Year: 1887

page_text: Date of Application, 22nd Jan., 1887
Complete Left, 5th Sept., 1887
Complete Accepted. 22nd Nov., 1887
I, CARL LOUIS LASCH, Engineer, of Reudnitz-Leipzig, in the Kingdom of Saxony;
do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
My invention relates to machines for stitching pamphlets or similar objects by
means of metallic staples formed automatically in the same machine which stitches the
pamphlet.
The principal features of novelty are the means of introducing the wire from the
coil or reel into the machine, and the mechanism for producing the motion of the slide
which cuts off the wire. The feed mechanism and the cutting and bending slide are
set in motion by the same operating lever, and arranged as follows.
An oscillating feed lever is pivoted at its upper end to a vertically moveable slide
which carries on its front side the staplo forming head. At the beginning of the
operation, the said slide is pressed down by a pin fixed to the upper end of the
operating lever, which pin slips off and allows the operating lever to continue its
down motion, without the slides, as soon as the feed lever has introduced sufficient
wire for the formation of a staple. The feed lever consists of two principal parts,
namely, the upper or main part and the moveable end piece which is pivoted to the
main part and carries at its lower extremity a spring pawl adapted to hold by friction
the wire which has been introduced into a groove at the lower end of the moveable
end piece. The pivotal motion of the end piece is limited by a pair of set screws
fixed to the main part of the feed lever. The wire is guided on its way to the staple
forming head by a curved groove formed at the lower end of a sector which forms a
lateral extension of the vertically moveable slide mentioned above. This sector has a
slot through which passes the pivoted and adjustible end piece of the feed lever and
which limits the oscillation of the latter. The oscillating motion of the feed lever is
produced by means of a curved slot formed in the upper part of the said lever, and a
stationary pin passing through the said slot, the said pin forcing the lever during the
down motion of the vertically moveable slide to turn on its fulcrum.

page_text: The staple forming head, which begins to act when the vertically moveable slide,
and therefore the feed mechanism, has stopped, is constructed as follows. It consists,
chiefly, of a base plate fixed to the vertically moveable slide and forming a bed and
guide for the vertically moveable cutting slide and staple driver. The inlet side of
this base plate contains the stationary cutting edge. The cutting slide has at its lower
end a pair of vertical tongues, and the staple driver has at its lower end a driving
plate situated between the said tongues and in the same plane. The cutting slide is
placed in front of the staple driving slide and moves in unison with the latter by
means of a peculiar mechanism. This mechanism comprises two pairs of symmetrically
placed knee-levers or links which form a quadrilateral. Each of the two upper and
longer links is pivoted to a stud fixed in the face of the staple driving slide and
forming the upper corner of the quadrilateral; each of the two lower and shorter
links is pivoted at its lower end to a stud fixed in the face of the cutting slide and
forming the lowest corner of the quadrilateral. The right and left corner of the
quadrilateral are formed by the pins which join the lower ends of the upper links to
the upper ends of the lower links, and which are provided with friction rollers. Each
of these friction rollers rolls on one of two parallel guide plates screwed to the base
plate and forming a cover for the right or left edge of the cutting slide. These guide
plates have near their lower ends a pair of symmetrically placed curved recesses.
which allow the quadrilateral to expand sideways as soon as the friction rollers reach
the said recesses.
If the staple driving slide is moved downward by the operating lever, the friction
rollers will at first roll along the parallel inner sides of the vertical guides, and the
quadrilateral will therefore be rigid and force the cutting slide to take part in the
motion of the staple driving slide, but when the friction rollers reach the curved
recesses the quadrilateral will expand, while the cutting slide remains stationary.
On the lower part of the base plate is screwed a cover plate which contains the
bending anvil. The latter is moveable perpendicularly to the face of the bending slide
and enclosed on the upper and front side by an angle plate which takes part in the
motion of the anvil. This angle plate has a horizontal groove which forms a guide
for the wire placed on the anvil. The anvil and angle plate are pushed forward out
of the way of the driving plate, at the proper moment, by means of a stud projecting
downward from the middle of the cutting slide, the said stud entering an oval hole in
the anvil end angle plate, and thereby pushing the latter forward. The return motion
of the anvil is produced by a spring. To prevent the cutting slide from moving
upward during the first part of the up motion of the staple driver when the friction
rollers are still in the lateral recesses, I employ a brake spring fixed to the vertical
guides and a pin fixed in the face of the cutting slide and projecting into a cup shaped
recess of the brake spring.
The apparatus for clenching the staples after they have been driven through the
pamphlet, may be constructed as described in the specification of patent No. 16,138,
dated the 8th of December, 1884. Instead of the two springs shown in the
said specification, I may employ a single helical spring placed in a vertical socket
formed in the centre of the stand A. On the top of this spring rests a moveable cap
from which extend upward a pair of arms connecting the cap with the two slotted
downward extensions of the clenching apparatus or box a, a shown in Fig. 2 of the
said specification, so that the said cap and the box a, a move up and down with the
helical spring.
FAIRFAX & WETTER,
433, Strand, London,
Agents for the Applicant.

page_text: Improvements in Machinery for Forming and Applying Metallic
Staples.
I, CARL LOUIS LASCH, Engineer, of Reudnitz-Leipzig, in the Kingdom of Saxony,
do hereby declare the nature of my invention for IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY
FOR FORMING AND APPLYING METALLIC STAPLES, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:
My invention relates to machines for stitching pamphlets or books by means of
metallic staples formed automatically in the same machine which stitches the
pamphlet.
The principal features of novelty are the mechanism for introducing the wire from
the coil or reel into the staple forming head, and the mechanism for producing the
motion of the slide which cuts off the wire.
In the following description reference will be made to the accompanying drawings,
of which Figure 1, is a front elevation and Fig. 2, a side elevation and partial
section of a complete machine embodying my invention. Figure 3 is a front elevation
of the staple-forming head on a larger scale: Fig. 4 is a section of the same along
line I-II of Fig. 3: Fig. 4 is a section showing the lower part of Fig. 4 on a
larger scale Fig. 4 is an elevation of angle-plate shown in Fig. 4°; Fig. 5 is a
section along line III-IV of Fig. 3; and Fig. 6 a side elevation. Figs. 7 and 8
show the staple forming head in a different position. Fig. 9 is a vertical section and
Fig. 10 an elevation of the bending anvil contained in the staple forming head.
Figs. 11 and 12 illustrate details of the wire feeding mechanism. Fig. 13 is a
horizontal section through the staple forming head and the adjoining parts of the
machine frame. Figs. 14, 15 and 16 are diagrams illustrating three consecutive
stages of the formation of a staple.
The various mechanisms are mounted on a stand or main-frame A forming in front
a bed plate a for a vertically moveable slide B, (Figs. 2 and 13) and at the back a
fulcrum support a³ for the operating lever C. This lever is operated by a treadle
situated in front of the machine, and sets in motion the staple forming head, as
well as the wire feeding mechanisın.
61
The vertical slide B, B (Figs. 1 and 13) is provided, at the entrance side of the
machine, with a fulcrum support for an oscillating lever D and with a frame b',
which has the shape of a sector and serves to guide the wire won its way to the
staple forming head. Consequently any up or down motion of the slide B, is also
imparted to the guiding frame 6' and to the lever D. Fig. 1 is a section through
sector along line A-B of Fig. 1.
to
The feed lever D is intended to grip the wire at the beginning of the operation, and
carry it towards the staple forming head until the latter has received the quantity
necessary for the formation of a staple. As shown by Figs. 11 and 12, the wire
passes through a pair of grooves e³, e formed by the plates e, e¹ and e² screwed on to

page_text: the extremity of the feed lever, and comes in contact with a spring pawl e situated
between the plates e, e¹. This spring pawl is arranged so as to grip the wire when
travelling towards the staple forming head, and to release the same when travelling
backward. The oscillation of the feed lever is limited by the flanges or stops and 6³
formed on the sector frame b¹.
To prevent the wire from going back on the return motion of the feed lever,
another guide with spring pawl f, similar to that described above, is attached to the
slide B, immediately before the staple forming head.
The oscillating motion of feed lever D is derived from its up and down motion in
the following manner (see Figs. 1 and 13). The machine stand A has a laterally
projecting arm a carrying at its extremity a fixed stud a² on which is mounted a
friction roller a³, (Fig. 13). This roller fits into a curved slot d formed by the
lever D, (Fig. 1). When the slide B with lever D moves up and down, the friction
roller as being guided in the slot d, causes the lever to oscillate on its fulcrum.
:
To ensure that the correct length of wire will he fed to the staple forming head,
even when the wear and tear between the pivot of the lever D and its bearings
interferes with the accuracy of its motion, the lower end of the lever D is made of a
separate piece E pivoted to the upper part at and rendered adjustable by a pair of
set screws d², d² (Fig. 11), passing through flanges d³, d³ at the lower end of the
upper part D. The oscillation of the lever D is made larger than would be necessary
and allowable if the lower arm E were rigidly attached to it. Consequently, the
lower arm E will move until it comes into contact with the flange 63 (Fig. 1) after
which the upper arm D continues to move for a short distance.
In Fig. 11, is the head of a screw, passing through a slot of the arm E and
secured in the arm D. This screw serves to keep the arm E in contact with arm D
while turning on its pivot d'.
The down motion of the operating lever C is transmitted to the slide B by a stud c
(Figs. 1 and 2) projecting from the side of the lever (and pressing upon the narrow
upper end of the slide. During the down motion of the lever C, the stud c, being
constrained to describe a curved path, will slide forward on the upper extremity of
the slide B until the rear edge of the stud c has reached the upper front edge of the
slide B, after which the stud c will slip off and allow the slide to stand still, while the
lever continues its down motion.
During this further down motion, the head C³ of the lever C, being situated in a
slot at the top of the staple forming head (see Fig. 1), presses the latter down
independently of the slide B, while the slide B, and therefore the feed mechanisın,
remains stationary.
The staple forming head, (Figs. 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5) comprises a base-plate M fixed to
the slide B and forming a guide and bed for the vertically moveable cutting slide J
and staple driver H. The inlet side of this base plate contains a circular block m
(Fig. 3), having on its outside a mouth m (Figs. 3 and 6) for introducing the wire
and on its inside a sharp edge, which acts as a support and stationary knife edge
when the cutting knife i descends to cut off the wire.
The cutting slide J has at its lower end a pair of vertical tongues i, i, and the staple
driver H has at its lower end a driving plate situated between the said tongues and
in the same plane; (see also detached views Figs. 3 and 4). The inner corners of
the tongues i, are slightly rounded, and the outer corner of the first tongue i is
formed into a knife edge.
The cutting slide is made to move in unison with the driving slide by means of a
peculiar mechanism composed chiefly of two pairs of knee levers or links K, L,
connected with each other so as to form a variable quadrilateral. The two upper
links K K are pivoted to the same stud k fixed in the face of the slide H.; the two
lower links L L are pivoted at the lower ends to the same stud fixed in the face of
the cutting slide J. The right and left corners of the quadrilateral are formed by
pins which join the lower ends of the links K, K to the upper ends of the
links L, L, and are provided with friction rollers situated below the links K, K.
These friction rollers roll up and down along the inner edges of two parallel

page_text: guide plates N, N screwed to the base plate M. and forming a pair of covers for the
right and left edge of the cutting slide J. These guide plates N, N have at their
lower part a pair of curved recesses n, n placed symmetrically to each other and
allowing the quadrilateral to expand sideways as soon as the friction rollers reach the
said recesses.
The slide H is set in motion by the head C₁ of the operating lever C, for which
purpose the top of the slide H is enlarged and provided with a slot, as indicated by
Figs. 1 and 2, but not shown in Figs. 3 to 8.
If the slide H is pressed downward by the lever C, the friction rollers will at
first roll along the parallel inner edges of the guide plates N, N, the quadrilateral will
he rigid and force the cutting slide to take part in the motion of the slide H, but
when the friction rollers reach the recesses n, n, the further down motion of the
slide H will only cause the quadrilateral to expand, while the cutting slide J remains
stationary.
As
On the lower part of the base plate M. is screwed a cover plate O containing the bend-
ing anvil P (see Figs. 9. 10 and 4). This anvil is surmounted by an angle plate Q, and
adapted to move with the latter perpendicularly to the slides H and J. The angle
plate has a horizontal groove q, (Figs. 4, 9 and 10), which serves to guide the
wire placed on the anvil, and is situated in the same vertical plane as the cutting
tongues and driving plate h. The anvil and angle plate are pushed forward out of
the way of the driving plate 4, at the proper moment, by means of a stud or pin "
projecting downward from the cutting slide J, the said pin entering a slightly oblique
hole in the anvil and angle plate, and thereby pushing the latter forward.
indicated by Fig. 4", the hole p is not circular from end to end, but slightly oval at
the top, where the pin enters, thereby forming an incline, against which the stud
acts so as to push the anvil P and Q outward during the down motion of the pin. The
return motion of the anvil is produced by a spring o screwed to the cover plate O.
To prevent the cutting slide from moving upward during the first part of the up
motion of the staple driver when the friction rollers are still in the recesses n, ngà
stationary brake spring R is screwed to the plates N, N, and a pin S is fixed to the
face of the cutting slide J. In the lowest position of the slide J, the pin S is situated
in a cup-shaped recess r, at the lower end of the spring R, and forms an obstacle to
the lifting of the slide J. The resistance thus produced is greater than the effort
required for stretching the variable quadrilateral K L, consequently the latter will be
stretched before the slide J begins to ascend.
In the diagram, Fig. 14, the wire has just been fed into the staple forming head,
the cutting tongues i, are situated immediately above the wire we, the down motion
of the slides H and J begins, and the wire is being cut off. In Fig. 15, the ends of
the staple have been bent down over the bending anvil by the tongues i, i, the friction
rollers have arrived at the recesses n, n, the quadrilateral begins to expand, and the
cutting slide stops. In Fig. 16, the bending anvil has been moved out of the way,
the driving plate has driven the staple out of the staple forming head, and the
slides Hand J have reached their lowest position.
The head of the bolt / moving in the vertical slot ¹ of the slido H, serves to limit
the motion of the slide J, and the head of the pin h², moving in the vertical slot m²,
serves to limit the motion of the slide H, as shown in Fig. 4.
The apparatus for clenching the staples after they have been driven through the sheets
of paper laid upon the saddle T, T, (Fig. 1) is the same as described in the specification
of the British Letters Patent No. 16,138, dated the 8th of December 1884, and will
not, therefore, require a detailed description. U, U are the springs which support
the saddle T, T, and allow the same to move up and down.
The apparatus for clenching the staples after they have been driven through the
pamphlet, may be constructed as described in the specification of patent No. 16,138,
dated the 8th of December, 1884. Instead of the two springs shown in the said
specification, I may employ a single helical spring placed in a vertical socket or recess
formed in the centre of the stand A. On the top of this spring rests a moveable cap
from which extend upward a pair of arms connecting the cap with the two slotted

page_text: downward extensions of the clenching apparatus or saddle shown in Fig. 2 of the said
specification, so that the said cap and the saddle move up and down with the helical
spring.
Fig. 17 is an elevation and Fig. 18 a horizontal section showing this modification.
U is the helical spring placed in a vertical recess of the stud A, is the moveable
cap, T is the clenching saddle provided with vertical guiding slots t¹.
Having now particularly described the nature of my invention, and in what manner
the same is to be performed, I hereby declare that I claim :-
1. In a machine for forming and applying metallic staples, the combination with
the main frame or machine stand, of a feed lever D and gripping piece E, a slide B
carrying a guide for the wire as well as the fulcrum support for the lever D,
mechanism for producing a pivotal motion of the lever D) by the up and down motion
of the slide B, and means for pressing the slide B downward until the lever D has
completed its travel.
2. In a machine for forming and applying metallic staples, the combination with
the main frame or machine stand, of a feed lever D having a moveable gripping
piece E, a slide B carrying a guide band pawl f for the wire as well as the fulcrum
support and the stops 62, 63 for the lever D, mechanism for producing a pivotal
motion of the lever D by the up and down motion of the slide B, and an operating
lever Cadapted to press the slide B downward until the lever D has completed its travel.
3. In a machine for forming and applying metallic staples, the combination of
the stand A having a bed plate a and a lateral arm a¹ carrying a stud a and friction
roller a³, with a feed lever D having a curved slot d and a moveable gripping piece F,
a slide carrying a guide and pawl f¹ for the wire as well as a fulcrum support b,
and stops 623 for the lever D, and an operating lever C, having a pine adapted to
remain in contact with and press down the slide B until the lever D has travelled
from b² to b³.
4. In a machine for forming applying metallic staples, mechanism for operating
the cutting slide J in unison with the staple driver H, said mechanism comprising a
double knee joint formed by links K K, L L, a pair of lateral guides N, N, provided
with recesses n, n, and a pair of friction rollers adapted to slide along the said guides.
5. In a machine for forming and applying metallic staples, mechanism for operating
the cutting slide J in unison with the staple driver, said mechanism comprising
links KK, LL, pivots k, k, guide plates N, N and friction rollers k², k².
6. The combination of base plate M, with driving slide or staple driver H, cutting
slide J, links K K, L L, pivots k, k', guide plates N N, having recesses n, n, and
brake mechanism R, S.
7. In a machine for forming and applying metallic staples, the combination of hase
plate M and stationary cutting edge m, with driving slide H, cutting slide J adapted
to move in unison with the bending slide and provided with a stud or pin ¹, and a
detachable cover 0 carrying a moveable bending anvil and a spring, said stud being
adapted to press the anvil forward out of the way of the slide.
8. In a machine for forming and applying metallic staples, the combination of
bending anvil P, with angle piece Q provided with groovey, and adapted to take part
in the motion of the anvil.
9. The modification of my clenching apparatus, having a helical spring in the
centre instead of a pair of leaf springs.
The whole substantially as described and for the purposes specified.
Dated thin 95th day CA100
FAIRFAX & WETTER,
433, Strand, London,
Agents for the Applicant.