Improvements in or relating to Apparatus for use in Wiring or Strengthening the Edges of Can Covers, Caps, or other Articles.
Year: 1899

page_text: Date of Application, 3rd Oct., 1899-Accepted, 25th Nov., 1899
Improvements in or relating to Apparatus for use in Wiring or
Strengthening the Edges of Can Covers, Caps, or other Articles.
A communication from GEORGE WIGHTMAN VAILIANT, Foundryman, of 165,
Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts U.S.A.
I, ALFRED JULIUS BOULT, of 111, Hatton Garden, in the County of London,
Chartered Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in
what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascer-
tained in and by the following statement:-
The object of the invention is to secure a ripping wire in the edge of can
covers or caps or like articles by rolling the edge of the flange of said cap inward
around the wire; and to effect this result expeditiously and cheaply. The inven-
tion is adapted for use with well known forms of presses commonly employed
for stamping sheet metal.
The invention relates particularly to the wiring die, and to the mechanism
for properly feeding the wire thereto, and for cutting off the outer end of said
wire; and it consists in the construction and combination of parts hereinafter
described and definitely pointed out in the claims.
The drawings clearly disclose the invention embodied in a complete die press.
Figure 1 is a front elevation of such press; Figure 2 is a side elevation thereof;
and Figure 3 is a sectional plan thereof just above the die. These views are on
the same scale. Figure 4 is a side elevation of the reversing mechanism of the
wire feed, shown in the preceding figures on a smaller scale; Figure 5 is a
section on line 5-5 of Figure 4 looking in the direction of the arrow; Figures 6
and 7 are side elevations, on a larger scale than Figures 1 or 2, of the cams on
the power shaft for operating the wire feed and wire cut off mechanisms, respec-
tively. Figures 8 and 9 are vertical central sections through the wiring die and
the lower end of the plunger, the former figure showing the parts when the
plunger in its descent is just about to curl the can cover around the wire, and
the latter figure showing such operation just completed, the plunger being at
the extreme lower end of its travel. Figure 10 is a horizontal section on the
line 10-10 of Figure 8, illustrating the manner of cutting off and bending the
wire, the final position of the wire at the end of the operation being indicated
by dotted lines. Figure 11 is a perspective view of the inner portion of the cut
off lever. These four figures are all on the same scale and are of an actual size
which would frequently occur in practice. Figure 12 (on the same sheet with
Figure 1) is a perspective view of the wired can cover the projecting end of the
wire being bent back toward the cover, as shown.
Referring to the parts by letters, X represents the bed plate of a suitable
press the vertical reciprocating plunger thereof; and Z a shaft by which the
plunger is reciprocated. These parts as shown are of well known form.
The wiring die is secured upon the bed plate under the plunger, which plunger
carries a pressure plate C by means of which the cap R is forced downward, with
the results to be presently described.
The wiring die includes an outer ring A, an expanding ring B, inside the ring A,

page_text: made up of several segment shaped parts b, the rod E, and a sleeve D,-of which
said sleeve carries bevelled surfaces which operate on the ring sections to expand
and contract them, and the rod E carries suitable shoulders for operating the
sleeve D.
The outer ring A may be secured to a suitable frame a³, by means of which
it is secured upon the bed plate. This ring A, at its upper end, is of a size and
shape which causes the flanger of the cap R to snugly fit it. A short distance
below its top, this ring has an internal circumferential rib a; and on top of
this rib there is an annular curling groove a' which is substantially semicircular
in vertical section, the outer wall of this groove being a continuation of the inner
wall of the ring A.
The expanding ring B is made up of a plurality of sections b, which, when the
ring is circular as shown, are substantially quadrant sectors. On the upper and
lower outer edge of these ring sections are the two flanges b12, of which the
former passes over and the latter passes under the rib a when the parts are
assembled; in other words, the rib a lies between these flanges and very close
to both, whereby any substantially vertical movement of the sections is prevented.
Pins a projecting radially inward from the rib a enter the corresponding holes
in the outer edges of the ring sections, whereby said sections are guided in their
movements toward and from the center. The upper flange should be nearly
as wide as the top of the rib a, wherefore, when the ring B is expanded, the
distance between the edges of said flanges and the inner wall of the ring A shall
be less than the diameter of the wire to be used. This prevents the wire from
passing up between the flange and the ring A.
The expanding ring has a central hole through it, and the lower edge 63 of
this hole is bevelled outward more or less. Surrounding this hole on the top
of the expanding ring is an annular groove, the inner edge of which is
bevelled up to the hole, thereby forming a substantially conical wedge.
The sleeve D passes centrally through the expanding ring. Its body as shown
is cylindrical, and must be so large that, if the ring sections b embraced it,
the ring B would be expanded. It may however, be of larger diameter and is
so shown. The upper end or neck d of this sleeve is of reduced size, whereby
when this neck is embraced by ring sections b, the ring B may be contracted.
The shoulder where the neck and body join, is tapered as shown, whereby
it may be forced up into the ring B with the result of expanding the same. On
the top of this sleeve is an annular flange in the under side of which is an
annular groove d³ whose outer wall is tapered complementarily to the conical
wedge 65 with which it is intended to engage.
The rod E, upon whose upper end is an ejector plate e, passes loosely through
the sleeve D. Below the sleeve D) is a collar e¹, which is adapted to engage
with the lower end of the sleeve D. A coiled spring J which surrounds the
rod E thrusts endwise against the collar or some other shoulder on the rod,
and against a fixed plate L through which the rod passes loosely, whereby the
spring exercises a continuous force to move the rod E upward. The extent of
this upward movement is regulated by an adjustable stop nut e below the
plate L.
When the die mechanism above described is in its normal position as shown
in Figure 8, the conical part d' of the sleeve 1) has been forced up into the
expanding ring B far enough to expand it, wherefore the flange b' extends partly
over the curling groove a¹.
The wire is then fed by mechanism to be presently explained, through an
opening a in the ring A into the curling groove a¹ below the flange b', where
said wire substantially encircles the die.
The cap R whose lower edge is to be rolled around said wire is shown in
Figure 8. It is made of thin sheet metal, and has a flange in whose lower edge
a substantially vertical slot rl is formed. This cap is placed flange downward,
upon the ejector plate e, the lower edge of said cap entering the ring A,-the

page_text: notch in said flange being placed directly above the part of the wire which is
passing through the slot a in the said ring A. The plunger then comes down
forcing the cap downward, whereby the lower edge of said cap is, by its engage-
ment with the groove a¹, caused to roll inward and around the wire, the flanges 61
on the expanding ring section holding the wire down so that the edges of the
cap will be rolled around it. The ejector plate e and the rod E which it is
attached to, are likewise forced down, the ejector plate engaging with the sleeve D
and forcing it down whereby the bevelled surfaces d'engage with the conical
surfaces b5 on the ring segments, thereby drawing said segments inward and con-
tracting the ring B. When the plunger begins its upward movement the spring J
forces the rod E upward, and the first effect of this movement is to lift the wired
cap above the flanges 6¹ to the ring segments. The nut e¹ then engages with the
sleeve D and pushes it up, whereby the bevelled shoulders d' on the sleeve engage
the ring segments and force them outward, that is to say, expand the ring B.
The parts referred to have now completed the cycle of their movements and are
in their normal positions again.
The mechanism for feeding the wire into the die and cutting it off will now
be described. The wire S passes between two grooved rollers H H by which it
is forced through a hole i in a guide block I, thence through a horizontal notch g¹
in the vertical arm of the pivoted cut off lever G, and finally through the
slot a in the ring A into the die below the flange on the expanding ring.
These rollers are secured to shafts h and h³ which are mounted in suitable bear-
ings; and to these shafts are secured the meshing pinions h¹, whereby the revolu-
tion of one roller is necessarily accompanied by a revolution of the other roller
in the reverse direction. The lower shaft h is revolved through a pinion ² loosely
mounted thereon and clutched thereto at the proper times by mechanism to be
presently explained.
A rocking gear segment F engages with the pinion h2.
This segment
a crank
is caused to rock by a connecting rod f¹ which engages at its ends with
a crank pin fon an arm secured to the gear segment, and
arm secured to a shaft K on which the pinion is secured. This pinion kl
is oscillated by a vertically movable rack bar P which is moved in suitable
guides by a cam groove m in the face of a disk M secured to the shaft Z
and a pin on the rack bar which enters said groove. The upper end of the
rack bar has a vertical slot p³ which embraces the shaft whereby it is compelled
to move vertically. The cam groove m is of such shape that it quickly draws
the rack bar up during about one fourth of its own revolution. During this
movement of the rack bar the plunger is coming down and is nearing the end of
its stroke. The pinion is at this time clutched to the shaft h. This move-
ment of the rack bar, transmitted through the intermediate mechanism described,
causes the rotation of the feed roller in the feeding direction, whereby said wire
is fed into the die as before explained. When the wire has been pushed around
the die it will be in contact with the wall of the ring A,—that is to say, the
diameter of the wire loop in the die will be as great as possible. Just before
the plunger however reaches its lowest point, the cam m suddenly reverses its
curve and moves the rack bar down a short distance, which reverses the movement
of the feed rollers, whereby they pull backward on the wire sufficiently to draw
the wire into contact with the inner edge of the groove a¹. Previously to being
so drawn inward the wire offers an obstacle to the downward movement of the
lower end of the cap flange r, which obstacle is withdrawn by this movement of
the wire. At this instant the plunger forces the cap flange down between the
wire and the ring A and thereafter finishes its work of rolling the edges of
said flange, as before stated. At this instant the pinion h2 is also unclutched from
the shaft, wherefore as the rack bar continues its downward stroke under the
influence of the cam m the feed rollers remain idle. When the rack bar begins
its upward movement as before explained, this pinion 2 is automatically clutched
to the shaft h and the described operation is repeated.

page_text: The wire cut off lever G has a vertical part g which is pivoted on a vertical
axis to the ring A, a part of which has been cut away to accomodate this cut
off. In the outer face of this vertical part of the cut off device is a horizontal
notch into which the wire S, pushed through the wire guide, enters and is
guided against vertical movement as it enters the notch a' in the ring A. This
cut off device has also a horizontal arm G to which a connecting rod g is
pivoted, the other end of this connecting rod being connected by a universal joint
with an arm q which is fast on the shaft Q to which the pinion q² is secured.
A vertically movable rack bar T engages with this pinion q2 and its vertical move-
ment, in suitable guides, is produced by a cam groove n in the face of the
disk N secured to the shaft Z, and a pint on the rack bar entering this groove.
This rack bar is slotted at its upper end and embraces the shaft Z. Just as
the downward movement of the plunger is being completed this cam groove sud-
denly reverses its curvature as at n¹ and draws the rack bar upward, which results,
through the intermediate mechanism, in swinging the cut off device around so
that the wire is sheared off between the cut off and the wire guide and the wire
is bent around into an approximate radial position. The cam then reverses its
curvature and this cut off is swung slowly back to its original position in which it
is held while the wire is being fed forward. The bent end of the wire is freed
from the cut off during the first part of this return movement, wherefore the
cap R may be removed as described.
The mechanism for clutching and unclutching the pinion 2 and the shaft h
will now be described. This pinion, which is loosely mounted on the shaft h
is secured to a disk 4. Two ratchet wheels U W whose teeth face in opposite
directions are rigidly fastened to this shaft 7 adjacent to this disk, and between
it and a disk V having a sleeve which is loosely mounted upon the shaft. A
spring pawl pivoted to the disk 4 engages with the ratchet U. whereby the
pawl when moved in one direction causes the ratchet to move, and consequently
causes the shaft to move. When this pinion 2 is revolved in the reverse
direction this pawl slips over the teeth of the ratchet U. Another pawl w is
pivoted to the same disk 4,-or rather to an extension plate 5 secured to said
disk, and it engages with the other ratchet W under certain circumstances.
In this pawl is an inclined slot w which receives a pin v¹ secured or made fast
to the other disk V. Around the sleeve of which this last named disk is a
part, is a friction brake. O, which is itself immovable, being attached to the bed
plate X. and which embraces the sleeve with sufficient force to retard its move-
ment. When the pinion has its direction of motion suddenly reversed after
the wire has been fed into the die, the pawl w is in engagement with the ratchet
and consequently the ratchet is revolved, and so also are the shaft and feed
rollers, but in the direction reverse to the feeding direction. When the pinion
thus reverses its direction of movement the friction brake O retards the move-
ment of the sleeve v. wherefore the disk which carries the pawl w
rotates while the disk V which carries the pin does not rotate. The
inclined slot win the pawl coacts with the pin causing the pawl
to be drawn outward and to become disengaged from the ratchet, wherefore the
rotation of the shaft. h ceases. Then the end of the slot w engages with the
pin and this causes this friction held disk to rotate with it. When the pinion h²
reverses its movement the pawl w rotates with the disk U, but the sleeve vis
again held by the brake until the other end of the slot in the pawl engages with
the pin, after which said sleeve rotates with the pawl. The pin ¹ in passing
from one end of the slot to the other forces the pawl inward into engagement
with the ratchet where it is ready to repeat the operation before explained.
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. The co-operating parts of a die adapted to curl the edge of an article similar

page_text: to a can cover around a wire, one of said die parts adapted to carry a wire tending
to lie in the path of the edge of the article to be wired as the two are brought
toward each other, combined with mechanism for moving such wire out of the
way of said edge to be curied, substantially as and for the purpose specified.
2. The combination of the co-operating parts of a die adapted to curl the
edge of an article similar to a can cover around a wire, and mechanism for shoving
such wire into one of the die parts, and mechanism causing such wire to be pulled
slightly backward after it is in the die to move it out of the way of the edge to
be curled, substantially as and for the purpose specified.
3. A die for curling the edge of a metallic article similar to a can cover around
a wire which consists of an outer member having an internal curling groove and
an inner expanding member having a flange adapted to extend over said groove,
combined with mechanism for placing a wire in such curling groove and for
drawing the same under the said flange and thereby out of the way of the article
to be curled, and mechanism for holding said expanding ring in its expanded
position while the article is being curled, and for thereafter contracting it, and
imechanism for forcing said article into the die to curl its edge around the wire,
substantially as and for the purpose specified.
4. The combination of a wiring die which includes an outer ring having an
internal annular rib with a curling groove on its side, said ring having an open-
ing through it entering said groove, an expanding ring having separable sections
each of which has an external annular Hange adapted to extend over the said
curling groove, means for expanding and contracting said ring, with wire feeding
mechanism adapted to feed a wire into said groove and mechanism for cutting
off the wire and bending its end outward, substantially as and for the purpose
specified.
5. The combination, with an outer part of a die having an internal annular
rib with a curling groove on its side, an opening from the outside of the die to
said groove, an internal expanding ring having separable sections which have
external flanges co-operating with said curling groove, mechanism for holding
said inner ring in its expanded position, mechanism for then pushing a wire
into said curling groove and around the same and for then drawing back on
said wire slightly, mechanism for forcing an article similar to a can cover into
said die and causing its edge to curl around said wire, mechanism for cutting off
said wire, and mechanism for contracting said inner ring to release the article
wired, substantially as and for the purpose specified.
6. In a wiring apparatus, the combination of a wiring die having an external
ring A with an opening through its wall, wire feeding rolls, and a wire guide,
with a cut off device pivoted on a vertical axis between the end of the wire guide
and the opening in the ring, said cut off device having a horizontal slot through
which the wire passes from the guide to the slot, and means for turning said
cut off on its axis to cut off the wire and bend it outward, substantially as and
for the purpose specified.
7. The combination of an outer ring having an internal annular rib which
has a curling groove in its side, an expanding inner ring having independently
movable sections which have flanges adapted to extend above said rib and flanges
adapted to extend below said rib and thereby prevent longitudinal movement
of the ring sections, and radial guide pins and co-operating radial holes carried
by the outer ring and the movable ring sections whereby said sections are allowed
to move in radial directions, and means for expanding said inner ring, sub-
stantially as and for the purpose specified.
8. The combination with a plunger of a die composed of a pair of co-operating
rings which have on their proximate faces an annular rib on one ring and a
Hange on the other, one of said rings having independently movable sections
whereby it is adapted to approach or recede from the other ring, a sleeve movable
axially in relation to such expanding ring and carrying inclined surfaces adapted
to operate upon the ring sections and move them out or in as it moves in one

page_text: direction or the other, a rod independently movable through said sleeve, a shoulder
on said rod adapted to limit the independent movement of the rod through the
sleeve and cause the sleeve to move with it, a plate moving with said rod and
adapted to support an article similar to a can cover in position to be acted upon
by said die, and means for causing said plate to move said article away from said
die, substantially as and for the purpose specified.
9. The combination of an outer ring A having an internal rib a in which
a curling groove a¹ is formed, an inner ring within this outer ring, said inner
ring being expandible by means of movable sections, each section having (1) a
Hange adapted to extend over said rib and hold a wire in the curling groove,
and (2) a conical surface on its upper side, with a sleeve which passes axially
through said expanding ring and has bevelled surfaces for engaging with the ring
sections to move them outward and inward, a longitudinally movable rod passing
through said sleeve, an ejector plate on the end of said rod, and a shoulder on
the rod on the other side of said sleeve, and a reciprocating plunger above said
ejector plate, substantially as and for the purpose specified.
10. The combination of a fixed ring having an internal annular rib which has
a curling groove in its upper side, an expanding ring made up of independently
movable sections each having a flange adapted to extend over said rib, and means
for preventing longitudinal movement of said ring sections, with a sleeve movable
axially through said expanding ring and carrying inclined surfaces for moving
the ring sections out or in as it moves in one direction or the other, a rod movable
through the sleeve, an ejector plate on the end of said rod, a shoulder on said rod
below said sleeve, a spring for moving the rod in one direction, and a press
plunger for moving it in the opposite direction, substantially as and for the
purpose specified.
11. The co-operating dies, substantially as herein shown and described.
12. The mechanism for cutting off the wire and turning its end outward, sub-
stantially as herein shown and described.
13. The mechanism, substantially as herein shown and described, for expand-
ing and contracting the inner ring.
Dated this 3rd day of October 1899.
BOULT, WADE & KILBURN,
Agents for the Applicant.