Improvements in the Manufacture of Chain from Sheet or Plate Metal Links.
Year: 1887

page_text: The decision of the Comptroller-General, of the 5th day of May 1894, allowed,.
under Section 18 of the Patents, &c. Act, 1883, an Amendment of this
Specification.
Date of Application, 21st Nov., 1887-Accepted, 10th Feb., 1888
COMTEELE
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Improvements in the Manufacture of Chain from Sheet or Plate
Metal Links.
I, FREDERICK EGGE, residing at 107 Park Avenue, Bridgeport, in the County of
Fairfield, and State of Connecticut, in the 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 :-
My invention relates to the manufacture of chain from sheet or plate metal links.
My objects are rapidly and economically to form the chain, and automatically to
produce a strong, neat, and uniformly-finished chain, without welding or riveting,
from a sheet or sheets of metal.
My improvements, in the first place, and mainly, consist in a novel art of
manufacturing chain, as will hereinafter more fully be set forth, by the connected and
successive and repeated operations of continuously operating mechanism, which first
forms the separate flat partially shaped and unbent links thereof from sheet or plate,
metal; next, brings these links one at a time, and in proper position, to a point at
which they are to be united with each other; then connects them by looping or
bending; and, finally, completely shapes the links, one after another, to form
the chain.
My improvements also consist in novel methods of uniting and interlooping or
bending the links, and of completely forming or shaping the links, and finishing the
chain; and, further, in certain novel organizations of mechanisms and in combinations
of devices, which will hereinafter be described, and then specifically be designated by
the claims.
The accompanying drawings represent with sufficient fullness those portions or
features which it is deemed necessary to show of a suitable organization of mechanism
for carrying out my invention, all my improvements or ineans for carrying them out
being illustrated thereby, in connection with an ordinary vertical press.
Some of my improvements obviously, however, may be used without the others;
and the invention, in part or parts, be carried out by mechanism differing some
what from that therein shown and herein described, especially as to details of
construction.
Some of the changes which may be made without departure from the spirit and
scope of my invention will be mentioned herein, while others more obvious would be
suggested to a skillful workman, or one skilled in the art to which my invention
pertains, simply by reading this Specification and examining the drawings in
which :-
Fig. 1, is a front elevation.
Fig. 2, a plan view with the standards and plunger removed.

page_text: :
Fig. 6, a section at the line, y-y, of fig. 2.
Fig. 7, a section at the line, 2-z, of fig. 2.
Fig. 8, a detail plan view showing the operation of the bending and compressing
devices.
Fig. 9, is also a detail plan illustrating the relative position of the bending and
compressing devices immediately after the chain has been pulled through the
machine.
Figs. 10, 11, and, 12, detail views showing the several operations as they are
performed in succession upon a link.
Fig. 13, a detail end view showing the shear mechanism and dog in their proper
relative position to the striker so that the latter will clear the dog.
Fig. 14, a similar view showing the head of the dog in a vertical position with
the striker in abutment therewith, and
Fig. 15, a detail of the link blank.
A die block, frame or bed plate, A, of proper construction for use in connection
with an ordinary press or punching machine, is provided beneath the sliding or
reciprocating plunger or gate, B, of such a press. The die block is of sufficient size
and of the proper shape to support the various parts of the working mechanism; and
the gate or plunger, B, as it is caused to slide up and down, as usual, gives, by
suitable actuating devices, the desired movements to these parts, as will be herein-
after sufficiently explained.
•
The blank sheet plate or strip, 6, of proper width and thickness, of brass, copper,
German silver, iron, or other suitable metal or alloy, is fed over dies and beneath
punches, hereinafter to be described, by suitable feeding mechanism, shown as
consisting of two rolls, D, D', the lower one, D, being supported so as to turn in
fixed bearings in the die block, and the upper one being mounted in a block, d',
movable vertically on uprights or guide posts, d, projecting upward from the die
block.
Across the top of these uprights is secured a cap piece D2, and around the uprights
and extending between said cap and the block, d, are coil springs, d³, so that it will
be obvious that any upward movement of said block will be effected against the
resiliency of the said springs; D, is a post which projects upward from the block, d',
through the cap, D', and terminates in a shoulder, d'; and, D', is a cam lever pivoted
to the top of said cap and adapted to operate directly against said shoulder on the
under side thereof, whereby the upper roll, D', may be raised for the purpose of
stopping the feed, or manipulating the stock independently of said feed.
The shafts of the feed rolls, D, D', at one end, extend through their bearings and
carry meshing gear wheels, E, e, which are actuated, through means of a ratchet
wheel, el, mounted on the shaft of the lower roll, D', by a spring pawl, E¹, carried by
the reciprocating plunger, B. Backward movement of the ratchet wheel is prevented
by a spring pawl, e2, mounted on the die bed. Near the end of each upward
movement of the plunger the pawl acts on the ratchet to turn the rollers and feed
forward the blank to the punches and dies for cutting the links from the blank, and
in the downward stroke the pawl slips over the surface of the ratchet wheel.
In connection with the feeding devices, I provide. certain automatic shearing
mechanism by means of which a continuity of feed is established between a preceding
and a succeeding strip of stock, while at the same time the waste of stock is decreased
to a minimum thereby, but I will not now describe said mechanism as it will be best
understood after the operation of the dies and punches has been explained.
-
Punches for cutting eyes or openings and severing from the stock the blank
represented at Fig. 15, are carried by the plunger, B. Two punches, or a two part
punch, B', cut out the metal to form wedge shaped holes or eyes near the enlarged
ends of the link, and a punch, B³, severs the blank from the stock. The dies over
and upon which the stock is fed, and in connection with which the punches operate,
are removably secured in the die bed, A, in any suitable and customary way, such
as by wedging.

page_text: A suitable stripper, D', such as is usually employed with blanking dies, is used to
prevent the adherence of the stock to the punches throughout the upward move-
ment of the latter.
The stock is fed forward between the stripper and the dies. These dies are
preferably made in two sections or layers, A', A'. The upper section or plate, A¹,
is dore-tailed within, the die block and secured in position by a wedge, d*,
as shown in fig. 6, and is provided with openings, a, a, respectively corresponding
in shape and size with the punches, B1, B2.
The walls of these openings diverge slightly toward the bottom of the die, so that
the punchings from the eyes of the links and the blanks themselves cannot be
jammed in the dies or held by frictional contact therein, but drop freely downward.
The eye punchings fall through the two sections of the die and the die bed into
any suitable receptacle, while the blanks fall upon each other, with the lower one
in a way or recess, at, formed in the under section, A2. The links are in this way
brought in position to be fed forward one at a time by suitable means, to bring them
to the point where they are united together and formed into a chain.
By thus making the dies in sections, the accurate formation of the receiver and
guide way, a', for the links is facilitated. In this guide way is fitted a push bar or
feed finger, F, adapted to be intermittingly reciprocated for the purpose of pro-
pelling the blanks at proper intervals into the position necessary for bending, as
will be hereinafter described.
This feed finger is mounted upon a reciprocating carrier, F³, moving in a suitable
guide slot in the die bed beneath the dies.
I will now describe the meaus whereby continuity of feed is established between
succeeding strips of stock and the saving of said stock effected :-I provide a pair of
feed rolls, A5, A7, beyond the blanking mechanism precisely similar in operation to
the rolls, D, D. The upper roll, A, is journaled in fixed bearings in the standards, C,
which extend upward from the bed plate, A, and the lower roll, A', is journaled in
a block, E, which is capable of a limited vertical movement.
A coil spring, F6, between the block, E', and the bed, A, serves to keep the block
in its normal position and bring the rolls, A., A', into operation, while an ordinary
cam lever, G, pivoted to the bed and adapted to act against a pin, H³, projecting
downward from the block is used to force the inner end of the latter downward
against the resiliency of the spring, F, and thereby throw the rolls, A°, A', apart
so that they will have no effect, all of which will be readily understood by reference
to figures, 3, 4, and, 6.
When the extreme end of the stock has been fed beyond the rolls, D, D', all that
part of the stock which could not be blanked owing to the stopping of the feed
would be ordinarily thrown into the scrap, but with my improvement, as soon as the
rolls, D, D', have ceased to feed the material, the rolls, A, A; which have been out
of operation hitherto, are thrown into their normal position, thereby gripping the
scrap and pulling the same along until all the stock has passed beneath the blanking
mechanism, the latter being continually in operation in the meantime.
To insure the continuous blanking and interlooping of the links, or in other words
in order that the last link blanked from the preceding strip may be so near the
extreme edge of the latter that the next action of the cutting punch will blank
entirely out of the stock of the succeeding strip, I provide mechanism which shall
automatically determine the length of stock at the last end of the strip necessary to
enable the punch to cut the blanks continuously from successive strips without
stopping the machine, which mechanism is as follows:-
To the bed plate, A, in the immediate rear of the rolls. D, D¹, is secured a shear
block, I, and pivoted to the bed plate immediately above this block and in
such manner as to have a swinging movement across the edge of the same is a shear
bar, J. K, is a dog pivoted to the side of the bar, J, near the free end thereof
and having a tail, L, adapted to be held in an elevated position by the strip of
stock, from which the chain is blanked, as will be presently more fully set forth.
The head, M', of this dog projects across the top of the bar, J', so that when the

page_text: tail is allowed to drop, said head will thereby be carried to a vertical position and
in abutment with the bar, whereby any force exerted downwardly against said head
will cause the bar to be depressed. No, is a striker projecting down from the
plunger, B, which latter is adapted to reciprocate vertically within a frame, P, as
is shown, and as is common in every ordinary press.
in
This striker in its descent will strike against the head Mo, when the latter
its vertical position and thereby force the shear bar, Jo, downward, but when said
head is at an angle to a perpendicular the striker will completely clear the dog, all
of which will be apparent by reference to fig's. 2, 4, 6, 13, and, 14.
As before stated, the tail, L, of the dog is held in an elevated position by the
stock itself, and therefore when the extreme rear end of the latter has been fed
beyond this tail, the dog will swing so as to bring the head thereof in a vertical
position, this of course being brought about directly by the dropping of the tail;
now when the striker, Ne, descends it will force the bar, Je, downward and thereby
shear the stock, provided that the latter does not happen to be of the exact length
required, which is well nigh impossible.
It will be readily seen, that, as the striker is secured to the plunger, the shearing
is synchronal with the blanking and takes place therefore immediately after one of
the intermittent feeding impulses. Accordingly if the feeding impulse which
carries the last end of the stock from under the tail, L, of the dog, also carries the
said end to a point in the same vertical plane with the cutting edge of the shear
block, I, and no farther, then the bar, Jo, when depressed will not shear the stock,
since the latter is of the desired length, and this is determined by the distance
between the blanking mechanism and the outside or cutting edge of the shear
block.
Therefore in respect to the feeding, the operation of the machine in connection
with my shearing mechanism is as follows:-
The rolls, D, D¹, feed the strip of stock through the machine; when the stock
allows the tail of the dog to drop, the shearing takes place and the said rolls continue
to feed the stock until the latter has passed without their grasp;-the rolls, A6, A7,
are thrown into operative engagement with the scrap just before the feed rolls, D, D',
lose their grip on the stock, so that it will be readily understood that the feed is
continuous, and therefore a succeeding strip of stock may be butted against the
rear edge of the strip already in the machine after the automatic stop mechanism
hereinafter explained has caused the operative parts of the machine to remain at
rest.
It is necessary to give the links a quarter turn to bring them from a position with
their sides or broad surfaces horizontal as they reach the feeding channel to one in
which their edges are horizontal and their sides vertical. This turn of each link
takes place just previous to the bending of the link to interlock it with a previously
bent one, as hereinafter to be described, and is in part accomplished during the
latter part of, and at and immediately after, the completion of the transverse or
feeding movement of the link, in this instance by the means and in the manner
following: At the inner edge of the die, and at the side of the link guide way and
feeding channel, a', is a spring, f¹, coiled in a recess or seat in the lower die section
just at the edge of the channel, a*.
Its free end is widened or flattened out, forming a yielding finger, which
projects cross wise of the channel and beyond its termination, and intersects the line
of travel of the links diagonally and at an inclination to the perpendicular,.
operating upon them in turn as they are moved forward by their feeding mechanism.
The broad end of the spring inclines inward from bottom to top, so that its upper
edge projects inward across the path of the links to a greater extent than its lower
edge. This spring finger projects into what I term a "bending-block" G, where
the links are engaged with each other and bent. The links pass from the feeding.
channel, a', into a receptacle formed by a recess or chamber, g, in this block, in
line with said channel. The bottom of this recess is below the level of the channel,
so that the link, upon leaving the channel, drops downward slightly. At the end

page_text: of the bending block chamber opposite that into which the spring, f', projects is
another spring, f, projecting crosswise of the chamber, so as to intersect the path
of travel of the links in a similar manner. This second spring projects outward
into and cross-wise of the chamber, both diagonally and at an inclination to the
perpendicular, in the same way as the spring f. These two springs act on the
opposite ends of the link, and give it, by the aid of a third spring, f, a partial
turn.
Owing to their peculiar shape, arrangement, and inclination the springs, f, f,
bear edgewise aud slightly downward upon the link. This action gives the link a
tendency to move both horizontally and vertically away from the springs, and in
connection with the spring, f", results in giving each link the necessary turn.
The spring, 6, serves to support the foremost end of the link while being
turned. It is located at the same end of the bending block chamber as the
spring, f. It is very thin is bent, as shown by the drawings, projects at its end
in the direction of the length of the link, bears edgewise on the bottom of the
chamber, and is inclined or beveled from bottom to top, and brought to a point at
its extreme end.
Near the finish of the feed movement of the link it bears on the under side at
one end, and about midway of its width, (or it may be somewhat nearer its edge,
opposite that operated upon by the springs, f¹, f) upon this spring. The link
is in this manner caused with certainty to turn properly-that is, the edge opposite
that borne upon by the turning springs is held up as the link is rocked.
The slide, bar, F2, which carries the push bar or feeding finger, F, of the link
feeding mechanism, passes beneath the bending block, and projects beyond it at its
end opposite that to which the finger is detachably secured a sufficient distance to
be actuated through suitable connections with the gate, B. In this instance the
bar is operated by a vibrating lever, H, pivoted at, h, near its upper end to a
support, H', projecting upward from the die bed, A. This lever is shown as bent
near its upper end, but straight for the remainder and greater portion of its length.
It carries at top a roller, ¹, which enters a cam track or recess, H³, in an over-
hanging portion, H³, of the vertically sliding gate, B. The lower end of the lever
works between a stud, F³, on the bar, F2, and the heel or inner end of a spring
tripping arm or latch, F. On the advance stroke of the carrier bar the lever
bears against the heel of the bar, F, and on the retracting stroke against the
stud, F
This tripper bar is pivoted at its heel, so as to be capable of swinging
horizontally, by a side projection or lateral lug, f, in the rear end of the carrier
bar, and a spring F³, secured upon the side of the carrier bears against this lug.
In its normal position the swinging tripper or latch is held straight, or in line with
the carrier, F, but should any obstacle, such as an imperfect link, or dirt, or other
foreign clogging matter, interfere with the free forward movement of the slide or
carrier, pressure of the lever upon the heel of the tripper at one side of its pivot
sufficient to overcome the spring pressure throws the tripper round sidewise, and
leaves the lever free to move to the usual extent without moving the slide bar, and
at once prevents injury to the link feeding mechanism. At the same time the
movement of the gate is arrested, and the machinery stopped, by the disengagement
of a hooked or shouldered rod, H, which hooks at its lower end under a bent
arm, h, and is connected above in well known way with clutch mechanism, which
controls the connection between the driving shaft, through which the gate is moved,
and the motive power for revolving the shaft and actuating the press common in
Euch machines, and well understood.
The tripper has ratchet-teeth, f, upon its edge, which abut, as it swings round,
against the hook, H, and quickly and positively throw it out from the holding
arm, h², to at once stop the revolution of the driving shaft and movement of the
gate, and thus avoid damage to the mechanism. After inspection, and removal of
the obstacle, the tripper is swung back into position, the hook, H, secured under
the arm, h; and the machine again started.

page_text: I provide means for automatically stopping the machine immediately prior to
the last blanking from a strip of stock, or in other words, when the rear end of
one strip has been fed to the point where, if the forward edge of the second strip
were butted against said rear end, the blanking punch would cut the link blank
from the first strip and at the same time punch out the link eyes from the
second strip, at the proper distance from the forward edge thereof, which means is
as follows:-
A rod, V, extends through the bed plate so as to have a free lengthwise sliding
movement therein. To the front extremity of this rod is secured a block, W,
which slides in bearings within the bed in a direction parallel to that of the rod, V
At the rear end of the said rod is fastened a toe, X, and between said toe and the
rear of the bed is a coil spring, C³, around the rod.
Yo, is a stop pivoted at one end within one of the die caps, Zo, in such manner
that it is in the same horizontal plane with the strip of stock, as the latter lies on the
die plate, while the other end extends up to that point where the rear edge of the
strip should remain immediately prior to the blanking of the last link therefrom.
Against this stop the sliding block, W, abuts, on account of the force of the
spring, C', exerted against the toe, X, and therefore if there is nothing behind
the stop, the spring actuated block, W, will throw said stop backward, but the
stock itself being in the same horizontal plane with this stop, will afford an obstacle
to any such forced movement of the latter. When the strip of stock is fed along
by the rolls, A, A', so that the rear end thereof passes beyond the stop, Y', the
latter will be thrown rearward behind the said end by the block, W, and the
tce, X, will be simultaneously driven against the shouldered rod, H*, thereby
forcing the latter from its engagement with the arm, 2, and disconnecting the
driving shaft from the motive power, as hereinbefore set forth.
Thus it will be seen that when the strip has been fed to the proper extent
preparatory to the introduction of a second strip, the machine comes automatically
to a dead stop. The manner of putting a succeeding strip in proper position is
exceedingly simple, it being necessary only to separate the rolls, D, D', and, placing
the strip between them, to bring the forward end thereof into abutment with the
rear edge of the preceding strip, when said rolls are thrown into operative position
and the several parts are in proper relative position for the performance of their
further functions.
I provide the arm, h³, with a yoke, D', through which the rod, H', projects, in
-order that the latter may not become displaced, and to this rod is loosely connected
a lever, E7, by means of which the operator may throw the rod into engagement
with the arm, 12. To start the machine the rod, H, is forced downward either by
hand or by any suitable means such as a treadle, until the clutch mechanism
-operated by this rod has connected the driving shaft with the motive power; the
lever, E7, is now operated to throw the shouldered part of the rod underneath
the arm, 3, and the rod is thereby locked in this position and the machine ready
for use.
The lever, E', is bent and extended around to the front of the machine, as
shown in dotted lines at Fig. 2, merely for the accommodation of the operator,
since the latter is thereby enabled to stop or start the machine instantly without
going around to the rear of the latter.
The roller, h, of the lever for operating the link feeding mechanism extends
within the cam groove, H2, carried by the plunger, so that it will be readily under-
stood that the reciprocation of the latter will impart a lateral reciprocation to said
Clever to actuate the slide which carries the link feeding finger.
The full outward movement of the lever is imparted to it however before the
plunger reaches the limit of its upward stroke, and causes the end of the feeder or
push bar, F, to slightly enter within the chamber of the bending block. To
prevent the cam from continuing to operate upon the lever, its roller must be left
free, so as to remain stationary during the remainder of the stroke of the plunger.
It is also desirable to give a quick and uniform movement to the feeder throughout

page_text: its advance stroke. I accordingly make a portion of the cam track perpendicular,
so that after the lever has been given the full outward swing, it will remain for
a while in that position, during the continued ascent of the plunger or gate.
The links are turned in their chamber, as already described, and each link, when.
it enters this chamber, and while flatwise or before turning, is threaded in or passed
through the eye or opening of a previously bent link projecting into the chamber, so-
as to intersect the path of the flat link, and subsequently linked in place or connected
with said bent link by bending or looping.
The description of suitable mechanism by means of which the required operations.
are performed upon the links in the bending block, comes next in order; but that
this part of my invention may be more readily understood, I will state at this point
that the difference between the flare of the bottom of the bending block chamber or
link receptacle and that of the bottom of the feed channel, a, which as before.
mentioned, is located above the chamber, is equal to half the width of a link at its
ends or widest parts. The central and narrowest part of a link is of a width somewhat
less than half that of its ends.
The eyes or end openings in the links are wedge shaped with the wide ends of the-
openings next the links' ends, and the points or narrow parts of the openings nearest
the centre or narrow part of the link. The length of these openings is somewhat
greater than the width of the ends or widest parts of the links, and the width of the
openings at their widest parts (next the links ends) is greater than the width of the
central or narrowest part of the link.
The flat link, Fig. 15, shows this construction clearly. The link ends are
preferably rounded, as shown, to facilitate their connection or the threading of the
one with another, and the wide ends of the eyes or openings made straight from side
to side, to afford a firm square hold and strong bearing of one link of a chain upon
another.
At the opposite end of the chamber, g, of the bending-block to that at which the
link first enters is a shoulder, g' terminating the chamber. The turning spring, f.
before described, is located close to this shoulder or end of the chamber, as is also.
the spring, f. Midway of the length of the bending block chamber it is intersected
by a groove, g³, which is formed in one of the side walls of the bending block, and
terminates in the chamber at a right angle to it, and with its bottom in the plane-
of the bottom of the chamber. This groove is opposite to the central part of a link
when one has been fully entered into the chamber in position to be bent at the side
of the chamber next the wall of the block opposite to that in which this groove is.
formed.
A. link bender carrier or endwise reciprocating thrust bar, G₁, is moved back and
forth cross wise of the chamber, g. It works in the groove, g³, which serves as a
guideway for it, and prevents sidewise and downward movement from its proper
path. Upward movement of the thrust bar is prevented by a cap piece or cover, G³,.
forming the top of the groove. The thrust bar is actuated by the gate through a
vibrating lever, G³, acted upon by a cam track, Gʻ, or recess with inclined walls..
This lever is pivoted about its centre to an upright, I, on the die-bed, A, and carries
a roller at its upper end to work on the cam inclines. The advance stroke of the
thrust bar to bend a link takes place during the latter part of the downward.
movement of the gate, and its advancing movement commences at the time of the
finish, or slightly before the finish, of the retracting stroke of the finger, F, of the
flat link feeding mechanism.
The retraction of the thrust bar takes place on the first part of the upstroke of
the gate, and its retrograde stroke has been nearly or quite completed before the-
forward movement of the feeder, F, commences, so that the bending head is out of
the way of the link fed into the chamber of the bending block. At the latter part
of the upstroke of the press, the pawl, E¹, operates the feed rollers to move along
the blank, b, to have a fresh link served to replace the one first fed to the bending
block and keep up the supply of flat links.
The bender head or link bender proper, which will more particularly be described.

page_text: hereinafter, is formed at the outer end of the thrust bar, and the thrust bar is
detachably and adjustably connected with a clamping bar or holder, G. This
holder is formed with a downward projection or bend at its outer end, through which
pass two screws, g*, g³.
The screw, g, passes through a smooth hole or tap in the end of the holder, and
enters a female screw or screw tap, in the end of the thrust bar. When properly
adjusted this screw serves to prevent end wise movement of the thrust bar such as
could otherwise be produced by a pull. The screw, g, passes through a female screw
or tap in the end of the holder and abuts against the push bar, thus serving to prevent
movement by end thrust or pushing strain.
An adjusting set screw, 98, passes through an elongated slot in the holder bar and
enters the thrust bar. This screw serves to draw the bars together. Upon the
under side of the holder is a shoulder, which enters a recess in the top of the thrust
bar. The adjustment of the thrust bar is thus limited, and may properly be
gaged.
Lugs, G, G, upon the side of the holder bar receive between them the lower
end of the lever, G³, which, as it is swung in and out, reciprocates the thrust bar or
link bender, as before explained.
In and extending through the side wall of the bending block, G, which forms
the boundary of the chamber, g, on the side opposite that in which the thrust bar
guide way, 93, is formed, is a bending channel or recess, 1', into which the flat links
are forced by the thrust bar and bending head from the position in which they are
left by the feeding mechanism and turning springs, before described. This bending
cavity, I, which receives the links as bent is diametrically opposite the thrust bar
groove, g³. Its bottom is flush with the bottom of the chamber, g, of the bending
block, or in the horizontal plane of the bottom of this chamber and the bottom of
the said groove.
It is also in line with a recess or groove, 12, formed in the die
bed of the press, to afford a guide way traversed by the chain, as will hereinafter
be explained.
The bending cavity, I, is formed of a general octagonal shape, so that it will be
readily understood that when the partially bent link is primarily introduced within
said cavity the walls of the latter at its greatest horizontal cross diameter will act
to bend the loop of the link and on the further introduction of said link within the
cavity, the walls of the latter, which are inclined toward the adjacent vertical and
horizontal walls, will operate to gradually compress the euds of the link.
It should be observed in this connection that the links are wider at the ends and
are inclined or tapered at the sides, toward the centre or loop.
The head, J, of the thrust bar, G', is of a width slightly greater than the distance
between the ends of the partially bent link when the loop of the latter has been
acted upon by the bending cavity, so that it will be readily understood that said
head, when thrown forward, will strike both ends of said link and force the same
further within the bending cavity. j, j, are lips which are formed on the ends of
strong springs J³, secured at the sides of the head, J.
These lips project slightly beyond said head and are beveled inwardly so as to
embrace the ends of the links on the outside, while the said head is operating against
a link. The height of the head, and the distance between the lips are such that said
head will readily enter the bending cavity throughout its greatest vertical diameter,
while the spring lips are adapted to perform their functions within said cavity at its
greatest horizontal cross diameter.
The bending of the flat links is accomplished by the bending head in connection
with the bending cavity and the pull of the chain in the following manner :-
A straight link is inserted within the eyes of a previously partially bent link the
loop end of which latter has been forced within the bending cavity. The chain is
now pulled, by the mechanism hereinafter to be described, so as to bring the straight
link flat against the inside of the wall of the bending block, thereby bringing the
ends of the aforesaid partially bent link in close proximity as shown at figs. 9,
and, 11. The bending head is now advanced against the ends of the bent link.

page_text: The lips, j, being thereby caused to embrace said ends as hereinbefore set forth,
by the continued advance of the bending head, the bent link is forced entirely within
the bending cavity, thereby causing the straight link to be partially bent against
the outer edges of the cavity and to be forced part way within said cavity, or in
other words to the position occupied by the aforesaid first named partially bent
link. It might be well to state here, that when such a partially bent link is in
proper position for the threading of a succeeding link, the sides or broad surfaces
of said partially bent link are vertical and intersecting at right angles the path
traversed by the flat links during the operation of threading, as will be readily
understood by reference to figs. 8, and, 10.
Obviously the head, J, might be so operated as to force a link into the bending
cavity just far enough to bring the link so bent in the exact position necessary for
the threading through its eyes of the next straight link.
Should the lips,j, of the bending head abut against instead of embrace the ends
of the bent link when first coming in contact with them on the advance stroke,
these ends will, nevertheless, soon be enclosed by the lips, which should be slightly
beveled in the inner sides of their ends; for the link, when forced into the bending
cavity, has its ends brought nearer together by their contact with the walls of the
narrow top and bottom portions of the cavity, and the lips are thus caused with
certainty to embrace the link ends and bear against the link to be bent, while the
point, J, bears upon the ends of the already bent link embraced by the lips. The
narrow portion of the link, at the point where it is doubled or bent does not come
against the narrow top and bottom parts of the cavity, but occupies the central
enlarged portion thereof, and the link consequently is not crowded together
injuriously at this part.
On the finish of the upward movement of the gate, B, the connected and
partially finished, as well as the finished, links of the chain are fed forward a short
distance in a path at right angles to that traversed by the flat links. This feed of
the chain takes place just after a flat link has been threaded with or passed through
the eyes or openings of a previously bent link, and the pull of the chain leaves the
flat link resting on edge in the bending block, or flatwise against the wall of the
side of the bending chamber, in position to be forced into the bending cavity by
the bending head as before described.
The connected links, both finished and partially formed, of the chain pass through
the recess or channel, 12, to the feeding mechanism, which operates intermittingly
to give the necessary pull upon the connected links, and carries forward the finished
chain.
The partially-finished connected links are thus brought in turn to be operated
upon by suitable devices (soon to be described) to first compress the links sidewise
to bring their ends close together, finish the bending of them, and properly form
their loops or bows, and then to upset, compress, or crush the links endwise to
destroy the separating spring of the metal and the tendency of the links to open or
spread at and near their ends.
During the time that a link is being finished, its retrograde movement is prevented
by a stop or holder, formed by a loosely swinging arm, K, shown as pivoted at one
end to the bending block, G, and provided at its opposite end with a nose, k, which
fits in the loop or between the sides of one link, and serves as a firm support for
the ends of the link next in advance. This arm moves vertically directly over the
chain way, 1, and is borne upon by a spring, K', the pressure of which gives &
tendency to the arm to assume and occupy the position clearly shown in figs. 2,
and, 5. The rear edge of the nose is made thin, so that it may descend into the
link loop or between the links sides, and its end or bearing face is so formed as to
afford a firm support for the ends of the link to be finished and resist end thrust
thereof. As the chain is fed forward the links behind the nose in turn act upon its
curved or inclined rear edge and lift it, the spring, K', yielding to allow of the proper
upward movement of the arm.
The pressing together of the link ends and the formation of the loop is finished
R

page_text: by the action of compressor bars, L, located beyond the channel, 12, and on opposite
sides of the path of the chain these bars are guided and supported within recesses
in the die bed. To these compressor bars are pivotally attached the lower ends of
vertical vibrating levers, M pivoted at, m, to a standard, H', projecting upward
from the die bed.
Extending laterally from the upper extremities of these, vibrating levers are
friction rollers, L', which latter project within inclined cam grooves carried by the
gate or plunger, B so that it will be readily understood that the vertical recipro-
cation of the latter will cause a to and fro movement of the compressor bars.-
The timing of these last described operations is such that the retraction of the
compressors takes place just before the completion of the upstroke of the plunger, B,
and at this moment the pulling of the chain takes place.
The upsetting of the links by compressing or slightly crushing them endwise, to
finish them and destroy the tendency of the links to separate or spring apart at their
ends, takes place at the finish of the downward stroke of the gate.
Mechanisin for accomplishing this result is shown in this instance as consisting
of two compressor levers, M³, which are pivoted one on each of the bars, L. The
inner ends of these levers are bill hooked and adapted to snugly encompass the
head of the link. Tappets, N, are pivoted to the bed at the front and rear thereof
respectively and are adapted by a swinging movement in the direction indicated by
the arrow in fig. 4, to strike the levers, M.-N', are strikers, one only being
shown, which are secured to the plunger at opposite sides thereof, and in the same
vertical plane with the tappets. As the plunger descends the strikers will come in
contact with the tappets and cause them to swing in the direction indicated by the
arrow as set forth. The operation of the compressor levers by the tappets
immediately follows the effective action of the compressor bars, L. In order to
insure the regular and symmetrical formation of the loop or closed end of the bent
link, provide an anvil pin, O, conformed in cross section to the general shape of
the loop, and depending from a gravity frame, O¹. This frame has two guide
rods, p, which reciprocate in proper bearings in the bed so as to establish a steady
movement to said frame. Only one of these guide rods appears in the drawing, see
fig. 5, the other being in the immediate rear thereof. Projecting upward from
the frame O¹, is a pin, O, having at its upper end a shoulder, p', and depending
from the plunger, B, is a lifting rod, P, having at its lower end a shoulder, P¹, which
extends underneath the shoulder p'. When the plunger descends, the pin, O, will a
drop by gravity within the loop end of one of the partially bent links, and on the
upward stroke of the plunger, the said pin will be lifted out of the said loop.
In order that the several movements described of the compressor bars, compressor
levers and anvil pin, may be more fully understood and their object made clear, I
will now proceed to describe their functions with relation to each other and more 4
particularly with reference to the effect which they will have on the formation
of the link. As the plunger descends the anvil pin will enter the loop end of the
link and the compressor bars will be forced against the sides of the link, thereby
compressing the latter together and giving the proper shape to the inner part of
the loop around the anvil pin. The compressor levers, M2, having been carried 4
inward toward each other by the action of the bars, L, are in proper position to
exercise their function, and accordingly the tappets, N, are now thrown against the
levers, M², by the strikers, N', as hereinbelore set forth, thereby forcing said
levers firmly against the stock at the end o. the loop causing the latter to assume
the proper rounding shape. At the upward stroke of the plunger, the tappets 5
swing back to their normal position, the compressor bars and levers are with-
drawn, the anvil pin is raised out of the loop, and the link thus completed is fed
forward, and the succeeding partially completed link is brought into the position
necessary for the repetition of the operation just described.
The chain feeding or pulley mechanism, which is operated through connections 5
with the plunger at the end of its upstroke is shown as consisting of a sprocket
wheel, Q, mounted on a shaft journaled in bearings, C, S, which project upward
"I

page_text: from the bed plate, A, so that it will be seen that the field of operation of said
sprocket is in a vertical plane. Q, is a ratchet wheel rigidly secured on said shaft,
and, R, is a pawl projecting downward from the plungers and adapted to engage
with the ratchet wheel and thereby operate the sprocket as will be evident by
reference to fig. 4. The teeth of the sprocket enter between the sides of the link
within the loop and exert a force directly against the compressed ends of the bent
link and in a direction coincident with the horizontal axis of the chain, so that it
will be evident that the action of said sprocket constitutes a perfect test of the
tensile strength of the chain, said test being of course measured by the resistance
offered to the operation of the sprocket.
In view of the description already given of the operations of the respective parts
of the machine, a general description of the operation will be sufficient.
If the machine is to be worked for the first time, it will be necessary to provide
a section of chain and partially formed links sufficient to extend from the
bending-block to the feed-wheel, as in figs. 5, 8, and, 9. Such a section may be
made by hand, and the links may be stamped out by the machine by disengaging
the feeder bar or finger, F, and then starting the machine, to form the required
number of flat links, which may be removed from time to time until the necessary
number has been secured. A number of links are left in the lower portion of
the link-die, (see fig. 7) so that the weight upon the lower one will keep it in
proper position to be operated upon by the finger of the flat link-feeding
mechanism. This finger being readjusted in position, the section of chain and
bent and partially formed links placed in position in the machine and the machine
started, the manufacture of the chain progresses automatically and continuously
by the intermittent, connected, successive, and repeated operations of blank
feeding mechanism, the punches, the flat-link-feeding mechanism, the link turning
devices, the bowing or partial-bending and retracting mechanism, the sidewise and
end wise compressing devices, and the chain-feeding mechanism.
Supposing the working parts of the machiue, as prepared for starting, to
occupy the positions shown in fig. 8, when the gate is very near the end of the
upstroke the parts first operated as the machine starts are the blank-feeding
rollers and the chain feeding wheel, Q.
By an inspection of fig. 8, it will be seen that the link, 3, projects quite a
distance into the chamber, g, of the bending block, with link 2, threaded through
its eyes and partially turned; and that there are considerable spaces between the
opposite sides of the bowed or bent ends of links 4, 5, and, 6, and the eyes of the
links, through which they are respectively passed, and with which they are inter-
looped, this spacing being caused by the tendency of the partially formed links
to spring open at their wide or eye ends, and slide upon the curved inner sides
of the loops or bows of the links with which they are respectively connected.
The ends of link, 4, are held much nearer the bow end of link, 3, as the ends of
link, 4, are somewhat compressed in the narrow top and bottom of the bending
cavity, I, and prevented from springing apart and sliding in link, 3.
of starting the machine link, 8, occupies the position at which, in the regular
order of operation, it would have been compressed sidewise by the bars L, to
give it the proper shape, as well as bave been upset or compressed end wise by
the levers M, to leave it ready to be moved forward to make room for link, 7.
At the time
Toward the end of the upstroke of the gate, the pawl, R, is caused to move
the chain-feeding sprocket-wheel, Q, a portion of a revolution equal to a distance
slightly greater than one tooth, drawing the chain forward a little more than
the length of a link, and to the position shown by fig. 9. The flat link 2, is
thus brought by the pull of the chain against the vertical wall of the chamber, g,
of the bending block, G, and link, 3 drawn into the bending cavity, except at its
ends. This movement of the link, 3, a distance less than its length does not
compensate entirely for the shortening of the chain by the draw of the feeding
mechanism, which, as before remarked moved the chain and partially formed
links forward, between the sprocket wheel and bending block. The additional.

page_text: compensation for this shortening of the chain to allow it to be fed forward a
distance a little greater than the length of a link is, however, provided for by the
stretching of links, 4, 5 6, and, 7, the tension on the links being sufficient to
overcome the resistance offered by the spring of the links, and cause the ends of
the respective links to approach each other near enough to slide in the bows of
the links with which they are connected and assume the positions shown
in Figs. 5, and, 9. The nose, k, of the swinging arm or holding dog, K, now
drops behind the ends of link, 7. The tension on the chain produced by the
spring of the link ends, and consequent tendency of the partially formed links
to lap or draw upon each other, will give the chain and links a slight retrograde
movement which is checked by the nose, k, of the dog, K. On the beginning of
the downward movement of the gate, no change occurs in any of the parts which
act directly upon the chain or connected links. As the gate descends, and by the
time it has completed about one fourth part of its downstroke, the compressor
bars, L, and the hill hooks, M2, have advanced part of the distance traversed by
them toward the chain, and the push bar or flat link feeder, F, is on its retracting
movement. As the plunger continues to descend, the compressors, L, will have
been advanced their full stroke, and will have driven the sides of the ends of
link, 8, together, and the bill hooks of the end compressors, M³, will have entered
the eyes or openings in the ends of link, 9, and rested behind the bow of link, 8,
ready to push or crush the bow when pressure is produced by the operation of the
tappets, N.
At about one half of the downstroke the thrust-bar or reciprocating carrier, G¹,
of the link-bender will begin to advance across the chamber, g, of the bending
block. The flat-link feeder, F, will have reached the limit of its outward or
retracting movement shortly after the completion of one-half of the downstroke of
the gate, say, when five-eighths of this downward movement has been accomplished.
At about the completion of three-fourths of the downward stroke of the gate the
flat link-bender head will have been advanced far enough to bring its point or
solid end, J, against the projecting ends of link, 3, which occupies the bending
cavity, I, with link 2, passed or threaded through its eyes or end openings, as
shown by figs. 5, and, 9.
The spring lips, j, j, of the bender head embrace the ends of the link, 3, and
hold them properly up to the bender head point. The bender continues to
advance, and by the time the gate has moved down to about seven-eighths of its
stroke the head or point, J, and the yielding lips, j, will have been projected
partly into the bending recess, forcing the ends of link, 3, back into this recess
and bending or folding link, 2, at its centre, where it is held in the eyes or end
openings of link, 3. .
During the completion of the down stroke the bender continues to advance, and
its head is projected some distance into the bending cavity; and by the time the
down-stroke is finished, the bending or folding operation performed by the bender,
in connection with the bending cavity is completed.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what 1 claim is :—
1. The hereinbefore-described improvement in the art of manufacturing chain from
sheet metal by machinery, which improvement consists in forming the partially-shaped
But links from a plate, bringing these links (Antwise or with their broad surfaces
horizontal) to the point at which they are to be connected with each other, successively
threading the separate flat links through the eyes of previously bent and partially
formed links, (the broad surfaces of which are vertical or at right angles to the sides
of the flat links) turning the flat links, bending them to interloop and unite them with
the previously bent links, and subsequently completely shaping the links and forming
the finished chain, substantially as set forth.
2. As an improvement in the art of manufacturing chain from sheet metal by
machinery, the herein before-described method of automatically adjusting a flat link in

page_text: a previously bent link preparatory to bending, which consists in feeding forward the
flat link endwise, threading it through the eyes of the bent link intersecting its line of
travel at right angles, and turning it as it is fed along after its forward widened end
has passed through said eyes, substantially as set forth.
3. As an improvement in the art of manufacturing chain from sheet metal by
machinery, the hereinbefore-described-method of connecting and uniting the links,
which consists in feeding forward the flat and partially shaped links flatwise or with
their broad-surfaces-horizontal in a path intersected at right angles by that traversed
by the previously connected links, threading the flat links successively through the
eyes of the previously bent and united links, the broad surfaces of which are vertient
and at right angles to the sides of the flat links, giving a partial turn to the flat links,
and then bending them at their middles to respectively unite them with the previously
bent and united links, substantially as set forth.
4. As an improvement in the art of manufacturing chain from sheet metal-by
machinery, the hereinbefore described method of completely forming and finishing the
bent interlooped links, which consists in intermittingly feeding forward the links,
compressing them sidewise, and then upsetting or compressing them end wise, substan-
tially-as-set-forth.
5. The combination, substantially as herein before set forth, of the blank-feeding
rolls, the yoke connected with the adjustable bearings of the upper roll, and the cam
lever for netunting the yoke.
6. The combination of the flat link feeding mechanism the chambered bending
block, and link turning devices, substantially such as described.
7. The dies formed in sections and having a feed channel for the flat links, recessed
at-the-top and bottom of its inner-end to facilitate the turning of the link, substantially
as set forth.
8. The combination, substantially as hereinbefore set forth, of the punches, the dies,
the flat link feeding mechanism, the chambered bending block, to which the links are
delivered from the feedway or channel, which is recessed at its inner end, and the
turning-springs, which operate upon the link-and-begin to turn-it-when its rear-end
renches the recesses in the guide-way, us-specified.
0. The bending block provided with the-bending-eavity, having narrow top and
bottom portions and a wide central portion, in combination with a bender, substun-
tially as and for the purpose-specified.
10. The combination of the reciprocating bender and the chambered bending block,
having a bending cavity with a wide central--part and contracted-top-and-bottom
portions in its wall, into which-the-bender-head is projected to bend the flat links and
connect them with the previously bent links, substantially us hereinbefore-set
forth.
11. The combination of a bending cavity or dis and the bending head, provided
with spring lips, as described, whereby it is adapted to engage the ends of a previously
bent link on the advance stroke-and-withdraw the last-bent link on the-retraction-of
the bender, substantially as set forth.
12. The combination of the reciprocating carrier bar-of the-flat-link feeding
mechanism, the lever-for-reciprocating the bar, and the spring tripping arm, pivoted
to-the-bar-and-operated upon by the lever, substantially as-and-for-the-purpose-eet
forth.
13. The combination substantially as hereinbefore-set forth, of the chain-feeding
mechanism-und-a-swinging arm-or-pawl, K, provided-with-a-nose-to-engage the links
and hold them in turn in proper-position-to-be-compressed--after being fed
forward.
14. The combination substantially us hereinbefore set forth; of a self-adjusting-arm
or pawl, K, having a nose to engage the links as fed forward, the compressor neting
against the sides of the links, and the compressor for upsetting or compressing the
links-endwise.
15. 1. In a chain manufacturing machine, the combination with the strip feeding
rolls at the rear of the blanking mechanism, of similar rolls located beyond said

page_text: mechanism, whereby all the stock is fed through the machine, substantially as
.set forth.
16. 2. As an improvement in the art of making chain from sheet metal by
machinery, the combination with the feeding devices, of mechanism adapted to
automatically shear the strip of stock to a predetermined length, substantially as
.set forth.
13. The combination with the feeding rolls in the rear of the blanking
mechanism, of similar rolls journaled beyond the said mechanism, and adapted
to grasp the strip of stock after it has left the back rolls, whereby a continuity
of feed throughout the entire length of the strip is obtained substantially as set
forth.
18. 4. As an improvement in the art of manufacturing chain by machinery from
sheet metal, the combination with the primary feeding devices, of shearing
mechanism supported out of operation by the stock itself and adapted to operate
when the latter has been carried from beneath it, substantially as set forth and
specified.
10. 5. The combination with the rear feeding roils, of a shear block secured to
the bed plate, a pivoted bar adapted to shear across the edge of said block, a dog
pivoted to the outside of said bar and adapted to be held in an elevated position by
the stock itself owing to the feeding of the latter, and a striker depending from
the plunger and operating to abut against the head of the dog when the latter has
swung to a vertical position, whereby the bar is driven against the stock to shear
the same, substantially as shown and set forth.
20. 6. In combination with the shear bar and the feeding device, the dog
pivotally attached to said bar and adapted to automatically regulate the operation
of the latter through the medium of the strip of stock itself, substantially as set
forth.
21. 7. As an improvement in the art of manufacturing chain from sheet metal by
machinery, the combination with the means for connecting and disconnecting the
driving shaft with the motive power, of mechanism, whose effective operation is
-dependent on the feeding of the strip of stock, for automatically stopping the
machine, substantially as set forth.
28. As an improvement in the art of manufacturing chain from sheet metal by
machinery, the mechanism for automatically stopping the machine preparatory to
the blanking of the last link from the stock, the same consisting of means, as a
stop withheld from operation by the edge of the strip of stock, in combination with
the mechanism for disconnecting the driving shaft from the motive power,
substantially as set forth.
23. 9. The combination with the shear block secured to the bed plate at a pre-
determined distance from the blanking mechanism of the bar pivoted to the bed
and adapted to shear across the cutting edge of said block, a dog pivoted to said
bar and adapted to effect the operation of the latter when the rear edge of the
stock has been carried beyond said dog, and the striker depending from the plunger
and adapted to depress the bar through the medium of the interposed dog,
substantially as and for the purpose set forth.
24. 10. In combination with the means for connecting and disconnecting the
driving shaft from the motive power, the spring actuated mechanism controlled by
the strip of stock fed through the machine and adapted when unrestrained by said
strip to drive against said means and thereby automatically stop the machine,
substantially as set forth.
25. 11. The combination with the rod extending loosely through the bed and
having attached to its rear end a toe, and at its rear end a block arranged to slide
in ways in the bed, of a coil spring around said rod between said toe and bed, a
stop against which said block impinges pivoted to the bed in the same horizontal
plane with the strip of stock from which the links are blanked, and the
mechanism which disconnects the motive power from the driving shaft, substantially
as described.

page_text: 26. 12. The combination with the driving shaft, the motive power and a throw
off lever adapted to disconnect said shaft and power, of a spring actuated tripper
one end of which is in close proximity to said throw off, the other end being
withheld against the resiliency of the spring by contact with the strip of stock,.
said tripper adapted when released by the stock to operate the throw off lever and
thereby stop the machine, substantially as set forth.
27. 13. As an improvement in the art of manufacturing sheet metal chain by
machinery, the combination with the feeding devices, of mechanism for shearing
the rear edge of the stock at a predetermined distance from the blanking
mechanism, of means controlled by said stock for stopping the machine immediately
prior to the blanking of the last link at the end of the strip, substantially as set
forth.
28. 14. In combination with the compressor bars adapted to be reciprocated in
ways within the bed plate, the compressor levers pivoted to said bars and billi
hooked at their inner extremities, and means for forcing said levers against the
loop end of the link, substantially as shown and described.
20. 15. The bill hooked compressor levers carried by the compressor bars, in-
combination with the tappets and the strikers depending from the plunger,.
substantially as set forth.
30. 16. The bill hooked compressor levers pivoted to the compressor bars and
adapted when in operative position to meet on opposite sides of the loop end of the
link, in combination with the anvil projected within the loop, substantially as and
for the purpose described.
31. 17. The combination with the compressor bars of the anvil pin projected
within the loop end of the chain, as and for the purpose set forth.
32. 18. As an improved means for pulling or feeding chain made by machinery,.
a sprocket wheel mounted on a shaft journaled in bearings projecting from the bed
plate, the teeth of said wheel adapted to enter between the sides of the link within
the loop end thereof and against the end of the preceding link whereby all the
strain is exerted in a line coincident with the horizontal axis of the chain,.
substantially as set forth.
33. 19. In the art of manufacturing sheet metal chain by machinery, the method
herein described of blanking consecutive links from independent and separate strips
of stock, the same consisting in shearing the rear end of the preceding strip at a
predetermined distance from the blanking mechanism, feeding the strip so sheared,
and butting the forward edge of the succeeding strip against the rear edge of the
aforesaid strip immediately prior to the blanking of the last link from the latter,.
whereby at the next operation of the blanking mechanism the last link will be cut
from the first strip and the eyes of the next link will be punched out from the-
succeeding strip at the proper distance from the forward edge thereof, substantially
as and for the purpose specified.
Dated this 21st day of November 1887

page_text: I, FREDERICK EGGE, residing at 107 Park Avenue, Bridgeport, in the county of
Fairfield, and state of Connecticut, in the 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:-
My invention relates to the manufacture of chain from sheet or plate metal links.
My objects are rapidly and economically to form the chain, and automatically to
produce a strong, neat, and uniformly-finished chain, without welding or riveting,
from a sheet or sheets of metal.
My improvements, in the first place, and mainly, consist in a novel art of
manufacturing chain, as will hereinafter more fully be set forth, by the connected and
successive and repeated operations of continuously operating mechanism, which first
forms the separate flat partially shaped and unbent links thereof from sheet or plate
metal; next, brings these links one at a time, and in proper position, to a point at
which they are to be united with each other; then connects them by looping or
bending; and, finally, completely shapes the links, one after another, to form
the chain.
My improvements also consist in novel methods of uniting and interlooping or
bending the links, and of completely forming or shaping the links, and finishing the
chain; and, further, in certain novel organizations of mechanisms and in combinations
of devices, which will hereinafter he described, and then specifically be designated by
the claims.
The accompanying drawings represent with sufficient fullness those portions or
features which it is deemed necessary to show of a suitable organization of mechanism
for carrying out my invention, all my improvements or means for carrying them out
being illustrated thereby, in connection with an ordinary vertical press.
Some of my improvements obviously, however, may be used without the others; and the

page_text: invention, in part or parts, be carried out by mechanism differing somewhat from that
therein shown and herein described, especially as to details of construction.
Some of the changes which may be made without departure from the spirit and
scope of my invention will be mentioned herein, while others more obvious would be
suggested to a skillful workman, or one skilled in the art to which my invention
pertains, simply by reading this specification and examining the drawings in
which
Fig. 8, a detail plan view showing the operation of the bending and compressing
devices.
Fig. 9, is also a detail plan illustrating the relative position of the bending and
compressing devices immediately after the chain has been pulled through the machine.
Figs. 10, 11, and, 12, detail views showing the several operations as they are
performed in succession upon a link.
Fig. 13, a detail end view showing the shear mechanism and dog in their proper
relative position to the striker so that the latter will clear the dog.
Fig. 14, a similar view showing the head of the dog in a vertical position with the
striker in abutment therewith, and
Fig. 15, a detail of the link blank.
A die block, frame or bed plate, A, of proper construction for use in connection
with an ordinary press or punching machine, is provided beneath the sliding or
reciprocating plunger or gate, B, of such a press. The die block is of sufficient size
and of the proper shape to support the various parts of the working mechanism; and
the gate or plunger, B, as it is caused to slide up and down, as usual, gives, by
suitable actuating devices, the desired movements to these parts, as will be herein-
after sufficiently explained.
The blank sheet plate or strip, b, of proper width and thickness, of brass, copper, Ger-
man silver, iron, or other suitable metal or alloy, is fed over dies and beneath punches,
hereinafter to be described, by suitable feeding mechanism, shown as consisting of two
rolls, D, D', the lower one, D, being supported so as to turn in fixed bearings in the
die block, and the upper one being mounted in a block, d¹, movable vertically on
uprights or guide posts, d, projecting upward from the die block.
Across the top of these uprights is secured a cap piece D, and around the uprights
and extending between said cap and the block, d', are coil springs, d³, so that it will be
obvious that any upward movement of said block will be effected against the resiliency
of the said springs; D', is a post which projects upward from the block, d', through
the cap, D2, and terminates in a shoulder, d'; and, D³, is a cam lever pivoted to the
top of said cap and adapted to operate directly against said shoulder on the under
side thereof, whereby the upper roll, D', may be raised for the purpose of stopping
the feed, or manipulating the stock independently of said feed.
The shafts of the feed rolls, D, D¹, at one end, extend through their bearings and
carry meshing gear wheels, E, e, which are actuated, through means of a ratchet
wheel, e', mounted on the shaft of the lower roll, D', by a spring pawl, E', carried by
the reciprocating plunger, B. Backward movement of the ratchet wheel is prevented
by a spring pawl, e, mounted on the die bed. Near the end of each upward
movement of the plunger the pawl acts on the ratchet to turn the rollers and feed
forward the blank to the punches and dies for cutting the links from the blank, and in
the downward stroke the pawl slips over the surface of the ratchet wheel.
In connection with the feeding devices, I provide certain automatic shearing
mechanism by means of which a continuity of feed is established between a preceding
and a succeeding strip of stock, while at the same time the waste of stock is decreased

page_text: to a minimum thereby, but I will not now describe said mechanism as it will be best
understood after the operation of the dies and punches bas been explained.
Punches for cutting eyes or openings and severing from the stock the blank
represented at fig. 15, are carried. by the plunger, B. Two punches, or a two part
punch, B¹, cut out the metal to form wedge shaped holes or eyes near the enlarged
ends of the link, and a punch, B2, severs the blank from the stock. The dies over
and upon which the stock is fed, and in connection with which the punches operate,
are removably secured in the die bed, A, in any suitable and customary way, such as
by wedging
A suitable stripper D, such as is usually employed with blanking dies, is used to
prevent the adherence of the stock to the punches throughout the upward movement
of the latter.
The stock is fed forward between the stripper and the dies. These dies are
preferably made in two sections or layers, A', A². The upper section or plate, A', is
dove-tailed within the die block and secured in position by a wedge, d*, as shown in
fig. 6, and is provided with openings, a, a', respectively corresponding in shape and
size with the punches, B1, B2.
The walls of these openings diverge slightly toward the bottom of the die, so that
the punchings from the eyes of the links and the blanks themselves cannot be jammed
in the dies or held by frictional contact therein, but drop freely downward.
The eye punchings fall through the two sections of the die and the die bed into any
suitable receptacle, while the blanks fall upon each other, with the lower one in a way
or recess, a, formed in the under section, A². The links are in this way brought in
position to be fed forward one at a time by suitable means, to bring them to the point
where they are united together and formed into a chain.
By thus making the dies in sections, the accurate formation of the receiver and
guide way, a, for the links is facilitated. In this guide way is fitted a push bar or
feed finger, F, adapted to be intermittingly reciprocated for the purpose of propelling
the blanks at proper intervals into the position necessary for bending, as will be
hereinafter described.
This feed finger is mounted upon a reciprocating carrier, F³, moving in a suitable
guide slot in the die bed beneath the dies.
I will now describe the means whereby continuity of feed is established between
succeeding strips of stock and the saving of said stock effected :-1 provide a pair of
feed rolls, A, A', beyond the blanking mechanism precisely similar in operation to the
rolls, D, D. The upper roll, A', is journaled in fixed bearings in the standards, C+,
which extend upward from the bed plate, A, and the lower roll, A', is journaled in a
block, E, which is capable of a limited vertical movement.
A coil spring, F6, between the block, E, and the bed, A, serves to keep the block
in its normal position and bring the rolls, A, A', into operation, while an ordinary
cam lever, G, pivoted to the bed and adapted to act against a pin, H, projecting
downward from the block is used to force the inner end of the latter downward
against the resiliency of the spring, Fe, and thereby throw the rolls, A', A7, apart so
that they will have no effect, all of which will be readily understood by reference to
figures, 3, 4, and, 6.
When the extreme end of the stock has been fed beyond the rolls, D, D¹, all that
part of the stock which could not be blanked owing to the stopping of the feed would
be ordinarily thrown into the scrap, but with my improvement, as soon as the
rolls, D, D', have ceased to feed the material, the rolls, A, A', which have been out
of operation hitherto, are thrown into their normal position, thereby gripping the
scrap and pulling the same along until all the stock has passed beneath the blanking
mechanism, the latter being continually in operation in the meantime.
To insure the continuous blanking and interlooping of the links, or in other words
in order that the last link blanked from the preceding strip may be so near the extreme
edge of the latter that the next action of the cutting punch will blank entirely out of
the stock of the succeeding strip, I provide mechanism which shall automatically
determine the length of stock at the last end of the strip necessary to enable the

page_text: punch to cut the blanks continuously from successive strips without stopping the
machine, which mechanism is as follows:-
To the bed plate, A, in the immediate rear of the rolls, D, D¹, is secured a shear
block, I, and pivoted to the bed plate immediately above this block and in such
manner as to have a swinging movement across the edge of the same is a shear
bar, J. K, is a dog pivoted to the side of the bar, Jo, near the free end thereof and
having a tail, L, adapted to be held in an elevated position by the strip of stock, from
which the chain is blanked, as will be presently more fully set forth.
The head, M, of this dog projects across the top of the bar, J6, so that when the
tail is allowed to drop, said head will thereby be carried to a vertical position and in
abutment with the bar, whereby any force exerted downwardly against said head will
cause the bar to be depressed. No, is a striker projecting down from the plunger, B,
which latter is adapted to reciprocate vertically within a frame, P, as is shown, and
as is common in every ordinary press.
This striker in its descent will strike against the head Me, when the latter is in its
vertical position and thereby force the shear bar, Jo, downward, but when said head is
at an angle to a perpendicular the striker will completely clear the dog, all of which
will be apparent by reference to fig's. 2, 4, 6, 13, and, 14.
As before stated, the tail, L, of the dog is held in an elevated position by the stock
itself, and therefore when the extreme rear end of the latter has been fed beyond this tail,
the dog will swing so as to bring the head thereof in a vertical position, this of course
being brought about directly by the dropping of the tail; now when the striker, Ne,
descends it will force the bar, Jo, downward and thereby shear the stock, provided
that the latter doos not happen to be of the exact length required, which is well nigh
impossible.
It will be readily seen, that, as the striker is secured to the plunger, the shearing
is synchronal with the blanking and takes place therefore immediately after one of the
intermittent feeding impulses. Accordingly if the feeding impulse which carries the
last end of the stock from under the tail, Lo, of the dog, also carries the said end to a
point in the same vertical plane with the cutting edge of the shear block, I and no
farther, than the bar, Jo, when depressed will not shear the stock, since the latter is
of the desired length, and this is determined by the distance between the blanking
mechanism and the outside or cutting edge of the shear block.
Therefore in respect to the feeding, the operation of the machine in connection with
my shearing mechanism is as follows:-
The rolls, D, D¹, feed the strip of stock through the machine; when the stock.
allows the tail of the dog to drop, the shearing takes place and the said rolls continue
to feed the stock until the latter has passed without their grasp;-the rolls, A6, A7,
are thrown into operative engagement with the scrap just before the feed rolls, D, D¹,
lose their grip on the stock, so that it will be readily understood that the feed is
continuous, and therefore a succeeding strip of stock may be butted against the rear
edge of the strip already in the machine after the automatic stop mechanism herein-
after explained has caused the operative parts of the machine to remain at rest.
It is necessary to give the links a quarter turn to bring them from a position with
their sides or broad surfaces horizontal as they reach the feeding channel to one in
which their edges are horizontal and their sides vertical. This turn of each link
takes place just previous to the bending of the link to interlock it with a previously
bent one, as hereinafter to be described, and is in part accomplished during the latter
part of, and at and immediately after, the completion of the transverse or feeding
movement of the link, in this instance by the means and in the manner following:
At the inner edge of the die, and at the side of the link guide way and feeding
channel, a, is a spring, f¹, coiled in a recess or seat in the lower die section just at the
edge of the channel, a.
Its free end is widened or flattened out, forming a yielding finger, which projects
cross wise of the channel and beyond its termination, and intersects the line of travel
of the links diagonally and at an inclination to the perpendicular, operating upon
them in turn as they are moved forward by their feeding mechanism. The broad

page_text: 26
end of the spring inclines inward from bottom to top, so that its upper edge projects
inward across the path of the links to a greater extent than its lower edge. This
spring finger projects into what I term a bending-block" G, where the links are
engaged with each other and bent. The links pass from the feeding channel, a*, into
a receptacle formed by a recess or chamber, g, in this block, in line with said channel.
The bottom of this recess is below the level of the channel, so that the link, upon
leaving the channel, drops downward slightly. At the end of the bending block
chamber opposite that into which the spring, f¹, projects is another spring, f³,
projecting crosswise of the chamber, so as to intersect the path of travel of the links
in a similar manner. This second spring projects outward into and cross-wise of the
chamber, both diagonally and at an inclination to the perpendicular, in the same way
as the spring f¹. These two springs act on the opposite ends of the link, and give
it, by the aid of a third spring, f', a partial turn.
Owing to their peculiar shape, arrangement, and inclination the springs, f¹, f³, bear
edgewise and slightly downward upon the link. This action gives the link a tendency
to move both horizontally and vertically away from the springs, and in connection
with the spring, f, results in giving each link the necessary turn.
The spring, serves to support the foremost end of the link while being turned.
It is located at the same end of the bending block chamber as the spring, f. It is
very thin is bent, as shown by the drawings, projects at its end in the direction of the
length of the link, bears edgewise on the bottom of the chamber, and is inclined or
beveled from bottom to top, and brought to a point at its extreme end.
Near the finish of the feed movement of the link it bears on the under side at one
end, and about midway of its width, (or it may be somewhat nearer its edge, opposite
that operated upon by the springs, f¹, "") upon this spring. The link is in this manner
caused with certainty to turn properly that is, the edge opposite that borne upon by
the turning springs is held up as the link is rocked.
The slide, bar, F, which carries the push bar or feeding finger, F, of the link feeding
mechanism, passes beneath the bending block, and projects beyond it at its end opposite
that to which the finger is detachably secured a sufficient distance to be actuated
through suitable connections with the gate, B. In this instance the bar is operated by
a vibrating lever, H, pivoted at, h, near its upper end to a support, H', projecting
upward from the die bed, A. This lever is shown as bent near its upper end, but
straight for the remainder and greater portion of its length. It carries at top a
roller, ', which enters a cam track or recess, H2, in an overhanging portion, H³, of
the vertically sliding gate, B. The lower end of the lever works between a stud, F³,
on the bar, F², and the heel or inner end of a spring tripping arm or latch, F. On
the advance stroke of the carrier bar the lever bears against the heel of the bar, F",
and on the retracting stroke against the stud, F3.
This tripper bar is pivoted at its heel, so as to be capable of swinging horizontally,
by a side projection or lateral lug, f, in the rear end of the carrier bar, and a
spring F, secured upon the side of the carrier bears against this lug. In its normal
position the swinging tripper or latch is held straight, or in line with the carrier, F2,
but should any obstacle, such as an imperfect link, or dirt, or other foreign clogging
matter, interfere with the free forward movement of the slide or carrier, pressure of
the lever upon the heel of the tripper at one side of its pivot sufficient to overcome the
spring pressure throws the tripper round sidewise, and leaves the lever free to move
to the usual extent without moving the slide bar, and at once prevents injury to the
link feeding mechanism. At the same time the movement of the gate is arrested, and
the machinery stopped, by the disengagement of a hooked or shouldered rod, H', which
hooks at its lower end under a bent arm, h2, and is connected above in well known
way with clutch mechanism, which controls the connection between the driving shaft,
through which the gate is moved, and the motive power for revolving the shaft and
actuating the press common in such machines, and well understood.
The tripper has ratchet-teeth, f, upon its edge, which abut, as it swings round,
against the hook, H, and quickly and positively throw it out from the holding arm, h³,
to at once stop the revolution of the driving shaft and movement of the gate, and thus

page_text: avoid damage to the mechanism. After inspection, and removal of the obstacle, the
tripper is swung back into position, the hook, H*, secured under the arm, h, and the
machine again started.
I provide means for automatically stopping the machine immediately prior to the
last blanking from a strip of stock, or in other words, when the rear end of one strip
has been fed to the point where, if the forward edge of the second strip were butted
against said rear end, the blanking punch would cut the link blank from the first strip
and at the same time punch out the link eyes from the second strip, at the proper
distance from the forward edge thereof, which means is as follows:-
A rod, Ve, extends through the bed plate, so as to have a free lengthwise sliding
movement therein. To the front extremity of this rod is secured a block, W, which
slides in bearings within the bed in a direction parallel to that of the rod, Ve. At
the rear end of the said rod is fastened a toe, X, and between said toe and the rear
of the bed is a coil spring, C³, around the rod.
Yo, is a stop pivoted at one end within one of the die caps, Z, in such manner that
it is in the same horizontal plane with the strip of stock, as the latter lies on the die
plate, while the other end extends up to that point where the rear edge of the strip
should remain immediately prior to the blanking of the last link therefrom. Against
this stop the sliding block, We, abuts, on account of the force of the spring, C,
exerted against the toe, X, and therefore there is nothing behind the stop, the
spring actuated block, W, will throw said stop backward, but the stock itself being
in the same horizontal plane with this stop, will afford an obstacle to any such forced
movement of the latter. When the strip of stock is fed along by the rolls, A6, A7, so
that the rear end thereof passes beyond the stop, Ye, the latter will be thrown rear-
ward behind the said end by the block, W, and the toe, X, will be simultaneously
driven against the shouldered rod, H, thereby forcing the latter from its engagement
with the arm, ², and disconnecting the driving shaft from the motive power, as
herein before set forth.
Thus it will be seen that when the strip has been fed to the proper extent preparatory
to the introduction of a second strip, the machine comes automatically to a dead stop.
The manner of putting a succeeding strip in proper position is exceedingly simple, it
being necessary only to separate the rolls, D, D', and, placing the strip between them,
to bring the forward end thereof into abutment with the rear edge of the preceding
strip, when said rolls are thrown into operative position and the several parts are in
proper relative position for the performance of their further functions.
provide the arm, h², with a yoke, D', through which the rod, H', projects, in order
that the latter may not become displaced, and to this rod is loosely connected a
lever, E7, by means of which the operator may throw the rod into engagement with
the arm, 2. To start the machine the rod, H', is forced downward either by hand or by
any suitable means such as a treadle, until the clutch mechanism operated by this rod
has connected the driving shaft with the motive power; the lever, E7, is now operated
to throw the shouldered part of the rod underneath the arm, h³, and the rod is thereby
locked in this position and the machine ready for use.
The lever, E, is bent and extended around to the front of the machine, as shown in
dotted lines at fig. 2, merely for the accommodation of the operator, since the latter is
thereby enabled to stop or start the machine instantly without going around to the
rear of the latter.
The roller, ', of the lever for operating the link feeding mechanisın extends within
the cam groove, H2, carried by the plunger, so that it will be readily understood that
the reciprocation of the latter will impart a lateral reciprocation to said lever to
actuate the slide which carries the link feeding finger.
The full outward movement of the lever is imparted to it however before the plunger
reaches the limit of its upward stroke, and causes the end of the feeder or push bar, F,
to slightly enter within the chamber of the bending block. To prevent the cam from
continuing to operate upon the lever, its roller must be left free, so as to remain
stationary during the remainder of the stroke of the plunger. It is also desirable to
give a quick and uniform movement to the feeder throughout its advance stroke. I

page_text: accordingly make a portion of the cam track perpendicular, so that after the lever has
been given the full outward swing, it will remain for a while in that position, during
the continued ascent of the plunger or gate.
The links are turned in their chamber, as already described, and each link, when it
enters this chamber, and while flatwise or before turning, is threaded in or passed
through the eye or opening of a previously bent link projecting into the chamber, so
as to intersect the path of the flat link, and subsequently linked in place or connected
with said bent link by bending or looping.
The description of suitable mechanism by means of which the required operations
are performed upon the links in the bending block, comes next in order; but that this
part of my invention may be more readily understood, I will state at this point that
the difference between the flare of the bottom of the bending block chamber or link
receptacle and that of the bottom of the feed channel, a', which as before mentioned,
is located above the chamber, is equal to half the width of a link at its ends or widest
parts. The central and narrowest part of a link is of a width somewhat less than half
that of its ends.
The eyes or end openings in the links are wedge shaped with the wide ends of the
openings next the links' ends, and the points or narrow parts of the openings nearest
the centre or narrow part of the link. The length of these openings is somewhat
greater than the width of the ends or widest parts of the links, and the width of the
openings at their widest parts (next the links ends) is greater than the width of the
central or narrowest part of the link.
The flat link, Fig. 15, shows this construction clearly. The link ends are preferably
rounded, as shown, to facilitate their connection or the threading of the one with
another, and the wide ends of the eyes or openings made straight from side to side, to
afford a firm square hold and strong bearing of one link of a chain upon another.
At the opposite end of the chamber, g, of the bending-block to that at which the
link first enters is a shoulder, g³ terminating the chamber. The turning spring, f²,
before described, is located close to this shoulder or end of the chamber, as is also the
spring, f. Midway of the length of the bending block chamber it is intersected by a
groove, g³, which is formed in one of the side walls of the bending block, and terini-
nates in the chamber at a right angle to it, and with its bottom in the plane of the
bottom of the chamber. This groove is opposite to the central part of a link when one
has been fully entered into the chamber in position to be bent at the side of the
chamber next the wall of the block opposite to that in which this groove is formed.
A link bender carrier or end wise reciprocating thrust bar, G₁, is moved back and
forth cross wise of the chamber, g. It works in the groove, g³, which serves as a guide-
way for it, and prevents sidewise and downward movement from its proper path.
Upward movement of the thrust bar is prevented by a cap piece or cover, G², forining
the top of the groove. The thrust bar is actuated by the gate through a vibrating
lever, G³, acted upon by a cam track, G4, or recess with inclined walls. This lever is
pivoted about its centre to an upright, I, on the die-bed, A, and carries a roller at its
upper end to work on the cam inclines. The advance stroke of the thrust bar to bend
a link takes place during the latter part of the downward movement of the gate, and
its advancing movement commences at the time of the finish, or slightly before the
finish, of the retracting stroke of the finger, F, of the flat link feeding mechanism.
The retraction of the thrust bar takes place on the first part of the upstroke of the
gate, and its retrograde stroke has been nearly or quite completed before the forward
movement of the feeder, F, commences, so that the bending head is out of the way of
the link fed into the chamber of the bending block. At the latter part of the upstroke
of the press, the pawl, E', operates the feed rollers to move along the blank, b, to have
a fresh link served to replace the one first fed to the bending block and keep up the
supply, of flat links.
The bender head or link bender proper, which will more particularly be described
hereinafter, is formed at the outer end of the thrust bar, and the thrust bar is detachably
and adjustably connected with a clamping bar or holder, G³. This holder is formed

page_text: with a downward projection or bend at its outer end, through winch pass two
screws, g*, g³.
The screw, g, passes through a smooth hole or tap in the end of the holder, and
enters a female screw or screw tap, in the end of the thrust bar. When properly
adjusted this screw serves to prevent end wise movement of the thrust bar such as
could otherwise be produced by a pull. The screw, g, passes through a female screw
or tap in the end of the holder and abuts against the push bar, thus serving to prevent
movement by end thrust or pushing strain.
An adjusting set screw, 9°, passes through an elongated slot in the holder bar and
enters the thrust bar. This screw serves to draw the bars together. Upon the under
side of the holder is a shoulder, which enters a recess in the top of the thrust bar.
The adjustment of the thrust bar is thus limited, and may properly be gaged.
Lugs, G, G', upon the side of the holder bar receive between them the lower end
of the lever, G³, which, as it is swung in and out, reciprocates the thrust bar or link
bender, as before explained.
In and extending through the side wall of the bending block, G, which forms the
boundary of the chamber, g, on the side opposite that in which the thrust bar guide
way, g, is formed, is a bending channel or recess, I¹, into which the flat links are
forced by the thrust bar and bending head from the position in which they are left by
the feeding mechanism and turning springs, before described. This bending cavity,
which receives the links as bent is diametrically opposite the thrust bar groove, g³.
Its bottom is flush with the bottom of the chamber, g, of the bending block, or in the
horizontal plane of the bottom of this chamber and the bottom of the said groove. It
is also in line with a recess or groove, 12, formed in the die bed of the press, to afford
a guide way traversed by the chain, as will hereinafter be explained.
The bending cavity, I, is formed of a general octagonal shape, so that it will be
readily understood that when the partially bent link is primarily introduced within
said cavity the walls of the latter at its greatest horizontal cross diameter will act to
bend the loop of the link and on the further introduction of said link within the cavity,
the walls of the latter, which are inclined toward the adjacent vertical and horizontal
walls, will operate to gradually compress the ends of the link.
It should be observed in this connection that the links are wider at the ends and are
inclined or tapered at the sides toward the centre or loop.
The head, J. of the thrust bar, G', is of a width slightly greater than the distance
between the ends of the partially bent link when the loop of the latter has been acted
upon by the bending cavity, so that it will be readily understood that said head, when
thrown forward, will strike both ends of said link and force the same further within
the bending cavity. j,j, are lips which are formed on the ends of strong springs J³,
secured at the sides of the head, J.
These lips project slightly beyond said head and are beveled inwardly so as to
embrace the ends of the links on the outside, while the said head is operating against
a link. The height of the head, and the distance between the lips are such that said
head will readily enter the bending cavity throughout its greatest vertical diameter,
while the spring lips are adapted to perform their functions within said cavity at its
greatest horizontal cross diameter.
The bending of the flat links is accomplished by the bending head in connection
with the bending cavity and the pull of the chain in the following manner :-
A straight link is inserted within the eyes of a previously partially bent link the
loop end of which latter has been forced within the bending cavity. The chain is now
pulled, by the mechanism hereinafter to be described, so as to bring the straight link
Hat against the inside of the wall of the bending block, thereby bringing the ends of
the aforesaid partially bent link in close proximity as shown at figs. 9, and, 11. The
bending head is now advanced against the ends of the bent link. The lips, j, being
thereby caused to embrace said ends as hereinbefore set forth, by the continued
advance of the bending head, the bent link is forced entirely within the bending
cavity, thereby causing the straight link to be partially bent against the outer edges

page_text: of the cavity and to be forced part way within said cavity, or in other words to the
position occupied by the aforesaid first named partially bent link. It might be well
to state here, that when such a partially bent link is in proper position for the
threading of a suceeding link, the sides or broad surfaces of said partially bent link
are vertical and intersecting at right angles the path traversed by the flat links during
the operation of threading, as will be readily understood by reference to figs. 8,
and, 10.
Obviously the head, J, might be so operated as to force a link into the bending
cavity just far enough to bring the link so bent in the exact position necessary for the
threading through its eyes of the next straight link.
Should the lips, j, of the bending head abut against instead of embrace the ends of
the bent link when first coming in contact with them on the advance stroke, these
ends will, nevertheless, soon be enclosed by the lips, which should be slightly beveled
in the inner sides of their ends; for the link, when forced into the bending cavity,
has its ends brought nearer together by their contact with the walls of the narrow top
and bottom portions of the cavity, and the lips are thus caused with certainty to
embrace the link ends and bear against the link to be bent, while the point, J, bears
upon the ends of the already bent link embraced by the lips. The narrow portion
of the link, at the point where it is doubled or bent does not come against the narrow
top and bottom parts of the cavity, but occupies the central enlarged portion thereof,
and the link consequently is not crowded together injuriously at this part.
On the finish of the upward movement of the gate, B, the connected and partially
finished, as well as the finished, links of the chain are fed forward a short distance in
a path at right angles to that traversed by the flat links. This feed of the chain takes
place just after a flat link has been threaded with or passed through the eyes or
openings of a previously bent link, and the pull of the chain leaves the flat link
resting on edge in the bending block, or flatwise against the wall of the side of
the bending chamber, in position to be forced into the bending cavity by the bending
head as before described.
The connected links, both finished and partially formed, of the chain pass through
the recess or channel, I', to the feeding mechanism, which operates intermittingly
to give the necessary pull upon the connected links, and carries forward the finished
chain.
The partially-finished connected links are thus brought in turn to be operated upon
by suitable devices (soon to be described) to first compress the links sidewise to bring
their ends close together, finish the bending of them, and properly form their loops
or bows, and then to upset, compress, or crush the links endwise to destroy the
separating spring of the metal and the tendency of the links to open or spread at and
near their ends.
During the time that a link is being finished, its retrograde movement is prevented
by a stop or holder, formed by a loosely swinging arm, K, shown as pivoted at one
end to the bending block, G, and provided at its opposite end with a nose, k, which fits
in the loop or between the sides of one link, and serves as a firm support for the ends
of the link next in advance. This arm moves vertically directly over the chain
way, I, and is borne upon by a spring, K', the pressure of which gives a tendency to
The rear
the arm to assume and occupy the position clearly shown in figs. 2, and, 5.
edge of the nose is made thin, so that it may descend into the link loop or between
the links sides, and its end or bearing face is so formed as, to afford a firm support for
the ends of the link to be finished and resist end thrust thereof. As the chain is fed
forward the links behind the nose in turn act upon its curved or inclined rear
edge and lift it, the spring, K¹, yielding to allow of the proper upward movement of
the arm.
The pressing together of the link ends and the formation of the loop is finished by
the action of compressor bars, L, located beyond the channel, I, and on opposite sides
of the path of the chain these bars are guided and supported within recesses in the
die bed. To these compressor bars are pivotally attached the lower ends of vertical
B

page_text: vibrating levers, M pivoted at, m, to a standard, H², projecting upward from the
die bed.
Extending laterally from the upper extremities of these vibrating levers are friction
rollers, L', which latter project within inclined cam grooves carried by the gate or
plunger, B so that it will be readily understood that the vertical reciprocation of the
latter will cause a to and fro movement of the compressor bars.-The timing of these
last described operations is such that the retractiou of the compressors takes place just
before the completion of the upstroke of the plunger, B, and at this moment the
pulling of the chain takes place."
The upsetting of the links by compressing or slightly crushing them endwise, to
finish them and destroy the tendency of the links to separate or spring apart at their
ends, takes place at the finish of the downward stroke of the gate.
Mechanism for accomplishing this result is shown in this instance as consisting of two
compressor levers, M³, which are pivoted one on each of the bars, L. The inner ends of
these levers are bill hooked and adapted to snugly encompass the head of the link.
Tappets, N, are pivoted to the bed at the front and rear thereof respectively and are
adapted by a swinging movement in the direction indicated by the arrow in fig. 4,
to strike the levers, M.-N1, are strikers, one only being shown, which are secured to
the plunger at opposite sides thereof, and in the same vertical plane with the tappets.
As the plunger descends the strikers will come in contact with the tappets and cause
them to swing in the direction indicated by the arrow as set forth. The operation of
the compressor levers by the tappets immediately follows the effective action of the
compressor bars, L. In order to insure the regular and symmetrical formation of the
loop or closed end of the bent link, provide an anvil pin, O, conformed in cross
section to the general shape of the loop, and depending from a gravity frame, O¹.
This frame has two guide rods, p, which reciprocate in proper bearings in the bed so
as to establish a steady movement to said frame. Only one of these guide rods appears
in the drawing, see fig. 5, the other being in the immediate rear thereof. Projecting
upward from the frame O¹, is a pin, O2, having at its upper end a shoulder, p¹, and
depending from the plunger, B, is a lifting rod, P, having at its lower end a
shoulder, P¹, which extends underneath the shoulder p'. When the plunger
descends, the pin, O, will drop by gravity within the loop end of one of the partially
bent links, and on the upward stroke of the plunger, the said pin will be lifted out of
the said loop.
In order that the several movements described of the compressor bars, compressor
levers and anvil pin, may be more fully understood and their object made clear, I will
now proceed to describe their functions with relation to each other and more particularly
with reference to the effect which they will have on the formation of the link. As the
plunger descends the anvil pin will enter the loop end of the link and the compressor
bars will be forced against the sides of the link, thereby compressing the latter
together and giving the proper shape to the inner part of the loop around the anvil
pin. The compressor levers, M³, having been carried inward toward each other by
the action of the bars, L, are in proper position to exercise their function, and
accordingly the tappets, N, are now thrown against the levers, M³, by the strikers, N¹,
as herein before set forth, thereby forcing said levers firmly against the stock at the
end of the loop causing the latter to assume the proper rounding shape. At the
upward stroke of the plunger, the tappets swing back to their normal position,
the compressor bars and levers are withdrawn, the anvil pin is raised out of the loop,
and the link thus completed is fed forward, and the succeeding partially completed
link is brought into the position necessary for the repetition of the operation just
described.
The chain feeding or pulley mechanism, which is operated through connections with
the plunger at the end of its upstroke is shown as consisting of a sprocket wheel, Q,
mounted on a shaft journaled in bearings, C, S, which project upward from the bed
plate, A, so that it will be seen that the field of operation of said sprocket is in a
vertical plane. Q, is a ratchet wheel rigidly secured on said shaft, and, R, is a pawl
projecting downward from the plungers and adapted to engage with the ratchet wheel

page_text: and thereby operate the sprocket as will be evident by reference to fig. 4. The teeth
of the sprocket enter between the sides of the link within the loop and exert a force
directly against the compressed ends of the bent link and in a direction coincident
with the horizontal axis of the chain, so that it will be evident that the action of said
sprocket constitutes a perfect test of the tensile strength of the chain, said test being
of course measured by the resistance offered to the operation of the sprocket.
In view of the description already given of the operations of the respective parts of
the machine, a general description of the operation will be sufficient.
If the machine is to be worked for the first time, it will be necessary to provide a
section of chain and partially formed links sufficient to extend from the bending-block
to the feed-wheel, as in figs. 5, 8, and, 9. Such a section may be made by hand, and
the links may be stamped out by the machine by disengaging the feeder bar or
finger, F, and then starting the machine, to form the required number of flat links,
which may be removed from time to time until the necessary number has been secured.
A number of links are left in the lower portion of the link-die, (see fig. 7) so that the
weight upon the lower one will keep it in proper position to be operated upon by
the finger of the flat link-feeding mechanism. This finger being readjusted in position,
the section of chain and bent and partially formed links placed in position in the
machine and the machine started, the manufacture of the chain progresses automatically
and continuously by the intermittent, connected, successive, and repeated operations of
blank feeding mechanism, the punches, the flat-link-feeding mechanism, the link
turning devices, the bowing or partial-bending and retracting mechanism, the sidewise
and endwise compressing devices, and the chain-feeding mechanism.
Supposing the working parts of the machine, as prepared for starting, to occupy the
positions shown in fig. 8, when the gate is very near the end of the upstroke-the
parts first operated as the machine starts are the blank-feeding rollers and the chain
feeding wheel, Q.
By an inspection of fig. 8, it will be seen that the link, 3, projects quite a distance
into the chamber, g, of the bending block, with link 2, threaded through its eyes and
partially turned; and that there are considerable spaces between the opposite sides of
the bowed or bent ends of links 4, 5, and, 6, and the eyes of the links, through which
they are respectively passed, and with which they are interlooped, this spacing being
caused by the tendency of the partially formed links to spring open at their wide or
eye ends, and slide upon the curved inner sides of the loops or bows of the links with
which they are respectively connected. The ends of link, 4, are held much nearer the
bow end of link, 3, as the ends of link, 4, are somewhat compressed in the narrow
top and bottom of the bending cavity, I', and prevented from springing apart and
sliding in link, 3. At the time of starting the machine link, 8, occupies the position
at which, in the regular order of operation, it would have been compressed sidewise
by the bars L, to give it the proper shape, as well as have been upset of compressed
end wise by the levers M³, to leave it ready to be moved forward to make room for
link, 7.
Toward the end of the upstroke of the gate, the pawl, R, is caused to move the
chain-feeding sprocket-wheel, Q, a portion of a revolution equal to a distance slightly
greater than one tooth, drawing the chain forward a little more than the length of a
link, and to the position shown by fig. 9. The flat link 2, is thus brought by the pull
of the chain against the vertical wall of the chamber, g, of the bending block, G, and
link, 3 drawn into the bending cavity, except at its ends. This movement of the
link, 3, a distance less than its length does not compensate entirely for the shortening
of the chain by the draw of the feeding mechanism, which, as before remarked moved
the chain and partially formed links forward, between the sprocket wheel and bending
block. The additional compensation for this shortening of the chain to allow it to be
fed forward a distance a little greater than the length of a link is, however, provided
for by the stretching of links, 4, 56, and, 7, the tension on the links being sufficient
to overcome the resistance offered by the spring of the links, and cause the ends of.
the respective links to approach each other near enough to slide in the bows of the
links with which they are connected and assume the positions shown in Figs. 5, and, 9.

page_text: The nose, k, of the swinging arm or holding dog, K, now drops behind the ends of
link, 7. The tension on the chain produced by the spring of the link ends, and
consequent tendency of the partially formed links to lap or draw upon each other, will
give the chain and links a slight retrograde movement which is checked by the nose, k,
of the dog, K. On the beginning of the downward movement of the gate, no change
occurs in any of the parts which act directly upon the chain or connected links. As
the gate descends, and by the time it has completed about one fourth part of its
downstroke, the compressor bars, L, and the bill hooks, M³, have advanced part of the
distance traversed by them toward the chain, and the push bar or flat link feeder, F,
is on its retracting movement. As the plunger continues to descend, the com-
pressors, L, will have been advanced their full stroke, and will have driven the sides
of the ends of link, 8, together, and the bill hooks of the end compressors, M³,
will have entered the eyes or openings in the ends of link, 9, and rested behind the
bow of link, 8, ready to push or crush the bow when pressure is produced by the
operation of the tappets, N.
At about one half of the downstroke the thrust-bar or reciprocating carrier, G¹, of
the link-bender will begin to advance across the chamber, g, of the bending block
The flat-link feeder, F, will have reached the limit of its outward or retracting move-
ment shortly after the completion of one-half of the downstroke of the gate,—say,
when five-eighths of this downward movement has been accomplished. At about the
completion of three-fourths of the downward stroke of the gate the flat link-bender
head will have been advanced far enough to bring its point or solid end, J, against
the projecting ends of link, 3, which occupies the bending cavity, I, with link 2,
passed or threaded through its eyes or end openings, as shown by figs. 5, and, 9.
The spring lips,j, j, of the bender head embrace the ends of the link, 3, and hold
them properly up to the bender head point. The bender continues to advance, and
by the time the gate has moved down to about seven-eighths of its stroke the head or
point, J, and the yielding lips, j, will have been projected partly into the bending
recess, forcing the ends of link, 3, back into this recess and bending or folding link, 2,
at its centre, where it is held in the eyes or end openings of link, 3.
During the completion of the down stroke the bender continues to advance, and its
head is projected some distance into the bending cavity; and by the time the down-
stroke is finished, the bending or folding operation performed by the bender, in
connection with the bending cavity is completed.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I claim is :-
1. The herein before-described improvement in the art of manufacturing chain from
sheet metal by machinery, which improvement consists in forming the partially-shaped
flat links from a plate, bringing these links (flatwise or with their broad surfaces
horizontal) to the point at which they are to be connected with each other, successively
threading the separate flat links through the eyes of previously bent and partially
formed links, (the broad surfaces of which are vertical or at right angles to the sides
of the flat links) turning the flat links, bending them to interloop and unite them with
the previously-bent links, and subsequently completely shaping the links and forming
the finished chain, substantially as set forth.
2. As an improvement in the art of manufacturing chain from sheet metal by
machinery, the herein before-described method of automatically adjusting a flat link in
a previously bent link preparatory to bending, which consists in feeding forward the
flat link end wise, threading it through the eyes of the bent link intersecting its line of
travel at right angles, and turning it as it is fed along after its forward widened end
has passed through said eyes, substantially as set forth.
3. As an improvement in the art of manufacturing chain from sheet metal by
machinery, the herein before-described method of connecting and uniting the links,
which consists in feeding forward the flat and partially shaped links flatwise or with
their broad surfaces horizontal in a path intersected at right angles by that traversed
by the previously connected links, threading the flat links successively through the

page_text: eyes of the previously bent and united links, the broad surfaces of which are vertical
and at right angles to the sides of the flat links, giving a partial turn to the flat links,
and then bending them at their middles to respectively unite them with the previously
bent and united links, substantially as set forth.
4. As an improvement in the art of manufacturing chain from sheet metal by
machinery, the herein before-described method of completely forming and finishing the
bent interlooped links, which consists in intermittingly feeding forward the liuks,
compressing them sidewise, and then upsetting or compressing them end wise, substan-
tially as set forth.
5. The combination, substantially as herein-before set forth, of the blank-feeding
rolls, the yoke connected with the adjustable bearings of the upper roll, and the cam
lever for actuating the yoke.
6. The combination of the flat link-feeding mechanism the chambered bending
block, and link turning devices, substantially such as described.
7. The dies formed in sections and having a feed channel for the flat links, recessed
at the top and bottom of its inner end to facilitate the turning of the link, substantially
as set forth.
8. The combination, substantially as herein before set forth, of the punches, the dies,
the flat-link-feeding mechanism, the chambered bending-block, to which the links are
delivered from the feed way or channel, which is recessed at its inner end, and the
turning-springs, which operate upon the link and begin to turn it when its rear end
reaches the recesses in the guide way, as specified.
9. The bending block provided with the bending cavity, having narrow top and
bottom portions and a wide central portion, in combination with a bender, substan-
tially as and for the purpose specified.
10. The combination of the reciprocating bender and the chambered bending block,
having a bending cavity with a wide central part and contracted top and bottom
portions in its wall, into which the bender-head is projected to bend the flat links and
connect them with the previously bent links, substantially as hereinbefore set
forth.
11. The combination of a bending cavity or die and the bending head, provided
with spring lips, as described, whereby it is adapted to engage the ends of a previously
bent link on the advance stroke and withdraw the last bent link on the retraction of
the bender, substantially as set forth.
12. The combination of the reciprocating carrier bar of the flat link-feeding
mechanism, the lever for reciprocating the bar, and the spring tripping arm, pivoted
to the bar and operated upon by the lever, substantially as and for the purpose set
forth.
13. The combination substantially as hereinbefore set forth, of the chain feeding
mechanism and a swinging arm or pawl, K, provided with a nose to engage the links
and hold them in turn in proper position to be compressed after being fed
forward.
14. The combination substantially as hereinbefore set forth, of a self adjusting arm
or pawl, K, having a nose to engage the links as fed forward, the compressor acting
against the sides of the links, and the compressor for upsetting or compressing the
links end wise.
15. In a chain manufacturing machine, the combination with the strip feeding rolls
at the rear of the blanking mechanism, of similar rolls located beyond said mechanism,
whereby all the stock is fed through the machine, substantially as set forth.
16. As an improvement in the art of making chain from sheet metal by machinery,
the combination with the feeding devices, of mechanism adapted to automatically shear
the strip of stock to a predetermined length, substantially as set forth.
17. The combination with the feeding rolls in the rear of the blanking mechanism,
of similar rolls journaled beyond the said mechanism, and adapted to grasp the strip
of stock after it has left the back rolls, whereby a continuity of feed throughout the
entire length of the strip is obtained substantially as set forth.
18. As an improvement in the art of manufacturing chain by machinery from sheet

page_text: metal, the combination with the primary feeding devices, of shearing mechanism
supported out of operation by the stock itself and adapted to operate when the latter
has been carried from beneath it, substantially as set forth and specified.
19. The combination with the rear feeding rolls, of a shear block secured to the bed
plate, a pivoted bar adapted to shear across the edge of said block, a dog pivoted to
the outside of said bar and adapted to be held in an elevated position by the stock
itself owing to the feeding of the latter, and a striker depending from the plunger
and operating to abut against the head of the dog when the latter has swung to a
vertical position, whereby the bar is driven against the stock to shear the same,
substantially as shown and set forth.
20. In combination with the shear bar and the feeding device, the dog pivotally
attached to said bar and adapted to automatically regulate the operation of the latter
through the medium of the strip of stock itself, substantially as set forth.
21. As an improvement in the art of manufacturing chain from sheet metal by
machinery, the combination with the means for connecting and disconnecting the
driving shaft with the motive power, of mechanism, whose effective operation is
dependent on the feeding of the strip of stock, for automatically stopping the machine,
substantially as set forth.
22. As an improvement in the art of manufacturing chain from sheet metal by
machinery, the mechanism for automatically stopping the machine preparatory to the
blanking of the last link from the stock, the same consisting of means, as a stop with-
held from operation by the edge of the strip of stock, in combination with the
mechanism for disconnecting the driving shaft from the motive power, substantially as
set forth.
23. The combination with the shear block secured to the bed plate at a predeter-
mined distance from the blanking mechanism of the bar pivoted to the bed and adapted
to shear across the cutting edge of said block, a dog pivoted to said bar and adapted
to effect the operation of the latter when the rear edge of the stock has been carried
beyond said dog, and the striker depending from the plunger and adapted to depress
the bar through the medium of the interposed dog, substantially as and for the purpose
set forth.
24. In combination with the means for connecting and disconnecting the driving
shaft from the motive power, the spring actuated mechanism controlled by the strip
of stock fed through the machine and adapted when unrestrained by said strip to
drive against said means and thereby automatically stop the machine, substantially as
set forth.
25. The combination with the rod extending loosely through the bed and having
attached to its rear end a toe, and at its rear end a block arranged to slide in ways
in the bed, of a coil spring around said rod between said toe and bed, a stop against
which said block impinges pivoted to the bed in the same horizontal plane with the
strip of stock from which the links are blanked, and the mechanism which disconnects
the motive power from the driving shaft, substantially as described.
26. The combination with the driving shaft, the motive power and a throw off lever
adapted to disconnect said shaft and power, of a spring actuated tripper one end of
which is in close proximity to said throw off, the other end being withheld against the
resiliency of the spring by contact with the strip of stock, said tripper adapted when
released by the stock to operate the throw off lever and thereby stop the machine,
substantially as set forth.
27. As an improvement in the art of manufacturing sheet metal chain by machinery,
the combination with the feeding devices, of mechanism for shearing the rear edge of
the stock at a predetermined distance from the blanking mechanism, of means con-
trolled by said stock for stopping the machine immediately prior to the blanking of
the last link at the end of the strip, substantially as set forth.
28. In combination with the compressor bars adapted to be reciprocated in ways
within the bed plate, the compressor levers pivoted to said bars and bill hooked at
their inner extremities, and means for forcing said levers against the loop end of the
link, substantially as shown and described.

page_text: 29. The bill hooked compressor levers carried by the compressor bars, in combina-
tion with the tappets and the strikers depending from the plunger, substantially as
set forth.
30. The bill hooked compressor levers pivoted to the compressor bars and adapted
when in operative position to meet on opposite sides of the loop end of the link, in
combination with the anvil projected within the loop, substantially as and for the
purpose described.
31. The combination with the compressor bars of the anvil pin projected within the
loop end of the chain, as and for the purpose set forth.
32. As an improved means for pulling or feeding chain made by machinery, a
sprocket wheel mounted on a shaft journaled in bearings projecting from the bed
plate, the teeth of said wheel adapted to enter between the sides of the link within the
loop end thereof and against the end of the preceding link whereby all the strain is
exerted in a line coincident with the horizontal axis of the chain, substantially as set
forth.
33. In the art of manufacturing sheet metal chain by machinery, the method herein
described of blanking consecutive links from independent and separate strips of stock,
the same consisting in shearing the rear end of the preceding strip at a predetermined
distance from the blanking mechanism, feeding the strip so sheared, and butting the
forward edge of the succeeding strip against the rear edge of the aforesaid strip imme-
diately prior to the blanking of the last link from the latter, whereby at the next
operation of the blanking mechanism the last link will be cut from the first strip and
the eyes of the next link will be punched out from the succeeding strip at the proper
distance from the forward edge thereof, substantially as and for the purpose specified.
Dated this 21st day of November 1887