Improvements in Machines for Forming and Clinching Wire Staples for Binding Together Paper and other Material.
Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application, 29th May, 1894-Accepted, 30th June, 1894
Improvements in Machines for Forming and Clinching Wire Staples
for Binding Together Paper and other Material.
I, EDWIN TRUMAN GREENFIELD, of No. 44 Broad Street, New York City,
New York, United States of America, Electrician, do hereby declare the nature of
this invention 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 particularly to paper binding machines of that type in
which a number of sheets of paper, cloth or analogous material are bound together
by wire or analogous staples through the agency of mechanism which first cuts a
staple blank, then forms it into a staple, and afterwards drives and clinches it
through the material to be bound.
The invention will be fully understood by referring to the accompanying drawings
in which
Figure 1 illustrates the complete apparatus partly in section on broken line 1-1
Figure 2 in position to form and drive a staple the dotted lines indicating the
second position illustrating the operation of the feeding mechanism.
Figure 2 is a plan view of the entire machine.
Figure 3 is a detail end view of the working part of the staple forming and
staple driving plungers having a guide-way in their ends for guiding the staple
forming wire between them and the staple forming mandrel.
Figures 4 and 5 are transverse sectional views taken through the body of the
machine on the line 4-4, Figure 2 and as seen looking from the right toward
the left in the direction of the arrows, Figure 4 illustrating the location of the
operative parts during the process of the forming of a staple, and Figure 5 the
position of the same parts after the staple has been formed and just preparatory
to driving it through the material to be bound.
Figure 6 is a sectional view taken through the body of the machine on the
broken line 6-6, Figure 2, and as seen looking from the right toward the left of
the drawing.
Figure 7 is a horizontal sectional view taken through Figure 4 on the broken
line 7-7 and as seen looking from the top towards the bottom of the drawing, and
Figure 8 is a plan view of the staple clinching anvil.
Like letters of reference represent like parts throughout the drawings.
B represents the base of the machine preferably cast in a single piece of material
and provided with a hinged bail wire E which may be folded up into the hollow
portion of the base as shown in dotted lines, or turned to the position shown in full
lines, its function being to give the machine greater base support without tilting
when the operative portions are lifted by hand into the position shown in dotted lines,
Figure 1. B' is a standard cast integral with the base B, its function being to
support the entire apparatus upon an arm F pivotally secured to said standard B¹
by a screw s.
S is a wooden spool for carrying the staple forming wire W, said spool being
provided with a retaining groove or opening extending across one end and adapted
to receive frictionally a metal cross piece V3 which is secured through the medium
of a bolt V, set nut v¹ and spiral regulating spring S₁ directly to an arm V' said
arm being in turn adjustably secured to the standard B' by a screw e, see Figures 2
and 6.

page_text: The outer end of the arm F is of a hollow cylindrical nature and acts as a guide-
way and support for the staple forming and staple driving plungers p, p' and their
accessory parts, the plunger p being in turn hollow as shown at I and admitting of
vertical movement of the staple driving plunger pl through the agency of the
operating handle H and head which rests normally upon a strong spiral spring S¹
supported in turn by a collar on the upper end of the staple driving plunger p³,
said spring acting as a yielding connection between the two plungers. The staple
forming plunger is sustained at one side by a pin which rests upon a second strong
spiral spring S² coiled around a pin T secured in an opening parallel with the
operating handle H, s¹ being a set screw for limiting the upward movement of the
two plungers ppl, and their attached parts under the stress of the spring S². To
the upper end of the staple forming plunger p at f1 f1, Figures 4 and 5, is secured
a pair of pivoted links or arms f, f, the free ends of which are adapted to be forced
downward by a shoulder upon the operating handle H, said arms or links having
vertical movement between a pair of curved arms F₁, F¹ cast integral with the
outer extension of the arm F.
