Year: 1897

page_text: Date of Application, 13th May, 1897
Complete Specification Left 11th Feb. 1898-Accepted. 12th Mar.. 1898
I, GEORGE FERGUSON, of 225, Franklin Street, Boston, State of Massachusetts,
United States of America, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention
to be as follows:
-
This invention relates to tack-driving mechanism chiefly intended for use in
making boots and shoes.
The tacks are assembled in an inclined guideway somewhat after the manner
described in the Specification of my prior Patent No. 9816 of 1894 and are fed
automatically one at a time into a tube whence they are forced by the driver into
the boot or shoe.
The driver is operated by a spring operated pivoted hammer which is raised by
spring catches during the descent of the cylindrical handle which controls the
movement. The pivoted hammer and the method of operating it constitute impor-
tant features of my invention.
Another feature of my invention is constituted by the improved means for
controlling the entrance of the tacks into the driver tube.
to
The apparatus in the preferred construction comprises a tubular body in which
the driver slides and on which the cylindrical handle is free to move up and down.
The hammer is pivoted to the said body and is constructed with a tail piece with
which the spring catches connected the handle engage when the
latter is raised to the top of its stroke. When the handle is pressed
down, the said catches draw down the tail and raise the head of the hammer
against the pull of a spring or springs until certain trip pins on the hammer dis-
engage the spring catches and so release the hammer whereupon its operating
springs cause it to strike the protruding upper end of the driver very forcibly. The
catches, become engaged with the hammer again when the handle is lifted for the
next stroke. The driver rises under the action of a spring when the hammer head
is lifted and so the next tack can pass under it.
A pivoted spring gate controlled by the driver is provided for the purpose of
allowing a tack to fall out of the feed guideway into the tube against the driver
while the latter is in its lowest position, and then to close the opening to keep back
the remaining tacks when the driver ascends, and a further spring piece is pro-
vided also controlled by the driver to press on the issuing tack and ensure that
it shall leave the guideway and properly enter the driver tube without depending
on gravity for carrying it into the driver tube.
In some instances the hammer is constructed to slide on guides and is worked by
a pivoted arm.

page_text: Improvements in Tack-driving Mechanism.
I, GEORGE FERGUSON, of 225, Franklin Street, Boston, State of Massachusetts,
United States of America, Engineer, 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 a hand tack-driver of that kind or class in which the
tacks are fed from a reservoir or raceway to a proper position to be operated upon by
a driver rod or plunger, such an instrument or tool being specially useful in lasting
boots and shoes, and in similar operations.
An important object of the present invention is the provision of improved means
whereby the tack-driver may be very efficiently operated with one hand. The
device is, in accordance with my invention, provided with an external (preferably
spring actuated) hammer adapted to strike the driver rod after being first set and
then released, the setting and releasing of the hammer being accomplished by a
single movement in one direction of an actuating device which also constitutes the
handle of the tool.
The driver rod is supported in a guideway in communication with the raceway
or feed chute which contains the tacks, and extends completely through said
guideway.
In the operation of the device, the driver rod moves upward along the guideway
as the hammer is lifted, so that a tack is free to move underneath the driver rod
into a position where it will be struck by the said driver rod when the hammer
descends. The tool is held with the end of the guideway in contact with the boot
or shoe or other article at the point where the tack is to be inserted.
It is obviously essential that only one tack should be allowed to enter the guide-
way at each operation; and a feature of the present invention consists in a novel
construction and arrangement of the tack controlling devices which co-operate
with the driver rod. In accordance with the invention the raceway is provided
with a gate extending transversely across the same, in a position adjacent to the
driver rod, the distance between the said parts being such as to admit single
tack and no more, and when the parts are in their normal position viz. with the
driver rod depressed to the end of its guideway, the said gate stands open so that
the whole column of tacks is supported against the side of the driver rod. To
separate, the first tack from the others, and to prevent more than one tack from
entering the guideway, the gate is caused to close in response to the rise of the
driver rod, such closure taking place before the end of the driver rod has reached
the chute, so that the tack which, as stated, is supported against the side of the
driver rod cannot move forward until the gate has moved across the chute to cut
off the remaining tacks. As soon however as the driver rod has risen so that the
end thereof is completely above the chute, the tack which was previously contained
in the space between the gate and driver rod is free to move forward into the
guideway to be operated upon in the next descent of the driver rod, and the
remainder of the tacks are separated from the guideway and supported by the gate
until the end of the driver rod has again descended below the chute, thus closing
the guideway and preventing the entry therein of another tack. After the driver
rod has risen and the gate has become closed the proper adjustment of the tack
which is left outside of the gate is assured by means of a device which may be
called the "kicker in " which is adapted to engage and move the said tack into the
guideway. The "kicker in" also co-operates with the driver rod and is adapted
to operate upon the tack just after the end of the driver rod has passed the chute
in its upward movement and has left the guideway open for the reception of the

