Improvements in Machines for Making and Stringing Tags.
Year: 1899

page_text: Date of Application, 27th Apr., 1899-Accepted, 17th June, 1899
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Machines for Making and Stringing Tags.
I, CHARLES ARTHUR ALLISON, of 52, Chancery Lane, London, in the County of
Middlesex, l'atent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of this invention, which
has been communicated to me from abroad by Joseph Thomas Kavenaugh, of
3048, Berks Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States of America, Manu-
facturer, and in what manner the same is to be performed to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement; —
This invention relates to a machine for manufacturing what is commonly known
as merchandise tags, such tags being composed of a tag proper and of an attach-
ing string which is drawn through the tag and knotted at the ends to form a
continuous suspending loop..
A strip of paper and a string are supplied to the machine, and the completed
tags, properly punched, stringed, and counted, are delivered in a rapid and perfect
manner.
Briefly stated, the machine operates as follows:
Intermittent feed being imparted to the paper strip, the tags are punched and
perforated by a die. They are then conveyed underneath a string-containing tube
or needle which is made to pass through the eye of the tag. The lower or free
end of the string is grasped by the jaws of a gripper, to which a semi-circular
upward and downward motion can be imparted. The gripper lays the string
around the pins of a lever, and then ascends while the lever descends, so that a
long loop is drawn out,, or in other words, the string is doubled. The gripper
places the end of the string next to its body beneath the needle, a knot former,
knots or unites the ends of the string, to form a continuous loop, and then the
string is severed. This loop is grasped by a stripper which hangs the finished
tag upon the finger of a collecting-wheel which is intermittently rotated by being
connected to a suitable counting mechanism. Thus each finger will receive a like
number of tags which are counted and may be removed by the attendant. Of
course the tags may also be printed by the machine, preferably before they are
punched out.
In the accompanying drawing:
Fig. 1 illustrates the tag made by the machine.
Fig. 2 is a plan of the machine.
Fig. 3 a detail of the cam and lever for opening the tag-carrier.
Fig. 4 a side elevation of the machine.
Fig. 5 a side elevation of part of the machine, showing the operating cams.
Fig. 6 a plan thereof.
Fig. 7 an enlarged end view of the upper part of the machine, looking in the
direction of the arrow 7, Figure 4.

page_text: vertically with the needle. The drawing shows a single reciprocating carrier
moved from cam c¹, by lever 2, and rod ³, but if desired, a rotating carrier may
be used, having a number of jaws and moved intermittently, so as to present the
successive tags to the needle. When the carrier has placed its tag underneath
the needle upon a table 6, it is opened by a lever c, (Figure 3) actuated by
cam 5, so as to release the tag.
The mechanism for stringing the tags consists essentially of five parts, viz.:
(1) the vertically movable thread-tube or needle, which passes the string through
the tag, (2) the gripper which engages the free end of the string, and doubles the
thread upon itself (3) a vertically movable lever, around which the string is
drawn by the gripper, (4) shears for severing the string, and (5) a knot-former
which ties the ends of the string into a knot.
In Figures 5, 6, and 7, the cams and levers which operate these parts are more
fully represented. The cylinder cam d, by lever d', rock-shaft d², and lever d³,
operates the jaws of the gripper. The lever d³, is by link d, connected to a
plug d, which is longitudinally movable within a rotatable sleeve d. To this
sleeve motion is imparted from cam d by lever de, having rack-segment do, that
engages a pinion dio, of the sleeve. The sleeve do, is adapted to rock or make
about a one-half rotation to and fro in its bearing, and is provided with a lateral
extension d, so that the entire sleeve is L-shaped, and that the free end of the
extension, sweeps through a semi-circle.
Within the extension d", is contained a pin d¹, having a conical head and held
against the conical head of plug &, by a spring 13 To the end of the pin d2,
are pivoted a pair of links d, that operate the jaws of the gripper, such
jaws being adapted to grasp the string. Figures 11 and 12, show two different
forms of gripping jaws.
The plug d is mada sectional as shown in Figure 10, being composed of a
tapering head, having a reduced shank which is received by a sleeve containing
a spring. The two parts of the plug are united by a pin and slot connection, as
shown, the object of this construction being, to prevent jamming of the jaws d¹5,
when the plug is forced against the pin d. It will be seen that when the
plug d³, impinges against pin d¹², the jaws d¹³, are closed, and when the plug
recedes, the jaws are opened by the spring 13.
The mechanism for operating the knot-forming device is as follows: The came,
(Figures 5 and 6) rotates by lever e¹, rock-shaft e², and arm e³, having rack e,
a pinion e, (Figures 8 and 9) formed upon a hollow shaft e. This shaft is pro-
vided with a grooved collar e7, at one end,, and is flattened at its other end, the
bore of the shaft extending nearly to the end of its flattened portion. Within
the bore of the hollow shaft c, is contained a plug or shaft, having at its free
end a grooved collar e³, while its opposite end is flattened and provided with a
pin eo
To the flattened end of the shaft e, are pivoted at ell, the two jaws e, of the
knot-former having hook-shaped ends e18. These jaws are provided with oblique
slots e, which are engaged by the pin eo. The jaws e¹, are adapted to move into
and out of, and to rotate together with a tube cs, (Figure 9), which tube is made
rotatable together with the jaws for the purpose of not cutting the string while
the latter is wound around the jaws.
The collars e, e, serve to impart longitudinal motion to the shafts №6, №³, by
levers e16, e17, actuated by double cam el, (Figure 6). It will be seen that the
movement of the levers e, e, will move the shafts e, e, forward and backward,
into and out of tube e¹, while the rack e, will oscillate said shafts.
f is a tubular thread-guide or needle" which is secured to a vertically
movable slide or needle-bar f¹, actuated by lever f2, pivoted at f³, and having
roller f, engaging cam f. The string A, is threaded through the tube f, and
may be clamped intermittently at the upper end thereof by means of a vertically
movable plug g. This plug is guided by a grooved plate g¹, fastened to the needle-

page_text: At
engaged by a rack formed on the end of a lever ", pivoted to arm k. A second
cam or cam-surface 2, engaging roller 3, on lever 1, reciprocates such lever
to alternately project and retract the hook 10. The operation is as follows:
When the knot is about finished and the string is still suspended from the knot-
former, the hook enters between the doubled string and closes upon the same.
this stage, the arm k, dwells, to prevent the string from being torn off the hook,
and then the arm resumes its rotary motion until brought opposite one of the
pins, of the collecting-wheel . Here the hook 10, opens to release the tag and
string it upon a pin 1, (Figure 4).
The pins project upwardly from a hub or wheel, which is controlled by
a counting device, so that when, say, one hundred tags have been strung upon one
pin l, the wheel advances one space to bring its next pin into the proper position
for receiving another set of tags. In this way, the tags assembled in uniform
numbers, may be removed from the machine by the attendant.
The counting mechanism is as follows:
Upon the shaft 3 is mounted an eccentric m, which oscillates a lever m', around
shaft m², by link m³. The lever m¹, carries pawl m', which engages and turns a
ratchet wheel m³, having preferably one hundred teeth, one of which mo, is
deepened. The shaft m², carries a ratchet wheel m², and drives the wheel 1, by
bevel gear 12. The wheel m², has preferably ten teeth and is engaged by a pawl,
carried by a spring-actuated two-armed lever, pivoted to the frame at .
The pawl m, clears the arm 16, of lever, during the passage of the ninety-nine
normal teeth, but upon the passage of the tooth me, the pawl m, drops further
inwards and engages the lever-arm 1, so as to advance the wheel m, one space,
and to consequently bring another pin 7, into alignment with the stripper.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
invention, as communicated to me by my foreign correspondent, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim is -
1. In a tag machine, the combination of means for drawing a string through
the tag, with means for doubling the string, and means for knotting the ends of
the doubled string, substantially as specified.
2. In a tag machine, the combination of means for drawing a string through the
tag, with means for doubling the string, means for cutting the string when doubled,
and means for knotting the ends of the doubled string, substantially as specified.
3. In a tag machine, the combination of a reciprocating needle, with a lever
around which the string is adapted to be drawn, a gripper for doubling the string,
means for cutting the string, and means for knotting the ends of the string, sub-
stantially as specified.
4. In a tag machine, the combination of a needle, with means for drawing out
and doubling the string, means for knotting the doubled string, and means for
locking the string while being knotted, substantially as specified.
5. In a tag machine, a rotatable gripper having a pair of jaws, combined with
means for rocking the gripper, and means for operating the jaws, substantially as
specified.
6. In a tag machine, a rotatable L-shaped gripping sleeve having a pair of jaws,
combined with means for rocking the sleeve, and means for operating the jaws,
substantially as specified.
7. In a tag machine, the combination of a rotatable sleeve with an enclosed
longitudinally movable plug, a pin engaged thereby, and a pair of jaws operatively
connected to the pin, substantially as specified.
8. In a tag machine, the combination of a rotatable sleeve with a sectional spring-
plate having a conical head, a pin engaged by the plug, and a pair of jaws opera-
tively connected to the pin, substantially as specified.
9. In a tag machine, a knot-former consisting of a pair of jaws having hook-

page_text: 25. In a tag machine, the combination of a paper feed, with a punch, a carrier, a
reciprocating needle, a gripper for doubling the string, a lever for drawing out
the doubled string a knot-former, means for cutting the string, and a stripper
adapted to draw the stringed tag off the knot-former, substantially as specified.
26. A tag machine, substantially as herein shown and described.
Dated this 97th dar of Anril 1800