stationary during the time that the machine is delivering 25
(or other number of) needles into the paper, but immediately the paper has received
its needles the travelling band moves through a distance sufficient to bring an
empty paper under the delivery slot k. In this way the needle papers are in
succession filled with the counted needles, the filled papers being removed at one
end of the band, and empty papers placed upon it at the other end.
Instead of giving the drum e a continuous motion it may be connected with the
driving power by means of a clutch or other like mechanism, which clutch or
mechanism may be thrown out of gear and the machine brought to rest when the
ratchet wheel has recorded the passage of 25, 50, or other given number of needles.
A. lever connected with the clutch bears on a cam driven from the ratchet wheel,
and when the cam attains a certain position the lever throws the clutch out of
gear and the drum comes to rest.
In order to start the drum afresh the lever is held by hand in the required
position until the cam acquires the position proper for throwing the clutch into
gear.
In applying my Invention to the counting of knitting pins and other rod-like
articles, I construct and arrange the parts in the manner described and illustrated,
with respect to a machine for counting needles, the size and strength of the parts
being arranged to suit the machine to the particular articles to be counted.
Having dow described the nature of my Invention and the manner in which the
same is to be performed, I wish it to be understood that I do not limit myself to the
precise details herein described and illustrated, as the same may be varied without
departing from the nature of my Invention, but I claim as my Invention, the
improvements in machinery or apparatus for counting needles, knitting pins, and
other like articles, herein-before described and illustrated in the accompanying
Drawings, that is to say, machinery or apparatus consisting essentially of a rotating
cylinder or drum, into grooves in the cylindrical surface of which the needles or
other like articles are fed, the said cylinder or drum being provided with one or
more necks or deep slots, into which the lower end of a pawl lever or a fork
connected with the lower end of the pawl lever is pressed and made to cross portions
of the needles or articles carried by the cylinder or drum, cach needle or article in
the drum, as it passes the end or fork of the pawl lever, depressing it out of the
neck or necks in the said drum and causing it to move a ratchet wheel through one
tooth, the pawl lever thus acting as a counter, the number of oscillations made by
the pawl lever corresponding with the number of needles or articles which have been
delivered from the machine, the several parts being constructed, arranged, and
worked, substantially as described and illustrated.
In witness whereof, I, the said Victor Milward, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Twenty-second day of February, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and seventy-eight
Witness,
WILLIAM LANE,
Redditch.
VICTOR MILWARD. (LS.)