Improvements in Means or Apparatus for the Manufacture of Lacing Hooks.
Year: 1895

page_text: Date of Application, 23rd Apr., 1895-Accepted, 15th June, 1896,
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Means or Apparatus for the Manufacture of
Lacing Hooks.
I HENRY HAVELOCK CUMMINGS of Malden, County of Middlesex, State of
Massachusetts, United States of America, Machinist 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 has for its object the production of an apparatus for automatically
and expeditiously applying suitable plastic material to lacing hooks, to cover the
entire surface of the head therewith, the lacing hooks being preferably fed to an
intermittingly moveable carrier, which brings them one by one into position to
have applied thereto the plastic material, suitable dies being moved into operative
position at such point to support the hook and to shape the plastic material as it is
pressed into the dies and about the head of the hook.
After the material has been so applied the book is released by the dies,
further movement of the carrier bringing the finished hook into position to be
discharged.
The plastic material is fed to the dies in such manner that the proper quantity
to cover a single head is presented to the action of the dies as one hook after
another is moved by the carrier into position to be operated upon.
In accordance therewith my invention consists in various details of construction
and arrangement hereinafter to be described and particularly pointed out in the
claims.
Fig. 1, in side elevation, and partly in section, represents an apparatus embodying
my invention, for applying plastic material to lacing hooks;
Fig. 2 is a rear elevation of the apparatus shewn in Fig. 1, to the left of the
line, and partially broken out;
Fig. 3, is a front elevation, partially broken out, of the intermittingly movable
carrier for the lacing hooks, shewing the positions of a hook from the time it is
operatively engaged by the carrier until it is automatically discharged therefrom
completed;
Fig. 4 is a detail of a positioning device to turn the heads in the proper direction
on the carrier;
Fig. 5 is a detail of the outer end of said device;
Fig. 6 is a detail of the throw-off for the completed 'hooks;
Fig. 7 is a top or plan view of the perforated plate into which the portions of
the plastic material are delivered, to be fed to the shaping and compressing
mechanism.
Fig. 8 is a detail on an enlarged scale and principally in section, of a hook held
in the carrier and with the dies in position to support the neck of the book and
shape the plastic material to the head.
Fig. 9 is a top view of the dies in the position shewn in Fig. 8;
Fig. 10 is a face view of the cam for operating the plunger which cooperates
with the dies in applying the plastic material to the head of the hook;
..
Fig. 11 is a sectional detail to the right of the line, Fig. 1, of one of the
cams, to be referred to;
Figs. 12 and 13 represent the cams developed which actuate the two parts. of
the die

page_text: I have herein shewn the apparatus as mounted upon a column-like base or
stand A, having suitable bearings A' to support the main shaft B provided with
usual fast and loose pulleys B1, B2, respectively, rotation being imparted to said
sbaft from any suitable source of power, by means of a suitable belt B*.
The base has in its upper portion a bearing A² for a shaft C, having fust
thereon a ratchet wheel c, and a spur gear c'.
The teeth of the ratchet wheel are engaged by one end of a pawl c², forked at
its lower end at to embrace or straddle the main shaft B, as shewn in full lines
Fig. 1, and in full and dotted lines Fig. 2, the said pawl having thereon a suitable
roller or other stud to enter the groove in a cam C.
The shape of the said groove is shewn in full and dotted lines in Fig. 2, by
means of which the pawl is given a rising and falling movement to rotate
the ratchet wheel e intermittingly, the pawl being held in engagement with
the teeth of said ratchet by a suitable springs, shewn in Figs. 1 and 2, as secured
at one end to a suitable pin ex inserted in the standard A.
The shaft C is extended through the bearing A in the standard, and projects
therefrom at the front of the machine, and the said shaft has secured thereto on the
projecting portion a holder or carrier C, the periphery of which is bevelled, as
shewn at c, Figs. 1, 3, 4 and 6, for a purpose to be described, the said carrier,
clearly shewn in said figs., having formed therein peripheral recesses c', shewn in
Fig. 3 as eight in number, to receive therein the shank h and base of the lacing
hooks, in such manner that the necks thereof will project radially from the
periphery of the carrier.
A hopper H is suitably mounted upon or adjacent to the standard A, and having
therein an agitator of any usual or common construction, to deliver the lacing
hooks placed in said hopper in bulk into an inclined chute H', open at its lower or
delivery end at H3, the agitator delivering the hooks into the chute upside down
or with their shanks uppermost, as shewn in Fig. 2, the delivery end of the chute
being located below and in the same vertical plane with the series of recesses or
seats of in the carrier. As shewn in Fig. 1 the main shaft is extended through the
standard, and projects beyond its frout side, and it has secured thereto a cam D,
see Figs. 1 and 11, the periphery of the cam having a lumped, formed thereon to
engage at every revolution a roll mounted in the lower end of a pusher d³,
extended through and vertically reciprocable in a bracket A3, the upper end of the
pusher normally entering the lower open end or gate H of the chute H', to form a
movable bottom, therefor, the top of the pusher being of suitable size to act
upon but one hook at a time. At each revolution of the cam D the pusher
is quickly raised from the position shewn in Fig. 1 by means of the lump d on the
cam, into the position shewn in Fig. 3, to lift a lacing hook from the delivery end
of the chute and push it into the recess c in the carrier, at that time immediately
above it, the shank and base of the hook entering said recess, the intermittent
movement of the carrier and the reciprocation of the pusher being timed to
cooperate to effect this insertion.
As the pusher is raised, it acts as a detent to hold the series of hooks in place in
the chute, the outermost hook of the series resting against the pusher, and when
the latter is retracted into the position shewn in Fig. 1, the weight of the series of
hooks will cause them to slide down the chute, and the outermost one will slide into
position over the pusher to be inserted into the next recess in the carrier at the
next reciprocation of the pusher.
A guard G, see Fig. 3, shewn as a curved plate supported concentric to the
carrier, has its lower end adjacent the pusher when in its uppermost position, so
that in the rotation of the carrier in the direction of the arrow 5, Fig. 3, the
heads of the hooks will be moved over the inner side of the guard and
maintained in their respective récesses or seats until they are carried up to.or
above the horizontal.
It is obvious that while the hooks will be presented shank uppermost to the
carrier, they may be so turned axially as to present their heads improperly to the

page_text: dies herein to be described, to receive the plastic material, and to ensure the correct
position of the hooks, I have shewn in Figs. 4 and 5, a positioning device consisting.
of an arm e secured to the standard A, and with its outer bevelled end e¹ in position
to bear against the neck 2 of each stud and to turn it as it is moved by the
positioning device, until the hook is in proper position to be capped, this being
made possible by the eccentric relation of the neck 2 to the longitudinal centre of
the base and shank.
In the rotation of the carrier, the hooks are brought one by one into position
beneath a guide-way in an overhanging portion A of the standard, through
which a sufficient quantity of the plastic material is forced by a reciprocating
plunger F.
The plunger F-is mounted to be moved longitudinally in bearings A³ secured to
or forming a part of a post A, erected upon the top of the standard A, as clearly
shewn in Figs. 1 and 2, and held from rotation by any suitable means, as a set.
screw 6, Fig. 1, the upper end of the plunger being connected by a link to one
end of a lever f" pivoted at f³ to the post A, and jointed at its other end to a
link forked or slotted at its outer end, as at f, to embrace a collar or annular
enlargement on the main shaft.
The said link is provided with a suitable roller or other stud f', Figs. 1 and 10,
to enter the irregular groove f of a cam Fx, secured to and rotated by the main
shaft, the shape of the groove in the cam being such that the plunger will be
gradually lowered to enter the guide-way and carry in advance of it the portion
of plastic material which is to cover the head of the hook then in position beneath
said guide way.
Peripherally grooved cams M and N are secured to the main shaft at opposite
sides of the cam D, as shewn in Fig. 1, the grooves m and n, respectively, of said.
cams being entered by suitable rolls or studs m³, n', on levers m², n³, fulcrumed on
the bracket A, the upper ends of the said levers having pivoted thereto at m³
and n³, dies m and n*, shewn best in Figs. 8 and 9, which are moved towards and
away from each other by the rotation of the cams M and N.
Each die is cut away on its underside and beveiled as at m, n, respectively, to
slide over the bevelled portions es of the periphery of the carrier, as they are moved
towards and away from each other for a purpose to be described.
The dies are separated in such manner that substantially the outer half of the
neck of the hook will enter the recess m³ in the die m*.
The top of the die is recessed at me, Fig. 9, to receive the plunger, and the
bottom of the said recess is shaped at m', Fig. 8, to receive the back of the head h³
of the hook, and leave a space between it and the recess to receive the plastic
material.
The die m* is recessed at n to embrace the other or inner half of the neck of
the hook, and it is also recessed at n to receive the plunger, the bottom of the
recess being so shaped at n' to extend beneath the remaining purtion of the head
and leave a space for the reception of the plastic material.
When the dies are closed upon a hook, as shewn in Fig. 8, the neck h³ will be
surrounded and laterally supported by said dies, and the bottoms m' and n' of the
recesses m and no, will form a continuous space underneath the head ³, into which
the plastic material L will be pressed, when the plunger F has entered the
spaces m, n, in the two dies, the end of the plunger being concaved at fx to
conform to the shape of the top of the head, and leave sufficient space for the
proper thickness of the material L therethrough.
It will be readily observed from the foregoing and more particularly from an
inspection of Fig. 8, that when the plunger F descends, carrying before it the
proper amount of plastic material, the latter will be forced into the space
surrounding the head of the hook, and, as a consequence, the entire head will be
covered with the plastic material, the slight seam or ridge formed by the junction of
the dies m* and n*, being preferably so located that said seams will be as short as.
possible, and the covering is practically homogeneous and continuous.
:
I

page_text: "The plunger is lifted thereafter by the continued rotation of the can, and
then the movement of the cam M and N will separate the dies, so that 'the capped
hook may be moved along by the carrier, and a new one brought into position to be.
capped.
Inasmuch as the depression n' in the die n is shewn greater than a semi circle,
it is obvious that the die cannot be moved laterally and directly away from the
head of the hook, but it must drop, as it were, out of the horizontal plane of the
head as it is moved laterally,, and this dropping motion is herein provided for by.
the bevelled periphery of the carrier and the bevelled undersides of the die,
the result being such that the die is lowered as it is moved laterally away the
lowering being sufficient to carry it away from engagement by the head of the
hook, and this is also true, although in a less degree, of the 'die m*.
Thave herein 'shewn a convenient and effective feeding apparatus for feeding
predetermined quantities of the plastic material into position beneath the plunger F,
the feeding apparatus consisting mainly of a plate or disk 9, rotatably mounted on
the base of the post A, and resting upon the top of the standard, a collar g* secured
in place by a set screw 3 on the post, preventing the plate from rising, and
maintaining the bevel gear teeth g' upon the under side of the plate' in engagement
with the teeth of the bevel gear g; herein shewn as forming a part of the spur
gear, rotatably mounted on a short stud g, and in engagement with the toothed
gear
"The feed plate g has a series of perforations therein, arranged in a circle, see
Fig. 7 having such a diameter that said perforations one after another will be
brought over and to register with the guide-way in the overhanging portion A of
the standard, so that the plunger F can descend through such perforation and into
the guide-way.
"The top of the standard' has preferably formed therein a heating chamber "A",
see Fig. 1, into which steam or other suitable heating medium may be introduced
by means of an opening, such medium heating the top of the standard, which, as
clearly shewn in Fig. 1, forms a bottom' for all of the perforatious g" in the feed plate,
except that one which at any time is over the guide-way, and as the pellets or
portions of plastic material are delivered to the perforations, as will be described,
they are by the rotation of the feed plate g moved around and over the heated top
of the standard to soften and render pliable or plastic the same by the time they
are presented to the action of the plunger F.
A hopper K is shewn as mounted on the post A, and provided with a delivery
chute k, which conveys the pellets of plastic material from the hopper to the feed
plate g, the delivery end of the hopper resting upon the surface of the plate over
the line of perforations, and just beyond the path of the plunger, so that the pellets
will be carried in a path nearly equal in extent to the entire circle so as to afford
ample time for them to be softened and rendered plastic.
Any suitable agitator may be mounted in the hopper K to separate and deliver
the pellets to the chute k, one of said pellets being shewn at 1 in Fig. 1-in position
to be acted upon by the plunger F.
The agitator may be driven by a bolt passed over the agitator pulley or
sheave, and around a suitable sheave k on 'the main shaft, while the agitator 'for
the book receiving hopper H may be conveniently actuated by a belt or band h
passed around the agitator sheave h" and sheave 2 on the main shaft.
After the hooks have been capped, it is desirable to positively remove them from
the carrier, as the recesses c'. therein are preferably made of suitable size to assist
in holding the hooks in place by friction; and to discharge the capped hooks I have
provided a simple form of throw off, shewn as plate secured to the standard and
best shewn in Figs. 1, 3 and 6, the plate being bent or inclined at its outer end, as,
.at, with relation to the periphery of the carrier C¹, Bot as the rotates,
the innermost end of the inclined part of the throw-off will project beneath the
head of the hook, and as the movement of the carrier continues the inclination of
the throw-off at will gradually draw the capped hook out of the recess in the

page_text: carrier and release it therefrom, the hooks being received in any suitable. Dox or
other receptacle not shewn.
'
As best shewn in Figs. 12 and 13, wherein the cam grooves m and n are
developed, the groove n is arranged to move its die n* into operative position.
slightly in advance of the die m*, in order that if the positioning device has not.
accurately positioned the hook, the said die n* will complete the proper positioning
thereof before the die m* is brought up into full operative position, and in the
movement of the dies into operative position, they are moved inwardly and
upwardly in reversal of their downward and outward movement hereinbefore-
described, after the head has been capped or covered, such movement being attained
by means of the bevelled under portions of the dies and the bevelled periphery of
the carrier.
By the apparatus herein described, lacing hooks having a strong neck may be
rapidly and effectively treated to completely cover their heads with plastic material,.
the whole operation from beginning to end being entirely automatic, so that a great.
saving in time and labor is thereby attained.
In operating with hooks such as berein shewn, there is no occasion for supporting
the head thereof during the operation of covering the saune, as the necks of the
hooks are sufficiently stiff and rigid to support their heads.
The depth of the base seat in the holder or carrier regulates the thickness of
the material under the head of the hook.
It is of course most desirable to feed the plastic material in pellets or portions.
of predetermined size, as the rapidity of operation is thereby greatly enhanced,.
but it will be obvious that if desired, a sheet of the material, properly warmed to
render it plastic, might be presented beneath the plunger F, the plunger punching
out from the sheet a pellet or portion thereof at each descent, sufficient to cover
the head of the hook, and such a modification of my invention will be obvious.
My invention is not restricted, accordingly, to the construction and arrangement
of parts herein shewn, as it is obvious that modifications may be made therein, or
that some of the parts may be re-arranged without departing from the spirit and
scope of this invention; nor is the invention restricted to the precise construction
of lacing hook herein shewn, for by suitable changes in the various operative parts-
of the apparatus to conform to changes in the shape of the hook, other forms.
might be used, so long as the neck of the hook is of sufficient strength to support
the head while the plastic material is applied thereto.
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 [
claim is :-
1. The use in an apparatus for applying plastic material to lacing hooks, of a
holder having a seat to receive and support the shank and base of a hook, dies.
movable towards the exposed head of the hook to surround and leave a space about
it and means to force plastic material into such space and about the head of the
hook, substantially as described.
2. The use in an apparatus for applying plastic material to lacing hooks, of a
holder having a seat to receive and support the shank and base of a book, separable
dies movable laterally towards and from each other to support the neck of the
hook, and recessed to extend beneath the hook head to leave a space about it and.
means to raise or lower the dies towards or away from the hook head, substantially
as described.
3. The use in an apparatus for applying plastic material to lacing hooks, of an
intermittingly movable carrier for the hooks whose heads are to be covered,.
movable dies to surround and leave a space about the hook head, as the exposed
heads are presented singly by the carrier, and means to apply a portion of plastic
material to and to press it around the head within the dies, substantially as
5 described.
4. The use in an apparatus for applying plastic material to lacing books, of an

page_text: intermittingly rotatable carrier having seats to receive the hooks whose heads are
to be covered, means to insert the hooks into the seats with their heads exposed,
a reciprocating plunger, and cooperating dies, to form an enclosed space about the
head of each hook as it is presented by the carrier and to compress plastic material
into the space to cover the head, substantially as described.
'
5. The use in an apparatus for applying plastic material to lacing books, of an
intermittingly movable carrier to receive the hooks whose heads are to be covered,
from a hopper,sa pusher to push the hooks one at a time into seats in the carrier
while the carrier is at rest, and means to compress a portion of plastic material
about the exposed head of each hook, substantially as described.
6. The use in an apparatus for applying plastic material to lacing hooks, of an
intermittingly rotatable carrier having a series of peripheral seats to receive the
books whose heads are to be covered, means to insert the hooks in the seats,
.cooperating dies and a plunger, to compress plastic material about the head of each
hook, a guard to positively maintain the hooks in the carrier, and a positioning
device to properly present the book heads to the dies, substantially as described.
7. The use in an apparatus for applying plastic material to lacing hooks, of a
holder having a hook-receiving seat therein and bevelled at opposite sides of the
seat, separable dies to laterally support the neck of the hook, and recessed to
extend beneath the hook head, the,dies having bevelled undersides to rest on the
bevelled portions of the holder, the bevelled portions cooperating to raise or lower
the dies towards or away from the hook head when they are moved laterally
towards and from each other, substantially as described.
8. The use in an apparatus for applying plastic material to lacing hooks, of an
intermittingly rotatable carrier having peripheral book receiving, seats, means to
insert hooks thereinto with their heads exposed, cooperating dies and a plunger,
to press plastic material about and to cover the hook heads one after another, and
a throw-off to automatically remove the covered hocks from the carrier,
substantially as described.
9. The use in an apparatus for applying plastic material to lacing hooks, of an
intermittingly movable carrier to receive the hooks whose heads are to be covered,
movable: dies to surround and leave a space about one hook head at a time, a
reciprocating plunger, a guide-way between it and the dies, and means to feed
properly plastic material to the plunger to be impelled through the guide way and
into the dies, to cover the surrounded hook head, substantially as described.
10. The use in an apparatus for applying plastic material to lacing hooks, of an
intermittingly movable carrier to receive the hooks whose heads are to be covered,
movable dies to surround and leave a space about one hook head at a time, an
intermittingly rotatable perforated plate suitably heated and receiving in its
perforations pellets of plastic material, and a plunger to force pellets from the
plate to the dies, the plunger finally closing the space about the hook head and
forcing the plastic material around it, substantially as described.
Dated the 92nd dex of Anvil 805
WM. BROOKES & SON,
55 & 56, Chancery Lane, London, Agents for the Applicant.