To the lower end of the staple driving plunger pl is secured, by a pin, a guide
block p³ which is grooved on its lower face, its ends extending laterally into
vertically disposed grooved guide-ways in the inner face of the staple forming
plunger p, and on opposite sides of the lower face of the staple forming plunger
are ridges or elevations g, gl forming between them a groove 92 which, under the
normal conditions seen in Figures 1 and 3, constitute in conjunction with the
in the block p³ a guide-way across the face of the two plungers, said joint grooves
being in alignment with a pair of tubular guide-ways k, k, Figure 7, secured in
opposite sides of the hollow guide-way for the plungers p, p', being a tubular
extension of the tube k adapted to receive the staple forming wire W and guide it
into the machine all as clearly shown in Figures and 3.
groove
C is the staple forming mandrel which has horizontal movement in a lateral
extension of the part F and rests normally with its outer divided end C¹ in the
path of the staple forming and staple driving plungers, said mandrel having a
guiding groove c in its upper surface in which plays a pin c¹ extending downward
through the part F. To the outer end of this staple forming mandrel is secured a
screws around which is coiled a spring S³, one end of which bears against the
mandrel and the other against a removable cap held in place by screws s, t, the
function of the spiral spring being to maintain the staple forming mandrel in its
outer position as shown in Figure 4.
p² is a pin carried at the lower end of the staple forming mandrel p and adapted
to have frictional bearing upon the inclined end of the staple forming mandrel so
that when it is forced downward it will pass between the divided ends C' of the
mandrel, see Figures 5 and 7.
A represents the anvil which is preferably of steel and is secured to the base by
screws b, b and dowell pins a¹, a¹, extending from the underside upward. In the
upper side of this anvil is a clinching groove a located in the plane of the direction
of movement of the staple forming wire, see Figures 1 and 8.
is a ratchet wheel provided, in the present instance with five ratchet teeth at
sufficient distances apart to feed the staple forming wire forward the required
amount for each complete movement of the mechanism when it is tilted from the
position shown in full lines to that shown in dotted lines in Figure 1, P being a
propelling pawl carried by a screw on the arm F, and d a holding paal for
preventing backward movement of the ratchet wheel on restoring the apparatus to
the position shown in full lines. 2 is a milled feeding wheel secured to the ratchet
wheel and both journalled upon the said screw s. is a milled frictional feeding
wheel of smaller diameter and carried by a lever R pivoted to the frame at one
end and provided at the other end with a yielding adjustable spring for limiting
the pressure upon the wire W between the two feed wheels r¹ and
sp is a back stop carried by the arm F, its function being to limit the backward

page_text: movement of the arm and operating handle H by coming in contact with the rear
face of the standard B' as shown in dotted lines in Figure 1.
The operation of the apparatus is as follows:
The handle H and arm F are first lifted into the position shown in dotted lines
in Figure 1.
In doing this the pawl P imparts to the ratchet wheel r and hence
to the milled feed wheel one-fifth of a revolution thereby causing the wire W to
be fed forward through the tube g³ and guide channel g into the position shown in
Figure 1 at the same instant the holding pawl d fell into the next ratchet tooth in
advance.
The material to be bound is now placed upon the anvil A, and the handle H and
part F restored to the position shown in full lines in Figure 1; the handle H is
then struck a sharp blow. During the downward movement of the parts they first
assume the position shown in Figure 4 with the shoulder of the handle H resting
upon the ends of the pivoted links or arms hh thereby causing the staple forming
plunger p to be driven forward into the position shown in Figure 5. The sharp
cutting edge of the staple forming mandrel p next to the guide tube k therefore
cuts off the exposed portion of wire and simultaneously the other side of the staple
forming mandrel cuts off any portion of wire which may have been forced into the
right hand guide tube k', see Figure 1. The staple is then formed around the free
end C of the staple forming mandrel and this mandrel, as the handle advances, is
caused to retreat through the agency of the pin p² acting upon the inclined face of
the mandrel between the divided ends C' thereof as clearly shown in Figure 5.
The downward motion continuing, the part ¹ ultimately coming into mechanical
contact with the staple driving plunger pl as the spring S¹ is compressed and
finally driving the staple home through the material and clinching it in the
clinching groove a. On releasing the handle H the parts are restored to their
normal positions through the agency of the springs S1 and S2, and the staple
forming mandrel C again returns to its normal position under the stress of the
spring S. The material may now be removed and additional binding staples
inserted at various parts as desired.
When the supply of wire W is exhausted the spool S is simply removed from
the frictional support V3 by sliding it to one and a similar spool with a new
supply of wire is substituted instead, such an a ement forming a simple and
efficient means for attaching the wire supply. The eusion put upon the wire
supply spool by the feeding apparatus is regulated by the set screw V₁ and spiral
regulating spring S', the arrangement being such as is apparent on inspection of
Figure 6, that increased pressure upon the spiral regulating spring S4 will increase
the friction between the spool support and the supporting arm V2.
The invention is not limited to the special details of construction herein shown
and described as many of the features may be materially departed from and still
come within the scope of the claims hereinafter made. To make a single illustra-
tion, in place of the friction plate V3 and the groove in the spool S one may
substitute a spool having a hole bored through the head thereof and a pin adapted
to fit in said hole and through a corresponding hole in the rod V such an arrange-
ment being an obvious equivalent.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. A paper binding machine comprising staple forming and staple driving
plungers yieldingly connected together and pivotally secured to a base, in com-
bination with wire feeding mechanism secured to the same base and having
mechanical connections with the pivoted parts whereby the binding mechanism
may be removed from over the material being bound and the staple forming wire
afterwards fed forward for forming a new staple.
2. A paper binding machine comprising two plungers yieldingly connected
together over a stationary anvil, said parts being arranged for forming, driving

page_text: and clinching wire staples through the material to be bound, in combination with
wire feeding mechanism; the binding mechanism being pivotally supported over
the material to be bound and provided with pawl mechanism operatively connected
to ratchet wire feeding mechanism fixedly secured to the same base with the
binding mechanism.
3. In a paper binding machine staple forming and staple driving plungers
yieldingly connected together, a staple forming mandrel located in the path of
said plungers, said mandrel being provided with an inclined face and one of the
plungers with a pin adapted to come into contact with said inclined face as the
plungers are driven downward, in combination with wire feeding mechanism secured
to the same base and operatively connected through ratchet and pawl mechanism
with the pivoted parts of the apparatus.
4. In a paper binding machine a staple forming plunger and a staple forming
mandrel, the latter having an inclined face, in combination with a staple driving
plunger and a pin carried by the staple forming plunger for forcing the mandrel
aside after the staple is formed, the staple forming and staple driving plungers
being located the one within the other and yieldingly connected together.
5. A paper binding machine having staple forming and staple driving plungers
yieldingly connected together and provided with a continuous groove or channel in
their lower faces said groove or channel being located in alignment with tubular
guide-ways on opposite sides in combination with means for feeding wire under
the plungers.
6. A paper binding machine having staple forming and staple driving plungers
yieldingly connected together and a staple forming mandrel located in the downward
path of said plungers, in combination with tubular wire guideways on opposite sides
of the plungers, the staple forming plunger being provided with means for cutting
the wire into staple blanks.
7. In a paper binding machine staple forming and staple driving plungers
yieldingly connected together, a staple forming mandrel located in the path of the
plungers, all pivotally supported on a base over the material to be bound, a spool
of staple forming wire and feeding mechanism secured to the same base, in com-
bination with intermediate mechanical connections between the pivoted and fixed
parts for feeding the wire forward and tubular guiding ways for conveying it under
the plungers and over the mandrel.
8. A paper binding machine having wire feeding mechanism and a wire holding
spool provided with a retaining groove in one head, in combination with a frictional
support and means for regulating the tension put upon the wire in feeding it
forward.
9. In a paper binding machine a wire holding spool having a groove or opening
through one of its heads, a frictional support resting in the groove and attached
to a fixed arm, in combination with means for regulating the frictional bearing
between the spool and its supporting arm.
10. A wire holding spool having a groove or opening through one head and a
rod or pin fitted therein, in combination with a sustaining bolt, a set nut and
regulating spring.
11. A paper binding machine consisting of a staple forming plunger surrounding
a staple driving plunger, said plungers being yieldingly connected together and
yieldingly supported in turn by an arm hinged to a base, in combination with an
anvil secured to the base.
12. A paper binding machine having staple forming and staple driving plungers
located one within the other and yieldingly connected together, both of said
plungers being in turn yieldingly sustained by an arm pivotally secured to a base,
in combination with a clinching anvil attached to the base, and wire feeding
mechanism operatively connected with the base and the pivoted portion.
13. A paper binding machine comprising two plungers adapted to form and
drive a staple at a single blow, said plungers being attached to an arm pivoted
to a base which carries also an anvil for clinching the binding staples, in

page_text: combination with wire feeding mechanism operatively connected to the pivoted
arm and the base, and additional mechanism for cutting the wire into proper
lengths for staples.
Dated this 29th day of May 1894.
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicant.