Improvements in Machines for Forming and Clinching Wire Staples for Binding Together Papers and Pamphlets.
Year: 1894

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Machines for Forming and Clinching Wire Staples
for Binding Together Papers and Pamphlets.
I, EDWIN TRUMAN GREENFIELD, of No. 44 Broad Street, New York City,
New York, United States of America, Electrician, do hereby declare the nature
of this invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be
particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
This invention relates to paper and pamphlet binding machines and is illustrated
in the accompanying drawings in which,
Figure 1 is an elevational view of the entire apparatus embracing an operating
treadle and an angular support or rest for the material to be bound.
Figure 2 is a similar elevational view of the entire apparatus as seen looking
at Figure 1 from the right hand toward the left hand side of the drawing.
Figure 3 is an enlarged side elevational view of the major portion of the
apparatus, certain parts thereof being shown in section.
Figure 4 is a sectional view of the more essential working parts of the apparatus
taken therethrough upon a plane at right angles to that portion of the sectional
view shown in Figure 3 and as seen looking at Figure 3 from the left hand toward
the right hand side of the drawing.
Figure 5 is a similar sectional view to that shown in Figure 4 but as seen
looking at Figure 3 from the right hand to the left hand side of the drawing.
Figure 6 is an enlarged detail view of that portion of the apparatus which
controls the movement of the rest or support upon which the material to be bound
is sustained.
Figure 7 is an enlarged detail view of those immediate portions of the apparatus
which drive and clinch the binding staples.
Figure 8 is an enlarged detail view taken through the same part of the apparatus
but in a plane at right angles to that upon which Figure 7 is supposed to be taken
and on the line 8-8 Figure 4.
Like letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the drawing.
B represents the base and B¹ the upright standard or frame to which the
operative parts are attached, said base and frame being preferably adapted to be
secured by bolts or screws to the floor.
T is an operating treadle pivoted in the frame B₁ at t Figure 2, and having
secured at its opposite ends a pair of operating rods T2 and T3 by pivot bolts t¹.
The rod T3 passes upward through a sliding bearing secured about the middle of
the frame B and against the underside of which rests a strong spiral retractile
spring S¹, the lower end of which bears upon a shoulder near the lower end of the
rod T³, said spring being adapted to normally hold the foot treadle T in its upward
position as shown in Figures 1 and 2.
B³ is a curved arm which constitutes the support for the operative parts of the
upper portion of the machine. This arm is secured to the upper surface B4 of the
frame B by bolts 65, 66, Figure 3. In the secured end of the arm B5 is a pair of
grooved friction rolls 3 t3 adapted to act as guides to the upper end of the rod T³,
to which rod is secured a second curved arm C' having journalled in its free end a
friction roll C¹ which in turn is adapted to move in a groove L' in the free end of
an operating arm L, which arm is pivoted in turn at L to the free end of the
curved arm B'. To the outer end of the arm L is secured a driving lug H of
wedge shape adapted, when forced downwards to come into frictional contact with
a pair of pivoted arnis h h attached to the upper end of a hollow staple forming

page_text: plunger p having vertical movement in a hollow guide-way K provided with
guiding arms h, adapted to allow the free ends of the pivoted arms h, h to move
outward as the plunger is forced downward by the wedge shaped lug H.
p is a staple driver or plunger which has vertical movement in the hollow staple
forming plunger p and is connected therewith by a spring, not shown, which permits
it to move upward within the hollow staple forming plunger while the staple is
being formed, pl pl being steel cutting knives carried by the hollow plunger p for
cutting the staple forming wire into proper lengths for the staples before they are
driven; being a staple forming mandrel having horizontal movement in the lower
side of the free end of the curved sustaining arm B and connected by a pin b¹ to
a pivoted bell crank lever 62 which is held normally in the position shown in
Figure 3 against a back stop 64 by a coil spring 3, the upper end of the bell crank
lever 62 lying in the path of a lug located near the other end of the pivoted
arm L. The hollow staple forming plunger p is held in its normal or upper
position by the arm p² which rests upon a spiral spring p³ coiled around a fixed
pin in the body of the hollow guide-way K as clearly shown in Figure 3, pt being
a set screw bearing upon the pin p² and adapted to regulate the movement of
the pin p² and staple forming and staple driving plungers which are supported by
said pin.
fis a bell crank lever pivoted to an extension of the hollow guide-way K, one
of its ends being located between one of the ends of a second pivoted lever *
Figure 3, and an extension or loop 3 the other end of said lever f being provided
with an oblong slot f2 adapted to give backward and forward movement to a wire
feeding block F through the agency of a screw f³ secured to one side thereof, see
Figures 4, 5 and 8. The operating lever 12 just referred to is in turn pivoted
at L to an extension of the hollow guide-way K, with its free end lying in the path
of the pin carried on the underside of the operating lever L, as clearly shown in
Figure 3.
F2 (see Figures 4 and 8) is a rod detachably secured to the hollow plunger
guide K through the agency of a set screw and serving the double function of a
guide for the wire feeding attachments and a support for the wire reel S², said reel
being journalled in an upright extension F1; u being a guide pin for the purpose
of directing or guiding the wire W as it is drawn from the reel S².
is a spiral spring having one end attached to an upright standard and the
other to a gripping or holding device for gripping or holding the wire W while
the feeding mechanism is being returned to its rear or normal position. ² is a
feeding pawl pivotally secured to the feeding block F and 3 is a retractile spring
therefor.
W is a steel guide tube or shuttle secured to the feeding block F and in
alignment with the incoming wire W, its internal diameter being sufficiently large
to admit of the free passage of said wire. This guide tube or shuttle W₁ is adapted
to pass freely back and forwards through an opening in the base of the hollow
plunger guide K just beneath the staple driving plunger p and above the sliding
mandrel b, its free end being in, alignment with a fixed sleeve k situated in the
outer side of the hollow plunger guide K and into which it is adapted to pass.
w is a spiral spring wound around the support F2 and located, when compressed,
in a thimble w² one of its ends having bearing against one face of the hollow
plunger guide K and the other against the feed block F, its function being to aid
in restoring the feed block F and guide tube or shuttle W₁ to their normal
positions.
L³ is a flat or leaf spring fixedly secured at one end to the curved arm C² with
its free end beneath the short arm of the lever 12 (see Figure 3) its function being
to aid in restoring the feed block F and its attached parts to their normal positions
before a binding staple has been cut and formed.
S, Figures 1, 2 and 3 is a V-shaped or angular support or rest which is secured
by a dove-tailed extensions to the top of an upright standard S³ having vertical
movement in an extension B³ of the frame B¹. This standard S³ is provided with

page_text: a groove in one side, S being a guide screw therefor extending through the part D
and into the aforesaid groove.
An opening is made through the angular support or rest S just above the top of
the standard S of such length and width as to admit of the free movement of a pair
of clinching plates d, d pivoted in a slot in the standard at d' d', d² d² being curved
springs adapted under normal conditions to maintain the free ends of the clinching
plates dd in frictional contact with the upper end of a plunger D, Figures 4, 5
and 7, the lower end of which is of curvilinear form and bears upon an eccentric or
c is a second
cam c¹ secured to an axis x extending through the projection B³.
eccentric or cam of different shape from the eccentric or cam c and having
different angular relation on the supporting axis x, and G is a vertically arranged
pin located parallel with the plunger D with its lower end resting upon the
eccentric or cam c and its upper end resting against a spiral spring G₁ in an
opening in the standard S³, said spring being of sufficient strength to raise the
attached parts and vary the pressure upon the material to be bound between the
support S and the binding base plate preparatory to forming and driving
the binding staples.
g is a pinion keyed to the shaft & in the same manner as are the eccentrics or
cams c, c'. This pinion meshes with a quadrant pinion or gear wheel g' keyed to a
shaft y which quadrant pinion or gear wheel is connected in turn through a
screw, Figure 3, to the upper end of the treadle operating rod T².
The operation of the apparatus is as follows:
The material M to be bound, usually in the nature of a pamphlet or book, is
opened at its middle and laid face downward upon the angular support or rest S.
The operator then places his foot firmly upon the treadle and forces it downward
to the full extent of its movement. The first portion of the movement causes the
operating rod T2 to impart rotary motion to the quadrant gear wheel g' which in
turn imparts a like motion to the pinion g and the eccentrics or cams c, c.
Inasmuch as the eccentric or cam c is of different contour from and slightly in
advance of the eccentric or cam c¹ during. its movement in the direction of the
arrow, Figure 6, it will cause the pin G to first rise suddenly and impart a lifting
movement to the standard S³ under the influence of the strong spiral spring G¹,
thereby causing the book or pamphlet to be firmly grasped between the angular
support S and the base plate before the action of binding takes place, the spring G¹
being of sufficient strength to lift all of the parts and take any strain which may be
It will be
put upon it before the pin G assumes the position shown in Figure 6.
understood therefore that the apparatus will bind books or pamphlets of varying
thickness, the function of this spring, the pin G and the eccentric e being to com-
pensate for such variation in the thickness of the material. During the time that
the eccentrics c and c¹ were being rotated to the position shown in Figures 5 and 6,
the strong spiral spring S¹ was simultaneously being put under compression and the
operating rod T3 moved upward carrying with it the curved arm C2, thereby
imparting a continued motion to the free end of the arm L which continued until
the wedge shaped lug H had driven the staple forming plunger p downward, cut
the staple m, formed it around the mandrel b, withdrew the mandrel b, and forced the
staple forward through the material to be bound; the location of the parts being
substantially the same at this time as shown in Figure 5 of the drawings; the
clinching of the ends of the staple being effected by a subsequent movement of
other parts of the apparatus. In this position of the apparatus the friction roll C¹
has passed out of the slot L' and the lever L has assumed such a position that for
any further forward movement of the arm C2 and operating rod T³, the arm L will
not be tilted but will simply be held in a constant position while the friction roll C
moves upward upon the inclined face L, thus converting the lever L and its
operative parts through to the staple driving plunger p for the time being into an
anvil which shall maintain its position until the clinching is effected by the further
movement of the lower parts of the machine as will now be described.
During the time that the friction roll C¹ is passing upward upon an inclined

page_text: face L2 of the lever L the operating rod T2 is being forced downward and
consequently the quadrant gear wheel G' is imparting further rotary motion to the
pinion g, thereby ultimately bringing into action the second eccentric or cam c¹
under the lower inclined edge of the plunger D as clearly shown in Figures 3, 4
and 5. As this downward motion continues therefore the plunger D is driven
forward, and with it the two pivoted clinching plates d, d until they assume the
position shown in Figure 7 ultimately completing the staple. As the operator
removes his foot from the treadle T the strong spiral spring S₁ reverses the
operation of the parts. The friction roll C' passes down the inclined end L2 of
the lever L and into the slot L'. The pin on the underside of the lever L²
comes into frictional contact with the short arm of the lever L² thereby causing
the free end of that lever to impart an upward motion to the arm f¹ of the lever f
which in turn through the oblong slot and the screw f³ imparts motion to the
feeding block F, forcing the latter to the right, (see Figures 4 and 8) carrying with
it the guide tube or shuttle W' and also the wire W which is gripped or held in
position in said guide sleeve by the friction pawl² and retractile spring³, the
holding device controlled by the spiral spring being now released during this
advance motion. This motion continues therefore until the guide tube or shuttle W'
and its enclosed wire have been carried entirely beneath the staple forming plunger
and driver p, p into the position shown in Figure 4, this guide tube or shuttle
serving the function of always carrying the staple forming wire into position and
insuring its entrance into the fixed outlet or sleeve k without any danger of being
bent or otherwise disturbed should it be fed too far forward as is liable to be the
case on a partial operation of the mechanism. The apparatus stands therefore
normally in this position with the guide tube or shuttle and its enclosed wire as
shown in Figure 4, so that the first action of the apparatus upon depressing the
treadle T is to actuate through the agency of the operating rod Ts a strong spring L³
upon the lever 12 and extension 13 and through said extension to the feed block
retracting levers fl and f, this operation being aided by the strong spiral spring w¹
which is normally held in its compressed position in the surrounding thimble was
shown in Figure 8. It is only necessary therefore for the attendant to place the book
or pamphlet in position, then quickly depress the operating treadle T to its extreme
extent and again release it, afterwards moving the book or pamphlet to the desired
distance upon the angular support or rest S and in the same mauner driving each
succeeding binding staple.
Should the wire W be at any time fed forward too far through the guide tube or
shuttle W₁ the operation of the machine will not be interfered with in any manner,
as under that condition of affairs the shearing or cutting knives p', p² will cut the
staple wire of the proper length as is usual, the loose end remaining in the opening k
and being ejected as the wire is again fed forward. This feature of the double
cutting knives p¹, p', in connection with the fixed outlet or sleeve k and the guide
tube W constitutes a very important feature of the present invention for that this
combination of parts prevents any possibility of a failure of the apparatus to feed
the wire forward in proper lengths.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. A paper or book binding machine provided with means for cutting, forming
and driving binding staples, in combination with a spring supported rest for
sustaining and firmly holding the material in position while it is being bound, said
rest being provided with means for lifting it into a gripping or holding position
against the pressure of its supporting spring, and mechanical connections between
the two sets of mechanism whereby the entire machine automatically adapts itself
to the binding of material of different thicknesses.
2. A paper or book binding machine composed of a staple forming plunger, a
staple driving plunger and a movable staple forming mandrel, means for giving to

page_text: said parts positive motion, a spring sustained support or rest for the material to be.
bound, means for giving to said support or rest movement towards the staple
forming and staple driving mechanism and placing the material to be bound under
yielding pressure of the spring support in combination with a source of power
operatively connecting both sets of mechanism together.
3. A paper or book binding machine having a supply of binding wire, staple.
forming and staple driving plungers, a movable mandrel, wire feeding mechanism.
for feeding the wire between the mandrel and the plungers, a spring sustained.
support or rest for automatically adapting itself to the thickness of the material to-
be bound, in combination with means for giving to said support positive motion:
towards the staple forming and staple driving mechanism, and intermediate
mechanical connections between both sets of mechanism and a source of driven,
power whereby the material to be bound is first firmly gripped, the binding
staples cut, driven and clinched and the bound article subsequently released.
4. A paper or book binding machine consisting of staple driving mechanism, in
combination with a spring sustained support or rest for automatically adapting
itself to the thickness of the material to be bound, mechanism for lifting the
support and gripping the material, and independent connections between the staple:
forming staple driving and material supporting mechanism and a source of driven
power whereby the material to be bound is first gripped, the staple formed, driven
and clinched and the material then released.
5. A paper or pamphlet binding machine provided with a supply of binding wire,.
staple forming and staple driving plungers, a staple driving mandrel, means for
feeding the wire forward in proper lengths for the staples, and additional movable
means actuated by the feeding mechanism for carrying the wire in front of the
staple forming and staple driving plungers and protecting it during the time that it.
is being thus carried forward, and leaving it in position to be cut, formed and
driven.
6. A paper or pamphlet binding machine having means for feeding binding wire
in successive lengths, in combination with a protecting tube or guide which directs.
the wire into position and is subsequently removed so as to leave the exposed length
of wire in position to be cut, formed into a staple and driven through the material
to be bound.
7. In a paper or pamphlet binding machine staple forming and staple driving
plungers, a movable mandrel and mechanism for feeding forward binding wire, in
combination with a protecting tube or shuttle which is carried forward with the:
feeding mechanism and protects and guides the wire to its ultimate destination and
means for causing the protecting tube to be removed before the plungers are
driven forward.
8. In a paper or pamphlet binding machine wire feeding mechanism provided.
with a guide tube or shuttle adapted to convey the staple forming wire past the.
staple forming plunger, in combination with a hollow sleeve adapted to receive the
free end of the staple forming wire and a pair of cutting knives carried on opposite
sides of the staple forming plunger and adapted to cut off both ends of the staple
blank.
Dated this 29th day of May 1894.
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicant.