AN IMPROVED MACHINE FOR TAPPING OR FORMING THE THREADS IN METALLIC NUTS
Year: 1870

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George Haseltine, of the "International Patent
Office," Southampton Buildings, London, for the Invention of "AN
IMPROVED MACHINE FOR TAPPING OR FORMING THE THREADS IN METALLIC
NUTS." A communication from abroad by Bradford Howland, of
Paola, Kansas, and Edward Fitch, of Ravenna, Ohio, both in the
United States of America.
-
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said George Haseltine at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 3rd October 1870.
I, GEORGE HASELTINE, of the "International Patent Office," South-
ampton Buildings, London, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "AN IMPROVED MACHINE FOR TAPPING OR FORMING THE THREADS
IN METALLIC NUTS," a communication, to be as follows:-
:-
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said George Haseltine at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 3rd October 1870.
I, GEORGE HASELTINE, of the "International Patent Office," South-
ampton Buildings, London, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "AN IMPROVED MACHINE FOR TAPPING OR FORMING THE THREADS
IN METALLIC NUTS," a communication, to be as follows:-
-
The principle of this machine and its features of novelty are,-
First. That the nuts may be poured promiscuously into a hopper, from
which they pass on to a shoe whose sides have a peculiar motion different

page_text: from the motion of the bottom which carries the nuts to the upper
end of the tap, over which they pass and drop from the other end
of it.
Second: The tap is so constructed that at different places its circum-
ference is not a circle but is made so that the tap may be held at these
places alternately, and the nuts will pass over each of these places while
the tap is being held at another, and thus the thread of the nuts is being
constantly cut.
Third. The tap is held at each of these places by two half clutches
opposite to each other, so that their ends will clutch and hold the tap
between them.
Fourth. Each set of half clutches is between two wheels placed
against each other (on the hollow shaft enclosing the tap, on which shaft
one is fast and the other loose) and having a differential motion so that
a cam in one wheel moves the half clutches through a groove in the
other, causing them to open and close against the tap while constantly
revolving uniformly with the tap.
Fifth. Below the clutches and on opposite sides of the tap where the
nuts are cut are two adjustable endless chains, which holds the nuts from
turning, having projections upon them against which the nuts press
while being cut, thereby moving the chains and pressing the following
nuts on the thread of the tap exactly as fast as the thread is being cut.
Sixth. The dropping of the nuts above the clutches is regulated by
guards operated by means of a slide springs and lever, the projections
on the endless chains causing a nut to drop on the tap as often as one
is cut. The nuts pass from a hopper into a shoe. The slope of the shoe
is regulated by screw nuts. Levers through suitable connecting rods
impart motion from the driving shaft to the shoe. The sides of the shoe
at their lower ends move up and down on the shoe in slides receiving
their motion from the ends of a cross bar. The sides are adjusted to the
width of the nut at the lower ends by slots in the cross bar and by the
adjustable slides. The motion of the shoe is regulated by a slot and by
holes in the lever. A cross piece prevents the nuts from passing under
it edgewise or on each other. The tap is constructed in two places
between half clutches with an angular or indented surface, so that it a
may be held there while cutting nuts by the half clutches without
turning in them. The tap above its thread is in the centre of the hollow
shaft which is turned in boxes in the frame of the machine at the ends

page_text: of the shaft by bevelled wheels. A wheel is made with a shoulder
around it on the lower side, across which at its centre is a groove in
which the two half clutches are placed. Another wheel has a cam and
is held against the first wheel by keys, so that by the differential motion
of the wheels the cam presses against a shoulder on each half clutch,
thereby opening and closing the half clutches against the tap through
two holes in the shaft. The outer ends of the half clutches are connected
by a spring and hold the shoulders of the half clutches against the cam.
Half clutches between wheels above the others are worked in a similar
manner, the cams being so arranged that the upper and lower clutches
open and close alternately. The shoulders of the half clutches are
adjustable by means of a bolt and slot for the purpose of working
different sized taps. The cam wheels are turned faster than the grooved
wheels, and thereby the half clutches are opened and closed as often
as the cam wheels gain half a revolution to ensure the passage of a nut
between the clutches as often as the thread of a nut is cut. The endless
chains are operated by the nuts passing down the thread of the tap and
pressing upon projections on the chains. When the machine is started
and there is no nut on the thread of the tap, a nut with the thread cut
may be pressed on the thread of the tap when the turning of the tap
will move down the nut and the chains whose projections will press
down the following nut until its thread is partially formed, so that the
turning of the tap will carry it down. Each chain is supported between
the wheels on which it turns by a piece of iron which is bolted to the
frame of the chain, thereby keeping the nuts from turning. The endless
chains are adjustable by means of a slotted cross brace and slots in their
frames where they are bolted to the frame of the machine. A lever
moves the regulating slide for regulating the dropping of the nuts by
opening the guards which are fastened to the frame of the slide. The
slide is operated by projections on the endless chain pressing against
the end of an adjustable lever and the action of a coil spring. The said
guards when closed hold the nuts up by the pressure of the spiral
springs. The guards are held by screws and one nut at a time may be
held between two sets of guards. When a projection has passed down
to the middle of the sloping end of the adjustable lever both sets of
guards are closed. When it has passed to the lower side of the said
lever the guards of one set are closed and the other guards are open,
permitting the nuts between the two sets of guards to drop. On one
of the endless chains the projections may be made, so that a nut will be

page_text: dropped only by each alternate projection while the other endless chain
is made so that every projection can be used to cause a nut to drop.
The adjustable lever may be operated by either of the endless chains.
Another guard drops a nut on the chains at the same time that one is
dropped by the upper guards. Other guards are attached to the outer
ends of the upper half clutches and project through holes in the hollow
shaft, being pressed in by spiral springs to prevent the catching of
the nuts between the upper half clutches when they are closing. A
wire leader leads down the oil and throw the nuts to one side.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said George Haseltine in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 1st April 1871.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, GEORGE
HASELTINE, of the " International Patent Office," Southampton Buildings,
London, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Third day of October, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy, in the thirty-fourth year
of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant
unto me, the said George Haseltine, Her special licence that I, the said.
George Haseltine, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such
others as I, the said George Haseltine, 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 "AN IMPROVED MACHINE FOR TAPPING
OR FORMING THE THREADS IN METALLIC NUTS," a communication to me
from abroad by Bradford Howland, of Paola, Kansas, and Edward Fitch,
of Ravenna, Ohio, both in the United States of America, upon the
condition (amongst others) that I, the said George Haseltine, 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

page_text: was to be performed, and cause the same to be filed in the Great Scal
Patent Office within six calendar months next and immediately after
the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said George Haseltine, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is
to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement, reference being had to the accompanying
Drawing, forming a part of this Specification.
The principle of this machine and its features of novelty arc,-
First. That the nuts may be poured promiscuously into a hopper
from which they pass on to a shoc whose sides have a peculiar motion,
different from the motion of the bottom, which carries the nuts to the
upper end of the tap over which they pass and drop from the other end
of it.
Second. The tap is so constructed that at different places its circum-
ference is not a circle but is made so that the tap may be held at these.
places alternately and the nuts will pass over each of these places while
the tap is being held at another, and thus the thread of the nuts is
being constantly cut.
Third. The tap is held at each of these places by two half clutches
opposite to each other so that their ends will clutch and hold the tap
between them.
Fourth. Each set of half clutches is between two wheels placed against
each other on a hollow shaft enclosing the tap (on which shaft one is
fast and the other loose) and having a differential motion so that a cam
in one wheel moves the half clutches through a groove in the other,
causing them to open and close against the tap while constantly revolving
uniformly with the tap.
Fifth. Below the clutches and on opposite sides of the tap where the
nuts are cut are two adjustable endless chains which hold the nuts from
turning, having projections upon them against which the nuts press
while being cut, thereby moving the chains and pressing the following
nuts on the thread of the tap exactly as fast as the thread is being cut.
Sixth. The dropping of the nuts above the clutches is regulated by
guards, operated by means of a slide springs and lever by the projections
on the endless chains causing a nut to drop on the tap as often as one
is cut.

page_text: DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING.
Figure 1 represents a front elevation of the said machine; Figure 2 is
a vertical sectional view of Figure 1; Figure 3 is a transverse vertical
section of Figure 1. Like letters indicate the same parts throughout
the Drawing.
the shoe in the
The nuts pass from the hopper a (Figure 1) into the shoe b. The
slope of the shoe is regulated by nuts on the screw c. The lever d is
connected at one end with the lever e, fastened to the pivot f, which
turns in the frame of the machine and is connected at the other end by
a pitmang to the driving shaft which gives motion to the shoe. The
levers and pitman are shown in Figure 4. The bottom of the shoe is
represented as broken off in Figure 5 in order to show the manner of
operating it. The lower end of the shoe turns on the pin h, and the
shoe also rests on a pin in the centre of the cross bar which is held by
nuts on the screw c at a right angle with the lever e. The sides j, j, of
the shoe at their lower ends move up and down on
slides receiving their motion from the ends of the cross bar i. The
sides are adjusted to the width of the nut at the lower ends by slots in
the cross bar i, and by the adjustable slides k. The motion of the shoc
is regulated by a slot and by holes in the lever e. The cross piece /
prevents the nuts from passing under it edgewise or on each other. The
dotted lines show the relative position of the different parts when the
shoe is moved by the lever e. The tap m, in Figure 2, is constructed
with two places between the half clutches n and o where its circum-
ference is not a circle but is made with an angular or indented surface
so that it may be held there while cutting nuts by the half clutches
without turning in them. The tap above its thread is in the centre of a
hollow shaft which is turned in boxes in the frame of the machine at
the ends of the shaft by the bevelled wheels 8 and t through which the
machine is operated by the pulleys and belt. The wheels p and s are
fastened on the shaft. The wheels 2 and are loose on the shaft and
keyed together by the two keys u, u, across them so that both are turned
by the bevelled wheel v. The wheel p is made with a shoulder around
it on the lower side, across which at its centre is a groove (see Figure 6)
in which the two half clutches are placed. The wheel q has a cam in
the upper side (see Figure 7) and is held against the wheel p by the
keys u, u, so that by the differential motion of the wheels the cam
presses against a shoulder on each half clutch thereby opening and

page_text: 8
closing the half clutches against the tap through two holes in the shaft.
The outer ends of the half clutches project beyond the shoulder of the
wheel and are connected by a spring passing partly around the shoulder
of the wheel (see Figure 8) and holding the shoulders of the half clutches
against the cam. The half clutches between the wheels r and s are
worked in a similar manner, the cam wheel being so placed on the
grooved wheel s in reference to the position of the cam in wheel q that
the upper and lower clutches open and close alternately. The shoulders
of the half clutches are adjustable by means of a bolt and slot for the
purpose of working different sized taps. The cam wheels are turned
faster than the grooved wheels and thereby the half clutches are opened
and closed as often as the cam wheels gain half a revolution, the
difference of motion between the cam wheels and grooved wheels being
sufficient to ensure the passage of a nut between the clutches as often
as the thread of a nut is cut. The half clutches may be removed and
adjusted for different sized taps by pulling out the two keys connecting
the cam wheels and loosening the set screw w and moving back the
driving shaft so that the cam wheels and grooved wheels may be
separated. The endless chains x, x, (Figure 2) are operated by the nuts
passing down the thread of the tap and pressing upon projections on the
chains. When the machine is started and there is no nut on the thread
of the tap a nut with the thread cut may be pressed on the thread of
the tap, when the turning of the tap will move down the nut and the
chains, whose projections will press down the following nut until its
thread is partially formed so that the turning of the tap will carry it
down. By reason of the nut on the thread of the tap always pressing
the following nut on to the thread of the tap each has a uniform motion
with the other and exactly proportionate to the size of the thread, the
motion of the tap thus forming a perfect thread with less wearing and
breaking of the tap than by a disproportionate or irregular pressure on
the nut. Each chain is supported between the wheels on which it turns
by a piece of iron y (Figure 2) which is bolted to the frame of the chain,
thereby keeping the nuts from turning. The endless chains are adjust-
able by means of the slotted cross brace Z and slots in their frames
The lever A
where they are bolted to the frame of the machine.
(Figure 3) moves the slide C (Figure 9) for the purpose of regulating
the dropping of the nuts by opening the guards D, E, which are fastened
to the frame of the slide, as shown in Figure 1. The top of this frame
is shown by the dotted lines in Figure 9. The slide is operated by the
•

page_text: projections on the endless chain pressing against the end of the adjust-
able lever F and the action of the coil spring G (Figure 10). The
lever A is adjusted by the set screw H. The guards D, E, when closed
hold the nuts up by the pressure of the spiral springs I, I'. The guards
are held by screws and are adjustable so that one nut at a time may be
held between the two sets of guards. When the upper end of the
lever A is held out the guards D, D, are held open by the slide and the
guards E, E, are closed under the nuts. When a projection has passed
down to the middle of the sloping end of lever F both sets of guards
are closed, as shown in Figure 9. When it has passed to the lower side
are closed, and the guards E, E, arc
The
of the lever F, the guards D, D,
open permitting the nuts between the two sets of guards to drop, thus
dropping a nut as often as one is cut. On one of the endless chains
the projections may be made so that a nut will be dropped only by cach
alternate projection, as shown in Figure 3, while the other endless chain
is made so that every projection can be used to cause a nut to drop.
The lever F may be operated by either of the endless chains.
guard J (Figure 3) is used to drop a nut on the chains at the same time
that one is dropped by the upper guards. It is operated by the spiral
spring K and the projections on the chain, and is attached to the cross
brace Z (Figure 1). The guards L (Figure 2) are attached to the outer
ends of the upper half clutches n and project through holes in the
hollow shaft, being pressed in by spiral springs a little further than the
half clutches to prevent the catching of the nuts between the upper
half clutches when they are closing. The wire leader M is to lead down
the oil and throw the nuts off to one side.
Having thus fully described the said Invention as communicated to
me by my foreign correspondents I claim,-
-
First. The shoe 6 with the sides j, j, moveable on its bottom, sub-
stantially as described, and having a peculiar motion different from the
motion of the bottom of the shoe.
Second. The tap m constructed with different places where its circum-
ference is not a circle but is made with an angular or indented surface,
substantially as set forth for the purpose of being constantly held at
different places alternately while the nuts pass on at one end of the tap
and are cut and pass off from the other end.
Third. Holding the tap by an opening and closing clutch or other
equivalent device, for the purpose and substantially as set forth.

page_text: Fourth. Holding the tap between the ends of the tap, for the purpose
and substantially as set forth.
Fifth. The combination of the cam wheel with the wheel & con-
taining half clutches or levers, one wheel being fast to the shaft and
the other loose upon it so that by their differential motion the half
clutches or levers are operated substantially as described.
Sixth. The use of the hollow shaft in combination with the tap for
the nuts to pass through.
Seventh. The combination of the two endless chains x, x, for the
purpose and substantially as described.
Eighth. The guards D, E, and 'J, and the combination of the endless
chains with them and the slide C, substantially as described.
Ninth. The combination of the guards L, L, with the half clutches n, n,
substantially as described.
Tenth. The combination of the shoe b, the guards D, E, J, and L, the
tap m, the wheels p, and q, r, and s, and clutches, the hollow shaft,
the levers A and F, and the endless chains x, x, substantially as
described.
In witness whereof, I, the said George Haseltine, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this First day of April, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-one.
Witness,
W. ROB. LAKE.
GEORGE HASELTINE. (L.S.)