IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF RIVETS FOR LEATHER WORK AND THE LIKE, AND IN MACHINERY FOR SETTING THE SAME AND SIMILAR ARTICLES
Year: 1880

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Robert Lake, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake,
26
& Co., Patent Agents, Southampton Buildings, London, for. an Invention of
IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF RIVETS FOR LEATHER WORK AND
THE LIKE, AND IN MACHINERY FOR SETTING THE SAME AND SIMILAR ARTICLES."
A communication from abroad by Mellen Bray, of Newton, Massachusetts,
United States of America, Manufacturer.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION filed by the said William Robert Lake at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 9th June 1880.
WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake, & Co., Patent Agents,
Southampton Buildings, London. "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF
RIVETS FOR LEATHER WORK AND THE LIKE, AND IN MACHINERY FOR SETTING THE
SAME AND SIMILAR ARTICLES." A communication from abroad by Mellen Bray, of
Newton, Massachusetts, United States of America, Manufacturer.
The first part of this Invention relates to improvements in the construction of
tubular rivets, by means of which construction the cost of manufacture is materially
reduced.
A rivet made according to this Invention is struck up from a suitable metallic
blank, and has a solid Banged head and a tubular shank divided into vertical
sections, as hereinafter more particularly described.
In the accompanying Drawings,-
Figure 1 is a plan of a rectangular blank from which the rivet is to be
formed.
Figure 2 is a longitudinal section of a tube formed from said blank.
Figure 3 is a longitudinal section of a completed rivet formed from said
blank; and
Figure 4 is a plan of a piece of material shewing the clinched end of a rivet set
therein.
Figure 5 is a plan of another form of blank having curved sides.
Figures 6 and 7 are longitudinal sections of the tube and completed rivet made
from the curved sided blank.

page_text: Figure 8 illustrates the same applied or in use, and shows the manner of folding
down the slit and notched ends of the shank.
Figure 9 is a plan or top view of a star-shaped blank.
Figures 10 and 11 are sections of a tube and completed rivet; and
Figure 12 illustrates the same applied or in use, and shews the folded ends of
slit shanks.
Figures 13, 14, 15, and 16 represent two elevations, an inverted plan, and a
longitudinal section of a tubular rivet of modified construction.
Figures 17 and 18 are a plan and edge view of the blank from which said rivet
is made.
Figures 19, 20, and 21 shew the blank after the first swaging operation.
Figure 22 is another modification of the rivet made from the blank shewn in
Figures 23 and 24.
Figures 25, 26, and 27 are two elevations and an inverted plan of still another
modification, also made from the blank shewn in Figure 23, after being swaged
into the form shown in Figures 28, 29, and 30.
The remaining Figures will be hereinafter described.
Heretofore tubular rivets or eyelets have been made from sheet metal, but they
have consisted of a tube open at both ends, and with a flange formed around
one end.
Tubular rivets have also been made as above described, but with one end of the
tube closed by a metal cap secured to the flange to serve as a head; but rivets of
such construction are not adapted to sustain any great strain, for the reason. that
the heads are not solid, and are therefore liable to be stripped off when in use and
subjected to strain.
To obviate this difficulty and to construct a rivet with a solid flanged head that
shall be substantially as strong as the ordinary rivet with a solid shank, and at the
same time less expensive and capable of being more easily applied, I construct a
rivet, according to this Invention, from a blank of any suitable metal and desired
thickness; this blank may be in the form of a simple rectangle, as shewn at a,
Figure 1, or it may be star-shaped, as shewn at b, Figure 9, or of an irregular
shape, as shewn at c, Figure 5, with swells d, for the purpose hereinafter described.
The blank having been cut to any of these forms is drawn up in the shape of a
tube B with a closed end e. If this tube is drawn up from a rectangular blank a
two slits will be formed in the sides of the tube caused by the unclosed edges of
the blank (see Figures 2, 3, and 4), and if the tube be drawn up from the star
shaped blank b four such slits, as shewn at g, Figures 10, 11, and 12, will be formed
in the tube caused by the unclosed edges of the four radial arms of the star; these
slits divide the tube therefore into two or more sections. The tube being drawn
up as described is inserted in a die with the open end down and the closed end
projecting above the surface of the die when by a swage, or by any suitable means,
the closed end of the tube is upset, and the solid head C formed on it from the
substance of the metal at the closed end of the tube.
The amount of metal at the closed end of the tube may be augmented by cutting
the blank with the swells d, as shown, in the blank c, so that when the tube is
drawn up these swells will surround the closed end of the tube, as shown at
Figure 6, and give more metal for upsetting the head.
Rivets constructed as above described may be applied to any use to which the
common solid shank rivet is now applied, such as fastening leather belting, hose,
and the like. To do this it is simply necessary to form a hole through which the
rivet is inserted; or in some materials it is not necessary to punch a hole, since the
rivet may at once be forced through, cutting its own hole in its passage. The rivet
being in place the end and sides of the shank of the rivet that protrudes are
spread, folded over, down, and against the surface of the material through which
it is inserted by any suitable instrument, as shown in Figures 4, 8, and 12, and in
this manner uniting the parts of the material to be fastened together. This folding

page_text: over of the end or sides of the shank is facilitated, as is obvious, by making the
shank in sections or with slits, as before described, and the more slits or sections
the more easily will this folding over be accomplished; but a tube may be formed
with two sections only, and the ends of the blank be notched out, as shewn at i,
Figure 5, so that when the tube is struck up from such a blank it will present
four points, which may be turned over to form the opposite head, as shown in
Figure 8.
This form of construction may be advisable when the rivet is designed to be
forced through heavy leather, in which case if the shank is formed of more than
two sections it might not be stiff enough to stand the pressure, for by forming the
tube from the notched blank the shank of the tube is not materially weakened, and
yet its end may be turned over in sections to form its opposite head with the same
facility as if it were otherwise made.
To construct the rivets illustrated in Figures 13 to 30 of the Drawings, a blank
is first cut of the form shown in Figure 17 or 23 from sheet metal, said blank
consisting of a disc a' connected at opposite sides to the arms b', b', which may
have straight edges, as shown in Figure 17, or be provided with V-shaped teeth c¹, c¹,
and correspondingly shaped notches d', d', as shown in Figure 23.
The blank is first swaged or formed by dies into the shape shown in Figures 19,
20, and 21, or as shown in Figures 28, 29, and 30, when the arms 61, 61, are bent
along the dotted lines at right angles to the disc a' to bring said arms into positions
parallel or nearly so to each other with their concave sides toward each other, and
then said arms are forced endwise into a bell-mouthed circular die to bring their
lower ends together, and partially fold their upper parts under the disc a', said die
being provided with a central mandrel or spindle of a diameter corresponding to
the desired internal diameter of the tubular shank. The partially formed rivet is then
subjected to the action of another cylindrical die of similar construction, except that
its interior is made of the size and shape that are to be given to the exterior of the
rivet shank when completed, said die being so constructed that the end of the tube
formed by the semi-cylindrical arms b¹, 61, will strike upon a shoulder inside the
die before the head or disc a strikes the upper surface of the die, thus completing
the folding of the upper portions of the arms b¹, b¹, under the disc a¹ to reinforce and
strengthen the head, and complete the shaping of the rivet.
When a rivet is formed from the blank shewn in Figure 23, the tooth c' upon
one of the arms 61 engages with the notch d' on the other arm b₁, as shewn in
Figures 22 and 26, thus interlocking the two halves of the tubular shank in such
a manner as to prevent one half of said shank from being driven into the material
faster than the other half to the injury of the rivet.
In some cases the arms b¹, 61, have formed thereon the longitudinal corrugations
e', e¹, which serve to stiffen the tubular shank of the rivet, and thus render it the
better adapted to resist the pressure required to force it through hard leather or
other material when cutting its own way.
The second part of this Invention relates to machinery for setting tubular rivets,
and it consists chiefly in a novel construction, arrangement, and combination of
devices for separating and feeding the tubular rivets successively beneath the
setting plunger.
This part of the said Invention is illustrated in Figures 31 to 38 of the accom-
panying Drawings, in which,-
Figure 31 is a side elevation of a machine embodying this part of my
Invention.
Figure 32 is a plan of the hopper and a portion of the inclined chute extended
in a horizontal position with a portion of the hopper-cover broken away.
Figure 33 is a vertical section of the hopper and chute on the line 3, Y,
Figure 32.
Figure 34 is a transverse section of the chute on the line 2, 2, Figure 32, looking
towards the hopper.

page_text: Figure 35 is a plan of the spring rivet holding and registering jaws drawn full
working size.
Figure 36 is an elevation of the inner side of one of the said jaws, and
Figures 37 and 38 are a side elevation and an inverted plan of the rivet sup-
porting and guiding plate secured to the foot of the inclined chute.
A is the base or bed of the machine adapted to be secured in a fixed position to
a column or standard, not shewn, from the upper side of which base rises the
goose-neck F, carrying in its front end the reciprocating spindle G, to which motion
is imparted by the lever H, to which a vibratory motion may be applied in any
well-known manner. J is a hopper pivotted to the upper end of the race way or
inclined chute K in a well known manner, and provided with a cover pivotted
thereto at its rear end, also in a well known manner. The bottom of the hopper
has formed therein two slots e and e¹ arranged obliquely to each other and to the
sides of the hopper, through which the shanks of the rivets placed therein drop, so
that they hang by their heads as they slide towards the front end of the hopper
when its rear end is raised up, the front end of the hopper having two openings
cut therein for the passage of said rivets to the inclined chute K, in the upper
portion of which are formed two grooves or channels f, f¹, which converge towards
each other, and unite to form a single channel g, as shewn in Figures 32, 33, and
34, the channels fand f1 forming continuations of the slots e and e¹, from which
the rivets slide freely in two paths from the hopper into the single channel g,
hanging by their heads.
Heretofore great trouble has been experienced in feeding rivets, eyelets, and
other like articles from two or more converging channels into a single channel by
reason of the liability of their falling over at the juncture of the converging
channels with the single channel, and clogging and choking the channel. To
obviate this difficulty I set an adjustable plunger h in the chute K. directly beneath
the point of juncture of the channels f and f¹ with the channel g in position for
the lower end of the shank of the rivet, eyelet, or other article to rest upon and be
supported thereby when the support for the head is lacking, thus preventing the
rivet or eyelet from falling over into the wider space formed by the junction of the
two converging channels, as shewn.
The plunger has formed upon one side thereof a series of teeth or notches at a
distance from each other just equal to the difference in the lengths of the shanks
of the rivets, with which notches a spring-latch i engages to hold said plunger in
the desired position, as shown in Figures 33 and 34.
L is a V-shaped plate secured to the bottom of the hopper, above the slots e and
el, with its point towards the rear of the hopper, and its oblique edges crossing
the slots, as shown, with sufficient space between its under side and the upper
surface of the hopper bottom for the free passage of the rivet heads, the office of
said plate being to prevent rivets which have not fallen into the slots from falling
crosswise or head downwards into the lower ends of said slots when the rear end
of the hopper is raised, and interfering with the free passage of those rivets which
are in the slots to the chute.
The chute K is provided with a hub j at its lower end bored out to fit the
setting plunger G, which moves freely through it during a portion of its stroke,
while the two move together during another portion of the stroke of said plunger,
a pin set in said plunger through a slot in the hub j determining the length of
movement of the plunger through the hub.
The chute K is also provided with a boss b, in which is formed a vertical hole to
fit a pint set in the ear m on the side of the goose-neck, which serves to maintain
the chute and hopper at the desired angle to the goose-neck, and to guide the
chute in its short vertical reciprocation.
The hopper J is connected by the link n to the lever H in such a manner that
the vibrations of said lever about its axis of motion cause the hopper to be moved
up and down about its pivotal connection to the chute K.

page_text: For convenience in construction the chute K is made in three pieces, the two
main pieces and 2 extending the whole length of the chute, and each forming
one wall of the channel g, and the outer walls of the channels for f¹; the third
piece having formed upon its upper end the V-shaped piece, which forins the
inner walls of the channels f and f¹, as shown in Figure 32.
N, N', are a pair of spring jaws attached by their upper ends to the hub ; one
upon either side; they are so formed as to meet at their lower ends beneath said
hub, and have formed in said thickened portions a pocket o, one half in each jaw,.
the upper portion of which has a diameter slightly greater than the diameter of
the rivet head, and the lower portion of a diameter corresponding to, or slightly
in excess of, the diameter of the shank of the rivet with a conical portion con-
necting the larger and smaller portions, said pocket being so arranged as to be
directly beneath and in line with the setting plunger G. The rear portions of the
thickened lower ends of the jaws N, N¹, are cut away, so that their sides shall
form, when said jaws are closed, continuations or extensions of the side walls of
the channel g, which serves to guide the shank of the rivet till the forward one in
the line bears against the shoulders formed by said cut away. Between the
pocket o and the shoulder r in each jaw is formed an inclined surface 8, which
serves the purpose of forcing the lower rivet into the pocket o, and insuring its
proper registration in line with the setting plunger, which is accomplished in the
following manner, that is to say :-When the plunger G is moved downward to set
a rivet, its lower end or the head of the rivet beneath it acting upon the conical
surface in the pocket o causes the jaws N, N¹, to open sufficiently to permit the
front rivet in the line descending the chute, and which rested against the shoulders r
to be pressed forward beyond the shoulders into contact with the plunger G, and
between the inclined surfaces 8, 8, by the weight of the column of rivets behind it,
and when the plunger is moved upward again the jaws N, N¹, move toward each
other, and the inclined surfaces 8, 8, striking the front rivet force it forward into
the pocket o, and the shoulders r hold back all the other rivets in the line till the
operation is repeated.
A thin metal plate P, bent to the form shown in Figures 37 and 38, is secured to
the lower end of the chute K, and has cut through its front lower portion the slot t¹
to receive the shank of the rivet, and it is widened at the bend u to permit the
passage of the rivet head.
Having thus fully described the said Invention as communicated to me by my
foreign correspondent, and the manner of performing the same, I wish it understood
that I claim,-
First. A rivet struck up from a suitable inetallic blank, and having a solid
flanged head and a tubular shank divided into vertical sections, substantially as
above described and as shewn in the Drawings.
Second. A rivet formed from a single piece of sheet metal, and having a tubular
shank divided longitudinally into two parts interlocked by means of the teeth and
notches, substantially as above described.
Third. A rivet formed from a single piece of sheet metal, and having a tubular
shank divided longitudinally into two parts, and each part provided with a longi-
tudinal corrugation, substantially as and for the purposes herein described.
Fourth. A tubular rivet the shank of which is divided longitudinally into two
parts, each provided with a longitudinal corrugation, the said two parts being
interlocked by means of the teeth and notches, all constructed and arranged sub-
stantially as and for the purposes above described.
Fifth. The hopper provided with two slots and two openings for the passage of
the rivets therefrom in combination with the inclined chute provided at its upper
end with two channels coinciding at their upper ends with the slots in the hopper,
and converging towards each other and uniting in a single channel, substantially
as above described for the purpose specified.
Sixth. In combination with the hopper provided with the two slots cut in it

page_text: bottom, the V-shaped plate, constructed, arranged, and adapted to operate sub-
stantially as and for the purposes herein described.
and g,
Seventh. In combination with the chute provided with the channels f, f¹,
arranged in relation to each other as set forth, the plunger adapted to be adjusted
to a position to serve as a support for the rivets in passing from the channels f
and to the channel g, substantially as above described.
Eighth. In combination with the chute provided with the channels f, f', and g,
the plunger provided with a series of teeth or serrations, and the spring latch
adapted to engage with said teeth, and hold the plunger in the desired position,
substantially as above described.
Ninth. The chute made up of the three pieces ¹, k², k³, constructed, arranged,
and secured together substantially as above set forth.
Tenth. A pair of spring-jaws each provided with a semi-circular recess, the
shoulders r, and inclined surfaces 8, in combination with an inclined chute and
setting plunger, all arranged and adapted to operate substantially as and for the
purposes above described.
Eleventh. The slotted plate bent to the form shown, and provided with the
slot t¹, and secured to the foot of the chute, substantially as shown in the Drawings
and for the purposes described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Robert Lake, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Ninth day of June, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and eighty.
W. ROBT. LAKE. (L.S.)