page_text: tack. Conversely the "kicker in" is moved out of the path of the driver rod as
the latter descends.
It is to be understood that the terms "above, below, upward, downward" when
such are used have reference to the vertical position of the tack driver shown in
the drawings, which is the usual position in which the tool is held, it being obvious
however that the tool may be caused to operate in any position desired, it being
practical for example to drive a tack horizontally or even upward.
Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a hand tack driver embodying the invention, one of
the side members of the tack feed chute being removed; the dotted lines indicate
the positions of the parts when the hammer is on the point of being released to
strike a blow.
Fig. 2 is a vertical section of the same on the line of Fig. 1 looking towards
the left; and
Fig. 3 is a sectional detail' on the line ³ ³ of Fig. 1.
The driver rod a is movable in a guideway b adapted to receive tacks one at a
time from a chute or raceway c which may be previously loaded by means of any
suitable or usual tack loading device, not herein shown. The driver rod is shown as
connected with an enlarged plunger a² contained in a similar guideway b², the said
guideways being formed in the frame 13 through the upper end of which the
plunger a projects. The said plunger is normally pressed upward to the position
shown in dotted lines Fig. 1 by means of a light spring a interposed between a
shoulder 63 in the guideway 2 and a head or enlargement as formed in the
plunger.
The hammer d is shown as pivoted at upon an arm or projection B² from the
frame B, and in order to increase the force of the blow or to render the hammer
operative while the tool is in any position, springs are connected at one end to
the arm B2 or any suitable portion of the frame and at the other end to the hammer,
the said springs being shown as connected to an arm extending upward
above the hammer for the purpose of obtaining the best spring action.
To operate the hammer the frame B is provided with a handle e shown as a
vertically movable sleeve mounted on the main portion of said frame and adapted
by a trip device to be automatically connected to and disconnected from the
hammer to produce a movement thereof upon its pivot to its operative position,
and to permit the operation thereof.
As herein shown, the said handle e is provided with a spring latch e2 connected
at e³ with a guide rod et pivotally connected at e to an arm or projection of the
sleeve e.
The guide rod works in a movable guiding support d³ in the end of
the hammer arm or lever, and the latch e is thus properly guided to engage with a
projection upon the hammer lever when the sleeve e moves upward. In the
upward movement of the sleeve e therefore the spring latch e² automatically con-
nects with the hammer lever, and in the down-movement thereof the hammer is
carried to its operative position, or "set," as shown in dotted lines Fig. 1. When
the hammer lever reaches such position the latch is engaged by a pin or projec-
tion d' upon the hammer lever and thereby tripped or thrown off the projection do,
thus freeing the hammer and allowing the same to strike a blow, the force of which
is augmented by the action of the springs . To use the device therefore the
operator grasps the handle or sleeve e and in carrying the tack driver to its
operative position it is obvious that the relative upward movement of the handle is
caused by the actual downward movement of the rest of the device, owing to its
weight, so that when the tip of the main frame, which is at the end of the
guideway b, is placed over the point where it is desired to drive the tack, the
remainder of the operation consists only in forcing downward the said sleeve which
first lifts and then releases the hammer. The latter strikes the top of the plunger a²
and thus drives the tack which is. then in the guideway b below the driver rod a.
To ensure the presence of a tack in the guideway at the time of operating, the
hammer and to prevent the possibility of there being more than one tack present
at a time, the column of tacks in the chute c is controlled by appliances as follows.

page_text: As herein shown the inner end of the chute c is provided with a gate f movable
transversely across the same, there being just sufficient space between the said gate.
and the side of the driver rod when the latter is down, as shown in Fig. 3, to
contain a single tack. The gate f is adapted to be closed by a spring which
operates upon a pivoted bar f³, to which the gate is secured, the said bar being
adapted to be moved to open the gate by means of a cam-like projection f³ adapted
to co-operate with the driver rod a. The descent of the driver rod will thus result
in the opening of the gate, and the ascent will result in the closing
of the gate. The cam f is shown as adapted to extend into the
guideway below the chute c, so that the gate will not be opened until the end of
the driver rod has passed wholly behond the said chute. When therefore the device
is in its normal condition, that is to say, with its sleeve down and disconnected from
the hammer and the hammer itself held down by its springs upon the end of the
plunger a², the gate will be opened as shown, and the first tack of the column of
tacks will lie against the side of the driver rod a but cannot enter the guideway b.
In the operation of the device the sleeve or handle e becomes connected in its
upward movement as herein before described with the hammer and when the
sleeve is depressed the hammer will be lifted and the driver rod being thus relieved
from the weight of the hammer will also rise owing to the stress of its spring a³
and as soon as the end of the said rod passes behond the cam f, the gate f will
be closed and will separate the first tack of the column from those above it, and
it will be impossible for another tack to' enter the guideway until after the driver
rod has descended so as to again open the gate.
To ensure the passage of the tack which is adjacent to the driver rod into the
guideway below the said rod, the tool is herein shown as provided with a device for
positively engaging the said tack and pushing it into the guideway b, the said
device or
kicker in" comprising a toe or projection y having an inclined surface g²
adapted to engage with the side of the tack after the driver has passed upward
beyond the chute c, and push the said tack into the guideway b. The "kicker in "
is also controlled by the driver rod a and is moved out of the path of said rod just
as the latter descends, this being accomplished, as shown by providing in conjunc-
tion with the "kicker in " a cam projection g³ which extends into the guideway b just
above the chute c. The "kicker in is normally pressed inward by means of a spring
arm g to which it is connected, and will obviously operate as soon as the driver
rod a rises above the cam projection g³, the said projection being just above the
chute so that the "kicker in " operates as soon as the driver rod is withdrawn from
the path of the tack next to be driven.
وو
Obviously as the driver rod descends on being struck by the hammer, it will
engage the cam projection g³ and move the " kicker in "out of the way and drive
the tack then in the guideway, the remaining tacks being controlled by the gate f
which is not opened until the driver rod has passed wholly below the chute as
above described.
It is not intended to limit the invention to the specific construction herein shown
and described, since modifications in detail may be obviously be made therein
without departing from the spirit of my invention, for instance the hammer instead
of being pivoted may be arranged to slide on guideways and to be controlled by a
pivoted arm which is actuated by the spring catch.
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. The combination, with the driver rod, of a pivotally supported hammer, and
an actuating device adapted by a continuous movement in one direction to set and
then release the hammer, substantially as, and for the purpose, described.
2. The construction of the said actuating device in the form of a sleeve adapted
to slide on the frame or body of the tool, and furnished with a trip device for
setting and then releasing the hammer during the downward movement of the
sleeve, substantially as described.

page_text: 3. The spring-controlled gate f with its pivoted support, arranged and operated
substantially as described, for the purposes specified.
4. The device for ensuring the delivery of the tacks successively into the guide-
way below the driver rod, substantially as described.
5, A hand tack driver, constructed substantially as described with reference to
the accompanying drawings and operating as specified.
Dated this 9th day of February 1898.
GEORGE HARRISON,
35, Therapia Road, Honor Oak, London, Agent for the Applicant.