IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF SCREW-NUTS AND IN MACHINERY AND APPARATUS FOR TAPPING THE SAME AND FOR SCREWING BOLTS
Year: 1882

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Alfred Sweet Paterson, of the firm of H. S. Ward and
Company of Holborn Viaduct in the City of London, Merchants for an
Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF SCREW-NUTS AND IN
MACHINERY AND APPARATUS FOR TAPPING THE SAME AND FOR SCREWING
BOLTS Communicated to him from abroad by Hayward A: Harvey, of
Orange, New Jersey, United States of America, Mechanical Engineer
"
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Alfred Sweet Paterson at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 16th December 1882.
ALFRED SWEET PATERSON of the firm of H. S. Ward and Company of Holborn
Viaduct in the City of London Merchants "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE
OF SCREW-NUTS AND IN MACHINERY AND APPARATUS FOR TAPPING THE SAME AND
"
FOR SCREWING BOLTS [A communication to him from abroad by Hayward
A. Harvey; of Orange, New Jersey, United States of America, Mechanical
Engineer]
The object of one part of this invention is to automatically effect the feeding of
nut blanks to tapping mechanism, to tap the said blanks, release them from the
taps, and discharge them from the machine.
To this end I provide a multiple nut-tapper, in which a single feeding apparatus
adapted to present successively each one of a series of nuts in position to be
operated upon, is combined with a revolving head containing a number of radially
arranged taps, to which are imparted constant bodily rotation around a common,
centre, by the rotation of the head which supports them, and rotation upon their
longitudinal axes, first in one direction, to enable them to tap nut-blanks supplied
to them, and then in the opposite direction, to release them from the tapped nuts.
To effect the engagement of the nut-blanks with the taps, there is provided, in
connection with each tap, an arm projecting radially outward from the head which.
....6.1
"

page_text: carries the taps, which arm, in the course of its rotation, sweeps out the lowermost
one of a column of nut-blanks superposed upon their sides, and contained in a
vertical tube.
The contact of the said sweeping arm with the lowermost nut-blank is effected at
the instant when the tap to which the arm belongs is in alignment with the hole
in the nut-blank. The nut-blank, having been swept out from under the column,
is thereafter pushed toward the tap by a pusher, supported upon the sweeping arm,
and having the capacity of movement in a path which is radial in relation to the
tapping head. Immediately after the nut has been caught by the sweeping arm, a
friction roller in the outer end of the pusher is brought into contact with a
stationary excentric guide-wall by which, as the head rotates, the pusher is
forced inward, and being thus brought into contact with the side of the nut-blank,
forces the said blank upon the end of the revolving tap, which is thereby made to
completely engage the nut-blank and cut the screw-thread therein.
The nut-blank is prevented from turning, under the influence of the revolving
tap, by the contact of one of its sides with the side of the sweeping arm, and the
contact of the opposite side with the side of a shorter arm, bolted to the head, and
tlius presenting a bearing parallel with the axis of the tap, and with the side of
the sweeping arm
By means of suitable change-gearing, the taps are made to rotate upon their own
axes in one direction during one half of their orbital motion, and in the opposite
direction during the other half of their orbital motion.
The feeding mechanism is kept constantly in operation, there being no necessity
to delay the feeding, until the nut-blank bas been tapped and the tap withdrawn
from the nut, because as soon as each nut-blank is delivered it is carried outward
with the tap which is to operate upon it, and is operated upon and discharged
before the said tap has fully completed its orbital revolution.
Another part of the said invention relates to the construction of taps for cutting
the so-called spiral wedge nut, that is a nut one portion of which is provided with
a screw-thread corresponding in form with the thread of the bolt to which the nut
is applied, while another portion of the nut is provided with a truncated screw-
thread having a number of its convolutions progressively thickened at their apices
and having the grooves of such convolutions progressively deepened.
For cutting nuts of this kind it is necessary to use two forms of taps, which
involves two separate cutting operations, and it is designed to employ for this
purpose either two of the multiple nut-tapping machines, equipped respectively
with the two forms of taps required, or a single multiple tapping machine used
with the two forms of taps successively.
.
that
The facility with, which the multiple nut tapping machine performs its work,
adapts it for the production of nuts of this character at far less cost than
attending the ordinary methods of manufacture.
Another part of the said invention relates to the combination, with the bolt of a
modified form of the spiral wedge nut, which, while retaining the advantages of
that nut in respect of its capacity to transform a portion of the bolt threads in
such manner as to make them unfitted for engagement with that portion of the nut
threads which have first passed' over them, also has the advantage that it can be
made by the use of a single tap.
Another part of the said invention relates to a modification of the machine
which consists in substituting rotating dies in the place of the rotating taps, and
in so modifying the feeding mechanism as to enable it to feed bolt-blanks to the
machine, for the purpose of having screw-threads cut upon them by the revolving
dies.
:
· In constructing a nut-tapping machine according to the said invention I provide
a revolving head mounted upon the upper part of a vertical shaft to the lower part
of which there is affixed a cog-wheel which is rotated by power transmitted
through a train of gearing consisting of two pinions keyed to a vertical counter-
shaft, and a pinion and a mitre-wheel keyed to a second vertical shaft, the said

page_text: mitre-wheel is driven by a mitre-wheel keyed to one end of a hollow horizontal
shaft to the other end of which there is affixed a pinion, engaging with a smaller
pinion affixed to a counter shaft which has affixed to it a larger pinion driven by a
pinion keyed to the driving-shaft, which is provided. with a driving pulley.
The said driving shaft extends through the hollow horizontal shaft and carries
upon its inner end a bevel pinion for driving in opposite directions, respectively, to
other bevel wheels. One of the said bevel wheels is keyed to the lower part
of a vertical hollow shaft the upper end of which carries another bevel wheel.
The other of the said bevel wheels is keyed to the lower part of a second hollow
vertical shaft the upper end of which also carries a bevel wheel.
The vertical shaft is inserted through the vertical hollow shaft first named and
affords the bearings therefor, while the second vertical hollow shaft is inserted
through the first vertical hollow shaft in which it has bearings.
By this combination of gearing it will be seen that the revolving head and the
bevel wheels on the upper end of the two vertical hollow shafts have a common
axis of rotation, and that the bevel wheel on the upper end of the second
vertical hollow shaft is.rotated in the same direction as the revolving head but at a
greater speed, while the bevel wheel on the upper end of the first vertical hollow
shaft is rotated in the opposite direction
•
The revolving head carries a series of radially arranged tap arbors, upon each of
which are two loose bevel-wheels
Between the said two bevel wheels upon a part of the tap arbor which is of
enlarged diameter, is a sliding clutch sleeve provided with the usual key or pin,
extending transversely through a longitudinal slot formed in the tap arbor.
The usual forked lever is provided for shifting the clutch sleeve and holding it
in engagement with the said bevel wheels alternately, the engagement with the
second bevel wheel being for the purpose of rotating the tap in the proper
direction to enable it to cut the thread in the nut-blank and the engagement with
the first bevel wheel being for the purpose of rotating the tap in the opposite
direction to unscrew the finished nut.
The upper end of the forked clutch lever is provided with a friction roller.
During the cutting operation the said friction roller rolls along the concave face
of a stationary guide rail, which has the effect of holding the upper end of the
clutch lever inclined toward the middle of the revolving head during that part of
the orbital motion of the tap arbor in which the tap is employed in cutting the
thread. From the concave face of the stationary guide rail the friction roller is
conducted by a switch outward, and made to travel upon the convex face of a
second stationary rail which serves to rock the upper end of the clutch lever
radially outward, and hold the clutch in engagement with the first bevel wheel,
thereby rotating the tap arbor in the opposite direction, and causing the finished
nut to unscrew itself-The reverse movement of the tap arbor continues until the
friction roller at the upper end of the clutch lever, is brought around to a second
switch previous to which the finished nut has been fully unscrewed from the tap
and has thus been allowed to drop by its own gravity into a chute, for conducting
it to any convenient receptacle.
By the second switch the friction roller is reconducted to the concave surface of
the first stationary guide rail by which means the clutch sleeve is again brought
into engagement with the second bevel wheel, and the tap is thereby rotated in
the proper direction to enable it to repeat the cutting operation upon another nut-
blank, the timely presentation of which, in proper position to be operated upon, is
effected by the feed mechanism.
The tap arbors are alike in their construction and mode of operation, and the
description which has been given of one of them applies to all.
The taps are all supplied with lubricating fluid from a reservoir supported upon
the upper end of the vertical shaft.
The lower end of the said vertical shaft is provided with a bearing in a step,
cast upon the base plate of the machine, and the upper bearing, is formed, at the

page_text: junction of a spider-frame, the three legs of which are bolted to three vertical
posts A hole is tapped longitudinally in the upper portion of the vertical shaft to
receive the lower end of a discharge pipe, the upper end of which is inserted in
the bottom of the reservoir.
Below the upper bearing the vertical shaft is perforated transversely in two
directions to receive hollow connections, by which the lubricating fluid discharged
from the reservoir through a discharge pipe into the longitudinal hole in the
vertical shaft is conducted from the bottom of the said hole to four distributing
chambers. From the said distributing chambers the lubricating fluid is supplied
to pipes, which conduct it to, and discharge it upon, the screw taps, By this
construction the apparatus for oiling the taps is carried around with the revolving
head. An annular pan supported beneath the taps, serves to catch the lubricating
fluid which drips from the taps.
