Year: 1899

page_text: A communication from GEORGE EDWARD SMART, of Hartford, in the County of
Hartford and State of Connecticut, U.S.A., Mechanical Engineer.
I, CHARLES AUBREY DAY, of 321, High Holborn, in the County of London,
Chartered Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in
what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascer-
tained in and by the following statement:.
This invention relates to wire and rod feeding devices as used on screw
machines, hinge machines, and the like, one example of a hinge machine wherein
this improvement might be used to advantage, being shown in British Letters
Patent to A. Brainard, No. 7834 of April 1st, 1898.
The general object of this invention is to improve the mode of rod feeding,
making it very reliable and simple and to render parts of the device conveniently
accessible for ready adjustment; and to provide mechanism which will effectively
grip the wire and carry the same forward to the desired length and to the pre-
determined position.
Figure 1 of the drawings represents a plan view of the improved device.
Figure 2 is a front elevation of what is shown in Figure 1.
Figure 3 is a sectional side elevation, taken on the broken lines 3-3, and in
the direction of the arrow, showing the feed carriage and the gripper arm, the
latter being engaged by the cam finger which is about to advance said parts.
Figure 4 represents a sectional side elevation, similar to that of Figure 3, but
showing the carriage and gripper-arm in their forward position, the latter arm
being free of the cam finger and dropped to its normal wire disengaging position.
So far as possible I have designated the parts in the improved device or
mechanism that correspond to parts in the machine of the aforesaid British
Letters Patent with the same letters of reference used therein.
I will now describe the improved wire-feeding device made the subject-matter
of this Patent.
Upon the bracket 215, are securely mounted two uprights, 5 and 6, held in
position by the screws, 7 and 8 respectively. To these uprights is fitted, a longi-
tudinal-reciprocating feed carriage 9, held in position by a suitable presser
device 10. The feed-carriage 9, is provided with the central opening 11, of
sufficient size to admit the free and unobstructed passage of wire (not shown)
to be fed through the machine. Integral with the feed-carriage 9, is a down-
wardly projecting central hub 12, to which is hinged, by the pivot 13, the
gripping arm 14, the latter being preferably provided at its lower end with the
anti-friction roll 15, and at its upper front end with a jaw 17, having a longi-
tudinal groove of about the size of wire to be used. The construction of the
gripping-arm 14 and the mode of hinging the same is such that, as soon as the
same is permitted to assume its normal position, the jaw 17 will swing away
from the feed-carriage and release its grip.
A cam-shaft 16, journaled for rotation below and in the rear of the bracket 215
carries the holder 18, preferably adjustably held in position by a set screw 19.

page_text: The holder 18 is also provided with a hub, having a socket into which projects
the shank of a cam-finger 20. A set screw 21, retains the cam-finger in its proper
position and permits the longitudinal adjustment of the same.
As the cam-shaft 16 is revolved, the cam-finger 20 will intermittently engage
the roll 15, and will swing the gripping-arm forward, whereby the jaw 17 is
caused to clamp very tightly upon the wire when present. As the cam-finger
continues its travel, it pushes the gripping-arm the feed-carriage and the wire
clamped thereto, until the cam-finger becomes freed from the roll 15, at which
instant the jaw 17 drops and the carriage and jaw may be retracted for instance,
by the spring 25. The amount of the forward movement of the feed-carriage is
determined by the position of the cam-finger-20; in such a manner that the
smaller the radius 22, the shorter will be the stroke of the feed-carriage; while
the larger said radius, the longer will be the forward movement of the feed-
carriage.1
A set screw 23, held in a block 24, serves as a back stop and may be adjustable
to determine the rearward position of the feed-carriage:
Mounted above the feed-carriage and held in position against. end or.. side
motion, by the studs 26, is a plate 10, preferably adapted to be moved up and
down a slight distance for the purpose of exerting a pressure from above on,
feed-carriage.
the
Integral with the upright 5, are two upwardly projecting arms 27 and 28
which are pivoted, by means of the stud 30, a presser-arm 29. On the opposite
end of the presser-arm is attached, by a pivot 32, a connecting-yoke 31.
This yoke carries a projection 33, engaging the cam-groove 34, of the cam 34,
fastened on the cam-shaft 16. The presser-arm 29, may be provided with set-
screws 35, to adjust the position of the presser-plate 10 relatively to the feed-
carriage.
The pressure of the plate 10 on the feed-carriage is exerted for two reasons;
first, for determining the grip of the jaw 17, upon the wire, and second, to
prevent the feed-carriage from moving forward until the wire is properly and
sufficiently gripped.
The timing of the cam-groove 34, in relation to the position and movement
of the cam-finger 20, which operates the gripping-arm with its jaw 17, is such,
that, first, the operative position of the presser-plate will be determined before
said cam-finger 20' engages the roll 15; second, its pressure will be released at
the same time, or directly after the cam-finger 20, becomes free of the roll 15.
The operation of the device is obvious from the foregoing description, and it
will therefore be described very briefly. Wire, of the proper diameter to be
used, is taken from a coil, passed in the ordinary manner through a straightener,
and delivered into the feeding device through the opening 11, in the feed-carriage.
As the cam-shaft 16 is rotated, the cam-finger 20 will engage the roll 15 of the
gripping-arm 14, thereby swinging the latter forward on its pivot 13, thus
clamping the jaw 17 tightly against the underside of the wire, since the other
side of the wire bears in a suitable groove in the feed-carriage 9. As the gripping-
arm is arrested against its swinging, motion, the further rotation of the "cam-
finger 20 will cause the feed-carriage to slide downward until the cam-finger
becomes free of the roll 15 at which instant the wire is freed and the spring 25
will cause the feed-carriage to return to its rearward position against the back-
stop 23.,
It is obvious that various constructions may be employed to exert a pressure
on the feed carriage, or the jaw 17, and I therefore do not wish to limit myself
to the exact construction shown.
T ་་
M
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my, said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim, is:―
7
1. In combination, a feed carriage adapted for longitudinal reciprocation,
a
97

page_text: gripping arm pivoted to the feed carriage and adapted for the combined purpose
of gripping the wire and of actuating the feed carriage, a cam finger for operat-
ing the gripping arm, a pressure plate upon said feed carriage and means for
exerting a pressure thereon.
2. In a device of the class specified, in combination, a feed carriage, a gripping
arm pivoted thereto and provided with a clamping jaw, an adjustable cam finger
for operating the gripping arm with its jaw and for actuating the feed carriage,
a pressure plate and means for exerting a pressure thereon.
3. In combination a feed carriage adapted for longitudinal reciprocation, a
pressure plate, a gripping arm pivoted to the feed carriage and adapted for the
combined purpose to grip the wire and to actuate the feed carriage, a cam finger
for alternately engaging and releasing the gripping arm, and means to return
the feed carriage to its starting position.
P
4. In combination, a feed carriage adapted for longitudinal reciprocation, a
gripping arm pivoted to the feed carriage and adapted for the combined purpose
to grip the wire and to actuate the feed carriage, a cam finger for operating the
gripping arm, a rotatable support for said cam finger, an adjustable stop for
regulating the stroke of the feed carriage in one direction and means to move
said feed carriage in a direction opposite to that induced by the cam finger.
5. In a device of the class specified in combination, a sliding feed carriage, a
gripping arm pivoted to the feed carriage and provided with clamping jaw,
an adjustable cam finger for operating the gripping arm with its jaw and for
actuating the feed carriage, an adjustable pressure plate, a presser arm, and
means for operating the same.
6. In combination, a feed-carriage adapted for longitudinal reciprocation,
means to exert a pressure against one side of said feed carriage to hold it in a
given plane of movement, a gripping arm adapted to exert a pressure upon the
other side of the feed carriage, said arm being fulcrumed to said carriage, means
independent of said arm for intermittently engaging and releasing the said
arm thereby gripping the wire and feeding the same longitudinally and means
for releasing the grip of the arm and returning the carriage and arm to the
starting position.
Dated this 20th day of June 1899
DAY, DAVIES & HUNT,
Chartered Patent Agents, 321, High Holborn, London, W.C.,
Agents for the Applicant.