The tap arbors are provided with one horizontal bearings in annular vertical
flanges, cast upon the revolving head. The taps are suitably secured in the outer
ends of the said arbors.
The periphery of the revolving head is polygonal, and the end of each tap-arbor
projects outwardly from the centre of one of the faces of the head. On either side
of the tap-arbor there are two horizontally projecting arms, the opposite faces of
which are parallel with each other and with the axis of the tap. These faces are
provided, respectively, with the longitudinal shallow V-shaped grooves for
preventing the rotation of a hexagonal nut-blank while it is being tapped, by
catching two of its opposite corners.
The bolts by which the projecting arms are respectively secured to the face of
the revolving head are inserted through slots formed in the bases of the said arms
so that the latter may be adjusted toward and from the tap for the purpose of
adjusting the mechanism for tapping nut-blanks of different sizes.
One of the projecting arms does not project from the head quite so far as the tap
but the other arm projects considerably beyond the tap.
The nut-blanks resting sidewise, one upon another are contained in a vertical
tube. The lower nut-blank rests upon an adjustable horizontal table the object of
which is to hold the lower blank at such an elevation that the hole in it will be in
the same horizontal.plane as the taps. The said table is made vertically adjustable
by being mounted upon a vertical slide piece provided with an adjusting screw and
a clamping-bolt. The said vertical slide piece is supported on one of the vertical
posts to the upper ends of which the top frame of the machine is bolted-As the
head revolves one of the projecting arms and the tap sweep by without touching
the lower most nut-blank of the column of blanks contained in the vertical tube
but the projecting part of the other projecting arm strikes against the side of the
blank and sweeps it out from under the column
In order to relieve the lowermost nut-blank when resting upon the table from
the weight of the column of blanks above it I have provided a device. for holding
up the superposed blanks while the lowest one is being dropped upon the table
and being moved away by the projecting arm. This device consists of a
horizontally reciprocating slide-frame carrying a vertically adjustable lower stop
which traverses the space immediately beneath the lower end of the vertical tube.
This stop occupies a position beneath the wheel tube when a nut blank is resting
upon and being carried along the table by the projecting arm. After the projecting
arm of one tap has moved entirely across the space beneath the tube a vertical pin
on the next following arm is brought into contact with the inclined face of a wedge
affixed to a slide carriage the effect of which is that the said slide carriage is pushed
horizontally outward thus removing the stop from the lower end of the vertical
tube and permitting.the lowermost blank of the column of blanks contained in the
said tube to drop upon the table in time to be caught by the projecting arm of the
next following tap.
Prior to the removal of the stop the column of nut blanks rests upon it, simul-
taneously with such removal a pin attached to and carried by the slide carriage is

page_text: moved horizontally outward from the revolving head through an opening in the
side of the vertical tube into the hole of the nut-blank which is next to the lowest
blank. When therefore the stop has been so far removed that the lowest blank
can drop upon the table the remaining blanks in the tube are held up by the said
pin.
▾ t
A
When the vertical pin on the projecting arm has by the motion of the revolving
head been carried by the wedge the slide carriage is returned to its normal position
by a spiral spring. The stop is thus carried under the lower end of the vertical
tube in time to catch the lowest blank when the column is permitted to descend by
the complete withdrawal of the pin.
The engagement of the nut blank with the tap is effected by a pusher provided.
with a friction roller which at the proper time is brought into contact with and.
moved along the excentrically curved face of a stationary guide which is suitably
supported upon the adjacent vertical post of the machine the face of the pusher is
thus brought into contact with the side of the nut blank and as the friction roller
travels along the curved face of the excentric guide the blank is forced against the
end of the tap with a pressure which is continued until the tap has engaged and
commenced to cut the thread. After passing the excentric guide the pusher is
carried back to its normal position by a spiral spring. As the operation of cutting.
the thread progresses the nut-blank moves radially inward toward the revolving
head and as before stated is prevented from turning upon the tap by the impact of
two of its corners or sides against the opposed sides of the projecting arms.
The gearing is arranged to give each tap a sufficient number of revolutions first
in one direction to cut the thread in the nut and then in the opposite direction to
cause the nut to release itself from the tap before the tap has completed, one, of its
orbital revolutions.
In order to adapt the machine for operating upon nut blanks of different sizes!
the vertical tube is made removable and is sustained, in position by being clamped
against the side of a stationary arm, by adjustable jaws which bear respectively
upon the opposite edges of the outer side of the tube. By loosening the said jaws
the said vertical tube may be removed and a larger or smaller tube substituted in,
its place being secured in like manner by tightening the jaws upon it.
It will be understood that various methods may be employed for imparting the
necessary rotatory motions to the taps thus in cases where the machine is to be
adapted to cut the threads of thin nuts and comparatively few revolutions of the
taps are required for the cutting operation it will be found convenient to provide
the tap arbors with a fixed pinion and to arrange two stationary half segments of
circular racks, the one having a concave face to engage one side of the fixed pinion
on the arbor during one portion of the rotation of the revolving head and the other
having a convex face to engage the other side of the arbor pinion during another,
portion of the rotation of the revolving head.
In such case the arbors' may be made to rotate upon axes parallel to the axis.of
rotation of the revolving head in which they are supported.
By mounting the head upon a horizontal shaft the feeding operation may be
performed substantially in the manner hereinbefore described the further
modification required being the substitution of a concave supporting table in place.
of the flat table.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed. by
the said Alfred Sweet Paterson in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
16th June 1883.
ALFRED SWEET PATERSON, of the firm of H. S. Ward and Company, of
Holborn Viaduct, in the City of London, Merchants. IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
"
MANUFACTURE OF SCREW-NUTS AND IN MACHINERY AND APPARATUS FOR TAPPING
THE SAME AND FOR SCREWING BOLTS A communication to me from abroad by
Hayward A. Harvey, of Orange, New Jersey, United States of America,
Mechanical Engineer
This invention relates to the manufacture of screw-nuts and to machinery and
apparatus for tapping the same and for screwing bolts.
One part of the said invention is designed to automatically effect the feeding of
nut-blanks to tapping mechanism, the tapping of the said blanks, their release from
the taps, and their discharge from the machine.
r
I accomplish these results by means of a multiple tapping machine in which a
single feeding device or apparatus, adapted to successively present each of a series
of nuts in a position to be operated upon, is combined with a rotating head
containing a number of radially arranged taps, which taps are caused to revolve
around a common centre by the rotation of the head which supports them, and are
rotated upon their longitudinal axes first in one direction to cause them to tap the
nut-blanks supplied to them, and then in the opposite direction to release or remove
from them the tapped nuts.
To effect the engagement of the nut-blanks with the taps, I provide, in com-
bination with each tap, an arm projecting radially from the head which carries the
taps;
this arm, in the course of its rotation, removes from a tube the lowermost one
of a column of nut-blanks, arranged one above another upon their sides within the
said tube.
The said arm comes in contact with the lowermost nut-blank at the instant when
the tap to which the arm belongs is in alignment with the hole in the nut-blank.
The latter having been moved or swept out from under the column, is thereafter
pushed toward the tap by a pusher supported upon the said arm and capable of
radial movement in relation to the rotating head. Immediately after the nut has
been caught by the said arm a friction roller in the outer end of the pusher is
brought into contact with a stationary curved guide-rail whereby, as the head
rotates, the pusher is forced inward and being.thus brought into contact with the
back of the nut-blank forces the said blank upon the end of the rotating tap, which
is thus caused to completely engage with the nut-blank and cut the screw-thread
therein.
"17 .
The turning of the nut-blank under the influence of the rotating tap is prevented
by the contact of one of its sides with the side of the aforesaid arm, and the contact
of its opposite side with the side of a shorter arm bolted to the head and
presenting a bearing parallel with the axis of the tap, and with the said side of the
first arm.
By means of suitable gearing the taps are made to rotate upon their own axes in
one direction during one half of their orbital motion, and in the opposite direction
during the other half of their orbital motion.
The feeding mechanism is kept constantly in operation, there being no necessity
to delay the feeding until the nut-blank has been tapped and the tap withdrawn
from the nut, because as soon as each nut-blank is engaged with the tap which is
to operate upon it the said blank is carried round therewith and is operated upon,
and discharged, before the said tap has completed its revolution.

page_text: I sometimes use the said machines for cutting the so called spiral wedge-nuts,
that is to say, nuts of that class in which one portion of the nut is provided with a
screw-thread corresponding in form with the thread of the bolt to which the nut
is to be applied, while another portion of the nut is provided with a truncated
screw-thread having a number of its convolutions progressively thickened at their
apices, and having the grooves of such convolutions progressively deepened.
For cutting nuts of this kind it is necessary to use two taps of different form,
thus involving two separate cutting operations. For this purpose I employ either
two of the multiple nut-tapping machines, equipped respectively. with the two
forms of taps required, or a single multiple tapping machine used with the two
forms of taps successively.
The facility with which the said multiple nut-tapping machine performs its work
adapts it for the production of nuts of this character at a cost considerably less
than that attending the ordinary methods of manufacture.
I sometimes combine, with a bolt, a form of nut which, while retaining the
advantages of the spiral wedge-nut in respect of its capacity to transform a portion
of the bolt-threads in such a manner as to make them unfitted for engagement with
that portion of the nut-threads which have first passed over them, also has the
advantage that it can be made by the use of a single tap.
Another part of the said invention relates to a modification of the said machine
and consists in substituting rotating dies for the rotating taps and in so modifying
the feeding mechanism as to enable it to feed bolt-blanks to the machine for the
purpose of cutting screw-threads upon them by means of the rotating dies, as
hereinafter set forth..
I have illustrated in the accompanying drawings a nut-tapping machine
constructed according to the said.invention.
.
Figure 1 is a plan or top view of the said machine.
Figure 2 is a central vertical section thereof with some of the parts shown in
elevation.
Figure 3 is a vertical section of the feeding mechanism, drawn to an enlarged
scale.
Figure 3a is a transverse section on the line y, y Figure 3, showing the table
upon which the nut-blank is deposited from the tube or magazine, and the side
arms which prevent the blank from turning while it is being acted upon by
the tap.
Figure 4 is a plan or top view of the feeding mechanism and adjacent portions
of the machine, drawn to an enlarged scale.
Figure 5 is a plan, partly in horizontal section, showing part of the machine
adapted for cutting screw-threads on bolt-blanks
Figure 6 is a front elevation, and
Figure 7 is a side elevation, partly in section, of the feeding devices used in this
form of machine, and
Figure 8 is a side elevation showing the pusher.
A is the rotating head mounted upon the upper part of a vertical shaft A¹. To
the lower part of this shaft is fixed the gear-wheel A², to which motion is imparted
through a train of gearing hereinafter described, that is to say: -The pinions
A3 and A' are keyed to the vertical shaft A' and the pinion A° and mitre wheel A'
are keyed to the vertical shaft A8,- the mitre wheel A7 is driven by means of the
mitre-wheel Aº keyed to one end of the hollow horizontal shaft A. On the other
end of the shaft A¹º is fixed the pinion A" gearing with the smaller pinion A" fixed
on the shaft A¹³. This shaft also has fixed on it the pinion A" driven by means of
the smaller pinion A15 keyed to the driving shaft B, which is provided with the
driving pulley B'. The driving shaft B extends through the hollow shaft A10, and
carries upon its inner end the bevel pinion B³, for driving the bevel wheels C and D
in opposite directions. The bevel wheel C is keyed to the lower part of the
vertical hollow shaft C₁, the upper end of which carries the bevel wheel C². The
beyel wheel D is keyed to the lower part of the hollow vertical shaft D', the upper

page_text: end of which carries the bevel wheel D². The vertical shaft. A'. is' passed through
the hollow shaft C' and forms a bearing therefor, while the hollow shaft C' is passed
through the hollow shaft D and forms a bearing therefor.
By this arrangement of gearing, it will be seen that the rotating head A and the
bevel wheels C and D2 have a common axis of rotation, and that the bevel
wheel D2 is rotated in the same direction as the rotating head A, but at a greater
speed, while the bevel wheel C2 is rotated in the opposite direction..
The rotating head A carries a series of radially arranged tap-arbors upon each of
which are two loose bevel wheels c and d. Between the two bevel wheels c and d,
upon a part of the tap-arbor, which is of enlarged diameter, is the sliding clutch or
sleeve E, provided with the usual key or pin e extending transversely through the
longitudinal slot e¹ formed in the tap-arbor. The usual forked lever E¹ is provided
for shifting the clutch or sleeve E, and holding it in engagement with the bevel
wheels c and d alternately, the engagement with the bevel wheel & being for the
purpose of rotating the tap in the proper direction to cause it to cut the thread in
the nut-blank and the engagement with the bevel wheel c being for the purpose of
rotating the tap in the opposite direction to unscrew or remove from it the
finished nut.
+
The upper end of the forked clutch lever E' is provided with the friction roller E².
During the cutting operation, the friction roller E2 rolls along the concave face d' of
the stationary guide-rail d, thereby holding the upper end of the clutch lever
inclined toward the centre of the rotating head A, during that part of the orbital
motion of the tap-arbor in which the tap is employed in cutting the thread. From
the concave faced of the stationary guide-rail (2, the friction roller E2 is conducted
by the switch E³ outward and made to travel upon the convex face c¹ of the
stationary guide-rail c², thereby moving the upper end of the clutch lever E¹
radially outward, and holding the clutch E in engagement with the bevel wheel c
and causing the tap-arbor to be rotated in the opposite direction, to unscrew from
it the finished nut. This reverse movement of the tap-arbor continues until the
friction roller E2 at the upper end of the clutch lever, is brought round to the
switch E, previous to which the finished nut has been fully unscrewed from the
tap, and has thus been 'allowed to drop by its own gravity into a chute F for
conducting it to any convenient receptacle.
¡
By the switch E the 'friction roller E2 is re-conducted to the concave surface d' of
the stationary guide-rail d², whereby the clutch or sleeve E is again brought into
engagement with the bevel wheel & and the tap is thereby rotated in the proper
direction to enable it to repeat the cutting operation upon another nut-blank, the
timely presentation of which, in proper position to be operated upon, is effected by
the feed mechanism.
The Figures illustrating this part of the said invention show a rotating head
containing twenty radially-arranged tap-arbors, all of which have an orbital motion
caused by the rotation of the head in which they are supported, and rotatory
motion alternately in opposite directions upon their longitudinal axes, according to
the operation of the train of gearing above described.
The tap-arbors are alike in their construction and mode of operation, and the
description which has been given of one of them applies to all.
The taps are all supplied with lubricating fluid from the reservoir G supported
upon the upper end of the shaft A. The lower end of the shaft A' is provided
with a bearing in the step a cast upon the base plate of the machine, and the upper
bearing a¹ is formed at the junction of the spider-frame O¹, the three legs or spokes
of which are bolted to the three vertical posts O. A hole G2 is tapped longi-
tudinally in the upper portion of the shaft A', to receive the lower end of the dis-
charge pipe G', the upper end of which is inserted in the bottom of the reservoir G.
Below the bearing a¹, the shaft A' is perforated transversely in two directions
to receive the hollow connections or pipes G³, whereby the lubricating fluid,
discharged from the reservoir G through the discharge pipe G¹ into the vertical
hole.or passage G2, is conducted from the bottom of the hole or passage G² to the

page_text: four distributing chambers G From the distributing chambers the lubricating
fluid is supplied to the pipes g', which conduct it to, and discharge it upon, the
screw-taps. By this arrangement the apparatus for oiling the taps is carried round
with the rotating head. An annular pan G5, supported beneath the screw-taps,
serves to catch the lubricating fluid which drips from the same.
:
The tap-arbors H are provided with horizontal bearings in the annular vertical
flanges H1, H2 cast upon the rotating head A. The taps I are suitably. secured in
the outer ends of the arbors H.
The mechanism for feeding the nut-blanks to the taps is illustrated in Figures
3 and 4. On reference to Figure 4, which represents a portion of the rotating
head A and two of the taps I, it will be seen that the periphery of the rotating
head A is polygonal, and that the end of each tap-arbor projects outwardly from
the centre of one of the faces I' of the head. Two horizontally projecting arms
K and L are arranged one on each side of the tap-arbor, the opposed faces / and
of these arms are parallel with each other and with the axis of the tap. These
faces are provided with the longitudinal shallow V-shaped grooves and for
preventing the rotation of a hexagonal nut-blank M while it is being tapped, by
holding two of its corners, as shown in Figure 3*.
The bolts K and L', by which the arms K and L are secured to the face of the
rotating head A, are inserted through slots formed in the bases K² and L² of the
arms K and L, so that the latter may be adjusted toward and from the tap for the
purpose of adapting the mechanism for tapping nut-blanks of different sizes. The
direction of rotation of the head A is indicated by the curved arrow N in Figure 4.
It will be seen that the forward arm L does not project from the head so far as
the tap I, but that the arm K projects considerably beyond the tap. The nut-
blanks resting sidewise one upon another are contained in a vertical tube M'.
The lower nut-blank rests upon an adjustable horizontal table M², the object of
which is to hold the lower blank at such an elevation that the hole in it will be in
the same horizontal plane as the taps. The said table M² is made vertically
adjustable by being mounted upon the vertical slide-piece M³ provided with the
adjusting screw M; and the clamping-bolt M5. The vertical slide M³ is supported
on one of the vertical posts O, to the upper ends of which the top frame O₁ of the
machine is bolted. As the head rotates, the arms L and the tap I pass without
touching the lowermost nut-blank of the column of blanks contained in the tube M¹;
but the projecting part 2 of the arm K strikes against the side of the blank
and sweeps it out from under the column.
In order to relieve the lowermost nut-blank, when resting upon the table M³,
from the weight of the column of blanks above it, I provide a device for holding
up the superposed blanks while the lowest one is being dropped upon the table M
and being moved away by the arm K. This device consists of a horizontally
reciprocating slide-frame P carrying the vertically adjustable stop P₁, which
traverses the space immediately beneath the lower end of the tube M. This
stop Poccupies the position in which it is represented in Figure 3 when a nut-
blank is resting upon the table M2 and while such blank is being carried along
the table M² by the projecting part k² of the arm K.
After one of the arms K has
moved entirely across the space beneath the tube, a vertical pin pon the succeeding
arm K is brought into contact with the inclined face of the wedge p' fixed to the
slide-carriage P, thereby pushing the slide-carriage P horizontally outward and
removing the stop P₁ from the lower end of the tube M¹ and permitting the
lowermost blank of the column of blanks contained in the tube M' to drop upon
the table M² in time to be caught by the succeeding arm K.
Prior to the removal of the stop P', the column of nut-blanks rests thereon,
simultaneously with such removal the pin P2 attached to, and carried by, the slide-
carriage P is moved horizontally outward from the head A through an opening P³
in the side of the tube M', into the hole of the nut-blank which is next to the.
lowest blank. When, therefore, the stop P¹ has been so far removed that the
D) 2

page_text: lowest blank can drop upon the table M² the remaining blanks in the tube are
held up by the pin P³.
When the vertical pin phas, by the motion of the head A, been carried past
the wedge p¹, the slide-carriage P is returned to its normal position by the spiral
spring p². The stop P¹ is thus carried under the lower end of the tube M' in time
to catch the lowest blank when the column is permitted to descend by the complete
withdrawal of the pin P³.
The engagement of the nut-blank with the tap is effected by the pusher Q
provided with the friction roller Q' which, at the proper time, is brought into
contact with, and moved along, the excentrically curved face Q2 of the stationary
guide-rail Q3, which is suitably supported upon the adjacent post O of the machine.
As will be seen on reference to Figure 4, the face q of the pusher is thus brought
into contact with the back of the nut-blank, and, as the friction roller Q₁ travels
along the curved face Q2 of the guide-rail, the blank is forced against the end of
the tap I with a pressure which is continued until the tap has engaged with
the blank and commenced to cut the thread therein. After passing the excentric
guide-rail, the pusher is carried back to its normal position by the spiral
spring Q
As the operation of cutting the thread progresses, the nut-blank moves radially
inward toward the head A, and, as above stated, it is prevented from turning upon
the tap by reason of two of its corners or sides bearing against the sides of the
arms K and L.
The gearing is so arranged as to give each tap a sufficient number of revolutions,
first in one direction to cut the thread in the nut and then in the opposite direction
to cause the nut to release itself from the tap, before the tap has completed one
revolution.
In order to adapt the machine for operating upon nut-blanks of different sizes,
the tube M is made removable, and is sustained in position by being clamped
against the side of the stationary arm R, by the adjustable jaws R¹, which bear
upon the edges of the outer side of the tube. By loosening the jaws R' the tube M¹
may be removed, and a larger or smaller tube may be substituted, therefor and
secured by tightening the jaws R' upon it.
It will be understood that different methods may be adopted for imparting the
necessary rotatory motions to the taps, for example, in cases where the machine is
to be adapted to cut the threads of thin nuts and comparatively few revolutions
of the taps are required for the cutting operation, it will be found convenient to
provide the tap-arbors with a fixed pinion, and to arrange two stationary segmental
racks, the one having a concave face to engage with one side of the fixed pinion on
the arbor during one portion of the rotation of the head A, and the other having
a convex face to engage with the other side of the arbor-pinion during another
portion of the rotation of the said head. In such case, the arbors may be made to
rotate upon axes parallel to the axis of rotation of the head in which they are
supported.
.
By mounting the head upon a horizontal shaft, the feeding operation may be
performed substantially in the manner bereinbefore described, the further
modification required being the substitution of a concave supporting table in place
of the flat table M² shown in the drawings.
In Figures 5, 6, 7. and 8, I have shown the improved machine adapted for
cutting screw-threads upon bolt-blanks. a is a removable jaw-plate for receiving
the bolt-blank B; this jaw-plate is pivotted in the ends of the sliding arms a¹, a³,
which are inserted in the hollow bosses a, a, fixed to one of the peripheral faces
of the head A, and are provided with spiral springs a³, as, bearing at one end upon
the ends of the bosses, and at the other end upon pins or collars fixed to the
arms a¹, a².
The portions of the arms contained within the bosses are slotted, and the pins a²,
inserted transversely through the bosses, enter these slots and prevent the arms
from being forced completely out of the bosses by the spiral springs.

page_text: Instead of the taps used in the nut-tapping machine, the ends of the rotating
.radial arbors in the head A are provided with the dies C, and the arms a¹, a² are
equidistant from, and parallel with, a prolongation of the axial line of the rotating
die C.
The jaw-plate a is provided with a push-bar D carrying upon its outer end a
roller d, which at the proper time is brought into contact with the stationary
guide-rail and is thereby forced in ward, thus bringing the collar & into contact
with the heade of the bolt-blank and forcing the jaw-plate a and bolt-blank
toward the.die, until the point of the blank has entered and become engaged with
the die, after which the bolt is drawn further in by the continued rotation of the
die and, when the direction of rotation of the die is reversed, the bolt is forced
outward and pushes the jaw a outward; an effect which is assisted by the spiral
springs a, a. The jaw-plate holds the head of the blank, and prevents it from
turning upon its longitudinal axis.
.
When, by the reverse motion of the head A, the screw-threaded bolt has been
fully released from the die, the end of the pusher D rides up an inclined guide
fixed to the frame of the machine, or to a stationary post, thus tilting the inner
portion of the jaw-plate a downward, an effect which is assisted by the weight of
the bolt and the inner portion of the jaw-plate a. As it tilts downward, the
shank E of the finished bolt strikes against a stationary rail fixed to the frame of
the machine. The bolt being thus pushed out of the jaw-plate a drops into a
suitable receptacle.
The jaw-plate is then moved upward into its horizontal position by striking
against another inclined rail or guide, which moves the inner portion of the jaw-
plate a upward, and which is prolonged in the form of a horizontal table for
supporting the under side of the jaw-plate a, after it has reached a horizontal
position, until a new blank has been fed into the jaw-plate and inserted in the
die C and carried round to the place of discharge after the thread has been cut
upon it.
The mechanism for feeding the blanks consists of a carrying wheel F, provided
with transverse recesses f in its periphery, and having its periphery partially
surrounded by the stationary shield G. The bolt-blanks are inserted by an
attendant into the recesses f of the carrying wheel and the shield G bears upon
their shanks
The face of the carrying wheel F is provided with projecting pins f1 equal in
number to the recesses in its periphery. Each of the bosses a³ on the rotating
head is provided with a dog F' which, as the head revolves, strikes against one of
the pins f, thus imparting intermittent or step by step rotation to the carrying
wheel, F.
As the carrying wheel rotates, the blank in the lowermost recess is carried
beyond the lower end of the stationary shield G and is permitted to fall by gravity
into the recess between the jaws h, h, of the jaw-plate a. As the head continues
to rotate, the friction wheel d of the pusher D is again brought into contact with
the stationary guide-rail d¹, and the bolt-blank is pushed inward and inserted into
the rotating die C, and so on.
Having thus fully described the said invention as communicated to me by my
foreign Correspondent and the manner of performing the same I wish it understood,
that I claim :-
:-
First. A series of tap-arbors mounted in a rotating head and adapted to be
rotated upon their longitudinal axes by suitable gearing, and a corresponding series
of arms, each provided with a pusher in combination with a table for supporting a
nut-blank in the path of movement of the said arms, and a stationary guide,
substantially as, and for the purposes, set forth.
Second. The tube for containing a column of superposed nut-blanks, and the
table for supporting the lowermost nut-blank of the said column, in combination
with the series of tap-arbors and arms mounted upon the rotating head, substantially
as, and for the purpose, set forth.

page_text: Third. A tap-arbor adapted' to rotate upon its longitudinal axis and mounted
upon a rotating head, in combination with the arms K and L fixed to, or forming
part of, the said head, for the purpose of preventing the rotation of a nut-blank
engaged by the rotating tap, substantially as set forth.
Fourth. The rotating head and the bevel wheels C³, D2 arranged upon a common
axis of rotation and in combination with the other gearing for imparting to the
taps, during one part of their orbital motion, rotation upon their longitudinal axes
in one direction, and, during another part of their orbital motion, rotation upon
their longitudinal axes in the opposite direction, and with means for holding nut-
blanks while they are being operated upon by the taps, substantially as, and for
the purposes, set forth.
Fifth. In a machine constructed substantially as above described, the adjustable
arms K and L, in combination with the series of rotating taps, as; and for the
purpose, set forth.
Sixth. The adjustable table M2 and the adjustable arms K and L, in combination
with the rotating taps mounted upon the rotating head, substantially as, and for
the purposes, set forth.
Seventh. In a machine constructed substantially as above described, the arm R
and the adjustable jaws R', for clamping the tube M', containing the supply of nut-
blanks, as above set forth.
.
Eighth. In a machine, constructed substantially as above described, the central
res rvoir and the pipes for discharging lubricating fluid therefrom upon the taps,
the said reservoir and pipes being supported upon, and carried around with, the
rotating head, as above set forth
Ninth. The modification of the said invention, whereby the machine is adapted
for cutting screw-threads on bolt-blanks, substantially as described, with reference
to Figures 5, 6, 7 and 8 of the drawings.
In Witness whereof, I, the said Alfred Sweet Paterson, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Sixteenth day of June in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and eighty three.
ANTHA
זוNA-רחו
AUT NED SWEET PATERSON (L.D.)